We Should Be Folding Laundry

This may shock you…

I do not care for raw cookie dough.

There, it’s out.

Sure, I’ll taste a little from time to time to make sure the flavor is just right before I put my cookies in the oven. But as far as eating raw cookie dough just for the sake of eating raw cookie dough… no thanks.

My son on the other hand, loves it. Possibly a little too much.

It’s the only ice cream flavor he ever picks. And on the rare occasion that I buy packaged cookie dough, I have to hide it from him or he will eat all of it before I get the chance to bake it.

This has happened more than once. It’s a problem.

So as I was perusing the Food & Drink section of Pinterest the other day, I came across several recipes for cookie dough bites. I hadn’t planned on making any but the promise of cookie dough that you could eat with wild abandon because it was egg-free, vegan, raw, gluten-free, and supposedly healthy seemed too good to pass up.

Fast forward about five minutes past all of that excitement to me in my kitchen not making anything because I didn’t have the right ingredients for ANY of them.

Figures.

So I pretty much just worked with what I had and figured it out as I went along (what else is new?) and the end result turned out to be delicious.

My cookie dough bites aren’t raw because of the addition of the roasted peanuts but they are gluten-free (make sure you get GF oats) and vegan if you use vegan chocolate chips. Or you could just leave them out all together.

You could also fold in some dried fruit or sprinkles if you’re making these for little ones.

As is, these cookie dough bites taste just like peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough. My super picky teenager loved these. He thought they were actually balls of peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough so nobody tell him, k?

They’re picky teenager approved, but they’re also much better for you than munching on the real thing.

I should also mention that these are crazy simple to make because there’s no baking involved, you only need a handful of ingredients, and they can be in your mouth in way less time than it would take you to make an actual batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.

I’m not sure that you need any more convincing at this point but just in case… your blender or food processor pretty much does all of the work for you.

There. That should do it.

Ingredients

3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

1/4 cup any combination of flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, and/or sunflower seeds (use one or all – just make sure you have 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (make sure you’re using GF oats if you’re GF)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons maple syrup (use the real stuff here please)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Toss the peanuts, the seeds, the oats, and the cinnamon into your blender or food processor and blend until everything is chopped very fine.

Add the maple syrup and vanilla and blend again until everything is incorporated.

Dump the mixture into a bowl and fold in the chocolate chips, dried fruit, sprinkles, whatever.

Roll into balls and store in your refrigerator.

I used a tablespoon measure so that all of my bites would be exactly the same because I have issues, but you can just pinch off whatever amount of dough you’re comfortable with and roll it on up.

* For GF make sure that there are no wheat ingredients listed on the back of the dry roasted peanuts. If you’re not sure, use the same amount of regular peanuts, toast them in your oven for a few minutes on a dry sheet pan at 350 degrees, and add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the peanuts, oats, and cinnamon before blending.

I love tea.

All varieties in all ways. Always and forever.

I really like fruit flavored teas but I don’t like how they tend to be full of dyes, corn syrup, and have a tendency to be overly sweet almost to the point that they feel syrupy.

Gross.

So I made my own version. It’s fruity, light, and super refreshing. Not heavy or too sweet.

It’s also easy because Lord knows I’m not messing with it if it isn’t.

I almost always have a bag of frozen fruit in my freezer so I just use whatever happens to be in there. Blueberries, mango, pineapple, peaches, strawberries, blackberries, and cherries all go really well with tea.

You probably noticed that I didn’t mention raspberries and you’re right – and observant. Raspberries are the worst so they’re never in my kitchen but if you like them, by all means, use them.

It’s important to mention that this post isn’t about the tea itself but about the refreshing fruity goodness that we’re making to flavor it, so just use whatever tea you prefer. I usually go with lightly sweetened green or black teas for iced tea.

Ingredients

2 cups water

1 tbsp agave or honey

1 1/2 cups frozen fruit of your choice

brewed iced tea of your choice

Directions

Add 2 cups of water to a sauce pan along with about a tablespoon of agave or honey and bring to a boil. I usually just give a good squeeze of agave twice around the pot. Sweeten to your taste.

Add frozen fruit and continue gently boiling for 5-7 minutes until the fruit is super tender and pale, and the water is heavily colored and smells fruity.

Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool.

Pour the fruit into a blender and give it a whirl until it’s smooth.

Pour the blended mixture through a fine mesh strainer to catch the pulp. Use a spatula or spoon to press it through so you get every last drop of juice. I usually strain a couple of times to really get out all of the pulp.

Speaking of pulp, don’t throw yours out. You can mix it into some softened butter or cream cheese and spread it on toast or bagels. Stir it into cake or muffin batter, use it in a smoothie, fold it into some yogurt, or top a bowl of vanilla ice cream with it.

Store your fruity simple syrup in the refrigerator, a mason jar works great for this purpose. You can also freeze it in ice cube trays and add it to your tea this way.

And by the way, don’t limit this fruity goodness to just tea. It’s great for pepping up water, lemonade, lemon-lime soda, champagne, anything that can use a little fruity goodness.

To spruce things up even more:

Add a slice of ginger to your boiling water (ginger and peach are best friends).

Add some fresh herbs like mint, basil, or thyme. Thyme goes really well with lemon and blueberries. Basil and strawberries play well together. Mint gets along with pretty much everyone. You can add the fresh herbs right to your glass or chop them up, stir them into your cooled fruit syrup, and freeze in ice cube trays.

Having a party soon? Make different flavor combinations and pour into pretty decanters so your guests can flavor their own drinks.

February was the worst and I for one, am glad it’s over.

Every February something major breaks beyond repair and we are forced to replace it. Last year it was our living room tv and our washing machine.

This year it was my dryer and my SUV.

Here’s something scary: Driving down a busy highway pressing the gas pedal and hearing your engine rev up but just barely coasting down the road because your vehicle won’t go into gear.

Not my idea of fun.

So just to give you an idea of how this month has gone for us: We got the SUV to our mechanic who had it for over a week. This is a big deal because we are a one car family.

Our transmission was done. Beyond done, and needed to be rebuilt.

So… several days later, on Valentines’ day to be exact, the nice mechanic called as we were walking up to our local Chic-Fil-A for a last-minute lunch of deep-fried chicken patty sandwiches and waffle fries (romantic, no?) to say that our SUV was ready.

We gave up on lunch and my husband walked up to the repair shop to pick up the car, paid the nice man an obscene amount of money, and drove it home where it sat until he decided he needed a Red Bull for work that night. So he gets in the SUV, turns the key, nothing.

The battery was dead.

Figures.

Additionally (oh yes, there’s more), my husband’s birthday is in February. I spent the better part of his birthday afternoon making him coconut cupcakes with salted caramel macaroons on top and picked up food from one of his favorite restaurants for dinner.

Unfortunately, he had a stomach virus for 3 days and couldn’t eat any of it. And since baked things made from scratch tend to go stale in warp speed due to their not having any preservatives, I had to throw them all out.

Not long after that, my son and I came down with the same stomach virus which thankfully for us, was mercifully short-lived.

That pretty much sums up how February always seems to go for us.

Good riddance February and hello March!

I love March.

March means my birthday, my wedding anniversary, and the first day of spring (also my wedding anniversary).

Now that we’re well into March and I’m slowly regaining my sanity, I have some cookies to share with you.

You guys.

Seriously.

These cookies.

They may be my new favorite cookie.

They’re that good.

I made them during a particularly low day towards the end of a particularly bad month and they totally made me forget how bad things were for just a few minutes. A great cookie can do that.

These babies are somewhere between a snickerdoodle and a spice cookie. They’re tender and slightly chewy on the inside with crisp edges. Just the way cookies should be according to me.

Even after three days of sitting in my cookie jar, they were still moist and chewy and perfect.

I came up with the recipe the same way that I came up with the recipe for these. I bought some chocolate chai latte concentrate and didn’t really care for it as a drink but mixed into baked goods, it’s amazing. So I messed around in my kitchen for a bit and voila! Best. Cookies. Ever.

Even though I used chocolate chai latte concentrate, the actual chocolate flavor was only barely noticeable so if you can’t find the chocolate chai, or you can’t have chocolate, or you just don’t want it, just use chai latte concentrate. I use Tazo but I’m sure any brand will work.

I still have two cartons of chai latte concentrate in my fridge, so I have a feeling that this won’t be the last you’ll see of it.

I’m thinking chai pancakes would be a very good idea.

For the Cookies:

1/3 cup Tazo Chocolate Chai Latte Concentrate or your favorite brand

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

For the Sugar Coating:

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Using your hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.

Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar.

Add the chai latte concentrate to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well to combine.

Pour in the flour mixture and mix just until the dough comes together.

Fold in the white chocolate chips. Don’t over mix.

Now add the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger to a bowl and mix well.

Roll tablespoon sized balls of dough in the sugar coating and place two inches apart on a baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until just done. You want these cookies to be underdone because they will set up on the baking sheet once they’re out of the oven.

Once set, move to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Enjoy!

My Husband and I moved in together eight Novembers ago after about two weeks of dating. Sounds bonkers, I know.

But when you know, you know.

You know?

I wonder if he remembers the actual date (it was the 9th).

Moving day went as most moving days usually do. It was hot, exhausting, and we were over it well before we were allowed to give up and call it a day.

When dinner time came, I told my future Husband that I would be taking care of dinner and retreated into our new kitchen.

I’m sure he thought that meant that I would be ordering a pizza or slapping some lunch meat between two slices of bread.

Not even close.

I may have been exhausted, sweaty, and smelled like cardboard boxes, but that didn’t dampen my constant need to overachieve.

For our first meal in our new place, I made him a simple pasta dish that I had made many times before. But because it was new to him, it was like I was making it for the first time all over again.

He loved it. In fact he loved it so much that he declared that we forevermore refer to it as ‘moving day pasta’. So we did, and soon this meal was thrust into heavy rotation on our dinner table and it’s still one of his favorites.

Since we’re celebrating his birthday this weekend, I thought it was only fitting that I post one of his favorites and the first meal we ever ate together in the first place we ever shared together.

It also just so happens to be another one of my favorite meals to make with some of my favorite pantry staples.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 a sweet onion – diced

2 cloves of garlic – minced

jarred sun-dried tomatoes *

marinated artichoke hearts *

kalamata olives *

feta cheese *

1 roasted red pepper – chopped

15 oz. can of cannellini beans – rinsed and drained

kale – about a cup or so – chopped

1/4 cup sun-dried tomato pesto

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup stock or broth

heavy cream

Italian seasoning

pasta – your choice

*Use as much or as little of these ingredients as you want

Directions

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.

Add some extra virgin olive oil to a saute pan over medium heat and cook the onion until translucent.

Add the garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, roasted red pepper, and kale and saute until the kale is tender.

By now, your water should be boiling. Add a good amount of salt, stir, add pasta, and stir again so your pasta doesn’t stick together.

Once the pasta is cooking away gently, add the tomato pesto, the wine, and stock or broth (whatever you have). Stir together and let simmer while the pasta boils.

Just before the pasta is done, add the beans and feta to the sauce mixture. Stir to bring everything together and then splash in a little cream. Just a couple turns around the pan is all you need.

Add salt and pepper to taste and a few dashes of Italian Seasoning.

Now drain the pasta and add it right to the sauce. I usually just use tongs to lift the pasta out of the water and drop the noodles into the sauce, then I toss everything together gently.

Enjoy with a big glass of wine, crusty bread and a green salad.

*I’ve also made this pasta with fresh spinach and fresh grape/cherry tomatoes. It’s all good.

I made you a sandwich.

I hope you like tuna.

Okay, actually I made myself a sandwich but I’m sharing it with you because it’s really tasty and it contains some of my favorite pantry staples.

This particular sandwich came to be years ago because I wanted a tuna sandwich but I wanted to jazz it up a bit.

I think I may have been out of relish or eggs or maybe even both at the time and since tuna with just mayo is sad, I searched my kitchen to see what else I could come up with and this particular version of the tuna sandwich was born.

My husband and I have been eating it this way ever since.

You can use leftover tuna, canned tuna, or those little pouches of tuna.

If you don’t like tuna, you could substitute salmon or chicken instead.

For a tasty vegan option, use mashed chick peas.

Ingredients:

tuna

kalamata olives

roasted red pepper

marinated artichokes

sun-dried tomatoes

lemon zest

1-2 tbsp mayonnaise or veganaise (optional)

parsley (optional)

salt & pepper

This really couldn’t be easier to put together. Just shred the tuna with a fork. Then chop up the olives, pepper, tomatoes, and artichokes and add to the tuna. How much of each of those things you add is totally up to you.

Add the zest of a lemon along with a good squeeze of the juice. Add salt and pepper to taste and chopped parsley if you want it.

Sometimes I add mayo and sometimes I don’t. This one is your call. I think the extra creaminess is great on a sandwich or in a wrap, but if I’m topping a salad with the mixture, I leave out the mayo.

That’s pretty much it. Just spoon your tuna mixture onto a hoagie roll, roll-up in a wrap, mix into a salad, or just eat it straight from the bowl with some crackers or pita chips.

You’re probably wondering if I’ve lost my mind.

Or maybe you’re thinking that I’m so desperate for blog content that I’ve actually done a whole write-up about beans on toast.

Well, yes and no.

Stay with me here.

We are talking about beans on toast but it’s not what you think.

We’re actually talking about some of my favorite pantry staples to be exact. Those food items that have a special place in my pantry at all times.

Those items are (in no particular order of importance): sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pasta, beans, canned tomatoes, and roasted red peppers.

The reason that I always keep those things on hand is because I can make about 100 different things with them and all of those things are easy to prepare and delicious.

Also, I like them. So there you go.

Over the next few days, I thought I would share some of my favorite ways to use my favorite pantry staples with you.

Maybe it will inspire you to create something totally new from your favorite pantry staples.

First up: Beans on toast.

Who’s excited!?

Think of this as a classed up version of beans on toast. Classy because in my mind, pureed things + roasted garlic = fancy.

Actually, I think any time you roast a whole head of garlic, you’re already well on your way to something special.

For this particular application, no real recipe is needed. It’s more of a process, a no-recipe recipe, if you will.

You will need:

a head of garlic

can of canellini beans – rinsed and drained

pesto – store-bought or homemade

extra virgin olive oil

sun-dried tomatoes

kalamata olives

marinated artichoke hearts

jarred roasted red pepper

baguette – sliced and toasted

parsley – optional

First, you’re going to roast a whole head of garlic. Just chop off the very top, drizzle on a little extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper, wrap in foil, and roast for 45 minutes at 375 degrees until the garlic is super soft.

While the garlic roasts, drain and rinse the beans, and then toss them into a blender or food processor along with a tablespoon or two of pesto, a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of sea salt, and pepper.

Once the garlic has roasted, squeeze all of the cloves into the blender and blend everything until completely smooth.

Now you could totally stop at this point because your bean spread is done and it’s fantastic just by itself on toasted bread, warmed pita, or tortilla chips. But why stop here when you can put lots of other things on top!

Chop up some marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and parsley (if you want it). Just toss it all into a big pile and chop it all up together.

How much?

That depends on who you’re feeding and how hungry they are. Just eyeball everything.

To assemble: grab some toasted baguette slices and top them with a smear of the bean spread. Then add a spoonful of the artichoke/sun-dried tomato/red pepper/ olive/ parsley mixture on top.

That’s it!

I also like to top mine with crispy roasted asparagus when I have it. Yum!

These little bites are the perfect combination of smooth, crunchy, sweet, salty, and they have just a little bit of tartness from the sun-dried tomatoes.

And the best part is, you can mix and match the ingredients that you like. Don’t like olives? Leave them out. Love artichokes? Throw a few extra into the mix.

I hope you enjoy this snack as much as I do.

I’ll take a plate of these and a glass of white wine over a bag of chips any day!

There are approximately eleventy thousand recipes for chai cupcakes.

Some involve adding the tea leaves directly to the batter, some involve steeping the tea in water or milk before adding it to the batter. I’ve tried most of them (with various flavors of tea) and I can tell you that they’re all perfectly fine.

But guess what?

Some days I don’t feel like heating milk until it is just the right temperature and then steeping tea for what feels like INFINITYMINUTES.

Some days I just want cake. And I want it sooner rather than later so I came up with my own recipe (as I often do).

If you’re impatient like me, you will love these snack cakes.

If you like chai tea… and cake, you will love these snack cakes.

If you’ve never had chai tea but you’re a fan of spice cookies and gingerbread, you will love these snack cakes.

Also, This recipe is the best.

Yes, this one.

I realize that’s a bold statement but once you’ve tried one, I think you’ll agree.

And if that’s not enough, this is a one bowl situation. Oh yeah. Dump in the dry stuff, whisk. Dump in the wet stuff, whisk. Fold in some white chocolate chips and you’re ready to bake!

To make them, all you need to do is follow the snack cake recipe here with a couple of small changes:

•  Instead of 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar: Use 1 cup granulated sugar + 1/4 cup brown sugar

• Instead of 1 cup of almond milk: Use 1 cup Tazo Chocolate Chai Latte Concentrate

• Omit the vanilla and citrus zest

• Fold a big handful of white chocolate chips into the batter just before baking. These give the cakes the “latte” flavor.

I’ve found that these cakes come out so much better if you let the batter rest for about 10 minutes before baking which is just enough time to preheat your oven to 350, drop some cupcake liners into a muffin pan, put everything away, and clean up your kitchen.

This recipe should make at least 12 snack cakes. I wound up with 14.

These little cakes are so good on their own that they don’t need anything else on top and that makes them super easy to freeze, store in an airtight container, or toss into a lunchbox.

However if you wanted a little something extra, you could always dust them with powdered sugar, dollop some sweetened whipped cream on top, drizzle a little honey over them, or smear on some frosting and call them cupcakes.

*To make these snack cakes for your vegan friends, use vegan white chocolate chips and Oregon Chai Vegan Chai Tea Latte concentrate (or your preferred vegan chai concentrate), and about 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. You can also leave the chocolate out completely. They’re fantastic either way. 

And that’s pretty much it!

Just give the glaze a few minutes to set up and you’re good to go!

This recipe is so fast and easy. And it’s all mixed up in one bowl so there’s hardly any clean up!

These are great to toss into a lunchbox or as an after school treat.

My kids prefer when I make these snack cakes with cow’s milk as opposed to almond milk so go with your preference on this one. Any milk works so if you normally drink coconut or rice milk, those will work just as well.

The snack cake pictured above was made as written. But the beauty of these basic little vanilla cakes is that you can add whatever you and your kids like so they’re totally customizable!

Lime zest, coconut, and/or a small can of crushed pineapple would all be great in the batter, but if you prefer to leave the fruit out completely, you could always add cinnamon, cardamom, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, (you get the idea).

And if glaze isn’t your thing, you can always drizzle over some chocolate or peanut butter ganache or maybe some warmed preserves, jam, honey, or lemon curd.

A dusting of powdered sugar is quick and easy too.

How about tea-flavored cakes? A couple teaspoons of matcha powder stirred into the batter would be amazing as would Earl Grey or chai. To glaze, just stir a little brewed tea into 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar until it is thin enough to drizzle over the cake(s).

Lavender would also be lovely with the vanilla. Just add a tablespoon or so of edible lavender flowers to the batter and fold gently to incorporate. Then drizzle a little vanilla glaze over the top.

Simple Vanilla Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp milk (almond, cow’s, coconut, rice)

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake(s). Let sit for several minutes to set up. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more milk and stir until it is the right consistency.

* Click on the image to enlarge the recipe.