Cooking With C.C. ~ Gluten Free Pumpkin Granola Chocolate BreakfastCookies

It's time for the 9th installment of Cooking with C.C. This is actually a recipe we originally made back in October. However, during the middle of baking, I had a horrific phone call about my health and had a major meltdown. Needless to say, we didn't get pictures taken of all the steps of the recipe. I finally got around to remaking the recipe and I think they turned out even better this time around. Let's get baking.


First, gather the ingredients (Kindle Fire is optional, but made it easy to have the recipe at hand without printing another piece of paper).


Chop 3 squares of Baker's Semi-sweet Chocolate into small pieces. Set aside.


Into a large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour,


1 teaspoon xanthan gum,


1 teaspoon baking soda,


1 teaspoon baking powder,


1/2 teaspoon salt,


1 teaspoon ground cinnamon,


1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice,


1/4 cup granulated sugar,


and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar.


Mix well.


Add chopped chocolate


and 1 3/4 cups gluten free rolled oats to bowl.


Mix well.


Mix in 1 tablespoon oil.


Mix in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.


Mix in 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature).


Mix in 2 beaten eggs.


Mix in 7 1/2 ounces (half of 15 ounce can) pure packed pumpkin.


Mix until dough is thick and stiff (but not as stiff as other cookie dough is).


Scoop dough into small balls (using a small melon baller is probably easiest) on baking sheets that are lined with foil and sprayed with baking spray. Put the baking sheets in the freezer for at least 10 minutes until dough is firm.


Preheat oven to 375*. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly brown around the edges and solid to the touch.


Cool cookies on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then move to cooling rack to finish cooling.

As I said above, I think these cookies turned out better this time than last time. Last time we used chocolate chips. I think the chopped chocolate spread through the cookies better thus giving a more consistent taste. Russ didn't care for the cookies, but he doesn't like rolled oats. I think everyone else really enjoyed them. And they aren't overly sweet so you really can eat them for breakfast. Trust me, I think I ate them for breakfast the last 4 days. LOL!

This recipe came from the Gluten Free on a Shoestring Blog. I made some changes to the recipe so if you want to be true to the recipe, you'll want to click over and follow it from there. Also, she has tons of other great recipes on a budget so check her blog out.

Hope you've enjoyed this episode of Cooking with C.C. I'll be back soon with another recipe. Let me know if you try this recipe. Can't wait to hear what you think. Enjoy!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

How can we have Christmas without some JibJab Elfin' fun. Here's Russ, Damaris, and I doing some Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

JibJab

Had to get the four cousins in on the action. It's not the best picture of new baby Wyatt, but the only one I could fine with his eyes open. Love seeing all four of them, James, Damaris, Lola, and Wyatt, together. We'll definitely have to get some pictures of them together this weekend.

JibJab

Have you JibJab'd? Let me know if you do. I'd love to see how your Elfin' turns out! :)

Happy Birthday Sister!

31 years ago today, my beautiful little sister Carrie was born. I dug through pictures in my Picasa account and found this picture of my sister right after she was born. This picture was taken when I was at the hospital visiting my Momma Beckey and new sister Carrie.


Seeing that picture definitely made a connection with this picture that I took just 5 days ago when Lola visited her Mommy Carrie and new brother Wyatt in the hospital.


Here is a picture of Carrie from just about a week and a half ago at a Christmas party we were at.


Happy birthday to the best sister in the world! I love you much and am so grateful for getting to spend some adult sister time with you these last few months. Thanks for being a great aunt to Damaris and a great sister-in-law to Russ. Have an amazing birthday and enjoy your special new gift! Love you!

Prayer for Advent

Now is the time of watching and waiting
A time pregnant with hope
A time to watch and pray.

Christ our Advent hope,
Remind us to prepare for your coming;
Remind us to prepare for this time
When the soles of your feet touch the ground,
When you will become one of us
To be a one with us.

May we watch for the signs,
Listen for the messengers,
Wait for the good news to slip
Into our world, our lives.
Christ our Advent hope,
Help us to clear the way for you;
To clear the clutter from our minds,
To sift the silt from our hearts,
To move the boulders that prevents us meeting you.

May sorrow take flight,
And your people sing a song of peace
And hope be born again.
Amen.

by Kate McIlhagga



Image courtesy of http://www.thepracticingcatholic.com

Welcome to the world Wyatt!

Yep, it's a boy which means I am officially an aunt again (and pretty darn excited about it)!

Wyatt Richard Frink was born this morning, Thursday, December 15, 2011, at 10:35am.
He weighs 7 pounds 9.5 ounces and is 21 inches long.

Right Now

I'm "stealing" this meme off of my online bff Jamee's blog A New Kind of Normal.



Right now I am:

watching: people watching those who are in the library & listening to Christmas music

eating: sneaking Christmas Sweettarts out of my backpack

drinking: nothing, you're not supposed to eat or drink in the library ;)

wearing: brown pants, maroon long sleeve shirt, multi-colored (think fall/winter colors) shawlette/scarf my friend Cheri made for me, disc earrings that are brown with pink flowers on them, brown socks, and my pink pop herringbone TOMS

avoiding: getting caught by a librarian for eating in the library (shhh, don't tell!)

feeling: hopeful yet apprehensive

missing: having a place of our own to live

thankful: that Wyatt will be born in about 40 hours!!!!! Thankful that Carrie has had a relatively easy pregnancy compared to her first one.

weather: cloudy and cold with more rain on the way

praying: praying for one of our possibilities to come through

needing: a whole new healthy body would be great, but I'd settle for a new right hip and back

thinking: about small group tonight where we'll be talking about Advent Conspiracy; this is something we (Russ, Damaris, and I) are very passionate about and I hope it is as meaningful to the rest of our small group as it has been to us

loving: my new Kindle Fire (her name is Lorelai) :)

What are YOU doing right now?


Image courtesy of McAWilliams

Why the Caged Birds Sing

This poem came into my email inbox this morning. I was so touched by it that I read it out loud to Russ and Damaris. I wanted to share it with yall and then I want to reflect about why it spoke to me below.

Why the Caged Birds Sing
by Maya Angelou

A free bird leaps on the back
Of the wind and floats downstream
Till the current ends and dips his wing
In the orange suns rays
And dares to claim the sky.

But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage
Can seldom see through his bars of rage
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
Of things unknown but longed for still
And his tune is heard on the distant hill for
The caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
And the trade winds soft through
The sighing trees
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright
Lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams
His shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
His wings are clipped and his feet are tied
So he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with
A fearful trill of things unknown
But longed for still and his
Tune is heard on the distant hill
For the caged bird sings of freedom.

~~~~~

I feel alot like the caged bird right now. It seems that my dreams are but memories. I long for changes - in my health, in Russ' job situation, in our living situation, in my ability to minister. Will any of these changes come to pass? I long for them. I long for freedom!

Did this poem speak to you? I'd love to hear your responses below in my comments. Let's talk about this together please.