New Blog Location!

Hello Everyone! I recently moved my blog location (and title)! While I have slightly changed goals, I am still including lots and lots of recipes (including GF/dairy free and or alterations.) Come on and subscribe to me there! It's www.thefrugallyrichlife.wordpress.com

♥ ♥Ari

The Best Kiss….(Of the food variety! :))

My mother sent me this huge kiss for Valentine’s Day……I’ve been meaning to share it because look what is inside!

Dried, unsweetened, delicious pineapple! This is my kind of treat!

 

Thanks mom! :)

 

Thought you all would enjoy seeing a cute alternative to candy and chocolate for valentines or any other special occasion!

Chocolate Crepes with Chocolate Sauce and Strawberries

Just pretend I posted these for Valentine’s Day ok? This is what I had intended too….shhh…I’m a little behind….. :)

Whether for Valentine’s Day or for any occasion, especially those special ones….this makes a delightful breakfast or dessert.  Top with whip cream if you have it on hand and can eat it. :)

The crepe recipe was altered from this recipe. The rich, dark chocolate syrup is my own creation.

Ingredients (crepe):

• 1 cup flour (whole wheat or GF mix)
• 2-4 tbsp  unsweetened cocoa powder (depending on how strong of a chocolate taste you desire-start with 2)
• 1 tbsp honey/sweetener
• 1 1/2 cups  milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 t. oil

Heat a pan on medium heat.   Mix wet ingredients. Then add dry ingredients. Grease pan. Pour scant 1/4 c. batter into pan and lift the pan off the burner, moving the batter around until you have a thin crepe.

Top and fill with strawberries and

Rich Dark Chocolate Syrup

• 3 T soft butter
• 1/2 c. cocoa
• 4 T. agave/honey
• 6-8 T. water (to your desired thickness.

Combine all ingredients and serve over crepes. Use leftovers for chocolate milk or ice-cream (cow, almond, soy, etc).

How to Slice An Apple and Keep it from Browning (without lemon juice!)

I found the following info at this site. What a great idea! Healthy snacks are always good (especially for kids). Frugal too because you cut down on the amount of waste (ie. picky eaters that won't eat browned apples but still want them cut).

The rest of this post is quoted from the site.

"Slicing An Apple So It Won’t Brown

My daughters love apples with peanut butter for lunch – it is one of the few protein sources I can get my ultra picky 9 year to eat at lunch time – buthow do you keep the apple slices from getting brown?

Check out this technique:

Using an Apple Corer and Divider, cut down 7/8 of the way through the apple. Remove the slicer and reform the apple so it looks “whole” again. Pack in a sealed baggie or container. When your child opens it up at lunch, the apple will still appear fresh and will not have browned."

Peanut Butter Cookies with Peanut Butter Frosting

These aren’t a real sweet cookie, but I enjoyed them anyway! Besides, eating them with frosting, it was plenty sweet too! :) I altered the cookie recipe from this source. The frosting I made up myself, based on my alterations I made.

Ingredients (Cookie) :

• 2 cups flour (Whole wheat or GF mix)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 c. natural peanut butter (or other nut butter, or nut-free sunbutter)
• 1/3 c. softened butter (or earth balance)
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/2 c. water
• 1.5 t. vanilla extract

Place your oven racks on the top third. Set your oven for 350. Combine the wet ingredients and then add the dry ingredients. Stir as little as possible. Create balls of dough or just spoon the dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Use a fork to squish down. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

Peanut-Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/4 c. +/- honey (I am going to try a little less next time)

3 T softened butter

Combine, and spread on cookies… If making the full amount of cookies (and desiring the full amount to have frosting) , you may want to double/triple this recipe as it doesn’t make a lot.

Orange Peels----Don't throw them away! :)

Daniel St.Pierre / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Here's a frugal use for orange peels (and other citrus fruits- especially lemons and limes) - something I usually throw away----until recently when I got this idea!

1. Every time I eat an orange, I put the peels in a bag or container until it's full.
2. Then I stick it in the freezer.
3. Once it's frozen, and I have some time, I take the peels and use my grater to make orange zest. It's much easier to grate the orange peel (since it's already detached from the orange) when it's frozen.
4. Then I stick the zest in a container or bag in the freezer for use in recipes!

Now, I never have to worry about having an orange or lemon on hand for lemon/orange zest in a recipe, because as long as I have done this before, I will have a lot of it to use whenever I need. In fact, this way I can even add it to recipes that I want to have more flavor. And for those recipes that already call for it---well, then I can add even MORE if I so choose. And, I don't have to pay big bucks for dried zest (that probably has a ton of additives too.) :)

PS. If you are worried about pesticides....try one of these frugal ideas to clean your fruits and veggies. I plan to try them out soon myself!

This post is linked to Pennywise Plattter

Mini Easy Little Cheesecakes

 

Don’t these look good? And the best part too is that they are really simple and relatively healthy to make:

• One “slice” of cheese from a box of Original, Laughing Cow, Creamy Swiss (or other flavor),3/4 oz. Soft Cheese Slices OR cream cheese cut up into wedges

 OR  for a DAIRY-FREE OPTION try Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese or Follow Your Heart Organic Vegan Cream Cheese (again, cut up into wedges etc)

• 3 chocolate chips (I used Sunspire Grain Sweetened)
• Chocolate Syrup (cocoa powder, honey, and a little water will do the trick in a pinch)
• Peanut Butter (that’s the tan stuff you see- my pb is made from a powder- it’s not as yummy but anywho…)

Arrange your slice of “cheesecake” on a plate. Top with your favorite toppings or those mentioned above. Relax and enjoy! :)