in the kitchen

i love to bake and cook - especially if it involves a cute little apron (of which i have many). i'm not as good as say Ina Garten, Paula Dean, or Elizabeth Kearns, but for the most part, i can hold my own in the kitchen.

I got a beautiful Cuisinart Mixer for christmas (thanks mom & dad) and i've been getting back into baking. when i was younger, i baked cookies all the time - family and lucky neighbors reaped the benefits. ever since i moved out of my parent's house, i haven't baked nearly as much. part of the reason for that is because i lacked the essential tool to make it fun, fast, and easy - a mixer:

and now that i have this beautiful, shiny new toy, here are the fruits of my labor:

mmmmmm. i use the Crisco recipe. i stopped using the Tollhouse recipe years ago - i just find that the Crisco one is..... better. try it - you'll agree. for these cookies i used a mixture of chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. they turned out with the perfect amount of gooey-ness (inside only) and crunch (outside only).

another favorite at our house is my Lemon Chicken. it's easy and delicious.

• marinade Thin Sliced Chicken Breast Filets in Lemon/Garlic/Herb marinade (i just use store bought)
• remove chicken from marinade and place in an Egg Wash
• remove from egg wash and coat in Breading (mixture of flour, seasoning, lemon zest, and crushed Ritz crackers)
• place chicken in pan twice coated with Olive Oil.
  

and voila. (with a little steamed veggies and garlic mashed potatoes.)