Walnut Baked Pears

I used to think warm fruit was nastyyy. Now I can’t get enough of it! #isthisadulting

This recipe is one of my faves to eat anytime, especially during your Follicular Phase when pears are a great choice for your snack! But don’t you worry, everyone in your fam. will love these tasty little snacks. Plus, they’re super simple to make! Winning all around.

WALNUT BAKED PEARS

2 pears

about 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

cinnamon

pure maple syrup, to drizzle

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cut pears in half length wise. Spoon out a hole in the middle and fill with chopped walnuts. Place walnuts in the hole.

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and and drizzle with pure maple syrup.

4. Bake for 20-30 min until golden brown.

Healthy 'Scotcheroos'

Could I eat a whole pan of Scotcheroos? Ummm yeah, probably. Literally, I have NO CONTROL when a pan of them is sitting in front of me. Plus, they taste like summer time to me, they were always on the snack bar at my family gatherings and weekends at the cabin. So delicious and chewy….

The more I’ve learned about food and ingredients, the more I’ve realized that eating those are nooooot the best choice for my health (sigh). So, yesterday I went into my kitchen on a quest to make a healthy version!

These aren’t exactly Scothceroos. But there is peanut butter and chocolate — so they have to be good.

They are gluten free and dairy free too, so that’s a major plus! Basically everyone can eat them. Whoop whoop!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 T. ground flax seeds

• 4 T. water

• 4 T. pure maple syrup

• 1 Cup chunky peanut butter

• 1 Cup oat flour (or Bobs Redmill All Purpose GF Flour)

• 2 drops Nutmeg Vitality essential oil (optional)

TOPPING

• 1/2 Cup dairy free mini chocolate chips

• 1 T. coconut oil

• Sprinkle of sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl mix the ground flax seed and water, let sit until it thickens (about 2-5 min).

3. Stir in peanut butter, maple syrup and Nutmeg essential oil.

4. Mix in flour until dough forms.

5. Press bars evenly into prepared lined baking sheet. Place in fridge or freezer while you make the chocolate topping.

6. In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Stirring constantly until melted.

7. Take pan out of fridge/freezer, pour chocolate topping over bars. Sprinkle with a little sea salt and place back in the fridge/freezer.

8. Enjoy!! Store in fridge.

The Best Garlic Bread

Guys. I’m not sure you understand how much I love garlic. I love it. I eat roasted garlic like candy. Good thing I’m married lolz. He’s stuck with kissin’ me foreverrrr.

Anyways. Enough about that talk.

Whenever I post how I’m making this easy garlic bread I get about a million direct messages asking me for the recipe and I say….GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT. You guys love garlic like I do. You are my people!

This recipe is found in the wonderful Molle Yeh’s recipe book: Molly on the Range. You need this recipe book in your kitchen. Plus, she’s a fun North Dakota gal!! And has her own TV show. Whuuuut. Yeah, check out all her other recipes!!

Here’s the deal. This recipe calls for three heads of garlic you might be like me and double check that you just read that correctly. YA DID. Three garlic heads making this bread dreamy-garlicky-delciousness!!

This has turned into DJ and I’s Saturday night Sabbath bread. We love Saturday nights in our house, I spend all day making a yummy, slow cooked meal, clean the house, and set the table all pretty. I time the bread-baking to be finished just in time for DJ to walk in the door from work and we enjoy this warm garlicky bread deliciousness with dinner and a glass of wine. Tonights dinner is homemade soup, and we will be pulling off chunks of this bread and dipping it in and enjoying every bite! After dinner? Homemade Blueberry Crisp with Oatly Ice Cream. I’m telling ya….if you don’t Sabbath you are missin’ out my friend.

Alrighty…onto the recipe because I’m sure your mouth is watering!

This bread is EASY but it will take a little bit of patience. I always whip it up on Friday night and let it sit overnight so it’s ready for me. It has to sit for 12-24 hrs, so it’ll take a little bit of planning but not a whole lot of work!

Ingredients:

• About 4 - 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (or bread flour)

• 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

• 2 tsp. salt

• 1 1/2 cups warm water

• 3 heads garlic

• 1 T. olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix: 3 cups flour, yeast, and salt. Slowly stir in the water until it’s combined.

2. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let sit overnight at room temperature - 12 to 24 hrs.

3. The next day, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tops off 3 heads of garlic and drizzle some olive oil on each. Wrap each individually in foil and bake for about 45 minutes.

4. When they’re cool enough to handle, squeeze them into a bowl and mash them up good.

5. Drop dollops of the garlic over the dough in a bowl and mix using a spatula. Fold into the dough so all the dough gets some garlic love.

6. Plan a large piece of parchment paper on counter and lay about 1/2 cup flour on it. Scrape the dough onto the surface and shape the dough into a roundish blob. Sprinkle the top with some flour. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and cover it. Let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

7. During the last 30 minutes, preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a lided Dutch Oven in it.

8. Remove the Dutch Oven after 30 minutes of it heating up. Remove plastic wrap from dough. Pick up dough by using the parchment paper and then lower the dough into the dutch oven (with the parchment paper).

9. Place in oven and make for 30 minutes with lid on. After 30 minutes, remove lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes, until it’s nice and golden brown on the top.

10. Allow to cool on a wire rack (I knoooow it smells soooo good at this point) and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy it!! Let me know if you make it, friends! This bread may not be the prettiest loaf in all the land but I would bet it will be one of the most delicious bread recipes you’ve ever had!

30 Min. Homemade Ramen

This recipe is SO easy and one of our go-to meals. We almost always have the ingredients for this recipe because we love Thai food — so coconut aminos, curry paste, fish sauce and coconut milk are staples in our kitchen. If you don’t have these things, that’s okay! But I’d stock up on them because likely, this will become a family favorite for you too!

Sometimes I think it’s ironic I share recipes because I really have to think about what I did when I sit down and write it out. I am very much a make-it-up-as-you-go cook! A looot of guess-measuring happening in our kitchen. But this one, I measured it out for you!

You may have also noticed in the picture a few pieces of shredded chicken. We had a little bit left over from the other night, so I threw — quite literally — a few pieces in. But this recipe would also be great with some chicken added!

I cannot stress enough that homemade bone broth makes all the difference! Using store bought broth will not be the same…plus homemade bone broth has so many benefits!! It’s easy to throw the ingredients in a crock pot and let it simmer. Then we just put it all in mason jars and freeze it until we are ready to use it! Check out how we make bone broth here.

This makes a big batch. We love at least doubling our recipes so we make a homemade meal every 2 nights, the off-nights are warm up nights! And this one also makes enough for a few lunches. I mean, it depends on how much your family eats….maybe that’s just because DJ eats alot! ha (he’s one of those guys that eats so much and you look at him and question where the heck is he putting all that because he’s so trim. Siiiigh.)

INGREDIENTS

-8 cups homemade beef broth (or chicken)

-1 can coconut milk

-1/2 cup coconut aminos (or soy sauce)

-2 T fish sauce

-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

-1/4 cup Thai Green Curry Paste (or Thai Red Curry Paste)

-8 ounces mushroom

-3 bell peers, sliced

-1 inch fresh ginger, minced

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-Juice of one lime

-16 oz. rice noodles

Options to top with:

-Basil or cilantro

-chopped peanuts

-sesame seeds

-fresh bean sprouts (not canned, ick)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a Dutch oven or large pot, combine the broth, coconut milk, coconut aminos, fish sauce, peanut butter and curry paste. Add in mushrooms, peppers, ginger and garlic. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. After 15 minutes, bring to a boil and add noodles and lime juice. Boil for 5-10 minutes until noodle are done.

3. Ladle the deliciousness into soup bowls, top with some toppings of choice and enjoy!

**To store leftovers, you could store the noodle and broth separately. The noodles will get a little mushy if all stored together, but still taste delicious!

Wassail

Wassail is a beverage of hot mulled cider, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, a Medieval Christmastide English drinking ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year.

If you haven’t caught onto this about me yet, I loooove warm drinks. I also have an obsession with mugs. Maybe it’s because I live in North Dakota and it is a near necessity to have something warm in your hands at all times for about 9 months out of the year? It’s like a hug in a mug that warms you all the way down to your toes.

One of my favorite things to do is warm up Wassail 4-5 hours before people come over. It gets your home smelling delicious, welcoming and warming. I pull out my favorite mugs, set them beside the stove and wait for everyone to arrive.

When you step into my home you will first be welcomed with a hug and soon after the question of what can I get you to drink?

Something about being warm, feeling comforted by those you love, digging into deep conversations and the corners of your heart…those are the things I believe Jesus meant when he told us to love our neighbors.

Last night I had friends come over, old and new, we sipped Wassail, giggled, and I taught them how to bake with essential oils. It was dreamy. Really, it made one of my dreams come true to have my own cooking show. (giggle giggle)

This is a big portion of Wassail. I invited you to pull out the mugs, place it on the stove and invite friends over to your home.

This is also perfect for the holidays when people are coming and going, hanging around all day and it’s always nice to have a sip while you’re also snacking on something.

*A note on the essential oils. Oils like having something to cling to. I liked dropping 1 drop of Orange Vitality and 1 drop of Nutmeg Vitality on a cinnamon stick and putting it in each mug along with a slice of orange, you could also drop the oils on the orange.

Wassail

• 2 quarts apple juice

• 1 quart cranberry juice

• 46 oz of pineapple juice (1 can Dole Pineapple Juice)

• 2 oranges, 1 sliced orange for full pot and 1 orange sliced for mugs

• 20-25 whole cloves

• 5 whole star anise

• 5 cinnamon sticks, plus cinnamon sticks for individual mugs

• 1 drop Orange Vitality (per individual cinnamon stick)

• 1 drop Nutmeg Vitality (per individual cinnamon stick)

1. Slice one orange into 4 or 5 slices, push 4-5 cloves into each orange slice and set aside.

2. Add juice to 1 dutch over (or large stock pot) on the stove.

3. Add the orange slices with cloves in them, 5 cinnamon sticks and 5 star anise to the juice mixture. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

4. Once Wassail is almost finished, prepare the mugs. Drop 1 drop Orange Vitality and 1 drop Nutmeg Vitality on one cinnamon stick, repeat and prepare 15 cinnamon sticks.

5. Slice the other orange into thin slices. Pour Wassail into each mug, top with a slice of orange and an essential oil cinnamon stick.

Plus, for you wine drinkers (raises hand), add a 1/2 bottle - 1 bottle of any red wine and you have yourself an alcoholic Wassail that is sure to make anyone cheery!

The BEST Peppermint Brownies!

Okay friends. These brownies are about to change yo’ life!!!

They are the perfect treat to bring to all your Holiday parties coming up. And when people ask “HOW are these so good?!” you say….”Essential oils, duh! Oils make everything better.”

But seriously. I am pretty good at controlling myself when it comes to my sweet tooth. BUT THESE. I can only bake them when I know people are coming over or I am bringing them to a friend because I will eat the whole pan if I am left to myself. They call my name, whisper softly…

Peppermint Essential Oil is great for digestion! So these babies won’t have you feeling “ick” when you’re done.

Peppermint Brownies

Ingredients

-½ cup melted coconut oil

-1 cup sugar

-2 eggs

-1 tsp vanilla extract 

-⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

-½ cup all purpose flour (I use Bobs Red Mill all purpose to make these gluten free!)

-¼ tsp salt

-¼ tsp baking powder

-3-4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil 

-Sprinkle with powdered sugar when fresh out of oven

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees

2. Line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper

3. Mix together melted coconut oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract in a bowl. 

4. In a separate bowl mix together unsweetened cocoa powder, flour, salt and baking soda.  

5. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients. Mix together until just blended. Don’t overmix—-we don’t want hard brownies!

6. Add 3-4 drops Peppermint Essential Oil. 

7. Pour into prepared baking dish. Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center. 

8. When done baking, place baking pan on a cooling rack, sprinkle with powdered sugar and let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy! 

Healthy Cookies Exist!

If you’re wondering if something gluten free, dairy free and sugar free can taste good... the answer is hell yes!

It’s a rainy and dreary day here. And honestly my emotions were feeling the same. I knew I needed to step into my kitchen for some kitchen therapy but I wanted to make something sweet that wouldn’t make me feel the yuck. I found a recipe that sounded good but tweaked it to make it completely gluten + dairy free and used natural sugars to sweeten it up. Topped with sea salt? OH so dreamy.

I hope you give this recipe a try. I bet if you made it for friends, they wouldn’t even be able to tell you tricked them into eating something delicious and healthy for them.

Molasses chocolate chip cookies topped with sea salt for this rainy afternoon agenda. 🍪
——
-1 1/2 cup gluten free flour  
-1/4 cup molasses
-1/4 cup pure maple syrup 
-1/4 cup local honey
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp ground ginger 
-1/2 tsp cloves 
-2 eggs 
-1/4 cup coconut oil melted to room temp 
-1/4 cup vegan choc chips 
-Sprinkle with sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt coconut oil on stove on low heat, set aside and let cool to room temp.

3. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside.

4. Combine wet ingredients.

5. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whip until just combined.

6. Fold in chocolate chips.

7. Drop 1 Tablespoon of dough onto prepared baking sheet with parchment paper, repeat until dough is gone.

8. Bake 6-7 minutes, remove and let sit on baking sheet for 2 more minutes.

9. Place on wire wrack to cool.

10. Enjoy!

Bake @350 degrees for 6-8 min depending on size