Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

August 17, 2015 | Food | 20 Comments »

For those of you who know me, you know that toward the end of August I get started on my pumpkin kick. I know. I know. We’re technically nowhere near the end of August and still have about a month left of Summer. Well, if eating pumpkin anything this early on in the year is wrong I don’t wanna be right! For those of you who don’t know me, be prepared. There’s going to be a whole lotta pumpkin going on around here.

I’ve got homemade pumpkin ravioli in my freezer, 2 jars of my own pumpkin spice syrup in the fridge, and a batch of these delicious Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins sitting on the kitchen table. To hell with Summer, I’m ready for Fall NOW!

Ok now that I’m done justifying my venture into all things pumpkin so early on in the year, we can turn our attention to these wonderful muffins. I stumbled upon the recipe for these Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins some time last year. The moment I laid eyes on them I knew I had to make them. I’ve tried so many pumpkin muffin recipes and find that most are pretty good. But these? They’re amazing! They’re packed with pumpkin flavor and not the least bit dry. A lot of the pumpkin muffins I’ve made in the past have been on the dry side. Not these! The cheesecake center is perfection. Also, it might look like it’s overly sweet, but it’s not. It’s the perfect muffin to pair with your morning coffee.

Even though this recipe is amazing I did make a few changes. First, for the muffin I added 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice and 1 tsp cinnamon (the original recipe has it switched around). I just prefer more pumpkin spice. For the filling I used a whole package of cream cheese because I don’t like wasting stuff and I have no use for 2 oz of cream cheese. I also cut the sugar down to 1 tbsp rather than 3 tbsp. Then I use a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the liners and top it with 2 tsp cookie scoop (2 scoops) of filling. I gently pat it into the center and top it off with the topping. I’ve never had any issues with it overflowing and it’s so much easier than all that layering. This way I get 12 even sized muffins.

These muffins freeze well. I usually set aside 4 for me and my son over the next 2 days and freeze the rest. Allow them to thaw overnight in an airtight container.

If you’re a fellow pumpkin lover, you’re gonna wanna make these muffins!

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Zucchini crisps

July 16, 2015 | Food | 22 Comments »

Every time I try a recipe I find on Pinterest I think of these types of posts. I may have laughed a little too hard at some of those. It happens though. Thankfully that didn’t happen to me today. Because a) I really wanted to try these zucchini crisps since the day I pinned them and b) I was starving!

Today I tried the Zucchini Parmesan Crisps from Damn Delicious. It’s an easy recipe to whip up. I made a few changes though. I used light soy milk in place of the egg. I also seasoned the flour with a little salt and pepper. Then I added some Italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder to the panko and parmesan. Oh, I cut the recipe in half and added 2 tbsp parmesan instead of 1/4 cup. Ok I guess you could say that I butchered the recipe. I’m sure it was fine as is. I do things differently is all.

I wouldn’t exactly say that these are healthy because they are fried. But that didn’t stop me from eating like half of the zucchini myself. These are AMAZING! I served them with a vegan ranch dip that I quickly whipped up. Here’s a closer look…

Believe me when I tell you that these are amazing! Both my husband and son loved them! And my husband HATES veggies! This is good stuff!

Follow me on Pinterest to see more deliciousness. I probably pin more food than anything.

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Peach green tea smoothie

June 23, 2015 | Food | 12 Comments »

My breakfasts are usually pretty boring. Every morning I have yogurt with some fresh fruit and granola. Once in a while I’ll switch it up and do overnight oats during the warmer months and hot oatmeal during the cooler months. Lately I’ve been switching it up even more by throwing some smoothies into the mix. I’m still enjoying that delicious green smoothie that I stumbled upon last month. In fact I have some smoothie packs in my freezer ready to go. But this morning I wanted something different. Something lighter, but equally refreshing and tasty. So I looked around my kitchen to see what I could come up with. When I saw my new container of The Republic of Tea Double Green Matcha Tea Bags sitting on my counter, it all fell into place. I brewed a cup, but made it double strength by adding 2 bags per 1 cup of water. Once the tea was chilled I poured 1/2 cup of it into my Vitamix along with 1 container of Chobani Non-Fat Peach Yogurt, the delicious donut peach I purchased at the market yesterday, and a half of a banana.

The peach was definitely sweet enough so adding a sweetener was unnecessary. The smoothie has a nice light peach flavor to it. The green tea adds a nice kick. Texture wise it’s not a thick smoothie, but it’s not watery either. It’s on the creamier side thanks to the added banana. It’s a truly light, refreshing, pick-me-up kind of smoothie. I’m definitely keeping this in rotation this Summer.

You can cut back on sugar by using plain yogurt. Making this change will save you an extra 11g of sugar. I personally like the extra peach flavor.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 225, Fat 0g, Cholesterol 5mg, Sodium 61mg, Fiber 5g, Sugar 33g, Protein 14g

*Nutrition Facts imported from MyFitnessPal.

Also, did you know that I added a recipe section to my blog? The recipes posted now were imported from my old blog. I’ll definitely be adding to the list. I had several more recipes, but I’ve since reworked them and they all need to be photographed again. I’ll be sure to mention whenever I add a new recipe. If you decide to make anything, please let me know. I’d love to hear what you think!

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