Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

This one of our family's new favorite recipes. It has been requested by several friends, so I figured I'd put it here. They are so good!

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.


Cream following ingredients until fluffy:
1 stick of softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar

Then Add:
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 rounded cup of shredded, sweetened coconut

Beat thoroughly

Separately combine:
1 1/3 cup rolled oats
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix well.

Drop by rounded tablespoons on t a greased pan. Bake for 11-13 minutes.

New Recipe

Around 4:30p yesterday, I realized I had no plan for dinner. Gabe has been sick, so my day consisted of a doctor appointment, picking up Grant from school, running by the pharmacy and holding a sad baby. I hadn't even thought about dinner. I started flipping through my new Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine and found a recipe that looked interesting and better yet, I had everything on hand- even goat cheese which is not one of my usual staples, but it was on sale the last time I was at Whole Foods.

I wish I had snapped a picture of it, but at the time I didn't know how much we would like it. The we being Todd and I- Grant was not crazy about it.

Mac 'n' Goat Cheese
1 lb macaroni pasta- (I used whole wheat penne)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pint cherry (I used grape)tomatoes, halved
One 9 oz. bag frozen spinach
6 oz goat cheese, broken into chunks (I'm sure feta cheese would work, too)
3/4 cup toasted walnuts (I didn't have any of these and it was still good)

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and return pasta to the pot.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, spinach and the reserved pasta water and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir into the pasta along with the goat cheese. transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the walnuts on top.

Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread is one of my favorite things to bake in the fall. It makes the house smell so good and everyone around here loves it. This is a recipe I found in a magazine years ago, it's the best one I've ever tried. I doctor mine up a little to make it a little healthier, so I've added those changes in case you want to try it that way. It makes a good breakfast.
Pumpkin Bread
1/3 cup shortening (I use butter or coconut oil instead)
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 2/3 cups flour (I use 1 cup all purpose and 2/3 whole wheat flour, I also add 2 TBS of milled flax seed)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter and add sugar and vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Gently mix in water.
Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in another bowl.
Add gradually to the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
Add pumpkin and mix gently.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Comfort food

It's been a busy week. We are getting back into the swing of school, schedules, and my new job. So, tonight for dinner I wanted comfort food. My favorite comfort foods are breakfast foods and one of my favorite breakfasts is Orange French Toast. It's so good. Here's the recipe, courtesy of the Food Network, if breakfast foods equal comfort foods for you, too.

Emeril's Favorite French Toast Recipe

Ingredients
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (I always use more, at least one whole orange)
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 slices bread (really should be white bread if your going to do it right:) )
8 teaspoons unsalted butter
Confectioners' sugar

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk well.

Add the milk, orange juice, orange zest, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and salt, and whisk until well combined.

Working quickly, dip each bread slice into the egg mixture in the bowl, turning it to coat both sides with the mixture. Transfer the coated bread slices to a plate while you finish coating the remaining slices.

Heat a small skillet over medium heat until hot, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in the skillet, then add a slice of coated bread, and cook until the bread is golden brown and crusted on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn with a plastic turner and cook until the second side is golden, about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes.

Transfer the French toast from the skillet to a baking sheet. Cover lightly with aluminum foil and place in the oven to keep warm while you cook the other slices.

Repeat with the remaining slices, being sure to add 1 teaspoon of the butter to the pan before every slice.

Sprinkle the French toast with confectioners' sugar and serve with maple syrup or cane sugar if desired.

Yield: 4 to 8 servings