Our Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

There is a recipe that I found a year after we were married, and I have kept it and used it all these years.  It's Jerry's favorite cookie, and I truly enjoy making these for him.  So today, I took pictures along the way so that I could share it with you!  Here's the recipe:

Hungry Jack's Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup brown sugar (dark brown adds more flavor)
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup butter (don't substitute margarine)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups flour
1 cup Hungry Jack Mashed Potato Flakes
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt (really necessary in this cookie)
12 oz. bag chocolate chips

Cream sugars and butter with a mixer.  Add vanilla and eggs, and mix well.  Add soda, salt, potato flakes, and flour.  After this have been mixed well, fold in chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

We make our own vanilla....

 

 It takes about six months to make so when the bottle is half full, we start another one.  It's really simple ad takes only two ingredients!  Buy three vanilla beans and split them lengthwise and put in the jar.  Add vodka to the rim and put in a dark cupboard for 6 months.  How easy is that?  It's the best vanilla I've ever used!

Use the good chips because...well, life is too short to eat bad chocolate!

For this batch, I used Nestle Chunks, but Ghirardelli are actually our favorite chips.

Bake your cookies 6 minutes on the lower rack and then 6 minutes on the top rack.  I take them carefully off the pan right away and put them on a cooling rack.  We like chewy cookies!

It's beautiful here today, and it's been a wonderful day of rejuvenation for both of us. I hope you are having an incredibly blessed Sunday, too!

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Pico de Gallo, Anyone?

We went to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market yesterday and had such a good time again!  It is the biggest market I have ever visited.  And Shane lives near there, so we always pick him up and get to spend some time with the kiddo!  Yesterday we were on a mission to pick up Pico de Gallo supplies.  We love this  - and eat this on many things.  I wanted to share the recipe so that you can give it a whirl!

1-1/2 c. seeded tomato, chopped

1/4 c. red onion, chopped

2 fresh jalapenos, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

juice of 2 limes

2 T. fresh cilantro

Mix together and enjoy!!  I have to give you a couple of hints.  What kind of cook would I be if I didn't share hints?  I don't seed my tomatoes - I use firm ripe Romas.  They are perfect for this, I think.  Also red onion makes a difference.  Your spice is going to depend on the whether or not you leave seeds from the jalapenos.  We are "hot" people, so we leave the seeds!

Now if you want some fresh guacamole to go along with it, here is the recipe I use:

2 avacados, pitted and mashed

1/2 cup red onion, chopped fine

1 jalepeno

2 T. cilantro

1 T. lime juice

1 tomato, chopped fine

1 garlic clove, minced

Jerry absolutely loves this.  We use these recipes with eggs, on brown rice with black beans (that's really healthy!), and with baked potatoes.  Both of these recipes are yummy!

Now that I've given you a recipe (sorry, no artwork - I worked today), I'm going to remind you about my blog candy.  Click on the picture on my right sidebar and it will take you right to it.  I see that I am getting close to 200 followers - WOW!  Should that happen by September 1st, I am going to add another prize package!!  Tell your friends!!

Cards, Banners, a Recipe, and Some News!

I should warn you that this is one of my longer posts!  And for the Sketches in Thyme reveal, scroll on down to the next post - it's fun sketch and I've used Bo Bunny Jazmyne.

Okay, I got carried away with banners yesterday.  I bought the new Hero Arts banner stamp, and I just love it!  It's so cute.  I think all you banner-lovers will agree!

My first card is for the weekly challenge at Let's Scrap.  I love the card sketch:

Along with the stamp, I have used: CTMH paper, button, swirl clip, and flowers; Chocolate Zing embossing powder; Think Pink Slice card

My next card is for the July 14th Sassy Lil' Sketches challenge. (Side note: My first design reveal for SLS will be on August 21!) At first when I saw the sketch, I didn't know what to do with it, so it took me some time to come up with a card.  It's a great sketch, and it challenged me (you know I love that!).

However, when I pulled out my Bo Bunny Peacock Lane paper, it all came together for me.  I also used a little May Arts ribbon, a Unity sentiment, and that lovely Hero Arts banner stamp.

Th third card is for two challenges over at Sketches 4 All.  Dannette had a card sketch challenge and Stacy wanted us to use monochromatic blues and bling. 

For this card I used: Hero Arts banner stamp; Unity sentiment and flower stamps; CTMH White Daisy and Dutch Blue Textured CS (one side of the Dutch Blue is a matching light blue - one of the reasons I love CTMH's textured paper!) and Dutch Blue and white embossing powder; May Arts ribbon; Little Yellow Bicycle gems

All right, my last card is for the Heart2Heart challenges.  I just love the challenges that these ladies present, and you know that I still have a big heart for CTMH!  The challenge this week is to incorporate a recipe.  Easy!  People are always asking me for this recipe, so I made a card to have on hand.  For this card I used all CTMH.

Quiche:

Foolproof Crust - 1/2 c. butter; 1 c. flour; 1/4 tsp salt

Mix these ingredients and pat into a 9" pie plate.  Prick generously and bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and turn heat down to 375 degrees.

Filling - 1 c. shredded swiss; 4 eggs; 1-1/2 c. milk

Variations: green onion; mushrooms;  green pepper; spinach; broccoli; bacon; shrimp; sausage, crab

Spread cheese and one or two variations into the crust.  Lightly beat eggs and milk.  Pour into shell over other ingredients.  bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until set.  Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

(This is our traditional Christmas brunch.  My husband and son love it!  It is also good cold, so if you make it early, it will still be awesome!)

OK, we made it through the cards, banners, and recipe.  Now I have some news!! I have been chosen to be on the Let's Scrap Design Team!  I am so excited to be working on this fabulous community!  If you haven't been there yet, be sure to stop by.  Everyone is so incredible and the challenges are so much fun!!  You'll start seeing my work there the very first week of August.  Yippee!!

Chicken Wings

Has it been a busy holiday season for you, too? It has been very busy in our house! I am going to take some time to catch up with blogs today, but I am on my old desktop. I am waiting on a new adapter for my laptop. And boy do I miss my laptop!! How spoiled I got from a little convenience like that!! I have also been working - and REALLY enjoying my job. I absolutely love helping people when they come in the store. It's so much fun to share little tricks and ideas! Well, on to my recipe for chicken wings.

Jerry's shop is having a Christmas lunch today, so we contributed the wings. This is one of Jerry's favorite recipes for wings. And it's super easy!

Jack Daniel's Chicken Wings

3# chicken wings

Sauce:

1 stick of butter

3/4 c. Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey

1/4 c. ketchup

1/3 c. hot pepper sauce

Put the wings in your roaster. Combine the sauce ingredients on the stove and bring to boiling. Pour over wings in roaster. Bake at 350 degrees, basting along the way.

LOVE the great taste this recipe brings. The Jack Daniels cooks off so you don't have to worry about an strong alcohol taste. Let me know if you try this recipe!!