S’more Madness

Did you know that August 10th is National S’more Day? Yeah, I didn’t either, but any excuse to eat chocolate is a good one in my book!

No dessert screams summertime more than s’mores. They automatically bring to mind the crackle and smell of a camp fire (and I almost start swatting away imaginary bugs).

I do get bored of the same old thing though. So I hunted around a little for new interpretations of an old classic. Here are some of the yummy treats I found (click the corresponding description below the picture for recipes!):

1 mini cups via A Wedding Story / 2 cake in a jar via How Sweet It Is/ 3 chocolate covered via Jen Loves Kev / 4 cupcakes via Ai Bake Cake / 5 cookie bars via Lovin’ From the Oven / 6 pie via The New York Times Magazine

My mouth was pretty much watering when I finished this essential “research,” so I decided I absolutely had to make some s’mores for Samantha’s post-camp snack (making one for myself too, obvi). I decided the quickest, coolest and easiest option would be the little chocolate dipped sandwiches. But I decided to do them my own way.

Ingredients:

• one graham cracker for each sandwich
• chocolate chips
• marshmallows
• olive oil
• sprinkles

Since it’s so insanely hot out, I was not about to turn on my oven. And forget about an open fire when I’m home alone with my little bean. Lord knows what trouble she’d get us into! Instead, I turned to the next best thing: my toaster oven.

I lined up the ingredients on the tray and baked them at 400°F for a few minutes—as soon as they started smelling roasty and toasty (those are technical terms), I checked on them. When I took them out, they looked like this:

The graham crackers were toasted, the chocolate chips were beginning to melt and the marshmallows were nice and browned. They smelled soooo delicious. Next step? Sandwiching them.

Not thinking (as usual) I grabbed a graham cracker with chocolate chips first and flipped it to put it on top of the marshmallow. Of course, all of my chocolate chips ended up all over the place. It would be smarter to flip the graham cracker with the single sticky ingredient that won’t fly all over the kitchen.

Once we were all sandwiched up, I put the tray in the fridge to cool.

Next up was dipping these yummies in some chocolate. Instead of using a double broiler, I put a couple of handfuls of chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl and threw them in the microwave for 45 seconds. If they’re not quite melted enough, keep putting them in for 30 second intervals. Just make sure you watch them carefully. You don’t want burnt chocolate!

Once they were melted enough, I stirred them until smooth (adding a little bit of olive oil to thin it out). Next, I did a combination of dipping my little sandwiches into the chocolate and spooning chocolate into any bare areas. If you’re going to add sprinkles like I did, you don’t have to worry about being all neat and tidy. The sprinkles are pretty and they hide the mess.

Pop them back in the fridge to let the chocolate cool and harden and you’re done! Yummy, toasty s’mores—without the heat.

And for the record, these tasty snacks are most definitely child approved.

It’s Officially Too Hot to Cook

I should probably start by confessing that I don’t cook too often. My husband loves to cook and I’m not particularly good at it, so he generally does the cooking. Lately, we’ve both been too hot (and grumpy) to find any dinner idea appetizing.

I mean, who wants to add heat to the house when you’re sweating just sitting in front of the TV? Not us! Too often  I’ve settled for peanut butter and jelly and he’s pulled a bag of edamame out of the freezer and eaten that. Not terrible, but not the way we’d like to be eating. We need ideas. Something other than your typical salad.

So, I did what I always do. I took to the internet to search for some yummy options that did not require me (ok, him) to turn on the stove or (god forbid!) the oven. Here’s what I found:

pressed picnic sandwiches via Crepes of Wrath

chilled cantaloupe soup via Food52

BBQ chicken sandwich via Real Simple

Southwestern salad via Real Simple

tapas plate via Real Simple

What are your go-to recipes when you can’t stand the thought of cooking?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Deliciousness

Lately I’ve been trying desperately to curb my massive sweet tooth. I’m trying to cut back on my bad habits (hey chocolate!) and pump more fruits and veggies into my diet. Still, there’s no way I can cut out sweets completely. I would totally lose it and go on a binge reminiscent of that scene in Chocolat where the Comte de Reynaud ends up curled up in the front window of the chocolate shop with his face covered in chocolatey evidence (if you haven’t seen this movie, you must. Gypsy Johnny Depp. Chocolate. French village. Need I say more?!).

Instead, I’m trying to find sinfully delicious options that trick me into thinking I’m having a terrible treat when really, they’re pretty healthy.

Enter the banana-cocoa-peanut butter smoothie my friend Janine told me about. Pinterest is full of similar ideas (I also found this one that I want to try there). What I liked about the one Janine told me about was the addition of peanut butter. If you ask me, chocolate + peanut butter = heaven.

I played around with the recipe a bit and have finally gotten it down pretty well. Here’s what you do:

• 1 frozen banana (when mine start to turn black I peel them, put them into ziplock bags and throw them in the freezer for smoothies)
• 3/4 cup of almond milk
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter (I use Smucker’s Natural. It’s delicious)

Throw it all in the blender (I recommend putting the milk in before the cocoa or peanut butter to make sure everything mixes nicely) until smooth. You can either drink it immediately OR put it in the freezer for a few hours. I promise you it’s worth the wait.

If you want it a little soft and creamy (think chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Yuuuuuum!) put it in for 3 or 4 hours. If you want to try it as more of an Italian ice, leave it in overnight. If you decide it’s too hard for you, just let it sit out a bit. Honestly, you can’t go wrong. Any way that you eat this is ridiculously tasty.

Do you have any go-to recipes that trick you into thinking they’re sinfully delicious? Please share!!!

Popsicle Lovin’

To me, the start of summer always means popsicles. Nice, cool, fruity bars of deliciousness. Since my daughter has started her end-of-school-year countdown (she is equal parts elated and dramatically depressed about it), summer is breathing down my neck (in case you were wondering, there are 15 school days left after today. Eeeeep!).

So what does one do when trying to face the fact that three months of little to no productivity are heading in your direction? Why get lost in the time warp that is Pinterest, of course, and waste a little more.

Here are some particularly delicious looking popsicle recipes I came across in my travels:

1 tropical smoothie :: 2 Samoa :: 3 strawberry :: 4 strawberry shortcake
5 fresh fruit in water :: 6 Cranberry Cherry

Do you have any favorite popsicle recipes? I’m always on the hunt for a good one!

Food to Fashion

I’m hungry. How about you?

Lauren by Ralph Lauren dress / Dooney & Bourke clutch

Check out Two Peas and Their Pod for the recipe for those yummy looking Chocolate Mint Oreo cookies.

ASOS skirt / Enzo Angiolini pumps

You can get the Betty Crocker dessert pizza recipe here.

Pumpkin Party

via Pinterest here, here, and here

Now that Halloween has come and gone, you have to use up your ridiculously gorgeous decorated pumpkins before they get all nasty on you.

To me, pumpkin is such a deliciously cozy smell and taste. It makes me think of being all curled up under a warm blanket with a chunky knit sweater and a comfy pair of slippers. It’s so comforting!

I’ve been trolling the web for tasty pumpkin recipes and decided to spread the joy of my findings to you:

1 homemade pumpkin pie spice :: 2 pumpkin spice latte :: 3 pumpkin butter :: 4 pumpkin cream cheese muffin :: 5 pumpkin spice cannoli :: 6 pumpkin hummus :: 7 pumpkin pasta :: 8 no bake pumpkin cheesecake sandwich cookies :: 9 pumpkin spice cupcakes for two :: 10 pumpkin Nutella cupcakes

Don’t they all make your mouth water? From sweet to savory, I kind of need to try them all! I might just have to have a pumpkin party.

Do you have any favorite pumpkin recipes for me to try?

Awesome Sauce Blog Spotlight: 52 Kitchen Adventures

I love discovering awesome new-to-me blogs. They offer a fresh perspective and can really get you to look at things (whether it be fashion, home decorating, cooking or parenting) in a new light.

Knowing how excited I get when I happen upon a fabulous blog, I thought I’d share my discoveries with you from time to time in a series I’ve decided to call the Awesome Sauce Blog Spotlight (mostly because I love Parks and Recreation and that’s what one of the characters tells his girlfriend when she says I love you for the first time).

Today I bring you 52 Kitchen Adventures.

Stephanie started the blog as a New Year’s resolution. She decided to try out one strange ingredient each week for an entire year and share her crazy ride with whoever was willing to read about it. That year has come and gone and Stephanie continues to share yummy recipes–lots of which are great ideas for making things at home that you usually buy at the store.

I’m loving this super easy homemade magic shell recipe. My brothers and sister and I used to loooove this stuff as kids…

via 52 Kitchen Adventures

Recipe:

• 7 oz. of your favorite chocolate, roughly chopped
• 2 T coconut oil

In a heat-proof bowl, place chocolate and coconut oil in microwave. Heat 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until fully melted. (Or, in a double boiler, heat chocolate and coconut oil over water on medium high heat, stirring frequently until fully melted.) Set aside to cool. Pour over ice cream.

Store in air-tight container in refrigerator. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds before use.

How simple (and inexpensive!) is that? Be sure to check out 52 Kitchen Adventures for more great recipes like Chocolate Nutella Cupcakes and slow cooked Spinach Lasagna.

Need to Try: Canolli-Stuffed French Toast Nuggets

I’m kind of in love with Lisa Lillien right now. Who is she, you ask? She’s the woman behind Hungry Girl, a brand that started as a daily email to her friends and family and has blossomed into New York Times bestselling cookbooks and a show on The Food Network.

via Cooking Channel

Lillien basically shows you how to eat delicious foods while cutting out some of the calories because, as she says on her website, “she is obsessed with food– how wonderful it is, and how much of it she can eat and still fit into her pants.”

I caught a piece of her show this weekend while I sat for a second to feed the baby. She was making cannoli-stuffed french toast nuggets that made my mouth water. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a huge fan of french toast and a huge fan of dessert (hence, my love of brunch!). The combination of these two things makes me shake with glee!

So instead of rambling incoherently, here is the delicious recipe and all of its glorious details (click the link for a printer-friendly version on the Hungry Girl website):

Cannoli-Stuffed French Toast Nuggets

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 228 calories, 6.5g fat, 395mg sodium, 31g carbs, 3g fiber, 10.5g sugars, 12.5g protein — PointsPlus® value 6*

Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 5 minutes (MAKES 1 SERVING)

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. fat-free ricotta cheese
• 2 tsp. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
  

  via Hungry Girl

• 1 no-calorie sweetener packet (like Splenda or Truvia)
• 1 light hot dog bun with about 80 calories (like the kind by Sara Lee)
• 1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)
• 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar
• Optional topping: sugar-free pancake syrup

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, chocolate chips, 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, and sweetener, and mix well.
• Split hot dog bun open lengthwise, without fully separating the two halves. Spoon ricotta mixture onto the bottom half of the bun. Gently press the top half down over the filling. Carefully slice into four “nuggets” and set aside.
• Mix egg substitute, cinnamon, and remaining 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add butter and allow to coat the bottom of the skillet.
• Meanwhile, coat each nugget on all sides with the egg mixture. (You won’t need to use all of the egg mixture.)
• Once butter has melted, place nuggets in the skillet and, flipping occasionally, cook until golden brown on all sides, 3 – 4 minutes.
• Plate your nuggets and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Top with syrup, if you like. Enjoy!

Sinfully Delicious (Yet Low Fat) Dessert

My husband turns up his nose, but bear with me here.

It’s sweet. It’s salty. It’s creamy and crunchy. How can you really go wrong?

Better yet, a serving of the ice cream is only 3.5 grams of fat so as long as you are well behaved in the portion control part of your little dessert, it’s a guiltless indulgence.

I use sugar free syrup because I’m hypoglycemic and syrup makes me have a major sugar crash later on. But there’s no reason why you can’t use the infinitely more delicious pure maple syrup if you don’t have any sugar issues (again though, portion control!)

As a chocolate lover I didn’t think I’d love this concoction as much as I do. It totally hit the spot on this steamy evening!

Yum.

Brunchaholic

"Brioche French Toast" by Ralph Daily

One of my best friends and I have decided that the definition of brunch is breakfast eaten with a dessert.

For us, it usually means whole wheat french toast with strawberries and whipped cream and a side of well-done bacon followed by a delicious piece of pie (we usually get two different kinds and end up picking at both).

She sips her coffee and I sip my mint tea while we listen to the endless chatter of my always talkative five-year old. It’s fantastic!

While we generally have brunch between breakfast and lunch, the most important part of it is that it’s a decadent combo of yummy breakfast food followed by a sinfully delicious treat (at least according to us!).

"Breakfast" by Jackie Rueda

With this essential piece of info in mind, I’ve decided to invite my mom over for brunch tomorrow, giving me a rational excuse to eat french toast and a sweet treat side by side.

The Food Network’s Ellie Krieger has an awesome (healthy!) french toast bake recipe in one of her books:

Ingredients

• 1 large whole wheat baguette
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup low fat milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 cups sliced peaches (I usually substitute berries)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (1 1/2 tablespoons)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

1. Spray 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray
2. Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices and arrange in a single layer in the pan
3. Whisk eggs, milk, vanilla in a small bowl and pour mixture over bread
4. Toss peaches with lemon juice and 1 tablespoon brown sugar, scatter on top
5. Combine remaining brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top
6. Cover and refrigerate overnight
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (while trying not to drool too much at the smell)

"French Macaroons" by Marianne Lo Manaco

She also has a Blueberry Almond French Toast recipe that’s similar and sounds equally delicious!

Now I just have to decide what to do for dessert!

Brownies? Cupcakes with vanilla frosting and coconut? Some of those  yummy popsicles I’ve yet to try?

The possibilities are endless, but I’m too hungry to decide right now!

If you have any delicious dessert ideas, leave them below!

"Les Voyeurs" by Little Brown Pen