Cookie Bars (copy-cat)

I copied my friend Camille and made these cookie bars that she posted a while back.  Of course I changed it up a bit, as I usually do.  Thanks Camille for the great idea-- they were SO good, I easily could have eaten the entire pan!  Click here for the original recipe.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup brown-sugar
*you can add 1/4 cup white sugar to make them sweeter
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 cup oats
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
2 cup chocolate chips

combine butter, sugar, an applesauce.  next add eggs, vanilla, salt, baking soda.  then flour, oats, flaxseed.  stir in chocolate chips.  bake in 8x8 dish at 325 for about 35min.

*basically i just substituted applesauce for butter, took out the white sugar, and added flaxseed.  these ones needed to bake longer, as the applesauce made the batter less thick. try them out! yum!
*next time i make these i am going to try using no butter and all applesauce to see how it works out.  i think it will work out fine! i'll let you know!

Spaghetti Squash Vegetable Goolash

do you like the name of this one? :)  that's what it basically is... only, the word goolash does make it less appealing.  i first saw this idea on mckensie's blog (i mentioned her in the previous post as well) and then i saw it on one of my favorite blogs, The Body of Mother.  they both had different ways of making it, and i made my own as well.  basically, the main idea is-- spaghetti squash substituted for pasta is divine (and healthy!).  this is what i did..

1 spaghetti squash
1 jar marinara sauce
2-4 cloves garlic
chicken

1 green pepper
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
broccoli (cut into small pieces)

first, cut the spaghetti squash in half (take out the guts),  lay it flat side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 45min- hour at 350.  when it's done, scoop out all the noodles and put into a bowl.  i added some butter and salt and pepper and let it sit.

while the squash is cooking in the oven, dice chicken and cook in frying pan until cooked through.  add diced/sliced veggies to pan with olive oil and a few cloves of minced garlic.  cook until veggies are tender.

finally, layer the "noodles", veggies/chicken, and top with marinara sauce.  now that i think back to it, we should have put some cheese on top- we'll have to add that next time!  :)   this is a delicious meal, and we were SO full afterwards!  definitely got our share of veggies for the day!

*sorry no picture

Beet Tacos.

one of my very best friends posted this on her blog awhile ago and i knew i needed to try them.  i finally made them last week and they are SO GOOD!  kens always has the best meal ideas- so thanks a million kens!! (i'll be posting a knock off of another one of her meals later this week as well).  i changed them up a little bit, but the theory is the same. :)  for the original recipe click here.

beets (fresh or canned... i used fresh, but i think i might try canned next time because i decided i like my beets pickled better, but kens prefers fresh. so you choose)
corn tortillas (they are small)
black beans
avocados
sour cream
queso fresca
hot sauce

first you peel the beets and grate them.  then, i boiled mine for about 10minutes in a small amount of water.  next add some lime juice and salt.

meanwhile, cook black beans on the stove until they are soft and mushy.  then, use a fork to mash them up.

while you have those two going, heat up the corn tortillas on the stove- browning them slightly on each side.

next, i just mashed up straight avocado with some garlic salt, but you can make your favorite quac if you would like.

then, i mixed the sour cream and hot sauce together (kens uses mexican sour cream called crema mexicana).  and crumble the queso fresca.

and then you put it all together....

tortilla, layer of black beans, layer of avocado, layer of beets, drizzle sour cream/hot sauce mixture, and top it with the crumbled queso.  they are AMAZING! i served these with some spanish rice and fresh cherries.



now everyone go check out mckensie's blog and thank her for all the goodness she posts! :)

stir fry.

for some reason stir fry always sounds good to me, and then when i make it- it's just not.  i think i finally found a recipe worth keeping around though, because this time i really did like it.  plus, it has gobs of veggies so win, win.

chicken
olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced

cut chicken into strips or cubes.  cook in frying pan with olive oil and garlic until chicken is done.  meanwhile, steam some broccoli.

1 Tbs hoisin sauce
1 Tbs chili paste
1 Tbs soy sauce

add all three to the pan and mix well.

yellow squash
zucchini
green pepper
carrots

slice all veggies and add to pan + broccoli. coat well with sauce.

water chestnuts
baby corn
1/8 cup chicken stock

drain chestnuts and corn and add to pan along with the chicken stock.

Let everything simmer on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Ranch Burgers

we've been summer grillin' at our house and it's yum yum every time!  my husband found our most recent recipe for burgers- ranch burgers!  they're really easy, and really yummy too!  (even if you're not a ranch lover- because dallin definitely isn't)

2lbs ground beef

1 packet of hidden valley ranch
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
onion (didn't use this)

combine everything and form into a patty!  then, make your husband grill them because you don't know how to use a grill. :)

toppings include:

spinach, avocado slices, mayo, mustard, ketchup. (and BBQ sauce if you're dallin)
we also use a healthier alternative for the buns.  i know they don't look all that wonderful, but they really taste fabulous!  dallin was a little weary, but even he likes them... and if he likes them, most likely you will too.  (he likes to toast his too).  they're called sandwich thins and they are found by the bagels (at least in my store they are).

now eat up!

Green Smoothies.

our new late night treat is green smoothies.  so far i have found two variations that we enjoy (well, dallin only enjoys the chocolate one).

1-
handful of spinach
ground flax seeds
1 banana (frozen)
chocolate almond milk

2-
handful of spinach
ground flax seeds
1 banana (frozen)
blueberries, strawberries, raspberries (or whatever you want)
vanilla almond milk





put everything in blender, blend and enjoy.  (i use a magic bullet, and i've heard the spinach doesn't blend in a regular blender- so keep that in mind)

shredded wheat bars

because, lets face it-- who doesn't need a healthy treat idea?

3 cups (crushed) shredded wheat
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut-butter (crunchy is better)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
raisons (or semi-sweet chocolate chips if you're a choco-holic like me)

mix honey, peanut-butter, and brown sugar.  melt in microwave for 1- 1.5 minutes. blend well.  add shredded wheat and mix until coated evenly.  add chocolate chips or raisons and mix again.  press into a greased 8-inch baking dish.  cool in refrigerator.  cut into square bars and enjoy.