A Betty of a Cookie!

Reason's I love this cookie--just cooled from the oven they have this very thin layer of crisp, like a perfectly toasted marshmallow,  that up until now has been very hard for me to achieve without the use of Crisco, which I refuse to use. The inside is still a little but gooey while they're still warm, which is delicious, but also rich, so it keeps you from eating the whole patch right away. Because of said gooeyness, they are still perfect the next day and if you can resist the following day after that. They no longer have that crisp skin, but they're still soft and satisfying and now way too easy to eat 3...4 at a time. I also recently tried this Guittard brand chocolate chip after having some troubles with my normal Tollhouse choice and really like them a lot more!

Both this recipe (a vintage Betty Crocker recipe and that choc. chip brand were recommended to me by friends on SnapChat! Woot woot--love that app more and more each day :))


Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet Guittard brand chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375°
Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in mixer
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl
Mix in flour mixture to sugar mixture, Stir in chocolate chips.
Place rounded Tablespoon sized balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Centers will be soft. Cool on pan slightly, then cool on rack.







*This is my take on this original recipe found here

Flowerchild.

OUTFIT DEETS: Orbit Stroller//here, Boater Hat//similar here, Acid wash tee//similar here or here, buffalo check flannel//here, Lace up booties//similar here, Jeans//here, Midi Rings//here, Hidden Crown Hair Extensions//here, Simon's onesie//here, Marcus' linen top//here

So about a month and half ago, I won a dinner feast at Flowerchild through IG and I think I screamed out loud when I saw my name announced. Marcus and I are HUGE fans of all the Fox Restaurant Concepts here in the Phoenix area (let's face it, he's a genius) and had recently discovered the wonderful magic of Flowerchild thanks to an event the generously sponsored for The Shine Project. It's unfortunately a bit of a drive from Mesa, so we only head out there when Marcus has the day off and we're feeling fancy at lunch time ;). Usually when we go, we get the avocado hummus with pita and fresh veggies, and it's insanely good and I highly recommend it. The prize was to choose a protein and three sides, so we were 'forced' to branch out. The only thing I was set on was the corn and quinoa side, because I had had that before and craved it for a straight month after. OH EM GEE, it's yummy. I actually told Marcus we should get two sides of it so I didn't have to share, not realizing that the dinner sides are way bigger than the usual side--luckily he talked me out of that plan. For the rest of our choices, we basically asked the staff what we should try and left it up to them. The beet salad was rich and creamy and really good. The indian spiced cauliflower was for Marcus' sake--I don't like indian food, but he liked it. And the tomato, watermelon basil salad was really unique and quite refreshing. The steak was great, but again, huge portions, so we had it for like three meals after this. Also, be sure and get their daily lemonade--we've tried about 6 of their flavors and everyone has been a treat! 

Here's my final top recommendations {based on this trip and prior ones}: Avocado Hummus, Corn & Quinoa, Lemon Olive Oil Cake,  Flying Avocado Wrap, Any flavor of Lemonade, and the Beet, Avocado & Citrus Salad

Have you tried any of the Fox Spots? What's your fave?

You can check out how we spent our whole day on @orbitbaby --I took over their IG account yesterday :)

{foodie} friday: chocolate éclair sheet cake

I'm generally a huge sweets fan, but with this pregnancy, at least so far, I have craved deserts and candy a lot less than usual. But the one thing that sounds good just about any time are chocolate eclairs--particularly one's from Proof Bread, but since many of you don't have access to Proof, I won't taunt you with tales of it's goodness, and since I can't afford to get eclairs there everyday, I have to make do. And I must say, this is a pretty delicious option :)

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
3 cups milk
1 large package vanilla instant pudding
Fresh whipped cream 
Chocolate syrup

Preparation instructions:
Crust//
Step 1: Boil 1 cup water and 1 stick butter, then pour mixture into 1 cup flour and slowly mix in 4 eggs, one at a time. It's a weird consistency so I use a whisk to get it to blend well.

Step 2: Spread mixture into a large, greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 25 minutes, or until golden brown. (if you're planning on serving right away cook it to just barely golden, but I prefer to make it a day or at least several hours in advance and then let it sit in my fridge--this allows the crust to moisten a little, in which case you want the crust baked 'til a true golden brown color is achieved)

Step 3: Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Filling//
Step 1: Add package of cream cheese, 3 cups milk and package of vanilla instant pudding in a blender and blend until smooth (this ends up being more pudding than you need, so just put as much as you think you'll like, i ended up having at least a cup extra).

Step 2: Spread pudding mixture onto cooled crust and allow it to set up a little before spreading fresh whipped cream over the top.

Step 3: Drizzle chocolate syrup over the top and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 4: Cut into squares, garnish with a fresh strawberry or raspberry and enjoy!

{foodie} friday: no bake lasagna

You can find the recipe on my pinterest board here although I added mushrooms.
It was a nice, light change from the meaty lasagna I grew up eating (not that i don't love that as well).
I served it with a side of pretzel bites, but I don't think I've mastered those quite yet...
Do you have a good lasagna recipe you'd recommend?

{foodie} friday: toad stools

i had these at my sister-in-law, Reachel's, party i couldn't stop eating them.

now they're a regular snack here at the Nielson home.

since i've taken these photos, we've started serving them with a balsamic reduction.

it's no wonder i like them, they combine three of the finest things on earth--cheese, fresh basil and tomato! sometimes i just can't forgive myself for taking so long to love tomato.

 i simply cube jack cheese, slice a basil leaf, and half grape tomatoes.

stack and impale with a toothpick, then you can drizzle or dip in a balsamic reduction or eat alone.

{foodie} friday: snack time for grown-ups

bruschetta is one of my favorite foods in the world--i crave it all the time. 

in tempe there is a place called la bocca and it has the best bruschetta of all time, but since it's kind of far and i'm not made of money sometimes i just have to make it at home. 

so here's one of my favorite little snacks:

slice up a mini baguette

toast it in a toaster oven or broil it in the oven

cut fresh tomatoes and fresh mozerella cheese in small cubes

slice fresh basil leaves into stripes

smear a small spoonful of pesto on the warm toast

pile on the toppings

drizzle a balsamic glaze over top

enjoy!

+i got my mini baguette from fry's for 99 cents and it's quite yummy

+pesto was from trader joe's, you can find it in the spagetti sauce section and it's delish

+to make a balsamic reduction simply pour a cup of balsamic vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat, bring vinegar to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, stirring occasionally. simmer until the reduction is about half the amount you started with--but make sure to keep the heat down or you'll get a rather stiff reduction and it will be hard to drizzle.

anyone have a great pesto recipe i should try?

{foodie} friday: berry goddess

my favorite brunch-time snack:

plain 0% fat fage greek yogurt

fresh berries and a drizzle of honey

(and when we have it, vanilla and almond granola!)

+if you live in the valley, there's a place down main st. called superstition ranch market--insanely good prices on fresh produce, i got 4 lbs of strawberries for $1

{foodie} friday: island oatmeal

 this may be totally old news to everyone else, but while i was in hawaii last week, my cousin made us oatmeal, she cooked it with milk instead of water and then offered us coconut to add in along with a bit of brown sugar. i felt like i was eating something completely new and delicious and as soon as i got home i got the supplies to make it myself. it was just as good the second time! i've even started eating it for dessert by adding a little sliver of bluebell vanilla ice cream :)

give it a try and let me know what you think.

what do you put in your oats?

{Foodie} Friday: Pita Bread

recently i found this pin and so with a freezer full of falafel and a fridge equipped with both hummus and tzatziki sauce i figured now was as good of time as any to actually try one of the thousands of pins i pin with the best intentions...

the ingredients are about as simple as they can get:

water

yeast

salt

flour

unfortunately i wasn't thinking in advanced, and you do need a rolling pin.

i got that point and couldn't locate ours, so i just used a cup--i believe that was my downfall.

you need to get the 'discs' to be 1/4 of an inch thick and now that i think of it mine were probably more like 1/2. I also didn't flour my surface as much as i needed to because after the 30-40 min. rise, they stuck to the counter and that deflated them a bit.

i made my dough into 8 medium discs and my first 4 turned out pretty delicious, but the second 4 didn't puff up at all in the oven and they were a little crackery.

i believe it is a learning process and next time they will be even better (hopefully!)

one last tip is that i would either only bake the amount your planning on eating right from the oven (refrigerate extra dough) or take them out before they get to the "golden" phase because the second day even my good ones seemed a little dry.

Good luck! Let me know of any tips or other recipes you think i should try!

happy friday :)

{Foodie} Friday: Greek-Gads

this is one of those super easy meals that makes you feel like you're eating something healthy and special.

husband feels like you've worked really hard over this deliciously cultured, and refreshing meal, little does he know it took less than 20 minutes to prepare.

I got all the ingredients at trader joe's.

 all of it was fairly priced and so, so good! 

falafel is probably easier to eat in a pita because it forms a pouch, but we like their naan bread better, so marcus ate his with fork and a knife and i showed off all my lady-like skills by downing this meal with my bare hands. no shame.

it's all prepared for you, all you have to do is stick the frozen falafel in the over for 15-20 minutes or if you're in a hurry zap them in the microwave for like 3 minutes.

Mmm, i think we're going to have it again tonight :)

 plus, it's roxy approved.

Happy Weekend!

{Foodie} Fridays: Trader Joe's

Happy June! 

Any June brides out there?

sorry this week isn't a recipe, it's just a tip, because lets face it, sometimes you just don't have time to make a gourmet dinner, but tv dinners just aren't your style.

so let me tell you, trader joe's has this delicious spinach and feta salmon all made up for you, all you have to do is bake it, fry it, or grill it, boil some couscous or some rice and poof! 

a delicious and healthy meal!

what's your favorite cheat meal?

i won't tell you that my other one is little caesars hot-n-ready with breadsticks, no i'll keep that one to myself...

P.S. have you entered the giveaway yet? i'm picking a winner this weekend!

{Foodie} Fridays: Summer Salad

And now for our next installment of {foodie} friday:

I have a hard time getting myself to make a salad. 

I really enjoy a good salad, and my sister-in-laws on my both side are always bringing these delicious varieties to Sunday dinner, but whenever i try and make one it's like a bag of mixed greens and some hidden valley ranch.

So I finally bit the bullet and tried something fancy.

My mom had a raspberry vinaigrette recipe that i adapted

1. because i forgot to buy raspberries and we have blackberries in our backyard

and 

2. because my moms recipe was incredibly sweet (mine's still sweet, I just cut the sugar way back)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 2/3 cup of white sugar (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
• 1 fist-full of fresh blackberries

Directions

--In a blender combine vinegar, sugar, mustard, berries, & salt mix until combined. With the blender running, add the oils through the hole in the top. Blend until well mixed. Add poppy seeds and pulse just until mixed.

If too thick, mix in water a little bit at a time. Dressing will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks.

*I served with half spinach, half romaine lettuce, fresh strawberries, candied slivered almonds, and mandarin oranges (thought of them after i snapped the picture). So fresh and delicious!

Enjoy!

{Foodie} Fridays: Eat Your Heart Out

Marcus and I finally have a fully functioning kitchen 

(minus a toaster, anyone have any toaster suggestions?)

And so we've made it a goal to start cooking at home more often.

Marcus, the tech savvy guy that he is, found us this really cool app called Pepperplate that we've really been enjoying. It organizes grocery lists for you when you upload recipes from online.

Anyway, I wanted to share some of our favorite new found recipes, starting with my favorite so far:

I call it the 

Eat Your Heart Out Pasta:

Ingredients:

12 oz. oil marinated artichoke hearts (buy in a jar at any grocery store)

2 cloves minched garlic

1 16 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

12 oz. cooked penne pasta

Parmesan Cheese to taste

Fresh chopped basil to taste (necessary, fresh basil makes everything better!)

Chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish (not really necessary)

Instructions:

1. Drain the artichokes, saving the oil for cooking.

2. Heat 3 Tablespoons of artichoke oil in medium pan. Add the garlic and saute over medium-low heat. Saute for 10 min. and stir in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, dried basil, oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 30 min.

3. Add the drained artichoke hearts and the remaining artichoke oil and stir while simmering for another 10 min. Sprinkle in a bit of fresh parsley.

4. Either stir the penne in the sauce or top it with the sauce. 

5. Garnish with Parmesan cheese, fresh basil.

We also had steamed artichokes with salted butter salt as our fresh veggie.

Left-overs are great the next day :)

Let me know if you try it and what you think!