Celebration Dinner and Oatmeal Peanut Butter Waffles!

Well, getting the boys moving this morning was a lot like herding cats, but I guess it is Monday. I sucked down my massive cup of coffee and devoured my oatmeal all after going to bed after midnight and getting up at 5:50am to get my workout done. I am definitely looking forward to a good one today!

Last night was a little euphoric. The illustrator finished an 80 page graphic novel yesterday.  The last 40 pages were done straight through with no weekends and no breaks at all. For those of you who don't know what a graphic novel is, it's a narrative work (fiction or non-fiction) in which the story is told to the reader in comic form. In other words, a ton of illustrations in a book! So we went out yesterday afternoon and walked around the mall and thought we were going to grab a bite to eat, but when we got to the mall, it was way too crowded and we weren't hungry for dinner at 4:30.  So, we changed plans and decided to cook a feast since it would be a lot cheaper and a lot tastier.

(Horrible picture, but delicious dinner of baked potato with hemp seeds, fresh corn cut off the cob-best all season-, and sauteed baby bellas.)

I love cooking with the illustrator. We do it very rarely now since I am normally cooking so he can get work done. Last night, Max wanted to help out too. I felt bad at one point because Max asked me if there was anything he could do and I didn't think to show him how to help me peel the shrimp. I realized that he wanted to learn, so I showed him and he helped me. It feels so strange to have him be able to help me like that in the kitchen. I am used to him just turning the mixer on and off for me...you know just doing little things. Now he is actually prepping shrimp and chopping things up. My little gift to the illustrator was that I did not make him wait to eat his food while I took pictures. It really is the little things that mean a lot, right? The boys had a feast of shrimp, steak, corn, baked potatoes and I was nice enough to share some mushrooms with Max.

Dessert was a real treat. I know you are all going to want me to shut up about the peanut flour, but I have two more recipes to give to you and then I will cool it for a while. This is an oatmeal peanut butter cookie waffle! I threw the ingredients together just thinking it would come out like an ordinary waffle.

Um, no...this was amazing. It is kind of like a waffle and a peanut butter cookie had a love child.

Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside with an incredible peanut butter flavor. It is sturdy enough to eat like a cookie, but healthy enough to not feel guilty afterwards! I know, the ice cream and maple syrup took it over the top, but it was a celebration!

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Waffles
(makes one)

1/2 cup quick oats (or process whole oats just a little)
2 TBSP peanut flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 TBSP sweetener of your choice (I used NuNaturals Baking Blend)
6 TBSP water

Mix everything together and cook in a waffle iron.

A couple of people have asked me if this is like PB2 and yeah, I think they are pretty similar. I will be honest though, this is a lot cheaper and if you have a Trader Joe's then you don't have to order it.

Did you eat anything fun or extra tasty this weekend?

I am entering this in the glutenfreehomemaker's Gluten Free Wednesday.