AMAZING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(this recipe needs no introduction)

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

3 Cups All-Purpose Unbleached Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup LIGHT brown sugar

1 cup Granulated Sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter

3 Large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 Cups Semi-Sweet (organic!) chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375F

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together and place in medium sized bowl

3. Melt butter until it is very soft (about 1.5 minutes in my microwave)

4. Put softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl. Mix until it becomes a light brown color and is thoroughly combined (almost fluffy texture, this will take a while so be patient!)

5. Crack open 1 egg and beat lightly. Add 1 tablespoon plus 3/4 tablespoon to sugar-butter mixture. Mix. Add eggs one at a time until combined.

6. Add Vanilla extract and mix until combined. Add flour mixture slowly, a little at a time, until it is combined in large bowl with sugar and butter and forms a dough.

7. Stir in chocolate chips until combined evenly throughout.

8. Butter or line a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Using an ice cream scoop (so that all cookies are the same size) scoop balls of dough onto sheet, leaving about 2 inches around each one to expand in oven (trust me you will need to make this in batches...)

9. Cook 11 minutes or until tops are just starting to turn golden brown.

10. Allow to cool and consume hungrily :)

(This recipe was adapted from a cookie recipe I found on Epicurious.com, a great resource for aspiring home cooks!)

Xo

Cous Cous On the Loose!

Here is my recipe for a delicious albeit surprising cous cous I made today. The flavors are eclectic and definitely not something you would think to put together but trust me, all together they make a beautiful symphony of cous cous goodness :)

Cous Cous On the Loose!

Ingredients

1 Box Regular Cous Cous

2 + 1/2 cups organic chicken stock (I like Pacific brand)

5 organic Medjool Dates

1/2 cup almonds (toasted)

2 Jalapeno Peppers - thinly sliced (unless they're very hot, use as much as will achieve the heat you desire)

1 medium sized shallot (thinly sliced)

2 handfuls fresh parsley

1 lemon (rind + juice)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/3 + 2 tablespoons cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup marsala wine

Directions

1. In a medium sized saucepan pour cous cous and 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook 10 minutes or until cous cous is fluffy and soft. Let cool 5 minutes and place in large bowl

2. Simultaneously, in another saucepan place almonds and heat until you can smell the aroma (hence they are now considered "toasted.") Add almonds to cous cous bowl

3. In a third saucepan add slices of jalapeno and slices of shallots and cook until golden brown. Add to cous cous bowl as well.

4. Rough chop almonds, dates (remove pit), parsley and add to bowl

5. Add rind of one lemon plus juice of the lemon to bowl

6. Add salt and pepper

7. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock, 1/2 cup marsala wine and stir until all combined.

8. ENJOY!

As always, feedback is encouraged, hope you decide to try this cous cous at your next meal! It's a perfect side dish for dinner or as a light lunch :)

Xo

Oreo Chocolate Truffles

Hey there... posting a quick, easy and delicious treat that is the perfect cure to a long, bad day or celebration for a great one. Whatever the occasion, you have to try this recipe out, indulge a little... (not no to mention no baking required!)

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients

2 Packages Oreos (I prefer Newman's Own brand from Whole Foods)

1 Package Cream Cheese

1/4 cup cream

12 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Take out all the oreos from a package and remove cream from each cookie. Put chocolate halves in a ziplock bag once cream is removed from each one and close bag tight. Crush as hard as possible, imagine cookies are head of last boy/girl to dump you (okay kidding about that part but it is very therapeutic...)

2. Put 1/3 cup aside in a bowl to use on outside of truffles later. Put rest in large bowl.

3. Place cream cheese in bowl, microwave for one minute until softened.

4. Add cream cheese to large bowl of cookies and mix until combined, should form a kind of dough

5. In medium saucepan over medium-high heat put bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips w/ 1/4 cup cream. Stir until chocolate is combined into cream and forms a melty, delicious sauce. Turn off heat.

6. Roll dough into balls and dip into chocolate until coated all around. Then roll in bowl of oreo crumbs until coated all around as well. Set aside on plate for cooling. Repeat for entire batter until you have made truffle balls out of the entire thing.

7. Let cool in refrigerator for 2 hours before consuming several if not the entire thing due to utter deliciosity (it needs a new word its so yummy.)

ENJOY!

xo

Week at the Gym + A Sample Day of Healthy Eating!

Hi all! Just got back from a rousing little excursion to my local (huge!) gym. Have decided to up my fitness this week and be careful about my food intake and see how that lands me come Friday. Not so much doing it for appearance (though losing a few lbs would be nice...) but more because I just FEEL better in the hot, sticky late summer when I eat extra healthy. So for all those out there looking to have a fantastic, healthy, O Eats Week... Stay tuned and we can be on this week-long journey together :)

Xo

Tuesday....

Breakfast:

1/2 cup greek yogurt w/ 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1.5 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup granola of choice (I love spiced walnut kashi brand), 1 skinned and sliced peach

Lunch:

Feta Cheese Omelette:

2 eggs w/ 1 tablespoon buttermilk over medium high heat in saucepan w/ 1/4 cup feta cheese, handful fresh garden-picked chopped basil, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla (weird but trust me, DELISH!)

Dinner:

Seared Wild Alaskan Salmon w/ sweet chili sauce, grilled cauliflower and 3 slices of cooked sweet potato

Dessert:

1 square 85% cocoa bar

Ricecake w/ 1 tablespoon pumpkin butter smeared on top (from wholefoods, so delicious and perfect ending to my day!)

Soooooo.... what's on your plate this week? LOVE to hear!! As always, feel free to post recipes in comment box below!

A Master Cookie Disaster

So this weekend was one of my close friend's birthdays and our phone conversation Thursday night went something like this:

Friend: Soooo.... Saturday night is my big party.

Me: I know! Can't wait!

Friend: Hmmm... have you been baking lately?

Me: Of course, what else is new?

Friends: Oh, thats good. Good to hear... you remember those chocolate chip cookies you made for Erika's birthday?

Me: Yup, they turned out delicious!

Friend: Really good.... I loved them... that's what I really loved... the cookies you made her.... for her birthday.... that I wound up finishing half of.... because I loved them so much.

As you can imagine, I was far from stumped about what to make her. I pulled out my delicious cookie recipe and set to work. BUT, with just two short hours before I was due at her party (I wanted the cookies to be super fresh and gooey when I got there so left them for the last few hours) I realized that I didn't have enough flour. I knew that some people substitute applesauce for flour but thought that gross in cookies so decided to go with some canned pumpkin I found in my pantry instead. HUGE MISTAKE!!! The cookies tasted okay (far from the deliciousness of my previous and renowned batch) but only to someone who liked pumpkin pie. Anyhoo... was scouring the internet for an (actual) pumpkin cookie recipe and found this good one over at Epicurious... So if you're feeling adventurous (and your friends have a more sophistocated palate than mine do... go ahead... take a stab at it... ) Needless to say my friend was less than pleased with my own batch and now I have an I.O.U. for my REAL cookies... will post that recipe with pictures when I make them YET AGAIN. So moral of the story? If you ever run out of flour in a batch of cookies your best friend not-so-subtly hints she would like you to make for her birthday, go to the store and get more. Don't be an adventurous, swash-buckling gourmand.

Xo

Mix
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup shortening
1 can pumpkin

Add:
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp.baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped nuts

Cinnamon frosting
4tsp melted margarine
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 cups powdered sugar
-MIX the first 4 ingredients-

milk (i just eye ball it till i think it looks good)

Drop tablespoon on greased/non stick cookie sheet. (i use my pampered chef perfect cookie scooper)
Bake at 350
10-12 minutes (mine are perfect at 10 mins)

(link is: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/PUMPKIN-COOKIES-WITH-CINNAMON-FROSTING-50009886 )

Cheese Please!

Hey guys! Sorry for the brief hiatus but I am back. have you missed me? Todays post will be a list... for all of you to add on to... of the best/most interesting/stinkiest/butteriest/nuttiest/delightful cheeses you have ever tasted and recommendations for everyone to try... I'll start things off with a few of my favorites and add anything that you love (or love to smell) in the comments below!

CHEESE PLEASE

-Manchego (aged six months or more)

-Drunken Goat

-Ricotta Salata

-White Cheddar (from Vermont)

-St. Andres

-Aged Pecorino Romano

-Mascarpone (fine more of a cream but still delicious and technically called "cheese")

Sooooooooooo...... your turn...............

Xo

__________________________________

Will list all your yummy cheesy additions here:

-From @KatamaGeneral - Aged Gouda, minimum 3yrs. Great with a glass of cab.

Digital Nostalgia Pt. 3: Melissa's Mexican Chicken

1. Mexican Chicken!
   i made the BEST mexican chicken for dinner - my own flavors and spice combos... will post recipe here tonight :)
   1. sauté garlic 1/2shallot 1/4c scallions in oil 2. add in 1 c. cherry tomatoes (halved) 3. add chickn until cooked 4. melt in 2tbsp butter
   5. in separate bowl combine: 2 diced avocadoes, 1/2c blck beans 1c salsa 1 lime (zest&juice, 3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, s&p to taste
   6. after chickn is finished add this mixture to pan stirring in gently so as not to break avocados. 7. garnish w/ parsley 8. ENJOY! :D

Digital Nostalgia Pt. 2: Delicious Chicken Filets

1. Chicken Dish - Tweet Tweet!
   ...and now my recipe for a quick easy & delish chicken dish if you have absolutely no idea what to do w/ the chicken filets you just bought!
   1. thoroughly clean 2 large packages of chicken, (5 filets/package) eliminating slimy, shiny grizzle, veins and bloody pieces.
   2. cut into smaller pieces 3. in a bowl crack 3 eggs 4. in another bowl mix 1c. flour 1 tbsp pepper 1/2tbsp salt, 1 tbsp garlic 1tsp cayenne
   5. dredge chicken in egg first then in flour mixture, being sure to shake off excess flour 6. heat up sautee pan & place in 2 tbsp butter
   7. when butter melts place chckn in pan until golden brown (~6-7min) add 1c chkn stock 1c marsala or red wine of choice, reduce to 1/2amt
   8. garnish w/ herb of choice (i prefer parsley) and ENJOY :)

Digital Nostalgia Pt. 1: Yummy Banana Bread

1. 2:30 AM Update: Have been suddenly stricken with terrible stomache ache. Have decided to re-read my tweets over the entire almost year-long (eek!) run as @OrganicEats. Posted below is my delicious recipe I tweeted for a banana bread so good I am literally forced to make it for my family at least once a week... but don't trust me, try it yourself! I've decided to preserve it in tweet (140 character) form for the sake of sweet digital nostalgia. Enjoy mon amis....
   Xo
   My Yummy Banana Bread Recipe: 1. whisk 3/4c. unbleached flour, 1/4c. pastry flour, 1 tsp baking soda 1. tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt in bowl
   2. mash together 3 VERY RIPE bananas in a bowl 3. use electric mixer to combine 1 stick unsalted butter & 1c. maple syrup until well mixed
   4. beat in 2 eggs w/ butter/maple syrup mixture 5. add mashed bananas 6. add 1 tsp van. extract, 1/2c. mascarpone cheese, 1/4c. buttermilk
   7. add dry ingredient mixture SLOWLY until combined. 8. pour this into well buttered/greased loaf pans (prob enough for 2)
   8. bake in oven at 350 degrees for one hour ten minutes. 9. Let cool before slicing

The Week Ahead - A Fruity Salad

Hola mis amigos! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. Though mine was just under mediocre I have come out of it renewed, refreshed and ready for the week ahead! This coming weekend marks the birthdays of my three close friends, with parties Friday night and Saturday so to splurge I bought myself 2 brand new dresses... Thought it would be an appropriate time to roll out a week of SUPER healthy eating, lots of rest, tons of exercise and voila! Perhaps I shall look half decent come Friday... if it doesn't bother everyone too much I'd love to blog about the experience, starting on this Sunday night when I begin the five-day journey....

Here's what I'm thinking for breakfast:

A Fruity Salad

A nice, light fruit salad... good morning!

Ingredients

1 Grapefruit skinned and cut into wedges

1 Orange skinned and cut into wedges

1 Banana sliced

1 Kiwi sliced

1 date, finely chopped

1 tablespoon flax seeds

1 teaspoon orange juice (not from concentrate, let's get the real stuff here...)

Directions

1. Place Grapefruit, oranges, banana, kiwi in a nice bowl (it's your "presentation" bowl

2. Add dates, mix until combined through

3. Add orange juice until it coats all the fruit (if your orange is extra juicy this step is not necessary)

4. Sprinkle with flax seeds

5. FEEL GOOD ABOUT THE WAY YOU'RE STARTING YOUR DAY! :)

Xo