Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my favorite chocolate chip cookies to make. They're tiny and so thick and fluffy. Plus, when they're little bitty, I don't feel guilty for eating 2 or 3...or 4. ;)

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temp.

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp packed brown sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350'

In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt.

In electric mixer bowl add butter and both sugars and mix until creamy.

Add egg and vanilla, beating well to combine.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture until combined and then stir in the chocolate chips.

With a spoon scoop dough into small balls and place onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Strawberry Mango Salsa

3/4 cup strawberries, finely diced 

3/4 cup mango, finely diced

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 teaspoons of honey, or more to taste

Juice of 1 lime

In large bowl, combine all ingredients and  serve. 

I ate my salsa with some delicious pita chips. This recipe is so yummy and so refreshing. 

Seasoned Pretzels

I recently went to a party where someone brought these pretzels and, let me just tell you, they were amazing. I couldn't get enough!! 

2 lbs Pretzels

1/2 cup Cheddar cheese powder

3/4 cup sour cream powder

1/4 cup Oil

1/2 cup Sugar

In a large Tupperware bowl with a tight fitting lid, I added the oil first, put the lid on and shook it up well before adding the powders to give the pretzels a good coating for the powder to stick to. Once all ingredients are added, replace the lid and give a really good shake. You'll want to continue to shake the container every once in a while so that the coating stays on all the pretzels. Trust me though, these won't last long enough to worry too much about it.

I found my cheddar cheese powder in the popcorn aisle at the grocery store. I wasn't able to find the sour cream powder, but used Ranch powder and it was still amazing.  The flavor possibilities are endless. Just a warning, these are so addicting! Thank you, again for the recipe Kim!!!!!  :)

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

My coworker told me about this recipe and it is absolutely amazing (and ridiculously simple)!

Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts (the number depends on how many people you're serving)

Salsa

That's it!!!!!

Add the chicken to your crockpot and dump your salsa over top. (I like to use my own salsa recipe) but jarred salsa works just as great.

Add enough salsa to cover all of your chicken. Pop the lid on and set on low for about 8 hours.

Once the chicken is done it will be falling apart. I like to shred my chicken and wrap it in a soft warm tortilla shell with lots of shredded cheddar cheese. This is where you can get creative with any toppings you want. Either way, it's going to be amazing.

Strawberry & Cucumber Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing

Two large cucumbers, peeled and cut into circles, removing only part of the skins

1 package of fresh strawberries, sliced into circles

4 tablespoons of honey

4 tablespoons of Balsamic vinegar

After slicing cucumbers and strawberries, line a large bowl alternating between strawberry and cucumber. This just makes it look pretty. :)

In small bowl combine the honey and balsamic vinegar and then pour over the cucumbers and strawberries. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

*I'm a huge vinegar lover, so I tend to double the recipe. 

Roasted Potatoes and Carrots

Small red potatoes

Baby carrots

Minced garlic (I buy the jarred kind)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Clean and cut your small potatoes into quarters (I leave the skins on) and cut your baby carrots in half and toss into a bowl. Add just enough olive oil to coat your veggies and add in 1 to 2 minced garlic cloves. (According to my jar of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon is equal to 1 clove of garlic) Salt and pepper to taste. Toss all ingredients to coat and dump into a foil lined cake pan and spread out so the veggies are not piled on top of eachother. (The foil is just for easy cleanup)

I like to top my pan with another piece of foil, leaving the edges open on each end to let out a little bit of the steam buildup.

Like this:

Bake at 400' for approx. 90 minutes. I like to pull them out halfway through the cooking time and stir them around just to make sure that they aren't sticking to the bottom of the pan. Plus, it moves the veggies around so that all sides of the potatoes can get they yummy light brown color.