{From the Kitchen} Healthy Walnut Raisin Pumpkin Bread

I know it's not fall yet but that doesn't mean I can't make something with pumpkin in it, right?! OK, good...because I did. I've had two cans of pumpkin sitting in my pantry for awhile and I decided I wanted to try and make some type of pumpkin bread. 

I ended up making a healthy version of a pumpkin bread with added raisins and walnuts.
It turned out really moist and good! I would say that you could add some pumpkin pie spice to kick up the pumpkin flavor if you wanted. I'm going to try that next time I bake these.
This recipe used all pantry staples, too!

HEALTHY WALNUT RAISIN PUMPKIN BREAD

Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup pumpkin puree
Raisins
Walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a bread pan with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla.
Add in the pumpkin and whisk until evenly combined.
Add in all of the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Add in raisins and walnuts and stir until evenly combined. (I just added in as much as I wanted, up to your preference. You can also leave these out for just a plain pumpkin bread.)
Pour batter into the bread pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Adapted slightly from Simple Green Moms

Do you reserve pumpkin for fall? Or can you eat it any time of the year?

The Simplest {Peeps} Easter Cupcakes

Warning: These are pre-blog pictures which means real life pictures I took just for my own memories. Try to ignore the bottles of  fish oil and dirty glasses in the background.

I ran across this great idea to make Easter cupcakes using Peeps over at The Frugal Girls.
And you know of course, I never have exactly everything I need make something I see online...so we improvise. This is the quick and simple way to make these:

Ingredients
One box of cake mix
One tub of frosting
Cupcake liners
Toothpicks
Peeps Marshmallows
Small plastic ziplock baggie
Green food coloring

• Purchase boxed cake mix of your choice (I chose chocolate because....dirt...duh.) and bake as directed in muffin tins. I used some spring muffin tin liners but you can't even see the design. But that is okay because once again....dirt. :-)
• While muffins are baking, empty your tub of frosting into a bowl. Time to make the grass green. Add a few drops of green food coloring at a time, mix into the frosting and repeat until you have your desired color.
• Once cupcakes have cooled, it's time to make the grass. If you are lucky and have a piping bag and tips, you can use the grass tip for quick and easy grass. Mine took a wee little bit longer to make. Put your green frosting into a ziplock baggie. Cut the tip of one of the corners off. You can try 'piping' the frosting out and pull up to create grass but it was a little difficult. I ended up just making a 'pile' of grass like you see below. Play around with it, it's cute any way you look at it.
• Now you can take your Peeps (I grabbed both bunnies and chicks) and insert toothpicks halfway into the bottom of them. Stick the Peeps right into the center of the cupcakes.

Other fun twists on the Peeps Easter cupcakes:

• Color coordinate your cupcakes with matching peeps and frosting/sprinkles like Jen at CincyShoppers does.
• Add a few chocolate Easter eggs to your finished cupcakes just like MommySavers did.
• Or just bake the mix as a cake and surround your cake in Peeps like Karrie at Happy Money Saving did. Top with pastel M&Ms...adorable!

Are you a fan of peeps when they come out for Easter? 
Make any fun crafts or desserts with them?

From the Kitchen: Quick & Easy Personal Pizza

I'm feeling a little under the weather today. I hope you all are feeling well!
It's a good night for something super simple, quick and yummy. You can't go wrong with pizza, right?! My kids go crazy over pizza, it's one of their favorite foods. Mine too! I happen to always like mine with a veggie filled salad on the side.

I needed something for lunch recently and saw these flat breads were buy one, get one free.
I thought making little pizzas with these would be perfect! This isn't some novel idea but I love the variations you can put on these and how quick they can be made for lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

Flat Bread
Pizza Sauce
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Chopped Onion

Heat oven (I used my toaster oven to save energy) to 425 degrees.
Top flat bread with pizza sauce almost to the edge.
Sprinkle (load up!) with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
Add chopped onions (and any other favorite toppings.)
Bake for 10 min or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
The flat bread doesn't come out super crispy, so you may want to toast the flat bread first and then add the toppings and cook in order to get a crispier crust.

Variation Ideas:

• Sub the flat bread for english muffins, bagels or french bread.
• Add any variation of veggies: mushrooms, olives, green peppers, sweet peppers, jalapenos.
• Top with any kind of meat: ground beef, chicken, pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham.
• Use alfredo sauce instead of pizza sauce and top with leftover chicken, cheese and veggies.
• Sub pizza sauce for BBQ sauce and top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, chicken and red onion.
• Use cheese sauce instead of pizza sauce and add ground beef, lettuce and tomato for a cheeseburger pizza.
• Make a Hawaiian pizza by adding ham and pineapple. 

I even once used flattened out bisquits topped with alfredo sauce, mozzarella cheese and shredded chicken mixed with pesto. The possibilities are literally endless!

Do you ever make personal pizzas? What's your favorite way of making them?


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From the Kitchen: Lentil Soup

OK, so I realize that most of my recipes so far have been soup. It's just the time of year and the fact that they are so easy to switch up ingredients with. Lentils are so good for you as are all of the veggies in this soup. You don't even need to add meat and it is still a really hearty meal.

Ingredients:
1 cup dried lentils (rinsed and picked though)
2-3 carrots - diced
2 stalks celery - diced
1 leek- diced
medium onion - diced
clove of garlic
32oz carton of chicken broth
14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
olive oil
ham bone (optional)
fresh thyme (optional)

Saute carrots, celery, onion and leek in a large pot with olive oil.
Mince clove of garlic and add to pot once the veggies are soft.
Add can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, lentils and ham bone (optional), salt, pepper and fresh thyme (optional).
Bring soup to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Notes and Variations:

• The ham bone is great at adding flavor to the soup. But I never have a ham bone unless it is Christmas. You can leave that out or add: cubed ham, sausage, chopped Canadian bacon as I did above.
• You can sub the chicken broth for beef or vegetable broth.
• I've never actually made with the leek although I'm sure that would give it a nice flavor.
• I also never have fresh herbs on hand. I seasoned with a little Italian Seasoning this time.

Ever had lentils before? The first time (and only time) I've had them is in this soup.

From the Kitchen: White Bean, Kale & Sausage Soup

I really love being able to look at a recipe and alter it as needed depending upon what ingredients I have in the kitchen. It helps to utilize what you have already instead of making a trip to the store. It's nice to be able to cook the same recipe with slight variations to make it something new. This is a great simple and versatile soup. I'm giving the original recipe plus alternative suggestions and notes on how I typically make this soup below.

White Bean, Kale & Sausage Soup

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

4 cups kale, washed and torn into bite sized pieces

2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained (I tend to use cannellini)

8oz of hot turkey sausage

8oz pork links sausage

8 cups chicken broth
Pepper to taste

Parmesan Rind

(Chicken broth not pictured. whoops!)

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Cook sausage in the oil, slice it and return to pan to brown. Add onion and garlic to the pan and cook until translucent. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, parmesan rind and season with pepper.
 (Remove rind and bay leaf before serving.)
Stir in the kale, cover and simmer until the kale is wilted (8-10 minutes). Stir in the white beans and cool until heated through (about 5 minutes). Serve with grated parmesan.

Notes and Variations:

• I have never made with sliced sausage. I always use 16oz of either chicken sausage or italian sausage cut from the casings and browned, This time I used 16oz of pork sausage roll. I added onion, garlic and italian seasoning as I browned the meat.
• I had way less than 4 cups of Kale this time around. No big deal, still tasty. You can also sub the kale with spinach.
• I lowered the broth from 8 cups to 6 cups as I felt it was going to be a little too soupy with 8 cups. You can also switch to beef broth if preferred, 
• No bay leaf, no problem, You can omit. I never use a parmesan rind. You can sprinkle soup with whatever parmesan cheese you have or omit.

Does it make you nervous to alter recipes? Think you'll give this recipe a try? 

Linking Up with:
Tatertots & Jello

Valentine's Day: Chocolate Dipped Marshmallow Pops

So, I tried to get a different Valentine's Day post up before today but the project was a flop.

I'm hoping you still find time to try and make these on or before Saturday!

These heart marshmallows were bought at Aldi and as I stared at them in my pantry, I had the idea of turning them into these chocolate dipped marshmallow pops. So cute and easy...and a real sugar bomb! I could only eat one but my son on the other hand was happy eating three! Between my mother-in-law and I, we happened to have all we needed to make them.

What you need:

Bag of heart shaped marshmallows

6oz white chocolate

6 oz semi sweet chocolate

lollipop sticks

wax paper

sprinkles, nonpareils, etc

Start out by putting the lollipop sticks into the bottom of the marshmallows.

Now you want to melt your chocolate over a double boiler. Way easier than it sounds and a much better option than melting the chocolate in the microwave. I always seem to burn the chocolate if I attempt to melt it in the microwave. These are the double boiler instructions we followed. 

Dip the top third or half of your marshmallow pop into the chocolate.

Now you can sprinkle your pop with whatever sprinkles you choose.

Lay on a wax paper lined baking sheet. When all of your pops are done, put in the fridge for 15 minutes to set. And then enjoy!

Or pass out to all the neighborhood kids. :-) 

We ran out of lollipop sticks and still had chocolate left so we made some more chocolate dipped marshmallows sans lollipop stick.

Did you make any treats for Valentine's Day? 

Linking Up with:
Tatertots & Jello

From the Kitchen: Pancakes from Scratch

I love when I'm putting my son to bed and he tells me as I walk away..."see you in da mornin' and don't forget to make panpakes!!"
I was looking for a 'from scratch' recipe for pancakes and found this one on food.com.
It's a simple, basic recipe and I always have the ingredients needed on hand. From this recipe you can alter it however you like. I've noted below how I've tweaked this recipe for the blueberry pancakes I made over the weekend. I've also made banana, banana and walnut, I've added apples/applesauce, peanut butter etc. Although I'm guilty of still buying boxed waffles from time to time as I do not have a waffle maker, I never buy boxed mix or frozen pancakes anymore. This saves money, it tastes better and is a healthier option. It's perfect! 

Blueberry Pancakes 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use 1 cup unbleached, white flour + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
2 tablespoons sugar (I substitute with brown sugar)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (plus more for cooking. I prefer canola oil.)
cinnamon (I just add a few shakes to the batter. You can omit if you prefer.)
blueberries (frozen or fresh) (You can omit or replace if you prefer.)

In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the milk. Add the two eggs, vanilla and oil, whisking until mixed but still a bit lumpy. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil in a pan on medium. Once heated, use 1/4 cup scoop and add pancake mix to pan. Sprinkle blueberries on top. When pancakes start to bubble and are golden brown on the bottom, flip and continue cooking until both sides are golden brown. The oil will create a nice, crisp ring on the edge of the pancake. You will want to make sure to add more oil in the pan as it gets cooked away with the pancakes.
Serve with butter, pure maple syrup, additional fruit on top, etc. 

Original Source: food.com


See how easy it is to adjust according to your preference or what you have on hand?! What's your favorite way to make pancakes? Let me know if you give making pancakes from scratch a shot!

From the Kitchen: Three-Bean Chili

Ohhh it's Friday! I always love to see Friday.  

I was flipping through my Rachael Ray magazine the other night and found a recipe for Three-Bean Chili.
I typically make a basic chili with kidney beans but this recipe called for black beans, chickpeas and pinto beans. Yum!  I was a little worried about the husband and kiddos liking this take on chili but they loved it!

I haven't made a recipe from a magazine in a while because sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed by the ingredient list. But this one was simple with basic ingredients but a nice twist on a classic, hearty recipe.

Rachel Ray's Three Bean Chili

2 tbsp vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small jalapeno, minced (I omitted this)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed
1 15oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15oz can pinto beans, rinsed
Sour cream, cilantro, shredded cheese, green onions for topping
Optional: 1 1b ground beef, cooked

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium. Add the bell pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chili powder and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans and 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium.(Add the ground beef here if you want to add meat to your chili.) Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens, 20 to 25 minutes; season. (I added Wondru/flour to help thicken the chili a bit.)

Original Source: Rachael Ray Mag

It's the perfect season for chili so let me know if you give this a try! I'd love to know what you think or if you made your own tweaks to the recipe.