Christmas Cookies

'Tis the season for holiday baking! Every year we make plates and plates of sugar cookies to give to friends, neighbors, and families from church so I thought I'd share the recipe. Please note, this recipe is not for the faint of heart. It involves a little more effort than the easy, simple recipes I try to provide on my blog, but since it's only once a year that I have to put in some extra effort, I think it's worth it ☺

Ingredients

2 sticks butter or margarine
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
5 cups flour

Other items needed:

wax paper
rolling pin
cookie cutters
vanilla frosting
sprinkles
food coloring (if you want to go all out for this. I just stuck with normal white frosting because I'm boring)

Fried Chicken

Hey there! Sorry it's been a long time, but holiday madness is here in full swing!

This was a spontaneous attempt on my part. We're trying to save as much money as we can to give ourselves a little cushion for the new year, so I didn't do any meal planning. But we had chicken, eggs, flour, and bread crumbs, so I thought I'd give this recipe a shot!

There are many different ways to make fried chicken. Obviously this isn't going to be the "finger-licking" fried chicken you can get from fast food or anything, but it sure is delicious!

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
3 tbsp butter
1 lemon cut into wedges (I omitted this. I think lemon with chicken is gross)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

'Tis the season... for pumpkin recipes!

I'm trying to instill fun Fall traditions with our family that I didn't really get to do growing up. First, I carved my first Jack-O-Lantern. Next, I made my first batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! I thought I would share with you, since they were a great success!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 can pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups chocolate chips

1. Combine ingredients

Preheat oven to 375.

Normally I throw caution to the wind and just throw the ingredients together unceremoniously. But there is a benefit to separating them, and that's what I did with this recipe. It makes the flour especially more manageable. 

Honey Garlic Meatballs

As of three weeks ago, I had never tried a slow cooker meatball recipe in my life! My argument for this was that it's only meatballs. If I'm going to use a slow cooker, I'd at least like to make a full meal with it.

For Baby's first birthday party, I wanted a selection of meat to label it "Carnivore Cave" for a dinosaur-themed party. So I decided to try this honey garlic meatballs recipe, and it is so delicious! This can be served as an hors d'oeuvre, or you can throw it on top of rice or pasta! 

Ingredients

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup ketchup

2 TB soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (28oz)  bag fully cooked, frozen meatballs

Green Smoothie

Straying a bit from the dinner theme, here's my go-to green smoothie recipe. I drink a green smoothie every day - or every day I can manage. One batch in the blender usually lasts me three days, unless Hubby takes some - and sometimes he does, because it's so delicious! You can't even taste the spinach (and I'm not lying). This smoothie really cleanses me and helps prepare me for a healthy day. I drink one every morning as part of my goal to have veggies with every meal. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients
2 cups spinach
2 cups water*
2 bananas
1 cup frozen mangos
1 cup frozen pinapple

*For a thinner drink, I usually do 2 cups juice (your choice - I use Cran-Grape) and 1/2 cup water. I prefer my smoothies to have the consistency of juice instead of frosties. Adding juice will also make it sweeter.

Baby Food - Pears

For those of you who want a more detailed set of instructions to apply for most foods (produce) if you're looking to make your own baby food, here's what I do:

1. Wash

Wash the food well, even if you're going to peel it - those germs can spread through the knife or peeler!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know what you're thinking: everyone knows how to bake chocolate chip cookies! Well, in case your batches are hit or miss (like mine usually are) here's my fool-proof cookie recipe! Seriously - perfectly soft, but not too mushy cookies every time! Without fail!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I omit this because I hate nuts)