Chocolate-LOADED Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now THESE are a true chocolate chip cookie. There is a 4:2 ratio of chocolate chips to cookie dough; this means that there is twice as many chocolate chips as there is dough. Talk about deliciousness.
Here we go, let's get you started on these cookies!

What you need:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup [a little bit extra doesn't hurt] packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons (random, I know) granulated sugar

1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups (24 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Now for the fun:
1. Position a rack in the middle (or upper half) of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper [if no parchment paper is available, use foil, and grease with cooking spray. Also, when using foil, make sure the oven rack is placed in the upper half of the oven because the foil can burn them easily if they're too close to the heat].

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside (sorry, no picture for this one). :)

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.

4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended. The mixture may look slightly curdled, but no worries; this will be resolved in the next step.

5. On low speed, add the flour mixture, blending it until it's thoroughly mixed.

6. NOW, mix in all the chocolate chips!!

Oh wait, where'd all the dough go?

Found it!!

7.  Heap tablespoon fulls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 3 inches apart. Bake until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are golden, about 13-15 minutes.

8. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes. Don't worry about the slight flattening of the cookies; as sad as it is, it happens. Use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool completely [I say don't let them cool all the way before you eat them, because they are best gooey and hot right out of the oven!].

North Woods Bean Soup

This is a "must try" recipe! Maybe it's the delicious turkey kielbasa or the tender carrot slices that makes it so tasty. I've made this a couple times, and both times it turned out splendid! It's definitely a new family favorite!

Here's the needed ingredients:

1. Cooking spray
2. 1  cup  baby carrots, halved
3. 1  cup  chopped onion
4. 2  garlic cloves
5. 7  ounces  turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6. 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
7. 1/2  teaspoon  dried Italian seasoning
8. 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
9. 2  (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
10. 1  (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves
12. Now, here's the steps to this yummy soup:
13. 1. Mince the garlic, chop the onion, halve the carrots, and cut the kielbasa as described above.
14. 
15. 
    
    2. Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes.
16.  

1. 3. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
2.  

4. Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. [Doing this step adds a lot of flavor to the soup. It may look rather unappitizing, but trust me, it's worth it]. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Don't worry about its looks, it's worth it!

5. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.

6. And last but not least, DISH UP & ENJOY!

Sprinkle-Galore Vanilla Cookies

These cookies are simple, quick, and yet, delicious! Plus, these cookies only have 4 ingredients! How easy breezy is that? :)

Here is what you'll need:

1 box store-bought vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350°
In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, oil, & eggs, and beat until the batter is blended with no lumps.
This should create a nice (& sort of greasy) mixture; roll the dough into approximately 1" balls. During or after rolling the dough, throw it in a bowl of sprinkles, and cover it COMPLETELY so that it looks like a confetti ball! Place these sprinkled spheres onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
(Continued after photo...)

Bake 8-12 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly golden (make sure you keep an eye on them because some ovens cook faster than others, and these cookies can be a tad bit temper mental sometimes)
After they are done, spatula them off the cookie sheet and onto a cooling rack and ENJOY!