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19th HOLE ENERGY BARS

19th hole energy bars

THE BACKSTORY 

Let me share with you a little story with you about my very first energy bars.  When I was in elementary, my paternal grandma use to pick me up from school. We’d often end up at the 19th hole which is a golfers term for the clubhouse. The clubhouse was where my grams and her lady friends would hang out after their round. They would eat, drink and talk story. My grams was a scratch golfer and she belonged to the Makalena woman’s club that met at least once a week. In Hawaii when you meet older people, out of respect, they automatically become your aunty or uncle.
 
I had a lot of aunties at the 19th hole.
 
I’m pretty sure my grams would just be finished with her round of golf, run by to pick me up from school then we’d head back to the 19th hole. This is where I would do my homework, ate whatever snacks I wanted and load up on sugary soda. This is where I learned about Energy bars.
 
One of my golf aunties would carry energy bars in her golf bag to keep her satiated during her round. There was this one time when she shared one of them with me and that was all it took. From that point on, my grams would pay that aunty to make these energy bars for me.
 

PRESENT DAY 

When the Air Force PCS’d us from Hawaii, I would call my grams for recipes because I missed the food. To put it into context, this was back when email had just started. My grams wasn’t great at technology but she knew how to email. She got the recipe for the energy bars that I loved so much as a child and emailed it to me. She told me I would need the energy I got from eating these bars to keep up with my 3 kids.
 
Over the years, she would email me other recipes which I’ll be sharing in the near future. My grams passed away in 2004 after complications from heart surgery. She was 75.
 
A few years ago, when cleaning out my email, I found the recipes she sent.  I got so choked up, I could hardly read them. I printed out the emails and lovingly put them in my recipe binder. I now make these energy bars for my own kids and have added a few healthy elements to them. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
 
xo

 

 

Print Recipe

19th HOLE ENERGY BARS

Ingredients

  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 1 bag of mini marshmallows
  • 2 cups of rice crispy cereal
  • 1 cup quick cook oats
  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter or almond butter
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup flax seeds
  • 1/4 cup sunflower seeds de-shelled
  • 1/4 cup cranberries

Instructions

  • Grease 9x13 pan
  • In a pot on low heat - melt butter, marshmallow and peanut butter
  • When first 3 ingredients are melted, add the remaining ingredients & mix thoroughly
  • Transfer mixture to greased pan and pat till level
  • Allow to cool 15-20 minutes
  • Cut into squares and wrap in waxed paper
 

UNSTUFFED CABBAGE

Lazy girls Unstuffed Cabbage

When I was younger my mom use to make this dish called Stuffed Cabbage. Basically it was a meatball wrapped in cabbage leaves cooked in a tomato soup. She would serve it over rice and I loved it. It’s one of those nostalgic dishes that take you back to a specific time and place. Brings back all the memories and gives you all the feels. I remember being so excited to eat it and it being super hot that burning your mouth was a given.
 
Over the years, I make it for my family and everyone except RJ loves it. Remember I told you guys how he’s my chicken and chocolate kid. Yup my picky eater. The one thing about the way my mom made it was the time it took to prep.  Ideally you took a regular head of cabbage, cut off the core, pull each leaf apart then par boil them in a pot of water. While the cabbage is boiling, you prep the meatballs.  Once the cabbage is soft and pliable you wrap the meatball in the cabbage. Too much effort and the frustrating part was as you got to the center of the cabbage, the leaves got smaller which makes it nearly impossible to get around a meatball.
 

Variations

There are also variations for the meatball ingredients. My mom only used diced carrots and onion but traditionally rice is also added to the meatball filling. If making it the traditional way, you can simmer it on the stove top for about 45 min to an hour OR bake in the oven at 350 degrees covered for an hour. Another very time consuming thing.
 

My way

Now you all know, I don’t have the time nor the want to be slaving in the kitchen for an hour plus for a meal. I’ve got other things I prefer to do like peruse social media, write blog posts or read. So over the years I’ve adapted the recipe a little at a time till it turned into something that doesn’t look anything like the original but tastes EXACTLY like the original. Magic!
 
In the beginning I substituted regular cabbage for Napa cabbage, also known as Wonbok cabbage. The leaves are longer and easier to work with once par boiled. Even the core leaves has a lot of surface area to add a good size meatball to. I also began cooking the stuffed cabbage rolls in a crockpot on low for 3 hours. Still a lot of time to prep and cook. I had to really be in the mood or craving this for me to slightly slave over this dish.
 
Eventually, as mentioned, I totally changed the entire process as my lazy self often does. I have lovingly called this dish “Unstuffed Cabbage” because who has time for stuffing?! I’m sharing the printable version below. I hope you enjoy it and the ease it takes to make it without slaving away in the kitchen.
 
xo
 
 
 
Print Recipe

UNSTUFFED CABBAGE

My extremely easy, delicious and hearty version of stuffed cabbage without the prep or stuffing process. 
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time25 mins
Total Time30 mins
Course: Main Course
Keyword: Meatball, Unstuffed Cabbage
Author: Lazy Girl

Ingredients

  • 1 head Napa Cabbage cut into 1/2" strips
  • 1 1 1.5 lbs Ground Beef
  • 2 Large Carrots finely diced
  • 1/2 Onion finely diced
  • 1 Large/family size can Condensed Tomato Soup + 1 can of water
  • 2 T Olive Oil
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • In a large pot, add olive oil & heat for 2 min
  • Add carrots and onions and sauté till onions become translucent
  • Then add the ground beef and cook till brown
  • Once the ground beef is brown add the condensed tomato soup and 1 can of water
  • Let simmer for 15-20 minutes till the cabbage is soft 
  • Season with salt and pepper
  • Serve over rice

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year
 
I am exactly 33.33333% asian, Chinese and Okinawan to be exact. Most Asians are EXTREMELY superstitious and take Chinese New Year very seriously. You will discover very shortly I am one of those crazy Asians!

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year is also known as the  Lunar New Year.  I actually prefer it over the Gregorian Calendar Year because:
 
  • I’m a Cancer – sign of the crab. Cancerians are ruled by the moon 
  • Every month I have specific rituals I do during the New & the Full moon which can be found by following the lunar calendar
  • I find the ebb and flow of the lunar calendar helps me to gauge my level of productivity (we’ll get into this in another post) during different lunar phases

Year of the Boar

Funny enough, this is the year of the pig or boar.  I was born in the year of the boar and so many things resonate with me.  If you don’t know what Chinese horoscope sign you are, check out this article that can help you figure it out. Basically just look up the year you were born and it will tell you what Chinese zodiac sign you fall under.  
 
Here are some interesting and all too true facts about me and my traits in the Chinese horoscope:
 
  • Positive traits – loyal, honest, trustworthy, gentle & warm hearted
  • Less desirable traits – sluggish, short tempered, extreme, frank

Traditions

Each Chinese New Year we have the usual traditions in our home however, our meals tend to change depending on the busy-ness of our schedules. All of these things help usher in a new year of prosperity, good health and luck for myself, our businesses and my family.  Here are the things we do as a family:
 
  • I fill Laisee (red envelopes) with different denominations of money from $5 to $50.  I pass these out to my kids, employees and service people that I use – like our pool guy, mailman, bank tellers, pharmacy tech etc. Basically these are traditional “Good Luck” money envelopes wishing the recipient luck and prosperity. 
  • I refill our lucky Neko cat 
  • We also begin the deep dive into our manifesting boards that we put together back on the Gregorian New Year (more about this soon)

Meals

I tend to plan my CNY menu a week in advance. I make specific dishes to ensure specific outcomes for the new year. Traditional Gregorian New Year has black-eye peas and greens, while our Chinese New Year menu goes something like this:
 
  • Rice – signifies prosperity, wealth  and fertility (not that we need any of this last thing)
  • Dumplings – signifies family unions. The crescent shape of the dumplings signifies wealth and prosperity because it closely resembles chinese money. My dumplings are usually filled with pork. Pork is for strength, wealth and prosperity.
  • Chicken – usually whole though I prefer Orange Chicken as it combines the orange flavors for luck and wealth with the chicken that symbolizes the family unit and joy. I’m gonna share my Lazy Girls version of Orange Chicken below. Just like all of my other recipes, it’s easy and delicious. 
  • Noodles – I always serve Chow Mein. It’s my moms recipe. Noodles brings long life and happiness to those who eat it. It also has a mixture of veggies in it and each veggie symbolizes a different thing. Carrots are good luck, onions for cleverness, mushrooms for opportunities and bean sprouts to bring a positive start.
  • Fish – symbolizes wishes, abundance and increased prosperity. I usually do a deep fried Snapper in my wok. A fish with the head and tail still attached is said to bring a good beginning to the new year and a good end to the previous. 
  • Shrimp – We love peel and eat shrimp because it’s super easy to make but sometimes when life is busy I buy walnut shrimp from the restaurant. Shrimp symbolizes happiness and good fortune.

  • Desserts – this really varies depending on my mood.  If I’m feeling ambitious, I’ll make a sweet sticky rice treat wrapped in banana leaf. But if I’m lazy, I’ll buy something from the asian bakery.  Sweet desserts in any form signifies safety, good fortune and sweetens the new year.

     
     
    When we started having kids, I wanted to be sure to have specific traditions that would not only teach them about their heritage but also be something they could look back on with fond memories. As they’ve grown, they actually look forward to their manifesting boards, having traditional meals and seeing how much money they got in their laisee’s. Till this very day, my mom sends them their little red envelopes via mail for Chinese New Year.  
    Hopefully this is something they never lose sight of and maybe even celebrate these things with their own families in the future. 
    xo

 

Print Recipe

Lazy Girls Orange Chicken

If you love Orange Chicken you will LOVE this easy recipe that will save you tons of time but taste like something you bought from a restaurant
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 5

Ingredients

  • 1 bag Frozen Chicken Breast Nuggets
  • 1/2 cup Frozen Orange Juice concentrate roughly half a tube
  • 6 T Soy sauce
  • 6 T Apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup Sugar either brown or white
  • 1 t Chili pepper flakes to taste
  • 3 T Cornstarch slurry equal parts cornstarch and water

Instructions

  • Cook the frozen chicken breast nuggets according to package instructions then set aside.
  • In a wok or pan, mix frozen orange juice, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, sugar and pepper flakes till frozen orange juice is melted and everything is well combined
  • Add cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce
  • Add cooked chicken breast nuggets and toss in sauce 5 mins

 

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