Yesterday we went to mass and then ran a ton of errands. Usually afterwards, I'm beat and ready for a nap (I hate running errands), but yesterday I rested for a bit, and then spent the rest of the afternoon/evening working in the kitchen, made dinner, fit in a quick run, and gave all the girls a shower. The only way I can explain all this extra energy is that I went on a three mile run on Friday and the energy carried over throughout the weekend. Plus, I find working in the kitchen can be relaxing when you have someone to help with the kids!
I didn't run all last week. Consequently, my headaches were at a level ten (I have daily TMJ headaches), I didn't sleep well, and I was super depressed. I need to get my lazy feet out the door and remember to run at least every other day.
Anyway, here are a couple of the things I made yesterday:
Hungry Man's Double Chocolate Trail Mix: Dark chocolate covered pretzels, dark chocolate covered raisins, dried cranberries, raw almonds, raw pecans.
Daniel is notorious for grabbing a handful of chocolate chips when he is hungry. This kills me because 1) Chocolate chips are for baking 2) There is zero nutrition in that and chocolate chips are not filling. I finally got around to making him this mix and stuck it where the chocolate chips used to be.
We are trying to save money in every way possible. So I decided to be
the biggest freak on the block and make my own dog treats. I realize dogs aren't vegan, but obviously, we only have
vegan ingredients in our home, so these ended up being veg. Doesn't
matter because she loves them. This was a fun project for Thérèse and me while Monique and Athena slept.
Vegan Pumpkin Doggie Cookies
2 1/2 cups flour (I used self rising flour because I've been trying to use it up)
2 tbsp ground flax seed mixed in 6 tbsps water
2/3 cup pumpkin purée
3 tbsp peanut or almond butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place flour, flax seed mixture, pumpkin and nut butter in a mixing bowl. Stir it together then add oil. Add more water if too dry, add flour if too wet. Stir and then knead together to form a dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch think. I used an empty spice jar to cut out 1-inch cookies. Keep rolling out and cutting till all the dough is used up. Place on a baking sheet, it's okay to crowd them since they won't be expanding. Bake for 25 minutes for crunchy cookies.
Tip: I used canned pumpkin purée from thanksgiving. Since I didn't use the whole can, I divided the remaining pumpkin into three zip lock baggies putting 2/3 cup into each one and freezing, ready for the next time I make these.
EXPERIMENT OF THE DAY:
I also made bagels! What?? They turned out to be more like unleavened bread. Daniel figures there must be something wrong with the yeast (expired or opened to long) because I followed the directions perfectly and they didn't rise. I didn't realize till the last step that they were not shaping up to be the way they were supposed to be. Whoops. I was about to have a melt down, but Daniel gave me a lecture about how I can't expect perfection when I try something the first time. Apparently this is the same talk he gives his emotionally disturbed students everyday. Great.
Here are some girl pics for you all:
Athena and Thérèse morning cuddles.
The four of us after our shower and so ready for bed!
After this busy weekend, I'm okay with it being Monday. Kind of. Kind of okay with Monday. You know what makes Mondays great? Freezer crock pot lasagna! All made and defrosting in the sink. I used one of my freezer slow cooker meals last week and was so excited by the zero work and five minute clean up! I was so pumped that I made two more meals Friday morning before I left town for a couple days. Why did I never do this before?
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