Monday quickly.

My heart swells with love for this girl more and more everyday.  

This morning's highlights:  Tying blankets up as cape's, which clearly indicates to Ingrid that we were playing "Rapunzels".  Makes sense.  We had some good fun.  

{My favorite}

{Mom as Darth Vader, at her request}

Typically, I am a Minnesota winter girl all-the-way.  I love when it's so freezing that my toe's hurt, it means that I've been outside and I deserve to go inside, curl up by the fire & drink some hot tea.  But, this year January is clearly having some identity issues as it disguises itself as April.  So we figure, if you can't beat em'-join em'.  

{Non-Photoshoped January grass}

******************************

A few things I'm loving lately...

{Books}

The Yukon Quest

{Movies & Such}

Our Idiot Brother

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Revenge

*******

Happy Monday!

What I'm reading: Food

Last night I made another recipe out of my favorite cookbook, Deceptively Delicious, and it was awesome!  I'd do a back flip, jumping jacks, and somersaults to tell you how much I adore this cookbook-but I think you get the point.  Packed with protein, and cheesy goodness-this is definitely one of my favorite macaroni and cheese recipes of all time. 

INGREDIENTS

-1 1/2 cups of whole wheat elbow macaroni

-1 Cup of nonfat milk (we used whole instead, because of the little one)

-1/2 Cup of navy beans, chickpeas, or white beans, drained, and pureed

-Non stick cooking spray

- 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

-1/8 teaspoon each of garlic powder, paprika, & pepper

-Panko bread crumbs, if desired

DIRECTIONS

1.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to package direction until al dente.  Drain in a colander

2.  While the macaroni is cooking, combine the milk and beans in a food processor and process until pureed.

3.  Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and set it over medium heat.  Add the bean/milk mixture to the pan and cook, stiring until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the cheese and cook until melted and creamy, 1 to 2 m inutes.  Stir in salt, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper.  Stir in macaroni and serve warm.

Okay, here is where I changed the recipe a bit.  Instead of serving just like that, I transferred the mac and cheese to a greased casserole dish, added a few frozen pea's, and topped with panko bread crumbs.  The I baked at about 375 for 35 minutes or until top is golden brown.  I love a little crunch!  I hope you enjoy this recipe!

"What I"m reading" (recipe)

So as of late I've been reading all sorts of good books.  Mostly fantastical, to quench my inner child's imagination.  However, I got a book for Christmas that might be one of my all time favorites....and it's a cook book!  Now, I'm not just being dramatic when I say this-but this cookbook has seriously changed my life!!  It's call "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld.  It's all about hiding vegetables in everyday meals.  I don't have time to go on and on about how much I love this book, but I will say this-Ingrid is the pickiest eater!!  I hate to admit, but she hasn't consistently eaten vegetables since she was on baby food.  It's nothing we did or didn't do, she is just a picky eater.  I have salted, sugared, buttered and done anything else you can imagine to a vegetable to get her to ate least try it, and nothing works!  So I decided it was time for another approach, and this cookbook has solved my problem!  I highly recommend it to anyone who has picky eaters, or just anyone looking to add more nutrition to their family's diet.  So far I have made pancakes with sweet potato's, grilled cheese with pureed squash, rice balls with carrots, maccaroni and cheese with pureed beans, and today-chococlate oatmeal cookies with chickpeas!  I will definitley be sharing these recipes with you...because they are ah-mazing!  On a exciting note, since starting our meal plan out of this cookbook, Ingrid has actually taken to eating raw carrots....which is a HUGE step in the right direction!  I'm over the moon! 

Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

-Nonstick cooking spray

-1 Cup of firmly packed brown sugar

-3/4 cup of butter or trans-fat-free margarine spread

-2 large egg whites

-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

-1 15oz can of chickepea's, drained and rinsed

-2 cups of chocolate chips

-2 cups of all purpose flour

-1/2 cup of old fashioned oats

-1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Directions

1.  Preheat the oven to 350F.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray

2.  In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth.  Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chikpeas and chocolate chips.  Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, and mix on low wpeed until a thick dough forms.

3.  Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.  Press gently with a fork to flatten.  Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11 to 13 minutes; do not over bake.  Transfer to a rack to cool.

4.  Don't tell your kids they have beans :)

I let these cookies cool, then tried one-and you can't even tell they have beans-score 1 point for protein!  I hope you enjoy these cookies, and I look forward to sharing all the new recipes I'm trying!