Dark Chocolate Cookies

 How about a goey fudgy chocolate cookie coated in powdered sugar after a long day of work?  Sounds gooooood to me.

I took these to our pool party last weekend and they were a hit! Gone within 24 hours.

 I thought this looked so cool! Egg whites. That's all, just whipped egg whites!

 After adding powdered sugar... mmmm... looks like marshmallow creme....

 Letting my melted chocolate chips cool down

 After adding the cocoa powder plus other dry ingredients.. isn't baking beautiful?! Sometimes I make Nick come look at my creation - he's such a good sport :)

 Chocolate + chocolate? Yes please.

 And then add chocolate chips?? Seriously??? SO good. At this point, I knew I would like this cookie.

 Roll in powdered sugar

 After baking - some of the chocolate resembled the flaky/cracked top of brownies.

Don't mind the caramel droplets on the paper, it's what the excess powdered sugar turned into!

 Yep, really good.

 Going.... Going...

Gone! MmmHmm, good. And they don't even have any butter or oil! Even better now, eh?

Dark Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Diving Baking

Yields 18 cookies

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 oz), divided

3 large egg whites at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided 

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray nonstick spray or lay parchment paper on two large baking sheets. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, stirring twice, about two minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar (on low speed to not make a mess!). Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into the creme. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips - dough will become stiff.

Place 1/2 cup sugar (I didn't measure) in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball, roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack for 10 minutes then transfer all to rack to cool.

Fun in the Sun

We just got back from spending last night and today at my mom's enjoying her and my dad's company and their pool! They just moved in the week before that and just got their pool lesson to use their new pool gadgets on Friday so we helped get it cleaned up last night. 

Nick vacuumed the bottom, dad used the leaf machine to get the twigs/leaves from the bottom and I helped with skimming the net along the top of the water while mom cleaned up dishes from our cookout. It looks ahhhhmazing and was SO refreshing in this hot weather.

 Mom and dad picked up 4 floaties for us all to enjoy and we all had fun jumping off the diving board. I'd say we all felt a bit like kids again trying out our moves in the pool - my dad showed off his awesome diving skills! He hasn't lost it even though it's been years since he's dove into a pool.

Doesn't it look great?! This is a great feature of the house and we loved breaking it in this weekend! The bottom isn't the plastic liner our old pool had (we had one when I was in elementary school), it's more of a rock/grout type which looks so classy. Mom and dad are going to LOVE their new pool with these long Texas summers!

 Another fun adventure this weekend was making my own wallflower refill! I learned about it here from Pinterest. Check out her steps to make your own, I love it! I used organic peppermint essential oil filled 1/3 way up the emptied bulb and filled the rest with water. It smells so fresh and I've been impressed with how far the scent spreads! Definitely give it a try :)

I also re-arranged my desk area because I desperately needed organization - and Pinterest (yes, my favorite website at the moment!!) inspired me to get organized!

Here's the before:

And the after:

 I made labels to organize and prioritize my to-do list and tried to make it aesthetic too!

 I may have to tweak it as I see what works best, but it's definitely a step in the right direction!

 I also made a new grocery list I'm excited about! I'll have to show you in an upcoming post...

I also wanted to share my fav yogurt treat; Wallaby (USDA) Organic Dark Chocolate Down Under. It is so good and every time we pick it up at the grocery store, I eat it within a day or two :) I love it! I know it's worse than the fruity yogurts, but I figure it's better than a brownie or something else.. 

Speaking of those, I have to post recipes for chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes and deep dark chocolate cookies I've made recently (those cookies were a hit at our pool party this weekend!)...

A brief update on how I've been feeling lately:
I started a new medication 2 weeks ago that is supposed to be geared toward Fibromyalgia and also helps pain sensors in the brain from firing so often. The first few days were AWFUL. I was a dizzy mess. I was adjusting to this medication and stopping my previous similar medication (that wasn't working) at the same time and it hit me hard. I'm not sure if it was withdrawal effects from the first med (which I've heard are bad) or my body adjusting to this one (which is also bad), but I was very dizzy all the time. I was dizzy walking, sitting, eyes open, eyes closed, and mostly when I was moving at all. I missed a day of work because of it (those effects + driving = bad idea).

It gradually got better with each passing day and I'm pretty much over the dizziness now, thank the Lord. I'd say I'm feeling better than I have been in a few weeks which is great. This new med is relatively new so I'm hoping it helps! If not, I'll keep on keepin' on and living the live I've been given.

Now I've got to get ready for the upcoming week; hope yours is great!

PS - Check out my new tools at the bottom of this post to print, e-mail and share these posts (I think the "print friendly" one will be great for any recipe posts you want to try!).

Easy Beef and Bean Burritos

 

I showed a photo of this creation back in June (on this post) with a note that the recipe would be coming soon - well, sooner or later, here it is. I really think you'll like it.

I also have a confession to make...

Since living in Texas and eating seriously ahhhmazing Mexican food here, I crave it pretty much every day. Literally. It tends to be enchiladas mostly (sorry, I know.. this is a burrito post..) but really, I daydream about them almost daily. The kind with melty cheese everywhere, super soft tortillas so the whole thing is just luscious. Know what I mean? If not, I have a few restaurants to show you next time you're here... in the mean time, try these frozen ones (I'm a little head over heals for them):

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Beef and Bean Burritos

Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 can enchilada sauce (reserve a little for drizzling over top of each burrito)

Cumin, oregano, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper to taste

1 can (28 oz) black beans

3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese (plus a little extra for sprinkling)

Large flour sized tortillas (enough for the number of people you'll feed)

*Any additional ingredients you want to add - onion, corn, Mexican rice...

Directions:

Brown beef and add in seasonings. Pour in sauce and simmer over low heat, adding water if it becomes dry. Add in the rinsed beans and lastly the cheese. Heat tortillas in microwave for one minute (this makes a difference, trust me). Spread on the beef/bean mixture, fold over ends and roll up. Place two burritos on a microwave safe plate, drizzle with some leftover enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Microwave for one minute or until cheese is melted and burritos are hot.

We love this easy tasty recipe and make enough to have leftovers for a few more meals - bonus! Let me know what you think.