Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

I feel like I have been on my feet cooking and cleaning all day today.  I now I am rewarding myself by sitting down to write this post.  It is always too far between my posts, but my crazy, busy life gets in the way!  These cookies were the perfect treat for me on this crazy day! I was thinking they might be amazing with some crushed up candy canes mixed in with the powdered sugar, Tis the Season for Peppermint!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

1/4 c. shortening
1/4 c. cocoa
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/4 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 c. chocolate chips (optional)
1/2 to 1 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350

Mix shortening, cocoa, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until well mixed.  Add flour, salt and baking powder.  Mix well.  The dough will be pretty sticky still, if you feel like you need another 1/4 c of flour, you can add it.  Roll dough into balls and then roll in the powdered sugar.
Bake 9-10 min (Do not over-bake. They should still be soft when you take them out of the oven)

Salt & Vinegar Cucumbers

This is one of my favorite things to make with cucumbers.  Side note, I have always hated cucumbers, and this is the only way i could ever eat them.  But something changed during my first pregnancy where I was able to actually eat them.  I still don't love them, by any means, but I can tolerate them now.  These always remind me of a good friend growing up, although they would make them with white vinegar.  However you like them, they are always a nice refreshing summer treat.

3/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
2 c. water
1 Tbsp Salt
3 whole peppercorns
2 english cucumbers

Cut the cucumber into the thickness you like.  I like them a little thicker, it just depends how you like them.  In a seperate bowl, mix together vinegar, water and salt.  Put the cucumbers and the vinegar mixture into an airtight container.  Add the peppercorns, or freshly ground pepper.  Let refridgerate for several hours or overnight till cucumbers have absorbed the full flavor of the vinegar mixture.

You can even save the vinegar mixture once the cucumbers are gone and add another batch of cucumbers to it. 

Power Balls

This is a recipe I make a lot, especially when I got off of refined sugars.  It is a great thing to have on hand to eat before working out, or in-between meals as a snack, and my kids love them too.  You could basically put in the kitchen sink, but this is the mixture I have liked best.

Power Balls

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened if you prefer)
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
3 cups rolled oats
1/2-1 cup of mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder

Mix the peanut butter, agave and honey together till smooth.  In a big bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.  Slowly add the peanut butter mixture into the dry ingredients.  Mix in the protein powder last.  It will help to bind everything together.  Form them into balls, or use a muffin sized scooper and place them on a cookie sheet.  Refrigerate over night.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.  You can freeze in baggies what you won't eat right away, and pull them out as needed.

*I like to use half agave, half honey.  But you can do a cup of one or the other.

Oven-Dried Apple's

I am constantly needing snacks for myself and my boys.  I always need healthy things that we can take on the go.  When I came across this recipe I thought I had to make it.  I used my apple peeler and sliced up the apples in about 10 minutes.  I put them in the oven in the morning, let them cook all day, then left them in the oven overnight, and Voila! they were amazingly delicious in the morning! My kids and their friends tested them today, and they all wanted more! It doesn't get much more easy than that!  The Jello turns these a bright color that make them look so pretty, and taste great.

Oven Baked Apple Chips

Ingredients:

apples
optional: Fruit flavored Jello (I used peach and strawberry)
optional: cinnamon sugar

Instructions
Slice apples in uniformly thin slices (1/8 of an inch or less) and place on a parchment or silicone baking mat lined baking sheet in an even layer.  Slices can touch each other, but try not to overlap.  Fit as many apples on a sheet as you can (they shrink a lot!)  If desired sprinkle with cinnamon and gently rub in.  Alternately you can sprinkle with dry fruit flavored jello (I did one pan of each kind).

Bake apples at 170 for 6-8 hours, until dry and slightly shriveled, and curled up around edges.  Turn off oven and leave door shut until completely cooled.  Remove apples from baking sheet and store in an airtight container.

Welcome!

I have been wanting to start a blog for a while now to post recipes that I want to share with friends. Well, now I am finally getting around to it! 
There is nothing I like better than a tried and true recipe that has been handed down from person to person.  I have more cookboks than I can count, yet, I am constantly taking pictures, printing off and searching for more! So, I will post some of my favorites and I hope you enjoy! 

Bon Appetite, from Me to You!