Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is here and that means pumpkins!! Canned pumpkin, carved pumpkins, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spiced lattes... the possibilities are endless!! In order to start the season off right, I made HEALTHY pumpkin muffins.  I made them in my new mini muffin tin one night after work.  The apartment smelled awesome!

You will need:

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/4 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/3 c. water

1 c. canned or homemade pumpkin puree

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine eggs, oil, water and pumpkin puree (use straight pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix). Sift dry ingredients together and gradually beat into first mixture.

Pour into greased mini muffin pans.  Top each with a few pieces of chopped walnuts. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes about 36 mini muffins.

** I love adding the nuts to the muffins for a little something extra. You can add any type of nut or even dried fruit to this recipe. This went great with my morning coffee!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

This dinner was found during one of my many hours spent on Pinterest.  Joe and I wanted something quick and easy and very delicious. This was great because I had all of the ingredients in my fridge and pantry.  Beware though, the cooked brown sugar will start to caramelize on your baking pan, but it smells awesome!!  This serves 2 people.

You need:

2 chicken breasts

A few slices of bacon

Chili Powder

Garlic Power

Salt and Pepper

Brown Sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Cut each chicken breast into three pieces and season with garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Wrap uncooked bacon around each piece (you might want to cut some pieces in half), and then coat with brown sugar.  Place on a greased baking sheet with a rim and bake for 35 minutes. 

**This was SOO good. The whole time eating we could not stop commenting on the flavor. It is a perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Next time we will try this on the grill!

Ravioli Lasagna

Ravioli is one of my all time favorites. As is lasagna. So I decided to combine the two and make this awesome EASY dinner!  This potential could be healthier than regular lasagna.  The ravioli's serve as your pasta and cheese, and then add ground beef, tomato sauce, and veggies!

You will need:

One pound ground turkey

One jar of your favorite tomato sauce

One bag of frozen ravioli 

One cup of veggies ( I used spinach)

shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400. Brown turkey and drain the fat. Mix in tomato sauce and veggies (I used chopped spinach). Layer ravioli in a greased casserole dish, and top with the meat sauce mixture. Repeat this pattern and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes or until cheese is nice and golden brown.

**This is pretty healthy and very filling. Have fun with whatever meat and veggie you like best!

Holy Smoked BBQ!

Nothing says fall like the smell of smoking meat. I came home Sunday for family dinner and the smell was in the air. First day of football ANNNNDDD smoked meat?? Yes please!  So my dad was smoking a few butts (maybe they were shoulders, I'm not really sure) and a rack of ribs for a few hours. I took home a few pieces and threw them in the crockpot with some apple cider vinegar to cook while I was at work. Did my apartment smell amazing or what?!

Smokin' on the grill

Look how it came clean off the bone!

TaDa!

Add one cup of apple cider vinegar. Cook for 10 hours on low in your favorite slow cooker. Remove from crockpot and shred with two forks. Put in a casserole dish or bowl and top with your favorite barbecue sauce. I used a locally made sauce, "Mini Malbons"

**One of Joe's favorite. He ate almost all of his in two seconds!

Orange Crush

A Virginia Beach favorite is the Orange Crush. The best can be found at Waterman's Surfside Grille and Chick's Oyster Bar.  We decided to try to make our own! The trick is using fresh oranges.  

Here's how to make one:

Crushed ice

Juice from one orange

1.5 oz orange vodka

1.5 oz triple sec

top with a splash of Sprite

**Such a great summer drink! Image sipping on this with your best friends just yards from the ocean or river.  Can't get much better than that!