Peanut Butter Cookies- Smore and Chocolate Kiss Versions

I got married :) I am a puddle of gush and love right now so I will spare you the details, but it was perfect. We got married on a Tuesday, exactly one year after it all began, at Van Hoosen Farms, Rochester, MI in front of just immediate family. 

The small ceremony was followed by dinner at the restaurant where we had our first date. It was just what I pictured- I looked like me, he looked like him- it was personal and small. 

As much as I would've loved to have friends there, neither of us wanted the large wedding we had the first time, therefore, we are throwing a pool party at our house this weekend for a few close friends and calling it good. I am overwhelmed with the amount of love and support we have received from our friends and family- we get that it was a fast road to the alter, but in the word's of my cousin, "When you know, you know." 

I could go on and on about the day and my feelings, but all I will say is that I am incredibly grateful of the broken road that led me to Matt and I couldn't be more excited about our future as a family of three... for now... 

 Because I am feeling "sweet" and lovey this week's recipe is sweet as well. I was trying to recreate a moist peanut butter cookie, because I love them... and thought, why not make them like ooey, gooey smores? Or better yet, add chocolate kisses and make them like a childhood favorite cookie?? 

*Notes on the recipe....
...you can use all one type of "butter"...
- If you use all peanut butter- they may be more oily, but as they cool this should subside
- If you use all almond butter they may be drier... you might want to add a tablespoon or so of coconut oil or ghee 
... you HAVE to let them cool before eating them...
I am talking like an hour, or better yet, in the fridge or over night. They firm up and become chewy this way
... you can omit the coconut...
but you are losing out on some flavor :)
... you can use flax-egg....
this just changes the flavor slightly

Peanut Butter Cookies (base recipe)

(Makes about 40 mini-cookie muffins or small cookies)
- 1 Cup Peanut Butter (find the kind with no added junky oils or sugar)
- 1 Cup Almond Butter
- 2 tsp Aluminum-free Baking Powder
- 3/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Cups Coconut Sugar (you can use regular or brown if that's all you have)
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- Pinch of Salt

Add ins...
Mini Marshmallows
Chocolate Chips
Hershey Kisses

Pre-heat Oven to 350 Degrees

1. In a large bowl, or stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients except the add ins. Using a hand-mixer, or your super strong muscles if you're desperate, and beat the ingredients until well combined. 

- you should be able to grab a tablespoon or so and press it together with your fingers- if you can't and it is too dry, add a tablespoon at a time of coconut oil or ghee. 
- If you are adding chocolate chips or marshmallows, now is the time to fold them in by hand. 

2. In a greased mini-muffin pan, or parchment lined cookie sheet, place tablespoon-sized mounds. 

Using your fingers, press them into the pan or into a 1/2" thick disc on the cookie sheet. 

I made a "well" in my mini-muffins to add the marshmallows and or hershey kisses. 

3. Bake 8-10 Minutes for muffins and 10-12 minutes for cookies. They will be VERY soft when they come out... resist the urge to touch them and LET THEM COOL COMPLETELY before grabbing one. They are honestly better after sitting for hours or overnight in the fridge :)

Base Recipe- per cookie-

Nutrition Facts
Servings 40.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 131
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8 g	13 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	11 %
Monounsaturated Fat 4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 9 mg	3 %
Sodium 59 mg	2 %
Potassium 101 mg	3 %
Total Carbohydrate 13 g	4 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	5 %
Sugars 11 g
Protein 3 g	7 %
Vitamin A	0 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	5 %
Iron	4 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Glazed Flank Steak- for quesadillas, salads and more!

This summer I am finally being productive. It is about time I got my shit together, right? I noticed this year I have an abundance of crafts and art from my creative toddler- not that I am insensitive (ok, maybe I am a little) but I don't want to keep everything she does. So I started taking pictures of her art, then throwing it away. Using Shutterfly, I set out to make a book of her art from age 3- there it would be preserved without cluttering my house. As I started I thought, why not put in main events from the year?? What do you really do with all the pictures you take anyway? So I made categories- adventures, her birthday, vacations we took, etc. Each section themed with a color. 75 pages later and I had a book condensing the third year of my Charlie's life! It is perfect. Now that I have done it once I feel like I should go back and do it for her first two years, and definitely will be doing it from now on. It can be something of an album of books when she is 18 and something to look back on when she has her own kids. Mom of the year right here... first time I have had a "mom win" in a while. Maybe I am secretly a Pinterest mom after all...??... nah... did you see her birthday party? lol. Oops. 

Other than the one moment of productivity I have been busy floating in the pool, working out, and de-stressing. Not a shabby day when you have a puppy, a happy child, some Starbucks and some sunshine! 

Okay, okay, I have been a little more productive than that... if you want workout ideas I have been posting a 2 min video on my FB page of some ideas... this week we hit the pool! It was too hot for anything else. 

You know what rivals marinating? Glazing. Mmmm. It creates that usually sticky, gooey gloriousness on the outside of meat that makes you want to lick your fingers. This glaze is Asian-inspired and would also be great on pork or chicken. I cook the meat for a few minutes on each side first before applying the glaze- so nearer the end of the whole cooking process. 

Glazed Flank Steak

- 1/4 Cup Coconut Aminos (or gluten free soy sauce)
- 1/4 Cup Rice Vinegar (or white vinegar)
- 2 Tbsp Honey (or coconut sugar)
- Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 1.5-2lbs Flank Steak (or skirt steak)
- 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil

Pre-heat the grill
1. In a small saucepan, combine the first four ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 5 minutes- stirring frequently. Until it thickens slightly- you should have 1/3+ cups left.
2. Rub the steak with the sesame oil, place it on the grill, after a few minutes (depending on how done you want it) flip it once before brushing on the glaze. Make sure to glaze both sides!

Ideas for use....

Quesadillas!

Matt and I grilled some bell peppers, jalapeno and onions from our garden and made quesadillas! We also tested out our grill pan and even grilled the quesadillas. 

I also made a quick guacamole by using a ripe avocado, lime juice, tomatoes from the garden, and garlic salt... I just eye-balled it and went off taste! Yum!!

Matt love his little Annie-girl

Salad!

I made a quick salad with veggies from my garden, sliced steak and a homemade avocado dressing
Spicy Avocado Dressing
- 1 Avocado
- 1/4 Cup Frank's Red Hot
- 1/4 Cup Mayo (I used homemade)
- 1 Green Onion
- 1/2 Lime Juice (about 2-3 Tbsp)
- Dash of Cayenne depending on how spicy you want it
- Splash of Milk to thin it out
- Salt and Pepper

Combine all of the above in a blender or food processor. Thin it out with milk (or even better would be buttermilk!) as much as you want. Store in a air-tight container for up to 5 days. 

Fast-ish Cinnamon Rolls- Paleo/Gluten Free

It finally happened! I finally got to stand in first place on a podium! Matt and I started my summer vacation by traveling to Holland, MI for the CrossFit competition, Duel of the Decades. This puts 20s against 20s and people in their 30s against people in their 30s, etc. Matt and I were partners for the third time- we have taken 4th twice before- once because of a scoring error and once because I suck at thrusters. :) Apparently we just needed to compete with people our own age to win. I am semi-joking. It was a hard competition- they are usually high in cardio and not in skill so almost everyone can participate. 

Matt crushed the 3 RM bench at 335lbs and I did hand-stand push-ups like it was my job- you know what got us? Goblet squats- I need to work on those! Either way it was a great day and now I can officially retire happy. 

I am not at all claiming these are healthy, but they are delicious- here's the back story-

A few weeks ago Charlie and I made a recipe from Pinterest for fast cinnamon rolls... it only made 4 so it was perfect for our family (1 for each Charlie and me and 2 for Matt.) My mom makes my Grandma's recipe every year for Thanksgiving and they are heaven- just incredibly time consuming so they are only made once a year. Afterwards I got to thinking that I could come up for my own yeast-free, version. I read a lot online about how to make a dough that was paleo that could be rolled out and after a lot of trial and error this is what I came up with- no one was sad tasting the "mistakes" so it was a win going through all the butter in the house. That being said, I was excited to make a version of that recipe that didn't involve my whole day so hence the name- "fast-ish" because they are not "fast" per se but they are faster than my Grandma's. 

 Fast-ish Cinnamon Rolls

- 3/4 Cup Arrowroot Powder (PLUS more for dusting)
- 8 Tbsp (1/2 Cup) Ghee, or Grass-Fed Butter, or Coconut Oil (I'll be honest, butter is better)
- 2 Cups Milk
- 1 1/2 Cups Almond Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 Tbsp Raw Honey (omit if you want... dough just won't be sweet)
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Filling-
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp Ghee/Butter/Oil (whatever you used above)

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the 1/2 cup of fat (ghee/butter/oil.) In a separate bowl, mix the arrowroot and milk until smooth- pour this slowly into the butter as you whisk (like making a roux.) Keep whisking- the mixture should thicken pretty fast and start to clump up. As soon as it does take it off the heat. If it is clumpy and separated that's fine! It will come together in the next step.
2. In a mixing bowl, add the almond flour, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and honey. Pour the roux into the almond flour and mix until a sticky dough forms. Using your hands is probably the easiest.
3. Dust a non-stick silicon baking sheet, or a piece of plastic wrap with arrowroot powder- make sure it covers the surface so the dough won't stick when you roll it out at the end. 

Pour the dough onto this and spread it out about 1/2 inch thick in the shape of a rectangle as best you can- dusting your hands helps. 

Sprinkle with more arrowroot and cover with another sheet of plastic wrap. At this point I use a rolling pin to smooth it out. Place the dough in the freezer for 10-15 minutes while you make the filling.

*PREHEAT* Oven to 375 degrees.

4. Melt the 3 Tbsp of fat for the filling, set aside. In a small bowl mix the sugar and cinnamon.
5. When the dough is chilled pull it out and take off the top layer of plastic. Brush it with the butter all the way to the edges. Sprinkle it with the cinnamon/sugar. 

6. Starting at one of the short ends, begin carefully rolling, pinching anything shut that "breaks". If it sticks, use more arrowroot (it will still taste ok even as a mess.) Once you have a log, cut it in 8 equal segments. 

Place each chunk in a greased, or non-stick muffin pan. Bake 18-20 minutes until the centers are slightly firm to the touch. Let them cool 5ish minutes before taking them out. 

They are honestly better the longer they sit... the ones I ate in the afternoon after they baked in the morning were the best. 

 Big family hit!

 Don't read this until after you eat one!

Nutrition Facts
Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 371
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 26 g	40 %
Saturated Fat 10 g	52 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 41 mg	14 %
Sodium 228 mg	9 %
Potassium 18 mg	1 %
Total Carbohydrate 31 g	10 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	11 %
Sugars 17 g
Protein 5 g	9 %
Vitamin A	14 %
Vitamin C	0 %
Calcium	7 %
Iron	5 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Adobo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

My favorite app has to be TimeHop... I love pictures popping up that I forgot about. Here is my peanut a few months old helping me cook... she was in the kitchen with me even then!

This weekend she was at the gym with me a lot more than usual. She does CrossFit kids and absolutely loves it, but had to stay because mommy needed a workout too. As much as working out is "my" time it isn't my alone time, Matt will sometimes drive her home so my car ride is my alone time, he gets me lol. I know some people don't need alone time, or maybe they don't realize they need it because they get it automatically, but I do. I feel like I am needed by someone for something all day every day... the puppy needs me, my students need me, I get home and Charlie needs me, my friends need me, Matt needs me. I am not complaining about being needed, more just explaining for those that don't understand that for 10 minutes of every day it is nice for me to be alone and not be "needed." See my article for "missing the mom gene" for more on this. ;) That being said, I am definitely looking forward to my summer vacation starting this week where there is nowhere to be at 6:30am. No rushing out the door. The stress of my mornings, and guilt when I come home will be gone. This adjustment to being a stay-at-home mom has different, more mental, challenges, but I have made it my goal to enjoy it more this year. I am in a much happier place in life and that will for sure help. I know I need to appreciate this time, because although Matt and I are planning on expanding our family, she is my first born and I will miss her cuddles when she no longer wants to cuddle me, and miss her wanting to play with me when she no longer wants to be seen with me. 

OK! Meal Prep this week... it is the last week I have to do all my cooking on a Sunday because it is the last week of school... yay!!!!

- Chicken, pepper, pineapple kabobs on the grill

- Grilled Chicken

- Roasted Broccoli

- Stuffed Peppers (recipe below)

- Rice

- Taco Meat (we literally make this every week- Charlie's favorite)

Adobo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

For these I was using up leftovers... the pineapple and juice were both from the same can... added pantry staples to leftovers and viola! Dinner!

- 2 Cups Cooked Chicken, diced small
- 2 Cups Cooked Rice
- 3 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1/2 Sweet Onion, finely chopped
- 3 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce, finely chopped, with some sauce if you want more heat
- 3/4-1 Cup Pineapple Juice
- 1-2 Cups Pineapple Chunks
- 1.5 Cups Chicken Stock
- 5 Bell Peppers, tops cut off and seeded

1. In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil, the onions, chipotle peppers, and garlic. Saute until they are soft stirring often- no more than 5 minutes. 
2. Add the stock and pineapple juice. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook until it is thick, reduced by 1/2 or more, stirring occasionally. This took about 10 minutes for me. While it was reducing I prepped my peppers. 

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

3. When the sauce is thick, stir in the chicken, rice and pineapple. In a glass baking dish, Stand the peppers upright and stuff them with the filling. Bake 25-30 minutes until the tops are slightly golden and the peppers have some char. 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 5.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 418
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 3 g	5 %
Saturated Fat 1 g	5 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 117 mg	39 %
Sodium 224 mg	9 %
Potassium 313 mg	9 %
Total Carbohydrate 40 g	13 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	10 %
Sugars 13 g
Protein 19 g	39 %
Vitamin A	46 %
Vitamin C	175 %
Calcium	3 %
Iron	14 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.