Chocolate Chip Cornbread Cookies

Say what?

Cornbread + chocolate chip cookies?

Weird combination.

Surprisingly delicious combination.

One that was born when I decided I wanted to use up some of the leftover cornmeal I'd bought a week or two ago when I made cornbread.

Enjoy... maybe for breakfast even, just sayin'.

Chocolate Chip Cornbread Cookies

[Adapted from this recipe]

3/4 cup butter, softened (We buy Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread with EVOO)

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup plain yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. (Fun Fact: I know I'm a grown-up now because I preheat my oven - I used to just stick my food in there and add a few minutes to the time).

2.  Soften your butter in the microwave using 10 second intervals.

3. Mix all ingredients together until moist.

4. Drop by teaspoonful (or larger if you're like me) on a greased baking sheet.  I ended up with 12 cookies.

5. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

These cookies will only be slightly browned on the bottom and will be somewhat soft.  If you'd like a crunchier cookie, try leaving them in another 5 minutes.

Jumping on the Meal Planning Bandwagon

I used to be one of those grocery shoppers that would hit up Wal-Mart every two weeks only to walk the aisles aimlessly, (usually hungry), throwing whatever looked good and was semi-healthy into the cart.  This amounted to lots of instant rice, pasta, and low-cal microwavable dinners.  Anyone else have the same strategy?  I didn't realize how much processed food I was consuming (um, everything!) and that while cooking from "scratch" was more time consuming, it actually costed less.  My aimless grocery shopping got me through undergrad and grad school, so I can't hate on it too much, but now that I have a family, I decided it was time to make a change.

I started off slowly by planning a few days in advance and just keeping a note on the refrigerator with my "ideas".  These ideas started off with things like Monday: Hamburger Helper; Tuesday: Spaghetti; Wednesday: Pizza.  Like I said, I started slow.

Now, my menu looks more like this:

(Excuse my Mariah Carey-esque butterfly magnet and ugly handwriting, I'm a mom now, ok?)

The page numbers next to each meal correspond to one of our cookbooks.  I found that after trying out too many less-than-desirable blog recipes (no offense), it was easier to stick to an old-fashioned cookbook.  I still use the internet (Yummly is the best!) when I want something incredibly specific, though.  We still have our fair share of straight-to-the-trash recipes (ahem, Monday's soup), but we've gotten better at looking at a recipe's ingredients and preparation methods instead of just judging it by the title.  This method works great because I take one day a week (usually Sunday) to go through the recipes and jot down a grocery list for things that we don't already have to complete the recipes.  Then we head to Wal-Mart (last weekend it was after church) and grab what we need.  Last week we spent ~$100, but it included paper products that should last us about two weeks, so I'd say we were under $100, which I consider a success.  If I need anything fresh for a meal towards the end of the week, we will just run by our local Kroger to grab it that day since Wal-Mart is 15 minutes away.

Cooking healthy and affordable meals gives me a sense of purpose while I am a stay-at-home mom and also something to look forward to each week.

I'm glad I jumped on the meal planning bandwagon and I'm secretly kicking myself for not doing it earlier!

Triple Protein Smoothie

Ingredients:

- 1 Scoop of 100% Whey Protein - Protein #1

- 1 Tablespoon Peanut Butter - Protein #2

- 1 Individual Size Container (5.3 Ounces) Greek Nonfat Yogurt - Protein #3

- 2/3 Cup of 100% Whole Grain Quick Oats (raw)

- 1 Banana

- 2 Cups Frozen Blueberries (plain)

- 2 Cups Frozen Strawberries (plain)

- Juice (your choice, as needed for consistency)

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in blender except for juice.

2. Pour juice into blender one cup at a time and mix gently using a spatula until desired consistency is achieved.

3. Blend until smooth.

Before I got pregnant, I was a vegetarian (technically pescatarian, since I'd occasionally eat seafood) for about 6 years.  Once I found out I was pregnant, I started incorporating poultry into my diet in order to keep my energy levels up.  My carb-rich (hello, pasta and rice for every meal!) pre-pregnancy diet wasn't helping with the fatigue.  Now, more than ever, I am trying to make sure I'm getting enough protein and other nutrients in my diet.  But, protein and energy don't always have to come from meat.  

Smoothies are an easy way to pack in some protein into your day.  I typically make this recipe in the morning and leave the entire glass jar in the fridge or freezer to drink throughout the day.  Enjoy!