Chocolate Chip Cookies

For anyone who thinks a Chocolate Chip Cookie is boring and they all taste the same, clearly has not tasted enough chocolate chip cookies in their life!

The Chocolate Chip cookie is a classic and a favourite.  Its' my go-to when I want to bake for the kids (and myself).  I know I always have the ingredients on hand.

I am always on the hunt for the best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes and I would add this one to the list.

It has a great chewy center (as long as it is not over baked) and a 'crispy' exterior and it is perfect minutes out of the oven and pair with a cold glass of milk.

I always double the recipe - with 6 of us at home we go through food quickly and when it comes to homemade cookies, we go through them even quicker. Doubling the recipe is a great idea, if you are short on time and don't get to bake often.  Cookies freeze very well, so eat some now and freeze the rest for later!

This recipe will be in my regular rotation because the ingredients are so simple.

Here's what you need:

- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/4 cups butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (I only had milk chocolate chips, they were also good and a combo of the two would be fabulous, perfect for a chocolate lover!)

- Pre heat your oven to 375 degrees
- Mix the flour, salt and baking soda in one bowl
- In another bowl mix your butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs and mix well together.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir.
- Add your chocolate chips and keep stirring until all of the mixture is well blended
- Using a table spoon, scoop out the dough and form into balls and place on a greases cookie sheet.
- My cookies were perfect at 14 minutes, slightly golden...

I doubled this recipe and it resulted in just over 3 dozen cookies.

And that's it! Pour yourself a glass of milk and enjoy! Might want to taste one minutes of the oven....you may not get another chance to grab one otherwise ;)

Refrigerator Garlic Dill Pickles

So I have never pickled anything, ever! My mom, aunts, sister they never pickled anything either.  I know my mother-in-law (who now lives in Texas) has lots of pickling experience but it would be a bit of a long trip to come up here to do some pickling with me! I came across a recipe for Sweet Pickles in a cookbook that I just purchased.  I plan on making those but the recipe seems a bit intense.  I came across this simple 'refrigerator pickle' recipe and thought it might be a good start into my new adventure.

I needed to buy a number of items so a bit of an expense at first but the good news is, these items can be re-used.  So I purchased some pint size mason jars, some labels, and a starter kit that includes a jar lifter, jar funnel, magnetic lid lifter and a head space tool.  So for 24 jars and the starter kit I think I paid no more than $30. I didn't need the starter kit for this 'refrigerator' style pickles but for canned pickles and jams (which I plan on attempting later this summer) I will!

The rest of the ingredients I had around the house already.  I did have to purchase some more cucumbers that usual but I think that's an obvious expense!

So here's what you need:

- whole all spice (although I bought ground all spice by accident)
- mustard seed
- dill (dry or fresh - I used fresh)
- bay leaves
- garlic
- salt
- sugar
- whole peppercorns
- red pepper flakes
- white vinegar
- water
- whole cloves
- celery seed
- cucumbers (I bought the mini ones and used about 4 per jar, sliced as spears)

I love the rustic look and feel of these pickles and I think they will really be a great side to a sandwich at lunch or at a BBQ dinner!

So I try to get my kids as involved as much as possible in the kitchen.  So I had them help make the spice mix for each jar of pickles.  We decided to make a 'test' batch of 3 jars, so we used 3 containers - one container of spices for each jar.

I have a great set of measuring spoons that are well indicated and colour coded so they are great to use with the kids.  They love to count and help!

So this is what you need for each jar

• 3-5 pickling cucumbers per jar (depending on the size and how you cut them to fit in the jars)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup vinegar (you can reduce this to 1/2 cup if you like less of a vinegar punch )
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1/4 teaspoon whole allspice (I didn't have whole all spice so I added ground all spice and it was fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/4 teaspoon dill seed
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon whole pepper corns
• 2 crushed fresh garlic cloves(I had minced garlic I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of minced garlic but if you want the pickles to be very garlic-y add another 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dill (you can replace the dried with a couple of sprigs of fresh dill if you have access to it)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

- the water, vinegar, sugar and salt are for the brine! See Step 5


Step 1: prepare your jars and lids according to your manufacture’s recommendations.  You can sterilize the jars in the dishwasher or a good HOT soapy water wash does the trick too.

Step 2: prepare your cucumbers.  Wash and slice the cucumbers. Take off the ends because there may still be a stem or flower leftover from picking.  You can half or quarter your cucumbers.  Some can even be left whole, all depending on your consumption likes.

Step 3: measure spices and add to the jar(s). Crush garlic and add to the jar(s). (- this was where the kids helped the most)

Step 4: add to jar(s) your sliced cucumbers.  Fill in as many as you can but make sure that the cucumber does not go above the 1 inch head of the jar.  This is to ensure that your cucumber is covered with liquid.  Squeeze them in…it’s ok! Now if your jar seems really full, like the cucumbers and spices aren't really moving when you shake them, don't worry in a day or two they will.

Step 5: in a sauce pan add in water, vinegar, salt, and sugar.  Heat on high, stirring until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.  Taste the mixture…too salty…add a little more sugar…too sweet…add a little more salt…not enough vinegar…add more…too much vinegar…add water.  It’s easy to adjust according to your taste. *I added another teaspoon of sugar

Step 6 FOR REFRIGERATOR PICKLES: After the salt and sugar are dissolved, turn off heat and let rest till cool.  Once cooled, add the liquid to the jar(s) till the spaces surrounding the cucumbers are filled, leaving 1 inch head space between the liquid and the lid.  Place the jar(s) in the refrigerator and let sit for 5 to 7 days; each day giving the jar(s) a light shake distributing the spices.  It’s really hard to wait for these crisp tangy pickles…but if you can withstand the 5 to 7 day wait, you’ll be in for a great treat.  Pop open that jar and enjoy.  These pickles will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.