whole wheat white flour

Chicken Parmesan Alfredo

April 22, 2015 by Dana

Have I told you lately how much I LOVE my cast iron skillet? Yes, it’s true. A few years ago I traded in my non-stick cookware for all stainless steel and cast iron. It did take me a while to get used to not burning stuff to the bottom of them like EVERYTIME but after adjusting my heat (much lower!) I realized I didn’t need those chemical laden pots and pans after all! 🙂

Today I’m sharing this chicken parmesan recipe that goes to a whole new level by adding a super yummy Alfredo sauce to the pasta and lots of mozzarella cheese before baking it in the oven to get that nice, crusty mozzarella we all love. The best part is I used my wonderful cast iron skillet to get a nice, crispy piece of chicken without a deep fryer or any unhealthy oils. If you don’t own a cast iron skillet no worries, you can do this in just about any sauté pan, however I do love the results I get from my cast iron. Just take a look and you’ll understand! Now that’s a piece of chicken to be proud of!

Another thing I love about his recipe is the versatility. If you are short on time and don’t feel like taking the extra steps to make the Alfredo sauce you can absolutely toss your pasta in extra red sauce and call it a day. Sometimes I go the red sauce route, sometimes I go the Alfredo route. Sometimes I even toss my pasta in extra red sauce AND ricotta cheese and that is delicious too. Either way you will end up with a dinner your family will love!

Whenever I use a convenience product like the panko bread crumbs I used in this recipe I always caution folks to READ INGREDIENTS! These are the products most notorious for adding a bunch of crappy ingredients that don’t need to be there just for the sake of keeping the product on a shelf for years without it going bad. I get so frustrated with brands like Progresso who willingly put profit and production above ethics. When it comes down to it, there should be no reason any breadcrumb product contains ingredients like partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. When I started reading labels one of the first products I immediately threw away were the breadcrumbs that had been lingering in the back of my pantry forever. That alone should have indicated to me that something just wasn’t right with the product to begin with. Since that time I’ve experimented with making my own breadcrumbs (which works wonderful too!) but this time I opted for an organic panko product I’ve found in most mainstream grocery stores (check their organic section).

Here’s the product I used as well as my favorite cast iron skillet! 🙂

*This is a bulk listing.

Salty Sprinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 26, 2015 by Dana

Oh hey there pretty little salty and sprinkled chocolate chip cookies! Oh how I’ve been waiting for February to show it’s face just to have reasons to use all of my naturally dyed sprinkles I’ve been stock-piling! Ok, so it isn’t exactly February yet, but it is really close, right?!?! 🙂

Yes, that’s right. Valentine’s Day is upon us. For some couples this “holiday” means going on extra special trips and doing all kinds of fabulous, lovey-dovey things. For couples with kids this “holiday” means reminiscing about the days before you had kids and you could do those things. HA! Ok, you know sometimes we just have to be real and this my friends is the truth about Hallmark “holidays” after having kids!

I think last year we all went out to eat as a family. My husband can tell you, I’m always the voice of reason when he suggests such outtings.

“Buuuut remember last time we tried that and it was a horrible event that I never want to relive, like ever in my life again?”

Yeah, it never really goes the way you were thinking when you have small children. Two of our kids are past the *NEVER TAKING OUT TO EAT, EVER* age, but we still have little baby Christian who is kind of still unpredictable in public. So that means I’ll probably just get my husband a plant for Valentine’s Day again and then we can name it Heart-y or something. Then of course I will have a huge tray of fresh, just out of the oven chocolate chip cookies to go along with my completely random present. Works like a charm every time!

Ok, now that I’ve just given all of you un-married and un-kid-ed folks the truth about well…life… let’s move on because Hello! These cookies are pretty and delicious and slightly better then your average cookie. By slightly I mean that we subbed some whole wheat flour, and added sprinkles that aren’t so offensive because they don’t contain trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils), like most sprinkles, and they are naturally dyed. No laboratory chemicals in these cookies! 🙂

Ok, so you might be wondering why I’m not going 100% whole wheat on these because normally, I do. The truth is I just can’t get a 100% whole wheat cookie to taste good. I’ve tried, and tried, and failed, and failed. Then I realized it is a damn cookie. Just put some white flour in it and forget about it! So I did, and they were perfect, and delicious, and gooey, and chocolatey, and ever so slightly salty in the most perfect cookie way. The End!

*I used 3 different naturally dyed sprinkles on these cookies but my most recommended naturally dyed sprinkles are these India Tree sprinkles. The price reflected is for a bulk order but you can find them individually in stores and on Amazon. I’ve found them in stores for $4-5 a jar so it is cheaper if you can find them locally. Wegman’s carries a ton of their line.

*Recipe adapted from Chocolate Chip cookie recipe printed on Wegman’s Organic Chocolate Chip bag.

Greek Kale and Orzo Salad

January 13, 2015 by Dana

New Year, New You? Right? 🙂

Here we are… two weeks into the new year and I’m wondering who is still sticking to their “let’s get healthy” resolution? If you’ve fallen off the resolution train already, don’t worry! One calendar day means nothing, however a new attitude about food means everything! Forgetting about that mark on your calendar might be the best “should-have-been resolution” out there because every day is a new day to change how you eat. Every grocery store trip, every meal is a new chance to check ingredient lists and care about what you are putting into your body. Yes, there are times when I eat things that I know aren’t in the game plan, but I don’t dwell on it for too long because I have new meals coming up that can and will be healthy.

I have to start this with a story about my mom. She’s been on diet after diet after diet her whole life and I think she might be beginning to understand that she NEEDS to check ingredient lists for everything. It doesn’t matter if it says “light” or “natural” because chances are it probably isn’t. She was telling me all about her new eating plan, yet mentioned she was still using a bottled dressing. Now, don’t get me wrong, we are all going to fall short somewhere. If 95% of your diet consists of unprocessed foods, then you are doing really great! However, bottled dressings just make me want to throw something. They are so counterproductive it is just upsetting. Big pile of delicious veggies? Here, let’s pour some unhealthy GMO soybean oil and MSG on it! Unhealthy fats, gimmicky lies on the front of the bottles, addictive ingredients, tons of sodium, artificial colors, preservatives, I mean I could write a book about this crap.

At the end of the conversation I told my mom “Listen.. it is all about seasoning your food. Even if it is a salad it needs salt and pepper. Olive oil, vinegar, spices, salt, pepper. That’s all it takes to make your own dressing that you will love to eat. But the key ingredients are salt and pepper. Nobody wants to eat food that is bland, and this is the key to making your own dressing that actually tastes good. TRUTH! 🙂

Other then the obvious health benefits kale is an awesome green to use in make ahead salads because it doesn’t wilt. That’s right, you can dress this salad the night before and you will still have a crisp and fresh green to take for lunch or enjoy at home. Kale can be a little rougher then spinach/romaine so I’d suggest chopping you kale thinly.

Crispy Blackened Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

December 15, 2014 by Dana

First, who else is watching The Voice right now? All of these guys are so amazing!

And second, a big Happy Birthday to my first born baby, who turns 8 today! I know, I know, shouldn’t I be posting a cupcake or something? Well, those babies were all finished up last night around…..11:30 PM. Every procrastinating parent has been there, right? Luckily my cupcake game is on point and his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cupcakes made it to school without anything tragic happening! 🙂

So after I completely turned my kitchen upside down last night and left the mess to deal with this morning I didn’t really feel like putting something super special together for dinner. You know, when you’ve spent your entire morning with a bottle of bleach in your hands, cleaning up your kitchen and, oh yeah….the pee around the toilet (that whole boy thing is no joke), and you have little energy left for dinner? Sure, it happens to the best of us. And then we make some super easy and delicious Blackened Chicken and Broccoli Pasta and all is well! Not bragging or anything but my husband totally tasted this and said “Chik-fil-a doesn’t have anything on Mommy.” Score!

Ok so yeah, that’s a flax seed in that picture. It has nothing to do with this recipe. Opppps!

This is a two step recipe that involves just one pan. I’m going to quickly sum this up to make this real simple and easy (full recipe below):

1) Coat your chix (restaurant lingo for chicken) in seasoning, dip in breadcrumbs, BAM!

2) Into EVOO drenched and heated pan for some sizzlin’ action. POW!

3) Remove the chix when it is nice and crispy. Deglaze pan with some chicken stock to get all the goodies off the bottom. WOW!

4) Add some butter lovin’ and some flour, then liquids (stock, milk), pasta, and cheese, and simmer that goodness until pasta is about half-way cooked. Add broccoli, allow to cook, and DONE!

Is it just me, or was that really exciting? 🙂 What I love most about this is the ease of cooking the chicken. No annoying waste of an egg to coat your chicken, no 3 step flour, egg, seasoning mess, just an easy cut, coat, and cook method that delivers the crispiest pan “fried” chicken ever!

*For this recipe, I used a store-bought organic breadcrumb. Although these are not 100% whole wheat, they are a great convenience product that doesn’t include any unnecessary ingredients like hydrogenated oils, HFCS, MSG, etc. Here’s a link if your interested!

Creamy White Cheddar Baked Corn

December 4, 2014 by Dana

Corn. The glue that holds all Holiday meals together. Don’t think so? Try omitting it sometime, and everyone will just keep wondering “What’s missing here???”

I have to admit, I’ve been a corn lover my whole life. As a child I absolutely despised veggies, but corn…we got along just fine. So obviously, as an adult and a chef, I look for ways to make corn even better then it already is. I’ve found a winner here….ding, ding, ding! 🙂 Corn + cheese = yes! It doesn’t really take a genius to figure that one out though, so let’s just say I took an obvious combination and upped the ante a bit by adding a touch of white wine and a layer of crispy Fontina cheese on top!

And now… I bring to you…more processed food confessions from my childhood. Boy, I hope my parents decided my blog was too much of a snooze-fest to even read anymore because I’ve been calling them out for all the crap they fed me as a child a lot lately! I’m just going to assume they aren’t reading and proceed to call them out yet again! The cheese whiz, the frozen pretzels, and now the Kid Cuisines (among lots of other crap). I mean, seriously…why? And who? Who goes to the grocery store and thinks processed junk food in plastic containers that you cook in a microwave seem like a good idea? Apparently my parents thought it was quite nifty because let’s just say I ate Kid Cuisines a few times a week for a few years. I’m still alive! But no wonder I was fat and awkward!

In their defense, I really loved those things. I came home from school, watched Nickelodeon, ate my TV-dinner. The life of a 90’s kid! My favorite Kid Cuisine was the tacos (ok, is talking about this crap getting creepy yet?!?!?). I refused to believe the tacos had beans in them (THEY DID) because I thought I hated beans. I also was quite the little chef because I always mixed the corn and cheese sauce and it was the best combo ever. Hence…. this recipe!

One really important step in this recipe is making sure your frozen corn is defrosted! If it isn’t defrosted it will make the sauce runny when it defrosts in the oven. I made the same mistake one time but quickly fixed it by adding a few tablespoons of flour and baking it for a few more minutes. Flour fixes everything!

*I recommend looking for frozen corn that is organic/non-GMO verified! I used sweet corn that I froze this summer, but store bought is perfectly fine as well!

Loaded Cheese Fries

November 28, 2014 by Dana

Happy Black Friday! I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We had yet another great Thanksgiving with tons of food and time with family. My husband had to work today so no Black Friday shopping for me yet but I might venture out this evening. 🙂

And then…. these Loaded Cheese Fries happened! No mystery Kraft Cheeze Whiz, no bagged fries with tots of extra ingredients including GMO’s, just real ingredients put together to create a real food version of an all time favorite. Say something Kraft, I dare you! And please, if a word contains a Z instead of an S, that might be an indication you have a processed food disaster on your hands!

I must admit, I grew up eating Cheeze Whiz, because again my parents just didn’t understand. Almost every single day I would come home from school and eat a microwaved soft pretzel with Cheeze Whiz (cringe!). I always had to spoon the cold Whiz onto my plate without even looking at it because it actually disgusted me that bad.

So what is Cheeze Whiz anywho? Basically a mix of dairy, canola oil, modified food starch, and preservatives. You know, some processed concoction only Kraft would be able to come up with. What do you really expect from the company who created Cool Whip? I surely don’t expect anything real from them so I made my own cheese sauce that is super easy, uses only 4 ingredients + seasoning and viola! Cheese fries with a real cheese sauce that taste 1,000 times better then that canned crap!

Now that we’ve called out Kraft, let’s talk bacon! We always try to purchase bacon that contain natural nitrates. I know some people don’t think it matter either way, so do what works for you. FYI our natural bacon comes from Aldi, and is a bit cheaper then most mainstream grocery stores. 🙂 Love me some Aldi!

Last but not least, these Loaded Cheese Fries are perfect for tailgating, football parties, Holidays, or any other gathering you can possibly think of. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t love fries so these are the perfect crowd pleaser!

Please excuse this ridiculously huge picture! 🙂

Whole Wheat Funfetti Cupcakes

November 21, 2014 by Dana

Will the Real-est funfetti cupcakes please stand up???? 🙂

Confession: I love sprinkles, and cupcakes, and cute baked goods. They brighten my life when everything around me is blue, green, and super hero colored. You know, the 3 boys struggle… it is real folks! I love cupcakes so much I even have one tattooed on my foot, complete with sprinkles and a candy heart. I think that means I’m the official Knower-of-all-things-sprinkles, right? Right!

But then a while ago we kind of had a falling out, the sprinkles and I. I figured out their dirty little secret. It was a little too late, ya’ know with the tattoo and all? The proof was right there, the whole time. All I had to do was flip the little plastic bottle over and take a glance at the ingredients, and we were done-zo for good! Why Wilton, why? Trans fats and artificial colors? How are you going to do me like that Wilton?

I could keep going on about boxed cake mixes, sprinkles, sixlets, and the like but I’ll shorten it up real nice for you… break it off with these products now, it’ll save you in the long run!

Since the sprinkle break-up of my own life I’ve been on the lookout for a better product. Mainly one that is naturally colored and doesn’t contain any partially hydrogenated oil (trans fat). I’ve tried a few different products and while they were all better I liked one brand the best: India Tree Natural Sprinkles. The one big thing that makes these sprinkles different is that the colors don’t bleed once they are on the product. I experienced color bleeding with all of the other brands I tried, although I would still highly recommend them over standard sprinkles any day! One thing I should mention, India Tree’s products are NOT Non-GMO verified, and do contain soy lecithin, which is an ingredient we try to avoid. With that being said, a girl can’t have everything!

You can probably imagine my excitement when a huge rack of India Tree sprinkles appeared at the super-awesome grocery store I frequent. Of course, my husband was along for that trip so it didn’t seem like the right time to go on a naturally dyed sprinkle buying spree. Husbands just don’t understand!

A few days later I was there again and let’s just say I got a few bottles. It’s the Holiday Season! I needed those sprinkles! The internet needs a #betterbaking Funfetti Cupcake recipe! Best part was I got to choose my own mix of colors. Aren’t they puuurrrttty? 🙂

Now comes my whole wheat disclaimer, because I HAVE to say this. I’ve served whole wheat cupcakes to dozens of family members and friends and not one person even questioned them being whole wheat. You know what that means? They didn’t even know. You know what else that means? If you use the right whole wheat recipe your cupcakes will not come out dense and dry like the way people describe whole wheat products. What dense and dry cupcakes? I don’t know because I don’t make them. I promise, you will probably not be able to tell a difference your kids will definitely not know, and your husband will be too busy wondering where all the naturally dyed sprinkles came from to notice either.

This is a whole lot of ‘fetti in my face and I kind of like it! 🙂

Last but not least let’s talk icing. I don’t love a sickeningly-sweet powdered sugar icing. However, I think if you prefer a sweeter icing these would be the perfect compliment! I have quite a few really delicious icing recipes so here are the two that I think match these the best:

Simply Vanilla Buttercream (sweeter):

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 stick unsalted butter (softened to room temperature)
1/4 cup sour cream
2-3 cups organic powdered sugar
1/2 vanilla bean pod or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: Soften butter to room temperature while baking cupcakes. This step is very important!! Beat butter until very smooth, scraping down the sides of your bowl numerous times to make sure all lumps are out. Add sour cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add additional 1-2 tbsp. tapioca starch or non-gmo corn starch to thicken icing to desired consistency without adding more sugar.

Naturally Sweetened Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package full fat cream cheese
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
3-4 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 vanilla bean pod or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions: Soften cream cheese and butter to room temperature. Beat cream cheese until very smooth, scraping down the sides of your bowl numerous times to make sure all lumps are out. Add butter, continue beating until very smooth. Add maple syrup, tapioca starch, and vanilla.

*Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction’s: Easy Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes. Have never tried a recipe from her blog that I haven’t loved. Thanks!

Here is the Amazon link to the sprinkles. They are a lot cheaper in stores if you can find them there!

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes

November 19, 2014 by Dana

I am telling you…these Gingerbread Pancakes totally exceeded my pancake expectations! So much so that I’ve made them for my kids 3 times in the last week. You know, because I just love hearing the words “We want pancakes” before I even step foot out of bed! #mommyproblems

I just read a meme that said “Honesty trumps sugar-coated bullshit.” YES! This is exactly how I feel today as I’m writing this because truth is, I am having major technical issues. ~~Scratch that~~. I’m having massive technical issues. The kind of issues that warrant taking my computer outside with a shotgun, or maybe a baseball bat. Either way, I have no idea what is wrong with my computer and it is driving me insane! Meltdown anyone?

These computer issues also warrant a big coffee, a good cry, and some chocolate. You know, because there’s nothing chocolate can’t fix, right? But seriously, if you don’t see any new posts this week just know that I’m undergoing massive reboots and techie stuff that I don’t really understand and I’ll be back soon. 🙂 Praying I can figure it out soon because my computer is virtually un-usable and SLLLOOWWW.

In (better) news, I took all 3 boys to the dentist today and nobody embarrassed me. That’s right… nobody ran away from me, I didn’t have to chase anyone down the hallway, or pull anyone off the decorations they just love to try to climb on. There were no looks from strangers, or older folks judging me. We came, we dentist’d, we conquered. Yes!!!! 🙂

Ok, now let’s get to the fun part, these Gingy-Men pancakes! I even busted out my naturally dyed sprinkles I’ve been saving just for Holiday baking to dress these pancakes up a bit, and how cute did they turn out? I’ve been known to hate on sprinkles in the past (among other things like bunnies) because they are nasty *ahem partially hydrogenated oils and artificial color-bombs.* However I can totally get down with a few naturally dyed sprinkles on some festive pancakes to put a smile on my boy’s faces! They thought it was something really special and I got to enjoy a pancake with my coffee. Win-win all around!

*Recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma

One Pot Chilli Mac

November 12, 2014 by Dana

Comfort food in the best way possible, Chilli Mac!

I know, I know, where have I been? Well, you see there’s this thing called *my oven is like a million years old* and I burnt the skin of a chicken that was supposed to be another post last week. Then there was also this thing called *the lighting in my photo-taking room sucked* and the beautiful reindeer cupcakes I made were basically poo-poo in pictures. And Rudolf even had a shiny nose! 🙁

Speaking of my old oven… that thing! I could seriously just take it outside and have a grand ol’ time with it + a baseball bat. You know your oven is THE WORST when you actually have to Google how to move the racks. I wish I was kidding, but no. I Googled how to move the racks in my oven. *Face Palm* Apparently in the 70’s (I’m guessing) somebody who probably never used an oven decided the best way to move a rack would be to lift it from the very back of the oven. Yeah, totally would of never considered trying that. Just another joyful aspect of apartment living!

But then today… This Chilli Mac happened. And my lighting was nice. And I wasn’t Googling how to use my ancient oven. And there was copious amounts of cheese and greens to throw around to make everyone pretty. I mean really, does it get any better? Comfort food + Happy blogger and boys = Yay!!!!

There is one thing in this recipe that I haven’t talked about lately on 3Boys and that is ketchup. I highly recommend seeking a brand that doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup in their product. Not only is it GMO, it isn’t good for us and the brands using it in their products basically just suck. BOO to them! Don’t buy their crap! Ok, I’m done. 🙂

Now that I got that vent off my chest let’s dive head first into a big bowl of Chilli Mac, shall we? This recipe combines the goodness of hamburger, whole wheat elbow macaroni, sharp cheddar cheese, tons of spices, ketchup, mustard and sour cream into a big, delicious hot mess. This hot mess will make you want to burn the roof of your mouth right off because you can’t wait just 1 minute for it to cool down. I know, I do it every time too. Basically take everything you have in your pantry, dump it into one big hot mess, and enjoy! Chilli Mac it is!

*Don’t forget your greens! I served this with a big ol’ spinach and kale salad and some frozen mango!

White Chocolate Orange Gingerbread Cupcakes

November 4, 2014 by Dana

Hello November! So glad you are here! I officially have the next 2 months to bake up a storm. Love, love, love!

Speaking of love… these Gingerbread cupcakes totally converted me to a Gingerbread fan. I’ve been on the molasses train pretty much all year and I have been patiently waiting for the holiday season to bust out some Gingerbread recipes because molasses is kind of awesome. By kind of awesome, I mean it might just be one of my top 5 fav ingredients. Why? Because it gives such a boost of flavor to all baking! These cupcakes highlight the goodness of molasses, with a hint of orange, and a bit of spice. Can you think of a better holiday combination?

PLUS…. remember when we started #betterbaking by calling out all of the nasty ingredients being thrown into dessert recipes all over the inter-world? *Ahem….Cool Whip, Trans fat laden sprinkles* Well, you can add ANOTHER cupcake recipe to the #betterbaking books because this one is simple and to the point. No weird stuff, no convenience products loaded with random crap. Just the simple, real deal… and THAT’S IT! 🙂

Is it just me or do these guys look like they just jumped off the Candy Land board game?

Now, as if you didn’t know this was coming….We need to talk about white chocolate. Yes, the dreaded trans fat talk is coming. I know, it is such a Debbie Downer in all of this cute cupcake fun. But, but, but…. we need to talk about these companies that put dangerous fats in their products knowing full well that they are dangerous! Upon some investigation at the grocery store I came to the conclusion that ALL of the white chocolate morsels/chip contained partially hydrogenated oils (non-organic brands). Hershey’s even called their white chips “Premium” yet they were made with dangerous trans fats. Come on now Hershey’s! We know you can do better then that for us!

Soooo….. I suggest taking a look at your white chocolate ingredients before purchasing a product. If it is organic, AWESOME! Then we know that eliminates most of the cray-cray ingredients we are trying to avoid. I used a Green & Black White Chocolate Bar and it worked great, tasted great, and didn’t contain any added crap. It cost me $2.99, which was only a few cents more then the Ghiradelli bars. If you can’t find an organic bar, look for a bar that doesn’t contain any partially hydrogenated oils, or artificial flavors. Companies like to throw in additional unknown flavorings but nobody likes that weird, fake taste that comes from those flavorings anyway!

And then there was that time when I thought I was getting red cupcake liners, but apparently they were pink. The grocery store must have been convinced they were red too, because they were sitting around all the baking stuff in the middle of the grocery store surrounded by huge Christmas Trees and the green liners. *face palm* But hey, they are super cute AND match my logo, so oh well! 🙂

Whole Wheat Kale and Prosciutto White Pizza + #52NewFoods GIVEAWAY!

October 31, 2014 by Dana

Remember that time you got that genius idea to make homemade pizza with whole wheat flour and it was a total flop? Been there, done that! There has always been something I really hated about how the crust turned out, because truth be told shaping a pizza is really hard!

I was looking for recipes on Martha Stewart’s website and there it was..one of the most genius food hacks I have ever seen! A pizza in a cast iron skillet! Where has this idea been my whole life? I know, I know, Pizza Hut has essentially been doing this forever and calling it panned pizza but it never occurred to me that maybe this would be the tool I needed to fix my homemade pizza problems.

I decided to incorporated kale into our grocery list this week, because it isn’t something I pick up very often. This week was different though, because Jennifer Tyler Lee’s new book, The 52 New Foods Challenge, made me realize I have been ignoring a few vegetables that I’d like to start using regularly. You know, when you get into a grocery shopping routine and forget about all the other stuff the grocery store has? Yeah, that has been me lately and I wanted to challenge my family to trying something new!

What better a way to introduce kale to my children then pizza? I can’t remember a time my kids refused pizza and the dough is an awesome way to get the kids involved and having fun. I kid you not, my toddler had a piece of dough that he played with for hours. Who needs toys when you have pizza dough? 🙂

If you haven’t checked out my Sweet-Fire Chilli post, Jennifer’s book is based upon challenging your family to try just one new food a week. This is a genius way to handle transitioning to cooking from scratch and eating healthier because we all know how busy life with kids can get. Jennifer suggests dedicating at least one day a week to cooking with the whole family and trying something new. Not just that, she has made it into a game for kids to play to entice them to actually eat the new food! Again, where has this idea been my whole life?

Sometimes it is important to step back and take a look at the big picture. With Jennifer’s book, the big picture of eating healthier, getting your kids to try healthy foods, and cutting processed foods seems so much more attainable for families who aren’t sure where to start. Can you imagine though, a year from now having 52 new healthy ingredients to cook for your family with? How amazing is that big picture?

Pizza Dough = Hours of fun! I do believe that is Batman getting wrapped in dough!

I know this question is coming, so I’m going to go ahead an answer it! Is prosciutto processed?

No. Prosciutto is cured, which means it was heavily salted to draw moisture out of the ham and make it safe for consumption. Although this is a process, the prosciutto I used only had 2 ingredients that were ham and salt. Some companies will use nitrates as well, but shop around and find a brand that doesn’t. Since the prosciutto is cured, it is very high in sodium, so I wouldn’t suggest using it as anything other then a heavy garnish in a dish like this. Just a few shreds will give you flavor enough to bring a really great taste without adding gobs of sodium.

If you are intimidated by mixing the pizza dough and using yeast, do not be! It is honestly easier then making cookies, I promise. 🙂 The dough only takes about 8 minutes to mix up, then rests in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, although you can refrigerate it for up to 24. I highly suggest using whole wheat white flour which is a softer wheat, therefore yields a softer and less dense product. Whole wheat white flour can be confusing because it sounds like it is similar to bleached, enriched, white flour but it IS NOT.

The Giveaway

Jennifer’s book can be pre-ordered below, PLUS I am giving away a copy this week! Simply leave a comment with 1 ingredient you’d like to challenge yourself to cook with this week! Next Thursday, I will randomly select a winner. 🙂

*Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food’s recipe Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza. Thanks Lisa!

Lunchboxes Love Mini-Whole Wheat Pizzas Too!

If you find yourself with extra dough, simply cut it into squares and press it into muffin tins. Top with garlic oil, cheese, and veggies.

#betterbaking Whole Wheat Caramel Blondies

October 30, 2014 by Dana

That’s a big blondie, isn’t it? A big, rich, caramel-y blondie that is all whole wheat!

Is it just me or are people totally scurred of committing to using all whole wheat flour in recipes? I can’t even count the amount of times I have been foodgawking and thought to myself “cool no refined grains!” only to click on the recipe and realize it isn’t a whole wheat recipe because it contains 1/2 refined flour. What gives people, what gives!?!?!

Not only that, why label a recipe whole wheat if in fact, it isn’t? Maybe I’m missing something there. 🙂

Fear not though, because here at 3Boys we don’t play those games. All of our recipes are 100% whole wheat, and #betterbaking is taking the internet by storm! Ok, maybe the second part of that was kind of a long shot but people really seem to be interested in baking recipes using better ingredients, so I am here to give you more options and better recipes.

Whole wheat recipes don’t have to be bland, boring, and standard. They don’t have to be limited to just one version of a classic, the possibilities are endless. You don’t have to worry about trying something in whole wheat form and it turning out horrible, and I get to take pictures of pretty desserts that make me happy. Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it? Even my husband thinks it is genius because he gets to taste all of my creations! After all, I have to put that Pastry Arts degree to use somehow, don’t I?

Now that ^^^^ is a caramel blondie! With this recipe I’m really tackling those boxed mixes with the little pouch of gooey caramel intact to drizzle right over those trans fat laden boxed brownies. I know, I know, I’m sorry I just can’t help myself! I have to get all health-freak up in here and talk about the nastyt ingredients in boxed mixes so people understand those mixes are not frowned upon simply because they are supposedly quicker (which I highly debate). They are frowned upon because they contain trans fats, preservatives, and a bunch of other crap. But aren’t brownies just flour, cocoa powder, and leavening agents anyway? Please, someone, anyone…. tell me how this makes ANY sense!

I got to wondering what else Ghiradelli was throwing into those gooey caramel packets and it was just the icing on top of the nasty ingredient cake! It was ugly folks, really ugly. Corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and preservatives. Just a few little extras, right?

Ok, I promise I’m off the trans fats are bad train and we are now going back to our regularly scheduled programming! 🙂

These blondies sound complicated but I promise they are not! Putting together the caramel from scratch could NOT be easier. A few simple ingredients, 5 minutes, and a stovetop is all you need. After you do it once you’ll be wondering why you ever thought caramel was complicated. Not to mention, the FLAVOR from real caramel is totally different and so much better then those plastic wrapped chunks of high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. Come to the real caramel dark side, I promise we have more fun here! 🙂

For more #betterbaking recipes check out these posts!

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes

PB and Apple Muffins

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Fudgy Trip Chocolate Cupcakes

*Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.

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. 🙂

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.

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:

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

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.

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!

Salty Sprinkled Chocolate Chip Cookies

Greek Kale and Orzo Salad

Crispy Blackened Chicken and Broccoli Pasta

Creamy White Cheddar Baked Corn

Loaded Cheese Fries

Whole Wheat Funfetti Cupcakes

Simply Vanilla Buttercream (sweeter):

Naturally Sweetened Cream Cheese Icing

Whole Wheat Gingerbread Pancakes

One Pot Chilli Mac

White Chocolate Orange Gingerbread Cupcakes

Whole Wheat Kale and Prosciutto White Pizza + #52NewFoods GIVEAWAY!

The Giveaway

Lunchboxes Love Mini-Whole Wheat Pizzas Too!

#betterbaking Whole Wheat Caramel Blondies

For more #betterbaking recipes check out these posts!

Parmesan, Mushroom and Rice Soup

German Chocolate Cupcakes

Homemade Caramel Filling/Topping

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream

Cinna-Swirl Sticky Bun Cupcakes

Homestyle Sweet Potato and Chicken Soup

#BetterBaking Whole Wheat PB & Apple Muffins

One Pot Veggie Mac N Cheese

Fudgy Triple Chocolate Cupcakes PLUS #betterbaking

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Dipping Ganache:

Creamy Lemon Basil Shrimp Pasta

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie Cupcakes

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken with Creamy Ranch Slaw

Creamy Ranch Slaw

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Apple Pie Cupcake Filling

Caramel Drizzle

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

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whole wheat white flour

Simply Vanilla Buttercream (sweeter):

Naturally Sweetened Cream Cheese Icing

The Giveaway

Lunchboxes Love Mini-Whole Wheat Pizzas Too!

For more #betterbaking recipes check out these posts!

Homemade Caramel Filling/Topping

Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream

Double Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Dipping Ganache:

Creamy Ranch Slaw

Apple Pie Cupcake Filling

Caramel Drizzle

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