Chaga Chai Pumpkin Pie will kick your Thanksgiving up a notch! Adding some chaga with chai spices to this seasonal pie has no impact on the flavor and packs it full of amazing health benefits. [Read more…]
Snowman Cake Pops
Winter is officially here and that means it’s time to make snowmen! Come on! Who doesn’t LOVE to make snowmen!!?? On days when it’s too cold or the snow isn’t sticky enough, make Snowman Cake Pops inside! This is a super fun and great indoor winter activity for kids of any age. By any age, we’re including adults too!
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Fall Apple Rose Dessert
We have the best fun apple dessert recipe ever! Have you ever made something so adorable you couldn’t stop staring at it? These Fall Apple Rose Desserts are one of those for me! Not only are they beautiful but they are perfect for apple picking time and ways to use up apples!
Roasted Vegetable Stuffed Shells
Adding vegetables to stuffed shells is a genius idea! We have a delicious stuffed shell recipe but adding the vegetables increases the nutrients and the taste! And it’s a freezer meal that we are going to be adding to our Freezer Meal Series. That’s right! Make LOTS and freeze them for later. [Read more…]
Healthy Zucchini Breakfast Cookies
Bill loves a zucchini cookie for breakfast! And with all the zucchini we got from Emily, it’s a good thing! These healthy zucchini breakfast cookies freeze well and are really easy to make! We made TWO double batches of these tonight! Trust me, use a food processor! [Read more…]
Easy Heart-Shaped Foods for Valentines Day
Heart -food – yup, it’s a thing! Valentine’s Day is another opportunity to show those dear to you how much you care. For Chris, buying cards and big gifts aren’t how you do that. She likes to use her creative juices to show her feelings. And heart-shaped foods are a great way to do this! They are a clever way to put a sweet spin on everyday foods for Valentine’s Day. From breakfast to dessert, there are so many ways to say I love you. Below are some fun and easy ways to shape your own Valentine’s Day fairy tale. [Read more…]
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars with Peanut Butter Icing
This easy peanut butter and oatmeal bar recipe is delectable! I (Christina) love to try new things out in the kitchen for my family. Desserts are one of my favorite! They always bring a smile to their faces. This one was no different. The entire 9×13″ pan was gone in a matter of days so you know it was good.
Here’s what to do:
Easy Snowmen Cupcake Recipe
These snowmen cupcakes are the most adorable DIY I’ve ever seen! I came across them on FB and fell in love. I actually stared at the pic for what seemed like hours because they were so adorable. I tried to find the source for the collage photo below (the one that caught my eye on FB) but couldn’t. I noticed it’s 2 different ways. One uses frosting for the arms and the other uses pretzels. Both adorable!
Here’s what to do!
WHOOPIE! As In Pies….
Whoopie pies are fun to make! They’re even more fun to eat! This recipe won’t disappoint!
No matter how you carve, slice, steam, roast, drink it, I LOVE PUMPKIN! (Carve as in pumpkins, slice as in pie, steam as in cook, roast as in seeds, drink as in latte….)
This year I carved one pumpkin and cooked another. I wish I had taken a picture of my carved pumpkin before I fed it to the buffalo. Next year…. My other pumpkin I cooked in a way similar to how I steam squash. Scoop out the seeds and goo in the middle, peel, chunk it up, and steam it until soft. I had SO MUCH pumpkin! I used some of it for my healthy organic pumpkin brownies and some of it I used for these scrumptious whoopie pies.
Here’s what I did:
Healthy Pumpkin Brownies
Pumpkin brownies – two of my favorite things! How many people were shocked at the words healthy and brownies in the same title?
Challenged by my sister Chris to come up with a healthy brownie recipe a few weeks ago after she published her own healthy brownie recipe, I came up with this pumpkin brownies recipe. Knowing me well, Chris nailed it when she said that I’m an organic, natural kinda person. I like that she makes me think and urges me outside my comfy box, but — gee! I’ve got stuff going on and little time to come up with a wa-zoo recipe! Ah, the pressure….
Being the season for pumpkins, I knew my first healthy ingredient! In addition, adding veggies to dessert makes it healthy automatically in my opinion. Right? Right?
Anyway, following is my Healthy Pumpkin Brownies Recipe in response to her challenge.
Healthy Brownie Recipe? You Betcha!
Healthy brownie recipe? Really? Is there such a thing? Maybe, but do they taste as good as the real thing? I’m here to say, YES, THEY DO!
Emily and I differ on recipes like this. Just be warned… she is a very natural, organic type of person and I am a “if it tastes good, I like it!” type of person. She would frown on the artificial sweetener portion of this recipe so I challenge her to give me her BEST all natural ingredient brownies that are still healthy in calories. Think she will? Hmmm…
Emily chiming in here: I have accepted Chris’s challenge. You can compare this recipe with mine and let us know which recipe is your favorite. I do strive to use all natural ingredients, and I do NOT like artificial sweeteners. I guess my Sis and I will have to agree to disagree on this. (I’ve read the science behind why artificial anything isn’t good. That’s a topic for another blog post someday.)
While we wait, let’s feast on these delicious 37 calorie brownies! Do let us know your thoughts on these brownies. How is the taste? How is the consistency? Are they lacking anything by using lower calorie ingredients?
Reeses Brownie Toffee Delight Ice Cream Cake Recipe
Every year Bill’s daughter asks for ice cream cake for her birthday. This year, I decided I would make one for her. I browsed Pinterest for ideas of easy to make ice cream cakes and saw a couple different possibilities. This is how I cook and create anything I do. I compare a few ideas, take the parts I like, and concoct what works for me. This Reese’s Brownie Toffee Delight Ice Cream Cake was AMAZING! The entire family loved it! All three of us participated in the creation, but it was extremely easy to do. In our house we believe in affordability, ease, and taste. For a 13th birthday celebration, TASTE is priority. This has all we were looking for and was a true success!
Here’s what we did: