White chocolate chip cookies

These are just yummy! They are great warm, cold, with a glass of milk or broken up in a bowl of vanilla ice cream. A simple cookie with a great flavor! Chewy on the inside, crunchy on the outside. (This one's for you Christine! Hope you enjoy it!)

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened



• 2 cups white sugar



• 2 eggs



• 2 tsp. vanilla extract



• 2 cups all-purpose flour



• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (the powdered kind)



• 1 tsp. baking soda



• 1/2 tsp. salt



• 1 2/3 cups white chocolate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.



2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.



3. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.



4. Add dry mix into the wet mix a little at a time till all dry is used and the dough is well mixed. Fold in the white chocolate chips.



5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, allowing for room to spread.



6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are set. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

The dough from the cookies freezes really well! I have some thawing on the counter right now to enjoy with some yummy raw goats milk! Mmm.

Frugal Tip Friday: New use for old coffee grounds

Next time you brew up a pot of Joe, don't just toss the used grounds. Instead, put them to work again. Sprinkle a layer on top of the soil of your house plants! They act as a natural fertilizer and insect repellent. You can also use them on your out door plants. Check with your local coffee shop (and isn't there one on every corner now?) Ask if they have can give you their used grounds. Most will willing pass them on to you for free and you can pick them up by the bag full!

So how is this frugal? By reusing something for another purpose, it usually is frugal, not to mention Eco-friendly. It also saves you from buying fertilizer and insecticide. Once again, also Eco-friendly as it saves those nasty chemicals from leaching into the ground. Unless of course you buy organic options. Then your good either way! :o)

Thankful Thursday: Week #14

~Baby yawns. Sooo cute!

~Piles of fresh, clean, folded cloth diapers that smell of sun shine and spring breezes.

~One pan/pot meals

~Bath toys

~Morning cuddles with a sweet little baby

~Banana, yogurt and peanut butter "milk shakes"

~White school glue

Quick Tip Tuesday: Double batch cookie dough

Next time you whip up a batch of cookies, make double! Roll the extra cookie dough into cookie sized balls, place on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper, and freeze for 24 hours. Place in a zip top bag labeled with the type of cookie they are and the bake time and temperature. Cookies that work great for this are...

• Peanut butter (roll in the sugar before freezing)
• Chocolate chip
• Short breads
• Sugar
• Snicker doodles (roll in cinnamon/sugar before freezing)
• Chocolate white chocolate chip (pictured above)

When it comes time to bake the cookie: Take out how ever many you want, place on a lightly greased cookie sheet (unless the recipe calls for it not to be greased,) allow to thaw for about 20 minutes and bake like normal! *You may have to increase the bake time by a minute or two. Bake for normal time and then check for doneness.*

This also allows couples or families with just a few children not to have to bake an entire batch of cookies. Instead, you can make up the whole batch and only bake what you need right then. We usually bake 4 to 6 cookies at a time. This also makes for a great last minute dessert when unexpected company arrives for dinner!

Book Review: The Duggars: 20 and counting!

I just got done reading this book and I must say, I loved it! I have always been a big fan of the show and watched it faithfully each week till we got rid of cable TV. I miss the show! I think it is the only thing I miss about having cable. It was one of the few remaining good, clean shows to be found there.

Ok, so back to the book. I borrowed it from the library but now that I've read it, I know it is one that I would love to own. It tells the history of the family, how they got started with just Michelle and Jim Bob and how that family progressed into the large Christian family they are today.

I look up to them for a lot of reasons. They are faithfully following God's decree to them to allow Him to choose the number of children they have. They are raising those children in the way they see fit, not allowing the worlds views to effect what they know to be right for their family. They are home schooling ALL those kids. I have no idea how she does it! :o) And they are doing it all debt free!

I learned alot in reading this book. It was very informative and well written. There are lots of great recipes and teaching techniques and there are many resources in the back of the book that I intend to look into.

All in all, I would say it was a great read and would recommend it to any one interested in large families, raising God fearing children, frugality, household management, or just anyone looking for a clean, wholesome read.

Other books I have been reading recently include:

Miserly Moms (loved this book! Lots of great ideas on how to live on one income in a two income world.)

Wise woman herbal for the child bearing years (a great resource for safe, natural remedies before and during pregnancy, for birth support and while breastfeeding)

The Doll in the Garden (a childhood favorite of my sister and I's that I just happened to rediscover again.

Scalloped Asparagus

I have never like asparagus! In fact, it has always been on my "foods I hate" list. But the only way I'd ever had it was boiled till mushy. That's just the way my family had always fixed it. So when I came down with a UTI when pregnant with "L" and the midwives told me to eat lots of asparagus (as it is great for urinary tract health,) I went out looking for a recipe that sounded even remotely edible. I was not holding out much hope! Then I came across this recipe and was pleasantly surprised to discover that asparagus can actually taste good! Since then I have made this and other dishes using this lovely green sprig and am glad to say that asparagus (as long as it is not boiled till mushy) is no longer on my "foods I hate" list!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh asparagus, trimmed (this is about one good sized bundle at the grocery store)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter, softened/room temperature
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 1 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Put all the asparagus (reserving a few tips for garnish) into a greased 8x8 casserole dish.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, milk and butter then pour over the asparagus.
4. Sprinkle with the cheese and then the bread crumbs. Dress with asparagus tips.
5. Brown at 425'F for 20 minutes till asparagus is tender but not mushy.
6. Enjoy!

Makes approximately 4-5 servings.

Weekly Meal Plan: 05/08-05/14

Saturday lunch: leftovers (we had more this week than I could get though on the days Zach worked so this will be "clean out the fridge" day.)

Saturday dinner: Lemon garlic drumsticks, creamed spinach, and corn

Sunday lunch: Tuna salad in home made pita pockets, cottage cheese, and hard boiled eggs and probably a fruit

Sunday dinner: Roast chicken with potatoes, lemon and asparagus, served with brown rice

Monday lunch: Beef taco skillet and salad

Monday dinner: Chicken enchiladas (making a double batch to have an extra batch to put in the freezer)

Tuesday lunch: Tacos and blue corn tortilla chips with salsa

Tuesday dinner: Crock pot Lima bean casserole

Wednesday lunch: Baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese