Yellow Squash Chips

Is there really a difference between zucchini and yellow squash? Other than color, that is. Both are summer squash. When it comes to taste and texture they are pretty much identical. That kind of makes this recipe redundant--I already have two different zucchini chip recipes (parmesan zucchini bites and zucchini chips 2.0). But I figured what the hell. I was making it for lunch and thought I'd share. Who knows, someone might have yellow squash in their fridge and never think of making it into chips because you always hear about zucchini chips, not squash chips. So here is a yellow summer squash chip recipe! And to make them even more convenient, they're made in the microwave!

Okay, for the ultimate healthy snack, squash chips with hummus. Sooo yummy.

Ingredients:
Yellow summer squash
Cooking spray
Seasonings*

Directions:
Slice the yellow squash into thin slices using a mandolin. Place a sheet of wax paper on a microwave-safe plate and spray it generously with cooking spray. Place the zucchini slices on the plate in a single layer. Season to taste.

On high power, microwave for 4 to 6 minutes. Allow the chips to rest for 1 minute. Microwave for another 2 to 3 minutes or until light brown spots appear on the chips. Keep in mind each microwave cooks differently. Mine turn out best when cooked for 4 minutes then 2.5 minutes.

*My favorite combo is garlic powder and onion salt. But they're also good with grated parmesan, just salt and pepper, or a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and chilli powder.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Chip Recipes:
Baked Apple Chips
Banana Chips
Homemade Pita Chips
Kale Chips
Potato Chips in the Microwave
Snowflake Tortilla Chips  
Zucchini Chips 2.0

Homemade Pita Chips

I'm always amazed at how many of my recipes still aren't on this blog. They always seem to be the ones I made on a regular basis or the ones that are hugely popular with friends and family. I've been making these pita chips for years. They are one of Eric's favorites. My mom is hooked on them. They are simple to make, you can easily change up the flavor, and they're perfect for hummus (or any other dips!).

Now, this is kind of a non-recipe. No measures, just ingredients and directions.

Ingredients:
pita bread
olive oil
seasonings (I usually use garlic powder and a dash of cayenne pepper)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Either spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or lay a piece of parchment paper on it.

Pour some olive oil into a small bowl, add seasonings to taste, and mix to combine. Cut the pita bread into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on how large you want your chips. Separate each wedge into two pieces. With  pastry brush (or your fingers) lightly coat each side of the pita bread with the olive oil mixture and place on the cookie sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until the chips turn a golden brown. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Check out these other chip recipes:
Baked Apple Chips
Banana Chips 
Kale Chips
Potato Chips in the Microwave
Snowflake Tortilla Chips  
Zucchini Chips 2.0 

Malt Chocolate Marshmallows

Homemade marshmallows are so much better than store bought marshmallows. I made them for the first time for Christmas, 2011, and well . . . haven't made them since. Then I kept seeing this chocolate malt marshmallow recipe on pinterest. I took it as a sign that it's time to try my hand at marshmallow making again. It not only looked delicious but was a bit more complicated than the mug recipes I've been making lately. The recipe calls for the use of a standing mixer (you need to beat the mixture for 18 minutes on high), but I don't own one. I did not let this deter me (I never do) and all that beating with an electric hand mixer paid off because these marshmallows are oh so good.

Ingredients: 
Cocoa slurry:
1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa*
3/4 cup malt powder (I used Ovaltine)
2/3 cup boiling water

The base:
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
pinch salt

The bloom:
4 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For coating:**
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

*Use cocoa powder that has less than 1.5g of fat per tablespoon. Cocoa with more fat could result in heavy marshmallows.

Directions:
Spray a 7x11 dish with cooking spray (or lightly grease with butter). Whisk together the coating ingredients then flour the pan with roughly 2 tablespoon of the mixture. Reserve the rest of the coating mixture and set aside.

The slurry: Combine all the slurry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until mixture is smooth and well combined. Set aside.

The base: Place all the base ingredients into a medium, heavy-bottomed sauce pan. Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Once it reaches a boil, wipe down the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush. Cover and allow to boil for 2 minutes without stirring. Remove the lid and insert a candy thermometer. Raise heat to medium-high and boil until the syrup reaches 260 degrees F.

The bloom: While the base is cooking, make the bloom. Trust me, you'll have plenty of time; it seemed to  take forever for my syrup to reach 260 degrees. Add the water and vanilla into a shallow bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin across the surface and distribute evenly. The mixture will turn into gelatin, but that's okay. Set aside.

The base: As soon as the temperature reaches 260, remove from heat. Stir in the gelatin. Beware the mixture will foam up. Next, stir in the slurry. Mix until well combined and smooth. Pour into a large bowl (the bowl of your standing mixer if you have one) and attach the whisk attachment. Gradually bring mixture to the highest speed setting. The original recipe said to beat for 18 minutes. I beat my for 25 and probably could have made my marshmallows even fluffier by giving them another 10 minutes. Anyhow, your mixture should be light and fluffy like marshmallow creme.

Pour  the mixture into your prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Cover with a piece of foil and leave out at room temperature overnight to set.

Remove the marshmallow from the pan (I found it easiest to just lift the marshmallow from the pan versus turning the pan over). Dust the top of the marshmallows with the leftover coating mixture. Spray a knife or kitchen shears with cooking spray and cut marshmallows into squares. Store in an airtight container.

**You can use other coating. Skip the cocoa-powdered sugar all together, then after you cut them, coat  them with sprinkles, chopped nuts, mini-chocolate chips, or even dip them in tempered chocolate.

FYI: To die for smore recipe: Malt chocolate marshmallow, cookies and cream chocolate square (I used Ghirardelli) and graham crackers.

Enjoy!


~Krissy

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug

Banana bread, is it a breakfast food or a dessert? You make the call. But I will tell you how to make chocolate chip banana banana bread in about five minutes--that's prep and bake time!

Recipe has been adapted from here.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
1 ripe banana, mushed
2 tablespoon chocolate chips

Directions:
You will need a large, oversized mug for this recipe. The site I got the original recipe from did not forewarn me of this and this is what happened:

It's still delicious and cooked through, just a bit messy. So use a large coffee mug. Spray it with cooking spray. In the mug combine the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda . Add egg and mix well. Add vanilla, milk, and banana; combine well. Fold in chocolate chips.*

Microwave for three minutes. (Almost immediately it smells just like banana bread baking in the oven). Your mug is going to be very hot so make either let it cool in the microwave or be very careful when taking it out. Allow bread to cool before devouring.

*The chocolate chips kind of sink to the bottom of the banana bread. I don't mind this. It's kind of like a special treat at the bottom of the dessert, but fair warning.

Personally, I feel like this is a lot of banana bread. It's more than I can eat in one sitting. It's like a mini loaf of bread. So I dumped it out of the mug, sliced it, and shared it.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Check out these other mug recipes:
French Toast in a Mug
Quiche in a Mug
3-Ingredient Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Fluffernutter Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 

French Toast in the Mug

Warning: This is highly addictive. When I was little, I remember my mom asking my brother and me if we wanted pancakes or French toast for dinner (breakfast for dinner, is there anything better in this world?). Ken would always say pancakes. I always voted for French toast. Now I can have French toast for breakfast, dinner, or just a snack with incredible ease.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 slices of bread, torn into bite-size pieces
1 egg white
1 1/2 tablespoon milk
1-2 drops of vanilla extract
cinnamon, to taste (I probably use about a tablespoon but I love cinnamon!) 
cooking spray
maple syrup, optional

Directions:
Spray the inside of a coffee mug with cooking spray. Add bread to the mug. You'll have to mash it down a little. In a small bowl, combine egg whites, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over the bread. Let the mug sit for about a minute so the egg mixture and sink down and absorb into the bread.

Microwave for about 1 minute 20 seconds on high. However, all microwaves cook different. Start at 1 minute and progressively add 10 seconds until cooked. Add syrup if desired. Allow to cool before eating (I burnt my tongue because I was too impatient).

As it cooks in the microwave, it smells just like regular French toast.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Check out these other mug recipes:
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug
Quiche in a Mug
3-Ingredient Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Fluffernutter Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 

Quiche in a Mug

I love eggs. But I hate cleaning eggy pans. Of course, I hate cleaning pans, period. Doesn't everyone? One of the great things about this quiche in a mug, no clean up. You make it, cook it, and eat it out of the mug. Talk about a quick easy breakfast (or lunch or dinner). Now, since there isn't a crust, I guess this doesn't technically qualify as a quiche. But that's what it reminds me of. And you could add cubed bread for a deconstructed quiche. This is also a very basic recipe. You can change it up by adding different ingredients to have different eggs every morning.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I wish I knew about all these mug recipes when I was in college. I would have eaten so much better.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
cooking spray
cheese, optional
onions, optional
peppers, optional
ham, optional

Directions:
Spray the inside of the mug with the cooking spray. Scrabble the eggs and milk in the mug. Salt and pepper to taste. Add whatever other ingredients you'd like. Thyme, oregano, basil, rosemary . . . I always add cheese--cheddar being my favorite. If you have some green onions or peppers lying around, dice them and toss them in. Or if you have any leftover ham, sausage, or chicken, add it too. Just make sure it's all precooked. I love using quiches as a way to recycle leftovers into a new dish. They're also fun to experiment with.

Microwave on high for approximately 1 minute 20 seconds. All microwaves cook differently so you may need to cook it a little longer or a little shorter. I recommend starting with 1 minute and go up by 10 seconds from there.

Here are some quiche ideas to inspire you:
The Pizza Quiche
Spicy Sausage Spinach Quiche
Ham and Broccoli Quiche

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Check out these other mug recipes:
French Toast in a Mug
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Mug
3-Ingredient Gluten-Free Mug Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Mug!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake
Chocolate-Hazelnut Mug Cake
Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Fluffernutter Mug Cake
Pumpkin Mug Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting