Friday, September 28, 2012

Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler

It's officially the weekend. I have a love hate relationship with weekends. I tend to splurge and make unhealthier choices on weekends. You know... watch an entire season of Pretty Little Liars in one day while I don't shower and stay in my pjs. Just me? This weekend I'm determined to make healthy and wise choices that mostly have nothing to do with eating. But, just in case you feel like splurging this weekend but don't want to eat an entire pan of brownies while watching an entire season of , I wanted to share this recipe with you! 


A. It's healthy. B. It's a single serving! You can eat the entire thing and not feel even a little bit bad. You can also make it your own with any kind of fruit you have on hand. It would be deliciously yummy with frozen or even canned peaches, strawberries, or blackberries. You know.. it would even be food with a 1/2 cup of pumpkin and some pecans. Done! I will be making a pumpkin version of this cobbler this weekend. Oh and sauteed apples! Okay. I'm glad I decided to share this recipe with you because I'm totally experimenting with new flavors this weekend.

Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler

Used the exact recipe from sparkrecipes.com just used blueberries - Cup O' Cobbler Recipe



Ingredients:


  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 tablespoon Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
  • 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Splenda
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 tablespoons skim milk
  • Dash of nutmeg
  • Dash of cinnamon

Directions: 


Mix blueberries and sugar in a small bowl and set aside so the sugar can do it's juicy job. You can smash your berries a little to help this process along. Prehat oven to 350. Spray a small ramekin with butter flavored cooking spray and then add the butter. Heat the ramekin in the oven until the butter is bubbly. 

Note: Heating the dish with the butter in it makes the recipe great. It makes the cobbler more well... cobbler like! It adds the crispy and chewy components to the crust. 

Mix flour, Splenda, baking powder, milk, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a separate small bowl. Spread the mixture into the hot ramekin. Add the sugared fruit in the center of the batter, leaving a rim of batter around the edges. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the batter is golden brown around the edges and the center looks set. 

Remember those Frozen Yogurt Bites I made? Three of the vanilla ones on this was AMAZING! 


If you count the blueberries in the recipe, it's 5 points for the whole thing. If you don't (and sometimes I don't because fruit is free if you eat it plain!), then it's 4 points! Plus whatever topping you may or may not add. If you add just a dollop of fat free cool whip or a frozen yogurt bite or two, nothing extra! It's also perfectly fine with nothing extra at all. 


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Thursday, September 27, 2012

DIY Key Caps

Sometimes things can be easy. Sometimes they can take 5 minutes and solve problems and be so easy. Sometimes we complicate things. Sometimes we add too many ingredients to a recipe. Sometimes we don't wash our clothes for far too long so that the folding is so overwhelming we avoid it until clothes piles become clothes mountains when we could have made life easier by washing more often and folding little piles. Sometimes easy things are just nice. 

Do you have a bunch of keys that all look the same and always have fumbly moments trying to open doors? Maybe you don't have as many keys as I do, the Key-Keeper of Latimer-Webb, but I bet you have a couple at least! Stores sale these overpriced key caps to distinguish your keys. Well you know what else works? FREE! Tell me you don't have a couple bottles of nail polish tucked away somewhere? Or 32, no judgement. 


Pinterest taught us (my RAs and I) this trick. So clever! Clip your key bottoms with clothes pens to hold and for easy drying. Paint your key tops with different colors of nail polish. Add a glitter coat if you want for extra sparkle. Let them dry for an hour or so and they you have cute keys! Everything deserves a chance to be cute right? Even keys. Even better news... Removal and clean up is even easier! Nail polish remover and it's totally gone, in case you have keys that don't belong to you forever. Dipping them in one of the nail polish remover dippers works like a charm. 

Originally I didn't intend to do DIY posts for my blog, Kasia's Kitchen. However, it just so happens that I love DIYing and most of my DIY projects happen in the kitchen. That stone marble behind the keys? That's my new counter tops in my newly remodeled kitchen. 


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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Chai Banana Bread Muffins

I love chai. I love it so so much. I call it Christmas in a cup. I love it hot. I love it iced. I love it blended. I love it mixed with pumpkin spice. I LOVE IT! When I saw a Chai Banana Bread recipe, I instantly added it to my list of things to make. However... I'm calling mine Chai Inspired. The original recipe calls for cardamom, which is a chai ingredient, but dang it that stuff is expensive! My bananas were getting too brown before I could justify buying cardamon, so I improvised and they still taste spicy and yummy! I pretty much used her recipe but did a few healthy substitutes using yogurt butter, applesauce and whole wheat flour. I also made have jumbo muffins to break in my jumbo tin I hadn't used yet and half regular sized. I enjoyed these for breakfast, snack and dessert all week. Or for three days because I ate them too quickly.

Chai Inspired Banana Bread Muffins

Original Recipe from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice.


Ingredients: 

  • 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana, 3-4
  • 1/3 cup fat free Greek yogurt - I used vanilla but you could use plain too, or regular nonfat yogurt
  • 3 tablespoons of applesauce
  • 2 tablespoons Brummel and Brown yogurt butter
  • 1/2 cup egg beaters (or 2 eggs)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (or whole wheat white flour or all purpose flour, I like whole wheat because of the nuttiness it adds and it's a power food on WW)
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla


Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar


Directions: 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add banana, yogurt, apple sauce, butter and egg beaters to a mixing bowl and  beat until blended. I used, as always, my stand mixer. Add brown sugar and white sugar and beat on medium until just blended. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and nutmeg together. Add dry mixture a little bit at a time to the banana mixture and beat until just combined. Don't over mix! Pour into lined muffin tins and bake for 45-60 minutes, checking often to see if a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before frosting.

For icing, beat butter and cream cheese together with a mixer until smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat. With mixer on low add the powdered sugar a little at a time until thick enough to spread. Top muffins with icing and enjoy! I also froze a few of mine because I was going out of town and they defrosted well too! 


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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Pumpkiny Overnight Oats

According to the dictionary, pumpkiny is not a word. However, for the glorious return of the awaited Pumpkin Spice Latte, also know as PSL, Starbucks used this word to describe the glorious goodness of the beverage. It was right there on my local Starbucks door in cute sticker art form. I trust Starbucks and their ability to make something a trend. Therefore, I shall adopt pumpkiny as a legit word despite the red squiggly line that tells me it isn't (and dictionary.com). What does that red squiggly line know anyway?! It always underlines my name. (No offense red squiggly line, I do love and appreciate how you correct my typos.)

Moving on... I don't have to tell you again how much I love pumpkin things. I probably also don't have to tell you again how much I love Overnight Oats. We've definitely discussed the heck out of pumpkin, and I know I've discussed Overnight Oats a bit too. BUT... PUMPKIN OVERNIGHT OATS?! Yep. I'm even more in love. I went a little crazy and came up with four pumpkin versions of this easy make ahead breakfast.


I used my base recipe for each of these concoctions. 1/2 cup oats (non quick cooking), 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt (greek or regular). I bought the 32 ounce container of Dannon Light and Fit from Sam's this time. It was super cheap for the big container, and I think I liked it a little better than the vanilla greek non fat yogurt.


Base Recipe: 


  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (NOT the instant kind)
  • 1/2 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup non fat vanilla yogurt


Directions: 


Pour yogurt, oats and milk in a pint sized mason jar. Shake it until all ingredients are combined. At this point your jar will be about 3/4ths full.

Add pumpkin combo ingredients (listed below) of choice and stir until combined. Refrigerate overnight. They keep for 4 days.

Each base recipe is 7 points on Weight Watchers. Account for extra points for the different pumpkiny combinations. 


Pumpkin Pie Oats


  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of Skinny Pumpkin Fluff (1 package sugar free vanilla pudding, 2 - 8 oz containters of fat free coolwhip, 1 can of pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice - I make this OFTEN to dip apples in. You won't regret making this to have on hand for healthy snacks.)


Pumpkin Coconut Oats


  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3 tablespoons Homemade Marshmallow Cream (I had homemade on hand that I used for S'mores Dip last week. I never have and probably wouldn't use normal jarred marshmallow fluff, but I just really liked the idea of marshmallow cream (egg whites, corn syrup, powdered sugar) and coconut, like a coconut cake! But you could also sub 2 tablespoons of sugar or Splenda.)
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons sweetened coconut flakes 


Pumpkin Pecan Oats


  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans


Chocolate Pumpkin Oats


  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Nutella
  • 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder





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Meal Planning 101: Week 16-ish

A day late! But, I was holding a baby for an hour and a half when I would have been typing/posting this last night. It was totally worth it and I don't apologize! I mean look at him. His name is Kaiden and he's two weeks old today. His mom is my friend, neighbor, and coworker. She is an RD with me and we both work in the same office. I saw her literally almost every day of her pregnancy. We all watched him grow in her belly and it's so beautiful to be part of his and their lives. Last night I cooked them dinner and while they ate I held him!


Some vitally important updates totally relevant to the meal plan at the end of this post.

I FINALLY finished moving in to my apartment completely. It's all organized and put together and beautiful. I even decorated for fall.


It was a simple thing, but this simple thing made me feel so much better about life! I meal planned and grocery shopped and even did Meal Prep Monday! You know all is right in my world when Meal Prep Monday happens. In addition to cooking for Kaiden's Mommy & Daddy on Meal Prep Monday, I also created a whole pumpkin collection of Overnight Oats! Kaiden's Mommy loves pumpkin as much as I do, so I made extras for her to have for breakfast this week. Recipes coming (by many requests) this afternoon!


Also, I think I'm going to always grocery shop at night now for a two reasons: less people AND baby carts! They never have the mini carts when I go in the day time. Totally worth the night Kroger visits.


Two more totally relevant (okay not really) factors to my meal planning success. I mean.. who doesn't feel better about life and more organized when you achieve perfect curls (I got a body wave) and create a nail polish station/drawer?!


Now that I've done that thing where I push my life on you while talking about food, I'll move on to the meal plan! And by the way, I only do this updatey push my life on you thing because as I type, I imagine sitting at my little back yard table, feeling the fall breeze, watching the leaves fall, wearing sweatshirts, eating something pumpkiny, and drinking coffee with you as we chat. You don't mind right? 

Sunday:

Leftover Crockpot Cranberry Chicken, Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casserole (washed & peeled potatoes, cut in half, cooked on low for 6 hours, mashed in crockpot with potato masher, added homemade marshmallow fluff, brown sugar, and pecans and cooked for another hour), and French Green Beans (green beans sauteed in French dressing)

Monday:

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili (with green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheddar for toppings), Perfect Brown Rice and Mexican Cornbread Muffins

Tuesday:

Leftover Chicken Chili

Wednesday:

Mushroom Stroganoff, Chopped Salad and Garlic Toast

Thursday:

Leftover Stroganoff

Friday:

Mango Salsa Tilpia, Wild Rice Pilaf and Butter Beans

Saturday:

Leftover Tilapia

Sunday:

Baked Corn Dog Muffins (inspired by this, but I'm going to use Jiffy and Turkey hotdogs), Broccoli and Balsamic Crash Potatoes (First I found this recipe then I saw this one and I couldn't shake the idea of having corn dogs - basic kid food - and balsamic potatoes - classy grown up food - together!  So I'm going to attempt to combine the two recipes.) 

Extras:

I made the new baby family a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pizookie with Pumpkin Spice Cool Whip (mix a little pumpkin and some pumpkin pie seasoning into a container of fat free Cool Whip) and Homemade Chocolate Sauce.

Made another batch of skinny Pumpkin Fluff to eat with apples. 

The aforementioned Pumpkin Overnight Oats for breakfast all week. 

I'm feeling bakey, so other things are sure to come from this! 




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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Real Life - Take 327

Can I be real? Like super honest, spill all, embarrassingly real? I keep saying I'm going to post and then I avoid it because I'm ashamed to admit that there hasn't be a meal plan in two weeks! And there isn't one this week yet either. My meal plan looks like this...


Sunday: 


Eat a cheapo brand lean microwaveable frozen meal that cost 88 cents at 9:30 pm because I forgot to eat while making 150 cake truffles until 3:00 am.

Monday:


Snack on leftover Chick-Fil-A nuggets (from a free meal coupon) and lots and lots of cookies from KT (former tribe aka a sorority if you aren't from MC world).

Tuesday:


Eat at Chick-Fil-A (from a free meal coupon) again because I forgot to do something with that frozen chicken and was on call and handled an hour and a half long incident.

Wednesday:


Eat more food not cooked by me at a campus restaurant on an RA one on one biweekly date.

Thursday:


Do something with that frozen chicken.

Friday:


PAY DAY! BUY FOOD! PLAN MEALS! Or really... eat out because I won't actually be able to buy groceries until Saturday.

Saturday: 


Groceries! Cook something with newly acquired groceries.


Why the lack of creativity, motivation and mass amounts of Chick-Fil-A you ask? Well a few things.

A. I'm totally out of money. I accidentally got carried away buying cookie cutters and forgot I needed that money for gas to go out of town this past weekend and to buy massive amounts of supplies to make 150 cake balls (and other aforementioned baked goods) then had to dip into grocery money to purchase outrageously expensive gas to travel. I also got a little carried away buying things for my way over the top picnic to celebrate fall-like weather.

B. My life feels totally disorderly! I moved into my apartment at the end of July and life has been so hectic that I'm still not totally settled! Never fear, all the kitchen stuff was settled right away, but my room, hang up clothes, shoes, wall hangings, desk, and closet things are a disorderly mess. I know it's just one thing, but this one thing makes me feel like nothing in my life is in control or balanced! Remember you agreed to read my embarrassingly real post, this is real! I'm a little OC (as in OCD without the D). When something is off balance, I feel a little crazy and overwhelmed and under-motivated.

C. I forget that I'm a grown up, you know I'm 29, almost 30. And sometimes I do crazy things like stay up all night with 19-21 year olds to win free Chick-Fil-A coupons for a year. Thus the massive amounts of Chick-Fil-A splurges and a really BAD (read unhealthy) back up plan when I don't have meals planned!


Here's the good news. Besides the fact that I have a wonderful job and the best RAs who love me and each other. I mean look... Even when we're being silly and holding flowers for a pointless picture, our hands form an unknowing heart! But, God has blessed me with a really good friend that I can be way more real than I even am in this silly dramatic post. She understands me, life, our common life stage, and God pretty well. She reminds me that it's okay that I'm a little crazy and don't have it all together. She gets that my brain works in an overwhelmed all or nothing way and helps me see the big picture instead of all the little details that freak me out. She helps me plan baby steps that I need to make to get orderly in one thing so I can feel good about the rest and remember that I'm a lot better at life than I let Satan coax me into believe I am. So we made baby step plans! Saturday we FINISH settling my apartment so I can feel in order and be balanced! I know it sounds crazy, but this one thing will remotivate me to eat healthy, meal plan, exercise and spend time doing things that make me healthier, like spending time with Jesus and making time for myself. It's officially on Google Calendar! That's pretty solid.

Now that we got that out of the way, I feel better about posting other things that aren't meal plans until next Sunday (or Monday morning) when a meal plan WILL appear!


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Monday, September 17, 2012

The Week Baking Took Over

I promise I haven't forgotten my vow to come back! I have the pictures taken and in folders ready to be edited for so many things! Crock Pot Apple BBQ Chicken, Make Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches, Peach Cobbler Trifle, Fake Fried Okra, Single Serving Blueberry Cobbler, Pumpkin Blondies, Pumpkin Fluff, THE BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies in the world, Pumpkin Bread Pudding & Homemade Caramel Sauce, and Philly Cheese steak Sloppy Joes. I even have some DIY project pictures and how to posts lined up (magnetic chalkboard memo boards with DIY chalkboard paint). I promise! I haven't forgotten. August 1st until about mid to late September is the busiest, most hectic, craziest time of my job/life EVER. In addition to nearly 4 weeks of training, school starting, students moving in, training and working out the kinks with RAs, and more, the non profit women's ministry team I am on has our big two day event in September every year.

Okay, okay. You get it. I've been busy. But I always make time for a meal plan even in the midst of business right? So why not last week. Well... in the name of baking, I boycotted cooking. I only ate frozen things. From last Sunday to this Sunday I baked Pumpkin Butterscotch Blondies, Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes, Mamaw's Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Cupcakes filled with White Chocolate Strawberry Ganache topped with Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing and adorned with candy pearls, AND 150 Strawberry White Chocolate Cake Truffles. Seriously.




The cake was devoured before I could take a picture, but it existed too! And though I'm not eating quite as healthy as I should, don't think I made all of these things for myself! The blondies were for a fall picnic with friends. The cinnamon roll cupcakes were part of a cheer up gift for an RA. The cake was for an RA's birthday. The strawberry cupcakes were part of teaching my best friend to make fancy cupcake, per her request. Let me interject to say, they were my most favorite cupcake ever! They had a vintage antique look. She iced them all! I was quite impressed with her first time icing skills which are already better than mine. I adorned them with pearls and it was fun! The never ending cake truffles are for my former social tribe (for non-MC folk - think sorority. Their big rush part (aka KT Coke Party) is tonight. Their colors are pink and silver so I made strawberry cake, white chocolate coating, pink drizzle, and silver gem sprinkles. Later today I will post a meal plan and then hopefully a few recipes posts this week!


Adding this picture just for fun and because seeing my Macy, her little sister Ellie, their parents, the ladies who I get to serve on Total Woman U with, and my Slidell church family was the highlight of my month and so good for my soul!


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