Homemade Oyster Crackers

I decided to make skyline chili again, and usually it is served with a bowl of oyster crackers. I don't have any in the house, because either I will gobble them down (not great for my waistline) or they will go to waste. I decided to try my hand at making them. They are pretty delicious, however, they lack that air bubble in the middle that makes them so endearing. They have a yummy flavor and go great with the Skyline Chili knockoff recipe.

Oyster crackers

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp milk

1. In the bowl of a food processor combine flour, baking powder, salt. Add butter and pulse mealy (mine didn't really get too mealy, so if yours doesn't, don't worry too much about it). Add the milk pulse. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until dough comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator about 10 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 375 F

3. On a floured surface, roll the dough out until desired thickness. Cut the crackers into desired shapes and place on baking sheet (don't need to spray the pan).

4. Bake at 375 F for approx 7 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy with chili or soup!

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

We had my sister, her boyfriend, and kids over for dinner tonight. I decided to have a ice cream sundae bar for dessert. Basically I bought low fat vanilla frozen yogurt and then put out different topping so everyone could make the sundae of their dreams. I put out marshmallows, chocolate chips, maraschino cherries, cool whip, toasted coconut, pecans, strawberries, bananas. I wanted to have Oreos crushed up, but didn't want an entire package of Oreos in the house. I decided I would make the cookies at home, but then thought I didn't really need the center filling. I found this recipe for chocolate wafer cookies and decided to try it. DELICIOUS! I think I ate almost all of them myself. You could use them like I did- as an ice cream topping. You could also make ice cream sandwiches with these cookies. If you wanted to make the cream filling, you could also make homemade Oreos. You could just enjoy them plain, you could dip them in chocolate, mix in some mint and have mint chocolate cookies, the possibilities are endless.
The original recipe is from Smitten Kitchen

Chocolate Wafer Cookies

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
14 Tbsp unsalted butter, slightly softened
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a food processor, combine flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Pulse until mixed thoroughly.

2. Cut butter into 12 pieces and add them to the flour mixture in the food processor. Pulse a few times. With the processor running, add the milk and vanilla extract. Process until the mixture clumps. Transfer to large bowl and knead until evenly blended. NOTE- I found mine appeared powdery and never clumped, I put it in a larger bowl and kneaded it and it came together.

3. Form the dough into a log and wrap in foil. Refrigerate until firm.

4. Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare cookie sheet with cooking spray. Cut the dough into 1/4 inch thick coins. Place the cookies on cookie sheet. Bake at 350F approx 6 minutes, rotate the pans and bake another 6-8 minutes.

Low fat, low carb brownie cupcakes

I was watching the Food Network this weekend and the Hungry Girl was on. She was making foods that you could replace some of your guilty pleasures with. She made kale chips to replace potato chips. She made butternut squash fries. The one I knew I had to try though, were these brownie cupcakes. So easy, low fat and they are so delicious!

Brownie cupcakes

1 box chocolate cake mix (I used the Sugar Free type)
1 can pumpkin (do not use pumpkin pie mix)

1. Preheat oven to temperature instructed on package of cake mix. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine pumpkin and cake mix. Stir until combined. It will seem dry, but it will come together, just keep mixing. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake as instructed on package of cake mix for cupcakes.
3. Allow to cool and you can either frost or eat as is. YUM!

Tropical Granola

I have been having such a craving for tropical dried fruit lately. Maybe it is the warmer weather or something...who knows. I don't like to snack on just dried fruit though because it does have quite a bit of sugar. I was trying to think of a way to get my tropical fruit craving filled and came up with Tropical Granola! I am a little obsessed with homemade granola lately. It is so delicious and you can customize it to your craving of the week. I found this recipe on Annie's Eats, but modified it slightly. The original recipe calls for 1/3 cup brown sugar; to be honest, I forgot to put it in, but it still tastes great! The original recipe also uses pineapple puree instead of honey. Since I didn't have any pineapple available I used honey. It also calls for coconut extract, but I left it out.

Tropical Granola

5 and 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/3 cup honey
1 ripe banana mashed
1/3 cup applesauce (I used the unsweetened type)
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of cinnamon
1 cup shredded coconut
2 cups dried tropical fruit
1/2 cup nut of your choice (optional- I left this out this time)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Prepare a baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Measure oats into a large bowl and add in nuts if you are using them. In a medium bowl, whisk together honey, mashed banana, applesauce, salt, cinnamon until well combined and smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the oats and stir until evenly coated. Spread mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake at 352F for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the granola. Bake for 15 more minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes and then add in fruit and chocolate chips. Stir or toss to combine.

More granola

I had such a craving for more granola, so I looked up a recipe that didn't use pumpkin (I am out for now). I came across this recipe on orangette blog.

Granola

3 cups rolled oats (I used quick cooking)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 Tbsp sugar
Pinch salt
6 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used semisweet chocolate chunks, but any chip would do- you could even mix up different flavors of chips)

1. Preheat oven to 300F
2. In small sauepan over medium-low heat, combine honey and oil and heat until runny.
3. Meanwhile in large bowl, combine oats, pecans, coconut, sugar, salt. Pour honey/oil mixture over oat mixture and toss to coat. I use my hands to press together to get a few chunkier pieces
4. Pour mixture onto greased baking sheet and bake at 300F for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and toss. Continue baking for 10 more minutes (or until oats are golden).
5. Allow to cool and add in chocolate chips (I added mine in when the mixture was still warm, and the pieces melted slightly allowing granola to stick to them, making a crunchier snack. I prefer it this way. To get the chips to set though, I had to store in the refrigerator).

YUM!

Pumpkin Granola

I had half of a can of pumpkin left over from my previous pumpkin endeavor (pumpkin oatmeal cookies) that needed to be used. I had recently made peanut butter cookies, and was not wanting to make something with lots of butter. I did a search and came across this recipe. Due to it looking so yummy and being low in fat (no oil unlike many granola recipes....who knew granola had oil??), I decided to try it. YUM! So easy and so delicious!

Pumpkin Granola (adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod blog)

5 cups rolled oats
1 cup pecans (optional)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby canned pumpkin....NOT pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix ins (optional)- dried cranberries, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, use your imagination

1. Preheat oven 325F
2. Cover baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. In large bowl, combine oats, pecans, spices, and salt. Stir well to combine.
4. In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, maple syrup, vanilla. Whisk to combine.
5. Add wet ingredients to oat mixture and stir well until coated. Put mixture on prepared baking sheet and spread out. Bake at 325F for 20 minutes, then stir and bake 15 minutes longer (or until browned).
6. When finished baking, add in mix-ins.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Last year at Christmas time, I discovered the MOST amazing oatmeal cookie recipe. It is absolutely my favorite! They are chewy and so delicious! Tonight, I had a can of pumpkin that kept calling to me. I was undecided between making pumpkin blondies and some type of cookie. I asked for my families opinions and they wanted a cookie....so I decided to try making my beloved oatmeal cookie recipe a little healthier by substituting some of the butter with pumpkin. It worked! The cookie is more like a caky texture, but still so yummy!

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin (I used Libby's canned pumpkin- NOT the pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1-1/2 cup quick cooking oats
Mix ins (optional)- I used butterscotch chips and chocolate chips (I preferred the butterscotch chips, I would probably leave out the chocolate chips or replace them with white chocolate chips)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or medium sized bowl if using a hand mixer), combine the butter and sugars. Cream together on medium- medium-high speed.
3. Add pumpkin, egg, vanilla extract to creamed butter and sugar mixture. Beat until well combined.
4. Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon to the wet ingredients. Mixing with low speed, mix until combined. Add in oats and mix until well combined. If using mix-ins, add them in after the oats.
5. Drop dough by Tbsp on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375F about 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden.

Caramelized Banana Upside Down Bread

During our most recent cruise aboard the Carnival Legend, we had a pretty busy day at one of our stops. We hadn't eaten lunch and by the time we got back on the ship, it was getting near dinner time. We had to pass the buffet to get back to our room, so I decided to pick up a quick treat to get me through until dinner. When I saw this treat, I knew it had to be mine....there was what looked like banana bread (yummy enough in itself) topped with caramelized bananas. OMG! It was one of the top 5 most yummiest things I ate during that cruise....and I ate a lot, so it is really saying something! I had to have another piece, so after dinner I went back up to the buffet, but alas, it must have been a lunch treat, and there wasn't any to be had for dessert :(. I have been dreaming of this treat since we got off the cruise. We had friends over and my brothers were both in town, so I decided to try to recreate it. I found a few recipes and decided to try the following Rachel Ray recipe. I loved the caramelized banana topping, but was not 100% crazy about the banana bread...I think she makes a banana cake, and it was just too soft for me. I will definitley try again and repost, but if you want a banana cake try this one out!

Caramelized Banana Upside Down Cake (bread recipe to follow when I have more people to experiment on/feed)

4 bananas (yellow spotty ones)
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp butter
1 whole egg
1 egg white
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used applesauce instead)

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
2. Trim both ends off of 3 bananas and place ends in a separate bowl. Slice banana lengthwise into 3-4 long strips.
3. In a heavy skillet, put 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 Tbsp water over medium- medium-high heat. DO NOT STIR. Allow to come to a boil. Cook until water is evaporated and mixture comes to an amber color. Remove from the heat and add in butter. After butter has melted, add bananas cut side down into caramel mixture. Put over low heat for 1 minute. Transfer the bananas to the prepared loaf pan. Arrange cut side down trying to completely cover bottom of pan. Drizzle caramel over bananas.
4. In a medium bowl, mash remaining banana and trimmed edges. Add in 1/2 cup and mix well. Beat in the whole egg, egg white, and vanilla.
5. Mix together dry ingredients -flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt-in separate bowl (I never do this). Add to wet ingredients and add oil/applesauce. Stir until well combined. Pour batter over bananas and caramel in loaf pan.
6. Bake at 325F 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes, then invert over a platter.

YUM!!!

Caramel Corn

We had planned a dinner and a movie date night, but we ended up taking our friend for a pretty big (and delicious) pizza lunch. We decided to make it a movie and dessert night. I decided popcorn might be a yummy snack. Now a few months ago, I bought the Orville Redenbaucher 100 calorie kettle corn snack bags. They have absolutley NO taste. Bleh....so I decided I wanted to use them up some how....I saw a few recipes for caramel corn and was inspired to make this. I decided to trust the amazing Mrs. Paula Deen and was not disappointed. So easy and so tasty! I made only 1/4 recipe and am super glad because it is addicting! (I used 3 snack bags and I think it was a little too much popcorn, so I suggest if you make 1/4 of the recipe, use 2 snack bags) I am going to post the whole recipe in case you want to make a big batch.

Caramel Corn
Courtesy of Paula Deen

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 tsp salt (oops I left this out and it was still great)
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp baking powder
8 qts of popped plain popcorn
Melted chocolate (optional- unless you are a chocoholic like I am, then it is mandatory)

1. Preheat oven to 200F. Put popcorn in baking dish
2. Over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Boil for 5 minutes. (Watch that it doesn't get too brown, it burns quickly....don't leave the stove!) Remove from heat and add baking powder.
3. Pour caramel over popped corn. Stir to coat.
4. Bake at 200F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes....I only baked mine 25 minutes because I slightly overcooked the sugar, and it was still great.
5. Drizzle melted chocolate over caramel corn...then enjoy when it has cooled!

Chex Muddy Buddies

This is such an easy and delicious snack...albeit, maybe not the most healthy option, but great to satisfy those chocolate/peanut butter cravings. I made my brother a whole batch to share with his girlfriend for Christmas. I couldn't stop snacking on them. I recently made them again (with a slight tweak that I will discuss at the end) for this weekend's upcoming Gasparilla Extravaganza Children's Parade. We are going with our friends and bringing my niece. It will be a long day, so we will need snacks. I also had a bunch of Chex left, so what else to do with them, but to make these? Oh by the way, we always referred to this as "Puppy Chow."

Chex Muddy Buddies
(Printable Recipe)

9 cups Chex cereal (you can use any you like or even combine some)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (see below for a yummy recommendation)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar


1. Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
2. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
3. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. You can even freeze this recipe.

For my substitution I divided the entire recipe in half and instead of having all chocolate, I used white chocolate for half. My hubs said he thinks he likes the white chocolate better! I thought it was taste funny with the peanut butter, but it doesn't. The white chocolate and peanut butter combo actually tastes a lot like Reese's Peanut Butter Cup peanut butter and very little like white chocolate.

SO GOOD!
Oh here is the nutritional info from http://www.chex.com/

1 Serving (1/2 cup): Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 200mg; Total Carbohydrate 30g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 17g); Protein 3g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 6%; Iron 25% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils *% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.