Peanut Butter Protein Balls

This is a great healthy snack for kids and adults.  

1 c. natural, organic peanut butter (I use whatever peanut butter I have)

2 ½ c. rolled oats or quick oats

½ c. flax seed meal

¾ c. honey (use local – helps fight allergies)

½ c. unsweetened coconut

3/4 c. raw cacao nibs (found in health food store or online) (or choc. chips – just not as healthy)

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  It does get quite sticky, so I just use clean hands and mix it all together.  It should look like the consistence of thick cookie dough.  After mixed, wash hands and pour a bit of Canola oil on your hands so mixture won’t stick to you.  Scoop teaspoon size balls into your hand and roll.  I use a small cookie scoop. I like to put them on a cookie sheet line with wax paper to set in fridge for about an hour.  After that, just throw them into baggies and your set.  You could also freeze them if you will not eat in a week or so.  I often times double the recipe and then freeze them.

Sugar Glazed Walnuts

I am always making a lettuce salad with craisins, sugared walnuts, feta cheese with poppyseed dressing.  It is so quick and easy and yummy.  I have been searching the easiest way to toast my walnuts and sugar them.  I finally found this recipe and I love it because it is so easy and you can't burn your nuts.  I found it at allrecipes.com but I have adjusted it some so I will just put it the way I make it.

3 cups walnut halves (mine are straight from the freezer where I store my nuts)
3\4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water

In a 2 quart glass bowl combine walnut halves, sugar and water.  Cook in microwave oven on high for about 6 minutes.  Stir several times during the cooking.  Cook until the sugar has caramelized.  Pour out onto a piece of parchment paper and let cool.  Chop them up and you are ready to go.  This will make more than one salad.

Microwave Carmels

I saw this on Pinterest and just had to try them. They were simple and only took a few minutes to make. I am sure that they don't taste as good as the real ones when you stir at the stove all day but they were a pretty good substitution if you are in a hurry and need some caramel.

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup corn syrup

Combine all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 6 minutes stirring after every two minutes. If you want you can add vanilla but they are also good without or you could add nuts or after you pour it into your buttered pan you could sprinkle with a little sea salt. I used a pan that was 8 inches by 6 inches. Also, this made a soft Carmel that needed to be refrigerated. I tried it again and did it 7 minutes and they are a little firmer and don't need to be refrigerated. You could dip these caramels in chocolate or make your own turtles. Have fun making your own Carmel.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

I have had this recipe for years, it is one of my favorite summer time snacks. It is effortless to make and stays deliciously fresh for days! (well minus the avocado) Enjoy the last few days of sunny weather, grab some chips and dig in!

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

2 15oz. cans of black beans
1 avocado, diced
1/3 c. lime juice
1 sm. Red pepper, diced
1/4 c. olive oil
2 med. Tomatoes, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
6 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1 hot chili pepper, minced (optional)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
½ c. coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 ½ c. corn

Combine lime juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside

Combine all other ingredients and pour sauce over until well coated.  If making ahead, do not add avocado until ready to serve.

Junk

A friend of mine brought this to a ladies game night and it was delicious! I am a huge fan of sweet chex mix. This recipe is combines sweet chex mix with the saltiness of buttered popcorn. My kids and I are addicts!

Junk

2 bags popped popcorn  (use butter lovers if you dare!)
4 cups corn Chex
5 c. Golden Grahams (I left these out and added more chex)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. Karo Syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix popcorn, cereal and almonds; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine butter, sugar and syrup. Boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over cereal mixture and stir to combine.
YUMMY!

Monster Cookies

I am a day late posting but we will just pretend it is still Monday, that will give us more time until Christmas. Anyway, these have to be my favorite drop cookies. I actually try not to make these very often because I eat so many and I can't seem to control myself. It is a big batch and I do make half most of the time. Enjoy!

1 cup butter
6 eggs
2 cups white sugar
2 cups brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. corn syrup
2 cups peanut butter
4 t. baking soda
9 cups oatmeal
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
2 cups M&M's

Cream the butter and sugar and add eggs, vanilla, peanut butter and corn syrup. Mix well and then add the oatmeal and mix very well. Add your chocolate chips and m&m's and mix gently so the m&m's won't break apart. Drop onto cookies sheets and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Soft Pretzels

My dear sister (who should really start her own food blog...) shared this recipe with me. For those of you who don’t know, Mall pretzels are one of my favorite things to eat and try as I might I have never found a recipe to compare, until now! The kids had blast rolling, cutting and creating. And my bottom enjoyed the extra padding (I seriously ate at least half of the batch!)

 

Soft Pretzels

4 t. Yeast
1 t. Sugar
1 1/4 c. Warm Water
4 c. Flour
1/2 c. Sugar
1 1/2 t. Salt
1 T. oil
1/2 c. baking soda
4 c. Nearly boiling water (you want the soda to sizzle and dissolve, if your water is not hot enough it will simply settle at the bottom of your dish)
Kosher Salt
Cinnamon and Sugar Mixture

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 t. sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 c. sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7-8 minutes. (I just left the dough in my KitchenAid and let it go to town!) Lightly oil the dough, cover and place in a warm area to rise until double in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Dissolve baking soda in water. Take dough and divide into 12 pieces (or how ever you want: sticks, bites, etc.) Roll each piece of dough into a rope and shape. Dip each shaped piece into baking soda solution and place on cookie sheet covered in parchment. Bake for 6-8 minutes.
When the pretzels are out of the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with desired toppings.
YUMMY!

Five Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 T. flour
4 T. sugar
2 T. cocoa
1/8 t. baking powder
1 egg
3 T. milk
3 T. oil
3 T. chocolate chips
1/8 t. vanilla extract
1 large mug (microwave safe, I bought mine at the $1 store)

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add the milk, oil, egg and vanilla and mix well. Add chocolate chips and mix again. Spray your mug with cooking spray and pour mixture into mug. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed. I made these for my laurels for their birthdays. It would also be a great visiting teaching gift. Below is another recipe for another flavor. Enjoy!

Chocolate Butterscotch Mug Cake

1 egg
3 T. milk
3 T. oil
1/8 t. vanilla
1/8 t. baking powder
1/4 t. cinnamon
4 T. brown sugar
2 T. instant butterscotch pudding powder
4 T. flour
2 T. chocolate chips

Follow the the same directions above for these ingredients.

recipe from: microwavemugcakes.com

Cinnamon Flavored Popcorn

I learned how to make this at enrichment. She had many different flavors. You just have to have different flavored oils to do it. The options are endless. I have tried raspberry, cranberry, tutti fruitti, cherry and I have liked them all. I just haven't found the flavored oils to buy yet so cinnamon is what I tried out. It was also fabulous. I hope that no one notices that all I post are breads, cookies and desserts but here is the recipe and enjoy!

2 bags low fat microwave popcorn
1 cup melted almond bark
1/4 - 1/3 tsp. cinnamon oil

Pop your popcorn. Remove all your old maids. Melt your almond bark and then add your flavoring. It has to be oil flavoring. It can't be extract. Pour over your popcorn and mix and then pour out on parchment paper or wax paper and let dry. Enjoy! Your can store it in a zip lock bag.

Zucchini Bread

It’s that time of year again and we are swimming in zucchini! I have frozen over 20 cups of grated zucchini and have even tried freezing slices for baked zucchini later in the year.  Despite the heat here in Cali, I have made countless loaves of zucchini bread. Yum, yum, yummy!

This is my tried and true favorite zucchini bread recipe. I have changed a few things from the original recipe. I substituted applesauce for some of the oil and I added more zucchini. Which helps me feel a little better about the vast amount of bread I consume!

 

Lower Fat Zucchini Bread
2 eggs
1 2/3 c. sugar
2/3 c. oil
3 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. applesauce
3-4 c. grated zucchini (the more you use, the heavier your bread will be. I try to stick with around 3 1/2 c.)
3 c. flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
nuts, or chocolate chips if desired

Bead eggs until light and creamy. Add sugar, vanilla, oil, applesauce, and zucchini. Mix lightly, but well. Add dry ingredients, sifted together. Mix until blended. Stir in nuts or chips if desired. Pour into 2 loaf pans. (My kids love mini muffins, and I prefer the small loaf pans they just cook easier.)
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Enjoy!

Crunchy Carmel Corn

I know for most of you this is not a new recipe, in fact it isn't even my own. My sister wants me to post it and I definitely think it is good enough to deserve one!

Crunchy Carmel Corn
1c. brown sugar
½ c. butter (I typically cut out at least 2 T.)
¼ c. light corn syrup
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Pop 1 cup un popped popcorn in air popper. Combine brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in a 2 quart micro proof bowl. Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Add baking soda and vanilla. Place popped corn in a large brown paper bag. Pour syrup over corn and mix. Roll top of bag tightly to close. Microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes. Shake bag and microwave on high for 1 ½ minutes more. Pour onto flat surface, spread out and allow to cool.  (or just put it in a big bowl and stir until cooled.)