Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies

Tried and true, hands down, this is Gavin's favorite cookie at the castle house. And what's even better is that Gavin, almost 9-years-old now, with only a bit of guided practice, is able to make them himself.  These healthy snacks come together quickly and with only a handful of ingredients, I almost always have everything in the pantry.  The only ingredient that you might want to give a little forethought to are the bananas.  You will need RIPE ones!  This is key and is the only sweetener in the cookie dough.

There have been times when I craved these treats for my breakfast and I will make up a half batch and eat them all with a cup of hot tea.  Yummers!

Easy peasy, let's get cookin'!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixing bowl add and mix together:

2 ripe bananas (mash real good)

*1 1/2 cups rolled oats

*1/2 cup quick oats

**1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter 

1 tsp. vanilla

Drop by teaspoonful onto cookie sheet.  Dip your thumb into water and begin making a small depression into the top of each cookie (water helps prevent cookie dough from sticking to your skin).

Bake cookies in the oven for 12 minutes.  Remove tray from oven and let cookies cool for a few minutes.  Squeeze or drop scant amount of jelly onto each cookie.  

*You can use all rolled oats or all quick oats.  I like the texture of using some of both.  And you can play with the amount of oats since the consistency of the cookies will have a lot to do with the size of your bananas.  Larger bananas?  More oats.  Smaller bananas, less oats.  Or just one banana and cut back on the oats and peanut butter and just make a smaller batch of cookies.  This recipe is very forgiving and does not require exact measurements.  

**You can use almond butter in place of peanut butter.

Eat up!  Yummers!

Kale Chips

Figured it was time to add this to the Food Blog.  I haven't made these chips for a while and when I tried remembering the oven temperature and how long to bake them, I drew a blank.  After confirming time and temperature with Candy, the person who first shared this recipe with me, I proceeded to make not just one batch of kale chips, but two.  

There are dozens of different ways to season these babies.  It's all up to you and what your taste buds prefer.  I'm a no-oil gal and use a bit of Bragg's Aminos in a spray bottle to spritz the kale leaves so that my dry seasoning combo will stick. 

Basic Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash your kale well.  Remove hard stems/rib and tear kale into 3-4 inch pieces.  Kale will shrink a lot so leave in llarger pieces.  If Kale is super wet, you can put in a salad spinner and then blot with a towel.  Leaves will crisp faster if dry.

Place your kale in a bowl.  Here's where you will season and massage the leaves a bit.  I spray with Bragg's aminos (next time I'm going to use coconut aminos (lower in sodium).  Some people use a bit of olive oil or non-stick spray. Sprinkle on your favorite spices. I use garlic powder, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Gently massage spices into kale leaves.

Place kale leaves in a single layer on parchment-lined cookie sheet (I use a Silpat-type silicone baking mat) and pop into the oven.  

Set timer for 10 minutes.  Remove kale from the oven and flip the leaves over.  Set timer for additional 3 minutes.  Do not walk away from the kitchen as these delicate leaves will burn very quickly.  If this is your first time making these, you might even want to test your oven and set the timer for 7 minutes to start and then flip the leaves and bake an additional 3 minutes and then in additional minute increments until nice and crispy.  You may need to remove a few of the chips that have crisped up already before putting the rest back in the oven.  Everyone's oven is a little different. 

Notice how much the leaves have shrunk?

These healthy morsels are ready to eat! And eat them I do. I can consume an entire bunch of kale all by myself!

Cauliflower Soup

This is a simple soup to make.  A bit of time and the following ingredients are all that is required to achieve this 'scrumptiousness in a bowl.'

Here's what you'll need:

Soup Base

2-4 cups cauliflower florets and thinly sliced stems, fresh or frozen.  I use an entire head of cauliflower or one 16-ounce bag of frozen.  Cook the cauliflower until fork tender.  Use whatever method you are most comfortable with.  I get good results in the microwave.

2-3 cups almond milk, unsweetened (use whatever milk floats your boat)

Pour your milk into a blender and add 1/2 of your cooked cauliflower.  Liquify until smooth.
**Rev. 10/30/14:  I've started using my immersion blender instead of my counter-top blender.  So much easier! Remove a cup of your steamed cauliflower from the pot and set aside.  Add your milk and blend with immersion blender. Add the cup of cauliflower to your blended soup base.

Add 1/2 tsp. white ground pepper.  This pepper has got a little kick so use less to start and taste before adding more. 

Your soup base is finished.  See?  Easy!

Now, gather together the following vegetables:

Mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, spouted lentils  I like my mushrooms Portobello and sliced thickly, my onions, sweet....my bell peppers in all the rainbow colors and my lentils sprouted to about 1 - 1/2 inch.

Clean, slice, dice and saute them in your favorite way.  I use a bit of non-stick spray to coat my pan...and Parkay Spray on my veggies, along with a few of Mrs. Dash's no-salt seasonings.   I do not use oil or butter (apologies to all my Paleo family and friends).  I encourage you to use what tastes best to you.  If you have never tried the water saute method, this is the perfect dish for a 'first time.'

I like my veggies al dente and sauteed long enough to incorporate all the natural flavors.   You can cook them for as little or as long as you like and then turn the heat way down and cover with a lid. 

In the microwave or on the stove top, bring your cauliflower soup to a soft simmer.   Ladle hot soup into serving bowl.  Then scoop up and add 1-2 cups of cooked veggies.  Enjoy!

**Notes from experience:  The first time I made this soup, I kept it very simple, adding only a few bits of diced red bell pepper and some lightly sauteed mushrooms.  The next few times I made it, I started using different vegetables and lots more of them.  As you can see in the photo, may ratio of sauteed veggies is much greater than the amount of soup base.  Broccoli is another great veggie to add to this mix but it will change the flavor of the dish because of its own distinct flavor.  I eat lots of broccoli so decided to keep this dish broccoli-free.  Zucchini squash is another wonderful addition to this saute mix and I've used shredded carrots, too.

Final note:  When I make enough to have leftovers, I refrigerate the soup and the veggies separately...and reheat them separately, as well.  The soup presents more lovely when the soup is ladled first...and veggies added to the soup.  I'm just sayin'.