No Bake Cookies

I've loved these simple easy to make cookies ever since I could remember. Funny thing is that I have never had them as individual cookies! We've always taken wax paper and placed in in a casserole dish and just poured the mix in like a cake. We let it cool and then just break a chunk off!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups white sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy...I prefer creamy)

3 cups quick cooking oats

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix the sugar, milk, butter and cocoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Yes I said one and a half minutes! Any longer and the consistency is either too soft or too crumbly. Remove from heat and add oats, peanut butter and vanilla. Stir well and then pour onto wax paper or you can actually make it into real cookies by dropping it by the spoonful onto the wax paper. Let it cool and enjoy.

I myself can't help but set aside some of the mixture after I have poured it and eat it warm!! Yumm!

Irish Potatoes

While at Sam's Club one can't help but totally pig out on all the samples eh? I totally make it a point to and came across my new favorite potato! Irish potatoes...so easy to make and you don't even have to leave the country! Simply cut up your red potatoes into bite size pieces throw them in a microwave wave safe bowl, half a stick of butter, cover and cook for 12 minutes, then add 1 tablespoon of Maggie's Irish Potato Seasoning. Can it get any easier than that? Super yummy! I can't get enough of them!

Pear Mangosteen Pudding

I really have not forgotten about my food/recipe blog as I do love to eat! I do however hate what it does to my figure but I'll stop there. As you can see I have a new love in the fridge. Pear Mangosteen pudding! Yummmmm! I love Kozy Shacks old fashioned tapioca pudding so much I can eat a whole thing of it in like 2 days and thats being conservative! Pear Mangosteen I had to try as soon as I saw it and its to die for! My taste buds really seem to call out for peachy, mangosteen, mango, pineapplely kind of things and this is a total hit! Its spring time, get your fruit on!

Veggie Bites

I'm beginning to think I'm somewhat of a late night binge eater. I come home from work and totally raid the fridge. I know this is not healthy and that I really need to stop but really, why does one continually open the refrigerator door repeatedly? I mean will anything new appear if I shut the door and open it approximately 42 seconds later? Very doubtful yet I continue to do it. After giving up hope on the refrigerated goods I dug through the frozen foods and came across these babies.



















They have sat in the back of my freezer for some time now and after trying them I don't see how! They were so yummy I ate the whole box! Yes I have issues but come on there are only 9 of them in the box and I can totally justify any food as being healthy. They are chocked full of veggies...spinach at that, and artichoke hello! I baked them in the oven and there are only 3 servings in the box so I really only ate 2 extra servings of vegetables thank you!! Can anyone argue with that???

Seriously tho, they are/were delish!

Hummus

Humm a what? Hummus! Ok, I've been seeing hummus this and hummus that in the stores lately and have been totally clueless as to just what the heck hummus was. Its chick peas. Ok, still lost...its garbanzo beans with a fancy shmansy name put on it to throw us all off! I'm so onto those bean people and all their names for one particular type of a bean! Gosh they really know how to confuse a girl!

Roaming my beloved health food aisles I came across several types of hummus dip. Beings as though I love hot and spicy foods I chose the Jalapeno one and grabbed a bag of hummus chips to go along with them. What did I think? Yumm! Its like bean dip cause essentially that's what it is aside from all the fancy name calling. The chips...yumm as well! I bought original flavored ones and they have a nice flavor to them and aren't all bland and boring like I was assuming. I can't really describe the taste to you but they were good enough that me and the kids woofed down the bag and half a jar of dip like nothing!



















So if you like regular bean dip chances are you'll like hummus!

Best Ever Bananna Bread

I have always loved homemade banana bread but always thought it was just too hard or beyond me to ever make it right. Making bread just sounds hard so my bread making experience has been very limited to oh say high school home ec. and the bread maker I owned years ago when they were the best thing ever. And they were but I just didn't use mine enough. So, in my attempt to master homemade banana bread I have to brag on myself and tell you I have exceeded my expectations above and beyond! And on my first try! I made the house smell so awesome as it baked and oh my gosh it was so good! The recipe I use came from my girl Denise Austin. I love her! She's so pretty and perky and just makes you feel all good even when you're just sitting there watching her workout because you can't keep up with her cardio!

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup mashed overripe bananas (I just throw in 2 medium ones)
1/2 cup light vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla













Line your loaf pan with foil overlapping the edges a bit then spray the foil with some nonstick cooking spray. Apparently it makes it easier to pop it out of the pan! Denise is sooo smart! See why I love her!

Mix all dry ingredients and whisk them together.

Mix all liquid ingredients separately and then add them to the dry mixture and combine the two well.

Pour into foil covered loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes and you have the best banana bread ever!













This is the first recipe I've tried and one I think I will definitely be sticking with! It calls for yogurt instead of butter which I love. If you know me well enough, you will know that I try to avoid butter and love finding alternative healthy ingredients for my recipes. Trust me when I tell you you will love this bread!

P.S. I also like to sneak in some Milled Flax Seed because they all say its so healthy for you as you need those Omega vitamins and you can't really taste it at all. I usually throw a pinch in while baking or with oatmeal or yogurt or parfaits and that.

















P.P.S. Sorry for my poor photography skills on the pictures! I've already sat down and am entirely too lazy to retake the pictures. Oh and I forgot a few of the ingredients in the 'ingredients' picture so pretty much disregard that picture all together. Sorry!

Cookies 'N Cream Pudding

After announcing to 'blog world' on my other blog that I wasn't going to give in to sweets until I had my 20 year old body back....I've miraculously gained it back already! Boy that was quick! Ok, maybe not but ya know I decided that 20 year old body is still here, its just matured with age!

Ok, you want the real truth...me and the kids were at Target yesterday because I needed cough drops for the cold that managed to find me. Braden found and was carrying around an individual size bag of Cadburry eggs. Somehow the little stinker managed to open them by poking a hole in the side. So I did as any good mother would do and had 2 for good measure and let the kids devour the bag and pay for it at the checkout. I should be ashamed of myself but it doesn't stop there. We bought a bag of red Starburst jelly beans that I opened up when we got home. Hey I had to try them as they are Limited Edition!

So since I've decided my Matured 20 year old body isn't so bad after all I made this pudding upon request.

Ingredients:
8 Oreo cookies, divided
2 cups of milk
1 pkg. (4 serving size) Vanilla instant pudding
3/4 cup thawed Cool Whip, divided













Take 4 of the cookies and mash them up. I usually throw them in a sandwich bag and beat the snot out of them! (If only I could do the same with this cold)

Pour milk into a bowl, add dry pudding mix and beat with wire whisk until well blended. Stir in crushed cookies and 1/2 cup whipped topping.

Spoon evenly (if you dare) into 4 bowls and top each with a dabble of whipped topping and a cookie each!

This is a sweet dessert.













And yes I ate this too! I did go through all the trouble to make it all fancy in those new glasses I bought and still haven't used yet!