nutella mug cake

Ever have that sweet tooth craving that you just can't seem to satisfy after supper? You don't really want to bake a whole cake, or make a whole pie, or an entire batch of cookies. You really just want a single serving of something tasty. Well, look no further, you've found the solution! This sweet treat takes less than 5 minutes to make from start to finish and is melt in your mouth good! And if you don't like nutella, feel free to leave it out. You can't really even taste it, but I think it makes the cake extra moist.

what you'll need:

• 4 Tbsp. self-rising flour
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 3 Tbsp. canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. nutella
• an extra large mug

how you'll do it:

put all ingredients in your mug and mix well with fork

put in microwave for 1 min; take out and stir

put in for another 30-60 seconds as you watch it rise

be sure to watch it because if it cooks too long it will be dry, 

and a dry cake is no good 

if all goes well, it will look something like this:

now pour yourself a glass of ice cold milk and enjoy!

recipe adapted from Family Kitchen

cauliflower fritters

I know, the name itself sounds daunting for some. I mean, cauliflower?! I don't think this vegetable lives on the "top 5 favorite" list of most of us, especially kids. But this recipe could be the turning point for that! I'm not kidding. When Ryan mentioned that he would like to eat more vegetables (and he meant more variety from my broccoli-potatoes-and-zucchini favorites to a fault, ahem...whoops!) I completely agreed! Always searching for something new, I stumbled across this recipe at Skinnytaste while searching for the perfect Green Monster smoothie recipe. I adapted it to what I had on hand, and I'll never look back.

I am a fan of cauliflower.

Okay fine, maybe that's stretching it since I've only eaten it once, disguised in cheese-y, whole wheat-y, spice-y goodness. But I'm at least willing to try it again. ;)

what you'll need:

• 4 cups cauliflower
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2-3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 3 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. dill weed
• sea salt, to taste
• less than 1/4 hot water
• 1/2 cup olive oil

how you'll do it:

cut up your head of cauliflower to about 4 cups worth

 steam cauliflower

coarsely chop the cooked cauliflower with a knife

mix everything together but the water and oil

 add water a little bit at a time as needed to make the "batter" a little sticky

let oil get hot in skillet and cook until each side is golden brown

yields 24 fritters

YUM!! 

Side note: I am not good at seeing how much a recipe yields and toning it down for the two of us, and this recipe was reminder of that. If you are cooking for 2-4 people, take it from me and cut this recipe in half! I now have a bag full of these fritters in my freezer hoping they will be freezer friendly and that I didn't accidentally waste perfectly good ingredients.

Update: I thawed and baked some of these last night for supper after freezing my excess and they were just as good as the first night I made them-maybe even better because they seemed a little crispy/crunchy. This is definitely a freezer friendly recipe!

menu plan: week of may 27

This week doesn't involve to much cooking because I took the whole week off to celebrate our anniversary, and we have an adventure packed week! Still, I will let you know what's going on:

breakfasts:
whole wheat waffles
granola bars
smoothies
special k cereal

lunches:
leftovers
subway
smoothies
packed lunch
lunch on the road

suppers:
cookout with friends
jumbalya (fireside)
chicken cordon blue
out to eat x3
freezer meal if needed

the thing

This is Ryan's favorite summer dessert to make (and it's usually in high demand when we sign up to bring dessert to our Bible study group!) Only 3 ingredients makes this dessert super simple and almost too easy. But the consistency of the cool whip mixed with the ice cream is a dream!

what you'll need:

• 1/2 gallon natural vanilla ice cream
• 1 small tub of cool whip
• 1 package oreos

how you'll do it:

get your ingredients ready

put the ice cream in large bowl and let it get melty

crush oreos

add oreos to ice cream bowl; then top with cool whip

stir together

then, put in freezer and let freeze completely

now it's ready to serve!

This cool, creamy dessert is definitely a favorite on hot summer nights!

whole wheat waffles

After supper tonight I whipped up a quick batch of these whole wheat waffles, which means that I got to use our brand new, beautiful waffle iron for the first time since we've been married! Needless to say, we don't cook waffles for breakfast very much. But, Eggo waffles are a favorite of ours to pop in the toaster and top with Nutella for a quick favorite. So I go to thinking, there has to be a cheaper, healthier way. And about that time, MoneySavingMom posted her recipe for freezer friendly waffles. Talk about perfect timing! Hers are big fluffy Belgian waffles, but my waffle iron makes thin, slightly-crispy/crunchy ones like Eggos which is fine by me.

what you'll need:

• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 oil or melted butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

how you'll do it:

in separate bowls, mix dry and wet ingredients

 pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and combine thoroughly

note: batter will be really thin; this freaked me out a little, but they cooked just fine

pour about 1 cup batter into waffle iron and let it cook

 

 yield: 6 waffles

Freezer directions: lay waffles out on wire cooling racks so they don't get soggy. Once they are cooled, store in freezer bags. 

To serve: cook in microwave, toaster, or toaster over. I suggest topping with Nutella, peanut butter and a few dark chocolate chips, or a little butter and cinnamon.

I got 6 and about 3/4 waffles out of this batch. Had I thought to take a picture of my first try before I slathered it with Nutella and ate it for dessert, you could have laughed with me at its pitifulness. But, I can assure you what it lacked in looks it made up for in flavor! Enjoy!