Vanishing Chocolate Chip Cookies

Reblogged from The Spork in the Road:

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Sometimes one just needs to bake. You open the cabinet doors and find flour, chocolate chips, sugar, baking soda and powder and a few other baking stuff and think, "What should I make?"

Today, I tossed together some of the simplest staples to create fabulous Vanishing Chocolate Chip Cookies. This variation has coconut flakes and will disappear as soon as they come out of the oven.

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A throwback recipie from Nov. 2012 for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! What are you baking this week to celebrate the best holiday ever?

Baked Ranch Chicken

I was in the mood for a well-cooked meal, but too lazy to run to the grocery store–story of my life.

So last night I rummaged through my cabinets and refrigerator and put together a fabulous meal!

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Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup ranch dressing
- 1/2-3/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 3-4 piece of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 package of frozen corn kernels
- 1/3 cup diced peppers (red, yellow and orange)
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- Salt/pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium/large casserole dish, layer in the olive oil, 3/4 of the corn and peppers. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top.
3. As if you’re preparing fried chicken cutlets, dip the chicken in the ranch and the breadcrumbs.

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Place the chicken on top of the corn mixture.

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4. Add the rest of the corn mixture to the top. Add a little extra crushed black pepper, if you like a little kick. You can also dice a habanero pepper into the mix if you like some spice.
5. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the corn is sizzling in the dish.

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In retrospect, the breadcrumbs (while delicious) was unnecessary. I might just baked the chicken after a coat of ranch dressing next time around.

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Tasty Brunch in Turtle Bay: Ze Cafe

If you’re on the east side of NYC and looking for a beautiful brunch–look no further than Ze Cafe in Turtle Bay.

I went met with Sandra this morning before adventuring downtown for authentic dulce de leche. We had large cappuccinos and eggs Benedict (an obvious brunch favorite) that were tres magnificque! It’s been quite a culinary day!

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Mr. McGregor’s Carrot Patch Cake

Spring has sprung in the Northeast and I totally forgot to post this adorable cake I baked for Easter Sunday.

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Inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest, I’m naming this dish after my favorite springtime story: Peter Cottentail. In the book, Peter and his siblings sneak into Mr. McGregor’s garden to steal a few of his delicious carrots.

Ingredients:
- 2 boxes of chocolate cake
- 1 box of vanilla cake
- Red and yellow food coloring
- 1 tub of chocolate frosting
- Betty Crocker’s green decorating frosting tubes
- Chocolate sprinkles

Directions:
1. Mix the vanilla cake according to the boxes directions. Add in 2 or 3 drops of food coloring, or until you reach the level of orange you’d like.
2. Bake the orange cake on a sheet pan per the directions on the box and let cool.

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3. Slice the orange cake into small triangle. Let me be the first to warn you–you’ll have a lot of cake leftover. I suggest making cake pops or else you’ll be tossing the leftovers (a rookie mistake I made). Place all the triangles onto a cookie sheet and place in the freezer–yes the freezer–for about 30 minutes or more.

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4. In a greased loaf pan, place all the orange triangles inside.

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5. Mix up the chocolate cake mix and pour it over the orange triangles.

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6. Bake the cake per the directions. When you text it with a toothpick–use the outside of the chocolate cake, as you don’t want to test the already cooked orange cake. Flip the cake over to cool on a sheet of wax paper. It’ll look something like this:

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7. Once the cake is cooled, frost the sides and top with chocolate frosting. Sprinkle the chocolate sprinkles on top. You can also use crushed Oreos or chocolate cookies. This will look like “dirt.”
8. Use the leaf tool from the Betty Crocker kit to create carrot leaves along the middle of the cake spreading outwards.

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When the cake is sliced, it will look like little carrots are growing in the dirt! Just like in Mr. McGregor’s carrot patch! I hope you enjoy this unique little cake :)

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Chicken a la Jenna

There’s nothing like a one-pot-meal to make me a happy camper (and easy clean up!) Next time you’re in a lazy mood, throw these simple ingredients into the over and voila! Instant dinner!

Ingredients:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 can of artichoke hearts, strained
- 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
- 1/4 c. white wine
- 3/4 c. Italian dressing or olive oil
- Salt/pepper
- Sprinkle of Parmesan cheese
- Sprinkle of bread crumbs

Directions:
- Combine everything in an oven safe pan and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees! And enjoy!!

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Sunday Dinner

Made my first “home” cooked meal at my apartment. Unfortunately, the stove was out of commission for the past month so I’ve been living off delivery and microwave meals.

Grilled chicken over spring salad with Parmesan couscous and sweet peas! Oh, and a glass of vino to end a great weekend and kick off the week ahead.

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