A Cooking Kind of Weekend

I got to spend a lot of time yesterday baking and cooking, and I loved it! I told my husband yesterday morning that I had lots of recipes I wanted to try out, but I felt like it was so hard to cook with little ones under my feet all the time. Have you ever noticed that the second your feet hit the kitchen, your children are all of a sudden right underneath them? Anyhow, sweet hubby offered to entertain the kiddos so I could grocery shop in peace and do some cooking and baking, and I loved it! Here are the next few recipes you need to try:

1- Hummus

I absolutely love hummus! Hummus with carrots. I am a plain variety kind of gal. I don't much care for the fancy kinds with all the different flavors, but I love Costco's big tub of plain hummus. I decided to try my hand at making some, and where better to go for earthy/healthy/granola type food, than to MckMama! I followed her recipe for hummus with a few adjustments. Her recipe says 1 can of beans, but it should be 2, and the second one should have the liquid drained out. I also added more garlic, and next time I will add even more garlic and definitely more salt. It is very smooth and creamy, and is a great basic hummus. It would be fun to experiment and throw in some other things, like roasted red pepper and feta maybe.....mmmmm!

2- Banana Blueberry Quick Bread

I had a banana that was headed south and a lot of blueberries, so I looked up this recipe on allrecipes.com. Oh my. I love it! A really nice, summery take on banana bread. A few readers had good tips that I followed, so I'll pass them on. First of all, definitely double the blueberries. I used a full cup, and I'm so glad I did. I also almost always add cinnamon to breads and muffins, and I added about a 1/2 tsp. to this. I substituted applesauce for the shortening (I'm always in favor of less fat) and loved it. A few readers suggested doing half brown sugar and half white, and next time I will. This is really BETTER after it has sat overnight, and DELICIOUS toasted with a little butter for breakfast!

3- Southwest Shredded Chicken 3 Bean Chili with Cornbread Muffins

Have you checked on the Picky Palate blog yet? I saw this girl on a Food Network Challenge, and then somehow through blogland found her blog site! I will warn you, you will gain weight just reading her site. Seriously. She reminds me of Giada de Laurentis in that she makes this amazing, fattening food, and is teeny tiny. I kind of hate her a little (just kidding! just envious!). I thought this recipe looked delish, so I tried it. First of all, the muffins? OH MY! I could have eaten every last one hot out of the oven! Moist and sweet and cheesy....YUM! She mentioned a gel in the recipe, but I made without (since I don't know what it is) and they were AMAZING! I really liked the chili, but I think it's more of a really hearty soup than a chili. And it's spicy. Cut way back on the Tabasco if spicy ain't your thang. I had some leftover rice from something else, and I poured the chili over that and it was PERFECT for me! A definite fall dinner! My hubby liked it just like it was, with a dollop of sour cream. (I'm laughing out loud that I just wrote "dollop", and I don't know why!)

4- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies with Chocolate Ganache

Bakerella. I'm almost at a loss for words. I think she may have changed my baking life. I'll let you know for sure as I attempt some of her cake pops for my baby boy's 1st birthday next weekend! But anyone who does this is just genius. Pure, baking genius. Anyhow, this recipe is actually cooling off on my counter right now, waiting to be topped with chocolate ganache. I can almost hardly stand the wait!

So there you have it. This is what I've been up to this weekend. It's my creative outlet right now! Too bad this brand of creativity tends to collect around my middle! Oh well. Y'all enjoy, and let me know if you try any of these!