Andes Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

I seriously love these. Ever since Halloween ended I've been scouring the stores waiting for the Andes Peppermint Crunch thins (apparently you can buy them in baking chips too) to show up. I finally hit the jackpot at Target and loaded up. I think I'll have to buy some more before the Christmas season ends. I seriously crave these cookies all year round.

Andes Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup Andes Peppermint Crunch baking chips (or the mints diced up)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the butter and brown sugar in a bowl and cream together with a mixer. Then add the egg and vanilla.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix together then slowly add to the wet mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips and Andes peppermints.

Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes (or until the edges are brown).

Lime Chicken Tacos

Have I ever mentioned how much I like easy dinners? Because I really, really do. Especially since Summer started teething again and Brian has been putting in long hours at the school. Seriously, if this keeps on much longer I don't know what I'm going to do. Brian "diagnosed" me with late stage mommy disease this morning, and I informed him that my body was starting to shut down. It's been a rough go.

But, on a brighter note, recipes like these allow me to conserve energy and put good food on the table. And I can never resist a good taco. So if you're low on energy but needing something yummy, try this.

Lime Chicken Tacos
Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbs chili powder
2 cups corn
1 cup chunky salsa
shredded cheese
tortillas
optional: sour cream, cilantro

Directions:
Throw the chicken breasts, lime juice, and chili powder into a crock pot. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on low for 10 hours.

After it's cooked, shred the chicken with 2 forks. It should shred really easily if the chicken is cooked enough. Add the salsa and corn and cook for another 30 minutes.

Once everything is heated through, serve on tortillas topped with cheese.

Top with cilantro and sour cream and enjoy!

My Favorite Chili

Is it just me or is chili a summer food? For some reason summer and chili go hand-in-hand with me. It was below 90 degrees yesterday so I figured I'd better take my (possibly only) chance and cook some up. I love chili. The only thing that makes it better is corn bread. I've been seeing a pin flying around lately with a chili topped cornbread waffle and I thought I'd give it a go. It turned out great. Not needing to turn on my oven was awesome, the waffle iron cooked it really quick, and Logan thought it was so cool eating a waffle with his soup. Win-win-win! A full cornbread waffle is a little more cornbread then I can handle with my chili, so we just halved them. 

I thought I'd share with you all my favorite recipe. I am a hard core chili lover so I'm not overly discriminating. Even if it has mushrooms in it (gag) I will still devour it. My best friend hates chili so I always make it a point to let her know when I eat it. So, Renee, this post is for you!

My Favorite Chili
This is basically just a "throw it all in" recipe. So change it up anyway you like!

Ingredients:
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 lb beef (or turkey or any protein you want to substitute here, I'm sure quinoa would even go well with this)
2 bell peppers (mix and match, I usually do 1 red 1 green)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
salt to taste
cheese, cilantro, sour cream, or whatever you want to garnish it with

Directions:
Dice onion and mince garlic. Throw it in a pan with a bit of oil and cook for a minute or two on medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until brown.

Meanwhile, dice the bell peppers. Once the beef is browned throw the peppers in. Cook for 2 minutes then add the spices and cook until fragrant, just a minute or two.

Add the kidney beans and tomatoes and stir everything together. Put a lid on it and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Garnish it any way you like and enjoy.

Chickpea & Roasted Carrot Pasta Salad

Hope you all had an awesome Fourth. Ours was super busy but also really fun. We spent most of Friday trying to recuperate from the holiday and loss of sleep. My brain still feels a little foggy while I'm trying to write this. So I apologize in advance for anything that doesn't quite make sense, blame it on the Founding Fathers.

We were invited over to a friends house for dinner before fireworks on Thursday and they asked us to bring a salad. I had made this recipe for dinner the night before and since I really didn't want to go grocery shopping I decided to try and morph it in to a salad. Well, the experiment was a success and now I am sharing it with all of you.

I love taking a recipe and making it my own. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Oh, and can I say, I think cumin might be my favorite spice. And roasted cumin seeds? Genius!

I know these pictures probably look pretty rookie but I (being the amateur photographer) was very pleased with my work. Photographing food is so hard!

Chickpea & Roasted Carrot Pasta Salad

Dressing: 2 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 teaspoon cumin seeds (or 1 1/2 tsp cumin) 1 teaspoon honey pinch of cayenne pepper 1/2 cup olive oil Salad: 2 cups chickpeas (15-oz can), rinsed and drained* 1/2 pound carrots, peeled and chopped 1 chicken breast, uncooked 1/2 lb your favorite pasta 6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 2 teaspoons cumin seeds 2 Tablespoons coconut oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 1 cup cashew pieces heaping 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large serving bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil. While whisking constantly, pour the oil in as a steady stream until combined. Add chickpeas and toss well. Set aside. On a rimmed cookie sheet, toss the carrots, chicken breast, garlic, cumin, and oil until well-combined. Sprinkle evenly with the salt. Roast, until carrots are fork-tender and chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the garlic from the pan and chop them into very small pieces. Shred the chicken. Add the garlic, chicken, carrots and any pan juices to the chickpeas and stir to combine. Cool slightly, then add the remaining ingredients, seasoning with salt to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*You can also use dry chickpeas. Just soak them over night and simmer them for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before adding them.