Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer Recipe

After I started having trouble finding a coffee creamer that I liked, I decided to start experimenting with making my own. I prefer to use organic and the only organic ones I've been able to find I didn't like. I don't care for the half and half creamers and I also don't like a creamer that is too sweet. 

My recipe is super simple and has only 3 ingredients (unlike the 10+ that are in store bought creamers!) So here's what I've been making:

1 1/2 - 2 cups milk (use more or less depending on how sweet you want it)

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract (or any other extract you prefer.)

In a bowl (make sure it's one you are able to pour from since you will need to transfer the creamer to another container.), whisk ingredients well then pour into a container. I recommend a salad dressing shaker or a protein shaker bottle (like this)as the creamer needs to be shaken well before being used. Enjoy!

Soft Maple & Brown Sugar Granola

Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day. I'm just not usually hungry in the morning and I have a hard time finding things I like as I don't like to eat a heavy meal first thing. I typically just make a protein shake with lots of spinach and stuff, but that gets tiring after a while. 

I wanted to find something healthy, yet filling, so I started researching granola recipes. I tried a few, but just didn't find anything I really liked. I have found that most of the store bought granola is so hard that my jaw would be sore from chewing it! So I decided to just come up with my own recipe. 

After making it one time it was a hit and it was gone in just a couple of days! I've since made it several more times (and I usually double this recipe so it's enough for my family!) and I think I've got it just right! Hope you enjoy!

Soft Maple & Brown Sugar Granola

(3 cups oats total)

1 1/2 cups regular rolled or steel cut oats

1 1/2 cups quick rolled oats

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 tsp cinnamon (optional)

1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Arrange pecans and almonds on baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Set aside.

3. Once the nuts have been toasted, reduce oven temperature to 300°.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

5. Add oats, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a large bowl bowl. Set aside.

6. In a medium microwave-proof bowl, melt butter and coconut oil in microwave at 30 second intervals. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

7. Add maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla, and almond extract to butter/coconut oil. Stir to combine.

8. Pour maple syrup and oil mixture over oats and stir to combine.

9. Pour granola onto baking sheet that has been layered with parchment paper and spread into a thin layer.

10. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and stir around with a spoon. Mixture will look really liquidy but it is fine. The oats will absorb the moisture as it continues to cook. Rotate pan 180° and put back in oven to bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, rotate pan again, and return to oven for another 10 minutes. After that it should be done.

Depending on your oven and if you do want a crunchier granola, return to oven for another 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook because even once it is removed from the oven, it will continue to cook a bit on the hot baking sheet. I would recommend making the granola as the recipe is written, then adjusting to your preference from there.

I do not like to break the granola up too much while I am cooking it as we like more of the granola clumps. If you do not like clumps in your granola, feel free to break it up more as you cook it. 

Once the granola is finished you can add in dried fruit or even mini chocolate chips if you desire. The great thing about it is there are so many variations on what you can put in it! 

Strawberry spinach salad recipe

This strawberry spinach salad is pretty popular around my house! It's definitely a summertime favorite! My mom came across the recipe somewhere on the internet years ago (if you know the original source, please let me know!) and I've made a few changes to the original recipe so it tastes even better! 

The salad is full of flavor and the perfect side to just about any dish! I hope if you give it a try you'll like it!

The salad itself is pretty simple, just these four ingredients!

I start off by chopping (or you can buy pre-chopped pecans) and placing them on a baking sheet. Toasting them in the oven helps to bring out the toasty goodness of the pecans and give the salad so much more flavor! 

Toasting the pecans first gives them enough time to cool down while you prepare everything else.

Next dice the cheese.

Wash the strawberries.

Slice or dice the strawberries into bite sized pieces. If you're using big strawberries, you might want to dice them, otherwise with smaller strawberries you could just slice them. However you prefer to eat them!
The dressing is pretty simple too; just a couple of ingredients mixed together!

And the salad is ready!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

For the salad

1 5oz sized package of spinach

1 1/2 cups pecan pieces

3/4 cup smoked Gouda cheese*

2 cups chopped strawberries

*I buy the smoked Gouda cheese in the deli section of the grocery store and ask for about a 1 inch chunk.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. 

2. Chop the pecans into pieces and spread out on a small baking sheet. Toast for about 6 minutes or until they start to smell toasted and look slightly browned. Set aside to cool.

3. Slice and dice the cheese, set aside.

4. Rinse or wash the strawberries in a produce wash, then pat dry with a towel. Cut strawberries into slices or cubes (whichever you prefer).

5. Place spinach in a large bowl, then top with strawberries, Gouda cheese, and the toasted pecans.

For the dressing

3 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

A little over 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1. Stir until everything is combined.

And that's it! Pretty simple! Enjoy!

Favorite Pinterest recipes

It's no secret that I love to cook and bake, and Pinterest is one of the first places I check when I am looking for a recipe. 

I've actually found quite a few great recipes and thought I would share some of my favorites!



These quesadillas are a favorite quick and easy dinner. I haven't made these for a while, but everyone loves them! I shred the chicken so it goes farther and don't use the green onions.
I haven't made frozen hot chocolate in quite a while, but this is SO good! Definitely a great summer treat!
This chow mein is so good! It tastes better than Panda Express and so much healthier! I added some sliced carrots the last time I made this and it was great!
This was so good! Definitely will make again! I halved the recipe (there was only 3 of us eating it) and while I made less than half of the full amount of sauce, it was still WAY too much! So if you are making the full recipe, you can easily make just half the sauce! But otherwise very good!
If you've never made chocolate ganache before, you need to give it a try! This recipe was so simple and it turned out so good!
This chocolate chip coffee cake is one of the best things I have ever baked. It is just SO good! I want to try making a blueberry version, but haven't yet. The blog this recipe is from is one of my favorite and my other source for great recipes. Literally every recipe I have tried from there has turned out great!
I really really like lemon curd, and was surprised at how easy it was to make! I have tried the Trader Joe's brand of lemon curd, but it was a little sweet. I liked being able to adjust this to my preference. I used one extra lemon (I had little ones) and I strained the curd after cooking it to get the zest out. Mine was a little tart (which I liked) because I didn't want it overly sweet.
Cilantro lime rice. We make our own burrito bowls Chipotle-style every once in a while and this rice is great! I used about double the cilantro and lime though because this recipe just doesn't call for enough!
I use pecans when I make this, but these vanilla and cinnamon candied nuts are pretty addictive!
Barbeque chicken sandwiches are one of my favorite quick and easy dinners; and this recipe is great!
These vanilla bean scones are SO good! My sister has been requesting them for a little while now, I'll have to make them sometime soon!
I was never really much of a pancake fan (I always preferred waffles) but these are the best pancakes ever! I definitely recommend trying them! My favorite way to eat them is with homemade lemon curd ;)
You can check out the rest of the recipes I've tried and liked here!
What are your favorite Pinterest recipes?

Quick and easy taco soup

Taco soup is one of my favorite easy dinner recipes! It's pretty much just dump stuff in, simmer, and you're done!

About 1 pound of ground beef (we buy the organic ground beef from Costco, which comes in a 1 1/3 pound package)
2 cans of black beans, drained
2 cans of kidney beans, drained
1 bottle of vegetable or tomato juice
1 bag frozen corn
2-4 cans of tomato sauce*
1 package (or about 3 tablespoons) of taco seasoning
1 medium sized onion
2 - 3 cloves of garlic
Olive oil

toppings: sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, & grated cheese

*depending on how much meat you use, you may want the soup thinned out some. I have also added a jar of salsa, or even a cup or two of chicken or beef broth, depending on what I have in the fridge. 

1. Cook ground beef in a skillet until browned.

2. While the meat is cooking, dice the onion (or just put it through a food processor like I usually do.) And mince the garlic.

3. In your stock pot, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and sauté onions and garlic until slightly translucent. 

4. Once the ground beef is done, drain any excess fat if needed and and dump the meat into the stock pot. Then add the drained beans, vegetable or tomato juice, frozen corn, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning.

5. Bring the soup to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. 

6. Top with sour cream, crushed corn chips, or cheese and enjoy!

Soup is so easy to make and it's great to have as leftovers during the week when you want a quick lunch or dinner!