I'm Not a Foodie

I'm not a foodie. In fact, I have no idea what a "foodie" is. And I had zero interest in cooking until I met and decided to marry my husband, starting off with the conveniences not enjoyed by generations before us: frozen skillet meals, microwave dinners, and boxed brownie mixes.

But then I became pregnant and my body physically couldn't tolerate processed foods. If it didn't violently reject it, frozen or fast food always left me feeling dehydrated, sluggish, and usually came with a raging case of heartburn (although, fruits and veggies were notorious for that, as well). So I only sought out what already existed in nature.

Two years later and it's still habit (ok, besides the pizza I had for dinner tonight). We're also very broke with a toddler so we don't have the luxury of Olive Garden Alfredo sauce, we have to make it ourselves.

But what it ultimately means is that we're eating healthier and cheaper, so maybe that does make me a foodie? *shrugs* I have no idea. So in the spirit of eating yummy things that are good for us - and establishing healthy eating habits for our little one - and in the name of zero money, we come up with some pretty awesome concoctions, of which I'll post about here.

Now I am going to negate everything I just said with my very first recipe: Chocolate Chip Cookie Oreo Fudge Brownie Bars.

Eating healthy is something that should be done the majority of the time, for most major meals and snacks. But depriving isn't good, either, in the same way over-indulging isn't. So we will not forget our chocolaty treats, but in fact celebrate them by kicking this blog off the right way!

This was not, in fact, a homemade concoction, but a recipe a friend of mine forwarded whilst in search of something else. She found the recipe here, and this is how I made it my own:

- Prepared chocolate chip cookie dough according to the instructions on the Nestle bag, but I add a dash of cinnamon.

 - Spread it over a slightly bigger than 9x13 inch casserole dish; bottom greased.

 - Applied a layer of double-stuffed chocolate sandwich cookies; I did not use Oreos, I think the generic labeled (and don't even let me near a Who Nu?!) are better tasting.

 - Prepared a box of Pillsbury Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix and poured over cookies and cookie dough and tried my best to distribute it evenly.

 - Covered with tin foil and baked at 350* for 30 minutes.

  - Removed foil and continued to bake for 25 minutes (I checked it at 15 minutes and the middle still wiggled).

I left out the extra hot fudge part, this way it's more of a brownie than a desert. But nothing is stopping you from warming it up, slapping some ice cream next to it and drowning it in hot fudge.

With that, thanks! And welcome!