The Green Juice Recipe My Entire Family Loves (Yes, Loves)

Here we are in January yet again. Clean starts. New goals and resolutions. Here are my three for 2014:

1. Finish Baby Step #3.
2. Read more books.
3. Eat more vegetables.

Granted, I've got a bunch of other little goals and ideas, but these are my main three for the year. I figure a lot of those aforementioned "little goals and ideas" of mine fit somewhere in those three goals.You can be sure that there will be posts on here about my progress on each of them.

These goals also happen to branch out to my aspirations for my family. Take the whole vegetable thing. I'm just as concerned about getting more vegetables into my boys' little bodies as I am mine, if not more so. These boys of mine are growing like crazy and they need all those vitamins! One way I've been getting more vegetables, particularly of the green variety, into everyone in my family (including the husband) is with our juicer. 

Years ago, my parents gave us (and each of my brothers) a juicer for Christmas. My parents had just gotten into juicing months before and wanted us to benefit like they had. They got us a Jack LaLanne juicer from Costco. It was something I probably wouldn't have bought for myself, but we ended up being so glad we got it. One reason: it got more vegetables and fruit into our diets, including then three-year-old Max. Max has never been a picky eater and loves fruits and veggies (I used to bribe him to be good at the store when he was four with promises of Caesar salad). Jonah, however, is definitely the pickier eater of my two kids and getting a balanced diet into him is much harder. Enter: our green juice. 

This green juice mostly consists of vegetables, but it still deliciously sweet and refreshing. I believe I got the original framework for the recipe from Dr. Oz when he was on Oprah. I can remember Oprah tasting it and saying that it tasted like "a glass of fresh" or something like that. Really, that's a perfect way to describe this juice. 

Now I know there is some debate between the benefits of juice vs. smoothies. I love smoothies but have yet to master smoothie making, especially when it comes to green smoothies (mine always turn out looking like brown sludge). Some say that juicing is more healthful, others argue that smoothies are better. There is also the issue of waste -- there's no leftover pulp when you make smoothies. That said, juicing works well for our family. We all love coming up with various concoctions with our juicer, though this green one is our favorite and go-to recipe. 

What does this have to do with frugality? Not only is juicing a great way to get nutrition and stay healthy (an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, after all), but it's a great way to prevent produce waste. Instead of tossing out over-ripe fruit and wilting vegetables, juice it. Produce that might not look too appetizing to eat out of hand or in a salad, works well and tastes fine when it's juiced (as long as nothing is spoiled, of course). I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who buys produce with great aspirations to eat all of it but then doesn't get around to it. Juicing (same goes for smoothies) is a great way to make sure the produce you buy gets where it needs to go: into our bodies and not into the trash.

So, here's how I get a good portion of these fruits and vegetables...

...into this almost three-year-old's tummy, all before 9 AM. (See how he's still in his Mickey jammies?)

To make our family's favorite green juice (the amounts in the parenthesis will yield about four cups of juice) you'll need the following: 

• spinach (about 2-3 big handfuls)
• cucumber (1 medium sized)
• celery (2-3 ribs, 4 if small. Be sure to include leafy tops.)
• Italian parsley (about 1/3-1/2 of a bunch)
• apples (2 medium apples)
• lime (1/2 of a small one)
• lemon (1/4 of medium one)
• ginger (1-inch chunk) {I don't always use this but it does add a nice flavor and helps with digestion.}

This recipe is certainly not one of absolute measurements -- I mostly just eyeball it -- and it can be adjusted to how many servings you need. In the past, I've substituted pears for apples and beet greens and chard for some of the spinach. I also leave the peels on the apples, lemons, and limes. 

Juice according to your juicer's directions. My boys love helping with this part -- it's what got both of them to drink it at a young age. They think it's a lot of fun. Jonah loves to put the ingredients down the chute and Max likes to push the ingredients down with the...what's the word?...pusher-downer thing. Yeah. That's what it's called. *ahem*

Once all the juice has been extracted, give it a good stir. Again, my boys love this part -- when they're both helping make juice, they each have to have a turn with stirring. It's like stirring some kind of potion to them.

And there you have it: our family's favorite green juice. Some people balk at the idea of drinking something green, but it really is so tasty. Any doubter is quickly converted after a sip or two.

My boys seriously guzzle the stuff. Jonah had his finished before I even started mine. 

About the pulp...

One of the big arguments against juicing is the pulp that goes to waste. It's a valid argument -- that is beneficial fiber. It doesn't have to go to waste, though. It can easily be used in recipes. My mom has used the pulp from her homemade carrot juice to make muffins. You can find all sorts of recipes online; this book also has lots and lots recipes using the pulp. I've never really baked or cooked with the pulp, but I still don't waste it. It always either goes to the compost pile (to help grow new vegetables!) or to the chickens (though I take the citrus peels out before I give the pulp to them).  The ladies in the backyard love it when I take the pulp out to them -- I love that it makes for even more nutritious eggs.

After I'd been juicing for a while, I picked up a book that my mom suggested. Along with a bunch of recipes, it also has a section that lists the health benefits for each type of juice. I thought it was interesting so here are some of them: (Note: I'm just sharing what's in the book. Take it for what it's worth and check with your doctor if you have questions. I'm certainly no doctor; I got my degree in English, people.)

• Spinach juice helps cleanse the kidneys, liver, and digestive tract. Improves regularity. Helps prevent bladder cancer and stomach ulcers. Fights infection. Helps lower high blood pressure and maintain acid-alkaline balance.
• Cucumber juice cleanses the kidneys. A weight-loss tool. Helps lower high blood pressure. Excellent for skin problems. Excellent daily source of fluid.
• Celery juice cleanses the kidneys and liver. Useful for weight loss. Helps maintain both acid-alkaline balance in the blood and calcium levels. An excellent mixer with other, stronger juices. Treatment for gout and ulcers. 
• Parsley juice cleanses the urinary tract and the blood. Treats conditions of the kidneys and liver. Helps prevent many cancers such as kidney, liver, urinary tract. Good for circulatory deficiencies. Good for general heart health. Can be used for weight loss. Good for the eyes.
• Apple juice is good for healthy skin and hair. High vitamin C content protects against cold and flu. Pectin cleans out toxins and helps maintain regularity. Eases indigestion. Good juice for a weight-loss program. Flushes kidneys and liver.
• Lime juice is good for colds and flu, indigestion, and skin problems, liver problems, constipation, anemia and other blood problems.
• Lemon juice is good for treating minor bruises, for pregnant women, as a tool for weight loss, and to prevent colds and flu.
• Ginger helps relieve upset stomach and aid digestion.

If you have a juicer and it's collecting dust in your pantry or cupboard, get it out and give this recipe a shot. Your body will thank you. Quite a refreshing way to start the year.

Note: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

Our Favorite Camping Craft: Rock Monsters!

Our family loves camping. It's such a great way to unplug from the busy-ness of life. Plus, it's not nearly as expensive as some other summertime getaways.  Most of the time, we let the just kids play and explore. However, there are those moments when the kids get a little antsy -- when the grown-ups need some downtime, while meals are cooking, when it's too hot to leave the shade, or while they're waiting for the next fun activity (like swimming and fishing at the lake).  It's those moments when we break out out the paint and googly eyes and make our favorite camping craft: rock monsters!
{I have to mention that I can take absolutely no credit (as much as I'd like to) for the cute banner pictured above --  my talented sister-in-law made it for our family camp-out a couple weeks ago.}

To make the rock monsters, you simply need some paint (I've used acrylic craft paint and washable Crayola kids' paint), brushes, glue, and plenty of googly eyes.  Making rock monsters is fun on a variety of levels: searching for the right rocks, finding accessories for the monsters (in the form of grass, leaves, bark, etc.), deciding what they'll look like, and then bringing the rock monsters to life.

The thing I love about this craft is that it's fun for all ages. We've been making these at camp-outs for years. As you can see in the pictures above, my six-year-old, two-year-old, and 32-year-old all got in on the rock monster-making action. At our last camp-out, we also got the cousins in on it. Everyone was quiet and busy for a while.

All of the creations turned out so well, each with funny personalities and lots of character.

First, my two-year-old's rock monster (this was the first time he's made one). He particularly liked sticking the googly eyes all over the rock.

My six-year-old made a bunch of rock monsters. They're so full of personality -- they crack me up!

I always look forward to what my husband comes up with. He made these and the punk-rock one (ha ha -- get it?) at the beginning of the post. I seriously love all of my family's rock creations. It's amazing what a couple of googly eyes can do to an inanimate object, you know?

We've got quite a collection of these rock monsters -- we bring them home and put them on display on our porch, a sort of memento of our camping trips throughout the summer. What can I say? This camp craft...(wait for it)...rocks.

Off the Needles: Max's Birthday Slippers

Months ago I was going through some of my first son's old clothes, seeing what would fit my baby-turned-toddler. At one point, I came across a pair of slippers. They were nothing fancy -- just a basic fleece slipper with a dinosaur pattern that I'd bought years ago at Old Navy. Max picked them up and said, "Oh! My slippers!"  I'd forgotten how much he'd liked wearing those as a three-year-old.  He looked at them for a while, tried to put them on (they didn't fit, of course), and then he said, "Mom, maybe you could knit me some slippers when it gets cold!"

Few things make me happier than knitting requests from my family. It makes me kind of giddy. I resisted the urge to pick up my needles right then. Instead I said as casually as possible, "Oh, sure. Maybe in the fall I'll make you some."  While I said this, though, I was thinking, "Yaaaaay! Birthday slippers!!!"

Then last month, I searched for a pattern on Ravelry and came across this one for children's mukluk slippers. I thought they were so cute and they looked pretty easy, too (before this project I'd never knitted any sort of footwear).  I picked up some green yarn at my favorite yarn store and got to work. Since I didn't want Max to see them, I waited until the boys were in bed to knit. For a couple weeks in September and a few nights in October, I would spend an hour or so knitting while watching British period films (mostly Bleak House) or streamed episodes of Raising Hope on Netflix. A lovely way to spend my post-kids'-bedtime free-time, I must say.

I gave them to Max for his birthday yesterday. He opened them first thing in the morning and slipped them on. He loved them! And that makes me a happy mama.

The pattern is great -- very easy, very straightforward. It can be downloaded for only $7 -- totally worth it. There are no tricky stitches, increases, or decreases -- just the basics, really. There is only a little bit of sewing required at the end to stitch up the seam (just an overcast stitch, which is really simple). Making these was a good learning experience and I even overcame my (unfounded) fear of double-pointed needles (they're not nearly as tricky as I thought they'd be).  The pattern requires around 100 yards of bulky yarn (I picked the Comfort Chunky because it's machine-washable and soft), a pair of size US 7 straight needles, and a set of size US 7 double-pointed needles. (For my Ravelry notes, click here.)

The slippers fit a pretty wide range of young kids, from a toddler size 7 to a big kid size 5 -- there are instructions to make them either small, medium, or large. I'm glad that there's a pattern to make them in an adult size because the whole time I was knitting them for Max, I kept wishing for a pair of my own!

I can't recommend this pattern enough. Max tells me that they're warm and comfy. I'm going to be knitting up a pair for my 18-month-old soon (so many things to knit, so little time!).  Not only do they make a great birthday gift, but they're something you could definitely whip up for Christmas gifts. I can already tell that $7 pattern is going to go a long way in my knitting repertoire!

Note: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have disclosed.

{This post is linked up to Simple Lives Thursday, Your Green Resource, Little House Friday, Farm Girl Blog Fest, Homestead Barn Hop, and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways.}

Random Reuse: Tomato Can Stilts

As I've said on this blog before, I am HUGE fan of easy crafts. I guess that seems like a sort of obvious statement -- who doesn't like easy crafts?  In any case, I appreciate simple ideas that create simple fun.  This Random Reuse does just that.

A while back, I got an email from Ellen, one of the lovely readers of this blog, who told me about a simple craft of turning empty cans into kid-sized stilts. (By the way, if you ever have any great ideas you want to send my way, email me! My address is over in the sidebar.). This past week, I made some pasta sauce from a couple 28-oz. cans of tomatoes and just as I was about to toss them into the recycle bin, I remembered Ellen's idea.  So I washed them out and saved them.

The first step, of course, is to paint the cans. Granted, this isn't completely necessary, but it makes them more interesting (and it keeps kids busy for a little while).

Once the paint has dried, put a hole in each side of the can. At first, I was using a nail and a hammer to make the hole, but when that was taking longer than I wanted, I thought of using the end of a can opener (like when you poke holes in cans of evaporated or condensed milk) to make the holes. Super easy -- it only took a few seconds!

{In case you're wondering, belts on overalls isn't a new fashion trend.

The belt was purely out of necessity: it's kind of tricky to keep a lightsaber at the ready  without a belt to hold it!}

Thread some thick yarn, string, or twine through the holes and you're good to go! Max has gotten pretty good at (in his words) "walking like a Frankenstein" on them. A cheap and easy way to mix things up on a sunny afternoon!

{This post is linked to Your Green Resource -- check it out!}

For the Kids: Homemade Snow Dough

Spring can't come soon enough. I'm no winter-hater by any means, but we're all getting that stir-crazy, cabin fever feeling at our house. To help combat that antsy feeling,  I've been on the lookout for good ideas for indoor play to keep us distracted. Yesterday, I came across this idea for snow play dough on Pinterest.

It's really simple -- snow dough is just regular homemade play dough sans food coloring. About a year and a half ago, I did a post about the best homemade play dough recipes. For this batch, I followed recipe #1 from that post (minus the coloring), which goes as follows:

In a medium saucepan combine:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
Then add:
1 cup water
5-6 tsp. vegetable oil
Cook over medium heat and stir constantly until mixture forms into a ball. It will appear lumpy but keep stirring. After it forms a ball, turn out on counter and knead until cool. Store at room temperature in airtight container or bag.

The blog I got this idea from suggested adding glitter to the mix to make it more like sparkly snow. I didn't have any glitter on hand, so we skipped that. The site suggested making snowmen, snowballs, and other similar creations. My five-year-old decided to re-enact the battle of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back.

It's such a simple activity but still a lot of fun. Leaving out the food coloring creates a whole new aspect to play dough. Who knew?  I love it.

And so does my little Star Wars enthusiast.

Counting the Days: A Fun, Easy, and Thrifty Advent Calendar

The anticipation of Christmas Day is part of what makes the season so magical, I think. That's why I love advent calendars. When I was a kid, I loved those European-looking advent calendars with the perforated windows that held a chocolate behind each one. My mom has a wooden advent calendar with 25 little doors and she puts treats in each for the grandkids to enjoy (my son and his cousin started asking about it a month ago). My sister-in-law makes long chains of candy, sectioned off 25 times. And, of course, there are the classic paper chains we all made in school. I remember how fun it was to tear off a paper ring each day as Christmas got a little closer. Ah, the simple joys of childhood.

There are a TON of ideas and tutorials for making advent calendars. I've seen so many advent ideas on Pinterest (You're on Pinterest, right? Love it.) and I've been planning on making one. There are a lot cute fabric ones I want to make (like this one), but sewing has been kind of difficult for me ever since I had my baby, especially since he's crawling and getting into everything now (He's eight months old today! Time goes by way too fast). So, this year, I decided to opt for a variation on the classic paper chain. In addition, I added some extra features to each link on the chain to help my family fully enjoy all the holiday festivities.

I got the idea for the tree-shaped paper chain on Pinterest, pinned from the blog, Make and Takes. Not only was it cute, but it also looked easy to make (hooray!). The supplies to make it are minimal (read: super cheap) and it doesn't take long at all. Today would be a perfect day to get yours made in time for December.

Materials Needed:

• Construction paper -- a few sheets of green (I used four), one sheet of red, and one sheet of yellow
• A ruler
• Pen/pencil
• Scissors
• Tape

I'd also suggest printing off the page from the Make and Takes post for reference when you assemble the chain.

Once I had all my supplies, I started measuring and drawing lines on the construction paper so I would cut strips that were the same size. I started with 2-inch wide strips, but scaled down to 1 1/2-inch wide strips. As for length, I did the entire length the paper. If you want to follow the tree chain on the Make and Takes blog, you'll need 19 green strips, 5 red strips, and 1 yellow strip.

Here's where I added my own features to the paper-chain tree.

The other day, I saw a post on Simple Mom about doing a simple advent countdown with Christmas activities attached to each day. I thought that was a great idea and I wanted to incorporate it with my paper-chain advent. Then, I saw a list on Pinterest, pinned from Tip Junkie, of scriptures to read each day of December. I thought that was a great way to keep the true meaning of Christmas in our thoughts, so I incorporated that into the paper chain, too. I wrote both the scripture of the day and the activity of the day (the scripture and the activity have nothing to do with each other) on each strip of paper before assembling the chain, as you can see below.

The activities are nothing grandiose, by any  means. Just the fun, simple things that go along with the holiday: classic movies (A Christmas Story, anyone?), making cookies (Try my gingerbread recipe. It is THE best.), making popcorn chains, building a snowman, driving around and looking at lights on houses, reading Christmas books, making ornaments, visiting Santa, and more. I kept mine really simple and realistic -- before I wrote any activity down, I made sure it was something I could do, even when the days are busy (as they inevitably are during this time of year).

I also took the activity aspect a little further and kept our calendar in mind. Early in the month, for example, one of our activities is to make ornaments. It wouldn't make much sense to make them a few days before the tree comes down. Closer to Christmas, I want to take the kids to see Santa one night and watch A Nativity Story just a couple nights before Christmas. Also, my husband's birthday is in December, so I wanted one of the links on the chain to be centered around celebrating his birthday.

Anyway, to help me not get all mixed up since the links aren't in a straight line, I kept them as in order as possible (the month starts at the bottom, of course) and wrote the date on the outside of each link so I'd know when to tear off each link. Plus, it helps with the scripture list since that follows a specific order, too.

Once all the scriptures and activities were written on each strip, my son and I taped them into loops and assembled the link as shown in the Make and Takes post. I was glad that I didn't have to figure out that part -- I just checked and double-checked the picture I was following. I tied a little ribbon on the yellow loop on top and hung it from a hook that was already in the door.  Really easy. Each day, we'll tear off a link and hang it on the fridge to remind us of the activity and scripture of the day. I can't wait for December to start!

For the Kids: Homemade Sidewalk Paint

Really, it doesn't get much easier than this.

For kid-friendly outdoor creativity, mix 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup of cold water in a bowl/cup/reused container.  Add a little bit of food coloring (not too much since you don't want to stain your sidewalk. A few drops will do ya.). Stir.

Give the kids some paintbrushes and send them outside. Easy for you, fun for them -- everyone wins.

Random Reuse: The Cereal Box Guitar

It's been unseasonably cool and unusually rainy here, which has translated into more time spent inside than both me and my four-year-old son would like. As a result, I've been on the lookout even more than usual for any kind of creative activity for him. Plus, it warms my heart whenever he's working on something at his {messy} art desk.

Not too long ago, I came across the idea for a cereal box guitar on Pinterest. It was pinned from the blog, Made By Joel. I've since fallen in love with that blog and I highly recommend it to anyone who has any influence on children. It's full of awesome, creative ideas. Anyway, being the sucker I am for reusing things, my little guy and I gave the cereal box guitar a go.

To make this simple project, you'll need:

• an empty cereal box
• scissors (a craft knife is also useful, but I just used scissors)
• rubber bands (as many as you like; we used three)
• tape (we used masking, but you can use any kind you have)
• paint, glue, and embellishments (optional but encouraged)  

To start, you'll need to trace a circle for the hole.  We used a canning jar, but you could also use any cup/glass.

Cut out the hole with scissors or a craft knife. As you can see, our edges weren't perfectly cut, but I don't think that really matters.

Cut the cut-out circle in half and tape it below the opening. This will keep the rubber bands from resting on the box. To prop it up away from the box, attach it with a thick loop or two of masking tape. You could also do what the tutorial instructed and use the other half of the circle cut-out by folding it and sticking it under the half-circle.

Now this step is optional, but Max had lots of fun painting his "guitar"...

...and gluing a few things to it. I think my favorite additions were the googly eyes and, of course, his name written on it.

Once the paint was dry, we slipped on the rubber band "strings".  To keep the sound from being too buzzy, the tutorial we followed suggested taping the strings down (as you can see above). 

Final step: rock out!  For our pick, we used a bread bag tab. You can also use part of the circle cut-out and fold it into a pick shape. At one point, Max used a colored pencil and dragged it across the "strings" like a violin. Often, the simplest things will get kids to be creative and keep them entertained. In this case, it only took an empty cereal box.

Homemade vs. Pre-Made: Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

I didn't know you could buy pre-made cookie dough at the grocery store until I was probably ten or eleven years old. Even after that, I thought it only came in refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough. It wasn't until years later that I noticed that there were dry mixes for cookies, too.  Call it a sort of spoiled naïveté, I guess. I grew up making and eating homemade cookies.

Anyway, not too long ago, I was standing in line at the store and as I was loading up the conveyer belt with all my groceries, I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between the clerk and the woman ahead of me in line. The clerk had commented on the package of cookie dough the woman was purchasing and saying how great it was. The woman said something to the effect, "Yeah, I just don't have time to make them the old-fashioned way. I think I've only done it like once."

As I listened, I just wanted to write down my go-to recipe (since I have it memorized), hand it to the woman, and tell her that I can make a batch of them in around 20 minutes, including baking time. It wouldn't be in a braggy, know-it-all way -- I just wanted to help out and let her know that from-scratch cookie-making really isn't such a formidable task. Plus, homemade cookies are much, much better than the kind made from a tube of dough.  At least I think so. I may be a little biased.

Not only do they taste better, but they're cheaper to make yourself. With the tubes and packages of cookie dough, you can spend up to 21 cents per cookie (that's for the new, all-natural dough put out by Pillsbury); to make an entire batch from scratch costs considerably less, maybe a $1, $2 at most, for a couple dozen cookies.

Another benefit of making them yourself is that you know exactly what goes in them. The refrigerated cookie doughs I looked up contained pretty standard ingredients, though a couple contained partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil (I try to skip any kind of hydrogenated oil, but especially cottonseed oil) and the ubiquitous and vague "natural and artificial flavor".  Some, I'm sure are much more processed and have questionable (as in, "What is that?") ingredients in them. A couple years ago, there was a recall of all Nestle cookie dough due to E. coli contamination. This isn't really common, but food recalls do happen with processed foods.  I like making things myself because I feel like I'm in better control of what my family eats, including treats. 


 Max thought it was hilarious to try to get into every picture.

And there's one big reason I prefer making homemade cookies -- it gets my son involved and comfortable in the kitchen. We started with cookies back when he was around 18 months old (even at that age, he would go to the pantry and start pulling out the ingredients we needed) and he's been helping me ever since. Now he's always at my side in the kitchen, whether I'm whipping up a batch of cookies, a loaf of bread, homemade pasta, or that night's dinner. I believe feeling comfortable in the kitchen and learning about food prep is an important skill for kids. Plus, I have so many good memories of working with my mom in the kitchen -- I wanted to pass that on to him.

If you Google chocolate chip cookie recipes, you'll get thousands upon thousands of results. Chances are, you already have your stand-by chocolate chip cookie recipe. But in case you're trying to get away from the pre-made stuff or just want to try a new recipe, I thought I'd share my current favorite recipe for classic chocolate chip cookies.

I used to have my tried and true recipe, but once I stopped using shortening, they were hit and miss. This was due to the temperature of the butter -- it would either be too hard or too melted. As a result, the cookies sometimes would be just right, other times they'd resemble pancakes. Then I came across this recipe on the blog, Smitten Kitchen, and I've been using it ever since.  I like it because I get consistent results, plus it uses less butter, sugar, eggs, and flour than my old recipe. The yield isn't that different, either.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Unlike many recipes that call for room temperature butter, this one calls for cold butter, straight from the refrigerator. Using cold butter has made my results much, much more consistent.  Anyway, cut up the butter into pieces that are about a 1/2" or so.

Beat the butter and sugars together until smooth. It takes a little while to really pulverize those butter chunks, but give it a few minutes -- it works, I promise.

Add the vanilla, egg, and baking soda. Try to resist temptation to start tasting cookie dough. Who am I kidding? Such resistance is futile in our household (Want rationalization and permission for eating homemade cookie dough?  Go to this link from Free-Range Kids. I love it.).  Mix, then add flour and salt. Mix again.

The chocolate chip to dough ratio is pretty high in this recipe. I think that's why you can get away with less flour. It will almost seem like you've got as much chocolate chips as dough in this recipe, but I promise it works. Mmmmm...it definitely works.

Scoop the cookie dough onto a lined baking sheet. Remember my mention of the Silpat a couple posts ago? Well, here it is. You really should get one.

Bake the cookies for about 16-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Grab a glass of milk and bask the sheer and utter deliciousness of the warm, homemade chocolate chip cookie.