Indoor Sandbox

Ok, I know this isn't a food recipe.....but I saw this idea and thought it looked so fun for kids! So, it's a recipe for fun! :) And it's frugal too! :)

Frugal Family Fun Blog: Weekend Rewind -- Indoor Sandbox

Healthy Chocolate Cookies with Homemade Peanut Butter Chips!

Or, How to get your chocolate peanut butter fix all in one stop! :)

Note: I made a small batch since I was adapting this from another recipe and also didn’t want too many cookies around. :) This recipe makes about 10 cookies though…Feel free to double or triple it according to your needs and wants.

Ingredients:
1/4 (~2T) banana, mashed
3 T. honey/agave

1 T. milk/water/dairy-free milk
1 T. cup melted butter/earth balance/oil

1/2 cup flour (whole wheat/GF flour blend)
1/4 c. cocoa

(Or if you want to make these as a basic cookie, use 3/4 c. flour and no cocoa)

pinch salt
1 /4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 c. homemade peanut butter chips

Preheat your oven for 325*. In a small bowl, (if you are making 1x the recipe, a cereal bowl can be used) mix together the wet ingredients and then add the dry (minus the chips). Spoon the dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Flatten the cookies if desired and then add chips. :) Cook for about 15 minutes.

PS. These are very satisfying with the chips added. If you don’t use the chips, they might be a little bland and not as sweet. I would suggest adding additional sweetener in that case.

Homemade Peanut Butter Chips!

I just discovered how to make my own peanut butter chips! I simply chopped up my fudge (see previous post) into tiny pieces and added it to my cookies. :)

Yeah! (Be sure to keep them in the freezer though :))

Recipe Review: FUDGE! Refined-Sugar-Free Carmel-like Peanut Butter Fudge/Truffle

I tried Comfy Belly’s homemade peanut butter fudge recently! It was so good! I followed her recipe except I used 3/4 c. honey instead of 1 c. honey and used my low-fat peanut butter that I get and finish at home here. It was really sweet-even with less honey. Next time, I think I’ll experiment with 1/2 c. honey instead and maybe some extra water/peanut butter .  Be sure to watch it though- I burned the butter/honey mixture the first time! :/ :)

 

 

ALTERATIONS:

For those of you who are dairy-free, sub coconut oil or earth balance for the butter.

For those of you who are peanut free, try a different nut butter.

For those of you who are nut-free, try sun-butter.

For those of you who are vegan, try it with agave, maple syrup, etc.

Let me know what you come up with! :)

Yummy, Homemade Use-what-you-have Pizza

My room mates went out for pizza and I decided since I was staying home, I’d make my own…healthier version with what I had on hand. (yeah-for double frugality! No money spent on going out, no money spent on more food supplies!)

I topped this with some frozen chicken pieces, bits of pineapple, frozen shredded cheddar cheese, and parmesan. Feel free to top it with whatever you have on hand (and can eat :)).

It was really yummy…soft, bread like, dough. It was very thick. I think next time I might split it into two pizzas.
 

No Rise Pizza and Crust – adapted from this recipe

 

Ingredients:

1 T yeast
1 C warm water

1 tsp. honey/agave
1 tsp. salt
2 T olive oil
2.5 C whole wheat flour or some other (GF flour) combo

Prepare the crust by mixing warm water, honey,and yeast in a small bowl. Allow yeast mix to sit for about 5 minutes.  Then add the oil and stir. After that add the flour and salt. 

Next knead the dough for a few minutes with your hands (or alternatively a kitchen aid/bread maker), then let it sit for 5 mins while you grease your pizza pan and gather the ingredients for the toppings.

Take the dough and put it on the center of the pan…stretch it out slowly until it covers the entire pan. Top it with your favorite sauce (I used straight tomato paste) and toppings.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is done and the toppings (such as cheese) are done.

 

Naturally Sweet Double Berry Oatmeal

  You will notice the oatmeal looks a little purplish-almost gray especially compared to the background----but don’t fear! It’s because of how it’s made.

 

I discovered that I left a mug of herbal raspberry tea out and decided to experiment with using that instead of water in my oatmeal. I also added some strawberries. It was perfect. It gave it just enough flavor….oatmeal, strawberries, and a hint of raspberry flavor! :) Try it! :) You might be surprised. :)

 

I try to use as little sugar as I can especially on oatmeal so this was perfect option for me. :)

 

*GF’ers- be sure to use GF oats or quiona flakes!

Frugal, Filling, and Hearty Carrot Soup

The other week I noticed I had some carrots that were in dire need of use! I didn’t want to waste them so I decided to make something with them. I found a recipe for carrot soup and then modified it to fit my needs and what I had on hand. The original recipe doesn’t advise to use “older carrots” but I found it worked just fine.  It was delicious and so filling. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a soup this filling before! :)  I would definitely make this again, even with fresh carrots. :)  I like how frugal this recipe is too.

Carrot Soup

Modified by Ari, from this recipe

About +/- 10 carrots (use what you have)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups+ water
1.5 T lemon juice (half a lemon’s worth)
fine grain sea salt (as much as you need)

cinnamon (as much as you want)

and or garlic (again, that’s subjective to you)

Peel, cut, and cook carrots in 3 c. boiling water. After they are soft, add lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon and or garlic. (I used a both- A little garlic gave it more flavor- and the cinnamon heightened the sweetness of the carrots.) Then use a potato masher to mash up the mixture.  If you want a smoother soup, use an immersion blender or if you don’t have that, do as I did and use a regular hand mixer. :) You could also  use a food processor or a blender to do the same thing. After mixing, serve! :)

The original recipe says it serves about four, I would say that is about right. :)