This is a recipe I have used for pancakes and ice cream.  Something different than your usual chocolate or maple syrups.  I did not let mine cool before I used it though :)  It is sweet, but very delicious!

From Marthastewart.com

• 10 MINS
• TOTAL TIME1 HOUR 30 MINS
• YIELDMakes 2 1/4 cups (enough for 9 cocktails)

INGREDIENTS

• 6 cups raspberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS

1. STEP 1

   Combine raspberries, sugar, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until raspberries break down slightly and release some of their juice, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand for 15 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine sieve, pressing down on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Here is a yummy recipe my hubby made for us the other night.  He doubled it since we had friends over, but it took WAY longer to cook than the recommended time.  Not sure if that was because we used frozen blueberries or not, but just a note to watch your time.  It was a good kind of coffee cake/streusel type.  The hint of ginger was different but I was the only one that noticed it.  It was a good change from the usual breakfast/dessert cakes.

Found on foodnetwork.com

Ingredients
For the cake:
Nonstick cooking spray
9 ounces cake flour, approximately 2 cups
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
5 1/4 ounces sugar, approximately 3/4 cup
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk (we used coconut milk)
15 ounces fresh whole blueberries, approximately 3 cups
For the topping:
3 1/2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/2 cup
1 1/2 ounces cake flour, approximately 1/3 cup (we used regular white, non bleached flour)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (I was out of nutmeg so used Cinnamon in place of this)
2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled and cubed


Directions
For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground ginger. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 1 minute. Add the egg and beat until well incorporated, approximately 30 seconds. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and beat on low speed just until incorporated and then add 1/3 of the milk and beat until incorporated. Repeat, alternating flour and milk until everything has combined. Gently stir in the blueberries and pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

For the topping:

In a small bowl combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add the butter and work into the dry ingredients using a fork to combine. Continue until the mixture has a crumb-like texture. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes or until golden in color. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This is my Grandma's recipe for homemade rolls.  My Mom makes these every year for Thanksgiving.  They are delicious and addicting!!

Mix together and let bubble 5 minutes or so:
2 Pkg yeast (a little under 2 Tbs.)
1/2 C. warm water

Melt together but make sure it is only luke warm when mixing anything else to it:
1 1/2 C. Milk
1/2 C. shortening (I used salted butter bc I never have shortening on hand)

Add to milk/shortening mixture above:
1/2 C. sugar
3 tsp. salt (If using salted butter in place of shortening, decrease your salt here but about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp)

Add 3 C. flour to above mixture and mix until cool enough to add 3 beaten eggs.
Add 1 C. flour and your yeast mixture.
Keep adding flour until you have a sticky dough.  DO NOT add too much flour.
Let raise until double with towel on top.

Roll out dough and use a cup to cut out circles.  Melt 1/2 stick of butter and dip the inside of the roll in the butter, and fold it on top of itself so you now have a half circle on your lightly greased cookie sheet.    You can put all the rolls next to each other and do not have to skip space.  Let raise with towel on top until double in size.

Cook at 350 for 8-10 minutes and golden brown on top.  Rub butter on top of rolls (optional).  Enjoy!!

Oh yum.  Chocolatey goodness.  And adding peanut butter?  You can't go wrong.  This was really easy  and quick.  As always, my comments are in pink.

From Cooking Light Magazine (I think?):
Serves 6

1/3 C. granulated sugar
2 Tbs cornstarch
2 Tbs Dutch process cocoa (I used Hersheys)
1 1/2 C 1% low-fat milk (I only had 2 %)
1/2 C light cream
2 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped (I used Hersheys milk chocolate chips)
1/4 C creamy peanut butter (I didn't have peanuts to add to the top, or creamy PB, so I used crunchy Adams Natural Peanut Butter)
1 Tbs chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

- Combine sugar, cornstarch, and cocoa in a medium saucepan; stir with a whisk.
-Whisk in milk and cream.  Bring to a boil over medium - high heat.  Cook 1 minute or until thick and bubbly (mine was a couple of minutes before it was thick enough).
-Remove from heat.
-Add chocolate and peanut butter, stirring until smooth.
-Spoon about 1/3 C pudding into each of 6 bowls. ( My eyes were bigger than my stomach and I thought 1/3 C was too small.  I was wrong.  Serving this warm and adding a bit of whipped cream on top was REALLY rich.)
-Top each serving with 1/2 tsp peanuts. (I omitted this step and added a spoonful of whipped cream - not Cool Whip, but the real Whipping cream blended with a little sugar and vanilla until thick).

I ended up eating some of this after lunch today, after it sat in the fridge overnight.  It was very thick, but for some reason, it being cold, made it seem not so rich.  Delicious!

My husband found and cooked this recipe tonight.  It was pretty good.  Very tart, but we paired it with cooked brocolli and carrots and roasted smashed red potatoes.  Very yummy and our kids ate it all and asked for more!  Always a plus if the kids like it!  I think next time we will tone down the lemon just a little more.


From: noreciperequired.com

Ingredients (for 2)

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts – lightly pounded out
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• Juice from one lemon
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• Water
• 2 tablespoons butter

Making the Chicken

• Add the chicken to a zip lock bag, along with 3 of the minced garlic cloves, 1 of the sprigs of rosemary and a couple glugs of olive oil
• You probably want to pound the chicken a bit, to make it more a more consistent thickness so it cooks evenly
• Allow the chicken to marinate for 2 – 8 hours
• Remove the chicken from the bag and season both sides with salt and pepper
• Heat a pan over medium - high heat, and coat the bottom with olive oil (normally I go very high heat, but in this case, I want to prevent any marinade garlic that stuck to the chicken from burning)
• Lay the chicken breast down and leave them to sear on that side for ~4 minutes or until golden brown (don’t lift the chicken up to check for at least 3 minutes)
• Flip the chicken over, to sear the other side. It should be cooked through in about another 3 minutes
• Remove the chicken from the pan, and set aside. Add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water, and the other sprig of rosemary
• Scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze and reduce the juice/water by about half
• Turn off the heat, and add the butter. Stir it in, and add chicken back to the pan, and toss to coat

I get bored of meal times.  I love my breakfast foods like pancakes, eggs, waffles, etc. but it is not always convenient for time (or my waistline) to eat those every day of the week!  Here is a recipe I just cooked to try out for breakfasts this week.  It turned out pretty good.  My hubby doesn't think they are the greatest, but I don't mind them.  I like the crunch of the pecans and the sweetness of the craisins (I didn't have any dried blueberries) and coconut.  This is one of those recipes from Pinterest that I had saved for later.  Love Pinterest!  As always, my comments are in Pink!

Adapted from: Kumquat

Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I only had sweetened)

1 tablespoon golden flaxmeal (I just threw in whole flax seeds)

1/2 teaspoon salt (Think it could have used just a little bit more)

3/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1/2 cup dried blueberries (I used Craisins)

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup coconut oil, warm enough to be liquid

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, coconut, flaxmeal, salt, pecans, and blueberries. Stir in bananas, oil, agave nectar and vanilla until well combined.

Press 2 tablespoons of mixture into a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Continue with remaining mixture.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until fragrant and golden. Cool on pan.

Yield: about 15 cookies.

        We usually juice kale and put it in our smoothies.  We decided to plant some this year in our garden and it has turned out quite well.  It produces a TON without any work.  We have kale coming out of our ears!
        My hubby found a recipe for kale chips.  They turned out pretty well, actually better than I was expecting.  To me, they have kind of a cabbage taste, which I like anyway.  They are really easy too and only take 20 minutes.  The first batch we did had way too much olive oil and salt.  The olive oil kept it from crisping up.  The second batch was much better with less oil and salt and when you eat them, they pretty much disintegrate in your mouth.  It is a weird feeling, but I don't mind eating them because I am getting in some more vegetables!

Found on: Food Network

• 1 head kale, washed and thoroughly dried
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.