Breakfast Cookies

I love breakfast. Mmmmm. I'm all about easy-healthy-fast breakfast stuff (cause I'm most definitely NOT a morning person....)

I found this VeRy EaSy basic recipe on Pinterest - TWO ingredients? Could it get any easier?

Here's the LINK that I used as my base.

Here's what I did:

Breakfast Cookie
From TheBurlapBag.com

Ingredients:
2 Bananas (the riper the better! Non-ripe bananas still work though...just more effort to mash them)
1 Cup Oats (the recipe calls for Quick Cooking Oats - which I didn't have. I used a packet of flavored instant oats (1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup old fashioned oats)

*I added in a tad of vanilla so technically I used 3 ingredients* 

DO IT: 

1. Mash you bananas in a bowl.

2. Mix in your oats (and vanilla if want).

3. Stir in Add-Ins of choice (chocolate chips, nuts, etc..) I kept mine simple this time with no add-ins.

4. SPRAY cookie sheet. Don't forget this step. Can you imagine scrubbing off baked on oatmeal?? ick. SPRAY IT. 

5. BAKE at 350* for 15 min.

6. ENJOY!

Verdict: These were super EASY and really YUMMY! My kids liked them and I probably should've doubled it - they were gobbled up it 5 minutes.

I read (and agree) that using Old Fashioned Oats would probably yield a tougher cookie since the oats don't get cooked as quick. I wonder if you made the mix and let it sit for a while (overnight in the fridge maybe?) if the Old Fashioned Oats would soak up some of the liquid and cook better. Since I used half instant and half O.F. mine came out fine - not too tough. The flavor from the instant pack added a nice touch too! I used an Apple/Cinnamon packet which paired well with the bananas....Mmmm.

I will definitely be doing this one again and experimenting with different add-ins and types of oats! 

Food in Review (week 8)

Time to share my menu plan from last week.....aka time to sit at the computer and not care that my house is a living tornado zone. Meh - I can clean later. 

I tried a few *new* recipes this week and they were KEEPERS! Woot - woot. I love it when that happens! 

SUNDAY: Blueberry Pancake Bites with Sausage

I found this variation of the classic pancake on Pinterest and gave it a whirl....look how cute they look:

Image from Recipe website

I made ours with blueberries and served them with some sausage links. The kids thought they were fun and I enjoyed the 'fluffiness' of them and that I didn't have to stand and FLIP pancakes for ever. 

MONDAY: Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice and Peas

Wow. Seriously. This one is a KEEPER. Soooo good. Delish. 

Ok - enough rambling...

I've had this pinned on my Pinterest board for a loonnng time but have never tried it because it requires a lot of prep and time. I wish I would've tried it sooner - it was that good. I can't wait to make it again. It looked, smelled and tasted like takeout! Maybe even better? You decide. 

Here's the LINK for the recipe. I used chicken THIGHS instead of breasts and absolutely loved it with them! 

Look at how WONDERFUL that plate of food looks! It tastes even better...have I convinced you to try it yet? 

TUESDAY: White Chicken Chili/Soup over Rice

Have you noticed I do a lot of variations of this? Cuz I do....a lot. Good thing we like it. It's an easy crock pot meal that I can modify to what I have or want to use.

Here's what hung out in my Crock Pot this time:

Chicken Thigh (the remaining thighs that I didn't use for Monday) 
Black Beans
Corn
Can of Green Chilis
Chicken Broth

To serve I put a scoop of rice in a bowl and poured the yummy soup/chili mix over it....Mmmmm. Can't go wrong with this one!

WEDNESDAY: Turkey Burgers/Fries/Broccoli 

I love ground turkey. It's cheap. It's versatile. It's healthy.

I made THESE burgers and served them on those thin buns (I don't know what they're actually called...)

Some frozen fries and steamed broccoli helped me round out this meal. I made 3 'mini' burgers for my mini men...they thought those were pretty sweet. I agree.

Gotta love a good, simple meal. Picture-less but still delicious. I was too busy eating it.

THURSDAY: Sweet and Sticky Baked Chicken Drummies 

This was another new one. I was a little hesitant since I don't cook with bone-in meat much....but I gave it a whirl anyways.

I let my drummies hang out in the marinade for a solid 24 hours and I'm glad I did! YUM.

HERE'S the recipe. They taste as good as they look. 

Look......

Image from Recipe website 

My kids think it's a riot to eat meat off the bone - they like to discuss where on the animal it was...weird? perhaps. 

I served this with some rice and peas and a SMILE. I try to serve all my meals with a smile....it's a nice side right? right.  

This one is another new KEEPER. When I see drummies go on sale I know what I'll be doing with 'em!! Mmmmmm. 

FRIDAY: Black Bean Quesadillas 

I prepped my quesadillas in the afternoon and stacked them with buttered outsides to hang out in the fridge till it was eating time. It was a cool trick - once it was time for dinner I just fired up my griddle and didn't have to waste time prepping them! 

Does anyone else do quesadillas on your griddle? You know - the thing you use for pancake flippin'? Well - it's a SLICK way to make a bunch of quesadillas at once! 

For my filling I put some black beans in a bowl (I drained them 95% and kept just a tad of liquid) and smashed them with a fork. 

Into that I added:

Garlic Powder

Chili Powder

Oregano

Mix 'er up and there's your filling! I put a layer of that then a layer of shredded cheese - smooshed between two corn tortillas. Yum. 

There ya have it. Another week in review. Lots of happy tummy's. I went grocery shopping today and have my game plan set for the week. Game on food. I'll win. 

Happy Cooking. 

Easy Homemade LARA Bars

I love easy.

I love healthy.

I love homemade.

Get where I'm going with this?

My sis-in-law introduced me to homemade Lara Bars! So simple. So delicious. After I saw her bars (which looked amazing!) I decided I wanted to join in the fun. Cue: Pinterest.

While rummaging through Pinterest I found a few promising recipes - they all looked very similar and very simple. *Remember I like simple?*

So I tried one. And I loved it. They were gone in 24 hours. My hubster recommended I make MORE next time! Yep, I will.

Here's the original recipe I used....

Homemade Cashew Cookie Lara Bars 
From The Inner Gourmet

NEED:

- 8 oz DATES
- 1/2 cup CASHEWS

DO IT: 

- In your food processor process your cashews till small (think ice-cream topping small). Set aside in bowl.

- Throw your dates in the processor and process till no chunks left. Add into bowl with crushed cashews.

- MIX. I got in there with my clean hands but I'm sure a spoon could do the trick too!

- Spray some plastic wrap and set your 'ball' on it. Fold over tops of wrap and then form into a block and set in fridge for 30 min to harden.

- Take out and cut into desired sizes. I was able to get 8 hearty snack sizes out of this batch (probably equivalent to 4 or 5 store bought bars)

- EAT! I stored mine in the fridge wrapped in wax paper so they were easy to grab and enjoy!

I did the math and with the dates and cashews I bought/used for these it came out to $3.38 for my EIGHT bars! Not too shabby....

I have some other variations pinned and begging to be tried....next up I think I'm going to try the Raw Lemon Lara Bar. It calls for Almonds, Lemon, Cashews and Dates....Mmmmmm.

Oatmeal Mini-Cakes for Breakfast

Yep. Cake for breakfast. That's how I roll....well, not really. I'm all about being healthy and passing on that lifestyle to my kids! This breakfast recipe feels like you're cheating and eating CAKE for breakfast but it is oh.so.healthy for you - and suuuupppeeer easy to boot. *I just typed 'to boot'. Ugh. Turning in my cool card....* 

I was inspired by a pin I found on Pinterest here and tweaked it just a tad to fit my liking - here's my version of it...

**like those little feet on the top of the pic? It's really not MY baby - just a cute stuffed bear they were playing with**

Oatmeal Mini-Cakes 
*Adapted from ChocolateCoveredKatie

- 2.5 cups oats (I like old-fashioned)
- 1 1/4 c mashed banana (the brown-er the better!)
- 5 Tbsp sugar or sweetener of choice (honey, agave, etc)
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 2 Tbsp oil (veg or coconut)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup chocolate chip (or nuts, raisins, dried fruit, etc...)
- 2 Tbsp water + 1 tsp baking soda

I prep mine the night before and store it in the fridge - this way the oats can soak up all the yummy goodness and they become easier to digest...and it totally cuts breakfast prep in the morning! 

In a bowl combine banana, sugar, oil and vanilla. Add in oats and mix well - Add in water and stir together.

Put a cover (plastic wrap, press-n-seal, etc..) and pop in the fridge over night.

In the morning -- 

Preheat oven to 350* and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin ready (I like to use paper liners and SPRAY them)

Take your bowl out and notice most of the liquid is gone (soaked into the oats). Mix about 2 Tb water with 1tsp baking soda and ADD into your big bowl. Mix well.

At this point you can mix in your choice of add-ins! I normally pour 2-3 muffins without chocolate for my littlest guy then mix my chips in for the rest. Fill up your muffin tin and pop in the oven.

BAKE 18-21 min depending on your oven. They should puff up a tad and smell amazing.

**I like to eat mine with a fork...it's seriously like CAKE! Mmmmm.

I make these probably twice a week and we eat the leftovers the next morning warmed in the microwave.

Kids review? THUMBS UP! They love 'em!

Baby review? Well, I went to take the pic and it was gone. Like...he inhaled it in .5 seconds. I take that as a GREAT review! 

One time I made these I was lacking in the banana department *gasp!* so I used the banana I had and applesauce for the rest to get a grand total of 1+1/4 cup. Those were delish! I'll probably do that again on purpose. Mmmm.

Save yourself some time tomorrow morning and whip up the batter for these tonight -- you won't be disappointed! I know what I'll be making tonight for tomorrow's breakfast...CAKE! Well, sorta. My healthy cake:)