Anyone Got a Good Recipe?

I really want some good pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! I don't want to buy some from the grocery store bakery; I want to make them myself. However. I have tried 2 different recipes in the past week and a half and neither of them have been anything spectacular. The first recipe I found on Cooks.com and is as follows:

2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 c. butter
3/4 c. crisco
1 c. sugar
1 c. pumpkin
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
12 oz. chocolate chips

Cream butter, crisco, and sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.

Combine dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Drop by tsp. onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees.



I liked the texture of these cookies and they tasted pretty ok, but they weren't pumpkin-y enough.



The second recipe I remembered from Adam's cousin Rachel. She made them for us one time and they were so simple and tasty!

1 spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin

Mix together and bake.

I didn't remember if there were any measurements for the pumpkin or what temperature to cook them at and for how long. So again, I went to the internet to see if I could find something close. I found a couple and just decided to go for it. But my cooking time and temperature must have been off because the first batch came out way not done in the middle and the second batch had to be left in the oven for nearly 20 minutes.

Does anyone have a tried and tested pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe that I'm sure to love? If so, please share! Honestly, Adam and I are just wasting away here without them.

What? No Crisp Bean Burritos?

(This is a letter to the editor from the newspaper at Utah State. I thought it was funny, so I cut it out when I was a sophomore...or maybe a junior...I don't remember and of course I didn't write a date on it. But anyway, I liked it, so enjoy!)

Editor,

Sometimes being on a budget is tough, but in some ways it transforms the little joys of life into momentous occasions.

Recently, I had great reason to rejoice. Through careful planning and some luck of finding 35 cents in the Merrill Library stairwell, I saved enough money to buy a little treat during a study break. At 5:30 p.m. I ran over to the HUB [food court in the student union building] to get a brand new Crisp Bean Burrito, fresh from its warm oily bath.

"One Crisp Bean Burrito, fresh from its warm oily bath please. What? You don't have any? OK, never mind." I was crushed. The person standing behind the counter said they had some other stuff, but it would take a lot more then my 35-cent jackpot to get that.

I looked at the clock and it said 5:40. So I checked the signs and confirmed Taco Time is supposed to close at 6 p.m., but all of their supplies were already saran-wrapped up. I wanted to say something, but when I talk while trying to hold back tears I end up hyperventilating.

That's actually not the real reason I didn't say anything. I could have said, "But the sign says you're open until 6." Or, "GIVE ME A CRISP BEAN BURRITO, FRESH FROM ITS WARM OILY BATH, NOW!" Yeah, I could have tried that, but I already realize that 40 percent of pre-made food has some kind of unwanted special ingredient from the cook. I'll never do anything to someone at a restaurant or fast food joint to increase those odds.

I could have a server calling me names, laughing at my gut, or insulting my dog. But I would never be rude back. It doesn't take much to change those 40 percent odds to 75 percent.

Now, even without those odds, I think I would still have been kind. I don't want to be mean. All I really want is a Crisp Bean Burrito, fresh from its oily bath."

-Chad Mano

New Post Time!

Oh, so it's been a while since I've posted. Let's see...what has been going on in our lives since Russia? Umm...oh yeah, we're poor! Weird how travelling all over Russia catches up with you and your pocketbook.

This past Sunday was Adam's birthday. The big 2-6.... man, he's gettin' up there. jk Usually I like to either do something fun or have a surprise party or get him something he really wants, but this year, with us being poor and all, I didn't. I kind of blame that on him too, though, because I asked and asked and he never told me one thing that he wanted. Well, ok, that's not entirely true. He told me he needed a new black belt, so I did get him that. I also ended up getting him a hoodie from American Eagle (in white) and Season 2 of The Office. He's a hard person to shop for, so with my limited budget and limited number of ideas, I felt like he got a good amount of things that he'd like, and as it turns out, he really did like all of them, so all was well.

Honestly there really isn't anything else exciting here. I need to clean my messy house and since it's 3:00 in the afternoon and I'm done with work for the week, I figure now is a good time to start. I promise we'll have more exciting things to blog about someday soon.