Showing posts with label oatmeal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oatmeal. Show all posts

Monday, October 29, 2012

Cooking with my Blog Friends

How are you east coasters doing so far?!  Right now my kids and I are hunkered down in the living room with flashlights strapped to our foreheads, waiting for the eye of the storm.  I've got a pile of blankets, a bunch of candles and two loaves of bread.  That's what they tell you to stock up on for huge tropical storms, right?  So far it's just pretty nasty and drizzly, and I'm hoping that it doesn't get worse than that.  Unfortunately, I think it's probably wishful thinking.

Speaking of storms, I've been a tornado in the kitchen lately.  My schedule has me at home a lot more, and to keep myself occupied, I've been tackling so many of the recipes all of you have been putting out.  Each and every one has been a complete hit in our home, and they are all perfect for fall, especially if you need something to distract you from oncoming hurricanes!

All of the pictures below belong to the blogger who posted them.  They are not mine.


Taste and Tell: Homemade Tator Tots (Perfect for your leftover mashed potatoes.)


















Mel's Kitchen Cafe:  Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (As you may have noticed, I've currently got a bit of a  crush on Mel's blog.  She can do no wrong!)
























Stay safe east coasters!  We'll get through this together!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Energy Bites



Energy. Somehow there was a cosmic transfer providing my kids with endless energy, leaving me with little.

However, lately I've been working hard to conserve and produce as much energy as I can. I've been going to bed earlier, exercising regularly, drinking green tea and taking my vitamins. But, sometimes the weather is rainy, or my day is extra busy, and despite my best efforts I still hit that 2pm slump.

That's when you know you need a pick-me-up. I found these little energy bites on Pinterest. They were very quick to make and can be made tons of different ways. I made mine with almond butter and honey, and while I like almond butter, I think they would have been a lot better with salted peanut butter. I also wouldn't have used as much honey. You can add or subtract whatever nuts, grains, seeds or chocolate that you'd like. If you don't like it one way, be sure to try it another.




Energy Bites
From Fooddoodles.com

makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size

Ingredients

1/2 C nut butter(almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter. Anything will work here, but I would prefer peanut butter)
1/4-1/3 C honey(I believe brown rice syrup would also work. I�m not sure of thinner sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave though as they may not hold together as well)
1 C old fashioned rolled oats(you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)
1 C shredded unsweetened coconut(you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed(I wouldn�t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds. For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour)
1-2 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt
1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations (optional) I used about 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 C other addins(any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc)

Directions

In a large bowl add the nut butter, honey or other sweetener, vanilla and salt if needed. Use less vanilla if yours is very strong or more if you really enjoy the vanilla flavor and don�t buy an alcohol based kind. If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine. If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything. Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients.

In this case I used almond butter and for my addins I used equal parts sesame seeds, poppy seeds and mini chocolate chips. Mix well. Once it�s all combined place in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then remove from the fridge, scoop out some dough and roll into a ball. I find it�s much easier, and works better to squeeze the handful together to compact it and then roll it into a ball.

If yours are too sticky you can considering adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren�t as sticky. Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

False Alarm! Gonna Celebrate with Some Cookies!



If you could see me right now, I would look a bit like this!
,


Why? Because life went ahead and handed me a complete freebie today. When I woke up this morning, my beloved camera wasn't working, and the prognosis was not looking good. And my other equally beloved point-and-shoot camera (along with three months worth of pictures) was lost, hopelessly lost, trust me, I had called and looked EVERYWHERE. There was heartbreak, there were tears, and there may have also been irrational ebay bidding, along with ebay panic, and then utter ebay relief to find that i had been outbid at the last minute.

But then miracles happened, and not one, but BOTH of my cameras were restored to me by the end of the day. There was relief, there were more tears (so I love my cameras okay), and then there were cookies. How else does a foodie celebrate if not with food? Thank you all for your sweet comments at my post below, but I can't even tell you how happy I am to not have to take a break after all!



I found these gems at Gina's Skinny Taste, a wonderful blog with light recipes, especially conducive to those doing Weight Watchers. Now I'm all about cooking and eating healthy, but when it comes to dessert, I'm a purist. I don't think dessert should be messed with, just eat the dang brownie! But if you were to serve me these cookies without ever mentioning that they were light, I don't think I'd ever know. They're chewy, they're sweet, they are loaded with chocolate and my whole family LOVED them! Like a good girl, I had two, but I could have eaten these babies all night. Check out the recipe here!


Don't you love the plate? My parents sent it for my birthday a few days ago, I think I should be allowed to use it for at least a month, don't you? :)

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Monster Cookies


My oven is broken, and it won't be fixed for a week. I. AM. DYING. Not only does it hamper my ability to cook regular meals for my family, but it's also broken during the biggest baking season of the year! If you listen very carefully, you'll hear my waistline sigh in relief. However it's being completely drowned out by my heart, soul and stomach, who are screaming in bitter protest. I'm not a huge baker, but this time of year I live for it. Lord, give me the strength to last the week.

Dramatics aside, I have to share with you one of my favorite cookies. The first time I tried these I was at my cousin's house. She keeps the dough, frozen in ready made blobs, ready to throw in the oven, how genius is that! I ate one fresh out of the oven, closed my eyes and sighed that it was the best cookie I had ever eaten. That hasn't changed, which is why it's a surprise to me that it's taken this long to make them again. This was actually a product of having way too many leftover M&M's from Halloween. These cookies seriously have everything in them, peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate, raisins, no wonder they're my favorite!

Sigh, I'd like to post this recipe in honor of my broken oven, I can't wait to be reunited!

Monster C0okies
Paula Deen

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (12-ounce) jar creamy peanut butter
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup raisins, optional
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags.