Recipes

Marsala & Veggie Brown Rice Risotto

October 29, 2014 by Dana

Ok let me just state the obvious… I got new little dishes and I LOVE THEM! It’s like I’m a little kid again playing around with a tea party set or something. Although my real childhood tea party set was not near as cool because it was plastic and I ate boxed Hamburger Helper out of it. Really parents, really?

Now that I’m an adult I get to go to Pier 1 with my big girl pants on and pick out some awesome little dishes to take pictures of food in. ~~Scratch that.~~ I get to go to Pier 1 with my oldest son who REALLY wanted to break something in there, so I was basically panicking the whole time because the associates were glaring at me like I was a totally inadequate parent for bringing my child in there. Single with no kids much? I promise associates, one day you’ll totally get it.

Enough about my awesome dishes, let’s talk about this brown rice risotto because lawdy this stuff is amaze-balls. So amaze-balls I get to say amaze-balls. I love, love, love cooking with marsala wine, and anytime marsala is involved so are baby bellas. Baby bellas + marsala + me = LOVE, just incase you didn’t get that when I said ~~amaze-balls~~.

Now let me just tell you beforehand, making risotto is more time consuming then just throwing the lid on a pot of brown rice and walking away. You DO have to ladle the liquid into the pot little by little, but I think it is worth it in the end when you have a ol’ pot of this risotto that you might just want to keep all for yourself. Making it isn’t technical, it just requires a little extra attention. Also, make sure you use quick cooking brown rice or this will take an eternity to cook!

Apple and Brie Quesadilla

October 28, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)
It is Halloween week everyone! That means my household will be flooded with a ton of packaged crap and somehow I have to convince my kids that they should eat real food. Enter Apple Pie and Brie quesadilla to steal the show and lure my kids back to real food! Because who can resist melted brie?

HELLO ooooeeyy-gooooey brie that is melted perfectly atop a bed of maple and cinnamon glazed apples! Yes, I just said maple because not only is this quesadilla delicious, it is naturally sweetened (duh!) and on a whole sprouted grain tortilla. A decadent dessert to feel good about? Say it ain’t so!

I mentioned the whole wheat tortilla and this is when I get all PSA up in here and talk about nasty ingredients food manufacturers poison people with. Please check the ingredients on your tortillas before you purchase them! If you see any of this crap, look for another brand. I had to search and search for a brand that wasn’t using any of this stuff, and unfortunately these ingredients are pretty standard in packaged tortillas:

partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fats)
preservatives
artificial dyes
sneaky refined grains (even if it is labeled whole wheat)

I use Food for Life brand Ezekiel tortillas found in the frozen foods section. Freezing = no preservatives! Yes, these better products do exist and making one simple swap can make or break something being good for you. Check those ingredients so we aren’t giving our money to companies that just don’t get it yet! 🙂

Ok, now that my health food freak out is over let’s talk about how good these babies are, because the ice cream struggle is real and sometimes I just want something sweet! This quesadilla made me kind of forget how much I love ice cream, and that says a lot! I’ve been looking for a way to give my sweet tooth a little fix without going totally overboard with a huge ice cream cone or bowl as big as my head. This is exactly what I was looking for because 1) I LOVE CHEESE and 2) the creaminess of the brie eliminates the desire to go totally overboard with sweetening the apples. That’s right, the brie is such a good companion that I only used 1 Tbsp of syrup per quesadilla. Ok, let’s get real here this quesadilla is my new best friend for so many reasons and that’s all!

Don’t be scared to sprinkle a little cinnamon on the outside and share with friends!

Parmesan, Mushroom and Rice Soup

October 25, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)

Parmesan. Mushrooms. Rice. Because everything is better with cheese! 🙂

I’ve made mushroom soup a ton of times. I can easily say THIS Mushroom soup should get a big blue ribbon that says #1, and maybe even one of those little gold star stickers because it is by far my favorite mushroom soup… ever!

Not only is this soup really delicious, it is packed with nutrition and antioxidants. Yes, I just said antioxidants. I know, I know, I’m going to get all healthy-person talk right now but bear with me because you might just want to try something new at the end of this! Black Japonica rice is hands down my new favorite ingredient to use. It has a really nutty and unique flavor (without being totally overbearing) that gives this soup just a hint of earthiness that goes perfectly with the mushrooms. Not only that…. it isn’t bleached and processed or fortified with a bunch of nutrients. It doesn’t need that crap, because it is just perfect the way it is. Anything that leaks color into a soup like this rice is amazing because color=antioxidants. I love, I love I love! If you don’t have black rice on hand, check the organic section of your local grocery store, I’m sure it will be there. I used Lundberg brand. There’s a handy-dandy link at the bottom of the post so you know what it looks like! Wild rice would be a great substitute for black rice if you’d like to go that route as well.

I mean really, this color! 🙂

So what else makes this soup really amazing? Whole grain mustard. Again! I know, I know. WHY more whole grain mustard? Hasn’t every recipe I’ve recently posted contain it? To be honest, maybe. I know for sure my Sweet-Fire Chilli had a little mustard in it, and I threw it in some Mac n Cheese the other day, and well it is just awesome so please expect to see a lot more of it! It just makes everything good. That’s all.

I served this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (Ezekiel bread, butter, cheese), and my family loved it! Nothing says *breezy fall day* like soup and grilled cheese sandwiches so this was a perfect fall dinner. Veggies + Antioxidant rich rice + Grilled Cheese = Yum!

*This listing is for 6 bags of rice, in the grocery store it is far less expensive. 🙂

#52newfoods Challenge: Sweet Fire Chilli

October 21, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)
One of the most common questions I get regarding healthier eating habits is “Do your kids really eat that stuff?”

In short, the answer is yes! They do. However, they are all their own little selves, so there are some exceptions to that statement. After all, my kids aren’t heath-food robots and neither am I. We are a real family, trying to live a healthier lifestyle by cutting processed foods and cooking from scratch. Believe me, some days go better then others, but what I know at the end of the day is everything my kids eat in our home is home cooked, real food. Nothing comes from a package, they don’t eat boxed cereals and pop-tarts for breakfast, and I cook nearly every single meal from scratch. I also have the job of being a mom, in my home, where my food goals are easily attainable. Not to mention, I am already a trained pastry chef and cook, so cooking form scratch was never an issue for me. However, I would be foolish if I thought this was everyone’s life, and I know busy families will quickly fail if the only advice they are given is “cook from scratch.”

Removing processed foods from my household didn’t happen over-night. I was desperate to loose my baby weight, and I knew the key to doing that was getting rid of packaged stuff and replacing it with fresh stuff. Little by little my husband and I made smarter choices, came home from the grocery store with more produce, and started incorporating new foods into our family dinners. When my husband was grocery shopping alone I would ask him to bring home one mystery item for me to create a new recipe with, and to encourage all of us to try something new.

When I started sharing pictures on Facebook of what I was feeding my toddler for lunch, people were instantly interested.

” How do you get your kids to eat that stuff and how can I learn to do the same thing?” came from just about everyone I knew.

Unfortunately I don’t really have any fun or interesting answers! I changed the way we ate little by little, and began cooking everything from scratch instead of using convenience items. The more and more I read ingredient labels, the more I understood just how much food companies take a simple item and turn it into something horrible and unhealthy. I also realized relying on marketing wasn’t going to cut it. I began realizing the more items I purchased THAT DIDN’T EVEN HAVE PACKAGES, the easier making healthy choices became.

Since starting the blog I’ve been on the look-out for helpful ideas for parents trying to solve the never ending mystery that is getting their kids to try new foods. I know every family has their own story, way of life, and eating habits so I was really looking for something that was relatable to all families. When I came across Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book: The 52 New Foods Challenge, I knew this book was exactly what I was searching for!

The Book

Have you ever considered forgetting about pushing “healthy” foods and just asking your kids to play a game with you? How about pitting your oldest against your youngest to see who can eat the most colors and score the most points? What if broccoli and kale scored higher so they were now the most sought after foods at the dinner table?

I know, I know, it sounds crazy but when I was reading The 52 New Foods Challenge, I started thinking “Why didn’t I think of this before?” My boys absolutely LOVE to out-do each other and dinner time is no exception.

What about considering taking just one hour a week and putting it toward trying something new? No need to completely over-haul your life, just one baby step at a time, and you will be reaching your food goals in no time! Can you imagine next year at this time if your kids were familiar with 52 new fruits and veggies that you could now incorporate into your family dinners?

The 52 New Foods Challenge lays all of this out in a fun and exciting new way to deal with food. No more stressful evenings fighting with your children about why they won’t eat their veggies! Not only does Jennifer explain the game, the point system, and the foods, she also talks about how she plans her meals and packs lunches. Last but not least, Jennifer suggests NO SNEAKING! This was one of my favorite things in the book because I feel the same way. Foods don’t count if your kids can’t see them, and feel their texture.

*For more about Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book The 52 New Food Challenge, check out her website here!

The Recipe

One amazing thing about The 52 New Foods Challenge is that the foods are listed in season. We try to eat in season as much as we can because I can get a ton of produce at local markets, and it is cheaper! I also prefer food that comes from my area, and eating in season makes this goal really attainable.

Sweet potatoes have long been a staple in our household. When my son was a baby I started feeding him sweet potatoes and he’s been loving them ever since. When he was small I would steam them really soft, and when he got a older I made fries with them. I still make my kids sweet potato fries a few times a week because I know for sure they will always, always eat them! Most of the time they are gone before I even get a chance to grab one!

When sweet potatoes became a staple in our home they started finding their way into our family dinners, and when I put them in chilli I knew I had a winner on my hands. It was absolutely the best chilli I had ever made, and I have been making chilli with sweet potatoes ever since! When I was thinking of a fall recipe to share, I knew this Sweet-Fire Chilli had to be the one. I take fire roasted tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and great northern beans to make a colorful, delicious dinner that your whole family will love. My kids love the color, I love the nutrition, and everyone loves the cheese and sour cream we get to put on top. 🙂 How many colors can you count in the bowl?

Jennifer also suggests getting kids involved with food preparation, so I let the kiddos cut up their dessert, a fruit salad. The used baby oranges, strawberries, and pomegranate seeds to mix together to make themselves a snack after school. They had fun eating their fruit as they were cutting, and even helped me with some of the tomatoes for the chilli. It actually went a lot smoother then I thought it would because typically I don’t let them help.

German Chocolate Cupcakes

October 19, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)

You didn’t think the week was going to end without a cute #betterbaking cupcake recipe, did you? Not only was it my Birthday week, I’m also going to a party tonight so I had a few pretty good reasons to start baking up a storm and turning my kitchen upside down! Would you like some cocoa powder on that? 🙂

Yes, you read that right. I AM GOING TO A PARTY. I know, this never happens. I can’t even think of the last time I went to a party but it is happening tonight and the theme is Oktoberfest. How about some German Chocolate Cupcakes? Seems like the perfect dessert addition to an Oktoberfest party, right? I thought so too, until I Googled German Chocolate only to find out it has NOTHING to do with Germany. *palm to my face*

Well then, I guess I won’t be asking the German guy there (yes there’s a guy from Germany coming) if these babes are authentic because he may just laugh in my face! Come to find out, through Google too of course, that German chocolate was named after the guy who created it, and the cake came after that. Doesn’t this remind you of the time we found out Betty Crocker wasn’t even a real person? Seriously, all these things I thought I knew just went down the drain. But have no fear because these cupcakes are:

delicious
cute
whole wheat
100% from scratch

Yes, I think that makes this whole German chocolate snafoo a little bit better, don’t you? Who cares where the term German chocolate came from because we have these awesome cupcakes to blame for that term, and boy these are a great Oktoberfest mistake! Did I mention we are making homemade caramel again? Yeah, that too! There is just no way to go wrong with chocolate cupcakes filled with a gooey, caramel/pecan/coconut filling, and topped with chocolate icing and more caramel and pecans. Is this a cupcake dream or what?

You know what else is really dreamy? Caramel that doesn’t come from a can or a wrapper!

Ok, ok, now that we got that pour shot out of the way let’s talk about assembling these babes because it is super easy. I made the filling using the caramel sauce, toasted pecans, and finely shredded coconut. It was like killing two birds with one stone (seriously who would kill a bird anyway?) because the caramel is the base of the filling, and the topping.

After I made the filling/topping, I whipped up the amazing cream cheese/chocolate/buttercream icing concoction and started assembling. I hollowed a hole in the middle of the cupcakes using the bottom of a piping tip (I’ve also used a melon baller to do that), then I filled the hole, piped the icing, dusted with finely shredded coconut, drizzled with caramel topping, and added some extra pecans. Then of course I had to eat one because I can’t take something to a party that I haven’t tasted yet, and wow… these are just pure amazing-ness. I mean, I just made up a word to describe these because they are that good. I promise, if you like chocolate and caramel, these cupcakes are just for you!

Homemade Caramel Filling/Topping

Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic sugar
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp molasses
2 Tbsp water
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 cup toasted pecans (for filling)
1/4 cup finely shredded coconut (unsweetened, for filling)

Directions: In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except milk. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar is melted, bubbly, and begins to turn darker in color. Remove from heat, stir in milk, and allow to sit to thicken for a few minutes. Set aside 1/4 of the caramel for drizzle, then add pecans and coconut to remaining caramel (you can put it all in the same pan you used to make the caramel). Stir to combine. Filling may harden after caramel is cooled, but still makes an amazing cupcake center!

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup organic sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3-4 Tbsp Tapioca Starch (or Non-GMO verified corn starch)

Directions: Allow cream cheese and butter to soften on countertop for 30+ minutes before starting. Beat cream cheese and butter until very smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl numerous times to ensure all lumps are out of mixture. Slowly add sugar, beat for another 5 minutes to allow sugar to incorporate, continuing to scrape down bowl to ensure everything is evenly mixed. Add cocoa powder (I always sift cocoa powder first), and Tapioca Starch to finish.

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Popper Mac

October 16, 2014 by Dana

Ever want to just throw your hand up in the air and say “I GIVE UP!!!”

That was me, this week. All week it has been raining here. Rain, rain, more rain. No sun, none. Not even a little. Now if you know anything about taking pictures of food you might know that natural light = better pictures. I can’t take pictures of food with a flash, or a light in a room. It HAS to be natural. Hence, my frustration when the sun decided to go away for the past 4 days. Somehow, it peeked out just for a minute for me to snap these pictures. Now it’s gone again and I’m back to wondering if I’ll be able to take any pictures tomorrow, or if the sun will be hiding again. Please come back sun!! 🙂

Remember when I confessed that throughout my life I’ve kind of had an obsession with all foods that involve hot sauce? If you haven’t seen my Buffalo Chicken with Creamy Ranch Slaw post, I explain it there! I’m pretty sure I lived on hot sauce dumped on everything for a good portion of my teenage years. I can’t for the life of me figure out why, but for some reason it was the cool thing to do! Then again, teenagers are really awkward and they do lots of weird, unexplainable things.

On to this wonderful crockpot creation, because seriously I can’t be the only person who still loves a bit of nostalgia sometimes! It brings me back to those high school pizza shop days, in a creamy and delicious way. Something about the cream cheese, the hot sauce, and the jalapenos make this sooooo good I just can’t stop.

I should also mention that when it comes to hot sauce, I always check ingredients! I’ve found some brands like to sneak in Polysorbate 80. Even Frank’s includes that in their wing sauce version, but not their original hot sauce. Figure that one out?!?! I stick to the basic stuff to eliminate the unnecessary ingredients, and I’ve always liked Frank’s original the most anyway!

The jalapenos in this creamy/spicy madness are completely optional. The first time I made it I used 2, the second time I used 3. Both times had just a bit of spice. Actually, the perfect amount for a family. My kids ate it, and so did my husband and I and nobody complained of too much spiciness. My toddler is notorious for saying “This is too spicy” about foods that have absolutely NO spice in them, and he ate this with no issues. If you really want to bump this baby up, use 1/2 cup of hot sauce instead of 1/4 cup.

Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken

October 12, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)

Remember when I said I hated crockpot meals, then kept making more crockpot meals? Seriously.

But you know how indecisive women can be so I’m totally blaming my gender on this one. In real non-food blogging life I’m actually pretty indecisive too. Like when my husband asks me a question and I say “I don’t care.” But somewhere inside I care, I do! I just can’t for the life of me make a decision! It is just too mind consuming to actually pony up and say what I want. No…clue…why!

But this CROCKPOT chicken though! It is so yummy and delish in all of it’s mustardy and honey-y glory. Yes, that’s two y’s because honey already ends in a Y. Yeah. So I hyphenated. And all the grammar people go nuts!

I hate to say this…but you know what else is really great about crockpots? The word *freeeedddoommm* singing in my head as I put the ingredients in the crockpot and walk away. Yeah, like knowing you totally have the next 4 hours to NOT spend in your kitchen piddling around over the stove and knocking over spices. Until I decided to make chicken stock.

Did you notice I said the words “knocking over spices?” Who else has a big pile of spices stored right beside their microwave in the most unorganized and clumsy fashion ever? You’d think being a food blogger and all I’d have a really nice spice organization system, like those little jars with magnets that hang right on the wall in the prettiest way ever. But no, I have this heaping mess of spices that is ever-growing and seems to get in the way all the time. Not to mention, try finding something in that mess! Where’s the pepper? Where’s the paprika? Heck, I can’t find it, so I’ll spend the next 15 minutes looking for it, only to find it right in front of me, on top of the microwave, where it was never supposed to be in the first place. Who put it there? Oh yeah.. I did yesterday. *sigh for all of those unorganized folks like myself* Just incase my husband is reading this… my birthday is next week *ah-hem* 🙂

So I’m using whole grain mustard in this chicken because my wonderful husband kept buying it, and I kept putting it into a bunch of random recipes and realized it’s kind of a big deal (are people still saying that?). Now if you aren’t keeping whole grain mustard stocked in your refrigerator at all times already, I’m suggesting you do so. You’ll find a ton of ways to use it, in recipes not just as a condiment, that will make you wonder where it has been all your life. I’ve been using it in pasta salads all summer, in chili, sauces, and now in crockpot meals. So yeah, you can’t go wrong with whole grain mustard!

In addition to the whole grain mustard I added raw honey, soy sauce, and chicken stock. How simple is that? Believe me, it doesn’t sound like much but this chicken is out of this world! The addition of the soy sauce kicks it up 10 notches and goes perfectly with the other ingredients.

*Just check ingredients before purchasing! I have seen some companies sneak random things like high fructose corn syrup and preservatives in mustards. A good mustard should not contain anything that you wouldn’t keep in your own home.

Cinna-Swirl Sticky Bun Cupcakes

October 10, 2014 by Dana

Dana Carvell (3BoysUnprocessed)

Yes, I’m still #Betterbaking! And yes, it just got 1,000 times yummier with these Cinn-Swirl Sticky Bun Cupcakes that take two wonderful baked goods and smear them together to create a pretty, decadent, and fall inspired treat like no other IN THE HISTORY of HISTORY!

Now, hold onto your britches because we aren’t stopping there! These cinnamon-y cupcake delights are topped with Cream Cheese Icing that is naturally sweetened with pure maple syrup. Is this real life? A completely pipe-able, smooth, and delicious icing that stays in tact without the use of 10x sugar? My baking life is now complete!

Two things: Yes, this really happened! And yes, I will be using this method to make icing from here on out during our #Betterbaking series. You know, that little thing I created to help people cut processed ingredients like Cool Whip, and Jell-O Pudding Packets out of their lives forever? Cool Whip and it’s trans fats be gone forevs!

So how is it that I can put maple syrup aka something liquid, into cream cheese and still be able to pipe it onto a cupcake in a smooth and delicious looking way? Tapioca Starch! I know, I know, this sounds like some crazy “health freak” ingredient, but remember that pudding? You know, the one nobody wanted to eat in Elementary School because it was orange and confusing? Yep, that pudding is thickened with the same ingredient so apparently it isn’t so weird and “heath freak” after all. You can find it at almost any grocery store in the organic section or baking section and it works just like cornstarch, minus the whole GMO corn ingredient thing.

Tapioca Starch will dissolve JUST LIKE 10x sugar, and tighten your icing up perfectly so it isn’t dripping down the sides of your cupcakes and making you scream “I hate Pinterest for giving me this horrible idea!” If you aren’t too keen on using a new ingredient, go ahead and look for an organic 10x sugar, or a Non-GMO certified cornstarch to use in place. In my Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes, I used an organic 10x sugar so those measurements are over there if you’d like to go that route.

But seriously, how perfect is that icing? 🙂

Now, let’s talk cake because I love me some cinnamon cupcakes to remind me that it is indeed fall and I do need more cinnamon in my life like right now! I took a basic vanilla cupcake recipe and divided the batter in half so I could add LOTS of cinnamon and a hint of molasses and vanilla to the batter to make the swirl. Got it? Don’t worry, everything you need to know is in the recipe. If you aren’t really feeling the extra time to make the swirl, just go ahead and add the extra stuff to the batter. My swirl wasn’t quite as swirly as I would have liked it to be, but I still ended up with a double colored cupcake that was pretty. A girl can’t have everything I suppose.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way I’m going to share some MORE cute-ness in the form of a really cute baby that just happens to be of my making. Usually I don’t share pictures of my kids, but this was just TOO cute not to share. Not only that, my 3 year old asked me if he could have the “pretty cupcake.” See, my boys are coming around! 🙂

And then there was this:

5 Savory Quick Bread Recipes That Rock!

October 10, 2014 by Dana

Savory Quick Breads. Because not everyone is friends with yeast.

Although I spent a few months of my life doing NOTHING but making yeast breads, I tend to not want to go there at home. I’ve had too many “at home fails” because guess what? Yeast is picky, yeast is finicky, and I don’t have all of the professional equipment bakeries have, like huge mixers, confection ovens, and proof boxes. Sure, making yeast-based breads at home can be done, but to be honest I’m perfectly happy with the bread that we buy (Ezekiel Bread from Food For Life) so I don’t see a reason to make my own. I’ve found a bread product that is 100% whole, all natural, Non-GMO, and my kid’s love it, so why add one more thing to my “Mommy-Do” list?

CAUTION: I’m about to burst a Pinterest Bubble right now. Those perfect looking breads and rolls you see on Pinterest? Your version probably won’t look like them. It takes SKILL to roll and shape breads, know how to score them, and proof them just right. Temperature and equipment have a lot to do with how your yeast breads will turn out, and if you aren’t a professional your results may not come close to what you saw in the pictures. Sure, bloggers and professionals make it look simple. Trust me here, it ISN’T! I know, I know, who likes a Debbie Downer? I promise, good news is coming! 🙂

Good news in the form of a huge, melt in your mouth, savory muffin-style quick bread? Yes Please!! Not only are these super easy, you can pretty much put anything on top of them to customize them to your liking. I’ve created 5 basic combinations that I think pretty much rock!

Here’s the deal-io. We make a base, fill the muffin cups (or loaf pan if you choose), then top the base with cheeses, veggies, herbs, and even MUSTARD to create these uber-delish mega-muffs perfect for slathering butter, dipping, lunchboxes, and pretty much any other event you can think of. You could even slice these babes in half and throw something in between to create a sandwich. A savory, mega-muffin sandwich?!?!? Is this real life???? 🙂

And we aren’t stopping there *in creepy infomercial man voice* because these muffins are WHOLE WHEAT, naturally sweetened, and flavored with fresh ingredients. Remember, we are all about #betterbaking here, and we are sticking to it!

Speaking of fresh ingredients, I highly recommend using fresh herbs as opposed to dried because you will not get the same results with dried. Now on to the recipe… enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine

Savory Quick Bread Base

Ingredients:

1 and 3/4 cups whole wheat white flour
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan or Kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup or honey
1 cup sour cream

Directions: In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. In a separate bowl mix oil, eggs, sour cream, and sweetener. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just to combine evenly. Grease 6 large muffin tins (batter will make 12 small or 1 loaf as well). Evenly distribute batter, then top with desired toppings. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (for large muffins) or 45-55 minutes (for loaf pan).

1. Tomato Mozzarella

Use bread base, top with cherry tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Optional: fresh basil, garlic.

2. Jalapeno Cheddar

Use bread base, top with jalapenos and cheddar cheese.

3. Parmesan Peppercorn

Use bread base, top with freshly cracked black peppercorns, and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

4. Caramelized Onion and Herb

Use bread base, caramelize onion, and add fresh rosemary and thyme. I used 1/4 onion per large muffin. If you are using a loaf pan I’d suggest 1/2 onion.

5. Whole Grain Mustard and Feta

Use bread base, top with a big smear of whole grain mustard and crumbled feta cheese.

Homestyle Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup

October 8, 2014 by Dana

Sweet Potatoes. Nutritious. Delicious. Cheap. Versatile. AMAZING!

But seriously… this soup. The perfect balance of sweet and savory in a big, warm mug waiting for you on the table with a pretty fall decoration in the middle and a pumpkin spice latte on the side! In my house you can go ahead and just throw that pretty fall decoration on the floor and rip it apart because if you haven’t noticed I have 3 boys. They do that. A lot. Well, basically I should just take my pretty decorations and throw them in the trash myself because that’s where they’ll end up. That will save me the hassle of having to clean anything up, right? Boys!

One thing I LOVE about this soup is the color that comes out of the carrots and sweet potatoes to make it the perfect fall orange. Of course, being the only woman in my house nobody else cares about the beautiful color of my soup, so I have to make pictures like the following to bask in my orange glory while others cheer. Is this happening? Please… anyone… someone out there in internet-land, do you care that my soup is orange? Please say yes! 🙂 Please give me a big *nice soup* while we both glance at that pretty bowl!

Thanks, you just made my day! Now I can get over the fact that I will not be displaying any pretty fall decorations on my table until the baby is 18. That’s 17 years of decoration-less fall’s I have yet to endure. But hey, at least I have my orange soup!

And can we talk nutrition for a second because this soup ain’t no rice cake (thanks Blake Shelton for that one). Sweet potatoes = one of the most nutritious foods in the world. That’s right, it tops many other foods labeled “super foods” so I think that makes it even more acceptable to eat numerous bowls in one sitting while burning my mouth because I’m too impatient to wait for it to cool down. Totally acceptable! Until I’m old and have no taste buds left. Then I’ll have to go to restaurants and asks the cooks to heat my soup up over and over and over again until it is boiling in the microwave and my old ass is finally happy. Sound like a real life scenario? That’s because it is! I know, I know, the old people always get a bad rap but seriously I can’t even tell you how many times a day this happened while I was cooking in restaurants. So remember folks, wait until your food cools down or you’ll be THAT old person some day!

*No old people’s feelings were hurt in the making of this post. 🙂

And one more thing.. I found these crackers today. TWO ingredients! 100% whole wheat and salt. Ummm helllllooo healthy cracker I’ve been looking for forever. Thank you for coming into my life today so I could dip you in my soup and take pictures of it. Things always work themselves out perfectly, don’t they?

*I used my Homemade Chicken Stock in this recipe.

#BetterBaking Whole Wheat PB & Apple Muffins

October 3, 2014 by Dana

So this week has been kind of ground-breaking here at 3Boys because I rolled out my #betterbaking series and explained what I’m doing here, which is challenging people to think about the products and ingredients they are using when they bake. Ahhhemmm… dump cakes!

What inspired this? PINTEREST! There is nothing I hate more then clicking on a recipe that says “healthy” only to look at the ingredients and see Cool Whip, boxed cake mixes, and other food-like ingredients on the recipe. Can someone please explain what is ~~healthy~~ about that? What really irks me about this is there are actually people dieting, and trying to live healthy lifestyles who might not realize these ingredients are nothing more then a bunch of trans fats aka partially hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils do not equal healthy! You know, like the equal sign with a slash through it that we used in Algebra!?! Yeah… not equal to healthy!

And we aren’t stopping at Cool Whip and cake mixes folks! I’m also challenging people to consider using whole wheat flours and natural sugars/organic sugars instead of refined stuff. Yes, ANY baked item can easily be transformed into whole wheat with little to no effort. I promise, it’s not what you are thinking either. I’ve given dozens of people my whole wheat products and none of them even questioned it, which means they totally were diggin’ it and didn’t even know. My mom even told me she had no idea my cupcake was whole wheat, and would never have been able to tell the difference (she was eating my Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes).

And seriously, how cute are these?!?!?! Lovin’ these so much because guess what? They are:

whole wheat
sweetened naturally (maple syrup/bananas)
contain no eggs (bananas substituted for moisture and structure)
contain 1/2 cup of oats for a little extra iron

Say what? Muffins this cute can actually be this healthy? Come now… to the #betterbaking dark side. We have candy here… I mean… totally cute whole wheat muffins. You know, ugly cupcakes? Yes, muffins are ugly cupcakes. I know, I know, muffins need lovin’ too. That’s why I put an apple slice and peanut butter on top. 🙂

Now, since we are talking about #betterbaking, I’m also going to call out JIFF because they too like to throw some partially hydrogenated oils all up in yo’ peanut butter. Really JIFF? Do choosy moms really like you, or are you just trying to lie to people?

I’m going with you’re just liars. So what I’m really saying is don’t use JIFF or any other brand that chooses to put dangerous fats in their products. There are tons of brands out there that use just 1 or 2 ingredients, and I highly suggest choosing these brands instead of the latter. I know, I know, I just got all “healthy freak” on you, but it is so true and I always give a PSA with peanut butter posts because THE LAST thing I want to do is advise anyone to use hydrogenated oils. I’m only “healthy freak” because I care. 🙂

“Sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with maple syrup” has a nice ring to it, right? I totally thought so too. 🙂 So that line just became the official Moto of these lovely muffins.

If you want MORE #betterbaking recipes here are a few others to check out! I’ll be tackling more Cool Whip madness next week so tune in and we can hate on Kraft a little more. 🙂

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes

Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cupcakes

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

One Pot Veggie Mac N Cheese

October 1, 2014 by Dana

30 minute meal right here! Feeding your family veggies has never tasted so good! Cheese meet veggies… 🙂

For real though, who doesn’t love some mac n cheese? It’s like an American diet staple. Please let’s remember the best mac n cheese DOES NOT… I repeat… DOES NOT come out of a box! ~~Kraft Annies Velveeta.~~ Even the “better” organic boxed mac n cheese still has a nice little packet of cheese powder stuff right inside the cute little bunny box. Now please, someone… anyone… what IS that stuff?

How, just how I ask… do you get cheese powder like that? Don’t know, don’t care! *finger snap* because anyone who has a stove can make their own mac n cheese with just a few ingredients PLUS veggies. Incase you think you are not included in that “anyone” even my mom can make homemade mac n cheese, and let’s just say she’s not kitchen savy.

That’s real cheese right there! Cheese powder say what? That’s what I thought! In your face cute bunny packets!

Ok, now that I verbally abused the Annie’s bunny I’m just going to keep explaining how amazing one pot meals are that take LESS THAN 30 minutes to make. This reminds me so much of my Unprocessed Hamburger Helper recipe, in that it is made the same way. Instead of ground beef, I sautéed those lil baby bellas with a clove o’ garlic, and then I added the other goodies, put a lid on that baby, and let a little heat work it’s magic. Now, let’s not just walk away from our stove like those baby bellas don’t need supervision because they do. This pot needs stirred a little more then the Unprocessed Hamburger Helper but it is still very low maintenance and easy.

If you are looking for a little more oommmph in your pot, go ahead and throw in some shredded chicken. A little protein goes a long way, so chicken could bump this meal up on the “I’m full scale” if you need it. 😉

Now excuse me while I go eat what is left in that pan!

Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cupcakes PLUS #betterbaking

September 30, 2014 by Dana

I know, I know, ANOTHER cupcake post!??! A bit over-board? Maybe. But keep reading!

BUT wait just a hot second because this isn’t just another cupcake post. It is the start of something really awesome here at 3Boys Unprocessed because I’ve taken notice to TONS of crappy dessert recipes floating around the internet. You know, the dump cakes, the poke cakes, the boxed this and that, the cool whip, and the totally refined and semi-homemade desserts that aren’t just 3 ingredients like the title says. Boxed cake mix + box of jello = A LOT MORE than 3 ingredients! Not just that, it also = trans fats, artificial everything, unhealthy oils, and weird preservatives banned in other countries. Say whhhahattt!?!?!

Now, I try my hardest to ignore these dessert disasters because let’s face it, we live in a processed world and our food supply is nothing short of a complete disaster as it stands. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel because all of these recipes can be tweaked just a bit to be turned into something that isn’t so much of a processed mess. You know, like using whole wheat flour, and substituting real stuff for the boxed stuff. It is SO easy, yet people are so afraid of ruining a batch of cupcakes or running the risk that they don’t turn out tasting superb. Using trans fats instead of trying something new out of baking fear??? Doesn’t sound like such a good idea to me! Of course, these recipes are going to contain sugar. Sugar = desserts. I want to post relate-able content that doesn’t make the dump cake people say “Oh no, I’d never try using those weird ingredients,” therefore, I’m sticking to the simple stuff but making it a tad better by using organic versions that aren’t as processed, and don’t contain GMO’s. All of these things are important to me, and I’d much rather see people using organic sugar in their own home before going to the grocery store and buying a cake that contains 100 ingredients, including trans fats and everything else I’m going to talk about here. You get the drift? Good!

Now, I also know most of you aren’t trained Pastry Chefs like myself. That’s why I’m taking the guess-work out of all of this and bringing you #betterbaking (yes I just hashtagged in a post!) so that you can create desserts in your own home, without the processed crap, that taste nothing short of a product that comes from an upscale bakery and is totally amazing. Ready?? Let’s go! Each week I’m going to be posting a brand new recipe that DOESN’T include any of these ingredients:

boxed cake mixes
boxed jello
cool whip
soybean/canola oil
refined grains
artificially dyed and trans fat containing sprinkles (pretty much ALL mainstream sprinkles)
other artificial ingredients (flavors, colors, products, etc.)

Now, just so you know, none of my other baking recipes posted so far contain any of this stuff because truth is, these products don’t exist in my household. A few years ago I woke up to the fact that these products aren’t good for any of us. I know there are lots of people who haven’t realized this yet, so that’s why I’m doing this! The interwebs need #betterbaking recipes!

No sprinkles though!?!? Come now, how can that be? You see, there are these little things called naturally dyed sprinkles, and there are also these little things called cupcake toppers. They both make cupcakes as cute as they should be, without adding a bunch of chemicals and artificial dyes to your food. Problem solved! See how easy that was? I knew you would totally understand the whole no sprinkles thing, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!

Since I’m promoting cute cupcake toppers, I’m about to make it ALOT easier by offering FREE printable cupcake toppers. Print them, cut them with those crafty folk scissors, tape them to a paper straw or toothpick, and BAM! Cute and frugal cupcake topper. For reals though, how cute are these fall inspired toppers? More to come, I promise! To get these cuties, just scroll to the bottom of the post, and click the dropbox link.

Now that we have all of that exciting news out of the way, let’s focus on these heavenly chocolate cupcakes that not only look stunning and taste stunning, but use ingredients that are better! These are inspired by all of those “Fudgy Cupcake” recipes that include boxed Jello. I’ve tasted cupcakes with boxed Jello in the past, and yes, they are moist and yummy. But you can do the same thing using milk and yogurt, and yield the exact same texture and fudgy goodness without the boxed stuff! Yes, this is happening! No more boxed stuff just to yield a fudgy cupcake because you can do it with REAL STUFF! Ya digggg? Keep it coming, keep it coming!

Not only are these cupcakes fudgy and moist, they also are dipped in ganache, which is a fancy-pants way to say chocolate and cream, and topped with a DOUBLE CHOCOLATE cream cheese icing. Did those words really just come out of my mouth. Yes, yes I do believe this is real life and if this is what real life tastes like I’m so in. Just incase you didn’t get all that… I created this: Do you feel like you are in high schoolBiology again? 🙂

Why yes, that is a chocolate smudge in the bottom on that picture because I said this was real life, remember? And in real life these cupcakes are a tad messy, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Can we talk ganache now because I kind of love that word and it is one of the most ridiculously good chocolate creations ever. I mean, if you’ve never had anything dipped or filled with ganache your life is not complete. Not to mention, it is SO EASY and looks really nice. When choosing a semi-sweet baking chocolate be sure to look for a brand that is using the least ingredients possible, and not using GMO’s. My favorite brand is Alter-Eco, and they have many products with basic ingredients.

To dip the cupcakes all you do is make the ganache in 2 easy steps and dip them. Everything seemed to fall together perfectly when I did this because I chose to use foil cupcake wrappers that include a white wrapper on the inside, so they are double wrapped. This made is so easy to dip them because then the outside wrapper was able to be removed, and therefore didn’t get messy. Dipping the cupcakes isn’t really messy to begin with, but I would highly suggest double wrapping just to mess-proof them. Whew! That was ALOT of info… so let’s recap this post since we are going all Biology Class style today:

We don’t like dump cakes or cool whip
We are providing recipes that are #betterbaking recipes, using whole ingredients and no artificial stuff
We think cupcake toppers are way better then sprinkles with chemicals and trans fats!!!!
We are providing FREE printable fall cupcake toppers and more to come
Ganche is awesome
Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cupcakes are about the best thing that ever happened to whole wheat white flour in it’s entire little shelf life
Double wrap your cupcakes if you want to dip them in ganache
This was a super long post, so thanks for reading! 😉

And here’s more cupcake porn, just incase we didn’t cover that well enough.

As promised.. here is the link to the FREE printable cupcake toppers! Simply click the dropbox link, and download the file. I’m using dropbox links to ensure everyone this is a safe download.

*I use homemade brown sugar, which is simply 1 cup of organic cane sugar to 1 Tbsp of un-sulphered blackstrap molasses. This enables me to always have fresh brown sugar, instead of a hard clump when I want to use it. For more on this check out my Homemade Brown Sugar post.

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package full fat cream cheese
1.5 ounce semi-sweet baking chocolate (non-GMO preferred)
2 Tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup organic 10x sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: Allow cream cheese to soften on countertop. Beat softened cream cheese until very smooth, scraping down the sides of your mixing bowl several times to make sure all lumps are out. In a microwave safe bowl or stove top melt heavy cream and chocolate together. Pour mixture into cream cheese. Sift cocoa powder and 10x sugar into mixing bowl slowly. Add vanilla extract, and additional Tbsp of heavy cream if needed to smooth.

Chocolate Dipping Ganache:

Ingredients:

1.5 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate (non-GMO preferred)
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions: Chop chocolate finely. Bring heavy cream to the brink of a boil in a small saucepan on the stove, then pour over chopped chocolate. Allow to sit, unstirred, for 1-2 minutes. Begin stirring, and continue until smooth and silky.

Creamy Lemon Basil Shrimp Pasta

September 30, 2014 by Dana

This pasta though! Move over fancy-pants Italian restaurants because this pasta just swooped in to remind everyone cooking Italian food at home is SO EASY! That’s right, if you have 25 minutes and a few fresh ingredients then you are on your way to this delicious pasta soaked in a creamy sauce, and topped with fresh basil and parm cheese. You in?

Of course you are in or you wouldn’t be here, gawking at that pour shot like a 13 year old boy with a ~~nudie mag~~. I mean, not that I was ever a 13 year old boy or anything, but I was just thinking.. well.. ya know what forget I ever said that and let’s get back to the food porn!

And now…. it is food blogger confession time brought to you by 3Boys Unprocessed! Confessions are as followed:

This pasta is not whole wheat
I’m not as excited about this post because it isn’t a cupcake
I’ve recently become obsessed with cupcakes
Did I mention the word cupcake?

Yes, you read that correctly. I’m using refined pasta but baking whole wheat cupcakes. That totally makes sense doesn’t it? Hmm… I know, I know it’s totally crazy but just let me go on with my crazy self and let’s all pretend they are both whole wheat so I can feel a little less crazy.

My refined pasta was imported from Italy and had a sparkly and official “Italy” sticker on the bag. You know, like the best sticker EVER that we all longed for in Elementary School. A seal of approval, if you will. I looked at it EVERY TIME I was at the grocery store, longing for it’s beautiful ridges to take pretty pictures of and plop some big bad shrimpies on top of. Last time I was at the grocery store somehow it ended up accidentally falling into my cart and I totally thought it was whole wheat when the cashier swiped it over that cool scanner. You know, because my kids were yelling about wanting coloring books and other crap they throw near the cash registers to lure all the parents into buying. Even though I totally said NO WAY to the coloring book, somehow the pasta slipped by my radar. Ok, truth is, it looked cool so I bought it! A slight lapse in Real Food judgment but hey, we are all human right?

And about those cupcakes… you see I was always kind of obsessed with cupcakes (hence a big ol’ pink cupcake tattoo on my foot), but my cupcake obsession was lying dormant for a while I was on an ice cream binge.. I mean eating healthy. 😉 I kid, I kid! The ice cream binge never happened but babies did and I just haven’t had all the time in the world to bake pretty things. Now I have a food blog as an excuse so the cupcake madness just might be back for good!

Now that all my dirty food laundry is aired I guess we can get back to this creamy and delish pasta that could be served up for any occasion, including a Monday night! You can totally throw a curve ball in your life by making this epic pasta on a Monday and surprising your spouse like you are newlyweds or something. Remember, it only takes about 25 minutes to put together so throwing this together on a weeknight is do-able and easy!

Just a little FYI, I used a homemade chicken stock that I did not season yet. If you are using a boxed stock, check the ingredients for MSG (labeled MSG, autolyzed yeast, yeast extract) and choose a stock that is lower in sodium and doesn’t contain anything you wouldn’t put in your own stock. If you are interested in making your own (super easy I promise!) check out my post on Everything you Need to Know About Making Your Own Chicken Stock.

And then that pesky sauce went all up on the side of my sauté pan to ruin this beautiful picture. Please ignore and maybe it won’t happen again! 😉

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes

September 25, 2014 by Dana

This might just be the best thing I have EVER made. ~~Scratch that~~. This is totally the best thing that has ever come out of my oven, and my husband would agree. Of course he would agree with a big ol’ smear of icing in his beard, but hey we’ll take it! 😉

Speaking of the wonderful man I married, he inspired this cupcake creation. Looking for new inspiration I asked him “What kind of cupcakes should I make?” and being a man he said “Whatever kind you want.” *head scratch*

Well gee Mr. Construction Man thanks for helping me. BUT THEN…. in a moment of manly clarity he said “Why don’t you just think of all the ice cream flavors you like and pick one of those.” Then I began to think of the whoopie pie ice cream I had last week (NOT real food btw) and it came to me…. Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes!

I started thinking about executing this fab idea, and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Next month marks 6 years since I graduated from Pastry Arts school. 6 years! Am I old now or am I old now? Ugh I think I’m old! Ask me about it in 20 years and I’ll talk about how young I was back when I was a food blogger. 🙂

In all of my time as a Pastry chef working in bakeries and restaurants I had not come across a Whoopie Pie Cupcake so I knew I had to make this over the top fab because if I’m putting something on the map it better be amazing!

And believe me… this baby is over the top fab, delish, and cute. So cute I even went against all real food rules and sprinkled some powdered sugar on it (organic that is!). Oh the cupcake madness! Of course I also decided to use a dented cupcake for my epic powdered sugar dusting picture so please excuse that lil’ old snaffoo. Trying to dust and shoot proved to be a daunting task so the dent was overlooked.

But WAIT… there’s even more madness to these cupcakes because I’m totally not even close to being over my paper straw obsession. My husband was also wondering why there was a straw in the cupcake. Ummm HELLO! Because paper straws are awesome and they need to be put into various cupcake porn shots to make things even more beautiful. The nerve of him to question my paper straws! hehe He will never understand because he’s a man, and they don’t understand things like cute cupcakes and pretty food. They just want to eat, that’s all. Heck, this cupcake could be in a pile on the floor and he would probably still try to find a way to eat it.

Now before we finish let me tell you about how great the texture of these came out. I wasn’t sure how they would turn out because well.. I was adapting from a recipe that was not created to be a cupcake. But the texture is SPOT ON. Super duper moist and cakey, almost so that it reminded me of a cake pop. With the pumpkin, the extra egg, and the yogurt the texture is out of this world perfect. Like I said, these are probably the BEST thing to ever come out of my oven!

*Whoopie Pie recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Filling

Healthy Loaded Nacho Skillet

September 24, 2014 by Dana

It is officially Football season and the first day of Fall! Yay* for pumpkin everything and tailgating. A bigger *yay* for pumpkin spiced lattes from my good ol’ Nespresso and cold brewed coffee with my very own Pumpkin Spiced Coffee Syrup. Ok, ok we are getting all coffee snob up in herrr so let’s move on to nachos because who doesn’t love some gooey melted cheese, spicy black beans, corn chips, sweet corn off the cob, rice, veggies, and even more gooey melted cheese. And not the fake stuff folks because we don’t get down with Velveeta like that!

That’s right.. nachos do not have to contain Velveeta because cheese is WAY TOO GOOD on it’s own to add a bunch of crap that makes it look like plastic when in cools. You pickin’ up what I’m puttin’ down? Thank You, Thank You, I knew you would understand!

Now let’s forget about that crap and get back to the good stuff because these nachos are the perfect balance of all the cheesy goodness you would expect from nachos, and a bunch of other goodies that are whole and nutritious. Sweet bell peppers, a big bed of lettuce, brown rice, black beans, oh yeah! Loaded nachos say whhhhhaaatttt?

Ok, ok I’m calming myself down but this is something to get excited about. One of my all time favorite snack foods, in a skillet, with nutrition on top?

Now that my rambling nacho madness is over the voice of reason is here to tell you what exactly this Loaded Nacho Skillet is PLUS the fact that it only takes 30 short minutes to put this bad boy together. Cook the rice, add the beans, the cheese, the frozen corn, the chips, more cheese, the peppers, more cheese, and finally broil it for a few minutes until everyone is happy. Got it? Since that way A LOT of steps here is a pretty picture for you to see exactly how to achieve this nacho goodness:

Now if you really want to take these nachos totally over the top try adding a dollop of my Homemade Ranch right in the middle of a big pile of nacho goodness. These two things are basically a match made in food heaven and I would not tell you to do another step if I didn’t think this ranch was basically the best thing that ever happened to these nachos. Nachos meet ranch. Ranch meet nachos. And they lived happily ever after all up in my tummy!

*I used my Taco Night Freezer Corn in this recipe as well!

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken with Creamy Ranch Slaw

September 19, 2014 by Dana

Yes, I just said Crockpot. You know, that ancient thing in my closet that I kind of hate? Yeah. That thing.

I know, I know, I said this was never going to happen. I let down all the new moms who need Crockpot meals, and the busy people who work all day and just want to come home to a good meal. But now, I can sleep easy at night knowing my blog is newly equipped with a Crockpot meal. Not just any Crockpot meal… the Crockpot meal of all Crockpot meals… Buffalo Chicken with Creamy Ranch Slaw!

Once upon a time I was a new mom too. A new mom who was just trying to get some food in my face because my life consisted of sitting on couch with a baby on a boobie. Every time I tried to get the baby off the boobie chaos erupted, crying happened, and I was again faced with the fact that I may never eat again. Then I had a genius idea, I’d use the Crockpot that I hated to make everyone happy and get a meal on the table. I happily searched for recipes and BAM! Buffalo Chicken in the Crockpot appeared and I thought my life was now complete. Being a new mom I had a sudden lapse in judgment because then I proceeded to use A RANCH PACKET in this concoction and wow… what was I thinking?!?! MSG much anyone??

You know the drill by now peeps so let’s hop on the “MSG is bad” train and take a little ride through Hidden-Valley-Sucks Ville while we go over the ingredients in these seemingly harmless packets. They seem so innocent, right? Just a few spices, right?

Wrong. These packets contain Malodextrin AS THE FIRST INGREDIENT. We know from my Taco Night Freezer Corn recipe that you will see this in a lot of spice packets. Malodextrin is a highly processed, likely GMO product that comes from corn. However Hidden Valley doesn’t stop there. They also throw in a little MSG and some “natural flavors.” Moral of the story, forget all that crap and add the spices yo’ self. That’s right. We don’t need their MSG and GMO corn to make Buffalo Chicken in the Crockpot because we have our very own spices! *High five for real spices*

Now that we have all of that out of the way, let’s talk about Creamy Ranch Slaw. Yes, this is a thing now, and yes it is as good as it sounds! So delish, so creamy, so crunchy, so PERFECT to top a spicy Buffalo Chicken. The cream, the crunch, the spice… oh my! You need this in your life if you are a Buffalo Chicken lover. I promise as a former Buffalo Chicken addict myself I would not lead you astray with this one. I’ve had it all… Buffalo Chicken Pizza, Buffalo Wings, Buffalo Chicken Subs, Buffalo Chicken Fries (you know when I was 18 and didn’t care about ingredients in all of this crap!) ALL OF IT! You name it, I’ve slapped some hot sauce and ranch on it, fo’ real. Now let me tell you, this real food version rivals all of that crap and holds it’s own. You will not miss the deep fried crap slathered with hot sauce with a little MSG thrown on top. No, no. You don’t need that no mo’. You’ve got real stuff and it is delish!

Creamy Ranch Slaw

Ingredients:

2 cups veggie slaw (cabbage, broccoli, or any other variety)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion salt
1/8 tsp mustard powder
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp celery salt
black pepper to taste

Directions: Mix spices and sour cream, then combine with slaw and enjoy over a bed of Buffalo Chicken or between some buns.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

September 16, 2014 by Dana

Caramel and Apples have been friends forever. I am so glad they are besties for life because let me tell you… it makes food blogging so much easier! I don’t have to spend long hours thinking about elaborate cupcake recipes. I don’t have to think up some new and crazy food combination. I just have to put two things together that were made for each other… caramel and apples!

Breaking news: I LOVE PAPER STRAWS! Yes, I saw an isle full of paper straws at Target and boy oh boy do I have about 60 more reasons to continue taking pictures of food now! Are they not just the best thing that ever happened to food blogging? Ummm yes I do believe so. I can now go to Target in all of my yoga pants and messy hair glory and wander through the paper straw isle like I don’t have a care in the world!

In other breaking news if you have a husband make sure he knows paper straws don’t mix well with wee lil’ ones who like to chew on things. Apparently mine wasn’t aware of this information because I found baby Christian chewing the top off of a paper straw my husband put in his cup. Yeah, not a good mix! Fear not, Mommy swooped in and grabbed that straw right out of his cute little mouth and saved the day. Ok, maybe it didn’t go that smoothly but somehow I finangled that crap out of his mouth. Baby Christian is ok and was not hurt in the making of these cute cupcakes!

Now let’s talk about how crafty I’ve become since blowing through the paper straw isle at Target because this is the breaking-est of breaking news. Who knew DIY cupcake toppers could be so easy and so cute. 😉 All I did to make the toppers was cut the straw on an angle, then tape a construction paper leaf onto the straw. BAM! That is it. I do believe this is officially called crafting for the non-crafty folk? Why yes, yes it is. Now please excuse me while I hand model this genius idea.

*Pro non-crafty folk tip: Fold a piece of construction paper in half to cut out the leaf to get it perfect. I do believe I learned this pro-tip in Kindergarten. Thank you Mrs. Margerum!

Maybe we should just get back to food because I’m more comfortable being a foodie then a craftie. There are a few components that go into a Caramel Apple Cupcake so let’s discuss:

The amazing, moist *hate that word*, whole wheat goodness that is the cupcake
Cinnamon buttercream
Apple pie filling
Caramel drizzle

I know, I know, that is a lot of steps! But I promise they are ohhhh soooo delish and totally worth a few extra minutes to make the filling and drizz.

On another note, I broke one of my own rules and used 10x sugar in the icing. Being a former pastry chef, this is basically the lazy way to make icing but I know some people are intimidated by cooking sugar so I wanted to provide a recipe that did contain 10x, and suggest a brand that is trustworthy and non-GMO. Here is the brand I used. This link is for 20 lbs of sugar, hence the price. You can find it at most grocery stores in the organic section.

Apple Pie Cupcake Filling

Ingredients:

2 large apples (3 small)
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar (I used my Homemade Brown Sugar)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions: Dice apples small. Put apples and all other ingredients in a small sauté pan and cook over medium heat until apples are tender and sugar becomes syrupy.

Caramel Drizzle

Ingredients;

1/4 cup brown sugar (I used my Homemade Brown Sugar)
1/8 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter
pinch salt

Directions: Put all ingredients in a small sauté pan and cook over medium-high heat until thick and bubbly, about 5-6 minutes.

*Cake recipe adapted from my favorite baking blog Sally’s Baking Addiction using her Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Swirl Frosting post.

Homemade Brown Sugar

September 13, 2014 by Dana

You decide it is time to make a sweet treat for your family. You eagerly get all of your ingredients together. The eggs are cracked, the baking soda and whole wheat flour are mixed. You reach for your brown sugar and your heart sinks. Your brown sugar isn’t so brown-sugary anymore.

“Where’re the hammer?” You think because come hell or high water these cookies are going to be made, hard clump of brown sugar or not. You get your hammer and start pounding away. Next thing you know there’s a hole in your wall and your family is getting ready to commit you to the mental institution. Yep, it has happened to the best of us. Right? Right.

Ok maybe the hammer and mental institution thing was all a figment of my imagination (or was it?), but the brown sugar thing was not. Brown sugar just doesn’t stay fresh. You open the package, use it once, and the rest is pretty much garbage by the time you decide to go all cookie exchange on everyone again.

Can we just take a moment to discuss what rock I have been under my whole life? I went to Baking and Pastry Arts SCHOOL and still had no idea brown sugar was nothing more then molasses and sugar. Like for reals? YES! Had I just taken a brown sugar package and flipped it over I would have realized there is no mystical brown sugar tree in shuggy-land pooping out bags of sugar that say Domino on the front. Not only that, there is a huge misconception out there (I think!) that brown sugar is LESS processed then white because it is brown and hasn’t been refined. NOT TRUE! Sheesh we are learning a lot today!

I just mentioned brown sugar is just as processed as white sugar because… it is white sugar! Recently I’ve looked for a “better” brown sugar and haven’t been able to find it. This is what prompted me to LOOK AT THE PACKAGE and get to the bottom of this brown sugar mystery. I wanted a brown sugar that was not as processed, and in making my own I got exactly what I was looking for. Now who wants an apple pie?

So I just told you a few reasons making your own brown sugar is better. Now we are on to the best of the bestie reason…..it tastes better! Yes, taking a minute to whizzzz up fresh brown sugar actually creates a tastier suuuuugggg because it hasn’t been sitting in a plastic bag for… well it’s whole entire wee-little brown sugar life. That’s right… it hasn’t had time to sit on a shelf and think of all the important things in life like figuring out kitchen hacks and where stevia comes from. It hasn’t had time to get in fights with other sugars about who is the best and then have it’s lil heart melt when all the other bags get purchased and it didn’t. It hasn’t had time to make the trip to the bargain outlet store because nobody bought it, and sit on another shelf for another few months until lil ol’ betty comes to get it, only to take it home and let it sit some more before it is turned into a lovely batch of cookies. Then it gets to dry up and turn into a clump o’ suuuugggg until it inevitably ends up in a landfill because it was no longer tasty enough for betty. Ok she’s just too old to break it up with a hammer. Sound about right? I… THINK…SO!

But fo’ real… this is life changing and we should all probably just start saving money today *infomercial voice* and making our own because it is better, way better! Ok, life changing is a bit extreme but it’s totally a kitchen hack. And by the way, the word hack kind of makes me cringe.

I used a pretty dark molasses, but you can use any you’d like!

Homemade Brown Sugar

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp molasses

Directions: Put both ingredients in a food processor and whizzz it up for a few seconds and BAM! Your very own Homemade Brown Sugar! I promise Domino is loosing some brown suuuggg stock right about now. 😉

Mini Meatball Stir fry

September 12, 2014 by Dana

Meatball Stir Fry… is this even legal? Why yes, yes it is and I believe they (whoever they are) like to call this Fusion Food. You know, taking two things and putting them together to create something so much better than the two things by themselves. Yeah, Fusion Food people. Let’s all get on the Fusion Food Train!

Truth be told, there is a restaurant by my house that I pass often called Fusion Fire. They have a bunch of creepy statues outside but I’ve heard the food is good. Another truth be told, when you have kids you don’t get to go out to eat unless you want to deal with someone peeing their pants at the table or knocking a drink over on the waitress. I kid, I kid, those things never happened but they could have if we were brave enough to take our kids out to eat in the first place. Maybe in about, I don’t know, 10 years or so we will get to Fusion Fire, but for now I’m doin’ it homemaker style and it is kind of awesome. 😉

Can I just point out the fact that meatballs are ugly. Like step-sister with a wart on her chin ugly. But come now, let’s not get all judge-y and such. Let’s forget about those warts and remember the truth. Meatballs are delish. And step-sisters with warts are people too!

Now you may have taken notice… I’m using white rice. Yes, I’m a person too (just like that steppy sis) and sometimes I bend the rules. Brown rice is not bleached but it just isn’t the same. If I’m eating a bunch of veggies with a few mini homemade meatballs then I’m going to have my big mound of white rice and drops of soy sauce on top. You know, Fusion Food just isn’t the same without the white rice, right? Precisely.

If you are feeling like you can resist the sticky white rice and soy sauce drizzled on top, please do! Brown rice would also go lovely with this. And just because I used white rice once doesn’t mean I’m selling out and going all Dump Cake on everyone. Don’t worry, the unbleached grains will be back tomorrow!

No Dump Cakes, and no nasty breadcrumbs either. Believe it or not those canned breadcrumbs (Progresso, Kraft, etc.) all contain a slew of ridiculous ingredients that have nothing at all to do with bread. Not even remotely! Progresso’s “breadcrumbs” contain 59 ingredient. Why??????????? Is all I have to say to that! Just so you can’t say I didn’t warn you…. buy the organic whole wheat version or make your own using 2 slices of whole wheat bread toasted and processed in a food processor.

This is a two step recipe. Make the balls (oh the kitchen jokes that come about when people are making meatballs, especially in a room full of guys!), and then make the veggies and sauce. Of course you can throw your rice on at any time during this process as well. If you don’t want your balls to be spicy, just omit the fennel and red pepper flakes.

Veggie Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1 tsp sesame oil or olive oil
1 bell pepper
1 cup sugar snap peas
1/2 cup corn kernels (I removed them from one of my non-GMO sweet corn cobs that I got at the market.)
2 Tbsp reduced sodium tamari soy sauce
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sweetener (I used molasses. You could also use honey.)
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Heat large sauté pan with sesame or olive oil. Put veggies in pan, and cook over medium heat until veggies are beginning to get tender. Add tamari soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, sweetener of choice, and garlic powder. Mix everything well and allow to cook to desired tenderness (I like crunchy veggies). Cook rice according to package directions. When meatballs are finished toss in pan with the stir fry and love on some Fusion Food!

Taco Night Freezer Corn

September 10, 2014 by Dana

….And my love affair with Tacos continues. Not Ortega’s tacos, my tacos. The ones that contain real spices, onions, garlic, and sometimes even peppers. No malodextrin here! 🙂

Speaking of malodextrin I’m about to get all PSA up on you again. This is my way of letting everyone know how much I loath those stupid Taco Seasoning Packets. Guess what? Some brands even have gluten free versions now. *Blinking question mark above my head* Yeah, they are basically outing themselves because taco seasoning packets shouldn’t contain anything other then spices. Right? Right!

I’ve used them in the past too, but then one day I realized the first ingredient was malodextrin. Yeah, you probably don’t know what that is and I didn’t either. Come now folks! Let’s figure this out together. Ok, I’m just going to tell you but let’s pretend we are on a super serious mission right now.

This super serious mission involves my bestie Google. Google let me know that Malodextrin is actually just a highly processed corn byproduct. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t buy any of those big name brand’s Taco Night crap anyways because they all use TBHQ and GMO’s in their products and you know that’s not how I do. However, I never thought they would stoop so low as to put random ingredients above actual spices in those packets. Let’s make this real easy. Here’s the seasoning I use for tacos that contains no crap:

The Officially Official No Malodextrin in My Taco Seasoning Recipe

2 Tbsp cumin
2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp adobo seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

I’d also suggest browning beef with 1 clove of garlic and half of an onion. Does that seasoning mix make you want to go “Durr Durr Durr?” Yeah me too. It is that easy and boring it almost isn’t even a recipe, yet somehow we have allowed Ortega to run the taco show forever. Puh-lease Ortega get lost forever and don’t come back.

Mission accomplished!

Now that we have figured that one out together, let’s move on to this Freezer corn that is just about the best idea ever. I returned to my super awesome Farmer’s Market aka Gratz Auction for those of you who are local, and I got a bunch of goodies. My goodies included some non-GMO sweet corn and pretty bell peppers. I also got a BOX of apples for $10, along with some sweet/tart baby grapes that my kids ate by the handful until they were gone.. the next day!

Being the foodie that I am decided to buy a bunch of stuff with the intentions of freezing some of it because truth be told, everything is better in the summer! When I came home with peppers, jalapenos, and corn a Taco Night inspired Freezer Corn seemed like the perfect solution to my abundance of goodies problem. After it was sitting pretty in freezer bags I gave myself a pat on the back and said “You are a genius.” Ok, that never happened because I don’t have time to talk to myself and take care of my kids, but it sounded good didn’t it? 😉

So here’s the deal on the freezer corn…. it involves the word “blanching” which really just means make it hot, then make it cold to stop the cooking process. That sounds a lot easier, doesn’t it? Put the corn in boiling water, then put it in ice water. Easy, easy, easy!

After I blanched the corn, I kept the water boiling and blanched the peppers. I took the corn off the cob, and diced the peppers. Then I mixed them corn and pepper babies and I was done-zo! I divided the corn and peppers into 4 freezer baggies and now our Taco Night is going to be epic without any extra hassle on busy nights. I might even go back next week and get more goodies so we have a few more bags for the winter because I have a feeling this is going to end up in Lunchboxes with beans and rice as well!

So, to recap here is all the info:

Taco Night Freezer Corn

Ingredients and Tools:

12 ears sweet corn
2 bell peppers
2 jalapeno peppers (optional)
large stock pot
ice
freezer baggies

Directions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Blanch corn by cooking corn in boiling water for 4 minutes, then putting directly into ice water. If you are low on ice in your freezer (like me!!) run ears of corn under cold water for about 3-4 minutes or until completely cooled.

Blanch peppers in the same boiling water (after corn is removed) for 2 minutes, following the same procedure as the corn. Remove corn from cobs with a serrated knife, and dice peppers. Mix in a large bowl to get everything combined evenly, then distribute into freezer baggies, spreading everything out to lay baggies flat (so you don’t end up with a huge frozen clump o’ corn).

To use, remove bag from freezer the day before and store in refrigerator before use. Heat in a small saucepan over low heat. Add a Tbsp of butter and sprinkle with adobo seasoning, salt, and pepper. Viola!

Pumpkin Spice Granola Clusters

September 7, 2014 by Dana

Pumpkin. Spice. Granola. Clusters.

Yes… fall has arrived. It is now time to re-create every recipe I’ve ever made to fit somewhere into the cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg craze I’m about to embark on. 😉

Two things today:

1. How creepy are people at the grocery store with backpacks? Is it just me or does a man wandering around the isles, but not actually picking anything up, scream

“I’m about to blow the roof off this place any second.”

I mean really, if you want to scare a large crowd of stay at home moms and old people then wander around with a backpack and no cart. Likely everyone will scatter and look for the nearest Exit sign, then you don’t have to fight the crowd. Being creepy might have some perks, but I wouldn’t know because I’m about a -10 on the creepiness scale.

Upon seeing the creepy backpack guy I really just wanted to say

“Man, I just have to know. What’s in the bag? A machine gun? A bomb? A butcher knife? Ohhh.. it’s just your work clothes. Right, exactly what I had in mind. Thanks for clearing that one up. Now if you could kindly grab a cart and not corner me near the checkout that would be fantastic.” And that was all she wrote. 😉

2. I found a really awesome yogurt. Maple Hill Creamery Vanilla Creamline Yogurt. It is beyond my wildest yogurt dreams and so, I kindly took a picture of it so you could love on it too. Usually I purchase plain yogurt, but this vanilla cup intrigued me because it said Creamline. Plus it was about 50 cents cheaper then the other organic yogurts so I gave it a go. Boy, was it good!

Why is it so good, you ask? Here is my humble old opinion on yogurt, so fasten your seatbelts folks! Most low fat yogurts take away the fat, but add a ton of refined sugars. What is the point of that exactly? You got me! I have no clue why Americans think full fat dairy is the devil, but I’m here to be the low fat yogurt voice of reason. Just eat the real thing, it is so much better, and doesn’t require 26 grams of sugar to make it taste good. In fact, this yogurt only has about 4 grams of added sugar and it is creamy, tangy, and delicious without being overly sweet. Top it with the Pumpkin Spice Granola Clusters and you have yourself one of the most enjoyable breakfasts in the world!

*This is NOT a sponsored post. I just love this stuff! In fact, here it is in all of it’s cute tree on the cup glory!

I’m about to get all “health foodie mom” on everyone so please, if you are over that phase in your life or just don’t care skip to the recipe!

We don’t buy boxed cereals at the grocery store, and if we do we buy the organic/better ones that are pretty much just a treat for the kids. I know, I know, some of you may be thinking what the what!?!?! But it is true. The fact is most cereals are just candy coated, GMO junk food. Most boxed cereals even contain BHT, which is banned in most of the world (Hello FDA where are you?) They are no way to start your day… like ever! Yes, they might be fortified but if you are eating right in the first place you don’t need fortified junk food. With the organic/better cereals that aren’t fortified I’ve noticed they contain a whole lot of nothing so that is why I give them to my kids as a treat, not necessarily a breakfast. If you are trying to cut the crap out of your life, then here are my breakfast suggestions:

Homemade granola (because a lot of the grocery store granolas have a ton of unnecessary, added ingredients.
Eggs
Oatmeal (1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, cinnamon, 1 tsp pure maple syrup, blueberries=the best oatmeal ever!!)
Ezekiel muffins/bread with butter
Fruit/Yogurt
Whole wheat pancakes, waffles
Pumpkin Spice Granola Clusters and yogurt 😉

So there you go. A whole bunch of reasons not to eat a bowl-o-crap and a few suggestions of what to eat instead. Phew, I’m glad I got that off my chest! Ok, I promise I’m done and here is the recipe. Just an FYI, this recipe contains 2 egg whites. That means it will be crunchy, plus pack a bit of protein. Perfection I tell ya!

Pork Carnita Bowl

September 5, 2014 by Dana

Let’s just get real here…. these Pork Carnita Bowls are ridiculous. Ridiculously good that is! So ridiculously good that my husband took one bite and said “This is way better than Chipotle.” EXACTLY what I was thinking all day when I was eating it. Yes, I was chowing down on the meat all day because I decided it would be a good idea to make it ahead of time. That turned out to be a horrible idea!

Why is it a horrible idea you ask? Because you will want to eat half of it before the rest of your family even knows it is in existence. You might even think up some evil plot to hide it from everyone and pretend it never happened just so you can have it all to yourself. I’m not saying any evil plots went on inside my kitchen today, but I definitely ate a good third of the meat before anyone else even had the chance to taste it. When my toddler caught wind of what was going on he was trying to smuggle handfuls of meat into the living room without being noticed. Not gonna happen on my watch, bebe, because I know all about them smuggling tricks. I’m the master smuggler with my expensive organic chocolate bars that I’m so NOT sharing with any kiddos. I know all about hiding in a corner or closet and quickly enjoying every delicious bite before someone notices. At which point I pretend like I have no idea what chocolate they are speaking of. Chocolate? Where? 😉

Just incase anyone was wondering what exactly a carnita bowl is, here is my super awesome step-by-step picture thingy for your viewing pleasure. It is basically just like a bowl that you would get a chipotle, minus the random ingredients they use. Speaking of random ingredients I now present you with my Chipotle public service announcement. If you don’t care please pretend like I’m saying this really quickly just like the person at the end of the pill commercial who tells you your probably going to just drop dead as soon as you take it. Here goes:

Chipotle is not healthy fast food. Their wraps contain partially hydrogenated oils (aka trans fats) and a bunch of other crap. They use genetically engineered soybean oil in all of their products. Just because they have cool bags and make claims like “grass fed” and “better” doesn’t mean they aren’t sneaking crap into your food. The End. Now please, look at my cool picture thingy! And while your at it Pin the picture thingy so other people can see how awesome it is.

Wow, that was awesome sauce, wasn’t it? 🙂 Now, let’s talk more about making the meat because I have a serious confession. You may have noticed, I don’t really do slow cooker meals. I know, I know, the new moms need slow cooker meals! But I’m over that phase right now (phew!) and slow cookers are just too boring for me. I need to be able to see the food and play with it while it is cooking because I’m just ADHD like that. I can’t bear the thought of putting my beautiful pork roast in a lonely, not to mention ugly (my mom got it for a wedding gift like 100 years ago and it is that baby poop green color. Anyone from that time want to explain that color to me?) slow cooker and leaving it all by it’s lonesome for a few hours. I mean, come on people, pork roasts need some lovin’ too and my ugly slow cooker isn’t doing the job. I just can’t. This is my officially official apology to all the slow cooker lovers. I’m sorry!

*This recipe would work wonderfully in a slow cooker though, so if your not as ADHD about food as me, give it a try!

So what did I do if I didn’t use a slow cooker? I simply used my stovetop on low heat for about 90 minutes. Yes, 90 minutes to all of this awesomeness. That potentially means you could throw this on the stove when you get home from work along with the rice, go do a bunch of crap that you didn’t really want to do, and come back to some wonderful carnitas. If you are more of a nacho, taco, or burrito person this meat would be amazing served in any of those ways as well.

Carnita Bowl Seasoned Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups rice
1/4 tsp kosher salt
generous sprinkle adobo seasoning
1 sweet bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow preferred)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Directions: Put rice, seasoning, pepper, and water needed to cook rice into a pot and cook according to package directions. When rice is cooked, fluff with a fork and add chopped cilantro.

Blanched Green Bean Salad

August 31, 2014 by Dana

Once upon a time I went to the Farmer’s Market and came home with a grocery bag FILLED with green and wax beans. I came home, washed those babies, blanched those babies, and made a delicious vinaigrette to toss them in to make them super happy. I thought that was enough, but no, the beans wanted more. They were already perfect but they insisted they were just too beautiful to leave with ONLY a vinaigrette. I just wanted to make the beans happy, so I gave them some feta cheese and raisins and they were elated. The beans lived happily ever after for only a few minutes until they were gobbled up by the evil witch.

Ok that was true until the evil witch part because we all know I’m no witch! 😉 And well, beans don’t talk so I guess the rest isn’t true either. Ok, I totally made the whole thing up but hey, it sounded like a good story, right? Of course it was a good story, because we all love a cute fairy tale! Maybe I should have come up with something clever about Jack and the Bean Stalk but that seemed way to obvious and these beans are far too tasty for a giant who merely stuffs food in his mouth and swallows without even chewing. At least I think that’s how giants eat but who knows, I’m only 5 feet tall so clearly I know nothing about them.

Now that we have all of that fairy tale crap I just made up out of the way let’s just talk about how delicious blanched green beans are. When I was younger I thought I hated green beans because the only green beans I had ever seen were canned. I have vivid memories of seeing ugly canned green beans being served in the school cafeteria, and thinking who would eat those? YUCK! Canned green beans are all puffy and water logged and well… I hate them. I prefer my veggies on the crunchier side so generally if I’m making green beans I blanch them. Blanching is just a fancy word for submerging into boiling water for just a few minutes, then quickly submerging into cold water to stop the cooking process. No soggy beans here!

Please excuse the vinaigrette dripping off the side of my bowl. You see, I thought it would be a good idea to pick green beans out and eat them while I was taking pictures. Obviously it wasn’t. Photography fail! Just an FYI, yes this is a cold salad. The feta and raisins are optional but I highly recommend them!

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup

August 30, 2014 by Dana

I saw an orange leaf on a tree. I did, I swear! It was there. I promise. Not that I think I’m jumping the gun on this one or anything, because let’s face it September = Fall. I even got a fall pamphlet from Bath and Body Works in the mail which reminded me of all the wonderful fall smells, like freshly baked apple pie and pumpkin cream cheese quick bread. I can’t wait to begin baking fall goodies but before anything exceptional happens I need my coffee. And just in case you didn’t know, I take my coffee very seriously!

Fall just isn’t fall without Pumpkin Spice coffee and lattes aka happiness in a Cup-O-Joe! I love me some cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg but hate me some nasty ingredients used by many popular companies who produce Pumpkin Spice things…. like Coffee Mate, and that other really popular company that I’m never calling out because I kind of like them. You know who I’m talking about, right? Right. I knew you would!

That company, you know, the one I’m not calling out… they use high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring in their Pumpkin Spice drinks and I’m not too fond of that. As much as it pains me, I won’t be partaking in their festive drinks because I have will power (ok sort of) so I’m making my own coffee syrup to enjoy in my delicious coffees (cold brewed preferred!) and guess what? There is no nastiness in my version, and it is made with just a few pantry staples. I feel like I just won the Pumpkin Spice lottery or something! I kind of did though, let’s be honest!

As for Coffee Mate and the like, I CAN’T EVEN. Those non-dairy creamer companies deserve to go out of business today for using the horrible ingredients they use, mainly partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oil. Can someone say the WORST product on earth? I mean seriously, the only reason to make a product like that is just to kill people, but I’m no conspiracy theorist so I’ll leave it at that. Just please, do your health a favor and stay away from that crap!

When I realized just how easy it was to make my own Pumpkin Spice Coffee Syrup I kind of cried on the inside about all of the money I have spent at that place that I kind of like. At $3.87 a pop, you could almost go broke buying a few drinks, not to mention all the receipts you might have to hide from your spouse! There are also 52 grams of sugar in their grande Pumpkin Spice latte and that my friends is what I would call a boat load. I understand the desire to indulge once in a while but 52 grams of sugar in something you could easily down in less than 5 minutes is kind of silly. I’d rather just drink a plain coffee and then go have an ice cream cone. Obviously that would only happen on a day I ate a salad for dinner though! 😉

What is important to remember about Pumpkin Spice stuff is that it isn’t about the pumpkin, its about the spice. So no, there is NOT pumpkin in this recipe. Forgive me if I’m wrong but pumpkin puree in coffee just doesn’t sound appealing. The spice though… that is where it is at!

Classic Alphabet Soup

August 25, 2014 by Dana

Is Alphabet Soup awesome or is Alphabet Soup awesome?

I think it’s pretty awesome if I do say so myself! You know what is even better? 100% from scratch Alphabet Soup. Yes, this amazingly comforting and delicious soup is 100% real! No fake stuff, no gimmicks, no MSG, no Campbell’s crap. Just the good stuff. You know, like my favorite Kenny Chesney song all wrapped up in veggie goodness and served in a cutesy bowl from Pier 1.

You know your life is pretty simple when your bowl from Pier 1 makes you smile! 🙂 But hey, it’s the little things in life people, like Alphabet soup and Kenny Chesney songs.

Speaking of the little things in life, I’m about to get all sentimental up in here so bear with me folks… this is THAT soup! The soup that your kids will remember momma making forever. The soup that I will teach my kids to make so that one day they will be able to make it for their own kids. *tears!* The soup that is nostalgic, comforting, nutritious, and just all around lovely. The soup that is simple in the simplest form, and food in the most loving and comforting form. It is THAT soup that will leave memories of dirty hands and little feet running around in my mind. I will remember the days of my kids loving my Alphabet soup forever! One day my 80 year old self will make this for my husband and we will talk about the good old days when our kids were little and we couldn’t even pee alone. I mean really… *tears* Ok, ok I’m stopping with the sappy stuff now!

Ok now that we’ve got the tears and warm fuzzies out of the ways let’s talk soup. I made this soup in 25 minutes the other night with a baby sitting at my feet and a toddler crying nearby. It was that time of night. You know, that time when everyone is spent, hungry, and hasn’t napped all day. It can be done that quickly, so why not? Here are the steps to making this soup:

Dice onion and carrots and throw them in large stock pot. Add beef, brown, and drain.
Add tomatoes, stock, green beans, peas, and seasonings.
THAT’S IT! Sigh of relief because dinner is made and everyone is looking for the letters of their name in their bowl!

I should also mention that I use no salt added, glass jarred tomatoes. I also use a homemade stock. If you are using tomatoes or stock with salt added you might have to adjust my recommended amount of salt accordingly.

*If you are looking for Alphabet Shaped pasta here is the one I use. I’m also including the tomato product I use, if you can’t find this product look for something of a similar measurement and get as close as you can. A little more or a little less won’t ruin the recipe! Both of these links include more then 1 of the item, hence the price.

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

August 20, 2014 by Dana

I’ve been gawking… foodgawking that is! One thing I’ve really been gawking are all of those cutesy desserts covered in sprinkles galore. I’ve always loved sprinkles because they are cute, colorful, and well, they can make ugly things look pretty. However, once I grew up and realized what sprinkles actually were we kind of had a falling out. How could they have been lying to me this whole time? Pretending to be cute when in reality they are chemical bombs covered in artificial colorings! We’ve been broken up for quite some time now, and every time I see a sprinkle my heart sinks a little more. Until now!

I have no idea why it took me so long to realize that there ARE naturally dyed sprinkles out there, and they were right in front of my sprinkle-less little eyes this whole time. I’ve passed by them time and time again, never looking twice at their vegetable dyed awesomeness. One day when my kids weren’t screaming for Annie’s crackers (yes I do fall victim to those stupid bunnies sometimes too) I had a moment of clarity in the grocery store for the first time in over 7 years. All of a sudden there they were… the sprinkles I have been longing for all this time, so I scooped them up for $1.99 and was on my merry way home to think of reasons to use them.

Naturally I thought I’d be using the sprinkles for cupcakes but when I made these banana muffins I thought they needed a bit of a sprinkle face lift. My husband said “Don’t waste sprinkles on muffins” but seriously, he’s no food stylist so I started sprinkling, and how cute are these!?!? Muffins are no longer the “ugly cupcake” or the “stepchild of cupcakes” or the “duff” (totally not explaining that one if your not familiar with that term 😉 ), but they are now holding their own on the cuteness scale. These muffins are worthy of being a healthy classroom treat, or the lunchbox item all the kids are secretly longing for. We’ve re-invented muffins here people and I’m loving these!

What I love most about these muffins is they aren’t just cute muffins… they are healthy muffins! I don’t play the “whole wheat” game that is actually half whole wheat and half refined flour. What is the point of that again? Not only are these muffins whole wheat, they are also naturally sweetened which is almost always my goal when baking. On top of that they have a rich and creamy center with just enough cream cheese to make you feel like your eating something dreamy and decadent. Even better then all of that, they are so easy to make. Simply mix wet, mix dry, and combine just until mixed and bake.

Muffin Tip: I always fill my muffins to the top of the liner because nobody likes a muffin without tops!

*If you are looking for naturally dyed sprinkles here are the ones I used. It is a bulk pack but if you love sprinkles as much as I do it might be worth it!

Overstuffed Sweet Corn and Jalapeno Peppers

August 19, 2014 by Dana

Embarrassing food geek confession: I was super excited when I saw purple and black bell peppers at a local farmer’s market and endless recipe ideas flooded my head as soon as I saw these beauties. The best part… I filled two grocery bags full of beautiful produce, handed it to the gentleman running the stand, and he said $6 please. $6!!!!! For two heaping bags of produce. Helllllooo Gratz Auction, Thank You for being so awesome (and no I did not get a fish sandwich or pretzel to anyone who knows what I’m talking about). 😉 Another amazing find at the market… Non-GMO sweet corn! I got a dozen ears for $4, and left a happy, happy girl because my hopes of finding sweet corn that I trusted to be Non-GMO this summer were slim. Somehow I missed the yellow watermelons but hey, this girl can’t have everything. Maybe next time!

My husband kept asking why I wasn’t standing the peppers up because according to him “they look better that way.” Ummm… last time I checked you aren’t a food stylist hubby, so maybe you should keep your food styling tips to yourself! 😉 However, I explained the method to my madness and he totally got it. Stuffed peppers are delicious until you hit the bottom and you realize… you are out of stuffing. Now what? Do you eat the soggy bottom? Do you push past the guilt of wasting food and toss it? Problem solved right here folks, lay your peppers down and stuff the heck out of them. Stuff them babies till they are stuffed-out, heaping brown rice and goodies, and there is no way possible you or any army of men will ever run out of stuffing. Ever!

Sweet corn and jalapenos were truly meant to be friends. They go together so well, especially when mixed with rice and beans. I really wanted to keep these peppers simple so I mixed in other ingredients I felt most people would already have stocked in their pantry. I used black eyed peas, but black beans would also work great in this recipe. I also used homemade chicken stock I had already prepared and froze (speaking of stock I need to go strain my pot on the stove now!) however you could look for a low sodium, boxed stock that doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients or MSG (also look for other forms of MSG such as yeast extract and autolyzed yeast). If you use a boxed stock, you might have to adjust the adobo according to the salt content of the stock.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

August 18, 2014 by Dana

When the words “whole wheat chocolate cupcakes” come out of my mouth you are probably envisioning a dry, cardboard-like cupcake that was better left un-eaten. SO not the case here people! I would never suggest a dessert recipe that my family hasn’t thoroughly enjoyed, and these cupcakes are no exception. They are dark chocolate, moist, and have the creamiest cream cheese icing in the world that goes perfectly with the chocolate. This is my go-to chocolate cupcake recipe, and being whole wheat is just a bonus. No flavor is compromised here because if I’m eating the calories that come packed in a cupcake…. it better taste delicious!

I love a cupcake that tastes like it came straight from a high end bakery. One that uses whole, real ingredients and yields a product far superior to cake mixes and trans fat laden whipped topping. There is something so much tastier about a product that comes right out of your own oven, and looks beautiful! These babies are truly classic and satisfying. If your sweet tooth is over powering your brain take a few minutes out of your day and treat yourself, your family will love you for it! 😉

My secret ingredient in these: coffee! Coffee is going to do two things in this recipe. 1) Give your cupcakes a “dark chocolate” flavor and 2) give your cupcakes a light, fluffy texture. I didn’t even tell my husband I put coffee in these and guess what? He didn’t know because you can’t taste the coffee. It is simply there as a flavor booster and acid. Acidity in baking makes things lighter and fluffier so it is always a good thing (just like the buttermilk in your pancakes). When I make cupcakes I always include something acidic for this reason.

My other secret ingredient: orange zest in the cream cheese icing. I learned this trick almost immediately in pastry school. I can vividly remember the day… we were making Danish. Our instructor presented us with the option of using a filling she made and when I tasted it I just about melted. It was one of the best fillings I had ever tasted! I just had to know what was in it and she filled me in. Zest, zest, zest! ZEST! Orange zest will kick up the flavor of a cream cheese icing and take it to a whole ‘nother level! I mean a whole ‘nother level you’ve never known before! You have got to zest them oranges baby because that is the key to the *in Oprah voice* best EEEEVVVVEEEERRRR cream cheese icing!!!! So gimmicky of me, yet so true. Please excuse my gimmicky food blogger talk… because… you know that’s not my style! 😉

*Recipe measurements adapted from Death By Chocolate Cupcakes by Sally’s Baking Addiction.

Creamy Tomato Soup With Cheesy Pita Dippers

August 14, 2014 by Dana

Creamy tomato soup with cheesy pita dippers. That is it, that is all she wrote. Need I really say more? If there was ever a time I wanted to leave it at that, the time is now!

Before we start can we just take a quick moment of silence (aka pity party) for me, the mom at the grocery store whose kids are repeatedly yelling the word “Crotch.” I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but one day that word rolled off my lips while telling my son to zip his pants and the rest is history. NOT…A…DAY has gone by since then that they haven’t used it in every way, shape, and form they could and at the grocery store is the worst! Can you imagine, me, a young looking mom, standing next to the smug, know-it-all old couple while my kids say “I’m working in the crotch.” What does that even mean!?!?!? Please, pray for me people. Pray that my kids will find it in their hearts to stop saying “crotch” in the grocery store because if it happens again I might just jump into a bulk bin and never come out!

Moving on, this soup is the perfect blend of creamy and tomato with a hint of cheddar. Not only that, it is very dip-able, hence the pita dippers! The dippers can be put together in just a minute and thrown in the oven to complete the soup in a way that your kids will love. This soup is lunchbox friendly, freezer friendly, and versatile as I have even made it with extra veggies. This recipe is a large batch recipe, so I created it specifically for the moms looking to save some time by making a large batch and freezing some for later. The recipe filled my 8 quart stock pot, so the large batch is large! I freeze this soup in half pint ball jars to use specifically for my son’s lunchbox thermos and it is always a big hit. If you are only looking for a regular sized batch, just cut the recipe in half (included below).

Cheesy Pita Dippers

Ingredients:

Store bought pitas (Food for Life Prophet Pockets Recommended, if you can’t find them check the ingredients in your pitas! They should not contain any weird ingredients, especially partially hydrogenated oils, preservatives, or bleached flours!)
Extra virgin olive oil
Pink Himalayan or Kosher salt
Freshly grated cheddar/parmesan cheese or cheese of your choice

Directions: Cut pitas in triangles and brush with olive oil. Lightly salt pitas, top with cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until slightly browned and crisp.

Regular Batch Measurements

1 stick butter (1/4 pound)
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup flour
4 cups milk (whole or 2% recommended)
4 ounces cheddar cheese
6 cups (48 ounces) strained tomato (I buy strained tomatoes in a glass jar as I am not fond of canned tomato products. You can use any jarred/canned tomatoes as close to measurement as possible that are smooth and do not contain added salt)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 +1/4 tsp pink Himalayan or Kosher salt
black pepper to taste

*Just for reference, this is the tomato product that I use. Look in your local organic section or specialty store and they should carry it. If you can’t find it, again any smooth and unsalted tomato product will work. Amazon also carries the product but it is more expensive online even in the bulk quantity.

Recipes

The Book

The Recipe

Homemade Caramel Filling/Topping

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream

Savory Quick Bread Base

1. Tomato Mozzarella

2. Jalapeno Cheddar

3. Parmesan Peppercorn

4. Caramelized Onion and Herb

5. Whole Grain Mustard and Feta

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Dipping Ganache:

Creamy Ranch Slaw

Apple Pie Cupcake Filling

Caramel Drizzle

Homemade Brown Sugar

Veggie Stir Fry

The Officially Official No Malodextrin in My Taco Seasoning Recipe

Taco Night Freezer Corn

Carnita Bowl Seasoned Rice

Cheesy Pita Dippers

Regular Batch Measurements

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