almond joy granola cookies

I know I told you there wouldn't be any more recipes until I got home but, while I was supposed to be packing in the last hours before we left for our trip the other day, I was overcome with an incredible urge to bake.

I don't usually ignore those urges.  And that is usually a good decision!

This is a recipe of my Grandma's that I have passed over in my recipe book for years, but for some reason have never made.

Now I am just baffled about what took me so long...

These cookies are soft, chewy, moist and chock-full of energy and deliciousness!  They travel well, and pack more of a filling-punch than a most cookies.

We all loved them!

My grandma's original recipe (not sure where she got it from!) called for raisins and pecans instead of coconut and chocolate... but since I was using my homemade Coconut Almond Granola and needed a bit of chocolate in my life, I made a switch and it was a good one!

Almond Joy Granola Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups granola
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked or shredded coconut
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  Beat in the water, egg and vanilla until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix into the butter mixture until just combined.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Scoop the dough out onto your prepared baking sheets and bake for 13-15 minutes, until light golden brown on top.

Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely and store in tupperware!

homemade Rice-A-Roni with chicken

Does anyone else love Rice-A-Roni as much as we do?

Whenever we buy a rotisserie chicken from the store to have for dinner one night, the next night's leftovers are almost always paired with Rice-A-Roni.

But as much as I love it, I absolutely hate all the unnecessary stuff in the boxed mixes.

I don't really know why it took me so long to decide to make my own from scratch...  It's such a simple, delicious meal, and you won't miss the boxed stuff at all!

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This will be my last recipe post for a week or so, while we are on our little roadtrip down to Mexico...  but I will hopefully get to post a bit while we're on the road!

Maybe I'll just show you all the In-N-Out we will end up eating on this trip?  ;o)

I'm sure I will be having complete kitchen withdrawals by the time we get home and will be anxious to get right back into the swing of things!!

Homemade Rice-A-Roni with Chicken Recipe
adapted from Simply Scratch
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup long-grain rice
1 cup broken spaghetti noodles
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon dried parsley
2-3 cups cooked chicken

Directions:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Stir in the rice & noodles and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are golden and the butter is fragrant.

Stir in the chicken stock and spices and bring to a boil.  Stir in the chicken if it's cold, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed.

Turn off the heat and let the rice sit for about 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork, taste for seasonings and serve!

24 weeks down... 16ish more to go!

Ok, ok...  I have to confess:

This is actually a 25 week belly picture, not a 24 week.

Last week was just not a week for pictures.  You would have gotten a dark, blurry, shot of me with bags under my eyes, wrinkly, toddler-stained clothes on, and a pout to rival any 3 year old's!

But this week things are better.  And I am as close to photo-ready as possible, so here you go!

Unfortunately, my OCD side won't let me post this as a 25 week picture.  It ruins my whole set-up and I just can't do it.  So, pretend with me - ok?  I promise my belly looks pretty much the same as it did last week!

Oh, and here's our corresponding fruit-baby size!  :o)  I just love this kind of stuff!!

(Except, week 20 was a cantaloupe and this week is a grapefruit?!  Since when is a grapefruit bigger than a cantaloupe??)

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Again, sorry about the lack of recipes right now...  I promise I will back to my regularly-blogging self after we get back from our trip!