I've been bringing my daughter to Mass with me for over eight years now, and while she is always very well behaved, sometimes I wonder if she is really paying attention. I know that listening to the priest's homily is tough for a child, even with the most entertaining speakers (yet every Superbowl Sunday she remembers the year Fr. Larry finished his homily wearing a large, plastic cheese-head).
A few weeks ago it was the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, in which we celebrate the three-in-one nature of God - manifest in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Our wonderful pastor, Fr. John, had an excellent homily about how difficult it is to understand this mystery. I was certain that most of it went over my daughter's head, as it is a difficult concept to grasp.
That afternoon, I was wandering around Pinterist, and found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies with Reeses Pieces. Since we had a small bag leftover from Easter, I figured we should try them out. I didn't have all the ingredients, so I adapted here and there, using what I had in the pantry - the Reeses Pieces, milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chips. While we were waiting for them to come out of the oven, daughter looked at me and said, "We should call these Trinity Cookies, since they have three chips in one."
Guess I never should have doubted that she was paying attention.
And so, the good... these were really great cookies - soft and chewy, with just the right amount of chips distributed throughout.
And the bad... they took longer to cook than the original recipe called for, so they weren't really quick to make, but they were worth it.
Oh, and since I related this story to Fr. John, now I guess I have to share our Trinity Cookies with him when we make them next year!
Trinity Cookies
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup Reeses Pieces
1. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add in vanilla and eggs; mix until combined.
3. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir into wet ingredients until just combined.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and Reeses Pieces. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for one hour.
5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop cookies and place dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes, or until slightly browned around the edges.
6. Let cookies sit on baking sheet for one minute after removing from oven. Then move to wire rack and cool completely.
Last week my family vacationed at our favorite place... Walt Disney World. It's the perfect family vacation for us - my daughter loves the theme parks (so do we!), my husband gets to play golf, and I get plenty of pool time. One of the things I always try to do is make reservations for a nice meal at Epcot. I love ethnic foods, and really enjoy seeing my daughter test her food horizons beyond typical children's fare.
This year, I made reservations at Restaurant Marrakesh. I had eaten there long ago with my mom, but not yet with my husband and daughter. As luck would have it, my daughter's ballet costume for her recital the previous week was "Princess Jasmine" inspired. She wanted to wear it to dinner that night, and she received many smiles as she walked through the restaurant. As we were finishing our meal (wonderful!), the musicians and dancer came out, and my daughter joined the dancer for the last song. She was so beautiful out there dancing, and had so much fun! It was a vacation moment we will never forget.
While searching for what to cook this week, I found a pin I had from Pinterist for Moroccan Chicken. Given the wonderful meal we had the past week, I knew it was time to give it a try.
The good... this recipe rocks! It is one of my top finds on Pinterist, and it will go into heavy rotation because it is tasty, easy and everyone loved it. It has a ton of flavor, but it is not overpoweringly spicy or sweet.
The bad... only that there wasn't more to eat! Seriously, I used 3 very large (2 pounds) chicken breasts, and should have used 4. I will have enough for leftovers for husband and me, but daughter will have to have something else...
Note: this would be great over couscous, but my husband doesn't like it, so I served it over basmati rice.
Moroccan Chicken
adapted from food.com
- 1 onion (Yellow)
- 4-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts, chopped into bite size pieces
- 1 tablespoonground coriander
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon mccormick's montreal steak grill seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/8 teaspoonground cinnamon
- olive oil
- 1 cup chicken stock, from a box
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.
2. Add onions and saute until translucent, stirring occasionally.
3. Add chicken pieces and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add all the spices. Stir to combine. Cook about 60 seconds until fragrant.
5. Add chicken stock and raisins, stirring to combine.
6. Cover and reduce heat to simmer.
7. Cook for at least 15 minutes. The longer it cooks, the better the flavors will come together.
8. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with some of the cooking liquid. Stir in the bowl, then pour back into the chicken mixture. Stir to combine. Keep simmering until the sauce thickens.
9. Serve over rice (or couscous).
