Category Archives: Adventures in the Kitchen

What starts with the letter C?

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Cookie starts with the letter C
Let’s think of other things that start with the letter C
Oh who cares about other things…C is for cookie, that’s good enough for me!
~Cookie Monster

I wanted to make something sweet for my girls at work on Friday.  Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies, so that was easy and I always have all the ingredients for these cookies in my kitchen. IMG_2503[1]

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When I find I also have the Ghirardelli white chocolate  chips and dark molasses, it only makes sense to make these wonderful cookies as well!  They were such a big hit last time I made them.

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You can find this recipe here. Click here for recipe  They are called Soft Baked White Chocolate Chip/Molasses Cookies. I discovered these from Sally’s Baking Blog.  I love her blog and her cookbooks!  I use my cookbooks all the time and they always seem to find a way into the background of my pictures of cookies and cupcakes!

Sally’s Baking Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Cupcakes, and Desserts for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix
Sally’s Candy Addiction: Tasty Truffles, Fudges & Treats for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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I make Chicken Tortilla Soup often.  I have a wonderful recipe that I have made for many years.  So when my hubby told me that while he does like my soup (and always eats plenty of it), that it wasn’t his favorite.

So I set out to find one he might like better.  I found one that looked appetizing at Cooking Classy.com.   (http://www.cookingclassy.com/)

I have found that anything I try from her cooking website always turns out to be a keeper. So while I will continue to look for other delicious tortilla soup recipes, this one I will make again for my family.  Try it for yourself.  Recipe is under SOUPS on my homepage.  Enjoy!

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http://www.cookingclassy.com/2014/12/slow-cooker-chicken-tortilla-soup-2/

Follow your heart

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I have a few things I always make during February and sugar cookies are at the top of theIMG_2364[1] list.  So with my heart shape cookie cutter Wilton Metal Heart Cutter
I set out to try a new sugar cookie recipe.  I always, always, always make my moms recipe and it is, of course, the best!  But I found one recipe and it had almond extract added,  so I thought I would give it a try.

As I was making these I realized I had ran out of almond extract..so extra vanilla it was!

These cookies were very good and I even ate a couple without icing.  But I think I will stick to my mom’s recipe from now on!  It not only has a wonderful flavor and texture, it brings a heart full of memories with each batch!  Thanks Mom!!  And my hubby thanks you also!

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This icing is my Mom’s recipe that my sisters and I still use at Christmas.  Okay, well not just Christmas, anytime the occasion calls for a sugar cookie!  I have added the icing and the sugar cookie recipe on my website so you can try if you like. I hope you had a wonderful
Valentine’s Day!

Wilton Comfort Grip Heart Cutter

 

 

 

Valentines’ Day=Red Velvet Cake

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I love Red Velvet Cake.  However, it is hard to find a bakery that makes one just the way I like it.  I am finding it is even harder to find a recipe I can make at home!  I am on the hunt this Valentines for the perfect Red Velvet Cake!

 

So far I have found and tried two recipes.  One recipe was for red velvet cake and one was red velvet cookies.  The flavor was not as strong as I like in either one, but when I  shared with friends, they all loved it and said both were delicious! My husband thought the cake was one of my best as far as texture and moistness goes..so that is something!

While it was not exactly what I was looking for, I think it turned out pretty well.  The search will continue and I am certain I can find that Red Velvet Cake recipe that will be the one that I always go to!  I will let you know.  (recipe for both cookies and cake are under “something sweet”).

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Sprinkles are for winners.

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It is getting close to Valentine’s Day so it is time for the pretzels, white chocolate and SPRINKLES!  Sprinkles add a little something extra to everything!  YUM!

Wilton 710-6245 Valentine Nonpareils Sprinkles, Multicolor

If you give a girl a cookie…

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Uncategorized by

…she’s going to ask for a glass of milk!

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I LOVE milk and cookies.  I heard milk “does a body good”, but does that mean in large quantities and served with a side of cookies? Even so…I do allow it on special occasions.

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These delicious M&M cookies were split between my husband’s office and mine!  Yum!  I love baking and sharing with others!  It not only puts a smile on someone’s face, but hopefully keeps a few pounds off of mine!

This recipe is simply the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe with M&Ms instead of chocolate chips.  I am going to try to venture out next time and see what I come up with!  Stay tuned 🙂

 

Whoppers Chocolate Chip Cookies

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My family, like many of us, with the start of 2016, made a resolution to embrace a more healthy lifestyle.  So far, so good.

In fact, even when I am choosing to make healthier choices, I can usually bake cakes or cookies and not sample the batter or eat the cookie dough.  So when I decided to bake this wonderful “WHOPPER Chocolate Chip Cookies” recipe I found in my new cookbook, Sally’s Candy Addiction, I was not worried at all about blowing my healthy choices.

However, after I made these, the entire house smelled of warm, fresh from the oven, chocolate chip cookies.  And then I opened my fridge and saw a cold container of milk. Needless to say, I did sample one, maybe two, but that was it! And yes, it was worth it!   I set one aside for my husband and the rest went straight to work the next morning.

I received more compliments on these cookies than any other I have brought to work.  By lunch they were all gone, except for one lonely cookie.  No one wanted to be “that person” who took the last cookie.  Finally, one brave soul grabbed it and I took my empty container home.

These really were a perfect blend of chocolate chips and Whoppers, not to soft, not to hard and had that little something extra that made them stand out from the original Toll-House chocolate chip cookies I usually bake.

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You can find the recipe here or order the cookbook Sally’s Candy Addiction.  If you give these a try, let me know if you love them as much as I do.  You can also send me a message on Instagram!

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Thanks again Sally for a wonderful recipe from your cookbook!  at http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/sallys-candy-addiction/

 

Turkey Vegetable Chili

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It has been over 3 weeks and eating healthier is still on the menu.  So while I was at my local grocery store, with every other person in Austin, I decided to step away from the dairy isle and look up some of my favorite recipes.  It was cold outside and I thought a nice bowl of Chili would be the perfect dinner for my family.

I found this Turkey Vegetable Chili on one of my favorite websites, Cooking Classy.  So I pushed my way through the crowds and carts full of crying children and irritated mothers and found all the ingredients I needed.  I found the shortest line (which was not really short at all), paid and went home to make this delicious Chili! IMG_2121[1]

I was so hungry when I got home, that I immediately began cooking the ground turkey. Then the chopping and dicing began and I basically just added cans of beans, tomatoes, chicken broth and threw it all in together!  Very easy and very tasty.  This was great the second night as well for left-overs. I will be making this again!

Give it a try if you are looking for a healthier version of Chili.  You can find the recipe under Soups here or you can go to http://www.cookingclassy.com/.  I love every recipe I have found and tried from her website.

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Read any good books lately?

Posted in Adventures in the Kitchen, Books I Love by

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My oldest daughter, Hannah, loves to read.  I mean she LOVES to read.  When she was younger, taking a book away for the day was all the punishment she needed to stop any wrong behavior!! So when she recommends a book for me to read, I usually end up enjoying it immensely.  She gave me three books over the holidays to read.

She had told me before about one of her favorite books by Jodi Picoult, The Storyteller.  She told me several times how much I would love this book.   I told her I would download it on my Kindle, but I never did.  So that is why she ended up giving it to me for Christmas. Sadly, I still had a hard time getting started.

One evening I made myself just start reading…and I am so glad I did!    The book shares various views of different characters and their involvement with the holocaust.   While some of the book was hard to read, as it describes some of the horrors during this time in history, I like how she weaves in a theme of forgiveness.

The main character also loves to bake bread and by the end of this book, I found myself looking up homemade bread recipes!  That may be my next challenge in the kitchen…Challah Bread!

You can’t beat a cold day, warm cup of coffee and a good book.

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Here are the other two books she gave me. I read Sarah’s Key first.  This book also spoke of tragedy during World War II.  It is good for me to be reminded of this time in history.  It makes me appreciate things in my life.

I will read Station Eleven next! Maybe reading in a comfy chair upstairs will keep me out of the kitchen downstairs!  I am still on track with eating healthy in January, so I need all the help I can get!

The Storyteller
Station Eleven
Sarah’s Key

 

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You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

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…goodbye to cupcakes anyway, and hello healthy cookbooks!
Well, not until I make cupcakes for work first!
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Okay…I am good on sweets now.  At least until February, when of course I have to bake plate after plate of Valentine treats!  But for now my family and I are all making healthy choices!

I pulled out The Skinnytaste Cookbook again.  I used this many times in 2015 but put away as October came around and I was in the baking/sweets/candy mode.

January always brings about a desire to make changes for the better.  So instead of eating at my favorite Mexican restaurant (for the millionth time in last 2 months) I stayed home and made the Buttermilk Oven “Fried” Chicken.  I made this a few times last year and my family really liked it.  This time I followed the recipe in full (I usually take short cuts) and the chicken was so moist and was just enough with my sweet potato. Give this a try if you want great flavor, fewer calories, and don’t want to feel as if you are giving up on taste.

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Recipe for Chicken is here on my blog as well as cupcakes.  Here are links to both.

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/09/20/white-wedding-cupcakes/print/
http://www.skinnytaste.com/p/cookbook.html

(My husband took this pic…teasing me that this is his new beer/food blog!  He thinks he is so funny!)     Not bad for a first try!! 🙂IMG_1753[1]