Tag Archives: DIY

Magnificent Mug Brownie

By Nichole | Friday Nov 16th, 2012 10:55 am

Over the last few months I have discovered the wonderfulness that is the mug brownie. What is a mug brownie, you ask? Well, it is a single serving size brownie that you make in a mug or bowl. I love this because I can make this treat in under two minutes total time and then there aren’t left overs for me to snack on for the next two days or less. Because, lets be honest, a pan of brownies does not last long when I am home all day… I have tried dozens of recipes and, after a little tweaking of my own, here is what I have perfected. You will need:

2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (just throw in a splash)
1 dash salt
4 tablespoons white sugar
1.5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Mix with a fork until well blended. For style and extra yummy points, I like to throw a nice little mix of semi sweet and milk chocolate chips on top. For best results make in a glass or ceramic bowl- not plastic. I also prefer bowls to mugs so I can fit a proportionate amount of ice cream on top. Microwave for 60-90 seconds depending on your microwave. Play with it to see how much you like yours cooked. I seriously get giddy every time I make this and it makes enough that I can share a few bites with my husband without feeling like I need to make another.

I would love to hear what you think!

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DIY- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

By Nichole | Wednesday Oct 17th, 2012 3:29 pm

I LOVE Fall and I love that my husband and I just carved pumpkins with our oldest two daughters for the first time especially since that means I get to roast the seeds- yum!

It is easy to do and they are delicious. My 5 year old helped and had a blast making our afternoon snack.

Take the seeds from a pumpkin and rinse them with water to remove most of the orange slime. Leave them on a cookie sheet over night to allow them to dry out.
Melt 2 TBS of butter in a bowl and add a pinch salt. Then toss in the seeds from 1-2 pumpkins and stir to coat them.
Lay them out on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 35-45 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.
They are finished when they are golden brown and crispy.
After baking you can also add a pinch of sugar or cinnamon sugar to make these a sweet treat. Or try them with garlic salt for another flavor.

Enjoy them while they last because, in my house, they disappear fast!

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Amazing Pudding Cookie Bars

By Nichole | Tuesday Sep 18th, 2012 5:05 pm

I am finally making the big move from Altus, Oklahoma up to North Pole, Alaska and I have been visiting family along the way. Because of the moving and traveling I have not been baking as frequently as I typically do so today, I got the baking bug. I was talking to my mom about how much I love pudding cookies (AKA crack cookies) and how I searched for a recipe to make those into bars and couldn’t find one. After a little experimenting, I came up with a perfect recipe and directions which pretty much makes me an evil genius because these bars are amazingly delicious. Everyone loved them and couldn’t get enough and the best part is that the possibilities with these are endless as you can try them with different pudding and chip combinations! Check it out!

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine:

2 eggs
1 cup margarine
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
Then add:
1 small pkg instant pudding mix- whatever flavor you want. Mix it up and try different combinations!

Mix well and add:
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour

The dough will be thick but then add 1 package of chips.

Spread the dough into a 9 x 13 greased glass pan and bake for 18-20 minutes until it isn’t shiny on the top. For the recipe I made today I used chocolate pudding and peanut butter chips. This is my first time with this combo and it rocked my world. I typically do vanilla or chocolate pudding and milk chocolate chips and my sister swears by coconut cream pudding but you could chose any type of pudding with and chip variety. Let me know what you try and like!
If you like this, please share it or feel free to Pin it!

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Easiest Carmel Popcorn Ever

By Nichole | Monday Aug 20th, 2012 9:48 am

Last night I went to make a treat for my family as I do most Sunday evenings and I discovered that I was out of granulated sugar. After reprimanding myself for running out of one of my four baking staples (flour, sugar, butter, chocolate chips) I went to work to find a desert that I could make with only brown sugar. Lo and behold, I present to you the easiest carmel popcorn recipe ever!

You will need:

1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
10 regular sized marshmallows
Popcorn from an air popper. I just popped the recommended amount (about 1/4 cup) which filled a large mixing bowl and used all of it.

In a medium microwave safe bowl, add the brown sugar and butter and cook on high for 2 minutes. Take it out and add in 10 marshmallows. Cook for 30 seconds at a time, mixing in between, until everything has blended together. Then pour 1/3 of the mixture on the popcorn and stir. Then pour another third and stir and then do it one more time. This helps to evenly coat your popcorn. My children and I LOVED this for a Sunday evening treat and it literally took me less than five minutes from start to finish.

I love that there is no stress about scorching the carmel with this recipe and that it requires so few ingredients. I used a spoon, two bowls and one measuring cup and that is it! I am not a fan of the “clean up portion” of baking so the simplicity here is a biggie for me.

Enjoy! If you like this, be sure to follow me on Facebook for to sign up for my newsletter!

Let me know what you think! We are still eating the left overs today and it is just as yummy!

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Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos- Yum!

By Nichole | Friday Aug 3rd, 2012 12:04 pm

I am super excited to present this guest post to you from my friend Mandy at Happy Living Vegan! While I am not sure I could ever give up dairy and meat (I love me some cheese), I have been wanting to try some vegan recipes and her site is full of great looking ones! This one looks particularly delicious! Be sure to check her out and to follow her on Facebook!

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Quinoa Burrito

The quickest and best burritos I’ve ever made. The filling is so good I ate it on it’s own. It would also make a great chip dip! You could also try using butternut squash or pumpkin as a way to change up the filling…hmmm that’s a great idea for Thanksgiving. (Wow, it’s August and I’m already thinking about Thanksgiving. Pathetic.)

Yield: 2 large burritos or 2 cups filling

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, cubed & boiled (I leave peel on, but feel free to remove peel)
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 garlic clove, minced
2 handfuls spinach (or green of choice)
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
3 drops hot sauce
1/4 cup black beans cooked (or canned)
1/4 cup Daiya Cheese (optional but delicious)
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tortilla wraps ( I only used one but remember I’m only cooking for one!)

Directions:

: 1. Start by rinsing the sweet potato and cutting it into 1/2 inch cubes. In a medium pot bring 1 quart water to boil and add sweet potato. Boil on medium until potato is fork tender (about 15 minutes).

2. In a separate pot bring 1/2 cup water to boil and add quinoa and spinach. Simmer on low-med covered until water is absorbed (about 12 minutes).

3. When sweet potato is fork tender, drain water and mash potato with a fork (or potato masher) until chunks are gone (or leave a few if you prefer). Add cooked black beans, cheese, garlic and spices. When quinoa is finished, add to pot with sweet potato and beans and stir. Taste and add more spices if needed.

4. If you haven’t eaten all of the potato filling with a spoon already, add it to tortilla along with desired toppings (avocado & vegan sour cream would be excellent). Wrap and serve. I paired mine with my favorite Blue Corn Flax Seed Chips from Archer Farms or others from Amazon. Leftover filling can be reheated the next day for lunch in a wrap or as chip dip or a salad topper.

Enjoy!

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Easy and Delicious Mini Corn Dog Recipe

By Nichole | Friday Jul 13th, 2012 3:41 pm

Several months ago we posted a recipe for DIY mini corn dogs and you all loved it! Here is another version which is simpler and requires no deep frying. I came up with this version tonight since my husband is off working and I was having a hard time finding motivation to make anything time consuming for just the kids and I. In all, this took me less than five minutes to prepare and the girls (and I) gobbled it up!

Take a Marie Callender’s Corn Bread Mix and prepare it according to the directions- just adding 1.5 cups of water and mixing it well. This is, hands down, my favorite corn bread mix and it beats out any “made from scratch” recipe I have ever had. If you have never tried it, you are seriously missing out. I always have some on hand so this worked out great for tonight’s impromptu creation.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a mini muffin pan with non stick spray and then fill it with the batter. I used my Pampered Chef cookie dough scoop and it worked perfectly.
Cut a standard length hot dog into sixths (I use all beef but any kind will do) and place 1 piece into each muffin. You will need four hot dogs total.
Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the outsides get slightly crispy.
We dipped these in ketchup and they were delicious! Serve with a side of fruit and or vegetables to make it a complete meal.

This recipe makes 24 mini corn dogs. If you try this out, let me know how you like it. There are a lot of variations for mini corn dogs out there but this seems to be one of the simplest and yummiest ways to make them! This would also be a great snack to make for a children’s party!

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Don’t Buy It, Make It: Brown Sugar

By GDD | Friday Jul 6th, 2012 10:40 am

Oh darn, you are out of brown sugar. No need to run out to the grocery store- did you know brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses? Oh how I wish I had known this years ago, would of saved me a long wait at the grocery store late in the night on the eve of a big holiday. Well to spare you that late night grocery trip I’m here to show you just how easy it is to make your own brown sugar.

Light Brown Sugar Recipe

2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp of molasses

Dark Brown Sugar Recipe

2 cups of sugar
3 Tbsp of molasses

To make the brown sugar simply mix your sugar and molasses together in a stand mixer or hand mixer in a deep bowl.

Start on a low setting until you see small balls of the molasses,then turn up the mixer and continue mixing for 3-4 min or until there is no more molasses balls.

Be sure to scrap down the sides of the bowl and the paddle to get all the molasses.

Once your brown sugar is ready place it in an air tight container.

Tips:

-If you brown sugar becomes hard simply place a slice of bread in the container with the brown sugar and let sit for a day or two, this will bring the moisture back to the sugar and soften it up.

-Freezer bags work the best at getting all the air out and keeping the moisture in longer,preventing the hardening of the sugar.

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Don’t Buy It, Make It: Instant Oatmeal Packets

By GDD | Thursday Jul 5th, 2012 7:25 am

Oatmeal is a convenient and healthy breakfast, but sometimes the cost of prepackaged instant oatmeal can seem a bit unsettling. $3-$4 for a box with 10 tiny packets, did you know you make about 50 packs at home for that price?

Instant Oatmeal Packets Recipe

1/4 cup of instant (the 1 min. cooking ones) oats

1/2 tsp. sugar or dry sweetener of your choice(I used Xylitol) *Optional*

a pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in a small snack sized bag, you now have your homemade instant oatmeal packet.

If you prefer your oatmeal with some flavorings here are a few recipes for you, just add these ingredients to your original oatmeal packets from the recipe above.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoons chopped dried apples

Brown Sugar and Raisins Oatmeal
1/2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1-2 tsp raisins

Blueberries and Cream Oatmeal
1 tbsp of non-dairy creamer
1-2 tsp dried blueberries

Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal
1 tbsp powdered non-dairy creamer
2 tsp freeze-dried strawberries

Tips:

-If you prefer a thicker oatmeal simply grind up some of your oats in your blender and add 1-2 tbsp* of the oatmeal powder to each packet to thicken it *depending on the level of thickness you prefer.

-To thicken your oats without adding oatmeal powder you can add in chia seeds, they are a great way to thicken foods and provide you with many health benefits.

-If you need you can double this recipe for larger servings of oatmeal, this recipe makes the same 1/4 cup yield the name brand instand oatmeal packets make.

-Do not use powdered milk in place of non-dairy creamer for long storage life as powdered milk tends to mold in the bag when added with dried fruits.

The combinations of what you can add to your oatmeal is endless, feel free to experiment and find what you like best.

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Don’t Buy It, Make It: Play Dough

By GDD | Thursday May 31st, 2012 8:27 am

That fun loving colorful dough that entertains children of all ages, oh how my kids love it but we go through so much of it and the cost are starting to really add up. I have tried many recipes that would imitate the smooth, soft texture of the real deal and failed to get a good recipe…until now. So here I share with you the amazingly simple 10 min. recipe to making your own soft “play dough”.

Homemade Play dough

1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup salt
food coloring

Step 1: Combine all but the food coloring into a pot.

Step 2: Stir over medium heat, you will see it begin to get nice and smooth.

After 1-2 min of stirring you will get a nice formed dough ball.

Step 3: Place dough ball on counter, once cooled kneed until smooth and roll into a ball.

Step 4: Divide into equal parts and add your food coloring (I needed about 6 drops to achieve the colors I got).

Step 5: Kneed in the color and your dough is now ready for play.

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Tag Archives: DIY

Magnificent Mug Brownie

DIY- Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Amazing Pudding Cookie Bars

Easiest Carmel Popcorn Ever

Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Quinoa Burritos- Yum!

Easy and Delicious Mini Corn Dog Recipe

Don’t Buy It, Make It: Brown Sugar

Don’t Buy It, Make It: Instant Oatmeal Packets

Don’t Buy It, Make It: Play Dough

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