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Archives for September 2015

Homemade No-Bake Granola Bars

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homemade granola bars

Ok, we already know you’re that awesome mom who’s got bus stop cookies going from time to time.

How about upping the health factor while still maintaining all the sprinkle and colorful fun? Watch your little’s eyes widen when they arrive home from school and find these no-bake granola bars! They’ll get excited about the rainbow sprinkles and mini chocolate chips. You’ll get excited about the whole grain oats, flax seed, minimal sugar, and the fact that they are gluten free. Obviously that means they are healthy.

Oh and hey! These are no-bake granola bars. Could not be easier. A win for everyone, I’d say! Whip some up today.

Homemade No Bake Granola Bars
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Ingredients
  1. 6 TBSP unsalted butter
  2. ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  3. ¼ cup honey
  4. 2 TBSP cup brown sugar [light or dark]
  5. 1 + ½ tsp vanilla extract
  6. ⅛ tsp sea salt, extra to taste
  7. 2 cups quick-cooking or instant oats
  8. 2 cups crispy rice cereal [like Rice Krispies]
  9. ¼ cup flax meal or wheat germ
  10. 2 TBSP mini chocolate chips
  11. 3-4 TBSP rainbow chips
Instructions
  1. Bring a saucepan to medium heat and melt your butter.
  2. After melting the butter, add your maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and sea salt and stir to mix.
  3. Turn heat to low, simmer until bubbly, then whisk and remove from heat. Next add the flax, oats, and cereal and stir until the dry ingredients are fully coated.
  4. Fold in your chocolate chips and pour into a 9X9 square pan.
  5. Using a spatula, press the mixture down, then top with rainbow chip sprinkles and press down gently so they will set.
  6. Chill in fridge for 1-2 hours, this will help the bars cool and set. Remove from pan using foil/parchment and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into rectangular bars or squares and enjoy!
Adapted from Peas and Crayons
Adapted from Peas and Crayons
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Win a $50 Gift Card for the Carolyn Cochrane Etsy Shop!

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Carolyn Cochrane Giveaway

Gosh, I am such a sucker for Etsy. Rightfully so though. I mean, have you spent time on there?

I have. Too much.

Recently while looking for some peaceful ocean images for a friend, I stumbled upon Carolyn Cochrane’s darling little shop. Well, not little I guess. The girl has 721 five star reviews. Not too shabby.

And I’ll make that 722. Her customer services was awesome. She was prompt, helpful, and totally into her beautiful work. So I asked if we could team up for a giveaway for my blog followers, and I got a very enthusiastic “YES!” Yippee.

So, what’s in it for you… how about a chance to win a $50 gift card towards anything in her shop! This pumpkin print is totally calling my name… so dreamy.

To be entered to win, simply subscribe to both of our newsletters! That way, you’ll never miss an exciting beat! It’s as easy as clicking the links below:

(Be sure to confirm your email address on BOTH subscriptions to complete the sign-up process!)

For a bonus entry, be sure to visit her shop and then come back here and leave a comment, letting me know what you’ll purchase if you win the giveaway!

Just be sure to get entered by this Sunday night, October 4, at 11:59pm EST. The winner will be randomly selected (and entries will be verified), and then announced on Monday over on my Facebook page. Be sure you’re following me there so you don’t miss out!

The fine print: No purchase necessary. Giveaway is open to entrants worldwide, except where prohibited by law. Giveaway will run from September 28 through October 4, 2015 at 11:59pm EST. One (1) winner will be randomly selected and once verified, will be notified via email. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize; failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the prize. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest do not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. By participating in this promotion, entrants give their permission for their email address to be added to the A Life From Scratch newsletter list.

C’s picks – week of September 27th

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weekly menu plan week of 9-27

Big game for our Barrington Broncos today, we are 4-0. Let’s make it 5-0!

Aside from football, we’ve got a lot of family fun going on today. In the midst of it all though, as always, it’s time to work on our menu plan! Here’s what’s going down in our kitchen this week.

On Sunday night, the big boys are on their own at the Cubs game, how fun and special for L! I’ll be taking advantage and getting my favorite salmon on the grill, along with some grilled veggies. Glass of wine alone, ahhhhh. 

Oh my goodness these need to happen on Monday. Healthy so I’m happy, buffalo chicken so M is happy.

Tuesday is a football night, which means a quick meal. Have you made this one yet? Amazing.

Wednesday night mom is OUT! Can’t wait to hang with my favorite ladies, who also just happen to be my family (!!!), here.

Back to reality for Thursday. That means juggling football, carpool, and getting dinner on the table, which needs to happen quick. This is one of my favorite crock pot meals, ever. And oh my dear I need to update that photo… but that’s how long we’ve been eating this recipe. Since before I knew how to actually photograph food. 

That brings us to Friday and to the eve of having roughly 22 families over Logan’s birthday. Pray for no rain, please, will you? I’d appreciate it so much. Since I’m sure I will be fretting over flowers and hiding aluminum bats  and motorcycles and setting tables and making antipasto platters and cleaning like crazy, well, take out from here sounds pretty. darn. good.

That’s our kitchen line up for the coming week. I’d love to hear about yours! Will you share this week’s menu plan in a comment below?

End of summer chili.

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End of Summer Chili

Fall can be such a tease, can’t it?

You want it. You know you do. The cozy sweaters, the slick leather boots, the pinot noir, the bubbling stews. It’s all luring you in with its cinnamon spiced goodness. 

And yet with all the good that fall brings, it has one serious negative. Fall = winter is coming.

I still twitch thinking about winter. Really, I do. I told M I actually might need therapy over it all. I mean, COME ON. Do you guys remember this? Clearly I am not over it. 

I can’t. I just can’t. I don’t understand how people can live in an environment where they can’t go outside. With kids. Boys, specifically. It’s all so horrid. It hurts. 

And yet there is something to be said for aching to make something over the stove.  You don’t want to give up the grill just yet, or maybe ever, but chopping away and seasoning and sauteeing, it’s well, all good things. All good things.

This recipe is a classic from ALFS. I’ve updated it over the years, so I feel it deserves a new post highlighting the changes. When I looked back at what it was originally called, Football Comfort, I just had to laugh. So true in so many ways.

This is the perfect end of summer chili recipe to make when you are looking for some kitchen comfort, yet not quite ready to dive into the richer soups, stews, and chilis. This one is light. Think, farmers market goodness all chopped into one warm bowl, highlighted by fresh herbs that you can still pick from your garden.

Stay away winter, and I’m so scarred I’m going to go as far as go. away. fall.

End of Summer Chili
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Ingredients
  1. 2 T olive oil
  2. 2 cups pulled rotisserie chicken
  3. 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  4. 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
  5. 1 large green pepper, chopped (I've been using roasted Hatch peppers since they are in season - so good!)
  6. 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  7. 1 tsp. minced fresh jalapeno pepper
  8. 1 zucchini, chopped into 1/2" pieces
  9. 1 yellow squash, chopped into 1/2" pieces
  10. salt & pepper
  11. 3 T. cumin
  12. 1 T. chili powder
  13. 1 T. sweet smoked paprika
  14. 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
  15. corn kernels cut from 4 large ears of fresh sweet corn (if I'm feeling lazy I will use Trader Joes roasted frozen corn)
  16. 2 14.5-oz. cans diced fire roasted tomatoes (do not drain)
  17. 12 oz. beer or chicken broth (I used a full beer plus a few cups or so of chicken broth until I reached my desired consistency)
  18. juice and zest from 1 lime
  19. 1 c. chopped fresh herbs of your choice (I used 1/3 cup cilantro, 1/3 cup dill, 1/3 cup basil)
  20. Your choice of toppings! Crackers, avocado, cheese (we used a smoked gouda - a must!)
Instructions
  1. In a large heavy duty soup pot add the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, pepper, garlic, and jalapeno. Sautée for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Add zucchini and yellow squash and sautée an additional 5 minutes. Season generously with salt & pepper as well as remaining spices.
  3. Add corn, tomatoes, beer, and chicken stock. Stir to combine. Heat until bubbling and then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes.
  4. Add chicken to the pot, followed by the fresh lime juice and zest. Right before serving, stir in the fresh herbs. Adjust to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  5. Serve with your choice of toppings and enjoy!
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/

Mediterranean Salad

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mediterannean salad

The boys and I have a little tradition of hitting up our fav spot every time M travels. It’s to die for food that extends beyond its amazing pizzas. I’m drawn to the salads in particular. They are literally enough to feed an army with the freshest ingredients, and they go perfectly with a cold sauvignon blanc.

This summer their featured salad, or farmers market salad as they call it, was their Mediterranean Salad. Filled with mixed greens and chopped artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and toasted pine nuts… well, it was enough to keep me coming back again and again.

Finally I thought, I’ve got to figure out a way to make this at home for entertaining. Easy enough.

I tossed together the above mentioned ingredients and mixed with this killer dressing. Rave reviews from family and friends, yippee! The best part about this salad? Well, it’s just as good in the middle of the summer as in the dead of (ugh) winter. It’s going to be my go-to for quite some time.

Mediterranean Salad
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Ingredients
  1. Mixed greens
  2. Marinated artichokes, chopped
  3. Sundried tomatoes, chopped
  4. Roasted red peppers, chopped
  5. Pine nuts, toasted
  6. Above mentioned dressing
Instructions
  1. Mix above together and enjoy!
A Life From Scratch. https://a-life-from-scratch.com/
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