"Kitchen Sink" Energy Bites

A no bake treat filled with dark chocolate, oats, flax, and nutty goodness? Yes please! I ran across a post from Gimme Some Oven (LOVE her stuff) for no bake energy bites and fell totally madly deeply in love with these. They were sweetened with agave and they had all the delicious ingredients to fuel your belly and satisfy your sweet tooth all while being totally nutritious.
I used her original recipe as a base and have been tweaking it ever sense. It has over the years become my kitchen sink recipe bites. I literally will get a craving for them and go through my pantry and see what all I can add to them at the time. This particular recipe has crunchy peanut butter, cranberries, dark chocolate, sunflower seeds, and so much more.

Coconut is one of those things that throughout my life I have learned to love. I think it was a textural thing. I wouldn't touch coconut as a child - but I am obsessed with it now. If a recipe has coconut in it - sign me up!!
I start these bites with a little extra step that you technically don't have to do but I am telling you makes all the difference in flavor. I toast the coconut and old fashioned oats. There is something about toasting the oats that gives it a nutty flavor that complements the other ingredients so well. And toasted coconut - I mean come on!!

I add the coconut and the oats to a food process and pulse it just a bit to make them into a more fine consistency. Doing this makes it easier to roll them into a ball at the end. Next I start with the liquid for the base. You can use peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, any type of nut butter of your choice. Or if you have a nut allergy you can sub sunflower butter and leave out the coconut. Next I add some honey and a little splash of vanilla- because there is just something about the combo of peanut butter, honey, and vanilla that is ridiculously delicious. Agave is a perfect substitute, however, agave is not as thick as honey so you may have to adjust the liquids to have the right consistency for the bites to roll into a ball.

After you have the base down it is all about the add-ins. I particularly love mini dark chocolate chips for this recipe. You could totally use a different type of chocolate but I like the bitterness of dark chocolate because you already have the sweetness from the honey and peanut butter.  I add in some sunflower seeds and cranberries because there is something about the salty and tart aspect that does some sort of magic to these little guys. Lastly I add in ground flax and chia seeds because that way I don't feel as guilty for eating 5 of these in a day. It's basically a health treat - right?!
I mix all of this up in a bowl and pop it into the fridge for 10 or 15 minutes to set up a little bit. Yes - you heard me right. There is no baking necessary here people. It is a quick no-bake recipe that you will get hooked on.
After about 10 minutes in the fridge it should be relatively easy to roll into balls. If it seems to dry, just add some more peanut butter. If it seems too wet just add some more oats, or whatever you want more of. If all else fails - leave the bowl in the fridge with a spoon and just go to town. I have absolutely been too lazy to roll these into balls before and have eaten this delicious mixture straight out of the bowl with zero shame.
These little energy bites give me just the boost and sweet fix that I need on a daily basis. They also make a perfect travel snack!

XO
Elizabeth

Lunch At The Lodge

If you have ever wondered if Ree Drummond aka The Pioneer Woman was as beautiful, sincere, funny, and charming in person as she is on TV I am here to tell you she is not. She is MORE than all of those things- she is an actual dream! She graciously opened her lodge to some ladies of the Thunder for one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten - no surprise there. I could just hear the intro music from her TV show on Food Network playing in the background as we arrived on the ranch. I have to say that driving down the dirt road my heart was beating nearly out of my chest. I can remember an exact conversation with my husband the day he put living in Oklahoma on my radar. It went a little something like this.

Jarell: "How do you feel about Oklahoma?"
Me: "To be honest I don't even know where that is on a map" - yes I understand that is embarrassing.
Me: Googles Bristol, VA  to Oklahoma City OK  - 967.9 miles/14 hours.
Me: 14 hours from home. Not thrilled about that
Me: WAIT! The Pioneer Woman is in Oklahoma
Me: Googles Oklahoma City, OK to Pawhuska, OK - 147.3 miles/2 hours 20 minutes
Me: I think Oklahoma would be great idea!!

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be in her home - eating lunch that she prepared - talking about our beloved Thunder basketball, all things BRAVO, and how browned butter makes the world go 'round.

It was a magical day with Ree and her sweet assistant Haley. We came, we ate, and we laughed hysterically. She showed us around the lodge, talked about her love for cooking and how her brand has evolved throughout the years. It was so inspiring to see that behind the camera she was mostly importantly mom and wife, a well-respected ranch assistant, and downright lovely. I may have blacked out at some point during the day, probably right after I forgot how to speak during the introductions - but I could have sworn that she invited us back for a sleepover? So Mrs. Drummond, I'm holding you to that one of these days ;)

Hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them!!

This is the moment all my food dreams came true and she asked me if I wanted to help plate dessert!! I may have fumbled my words when we first spoke at the beginning of the day but I know my way around a brownie sundae so let's just say I had this one in the bag :)  So thankful for my girlfriends who know what this moment meant to me and caught it on camera!! 

XO,
Elizabeth

peanut butter + dark chocolate cookie cups

Have you ever seen a more beautiful site than gooey dark chocolate peanut butter cups melting inside a peanut butter cookie?? I didn't think so!! At last , Traders Joes  finally opened in Oklahoma City back in September and all the loves I discovered before our move were rediscovered and some new loves formed. H E L L O dark chocolate peanut butter cups, where have you been all my life? These little bites were truly addicting. Outside of the fact that once you open the box it is like a black hole until you reach the end - there was only one problem...not enough peanut butter for me. Dark chocolate is sometimes teetering on the verge of too rich for me so every time I eat one of these little cups I think what I can mix it in, or with, or a how can I transform it. I tried mixing them into ice cream, baking them in a brownie and it wasn't until I dunked one into a tub of peanut butter out of pure desperation that the light bulb moment happened. PEANUT BUTTER CUP COOKIES! Take old fashioned peanut butter cups kisses with a Hershey's kiss nestled in the middle while it is all gooey and melty delicious and do a remix! When these peanut butter cup babies come out of the oven while they are piping hot you nestle a dark chocolate peanut butter cup in the middle and magic happens.

Let's gather the ingredients and get started:

3/4 cup AP flour - 1/4 cup butter - 1/4 cup sugar (I used mix of brown and granulated sugar)  - 2/4 cup peanut butter - 1 egg - 1/2 + 1/4 tsp baking soda - 1/4 tsp salt - dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

So close little one..

You want to know the beauty of this entire treat?? Its a one bowl masterpiece! You can throw one ingredient after the other into a bowl and whiz whiz with an electric mixer - stand mixer - or serious tricep muscle engaged  hand mixing.  This is a small batch recipe so it only makes 8 mini cups. To be honest, I have Z E R O self-control and can't afford to have more than 8 of these in my house at a time. Also you only need 1 measuring cup and 1 measuring spoon.  Am I the only one who hates doing dishes?? If I can make something decadent with 1 bowl and 2 measuring utensils its a done deal for this girl.

Once you have all the ingredients mixed together - use a tablespoon scoop and roll each tablespoon into a ball and pop it into a greased mini muffin baking pan. Bake them at 350 for 10 minutes. Once you test with a tooth pick and it comes out clean you want to nestle the unwrapped dark chocolate peanut butter cups into the center of each peanut butter cookie.
Make sure to let them rest for a few minutes to ensure easy removal. I have found that running a knife around the edge of each cup and twisting as I pull them out of the pan makes for the cleanest removal.

I whipped these up for Bachelor Monday (can we talk about the hometown dates for a second?? Holy spending - Corrine!!!) with a glass of wine or tall glass of milk these are perfect for your viewing pleasure.  Salty creamy peanut butter mixed with rich dark chocolate and some more peanut butter, there is not much that can go wrong here.

Happy Baking!
XO
Elizabeth

Game changing S A L S A

Salsa might be my love language. It is in is stiff competition with chocolate and peanut butter....and popcorn. Is it a rule that you can only have 1 love language? I'll come back to that. Let's talk about this salsa. 

Mexican food has a special place in my families heart. My dad in particular is a salsa connoisseur. He loves a good chip & dip situation but is pretty loyal to a good old fashioned spicy salsa. How spicy you ask? Totally up to you, I would say. This salsa features the hard working jalapeno - which can be relatively mild with all the seeds removed. It can also come in hot with a subtle "oh, there it is" lingering spice if you leave the seeds in half of the pepper. Or if you are like my daddio you don't remove any, I mean ANY seeds. My mother has actually made this salsa with habaneros. Talk about spicy - that batch required a glass of milk to wash it down. Safe to say she loves that dad of mine! 

The cast of characters is pretty basic and can be changed to meet your hearts desire in any way:

Tomatoes - Pepper - Garlic - Shallot - Cilantro - Salt- Cumin - Lime

I normally use a combination of canned fire roasted and regular tomatoes. Whatever tickles my fancy when I am at the store or perusing through my pantry at the time. If you grow your own tomatoes, pick a couple of those bad boys - roast them up and then get to salsa making. Regular onion can be used in place of or in addition to the shallots if you wish. I really like the mild onion flavor of shallots but typically use the b i g g e s t shallot and garlic I can find for salsa recipes. Garlic - she is my tried and true. I typically add garlic to recipes that do not even call for it and if it calls for it - well then make it a double! Jalapeno is my favorite pepper for this recipe. You could choose a mild pepper like a poblano, or something spicier if you like it that way. If spice is not your thing then you can omit the pepper component completely. Cilantro is the herb I normally pick for this salsa but I have experimented with other herbs in addition to/in place of cilantro and it still tastes great. If I am being completely honest 9/10 times I make this I use dried cilantro - but for the sake of a pretty photo mama got the good stuff. Kosher salt, cumin, and lime come in hot at the end. These three are all just to taste, and they taste goooood.

Once you have all the ingredients together the process is pretty simple. Peel the garlic & shallot - dissect pepper(s) - tear (or shake dried) cilantro - open the tomato cans - dump everything in a food processor or blender and pulse until you like the consistency. When I get it to just about the texture that I like I taste it and add the salt, cumin and lime juice. Sometimes more or less of each depending on how much salt and acid the tomatoes are currently packing. 

This salsa is delicious, super easy, inexpensive and you probably have all of the ingredients right 

now to whip this bad boy up.

Enjoy it on chips, veggies, meat, eggs, salad, crackers, the possibilities are really endless. 

 This salsa makes a wonderful gift idea! I have given quite a few mason jars full of this stuff to friends, family, co-workers, complete strangers. OK, maybe not the last one....but I would! You could customize a couple of different jars with varying spice levels and flavors. Or package up all the ingredients with a jar and label for a sweet hostess gift. 

This salsa is a staple in our house - I hope you love it as much as we do!

XO

Elizabeth 

Longing for Summer: Blueberry | Coconut Frozen Yogurt

Hey, yall!!! I so apologize for the lack of posts in the past few weeks. I knew when starting this blog it would be hard at times to find inspiration and I guess the genre of my posts in the past say a lot about me....I LOVE FOOD! haha no but really. Can you blame a sister?! I am really racking my brain to find inspiration outside of food posts....
h e l p!!! 

Can I tell you about my weekend? I made the 14 hour trip from Oklahoma City to Southwest VA for a very special occasion. [yes I drive. I HATE FLYING! I repeat...I HATE FLYING!] Other than seeing my family whom I missed very much, I made the trip to see one of my oldest and dearest friends celebrate the upcoming birth of her baby girl. [I can't wait to meet you, baby Ava :)] I was extremely strategic on my trip to VA due to all this crazy weather the East Coast has been having and actually left a day early to stop half way and spend the night. The trip there was a piece of cake and I had the best time spending the weekend laughing and enjoying the company of my sweet family and oldest friends. I left Monday morning to return to Oklahoma. Knowing there had been some weather in the Midwest I anticipated being a little later to arrive than normal but still eager to get home. After driving for around 7 hours and entering Arkansas my trip began to go South...not literally. The roads began to be covered with snow and I altered my speed accordingly. 150 miles from my destination it began to get dark and even colder and upon entering Oklahoma very dangerous. Thank GOD there were not many cars on the road because at one point my car did almost a full circle when I tried to ease on my breaks due to not being able to see the ice on the road. I had only been going about 30 mph thankfully but when this happened I totally hit my breaking point. There I was crying in my car as I caught my breath and thought how long it would take me to actually reach my destination at this rate. I was tired and hungry and needed to pee....but determined not to stop. After my parents and husband gave me a hard enough time I pulled over in a town called Checotah, Oklahoma and spent the night. 27 hours and one hotel stay later I finally got home and the first thing I thought upon arriving to my apartment is ......Spring..come on girlfriend!!

Never did I think I would be ready for the Winter to end and say goodbye to the beautiful snow but this girl has reached her limit this year. #ByeFelicia 

In my attempt to prepare myself for what I hope is a quick transition to Spring I whipped up this amazingly easy & delicious frozen yogurt: Blueberry Coconut Frozen Yogurt. This was literally the easiest desert and oh SO refreshing and healthy! I am not a huge fan of ice cream...[dont judge me] but frozen yogurt? bring it on!!! And a desert that can whipped up in one machine in 5 minutes? LET'S DO IT! 

4 cups of frozen blueberries 
              -You could absolutely make this with any type of frozen fruit 
1/2 cup coconut greek yogurt
              -You could absolutely use any flavor of yogurt you wish 
3 tablespoons of agave nectar 
            - You cold absolutely use honey 
Juice of 1/2 or 1 lemon...depending on how juicy
             - If you cant get the juice a flowin' just give her a good roll on the counter and she will be good to go!

Using a food processor - which Im sure a good blender would also work - add all the ingredients and let it go for about 5 minutes -- starting on low then switching to high. I let mine go a little longer, it cant hurt it and I like a really firm consistency. 

To serve I topped it with a few frozen blueberries just so people would know what fruit they were eating as well as some toasted coconut for texture and a little hint hint of what that mysterious flavor that is running throughout the yogurt. Oh Yeah..its coconut!! 

 

 
This is what the #cleanbowlclub looks like and I can guarantee you will join me as soon as you whip up this delicious sweet treat. I am imagining that I am making this and sitting out on my desk with a good book and 70 degree weather...instead of the snow covered ground that is our current situation. 

Send me your pictures of other variations of this yummy yogurt.

XO.

Elizabeth