5 Minute Chocolate Overload Cookies

It's been one of those weeks, you know one where its Wednesday and you are already complaining about what a long week you have had. I feel like I have done thirty loads of laundry in the last two days, realistically its been like ten. It is still a huge amount, ah the fun of seven people in one house. Anyway while another load is in the wash (and only like three to go!) I decided to whip up some amazingly delish cookies.

I call them 5 Minute Cookies, because thats about how long they take to mix up and how long they take to disappear.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
makes about 2 and 1/2 dozen

2 sticks unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 package (or about 1 1/2 cups) chocolate chips

Throw the butter and sugars into the mixer, and beat on medium till light and fluffy (do not add any more sugar or the cookies will be too sweet to eat) add the eggs, add the vanilla, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. I never sift my dry ingredients together so adding the baking powder and salt before the flour ensures that no one gets a salty bite. Turn the mixer down to low and add the flour, almonds and chocolate chips. Stop the mixer immediately after the chocolate chips are added and mix them gently by hand if needed. Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for about 15 minutes for a soft cookie and 17-19 for a crispier cookie.

Let cool for as long as you can wait (at least till the chocolate doesn't burn your tongue) and enjoy.

I am just hoping they last till my husband gets home from work. 

Bats and Neon and Vampire Pumpkins OH MY!

This weekend is the last one in September, which means at my house it's time to decorate for halloween! Yay I love this time of year, the weather is getting cold, the menus are getting full of baked goods and its time to start planning all the winter holidays.

The theme for halloween this year is Glowing! My kids are a little too young for anything spooky so the front porch light is getting a black light lightbulb and the decorations will be neon. I am also buying up tons of fun glow in the dark items from places like Target and Dollar Tree.

I found a few amazing ideas on Pinterest and here are two that made the cut, with a few minor changes to make it work for my family.

Neon and Bats

This pin was created using a bat cut out and sponging neon colors over it. I love the look. On sunday my family will be using white butcher paper (which we usually have in the house) and we will let the kids basically paint long sheets with as much neon paint as they want. Then the older kids (and those of us who still behave like kids as often as possible) will cut and paste black construction paper (which we also have on hand) bats to the background. The plan is to hang these all around the front porch to make a pretty large decoration for almost no cost. I will post pictures of our version next week.

Vampire Pumpkins

Aren't these the cutest things? I feel like I saw somewhere that this original idea came from Martha Stewart, but i am not positive, I couldn't find a link to it on her website. 

My boys helped me make a few pumpkins like this:

These are the carve able pumpkins from the dollar store. I loved the price and the fact that they won't decay but they definitely looked like the cost a dollar, so i will probably invest in some white pumpkins that are real a little closer to halloween. Anyway we sprayed them white and added glow in the dark fangs and glow in the dark mustaches that both came from Target. The eyes I had in my craft kit but I believe they are available in a huge pack at the dollar store. All told I make 6 pumpkins like this for $9. That includes a new can of white spray paint. This was easy enough for my kids to help with, but it wasn't very labor intensive so they we're happier playing with the finished project than making them.

We will also add a few big pumpkins to the front porch and maybe one of those wreaths from pinterest and the house should look fairly festive!

Pinterest Dinner Board

In an attempt to eat healthier and be more organized, I have decided that I must make a meal plan.  This is not the easiest thing in the world for me, but I am going to do it.

I already have a ton of food on my Pinterest boards, so I created a new one.

Dinner this week 

And (fingers crossed) every saturday I am going to update the board with all new ideas for dinner, create a shopping list, and then follow through by making those items for dinner all week.

 Doesn't this soup from Rachael Ray look delish? My family will be eating this for dinner on Thursday, I will let you know how it works for me and if my picky kids will even try to eat it. 

So here is my shopping list for the week:

Shopping List – Dinner this week – 9/22-9/28

Already Have  

From Pantry

2 cans corn

2 cans black beans

1 can tomato sauce

1 can tomato paste

8oz Penne

½ cup chicken stock

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup dried lentils

4 cups beef stock

¾ cup stone ground polenta

¼ cup brandy

½ cup panko bread crumbs

From the fridge

onion

2 stalks celery

garlic

1 beer

butter

fresh peas

fresh basil

feta

6 eggs

5oz fresh shredded cheese (Mexican blend)

carrots

milk

Spices

cumin, coriander, oregano, cilantro, chili powder

salt and pepper, thyme, dried basil, dried parsley, 2 bay leaves, fresh rosemary, dried chives

Need to Buy   

Meat

1lb ground beef

1lb pork sausage

Canned Goods/Condiments

2 cans chili beans

Red wine vinegar

Dairy

1 cup grated parmesan

½ cup ricotta

grated pecorino Romano cheese

1/3 cup soft goat cheese

Produce

Spinach

Apple

5 bell peppers

1 pound asparagus

2 cups cherry tomatoes, 2 large tomatoes

1 pound butternut squash

2 cups cooked spaghetti squash

I potato

* Here's hoping this becomes a habit*

Half Price Coupon

Saturday Afternoon Classes are held at The Source (http://www.thesourceabq.com) . Right now I have limited space for toddlers ages 2-5 for my 3pm classes. Hopefully more classes will be available soon.

Since we are still in the process of getting started, to get my name out there I want to tell you about my referral program. If you refer someone to my class, and they come try it out, I will give you one bonus stamp on my punch card. 5 stamps gets you one free class!

And FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY

Print this page to get 50% off of any one class.
Strings: Coupon can only be used once, one discount per child. Expires October 31, 2011.

I will offer more coupons and classes throughout the year, so keep checking in for more info.

September Calender

Upcoming Classes:

Sept 17, 2011 PRIMARY COLORS- we are going to make our own play dough in Red, Yellow and Blue and mix them together to make Green, Orange and Purple. Children will get a tactile experience and learn how to mix the primary colors and how they are the basis of all the colors in the rainbow. We will also look at a color wheel and talk about how it works.

Sept 24, 2011 AUTUMN EXPLORATION - We are going to learn about how plants change to get ready for winter and make leaf etchings. We will also talk about chlorophyl and what makes the leaves change colors.

October 1, 2011 HALLOWEEN DECORATIONS - we are going to learn about Oragami and make Halloween bats nad pumpkins to decorate with. We will also talk about complicated oragami and different types of art made with paper.

Hot Cocoa Mix- Chai Spice

Turns out that on a weeknight, between work and dinner there is really only time for a short project. Sophia and I made the Chai Spice Cocoa mix and it was fantastic. Since you already have directions and a recipe on my previous mix I will just add pics. If you would like to try it but don't want to make it order a 16oz jar from my Etsy store.

These pictures show, the chopped bittersweet chocolate, the sugar cocoa powder and chai powder mix, and pouring the total mix into the jar. We need to make up a more festive label though. That will be tonight project. I think this is going to make a delicious gift for the people on the list, can't wait to try the almond cocoa mix and the spicy mexican cocoa mix. I have a feeling these are going to be yummy.

Paper Candle Shades

So my second idea for small presents is to create a paper candle shade. I saw some really beautiful candlesticks on Etsy and cannot afford anything like that, but I thought it would be really cool to try and come up with a simpler but just as beautiful idea. So I am off to the paper store to find some lovely inspiration and searching the ends of the internet for stencil designs that i might be able to use to make a similar design. I am thinking that I need to use a frame so that there is little or no risk on the burning down the house thing. So this weekend I am going to try and make a beautiful paper shade with some dimensional cut outs. I will post lots of pics and directions if it turns out okay and if not well, I will post the pictures and maybe try again or maybe move on to a new and more practical idea.

Jars of Hot Cocoa Mix

Today I am thinking of making jars of hot cocoa mix with my daughter for her to give as gifts to her teacher, and the secretary at my work, and maybe other people who deserve to be remembered with something thoughtful. Our budget is Super tight this year so over the next few weeks I am going to come up with, and execute ideas that make lovely presents for everyone on my list for as little money as possible. Since presents that require less money, tend to take more time to make Sophia and Desi and I are going to be working on small projects after school and before dinner and on bigger projects on Saturday afternoons.



First up is my idea for acquaintances who need more than just a card. I love to bake, and my children love to get messy in the kitchen so I am keeping this part kitchen themed. I can picture beautiful little jars of hot cocoa mix with directions and pretty handmade labels and lots of festive ribbon. Tonight we are going to try out three recipes: Almond Dark Chocolate Cocoa, Chai Tea Milk Chocolate Cocoa, and Spicy Mexican Cocoa. I figure that having some different flavors will take some of the kitschy out of this gift and make it memorable. When searching for hot cocoa recipes on the internet i found a bunch of dried milk and cocoa powder and sugar or powdered sugar recipes. To me that sounds like the same stuff you get in a box at the store. So I am going to make hot cocoa mix with chocolate to be added to hot milk.
Here is my basic recipe:

1/4 pound of Bittersweet baking Chocolate (grated)
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips (milk or dark your choice)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup white sugar

for the Chai tea recipe I am going to add 1/8 cup of Chai Tea powder (I found this at my local east Indian market) and mix that with the sugar
for the almond I am going to add 1/2 cup of Dried Almond Milk (I found this at the health food store)
for the Spicy Mexican Recipe I am going to add 2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper

I wanted to layer these so they would look pretty in a jar, but I am thinking a nice mix will do better for preparing the hot cocoa. The directions will simply be to stir 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa mix into a glass of steaming hot milk. To heat milk can be done on the stove top on low heat so it doesn't scald or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

My daughter and I are going to make some of these up tonight and tomorrow I will post pics and reactions. If anyone wants to try out some of my recipes or suggest other delicious ideas I would love your comments.