Leftover Halloween Candy? Solution: Candy Bark

Sweet Treats

First off...

Happy Halloween!

The only day of the year that you can justify eating CANDY for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Let's talk about chocolate "bark". During the holidays, we have Chocolate Toffee Bark...

aka, CRACK.

During Christmas, we have Peppermint Bark...

Mmmmmm.

On Halloween? TRICK-OR-TREAT CANDY BARK...

Almost brings you back to childhood, right?

So, I combined a few candy bark recipes to make the perfect Halloween Candy Bark. Best part about this recipe? It's SO fast and SO easy to make!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of semi-sweet chocolate
• 6 ounces of white chocolate
• 8 fun-sized Butterfingers
• 8 Reese's Cups
• 3 ounces of Dark Chocolate M&Ms
• 10 crushed Oreo's
• 1/2 cup Heath Bar bits

Recipe:

-First, chop up the Butterfingers, Oreo's, and Reese's Cups. Set aside.

-Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and melt the semi-sweet chocolate. I melted it on the stove top, but you can use a microwave as well. Once melted, pour the chocolate into the foil.

-Immediately start sprinkling all the "toppings" on top of the melted chocolate and push down so they stick (don't do anything with the white chocolate yet).

-Place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

-Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate so it is ready to pour.

-Remove the bark from the fridge and drizzle the white chocolate on top.

Return the bark to the fridge for 20 minutes, cut into small pieces, and enjoy!!

**This treat is very cute when put in a mason jar and given as a gift...

Like so!

Brownies and Blondies for Chocoholics

Sweet Treats

Hurricane Sandy, aka Frankenstorm, is comin' in hot on the East Coast...

Taking NYC by storm.

Being cooped up in a pint-size apartment for two days calls for one thing: BAKING! So, here are two recipes for all you chocoholics out there waiting out the storm.

Pretzel Crusted Peanut Butter Brownies

The Original Recipe

Brownie-gredients:

• 2 1/2 cups crushed butter pretzels
• 1 cup melted butter
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• One box Peanut Butter Cookie mix + ingredients it calls for
• One box Brownie Mix + ingredients it calls for
• 12 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Recipe:

-Crush the pretzels in a bag or food processor (don't crush them to dust because the crust will be better if crunchy).

-Mix the melted butter and sugar to the pretzel crumbs. Press gently into a greased pan 13x9 or 7x11 inch pain.

-Make the peanut butter cookie dough according to the package and press the dough evenly on top of the pretzel crust.

-Press all the Reese's cups into the peanut butter cookie dough.

-Make the brownie mix and pour over the Reese's evenly.

-Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Beware of the blast of sweetness in your mouth when you bite into one of these bars.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Blondies

The Original Recipe

This recipe is from scratch AND is so incredibly easy! The finished product is much richer and tastier than bake-n-bake cookies.

Blondie-gredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup cherries (I used whole frozen Dark Sweet Cherries)

Recipe:

-Melt the butter then transfer to a larger mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine.

-Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine.

-Add the flour and salt and stir until just combined (do not over mix of the blondies will be too hard).

-Fold in chocolate chips and cherries.

-Pour batter into a greased pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes (or until the edges of the blondies start to pull away from the pan).

Even fully baked, these blondies taste like chocolate chip cookie dough - they are scrumptious.

Soy Glazed Salmon with Orange, Sage Butter Spaghetti Squash

Savory Eats

Since I was on an unsatisfying, liquid and mushy food diet for a week post-wisdom-tooth-extraction, I've been craving a hearty, gourmet meal. Last night, I made magic happen in the kitchen with Honey Soy Baked Salmon and Orange, Sage-Browned Butter Spaghetti Squash. The finished product was beyond my expectations - and here's how it's done...

Perfection on a plate.

Salmon-gredients:

• Two 8 oz Salmon Filets with skin, fresh (NOT FROZEN)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 teaspoon ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon minced yellow onion

Squash-gredients:

• One spaghetti squash
• 1/4 cup sage, chopped
• 1 clove of fresh garlic, smashed and chopped
• One orange, zest and juiced
• 4 tablespoons butter (I used "Light I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, half the calories)
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Salmon Recipe:

-Clean salmon and place in a greased pyrex dish, skin side down.

-Pour soy sauce, minced ginger, honey, brown sugar, garlic powder, and minced onion in a small bowl and mix together.

-Pour sauce over salmon and let salmon marinate for 30 minutes.

-After 30 minutes, cover the dish in aluminum foil and bake at 420 degrees for 30 minutes. DO NOT OVER BAKE (or the salmon will dry out)!

Squash Recipe:

-Steam and prepare spaghetti squash (as seen in my previous posts). Set aside.

-Zest one orange into a small bowl. Squeeze the orange juice out into the bowl as well.

-Add 1/8 cup (2 tablespoons) of chopped sage to the bowl.

-Add the dijon mustard and garlic powder.

-Add some salt and pepper (I used lemon pepper).

Set this aside.

-In a saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of "Light I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". When it starts to bubble, add the clove of minced garlic. Stir for 1 minute.

-After the minute, add the rest of the chopped sage (1/8 cup) to the garlic butter and mix for about 2 minutes until it starts to brown and has a nutty aroma.

This smells so delicious.

-Remove the garlic/sage browned butter from the stove and pour it into the sage/orange sauce. Mix together and pour on top of the spaghetti squash.

-Liberally season with salt and pepper until it tastes just right!

Put both masterpieces on your plate and ENJOY! This dish is fabulous.

How to make the PERFECT Italian Sub

Savory Eats

A big, hearty sandwich is my ideal lunch. My favorite Italian subs come from Gallo's Italian Deli back at home in Newport Beach. To create a perfect sub, you need the flaky yet soft hero bread; thinly sliced, fresh cold-cuts; crisp, seasoned vegetables; and a tasty spread or dressing. Today I bring to you, my homemade PERFECT Italian Hoagie...

...from an Italian deli I like to call my kitchen

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions
• 7 ounce can artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive tapenade (store bought)
• 3 leaves romaine lettuce
• 1/4 cup canned banana peppers
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 long baguette or hero (whole grain)
• 3 sliced fresh provolone cheese
• 3 slices fresh ham
• 3 slices fresh salami
• 3 slices fresh honey roasted turkey
• Salt and Lemon Pepper

Recipe:

-Slice the red onion first and soak in cold water and set aside.

-Combine artichoke hearts, tomato, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

-Slice the baguette in half. Pull out about half of the soft bread from each side.

-Spread olive tapenade on one half of hero. Layer the slices of provolone, salami, turkey, and ham on the other half of the bread.

-Remove the onions from water and pat dry.

-Spread the tomato/artichoke/dressing mixture on top of the tapenade.

-Add the romaine lettuce, banana peppers, and a dash of salt and pepper on top.

Enjoy! I promise this sandwich won't disappoint!!

Healthy Ruby Red Peachberry Smoothie

Sweet Treats

Unfortunately, I had to get all four wisdom teeth extracted yesterday. My chunky cheeks and I are now one with the couch. Considering my inability to open my mouth or chew, I searched far and wide for a delicious smoothie recipe. I found a Pink Grapefruit Breakfast Smoothie on Pinterest and decided to tweak it a bit and create this masterpiece...

Oh so fresh.

(Serves 2 people)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup frozen peach slices
• 1/2 fresh grapefruit
• 1/2 fresh banana
• 1/2 cup low-fat French Vanilla Ice Cream
• 1/2 cup Trop 50 Orange Juice
• 1/2 cup peach greek yogurt (I used Chobani)

Recipe:

-Combine all ingredient in a blender and puree until texture of your liking.

400 calories in the WHOLE RECIPE! That's 200 calories per person. Yum Yum Yum!!

Spiral Slicer: My New Kitchen Gadget

...and Rasta Faux-sta: Savory Eats

I stumbled on this life changing kitchen gadget on a blog last week. I then immediately searched amazon and found one for only $32! So, if you find this spiral slicer amazing too, you can buy it here.

It looks daunting, but I promise it's VERY user friendly.

For my test-drive, I made Zucchini Spaghetti with Tomato Turkey Bolognese Sauce

(what I call RASTA PASTA)...

Another awesome "faux-sta" recipe

I call this my Rasta Faux-sta because the dish is made with green zucchini, yellow squash, and red sauce!

(recipe serves two heaping portions)

RastaFauxsta-gredients:

• Spiral Slicer
• 3 zucchini, spiral sliced
• 3 yellow squash, spiral sliced
• Salt, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Powder

Saucin'gredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 3 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
• 1/4 up fresh basil, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh Parmesan

Recipe:

-Transform the zucchini and squash into "spaghetti" with the spiral slicer...

How cool is this?!?

There are three slicing options, some thick and some thin.

-Set "faux-sta" to the side.

-Now onto the sauce...heat oil in a large pot. Add onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes.

-Add carrot and celery and saute another 5 minutes.

-Add the turkey and saute for 1 minute.

-Add marinara sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir often.

-Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper.

-Keep on medium-low heat for another 20 minutes.

-Meanwhile, microwave the zucchini/squash faux-sta for one minute (covered).

-Spice with salt, lemon pepper, and a dash of garlic powder.

-Top with Tomato Bolognese sauce and Parmesan...

Enjoy!!

10-minute Oreo, Heath Bar Cocoa Krispie Treats

Sweet Treats

A dessert that you often forget exists, but is so simple and delicious: Homemade Rice Krispie Treats. I was never a fan of packaged Kellogg's Rice Krispie Treats as a kid. But, for some reason, they are SO much tastier when made from scratch. I decided to jazz up my original recipe with some Oreo's and Heath Bar Bits to create this AMAZING hunk of yumminess...

Ooey-gooey Oreo Toffee Krispie Treats

Krispin'gredients:

• 5 cups Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies
• 1/4 cup butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup Health Bar bits
• 20 Oreo cookies

Recipe:

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add all the mini marshmallows.

Stir the marshmallows and butter until all have melted together (about 3 minutes).

Remove from heat and add the Cocoa Krispies to the saucepan. Mix until Krispies are fully coated in the melted marshmallows (do this quick before it hardens).

-Sprinkle 1/2 cup Heath Bar bits and 5 crushed Oreo's into the mixture.

-Transfer 1/2 of the Krispie Treats into a square container.

-Sprinkle 1/4 cup of Heath Bar bits and 10 crushed Oreo's on top.

-Transfer the rest of the Krispie Treats into the container and smoosh on top of the Heath and Oreo's.

Sprinkle 1/4 Heath Bar bits and last 5 crushed Oreo's on top.

-Place in the fridge for 10 minutes, cut, and devour!