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A Life You Adore Around A Table You Love.

‘Compromise’ Cookies

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They say in marriage the art of compromising comes up quite a bit. Almost 7 years in, I can agree with that.

An ongoing issue that seems to come up in our home is cookies. Over the years I’ve found my staple ingredient that needs to be included in a cookie is oats. I absolutely love chocolate and oats, I think it is the perfect combination. Unfortunately, M does not agree. His staple ingredient is peanut butter. Ugh. I love peanut butter but for some reason, not in cookies.

Many times when M sees me setting the butter on the counter to soften he asks ‘can you please make the peanut butter ones?’ I find myself rarely having the ‘right’ peanut butter on hand to do so, so often times the answer is ‘no.’ Evil, I know…

I’m not sure what has come over me, but something lead me to feel the need to include both our favorite parts of a cookie. Maybe I’m trying to butter him up for something? (Spring clothes are just around the corner). Maybe just up for a new challenge? Regardless, it was about time I created a cookie that could close the gap between peanut butter and oats.

While L obsessed over his legos for a few hours one afternoon, I obsessed over this recipe and the perfection of creating a ‘gourmet bakery shop’ look, but a ‘homemade’ taste. The results? I was actually surprised. A rather large and quite decadent cookie. Not too ‘oatey’ and not too ‘peanut buttery.’ The perfect balance – everybody wins. This is not the kind of cookie you’d quickly grab a handful of and munch on the couch. No this cookie is a cookie you’ll enjoy, slowly, with a large glass of milk.

 

'Compromise' Cookies
Yields 26
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Ingredients
  1. 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened on the counter
  2. 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
  3. 1 cup white sugar
  4. 2/3 cup brown sugar
  5. 2 eggs
  6. 1 tsp. vanilla
  7. 2 cups flour
  8. 1/2 tsp. salt
  9. 1 tsp baking soda
  10. 1 cup rolled oats
  11. 2 cups chocolate chips
  12. sea salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
  2. Beat together the butter, peanut butter, white and brown sugars for 3 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix to combine. Slowly add the sifted mixture into the beaten mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in one cup rolled oats and two cups of chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper using an ice cream scoop. These will be large cookies, so space out accordingly. Sprinkle the tops with sea salt. Bake for 13 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the tray before removing them to the counter.
Notes
  1. Using these exact instructions, it made 26 cookies.
  2. Hmmm, looking this over I gave myself a full cup of oats and M only a 2/3 cup of peanut butter. Not perfectly even, but close enough.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

It’s better that way, promise.
Courtney

Let it snow, let it snow, let it…NO!

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[dropcap1 color=”rosy”]J[/dropcap1]ust when I began to have thoughts of spring break slowly approaching the Chicago winter jolts me back to reality with a blizzard. I should have known better. It’s really too soon to hope for spring. The visions I was having of swaying palm trees switched to visions of branches way too heavy with snow that they knock down electrical wires and shut off our power. Not as relaxing of an image.

My main reason to be a tad ‘cranky’ over the timing of this blizzard is my rescheduled St. Mark’s housewives night is due right when the blizzard is estimated to be in full force. Lovely! So it looks like, yet again, that will be delayed. Time to organize plan C.

All right, moving on. Let’s make the best of this…with food! If I’m going to be stuck at home, I’m going to be cooking and baking. I made sure to be adequately prepared with plenty of supplies on hand. I’m thinking brown bag apple pie for a dear friend (I WILL get it to her) and chocolate chip walnut cookies for the cookie jar. For dinner, warm and comforting meatball subs to be eaten by the fire in my favorite J Crew flannel. That should, somehow, take away the hard edge of the blizzard’s effects.

These subs are great. They are one of my ‘go to’ recipes for comfort food. I’ve found that I have made them a lot when M’s friends are over for football, or for when my dad comes by for dinner. Somehow ‘subs’ and ‘meatballs’ just go hand in hand with guys and comfort food. A bonus is that these are actually ‘figure friendly’ subs as they are made from ground chicken and are baked instead of fried. Shhh…don’t tell the men!

Chicken Meatball Subs
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Ingredients
  1. 1 lbs ground chicken
  2. 1 egg
  3. 3/4 cup good parmesan
  4. 1 TBS grill seasoning
  5. 3 TBS freshly chopped parsley
  6. 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  7. splash of tabasco
  8. salt and pepper
  9. 3 cloves of garlic, removed from the skins and cracked
  10. 3 TBS good olive oil
  11. pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  12. 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, use a good quality for a good sauce
  13. 1/2 cup of chicken stock
  14. basil, julienned
  15. more parmesan cheese, for the tops
Instructions
  1. Preheat over to 425 degrees.
  2. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and mix together with a splash of olive oil. Form the meatballs, you should have about 12 good sized ones. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, work on the sauce. Warm the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium low heat. Let the cracked garlic gloves hang out for a few minutes, to infuse the oil with more flavor. Remove cloves. Add the pinch of red pepper flakes, tomatoes, and chicken stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the basil at the end.
  4. When the meatballs are done cooking, add them to the sauce and switch your broiler on high. Take large sub rolls, split in half, and remove the bread from the bottom half so the meatballs will 'sit' in the rolls better. Top meatballs with more sauce, cheese, and brown in the oven for a minute or two. Remove, add more julienned basil and enjoy!
Adapted from Rachel Ray
Adapted from Rachel Ray
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

I’m writing this next to the fire with L laying on my legs. So that night wasn’t all bad after all.

Stay safe,
Courtney

‘Sunday Morning’ Blueberry Muffins

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Sunday morning blueberry muffins

It’s quite rare that a blueberry will ever go to waste in my home. The media has engrained in us: blueberries = super food! I have totally bought into the hype. How can they not be good for you? They are blue, which is cool in itself, plus they are packed with antixodants. Important during these germy months.

The thing about blueberries though is that there isn’t a long shelf life for eating them totally raw. You only have a good day or so before they change from soft in a good way to soft in a bad way. If you are a blueberry fan, I believe you’ll know what I’m talking about. That’s when it is time to bake blueberry muffins.

I’m calling these ‘Sunday Morning’ blueberry muffins because I find myself typically making them on Sunday mornings. I like getting the kitchen stocked for the week with items for breakfasts, snacks, and treats and blueberry muffins are the perfect ‘grab and go’ breakfast for the car or train ride in. Plus, I think they brighten a Monday morning…just a bit.

This recipe comes from my mom and it is the best! An acquaintence from elementary school actually ‘friended’ me on facebook to request her recipe. That was from 20 something years ago…that’s a memorable muffin!

'Sunday Morning' Blueberry Muffins
Yields 12
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Ingredients
  1. Paper muffin cups
  2. 2 cups sifted flour
  3. 4 tsp baking powder
  4. 3/4 cup sugar
  5. 1 tsp salt
  6. 1 cup fresh blueberries, bonus for hand picked!
  7. 2 eggs
  8. 1/2 cup melted butter
  9. 1 cup milk
Cinnamon and Sugar Topping
  1. 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  2. 2 TBS sugar
Instructions
  1. Preheat over to 400 degrees.
  2. Place paper cups in ungreased muffin tins. Sift dry ingredients together in large bowl. Add blueberries to dry mix and mix until well coated. In a small bowl, beat eggs well. Add melted butter and milk. Quickly stir liquid mixture into dry mix. Do not over mix as it will cause tough muffins. (No one wants that!) Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and sprinkle with cinnamon topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until lightly browned.
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Naturally, I focus on the antioxidant part of this recipe, not the sugar and butter.

Thanks mom,
Courtney

Chicken Parmesan – with a twist!

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[dropcap1 color=”rosy”]C[/dropcap1]hicken Parmesan. It just ‘screams’ comfort food, doesn’t it? The breaded chicken, heavy marinara, pasta on the side which is obviously loaded with more parmesan cheese…all perfect for a snowy winter night. The end of January is a transition point for me. Yes, it is still chilly and snowy out, but the endless amount of eating from the holidays and comfort foods from the past few months seem to add up. Suddenly visions of snowmen and uggs switch to sand, shells, and swaying palm trees that seem to be calling my name. February and March…time to get to Florida for some much needed warmth and humidity. Along with that goes the shorts, dresses, swim suits….yikes! It was time to lighten up some of the classics that are still completely necessary to get through these remaining snowy months, but won’t hurt the waist line for sun bathing by the ocean. Ahhh…

A great place to start is with this recipe. You still get the comfort of the breaded chicken parmesan, but instead of a heavy marinara, pasta, and more cheese to go along with it you build a fresh salad on top. Not only is this better for you, but the dressing on the salad sitting on the warm chicken really kicks up the flavor. I promise, you won’t miss the pasta.

Another great quality of this recipe is that it is completely versatile. Easy to make on a week night for 2, or for company of 8 on the weekend. If you choose to make this for a crowd, have your oven at 200 degrees to keep the chicken warm while making additional servings. The ingredients are simple to work with, just buy the quantity that you need.

Lighten up - Chicken Parmesan
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Ingredients
  1. Chicken breasts, butterflied open and pounded to 1/4 inch thick. (Bonus if you have any aggression to get out...?)
  2. - 1 cup of flour
  3. - 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  4. - 1/4 tsp pepper
  5. - 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a splash of water
  6. - 1 cup fresh Italian bread crumbs
  7. - 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese
  8. - Good olive oil
  9. - Unsalted butter
  10. - Mixed greens
  11. - Lemon, zest and juice
  12. - Tomatoes, the freshest you can find. In the winter I tend to turn to grape tomatoes
Instructions
  1. Make a little assembly line next to your stove. Have the chicken pounded out and ready to go. On one plate, combine the flour with the salt and pepper. Next have the eggs and water ready. Lastly, combine the bread crumbs and parmesan. Roll the chicken in the flour, dip in the eggs, and cover with the bread crumb/parmesan mixture. Repeat for each piece of chicken you are serving.
  2. To cook the chicken, warm 1 TBS good olive oil and 1 TBS unsalted butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook for about 3 minutes per side. If you are making additional pieces of chicken, you will need to add additional olive oil and butter as you go along.
  3. To build the salad, begin with the dressing. Whisk together 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 cup of good olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss with the greens.
  4. Plate your chicken, place some salad on top, top with sliced tomatoes and freshly shaved parmesan cheese.
Adapted from Ina Garten
Adapted from Ina Garten
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Come on spring!
Courtney

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