Maple Popcorn

Jana here with a delicious treat that I made recently!  I found myself wanting to make my family a special snack recently on a Saturday, so I pulled out one of my cookbooks, The Homemade Pantry, and made this Maple Popcorn (with a few modifications). It takes an hour to bake, so keep that in mind when you are thinking of making it. It is SO worth the time though. The results are a popcorn that is sweet, lightly crunchy, and so good! 

Maple Popcorn

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup cane sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Butter a large bowl, and a 9x13 glass dish. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Pop the popcorn (instructions here). Once it has finished popping, pour it into the buttered bowl.

2. In a medium pot over medium high heat, combine the butter, maple syrup, sugar, and salt. Stir until combined. Once it has reached a boil, let it boil for 5 minutes without stirring. When the 5 minutes is done, add the baking soda and vanilla. Remove from the heat.

3. Slowly (a 1/2 cup at a time) drizzle the maple sauce onto the popcorn. Don't pour too much too quickly, or it will cause the popcorn to deflate. After you have poured the first amount of sauce, stir the popcorn to distribute the sauce. Repeat these steps until all sauce is on the popcorn.

4. Pour the popcorn into the 9x13 baking dish, and put into the oven. Bake for 1 hour, taking it out to stir every 15 minutes. Cool before eating.

Olive Spread

Becca here, with one of my favorite recipes from growing up.  Our Mom would make this Olive Spread just a time or two a year, but it has always been one I looked forward to, so I was excited when she brought it to my last birthday party!  The green olives give it a lot of flavor, the pecans add crunch, and the mayonnaise and cream cheese smooth, creaminess.  We normally have it with wheat thin type crackers, but I ate the leftovers with veggies, and it was just as good!

Olive Spread

6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup green olives with pimientos, sliced
2 Tablespoons olive juice, reserved from the green olives
Dash of black pepper

Combine cream cheese and mayonnaise, and mix well.  Stir in remaining ingredients (pecans, olives, olive juice, and black pepper) until combined.  The filling will be slightly mushy at first.  Refrigerate for a few hours to reach spreading consistency.  Keeps well for a week or two in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!!

Chewy Oatmeal Squares

Jana here with a recipe I had to share!  I recently had a baby, and was looking for some extra snacks to eat while I am feeding the baby in the middle of the night. I bought a few boxes of oatmeal squares and granola bars, but was unhappy with the ingredients. So my husband and I started brainstorming, and came up with this delicious recipe!

Chewy Oatmeal Squares

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
6 cups oatmeal (steel cut or old fashioned)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 - 1 cup raisins (or other dried fruit)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. Mix the wet ingredients (butter, oil, honey, eggs, vanilla) in a stand mixer (or with a handheld mixer).

3. Add the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, oatmeal, baking soda, cinnamon, salt) and mix well. Last, add the raisins and stir.

4. Pour onto the baking sheet, and spread evenly. Press mixture firmly onto baking sheet to compact it.

5. Bake for 18-22 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!

Kale Chips

Jana here with a super easy recipe!  We are probably the last ones to jump on the kale bandwagon...I've heard a lot about it in the last few years, and know that it is really healthy. It is loaded with antioxidants, and a great source of vitamin C, A, and K.

When my son picked this much kale from our garden recently, I knew it was the time to try kale chips!

The prep is so easy, and a great recipe for kids to help with!

The finished kale chips! These are SO light and crispy...it's hard to just eat a few!

Kale Chips

1 head of kale, or kale leaves from your garden
olive oil
salt

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

2. Remove the leaves from the thick stems, and tear the leaves into bite size pieces.

3. Lightly brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt.

4. Bake for 15 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Enjoy!

EASY Way to Cook/Peel Hard Boiled Eggs

Jana here to talk about boiled eggs. I recently read a magazine article about the best way to boil eggs. I told my husband that there seemed to be so many methods (cooking times, when to add the eggs in the water, etc) for cooking the perfect boiled egg!  Then I came across a post on The Prairie Homestead blog (a blog I highly recommend!) with a completely different method. And she said it would be easy to peel the eggs after they were boiled. I have tried some of the other suggested methods for this in the past (adding baking soda to the water, etc), without much success.  

The method is to steam the eggs!  The first time I tried it, and every time after, it has made me so happy to peel each egg in a matter of seconds!  The eggs look beautiful...no big chunks of the white of the egg taken off when it was hard to peel. The yolks are cooked perfectly and a pretty yellow color. I am SO pleased with this method!  It's my 'go to' now!

If you have a steamer basket, great!  But if not, you can set a metal colander in a larger pot for the same effect.  Fill the pot below your steamer basket about halfway with water. Set the steamer basket on top, and add the eggs. Cover with a lid, and get the water started boiling. Once it is boiling, you will want to steam the eggs for 20-22 minutes.

And this is what the results will look like!!

Stovetop Popcorn

Jana here with one of my family's favorite snacks!  Making popcorn on the stovetop is so fast (just as quick as the microwave variety), and is much healthier!  In my opinion, it also tastes MUCH better!  This is so simple, but I thought some of you might be interested in how to make popcorn this way!

Stovetop Popcorn

2-3 tablespoons oil (we use coconut, but other types may be used)
1/3 cup popcorn kernels
seasonings

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet on high.  Place 2 kernels in the oil during this time, and listen for them to pop.  When they do, you're ready to put the other kernels in the pan!

2. Put the remaining popcorn kernels in the pan, and cover with a lid!

3. Allow the kernels to pop, listening carefully for when the popping slows. Remove from the heat once the popping is spaced out by a few seconds between each pop.

Season however you would like!  (season salt is good!)

Enjoy!

Fresh Orange Muffins

Jana here with a new muffin recipe!  My six year old son likes helping in the kitchen, and loves to suggest new recipe ideas. Recently, he asked me if I could make some orange muffins soon. I love to bake muffins, and had never tried any orange ones so I was up for the challenge!  I followed a recipe I found on www.food.com.  This website, along with www.allrecipes.com are great resources when you have an idea of something you want to bake, but want to read through ingredient lists and reviews. I loved that this recipe used fresh oranges, and the flavor is unbelievable!  The muffins are very moist, and the texture is awesome.  Another benefit is that the ingredient list is pretty short, so you can have these mixed up and ready to put in the oven in minutes!

Fresh Orange Muffins

2 medium sized oranges
1 large egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 12 cup muffin tin by lightly greasing.

2. Squeeze the juice from one of the oranges until you have 1/2 cup. If you don't get quite this much from the orange, add water to make the total amount 1/2 cup.  (I did this, and the muffins were still so delicious!)

3. Cut the other orange into bite sized pieces (peel included, but make sure to remove any seeds!). Blend the orange pieces with the orange juice until pureed. (I used my immersion blender, and it worked very well)

4. Mix this puree with the egg and melted butter until well combined.

5. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.

6. Use batter to fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!!

Ranch Hummus

I'm happy to share a new favorite recipe of mine today!  If you have preconceived ideas about hummus or think you've tried them all, think again and stick around for this recipe!  It is like no other hummus recipe I've tried and tastes fabulous.  We don't eat ranch in our house and I only occasionally order it at a restaurant for a treat.  But oh how I love the taste!  This doesn't taste like the creamy, fatty ranch out of the bottle but is even better (in my opinion!)

We like to eat this ranch hummus over a bowl of roasted veggies and chickpeas and brown rice for a complete meal. It would also be extra tasty on crunchy sliced veggies, or pita chips.

Ranch Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 TB plain Greek Yogurt

1 TB lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/3 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together in the food processor or blender.  

Enjoy! 

Sara

Sweet Peach Muffins

Jana here with a great Summer muffin to try!  I have frozen peaches that I prepared when they were in season last year. I thaw those, and use them in this recipe. But you can use canned peaches, or fresh as well! Using the amount of ingredients I have listed below, this will make about 18 muffins. I like to make a big batch like this, and then put them all in the freezer. It's a great way to pull out the number you need each morning, and not have any muffins go bad. I found inspiration for this recipe here.

Sweet Peach Muffins

3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 - 2 1/2 cups peaches, peeled and diced (with most of the juice drained)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by spraying with oil or spreading a thin layer of butter.

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon, and salt until well blended.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until combined. Fold in the peaches.

4. Divide the batter between 18 muffin tins. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted comes out without batter.

Enjoy!

Skillet Popcorn

Jana here with another quick and easy way to make popcorn!  Becca posted her microwave version of homemade popcorn, using a brown paper bag when we first started our blog. Today I wanted to give you another option of making your own popcorn at home!  This popcorn is ready in minutes, tastes 'fresh', is much healthier, and cheaper than microwave popcorn you buy at the store. You can season this in so many different ways once it's cooked too!

Skillet Popcorn

1. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of your choice of oil on high heat. (coconut oil works great, or olive/vegetable/coconut oil)

2. Put 2-3 kernels of popcorn in the skillet, and stand nearby. When you see that those kernels have popped, add 1/3 cup popcorn kernels to the skillet, and COVER.

3. Allow the kernels to pop until you can go 3-5 seconds without hearing any popping.  Then, remove from the heat.

4. Season with garlic salt, season all, or any combination of spices you would like.

ENJOY!

Best hummus ever.

How's that for an original title and recipe name?! The truth is, my sis-in-law to be sent me a text one night asking if I liked hummus, to which I eagerly replied "yes!"  She brought some by the house for me and it is seriously the best hummus I've ever had.  And I've tried a lot of kinds!  It is flavorful and much thicker than the kind you buy at Wal-Mart, which I prefer.  It is peppery and a bit spicy. Absolutely delicious! I asked her to share the recipe so today I am the humble message bearer of such good news.  Best hummus ever! 

Ingredients:

1 can drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1/2 lemon (juiced) 1 tbsp. tahini (sesame butter) - I add some sesame oil as well from the jar 4 to 5 garlic cloves 1-2 tbsp. olive oil salt & lots of fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor until smooth and well incorporated. Garnish hummus with olive oil, herbs, pine nuts or whatever you please. Enjoy!

Sara

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

Jana here with another muffin recipe!  I love to make a big batch (or two!) or muffins, and put most of them in the freezer. Then, we just pull them out throughout the week for breakfast. Add some scrambled eggs, and you have a healthy, filling breakfast!  I found inspiration for this muffin recipe on the Taste of Home site. We have posted many delicious muffins recipe on our blog before.  Here are a few:

Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

Whole Wheat Muffin Surprise

Amazing Blueberry Muffins

Now, for the new recipe!
Yield: 12 muffins

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons canola oil

1 egg white


Topping: 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
               1 tablespoon brown sugar
               1 tablespoon butter, melted
               1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, combine the applesauce, milk, oil, and egg white.  Stir into dry ingredients, just until moistened.  Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 of the way full.

2. Combine topping ingredients, sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Cookies & Cream Fudge

Becca here with a recipe that is super, super, easy and so delicious!  No one will ever guess it take just five minutes to make.  It is really rich, so be sure to cut into small pieces.  I made this for the Bake Sale where my children take homeschool classes, and packaged four pieces in those cellophane bags you can get at Walmart, printed in all kinds of seasonally appropriate prints, for a cute & tasty treat.

Cookies & Cream Fudge

3 cups white chocolate chips
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
3 cups chocolate sandwich cookies, broken into large pieces

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  Or I used wax paper and it worked fine, it would lift out of the pan easier with parchment though :)

Combine white chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in saucepan over low heat on the stove, stirring frequently, until thoroughly melted.  Stir in chocolate sandwich cookies.

Immediately pour mixture into prepared 8x8 pan.  Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. 

Slice and serve!  May be served at room temperature or refrigerated. 

"Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder inspired Molasses Snow Candy

Becca here with a fun winter recipe!  I am reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House in the Big Woods" to my children again right now, and we decided to try making the molasses on snow candy that they describe making in Chapter 4.  The basic instructions in the book are given; Ma boiled molasses and sugar together to make a syrup, which the girls poured onto fresh snow in pans to let harden and cool.  They got to eat one piece each, and then the rest was saved for Christmas!  I found a more detailed recipe in "The World of Little House", and have elaborated on that below in my own instructions.  My kids thought it was really neat to make something just like Laura and Mary, and the end result has a rich, chewy but creamy texture that really is delicious!  If you have extra molasses, they are also used in these Hearty Healthy Breakfast Cookies that received lots of good reviews from my kids as well as other people's, and these {Best Ever} Molasses Cookies that are a new family favorite of ours!

There is also a really neat Virtual Field Trip here to all of the "Little House" home sites! 

You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe. (Pioneer Laura dress & bonnet are optional :)  I know, the candy thermometers make me nervous too, but my (8 year old) daughter actually made this recipe 99% by herself and it turned out great, so this is a great beginner candy thermometer recipe.  Mine is a really inexpensive one from Walmart, and I think this is the first or second time I've ever used it.

Molasses Snow Candy

1 cup molasses
1 cup brown sugar

Combine molasses and brown sugar in a medium saucepan.  The candy will bubble and rise up in the pan quite a bit once it starts heating up, so don't use your smallest saucepan!

Stir well to combine.  Then clip candy thermometer onto the side.  Slide it in the bracket until the tip is submerged, but NOT touching the bottom of the pan.

Turn heat on to low, and stir fairly consistently until temperature reaches the "hard crack" line on your candy thermometer, at 300 F. 

Meanwhile, start filling a couple of 9x13 pans with crushed ice.  I had my two boys doing this, while my daughter stirred, and they completed right about the same time.  Feel free to use snow instead of you have some good clean snow!

Quickly pour the (incredibly hot, this part is definitely for an adult!) mixture from the saucepan into a glass liquid measuring cup.  (I used a 2 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup & it was the perfect size).

Drizzle the (reminder again, this is scalding hot!) molasses over the ice.  I let my daughter pour by herself, but my sons held my hand as I poured to help.  And the baby sat in her highchair & watched :) 

It will harden pretty immediately as it cools.  As soon as it does, remove from the ice onto wax paper, removing any chunks of ice that might be sticking.  Enjoy!

{Healthy} Breakfast Banana Splits

Becca here with a healthy and filling but still fun breakfast idea my kids loved!  For some reason breakfast is the meal of the day that I struggle the most with getting on the table.  But I notice a difference in both myself and my children when we've had a "good" breakfast, so I do try and make it a great, nutritious and protein packed start to the day.  This "banana split" comes together really quickly, and is simple enough that an older child could even prepare it on their own.  It would make a great after school snack as well. Feel free to substitute your favorite type of preserves and nuts on top - I'm thinking blueberry jam and pecans would be amazing too!  Enjoy!

{Healthy} Breakfast Banana Splits

(all amounts are per serving!)

1 banana

4 ounces Greek yogurt

1 heaping Tablespoon preserves (I used no sugar added, just fruit, raspberry here!)

1 Tablespoon roasted nuts (I used peanuts here)

Place banana into bowl; split into half if you need to, as I did here, to get it to fit!  Top with yogurt, then preserves, and then nuts.  Serve immediately.



Creamy Hot Chocolate

Jana here with a delicious recipe for Creamy Hot Chocolate.  The colder days have arrived, and sometimes all you need to warm up is a hot drink!  I love coffee, fruit flavored teas, and hot chocolate.  This recipe is so easy to mix up, and can be made with 3-4 basic ingredients.  My kids love this, and so do my husband and I!

Creamy Hot Chocolate

4 cups milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup boiling water

1. Mix cocoa powder, sugar, and boiling water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. 

2. Add half of milk slowly to saucepan. Heat, but do not boil. 

3. Once you remove from heat, add remainder of milk to cool to drinking temperature.

Enjoy!

Honey Oat Granola Bars

Jana here with a new snack recipe that your family will love!  My husband and I like to work on new recipes together sometimes, and enjoy making things together in the kitchen. (such as Slow Cooker Applesauce and baking your own pumpkin!)  Once in awhile, he will get an idea of a food he would like to make, and he starts a 'kitchen experiment'!  His creations are always yummy, and I'm so glad he likes to create in the kitchen too!  This recipe will make approximately 30 bars, and they freeze well!  If you cut them into 30 bars, each bar will be approximately 115 calories.  If you have frozen the granola bars, and want to pull them out to eat soon after, I recommend putting them in the microwave for a few seconds to quickly soften them.

Honey Oat Granola Bars

4 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sunflower kernels (I prefer unsalted)
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*Variation options include 1/2 cup baking chips, or other nuts to supplement or replace sunflower seeds. (up to 1 cup nuts)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, sunflower kernels, and cinnamon.  Stir in the butter, honey, and vanilla until well combined.  (Mixture will be crumbly)  Press into a greased, parchment paper lined baking sheet. (approximately 15 in x 10 in x 1 in)

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until granola is becoming lightly browned and bubbly.  Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack, then cut into bars. Cool completely before removing from pan.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Jana here with a recipe that we love to make when Fall has arrived!  We purchased apples from a local orchard, and bought the 'seconds'. This meant that some may have a small spot or two on them, or they were irregular in size or shape. We bought a bushel and a half, and it averaged out to about 50 cents per pound of apples!  I buy natural (no sugar added) applesauce often at the grocery store, so this is a great savings for our family, and something we enjoyed making together!

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Apples of choice, peeled, cored, and sliced
water
sugar (if desired)

1. Depending on the size of your slow cooker, prepare the apples as described above, and fill your slow cooker to the top. Add approximately 1/2 cup water to a standard/large slow cooker.  If you would like to add sugar, I would suggest starting with 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup. 

2. Cook the apples on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook for 2-3 hours. A great way to tell when the apples have cooked long enough is when you start seeing 'frothy' looking bubbles at the top. Stir the apples, and make sure they are soft.

3. We ran ours through a foley food mill to remove any peel or seeds that could have been accidentally added. It also achieved great texture for our applesauce!  If you don't own a foley food mill, mash the apples with a potato masher, and stir well. After doing this, if you want a smoother texture for your applesauce, put it in a blender on low speed for a short time.

*We put our applesauce in quart sized Mason jars, and freeze it. Make sure to leave some room at the top of your jar.

Enjoy!

Brownie in a Cup (Quick & Yummy!)

Jana here with a single serving brownie recipe that will satisfy your sweet tooth!  Recently, I was really wanting something sweet, specifically chocolate!  I searched the pantry, but couldn't find anything. After a quick Google search, I came across this recipe on a food blog, Number 2 Pencil.  It only took minutes to mix this up in a coffee cup, under a minute in the microwave, and I had a delicious brownie!  I didn't have any chocolate chips on hand, so I left those out. I thought it was still really great, and an easy way to satisfy a sweet craving!

Brownie in a Cup

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 firmly packed tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Melt butter in a microwave safe cup or mug.

2. Stir together butter, sugars, vanilla, and salt.

3. Stir in egg yolk. (only the yolk!)

4. Add flour and cocoa powder, and stir again until well combined. (add chocolate chips is using)

5. Cook for about 45 seconds in the microwave. Watch closely, don't overcook.

Enjoy!

Lemon Chile Pepper Cucumbers

Jana  here with an easy way to quickly take fresh cucumbers from plain to full of flavor!  If you grow cucumbers in your garden (or have a neighbor who does!), chances are you will have more of them than you know what to do with.  If not, they are an inexpensive vegetable to buy at the grocery store, especially during the summer months!  My sisters both gave me some cucumbers that they weren't going to be able to use, so I was looking for new ways to eat them!  I ran across this general idea on Pinterest, but there wasn't a good link to anywhere. (or measurements)  This is also great if you add a chopped, fresh tomato in!

Lemon Chile Pepper Cucumbers

1 medium cucumber (or 2 small), chopped (you can peel them, or eat the peel...either way is good!)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper

Chop cucumber (and tomato if you're using one). Add remaining ingredients, and stir to incorporate all flavors. 

Enjoy!