Peanut Butter Maple Cookies

Sully just turned one and we threw a "Milk and Cookies" themed party. It required lots of baking and 4 different types of cookies! I made Ranger, Sea Salt Chocolate Chip, Hodge Podge cookies (recipe already posted) and my hubby's all time fave cookie, Peanut Butter Maple. 

These were the first cookies I ever baked for the hubs, my then boyfriend. My family has been making these for years. They have a special secret ingredient, that make them extra tasty :)

Peanut Butter Maple Cookies 

(makes 3-4 dozen)

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 TBSP maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cup flour
• 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 1/s tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 pkg of peanut butter chips

Combine all ingredients together in order, dry ingredients last. Drop by tablespoon on greased cookie sheet (I used a silicone mat). Bake at 325 for 13-16 minutes. 

Enjoy!!!

Sleepless nights....oh sweet baby boy....I think

Never ending teething is really killing my sleep! Baby molars are the pits and I seriously just want to stomp and whine about it! But I'll spare you. Painful molars means a baby boy that was up from 1:30 to 3:30 last night. (Side note, one of his molars finally popped through).  It also means Mama was up with him....and I'm pretty sure he kept annoying Daddy by constantly hitting his back or head. We call those "love taps" in our house, but in the middle of the night Daddy is not a huge fan. I can't really blame him since his alarm goes off at 4 AM. After the crazy boy finally went to sleep in his crib, I slept through ALL THREE ALARMS!!!! So D was late to school and this morning started in panic mode. 

A bad start to the morning didn't ruin my day. Luckily, I was able to move past the rough start and got some stuff done. I finally tackled my studio....not an easy task. Fabric, scraps, patterns....EVERYWHERE mixed in with D's random kid stuff and baby paraphernalia. I made a big dent, thank goodness! I think the hubs was about to disown me. And I worked with this a special little guy on climbing the stairs, he doesn't pretty good until he realizes he can stand and forgets to focus on getting all the way up the stairs :) Next up is teaching him how to scoot down the stairs.

I've even stayed up on laundry, dishes and house stuff.....oh em gee the whole 30 is making me domestic....what the what!?!? There's something about having control over what you're putting in your body that makes you want to have control over other things in your life. I tend to live in organized chaos, and as much as I hate cleaning I really hate living in chaos so I'm hoping this is something that sticks! 

After some much needed sewing time (I made the itty bittiest little moccasins) I prepped everything for dinner tonight. We have a double header at soccer tonight, so I didn't want any excuse for not eating whole 30 for dinner. Granted, dinner probably will be closer to 8 but it's better then fast food! Our chuck roast is all prepped for the smoker and I have brussels sprouts patiently waiting in the oven to be roasted. Delay start on the oven is seriously a life saver!

What I ate, Day 16

Breakfast: Sauteed spinach and garlic topped with runny eggs, a few sausage links and avocado

Lunch: Leftover chowder

Dinner: Mesquite Smoked Chuck Roast with roasted brussels sprouts and bacon

Breakfast

I'll post a pic of dinner with the brussels sprouts, it's our favorite way to eat them.

Exercise: Double header for indoor soccer

Beef and Bacon Chowder modified

I found this recipe over on Purely Primal and it was a hit in our house! Whenever the hubby has seconds are keeps telling me it's delicious I know it's a keeper. I tweaked the recipe a bit and next time I'm going to make it in the crockpot. I thought I'd post how to do it in the crockpot for future reference.  And seriously this hit the fall comfort food spot.

Crockpot Beef and Bacon Chowder 

• 3/4 lb ground beef, cooked
• 5 strips of bacon, chopped and cooked
• 1 package of sliced mushrooms, sauteed
• 1 small onion, chopped and sauteed
• 1 large white sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups of shredded carrots
• 2 cans of coconut milk, full fat
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• fresh minced garlic, to taste
• 16 oz carton of chicken stock

Cook ground beef with fresh garlic in skillet over medium heat. Remove beef and add to crockpot. In same skillet cook bacon until crispy. Add to crockpot. In a new pan, saute chopped onion and mushrooms over medium heat and add to crockpot. Add carton of chicken stock, sweet potato and carrots. Mix all ingredients together in crockpot. Season the soup mix with salt and pepper. Cook on low 7-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours. 45 to 30 minutes before crockpot is done cooking add both cans of coconut milk and stir. Let soup simmer the last 45-30 minutes. Serve by itself or with a salad. 

*Note, you could skip cooking the onions and mushrooms in a skillet and just add to the crockpot, they might not be as flavorful though. 

Variations: 

• Italian sausage instead of beef
• omit carrots and add kale
• add different types of squash

This is a great "base" for lots of paleo soups. I think I'm going to try a Paleo Baked Potato Soup next. 

  

A Plan and Day 15

After a horrible night's sleep because of my poor planning, I got out of bed and knew after I dropped D off at school Sully and I needed to make a trip to Chuck's so I could start the day out on the right foot. Last night I spent some time pinning some new recipes to try this week so I had an idea of what I needed and off we went (and yes I was that Mom, my boy was rocking his jammies).

I made a quick meal plan for the week:

Monday: Beef and Bacon Chowder (instead of white potatoes I'm going to modify to sweet potatoes)

Tuesday: Smoked Chuck roasted with Cauliflower Mash

Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash Crusted Quiche

Thursday: Sausage and Kale Soup (PS I met this blogger at Crossfit the other night)

Friday: Smoky Bacon Chili

Saturday: Birthday Dinner out with Friends

Sunday: Paleo Savory Sweet Potato Meatloaf 

This is the plan for the week. I might be able to stretch it a bit with leftovers and we usually end up doing "brinner" for dinner at least once during the week.

What I ate, Day 15

Breakfast: Fruit bowl (pear, strawberries and blueberries) and nuts

Lunch: Salsa burger and avo

Dinner: Beef and Bacon chowder

Exercise: Hoping to get on the elliptical today after I catch up on some orders

Day 14, Soccer Sunday and poor planning!

One major thing I've noticed with doing Paleo and/or Whole 30 is that I now wake myself up in the morning. Yes, my alarm goes off but I find that I'm actually awake when I roll out of bed. This is huge! If you know me, you know I'm not a morning person. I'm usually the person that doesn't want to talk to anyone for a good hour after I wake up :) But things are CHANGING!!!

With my new found morning "awakeness" I'm finding I'm way more productive. After the kids and I were up, I made them breakfast, made the little guy a new pair of moccs, actually got ready (like did my hair and MAKEUP!!! Holy Man!) and made it to church on time. This never happens! I usually love sleeping in on the weekends, but I don't feel like I need to now. PS my whole entire body is still sore from Crossfit, but I definitely want to go back! Who am I!?!?

Quick recap of what I ate

What I ate, Day 14

Breakfast: Fruit and veg smoothie and some turkey

Lunch: Scrambled eggs with diced chicken and apple sausage and a handful of macadamia nuts.
I even had part of beer after soccer (I was kidless and with adults....shoot me)

Dinner: The doomed didn't have a plan after soccer and we were out of eggs and produce so no quick ideas came to mind....teriyaki it was at 7:30 :/ (Beef, chicken, rice and a small salad....and holy crap did I sleep awful and feel awful....DANGIT!)

Exercise: None

So of course after eating takeout I felt like ish....and then I was disappointed in myself that I didn't rally and find something to eat at home. But lesson learned. And honestly after being at soccer and picking the kids up at 7 I really didn't feel like cooking. That's the biggest downfall with going Paleo or Whole 30; cooking is huge! Note to self, have leftovers in the fridge or something in the crockpot if you're going to be away from home most of the day.

But all in all it was a great day. Got to go watch my man kick ass playing soccer (even if they lost) I don't care...still love watching him and his buddies play. Well more him....but you get the idea. 

PS look at my little mini....I just love him :)

Day 13 and a beautiful fall day

Today was a gorgeous fall day, this past week has been beautiful. I just love the northwest and I love the beauty that fall brings.

Today we spent part of the day saying goodbye to Jason's step Grandpa and it made me super reflective. Memorial services always tend to make me ponder life. On our way home Jas and I were talking about how much we didn't know about Carl. He was an amazing man before we went to the service, but then hearing about all of the other things he did during his life and friends and family telling stories about him had me in awe. He had a beautiful life and an amazing family and I'm truly blessed to be part of it.

Back to the ol' food catch up. I ate a later bigger breakfast just so I was tempted my too many things at lunch after the memorial service. Remember the sweet potato fries from last night? They make a delicious breakfast scramble :)

What I ate, Day 13
Breakfast: Smoothie (spinach, mango, strawberries and carrots) and chicken and apple sausge egg scramble with sweet potatoes.
Lunch: Spinach salad, turkey and ham, meatballs (not whole 30)
Dinner: Rosemary chicken breast, olives and salad.

Exercise: None

Starting to notice my face clearing up (still dealing with the affects of having a baby!), my wedding ring is spinning on my finger (always a good sign) and my energy level is up. But I still feel like I want a nap in the afternoon, which I definitely got today :)

Day 11 & 12 and Oh Em Gee I'm trying Crossfit!

Just a quick little recap on what I ate

What I ate, Day 11

Breakfast: Fruit smoothie, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Turkey, nuts and an orange
Dinner: Banana pancakes, avo, sausage and fried eggs

Exercise: None 

Noticed I'm sleeping way better, falling right to sleep and waking up actually refreshed. This is huge since I tend to be an insomniac.

What I ate, Day 12

Breakfast: Fruit and nut bowl

Lunch: Asparagus wrapped in ham, blueberries and olives

Dinner: Angus burger on butter lettuce with avo and sweet potato fries. (Tip: save left over fries even if it's a few, it makes a great addition to breakfast scrambles)

Exercise: First Crossfit class 8:37

My cousin invited me to her Crossfit gym's Girl's Night Out.....first thought...um no! But I've been wanting to see what Crossfit is all about. I follow enough Paleo blogs to see that it's the choice exercise for most of my fave bloggers. I'm not going to lie the whole idea of Crossfit intimidates me, but my hubs nudged me. And I actually did it! And I might even say I liked it! I actually want to go back and try it again! We did a bunch of different exercises Kettle ball swing, burpees, jump rope, 200m jog with weighted ball, situps, squat ball (pretty sure that's not the name). Basically the workout kicked my butt. I was dripping sweat. After the warm up the actual workout took less then 10 minutes, and I felt beat. But I liked it! I left feeling kind of like a bad ass. I mean I definitely need to learn the exercises better and did more of a walk/jog and a modified burpee but I still felt like I accomplished something. I stepped out of my comfort zone and went for it.

And just because my legs now hurt from all the squats, this ones for you ;)