Perfect

Sometimes when I follow blogs I get caught up in how

wonderful other peoples lives seem.

I have to remind myself that it's not always perfect even though

 they make it seem that way.

I mean seriously, who wants to whine and complain or put up pictures of

their kids screaming?

I'm sure there are lots of blogs out there that do that but I don't

happen to be following any of them.

Tonight my brother stopped by to see the kids and I.

Liv was running around playing with a stick while Kellen and I were

lying on a blanket under a tree.

The first thing he said to me was "Man your life is perfect."

I'm not sure what I responded but I"m sure it was something like, "Yeah whatever."

But then I looked around.

I have 2 wonderful healthy children.

A roof over our heads.

We always have food on the table.

And a husband that I love and would do anything for us.

So, yeah, I guess he is right.

My life is pretty perfect :)

Sure the laundry may not be all folded or the dishes might not all be done.

But I honestly can't complain about much.

So on those days that I look at other blogs and think how great their lives are

I just need to take a step back and realize that to me, my life is as good as it gets!

Blessed

There are times in my life when I feel like God is really looking out for me.

Today was one of them.

I had a minor, well I wouldn't call it an accident, but I guess that's the

closest thing it would be called, with my car today.

I had both kids in the car and I just thank the Lord that they weren't hurt.

I know He was watching over me today and I'm so thankful that

I have a great relationship with the Lord.

So don't forget to say "I Love You" to those you care about everyday

and thank the Lord for watching over you. :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Liv and I whipped up a batch of these cookies tonight.

One of our favorites!

Liv was more interested in trying to stack and then

eat all the peanut butter cups. 

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies: 2 1/2 cups (325 grams) all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Garnish:

48 miniature peanut butter cups, unwrapped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in the center of the oven.  Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, 48 miniature muffins tins.

 

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fill each miniature muffin cup with about one tablespoon of batter.

Bake the cookies for about 8 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges but still soft in the center. (Note: While the cookies are baking remove the foil wraps and paper liners from each peanut butter cup.) Remove the cookies from the oven, and gently press one miniature peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. The peanut butter cup should be even with the top of the batter. Return the cookies to the oven and bake an additional 3 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before removing the cookies from the pan. These can be stored for several days at room temperature or in the refrigerator, or they can be frozen.

Makes about 48 cookies.

We took family pictures last night and I can't wait to see how they turned out!

So for now here are a few we took earlier this week. 

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

My computer had been on the fritz for the last couple of months.

Well since I last posted it completely crashed.

Not even turning on.

I probably should have taken it in to be worked on earlier.

Especially since it would take me at least 30 minutes to turn it on.

But no, I guess I just thought it would magically fix itself.

Well, 2 weeks in the shop and a hefty bill later its back :)

Lots has happened in the past couple of weeks.

Kellen got his second tooth.

Liv is getting her back bottom molars.

Kellen started eating food for the first time.

Potty training is going great! I would say we are 95% done.

Started working on Kellen's Christmas stocking.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can remember.

Here is a recipe I made for dinner Friday night.

Liv and I loved it.
She kept grabbing little pieces out of the bowl and eating them!

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

Adapted from Pearls Handcuffs and Happy Hour

2 cups shredded or chopped chicken

 1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can corn, drained

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

2 avocados, diced

1 head of iceberg lettuce chopped

optional: tortilla chips or Doritos

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayo

2/3 cup Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp. ranch seasoning

1 Tbsp. taco seasoning

First make the dressing by mixing all the ingredients, set aside.

Next mix the chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, avocados, and lettuce together.

Add the dressing to the salad and give it a good toss.

Grab a bowl and add some crushed chips to the bottom then spoon some of your salad on top!

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

The weather has been wonderful lately and we've been

enjoying some walks down our drive before dinner.

We had a couple of leftover hot dogs and I saw this recipe

on a few different sites last week.

Liv really loved making them and definitely loved eating them.

Mini Corn Dog Muffins

Makes 48 mini muffins

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

8 -10 hot dogs each cut into 1" pieces

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix melted butter and sugar in a bowl.
3. Add the eggs and buttermilk.
4. In a separate bowl mix baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.
6. Spray mini muffin tins with nonstick spray
7. Place 1 Tablespoon of muffin mixture in each muffin cup.
8. Place 1 hot dog bite in the middle of each cup.
9. Bake for 8-12 minutes. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

I have seen this recipe being circulated on Pinterest for months.

It claims to be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe you will ever find.

I always kept saying I was going to try it but I never had the chocolate disks it called for.

Well last week as I was reading some of the blogs I follow

and Bakerella just happened to have made them.

I was reading through the comments section and someone said to use Ghirardelli

chocolates because they were similar in shape to the chocolate it called for.

So the verdict is....these were the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made!!!

Jacques Torres' Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups minus to 2 tablespoons Cake flour

1 2/3 cup Bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon Coarse salt

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 butter) Unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups Light brown sugar

1 cups plus 2 tablespoons Granulated sugar

2 Large eggs

2 teaspoon Natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds Bittersweet chocolate at least 60 percent cacao content (I used a package of bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate and the rest just semisweet chips)

Sea salt for garnish

- Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

- Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until very light (about 5 minutes)

- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each is added.

- Stir in the vanilla.

- Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.

- Add chocolate chips and incorporate.

- Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 24-36 hours.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

- Use an ice cream scoop to form balls about the size of golf balls. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt. Bake 6 cookies at a time for 18 - 20 minutes.

- Cool cookies for at least 10 minutes before removing from sheet.