Hamburger Bun

I know a few people who have been waiting for this recipe. I recently made these and brought them to a cookout and they were a hit! The buns are soft, egg-y, a little sweet and DELICIOUS! This is also one of the easiest dough recipes I've ever made. Honestly, try them out!

Whole Wheat English Muffins

I was looking online for a recipe for whole wheat English muffins that were mostly whole wheat flour without being too dense, and I'm pretty sure I found the perfect one. It uses 5 cups of whole wheat flour and only 1 of white all purpose flour. If you find that it's still too dense for you, you can always substitute all purpose for the whole wheat until you reach the perfect density. English muffins are surprisingly easy to make. Give'em a try!!

Onion Mushroom Mac & Cheese

Mac and cheese will get me every time. It doesn't matter how it's made or what goes into it, I wanna eat it. This mac and cheese recipe happens to be the best I have ever eaten. The pasta is ooey and gooey, the middle layer is sweet and savory, and the top is crusty and golden. I have a very similar recipe on the blog, the only difference is that the middle layer is spinach. I made this as a side dish to go with some grass-fed filet mignon for my Valentine's Day dinner with my boyfriend. It was heavenly.

100% Whole Wheat Bread

I love making bread at home. It's just so fun and it makes your house smell like the most amazing bakery. It's also really really easy if you have a stand mixer, I use my Kitchenaid and it's the best appliance I own. Another reason, of course is that you know what's going in the bread. Most "whole wheat" breads you buy at the store are not 100% whole wheat. This one is aaaalll whole wheat. That might actually scare you because you think it'll be dense but as long as you know the secret trick, your bread will come out fluffy and easy to slice.

Back to Basics 19 - Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Behold, the humble chocolate chip cookie. Is there a better dessert? I think not. You can make it crispy or chewy, thin or fat, fill it with whatever you want, and it comes in a nice little convenient package. All you need is one free hand to savor it and you're good to go.
My favorite is thick and chewy, with dark chocolate chips and nuts. And to make us feel less guilty, we make it with whole wheat flour and oats, we also replace some of the butter with canola oil. Perfection.
Now, stop drooling over that picture and let's see how you can make these.

Back to Basics 14 - Spinach Mac & Cheese

Hey guys! Wow, it's been a while huh?? It's been a little hectic. I got a new job in the field I went to school for (YAY!) and I started working more hours in the other job I had so by the time I got home, I didn't really feel like pulling out my camera and taking pictures for every single step while making dinner. But now my routine is a little less crazy so I have more time to devote to the blog.

I came back with a really really great recipe for you guys. I mean, who doesn't love mac & cheese? And one you can feel good about eating? Well, that's even better!! I got this from, where else, EATINGWELL! Let's just get right into it.

Strawberry-Orange Muffins

I'm baaaaack!! I have been gone for a while. I have no excuse. BUT, I am bringing you a gorgeous and delicious recipe.

I went to my grocery store this week and they had some beautiful organic strawberries on sale. Since it is strawberry season and I plan on going to as many Farmers' Markets as I can, I thought I'd add this recipe to my arsenal. It's from EatingWell and I followed the recipe exactly. I do recommend buying organic oranges because you will be using the zest.

This muffin is not overly sweet so it's perfect for breakfast. The strawberries give it just the right amount of sweetness. The orange isn't overpowering, it just gives off a hint in the background. An the topping...OH THE TOPPING. It's sweet and salty and nutty. SO GOOD!

Whole Wheat Cheese Crackers

Look at the flaky layers of cheese in that cracker!

I know we all crave crackers sometimes. I do ALL THE TIME. I just need that salty, crunchy bite in the afternoon so I reach for that box of crackers and I.can't.stop. To help with my addiction, I made this whole wheat cheese cracker (it's pretty much like cheezits). First of all, it's whole wheat. Second, it has FIVE ingredients and no crazy chemicals. I got the recipe from Big Bear's Wife, Angie perfected it by going through tons of recipes to try and get that perfect taste. And let me tell you, she did an amazing job. My boyfriend tried it and he said it didn't have that whole wheat taste at all. Seriously, it tastes exactly like the boxed kind. So here we go:

Bakin' up a storm!

Lately, I've been obsessed with Joy Wilson, or Joy The Baker. I found her on a website that listed all the best food blogs and it was love at first sight. I got her book last weekend and have been dying to try stuff out, so today I finally made a couple of her recipes. I want to eventually do a Julie and Julia thing, making every single one of her recipes, but with a twist, turning them a little bit healthier. Here are the two things I made today.

Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

I like to keep my cookie jar constantly full, so when my boyfriend and I ate all of the cookies in it yesterday, I started scrambling trying to think of what to make next. I saw this recipe for coconut cookies, but I had to leave my butter out to come to room temperature and that would just not work for tonight, I needed a cookie NOOWWW. Sooooo I went to the cookie I always go to when I just want soft, chewie, chocolate-packed, simple goodness. I love that this isn't just an excuse to eat sugar, it actually has healthy stuff in it like whole wheat flour, olive oil, almond milk. You can even put in dark chocolate chips for antioxidants. Bonus: it's also dairy and egg free! Which means it's vegan, wohooo!!! Although if you're being strict you should make sure your chocolate chips are also vegan.

Anyway, let's get started!

Iced Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is my favorite season ever! It's the Goldilocks of seasons, not too hot and not too cold, plus we get all those beautiful golden leaves everywhere. It's also the start of the holidays and with that comes holiday food. Pumpkin, apple, cinnamon, oh my!

I decided to make these Hungry Girl muffins because I had a can of pure pumpkin lying around and too much time on my hands. You can probably start finding canned pure pumpkin now, I bought mine last year at Walmart and they're still good. Don't confuse them with pumpkin pie filling though! They're actual pumpkin, mashed up and without anything else added to them. I also saw these adorable muffin liners at Target for $1 so they needed to be used RIGHT AWAY. Here's the recipe: