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! 

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! 

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.

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!