Snacks

Almond Bites

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There are days, and sometimes  weeks, where you are pulled in many directions and can’t seem to get things done as efficiently as you would like, much less remember everything that has to be done.  This morning was one of those times.  I work with the youth in our church, specifically the girls, and we alternate with the boys’ leadership in providing refreshments for a sort of bi-monthly meeting.  Well we haven’t had one this summer, for various reasons, so my brain had not realized that it was our turn to bring the treats until this morning at church.  The meeting is in 3 hours and I don’t shop on Sundays.  So, what do I have on hand?  Nature Valley Almond Bars!  Perfect.  And just so you know, there are a few others who are raiding their pantries today–girls included–so the youth will not perish from lack of goodies after their meeting.  This is a great idea for a quick treat and it’s healthy–almonds are a Super Food, remember.

Ingredients:
Nature Valley Sweet & Salty Almond Bars

1.  Remove the wrapper from the bars.

2.  Cut each bar into thirds and then cut each third diagonally (I cannot type that word without thinking of Harry Potter).

3.  You now have cute little triangles of chewy goodness, and since these particular bars have an almond butter icing kind of thing going on on the bottom layer, they look even more presentable as a treat to take to a meeting,etc.

Another good quick treat:  Cut Fig Newtons diagonally into cute little triangles and cover in powdered sugar. Yummy!

Source:  A Desperate Youth Leader–me!

Frozen Grapes

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I am one of those moms….you know the ones that don’t like high fructose corn syrup, food dye, ….etc.  So we usually don’t have Popsicle in our home unless they are homemade.  I don’t know why but homemade sometimes just seems like too much work, so I found an easier way.  Frozen Grapes!  They have a wonderful icy crunch, are prefect for those hot days, and super easy!  
Wash Grapes well (I use food wash for grapes to get off all the pesticides)
Pull off the vine and place individually on a cookie sheet
Freeze
It is that easy.  Once mine have frozen (I usually leave them in for 3 hours), I put them in a zip lock bag to save space in my freezer.  Enjoy!

Raspberry Cheese Dip

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When I first saw this dish and asked what was in it, I was expecting…well…gross.  It just sounded nasty to me.  And then I tasted it.  Heaven!   This recipe is one of the most-requested recipes among my own collection of favorites and I have gotten several people addicted to it!  My oldest son, who is pickier than anyone else I know, loves this dip.  It gets eaten up in no time whenever I make it.

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup mayo
2 green onions, chopped
12 ounces raspberry preserves
Ritz crackers

1.  Combine cheese, mayo, and onions in mixing bowl.  Fold together until well blended and spread in a shallow dish (pie plate works well).
2.  Spread raspberry preserves across the top of the cheese mixture.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with Ritz crackers.

Source:  fellow Maven (and sister!) Amy

HEALTHY Deep Dish Cookie Pie

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This recipe is going to SHOCK you!

I’ve been trying to eat better so I can drop a few pounds and improve my health. BUT I LOVE A WARM HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE!!! I have to get my cookie fix, so I searched and found this healthy alternative.

How can a deep dish cookie pie be healthy? BEANS! You might be skeptical, but just read it and try it! It will take the guilt out of your guilty pleasure!

Deep Dish Cookie Pie

Ingredients:

2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) 
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tbsp oil (canola, vegetable, or coconut)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (I only used 1 cup) *see notes for sugar free
1 cup chocolate chips (maybe not truly healthy, but definitely yummy!)

Directions:

1. Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor,  except the chocolate chips. If you do not have a food processor, mash the beans as well as you can first, and then use a hand mixer or Bosch or Kitchen Aid (or something like it) to mix the batter. 

2. Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan. I used a deep dish pie pan, but you can use a small casserole dish, a springform pan, etc.  

3. Cook at 350 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so before cutting and removing from the pan. 

4. Serve with ice cream, chocolate syrup, nuts and whipped cream….or whatever your heart desires. YUM!

Notes: 
* If you want to go sugarless, you can omit the brown sugar and use 4 packets of Stevia, and/or 2 cups of pitted dates, blended up in a food processor. You might want to half the recipe and play around with it a bit to suit your tastes and dietary needs. This definitely has the potential to be an amazing treat that is gluten free and sugar free! I don’t mind having a little sugar, and I thought it was great with 1 cup of brown sugar, but my children would have preferred it to be a little sweeter. I’m making it with dates next time!

Source: Chocolate Covered Katie





Nigella’s Breakfast Bars

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Mr. Blue Eyes’ parents gave us a Nigella Lawson cookbook a few years ago and there are some fabulous recipes in it. I mean, c’mon. It’s Nigella we’re talking about. These granola bars are so easy and so good that we eat them morning, noon, and night!

Ingredients:

1 14 oz can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2.5 Cups of Rolled Oats (not instant!)
1 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Cup Dried Cranberries
1 Cup Mixed seeds* (Nigella suggests pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)
1 Cup Natural Unsalted Peanuts

1. Preheat the oven 250 degrees F and spray a 9×13″ pan.
2. Warm the Sweetened Condensed Milk in a sauce pan. Ms. Lawson suggests a Large one; I used a small one. Tomato, Tah-mah-toe.
3. In a Large mixing bowl, mix all the other ingredients together. Pour the warmed milk over the top and fold it over until everything is looking gooey and good!
4. Press the mixture into your greased pan. At Nigella’s suggestion I used a latex (or non-latex for all you latex-sensitive people) glove. Make sure you press down fairly firmly and pack it well. We had trouble with crumbling. Not that that makes it taste any less delicious!
5. Bake for 1 hour. After it’s cooled about 10 minutes, cut 4×4 length to width and remove from pan to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container. Makes 16.

*Notes:
1. We have used Unsalted Cashews (1/3 Cup); Salted, shelled pistachios–pictured above (1/3+ Cup); Sunflower Seeds (1/3- Cup). They turned out great!
2. When she says natural, unsalted, she means it. Unsalted just seems to turn out better.

Source: Nigella Express:130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast

Pomegranate-Avocado Dip

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I hope it’s not too late and that you can still find Pomegranates in the produce aisle. If it is too late, I’m really sorry, but put this recipe away for next year. Don’t be fooled by the variety of ingredients that you wouldn’t normally see together. It has just the right amount of sweet/savory to make it ADDICTING!

Ingredients:

1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/8 tsp Cayenne (Red) Pepper

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 small Onion, chopped (I used a yellow onion)
1 Roma Tomato, chopped
1-2 Avocados, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 Pomegranate, seeded

1. Mix the chili powder, red pepper, and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Mix all the produce well in a Medium-sized bowl.
3. Pour the lemon juice mixture over and coat well.

Serve with your favorite chips or crackers. We like it with Club Multi-grained or some other multi-grained crackers.

Source: Aunt Beth

Sticky Gooey Caramel Corn

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We just got an air popcorn popper. You remember those? I hadn’t seen one since I was a kid. We received one for Christmas and IT IS SO FUN! Delightful! It’s the little things in life, you know?

I digress. The recipe, Kara. The recipe.

The name of this recipe is EASY. Quick and easy. Ignore the header. That’s what it’s name *should* be. And kiddos of all ages (even those of “Mature Years”) will love it.

Ingredients:
2 bowls of popped popcorn (I use one scoop full of kernels)
1 C butter
2 C Brown Sugar
3/4 – 1 C Light Karo Syrup
Nuts (opt)

1. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the sugar and syrup. Stir constantly until it begins to bubble.
3. Boil for 1 min. (Continue stirring. You’d hate to burn it!)
4. Remove from heat and pour over the bowls of popcorn.
5. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon until all the popcorn is covered a fair amount. Add the nuts if you are using them.

Serve immediately–that’s the way we like it! You can put it into balls if you wish. Just lay them on wax paper and let them cool.

Source: My long lost friend, Erika Johanson.

Favorite Cheeseball

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I was given a Lion House Christmas cookbook as a wedding gift.  One of the very first recipes I tried from it was this cheese ball.  At the time, all cheese balls seemed to include canned pineapple and that just grossed me out!  I didn’t want any sweet in my savory!  It’s been my go-to recipe for cheese ball ever since.  My kids request it for when we do party food for different celebrations.  After 20+ years, it’s still a favorite!

Um, as for the spider….well, it was for a family reunion where we celebrated several holidays all in the same week (we called it Holiday Inn week) and I was in charge of Halloween.  I hope it doesn’t freak you out too much.  I hate spiders and it freaked me out a little to make it!

Ingredients:
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
2 cups finely grated sharp cheddar cheese 
2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1.  In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and cream together until well-combined.
2.  Line a bowl with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang to fold back over the cheese ball mixture you’re going to put in it.  Firmly press the mixture into the bowl.  Flatten the top and fold the plastic wrap over to cover.  
3.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Let it sit out for at least half an hour before serving.
Notes:
  • Half a recipe makes about a 3-inch ball.
  • For a fancier looking cheese ball, you can form the ball inside wax paper or plastic wrap, then roll it in finely chopped pecans and finely chopped parsley, mixed together.  Then wrap it in plastic wrap to put in the fridge.  I don’t do this anymore as my kids prefer it without nuts.
  • You’ll have to eyeball what size bowl to use.  I usually use a wide soup bowl from my china, but I have also used other shaped bowls for a different look.
  • Serve with all types of crackers, pretzels, pita points, or bagel chips.  (Bagel chips are a favorite in my house!)

Camping Granola Bars

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I love when a new family tradition blossoms.  One of those for my family has been an annual cabin camping trip to Hanging Rock State Park.  A tradition within a tradition has been to have these yummy granola bars as part of that trip.  When the trip gets calendared the next thing out my kids’ mouths is “You have to make those granola bars, Mom!”

Ingredients:
8 cups oats (we use old fashioned)
1 cup butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup or honey
2 tsp. salt

Optional ingredients:
1 cup peanut butter
chocolate chips
nuts
coconut
dried fruit
cinnamon
etc.

1.  Mix all together in large bowl.  Use your hands to evenly mix.
2.  Press firmly into a large, greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees until the bars are golden brown and have begun to bubble a little.
 At this point you can sprinkle chocolate, peanut butter, and/or vanilla chips across the top if you want to.  Allow them to melt and then spread in a thin layer.

3.  Cool completely and cut into bars.

 

Source:  Melissa Coombs’ cookbook, The Hows and Whys of the Year Supply (Chat N Chew Granola Bars)

Notes:

  • I doubled the original recipe in the amounts above, so you can easily half it if you need less bars.
  • I like to wrap my bars in wax paper and tape closed.
Enjoying a rest at the top of a very long, very steep hike!

Danielle’s Caramel Apple Popcorn Clusters

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Ingredients:

2 T. oil                                                                           12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter,
2/3 c. popcorn kernels                                                         cut into pieces
4 c. dried apple chips, broken into pieces                       Kosher salt
1 c. unsalted almonds, roughly chopped                          1/4 t. apple pie spice
2 c. apple juice                                                              1/4 to 1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup

Directions:

1.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Heat the oil in a pot over medium-high heat.  Add the popcorn kernels; cover and cook, shaking the pan, until the popping subsides.  Remove from the heat and let any remaining kernels pop for 30 more seconds.  Divide the popcorn between the prepared baking sheets, discarding any unpopped kernels.  Scatter the apple chips and almonds on top.

2.  Make the caramel:  Bring the apple juice, brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat.  Cook without stirring until the mixture is deep amber and a candy thermometer registers 280 degrees, about 30 minutes (the caramel will bubble vigorously toward the end of the cooking time).

3.  Stir the butter into the caramel until melted.  Add 2 t. salt and the apple pie spice.  Add the cayenne, if using, and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from the heat.  Pour the hot caramel over the popcorn mixture and carefully toss with 2 rubber spatulas.  Let cool slightly, then separate the mixture into clusters while still warm.  Let cool completely.

Source:  Food Network

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