Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I would consider myself to be more of a savory person than a sweets person, but yesterday I was really wanting some chocolate chip cookies. So I went on a hunt. Little did I know that everyone (and their grandma) out there thinks their chocolate chip cookie recipe is the best. I decided that rather than look on the typical recipe websites, I would search through some blogs so I could not only get a recipe, but also read what makes their cookie recipe the best. I came across a blog called Savory Sweet Life and I figured we might have similar tastes. I began to read her blog on her cookie recipe and decided pretty quickly that I would try her recipe.

Yummy cookie dough

Really Homemade Lasagna

Ok friends. I did it. I really, actually did it. I made a meal almost 100% from scratch - it depends on how nit-picky you want to get. I didn't make the mozzarella cheese, nor did I can my own tomatoes. But otherwise, I didn't open any containers to get the ingredients for my meal. I found a recipe online called "Thousand Layer Lasagna". It involved making your own pasta, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The key is to make paper thin layers of pasta alternating between super thin layers of sauce and cheese.

Sadly, my meat sauce was just WAY to thick and it over-powered the whole dish. The cheese layer was fine, but the pasta sheets were just so thin you could barely tell it was there. So while I don't discourage you from making a thousand layer lasagna (which is a slight exaggeration), I say proceed with caution. Your layers really do need to be thin.

It doesn't look terrible at least...

Brisket Revised

Recently I told you about the wonderful brisket recipe I learned from my mother-in-law. Several months ago we went to dinner at Matt's parents house and as soon as we walked in the door I picked up on the unmistakable smell of brisket roasting all day in the oven. Much to my surprise, there was a slow cooker on the counter. When we sat down to eat she explained that it was the same recipe she always used, but she used a roast instead. The meat was all shredded up, basking in its juices, just waiting for some tasty bread to sop it all up.

I figured since I had my slow cooker on since yesterday morning, I might as well keep using it. I poured beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, half an onion, garlic cloves, and some garlic powder into the pot of a slow cooker. I seasoned my brisket with some fresh ground black pepper, kosher salt, onion powder, and paprika and seared it off on both sides on the stove. After about 3 minutes on each side I placed the brisket in the slow cooker and poured about 1/3 cup liquid smoke over top. Then I squirted a generous spread of yellow mustard over top. You may wonder how the mustard fits in, but it adds an amazing tang to the meat and is definitely missed when it is left out. 

While the brisket was cooking I went ahead and whipped up some crusty french rolls and left them on the stove to rise.

Then I assembled some broccoli slaw - which was really simple with the bagged slaw, some mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar. (But I forgot to take a picture..oops!) When the brisket was almost done, I popped the rolls in the oven to bake.

Although the rolls varied greatly in size, they were SO tasty and warm and crusty (in a good way, of course).

My original plan for the brisket was to shred the meat, but it was still pretty much in tact so I just took it out as is and sliced it up. The juices in the pan were GREAT for pouring over the meat and sopping up with the rolls.

This was definitely a winner of a dinner and so easy to make. Quick and easy and delicious!

Slow Cooker Chicken and Stock

I found a recipe online today for cooking a whole chicken in a slow cooker. The slow cooker pretty much bakes the chicken and then when it's done cooking you use the drippings, skin, and bones (with the addition of some water) to make your own stock. It's so easy, and inexpensive, and is a double duty ingredient. One thing I would advise if you like to buy chickens and then freeze them is to remove the gizzards before freezing. You can cook a frozen chicken in your slow cooker, but if the gizzards are frozen inside you have to thaw the chicken to get them out before cooking. NOT the best use of your time. So here's what I did:

Thrifty Fun

I recently returned from a visit to South Florida to see my family and co-host a baby shower for one of my oldest friends. (And by oldest, I mean longest-lasting - we've been best friends for almost 15 years.) As I was getting ready to leave for my trip, my husband quipped "Maybe you can pick up some good Housewifery tips from your sister". My sister is easily the queen of Housewives - not in a Real Housewives kind of way, but in a disgustingly creative and homemakery kind of way. She decorates, she sews, she paints, she crafts, she home-schools, she breast feeds to at least one year, she makes bread by hand, she even makes her own yogurt and crackers for goodness sake! And despite the annoyingly sarcastic way I think and say all these qualities my sister possesses, I can't help but be impressed and a little bit jealous. After all, she is my big sister - if there's one person I can love and hate (just a little bit, of course) at the same time, it'd be her. So despite myself, I managed to be inspired by her during my visit. I know I don't stand a chance in matching her creatively, but I know I could at least try to best her in the kitchen. (Even if she doesn't know I'm competing with her...) Love you Meg!

Pasta Wrappers

I went on another quest to buy all things new to me at the grocery store this week. I've been having the worst summer of my life, and have been too sick to cook for several weeks. But now that I'm back in the game, I thought I'd dive in head first into my cooking. I bought a pack of pasta wrappers from the produce section at Publix. You can find them right next to the bean sprouts. Which I also bought, but neglected to use and therefore had to throw away. So anyway, I grabbed a pack of pasta wrappers thinking they were won ton wrappers, but much to my surprise there are many uses for this fantastic item! My initial idea was to make egg rolls or lumpia (Filipino egg rolls - amazingly delicious. By the way, did anyone else know that there was a Filipino restaurant in the Regency Square mall? I didn't either, but I'm looking for someone to go with me. Any takers?).

Matt and I decided to make some Southwest Egg Rolls like they have at Chili's since we had all the ingredients to make them. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/southwestern-egg-rolls/detail.aspx We used the pasta wrappers instead of flour tortillas and opted to "oven fry" them instead of deep fry. They turned out pretty good, except we didn't get them quite as golden and crunchy as you would normally like to eat egg rolls. Instead of an avocado ranch dipping sauce like they have at Chili's, I decided to make a copycat version of the ranch dressing at Outback Steakhouse, since it is SO good. This recipe does not disappoint! http://www.food.com/recipe/outback-ranch-dressing-70654 Just be sure to use the *buttermilk* ranch packet for the best flavor - and I used the whole thing, instead of a tablespoon. I also made a modified version of this Enchilada Soup recipe http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/cheesy-chicken-enchilada-soup/101433de-6049-4e50-8c49-db1d35f5cca9 which turned out really tasty.

On to the pictures...

Reviews

I am pleased to say that even two days after the Tomato and Gorgonzola Soup was gone, Carter was STILL asking to have some. Now that should say something!

While Carter didn't ask for my TropiChop on a daily basis, he ate it about 4 times. And if you have children, you know it's pretty impressive if your child will eat something once...let alone 4 times in under a week.

(I do think that Carter's comfort foods are beans & rice, macaroni & cheese, and chicken nuggets, so it's a fair bet that he will eat those things at any time.)

Thinking of some meal ideas for next week. If you have any ideas, shoot them my way!