Gloop

This was affectionately named by my sister-in-law's family . . . . I would simply call it YUMMY! This is a great idea for holiday goodie baskets/plates!

1/2 Box Crispix Cereal (4 cups)
1/2 Box Golden Grahams (4 cups)
1 1/4 cup slivered almonds (I toast them, she doesn't. It all depends on your preference.)
1/2 Bag Pretzels
1 cup coconut (this is saved for the very last)

Boil the following for 2 minutes
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup

Pour over dry ingredients. Mix in coconut last.

You can also add M&M's, peanuts, etc. . . .

Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas

*photo and recipe (adapted) from here

3-4T olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 onion, diced
1-2 medium zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
1 can sweet corn (if you have fresh, I think it would be so much better)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 t cumin
lots of chopped cilantro (depending on your tastes)
salt & pepper
8 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup shredded cheese (I used pepper jack, but any cheese you love would work)

Preheat over to 400 degrees.

In a medium skillet, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute more. Add zucchini (and corn if you're using fresh) and cook until it begin to soften, about 5 minutes more. Add corn and beans and cook until heated through. Season with cumin, salt, pepper and cilantro.

Spread one side of tortillas with olive oil. On a cookie sheet place one tortilla, oil side down, fill with zucchini mixture and top with cheese (more or less depending on your tastes). Place remaining tortillas on top, oiled side up. Bake until cheese is melted and the tortillas begin to get crispy, about 10 minutes (you can also place under the broiler if you want it even crispier). Cut into wedges and serve immediately. I served mine with raspberry-chipotle salsa and it was fantastic.

**Only make the number of quesadillas you need for the meal. Save remaining filling to make additional quesadillas for lunch the next day. Or, just eat the yummy filling alone (like I did)

Homemade Marshmallows

2 oz. unflavored gelatin
2 cups cold water, divided
2 egg whites
2 cups sugar
1 t vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
3 T cornstarch

Mix powdered sugar and cornstarch. Liberally coat a 9x13" pan with sugar/cornstarch mixture. Reserve remaining for later.

Place 1/2 cup cold water in a small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over the top and stir to dissolve. In a medium sauce pan, combine remaining water (1 1/2 cups) and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook to 250 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin mixture until dissolved.

While sugar and water are boiling, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. While mixer is running (at about medium) slowly pour in sugar mixture. Whip for about 5 minutes. Add vanilla and mix for another minute or two. Mixture should be glossy and shinny and will begin to thicken. Pour into prepared pan and cover with more powdered sugar mixture. Let rest and set-up for a minimum of 4 hours and up to overnight.

Remove marshmallow from pan and place on a cutting board. Using a pizza cutter, cut into 1" squares. Coat marshmallows in powdered sugar mixture. Store in an air tight container.

*Marshmallow can be colored with liquid food coloring. You will need to add the food coloring at the beginning of the mixing time.

**You can also make marshmallow eggs for Easter. Fill a 9x13" pan with flour. Using plastic (or real) eggs, make indentations for the mold. When marshmallow mixture is whipped, use two large spoons to spoon marshmallow into the mold. Eggs can then be chocolate covered.

I used these to make "gourmet" s'mores at a "faux campout" over the weekend. We used organic graham crackers and high quality chocolate. They were quite the hit!

Double Chocolate Muffins

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (no substitutions)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Let all ingredients come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease muffin cups or line with paper/foil cups. Melt unsweetened chocolate and let cool.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and vanilla. In a large bowl, beat butter until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add brown sugar, beating on high speed until lightened in color and texture, about 4 to 5 minutes. Beat in egg. Add melted chocolate and beat in until just blended.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat in thoroughly, then 1/2 of buttermilk mixture and beat in. Continue until all of flour mixture and buttermilk mixture have been fully incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter among muffin cups and bake 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted into one or two of the muffins comes out clean. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes in the pan before removing; serve at room temperature.

Sweet Snack Mix

6 cups corn chex
6 cups golden grahams
2 cups slivered almonds
3 cups coconut chips (you can get this at the health food store, or just use regular flaked coconut)
1 1/2 cups butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups karo

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix butter, sugar and karo in large sauce pan. Cook to 230 degrees on a candy thermometer (about soft ball). Pour over above mixture. Pour on wax paper to cool. Store in an airtight container. *You can also add M&Ms once this starts to cool.

I've also had this with rice chex and cinnamon toast crunch cereals.

MaGiC Pretzels

1 cup corn or canola oil {The 2 times I've made them I've used only 3/4 and then down to 1/2 cup and they still taste YUMMY - cut down the unhealthy any way I can!}
1 envelope (1 ounce) dried ranch salad-dressing mix
1/2 of a 1 ounce envelope dried garlic-flavored salad dressing mix {I couldn't find any so I just used some garlic powder and garlic & herb seasoning}
1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
1 teaspoon dried dill
1 pound hard sourdough "beer" pretzels, broken into pieces

Put oil, salad-dressing mixes, lemon-pepper seasoning, and dill into a gallon size ziplock bag, seal it, then sake hard to mix {Ava loved doing this!}. Add pretzels and toss until they're completely coat. Allow the pretzels to "marinate" for at least 1 hour, giving them a shake whenever you think of it.

Heat oven to 300. Spread pretzels and their flavorings on a large, rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil and baked, stirring every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes.

Let pretzels cool completely, while stirring often. Store them in an airtight container (they'll keep for 4 to 6 weeks).

From Wonder time December/January 2008 magazine

Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe makes a ton, you can freeze them and they make a great fast snack later.

I even like to think they are relatively healthy since they use applesauce instead of oil. To make them even healthier you can substitute 1/2 banana per 1 egg.

3 1/2 C flour 4 eggs
2 tsp salt 2/3 C water
2 tsp nutmeg 1 can pumpkin (16 oz)
2 tsp cinnamon 1 C applesauce
2 tsp baking soda Chocolate chips (opt)
2 1/2 C sugar

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients and slowly add to dry mixture. Mix until just combined- don't over mix. Pour into greased muffin tins. Bake at 350. For normal size muffines, bake 18-20 minutes. For mini muffins, bake 10-12 minutes.
Makes about 100 mini muffins or 3 dozen regular size.

Cinnamon-Roasted Almonds

1 egg white

1 t cold water

4 cups almonds

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 t salt

1/2 to 1 t cinnamon (I used 1/2 as called for in the original recipe, but felt like it needed a bit more cinnamon)

Preheat oven to 250. Lightly grease a 10x15 jelly roll pan.

Lightly beat egg white, add water and beat until frothy. Add nuts and stir until well coated. Mix sugar, salt and cinnamon and sprinkle over nuts. Toss to coat and spread evenly on pan. Bake for 1 hour stirring occasionally (every 15 minutes); let cool and store in an airtight container.

3 Bean Dip

This is the perfect March Madness (or Super Bowl) snack. I could eat the whole bowl myself! This recipe comes from either Mel or Michelle (I can't remember who) and it's one of my favorites.

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
½ green pepper, diced small
½ red onion, diced small
1 tomato, diced small
½ to ¾ cup Catalina dressing
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve with Fritos scoops.