M&M Cookies for Valentine's Day

I love cookies. I love eating them, baking them, and sharing them. Finding new cookie recipes to try is one of my favorite things to do. I don't think I've ever met a cookie I didn't like. These M&M cookies are currently my favorite. There's just something magical that happens to M&M's when you bake them. That crunch! I can't get enough. 

I make M&M cookies all the time for holidays. I love the different colors that you can find. For Christmas, we make red and green to add to our cookie platter. For Valentine's Day, I adore the red, white, and pink M&M's. I also love the colors for Halloween, Easter...it makes me happy to have these in the cookie jar. 

My kids love them too. 

Some tips to help- stir in the M&M's by hand after you've made the dough. Then lightly press on a few before you bake them, making sure not to flatten the dough balls. Also, your butter should be soft- I take mine out of the fridge about 30 minutes before I plan to make them.

Source: Celebrating Sweets 

Ingredients 

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 egg
• 2 tsps vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups M&M's and chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. 

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside. 

Using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars together for 2 minutes. The mixture should be light and fluffy. Then add the egg and vanilla extract, mixing again until incorporated. Grab the bowl with the flour mixture and gently pour it in on low speed. I like to do this in batches so that I don't have a flour cloud over my head. 

Once mixed, stir in the M&M's and chocolate chips by hand, with a large spoon or spatula. I like to add about a cup of the chocolate chips & M&M's so that the rest can be pressed on top of the dough balls before baking. 

Scoop the dough into balls. You can use a cookie scoop, or a regular tablespoon. Whatever you have. Depending on how big you want your cookies- I do about a tablespoon, which is why my cookies weren't so big, but you can do 2 tablespoons if you want larger cookies. Keep in mind that cookies do spread while baking so make sure you have space between them. 

Bake for about 8-11 minutes (if you made your dough balls bigger, you might need more time). The centers should be slightly underdone, but if you want a crispy cookie, bake for another minute or two. 

Once out of the oven, allow the cookies to cool so that they can firm up.

Chicken Noddle Soup

January. What a long month you are. A month that is usually very cold for much of the country and a month that is notorious for viruses. My kids finally went back to their brick and mortar school in January, which naturally meant they got sick after being back for only a week. :) 

Thankfully it was only a cold, but it sure was a nasty one. Especially for my son and my husband. I had not made chicken soup in such a long time and remembered this recipe I came across a few years ago. It's really good and the recipe is so easy to follow. I love that this soup can come together quickly and does not need a lot of time to sit and simmer to build up the flavor. I served it after just 30 minutes. Even my son, who is not a fan of soup, ate a few bites (it was mostly the chicken but I still call that a win).  

Egg noodles, veggies, and chicken pulled from a store bought rotisserie make this a breeze to whip together whenever you're starting to feel under the weather! 
 

Source: Food Network 

Ingredients 

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 4 fresh thyme sprigs 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 8 oz wide egg noodles
• 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 handful of fresh parsley 
• 1 lemon

Directions

Place a soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat and drizzle with olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook and stir for a few minutes, until the veggies get soft but not browned. 

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for about five minutes until tender. Then, fold in the shredded chicken and continue to simmer until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon if desired. 

The Skinny on Gestational Diabetes

Say what? If you're confused, read this post.

Last week I had my nutritionist appointment to learn about what I can, and can not eat, with gestational diabetes. I also learned how to use a glucose monitor, oh what fun. The nutritionist was very informative and had lots of packets and handouts for me. The one I was most interested in was the break down of the day- how many grams of carbs I can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with three snacks dispersed throughout the day. 

Anyone who is diagnosed with gestational diabetes will be given a chart like this. Your plan can differ, based on the results of your glucose test. I'm allowed 45 grams of carbs for each main meal. Veggies are always a free for all, except for corn and peas, which is also counted as a carb. Who knew? Fruit can be a bit more tricky and I have a booklet with almost everything you can imagine listed, telling me exactly how much one serving is. 

By the end of that appointment, which lasted about an hour, I was exhausted. Emotionally and mentally drained. I get wiped out after being given so much information. Does that happen to you? It was so overwhelming, even though I had already read and knew most of what the nutritionist was telling me, it was so different to hear it first hand. 

I have to check my blood sugar four times a day- in the morning when I wake up (fasting), two hours after breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I have a log book to keep track of my numbers. I've got the hang of it now and it's already become a part of my daily routine. Sure, it's annoying, and I have to keep an eye on the clock to make sure I don't miss the time. So far I've only done it at home, it freaks me out to think of doing it in a public place, even though I'm sure I'll have to eventually. 

My numbers have been good so far, at least, I think so? I have a chart that tells me where I should be and what I should not pass. Going out to eat is tricky, seeing as I have no idea how many grams are in one meal. But we don't go out often, so that's probably not going to be much of a problem. I have another doctor's appointment this week to look over my log book and I'm hoping to hear some good news!

This wasn't a very fun post, so if you stuck with me to read, thank you. I'm writing this all down more for memory sake than anything else, and if there is anyone else out there, pregnant, confused, and sad to learn they've been diagnosed too. It's not the end of the world! Challenging at first, yes, as anything new is. Once you get the hang of it, it's not so bad. Fingers crossed I get some good news at my appointment this week, I could use it!

What We've Been Eating Lately

It's been awhile since I've shared a new recipe. That doesn't mean I'm not trying out new things in the kitchen; quite the opposite really. I get bored of our meal rotation and aim to try at least one new recipe a week. Sometimes more if I have the time. Here are a few meals we've had recently that all three of us have enjoyed.

Chicken, Black Bean & Quinoa Enchiladas

I love making Mexican food at home. These enchiladas were delicious. I don't like enchiladas that are weighed down with sauce and spice and that have a pound of cheese. Peppers, black beans, and tomatoes go into the filling, along with quinoa (I didn't have any on hand so I used brown rice) which makes these enchiladas a healthier version than the original. Definitely a keeper!

Brown Sugar Crusted Salmon

We went a while without eating salmon because I got bored of making it the same way. I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs and figured I'd give it a try. It's SO easy there's really no excuse not to make it. The first time we tried it we couldn't believe it. So simple, so tasty. Another meal I'll be adding to our rotation, seeing as I've already made it like six times since. 

Mustard & Herb Marinated Chicken

I apologize for the crappy iPhone picture. I've got to get back into the habit of taking pictures of our food with the real camera. Anyway. Now that it's hot out, we've been grilling a lot. Mostly chicken and sausage. This is my favorite summer marinade and I make it so often that I think it might be time for me to find a new one before we get sick of it. Any recommendations?

Baked Pork Chops with Herb & Cheese Breadcrumbs

I saw Rachael Ray make this on her show a few weeks ago and it looked so good. She made it using chicken breasts; I thought it would be just as good with bone-in pork chops. Delicious! The dijon mustard coating is something I never would have thought of and pan frying it first then putting it into the oven is a great way to prevent the meat from drying out. Loved it!

I'm always looking for more things to try, so please tell me, if there's been something new you've made recently that you enjoyed!

What We've Been Eating Lately

I don't know about you, but I love seeing what other people are eating for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's probably why I love Instagram so much, an endless stream of good eats and inspiration. I get stuck in food ruts all the time. We're currently in one right now with breakfast. Miss A is refusing to eat eggs, oatmeal (not like she ever did before), and yogurt. She'll only eat toast or waffles right now. And blueberries by the carton. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of our recent eats with you in case you're looking for something new to eat!

Breakfast- toast, peanut butter, and banana is still one of my go-to's. I also like to add a drizzle of honey or agave with granola.

Lunch- lettuce wraps! A few weeks ago I was on a huge lettuce wrap kick and was stuffing them with roasted turkey, dried cranberries, sliced carrots, and mozzarella cheese. On the side I'd have a chopped cucumber, tomato, and feta salad, lightly tossed in olive oil and lemon juice. 

Dinner- This is one of my favorite dinners we had recently. Sweet and sour chicken over fried brown rice, mixed with chopped carrots, frozen peas, corn, scrambled egg, and diced red pepper. I sauteed all the veggies first in some sesame seed oil, added cold day old rice, an egg, and scrambled it all up. Then I dosed it with soy sauce and topped the whole thing with diced green onions. It was delicious! 

Another favorite is Alaskan Baked Salmon with lemon risotto and sauteed zucchini. This is how I usually make salmon. It's super easy and fast to put together. The oven does all the work for you and I love the crunchy topping. 

Not the best picture, but these potato nachos were a lot of fun to make and a new thing for us to try. I sliced up idaho potatoes very thin, tossed them in some olive oil, salt and pepper and placed them on a wire rack on to of a baking sheet. Then I added cheddar cheese, black beans, tomatoes, and green onions. 

Hope you find something new to try!