Breakfast Cookies for my littles

Warning:  Do not think this is a substitution for a true cookie. It's a good breakfast cookie and tastes healthy. I wouldn't give up my chocolate chip cookies for them...just sayin'. I am a die hard chocolate chip cookie lover. That being said, I do enjoy eating these and think they taste good but I would say my kids make a much bigger deal about these than I would. :)

I blogged a year or so ago of a breakfast cookie I made for a quick grab and go breakfast with the option of freezing them for later. I found a breakfast cookie recipe recently that I tweaked that I'm more of a fan of than the one before. My 5 & 3 yr old and even 9 month old all approve!

3 mashed bananas (I often use frozen ones and give them a spin before the rest of the ing. go in)
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 cups uncooked oats (I love using the Snoqualmie Falls oats)
1/4 cup skim milk (I use 2 %)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp sugar (or any other sweetener you prefer)
3/4 cup raisins (see variations if raisins don't appeal to you)
1/3 cup coconut (optional - see variations)

Mix it up. Let it stand for 5 minutes. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min on a greased cookie sheet (I use my pampered chef stoneware so I don't need to grease it).

Variations: Substitute the raisins for cranberries or do both (maybe half of each), add in chopped nuts, add flax seed, chocolate chips, coconut, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Tips: Mash your bananas first so the dry ingredients don't fly out of your mixer. 17 minutes in the oven seems to be the golden number for me..

I make a big batch of these by doubling the recipe and freeze them and pull a few out the night before if I know the morning is going to be busy. I love a recipe that has simple wholesome ingredients and ones that I know I always have on hand. What kid doesn't love a "cookie" for breakfast?!

Bon Appetit!


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healthy breakfast cookies

We made these yesterday morning and I've forgotten how much my boys like them and how quick they go! Our batch made 18 and they were gone by the evening. No joke. If they were regular cookies I would have freaked out about it and controlled the situation better but since they are healthy (well healthy in our book) I let the boys help themselves to them throughout the day. They are super easy, dense and you can't complain about the ingredients your kiddos are consuming (no wheat and no egg...I know some need to stay away from both of those). Here is the recipe that we tend to alter always throwing something new in!

After making them exactly like the recipe card vs. making them yesterday morning, I definitely love our newest version. I switched out the 1/2 cup of raisins for cranberries, threw in a handful of chocolate chips and a 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans. This recipe is a great way to use all those bananas you put in the freezer that were on the verge of going bad. Also, the first batch needs a full 20 minutes (in my oven at least) and the next batch is a little quicker. I use my pampered chef cookie stone so I don't need to grease it and it keeps an even temperature among the cookies. I tend to burn the bottom of cookies with my regular cookie sheets.

 Here they are ready to go into the oven...

 My little munchkins wait so patiently for breakfast in the morning. We watch and watch and watch....

 and make robot costumes out of cardboard boxes while they keep baking...

and then we devour!

The possibilities are endless with this recipe. You can throw in some flax seed or wheat germ. Switch out your apple sauce with a flavored apple sauce. Use white chocolate chips, add another type of nut or more dried fruit, etc. My next batch I plan on adding a good amount of coconut to them. Yum!

Enjoy!


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Easy Baked Spaghetti

This is an easy and inexpensive way to feed a crowd. Who doesn't love layers of spaghetti that is then baked?! It almost tasted like lasagna. I didn't put any ground beef in it but you could add layers of that as well! Yumm.

Ingredients: 

Spaghetti Noodles

Spaghetti Sauce

Cream of Mushroom

Cheeses (whatever kind you would like)

Directions:

1. Cook Noodles

 2. Layer the bottom of a 9x13 pan with noodles

 3. Layer a coat of spaghetti sauce (I like to use Ragu's veggie combo)

 4. Layer with cheese. I used a sharp cheddar and some mozarella.

 5. Layer again with noodles

 6. Layer again with spaghetti sauce

 7. Water down (probably half a cup of water will do) a can of cream of mushroom soup and layer

 8. Put another coat of cheese on top. Here I used mozarella.

9. And then BAKE! Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. So good, so easy. Enjoy!

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A twofer!

On Saturday I got to host a sweet baby shower for our friend Abby who will be meeting her sweet little Emily Claire by the end of August. I am just loving that our church is have a mass production of little girls lately. That means I get to have a sliver of pink and girlyness in my home though it is short lived. We had a tea party for Abby and Emily Claire and I whipped together some quick crafts for it. So, here is a twofer post. A two for one folks. First, cake bunting. SO.EASY & SO.CHEAP. Then, a Kahlua Cake. I have seen cake bunting sold on Etsy for around $15-20 buckaroos. I'm pretty sure it cost me less than 10 cents. Here is a quick way to decorate the top of your cake:

1. Find scrap paper and make a diamond template and fold in half to get a triangle pendant.

2. Put a strip of double sided tape on the inside.

3. Fold over string leaving a 1/4" gap between pendants

4. Use two kitchen skewers (these are from my kitchen drawer that we use to make kabobs). Maybe chopsticks would work as well?

5. Tie the end of the strings together and then double knot around skewers and voila! Cake bunting. You can monogram or embellish the pendants however you may like!

Now, the cake. I don't bake much. Like probably once a month if even that. I just don't have the time or desire to. I hope I get into it someday because I sure like eating baked goods! This is my moms recipe for Kahlua cake and it is amazing and simple. It's pretty much a dump cake....my kind of cake. Here is the recipe:
3/4 cup Kahlua or Coffee Liquor (if you don't have either you can just brew really dark coffee)
3/4 cup oil
1 box of dark chocolate cake mix
1 large box of chocolate pudding mix
4 eggs
1 16 oz carton of sour cream
6 oz of semi sweet chocolate morsels

Directions:
Dump it all in a bowl and mix well. Grease your bundt pan and poor in cake mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 hr. Let cool for 10 minutes and invert onto plate or cake stand. Once cool I top it off with powdered sugar. My mom has drizzled hers with chocolate sauce before - so good.

And here it is all in it's beauty. A Kahlua cake has been bunted :)

More shower pictures to come!

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