Weekend Things

For those of you who tuned into A Touchy Subject ~ Part I last week, you might agree that it wasn’t the most upbeat post. But, much like everyday life, it can’t all be rainbows and butterflies because that’s just not real. I plan on continuing to post on the topic every week or so because there’s a LOT to tell. And like I mentioned in the post, I know people out there can relate. I follow certain blogs strictly for that purpose; I feel like I can somehow relate to the author.

And also, thank you for tuning in, if you did. Every word was straight from the heart and 100% honest. Or better yet, Real Talk.

OK, onto some Weekend Talk. On Friday Ryland and I went to the happiest place on earth (IMO), Trader Joe’s. I LOVE that store and basically everything in it. So I bought basically everything in it…even though the Canadian dollar has seen better days :/. But their prices are low so I figure I still beat the system. If not there, then I still saved on gas!

But either way, I bought tons of my favorites, these being one of them:

Have you tried these??? If not, you just have to. They’re crunchy, delicious, basically guilt-free and just the best snack ever. Ryland and I ate the whole bag in one sitting and patted ourselves on the back after for eating so much green ;).

I also bought some stone ground tortillas and whipped this up:

I spread some garlic tomato sauce on the tortilla, sprinkled it with oregano and shredded Havarti cheese, and topped it with spinach and red onions. It went into the toaster oven at 375° for about 8 minutes and was consumed in half that time. I gave the kiddo some, positive that he’d peel off the spinach, but nope! It was a good  lunch. So good that this happened:

He’s literally asleep here. What a guy.

I baked some cookies too because ‘Tis the Season. I went with my favorite, Cake Batter Cookies. Not only because they’re delicious, but I’ll admit it, they’re SO easy to make.

I brought a bunch to a Christmas party on Saturday night and one of my friend’s called it “the perfect cookie.” I’ll take it ;). I’ve made these the last few years and always follow this recipe. Warning – don’t go to this website unless you’re prepared to drool heavily. Sally is a baking goddess.

What else can I tell you…well I won’t talk about how it was windy and rainy and miserable out for most of the weekend because that’s just depressing. We watched a couple more overly cheesy Christmas movies and as mentioned before, we went to a Christmas party at our friend’s house. An Ugly Sweater Party to be exact. It was really fun, especially because there were lots of kiddies there in ugly sweaters too. Ryland stayed up wayyyyy past his bedtime but he was just the cutest little party animal. He was pretty worn out on Sunday and spent some quality time catching up with his beloved elephant blankie.

Ok…I’ve talked your ear off enough today. I’ll see you in a few!

Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I just want to start out by taking a minute to say how grateful I am everyday for all of the brave, selfless men and women who fought for our freedom in this wonderful country, both of my late grandfathers included. We are so incredibly lucky to call this place home, thanks to those who made so many sacrifices.

Lest We Forget

To Duncan’s great relief, I decided to take a break from making my usual super healthy oat bars/cookies/muffins and went with some good, old-fashioned, high-cal, high-fat chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know about where you’re from, but it poured all weekend long here in Vancouver. Definitely stay-in-and-bake kinda weather. I used a pretty basic recipe and made a couple small modifications. The end result?

DROOL

I mean just look at how thick and chunky-chocolatey these babies are! I made a batch of 12 and they lasted maybe 24 hours. We had a few friends over…and they each had one…the rest were all Duncan and I. Sometimes I just have zero self-control, mainly when it comes to stuff like this. Good thing I only made a dozen. What a fat disaster that would’ve been otherwise :/.

Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies (approx. 12 cookies)

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature & soft
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Preheat over to 350º and grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper
2. Sift together flour, salt, cornstarch & baking soda, set aside
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, maple syrup and brown sugar until well blended.
4. Beat in the vanilla and egg until light and creamy.
5. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
6. Fold in the chocolate chunks.
7. Drop large spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheet, about 2″ apart.
8. Bake 9-11 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely (although they’re ooey and gooey and delicious when warm!)

I’ve never actually come across a chocolate chip cookie recipe that calls for maple syrup…I just kind of decided to add it it. There is a very faint maple taste, so if you’re not a fan of that, just skip adding it in. I kind of think it adds to the chewiness though, along with the cornstarch.

Annnnnd now I’m craving another batch of these in a bad way. I kind of have a rule though where I’m only allowed to eat stuff like that on weekends . So I guess I’ll go bake something oat-y instead. Duncan will be so pleased.

Have a good one!

Cornish Hen Success!

Hi! I hope you had a fabulous weekend :).

A few days ago I mentioned that I was going to try to come up with something edible with a Cornish hen, and it happened! I popped it into the crock pot, covered it with a little of this and a little of that, and 6 hours later, Cornish deliciousness!

Thanks to the crock pot, the hen was perfectly juicy and tender and fell off the bones very easily. We had some rice and roasted carrots on the side. Lots of YUM. This dish will be a repeat around here for sure.

Crock Pot Cornish Hen ~ serves 2 (and a toddler)

Ingredients

• A Cornish Hen
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Fresh ground sea salt and pepper

Directions

1. Place hen in crock pot
2. Top with lemon juice, crushed garlic, sea salt and pepper
3. Cook on low for 6 hours
4. Remove from crock pot and remove meat from bones
5. Serve with your choice of sides

It really doesn’t get any easier than that! I also made some chocolate chip cookies over the weekend and they were GOOD. Like really, really good. I’ll tell you all about them on Wednesday.

And then there’s this guy.

Have a good one and I’ll see ya soon!!

Totally Nutritious Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies but don’t make them often in fear of eating every single one before they’ve even cooled down. But something amazing happened this weekend. I found this recipe, whipped up a batch, and let me tell you, they are SO good. They’re moist, guilt-free, delicious, and packed with protein and fiber. Who would ever thing to use chick peas in cookies?? Well whoever did, thank you. And even though I wanted to eat them all, I couldn’t because they’re so filling! I had Duncan test one before I told him about the chick peas and he gave them his stamp of approval. I mean of course that’s changed now that he knows the truth, but still. Ryland is a big fan which is awesome because they make a perfect snack for his lunchbox. These bad boys are going to be a regular occurrence around here.

There’s no added sugar but the chocolate chips and maple syrup give it the perfect amount of sweetness and they aren’t overly peanut buttery. I made them Saturday and am proud to announce that today there is still ONE left!!! That’s kind of a big deal.

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

**recipe belongs to http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com/**

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
• ½ cup all natural creamy peanut butter
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup vegan mini-chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips into a food processor. Blend for a few minutes or until well combined. Cookie dough should smooth and creamy.
3. Transfer cookie dough to a bowl and fold in chocolate chips.
4. Use a tablespoon and scoop dough into balls and drop onto cookie sheet evenly spaced.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I kept these in the fridge once they cooled down. I’m not sure if that’s necessary, but I just felt like that’s where they should go. And they are ooey gooey delicious when warm so you can heat them up in the microwave or toaster oven if you like. It was a really good decision.

On another note, we went to a pumpkin patch on Sunday and of course I took a million pictures of my kid with pumpkins. Here are a couple of my favorites:

He tried to take a bite out of the one he’s holding…ended up with a mouthful of dirt instead which he really didn’t seem to mind. Boys will be boys.

Alrighty, time for this chick to get to work. Happy Monday! If that even makes sense ;).