52 Weeks of Dishcloths—Week 3

It's time for Week 3! For past patterns click HERE or the "dishcloth" button on my sidebar.

A big thanks to "Magnolia Tea" for this beautiful Tulip Stitch dishcloth pattern!

This pattern is almost too beautiful to dirty up! I think it might be my go-to pattern for gifts now. It uses chains and double crochets, so it's speedy to work up.

This is my favorite color of yarn right now. It's bright aqua Peaches and Creme Yarn . It's a beautiful robin's egg blue in person.

If you're crocheting along, feel free to join the linky party below so we can see your creations!

If you link up, remember to… 

• refrain from posting links to shops, stores, and giveaways.
• link to your specific post.
• link back to me somehow. May I suggest my blog button found in the sidebar? :D

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had no idea when my brother married his wife that I wouldn't just gain a sister, I would also gain the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever.

I love a chewy cookie, but find that most get hard around the edges as they dry. Not these! What is the secret to keeping them soft? Jell-O! Well, Jell-O instant pudding mix, that is. Who would have thought that a dry mix would add so much moisture to cookie dough? But if it works, who am I to question it?

I always try to have my kitchen stocked with the ingredients so I can whip them up whenever I get the craving…which is often.

They're pretty typical cookie ingredients, minus the vanilla. That's covered by the Jell-O. What also adds to the delicious chewiness is the copious amount of butter and the ratio of brown sugar to white (heavy on the brown!).

1. This pic probably looks a little ingredient-heavy. It's because I doubled this batch. (I'm telling you, I can't get enough!)


2. I always crack my eggs into a bowl and pour them in from there. I've had to dig out too many shells from my dough! Plus, you can put the eggs in one-at-a-time while the mixer is running.


3. Mixture after the eggs and Jell-O.


4. Mixture after flour and baking soda.


5. Finished dough!

I always use a cookie scoop to portion out my dough. It's the OCD in me!

It always makes the cookies into perfect little balls.

Aren't they cute? Because of all the oatmeal, they don't flatten out when they bake. I push them down a bit with my fingers so they cook evenly.

Now THOSE are some cookies! And they look just as yummy on the inside!

Mmm…don't you wish you had a scratch 'n' sniff monitor? If you store these cookies in a Ziplock bag or Tupperware, they'll stay moist for a week. Not that they'll be around long enough for you to find out!

Here's the recipe so you can hop in the kitchen and make your own!

CHEWY OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 small package Jell-O instant vanilla pudding mix

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 cups flour

3 cups oatmeal, old-fashioned or quick

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars. Add Jell-O and mix until combined. With mixer still running, add eggs, one at a time. Pour in dry ingredients and blend until no streaks of flour remain. Add oatmeal and chocolate chips. Stir in either by hand or use the "stir" setting on the mixer.

Using a cookie scoop, portion 12 pieces of dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until edges just start to brown.

Makes approx 2 dozen cookies.

What's Hot – Neon Nail Tutorial

Neon nails are super hot right now, but it can be a little intimidating for the average gal to wear "traffic cone orange" on her fingers. The easiest way to tone it down? Pare it with a nude. And just for kicks, paint it at a jaunty angle!

1. I chose Fly and Samoan Sand, both by OPI. I know Fly isn't technically a neon, but it is brighter in person than in the pics. And it looked sooo good with Samoan Sand that I just couldn't resist.
2. Paint nails using nude polish, allowing polish to dry thoroughly before continuing to step 2.
3. Take a strip of masking tape and, at an angle, adhere to your nail, pressing into the cuticle and around the nail tip to avoid bleeding.
4. Paint neon over exposed nail. Remove tape while polish is still wet. 

The nude polish may be smudged a little from the masking tape, but a layer of topcoat will mask those imperfections.

Now you can wear neon with pride! I had to get into the neon fun too. Remember the "traffic-cone orange" I mentioned earlier? Well…

I'm not afraid of a little NEON! I'm wearing Gelish polish in Tiki Tiki Laranga .

Have you embraced the neon trend?

52 Weeks of Dishcloths—Week 2

Looking for the Shirley J Giveaway? There's still time to enter!

Welcome to Week 2 of 52 Weeks of Dishcloths! For past patterns, click HERE or the "dishcloth" button on my sidebar.

This week's pattern comes from Tamara Kelly over at Moogly. I'll be sharing more of her patterns in the coming weeks!

This Basketweave Scrubby Cloth works up quick using front- and back-post double crochets. Thats what gives it so much texture and scrubbing power! I ended up adding six more rows since I like my dishcloths a little bigger than her pattern made. Tamara's patterns are so easy to follow, it was simple to add on.

I used Peaches and Creme Twists in Denim. In all honesty, I only use their yarn for dishcloths. It works great and stands up to the dirtiest pan.

If you're crocheting along, feel free to join the linky party below so we can see your creations!

If you link up, remember to… 

• refrain from posting links to shops, stores, and giveaways.
• link to your specific post.
• link back to me somehow. May I suggest my blog button found in the sidebar? :D

Share your Week 2 dishcloths here!

Making the Perfect Pancake + Shirley J GIVEAWAY

I have a confession to make. I hate pancakes. Really, really hate them. I always have. I think it's the consistency. Once they have syrup on them, they turn into mush and that's sooo not appealing to me. I make them for my family because they love them and I always end up eating something else. But I admit, I cook a dang good pancake. It's all about the flippin' timing. So when I won a prize pack from Shirley J that included a can of their Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, I decided to show you my mad skills.

I normally make my pancakes from scratch, but this mix was so easy. Just add water? I'm down!

Don't mix the batter so much that the lumps are gone. Overmixing creates too much gluten, which creates a dense pancake.

To tell if your pancake is ready to turn, the key is in the bubbles.

Once bubbles start to form and pop around the edges, you know they're ready to turn.

See…perfect!

Here's the finished product.

Believe it or not, this is my plate and I finished it! I really enjoyed it. My family did too. I asked them which they liked better, mine or Shirley J's. All of them answered the latter. Homemade schmomade, I'm going with Shirley J from now on!

And thanks to Shirley J, you can too! They've generously donated a Pancake Prize Package to a lucky reader!

One of you will win the Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, a Shirley J whisk and apron and a $25 gift card to Shirley J, a package worth over $50!

You have until Sunday, April 7 at midnight to enter. This contest is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway