The BEST Fall Cookie EVER!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Friday is the start of fall! I personally cannot wait! I love when leaves change colors, it's so cool that you can leave the back door open so Sophie can go in and out, football is on all weekend long, the crockpot comes out once a week for soup/stews, and my most favorite-PUMPKIN EVERYTHING! I typically do not cook with pumpkin any other time of the year with the exception of fall. I have hit the JACKPOT of pumpkin this year! 

I recently was reading the blog BAKER by NATURE whom I am obsessed with! She had a Chewy Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookie recipe! As soon as I saw it-I knew I had to make it! I changed a couple of the rations of the ingredients just a little!

The best part about this recipe is that it is so easy to make and throw together if you need to take a special treat somewhere,give as a gift, or take to a tailgate! The ingredients are super simple also!

Trusty Assistant!

My trusty assistant also wanted in on the action of baking today. Unfortunately, he didn't need these butter and sugar filled cookies. He got his own cookie of spinach, apple, and kale! They are made by PLUM Organics! They are seriously SO good. He loves them!

Back to the baking-  The hardest part of this entire recipe was finding cinnamon chips. It took me a while to find them. I finally found them at my Target. However-when I went back to get more....they weren't there anymore! So if somebody sees them somewhere-let me know where you find them!

The BEST part about this cookie recipe besides the taste is that this cookie dough does not have to refrigerate for an hour or two. You simply make the dough and scoop it out onto a pan!

 Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
16 tbs butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I used two baking sheets that I had lined with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium to large size bowl. 
3. In a kitchen aid beat the softened butter until it is smooth. Add the vanilla and sugars and beat until fluffy. You don't need this on high speed. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until it is combined. Very carefully fold in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients a little at a time. It is best to use a spatula for folding in the flour. Fold this until you can barely see the flour anymore. This took a little longer than expected for me. Don't over work the batter but know it will get there one day. Finally-fold in the cinnamon chips.
4. I used a medium cookie scoop to roll the dough into balls. Make sure to leave room in between each cookie on the cookie sheet. They will spread out quite a bit.
5. I baked my cookies for about 15 minutes or until they had darkens on the tops and edges.

 I seriously cannot wait to make these cookies again! Somebody else cannot wait either....

Happy Reading!

Schools Out For the Summer!

-Hello World-

Long time....no blogging, right? I fell into my similar routine of not blogging while in school. However, summer break officially started last Friday! I am ready to get back at it! I have missed blogging, sharing recipes, ideas, and my life with whoever wants to keep up with me these days!

Stay tuned for some exciting things going on in the life of the Cone's this summer! Some things to get excited about: 

• New Recipes
• The debut of our brand new NURSERY. (YES- it is true. Chad and I are having a 1st child towards the end of the year.) 
• Reviews of products
• Random Thoughts
• Possibly a child's book in the making
• More house projects
• and of course, VACATIONS!

Lots and lots of exciting things happening in the Cone house! Come join me this summer in making life FUN, LAUGHABLE, and YUMMY! 

Tootles......

I Scream, You Scream....WE ALL Scream for ICE CREAM!

I don't know about you guys and where you live....but in Atlanta it is SCORCHING HOT! It has been incredibly hot. All I really want to do is go lay out by a pool somewhere with a cold drink in my hand. However, I have no pool and do not know many people with a pool. PLUS....I start work soon. (depressing!)

I recently went to my favorite grocery store ever Fresh Market and stubbled upon some amazing strawberries. They were 2 for $4.00. I thought to myself...what better way to cool off on these scorching hot Atlanta days then ice cream!

So it all began yesterday....I decided to use 1 16 oz package of strawberries and cut them in half as shown in the beautiful yellow bowl. I then mixed them with the most delicious mouth watering combination of vanilla extract and sugar. I put them into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to soak in all of that goodness. 

I then gathered the rest of the materials to make the cream mixtures. Now I must say that I got this recipe from the Cuisinart Ice Cream Book. However, I like to tweak it here and there to give it a little extra love so stay tuned. 

The ingredients above are the ingredients that I used to make the ice cream mixture. I LOVE using sweetened condensed milk in my ice cream instead of heavy whipping cream. Some reasons....1. sweetened condensed milk is delicious. 2. It adds a thickness to the ice cream that I enjoy. 3. I usually do not have heavy whipping cream. It is a great substitute and makes the ice cream a lot sweeter which I also LOVE! However, I decided not to use it yesterday since I have heavy whipping cream. 

I mixed the ingredients above together. First the milk and the sugar to ensure that the sugar dissolves completely. Then I added the heavy whipping cream and vanilla to the mixture. 

Next I slowly blended the strawberries. I did not want them pureed but I also did not want huge chunks. The chunks get too frozen/hard in the ice cream, and I do not particularly like that texture. 

Next you mix the strawberries with the milk mixture. I put the mixture in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Then pour the mixture in the ice cream maker for it to do its thing! In about 30 minutes, you have the most cold delicious gorgeous girly pink goodness there is!

Recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream: 

1 16 oz package of Strawberries (Halved)

1 Tablespoon of Sugar (in with the strawberries)

1 Tablespoon of Vanilla Extract (in with the strawberries)

1 Cup of Whole Milk

1 1/2 Cups of Whipping Cream

2 Tablespoons of Vanilla

1 Cup Sugar

Happy Reading! 

Seafood and SEE FOOD: Tilapia Sliders

Blackened Tilapia Slider with Spicy Chipotle Slaw

One of my favorite hobbies lately in life has been cooking. I do not mean out of a box either! I mean beautiful, colorful, healthy, and delicious food! The meal Chad and I had last night was simply that. 

Excuse the paper plates.......

Chad asked me yesterday if I wanted a hamburger. I responded, "I would actually love a fish sandwich." Let me just say.....my husband is usually ALWAYS on board with food ideas. This one was no different. We set out to the grocery store. The only thing that we needed from the grocery store was tilapia (our fish of choice....usually very affordable) and shrimp. We also decided to have a spicy slaw to go with it! We picked up a bag of just plain coleslaw in the bag. It is in the produce department by the bagged salad.

Spicy Chipotle Slaw

It all started with the spicy slaw. Anybody that knows Chad and I knows that we LOVE spicy food!

Spicy Chipotle Slaw: 

   1 bag of Coleslaw (green cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots)

   1 diced jalapeño (take seeds out)

   1 cup of Mayo

   1/2 lime (just the juice)

   2 tablespoons of honey

   1 1/4 teaspoon of Chipotle Chili Powder

   1/2 teaspoon of Cumin

I whisked the last 5 ingredients together in a bowl and poured over the top of the coleslaw and diced jalapeño. Mix all the ingredients together a refrigerate for as long as possible. The longer the slaw sits..the stronger the flavor!

After I made the slaw, I moved onto peeling and seasoning the shrimp and tilapia. We decided to buy half a pound of shrimp and 1 piece of tilapia. The tilapia fillet was really big, so Chad and I only needed one piece!

I wanted more of a blackened seasoning mix to put on all of the seafood. Below is the mix that I created and maybe should jar for next time!

Blackened Seasoning: 

1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

1/2 teaspoon Oregano

1/2 teaspoon Paprika

1/2 teaspoon Dried Chopped Onion

1/2 teaspoon Thyme

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon Old Bay (Lemon & Herb)

I based the seafood with melted butter and then poured all the seasoning on to the shrimp and tilapia fillet. Then I handed the seafood over to Chad and let him work his magic!

NOW....my new favorite obsession is grilling bread! I LOVE IT! We had leftover Publix baked dinner rolls found in the bakery section at Publix. I just slapped some butter on those bad boys and we put them on the top rack for about a minute to a minute and a half. Watch them...you would not want that buttery goodness to burn!

I split the tilapia into 4 pieces and it made 4 little sliders! Pile that spicy coleslaw on top of the tilapia piece and cap it all off with that beautiful buttery grilled bread! You will NOT regret it! 

Happy Eating!!!

Relishing the last days.....

Well folks......

The lazy days of summer are coming to a close for me. However, this summer has been anything but lazy for me. As someone put it yesterday....I need a vacation from my summer break.

It has been one of my most enjoyable/active summers except for the summer that I met my husband. I hold that one a little closer to my heart than most summers I have experienced in my lifetime. With all the exciting things that have happened this summer, I am excited to have a nice relaxing night at Chastain Park tonight watching Idina Menzel sing her tremendous lungs out (for those who do not know Idina Menzel: rose to fame by performing on Broadway, sings "Let It Go" from the movie Frozen, and was the one who got her name butchered by John Travolta at an awards ceremony.)

I actually have never been to Chastain Park to see a concert, so I am excited to see what all the fuss is about. We are going with Chad's parents and Chad's sister/her husband. Chad's parents have gotten us a table to sit at while we watch the performance. You are allowed to bring a picnic with you to the concert. I have made a little mozzarella, tomato, pesto, and pasta salad. It looks scrumptious and colorful enough to be enjoyed on a summer night at the park!

I used the recipe below to make my pesto. I tweaked it a little bit for my own taste profile (a little more Parmesan and pine nuts.) I am a little prideful about this pesto because I have been working hard to grow my basil plant that was OUT OF CONTROL! ( No picture evidence unfortunately) All of my basil came straight from my own basil plant which makes the pesto taste even better obviously!

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/how-to-make-pesto/

I used this recipe for the pasta salad but used tri- color Rotini pasta instead!

https://lexbake.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/mozzarella-and-tomato-penne-pasta-salad/

I will have to get back to you about all of my adventures tonight with some pictures. I have come to find that everyone that reads my blog is all about the pictures. Maybe I need to invest in a good camera Chad! ;)


Hope everyone has a fantastic Friday summer night!