Oatmeal Crispies...Three Ways and 4th Highlights!

Good morning!

I don't have any food pics of our 4th of July gathering :( bad blogger but I did want to share our highlights.  The food was delicious:  Sliders, coleslaw, veggies + dip, beer bread, Knock you naked Brownies and Almond Pound Cake Trifle.  We were stuffed.  My friend is a great host.   

 Here is our big group shot of my friend and her family!  I love all of them.  We had a wonderful time. 

My friend and I

Our silly girls

The boys setting off fireworks

Even though I am eating much better I'm not going to give up baking or chocolate chip cookies.  Life is too short!  I think it's much better to give in to your cravings, adjust portions or substitute when possible.  Sometimes that's really difficult to do, but I typically find that I'm okay with eating smaller dessert items once or twice a week.  I'm not tempted to binge or eat a whole bag of M&M's.  :) 

My friend got me hooked on making these and I have now had three versions of them.  All three are delicious but these are my current favorites.  I can't take credit....these are Pioneer Women's cookies.  They are so good.  These are Marlboro Man's favorites and you can't argue with a man in wrangler jeans! :)

Oatmeal Crispies

You can make them like the original or change them up a bit!

Version 1
Stir in a big bag of chocolate chips or 2 cups of morsels to the batter.

Version 2
Follow the recipe and add Peanut butter chips.

Version 3
Follow the recipe and add 2-3 square of semisweet chocolate or 1 cup of chocolate chip morsels and 1 pkg. of butterscotch chips.  My current favorite! 

Enjoy!

Carey

Fourth of July...Pie oh my!

I thought I would share a quick post with some recipes I love for the 4th!  If you haven't gotten hooked on Pinterest head on over there are tons of ideas over there for decorating, setting your table, parties and yummy food.  We're heading over to a friends house and I will be sharing our yummy spread soon :)
How about hand pies? These yummy turnovers really fit the bill.

 Blueberry Turnovers

How about some Strawberry Pie? 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Blueberry Crumb Pie

Read here about my 4th of July Party when my DH retired 2 years ago.

You can always stick with a classic :)

Apple Pie

I wish you and your family a happy holiday, and may God bless America! 

Carey