CHEWY TASTY YUMMY (a lil healthy) Oatmeal ChocChip Cookies!

So while over at Angies last sunday she was baking oatmeal chocchip cookies! So when we got home that evening the boys decided ok we r done with chocchip peanut butter cookies! WE want chocchip oatmeal cookies! So i looked threw my mounds of recipes and came across an awesome recipe! And before u even attempt this recipe PLEASE make sure you have a big enough bowl to mix this in... This turns out to be ALOT of cookies! I ended up making 2 cookie jars full and putting the rest of the left over cookie dough in the freezer! Heres how they turned out! Recipe will be after the pics!

This is what was left of the cookie dough..

Cookies all done and getting ready to come out and cool off!

Very tasty and gooey and chewy when they first come out according to my son!

This is one of the cookie jars filled with these delish cookies!

And here is my son doing the taste test!

WORLD'S BEST COOKIE-CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL

(this is the original recipe but i changed it!)

3 c. sifted flour

5 tsp. soda

1 tsp. salt

2 c. shortening

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. white sugar

4 eggs, unbeaten

2 tsp. hot water

4 c. oatmeal

2 tsp. vanilla

3 c. chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts

Sift flour, measure, add soda, salt and sift.

Cream shortening until fluffy.

Add sugars, cream well.

Beat in eggs, add hot water, and sifted ingredients.

Mix well. Add oatmeal, chocolate chips and nuts, if desired, and vanilla.

Drop by spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

For a healthier cookie, i used unsalted butter,

2 egg whites and 2 whole eggs and i used splenda sugar, both white and brown.

I also used less chocchips! i put 2 cups in :)
I also added 3 heaped tablespoons of ground flaxseed!

What does one cook for her hungry family when she hasnt planned a thing?

So this is me going to my freezer and pantry scrounging around trying to figure out what to feed my boys! 5 mins later ive got skinless boneless chicken thighs, a small can of beef broth
a can of tomato herb soup, some garlic powder, onion powder, dried chives and uncooked ravioli's!

30 mins later that dish up there is what ya get!

Hot olive oil then toss ur coated chicken in the pan! Seer Both sides lockin in those tasty juices!

Let em cook for about 10 mins then add the broth and Soup!

Ofcourse while this is happening you should be boiling your water for the pasta!

Let this simmer for a lil bit the aroma is wonderful!

Taa Daa the Chook (chicken for hose who dont know aussie slang :P) thighs are all cooked

and waiting to be poured over the top of the pasta!

I sliced thin slices of freshly baked bread for the boys to soak up the tasty juices! It was a hit!

Signs of Spring!

Yay! Yesterday even tho it was bloody cold! I ventured out to toss some veggies in the compost bin! And while i was out there i snapped some pics of what looks to be "SIGNS OF SPRING!" woohoo im doinga lil dance right here!

Tulip Nubbies!

Im so excited!

This i cant get over... my oregano lived threw winter!

This is whats left of my strawberries no thanks to the squirels! *shaking fist*

And this is where my Compost bin lives!

Monday Morning Chores BLUCK!

So i thought id gotten most of my stuff done yesterday. But low and behold that is never the case! Whats on the agenda today.... Lets see... I have a load of towels to wash and dry... Dish washer to unload and put away... All my stainless steel appliances need grubby finger prints removed! ( I cant stand having hand prints or smudges on my stove...fridge...dishwasher!) Bread to bake a wks worth of sugar free cookies for my boys, Loches schooling and at some point i have to cook dinner! I did plan on goin outside today if it wasnt to COLD.... im fuuny arent i! Yea thats not gunna happen... currently its 11'F can u say BRRRRRRRRRR? Not to mention while i was web camming with my mum i seen some flurries floating by the windows..... Evil winter! Lets just hope with the winter we have had this yr...it has killed all the dang mozzies! The last few yrs have been terrible... I miss the first summer when they werent bad and we would take turns with our friends Joe and Ang having cook outs and enjoying the summer weather and not have to worry about the dang bugs! So to end this post heres some pictures of our yard in spring and summer :P

My Very productive Sunday!

So ive been up since about 9am i started my day off with a 45min walk on the tredmill! and then i worked out on the Wii doing 1hr 45mins on the Wii Fit! Ahhh what a way to start your day am i right? I then went back to bed waking my sleepy hubby up and we opened the blinds and looked out our big window in our bedroom boy it looked glorious outside! I was excited i wrote up my to do list! The boys were thrilled! I sent Kevin outside to rake leaves for my compost bin! Oh and i had him pooper scoop some of the back yard seeing the dog has poop everywhere... and i dont fancy having to walk out there every single day trying to avoid it when i am headed for the compost bin! I shredded news papper to add to my bin! I already have a bucket filled wih chopped up veggie matter *doing a lil dance* and i have a tray full of guinea pig yesterdays news litter and droppings to add to my bin! Its still a lil chilly outside but it felt wonderful being out there! I cant wait to get my hands in the veggies garden and start prep'ing the garden for planting! I have a list of herbs and veggies i didnt order from the seed catalogs that i plant on buyin once the local nurserys open up! But unfortunately fr me my house doesnt get any sun for me to start my seedlings yet... Which kind sucks but i will figure somehing out! So my house is all clean and the laundry is some what done and put away i will finish that up 2morro which is normal for me :) We are headed over to Joe and Angies for games and an early dinner i believe, We have to head to the store first to pick up some cat food and guinea pig litter and a desert to take to Joe and Angs! Oh and if your wondering what i had my hubby do :P he put away 4 bags of clean laundry for me! And helped tidy up the house!

So our houses lastest addition!

No his is not our dinning room although... i wouldnt mind the flooring! But here is our new table and chairs! This table and chairs is replacing this set we currently own,

And yes this is our actual dinning room!

Yay I Baked My First Loaf of Bread 2nite!

And i am kicking myself for not taking pictures! I made the master bread dough in my book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking, By Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. I took my first loaf out of the oven and my husband and son came swarming in, even though my poor husband had 4 teeth pulled today, he was soooooo hungry for a taste of the nice hot loaf i pulled out the oven!! The bread looked delisious! I baked it in a loaf pan i flipped it out on my board and pressed it a lil to see how it felt the crackling of the crust on this bread was mouth watering just listening to it crackle! The inside of the bread OH MY GOD! im not allowed bread but i cut a tiny slither off a slice i cut for my son and i couldnt believe the flavor!!!!!!!! I thought i could take pictures after it had cooled but unfortunately.... the loaf of bread was GONE before it had time to cool! The boys sliced it off and put a lil butter on it and ate the loaf of bread with the left over chilli from the nite b4! BUT thats ok i will bake another loaf 2morro! And its only going to take me 5 mins! (not including the 25min baking time that is :P) Bcuz the bread dough is already made up and sitting in my fridge waiting for me to cut a ball of dough from it form it and toss it in the baking pan! I love this book! I can not wait to start making some of the other fantastic breads they have listed in this book! This bread dough only has 4 ingredients in it also! They are yeast, whole wheat flour, salt and water! When this dough is all finished up i plan on making my friends bread which is yummy also! Angie makes a nice sweet loaf of bread and my guys love that as well! Now that i have gotten my hands wet and actually baked some bread i have a lil more confidence! BYOB!

Taste Of Home

So thursday night i attended the Taste of Home Cooking Show which was held at the Maumee Rec Centre! Here is the website they have some great ideas for recipes and what not! http://www.tasteofhome.com/

The show itself was alright the woman doing the cooking annoyed me some what.. sarcastic and some what bland at the same time... I went to this show with my mother in law we actually had an ok time all up besides the fact that the cooking show went WAY to long... the doors opened at 4 and the cooking show itself didnt start till just after 7 we left the building at around 10pm... Boy did my butt hurt after sitting there the whole time... Anyway we left with a gift bag filled with some nice stuff but we werent one of he lucky gals who walked out of there with gift baskets from the sponsors that were there.

Beef Curry and Roti

Malaysian Beef and Potato Curry served with Roti

(recipe available if you want just ask)

Recipes to come!

Baked Mexican Style Veggies

Gather your fav veggies

(pictured here i have:

Sliced Red Skin Potatoes

Sliced Carrots

Sliced Onions

Sliced Peppers (sweet)

Frozen Sweet Corn)

Spray your dish with olive oil

Line your dish with our fav veggies

Sprinkle veggie layers with a lil seas salt and cracked black pepper

Take your fav Salsa i used a local salsa that my family loves!

Take a couple of tablespoons of the salsa and spread it over the top layer of your veggies!

Spread about 1 heaped tablespoon of crushed/minced garlic over the top

Drizzle with Olive Oil

Bake in he oven at about 385'F for about hlf an hr

Then remove from oven and cover the dish with foil.

Return to the oven and bake till your veggies are as tender as you like.

When cooked mix your veggies up and serve!

Baked Mexican Fish

Easy Cheese Biscut Loaf

Spicey Miso Beef and Bok Choy Noodles