Crunchy Oatmeal Cookies

I love oatmeal cookies! I like them with or without raisins. I love soft chewy ones or crunchy granola type ones.

I looked through my trusty 1987 copy of the Pillsbury's Cookbook and was shocked to not find a recipe for plain oatmeal cookies! So I went online to find a good crunchy oatmeal cookie recipe. One of the first pins was just what I was looking for. I am usually skeptical of Pinterest recipes after so many duds but I figured I'd try it and do a review/post.

The original link can be found here: Lotti + Doof - Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe makes 24 cookies using 2 tbls of dough each

Ingredients: 

-1 cup flour
-3/4 teaspoon baking powder
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, but still cool (65 degrees)
-1 cup sugar
-1/4 cup light brown sugar
-1 large egg
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
-Foil (Original recipe says parchment paper, but foil worked fine for me)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and put the rack in the center of the oven.
2. Using a standing or handheld mixer, mix the butter and sugar together at medium-low speed for 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix for a minute or until light and fluffy.
3. Scrape the sides down and add in the egg and vanilla. Mix on medium-low for 30 seconds or until well mixed together.
4. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until smooth.
5. Slowly add in the oats while the mixer is running on low. Continue mixing for about 20 seconds.
6. Place foil or parchment paper onto a the largest baking pan you have. Scoop out dough with a tablespoon (for measuring not eating. haha) and put two tablespoons of dough together in groups around the pan. Dough should be 2 1/2 inches apart.
7. Roll the groups of dough (two tablespoons) together to make a ball and then place them on the baking sheet. Press down on each ball to flatten slightly to 3/4 inch thick.
8. Bake for 13 - 16 minutes. Original directions say to rotate the sheet halfway through baking. I didn't do that and they came out fine.
9. Cool cookies on the sheet and transfer to a wire rack. I waited about 5 minutes and then transferred them to a piece of foil on the counter top.

Next time I make these I will probably add 1/2 cup of raisins.

Share and enjoy!

Lasagna Roll Ups

These are so simple to make and taste delicious! While browsing a couple of years ago on Pinterest I came across a bunch of posts about these. I felt like none of the links I clicked on led to any actual sources on how to make them. So I used my basic knowledge of cooking and applied it to discovering my own way to make them.

Makes about 4 - 8 servings depending on how much you eat. Basically 1 roll = 1 serving.

Ingredients:
-lasagna noodles (about 8 depending on baking dish size; a 13 X 9 fits 8 pretty well)
-1 jar tomato based pasta sauce (I use my homemade meat sauce) 
-1.5 cups mozzarella cheese
-Spray oil
Filling:
-1 egg
-1 package of frozen spinach thawed and drained
-1/2 cup parmesan cheese
-1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
-16 oz tub ricotta cheese
-salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. Bring to a boil a large pot of water. When water is boiling put in the noodles and cook according to package directions. 
I usually just stack all the noodles and have them sticking out of the pot for a bit until they soften down little by little and then when they can all fit in the pot I turn them sideways so they are still in a neat row and covered by water. This has helped prevent them from sticking together and getting torn. I watch them as they boil and slip a spoon between each one every so often to keep them apart. 
3. Drain the noodles and run them under cool water. Gently pick each one up and lay it out on a large cutting board or on a clean counter top.
4. Mix all of the ingredients for the filling together 
5. Spoon out dollops of the filling onto each noodle. Fill them just enough to cover the surface of the noodle.
6. Spray a baking pan, preferably a 13 X 9, with cooking spray on all the edges and bottom. 
7. Take some of the sauce and cover the bottom of the pan. 
8. Gently roll up each noodle and place it in the pan with the seam on the bottom.
9. Cover the rolls with the remaining sauce and sprinkle mozzarella over the top. 
10. Bake for 35 minutes. 

Other variations I have tried and LOVED include:
Adding some sauteed mushrooms to the filling (1/4 cup cooked or canned mushrooms)
Adding some ground beef to the filling (1/4 cup). If you make a bolognese type sauce like I do then you can take some of that browned beef out before you put the sauce components in.
Adding canned, diced tomatoes to the filling (8 oz, drained) You can use a 16 oz can and throw the remaining chunks into the sauce.

Share and enjoy!