Sara's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Confession: I don't use the back of the nestle tollhouse bag to make chocolate chip cookies and I don't even use nestle tollhouse morsels. 😱 A few years back I reviewed several recipes and tried different techniques and came up with a recipe that I believe is tried and true. The only place my recipe was saved was in an email to myself and I always had to search my gmail recipe folder each time I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies. So today I decided to make it all pretty and post it to my blog.

Ingredients:
1/2 c salted butter, softened
1/2 c Crisco shortening
1 c white sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 generous overflowing tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp hot water
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt
3 c AP flour
2 c milk chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Cream together butter, shortening, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.

Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Dissolve baking soda in 2t of hot water.

Add dissolved baking soda and cream of tartar to batter along with salt.

Stir in flour 1 c at a time then add chocolate chips 1 c at a time.

Use cookie scoop to drop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper*.
Bake for about 10 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.

*I just discovered these precut parchment sheets and I'm sold on them and totally suggest using them! There's no trimming needed and the edges don't curl up like it does off the roll.


These two told me my cookies are the best and they're pretty tough critics, so there you have it! 😉 They even told me they're better than Grammy's. (Sorry Mom!)

When Grady was almost done with his second cookie he said, 

"Momma, when we are grownups can we come visit and 

eat chocolate chip cookies with you??" 

Of course sweet boy, I certainly hope you do!! 😍

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

The first time I ate king ranch chicken casserole was at Moonshine's Sunday brunch a couple of years ago on our babymoon to Austin, TX. While browsing Pinterest recently, I came across a few recipes which reminded me of this yummy dish. There are several variations out there but I eventually landed on one and made several adaptations. Here is my rendition of king ranch chicken casserole. It was a big hit at our house this week! 

Recipe adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff

1 small yellow onion
1/2 c Mezzetta roasted bell peppers
1 can Ro*Tel original diced tomatoes & green chiles, undrained
4 cloves of garlic
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 T Mexican spice mixture*
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 bag thick corn tortilla chips
1 bag (2 c) shredded Mexican cheese blend
1/2 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Place (roughly chopped) onion, bell peppers, undrained can of Ro*Tel, and garlic cloves into food processor and pulse until thoroughly chopped. In a large mixing bowl, combine chopped veggies with cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and Mexican spice mixture. Add cubed raw chicken breast to the mixture. (If you have time, I found that letting the chicken and soup mixture marinate for a few hours in the fridge before assembling the casserole makes for really juicy flavorful chicken.) Line buttered 9x13 casserole dish with tortilla chips, top chips with chicken mixture, then top chicken mixture with 1 cup of Mexican cheese. Repeat chip, chicken mixture, and cheese layers once more. Lastly, sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of Mexican cheese. Bake uncovered at 350ºF for 45-55 minutes. Serve over roughly crushed corn tortilla chips and top with sour cream and guacamole.

*I keep a container of this Mexican spice mixture on hand at all times and use it in lieu of store bought taco seasoning packets. It can be used not only for tacos but it works great for fajitas, chili, or as a rub for roasted chicken/turkey/pork.

1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 t sea salt
1 t black pepper
1 t thyme
1/2 t white pepper
1/2 t paprika
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1/4 t dried oregano
1/4 t cayenne pepper

Mix spices together and keep in airtight container.

Baby Breakfast

[It would have been more appropriate if I would have named this post "Toddler Breakfast," but alas I did not because most of the time I still refer to my twins as "babies." Moving on.]

My friend Julie has made these really healthy pumpkin pancakes for her daughter, Finley, for a long time now and when my "babies" got old enough to eat things of that sort I asked her for the recipe. (I love being able to glean tricks of the trade from smart mommies who started into motherhood before me.)

I've made them 3 times now and I learned that when feeding two hungry mouths at a time, it's better to multiply the recipe roughly 7 times in order to make a big enough batch to make the process worthwhile. Also, after standing at the stove top messily pouring, burning, and flipping pancakes I decided that there had to be a better way to make them in mass quantities. I tried several different baking dishes and I've come to the conclusion that thinly spreading the batter evenly onto parchment lined cookie sheets is the best option. 

I found that baking each sheet at 350º for about 10-15 minutes worked really well. After letting the sheet cool completely, I slid the parchment and baked "pancakes" off the cookie sheet and cut it into squares. I placed the squares in a large ziploc baggy, alternating layers of pancakes with layers of wax paper/freezer paper and put them in the freezer. At breakfast time I just pop them in the toaster (like a frozen waffle) until they're warm throughout and serve them up.

The "babies" love them and I feel so good feeding them these pancakes because they are such an easy healthy option. I know I'm always needing ideas to feed my little ones, so I wanted to pass this along (and get it documented for me to refer back to). Feel free to comment with any recipe ideas for self-feeding babies/toddlers. I would love to have them! 

 adapted from source

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1 3/4 cups cottage cheese

4 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

8 eggs

4 tsp cinnamon

8 tbsp honey

Note: Quantities have been multiplied ~7x from source recipe to make a large freezer batch

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and blend with an immersion blender until batter is relatively smooth and all ingredients are fully mixed. Thinly spread batter evenly onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake at 350º for about 10-15 minutes or until firm and edges slightly harden. Let the cookie sheet cool completely and slide parchment along with baked "pancakes" off cookie sheet and cut into uniform squares. 

Freezer prep:

Place the pancake squares in a large ziploc baggy, alternating layers of squares with layers of wax paper/freezer paper and freeze. To serve put 3-4 squares into toaster (like a frozen waffle) until warm throughout and serve.

Project: Homemade Baby Food

I've made several small rounds of baby food lately, but last night and today I decided to prepare a bunch so I'd have a stockpile in the freezer. Since I chronicle recipes and baby stuff here, I wanted to record how and what I made for my reference, and maybe it might be useful to another mama too.

We are still on first foods and not really mixing yet, so I chose the following foods:

Ambrosia Apples - 4

Rome Apples - 2

Avocados - 4

Bananas - 2

Blueberries - 8 oz frozen bag

Carrots - 6

Bosc Pears - 2

Peas - 16 oz frozen bag

Sweet Potatoes - 4

Preparation for the chosen foods:

Apples - halve, core, bake on cookie sheet for 30 min at 425º, remove skins, puree 

Avocados - halve, remove pit, scoop meat out with a spoon, puree

Bananas - peel, mash with fork

Blueberries - boil in water for 15 minutes, drain, puree with small amount of reserved cooking water

Carrots - peel, chop, steam for 20 minutes, puree

Pears - peel, halve, core, bake on cookie sheet for 30 min at 425º, puree

Peas - boil in water for 6 minutes, drain, puree

Sweet Potatoes - bake on cookie sheet for 1 hour at 425º, remove skins, mash by hand or puree

After all the foods are mashed/pureed, transfer them to ice cube trays for freezing. I only have 4 ice cube trays and ran out of space in those, so I ended up using small food storage containers and leftover unused breast-milk collection cups from the NICU. After the foods are frozen, pop out the portions and separate appropriately into ziplock freezer bags. I labeled the bags with the food and date.

To serve, I thaw selected portions in the microwave for just a few seconds. After checking for hot spots, I stir in a little formula to desired consistency.

I've chosen to make most of my babies' food for a couple of reasons. If I make it, I know exactly what they're getting and it's hopefully more cost effective in the long run. I'm also silly and plagued with mom guilt and I feel like since I couldn't give them my breast-milk for very long, the least I could do is make them fresh good food. It's more work on the prep side, but after it's made up, it's super convenient to get the individually frozen servings out of the freezer.

After a day of taking care of my munchkins (who were detoxing from Thanksgiving craziness), grocery shopping, cooking, doing laundry, and making baby food, I rewarded myself with this.

And this is for my Aunt Tamara, so she can see the babies in some more of the Christmas duds she bought them. :)

Poppy Seed Chicken with Havarti Cheese

You know those friends who are rockstars and completely keep you afloat during life's biggest trials? Well, my friend Julie is a complete rockstar friend. She's probably not going to like the fact that I'm bragging on her here but, that's okay. During our crazy exhausting NICU days she would not let me get away with telling her we didn't need anything. She went grocery shopping for us, let herself into our house, stocked our fridge and freezer with food, made us her awesome homemade granola bars, and left hot ready-to-eat meals for us after some really long days. She blessed us big time!

One of the meals she made for us was Poppy Seed Chicken with Havarti Cheese. It was a hit with Tom and I. I got the recipe from her via Vanderbilt Wife a while back and finally got around to making it last Monday. This recipe will be in our regular dinner rotation now. Thanks Jules!

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

3 oz. Havarti cheese, diced or shredded (I used sliced deli Havarti)

4 1/2 T butter, divided

3 T flour

1 1/2 c. milk

2 tsp. chicken base or bouillon (I used sodium free Herb-Ox bouillon packets)

1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

1 T poppy seeds

1/3 c. plain yogurt (I used plain Greek yogurt)

1/3 c. soft bread crumbs (I used panko bread crumbs)

Melt 3 T butter. Whisk in 3 T flour. Whisk for one minute until bubbly. Whisk in milk; stir continuously for 5 minutes or until thickened. Add salt, pepper, and boullion. Remove from heat.

Stir in chicken, cheese, and poppy seeds. Keep stirring until cheese is melted. Fold in yogurt. Pour into buttered casserole dish.

Top with bread crumbs; dot with butter. Cook at 350º for 40-50 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles (I served over white basmati rice).

Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken with Biscuits

Today was a FULL day, full in a fun way. The babies and I ventured out in the world with "Grammy" (my mom). Because I knew I would be away from the house from 10:30am to ?, I prepped dinner early (as in 5:30am, before the babies' 6:00am feeding). I deboned a whole chicken that I made in the crock-pot overnight, then it was time to feed the babies. After the babies were fed and put back down, I prepped and assembled the ingredients for a new recipe I wanted to try:

Slow-Cooker Creamy Chicken with Biscuits

source: Real Simple

*My side notes:

I did not use dry white wine because I didn't have any. I added roughly diced small gold potatoes because I had some on hand and thought, why not? I didn't use poultry seasoning because I didn't have any. Instead I just used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and sage as the seasonings. I used already cooked & shredded chicken, for some reason I don't like adding raw chicken to crock-pot recipes. The recipe mentions using drop biscuits, but I used Grand's canned biscuits because that's what I had in the fridge. I had to thicken it a little after it had cooked all day. I did so by stirring in a shaken mixture of milk and cornstarch. It ended up being a tasty warm meal on a slightly cool and dreary fall day.

early morning prep &  clean up...

my finished product...

served over bottom half of biscuit, topped with 

sharp cheddar cheese and top half of biscuit...

and just because they're cute...my 'lil punkins...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I  had an abnormally productive day today. In addition to taking care of my 4 1/2 month olds, I baked 2 dozen pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, did 2 loads of laundry, cooked dinner, and washed lots of dishes and bottles. I definitely can't keep up the pace I kept today!

While I was baking I decided that I would blog the muffin recipe after the babies were in bed.

source: tastykitchen

my finished product...

my assistant muffin maker...

while I made our dinner...

wren made this...ewww!

Fall Pasta

Fall is here! There is a crisp in the air, I am wearing a zip-up hoodie, my windows are open, and I've been burning my pumpkin scented candles. I am thoroughly enjoying my favorite season.

I made one of my staple fall dishes for dinner last night. I've never shared this recipe on my blog before so I figured I should now.

It's called Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta by Rachel Ray. Now, I know it sounds weird to use pumpkin in a pasta but it is so yummy, don't turn your nose up until you've tried it. An added benefit is that pumpkin is high in fiber, just 1 cup of canned pumpkin provides 7.1 g of fiber.

source: foodnetwork

*My side notes:

I omit the hot sauce, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I have tried using cinnamon and nutmeg in it before but it isn't savory enough for me with those two spices in it. Unlike the recipe, I just use dried sage (heavy handedly because I love sage) in the sauce mixture rather than fresh sage as a garnish at the end. In addition to the sauteed garlic, I add a little dried garlic powder into the sauce mixture as well because I can never have enough garlic. Also, I take some of the "wise" out of the recipe because I don't use whole-wheat pasta. The texture of whole-wheat pasta is odd to me, so I go with the regular stuff.  I also like to experiment with different shapes. Last night I used half cellentani and half penne pasta. I also used freshly grated asiago cheese (similar to parmesan) in and on the pasta. I can't leave recipes alone, I always cater to my liking. 

Cellentani Pasta

Crock-Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I decided to quickly post another recipe today. I've been meaning to post my recipe for Crock-Pot Pulled Pork Sandwiches for a while now. I want my most used and favorite recipes here on my blog because I have plans for them. My hope is that someday when I print my blog as a keepsake book, I will also make a Crawford Family Cookbook to keep and pass down.

[The recipe below is an image, click to enlarge]

Chicken Pot Pie

Per request, I needed a way to quickly share my Chicken Pot Pie recipe. Please excuse the sparse content of this post.  This is a fast, easy meal to throw together if you don't have much time.  It's a fave at our house!

[The recipe below is an image, click to enlarge]

Soup's On!

I recently made two yummy comfort soups and I thought I'd share the recipes. They are perfect for this time of year when it's cold outside and all you want to do is snuggle up and stay warm.

I made the first soup the day before Thanksgiving so we would have something to eat while at my parent's house prepping food for the Thanksgiving meal.  

Crock-Pot Chicken and Dumplings

[Source: Bubble Crumb via Thrifty Decor Chick]

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter

2 cans cream of chicken soup (I didn't have 2 so I used 1 cream of chicken and 1 cream of mushroom)

1 can chicken broth

1 onion diced (I used 1/4 to 1/2)

1 tablespoon dried parsley

4 grands flaky refrigerator biscuits

Put the chicken, butter, cream of chicken, chicken broth, parsley, and onions in the crock-pot and cook on high for 4-6 hours.  As the chicken cooks and gets tender, break it up with spoon or fork.  (I used already cooked and shredded chicken.) Get your biscuits and cut each of them into nine pieces.  You can roll them into balls to ensure they stay together, but it's not necessary.  Stir into chicken mixture and cook for another hour.  If it is too thick, you can thin it down by adding more chicken broth.

I made the second soup for tonight's dinner.  It is just so darn nice to come home from work and have your dinner simmering away ready for you to just make the finishing touches and eat it.

Crock-Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice

[Source: Chef Mommy via Thrifty Decor Chick]

4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 package of Rice-a-Roni Long Grain and Wild Rice (with seasoning packet)
1/2 tsp salt (+/- to taste)
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
2 cups half and half

Mix the broth, water, chicken, carrots, celery, and rice with seasoning packet in the slow cooker.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  Once chicken gets tender (a couple of hours in), break it up into pieces while cooking.  (I used already cooked and shredded chicken.)  At the end of the cooking time, mix the salt, pepper, and flour together in a small bowl.  In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in flour mixture by tablespoons to form a roux.  While the roux is still on the heat, whisk half and half, a little at a time, into the roux until mixed completely and smooth.  Stir the roux mixture into the soup in the crock -pot then let it cook on low for 15 more minutes.

*Side note: The day before I cooked each soup, I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot rubbed with salt and pepper and stuffed with carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and 2 Tbsp of butter.  I used the meat from the whole chickens in each of the soups and I also saved the broth to use in the recipes.  I did have to supplement with canned broth for the Chicken and Dumplings because it thickened up after adding the dumplings. Cooking whole chickens takes more prep time but it makes the soups so flavorful.  By the way, I used a brand of whole chicken that I've never used before, a free range Rosie Organic Chicken containing no GMO's, hormones or antibiotics.  I just happened to go buy one on Black Friday and it was on sale for $2.99!  I didn't even know that grocery stores did Black Friday.

Bananas Foster

I've made Bananas Foster a handful of times now. It's so easy and SO good! I usually only make it for special occasions (like last night to celebrate Valentine's Day) because it is obviously not healthy. I've consulted several recipes and pieced them together into this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs unsalted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

1 banana cut into slices

3 Tbs rum

Melt butter in a skillet over low heat. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and stir until sugar dissolves. Add banana slices and cook for about a minute, spoon sauce over bananas as they cook. Bring to a simmer and add rum. Use a lighter to ignite the skillet in order to burn the rum off or leave skillet on the burner and the rum will cook off on its own. Lighting the skillet is optional, if you are accident prone - I don't suggest it. If sauce is too thin after lighting/cooking the rum, continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until sauce thickens. Serve it up in dishes and top with vanilla ice cream.

Here's a terribly unimpressive video of me lighting the rum on fire last night. It was the first time I've been brave enough to actually ignite the bananas foster. It wasn't too scary, but it also wasn't as hot as it is when they make it at restaurants and create a huge flame. I was being conservative so as NOT to burn my house down.

Broiled Asparagus

My favorite way to prepare asparagus is to broil/roast it. It's really fast and super easy.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of asparagus spears

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Rinse and dry asparagus. Trim or break off the thick stalky ends. Place in flat layer on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle EVOO over the asparagus, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roll asparagus back and forth in the oil and seasonings to cover all sides. Bake under broiler for about 10 minutes.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I didn't grow up eating sweet potatoes because my mom never made them. The first time I ate one was about 4 years ago at a friend's parents' house. It was baked and then I added a little butter, salt, and pepper. Baking sweet potatoes takes a while because they are so dense, so I investigated quicker ways to prepare them and found you can mash them. I've been preparing them this way for awhile now.

Ingredients:

2 Medium sweet potatoes (or 1 for each person you are serving)

Butter or Margarine

Salt

Pepper

Fill large stock pot a little over half-way full with water and bring to a boil. Peel, slice, and quarter sweet potatoes into uniform pieces for even cooking. Once water is boiling add sweet potatoes and cook for 10 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender after tested with a fork. Drain potatoes in colander. Return potatoes to pot and put back on burner for a few seconds to cook off excess water. Add butter or margarine and mash with a hand masher. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a comfort food staple in my family. I know...you either love it or you hate it. I wouldn't really eat it growing up, but I do love it now. It's also one of those foods that tastes better than it looks. My mom makes it similar to the way my dad's mom makes it, with BBQ sauce instead of tomato paste/ketchup. My mom doesn't use a recipe because she knows it by heart. After I got married, I requested that she write the recipe out so I could learn to make it for Tom and I. This is what she gave me. Click the image of the recipe below, and then click it once more to enlarge it enough to read it clearly.

*Sara's Notes:

My mom wrote the recipe for two loaves, but I half it when cooking for just the two of us and there are still leftovers.

I also substitute fine Club cracker crumbs with Quaker Oats for a slightly healthier twist.

My favorite BBQ sauce to use is Head Country Original.

I've learned that with my oven I only need to bake my one loaf for 45 minutes.

Let it cool 5-10 minutes before slicing or it will just fall apart.