Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies (for Tom's bday treat)

It's been a leftovers kind of week.  On Sunday Tom and I opened the fridge and it was jam packed with rubbermaid containers toppling over one another...hmmm not exactly a bad problem to have :) 

Our list of leftovers: pancakes, tilapia taco filling, spicy chicken taco filling, pulled pork, chili, pizza (free from a meeting at work...let's just say tom was a little excited), spaghetti aglio, broccoli, whole wheat biscuits, and banana bread. 

It was great to have that much extra food though because this week has been running around like a chicken with its head cut off kind of crazy busy.

However, I did squeeze in some cookie baking last night with my mom between meetings.  Tom's birthday is coming up and he requested some Pinterest cookies he saw looking over my shoulder the other week.  They looked and smelled amazing.  I can't vouch for the taste, though I really wanted to try. 

Still sugar free!  53 days and counting!  Woot woot!  Oh and good news on the migraine front.  I've been doing more research on anti-inflammatory methods and they suggest taking a fish oil supplement.  Tom already takes one every day so I might as well too.  Also, the research suggests extra weight can contribute to inflammation in the body.  Well that works out for me because cutting out sugar is cutting pounds too.  I'm down twelve and a half pounds since January 1.  YES!!!  Sweet bonus.  That definitely helps when I am squelching the urge to dig into the rolo cookies.

The Great Migraine Battle:

Laura : 46  Migraines : 7

Okay I won't make you wait any longer.  Here's the cookie recipe.  Enjoy! :)

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

(Yields approx. 50 cookies)

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 eggs

3 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

50 Rolos

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed or with spoon until light and fluffy. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in chocolate chips and pecans.

2. Measure dough using a medium cookie scoop (about 1.5 tablespoons). Roll into a ball and then flatten in the palm of your hands.

3. Place a frozen Rolo in the centers of the flattened dough balls and form dough back into a ball around the Rolo.

4. Place Rolo stuffed dough balls into the freezer for 15-20 minutes before baking.

5. On cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, place dough balls 2 inches apart.

6. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

Aldi and a Leftovers Breakfast Wrap

This morning I woke up to a gorgeous winter day.  Wow our God sure can make nature look beautiful even without any leaves on the trees.  I have so much to be thankful for and one of those things is our ability as a society to have virtually any kind of food at our fingertips.  Do I have to wait til berry season to get delectable strawberries, blueberries or blackberries?  No.  Do I have to fly to Hawaii to taste the sweetness of a pineapple?  No again.  Do I have to go to the streams of the North to find salmon?  No way.  We are so fortunate to have all the food we could ever ask for right down the street at our local grocery store.  So much of the time I get caught up in life and completely forget how blessed I am.  Today I went to Aldi.  I do hope you have found a place in your heart for Aldi.  It is THE BEST place for cheap, quality fruit.  Let me give you an example.  Here's what I got for this morning...

1 pineapple
5 lbs. apples
1 cantaloupe
3 pkgs strawberries
4 pkgs blueberries
2 pkgs blackberries
6 kiwi
5 limes

1 pkg whole wheat spaghetti noodles

3 jars of spaghetti sauce (no sugar in the ingredient list...yes!)

2 gallons of milk

4 lbs. oranges

1 container of chili powder spice

Go ahead and total that up in your head of what you would normally pay for that amount of produce and groceries.  Got it figured up?  Okay now I'm going to brag on Aldi a little here....

My total:  $33.81

Cha-ching!  That's the sound of my money rolling around still in my purse ;)

So BEFORE I went grocery shopping, I didn't have a whole lot to choose from so I made a leftover meal.  I just grabbed things from the fridge and here's what I came up with...

2 eggs

brown rice (leftover from dinner the other night)

sprinkle of colby jack

chopped mushrooms

handful of fresh spinach leaves

tortilla (last one in the bag)

I sauted the mushrooms with a little olive oil then added the eggs, a tbsp of water and sprinkle of cheese.  Stir up the mix and then when the egg is cooked and cheese is melty, add in spinach.  Serve on a tortilla.  As you can see my tortilla is almost completely covered up with goodness.  Yeah I had to use a fork at the end ;)

The Great Migraine Battle update:

Laura : 26  Migraines : 2

Praise God for anti-inflammatory foods! :)