Tag Archives: Trader Joes

2 Weeks in Review!! (5/21-5/25) & (5/28-6/1)

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Oh my goodness, what has happened to me?? I’m fallin’ apart here! Sorry, for missing out on the last “week in review”, here is the last TWO weeks! One of the final weeks until summer, my skin is just itching to be done with school! So hard to push through these final days. Just keep thinking summer, tan, pool, sleep.

Monday (5/21) I shared with you guys a Fiesta Quinoa Salad, super yummy and how can you possibly go wrong with something that has “fiesta” in it’s title!?

Wednesday (5/23) I showed you guys some of the most addicting stuff I have ever made in my lifee! Homemade Oreo Cookie Butter. It’s honestly better than like Speculoos in my opinion!! I know, don’t come at my with torches and pitchforks yet-JUST MAKE IT!


Friday (5/25) I showed you guys how healthy frozen yogurt can be made super yummy! Cookie Explosion Frozen Yogurt. Seriously, COOKIE EXPLOSION. Need I say more?

Monday (5/28) It was Memorial Day! I hope you all remembered our courageous troops that day, as we should everyday. It sure was nice to have a day off from school…however, I still had to work. But my job is practically the easiest thing in the world! I work at the pool in our community, so it’s pretty nice because I at least get a decent tan ;) Also on Monday, was the Secret Recipe Club post! I had an awesome blog (as usual) and got to share with y’all some yummy CANDY BARK, that is unbelievably addicting!! So tasty, and perfect if you have some candy lying around that you want to use up.

Wednesday (5/30) I showed you guys ANOTHER cookie spread, Chips Ahoy Cookie Spread :) Super yummy, just as you would expect from something called “chips ahoy cookie spread”, and chocolatey!

Friday (6/1) I made BBQ Chicken Quesadillas. These are AWWWW-SOMMEE! I love BBQ chicken pizza, grilled cheese, etc. Obviously this baby was gonna be a hit. It sure did not let me down :)

Random Fact of the Day: More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.

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Cookie Butter Cookies

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I had a near death experience about a week ago. Maybe I’m exaggerating. But let’s face it, I like never exagerrate! My life is totally like Spider Man’s, where every day brings new challenges, deathly risks, and flying. Alright, maybe not the flying part. I don’t think Super Man can fly anyways…

But back to my near death experience. It was a lovely Sunday morning and I had just made a pizza dough (for the cinnamon pull apart bread) and I decided to let it rise for the necessary 2 hours in the turned off oven, covered with a towel. I set the timer for 2 hours and was feeling like I was on top of everything. So prepared, setting a timer and all. I then proceeded to make the biscuits that I posted last week. My mom happens to love biscuits, so I thought I’d make her happy by making some for her. I then preheated my oven to 425 degrees F. Still feeling awesome because I had preheated where it was timed perfectly for when I needed to put my biscuits in the oven. Something started to smell a little funny in the house. This was not a haha funny. This was a HOLY SMOKES I’M GONNA DIE funny (of course, the word funny didn’t come to my mind at the moment, though).

I kind of ignored it at first hoping my nose was just going crazy. Then as I was about to put the biscuits in the oven, I realized I had forgot that I had put the pizza dough in the oven to rise. With a towel on top.

I immediately freaked out threw my hand in the oven, realized it was FREAKING HOT, grabbed an oven mitt, and threw the pizza dough and towel out of the oven. This was all happening with my fake baby crying and fire alarms going off. Thank God my parents were not home! The towel was green to begin with, but came out an orange-ish brown color. The pizza dough became kind of like a bread. Funny enough, I actually tried the pizza dough and it was delicious! It tasted like it would be perfect for rolls. Hmm…maybe a good idea for the future. So as it turned out, my near-death experience turned into something kind of amusing and I figured out a new idea for the future with the pizza dough.

Now that you have heard my near death story, I’d say it is time for cookies. Better yet…cookies made with cookie butter! These babies are yummo to the max! If you love delicious things then I recommend that you make these. I don’t know why anybody wouldn’t like delicious things, therefore, I see these cookies in your future!! ;)

Cookie Butter Cookies

(makes about 3 dozen)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup cookie butter like Trader Joe’s Speculoos or Biscoff or you can make your own homemade version!

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (all-purpose will work too)

milk, as needed

1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate pretzels

1/2 cup chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Melt butter and cookie butter in a microwave-safe bowl in microwave in 30 second increments. When fully melted, mix butter and cookie butter until fully combined. Set aside and let cool.
  3. Place cooled cookie butter mixture in large mixer bowl and cream with sugars. Mix in vanilla extract and eggs. Add in flours, salt, and baking soda. If dough is crumbly, add milk until dough achieves desired consistency.
  4. Mix in chopped chocolate covered pretzels and chocolate chips.
  5. Scoop dough onto cookies sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 9-11 minutes or until set and slightly underdone. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to wire rack. Store in an air tight container. Enjoy!

Random Fact of the Day: The huddle in football started due to a deaf player who used sign language to communicate. This way, the other team didn’t see the signals

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Homemade Cookie Butter

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For those of you who have not yet experienced Biscoff Spread or  Speculoos Cookie Butter from Trader Joe’s, my heart aches for you. That stuff is seriously AH-mazing. Capital AH.

Now if you have tried the stuff before, you know what I’m talking about. It’s just plain good. I have attempted to make my very own recreation of cookie butter. It’s definitely not the exact same taste, and not exactly the same texture but it’s the same concept!

I love this stuff. This is MY cookie butter. My very own version that suits my very own needs. But I thought I’d be nice and share. :) So here you go. This concoction is awesome with anything and everything. Even healthy things *gasp*, like apples! Go off and make your own cookie butter!!

Homemade Cookie Butter

(makes about 1 cup)

2 packages (18 total sheets of crackers) Graham Crackers

1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

1 Tablespoon molasses

2 Tablespoons coconut oil (any other type of oil will work as well)

3/4 cup-1 cup water

  1. Place graham crackers in food processor and process until they become very fine crumbs.
  2. Keep processor running and add in cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar through top spout. Add in molasses and coconut oil through top spout.
  3. Gradually add in water until cookie butter has achieved desired creaminess. It is best to add in about 1/2 cup, lift the lid and then see where you are at and how much more water you want to add in from there. This is also a good time to taste test and see if you want to add in more spices. I store my cookie butter in an air tight container in the fridge. It should be fine in the pantry, but I have not tried it.

Random Fact of the Day: The first man to survive going over Niagara Falls later died from slipping on an orange peel.

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Week in Review

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Okay, here it is. This week in one post, I’m thinking of starting this on a regular basis as some other bloggers like Confessions of Cookbook Queen does and Brown Eyed Baker and I always like reading them so I can see the whole week in one single post. It’s really pretty convenient if you had a busy week and just want to see what ya missed.

To start the week off on Sunday, I got my secret recipe club assignment! So excited :) I wish I could tell you guys who it is so it would be easier to choose what recipe to try, but I guess that would like totally ruin the purpose of the game. If you don’t know what the secret recipe club thing is all about…click here or here or here!

Monday started off with the Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, which I must add look a bit like pieces of coal in the pictures. I can assure you, however, they taste nothing like coal. In fact, they’re dangerously delicious.

This week has been especially nice for me. Not only did I have no school on Monday, but I also had the day off on Tuesday! I didn’t do anything too crazy, I just loved having the long weekend to just vedge out after the stressful week of finals testing.

This Monday I had my first ACT tutoring session, which was just greaaat.. I’ll save more details for that in a different post.

Tuesday, I went back to the gym after about a week of considering anything as strenuous as walking up stairs a form of legitimate exercise (don’t judge…). It was rough, though. But wait, this totally just made me think of that show that’s coming onto Food Network. Please tell me you’ve seen the commercials for it! Super freaky, it’s like about these overweight chefs who are addicted to eating. Gonna be honest here, it kinda scares me! Like what if I become that?! Vowing now to exercise and stay fit and eat right,  but then again I don’t want to be like a food Nazi. Balance can sure be a pain in the butt. But I digress..

On Wednesday the pretzel rolls came out. Uber awesome! You must make these. I promise you will love them. We had them with chicken one night, froze the leftover rolls and about a week later had them with burgers. Deee-lish!

Thursday was just a plain Jane old type of day..nothin’ too exciting. I may have had a record number cups of cappuccino that day. I’m like totally addicted to double mocha cappuccino from Aldi. Yes, Aldi. In case you don’t have one by you it’s this little grocery store that is owned by Trader Joes and has like everything right in the world for less $$$. Winningggg

Friday I posted my FAVORITE Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie recipe in the entire world!! These cookies are just beyond incredible…I have no words. Just make them. Please! All other oatmeal cookie recipes just look like little rocks of blah compared to these babies.

Sorry for the blurry-ish looking picture, I was just too excited!

Another thing that’s been going on…

I have been applying to a bunch of jobs lately because I recently realized how awesome money is to have in your wallet. I have interviewed for one possible job already but there are only 2 spots open and like apparently everyone in the world wants that job so the odds of me getting that one are slim even though I would love it. The place that I already interviewed for was this Christian camp that is in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and it’s really just an incredible place. I have gone there as a camper since I was a wee little tater tot and have just always left the camp super sad to leave. The camp has left a huge impression on me as a person and I have always wanted to go back and give similar kids the same awesome experience I had. Anyways my chances are slim, so I have applied for some other back-up options.

The two other places I applied for is the park district where I have worked the past 3 summers as a swim instructor for young kids and a few special needs kids, who are the most adorable kids in the entire world, and the other place is Starbucks. Yes, Starbucks!!! I LOVE Starbucks. Hellooo yummy drinks! Anyways, Friday was supposed to be the day of my interview but it snowed like a billion inches so they called and cancelled, so now we have to reschedule. I was so surprised to even get an interview with them because I never see kids as young as me working there, but I’ll take it! I hear it’s a great place to work and hey, how can you go wrong making money inhaling the awesome smells of Starbucks?!

Well, this post was longer that I thought it would be..clearly I had more to say than I thought. Have a great weekend!

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