Cheesy Baked Chicken

I have tried this baked chicken two ways, with mayo and with greek yogurt.  And I will say, I didn't notice a difference.  My husband says the mayo is better, but he probably says that because it sounds less healthy.  This is a quick and easy recipe to make.  My kids both thought it looked too saucy but cleaned their plates.  It is a little saucy but nothing really too much.

As I look at the picture of the chicken, I have to say that I need to start buying organic from the butcher.  Look at how huge those breasts are.  I realize the package says they aren't full of hormones, but those are too big to be natural.

Cheesy Baked Chicken

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt 

1/2 tsp pepper

spread mix over chicken breasts

bake at 375 for 45 mins

Enjoy!

Paleo Chocolate Covered Coconut Cups

I love Paleo Junk Food!  It's important to remember to have these sometimes, to help with a sweet tooth, but I absolutely love to try new recipes for desserts that don't use processed sugar.  This recipe calls for honey and here in Oregon we have some fabulous local honey.  Our favorite honey is Hanna's Honey, and our favorite flavor is Meadow Foam, it tastes like marshmallows and it's to die for!

I found this recipe for here at Art and the Kitchen.  Since it didn't talk about the chocolate much, I went ahead and made a paleo chocolate to cover the top.  My coconut cups are lacking in chocolate, so if you like a lot of chocolate you need to double the chocolate part of the recipe.  These were creamy, chewy and just sweet enough to fill me up after just one.

Chocolate Coconut Cups

Coconut Layer

1 cup coconut oil

2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup honey

 Chocolate Layer

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/8 cup honey

1/4 tsp vanilla

For coconut layer, melt coconut oil and mix in coconut and honey.  

Place in a 8x8 pan with parchment paper or use a silicon baking tray. 

 Put in freezer for 5 minutes until it becomes solid.

While coconut layer is in the freezer melt coconut oil for chocolate layer.

Add cocoa powder, hone and vanilla and mix in a blender.

Remove coconut layer from the freezer and top with chocolate.

Place back in the freezer until solid.  

Store in freezer or refrigerator.

Enjoy.

Beet What Ails You Juice

I found this recipe on a number of sites and so I was excited to try it.  It sounds like it's something that will help boost up your immune system.  With all the flu going around, I am more than happy to make sure I have all necessary vitamins on board.  I also liked this recipe because you can use red apples and it seems like every recipe wants you to use green apples.

Beet What Ails You Juice

2 beets

4 carrots

2 apples

6 celery stalks

2 limes

2 in. ginger

Enjoy!

Beets are the prettiest veggie to juice!  I love how beautiful the color is when it comes out of the juicer.  This time I added to stems.  Not all recipes say to add the stems, but I did some research and they do hold a lot of nutrients, but you can't drink the juice of the stem on it's own.  Not a problem for me, beets make look super pretty but they kind of taste like dirt to me.

This recipe tastes pretty good.  Not very sweet but it's "filling" and makes a ton of juice.  I have found that since I'm a chugger, having extra juice is better than just one glass.

Carrot Pineapple Pick Me Up

I have just started juicing and have been working my way through a number of juicing books, blogs and online reviews.

This is one of my favorites so far.  It's a great little pick me up during the day.  With the perfect amount of sweetness and it comes out to be such a pretty color of orange.

Carrot Pineapple Pick Me Up

3 large carrots

1/4 of a pineapple

1/2 lemon

1 small piece of ginger

This picture shows more ginger than you need.  This time it had much more of a bite to it from the ginger.  I don't mind it, but usually it's better with just a hint of ginger to go with the rest of the flavors.

Enjoy!

My Favorite Paleo Junk Food ~ Peanut Butter Cups

I am not true Paleo, but I love the idea and try hard to follow some of the ideas of the movement.  Since I gave up processed sugar a year and a half ago I have really not craved sweets much.  But sometimes I do...and sometimes I need a little fix.  This is the first recipe I ever found that counts as Paleo Junk Food to me, but I love it!  I found this recipe from Practical Paleo.   She calls it fudge but I call it my peanut butter cups.  It's such a great flavor.

Almond Butter Cups

1/2 cup Coconut Oil

1/2 cup Penzeys High Fat Cocoa Powder 

1/2 cup Almond Butter

1/4 cup Maple Syrup (or you can use honey)

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Melt the coconut oil and then blend all the ingredients in a blender.  

Fill a silicon tray or paper lined mini muffin cups.  

Put in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

Remove from tray.  

Store in the freezer. 

I found that using a high quality blender works better than a food processor.  The chocolate comes out much smoother.

I also love using my different silicon trays, I have a number of Demarle trays and I find that the shallow, and small ones give you the option to eat 2 or 3 pieces of chocolate without overdoing it.

Keeping them in the freezer until right before you are going to eat them is so important.  You don't want it to melt and lose any of the paleo goodness.

What Made Me Want to Juice

We watched the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and we both decided that maybe juicing is worth taking a look at.  Not really for weight loss, but for the obvious health benefits you can get from just ingesting all your vitamins in one shot.

Looking at different juices at the store, it was obvious that you could spend a small fortune buying bottles of pre-made juice or just spend the money to buy your own juicer.  So we went with a juicer.  We also bought a new heavy duty blender, but more on that at another time.

I searched and searched for the recipe of what the guys were drinking on the movie and I finally found it here at myjuicecleanse.com.  This was the first juice I made and I have to say, it doesn't taste too bad.  I have always substituted kale leaves with cups of kale mix, mainly because I have a hard time finding kale leaves.

Mean Green Juice

3 cups mixed kale greens

1 cucumber

4 stalks of celery

2 green apples

1/2 lemon

1 piece of ginger

Enjoy!

Making a Dirt Cake Mountian

My thoughts for Reed's birthday cake was to make one that represented one of his favorite past times, motocross riding.  I got on Pinterest and found this site with the most perfect dirt hill cake Spoonful Site.  I mean, how much more perfect can you get?  I was super excited to surprise Reed with it.

I made a few adjustments to the decorations, feeling like I might be able to make it look better with more candy.

Dirt Bike Cake Recipe

• 4 (9-inch round) cakes
• 3 (16-ounce) cans chocolate frosting
• 7 straws
• Oreo cookies, remove the filling and crush
• Large Pretzel rods
• Chocolate cereal (we used Cocoa Puffs®)
• Whoppers 
• Reeses Pieces
• Butterfinger Bite Sized Pieces
• Fruit by the Foot®
• Thin pretzels
• Toy dirt bike and rider

1. 
   
2. Trim the cake tops flat. Cut 1 cake in half, and cut one third from another cake.
3. 
   
4. Assemble the cake as shown, frosting between each layer: 
5. 
   
6. Stack the 2 rounds, add the two-thirds section, and insert 3 straws, spacing them about 1-1/2 inches apart. Add 1 cake half (you can save the other for snacking) and insert 2 more straws. Add the cake third and the last 2 straws. Frost the entire cake.
7. 
   
8. 
   
9. Sprinkle on a cookie dirt trail, then add pretzel rods, cereal, candy, and licorice for log trail borders, rocks, boulders, and plants.  Add the rider on top.
10. 
    

I started following the recipe.  I decided that  and was so excited to start stacking my cake...and then this happened.

The whole thing just collapsed.  It was awful!  I was depressed.  The middle layer fell into itself.  How do you fix that?  I walked away.  I took Reed to the park where Scott and the guys were training.  Reed and I watched them for awhile and then we went back home.

I decided to not give up.  I went ahead and melted half a can of frosting in the microwave.  Doing that allowed me to pour the frosting over the demolished, crumbly cake. Then I added a messy layer of frosting.  Thank goodness this was a dirt hill, because the little pieces of cake that came through didn't ruin the overall cake concept.  

Once I had all the frosting down, I just went for it and started adding the rocks, the path and the plants.   I just kept adding more and more and the more I added the better it looked, at least to me.  It was a mess and it was "dirty" but it seemed to work.  I cut up the green pieces of the fruit leather and it made the best contrast of little grass coming through.  So, after running out of "rocks", I stepped back.

He loved it so much.  It definitely looks much messier but I have to say that it looks way more realistic than the original.  He loved it.

Cherry Limeade Cupcake

Pinterest has made me a cupcake fanatic.  I have always loved cupcakes, but now I just can't get enough of them.  There are so many flavor, so many cakes, so many frosting flavors.  I have no idea how I'm going to maintain my weight if I don't continue working out EVERY DAY!

These yummy things I found at Annie's Eats and it may be one of my favorite cupcakes ever.  It is just the right amount of sweet and tart combined.  And anything topped with a maraschino cherry has to be fabulous.

Cherry Limeade Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

3 cups cake flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. limeade concentrate

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk (I used 1%)

For the lime syrup:

3/4 cup limeade concentrate

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

For the frosting:

3 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 tbsp. (or more) maraschino cherry juice

red food coloring

For decorating:

maraschino cherries

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two muffin pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl combine the cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Stir together and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.  Add the sugar and beat on medium-high speed until creamed.  Add in the limeade concentrate and mix to incorporate.  Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between additions.  Add in the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix ingredients just long enough to incorporate but no longer.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pans for 5-10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack over wax paper to cool completely.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, whisk together the limeade concentrate and confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl to make the lime syrup.  Poke several holes (at least 6) in the top of each cupcake with a skewer and pour the syrup over the cupcakes, allowing it to soak in. (The more you use the moister the cake).

To make the frosting, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter and maraschino cherry juice in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix on low speed until sugar is incorporated, then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth.  Add more maraschino cherry juice as needed to achieve desired texture.  Add red food coloring if desired.

Frost cooled cupcakes.  Garnish with lime slices and maraschino cherries, if desired.

Yummy Pesto Sauce

This is just a one day pick from my garden.  I have had the best luck this year with everything but my tomatoes.  In fact I have more basil than I know what to do with, so I've been making pesto.  I absolutely love pesto and I was so happy to find out that you can make it with other nuts, not just pine nuts.  I have pecans and walnuts on hand all of the time, but not pine nuts.  This pesto recipe worked great and I loved the flavor.

• 
  
• Fresh Pesto Sauce
• 
  
• 3 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 
  
• Combine in a food processor.
• Blend until smooth.
• Enjoy.

Zucchini Zucchini and more Zucchini (Cakes and Brownies)

So excited that my garden is doing so well this summer.  Had no idea that I would end up with so much zucchini so fast.  So I have been making zucchini recipes like there is no tomorrow.

Zucchini Brownies

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups  sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan

Mix oil, sugar and vanilla.

 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. 

Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. 

Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes

I topped them with frosting.

Zucchini Cakes

• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, mozzarella cheese, and salt. 
• Stir well.
• Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Drop zucchini mixture by heaping tablespoonfuls.  
• Cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.
• Serve with marinara sauce.

Fastest and Easiest Cookies Ever

What to do with two children who are too hot to keep playing outside but you still have 2 hours to kill before you get to leave for the party?  You get them in the kitchen to bake....or actually, you get them in the kitchen to not bake.  I had all these leftover packages of plain instant oatmeal, the ones that come in the box of Quaker Oats from Costco, and had no idea what do to with them, but didn't want to throw them away.

So today we made the easiest and fastest cookies ever.  So easy an 8 year old and a 2 year old can do it!  Love love love this recipe.

No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup milk

1 cube butter

micro 1 min

add

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

Micro 1 1/2 min

Stir

Micro 2 1/2 min

Add

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

mix until smooth

add

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

drop onto wax paper

Enjoy!

Bruschetta Apps

Nothing like being creative when making appetizers.  I am always one who likes to try out new things...on other people.  This time I made two different type of bruschetta and they both were gone in a matter of minutes, so they must have been pretty good.

Blue Cheese & Tomato Bruschetta 

and 

Blue Cheese & Honey Bruschetta

1 whole wheat baguette thinly sliced and toasted with olive oil

mix together until smooth:

4oz of blue cheese

4oz of cream cheese

Stir together:

roma tomatoes diced

fresh basil sliced thinly

garlic, diced

balsamic vinegar

chopped pecans

Take 1/2 of baguette, spread with cheese mixture and top with tomato mixture.

Take other 1/2 of baguette and sprinkle with 4oz of blue cheese and drizzle with honey.

Mini Mojitos Cakes

So excited to have an excuse to make these fabulous little mojito desserts.  I absolutely adore these very fattening little mini ice cream cakes...but I am willing to suffer for the greater good of the group!  I halved the recipe and made them in mini muffin trays instead of a normal size.  I think that made them the perfect size to have a delicious bite, but not over do it.

Mini Mojito Cakes

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups pretzels, finely crushed (I did not finely crush them this time)

1/2 cup plus 3 Tbl sugar

1 8oz package of cream cheese

grated peel of 1 1/2 limes

1/4 cup of lime juice

2 Tbl lime flavored vodka

1 1/2 Tbl finely chopped mint

1 cup heavy cream

Melt butter.  Stir in pretzels and 1 Tbl sugar.  Press 1 Tbl into bottom of mini muffin pan.  Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Mix in the rest of the sugar.  Mix in lime peel, lime juice, vodka, and mint.  Beat heavy cream in separate bowl until peaks form.  Fold into cream cheese mixture.  Divide evenly into muffin cups.  Smooth tops.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Freeze for 8 hours.

It is so good...and you'll have enough mint and lime left over to make some actual mojitos to enjoy with them!

Sprinkle Cake Pancakes

I found this recipe online and figured it would be a great way to celebrate the official start of summer this year.

Sprinkle Cake Batter Pancakes

1  1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2/3 cup white cake mix

1 Tbl sugar

3/4 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 to 2 cups of vanilla soy milk

sprinkles

Combine flour, cake mix, baking powder and salt.

Add egg, vanilla extract and 1 cup of milk.

Stir until smooth.

Add more milk until it is the consistency of pancake batter.

Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements on a preheated skillet.

Cook for 2-3 minutes, until bubbles form on top.

Flip and cook 1 more minute.

Serve topped with warm syrup, powdered sugar and sprinkles.

Puff Puff Pancakes

I adore Puff Puff Pancakes, and was so excited to try this version made with apples.

I'm not much of a breakfast eater, but when we have guests, I always love to make something special in the morning.  These turned out fabulous, just eggie enough to satisfy me and sweet enough to satisfy everyone else.

Apple Puff Puff Pancakes

2 Tbl. Butter

2 Eggs

1/4 cup + 2 Tbls flour ( I used wheat pastry flour)

1/4 cup + 2 Tbls milk (I used soy milk)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced

1 1/2 Tbl. pure maple syrup

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat over to 400.

Melt butter in 9" pie plate, in oven.

Mix eggs, flour, milk and salt for 1 minute at medium speed.

Pour egg mixture in pie plate.

Mix cinnamon and maple syrup together then stir in apples.

Arrange apples on top of the mixture.

Bake until puffed up, 20 minutes.

Pour warm syrup over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Serve immediately, while still puffy.

Can Peanut Butter Cups be Healthy?

My mom passed along a recipe she cut out advertising a new recipe book by Alicia Silverstone (she purchased the book  so didn't need the cutout).  Silverstone has conquered her weight issues and eats not only healthy, but vegan.  I have no idea if you can actually call these Peanut Butter Cups "healthy" or not, but I will say that they do not have anything too bad in them (adding sugar to anything usually means your crossing the line from healthy to not-so-much in my book...but who am I to talk?).  Despite the fact that I had two little helpers, stirring, scooping and sprinkling, this was a very, very easy dessert to make.

Peanut Butter Cups

1/2 cup Smart Balance

3/4 cup crunchy organic peanut butter (no salt or sugar added)

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup semi sweet organic chocolate chips

1/4 cup soy milk

1/4 cup walnuts (chopped)

Melt butter in small saucepan.

Stir in peanut butter, graham crackers, sugar.

Remove from heat.

Divide evenly in Demarle mini muffin tray.

Melt chocolate chips and soy milk together.

Spoon over peanut mixture.

Top with walnuts.

Refrigerate for 2 hours.

As much as I love my mom, I'm a little bit hating her right now...because my stomach hurts from eating 4 of these things in a row!  Can peanut butter cups be healthy?  How about just no calories??  Yeah...didn't think so.