Flourless, Banana Breakfast Cookies

I found this recipe on pinterest. It was fast enough that I could throw them together Sabbath morning before church! Even my "I don't like bananas" kid liked them! Here's the recipe, with my notes for next time.

2-3 overripe bananas, mashed (I used 2 large bananas)
1 1/2 c rolled oats
1 c unsweetened applesauce
a large handful of dried cranberries (my girls said we need more next time)
cinnamon to taste, I added quite abit (I thought), and it needs more . . .
it also needs salt

drop in spoonfuls onto baking stone (or baking sheets, but you'd probably want to grease them, or use parchment paper, these almost stuck to my baking stones). Bake 35 min at 350 degrees.

Mock Orange Julius

I've had this recipe on my "to try" list for quite awhile now, but I had alot of excuses . . . it seems like a summer thing to me, but oranges aren't in season in the summer and lots of other yummy fruits are. I don't have an ice maker and am HOPELESS at keeping ice cubes filled. . . I don't generally have buttermilk in the house, and don't use it enough to be worth making  . .

So finally, today, I put my thinking cap on and adapted the recipe to how things are in our house!

about half a can frozen orange juice concentrate
several spoonfuls plain yogurt
a little more than one can (from the OJ) milk
a little maple syrup (actually this time, I had some powdered sucanat still in the blender from last time I made it, so just used that for sweetener, but if it wasn't already there, it would be easier to sweeten with maple syrup, it doesn't need much sweetening though)
1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Dump it all in the blender & blend it up. Adjust ingredients as needed for taste. Enjoy a yummy, nutritious version of an orange julius for breakfast, or a snack or whenever!! I'm thinking this will make a quick, not-too-messy breakfast or lunch if we need to eat in the car. I also want to try making this ahead & freezing it, to take in lunches, it can keep the rest of our food cold, and then be an icy drink (or possibly still frozen enough to eat w/ a spoon) at the end of our meal.

Since I know that fresh squeezed orange juice is healthier than OJ concentrate (or store-bought, pasturized orange juice), I'm thinking next winter, when we can get, if not local, at least in-season oranges, I'll squeeze some of them and freeze the juice, then it will be frozen and ready to use in this, and other smoothies, etc.

Bean Dip

I was planning to have guacamole & chips for lunch, but when I went to make it, the avocados had gone bad (grumble, grumble), so . . . i decided to do bean dip instead. Couldn't be bothered with a recipe, so here's what I did . . .

1 can black beans, drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large spoonfuls plain yogurt (used a tablespoon (the silverware kind, not the measuring kind) and plopped 2 big spoonfuls in)
2 large spoonfuls mild salsa (see above)
a shake of adobo seasoning
a shake of chili powder
a sprinkle of salt
a small handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Whiz it all up in the food processor. Taste and adjust as desired. Gobble it up with chips!

About half-way through her serving, L said "this is good! It tastes better than it looks" when I laughed & said "yeah, it's not very pretty is it?" she said "no, I was kinda scared to try it . .. " hee hee. A said she'd prefer it without the chili powder (or less), but both girls are happily eating it, so we'll call it a win :)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I don't remember where we first found this recipe, or if mom or I made it first, but it's a favorite at family gatherings & so easy to make!

1 can Artichoke Hearts (drained & chopped)
1 10 oz pkg Spinach, frozen chopped (thawed&drained)
1 cup Mayo or sour cream (I use some of each)
1 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 clove Garlic, minced (I probably use more like 2)

Mix it all together, put it in a pie pan, sprinkle additional parmesan cheese on top, and bake for 1/2 hr at 350.

Green Shake

I found this on a blog, and jotted it down (& promptly lost track of which blog it was on). And adapted it to reflect what I had on hand & such . . .

Some frozen spinach (probably about 1/3 of a 10oz box), fresh would work too
a pint of frozen peaches
Juice off a can of chunked pinapple, and some of the pineapple
1 apple, peeled & cubed
a handful of dried bananas

Blend it all together & enjoy! Original recipe used fresh spinach, frozen bananas, and included ice cubes, but the blender seemed full enough to not bother w/ the ice cubes (probably could do less peaches). I really don't think you can go wrong here, just stay with the green/yellow/white color scheme if you want to keep it green.

Breakfast Cookies

Another one from Heavenly Homemakers

1 c butter, melted
3/4 c honey
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c buttermilk
2 c whole wheat flour
2 c rolled oats
1 c raisins or chocolate chips

Combine first 8 ingredients. Add oats & flour. Fold in raisins or chocolate chips. Place heaped spoonfuls on cookie sheet (leave space between them, they spread) Bake at 350F for 15-20 min. Cool 3-4 min on cookie sheet before removing to wire racks.

I use regular milk instead of buttermilk (because I'm lazy) & chocolate chips. I'm going to let the girls try them in the morning (made them tonight), but the little piece I broke off tasted good, so hopefully these will be a hit for days when we're needing to eat breakfast (or other meals) on the go :)

Whole Wheat Crackers

From heavenly homemakers

2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 c oil
1/2 c water

Mix. Roll thin (recipe recommends using parchment paper but the dough was easy enough to work with that I probably won't bother w/ it next time). Cut out with small cookie cutters. Bake at 350F for 12 minutes. Turn off oven but let the crackers cool in the oven so they come out nice and crisp.

These were easy to make, the dough was easy to work with. Dough tasted good. We'll try the crackers when they finish cooling.

Granola

I found this recipe somewhere online but didn't keep track of where.

2 c oats
1/2 c coconut
1/2 c chopped almonds
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c sesame seeds
1/2 c honey or molasses
1/3 c cooking oil
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 300F. Combine dry ingredients. Combine wet ingredients. Stir together. Spread out on greased cookie sheet (I used a "bar pan" style baking stone) Bake 20 min, stir. Bake 10-15 min longer. Remove from oven & immediately turn onto aluminum foil to cool (I used a big wood cutting board) When cool break into clumps & store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Or freeze for longer storage.

I used a mix of oats & rye flakes, and I didn't have sunflower seeds so I increased the oats/rye by 1/2 c as a substitution. I also used 50/50 molasses and honey and it's more molasses-y than I like it, I'll probably use all honey next time. But it was easy, and other than molasses being too strong to be my first choice, I like the flavor.

Recipe also says that you can make granola bars by adding 1 beaten egg per cup of cooked granola & bake in a 300 degree oven until firm, I haven't tried that yet.