CC Energy Bites

It’s like making cake pops and no bake cookies – but healthy. All the fun without the sugar – and they said it couldn’t be done.

Get creative with these little guys – use this recipe, or any other you come across, as a guide. Don’t have peanut butter, use almond butter. If ya don’t like raisins, use dried figs. I could keep going but I think you get it.

I’m sucker for basically any nut butter so whenever I see them on sale, one or the whole shelf ends up in my cart. (No MasterCard, those aren’t fraudulent charges. Meijer had organic sunbutter on sale.)

Speaking of finding nut butter on sale, Costco had a 2lb jar of Cashew butter priced at like $4 a few months back. In an amazing display of self-control, I only bought one. Which is a good thing because I swear there is no bottom to this jar.

Once I decided to make energy bites, I busted said cashew butter outta the fridge.

Pro tip: Not all nut butters have the same consistency. Adjust your wet ingredients until the right consistency of your “batter” is achieved. Basically, “wet” enough that they don’t crumble when you bit into them but not too “wet” where they lose their shape or leave your hands feeling really greasy or sticky.

{CC Energy Bites}

[Ingredients]

• 1 cup cashew butter
• 3/4 cup salted cashews
• 3-4 pitted medjool dates
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
• 3 tbsp ground flax seed
• 2 tbsp chia

[Directions]

1. Add all ingredients to your blender or food processor. Pulse until combined and crumbly.
2. Using a large cookie batter scoop, roll the dough in your hand to form bite size balls. Or press dough into a parchment lined baking dish.
3. Store balls or bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Cheers,

Danielle

Comfort food —> Beef Stroganoff

There comes a point where there is too much of a good thing. I think I’ve hit that point with looking (aka pinning) recipes.  Take a peep at my “Delicious Dishes” board on Pinterest. With 209 pins, its not like I’m short of ideas – its deciding which of those recipes on that board I want to try.  Can’t I quit my day job to stay home to cook all day? 🙂

I’m a big believer in meal planning & knowing what staples to keep your pantry stocked with so you always have ingredients for a healthy, scrumptious meal on hand. I had Dan collaborate with me & pick out some recipes that sounded good to him.  One of those recipes was Beef Stroganoff.

Like I’ve told you all before, I tend to read through a handful of recipes for the same dish then create my own dish based off of those recipes. A lot of stroganoff recipes call for Condensed soup which I find completely disgusting. I replaced the condensed soup with cream cheese and sour cream and used fresh mushrooms sauteed in butter to create a rich & creamy dish.

{Beef Stroganoff}

[Ingredients]

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 5-7 white mushrooms, stems removed & roughly chopped
• 1/2 of a large white onion, diced
• 1/2 clove of elephant garlic, diced (or two cloves of regular garlic)
• 4 TBSP butter
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 package of egg noodles
• Montreal steak seasoning, I used about 1 tsp
• Paprika

[Directions]

1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Measure cream cheese then set aside, allowing it to become room temperature.
2. Wash mushrooms under cool, running water & remove stems. Roughly chop then place in skillet.
3. Meanwhile, dice onion and garlic.
4. Add diced onion, ground beef, and steak seasoning to skillet. When meat is almost completely browned, add garlic and continue to saute until meat is finished.
5. Add cream cheese and sour cream and mix well. Sprinkle skillet with paprika and stir into beef mixture. *Note: you can drain the meat before adding cream cheese & sour cream if you prefer but I did not.*
6. Reduce heat to low on beef.  Cook noodles according to the instruction on the package.
7. Drain water from noodles once cooked then gently rinse with cool water. Stir noodles into skillet. Again, lightly sprinkle skillet with paprika then mix.
8. Plate & enjoy. I served this dished with roasted brussel sprouts and rosemary focaccia bread.

Cheers,

Danielle

Roasted Chickpeas – Chex Mix Style

We all have our weakness(es) in our healthy eating habits. Mine are coffee creamer and salt.

Homemade Chex Mix is one of those foods where portion control easily goes to the wind.  After feeling rather guilty of my over indulgence, I started brain storming how to enjoy the flavor of chex mix without having to eat all the empty carbs.

Enter Chickpeas. Roasted chickpea recipes are all over the internet and are a great snack.

I used the spices in the chex mix recipe on the chickpeas, roasted for about 40 minutes, and savored the yummy treat knowing my snack was protein and fiber filled!

{Chex Chickpeas}

[Ingredients]

• 1 can of chickpeas
• 2 dashes of Worcester sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt

[Directions]

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Rinse chickpeas with cool water.
3. Spray baking sheet with non stick spray and place rinsed chickpeas on sheet and dash beans with Worcester sauce.
4. In a small bowl, combine spices – mixing well to combine. Sprinkle over beans.
5. Place in oven for 40 minutes or until crispy.

Cheers,

Danielle

“Don’t you like my cooking?”

After writing about my adventures cooking Swedish pancakes this weekend, I’ve been reminiscing on memories of my Farmor.

Growing up, and even to this day, my family raved about her cooking.  Her sugar cookies were my favorite. Perfectly sweet with just a hint of salt & the perfect consistency.  Farmor always had those little sugar cubes at her house, too, which she used with her coffee.

Farmor, which means grandmother in Swedish, came from Finland to America when my Pop-pop was nine years old.  Her husband had been in America for several years before she was able to join him with my Pop-pop & his siblings due to the war. She was an incredibly strong & brave woman and I wish she were still around to tell me more about her life.

For me, her legacy is left in my memories & in the recipe cards she has left for her family.  Whenever I pull out a recipe that I copied from her box of little recipe cards, I feel a connection to her.  And I always feel especially proud if the dish turns out well!

My family and I cherish her memory when we bake the Cardamon bread, from her recipe box, at Christmas time. When we sip coffee sweetened with little sugar cubes. Or enjoy a crisp, sweet sugar cookie – almost as good as the ones she would make.

For a project during my senior year at Western, my teacher asked us to do an Ethnographic Interview.  We were to find a person who has lived somewhere outside of the US and ask them about the food culture of the country they lived in. I decided to interview my Pop-pop, Farmor’s son. I will never forget learning more about my Farmor & how my Pop-pop was raised while he still lived in Finland.  While this was not an especially hard project, it is one college paper that I am very proud of.

Click on the red link below to read through it.

Ethnographic Interview

The title of this post is an adage of Farmor’s.  If you ever turned down something she had cooked, she would quickly retort, “Don’t you like my cooking?!”  I think she would be happy to hear that we certainly did & we miss it almost as much as we miss her.

Cheers,

Danielle