Rookie Cookie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got this recipe from the fabulous Rookie Cookie's blog

Ingredients:

2¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

¾ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup sugar

1 (3.4 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets (I use silicone baking mats).

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

*this recipe made 3 dozen 2" cookies.

Picture Blocks

What you need:

wood block (whatever size you want)

sand paper

paint

foam brush

stain

wooden knob/drawer pull

ribbon

hot glue

mod podge

picture

What you do:

1. Sand blocks until smooth on all sides.

2. Paint block and knob with foam brush. Apply as many coats until desired color is achieved. Let dry completely.

3. Distress edges of the block with sand paper. Now apply stain (any color) using a white rag to the distressed edges. (this step is optional) Let dry.

4. Cut picture to size. Apply a smooth layer of mod podge over the face of the block and attach picture. Allow to dry completely.

5. Once mod podge has dried, apply thin layer of mod podge over the top of the picture to seal it to the block. Allow to dry.

6. Hot glue wooden knob to the top of the block and tie ribbon around.

Cranberry Chicken

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 pkg. chopped pecans

1 bottle Catalina dressing

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

Directions:

1. Place chicken in baking pan. Generously spread cranberry sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle pecans and onion soup mix over chicken. Pour catalina dressing over top.

2. Bake lightly covered with foil at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes.

Ribbon Organization

Believe it or not, there is 68 spools of ribbon in here!
Finally! A way to organize ribbon that works for me! I was a little overly excited about this one. I've seen many ways to organize ribbon and I used to run wooden dowels through shadow boxes which works great, if you don't have a ton of ribbon. I gave up after my third shadow box. I found this new idea on a blog called Capture the Moment. I'm so excited to finally have my ribbon organized and takes up so little space!


What you need:
wooden clothespins/doll pins (I've heard these are at the Dollar Tree, but I picked mine up at JoAnn's for convenience)
glass headed pins
jar


What you do:
1. Insert the end of the ribbon in the slit of the clothespin. You only need the end to extend about half an inch or so.
2. Then fold the end over onto the base of the clothespin and hold it in place with your thumb. You will want to fold it so the good side of your ribbon is face up.
3. Next you want to pull the other end of the ribbon (the opposite end from the one you folded over in the last step) down over the short end. This will help keep it from pulling back through the slit without using any tape to hold it in place.
4. Start spooling the ribbon at an angle down the length of the clothespin. Try to keep even spacing because this will ensure that your spool will be evenly dispersed once it is completed.
Then spool back up the clothespin in an opposing angle. Keep everything fairly tight as you are working to help make sure that the ribbon doesn't come off the clothespin when in storage. You will continue spooling until you have completed your entire length of ribbon.
5. To keep the end of the ribbon in place, fasten it with your glass head pin.

* you can fit roughly 5 yards per clothespin

DONE

The blog make-over is done. Thanks to Hillary over at Simply Yours Designs! It's just what I wanted. Simple and doesn't distract from my posts. Check her out if your blog is in need of a new look.

Under Construction

I am going to be working on my blog over the next few days to try and find a permanent template design. I've been debating on getting one made for a while and I think it's time! If you are new to my blog or have just stumbled upon it, leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I am always open to new readers! I've heard rumblings that "friends of friends" frequent my blog but don't leave comment because they don't know me directly. Don't worry, I'd love to hear from you too! It's always good to get feedback and know I'm not wasting my time. Thanks for stopping by.

The Master Cookbook

I decided the cover still needed something...so why not a little bling!

*for those of you who saw this post earlier, yes, I changed the name

This is what I like to call my "master cookbook". This binder holds all of my liked, successful recipes. These recipes are usually ones I've printed off the internet, or have been given to me, or ones I've made copies of out of cookbooks I own. I know that sounds weird, but I make copies from my cookbooks so that I don't have to remember which book it was in and I'm less likely to forget about the recipe. I always place a page protector over each sheet to protect it from splashes and spills. I love that I can write notes or alterations right on the recipe too. And heck, when the recipes fails...throw it away!

Anyways, I outgrew my last one and had to move on to bigger and better..... here she is!

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

Ingredients:

2 9" pie crusts

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 Tbl. all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 brown sugar

1/4 cup water

8 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a sauce pan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add both white and brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, reduce temperature and simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Place bottom crust in pie pan. Fill with apples. Pour sugar mixture over apples, reserving enough to cover crust.

3. Cover pie with lattice crust. Using a basting brush, brush remaining sugar mixture over lattice crust.

4. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 35-45 minutes.

Beef & Bean Burritos, Enchilada Style

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. salt

dash of pepper

1 can diced green chilies

1 16oz. can refried beans

1 15oz. can No bean chili

1 can tomato soup

10oz. enchilada sauce

flour tortillas

shredded lettuce

chopped tomatoe

shredded cheese

chopped green onion

black olives

sour cream

Directions:

1. Brown beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook until onion is translucent. Drain meat. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in green chilies and refried beans. Keep warm.

2. In a saucepan, combine chili, tomoatoe soup, and enchilada sauce. Mix well and heat thoroughly. Keep warm.

3. Warm tortillas. Place 1/2 cup of meat/bean mixture on tortilla, add lettuce, tomatoe, etc. Roll into a buritto. Cover in sauce mixture, sprinkle cheese, green onion, etc. over top and serve.

Beef & Broccoli

Ingredients:
1 lb. beef tenderloin
1/2 lb. broccoli
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbl. soy sauce, separated
1 tsp. MSG
3 slices fresh ginger
1 Tbl. ketchup
2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbl. water

Directions:
1. Cut beef into thin, bite-size pieces. In a small bowl, mix black pepper, 1 Tbl. soy sauce, and MSG. Place meat and mixture in a ziploc bag, add ginger slices. Let marinade for at least 2 hours.
2. Remove ginger slices. Stir fry beef on high heat until browned. Remove and set aside.
3. Stir fry broccoli until crisp and tender. Season with salt.
4. Mix remaining soy sauce, ketchup, sugar, and Worcestershire. Add to broccoli and bring to a boil.
5. Mix cornstarch and water and add top broccoli mixture to thicken.
6. Toss in beef and heat thoroughly.
*Another great recipe from Barbara Lamb, thanks!