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RECIPES/ Sweets

10 Very Naughty Desserts

I volunteered to bring a dessert to a family gathering we are having tomorrow. I love it when I am asked to bring a dessert to a gathering, because it gives me the excuse to make something very, very naughty.  I like that I can leave any leftovers at the gathering, so it doesn’t sit around here.  I also like that I can search all my Recipe Pins and look for something I normal would not make to have here at home.

I thought I would share some of my options with you!  Hmm…how to choose?

Chocolate cupcakes topped with ganache & caramel drizzled Ruffles.  Oh WOW!

Recipe for Caramel Slice-“best food ever created” says a Pinner.

Yellow Cake Mix + Peanut Butter + Chocolate = Easy Dessert…Yum!

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Smoosh pre-made cookie dough into muffin tin.  Place Reeses peanut butter cup or oreo on top.  Top with boxed or pre- made brownie mix. Fill 3/4 full.  Bake 18 minutes. (no link)

Brownie Batter Dip-serve with pretzels.  Can you tell I love chocolate + salty +sweet?

Pretzel cookies with chocolate & peanut butter chips, for my salty/sweet tooth!

Source: food.com via New on Pinterest

6 minute microwave caramels.  Literally just measure ingredients and stir.  Add some sea salt to the top and  you have fancy salted caramels.

Source: myrecipes.com via New on Pinterest

Lemonade Cake.  Another Pinner says “this is my favorite cake in the whole world…my Aunt Catherine introduced it and now the whole family loves it.  Great summer recipe!”

Cinnamon Roll cake.  Pinner says “it literally melts in your mouth. Great for breakfast or dessert.”

Better Than Crack Brownies.  I’ve made these.  They are amazing.


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So which one would you choose?  I’m gonna go for something chocolate and easy!

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FUN/DIY/ Holidays/Parties/ RECIPES/ Sweets

5 Minutes To Chocolate Sauce Heaven

A repost from the archives.  It deserves a repost..it is delicious!!  I plan on making a dairy-free version this weekend with earth balance spread instead of butter and serving it over coconut milk ice cream.  I will let you know how it turns out!
I’ve given this away as a gift and made it a few times for my own family.  It is one of those recipes that I  know I will be in the family for a very long time–it is SOOO good.  It is quick, it uses ingredients we usually have on hand, and it tastes WAY better than store bought chocolate sauce.  When I served it to my husband, he just kept grunting and saying “MMM”& “YUM” as he scraped his bowl clean.  I’m surprised he didn’t get his face in it and lick it clean!  Yes, it is that good.

Here is the recipe, it is from recipebzaar.com.  It was recommended by another blog, but I can’t remember which one, which I’m feeling pretty bad about because they deserve a big thanks from me!
Lee Lee’s Famous Chocolate Sauce For Ice Cream
2 min/1 minute prep time
Serves 4-6
1/2 cup sugar (I use whole cane sugar -rapadura)
2 Tablespoon Cocoa
1/8 tsp Salt
1 1/2-2 Tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup water (more or less, as needed to make a stirable consistency)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (can’t beat 100% pure vanilla extract!)
1. Combine sugar, cocoa, and salt in a small saucepan.
2. Add enough water to make stirable consistency.
3. Add butter to cocoa mixture.
4. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.
5. Allow to boil for 1 minute, stirring.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Add vanilla.
8. Serve warm over ice cream.

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RECIPES/ Sweets

Puppy Chow & Kitty Chow Snack

We eat healthy around here during the week, so when the weekend comes, sometimes I like to surprise my kids with a bit of a sugary snack.  I love the reactions I get when I do this, according to my girls I qualify for mom of the year when I make a surprise sugar snack.

When I do take the time to make something less healthy,  I want something easy and fun.  This puppy chow and kitty chow fit that description.  Kids think it is great fun to have 2 different shaped chow with fun names.  It is the perfect munching snack, especially for car trips!  What I love?  It is so good that it gets eaten up right away so when the new week comes we don’t have a bunch of tempting puppy & kitty chow laying around!

Puppy & Kitty Chow
1/2 cup butter ( I use Earth Balance)
1 cup peanut butter
12 ounces chocolate chips 
1 1b powdered sugar
1/2 box any Chex type cereal (for puppy chow)
1/2 box Kix cereal (for kitty chow)
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Mix butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips in a glass bowl.  Microwave until melted & stir.  Divide in half.  Add Chex to one half and Kix to the other.  Stir until coated.  In 2 brown paper bags, divide powdered sugar.  Add coated Chex to one and coated Kix to the other.  Shake until cereal is coated.

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Meals/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Peanut Butter Clouds – A No Recipe, Recipe

You are going to thank me over and over for this one.  No, seriously.  This little snack might just rock your world.  It rocks ours.
This Peanut Butter Cloud no recipe recipe is one of those special family recipes that has been handed down. My Grandma Thelma made it for my mom and her siblings, my mom made it for me and my siblings, and now I make it for my own kids.  The picture above was taken by my lovely sister from Beauty Divine Design.  She put it  on Facebook and the comments from aunts and cousins were fun to read, as they too were treated to peanut butter clouds by their moms.  Truly a family gem of a recipe!
Here is what you do:
~Toast a piece of bread
~Smear it with peanut butter
~Put marshmallows on top
~Place under broiler for just a minute.
~Watch as the marshmallows puff up and brown slightly (this part fascinated me as a kid!)
I’m telling you, you are now going to always remember me, for if you eat this once, you will have to make it again and again.  I think I just made myself famous…
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RECIPES/ Sweets

Brownie Bites With A Surprise Ingredient To Make Them Moist

The minute I saw this recipe for Brownie Bites linked up at Anti-Procrastination Tuesday from Double The Decor, I knew I had to make them.  They looked moist and chocolaty, they were vegan, and they used ingredients that everyone is familiar with.

 What makes these babies so moist?  PUMPKIN!

I’ve had a can of pumpkin sitting around and using it made me particularly happy!  This recipe only used half a can, so I found another recipe that uses pumpkin, Banana Pumpkin Muffins, and made 2 types of muffins.

Todd and I had a little pep talk at the beginning of the week about money & how we needed to save some money for bill paying the next couple months.  Yeah, one of those fun talks.  Blech.

One of the ways I thought I could help with that is to have an ‘eat from our pantry’ week.  That is where I get creative and use as much food from our pantry/cupboards/freezer that I can.  I still had to buy the basics–bread, almond milk, peanut butter.  But, it is Thursday and I have only spent $50 on groceries this week and for us, that is a significant savings.

These muffins really helped in this endeavor.  They made a lot, they were filling and great for snacking.  They also used that can of pumpkin that had been sitting in my pantry for way to long.  

 Brownie Bites
{adapted Double The Decor via Chocolate-Covered Katie}

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp plus 1/16 tsp salt
2/3 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup, our taste buds are used to less sweet around here. Could also use 1/2 cup maple syrup, according to Chocolate-Covered Katie)
1/2 cup of pumpkin
3 T oil (I used coconut oil)
2 T non-dairy milk (or dairy if you’d like)
11/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 330 degree and grease a mini-muffin pan.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, then add wet to dry and mix well.  Scoop mixture into muffin pan and bake for about 10 minutes, but check with a toothpick first to make sure they are done.  Let cool and enjoy!

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GF, Vegan & Raw/ RECIPES/ Sweets

Raw Cookie Dough Bites

Another great Pinterest recipe that I will make often!  I’ve made it twice in 2 weeks already.

Now, I made the mistake of calling it cookie dough to my girls because they were expecting super duper sweet and creamy cookie dough. 2 of the 3 were disappointed with the results, but my youngest and I LOVE THEM. They are somewhat sweet, but there is some texture to them.  I love that there is a touch of sweet, a touch of salt, and the texture makes me very happy.  They mix up in minutes, no baking, and are a great fix for when I want a treat.  They are unrefined, whole grain, and no sugar!  Whoop!!

Raw Cookie Dough Bites
{adapted from A Dash Of Compassion}

2/3 cup raw walnuts
2/3 cup raw almonds {my second batch, I used ALL raw cashews instead of almonds and walnuts. Yum!}
2/3 cup oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup raw agave nectar {I used honey, was out of agave}
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 Tbls mini chocolate chips, or cocoa nibs {I used vegan dark chocolate chips}

In a food processor, process nuts, oats, cinnamon and salt to a fine meal.

Add agave (or honey) and vanilla and process to combine.  Add chocolate chips, and process to combine.

Roll into balls (about 1 Tbls each).  Store in refrigerator.

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I like to use my small cookie scoop, then my hands to roll into balls.  It keeps them very uniform.

Today's Creative Blog

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RECIPES/ Sweets

Easy Crockpot Applesauce

Next time you are at the grocery store, grab an extra bag of apples and make Applesauce in the crockpot.  You will not regret it.  Not only will your home smell apple-cinnamony amazing, but you won’t ever want to go back to jarred applesauce again!
When I was sick and meals were being brought, one that dish that really stood out to me was simple, homemade applesauce.  It just tasted so REAL and good.  It made the best dessert, sweet but not overly sweet.
Despite having my energy back, I continue to find ways to make things simple around here.  That is why I love this recipe.  It is simple, smells great, involves fruit, and is a great after school snack or dessert around here, which is why I don’t really mind the added sugar.  Also, to keep it REALLY simple, I usually don’t slice my apples as thin as the pic below.  I borrowed a friends apple “peeler, slicer, corer” for that.  Now I just cut my apples up in chunks.  They take longer to cook, but I use a hand blender to chop it up into a chunky applesauce, and it ends up perfect.
Try it, you will love it!
Easy, Crockpot Applesauce
{recipe from Katy @ The Cutting Back Kitchen}
Ingredients
3 pound bag of apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)(or in chunks, see above)
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (or other sweetener)
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup water
Instructions
Place your apple slices in the bottom of a Crockpot.  (If you don’t have a Crockpot, you can make it on the stove.) Top with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Add the water. (I always just make sure to add enough water to cover the bottom of the Crockpot.)    Cook the applesauce on low for 4-6 hours or until apples are tender.  Once the apples are tender, mash them with a potato masher for a chunkier consistency.  For a smoother consistency, mix in blender.
This is more an idea, than an exact recipe you need to stick to.  I try to keep mine pretty low in sugar, but if you like yours sweeter add some more.  Sometimes I add a handful of frozen berries to add some color and lend a slightly different flavor.  Get creative!
Freezing Instructions
I just package mine in quart sized freezer bags.   Thaw and enjoy!
Katy at the Cutting Kitchen is a great blog to go explore.  Her tagline is “Big Flavors On A Bland Budget.” Love that!

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