"Why do you do it?"

In June, we visited family in CO and someone asked us, "Why do you eat gluten free?" It's hard not to feel like a burden when we visit others -- we have six people in our family, gluten free items are more expensive, harder to find, and {according to some} not as tasty. So it's hard to not apologize or feel bad or like an inconvenience. But I'm getting a little braver and believing in myself more. So here's a little more to the story... 

Way back in July of 2010, Jeremiah took a trip to Africa. *But wait* [even prior to this, it was an issue, but we never really attempted to do much to accommodate it. It just felt mildly annoying.] While he was in Ethiopia he got sick and was given a very strong antibiotic to "kill the bug", but when he returned home his gut microbiome, was never the same. We discovered this one night when I made a delicious chicken-velveeta-broccoli supper and, without being too graphic, after spending an unreasonable amount of time in the bathroom, let's just say, I never made it again. After this unforgettable night, Jeremiah began doing his research on milk alternatives, yogurt, bacteria strains, kefir... basically a deep dive into what he could have, what would help heal his gut, why he was having such strong reactions to dairy (as well as other high fat foods such as pork, avocados, hot dogs, etc.). While he did all this, I didn't make the changes with him. My stance was, "I'm sorry you're going through this, but no, I like all those things so... you're on your own, buddy." Super supportive wife. 

Fast forward to August 2015 and we realized Zoe (a newborn at the time) seemed to have a reaction when I was eating dairy. So, much to my dismay, I made the switch. My first foray was into cashew milk because I already knew I didn't like almond or coconut, especially when eating my daily cereal. It helped with the transition, because I felt like it tasted most similar to regular dairy milk. Once I removed all the dairy, her crying and screaming dramatically decreased. I was sold on this outcome alone. 

Not long after, we felt like Levi seemed bloated and was in some pain which made it hard for him to control his emotions. Once we moved to KC in 2017, we took him to a chiropractor and she recommended removing dairy and gluten from his diet. As he was only 3 years old at the time, we decided we would do this as a family. So in November 2017, we took the plunge. I was 8 months pregnant at the time, the holidays were coming, and people kind of knew me for my baking abilities. I was feeling rather intimidated and a bit sad because I knew some of my holiday favorite foods would not taste quite so, tasty, that year. But as we began to overhaul our diet -- it wasn't quite as big since we had already cut most dairy, so it was mainly the gluten at this point -- we noticed changes, and quick! My eczema was gone. Behavior issues that the kids had been having, lessened. Jeremiah's gut began to feel better. I wasn't as tired. Jeremiah wasn't as tired. Levi's face began to look less bloated and even now, we all get sick less than we used to. We felt the changes and the changes felt good. 

How do we live this out long term? For awhile, Jeremiah and I were adamant that we were 100% all the time, no mistakes. But now that we've been doing this for almost 5 years, we are trying to find the line. And sometimes we disagree on where the line is. Jeremiah tends to ride the more conservative approach, but this makes sense since he is the one who is more sensitive and has pain and repercussions if he doesn't. It's been hard too because the kids have been so young up to this point, we couldn't get much feedback from them aside from what we observed. Now we try to ask questions after we eat something out of the ordinary. We try to relax when we are in a place that is new and we can't manage to get them something to eat that "meets our standards". But it is a hard line to follow because it's all based on our best judgment. 

But what does it all mean? It means we pay attention. It means that we want to take our health seriously. This is the only body, the only life we get. Technically, could we eat gluten and dairy? Yep, we sure can. We're not allergic. But we really feel convicted that God has given us the wisdom and understanding that for our family, we want to do better. I've read too many books, since we started this journey 12 years ago, that talk about how well our bodies can adapt, process, manage all of these foods... right now. But over time, the toll it takes on our bodies to do that work, particularly if we have an intolerance, does damage to our body that is irreversible. Just because we are not seeing a problem now, doesn't mean we say, "Oh who cares? I'm young! My body can handle this!" We are looking to the future for how we want to treat our bodies, how we want to feel when we're in our 60s, 70s, and 80s. Some days are harder than others. We've taken our own treats to birthday parties -- will we offend the host? Are our kids missing out? Why can't life just be easier?! Ultimately, our heart behind these changes, as a family, is to help our kids make their own healthy choices in the future. Is it sometimes worth it to eat something that might hurt our tummies later? Can we enjoy foods without gluten and dairy? {Yes!} How do our bodies feel after eating certain food items? It seems like it will be a lifelong journey for all of us. A journey of awareness, treating our bodies kindly, and supporting one another. 

I plan to do some follow-up posts about how I bake and cook now that we eat this way. I hope it might help others who might want to try, but haven't felt sure where to start. Some days it can feel overwhelming -- we eat nearly all meals at home, there are always tons of dishes because even snacks are hard to find so I make those too, there's chopping, cutting, prepping, cooking, and more. If you have questions I'd love to hear them! Or give me some ideas for possible future topics if you're interested. 

To life... full of delicious food!       

Revised Oreo Truffles

I learned how to make oreo truffles in college and have enjoyed them many Christmases since. But once Jeremiah began having more trouble with dairy, it wasn't as fun to make them anymore. So I just stopped. Now that Zoë seems to have trouble with dairy as well, I decided it was time to get creative and try an alternate version. I looked up alternatives to cream cheese and one of the first options I found was coconut cream mixed with some lemon juice. I decided to make it even easier on myself; so after crushing up an entire package of oreos in the food processor, I mixed in all the cream from a 13 oz. can of Thai kitchen coconut cream with a spatula. It was VERY wet, so I didn't let the kids help with the rolling part. Next time I will use either half the amount of cream or double up on the oreos. After rolling into balls I froze for a couple of hours then dipped them in vanilla almond bark.

We had them after dinner that night and they were delicious! The coconut flavor was not overwhelming and they obviously held together quite well. We saved a few for Christmas day and enjoyed the rest. I hope you enjoy this dairy-free version!

Recent Recipes

I have in fact been baking and cooking, and quite a few new things I might add! It has been great and kept us from eating out. At this time in life I don't take the time to photograph the steps or even the end result as I did in years past. But since some of the recipes we've tried recently have been pretty stellar I thought I'd at least share where I found the recipe so you can try them too, especially if you are in a rut like I was. Bon appetit!

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas 

Baked Sweet & Sour Chicken - Both Jeremiah and I agree that if we wanted Chinese takeout, we could make this at home and our craving would be satisfied. Zeke even asked for more! 

French Dip Sandwiches 

Double Chocolate M&M Cookies

Spaghetti Sauce

Bow-tie Lasagna

Chipotle Chicken Chili

Red Velvet Sheet Cake

Chocolate Sugar cookies - I loved these! I think I shall make these every year for Valentine's Day!! 

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I told you I was on a roll! Most of these I've made in just the past 2 weeks, and even twice! Try something new this week!

To life... full of new recipe wins! 

Cinnamon Blueberry Crumble Bars

Awhile back King Soopers was having a great deal on blueberries so I snatched up several 18 oz. containers... several as in 10, I believe. We ate some; I froze 2 quart size bags worth; I made blueberry muffins; and I also made these bars! They were really terrific. I liked the added texture of the oatmeal they called for. Here's the recipe:

Cinnamon Blueberry Crumble Bars
**from the Cake Mix Doctor 

Ingredients: 
1 pkg. plain yellow cake mix
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 c. old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
2 lg. eggs
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 c. fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. granulated sugar

To Make: 
Preheat the oven to 350*. Set aside an ungreased 9x13" baking pan. Place the cake mix, melted butter, oatmeal, brown sugar, eggs, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The mixture will be thick. Reserve 1 1/2 cups for the topping. Transfer the remaining crust mixture to the pan. Using your fingertips, press the mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan so that it reaches all sides. For the filling, place the blueberries and granulated sugar in a small bowl and stir to combine. Pour the blueberries onto the crust, and spread with a spoon so that the berries are evenly distributed. Pinch off pieces of the reserved crust mixture and scatter them over the filling. Place the pan in the oven. Bake the cake until it is light brown and bubbling, 40-45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool, 30 minutes. Cut the cake into 24 bars.
**Store these bars, covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (We did this. They were good cold.). Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the bars overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

To life... full of fresh, summer blueberries!

Blackberry Pie Bars

Now that I'm back to cooking and baking again, I'm ready to start sharing some of these recipes with you. I made these last week and they were well received and eaten! I printed this recipe off at least 1 or 2 years ago, but just now have gotten around to making it for the first time. Jeremiah said these are the best bars I've made in a long time!

Blackberry Pie Bars
   *from joythebaker.com

Crust & Topping
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 1/2 c. (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
zest of two lemons

Blackberry Filling
4 lg. eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 (16 oz.) packages frozen blackberries, defrosted and rained
  (You can also use 6 c. fresh blackberries, or 1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen blackberries and 3 c. fresh)
  **If you're using frozen berries, be sure to defrost and drain the excess liquid. Place the frozen berries on a plate in the refrigerator overnight. They're defrosted and ready for bar baking!

To make the crust and topping - 

Preheat the oven to 350* F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside. Zest two lemons. (I don't have a zester, so I've always just used my cheese grater. In this case I wish I had made the zest much smaller because with the larger pieces it created some hard/chewy spots in the crust that I didn't really enjoy. So zest small!) Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface (I just laid down some wax paper on the kitchen table.). Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon. Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release the oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.

Combine the lemon sugar, flour, salt, and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

Reserve 1 1/2 c. of the crust mixture to use as the topping. Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan. (It seems like a lot of crust and I wondered if the filling would even fit, but it does and it's actually quite a good ratio of crust-to-filling.) Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes until it is golden brown (this took much longer than 15 min. for me, more like 25 min.) Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling - 

Whisk the eggs in a lg. bowl. Add the sugar, sour cream, flour, and salt. Gently fold in the blackberries. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust. You may have to distribute the blackberries evenly around.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

I thought these bars were good both warm and cold. I think they would have been great served with some vanilla ice cream warm and then are good straight out of the fridge, nice and cold. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

To life... full of making lemon sugar for the first time!

Toddler Muffins

A couple of weeks ago I reached out to one of my facebook groups for breakfast ideas for Zeke. He is not a picky eater at all and was happily eating what I made for breakfast each day, but I wanted some ideas for my arsenal. I was the one getting bored! Several ideas these moms suggested were smoothies, greek yogurt, fruit, banana pancakes, giant breakfast cookies, and these, Toddler Muffins. I entered the search on pinterest and found them quickly. I made them just a few days later and they were a success! Jeremiah and I really enjoyed them too, so we had to set limits for ourselves so we wouldn't eat all of Zeke's breakfasts! I enjoyed them best on the first day when they were fresh out of the oven. I tried them with a little butter one time and a little glaze another and actually preferred them plain! (Which is a surprise if you know me.) If you would like a good breakfast for your little one that increases his intake of fruits and vegetables (or even for you adults!) then you should give these a try!

Toddler Muffins
**From Deliciously Declassified

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar, or to taste (I used 1/2 c. and was happy with the amount of sweetness)
2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 c. pumpkin puree
2 carrots, grated (I'm not actually sure how many I put in, I had baby carrots I wanted to use up, but they were not overwhelming, regardless.)
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. all-purpose flour (I used Ultragrain flour)
1/2 c. Quaker oats
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cloves (I don't always have ground cloves on hand, so I'll often substitute pumpkin pie spice and use a little less of the cinnamon and nutmeg.)
1/2 t. salt

HOW TO MAKE THEM:
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth.
Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and eggs.
Stir in the flour, oats, baking soda, spices, and salt until just combined.
Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.
Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups (if you’re making large muffins, use a full ice cream scoop, if you’re making mini muffins, use 1/2 a scoop).
Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean- bake time largely depends on your muffin size, I only baked my mini muffins for 13 minutes.
Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze. (We ate ours quick enough, we just left them at room temperature. Next time I might actually double the batch so we'd have some to put in the freezer.) 

To life... full of sneaky fruits and vegetables! 

If you give a Moose a Muffin...

Two weeks ago I made a blueberry pie. When I was done putting it together I had leftover crust, so I rolled it out, cut it into strips, poured on a little butter and sprinkled them with some cinnamon-sugar. I baked them for awhile and then later that evening I started eating them after supper. I ate the first two and then remembered I had frosting in the fridge! So I took it out and heated it up so it would be easier to dip them in. I heated them up and it got pretty runny and I was reminded of the frosting they serve on the side of your dessert breadsticks at Pizza Hut. Then I really wanted some dessert sticks! A few days later I got online and started searching for a recipe... I went to all my usual spots and couldn't find anything! I was surprised. I figured other people would have a recipe for dessert breadsticks, but no.

I ended up choosing a recipe from Tasty Kitchen for Buttery Breadsticks. The recipe called for garlic salt, parmesan cheese, and italian seasoning. I just modified mine to make them dessert-y instead! They were really, really good! In the future I might serve them to a larger group because they were definitely best right out of the oven. By day 2 they were starting to get a little chewy. But we ate them nevertheless :0) By the end of the batch, I realized one of the reasons I was enjoying them so much -- they are like an unfurled cinnamon roll! Yeasty bread, cinnamon sugar, and frosting! Yum! I don't think that combination will ever get old.

Buttery Breadsticks 
*From Tasty Kitchen  by HSchultz
 (Directions are hers, pictures are mine.)

Ingredients:

Dessert Breadsticks! 

• 1 Tablespoon Yeast
• 1-½ cups Warm Water
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ cup Butter
• Optional Sprinkles: Garlic Salt, Parmesan Cheese And Italian Seasoning (I mixed up some cinnamon and sugar and used that instead.) 
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• Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Dissolve yeast in warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer. Let stand for a few minutes until foamy. Then add sugar, salt and flour; mix well. Knead until smooth and elastic. Let dough rise for 10 minutes.
  Melt butter in the microwave for a few seconds at a time and once melted, pour half into a baking sheet that you have resting on a flat surface.
  Roll out dough into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into strips using a pizza cutter, twisting if desired. Roll each piece in the remaining butter, covering all sides and arrange on baking sheet. (The dough is pretty stretchy, so I ended up picking up the strip and immediately folding it in half as I twisted it. It made it easier to twist and made them a more reasonable length.)

  

  Headed into the oven... 

  Sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Let rise 15-20 minutes. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

  

  Warm and ready to be enjoyed! 

  The quick frosting I whipped up: 1 stick butter (needs to be soft), about 3 cups of powdered sugar, enough milk to make it the consistency of your choice, but usually start out with just 1 or 2 T. so it's not too runny. Whip until fluffy!
• These just might be one of my new favorite desserts! I love warm bread, especially when it's covered with butter, cinnamon sugar, and frosting! 
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• To life... full of "he'll want some jam to go with it" ideas. 
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Valentine's Day 2013

 

Jeremiah's Valentine Breakfast 

I had fun making Valentine's Day special this year. I like to make the "little holidays" - like Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, etc. special by doing little things like decorating and making themed foods. The way our current schedule is, most often the only meal of the day we consistently eat as a family is breakfast. I decided to wake up a little early and make something special for my two boys.

Zeke's Valentine Breakfast 

I got a cupcake dispenser for Christmas, so I used it to pour the pancake batter into hearts as well as a 'J' for Jeremiah and 'Z' for Zeke. I sliced up some strawberries for all of us and then the adults got red raspberry syrup for their pancakes, to continue with the theme.

Zeke gave Daddy a "Finding Nemo" valentine and I gave an "Incredible" one to Zeke. We also got Zeke a fun new book called "Snuggle Puppy" which is a little love song sung to the puppy about how much his daddy loves him. (Awww! Cute, right?!?) We really enjoy the Sandra Boynton books!

I usually make sugar cookies at Christmas, but no other time of year. This year, I remembered that I had heart shaped cookie cutters and decided we should make some! On Monday I went ahead and made this sugar cookie dough. Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap and kept it in the refrigerator until I was ready to bake them up on Wednesday. I had tried this recipe once before and enjoyed it because the cookies come out nice and soft (which I ALWAYS prefer over crispy!! Always!). This time I actually used Ultragrain flour (which is basically whole wheat flour but is made to bake up more similarly to all-purpose, white flour) and organic sugar, and I was surprised at how good the cookies were even with ingredients I don't typically use.

Ready to help me roll and cut! 

He loves when I give him kitchen utensils to play with while I work. 

They only take 7 minutes to bake!

I waited until Wednesday to make them because Jeremiah didn't have to be at work as early as usual and I thought it would be a fun family project. It was! Jeremiah and I decorated them with an easy buttercream recipe: 1 stick butter, 3 1/2 - 4 c. powdered sugar, ~ 3 T. milk, and 2 t. vanilla. I happened to have a little red tube icing leftover so we used that for accents since a true red is often difficult to make. I also only made a half batch of dough so we wouldn't have so many cookies on our hands. It made about 2 dozen for us. Ahem! Well there were a *few* more but they were consumed along the way... so maybe more like 2 1/2 dozen :o)

So fun!

Up close and personal

I had a very enjoyable Valentine's Day this year! Jeremiah and I even got to go on a date, while Aunt Teresa watched Zeke. We went and saw "Les Miserables." It was well done. I can see why it won several Oscars! We also went out to eat... that didn't go quite as planned, but a fun time was had nonetheless. I was reminded of a year ago when I had a 3 week old and we left for an hour and I barely held it together being gone that long. This year was much more laid back and less stressful! My how things change year by year! I hope all of you were able to have a special day too. 

To life... full of love! 

Unbelievable Chocolate Cake

I made this cake twice recently... once for practice and the second time for a birthday party. It was a success! It definitely came out better the second time when I let it bake thoroughly. In my opinion, it has more of a dark chocolate taste. But I still like it quite well and so did most everyone who tried it. The first time I made this frosting (I have tried it twice and have not been successful yet :( ). The second time I made a cream cheese frosting and I think it was a better combination. Hope you like it too!

The Best Chocolate Cake
INGREDIENTS:

1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 ¼ cups warm water
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven. Prepare your cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed (with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes. Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack.

Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level. Frost as desired. **From Mel's Kitchen Cafe. 

To life... full of birthday cake! 

Chunky Pecan Pie Bars

When my Dad comes to visit I like to bake things with pecans because I'm learning to like them, but Jeremiah can't have them, so it seems pointless to make something for just the two of us. Dad came this past weekend, so I was browsing through some recipes and landed on this one which I already had all the ingredients for (I had already picked up a bottle of light corn syrup earlier in the week in case I needed it - good call!).
My sister and brother-in-law came down the next day to join us for lunch so I was able to share with them as well. I really enjoyed these. As a matter of fact, they are already gone!

Chunky Pecan Pie Bars
*From my Nestle Toll House cookbook 

Crust
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

Filling 
3 large eggs
3/4 c. corn syrup
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 T. butter or margarine, melted
1 t. vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. (11.5 oz pkg.) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks (I just used chocolate chips, it was perfectly fine)
1 1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. 

For Crust
Beat flour, butter, and brown sugar in small mixer bowl until crumbly. Press into prepared baking pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes or until lightly browned. 

For Filling
Beat eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl with wire whisk (I just used the Kitchen-Aid again, didn't wash it out; it's all going to be baked together anyway!). Stir in chunks and nuts. Pour evenly over baked crust. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 2-3 dozen bars. 

**Serving suggestion :o) - Heat up a bar in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, top it with a scoop of Heath Bar ice cream and enjoy! I most certainly did!!

To life... full of pecan goodness!

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Last month Jeremiah went on a trip to CO. On the day he was due to return home I made him these orange creamsicle cookies. He is more of a fruit > chocolate guy, so at times I do try to accommodate his preferences. Although when I do give fruit desserts a try I find I enjoy them greatly. These were a wonderful cookie to add to our rotation. You should try them too. I found them at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Here's her recipe:

Orange Creamsicle Cookies
*Note: These cookies should bake up puffy not flat. If your cookies are flattening, try adding another tablespoon or two of flour to the dough (up to 1/4 cup if needed). Also, the orange extract is optional but really enhances the orange flavor of the cookies.

*Makes about 30 cookies

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (from 1-2 oranges)
2 cups white chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, silpat liners or lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg, vanilla, orange extract and orange zest until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture and white chocolate chips, mixing until combined.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown around the edges, taking care not to overbake. The cookies should be rounded and full, not flattened. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from The Girl Who Ate Everything

To life... full of cookies that taste like an ice cream treat!

Royal Rhubarb Coffee Cake

On the Saturday before Easter I decided I would make something nice for Easter breakfast. That day I had just been tossing a few things out of the fridge and freezer and noticed a bag of frozen rhubarb in the back of the freezer. I didn't want to throw it out, so I made a mental note to try to use it before it got much older.

Later in the day I decided to start looking for a recipe. I got out my Taste of Home Cookbook and started looking through the 'Quick Breads' section. I thought maybe I'd make muffins or something, then I saw a recipe for Rhubarb Coffee Cake and I thought, "Perfect!"

The recipe was quick and easy -- which is even more important to me now that I have a little one! And the best part was that I had all the ingredients on hand, so I didn't even have to go to the store!

I added a few frozen strawberries to the mix as well because the recipe called for 3 1/2 c. of rhubarb and I didn't think I had quite enough. I thought it was a great addition!

Royal Rhubarb Coffee Cake

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

2 c. all-purpose flour

3 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. milk

3 1/2 c. chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed and drained

Topping: 3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

1 t. ground cinnamon

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.

2. Transfer to a greased 13"x9"x2" baking dish. Spoon rhubarb over top to within 1/2" of edges. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over rhubarb.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Yield: 15 servings

To life... full of Easter breakfasts!

Lime Yogurt Cake with Blackberry Sauce

This past Tuesday was Lovebug's birthday. We didn't have a party like some years' past, but I did make him a cake! This cake is well-suited for him because it contains fruit and is not overly sweet. It also does not have frosting, so he can enjoy the entire cake without worries regarding his lactose intolerance. This cake is definitely not as sweet as I would prefer my cake to be, but I still enjoyed it.

The sauce contains four simple ingredients: blackberries (I used frozen), water, sugar, and fresh lime juice. All you do is mix it together in a food processor and strain it through a mesh strainer to get rid of the seeds.


The cake is a one bowl cake and also quite simple to put together. Plain yogurt, vegetable oil, sugar, lime zest, lime juice, eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.


I ended up using 4 limes and was still a bit short on the juice I needed because a couple of the limes weren't very juicy. For the full recipe, go to Smitten Kitchen's website.

This cake was a great alternative to my many frosting-laden cakes. So lovebug was quite pleased! I was surprised how well I liked it, and the cake, even without the sauce, is quite good. I also like her ideas for switching it up with lemon or orange flavored cake and creating a blueberry or strawberry sauce. So many options! This is a recipe I will keep around. Easy, simple, and versatile!

To life... full of birthday cakes!

No-Bake Cookies

My Mom came down for a visit the past few days. The main reason was, of course, her grandbaby :o) But her and I spent time together and we made cookies! Well... I got out the recipe and measured out a few of the ingredients... the rest she did. I've made this particular recipe once before and I think I will keep it as my no-bake cookie recipe. They are quite tasty!



This recipe is from the cookbook, 'The Great American Cookie Cookbook'

Fudgey Cocoa No-Bake Treats

2 c. sugar
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or margarine
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. Hershey's Cocoa
2/3 c. crunchy peanut butter
3 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 c. chopped peanuts (optional)
2 t. vanilla

1. Place piece of wax paper or foil on tray or cookie sheet. Combine sugar, butter, milk, and cocoa in medium saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a rolling boil.



3. Remove from heat; cool 1 minute.
4. Add peanut butter, oats, peanuts, if desired, and vanilla; stir to mix well. Quickly drop mixture by heaping teaspoons onto wax paper or foil. Cool completely. Store in cool, dry place. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.


We used creamy pb (because that's all I had on hand) and decided to add in peanuts. We also only used 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead of two. Thirdly, I didn't have quite enough quick-cooking oats, so I used some old fashioned oats as well and I think they tasted just as good with that substitution. These cookies are great, especially for the summer time when you don't want to turn on the oven! One last note, we put them in the freezer to make them last longer. I think I actually almost like them better very cold. For one, they don't melt all over your hand as easy and, two, they don't seem to crumble quite as much. Just my couple of little tips/insights. Hope you have a chance to make them now that the weather is heating up!

To life... full of grandmas and cookies!