When "Whoops" Turns into "Wonderful"

Do you ever have a hankering for something sweet, to the point where you'll search for an hour to find that "perfect" recipe that sounds incredible right in that moment? Yeah, me too. The only obstacle I've had lately is finding Paleo recipes that are just as delicious as the real thing. I've had my share of flops:  knock off chocolate cupcake made out of eggs and cocoa powder.. you do the math. But, I've also had my share of triumphs:  chocolate zucchini bread, chocolate mug cake, and the list goes on. 

Let's get real though, I'm always in the mood for cookies. Or anything sweet for that matter.

I stumbled upon a Paleo chocolate chip cookie recipe that sounded promising, so Braden and I decided to give it a try with a few twists of our own. Well.. the cookies were supposed to turn out like this..

But ours turned out like this..

How did we deal with this dilemma? We called them Paleo chocolate chip muffins, problem solved! They were so light and fluffy, much different than I expected. It was rather surprising.. and made both of our tummies happy! To see the actual recipe, skip on over to Delighted Momma's recipe. 

If you're aiming for some muffins, I've got you covered!

Paleo Chocolate Chip Muffins

What you'll need:

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

3 tbsp honey

4 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips (we used 60% Cacao chips)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375°

2. Melt honey and oil together in microwave for 15 seconds

3. In mixing bowl, mix together:  oil, honey, eggs, vanilla, and salt

4. Stir in almond flour and chocolate chips

5. Pour batter into muffin tins (we made 12 muffins)

Bake for 12-15 minutes :)

We loved these muffins, there's only a few left and they were just made yesterday! It's not very often that a baking recipe turns out wonderfully when you do something wrong, I'll take it as a win. Has anyone else had a recipe flop and end up turning into something great? 

I'm off to do a little Christmas shopping! I hope you all have a wonderful day. Hooray for Thanksgiving Break!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

I don't know about yall, but I LOVE sweet potatoes. Baked sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries, you name it and I probably love it. I've been exploring with pancake recipes and came across this one, and it's actually really good!

The first time I tried making these I just mashed the sweet potatoes.. I wouldn't suggest it haha. Definitely puree or blend the ingredients before you put them on the griddle.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

What you'll need:
1 small sweet potato
1 scoop vanilla whey protein
1/2 cup egg whites
Cinnamon
1 packet Stevia or Splenda to taste

Step 1: Put sweet potato in microwave for about 5-7 minutes
Step 2: Add egg whites, protein powder, cinnamon, and Stevia in blender (in that order!)
Step 3: Peel skin off sweet potato (careful, it's hot) and put everything but the skin in blender
Step 4: Blend/puree well, then spoon batter onto griddle

Spray with non-stick cooking spray -- Keep griddle on medium heat

The pancakes are ready to flip once edges firm up. Cook another 2-3 minutes until the undersides are also golden brown. Sometimes they'll get a large air bubble, no worries, just press it down with a spatula!

Mmm sweet and healthy, drizzle with maple syrup and enjoy!

Cookies and Community

I've been exploring the importance of community, because it truly is one of the most powerful tools we're given!  Last summer was a little rough because I lacked community until I started working at the Bodyshop, which is hands down one of the best working environments with incredible people. This is my first summer staying in Clemson, and as we all know, it can be a little ghost town at times when everyone's gone home for break. I wanted this summer to be full of encouragement and growth, luckily, Alex and Emily had a similar summer in mind!

Alex, Em, and I at a wedding a few weeks ago!

A girl's community had been put on all of our hearts, so we decided to be obedient and move forward. We didn't want it to be exclusive or to put any maximum number of members. Naturally, creating a Facebook page was necessary, and our small group quadrupled into a massive small group of 43 girls!!! The Lord has blessed us all so much, and I'm so excited to meet new girls each week.

Instead of doing a book, our vision was to discuss a topic each week. The first time we all got together we each gave a topic, some of the topics we'll discuss this summer are contentment, what does conviction look like, finding joy in every season, body image, resting in the Lord, etc. This week we kicked off with what God is doing in your life right now - wow, each of us are in such different seasons / stages of life and it's so eye-opening at how BIG God is, and how he reaches us all in different ways. I am beyond excited to see how this summer unfolds, the Lord has huge things in store for this big group of wonderful girls!

Alright, I don't know about yall, but I love me some cookies! I recently used this recipe to make Braden a cookie cake for finishing up his second rotation at BMW. Even though it's a simple recipe, I was still super impressed at how good and moist the cookie turned out!

Giant M&M Cookie Cake Recipe

You will need:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt

8oz unsalted butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

1 bag M&Ms

Start by preheating oven to 300°F

1. Mix flour, baking soda and salt together - set aside

2. Mix softened butter and both sugars, then add in eggs and vanilla with mixer

3. Add in flour mixture and stir

4. Add in chocolate chips and M&Ms

5. Put all the batter in the pan and press into a circle

6. Bake on center rack for 32-35 minutes

Mmm cookie cake goodness!

Lasagna Roll-Ups!

Yummm, I got this recipe from this awesome blog :) it was so simple and really didn't require too much hustle and bustle! Plus the recipe makes 6 servings, who doesn't like having leftovers?!

Ingredients:

1. 6 whole wheat (or fiber plus) lasagna sheets
2. 1 cup cooked ground chicken or cooked lean ground turkey/ lean ground beef
3. 1 cup low fat cottage cheese, blended in a blender or food processor until smooth, (or low fat ricotta)
4. 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
5. 1/2 cup parmesan, separated
6. 1/2 tsp garlic powder
7. 1/4 tsp salt
8. 1/4 tsp basil + 1/4 tsp oregano
9. 1 jar spaghetti sauce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1 cup of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, bring water to a boil, and cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. (I recommend cooking a few more than 6, just in case one breaks or tears).
3. Meanwhile, in a medium size bowl, mix together meat, 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, cottage cheese, spinach, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and spices.
4. When noodles are cooked, drain in a colander, and lay on a kitchen towel to dry. Start assembling lasagna roll ups by spreading 1/6 of the meat mixture over each individual lasagna noodle.
5. Roll noodle, and place seam side down in baking dish.
6. Pour the remaining sauce over the noodles, and sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese, (and mozzarella cheese if desired), over the top.
7. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes covered with foil, remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Smore cookie heaven

I've been going on baking kicks over the holidays, so once I found this recipe I just had to try it! Not only do these ridiculously sweet cookies look good, but they are DELICIOUS. Surprisingly they are super easy to make!

What you need:

2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup (white) sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup mini marshmallows, plus 1/4 cup for adding on top (as directed below)

2 regular sized Hershey bars, each piece printed with "Hershey" cut in half

2 packages graham crackers- broken into squares (1/2 of a full graham cracker sheet)

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 375*F

* Break graham crackers in half, so they are squares.  Lay crackers next to each other, in a single layer on a baking sheet (the size of your baking sheet will determine exactly how many crackers you need).

* Bake graham crackers in pre-heated oven for 4 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

* Cream the butter and sugars together in the bowl of an electric mixer.

* Add egg and vanilla.

* In a separate bowl stir flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Then add to butter mixture and mix until just combined. 

* Fold in chocolate chips and 1 cup marshmallows.

* Use a large cookie scoop to scoop dough onto graham crackers (on baking sheet). 

* Bake for 5 minutes.  Then remove pan from oven and press about 2 pieces of chocolate and 2-3 marshmallows into each cookie. 

* Bake for 5-7 minutes more. 

* Cool completely, then cut cookies into squares (where the graham crackers meet).