Brigadeiro Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things about Christmas is making Christmas goodies to give away!  There is just something enjoyable for me about spending hours in the kitchen making a variety of delectable treats for those I love.  I think it's the foodie in me mixed with the giver in me ;)...

Because of my excitement for this each year, I actually spend a lot of time seeking out new things to try.  I don't know why I don't just stick with the same old stuff...  I mean, sure, I do keep some of the same treats.  The ones people ask for or say they liked the best...  But more often than not, I try at least 5 new recipes each year.  It is so much fun for me. So I have a Pinterest pin dedicated solely to "Christmas Recipe Ideas."

My only wish:  that I had more time to do it ;).  Okay, maybe I have two wishes:  I wish we could all eat as many treats as we want just this one month of the year with no unhealthy side effects ;).  But, hey...  That's why we have January!  Haha.

So this year, I have found myself drawn to the idea of making home-made truffles.  I have done a lot of "pinterest-ing" looking for suitable and fun truffle recipes.  And wow have I ever been enlightened!  Things I never even imagined as truffles...  Like white chocolate lemon truffles.  Orange creamsicle truffles.  White Chocolate Blueberry truffles.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.

And then there are these, my own version of a Brazilian-inspired chocolate truffle:  Brigadeiro Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle.  I didn't completely wing this...  I'm not that awesome.  I used this as a guide.

The ingredient list is pretty short -- which is awesome.  All you need for the basic truffle center is cocoa, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and THRIVE Peanut Flour.

Sorry for the darker picture.  I'm still learning as I branch out and broaden my horizons :).

Place all these ingredients into a double-boiler.  Don't have a double-boiler?  That's okay.  I don't either!  So I used a Pyrex brand glass bowl over a pot of water.  I just made sure the water didn't touch the bowl.

Bring the water in the pot to a boil and stir the contents of the bowl (I chose to whisk with hopes it would make it smoother easier!) until it is smooth and well-blended.  Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set (at least 1 hour -- I chilled mine closer to 4 just because of other time obligations).

Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, scoop out truffle mixture and roll into a ball.  Place on a silpat or wax-paper covered cookie sheet.  (You may want to wipe your hands after each truffle to make rolling easier.)  Chill at least 15 more minutes to make truffles easier to handle.  I chilled mine about an hour.

Measure out additional THRIVE Peanut Flour into a shallow bowl.

Roll each truffle in the THRIVE Peanut Flour until coated.  Return to silpat/wax paper.

Refrigerate until ready to serve (if within 3 days) or freeze for longer storage.

When you are ready to serve them, you can even make them look pretty in those little mini muffin-cups :).

My husband and I had to taste-test these, of course.  The peanut flour adds that peanut butter taste, but it is mild.  These are not overly sweet, either, because of the use of cocoa powder.  But they are quite fudgy!  I'm looking forward to sharing them with my chocolate-peanut-buttter-loving friends :).

Brigadeiro Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
3 TB Butter
4 TB Cocoa powder
4 TB THRIVE Peanut Flour, divided
1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

Place butter, cocoa powder, sweetened condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons THRIVE Peanut Flour into a top of a double boiler (or a thick glass bowl over a pot).  Bring water to a boil and stir the mixture until well-blended and smooth.  Remove from heat, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until set (at least 1 hour).

Using a 1/2 tablespoon measure, form truffle dough into balls and place on wax paper/silpat.  Chill at least 15 more minutes to make handling easier.

Roll each truffle in remaining 2 TB of THRIVE Peanut Flour.  Return to wax paper/silpat.  Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to 3 days) or freeze for longer storage.

*This post includes affiliate links.  I earn a small commission from purchases made through these links.*

THRIVE Helps Our FHE

With my husband working swing shift for a couple of weeks, we decided to hold our family home evening (FHE) in the day-time before he goes to work.  Sometimes, like today, that makes things a little rushed.  Today, our FHE got squeezed in between my dentist appointment, followed by lunch and a Primary Presidency meeting. 

And so, once again, THRIVE saved the day!  We are focusing our FHE lessons on THE FAMILY: A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD.  Today, we talked about how we look like Heavenly Father and how we came to earth to receive a physical body.  Our lessons are generally quite short (my kids are 2 and 3 months), and I try to do something to help make what we talk about meaningful.  Unfortunately, I'm not the greatest idea person, so I turn to Pinterest!  And a lady shared how her kids used play-doh to make bodies for this lesson.  Well, at first I thought play-doh would be fun...  But then I thought about sugar cookie dough!  Because then we could eat our body-cookies ;)!

So these were the finished product!  Okay, so we look like giant Michelin men...  But that's our family in cookie form ;).  THRIVE made this so easy on a hectic day, because all I had to do was cream the butter, add the cookie mix, and some water -- and then I opted for powdered egg, because we were going to be handling the dough (and possibly eating it...).  It was so awesome!  And my 2 year old really loved making the dough people with her daddy while I fed the baby.

I feel like this was a successful and fun lesson!  I'm grateful for idea people (since I'm not one!) and grateful for THRIVE products that help me execute quickly!

Happy THRIVEing!

Q-Pon Cooking: August 2015: THRIVE Peanut Flour: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

It's time to celebrate!  My sweet baby boy has slept for 5 solid hours the last 2 nights (and here's to hoping this isn't a fluke, but a trend!).  All you moms out there know this is a reason to celebrate!

I can't celebrate by eating these (due to the chocolate coating).  But I can celebrate by sharing them with all of you :)!  Just one more reason to love the THRIVE Peanut Powder!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 2/3 cup THRIVE Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
2/3 cup THRIVE Peanut Flour
2 tablespoons water
10 ounces chocolate for dipping

Cream butter.  Add next 3 ingredients and mix until a dough forms.  Form into 1/2-inch balls and freeze 15 minutes (for easier handling).

Melt chocolate.  Dip balls and allow to dry completely.  SAVOR!  And have one for me ;).

Happy THRIVEing!!!

Summer Lime Bars

So even though I don't produce enough milk to sustain the life of my babies, I do produce enough that I can eat something that upsets their tummies...  And with our little guy, one of those things, I'm pretty sure, is chocolate.  Heavy Sigh!  Chocolate is one of my favorite food groups ;).  It's how I like to satiate my sweet cravings.

So I had to find a new way to do that -- and one of my other favorite things is lemon-y and lime-y stuff.  So I started thinking about lemon bars...  Which led me to thinking about lime bars -- with THRIVE Summer Limeade!  So I gave it a go!  And it was a success.  The flavor of these bars was wonderful!  I did get a little distracted while they were baking, so they came out a little darker than I wanted.  And I opted not to add food coloring, so they don't look lime-y.  But they are!  And they are oh-so-good!

Here's how I did it!

SUMMER LIME BARS
For the Crust:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder + 2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup white sugar*
2 cups all-purpose flour*
For the lime layer:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder + 1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups white sugar*
1/4 cup all-purpose flour*
2 tablespoons THRIVE Summer Limeade powder + 2 tablespoons water
THRIVE Powdered Sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, THRIVE Powdered Butter Powder plus water, 2 cups flour, and 1/2 cup sugar.  Press into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch pan.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden.

In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour.  Whisk in the eggs, THRIVE Whole Egg Powder plus water, and THRIVE Summer Limeade plus water.  (I recommend using the whisk attachment of a stand mixer on high speed to fully blend the egg powder).  Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes in the preheated oven.  The bars will firm up as they cool.  Once cooled, sprinkled with THRIVE Powdered Sugar.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I love the THRIVE Summer Limeade.  It is so versatile!  I'm excited about using it in a variety of ways in the months ahead :)!  But it's a seasonal item, so if you want to grab some, you should do it soon!  You can shop at my website: THRIVEingNilla.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla or you can contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!

Happy THRIVEing!

Lactation Cookies

Many of my friends know from when we had our first baby that I had issues with milk supply when trying to breast-feed our little girl.  We ended up having to use mostly formula, and I would breast-feed whatever my body could supply.  Though not the way I'd hoped things would go for us, it was the way things went; and I learned to live with it and be grateful for the blessing of being able to feed my child, even if it wasn't the way I'd always imagined it being.

Fast-forward a couple years and we have just had our baby boy!  Knowing it was highly likely I still wouldn't produce enough milk to sustain my baby's life without supplementing with formula, we were more prepared this time.  But still, I have decided to try a variety of things to increase my milk supply.  A friend of mine told me about lactation cookies, so I went and looked them up!  And then I made some -- with the help of THRIVE!

These cookies are actually not too bad, but the brewer's yeast certainly has a taste that cannot be completely masked.  I'm not sure if they are officially working, but I have been eating them anyway :).  And since I used my THRIVE ingredients to make them, I thought I'd share them here!  This is where I got the original recipe, but below is the recipe as I made it.

LACTATION COOKIES

2 Tbsp. flaxseed
4 Tbsp. water
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 THRIVE eggs (2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Eggs + 4 tablespoons water)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3 tsps. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. Brewer’s Yeast
3 cups THRIVE quick oats
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

 

Cream together the butter and sugars.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add flaxseed and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, Brewer's Yeast, and oats.  Add to the butter mixture 1/2 cup at a time.

Once the dough is mixed together well, add chocolate chips.  Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes (mine took 8). sdfasd

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream

Honestly, it never would have occurred to me to try THRIVE-alizing ice cream!  However, a friend of mine said to me one day, "So I have this delicious recipe for my grandmother's homemade peach ice cream.  But it calls for raw eggs.  And that gives me the heebie jeebies.  So I was wondering if you thought the THRIVE Whole Eggs would work in the recipe?"

Well!  I thought it was a great opportunity to try something new and find out!  Plus I gave her some THRIVE Powdered Eggs to try it out on her grandmother's recipe to see how it turns out!  When she tries it, we'll see if it's comparable to her grandmother's traditional recipe :).

Meanwhile, I recalled a recipe I have had sitting in my "to try" recipe binder for a decade.  It's from a 1983 Southern Living magazine -- from back in the days when putting a recipe in a magazine that calls for raw egg yolks probably wasn't frowned upon.  Because that's what one of the ingredients is for this recipe!  But hey, I've been toting that recipe around for years, and figured this was a great time to try it out -- and avoid the heebie jeebies (and harm to my unborn) thanks to THRIVE Whole Eggs!  So, in my THRIVE-alizing of this recipe, I did change it a little bit.  But mostly kept the same :).

COOKIES AND CREAM ICE CREAM
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (+4 tablespoons water)
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
4 teaspoons THRIVE Pure Vanilla Extract Powder
1 cup (or more!) coarsely crushed Oreo cookies
2 cups (1 pint) whipping cream, whipped (cannot be whipped topping!)

In a large bowl, mix together powdered eggs and water until all egg powder is dissolved.  Add vanilla extract powder and mix until well blended and dissolved.  Stir in sweetened condensed milk.  Fold in cookies and whipped cream.  Pour into aluminum foil-lined 9x5-inch loaf pan or other 2-quart container.  Cover; freeze 6 hours or until firm.  Scoop ice cream from pan or peel off foil and slice.  Return leftovers to freezer.

This worked out so deliciously!  I will warn you, however:  it is rich.

Funny tidbit:  At the bottom of the recipe, it cautions the user to use only Grade A clean, uncracked eggs for safety purposes, of course.  I don't know if you can actually get anything other than Grade A eggs (at least form a grocery store) these days, but I take comfort in knowing I don't need to worry about that when I use THRIVE Whole Eggs!

After much discussion with my husband, we decided the raw eggs called for in the original recipe may just be for flavor and may not be vital to the recipe's success.  But even so, if there is a special purpose (beyond flavor) for the raw egg, then the THRIVE Whole Egg Powder does the trick and makes some awesomely yummy (and totally unhealthy ;)) home-made ice cream!  Our family thoroughly enjoyed it for dessert last night (and we have more to enjoy for another night!).

The hoarder in me wants to hold on to this relic of a recipe from 1983... But the "trying to clean out the clutter" part of me knows the original recipe must go ;).

And now I'm thinking of ways to make more homemade ice creams using my THRIVE!  Powdering up fruits and mixing them in will add quite a variety of flavors to a simple vanilla ice cream recipe :)!  So I've got visions of raspberry ice cream, blueberry, banana... floating in my head.  Oh the possibilities are endless -- and easily on-hand! -- with THRIVE!

I need to do a product highlight for the THRIVE Whole Egg Powder, seriously.  It is the very first THRIVE Product I purchased and I love love love it and use it in so many ways!  So be looking for that in the posts ahead!

In the meantime, contact me if you'd like to get your hands on some!  It's amazing stuff!  THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com or visit my website:  www.thrivelife.com/THRIVEingNilla

Happy THRIVEing!!!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm always looking for new ways to use the amazing THRIVE Peanut Flour.  And I'm always looking for an excuse to make cookies ;).  It's a pretty great combination!  Plus this is my 100th Blog Post at THRIVEing With Nilla!  So why not celebrate with some delicious cookies!?!

So I adapted a recipe I had and came up with something a little bit new -- and THRIVEalized! 

These were so yummy -- both before baking and after!  (I love cookie dough like no other...  Which is why I love love love THRIVE Whole Egg Powder!  No raw eggs, so I can eat the dough guilt-free while pregnant!!!

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder (plus 2 tablespoons water)
2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (plus 4 tablespoons water)
1 teaspoon THRIVE Pure Vanilla Powder
3/4 cup white sugar*
3/4 cup brown sugar*
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup THRIVE Peanut Flour
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour*
3/4 cup whole wheat flour*
1 cup oats*
1/2 10-ounce bag chocolate chips (or to your preference!)

Cream together butter, THRIVE Shortening powder and 2 tablespoons water.  Add sugars and cream until well-blended.  Add THRIVE Whole Egg Powder + 4 tablespoons water and THRIVE Pure Vanilla Extract Powder.  Mix until well-blended.  Add remaining ingredients except chocolate chips.  Check dough.  If it is too dry, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches cookie-dough consistency.  When dough is all mixed, gently stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 9 minutes.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet about 5 minutes, then move to wire rack to cool completely. 

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

I took these to my book club my book club meeting last night and received several compliments, so I am counting it a success!  The peanut flour is not strong, especially once the cookies are baked, so the peanut flavor is definitely understated, but still there.  I might play around with the recipe some more in the future and see what happens when I add a little more peanut flour ;).  Because I do love chocolate and peanut butter together!

In other fantastic news...  There are even more reasons to celebrate!  THRIVE Life just announced a hosting promotion going on between now and the end of May!!  Party hosts have a chance to receive an additional $75 in free product in addition to the regular host benefits for parties with at least $600 in sales which are held between now and May 31st!  It's a great time to host a party and earn bonus freebies, so if you've ever thought about it...  Think about it some more -- and then contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to book your party!

Happy THRIVEing!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Last night we had our first jar meal party!  We were blown away by the success of this event -- and we already have had multiple requests for another one!  So we have one in the works ;).

But as part of the "party" (which was really meant to be more of a 'come and make a jar meal' thing), I made some delicious peanut butter cookies featuring THRIVE Life's all new -- and all amazing -- Peanut Flour!

I have used this in 3 different recipes so far, and I love it.  I am getting more of it this month with my Q!


I made about 40 of these cookies for the event.  I came home with none!  And the best part?  They were so simple.

I halved the original recipe, which is a Chef Todd creation and can be found here.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon THRIVE Whole Egg Powder plus 2 tablespoons water
1 2/3 cup THRIVE Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix
2/3 cup THRIVE Peanut Flour
2 tablespoons water

Add softened butter to a mixer and whip until light. Add whole egg powder and water and mix until blended.

Add cookie mix and peanut flour and mix together. Add water and mix until dough forms

Scoop onto greased cookie sheet and press with a fork dipped in sugar.

Bake at 350F for 8 minutes.

I made smaller cookies and still came out with about 40.  They were delicious!  And my husband's comment was that he noticed they weren't super sweet, and he really liked that!  I told him it's because the THRIVE Peanut Flour doesn't have the added sugar!

The Peanut Flour is now available to add to your Q!  And if you aren't on the Q, but still want to get some of the peanut flour, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com.

Want to see the other great specials this month?  It's all about the baked goods!  And THRIVE Life has re-vamped their Coconut Macaroons (now gluten free!), Fudge Brownies, and 10 Grain Pancake Mix making them all non-GMO!  Check out the specials for April here!

And that's not all!  April is going to be a BIG DEAL!  There is a huge sale -- everything on sale -- starting April 9!  I'll have pricing information starting tomorrow, and you won't want to miss out!

Happy THRIVEing!

Lots of THRIVE!

The other day I used a lot of THRIVE to make dinner and dessert!  It was a lot of fun trying new things :).

Pictured above was dinner, drink, and dessert from that day -- and, being that I don't get super motivated these days until after 2 p.m., that's when I started working on all of this!  Definitely couldn't have done that much without my THRIVE!

First up:  drinks!  The truth is, we are mainly water drinkers in my household.  But every once in a while, a yummy fruity drink sounds really appealing.  So I can understand why experts recommend having some juice mixes as part of your home store.  I have used this THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix for a variety of juices as well as putting it into my smoothies.  I needed the juice for the dessert I'd decided to make, so I went ahead and made up a full batch and enjoyed some of the juice with dinner :).  Simply follow the guidelines on the #10 can (2 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach to 1 cup water) and oila!   You have a simple, but yummy juice.  It's a real treat for my toddler when she can have juice with dinner.  And she gulps it down fast.

What I love?  IT HAS NO ARTIFICIAL COLORS!  That's such a win, when so many powdered drinks are full of artificial colors!

Next up:  dinner!  It was one of those "what am I going to make for dinner?" days...  I mean, I had my menu list all planned out -- like I do most pay periods.  But I flat out forgot to pull meat out to thaw.  And this is one of the reasons I love my THRIVE meats.  They are ready to use, even at the last minute.  So I found a recipe on the THRIVE Life website for Chicken Broccoli Alfredo.  You can follow that link and get the original recipe.  You can even make this as a jar meal.  Here's how I did it (with what I had on hand):

CHICKEN BROCCOLI ALFREDO
1 heaping cup shell macaroni
1/2 cup THRIVE Bechamel Sauce
2 tablespoons THRIVE Sour Cream Powder
1 1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Chopped Onions
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning*
1 teaspoon THRIVE Chef's Choice Seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Chicken Bouillon
1 cup THRIVE Seasoned Chicken Slices
1 cup THRIVE Broccoli
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese*

Place all ingredients except Parmesan Cheese in a saucepan with 4 1/2 cups water.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring occasionally.  Stir in Parmesan Cheese until melted and incorporated.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So the things I loved about this dish: 
1.  It was all in one pot.
2.  It was easy to throw together.
3.  I didn't have to worry about thawing meat, etc.

But I have to be honest...  I personally didn't especially like this meal.  I think it was the Italian Seasoning.  Granted, I don't have THRIVE Italian Seasoning, so maybe that makes a difference.  But I just didn't enjoy that flavor.  My toddler really didn't like it.  My husband, however, said he didn't think it was bad.  So I guess it's all in personal preference.  But I have to share my true feelings, and those are that I don't plan to make this again.

For some reason, anytime I make pasta, I feel like I need bread to go with it.  Clearly, I did not start my meal-making in time to do a yeast bread.  And even throwing together scratch biscuits seemed like a lot of effort (lazy, huh?).  But then it occurred to me I could do the next best thing!  Sort of scratch biscuits!  I grabbed my Honey Whole Wheat Mix and decided to try making biscuits with it!  A quick glance at the ingredients told me it already had shortening in the mix, along with flour and salt...  Basically I just had to add a leavening agent.  And that was simple enough with baking powder!  So here's my recipe:

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT DROP BICUITS
2 cups THRIVE Honey Whole Wheat Dough Mix
3 teaspoons baking powder*
1 1/4 cups milk*

Place the dough mix into a medium bowl and add baking powder.  Stir well to combine.  Add milk and mix.  Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for 9 minutes.  (I got 9 biscuits.)

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

You can add less milk if you want to make "cut out" biscuits.  But I like the drop biscuits, because they are fast.

And finally...  What I did for dessert ;).  Which was just a random idea I had, so I ran with it.  And it's also a pretty decent snack for a toddler!  I'm calling them Strawberry Peach Jiggly Squares :).

STRAWBERRY-PEACH JIGGLY SQUARES
4 cups THRIVE Simply Peach, prepared (this is 4 cups water plus 8 tablespoons THRIVE Simply Peach drink mix)
4 packets unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup coarsely chopped THRIVE Strawberry Slices

Bring 3 cups of prepared juice to a boil.  Place one cup of prepared juice in a large bowl.  Sprinkle all 4 packets of gelatin over juice. Allow to sit for a minute.  Pour hot juice into the bowl and stir until all gelatin is dissolved.  Stir in THRIVE Strawberry Slices.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (I usually spray with cooking spray for even easier release later!).  Refrigerate until firm.  Cut into squares.

Again, one thing I really love about this is that there are no artificial colors!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not great at staying away from all the artificial colors.  And who doesn't love Jell-o Jigglers?  But if I can come up with something just as fun and kid-friendly without the fake stuff?  I'm totally in!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun experimenting and playing around and trying new things.  And I just really love how THRIVE Life has often come to the rescue on those days when I am not as prepared as I could be to make dinner ;)!

Happy THRIVEing!  And, as always, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com with any questions or to place an order to help your meal-times not be a conundrum when you forget to thaw the meat ;)!!!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie in a Mug

It's officially announced:  THRIVE Life has a brand new product!!!  PEANUT FLOUR!!!  This new product was "unveiled" at the Leadership Training meeting in Seattle, and my friend and up-line was invited to attend that meeting.  She had the privilege of getting to try it out early -- and she's super awesome, so she got a can for me too!  And let me just say...  I'm adding this to my Q in April!  I love this Peanut Flour!

So here was one of my first experiments with the THRIVE Peanut Flour! 

PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE IN A MUG
1/4 cup THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix
1 tablespoon THRIVE Peanut Flour
2 1/2 tablespoons water

Place all ingredients in a mug and stir until blended.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  (Then I added some vanilla ice cream on top ;)).

Super simple.  Super yummy!  I simply love how easy it was to add peanut butter flavor without adding a lot of extra fat or sugar.  I am already imagining so many ways to use this great new product! 

If you are a Q Club Member, you can pre-order this great new product through your Q!  If you aren't a Q Club member, but still want to get some of this amazing new product, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll get it on order for you! 

And here's a little more information about this brand new product:

*One extra change to note:  THRIVE Fudge Brownies will now be found as part of the THRIVE Bakery line, rather than the THRIVE Desserts!  And they are now completely Non-GMO!!!

Celebrating Pi Day with THRIVE!

Today was pi day (or, more importantly, pie day ;)).  3.14 etc.  And this is the first year I decided to celebrate :).  I had a pie crust in the freezer (the lazy gal's way of doing pie!).  And as I pondered what to make for the filling of said crust, my mind turned to my THRIVE Sweet Potatoes, which were hanging out with the rest of my home store.  And sweet potato pie is something a bit different, after all.  Especially in the Spring!  (I think more people tend to think of it as a Fall-type dish ;)).

So I did some searching for a good recipe and found one I wanted to try here.  I did some adapting to incorporate my THRIVE ingredients.  It came together pretty easily, though I have learned I need to puree the sweet potatoes a lot more and probably needed more water.  Sometimes that's the challenge of making changes...  You have to work with them a little bit ;).  But that's okay.  I still had pie on pi day, and I tried something new!

OLD FASHIONED SOUTHERN SWEET POTATO PIE

1/2 cup butter*

1/2 cup light brown sugar*

1/4 cup light Karo syrup

2 tablespoons THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (plus 4 tablespoons water)

1 can evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups THRIVE Sweet Potatoes (plus 3 1/2 cups boiling water)

2 teaspoons vanilla*

1/4 tsp. salt*

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Place THRIVE Sweet Potatoes in a blender and add boiling water on top.  Allow to sit 10 to 15 minutes until softened.  Puree until well blended and chunks are gone.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, brown sugar and syrup together. Add eggs and 4 tablespoons water and stir. Add sweet potatoes and mix well. Stir in the milk, vanilla and salt, making sure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Pour into the pie shell and bake 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean (mine needed to cook longer, which is rare for my oven). 

THRIVE Sweet Potatoes are a seasonal item and aren't currently available.  But if you're interested in having them in your home store, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com and I'll make sure to let you know when they are available again!!  I've also used them for some delicious Sweet Potato Muffins :).

So Happy Pi Day Y'all!

Cornmeal Cookies

Some days I just get in a baking mood.  And then I need to either freeze or give away what I bake.  Because I have an insatiable sweet tooth! 

When I became a consultant with THRIVE Life, one of the awesome things included in the consultant kit was the THRIVE Cookbook.  I love cookbooks.  So I have spent much time flipping through the pages of this cookbook, thinking about all the things I want to try.  One of those things that grabbed my interest right away was cornmeal cookies!  I'd never heard of putting cornmeal in cookies.  I was intrigued and knew I wanted to give them a go. 

So I did!

I shared them with one of my sweet customers, and she said it is one of the best cookies she has ever tasted.  If you don't like lemon, you'll want to steer clear.  But otherwise, these are a delicious treat!  And I even threw in an extra little something yummy :)!

CORNMEAL COOKIES
3/4 cup butter, softened (I used 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder + 2 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup white sugar*
1 tablespoon THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (plus 2 tablespoons water)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup THRIVE Cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
1 1/2 cups white flour*
1/2 cup dried cranberries (or raisins -- I used cranberries)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips (optional -- these were my addition)

Preheat oven to 375.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Mix in he egg, water, and lemon extract.  Mix well.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and flour.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and combine.  Stir in cranberries and white chocolate chips (if desired).

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the cookie bottoms are lightly browned.  Let cookies cook for 2 minutes on baking sheet before placing them on a cooling rack.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

These are yummy and just a different spin on a cookie!  Loved trying them out -- and love my THRIVE Cookbook!

Speaking of becoming a consultant...  There is seriously no better time than now if you have ever considered becoming one!  THRIVE Life has just revamped their Consultant Kits and restructured everything.  It's amazing!  Enough that I sort of wish I was just now signing up ;).  Except for all the fun I've already been having as I've built up my own home store!!!  So if you have any questions about being a THRIVE Life Consultant and want to know more, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!  I'd love to tell you why I love what I am doing!

Mint Chocolate Milkshake

Today was National Mint Chocolate Day.  And anyone who knows me knows I think there are no finer combinations than mint and chocolate.  That taste... it's a beautiful thing.

So, in celebration of this wonderful day (because how could I not celebrate it!?!), I made a mint chocolate milkshake and used my THRIVE Gourmet Hot Cocoa Mix. 

I even shared it with my husband and toddler.  Rave reviews all around!  So here's how I did it:

MINT CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKE
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk*
6 ice cubes
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (depending on your preference)
3 tablespoons THRIVE Gourmet Hot Cocoa Mix
6 Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream

Place everything in the blender and blend until it looks like a milkshake :).  Then drink it up!  You can even garnish it with an additional Girl Scout Thin Mint.  But that's not required ;).

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE Life.

So, here's to you, mint and chocolate!  You'll have a special place in my heart forever ;)!

THRIVE Sugar Cookies

As my little girl gets older and able to do more (she is almost 22 months now...), I find that she wants to do more.  Which makes sense ;).  So I've recently tried to find new activities she and I can do together.  One of the activities we recently tried was making sugar cookies.  And, conveniently, I had my THRIVE Vanilla Sugar Cookie Mix, which meant I only had to mix together 3 ingredients!  It made the mixing fast and easy -- and my little girl was able to help add the major part of the ingredients (the cookie mix).  She loves to be involved in all aspects ;).

I followed the recipe on the #10 can of the mix, which called for butter, and egg, and water in addition to the cookie mix.  I opted to use THRIVE Butter Powder, because I love that stuff!  And because I didn't have any softened butter and I didn't want to wait! 

We also opted to do roll-out cookies, so she could try her hand at cutting out shapes (which was an interesting experience for me, but she loved it!).  So we actually added a little extra flour as well.  Again, the recipe is on the can :).

Anyway, we frosted some of the cookies with canned chocolate frosting (because I had some in the fridge) and did some sprinkles (another learning experience for mommy!).  And then we delivered most of them to friends.  Because they were delicious!  And I didn't need them hanging around the house with my extreme sweet-tooth!

Cookie Dough Truffles

I hosted a play date the other day and decided to make lunch for the lovely ladies (and toddler) who came to spend some time with us.  And, because I love cooking for people and providing dessert as well, I decided to try something I'd been wanting to try for a while with my THRIVE Classic Cookie Dough mix:  Cookie Dough Truffles!

I love cookie dough.  Even more than I like the cookies.  Being that I'm pregnant, I avoid eating raw egg.  But that's another way THRIVE Life keeps me happy ;)!  Because their Classic Cookie Dough mix has powdered egg in it, and that isn't raw egg!  So my toddler and I made these (she handled the sprinkles -- though I would say two truffles were generously sprinkled and the others were bare ;)), and they are so very yummy!

COOKIE DOUGH TRUFFLES
3 1/3 cups THRIVE Classic Cookie Dough Mix
1 cup THRIVE Powdered Butter
3/4 cup water
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips (depending on your preferences -- and you can sub for anything you prefer!)
12 ounces melting chocolate (I used chocolate almond bark)
Sprinkles, optional


Put first 3 ingredients in mixer (I used my stand mixer) and mix until it forms a dough.  Add chocolate chips and fold in.

Form into 1/2-inch to 1-inch balls and place on waxed paper (or silicone mats).  Refrigerate 15 to 20 minutes so they are easier to handle. 

Melt chocolate.  Dip cookie dough balls.  Sprinkle immediately, if desired.  Allow to harden.


Now, a couple notes...  One thing I noticed is that if there were any weak spots in the chocolate shell, the cookie dough would start squeezing through.  Although not a tragedy, they did kind of look funny ;).  And it may just be inevitable if you don't double-dip the truffles (which I didn't), because the dough isn't cooked, and the baking soda in the mix starts to expand -- as it's supposed to!  So it oozes out any weak spots. 

The other note:  These were a hit!  One of my friends who came, when I told them what I made for dessert, said, "Did you know that cookie dough is my all-time favorite?  Well, I didn't.  But I love it too, so it just worked out well!  These are so delicious, seriously.  And they are definitely going on my Christmas goodie list! They are super-fast and super-simple, especially because I only need 4 ingredients!

So if you are craving some sweet yumminess...  This will hit the spot!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Just a little sweet treat you may want to try when you get some of the awesome THRIVE Pineapple Chunks!  The recipe is from the back of the #10 can of pineapple :).

Topping:
1 1/2 cups THRIVE Pineapple Chunks
1/2 cups pineapple juice or water
1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (+1 tablespoon water)
2/3 cup brown sugar*
Cake Batter:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
2 teaspoons baking powder*
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder (+ 2 tablespoons water)
3/4 cup white sugar*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract*
2 eggs*
1/2 cup milk*

Rehydrate THRIVE Pineapple Chunks with either water or pineapple juice. Place in the bottom of a greased 9-inch round pan (or 8x8 pan). In a saucepan, combine THRIVE Butter Powder, brown sugar, and water (you can use any leftover water from rehydrating the pineapple!). Bring to a boil and boil while stirring 1 minute. Pour over pineapple chunks.

To prepare batter, mix flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Mix THRIVE Butter Powder, 2 tablespoons water, and white sugar until creamed. Add vanilla and eggs; mix again. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing well in between each addition. Whip until light and fluffy. Pour batter over pineapple and smooth. Bake 45 to 55 minutes (mine took 35) or until golden and cooked through. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

*Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE.

A couple notes... I ended up getting 12 pieces out of my 8x8 cake. I also altered this recipe a little to include it here... The original recipe says to rehydrate the THRIVE Pineapple chunks in the pan you're going to bake in... Yeah, don't do that. Or, if you do, pour out the remaining water. Because otherwise you end up with Pineapple Dump Cake more than Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Mine was a dump cake (at least visually...). Still tasted good.... But didn't have that pretty layer of caramel and pineapple on the bottom. Clearly I'm learning a lot :).

And only one more week before the Black Friday deals are out!!!  The word out is that all THRIVE Life products will be on sale -- so it's a great time to place those orders!!!  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com if you want to know the Black Friday deals, and I'll make sure to add you to my email list!

Happy THRIVEing!

Brownie Batter Milkshake with THRIVE!

I am a huge fan of Pinterest.  I have found some of the most yummy-looking recipes through Pinterest.  And every now and again, I try some of them out.

One such delicious-looking recipe I'd pinned was the Brownie Batter Milkshake (the original recipe can be found here).  It's been pinned to my Liquid Yumminess board for around 2 years...  Because here's the thing:  when do I ever have brownie batter I want to open and only use partially?  Well, the answer used to be never.

But thanks to THRIVE Life, the answer has now changed to all the time!  Because THRIVE Fudge Brownie mix is the perfect thing for me to have for single-serve brownies in a mug!  So I now always have a pantry can of THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix sitting in my pantry, ready to use a little at a time!

So I knew was going to be making that Brownie Batter Milkshake finally!!!

It was a yummy, creamy, rich treat.  And it was super easy!  So here's the recipe (I halved the original):

THRIVE Brownie Batter Milkshake
1 1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cups THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix

Place all ingredients in blender and blend well until smooth.  Drizzle with chocolate syrup and garnish with brownie bits (both optional).  Enjoy!!

And just remember, I didn't say this was diet-food ;)!!!  Only that it's delicious!

Want to get some THRIVE Fudge Brownie Mix for yourself?  Contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!

Cooking with the Q-Pon: 10 Grain Pancake Mix: Peach-Raspberry Cobbler

I know it's officially October, and there is a new Q-Pon item for the month (which you can find on the October Specials Flyer)...  But I haven't gotten my Q for October yet, so I'll do one more Cooking with the Q-Pon post with September's Q-Pon Item: the 10 Grain Pancake Mix!

Plus, it was officially made in September, since it was featured as dessert at Marvelous Monday Meals!  So it still counts ;).

I found the recipe at the new THRIVE Life recipe site!  The original recipe can be found here.  I adapted it a little and used raspberries instead of sweet cherries :).  It was yummy the first day, served up with ice cream.  But I think it tasted even better the next day, once the flavors all blended even more.  So delicious!

PEACH-RASPBERRY COBBLER
Filling:
3 cups THRIVE Peach Slices
1/2 cup THRIVE Raspberries
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1/4 cup THRIVE Powdered Butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups water

Cake:
3/4 cup THRIVE 10 Grain Pancake Mix
1/3 cup sugar*
1/2 teaspoon baking powder*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
1 tablespoon THRIVE Instant Milk
3 tablespoons THRIVE Butter Powder
1 1/2 teaspoons THRIVE Pure Vanilla Extract Powder
1 tablespoon THRIVE Whole Egg Powder
1/3 cup water

Streusel:
1/4 cup THRIVE Butter Powder
1/4 cup brown sugar*
1/4 cup oats*
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.

Pour into a greased 9x9 dish. For cake, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Spread batter on top of filling.

For streusel, cut butter into remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined. Sprinkle streusel on top of cake batter.

 Bake at 400°F for 18–22 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.

*Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE Life.

This cobbler is delicious!  I'm really glad I took it for Marvelous Monday Meals dessert, because it was a hit!  And I think it's so awesome how versatile the 10 Grain Pancake Mix is!  And, though it looks like a lot, the recipe is actually quite quick and simple!  I'll definitely make it again!

Remember:  THRIVE Pure Vanilla Extract Powder, like all the THRIVE Seasonings, are only available through consultants, so contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com to order yours!!

Make-Ahead Monday: Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

Once-a-month cooking is very popular these days among many moms...  It's a great way to prepare a bunch of meals, freeze them, and then have them ready for preparing and eating with little to no effort on the day of! 

So I got to thinking:  what if THRIVE could help women in this way too!  But instead of freezing the meals, the THRIVE ingredients can be stored in jars!  Then, on a particularly busy day, you pull out a jar -- and just add water!

Super time-saver!

Thanks to the new THRIVE Vanilla Extract Powder, I was able to "make ahead" a batch of butterscotch oatmeal cookies!  Then, when I had to take something for a potluck baby shower, I grabbed my mix, added some water, and baked!  Super simple -- and they came out tasty too!

So here's how I did it:

BUTTERSCOTCH OATMEAL COOKIES
2/3 cup all-purpose flour*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda*
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
1/4 teaspoon salt*
1/2 cup THRIVE Butter Powder
1 tablespoon THRIVE Whole Egg Powder (equivalent to 1 egg)
1/2 teaspoon THRIVE Vanilla Extract Powder
1/3 cup packed brown sugar*
1/3 cup granulated sugar*
3/4 cup butterscotch chips*
1 1/2 cups quick oats*

Using a funnel, layer ingredients in a quart-size mason jar. (I put the chips on top). You may have to jostle the jar a bit to make everything fit.

To make the cookies: Pour contents of jar into mixing bowl with about 1/3 cup water. Mix well. Add extra water a teaspoon at a time if the dough looks too dry, blending well after each addition, until cookie dough consistency is reached. Drop by spoonfuls on greased baking sheet.  Bake at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on pan for 1 minute then move to wire rack to finish cooling.

*Denotes ingredients also available through THRIVE.

These have passed the toddler test, the 5-year-old test, and the adult test ;).

Now, if you seal these properly and use an oxygen absorber, they can wait on the shelf for you for about 3 months.  If you don't (as I didn't), I would recommend you use it within 3 to 4 weeks of preparing the jar.  

I was really glad to have had these waiting for me to use yesterday evening.  Church was over at 4, but we got home after 4:30.  I had a family to feed (including nieces) and had to figure out what to make to take to the baby shower potluck.  These were definitely a nice treat -- one less thing for me to worry about :)!  And a great quick-fix solution!

THRIVE Vanilla Extract Powder is only available through consultants, so if you want to be able to make some "make ahead" cookies and have the ingredients that will help you, contact me at THRIVEingNilla@gmail.com!

Happy THRIVEing!

Quad Chocolate Chip Cookies

Now that the heat of Summer is leaving the Pacific Northwest, I am firing up my oven a lot.  And what better reason to fire up the oven than to bake some delicious cookies and try out more of my THRIVE :)?

...And maybe to include dessert for the meal I was taking to a family at church with a brand new baby!  (Bonus is I got to hold the baby...  Was my munchkin ever that small!?!)

So since receiving THRIVE Shortening Powder in my host benefits order, I noticed the recipe on the #10 can looked particularly appealing to one such as myself:  Quad Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Quad = 4.  Four chocolate.  I'm pretty sure I was sold already.  I knew I had to try it out.  And making dessert for a lovely family was a great reason to do so.  Plus I had all the types of chocolate chips in my cupboard...  I thought I was stocking up for Christmas baking back when all these were on sale...  Turns out I needed them sooner :).

Oh. My. Goodness.  These cookies are divine.  Chocolatey, yes.  But so moist and chewy.  Even now, 8 hours later...

It's possible I've had more than I should have...  But I'm not really sorry :).

Yeah, get to the recipe already, right?!?  Here goes:

QUAD CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup THRIVE Shortening Powder, prepared (2 tablespoons water added)
2/3 cup brown sugar*
2 eggs*
1 teaspoon vanilla*
2 1/4 cup white flour*
1 teaspoon salt*
1 teaspoon baking soda*
1 to 2 tablespoons milk*

Carefully melt 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate chips.  Combine sugar and prepared shortening (I just threw the shortening, sugar, and water in the mixer and mixed -- worked great) and mix together for 5 minutes.  Add eggs and vanilla, blend well.  Add melted chocolate and mix again.  Sift in flour, salt, and baking soda; blend well.  Add milk a little at a time if dough seems to thick (I added 2 tablespoons).  Fold in remaining chocolate chips (I didn't measure, and I'm pretty sure I used less than was called for and it was still plenty) and blend for 5 minutes.  Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.  Bake at 350 for 8 to 12 minutes.  Makes two dozen cookies.

*Denotes other ingredients available through THRIVE.

So, a couple extra notes:  The dough was pretty stiff when I took it out of the fridge.  I was worried.  My first batch didn't flatten much, but they were still delicious and soft and yum.  I chose to flatten the remaining batches slightly with my hand, just to get a bit flatter of a cookie.  I baked for 8 minutes (my oven bakes hot).  And I got about 40 cookies and I think they were decent size, so I'm not sure how huge the cookies would be if you only get 2 dozen!  (But I'm totally happy with 40 as opposed to 24 :)).

Seriously, you want to make these cookies.  And then eat them all.