without excuse.

i was finishing up my first trimester during the holidays, and the season somehow slipped by before i got around to making my most favorite holiday cookie, mock toffee. i had the ingredients, and it really is a snap to make. i'm blaming pregnancy exhaustion and a great need to decompress from the first semester of school. not good enough? oh, well. who made it a rule that "christmas cookies" could only be made during december?

i am liberating you to january, mock toffee!

saltines
butter
white sugar
chocolate chips
foil
baking sheet

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. mix 1 cup sugar and 2 sticks (oh, yes) butter in a saucepan.

3. while butter and sugar are melting, line a baking sheet with foil.
4. line sheet with saltine crackers.

5. heat sugar and butter to a boil.

6. let it roll for 3 minutes until it's nice and bubbly.

7. pour sugar & butter mixture over crackers and spread.
8. place in oven for 5-8 minutes or until golden, see above.
(watch closely! it burns easily.)

9. pour 1 bag chocolate chips over the sugar & butter-coated crackers.

10. spread as chips begin to melt.

11. place in fridge or freezer or outside if it's cold enough (29!) until hardened.

12. break cooled cookies into pieces.

13. marvel at the glory!
14. store in the fridge to keep chocolate from melting, and ignore
the guilt of abandoning new year's resolutions already! :)

carrot and orange soup.

i made carrot and orange soup.

butter + onion + vegetable broth + carrot + orange juice = glory.
it's light and frothy and sweet and oh.my.word. GOOD.
it made a ton. i have some for lunch tomorrow & five other single servings in the freezer.
you should see how you can get invited over here for dinner asap. it's that good.

roasted garbanzo beans.

i've seen this idea on a couple different blogs, and since it's super simple i thought i'd try it.

you'll need one can of garbanzo beans (aka chick peas), organic if you like.

rinse the beans in a colander until the water isn't foamy anymore.

pat beans dry on a dish towel.

coat them in olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper.
you could totally get creative with the seasonings, which i intend to do in the future.

spread beans on a baking sheet.

place baking sheet into an oven heated to 350 degrees for 40ish minutes
or until the beans are browned and rattle when you shake them.

munch and enjoy.

crunchy and full of fiber (6 grams a serving), roasted garbanzo beans are
just right with a glass of mint iced tea on a summer saturday.

ellie endorsement: "yummy! they taste like chips!"
grayson endorsement: "more!"

simple sweet.

mix in a blender...

...some frozen fruit + some plain soy milk...
(clearly, this is not an exact recipe)

...+ one popsicle

and you'll get a yummy sweet smoothie that often eat for breakfast,
sometimes whenever i want something sweet and semi good for me.

it's not perfect, but it certainly beats copious amounts of mike & ikes, right?

remember, aiming for progress, not perfection.

quineuvos rancheros: a recipe found.

this.is.so.good. seriously, i think i ate it in 3 minutes flat.
i am full but still totally light feeling.
find the recipe here and expect lots of posts testing her recipes.
they all look amazing.

ingredients:

already prepared quinoa;
free-range, organic eggs;
freshly grated chedder cheese

cilantro; avocado; green bell pepper
(pepper from the farmers market, i added this to the original recipe)

green salsa from the texas hot sauce challenge c. 1992
(made in seguin, texas and SO INCREDIBLY GOOD)

salt and pepper to taste

a close-up of the best (and easiest!) lunch i've eaten in a long time.