Chocolate and Roses . . . in June

Here's my favorite foodie Friday post -- featuring the flora of my backyard and . . . chocolate cake!

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Scotchies

Well, since my last post, it indeed rained! :)

So on this beautiful, sunny, blustery March morning we returned all the rain books back to the library.



Somewhere between the drizzles on Friday and this crazy wind today, our hose faucet pipe completely busted. Let's just say the rain themed books fit far too well into our basement "decor" this weekend.

The culprit of the "raining basement."

Thank goodness for our extremely helpful neighbor plumber, who bailed us out (literally) on a Sunday evening!!



Bundle and I baked these up as a thank you for him and his family for all the extra work they went to in making sure our pipe won't break again!



Old Fashioned Oatmeal Scotchies

Altered from an original 1979 Betty Crocker recipe for "Farm-Style Oatmeal Cookies" -- Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

2 cups packed brown sugar
1 c. softened margarine
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
4 c. quick oats
1 3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream the sugar, margarine, milk and vanilla with a hand-mixer on low speed. Add the remaining ingredients, except for baking chips. Mix again on high until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Fold in butterscotch chips.

Shape cookie dough into 1 in. balls, and place about 3 inches apart on a greased baking tray. Flatten the cookies slightly using the bottom of a drinking glass wet with water. Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove and allow at least ten minutes to cool (burnt mouths are not fun) before devouring!

Learning how to use the margarine wrappers to grease the pan. :)

Enjoy with life, and please share. <3

Today's Reading Stack . . .

Tut Tut, it looks like rain!

























Well, 50% chance later tonight anyway. I can't wait for those chilly spring rains that water the ground and remind me of how the Lord restores my soul.


While I wait for rain, here's what I'm reading this week (and what Bundle is reading!)

The Stack.

Recommended by a friend yesterday. Checked out yesterday. Can't wait!

So in love with all these gorgeous garden related ideas! I love that flowers remind us how patience is worth it.

First to go in Bundle's stack. Pooh Bear always is a winner!

We read this at a local coffeeshop and found it again at the library! What fortune!

Bundle LOVES oatmeal and enjoyed reading this during breakfast. Hurray for old school Sesame Street!

Easy words and big pictures. Perfect.

Gail Gibbons has great teaching stuff. I know we probably should have read this last week, but we can learn anytime, right?

In anticipation, of course! Adorable pictures and easy words again.

So looking forward to our next library trip and whenever the sky decides to send us rain! :)

<3

#TBT . . . Anticipating Spring

#TBT . . .

Winter Vegetable Medley

Winter is hard for me. I ache for the green grass and sunny skies and fresh veggies and fruits straight from the garden. I stock up the best I can by chopping and freezing summer fresh veggies for winter, but I still struggle to eat my daily required amount of vegetables.

I knew I was behind today, so I thought I'd create an entire "star of the show" veggie side dish with four different kinds of veggies in it! (I --guilty here -- normally just cook or steam up one veggie for a side. . .)

Here's an easy way to combine veggies and get in more servings at one meal. It's perfect with a mixed green salad and slow cooker chicken!

Winter Vegetable Medley

1 cup cubed potatoes, any kind
1 c. frozen corn
1 c. frozen green beans
2 large green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. water
salt and pepper to taste

**Note: all my veggies except for the green onions were frozen! The potatoes we chopped, bagged and froze ourselves. Decent frozen corn and green beans are easy to come by. Thank goodness green onions grow year-round in a tiny indoor pot!**

Place veggies in a large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat uncovered on medium until veggies are thawed. Add the chopped green onion, and the water to the bottom of the pan. Then cover the skillet and cook for ten to twelve more minutes, or until potatoes are heated through and cooked thoroughly. Stir frequently so the potatoes don't stick to the bottom. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Veggies should be cooked through, but still slightly crisp. I love cooking my veggies this way! For some reason I feel like they taste fresher, even in the dead of winter. :)

Happy end-of-winter!

<3

Baked Spring-Green Crisps

Springtime!!

. . . Okay, so there's actually half a foot of snow on the ground right now, but I figure if it's March, it's spring!! In other words, I have been madly cleaning, organizing and revamping our family's health routines.

This week I've been focused on healthy snacking. These are absolutely perfect. It's seriously like eating a healthy potato chip! The only thing that's faster to make might be actually opening a bag of chips. Baking cookies (even healthful ones) are my usual snack go-to, but these are done from start to finish in less than 15 minutes. Plus, they're gluten free, egg free, dairy free, and Paleo, vegetarian and vegan. You really can't go wrong with this snack.

Baked Spring-Green Crisps

1 packed cup of spring greens like spinach, endive, radicchio, and baby lettuce leaves
Olive oil baking spray
a pinch of salt and pepper

Here's what I used! Straight from the produce aisle.

Just a tiny bit is needed--our first batch was WAY too salt and peppery!

Generously spray a large baking sheet with the oil spray. Evenly spread all the greens across the baking sheet. spray the greens generously with the olive oil again. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. A little salt goes a long way on these babies. :)

Bake at 290 degrees F for 15 minutes.

The leaves should peel right off the tray. They're ready immediately for enjoyment! They could be a snack (better than chips, I promise!) or a garnish.

As I'm posting this, my hubby and I literally ate half the batch. Oops. . .

Enjoy with health! <3

Favorite Pinterest Recipes this Week . . .

Just click on the title links to get to the recipes! :)

Chocolate Shortbread Heart Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod





Easy Bacon Egg and Toast Cups from Martha Stewart Recipe




Citrus Vinaigrette from food.com





Poor Girl's Peppermint Mocha from right here!





This is my #TBT. Still one of my favs! It's so fun to see my recipes on Pinterest.



Love, peace and life. <3

Hope, Eternal.

Hope springs eternal, right? I've been thinking a lot lately about that phrase. Until recently though, it seems that the only way I can wrap my mind around it is if I say it backwards: Spring hopes eternal. From the stresses of everyday life and the frozen mornings of winter, the possibility of hope springing eternal seemed ridiculous.

Finally, I have fresh flowers from my own yard adorning the kitchen and a couple windows cracked open. Things that a few months ago seemed impossible. Would never, ever happen. Even now, it is hard to believe that someday we'll be home. And that someday later, we will truly be Home.

This has been, by far, the worst winter of my life. Winter and coldness in every manner. In human terms, the coming of spring indeed signifies hope. Spring hopes eternal. But today, through springtime, God gently reminded me that with Him, hope does spring eternal. Even in our deepest winters.

So on any particularly wintry-feeling day, may I look back on this post and remember that with Christ, hope springs eternal. Glory to Him from whom True Hope springs eternally, in every single season.



Amen.

Wordless Wednesday: Spring

Blueberry Crumble Pie and Mom's Spring Bouquet

Vinca from my yard

Spring Break Project: Gardening

What my wonderful husband created for me Sunday morning!

Freshly Bloomed and Rained-On Tulips

Spring Break Project: Sew an Apron

God's Gorgeous Clouds After Rain

<3

Lunchroom Nostalgia: Baked Beef Crispitos

Looking for these?? I've moved my site! Find the recipe for Lunchroom Nostalgia: Baked Beef Crispitos HERE!