Homemade Brownies

I am a big brownie fan, um... to be honest, anything chocolatey I'm a fan of! I don't always have boxed brownies on hand though, so when I saw a pin on pinterest about homemade mixes that you could keep on your shelf I was intrigued. I had to give it a whirl! Seriously - one of the easiest and quickest brownie mixes to throw together... Almost as easy as the box mix and better tasting! :) I haven't made up multiple batches to store in my cupboard, but this recipe has simple enough ingredients that I usually have laying around my house! I love to throw some chocolate chips in the mix, just to up the chocolate factor. You could also go with some nuts, whatever shakes your tail feathers! Maybe, just maybe you can throw some chocolate frosting on top and go all decadent! :) How about brownies with a pretzel crust? Come back Monday for that recipe! :)

Homemade Brownies
(recipe found on pinterest via fakeitfrugal.blogspot.it)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
chocolate chips, if desired

Whisk together first dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until incorporated. Bake in square pan for 20-25 minutes at 350.

Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich

This was a quick supper for us the other night and it was great! It was a nice change to throw the chicken on a bun and make sandwiches for the family... Everyone definitely enjoyed this one and it was easy enough to make!



Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwich
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon water
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
4 sandwich buns, split
1 cup shredded lettuce
8 thin tomato slices

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Broil chicken 4" from the heat for 4-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170, brushing occasionally with mustard mixture. Serve on buns with lettuce and tomato.

Italian Sausage Bean Soup

This may just be my new favorite soup! It was so hearty and delicious and made enough to have leftovers for the next day. The kids ate it up pretty well, which always makes it a good meal in my eyes! I paired this with some quick garlic bread and it was a wonderful supper!

Italian Sausage Bean Soup
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

1 pound bulk italian sausage
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced
4 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cans (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup medium pearl barley
1 large carrot, sliced
1 celery, sliced
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or 1/8 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
6 cups chopped fresh kale

In a dutch oven, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, barley, carrot, celery, sage and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir in kale; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until vegetables are tender and kale is wilted.

Serves: 8
Points: 7 per 1 1/2 cups of soup

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

It was my turn to bring snack for our E.C.F.E. (early childhood family education) class and this is the one place left on God's green earth that you can still bring a homemade snack. Okay, so I might be exaggerating a bit, but the fact still remains that I decided to make something yummy to bring with! I decided on this bread that sounded like a delicious treat and something that I could pair up with a healthy box of gogurts! It was definitely a tasty bread and I was glad that I made a double batch so that I got to have a taste of my own! My kiddos were asking when I was going to make another batch as soon as we got home... I guess one piece wasn't enough!



Cinnamon Swirl Bread
(recipe found in Taste of Home Healthy Cooking)

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup (8 ounces) reduced fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the egg, yogurt, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and remaining cinnamon. Spoon a third of the batter into an 8x4" loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Top with a third of the brown sugar mixture. Repeat layers twice. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl the brown sugar mixture. Bake at 350 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Glazed Donut Muffins

I can't believe that I didn't get a picture of these muffins! I am so mad at myself!! I made these up for the teachers and aides that my kids have in their classrooms with a little note that said "Donut" you know you are my Valentine? or something like that... :) They turned out super cute and I was very excited to send them in. Hopefully they were a hit - we were actually gone for Valentine's Day, visiting family in Arizona so we sent everything in a few days early. I doubled the batch and had them for breakfast with the daycare kids too and they were a hit around here. They had this wonderful hint of nutmeg that made them even more delicious!

EDITED May 13, 2015 - I made these again for teacher appreciation week. I got my picture this time around! :) Again they were a huge hit with everyone that tried them...

Glazed Donut Muffins
(recipe found on pinterest via sweetpeaskitchen.com)

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Glaze:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Preheat oven to 425. Line 12 muffin cups with liners or spray with cooking spray. In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, oil and sugars until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined. With mixer on low, add baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and vanilla until just combined. Stir in flour alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until just combined. Do not overmix. Spoon batter into muffin pan and smooth tops. Bake until muffin tops are golden and spring back when touched, about 15-17 minutes. Rotate pans halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in tins for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack 10 minutes before glazing. To make glaze - in a medium bowl, add together all ingredients and whisk until smooth. Dip muffin crown into glaze and allow glaze to harden. Once it has harden, redip muffins and allow to harden again.

Melt In Your Mouth Chicken

This was a fabulous chicken recipe! The taste was super yummy, but I was a little thrown off by the texture of the chicken. I chose to use the grated parmesan that I had in my fridge and I think that is what made it seem a little off. So, try this recipe, but make sure that you bust out the shredded parmesan instead to avoid that funky texture that I had!



Melt In Your Mouth Chicken
(recipe found on pinterest)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup greek yogurt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients except chicken breasts and yogurt together. Dip chicken in yogurt and then roll in seasoning mixture. Bake for 45 minutes or until center of chicken is no longer pink.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

I am usually so busy making something new and fun for main dishes that the sides that we have are just thrown together... A side salad most of the time, rice, microwaved veggies, something quick and easy. Josh and I really like sweet potatoes so I thought that this would be a fun recipe to try. While the kids weren't too fond of it, we both really enjoyed this version of a twice baked potato!



Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
(recipe found on pinterest via shape.com)

3 medium sweet potatoes (2-2 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 1/2 tablespoons chopped sage

Heat oven to 400. Pierce potatoes with a fork several times and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake until they are soft enough to be pierced easily with a knife, about 1 hour. Remove and let cool for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in small nonstick pan and add shallots. Cook until soft and just browning, remove and set aside. When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes in half and scoop out insides, leaving about an inch around the edges for stablility. Mix potatos for about 30 seconds until starting to get smooth. Add salt, pepper, ricotta, ginger and brown sugar and mix until smooth. Stir in parmesan, sage and shallots. Spoon mixture into potato shells. Set oven at 350. Sprinkle each potato half with parmesan and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.