Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Who doesn't love peanut butter cookies?

Ingredients
1 Cup Oil (I like coconut oil & Earth Balance Margarine)
1 Cup Peanut Butter (Almond Butter, if you like)
2 Cups Sugar (less if you use sucanat) If you are using white sugar, add some molasses or substitute some of the white for brown sugar for a better flavor.

Combine these ingredients. Then, in another bowl add:

2 1/2 Cups flour (any combination will do--I like whole wheat and rice flour, but if you must, white will work)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds (this is instead of adding two eggs to the Peanut Butter mixture)

Add the dry ingredients to the Peanut Butter mixture and mix together.
If you've made your own Almond Milk, add the leftover pulp to your cookie dough--so good!
Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.
Roll into little balls and let your kids smash them with a fork, any ol' way will do.
Bake for 10 minutes in 375 degree oven.

Serve with chilled Almond Milk for an added treat and nutrition!

Recyled Crayons and Peanut Butter Banana Sandwiches

  My sweet little Clover girl has found a new game.  Yep, you guessed it,  breaking crayons.  I just can't throw out half a box of crayons so I decided to make Clover Crayons!

All you need is:

Broken Crayons-paper removed
Oven

Oven safe Container- I used a silicone one because I figured it would be the easiest to get the crayons out of and it was. 

 

1 - Place all broken crayons in container and bake in oven at 250*.....I baked mine at 300* for 10 mins and the colors mixed a little more than I wanted them to so next time I'm going for 250*   I also grouped the colors Yellows-Oranges, Reds-Purples, Blues-Greens, and Black-Gray-White.

2 - Pull them out of the oven and let them cool until hard then pop them out... I was a little worried when I pulled them out of the oven because I figured I had over baked them and I really wanted to see all the different flicks of color but boy was I surprised when I popped them out!

Peanut Butter Sandwich

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 The best part about these crayons is while they cool you can enjoy my favorite Elvis Sandwich Peanut Butter and Banana...Seriously every pregnancy I have HAD to eat these, even when I'm not PG I find myself craving these babies.
All you need is:
2 slices of Bread

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Peanut Butter-Only Creamy Peanut Butter in my house baby!!!
1 Banana sliced up- I just was reading that the more brown spots a banana has on it the better it protects you against cancer, but all bananas help protect, so bring on the bananas.

Graduation Party I helped out with...

Table Center Peices

Dessert Table

These are the pictures of my mother in laws graduation party that I helped out with.... First lets start out with the dessert table, I made the cake, the lemon bars (ha ha the lemon bars have a sprig of mint on them for garnish that should take care of my herb week right?), anyway I also did the fruit/dip tray, the brownies, all the floral arrangements and all the signs. I wish I had a betterpicture of the table center pieces...they were really beautiful, the flowers were red and yellow garden roses with daises, the paper lanterns were glowing on a round mirror with 4 votive candles with rose petals in them surrounding each lantern. (the only picture I have really sucks!) 

Graduation a sweet sensation.

Graduate Silhouette

Congratulations sign

The signs were so easy and cheap to make, I went to the dollar store and got 2 rolls of shelf liner/tack paper, then I took some frames I had around the house and removed the pictures and glass and I covered the back boards with the tack paper.  The rest was on the computer, for the pictures of the frames I just googled boarders, I found a

few that I liked then I tweaked them quite a bit on Microsoft.  For the silhouette of the graduate girl I took several silhouette images and cropped them and put them all together...it was actually really fun. All I had to do after that was click print, then cut out each frame, then tape them on the tack paper.  I almost forgot I also did 3 batches of my garlic twisted bread sticks to go with the AMAZING Italian dinner my sister in laws made (sorry I have no pics-it was really really good though). For all the work that went into it I think it turned out great!





Peanut Butter

I loooove peanut butter.  It's so good in so many ways.  It's completely satisfying licked straight off the spoon.  It's right at home in Chinese stir fry.  Bananas, chocolate, ice cream and toast wouldn't be the same without it.  And I'll never forget the times that mom smeared peanut butter in my hair to melt away the gum that I thought was impossible to get out.  Songs have been written about this stuff.  It's that good.  Have fun!


it's peanut butter jelly time.  peanut butter jelly time.  peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat.

Raw Little Darlin' Lemon Thyme Shortbread

Last night was the night of the class I was teaching about herbs. It went sooooo well. Everyone had things to share and say, or questions to ask. I really enjoyed it! I served a few things there. This raw dessert was a hit. I hope you enjoy it too!
Peel of one lemon grated (I try to use organic)
Juice of one lemon
2 c. coconut flakes (unsweetened)
2 c. pecans or almonds soaked for 4 hours or overnight
1/3 c. pitted dates
1/4 c. agave or to taste ( You can eliminate either one, agave or dates and just do more of the other)
1 T. coconut oil
1/2 t. thyme dried or 1 t. fresh thyme chopped
dash of salt


First drain and rinse your pecans/or almonds. Place them in your food processor until they are crumb-like. Next combine everything else except for the coconut oil and coconut flakes. Process and while processing, slowly add the coconut flakes. If it gets too difficult to process, add the oil and then the remainder of the coconut flakes. Sometimes I will mix the very last bit by hand. Next, line a pan with plastic wrap so that it hangs over the edges of your pan. Add the mixture into the pan and press firmly into the pan. Then take the edges of plastic and fold them over the mixture as if you were wrapping it up. Cover with another sheet of plastic if you need to, then take a roller or a cylinder cup and roll it across the top, helping to firm it even more. Place the pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes and then serve. It can remain in the freezer for a month or so if it is properly sealed. Refrigerate the ones you don't eat to preserve them longer. They go fast because they are soooo yummy, so you probably won't need to! :)

I just wanted to share some pictures I took this morning. My girlfriends and I decided to start taking a 30 to 40 min. ride every morning. This is day 3! It has been so fun! We are of all types of ability, but it doesn't seem to matter. We cheer each other on up the hills and  whoop and holler coasting down them. It's great! We  enjoy the scenery and look at the amazing animals and landscape. These foals were born about 1 week ago. Aren't they sweet running along side their mothers? Happy Mother's Day to all my family! I hope you feel appreciated and loved. I know our Mother has been such a wise and loving influence in my life. I am so grateful to God for giving me such a woman to be my role model, friend, caring grandmother to my children, and tender mother to me. I love you Mom! 

Who Am I Kidding?!

I don't even know what to say....I can't get it done.  I'm going to have to pass on my turn.  Lisa, take it away girlfriend!