What I lack in sewing abilities...

I make up for in the kitchen!  I have spent a lot of this Christmas break baking and trying new recipes.  A lot of them come from Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious Magazine, but some I found online.  I learned a few things about myself after all this time in the kitchen. 1: I've gotten a lot more comfortable with playing around with recipes.  I can comfortably guess measurements instead of stressing over being exact and I play with different flavors and spices. I used to be extremely recipe-reliant but I'm much more comfortable now.  2. I despise chopping.  Hate it. It's the most tedious, time-consuming and horrible task in any kind of food preparation.  Moving on...

I made a few types of cookies. Creme de Menthe Chocolate Drop cookies were not my favorite, but my dad and niece really liked them. They are simple cookies made with Hershey's cocoa powder and then Andes mints melted on top once they come out of the oven.

My favorite was the Macadamia Coffee Bean Cookies.  Although, the small food processor we have doesn't do a great job of finely chopping coffee beans.  It was more like a light shaving of the chocolate coating, but oh well. The cookies turned out delicious, nonetheless.

My mother found organic Chia seeds that are supposed to provide the same nutrients as fish oil pills (which are gross).  The seeds, however, are quite good.  We added them to chicken and rice onion soup the other night and Mom found a cookie recipe that used them along with dates and bananas.  They were surprisingly delicious and here's the recipe.

Chia Seed and Date Cookies

Ingredients:

-4 Tablespoons of white chia seeds

-4 Tablespoons of plain flour

-Half a small ripe banana

-2 tablespoons of chopped dates

-2 Tablespoons of rolled oats

-1 large egg

-2 tablespoons of honey

-1 and a half teaspoons of baking powder

-1 Tablespoon of water

Method:

-Grind the seeds and the flour together. This makes the seeds grind easier and aerates the flour.

-Put this mixture into a bowl and add the rolled oats.

-Blend together the banana, egg, dates, honey, baking powder and water.

-Add this to the dry ingredients in the bowl. Mix together. The consistency should be similar to a cake batter but not as runny as a pancake mix.

-Drop dessertspoons of the mixture on to an oiled tray. Bake in a medium oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned.

Just this afternoon I made French Breakfast Muffins.  My sister shared the recipe with me and I'm so glad she did! What easy and tasty muffins! Just look how pretty they are, too!

There are a few other things that I have made and plan to make in the near future.  I'll keep posting more successful en devours as they come and share the yummy recipes with you! Share your favorites with me on a comment below or on my Facebook page: Facebook.com/mmchrist.

Have a great week!