The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

I LOVE baking cookies. Every year, from Fall through Winter, I bake an enormous amount of cookies, mainly just for all of the cookie monsters in my home (AKA my husband and kids).
We do, however, find it in our hearts to share a few cookies with family and friends during the holidays.

While cookie baking is not complicated, finding the perfect chocolate chip cookie has been a challenge, and it took me years to find the "perfect" recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They were all either too thick, thin, dry, greasy, hard or just didn't hold together at all.

To me, the perfect chocolate chip cookie has the right balance of chocolate and cookie, and just the right texture which is a crisp but not hard exterior and a soft gooey, center. Not too thick, not too thin, something to satisfy all cookie lovers. The recipe below was adapted from the "Neiman Marcus" cookie recipe. It bakes at a lower temperature for a longer period of time than most cookies, which I think is one of the keys to making this cookie so perfect.  

These are best when eaten while still warm. I usually bake 2 dozen at a time and refrigerate (up to 2 days) or freeze the remaining dough for another time.


The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. 

Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds. 

Add in the eggs and vanilla extract, and blend for an additional 30 seconds.

In a separate mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time at low speed until flour is completely mixed in with the butter mixture. Add in chocolate chips and stir lightly just until the chips are distributed throughout the dough. 

Using a cookie scoop, drop dough onto an un-greased cookie sheet, 2-3 inches apart. 

Bake for approximately 17 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Bake 1 -2 minutes longer for a crispier cookie, or a 1-2 minutes less for a softer cookie. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 1 minute, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack. 

Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies, depending on size. 

Pico de Gallo

Salsa is as much of a staple to me as ketchup is to some. The salsa that I make most these days is a fresh salsa referred to as Pico de Gallo (translated, Pico de Gallo means "rooster's beak"). This can be served as a dip for chips, as a topping for tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, chicken, steak, fish, eggs, and more! Sometimes I even add a little of this to my guacamole.  Enjoy!

Pico de Gallo 

8 ripe Roma Tomatoes, cut into small chunks

1 medium Onion (any kind) cut into small chunks

1 small bunch Cilantro, large stems removed

1/4 to 1/2 cup jarred Jalapeño Slices

Juice of 1/2 lime (or a little of the jarred jalapeño juice)

Kosher Salt and fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

In a food processor, combine onion chunks, cilantro, and jalapeño slices. Pulse blend until finely chopped; put onion mixture into a large bowl. 

Add tomato chunks to the food processor and pulse blend just until chopped. Put tomatoes into the bowl with onion mixture. Add lime juice, salt, and pepper, stir well. 

Cover, and let sit at room temperature for several hours before serving, which allows all the flavors to blend.  Refrigerate leftovers, eat within 2-3 days. 

If you don't have a food processor, you can chop all ingredients to desired consistency. 

**Note: Any spicy pepper of your choice can be used. Jarred jalapeño slices are my preferred pepper, because the heat is consistent. Fresh peppers vary in heat intensity, and I've often over heated my salsas when using them fresh.

My favorite way to utilize fresh peppers in a salsa is to roast them first. Roasting fresh peppers mellows the heat and raw flavor. This can be done by placing several peppers into a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skins start to crackle and blacken, turn the peppers so that they evenly blacken an all sides. When peppers are blackened, carefully remove from pan and place into a Ziploc-type bag and seal.
As soon as the peppers are cooled, remove from bag, peel away and discard the blackened skins. Cut off stems, slice open the peppers, and remove some or all of the seeds, depending on heat desired.
Add roasted peppers to recipe as directed above. Use one or two peppers at a time, gradually adding more until desired heat level is achieved.

***Using gloves for this process is recommended.***

I LOVE GUACAMOLE!

As a California girl, avocados have always been one of my favorite foods!
Whether it's sliced and eaten by itself, or placed on top of a burger or taco, avocados can take food to another dimension!

Because of their delicate flavor, I think it's important to use spices and seasonings sparingly. This recipe has a good balance of flavor, spice, and salt, while allowing the avocado to be the star of the show. Enjoy!

Simply Perfect Guacamole

2 ripe avocados
1/4 of a medium onion, red or white, finely minced. (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, finely chopped
a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste
A dash of freshly ground black pepper
a small squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice


Cut avocados in half. Remove seed. Scoop out avacado from the peel, put in a mixing bowl.

Using a fork, mash the avocado to desired texture. Add minced onion, cilantro, crushed red pepper flakes, lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash until combined.

Best when served within a couple hours of making. Cover plastic wrap until ready to serve.

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

Visiting Washington D.C.

This year, we chose to visit Washington D.C. for our family vacation. We had been looking forward to this visit for several years, and when it was time to plan, we had so much to learn. I've compiled some information here that I thought might be helpful to others.

(Please Note- Since our trip took place in 2010, some prices and information in this article may be outdated. Please refer to the included links for the most current information.)

Metro Rail

The Metro Rail is the easiest way to get around D.C. . You can choose to ride the Metro Rail, or Metro Bus, or a combination of the two.

Information
Map
Trip Planner
Fares

The Metro offers a variety of fare options, from single fares to daily and weekly passes. Metro Passes and SmarTrip cards are available to purchase at kiosks located within each Metro Station. When choosing your fare option, consider how many days you will need the pass and what times you will be riding, since some of the passes have time restrictions, while others are only good for short distance rides, which would require you to pay an exit fee if your travel distance exceeds the short distance limit.

Since we were there for a week we chose the 7-day Fast Pass (currently $59.25 per person), which allowed us unlimited uses with no time or distance restrictions. The cost of a 1-day Pass is currently $14.50 per person and provides unlimited usage for one day. SmarTrip Farecards are cards that you put money onto and can use with both the Metro Rail and Metro Bus.


Where to Stay
On the recommendation of a friend, we stayed in a hotel in Springfield, VA that was near one of the Metro Rail stations. This allowed us to have a cheaper hotel rate than staying in DC, but also gave us the convenience of taking the hotel shuttle to the Metro station.

Tours and Museums
Tours of the White House and Pentagon, must be arranged through your local congress person. They can also schedule your tours of the Capitol and Bureau of Engraving Printing, which can save you the time of waiting in line.You will need contact your congress person several months in advance of your trip to provide the dates of your visit, and tour times will be chosen for you. White House tours are confirmed approximately 2 weeks before your trip while other tours are usually confirmed sooner. Once these tours are scheduled, you can plan the rest of your free time for museums, etc. Some museums and monuments, such as the U.S. Holocaust Museum and Washington Monument, although free, require tickets. Some tickets may be reserved online, sometimes for a small fee. If you are not able to secure tickets online, you can wait in line the day of your visit (usually around beginning around 7-8am) and remaining timed tickets will be handed out for that day.

Dining
We chose to eat as affordably as possible for most of our stay. We ate at our hotel each morning because they offered a free hot breakfast. We also had a refrigerator in our room so we could have some food and drinks on hand for our time at the hotel.

While most museums offer dining, prices can be quite high.

One option is to take the Metro to the Pentagon City Mall, where they have a great food court with very reasonable prices, as well as several sit-down restaurants. Another place with a great food court and restaurants is Union Station.

There are several refreshment stands located along the National Mall, which extends from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, and is also where the Smithsonian museums are situated. These refreshment stands offer hot dogs, pizza slices, snack items, and beverages. As an example, at the time of our trip, the price for a slice of pizza was $2.99.

You can also choose to pack a lunch to picnic at the National Mall, but be aware that some museums and government buildings do not allow any kind of food, beverage, and sometimes even gum, to be brought in. We saw many people that had to throw away water bottles, (even empty refillable ones) and food, because it was not allowed to come into the building they were waiting to tour. So be sure to plan your meals and what you will carry according to your itinerary.

Lockers
Several Smithsonian Museums offer lockers. While these lockers are for the use of museum patrons only while they visit the Smithsonian, I think it is allowable to keep your items stored at one museum, such as the American History, while you visit another, such as the Air and Space, which does not have lockers. Bag lunches, properly closed and secured, can be stored at these facilities.

· African Art Museum - lockers with keys

· American History Museum - lockers with keys
(various sizes) on 1st floor (Constitution Ave)

· Freer Gallery and Sackler - lockers with code lock

· Natural History Museum - lockers with keys (Const. Ave. & Mall)

· Reynolds Center for Art & Portraiture - lockers with digital locks (F & G Streets)

· Udvar-Hazy Center - lockers

Union Station has a baggage check service, called Tiburon Lockers, located near Gate A. Hours are 6am to 10pm daily. We used this service on the day of our White House tour to store our bags and cameras, which were not allowed on our tour.

The hourly rates are $2 for a small bag, $4 for a medium bag, $6 for a large bag, and $8 for multiple bags (up to 3)

Final Thoughts
Be sure to wear comfortable shoes with some cushion and arch support. Even if your plan is to only go to one museum or one tour each day, you will do a lot of walking and standing.

Remember to take the time to soak in as much as you can from each exhibit, monument, and tour. There is so much to see and learn, and for many this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Oh, and don't forget to take lots of pictures where you are able to. Enjoy!


Monument & Museum Links

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Ford’s Theatre
Guided and self guided tours available.

The Pentagon

Smithsonian MuseumsUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Tickets are required for the Permanent exhibit, “The Holocaust” March-August. During September-February, tickets are not required. No photography or video recording is allowed in exhibits.

US Capitol
Our tour guide was a representative from our local congressman’s office. He was very knowledgeable and we enjoyed our tour. Be advised that no food, drinks, or empty water containers are allowed to be brought into this building. There is a restaurant located inside. Photography is allowed, except for in te gallery areas

Washington Monument

Line for tickets can form as early as 7am during the busy summer months.

The White House
Be advised that no cameras, bags or purses of any kind were allowed on this tour. See link for complete list of prohibited items.


Helpful Links:

Pentagon City Mall

Union Station
Offers Baggage check, shopping mall, food court, and restaurants.

Top Ten Things to do in DC

100 Free (And Almost Free) Things to do in DC

Trip Advisor: Things to Do in Washington DC

Ebates: Earn Cash Back While You Shop!

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Happy shopping!

Create Memorable Holiday Cards with Shutterfly

It's that time of year again! Time to start thinking about what holiday cards you will be sending out to family and friends.

Instead of purchasing boxes of cards this year, I've decided to create personalized holiday photo cards with the help of Shutterfly .
In browsing their website, I am amazed by all the styles offered.
An added feature of many of these cards is the ability to add several photos to your card, and cards are available in flat and folded styles.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Many Memories Tree Christmas 5x7 folded card

Features 6 spaces to add photos, with a Christmas tree and “Merry Christmas” written in the center. I like the idea of this foldable photo greeting card, because I’ll have plenty of room to write personal messages to my family and friends.

Count Your Blessings Christmas 5x7 folded card

Features 3 spaces to add photos, and is also a foldable card. There is also a wonderful greeting on the front of this card which reads “We are counting our blessings and wish you a miraculous holiday season”. What a great reminder that the holidays are a time to be thankful and reflect on all that we’re blessed with!

Seasonal Chic 2010 Christmas 5x7 folded Card

Another great folded card which can hold 3 photos. The front of this card incorporates the year “2010”, the message “Warm Holiday Wishes” and a snowflake.

Whether you’re looking for personal holiday, business holiday, or thank you cards, check out all the great options that Shutterfly offers. Oh, and I almost forgot! They also offer the service of stamping and mailing your cards for you, how cool is that!?

Leslie Loves Veggies Keurig Giveaway!

Checkout this blog called "Leslie Loves Veggies". There are always great giveaways being offered!

The current giveaway is for a Keurig Special Edition Coffee Maker for one lucky winner!

Check it out HERE