Roast Chicken, and a Simple Salad

This was actually easier than I thought. I looked at a bunch of recipes for roast chicken and kind of made up my own. It turned out awesome! Very most and flavorful. Prep time was only ten minutes. I served it with a simple salad of romaine, sliced apples, gorgonzola cheese and pecans, and a balsamic vinagrette. Easy week night meal, just make sure you leave enough time to cook. I had lots of leftovers, which I used for Coleen's chicken fajitas the next night.

1 whole chicken (they sell organic chickens at Costco for a decent price)
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t rosemary
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t parsley
1 lemon, quartered
1 small onion, quartered
3-4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 cup butter
salt & pepper

Rinse chicken inside and out and pat dry with paper towel. Place lemon, onion, and garlic inside chicken, and tie legs together with kitchen twine (or thread like I did)
Mix dried herbs with butter and rub all over chicken. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in roasting pan, and cover with aluminum foil. cook at 425 degrees for 30 min. Uncover and cook and additional 30-35 min, or until juices run clear. Let it rest 10 min before carving.

Chocolate crinkle cookies

Sometimes you need something chocolatey, and sometimes you need the real deal! These cookies feel like such an indulgence. They are really fudgy and brownie-like. They will definitely hit the spot. Next time I think I will add walnuts...Mmmm. Just follow the instructions exactly for best results. Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (though you can do this with a wooden spoon, too) beat together the cocoa powder, white sugar, and vegetable oil until it comes together into a shiny, gritty, black dough of sorts.
2 Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds each. Add the vanilla and beat in thoroughly.
3 In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt . Mix into the chocolate mixture on low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill the dough for four hours or overnight.
4 Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the confectioner's sugar in a wide bowl. Using a rounded teaspoon get clumps of the chilled dough and roll them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) sized balls using your hands. Roll the balls in the confectioner's sugar and place on the cookie sheets (you should be able to get 12-16 on each sheet). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool a minute or two on the sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Yield: Makes approximately 50 cookies.

Beef Stroganoff

This is the best Beef Stroganoff I have had, I think the tender steak and the fresh mushrooms make it divine. To make sure your meat is tender be sure to buy a steak with some fat marbling in it or it will dry out. I had to add a little more water to the crock pot, about a 1/4 C. extra when I added the steak and a half a soup can when I added the golden mushroom soup. I used Barilla Plus pasta, it is made with ground legumes, multigrains, and egg whites and is a good source of protein. Thanks Ruthanne for telling me about this recipe!!!

Beef Stroganoff 

2 lb Beef Chuck Pot Roast
1 ½ T. beef bouillon
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 T. water
1 medium diced onion
9 oz sliced FRESH mushrooms
1 can cream of golden mushroom soup
8-oz softened Neufchatel cream cheese
noodles

Combine roast, bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, and water in a crockpot. Cook on low for 5 hours. In a bowl, mix together the onion, fresh mushrooms, and can of soup and then gently stir into the crockpot, breaking up the meat into very large pieces, and cook on high for 2 hours. Carefully stir in the cream cheese without over mixing the meat – you want to keep the meat in bite-sized chunks rather than have it all shredded up. Serve over noodles.

Recipe Source: thesisterscafe.com