Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Leave a reply

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

So it has been a really long time since I’ve posted anything here, but we tried this recipe out tonight and it was SO good and SO easy that I wanted to share. It got two big thumbs up from the kids!

Ingredients:
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pure pumpkin
1/2 bag mini chocolate chips (12 oz. bag)

Directions:
In a medium size bowl, stir spice cake mix and can of pumpkin together until well mixed. If it is too thick to mix well, you can add just a little splash of milk to help, but it should stay pretty thick. Dump in about half a bag of mini chocolate chips and stir in (half a bag really is enough). Scoop into spoon-size balls onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

You can also easily make these into muffins, just bake a little bit longer.

Pretzels with Nutella and Raisins

Leave a reply

The kids and I were eating sandwiches and pretzels for lunch today and I was craving something sweet. I pulled out some raisins, and then suddenly decided some Nutella sounded good.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to eat it on, but I wanted it. Moments after, this tasty snack was born.  It’s a super easy, semi-healthy snack that the kids can even make for themselves.

Ingredients:
Mini pretzels
Nutella
Raisins

Directions:
Dip the edge of a mini pretzel into the Nutella (a little goes a long way), then dip into a pile of raisins so that 3-4 raisins stick to the Nutella.  Put in your mouth and enjoy the chocolaty, salty, sweet goodness!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Leave a reply

This is basically my old standby banana bread recipe with blueberries added in, however I did make a couple of modifications.  We’ve been making efforts towards healthier eating (not that banana bread is exactly healthy), so I’ve been trying to incorporate whole wheat flour into some of my recipes.  In this one I substituted 1 cup of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour.  Because the whole wheat flour absorbs more moisture, I made a couple of other minor adjustments as well.  I think this turned out great so I wanted to share.  Seriously, I’d rather eat this than cake, and that’s saying a lot.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
2 large eggs
3-4 medium bananas, mashed
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda*
1 tsp salt*
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and move rack to bottom (so top of bread will be in center of oven).  Spray bottom only of a Bundt Pan with non-stick spray (You can also use two regular bread pans if you don’t have a bundt pan).  This was a little more sticky than my plain banana bread and stuck in a few places, even in my silicone bakewear.

Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl.  Stir in eggs until well blended.  Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened.  Stir in blueberries and pour into pan, spreading evenly.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until top is browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for about 5-10 minutes in pan, then loosen sides and remove from pan.  Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days (although I doubt it will last that long).

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda and salt.

Apple Dumplings

Leave a reply

IMG_4484

These are the easiest apple dumplings you will ever make and they are so delicious, you never need to try another recipe. A friend linked to this apple dumpling recipe on Pioneer Woman’s site and I just had to try it. It was definitely a keeper, so I’m linking to it here to share with you and so that I never lose the recipe.  Go make these, drop some vanilla bean ice cream on top, then come back and try to tell me you didn’t eat the whole pan.

Sandwich Wraps

Leave a reply

wraps
I know the idea of this is nothing new, but I wanted to share a quick meal idea that has been working for us lately.  On those days that you just need to throw together a quick dinner, these sandwich wraps are perfect.  Call them wraps, roll-ups, or whatever you want, these are so easy and a nice change of pace when you get into a rut.  Plus, it’s a great way to get some extra veggies in!  My picky 4-year-old, my 1-year-old, my husband and I all love them.

Ingredients:
1 package tortillas
Thinly sliced turkey, ham, or other lunchmeat
Garden Vegetable cream cheese (we use the low-fat version)
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Lettuce
Spinach
Tomatoes
Shredded carrots
(You can use whatever veggies you want in this. It’s a great chance to get creative!

Directions:
Lay your tortilla out flat. Spread a thin coat of the garden vegetable cream cheese on tortilla.  Lay a couple slices of turkey or ham on top of the cream cheese.  Layer the shredded cheese and various veggies on top of that.  Roll it all up in the tortilla and enjoy!

Suggestions:
I like to slice the wraps into small pieces (as shown in the horrible picture above).  The kids seem to eat them better than when handed an entire wrap.  These are also a great way to use up a little bit of left-over salad or veggies from the night before!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Leave a reply

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients:
2 cloves chopped garlic*
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
3 Tbsp Tahini (sesame paste)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped Roasted Red Peppers

Directions:
With food processor turned on, drop garlic cloves in and chop.  Drain garbanzo beans and set liquid aside.  Add beans, tahini, lemon juice, and red peppers to food processor and mix together.  Add liquid from garbanzo beans as needed and mix in food processor until texture is smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Suggestions:
Serve with pita bread or pita chips.  It also makes a great spread for sandwiches!

*If you plan to store it for more than 1 day, you might want to go a little lighter with the garlic.  The garlic flavor tends to get stronger over time.

Monkey Bread

1 Reply

A few years ago, when my son first started going to day care, I discovered the deliciousness that is Monkey Bread. His day care provider made it occasionally for breakfast and after tasting it I demanded to have the recipe.  I saw a recipe for it posted on another site the other day and decided that I had to have it this weekend!  There are lots of variations and different recipes for Monkey Bread, but this is pretty much how I make it (though I rarely measure anymore).

monkey

Ingredients:
3-4 cans refrigerated biscuits (my bundt pan seems to hold 3 better)
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon (more or less to taste)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 sticks butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Open biscuits and cut each biscuit into quarters. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a 1 gallon ziplock bag. Drop biscuit pieces into bag, seal, and shake to coat biscuits with mixture. Place biscuit pieces evenly into bundt pan.

Heat brown sugar and butter (either on stove or microwave) until they blend together and are no longer separated. Pour mixture over the top of biscuit pieces in pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until top is brown.

Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then flip onto plate or serving dish.

Mexican Casserole

Leave a reply

I first found this recipe over at Blissfully Domestic, but I’ve adapted it just a little by adding black beans. My family loves it! It’s a quick and easy meal and is perfect for big family get togethers because it is filling and everyone can top it their own way!

mex_cass1

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef, browned
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (10-ounce) can Ro-Tel tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 (8-count) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 (8-ounce) box Mexican Velveeta, sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Combine browned ground beef with Ro-Tel tomatoes, black beans, taco seasoning, and cheese in skillet. Stir and cook just long enough to melt cheese.

For your crust, simply press 1 can of crescent rolls into bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 pan.

Layer beef mixture on top of crust and spread other can of crescent rolls on top.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

Suggestions: Serve with sour cream, lettuce, tomato, olives, rice and beans for a true Mexican meal!

Banana Bread

1 Reply

Bananas are a big favorite in my house (although sadly my baby girl can no longer have them) so we usually have a few laying around.  The only problem is, I like to eat the bananas when they are still just a tiny bit green.  That means I pretty much have a one day window to get them eaten up at premium ripeness.  Once they get beyond that point I’m not very interested in them anymore.  For years I have said that I was going to learn to make banana bread to help use up my bananas and I finally found a recipe that I absolutely love!  The only ingredient I don’t normally have on hand was the buttermilk.  The bread turned out delicious and was gone entirely too fast.

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
2 large eggs
3-4 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt (I think I left this out and it turned out fine)
1 cup chopped nuts (if desired)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and move rack to bottom (so tops of bread will be in center of oven).  Grease bottoms only of 2 8-inch loaf pans or 1 9-inch loaf pan (I suggest using 2 if you have them).

Mix sugar and margarine in large bowl.  Stir in eggs until well blended.  Add bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until moistened.  Stir in nuts and pour into pans.

Bake 8-inch loaves for 1 hour, 9-inch loaf for 1 hour, 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool for about 5 minutes in pans, then loosen sides and remove from pans.  Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.

Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days (although I doubt it will last that long).

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking soda and salt.

Oreo Cookie Bark

Leave a reply

A co-worker passed this recipe along to me just after the holidays and I completely forgot about it until this weekend.  When I found it attached to my fridge, I knew I had to make up a batch.  With only four ingredients, this is super easy to make.  It’s also a great recipe for the kids to help with since the chocolate can be melted in the microwave!

oreobark

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp peanut butter
1 package (6 squares) white chocolate, melted
1 package (8 squares) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
10 Oreo cookies, crumbled

Directions:

Add peanut butter to white chocolate and stir until well blended.  Stir 1/2 of cookie crumbles into each bowl of chocolate.  Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto a waxed paper covered baking sheet, alternating colors of chocolates.  Swirl with a knife.  Refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).  Break into pieces and enjoy!