Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Supreme

I really like chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal. As a kid, I always got the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie for my free cookie from the grocery store. Oddly enough, I've had this recipe since we got married and I've never tried it until this week. Duh! Probably because it takes more ingredients than I typically put into a chocolate chip cookie - it has a grated chocolate bar as well as chocolate chips. But, that being said, I think these would still be good without the grated chocolate bar.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Supreme

1 c. butter, softened
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. oats (measure it then blend dry in a blender to look like a flour)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips
1 8-oz Hershey or Symphony bar, grated, optional
1 1/2 c. chopped nuts, optional

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Add chocolate chips, grated chocolate and nuts, if using. Roll into balls. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Yield: About 100 cookies, depending on the size you roll.

Spring-form Fiasco

Becky spent a lot of time making a lemon tart thing in the spring-form pan. While we were eating dinner the timer alerted us that the tart was finished baking. I told Becky that I'd get it out of the oven and show it to her so she could make sure it was done. With both hands in oven mitts I picked up the pan. Left hand holding the pan and right hand under the pan apparently applying too much pressure on the bottom of the pan. The bottom of the pan tipped up, the tart spilled out all over the bottom of the oven. The same oven I'd just cleaned a week ago.
I gasped! The oven sizzled as the filling poured out all over! I cried "Oh no!" Everyone wanted to know what happened. I showed them what was left of the tart and admitted that perhaps I didn't actually know how to pick up a spring-form pan properly. However, I do think it might be a good idea to place a spring-form pan on a cookie sheet in the oven. Just sayin'.


We did try what was left of the tart and Becky will be posting the recipe soon......

All that filling burning onto my clean oven. How sad.

The next day, Alan cleaned all the sticky mess out of the bottom of the oven. At least he thought he got it all. Apparently it leaked over the sides of that bottom piece and onto the elements. Late that night, J turned on the oven to make a pizza and smoke began to pour out of the oven and then flames erupted! He ran upstairs and pounded on our door and Alan went down and they put the fire out and J had to throw the pizza away :( The house STILL smells like smoke - Gag! I opened two windows and turned on the attic fan and the temperature outside was a chilly 22 degrees. I would say this little spill has earned the title - Fiasco!

Roasted Tomato Soup

This is absolutely the best tomato soup I've ever had. Jeremy really doesn't like tomato soup (he was so excited to see this on the menu!) but he even admitted that this is pretty darn good.

Roasted Tomato Soup

1 1/4 lb. Ripe Tomatoes (about 4 Large Tomatoes)
1/3 Medium Yellow Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tsp. Salt
Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream or Half and Half, optional


1. Preheat the oven to 350′. Cut the tomatoes and onion into wedges. Spread them on a rimmed baking sheet – don't separate onion pieces too much or the thin pieces will burn. Drizzle with the olive oil (I didn't measure this, I just drizzled some from the bottle) and sprinkle the salt and a generous amount of pepper on top. Tuck the garlic cloves somewhere in a tomato, so they don’t burn. Roast on the middle rack for 30-40 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and everything is looking roasted. Remove and cool slightly.
2. Warm the broth and stir in the tomato paste to dissolve. Add the all of the ingredients from the roasting pan into the broth and let it gently simmer for 5-10 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup in the pan – if you pour the soup into a regular blender, hold the lid on very tight when you start to blend because the steam will force the soup up and it will splatter everywhere! The soup should be smooth, with a tiny bit of texture. Return it back to the pot, and add the cream to taste (I didn't use this), if using. Taste for salt and pepper.
3. Serve with some garlic bread or broil a few slices with a piece of mozzarella on top.

**I didn't use the cream and I didn't miss it.