Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite thing to do with cookie dough isn't to bake cookies. It's to eat it. Raw, preferably after thawing for a few moments because it's just better after it's been frozen. This practice is enough to make my husband gag since he's not into any form of raw dough. I've introduced our boys to bread dough (no egg since they break out) and he shudders at that too. 

These baked cookies are his favorite though. He loves to come home and see them cooling on the pan. Kevin's always there to beg a bite too, as if he's not eaten any. 

 

Here's to cookies! Make them all and share with someone. Or make a pan, roll the rest of the dough into balls, and freeze for later. The toasted pecans are my favorite part but Justin doesn't like them. Also- I've never tried to freeze the dough with nuts. I wouldn't think it would be a problem but you let me know if you try it. 

(This did some from an old cookbook of my mama's. We've made it for years.)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
other additions of your choice (white chocolate chips, m&m's, candy bar chunks, etc.)

To toast pecans, melt one tablespoon butter in an oven-safe dish and add chopped pecans. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, stirring two or three times. You should start to smell a heavenly aroma. (You can also do this on the stovetop in a dry pan for a shorter amount of time but what's the fun in that?)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. 

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars.

Beat in eggs and vanilla until just combined. 

Add flour mixture in thirds and mix well after each addition. 

Stir in toasted pecans and chocolate chips. 

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden. 

Transfer to wire rack to cool. 

Then you eat them. It'll brighten up your Monday. 

Executive Chef

Justin and I have been watching "Chef Wanted." Restaurants in need of an executive chef are provided with four options by Anne Burrell. They complete a series of challenges and after each challenge one person is fired, I mean, "their job interview is over." It's quite entertaining to watch the chefs decide how to best complete the challenges and showcase their best work. 

I am the executive chef in our home. Doesn't that sound fancy? But I prepare the menus, shop for the food, manage the budget, train the sous chefs (if they are big enough), and prepare the food. 

Of course I clean up too and I don't think they normally do that but I have to be more diverse. 

It's challenging to take a look at my work from a different angle. Feeding my family is just as important to me as feeding a restaurant full of strangers is to an executive chef.  More so actually, I'm sure, as I love these people who fill my home. 

It is truly a labor of love. Cooking takes a lot of work.  Three times a day, every single day. (There are multiple times that I have wondered why I can't give everyone a banana and send them to bed.)

But my children will have memories of our fellowship around the table, enjoying the food. Memories of learning to cook, sharing time in the kitchen. 

We have to eat to survive, but I desire to make our times gathered around the table memorable moments. That is my goal as a homemaker: to give our life here spirit and love. 

She is like the merchants' ship; she bringeth her food from afar. Proverbs 31:14

Adapting One Pot Meals: Creating Your Own Hamburger Helper

One pot meals are the best! I love how quick they are to fix and how fast they are to clean up (especially in a non-stick skillet!).  I can't remember the last time I actually bought hamburger helper because this is so simple. 

1 lb. ground beef

1 can tomato sauce

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cups water

chili spices (your choice) 

1 beef bouillon cube

1 cup small shells

3/4 cup frozen peas

2 cups cheddar

Brown meat in pan with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and steak seasoning. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir in water, bouillon cube, and chili spices. Bring to a boil and add in pasta. Turn down to a simmer and cook for approximately six minutes and add peas. When pasta is cooked, stir in cheddar until cheese is melted. Serve. 

See? Quick and simple. 

Doesn't it look amazing? 

And the even better thing is how easy it is to change this up. 

You need meat (or not, whatever you want), liquid (chicken broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, milk, beef broth, enchilada sauce, etc), veggies, and a starch.  And cheese! I love cheese. You can really use about any combination you want. 

I make spaghetti this way. Hamburger, tomato paste, 3 cups chicken broth, 8 oz. spaghetti, and parmesan cheese. 

Stroganoff? Hamburger, make a roux with flour and the grease, add milk or beef broth, then add in noodles and some sour cream at the end. Yum! 

Alfredo?  Chicken, mushrooms, roux, chicken broth (or milk), whipping cream, noodles, and broccoli and parmesan at the end. 

(Change the pasta shapes just for fun. I love interesting pasta shapes!)

Serve with bread and a salad. Or absolutely nothing else if you're really hungry! 

What flavor combinations can you imagine? 

Kitchen Changes

Around here food prices have gone up! Up! UP! Ok, maybe it's not been that drastic but I can tell a marked difference in prices before Kevin was born and now.  (Don't think there's any correlation. haha) So I'm been trying a few new tactics to save money and help us eat healthier. 

1. I've been buying dried beans and cooking and freezing them. Canned beans aren't that expensive but this is still cheaper. And they have much less sodium this way. 

2. I found a recipe for "cream of....soup" substitute. I've made it but not used it yet. I'll let you know how it turns out. This is much cheaper and avoids all the ingredients you can't pronounce. 

3. I'm making my own chicken broth. Since I had Kevin I've been roasting a whole pan of chicken to cube and freeze. This time I used bone-in chicken breasts and kept the bones and discards for the broth. I tossed it all in the crock-pot with some cut up veggies and seasoning (and water!) and let it cook overnight. It smelled amazing, tastes great, and is much healthier! I put it in freezer safe plastic bowls and froze it. Hurray! And I love that I made it with stuff I would throw away. 

4. I am going to mix up my own muffin mix, brownie mix, and hot chocolate mix. Again, cheaper and minus all the preservatives and additives so it has to be healthier.  These haven't been done yet but I'll get to them this week! 

How do you save money and/or eat healthier? 

Freezer Cooking: Last Update

This will be the last update because, well, my freezer is full! As in, if I put something else in there I would have to sit in on the ice :) And I'm glad about this because if there were more room I would feel compelled to make more to go in there! Now I'm just done with it! 

 

So for the countdown:

2 bags shepherd's pie filling
2 bags chicken pot pie filling
6 bags of pancakes (3 apiece)
3 bags mashed potatoes
4 bags of Micah's mashed potatoes (1 serving apiece)
1 lasagna
1 pizza casserole
1 broccoli chicken casserole
7 hamburger patties
5 sausage patties
8 pounds browned and seasoned hamburger
4 bags cooked cubed chicken
8 individual sized pizza crusts
3 balls of pizza dough (1 large pizza apiece)
1 pound meatballs

And then, of course, there's hamburger, chicken, fish, and vegetables in there too. I'm so glad to be finished with that!

Freezer Cooking Update

No feeling behind here! I got off to a good start with the freezer cooking and I'm so glad!

Let's see, we've frozen:

8 pounds of browned and seasoned hamburger meat

1 pound of meatballs

4 bags of cooked, cubed chicken (roughly 1 1/2 cups apiece)

7 hamburger patties

3 balls of pizza dough (1 large crust apiece)

8 individual sized pizza crusts

3 packs of pancakes, 3 apiece



Not bad for one week's work, I don't think. I would still like to make a few casseroles this week and freeze them and maybe work on the mashed potatoes. But even if this was all I got done, I'd be happy. This was very helpful after Micah was born and I've already done a lot more this time!