Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ahhh Chocolate!

Oh how I adore ya, let me count the ways...103,104, 105,....okay, I'll not get too carried away here.  But I am very excited about this recipe!

And I mean EXCITED!!!  It excites me because it is a wonderful, chewy, moist, chocolatey, easy to make cookie that my family LOVES!

PERFECTION!!!

It excites me because I have such a hard time finding new cookies my guys will eat....so when one comes along...its golden baby....GOLDEN!

So if you are thinking ahead and planning your lunch box menus for the coming school year....You mean you aren't planning.......your......lunchbox menus?  OK, awkward.....

Make these cookies!!! Nuf said.

 What you Need:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature (2 1/4 sticks)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups  all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces chocolate chips (about 2 1/2 cups)

What You Do:

 1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Then, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

 2.  Add butter and sugars to a large bowl, turn a hand mixer to medium speed and beat until creamy, light and fluffy. 

 3.  Add one egg, then turn mixer to medium and beat until well incorporated. Add the second egg as well as the vanilla extract and beat until they are well incorporated. 

4.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and the salt with a whisk. Whisk to combine.

5.  With the hand mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The cookie batter will become very thick. You only need to mix until everything has combined.

6.  Add the chocolate chips to the batter and stir to combine.

7.  Drop cookie dough by rounded table-spoonfuls onto baking sheets.  Bake 9 to 12 minutes or until the cookies have puffed a little and the tops are dry. 

8.  ***Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Quinoa Bean Salad

I am sooo enjoying this summer so far.  The weather has been mostly cooperative and we have been able to enjoy our backyard with friends and family!  We have already used our patio set  more than we ever did last year.  So cool!  My favourite part is that it hasn't been overly windy!   YAHOOO.  All Northern Albertans nod your heads..."Oh ya".

Ok, enough with the silly cheer leading thingy.....Anyways.  I do enjoy entertaining and serving summer foods such as salads.  But not just the same ol same ol....The ornamental green salad that is on the table and no one cares to eat kind.  I like to make fun ones with fruit in them or Doritos... yep, click and see the Cauliflower Taco salad!  Or my Layered Salad With Basil Dressing  Also tasty!

So this past week I made spin on a bean salad with the added protein goodness of Quinoa.  The wonder food....something about all its protein......I'm not a nutritionist...  Anyways, we had friends over and we rotisseried a chicken.  I wanted a hearty salad to be the side.  Something filling and satisfying.  This salad fit the bill!  Went great with the chicken and baguette we had!

Quinoa Bean Salad

What you Need:

1/2 cup white quinoa

1 cup water

1 can of green beans

1 can yellow wax beans

1 can (19 fl oz/540 mL) chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed

1 can (19 fl oz/540 mL) kidney beans, rinsed

1 red pepper, chopped

1 cup finely chopped red onions

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2  - 3/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomato & Oregano Dressing or an Italian Dressing

What to do:

BRING water to boil in small saucepan; stir in quinoa. Cover; simmer on medium-low heat 15 min. or until liquid is absorbed. Cool.
COMBINE remaining ingredients in large bowl. Stir in quinoa.
REFRIGERATE 1 hour.

 

CoffeeBiscotti : Reflecting....

CoffeeBiscotti : Reflecting....: This past week I have been away with my little family to a reunion of sorts. A good yet sad reunion.  This past April my Grandpa George ...

Reflecting....

This past week I have been away with my little family to a reunion of sorts. A good yet sad reunion.  This past April my Grandpa George passed away at a good ol age of 94.  He was an amazing man. Generous, thankful, kind, hard working, happy and full of praise and prayer.  We were able to celebrate his life this past weekend on a bright sunny day with almost all his family.  It was beautiful to reflect on a Grandpa, Dad, and Uncle who impacted so many people.

I was surrounded by family and when families are together there is always food.  My Grandpa loved good food..... We had a big bbq and fellowshiped together and ended the night with a sing song of some of Grandpa's favorite songs and hymns.  I loved it.

Later that night my mom and sister in law Heather were together sipping on some tea and nibbling on some candies and cookies.  My Grandpa had such a sweet tooth.  He had a specific drawer that all us grand-kids knew about....and it was always full.....of hard candies, licorices and caramels.  :)  As we were visiting and reminiscing, my Mom pulled out a bag of "Toasted Marshmallow" from the Nutty Club.  This was one of my Mom's dad's favorite treats.  Now my Grandpa Ernie passed away almost 30 years ago and I didn't get to know him well, so it is always cool to hear about him.  Mom pulled out these candies and shared them around.  They were really tasty.  She said he liked them cold....so into the freezer they go!

The next day I found a couple of bags of these treats and bought one for my mom and one for me.  I have been enjoying them and thinking about how a simple treat can cause a person to remember something or someone special.  When I got home I needed to refill my cupboards and fridge and to my pleasant surprise my grocery store carries these treats...They've always been there....I just didn't "see" them.  Now I will and remember my Grandpa Ernie and a memory shared with my mom.