Really Good Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made these Chocolate Chip cookies today and they are the very best ever...they actually looked better than any other cookie I have ever made.  I only had medium sized eggs and the batter turned out dry so I added an additional egg and that did that trick.  The picture has 3 tiny cookies at the top left and those are the ones I made first...without the extra egg...They were so dry I could pick up the batter and roll it into a ball...then I added the extra egg and they were still stiff enough to handle with your hands but came out better.

2 cups plus 2 tbl flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tbl) butter, melted & cooled until warm
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the dry ingredients. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and the egg. Mix well. Add the vanilla. Incorporate the flour mixture. Add the Chocolate chips. Put big scoops onto a cookie sheet. Space a couple inches apart. Bake for 10-14 minutes (in my oven, I baked them 14 minutes). Don't overbake! They will appear underdone, but they aren't. They are working their magic to become chewy. Cool for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Shepherds Pie

 This is what I made last night for dinner and it was really yummy!  Let me know if you try it out and if you did anything different to it.

Shepherds Pie

4 cups Water

2 cups Potato Pearls

1 can Diced Tomatoes

2 cups Shredded Cheddar

1 can Green Beans  

½ cup Milk

1 pint Beef (drained) or 1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained

1 T Olive Oil

2 t Salt

1 t Minced Garlic

2 t Pepper

Boil the 4 cups water and then add the potato pearls. (You can do this at the same time you do the following.) In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef (already cooked and canned, drained), up to 2 teaspoons salt and up to 2 teaspoons black pepper to taste. Heat through (If you have raw beef then brown the beef and drain) and then add the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the green beans (drained) and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes (drained) and cook a few more minutes. Add ½ cup milk and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve for later use. Spread half of the potatoes in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour in the meat mixture, and top with the remaining mashed potatoes. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake until bubbly and golden brown, about 30 min.