The best chocolate chip cookies

Who loves coming home to that warm cookie smell? Especially when it's 55degrees in July!

Perfect chocolate chip cookies

INGREDIENTS

-8 tbsp softened butter (the highest quality you can manage)
-1 egg
-1 tsp sea salt
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
-3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
-1/4 cup evaporated cane juice
-2 tsp pure vanilla extract
-1 cup high quality semi sweet chocolate chips (I use ‪Gharardelli‬)
-1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate bar (use ‪Cadbury‬ if your store carries it!)

FIRST, soften your butter by leaving it at room temp for at least one hour OR microwave for 10-20 second intervals but don't melt! The room temp works the best.
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Combine egg, sugars, vanilla, butter, salt& baking soda in a large bowl. Cream together with a hand mixer. Cream until mixture becomes somewhat fluffy and very well combined.
3. Add flours to this mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until smooth. If the mixture is still very sticky and could not form a ball, add additional flour by the tablespoon until mixture forms a ball while stirring with the spatula.
4. Gently stir in chopped chocolate and chocolate chips.
5. This is important! Form 2 inch balls from the dough with your hands! Not with a spoon or any other utensil! Roll the dough in your hands- it makes the cookies even better!
6. Place each ball about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet.
7. Put sheet in the preheated oven and bake for ~12 minutes.
8. Let cool on cooling rack& eat them all. I mean try not to eat them all. Using willpower. If you have any when it comes to cookies.

MAKES 1 1/2 DOZEN

Turkey and Kale Meatballs

I don't know where this genius idea came from, but some of the best recipes come from whatever you have on hand. How can I make meatballs healthy?? I've slowly been exploring the world of paleo after a few health issues, so my goal has been to focus on making all meals more filling sans carbs. These were super delicious and super easy. A winning combination.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground turkey 

1/2 of a large minced onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 cup chopped kale

1/2 cup thinly sliced baby bellas

1/2 tsp finely ground himalayan pink salt

1. Preheat a cast iron (I use this one), or other heavy bottom, skillet over medium heat

2. Add onions, garlic, kale and salt to ground turkey in a large mixing bowl

3. Blend all ingredients through meat with mixing hand, until well mixed

4. Form 9-10 meatballs, and place in pan gently, as to keep the shape of the meatballs

5. Let cook until one side is well browned, about 7-10 minutes. 

6. Add mushrooms to skillet, lower heat slightly 

7. Stir frequently, while allowing meatballs to continue to brown and without breaking the meatballs.

8. Once mushrooms have browned, and all sides of meatballs are brown,10 additional minutes, remove and serve!

Serve with red sauce, white sauce, over pasta, over a cold pasta salad, in a sandwich, whatever your heart desires!




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Chocolate and Maple Cream Cheese cookies

Want the most delicious cookies you've ever tasted? Of course you do!
Cream cheese takes baked goods to a whole new level of delicious. Making these cookies so puffy and just the perfect blend of soft, chewy and gooey.

The recipe makes about two dozen, depending on how large you like your cookies! Read no further if you are on a diet because this may be the fattest thing I've ever made.

INGREDIENTS

1 bar semisweet baking chocolate chopped

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 stick butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

4 Tbsp Real Maple Syrup, no fake 2% syrup high fructose crap

3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
MAKES 2 DOZEN

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Cream together evaporated cane juice, maple syrup, butter, cream cheese, egg, vanilla extract and baking soda until well blended in bowl of stand mixer or by hand with rubber spatula
2. Mix in flours to cream cheese mixture. Blend well enough without overmixing
3. Gently fold in chocolate chips
4. Using a tablespoon and knife, scoop out balls of dough and scrap onto parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
5. Now, you can do one of two things, let these cool in the fridge for 30+ minutes for extra puffy cookies, or put directly into preheated to 375 F oven. I'm impatient, so usually these go straight to the oven so I can stuff my face ASAP.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes and let cool. Now enjoy& share if you can. Or make another batch before anyone comes home to know the first ones went missing, up to you, judgment free zone.

Stovetop Jam

Am I the only one who was scared witless at the thought of jam?
I only imagined long hours on my feet, sweating buckets, risking my life with pots on pots of boiling water and pressure cookers. Oh, the horror.

But, then there's easy peasy stovetop jam!

Seriously, this is magic. It's two steps, frozen fruit, lemon juice and sugar. The uses are boundless. Eating it straight out the pot is my personal fave. Best part, if you use a heavily seeded fruit, ie blackberries/strawberries/raspberries, it makes you jam and preserves = #winning.

INGREDIENTS

1 bag 16 oz frozen fruit of your choice (Blackberries are my favorite!)
1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
1/2 cup water
juice of one lemon (strain to remove seeds)

Tools
fine mesh strainer
immersion blender

1. Pour your fruit, water and lemon juice into a saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Leave this cooking uncovered until all ice de-crystallizes (is this a word??) from fruit

3. After fruit is completely defrosted over heat, add evaporated cane juice and stir to blend completely.
4. When fruit is very soft, approximately 20 minutes, immersion blend.

5. Let cool for one hour after removing from heat & then eat!!

PS. If you want to separate your preserves and jam, just strain the mushy parts of fruit and seeds and leave the juicy part for jam!

Faux pho

Who doesn't love Pho?
If you don't love Pho, kindly exit this page, most immediately.
       jayyyyykayyyyy....... ahem. anyways.



Pho is like the much improved Vietnamese-ed version of the ever classic (yet un-impressive) chicken noodle soup. Let's call it Chicken Noodle Soup 2.0 Plus++ And, I'm sure it's healthier with rice noodles, and green veggies instead of the starchy counterparts- potatoes, carrots- often featured in chicken noodle.

One thing, that gives Pho it's distinctive taste would be the anise seeds used in the broth. I didn't have any and I added broccoli and soft boiled eggs for extra protein and iron- hence Faux Pho.

I apologize in advance, there are not any pictures because I didn't plan on posting this recipe. Sorry!

INGREDIENTS

Package of rice noodles

2 eggs

1 cup bean sprouts

10 basil leaves

1/2 cup cilantro

1 cinnamon stick

6 oz thinkly sliced beef

1 cup diced broccoli

40 oz beef broth

1 onion

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 lime

1 jalapeno

salt and pepper

1. Add sesame oil to pot and heat over medium heat. Finely slice onion while oil is heating. Add onion to pot and cook for 3-5 minutes, until clear. Add garlic and saute for a few minutes, until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add broth to onions and garlic. Add broccoli and cinnamon stick to broth. Broccoli must be chopped very small to cook as quick as the rest of the soup.

3. Start boiling a second pot of water to make soft boiled eggs. Cook eggs for 3-5 minutes. Then immediately remove from pot and place in ice cold water.

4. Remove cinnamon stick from broth. Add beef to broth pot and cook for 5 minutes.

5. Cook your rice noodles as instructed on package. Place directly in serving bowls.  

6. Pour completed soup over rice noodles. Top bowls with bean sprouts, cilantro, basil leaves, jalapeno, and juice of lime. Peel and cut egg in half and place in bowl. 

Makes 4 generous servings.