Who Needs a Cookie, When you Can Have a Dough Ball?

In the words of Kylie:
"These are my most favorite cookies I've ever had, because I love peanut butter cookies, but I have never had ones WITH chocolate chips before!"

...poor, deprived child.

So, take it from the child, these (Vegan!) cookie dough balls are delicious! Well, vegan if you follow the recipe exactly...I strayed from it quite a bit.
Very peanut buttery and rich so be sure to have a glass of milk (er....not vegan) nearby!

This is another recipe from my new favorite (Vegan) blog:  Peas and Thank You.com

On with the recipe!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls
inspired by Annie the Baker’s Cookie Dough Balls
Makes 12-18 dough balls

• 1/2 c. non-dairy margarine (i.e. Earth Balance) - I bought this to try, and it tastes just like margarine; and while it has more fat, than the reduced fat spreadable butter I buy, the oils it is made with are much healthier for you. ...Use whatever kind you like.
• 3/4 c. natural peanut butter (or Jif Reduced Fat, haha, because that is what we had)
• 1/2 c. organic brown sugar (or regular.....you get the idea...)
• 3/4 c. organic powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 3/4 t. salt
• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour  (yeah, I just used regular All Purpose Flour this time...)
• 1/2 c. unbleached organic flour
• 1/2 c. natural peanut butter chips
• 1/2 c. non-dairy chocolate chips  (you can guess.....just regular, delicious Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips

Beat margarine, peanut butter, sugars and vanilla until fully incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, salt and flours.
Add dry mixture to the mixer bowl a little at a time.
Mix until a dough forms.
Add your chips.
Combine and chill dough for 30 minutes.

**Note: your dough may seem a little dry based on the type of peanut butter used.  If you cannot get it to come together by  mixing or packing it into your scoop tightly, you can try adding an additional tablespoon of peanut butter or milk.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Scoop dough with a mini ice cream scoop (or your fingers) and place balls on a cookie sheet. 
Bake for 10-12 minutes. 

They’ll still be soft and look much like they did going in, but don’t overbake.  Let the dough balls rest on the pan for a minute before transferring to a cooling rack.

Please see the website this is from for more details and more photos:
Peasandthankyou.com/having-a-ball

Enjoy!
So there.

Craft Project!

Kylie has so many dress up and real necklaces that I decided to make her a jewelry holder/hook rack.

I bought a cheap, plain wood letter "K" at Michael's, and painted it a bright, glitter pink!
I also bought a few small cup hooks, painted those, as well, and screwed them into the base.
(I like to hammer small nail holes partially in first, to mark where the screws will go, and make it easier to screw in the hooks by hand)

The letter "K" came with a hanger on the back, so all I had to do was hang it on the wall with 2 nails.

And, voila! Totally cute necklace holder!  This would work with larger hooks as a coat rack or scarf/purse holder, too.

You should make one, too!
So there.

What the KALE?!

So...thanks to my recent inspiration of the most hilarious mom blog with great (vegan) recipes, (Check it out!!! : Peas and Thank You.com )  I decided to buy kale for the first time and try two of her recipes: BBQ Kale Chips, and a fresh Kale Salad. (See photo below in meatloaf post)

First, the kale I was supposed to buy is called dinosaur kale...so that alone was reason enough to give this a try!! Haha.

All in all, the poor chips taste like dried leaves....(but here is the recipe!!!! Haha BBQ Kale Chips )

But, the salad was good! I didn't have tahini, so I actually used a bit of almond butter, plus a bit of olive oil and it was really good. I also didn't have a lemon, so I used fresh orange juice instead. Hmm...I guess I really didn't follow this recipe much at all...
Anyway, check this one out, too!  Kale Salad 
They both teach you how to properly prepare kale so it is ready to use, so at least you will have learned something from all this.

The recipes are posted toward the bottom of the page at these two link above...I am forcing you to read her hilarious blog before you get to find her recipes.  You'll thank me later.  But probably not for the kale chips...

So there.
Adventures in kale completed.

Meatloaf...Take 3!

So, you may remember my long overdue Meatloaf Victory a few months ago.
Well, since the easy meatloaf recipe was such a success, I decided to try it with ground turkey instead.  Don't worry, I still kept my "hidden" veggies and additional spices out of it. Hmph.  But using 99% lean ground turkey in this recipe makes it even more healthy, and I just like it better.

So here you go! Try my turkey meatloaf recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound 99% extra lean ground turkey
• 1/3 cup fat free milk (I add, as needed, and don't measure...)
• 1/2 cup Saltine cracker crumbs (I pulsed these in the food processor)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (also pulverized in the food processor)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten  (I actually skipped this, this time, and it was completely un-missed. Add if you like.)

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients (EXCEPT MILK) together gently. Add in milk a bit at a time; the turkey and saltine crackers will absorb the milk.  Keep adding, until you've reached about 1/3 of a cup, or until the mixture won't absorb much more.  (Or just dump in 1/3 of a cup and call it good. I won't tell.)  Form into a loaf and place in baking dish or loaf pan. Top with more ketchup if desired. (Here I topped it with half ketchup, half A1 sauce about 30 minutes into the cooking)

Bake at 350° for about 1 hour.

Serve with a bit of additional A1 sauce or ketchup.
Serves 4.

 

**Note: I halved the recipe above and used 2 mini loaf pans to speed up the cooking time.

 

And there you have: Mom's (Healthier) Meatloaf.

So there.

Up next....my adventures in kale.