Hummus

This is a staple snack in the Tyler Orme household. For this recipe the tahini is key, we bought ours on amazon if it's not something sold in your local stores. I hear it's also fairly easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans
1/4 cup lemon juice (fresh or bottle juice)
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 clove garlic, minced 
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
salt to taste
water if necessary

We have also made variations of the hummus by including avocados, roasted red peppers, or sun dried tomatoes.

Directions:
In a blender or food processor combine lemon juice and tahini and blend for about a minute. Scrape sides down if necessary and blend again to really cream the tahini.

Add olive oil, garlic, cumin, and salt to the mixture and blend until smooth.

Add chick peas about a third to a half of the can at a time and blend until smooth. If there are still some bits of chickpea then slowly add some water to the mixture and blend until smooth, just be careful not to add too much.

If you are including any extra ingredients like roasted red peppers or sun dried tomatoes you can fold these into the tahini once it's all blended. If adding avocado add it in before blending in the chickpeas. 

If desired you can put a dash of paprika on top to serve or drizzle with extra olive oil.

Hummus can be eaten with veggies, pita bread, spread on sandwiches and quesadillas or anything else you can think of. 

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

These are an extremely easy and healthy alternative to store bought granola bars.

Ingredients

1 egg white

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I'm sure you can use creamy)

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup almonds chopped finely (optional)

1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1/4 cup flax seed (optional)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

1/4 cup craisins (optional)

1/4 cup pecans chopped finely (optional)

You can basically add any amount of all the optional items, that's all just personal preference.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking pan with parchment paper or silicon baking mat. If you use parchment paper spray it with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl beat egg white until frothy. 

Stir in peanut butter, brown sugar, and honey.

Add melted butter, oats, and any other additional things you want.

Stir until it is well combined, then add the chocolate chips last, so they don't melt in the hot butter.

Spread mixture into pan forming an even layer. Bake for about 15 minutes until edge of bars begin to lightly brown. Let cool for at least 1 hour. Put in fridge to set for an additional two hours.

It is important to let these cool in the fridge, otherwise they just fall apart.

Store in airtight container.

Bonus! These freeze really well.

If you need something to do with the leftover egg yolk check out this chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a recipe that I found off of Sally's Baking Addiction that I modified a little bit. It is Tyler's favorite cookie recipe

Photo taken from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter, softened (I think you can also get away with 1/2 cup)

3/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg + 1 egg yolk at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter (her recipe uses melted butter which is still great but I prefer creaming it), brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. 

Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk. 

Finally, whisk in the vanilla. 

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft, yet thick. 

Fold in the chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough.

Cover the dough and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325F degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

Roll the dough into balls that are taller rather than wide, to ensure the cookies will bake up to be thick. Press a few more chocolate chips/chunks on top of the dough balls for looks, if desired. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and underbaked. They will continue to bake on the cookie sheet. Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Make ahead tip: Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 3. Baked cookies freeze well - up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well - up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.

Notes:

If you use salted butter reduce the salt to 1/4 tsp.

An easy way to bring eggs to room temperature is to place them in warm water for five minutes.

If you don't want to throw away that extra egg white, try these peanut butter granola bars.

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

This is a super quick, easy, and delicious chicken recipe that I found on Pinterest and modified a little bit. You do need a stove top and oven friendly pan for this recipe since it starts on the stove and finishes in the oven, I've just been using our cast iron skillet because that's all we have but one day I will have a stainless steel pan lol. This can be served with rice or potatoes and veggies. 

Ingredients:
8 (or however many fit in your pan) chicken thighs. Skin preferred but not necessary
3 tablespoons of butter, divided
4 cloves of garlic, minced (we like garlic, you can probably use less if you don't love it)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. basil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken (however much you prefer)

In your oven safe skillet melt two tablespoons of butter.

Place chicken skin side down in skillet and brown both sides of the chicken, usually about 2-3 minutes each side. Then set aside.

Melt remaining butter in the skillet. Add the garlic to the butter stirring frequently for a couple minutes. Remove skillet from heat.

Add sugar, honey, oregano, thyme, and basil into the skillet and mix until evenly distributed.*

Return the chicken to the skillet and place in oven for about 25-30 minutes.

If you have fresh herbs you can place them on top for a garnish, a little chopped basil or parsley works great.

Photo taken from pinterest

*When using dried herbs, take the herbs and crush them with your fingers before adding them to your dish. This helps to bring out the aroma and flavor of the herbs. I watch too much food network!