Paleo Pumpkin-Apple Muffins

Usually, by this time of year, I would have gone through about 10 cans of pumpkin.  All of the bloggers I follow have been cooking pumpkin EVERYTHING and it all looks so delicious and wonderful.  Finally, I am joining the bandwagon.  I have been tweaking a recipe for some Paleo Muffins.  I was going to make apple muffins, but then I thought… “Apple + Pumpkin…” and these muffins were born!

These muffins are a bit more dense and have a slightly different consistency than a traditional wheat flour muffin, mainly due to the pumpkin and the coconut flour.  They are slightly sweet, but not overly sweet.  If you like them sweeter, then you could always add one more tablespoon of honey, although I have not tested them with 5 tablespoons.I would say they are slightly sweeter than a corn muffin.  I added a pat of real butter to mine (not Paleo) and that made these muffins even better.  I decided to have the husband taste-test them, just because I know he is a pickier eater (sorry Honey, but you know it is true) and he gave it a thumbs-up. 

 

Paleo Pumpkin-Apple Muffins

(adapted from Cindy’s Table’s recipe, found here.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour (found at Earth Fare or other health food stores)
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 can or pure pumpkin
• 1 apple, chopped (I left the skin on mine)
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 4 Tablespoons raw honey
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, spices, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, combine the other ingredients and mix well.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Divide evenly into 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Note: these do not rise like regular muffins, so you can fill the muffin cups to just below the tops.

I think next time, I may try a plain apple version of these.  I think that could be a delicious alternative. 

 

In other news, I just signed up to run in one of my favorite 5K Events: The Reindeer Romp!  I’ve been running some on the weekends and it feels good to be running again.  Since I have not been running as often, I am a little slower (3 miles in about 39-40 minutes) but I am hoping to improve it just a tad before the run on December 1.  I have run this race for several years, and it is always lots of fun.

(Ryan and Me in 2010)

This race is a part of Rock Hill’s annual Christmasville Festival.  I LOVE Christmasville!After the race, there are all sorts of fun events to help get you in the holiday spirit, including:

• ice skating
• carolers
• gingerbread house contests
• chili and soup cookoff
• storytime and crafts with Santa

and more!  If you are local, I have to say that this is one of the best events for kids!  I can’t wait!  You can click here to view one of my previous posts from Christmasville. 

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?  The weather was absolutely beautiful here in South Carolina! It was crisp at night and in the morning, but during the day it was so gorgeous!  We’ve really enjoying the wonderful fall weather. 

Look, it’s fall, y’all! 

She can’t help it.  The child sees a pile of leaves and she had to go jump in them and give herself a leaf shower.  To be a kid again, right?  It’s not as much fun to watch this as a mom and think, what bugs (or worse) might be hiding under that leaf pile?!

This weekend was great.  I was able to squeeze in a 3-mile walk/run on Saturday morning.  I’m going to try and do some more running this fall/winter.  I hate running outside when it is hot.  I love when it is nice and cool. 

Saturday breakfast: breakfast bowl.  In the mix: spicy sausage, sweet potato, gala apples, and onion.

Then we decided to head to the aquatic center for family swim that afternoon.  By the end of the summer, Sadie was swimming so well that we wanted to make sure she didn’t lose it.  At the end of the summer, she was able to throw a diving stick in the pool and then retrieve it from the bottom.  She was so proud of herself!  I was really worried that she would be frustrated now, having been away from the pool for a few months.

 

However… it was like she never left!  Ryan and I were both amazed!  She was like a little fish again!

On Sunday morning, we went to a delicious brunch at church.  It was nice to be able to spend time with friends catching up.  I was busy taking pictures for the church website and newsletter, but I managed to get a friend to snap a pic of our little family. 

 

On Sunday, I actually had some time to bake.  I haven’t done much baking since adjusting to being “Mostly-Paleo,” since most baking requires wheat flour.  However, I had found a new recipe for sweet potato brownies that I wanted to try which called for coconut flour.  I finally was able to find coconut flour at Earth Fare.  It’s expensive… but man, does it smell DELICIOUS!  It’s the first flour I have ever opened and wanted to taste!  (I didn’t.) 

 

These brownies turned out good taste-wise… very chocolatey and sweet and rich.  However, even after baking them for close to an hour, they didn’t really take on that cake-like texture I was looking for.  I think it might have to do with me doubling the recipe.  I think I will work on these a bit to try and perfect them a bit and try again.  I am thinking if I add a little more coconut flour, that may help. 

So hopefully soon I will have a Sweet Potato brownie recipe to share with you all! 

For now, I am taking the philosophy that even an imperfect brownie is better than no brownie at all! ;)

Have a great week, friends!

Lemonade Cupcakes

It sure does feel weird to be publishing a post at 9 a.m. rather than late at night!  I am home with a sick kiddo today.  You know, I always hate for her to be sick, but there’s something so sweet about a sick child.  They are so cuddly and pitiful. 

Yesterday when I published my pasta salad idea, I told you I had a cupcake recipe to share as well.  Hello, lemonade cupcakes!

This was a last-minute dessert idea that I had yesterday when shopping for items for our tailgate/picnic.  On the way to the grocery store, I was thinking about making cupcakes, but I wanted to make a “summery” cupcake.  I knew I had seen lemonade cupcakes on various blogs and probably on Pinterest, too.  But I had never pinned a recipe or bookmarked one.  When I arrived at the store, I quickly Googled “lemonade cupcakes” and I came across this recipe.

It had pretty good reviews AND it was a more of a “sorta-homemade” cupcake, which suited me just fine.  (Sorta Homemade=packaged ingredients with a few items added in.)  Since the picnic was in just a few hours, I wasn’t looking for a very long or complicated recipe. 

This was very simple and easy.  I didn’t make many changes.  The only thing I did differently from the original recipe was add about a teaspoon of the lemonade concentrate to the cream cheese frosting, just to give it a little more lemon flavor. 

I wanted them to look like a glass of lemonade, so I added yellow sugar crystals, yellow straws, and a tiny lemon slice to the top.  :)

The cupcakes had good flavor and really did taste like lemonade!  Give these a try if you need to make a dessert for a party or gathering this summer!

I’ve already got another post ready to go for tomorrow about a special condiment that most of you have probably not tried.  I’m going to keep it a secret for now… but if you are a hot dog fan… then you are going to want to try this out! Stay tuned for details!

Readers: What is your favorite food to take to a picnic or tailgate gathering?

Easy Mini Cinnamon Roll-Ups

Hi friends!

First of all, I have noticed that we have some new readers, followers, and commenters lately! Welcome!  I am so glad you all have stopped by!  I hope that you all have gotten your week off to a great start!  I just realized that I am starting the 3rd week of Eat-In Month!  So far, it has gone really well!  I think they key for us is having a well-stocked pantry and fridge during the week.  That keeps us from having to make last minute take-out arrangements.

Tonight I have a quick breakfast (or dessert!) recipe to share with you.  I am not even sure that I would call this a recipe because it is so simple!  But these Easy Mini Cinnamon Roll-Ups came together in a snap tonight.  I have been planning these out in my head for about a week.  And over the past few days a few of my blog friends have posted similar ideas.  Click for Diana’s and Lisa’s recipes for cinnamon rolls.  I wanted to make a version that would be soft and doughy, sticky sweet, but not over-the-top on Points.  I had a leftover container of Pillsbury Reduced-Fat Crescent Rolls and the rest of these ingredients I would almost guarantee that you have in your pantry!  So this is a $2 (or less) breakfast that will feed 4-6 people!

Easy Mini Cinnamon Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

(for rolls)

• 1 can Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls (8 rolls)
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

(for glaze)

• 5 Tbsp 10x powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp fat free milk
• pinch of cinnamon

Preparation:

Remove rolls from packaging.  Cut each roll in half, yielding 16 long rolls.  Brush each roll with melted butter.  Mix granulated sugar with cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over all 16 rolls.  Roll them up and place on nonstick baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until rolls are golden and fluffy. 

While rolls are baking, mix milk, sugar, and cinnamon to create a thin sweet glaze.  Set aside.

Allow rolls to cool slightly and then drizzle quick glaze over each.  Enjoy!

Mmmmm!  My kitchen smells so good after baking these!  They are nice and sweet and sticky—just like cinnamon rolls should be!  AND they are only 2 Points each!

For those of you who were lucky enough to have the day off today, I hope you enjoyed it!  I didn’t have to work, but I did sub a Zumba class tonight and  it was fabulous!  I think I earned at least 2 of these little rolls!  ;)

Dixie-Style Dining: Butter Cookies

Friends, I learned something today.  Actually, I learned a few things. 

1.  Glee Season 2 is now available on Netflix!  Yes!  I had so much fun watching Season 1 this summer, and I was dying to see Season 2.  AND right now we are watching the Britney Spears episode.  Oh yeah.  It’s awesome.  I totally wish I could go back in time and be in Glee Club.  Well, only if it was THIS Glee Club.

2.  A cookie press is the coolest thing ever.  You can make so many fun shapes with this tool.

3.  You know how sometimes you bite into a cookie and it’s light and sweet and crunchy and amazing?  Well, I learned the secret to that.  It’s BUTTER. 

Every year, my grandmother would make tons of Christmas cookies.  She made chocolate chip, peanut, and butter cookies in various shapes.  She made gobs and gobs of them.  Every day she would refill the cookie platter and we never. ran. out.  Seriously, no matter how many guests we had or how many we ate… there were always more. 

Several months ago, as we were going through my grandparents’ things, I found my grandmother’s cookie press.  As I sorted through the little discs that make different shapes, I found the flower and tree I remembered, and I knew I had to have the press.  I always wanted to get one, but it’s so much more special to have my grandmother’s.  As I was making these cookies today, it was a special feeling knowing that this was how she made these cookies.

It was only fitting that I used her butter cookie recipe, too.

Dixie’s Butter Cookies

Now, let me be clear here.  These are in no way healthy or very good for you… but they are good for your soul and I promise you that they will melt in your mouth.  They are light and crunchy and have a rich buttery, sweet flavor.  You could probably make any shape cookie, but I used a cookie press to make little tree-shaped cookies.  I topped mine with green sprinkles to make them extra special!  I also made only half of this batch and made approximately 3-4 dozen cookies with it.  The recipe below is for a full batch.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. butter
• 2 cups sugar (I used white granulated)
• 4 egg yolks
• 6 cups flour (I used unbleached all-purpose)
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 12 tsp (or 1/4 cup) milk (I used skim)

Prep:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together.  Add egg yolks and vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder.  Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Blend.  Add 1/2 the milk.  Mix.  Add another 1/3 of the flour, and then mix.   Add rest of milk.  Mix.  Finally add the rest of the flour and mix.  Shape cookies and cake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (the time really depends on the size of the cookie) until the edges are golden.  Cool and enjoy!

Who wants cake??? How about FREE cake??? (Giveaway!)

So... I had a complete brain burst yesterday!  I posted about my Cream Cheese Cherry Cake yesterday.  Did you see it?  If not... click here to view!



This cake was very easy to make, but it was delicious!  Light and fluffy cake with sweet cream cheese filling and decadent cherry topping.  (Don't tell... but I may even eat cake for lunch today!)

So what was my brain burst?  I completely forgot that I was doing a giveaway so that you could make a delicious cake of your own!!! 

I have 4 coupons for free Duncan Hines products.  I am giving away two sets of two coupons.  Why two coupons in a set?  You can use the coupons for cake mix, icing, or the new Glazes that DH has on the grocery shelves now!  So you can have cake AND icing!  (Which... let's face it... is the best part anyway, right?) 

So... you could be the lucky winner of two coupons to make a cake this holiday season!

How can you win?  You can enter up to three times.

1.  For one entry, leave a comment on this post telling me what kind of cake you'd make!
2.  For a second entry, share this giveaway post on Facebook.  (Leave a separate comment telling me that you did this.)
3.  For a third entry, you can tweet about this giveaway on Twitter!  Just share the link with your Twitter followers.  (Leave a separate comment telling me you did this.)

So there you go!  Three chances to win free cake and icing!  I'll randomly draw two winners on Friday afternoon.  Check back to see if you are the winner!

(Thanks to Foodbuzz and Duncan Hines for the coupons!  I received these coupons as a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.)

Sometimes Cake is Necessary.

Do you ever have a day where cake is not only welcome but necessary?  Today was one such day for me.  Not so much the whole entire day… but just the afternoon.  The plan for this afternoon? 

1.  Get home and find fun package waiting at door.

2.  Go to the Gym.

3.  Run.

4.  Make dinner with roasted red potatoes.  (Or mashed potatoes.)

5.  Relax.

 

The actual afternoon activities?

 

1.  Get home and open package.  Realize all the contents are listed on packing slip but half of them are not in the actual box.  (Including the one item needed immediately.)

2.  Spend 2 hours on the phone with multiple customer service reps.

3.  Drive to Charlotte to get item that was supposed to be in the box. 

4.  Enjoy dinner with hubs and Sadie at The Flying Biscuit.  (Silver Lining!)

5.  Make cake.  (Because sometimes cake is necessary.)

 

As a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, sometimes I receive sample items to try out and provide feedback.  Recently, I was lucky to be chosen to receive Duncan Hines cake mix and a can of Comstock fruit filling.  I knew I wanted to do something with the cherry filling.  Cherry pie has always been one of my favorite desserts!  I wanted to make something using both the cake mix and the filling, so I decided on this layered cherry-cream cheese cake.

Ingredients:

1 box of Duncan Hines White Cake Mix (prepare batter as directed)

1 package light cream cheese

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 can Comstock Cherry Pie Filling (I think strawberry would work well, too!)

 

Prep:

Pour cake batter into two small baking dishes, equally splitting the batter.  (I used two loaf pans.)

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

While baking, mix cream cheese and sugar.  Let the mixture sit at room temperature to soften.  (This helps it to be “spreadable.)

Slice the rounded top off of each cake—so that they are flat layer cakes. 

Spread cream cheese mix over top of one cake.  Top with other cake.  (Save the rounded tops to eat later at a stressful moment.)

(If you’re in a hurry—it’s ok if you do a sloppy job.)

Slice and serve with filling on top!

 

Let cake cool completely.

 

Eat cake instead of writing dirty email to company who forgot your items.  (Do that tomorrow instead.)

Gobble Gobble!

To all my American readers, I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We sure did have a fun (but busy!) day!  Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays.  I know what you’re thinking… surprise, surprise… I love the food!  And it’s true.  I do love the food.  If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know this.  But I also just love the time together with family and friends.

I love doing “look-backs!”  If you want to read about last year’s Thanksgiving, just click here and here!

This year, we had our normal double-dose of Thanksgivings.  We usually have a lunch with Ryan’s family and then dinner with my family.  I love how everyone gets so excited to make his or her “specialty” item.  Thanksgiving is so neat because everyone brings dishes together with family history. 

What did I make?

Sadie and I made three pumpkin pies this year.  She was such a good little kitchen-helper and she was so proud of our pies.  We use the Libby’s Famous Pumpkin Pie recipe.  I’ve tried other recipes, but honestly, Libby’s recipe is so delicious and perfect that I always use it.  And it is so simple! 

 

 

Do you like pumpkin pie?  I love it.  Thanksgiving just wouldn’t be right without it!  Or at least, it wouldn’t seem right to me. 

My other contribution this year to both Thanksgiving feasts was my Memama’s Macaroni and Cheese.  It’s one of my Dixie-Style Dining recipes, and you can find it here.  I made a few adjustments.  This time, I did not use whole wheat pasta.  I like WW pasta, but I thought that since I was using white cheddar, the white pasta would look better.  I used Vermont Sharp White cheese (Cracker Barrel brand) and I loved the switch.  I also slightly changed the crust.  I used a mix of regular and panko seasoned breadcrumbs on the top.  I think that gave it a crunchier crust. 

It’s simple: layer noodles, then cheese, then noodles, then cheese, then noodles, then cheese.  Add milk until you can barely see it peeking through the noodles.  Then breadcrumbs on top with pats of butter.  (1/4 to 1/3 of a stick is plenty for one casserole dish.)  Bake at 350 or 375 for 30-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and crispy and your kitchen smells like heaven.

We enjoyed our day with family and friends and of course we ended the day feeling completely STUFFED.

We have so much to be thankful for—health, a warm home to live in, family nearby… we truly have everything we need and then some.  This year, I have several friends who are facing some serious health issues and my heart goes out to them.   

We missed having my grandparents with us this year.  I think every holiday will be bittersweet for us… we miss them so much.  But we’re so glad they are together. 

So now… we’re enjoying coffee and rest… and I am sure we’ll have some more fun family time later.  We typically don’t get caught up in the Black Friday madness… but we may hit up a store or two once things have calmed down a bit. 

How about you?  Did you hit up the 3 a.m. deals?