Apple Bread

Ingredient list:

2 Fuji apples cores and chopped finely

1/4 C brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2/3 C white sugar

1/2 unsalted butter softened

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp honey

1 1/2 C flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 C flax seed milk (or any kind of milk)

Method:

Heat oven to 350

Spray non stick spray in a loaf pan

Using a mixer combine the butter and white sugar

Add eggs, vanilla, flour, milk and baking soda

In a separate bowl combine brown sugar and cinnamon

In the loaf pan put 1/2 of the batter

Top with half of the apples and press down into the batter

Sprinkle brown sugar mixture

Place the rest of the batter and repeat this process (push apples in and sprinkle with brown sugar)

Bake for 50 minutes at 350

Enjoy!!

{healthier} Mozzarella Sticks

IMG_1376

Healthier Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredient List:

12 mozzarella cheese sticks cut in half

1 C Italian panko

1 C whole wheat bread crumbs

1 tbsp parsley

1 tsp red pepper flake (optional)

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 tbsp almond milk

Method:

In a medium bowl lightly beat eggs and milk

In a separate bowl combine bread crumbs and panko

Dip each of the cheese sticks in the egg mixture, then into the bread mixture

Repeat

Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper

Place in freezer for a minimum of 30 minutes (cheese needs to be frozen)

Remove from freezer

Bake at 400 for 4 minutes, remove and flip sticks over

Bake for another 4 minutes until golden brown

Enjoy!

(if you do not freeze before baking they will melt!)

Print Mozarella Stick Recipe

Dried Fig + Apricot Pies

fig2

Dried Fig + Apricot Pies

Why are things so much better bite sized?  These are the perfect addition to any holiday party and are easy to make, but no one has to know that!  They look beautiful on any serving dish and pack a lot of flavor into that bite.  I hope you enjoy these as much as my family and I did.

Ingredient List:

1 C dried figs chopped roughly

1 C dried apricots chopped roughly

1/4 C shredded carrots

1/2 apple chopped ( I used honey crisp)

1 Lemon juice + peel grated

1 orange jucie + peel grated

1 tsp grated ginger

2 tsp all spice

1/4 C honey (I used solid local honey and heated it until runny before I added it)

2 pie crusts (I used store bought)

1 egg white

Brown sugar

Fresh whipped cream (if wanted)

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 375

Grease a mini muffin pan

In a large bowl combine figs, apricots, carrots, apple, lemon, orange, ginger, all spice + honey

Roll out pie dough on a floured surface

Cut out 1” circles from the pie dough

Press firmly in the bottom of each mini muffin spot

Spoon 1 tsp of fig mixture into each muffin spot

Top with another 1” circle of pie dough

Brush with egg whites

Sprinkle with brown sugar

Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 (mine were done at 25 minutes)

Top with fresh whipped cream if wanted

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Make a Box Cake Better

cake2

Almond-Caramel Devils Food Cake

I love cooking but I am not the best baker! I like using box mixes, they’re just so easy, but I like dressing them up a little.  To make this box Devil’s Food Cake better I melted 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan, added 1/4 C of whipping cream and 3/4 C of light brown sugar.  I split the mixture between 2   8″ greased baking pans and then sprinkled crushed almonds over the caramel mixture.  I prepared the box cake mix according to the directions and then poured the cake mix over the almond-caramel.  I baked them for 35 minutes at 350, removed them from the oven and let them cool on a rack.  I whipped the left over whipping cream I had with 1 tsp of vanilla and a little sugar. I spread some of the whipped cream inbetween to two layers and topped it with a little additonal. Everyone loved it!! Next time you make a cake, think about doing this!

 

cake6

cake5

cake2

Baked Stomboli

Stomboli

Baked Stromboli

Ingredient List:

1 roll refrigerated whole wheat pizza dough

3 tomatoes ( I used celebrity tomatoes from my garden)

10 large pitted olives ( I used a mix of kalamata and green olives)

2 tbsp olive juice from jar

1 C fresh spinach

1 small package of sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 jalapeño sliced (deveined and seeded)

1 Red bell pepper sliced

10 slices of provolone cheese

Olive oil (to brush bread with)

Sea salt

Dried Thyme

Method:

Prepare and line baking sheet

Spray with non-stick spray

In a food processor mix tomatoes, olives and juice

stromboli

On the baking sheet roll out the pizza dough

In the center of the dough spoon on the tomato-olive mixture, leaving a 2” border that will be folded over

stromboli

Add spinach, mushrooms, jalapeno, bell pepper, and provolone cheese

stromboli

Fold edges over so no cheese is showing (mine was not pretty, but that is okay!)

stromboli

Brush with olive oil or spray olive oil

Sprinkle top with sea salt and thyme

Bake for 30-35 minutes until dough is browning and cooked all the way through.  If dough is browning too quickly cover with foil

stromboli

stromboli

Enjoy!

Serves 4

Honey-Peach Tart

peach-honey tart

Honey-Peach Tart

Ingredient List:

1 refrigerated pie crust

1 C sliced + peeled peaches

1 C strawberries sliced

2 tbsp fresh basil chopped finely

1/2 lemon (juice)

1 tbsp sugar

8 oz room temp cream cheese

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp  + 1 tsp honey

1 egg white

Cinnamon + sugar to dust crust

Method:

Heat oven to 400

Line baking sheet with parchment paper

Spray with non stick cooking spray

In a large bowl combine peaches, strawberries, basil, lemon + sugar

Combine cream cheese, flour + honey

Place pie crust on parchment paper and fold in edges

Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over pie crust

Pour on peach mixture

Brush crust with egg whites

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar if wanted

Bake for 20-25 until golden brown

Enjoy!

Serves 4

Print Recipe

Honey-Peach Tart peach3 peach4 peach6

Lemon-Almond & White Chocolate Cookies

Lemon Cookie

Lemon-Almond & White Chocolate Cookies

Lemons may be my favorite thing!  I love anything that has them in it, I even like to eat them plain.  So a lemon cookie is right up my ally and these don’t dissapoint.  You can leave out the white chocolate for a more tart cookie.  I hope you enjoy these as much as my husband did (you can see a few bite marks in my pictures).

Ingredient List:

Lemon Box Cake Mix

2 Eggs

1/3 C Canola Oil

1 Lemon (Juice & Zest)

1 tsp Almond Extract

1/4 C Shredded White Chocolate

1/2 C powdered sugar

Method:

Line a baking sheet with greased parchment paper

Heat oven to 375

Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon, extract and chocolate

Refrigerate for 30-60 minutes

Spoon out 1 tbsp of dough, roll in powdered sugar, place on baking sheet and repeat

Bake for 10 minutes

Place on cooling rack

Enjoy!

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Print Recipe

Lemon Cookie cookie2 cookie3 cookie4 cookie5

Sweet Potato Bites

Sweet Potato Bites

Sweet Potato Bites

Ingredient list:

2 large sweet potatoes washed and cut into bite size pieces

1/4 Coconut oil

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp dried parsley (optional, as garnish)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350

Pre pare a greased baking sheet or lined with aluminum foil

Melt coconut oil

Place all ingredients in a zip-lock bag and shake it until all potatoes are coated

Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown

I dipped mine in a homemade Russian dressing and it was delightful!

Enjoy!!

Sweet potato Bites SweetPotatoBites2

Pizza Dough (no resting/rising required)

pizza dough

Ingredient List:

1 3/4 C flour

1 package of pizza dough yeast

1 tsp sea salt

3 tsp sugar

3 tbsp olive oil

3/4 C water

Method:

Combine all dry ingredients until thoroughly combined

Add oilve oil and water

Mix in a stand mixer for 4 minutes or knead by hand

Flour a surface and roll out

Use immediately or freeze

Ejnoy!pizza dough

Skillet Pizza

Skillet Pizza pizza2 pizza4

Ingredient List:

I batch of pizza dough (Click here for recipe)

1 batch homemade pizza sauce (click here for recipe) or store-bought pizza sauce

1 green zuchhini sliced thinly

1 yellow pepper sliced thinly

1-2 leaves of kale de-stemmed and ripped into small pieces

1 jalapeno de-veined and seeded, sliced thinly

10 banana peppers sliced thinly

Any other veggies you have in your fridge, mushrooms would be great!

10 slices of provolone or colby-jack cheese

Red pepper flakes

Sea salt

Dried Basil

Olive oil

Method:

Grease a large skillet

Pre-heat oven to 475

Spread the dough in the skillet evenly making the sides higher

Spoon the sauce into the pizza

Place 5 pieces of cheese evenly around the pizza

Top with veggies and sprinkle with salt

Place the other 5 pieces of cheese on top of the veggies

Sprinke with red pepper flakes

Brush the crust with olive oil and sprinke with sea salt and dried basil (optional)

Bake for 15 minutes, check on it, if needed bake an additional 3 minutes or so.  The crust should be browned.

Be careful when removing from oven, it will be very hot!

Enjoy!!