Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was looking at the blogs that I follow when I saw a recipe for Chocolate Chip cookies and I am still in search of the best recipe ever so I tried it.  You can check out her blog post here for all her details and how she made them.


I mixed shortening and coconut butter to make the first step.

I added the sugar, both brown and white sugar.

That was easily creamed together.

I added eggs and vanilla and mixed.

Then I added the flour and other dry ingredients.

It mixed into a nice dough but it was missing one fun thing.

The chocolate chips!!!

It was a pretty sticky dough which I smooshed into a smaller pile at the bottom of the bowl.  Sometimes I stick it in the fridge but I didn't this time.

It made lots of sheets of cookies.

I like to use my silpat which I use over and over because it protects the cookie sheets and allows me to have a nonstick surface.  In addition, I love my cookie scoop.  I think that mine is a medium and it makes scoops like this one.

They bake out to a very normal looking cookie and even though the scoop is so high but they bake out into this which is where I piled the cookies to cool a little because I am too lazy to clean the cooling rack so I don't use it unless I am doing an all day cookie baking extravaganza!

I got a container of cookies that we enjoyed.  We could really taste the two different sugars and the slight difference in our normal recipe.

They were good and we ate them but I don't think that we will add them to the list of the best chocolate chip cookies.  Although after making so many different kinds, we are starting to be able to taste the differences.  I think that a cookie needs the shortening and butter mixture to get it soft and crispy.  I also thing that I can taste the difference between those with white sugar and brown sugar or a mix.  It is interesting how all these small changes can make the cookies taste just a little different!! Hope you check these out and see if they might be your families definition of the perfect cookie.

Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c. brown sugar

½  c. sugar

½ c. (8 tbsp) softened butter                                           

½ c. (8 tbsp) shortening

2 large eggs        

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla                                      

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 ¾- 3 c. flour                                                                               

1 ½- 2 c. chocolate chips (any flavor or mix)                   

Preheat your oven to 375.  In a large bowl, beat together the shortening, butter and sugars.  Now add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Stir in all other ingredients except for the chocolate chips.  

Once the dough is mixed well, fold in the chocolate chips. Scoop cookies onto greased cookie sheet or use silpat. 

Bake for 8 1/2 minutes.  Allow the cookies to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from the pan.  The cookies may look pale and underdone when you remove them but will finish cooking the last little bit needed on the pan.

Forgiven: The Amish School Shooting, a Mother's Love, and a Story of Remarkable Grace Book Review

There was a hard choice for me because you go into the book knowing that it is going to be sad.  If you heard about the Amish School Shooting in the same time as the many other school shootings, you know that people died.  I decided that I still wanted to read Forgiven: The Amish School Shooting, a Mother's Love, and a Story of Remarkable Grace by Jeanette Windle.  I was hoping that it would be more uplifting then sad.

Mother of Amish Schoolhouse Shooter Gives Message of Hope and Healing
Who would have believed all the beauty God would create over the nine years since that awful day. On October 2, 2006, a gunman entered an Amish one-room schoolhouse, shooting ten girls, killing five, then finally taking his own life. This is his mother's story. Not only did she lose her precious son through suicide, but she also lost her understanding of him as an honorable man. Her community and the world experienced trauma that no family or community should ever have to face.

But this is, surprisingly, a story of hope and joy--of God revealing his grace in unexpected places. Today Terri lives in harmony with the Amish and has built lasting relationships that go beyond what anyone could have thought possible. From the grace that the Amish showed Terri's family from day one, to the visits and ongoing care Terri has given to the victims and their families, no one could have foreseen the love and community that have been forged from the fires of tragedy.  Let Terri's story inspire and encourage you as you discover the wonder of forgiveness
and the power of God to bring beauty from ashes.

This was a tough book to read and I am not going to sugar coat it.  There were many tissues used during reading this book.  I was glad that I did read it because it is a really good story on how to continue trying to forgive people for things that are normally considered unforgivable.  It is amazing to watch the people in this book overcome the horrible and gruesome death of many people in the Amish schoolhouse and be able to forgive the man who took their lives.  I remember when this happened but I didn't follow the media coverage because it was just on the tail of another school shooting so I assumed that it was a school ages kid who came into the school so this was an interesting side to learn that this grown married man with his own children went to this Amish school with the intention of killing the girls.  It was hard to hear all of the things that went on in his life that lead him to making this horrible decision.  It was a little over the top with the quotes from the bible and talking about how God wants everyone to forgive instead of giving the actual reason they were offering their forgiveness.  I hope that you enjoy this book and keep some tissues close by because you are going to need it!!

** Please note that I got a copy of the book for my honest opinion and review.  All opinions here are my own.

Menu Plan Monday 11/9

Monday-Tacos with saffron rice
Tuesday- Barber Chicken with white rice and asparagus
Wednesday- Chicken fries, popcorn chicken and homemade fries
Thursday- Pasta or Leftovers
Friday- Chicken Stir Fry Lo Mein with edmame
Saturday- Whole Roasted Chicken with roasted potatoes and asparagus
Sunday- ?? Maybe Pizza or Chinese with friends ??

I said that I would plan the month at the beginning this month but then I found out that I was going to spend most of the month with visitors so I just gave up because I was changing everyday more then once so I am going one week at a time until after the holidays.  This week I have my mother in law in town and she is leaving and my cousin is coming.  I am not really sure what is going on with the week yet but this is plan right now...we will see what happens.  Hope you have a yummy week!!

November Shopping Trips- Halfway to Budget and One Week into the Month

I might have gone a little crazy so far this month since we are only a week in and I am no closer to getting a turkey then I was before and halfway through the month's budget of $160.  Check out my three trips to the store.

We started off with a trip to Wegman's to get ground beef, cranberry juice and a few other things.  I had a coupon to get $1 off bulk food so I let my little man pick out some candy.  He got three different kinds and I think won the scale lottery because it was set pretty low so he got a ton of candy and we paid $0.09 after the coupon.  He declared that he was starving while we were there and I was looking for the cookies because I had a coupon for $1 off bakery but I couldn't find them and he spotted doughnuts so we grabbed two of those (passing the cookies on the way to the check out) but they were yummy and $0.70 after coupon for both.  It was a great way to spend the day off school before a playdate.  I also grabbed lettuce because it was $0.99 and margarine for $0.99 each which is the lowest that I have seen them recently.

Total OOP $23.91

I was late getting to Aldi's and we were out of just about everything in the house and I was exhausted.  I need the chicken fries for my son at $4.29 and the popcorn chicken for my husband at $3.99.  I also really needed the potatoes at $3.49 (hate paying the price but we always eat them so it is worth it).  I got way more then I was planning on but milk was only $1.99 so I was excited that I didn't cave and buy it at Wegman's like I was going to because I didn't have enough time for an Aldi trip.

There were some other great surprises.  Cheese price dropped back to $1.79 so I grabbed three (not exactly a stock up price but I don't want to be sad when it goes up again).  The asparagus was on sale for $1.69 so I grabbed a great looking bag of that.  The Blue Bonnet is the first margarine that our store has had in months and it was $0.89.  I wanted to buy everything in the store but I knew that was going overboard but you never know how long it might last.  I grabbed lunch meat for my husband because we were down to the last two pieces.  More brown sugar for baking for the holidays.

My crazy splurge was steak sauce for $1.19 because we don't even use steak sauce!!  Seems weird that I would buy something we don't use but I got some free awhile ago and found the best recipe for French Dip Sloppy Joes and we used it all up so I decided to get it so that I could make them (I did and they were yummy!).  I also grabbed a huge bag of white rice for $4.69 because it is about the price that I paid per pound for the bag at Harris Teeter before and we are almost out.  I am sure we will use it but I should have stayed with a smaller bag until I found a better deal.  Of well, tired and hungry is not the way to shop.

Total OOP $37.64

Then, we went to Harris Teeter as a family.  I always need to drag another person with me to check out when there is a deal that is on my card and my mother's so that I can get it twice.  The Cheez-Its were on sale Buy 2, Get 3 Free.  For those of you thinking that must have been a great deal, you would be wrong because the shelf price is $4.99!!! I probably should have been better prepared and used a rain check to get an even better price because I know that I have some but I didn't.  I used one $1 coupon that I bought from Kelloggs family reward and two $1/2 that I had from the paper so it ended up being $7 for 5 boxes instead of $25 or $1.40 per box.  I guess it was an okay deal but I was bullied into it by two boys at my house that could live off Cheez-Its :)

They were having baking sales so I decided to get a few.  The oil was on sale for $1.97 each.  The bread flour was $2.50 which is not a great deal but not as bad as it has been (I probably could have waited and gotten a 25 lb bag at the big box store with family members).  The eggs were $1.47 per dozen so I grabbed 2 dozen (with the help of my husband checking them all over while I waited in line).  He said that other people came up and grabbed the eggs and just put them in their cart but he knows that he is supposed to check them all!!

I also grabbed raspberries which were $1 per container after sale and coupon.  I grabbed chicken from the butcher for $1.99 per pound which is double great because you can grab as little as you want and not have to get a ton.  I got Dawn for $0.50 after sale and coupon which was the thing that killed me the most because I used to get it all the time for free and I don't know what to do with myself now that I have used my entire stockpile!

The best deal was the free Oreo Thins which I was worried would be totally out of stock but there were plenty.  My son picked one normal and one mint.  He checked out with the one and his total came to $0 and he didn't even have to pay tax or change.  I had all the change ready just in case.  He was pretty happy with his purchase and I know that he will enjoy them all.

Total OOP $23.60

I can't believe how much shopping I have already done for the month and hope that this is my halfway mark for the month.  The rest is going to be saved for the turkey purchase and whatever else I need to get that turkey for the best price.  I did turn in a rebate for $0.25 for raspberries on Checkout 51.  I was trying to do MobiSave which I have never done because there is a $0.75 rebate for Cheez-Its and I can't get it to upload.  I tried three time and closed it out to try again so worked on the forth time (I feel like this is their network so I am irritated).  Anyway hoping for $1 back in rebates but no idea.  Has anyone used MobiSave before?

Total Retail $143.64

Total Saving $58.49

Total OOP $85.15

October Reading Review

I wasn't sure what I was going  to read this month because I hadn't had a chance to make it to the library, reserve books online or do much of anything else but I knew that I was going to be reading one way or another.  I found a bunch of books with one trip to the library and then got lots of different books to review through the month.  I might have signed up for a few too many at the same time but I got lots of reading done and enjoyed lots of different books this month.

How did your reading go this month??  If you don't track your reading, maybe you can think about doing it next year.  Can you believe that we are almost at the point of making New Years Resolutions? Keep reading in your mind for a great resolution and keep track with me next year!

Together for Christmas

by Debbie Macomber, Brenda Novak, Shelia Roberts and Reanne Thayne

Miracle Drug

by Richard Mabry

The Devaney Brothers: Ryan and Sean

by Sherryl Woods

The Devaney Brothers: Michael and Patrick
by Sherryl Woods

A New Hope
by Robyn Carr

The Devaney Brothers: Daniel's Desire
by Sherryl Woods

After Tex
by Sherryl Woods

Angel Mine
by Sherryl Woods

Seaview Inn
by Sherryl Woods

Home to Seaview Key
by Sherryl Woods

When Love Returns
by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Christmas Joy Ride
by Melody Carlson

Total Books Read 2015

January       9

February     13

March         14 

April           9

May          12

June          17
July           17
      August       18     
   September   15
October         12 

Total Books    136

Currently Reading:

Thrifty Thursday: Things that I Do to Save Money and Stretch those Groceries

I had another busy week with everything going on at my school and my son's school leading up to Halloween and two days of a student holiday.  After doing last week's post, I realized that this would be fun to try for a few weeks...of course, you might get sick of the fact that this list often repeats itself.  But I am always settled on saving money and making sure that I fit in all of the things that we need to do in order to save money in a week so I think that this will help me to hold myself accountable.  I also spent the weekend doing two loads of laundry and washing a ton of dishes.  I was hoping to get more baking done on Sunday but all those dishes had me a little hesitant to make more dishes which is the reason that I didn't bake a batch of cookies.  Isn't it always the case that I wanted to do more then I got done.

Here is what I did this week to save a little money:

1. Made Sugar Cookies:

We were having a party at my school on Friday and we were going to have the kids decorate sugar cookies for their work time and snack.  Two families sent in cookies but they were really different so I went home and copied the one cookies so that we would have enough.  I made a whole batch and we didn't use that many so we had lots.  I grabbed some frosting and sprinkles and we decorated our own cookies at home too!!

2. Went to the Library and Got Our Reserve Books and Even More:

We had to return our last Magic Tree House CD which we had in the car all week.  We picked up our massive amount off the reserve shelf.  My son had 4 books and a CD set for the next Magic Tree House.  I had two books which I wasn't expecting that came off my reserve list too.  While we were there, my son found a friend from school and they ended up playing with a puzzle and turning another puzzle into a game.  They had a blast and we got to grab some books that we both really wanted to read.

3. Got Free Papers at the Library:

Super excited that they had the papers already when we got there at 4:30.  I have stopped checking on Friday because the papers are never in but I was so excited to get them especially because there were four coupon inserts.

4. Got Lots of Free Coupons and Cut them:

I was so excited to see the four inserts in this months papers but I was super backed up on clipping all my coupons.  I spent the day Saturday sorting and clipping lots of coupon inserts including a few old ones that I had that needed to get sorted with the rest of the inserts.  I went through my coupon basket and took out all the coupons that expired in October and before.  I added all my new envelopes and finished with the last two inserts on Sunday morning.  All that organization and coupons are going to save us tons of money.

5. Worked at Book Fair at Son's School:

I worked at my son's school and got 10% off on books that he wanted.  He wrote a list of all the books that he wanted to read and buy.  I normally pick a few that he can buy and do it for him but things time I picked up all the books on his list and some different options of the ones that he picked that he hadn't seen.  I told him that he would have $20 to spend and he picked out the two books he wanted and with my discount, he spent $18 on these two books.

 

6. Make Blueberry Lemon Scones:

I was trying to figure out what to make for Saturday morning before soccer and I ended up with these scones.  I have frozen blueberries that my mom brought me from her blueberry picking last year.  I used lemon zest and True Lemon to pop up the lemon flavor from the raspberry lemon yogurt.  I had a package of oats from another yogurt which I sprinkled on my end.  My husband doesn't like those so I didn't put them on the whole thing.  They were super tasty and we got to eat the leftovers on Sunday morning.

7. Make Loaf of Banana Bread:

My gave my husband the option this week to have applesauce bread, pumpkin bread or banana bread.  My husband picked banana bread so I thawed the bananas and made him the loaf for his breakfast treat for the week.

8. Went Trick Or Treating:

My son got lots of candy which will last us for many desserts to come.  Check out his haul!! He sorted out all the candy that he didn't like so that mom and dad got to eat some too :)  We got lots of exercise walking all over the place and he got some candy and chips so he was happy and exhausted.

 9. Made Dinner All Week Except Halloween:

I made homemade fries to go with my son's favorite chicken fries from Aldi and my husbands new favorite which is popcorn chicken mixed in the Franks Wing Sauce I got at Harris Teeter.  We used lots of leftovers and made a meal of them with taquitos for leftover night.  We usually get pizza on Halloween as part of the special day.  We had soccer and then had an early dinner of our $5 Little Caesars Pizza.  Sunday night was breakfast for dinner night where I cut up the last of the red potatoes to make diced hash browns.  I had both pancakes and waffles made ahead and frozen.  My husband also had eggs and a grilled roast beef sandwich.  I used the free noodles, free sauce and free pre-cooked chicken and made a quick stir fry which after we finished, my husband said was amazing....good thing because we have a ton of it!!  I made mac and cheese for my son with french dip sloppy joes for us with some cooked ground beef out of the freezer.  YUM!  We followed the meal plan and enjoyed lots of food this week for the last week of the month.

10. Made Pancake and Waffle Mix:

I make my own mixes so that I can have them ready just like the store bought version in my cupboard so I mix them when I get low.  It is great because I don't have a bunch of pre-made boxes all over the kitchen and I can reuse the Tupperware container.

11. Made Ice Tea:

I make a pitcher of ice tea sweetened with a little sugar everyday (and drink the whole container in one day).  It is a great and thrifty treat for me which I bring to work in my reusable cup.  I also bring one or two other containers to refill my cup when I run out which I keep in my cooler with my ice packs that I got at CVS at the end of the summer sale.  The big bonus is that I use family size tea bags so I only need one and I usually get the tea bags free at Harris Teeter where there is a sale and coupon.

12. Make a Loaf of Homemade Sandwich Bread:

I make a loaf of bread every Sunday or Monday depending on how much bread is leftover after the weekend to have enough bread for the weekend. 

13. Made Chocolate Chip Cookies:

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies so that we would stay out of my son's candy.  Mission accomplished... we were in the cookies instead.

14. Made Garlic Bread Packets:

I used the ends of the bread to butter and put garlic salt on and wrapped in foil so that I can stick in the oven or toaster oven when pasta night comes so that I don't have to make any garlic bread.  It is super easy to do ahead of time and saves time in the kitchen when you need it most.

15. Made Pizza Bites:

I made a batch of garlic pizza bites with my last box of Bisquick that I got for free at Harris Teeter.  I used the last of the cooked sausage in the freezer, some cut up pepperoni and some cheese that I had grated from the fridge.  These are super easy and I will have them for a family meal to add to dinner without having to make them the night of.  They are super easy to make and freeze!

16. Make Oyster Crackers: 

My husband loves to take the seasoned oyster crackers to work with his lunch and eat them for snacks so I grabbed two more bags and made them quickly on Wednesday afternoon.

17. Made Popcorn:

I made popcorn for snacks for my son and myself.  YUM!  We both enjoyed getting back to our popcorn snacks.  Whenever I make it in the morning, my son always wants to eat it fresh.  He had a cup after eating his oatmeal breakfast.  

My husband hung up the towel bar, toilet paper holder, and towel ring in the guest bathroom that we finished.  Super excited to have those checked off the list before we have a month of visitors using that bathroom.  My mother in law is coming and then my cousin and then my mom so the bathroom with get a lot more use then just by my little man.  He also painted the edge of the wall near the new chair rail that he finished installing because I wanted it gold like the rest of the top of the room.  It was white but I thought that little inch more made the chair rail pop.  Don't you think that it looks good?

My little man put together a new set of Megablocks Skylanders which my mother bought him at the consignment sale for $5.  Most of the packages inside were still in bag so it was totally brand new and brand new to him at a great price.  It was super entertaining and a special treat for him for a super cheap price. 

We had a bunch of thrifty fun!!  I hope that you had a thrifty week too!  

What did you do this week to save money??