Life Lately

Since returning home, life has been busy and wonderful.  It's good to be back!

On the first day of each quarter, the teachers at my school have a potluck lunch where everyone brings a dish to share and we eat together catching up on everything that has happened during our break.  I was told that it was too hot to turn on the oven, so I made these no-bake cookie dough bars and they were a HIT!

The only problem with these bars is that they killed my trusty hand mixer.  One of the beaters would no longer lock in to place, and it started to smell like it was about to start on fire.  I took this failure or my hand mixer as the opportunity to finally get myself every girl's dream kitchen appliance - a Kitchenaid.  Isn't he pretty?

Once September hits, it's fall in my brain.  Even if it's 100 degrees outside - like it has been ALL week - my brain says apple and pumpkin and FALL.  I declared pumpkin season officially opened with these pumpkin chocolate chip mini-muffins that I brought to school for my team before parent orientation last week.

And of course, with fall and pumpkin comes one of my favorite parts of September, the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte to Starbucks!

My brain might be saying fall, but my body is still saying summer and I'm trying to enjoy the last pool days of the summer!

September also brings with it one of my favorite days of the year - my birthday!  I had a wonderful birthday weekend, ended perfectly with dinner with TDN and two of our dear friends.  Heather made an incredible meal for me.  I am so thankful to have her in my life.

I'm also thankful that she caters so well to my peanut butter cravings.  She made me a chocolate peanut butter cup cake with peanut butter frosting.  It was incredible.  And sent us all immediately into diabetic shock.  But it was worth it.  So worth it.

We enjoyed some time together, some time with friends, some hiking, and some time with Little Max.  TDN thought Littles might want to ride in a Google bike with us.  He wasn't a huge fan, but he was a trooper!

That's life!

Protein bites

This was one of my most adventurous concoctions so far, and it was so fun and such a success!  I had been seeing recipes for months for "energy bites" and "oat balls" and "pregnancy cookie dough" and liked parts of them all, but thought this was a great opportunity to make something perfectly me.

I could not have been happier with how these turned out!  They tasted like a cross between a peanut butter and honey sandwich - one of my childhood favorites - and oatmeal chocolate chip cookie dough.  How could I not love these?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 3 Tablespoons chia seeds
• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Run oats and chia seeds through blender or food processor until smooth and floury.  Add cashews and blend until the large chunks are broken up.
Add to medium bowl with all other ingredients.  Combine well.
Roll into bite-size balls.  Place in waxed paper-lined container.  Refrigerate or freeze.

Adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots, Sunday Baker, and Super Healthy Kids.

Chocolate peanut butter cookies

In my opinion, there is no better combination than chocolate and peanut butter.  And I love cake...and cookies...and cake cookies, so these chocolate peanut butter cake mix cookies were a winner.

Directions:

• 1 box Devil's food cake mix
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup peanut butter chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl.  You can start with an electric mixer, but be warned it will probably be too thick and sticky to continue at a certain point, so switch to a strong spoon.
Stir in peanut butter chips.
Spoon 2 Tablespoons of dough onto parchment for each cookie.
Bake 12 minutes.  They will be soft - that's the cake part - but they are done after 12 minutes.

Barely adapted from Mix and Match Mama

Coffee mug cookie

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a wicked sweet tooth.  And sometimes it just NEEDS a baked treat, but it doesn't have the patience to wait for me to bake a whole batch of cookies or brownies.  This little guy has come through for me on many occasions, and while it's not a real cookie, it's pretty delicious and does the trick.

Also, it only requires one measuring spoon, which is an awesome bonus!  Plus, I get to use the wonderful latte mugs Papa Rist gave me for Christmas.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons melted butter
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 Tablespoons flour
• 2-3 Tablespoons chocolate chips
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch salt

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a coffee mug.  Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.


I have been in a peanut butter mood lately, so I like to do half chocolate chips and half peanut butter chips to get all the cravings satisfy.  Add a little vanilla ice cream on top and life is great.