Homemade Marshmallows

I tried a new recipe for my family baking day last Saturday...Homemade marshmallows! I was a bit apprehensive...thinking that they would be soo sticky, messy and time consuming...but they weren't AT ALL! They were so delicious and I know that I will be making them all winter to go on top of a mug of hot chocolate. Here's the recipe!

Homemade Marshmallows

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

1 cup of cold water, divided

2 cups sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

Line a 9X13" pan with foin and spray with cooking spray. In your mixer bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of water; set aside. In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining water. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Cook without stirring until a candy thermometer ready 240 degrees. Remove from the heat and gradually add to the gelatin. Beat on high speed until mixture is thick and volume doubled, about 15 minutes or so. Beat in the vanilla. Spread into a prepared pan (you're going to want to spray your spatula with cooking spray so that everything doesn't stick to it!). Cover and let sit for 6 hours or overnight. Using foil, lift marshmallows out of the pan. With a knife or pizza cutter coated with cooking spray cut into 1" squares.

Feel free to dip them into garnishes or drizzle with toppings!

**Variation** To make mini marshmallows, put mixture into a ziploc bag and cut the corner off. Make your own designs, and enjoy!

Once they were cut, I made sure to shake them in a bag of powdered sugar so they didn't stick together. Make sure to do it in batches though!

These are so good you're not going to be able to stop eating them!

Pumpkin oatmeal

I've been trying to eat healthier within the past...year or so, since whatever I eat, the little mister eats too! So that means more vegetables and fruits, more whole foods and less processed. That also means trying a lot of new things! I've never been a vegetable eater, and still have a really hard time eating them raw. Recently though, I've found that they are really good when they are roasted, or hidden in something else! Back to the roasted (I'll get to the pumpkin oatmeal in a minute!), one night I came home from the grocery store with yukon gold potatoes, carrots and a sweet potato. The carrots and yukon gold potatoes were nothing unusual, but the sweet potato was! I was going to roast them all up with some minced garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. So I diced them all up, mixed them together with the seasonings and popped them in the oven. They smelled really good while they were cooking, and after about 35 min. or so the timer went off. They looked beautiful, but how were they going to taste?? AMAZING! Mike and I ate pretty much the whole pan in one sitting, and I couldn't wait to make more the next day! After the next batch, I actually made them into a super easy soup...(just blend them up with some chicken stock until you get the consistency that you want), with homemade croutons! It was so good, and I think that it will become a weekly meal in our house this winter!

Now, onto the pumpkin oatmeal. I always thought that I didn't like pumpkin until this past week or so when I told myself that I would try it. It's so good for you-full of fiber, vitamin c, and low in all of the bad things! So here's a recipe that I tried, and adapted a little bit:

Pumpkin oatmeal:

1/2 C milk

1/8 C brown sugar (You can use honey, it will just make it stickier)

1/8 C pumpkin puree (a few spoonfuls)

1/2 tsp vanilla

a few sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice (or just cinnamon)

1/2 C oats

1 tsp peanut butter (optional)

dried fruit and nuts

maple syrup, for serving

Mix milk, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and spices in a pan until boiling. Stir in oatmeal and cook until creamy. Add peanut butter.

Sprinkle with nuts and dried fruit and serve with maple syrup!

Enjoy!

5-ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Ok, I have never been a huge fan of peanut butter cookies, but I have not been able to stop eating them today! These cookies are so easy, you really only need a bowl and a spoon (and a fork to criss cross them!).

Here's the recipe:

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

A pinch of Salt

Mix ingredients together. Use a tablespoon of dough and form a ball. Press down with a fork to make a criss cross pattern. Bake for 10-12 min. at 350 degrees.

**Variation**

I actually like them better this way!

Instead of making a criss cross pattern, push down in the middle with your thumb to make a small well. Fill well with your choice of jam or jelly (I used black raspberry preserves and they were AWESOME!) Bake at 350 degrees and 10-12 min.

Also, here's another recipe that I tried this weekend, and it's so healthy and delicious!

Lack of time!

I have a few new recipes that I want to try today and tomorrow...hopefully my little mister will let me have an hour to whip them up!

Homemade pop tarts

I love pop tarts...but I don't love how much sugar is in them, not to mention all of the ingredients I've never heard of! So Saturday morning, I decided to make them. Holy cow. They were so good, Mike and I couldn't help but eat one each...and then share another!

Whisk together

2 C flour

1 Tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

Work in 1 C of very cold butter cut into pieces. Dough should look be the size of peas when you are finished.

Whisk together 2 Tbsp Milk and 1 egg

Add to flour mixture (May need to knead it a little bit).

Here's how they started out:

It forms a dough the consistency of a pie crust (I'm using my grandma's rolling pin!):

After rolling them out to about 1/8" thick, whisk 1 egg and brush over the top of the dough. Cut into rectangles, about 3x4". Fill them with your preserves, but leave some space around the edges so that you can seal them later (We used peach, black raspberry and grape. Black raspberry and peach were awesome-grape was not!):

Seal them up, poke holes in the top, and press the edges down with a fork:

Refrigerate for 30 min. and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 min. until golden brown.

These are so good, you could even eat them as dessert. To finish them off I made a glaze with powdered sugar and water.

They do take some time, but they are soo worth the wait!

Apple Chips

A few months ago I went to the Co-op and bought a bag of apple chips. Now I know that drying fruit makes them less healthy, but really isn't it better than eating a candy bar? I had completely forgotten about them until I stumbled across this blog and found a recipe for them! I've made them a few times, and am trying to experiment with different types of apples. So far, the gala apple has tasted the best, but I'm wondering if a granny smith apple would be even better...and add a slightly sour taste! Anyway, here's the recipe:

Apple Chips

1-2 apples, sliced about 1/8" thick (I actually like mine a little bit thicker!)

Cinnamon

Sugar

Preheat your oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchament paper, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar over top of apples as well (I don't use a lot because apples are pretty sweet anyway!). Bake for 1-2 hours. Check them after an hour-they should be crispy around the edges and a little bit soft on the inner part (They will get crispier when they sit out). Store in an airtight container for a few days.

These are so good-I'm sure they won't last long!

First Post!

Here I am, starting a new blog. My previous attempts at blogging have not gone well, and I think thats because I didn't really have anything to say. I don't have too much to say, but I'm good at finding new recipes and enjoying my favorites and I thought that this would be a good place to share them. Hopefully you will find some that you like, and I hope that they will bring joy to you and your family and friends.

So-here I go. Blog attempt #3!