My love for Cookies :)

     Every night after the kids are put into bed and we've cleaned up all the dishes from dinner, its finally my time to relax and eat what I want to eat without sharing my food!  This is such an exciting part of my day that I look forward to from the time I wake up sometimes.  Depending on how the day is going.  I know you other parents out there can relate.  I just feel like my evening is not satisfied until I have a little sweet treat and I'm always craving a good cookie. 
     Cookies are so easy to make and so easy to store them.  I'll bake a batch and then usually freeze them to keep them fresh.  I hate eating cookies the next day because they just don't taste as good.  So whenever you want a fresh cookie just take however many you would like out of the freezer and let it defrost for just a few minutes or zap it in the microwave which I believe is even better.  Especially with chocolate chip cookies.  It taste like they just came out of the oven and the chocolate is kind of melty.  So yummy! 
     So I tried making a new recipe of chocolate chip cookies.  Every one is always looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.  And there are so many recipes that say the best chocolate chip cookies.  But everyone has their own preferences when it comes to how they like their chocolate chip cookies.  I don't really have a preference.  I just want them to taste really good.  So I'm always trying new chocolate chip recipes  and I found one on www.TheFugalGirls.com.  It's a Land O Lakes butter recipe.  So they are called Chewy Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

I wanted them to come out a little thicker but that's okay they were still delicious.  I use unsalted butter when I bake and that recipe uses salted butter.  I prefer to use unsalted and then I added about 1/2 tsp of kosher salt to the recipe if you are using unsalted butter.  Salt really makes a difference especially with chocolate.  They turned out so big.  Here is what they looked like on the cookie sheet.  I used an ice cream scoop to measure out the dough.  At first I didnt' think I was a huge fan of these cookies.  I'm extremely critical of what I make and wasn't going to blog about these cookies because they didn't come out perfect but I'm trying to not be so hard on myself.  So every night when my husband and I finally got some time to ourselves I pulled out one of these cookies from the freezer and warmed it up in the microwave for a few seconds.  These cookies come out a little gooey in the middle and the taste of the dark chocolate (love dark chocolate) and that hint of kosher salt really brings all the flavors together.  So good and now I'm sad to say that they are all gone.  I think or I should say I know I ate the whole batch of cookies to myself and only gave my kids one.  Just ask my husband :)  I work hard all day I deserve it.  So I guess this means I will have to make a new batch of cookies so I have something to look forward to at the end of the day.  Check out the recipe on www.TheFrugalGirls.com to get the recipe. 

This is some Sweet Chili!

I have tried about a million different chili recipes and there are so many different ways to make chili.  I think I finally found one that I really love!  I added a little bit of sweetness to it.  I'm not a big spicy food fan but if you are you could add just a little more chili powder to the recipe to your liking.  So here is the recipe.
2 Tbs olive oil
1 lb ground turkey or beef (kosher salt and pepper)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small green pepper
1 garlic clove
2 Tbs chili powder or more to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 can each kidney and pinto beans.  (or whatever beans you prefer)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 Tbs of your favorite BBQ sauce
* Half a bag of frozen sweet corn
sour cream and cheddar cheese for toppings

Heat olive oil in large pot medium high heat. Brown meat season with salt and pepper.  Remove meat from pan add more olive oil to same pan and add onions peppers and garlic. Saute until soft then stir in the chili powder, oregano and cumin.  Put meat back in pan with the onion mixture and stir in remaining ingredients and 3/4 cup of water and tsp of salt.  Simmer 30 min.
I love making corn bread with chili but didn't have time.  I bought the Pillsbury Grands Biscuits in the frozen section.  I love them so much more then the caned biscuits.  The frozen ones taste more like home made biscuits .  Love them and they are quick and easy! 
I served my chili with a little cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.  So yummy I really enjoyed it!  And for you vegetarians out there you could just omit the meat and add an extra can of beans.  Hope you all enjoy! :)

The best soft pretzels!

We have season passes to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo so we go often and we love it! Especially the  big soft pretzels they have at the snack bar.  Who would've thought that the zoo would have amazing soft pretzels but they do.  Thanks to my sister in law who told me about them and now I'm hooked.  What I love about them is that they are a little crunchy on the outside and soft and warm in the middle.  And you could do salt or no salt. I think they kind of put alot of salt on but I just take some of it off before I eat it.  And it's only $2.25 for a good size pretzel that taste so good.  So next time you take your kids to the zoo try out one of their soft pretzels and plus its just an amazing zoo to go visit and they are making so many cool changes!  

Crunchy yummy chinese chicken salad

     So one of my goals this year was to finally start a food blog.  So here it goes and I'm really excited to start this blog because I get super excited about food!  I stay home all day with a two year old and a five year old and I NEED an outlet to talk about stuff that I love and that would be food.  If I could watch the food network all day I would.  I could sit down and read recipe books for hours.  I get so excited to try new recipes and sometimes they turn out bad but i have a wonderful husband that still eats everything I make :) I would say baking is my expertise and yes I did go to culinary school years ago before my family and I specialized in pastries and baking.  Now that I'm in mommy world my kids consume most of my time. I don't really bake as much as I would love but that's okay because I love being a Mom too!  So when I do get a chance to bake or cook something cool I really want to talk about it and share it with you all.

My first recipe I would love to share is my Chinese Chicken Salad that I just made this week. 

I like to use half romaine lettuce and half cabbage.  The cabbage gives the salad a good crunch and is really healthy for you.  I also add a little cilantro.  You don't have to use cilantro because I know people either love it or hate it. But I love it! Roasted chicken is the easiest to use and Costco has the best rotisserie chickens and they are only $4.99.  Love love love avocado so have to add a little bit of that and some green onions.  This time I used chopped mixed nuts or any kind of roasted nuts are good and roasted garbanzo beans.  If you haven't tried roasted garbanzo beans they are really good.  Drain and rinse them let them dry out.  Then put them in the oven 400 degrees a little olive oil salt and pepper for 20 min.  They are crunchy on the outside and still soft in the middle.  Or they are just really good for a snack.  And then to top it all off I use a sesame dressing that you could find in the Asian food aisle.  I go to winco so I know they have it there but it is so good!  Here's a pic of it. It's good for so many different things.  Love it! You have to try it.  So there you go you have a wonderful tasty salad and I served it with breadsticks. And no they were not home made because I don't have that much time :)
I really hope I could give moms dinner ideas too by sharing the meals that I make.  I know how hard it is trying to come up with fast easy meals for your family. Enjoy :)