Archives for August 2013

Pumpkin Oatmeal PB Cookies.

August 31, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Pasta 4 Comments

Well there’s a mouthful in a title! School started today for my oldest, her first day of high school (my youngest started last week) and today it really hit me that summer is wrapping up fast and furiously. That means one thing… fall will be upon us and pumpkin is on my brain! I LOVE pumpkin… cookies, bread, bars…whatever. I’m not selective. So, in the deafening silence of my house, I whipped up a batch of these cookies for an after-school, yay you survived your first day of high school reward. Ha ha.

These cookies are very tender and light – almost cake light. Super yummy but not a crispy, crunchy type of cookie. Just wanted to preface that before continuing on with the recipe.

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— Knead to Cook

Bill’s Watermelon Lime Martini.

August 30, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Beverages, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Party Foods, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

We LOVE watermelon in our house. And I realize, as school returns this week that my love affair with the fruit is wrapping up *sigh* as summer comes to an end. Today, while grocery shopping, I picked up probably my 20th of the season and it was beautifully ripe and perfect. My husband got to working at his new bar and whipped up this delightfully refreshing cocktail in honor of the watermelon. Perfect to serve at a garden party, bar-b-que or for us, a s’mores night with friends around the fire. Also perfect for a Labor Day party. *Always drink responsibly.

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— Knead to Cook

Pumpkin Pie Energy Bites.

August 29, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breakfast, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Nuts, Snacks, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 7 Comments

If you’ve followed my blog long enough, you know I’m all about energy balls/bites! They are a great pre or post workout snack. Great breakfast or snack on the go! They are also great in lunch boxes. Any time I can get extra protein and fiber into my kids – I’m all over it. This week I made another pumpkin recipe and had some leftovers in the fridge that I wanted to use up. I thought energy bites would be awesome. These take about 5 minutes of prep, 30 minutes of chilling and then rolling them out. They keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks. Bite-sized goodness!

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— Knead to Cook

Smoked Honey Dijon Mustard Glaze.

August 28, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Chicken, Fish, Fruit, Gluten Free, Grilling, Grilling/Rubs/Sauces, Pork, Sauces, Seafood, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 2 Comments

My little farm stand, tucked away on this windy road, surrounded by Amish farms has this wonderful little gem I found probably two or so years ago and I keep going back for more… it’s smoked honey. I’ve gotten a slew of questions about how one smokes honey every time I post a picture. I’m unsure of the exact measures that one takes to yield such an incredible product but I’m sure glad they do! It’s remarkably flexible… I can top grilled fruit with it or use it in glazes, such as this one. Tonight I’m grilling up a pork tenderloin for my family and this glaze will finish it off nicely. You can easily use it over fish or chicken as well.

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— Knead to Cook

Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk.

August 27, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Beverages, Breakfast, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Nuts, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free 14 Comments

I’ve never really been a fan of cow’s milk, even when I was a child. Now cheese – I love and often proclaim that I can eat my body weight in it! When almond milk hit the scene a few years ago, we switched over to that and my family enjoyed and actually preferred it. Because I’ve cut out most sugar in my diet, I switched over to the unsweetened milk. I’m not a cereal eater but I do make overnight oats for breakfast and eat that everyday and use the milk to soften the oats in the recipe. I started making my own almond milk about a year now, since I got my Vitamix machine and I love it. First, it is so easy to do and two, it costs less to make it at home – win, win! It also only contains three ingredients, which I clearly can pronounce. Now, if you want to sweeten the milk you can easily add some maple syrup or honey versus using a refined sugar (start with a 1 tablespoon) and add to your preference. Okay now onto the recipe…

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— Knead to Cook

Grilled peach salsa.

August 23, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breakfast, Gluten Free, Grilling, Party Foods, Pork, Salsas & Guacamole, Seafood, Snacks, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 1 Comment

I feel like my house is filled with peaches! Not a bad problem at all if you ask me. These fuzzy coated fruit are a fave here and we’ve already made a gratin and smoothies with them. Next up… a grilled peach salsa to top your favorite protein. My family is having this with grilled pork tenderloin while I’ll be eating it with some tilapia. Honestly so good, bust out a bag of tortilla chips and have it as a dip too. Farm fresh and eating clean sans any guilt or preservative-packed salsas from the grocery store. Takes only minutes to grill and prepare. Keeps for up to 3-4 days in the fridge and only gets better as the flavors have time to “mingle” in the fridge. Totally vegan too!

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— Knead to Cook

Balsamic grilled chicken and plums.

August 23, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Asian inspired, Chicken, Fruit, Gluten Free Leave a Comment

Like everyone on the planet who eats/prepares chicken, the search for a new, fun recipe is always a mission. My husband was coming home from being away all week on business, I had chicken defrosting and originally thought it would be fun as shish kabobs but I didn’t have time to soak my sticks so I opted to grill (indoors due to a bit of rain) on my grill pan. This dinner came together perfectly and in one pan, which hey, is a big score in any kitchen! I topped the final product over leftover quinoa I had in the fridge but it would be great over some brown rice too.

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— Knead to Cook

Almond Butter Banana Bread.

August 22, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Desserts, Fruit, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Snacks, Vegetarian, Yogurt Leave a Comment

I have an abundance of ripe bananas in my kitchen right now. I’ve whipped up some smoothies and next up with a healthy banana bread as an after-school snack. This bread is packed with protein, courtesy of my favorite Greek yogurt, healthier oil instead of butter and a reduced amount of sugar. Pipping hot from the oven, my family couldn’t wait to dig in and it was well-received by all. Think of this as breakfast, snack or dessert! It is so good.

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— Knead to Cook

The best clean eating granola bars.

August 21, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Nuts, Snacks, Vegetarian, Your Life Edit Foundations 27 Comments

My youngest starts her new school on Tuesday! Wait, where did the summer go? Ha! Well I’ve had healthy snacking ideas on the brain as this time of year approaches and whipped up a batch of these clean eating granola bars that you can customize to your taste or exactly what your kids love! Face it, granola bars from the grocery store are packed with ingredients that you can’t pronounce or don’t want to eat. So why eat it? These bars take minutes to make and last all week or longer (in the freezer). These are the best tasting granola bars you’ll taste, I promise!! Snacking, breakfast on-the-go… perfect. Mine are chilling now and I can’t wait to have one.

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— Knead to Cook

Banana Peanut Butter Yogurt Smoothie with a twist.

August 20, 2013 by Knead to Cook Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free, Yogurt 4 Comments

Can’t get your kids to eat “good” foods? How about sneaking them in to what they love? I posted a recipe for a smoothie a few months ago that had an avocado in it and I had several people email me questioning the taste and my sanity. Ha! Then they tried it on their 2, 3 and 4 year olds and guess what… the kids were asking for more! Now I don’t go telling my kids what I put in their smoothies because then they would complain or not drink them. Today was the perfect example… my oldest daughter went to the gym yesterday to workout with my 75 year old dad. He kicked her tush! I got a text this morning that stated simply “I’m broken.” Ha ha. Now, I shouldn’t laugh but every day of my life I have a sore muscle or muscles. The constant pursuit of fitness will yield these results. So with a chuckle, I knew I had to make her a nice big protein smoothie to help her sore muscles rebuild. She, along with the workers that I have in my house today installing our pool table, all gobbled it down and loved it. None the wiser of the ingredients!

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— Knead to Cook