apple chips

Apples are plentiful this time of year, and I wanted to try something new. 

Dried fruit makes a great snack, and it's super easy to make at home. 

Apple Chips 

apples

salt

butter/oil (for greasing)

Cut up the apples as thin as you can and remove seeds then place onto a greased pan. 

Salt and bake at 350F for about two hours. 

Let cool and store in airtight container. 

One apples makes about 10 chips. 

baked apples

Apples, apples, apples

So many good dishes! 

Here is a simple one perfect for a rainy day with a cup of tea

Baked Apples

 apples halved and cored

oats

honey

olive oil

salt

cinnamon

Cut out a hole in the center of the apple and fill with oats. 

Top with a spoonful of honey, a bit of olive oil, and a pinch of salt. 

Sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon and bake at 400F for about 10 minutes. 

oatmeal banana cookies

I think fall food is my favorite. So good. 

So, here is the first of many great recipes. 

Oatmeal Banana Cookies

1 ripe banana

2 Tbs peanut butter

1 Tbs oil

2 Tbs honey

1 cup oats

1/2 cup nuts

Mush banana and add all ingredients. Stir until evenly mixed. 

Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes.

They might be a little crumbly, so let them cool on the baking sheet. 

Makes about 9 cookies

Enjoy with a cup of tea for an easy breakfast or snack

bread pizza

We had some bread, pepperoni, and cheese, so I thought I'd try out some mini pizza's

Just cup up some bread, and put on the toppings then bake for about 10 minutes at 300F.

You can dip them in some marinara sauce if you would like.

Super easy, fast, and delicious!

blackberry crisp

Picking blackberries is a favorite summer activity. That leads to lots of creative recipes.

Here's a super simple one that can be used for dessert, breakfast, or whenever! 

Blackberry Crisp

1 large bowl of blackberries (make sure all pokey tops are off)

1 cup of oats

2 Tablespoons of butter

1/4 sugar (optional)

1/8 cup olive oil

Rinse off berries and put into a pan (size for the amount of berries).

Depending on how sweet you want it you can mix in some sugar with the berries.

Mix oats, sugar, and butter in a food processor or blender.

Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the berries and olive oil on top of that.

I sprinkled a bit more sugar on top of that, but that's up to you. 

Heat oven to 375 F and bake for 1-1 1/2 hours or until topping is crispy.

Serve warm straight out of the oven with a scope of ice cream or yogurt or cold as a breakfast, and enjoy! 

This may be one of my favorites I ate the whole think in one weekend! 

buttons in the hair

I like making hair look pretty. These fun hair accessories do just that. 

Find some bobby pins and superglue 

Dab a bit of glue on the bobby pin and press the button on it. 

Hold steady for at least a couple minutes to make sure it drys right. 

And make sure your fingers are glue free, or else you might have a bit of skin left behind! 

peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Peanut butter is one of my favorite flavors, and combined with chocolate just makes it amazing! 

2 1/2 cup flour (I used ground oats)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup butter

1 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 cup chocolate chips 

Mix dry ingredients and then stir in wet ones and chocolate chips. Drop by spoon onto baking sheets at least  an inch apart. They spread out quite a bit so don't put them too close to the edge! Bake at 375 F for 7-9 minutes and then enjoy the warm gooey goodness! 

the night circus

The Night Circus is unlike anything I have read before. I was completely captured by page one.

The unique writing style flows from one character to the next as it follows the seemingly unrelated events. Switching back and forth through time creates an air of mystery and suspense.

The story surrounds a girl and boy who are forced into a game of sorts, where the rules are left unsaid. As the game progresses, strange events cause them to become increasingly worried and confused.

These events eventually bring together the lives of those in the circus and outside of it. As the mysteries of the game are brought to light, the characters lives join and all must play a part in preventing a disastrous turn of events.

This story will enchant you with its magical and brilliant story telling. The images it creates will capture your imagination and make you wish Le Cirque des Reves will come to your town soon.

expanded shorts

This summer I discovered that I had outgrown my jean shorts. But I decided to try and make them work.
This was a pretty simple project and I really like the result!

 

yes that is a chicken! 

All you do is cut your shorts down both sides. Measure out how much fabric you need/want on the sides(I just used a t-shirt for the material). Then sew each side onto the jeans. If your sewing machine is like mine, hand sewing may be better on the thick top part of the jeans. I would recommend trying them on after the first side. I unfortunately made mine an little too big, hence the belt, but better big than too small. 

And now you have a new one of a kind pair of shorts! Don't forget to show them off and amaze people when you tell them you made them yourself :)

the dovekeepers

The Dovekeepers tells the story of Masada, a Jewish stronghold, through the lives of four ladies.

Each has been forced out of their home and has made the journey through the desert to Masada where they find themselves working in the dovecotes.

As their lives become intertwined they slowly begin to open themselves to one another and are able to heal the deep wounds they carry.


Set in a time of exile and destruction for the Jewish people, this novel brings to life the circumstances surrounding this historical event. 


After reading, look up some pictures of Masada and see where this all really happened. It makes it all seem real.

cutting a mango

Mango's are one of my favorites. Cutting one can be difficult though, so here's how.

 

Slice one side off, then the other.
Try to get as close as you can to the seed in the middle.

Now cut off the strip left around the mango. Again, try to cut as close to the seed as possible.

Cut the two oval pieces in half lengthwise, and your ready to enjoy :)

Just eat the fruit right off of the skin and the seed.

This method is messy, so be prepared! 

favorite cookies

I've found it, the perfect cookie recipe! It is pretty much straight out of Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.
Ranger Cookies
1 14 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup butter-melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole oats
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips

Simply mix all ingredients and put onto a cookie sheet. It may be difficult to make them stay together because of the oats, pressing them into balls worked best for me. Bake in a 375 F oven for 8-12 minutes and enjoy!

I love the coconut and chocolate combination. Raisins or other "chips" would be good too. I know you aren't supposed to eat the dough, but I always do, and this may be my favorite! The baked cookies actually tasted very similar to the dough which was a very pleasant surprise!

apricots

My aunt brought by some apricots that were really ripe. I've never had apricot anything before, but I decided to try something. So here's the result:

Apricot Cobbler
7 apricots (more or less depending on size)
2 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs butter (hard)
cinnamon
nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut up apricots into small pieces and place evenly in 9X9 pan. Mix oats and sugar in blender then cut in butter till only small pieces are left. Sprinkle lots of cinnamon and a little bit of nutmeg onto the apricots then pour oat mixture over it. Sprinkle a bit more cinnamon on top and bake for about an hour.



There you go, super easy and delicious! I love the sourness of the apricots, but you can add sugar to the fruit part if you want to. It's amazing right out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream.

cloth journal

I go through journals fast. I fill them up with whatever I feel like at the time which may be drawings, writings, quotes, pictures, tickets. It's kinda like a collection of me. 

I know that some people have trouble journaling or don't enjoy it, but they make great gifts and can be filled with anything, so be creative! 

 I've seen cloth journals around and really liked them, but you can skip the fabric and just decorate with pictures or whatever you have.

You will need:

• notebook
• fabric (I cut some from an old t-shirt)
• scissors 
• glue
• magazines, pictures, and whatever else you want to decorate with 

1. Cut the cloth an inch bigger than the notebook on
      all sides. Before you glue it to the inside of the  
      notebook make sure the fabric can stretch
      enough to close.
 




 2. Cut out a small section below the binding of
       the notebook so the fabric can fold over.

   










 3-5. Fold over the cloth from the bottom.
          There was extra fabric where the
          side and bottom overlap, so I cut it
          off. Glue and repeat with top and
          other side.








And now you have a cloth journal!


6. All that's left now is to decorate the
      cover, or not, depending on your
      preference.





So, pretty easy and now you can journal in style!

graduations

It is the season of graduations. I've been to three ceremonies in the last two weeks and about five parties. I've been helping prepare for some of our own parties all week. Our yard is full of flowers and I made a few arrangements from them. I also baked some cakes and decorated them.  

 

I am so excited for my favorite sister as she starts life outside of high school! She is going to do great things. My "little" brother was the last to graduate eighth grade, so only high schoolers and older in this family! I must admit that I was a bit partied out earlier this week, but I am so happy to congratulate and celebrate all of them.

gingersnaps

Time for more cookies! I really like food filled with different flavors and spices, so gingersnaps are one of my very favorites. I based the recipe off of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, and tweaked it a little.

1 1/4 cup oat flour (grind up oats in blender)
1 cup white flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ginger (I didn't measure out the spices, so these are estimates)
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice

Mix all ingredients together then shape and put onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in 375 F. oven for 8-10 minutes.

Pretty easy, and the result are some delicious cookies! They seem like they'd be good with a glass of milk (if I liked it!). The recipe also said to roll the dough in balls then roll in sugar, but I guess I was so excited for them to be done that I forgot that step! Oat flour gives the cookies a nice texture and doesn't change the taste too much. Usually when making food with spices, I just add a whole bunch more than called for because I like to taste it all. The original recipe called for about half of what is in this one, so if you want to play it safe, just add less. Hope you enjoy!

lemon cookies

Some of my favorite things are cookies. There are so many ways to get creative and it's hard to completely ruin them. They are also really quick and easy. We have had lots of lemons lately and I wanted to try something new, so lemon cookies it was! I used a recipe for sugar cookies cutouts from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and then changed it up a bit. Here's the resulting recipe:

2/3 cup butter
1 cup oat flour (I just grind up whole oats in the blender)
1 cup white flour
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt (I have always wondered how that little of salt does anything, but I guess it must have a purpose)
about 1 tsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 F
Mix ingredients in order, stirring after each addition till thoroughly combined
Form balls and put onto a baking sheet about 1 inch apart (they spread out pretty far)
Bake for 7-10 minutes

These cookies turned out great! They are definitely better the next day as the lemon flavor comes out more. There is just the right amount of sweetness and the hint of lemon is refreshing and not too sour. They would be absolutely delicious with some frosting or icing, maybe next time.
I am a bit of a health nut (I get it from my mom :), so I like substituting healthier ingredients. Using oats is super easy and it doesn't change the taste much, although it is hard to get the same consistency.
Sorry I didn't get pictures this time, treats don't last long in this house!

first blog

This year I started reading some blogs and really enjoy them. I wanted to do something new this summer, and thought that this would be a great time to start a blog myself. After much thought, I still could not decide what the main point of this blog should be, so I guess I will figure it out as I go. I do plan on sharing little tidbits of my life in various forms. I have lots of interests, as you will find out, and hopefully I will be able to expand that as I discover more. This blog is just as much for myself as for readers, which I guess is good because it's not likely that there are many reading this now! I would like people to enjoy this blog though and maybe get some inspiration from it, so please let me know what you like and don't like once I get going. Well, I guess this is it for my first blog post ever! Till the next one, Jessica.