Homemade Crunchy Chocolate Bar

So my husband and I have been setting more healthy eating goals, and this week we're cutting out processed sugar. The only goodies we're eating are homemade. Thankfully, I'm not a big baker so there isn't too much temptation!

But, as excited as I am about this, I'm not sure I can give up on chocolate! Just a piece or 2 at a time, every few days, ya know what I mean?! (Come on ladies, you know what I mean!)

Anyway, I had to find a healthy alternative. And ta-da, I hit a home-run! I'm pretty sure I can totally give up store-bought chocolate for this awesome recipe! Here it is, simple, easy, tasty-enjoy!

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup cocoa powder
-1/4 cup coconut oil
-3 Tablespoons of agave nectar
-1-2 Tablespoons of quinoa

Directions:
Heat up a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add quinoa and toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently (will start to swell and brown slightly).
Melt the coconut oil.
Add the agave and mix with the coconut oil.
Add the cocoa powder and mix, mix, mix.
Place in chocolate mold, or on wax paper, or in a ziplock, whatever works best for you! (I took a rectangle plastic lid, lined it with wax paper, and used that as a mold.)
Sprinkle with the toasted quinoa.
Place in freezer to harden. Store in freezer.

Happy, healthy eating!

*Note, this was slightly bitter to me. Since I prefer milk chocolate to dark chocolate, I will try to add a teaspoon of cane sugar to my next batch. 

Grandma's Banana Bread

Growing up, I always remember my grandmother baking. She made some amazing desserts, especially the homemade authentic Italian ones! But now that she's older, she has difficulty baking and spending too much time in the kitchen. She's been saving her ripe bananas in the freezer for me, knowing that when I make banana bread, I'll use her bananas and share some bread too!

Although this isn't her recipe, it is one she approves of. (At least, she eats the entire loaf that I bake for her, which I assume means that she likes it!) We like it too, since it doesn't usually last long in our house!

I like to double the recipe: I bake a large chocolate chip loaf for us and share the 3 smaller ones with my family!

Banana Bread - Makes 1 large loaf (9x5x3") or 3 small loaves (5 3/4x3 1/4")
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large ones)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I like to use 1/2 cup nonsweetened applesauce and 1/4 cup oil)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
nonstick cooking spray
optional: chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
-Whisk together mashed bananas, sugar, eggs and oil in mixer until smooth, about 1 minute.
-Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until combined (1 minute). Scrape sides or bowl and mix once more (10 seconds).
-Spray pans with nonstick cooking spray, then lightly coat with flour (to absorb any globs in the corners). Pour batter into pans and smooth tops.
-Bake 60-70 minutes for large pan, or 40-50 for small pans. Bake until the tester/toothpick come clean out of the center.
-Cool in the pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Use a knife to remove bread from sides of pan, then let the bread cool directly on the wire rack.

Now grab yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!

Fat Crust Pizza

So, I've made some great dishes lately and need to share them with you!

This past week I made my homemade fat crust pizza! Bubbly dough with a garlic crust, chunky tomato and herb sauce, topped with mozzarella cheese, bell peppers, olives, tomatoes, and of course pepperoni! (This is seriously the best homemade pizza ever!)

Here's the recipe for the crust (from Six Sisters' Stuff). 

Pizza Recipe:

(Makes 1 large, thick pizza, or 2 smaller pizzas)

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons fast rising yeast

3/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees F)

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Seasonings as desired (garlic, oregano, basil, marjoram, etc)

Toppings: onions, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, tomatoes, bell peppers, garlic, olives, etc...

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  

-In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, undissolved yeast, and salt.  Gradually add water and oil to mixture.  Blend at low speed until moistened, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed until dough pulls away from sides of the bowl.  

-On a lightly floured surface, knead until dough is smooth and elastic.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 15 minutes.  

-Press out dough onto 1 (or 2) pizza pans.  I like to roll the ends to make nice thick crust, as if it were a bread stick. Poke the dough randomly with a fork.  Let rise again in a warm place for 10-15 minutes.  

-Brush crusts lightly with oil and bake them for 5 minutes.  

-Remove from oven and top as desired.  Brush crusts with olive oil and seasoning (I like to make a paste of olive oil with garlic salt to imitate breadstick crusts). Bake for 4-5 more minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I also decided to experiment with my own pizza sauce. I just threw a few ingredients together based on some previous recipes and remembering my mother's homemade spaghetti sauce recipe!

Homemade Pizza Sauce Recipe:

(Makes sauce for 1 or 2 pizzas)

Ingredients:

1 (10.34 oz) can of diced tomatoes with juice

1 (8 oz) can of tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
    (OR 3/4 teaspoon oregano, 3/4 teaspoon basil, 1/4 teaspoon thyme)

2-4 cloves of fresh garlic

   

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan. Allow to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. 

OR combine all ingredients in your vitamix at variable speed 7 for 30-60 seconds. 

Note: You can always double this recipe and freeze half for next time! Also, we use this to dip our crust/bread sticks in!

Peach Salsa Pork

Compliments to my friend Heather Burns for giving me this recipe! It's super fast, easy, and a great crowd pleaser.

Peach Salsa Pork (or Chicken)

4 pork chops (or 4 chicken breasts), cut into bite size chunks
Taco seasoning packet
Salsa (any variety of your choice)
Peach jam or 1 can of peaches, drained and cut into bite size pieces


Coat the meat in the taco seasoning. Cook in a heated skillet until done. Add equal parts peach jam/peaches and salsa. Stir and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Optional: you could add some bell peppers or other vegetable of your choice.

Peanut Butter Corn Flake No-Bake Cookies

These are one of my husbands favorite treats! He has the recipe written on an old envelope. I have no idea where the recipe came from, but we've personalized it to become even more delicious. Super easy, super quick, and super yummy.

1 cup white sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
6 cups corn flakes

Bring the sugar and syrup to a boil.
Remove from heat and add the peanut butter and butter. Stir until melted.
Pour over the cornflakes in a large mixing bowl. Mix together thoroughly.
Spoon a heaping scoop onto wax paper. Allow to cool.
(Or eat them after 5 minutes, once they have melded together but are still a bit warm and gooey. Yummmmm)

Tonight's Dinner: Chicken and Bean Enchiladas

I love to find sneaky ways to add beans into our diet, because we personally don't like to eat beans as a plain-ol' side dish. This was a great way to have both black beans and red kidney beans!

Chicken and Bean Enchiladas
2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 small can of diced green chilis (optional)
1/3 cup of chopped onion
1 1/4 cup of cheese (I used cheddar and a taco blend, but any kind will do!)
1/4 cup of taco seasoning (or you can use enchilada seasoning)
2 cups of salsa (OR 1 cup salsa and 1 cup enchilada/taco sauce)
6-8 tortillas (wheat)

Combine the chicken, black beans, kidney beans, cream of chicken soup, optional green chilis, onion, 1 cup of cheese, taco seasoning, and 1 cup of salsa in a large mixing bowl.

Swirl 1/2 cup of salsa (OR enchilada/taco sauce) in your 9x13 baking dish. Fill each tortilla with the mixture, roll up, and place in baking dish. Once all enchiladas are in dish, drizzle another 1/2 cup of salsa (OR enchilada/taco sauce) on top.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Optional: add an additional 1/4 cheese on top and place back in oven 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Tonight's Dinner: Quinoa Pizza Bites

For a New Years resolution, my husband and I decided to add more superfoods to our diet, one of them being quinoa. After some searches on Pinterest, I came across this yummy recipe: quinoa pizza bites. You see, we love pizza, so the combination of quinoa and pizza is just a lovely mix!

Here is my modification (adapted from Once A Month Mom):
Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup chopped onion (chopped on the smaller side)
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 cup of chopped turkey pepperoni (which is nearly the entire 6 oz package)
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1 Tbs pizza seasoning (basil, oregano, marjoram)
• Optional: pizza sauce for dipping

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix together all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (except for pizza sauce).
• Spray muffin tins (mini muffin tin, regular muffin tin, or bar pans all work great!)
• Fill each cup about 2/3 of the way and gently press to compact together. This is an important step so they don't fall apart when you try to remove them from the pan!
• Bake for 15-20 minutes (less for mini, more for regular)
• Allow to cool in pan before serving.

Enjoy!