I have a select few blogs that I read at least twice a week. One of those is Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic About a month ago I was reading over her blog and found something that melted my heart more than any recipe that I've ever seen. What I found was Operation Baking GALS (Give A Little Support). I signed up immediately and ended up choosing Susan's team after reading who her group would be baking for. The second round ended yesterday and below are a few pictures of what I decided to send to our group of men in Fallujah. I was not only amazed at the number of people that signed up for Operation Baking GALS but also at the support post office. Everyone was so helpful and the rates were much cheaper versus what I usually pay to ship gifts to friends overseas. If you're interested in helping out, please check out Operation Baking GALS for information on round 3.
There isn't a more exciting time of the year in my household than football season. We are die-hard Aggie and Dallas Cowboy Football fans. I am also anticipating this year's football season because it marks my one year anniversary as the LilAggieCook and my food blog. Since I will be a little less of a rookie this year, I am looking forward to football parties and all of the cooking/baking that I will get to do. One of my favorite football snacks are potato skins. You know the ones you can get at most restaurants? We'll watching the Dallas Cowboy training camp I got a craving for some. We've been wasting so much food lately, which I hate, so I decided to incorporate a tub of pre-cooked shredded beef brisket that we had in the house for quick sandwiches, etc. This is bay far one of the easiest recipes that I have come up with and it's super yummy. It would probably be even better if you make the brisket and use leftovers but who has the time? So, for a quick dinner or dish at you football party this season, give this one a try.
Prior to getting married my husband and I thought that we knew all of the important stuff about each other. We're both Catholic, Republican and we both graduated from Texas A&M University. All of the important stuff matched up, or so we thought. The other night I made, what I thought, were the best chocolate chip cookies ever, but my husband had a different opinion. When I bake or cook something that someone doesn't like, I am happy to take the criticism as long as they tell me why they don't like it. My husband's explanation was, "they are just too fluffy." I thought to myself, "that was the point." I love big, airy and soft cookies. My husband likes cookies that are thin and crunchy. Our minor disagreement over what constitutes the perfect chocolate chip cookie made me think of the "Chocolate Chip Cookie Throw Down with Bobby Flay." On the episode Bobby makes a cookie much like the one my husband described and the opposition and WINNER made my ideal cookie. This combined with a recent post by The Foodie Bride, made me curious about people and their cookie preference. Surely the two must be linked to one's personality. For example, is it possible that a person that prefers a variety of chips or nuts in their cookie could be more adventurous in life? I think I could have something here. But I don't claim to de a psychologist or a scientist so I'll just stick with my baking. Regardless of how my husband felt about my cookies, he did take a platter to work. Best of all, one of his co-workers said they reminded her of the chocolate chips cookies her grandma used to make. There's a tally for my side! Anytime that anyone compares my cooking to their grandma's, I take it as a huge compliment. So, I consider this recipe a success, no matter what my husband says. Until I am able to find the perfect cookie to satisfy both of us, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
