Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last night we had some friends over for a game night, so I decided to try a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. It was just wonderful, so here it is! I doubled this recipe, and it made plenty for 7 adults and 4 children.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 c flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1 3/4-oz instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c semisweet chocolate cips
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Beat in pudding mix until blended. Add in eggs and vanilla. Blend in flour and soda. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are slightly brown. For very soft cookies, the cookie should not look done. Let sit on pan for a minute or so after removing from oven.

Baby Mine...isn't a baby any more

Today we celebrated 7 years. Seven lovely years as parents, seven wonderful years of Dallas!!! Its hard to believe its been that long, and then again, there are days where it seems like I've been doing this mothering thing FOREVER, and wonder if I will ever get to sleep through the night again! I am so thankful for my precious little girl!

Dallas' friend Asher spent the night, and we had a party at Grandma and Grandpa DeLap's house. Dallas wore the dress Grandpa bought for her. Before we went home, two little girls were well covered in makeup from Auntie Christy and Uncle Jeff.

The cake was different than any other cake I've decorated, because Dallas doesn't like frosting. It is too sweet for her taste. So, I used whipped topping, colored lavandar, for most of the decorating. There is a little bit of store bought cookie frosting on it, too. The package said that would get hard, but APARENTLY, when put on whipped topping, it doesn't harden up, but rather gets liquid and runs! The cake tasted good with the topping instead of frosting, and turned out much better than I expected. I made Dallas a sunbonnet to match Holly Hobbie's, and it even matched her birthday dress. I didn't get a picture on her birthday, so I'll have to take one tomorrow.

She loved the little babies and sling for Barbie Auntie Derr made her...I'm sure we'll be seeing some for sale in the Quite Lovely Boutique.

Auntie Florine

The birthday princess and Freeman at the dinner table
Sisters, who to me, don't look a thing alike, and yet at the same time are able to both look like their mother...Hmmm, I wonder how that works?
Everything tastes better when it looks nice (I learned that from my mommy!) The white is coconut the red is raspberry and the frosing is coconut flavored. In between layers, I mixed berry jam with frosting for added berry flavor.
Story time with cousins Travis and Katrina. Its amazing how captivated they all were with the story!
The children piling on Trina and Travis.

So...Miriam's sister and family came for a visit, and I and the children were able to meet Auntie Florine and her family for the first time! Everyone was so excited to finally meet, and the children just loved them (nearly to death!). We celebrated her birthday on the 10th, and had a grand party! The cake was fun to do, I did the frosting and the children helped put the flowers on it. Here are some pics from the party.

a taste of heaven...

You just HAVE to try this recipe! It is wonderful. And good for you. Wow, you can't beat that!

Whole Wheat Maple Quick Bread

1/3 cup milk

1 cup yogurt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 lemon, juiced

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan (about 5x9). Mix wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients, stirring until moistened. Bake 50 minutes in preheated oven, or till knife inserted near center comes out clean. You may want to cover with foil the last half of baking time to keep from overbrowning on top.

Now, for a real treat, put a little bit of neufchatel cheese on top. Take some berries (mine were frozen and defrosted), mash them up and put those on top. Eat with a fork. Mmmmmmmm.....

Oh, I'd like to point out: I have no idea what pastry flour is! I used King Arthur Flour whole wheat flour. It is the ONLY whole wheat flour I've found that tastes good.

Ok, I'd better go to bed before I'm too tempted to dive into seconds!!!

New Recipes

Ok, so I love finding a new recipe that everyone in my family likes. Maccaroni and cheese and spaghetti with meatballs gets old real fast, ya know what I mean? So, here is our latest hit. Daddy DeLapper says it reminds him of cabbage rolls.

Turkey Cabbage Bake

2 tubes (oz) crescent rolls, 2 pounds ground turkey, 1/2 onion chopped, 1 tsp minced garlic, 3 c. chopped cabbage, 2 (10-3/4 oz) cream of mushroom, 1 tsp thyme, 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Unroll one tueb crescent dough into one long rectangle; seal seams. Press onto the bottom of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees for 6-8 min. or until golden.

In large skillet, cook turkey, onion, carrot and garlic over medium heat until meat is not pink; drain. Add cabbage, soup and thyme. Cook for 3-5 min. longer. Pour over crust; sprinkle with cheese.

Press second tube of dough into rectangle; place over casserole. Bake uncovered, at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until crust is golden and dish is hot.

Yeild:6 servings