Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

Rich buttery chocolate chip coconut cookies with crispy edges and a chewy center. These delicious cookies will become a household favorite! 

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Servings 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 bag semi sweeet chocolate chips (2 cups)

Instructions

1. 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. 

   2. In a large bowl, beat both sugars, butter, vanilla, coconut extract, and egg with an electric mixer or kitchen aid on medium speed. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt till dough is stiff. Stir in shredded coconut and chocolate chips. 

   3. Drop dough in 1-1.5 inch balls over an ungreased cookie sheet. I like mine a bit larger so I go with 1.5 inch dough balls. Flatten a bit with the palm of your hand. 

   4. Bake 8 minutes or until light brown on edges (soft center). Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, and 2 more minutes on a wire rack. 

Recipe Notes

I LIKE MY COOKIES ON THE FLAT SIDE SO THIS RECIPE USES A TOUCH LESS FLOUR.  IF YOU LIKE YOUR COOKIES A LITTLE MORE ON THE ROUDED SIDE, TRY ADDING 1/4 CUP FLOUR TO THE RECIPE. 

Grilled Flank Steak, Charred Corn & Avocado with Simple Herb Sauce

Grilled Flank Steak, Charred Corn & Avocado with Simple Herb Sauce

One platter meal featuring juicy grilled flank steak, charred corn, and thick sliced avocado.

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American, Mediterranean

Keyword Flank steak, charred corn, roasted corn, avocado, herb sauce, mediterranean recipe

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs flank steak
• 6 ears sweet corn shucked
• 3 medium avocados, cut in half and sliced
• 1 cup scallions chopped
• 1 cup feta cheese

Marinade

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey

Simple Herb Sauce

• 1 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream I used sour cream 
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 lemon, juiced 
• 1 cup fresh basil and dill leaves, chopped & combined
• fresh ground salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all marinade ingredients. Pour over flank steak and marinate for about two hours. Heat grill to medium- medium/high and sear steak for about 8 minutes on each side. Remove and let rest for about 10 minutes. 

   Combine all ingrediants for herb sauce into a food processor. Process till combined. set aside. 

   Place fresh corn on hot grill and char on all sides with grill lid closed. Remove & cool. Use a sharp knife to cut the corn off the cobb once cooled. Lay the corn on a large platter or bread board. 

   Placed sliced avocado and feta cheese on top of corn. Slice flank steak agianist the grain thinly and layer over the corn and avocados. Spinkle scallions on top and drizzle the herb sauce all over. Dig in!

Salsa

SALSA- nesting with grace



1 can Muir Glen Diced Fire Roasted tomatoes
4 Roma Tomatoes
1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño
2 tsp chile powder
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
juice and zest on lime
Roughly chill all ingredients and pulse in food processor

BASIL PASTA WITH SAUSAGE AND FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound of dry spaghetti, cooked (or your favorite pasta)
1 pound regular sausage, cooked and crumbled
1/2 of an onion, diced (or use 3 Tablespoons dehydrated minced onions)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1, 15 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup fresh basil, snipped into little pieces




DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pan, cook sausage and onion together, stirring often, until onion is soft, sausage is crumbled and browned and cooked all the way through. 
2. In a large pot, boil some water. When it comes to a boil, add a generous pinch of salt and add your pasta to the water. Stir so it doesn’t clump together. When pasta is al dente, turn off the heat and drain most of the water. 
3. Back to the sausage and onions- add the minced garlic, and cook on low for only a minute or two, being careful not to burn. (Garlic burns easily!) 4. Mix the cornstarch with the broth until completely dissolved, then add the broth mixture to the pan. Cook on medium high heat, stirring often, for a few minutes until sauce is thickened. Then add the can of tomatoes and stir.
5. Add the fresh grated Parmesan, and the chopped basil to the sauce. Stir.
6. Drain the pasta and add It to the pot that holds the sauce. Mix together, then garnish with the more basil and parm. Serve warm. Enjoy! 

PINK TROPICAL RASPBERRY SORBET

PINK TROPICAL RASPBERRY SORBET

YIELD:  10 CUPS

 

PREP TIME:  20 MINUTES

 

ADDITIONAL TIME:  3 HOURS

 

TOTAL TIME:  3 HOURS 20 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS

SORBET:

•  1/2 gallon pineapple sherbet
•  10-ounces frozen raspberries, thawed (don't drain)
•  2-3 medium bananas, thinly sliced
•  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

OPTIONAL:

•  Thin, crispy lemon cookies (see note)
•  Ginger ale (see note)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Scoop sherbet into the bowl of an electric stand mixer (or into a large bowl to mix by hand or with an electric hand mixer). Let it soften until mixable, 5-10 minutes. 
2. While the sherbet softens, toss the bananas with the lemon juice (adds a boost of flavor and helps the bananas retain their bright color).
3. To the sherbet, add the raspberries (with any accumulated juices) and the bananas and lemon juice. Mix until well combined and the raspberries and bananas are in small pieces (continue mixing if you want them broken down even more).
4. Scoop into a freezer-safe container and freeze until set up, 2-3 hours (or longer). Before serving, let the sorbet sit at room temp for 15 minutes to soften slightly. Scoop into bowls (delicious served with a few thin and crispy lemon cookies) OR scoop into glasses with ginger ale for a fizzy float drink. 

NOTES

Cookies: this is delicious served with thin, crispy lemon or vanilla cookies. I've found the lemon cookies at Trader Joe's or Costco. 

Ginger Ale: when making this "float-style" I prefer using ginger ale, but you could also use sprite or 7-up. 

HTTPS://WWW.MELSKITCHENCAFE.COM/PINK-TROPICAL-RASPBERRY-SORBET/

Everything Bagel Seasoning

Everything Bagel Seasoning

Make your own Everything Bagel Seasoning at home! It only takes 5 spices and 5 minutes to make!

Prep Time5 minutes

Total Time5 minutes

Servings1 /2 cup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
• 2 teaspoons  flaked sea salt or course salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, and salt. Stir until well combined. Store in a sealed jar or container.

SHEET PAN SHRIMP BOIL

SHEET PAN SHRIMP BOIL

yield: 6 SERVINGS

prep time: 10 MINUTES

cook time: 30 MINUTES

total time: 40 MINUTES

Easiest shrimp boil ever! And it’s mess-free using a single sheet pan. That’s right. ONE PAN. No newspapers. No bags. No clean-up!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound baby Dutch yellow potatoes
• 3 ears corn, each cut crosswise into 6 pieces
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 (12.8-ounce) package smoked andouille sausage, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook potatoes until just tender and parboiled, about 10-13 minutes. Stir in corn during the last 5 minutes of cooking time; drain well.
3. In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic and Old Bay seasoning.
4. Place potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Stir in butter mixture and gently toss to combine.
5. Place into oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the shrimp are opaque and corn is tender.
6. Serve immediately with lemon wedges, garnished with parsley, if desired.

CHICKEN SATAY WITH PEANUT SAUCE

CHICKEN SATAY WITH PEANUT SAUCE

yield: 6 SERVINGS

prep time: 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES

cook time: 20 MINUTES

total time: 2 HOURS 50 MINUTES

Perfectly grilled chicken satay skewers in the most flavorful marinade. Served with THE BEST creamy peanut sauce ever!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

FOR THE PEANUT SAUCE

• 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce, or more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

DIRECTIONS:

1. To make the peanut sauce, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce and ginger in a small bowl. Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons water until desired consistency is reached; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, soy sauce, curry powder, turmeric, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and fish sauce.
3. In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken and coconut milk mixture; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
4. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
5. Preheat grill to medium high heat. Thread chicken onto skewers. Brush with canola oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
6. Add skewers to grill, and cook, turning occasionally, until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 12-15 minutes.
7. Serve immediately with peanut sauce.

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The BEST Copycat Rubio’s Fish Taco Recipe!

Ingredients

Corn Tortillas (10)

Breaded Fish sticks (12)

Cabbage, shredded (1/3 of a head)

Lime, cut into small wedges (4)

Rubios sauce:

1/2 cup yogurt, plain

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped or 1 teaspoon dill pickle juice

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

juice of 1 lime

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the sauce: whisk together all ingredients in a bowl. Can be refrigerated up to 2 days in advance.

For the fish sticks: Cook them in the oven according to the back of the package. Once they are cooked in the oven grab a skillet and place 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil in the bottom of it. Place the fish sticks (I used about 12 sticks) and using a spatula cut into small pieces and fry for a few minutes in the oil until fish gets a little crispier.

For the corn tortillas: Place a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the bottom of a skillet. Lightly fry each side of the tortilla in the oil. Place on a paper towel and pat off the grease. Repeat until all tortillas are done.

To assemble: Grab a tortilla and a couple spoonfuls of the cut up fish. Add some cabbage and then a heaping Tablespoon (or more) of the sauce. Serve with a few lime wedges.

Fruity pebble rice Krispie

melt 4T butter over low-medium heat, you don't want it to burn. (Then add 1 tsp vanilla) optional

Add 1 10 oz package mini marshmallows

Stir together and melt

5 cups Rice Krispies
1 c  fruity pebbles
1/2 of 10 oz bag mini marshmallow

press into a 9x13 wish that has been sprayed.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

Clean Simple Eats


Makes 16 servings
115 calories /8F/4C/6P

3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
14 oz artichoke hearts, chopped
1 c freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 c freshly grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 c nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
1/2 c olive oil mayo
1 c neufchâtel  cream cheese
1 T minced garlic
1 T lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375
Mix spinach artichokes Parmesan and 3/4 c of mozzarella chess together in a bowl, set aside.
In a separate bowl beat the cream cheese, yogurt, mayo, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper together. Add all of the ingredients to one bowl, and mix until well combined.
Pour into a greased 8x8 glass baking dish.
Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 mins. Serve with you favorite chips and veggies.

Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus
chopped onion
crushed garlic
sea salt
garlic pepper
avocado oil
balsamic vinegar

Cook for 18 mins at 400 and sire a fe times while in the oven

Cafe Rio Barbacoa Salad

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa

5-6 lb. pork roast
21 oz. Dr. Pepper (or Coke, do NOT use diet soda)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
7 oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
6-ish oz. red taco sauce (I used hot)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Place roast in crock-pot, cover half-way with water and cook on low for 12 hours. (I started my Pork Adventure at midnight and everything worked out perfectly for Sunday dinner at 6:00 pm.) After 12 hours, drain pork (retain liquid if you want sauce for burritos, simply mix with a can of verde enchilada sauce and away you go)Mix remaining ingredients until sugar dissolves. I didn’t keep the actual chilies, I dumped the can into a bowl and added enough Dr. Pepper to get all the sauce off of the chilies, then I tossed them. I also rinsed out the can with Dr. Pepper for more adobo goodness. My version had a fairly good kick to it, but if you LOVE hotness, then blend everything + 2 or 3 chilies in the blender. (Also, the adobo sauce tends to stain plastic, using a glass or metal mixing bowl will make your clean-up of adobo sauce considerably less frustrating).

Add Dr. Pepper mixture to the roast and cook on low an additional 4 hours.

Take out roast and shred, add back into sauce and cook for 2 more hours. At this point the meat was so tender it practically shredded itself.

Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing

Do not skip this part, the dressing is my favorite part of the salad! Creamy and spicy and zesty, it is absolute heaven. I actually use leftover dressing for a tomatillo-cilantro salsa, this stuff makes regular, everyday corn-chips taste like exotic, savory treats. (Because we all know, corn is not exotic on it’s own.) If it can transform corn chips, just IMAGINE what it will do for your salad! Besides, it takes 3 minutes to put together.

1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix

3 tomatillos (remove papery skin), rough chop
1 cup mayo
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup (or more) cilantro, rough chop
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp green Tabasco sauce
juice from 1 lime

Dump everything in a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate in air-tight container (or your entire fridge will smell like garlic and cilantro).

3 tomatoes, diced

1/2 bunch of cilantro, minced
1/2 sweet onion, minced
1 section of green pepper, minced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
about 1/3-1/2 cup vinegar (use your best judgement)
salt and pepper

Mix it up really well and refrigerate. I put my pico in a Tupperware and shook it up really well right before serving to re-mix.

Now, invite some people over and get cooking! Do you remember how to put together the salad?

• Tortilla – you can make your own, mine came from a package.
• Cheese –it is a good idea to warm these two up so the cheese is a little melty.
• Beans – black or pinto (mine came straight out of the can, warmed in the microwave with a little garlic powder and green Tabasco sauce).
• Rice – don’t be stingy now!
• Pork – I am actually salivating while writing this post…
• Lettuce – Shredded Romaine, you want small enough pieces to get a little of everything on your fork
• Pico de Gallo – I like extra pico, so I give myself an extra scoop.
• Tortilla Strips – slice a corn tortilla into strips, brush with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake on a foil-covered sheet for 15-20 minutes at 350-ish.
• Creamy Tomatillo Dressing – I like to keep mine on the side so my lettuce doesn’t get too slobbery.
• This is really best served with a cold Dr. Pepper with a few slices of lime squeezed into it, but if that seems like Dr. Pepper overload, your beverage of choice will probably be fine.