Today's Brilliant Idea: Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins!

 

I was in the mood to bake this morning, and so, of course, I perused Pinterest! If you've EVER ventured onto Pinterest, surely you have encountered THIS recipe, or a similar cake version:

I've been curious since I saw the recipe months ago, so, I gave it a whirl! The batter is a bit thick, and the centers were a little moister than I would want, but hey, the recipe really  does work! I added a few handfuls of milk chocolate chips and glazed them with a simple powdered sugar and milk mixture - yum!

 

An added bonus was how wonderful my house smelled all morning! Next time, I think I'm going to try the "cake" version of this recipe; with an apple cider glaze! Double yum!

 

 

Delish Side Dish

 

Earlier this week, I had a craving for pork chops marinated in barbecue sauce, but was at a loss when it came to planning a side dish.  I had just bought a few zucchini squash at an Amish produce stand, so I perused my Pinterest board aptly named "Yum" and found this gem: Cheesy Zucchini Rice! I added sweet corn from my freezer (also from the aforementioned Amish produce stand), which "beefed up" the consistency.  It was soooooo savory! I had thirds...

 

 

Cheesy Zucchini Rice (with corn)

adapted from www.bunsinmyoven.com

 

1 TBL olive oil

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 cups chicken broth (I made mine with chicken bouillon)

2 TBL butter

1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated (I used one small zucchini)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used shredded co-jack)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

 

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the rice and stir to coat.  Toast the rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden.  Pour in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover.  Cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and add the butter, grated zucchini, cheese and garlic powder.  Stir until well incorporated.  Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir again and season with salt and pepper. Yum!

 

 

Green Goddess Pasta Salad; sooo healthy!

 

I've probably mentioned before that my girlfriends are my "new recipe guinea pigs"...but seriously, who better to try things out on? They love food as much as me, and my immediate family (husband and 4-year-old daughter) are a bit picky; food-wise.  I found this recipe in Health magazine (www.health.com) and have been dying to try it. Total success! It was crunchy, cheesy, savory and kind of "green-ey" (in a good way). 300 calories (sorry), but also 16 grams of protein!

I paired it with store-bought Parmesan foccacia topped with cherry tomatoes from my garden - delish!

Green Goddess Pasta Salad

12 ounces mini ravioli or tortellini (I got my mini cheese ravioli at Trader Joe's)
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 pound frozen peas, thawed
3 Tbl. sliced almonds
6 cups watercress or baby arugula (I used baby arugula)
1 Tbl. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shavings

Cook pasta as package label directs.  Add asparagus and peas to the cooking pasta during the last 2 minutes. Drain well and let cool slightly.  While pasta is cooking, place almonds in a small dry skillet over medium  heat and cook, shaking pan often, until lightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool and set aside.  Place cooked pasta and veggies in a large bowl and toss with watercress/arugula, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Top with almonds and Parmesan and serve.

Today's Brilliant Idea - times two!

 

Today, I whipped up a super easy twist on one of our regular snacks, and it was a hit! I blended mini M&M candies in smooth peanut butter; for dipping apple slices into! My 4-year-old LOVED it! Brilliant....

 

 

Switching gears just a bit, I keep forgetting to post this gem: DIY Banana Chips! Usually, I make muffins or a quick bread with the bananas that "turn", but we seem to ALWAYS have overripe bananas and can only eat so many muffins! I do not recommend using super-brown and mushy bananas, but if they are "borderline", this is a perfect use for them!

 

You will need one of these handy contraptions, though. I got mine in the mid 1990s and it's still plugging along.

Cut banana in MANY slices...

and dry for 8-12 hours (follow the instructions for your dehydrator), depending on how chewy or crunchy you want them.  Store in a resealable bag. Hide some from your husband or he will eat them all; or is that just at my house?

Cherry Tomato Crisp; delish!

 

Yes, I know, ANOTHER cherry tomato recipe? You just don't realize the bumper crop of cherry tomatoes I've had this year! I have frozen bags and bags of them, and still have new ripe tomatoes every day! I found this idea on , of course, Pinterest...it sounded so simple and yummy; and it was!

Cherry Tomato Crisp 

5 cups cherry tomatoes
2 slices white sandwich bread
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves (or one Tablespoon dried)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a food processor, combine bread, Parmesan, parsley leaves, olive oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper.  Pulse until bread is coarsely chopped.  In a baking dish, arrange cherry tomatoes in a single layer.  Sprinkle with crumb mixture.  Bake until "crust" is browned and the tomatoes are tender; about 20-25 minutes.

 

I used panko bread crumbs instead of white bread and it turned out great; cheesy, and tomatoe-y!  Yum!

Today's Brilliant Idea:  Freeze Cherry Tomatoes!

 

So, my cherry tomato plants have been VERY HEALTHY this summer, on the branches of the plants they look like bunches of grapes - yikes! I eat some with dip, throw some in a salad and make a Putanesca sauce with some of them, but THEN what? Well, after some research online, I discovered a crazy simple solution: wash them, remove the stems, put a few handfuls into into a freezer bag and toss in the freezer. Done. No blanching to remove skins, no cooking/stewing, nothing. The frozen tomatoes will, upon thawing, be a little gooey, so they will need to be made into sauce or juice. I love EASY solutions!

 

I was SO excited, I illustrated the bags with "happy cherry tomatoes"!

Salted Caramel Pretzel M&M Blondies...omg!

 

Oh yeah, you heard that right! Let me repeat: Salted Caramel Pretzel M&M Blondies...and yes, they do taste THAT good! Damned Pinterest! Very rich, salty, chocolaty, etc. PERFECT for my company picnic today, as it was all women! Some of my coworkers said this was a little too rich....whatever....I had "thirds"!

I am DEFINITELY making this again!

 

 

Salted Caramel Pretzel M&M Blondies 

 

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups Pretzel M&Ms

1 cup chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)

a 14-ounce bag caramels, unwrapped

1/4 cup milk

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.  Cream butter and sugars together in a large bowl.  Add vanilla and eggs and mix well.  Add baking soda, flour and salt, stirring until combined.  Fold in M&Ms and chocolate chips.  In prepared baking dish, press 1/2 of batter into the bottom of the dish.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until just beginning to set, but not golden brown.  While the "crust" is baking, put the unwrapped caramels into a microwave-safe bowl, along with the milk.  Microwave for 2-3 minutes, stirring every minute until melted.  When the "crust"is done, remove from oven and pour melted caramel on top.  Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top of the caramel, and spread as well as you can. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown. 

 

*I didn't have the "cubes" of wrapped caramels, I had a partial bag of meltable "caramel bits".  I combined them with 2 tablespoons of water and microwaved for about 2 minutes, until melted.