Cucumber Dip

When I was working I would always look forward to the potluck lunches we would have to celebrate almost any occasion.  People in the south love to find a reason to come together around food.

One year someone brought this delightful cucumber dip served with crackers.  I decided to make it and substitute the mayo with plain greek yogurt for our falafel balls this week.

My husband said this dip was so good he could eat it right out of the bowl.  I personally prefer the dip on the falafel balls myself.

Cucumber Dip

Ingredients:

1 English Cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced very small
8 oz Neufchatel cheese or low fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 Cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 Cup onion, very finely chopped
1/2 Tsp garlic salt

Peel and dice the cucumbers.

Mix together the neufchatel cheese, yogurt and garlic salt.  Fold the cucumbers and onions into the mix well.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

This dip is great with crackers, pita, on sandwiches, and with falafel balls.

Chocolate Kale Muffins

The kale is almost invisible

My local grocery had a large 16oz bag of kale on sale for $1.49 and I just could not pass it up.  I have a little experience making kale chips and using kale for soups, but I wanted to find other recipes too. 

I came across a recipe for Chocolate Kale Muffins that sounded out of this world.  Boy, these muffins were rich, moist and super chocolatey.

After my kids completed their chores the Thursday I told them they could have a lollipop as a treat.  They both told me they would much rather have the Chocolate Kale Muffins instead...yeah!

Follow this link to the Chocolate Kale Muffin recipe.

Banana Cream Parfait

My intentions were to grab a picture of this scrumptious dessert, however it was gobbled up so quickly I never got a chance.

My kids ate their vegetables in a heartbeat so they could eat this yummy dessert and they were not disappointed.

Banana Cream Parfait

Ingredients:

1 Package vanilla pudding, prepared
Graham crackers (as many as you like)
1-2 Bananas, sliced
Nuts (I used pecans) - optional
Honey, drizzle over the top of each

Layer the first four ingredients into a glass or small bowl and drizzle the honey over top, serve.

My oldest son said this dessert reminded him of homemade banana pudding. I think we will be having this again very soon!

Hot Cross Buns for Good Friday

My kids are really excited about making Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday. I figured I would go ahead and post the recipe for these delicious treats if you wanted to also make them on Friday (or any other time).

Along with the Resurrection Rolls, these buns are another great way to help kids understand the Easter story.

Hot Cross Buns

Ingredients:

¾ cup scalded milk
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
¾ cup dried plums, currants or raisins
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Put milk into a saucepan and scald it. Let it cool until it’s lukewarm.

Add warm milk, butter, sugar, salt, one egg + one egg white (save the yolk to coat the buns later), flour, and yeast in bread maker to mix and knead.

When the kneading cycle is almost finished (some machines beep at this point), add the raisins and cinnamon.

When dough cycle is completed remove the dough from bread maker and press it out on a floured surface.

Cover it and let rest 10 minutes.

Shape dough into 12 balls and place them in a greased 9 x 12 inch pan.

Cover the pan and let the dough rise in a warm place 30-40 minutes, until doubled.

Mix the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons water and brush on buns.

Bake at 375º F for 20 minutes and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Frosting Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoons milk or water

Mix together confectioners’ sugar and milk.

When the buns have cooled completely brush frosting on each bun making a cross.

Collard Green Chips

Our family tried kale chips for the first time a few weeks ago and really loved them. I cut the kale away from the stem and tossed them in olive oil and sea salt.

Well, since my mom brought us a ton of fresh collard greens this past weekend I thought maybe the kids would eat them if I made them into collard green chips.

The verdict; my husband and I thought they were fantastic, but the kids not so much. I will have to try them again with the kids because they were having an off day which may have contributed to their dislike for the collard green chips.

Collard Green Chips

Ingredients:

Collard greens cut away from the stem - try to cut about the same size so they cook evenly
Sea salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°.

Toss collard greens with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes (using your hand is the easiest way).

Place on baking sheet and cook until they are crispy and the tips start to turn dark, about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on these because if they darken too much they will be burned and they do not taste good burned at all!

*Although my husband and I liked the collard green chips with red pepper flakes they were a little too spicy for the kids. I will probably leave the red pepper off next time.

Spinach Cheese Biscuit Muffin

Spinach is a staple in our house. I am sure you can tell by reading this blog. A majority of the recipes on here do include spinach. My kids don't seem to mind it at all.

Well, I am a bargain shopper and came across two cans of biscuits for $.20. We do not eat biscuits very much, but I thought I could incorporate it into something. The cans of biscuits sat in my refrigerator for a few weeks and I decided I had to use them for something. I searched the internet for recipes and came across a great lunch idea for kids using canned biscuits. I changed the recipe just a tad to incorporate spinach instead of red peppers and pepperoni instead of ham.

My husband liked these biscuit muffins much more than my kids. It was not their favorite thing, but a change from the normal peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

Spinach Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Ingredients:

2 Cans of refrigerated biscuit dough (5 count in each)
1/3-1/2 Cup pepperoni, ham, bacon, turkey - cut into pieces *
1/2 - 3/4 Cup cheese (I used double cheddar)
1/2 Cup spinach, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°.

Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. Chop meat, mix with cheese and spinach in bowl.

Cut each biscuit into pieces. Add meat mixture and combine with hands. Place even portions into each muffin cup.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool before removing from pan.

Great lunch paired with fresh vegetables and/or fresh fruit.
*Omit meat for a vegetarian lunch

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Even though I did burn the outside of these muffins they still tasted fantastic. If you have been reading my blog you may know that I am a terrible baker. I don't care how accurate I get my measurements it never turns out as beautiful as I would like.

This recipe has been adapted from it's original which can be found at The Pioneer Woman.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

1 Cup whole wheat flour
1/3 Cup agave nectar
2 Tsp baking powder
1 1/2 Tsp cinnamon
1/4 Tsp ground ginger
1/2 Tsp nutmeg
1/2 Tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 Cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie puree)
1/4 Cup + 2 Tbsp evaporated milk
1 Egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 Tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add butter pieces mixing and mashing into flour.

In a separate bowl, mix together agave nectar, pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and combine.

Pour into a greased muffin pan filling each about 1/2 way.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Stick a toothpick into the center, if it comes out clean the muffins are done.

* I cooked the muffins for about 18 minutes and mine were very done on the outside. It really depends on your oven.

Pumpkin Prune Muffins

Please don't let the name fool you. These Pumpkin Prune Muffins are delicious.

I was a little nervous about making these muffins with prunes, but they really did turn out great.

I happen to have several bags of prunes around the house because of a huge sale over the summer on Sunsweet prunes at my local grocer. I came across a Cranberry Pumpkin Muffin recipe on one of my favorite blogs and thought maybe I can substitute chopped up prunes instead of cranberries.

Here are my small changes to the original Cranberry Pumpkin Muffin recipe. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Prune Muffins

Ingredients:

2 Cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1 Tsp baking soda
1 Tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tsp nutmeg
1/2 Tsp salt
1 Cup pure canned pumpkin
1 Cup of Sunsweet prunes, chopped
1/2 Cup oil
1/2 Cup skim milk
1/4 Cup molasses
1 Egg

Preheat oven to 350°.

Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients until well combined.

Grease muffin pan with butter or cooking spray. Pour muffin mixture into pan about 2/3 full. Cook for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.

*This recipe is for about 20 muffins. I made only 12 really large muffins instead.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I still have some pumpkin puree left even after making Pumpkin Mousse Pie, Pumpkin Oatmeal, and Pumpkin Pancakes. We are currently out of granola bars, therefore what is a mother to do, but make her own, right? Dare I say Pumpkin Granola Bars....wait how about Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars?

I found a delightful recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bars and had to give it a try. Let's just say these granola bars are going to go fast. Now why did I not think ahead and double the recipe. I guess I will be making more this weekend.

Enjoy!

(This is what it looked like before they entered the oven)

Homemade Hummus

Although, this is not a dinner recipe I thought It was worth sharing anyway. In our house, we have hummus at least once or twice a week for lunch. I usually send my oldest son to school with homemade hummus, crackers and carrots for his lunch.

After spending an enormous amount of money each week buying hummus I decided to research recipes and come up with one that I could make at home for less money.

Homemade Hummus

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic (press with a garlic press)
  
• 1 can (15.5 oz) of chickpeas or garbanzo beans (save the juice - see below)
  
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• couple dashes of cumin
• 1/4 cup of the chickpea juice from can

Pour garbanzo beans/chickpeas into food processor. Place lemon juice, tahini, pressed garlic, salt and a couple dashes of cumin in food processor. Blend until creamy and well mixed. Pour some of the juice from the jar into the food processor.

Use a little juice if you like your hummus thick and a lot of juice if you like your hummus thinner. We like ours thinner so I use almost 1/4 cup of chickpea juice.

Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate. If you are serving right away for guests I would suggest sprinkling 1 tbsp of olive oil on the top. It adds moisture and tastes great.

Serve with pita bread cut into triangles or pita chips. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about this hummus.

*Please note that you should not substitute peanut butter for tahini in this hummus recipe. Tahini is ground sesame seeds. It is a lot like peanut butter, but in this recipe peanut butter would not work as a substitution.*