Biscuits

Biscuit making time! Izzy was the chef today- great job, girl! We loved the dog shape the sugar left behind in the tablespoon.

Cookie

We were at the store a few days ago and they had samples of a cookie hybrid that was so delicious, I had to come home and create my own. The beauty of it is that you get the best of both worlds- a chocolate chip cookie and a brownie-type treat. What should we call it?

Chocolate Chip Cookie dough
1.5 C flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 C butter, room temp
1/3 C shortening
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips

Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl. In a stand mixer, beat butter, shortening, and sugars until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla, followed by dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Wrap dough in waxed paper and set aside in fridge.

Cake Mix Cookie dough
I box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients in stand mixer. Wrap dough in waxed paper and set aside in fridge.

Roll both doughs into a log shape (there will be extra chocolate cookie dough, so you could freeze and save for later) and press together, making one large log. Cut off into 1/2 inch pieces (about 2 inches wide) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, rotating pan half-way. Cool on rack. Yum!

Mike's Feast

Mike was so pleased with this meal he made the other day, so he photographed it and now I am posting it for him. Fried rice (thanks to our friend Maribel), topped with fried egg and accompanied by collards (from our garden).

We took the kids to the ever-wonderful "Touch a Truck" event. The kids loved climbing aboard the trucks, especially the Braum's ice cream truck. Who wouldn't?!

Meals on Wheels

Since I've been sick, meals have been flowing into our home. Friends and family have been taking such good care of us in this way (and lots of other ways, too). This is a big deal to me. In case you haven't noticed, food is important to me and knowing that I wouldn't be able to cook for my family was a major stress to me prior to the surgery. And then my friends arranged some meals and those meals have been so delicious and my kids are healthy and eating well AND THAT MAKES ME HAPPY! So, thank you, thank you ALL of you that have brought over food for us- I love you!

(the dinner above was some braised chicken with couscous that my friend Xuan brought over- YUM!)

monday night dinner

These Black Bean and Rice Cakes are one of our favorite recipes. The cilantro yogurt sauce is a must, so don't opt out of making it. I added some turkey tomatillo tamales and the meal was complete. The kids loved this combination and Elliot kept calling the cakes "cookies." Yum!

We're also prepping the garden for the summer. We converted our cold frame into a raised bed and the greens are loving the warm sun. The kids played with Pebbles (the hermit crab) by hiding her in the collard greens.

tuesday night dinner

We're on this crazy-strict budget and I'm coming up with some pretty creative ways to stretch my food dollar. Last night's dinner was a new one: anything in the freezer/fridge that we could throw together and make somewhat edible. I made some risotto with a bunch a random veggies in the veggie drawer (4 mushrooms, an onion, and 2 carrots), some leftover sweet potato fries from Monday night's meal, and some spinach topped with frozen veggie burgers. It all came together really well and the kids chowed it (which is a plus). What will come out of the freezer tonight?!

Chicken Tamales

I finally learned how to make tamales! This recipe for pork tamales is what I used, but I changed it up a bit. I used chicken instead of pork (1-2 breasts) and I didn't have tomatoes so I added about 2 Tbsp ketchup (don't judge me Latinas!). I also added 2 tsp chili powder and cilantro.

Here's Melany assembling some tamale goodness!

I shot this picture of Diego and Mike working on their laptops. Don't they look so accomplished doing their last few edits on their dissertations? Maybe we'll do another huge batch of these for graduation!