Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I am obsessed with cookies. I force myself to make them as little as possible however, because I am not the type that can eat one cookie and call it a day. I'll eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner until they are gone! One of my friends pinned this copycat Great Harvest Giant Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie a few months ago and I decided to give it a try. Anything to make them a little healthier- then I can have 5, right? ;)

They ended up being amazing and you can't even tell they're made with whole wheat flour. They still have butter and sugar, of course, but at least there's some extra fiber!

Here's the ingredients:

2 sticks of salted butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons molasses (yes, you HAVE to add this! it makes them.)
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt (i use more than the recipe originally calls for and I use kosher salt)
2 cups oats (for them to be really chewy, don't use quick oats. We want whole oats)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter with the sugar. Add eggs, molasses and milk, mix for 30 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is combined. Add baking powder, soda and salt. Mix for 10 seconds. Add oats, flour and chocolate chips. Mix JUST until everything is moist. Usually it takes me about 20 seconds MAX to get everything combined. Not over mixing cookie dough makes them light and delicious.

These were originally giant cookies, but I make them normal size and bake them for significantly less time:
The original source says to bake them for 12-14 minutes- I ALWAYS under bake my cookies. Bake these for 9 minutes! As in- they are still almost raw on top when I take them out.  Ever wonder why cookie dough is so dang good? It's not cooked, that's why. So who wants to eat over baked cookies? Not me. Plus, when under baked, they are softer and last days longer...if they aren't all eaten within 24 hours :)

recipe review

Over the weekend I tried 2 recipes I've never tried before and both were a hit! One was on my menu from last week and the other is on my menu for this week (not posted yet ). 

The first one I tried was Creamy Black Bean Chicken Burritos

 photo credit

The recipe calls for smoked paprika & 1/2 tsp of chipotle peppers. I didn't have either of those and I didn't want to buy an entire can of chipotle peppers for 1/2 tsp. So instead I added a little regular paprika and a little taco seasoning (maybe 1 T). The recipe is super easy to make and only took about 30 minutes total. After the mixture was done I put 2 large spoonfuls on a tortilla, sprinkled with cheese and folded them up like a burrito. Then I put them on a hot flat pan and grilled either side til they were crispy.

And there ya go a delicious crispy chicken burrito. I thought they were delicious and so did my husband :)

The next recipe I tried was foil dinners from Little Miss Momma

To be completely honest I had never had a foil dinner in my life, my family never went camping so there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity to try them. So I was intrigued when I found the recipe. I thought they were delicious and so so so easy. Anything cooked on the BBQ that doesn't require the oven to be turned on in warm weather catches my attention. Try them out, they were yummy!

 

photo credit

They took about 15 mins to prepare and only 15-ish minutes to cook.

BBQ Onion Rings

I've never made onion rings before but I've always liked them. I never order them but I'd eat them if someone made them for me... Well now I think I'm going to be eating a lot of them. I found a recipe for BBQ onion rings here the other day and showed them to my cousin Blake. He's in love with onion rings. He made us make them that night. He couldn't wait. They were AMAZING.

I took the general idea of the recipe and made it a little simpler. I even put some of the rings on my pulled pork sandwich. YUM.
We also didn't dip them in anything- they were good by themselves. Here's what you need, and what i did:

Serves 4 as a side dish.

1 BIG yellow onion
Buttermilk
BBQ sauce
Hot sauce (optional)
Flour
Salt + Pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Cut the onion into thick rings. I like mine a little thinner so I did probably 1/4 inch slices. It's really up to you and how thick of an onion ring you like. Separate all the rings in a bowl. Add 1/4 of bbq sauce and a few dashes of hot sauce on top of the rings and oll them around in it. Cover the onion rings with the buttermilk. The longer you let them set the better they get. Mine sat for only about 15 minutes because we were starving, but up to an hour would be good.



Heat your oil in a pan (I like to use a deep pot so there's less splattering all over my counter) and meanwhile, start dipping your buttermilk covered rings into the flour (season the flour with a little salt and pepper). Shake off the excess flour and fry a few at a time.


Don't crowd the pot too much, otherwise they won't cook well. I cooked mine on medium heat and they took a minute on each side. They should be golden brown when you take them out. Here they are again!

Herbs

I have been wanting to plant an herb garden for SO long. I always ended up not because of some random excuse, but this summer I was planning on going all out. We stopped at Trader Joes in Vegas on our way out a few weeks ago and I saw this:




There were a few combinations, and I really wanted basil, but I opted for this combo of rosemary, thyme and oregano. I had never used fresh thyme or oregano before so I figured it was about time to try it out.

I have never liked dried thyme and usually leave it out of recipes if they call for it because it's so strong and hay-ish. I had heard Rachael Ray describe fresh thyme as lemony and fresh- and trying it out, she is right! It has a completely different smell and taste than dried thyme. It was a pleasant surprise!

I fully recommend purchasing some herbs- basil is a good starter because it's in so much, and rosemary is great on chicken and in marinades for meat. Let me know how it goes!

Kitchen Essentials

I saw a post about what you need in your kitchen. This is a really good thing to know, especially if you are engaged and planning on registering soon. I didn't know everything that I needed, but I had a pretty good idea of the basics... there are a few things I would have changed though.

#1 If I registered all over again I wouldn't register at Target. Their return policies are a hassle...you can only exchange something for another item in the same department...it was a nightmare.

#2 I would not get a pot & pan set. Ours is from Crate and Barrel, and I love it, but I have a lot of small pans that I don't really use. I would recommend registering for individual pieces, as in a large stock pot, a large non-stick skillet, another non-stick skillet with higher sides, and a sauce pot. Those are the ones I mostly use, and I cook 6/7 nights. Later, if you realize you might use it, I would recommend getting something in cast iron. I have a smaller dutch oven style cast iron pot and a cast iron skillet that are Le Creuset and I'm obsessed with them :)


What I recommend:
2 pairs of tongs
2 spatulas (for flipping things such as pancakes) I have one that is rubber material and one that is metal.
2 bowl scrapers (I actually own 4 and use them all often)
2 ladles
1 pasta grabber
1 hand held strainer
1 potato masher
1 cookie scoop
2-3 cookie sheets (I use these for cookies but also things like roasting potatoes)
1-2 loaf pans
2 9 x 13 baking pans for cakes
1 rolling pin (I like wooden ones)
1 vegetable peeler
1 pair of kitchen scissors
1 pie pan
1 cooling rack (perfect for cookies)
4-8 mixing bowls (I own a lot. I have melamine, glass and plastic ones.)
2-3 whisks (I have 3 in different sizes)
1 large colander
1 microplane (for grating zest, nutmeg)]
1 stand grater (I recommend investing in a good sturdy, sharp one. I hate grating)
2 cutting boards (I use mine every single day. It's a really nice one from Crate & Barrel. Make sure you pick one that has a non-slippery surface...I hate when a knife can slide around on the board. Also pick one that has some kind of grippage at the bottom so it doesn't slide on you. Very dangerous!)
3 wooden spoons(Again, I love mine from C & B. I also recommend some kind of flat edged wooden utensil for breaking up ground meat when you're browning it)


Knives:
I have a set of Kitchen Aid knives that we got for our wedding, and they are really good. There are better brands that I like more, and will get someday. Wusthoff seems to be my favorite ones right now- I only own their bread knife at this point. If you don't want to splurge on a set, the most important knife I use is a chef's knife. I like the ones with indentation so that the food you chop doesn't stick to your knife. I prefer a blade that is rounded at the end on top and straight along the bottom. It's my go-to knife.


My favorite appliances:
kitchen aid mixer- I use this for making all of my cookies, cakes, and even breads. I also have the pasta making attachments. You can use a hand mixer just as well, but the stand mixer lets me walk away and come back without having to turn it off.

food processor- mine broke recently. It wasn't the best quality and I used it at least once a week. My favorite brand of processor is Cuisinart. They make large ones and small ones- I would like to own both. If you don't have a large family, the small one would be perfect. I use it to make pesto, pastry dough, sauces...

rice cooker- not a necessity, but I use it often. We have rice every week and I love being able to turn it on and leave it alone. It stops cooking when it's done and keeps the rice warm.

bread maker- I use this once a week too- to make homemade pizza dough! I used to make bread in it a lot, until I mastered my mom's homemade recipe. If you like homemade bread but are afraid to do it by hand, I would definitely recommend one. Mine cost about $50 so it's not a huge splurge.

What can you not live without in the kitchen?
Here's my fave: