Nutella No-Bake Cookies

When I was a kid, I used to love when my mom would make no-bake cookies.  She rarely ever made them, so they were an awesome treat when she did.  Since she rarely made them, I thought they were some magical treat that was really hard to make.

I didn’t realize how easy they were to make until the first time I made them on my own.  Even though they still tasted great, it kind of ruined the “magical, really hard to make” feeling I had for them as a kid.

Which is why I had to switch them up to make them taste better.  Adding Nutella shouldn’t make that big of a difference, but it really did.  When you add Nutella, they kind of taste like fudge.  Fudgy oatmeal cookies that take 10 minutes to make… what gets better than that?  The magic was back for me after I made these!

What was your magical treat as a kid?

Nutella No-Bake Cookies
Adapted from: Food Network 

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup Nutella
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal

Directions

1. In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk.
2. Let boil for 1 minute then add Nutella, vanilla and oatmeal.
3. On a non-stick surface, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

Clustered Quinoa Granola (Kanrocksas)

Kanrocksas rocked!

For those of you who don’t know what it is, it’s a music festival similar to Lollapalooza.  This is the first year and it took place at the Kansas Speedway, which is a “state-of-the-art outdoor event facility that  hosts approximately 200 events a year”.

Kellen and I walked in not really knowing what to expect.  We drove up to the campground and saw everyone setting up tents and realized that we came a litttllleee unprepared.  All we had was my Ford Focus (with little baby seats) and a couple of sleeping bags.  A) There was no way we could sleep comfortably inside the car because B) It was way too hot (105 degrees) to be sleeping in a car with no air circulation and C) I couldn’t keep my car running all night. 

Buuttt, we weren’t going to let that get us down, so we wandered into the Speedway to check out the bands. We ended up watching 1) Fitz and the Tantrums (who we had never heard of before, but they did a great job!), 2) D12 (Kellen’s choice ;)), 3) Jack’s Mannequin (did a great job), 4) Kid Cudi (I don’t even like rap, but he did awesome and we got super close ‘seats’), 5) a little bit of Bassnectar (also a great performance), and last but not least on Friday, Eminem (super, super packed, a little overrated, but he put on a great show and the audience was really drunk pumped!)  I was a little sad because we were supposed to watch the Flaming Lips on the main stage right before Eminem, but apparently the schedule changed and they got moved to a different stage.  By the time we realized that, we were so wedged into the Eminem audience that there’s no way we would’ve been able to get out.

That night, we ended up being babies and sleeping at a friends house who lives close by.  (Thank you, Teresa!)  We got really lucky!

The next day, Saturday, we came a little more prepared… still no tent, but we knew to bring bigger water bottles!  Friday, we went through 6 water bottles and were still dying of thirst.  So, armed with 1 liter water bottles, we headed in for day 2 where we watched 1) OK Go (pretty awesome… Damian, the lead singer, sang in the middle of the crowd and also had someone from the audience come on stage and play his guitar), 2) Grace Potter and the Nocturnals (they did a fantastic job…Kellen and I both really enjoyed her performance), 3) Flogging Molly (I love Flogging Molly and they got the crowd so amped up… it was great!), 4) a little bit of Tinie Tempah (he was late, but what we watched of him was pretty good), 5) The Black Keys (awesome job), 6) Muse (it was really packed so we ended up sitting on the side, but it was a really good performance).

Overall we had an awesome, sweaty, fun, exciting weekend!

Here are a few videos I took (excuse the quality, they’re from my phone):

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://v7.nonxt8.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D1c165fc65b6de4ef%26itag%3D5%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1312809472%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3DF5E130BB7E0B0734EDB45EAD5556BA7BB1F4E7.CFA9116D771C1F1FDEC5B165B5BFDE0114F2532D%26key%3Dlh1

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://v23.nonxt2.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Dbdadf24a4b34e22f%26itag%3D5%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1312809472%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D9BD23695EC143976FC5A64458561559FE45E985D.CA6F508D6854D5E8BF7B8780A65B78D8B12F109D%26key%3Dlh1

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://v12.nonxt2.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D4b9c9d99e02d2fe8%26itag%3D5%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1312809472%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D8384157387251E034F854A9BB2FFB68DC25F589A.847957335B2A05F63A57C73EAC4697EAC87ACB57%26key%3Dlh1

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://v16.nonxt3.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D6711f6e7a34a50a8%26itag%3D5%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1312809472%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D4032BBC8A070CA4C5EDCC4A35504A4CB1765C5A3.57D3BFDAC9BCC2483E51F13B203ABC0E4E3A5F4%26key%3Dlh1

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://v24.nonxt1.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Dadb046f566a9a73b%26itag%3D5%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1312809472%26sparams%3Did,itag,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3DAC1801705753CDBA75A7029C85AAB8FE142221C0.308678C83B0F7B3543B1671BC55BE563BB841714%26key%3Dlh1

And to top it all off, I made some quinoa granola that I’ve been dying to make!! It was pretty good! I ate it today as cereal and it gave the milk a really great flavor. Plus, the recipe is so easily adaptable that you can make it taste however you want.

Quinoa Granola
adapted from: Hungry Hungry Hippie

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole rolled oats 
• 1/3 cup quinoa (I used 1/6 cup each of of red and regular quinoa)
• 1/4 cup flax seed
• 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup dried Blueberry Craisins –my fav!
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup cereal of choice (I used Frosted Wheat)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

Directions:

1. In large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (first 4 listed).

2. Chop nuts and add to the bowl along with seeds and coconut.
3. Mix well.
4. Add liquids (melted coconut oil and maple syrup).
5. Mix it all together.
6. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for 40 minutes at 30 degrees.
8. Let it cool and then break apart (you don’t need to actually break it, it crumbles pretty easily if you just brings the ends of the parchment paper together). 

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Thank goodness this no sweets week is coming to an end. 

I will admit that I thought it was going to be harder, especially since I’ve baked 3 times this week, but it actually hasn’t been that bad.  I’ve felt pretty good!  I’ve even been exercising this week, which lately I’ve not been able to motivate myself to do.  So… even though it probably won’t last, I’m not taking the motivation for granted.

Anyway, I made some cookies!  I’m a sucker for white chocolate, and these have white chocolate in them so I was disappointed that I had to pass them up.  Hopefully there will be some left for Sunday!  My neighbor came over and had one… and then came back again for another one, so I’m assuming they’re good!

Anywayyy…. I’m leaving tomorrow and I’ll be back Monday the 1st, but I’ll have some delicious guest posts for you in between. 

Do you guys go through spurts of motivation to work out? What do you do to push through the times when you aren’t motivated?

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Adapted from: Southern Living

****I cut the following recipe in half and got about 20 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quick cooking oats
• 1 cup (12 ounces) white chocolate morsels
• 1 cup (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preparation:

• 1.  Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugars, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
• 2.  Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Stir in oats, morsels, and pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.
• 3.  Bake at 350° for 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Guest Post: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Oat Muffins (with Peanut Butter Surprise!)

First of all, I just want to say a HUGE thank you to beautiful Alaina for doing this post for me while I’m out of town.  She’s such a sweetheart and I love reading her blog.  If you haven’t read it yet, please do, I guarantee she’ll brighten your day. 🙂

—————————————–

Hi friends of Katie! I’m Alaina Rose and I blog over at Sweetness Of Life.

 

When Katie first contacted me about doing a guest post I was thinking, what?! Really? Are you sure? I’m a new blogger. I have NO idea what I’m doing! But, Katie assured me that she loves my blog and that’s why she asked me to do a guest post. So, here I am! I’m honored and excited to be here while Katie’s gone. Thanks so much Katie!

One thing I’ve learned during the short time I’ve been blogging is that the blogging community is so incredibly welcoming and friendly! There is an endless flow of inspiration, encouragement and support that is shared, and it’s beautiful to be a part of. I’ve met some amazing people that I now consider friends even though we’ve never actually physically met. I’ve also learned a lot about myself through blogging. It has given me the opportunity for reflection and has become a wonderful creative outlet for expressing myself and sharing. I feel that we ALL have gifts that can be used to inspire each other. Blogging is such a wonderful way to share those gifts and to connect and learn from yourself and others through the process. I encourage everyone to start a blog!

Even though I’ve been passionate about cooking and baking for years, it has reached a new level since I started blogging! Today I’m going to share with you one of my favorite muffin recipes. It’s actually one of the first recipes I posted on my blog! They are gluten-free, somewhat healthy, delicious and contain a lot of my favorite ingredients: coconut, pumpkin, peanut butter, oats and chocolate! I hope you like them!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Oat Muffins (with Peanut Butter Surprise!)

Ingredients:

·      1 1/4 cup Pamela’s Gluten-free Baking and Pancake Mix (I’m sure you could try any other gluten-free baking mix, but this one is my fave!)

·      1/2 cup gluten-free oats

·      1 cup canned pumpkin

·      1/4 cup coconut oil

·      1/3 cup coconut milk (You can also use almond milk or soy milk. Whatever you like!)

·      1/3 cup maple syrup

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

·      1 tbsp cinnamon 

·      1/3 cup chocolate chips

·      PEANUT BUTTER!

Begin by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix together the pumpkin, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, coconut milk and maple syrup. In another bowl, combine the flour, oats, cinnamon and chocolate chips. Then pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix together. Lightly oil your muffin tins or you can use muffin tin liners. Fill up the muffin tins or liners about halfway full. THEN, (this is the fun part!) put a dollop of peanut butter on top of the batter. Then put additional batter on top. Pop in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. This recipe makes 8 muffins.

I really hope you try these and that you love them! Thank you so much for having me! If you like what you see, please feel free to stop by my blog Sweetness Of Life and take a look around! And please don’t hesitate to comment. Comments from readers truly make my day!

Thank you again and have a beautiful day!