Kickin Back Again

I enjoyed another very relaxing day today...the last day of my vacay! I "forced" myself to get out of bed a little earlier than I have been so tomorrow morning isn't torturous. Plus, I'd been dreaming of my oats all night so I was eager to get into the kitchen and start creating! I bought 5 apples at reduced price ($0.99) that had some blemishes on the skin. I decided to peel one up today, whirl it around the magic bullet and stir it into my oats. When I peeled it, the flesh underneath was in perfect condition! Here's my version on stove top apple pie oatmeal...
-1/2 cup water, soy milk, flax seed porridge
-1 apple, pureed
-generous dashes of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
-raisins
-International Delights French vanilla coffee creamer
-cinnamon sprinkles
The made one honkin' bowl of deliciousness!

We made our way out to the farm for our weekly visit. It was dreary and cold when we set out, but by the time we left the sun was shining and it had warmed p considerably. I ate 3 Lifestyles blueberry flax cookies with my coffee. No camera, so no picture, though! They were tasty, but too addictive to be in my cupboards! :)

I wasn't really hungry for lunch so I decided to make a green monster with the addition of kale this time! I finally remembered to buy some Friday. This one has 4 smallish leaves of kale, 2 big handfuls of spinach, frozen strawberries and mango, flax seed and 1/2 cup soy milk. I let it go for a bit in the magic bullet, but made sure there was still a little chew from the kale.
Out on the deck in all it's glory! I enjoyed the addition of kale to the drink. Like I said, there was some texture to it that really appeals to my senses! I also ate some celery sticks with homemade almond butter...
Celery is probably my least favorite of veggies, but I don't mind it with a little somethin somethin on it. Some raisins would have been a nice touch but I was to lazy to get up for them! *wink*

After lunch I made a big chamomile tea and brought it out to the deck with my book.
I sat out there reading for almost an hour before I realized that I needed to get some more baking done for the bake sale! I opted to make Sarah's Black & White Chipper's and leave the pineapple cupcakes for the night before so they stay fresh and moist. Let me tall ya....it's been a LONG while since I made die hard cookies! Butter, sugar, more sugar, chocolate.....oh, yeah...these are GOOD cookies!!!

I got 51 cookies out of this recipe. Odd number, I know! I'm thinking I'll send half to the bake sale, keep a few kicking around here and bring some to work tomorrow to see if I can score some "donations" which I will then pass along to DD's teacher. I'm tossing around the idea of leaving a note with a plate of cookies in the staff kitchen saying that they are to help raise funds for a school trip, so any donation would be helpful but not necessary. We'll see what happens!!

Here are some shots of Marianne's Mars Bar Squares which also turned out fabulous!!

The recipe said 36 pieces, but I cut them into 16 so the pieces were a nice size for the sale. I think they'll be a hit, too!! :)

Wouldn't you know that I got an award today!!! Cate over at Cate's Plate gave me a Kreativ Blogger's Award!!! I'm suppose to name 7 things that I love and pass it along. I think this had made its way around blogland, so I won't pass it out but please feel free to continue the award along on your blog and remember to tell us 7 things that you love! Here's my list;

1. I love my family
2. I love my cats
3. I love shopping for food/food related items
4. I love how I feel after a good run
5. I love reading
6. I love cooking/baking
7. I love the sunshine

There you have it, lovelies!!

I made an awesome dinner if I do say so myself! I whipped up a batch of Eat, Shrink & Be Merry's Butter Chicken. A-MAZING! I know it's "suppose" to be served over rice, but DS doesn't like rice so they had theirs over WW pasta and I spooned my serving over a good cup's worth of steamed veggies.

So good! I put one serving in the freezer and another aside for tomorrow's lunch, plus DS has some packed away in his thermos for his lunch. This batch made six 1 cup servings. I pretty much followed the recipe, but did change a few minor things. I used half the amount of butter and sliced cooked chicken breast instead of thighs. I also didn't marinate the meat ahead of time, just added it plain at the end to heat through. Oh! And instead of sour cream I used plain yogurt and my homemade almond butter. All in all, it was a big hit!!

After dinner we went to my parents house where I gobbled up 4 (yes, 4) chocolate chip cookies! I did refrain from eating any of the ones that I made, though!! I'll be watching the Amazing Race soon but first I have to prepare for the morning. A few bonuses are that with my hubby on afternoon's, he'll be taking the kids to school and it's my week to start at 8:30 so I'm sliding back into work a bit spoiled! The end of the day will be a challenge, though because I work until 4:30, then I have to pick DD up from my parents, take her to dance, go to Pilate's, pick up DS from my parents, pick up DD from dance and arrive home at about 6:45 for dinner. Yikes! I better not think about that part anymore...I may wind up with hives! :) Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!!

Bye for now!!