New Favorite Eats Around Here

These are our new, favorite, fresh-off-the-presses treat around here.  Like, We-just-found-this-Saturday-and-we've-already-made-four-batches treat.  I love/Love/LOVE carrot cake (which is why I love these muffins we make), so when I came across this recipe on Saturday morning (on Pinterest?  FB? Can't remember), I showed it to Elisabeth and said, "We should totally try this...I think they would be great!"  

And then I went out and mowed. 

And when I came back inside - voila, presto - E had made them!  (It is very handy (and dangerous) to have a 12-year old that loves to piddle in the kitchen!)

And they were gone before we went to bed Saturday night.  

So Sunday afternoon she made a double batch.  I took some to our Community Group on Sunday evening...which shows you how much we love those people.  

(Modifications: Elisabeth used 1/2 dates and 1/2 raisins instead of all dates, because....$$$.  And she subbed chia seeds for hemp hearts because we had them and they are super healthy for us.  Oh, and the second time we made them we (ok, I) sprinkled a little nutmeg and cloves in there along with the cinnamon because...YUM!)

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I don't have and photos of this recipe which is totally lame...but here goes...

We love the Chia Energy balls (we shape them into balls instead of bars) from Wellness Mama.  I originally found them in her cookbook I bought (LOVE her and wanted to support her), but HERE is a link to the recipe on her blog.

It is great to have something we can nibble on quick when it is mid-morning and we are plugging away at school.  And these little treats only have 4 ingredients...win/win!

(Modifications: We sub raisins for the dates to save money (and we just didn't have any dates on hand when we first tried this).  Out of the optional add-ins we only use shredded coconut.)

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Our two youngest still can't have eggs right now (I am taking the bumps that appear on G's face and the bumps that appear on A's belly as signs!).  So when I came across this egg-free "cookie" recipe I really wanted to give it a try for the babies.  

Coconut Banana Cookies

Just three ingredients - coconut, banana, raisins (we could add walnuts, but usually don't)

We shape them like big, thick cookies...and the babies LOVE these!  In fact, everyone loves these...and I have to tell them "Hands OFF!" so there are some left for G and A!!  

She was hoping that if she smiled big I wouldn't notice how much banana she snuck

G was very serious about his mixing...

...but also had a great time!

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And finally, here is our new favorite hearty meal...Sausage and White Bean Soup.  

We all (every. single. one. of the 8 of us) love this soup. Win!

And...I love how everyone is able to get in on the fun of making this soup.  

Here LK is prepping the garlic:

Noah is getting the sausage ready: 

We use venison sausage from the deer Jas got this winter

The onions on the counter (above Noah's left shoulder) in the background of this pic show Elisabeth's work station. I don't know how I missed a pic of her!)

Daniel washed and cut off the stem end of the carrots, and G fed them into the processor:

Daniel was very happy with me for some reason that I cannot recall now:

And here is how Abigail contributed:

She loves it!

This might not look like a happy face, but this is one of her current "camera smiles"...
she is going through an awkward phase

(Modifications: We use navy beans that I cook, not canned.  We use coconut oil to sauté the veggies at first, instead of olive oil...because olive oil has a lower smoke point and can burn and is best left for cold applications, like dressing. We use kale for our "green" in this recipe.  We omit the lemon juice...because I am lazy.)