Homemade almond milk and flour

We've been off cow milk for almost a year around here. We drink almond. For along time I have been unhappy with the amount of additives in our milk whether cow, soy or almond. 

Then the other day I hopped on Pinterest to browse around and to my surprise one of the people I was following had pinned all sorts of homemade almond milk recipes and ideas.  Then there was a light bulb... 

... I could make almond milk at home without the additives. 

So I tried a few recipes it was all fairly easy but in the end I did it my own way. 

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

4-8 cups filtered water

vanilla extract to taste

I went with a simpler recipe without added sugar and just a touch of pure vanilla extract.

Steps:

1. soak raw almonds in water overnight. (just enough water to cover the almonds) This soaking process helps breakdown the almonds. You will dump this water before blending.

2. Place almonds and water 2-3 cups at a time in blender. Blend for about 2 minutes until mixture is white. 

3. Strain into either cheese cloth, nut bag or as I used a pastry cloth. If you are using a pastry cloth I would suggest wetting the cloth first just so it is damp. 

4. Squeeze extra milk from cloth. 

5. You can repeat steps 2-4 with the same almonds just simply put it back in the blender. 

After creating your homemade almond milk place it in the refrigerator for 4-6 days. 

You can make almond flour by taking the left over almond mush placing it on a baking sheet and cooking at 350 until dried about 15 minutes. After the almond mush is dried place in dry blender or food processor and pulse until flour consistency. 

Banana oatmeal cookies

I keep seeing these really yummy looking recipes on pinterest for cookies that only have a few ingredients. And for a while I have shied away from them with the thought that how could something so simple actually taste good. The other morning I got a random early morning text from my neighbor and friend about oatmeal banana cookies that in her words were amazing. Intrigued I asked about what all was in them. Simple 3 ingredients quick oats, bananas and chocolate chips. Easy enough!

I have to say they aren't quite cookies but I am not sure what else you could call them other than delicious. To me they taste like banana bread. They are totally kid approved also. 

I made some changes to the recipe making it my own. I replaced the quick oats with rolled oats and added some flax. Now brace yourself this may be the easiest cookie recipe you will ever try.

 Ingredients:
2 ripe or over ripe bananas
1 cup oats
1 table spoon ground flax (optional)
1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

I mashed the bananas and oats together with a fork then mixed in the flax and chocolate chips. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Seriously it's that easy. 

Berry scones

I’m about to be real honest here... I LOVE SCONES. It’s not that I think scones are okay, I LOVE these amazing treats. Scones are so versatile all the delicious flavors mmmm I am seriously making myself hungry. 

Growing up I don't remember ever having a scone. It sounds like something my parents would like but I just don't remember eating them... We were a big cereal family. 

I remember when and where I fell in love with these bad boys. During college I started working for one of the best companies out there Starbucks Coffee Co. And man oh man did they have some delish scones. My love only grew from there. Now not to knock what the Sbucks has going on but homemade scones are by far the best I have ever had. 

Here you have it the recipe for my delicious fresh berry scones(you can totally use frozen):

Breakfast pizza

2 years ago I had my first breakfast pizza. I was with my husband and brother. We were at Old Chicago watching the World Cup it was 8 in the morning. The restaurant opened early for the US game. We drank beer at 8 and ate a delicious pizza.

Fast-forward 2 years…

We’re not a very creative breakfast family. We eat cereal, oatmeal, toast/bagels and every Saturday I make pancakes. I think I need to branch out.

Earlier in the week we found all natural sausage and bacon at the market. (We don’t typically eat much pork but we wanted to give it a try).

Okay so on to the pizza.
You simply cook up your bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs just like you normally would.

While the meat was cooking I made the pizza dough. I always use this recipe. It’s quick, easy, and really good.

Once my dough is ready I cook it for half the time. Then pull it out and layer with eggs, meat, and cheese.

Put the pizza back in the oven and let it cook for the remainder of time or until the crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Oatmeal cookies

Oatmeal cookies are special to me. Not special because they are my favorite cookie but special because of the memories that go along with them. Growing up I can remember being in the kitchen with my dad baking away. We baked all sorts of things! Cookies, cakes, pies, brownies, the list could go on and on. I loved making cookies but boy oh boy was I BAD at it. I over melted the butter they came out flat, I forgot how many cups of flour I had already added they tasted funny, I over beat, I forgot the timer, I did EVERYTHING wrong, but my dad ate them with a smile. Even with all my mess-ups we still made them year after year together.

Thankfully, I have now mastered the art of the cookie. These oatmeal cookies are truly delicious even though they are without nuts and raisins (the hubby isn’t a fan).

The big pouty lip indicates deep concentration.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups oats

Directions In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.

Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture.

Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.