Random Thoughts.....What Are You Thinking?

Ingredients
1½ pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes (baby red potatoes also work well)
1 sprig rosemary 3 sprigs thyme
2 cups low sodium chicken broth, plus ½ cup more if necessary
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for topping
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
Directions
In a 10″ nonstick skillet, arrange the baby potatoes so that they fit together neatly but with a bit extra room. You’ll have to flatten them out later, so they need a little space.
Add in the rosemary, thyme, chicken broth, olive oil, 1 tablespoon butter, and kosher salt. Heat the pan to high and bring to a boil. Once the broth boils, reduce the heat to medium, add in the garlic, and (almost) cover the skillet, leaving a very small opening for excess steam to escape. Make sure the broth continues to boil for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily punctured with a fork.
If the liquid has all absorbed, add the additional ½ cup of chicken broth. You could also use water here if you don’t have enough broth, or a combination of the two. You want the liquid to cover about ⅓ way up the potatoes at this point.
Remove the pan from the heat and use a meat mallet, wooden spoon, or back of a measuring cup to press down on the tops of the potatoes lightly until the skin cracks and they flatten out a bit.
Return the potatoes to high heat, uncovered, and cook until the liquid evaporates and the potatoes are browned on the bottom, about 12 minutes.
Remove the potatoes from heat again, turn the potatoes, scrape up any burnt bits, and add the last tablespoon of butter to the pan. Press the other sides of the potatoes to crack and flatten them more if necessary. Sprinkle the potatoes with parsley and cook until the other side is browned, about 5 minutes.
Serve warm and sprinkled with salt.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, or up to 2 and 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ sticks (6 oz) salted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together the cooled melted butter and the sugars with a hand-mixer for about one minute. Then, add in the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until just combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredients and mix briefly, just until there are no flour clumps left. Fold in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to an hour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F, making sure you have the racks in the middle of the oven.
Scoop ¼ cup of cookie dough at a time and roll into balls. Then, tear the balls in half by pulling gently on both sides. Smush the two halves together again, but this time have the lumpy, torn sides face upward. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure the cookies have plenty of space to spread.
Bake for about 12 minutes, rotating half-way through, or until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden, but the center of the cookie still looks soft and just slightly under-cooked. Let cool on the baking sheets until the cookies are firm enough to remove. Every oven is different, so I recommend starting with just one or two cookies on the tray to see what baking time works best for you!
Repeat with remaining batches, until all cookies are baked. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk!
EDIT: Also, if your cookie dough is too, too wet and sticky, it probably means that your 2 cups + 2 tablespoons of flour was less dense than mine (sometimes it's hard when you're measuring flour by cups instead of weight). Add up to 1/4 cup more, adding a tiny bit at a time. The dough should still be sticky but you want it to be able to hold its shape. Oh, and take my advice about the test batch of 1 or 2 cookies. You can have the greatest cookie recipe in the whole world, but the time will vary depending on your oven! The key to perfect cookies is knowing how to adjust for your kitchen!
EDIT 2: I just realized that I accidentally wrote 1 3/4 cup chocolate chips-- I used 1 1/2 cups in this batch! Sorry for the typo

INGREDIENTS
For the Waffle Nuggets:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into small chunks
Vegetable oil, for frying, plus ½ cup for the batter
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1⅓ cups milk
⅓ - ½ cup maple syrup
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Dip:
1 part honey
1 part maple syrup
1 part honey mustard
DIRECTIONS
Divide the egg yolks and whites in separate bowls. Beat the yolks and set aside. Whip the egg whites until they're stiff and set aside.
In a large, high-walled skillet, heat about one inch high of oil over medium-high heat.
As the oil is heating up, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the ½ cup vegetable oil, 1⅓ cups milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla, beaten egg yolks, and ⅓ - ½ cup maple syrup, depending on how maple-y you want your nuggets to taste.
Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until combined.
Fold in the stiffened egg whites. Do not over-mix, you don't want the egg whites to entirely deflate. It's okay if the batter is slightly lumpy.
Test to see if the oil is hot enough by dipping the end of a wooden spoon into the pan. If the oil bubbles around it after a second or two, you're ready to go!
Dust the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of flour and then dip the chicken into the batter. Let excess drip off and quickly place in the oil, making sure not to overcrowd the pan. Fry until golden brown and cooked through, flipping once, about 4 minutes. If you notice that the outside of your chicken is browning far too quickly, reduce the heat to medium.
Let the chicken nuggets drain off extra oil by setting them on a paper towel as you fry up the remaining batches.
Once all of the chicken has been cooked, mix together honey mustard, honey, and maple syrup for dipping.

Ingredients 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” pieces) 1 cup cornstarch, divided 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil ½ cup sugar ½ cup low sodium soy sauce ½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice ⅓ cup vinegar (white distilled or apple cider) 4 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon dried ginger Green onions, chopped, to top Rice and broccoli, to serve
Directions Combine ¾ cups cornstarch, the salt, and the pepper in a shallow dish. Dip the chicken pieces in the cornstarch mixture to coat, shake off excess, and set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces. It should take less than 2 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside. In the slow cooker, combine the sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne. Stir to mix well. Add the chicken to the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. Check 20 minutes before serving and make sure your sauce is thick enough. If not, take the remaining ¼ cup of cornstarch and mix it with ¼ cup cold water until a slurry forms. Then, gently mix it into the chicken and sauce, being careful not to scrape the cornstarch coating off of the chicken. Cook for another 20 minutes, and then serve over broccoli and rice. Top with chopped green onion.
Edit: I think I should clarify due to some debate in the thread, the chicken is crisp in that you can definitely tell there is a nice layer of coating from pan frying in the cornstarch, but it is not as crispy as deep fried General Tsos would be. It is not mushy at all though, as one commenter suggested, or at least not in my experience with the recipe.

INGREDIENTS
For the Pull-Apart Pretzels:
1½ cups warm water
2¼ teaspoons (1 packet) active dry yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
4½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons Kosher salt
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and let cool
¼ cup baking soda, for baking solution
8 cups water, for baking solution
1 whole egg, lightly beaten, for brushing
Kosher salt, for topping
For the Beer Cheese Dip:
1 8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon ranch seasoning packet
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
½ cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
⅓ cup beer of your choice
1 green onion, chopped, to garnish (optional)
DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl or bowl of a countertop stand mixer, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes, or until it gets a bit foamy. If it gets foamy, it means that your yeast is good and you're set to continue. If it never gets foamy, your yeast might be bad and your pretzels will not turn out, so make sure you do check!
Stir in 3½ cups of the flour, the Kosher salt, and the melted butter. Mix until well combined. Slowly add more flour, a bit at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky and pulls away from the edges of the bowl. You may use the entire 4½ cups, or you might need a bit less.
Lift the dough from the bowl and spray the bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough back down, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Line a pan with parchment paper and spray your skillet or baking dish with nonstick spray.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 16 equal-sized pieces. Take each piece and shape into balls by pulling each corner toward the middle and pinching together. Place pinched-side down on the parchment paper lined sheet. Loosely cover again with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise again for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Bring the 8 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Once the water is boiling, slowly add in the baking soda. Make sure you add it slowly or the water could boil over!
Put the rolls (1-3 at a time, depending on how big your pot is), in the water pinched side down. Boil for 30 seconds, then flip and boil the other side for another 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pretzel rolls from the water and place back on the baking sheet to cool. Continue until all of the pretzels have been boiled in the baking solution.
Arrange the pretzels around the outside of the prepared skillet. Squeeze them together so they fit snugly. You may not be able to fit all of the pretzels-- if not, that's okay. You can bake the remaining ones separately.
Cover once more and let sit for 5 minutes. As you wait, prepare the Beer Cheese Dip. Combine the cream cheese and ranch seasoning in a medium-sized bowl using a handheld mixer. Slowly add in a bit of beer and a bit of shredded cheese as you blend, until all has been added.
Scoop the Beer Cheese Dip into the center of the skillet.
Brush the pretzels with the beaten egg, and then sprinkle with Kosher salt. Using a sharp knife, make X-shaped slices in the top of the pretzel rolls. It's okay if they're not perfect, mine never are.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the pretzels are deep golden brown and the cheese has browned on top. Sprinkle the cheese with chopped green onion and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.