Pasta with Spinach, Gorgonzola, and Walnuts

Ingredients
Kosher salt
8 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves (10 lightly packed cups)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
12 oz. dried penne (3-1/2 cups)
3/4 cup heavy cream
2-1/2 oz. crumbled Gorgonzola (1/2 cup) Freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh chives


Preparation
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Put the spinach in a colander in the sink.
Toast the walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven until dark golden-brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.
Cook the penne according to package directions. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta in the colander over the spinach.
Put the cream, Gorgonzola, 1/4 tsp. pepper, and a pinch of salt in a 12-inch nonstick skillet and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, add the pasta and spinach, and 2 Tbs. each of the walnuts and chives. Cook, stirring constantly, until some of the sauce is absorbed by the pasta, about 2 minutes. If necessary, add some of the cooking water to moisten the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowls, sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs. walnuts and 1 Tbs. chives, and serve.

from Fine Cooking

Tastes like Tom Kha cilantro lime chicken

Ingredients 
2 lb chicken breasts or thighs, deboned 
4 limes juiced 
1 large bunch cilantro 
2 cans full-fat coconut milk 
4-6 cloves garlic 
2 T ginger
pinch salt

Optional:
Carrots
Green onions
Mushrooms

Instructions 
1. Simmer can of coconut milk over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until it begins to come to a low boil, stirring occasionally. 
2. Add garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper to food processor to create cilantro lime sauce. 
3. Add in cilantro lime sauce to skillet and stir to combine. 
4. Allow all ingredients to simmer in skillet until chicken is thoroughly cooked, another 5-10 minutes. 
5. Serve with rice.

Chocolate chip cookies

the best soft chocolate chip cookies

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• author: pinch of yum
• prep time: 10 mins
• cook time: 10 mins
• total time: 20 minutes
• yield: 12 cookies (or 9 if you make the cookies huuuge, which i often do)

DESCRIPTION

These are THE BEST soft chocolate chip cookies! No chilling required. Just ultra thick, soft, classic chocolate chip cookies!

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INGREDIENTS

• 8 tablespoons of salted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar (I like to use raw cane sugar with a coarser texture)
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (more as needed – see video)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (but I always add a little extra)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use a combination of chocolate chips and chocolate chunks)

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds to just barely melt it. It shouldn’t be hot – but it should be almost entirely in liquid form.
2. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat the butter with the sugars until creamy. Add the vanilla and the egg; beat on low speed until just incorporated – 10-15 seconds or so (if you beat the egg for too long, the cookies will be stiff).
3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until crumbles form. Use your hands to press the crumbles together into a dough. It should form one large ball that is easy to handle (right at the stage between “wet” dough and “dry” dough). Add the chocolate chips and incorporate with your hands.
4. Roll the dough into 12 large balls (or 9 for HUGELY awesome cookies) and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden.Warning, friends: DO NOT OVERBAKE. This advice is probably written on every cookie recipe everywhere, but this is essential for keeping the cookies soft. Take them out even if they look like they’re not done yet (see picture in the post). They’ll be pale and puffy.
5. Let them cool on the pan for a good 30 minutes or so (I mean, okay, eat four or five but then let the rest of them cool). They will sink down and turn into these dense, buttery, soft cookies that are the best in all the land. These should stay soft for many days if kept in an airtight container. I also like to freeze them.

NOTES

The 3 most important things about this recipe are 1) melting the butter, 2) adding enough flour, and 3) not baking for too long.
If you find that the dough is wet and it REALLY sticks to your hands, you probably need a little more flour. This is important otherwise you’ll have flat cookies. I’ll usually add a few tablespoons at a time to get it to the right consistency. See video in post for reference. You should be able to roll the balls of dough between your hands without any issues.

From our recipe tester:
If you’re running into issues with your cookies, you can reference the examples above to help find out what may have gone wrong.
One of the keys to achieving the perfect cookie is to ensure the correct amount of flour is used. Ideally, the flour should be weighed. In testing, we found that 6.75 ounces of flour was the correct amount. Without a food scale, don’t pack the flour into measuring cups and always level the flour off.

Creamy One Pot Spinach Orzo

Serves: Serves 4-6  

Ingredients 
1½ tablespoons butter 
½ cup diced onion 
1 garlic clove, minced 
2 cups whole-wheat orzo 
2½ cups low-sodium chicken stock 
½ teaspoon salt 
½ cup heavy cream 
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish 
2½ cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped 

Instructions 
1. Heat a medium pot to a medium heat. Add butter. Add onion and garlic. Saute until slightly softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add orzo. Toss to coat in butter, Toast orzo, stirring often, until some pieces are slightly brown. 
2. Add chicken stock and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes or until orzo is aldente and most of the chicken stock has been absorbed. You may need to stir halfway through to prevent the orzo from sticking. If the orzo is still not done once the liquid has absorbed add in another ¼ cup of chicken stock. 
3. Once the liquid has been almost absorbed and the orzo is aldente, add heavy cream, parmesan cheese and spinach. Stir until spinach has wilted and cheese has melted. 
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with more parmesan cheese.  

from http://www.cookingforkeeps.com/creamy-one-pot-spinach-orzo/