Doughnuts (from Deceptively Delicious Cookbook)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 cup milk or lowfat buttermilk
1 large egg white
1 tblsp.trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, melted (I use butter)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a doughnut mold or 12 mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, pumpkin and sweet potato purees, milk, egg white, margarine,
and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spice, and mix until completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into a gallon-sized plastic bag and cut the bottom tip off of one side of the bag. Squeeze
the batter through, into the doughnut mold. Bake until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes
out clean when inserted, 20-25 minutes. Turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool. When cool, dust
with confectioner's sugar.

Store in an airtight container at room temp. for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

*** These are low in sugar and have veggies in it, so a healthy snack for your kids! If they in fact look like doughnuts your kids will be fooled;)

Pesto Crescent Twists w/Feta Spread

Twists:
2(8oz) cans refridgerated crescent rolls
1/2c prepared pesto
2tbsp finely chopped walnuts

Spread:
1/4c sour cream
4oz crumbled feta cheese
1(3oz) pkg cream cheese softened
2tsp olive oil
1tsp prepared pesto

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease cookie sheet or use large bar pan. Unroll 1 can of dough onto wax paper or cutting board, firmly press perforations to seal. Press or roll to form 13x7 inch rectangle. In small bowl combine pesto and walnuts, mix well and spread over dough.

2. Unroll second can of dough. Firmly press perforations to seal. Press or roll out to 13x7 inch rectangle. Carefully place on top of first rectangle, sandwiching the filling in the middle.

3. Cut in half lengthwise to make two 7x6 1/2 inch rectangles, then cut each rectangle into 8 strips each. I find this easiest with a pizza cutter so as not to drag or tear the dough. "twist" each strip tightly and place on cookie sheet.

4. Bake at 375 for 14-19 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Meanwhile, in medium bowl or small food processor, combine sour cream, feta, and cream cheese. Mix until well blended and smooth. Place in serving bowl. Drizzle olive oil and pesto over spread. I like to use a knife to swirl this into the top so it looks pretty.

6. Serve warm twists alongside spread. Any leftover spread is really good on other types of warm bread, and can be saved in the fridge for about a week.

Yumm!

Candied Chex Mix

A recipe from the box tops website, but added some more stuff to really fill it out.

8oz white chocolate baking bars, chopped coarsely
4c rice chex
2c bite size pretzel twists
1/2c raisins
1c candy corn
1/4c orange and black sprinkles

Stuff I added to the original mix, 'cause it was way too sweet the way the recipe was written:
1/2c more raisins
1c almonds
4c popcorn
1c more pretzels

1. In microwavable bowl, microwave chopped baking bars for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until fully melted and smooth*

2. gently stir in all mix-ins except the popcorn

3. Spread out on waxed paper or foil and let cool until chocolate is set, about 20-30 minutes.

4. Once dry, break up into smaller pieces and add to large bowl or resealable container. Add popcorn and mix to combine.

*Either use largest bowl to fit into your microwave, or transfer melted chocolate to a large bowl in order to have room for stirring in all the rest of the ingredients.

This was super yummy. :)

Edible Peanut Butter Playdough

• 3 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 1/2 cups honey
• 4 cups dry milk powder

DIRECTIONS

1. In large bowl, cream together peanut butter and confectioners' sugar, then beat in honey and fold in milk powder. Divide into 15 equal portions and refrigerate or freeze until ready to use.

Tabouli

This recipe is stolen from a place in Fort Worth call "Jazz Cafe"

1 box plain cous cous (It's called Far East or Near East)
1/2 a small bottle of olive oil
4 roma tomatoes
1 yellow onion
1 bundle cilantro (I leave this out)
1 garlic clove
3 jalapeno peppers (I leave this out)
juice from 1 lime


Put cous cous in a bowl. Fill the bowl with cool water until it covers the cous cous about 1/4 inch. Chop all vegetables and herbs intovery small pieces. Mix vegetables together and squeeze in lime juice to make a pico de gallo. After the cous cous has soaked up the water, mix it with the pico de gallo and add the olive oil. *The olive oil should just coat everything.

Can be served as tacos in warm white corn tortillas with black beans (canned) and cheese.

Goldfish Yummies

3 pgg. (6 oz. each) of goldfish crackers
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
3 tsp. dill weed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. lemon-pepper seasoning
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2/3 cup vegetable oil

Put goldfish in a large bowl. Whisk together rest of ingredients in a second bowl and drizzle over crackers, tossing to coat. Transfer to 2 ungreased large baking pans (15x10x1) Bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Yield: 2 1/2 quarts.