Perfectly Rounded Choc. Chip Cookies.

Good Monday everyone! Whew. Crazy weekend. But a blast. I love Mondays because they are the only day all of us are home evenings.

Ever since getting this recipe from a friend, I haven't been able to stop making these! They are superb. I prefer these with Chocolate Chunks but I don't always have those on hand so sometimes I use Chips. Still delicious either way.
To get those perfectly rounded cookies....you must use a cookie scoop. My Mom bought one at some Amish Country Store but I bet Wal-Mart or any other store with cook/baking ware would have one. My size is about medium. I started using it a couple months ago and haven't stopped. Can't use spoons anymore!

Perfectly Rounded Choc. Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter or stick margarine, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

1 large egg

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups chocolate chips (or 1 bag of chocolate chunks)

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat sugars, butter, shortening, vanilla, and egg in large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips/chunks. Using a cookie scoop, drop onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light brown. Cool 1 to 2 minues; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

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We recently discovered Ultimate Frisbee earlier this summer. Wow. We had no clue what we were missing out on. All 6 of us kids play. And we love it. It is a bunch of friends that get together weekly.

We can get rough with each other....grabbing the frisbee from someone else or crashing and taking out other players. But with most of us under 25....I think that is pretty normal.

Mr. Joe...sporting his new haircut.

Yeah...that is me with those red shorts.

It is good to be back! Looking forward to another busy week...see you in not too long with another food post!

Brownies W/Caramels, Coconut, & Chocolate.

Good Wednesday Earth Day (note: not an environmentalist) everyone! Hope you are having a good week so far. I have been really enjoying sunny spring weather. I have waited a long time to be able to not wear a jacket!

There aren't words for these brownies. They are chewy, moist, stomach-pleasing, and eye-catching. I have been seeing other bakers making homemade Somaos all over the internet. I thought why not make a brownie Somaos? I am so glad I thought of making these. They are now my favorite brownies I have ever made and they make for amazing pictures. I also got thumbs up from my brother.

Brownie Somoas

Ingredients:

1 brownie mix

3 1/2 cups shredded coconut, toasted

(2) 14 oz. package of caramels, unwrapped

1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. milk

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare brownie mix according to box directions. Cool. Place the caramels, salt, and milk in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 3-5 minutes. Stop occasionaly to stir. Cook until all caramels are melted and smooth. Add coconut and mix together. Spread over cooled brownies. Refrigerate 4-5 hours or overnight. Cut into bars and drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate.

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I bet most of us have little sisters. Anna is 5 years younger than me. Anna loves to laugh at my jokes. I know if I make a joke she will usually laugh, while my siblings usually pass looks that say that was dumb. She says some pretty funny things. She is full of energy. Which is good, because in this family no one is quiet. While my brothers usually say nothing about my baking but keep eating it, Anna is the first to tell me what I made was good. And last year she let me cut her hair for the first time ever in her life. It was also my first time ever cutting hair. That took some courage. She usually does let me do things like to her. Amazing - right?

Enjoy your Wednesday, and I will have a non-dessert recipe next! Got a busy afternoon/evening ahead of me!

Banana Bread Made W/A Chocolate Cake Mix

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Winners picked by random.org:

Natalie who said: i can't believe you're going to make me choose. seriously! they all sound amazing so i'm just going to wait and see if i win (fingers crossed) and then pick if i absolutely have to :)

AND

Abigail who said: Those two ingredient cupcakes look amazing.

Please email me ladies at priscilla91@iowatelecom.net so you can get your treats!

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Good Thursday everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful week with sunny weather. I cannot wait to see Hannah Montana this weekend, I wasn't able to make it last week with my friend for opening week to see it. We can't wait to see it Saturday. My favorite characters would have to be Lilly, Ricco, Jackson, and Hannah. Ricco is so amusing.

I needed to use some bananas up we had and came up with this recipe. I love the addition of a chocolate cake mix. The sour cream and bananas add much moisture to this cake and the chocolate chunks or chips knock this cake up a notch. This was devoured instantly but with 3 man eating brothers I honestly think devouring anything isn't hard.

Chocolate Cake Mix Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. vanilla

3 medium bananas, ripe and smashed

5 tbsp. sour cream

2 cups of a chocolate cake mix, straight out of the box

1 1/2 cups chocolate chunks or chips

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 in pan. Cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs and mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt together and add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla, bananas, sour cream, cake mix, and chunks/chips. Mix very well. Pour into greased baking pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until ready.

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I love my friends. But you all know that.

Katie and I are the last two to graduate from high school out of our friend's group. We both leave 12th grade next month. While it sounds exciting to no longer be in high school, it is also scary for me. I am stepping into a place I have never been before. My whole life I have always been in either elementary, junior high, or high school. But I know I have a great big God who will walk with me as I tread these new days. And I have to graduate sometime, I wouldn't want to be 40 and still in 12th grade.

(Easter 2009)



One of my favorite songs by Third Day. I find it simply amazing that the God who holds this world in the palm of His Hands and created this universe, loves me. And died that I might live.

2 Ingredient Cupcakes, Easy Peasy Ones.

Good Saturday evening everyone! I feel like a chicken with my head cut off running all over the place this week. Easter preparations and activites have kept me so busy these past days, but I have been enjoying it.

Today I had my first ever photo session with my friend. It could not have gone better, the lighting was perfect and the day was simply gorgeous. It sure helps when you are photographing a beautiful girl. I'll be sharing some pictures from the shoot in a post in the upcoming week. I adore taking photos of people, I feel better being behind the camera.

These cupcakes were some of the best I have had in a long time. I whipped this recipe up and couldn't believe I hadn't tried this sooner. The brownie mix swirled in the cake mix batter
makes these so tasty. It is hard to believe this recipe only has 2 ingredients, I love simple things.

Double Boxed Cupcakes
Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix (or any kind would work)

1 brownie mix, with chunks

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to directions. In a another bowl prepare brownie mix according to directions. Grease 2 muffins pans. Fill pans 3/4 full with yellow cake mix batter. Drop a heaping tablespoonful of brownie mix on top of the cake batter in each muffin tin. Swirl with knife. Bake for 20 minutes or until middle is done. Do not overbake.

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Lewis Lewis Lewis. Some days he drives me so mad and other days I feel so happy that he is mine. I have always adored Labs. Lew is my first purebred Lab. And I will have to say I do not adore them as much as I did. Labs are stubborn. Strong willed. Mouthy. Rolly polly. Has a mind of their own. Chews things up endlessly. Gets in the trash. And they make it impossible to catch them. I love Labs but look at them with a realstic view now.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope it is filled with lots of fun and good food. I am hoping for a beautiful sunny day!

Classic Crunchy Choc. Chip Cookie W/Brownie Mix.

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A big conrats to the winner of the purse picked by random.org:

A who said: I'm wearing a green shirt--no pinching for me!!!

Congrats A! Please contact me at priscilla91@iowatelecom.net so I can get your prize out to you!

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Good Wednesday everyone! This week is flying by, I can't believe we are already halfway thru March! It seems like yesterday was March 1st. I recently learned how to play "Apples to Apples" (lame that I only learned recently) and I absolutely love that game! I like it when you get cards like when the red card is "frightening" and someone throws in a green card that says "Brad Pitt". I also love playing when you play only with the green cards, where you describe everyone with the adjectives. I've got some pretty mean cards that way. Lets say I'm glad it is all in fun! But why do brothers find great pleasure in giving their sisters cards that say things like insane, painful, or frightening? I am still trying to figure that out.

I took this recipe from the King Arthur Flour, Cookie Companion book and tweaked it. Yum, the addition of a brownie mix adds great flavor and a bit of a brownie like cookie. This recipe is one of my favorite ways to make Chocolate Chip cookies with the addition of vinegar and shortening. I also enjoy all the chocolate chips in this cookie, a whole 3 cups. I personally think the more chips the better.

Classic Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookie With Brownie Mix

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp. vanila extract

3/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp. white vinegar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 - 1/4 cup brownie mix, dry (staright from the box)

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla, salt, and vinegar. Beat in the eggs, then the baking soda and flour. Stir in the brownie mix and chips. Drop the dough by a small tablespoonful onto baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

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Little brothers. I've got 2 of them. They definitely keep my life exciting. They are opposites of each other but keep each other in tact. They are full of energy when it comes to sports. And yes, they are way better than me at the whole sports thing. Although that doesn't keep me from still trying to be okay in their books at it.

Have a fabulous rest of your week and I'll see you next with a tasty recipe!