Aunt Deb's Cookies

These are delicious cookies and everyone always hopes she brings them to family gatherings!


6 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips              (I use two bags of one type of chips and one bag
3 cups milk chocolate chips                          of the other, whatever I have on hand.)



Combine the butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla and cream well. Add the dry ingredients to
the creamed mixture. Mix well, and stir in chocolate chips.

Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes

Proud Mama

Today was one of those moments I was so proud and astounded by my daughter it is hard to put into words. When we decided to have a garage sale a few weeks ago, Gabby decided she was going to have a bake sale/ lemonade stand.

This past week after I picked the kids up from church school Gabby started to tell me about how they were trying to raise money to buy mosquito nets, because some people get really sick from mosquitos. I was very impressed that she remembered this and that she showed interest in helping someone else out. I talked her into donating a portion of her profits to ELCA Malaria fund, and again much to my surprise she wanted to donate all of the money she made. So, According to her $20 will buy 20 nets. Now I am not sure if that is really how much they cost, but none the less she is very proud of the money she raised for nets and heath education!

Latest Tries...Pinterest

It has been a crazy last couple of weeks with school starting, working, and I have found a new obsession... Zumba. Anyway, I figured I would do an accumulation post of the things I have tried off of pinterest and the blog world lately.

First, I made these Cake Batter rice krispie bars. It seems you can put cake mix in just about anything these days. They were a huge hit!! You can find the recipe on that site or you can just add 1/4 -1/3 cup of yellow cake mix to your usual krispie bar recipe.

Next, Candy Bar Surprise Cookies just think your best chocolate chip cookie with your favorite candy bar inside.... very sinful! We tried KitKat and Reeses. This would be a great way to use up halloween candy.

"Drunken Gummies" were a combination of something we tried and heard about from a wonderful Adventureland Inn bartender and research online. The basics is you take gummy bears and soak them in alcohol for about 8 days. Just put enough alcohol in to cover the bears. They are a great treat. Although only one of mine turned out. The 2 vodka kinds ended up a big melted sticky mess. I am not sure it was the plastic containers or another issue, but we will definitely try again!

Last isn't food related surprisingly! I got this wonderful organization idea from Missy at http://starrfam.blogspot.com/ . I bought drawers from target for each kid, and this is swim central! All swim suits and swim diapers go in a drawer. and then on the shelf above is towels, toys and sunscreen. So when we want to go swimming I just have to go to one place to get it all!

Bubble-Up Enchiladas

sorry this pic is while it's backing...trust me it is good!!!

While searching the internet I found this recipe from Recipe Diaries for Bubble-Up Enchiladas. The name intrigued me and was a simple recipe. It is also a weight watchers one I noticed. I did make a couple changes, I only used half the enchilada sauce and added black beans. Everyone raved about this meal, next time I will try it with cornmeal biscuits.


Nutrition  Info: Calories 390 | Fat 11.5g | Carbohydrate 36g | Fiber 2g | Protein 33g
Weight Watcher Recipes 6 points (old points)

Serves 6



1 pound ground turkey
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 can reduced fat refrigerator biscuits
1 ¼ cups shredded low fat Mexican Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown turkey and drain if needed. Mix in a can of enchilada sauce. Cut the refrigerated biscuits into fourths and stir them in the meat mixture. Then you just dump it all in a greased casserole and bake for 25 minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

You can make this into 6 or 8 servings

First Day of School & After School Snack

Last week was the start of school here. Gabby started 3rd grade. She has Mrs. Mortensen as a teacher, and thus far is loving it. Although it comes with a little more homework than last year. Every night she has math, fact practice and 20 minutes of reading. One big plus this year (in her book anyway) she get to have a planner to keep track of what goes on day to day! 

This week Jayden started school. I think I was more nervous for him to start than he was. Jayden is quite a ball of fire and can be unpredictable with his attitude and temper. My worries aside Daddy took him to his first day of school, while I was on my way home from Atlanta. He has Mrs. Froelich as his teacher. 

BTW.... I got the idea to use the white board on Pinterest. It is one of the few things I have pinned and actually done. I am trying to get better about it! 

One of the kids' favorite snacks is apples and dip. After Gabby's first day of school I made her favorite dip along with a new peanut butter dip for snack time.

Gabby's Favorite Dip

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla

My family always had this dip when we had our "Cheese and Cracker Parties" on sunday nights. So it is a childhood favorite of mine and I am glad I was able to introduce it to my kids and hopefully someday they will do the same! Also, this dip is good heated up a little too!

The peanut butter dip I got from Better Homes and Gardens. It was an interesting dip, but I didn't like it on apples I liked it better for crackers.

ingredients

• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
• 1 to 2 teaspoons skim milk
• 3 medium apples or pears, cored and sliced

directions 1. For dip, in blender container or food processor bowl place the cottage cheese, peanut butter, and cinnamon or apple pie spice. Cover and blend or process until smooth. If necessary, stir in enough milk to make dip of desired consistency.
2. Serve the dip immediately or cover and chill it for up to 24 hours. Serve dip with the apple or pear slices. Makes 6 (2-tablespoon) servings.

nutrition facts

Calories106 Total Fat (g)4 Cholesterol (mg)3, Sodium (mg)178, Carbohydrate (g)13, Protein (g)7, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Vacation

No worries I haven't fallen off the face of the earth... We came back from a relaxing week of vacation by the lake to our daughter starting school. So it has been a whirl wind couple days in this house!

On our way to Clithrall, MN we stopped in Alexadria, MN to eat at Space Aliens. We have drove by this restaurant many times and have never stopped. After our adventure this year, it is going to be a yearly stop! It is a BBQ place mixed with Chuck E. Cheese. 

At the Lake, this is what our typical day looked like. Nothing but relaxation!

 ... and of course a little jetskiing! Dexter LOVED them. Most days started with a ride where he would fall asleep! 

Only 1 day out of the 6 we were there was cold (75ish). So we packed up the kids and went to Vinning, MN. In this small town of only a few hundred, a guy makes sculptures out of scrap metal and lawnmower blades. This sculpture was for his daughter Karen Nyberg, who was an astronaut.

 Vacation/Camping wouldn't be complete without Smore's!! Yummmy!!!

 I absolutely LOVE this picture! It just shows how peaceful this lake is at night. I also like that the kids are sitting nicely enjoying their smores together watching the sunset.

 A few years ago, we decided our jetskiis needed names. So, after much debating they were named Jenny and Cletus. 

BLT salad

Sorry no pictures. This was a quick meal for us tonight as I took the kids to the pool this afternoon, and honestly with bacon in the recipe who needs a pic! 


I got the idea from something I pinned on my Pinterest account, from Mommy's Kitchen. 


Ingredients
Bacon
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Croutons
Ranch Dressing


Cook bacon, dice tomatoes. Top lettuce with bacon, tomatoes, ranch dressing and croutons!


It is that simple! The original recipe had a dressing that used mayo, sour cream, and sugar. But we were going for quick and easy and liked the ranch. It is a great summer dish!