Home-made Chocolate Chip Cookies

Most Sundays, Travis and I spend the afternoon and evening with our friends Aimee and Robert. Aimee and I usually trade of days to cook. This Sunday was my turn to cook! I decided to make Chicken Pot Pie and Home-made Chocolate Chip Cookies! I figured that since I don't have many recipes up for dessert, I would post this one! It is super easy and has only been slightly modified from the recipe on the back of the Nestlé's chocolate chip bag!

Home-made Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
1/2 large bag of Nestlé Toll House Milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 small bag Reeses Peanut Butter Chips (optional)

Directions:

1) Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in small bowl.

 Powdery! :D

2) Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in large mixer bowl until creamy.

 

It should look something like this. :)

3) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

4) Gradually beat in flour mixture.

Before the chips! :D

5) Stir in delicious chips. :D

So many chips! 8D

Don't you just want to eat it like that? :) With some ice cream? Yum!

6) Drop onto greased baking sheet using tablespoon. Be sure to round the dough and press them down if you are OCD like me and like rounded cookies. :) If not, let them go crazy and just drop them!

6) Bake at 375 degrees for about 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. I sometimes take them out a little early so that they are chewy. :) Let them cool on a baking sheet if you want for about 2 minutes. Usually my cookies are eaten immediately after coming out of the oven. xD

Heavenly! :D

7) EAT THEM WITH FRIENDS! :D

Travis nomming his favorite thing in the world. :)

Sooo chewy. :3

Don't you be thinkin' about takin' MY cookie! I'll bite you!!

Nom nom! :D

I decided to do just one dozen with the extra Reese chips because my friend Aimee loves peanut butter. :)
They came out amazingly also. :D When I ate things like this, these were my favorite cookies!! :D

I forgot to get a picture of these when they were done, but I promise they didn't last long! :D

Cornbread

Although I actually made this with my Lima Beans and Tasso for a side item, I am making it it's own post because it is great with just about everything! I also have 2 ways that I make it: with honey for a sweeter cornbread and without. I LOVE the sweeter one because to me it tastes like cake. :) For someone who doesn't eat processed or artificial sugars, a sweet bread is magical. :) So here is my recipe for cornbread! Remember that all measurements are approximate! :)

Corn Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup honey (optional)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup oil

Directions:

1) Combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.

2) Add egg, milk, oil, and honey if you like sweet cornbread. Do not add the honey if you like saltier cornbread.

3) Spray an 8x8 pan with Pam and pour in your mixture!

4) Bake at 400 degrees until browning and slightly cracked!

5) Eat it with something delicious like Lima Beans and Tasso!

Lima Beans and Tasso

Before I get to the recipe, I would like to say that if you would like to contact me about anything, ask questions, or make suggestions, please feel free to email me at actparker@gmail.com or message me on my Facebook Page! :) I received a few anonymous messages with questions, and I don't know if they got my responses! Please feel free to message me again. :)

Now on to the grub! This weekend is Mother's Day, and my mommy has come to visit me for the weekend! One of our favorite things to eat is Lima beans. So this weekend, we are making some! I figured I would share this recipe! For those who don't know, tasso is smoked pork meat that tastes ABSOLUTELY delicious. :) How I cook these Lima beans and tasso is also EXACTLY how I cook my red beans with sausage. :) As usual, I don't actually measure, so everything is approximate, and this is a crock pot meal! :)

Lima Beans and Tasso

Ingredients:

2lb. bags of Lima Beans
2 large pieces of Tasso, cubed
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Dash of baking soda
Seasonings to taste:
Season-all
Garlic powder
Basil

Directions:

1) Put beans, water, and baking soda in a pot. Bring to a boil and wait until beans start floating.

You can't tell, but the beans are in water. xD

2) While beans come to boil, chop, mince, and cube your other ingredients.

 Tasso! :D

3) When beans are done, drain the water out using a colander. Throw everything into the crock pot.

4) Put enough water in the crock pot so that you have at least an inch above the line of beans and your seasonings. Turn crock pot on low, cover, and let cook for about 6 hours or until the beans are tender and nummy.

5) Sometime before the beans are done, make some rice and/or some cornbread!

It tastes like cake! :D

6) When everything is done, eat it! :D

As a conclusion to this post, I wanted to share with everyone my foster puppy, Roscoe! :) He is super cute and available to a good home! Andrew is NOT happy about him being here at ALL. xD But he is getting better about it. :)

 He's a German Shepherd/Labrador mix! :)

 He's curious about the flashy thingy in front of my face. :) Aaaand he likes to lick me. xD

Peanut Butter Fudge and Teacher Appreciation

So far, I have posted a ton of food recipes, but I haven't posted ANYTHING for dessert! I feel that is a crime, so here is my peanut butter fudge recipe! It is modified from a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com. I also decided to make this for the teachers I had the joy of working with this semester since it IS teacher appreciation week at their school!! :D

Peanut Butter Fudge

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cup confectioner's sugar

Directions:

1) Melt the butter over medium heat.

 
2) Add in the brown sugar and milk. Bring to a boil and let boil for approximately 2 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently so it doesn't burn!

3) Remove from heat and add vanilla and peanut butter.

 It looks kinda gross, but I promise it tastes amazing. :)

4) Pour over a bowl of confectioner's sugar and beat with a mixer until smooth and creamy!

 The pouring. :)

 The mixing. :)

5) Pour into a cake pan and smooth it down. I usually have to use wax paper to smooth it down, but you can smooth it however you want. :) Then put it in the fridge to chill.

6) Then cut into squares and EAT IT! :D

 Don't that look perty? :D The boys LOVE it.

Now to show you guys the gifts I am giving the teachers I got to work with this whole semester! Teachers really do not get enough appreciation for what they do. As a future teacher, I can say that teachers have to do A LOT of stuff for very little pay. Most teachers, however, know this when they get into the profession and stay in it because they love teaching and love the children. I cannot WAIT to be a teacher! It is going to be a whole bunch of work, but it will be worth it! And little things that show that my hard work is noticed will be awesome! That is why I decided to make them this nummy fudge and give the teachers I observed with some other goodies in some super cute boxes!

The green and the pink boxes are for the 2 teachers that let me observe in their classrooms. The other boxes are for the other 1st grade teachers, the student teacher, and the teacher's aid that I have often spoken with throughout my observations with the other two teachers. :)

The message says, "Teachers aren't appreciated enough, so here are some goodies to cheer you up!"

 Inside the boxes, wrapped in tissue paper, are 4 pieces of fudge, a Blowpop, some Jolly Ranchers, some Tootsie Rolls, and a little thing of hand sanitizer because I thought they were cute. :) All of this was purchased at the Dollar Tree. (Except the fudge) :)

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Since I am Cajun, and I already have a gumbo recipe here, I figured I would post my jambalaya recipe too. :) Just FYI, just like with gumbo, there are HUNDREDS of different ways to make jambalaya. This is just how I make it. :) Also remember that I don't measure so everything is approximate, and this recipe is made in a crock pot. ;)

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

2 links of your favorite sausage, sliced
1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup long grain rice
Seasonings to taste:
Season-all
Garlic Powder
Tabasco Sauce

Directions:

1) If you haven't already cooked your chicken breasts, do it.

2) While those cook, slice and chop all of your ingredients.

 I also chopped up the other stuff. I just didn't get a picture. ;)

3) When all is cooked, sliced, and chopped, throw everything into the crockpot!

4) Set your crock pot on low, and let it cook for about 4 hours. Be sure to check on it! Every crockpot is different!

 Notice it's on low? :)

5) When rice has absorbed almost all of the water, the jambalaya is complete. :)

 Finished jambalaya after Travis stirred it! :)

 Time to eat it, y'all!

Chicken Veggie Risotto and Move-it May

Many people don't know this, but I am not the only one who cooks in my household! My husband does too! One of my favorite things that he cooks is his Chicken Veggie Risotto! The original recipe is by Green Giant, but he puts his own little spin on it. :) Here is the recipe! Like me though, he doesn't measure exactly. ;) So modify as needed!

Chicken Veggie Risotto

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
1 cup uncooked regular rice
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups mixed veggies or California blend veggies (We mixed them in this tutorial.)
1-2 chicken breasts, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Seasonings to taste:
Season-all

Directions

1)  Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add rice, onions, and garlic. Cook and stir for about 6-8 minutes or until the rice is golden brown.

Isn't he adorable? :)

2) Add broth and stir. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

3) While rice is simmering, season and brown chicken. Also cook veggies according to directions on package (we usually just put it in water, let it boil a bit, then drain).

4) When rice is done, add chicken and veggies. Cook together for about 2-3 more minutes.

5) Add Parmesan cheese, and EAT IT!! :D

Doesn't that look nummy?! :D

I love this recipe! When he asks what I want him to make for supper when it's his turn, I always request this. :) Something really wonderful is that he will work hard all day at his job and still will come home and cook supper anyway, especially if I have been sick or didn't have a chance to cook supper due to school and work. He will also do this as a surprise to me! :O I'm telling you. He's an alien. :)

Bon appètit!

Also a friend of mine has started a special fitness thing for the Month of May! It is called Move-it May! It's to get you up and moving! :D Please join us!