Orange Monkey Bread with Blueberry sauce

I don't usually go for super sugary stuff in the morning. It usually leaves me weighed down and sluggish 9 am (well, I say that, but the real reason is that I can't limit myself to a reasonable amount of this deliciousness. The real real reason is that I'm just too lazy to do more than toast some bread and cook an egg or two in the morning). But it was hubby's birthday, and he wanted orange monkey bread, so that's what he got. I've made this several times, but this time, since we're living minimally here in our temporary housing, I had to make do with brown sugar instead of powdered sugar, and a round casserole dish instead of a bundt pan. Honestly, I think that it worked out fine, so if you need to you can totally do it this way, but I would recommend doing it the way the recipe says. The way I did it left a puddle of buttery orange sugar at the bottom of the pan that spilled everywhere when I flipped the pan over. Still delicious, but potentially hazardous, especially if you're not expecting it. Anyway, enjoy! It really is as good as it looks...possibly better. :)

Orange Monkey Bread with Blueberry Sauce

1/4 cup melted butter
½ cup orange juice
grated orange peel
1 cup powdered sugar
15 to 20 frozen rolls
Combine butter, orange juice, orange peel, and powdered sugar.  Place frozen rolls in bundt pan, evenly distributed. Pour orange mixture over rolls. Cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise overnight.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until done. Remove rolls by turning pan over onto serving platter. Top with glaze, if desired.

Blueberry topping:
1 ½ cup blueberries
1 cup orange juice
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, combine blueberries, orange juice, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Make a slurry with the cornstarch and slowly add it to the blueberry mixture. Heat until the mixture has thickened. Serve over your monkey bread. 

Egg-free Corn Bread

I love me some cornbread. Drizzle some honey on top and pair it with a bowl of chili or a plate of enchiladas, and I'm in heaven. This recipe has no eggs and is nice and dense. No crumbles here! It's perfect for those honey drizzles!

Egg-free Cornbread

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons oil

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk and the oil, and stir until just blended.
Spread the batter into a nonstick or lightly oil-sprayed 9-inch square baking dish, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve hot.

Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies (egg-free)

This is probably my favorite chocolate chip recipe. Something about the yogurt, I think… Anyway, these delicious morsels have no eggs and about half the butter of a normal chocolate-chip cookie. No eggs means you don’t have to feel weird when you eat the raw cookie dough, right? The cookies in my picture turned out rather flat  lucky me, DH loves them that way), but if you want them rounder, just make sure your dough is colder than room temperature before you stick it in the oven. 

 

Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookie (egg-free)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter until light and fluffy. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until incorporated, then mix in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Chick Pea peanut Butter Blondies

I’m always very wary of desserts made out of un-desserty type thing, like beans. So wary, in fact, that I’ve never made one before. Until now. These were SO SO SO easy so make (like, literally 5 minutes of prep time, so quick), and they’re actually pretty tasty. DH said he didn’t care for the texture because they were “too smooshy”… but I didn’t tell him they were made out of beans, and he didn’t guess. My girlies loved them, though. I will definitely be making them again.

Chick pea peanut butter blondies

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 honey (or agave, or whatever you want to sweeten it with)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg (optional)

1/3 cup chocolate chips plus 2 tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 8×8 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a food processor, add all ingredients except chocolate chips and process until batter is smooth. You don't have to use an egg. I did because I needed a little more liquid to get my blender to blend. it makes them a little more cakey, so depending on your tastes, you can do what you want.

Fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan then sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and edges are a tiny bit brown. Don't overcook!

Cool pan for 20 minutes on wire rack. Makes 16 blondies.

Adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Peanut butter apple nachos

I guess I shouldn’t really call these “nachos” since there’s absolutely no chips or melty cheese involved, but you get the idea. Here, the chips are thinly sliced apples, and the cheese is melted peanut butter.  Add unsweetened coconut and mini chocolate chips, and you’ve got yourself the perfect afternoon snack. I shared this with my girls and it was a hit all around.

Peanut Butter Apple Nachos

2 apples, sliced thin

1 teaspoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons peanut butter

Unsweetened coconut

Mini chocolate chips

Spread your apples on a plate. Try not to get too many overlapping pieces, cuz you know, you want that peanut butter to be on EVERY SLICE. Spritz some lemon juice on the apples to keep them from browning. Melt the peanut butter in the microwave until it’s runny and drizzly (it should only take about 30 seconds). 

Drizzle the peanut butter over the apples with a spoon, and sprinkle the coconut and chocolate chips on top. I’ll trust you to add as much of those as you want. You may also want to add some nuts, like slivered almonds or pecans. Let it sit for a minute so that the peanut butter can set again (it’ll only take a minute or two, especially if your apples are cold from the refrigerator). Enjoy!

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

These are SO good. I didn’t really have terribly high hopes for them, for some reason, but they were DELICIOUS. This is the perfect recipe for using up extra quinoa, but even if you have to cook it especially for this recipe, it’s totally worth it.

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 large eggs

1 cup shredded zucchini (make sure you drain the liquid off by squeezing it through a towel or cheese cloth)

2 stalks green onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup (or 2 oz) grated Parmesan cheese*

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 

Mix together quinoa, zucchini, egg, green onion, garlic, cilantro, cheese, flour, salt and pepper.
 

Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top.
 

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let them cool before you remove them, otherwise they’ll fall apart.

These are AMAZING dipped in honey mustard sauce, but use any kind that you like, or just eat them plain.