Freezer Ready Turkey Burgers

It’s the end of a super long week. I’m driving home with a screaming baby in the backseat, and all I can think about is putting him to bed and spending the evening soaking in a hot bath while browsing Pinterest. Phone rings. It’s boyfriend. “Ryan, what’s for dinner? There’s nothing to eat here.” This is honestly one of the most annoying things anyone can say to you at the end of a long day, especially when you know there’s a refrigerator and pantry full of food. But instead of copping an attitude and launching a verbal attack, you’re cool, calm, and collected, because you’re prepared. Your freezer is stocked.

I learned the importance of freezer ready food when I was a new mom working fifty-hour weeks. No one at the office cared that it was after five and I had a new baby or a hungry family waiting for me at home. It was disheartening, but it made me a better, more prepared mommy and cook. On the weekends, I’d prep things for the week ahead, chop onions, gather ingredients, marinate, and season, so putting dinner together at the end of a long day would be simple as possible. 

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Best Baked Meatballs

Growing up, we often had spaghetti, but never spaghetti and meatballs. Meat sauce was the go to option. Of course a meat sauce is classically delicious and simple, but as a very food focused kid, I always yearned for meatballs. Our play kitchen’s plastic spaghetti came with three plastic meatballs. The families on Friday night sitcoms had spaghetti and meatballs. I was slightly annoyed by my childhood lack of meatballs, but not enough so to risk demanding them of my hardworking mother. I accepted our meat sauces and moved on.

As a college student in Washington, D.C., I had the chance to have tons of awesome professional experiences, and with them, work events. Drinks were always served, and of course, in the spirit of young professionalism, I would politely decline- but of course, always indulged in the food. The first real spaghetti and meatballs I ever had were served at one of these events. When I spotted the servers coming around with plates piled high with pasta and meatballs, I fought my best to hide my excitement, continuing to idly chat with coworkers and clients, while underneath the table, my feet were tapping in anticipation. 

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Timeless Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don’t really work out, because I detest it. Who wants to sweat, struggle to breathe, be sore the next day? Not this girl. But spring has finally hit in Michigan, and with it, that weird, innate desire to exercise. After hiding in jeans and bulky sweaters all winter, you realize that the stores are selling dresses and cutoffs again, and shoot. Maybe I should start jogging in the morning?

I’m about three days into my likely short-lived workout phase, and I don’t think I’m doing too great a job. My outfits definitely fit the bill, but my kitchen behavior this week doesn’t. As you can tell from the post title, and the tantalizing photos- I made a lovely batch of chocolate chip cookies this week. A couple weeks ago, boyfriend and I reminisced about my last batch of cookies, and he asked me to whip him up some chocolate chip. And naturally, I put it off until I the week I started working out, in an effort to improve my “summer body”. Makes total sense.

But my timing doesn’t matter, because chocolate chip cookies are timeless! I’m usually not the hugest fan of the dessert category, but these cookies change that. I think part of their allure is their size- it’s the perfect little serving of delicious childhood nostalgia. Well, until you eat three or four. Then it’s three or four serving sizes of nostalgia. Whatever. While I keep trying to workout and fighting the urge to make another batch of these, you all should try this recipe. File it into your recipe memory bank. Or you can just bookmark this page. Whatever you need to do to keep this recipe close by. 

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What You’ll Need:

A cookie sheet
Silicone liner or parchment paper, cut to size
A cooling rack
2 cups + 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour
1 cup of light brown sugar
½ cup of white sugar
½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 room temperature egg
1 room temp egg yolk
1 ½ sticks of softened butter
A tablespoon of vanilla extract
A cup of chocolate chips (I do about ¾ a cup of dark chocolate and ¼ of milk chocolate)
Sea salt (for optional garnish)

What To Do:

Prepare your baking sheets. If using parchment paper instead of silicone baking mats, cut the parchment paper to the size of your baking sheet. Sift your flour and baking soda into a mixing bowl and set aside.

Fit your stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Whip the butter in the bowl on medium speed for about three minutes, until its nice and light. Add both sugars to the butter, and continue to work for about four or so minutes. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla, and mix until well incorporated.

Gradually add your flour and baking soda into the mixture, which will start to form your dough. I add it in four parts. Once all your flour is incorporated, fold in your chocolate chips. Cover the entire bowl and allow to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour, or at most overnight.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Roll the dough into same-sized balls and place on the cookie sheet, about three inches apart. Flatten them a little with your palm. Bake in the oven for about eight minutes for chewier cookies, or about ten for crispier. When they come out the oven, let them cool on the sheet for two minutes, until they’re firm enough to transfer to your cooling rack. While the cookies are still hot, sprinkle with a little sea salt if you’re into the sweet and salty mix like me.

Tips:

Sit your eggs and butter out for a couple of hours, or even overnight to make sure they’re at room temperature. Room temperature ingredients always make for better baked goods.

Lots of recipes tell say you can leave the dough in the freezer for up to three days, but I beg to differ. In my experience, the dough becomes hard and compact once it’s been in the fridge for longer than a day.

Make sure your dough balls are the same size. Use an ice cream scoop or tablespoon to ensure they’re the same. When they’re different sizes, they don’t cook evenly. You’ll end up with some chewy, some overcooked, some crispy. Not a good look.