Lilacs & Lace

Yes, yes I did just have a fourth cookie .  Sshh, don't tell anyone.  Although, there isn't much un-healthy about this recipe (even healthier with my changes), except the chocolate chips.  Even at that, there is only 1/4 cup in the whole recipe! So you know about Turtle candies with the caramel and the chocolate and the pecans?  This is what inspired the recipe author, except she turned a candy into a decently healthy dessert with oats and dates. So here are my changes.  I couldn't find my pecans in the freezer, so I substituted with walnuts.  I would like to try these again with pecans, but hey, there were cookies to be made!  I also substituted the sugar with date sugar...that just amped up the nutrition !  I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate.  My last swap was replacing the oil with applesauce, and that just knocked some fat out of these babies. Some might be wondering how plant based the chocolate chips are,...

This Broccoli Casserole is reminiscent of the casseroles made with condensed mushroom soup, except this one is plant based.  It was easy to make too! The family verdict?  Another "family favorite" on the books.  Easy and tasty?  What more could you want? Here were my tweaks to the casserole .  First off, the daughter doesn't like mushrooms.  I didn't want to leave the mushrooms out because they add flavor and nutrition.  So, instead of leaving the mushrooms in pieces, I blended them and the onions up with the sauce.  Sshhh, don't tell her there were mushrooms in that.  I heard zero complaints, and she said she liked it.  Score!  The recipe calls for 64 ounces of broccoli.  I thought surely that was wrong.  How was I going to fit all that broccoli in that pan...and then stir it?  Besides, that is 4 pounds of broccoli!  So, I only used 32 ounces, but when it was all made, it could have used more.  Oh wel...