Vanilla Oatmeal Almond Cookies

I was bored and a tad peckish, so I decided to make cookies. However, my available ingredients were pretty limited.  I typed in almonds, oatmeal, and cookie into Google.  Lo and behold I found a recipe from a blog called Anja's Food 4 Thought for vanilla oatmeal almond cookies.  I still didn't have all the necessary ingredients for it (such as almond flour instead of all-purpose flour), but I improvised and it turned out pretty well.

Vanilla Oatmeal Almond Cookies

1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped or sliced almonds

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine the egg and sugar and beat until creamy.  Add the melted butter and the vanilla, stir until combined, and set aside.

2) In a separate bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, brown sugar, and almonds.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well.

3) Drop teaspoons of batter onto a lined baking sheet, leaving 2-3 inches of room in between.  Sprinkle with a little more almond.  Bake for 10 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.  Let cool completely.

They smelled absolutely wonderful, but weren't very flavorful. I guess the moral of that story is always add more butter and sugar!

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Basil Oil

I volunteer at the local hospital where I go to school.  It's a lot of fun, but sometimes it can be excruciatingly boring.  Thus, the hospital is the only place where I read magazines.  Now these are waiting room magazines, like Family Life, Martha Stewart, Better Homes and Gardens, and Sunset.  Although I am completely not in the target audience of these magazines, they do have some really tasty recipes in them.  So sometimes when I come across a good recipe, I'll grab a piece of scrap paper from the information desk and scribble it down.  Last Friday, when I was working I found a recipe for a pasta with goat cheese and a basil infused oil for sauce.  It sounds delicious, and I'm always looking for non-red sauce pasta options.

Pasta with Goat Cheese and Basil Oil (for 4 servings)

gemelli, rotini, or some other short spiral-like pasta
2 cups basil leaves
1/2 cup olive oil
4 oz fresh goat cheese
salt and pepper

1) Cook the pasta according to instructions on the box.

2) Puree the fresh basil leaves with the oil.  Pour through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids.

3) Toss the pasta with the basil oil, the crumbled goat cheese, a handful of fresh basil leaves, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Well that was super easy and quite delicious!