Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Have youuu... heard of mug cakes? Chances are you have, unless you don't have a Pinterest or you live under a rock (which is really the same thing). 

Now maybe you have doubts about these miracle cakes, but I assue you, these are THE ANSWER to being a female... If you know what I mean. All those crazy and sudden chocolate cravings? THESE WILL CURE YOU! In 1 minute!



I realize that the above photo may not be particularly delicious looking, but I assure you that it will not disappoint. 

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Recipe adapted from Budget Bytes

Stuff You'll Need:

2 T flour

2 t cocoa powder

1/4 t baking powder

pinch of salt

2 t honey

1 T coconut oil

1 T plain fat free greek yogurt

1 T water

a dollop of peanut butter

(optional: chocolate chips)

"Whisk" together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a microwave-safe mug with a fork. Add honey, oil, yogurt, and water. Mix to combine. If you'd like, toss in a few chocolate chips. Drop in a dollop of peanut butter in the center (try and push it into the batter). Microwave on high for 1 minute & ENJOY.

I loooooove being able to whip up a little mug of chocolatey cakey goodness when one of those cravings strikes... Have you tried mug cakes before?

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Double Dark Chocolate Donuts

I got a donut maker for Christmas. :)) I've been reading about the yummy DIY donut craze for months now, and I was super excited to try it out myself. Admittedly, these donuts are not as tasty as the deep fried beauties found at your local donut shop, but they are significantly healthier and still yummy. Mmm... 

I bought Jessica Segarra's book, Mini Donuts: 100 Bite-Sized Donut Recipes, on my Kindle Fire and have made a few of her recipes... This one was inspired by her Dark Chocolate Ganache donut recipe, but I lightened it up quite a bit. 

I spotted these cute little mini-heart sprinkles at Meijer this week and I couldn't resist... How cute would these be for a Valentine's Day treat? And a little different from cupcakes or chocolate covered strawberries. ;) 

Stuff You'll Need:

1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1 t baking powder

1/8 t salt

2 T liquid egg substitute (I used egg beaters)

1/4 c + 1 T sugar (seperated)

3/8 c fat-free milk

1 T canola oil

1 T plain fat-free greek yogurt

1/4 t vanilla

1 1/2 oz dark chocolate

2 T + 2 t fat-free half and half

1/2 T unsalted butter

makes 10-12 donuts (will vary depending on donut maker/pan used)

Weight Watchers Pts+: 2 per donut

In a small bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. If you don't have a sifter (I don't!), shake ingredients through a mesh strainer into a bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/4 c sugar and egg substitute. Add milk, oil, greek yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly mix in flour mixture and stir until combined. Slowly pour batter into donut maker/pan. Bake for 4 minutes, flip donuts and bake for another 3-4 minutes. (baking instructions may vary depending on machine) Move to cooling rack and let cool completely. 

In a small saucepan, combine half and half, butter, and 1 T sugar. Bring to a boil. Place roughly chopped dark chocolate in a small bowl. Once cream mixture has boiled, pour over chocolate and let melt. Gently whisk together and let sit until the ganache has thickened. Place sprinkles in another small bowl. When donuts are cool and ganache is set up, dip tops of donuts in ganache and then in sprinkles. Place on a cooling rack over wax paper to catch drippings. Yum yum yum! Now try not to eat them all (not as easy as it sounds!).

These are really easy and relatively quick to whip up. I halved the recipe and made a lot of low-fat substitutions  but you could easy double it for more donuts as well. I just didn't want to have 20+ donuts in my apartment, begging me to eat them, ya dig? ;) 

How cute would these be for little valentine's gifts (if you do that sort of thing)? Have you made donuts before? Any recipe recommendations? 

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Turkey Day First Timer

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already only a week away, but that's what the calendar says. At some point I managed to volunteer myself for Thanksgiving dinner-making duty, and I mean, I'm pretty excited about it.

But I'm also nervous and a little freaked out about it. Don't get me wrong, I have a good amount of confidence in my cooking skills, but I am not so great at the whole getting-everything-to-be-ready-at-the-same-time thing... And cooking meat wigs me out a bit. I hate how slimy it is, blehh...

But I'm mostly nervous about whether or not picky boyfriend and boyfriend's picky family will like everything... Fingers crossed that these recipes will do the trick!:

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Pan Gravy by Rachel Ray

I am honestly not a big Rachel Ray fan, but all these herbs stuffed under the skin of this turkey sounds AMAZING. And totally doable for a turkey novice. 

Cranberry-Pear Sauce by Skinnytaste

I cannot lie to you, folks. I have always preferred the jellied cranberries to the real deal. What can I say?? But boyfriend prefers the real stuff, so I've decided to try my hand at a low-cal recipe from Skinnytaste that incorporates both tart cranberries and sweet pears!

Double Bread Stuffing with Bacon, Brown-Butter, and Sage by How Sweet It Is

Now, my FAVORITE part of Thanksgiving is the stuffing. But I have admittedly never made it from scratch. This recipe from How Sweet It Is sounds AH-mazing, using both sourdough and cornbread... AND sneaking in bacon and brown-butter? Nom nom nom... 

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans by Skinnytaste

My stepmother used to try and feed me green beans and they were THE WORST. They were from a can and made me gag without fail. I late discovered the joy of fresh, crispy green beans and have never looked back. This recipe from Skinnytaste is supposed to turn out perfectly crisped beans sprinkled with savory parmesan cheese, yum! {Boyfriend won't eat them because they're, ya know, vegetables... But everyone else will!}

Lightened-Up Sweet Potato Casserole by How Sweet It Is

Sweet potatoes are my other favorite Thanksgiving side dish. They cater to my sweet tooth perfectly, and when they're topped with an oatmeal coconut pecan crumble and mini marshmallows? Heaven. Just heaven, folks. 

Chunky Mashed Potatoes by Budget Bytes

I am not a "creamy mashed potatoes" kind of girl. They are just not my style. I like the know that my mashed potatoes came from actual potatoes at some point, and for that reason, I dig some texture. Consider this recipe a starting point; I will likely add more herbs and definitely some garlic. 

Pumpkin Pecan Pie Bars by Steph's Bite by Bite

Boyfriend wanted me to make both a pumpkin and a pecan pie for dessert... I wanted him to pick one. Thankfully, the wonderfully talented and ingenious Stephanie of Steph's Bite by Bite already dreamt up a solution to this quandary. 

Mmm mm mm, now I just have to figure out when I can actually make all these things... I'm also serving some Zingerman's bread, making homemade cornbread for the stuffing, and helping hunt down homemade ice cream recipes for my mom and stepdad's shindig. Oh boy, oh boy...

What are you all doing for Thanksgiving? Anybody else out there daunted by the task of cooking the whole meal? Anybody call dibs on our leftovers? :) 

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Door-to-Door Organics: Love at first box

I signed up for Door to Door Organics this week and let me tell you, I am in love. I have read about grocery delivery programs or CSA deliveries in the past, but this was the first time I conducted actual "research" into such programs in my area. The Door to Door Organics program essentially delivers a box of fresh, organic produce to your doorstep. There are different sized boxes available (for different sized families), and you can customize your produce choices! Boxes are delivered weekly or biweekly, and for each delivery you can swap out up to five of the pre-chosen selections. One of my favorite parts is that the website tells you where each item is actually coming from, and has "biographies" for many of their farm sources. It feels good to know where your food comes from. 

 How cute are the graphics on that box? Little sells me more than quality presentation, folks...

 My box had so many goodies packed inside! Plus, the produce comes packed on ice so nothing goes bad while it waits for you to get home! The packing materials are left out on the following delivery day so that everything gets reused. How great is that?

This week's produce: 8 oz. sweet cherries, a locally grown eggplant, an orange, a lime, 2 pears, 2 pluots, 2 yellow peaches, a bunch of broccoli, 3 baby gold potatoes, 2 sweet onions, a head of leaf lettuce.

The site also serves as a sort of grocery store, and I added local fresh-from-the-farm parmesan cheese, locally baked organic bread, and a pack of baby bella mushrooms. YUM!

So far I've used the baby bellas and an onion in a homemade pesto pasta dish, the lettuce in a salad, the peaches in a peaches and cream dessert, and I've also had the bread and parmesan. Everything has been fantastic. The head of lettuce is ENORMOUS. What you can see here is a small fraction, let me tell you.. I love that the base of the lettuce is DIRTY too.. You can tell it's fresh from the ground!

How easy is having good, wholesome groceries delivered right to me? Pretty-frickin'-easy. I mean, if I went to the store I can guarantee that I'd come home with a bunch of junk food I'd regret having bought (for both caloric and monetary reasons!). This simplifies everything, limits impulse buys, and keeps my produce choices interesting! I am officially hooked.

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Foodie Pen Pals Reveal 001

Have you heard of Foodie Pen Pals? Well I am a Foodie Pen Pal newbie, and I am here to tell you that it is fabulous. Basically, you sign up over at Lindsay's blog, The Lean Green Bean, and you're matched with another foodie blogger/reader. Your job is to get to know who you're matched up with a bit, and within a couple weeks you'll send them a package full of yummy goodies!

At the same time that you're planning a package for your buddy, someone else is planning a package for you! It's like a giant round robin of foodie goodness -- there are somewhere over 900 participants in the US, Canada, and the UK! I'm telling you, this is a good time.

So onto my reveal... I got my package of deliciousness from the lovely Laura over at Becoming the Odd Duck. Laura is from Texas, which happens to be one of my favorite states, so needless to say I was pretty stoked to get some noms from the lone star state. Check it out!

Who in their right mind doesn't love getting any kind of snail mail, let alone PACKAGES?! Am I right? I mean geez, I'll participate in anything if it means I get packages in the mail! Couldn't wait to cut this bad boy open...

And I was not disappointed in the least!!! Laura sent me: 

• an adorable hand written card explaining her choices
• some super yummy organic whole wheat gemelli pasta
• little peanut butter {and chocolate peanut butter} squeeze packets
• a raspberry pomegranate dark chocolate bar {I mean, are you serious?!}
• organic refried black beans {refried BLACK beans?!}
• Texas BBQ sauce {yum!}
• Biscoff spread {new to me!}
• and the most scrumptious chips I've ever had -- sweet potato chips!

Obviously I busted into the Biscoff like... within moments of opening the package. Have you ever had this stuff? It's like sweet peanut butter made of cookie-goodness or something. It's European. Isn't everything European just... fantastic? Darn those Europeans...

I've had to hide the sweet potato chips from boyfriend, because they are the best ever.

And I've got big plans for the BBQ, pasta, and beans! Separate plans, I mean... While I'm sure they're going to be delicious on their own, I think they'd be kind of gross all together.

And it's all I can do to nibble on my chocolate bar gradually!!

Want to see what I sent my pen pal, Elle? Read about it on her blog here!

Intrigued by the program? Sign up to be a Foodie Pen Pal!

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Bloglovin' & Pretzel Buns!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Just signed up on Bloglovin', waiting on my homemade pretzel buns, baking in the oven! Yum yum! Maybe if you're lucky, I'll post the recipe later... ;) 

If you're on Bloglovin', give me a follow. I'll be eternally grateful!

**UPDATE: Pretzel buns are TO DIE FOR!

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Sunday Soul Food

Well I'd call this a nice week. My plants are growing, my classes are more than half-over, and I've gotten to spend some good quality time with my favorite fella' {Scotty}. Highlights from the week:

  

My mail from the lovely and talented Emilie of Scarborough Food Fair arrived! Who the heck doesn't love getting snail mail that isn't bills or advertisements? I won a My Politic CD, and let me tell you folks, I am loving it. I had no idea "giveaways" were so big in blog land... But I'm sure glad they are! Also, my mom made me some super-yummy black bean salad on fajita night. She also gave me some gorgeous china that used to be hers & my dad's. I make it a rule to basically never turn down free stuff, ha. Jessica helped me host a garage sale, where we found these old "pok-e-balls" from a high school pranking streak. And today, Scotty and I went to the driving range! I'm awful, but boyfriend has got some skills... ;)

The only downside to this week is that summery weather means wearing far less layers, which in turn means you are reminded of all the yummy comfort foods you indulged in all winter long! All this means is that I've gotta eat lighter meals, cut calories, and hit the friggin' gym! Woo! So, here and now, I'm going to pick and chose some recipes I've been dying to try and commit {loosely} to making them this week. Some of them {most of them} are rather indulgent in themselves, so I'll need to lighten them up... But that's a task I can handle. Here we go:

Toasted Mediterranean Sandwich by Simply Scratch

Blueberry Coffee Cake in a Mug by Steph's Bite by Bite

Bangin' Grilled Shrimp Skewers by Skinnytaste

Roasted Chili Lime Chickpeas by Parsley Sage Rosemary & Thyme

Homemade Peanut Butter by Simply Scratch

Other things I want to make {from cookbooks or you know, my head}:

Rolls using fresh herbs

Trail Mix

Low-Cal Chocolate Cupcakes

Spaghetti Squash with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Yum yum yum... We'll see how this plan goes, and be sure to check out the blogs I've linked to. They're all friggin' fabulous, I swear!

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