Chocolate Chick Cookies- Fibre anyone?

We hadn't done any baking together in a long time and every time they found me with a batch of new cookies they wanted to know why I hadn't let them help! Usually by the time they get home from school there's not much time for the long process of having such dedicated helpers so I do it during the day while they're gone.
This week I decided to humour them and wait til they got here. With only minor fighting over jobs (choc chip measuring is the coveted role) we got the batch done up and the kitchen cleaned before Murray got home. Hooray!
Lovey was on a mission and washed all the dishes for me!
Here's a close up of my "healthy" flour mix. I got a cookbook that tells you how to sneak more good stuff into your kids without them realizing it and this is one of the tricks. Since white flour has almost no nutritional value, they suggested jazzing it up a little. Soooo, my flour bin is actually a blend of white flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ and flax seed. This gets more fibre in for sure! It's almost undetectable in things like chocolate cheesecake muffins, (and anything chocolate based)and banana bread and although noticeable in these Chocolate Chick cookies, they still taste great.
See my productive little chefs hard at work? I only had 2 spatulas and 3 workers so you can imagine how that went! They worked it out though by getting the 3rd person to move the cooled cookies into the container which they also love doing.

Now here's the ultimate secret ingredient that gives a major nutritional boost and makes these cookies sooooooooo light & super moist!! I use my MIL's recipe, substitute my flour blend and then chuck this whole can (drained & rinsed) into the batter and let the mixer beat them into a pulp.

Mmmm Mmmm Good!

I went to a friend's Pampered Chef party last week and got some shopping done! I can't wait for my new goodies to arrive either :)))

While we were there, the rep made the most delicious thing and I had to have more so I made it for us this weekend. Lovey & Sweetie weren't big fans but the rest of us were in heaven. I know Dad, toooooo much broccoli right? Definitely not a good one for those adverse to the green vegetables. Some of that is green pepper too though..... Lovey managed to choke it down since it was really worth her while that night. She'd been sick the day before and missed nacho night, which she would definitely have managed to eat. We couldn't just give her the space on the mermaid chart but since it wasn't her fault that she didn't eat, Murray suggested letting her carry it over & letting the next night's supper be worth TWO spaces. Once confronted with this broccoli infested concoction, she really had her work cut out for her. Eventually the lure of the mermaid plus the temptation of freshly baked dessert won her over and she ate it.

It's called Chicken Broccoli Braid and oh my word it is awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwesome!

I added in some chopped tomatoes, green instead of red pepper and used minced garlic instead of fresh but that's about it for my variations this time. It calls for slivered almonds to sprinkle on top but I didn't have any unfortunately :(


Murray also made pie so I was in pastry heaven that night! Woohoo! Since he used the wholewheat/flax/wheatgerm flour mix, it was healthy pie right????

Rockin' the Guac!

I looooooooooooove guacamole! Before I lived in Mexico, I'd never even tried it. I had heard of it but it didn't sound or look very appetizing so I never bothered.

It's practically a staple down there and eventually I hazarded a bite. That's all it took & I was hooked!! I thought I'd get some pictures of this tasty treat & share the recipe. My mum says no one will want to read about this so if she's right, skip this post. However, if you'd like to help prove my mum wrong, please leave a comment :))) *ahem* if you know what's good for you & would like to continue to get future kid updates, you know what to do :)))

Ok, so the first picture shows the ingredients (minus salt, forgot that til later) and my favourite tortilla chips to eat it with. Other than one small deviation, this is la receta autentica for Mexican guacamole (or at least in the part of Mexico I lived in).

First things first, slice open the aguacate (avocado). For easy pit removal, press the knife blade into it just far enough so it sticks. Then give a gentle twist of the knife it will pop right out. Strangely enough, I learned this trick in Canada from my mumma!
Next, scoop out all the halves (I use 2 avocadoes) and dice up into chunks and put in a bowl.
If you're really keen, you can juice a real lime, but I use the lime juicer in the bottle. Then add salt to taste. I warn you, it's more than any health organization will deem safe but what do they know about Mexican food???
Now here's the deviation. I hate onions, especially raw ones. The taste and texture are excellent diet mechanisms! However, guac without onions is lacking a little something. I've found a couple teaspoons of garlic can bridge the gap nicely. If you're an onion fan, dice some up and throw them in. You will have Kelly-proofed your appetizer :)

Stir everything together and then dice up a tomato (1 tomato to 2 avocadoes if you want to increase the batch, that's the ratio). I usually use plum tomatoes because that's what is used down there, plus they're usually the cheapest to buy.
Stir the tomato into the avocado mix and begin taste testing! If it tastes off, add a splash of lime or a dash of salt until it seems right.

Buen provecho amigos!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

Another recipe request so here goes!

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa

1 tsp soda

1/2 salt

Mix together & set aside.

1 1/4 cups margarine/butter (softened)

2 cups flour (I use half white & half whole wheat with a bit of wheat germ and some ground flax seed mixed in)

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag of Reese Peanut butter chips (I pick these up at Walmart)

Beat margarine & sugar, til light & fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla & then gradually add dry, beat well, then stir in pb chips.

Drop by teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 6 minutes @ 350.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!