Thick, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are exactly what I want in a cookie. Sweet, but not way too sweet, and soft and chewy in the middle. The perfect chocolate chip cookies. I use salted butter and don't add salt. This recipe only makes 10-12, so you may want to double it.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation
Cream sugars and butter. Mix in the rest of the dry ingredients, besides the chocolate chips. Once it's all mixed well, add chocolate chips. Chill for at least an hour in the fridge. (I cheat and do 15 minutes in the freezer.) Grease a cookie sheet (or line with parchment paper). Scoop about 1/4 cup of dough, roll into a ball in your hands, and place on cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart. Bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. (I've found 18 minutes to be the perfect time.) Let cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes, then move to cooling racks. Enjoy!

DIY Household Cleaners

Cleaning products are expensive, and often aren't nearly as impressive as they'd have you believe. That's why I make my own cleaners. All of the recipes for household cleaners I found online were for at least a gallon of cleaner, and didn't contain as much bacteria-killing ingredients as I'd like. I'm a little paranoid about germs. So, I messed around until I came up with my own, that'll fit in small (8oz) bottles. You can make more, just use the same ratio of ingredients.

Window/Mirror Cleaner
1 cup alcohol
1 tbsp baking soda
 (Yes, that's really all.)

Bathroom Cleaner
1/3 cup bleach
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup baking soda
1 tbsp laundry detergent (with NO ammonia)

All Purpose Cleaner
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
A couple drops of dish soap

It's really that easy! And these all work very well. You can use the all purpose cleaner mixed with a bit of hydrogen peroxide for carpet stains, too!!

Beer Bread

When I'm out of yeast packets, but want to make a loaf of bread, this recipe does the trick just fine. It doesn't have a different taste at all. You can add a bit more sugar for a sweet bread.

Ingredients

 

3 cups self rising flour

3 teaspoons sugar

1 12oz can or bottle beer

1/2 cup butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350. 
2. Knead flour, sugar, and beer.
3. Place in greased and floured loaf pan.
4. Press a "dent" into the top of the loaf, and pour in butter.
5. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

 

Crayon Art

I've seen a lot of crayon art on Pinterest, mostly with just the wax running down the canvas, and occasional featuring an initial or something similar. I think it's a neat concept, so I had to try it out on my own.


The steps are pretty easy:
Get the crayons in the colors that you want separated from the rest in the box. 
Use a hot glue gun to glue them in the pattern you want the colors to run in.
Use a blow dryer, running back and forth over the center of the crayons, to heat them up until the colors begin to run, and they run as much as you need them to.
Allow the wax to dry.


I decided to make a little scene, and use green and brown crayons as grass, blue, white, and silver for the sky, and yellow and orange for the sun. I also bought fake flowers, cut the flowers off the stems and glued a few to the tops of some the "grass" to make it look like stems.

White Chicken Chili

I don't use a slow cooker for this, just a regular, large pot over low heat. I use chicken thighs for this recipe because they have so much more flavor than the breasts. I also use more cumin than the recipe calls for, and a bit of extra garlic added when it's almost finished so that flavor is more pronounced. If you don't have a food processor, you can add a couple tablespoons of corn starch to thicken it up. It doesn't change the taste. I also made lima beans and added them to it last time I made this. 

 

Ingredients

2 (15 oz.) cans white beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
2 whole bone-in chicken breasts (3 lb.) 
Salt and pepper
2 onions, chopped 
4 cloves garlic, chopped 
2 (4 oz.) cans roasted green chilies, drained
1 tablespoon ground cumin 

Preparation

1. Place beans and broth in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until beans are tender, 2 hours.
2. Warm oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken skin side down in skillet; cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook for 2 minutes more. Transfer to a plate; remove and discard skin. Drain all but 2 Tbsp. fat from skillet. Add onions and garlic; cook until softened, 5 minutes. Add onion mixture, chilies, 1 cup water and cumin to slow cooker. Stir; add chicken.
3. Cook on low for 6 hours, stirring twice. Remove 1 cup beans plus 1/2 cup liquid from slow cooker. Puree in a blender; return to slow cooker. Remove chicken, shred it and return to slow cooker. Spoon into individual bowls and serve.

Easy-to-Make Wedding Momento

I saw this idea on Pinterest, and immediately remembered that I had kept the corks from my and hubby's wedding, just waiting to figure out the right project. Now I know what to do with at least 1 of them- make one of these anniversary keychains for me. 

Materials:

Wine Cork
Screw eye
Small nail
Key ring
Beads
Scissors
Tape
Computer
Color printer and paper

Step 1: Format a tag on your computer to 2" wide by .75" tall. Leave a .75" square on one side, as shown in the image above. This part will lay across the top of the cork. Then print and cut each piece.
Step 2: Take a piece of clear tape and laminate the front and back of each piece. Trim off any excess.
Step 3: Fold each piece .75" from the edge. Rest the folded piece across the top of the cork. Poke the screw eye into the laminated piece of paper and screw in to the cork. Attach the key ring to the screw eye.
Step 4: Flip the cork over and put a nail through the bead. Then press the nail into the bottom of the cork. It helps to press the nail against a table when pushing it into the bottom.

credit goes to: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/06/recycled_wine_cork_keychain_fa.html

EASY No Yeast Dinner Rolls

I feel like I'm cheating when I make these, but hubby likes them just fine and they're soooo easy. You can add a couple tablespoons of different herbs, or even sugar if you want sweet rolls. Quick, easy, and actually really yummy.

No Yeast Dinner Rolls

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water 
3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

Mix dry ingredients, add water and oil and mix. Grease 9 muffin cups, spoon batter in, and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. I can always make these with stuff I already have in the kitchen, and they're really good.

DIY Face Scrub

Recently, I ran out of honey for my normal DIY facial. I normally mix a tablespoon of honey with a pinch a nutmeg, and a pinch of cinnamon. Both the honey and nutmeg are anti-inflammatory, and the cinnamon and nutmeg exfoliate the skin when you go to wash it off. However, with my new concoction, I can keep the dry, mixed ingredients in a container, and simply moisten a bit when I go to use it. It's also not only softened my skin, but also cleared it up. So, this is my new favorite DIY face scrub:

1/4 cup baking soda
1 tbsp nutmeg
1 tbsp cinnamon

When you go to use it, just take a little bit in your hand (about 1 or 2 tsp of the dry mix). I add a bit of alcohol to kill bacteria in my skin, and enough water to just moisten all of it. Then, just take a bit at a time, and rub on your face. Once your whole face is covered (it's brown, so you can see even when it's thin), simply rinse off with warm water. It makes your face really soft, and blemishes seem to completely go down in just a few hours. It's a lot cheaper than buying face scrub at the store, and works better than anything I've ever gotten before.