Yummy Pumpkin Nutella Bread

So I've been a little M.I.A., after my many weeks of traveling and being away from home, I find myself trying to hastily whip up some cookies or cupcakes, or bread. Even cook something brilliant in a 30 minute time window. With the fall season upon us, it is only appropriate to try to incorporate pumpkin into anything and everything! (Including the pumpkin enzyme mask I had at my last facial!)

I came across this bread recipe last year, Pumpkin Nutella Bread, if you like nutella, you will LOVE this! I brought it in to my office for our made up holiday, "Pumpkin Day 2011," with all things pumpkin and orange (see picture above). This was such an office hit, people were begging me to the recipe!


Ingredients:

• 2 C. All-purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon (I always add A LOT extra)
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/2 C. butter, softened
• 3/4 C. granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 C. canned pumpkin
• 1/2 C. butterscotch chips
• 4 tbsp. Nutella (add extra!)

Instructions:

• Spray 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray; line with parchment paper; spray parchment paper
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and spices
• In a large bowl, beat butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat to combine. Mix in the pumpkin mixture. With the mixer on low, add flour mixture. Fold in butterscotch chips.
• Spread 1/3 of the batter in the loaf pan. Then, spread half of the nutella. Repeat with batter and then nutella again. Top with the remaining batter.
• Lightly swirl the nutella into the batter.
• Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Lower the heat to 325F and bake for another 25-35 minutes.
• Cool 10 minutes. (Make sure the leave the loaf in the pan as long as you can, this bread is very moist and will lose shape/crumble if it is taken out too soon).

Enjoy!

Granola Energy Bars

After my 9 day long vacation to Disney World to visit my boyfriend with his family, I was definitely due to hit the gym and start eating healthy again. Disney park food really isn't conducive to maintaining your figure, so I have picked up where I left off with my healthy diet! These granola energy bars are great! I got the idea from my Runner's World July magazine issue and decided to improvise a bit. Have fun with this one, it's super easy!

• 2 eggs
• 3 tablespoons of honey (I had more like 5 because it's so good!)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• zest of one orange
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 3 cups granola
• I then added cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, spread on a greased cookie sheet, make sure it is about the thickness of a standard granola bar. Bake for 15 minutes at 375.

Let them cool to thicken over night, these are great chewy granola bars for anytime you are on the go!

Enjoy!!

10 Minute Vegetable Stir-fry

I am always scheduling something to do after work, as if I do not have enough on my plate. Between random babysitting nights, happy hours with girlfriends or coworkers, many gym classes at Lifetime Fitness and of course, trying to not miss any episodes of the Bachelorette, I am always looking for a quick, easy, and healthy dinner.

I am very much into my Wok and often find myself "inventing" different kinds of stirfry with an assortment of vegetables, tofu, chicken or shrimp. This stirfry is so easy because you can add what you want, let it sit on the stove and walk away to get other things done while it cooks. This stirfry is also nice because there is no recipe, just play with it and have fun!

Here is what I did in this recent stirfry:

• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini
• Chicken (you can substitute for any kind of protein)
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Red Pepper
• Gordon's Light Sesame and Peanut salad dressing

Simply simmer the vegetables and meat in the Wok for about 5 minutes, drain, add olive oil, spices and sauch, simmer again for a few minutes and you're done! This is great to make for dinner and save the leftovers for a quick and easy lunch. Have fun experimenting!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Life has become rather chaotic lately with many bridal showers, bachelorette parties, weddings and birthday celebrations for friends. This past weekend, I was in one of my best friend's weddings as her personal attendant. It was a very special weekend, and quite the emotional one. We went from excited highs and nervousness while getting ready for the big day, to tear-filled lows while I said goodbye to my boyfriend at the airport. Weddings are a great time to join together to celebrate love, family and friends, but also a great time to have an absolute blast!

Back in March, I turned the ripe old age of 23. What an uneventful age, yet always a good excuse to go out with your friends and celebrate! Before our girls dinner and big bar crawl, I made some really good cupcakes. Mind you - these are very rich, very filling, and you must really love cookie dough to like these.

The cake itself tasted like cookie dough, there is a egg-free cookie dough filling, topped with cookie dough frosting, chocolate chips and a mini cookie. To try making these cupcakes, follow this recipe exactly and you will surely not be disappointed!

Healthy Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

I recently registered for a half marathon and will be running this, what I consider, grueling race on May 1, 2011, with my good friend Mark. Since I registered, I have tried to find healthier recipes for treats that I love.

This is a new spin on the traditional oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. Adding in dried cranberries gives it that healthy feel everyone craves this time of year. Also, to avoid the cholesterol intake many people are conscious of, rather than using the canola oil this recipe calls for, I substituted it for original apple sauce. I think it gives the cookies some added moisture. This recipe is also great because it uses egg whites, rather than whole eggs, and does not call for butter.

My very good high school friend Gina came over yesterday, as she is on Spring Break and finally home! We had a great time talking and catching up with each other and my roommate Paige while making these healthy cookies! The recipe only yielded about 12 cookies, so next time I will definitely plan to double. For some extra flavor, I added more vanilla extract and twice the cinnamon. Yum!

The recipe for Chocolate chip, oatmeal and cranberry cookies can be found on Group Recipes.

With lots of sugar and love,
Rachel

Life is short, always eat your dessert first!

Hi There,

I came up with this great idea to try a variety of recipes to in hopes to occupy my time and discover that next best dessert. I have a sweet tooth that is unfortunately never fulfilled, always craving the next treat and can never get enough! Why wait until the end of a meal to enjoy a savory treat? Eat your dessert first!

I am hoping this blog becomes a place where I can compile all of the recipes of my future masterpieces and people will begin to experiment with these treats to make favorites of their own. While I do enjoy baking and feel it is a hidden talent of mine, I lack the skills to cook a wonderful meal. A recipe for "normal" food may pop up every once in a while - but don't hold your breath!

Keep coming back for future updates...now lets get baking!!

With lots of sugar and love,
Rachel