Chicken Broth

When I need a little "help" with dinner I will pick up a rotisserie chicken from Sam's Club. It is $4.98 and we use it for several meals. I usually take a breast and the legs off for dinner. I take the rest of the meat off and use for nachos, quesadillas or salad for dinner the next night. I also use it to make meals for the twins. My favorite part of buying the chicken is using the "carcass" to make chicken broth. I just throw the bones and skin into the pot, add water and a few other ingredients and let it simmer. Use whatever you have on hand to flavor the broth. I use the broth for soup, white chicken chili, or to boil egg noodles in. Hope this helps you save a few dollars in your grocery budget!

Ingredients:

Chicken Carcass (lol)

Water

Salt/Pepper

Clove of Garlic

Carrots

Celery

Onion

Separate your chicken from the bones/skin.

Cover the chicken bones/skin with water in a large pot. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic and spices to season. Bring to a boil and then allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes.

Allow to cool and transfer to the fridge or freezer until you are ready to use it!

Healthy Chewy Granola Bars

Marybeth sent some yummy treats. SO thoughtful.

My friend Marybeth gave me some YUMMY granola bars as a house warming gift a couple weeks ago. They were SO good I have made them twice since then. I love all the ingredients in them. They are made with coconut oil, which I love baking with! I have used it to make rice krispy treats, and you would never know the difference! Thanks Marybeth for such an addicting recipe! Visit her blog here for cute inspiration and great recipes.

Healthy Chewy Granola Bars

Ingredients:

1 c peanut butter (i used natural chunky)

2/3 c honey

1/2 c coconut oil

2 c oats

2 c total of coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seed (or make it your own!)

Chocolate Chips or Chopped Dark Chocolate

Directions:

In a medium size pan melt together the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.

Remove from the heat and add in the nuts, oats and coconut.

Place in a 8 x 11 pan (or something similar) and smooth down the top. Sprinkle with coconut and chocolate.

Chill until set and cut into bars. Keep these stored in the fridge and ENJOY!

Morning Oats

Our Beautiful Kitchen

We have finally moved into our new home! We love everything about it and really appreciate all the little things. My favorite room of our house is the kitchen. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I love that it opens up to the living room. It has a dishwasher (my first!), granite, and several outlets. Our last little house only had 2 outlets for the entire kitchen. I know our kitchen has some amazing granite (which I love), but I can't get over the number of outlets.

Since things have been so busy here and baking has been slow, I thought I would post my favorite breakfast recipe. This is a breakfast I make for myself almost every day of the week. I love homemade oatmeal, and this is a quick and easy recipe. You can change it up with your favorite toppings for variety. The banana makes the oatmeal creamy and sweet. My favorite variation is Dark Chocolate Almond Butter and Coconut. Healthy and Hearty!

My Favorite Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/3 c old fashioned oats

2/3 c water

splash of milk

Half of a banana (sliced)

Add-in's

Nutella (yum)

Peanut Butter/Almond Butter

Raisins/Cinnamon

Blueberries/Strawberries

Almonds/Pecans

Brown Sugar

Coconut

Chocolate Chips

Throw everything in a small saucepan and turn the heat on medium. Wait until the oatmeal starts bubbling (about 3 minutes) and stir with a spoon for just a couple minutes. The bananas will heat up and melt into the oatmeal. When the oatmeal is thick, top with your favorite add-ins and enjoy a yummy breakfast.

Peach Pie Bars

I can't believe it is already July! Summer is just flying by for us. I hope you are enjoying the HOT weather. Here is a recipe for Peach Pie Bars. I made these a couple weeks ago and am just now getting around to post. These are wonderful!

Peach Pie Bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

3 c flour

1 c sugar

1 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 c COLD unsalted butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling:

5 c diced peaches

2 T lemon juice

1/2 c flour

1 c sugar

1/4 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 baking pan.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, b.powder and salt. Use a pastry blender (or your kitchen aid with the paddle) to cut in the butter and the egg. The dough will be very crumble. Press half the dough into the pan.

For the filling Place the peaces in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. In another bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour over the peaces and gently mix.

Spread the filling over the crust. Crumble the remaining crust mixture over the peach mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!