Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets: Preparing for Baby

I love Quaker instant oatmeal packets.  I love them and yet I haven't bought them in years because they are so overpriced in my mind.  I can buy a large container of quick oats for $2.29 at my local Aldi and the Quaker packets I can't usually get any cheaper than $1.99 and that's when they are on sale.  So had the thought of making my own instant oatmeal packets and figured someone else out there probably already thought of this and could give me some pointers.

I found this website and decided to take her recipe and alter it a little to suit my needs.  Here's what you're going to need to make these:

I didn't want to use my whole container of oats, since I already did my big shopping trip, so I didn't do the full 10cups of oats.  Not to mention I don't eat oatmeal every day so I made 10 packets and used 5 cups of oats.

1st I measured out 5 cups quick oats.  I took 1 1/2 cups of the oats and pulsed it with my Magic Bullet.  Add the 1 1/2cups back in with the remaining 3 1/2 cups quick oats.  Then I added 1c non dairy dry coffee creamer (I purchased mine at walmart for $1), 1t salt, and mixed it all together.

I used the snack sized bags I found at the Dollar Tree and measured 1/2 cup of the oat/creamer/salt mixture into each one.  The recipe at the website above said to add the brown sugar in with the oats/creamer/salt but I chose not to do this because I was afraid there wouldn't be enough brown sugar in each baggie to satisfy me.  So instead I chose to add the brown sugar after I had the oat mixture all measured into the snack bags.  I used a regular cereal spoon and measured out about 2 of them into each bag.  I also always add cinnamon to my oatmeal so I gave a couple shakes of cinnamon to each bag as well.

Then just seal and shake the bag to mix up all the ingredients and you have your very own instant oatmeal packs.

I put all 10 of mine into a larger gallon size ziploc bag and used a piece of masking tape to tell how much water to add and how long to cook it in the microwave.

I'm so excited to have these ready to go for a quick breakfast after the baby is here.  I have also posted about the waffle mix, muffin mix, and pancake mix I use and have made multiple batches of in preparation for the baby.  You may be wondering why I have been stocking up on breakfast foods and not so much on dinner foods and the answer is simple.....When Grant was an infant I always forgot to eat breakfast because I was too involved in his eating habits, naps, and the daily household stuff and I didn't want that to happen this time.  Not to mention I have Grant now and I want some quick stuff so I don't have to put forth much energy to make his breakfast in the morning.


**UPDATE: It's been a little over a month since Eva was born and these oatmeal packets have been  so great to have in the pantry.  I already made a second batch because I eat them about every morning.  It's so simple to throw it into a bowl and nuke it for a couple minutes, I love it.  I keep frozen peaches and blueberries in my freezer and add a handful to each bowl for added flavor and nutrients.  Yummy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes-Cupcakes for a Cure

The official beginning of the Relay for Life year started September 1st, and I had such good intentions to send cupcakes to work with my mom once a month starting then.  However, as always September through December is a crazy busy time of year with the holidays and Grant's birthday and I never ended up getting around to it. 
So I figured I only have 4 months from now until the end of the school year to raise money with cupcakes and I better get started.  Naturally with Valentine's Day this week I thought red velvet would be the perfect flavor, plus I have never made red velvet and have been wanting to for awhile now.

I used the red velvet recipe from the girls of Georgetown Cupcakes except I didn't use red food coloring, I used the Red Velvet Emulsion I also used for the Red Velvet cut out cookies.  Since the recipe was from Georgetown Cupcakes I thought I would be blown away with a really great flavor but I have to say I was a little disappointed.  There wasn't enough of a chocolate flavor to satisfy me.  The recipe calls for 2 1/2T cocoa and I have to say next time I will be using 1/4c to add more flavor.  Most of the recipes from Katherine and Sophie say they will make 12 cupcakes and I always somehow end up with 18, I thought this would be the same for their red velvet recipe so I only added 1 1/2T red velvet emulsion.  This recipe ended up making 24 cupcakes so I really should have added 2T of the emulsion and I plan to next time I make them.

All this being said, my husband said they tasted good and they were really moist right out of the oven.  They rose perfectly and other than wanting a little deeper red color and a little extra cocoa flavor they seemed perfect.

Red Velvet Heart Cookies

I have had it in my mind to make Red Velvet cookies for awhile now and I figured with Valentines day being this week it was the perfect time to give it a whirl.  I don't even really know when the idea came to me but I saw it first here.  She used Red Velvet Emulsion and one of the things that's kept me from making red velvet cupcakes and cookies is that I didn't want to have to buy large amounts of red food coloring.  Not to mention it's difficult to get a deep red color in frosting let alone in cookie and cake batter.  The emulsion seemed like the perfect solution and I immediately bought mine at Walmart.

While I originally saw this recipe for Red Velvet cut outs I didn't want to buy the dry buttermilk the recipe called for because I figured it would expire before I could use it all since I don't have any other recipes that call for it.  I searched around and came across this recipe and decided to give it a try with a couple changes.

I only made half a recipe since it was the first time I've made them and didn't know how they would taste and I didn't want a crap load of cookies sitting around for me to eat.  Here is the half recipe with the addition of the Red Velvet Emulsion and baking powder since the original recipe didn't call for any and I thought that was a little weird.  I also used margarine sticks instead of real butter because they are less expensive and it's what I use in all my other cookie recipes.

Red Velvet Heart Cookies

1 stick margarine at room temp

1c sugar

2T cocoa powder

1 egg

1 1/2t vanilla

1/4t salt

1 3/4c flour

1/4t baking powder

1/2t Red Velvet Emulsion

Cream butter, sugar, and salt.  Add egg, vanilla, and Red Velvet Emulsion.  Mix until combined.  Add flour, cocoa, and baking powder.  Beat until dough is forming a ball and coming away from the sides of the mixer bowl.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or over night.  Roll  and cut into shapes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

Grant had so much fun helping mix the dough together and then putting sprinkles on the frosted cookies.

 I had intended to make homemade cream cheese frosting but didn't have enough cream cheese so instead I used a store bought can of frosting.  Grant doesn't like frosting on his cakes or cookies so I left half of them unfrosted.  They are tasty either way.

Homemade Muffin Mix:Preparing for Baby

I've been looking for ways to make life easier after baby arrives, mainly when it comes to cooking since it seems like Grant's stomach is never full.  I know once the baby comes, at least in the beginning while we are all adjusting, I won't have a lot of time to bake or just won't feel like it.  Grant loves mini muffins and I make a couple batches a week for him to eat for breakfast and snacks.  I don't buy muffin mixes, all mine are made from scratch, and while it doesn't take forever to make some it does take time to get everything out, mixed, etc. especially with Grant always wanting to help.
I noticed my homemade pancake mix in my cabinet the other day, I haven't bought Hungry Jack mix in years, and wondered if there was a recipe for a homemade mix for muffins out there.  Of course I went to the computer and googled it, what else would I do?
I found one on this site and decided to make a slight adjustment to the recipe (I used all white flour) and I ended up halving it so I could use one of my canisters instead of baggies.  I loved the blog I found the recipe on since it also gave ideas for altering it with variations of spices and fruit.  This is just what I wanted and needed since I get bored making the same kind of muffins and my husband and son have different favorites.


Muffin Mix
6c all purpose flour
1 1/4c sugar
2T baking powder
1 1/2t salt


Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk until they are all incorporated.  Pour into a canister or gallon size baggies making sure to tape the directions on the front.

I ended up taping a note card with the liquid ingredient variations to the front and the add-in variations to the back of my canister.

 This way I would have no reason to hunt down a recipe card.  I made the chocolate with mini chocolate chip variation the other night and Grant LOVED them.  I think my husband would prefer a more chocolatey flavor, but I have to be honest, I think  he's wanting a chocolate cupcake instead of a muffin haha.  I tried them and I'm not even a big fan of chocolate muffins and I thought they were delicious.  Actually I'm wanting one right now, but I'm trying to refrain.  Darn these cravings!

I did add about 1tsp vanilla to the liquid ingredients even though the recipe didn't call for it.

One batch made 24 mini muffins and 9 regular sized muffins.  They bake beautifully:

Don't you wish you had some on your counter right now?

I'm so excited to have this mix in my cabinet.  I've gotten so much use out of my pancake mix, I swear by having it ready to go in my pantry, and I know this muffin mix will make me hesitate a lot less when it's time to whip up a batch.  The time it saved just making these chocolate ones was fabulous, and it was so easy for Grant to assist me, he had a ball. 

Ham and Bell Pepper Stromboli

I love Stromboli.  Its easy to make and you can use pretty  much whatever you have in your fridge.  It's great to use up some leftovers.  I'm not even sure where I originally saw Stromboli that gave me the idea to make it.  It wasn't ever a meal my mom or grandmothers cooked but it's definitely one I've made a bunch of different ways and I love when it's on the menu because I know my job of cooking will be easy.


I don't do measurements because I'm really just trying to fill the crust as full as possible.  Here's a list of what I used for the ham and bell pepper Stromboli:


cooked ham (I used leftovers from the ham I baked yesterday)-diced
red, green, and yellow bell peppers- diced (use whatever peppers you have)
1/2 a large onion-diced
shredded cheddar cheese
1 pizza crust
Italian seasoning
garlic salt
pepper
salt

spread your pizza crust out into a rectangle on your baking pan.

Throw some cheese down the center.  Don't skimp on the cheese, you can't have too much I promise

Put the chopped peppers & onions down the center on top of the cheese.

sprinkle some Italian seasoning, garlic salt, pepper, and regular salt on top of all that.

overlap and pinch the long sides of your rectangle of pizza crust to cover your filling.  Don't forget to pinch the ends closed as well.

Use a knife and make 2 slits about an inch long on either side of your pizza crust seam.

Put your Stromboli in the oven at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes, or until your dough is golden brown.


Now kick yourself and mentally say a few choice words when you realize you forgot to put the ham in your filling.  Take a knife and cut open your beautifully pinched together Stromboli dough and add in some diced ham.

Now try your best to piece that dough back together to cover the filling.  I ended up having to tear off some end pieces and do a little patch work.  Place back in the oven and bake for about 18 minutes.

Here it is sliced open, cheese oozing out, YUM!

Applesauce Bread and Mini Muffins

When my son had is tonsillectomy a couple weeks ago, my husband went out and bought a bunch of "soft" foods.  All of which Grant refused to eat.  I'm talking pudding, luigi's Italian ice, applesauce, jello, popsicles, he wouldn't eat any of it.  Of course Derrick thought he was being good buying the biggest boxes of jello and pudding, the largest jar of applesauce, and the big bag of popsicles.  The only item out of all of it I was afraid was going to go bad was the applesauce.  I knew Derrick wouldn't eat it, of course Grant wouldn't touch it, and I can only eat it as a side dish for so long.  Now the homemade applesauce I made back in the fall I could eat every day... and I did....til it was gone.

I started searching online for how to use it as a substitute for oil and butter in my baking recipes and came across this applesauce bread recipe.  I love quick breads and have quite a few recipes in my recipe arsenal.  Grant will eat the bread sometimes but he investigates it before eating it and once that happens a lot of times he decides it's "yucky" before taking the first bite. 

Now mini muffins he will devour by the bowl full.  I make 24 at a time and they are gone in 2-3 days.  He loves them so I try to find various recipes and sneak healthy ingredients in them when I can.  I thought I could probably take the applesauce bread recipe and make it into mini muffins without an issue, but I didn't want 40 some mini muffins so I went ahead and made a medium sized loaf of the bread and used the leftover batter to make 21 mini muffins.

Applesauce Bread

1/3c butter-softened
1c sugar
1 1/4c applesauce
1 1/2c flour
3/4t baking soda
3/4t cinnamon
1/2t baking powder
1/2t salt
1/2t nutmeg
1/8t cloves
1t vanilla
optional * 1/2c raisins 1/2c chopped walnuts

Cream butter and sugar.  Add the egg, applesauce, and vanilla, mix well.  Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in another bowl.  Stir into creamed mixture just until moist.  Fold in nuts and raisins if you're using them.  Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes.
*I used a medium sized loaf pan and it took about 30-40 minutes to bake through.  The mini muffins I made took 11-12  minutes at 350 degrees.

They turned out super moist and Grant started gobbling them up immediately.  I thought there was a little too much spices in the ingredients, not so much so that I won't be eating some of the bread but the next time I make it I think I'll use 1/2t cinnamon, 1/4t nutmeg, and a dash of cloves, instead of the amounts the recipe calls for.  I also added about 1tsp vanilla.  The recipe didn't call for it but there isn't really anything I bake that doesn't have vanilla in the recipe so it just didn't feel right leaving it out.  I also didn't add the raisins or walnuts.  I knew if I added either of them I was risking Grant not even trying them but declaring them "yucky" because there was "stuff in it".

Maybe it's just the pregnancy talking but a warm slice of this bread topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is calling my name.  YUM!

Pioneer Woman's Baked French Toast

While I'm having a crafting standstill my baking continues.  I've tried numerous French toast casserole recipes and none of them have turned out too well.  They are either mushy, overcooked, or not the right flavors to suit me. 

I got the Pioneer Woman's Holiday cookbook for Christmas this past year and was so excited to start cooking out of it.  My mom works for the school system and the cooks had a bag full of thick bread heals they were going to throw away.  Naturally my mom thought I could probably do something with them.  Originally I was going to make bread crumbs but decided I didn't want to take the time to blend them up in 20 different batches using my Magic Bullet.  That's when I thought of making a French toast casserole recipe with them.  I turned to the holiday cookbook because I'd remembered seeing a couple different breakfast casserole recipes and since Ree hasn't disappointed me yet with her tasty recipes I thought I had a good chance of this one turning out. 

Even so I only made an 8x8 dish instead of 9x13, for 2 reasons: 1. in case it turned out badly and then I wouldn't have a full pan to throw away 2. I didn't want to use up 8 of my eggs since I only had a little less than 2 dozen to last me a couple weeks before I go grocery shopping again.


4 eggs
1 1/4c milk
1/4c sugar
1T vanilla (I don't measure vanilla so I just dumped some in)
Crusty bread (enough to fill an 8x8 baking dish)

Topping
1/4c margarine-cold and cut into pieces
1/4c flour
1/4c brown sugar-packed
1/2t cinnamon
couple shakes of nutmeg
couple shakes of salt

*whisk the eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar together.  Spray your baking dish liberally with PAM.  Tear your crusty bread into chunks and fill your baking dish.  Pour the egg/milk mixture over top.  In a medium bowl mix your topping ingredients together using a large fork or pastry cutter.  You want it to look like crumbs or chunks.  Sprinkle over the top of the bread.  Put in fridge overnight.  Bake in the morning at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Top with syrup.

 I let the bread heals dry out over night so they egg/milk mixture would soak into them and not make them a mushy mess.  I didn't have any cream so instead I used 1 1/4c 2% milk.  Other than that I followed the recipe except halving everything.   I made it last night and let it sit in the fridge.  If you do this just don't forget it's in there like I did.  I ate a bowl of cereal when I got out of the shower and then remembered I had made the casserole.  So, breakfast for lunch anyone?

Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe

I love finding new recipes even though I'm always a little weary at first about trying them.  I hate it if I think one is going to be delicious and turns out blah!  Such a waste of time, energy, and food.  So I always read the comments posted following any recipe I find online and love to share recipes I've tried and I think are tasty.

I'd love to have  a really amazing picture of this soup, one you look at and go "holy moly that looks good, I need to cook that now."  You know like the ones you see on thepioneerwoman.com.  I just never want to take the time to make mine look that perfect.  So what do I do? I take my camera to the stove and just snap a quick pic.  It may not always look the best but my taste buds don't lie, and anything I share I give my honest opinion and I don't share recipes I wouldn't make again.


I found this recipe online.  I can't find the website for the original recipe I wrote down.  I swear I'm getting better about writing down my sources but I wrote this one in my notebook a couple months back.  So if you read this recipe and know where it came from, leave me a comment and I'll give credit where it's due.

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1 1/2lbs ground beef
1 onion chopped
3 green peppers chopped (I keep chopped green peppers in my freezer from when I've found them on sale.  I used about 3 cups of chopped peppers)
4oz can mushrooms (I think the original recipe called for fresh mushrooms but I used canned)
4c water
4tsp beef bouillon granules (original recipe called for 32oz beef broth)
2 cans tomato soup
28oz can diced tomato
6 shakes Worcestershire sauce (original recipe called for 4, I added a couple extra for good luck)
2t Italian seasoning
1/2t pepper
1 1/2c cooked rice

In large pot brown ground beef, green peppers, onion.  Season with salt and pepper.  When beef is almost completely browned add canned mushrooms.  Drain off grease.  Stir in water, beef bouillon granules, tomato soup, diced tomato, and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to boil, cover.  Reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.  Add Italian seasoning, pepper, and rice.  Heat through.


I added the pepper and Italian seasoning before I brought it to a boil and it still tasted really good.  This soup is more like a stew to me because it's chunky.  If you want more of a soup add up to 2 cups more beef broth.  I preferred it chunky.  My husband really liked this soup too, it's definitely going in the soup rotation.  The first thing he said after I told him what kind of soup it was, "where do you come up with this stuff?"  Since I'm always finding new recipes he's never heard of and honestly he's probably a little weary of most of them.  He's more of a, stick with the same meat and mashed potatoes type guy, but that gets boring to me.  I'm going to attempt to freeze some of this soup, for the month I have the baby (easy meals are a must when recovering).  I've never frozen a soup that contains rice but I'm sure it will heat up just fine.  I'll share the results.

Western Baby Shower

I so wish I would have gotten more pictures of this shower, but after dropping the little one off at Grammy's and stopping at the store for fresh fruit, I had only a few minutes to snap these pics and get the food set out.
I have to give a huge thanks to my husband who cleaned the apartment while I was gone, it looked great and there's no way I would have had time to do it before guests arrived.

 I lucked out with some of the decorations because my sister is getting married in August and is doing a country theme.  She provided me with the burlap table runners I used as the backdrop behind the table.  I just used tacks to hang them side by side.  The onesie bunting I adored.  I used scrapbook paper I found at Hobby Lobby in 4 various prints, denim, red paisley, blue paisley, and blue plaid.  I attached them to twine with tape and draped them.  

The Name canvas was very popular and Audra (the guest of honor) loved it and took it home to hang in her nursery.  I explain in this post how I made the canvas.

I also had 6 mini tissue poms hanging from the ceiling in red, blue, and brown.

 I made butter cookies.  My mom and I are famous in our family for them.  I tried like everything to get the icing color to be a Christmas red and after using half the little jar of Wilton red food coloring I gave up and settled on the above orangey color, tied the favor bags with twine, and called it a night.  I love the onesie cookie cutter I found in Amish country last year and used it at the "About to Pop" shower I hosted last Spring.  After I snapped the above photo I found a cute wicker basket to put these in so they weren't just thrown all over the table.

My cousin loved the ultrasound picture and was so happy to have a 4x6 snapshot of it.  Everyone else was excited to look at it too as most of them had never seen it.

I made lemon blueberry cupcakes which turned out delish.  It's a combo I've never made in cupcakes before and everyone said they were so good except my aunt who hates blueberries, haha.  I used the recipe from here as a base.  It originally came from the book by the girls of DC Cupcakes.  I changed it up some though. Check out the bottom of this post for the recipe I used.  The cupcake pics were made using burlap printed scrapbook paper and a monogram "R" printed on white card stock.  I used my cricut to cut the circles of both and attached them with glue dots.  Then taped them to mini skewers.

I told how I made the wreath in this post.  I ended up adding a mini pennant banner I made with my cricut and leftover scrapbook paper.  The crate I used as a prop I already had in my house and I think it added just the right touch to elevate the cupcakes and house the quote I framed.

I kept the food simple, wish I had a picture of it all set up but no such luck, so I'll share the recipes and the sites I got them from or got inspiration from instead.

Menu: 

*Ham and Swiss cheese sliders

Homemade Salsa and tortilla chips

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad (boxed mix I already had in pantry)

Apples and Strawberry slices

*Deviled Eggs

*Strawberry Lemonade

Sweet Tea

Ice Water

*Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

Frosted Butter Cookies 

*recipes below

Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders

24 slider buns
16oz thinly sliced deli ham
16 slices swiss cheese (you will have leftover)
4 1/2T dijon Mustard
1 1/2 medium chopped onion
1 1/2T Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 sticks butter/margarine 

The ham and cheese sliders got rave reviews, and I had to agree with my guests, they were quite tasty.  I will definitely be making them again.  They were so easy and since all my other food could be made the day before these were simple to put together and they were the only thing I had to pop in the oven before guests arrived. I found the original recipe online and for the life of me I can't find the website I got it from, oops.  This is why I should write things down.

I've noticed recently that everyone has a different way of making deviled eggs.  I've seen people add vinegar and pickles and that just grosses me out, why do you need such things in deviled eggs? For years it never occurred to make them any way other than how my mom taught me and I've found her way is the easiest of them all so I thought I'd share.  Her recipe calls for all of 3 ingredients, boiled eggs, mustard, and mayo.  I've made them so many times I don't measure anything.  I go more on consistency and taste than measurements.

Deviled Eggs

1 dozen eggs (boiled)

about 3/4c mayo

about 1/3c mustard

I boil my eggs for 5 minutes at a rolling boil, turn the heat off and let them sit in the covered pot on the stove for about an hour.  Then I put them in the fridge to cool before I peel them.  Once they are cooled, peel the shell off each egg and cut them in half lengthwise.  Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs and put in a small mixing bowl.  Once all the yolks are in the bowl mash them up with a fork until they are good and crumbly.  Add your mayo and mustard and stir until combined.  Take a small spoon and fill each egg white with some of your yolk mixture.  Remember you can add more or less mayo and mustard depending on your taste buds, again I don't measure I go off consistency and taste.  Don't be scared you can do it!

Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes 

2 1/2c flour sifted
2 1/2t baking powder
1/4t salt
8T unsalted butter-room temp
1 1/2c sugar (original recipe calls for 1 3/4c)
2 eggs-room temp
2 1/4t vanilla
1 1/4c milk-room temp
zest of 2 lemons
1/2-1tsp lemon extract depending on your taste buds
1 1/2c blueberries
1/2T flour (to coat blueberries and keep them from sinking during baking)

sift flour, baking powder, and salt.  Measure sugar in a bowl, add zest and rub together with fingers.  Cream butter and lemony sugar.  Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing between each addition.  Add vanilla to milk.  Add 1/3 of dry ingredients, then 1/3 of milk/vanilla mixture.  Continue until all dry ingredients and milk mixture is used.  Add lemon extract, mix.  Fold in blueberries.  Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes

Strawberry Lemonade 

1 gallon water
3 lemons-wedged and seeded
1 1/2c sugar
1/2lb strawberries fresh or frozen

combine all in a pitcher and mix until sugar is dissolved.  I try to stock up on strawberries during the summer and freeze quite a few quart size bags just for this lemonade.   When I use frozen berries I don't even thaw them I just throw them in and they double as ice.  This is seriously good and addicting lemonade.  I started making it for every shower and birthday party I do instead of buying sodas and I've never had anyone complain.  My one piece of advice, If you're shower is going to have more than 10 people I'd advise making more than 1 gallon because you will run out.  Yes it's that good!

I am so glad this shower is done.  I had a blast making everything and brainstorming ideas and of course the best part is always seeing the guest of honors face when she walks in but the last minute frantic rush always exhausts me.  Now, as always, I'm looking ahead to my next line up of projects.  What are they you may be asking yourself

1. Baby goodies- hooded towels, 1 yard receiving blankets, hospital gown, binky clips, nursing cover

2. Valentine's Day

3. Easter

4. My neice's Dora the Explorer 3rd birthday party

5. My sister's Bridal  shower- this one's gonna be a big one, the biggest party/shower I've done since my own wedding.  I'm excited but nervous all the same.  It's going to be a lot of crafting, a lot of prep, and everything will have to be transported to another location since it will be for all 4 sides of the family.  All that with a 3 year old and an infant to take care of, I'm already tired thinking about it.

Cookie Dough Evening

Every year for the last 10 (and even before that with my mom) I have taken an entire day during he Christmas season and baked.  Mostly cookies but also quick breads, cupcakes, and candy.  I usually give these out to friends, family, and coworkers.  I always looked forward to my "baking day", that is until I had Grant.  Suddenly the idea of spending hours in my kitchen, more hours than before since I was interrupted by the needs of a child, no longer seemed like a fun tradition.  I pushed through for a couple years, making sure my husband didn't make plans for a specific Saturday, so I could at least have backup when needed. 

This year was a different story.  Now being pregnant and having a 3 year old, I had no desire, not one in my entire body, to spend a day baking from sun up to sun down.  Not to mention the fact that I didn't have a whole lot of people to give them out to since my mom also bakes and gives them to part of the people we know and I no longer have co-workers.  I decided I needed a new plan.  I still love baking and the idea of a Christmas season with no cookies and candy was unacceptable in my mind.

My solution for making this year easier and quicker for me was making and freezing the dough ahead of time.  I decided the best option for me was to take an evening or a couple and mix up all the cookie batters I planned on using, roll them into logs, and freeze them to bring out and bake whenever I wanted.  Genius right? 

So last night after Grant went to sleep I decided to get my butt in gear and at least make 1 batch of dough.  Turns out once I started I figured why stop?  I ended up making 3 batches of cookie dough, which is all the cookies I plan on making.  Since we are having my dad over for an early Christmas dinner, I went ahead and baked a handful of each kind before freezing the dough.

I usually stick to the same recipes I've made for years, I am after all a creature of routine and habit.  This year I wanted to try a different chocolate chip cookie recipe.  My mom's is more of a cakey cookie and I was in search of something a little crunchier.  I came across this Pioneer Woman recipe and decided to give it a whirl, after all she's never steered me wrong before.

Seeing this just makes me want to sit and eat cookie dough straight from the bowl.

 

The only thing I omitted from Ree's recipe was the flax seed.  I don't keep it in my pantry therefore I don't use it.

Golden brown to perfection!  When I first read the recipe and saw it called for instant coffee granules I was a little scared, I admit.  I love coffee but didn't think I wanted that flavor in my chocolate chip cookies.  However I decided to trust my friend Ree (oh how I wish she was actually my friend and would have me over for dinner, yum!) and add them to the batter.  I tasted the batter, because you can't have cookie batter without tasting it right? and I could taste the coffee.  I immediately thought, "crap! this is not what I wanted, what am I gonna do with all this cookie dough now?"  But I soldiered through and baked a few to at least let my husband and family try them, after all I figured I could pawn them off on someone if I didn't like the flavor.  When they baked up I tried one with the last hope that the flavor of coffee wasn't prevalent, and guess what?  No coffee flavor!

 

I was so excited.  It was just as Ree said, the coffee granules just give the cookies a little richer chocolate flavor and my oh my they are delish.  Crunchy and chocolatey and just what I was searching for in a new chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I had my husband try them just to be sure my taste buds weren't the only ones not tasting coffee. I didn't tell him why I wanted him to try them just that I tried a new recipe and wanted his opinion.  His comment was, "they taste like a chocolate chip cookie to me".  Translation, no coffee flavor!

 

When I found Pioneer Woman's chocolate chip cookie recipe I also came across this Brown Sugar Oatmeal cookie recipe.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of oatmeal cookies, but my mom and future brother-in-law love them.  My mom has complained in years past that she can't find a good recipe for them.  These looked divine, and I love me some brown sugar in anything so I figured I probably couldn't go wrong.

They come out looking almost, in my opinion, overcooked.  Trust me when I say they are not.  This is just the goodness of all that brown sugar.  It makes it crunchy, and gives it a really nice flavor that I think is lacking in a lot of oatmeal cookie recipes.  I plan on adding some raisins to the dough I already made and froze when I go to bake a large batch of them.

 

The last cookie I made was one I've been making for the last 4-5 years.  At some point I had a bag of Nestle chocolate chips, not sure why since no other cookie or candy I make calls for them.  On that bag there was this recipe:

 

White Chip Chocolate Cookies

2 1/4c flour

2/3c cocoa

1t baking soda

1/4t salt

1c butter

3/4c granulated sugar

2/3c packed brown sugar

1t vanilla

2 large eggs

2c white chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, mix.  In a separate bowl beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy.  Add eggs 1 at a time beating well after each addition.  Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chips.  Drop by tablespoonful on baking sheet.  Bake 9-11 minutes.

 

A gave them a try on a whim way back then and have been making them ever since.  They are one of the few cookies that only I make so I get to take them to my mom and sister and give them away.  Pretty much every other cookie I bake, my mom bakes as well so I couldn't ever take her mine, cuz she already had so many of her own.

 

Try your darndest after you mix it up not to taste the chocolatey goodness that is this batter.  I know it's hard, but try.

 

 

Yum!

 

These are 1 of my all time favorite cookies.  I love, love, love, white chocolate chips.  My only piece of advice is to watch while baking these because it's hard to tell if they are fully baked and you can burn them without realizing because they are already dark in color.  I have burned the bottoms of a few of my white chocolate chip cookies thinking they weren't done all the way and then it was too late.  It's a sad day when I have to throw out these favorites of mine.

 

Now for the freezing.  Some people freeze their cookie dough in already formed balls so all you have to do is take them from the freezer, place them on the baking pan, and bake.  I love this method however I only have a fridge freezer in our little apartment and spending hours freezing batch after batch of dough on 1 small cookie sheet doesn't sound like fun to me, or a the way I want to spend an entire day.

 

So instead here's how I do mine.  I take a long piece of plastic wrap and lay it out on the counter.  Spoon my dough on top of that.

 Roll it up in the plastic wrap and twist the ends.

 Place your roll on a piece of foil.

 

Roll the dough in the foil and twist the ends.

 

Write the kind of dough it is on the outside.  I do this with a regular ol' pen and it works just fine.

 

Now pop it in your freezer for when you get a hankering, yes I said hankering, for cookies.

 

 

When you are in the mood for some cookies just put it in the fridge for a couple hours or leave it on the counter to thaw, just don't leave it all day or overnight, there are raw eggs in there after all, and bake as you normally would.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Bean Enchilada Soup

My husband has decided he doesn't like chicken unless it's cooked on the grill, which I don't do, so I created a new recipe I adapted from my chicken enchilada soup recipe.

1can rotel
2 cans cream of chicken
1can enchilada sauce
1 bag frozen corn
3t cilantro
1 onion chopped
1 can diced tomato
1 can black beans
4c chicken broth (I ended up using 1 can, 3 chicken bouillon cubes and 3c of water)
1T olive oil

sauté onion in  olive oil until soft.  Add Rotel, diced tomato, and corn.  Heat through.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the soup pot and heat through.

The original recipe didn't have diced tomato, black beans, or frozen corn.  I added them to give the soup a little more since I omitted the meat.  However you could easily add some chopped or shredded chicken to the soup and it's delicious either way.  I like having a lot of different soup recipes during the winter, not only for the fact they warm you up during cold days/nights, but also because they leave lots of leftovers for the following days meals.  I always feel like I'm getting more for my money with soups and stews than a regular meat/potato/veggie meal.

Enjoy!