Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Cookies

It was early Sunday morning and T refused to get out of his pj's.  Fine, I thought, I'm not getting out of mine either; and what's more, lets make this a lazy Sunday funday.  Gorgeous light streamed in through the kitchen window, making the it the only room I wanted to be in at that moment.  So clad in said pj's we proceeded to make some of the best. cookies. ever.  No really they're easy, crowd pleasers that rock so what are you waiting for? 

Oatmeal Chocolate Cherry Cookies

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

(not because the recipe needed changing, just used what I had on hand and to suit our tastes.  I'm sure this recipe, like all her recipes, is perfect)

you will need:
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1 cup steel cut oats
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped unsweetened dried cherries

I wash out glass jars from pasta sauce etc. and use them to store pantry items, like the oats in the bottom right.  A great way to reuse and store your food in safe glass containers instead of plastic, two things I'm trying to do more of.  

Preheat the oven to 350°.  With an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla.  Beat a few minutes until well mixed.  Add the eggs and mix just to include in the batter.  In another bowl add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice and stir well with a metal whisk.  Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture with the mixer on low.  Once mixed in, add the second half.  Next stir in the oats, chocolate chips, cherries and almonds.   

Use a tablespoon to drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet, spacing them about two inches apart.   

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden.  

Remove from the oven and let cool for one minute.  Then transfer to a rack to completely cool.  Store at room temperature in an air tight container.  

Needless to say they were a hit.

This recipe yields about 3 dozen cookies.  Next time I will try flash freezing some of the dough.  In case your wondering this is done by dropping the dough with a tablespoon onto the cookie sheet and then storing the sheet in the freezer until firm.  Then transfer the frozen dough pieces to a freezer bag.  This will help with the tons of cookies that are baked and eaten in too short a time (our small house hold doesn't need three dozen cookies!)  And I can bake a few off at a time for fresh cookies wheneva!  When baking the frozen dough, adjust your cooking time, cookies will need a little longer to golden.

oxx Dion

Mango Coconut Lime Smoothie

This is for those bleary eyed mornings when you just want to dump a bunch of things in a blender and go.... but it has to be delicious of course!  Make sure you chop a banana and freeze it the night before to yield a super creamy smoothie.

mango coconut lime smoothie

time: 5 minutes or less

makes one large or two small smoothies

you will need:

*1 fresh mango

*1/2 can of lite coconut milk

*1 frozen banana

*1/2 block soft silken tofu

*1 lime

*1 to 2 tbs flax seed oil (if you want extra credit; optional)

*handful of ice

If you don't know much about how to choose and cut mangos check this out.

Although fresh mangos are now widely available in local supermarkets, about 1 cup of frozen mango can be substituted if fresh mango isn't found and just use a little extra coconut milk.

Lite coconut milk can be found in the Asian section of your supermarket.  You can freeze the unused milk in an ice cube tray for your next smoothie or recipe.  (I got this idea from my friend's lovely blog on healthy cooking, check it here)

I know what you're thinking... you don't like tofu.  Just go with me on this one.  The silken variety is completely different from regular tofu.  Get the soft silken kind and it is creamy, smooth and blends right into a smoothie undetected.  This will give you a shot of whole protein to fill you up.  While I don't promote consuming highly processed soy products (soy cheese, soy meats, soy milk) a bit of whole soy foods in the form of organic tofu, tempeh, or edamame is good for you on occasion.  

Chop the mango and add it to the blender along with the banana, coconut milk, tofu, and juice from half your lime.  Blend.  Taste and if you want a bit more lime taste, add the juice from the second lime half.  If you really love lime (DZ! ;o)) and it's still not limey enough, zest a bit of the rind into the blender.  Add a handful of ice and the flax seed oil if using and blend one more time to reach desired consistency.  Enjoy!

This didn't last long enough for me to take a picture of the finished product in our glasses.  Once my little dude and I saw this pretty color blending away we were so excited that we downed our shares in a single gulp.  

oxx Dion

Healthy Home Fry Happiness

Last week was a bit nuts.  I had a sick little man on my hands and internet issues to boot.  These are now remedied and I am back!  I was given a request to share some breakfast ideas (I love requests by the way, give me something to nest, capture, or create in the comments and I will gladly share or research it if I don't already know about it).  I created this dish with the goal of producing a whole food based, filling and nourishing meal. 

Meet my new favorite breakfast.  No seriously it's that good.  When I want something more substantial than me usual smoothie this will be my go-to.  I didn't think a healthy, hearty, completely unprocessed breakfast could actually taste this good.  While I'm cooking this, I enjoy some hot water with the juice of half a lemon.  Super simple and an amazing way to detox the body and stimulate the appetite.  Resist the urge to add sugar and savour the fresh lemon taste, you will grow to love it!

Healthy Home Fry Happiness

time: 20 minutes or less

serves 1 (multiply for additional people)

you will need:

1 small sweet potato

1 egg

1/4 to 1/2 of a small Haas avocado

 (any avo will do but the Haas variety have the best texture and smooth creamy taste)

1 tbs olive oil (extra virgin cold-pressed is best)

1/4 a bell pepper

1 green onion

Begin by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pan.  

While the oil is heating, wash, peel, and chop the sweet potato into a small dice (about 1/2").  

Add potatoes to the pan and shake slightly so they are in a single layer. 

 Now leave them alone and let them do their thing for 4-5 minutes, no stirring.  You want them to start to brown on the bottom and form a bit of a crust, essentially like home fries.  Take this time to season the potatoes with salt and pepper.  Chop the bell pepper and green onion into small pieces.  

After those 4-5 minutes have gone by and the bottoms are browned, flip the potatoes with a spatula.  

Again leave them alone for several minutes.  

Add the bell peppers and onions next and stir the potatoes once more.  Through out this process if your pan seems too dry add a little more oil in small drizzles, but not too much we are going for healthy!  Also check your seasonings.. maybe a bit more pepper?  

Cook until the potatoes have reached the crispiness you desire and the other veg is cooked, another 3-5 minutes. 

Dump this goodness onto a plate and return pan to the burner.  Add a tiny bit more olive oil and cook an egg any way you desire, fried, sunny side up, over easy, scrambled; it's your breakfast.  I will say that a runny yolk is particularly good with this dish if you're into that sort of thing. 

Treat yourself right and buy cage-free, omega 3 fortified eggs... organic if possible.  For a dollar or two more than the regular ones it breaks down to pennies an egg.  Totally worth it for some high quality protein.

Place the egg on top of the potatoes and top with some ripe avocado slices.  Devour as is or add your favorite hot sauce or salsa!

 Do I even need to tell you about the benefits of avocados (loaded with vitamins, minerals, and monounsaturated fats that help lower bad cholesterol) and sweet potatoes (also packed with vitamins, minerals, and healthy dietary fiber)?  It is this ideal ratio of protein (egg), fiber (sweet potato) and healthy fats (avocado) that will fill you up without leaving you bloated or sluggish, and fuel you until lunch.  This recipe is flexible too of course... don't have bell peppers, use those mushrooms in your fridge.  This is a great base to add whatever sounds good to you.

I know it's cliche but breakfast is an amazing way to start the tone for the day.  Eat a healthy breakfast and you will be much more inclined to eat healthy for the rest of the day, promise.

oxx Dion