Recipe Rewind: Homemade Marshmallows

Well, helloooooooo.

I must confess - I've been in a bit of a funk for the past few months.  I could blame it on moving, I suppose.  I love our house, but I'm one of those cranky and OCD Type As who needs everything in its place to feel peace in my own house.  It's getting there, and I'm definitely not putting too much pressure on myself to be an over-achiever with settling in.  But there are moments that I stop in my tracks and just can't wrap my frantic little brain around all the zillion things screaming at me to accomplish.  So it's no shocker that my list-making tendencies are in serious overdrive right now.  Oh, and Christmas is drawing near?  My most favorite  and the dreamiest of holidays?  I've got 3 separate lists going for that.

Lists, lists, lists.  I don't love having them but they definitely help keep my sanity from inching its toe near that crumbling cliff of no return.

Halloween Idea: Ghoulish Banana Pops

You guys.  I just realized that we're moving next week.  Next week!  Pardon me while I run up and down our street, screaming my head off and waving my arms in frantic circles.

Yowza.

Halloween Idea: Silly Spider Cupcakes

Hello from Syracuse!  Yep, I'm travelling again.  But, this should be my last trip for October, and then..... we move into our new house!  I'm so, so, so excited that I can't even hardly talk about it for fear I'll jinx it all.  We have 22 more days until we get our keys, because we close on our house on HALLOWEEN!  How fun is that?!

Homemade Candy Corn

And without further adieu, I present to you... Homemade Candy Corn!!

This stuff is so fun!  I was prepared for the recipe to take up most of my day, but it actually came together in a couple of hours.  This would be a fantastic recipe to make with kids, because it uses all their amazing playdough snake-rolling skills :)  And if you have a kid-safe plastic knife, they could even do the cutting steps too.

Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

I have about a million pumpkin recipes bookmarked, pinned, and printed that I'm itching to try.  But I thought it would be fun to get Rory in on the pumpkin madness with her own treats to munch on.

I love that these crunchy biscuits are quick to bake up, and that they're made from ingredients I can trust.  Pumpkin and rice are recommended for good digestion in dogs, so what better way to add a little of both to Rory's diet?  The cost per batch is pretty low when compared to the bakery-style biscuits you see at the pet store, even with brown rice flour (which keeps them gluten free for dogs with special diets).

Strawberry Lime Granitas

Yum, yum, yum, yum, YUM!  This little recipe is just way too easy and delicious to skip!

It's a bit like an amazing strawberry-lime slushy popsicle you eat with a spoon.  And with only 3 ingredients, and no need for an ice cream maker, it's seriously your new favorite thing.  You can mix this up with other fruits (watermelon, anyone?!) and citrus; just follow the same basic steps.

Bombshell Brownies

But I wasn't about to leave you hanging without my brownie recipe!

I've always contended that by the time you go to the store to pick up a mix, homemade brownies are so much faster to put together.  And of course, they taste soooo much better!  The measuring and stirring steps are simple, so they'd be fun to have your kids help you with.  And they'll be able to pronounce every ingredient you put into the bowl.  Can't beat that for a fun treat, am I right?

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

Whenever I see a link for an adorable/neat/funny kid craft, I think, "Oh! I wonder if Mellisa and her kids would like this one?"  So, I blast her email with links to random things in the hopes that at least a few will turn out to be goodies.

And look at these ornaments!  Mellisa and her family made them this week, and they're seriously adorable.  And, as I suspected, while the ornaments were baking, her house smelled like a cinnamon fairy had wafted through, making everything feel magical.  Ahhhhh.... Love it.

Click over to Mellisa's post for the recipe and photos of her sweet family!

Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments

on Getting All My Ducks in a Row

Halloween Idea: Apple Monster Mouths

I thought these apple treats were too fun - and too easy - to pass up!  In a sea of candy and sugar-laden Halloween treats, these are a great little healthy option.  And they'd be super quick to throw together for an after school snack!

If you'll be making these ahead of time or for a party, you can first soak the notched apple pieces in a bowl of water with a couple tablespoons of lemon or orange juice.  Then continue decorating with peanut butter and almond pieces as directed.

Enjoy!



Apple Monster Mouths
idea adapted from Cute Food for Kids

Apples
Almond slices or slivers
Peanut butter
Toothpicks
Mini marshmallows

Core an apple and then cut it into 1/4ths.  Using a small knife, cut a notched section from each apple piece.  Spread the open notch with peanut butter and then press in the almond slices for teeth.  Dot an eyeball onto mini marshmallows using food markers or chocolate syrup.  Poke a toothpick into each marshmallow eyeball and then poke into the top of each apple piece.

Core an apple and then slice it into quarters.

Using a small knife, cut a notch into the side of an apple piece.

And then cut another notch perpendicular to the first notch.

Remove the cut out section and turn apple piece on its side.

Tip:  If your apple slices don't want to stay upright, poke the eyeball toothpicks

all the way through the apple to prop up the slice from the back.

   

Halloween Idea: Spider Web Cupcake Toppers

Know what I learned today?  No matter how hideous a cupcake recipe turns out, as long as you have a great frosting and some cute decorations, no one will ever know.  I wasted a bunch of butter and time (thanks a lot, Martha), but oh well - the point of today's baking extravaganza was to show you an easy Halloween idea, hurrah!

I invited the neighbor girls over to play with frosting and chocolate, and we had so much fun!  All you need to transform a cupcake into a festive Halloween treat is some melting chocolate and a squeeze bottle.  (You can find both at a craft store, like Michaels.)  The girls made all the cupcake toppers, and I created a base and a topper for a mini-cake.

Chocolate Spider Webs

Melting/Dipping chocolates (like Wilton or my fave, Chocoley)

Squeeze bottle

Parchment paper or wax paper

Cookie sheet or cutting board

1.  You can print out spider web templates or free hand them onto a sheet of paper.

2.  Place a piece of wax paper or parchment paper over the template and place both onto a cookie sheet.

3.  Melt chocolates according to package directions, and pour into a squeeze bottle.

4.  Squeeze melted chocolate evenly along the template.

5.  Place cookie sheet and parchment paper with melted chocolate web into the freezer for one minute or until hardened.

6.  Remove from freezer and carefully peel the chocolate web off the paper.  

7.  Carefully press the chocolate shape into soft frosting on a cupcake, showing the reverse smooth side of the chocolate shape if desired.

The girls had the awesome idea of making spider shapes too!

They made the spiders separate from the web pieces, and then glued

the spider to top of the web with a small dot of frosting.

I made two large chocolate webs - one for the bottom of the cake and one for the top.

Then, I made a smaller web to accent the top of the cake.

   

One-Ingredient Ice Cream

Man, I don't even know where to start talking about this recipe!  I've really been trying to save it for the summer because it's a perfect hot-weather treat.  But, I got impatient and decided to just give it to you now.  You'll forgive my impatience, won't you?  Please?  Yay, thanks!

Ok.  This recipe.  It's made from bananas.  And nothing else.  It seems super crazy, I know.  But I've made it twice now, and it was darn amazing both times, so you'll have to take my word for it.  Because it's made with just that one ingredient - a fruit - there are a million reasons why it's so perfect:  Sugar free? Check.  Nondairy? Check.  Gluten free? Check.  All natural? Check.  Weight Watchers points? Zero.  Along with my fruit rollups, this is an awesome way for me to get more fruit into my diet.

This recipe tastes amazing straight-up, but it's also super easy to mix in flavors.  I've tried it with honey, peanut butter, and cinnamon.  I've also tried it topped with chocolate syrup.  And, then, as I was lying in bed last night, I had the urge to rush downstairs and try it with sliced strawberries folded in.  Wouldn't that be so delicious?  The more I think about it, the more ideas jump into my head that I'm just dying to try.

Enjoy This!





One-Ingredient Ice Cream
from The Kitchn

3 bananas

Slice bananas into coins and place in a single layer onto plastic wrap and freeze.  Throw frozen banana coins into a food processor or blender, and blend.  Scrape banana down the sides often.  Continue blending and scraping until creamy.  Freeze any leftovers.  Freezing it also makes it a hard, scoopable ice cream, instead of soft-serve.  Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Potential Mix-Ins:
1 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cocoa

Ingredient Lineup:  Frozen bananas.  That's it!

 Throw the frozen banana coins into your processor or blender.

After 30 seconds, it will look mealy and crumbly.

As you continue blending it, the frozen bananas will start to fall in toward the center.

And it will begin to turn creamy.

(If you're adding mix-ins, do it now.)

This is nothing but frozen bananas.  Seriously.

Amazing, right?!

Ice cream sundae party at my house!

Easy Fruit Rollups

Wanna know something that makes zero sense?  I have the biggest sweet tooth, but I don't care much for fruit.  Strange, huh?  Given the choice, I'll gobble down a plate of sauteed green beans or asparagus and pretty much ignore a bowl full of strawberries.  I don't know why fruit doesn't appeal to me or even when that happened.  I do love a fresh pear or nectarine or peach from the Pacific Northwest (again - I'm so getting kicked out of the state of Georgia).  Beyond that, meh.

Anyway, I'm working to get more fruit in my diet.  I'm also trying to lower the number of weird ingredients and dyes in the foods I eat.  These fruit rollups are a double whammy!  They're portable, don't bruise, don't spoil, and contain nothing but real ingredients found in my own kitchen.  If you're a die-hard fruit rollup fan, you can press the seeds out with a fine mesh sieve, but I wanted the extra fiber and I didn't want to add an extra step in the process :)

I'll definitely, definitely, definitely be making these again regularly and keeping them on hand.  I'm so excited to have found a recipe for an easy, yummy, and healthy snack.  Hurrah!

Enjoy!

Easy Fruit Rollups

2 c. pureed fruit*

1 c. unsweetened, natural applesauce

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

sugar (or honey or agave) to taste, approx 1/4 c.

Preheat oven to 170 degrees F, or its lowest setting.  Lightly spritz a large jellyroll baking pan with cooking spray, and then press parchment paper down to stick.  Lightly spritz the parchment with cooking spray and spread with a paper towel to lightly coat.

Puree fruit in your food processor until smooth.  If desired, press through a sieve to remove seeds.  Stir in applesauce, lemon juice, and sugar, until sugar is completely dissolved.  Pour into the prepared baking pan, and spread to just shy of the parchment edge, making sure the center isn't thicker than the edges.

Place into oven, propping the door open with a wooden spoon.  Bake for 7 hours or until the center is just slightly sticky.  Allow to cool and slice with a pizza cutter or kitchen shears.  Store in airtight container.

Note:  If you're like me and accidentally overbake your fruit and the edges get crisp (while the center is perfect), sprinkle water on the crisp areas.  They'll soak up the moisture and become pliable again.

* The amount of fruit it takes to get 2 cups pureed will vary.  It took me about 1 1/2lbs of strawberries to yield 2 cups once they were pureed.

Their ingredient lineup:

(for "strawberry" flavor)

My ingredient lineup:

:)

Prepared jellyroll baking pan:

Spread as evenly as possible, making sure the center isn't thicker than the edges.

Prop open your oven door with a wooden spoon.

 Pile O' Fruit Rolls!

It took about 45 seconds for these to find a new home inside my belly :)