Snacks | Wholesome Mommy :: by the Centsible Sawyer

Homemade Caramel Sauce

Written on October 12, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Dessert, Snacks, Wholesome Recipes

Apples are in season and I’ve been searching for new ways to enjoy them. But, no matter where I look, my homemade caramel sauce is still my favorite (although there are a few other tasty ways I’ve found that I’ll share soon!). Warm caramel is a tasty treat with fresh cut apples or poured over vanilla ice cream. Heck, just about anything is good with warm caramel!

Homemade Caramel Sauce

1 c. sugar
1/4 cup water
2 T. corn syrup
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 t vanilla

Boil sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a sauce pan over medium-high heat, swirling occasionally. Cook until caramel is the color of iced tea (about 10 minutes). Add cream, whisking to combine. Quickly turn off heat and then whisk in butter and vanilla. Transfer sauce to a cool bowl.

You’ll be surprised how easy this is! I had never tried anything like this until last fall and I was thrilled with the result the very first time! Once you add the cream it “magically” turns to caramel! It is amazing…and DELICIOUS!

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Blue Ribbon Blueberry Muffins

Written on August 31, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Main Dishes, Snacks, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes

You will NEVER eat a better blue berry muffin than this! These muffins are so big and delicious and nearly fool proof! I made them with the help of my 18 month old son! He stood on the step ladder and poured in all the ingredients and of course had a taste of the flour while I was busy measuring! LOL. You’ll be suprised that making muffins from scratch could be this easy! Also, these muffins freeze well! Just bag them up into a freezer bag and pop them in the microwave to defrost. To make them really fresh, just like coming out of the over, pop them into the toaster oven for a few minutes. (That is, if you don’t eat them all up on the very first morning!)

Blue Ribbon Blueberry Muffins

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
10 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
*1 1/2 cups fresh (washed, picked over) blueberries

Position rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil (or spray) muffin pan.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk the sugar, butter, milk, sour cream, eggs, egg yolk, and zest until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together just until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened; the batter will be lumpy. Sprinkle the blueberries into the batter and fold them in gently.

Fill the muffin cups just to the top- the batter will rise and make big bakery style muffins! Bake until muffins are golden brown and spring back lightly when you press in the middle (about 30 to 35 minutes).

This recipe yields about 15 muffins.

*I used fresh blueberries because I had them. But, you can use frozen blueberries in this recipe, no need to thaw them before baking.

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Banana Almond Butter Breakfast Bars

Written on August 31, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Bread, Main Dishes, Snacks, Wholesome Recipes

Many of you requested this recipe so I tried to supply it as quickly as possible! I found this recipe online and tweaked it so I could use ingredients on hand. The final result is a cross between a chewy granola bar and one of those “Oatmeal to Go” breakfast bars/cookies. Either way… they are quite filling and delicious! If you have other recipes that you would like to see leave me a comment and I’ll try to get them up next!

Banana Almond Butter Breakfast Bars

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/c cup sliced raw almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup smooth almond butter
2 very ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degree. Spread oats, almonds, and wheat germ on baking sheet. Toast these ingredients for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Place all of the remaining ingredients in your mixer and blend well. Add toasted ingredients to the wet ingredients.

Line a 9×9 pan with aluminum foil. Spread the mixture evenly into baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Allow the bars to cool. Lift bars out of the pan by taking a hold of the aluminum foil. Cut the large square into 12 granola bar size pieces. You can wrap these individually in plastic wrap if you wish for a quick and delicious snack or grab and go breakfast.

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Hummus

Written on May 28, 2010 by Denisesawyer in Appetizers, Snacks, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes

We’ve instituted a “meatless meal” once a week and one of our family favorites is a middle-eastern meal – falafel and hummus. Falafel and hummus are both made of chickpeas, a great source of protein. After you make this hummus, see the recipe for falafel HERE.

Hummus

1 (14.5 oz) can of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained (save the juice to thin the hummus to desired)
2 rounded Tbsp tahini sesame paste
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Course salt
1/2 lemon juiced

Mix all ingredients in the food processor. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. You can even make this the day before you need it to save time and let the flavors meld. Serve on falafel or on pita chips.