as my daughter calls them.."little balls of mmmmm"

I love new recipes, especially for all natural sorta treats that seem easy and yummy! So when I found this one, I couldn't wait to try it! I had all the ingredients I needed to do it right away!

http://fooddoodles.com/2011/06/28/one-bowl-all-natural-no-bake-energy-bites/

Thanks Money Saving Mom for this wonderfully easy and yummy recipe!

Energy Bites

makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size

1/2 C nut butter(almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter. Anything will work here)
1/3 C honey(I believe brown rice syrup would also work. I’m not sure of thinner sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave though as they may not hold together as well)
1 C old fashioned rolled oats(you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)
1 C shredded unsweetened coconut(you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed(I wouldn’t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds. For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour)
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt
1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations(optional)
1/2 C other addins(any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc)

In a large bowl add the nut butter, honey or other sweetener, vanilla and salt if needed. If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine. If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything. Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients.

I honestly didn't measure my ingredients. I took a good guess at the measurements. You can measure if you like, I just hate measuring peanut butter and honey :) I added chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and dried cranberries as well as some cinnamon to mine. The cranberries were my favorite part of these! I want to try some with rice crispies next time.. and maybe some crushed up graham crackers at some point too. I love these because you can make them in many different ways and they should still taste great! I was planning on using these for trips to Yellowstone or other hiking trips, but it appears this first batch won't make it that long :)

If yours are too sticky you can considering adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren’t as sticky. Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.

have fun with these! It's a great snack that my whole family likes.. which can be a miracle in some cases. The best part is, you can make these to suite all the different members of your household and you won't even get upset because they are just that easy!

hey there!! Updates galore

I've added a few new features to the blog. Now you can search my blog.. which will make it much much easier to find things you need! I will be attempting to make a few more improvements, but my HTTP skills aren't so very good, so it may be a slow and painful process. I've already discovered I'm having technical issues with some of my links on the side. I apologize, but have them up there as best as I can seem to get them currently.
I've added a swagbucks swidget to allow easier search for swag codes.

I will try to be more active in posting things on my blog, If I figure out how to make separate pages, I will be much much more active. It doesn't LOOK that hard haha.. I will just have to take the time to get it done.

homemade seasoned fries

these look super delicious! I can't wait to try them!

http://www.pbs.org/parents/kitchenexplorers/2011/03/17/seasoned-baked-french-fries/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Fanpage&utm_campaign=PBS%2BParents

homemade root beer

This looks pretty simple and I've been told it's quite good. I cant wait to try it out!

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/ROOTBEER_Jn0.htm

update: apple thingy recipe

I scored a monster good deal at the store and did in fact make the apple thingy recipe. I didnt' exactly follow it to a T... but I did a close rendition.. added my own amounts of cinnamon, sugar and a dash of vanilla. It was rather tasty.. once I finally got it cooked enough. It wasn't overly tasty when dealing with not fully cooked biscuits.. but it was mostly a texture issue for me, not so much a taste issue.

all in all. I say try it.. it's pretty good :)

sarah's apple thingy recipe

another blogger shared this super sounding recipe, and I cannot wait to try it. getting an swesome deal on grands biscuits tomorrow, so I will pick up the other ingredients to make them! mmmmmmm!

Thanks Sarah's deals!!

http://www.sarahsdeals.net/2010/10/recipe-these-grands-biscuit-apple.html

not overly healthy.. but mmmmm!

update on the sweet and spicy sweet potatoes

I made the potatoes for Christmas dinner and while they were good.. they were WAY too spicy for me. I'm thinking lower the ginger and the cayenne and they will be awesome!