cooking ala mel

2012 Favorites

December 31, 2012

Hope everyone has been spending lots of time with family, relaxing, and enjoying the holidays! Soon, I’ll be sharing some holiday goodies that I’ve made (because obviously, we need more cookies and treats..) now that all of my gifts have been delivered!

In the meantime, I’d like to take a moment to share some of the blog favorites from this year (as indicated from page views)! Can you believe it’s already almost 2013?! 2012 has been such a whirlwind, what with lots of driving between Pittsburgh and Buffalo, weddings, lots of baking, and an intense time in pharmacy school! I can’t wait to see what this next year brings! What was your favorite post from here? Does anyone have any New Year’s resolutions? I don’t usually make any, but I am excited to get back into fitness as soon as my foot is all healed up from being broken! I’m going to do some yoga in the meantime. And now.. for the favorites!

1. Homemade Cheez Its

2. Mini Mexican Wedding Fruit Pizzas

3. Avocado Chocolate Mousse

4. Creamy Chocolate Banana Frozen Yogurt

5. Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

6. Harry Potter Kindle & iPhone Covers

7. Mason Jar Labels

8. Smashed Chickpea & Avocado Sandwich

9. Carrot Cake Quinoa Bars

10. Almond Flour Pancakes

11. Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies

12. Brownie Cookies (High Protein and Gluten Free)

Cinnamon and Vanilla Granola

December 26, 2012

Hope everyone is having wonderful holidays! Yesterday, we had a really relaxing day at home with just our immediate family. The celebration continues this weekend with the rest of the family! In the meantime…

In the beginning of November, I invested in a pound of vanilla beans (there’s a great deal on Amazon here). This means that I’m putting vanilla beans into pretty much everything I possibly can. So when I was asked to make a simple granola, I decided on cinnamon and vanilla as key flavors.

The flavors are subtle (just the way I like my granola), but they give it a nice sort of homeliness. This is definitely a granola that pairs pretty well with whatever you want to mix it in. I especially liked it with blueberry greek yogurt.

[Read more…]

Banana Nut Oatmeal Bake

December 20, 2012

Recently, I was given the chance to sample a variety of instant oatmeals made by Better Oats. Better Oats has 23 flavors, and I was given the chance to sample their RAW Pure & Simple Pomegranate and Bare, MMM.. Muffins Blueberry Muffin and Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, and Oat Revolution Apples & Cinnamon. They have a RAW Pure & Simple Chai Spiced that I would LOVE to try later on! Their oatmeals are all natural with 100% whole grain oats and flax. I was especially intrigued by the RAW Pure & Simple line, as they’re made with quinoa also, so they have a bit more protein than your usual oatmeal. When asked to create a recipe, I knew I’d be using one of those ones as one of the ingredients!

[Read more…]