cooking ala mel

healthy recipes and the occasional craft

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Pumpkin Fudge Brownies (Gluten Free)

This weekend, I felt a bit restless.  Alex is traveling for a conference (in Vegas, of course), so I had a pretty quiet weekend to myself with the kitties.  It was filled with a decent bit of baking to start with, and then it slowly turned into a weekend of tv shows and books.  I went from a book about Merlin, to a show based in World War II, to finally landing on a show about a wizard private investigator.  I couldn’t content myself with any one thing, and that’s probably just because I don’t know quite what to do with myself without someone to talk to every now and then (other than the kitties, of course).

I will say this about having a weekend to myself – meals are quite simple to throw together, and I can easily sneak an extra brownie or two without anybody being any the wiser.  And with these brownies, trust me, you’re going to want more than one!

Applesauce Spice Cake with Cider Caramel Buttercream (Gluten Free)

This past weekend, I went home to visit my family.  I started out in Pittsburgh, and then headed further south to my grandparents’.  Since I didn’t get to celebrate my grandma’s birthday with her, I made her a cake so we could celebrate a little late.  With all of the apples that I still have, I had to make it fall themed!

This cake is full of apple flavor by way of homemade applesauce in the cake and farm fresh apple cider in the frosting.  It’s the perfect cake for any cool weather holiday!  I made it gluten free with buckwheat and almond flours, making it a little healthier, and the texture was spot on for a spice cake!  Beware, this cake is mighty filling, and it’s very tall.  You could easily scale the recipe down a bit for a two layer cake, too! [Read more…]

Broccoli Cheddar Potato Soup

The days have been getting shorter, the air colder.. I’ve been wanting soup almost every night after coming home from class.  This soup, I whipped together pretty quickly and served up with some whole wheat rolls that I made from dough I had stashed away in the freezer.  Talk about a quick, tasty weeknight meal.

This soup is definitely a healthier take on broccoli cheddar, thickening it up with potatoes and greek yogurt.  It results in a thick, creamy soup full of flavor that’s perfect for dipping crusty bread into.  This is definitely full meal in itself; it’s extremely filling!