A healthier take on the famous "No Bake"...Cookie that is!

These little beauties are what I came up with in my quest to make healthier treats.

You really should try them.  Don't look at the ingredients and decide..."Gross!"  I am a huge dessert junkie and I think they are really good.  They don't taste a whole lot different.  One thing though when using no sugar and whole grains you will have a "grainy" aftertaste.  This isn't a bad thing.  We are just so used to everything being refined we have to get used to it.  For me it is super exciting to eat a cookie that is good for me and I don't have to feel guilty about eating.

Here's What you'll need:

1/2 cup of all natural peanut butter

1/2 cup of raw honey

1/2 cup of chocolate chips (I used some organic, dairy free, soy free chips, but any will do)

1 cup of oats

1/2 cup of wheat germ

Combine the honey and peanut butter over low heat until combined.  Stir in chips until melted.  Remove from heat stir in oats and wheat germ.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper lined sheets.

Now just give them a try...you might be surprised how good they are!

~One more time...take a look...you know you want to give them a try~

Cheesy Mexican Rice and Beef

Yummy!  Don't you just love the way melted cheese looks on top of food...makes you want to dive right in and eat it all!

The recipe I'm sharing today I came up with the other night when I needed a quick meal. I was really happy with the results of this dish.  It is SO simple and very tasty.  Personally I thought it tasted better the next day, but that's just my opinion.

Here's what you need:

2 Cups of water

1 Cup of brown rice ( You could use white, but the brown is so much healthier)

1 Cup of sour cream

1/2 cup of milk

2 Cups of Mex. blend cheese

1 1b of ground beef

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1 Tab. of minced onion

1 can of diced tomatos with green chiles (14.5 oz.)

Bring the two cups of water to boil and add the rice.  Cover and simmer over low heat until light and fluffy.  Remember brown rice takes about 1/2 hour or so. While rice is cooking, brown beef in skillet stirring in the garlic salt and minced onion.  When done, drain if necessary, and put into a greased casserole dish.  Add the cooked rice, sour cream, milk and 1 cup of cheese.  Mix well.  Top with remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and starts to bubble on the sides.   Serve with a nice salad and some breadsticks or cornbread and you've got a very quick and tasty meal.  I served mine with refried beans and that was very good also.

Coffee Onion Jam

This is a great recipe to whip up to go along with a roast or some steaks.  I served it over roast this evening and it was fantastic.  It only takes about 1/2 hour and taste FABULOUS!  Give it a try.

You will need:

3 large yellow onions, slice 1/4 inch thick
6 T of veg. oil
1/2 cup hot strong brewed coffee
1/4 cup of sugar (I used sucanat)
1/2 tsp. of salt
1/4 tsp. of pepper

COOK onions in hot oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat,stirring often, 15-20 minutes or until onions are caramel colored.  Stir in coffee and remaining ingredients, and cook, stirring occasionally, 5-10 minutes more or until liquid has evaporated.  MAKES 2 1/4 cups.

~This is what mine looked like when they were done~

~Pay no attention to the few black onions...I had to attend to the kids for a moment.~



Give it a try...you'll love it...if you like onions and coffee that is!

This is what we made this afternoon. Our first whole wheat apple pie. After we test it later I'll post the recipe...if it's good. It Looks great!

~This is the Pie after we just filled it...mess and all!~

~This is the very yummy topping~

~This is my son Danny adding the topping to the pie~

(Please note:  My hand has not been this small for a very long time)

~Here it is in all it's delicious splendor waiting to bake in the oven~

I just took it out a few minutes ago, so after everyone tries it I will post the recipe!

Simplify!

I've been thinking a lot lately about simplifying life. I realize more and more we don't need as much as we think we do. So many times our lives are "cluttered" up with so much...clutter. I'm a very organized, clean person, but I've been organizing even more lately. Getting rid of clothes, toys, things. It's just too much stuff. I love the simple life. Family time, good food, church...that's what makes me happy. In line with this I've been trying to get more simple with food. Not faster...simpler. Meaning...I'm really making an effort to eat food that is not processed in anyway. White sugar, flour etc...are taking a back seat to whole wheat and Sucanat...my new sweetener of choice. Food is really beautiful when it doesn't have a bunch of junk added to it...Simple. I really hope to be adding lots of healthy, whole grain recipes...including desserts to my blog. Be assured that if I don't think it taste really good...I won't post it. So what are you're thoughts on simplifying? By the way...trying to simplify my blog as well. Is anything with computers simple? Just wondering!

Chocolate Coffee Crunch Bars

So I meant to add this recipe the other day, but as usual time just escaped me.  I tried these bars for the first time the other day and I have to say they were really good.  I think they taste fabulous with coffee.  They are really simple but totally enjoyable.

You will need:

2 Cups of brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Cup of Veg. Oil
1 Cup of warm coffee
1 t. vanilla extract
3 Cups of flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
12-oz pkg. of chocolate chips
1 Cup of salted peanuts (optional...if you don't like peanuts)

Combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips and peanuts.  Pour mixture in an ungreased 13X9 pan.  Top with peanuts and chocolate chips.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

These are so gooey and yummy! 

The Attitude of Gratitude Challenge!

I was just thinking to myself this past week how easy it is to complain.  It doesn't take any special talent, skill or education to do it.  It just comes natural...and all to frequently for most of us!  Next I was thinking of people I know who are NOT complainers.  The first person to come to mind was my mother.  I have never known my Mom to complain about anything to anyone.  Even though I know at times she wanted to complain (and believe me...in an earthly sense there was a lot to complain about) she kept it to herself.  What a great testimony...and one I will never forget. So on that note, I have felt really convicted to take the time to give thanks more and complain less.  In second Thessalonians we are told to "give thanks for everything."  So really it's a command not a suggestion.  Maybe we need to hear this because 1)  It's not part of human nature to give thanks and 2)  because giving thanks makes whatever we may be going through a lot easier to bear.  It is always easier to do what comes natural, but not so easy to do what is needful...like being thankful.  What do you complain about?  Not having enough money?  Your spouse?  Your friends?  Your house?  You fill in the blank for yourself...I've already done mine.  I'm a quote fanatic so here are some quotes I found on being thankful.

The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving. ~H.U. Westermayer


When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? ~G.K. Chesterton


If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get. ~Frank A. Clark


The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! ~Henry Ward Beecher


Gratitude is the best attitude. ~Author Unknown


If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily. ~Gerald Good


Gratitude is the least of the virtues, but ingratitude is the worst of vices. ~Thomas Fuller


The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition


Thou hast given so much to me,
Give one thing more, - a grateful heart;
Not thankful when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days,
But such a heart whose pulse may be Thy praise.
~George Herbert

Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel. ~Author Unknown

If your life feels like a sinking ship, then gratitude and thanksgiving to Jesus Christ is the lifeboat you've been waiting for. -Victoria Mitchel

Phillipians 4:6&7-Be Careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be mae known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

Are you going through a hard time?  Don't be anxious.  Pour your heart out to the Lord  with....Thanksgiving.  It may be what pulls you through.  We may not understand how, but it works.  Think of all the things you have to be thankful for and thank God for them.  Write them down if you need to.  Somehow it really helps to keep problems and trials in their proper perspectives.  You will find it's harder to complain when you think or all the things you have to be thankful for.  I've been doing it and want to keep doing it.  It really is like a great medicine for the spirit.  Being thankful uplifts the soul in a way our human minds can't understand.  I speak to myself when I write this...it is so damaging to the cause of Christ  when we grumble, grumble, grumble.  If Christ is in our hearts then there is no room for ingratitude. 

So THIS is my challange to you and myself.  Will you join me this week or month, whatever the case may be, and really make an all out effort to be more thankful to the Lord?  He has done so much for us.  Psalm 68:19 says,"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.  Selah.  Did you get that...he doesn't just weekly give us one or two things....he DAILY LOADETH us with benefits.  And one more verse...Psalm 40:5..."Many, O LORD my God, are they wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:  they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:  if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.  So according to the Bible...there should be no end to our thanksgiving.  Let this be a personal thing between you and the Lord, but I would love to hear any blessings you receive from having an attitude of Gratitude.