Recap- stay w/Rach (February)

   This is post is all about the last time I stayed w/my cousin, Rachael, for a week.

Breakfasts 

• baked oatmeal w/apples & cinnamon: I really don't remember much about making this one or what it tasted like, except that it was decent -no pic I guess-
• strawberry muffins: could be breakfast, snack, or dessert. these were YUMMY!!! We had some white chocolate chips laying around so I tossed in some of those for good measure. I've made them again since but for a lactose-free diet, so no chocolate chips =[ sad day- oh and that second time I forgot to put the strawberries into the mix- of all things!!! i stuck them down in each mini cupcake after they'd already been in the oven several mins- still good but very soggy because it messed w/the consistency/the way it baked the tops. :/

Lunch/snacks

• apple chips: I had to slice all of the apple VERY thin w/just a regular sharp knife because we didn't have any kind of tool like the one listed on the recipe. they were alright ish but they weren't very memorable- maybe needed more flavor or something. The main problem was that they weren't thin enough to get crunchy/chip-like enough to be worth it

• pb banana wrap: (this one could just as easily fall under breakfast) We got some kind of wheat/whole grain tortilla from her (I think) HEB that ended up being really tasty & the granola we bought had almonds in it (w/c I would have prob have preferred to nix)-- but this was actually a really tasty creation! & healthy too :-) -no picture-

Supper

• buttermilk biscuits: I had my hopes up for the light & fluffy KFC-style biscuits I love..... that is NOT how they turned out at all!! haha. 

the counter after it was floured

brilliant salve that Rach happened to have that cured my burn!!

my burn ={

•  Chicken asparagus penne pasta: SHe steamed the asparagus first & I think it ended up a little too slimy to compliment the other stuff well. It was pretty good though- even though the top got burnt (but it gave it a nice crunch)!! haha oh dear....

• Skinny baked rigatoni: I believe we used a wheat pasta & ground turkey instead of beef. was decent. I'm fairly certain I didn't cook the noodles before hand for some reason!!! so it was quite crunchy hahaha. 

• buttermilk chicken strips: We had some buttermilk in the fridge that we needed to use up so I searched for recipes on Pinterest. These were apparently tasty because they were all gone before I remembered to take a pic! The only change I made was to use gluten-free breadcrumbs that we already had in the pantry. -no pic-

Desserts

• chocolate oatmeal bars: I used a Splenda brown sugar substitute and didn't remember to do the conversion- so w/all the extra brown sugar the consistency was not quite right and the oatmeal stayed soggy- I've had these before, and these tasted nothing like them.......although the top was basically like pb/chocolate fudge 

all in all NOT the best cooking/baking week for me! but the strawberry muffins were the best for sure.