Lindsay, Author at Laughing Lindsay

Delicious One-Bowl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

December 9, 2012 By Lindsay 66 Comments

You how much I love chocolate chip cookies. So, I was very excited to try the Delicious One-Bowl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. Yes, these fabulous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies contain the Unilever spread instead of butter plus some oats! The recipe is below, so keep reading if you want to know how to make them (and trust me, you do). I made these at my boyfriend’s house and there were all but gone in 36 hours. 🙂

Delicious One-Bowl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Easy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Total Time 25

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup 2 sticks I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® All Purpose Sticks
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup quick-cooking oats

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°.
Beat I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® All Purpose Sticks with sugars in large bowl with electric mixer or wooden spoon until smooth.
Beat in vanilla, egg and baking soda.
Stir in flour and oats until blended.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 10 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool on baking sheets 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Keyword Chocolate, Cookies

So, what do you think of this recipe? Stay tuned for a very special giveaway that can help you make these cookies. 😉

Disclosure: I received a free holiday cookie baking kit from Unilever. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

My Dad Passed Away

December 6, 2012 By Lindsay 26 Comments

You may have noticed that I was Tweeting up a storm at Mixed Conference. However, before I even left the mountain, everything came to a screeching halt. That’s because my boyfriend came to pick me up from the conference and had to deliver the news that my dad passed away Sunday morning at around 2 am. I had sort of hinted at some issues at home in my posts recently and that was because dad was in the hospital. He never did like me to publicize his health. So, I never mentioned everything that was going on. I want to honor his requests by not going into detail about everything. I’ll just say that it was a very rough couple of weeks for me.

My Dad Passed Away

That being said, we thought he was going to come home in a few weeks. If I had known he was going die, I might not have attended the conference. Nonetheless, I went to it and virtually all of my family knew before me and then had to keep it a secret until I was notified. I logged on Monday night to put up a couple of quick posts but haven’t been online much at all since I found out. I also haven’t worked but 1 day so far this week. It’s been really hard.

In trying to honor my father’s requests, I am not going to post much more about his health or his last extremely difficult weeks of life. I simply wanted to let everyone know what is going on with me as I’ve been a bit out of touch recently. I promise I am trying to read the emails and will try to respond to them in due time. I’m also trying to keep up with my deadlines. Like I said though, it’s been hard. I still can’t believe he’s gone and I don’t know where to go from here in many aspects of my life. I’m just trying to maintain some sort of normalcy and continue on with life right now. So, if it takes me longer to respond to emails or something, please understand. I am trying and I am still here.

Whole Wheat White Chocolate Cranberry Bread Recipe

December 1, 2012 By Lindsay 28 Comments

Today, I am sharing a recipe for Whole Wheat White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread for the Hodgson Mill recipe challenge. I received a bag of their whole wheat flour to create this tasty yet dense bread and can’t wait to share the recipe with you!

White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread

Fun fact: For years, I assumed that I didn’t like cranberries. Then, I finally tried them one Thanksgiving and realized that I actually really enjoy them. So, when this recipe challenge came out, I knew I wanted to include cranberries in my recipe. Then, I decided it needed something sweet as well to counterbalance the tartness of cranberries. That’s where the white chocolate chips come in. Without further ado, here’s my Whole Wheat White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread. Take a look at how pretty it turned out above. Then, read my recipe below.

Whole Wheat White Chocolate Chip Cranberry Bread

Delicious whole wheat white chocolate chip cranberry bread.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Ingredients

2 cups Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cranberries
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 egg
2 tablespoons apple sauce
3/4 cup orange juice
1 cup white chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan.
Chop up a cup of cranberries. Then, combine them with the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Grate the orange peel. In a separate bowl, bring together the egg, oil, orange juice and grated orange peel.
Combine both mixtures together and add-in the white chocolate chips.
Put the batter into a pan and bake for about 50 minutes.
Allow the bread to cool before eating.

Keyword Bread

It’s worth noting that the bread picture contained only 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips. I didn’t think that was enough, so doubling it seems good. Also, the whole wheat flour makes this bread very dense. It’s tasty and goes great with a glass of milk. So, what do you think of my creation? If you want to try it, I recommend you check out this Hodgson Mill Coupon to save $1 off the purchase of a bag of flour. Additionally, you should enter the Hodgson Mill Win a Grain Holiday Giveaway for your chance to win some Hodgson Mill products.

Disclosure: I received the whole wheat flour from Hodgson Mill for free and I am entered into a contest for posting this. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

Pigeon Forge Titanic Museum Attraction Christmas Decorations

November 30, 2012 By Lindsay 1 Comment

As you know, I love it when I get to feature the Titanic Museum Attraction. It seems like they are always coming up with something new to display that makes me want to go back and visit. Just in time for holiday season, the Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge has been decorated for Christmas! That’s right, they have put up greenery, lights, and Christmas trees around the museum! I was able to take a tour of the newly decorated attraction a week ago and was very pleased with it.

Titanic Museum Attraction Christmas

For starters, the outside of the ship is decorated. The light poles have ribbon bows and greenery wrapped around them. Then, there are wreaths on the outside of the museum. Additionally, there is the huge pile of gift boxes (pictured above) outside in front of the bow of the ship. It is perfect for taking pictures with. There’s even a little spot for you to sit down and do so. I love that the packages even say “Titanic” on them so you know where you were when you took the picture.

Christmas Inside the Ship

The inside of the museum is decked-out, too. They have strategically placed decor around the museum so that you are reminded that it’s almost Christmas without it being over the top. For instance, my boyfriend liked that the bags of mail had bows on them. He suggested that kids had written letters to Santa that were being mailed. Additionally, the suites are decorated, too. The second class passenger room had some neat little things while the first class suite had a full size Christmas tree in it.

They also managed to make the grand staircase look even more beautiful. There are two Christmas trees at the bottom of it. Then, there’s pretty greenery and red bows on the staircase. This also means that when you have your picture taken, the background of the grand staircase includes the pretty Christmas scenery. It’s a really nice touch to complete the overall Christmas takeover of the museum.

Vising the museum was the perfect way to kick-off the holiday season. All of the pretty decor definitely helped get me into a more cheery mood. Now, I want to decorate my home for the holidays. So, will you be visiting the Titanic Museum Attraction this holiday season?

Disclosure: I received free passes to the museum. No compensation was received. The opinions expressed are my own.

What To Do With Leftover Turkey After Thanksgiving

November 21, 2012 By Lindsay Leave a Comment

If you are like my family, then you usually have a good bit of food leftover from the big meal. So, I thought it would be the perfect time to share a few recipes from Jennie-O to help you use up the rest of the leftover turkey while making it delicious again!

Leftover Turkey Recipes

JENNIE-O Pulled Turkey BBQ Sandwich

A delicious sandwich you can make with Thanksgiving leftover turkey.

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Cook Time 5

Total Time 5

Course Main

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

About 18 oz. of leftover JENNIE-O Turkey
1 cup low-sodium barbeque sauce
6 buns split
1/2 cup coleslaw

Instructions

Combine turkey and barbeque sauce in slow cooker. Cook on HIGH 3 hours or LOW 6 hours. Always cook turkey to well-done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer.
Remove turkey from slow cooker. Reserve 1/4 cup sauce mixture. Shred turkey with fork.
Top bottom half of bun with turkey mixture. Drizzle with reserved sauce. Add coleslaw. Cover with bun top.

Keyword BBQ, Turkey

Jennie-O Mediterranean Pizza

Makes six servings

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, minced
About 18 oz. leftover JENNIE-O turkey cut into strips
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (12 inch) pre-baked thin pizza crust
2 large ripe tomatoes, or 4 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup ripe olives, pitted and halved
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:

Heat oven to 450ºF.
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat; add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add turkey strips; sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and red pepper flakes. Stir fry 3-5 minutes or until turkey is well-done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer.
Place pizza crust on a large cookie sheet; top with tomatoes, cooked turkey mixture, olives, and cheese. Bake about 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with basil leaves; cut into wedges.

Chipotle Turkey Chili

Makes six servings

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
About 20 oz. leftover JENNIE-O turkey chopped into small chunks
1 tablespoon chili powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14-ounce) can corn kernels, drained
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 1 teaspoon sauce
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add turkey, chili powder and garlic. Cook the turkey as specified on the package. Always cook to well-done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer.
Add corn, beans, broth, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered 15 to 20 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro.

So, what do you think of these recipes? Let me know if you try any of them in the comments.

Disclosure: I received nothing for this post.