Hi guys and gals! Hope you are enjoying your summer! Remember when I said I was going to blog here again? I guess I lied! :\ I swear - I have good intentions! I just... forget sometimes! :) Anyway, I hope this finds you well! The boys are growing so quickly - Jude is almost 3.5 (ahhh!) and Noel is 10 months! It's odd not having a toddler anymore (is 3.5 a toddler?) and coming into toddlerhood with another one. It's sad that this stage of life passes so quickly.
Anyway! We went to our dear friends' house for dinner last week and I wanted to make something a bit fun and different. I decided to try to trick them with my black bean brownies, but I changed them up a bit. I took this recipe and changed it just a bit. I omitted the peppermint extract and chocolate chips and added some peanut butter and a good handful of frozen spinach. Gross, right? But delicious! The kids ate them and my dear friend's husband was game to try to guess the secret ingredients in these "special" brownies and he guessed peanut butter - so wahoo! Success!
Here's what you need:
-15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed in a colander
-1/4 c peanut butter
-1/4 c spinach
-3 tbsp olive oil
-3 large eggs
-1 c sugar
-1/2 c cocoa powder
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
Optional:
Chopped nuts
Chocolate chips
Oats
Here's what to do:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 pan.
Combine beans, peanut butter, spinach, and olive oil in food processor and process until creamy (it doesn't have to be SUPER smooth.. it's difficult to get it to that consistency). Add tthe eggs, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Process until it's fairly smooth. If you want to, add some nuts, oats, or chocolate chips to make it extra delicious!
Bake 30 - 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. The edges will pull away from the pan a bit, too.
Eat up, if you dare! :)
Enjoy!
And if you're a crazy lover of Christmas like me, come say hello on my new blog - the Crazy Christmas Ladies!
Kali
Showing posts with label snacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snacks. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Super Simple Cereal Bars!
Oh my gosh, that sounded way too Rachael Ray-ish. Anyway, these are so easy to make and you can use whatever fruit (or even jelly!) you have to make them, which is great! These are like those Kashi or Nutrigrain bars that are awesome to have in your bag but cost way too much!
Here's what ya need!
2 c oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour (I'm sure you could use 2 c of either flour, I was just experimenting a bit)
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
Dash salt
1 c butter
1 - 2 c berries, fruit, jelly, whatever... you have to eyeball it a bit and make sure it covers the entire tray. (PLUS 2 tsp cornstarch if you're using just fruit
For the fruit part, I used about 1 3/4 c frozen blueberries,frozen strawberries, and raisins. I added the cornstarch when they were thawed and mixed it in to thicken them a bit.
So here's what you do:
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 9x13" baking pan.
Combine oats, flour(s), brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or use a food processor. It'll be chunky and crumbly, which is what you want. The cutting in the butter part is a bit of a pain, but not too bad. You can reward yourself by sampling some of the product along the way! :)
So anyway, take HALF of this mixture and press it into your pan. Bake it for 15ish minutes, until it's a bit brown and set. Spread your berries/fruit/jelly over top of this and then cover with remaining dough, press down firmly, and bake another 15 minutes!
Voila! It makes a ton of cereal bars, so I took that Glad Press 'N Seal stuff and laid each bar flat on it and covered with another piece and made individual wrappers to take the bars on the go! I also froze a bunch and they kept well! My uncle says a bit of lemon zest in the fruit part would be a nice touch, too, so try that if you want!
Hope everyone had a yummy, sugary Halloween! The holiday season is officially upon us, woo hoo! I can say that now without everyone getting annoyed, right? ha!
Here's what ya need!
2 c oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c white flour (I'm sure you could use 2 c of either flour, I was just experimenting a bit)
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
Dash salt
1 c butter
1 - 2 c berries, fruit, jelly, whatever... you have to eyeball it a bit and make sure it covers the entire tray. (PLUS 2 tsp cornstarch if you're using just fruit
For the fruit part, I used about 1 3/4 c frozen blueberries,frozen strawberries, and raisins. I added the cornstarch when they were thawed and mixed it in to thicken them a bit.
So here's what you do:
Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a 9x13" baking pan.
Combine oats, flour(s), brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or use a food processor. It'll be chunky and crumbly, which is what you want. The cutting in the butter part is a bit of a pain, but not too bad. You can reward yourself by sampling some of the product along the way! :)
So anyway, take HALF of this mixture and press it into your pan. Bake it for 15ish minutes, until it's a bit brown and set. Spread your berries/fruit/jelly over top of this and then cover with remaining dough, press down firmly, and bake another 15 minutes!
Voila! It makes a ton of cereal bars, so I took that Glad Press 'N Seal stuff and laid each bar flat on it and covered with another piece and made individual wrappers to take the bars on the go! I also froze a bunch and they kept well! My uncle says a bit of lemon zest in the fruit part would be a nice touch, too, so try that if you want!
Hope everyone had a yummy, sugary Halloween! The holiday season is officially upon us, woo hoo! I can say that now without everyone getting annoyed, right? ha!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Easy peasy cheesey puffs! (My take on "Goldfish")
So I was thinking of a new snack to make when I saw the Cheddar Bunnies in my pantry adn thought.. AHA! This recipe is SO quick, easy, and mess-free. Jude and I just sat and ate a ridiculous amount, too, because they are downright delish. Here's what I did!
1/4 c old fashioned rolled oats, ground in the food processor (do this FIRST) (If you don't have oats on hand, use 1/2 c flour)
1/4 c flour
2 tbsp cold butter. I used Smart Balance, so I didn't chop up the butter, but if you use regular odl butter - cut it up into smaller pieces.
4 oz grated cheese (I used a "Mexican 4 cheese blend"... 4 oz is about half a bag)
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp water
Pulse the oats, flour, butter, cheese and salt in a food processor until combined. It'll be a course mixture. Add in the water, 1 tbsp at a time until the mixture comes together a bit. You'll be able to press it into a ball with your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 or so minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into 1/8 -1/4 inch thickness. For a totally easy clean up - open the plastic wrap and cover the top with some parchment. Roll on top of the parchment and when finished rolling, used said parchment to line your cookie sheet! Voila!
After your dough is rolled, either cut out with itsy bitsy cookie cutters, or take the easy route like I did and cut dough with a pizza cutter into about 1 inch by 1/2 inch rectangles. You can make them any size or shape you want, really, but I wanted something that would fit into Jude's snack container! :) Transfer the dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
The result is a Goldfish-flavored cracker-like puff that is sooo tasty! The bottom is a bit crispy and the top is soft and doughy, kind of like a puff pastry. Keep them in an airtight container for a couple of days.
This bowl WAS full until someone got their hands on it... Okay, I may have eaten a bunch, too!
This would've made almost 3 cookie sheets full of puffs, but my little "helper" threw an entire batch on the ground!
Enjoy and have a great weekend!
1/4 c old fashioned rolled oats, ground in the food processor (do this FIRST) (If you don't have oats on hand, use 1/2 c flour)
1/4 c flour
2 tbsp cold butter. I used Smart Balance, so I didn't chop up the butter, but if you use regular odl butter - cut it up into smaller pieces.
4 oz grated cheese (I used a "Mexican 4 cheese blend"... 4 oz is about half a bag)
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp water
Pulse the oats, flour, butter, cheese and salt in a food processor until combined. It'll be a course mixture. Add in the water, 1 tbsp at a time until the mixture comes together a bit. You'll be able to press it into a ball with your hands. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 or so minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Roll dough into 1/8 -1/4 inch thickness. For a totally easy clean up - open the plastic wrap and cover the top with some parchment. Roll on top of the parchment and when finished rolling, used said parchment to line your cookie sheet! Voila!
After your dough is rolled, either cut out with itsy bitsy cookie cutters, or take the easy route like I did and cut dough with a pizza cutter into about 1 inch by 1/2 inch rectangles. You can make them any size or shape you want, really, but I wanted something that would fit into Jude's snack container! :) Transfer the dough onto the parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
The result is a Goldfish-flavored cracker-like puff that is sooo tasty! The bottom is a bit crispy and the top is soft and doughy, kind of like a puff pastry. Keep them in an airtight container for a couple of days.
This bowl WAS full until someone got their hands on it... Okay, I may have eaten a bunch, too!
This would've made almost 3 cookie sheets full of puffs, but my little "helper" threw an entire batch on the ground!
Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Ugly cookies!
These cookies are a great snack and much cheaper than buying animal crackers, honey sticks, etc CONSTANTLY! I call them "Ugly cookies" because when I make them, I really don't try too terribly hard to make them look attractive, so they sometimes come out looking a bit... ugly! :)
1 1/3 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter (1 stick) - room temp. I usually soften in the micro for about 20 seconds
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg (if you have it)
Pinch salt
A squeeze of lemon juice, if you want! I was trying to make something like Trader Joe's Organic Animal Crackers (aren't they good?!), hence the bit of lemon
In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Sift (or whisk) together flour, spices, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a thick dough forms. Cover and chill for an hour.
(After an hour or so passes...)
Preheat oven to 350. Here is what I do: Take a sheet of parchment and lay it on the surface you are going to roll the dough. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Put another piece of parchment or wax paper on top (I use wax paper on top because it's cheaper than parchment and you can NOT bake cookies on wax paper. I learned this the hard way!) and roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. At this point, you can either cut out the cookies with cookie cutters, but if you choose to do that, you'll have to keep rolling the dough out again and again with the scraps, just like with sugar cookies. That's a pain! I take a pizza cutter and cut the dough into little strips across and then again down, so they are little rectangles, much like those Earth's Best Honey Stix. I try to seperate the dough a bit, but if it's sticking to the parchment, don't fret! They break apart pretty easily if you cut them well! Bake 10 - 12 minutes. They won't be pretty, but they will be delicious! Enjoy!
Please note - This recipe is a work in progress. I've made it a handful of times and keep tweaking it a bit here and there, so I will revisit it and update here and there!
1 1/3 c flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter (1 stick) - room temp. I usually soften in the micro for about 20 seconds
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg (if you have it)
Pinch salt
A squeeze of lemon juice, if you want! I was trying to make something like Trader Joe's Organic Animal Crackers (aren't they good?!), hence the bit of lemon
In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Sift (or whisk) together flour, spices, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the butter mixture until a thick dough forms. Cover and chill for an hour.
(After an hour or so passes...)
Preheat oven to 350. Here is what I do: Take a sheet of parchment and lay it on the surface you are going to roll the dough. Sprinkle lightly with flour. Put another piece of parchment or wax paper on top (I use wax paper on top because it's cheaper than parchment and you can NOT bake cookies on wax paper. I learned this the hard way!) and roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. At this point, you can either cut out the cookies with cookie cutters, but if you choose to do that, you'll have to keep rolling the dough out again and again with the scraps, just like with sugar cookies. That's a pain! I take a pizza cutter and cut the dough into little strips across and then again down, so they are little rectangles, much like those Earth's Best Honey Stix. I try to seperate the dough a bit, but if it's sticking to the parchment, don't fret! They break apart pretty easily if you cut them well! Bake 10 - 12 minutes. They won't be pretty, but they will be delicious! Enjoy!
Please note - This recipe is a work in progress. I've made it a handful of times and keep tweaking it a bit here and there, so I will revisit it and update here and there!
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