Rooty-Oat Breakfast Cookies

These cookies were an idea I had back in November when the SOS Kitchen Challenge ingredient was parsnips. Took me a couple of months, but Saturday's snow-in got them out of my head and into a bowl. The Monkey did not like them, and it didn't occur to me until my mom and sister pointed out that I did indeed put the coconut he accused me of in them. Yep, never occurred to me that the coconut oil would give a strong coconut flavor to these cookies. :)

These are a bit dry, which I think I will fix next time by adding an ounce more coconut oil. Or would you do that for me and let me know how it goes?!

Rooty-Oat Breakfast Cookies

4 ounces coconut oil, melted

2 ounces agave nectar

4 ounces (or 1/2 Cup) each grated sweet potato and parsnips or carrots

90 grams brown rice flour

45 grams tapioca starch

60 grams rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 Cup each slivered almonds, Sun maid fruit bits, Enjoy Life chocolate chips

drizzle of vanilla

couple of shakes of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl combine the coconut oil, agave, flours, and oats into a paste. Add the grated vegetables. Stir well. Then add fruits, chocolate chips and nuts. Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out a dozen balls. Roll them and flatten slightly onto an un-greased baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly crisp on the sides. Cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet and remove to a cooling rack. Makes approximately 2 dozen.

September Ingredient Challenge Part 1

At the beginning of September or somewhere there abouts, my friend and fellow coach Kasondra posted a request for 10 ingredients to make into a meal or possibly just one dish. I gave her one, and then asked for the list so I could try my hand at it. We are contemplating making this a monthly feature so stay tuned.

September Ingredient List:

1. Squash
2. Coconut milk
3. Sun dried tomatoes
4. Spinach
5. Lemon
   
6. Honey
7. Quinoa
   
8. Tomato
9. Asparagus
10. Cream cheese

This post will focus on the two meals I put together. Part two will focus on my baking endeavors. First off we have a crock pot dish.

Veggie Quinoa Casserole

2 Cups vegetable broth (give or take)

1 Cup quinoa

1 Cup frozen zucchini

1 Cup butternut squash

1 can petite diced tomatoes

15 stalks asparagus

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon rosemary

If using frozen ingredients like I did, you will want to microwave your asparagus so that you can dice it into smaller chunks. Something I learned to late I should have done.

Dump everything in the crock and give it a good stir. Cook on low for three to four hours. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top.

Wilted Spinach, Baked Chicken and Baked Potato

I will readily admit that I had contemplated tossing the spinach into the casserole, and then chickened out. I think it would be lovely served on top of this wilted spinach. The recipe for the wilted spinach comes from Rachel Ray. I didn't use nutmeg or fresh garlic. Instead as you see I used dried minced onion and garlic powder. How much? A couple of shakes of each. :) Otherwise, I followed her instructions.

The first time I served it up beside my baked potato with sour cream and underneath my very basic baked chicken (I like garlic powder, black pepper and nutmeg). The next day for leftovers I diced the chicken and served both the spinach and chicken as potato toppings. Yum!

Lenora Le Noire Adoption

I have been wanting to adopt a gluten free blogger for quite awhile, but was never quite sure how to go about it or just missed opportunities. I was skimming my twitter feed a bit ago when I saw a tweet from Celiacs in the House putting someone up for adoption. I jumped, and am ever so glad I did.

Adoptee--Lenora Le Noire: Fat and Glamorous in the Kitchen

Her blog name and twitter handle (fatglamkitchen) had me smiling from the first moment, and her blog matches them perfectly. I am so happy to have found Lenora, and will be visiting regularly to see what she is whipping up.

For purposes of this adoption, I chose to do her Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies and Avocado Chocolate Mousse. The cookies were a huge hit around here, though we did substitute our non-dairy chocolate chips for the semi-sweet chocolate. I was a bit skeptical about the mousse, in part as I am not a fan of avocados. She's right though. It is fabulous!e

The second dish I made had a substitution as well since I couldn't find millet. I used quinoa on the approval of Lenora. :) I think I probably needed to use a third sweet potato and a smaller pan. I used a 9 x 13, and probably a 9 x 11 or an 8 x 8 would have sufficed. Regardless the flavors were nummy, and I can't wait to consume leftovers tonight.

Please go check out Lenora!

Spicy Casserole

You get this photo of the sweet potatoes, because they are pretty!

Cookies and Mousse