Dinner and Cookies...a GREAT night!

Hey all!
I am feeling much better tonight. I played with Regan and then Linsey got home and we all played and watched a cartoon and then Linsey did her homework and the entire time I'm sitting there thinking to myself, "These are my girls. They will be ok if I'm ok. If Jason's ok. If our family's ok then they will be too." And I let it all go. Whatever happens is going to happen and I can't change it so I'll go with it and find out the reason at some point in the future. And I'm ok with that!

So I made another 'go to' dinner tonight. I haven't made this in forever so when I realized I had everything I needed I was stoked. I cooked some Jasmine rice, ginger teriyaki tempeh, an asian veggie mixture and I added the rest of my broccoli florets from dinner the other night.

These tempeh pieces are really good and a great thing to add into pasta or salads as well as the asian dish we ate tonight. They come in a few different flavors and great texture.

I added a couple of tablespoons of this yummy, thick sauce to the veggies to agive it a little kick in spice, but not too much because the girls were eating it too.

After dinner Linsey, Regan and I had the last three brownies that we made over the weekend. They were still really good!

Then, after reading Carrots N Cake blog this evening about her Cookie Binge, Linsey and I decided to try making her Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin cookies.

Behold - "How Linsey & Regan Made Cookies" - in photos...

The girls had such a great time making these cookies together and I had a great time watching them. The looks on their faces and the way they interacted with each other just made me happy. I feel bad that they didn't get to eat one before going to bed, but I think having cookies and milk for breakfast is WAY COOLER!

Not going to lie...I ate this one!

I'll give you the recipe (with my changes) and then I'll tell you how they taste!

INGREDIENTS

1cup rolled oats

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup craisins

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

1/4 cup canola oil

DIRECTIONS

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well with your hands

-Spray a large sheet tray with nonstick cooking spray

-Use a large cereal spoon to scoop out mixture onto tray and then flatten with the back of the spoon

-Bake 20-25 minutes turning tray halfway through

-Remove from oven and allow to cool

Let me just tell you that it's a mistake to let kids make cookies when there won't be time to allow them to cool and then eat them before going to bed. Regan cried and begged to eat cookies up until the moment I put her to bed. I promised the girls that they could have cookies and milk for breakfast tomorrow and that seemed to appease her slightly.

I, however, tasted the smallest one on the tray while packing lunches for tomorrow and let me tell you that those bad boys are YUMMY!!! They're chewy and moist and crunchy not too sweet. They would actually make a really good breakfast cookie if you made them bigger or ate a couple of them.

Anyway, friends, I'm closing the lid on the laptop and going to sleep. Won't be able to run in the morning because I have to be at work so much earlier than usual - AGAIN! Ugh...

Oh well - goodnight.

Hopefully Jason makes it home soon...