Chewy Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's no secret that I love to cook and bake. I would have to say I prefer cooking to baking, but I've never turned my nose up at a baked good.

The first two things I learned how to do in the kitchen were how to scramble eggs and make chocolate chip cookies. According to Griffin, I make a mean scrambled egg and the boy is like his mother and has never met a baked good he doesn't like. Does that officially make me a successful mom?

Truth be told, I've always made chocolate chip cookies for the dough. I've used the old Nestle Tollhouse recipe which makes a delicious dough, but not the best cookie in my opinion. Maybe it's just me, but they always seem flat and kind of blah.

On another note, is the Nestle Tollhouse episode NOT one of the best Friends episodes ever? 

Back to the point at hand-- cookies.

My friend Megan shared her go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies with a group of us girls from church a few months back and my cookie life has been forever changed.

These chocolate chip cookies are to die for. They are the fluffiest, chewiest chocolate chip cookies I've ever had. When we made them at her house for the first time, we all just kept eating cookie after cookie. We couldn't believe how good they were! The recipe says to make them jumbo sized, which I did last night for small group. They were a huge hit! I usually make them regular sized, but the jumbo cookies were a treat. 

I want to share the recipe with you because I'm a giver and I believe everyone should have access to a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's the Land 'O Lakes cookie recipe, but I don't feel any loyalty to that butter. I like the butter that costs the least amount of money at Kroger. Can I get an amen?

Chewy Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Makes 24 jumbo sized cookies, about 50 regular sized cookies

• 4 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla 
• 1 12-oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

Combine butter, sugar and brown sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until well mixed. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed, otherwise you will have crumbly dough in the bottom. I use my stand mixer to mix the dough. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. I typically only bake 6 large cookies at a time. Bake 10-14 minutes (I always go the full 14 minutes) or until light golden brown. Do not overbake. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack.

Side note #1: When I make the jumbo cookies, I use my 1/4 cup measure. I scoop the dough, then pop it out into my hand where I kind of make a rounded shape, if you will. That way your cookie is rounded on top and not the shape of your measuring cup.

Side note #2: Why are my baking sheets so stained? I promise I wash them each time! 

Side note #3: Last side note, I promise. But it's important! If you want to make regular sized cookies, be sure to adjust your baking time to 10-12 minutes at most. Since this recipe makes so much dough, if I want to make regular sized cookies, I usually scoop dough balls onto a sheet pan, freeze the pan, and then put the individual dough balls into a large Ziploc bag and keep it in the freezer. If we want a few cookies after supper or we have last minute guests coming over, I can have fresh baked cookies in less than 15 minutes! 

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as we do! 

Baking with the boy

Something I find myself saying a lot as a mom is that each stage of babyhood/ childhood is my favorite. I think one stage is my favorite, but then I change my mind when we get to the next stage. But right now might really be my very favorite.

Griffin is old enough to participate in and enjoy things that I enjoy. It's so much easier to go places now because I can just throw a few diapers and wipes in my bag with a sippie and a snack and we're good to go. No more diaper bag packed for anything we might need at any given time in the next month. 

It's an easy and fun stage except for the behavior training and the diapers. Oh, the diapers. And no, neither of us have any interest in potty training anytime soon, thank you. 

Griffin has figured out recently that I love to cook. Anytime I'm doing anything in the kitchen, he'll tell me, "Mommy cook! Mommy mix!" I also love toddler speak. 

Last week, I had to bake a cake for cake pops and cupcakes for his birthday party. In the past, I typically bake and prep meals while he's taking his nap, but I decided to let him help. I am so, so glad I did. He loved dumping the water and oil into the bowl and using the handheld mixer. 

I didn't get any pictures of the actual process because I wasn't thinking of it. But afterwards, I let him lick the beaters both times. This child was in heaven. I'm not sure I've ever seen him so delighted. I grabbed my camera and got some good shots.

The chocolate batter face pictures are my favorite. I can't even handle how cute he is. I have moments every day where I can't believe this little sugar is mine. Thank you, Lord! 

I'm so thankful for my little companion and that I have a little baking companion... even though I don't get to lick the beaters anymore. It's worth it! 

Menu Monday... on Thursday!

I'm pretty late to the game this week, but I wanted to link up with Rachel and share our meals from last week!

Skinnytaste's Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers with sautéed shredded brussel sprouts and rice pilaf

Holy smokes. These were so, so good. I grilled them indoors on my grill pan and we each ate two skewers. If you're a shrimp fan, you'll love these! I bought the pre-shredded brussel sprouts from Trader Joe's and sautéed them with a little butter, olive oil, salt & pepper per Kate's recommendation. This is definitely our new favorite way to eat brussel sprouts. Deeeeelish. I also served Trader Joe's rice & orzo pilaf which is one of our favorites. This meal knocked it out of the park! 

Slow Cooker Peach BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with spicy sweet potato fries

I served these with this coleslaw and slices of avocado. We liked these, but they were almost a little too sweet for me. I might try using a tangier BBQ sauce next time! I want to give them another shot. These are the Alexia frozen sweet potato fries. They were really spicy! I think I prefer non-spicy sweet potato fries. 

Trader Joe's Kung Pao Chicken with TJ's Veggie Fried Rice and frozen spring rolls

This was a low effort meal on small group night. We loved it! It's a great alternative to take out Chinese food and it had great flavor. The only thing I'll change next time is to throw in an extra bag of stir fry veggies. 

We had Griffin's second birthday party last weekend, so I didn't cook a lot during the week, but I wanted to at least share what I did make! I also made Southern Living's tomato and tortellini salad which is alway a great meal. It's important to use sweet summer corn, but luckily, I had some in the freezer! Come on, summer corn! Mmm... one of my favorite things about summer! 

Happy Menu Thursday! 

Easter 2013

Easter felt like it came and went so fast this year! Maybe it's because it was in March or maybe it's because we've already had a whirlwind of a year, but Easter always feels to me like the start of spring. If only the weather would cooperate!

We had a really nice day! We have stayed here over Easter the past two years, and I have to say that we love it. When both sides of the family live out of town, it's nice to stay put for a holiday now and then. Easter seems like a good fit for that.

We got up and went to church. Our pastor absolutely killed it. I've been in church for 27 Easter Sundays now and it was hands-down the best message I've ever heard on Easter Sunday. His words hit me in a fresh way and I left so overwhelmed and grateful for the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for me!

We've had a difficult year so far and if I'm being honest, I've questioned at times whether God is really good, whether He is really for me. As I sat and listened to the graphic details of how Christ suffered and died a humiliating, excruciating death for me, I thought of how I could ever let Griffin do that for another person. The answer is a big fat no stinking way. But God let His one and only son do that for me and Jesus did it willingly! Not only that, but in addition to a horrific death, Jesus had the weight of every sin ever committed square on His shoulders. He did that so that I can have Hope. How can I question if God is good after being reminded of that? He is good. He is for me.

There's an Easter rabbit trail for you! Pun intended.

After church, we came home and tortured Griffin with some pictures. He hates getting his picture made right now and it makes me so sad. I was bound and determined to get a few good shots, so I bribed him with a lollipop. Parenting at it's finest right here, folks! Could you not just die at how sweet he is in his little seersucker pants and vest?? I know I'm a little biased, but I think he is the cutest thing ever. These pictures aren't the best quality, but that's what happens when it rains on Easter and you have to take pictures inside.

I can't even stand that last picture. My sweet little man child.

After the pictures, which were akin to pulling out Griffin's fingernails one by one, we ate lunch and put him down for an early nap. When he woke up, we all changed into our sweats and headed over to our surrogate family in Cincinnati. My friend Le, her husband Bob, and her parents have welcomed us into their family with open arms. We love them so much and Griffin is basically obsessed with all of them. He asks for "Bop, Yee, Nee-Fa (Neva, Bob & Le's daughter), and Gigi (Le's mom)" constantly. Of course I didn't take a single picture at Gigi and Granddaddy's house, but I do have this video of the next day. When I went to get him from his crib in the morning, the first person he asked for was Neva. He's a boy who knows what he wants!

We ended up giving him his Easter basket late, but better late than never! Everything that I got for him was stuff he needed or things I found from the dollar bin at Target. It's easy to spoil your child a little bit when they're the only one! Am I right?

One of the biggest hits of the Easter basket were the confetti eggs! I happened to see these at Kroger one day and picked up a box. My only regret is that I didn't buy several boxes to last us over the next year! Griffin had a ball smashing them on the driveway and we had a lot of fun watching him. There's something about smashing eggs that aren't gross and slimy! These were so much fun and Griffin will definitely be finding a repeat box in his Easter basket next year. 

He loved the other little goodies in his Easter basket, minus the socks. I can't imagine why socks weren't a big hit for a two year old. He loved his chocolate bunny and kept hugging it. His "Minnow" (Nemo) Pez dispenser was the other favorite. I love doing little mom things like filling up an Easter basket. 

I hope you all had a great Easter celebrating the Risen Savior! 

Build 'Em Up :: Remembering You

I'm linking up again today for Build 'Em Up with Kelly, Erin, Jennifer, and Courtney! 

I would venture a guess that this topic, remembering ourselves, is a hard topic for mothers.

I remember when Griffin was born thinking that any time I took for myself was selfish. I had been fed that lie by someone who wasn't even a mother yet. I should've known better! 

Slowly, I began to realize that time for myself wasn't selfish, but that it was necessary and life giving for me. I'm not talking about anything crazy, but just taking time to remember that I was still Rachel. I was Mommy now, and it was the most blessed thing, but I was also still Rachel. 

The best way that I've been able to remember myself, if you will, is to just take a little bit of time each day to do something that I enjoy or something that helps me to relax. On certain days, it's only ten minutes and on other days, it's a few hours. Some days, it doesn't happen at all, but that's okay.

I don't think it's always necessary to spend money to remember yourself, either. Don't get me wrong; sometimes, I do think it's necessary! Every girl needs a manicure once in awhile. I remember one week about a year ago, I had a little time to myself after running some errands. I could've counted the solo errands as some good alone time and headed home to check things off my to-do list, but I didn't. I stopped at Barnes & Noble, grabbed a book I'd been wanting to read, and bought myself a piece of cheesecake from the Starbucks cafe. I didn't stay for long and I didn't even buy the book, but it was refreshing and I was ready to go home and see my boy when I was finished.

We live far from both of our families... as in 4 hour minimum drives. This doesn't allow me the luxury of dropping Griffin off at my parent's house so I can get a pedicure or grocery shop alone. This also means that I am with Griffin nearly 100% of the time. I love that child with every fiber of my being, but sometimes I need a break that isn't during nap time. Does anybody hear me? I think he needs a break from me too! I have some incredible friends who have offered to keep Griffin from time to time and it's a huge blessing to me. If there's anything I can recommend to moms, it's that you find a friend who doesn't have local family and offer to babysit for her once a month or so. Just mark it on your calendar each month to remind yourself! Our friends who babysit for us have been such a blessing to me.

I don't think there is a perfect formula to remembering yourself as a mom. I think it depends on the individual and the circumstance. I know a lot of women find a hot bath relaxing and once in awhile, I do too. But most of the time? No thanks! I would much rather sit on our porch with a cocktail and my book. I love to cook and if he's able, Tyler will occupy Griffin while I make supper each night. I love streaming a show on Netflix and putting together a meal for my family. I love to grocery shop. Weird, right? I love meal planning each Sunday and going to the grocery store on Mondays... with Griffin. Yes, you read that right.

In conjunction with that last confession, I've learned that sometimes, remembering myself can't feasibly be done as a solo activity. There are days where we have 4 activities, weeks where Tyler is out of town, or times when Griffin just doesn't leave my side all day. Sometimes, I like to remember myself with my little companion by my side! I really do love to grocery shop. I am a weird, weird woman in that I actually prefer to grocery shop with Griffin. It's a sweet time for the two of us where there are little distractions and a lot of time for interaction. I love to share the experience with him. In that, I feel rejuvenated and able to be a better version of myself.

I think it's key to figure out what works for you. How do you remember you? What rejuvenates you? I'd bet that most moms who read this post wouldn't agree that grocery shopping with your two year old would fall under that category. By itself, it surely wouldn't for me either. But paired with other solo moments and time spent reading, cooking, driving alone, having dinner dates with my husband and my friends, etc., it's what does it for me. And I am grateful.

I am always striving to be the best Christ follower, wife, and mother I can be. It's not always an easy process or road. In fact, it's rarely easy. But I do think that taking marked time out to remember yourself isn't selfish, but vital in motherhood and in just being the best version of ourselves. I know that the time I spend away from Griffin typically leaves me feeling refreshed, renewed, and missing him so much I can hardly stand it. 

Motherhood is a wild ride, but if there's anything I've learned, it's that you have to do what works for you. Don't let anyone tell you lies that taking time for yourself is selfish. Ain't nobody got time for that! 

Menu Monday

I'm linking up again with Rachel to share what we had for supper this week!

We had a busy and fun week because Nana and Poppie were in town! It was Tyler's mom's spring break, so she and Poppie came for a visit. It was fun spending time with them and it gave me a little break, which is always nice!

Nana made her famous mostaccioli, which is one of my favorite pasta dishes. Griffin loves it, too! I didn't get a picture, but once I make it for us, I will share it. It's the best recipe!

I only cooked a few times, but it was a good food week for us! Please excuse the iPhone photography. Dinner time is usually the last time I can pull out my camera!

Spicy Sausage Pasta

I first heard about this pasta from Hillary, then again from Rachel! If you're looking for an easy meal this week, make this. There is nothing bad about it other than the fact that it's not the healthiest supper. Just use the turkey sausage and whole wheat pasta and you'll be good. At least that's what I tell myself. I served this with a green salad and little Sister Schubert individual baguettes from the freezer section.

Cheesy Taco Soup and Chi Chi's Sweet Corn Cake

In the fall and winter, we always have soup on Fridays. This was a winner! It's delicious and filling. Unfortunately, Tyler is a little picky on what he eats during the summer, so I think this recipe will be filed away for the first cool Friday in the fall. I picked up some of this Chi Chi's Sweet Corn Cake mix and it was perfect! I loved the sweet side with the savory soup. It reminds me so much of the corn side you get at Don Pablo's. If you're having any Mexican meals this week, I'd highly suggest this as a side! I found it in the Mexican aisle at Kroger.

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches and Smoky Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

I was inspired to have grilled chicken sandwiches after Rachel posted about them a few weeks ago. I marinated chicken breasts in the marinade above. It was my first time using that Trader Joe's marinade and I can't wait to use it again! It added the perfect flavor to the chicken. We topped ours with extra sharp white cheddar slices (from TJ's as well), tomato, avocado, and bacon. We enjoyed the teeny tiny potatoes on the side (again, from TJ's, I have a problem). They were the perfect salty addition to our sandwiches! I'm suddenly realizing that I took the world's worst picture of these. I am clearly not cut out to be a food blogger or photographer.

Trader Joe's Macaroni and Cheese

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Tyler went out on Saturday night to watch basketball with some friends from small group, so I stayed in, tidied the house, and had a date night with this macaroni and cheese. Hands down, it is the best mac and cheese I've ever had from the freezer! I can't vouch for the calories, but it's worth it. I just ate this. No salad, no green vegetable, nothing. Me and my macaroni and cheese-- it was a beautiful night. I'm realizing that a lot of our meals are based on things I can get from Trader Joe's. Maybe I should do a TJ's post soon!

Happy Monday!

Menu Monday

My friend Rachel does Menu Monday every week! I like to try and contribute when I actually remember what we ate the previous week.

It was a lighter week for cooking, but I sure was glad to be back in the kitchen. Due to a crazy last few weeks of February and then being in Florida for two weeks in March, I hadn't really cooked in 5 weeks. Crazy! We had leftovers for a few nights and ordered a pizza on Friday. I think pizza is always a necessity the week after you return from vacation, don't you?

Slow Cooker Ham and White Beans 

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I think I've blogged about this before, but it's one of our very favorite winter meals! I substitute three large smoked turkey tails for the ham and add the tiniest bit of brown sugar. Tyler always adds smoked tabasco to his bowl and we eat it with cornbread. We like our cornbread sweet with Trader Joe's creamed honey! 

Creamy Green Chile Chicken Burritos

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I made Molly's green chile chicken burritos on Tuesday and they lived up to the name! They were so creamy, but it was nice that I was able to use the less fat cream cheese. Tyler really liked these, but I have to remember-- I am just not a green chile fan! I usually find a recipe that sounds so delicious every few months with a green chile sauce or base and I always think that maybe my taste has changed, but no such luck. I want to make these again but I will use a red sauce and I know I will really love them then! We had them with fat free refried beans. As a side note, I used this method to cook the chicken and it was fantastic! I will definitely cook my chicken for recipes like this from now on.

Rosemary Baked Chicken

I picked this sauce packet up at Fresh Market a few months ago and it's just been sitting in my pantry. You bake the chicken, pour the sauce over the top, and bake it for a bit longer. Honestly, this was just kind of "eh". It had a good amount of flavor, but it was really lemony. It wasn't awful; it just wasn't my favorite, but it sure was easy! I served this with the best roasted broccoli ever... and I do mean EVER.

Mini Honey Mustard and White Cheddar Meatloaves and Ina's Mustard Roasted Potatoes

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If you haven't visited Tina and Crist's blog, you are missing out in a big way. It is one of my very favorites. I made these for some friends who came over for supper on Saturday and we were all big fans! Mini meatloaves are so fun and these had great flavor! I loved making them with panko and I followed Crist's suggestions and put all the cheese into the meatloaves. The potatoes were a perfect addition and we had green salad and Sister Schubert rolls on the side. You can never go wrong with the Sister. 

Crockpot Chicken, my mom's Cheesy Potatoes and Roasted Brussel Sprouts 

I made this for our little Easter lunch since it was just the three of us after church! I put the chicken in when I got up Sunday morning and it was perfect when we got home. Megan suggested it and we really enjoyed it. I paired it with my mom's cheesy potatoes (recipe coming this week!) and roasted brussel sprouts. I always forget how to roast them the best, so I asked Twitter how people like to cook them. I took a few different suggestions, combined them, and they turned out perfectly. I just tossed them in EVOO, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and a little garlic powder, then put them cut side down on a sheet pan in a 450 degree oven for 25 minutes. They were perfect-- nice and crispy, just how I like them! We ate the leftover rolls from Saturday. This is a picture of Tyler's plate, but don't be fooled. I ate just as much, if not more. Oink! 

What did you make this week? Link up with Rachel!

Happy Monday!