Happy Halloween! It’s time for Mummy Pretzels!

I love Halloween. I love ghost stories, pumpkins, Halloween TV specials, spooky candles, witchy brews, costumes … Really. I love it all. As such, our apartment right now looks like the Headless Horseman and his crew of goblins regurgitated spookiness all over. I mean – I literally have pumpkins everywhere. And what’s even better is I’ve discovered the gloriousness of LED candles – why? They burn for like three weeks before you have to replace them. Which means that we can have our spooky Halloween-themed candles burning all. day. long. Awesome.

Mr. Grumpy is being extremely patient. Decorating makes him extremely grumpy. He’d much rather relax in our apartment without getting attacked by pumpkin pillows or the scent of my latest pumpkin spice candle. The end of Halloween for Mr. Grumpy also means that as my Halloween decor box gets put back in storage, out will come the Christmas tree. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. I suspect that he is really not looking forward to decorating the tree while I force him to listen to the N*Sync Christmas album …

Knowing my love of all things October 31, I could not resist making these mummy treats for us to take over to Kelsey & B-rad’s engagement party tonight. These were so easy to make and they’re just so darn cute that you really should make them before Halloween ends this year (thus why I’m posting this today, and not tomorrow. You have 24 hours – go!). I had just finished making them when Mr. Grumpy started eating them by the pounds, so don’t worry – they will definitely fulfill your sweet tooth.

Mummy Pretzel Rods! The perfect Halloween treat! (PS: Mr. Grumpy’s mom made me these beautiful Halloween-themed placemats! Jealous?)

What You’ll Need: 

• 1 package of milk chocolate CandiQuik coating (you can get this in the baking aisle. This is the brand Meijers carries, so really any brand of candy coating will do)
• 1 package of white chocolate CandiQuik coating (yes, it annoys me, too, how they spell their brand name)
• 1 bag of pretzel rods (about 12 rods)
• Toothpicks
• A microwave

First, line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil or parchment paper. Make sure it’s non-stick! This will be really important. Next, take all the rods out of the bag and set the broken rods aside. With the remaining full rods, put them in a nice row next to your baking sheet.

Next, microwave the milk chocolate according to instructions. It is really important that in between each blast in the microwave that you stir thoroughly for at least 30 seconds. The chocolate will continue melting as you stir it, and as such – you don’t want to put it back in the microwave if you don’t need to or it will caramelize. This sounds awesome, but it’s not and you’ll have to go BACK to the store and buy a whole ‘nother package of the candy coating and you’ll be really pissed and your mummies won’t bring you as much joy. I digress…

Once the milk chocolate candy coating is smooth and melted, start rolling the rods one-by-one into the chocolate. Use a spoon to get the chocolate all the way down to about 1 inch away from the end of the rod. You can use the back of the spoon, too, to smooth out the chocolate. Set each rod gently onto the baking sheet. Continue until you’ve completed all the rods (I made about 12).

Now, place your baking dish in the fridge. In the meantime, microwave your white chocolate according to package instructions. Remember that white chocolate is a bit more fragile and susceptible to caramelizing than milk chocolate. As such, you may want to turn down the level on your microwave from high to medium. Really stir the chocolate in between each blast to make sure you’re not overheating it. Remove the pretzel rods from the frige.

Once the white chocolate is smooth and ready to go, pour it into a Ziplock bag. Cut a toothpick-sized hole in the corner of the bag. Moving over each individual pretzel rod, make small sweeping movements in the shape of little X’s starting at about 1.5 inches down, all the way down to the bottom of the milk chocolate. Give your mummy a hat by criss-crossing at the top as well. Do this to all your pretzels until they’re all dressed like mummies. It’s ok if some are messier than others – they’ve been hibernating in coffins for years … do you think they’re going to look put together?!?!

Next, take a toothpick and dip it in the white chocolate. Dot little eyes on each mummy in between the “wrapping.” That should dry pretty quickly, but let that set for a minute. Reheat the remaining milk chocolate you have (trust me you will have some!) and, with a new toothpick, make little brown dots on top of the larger white dots. Voila! Mummy eyes!

You’ll want to let those dry for a little bit before removing them from the baking sheet. Once they’re completely hardened, you can serve immediately or store in Ziplock bags to make sure they stay fresh!

Happy Halloween, ghouls! Hope you get more treats than tricks!  

PS: I found the idea for this on Pinterest, which by the way is the best place ever to find fun Halloween inspirations. You can follow my Fall Fun board for more ideas! 

Review: OrganicGirl Baby Kale (a recipe for Minestrone Soup!)

Disclaimer: I was provided product from OrganicGirl to review for this post. All opinions are my own. 

Hello, readers! Long time, no post, eh? Ok – I’m sorry. Life has been crazy – and I have been living off of peanut butter sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, ham sandwiches … and yogurt. And oatmeal. So, I didn’t really think you’d be too excited about that menu, right?

Over the past month, I have checked a BUNCH of things off my bucket list of things to do before I turn 26. The first – maybe most important item – was running my first half marathon. That is a whopping 13.1 miles, unless you take the wide turns – which Mr. Grumpy made me take. So, it was more like … 14.1 miles. With Mr. Grumpy as my SAG man (aka, safety and gear), the 13.1 miles went actually relatively fast, until the 10th mile when the marathon planners thought it would be hilarious and awesome to hit us with the largest hill I think exists in all of Ohio. Which was ridiculous. And we were basically the ONLY people in our running corral that ACTUALLY ran the hill. Which was not easy on the mind games – but alas, I survived. And I did it all without walking. Check that baby off. 

Ok, I know I said that I checked a bunch of stuff off my bucket list, but I really didn’t check that much more off. Really the half marathon counted for like eight items on my bucket list, so I’m sure you’ll understand. I did paint a chevron pumpkin. And went to a clam bake. And ate 3 dozen clams at that clam bake. And then I turned 26 (yes, it hurts, in case you were wondering). It especially hurts when you celebrate it at Ohio University. So, now I’m making a new bucket list of things to do before I turn 30. Here’s a recap of all those activities completed:

Readers, I have missed you so terribly. So what better way to bless you back with my presence than a review about OrganicGirl’s latest, most fabulous product yet! (If you maybe recall the last time I told you all about OrganicGirl when I made super yummy brie sammies with their Vive la France mix). 

I am one of OrganicGirl’s biggest fans. Why? Well – there are a few reasons. First, they make absolutely sure that, when you buy their greens in the produce aisle, that they are ready for you to eat. This means that it is washed THREE times before it gets to you. Which makes me feel really good and safe about what I’m eating. Plus, it comes in these really nice packages that keep your produce fresh for a super long time. We experimented with the last bunch, and it lasted at least a week longer than the other greens in a plastic container you can buy at the grocery.

This time, they sent me their latest and greatest – 100% baby kale.

I’ve been really excited about kale lately. Mr. Grumpy insisted we try it the other day, and so we jumped on the bandwagon. Then, he shared with me all these facts about kale that came out of NOWHERE (this is the same guy that while I was cooking dinner tonight was eating slices of cheese and Laffy Taffy…). I’m not sure he was sharing ACTUAL facts. For example, he claims that broccoli is human-made from baby kale. I’ve seen the Hidden Valley commercials, so I’m not convinced that his source – Uber Facts on Twitter – was being completely accurate. But if it IS true, it is probably why I love kale so much.

OrganicGirl’s baby kale is so crunchy and fresh – I was eating it like potato chips while I cooked. It has such great flavor – the perfect ingredient for my wintertime twist on one of my mom’s chilly evening staples – minestrone soup. As a kid, I used to get so excited to come home and smell Suzie Q’s minestrone soup. It warmed you up from head to toe. Plus DS and Erin always complained when she cooked it – so I would get to eat like 10 times more servings than everyone else (I was a really active kid, so that was ok). 

Kale is extremely important for people like Mr. Grumpy (who’s already training for another half marathon … …) and me (I’m working on mustering up the strength to run a 10K) because they absolutely need nutrients in their system after long runs or endurance work outs. Kale has the highest nutrition rating out of ALL the greens and vegetables. It has one of the highest level of nutrients out there (right up there with collard greens) and acts as an antioxident (you can read all about it on Whole Foods’ website). I mean – kale is just jam-packed with goodness. But what’s even better is you can do way more with it than just make a salad. Plus, literally everyone can cook with kale (I promise you) because it’s a great substitute for other greeny ingredients – including spinach (sorry, Popeye). 

And that’s exactly what we did… So, here it is – adapted from a Cooking Light recipe from a 2005 issue of the magazine (Suzie Q has never shared her minestrone soup recipe with me … thanks, Mom).

Baby Kale Minestrone Soup

What You’ll Need:

• 1/2 cup low-sodium, organic chicken stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 links of sweet italian sausage (this can be optional, but it’s really tasty)
• 1 zucchini, quartered and cut into small slices
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 cans low-sodium, organic great northern beans, drained 
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp ground Himalayan pink salt (or just normal salt if you’re not cool like me)
• 4 cups OrganicGirl 100% baby kale, de-stemmed 
• 1 cup cooked ditalini noodles (minestrone noodles basically)
• 2 tbsp Parmesan flakes 
• 1/2 white onion, chopped

First,  chop up your zucchini and onion. Slice the uncooked sausage into little 1/2 pieces. Then, in a medium soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and sausage and cook about 8 minutes until the sausage is cooked all the way through. Then, add the garlic and the zucchini, and let that cook for another 5 minutes. Add the beans, salt, pepper, 3 cups of kale, tomatoes and chicken stock. Let that come to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let that simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add in the noodles and the final cup of kale, and serve immediately! 

This is just a ridiculously delicious, wholesome soup. If you’d like, you can sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top like you would with a traditional minestrone soup. It is so good. In my mothers words, “Your tongue will literally slap your brains out.”

OrganicGirl offers so many versatile greens – you can use their handy store tracker online to find where you can buy them. I’m a fan! (Or follow them on Pinterest). 

And now – on to some fun pictures of my past month or so in the CLE!! Enjoy, readers! It’s good to be back. 🙂 

  

Erin and I were carb-loading before my half marathon. Naturally, we did so at Great Lakes Brewing Company. And yes, that is my shirt she’s wearing. So I’m the cool sister.

This is Mr. Grumpy and I pre-race. Look how unsweaty – er … I mean, cute we are!

This is Mr. Grumpy and I crossing the finish line. He thinks it is SUPER embarrassing when I wave for pictures.

My first half marathon! Check! 

Weeknight Dinner: Pumpkin Pancakes with Candied Pecans

Stop. Judging. Me. If you’re asking me if I put chocolate chips in these, the answer is YES. Why would I NOT put chocolate chips in these? Don’t be ridiculous.

Before I tell you how to make these amazing pancakes, I need to talk to you about something. It’s fall. Basically my favorite thing on the planet. I’m not sure I love anything as much as I love pumpkins. And as such, whenever it becomes fall (or pretty darn close to it), I talk to Mr. Grumpy about nothing else but pumpkins. Pumpkin patches. Pumpkin carving. Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin coffee. Pumpkin-scented candles. Pumpkin-colored sweaters. Pumpkin-colored football jerseys (Go Browns!), Pumpkin pancakes.

Now, this makes Mr. Grumpy very annoyed because he CLAIMS that I do not pronounce the word, “pumpkin” correctly. He seems to think I say, “punkin.” He also says my mother says it this way. I refuse to acknowledge his ridiculousness. Also, it’s a near-impossible word to say that many times correctly.

When I stumbled upon this recipe from Overtime Cook on Pinterest, I stopped dead in my pinning tracks. I had to eat them. And fast. Of course, I added candied pecans and chocolate chips and changed a few things to make them extra sweet – and then, we dug in to our stacks (with a side of bacon). Oh. my. god. These were so good, but I have to be honest – they were really filling. I could only eat half of my two-cake stack. Mr. Grumpy did eat the rest of my stack plus three more cakes… but we all know about his addiction to sweets.

Side Note: I had purchased caramel apples at the grocery store while buying the ingredients for this recipe thinking, “Oh! Perfect! This can be our dessert.” Then, after coming home, I realized that was a bit much. Don’t worry – they will be eaten soon enough.

What You’ll Need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal (we used the Quaker dude’s)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• Hot syrup

For the candied pecans:

• 1 cup pecans
• 2 tbsp natural buttery spread (we use Earth Balance)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Sea salt

First, let’s make the candied pecans. Over medium-low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add the pecans and stir to coat. Add the brown sugar and stir to coat again. Pour the pecans out onto a piece of parchment paper and let them cool (this was the kiss of death. I ran six miles and was SO hungry while I was making dinner that I literally ate half of these while I was making the pancakes).

Now, in a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Then, add in the remaining ingredients (except the hot syrup!) into the same bowl. Stir until it makes a batter. You don’t want it to be too runny – if it is, add a bit more flour. It should be slightly thicker than a cake batter but not as thick as a muffin batter.

Heat your griddle to 300 degrees. Spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Using a 1/3 measuring cup, pour your batter out into small circles. Let those cook. Usually pancakes will get little bubbles so you know when to flip them. This won’t happen here. So, instead just watch them. They’ll start to set a bit, and that’s when you should flip them. It will take about 6 minutes on each side.

Stack up the finished pancakes and cover them with about 1 tbsp each of candied pecans. Drizzle with hot syrup and GET READY FOR THE BEST DINNER EVER!  

 

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