lactation cookies.

I had never even heard of lactation cookies until one of the moms at MOPS brought me a meal shortly after Carson was born. Shoutout to Tracy for getting me hooked on these.


  • 1 cup butter

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

  • 4 tablespoons water

  • 2 tablespoons flax seed meal

  • 2 eggs

  • 2 cups flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 3 cups slow rolled oats

  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

  • 2 tablespoons brewer's yeast

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon


  • Mix the flaxseed meal with water in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.

  • Using a mixer, mix together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix until well-blended.

  • Add in flaxseed and mix until well combined.

  • In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and brewer's yeast. Mix well and add to butter mixture.

  • Stir in oats and chocolate chunks. Mix until well combined.

  • Use a spoon to scoop out cookies and place on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-13 minutes or until slightly browned on the top.

I like to freeze cookie dough balls and make 3-4 at a time fresh (bake frozen for 15 minutes instead of 12-13).

five recipes I tried from pinterest that were actually good.

5 recipes to make on Pinterest | Where My Heart Resides-1(dinner last night, also known as #5 on the list below)

If you're anything like me, you have approximately 314 mouth-watering recipes pinned on Pinterest, just waiting for a perfect day when all the stars align and your toddler naps for three hours and your pantry is fully stocked and wouldn't it be so awesome to instagram a picture of that strawberry cheesecake with the graham cracker crust?


Ain't nobody got time for that.

Guilty as charged. Anytime I'm on Pinterest, I'm pinning food. It's a sickness, really. I will probably never make 80% of those recipes, but they are really pretty to look at, yes?

I have to be in the mood to cook from scratch. I don't have to be in the mood to make spaghetti, but I have to be in the mood to cut vegetables and use things like Hoisin sauce. It happens once in a blue moon. Usually on a day when Brett is working from home or comes home early, because let's be real: cooking extravagantly is dang hard with a toddler whining on the floor next to you.

So, once in a blue moon, the stars do align, and I hop on my handy Pinterest board and surf all the possibilities (waffle ice cream sandwiches! crockpot cinnamon rolls! nutella cookie tart! why do I love sugar so much?!) before landing on a realistic possibility.

In order for a recipe to be considered realistic, it needs to fit the following criteria:

1. I have 75% of the ingredients already.

2. I know what 95% of the ingredients are.

3. I think Brett will eat it.

4. No fancy cooking tools required.

5. I can make it in 30 minutes, give or take.

Also worth mentioning: we tend to eat a lot of chicken. Other meats scare me.

With all that being said, you can happily consider me to be your Pinterest guinea pig because I have PRE-TESTED all of these recipes for you and they are ALL DELICIOUS. You're welcome.

1. Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad. Holy yum, Batman. This was good. Refreshing, filling, and has a little bite to it. Also: we had a lot leftover and I ate it the next day for lunch. I normally hate salad leftovers because they get so soggy, but this one stayed surprisingly crisp.

2. Garlic Lemon and Parmesan Oven Roasted Zucchini. Confession: I don't really love vegetables. If you do, good for you. If you don't, this is a simple way to dress up what I consider to be an otherwise bland veggie. We served on the side of a rotisserie chicken and pasta salad. Boom.

3. Parmesan Spinach Quinoa. Confession: I don't really love quinoa either. But I do love cheese. This was easy to whip up, I had all the ingredients on hand, and was served perfectly alongside---what else? Chicken.

4. Crockpot Mini Turkey Quinoa Meatballs. Again, I don't really love quinoa, but I do love meatballs. These were shockingly good, and one batch lasted FOREVER. We froze half right off the bat and probably got close to eight whole meals out of them.

5. Peach and Roasted Vegetable Salad. If you only make one thing off this whole list, MAKE THIS (pictured above). I could eat this salad every single night. I add grilled chicken (pre-cooked from Trader Joe's to keep it easy), and we skip the beets because, well, who likes beets? Besides Dwight Schrute? This recipe is a summer staple in our house and I make it once a week, always with enough leftovers for the next night. If you come over to my house for dinner, this is what I will make you. If you have a baby, this is what I will bring you. It's my go-to, easy-peasy, refreshing-but-filling, covers-all-the-food-groups, must-make recipe of the year. OF THE YEAR. Make it. Love it. You won't regret it.

Okay, I showed you mine. Your turn. What was the last recipe you made from Pinterest that was actually good? And satisfy my curiosity: do people really make things like waffle ice cream sandwiches in real life?

p.s. These popsicles are in my freezer as we speak. I will report back. p.s.s. Follow me on Pinterest, if you also like to compulsively pin pictures of food. And, all other recipes I've tried and blogged about.

apple cinnamon oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies-3 Confession: I am not a very good baker. I think it has something to do with my impatience. Baking isn't like cooking where you can casually throw in a little of this and a little of that. Baking is precise. If you mess up the correct amounts of salt and baking powder, you can REALLY screw up a recipe.

For me, cooking is a creative task. Sometimes I throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and call it dinner. When in doubt, I just add more garlic and more cheese. I'm not a fantastic cook, but I wouldn't say I'm horrible either. Baking on the other hand, always seems stifling to me. You have to mix certain ingredients in one bowl, and then other ingredients in a different bowl, and then combine them in a certain order. It's exhausting and scientific, and I've never been good at science. I'm an English/arts girl. I'm creative. Sometimes I just want to throw a bunch of sugar and butter together and add cheese and see what happens, you know?




And let me tell you, THEY WERE DELICIOUS. If you are thinking to yourself, whoa Ashlee! That's a lot of flavors in one cookie! You're right, but somehow it worked. Kind of like Rachel's Thanksgiving trifle. Apple? Good. Cinnamon? Good. Chocolate chips? Goooooooood.

I followed the recipe (kind of), and improvised a little, which is really the best balance for baking in MY kitchen, I've decided. I like my cookies with a little bit of spunk, you know?

Anyways, if you find yourself craving cookies and have no eggs, but have instant oatmeal of some kind, you can whip these up any time and they're sure to be a hit.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies-1

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies


  • 1 cup butter or 1 cup margarine
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup boiling water
  • 2 cups apple cinnamon oatmeal (from Trader Joes)
  • 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips


  • Add flour and salt, mix well.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies-2
