Aunt Jackie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was craving chocolate cake today, but for some reason decided to cook something a little more portable. My aunt is a baker, and came up with this recipe after much testing, so I decided to try it myself! I think what makes these cookies bake well is refrigerating the dough for an hour before cooking them and then just using a scooper to place them on a cookie sheet (not pushing down). They stay soft, fluffy and great!  The only things I changed was I added 2 1/2 cups choc chips (original was 1 1/4 and added 2 tsp vanilla instead of 1). I also baked for only 14 minutes, recipe called for 18. Mine were brown on the edges at 14 so I didn't want to bake them any longer. 

2 1/4 c. Flour

2 tsp. cornstarch

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c. Chocolate chips OR Mini M&Ms

Directions: 

• Mix all dry ingredients and set aside. 
• Melt butter and cream with brown sugar & sugar then add eggs & vanilla continue to mix until blended. 
• Then slowly add dry ingredients until blended then chocolate chips.
• Now you can do one of 2 things:
• Refrigerate dough in mixing bowl for at least an hour.
• OR
• Use a cookie scoop and scoop out cookie dough on cookie sheet ( i use parchment paper) and put in refrigerator for about 15 min or until good and firm.
• Bake at 325 for 14 minutes. 

Whole Wheat & Oat Pancakes

As I have mentioned in my logs, pregnancy has made me exponentially crave sweets and carbs - although not sure what my excuse was before?  Well I wanted pancakes on Sunday morning, so I decided to make some that were a bit healthier. I found this recipe here, and it really is amazingly good! I made a couple minor changes, and I highly recommend them!

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup quick oats

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 large egg

1 cup milk (can also use almond milk)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup greek yogurt (I used vanilla)

1 banana, mashed

Directions: 

• Toss the flour, oats, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl, set aside
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg and milk
• Then add the brown sugar, vanilla and yogurt and whisk until no lumps
• Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients, stir gently.
• Don't overmix! Add in any mix ins carefully at this time (this is when I added banana, but you could do blue berries, choc chips, etc.)
• Heat a pan and pour about 1/4 cup of batter on the griddle. 
• Cook until edges look dry and bubbles form on center or outside, then flip!
• I served mine up covered in a little peanut butter, real maple syrup and strawberries!

Baby Log Weeks 4-12

These first 9 weeks have been pretty amazing. Not only do I understand the feeling of being a super hero for being able to grow a little human inside me, this has been such a wonderful thing to be sharing with Stephen and our friends and families.

Food cravings: None so far, of course, as always I really want bread and cake :)

Food Aversions: Weeks 5 through 10 I pretty much couldn't eat much of anything. For two weeks straight I ate cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Stephen was scared I was going to turn into a cheerio I am sure. Then about week 11, I could start eating more and now at the end of week 12, I am back to pretty much eating anything. The only things that I seem to be having issues with is zucchini and any ground meat or sausage.

What I am feeling: It was pretty funny at about week 5, we were in the middle of a Paleo challenge for the gym. I was completely convinced that Paleo was the devil. I was exhausted beyond belief, just queezy all the time and starving! Little did I know, it was not the Paleo diet, it was the little human growing inside me! Up until about week 10, I felt like I was motion sick all day long. I had a hard time working out (pull-ups made me feel like I was on a roller coaster), but still pushed through it and got to the gym about 3 times a week. Now at the end of week 12, I am feeling so much better. Still get tired pretty easily, but I am so happy!

Baby Movement: At the end of week 10 I could have sworn I felt the baby move.. Just a slight little pop feeling is what I can describe it as. I even thought that the baby loved when I took showers. I would feel a bump pop out when I was taking a shower, Stephen could even feel it too... about 30 minutes before and after the shower though, it was not noticeable. I will always say the baby takes after his mama and is a little water lover!

9.5 week ultrasound: This was the first time both Stephen and I got to see our little baby. At 6 weeks, it was just a little flicker. This time, we both got to witness the amazing little shape taking form and the strong heartbeat. Amazing!

11 week ultrasound: At this ultrasound the baby was INSANELY active. Flipping around, crossing its legs, waving its arms. Kept showing us the booty. We could see a very strong heartbeat, but the nurse couldn't get the sound of the heart beat because the baby was so active. Just as we would start to hear it, the baby would swim away :)

Next Steps: Normal OB appointment April 9th!

January 24, 2013

The day that our lives as we knew it completely changed. The day we found out that our Life of 2 Fields was expanding to 3. The day we had hoped for since the day we got married. The day that the prayers we had been saying came true and the day God decided that we were ready to be the parents he always wanted us to be.

Here is a picture from my very first ultra sound at 6 weeks. The first time that I got a glimpse at something I never knew I could love so much! What an overwhelming and amazing experience to see a little heartbeat in something that looks like a grain of rice it is so small.

6 weeks, February 3, 2014

9.5 weeks, February 25, 2014

11 weeks, 5 days, March 14, 2014

Creamy Mediterranean Pasta

Life has been pretty insane the past few months, hence, why there have been no blog posts. I will post on soon though that describes the reason for the level of insanity :)

This recipe feeds a CROWD, however you can definitely cut back on everything to make for 2. This was really delicious. I got my inspiration for it from a dish at Rosa's in Pismo Beach called California Pasta. Although I think they have more of a creamy pesto sauce, this one was really delicious for just winging the recipe. It is a MUST try!

1 Rotisserie chicken

3 cans quartered artichoke hearts

2 small jars of julienne sun dried tomatoes

1 jar of sliced kalamata olives

1 pint baby bella mushrooms, chopped

2 tablespoons red onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 lbs spiral pasta (or your favorite shape)

1/2 pint heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken stock + 3 tablespoons

1 tablespoon corn starch

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

• Shred chicken into small pieces, set aside
• In a large pan, add olive oil and onion and let saute about 5 minutes
• Add mushrooms and saute about 5 more minutes
• Add garlic and chicken stock, then mix 2 tablespoons chicken stock to 1 tablespoon corn starch and add to the pan, this will help thicken the sauce
• Then add the cream and stir, let cook about 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper
• Once the sauce slightly thickens, add the artichokes, chicken, tomatoes, and olives
• Stir and let cook and get warm about 10 minutes
• Cook and drain pasta according to instructions
• Then mix pasta and sauce in a large bowl and serve!!