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Menu Plan Monday

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Hope you are enjoying your Sunday. The weather here turned out to be on the nice side so I am loving it. When I went outside for a walk I smelled BBQ which makes me anxious for summer.

On my meal plan this week I am trying something new and planning breakfast too. I eat the same thing for breakfast every day Cheerios and a banana with milk. I am a bit more creative with my husbands breakfast though and since I am always rushed in the morning I think a breakfast plan could help. We will see if it works.

Have a wonderful week!

Monday: Weekly Dinner at Mom and Dad's

Tuesday: Asian Peanut Butter Pork with rice noodles, broccoli and fruit

Wednesday: Baked Macaroni and Cheese, salad, fruit, jello

Thursday: Clean Out the Pantry Minestrone, salad, fruit

Friday: Crock pot Chicken Tacos, homemade tortilla shells, taco salad, fruit, dessert

Saturday: Enchilada Casserole, fruit

Sunday: Corn Dog Mini Muffins, homemade fries, fruit


Breakfast Plan

Monday: Steel Cut Oats with brown sugar

Tuesday: Steel Cut Oats with brown sugar

Wednesday: Pop Tart (not too exciting but I have two left and I want to use them up and get rid of the box)

Thursday: Pop Tart

Friday: Banana Bread

Saturday: Free Morning (often my husband skips breakfast on Saturday and Sunday in favor of an early lunch)

Sunday: Free Morning

See more Menu Plans at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

No Bake Cheesecake!

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I was in the mood to have a dessert this week so I made a no bake cheesecake that was absolutely wonderful. You must put this one on your to do list!

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter

Mix all ingredients together and place in the oven at 375 for about 8 minutes.

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Mix the first three ingredients together. Whip the cream and add into the mixture. Cover and freeze for one hour before serving.

Topping:
1 cup mixed berries

Place in bowl and smash into pieces. Pour it through a mesh colander or any way that you can think of to separate pieces from juice. Chill in fridge and when ready pour over cheesecake in a pretty pattern.











Red Bean Chili

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Last week I made this recipe and forgot to post it. It is Red Bean Chili from Southern Living, January 2002 but I found it online at MyRecipes.com. I had never tried to make chili so this whole recipe was a new experience for me. It isn't as mushy as the canned chili so it makes it feel more real and healthy. I also liked that you could control what you wanted to put in your chili. Often times, I am not sure what is in those cans. Overall, I thought it was good and nice for a cold day. For the recipe click here.

Meatloaf

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This isn't a great picture because I forgot to take a picture until we had almost eaten the whole loaf. Whoops!

This meatloaf recipe comes from my Grandma. I love it because of the sweet topping. It is not like most meatloaf because there is no filler like bread crumbs or oatmeal. In our house, however, it is a winner!

Grandma's Meatloaf

1 Pound Ground Beef
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Egg Beaten
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Chopped Onions

Topping
3/4 Cup Ketchup
1/2 Tablespoon Mustard
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

Mix all the meatloaf ingredients together and form into a loaf in a loaf pan. Mix up topping ingredients and pour over meatloaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Dig in!

Potatoes Everywhere!

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I had a large bag of potatoes in my garage that was begging to be used. Since I didn't have potatoes on the menu plan every day this week I decided I needed to do something else with them.

I recently checked out the cookbook Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer from our library and was looking through it while laying in bed. I found two potato side dishes that sounded yummy so when I got home from my job I got to work in the kitchen.

I peeled half the potatoes to make Marvelous Mashed Potatoes and put the other half in the oven for Twice Baked Potatoes. Now I haven't reheated these to see what they taste like after being frozen but I did sample before putting them into the freezer and they were good! At the end of my cooking session I was happy that my potatoes didn't go to waste and I now had several meals worth of side dishes in my freezer.


Twice Baked Potatoes from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer



6 Potatoes
Butter, for greasing
Salt
8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Hot Milk
1 Tablespoon Onion Salt
2 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
Paprika

Clean potatoes and dry. Grease potatoes with butter and salt the skins. Bake potatoes at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool until you are able to handle them. Cut potato in half lengthwise and scoop cooked potato out into mixing bowl, being careful to keep the skins whole. Mash potatoes with cream cheese, hot milk, onion salt, butter and pepper. Pile potato mixture back into skins. Sprinkle with paprika. Wrap potatoes individually in plastic wrap and freeze.

Serving Day
Thaw potatoes completely. Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Marvelous Mashed Potatoes from Don't Panic Dinner's in the Freezer



4 Pounds Potatoes
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 1/2 Cups Milk
1/2 Cup Butter
Salt and Pepper

Peel potato and cut into quarters. Place potatoes in a large stockpot. Add enough water to cover potatoes plus 1 inch more. Stir in salt. Bring potatoes to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 25-30 minutes.

Drain potatoes immediately and return to pan; cover to keep warm. Heat milk in saucepan until boiling. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or an electric mixer on low speed. Add butter, salt, pepper and enough hot milk to make potatoes smooth and creamy. Cool completely. Freeze in Ziploc bag.

Serving Day

Thaw potatoes completely. Place potato in an oven-proof dish and reheat at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until heated through. Cover if necessary. Stir halfway through cooking time. Add just enough milk and or butter to bring potatoes back to a smooth, creamy consistency.

Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

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This meal began as an experiment in using up leftovers. It started when I made queso over the weekend for my husband and I to enjoy. Thankfully the two of us didn't eat a pound of cheese dip and come Tuesday I still had a bowl left. I decided I was going to combine it with pasta and some taco seasoned ground beef I had in the freezer to make Mexican Macaroni and Cheese. It turned out yummy with a little spice which was nice. I am listing the recipe as if you were making it from scratch since not everyone has leftover meat and dip.

Enjoy this super easy dinner in no time!

Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 Pound Ground Beef, cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning
3/4 Pound Velveeta
1 Can Rotel
8 Ounces Pasta (two cups)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Cook pasta according to packaged directions. While pasta is cooking melt Velveeta and Rotel in the microwave stirring often. When the pasta is cooked drain and return to pan. Over low heat add the Velveeta and Rotel mixture along with the cooked ground beef to the pasta. Stir to combine. Finally add salt and pepper to taste. From here you can eat it or pour it into a casserole dish and bake until the top gets a little crunchy which I LOVE!

Stuffed French Toast

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Last night I made a Stuffed French Toast form MyRecipes.com. I thought it would be nice to make and then take over to my fiance's house so that he could have warm breakfast leftover for his busy work week. The recipe was exactly as the reviews on the site had said, a little too runny but fixable by using 3/4 the amount of liquids. Although runny, the taste was fine. Even so, I think I am going to be asking for my Grandmother's recipe since she makes a similar one for Easter. I will post her recipe once I have time to try a round two.

If you would like try this one, click here. Tell me what you think...

28 Day Challenge Follow-Up

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Before and After


Before and After


Before and After


If you remember earlier in the month I jumped on board for the 28 Day Challenge that Organizing Junkie is hosting. I picked three areas in my house that desperately needed tending to. I thought posting the pictures online would make me motivated to organize.

Last week I finally took action on my three spots. I actually got so into it that I picked a few more spots too. I can't tell you how good it felt to get these areas organized. It was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I now have the boost I need to do other areas in our house. It also makes cooking much easier because I know exactly what I have and where it is.

I also solved what I call the "only problem in our marriage." The problem was I tend to lay food out on the counter when it is close to the expiration date so that I remember to use it. My husband hated my food display. With all the organizing I did I was able to free up some cabinet space and now I have a staging area. It is a spot to put all the packaged food that needs to be used soon. I love it! I have to admit the kitchen looks much better without my parade of food.

So if my before and after pictures inspire you I say go for it. Pick a few small and defined areas like I did and get busy. You will be amazed at the relief you feel when the spot is clean.

Menu Plan Monday

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Sunday again?!! I know I say this all the time but these weeks go way too fast. I was lucky to see Seanna today at a bridal show we attended. Lots of fun to dream about her wedding!! I am very excited about it all.

Before I get to the food I have a funny story to share. I was walking with my mom today and she told me that when I was a baby the only way she could get me to sit still and relax was to set me in the kitchen so I could see her cooking. She said she would just try to think of things to make in order to keep me content. I guess I have enjoyed baking and cooking since birth!

Last week my meal plan went out the window after only Tuesday! A few plans with friends fell through, I didn't read some of my recipes close enough when I was making my plan and didn't have all the needed ingredients, and then we got invited to dinner twice so that took care of the other nights. This week I am hoping to do much better. So without any further delay here is my plan for the week.

Monday: You guessed it Dinner at Mom and Dad's

Tuesday: Ultimate Mexican Macaroni and Cheese, broccoli, fruit (This is going to be an experimental meal to use up leftovers. If it works I will let you know. Wish me luck!)

Wednesday: Meatloaf, baked potatoes, green beans, Oops I Forgot To Make the Salad

Thursday: Chicken Adobo, Rice A Roni, broccoli

Friday: Asian Chicken Wraps, chips, fruit, and since it is Friday dessert!

Saturday: Pad Thai, roasted carrots and yams, fruit

Sunday: House Party featuring Sandwich Thins (Stay tuned for more details)

To see more menu plans visit Organizing Junkie

Oreo Cake

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We had my parents over for dinner last night and I decided we needed a dessert to serve to them. I wanted to make use of things we already had so starting with a white cake mix I wondered what I should make. I am not a huge fan of cake so I wasn't all that excited about this challenge. I did a quick search on All Recipes.com using a white cake mix and found one for Cookies 'n Cream Cake. Since I had a half eaten package of Oreos I thought this would be a perfect way to use up two things.

I changed the recipe slightly from the recipe online and everyone loved it. Even I loved it and since I almost always pass on cake you know that means it was good. I also took some to work and it was eaten before noon. It is now almost 5:00 and the cake is gone except for 1 little piece which I have been picking at since coming home. Not good for my waistline but oh so good in my mouth.

If you have a reason to make dessert anytime soon I suggest you give this one a try.

Oreo Cake

1 White Cake Mix
Ingredients needed to make the cake according to package directions
1 Cup Crushed Oreos
1 Tub of Chocolate Frosting

Mix up cake according to package directions. By hand stir in crushed Oreo pieces. Pour cake into desired pan and bake according to package directions. Let cake cool then frost with chocolate frosting. If desired crush a few extra cookies and sprinkle over the top.

There are so many ways you can change up this cake depending on your taste and allotted time. You could add more crushed cookies, make homemade frosting, use white frosting, etc. I kept this simple since it was a work night.

Happy Eating!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

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Let me first start this post by saying that I have never made such as mess cooking as I did with this recipe! I kept spilling ingredients, my counters were covered in flour and dirty pans, I forgot to add the egg whites, and lastly I did my layers all wrong. In the end, it still tasted really good so I guess that makes it a good one. And, we will be having leftovers for dinner tonight so one less day of cooking is always good : )

Next time I would definitely make this ahead of time and just keep it in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to cook. It takes a little too long to make on a week day if you are working. If you make this one, let me know if it was as messy for you as it was for me!

Cooking spray
1 1/4 pounds skinned, boned chicken breast
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 (2 1/4-ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles, drained
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten or 6 tablespoons egg substitute
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut in half
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 350°.
Cook chicken over medium heat about 6 minutes on each side or until done. Shred chicken and set aside. Sauté onion and garlic 5 minutes or until tender. Add shredded chicken, red pepper, and tomatoes; cook 10 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

Reserve 1 tablespoon green onions and 1 tablespoon olives for garnish. Stir remaining green onions, remaining olives, and chiles into chicken mixture; set aside. Combine flour, salt, cumin, and coriander in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Place over medium heat; cook 7 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Gradually add hot milk mixture to egg whites, stirring constantly with whisk. Set aside.

Spread 1/2 cup white sauce in bottom of a 2 1/2-quart round casserole or soufflé dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 tortilla halves over sauce; top with 2 cups chicken mixture, 1/2 cup white sauce, and 1/2 cup cheese mixture. Repeat layers twice, ending with sauce. Set remaining 1/2 cup cheese mixture aside.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese mixture, reserved green onions, and reserved olives; bake an additional 5 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Jill G. Melton, M.S., R.D., Cooking Light, OCTOBER 1996

Hawaiian Dinner for Two

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My husband and I spent our honeymoon on the beautiful island of Maui back in 2006. I can't believe we are already working on our 4th year of marriage. I guess time flies when you are having fun.

On our trip we ate at this place called the Aloha Mixed Plate. It was one of our favorite places so when we got home I tried to duplicate their mixed plate meal of teriyaki chicken, rice and fabulous macaroni salad. I think it has something to do with the cultural past of Hawaii that their mixed plates come with macaroni salad and rice. I know two starches together doesn't sound good but trust me in this meal they are amazing!

When I make a mixed plate at home I always have chicken, rice, macaroni salad, and grilled veggies. I added the grilled veggies to get a vegetable in the meal. The only thing that really takes a recipe is the macaroni salad. For the chicken I use a bottle of teriyaki sauce, marinate the chicken for a while and then we grill or bake it in the oven. My favorite sauce is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki.

Where the real winner of this meal comes in is the macaroni salad. I found this recipe somewhere online but I can't remember where. It is a perfect replica of our favorite Hawaiian side dish.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Large Macaroni (my recipe doesn't have an amount but I usually use 2-2 1/2 cups)
1/4 Cup Grated Carrots
1 Cup Best Foods Mayonnaise (THIS IS A MUST)
1/4 Cup Milk
Salt and Pepper

Cook macaroni until tender. Add grated carrots, mayonnaise, and milk till well coated. Salt and pepper to taste.

So good! Enjoy your Hawaiian dinner!


Party Time!

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This weekend was a girls party that my friend and I did together. I was excited about the food we made so I thought I would share with the world.


This is our table. Wish I had taken a better picture but we will work with what we've got.


Spinach and artichoke cups hot out of the oven. Yum!


Mini trifles with Oreo, chocolate pudding, and Cool Whip.


Brownie bites with drizzled chocolate.

Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread

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Today I woke up still in the Valentine's mood. I decided that I would bake Lemon Poppy Seed Quick Bread with my heart pan. This is just the box recipe from Betty Crocker and a homemade glaze. I learned a few tricks while making this one. I didn't have the vegetable oil or the eggs and didn't think I would be able to make it. Then I decided to do some research and found that you can sub eggs for 1/2 cup milk each and the same amount of butter instead of vegetable oil. Learn something new everyday! They turned out just as moist and delicious as ever.
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Happy Valentine's Day!!
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1 box Better Crocker lemon poppy seed muffin mix
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil (in my case 1/3 cup butter)
2 eggs (I used 1 cup milk)
Mix. Heat oven to 375. It took about 35 minutes or until golden
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Glaze - From Betty Crocker website.
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Combine all ingredients and pour over warm bread.

Menu Plan Monday

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Last week was the best meal plan week ever! We loved the Indonesian Chicken and the Mexican Pizzas. Making them also got me over one of my biggest cooking fears....frying! I am always worried I will burn myself or the house. It worked out great though and it tasted amazing.

With all the success from last week I am nervous that this week wont live up. We have a very crazy week for us with something going on every night of the week. With that in mind this could be a changing week.

As usual I hope you had a fantastic weekend and are ready to start another week come tomorrow morning.

Monday: Dinner at Mom and Dad's

Tuesday: Crock Pot Roast, carrots, potatoes, asparagus

Wednesday: We are having friends for dinner so I will step it up a bit and do Lemon Chicken with Croutons, salad, broccoli, dessert

Thursday: Enchilada Casserole, sugar snap peas, fruit

Friday: Pork Tenderloin, Rice-a-Roni, Glazed Carrots

Saturday: Chili and Cornbread

Sunday: Coney Island Hot Dogs, Homemade Fries or Baked Potato Chips, Fruit

Spanish Rice

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Right there in the center of our Mexican Pizza is the success of an experiment from last night. On my menu plan I had written Spanish Rice but I didn't have the ingredients on hand to make my usual version. What I did have was brown minute rice and many cans of tomatoes from a recent sale in town.

All of a sudden I had an ah ha moment and went with it. What I did was drain all the liquid from a can of diced tomatoes with chilies into a liquid measuring cup. I had about 3/4 cup of tomato juice and added enough water to get 1 cup. I brought the liquid to a boil in a small saucepan and added 1 cup of Minute Rice.

To cook I followed the package directions which was to cover and let simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat, stir, cover and let sit another 5 minutes. Once it was all ready to go I stirred in a couple scoops of the diced tomatoes.

The end result was spectacular and I am still in shock over how easy it was. If you are in a pinch and need a great side dish give this one a try.

Steel Cut Oats

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Back in November Seanna posted in her meal plan that she was going to try doing steel cut oats in the crock pot. Not long after that we went to dinner with her and my brother and she told us they were a big fat failure. I was curious to try them out myself and see what happened so I followed her directions from this blog. It turned out so good! I was super excited to see it in the morning. Served with a little brown sugar..WONDERFUL! You must give this a try for an easy and very good for you breakfast. I think I will go make some right now! Oatmeal for breakfast coming up.

Have a great evening and a wonderful Thursday!

New Take on Comfort Food

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Turkey, Black-Eyed Peas and Rice Mix

This is an alternative to your normal comfort food on a cold day. The original recipe for this dish is from Cooking Light January 2007. I made a lot of changes in my own recipe but click here if you want the original.

Changes I made: The original recipe used andouille sausage but I am not a fan of sausage for health reasons and so I substituted it with ground turkey. I also traded all their spice for only red pepper flakes as this is all I had on hand. Finally, I served it with cornbread which turned out to be a very good complement.

Give it a try if you are in for something new. I think you will like it!

Ingredients
1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag long-grain rice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to your taste
1 package ground turkey
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
11/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, and red pepper flakes to pan and cook until onions are transparent. Stir in ground turkey and cook for 1 minute. Cook the rice to directions then add the rice, chicken broth, black-eyed peas, and tomatoes to pan. Heat mixture until it begins to a boil. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons green onions on top. Enjoy!

Easy French Dip Sandwiches

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This sandwich is my favorite way to use up leftover roast. I usually do a big roast in the crock pot but with just two of us there are always lots of leftovers. I like to shred the leftovers, put them in Ziploc bags, and freeze until ready to use.

This recipe for French Dip Sandwiches come from one of my favorite cookbooks- Robin Miller Quick Fix Meals. This cookbook was the first book I ever read which taught me how to really utilize my leftovers. I love it! This recipe couldn't be easier. As you can see other than the frozen beef it is just three ingredients (I am not counting the rolls you put it on as an ingredient). So grab that meat out of the freezer and get dinner on the table in 10 minutes or less.


French Dip Sandwiches ( I often double this so we have extra juice)

1 Cup Beef Broth
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 to 3 Cups Leftover Sliced Beef
4 Kaiser Rolls

In a medium saucepan combine the broth, Worcestershire, garlic powder, set the pan over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Add the beef and simmer 5 minutes to heat through.

Using a large fork or tongs, place the beef on the rolls. Serve the remaining broth mixture on the side on small individual bowls for dunking.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge

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Best Chocolate Chip Cookie


The Chewy


Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookie

I am always looking for the best chocolate chip cookie. I can't tell you how many different recipes I have tried only to be totally disappointed. Right now my two favorite are a recipe from Demarle and the other is from All Recipes.com and called Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I have been trolling the blogs looking for other chocolate chip cookies with high reviews to challenge my two favorites and I came across two that I wanted to try. The first is the Ultimate Stand Mixer Chocolate Chip Cookie from Cookie Madness. I saw this recipe when she posted it back around Christmas and have been dying to try it. It sounded very different from anything I had ever tried.

The next one I wanted to try was The Chewy from Food Network's Alton Brown. I have seen his cookies episode before and have tried The Puffy for my Dad who loves cake-like cookies. Cakey cookies are not my thing at all so it was a true labor of love. I thought it was interesting to have milk in them and kosher salt.

Both of these new recipes had lots of positive feedback so I was totally into this challenge. I made the Ultimate Stand Mixer dough on Saturday so it could sit in the fridge overnight like instructed. I made The Chewy dough on Sunday afternoon just before we left for a Super Bowl party because it was supposed to chill. The recipe didn't say how long to chill though so I gave them about 3 hours. Of course I also had to make one of my current favorites to test it against so I made the Best Chocolate Chip cookie because it didn't need to chill and at this time I was running out of fridge space.

I started by testing all the dough because if you are like me eating the dough is half the fun. I liked the Best Chocolate Chip cookie dough the best because it was more floury which I like. My second favorite was The Chewy. I also had my friend and fellow judge test the dough and her favorite was the Ultimate Stand Mixer dough followed by the Best Chocolate Chip cookie dough. We agreed to disagree and moved on to baking them.

We made four cookies from each batch and sampled all of them as they came out of the oven. We also did one batch with one of each to see if it made a difference tasting them all together while warm. This did change how they were baked, however, since they all cooked at different temperatures. Both ways yielded the same winner and that was our old standby Best Chocolate Chip cookie. We also really liked the flavor and texture of the Ultimate Stand Mixer but for all the extra effort it took to make them I didn't think it was worth it. We didn't like how dark The Chewy got on the outside while still being so gooey on the inside.

After two days of making dough and all our eating effort, a major sugar rush, and a bit of a stomach ache we are back to where we started. I guess I shouldn't keep trying to mess with perfection.

If you are thinking of making cookies I highly recommend the Demarle recipe and the Best Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. You will not be disappointed!

All of our doughs lined up and ready to hit the oven. From left to right Ultimate Stand Mixer, The Chewy, Best Chocolate Chip


All our samples lined up and ready to be eaten.

Manu Plan Monday!

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Where does the time go?!? I just can't believe I am doing a menu plan for the second week of February. It feels like this year just started. I am happy to report we did great on our Menu Plan last week for the week days at least. Friday night we ended up going out to dinner with a Restaurants.com gift certificate and Sunday (today) we are going to a Super Bowl Party so I plan to make a light dinner instead of what I had planned. A friend is also coming over tonight so we can do a Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge. More to come on that later.

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends! Have a great week and don't forget to check back later this week for the Chocolate Chip Cookie Challenge.

Monday: Dinner at Mom and Dad's House

Tuesday: Indonesian Peanut Butter Chicken, Rice, Green Beans or Peas

Wednesday: Homemade Taco Bell Mexican Pizzas, Mexican Rice, Fruit

Thursday: Waffles with Berries and Whipped Cream, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage

Friday: Teriyaki Chicken, Rice, Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, Grilled Onions

Saturday: Coney Island Hot Dogs, Homemade Fries or Baked Potato Chips, Fruit

Sunday: Valentine's Day! Out to Dinner

I May Regret This...

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Organizing Junkie is hosting a 28 Day Organizing Challenge. I was hesitant at first but then I decided to jump in. I know my chances of winning are slim but it still gives me the push I need to tackle a few remaining problem areas in our house.

Also this doesn't have anything to do with cooking so feel free to skip over it if you are only here for the food. Although two of my problem areas are in the kitchen so maybe it counts a little bit as a food post.

The three areas I am going to work on organizing are below. Wish me luck!

This is one cupboard in our bathroom. I rarely use it because it is what I consider my husbands side so misc. stuff gets piled in here a lot.


This is my snack drawer. It is not working at all like I would like. There are so many layers of things that it is hard to tell what we have in there. Also the oyster crackers you see in the plastic tub are at least 2 years old. I doubt anyone is going to eat those!


Finally this is my "pantry" I use the term pantry loosely because it is really just a cupboard. I have been buying stuff from Winco in bulk and that is the reason for all the plastic bags. It is crying out to be organized!


So those are my three problem areas. I will do my best to get them looking AWESOME by the end of the 28 day challenge.

To see other people's problem areas visit Organizing Junkie or comment here and tell me what your problem areas are. Please say I am not the only one with hidden messes!

Finally! Chicken Noodle Soup

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I have had Chicken Noodle Soup on my menu plan for weeks now! Tonight I finally made it for dinner. I feel proud of myself for getting to it for once. What accomplishment! This recipe comes from Swanson. I tore it out of Family Circle back in October 2008. I make it more often than most of my recipes because it is a nice comfort food that is good for you. Tonight I made my own noodles to put in it which I don't normally do. They were a little thick so next time I need to roll them thinner. It was good though. A nice end to a busy day.

Swanson Roasted Chicken with Caramelized Onion Soup
2 Cups Roasted Chicken Cut into Strips
2 Teaspoons Vegetable Oil
2 Medium Onions, thinly sliced
8 Cups Chicken Broth
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper (I used quite a bit more than this but we love pepper in soup)
2 Medium Carrots, sliced
2 Stalks Celery, sliced (left this out because I didn't have any on hand)
3/4 Cups Uncooked Pasta

Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to brown stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium. Cook until the onions are tender and caramelized, stirring occasionally. Remove the skillet from the heat.


Heat the broth, black pepper, carrots and celery in a 4 quart saucepan over medium high heat to a boil. Stir the pasta and chicken in the saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the onions and serve immediately.


This is me making pasta. Do you ever make pasta from scratch?? Do you have a great recipe I should try? This recipe was from Bob's Red Mill.