Cauliflower "breadsticks"

Cheesy Cauliflower Breadsticks via jo cooks
4 cups cauliflower riced, about 1 large head of cauliflower
4 eggs
2 cups mozzarella cheese I used a Tex Mex blend
3 tsp oregano
4 cloves garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup mozzarella cheese or more, for topping

Preheat oven to 425 F . Prepare large baking sheet w parchment. Cauli chopped in florets. Add florets to food processor. pulse til resembles rice. Place cauliflower in micro container. cover w lid. Nuke 10 min. Let cauliflower cool til no more steam. Place cauliflower in large bowl and add eggs, 2 c mozzarella, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix everything together. Separate mix in 2 and place each 1/2 on prepared sheets. Bake crust (no topping yet) 25 min til golden.  crust is not soggy. Once golden, sprinkle w remaining mozzarella and bake 5 min til cheese melted. Slice and serve.

lemon pepper pretzels

lemon pepper Seasoned Pretzels via sallys baking addiction
1 bag hard pretzels (anywhere from a 12 - 16 oz bag is fine)
3/4 cup oil (canola, vegetable, olive)
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons lemon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder*
2 teaspoons dill weed

Preheat oven to 200F . Line baking sheet w parchment. Set aside. Break pretzels into pieces. Place in  lg zipped-top bag. Add oil and spices. Shake together. shake it, let it sit for a min, and shake it again. every piece coated very well. If you find there aren't enough spices coating the pretzels, add more spices to your tastes. Sometimes I add up to 2 full T lemon pepper. Spread pretzels onto prepared baking sheet. If they don't all fit in a single layer, use two sheets. Bake 50 min, making sure to stir pretzels around two or three times during baking. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Pretzels stay fresh covered tightly at room temperature for 3 weeks. *add 1 teaspoon onion powder and reduce garlic powder to 1 teaspoon.

Sweet and spicy pretzels

I love the sweet and spicy combo, super addictive.

SWEET & SPICY PRETZELS via crazy for crust

4 c pretzel nibblers (small pretzel bites)

1/2 c sugar

2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4-1/2 t cayenne pepper

1/2 t ground ginger

1/2 t cinnamon

6 T maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet w parchment. Place pretzels on cookie sheet. Mix sugar and all spices in sm bowl. Place maple syrup in lg bowl. Bake pretzels for 3-5 min, til hot to touch. Pour pretzels in lrg bowl with maple syrup, toss to coat. Sprinkle spice mix over top and stir to coat. Turn out pretzels on cookie sheet and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

chocolate "hummus"

no one else wanted to try this, but i liked it on apples.

Healthy Chocolate Hummus via super healthy kids
2 c cooked, unsalted chickpeas (or 1 can)
3-4 T unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T almond butter
1/4 c maple syrup
1 t vanilla

Add all ingredients into the cup of a large food processor, and puree until smooth.

choc zucchini muffins

another zucchini muffin recipe, this one with just zucchini.

chocolate chip zucchini muffins via passion for savings
2 Eggs
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 c Brown Sugar
2 tVanilla
1 1/2 C. Zucchini
1 1/2 C. Flour
1/2 C. Cocoa
1/2 t Baking Soda
1 t. Baking Powder
1/2 t. Salt
1 Bag of Mini Chocolate Chips (or big ones if you arent fancy)

preheat oven 350F. Combine Eggs, Oil, Sugars, Vanilla in a bowl and mix well. Slowly add Zucchini. Combine Dry Ingred. Slowly add dry to wet. Add  Chips. use scoop in sprayed muffin tins. bake 350 22-25 min.

Chocolate banana bread or muffins

I'm pretty sure this is one of the recipes i would use to use up bananas and zucchini.  I would make it in muffin form and adjust the baking time. checking after 15 min. and then every 5 min.  Probably bakes 25 min?

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BANANA BREAD via if you give a blonde a kitchen
1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa
1 1/2 cups  flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c granulated white sugar
1/2c lt br sugar
2 large eggs
1 t vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup mashed ripe bananas  about 2 med bananas)
1 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 5x9 loaf pan with non-stick spray, set aside.In med bowl, mix cocoa, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. In large bowl, mix oil, vanilla and both sugars. Stir in eggs, bananas and shredded zucchini.  Fold in dry ingredients just until combined. Fold in chips. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake in preheated oven for 45 to 60 mins until a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs sticking to the toothpick.

Rice Krispie treats in a mug

So after accidentally deleting (and not being able to recover) an entire folder on my computer that held everything I'd ever baked since I stopped blogging, I'm going to attempt at blogging again.  Sometimes its just going to be the recipe I made with no comments other than how i changed it. And I'm not going to worry about grammar or spelling.  If you are reading this and have a problem with that.  Calmly bite your tongue and walk away.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's a recipe I was able to remember and recover.  Good thing too because its amaze balls.  Rice Krispie treats for one, in the microwave. I have tried crushed cornflakes, cinnamon life and chocolate krispies as well.  The coco krispies were my fav by far.

single serving krispie treats in the microwave via The comfort kitchen
1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
4 large marshmallows, or 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup Rice Krispies cereal

In a micro-safe mug, nuke butter on high until completely melted (about 30 sec). Add marshmallows and nuke for 20 seconds more. (Marshmallows will puff up, so be careful to not let them overflow from mug.) Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.

Stir in cereal until well blended.

Eat while hot before the marshmellows completely solidify and turn to cement.

PB Butterscotch Bread

Peanut Butter Butterscotch Bread via Today's Creative life
2 c flour
½ c sugar
1 t salt
2 t baking powder
1 c peanut butter
1 egg
1 c milk
1 c butterscotch chips

Stir flour, sugar, salt, baking powder into med  bowl. Using a fork, blend peanut butter into mixture until crumbly. In separate bowl, blend egg and milk .Add egg mix to pb mix and stir until moistened.
Fold in chips Pour into 9x5 bread pan. Bake at 350° for 45 min til toothpick comes out clean. You may need to use tin foil tent to prevent browning. Once it's finished, remove bread from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.

notes: this bread is highly addictive, so consider yourself warned!

Brown Sugar Kielbasa

This is the easiest thing to make for a gathering of friends.  I found the recipe on Organic Glory.

All you need is:
3 packages, roughly 1 lb each, of Kielbasa
1 lb of brown sugar
a crockpot.

That's it!

Step 1:  Slice the meat into coins.
Step 2: Toss in the slow cooker.
Step 3: Toss the brown sugar in the crock pot too.
Step 4: Cook on low 5 hrs or high for 2.5 hrs.

The juices from the kielbasa mingle with the brown sugar and make this insane glaze for the meat.  Just like the blogger on organic glory said, no one will believe you that the sauce is so simple.

I'll be making this for potlucks for a long time to come!

Sugared Cranberries

These were also made for Thanksgiving 2014.  I absolutely love them and could not stop eating them!


Sugared Cranberries from Our Best Bites
12-ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 c sugar
1 c water
*additional sugar for rolling

Wash cranberries and discard damaged ones. Place in a bowl. Combine sugar and water in a pot and heat until simmering. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let cool for a few minutes until warm (not hot). Pour over cranberries and let sit in fridge, covered, overnight. Use a slotted spoon to remove berries from syrup. Set berries on a cooling rack that is placed over foil to collect drips. Spread berries out so they are not touching each other. Let dry for 1 hour. Roll berries a handful at a time in sugar.  Place sugared berries on a baking sheet, or foil, etc. and let dry for an hour or two.I prefer to store in the fridge in an airtight container.. Try not to stack them too deep, the more they rub against each other long term, the greater chance of  sugar rubbing off.

Zucchini Pineapple Muffins

Zucchini Pineapple Muffins- makes 24 via Bless This Mess
2 c sugar
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c oil
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
3 c flour
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t  cinnamon
1 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
2 c shredded zucchini, water squeezed out
One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, well drained

Preheat oven to 350F. In med bowl add sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Sprinkle flour across top of wet ingredients and then sprinkle baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder across top of flour. Stir everything just until combined. Add zucchini and pineapple and stir .
Pour batter into 24 muffin cups and bake until center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 20 min. (Make sure zucchini and pineapple are drained well or the muffins will be gummy.)

Buffalo Fries

Buffalo Fries adapted from Tidy Mom
1½ bags seasoned fries
2 T EVOO
1 t garlic powder
1 t cayenne powder
ground pepper to taste
1 c prepared buffalo wing sauce
1½ c cheddar cheese, grated I used a triple cheddar blend
1/2 c blue cheese, crumbled
3 green onions, sliced

1/2 lb crumbled, cooked bacon

ranch dressing to taste

450F  line large sheet with parchment. In a large bowl, add fries and toss with oil. Add garlic, cayenne and pepper and toss to coat. Place in single layer on sheet.  Bake 20-25 min, turning after 10 min. Heat sauce over low heat to warm.  When fries crispy, turn oven to broil,  drizzle with sauce and cheeses.  Melt under broiler 2-3 min.  Cool and top with onions and bacon.  Drizzle with Ranch dressing if desired

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Twenty-eight: Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

I decided to make this dip from A Spotted Pony because I had 4oz of cream cheese left over from a different recipe.  4oz of cream cheese made a half recipe. 

I thought that the half recipe was quite a lot of dip.  Perhaps this was because I didn't particularly care for the dip.  Perhaps the dip just wasn't  cheesecake-y enough for my tastes.  Anyway, Mrblocko loved the dip with graham crackers and apples.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip via A Spotted Pony
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c powdered sugar
scant 3/4c pumpkin
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon

Beat softened cream cheese with powdered sugar. Gradually add pumpkin, pie spice, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Chill for at least 1 hr to blend flavors. Serve with graham crackers, apples, pears or gingersnaps.

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Twenty-six: Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Bars

I haven't had the best of luck in the past making granola bars.  I think it's because I have this notion that granola bars should be crunchy.  These bars were not crunchy, but they held together much better than other soft granola bars I've made in the past. They were a big hit with Mrblocko and Blockette.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin Bars adapted from Katrina's Kitchen

2 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c coarse chopped almonds
1/2 c ground flax seed
1 t cinnamon
3/4 t salt
1/2 t t ginger
1/4 t t cloves
1/2 c pumpkin
1/2 c applesauce
1/4 c honey
1/4 c pancake syrup
1 t vanilla
1/4 c cinnamon chips
1/4 c golden raisins

Pre-heat oven to 350 F and spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with Pam. In lg bowl, mix oats through cloves.
In med bowl, whisk  pumpkin through vanilla. Slowly add wet to dry until combined. Add chips and raisins. Pour in pan, bake 30 min til browned slightly. Cool completely before cutting.

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Twenty-five: Maple Pumpkin Bean Quesadilla

These Maple Pumpkin Bean Quesadillas were a real surprise.  I made them one day for lunch when I was home by myself.  So I didn't have to share! 

While beans and pumpkin aren't something I'd think of combining, they really work in this recipe.  The beans and pumpkin prevent each other from becoming too overwhelming.  Both flavors are present, but not overwhelming.  The sweet from the maple and salty from the cheese are also complimentary to each other. 

This is a fun lunchtime treat for when the pumpkin craving hits!

Maple-Pumpkin White Bean Quesadilla via Lunchbox.com
 2 tortillas
1 t coconut oil (I used olive oil)
1/4 c vegan cheese shreds, jack or mozzarella flavor (I used cheddar jack)
1/4 c canned white beans, drained and rinsed (I used leftover cooked from dried beans)
1 t maple syrup, grade B (I used pancake syrup)
2-3 Tcanned pumpkin puree, unsweetened
1/8 t salt
pinch of garlic powder, cinnamon, black pepper and cayenne

Pumpkin Dipping Sauce: 2 T pumpkin puree
pinch of salt, black pepper, cinnamon and cayenne
1 T hummus (or a splash of melted coconut oil) (I used olive oil again)
2 t maple syrup (I used pancake syrup)

  Spread pumpkin on tortilla, then beans.  Mash beans with a fork.  Heat pan over high.  Add oil. Place beaned up tortilla in pan when pan is heated. Add cheese, spices and syrup.  Prep your tortilla by slathering the pumpkin over the inside. Then add the beans and smash them into the tortilla with a fork. Top with remaining tortilla.  Cook for 1-2 min on each side until they are golden brown and crispy.  cut into wedges.

For sauce: Combine all ingredients and nuke for 30 sec.

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Seventeen: Pumpkin Choc Chip Granola Bars

I don't know what it is with granola bars.  I seem to have the worst luck.  They never want to cook properly, or they just plain fall apart.

These Pumpkin Granola Bars from In Katrina's Kitchen were no exception to the rule.  It took 40 min for the bars to set up, when the original recipe calls for a bake time of a mere 25 min. 

The strange thing about this is that the one substitution I made should have aided in the setting up process of these bars.  Instead of honey I used homemade maple flavored pancake syrup.  This syrup was made with mostly corn syrup, something that sets up much better than honey. 

Go figure.

Once I baked the bars for 40 min I thought if I let them cool completely they would set up how I wanted them to.  When they reached room temp I cut them into 12 bars.  12 very floppy bars that barely held together.

Sigh.

So back into the oven these little guys went. I placed them, spread out on a cookie sheet. They stayed in the oven for another 30 min, flipping them once at the halfway point. 

This extra bake time made them crispy on the outside.  I was afraid they would be hard all the way through like a biscotti.  Nope!  They were quite soft in the center.  Yay!  No one was going to break a tooth on them.

Sadly, by this point I was so frustrated with the bars that I no longer wanted to eat them.  Luckily my family were happy to oblige.  They made a great treat for Mrblocko and Blockette's lunches.

I'm posting the recipe as is from the site and you can decide if you need/want to add any additional bake times.

Pumpkin Granola Bars from In Katrina's Kitchen
2 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c chopped walnuts (I used toasted pecans and almond pieces)
1/2 c ground flax seed
1 t cinnamon
3/4 t salt
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1/2 c pumpkin
1/2 c applesauce
1/2 c honey or maple syrup
1 t vanilla
1/2 c mini chocolate chips

Pre-heat 350F and spray 8x8 pan. In large bowl, mix dry ingred: oats thru cloves. In med bowl, mix wet ingred: pumpkin thru vanilla. Slowly add wet to the ingredients til combined. Add chips and pour into prepared pan. Bake 25 min til lt brown. Let cool completely before slicing into 12 or 16 pieces

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Ten: Microwave Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Yesterday I posted about how I consumed an entire batch of pumpkin tortillas without sharing.  Here's proof that I'm not a complete meanie piggy piggy oink oink:

See!  I actually made something, and let my child eat it.  Am I redeemed? 

No?

Harumph.

Just to show you what a great sport I am, I'm gonna share this recipe for a microwave pumpkin coffee cake regardless of your lack of forgiveness.



2 Minute Pumpkin Coffee Cake in a Mug from Heather Likes Food
1 T butter
2 T sugar
2 T pumpkin puree
vanilla extract, few drops
1/4 C flour
1/8 t baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 t pumpkin or apple pie spice



 Crumble topping
1 T butter
2 T flour
1 T brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon

In a mug soften 1 T butter in microwave, 5-10 seconds. You don’t want it melted, just soft. Stir in 2 T sugar and mix. Stir in pumpkin, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and spices; stirring until just combined. Use the back of your spoon to smooth it out in the bottom of the mug.

Topping: In a separate, small bowl, combine 1 tbsp of butter(if it's not softened, you can nuke it for 5-10 sec), 2T flour, 1 T brown sugar, and 1/4 t cinnamon. Use your fingers to to pinch the butter and mix it in with the other ingredients. When it starts to look like lumpy sand, and all ingred combined, pour on top of cake batter in mug.

Nuke 50-80 sec depending on your microwave.  It will look just barely set on top. You don’t want to overcook it or it will get hard and gross. Nuke for 50 sec, and then in 10 sec intervals checking after each interval until done. Eat white it’s still warm. Once it cools off, it's not nearly as amazing.

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Nine: Pumpkin Tortillas

Pumpkin tortillas you say?  Don't they taste weird and vegetable-y?  Nope!  Not at all.  I could not taste any flavor from the pumpkin, just tortilla goodness.

What is different about these tortillas, aside from their yellow orangish color, is that they are a bit thicker and less pliable.  They'd be a bit tricky to roll into enchiladas, but are perfect for quesadillas.  Which is, of course, how I ate them.  All of them.  I ate the entire batch by my onsies.  Yup, guilty as charged, but not feeling a bit guilty about it at all. 

Hey, it's not like Mrblocko or Blockette could take a quesadilla with them to work or school.  I mean I guess they could.  Personally, I don't think cold melted cheese is all that wonderful.

But this isn't about me and how many pumpkin tortillas I ate in one sitting.  This is about you.  Make some for the people you love, even if that person is you!

Pumpkin Tortillas from Cook. Play. Explore.

1 c flour

1 c whole-wheat flour 

1 t baking powder
½ t salt
1 T olive or canola oil
1/4 c pumpkin purée
warm water

Combnie flour, baking powder, and salt . Drizzle oil over dry ingredients and blend well. Measure pumpkin into liquid measuring cup. Add warm water until total volume is 3/4 c. Whisk together with a fork until combined. Add pumpkin and water mix to dry ingred, a spoonful or two at a time, mix in, and repeat until  dough starts to come together in a shaggy ball. You might need a little more or a little less water. (It was really dry in my house when I made this and I needed an additional 1/4c water.)

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead for few min til smooth and elastic. (Rubbing oil on your hands will help prevent dough from sticking.) Divide into 8 to 10 pieces and roll into balls—about the size of ping-pong balls. (I made 8.)  The dough will be much easier to roll if you let it rest for 10-20 min, covered with plastic wrap. Heat skillet over med heat. Roll  ball of dough out into a very thin circle, about 7-8".

Put rolled-out dough onto heated skillet and cook for about 15 seconds  you should see some puffy spots and browning. Shake the skillet a little to slide the tortilla around if it gets too puffy. Flip every 15 to 20 seconds—it shouldn't take more than a minute or so. (I had to do a minute on each side)

Wrap cooked tortillas in kitchen towel to keep warm and soft, or store in a tortilla warmer while you cook the remaining tortillas. If you have leftovers, store them for up to a week in fridge in a zip-top bag or airtight container, or in freezer.

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Eight: Pecan Pumpkin Butter

How is it that I'm not the biggest fan of Pumpkin butter OR Pecan butter, but this pecan pumpkin butter from the Messy Baker is somehow magically delicious.

Yeah, let's combine 2 somethings, both made of things that you like, that turn into something you don't like, but you combine them and it is suddenly amazing.  That's some kind of new crazy math.  I have no idea how it works.  Who really cares?!  Make this and shove it in your face.  It's bloody scrumpdiddilyumptious.

Pecan Pumpkin Butter from The Messy Baker
1/2 c toasted, salted pecans
1/4 c pumpkin puree
2 T maple syrup
1/2t  pumpkin pie spice (I used apple pie spice just to be difficult)
1/4 t vanilla extract

Blend the pecans in the food processor until they get smooth and creamy. Add everything else, making sure to scrape down the sides.  Blend until combined and smooth.  This spread is great on toast, honey wheat pretzels, apples, graham crackers and, well, that's all I've tried.  Go crazy!  

30 Days of Pumpkin-Day Seven: Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Muffins

Vegan Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Muffins is a mouthful, but one I don't mind saying as long as they wind up in my mouth. 

I found this recipe over at Bakeaholic Mama.  Originally, the recipe calls for baking them in 2 loaf pans.  I don't do so well with quick bread.  Ahem, let me rephrase that, my restraint doesn't do so well with quick bread.  I will eat the whole loaf in one sitting.  For some reason I feel able to stop after 2 with muffins.  Although, with this recipe, it was still a strain on my will power.  I'm pretty sure it's the cinnamon...aka the crack of spices.

Vegan Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Muffins from Bakeaholic Mama
2 c flour
1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
2 c brown sugar
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 T cinnamon
15 oz fresh pumpkin puree
1 c vegetable oil
1/3 c honey (To make it vegan substitute maple syrup)
1/3 c water

TOPPING:
1/2 c flour
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 t salt
2 T cinnamon
2 T vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or line 2 muffin tins with paper wrappers. In lg bowl mix flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mix pumpkin, oil, honey, and water. Add wet to dry.  Using large ice cream scoop, portion batter into muffin cups. In sm bowl mix topping ingredients with a fork until slightly crumbly. Sprinkle over tops of each muffin. Bake for 45 min - 1 hr 15 min. (you can also bake in 2 loaf pans for the same time)Or until a tooth pick is inserted and comes out clean. Allow muffins to rest for 20 min before removing from pans. (you can also bake in 2 loaf pans for the same time)