Pumpkin Bars!

Ingredients

•                     2 cups white sugar
•                     1/2 cup vegetable oil
•                     1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
•                     4 eggs, beaten
•                     2 cups buttermilk baking mix
•                     2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
•                     1/3 cup butter, softened
•                     1 tablespoon milk
•                     1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•                     2 cups confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 10×15 inch jellyroll pan.

2.  Beat together the sugar, oil, pumpkin and eggs. Stir in baking mix, cinnamon and raisins; pour into prepared pan.

1.  Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; allow to cool.
2. Prepare the frosting by beating together the cream cheese, 1/3 cup butter, milk, vanilla and powdered sugar. Spread frosting evenly over cake and cut into bars.

                            Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories:                            116                            | Total Fat:                            4.5g                            | Cholesterol:                            22mg

Fall is almost here…..that means TREATS!

Okay, okay I know fall isn’t until at least 2 more months but still, I am super excited for the nice cold weather and pea coats! But the best part is the baking,treats, and family time as the holidays roll in. I have found on pinterest so many amazing goodies for fall treats and I plan on doing a lot of baking videos this fall. Here are some adorable ideas that look so delicious and fun to make! Are you ready for fall?

photos from google.com

Pretzel toasted coconut chicken!?

Huh? Yeah, that is right a chicken pretzel. I totally just came up with this is my head when I was thinking about how bad I wanted some pretzels. Imagine if you used mashed up pretzels as a bread crumb instead regular bread crumbs? It would be like a pretzel chicken. And if you cut up the chicken into little bite size pieces, you could call is “Pop pretzel chicken” Anyways, I know it sounds crazy. I am sure someone has tried this before but I am going to try it out and if you do let me know what you think!

So what you would need to do is take a big bag of pretzels and mash them up but still leave a few good chunks! (Don’t make it dusty, you still want the crunch) And then for a little sweet to the chicken and a layer of shredded sweet coconut. Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering! I really think this would be amazing! It would be the perfect sweet/salty chicken mix but little bite size snacks!

THEN for the dip you can make a tzatziki sauce with cucumber and dill!  Am I the only one that thinks this sounds amazing? I can’t wait to try this!

photos from google.com

Mexican mocktail appetizer

Mexican mocktail appetizer, YUM alert! Oh my goodness you guys, I found this on pinterest and think it is the cutest idea for like a dinner party as an appetizer. It is really easy to make and it looks so cute and it is an amazing idea!

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Chips
• Guacamole
• 3 different kinds of salsa, regular, corn, spicy (for variety)
• limes

DIRECTIONS:

As you can see above it is very easy to make. I would suggest getting the big bag of chips at Costco! Then crushing them up and putting them at the end of the cup as shown above, then add a few scoops of guac and whatever salsa your guests want and I would top it off with a little sour cream and sprinkle of shredded cheese. The add more chips along the side of the drink and a little on the sides..the add a lime for more flavor and decor and ENJOY!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread!

Totally found this on Pinterest.com! Oh my gosh! Fall is almost here and I say it can’t come soon enough. This is a perfect snack for anytime or anywhere though. But I mean come on pumpkin cream cheese spread? AMAZING!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese:

Pumpkin cream cheese for fall:  8oz cream cheese, ½ cup canned pumpkin, 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 Tbs brown sugar, dash of salt

Chewy coconut cookies recipe! LOW FAT/LOW CAL

We have been on a big coconut craze lately. So here is a recipe for a yummy chewy coconut cookie.

Ingredients

•                     1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
•                     1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•                     1/4 teaspoon salt
•                     1/2 cup butter
•                     1/2 cup packed brown sugar
•                     1/2 cup white sugar
•                     1 egg
•                     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•                     1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Directions

1.                     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2.                     In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in the coconut. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
3.                     Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

FACTS: Amount Per Serving  Calories: 75    | Total Fat:  3.5g

No-Bake Coconut Cream Cheesecake

If you love coconut and cheese cake this will be a great recipe for you! This would be great for a party or when close friends come over for a dinner. The best part is that it is a no bake recipe for you to try out as the summer ends. So have fun trying out this simple recipe!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, preferably organic
• 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
• 1/3 cup coconut cream concentrate
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup shredded or flaked coconut
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup organic sugaror Stevia to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts, I use pecans and chopped sliced almonds – all preferably organic
• additional flaked coconut for garnish

Put cream cheese, virgin coconut oil, and coconut cream concentrate in medium mixing bowl and set in a warm place to soften.

In a separate bowl, add the tablespoon of warm water and about a quarter of the heavy cream to the coconut to moisten.

Once everything has softened, beat the cream cheese mixture and gradually mix in the sweetener, salt and vanilla extract. When well mixed gradually beat in remaining heavy cream, then the moistened coconut. Beat mixture until light and fluffy.

Crust: Sprinkle about 1 generous tablespoon of the chopped nuts over the bottom of each of three 8 oz plastic deli containers, 8×8 baking dish or other containers of your choice.

Spoon cream cheese filling into prepared containers.  Sprinkle a bit of flaked coconut on top to decorate. Cover and refrigerate until firm. Each cheesecake makes about four average servings or 2 to 3 larger ones. Enjoy!