Breakfast Cookies

My mom gave me this yummy recipe for breakfast cookies and I just had to share it with all of you. They are perfect if you're not a big breakfast eater or if you need something quick to eat on the way to the gym in the am. They also make a good afternoon snack. They are easy to make and pretty healthy for the most part.

Ingredients:
4 mashed bananas
1/2 c chunky peanut butter
1/2 c honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 c rolled oats
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c nonfat dry milk (or more flour or protein powder)
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 c dried cranberries/raisins/mini chocolate chips/etc.

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheets (even if they're non-stick).
Mix your ingredients in a large bowl.
Using 1/4 c measure, drop mounds of dough 3" apart on the cookie sheets.
Flatten and spread each mound to 2 and 3/4"round and about 1/2" thick.
Bake one sheet at a time for 14-16 minutes.
Cool on wire racks.
Store in an airtight container up to three days.
You can also freeze the cookies for up to two months.

Let me know what you guys think! Enjoy!

Fall Cooking

Since fall is here I've been dying to get in the kitchen and cook some yummy food! However, with my new job and nannying two days a week I've been working around 45-50 hours a week. That doesn't leave a lot of time for cooking - especially when I get home around 6pm or later. I've really been wanting to try out some recipes in my crock pot, but I don't really have any besides pulled pork. You can only make pulled pork so many times before you get sick of it. The other day as I was searching the web I came across some easy crock pot recipes that you make ahead of time, put in a freezer bag, and freeze until you make them. All you have to do is unthaw them in the fridge for 24 hours before putting them in the crock pot. I made three of the recipes in under 30 minutes. They were so easy to do! I made french dip sandwiches, hearty beef stew, and cilantro lime chicken. If you are interested in trying the recipes yourself, here's what you do:

Lay out your gallon size freezer bags and label them. Put the date on the bag too so you know when you prepared the meals:

 French Dip Sandwiches

Ingredients:

2-3 lb chuck roast

2 cans beef consommé (right next to the soups and beef broth)

6-8 hoagie buns

Directions:

Put the chuck roast in the freezer bag. Pour the cans of beef consommé over the meat and freeze.

When ready to cook:
Remove from the freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook in a crock pot on LOW for 8-11 hours (or HIGH for 5-7 hours). Remove the roast from the slow cooker and save the extra juice for dipping. With two forks, shred roast and serve meat on buns.

Hearty Beef Stew

Ingredients:
1 lb beef stew cubes
4 carrots, sliced (I used a can of carrots)
4 red potatoes, cut into large cubes
1 package dry onion soup mix
2 cans 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (10 oz) package frozen green peas

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.

When ready to cook:

Remove from freezer and thaw in the fridge for 24 hours. Cook in a crock pot on LOW for 7-10 hours (or HIGH for 5-6).

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
Juice from 2 limes
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a freezer bag. Mix together and zip bag closed.

When ready to cook:
Remove from freezer and thaw in fridge for 24 hours. Cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 4 hours). Serve with tortillas and toppings such as sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and cheese.

Let me know how your recipes turn out and what you think!

Pumpkin Muffins

These are one of my absolute favorite fall treats! With the cooler weather we've been having, I've been dying to make some kind of comfort food or some kind of fall treat. Why not just make my favorite fall pumpkin muffins? I hung out with a good friend, Sarah, on Friday night and we were able to enjoy these yummy muffins together. It's a super easy recipe and they turn out so well every time! Here's what you do:

Gather all of the ingredients:

1 box of yellow cake mix (do not follow directions on back of box)

1 15oz can of pumpkin

1 bag of mini chocolate chips

Nutmeg

Cinnamon

Foil muffin liners

Ingredients

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place your tinfoil muffin liners in your muffin pan. (I swear you need the tinfoil muffin liners. I tried to use the regular ones one time and it was a disaster.)

Mix all of the ingredients:

Mix together the whole box of cake mix, whole can of pumpkin, and the whole bag of chocolate chips in a medium size bowl. The original recipe that I got for these muffins had just these ingredients, but I've found that it enhances the fall taste if you add in some cinnamon and nutmeg. You can add as much or as little as you'd like. 

Yummy!

Once everything is evenly mixed together, fill the muffin liners evenly with the mix and place the pan in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Sometimes it's hard to tell if these are done or not since the toothpick method doesn't work. Since there are no eggs it's ok to eat them with a little gooeyness in the middle. Fifteen minutes should cook them through though.

Almost done!

Once they are done, take them out and let them cool for a few minutes and enjoy them while they're warm! I make these multiple times in fall because they are the perfect fix for a fall treat craving. Let me know what you guys think! Enjoy!

A date, 100 Degrees, and Homemade Wild Rice Soup

On Friday night Andrew and I decided to go on a spontaneous date night.  We started the evening by eating out at a restaurant that neither of us had ever been to: Burger Jones.  It was fantastic!  The atmosphere of the restaurant was fun and the burgers were the best burgers we have ever eaten.  Andrew was already planning our next dine-out experience there after just one bite of his burger. Along with their excellent burgers their fries were delicious, and I got a yummy twix shake to compliment my burger and fries. I do not have one complaint about our experience. Check out Burger Jones here.

My meal I ate at Burger Jones

We finished the evening by attending the play Music Man put on by the Calvin Christian middle schoolers Andrew is a long-term sub for. It was fantastic! The students did an excellent job singing and acting. When the play was over we were greeted by all of Andrew's students. It was fun to meet them all and hear their stories about Andrew.

On Saturday, Andrew started running a 100 degree fever after working outside in the cold and rain for five hours that morning washing decks. That called for a pretty low-key rest of the weekend for us and chance for me to take care of my love. I'd been wanting to try this recipe for homemade wild rice soup, but hadn't had a chance. Well, the rainy weather and my sick husband gave my the perfect opportunity to make the soup. It's an easy recipe and the soup cooks in your slow cooker throughout the day. I thought it turned out pretty well. There are just a few adjustments I'll try next time around. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)

2 medium stalks celery, diced (1 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced (1 cup)

1 cup diced smoked turkey or chicken (8 ounces)

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice

1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves (I didn't use these, but I think I will next time)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 1/2 cups chicken broth (I only used 3 1/2 cups, next time I will use 4 1/2)

1 can (12oz) evaporated fat-free milk

1/3 cup all-purpose flour (Next time I will start with 1/4 cup of flour and add more if it needs it)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Directions:

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion in oil about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Place onion, celery, carrots, turkey/chicken, wild rice, tarragon and pepper in a slow cooker. Pour the broth over the top of ingredients. Cover and cook on a low heat setting 6-8 hours or until wild rice and vegetables are tender. (I cooked mine for 5 1/2 hours on a high temp setting and it was well done. Next time I will cook on a high temp setting for 4 hours) Stir in peas the last 15 minutes of cooking. Mix the evaporated milk and flour; stir into soup. Cover and cook about 20 more minutes or until the soup thickens. (Next time I will add a few more spices to give it a little more flavor. Also, I used smoked turkey, but I might try it with some smoked chicken next time)

Hope your weekend was restful and relaxing!