Mango Crepes

A Saturday morning breakfast that brought everyone crawling into the kitchen. Perfect for four people. No doubt we were stuffed and ready to enjoy a walk around town. Delicious mangoes are a must.

What's your favorite brunch item?


Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup AP flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 ripe mangoes, diced
powdered sugar
cinnamon (optional)
fat free vanilla yogurt (optional)
maple syrup (optional)


Directions:
Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center and crack eggs in the middle of the well. Beat the eggs in the middle and slowly add the milk, slowly adding the flour into your whisking path. When it forms a smooth batter, no chunks, mix in the chilled melted butter. 
Butter a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Pour in about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of batter into pan and swirl until the batter hits the edges. When edges begin to brown, use a spatula to lift an edge, and flip with your hand. Do not damage the crepe by folding over. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds. Transfer to a plate. Stack crepes on top of each other.
Fill crepes with mango pieces and powdered sugar. You may want to add syrup, cinnamon, or yogurt, depending on your preferences.

Oreo, Oreo Cookies

Caution: If you are currently dieting and don't want to be tempted do not read or look any further!! Because if you make these you will be sitting here wishing you worked out before starting the dough....

You know these cookies are WAY too good for your own good when you make a batch and can't stop licking the dough off a spoon that you shouldn't have picked up in the first place... If you like cookies and cream ice cream in cookie form I would recommend this cookie recipe. The pudding makes the cookie come out soft and creamy, makes them taste good days later too! :)

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (4.2 ounce) package instant Oreo Pudding mix (see Note)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla 
2 1/4 cups flour  
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups smashed, crumbled Oreo cookies


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Smash about one row of Oreo cookies in a bag just until each cookies is broken up, with varying shapes and crumbs.
Mix butter, sugars, and pudding mix together until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add one cup of the flour mixture at a time to the wet ingredients and mix until incorporated. Pour in all the smashed Oreos and mix on low for a couple seconds. Roll into 1 inch balls on a nonstick sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Wait 3 minutes before transferring over to wire rack.

Mango, Cucumber, and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Oh how my husband loves this salad. He has established it his favorite dinner and now I must have all the ingredients in the kitchen at all times, just in case... Well, it is delicious.


With a perfect combination of flavors, trust me, you will have happy taste buds.


Ingredients:
*Note: I always cook my quinoa in veg. broth & remember to rinse.
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 mango, peeled and diced
1 (15 oz) can black beans rinsed and drained
1 cup diced cucumber
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper


Directions:
In a large bowl, combine quinoa, mango, black beans, cucumber, cilantro.


In a separate dish, whisk together red wine vinegar, olive oil, lime juice, and pepper until combined and toss into salad. Refrigerate for at least an hour.


Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Aunt Molly's Granola

My favorite food in the world: Granola. 
I eat mine with yogurt, cinnamon, and blueberries... every morning. 
I'm attached what can I say.

A lot of people know this so when I received this recipe from Molly, I was ever so grateful! I'm happy to relay that this is the best. I usually half this recipe just because I only have one large pan, which is very easy to do.

Ingredients:
5 pounds rolled oats
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 1/3 cups coconut
3 1/3 cups sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, or pecans (or all!)
4 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup water
1 1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup honey
3 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 pound raisins, dried blueberries, or craisins


Directions:
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Add liquids and mix in until just incorporated. Place in 2 2" parchment paper-lined pans and bake at 275 degree oven until dry and crisp. Stir granola every 15-20 minutes for even browning. This takes about two hours. Let set at room temperature until completely cooled. Mix in raisins and store in airtight container.