Peanut butter and chocolate are such an amazing pair that turning them into a bar was super fun and easy to do. They were a not too sweet treat that I could snack on after a hard day. They also paired Ry's favourite foods together and he could not get enough. They are quick and easy to make and make a great treat for a party.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Bars
1/2 cup palm shortening
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour (I use spelt)
1 cup chocolate chips
Line a sheet with foil and grease it with coconut oil. Melt the shortening in the microwave. Let it cool. Add the egg, peanut butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the flour and stir well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into the pan and sprinkle with more chocolate chips. Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.
Most of the bread in our house is whole wheat but every once in a while I love to make some white bread. Nothing beats the fresh bread out of the oven slathered in butter!!! Anyone that says that is not good is probably not being truthful. This recipe was super simple with very few ingredients and makes such amazing white bread. I have to hide the bread since Rylan would eat both loaves in one sitting. This is definitely the bread to make when you want to treat yourself.
White Bread
2 cups warm water
6 cups white flour
2/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
Place the sugar and water in a bowl. Add the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the salt, oil and flour. Knead slightly. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. Punch down the dough and shape into two loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and cover and let rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes.
I am always looking for easy snacks to make that will work not only for Rylan but for Brayden's lunch as well. Kids love granola bars and it makes Brayden's lunch look more like the other kids at school (he feels left out since his lunch his not filled with prepackaged foods). I have been experimenting with various ways to make granola bars and finally found a recipe that made a more crunchy bar that held together way better then my past attempts. It seems to be kid approved because they keep on asking for more!!
Crunchy Granola Bar
2 cups oats
1 cup flour
1 cup shredded coconut ( or nuts or raisins)
1 cup palm shortening
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp. coconut nectar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix the oats, flour and coconut in a bowl. In a pot melt the shortening and add the syrup, sugar and salt. Heat it to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla and baking soda. Gently stir. Pour it in to the oat mixture and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips. Press into a greased dish and bake for 15 minutes at 350 F and 10 minutes at 325 F. Let them cool completely before cutting into bars.
Nothing melts my heart more then when Ry walks up to me and says "Mom you please make me some yummy biscuits". It is pretty hard to say no to that. It makes me thankful for a quick recipes that makes some great biscuits. The best part about this recipe is that it is customizable to whatever you feel like making. I have made them plain, chocolate chip biscuits, cinnamon biscuits, garlic biscuits and chive biscuits. Each time they turn out great and get eaten pretty quickly.
Quick and Easy Biscuits
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup palm shortening
1 cup milk
Add all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Cut in the palm shortening until crumbly. Add in the milk and mix until a dough forms. Knead on a floured surface. Pat the dough down until 1" thick. Cut and place on a greased baking sheet (I use heart cookie cutters because it makes the kids smile). Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes.
Ry loves his crackers. He loves anything fresh out of the oven. I wanted to try and replace items in the house that we would have previously bought before the allergy. Crackers are a great thing to have in the house so I have been experimenting to see which ones turned out the best and got gobbled up the fastest. These ones are by far the best and are great for parties as dipper crackers.
Egg Crackers
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
Beat the eggs in a bowl. Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt until a dough forms. Knead the dough until smooth. Roll out on parchment paper to 1/8" thick. Cut into squares and place on a baking sheet. Prick the crackers with a fork. Sprinkle with additional salt. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes.
When you start the GAPS diet no tells you how much you will need broth and in our case how much beef broth we would need. They also fail to mention that your crock pot will quickly become your best friend. I have honestly never used my crock pot as much as the last several months and I am truly thankful for it. I also discovered that it makes awesome broth!!
You can use this recipe for any meat but since we have more safe beef then anything else the recipe is for beef broth. This recipes makes a lot of broth and I end up turning it all into soups and stews but if you are not on GAPS then you can freeze it and use it as needed.
Basic Beef Broth
1 1lbs roast, defrosted
Water to fill crock pot
1 tbsp. coconut vinegar
salt and pepper
Place everything into the crock pot and allow to cook on low for 12 hours. (I usually put mine in over night so it is ready to do food prep in the morning).
In the morning I shred up the meat and use in soups and stews and then use up the broth.
