Confessions of a Bake-Aholic: Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi.  My name is Lauren, and I'm a Recovering Bake-Aholic.

I love to bake...especially when I'm stressed out or upset about something.  It's just comforting to me.  It's just what I do.  Which brings me today.  I took the National PT Boards today...barf.  Let's just say it was hard...the hardest, or at least most draining, test of my life.  Instead of getting depressed about questions I think I missed or worrying about whether or not I passed, I decided to lock away all of my sharp knives and pulled out the Kitchen Aid instead :)


So I cranked up some classical music (yes, I said classical) and my mixer, and I got to baking.  Something about it just puts me at ease. It must be all of the careful measuring and mixing taste-testing.  It's like God's personal little gift to me (he even protects me from Salmonella while I eat all the batter).


Today I made Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Oh buddy are they good...and they make a TON of cookies (how about 6 dozen).  They are so incredibly chewy and delicious.  Ugh, I could eat the whole batch...or at least half.  The last time I made these I brought them to Myrtle Beach.  I thought I brought way too many, but looking back I think I should have doubled the recipe.  All 6 dozen of those suckers were gone in 2 days.  No joke.  I'm going to have to show some restraint this time though...we're heading to PV Beach in 2 days for some serious family and BEACH time!!! 

Like always, this is a pretty easy recipe.  I've only made them 3 times now, but they've turned out great every time!

Start by beating the butter and peanut butter until creamy.

Add in the white and brown sugar.

Next comes the eggs, vanilla, and milk.

Followed by the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt)

Last, mix in those chocolate chips!!!

Scoop tablespoon sized balls of dough onto your cookie sheet.  You can roll them smooth first if you'd like...I personally like to leave them messy...it's more my style.

Bake at 350 for 10-11 mins.  Don't over bake them!!!  The may look gooey, but they'll firm up nicely.  Just let them cool on the baking sheet for a good 5 minutes before you try to remove them.  Enjoy :)

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES


adapted from Mel's Kitchen  Cafe

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 ½ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tablespoons milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl (or mixer) cream butter and peanut butter together until light and fluffy.  I used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Add the white and brown sugar and mix until combined.  Mix in eggs for 1-2 minutes, followed by the vanilla and milk.

Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) very briefly.  Before it is completely mixed in, add the chocolate chips, and finish mixing until the flour is combined completely.  

Pop the dough in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes so that it will firm up a little bit.  Scoop tablespoon sized balls onto greased or parchment lined baking sheets.  You can either leave them messy or form them into smooth balls.  (I personally like to leave them messy...it's more my style).

Bake for 10-11 minutes at 350 degrees.  DO NOT OVER BAKE!  They may not look completely done when you take them out, but after you let them cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, they will set up just nicely!

Meatless Monday: Bean Burrito

Like most newly-weds (and most people nowadays) we are on a budget...a Meatless Monday kind of budget. Since most things I make for dinner are intended to feed more than 2, our leftovers from Meatless Monday tends to turn into Meatless Wednesday and Friday too, which is even better for our budget.  We like our meat and like to eat a lot of produce, which gets expensive.  We had to find a way to cut back.  Going meatless once a week and a little smarter shopping has dropped our grocery bill quite a bit (about $100/month)!  What inspired us to start cutting our grocery bill was our desire to be debt free (can you say 7 years of college/graduate school loans?...barf)!  After reading Dave Ramsey's book on financial peace, we've decided to get our debt snowball moving...but I'll save those details for another day.

I was a little nervous about running this idea past my husband.  We are both very much carnivores, and I didn't know how he would take the idea of a meatless dish once a week.  Turns out he was all for it if it saved money, so we decided to go for it.  This was our second meatless dish, and it's been our fav so far.   Eating a good dinner is a big deal to us, so after each meal we tend to have a debriefing of what we thought about the meal (if we'd make it again, what we liked, what we would change next time...no kidding...we're that big of nerds).  Nathan told me after eating it, "that's a keeper".  Hope you enjoy it too!

Just a heads up...this makes A LOT (about 14-16 burritos).  We chose to freeze half the mixture for another week and only make 8 burritos for this week.

BEAN BURRITO RECIPE 

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe  http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/01/super-bean-burritos.html 

Ingredients

1 cup brown or white rice, uncooked
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, diced
2 packets reduced sodium taco seasoning
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz. each) reduced sodium pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups water
1 can less sodium whole kernel corn, drained
6 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped

16 burrito-sized (10-inch) flour tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Cook rice; set aside. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion (not the green onion), garlic, jalapeno; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and golden, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring for 1 minute.

Add one can of beans and mash gently in the pan (I used a fork, but a potato masher would work as well). Add the second can of beans and the water and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10-12 minutes, being careful not to let the mixture stick to the bottom of the pot. Add corn; cook to heat through, 2-3 minutes. Stir in taco seasoning. Remove from heat; stir in green onions and cooked rice.

Heat tortillas in microwave for about 30-45 seconds or until all are warmed through.

Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup bean and rice mixture and 1/8 cup cheese on one side of tortilla. Fold, and hold in sides. Starting from filled end, holding sides in as you work, tightly roll into a bundle. Place on a baking sheet, seam side down, and prepare remaining burritos.

I topped mine with reduced fat sour cream and a little salsa :)

Nutritional Information: Calories 347, Total Fat 11.1g, Total Carbohydrate 56.09g, Protein 12.96g

Myrtle Beach Days...and Peach Cobbler

It's back to reality after a blissful beach vay-cay.  The hubs and I just got back from a week long stay at the beautiful Myrtle Beach.  Boy did we need a little getaway, and I desperately needed some beach time!  I love life in Atlanta, but I miss my sandy toes.  This was the 4th year I've been able to join the VDS/Ward clan at Myrtle. However, this trip was extra special because I was finally able to stay a full week and it was our first time at the beach as a married couple.  It. Was. Awesome.

We had 3 days of rain (boo) but managed to fill our inside-time with reading, Monopoly, and of course our new favorite game "things"...one word - hilarious.  The rest of our days were filled with boogie boarding, kayaking, paddle boarding and boccie-balling.  We even were able to get up close and personal with a few fishy friends (jellies, sharks, and dolphins, oh-my).

When we got back on Saturday, Nathan and I decided that we were officially on vacation until he had to go back to work on Monday.  Even though the rain followed us home, we enjoyed our last few days of relaxation.  Nathan even took me to see the Hunger Games since I finally was able to read all the books at the beach.

We ate LOTS of super good food at the beach, and vowed to get back to healthy eating on Monday.  But since it was only Saturday night, we thought our last hurrah should be making a delicious and completely unhealthy dessert...Peach Cobbler.  When people ask me what my favorite dessert is, I always answer "something warm with ice cream on top".  That pretty much sums up my sweet cravings.  This cobbler obviously falls into that category.  The best thing about this dessert is how easy it is.  If you don't already know, I usually only make simple recipes, and this one is very simple.  You can even swap out the peaches for other fruit (apples, blueberries, etc). All you need is 2 cans of peaches, a box of cake mix, a stick of butter, and some brown sugar.

Forewarning - I am about the furthest from a professional photographer that you can get! Sorry!

First you empty your canned peaches (fruit of choice) into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Then pour the DRY cake mix on top of the peaches ( I stress dry because my sweet friend KK thought I meant to make the batter and then pour that on top).

Melt a stick of butter and mix in the brown sugar. Then pour the mixture on top of the cake mix.  I usually spoon the butter mixture on top. You may have to make indentations in the cake mix with a spoon so that the butter will sink into it.

Bake at 350 for 35 minutes until it is somewhat set. Then top with ice cream :)

Enjoy...we sure did!

EASY PEACH COBBLER

Ingredients

2 cans peaches (or fruit of choice)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Empty canned peaches into 9 x 13 baking dish.

Pour (dry) cake mix on top of peaches.

Mix the brown sugar in with the melted butter and pour on top of the cake mix.  You may need to make indentations in the cake mix with a spoon to ensure even butter distribution.

Bake for 35 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream on top.

Simply the Sweetest Show on TV

It's finally here...the DWTS finale!  That's right, I am a Dancing with the Stars addict.  Not only is it the best show on television, but it's a way for me to stay in touch with my sweet momma.  We started watching the show  together about 3 years ago and have yet to miss an episode.  Our first love was season 11's Kyle Massey (aka the boy with the bionic bum) and we have been in love with the show ever since. 

This season my mom and I are watching the show together again, only 350 miles apart.  Even though we aren't sharing a blankie or the same TV screen, we're still sharing laughs and memories.  I know if my phone buzzes (loudly because it's ancient) on a Monday or Tuesday from 8-10pm, it is most likely my mom texting me about one of the ridiculous judges' comments ("You were like two skinny french fries chasing the ketchup" - Len Goodman) or about a fabulous dance routine by our fav star of this season - Katherine Jenkins.  It never fails to make my night and make me feel like I have a little piece of home up here in the ATL.

This season has been the most talent packed season by far!  We have loved every single week and (almost) every single star. Going into tonight, we said as long as Katherine or Donald won, we would be happy. We like William too, he's just not our favorite. But honestly, we'll be happy no matter what because we can put another season of memories in the books. So here's to you Mom...let's have another great night of dancing!