Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

   Hello again!

   I'm here to talk about cookies! I tend to have a sense for what ingredients works well together.  Basicly I just make things up. XD  I rarely use recipes inless it is my own.  So today I'm going to share with you a recipe I made!  I'm very excited and hope you like it as much as I do. 

   It all started with a craving for junk food this morning.  I know, I know, healthy eating is a big deal, but sometimes I just have to satisfy the craving.  I'm snooping through all the cabinets with *of course* no luck because we have been trying to cut back on sweets and grain based foods in general.  There is a pan of homemade banana bread on the counter, but today,  that's just not good enough. 

   So cookies seem like a fantastic idea!  Only problem is, we are running low on quite a few ingredients for my favorite cookie recipes.  To the drawing board! Or in my case, my notebook full of ideas for recipes.  A fresh page and a few minutes of brainstorming and I now have a list of ingredients,  but no measurements. 

   I started out by letting the stick of butter and package of cream cheese reach room temp.

   *1/2 cup softened butter (4 oz)
   *1 package of softened cream cheese (8 oz)
   *1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla (I used 1 tsp., but would have used more, had I not ran out of vanilla)

   Blend together until smooth. 

   Once they were fully blended I moved them into a bigger bowl and added in my sugars.

   *1 cup granulated cane sugar
   *1/2 cup dark brown sugar

   Once the sugars were fully incorporated, then came the eggs.

   *2 large eggs

   Then we came to the fun part... figuring out how much flour to use.  Because of the thickness of the batter I decided to go with 2 cups of flour and add in more if it was needed. 

   *2 cups all purpose flour
   *1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
   *1 teaspoon ground sea salt (you could use table salt, I just prefer the taste of sea salt)
   * 2 cups simi sweet chocolate chips

   Once it was all mixed, I decided it looked about right. So I preheated the oven, while chilling the dough in the fridge, and cleaning up my mess. 

    I know, I'm a messy baker.

   First I attempted drop cookies... easy peasy. Just get a spoonful of dough and drop it on the sheet.

   I baked them at 350° for approx. 12 minutes. Only problem is... they didn't come out looking as pretty as I wanted them to. So the next batch I rolled into balls and they came out much prettier! :) It may seem odd to some people to even think of food being "pretty" but for me, baking isn't just about food tasting good, I would say appearence counts for at least 15 percent. 

   Pictured above are my ugly cookies, that tasted amazing! ;) The rolled ones turned out perfect though, crunch outside and soft gooey center <3

It didn't take long for Silas to find them! Hope you enjoy them as much as he did!

The Family Tree

Hello lovelies!

   It has been too long. Life has been hectic, to say the least. I'm reminded today of the things that really matter though. Time with family is the big one for me today. The older 2 boys stayed home from school today because we had a nasty round of hand, foot, and mouth disease in our house over the holiday weekend. I am the only one, other then Dex, to excape unscathed. Hopefully. ;)

   Since the boys were feeling well, we tackled the basement, with promises of playing video games and getting to veg out this afternoon. *Fabulous modivation, btw* While picking up everything Si was getting out, ignoring Rions dramatic sighs, giving directions, asking D to please remove the toy from his mouth, repeating the same directions because no one listened the first time, and rolling my eyes with a air of drama that is almost as good as Rions... I realized something.

   I really adore these children. And one day, they will get to do whatever they want and I will get no say. Rion told me, while glaring at me as only a 6 year old can, that when he is a adult, he will NEVER clean. I smiled and told him that would be up to him. One day soon though, they will be making much bigger choices then if they want to clean their room or not. That is sobering. They are growing up so fast.

   I came to the conclusion that I can do nothing. Nothing, but be a mama, set boundries, give them roots and watch them grow. While they are still young I can try to trim the wayward branches... but in the big scheme of things, they will make their own choices. I will love them no matter the choices they make, no matter the craziness they hand me. I will be their roots, something to keep them grounded. I just hope they blossom.

  Family come down to love... no matter your choices, no matter your failings. Family is saying, it's okay. I hope you do well, and I will help you if I can, but if you fall, I will be here to hold you up.