Snippets from our weekend~

The Bigger Boys enjoying dinner out~

A mini helper in the garden~

We had a birthday party too~

The weather has been so nice...picnic time!

They are such a big help around the house~

Daddy took them on a strange adventure~

Growing so big and strong~

Hope you all had a great weekend as well!

xoxo

No Bake Chocolate Macaroons~

 These are one of my most favorite "raw" desserts I've ever made. If you like coconut then you will love these little guys ;) After you dehydrate them, they will be crispy on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside, the most perfect combo.....they are almost gone in my house and it hasn't even been 24 hours since I've made them!

Raw Chocolate Macaroons
2 cups unsweetened organic coconut shreds
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder
1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut butter/oil
a sprinkle of sea salt
that's all!

Mix all ingredients with a large spoon and then form into 1 inch balls with your fingers and dehydrate for 5-10 hours or put in fridge and eat them chilled w/o dehydrating. Either way is so delicious and I've even been thinking this recipe would be a delicious crust for a raw pudding or fruit pie. mmmmmmm.....

The homemade coconut butter made from dried coconut shreds and the Vitamix blender.

                                            

Dehydrated at 105 degrees F in the Excalibur

The finished product! This recipe made exactly 25 macaroons so adjust the recipe to make more for sure :) Also, if chocolate is not your thing, you can make them "blonde" by replacing the cocoa powder with almond flour and it's just as delicious~ In joy.

Beefless Stew so good it will make your toes curl~

Wow, today was an intense day! My iphone died and i ended up losing 1000+ pictures and videos from the past six months that were not retrievable....huge bummer. But now I have learned to back them up and that will never happen again...fingers crossed~ I got a new phone just in time though so I could take some lovely pictures of tonights dinner. We were busy and I had many intense conversations with fabulous women (Yay for Women's Day) but the highlight for the family was the dinner, of course :) I've been inspired by so much lately and I wanted to point out one blog in particular that is just so interesting to me: /http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/

The recipe below was inspired by one from this blog so I wanted to give credit where credit is due~

We rarely eat "meat and potatoes" dinners so this was a huge treat for all because of it's thick and chewy texture and deep flavor. 

Ingredients are as follows:

2 onions chopped

5 large carrots chopped

1 1/2 cups peas

olive oil

1/3 cup flour

1 pound Gardein brand beefless tips (vegan beef)

3 cups veggie broth

2 cloves garlic

5 bay leaves

6 large potatoes chopped

sea salt

pepper

 First you chop all of the veggies and then saute the carrots and onions for about 5 minutes in 3 TBS olive oil. Then add the vegan beef (it's delicious and filled with protein) and saute another five minutes or so until the "beef" is cooked through. Add the flour to soak up all of the oil. This is also what makes the stew so thick. Then, add the three cups of broth (or three cups water with two veggie bouillon cubes) and the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 20 minutes. There is no need to cook any longer than this because everything will become tender and soft and full of flavor. Remember to add sea salt and pepper to your liking.
                                               
After the stew begins boiling, fry the potatoes in another 3 TBS of olive oil until they are browned on all sides. They should be done at the same time as the stew. Add the peas and cook several more minutes.

The potatoes look so good right?!

Serve the stew in a deep bowl and add the potatoes on top.

A close up of the Gardein brand beefless tips~ I think they are pretty great tasting for being meat-free~

And dinner was over in a shorter amount of time than it took to cook...story of my life ;) My husband even told me this was so good I need to save the recipe!! Full Bellies in the house~