Mini Pancake Muffins

Well it's Saturday, and one thing I remember from when I was a child going to school is that Saturday meant a special delicious breakfast instead of just a rushed bowl of cereal or toast.  My dad kind of spoiled us when he was home, and he would make us french toast or pancakes or one of his famous "bologna and egg sandwiches" (they may not sound like a big deal, but growing up they were the best things ever!).  So trying to continue the tradition this morning I made these adorable "Mini Pancake Muffins" :

We buy our pancake mix from Costco, so I used a Costco Mix that is combined with a whole wheat pancake mix, since Brook doesn't like the whole wheat mix on its own....

Grease the Pan (I used Pam), Pour in prepared pancake mix (ours is the just add water kind), Then drop chocolate chips or blueberries or whatever your heart desires with your pancakes in the cup & bake @ 350° for 8-9mins or until golden brown.

Pop them out and drizzle with syrup, yum!

No-Bake Energy Bites

Well after another 5km and a round of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred, I was in need of a post workout snack.  After a few minutes of scanning through some recipes I knew just what I wanted to make, and I thought I had all the ingredients to make them...

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal (dry)

1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in bowl, refrigerate for a half hour, then roll into balls.

Should make 18-20 balls.

  The thing I love about these is as the original poster *Smashed Peas and Carrots said the ingredient list is so flexible.  I didn't have quite enough honey so I added a little more vanilla and peanut butter, then I didn't have flax seed so added some raisins instead, they are GOOD.  So many variations could be made, a keeper recipe for sure. 

Frozen Yogurt Dots & Yogurt Covered Strawberries

These two healthy snacks have been on a pin board for probably almost as long as I've been a Pinterest member so today I decided to finally give them a try. They are so easy to prepare I'm not sure why I've waited this long.

Frozen Yogurt Dots:

Cover a cookie sheet with wax paper, fill a ziploc bag with yogurt and cut off the corner, then squeeze the yogurt in dots onto the wax paper.  Freeze (probably take 10-15 minutes I made the next snack while they froze).  Remove from wax paper and put into container in the freezer.

Yogurt Covered Strawberries:

Again cover cookie sheet with wax paper, then cut strawberries in half and drop them into a bowl of yogurt to coat them.  I used a fork to grab them out and place them on the cookie sheet.  Freeze 10-15 minutes.  I then washed out the empty yogurt container to store them in and refroze.

 
 My daughter has already gotten into both of these snacks and she loves them, next time I'll have to make more!

Healthy Habits

With the month of October (and my 25th Birthday) fast approaching, I have made a pledge to myself, I will make healthier habits.  I'm going to give up fast food/restaurant food for the ENTIRE month of October.  It may seem like an easy task to most people, but neither of my parents have their drivers licenses so they rely heavily on me to get them out of the house and help them run their errands--which consequently adds to my already busy/hectic life and has me spending more time at coffee shops than I would like.

So for the month of October (and heck why wait that long, I'm starting today) I'm going to start making better choices to get me closer to my ultimate goal weight and make sure that the 1st month of being 25 years old is a step toward something positive.

I made my first step this morning, despite the cold air that quenched my lungs as I opened the front door to walk my daughter to the bus stop, I made sure to have my good runners on and after the bus left I took off in the opposite direction of home and jogged/walked a 5km.  It's the first outdoor 5km I've done in far too long and it felt great!  I arrived home with tons of energy to spare so popped my p90x ab ripper X dvd into the player and got it done. 

Like I've said in a previous post, once I get started working out, I turn into kind of a workout junkie.  I love to workout, I'm just terrible at pairing it with healthy eating, which is why it took me 2 years to lose 70lbs.  I still consider it an incredible accomplishment, but sometimes lose track of why I started in the first place and what my ultimate goal was--a healthier overall life.  So over the next month I'm going to be dedicating some of my blog posts to my new healthier habits.  One thing I'm going to need is some healthier go-to snacks and after workout eats.  So stay tuned and today I'll be posting some of my pinterest finds for those!

Happy Thursday everyone, have a great one :)

 The first step is always the hardest to take, but once you take it you'll never regret it :)

 

Rolo Cookies

I bought way too many rolos to use to make my dads rolo cake, so needed to find another recipe to use them up, suppose we could have always just eaten them, haha but they go a little farther this way and that wouldn't have been any fun.

So for this one I used my new Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, but if you have your own favorite that would work too.  I used a mini muffin pan-- if you haven't noticed yet I love my mini muffin pan, but I'm sure it would work as a basic cookie as well.

These were so simple, and so good, I think I'll make them again after Halloween with the leftover candy ;)

I cut the rolos in half then stuffed

Covered with dough

Then baked in a 350° preheated oven for 8-10mins

Now that was a lot of work...think you deserve one, maybe two?  They are bite sized after all!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies

I don't think I've ever successfully made brownies, they always end up undercooked or overcooked, so trying this recipe had me skeptical, but it sounded so yummy I had to give it a try.

Brownie Layer:

•  3/4 cup butter 
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips 
• 1 cup white sugar 
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar 
• 4 large eggs  (seemed like a lot to me, but I followed the recipe)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup flour 

1. Preheat the oven to 350° Spray a 9x9-inch pan with nonstick spray, then line with a strip of parchment paper (NOT Wax, there is a difference, wax paper will smoke) so that it covers the bottom and comes up two sides of the pan. Spray the parchment with nonstick spray too.

2. In a microwave safe bowl microwave in 30 second bursts to melt butter and chocolate chips together until all is melted and smooth. Whisk in the sugars, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla and salt. Sift flour into the bowl and stir that in too. Scrape the brownie batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the brownie layer is cooked through (toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Place the pan of brownies in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling process (or cool at room temperature and add the cookie dough layer later).  (Instructions continued below photo... )

 My Little Helper Stirring The Brownie Mix

Now time for the Cookie Dough Layer:

• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature or almost melted
•  3/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup miniature chocolate chips (I used regular sized chocolate chips)
• additional miniature chocolate chips, if desired (to melt on top)  

3. In a large bowl, combine the butter, sugars and salt until soft and creamy. Mix in the milk and vanilla. Sprinkle in the flour and mix in until combined. Stir in the 1 cup of chocolate chips. Scoop the cookie dough onto the top of the brownies and spread onto the brownie layer. I found it easiest to do this with a chilled brownie layer. Wet your hands or spray them with nonstick spray and pat the cookie dough on top in a even layer. Melt additional chocolate chips and then drizzle on top.
 

 4.  Use the parchment paper to lift the brownies from the pan and onto a cutting board, cut and enjoy! 

One thing I will note, these are very rich, delicious but rich, so I think next time I will use a bigger pan so the pieces arn't as thick and can be cut more "bite sized".

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like most people, I have a favorite go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I have been using the same recipe for a few years now,  but after finding this one I am going to have to say it' just might be replaced!

 Ingredients:

•  1 cup butter or margarine--personally I use margarine, just because it's cheaper 
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 package (102g) vanilla instant pudding mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups chocolate chips

1. Mix together softened butter and sugar then add pudding mix and vanilla. Beat in one egg at a time. In a separate bowl, mix together, flour, salt and baking soda. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Sooo Fluffy!

2. Preheat oven to 350. Spoon cookie dough onto baking sheet (I always roll my dough into balls for a smoother looking cookie). Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Yields: 2 Dozen Cookies