Spinach and Artichoke Hummus

I love spinach artichoke dip, I love hummus. So...really...it just makes sense to combine the two! They're both delicious dips. They're both crowd pleasers. They both took some time for me to warm up to.

Yepp. When I first tried spinach and artichoke dip I was not sold. However, my best friend insisted we share it every time we went to Friday's together so I eventually grew to love it. And hummus I wasn't sold on, until I had my 10th bite. Then I couldn't get enough. Which is exactly what happened with this hybrid. At first I was all, "Ohhh...hmmm...I dunno."

And now I can't stop shoveling it into my face. Same thing with Michael. He was like "Eh, it's ok." 20 minutes later he yelled, "TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME I CANNOT STOP EATING IT!"

Thank goodness we got to the point of being unable to stop eating it becaaause...I totally should have waited to make this until there was a party, because it definitely makes a large party-sized amount. I was a little overwhelmed when I realized how much hummus I had just made. So--be prepared for that. If you're not planning on bringing it someplace, halve the recipe. You'll still have plenty. Not that any that I made went to waste. Oh nooo-I ate it right up. Yes yes yes!

And the taste? Honestly...it's exactly what you'd expect. It's like hummus merged with spinach and artichoke dip. 

So, yeah. That's the story of how Kayle got some veggies into her system thanks to hummus!

Multi-Nut Butter

I've been sitting on the idea of making a nut butter with a variety of nuts for awhile. And then I recently realized that I actually have 4 varieties of nuts, right now, in my kitchen. So it was nut butter time!

As I've mentioned quite a few times before--making homemade nut butters is unbelievably easy and so entirely customizable. You can add pretty much anything you want to it--honey, chocolate, vanilla, etc. Or you could add nothing and just let it be an ultra healthy nut butter! This is the same. I've given you the amounts of nuts and the varieties that I used but you can completely mix it up to suit your own needs! And your end result is a delicious, healthy, natural (and no-stir!) nut butter!

For my multi-nut butter I had almonds and peanuts as the predominant nuts (peanuts have a good amount of oil so that way I wouldn't need to add oil during the process. And almonds are ultra good for you!) and then walnuts (which I don't love but are some of the healthier nuts) and pecans (which taste oh so good but are prob. the least healthy nuts). And then I just added a smidgen bit of salt and honey. And now I have a delicious, creamy (of all the nut butters I've made this one doesn't get as thick and hard in the refrigerator-which I looove) thing to spread on my pancakes, toast, or to bake with!

Get on board and get your food processor ready!

Scallion Parmesan Hummus

I'm reeeeeally getting into this whole hummus thing. It's all healthy and stuff AND it's delicious?? WOOT!

It has sort of become my go-to when I need to bring an appetizer and I don't have time. Because if I have chickpeas? I can make hummus and it'll take like....5 minutes. Plus it's a total crowd-pleaser! 

As much as I adored the roasted garlic hummus I made this summer, I knew Michael was a bit overwhelmed by the garlic so I decided to go a different route. Plus...I had some scallions that needed to get used. So I sort of threw together this recipe.

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, though: don't get thrown off by how hummus tastes right after you make it. After it sits for awhile it always ends up mellowing out and tasting SO MUCH better! I was super worried that the scallion flavor was too strong, at first, but then after time I didn't worry anymore. It was just delicious!

I made this hummus for "Crofford Christmas" (Michael's dad's side's Christmas celebration) and full disclosure: I was that weird person who couldn't stop eating the dish that I brought. I felt so guilty as I kept going back for more and more of my own hummus! Like..."Kayle...you brought this for other people...don't be that girl"...but I couldn't help it. It was just smooth and delicious and I could not resist!

As it turns out...neither could anyone else. Success!

Roasted Garlic Brown Butter Hummus

Remember my family reunion that I mentioned a couple weeks ago? Well, I made a little something for the occasion. My family clan (so: my grandma and aunts and uncles and cousins) was tasked with bringing appetizers and snacks and such, so I decided I wanted to make hummus for the first time!

Speaking of hummus...up until this point I had been pretty unsure about how I felt about hummus. Like...do I like it? I didn't know! But I figured...if it has roasted garlic and browned butter...what's not to like?

(Side note: when telling this to Michael's stepmom she told me, "You'd eat carpet if it had browned butter."

haaaaa. #sortatrue)

The good news is: I LOVE THIS HUMMUS! It's kind of funny because at first I wasn't sure how I felt about it and thought maybe the tahini was too strong (and Michael initially thought the garlic was too stron)...but it's one of those things where the more you eat of it, the better you like it. By the end I was all "'OM NOM HUMMUSSSS"!! And it went over really well at the reunion too-everyone said they liked it. Hooray! 

This recipe is very easily doubled-I doubled it for the reunion! (Although turns out that wasn't necessary, but it's ok, I ate the leftovers :P) AND...ya know....kinda healthyish. Chickpeas are good for ya, yeah? And....garlic? Yes? Ok maybe the butter and oil whatever, but it's not much. Yeah. I declare this healthy!

Healthier if you dip veggies in it, but I'm totally ok with it if you use pita chips.

Mmmm pita chips and hummus....

Almond Peanut Butter

I'm like a walking advertisement for making homemade nut butters. I always tell people about it and they look at me like I'm crazy (or they'll even ask "...isn't there butter in peanut butter?"....*sigh*). But seriously, I cannot emphasize this enough:

MAKING HOMEMADE NUT BUTTERS IS REALLY REALLY RIDICULOUSLY EASY. 

LIKE...I MEAN IT.

Allow me to break down the entire process:

Throw nuts in food processor (or powerful blender).

Process.

...that's it.

The only time it might get a smidge more complicated than that (which is still insanely easy) is if 1. You decide to add in other stuff like chocolate, honey, salt, etc. Which involves--throwing those things in with the nuts. Again...that's it. OR 2. If you're using a drier nut (such as almonds) you may need to pour in a little oil (olive oil, peanut oil, canola, coconut, etc.) That's all. I'm not kidding when I say ANYONE can make this.

Now, although this nut butter has almonds in it-it is paired with the very oily peanuts which means this is a super duper easy one. I just put the nuts in there, let them go, then I had tasty tassssty almond peanut butter!

Enough about how easy it is to MAKE this almond peanut butter, let's talk about how easy it is to LOOOVE to eat it! Before I moved to NYC I had never had a nut butter other than peanut butter-heck, I didn't even know they existed! One day someone mentioned how almond butter was healthier and I tried it and was like "Eh it's good but not as good as my good 'ole pb!"

As I've already mentioned, almond butter did grow on me. However, it could never replace peanut butter in my heart. But now...I DON'T HAVE TO CHOOSE! I get all the best flavors of almond and peanut butters in one place, and the health benefits of the almonds get in there too.

Really....I can't think of a better thing to spread on my toast. Or waffles (speaking of which, keep an eye out for a particularly special waffle recipe next week!). Oooh or maybe bake in cookies??

Endless possibilities. :)

Freezer Strawberry Jam for #StrawberryWeek

For once I just shut my mouth and followed directions. I made my mom's recipe. 

Which is the Sure-Jell (pectin) recipe. 

And you know what? It rocks!

I guess some things shouldn't be fiddled with.

My poor mom. Sometimes I'm a bit too hard on her. When she told my brother that we were going to make this jam he scoffed at her, saying, "Kayle probably won't want to make your jam, she'll want to make her own!"

Because I'm a snobby meanie pants.

But this time that was not going to happen! I trusted in my family and their time-honored tradition of making this recipe, and it was totally the right choice.

Mom and I made this jam together, as a team. So I'm pretty sure we put some magical mother-daughter bonding love in there. Which is probably why it tastes so amazing. Plus all the sugar. Yeah. It's probably both.

Michael took one bite of a piece of toast loaded up with this jam and he said, "THIS is what strawberry jam should taste like!"

Recipe could not be simpler. You just mash some gorgeous strawberries, add in some sugar, cook a little pectin, mix mix mix, let sit, then freeze! DONE. Super easy. My mom made like a triple batch so we ended up with a ton of jam! It got given to aunts, uncles, grandma, etc. So we spread the love via spreading the strawberry jam!

This was the first strawberry recipe I made and now it is my final post for #StrawberryWeek-how perfect! Ending it the way it began.

Mmmmm mmmm mmm.

Chicken and Swiss Sandwich with Roasted Garlic Aioli for #SwissWeek

Here we are, the final recipe of #SwissWeek with Lorraine cheese!

(you should totally check out the crostini and healthified dip I've already shared)

It's a party, so we've gotta have a sandwich, amiright?

Sandwiches always make me think of my brother, Josh, (and countless other boys) demanding "Woman, make me a sammich!" Michael stopped doing this because...well...I would go to make him a sandwich. Apparently this took all the fun out of it.

But this was a time no one needed to tell me to make a "sammich". I just did it. And it is good! And a lot of that is attributed to that gorgeous melty Swiss you see up there (AKA the best Swiss I've ever tasted!) It's absolutely PERFECT for sandwiches. I've been using it for all of the sammies I've been making Michael for his lunch as of late. But this sandwich...is SO much more than those little things I throw together usually.

This is like...a serious sandwich.

I intended to make the hoagie myself, from scratch. But...well...I got busy. So I bought hoagie bread. But feel free to do whatever appeals to you! And then I made a fantastic roasted garlic aioli, which has just the right punch of garlic flavor. And I made one of my fave, easy, chicken recipes: it tastes like fried chicken but it's baked! Hooray! And then, obv. Lorraine Swiss and some lovely arugula to add some pretty green. Viola! Sandwich! I really enjoyed this sandwich, and I think Michael might have liked it even more. We were both happily munching away for awhile.

So do yourself a favor. Endear yourself to others and bring some of these sammies to your next party (or, if you're hosting, set them out). You're gonna get yourself a WHOLE BUNCH of new best friends.

And for more Swiss goodness, check out Lorraine Cheese's facebook page and pinterest!

Basil Pesto

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I'm totally into pesto-I mean, what's not to like? It's Italian, there's basil, Parmesan, and garlic: these are all things I like! But, I've always held off from making it for myself because I was lazy and didn't want to go looking for pine nuts. And then, the wonderful, talented Joan over at Chocolate Chocolate and More posted her recipe for a super simple, super awesome looking pesto: and it uses walnuts or pecans instead of pine nuts! Huzzah! Pecans I have! Pecans I can use!

So I went to buy some basil. I'll tell you what, I have such garden envy. I want a garden with herbs (particularly basil) and maybe some veggies. I would love to just be able to walk outside and pick some leaves of basil or oregano, or grab a tomato for Michael's sandwiches, etc. etc. Buying produce and herbs is a pain, because everything goes bad so quickly! So yeah I'm totally into the idea of having a garden but...not working on it. I don't wanna weed and till and plant and water, I pretty much just wanna reap the benefits...

does that make me a bad person?

Whatever. I don't care.

I care about this pesto and how creamy and delicious it is and how many ways you can use it. Use it on pasta, spread it on bread, etc.! It's so incredibly easy to make too. Like. Crazy easy. Pretty much just throw in your food processor and go! The hardest part, for me, was grating the Parmesan cheese. And that wasn't even hard. So yeah.

PESTO!

(hehe sounds like "presto"...like a magic word...I crack myself up)

Homemade Nutella (Chocolate Hazelnut Butter)

They said it couldn't be done.

They said I was crazy.

BUT I DID IT!

buahahahaaaaaa!

I made homemade Nutella with only 2 ingredients:
hazelnuts.
chocolate.

There are a lot of homemade Nutella recipes out there, and to be fair-most of them are actually probably closer to the store-bought. But I really just wanted a simple, healthier, chocolate hazelnut version. I asked various people about if I couldn't just make it the way I make any other chocolate nut butter, but I was told it wouldn't work, I needed to use cocoa powder, etc.

Well ta-da! I did it! I just took some roasted, skinned, hazelnuts and processed them. Then I threw in some dark chocolate chips and a dash of salt. Process until smooth, refrigerate, and done! YUM.

You know those Nutella commercials where the mom is spreading it on toast and talking about how it's a healthier option for her kids (you know, the kind of stuff that got them sued)? Well...this is actually pretty healthy (I mean..dark chocolate is kindaaaa healthy). And I spread it on whole wheat toast and ate it for breakfast. Just like those kids in the commercial.

Oddly enough, I had been meaning to try this for awhile but one day, while babysitting, I made myself a toasted Nutella and peanut butter sandwich...and it was just so good I knew I needed to make some for myself ASAP.

More good news=in addition to being able to just eat this on toast, with a spoon, etc. you can even use it in (some) recipes. I have a few coming to the blog soon :)

In summary, this is a spread full of amazing hazelnut-chocolate flavor, you're gonna love it, and to all who doubted me: nananananaaaa.

hehehehe.

Homemade Dark Chocolate Walnut Butter

I know the season of gift giving is sorta kinda over.

But this can totally be a gift for yourself.

Before Christmas I made my cousin, Emily, some dark chocolate walnut butter for her gift. She said walnuts were 1 of her favorites and she loves chocolate so...it was a pretty easy decision! 

It is seriously silly how easy it is to make flavored nut butters. It's like...oh here's some walnuts. And here's some melted dark chocolate. Bada bing bada boom we're in business!

 Michael tasted some and got very jealous that I did not make this for him. This is a great sweet treat, but still healthy (nuts=good and dark chocolate=antioxidants, right? right.) Spread this on toast, dip apple slices in it, or just spoon this dark chocolate walnut butter into your mouth-there's no wrong way to eat it!

Homemade Peanut Butter

Tomorrow is National Peanut Day.

We should celebrate.

With peanut butter.

HOMEMADE Peanut Butter.

Got 5 minutes? Got peanuts? Got a food processor?

Yes?

Then you can make peanut butter, my friend.

Seriously, this recipe isn't even a recipe. It's like a...hey...take some peanuts...or other nuts...toss em in a food processor. Want salt? Throw some in there.  Process. Wait. Watch it turn into a ball. Does it break down and get smooth? Good. No? Put a little bit of oil in there, whatever sort you prefer.Wanna flavor it? Throw whatever the crap you want in there. Want it crunchy? Put some peanuts in there towards the end so there are some little chopped peanut bits in there. Done. End of story. You have amazing homemade peanut butter. It's homemade, unprocessed, all natural, AND (in my case anyway) has no oil separation. 

Oh yeah, and it's the best peanut butter you'll ever taste.*

I'm obsessed. I am (probably) never buying peanut butter again.

(unless you're stupid like Michael, in which case you'll say "It tastes too much like peanuts." That boy will not be deterred from his processed junk. *sigh*