Toasted Coconut Macaroons

    These macaroon cookies were a hit! They're so good! I was trying to find a gluten free option for the market and I figured I could never go wrong with coconut! I bought a pretty basket with mesh at Hobby Lobby to keep my samples in, it definitely added a little something extra!

Toasted Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:

- 1 (14 ounce) package of unsweetened coconut

- 1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened condensed milk

- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1 and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together. Using a cookie scoop, or a tablespoon, roll cookies into tight balls. Place them on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and enjoy. 

Farmer's Market July 8th 2017

    Today was my first day at the Veranda Park Farmer's Market! I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that stopped in and supported Getting Bridgie With It! The weather was beautiful and I enjoyed meeting some wonderful people! I've been crafting up a storm and I wanted to take a moment to post some of my creations!

Wine Bottle Tiki Torches

Picture Frame Jewelry Organizers

Wine Bottle Wind Chimes

Lavender Teacup Candles

The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

    If you see anything you like, feel free to email me at Gettingbridgiewithit@gmail.com

Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

   I hope everyone had a happy and safe Fourth of July! We had a big crawfish boil/BBQ out at my parent's house last weekend, it was awesome! I've been preparing for the farmer's market this weekend all week and I finally have a minute to post my recipe for these heavenly chocolate cookies! I made them last weekend and they are family tested and approved! Hope you love them as much as we did! I tried switching out the white chocolate chips for peanut butter chips too, so good! These are best prepared a day in advance so they can freeze completely before you bake them.

Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

- 4 and 1/4 cup of flour

- 3/4 cup of cocoa powder

- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch

- 2 teaspoons of baking soda

- 1 teaspoon of sea salt

- 1 cup of butter, softened
- 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
- 1 and 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
- 2 eggs

- 1 (12 ounce) package of white chocolate chips

    Prepare you dough in advance, anywhere from 4 hours to the day before. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside the dry ingredients.  In a separate large bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and sugars. Once fluffy, mix in the vanilla and eggs. After combined, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet. I like to do it in thirds. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips. Measure cookies into 1/4 cup serving, I used a large cookie scoop. Place the dough in the freezer for at least 4 hours. When you're ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, place cookies 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 17-20 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack. 

Sweet Cornbread

     I got to hang out with my mom in Ocala for a few days this week!  I helped out with St. John's superhero VBS! Luckly we were blessed by the school board providing the kids with breakfast and lunch all three days!  Hallelujah! That made my job a lot easier, I made a little lunch for the adults. Wednesday I decided I was going to make chili and cornbread! In all of the excitement, I forgot to pick up jiffy corn muffin mix! Luckly, mom had some cornmeal on hand and I set out to make some sweet cornbread from scratch! This recipe is going to be my new go to! Pastor Christine said it was the best cornbread she's ever had!! That is some pretty high praise!

Sweet Cornbread 

Ingredients: 

- 1 cup of flour

- 1 cup of cornmeal

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 3 and 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder 

- 1 teaspoon salt 

- 1 cup of milk or half & half 

- 1 egg 

- 1/3 cup of oil (I used olive oil)
- 1 (14 ounce) can of whole kernel corn, drained

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sift together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the corn and pour batter into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

S'mores Cookie Bars

    I have found the perfect dessert for your summer cookout!! We had THE BEST CAMPING WEEKEND!! We thought it was going to rain all weekend, but in true Florida weather fashion, it held off until Sunday evening for us! We were prepared this time and we had a blast! I'll post some pictures after this AMAZING recipe! Seriously, you're going to love this dessert and you will be the hit of the cookout! I made mine with whole wheat flour but, I'm sure you could make it with regular all purpose flour just as easily.

S'mores Bars

Ingredients:

For the crust:

- 2 and 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs

- 1/3 cup of sugar

- 2/3 cup of butter, melted

For the cookie top:

- 2 and 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1 teaspoon of baking soda

- 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened to room temp

- 3/4 cup of granulated sugar

- 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar

- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

- 2 eggs

- 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips

- 2 cups of mini marshmallows

- 2 large Hershey's bars, broken up

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl, start the crust by mixing together the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Pour the melted butter on top and gently mix together with a fork until crumbly. Press the mixture into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake the crust for 7 minutes and mix together the topping meanwhile. To make the cookie top, start by stirring together the flour, salt, and baking soda, set aside. Next, cream together the softened butter (not melted) and the sugars. I used a spoon to mix this recipe, but you could whip out the mixer. Once the butter and sugar is creamed, mix in the vanilla and eggs. Once thoroughly combined, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients only mixing until just combined. Fold in the mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows (I may have used my hands at that point). Carefully dollop the cookie dough on top of the baked graham cracker crust, pressing the mixture flat without disturbing the crust underneath. Bake the bars for 12 minutes, remove and top with broken Hershey's pieces. Quickly return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. It will puff up a lot due to the marshmallows, you want it to do that. Let it cool and slice into bars. Enjoy!

Now for some camping pictures! 

My camp kitchen setup!

My man!

Happy Birthday Heather!!!!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

    Boy oh boy, we needed the rain that we got this week! It's going to be a hot and dry summer in Florida. I woke up early on Tuesday morning and cleaned the dust off the ole' crockpot! It was pouring rain as my chicken chili simmered away for a few hours. It has just enough kick! We really enjoyed this recipe!

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast

- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of chili powder

- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

- 1 teaspoon of cumin powder

- salt and pepper to taste

- 2 large bay leaves

- 3 cups of chicken broth

- 1 small onion, chopped

- 1 whole fresh jalapeño, diced
- 1 (4 ounce) can of diced green chilies
- 2 (15 ounce) cans of great northern white beans
- 1 (15 ounce) can of whole kernel corn
- small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup of sour cream
- 4 ounces (half a brick) of cream cheese, softened
    Place the raw chicken into the bottom of your slow cooker. Top it with the chili powder, cayenne, cumin, salt, pepper, bay leaves, and chicken broth. Cook on low for 2 hours. Then, add in the onion, jalapeño, green chilies, and white beans. Let cook on low for 4 hours. By now, the chicken will be fall apart tender and ready to shred. Shred the chicken and add back to the pot. Next, add the corn, cilantro, sour cream, and cream cheese. Stir well, let cook for another 30 minutes, and then serve warm.

   

Mint Watermelon Salad

    Frankie and I were watching the Kid's Barbeque Championship on Food Network this weekend! One of the little boys grilled some watermelon slices and topped them with feta, mint, and balsamic, it blew me away. I said, what a good idea for a salad!! So, we picked up a seedless watermelon on or Sunday trip to Trader Joe's! We bought the balsamic glaze already made. If you can't find it, you can easily make it. This fresh watermelon salad just screams SUMMERTIME! I love it and it took me five minutes to make!

Mint Watermelon Salad

Ingredients:

- 1/2 of a medium sized seedless watermelon, cut into chunks

- 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of fresh mint, finely chopped

- 1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

- 1 tablespoon of balsamic glaze (balsamic reduction)

    Mix together the watermelon, mint, and feta. Top with a drizzle of balsamic reduction and serve cold. Top with an extra sprig of fresh mint for garnish.

Our fancy Sunday dinner! haha!