Friday, November 22, 2013

#OatmealCookies #ChewyOatmealCookies, Baby! #Oatmeal, the little Miracle Food! #Diet #Yum! Add More #Fiber to Your Diet : ) #Fibre #Prebiotic #OatmealChallenge


Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Yum!


Chewy Oatmeal Cookies - soo crazy good!

1 section of Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
and
1 section of Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Walnut Cookies

While you have all your Dry Ingredients out, make 2 extra batches of the first 4 ingredients - add the rest, the next time you make your cookies, so, extra baggies of the Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda and Salt - Label it, Oatmeal Cookie Base : )

Baking Trick: Use a knife and fork to mix the ingredients - is so much faster and easier!

Double Batch: Makes at least 84 cookies! Yum!

Mix in a giant bowl:

1 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Sugar

1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar

Then Add:

6 cups Oatmeal (I like to mix half and half, Large Flakes with Quick Oats)

Mix in a medium size bowl (or whatever bowl you have around...)

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine (3 bricks) (or a mix of both) 
(soften it so your arm doesn't fall off...)
(I just microwave the margarine for 120 seconds, whatever makes it liquid is fine, no need to struggle : )

ADD:

4 tsp. Vanilla extract 
(I use 4 capfuls - dat jus' me - is prolly a tsp - lol! And Artificial Vanilla is totally okay!)
4 tablespoons of milk (or water, I always use milk)
2 eggs (Make sure no shells get in there - I canny take that chance! I never want to break another tooth on a tiny eggshell...)

1 bag of Chocolate Chips : ) (And, not the whole bag - maybe half the bag is plenty! : )
Options: raisins, dried cranberries, whatever else you might like to pop in here.. walnuts, maybe?)
(You might want cinnamon - aah, is debatable...think I like them better without the cinnamon - choose, yourself! lol!)

Bake at 350 for 12 - 20 minutes, depending on your oven - keep checking them, turn them around if one side gets brown faster than the other side - Yum! You' gonna love these cookies! 

Melt your margarine FIRST, set it aside while you're mixing your Dry Ingredients, so it'll be cool enough to add the eggs, without the eggs 'cooking' - you don't want that - haha!

Pour the liquid onto the oats, mix with a fork and knife, is waaay easier than a spoon... we're nontraditional, here, and it works way better! lol!

Mix until that's nice and creamy and light : )

We make half the batch as 'Regular' Oatmeal Cookies, set aside one roll for another day, and then add the chocolate chips - sometimes we add in walnuts, too - and set one roll of the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies aside, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge, for another day, too! Yum!

Start with the Baking Soda and Salt, then add in the sugar and brown sugar, then the flour, sift with your hands, then gently add in the oatmeal - use forks or a knife to run through it, but be super careful with the knife, of course - lol! And your hands to mix it through, as well : )

Make your first batch of cookies plain, then add in the Chocolate Chips - so good!

Hmm, I was just reading mah' recipe, and I see me has a newer technique - me mix all the dry ingredients, first, then add the 6 cups of oatmeal in - and, if you have 2 kinds of oatmeal, half of quick oats, half large flakes... and I melt the margarine right off the bat, set it aside so it'll really cool, then add all the vanilla and eggs and milk... and me no put in any cinnamon, and we looove them that way - we discussed the cinnamon, but changes the flavor, so, now we da purists with the oatmeal - haha! 

Oh, and not all that many chocolate chips, either - we used to pour the whole bag in, and with these oatmeal cookies, maybe half the bag, maybe a little less, is juuus' right! Yum! Now me wants them, again, too, and I got 2 gigantor bags of oatmeal at the Wholesale club, yesterday - should last for another month - yippee!!

You can scoop the cookies onto the Parchment Paper, or lay out a few sheets of Plastic Wrap, make 'Cookie Rolls', which are super easy to cut into slices, or pop in the fridge to make another day : )


This recipe will make soo many cookies, you might want to wrap up a couple of cookie rolls to save in the fridge for later : )


You can add a little oatmeal to your favorite cereal, too - is nice with Granola : )

Take The Oatmeal Challenge : ) (Yep, it's another Oatmeal page! lol!)

I loove Oatmeal - I just love it!  I have always believed in the powers of oatmeal, to lower your cholesterol, to lose weight, to maintain a healthy weight, to lower your blood pressure, to moderate your blood sugar - wow, that's a lot of stuff for one little bit of oatmeal, right?? lol!  It's like the one-stop-shopping for Healthy Food, right?? lol!

I often have Scottish Porridge, which I love, of course, since I'm Scottish, and it makes me think of my Dad every time I make it (!), and I was able to come up with an Oatmeal Diet, with an Apple Crumble recipe I really loved, so it helped me lose 35 pounds after I had my little man, Aidan....and now it's really important that I keep my cholesterol down, and maintain a healthy body weight, right, so I wanted an easy and quick way to increase the amount of oatmeal I eat every day, so I've started adding a 1/4 cup of oatmeal to my bowl of granola in the morning - it's delicious, filling, delicious (did I already mention that? hahaha! I want to say it again so you'll try it! lol!), and super fast and easy. You feel like you are sooo healthy, you're totally doing the right thing for your body! hahaha!

So here's how I do it, so you can try this, too.  I buy the big box of Granola, because I also like to save money (who doesn't?? lol!), and I buy the giant bag of oatmeal, too. The other fantastic thing about all the health benefits of oatmeal is that oatmeal is super cheap - I think I paid $5.47 for that giant bag of oatmeal I have, right now - lasts for ages. What else can you quickly and easily add to your diet that makes this kind of change in your body, for $5.47, and will probably last you for months on end? lol!  And there will maybe be a recipe for Oatmeal Cookies (yum!) on the side of the bag or box, but I'll post my favorite Oatmeal Cookie, too, since any way you get more oatmeal in your body is a good way, right?? Especially for the kids, too : )

You can get lots of really great information on the powers of oatmeal at this site - http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=54

Well, now I'm pouring in less of the Granola and way more of the Oatmeal, sooo, maybe 1/2 cup of Granola, 1/2 cup of Oatmeal? lol! Wo knows, I just pour things in, dat mah' thing - you knows how me be! haha!

You'll find the right mix, but any time you can Add More Fiber To Your Diet, you're doing your body a very nice favor! : )



Just use your fingers to mix the oatmeal into your cereal : ) 

We'll all be super-healthy, together! lol! See you soon!  Ailsa xox

See the little 1/4 cup measuring spoon? I just leave that right in the big bag of Oatmeal? Makes it super easy to just sprinkle the oatmeal on my granola. : )















Here they are - just took them out the oven - man, Oatmeal Cookies are a LOT of work, but, they're delicious, and they're super-good for you, so I guess I can justify making them every so often... and I double the batch, since I figure if I'm gonna do all that work, I might as well make a lot, right? And those are the little fancy Flower Trees I make - think I need to make one, tonight, relax a little! lol! I'll put the recipe for the double batch under the 'Flower Tree' picture! lol!



Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies  (You can skip the chocolate chips, it you like them straight-up oatmeal, or add raisins, or dried cranberries - really good with the chocolate...just make them the way you really like them!)



Baking Trick: Use a knife and fork to mix the ingredients - is so much faster and easier!

Double Batch: Makes at least 84 cookies! Yum!

Mix in a giant bowl:

6 cups oatmeal (I like to mix half and half, Large Flakes with Quick Oats)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar

Start with the Baking Soda and Salt, then add in the sugar and brown sugar, then the flour, sift with your hands, then gently add in the oatmeal - use forks or a knife to run through it, but be super careful with the knife, of course - lol! And your hands to mix it through, as well : )

Make your first batch of cookies plain, then add in the Chocolate Chips - so good!

1 bag of Chocolate Chips : ) (And, not the whole bag - maybe half the bag is plenty! : )
Options: raisins, dried cranberries, whatever else you might like to pop in here.. walnuts, maybe?)
(You might want cinnamon - aah, is debatable...think I like them better without the cinnamon - choose, yourself! lol!)


Hmm, I was just reading mah' recipe, and I see me has a newer technique - me mix all the dry ingredients, first, then add the 6 cups of oatmeal in - and, if you have 2 kinds of oatmeal, half of quick oats, half large flakes... and I melt the margarine right off the bat, set it aside so it'll really cool, then add all the vanilla and eggs and milk... and me no put in any cinnamon, and we looove them that way - we discussed the cinnamon, but changes the flavor, so, now we da purists with the oatmeal - haha! 

Oh, and not all that many chocolate chips, either - we used to pour the whole bag in, and with these oatmeal cookies, maybe half the bag, maybe a little less, is juuus' right! Yum! Now me wants them, again, too, and I got 2 gigantor bags of oatmeal at the Wholesale club, yesterday - should last for another month - yippee!!

Mix in a medium size bowl (or whatever bowl you have around...)

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine (3 bricks) (or a mix of both)
(soften it so your arm doesn't fall off...)
(I just microwave the margarine for 60 seconds, whatever makes it liquid is fine, no need to struggle : )

Melt your margarine FIRST, set it aside while you're mixing your Dry Ingredients, so it'll be cool enough to add the eggs, without the eggs 'cooking' - you don't want that - haha!

ADD:

4 tsp. Vanilla extract
(I use 4 capfuls - dat jus' me - is prolly a tsp - lol!)
4 tablespoons of milk (or water, I always use milk)
2 eggs - Make sure no shells get in there - I canny take that chance! I never want to break another tooth on a tiny eggshell...)

Pour the liquid onto the oats, mix with a fork and knife, is waaay easier than a spoon... we're nontraditional, here, and it works way better! lol!

Mix until that's nice and creamy and light : )

We make half the batch as 'Regular' Oatmeal Cookies, set aside one roll for another day, and then add the chocolate chips - sometimes we add in walnuts, too - and set one roll of the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies aside, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge, for another day, too! Yum!

You can scoop the cookies onto the Parchment Paper, or lay out a few sheets of Plastic Wrap, make 'Cookie Rolls', which are super easy to cut into slices, or pop in the fridge to make another day : )

Bake at 350 for 12 - 20 minutes, depending on your oven - keep checking them, turn them around if one side gets brown faster than the other side - Yum! You' gonna love these cookies! 




 Uh-oh! lol! The Chewy Oatmeal Cookies were flying off the plate as fast as I could make them - Yahoo! That's the sign of a great cookie! Yay!! : )

Looks like a Love Heart Cookie, right in the middle - so cute! 
And Oatmeal Cookies ARE good for your heart - in every possible way! 
Yippee!


See, just leave them in for a wee bit more - you want your cookies to be lightly browned, will be all lovely and chewy!
   



 Haha! They're gone before I can even get them on the plate - lol! A Very Good sign! ; )
 Mix the dry ingredients, starting with the salt and baking soda, then the sugars, white sugar and brown sugar, then the flour, then the oatmeal... use your fingers, if you like : )



Use Parchment Paper when you're baking - everything will turn out perfectly - yippee!!





I always use Parchment Paper, since it pretty much makes sure your cookies won't burn, and after all that work, you definitely don't want your cookies to burn... I pressed some of the cookie dough into  9" X 13" pan, just to see if I could easily make Oatmeal Squares, right? Hmmm, don't know if I really saved myself any time - I think a thinner layer of Oatmeal Cookie Dough would've cooked faster, for sure, but we also made regular cookies - just drop by the spoonful onto the cookie tray - make whatever size appeals to you...



Bake at 350 Degrees for about 15 minutes, depending on your altitude (not your personal altitude - a'hahahaha!) - I check them at 10 minutes, just in case, then just keep having a wee look. Pull them right out of the oven and check underneath the cookies - if they bottom is browned, you're good to go, they're cooked! Yippee!



The great thing about Oatmeal Cookies is that they are super-healthy, so a nice wee treat any time at all, no guilt, just fun! Okay, I admit it, it was worth the work to make them! lol!



Happy Schnacking! Ailsa xox


American Heart Association:
Unprocessed  oats contain manganese, selenium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc and Vitamin E.

Whole unprocessed oats are a very good source of fiber, especially beta-glucan. They are the only source of 20 unique unique polyphenols, a group of antioxidants called avenanthramides, known to prevent against heart disease.

Eat yer' Oatmeal! lol! : )

Entertainment Books - what a great gift! (For other people, too, not just for yourself! lol!) Aliexpress - 50% off deals for Cyber Monday - woohoo!!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Joel Osteen - Amazing Books! I love them all! lol! #JoelOsteen #God #Jesus #PowerOfPrayer

Oh, man, I looove Joel Osteen!  I love him!  His books are amazing, so inspiring, so uplifting, it's like I just can't get enough of Joel Osteen! lol!  I started with Break Out!, then I read It's Your Time (fantastic!), and now I'm reading Become a Better You (soo wonderful, so sweet!). I just can't say enough good stuff about Joel Osteen's books - they're so wonderful, and you'll feel so great about yourself, about your life, about where you're headed, what kind of greatness is in frot of you, what kind of great abundance is coming into your life.. I love this stuff!  It's so uplifting! hahaha!

Now I want everyone to read Joel Osteen's books - I would love to see them in every school library, lots of copies so all the kids have easy access to these life-changing books and thoughts. And I know it's very Christian-based, of course, and there's a big movement to remove religion from the schools, but, come on, has that really helped anyone? Meaning the students, not the adults in a big knot about religion... just present ALL the religious and non-religious views, let the kids decide for themselves, but so many kids aren't getting the messages of hope, messages of understanding, messages of great abundance coming into their lives, and I don't think that's helping the next generations. These kids are floundering, and that's not fair to them. I'm sure this is not politically correct, but you know, I think a lot of the political correctness out there has removed too many important works of art, works of literature, books of great influence, right out of the hands of our students. That whole thing where God Forbid you have a book in a school library, a book that is a great piece of literature, with any kind of swearing in it, because certainly we can't expose our children to that - ugh. Puh-leeease. That's ridiculous. We need to man up on this one, put great books in the hands of kids - for free. Let them choose whatever they want to read - can you imagine if we had grown up in this very cloistered new environment - it's too much Big Brother (is George Orwell still allowed in the school library?? Ugh!  Makes me so mad.) How dare the schools limit our children's growth by pre-determining what they can and cannot have access to at school. I don;t like it. The whole notion of Freedom of Thought starts early, and is very keen through the teen years, so we want to let our kids grow as much as possible, be exposed to all sorts of great books - then you'll create lifelong learners - show kids that books are wonderful, fabulous, amazing, uplifting, and will open brand new worlds to them - that's the key to a better society, and higher learning.

Well, I'm not sure how I went so far off-course, there, so-to-speak, when, really, I just wanted to say how much I love all the books by Joel Osteen, and I hope everyone gets a chance to read them! lol!  You'll love them!  We'll all grow in abundance, together! lol! Happy Reading (anything you want! lol!)! Ailsa xox

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Get Rid of Fruit Flies For Good - yippee, Be Gone, Little Fruit Flies! #GetRidOfInsects #GetRidOfBugs and #Pests, too! #Yick! #Borax



You know, we always have a lot of fruit in our house, mostly in the kitchen, and that used to mean those annoying little fruit flies around all the time - so annoying! and no one wants fruit flies in their kitchen - or anywhere else...and some people even resist buying fruit, especially bananas, because they can't stand dealing with those crazy annoying fruit flies.

So here's how to get rid of fruit flies, for good. See ya', fruit flies, find another family to annoy - but you can tell your friends, so they don't have to deal with fruit flies anymore, too! Hope this doesn't disturb the fruit fly population, too much, but not sure what, exactly, they contribute to the world... lol!

You need:

Vinegar (get the big container, it's cheaper)
Squeezie (Scottish for Liquid Dish Soap - isn't 'Squeezie' a cuter name for 'liquid dish soap'? haha!)

Anyway, you just put some vinegar in a shallow dish - I just use a saucer, but you can use any wee dish or whatever you've got around the house...

Put 2 or 3 drops of dish soap (squeezie! lol!) into the vinegar - no need to mix it in, or stir it - just let the drops sit there on their own - and VOILA, Magic!  No more fruit flies!  It's amazing, and soo great to walk into the kitchen, and there are NO annoying little fruit flies flying all around - yahoo!!  Problem solved!


At the height of the Fruit Fly problem - omg, we thought we were gonna lose our minds... and if your hands are wet, that seems to make it easier to 'catch them, and you know what I mean by that... then you just do a quick apology to God, for killing those horrible little flies, but it usually comes down to you or them - you don't want to get sick form them landing on any of your food - yuck!  So, Sorry, God!  We did our best to streer them away, first... and we got rid of all of our fruit, tidied everything - we really never did figure out why there were so many, for that one brief period - I think it was the mandarin oranges from China - who knows? We're just glad that's done! 


This is one of my favorite tricks to get rid of flies... mostly fruit flies, but who knows who else it's keeping away, right? lol!  Just a baggie with water, toss in 5 pennies, seal, and put on a plate, just in case it leaks - it probably won't leak, though, no worries!  Works like a charm!


If the issue is all the little oranges or tangerines that you haven't eaten, yet, but the fruit flies are now a problem, you could always just freeze them - works, and you could use them as ice cubes, too - yum!  that would be yummy! 


Sounds silly, but really seems to work - a saucer with 5 pennies, add water.  That's it, but it totally works!

There's the little saucer with vinegar, dish soap and a little sprinkle of sugar - you've gotta pull out the big guns when you've really had it with the Fruit Flies! lol!

An Extra Little Get Rid of Bugs Tip: I love this, and I don't even want to know exactly how it works (okay, I know, but it's kinda yucky, so better to live with your head in the sand, just do it, no more bugs, another problem solved - lol!

Sprinkle some salt in the corner of a counter, or the floor, anywhere you think they might be lingering, or if you've already seen 'someone' sneak out, and you've freaked out a little bit...don't worry about how much to put down, put an amount you can see - better to look at a little salt, than, God Forbid, some yucky little bug scuttling in front of you, right? hahaha!  Yuck! Bugs! Get outta mah' life, you bugs! hahaha!  They can find somewhere else to live, right?

Aaaand, one more little tip: Let's say you've gotten up in the middle of the night (if you're at that stage of the game where you're getting up a lot in the middle of the night - ugh, so annoying! lol!) and you've turned on the light, someone quickly slithers across the floor - like those little silverfish - yick!  Sounds terrible, right? Yuck!  But it happens, can happen in any home, but I think it might be more common if you live by the ocean (which I typically like to do), but if you have any sort of silverfish problem, and you're trying to figure out how to get rid of silver fish (one word, or 2 words? We'll never know - or, more accurately, I'll never know, 'cause I don't really care how to spell silverfish, I just never want to see another one, again! So here's how you get rid of silverfish - pour a little bit of vegetable oil in a little shallow container - I use the top off the milk jug, set it in the corner of your bathroom, or any other room where you've seen them (are they always in the bathroom? What are they doing in there?? Yuck!! Get outta mah' baffroom, little yucky silverfish! hahaha!)

Soo, these little natural solutions to get rid of insects and bugs really work, so definitely give it a try - oh, and you can use the salt mixed with baking soda to deal with fleas, too... sprinkle on your carpets, 'sweep' it in with a broom... it's all worth a try, if you're dealing with anything like that - you'll lose your mind less! lol!











Okay, so, now it's the Fall, and for some reason, there are some new wee beasties, and they're driving me crazy - we live by the ocean, so, it might be related to that, and the weather... but whatever the reason we're seeing them, now, I hate them all - hate them - bleah! Sorry God - I love all your creatures, but these ones gotta go - lol!

Bugs have to fall under that category of annoying people - You don't gotta go home, but you gotta get up outta here... hahaha!

So, I went on a quest to figure out how to get rid of any and all bugs, completely - #BugFreeHome

You know when you kill a wee beastie, and you're pleased with yourself that you finally caught it, (I'm talking about a Fruit Fly, but, whatever bugs bugging you, right now, and that's why you' a'reading this - lol!), and then you immediately have to say, "Sorry, God, but if it's this bug or my family, my family has to come first..." I feel like God Understands... 

I've gotta go find a pic of Borax, or just take a picture of the Borax box I just bought - had forgotten all about Borax, but you can use Borax for a million things, and one of the main things is getting rid of beasties - all sorts of gross, they're fine somewhere else, but NOT in your home, kind of beasties - so, give it a try for everything - and I just read that if you sprinkle Borax, in about a 3" strip, around the perimeter of your home, no gross beasties will come in - hey, I'd try it! I'm in an apartment, right now, and I don't know how the hell they got up to the upper floors, but, do what you gotta do, to keep you and your family safe from gross beasties, that could cause illness, and could freak you out (me! lol! Gross!!)


Here we go - good ol' Borax - who knew how many things it could do, though, right? 

I would start (and have already done this) with just sprinkling the Borax on the carpets, around the floor, then sweep against the floorboards... sprinkle some Borax anywhere you think there might be some gross bugs that you don't want in your house, or anywhere near your food, or anything at all - yuck! I hate them! Yick! Be Gone, Stoopid Beasties!! lol! 

And now I'm gonna try the soaking cotton balls in a cup of hot water, a little bit of Borax, some sugar - I would think about 1 to 2 tablespoons of each... to trick those shockingly smart bugs into taking the bait, so-to-speak... and then maybe place each cotton ball strategically, in every corner? I'm not sure about this, so I'll try one, see what happens - I don't want to encourage their friends to come over - Guys, there's a huuge Sugar Rush Party over at ailsa' house - nope! hahaha! That canny happen! lol! 

But you can mix the Borax with a little sugar, to entice the beasties to eat it, and take it back home with them, get rid of the colony.. sounds harsh, but when you're protecting the health of your family, you gotta do what you gotta do...

Anyway, when I was getting some pics of Borax (rather than stand up and go take a pic of my own box of Borax, maaaay-be 10 feet away from me - haha!) - anyway, did you know you can make Crystals from Borax? I would imagine like Salt Crystals, so you KNOW I'm gonna investigate THAT, and tell you all about it!

What if you could make a gorgeous craft that keeps the bugs and beasties away? haha! I would a'love that! lol!

Oh, and I haven't even tried Borax in the laundry, yet, but I'll go ahead and give that a shot, too - why not? I'm on a borax Roll, now - lol! : )




Not All Bugs are cute! lol! Just Bugs Bunny (on the off-chance you haven't seen the new Bugs Bunny - omg, high-larious - Daffy Dack, what a jerk - bah'hahahaha! Check online to see if you can find it - I don't know why they stopped making it, was soo funny!)





Oh, look what I just read - will maybe give this a wee try - lol!

"If you insist on leaving your doors and windows open and unscreened, there is one solution that works pretty well… Install a fan pointing directly at the floor. Any animal that tries to fly through that airflow will instantly be knocked from the sky.
Places that have a lot of foot traffic from the outside, like supermarkets, use this trick."
We live on Vancouver Island, and many places don't have any screens, because we have so few bugs or wee beasties, but the occasional beastie will fly in, sooo... good idea, right? lol! 
'Insist on' - now who's a little angry, up in here - hahaha! But dat almost mah' favorite part - lol! Angry about dem bugs! Bug Off, eh (they're Canadian Bugs, now - haha!)  ; )