I've stopped buying food. By that, I mean, I've stopped buying a week's worth of groceries that seem like a good idea at the time, but inevitably lose their excitement or appeal by the time I do with them whatever I had planned. Like the broccoli that sits in the crisper until I remember that it's there and think that broccoli and red pepper calzones would taste yummy...and then when I go to take it out, it looks like I'm trying my hand at making penicillin.
I'm not proud to admit that this happens a lot. With only two of us (two and a third, if you count when Sis is here for dinner), it's been a challenge for me to plan an entire week's worth of meals that has some variety and uses up all the things I bought in the appropriate amount of time. Maybe it's lack of imagination or something, I don't know. But what I do know is that even if it means that I end up at grocery store every day, or every other day, I'm going to teach myself to cook without wasting enough food to feed Luxembourg. The hope is that eventually I'll stop buying impulse things (but that cheese looked so pretty in the package!) and buy things that will get used. So, once a week, I go to the store for things I know I'll use: milk, flour, eggs. Whatever I will cook in the next two days.
Because of this, our fridge looks frighteningly empty. One of the nice things about this, though, is that you never forget what you have in there. For instance, yesterday I found a jar of sweetened condensed milk. I'll spare you the details of the ridiculousness that caused it to migrate from a can on my shelf to a jar in my fridge. Either way, there I stood. A table full of pediatric nursing study guides behind me and a small jar of sweetened condensed milk in front of me. It stared at me with it's ooey goodness. It dared me to eat it right from the jar with a spoon. I should have turned around and walked away.
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| Brownies? Cookies? Brookies? |
What I did instead was make chocolate fudge cookies.
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| Milk and chocolate: a match made in my mouth. |
I promise, these won't go bad.
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| Check out the brownie like texture. |
Fudgy Chocolate Cookies
(From The Eagle Brand website)
These cookies are incredibly easy and take very little hands on time. Perfect for a study break!
2-1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/2 cup peanut butter chips, chopped (optional)
In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate chips, butter and milk until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl (or leave in the saucepan, if you so choose). Mix in the egg, vanilla and baking soda. Add the flour one cup at a time, stir well. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then mix in the peanut butter chips. The longer you wait to mix, the less the chips will melt. For streaks of peanut butter, mix immediately. For chips, wait a few minutes until the mixture is cooled. Move the dough onto wax paper and shape into a log or square or dodecahedron, or whatever shape you desire. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Remove and slice into 1/2 to 1/4 inch slices. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Remove to wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.
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| Peanut butter chunks can be so beautiful... |
Look very yummy and easy to make too. Thanks for sharing :D
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