Portobello Gravy

I am a fan of Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen from RealAge. I get a weekly newsletter on Email from RealAge with the newest health news and sometimes it includes recipes. When I saw this recipe

I was so excited. My husband and I try to eat healthy most of the time. We both love mushrooms so I thought this would be good. It was better than good, it was great! The first time we ate it I poured it over garlic mashed potatoes and a rotisserie chicken from Costco. It was a perfect meal. I had leftovers the next day so I added some fat free half and half. It made a delicious creamy mushroom soup. When you eat this you will be surpised that it is so good for you. If you ate the whole batch it would only be 350 calories. I highly recommend this.

Portobello Gravy

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 each medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped cleaned portobello mushrooms (2 medium)
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons tamari or reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
Freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they begin to release their juices, about 10 minutes.
2. Add broth, tamari (or soy sauce), thyme and sage; simmer for 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir into the sauce and simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes more. Season with pepper. If you prefer a smooth gravy, pass it through a fine sieve (discard mushrooms and onions). Serve hot.

Per serving (8 servings)
Calories: 44
Carbohydrates: 5g
Fat: 2g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Monounsaturated Fat: 1g
Protein: 1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Potassium: 100mg
Sodium: 510mg

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of the gifts my husband bought for me for our first Christmas together was a cookbook titled "The New Best Recipe" by the people at Cook's Illustrated. I am not sure if he knew it at the time but it's a really great cookbook. I have heard many people rave about the chocolate chip cookie recipe so I decided to give them a try. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. I have made them many times and I usually pre measure the dough balls and freeze them. That way I can always have fresh hot cookies and I only have a few to tempt me. When I do this I cook them for 18 minutes.
One thing I have learned from this recipe is to weigh my ingredients instead of measuring them. It makes it so much easier. You get the exact amount every time and use less measuring cups so there is less to clean up. I now do this for all of my baking and cooking.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), 7 ounces
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.
3. Following illustrations below, form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)
4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.