Mmm. Cookies.

I love the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookies.  But I will admit that over the years, my consistency has been non existent... or maybe I was consistent... cause usually my cookies were always flat!  But still delicious, I saw no reason to stray from my usual recipe.  But....

...then I wondered... "Could this amazing cookie be better?"  My answer was "yes, yes it can!"

One day, on accident. I did it.  They were the perfect height, consistency, everything -- but I didn't know what I did differently!  So after that I was determined to try again... AND remember!

So here it is.  Perfection at its finest.  Enjoy.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 4 dozen

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or stick margarine, softened*
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
handful of course sea salt

*The butter is the trick!  If straight of the fridge, put the sticks in the microwave for 5 sec. Flip, then do 5 more sec. Then that's it!  It's really not that much softer, but just enough-- that's why the electric mixer works better than a spoon cause its still really too cold to mix with a spoon.  And if you leave your batter out too long, you need to put it back in the fridge to get the butter colder again.

1. Heat oven to 375
2. Beat sugars, butter, vanilla (let the vanilla run over a little!!) & egg in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed (or with a spoon, but I use a mixer).  Stir in flour, baking soda & salt.  Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown (centers will be soft). *don't overcook!!!
5. When removed from oven, immediately sprinkle with course sea salt.

(Betty Crocker's recipe + course sea salt)

No more tears

This is one of the best cooking tips ever!

If you hold a silver spoon or bread in your mouth while you are chopping onions, YOU WILL NOT CRY!!!!  How great is that?  I was cutting an onion just a couple days ago, bawling my eyes out! Tonight, not one tear.  I could slightly feel the burn, but that's it.  It was lovely.  I looked ridiculous.  But it was worth it.  And I got to eat the bread after.  So good.

French Toast with Berry Butter

This morning we had Pioneer Woman's French Toast with Berry Butter. Yes, please.  We love a good french toast.

The Berry Butter melts on the hot french toast and leaves you with bits of berries. Yum.

French Toast with Berry Butter

makes 12 slices; serves 3-4 (depending on how many slices you like to eat-- we eat 4 each!)

• 1/2 pound Unsalted Butter, Softened (1 stick)
• 1/4 cup Raspberries
• 1/4 cup Blackberries

• 1 loaf Crusty Bread: Baguette, French Loaf, Etc.
• 2 whole Egg Yolks
• 1 cup Half-and-half
• 1/2 Tablespoon Sugar (3 tsp)
• 1 teaspoons Vanilla
• Zest Of half a Lemon
• Maple Syrup For Serving
• Sifted Powder Sugar, For Serving (optional)

* she made a lot more butter & in 2 separate berry batches-- I cut the amount of butter down by a lot (cause we had an insane amount left over) & mixed the berries because I think that would be wonderful

* make berry butter the night before

Preparation Instructions

Berry Butter:

Whip the butter on high using the whisk attachment. Switch to paddle attachment. Add berries. Turn mixer on low for only about five seconds, just long enough for the berries to begin to mix in/break up, but not so long that it turns into a mess. 

Turn mixture out onto a long sheet of plastic wrap set over a long sheet of foil. Use the wrap/foil to roll the butter into a cylinder: first seal the plastic wrap around the cylinder, then secure the foil around it. Twist the ends, gradually applying more pressure as you twist in order to make the cylinder taut.

Once it's a nice, neat cylinder of foil, place into the freezer for 30 minutes in order to quickly solidify it, then transfer it to the fridge until you're ready to use it. Butter should be nice and firm.

NOTE: You can add a little sifted powdered sugar to the butter to make more of a sweet spread for bread and muffins! For French toast, though, the maple syrup makes things sweet enough.

French Toast:

To make the french toast, cut bread into slices 1/2 inch thick. In a dish, mix together egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla. Whisk to combine. Dip bread slices in mixture, coating both sides, then remove from dish and set aside. Repeat until all bread is coated.

Heat iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. Sizzle butter in the pan when hot. Cook French toast on both sides until golden brown, being careful not to burn.

Remove berry butters from fridge. Unwrap one end and cut slices. Lay one slice each onto each serving of French toast. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired, then drizzle with warm maple syrup.

* keep left over Berry Butter in freezer

Garlicky Kale + White Bean Stew

                                                   

I just made this tonight.  It's seriously amazing!  I don't know for sure how long it took me -- but it wasn't long! Super easy to make!  The hardest part is cutting the onion! Once I had it all in the pot I let it simmer for about 5 min. then served it.  I'm sure it will be even better if we had any leftovers to sit all night! ...but we didn't cause we ate it all!  So next time I'm for sure doubling it so that we can have some for later!

Here's the recipe:

Garlicky Kale + White Bean Stew

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
Knob of coconut oil or ghee
2 medium onions
6 cloves garlic, sliced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, but really delicious)
5 bay leaves
Pinch chili flakes
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
2- 2 ½ cups cooked white beans (lima, butter, navy, cannelini…)
2 cups packed shredded kale leaves
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can (14 oz.) organic whole tomatoes
Cold-pressed olive oil to garnish

Directions:
1. Heat a knob of oil in a large stockpot. Slice onions and add to the pot with a couple pinches sea salt, chili, bay leaves and paprika. Cook for a few minutes until the onions have softened, then add sliced garlic. If the post becomes dry, add a little juice from the tinned tomatoes.
2. Add all other ingredients, bring to a boil, season to taste, and serve with a drizzle of olive oil (since everything is cooked, you don’t need to heat it long). If you are going to let it simmer for a while, add the kale about 5-10 minutes before serving so that it retains more of its nutritional value.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

Fall = Pumpkin obsession.  First, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles.  Also on the queue, Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins.  I'm considering Pumpkin Monkey Bread as well.  Yes, please to all.  And more to come I'm sure!


Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda,  salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed.
4. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon for rolling in a shallow bowl. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar mixture, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart
5. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Yields: 4 dozen

Source: Via Sweet Pea's Kitchen -- inspired by Recipe Girl, barley adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, February, 2005

"Italian" french toast.

{ "Italian" French Toast }

INGREDIENTS:

2 pound loaf panettone (I couldn't find this, so I just bought a loaf of Italian sweet bread)

4 large eggs plus 2 yolks (I forgot to put the extra 2 yolks... still tasted yummy!)

1 1/2 cup half n' half

1/4 cup amaretto liqueur

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

zest grated from one orange (I didn't do this cause I don't really like orange)

5-6 tablespoons butter, as needed

 PREPARATION:

1. Remove paper from panettone. Divide loaf into quarters, wrap and put away one quarter. Slice each quarter into two 1" thick slices – you will be slicing off a rounded side on each quarter – eat, save or discard. You will have six, tall, 1" thick slices.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients except for the butter. Heat a large sauté pan – one large enough to comfortable hold three slices without crowding. Add butter and heat until fragrant and foaming.
3. Dip each piece of panettone into the egg mixture, about a "five count" for each side (If you use Italian sweet bread like I did, don't soak it, just dip it - unless you like your french toast soggy, then soak it!).   Let excess drip from the bread back into the bowl. Fry three pieces at a time, maintaining a low, steady heat, cooking until each side is browned – approx 3 - 4 minutes per side. This yields a tender, custardy interior with a crispier exterior. Add butter as needed and repeat with remaining three slices of panettone.
4. The bread is quite sweet as is. Suggested serving: topped with butter-toasted sliced almonds and a dusting of 10x sugar (we served ours with powdered sugar, syrup & pecans! MMM).

what's for dinner.

Rustic Squash Tart

From: Lynn Bird

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 small yellow squash cut in rounds

1 small zucchini cut in rounds

2 shallots thinly sliced or 1 small onion thinly sliced

2 peppers (red, yellow or green) cut in strips

1 large plum or roma tomato thinly sliced

2 cloves chopped/minced garlic

Freshly ground pepper

salt

1 refrigerator pie crust (brought to room temp.)

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey jack, etc)

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or marjoram or rosemary (or all 3!)

1 large egg, beaten

*cooked chicken could be used too

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add veggies until crisp-tender (however you like them). Stir in garlic, thyme/marjoram/rosemary and pepper (also can add a bit of salt).

Unroll the pie crust and roll into a 13 inch round, Place on pizza stone or cookie sheet.  Crumble ½ of the cheese over crust to within 2 inches of edge.  Arrange squash mixture, pepper strips and tomato slices on cheese. Cover with remaining cheese.  Fold edge of pie crust up over filling and brush crust with beaten egg.

Bake 35 to 40 min. until pastry is golden brown.

{ This recipe is very flexible!  I made it the other night & just used what veggies I had: 1 red bell pepper, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1 japanese eggplant, 3 small carrots... and I didn't have the fresh thyme, marjoram or rosemary, so I used a sprinkle of each in dried form -- still tasted great!

Thanks for the great recipe, Mom! }

first solids.

Today we began a new journey with our little guy -- solid food!  We started him with rice cereal.  He has a little over a week before he turns 6 months, but we thought we'd give it a try today because we were both home with Wes & Scott will be traveling some soon so we wanted to begin before that.

Here's the video:

I think he really liked it!  He struggled a little at the beginning, but he finished all of it!! So fun!

I'm planning on just rice cereal for the first few weeks, then we'll move onto fruits then veggies.  And my plan is to puree it all myself!  (I hope this lasts cause I'm pretty excited about it!)  

Here's the website that I'm using to learn how to do it.  And here is the schedule I'm using to begin this whole eating solids process.

cake mix cookies.

Scott's Bible study started in 30 minutes... I decided I wanted to make the boys some cookies -- but I'm out of most ingredients I needed.  So what does that mean??  Cake mix cookies to the rescue!

This is soo easy & quick & they taste really yummy.  You can be really creative with them, add whatever you want like chocolate chips, nuts, etc. AND use any flavor of cake mix you like/have too.

Enjoy.

Cake Mix Cookies.
Prep Time: 10 min.  

Cook Time: 8 min.

Ready in 25 min.
Makes 2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• *1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or other chips or nuts, etc.
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, butter and eggs until smooth and well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.