The Best Way to Store Cookies
You’ve heard the tips: stick a piece of bread in the bag to keep cookies soft, put in a few apple slices, or toss them in the refrigerator. So which is it? What’s the best way to store cookies and make their quality last?
My best go-to solution is to make the cookie dough and then freeze the dough in balls on a cookie sheet. When frozen, I transfer them to a ziplock bag. When I need freshly baked cookies, I pull them out and bake a dozen. They are gone before they cool most days.
For those of you who don’t live with ravenous wolves like me, it turns out that the bread trick really DOES NOT work best. Too much moisture. And the apples… they are a no go either, unless you want your cookies tasting like apples. The best method? The good ol’ ziplock with as much air as possible squeezed out.
Happy Baking!
How-to Reheat Pizza (say no to soggy bottoms)
Re-heating pizza can end in a soggy mess. To avoid this, re-heat in a 400 degree oven on parchment paper. A pizza stone works great also, but requires too much time since it needs to pre-heat. A baking sheet also works, but it doesn’t take care of the moisture in the crust. When the baking sheet is lined with parchment paper, the parchment absorbs some of the moisture, resulting in the same crisp crust performed by a pizza stone.
My Lifesaver: Cooking Group
I once thought that once- a-month cooking meant one thing: casseroles! I am not a casserole kind of girl, and I thought that’s what cooking groups made. Not so! Our version of “cooking group” makes incredible marinades, delicious, healthy sauces, and even gluten-free dishes! The time spent cooking together not only serves our families, but it builds our friendships, and saves us money to boot….lots of money! You just wouldn’t believe how economical it is to cook this way! There are several ways to organize this kind of a group, but let me walk you through how we do ours:
1. Pick a group of 4-6 people who you enjoy being with and who like to cook — or who at least want to learn to cook!
2. Designate a “buyer” for the month. In our group of 6, we shop in teams of 2. In my sister’s group of 4, they plan and buy individually. The buyer(s) picks 10-12 recipes, then buys all of the ingredients for all of the families. In our group, we times each ingredient in each recipe by 6. The math takes some concentration, so I highly recommend you leave the kids at home, unless they are walking calculators! Usually the people planning also host the group that month at their house.
TIP: Costco will shop for you with a very detailed list if the order is over $500. This has been really helpful for me!
3. Pick a place in your house where you can organize all of the ingredients. For me, I use our dining room. I tape each recipe to the wall or to a chair, then I place the ingredients that go with that meal underneath the recipe. Common ingredients like olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, vinegar, etc. go on the middle table for all to use.
4. Each cook comes prepared with an apron, a cooler, a knife, cutting board, and mixing bowl (if needed). My sister’s group cooks during the day while the kids are in school. My group starts cooking at 6pm. We line up our coolers on the front porch or in the garage.
5. Each cook takes a recipe from the wall or chair, and goes to work! The meals are either bagged in ziplocks or placed in aluminum pans. We label them with a Sharpe pen then place a meal in each cooler.
6. We pay the person who bought all of the groceries, then we go home with our coolers, 12 meals, and a sheet that lists each meal and the directions for cooking. I like to post this on my freezer where I store my meals so it doesn’t get misplaced.
That’s it! I HIGHLY encourage you to give this kind of cooking a try! We have to cook for our families anyway, why not make it fast, economical, and fun to do!
Veggies for a Week
Vegetables take some time don’t they? Washing, peeling, cutting. I like my family to eat vegetables for snacks and for dinners, but sometimes I just don’t feel like preparing them come dinnertime. I’ve come up with a solution that works for me. I do all of my vegetable prep in one day for the week. I prepare all of the “side veggies” (not lettuce), and put them in a bowl. I then wash, spin, and chop all of the greens and put them in ziplock bags with a couple of paper towels to absorb the extra water. I do this for any herbs also. It is so handy to just grab it all out the crisper and have a salad ready in 2 minutes!
Starbucks Worthy!
How to Roast Chicken for any Recipe
I then sprinkle the chicken liberally with kosher salt (the only salt I use), and freshly ground pepper. 
Cover the chicken with foil and put it in the oven for 40-50 min.
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