Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello, my name is Siggy Spice, and I am a big-ol'-cheater. 
Do you cheat on your favorites?  Favorite recipe that is.  Do you still try to find a better version?  A grass is greener on the other side version?
I do.
My recipes can't expect monogamy.  What if a dash of this, or a pinch of that changes everything?
Well, can I tell you.  I pinched....and it was AH-mazing.  Life changing even.
On top of my pinch, I was lazy and wanted to try a shortcut.  And ohhhh, that shortcut.  It was oh-so-short.  Like, my dough was ready to go before the oven was even pre-heated, short.  That shortcut made me feel like a cheater on a whole new level.
My family is in on this as well.  They agree that they have never tasted anything as soft, chewy, and with a pop of wow like these little gems.
Try these.  Please.  Don't let me stew in my guilt alone.



Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe ever so slightly adapted by:  Six Sisters Stuff

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Sea Salt - just a sprinkle, not even a pinch for each cookie.  I used my Pink Himalayan Sea Salt grinder and just ground a wee-bit onto each cookie.

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and egg.  Fold in Bisquick baking mix.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Use 1" cookie scoop to form cookie balls and place on ungreased cookie sheets.  Sprinkle or grind not even a pinch of Sea Salt onto each cookie.  Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Hump Day Confessional 6/12/13

 

So, I am sure most of you know, the reason for my lack of posts lately is because of "the move".  I say "the move" like that because I hear it with dramatic, scary music in the background.   So, I will start with the good:
I love, love, LOVE our new house....but the building process was like birthin' a baby.  I was on a total and complete emotional rollercoaster for 6 months.  But the end result?  LOVE IT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I pretty much want to make out with my front door!!

 

 

 

I love, love, LOVE my new kitchen!

I also want to make out with the AMAZING hardwood floors!

But "the move"....OHHH "the move".  I thought it would be so much easier since we were only moving 3 miles up the road, and we would have 2 weeks from close until the end of our lease.  I thought we would be able to take our time and it would be a easy.  HAH!  It all started when our movers double booked, so they were only able to get the truck loaded (with the big stuff), then go do their other jobs, then come back at 6:00pm and unload, then go back and grab the rest of the stuff we couldn't get by ourselves.  This left an ass-load of stuff that I was moving by myself for a week after I dropped the kids off at school and before I picked them up.  Then I spent a week deep cleaning the old house.  UGH!  Moving a six-person household is not for the faint of heart. Now, I am in unpacking hell.  I say unpacking hell because the packing ended up being so disorganized, the unpacking is taking FOREVER! 

So, onto confessions:

~I have been eating every meal outside on our back patio.  There is nothing like listening to the birds chirping while enjoying some coffee in the morning.  Now dinner on the other hand...not so relaxing, lol!  We haven't purchased our new outdoor table yet, so there are 6 of us in camp chairs squeezed around a cheap IKEA outdoor table while listening to the the remains of construction and the construction workers.  Nothing like the sounds of Mariachi music with an entire crew singing along, interrupted by the POW, POW, POW of the nail gun.  Ahhh, good times!

~My sweet blue-eyed baby graduated from Kindergarten this year.  I could go on and on about how time flies and it seemed like yesterday that I was teaching him how to walk.  While I do feel all those things, I am most struck by how bad I sucked as a mom at the end of the school year this year.  Going back to the whole "moving" situation, I was lucky to have been able to find clean clothes (mostly) to put on him and me for graduation.  Ignore the fact that he went weeks without me signing his homework folder, reading aloud, packing his lunch (don't worry, he bought it at the cafeteria), NOT showing up to volunteer when I was supposed to, showing up in carpool lane looking like a crazy woman and smelling like a goat, and showing up to his graduation with no balloons and prizes and sporting 3 inch roots. 

~I coached my daughters Volleyball team this season...the Hulkettes.  At first I was petrified to do it because (1) these wee ladies pack a powerful punch.  In 6th grade, they are jump serving and basically kicking the ass of anyone I played Volleyball with in school.  I mean, what could I teach them?!  (2)  I didn't want to be the coach whom the parents looked at and thought "what the hell is she having my kid do that she can't do herself" (3) Middle school girl drama makes me want to hurl.
However, all that fear and trepidation was for NOTHING!  We had a fabulous time and only lost 2 games for the season.  The girls and parents were AMAZING and we definitely had the most FUN of any team in the league, hence the green tongues and the GRRR face for our team pic.

~I made quilts for my nieces whom are stationed in Germany.  It is the closest I have been able to give them a hug.  The above picture is the WONDERFUL housewarming present by brother and sister-in-law sent to us from an artist in Germany.  Funny thing is, it says "Welcome to our Home", but "Rouse" (our last name) basically means "get the hell out".
OH, the confession part of this is how sucky I am at going to the post office.  I started these quilts back in November...it took me until April to finish them...then, not until "the move" did I actually get my sorry ass to the post office.

Quilt for my new baby niece Harper <3

Quilt for my 8 year old niece Maddy, who loves Monster High and peace signs.

~Last but not least, I confess, that I feel like I have been eating like a ROCKSTAR the last few weeks (well, not the bloated, drunk, druggy type rock star)  Lots and lots of grilled meat, veggies, and salads.  Absolutely NO ice cream...yay!

Honey Lime Tilapia with Orange Cashew Rice

Hubs made homemade Beef Jerky

Cheater Migas with mushrooms

mmmm.....steak....

Oh well, yeah.  National Donut Day sucked me in.  But I only ate my 1 free donut, so yay for that :)

SO, how have you all been???

Hawaiian Fried Rice

Sorry about the crap picture....my camera died, so it is cell phone pic with NO natural light.

Hello friends!
I hope you had a GREAT Easter weekend filled with lots of yummy food and surrounded by lots of love! 
On Saturday, we had friends/family over for a little BBQ and between the laughs, good times, good food, and Hummingbird Juice (1/2 Hard Cider, 1/2 Raspberry Lambic...YUM!), it turned into a late night that translated into a completely lazy Sunday.  So lazy in fact, we decided to for-go the ham thing and just enjoy our lazy day and order pizza.  Monday, while the kiddos were at school, I worked on the ham dinner and I am sure like the rest of you, are still faced with lots-o-leftovers.
I saw this recipe on Mel's Kitchen Cafe on Tuesday and made it Wednesday with the leftover ham we had.  Oh.  My.  Stinkin'.   Heck.  It was fabulous!  I would, without a doubt, make this any day of the week just using a diced ham-steak in lieu of leftovers.  It is easy, fresh, and totally hit the spot!

Hawaiian Ham Steak
Recipe Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce

1 TBSP toasted sesame oil

1 tsp Sriracha, more or less to taste

1 TBSP vegetable, canola or peanut oil

2 cups cooked, chopped ham

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped

6 green onions, chopped, white and green parts separated

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 TBSP minced fresh ginger

5 cups cooked rice, white or brown, cold.  (This is actually important...hot rice will just get mushy.  Either use leftover rice that was in the fridge, or the handy dandy frozen rice you buy at the grocery store)

3 large eggs

1-2 cups pineapple pieces (fresh is better, and I liked using only 1 cup)

 

 

  Directions:

1. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. Set aside. In a large nonstick skillet or electric frying pan (which is what I use), heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil until rippling and hot. Add the ham, red bell pepper, and the chopped white parts of the green onions. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and the red pepper is tender (but not mushy), about 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook another minute. Scrape the mixture onto a plate and set aside.
2. Heat another teaspoon of oil in the skillet until hot. Add the cold rice and cook, breaking up large clumps, until the rice is heated through, 5-6 minutes.
3. Push the rice to one side of the skillet and heat the last teaspoon of oil on the empty side of the skillet. Crack the eggs into the hot oil and stir lightly with a spatula or wooden spoon, cooking until the eggs are lightly scrambled and set. Stir the eggs and the ham mixture into the rice. Pour the soy sauce mixture into the rice and cook, stirring, until thoroughly combined and hot.
4. Off the heat, stir in the pineapple and green parts of the onions. Serve immediately.

Rudy's Famous Creamed Corn

I am going to skip the whole "I know it has been forever" and "life has just been CRAZY, I mean ridonkulously busy" and just say:
HELLO and I HAVE MISSED YOU!  xoxo
Today, I have one of the most INSANELY scrumptious dishes I have had in a long, long time.
In Texas, there is a fabulous BBQ place called Rudy's.
 

 
In fact, my brother (who is now in Germany) told that whenever someone goes back to the Austin/San Antonio area for training, they have to bring gallons of the BBQ sauce back for the crew.
Since moving to Austin, we have become quite the BBQ connoisseurs.
My hubs has become the brisket MASTER and we can often be found on the weekend next to the smoker making this:

Yeah....my Hubs is the bomb-diggity

Truth be told, I still couldn't get Rudy's famous Creamed Corn out of my mind.  So what's a girl to do?  Recreate it of course!
While this recipe seems silly simple, it crack-a-lakin freaking FANTASTIC!  I beg of you to make it  and experience this lusciousness for yourself...and if you are feeling generous, let the fam has some too!

I know this isn't the best picture...my camera died, so it is all phone camera right now

Rudy's Famous Creamed Corn
Recipe adapted from:  Blue Bonnets and Brownies

2 lbs. frozen sweet corn
1 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, diced into 1 inch squares
4 TBSP  salted butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 TBSP sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt

Directions
Throw all the ingredients, in any order, into a crockpot and cook on low for at least 4 hours. First time I made this, I made it on the stove top, but  the longer you can let it sit in the dairy hot tub, the sweeter the end result will be.  Allow all the cream cheese to be completely melted and it will easily break down and combine with the cream and butter to make the sauce.
Wait until serving to taste the salt level.  I think it was perfect as written.  Over salting this sweet creamy lusciousness would be a sin.  Yes, a sin I say.