Moroccan Hummus Cups

Last week I made & served these cute cups at Benjamin's school. It was for an international food buffet for the teachers. I wanted to share it because they turned out so nice & this recipe was super easy.




1 container 7 oz plain hummus spread
1 tbsp Moroccan Rub
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, chopped
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
2 tbsp packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped
24 miniature tortilla chip cups
1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt...YUM)

Combine hummus & rub. Set aside. Combine tomato, cucumber, olives, & parsley leaves. Set aside. Pipe hummus into tortilla chip cups. Spoon yogurt over hummus. Divide cucumber mixture evenly among cups. Serve & enjoy!

from: Pampered Chef Season's Best Cookbook

adding some green

Here is a picture of those wonderfully delicious blueberry muffins I made last week. Oh so good. I'm also finding ways to add more GREEN to my diet.

Source: getmestronger.tumblr.com via Joysie on Pinterest

My own version this week...

1/2 c. almond milk/2% milk
2 heaping c. of fresh spinach (or fill your blender to the top)
a few frozen banana slices
1/2 c. greek yogurt
1-2 tbsp almond butter

Healthy and delicious! Thanks, pinterest!

Multigrain Blueberry Muffins

Great Recipe passed along by my sister - Thanks, Amy.


1 1/4 C whole wheat flour, spooned & leveled
1 C old fashion rolled oats
1/4 C flaxseed meal
1/4 C pecans (I didn't use nuts in mine)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt (I used TJs sea salt)
1 C plain non fat yogurt
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
3 Tsp unsalted melted butter
1 T grated orange zest, plus 1/4 C orange juice
1 lg egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 C fresh blueberries or one 8-oz bag frozen blueberries.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a food processor, process flour, oats, flaxseed meal, pecans, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until finely ground.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, butter, orange zest & juice, egg, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture & mix until incorporated. Fold in blueberries.Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Bake until tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 22-25 mins.

Muffins will keep at room temp for 3 days, and in freezer for 1 month - warm in mircowave 1-2 mins

pumpkin time

Yes, it's fall! Well, it's supposed to be. We are ready for cooler weather. Thanks, Amy, for sharing this recipe with me last year. I found it again in my recipe box...can't wait to make it for potluck Sunday!


Grandma's Yummy Pumpkin Pie Cake
topping: 1 box white or yellow cake mix, 1 cube butter (melted)
cake:
1 can (29 oz) canned 100% pure pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 c sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix butter and cake mix together until crumbly - set aside. Beat eggs and mix all 10 ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle cake with topping. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes (sometimes longer) or until knife comes out clean.

Tasty Tuesday!

Pure Sunshine Ice Pops

from Ice Pop Joy

2 cups chopped strawberries
4-5 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
4 tablespoons honey
1 cup purified water
1 cup ice

To make your Pure Sunshine ice pops:
Put all your ingredients into a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Pour mixture into reusable popsicle molds.
Freeze.
Eat and enjoy.

We loved thsese!

Taste Testing on Tuesday

Chocolate-Drizzled Strawberry & Cream Pie
from Our Best Bites.

I am not crazy about strawberry pie...I've never liked the overly sweet glaze that covers all the strawberries & the graham cracker crust tends to get soggy so fast. However with all our lovely strawberries from the farm, I chose to make this recipe. We LOVED it. I also found a premade granola crust at our local store & it held up much better & I loved its crunch! We highly recommend this recipe.

Enjoy!

a wonderful surprise!

[picture from www.ourbestbites.com]


Have you hopped over & visited Our Best Bites??? If you haven't, you must!
I made this cake for my sweet sister's birthday (& Ryan's too) last week & it was wonderful!

So...today guess what came in the mail?? Their recipe book! Thanks, sis!

I feel like it must be my birthday today. I can't wait to try out their amazing recipes. I love how their recipes are family friendly, easy & super tasty. Just what we need around our house. I'm going to love the inspiration.

Can't wait to grab a cup of tea & leisurely browse thru my new book!

Thanks, Amy!!

Taste Testing: Polenta Stuffed Poblano Peppers

4 plum tomatoes, halved
1 red onion, cut into wedges
1 tbsp olive oil
4 poblano peppers, halved lengthwise & seeded
1/4 tsp gr cinnamon
salt & pepper
1/2 cup instant polenta
1 10oz pkg frozen coren
1/4 cup soft goat cheese
4 scallions, sliced

1. Heat broiler. Toss tomatoes & onion in oil. Place onion, tomatoes, & peppers (cut side down) on sheet & broil until tender & charred, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir onions & turn tomatoes & pepper half way through.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. In food processor, puree tomatoes, onion, cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper until smooth. Spread half of the sauce in 9x13 pan. Arrange the peppers in dish, cut side up.
3. In medium saucepan, bring 2/14 cups water to boil. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk in polenta. Cook, whisking constantly until thickened (3-4 min). Stir in corn, cheese, & scallions (reserve 2 tbsp for later).
4. Divide potenta among peppers. Top with remaining sauce & bake until heated through (5-10 min). Sprinkle with remaining scallions before serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe for Wednesday's post

Super easy & wonderfully moist...we loved them!

Cranberry Cream Cheese Snickerdoodles
•1 (17.9 oz) pkg Betty Crocker Snickerdoodle cookie mix
•1/4 cup butter, softened
•4 oz light cream cheese, softened
•1 Tbsp water
•1 egg
•1 cup dried cranberries
1.In the bowl of a stand mixer, pour in cookie mix. Remove packet of cinnamon/sugar mixture and set aside.
2.Add butter, cream cheese, water, and egg to cookie mix and blend until smooth.
3.Fold cranberries into the dough and chill dough in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
4.Place cinnamon/sugar mixture in a bowl. Scoop spoonfuls of dough into cinnamon/sugar mixture and coat with mixture.
5.Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 8 to 9 minutes. These cookies will not go brown. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute.
6.Place cookies on cooling rack and cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies

Got Zucchini?

We're enjoying zucchini from our garden. Thanks, Amy, for this great recipe. We loved it and since it made 2 loaves, we shared it with our friends!



Zucchini Pineapple Bread

3 c sifted flour
1 t salt
1 t soda
1/2 t powder
1 1/2 t cinnamon
2 eggs
2 c sugar
2 c grated zucchini
2/3 c veg oil
1/2 c egg substitute (I just add another egg to the above 2)
2 t vanilla
2 8-oz cans crushed pineapple, drained

Combine flour, salt, soda, powder, cinnamon in large bowl. Beat eggs with mixer at med speed until foamy. Add sugar, zucchini, oil, egg sub, vanilla - beating until well blended. Add zucc mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in pineapple. Spoon batter into 2 loaf pans coated w/ cooking spray. Bake 325 1 hour. Cool 10 min in pans on wire rack. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Crave Cookies?

Banana-Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup oat flour
3/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raw sugar (I used brown sugar)
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 ripe banana, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or another favorite nute

1/3 cup chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate M&Ms)

Preheat oven to 350
Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl
Whisk together oil, milk & vanilla in separate bowl
Add wet mixture to dry ingredients, stir to combine
Fold in bananas, walnuts & chocolate chips
Line baking sheet with parhment paper
Scoop dough onto pan with small ice cream scoop
Bake 25 min. until golden brown
Let cool on wire rack

YUM! These hit the spot & were a wonderful afternoon treat...

We are so happy to see the sun today. Have a great weekend!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Polenta with Fried Sage

A wonderful side dish for this fall

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line sheet with parchment paper.
Toss together 1 lb butternut squash (peeled, seeded, & cut into 1/2 inch cubes)
and 2 tbsp olive oil in bowl. Spread on baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. Stir and bake another 15 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile soak 1 cup polenta in 1 1/2 cups of cold water in a bowl for 10 minutes.
Bring 2 cups chicken broth to a boil over high heat.
Stir in polenta and remaining water, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil.
Return to a boil, then reduce heat to low & simmer, stirring occasionally about 15 min until thickened. Stir squash into polenta and cook until heated through. Spoon into hot bowl to serve.

To fry sage: Melt 2 tbsp butter (I used 1 tbsp) in a small saucepan over medium heat, and cook until it sizzles and browns lightly. Add 12 fresh sage leaves and saute until crisp. Scatter over polenta. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese & serve!

side note: I purchased soft polenta in a tube and thus omitting the soaking in 1 1/2 cups of cold water. I added the polenta directly to the boiling chicken broth and it worked fine.
Enjoy! We all loved it.

A Perfect Summer Treat

We love this recipe...

Peach Smoothie

2 cups ice
2 peaches, pitted and cut into pieces
3/4 cup skim milk
1 container (7 ounces) plain 2% Greek yogurt
1/2 cup tangerine or orange juice
3 tablespoons honey

Directions:

In a blender, combine ice, peaches, milk, yogurt and juice. Place lid on blender and select mix or crush setting. Blend until smooth; while machine is on, pour in honey and blend an additional 30 seconds. Pour into glasses and serve.

The Best...

Cooking Light claims these are some of their very best recipes. I'm anxoius to try them out - as time permits. Thought you might enjoy seeing this link.

Lemon Blueberry Pudding Cake

Cake & filling:
1 can (21 oz) blueberry pie filling
1 pkg lemon cake mix
3 egg whites
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Pudding:
1 lemon
1 cup boiling water
1 pkg (3 oz)lemon gelatin
2 tsp powdered sugar
Thawed, frozen whipped topping (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Spray rectangular baker with nonstick cooking spray & spread pie filling over bottom of baker.
3. Combine cake mix, egg whites, water & oil in bowl; whisk until smooth. Pour batter evenly over pie filling.
4. Zest lemon to make 1 tbsp zest & juice lemon to measure 2 tbsp of juice.
5. Heat water in microwave until boiling; then add gelatin. Mix until completely dissolved. Add lemon zest & juice to gelatin mixture; pour evenly over top of batter.
6. Bake 35-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean from center of cake.
7. Lightly sprinkle with powdered sugar.
8. Serve warm with whipped topping.

Very moist & tasty!
Copied from "It's good for you" Recipe Book by Pampered Chef (I love this cookbook)

Crockpot Chicken Recipe - Try it out!

6 skinless chicken breasts
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth (I used low sodium)
1 pkg fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 pkg dry italian dressing mix
1 cup swiss cheese
1/4 stick of butter, melted

Combine in slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Shred chicken 1 hour before it is finished. Serve over hot bowtie pasta. Yum.

Benjamin is 3!

We had birthday celebrations all weekend long here. Fun play time with kids his age on Friday afternoon. I had fun making monkey cupcakes for the party. On Saturday after work day at the convention grounds, we celebrated again at a nearby park. Benjamin has been asking for a "Dalmatian doggie" cake for a long time, so this was my attempt at a very simple one. I'll admit - it tastes better than it looks. Here is the fabulous recipe for Sprite Cake. Thank you, Shauna, for sharing it!

Happy Birthday to our special Benjamin! How can you be 3 already? Life with you is so very fun, hilarious, & at the same time sobering. You watch us constantly & we are very aware of our influence on your little life. Everyday you learn new things, repeat what we say & tell us stories. You have a good imagination & you are learning to be our helper. We are so thankful for you.

Asian Chicken Salad

This is a recipe worth trying!
Salad: Mix together chopped napa cabbage, purple cabbage, sprouts, bell peppers, green onions, cilantro, spinach. Add cooked linguine noodles (I used whole wheat noodles) & cooked chicken (we grilled Lime & Cilantro marinated chicken from HEB)

For the dressing, mix together:
8 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1 lime
8 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp sesame oil
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp fresh ginger

Pour dressing over salad & mix. Enjoy!
It's a great summer recipe for any occasion.

Pretzel Time

One of our fun projects this week was making pretzels. Here is an easy recipe.

Prep:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with foil & spray with vegetable oil.

1. Sprinkle a package of yeast onto 3/4 cup of warm water. Add a tablespoon of sugar & stir. Let stand until mixture foams.
2. Put 2 cups of flour and 1/2 tsp salt into a bowl. Add the yeast mixture and stir.
3. Sprinkle flour on the counter and knead the dough until it's smooth.
4. Roll pieces of dough into ropes and make fun shapes.
5. Beat an egg with a fork.
6. Brush pretels with the egg & sprinkle with coarse salt.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. Enjoy!

High Five Highlights; November 2007.

Mango Salsa

There is nothing like homemade mango salsa to awaken the taste buds & make a meal extra special. I love the fact that I'll be find most of these ingredients in our garden during the rest of the summer (except mangoes, limes & lemons). On Saturday, Russell grilled chicken while I cooked brown rice & made the salsa. Yum.

1 mango - peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mix mango, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and lemon juice. Cover, and allow to sit at least 30 minutes before serving.