Chocolate Peanut Butter Delights

When I was younger, my friend Ashley's mom made a version of these that I loved.  She would make these cookies and spaghetti every time we came over to play.  Eating these bring back fun memories! 

Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2/3 cup natural peanut butter, optional
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine honey, peanut butter and coconut oil, stirring until everything blends together smoothly.
3. Stir in oats, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt and mix until everything is fully incorporated and coated.
4. Use a spoon or small cookie scoop to drop cookies down onto parchment-lined baking sheets, then place in freezer for at least 15 minutes to set.
5. Store in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer (depending on how you like them) and enjoy!

On My Nightstand...

My girls took a very lukewarm bath tonight.  After investing, Bentley discovered we are out of propane gas - again.  He reminded me that at least it's warm outside this time which means our house temps won't drop.  I called to leave a message with the company who delivers our gas and they were going to send out a guy tonight.  When he called me at 9:00 p.m. to say he would drive from Durham to Apex to get the truck, I just decided a bath could wait.  He was so nice about it and honestly I was going to work out in the morning anyway :)!  

All that introduction to say, I had a few minutes to spare (since I didn't shower), so I thought I'd blog.  It's been a while.  For those of you who frequent our site for stored recipes, I hope you like the new design.  It just needed something fresh and hip.  Alas, I went to my friend Ashley - who is crazy talented and visits this blog more than I do probably - for help:).  Several clicks later and we have a fresh look that makes me happy!

I know I have a stack of recipes to share, but they are all organized in my notebook downstairs and I'm upstairs :).  I'll share recipes soon.  Summer break is a mere 7 weeks away!  I am thrilled unlike most of my friends.  We got a taste of slowing down over the past several days and it felt so good.   

So the reason I got on here was to blog about books I've read recently that I recommend.  People ask me how I find time to read.  It's so cliche but "we find time for the things we enjoy."  And mainly it's because I gave up TV.  As in, I don't follow any shows.  We don't even have cable and our antenna won't pick up local stations because we live in the woods :).  Bentley manages with re-runs of shows on Amazon Prime while he works or when he can't sleep.  He only misses it during times like tonight (National Championship Game).  But he listens to the radio which makes me kind of laugh because it's so old school and I love it.  He has a great imagination and can envision all the plays I am sure :). 

Banana Muffins

Mix together these wet ingredients:

1 cup ripe bananas (about 2 medium sized bananas)
1 egg or flax egg (2 tbs. flax meal mixed w/6 tbs. water & let stand for 5 minutes)
1/2 cup milk (almond, soy, coconut, etc.)
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut oil melted

Mix together these dry ingredients:
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 cup flour (whole wheat, gluten free, etc.)
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (optional)

Combine wet with dry ingredients.  Poor batter into muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Makes 16 muffins.

Enjoy for breakfast or as a snack!

-leanne

Mexican Quinoa

My friend Rachel made this quinoa dish for our Book Club last month.  It was a huge hit!  

We read Kelly Minter's new book, Wherever the River Runs.  I highly recommend the book - favorite I've read this year - and I've read a lot of good books!  

enjoy both-

leanne

ONE PAN MEXICAN QUINOA

Prep Time  10 minutes

Cook Time  25 minutes

Total Time  35 minutes

Yield  4 servings

INGREDIENTS

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         1 jalapenos, minced

·         1 cup quinoa

·         1 cup vegetable broth

·         1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

·         1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes

·         1 cup corn kernels

·         1 teaspoon chili powder

·         1/2 teaspoon cumin

·         Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

·         1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

·         Juice of 1 lime

·         2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

·         Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

·         Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.

·         Serve immediately.

I'm Overwhelmed...

Sometimes I hear lyrics to a song while driving down the road and I can't seem to get to a stoplight fast enough to look them up on my phone.  The latest song that I downloaded immediately, then played at least 10x that day, was "Overwhelmed" by Big Daddy Weave.

The lyrics to "Overwhelmed" are powerful which is what initially caught my attention!  Even if you have heard the song, go play it again before reading on and listen to the lyrics.  (Here is a link to the official music video).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiGb14tTaH4

My favorite line - "God I run into your arms, unashamed because of mercy" - praise Jesus!  My girls have heard it played one to many times for their liking, but I just can't seem to get enough of it.  Sure the tune is catchy and the words are beautiful, but no doubt God knew I would need to hear it 100x before I actually applied the thing & started living it out.  So often I believe truth, but living out that truth is hard.  Plain and simple.  Knowing and applying are two totally different verbs.       

My BJ's Shopping List

I've been wanting to put this post together for some time and was reminded of it when I recently read 100 Days of Real Food's, My Go-To Costco Shopping List.

We used to be members of Costco until having kids and it began to be unpractical to drive 25 minutes to our closest store in Raleigh.  Costco ROCKS and I have been wishing for years that they would bring one to the suburbs where we live!  There have been rumors for the last few years, and I recently saw our wish looks like it is coming true, less than 5 miles from home!  
http://www.apexchamber.com/sections/whatsnew/documents/DecemberNews.pdf



We purchased a BJ's membership a year ago when we really started flying through food like crazy around here with 5 people to feed.  Especially fresh produce.  I am super happy with my BJ's membership and can get many things there in bulk at much better savings overall than my other grocery stores.  We go through produce so fast, that I typically hit BJ's once a week before it is time to pick up my kids from school, since it is in that general vicinity.  You can use BJ's coupons, manufacturer's coupons and can stack them as well.

I'll be honest, I don't have time to write down prices, though I know approximates for many items by memory and I will share those with you.    Just know that the prices are generally fabulous compared to buying the same things in smaller quantities in your regular stores.  Also note that this list is not completely "clean".  This is real life, friends, and we DO eat processed food.  We just try to keep it to a minimum and for the processed items we do buy, we try to make "better for you" choices.   The following are things that I regularly purchase at my local BJ's:

PRODUCE
5 lb bag of ORGANIC gala apples for ~$10 (I buy this every week; we fly through it!)
3 lbs bananas ~$1.35 (seriously, you can't beat that!)
4 count bag avocados ~$4.99
1 lb grape tomatoes ~$5
3 lb bag sweet potatoes ~$2.50
Nature's Greens 2 lb.  bag chopped kale $1.99
Nature's Greens 2 lb. bag chopped collard greens $3
organic salad mixes
Love Cooked Beets (4 pack, $6.99)
baby carrots
bell peppers (4 count bag of red for ~$5, 4 count bag of green for ~$4)
Fresh Express Romaine Hearts (3 count, $2.79)
brussels sprouts
mushrooms
berries (in season)

REFRIGERATED
salsas
cheeses
chickpea salad
Wholly Guacamole box of individual guac containers
Pete & Gerry's Organic Eggs 12 ct, $3.99
Naked juices (huge bottles for ~$5)
Stonyfield Farm Organic squeeze yogurt tubes 
Applegate Farm Organics (wide variety of products!)

FROZEN
organic chopped  spinach 3.5 lbs $6.99
organic broccoli florets 4 lbs. $7.69
Alexia sweet potato fries 
Wild caught Sockeye salmon filets
frozen fruit

PAPER PRODUCTS
paper plates (cause I'm lazy a lot)
toilet paper (BJ's brand is usually cheapest, but Charmin Basic with coupons)
paper towels (BJ's brand unless another brand is cheaper with coupons)

LAUNDRY/PERSONAL CARE
laundry detergent
dish detergent
Method cleaning supplies
shampoo/conditioner
shave gel

PANTRY
ground flaxseed
chia seeds
quinoa
organic maple syrup
organic extra-virgin coconut oil 36oz. $11.49
pure vanilla extract 16oz. $7
raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, etc.)
Organic peanut butter (just peanuts, salt) 26oz. $5.99
dried apricots
dried mango
raisin boxes
kcups
Annie's Mac & Cheese (12 boxes for $12!)
Wild Planet Wild Albacore Tuna (4 cans for $12)

SNACKS
Pirate's Booty (huge bag OR individual snack size bags)
Food Should Taste Good Sea Salt Brown Rice Crackers
Organic Corn Tortilla Chips
Various brand applesauce pouches
Kind Bars (box of 18 bars for ~$22)
Clif Kid Organic ZBars (box of 24)
Nature's Path Organic Dark Chocolate Macaroon Crunch Granola Bars (box of 48)
Veggie Sticks
Skinny Pop popcorn (individual snack size bags, non GMO!)
Popcorn Indiana White Cheddar Popcorn (non GMO)
Popcorn Indiana Kettle Corn (non GMO)


dawn

Orange & Pepita Granola

This granola recipe is delicious and super easy to make!