High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies if you live at high altitude. We're at 7000' and most cookie recipes turn out flat and crispy here. This one makes nice soft cookies. The original recipe calls for 2/3 C butter, but I use only 1/2 C and it's fine. Also I usually use all whole wheat flour.

And, uh, just as a warning, recent experience tells me that if you eat too much raw cookie dough, though it will radically fulfil your need for a sugar fix, it will make the baked cookies sadly-not-as-appealing.
























High Altitude Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pre-heat oven to 375f

1/2 C Butter
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1 3/4 C Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
Chocolate Chips
Nuts (optional)

Beat together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a seperate bowl combine flour baking soda and salt. Blend dry ingredients with wet and add in chocolate chip (and nuts if you're adding them). Form balls of dough about two inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Make coffee.
Enjoy!

Happy Bread

I left bread to rise and when I got home I found it smiling at me! Nice Husby.























We live at 7000' elevation so baking can be wonky. I'm a total novice when it comes to bread baking, but this high altitude bread recipe came out alright. In fact I have no pictures of the finished bread because it was gobbled up before I remembered. I've been in a slump (with the whole Big Organizing Goal and yet still teething baby and fast-growing-up-and-needing-moms-help-to-do-so three year old. You know.) So what do I do when I have no solutions and don't know what to do? Usually...I bake something, and truly as I was smelling fresh baked bread things just started to turn in my favor again, or it smelt that way. The bread was a bit dense and benefited greatly from the slathering on of butter (but then what doesn't?) The best part though, was that James invited me into his secret fort to eat some with him while Leland napped, and we sat in the tiny cozy interior and ate warm bread with jam and butter together and whispered about how we loved it.

Menu Planning for the Sleep Deprived

I'm a bit (a bit- hahahaha, more than a bit) tired today. Did NOT want to up and go to the grocery store. So I was very pleased to find out about this site today: SuperCook (thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom) In no time I had over 1000 recipes available to me that I can make from what I've got on hand; I'm making Inside out Ravioli tonight.

No Grumps in the Kitchen

Today around five pm I was trying to pry clinging crying kids off my legs, rumbling and bumbling about making dinner, about to turn into the Mama-I-don't-like-very-much and instead (yay! Thank you brain for still working just a little even through sleep deprivation and teething baby care.) *bing* I realized I could change the situation. I stood the (protesting) three year old on a chair and told him he would be cooking dinner with me, "and you can crack the egg!!" Sidestepping the still sniveling grump crawling around on the floor, I put a bowl and Ricotta out, handed whining boy a spoon, and told him to put all the cheese into the bowl- he quieted down as now he had A Job To Do. I swooped up the grumpaluffagus and calmed him with the magic of Mama snuggles and cheerios. Since his older brother was no longer howling, he was willing to sit peacefully for a while in his chair at the counter. Whew, quiet, a chance to calm my own self down- and feel happy making dinner with my boys. I love it when I am actually able to put on the brakes and make a complete turn around. This turned into a lovely evening. Oh, dinner by the way was a lasagna-ish casserole, always a nice sort of dish because it makes for left-overs and an easy lunch the next day.

No-sew Baby Leg Warmers

I'm feeling clever about my real quick leg warmers for Leland. They're just the sleeves cut off of a sweater I was going to get rid of. Instead the sweater is now a (kind of ratty) tank top, and Leland has warm leggies when he's in the Ergo.
 

Celebrating Spring Activities

My hard drive is shot, so computer is catch as catch can for now!

We're happily celebrating the arrival of SPRING.  I'm just doing a little activity each day with James.  Well, Leland is here too, but not participating in quite the same way.

For the week:

• Monday- Leave out fuzz and yarn bits for the birds to pick up and make cozy nests.
  
• Tuesday- Make Angel Food Cake and save the shell from all those eggs (12 egg whites!) to make these really neat candles
  
• Wednesday- Use a few of the cleaned out shells for flower vases.
• Thursday- Dye eggs, Celebrate the equinox with a big dinner and family.
• Friday- Egg hunt
• Saturday- Dinner at a friends house
• Sunday- Renaissance Festival

Makin' Menus

Most Mondays James visits his Grandma for a couple hours in the evenings, giving Michael and I a chance to do some planning (funny how with two kids, if we just have the baby with us it feels almost like kid-free time). Anyhow, I always forget to plan something easy so I don't have to focus on dinner, but this week I already have the soup and the cooked ham in the fridge, so dinner tonight should work well.

• Monday- Pumpkin soup, Ham Slices, Cut up veggies
• Tuesday- Quiche, Salad
• Wednesday- Roast Chicken, Salad, Potatoes
• Thursday- Chicken Eggplant Tomato Stuff, Rice
• Friday- Chicken Soup
• Saturday- Pork chops, apples, green beans, Rice
• Sunday- BBQ Chicken Pizza, cut up veggies

• Breakfasts- Banana Muffins, Oatmeal, Cereal, Egg veggie scramble, Dutch Baby on Sunday
• Lunches- Left-overs, Tuna Salad sandwiches, Salad with Chicken on top
• Snacks- Celery w/peanut butter, Yogurt with jam, fruit
  

Other Tasks- Make Yogurt (Organic milk is on sale this week) Bake muffins, Friday make a lasagna to parcel out and send to work with M.