Healthy oatmeal chocolate chip raisin cookies.. yummm

There was originally 1tsp vanilla extract in this... i forgot to add it. you can if you want to...... showoffs... 

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup regular or quick oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1 container Trader Joes Vanilla Bean Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Mix the oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl. Add the raisins and chocolate chip cookies.
3. Add the maple syrup and yogurt into the dry mixture and stir well but don’t overmix.
4. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat or parchment paper. Flatten each cookie slightly with a fork. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until bottoms and sides are lightly brown. Cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Cosing out the Garden

I spent time in the garden today getting it ready for winter. Pulled the last of the carrots, harvested peppers and green tomatoes from my neighbor's yard, and replanted some english ivy against the fence. It wasn't too bad. I pulled all the sunflowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash plants up the other day and added them to the compost pile.

Funny story about this strawberry patch. It started with three plants I pulled up (like a weed) from the next door neighbor. I also bought two to put in between them just to be sure. Look how much they grew!

I even started pulling and drying seeds for next year's garden. So far I've harvested seeds for green peppers, jalepenos, butternut squash, and green chilis. For the squash, I rinsed the seeds and put the biggest ones in a single layer on a big cookie sheet and let them dry. A couple days later, I flipped them over so the other side could dry. After a few more days, I transferred them to an open plastic bag to continue drying so I can use the sheet for other seeds :)
The pepper seeds I didn't wash. I did the same single layer, flip after a few days, etc.

Baked (wannabefried) Pickles!

used this recipe with chipotle panko crumbs - no dill though - and it was fantastic!
http://shrinkingkitchen.com/baked-pickles/

I'm mixing fat free ranch dressing with hot sauce to make them a-spicy!

Chicken Stew!

So i'm on a slow cooker kick.. it's delish! I can't help it.

I chopped up 4 carrots, 4 potatoes, 1 onion, 4 garlic cloves and added them to the pot. Then I put in the four chicken breasts I had after I trimmed off the fat - remember with newer crock pots, the meat should be away from the bottom of the pot if possible. Then I julianned two poblano peppers and sprinkled them on top. Added a can of unsalted corn, a few sprigs of home grown rosemary, two cups of chicken broth, one of water, salt, and pepper.

Then I topped as much spinach as I could fit on top, sealed it up, and now it's cooking! Fingers crossed!

Sunday Slow Cooker Love - Chili

So I'm a chili baby.. had to even post on FB that I had no idea how to prep the beans! It turned out to be a giant discussion with "drain and rinse" coming out a head. I ended up just draining and not rinsing, so I have no idea if it would have made a difference. Everyone said it came down to how much flatulence you would be dealing with on the other end... but it's chili... I'm not going to church after a bowl either way!

So I cooked 5 pieces of bacon and pat them dry. I then sliced up 2 jalapenos and 1 large onion and put them in the bacon fat until they were sauteed. In a separate pot (oh yea - and I was making pancakes and eggs at the same time.... might have made a pancake or two crispy.....) I started browning the ground turkey from a local butcher.. mmm so good!  Added a little kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Before the turkey was fully cooked, I added the onions/jalapenos/bacon fat mixture. Once the turkey  was fully cooked, I put it all in the slow cooker <3

Then I added one can each of dark red kidney beans, pinto beans, tomato paste, and stewed tomatoes. Chopped up a green and red pepper and 3 minced garlic cloves. I forgot to drain the stewed tomatoes so I had to do a little extra cooking at the end with the top off. Wohoo! Topless cooking!

For spices, I added a packet of chili spices, 1 tbs cumin, 1 tsp cayenne powder, 1/4 cup ground chili powder, now here's where it gets freaky... 1 bottle of guinness, 1/3 cup molasses, a dark chocolate bar, and the devilishly delish chopped up bacon. A little extra salt and pepper for good measure. Sealed it up and walked away for 4 hours. Remember, when you open up a slow cooker, you set back your slow cooking time about a half hour each time you open it up. If you have the option to lock it closed, do that so you will be less temped to open it!

After the 4 hours, I took the lid off and did the last two hours without the lid so it would thicken up. I wish we had had some left over because it would have been way better day two. It was great, but I had a feeling day two would have been amaaaazing. If I had to do chili again and serve it day one, I would do less of the sweet additions. It ended up being a good mix of sweet and spicy. I'm not sure what I will try in the chili frontier next time... maybe the pumpkin chili recipe? :)

A heart of sour cream because Wyatt loves me! hahaha

Porketta... girl pig or just delish?

I once babysat for a family a couple days before Thanksgiving. The little girl, who knew I lived in my kitchen, asked me how I was going to do my turkey. I told her we were having my dad's favorite, a porketta. When her brother asked what a porketta was, she interrupted with a "durrrr" attitude and told him it was a girl pork... which her brother corrected her and said "girl pig."

Either way, it's delish. Most porketta my family have bought are from a local italian grocery store and they are pre-spiced. Paprika, garlic, salt, pepper, and I'm not sure what else. Every year I say I'm going to make one, but the holidays always take over. Dad brought one home randomly the other night. It wasn't rolled with spices, like most I've worked with, it was just a solid roast with spices on the outside. It looked like there was a lot of paprika on it. I added a little flour, potatoes, carrots, little sprinkle of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Did you know red potatoes have more fat than other ones? I thought that was interesting... and you can totally tell. They're delicious! aaanyway...

15 min per pound and pork should get to about 170 degrees. I couldn't get this above 163, but it was really drying out. I ended up just pulling it out and every piece we cut was ok... no one got sick... soooo I guess it was ok? :)

There was NO fat on this roast so I had to add some water, cross my fingers and hope I could get something that tasted like gravy. Got some juice like liquid after another five min in the oven, added gravy maker and a little flour... bam! Fake gravy!

Panko chipolte chicken, roasted veggies, and rosemary and garlic mashed spuds!

Panko crumbs are pretty neat - they're bigger than regular bread crumbs and get crunchier without the addition of oil. Now they make spicy ones and my job just got easier!

 

Oven to 350. I pounded the thicker part of the chicken so the thickness was the same across the breast. Flour bowl has some salt and pepper added. For the egg bowl, I whipped one egg with habanero pepper sauce. Then I dunked in the flour bowl. Then the panko bowl had a little extra salt, pepper, and chili spice. Flour, egg, panko. add a smidge of oil to the cookie sheet and rub it all over. Place chicken on the sheet leaving room for the veggies. Im a huge advocate of using as few dishes as possible so everything gets cooked together if manageable :) Diced up summer squash, red bell pepper, onion, and minced jalepano. Sprinkled a little olive oil on them, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. All in the oven for 25 min. The mashed potatoes came out amazing. I put garlic and fresh rosemary in the pot while boiling and it came out with a simple infusion of scent. Lots of skim milk, i cant believe its not butter,salt, pepper, and fat free sour cream! Delish!