Monday Munchies - Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins

You might have noticed that it's been 8 months since my last post.  I'm not a consistent blogger, and I'm not really sorry about it.  I've actually written some posts over the past several months, but prayed about them and didn't feel like publishing any of them.

I've spent some time contemplating what the purpose of this blog is, and although it may change, right now I think that the purpose varies with the type of post.  I share recipes because people know I like food and cooking, and they ask me about what I've been making.  I share updates on life for my family and friends who care what I'm up to, because I'm terrible about keeping up with people.  Any spiritual posts are probably more for my benefit than to share with others.  Although I journal, it's helpful for me to work through things by writing it out, knowing that someone else may read it.  Making sure it makes sense to someone else sometimes makes things clearer in my own mind, so blogging is a way that I can challenge myself to more clearly communicate things I'm thinking about, praying about, questions I'm asking, and observations I've made.  By sharing it publicly, I hope that the Lord will use it to bring himself glory and if any of you are encouraged or challenged by what I write, know that it's the Lord and not my words; He alone is worthy of our praise!

That being said, Monday Munchies is back in action (well, this week anyway)!  I found this recipe one night and decided to make them in the morning.  My alarm went off in the morning and I went upstairs to find my mom cooking biscuits and gravy...which kind of made me mad, because in my 27 years of life I don't think my mom has ever made biscuits and gravy, plus I had specifically told her that I was going to make these muffins for breakfast.  Then all of the sudden I opened my eyes and realized I was still in bed!  I'm home for a couple of weeks, and because my old room is now Marshall's room, I'm sleeping in the basement guest room which has no windows.  Now, don't take this as complaining...I love the guest room because it's so dark I sleep like a LOG every night!  Also, I've had weird dreams pretty much every night.  But anyway, because my mom was NOT making biscuits and gravy, I whipped up a batch of these and everyone in the fam liked them.  Marshall kept asking for "more muffin man please" haha, adorable!!!

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins
Yield: Supposedly 12 - mine made 16
2.5 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. plain or vanilla yogurt (Greek or regular)
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1.5 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
2 ripe bananas
1 c. chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray or use paper/foil liners. Put oats in blender and grind until they are powdery.  Add all the other ingredients, including bananas in a blender (or food processor), and blend until smooth.

Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Use all the self-control you have to let them cool so they don't stick to the tins/liners, then enjoy!  I found a little smear of peanut butter and a glass of milk to be the perfect complement, and next time I may even try adding some peanut butter to the batter!

Recipe Source: Slightly adapted from Well Traveled Wife

Monday Munchies - Fiesta Chicken Salad

The last couple of days here in Jackson have been absolutely beautiful!  I spent quite a bit of time outside, and all of the warm weather made me hungry for one of my favorite summer salads, Fiesta Chicken Salad!  I love the marinated chicken/veggie mixture, and my roommate agrees that it's better the second day because all the flavors have more time to blend together, either way, YUM!  Last night we ate it as a salad, but tonight we ate it in whole wheat tortilla shells and it was great that way as well.  I'll admit, I used to just eat the chicken/veggie mixture (no lettuce) on chips, I'm pretty sure you can't go wrong with any combination of these ingredients!

P.S. Sorry I only have one picture, my camera charger tried to escape the move.  Thanks to my mom and the mailman it will be back shortly!

Fiesta Chicken Salad
Chicken mixture:
2 chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 t. garlic salt
Olive oil

Saute chicken until done

Veggie mixture:
1 (16 oz) package frozen corn
1 red pepper (diced)
3 avocados (diced)
1 can black beans (drained)
1-2 tomatoes (diced)
Chopped green onions

Put the above ingredients in a large bowl, mix in the chicken, and pour dressing over all a few hours before serving (in my opinion, the longer the better, however if you want your avocados to stay looking good, add them just before serving).

Dressing:
1/8 t. pepper
1/4 c. vinegar
3 T. honey
1 and 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/4 t. salt

To Serve:
On a plate, break up tortilla chips.  Place torn lettuce on the chips, followed by the chicken and veggie mixture.  Top with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and salsa (and I think it would be might tasty with some cilantro and sliced olives on top as well).

Source: Carrie Robson

Monday Munchies - Wheat-Free Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter

It is 5:30 Monday morning and I'm super excited, which means...I'm leaving for Jackson, Wyoming in 30 minutes!  Don't worry, I'll keep you all posted on my adventures along the way, but now back to business.

This week's recipe is a tasty new cookie recipe I tried last week.  Although it is gluten free, it doesn't have any special flours or other weird ingredients so it tastes just like a normal delicious cookie, and the raw cookie dough is awesome too (don't worry mom, I survived the raw egg)!  The only downfall of these is that after a day or so they get a little dry (nothing a little nuking in the microwave can't help though).  The next time I bake these I will probably only bake a dozen or so, then scoop out dough balls onto a cookie sheet, put the cookie sheet in the freezer for several hours, then put the frozen dough balls into a freezer safe container to store them until I want fresh baked cookies again!  I also think these would be good with almond butter in case anyone has peanut allergies.  I apologize for the bad pic!  This was a last minute Monday Munchies recipe decision so this is a poorly lit smartphone pic of the picture in the cookbook (there was only one burned cookie left in my house and that picture turned out even worse).

Wheat-Free Oatmeal Cookies 

with Chocolate Chips and Peanut Butter

3 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter 

6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temp

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar 

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper. 

Combine the oats, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. 

Place the peanut butter, butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl and beat together with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth (2-3 min).  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Beat in the oat mixture on low until just incorporated.  Mix in the chocolate chips. 

Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie.  (I found that the cookies stayed in whatever shape the dough balls are, so I needed to press the dough down to flatten the balls so they actually looked like cookies - the learning process was not pretty, but it sure tasted good!)

Bake the cookies until they are golden around the edges but still soft on top, 10-12 minutes.  Let the cookies stand on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then carefully slide the parchment sheet with the cookies to a wire rack and let them cool completely.  (I kind of skipped that last step.  I waited until they were cool enough to transfer without falling apart and they turned out fine.)

Makes: 48 cookies

Recipe Source:  Cookie Swap Cookbook