September 2013 - Alida's Kitchen

Sweet and Spicy Pepitas #SundaySupper

September 29, 2013 ·

Sweet and Spicy Pepitas are roasted pumpkin seeds made into a crunchy snack that is a little sweet, a little spicy and a lot delicious! {naturally nut-free, gluten-free and vegan}

With Fall upon us, I am in full pumpkin mode. So far I have made pumpkin cake, pie, pasta, muffins, and still have more pumpkin recipes I want to make this season. Not only do I love pumpkin puree, I also adore pumpkin seeds and pepitas! Pepitas are the lovely little raw green seeds inside the pumpkin seed shell. They are a great alternative to nuts, yet offer many of the same health benefits. Like nuts, they are packed with protein, vitamins and antioxidants. I find them in the bulk bin at the grocery store or sometimes near the bags of sunflower seeds….

Filed Under: appetizers, gluten free, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, vegan

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

September 25, 2013 ·

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are everything delicious about a chocolate chip cookie in a quick and easy to make bar. This is the ultimate basic blondie recipe.

While I love cookies, I don’t always have the time (or patience) to portion out each individual cookie for baking. This is where the cookie bar is genius. These Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars take only 10 minutes to prepare and then just spread in the pan and bake. No rolling or cutting or shaping the dough. And the result is everything delicious about a chocolate chip cookie in a quick and easy to make bar. There are so many possibilities for variations with this recipe too, which is fun. …

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: 12 weeks of Christmas Treats, bars, brown sugar, chocolate, cookies, easy, holiday

Tortellini Primavera - a quick and healthy pasta dish made on the lighter side!

Tortellini Primavera #WeekdaySupper

September 24, 2013 ·

Tortellini Primavera is a creamy, cheesy pasta dish made with with lots of vegetables. It is quick, easy and healthy ~ perfect for a weeknight!

Like most people, we are always looking for quick and easy recipes for weeknight dinners. While frozen pizza or takeout seem like a quick fix for those busy nights, we always prefer something healthier, tastier, and homemade. But like I said, it has to be easy, right? This Tortellini Primavera is all that, plus it’s super tasty! With all the vegetables, the cheese, the creaminess, the cheese-filled tortellini, and being easy to make, you really can’t go wrong. …

Filed Under: healthy, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: cheese, cream cheese, easy, light, low fat, mushrooms, pasta, quick, spinach, tomatoes, vegetable

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup #SundaySupper

September 22, 2013 ·

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup is smooth, creamy and a little spicy! This delicious and health soup is easy to make and pure comfort food.

Since today is officially the first day of Fall, the Sunday Supper theme for this week is “Fall Foods.” I had several ideas for this one, but after making Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup, it was the obvious choice to celebrate the season. A warm soup made with sweet potatoes, that is smooth and creamy, is perfect comfort food for when the temperatures start to get cooler. A little spice from the chipotle chile adds just enough heat and depth to make it interesting. Made as-is, this Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup is vegan and gluten free….

Filed Under: gluten free, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes, soup, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: chipotle, dinner, easy, fall, sweet potato, vegetable

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

September 18, 2013 ·

Bring on Fall with this easy recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins! They are light and moist, made with buttermilk, pumpkin and chocolate chips.

Fall is my favorite baking season. I love all the fun apple recipes and pumpkin recipes, making old favorites and trying new recipes. These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are a wonderful, easy recipe to kick off pumpkin season! When I came up with this recipe, I wanted something simple, similar to my Banana Buttermilk Muffins. These recipes use common pantry ingredients, so they’re easy to make any time….

Filed Under: bread, breakfast, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: brunch, buttermilk, chocolate, easy, low fat, muffins, pumpkin, quick

Chocolate Banana Whole Wheat Waffles

September 15, 2013 ·

Chocolate Banana Whole Wheat Waffles are made with buttermilk, whole wheat flour and sweetened with mashed bananas. They are a delicious and healthy way to enjoy chocolate for breakfast!

While usually a pancake house, we recently branched out into the world of waffles with Sunbutter Wafffles. I was excited to find these Chocolate Banana Whole Wheat Waffles because the flavor is similar to my everyday oatmeal – cocoa powder and naturally sweetened with banana. The chocolate and banana are subtle, yet together with the buttermilk, produce a wonderful breakfast treat. These waffles are delicious and are a welcome addition to our breakfast rotation!…

Filed Under: breakfast, healthy, kid-friendly, Recipes Tagged With: banana, brunch, buttermilk, chocolate, easy, quick, waffles, whole wheat

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

September 12, 2013 ·

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies are so chocolaty and fudgy, you would never guess they’re filled with zucchini! Plus they are made with whole wheat flour and can be made vegan. These are quite possibly, the best brownies ever!

The other night I shredded zucchini to make Chocolate Zucchini Bread again. It was so chocolaty and good, I just couldn’t resist! But then I opened my iPad and saw a zucchini brownie recipe that I had been researching. Brownies are always tasty, plus this recipe looked quick and easy. Why not try something new? Considering how delicious chocolate and zucchini are together, I had no doubt Chocolate Zucchini Brownies would be good. Now, they weren’t just good,……

Filed Under: dessert, Recipes Tagged With: brownies, chocolate, easy, low fat, quick, summer, vegan, whole wheat, zucchini

Sweet Potato Hummus - sweet, spicy, vegan, delicious!

Sweet Potato Hummus #SundaySupper

September 8, 2013 ·

Sweet Potato Hummus is a little sweet, a little spicy and a lot delicious! This hummus is healthy, quick and easy to make, and vegan.

With Football season means it is tailgating time! Whenever I’m tailgating, at a barbecue, picnic or party, the first thing I look for is something healthy, like fresh vegetables. And if there is something healthy to go with them, such as hummus, I am a happy girl! It just so happens that ‘tailgating’ is the theme for this week’s Sunday Supper, and I am bringing to the party a healthy treat to go with that ~ Sweet Potato Hummus!

Who would have thought the addition of sweet potato to a basic hummus recipe, along with some spice and some heat, would result in such a tasty (and healthy!) dip. Paprika and chipotle seasoning really enhance the sweet potato and are otherwise complementary to the traditional hummus flavors. Sweet Potato Hummus is also very easy to make and a wonderful accompaniment to a vegetable tray, pretzel crisps or whole wheat pita chips. It would also be great on a wrap or as a sandwich spread.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Sunday Supper group brought to our Tailgate party!

…

Filed Under: appetizers, gluten free, healthy, Recipes, sides, vegan, vegetarian Tagged With: chickpeas, dip, easy, hummus, quick, sweet potato

Baked Pumpkin Pasta #WeekdaySupper

September 4, 2013 ·

Baked Pumpkin Pasta is a quick, healthy pasta dish made with pumpkin, zucchini and ricotta cheese. This simple comfort food is perfect for a weeknight dinner.

I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again: Fall is my favorite time of year for cooking and baking. Mainly because I love pumpkin recipes! While I typically prefer to use pumpkin in baked goods, this Baked Pumpkin Pasta made for a delightful, easy and healthy weeknight dinner. …

Filed Under: healthy, kid-friendly, main dishes, Recipes, vegetarian Tagged With: baked, cheese, easy, pasta, pumpkin, quick, vegetable, zucchini

S’mores Brownies #SundaySupper

September 1, 2013 ·

What do you get when you cross a brownie with a s’more? This easy recipe for S’mores Brownies!

As Labor Day marks the unofficial end of Summer, I am looking forward to cooler temperatures, Halloween (!) and, of course, lots of pumpkin recipes. While Fall baking is my absolute favorite, sometimes nothing hits the spot quite like a s’more. I have made several s’more-inspired recipes, including muffins, blondies, Golden Graham’s bars, even a cool and creamy pie! But these S’mores Brownies might be my favorite s’more-inspired treat. The chocolate brownie base is the perfect vehicle for all of the yummy s’more toppings, plus they take only minutes to prepare….