Crockpot Applesauce

Posted in Food, Uncategorized by peppermintsandhoneybees

Hey, have you missed me? I’ve been trying to get the motivation to write a post, even thought it really doesn’t take that much time at all. Sometimes when I have a million other little things to do, I put things off even the things I enjoy doing. Since I graduated in July, I have been busy wedding planning, job searching and taking care of some sick family members in Indiana, so needless to say I’ve been busy.

I’m posting this recipe for multiple reasons. One, its super easy, two its healthy, and three it’s so easy I can’t believe I’ve never made it before!

I love anything that I can throw in a crockpot while I do other things. Bonus: it smells amazing!

Here is what you need:

6-8 Apples, diced (with or without skins)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. cinnamon

Add all ingredients to the crockpot and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. I chose to leave the skins on my apples for fiber, but if you do this I would recommend blending it in small portions in a blender. If not, and especially if you like it chunky like I do I would just use a hand masher. I did this and while it was good, the skins were a little much.

I got the original recipe from The Healthy Maven Blog and tweaked it a bit to fit my preferences and crockpot size. Homemade applesauce is tastier than store bought and so cheap and easy to make, it would be a great healthy snack for kids. I love it because its a sweet snack with no added sugar.

Enjoy!

23Dec2015

Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallows

Posted in Food, Holiday by peppermintsandhoneybees

Happy Holidays everyone! I have two parts to this post. First of all I would like to announce that Ben and I are engaged! So actually we have been since the first of November but I was waiting to make it official until we told all of our family and friends in person. Also I didn’t have my ting yet, but anyway yes, this is my good news!
Now on to the absolute easiest Christmas treat recipe you’ll ever find. For these easy chocolate peppermint marshmallows you will need:

Dark chocolate or semi sweet chips
Crushed up peppermints or candy canes
Large marshmallows (I used my favorite vegan brand Dandies)

Just melt your chocolate chips in a double boiler or the microwave. (30 seconds at a time) Then dip half of each marshmallow in the melted chocolate. Next press the chocolate top down into a bowl of crushed mints and put on wax paper to dry. It’s that easy!

3Sep2015

Lemon Mulberry Chia Pudding

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

I’m ashamed to say that even though I’ve been putting chia seeds in my morning smoothies and in my tea and occasionally in Greek yogurt, I haven’t tried to make chia pudding until now. Chia Seeds are packed with nutrients and aid in digestion so they are understandably one of the current health food crazes, but they can also be made into a delicious and healthy dessert. When they get wet they get a gelatinous membrane around them that thickens whatever they are in.

I didn’t realize how easy it was or how many different variations you can make. I found this version from The Healthy Maven. That version was for lemon raspberry chia pudding but I had mulberries instead of raspberries so I improvised and it was still delicious.

The ingredients are:

2 cups coconut milk (or almond milk)
4 1/2 tbsp. chia seeds
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
The juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon
1 cup Mulberries, raspberries or well any type of berries
1 tbsp. honey or agave

Combine all the ingredients into a large container or jar, stir it up, and refrigerate over night.

It will be very runny at first but it’ll thicken up, I promise! Eat it plain or with more fruit and/or granola. You can add anything and I cant wait to try some more versions. I think pomegranate seeds would be good, or maybe strawberry kiwi. Let me know what you come up with!

27Aug2015

Carrot Cookies

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

I actually found this recipe in the little booklet that came with my ninja blender. It looked good (and easy) so I thought I’d give it a try. It looked good and has carrots so its sorta healthy right?

It was super easy and fast to make since I just added all the ingredients and blended them. You definitely don’t need a blender to make these though.

The ingredients are:

3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs of flax eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup grated carrots
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. coconut oil

The last two ingredients I added to the recipe. Just combine everything and drop teaspoon sized amounts onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-12 minutes and that’s it! It was supposed to make 36 but I got about 28. (I made some a little bigger)
These are nice because they aren’t too sweet, although I think they would be good with honey drizzled on them. I was going to take some to work but Ben likes them so much he didn’t what me to! I’ll have to make more. 😉 Anyway, enjoy!

24Aug2015

Roasted Beet Hummus

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

I’ve been super excited all week because we bought a Ninja blender/processor last weekend. It even mixes dough so brace yourselves for the food posts! It’s kind of funny the things I get excited about now that I’m an adult but whatever now I can make more of my own food. It’ll be cheaper (maybe) and healthier!

The first recipe I tried out was for this beet hummus. Now if you don’t like beets this probably won’t be for you, but if your like me and love them then I’ve this a try. It’s fast and easy!

Ingredients:

I can of chickpeas (hominy)
Cooked baby beets about 4
1 juiced lemon
2 or 3 tbsp. tahini
2 tbsp. olive oil
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. paprika
2 cloves minced garlic (I used the squeezable kind)

Now you don’t have to have a fancy pants blender for this, just a regular blender or food processor will do if it’s big enough. Just combine all ingredients and blend till smooth. Now mine was still a little chunky which is fine, but if you want it perfectly smooth you might want to blend the chickpeas before adding the rest of the ingredients. It only takes a few minutes and is delicious!

Sometimes I buy beet hummus from Whole foods but now I can make my own and it makes a ton! Also I can control what’s inside so I don’t have to worry about any preservatives or chemicals. The original recipie that I looked at was from The Year in Food.

Enjoy!

6May2015

Homeade Butter and Honey Butter

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

I had a super busy weekend and was able to get lots of work done, and still made this butter! It’s super simple and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to realize how easy butter is to make. It’s just one ingredient, heavy whipping cream and you can either shake it in a jar for a long time or use a food processor.

I used the later and it took about 5 minutes on high. I also added some salt to mine for taste. You will be able to tell when it’s done because there will be no more liquid and you can use a rubber spatula to scrape it out. I put it in a bowl and folded in some honey to make honey butter because, well honey butter! I also want to try to make some mulberry butter this summer after my mulberry trees have berries. The possibilities are endless, enjoy! Let me know how it turns out.

15Apr2015

Avacado Egg Salad

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

This has been one of my go to recipes for a few years now. Even if you don’t like egg salad, don’t knock this one until you try it. The avocados and spices give it a whole new flavor, and it’s much healthier than regular egg salad. I got the original recipe from a blog on pinterest called {Never} Homemaker, but as I tend to do I changed some thinks around to my liking and to make it my own. So you can read the original and mine and possibly even tweak it some more if you’d like! Ingredients:

4 hard boiled eggs, sliced
1 diced avacado
1 teaspoon minced garlic
handful of chopped green onions
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
1 pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir everything up. I like to eat mine on a tortilla with some fresh kale, but Ben likes his on bread. Try it however you like, I’ve also just ate it before. 😉

6Mar2015

Roasted Chickpeas

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

I know my last post was a recipe, but these are so addicting and easy to make I had to! Ben actually came up with this recipe too so I’m taking it from him. This is the first version he made and I think this is my favorite flavor combination but it’s fun to experiment also.

To begin, drain the water out of a can of chickpeas and rinse them off in a colander. Then pat them dry with a paper towel and put them in a mixing bowl.

Add about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, about 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of onion powder, and 2 teaspoons of curry powder. We eyeballed ours, but add enough to evenly coat the chickpeas. Mix everything up evenly and spread them out evenly on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 40 min. Some of the chickpeas will pop which is fine, I like the crunchy burnt ones but they should all be crunchy when done. Enjoy!

22Feb2015

Sunday Brunch with Beermosas

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

So I can’t take credit for this lovely meal because Ben made it, but since I haven’t posted any recipes lately or drink recipes um…well ever, I thought I’d take a picture. Last Saturday was Valentines Day so Ben took me out to brunch at a beautiful little spot in in Chicago called Trencherman where we had beermosas and amazing food. I had the lemon pancakes, yum! Ben wanted to see if he could recreate the beermosas and he did, using 1/4 a grapefruit juiced mixed with 1 tablespoon of honey combined with an IPA beer. We used Anti-Hero by Revolution Brewing, but you can use whatever you prefer. Just mix the honey grapefruit juice mixture in with the beer and that’s it. I usually don’t like IPA’s and I am not a fan of grapefruit but for some reason these things mixed together taste amazing to me! Just give it a try if you are reluctant, I was at first too but I found my new favorite way to drink beer!

The sandwiches are also by Ben, he’s such a good cook! 🙂 He made cheese omelets and put them on wheat toast with tomatoes and kale. It was a perfect brunch for a chilly morning. Now we’re off to go to a Blackhawks game. We’ve never been to one and Ben got tickets at work so I think we’re off to a fun day!

18Nov2014

Egg Drop Soup

Posted in Food by peppermintsandhoneybees

I may have found my new favorite recipe for the fall/winter. It’s been unseasonable cold here for November and last night soup was the perfect thing for dinner. I have been wanting to try to make my own egg drop soup since it’s one of my favorites but usually made with chicken broth. I didn’t think it would be this easy and fast, or good though!

Bring 3 cups of vegetable stock with a couple pinches of salt to a boil on the stove
chop up carrots, shitake mushrooms and green onions and add to soup
combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and add to soup.
half scramble 1 egg in a bowl and add it a little at a time to the boiling soup

Once you add the egg your soup is done and ready to eat, it’s that easy! I added a little liquid aminos to mine for taste also. Soy sauce also works. Enjoy!