Roasted Honey Chickpeas

Snack time, we all love snacks whether we're kids or adults. Mid afternoon rolls around and we're reaching for the nearest thing to tide us over until dinner....am I right? In our house snacks mostly consist of fresh fruit, veggies, yogurt, string cheese and maybe the occasional homemade snack or packaged crackers.

It's nice to change it up from time to time. I always feel like we easily get in a rut when it comes to snacks. That's why I'm so excited to share these sweet and crunchy chickpeas with you! While they're not something I ever thought I would enjoy, they are disappearing quickly in our house. And I love the fact that it's a healthy treat.

They do take a little bit of effort to prepare, but not much I promise. The most tedious step is peeling off the outer layer of the beans, which I'm sure is not even required. After a little roasting in the oven, you've got yourself a healthy, slightly sweet and crunchy snack to munch on. Go on give them a try and let me know what you think.

Roasted Honey Chickpeas

Ingredients:
15 oz. can garbanzo beans {chickpeas}
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1-2 tbsp honey

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Rinse and drain beans from can, lay them onto paper towels and pat dry. Then remove the outer layer from each bean, this should easily slip off.

In a small bowl, whisk together oil and cinnamon. Add beans to mixture and toss to coat well. Distribute beans onto a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 40 minutes, or until crunchy.

Remove from oven, transfer to another bowl and toss with honey. Use between one and two tablespoons of honey, based on your preference. I used about 1-1/2 tbsp.

Bake for another 6-7 minutes. Then remove from oven and let cool completely before enjoying.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Do you ever feel like you could use an extra day just to recuperate from the weekend?  This feels like one of those days. We were on the go for the large part of our weekend. Our girls all competed in a city bowling tournament that took place both Saturday and Sunday. They all did wonderful, especially our oldest. She bowled her first 500 series! It was a great milestone to witness her reach.

I did manage to get the house all cleaned up before we took off Saturday, with the help of the whole family. It was nice to come home yesterday to a fairly clean house, makes for a nice Sunday evening I tell ya.

I made these bars the previous weekend for us to enjoy throughout the week. I'd be lying if I told you they were healthy, but I like to think they are a tad more healthy than your typical bar. With a oat crust and a rich fudgy, brownie-like filling; they leave you feeling satisfied without being too sweet.

I honestly wasn't sure what the family would think of them, but each time I came back to the pan for just a small piece, more and more disappeared. The little ones kept asking for a piece here and there. That right there tells me it's a keeper.


Oatmeal Fudge Bars

Ingredients:
for the crust:
1 cup flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil {melted}
2 tbsp melted butter

Filling:
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp melted butter
3 tbsp coconut oil {melted}
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Light grease a 11x8-inch baking pan and set aside.

To make crust, combine flour, oats, brown sugar and baking soda in a bowl. Add in oil and butter, mix together using a fork until mixture is crumbly. Remove 3/4 cup of mixture and set aside. Press the remaining dough into the bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes and remove from oven to cool slightly.

To make filling, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add in milk, butter, oil, vanilla and eggs. Mix together well. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread chocolate batter over oat crust. Sprinkle with the reserved oat mixture. Bake for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let pan cool before cutting into bars.

Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sliders

I admit, I'm probably the last person to try making these sliders. Now that I finally have, they've become a new favorite.

We had these for dinner over the weekend and had just enough meat leftover to use in quesadillas and a couple mini pizzas for my lunch one day. So besides making great little sliders, the meat is awesome to use in other dishes. I'm thinking it would be great to keep on hand in the freezer, easy to thaw and use for various meals.

My husband doesn't always love slow cooker meals, he tends to think chicken especially tastes funny and sometimes dry. Even he was quite surprised at how juicy the chicken stayed, and how flavorful it really was.

With the Super Bowl coming up shortly, I'm sure these would be an awesome addition to your spread. You get all the great flavors of buffalo wings, but without the mess!


Pulled Buffalo Chicken Sliders

Ingredients:
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper
1 cup buffalo wing sauce {I love Cookie's Wings n' Things}
Small cocktail buns
Ranch dressing, if desired

Directions:
Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place chicken in slow cooker, add garlic clove on top. Pour buffalo wing sauce over chicken breasts. Cover and let cook on low for 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred with forks and return to pot so it can soak up all of those juices.

When ready to serve, place shredded chicken on buns, drizzle ranch dressing {or blue cheese} on top if desired.

Italian Veggie and Chicken Soup

I made the most delicious soup last week; it was simple, nourishing, flavorful and totally hit the spot on a cold day. It was the perfect way to use up some of the veggies in our fridge because really, just about anything would taste good in here.

There was just enough for the girls and I to enjoy for dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day. Plus I stashed a small container in the freezer for lunch someday with the daycare kiddos. I'm thinking they will gobble this right up as they are usually fantastic eaters for me!

I'll admit though, my favorite part of the meal? Probably the big hunk of fresh bread we served alongside. Great for soaking up of all of those juices. Nothing beats fresh bread, nothing!

Italian Veggie and Chicken Soup

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 zucchini, diced
2 carrots, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
4-1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup shredded or diced cooked chicken
14.5 oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
15 oz. can white beans, rinsed and drained
2 kale stalks, ribs removed and chopped finely
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp basil

Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add in garlic and let cook for 2 minutes. Next add in chopped zucchini, carrots and bell pepper, stirring often. Let cook for 4 minutes, until slightly softened. Stir in broth, chicken, tomatoes, beans and kale. Add in seasonings and adjust according to taste if necessary. Let mixture simmer for about 15 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with crusty bread if desired.

Chicken Tostadas w/Chipotle Mango Slaw

Last week I shared this photo on facebook, we love tacos or anything similar in our house. They're easy and a dish the girls are always willing to eat.

I love getting creative in the kitchen, combining new flavors and seeing what comes of them. That's exactly what happened with this particular meal. I used ingredients we had on hand and needed used up and it turned out pretty darn good. For the girls I made their portions into actual tacos and didn't include much of the slaw because it did have a little kick to it. Instead adding some of their favorite toppings likes bell peppers.

Chicken Tostadas w/Chipotle Mango Slaw

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
chili powder
smoked paprika
salt and pepper
2 cups coleslaw mix
zest of one lime, plus juice
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped finely
3 tbsp sour cream
1 tsp honey
1 mango, peeled, pitted an cut into chunks
handful of cilantro, chopped
corn tortillas

Directions:
Season chicken breasts liberally with spices, salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, cook chicken until cooked through. Cut into small cubes or shred, set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine lime zest, juice, chipotle chile, sour cream and honey. Add in coleslaw mix, mango and cilantro. Toss ingredients together to combine. Add in a pinch of salt to season.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook tortillas one at a time, about 2 minutes per side, just until crisp and lightly browned. Remove and immediately top with coleslaw mixture and chicken.


So any big plans this weekend? 

I spent part of my evening cleaning out and re-organizing our pantry cupboards. I wrote all contents down so I know exactly what we have on hand. We're gearing up for a spending strike in February. Have you heard of such a thing?

Essentially our family is going to try not to spend any money, outside of paying our bills, throughout the month. I'm working on our "rules" this weekend so we can prepare and everyone knows what to expect. We're not big spenders anyways so it should be fairly painless but a fun little experiment nonetheless. My main goal is to make sure we're using up items in our pantry and freezer so they don't go to waste. I'll be posting more in detail once it gets closer.

For now though, check out Michelle and Kelli's blogs for details on how they're implementing their own strikes for January.

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

This past Fall, at our last farmers market I made sure to stock up on a few things, including winter squash. I've never tried storing them for long periods of time. I'm excited that they've done so well this far, including a box of apples we picked back in October.

But it's time to start using them up, as we've only got a few left anyways.

The girls are still kind of funny about certain veggies, they really do prefer them in the raw state. Until very recently I was the same way for many vegetables. I've gotten so much better and after participating in our first CSA last summer, I crave them! I really miss receiving a boat load of fresh veggies every week.

I did require them to try two bites, two small pieces. I know, I'm mean. It won't hurt them, while they didn't really love the butternut squash, they didn't say it was awful. I'll take it!

I personally loved it. It's sort of sweet from the maple syrup but I love how the garlic really balances out the flavors. It was the perfect addition to our meal on Friday night, Parmesan crusted chicken.


Maple Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash
1 large clove garlic, peeled and halved
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and seed butternut squash, cut into cubes. Place squash and garlic on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, maple syrup and salt and pepper. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven to turn squash using a spatula and then let bake for another 20 minutes. Serve warm with your meal.

Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pull-Apart Bread

New Year's Eve night usually consists of us staying home with the kids and myself making up a few different appetizers for us to munch on. Nothing too fancy, but it works for us and we enjoy staying in where it's warm and not waking up with a headache the next day.

This year the hubby had to work both days...blah! So my side of the family came over to keep the girls and I company for a little bit. We watched the kids dance to their new Just Dance game on the Wii, talked and of course ate. My mom was a lifesaver and brought along most of the food as I had kids all day for daycare. But I did manage to whip up something quick.

I've fallen in love with pull-apart breads, they're fun and really easy to make! I made two kinds that night, this savory bacon, cheddar and ranch kind and then also a sweet bread. While it was good, I need to experiment a little more to perfect that recipe.

I had a hard time finding a regular sized round loaf so I went with these simple bread bowls our local bakery sells. Of course I could have purchased a french loaf and went that way, but round is so much more fun. It's almost like a garlic cheese bread with lots of bacon, so good and yet so simple.  I think the only thing that could have made this better, would to have some sort of dip to serve alongside. Yum!


Bacon Cheddar Ranch Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:
1 small bread bowl
3-4 slices cooked bacon
1 tsp dry ranch seasoning
2 tbsp melted butter
grated cheddar cheese

Directions:
Using a sharp knife cut into bread, criss-crossing but making sure to not cut all the way through the bottom of the loaf.

Sprinkle cheese throughout the loaf, tucking into every nook and cranny. Crumble the bacon and do the same. Mix together melted butter and ranch seasoning in a small bowl. Drizzle all over bread.

Wrap bread in a large piece of foil. Place onto a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Open up the foil and let bake for another 5 minutes, just until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven and serve warm.