White Chocolate Cranberry Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Man, that's a mouthful of a name!

The unique thing about these cookies is that they don't use flour!  Thus, gluten free, for those of you who are after that :)  Just make sure your oats don't contain trace amounts of wheat!  Last time I checked, Quaker does.  Bob's Red Mill is safe, though.  They're super tasty, and I loved the white chocolate/cranberry combination, but you could use any mix-ins.  The original recipe used m&ms, chocolate chips, and candy corn.  I can think of so many combinations that would be fantastic with these!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. white cugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. butter
• 4 1/2 c. quick oats
• 2 tsp baking soda
• Approx. 2 cups total of add-ins

Beat the eggs and sugars.  Add the salt, vanilla, butter, and PB and whip.  Add the oatmeal and baking soda. Gently stir in add-ins.  Form balls of approx. 1/4c and flatten slightly.  Bake at 350F for 12 minutes.
Do not overbake!  They will seem too soft at first, but they will firm up more as they sit.  Don't bother trying to remove to a wire rack for a few minutes!

**EDIT:
For the person asking about dairy and egg free, you could use something other than the chocolate chips (nuts, coconut, etc) and a margarine/veggie spread fat, and for the eggs, here are a few different options:

• 1 egg = 2 Tbsp. water + 1 Tbsp. oil + 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 egg = 1 Tbsp. ground flax seed simmered in 3 Tbsp. water
• Ener-G egg replacer (you can buy it at most natural food stores and some grocery stores)
• 1 egg=1/4 c applesauce

I haven't tested any of those substitutions with this recipe, so I'm not sure if it would change the taste/result, but you could try it!

Dresses!

I'm in the market for dresses.  Most of mine don't fit anymore, so I think that's a good excuse to shop ;) I have my eye on a few different ones, and Shabby Apple is currently doing a $10 gift card giveaway (if you have a blog, check out their facebook page to participate!) so I figured I would take them up on that by showing you guys a few that I'm interested in ;)

This one, Washington Square Park, has been around for a long time in the history of Shabby Apple, and I have always loved it.  I love the fuller skirt and the cinched waist with the interesting gathers.  The colour also looks fantastic.  

This next dress is called After Class.  I love the neckline and the details, and the colour is fun.  There is also a mustard yellow version though, so I'm torn between the two!

This next dress is called Bookworm.  The bow is adorable, it's wool herringbone, and it's lined.  Kind of awesome. There is also a checked brown version.

Well, those are three of my dress/love interests!  There are like 9 others on my pinterest that I also love, though!  How's a girl supposed to pick just one!?

Oh dear...

I started writing about someone who was being all passive aggressive about something I posted, but then I realized that I was being passive aggressive by writing about it, so I won't.  Is it passive aggressive to even mention it?  WELL I'M TALKIN' TO YOU!
I thought I left high school like 4 years ago.

Uhh.... Anyway.... It's taking longer than we wanted to get everything all organized and moved into our new place.  We've had midterms, illness, and have been generally busy all month.  Today I was planning on getting a ton done, but then we accidentally slept in, went to the temple, and then had lunch.  Then I wanted to get to the store before the football game got out and the roads became unbearable, but the fabric/craft store was insane.  The Saturday a week before Halloween is the worst time to go.  Saturdays are usually bad in general, but the wait to get fabric cut was over an hour and a half.  I wish I took a picture of the huge crowd at the cut counter.  I'm so glad that they do a ticket/number system so that I could at least go look at some other things while I waited.  It prevents riots from breaking out between soccer moms.  People sure get catty at craft stores.  MAKING CENTERPIECES IS SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Anyway (again)... After I finally got home I hustled off to the gym, got home, showered, and now it's night all of the sudden.  Forget actually unpacking!  Maybe if we wait long enough we can just still have a bunch of stuff in boxes for the next time we move.

Deep Dish Skillet Cookie

I think that the secret to a maintaining a healthy diet is just that:  making it something you can maintain.  It doesn't work to go on constant juice cleanses and decide to never eat pie again if your favourite thing is pie.  You'll make these huge changes, stick to it for a bit, and then it all falls apart.  That just makes for a feeling of failure and disappointment.  My philosophy is eat healthy, but allow the occasional treat.  If you know that you still get to have that thing you really enjoy now and then, you aren't tempted to totally crash and burn with your whole healthy eating  plan because you think you'll never get to have it again.

Anyway... On to the main point.  There is a time and place for crazy dessert, and that night was tonight.  I was really wanting to try this recipe that I found on pinterest, so I did :)  It's called a skillet cookie, and oh man, it was a beast of a fabulous thing.

Oh yeah.

That's one big cookie.

So it begins.

In case you were wondering, Graham Canyon ice cream from the BYU creamery is the BEST ice cream flavour in existence.  For reals.  (the best sherbet is lime, and the best frozen yogurt is pistachio. FYI).

No regrets.

Seriously, this thing was the bomb.  You also only need to wash the skillet, spoon, and whatever measuring cups you used.  Seriously, it's way better than individual choc.chip.cookies, in my opinion.  Go check it out!  I'll just link to the original, since I made absolutely no changes besides doing half white chocolate and half milk chips.  I'm tempted to try doing an oatmeal/raisin/coconut version, though!

Skillet Cookie recipe from Pink and Blue.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Cornbread

This little guy is an adaptation from Sugar Cooking.  It has a really subtle pumpkin taste, and is very filling!  I used whole wheat flour, I added wheat bran, and used apple sauce instead of oil.  I also used 3 egg whites instead of 2 whole eggs.  

I had to leave before it was done baking so I got Sam to take it out.  While I was at my meeting, I got a text from him: "Wow, this pumpkin stuff is a keeper".  I got home and tried it with some honey, and it is definitely a keeper!  I would love to try this with a squash-type soup, but unfortunately it was gone before I got the chance! I guess I'll need to make more ;)

Pumpkin Cornbread:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbps wheat bran
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 c applesauce
• 1/4 c milk
• 1 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 400F and grease an 8x8 baking dish.  In a medium bowl combine the flour, bran, baking powder, salt, spices, sugar, and cornmeal.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and stir in pumpkin, applesauce, milk, and honey. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combine.  Pour batter into pan and smooth out as well as you can.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a fork tests clean.

Healthified Corn Chowder

I love soup, but especially cream based soup.  Unfortunately my slight lactose intolerance and general health do  not appreciate frequent indulgences.  The other day I found a recipe for corn chowder, and it saddened my heart to see the LARGE amount of butter, flour, and cream in it.  Then I remembered the leek soup that I made a while ago and how it was quite cream-like while using a cauliflower puree.  Thus, I decided to combine various ideas and come up with my own corn chowder recipe.  Tadaaaa!

Healthified Corn Chowder

• 3 cups cauliflower
• 1 can of corn
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 medium potato, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped

Place cauliflower and liquid from the corn in a microwave safe dish and cover with saran wrap.  Cook for about 9 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.  Carefully transfer cauliflower and liquid to a blender.  Add about 1/4 cup of corn.  Puree until smooth.  Transfer puree to a medium saucepan.  Add broth, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and gradually whisk in 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour. Return to a simmer.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cook for about 15-18 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 

Notes:
You can garnish with basil or more thyme or serve with garlic toast!
You can use corn starch instead of flour if you're going for GF.  It's just for thickening :)

And here is my crappy picture =D

Banana Poppyseed Muffins

These muffins are special because there is no egg, no dairy, and you use avocado as the fat.  They’re also tasty!  They’re kind of the bomb!  I’m also pretty proud of myself because I came up with the recipe from scratch ;) 

Banana Poppyseed Muffins

1/4 cup mashed avocado

1 tsp lemon juice

1/4 cup stevia

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 tsp wheat bran

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 ripe banana, mashed

2 T poppy seeds

Cream together the avocado, lemon juice, stevia, and honey.  Add flours, wheat bran, baking soda, and salt and stir until just combined.  Stir in banana and poppy seeds.  Bake at 325 until center tests done (about 20 minutes).

Keep in mind that avocados in baking will cause more browning, so the outside might look done while the inside isn’t.  Just test one after 20 minutes and wait longer if you need to!