Pinterest Party & Link-up (vol 31) and 31 Days of Gratitude: Love of Fall and Pumpkin Donuts

By bobbi
October 7, 2014
2 Comments

AND

I love Fall and today was the first day that it felt like it. The fog cleared and the sun came out, yet there was still a little chill in the air. There are pumpkins everywhere and changing leaves and it makes me want to bake something that will make the house smell like cinnamon and nutmeg. So today is a mashup post! For my 31 Days of Gratitude Challenge I’m grateful for the season of Fall and for the RoL Pinterest Party I’m trying a new pumpkin recipe. 🙂

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For the Pinterest Party, join me as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

Not on Pinterest? No problem. Link-up your own creation to inspire us so we can pin in to our own boards. It can be a recipe, sewing project, Catholic craft, homeschool project, organizing/ homemaking tip, themed birthday party, whatever you’d like.

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for 10 days so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately. 🙂

PLEASE NOTE: Because we are entering the busy season of Autumn and the holidays that follow, starting now, I will be doing the Pinterest Party only once a month. It will be every first Tuesday of the month and the link up will be open for 30 days, so there is plenty of time to join the fun! 🙂

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You can find me on Pinterest here.

I saw this recipe for Chocolate Covered Pumpkin Donuts from My Whole Food Life.com and I knew I had to try them. I especially liked that these donuts are baked, made with whole wheat and have no processed sugar.

Normally, I change a recipe to my liking but for the donuts, I followed Melissa’s ingredients exactly. I think the next time I may use a touch less ginger and cloves.

Ingredients

For the donut:
1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour (To make them gluten free, just sub GF all purpose flour)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp ginger
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg (I used a flax egg replacer)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

For the chocolate coating:
2 cups chocolate chips
3-4 T milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Melissa’s Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a mini muffin tray.
In one bowl mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices.
In another bowl mix pumpkin, maple syrup, applesauce, egg, milk and vanilla until smooth.
Add dry to wet and mix just until combined.
Spoon mixture into the mini muffin tins and bake for about 11 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
After the mini muffins have cooled start the chocolate coating.

Chocolate Coating
Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and the milk until you get a smooth chocolate sauce.
Roll the donuts into the chocolate sauce until it is covered.
Then place each covered donut onto a baking sheet or plate and put in the freezer for at least 10-15 min.
Store them in the fridge on a plate or baking sheet.

(Melissa has a lot of other delicious looking recipes that I want to try. Check out her blog at – http://mywholefoodlife.com/.

Now, when I made Melissa’s recipe, I didn’t have mini muffin tins. Instead I made one batch in my mini-donut pan and one batch in my regular donut pan. I also didn’t have a double boiler so instead I stuck a handful of chocolate chips in a bowl with a dash of milk and microwaved it for 30 seconds. I stirred it and added milk to make it the right consistency. It worked great.

The final verdict. When I tasted the donut plain, I wasn’t convinced since it seemed like it had too many spices and not enough sugar. However, after topping each with the chocolate, which added plenty of sweetness, I thought they tasted really good. The proof? I can’t show you a photo of the mini-donuts because the kids wiped out the batch. So there you go. 😉

What kind of things have you been creating lately?

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Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. 🙂 (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

The link up will be active until the end of the month. Have fun!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd or Instagram. 😉

PPS – This post contains affiliate links from Amazon.

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Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 27): Homemade Granola Bars

By bobbi
August 12, 2014
4 Comments

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for 10 days so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately. 🙂

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Since we are trying to eat healthier and more whole foods, when I saw this recipe for homemade Grab and Go Granola Bars I was eager to give them a try. The recipe was posted by Amy over at Super Healthy Kids.com.

She originally got it from Anni Daulter, the author of

The Organic Family Cookbook: Growing, Greening, and Cooking Together.

Here’s the recipe:

2 cups Rolled oats
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries (I used raisins instead.)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon flax oil
3 TBL brown sugar (I used unrefined coconut sugar instead.)
mini chocolate chips (optional – white or milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a ceramic or glass 9X13 inch baking dish.

Mix oats, sunflower seeds, cranberries, wheat germ, and almonds altogether in a bowl.

Spread mixture on a sheet pan and toast in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Return mixture to a large bowl.

In a medium saucepan, combine salt, peanut butter, honey, flax oil, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat and immediately remove from heat.(Watch closely! It can burn easily. Don’t ask me how I know. ;-))

Pour over oats mixture and combine until dry ingredients are evenly coated.

Stir in chocolate if you are using it.

Pour into baking dish. Press mixture down into pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Let cool for up to 2 hours and then cut and serve.

I cooked the granola for 20 minutes but I should have done it a little less or lowered the temp because my oven always runs a little hotter and the edges of the pan were overcooked. Next time I also need to press the granola down more. There were pockets where it was too loose and it crumbled. Despite a few glitches, no one besides me seemed to mind and the family gobbled up the bars. I’ll definitely be making these again. I think next time I’ll also add some coconut. 🙂

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Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

The link up will be active for 10 days. Have fun!

PPS – This post contains affiliate links.

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Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 26): Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Salad

By bobbi
July 22, 2014
2 Comments

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 1st Tuesday of the month as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

Don’t have a post ready? The link-up will be open for a month so there’s still time. Plus, feel free to link up a new post or an older post that hasn’t had much traffic lately. 🙂

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I tried this recipe at the beginning of summer and we liked it so much that we have had it countless times since. It is the Southwestern Black Bean Salad from Skinny Taste.com. I changed it a little to suit our taste.

Ingredients

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 fresh corn cobs, cooked and kernels removed.
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, halved; quartered is they are “Costco” large. (or 1 regular tomato, diced)*
1/2 medium red onion, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro, stems removed and chopped
dash or two of garlic powder
salt and fresh pepper to taste
(optional) 1 hass avocado, diced to top each serving**
(optional) For a spicy dish, add 1 diced jalapeno

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all your ingredients. Stir well. Let sit in the fridge for 20 – 30 minutes before serving.

* If you use cherry tomatoes, you can dice them or simply cut them in half. To remove the excess juice I use a trick I learned from Bobby Flay. After cutting the tomatoes, please them in a colander with a few dashes of salt. Give them a few shakes and let sit for 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, prepare the rest of your ingredients.

** The original recipe has you mix the avocado in the bowl before serving, which is fine if there are no leftovers. Otherwise the avocado gets brown and mushy, even with the lime. When I use avocado I simply add some on top of each serving. The recipe is also tasty without it all together.

However you put it together, the results are the same. Delicious!

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Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

The link up will be active for a month. Have fun!

PPS – This post may contain affiliate links.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 24): Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

By bobbi
June 9, 2014
2 Comments

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June is a crazy busy month so quick and easy dinners are a must. Lately we’ve had more foggy days than sunny days, so last week I thought I’d try a tortilla soup. I am always on a quest for the perfect tortilla soup. There was a restaurant I went to years ago (can’t even remember the name) and I had the best tasting tortilla soup. Ever since then I have been trying to find a recipe that was similar. This was not the same but it was still good and the family loved it. I adapted the recipe from the original at Fit Mama Real Food.com

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chili
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 onion, diced
2 cups fresh (or frozen) corn
1/2 – 1 cups of water (I tend to go less since a lot of water accumulates in the slow cooker.)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 lime
1 handful of cilantro, stems removed

Directions

Place all ingredients except the chicken in your slow cooker. Place chicken on top. Cover with liquid. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-9 hours. When done, shred the chicken with two forks. Return to slow cooker. Stir.

Serve in bowl. Top with cilantro and the juice of a lime wedge. Enjoy!

(My pin for this recipe is here.)

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. 🙂 (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

The link up will be active for 10 days. Have fun!

PPS – This post may contain affiliate links.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 23): Whole Wheat Baked Chocolate Donuts

By bobbi
April 22, 2014
8 Comments

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This post was definitely a trial and error project. Now that we are trying to eat a healthier diet, one of the things Brian and the kids miss the most is their Sunday morning after Mass donut. I decided to try and make my own baked version, keeping in mind that we are staying away from white flour and refined sugar. (And stop asking, so what’s the point?) I scanned Pinterest for a recipe and found this one – Whole Wheat Baked Pumpkin Donuts.

First I got together all the ingredients, substituting lowfat buttermilk for the almond milk and using unrefined coconut sugar instead of brown sugar.

I used my new mini-donut pans.

I cooled them off and followed Nichol’s directions for icing them.

I microwaved 4 oz. chocolate chips and 1 1/2 TBS of oil in small bowl on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds. I dunked the top side of each donut into the chocolate, allowing excess to drop off. For me, the chocolate set in about 20 minutes.

They came out looking great buuuuuut…… I didn’t like the way they tasted. Maybe it was the substitutions but they tasted more like a not very sweet muffin with chocolate. I wasn’t expecting it to taste like a real donut but my version was no bueno.

I decided to give it another try with another recipe. This one was for Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes. I didn’t want to do the glaze so I adapted it and made a few changes so I could make Baked Chocolate Wheat Donuts.

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour (or half wheat, half all-purpose)
1 cup unrefined coconut sugar
1/2 cup (64 grams) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten (room temperature)
3/4 cup low fat buttermilk (room temperature*)
1/4 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 Tablespoons coconut oil

Once I tweaked the ingredients, I followed Sally’s directions.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Make the donuts. Sift the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder together in a large bowl. Sifting is important; you want to remove any clumps of cocoa. Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the beaten eggs, buttermilk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely smooth. Whisk in the melted coconut oil until combined. Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Careful not to overmix. Mix the two together only until no flour pockets remain. Over-handling this batter will make your donuts dense and tough.

Spoon batter into the mini donut tins, only about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake them; they burn easily. Allow the donuts to cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Here is the finished product…

… and they actually tasted good. Okay so you wouldn’t think they came from Dunkin Donuts but the one topped with coconut was especially tasty! The kids loved the mini donuts. I cheated and used some contraband sprinkles that weren’t considered a real or whole food but, come on, we’re eating freaking baked wheat donuts for crying out loud. What more do you expect?! 😉

Seriously, they are good but they are best eaten within a day or so, as they do not keep well. With my kiddos, that wasn’t a problem since they were happy to polish them off.

Well, that was my creation. What have you been creating lately?

Oh, and since there is an extra Tuesday this month I’ll keep the link open for an extra week. If you are on Pinterest, let me know so I can follow you. You can find me here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

The link up will be active for 17 days. Have fun!

An InLinkz Link-up

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Tag Archives: recipes

Pinterest Party & Link-up (vol 31) and 31 Days of Gratitude: Love of Fall and Pumpkin Donuts

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 27): Homemade Granola Bars

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 26): Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Salad

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 24): Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 23): Whole Wheat Baked Chocolate Donuts