So ladies, listen up, I am the worlds worst chocolate chip cookie maker.  Seems like no matter what I do they turn out flat, hollowed out underneath and all the chips rise to the top.  What gives?!  I follow the instructions perfectly, I have all "fresh" aka not expired ingredients, and I've tried multiple baking sheets in hopes of that being the culprit.  I've tried butter soften, melted, straight out of the fridge.  Nothing seems to matter, the're always bad.  I can make every kind of cookie except chocolate chip.

Until now.

I decided maybe it was just the butter in general.  I know everyone says to use butter instead of margarine but to those people I say, "pish posh".  Also to the people who say you need to separate the wet & dry ingredients into two bowls and then combine, double, "pish posh".

That's right, I use margarine and I throw all of the ingredients into my stand mixer and my chocolate chip cookies have never been so perfect!  Thank goodness too because Kendall requests to bake cookies at least once a week.

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine or two sticks
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels

I put all above ingredients, minus the chocolate chips, into a stand mixer and mix until combined.  Once all of the ingredients are mixed together I then add the chocolate chips and mix some more. Drop a tablespoon-ish of dough onto your cookie sheet and bake in preheated {375 degrees} oven for 8-10 minutes.


Enjoy!

*Disclaimer:  While I don't follow a strictly paleo diet/lifestyle but I do find a lot of delicious paleo recipes that I like to incorporate into our rotation every once in a while.  

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.  I love everything breakfast related.  Coffee, pancakes, bacon, eggs, toast, sausage, cereal, bagels, you name it, I love it.  Once for my birthday I even did a breakfast theme and it was glorious {must remember that again this year}.

I don't make waffles very often because, honestly, I hate to get out the waffle maker.  It's so hard to clean, I always overfill it causing the waffle to spill over the edges, it's just a mess.  Jimmy doesn't really care for sweet breakfasts, he much prefers something hearty like sausage gravy & biscuits, and the kids can't ever finish a whole waffle between the two of them.  So when we have waffles I go all out.

Which brings me to these apple & sweet potato paleo waffles.



I didn't know what I was doing.  I had eggs, too many sweet potatoes and more apples than I knew what to do with so I figured I could make something happen. I've made paleo pancakes with a smashed banana and egg before so I figured this would be the same concept.

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato
1 large apple {any kind would work}
2 whole eggs
Dash of cinnamon
Grade A maple syrup

Shred the sweet potato, you could pulse it in a food processor but I just used a vegetable peeler, and dice the apple. Mix together with eggs and a dash of cinnamon.  Pour into your waffle maker and wait until the eggs cook all the way through.  Remove, drizzle with syrup {or you could use honey}and enjoy!

Super easy, super delicious!

We are not fancy drinkers over here at the Dew house. If you've been reading for a while you may remember my obsession with box wine at one point. We're normally craft beer drinkers and that's fine with me, I love to get down with a good ale.  But when my husband decided he wanted mojitos on the patio this weekend I got kind of excited.

We have an over abundance of fresh mint growing in our yard.  Like I could probably package it and sell it at the local farmers market.  We have THAT much.  I've never done much with it but we always comment on how we should make mojitos with it some day.  Enter Sunday.

I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever had a mojito before.  I know I have but I couldn't remember what it tasted like or what the ingredients were so that doesn't count. But I'm here to tell you this is the last recipe you'll ever need for mojitos.  It's simple, requires very few ingredients, and it's super delicious and refreshing for these hot summer days we've been having.

Immediately after having these I told Jimmy, "I have to blog this recipe!".  They are THAT good.  But be careful, one drink had me feeling it so they are dangerous!


Ingredients:

• 8-10 fresh mint leaves
• 4 lime wedges
• 2 tbsp sugar
• handful of ice
• 1.5 oz white rum
• 1/2 c soda water

Directions:

Place mint leaves and one lime wedge in the bottom of a wide mouth glass.  Using a muddler crush the mint and lime {don't over crush or you'll get too many tiny pieces of mint when you're drinking}.  Add sugar and two more lime wedges and crush, again do not over muddle.  Fill the glass with ice and the rum over the ice.  Fill the rest of the glass with the soda water.  I don't know if this proper mojito protocol but I shook everything in a shaker glass because all the sugar settles at the bottom of the glass.  Pour it all back into your glass, garnish with the last lime wedge and a sprig of mint.  ENJOY!

This past weekend, much like the rest of the Midwest, we were snowed in.

Yay!

Not.

But we made the most of it. We had lots of family time, went sledding in our back yard, played on the swing set {in the snow}, Jimmy and I got to finally watch SNL40, and most of all I made lots of yummy food.  My waistline wasn't happy but my husband was.

I posted this delicious chili mac on my FB page Sunday and it was really good and made plenty for Jimmy to take for lunch all week.  I call that a win.  But the star of the weekend was my first time ever making stromboli.

In my family when it's your birthday you get to pick what you want for dinner and someone, mom, aunt, grandma, will make it for our family birthday dinner.  Normally I pick stromboli.  I make no secret of my love for pizza but stromboli classes it up a bit, right?  Ha! But I'd never actually made one myself.  I guess I thought it would be too complicated and too time consuming.

Enter Pinterest.

I found this recipe and thought, "store bought pizza dough?  I can do this!".

And boy oh boy, was it a hit!  I think Jimmy and I fought over the last piece and I won because it's my birthday week and I love pizza the most.  The latter he cannot argue with, ever.  I can eat more pizza than him any day.  So I always get the last piece.

It's been a while since we've done a Dinner with the Dews and since I've been back to cooking again I thought I should share some of my recent, yummy discoveries.  I was really craving comfort foods this week, I blame the fall weather, so I whipped up lots of soups and chili {I will be sharing this amazing paleo chili recipe later}. I posted this pic to IG last night and y'all went nuts.  I can't say I blame you because it looks as good as it tastes.

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 to 1.5 pounds)
1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
24 oz frozen vegetables (red bell pepper, zucchini, squash, carrots)
1 1/2 cups butternut squash, cut into small cubes (or sweet potato)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 – 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 – 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
6 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

Good morning pizza lovers.  I swear, pizza is THE ONE thing I could eat morning, noon, and night and never get sick of it.  I have never had bad pizza either.  I love it all.  Even the nasty frozen Totino's pizza that they serve in elementary school cafeterias.  Are you with me?

So when I decided to go Paleo {you know, two weeks ago} I knew that pizza would be hard for me to give up.  I searched and searched and found a Paleo pizza recipe {meatza} and I was immediately skeptical.  Meat crust?  I wasn't sure if I even liked sun-dried tomatoes.  I knew I loved spinach and artichoke dip but didn't know how I felt about straight artichoke.  But I added this to our weekly menu/meal plan and decided to try it.

You guys!  Words cannot even describe the flavor in this meal!  I do like sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes are just fine even when they aren't covered in grease and cheese!  The meat crust?  Ah-ma-zing.  So much flavor.  Now I wouldn't go calling this a replacement for pizza because it's not.  It's nothing like pizza that I know and love.  The only similarity between this and pizza is the tomato sauce.  And I ate it with a fork.  BUT this will be a staple recipe in the Dew house and I'll be mixing it up with different toppings each time {even though this combination was bomb.com}.

• 1 lb. lean ground beef {I used venison}
• 2 Tablespoons mixed dried herbs {I used Tastefully Simple Rustic Herb Seasoning}
• 1 Tablespoon fresh basil chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried dill)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• Tomato sauce
• Red bell pepper, sliced
• Sundried tomatoes, sliced
• Artichoke hearts (canned or packed in oil), chopped
• Olives, any kind, sliced
• Arugula leaves 
• Fresh basil for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the crust ingredients – ground beef, dried herbs, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.
3. Divide the meat in half. Press half the meat into an 8″ round pie pan. Repeat with the other half.
4. Bake for 10-15 min or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and drain off any liquid in the pan.
5. Now it’s time to do the toppings. I added the tomato sauce and red pepper first, then popped it back in for another 5 minutes to soften those up. Then, I took out the crust, added the rest of the toppings – arugula leaves, sundried tomatoes, artichokes {and olives for Jimmy}.

It's been a while since we've done a Dinner With The Dews and today I just had to share my most recent eMeals favorite.  I posted a picture of it on IG Saturday evening and had a few people request the recipe.  I aim to please.  It's a crock pot meal, is under 300 calories per serving {289 to be exact}, it's easy and is probably the tastiest soup I have ever made.  So full of flavor and very filling.  

Italian Sausage & Chickpea Stew

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
19.5 oz package lean sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
5 cups fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
12 oz package peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup peeled and chopped carrot
1½ teaspoons dried rosemary
½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Combine sausage,broth, chickpeas, squash, onion, carrots, rosemary, salt and pepper in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on Low 5 hours.  Serves 6. Note: Refrigerate leftover soup up to 5 days, or freeze in a zip-top plastic bag up to 3 months.

I may or may not have eaten this {minus Jimmy's servings} in less than 24 hours.  It was THAT good.

Remember this little series I used to do, Dinner With The Dews. I would share a yummy, home-cooked, husband approved meal and they were mostly simple with the occasional doozie thrown in for good measure.  It was fun, wasn't it?  I loved finding new, easy recipes and it's been a while since I shared one with you.

Well you want to know why?  I'll give you a hint.  It comes in a box.  Has more sodium than your weekly allowance.  It doesn't taste very good.  Husbands love it.  Have you guessed it yet?
     
Hamburger Helper.

That's what's happened.  And I'm embarrassed by it. This is not my definition of dinner.  This is not quality food.  This is not a healthy meal option.  But?  My husband {and apparently all others} loves it.  He likes the Tuna Helper even more. I must say, if I had my choice, I'd chose the Tuna over the Hamburger any day.  But still!  This is not food, Jimmy.

I posted this picture to Instagram last week and got tons of hits.  "My husband would be so happy if he came home and I was cooking this.".  This is XX favorite!".  "XX LOVES HH!"  I mean husbands everywhere go crazy for this box of slop.  That's exactly what it is.  Don't let the picture on the front fool you, it looked like dog food.  Even my pretty dishes couldn't make it look edible.

Although the last time I was stocking up on Jimmy's favorite food, I did notice they have healthier versions.  Whole wheat, if you will.  I was tempted but, if I know my husband, he would frown upon messing with his tasty treat.

I think it's something about his youth.  Before we were living together he ate this crap all the time.  He would make it for the week and pack it in his lunches for work every day.  That all came to a screeching halt when I took over the kitchen.  That is, until recently.  He decided he wanted to start that tradition again and who am I to stop him.  It does make packing his lunches easier.

So, is your husband a HH lover too?  Do you make this crap?  If you do and you have some fancy way to make it tastier, please share.  Anything has to be better than straight out of the box.  I did see that Betty Crocker had a "helpful hint" on the side of the box where I could go online and find more!great!recipes! but I'm just not buying what she's selling.  I can't imagine it'll taste, or look, any better than dog food.  Woof.

How many things do you have pinned to your Pinterest account?  If you're anything like me you have 2,104 pins scattered over 28 boards.  It's like a more organized, electronic version of hoarding if you think about it.  Yes, it is, you know it is.  Think about it.

That's where Project Pinterest comes in.  The goal is to actually do something with all of these pins so you don't end up on the next episode of Hoarding: Buried Alive.  Leave it to Miss AP to get us off of our pinning butts and create the things we spend hours upon hours lusting over.  Be it food, home decor, the latest fall fashions, the point is to take one idea each week and bring it to life.  Your life.

Last week I told Jimmy I was craving something with pumpkin, other than Dogfish Head Punkin Ale {which is thee best fall beer, ever}.  To Pinterest I go.  I found the perfect thing, pumpkin muffins.  {Right after I had Kendall my best friend made us pumpkin muffins and I hadn't had them since.}The best thing about these pumpkin muffins?  They require two ingredients, TWO!  Needless to say this is easier than baking in your Easy Bake Oven.  I was sold.  Obviously.

What you need:

• Box of cake mix 
• 15 oz. can of pumpkin
That's it, people!  Now I will add that I cheated.  I read the reviews and comments beforehand and saw where someone had suggested using the spice cake versus the originally pictured yellow cake and then someone else said that adding mini chocolate chips was the way to go.  They also suggest a dusting of powered sugar on top.  Done. Done.  And done.

• I was going through my iPhone pics, trying to clear out all 702, and noticed something that seemed to make an appearance quite often.  My boots.  The best purchase I made for this fall.  I bought them for $40 at Target {of course} and they've been worth every penny.  I get so many compliments on them and when I tell people that they were just $40 they run to their nearest Target only to find they don't have them {in central Columbus anyway}.  They are comfy, go with everything, and for $40 you have nothing to lose.
• Also pretty much obsessed with Chai lattes.  I know I've talked about them before but it's true.  Grande, no water, soy Chai latte is my drink of choice these days.  I have had  Chai tea before and hate it, it's gross, I hate all tea though so that's no surprise.  Chai tea lattes though?  Amaze.  Soy milk only though, I had it with skim and it's just not as good!  Just trust me on this.
• I got two new head wraps for Christmas and I'm in love.  They are better than a hat in the sense that they don't mess up your hair as much and you can wear a pony tail with them with no problem.  I love the little flower details on both and fully intend on buying more.

• What about food?  I'd say the next most popular {Kendall will always take the #1 slot} category of photos on my phone is food.   I take so many pictures of food, just looking through my phone makes me hungry.  I like to say it's because I'm going to blog all of these delicious things we eat but the truth of the matter is I just tweet it and forget it.  What have we been having lately?
• This new blog design, I can't stop looking at it.  My pageviews are going to skyrocket and it's just because I keep looking at it myself.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, Katie did an amazing job.  She was responsible for the last one too {and it was great} but this one is just SO me.  The colors, the three little birds {Jimmy, Shannon & Kendall}, the new social media icons, I just love it!

It's that time again, what we ate for dinner! This week I took a cue from Miss 30 Minute Meals, Rachel Ray. Normally I don't like her, or her recipes, but this one stole my heart when it said if you like spinach & artichoke dip you'll LOVE this. Anyone who knows me knows I am a spinach artichoke dip connoisseur. This recipe did NOT disappoint! I LOVED it and so did Mr. Husband {even Chanel tried it and went nuts}.
2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), twice around the pan
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg {eyeball it}
1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped {Get the quartered ones, it'll save you some chopping.}
A couple handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese
Salt and black pepper
1 pound cheese tortellini or flavored tortellini,