Crisp

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

8:00:00 AM



Last summer, I made this Strawberry Pecan Crisp. While that went over really well, I decided that this year after picking fresh strawberries from a field, and borrowing my grandmother's fresh rhubarb from her garden, that one of my favorite summer treats would be made. 

Vegan

This recipe is dairy free (and vegan). It's also delicious and simple to make! 
Here's what you'll need
8x8 Pan
Bowl
2 cups rhubarb
2 cups strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup vanilla
1 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon

Topping:
3/4 cup + 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 and 1/4 cup oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
strawberries 

Here's what You'll Need to Do
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl, stir the sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and salt together 
Add strawberries and rhubarb and stir to coat. 
In a different bowl, stir flour, oats, brown sugar and salt until combined
Pour the fruit mixture into the pan and top with topping mixture. 
Top with a few strawberries, or wait until after
Bake for 40-45 minutes until top is firm and fruit is bubbly. 
Let cool for 30 minutes and serve warm!

Healthy

I used extra cinnamon in my batch (just because I like it), but you don't have to! 
It goes really well with any type of ice-cream when you serve it. 
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! 

What is your favorite summer fruit dish? This one is definitely mine and I cannot wait to make it again sometime soon! 
Make sure to comment below! 


Almond

Almond Butter Cups

8:00:00 AM


There are a lot of things that I love in this world. Two of them off that list are almond butter, and chocolate. Aside from exploring new entree recipes, it's important to indulge now and then! With dark chocolate and nut butter, where could you go wrong? 

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter

 For this recipe in particular, I used the Endangered species variety of dark chocolate, one being caramel (non-vegan) and one being almond. You can choose whatever type of chocolate your heart desires and whatever nut butter as well. 
Almond Butter

Are you ready to make your own little cups of chocolatey-almond happiness?

Here's what you'll need: 

 Dark Chocolate
Organic Almond Butter
Ice-cube tray
Here's what you'll need to do:

 Break the chocolate apart. I used bars of dark chocolate! 
If you used two variations of dark chocolate like I did, make sure you melt them in seperate bowls! 
Melt each bowl of chocolate (depends on your microwave, I melted for about a minute).
Stir and if it's not melted enough then add about 10 seconds stirring afterwards
Add the chocolate to ice-cube tray (filling about half way)
Chocolate Cups
It'll be delicious don't worry! 

 Add small amount of almond butter
Top with rest of chocolate
Set into freezer for about 30 minutes or overnight
Take out and enjoy!
Homemade Candy
These are so simple to make and super fun! This is also the first time I have ever made something in the dorms! I wouldn't recommend using a caramel-filled chocolate just because I accidentally burnt mine and set the smoke detector off. Oh well. Ya live and ya learn! 
Vegan Peanut Butter Cups

Vegan Candy

 I hope you enjoyed this recipe and try it out! What is your favorite snack that you indulge in? Make sure to leave a comment! 

 As always, thanks for reading!  

 You can also use mini-muffin tins, I didn't have any nor do I have the room in my mini fridge for storage! 

Banana

"Nice"cream

8:30:00 AM


I will be the first to admit, finding foods to enjoy without any added sugars is really hard and sometimes I give in. Scrolling through my instagram feed, I kept seeing users post colorful photos of nicecream. Nicecream? My first thought was something like "it's run by someone who lives a vegan lifestyle so it must just mean it's dairy-free." I actually wanted some so bad. It looked so good! And who wouldn't want an ice-cream inspired dish for breakfast? 

 I thought I would never be able to have it because added sugars. That is, until I found out that nicecream just simply meant, frozen bananas blended up in a blender with soy or nut-based milk. SUPER easy. SUPER...nice. 

 Here are some of my favorite flavors that I've made with my mini blender (my $15 purchase is definitely getting great use.) 

 1. Peanut-Butter Banana

        -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
       -1 spoonful of peanut powder
       -soymilk
       -cinnamon

Banana Icecream
I totally combined the top recipe and the bottom, just with a bit less pb powder and cinnamon! 

2. Simple Berry Pick me up
  -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
  -berries of your choice (I used raspberries and blueberries)
  -soy/whatever nut milk you prefer

Link

3. Just Bananas

     -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
    -nut milk
   
Nicecream



 4. Banana Bread Nicecream

   -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
  -cinnamon
   -nutmeg
  -walnuts to top
  -choice of milks




5. Blueberry Banana 

    -2 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
   -handful of blueberries frozen, or thawed
  -nutmilk
 -some cacao



I like to add chia seeds sometimes to these if I think I want some more fiber. I love these so far and I can't wait to try some more! Honestly these are so simple, and so much more healthier for you than what's sold at the store, though you can still go out and get them. I like to freeze the bananas for about a day before making them, if I wait too long they'll go brown when I take them out of the freezer pretty quick. Because I live in a dorm, I like to be the courteous neighbor and make my breakfast nicecream the night before so that I'm not waking up anyone super early!

Have you ever made these before? I was so excited it worked that I nearly ran down the hall making everyone try it! You can mix and match flavors as well!
I hope you enjoy them, especially as it gets closer to summer!
x Kenzie

Bar

Favorite Cookie Bars

2:45:00 PM


Don't yell at me. I know I keep saying "I'll do more recipe posts this summer!" and I honestly have been slacking on that part. Partially because most of the recipes I've been doing aren't changed in anyway from the original and I can't just copy someone else and call it my own! 
So here's one, that I've made before, haven't posted, but changed it up a bit. 

This recipe is fairly healthy, it includes oats, brown sugar, raisins, craisins, chocolate chips and butterscotch. I said fairly healthy right? 
I love eating, and healthy desserts that don't taste overly healthy are right up my alley! 

To make this you'll need:
*1/2 cup(100g) packed brown sugar
*1 cup (250g) creamy peanut butter 
*2 teaspoons vanilla 
*1 cup (127g) whole wheat flour (the first time I made this I used white flour and it works just as well!)
*1 cup (80g) oats
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*1/2 cup (120mL) milk (I've used chocolate almond milk every time, and you can't really taste the chocolate but it also works!) 
*1/2 cup butterscotch
1/2 cup raisins, craisins, or chocolate chips...or all three. 

Here's what you'll need to do! 

-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 8x8 baking dish with parchement paper or nonstick spray and set aside
-In medium bowl, mix brown sugar and peanut butter (I used an electric mixer) until light and fluffy. 
-Mix in vanilla
-Add in flour, oats, salt and baking soda on medium speed (if using the mixer). The dough will get thicker and a bit clumpy but don't worry! 
-Add milk, then fold in your add-ins like chocolate chips, raisins, craisins etc
-Once completely combined, here I found it just comes right off the bowl and doesn't sit on it like cookie dough would, press it lightly into 8x8 dish
-Bake about 17-20 minutes, for my oven I did about 17, as it keeps the softness inside the bars

Near the end of the bars bake time, I melted about 1/3 cup butterscotch to drizzle on top once they came out. You can use those or regular chocolate chips, the packages tell you how long it's recommended to melt them. 
-I put the butterscotch on top right away as I haven't completely mastered it and it seems to not stay hot long enough! 
Last time I truly just drizzled the butterscotch on but it came out clumpy, I decided to make the rest of the bag which turned out to be just enough to cover the entirety of the bars! They went over well both times!! 

I love this recipe, and I definitely love to make these for parties or just for the family. 
What do you like for dessert? Have you got any favorite recipes?? 
Thanks again for reading! 
xx
Kenzie



Alone

Summer Wedding

9:00:00 AM


Last weekend was stocked full of fun and excitement. 
After rolling out of bed at 4 on Saturday morning, slowly getting dressed, munching on a Blueberry Clif Bar (my fave) and going off to work, it was time to come home at 11 and get ready for a wedding.  My step-cousin was getting married. 
I hadn't been to a wedding in a long time and I was pretty excited that two of my friends were going to be at the dinner after the ceremony! 
I was feeling a bit anxious, I could probably blame it on the 24 ounce iced coffee I had, but once I was seated with my friends, I felt much better. 
The reception was set in a medium sized room, the decorations were so nice. I always like to look at them, and of course the plates had a little candy set on them! 

We spent the time talking and wondering how the caterers knew which plate everyone was going to get, which we discovered it was our name tags on the table that gave it away. 
The food was great, the dessert afterwords was amazing...who doesn't like mini cheesecakes? Three different flavors? I'm in! 
I had Chicken Cordon Bleu (left photo), and mini cheesecakes (chocolate, turtle and lemon!) I did sneak one of my friends who wasn't at the wedding two of the little desserts to work with me the next day...as I had been standing at the table for a bit charging my phone. 
The night was spent watching the younger kids take over the dance floor, and even some of the older people got in on the fun as well. 
Over all, it was really nice spending time outside of work with my friends as we don't really get the chance to do that often. It's always fun getting to see family members, and sometimes realizing that you wish you'd stay in touch more often. 
I did not drink coffee the next day, as after the one I had had me feeling like my bones inside my body were vibrating. I think I'll stick to my raspberry ice tea, two sweet n'lows and maybe a shot of blueberry flavor to go with it...if I feel adventurous! 
Thanks for reading! 
What's your favorite part of going to a wedding? 
Make sure to tell me in the comments! 
xx







breakfast

Anytime Crepes

3:11:00 PM


The best thing about trying something new is that you can come back and try it over and over again until it works out. That is especially true for cooking, which I found out while making these whole wheat-crepes. 
Crepes are the kind of food that are light, and made especially to wrap your favorite filling in a nice little jacket, and are fun to enjoy! Crepes are also quite easy to make, so I've included a recipe! 

Here's what you'll need: 

*1/2 cup skim milk
*2/3 cup water
*2 table spoons vanilla
*1 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour as it's more filling)
*1 tablespoon sugar
*1/4 teaspoon salt

A little side note; I had accidentally forgotten to add in 1/4 cup melted butter...I started melting it and the phone rang so I had turned off the microwave and couldn't quite figure out why my crepes weren't spreading as easily....this would be why, but they still tasted great! 
They're pretty simple to make as well; 
-In a Medium sized bowl, mix the milk, water, melted butter (if you decided to use it), and vanilla. 
-In a smaller bowl, mix flour, sugar and salt well. 
-Whisk the two mixes together until the batter is smooth
-Warm medium sized skillet on medium-high heat, coat pan with non stick spray and pour in about 2 tablespoons of batter, you can add more or do less depending on how big of a crepe you would like
-Swirl the pan to allow batter to spread, I also helped it along with running a spoon gently over it
-Cook until edges are crispy and golden. This is quite difficult to do with whole wheat flour, and I haven't baked with it long enough to know just how it works, but it seemed to be fine once there was a bubble or a small hole in the batter. Then flip to the other side. 
And repeat with remaining batter!!

After you allow them to cool, you can add in your favorite fruits! 
I soon discovered, we had no whipped creme and I haven't been feeling like a chocolate-eating person lately so I opted for some vanilla yogurt as a filling! It was great and a healthy alternative! I put strawberries inside, along with raspberries as well as on the top and sprinkled the crepe with some powdered sugar! 
This was definitely one of those recipes where I had went to bed thinking about having a crepe and by the time I woke up I had to make one!

 You can also use these for desserts, or a fun snack if you'd like! 
Making these was a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll make some again this summer! 
Thanks for reading as always!
xx
Kenzie
Have you made crepes before? What are you favorite add-ons? 

Banana

Easy Healthy Omelette!

1:00:00 PM


I haven't posted a recipe blog in awhile now, I'm sorry! This one is a two-for-one! 

Let’s just get straight to the point here. Eating healthy is difficult! The entire Summer, I’ve decided to tr my best at staying healthy and eating less sugar. Though it’s always a good thing to allow yourself to have a “cheat” day once in a while. Mine have usually happened during family events and other gatherings, I mean..you really can’t expect me to pass up that chocolate covered dessert can you?
 Recently, I had been left home alone. Meaning I would have to fend for myself and make my own dinner so I wanted to share what I made with you! I learned this recipe from my mom who actually made the omelets first, and ever since then I have fallen in love with them!
Being home alone, also meant I had to come up with something that would satisfy just one person! 


 You will Need: 
-2 eggs
-About a cup of diced peppers ( you can pick and choose which ones you like and dislike in the mix) 
-about a cup of diced onion
-Salt
-Pepper
-Bacon bits (only if you want!) 

First, get out the peppers and onions and dice them, unless they're already diced. You probably won't use all of them if you're using a whole one, again it depends on how many you're making! I used frozen red and yellow peppers and frozen onions just because they had already been chopped up nicely into little squares for me! The green pepper as sliced so I cut a few into squares as well!
Put the pan on the stove top, first spray it with PAM or wipe it with margarine, it'll be easier to clean at the end. 
Add in the peppers and onions
Once they start sizzling, add in the eggs ( you can choose whether or not you want the yolk or not, it's good either way!) 
Then add in the bacon bits
A little salt, and as much pepper as you see fit. 
You can also add cheese! Which I did and it was great! 
I know it doesn't look like much, but it was really filling for me! 


I was actually pretty proud of myself for making this by myself. I hate cracking eggs open but I did it anyway! 
I hope you give it a try! 

But wait! There's more! 
I also had dessert! I have been loving making myself some smoothies this Summer, so I decided to listen to my sweet tooth and try something new! 
I used a banana, three scoops of Caramel Ice cream, and a handful of strawberries. 

It was delicious and perfect for the hot day outside! 


Do you have a favorite healthy recipe? What's your favorite thing to bake? Do you have a favorite smoothie? 
I'm thinking of doing a separate smoothie-recipe/idea blog post, leave a comment if you like that idea!

Thanks for reading! See you next time!
xx
Kenzie


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