Toll House Ultimates Cookie Dough Turtle Cookies Review

This morning while having my breakfast, I was trying to get my eyes open so that I could finish my post. I stayed up to late. I'm hoping to get to bed a little earlier tonight. 

For breakfast this morning, I had the other half of my everything bagel with cream cheese and a cup of fully caffeinated coffee. I just had one cup and of course, I haven't been the least bit sleepy today.

Lucas made cookies this morning and you know, I had to try one. They were Nestle Toll House Ultimates Turtle Cookies made from their refrigerated cookie dough, his favorite way to make cookies. 

Nutritional Information

    Serving Size 1
    Calories 160
    Calories from Fat 70

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
% Daily Value *

    Total Fat 7g 11%
    Saturated Fat 4g 20%
    Cholesterol 5mg 2%
    Sodium 120mg 5%
    Carbohydrates 23g 8%
    Dietary Fiber 1g 8%
    Sugars 11g
    Protein 1g

    Vitamin A 2%
    Vitamin C 0%
    Calcium 0%
    Iron 2%

He did a pretty good job baking them. They were done just right, not too crisp and not too underdone. They were baked on an insulated cookie sheet. Gotta love those. Still warm and soft, I had one with the last half of my cup of coffee which was less than warm. I've learned to slow down drinking it when I start feeling the caffeine, which is usually after about half a tall cup. These cookies have chocolate chips, caramel chunks and pecans. These are pretty good, but one is all I needed. They are rich and go great with black coffee or maybe milk, something not sweet. I've never been a milk and cookies girl. While these are not my favorite cookie, they are really good and I am giving them 4 stars. I like that the caramel and chocolate do not over power the cookie. In other words, you can tell you are eating a cookie and not a piece of chocolate covered caramel with nuts.

I had a green salad for lunch. No colorful accents for this one. I'll have to get some carrots or radishes or maybe some red bell pepper or tomato. It's just not as nice to look at without a pop of color, huh? It was a good salad though. I did a lot of cleaning and rearranging today, so I wasn't really in the mood to make anything too elaborate, but this hit the spot.

I used iceberg, spinach, cucumber, broccoli, green pepper, and broken up slices of Havarti cheese with spicy ranch dressing and some cracked black pepper (a last minute addition). It was really good. I felt like eating another bowl, but I was full, so I didn't.

After we'd nearly finish the rearranging I had one of Lucas pecan delights (more chocolate, caramel, and pecans).

I had to wait for Lucas to unhook all my electronic things on the entertainment center, then we moved everything and I cleaned and dusted and mopped and he put everything back together, but in a different spot. We finally got finished with that project. I still have my wardrobe to move, which I'll be using for a living room closet, for coats & hats, etc. I have a shelf that has to leave first. I am trying to downsize some of my furniture and make better use of the rest of it. I also have a rocking chair that will be leaving one way or the other. 

After all that rearranging, dinner was not elaborate either. It was pretty good though. I make a grilled cheese sandwich using white American cheese slices & spinach. I had Texas Pete chips on the side with sour cream for dipping which I sprinkled with a little paprika just to make it pretty.

The sandwich was cheesy and gooey and the spinach helped give it a little texture. It went perfect with the spicy chips and cool sour cream.

My evening snack which I probably should have skipped was a vanilla yogurt parfait with a little life cereal squares, some dried cranberries and a few chopped walnuts. I had this while I watched a movie.

I watched The Six Wives of Henry Lefay. It was not a bad movie. The beginning was much better than the end. Not that it had a bad ending, but it did make an unexpected turn. It wasn't exactly what I was in the mood for, but I did like it. I am giving it 3 stars. 

That's all for now. Have a great night/day!!!

Monster Cookie Recipe

This recipe combines several favorite flavors – peanut butter, butterscotch, and chocolate – in one big cookie. Before baking you can press a few extra M&M's on top for added color.

1 cup of peanut butter

 ½ cup of butter or margarine, softened

1 ¼ cups of packed brown sugar

1 cup of sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

4 cups of quick cooking oats

1 cup of M&M's

1 cup of butterscotch chips

1 cup of salted peanuts

2 cups of all-purpose flour         

 In a large mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add baking soda and vanilla. Add oats, M&M's, butterscotch chips and peanuts; let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in flour (the dough will be crumbly). Shape ¼ cupfuls into balls. Place on greased baking sheets, about nine cookies per sheet. Gently flatten cookies. Bake at 325° for 15-18 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove to wire racks.

Yield: about 2 ½ dozen

I Need To Do Better

Yesterday was Zumba day and the beginning of my new routine. The morning went smoothly, but it didn't start early enough apparently, since my email subscribers got a little messed up. Sorry. I was afraid of that, because I'm not exactly sure when the delivery goes out. It was suppose to be between 7-9, but it was nearly 9 before I got it posted, so it missed it's chance, I guess. I delayed the delivery a little more and set my alarm a little earlier. It was a little more difficult this morning since I was getting up around the time, which I usually sleep the best. I am in slow motion this morning....but, I'm up.

 

I had a banana smoothie for breakfast. I am missing my vanilla wafers. My morning smoothie didn't taste right yesterday, so I added a little maple syrup for some reason, which made it worse. I think it was because I woke up with what I call an "allergy hangover". That's when I forget my allergy meds and it doesn't really hit me until the next day. I get a terrible headache and my nose gets stuffy, my eyes itch a lot, & breakfast doesn't taste good, not mention I've misplace my eye drops, so it feels like I've got sand in my eyes. I'll be sofa diving today.

 

I was still hungover at lunch time. I was lazy and only had half an everything bagel from Panera with cream cheese and cucumber. It was very good though.

 

Then I had the other half of the frozen Cookie N Creme donut from Krispy Kreme, which was a mistake. Way too many carbs. I've gained everything I lost this morning + another pound. Ugghhh!

On top of that I had another banana smoothie, but with peanut butter as my pre-Zumba snack. It was super yummy. I added about a tablespoon of PB + 1 tsp. of honey. (More carbs)

 

Zumba was hot. We had a big storm before I went which cooled everything off outside, but I was still sweaty after Zumba. I had the a/c on in the car. When I got out my glasses were fogged up. I couldn't see a thing and they didn't clear up, so I had to take them off. 

I had dinner partially fixed when I got home. I made brown rice with spinach, tomatoes, & garlic (a new fave) and I heated a Gardein Chick'n Scallopini seasoned with barbecue seasoning & paprika (another new fave) to go with it.

The rice, way better than the frozen stuff you buy and the Scallopini yummy.

I enjoyed everything I ate, until I stepped on the scales this morning. I also didn't drink enough water yesterday. I never lose when I don't drink my water.

 Also the Function Water I got from FL is a no go unless they make a larger bottle. It left me hangin' towards the end of Zumba and I was running back and forth to the water fountain after that. I need the full 33 oz. bottles for Zumba. 

 

Ok, that's it for today. I'm going to fix breakfast. Looking at all this food is killing me. Have a great day!

Is This Breakfast

I know what you're thinking.....is this breakfast?  It sure it. Maybe not the most ideal breakfast, but it qualifies, I supposes. It was was morning when I ate it.

What we have here is a bottle of SmartWater, a Pretzel Time soft everything pretzel, and a Fuji apple.

The pretzel was not my favorite, because it had a sweet taste to it, not exactly what I was hoping for.

I decided to add a little mustard. What's a pretzel without mustard?

Lots of everything goodness. I had high hopes for this pretzel. I didn't eat the apple, the big pretzel was enough.

I got some stretches in this morning and a few exercises using my weights. I spent the morning cleaning, trying to make up for my neglect and also get ahead, so I don't have to spend the next sunny warm day inside. I didn't have as much time as I'd like, because the Grand babies were coming to stay while their Mom ran an errand, but it motivated me to do a lot in a short amount of time.

Lunch was quick and easy. I had a frozen bean and cheese burrito. I also had the apple which was leftover from breakfast.

I had a few Aunt Tem's Benne Bites or sesame cookies/wafer. Very small, very tasty.

They are described as being not too sweet, but I thought they were very sweet. I would like to try to make some of these with less sugar, maybe slightly larger. I added the quarter to show how small they are.

The girls came and we played for a while. Mary was being her cute self smiling, dancing, babbling, etc.

Lexi, while very cute, was not in the mood for pictures. I did get a couple before she told me she didn't want her picture taken today. Here she's admiring her new haircut. I told her it was sort of like Dora, but she said, "No, Dora has bangs and I don't."  Then I said, "Well it is sort of like Snow White." and she agreed.

After the girls left, I had a big salad for dinner. 

What's on the plate

Butter lettuce

Spinach

Grape tomato halves

Cucumber

Carrot

Red bell pepper

Mushroom

Chow mein noodles

Mozzarella

Ground flax

Chopped walnuts

Newman's Own Light Roasted Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Black Pepper

The salad was very good. I enjoyed it. The black pepper, the walnuts and the dress really made the salad.

I usually add the flax and sometimes the dressing after photos. It sort of hides the veggies.

It has been a very active day for me. I am so tired. I fiddled around too long after dinner watching American Idol and The Mentalist, before getting started and now I am almost too exhausted to do this. Sorry. I really need to do better. Lately it's been sort of a chore because I've been tired and I tend to put it off. I would love to be able to do it during the day, but there is alway too much going on and then it would be lunch, dinner, breakfast, which would just be strange. 

Well, I'm calling it a night. No question, no answers. Knock, Knock. You pick the question.

Cranberry Pecan Baked Oatmeal

I was ahead of the game this morning. I stirred up a batch of baked oatmeal before going to bed last night. This version I'm calling Cranberry Pecan.

Cranberry Pecan Baked Oatmeal

Original Baked Oatmeal Ingredients +
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp. ground flax

Peanut Butter to spread on top of my oatmeal, like icing. I love peanut butter most when opening a new jar. I love the way it looks, smooth, creamy and sort of shiny. I don't know why, but I wish it looked like that every time I opened the jar.

 

 

Lunch was just a salad. I had a Caesar salad kit. I added mushrooms, carrot, red bell pepper and onion. The croutons were hard. I liked my croutons better. It came with a little packet of Parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing. I have missed Caesar dressing. I haven't had it in a while. It was a very good.

 

 

After my salad I had a Quaker Breakfast Cookie. Pretty good, but I don't think I'd want one for breakfast. #1 They are sweeter than I prefer. #2 There's not enough there. I would have to have something else with it. Lucas will be taking these with him to snack on before or after classes. He loved them, had one with a glass of milk. They are 180 calories for 1, and have 5g of fiber, 6g fat, and 14g sugar, in case you're interested.

I had dinner with Amy....Amy's Enchilada with Spanish Rice and Beans. As you may or may not know, I love Amy's dinners or at least all that I've tried. You can check out the ones I've tried by clicking on the Amy's label at the bottom of the post. You can also click on other labels, such as baked oatmeal, to see all the posts with the same label. 

 

I been looking at recipes today. I was trying to find a savory breakfast oatmeal recipe. It's been very hard to do. Everyone associates oatmeal with sweet ingredients and those who don't only use it in meatloaf as a filler. I know there has to be a recipe out there, but I'm not even sure what I want in it. I did find some good recipes, just not the kind I was looking for. If you know of a savory oatmeal recipe, I'd love to hear about it.

I'm done. Finished way early, go me! Cya tomorrow.

Meatless Monday - Sweet Potato Chips

It's Meatless Monday y'all! How'd  you do?

I didn't sleep in this morning like I'd planned or hoped to do. My alarm clock (Dolly) went off at 9am. I guess that is sleeping in for some, but for those of us who are still awake at 3am, it just doesn't wash. On top of that I am up 2 or 3 times during the night. It's getting old. Once I let the puppies out, there was no going back to sleep.

I got up and went to making breakfast. I did a couple of 3 minute oatmeal cookies. I always make 2. I never keep egg whites. It's just easier for me to double everything and use 1 egg instead doubling the egg white. I suppose it would be healthier with just whites, but I hate wasting yolks. Has anyone tried it both ways? I was just wondering if it would taste different. One of these days I will buy a carton of whites and try it out and see for myself.

Today's oatmeal cookie has dried cranberries, chopped walnuts and the zest of half an orange. I left out the chocolate chips. I had the orange with my cookies and left the other cookie for Lucas or for another day.

 

 

I am trying to get ahead on this, so that maybe I can start getting to bed a little sooner. The schedule I am on is killing me. Now I am off to get some cleaning done before the phone rings, lol.

I had my leftover taco bean soup for lunch. I added a little water and a sprinkle of Mexican blend cheese. I also had the last piece of cornbread, which I crumbled on top of the soup before eating. The flavor kind of reminds me of chili.

 

 

This has been a cold and cloudy day. It just looked like it could snow at any moment, but I'm not sure if it was quite cold enough. Lucas and I went to the library and then to the store to pick up a few things. I got a pink lemonade powerade while I was out.

When I got back I took a cat nap, which lasted longer than I'd planned. I just put my head back while sitting and closed my eyes for a few minutes. It turned into an hour and a half. Oops. What can I say, I was tired.  I may have slept longer if I hadn't been so uncomfortable, which was the whole purpose.

When I got up I started thinking about dinner. I have some sweet potatoes which I've been wanting to fix, but I wasn't sure how I wanted to use them. I looked for some ideas online. I thought about sweet potato nachos. I Googled it. I found several recipes. I was thinking nacho chips with sweet potatoes, etc. I came across a recipe which used the sweet potato as the chips. I didn't go by the recipe. I did things a little differently, but I plan to give the original a try later. I had a couple of spoonfuls of my taco bean soup left, salsa from our Super Bowl snack and some salad stuff that needed to be used, so I decided to make the sweet potato chips and nacho style salad.

The Salad 
baby romaine
sliced mushroom
red and green bell pepper
beans, corn, etc. from taco bean soup
salsa
Microwave Sweet Potato Chips

 

Microwave Sweet Potato Chips

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced approx. 1/16 inch.

I didn't have parchment paper so I used a square glass baking dish brushed with a little oil. You don't have to brush oil on but once. I put the slices in to the baking dish in a single layer, microwaving them in small batches for 5 minutes and 30 seconds each. The chips shrink and will be flexible when done, but crisp up as they cool. If not, you can do them a little longer, but be careful not to burn. They get dark when cooked too long before burning. You could season these if you like, but I thought they were delicious without a thing.

I think mine were a little thicker, but I still got crispy chips.

 

The chips were a little time consuming (about 30 mins. cook time) but not too bad. I did munch on some of the first batch, while I was finishing up the rest and if you have parchment paper these are totally fat free.

That was my day. It was a good good day. I even finished up a little earlier. Did you go meatless today? What's your favorite meatless meal?