Spaghetti Squash Carbonara & Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day! Yesterday was a pretty low key day for us.
We didn't want to do anything fancy and just wanted to relax. So, we went out and got some brunch at Serious Biscuit. The biscuits were actually pretty good. After brunch, we decided to walk to Pike Place Market. Probably the worst idea ever. There were a ton of people walking around getting flowers/chocolate. So Wayne quickly bought me some pretty tulips and we headed back home. I like getting flowers but I'm kind of picky about which ones. I don't like getting a bouquet of red roses. But I like white roses, one single red rose or bright flowers like tulips. To be honest, I think a bouquet of red roses is really cliche on Valentine's Day. I loved the tulip bouquet I got from Wayne though. It was really pretty and brightened up our bathroom. 

After coming back home, we both worked out, relaxed and then made dinner together. I have to say that I'm not into the whole balloons, teddy bears, or fancy dinners for Valentine's Day. All I really need is good food and good company (which I already have.) So, we made Zen Belly's Spaghetti Squash Carbonara and Not Without Salt's Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies.I didn't really plan on making the cookies on Valentine's Day, but the cookie mix arrived before and I figured why not make something with chocolate in it. Ashley Rodriguez, is a food blogger from Washington. I saw some other bloggers raving about her chocolate chip cookies. I decided to pay tribute to a Washingtonian and buy the mix to see what the hype was about. Oh man. These were sooooo effing good and worth the price for shipping. Woo wee these were pricey cookies. When I bought the mix, I was skeptical. It was a good chunk of money and I mean it is REALLY hard to make a really good chocolate chip cookie. Sometimes they are too dry, too chewy, to soft or not enough chocolate in them. BUT these fit the bill. I'm tempted to buy the mix again because they are THAT effing good.

I also bought her new cookbook, Date Night In. In the cookbook, she talks about how her and her husband are busy with life and their family. They lost touch for a while, and brought it back by rekindling their relationship in creating a drink and date night meal together. I love that. I think that often, most couples get into the routine of doing the same thing every day. They eventually lose touch with how they fell in love and those emotions. One of the things I love about my relationship with Wayne, is that we both see food as an adventure. It's a new experience and a way to create memories together. When I cook, every meal is a new experience not only for our taste buds but also our relationship. When we travel, we always go to a Farmers Market to explore the produce in the area. We also scope out awesome restaurants to try out too. Then at home, I try new recipes and we enjoy it together. It's fun and food has always been a part of our relationship. We're always trying new things and enjoy being around each other. :) I love you Wayne.

Anyways, let's get started!

 

First, we baked some spaghetti squash in the oven. For some reason, I only could find small spaghetti squashes. I guess they are slowly going out of season? 

Wayne helped by cooking up some bacon. Yum bacon.

 

We also mixed up some egg whites and Parmesan cheese. 

We also saved the egg yolks to put on top.

Then we mixed up the bacon, bacon grease, parm cheese egg mixture and cooked spaghetti squash together.

While Wayne was helping out with dinner, I got started on the cookies. I put some softened butter in the bowl. Paula Deen that sh*t!

Added an egg to the the appropriate packages in the cookie mix. 

Then added the huge chocolate chunks from the cookie mix.

Rolled them into ball and sprinkled the salt that came in a package.

Ta-da! Oh man, these were glorious. The sea salt on top gave it a slight salty touch, while the cookies were a little crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Plus every bite had chocolate in it. That's what you call a damn good chocolate chip cookie. I already ate like seven fresh out of the oven. 

The finished product with a glass of wine of course. I topped it with some fresh cilantro. The spaghetti squash carbonara was delicious. The cheese, egg and bacon grease went together perfectly. It was a romantic and simple evening. I wouldn't have it any other way. <3

Zenbelly's Cookbook here & Not Without Salt's Cookie mix here. I'm not asked to endorse them, I just really like their recipes and am sharing where you can get their books/cookie mixes.

Emma