PB&Chocolate Bites

Today I am thankful for,

my God.

Fun fact...I'm very thankful for Him everyday! Its true. Today though I am thankful for a specific facet of His character, His acceptance. There are so many rules, regulations, pressures, expectations...(I could go on) put on us by the world. Yet the Lord of heaven and earth says simply...come. Come to me as you are. Come to me with your burdens, your scars, your insecurities, your pride, your talents, your heart...come. He accepts all, and not only that, but turns around and causes it for good and for His glory.

Another blessing from God, to be ever-so-thankful for...the mouthwatering combination of peanut butter and chocolate! This is like one of the only ways I eat chocolate. Those darn peanut butter cups!! This is a recipe that is out there in several different places. Seems like everyone and their mother is making peanut butter cups. Reason: they are fantastic! Hello!! So after perusing a handful of homemade versions of this treat, I came up with my own take. Lets just call this a homerun.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bag Hershey's milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups natural peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 graham crackers, crushed

*Combine peanut butter, sugar and graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Make sure the consistency is good enough for you to roll them into balls. Add more crackers or sugar(you pick)to get it there. Kind of depends on the peanut butter you are using.
*Using a small pot, heat a cup of water over medium heat, you want it to slightly bubble, but not boil.
*In a metal or glass bowl, place the chips. Then put the bowl over the pot to use, double boiler like. Stir until the chips are melted and looking silky smooth.
*Roll a ball of pb dough smaller than a golf ball. Toss into the chocolate and using a spoon roll to cover. Place on a cookie sheet covered in waxed paper. Repeat until all the bites are done.
*Place sheet in freezer for about 30 minutes.

Notes:
*We are keeping ours in the freezer, they seem to hold up better that way.
*When I reached the end I had more pb dough then I thought would get covered by the chocolate I had left. So I tossed the pb dough into the remaining chocolate and just mixed and melted it all together. Made a "log" on the waxed paper, and after it was frozen cut into chunks. Same taste as the bites...I'm eating it like its my job, FYI.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Today I am thankful for....

the cozy side of fall.

Ya know...blankets, hot beverages, snuggling, candles, and the aroma of freshly baked pie. It makes you do that thing where you closer your eyes, tighten up your shoulders, and smile! Love it.

Speaking of an aroma wafting through the house. I for sure had that going on last night. I made these awesome cookies...or should I say banana-bread-bites-from-heaven. They were excellent. AND!! Come out to only about 140 calories per cookie, which isn't half bad. I had a couple for breakfast this morning...yum!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 medium bananas, mashed

1 egg

1 teas vanilla

2 cups oats

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teas baking soda
1/2 teas salt
3/4 teas cinnamon
1/4 teas nutmeg

*Cream together the softened butter and sugars. Once fully incorporated add bananas, egg, vanilla, and oats. Then combine with the rest of the dry ingredients.
*Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
*Spoon out onto baking sheet, make sure to spread the batter out just a bit, not quite flat but not a heap of a mound either.
*Bake for 13-14 minutes. Cool on baking rack and then watch these things fly.

Apple Donuts

So just a little update for everyone...on why there weren't many posts last week. Our happy little puppy, Bueller, got sprayed by a skunk! Ugh, and it seriously affected like everything! It was a rough week last week. But enough of that, back to food!

Its October, so that means apples are......everywhere. For those that read my post last weekend, this one has the same base recipe: beignets. When I made those last time it was way thinner then I thought it would be, so I added more flour and they came out more like donut holes. This go 'round, I followed the recipe exactly and then took apple slices and coated them in the batter, and fried as normal. After they cooled for a few minutes I then tossed them in cinnamon sugar. These were seriously divine!!! I brought them to church on Sunday and were gone so fast. Again, a bit time consuming but well well well worth it. It was like five steps up from mini-donuts....and to put it mildly I'm a mini-donut connoisseur. So make these. Seriously. Do it.

Beignets

I made these on this past weekend when desiring something sweet. I could not believe my little brown eyes when I saw that these were vegan! Not to mention honestly simple. If you have the time I totally suggest them. They were awesome. Kind of ended up more like a light donut consistency rather than beignets that we're all used to. (I mean, we have all had them right?! Right?!!?) I'm going to make these again soon, with sliced apples inside, cause that sounds down right superb!!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teas salt
2 tbls sugar
4 teas dry active yeast
1 teas cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of water (120 - 130 degrees)
1/2 teas lemon juice
oil for frying(I used veg oil)
powdered sugar

*Mix flour, salt, sugar, yeast and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add water and lemon juice, stir until well blended. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rise for about 45 mins.
*Heat oil to 350 degrees(medium to medium-high heat). Drop in the batter in heaping spoonfuls. Once golden brown, flip over once. With a slotted spoon remove and place on a cooling rack with a paper towel.
*Serve with powdered sugar dusted on top.

Sweet Potato Muffins

Last night was my first post and I was delighted to start off with such an amazing meal. For todays post we've gone a bit of a different route. Tuesdays are Al's long day at school...well, really most of them are. But on Tuesdays he has class from 12-5 and 6-8:30, not to mention he usually goes to school around 8 in the morning to get things done. Long story...semi-long, he's gone all day. So I usually don't end up making a big meal, usually a soup or something that we can eat over the next couple days. Or I'll putts around making snacks or baked goods. That's what I did this afternoon. Last week my good friend Cherrie (hi cherrie!) let me borrow "eat vegan on $4 a day". A simple little cookbook with all kinds of vegan options and very reasonable prices. I copied out a few of the recipes in anticipation of this week endeavors. Todays baked good: sweet potato muffins. I looked at the recipe and I had my doubts, not gonna lie. My mind (and hips) immediately longed to see ingredients like butter and eggs and oil. Which were no where to be found. This recipe baked 10 hearty muffins. My kitchen has a wonderful fall scent still wafting into the rest of the house. They honestly turned out great. Next time I might do a little brown sugar & cinnamon topping, to make them more of a dessert type of baked good. But thumbs up from me...we'll see what the husband says when he, most likely scarfs one down within ten seconds of walking in the door tonight. 

INGREDIENTS: 

2 cups all-purpose wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar less 1 tbls

1 tbls brown sugar

1 tbls baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

1/2 teas cinnamon

1/2 teas salt

1/4 teas ground nutmeg

1 large sweet potato, cooked and mashed(1 3/4 cup approx)

1/2 cup water

optional:

1/2 cup raisins

*Pre-heat oven to 375

*Put all ingredients except the sweet potato and water in a bowl and stir to combine. 

*Add the sweet potato and water. Stir to combine and make sure all is mixed together well.

*Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill each muffin cup just about full. 

*Place in the oven, cook for 25-30 minutes. The tops of the muffins should bounce back when lightly pressed. Remove and let muffins cool in tin for 1-2 minutes prior to putting on a cooling rack.