How to: Hard-boil & Peel Eggs

Eggs. Versatile, healthy, awesome. Not easy to prepare. Have tried many way of hard-boiling eggs, none seem to come out right, and peeling them is even worse!

Made a delicious salad tonight, and wanted chopped egg in it. Plus with Easter just around the corner, this will definitely come in handy. Dreaded the arduous process....

Finally, I found the Holy Grail of Hard Boiled Egg recipes here!

If you follow it to a T, you will have perfectly boiled eggs. The part about removing the the shell? Genius! It was so easy!

Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate

The best 5 words ever put together! Say it with me people: Pumpkin. Spice. White. Hot. Chocolate.

This recipe was listed as a Thanksgiving drink, and I could get behind that. I also could get behind adding some Rumchata or vanilla vodka to make it an adult beverage...maybe another time. :)

Forgive me blogisphere, for I am an unloyal blogger. Perhaps I should resolve to fix that in this still (relatively) new year?

So it's Michigan, it's March, and we just had a snowstorm. It went from 50 degrees to 0 in 12 hours. Your body wants something comforting, yet your brain knows Spring is just around the corner...

In walks this recipe for Pumpkin Spice White Hot Chocolate. It's been burning a whole on my Pinterest board for a few months now...I purchased white chocolate chips with the sole purpose of making this. Being a single gal, I had to use what I had on hand:

1. Used Light Vanilla Soy Milk instead of whole.

2. Cut the recipe in half, then in half again. (I'm only one person!)

3. Did not chop the chocolate. (used chips)

4. Used some sort of chocolate malted powder instead of cocoa powder.

5. Used Pumpkin Pie Spice in place of all the spices listed after cinnamon.

6. Didn't really measure the spices or vanilla....

And guess what?

It was DELICIOUS! MAKE THIS! It's like a hug in a cup! It's great for the fall to winter or winter to spring transition because it's not as heavy as a milk or dark chocolate hot chocolate would be. Personally I love pumpkin all year round, it's super good for you, so why not? :)

There was a recipe for a Vanilla Milk I made to the T except I did the seem substitution for milk, and it was horrible! Bleck! Never making that again.

Difficulty Level: 0 put stuff in pot, boil, enjoy.

Yum Factor: 5 sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious!

Peppermint Hot Cocoa

Yum. Easiest recipe ever, and oh so delicious. Not even necessary to post a link to the recipe.

Made this for book club, last-minute decision. Make hot cocoa of your choice. Scoop peppermint ice cream into a glass. Pour cocoa over ice cream.

What's awesome is the ice cream cools just boiled hot cocoa down enough to drink immediately, good for impatient people like myself. Also, the ice cream makes the drink frothy in a delectable way. My friend said it's the best thing she's ever drank.

Difficulty Level: 0
Yum Factor: 4

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe

After getting into Herbalife, there wasn't much cooking on my end. But with the holidays, who can resist making cookies?!

Making a 'regular' chocolate chip cookie wasn't enough. This is more muffin-like than cookie in texture. Very chewy, soft. Almost like a breakfast cookie, if there ever was one.

I don't know if I like them or not, they are an un-cookie! The recipe does not say how many chips to add....it says to taste. It also said it yielded 3 dozen...I was a few short of that. Not a holiday cookie by any means, but tasty.

Difficulty Level: 2 

Yum Factor: 3 +

Skinny Funfetti Cupcakes

Easy, yummy recipe here!

Cupcakes. They are everywhere nowadays. If you crave cupcakes, sans calories but keeping flavor, these are for you!

Made them for the book club, a few girls are health conscious and jumped at the mention of a "skinny" cupcake. As I was making them they cancelled, but I shared the yumminess with friends (and ate many myself!)

There's 4 ingredients, gotta love that! Easy to make. The one concern is the recipe states 24 are made, but I came up with 12...hmm. 

The are the most FLUFFY and MOIST cupcakes I've ever had! It's like little air bubbles were baking right in (thanks Sprite Zero!). The frosting is equally as delicious. I may never may cupcakes the old way again! You will NOT regret making these!

Difficulty Level: 0 woo!

Yum Factor: 4-5 :)

Avocado Egg Salad

Avocado Egg Salad Recipe

Recipes for variations on this avocado egg salad have been traveling around Pinterest for over a year. I always pin them because they look delicious, but many of them call for green onions or lemon or lime juice. Being a single gal, I just don't stock those things, nor do I see the value of purchasing them for 1 tablespoon!

Back to the recipe, I originally saw it on a Weight Watchers recipes blog. This recipe is the easiest I've seen of all the incarnations. What's even better is that the link above has a link to cook the perfect hard-boiled eggs, Martha Stewart style. The link is also here. It is magical!

There are few ingredients in this recipe, which is a plus on the pocketbook. I used Trader Joe's Wasabi Mayo which provides a nice zip and omits the need for the curry. I did add a splash of taco seasoning in place of the curry, but in retrospect it wasn't necessary. Very yummy and when served with boneless skinless chicken breast, it becomes a super protein and filling meal. I would make this again!

Difficulty Level: 2-3. Peeling hard-boiled eggs is time consuming!
Yum Factor: 4 MmmMmm!

Gluten-Free Flourless "Pancakes"

Gluten Free Flourless Pancake recipe

If you have ever been on Pinterest in the last couple years, you may have come across the pin that says: 1 banana + 2 eggs = best pancakes ever! (or something to that effect). Always been curious about those...do they really taste like pancakes? how many does it make? I love questions!

So, I was out of Herbalife, and had a plethora of bananas, so I rediscovered this pin. The recipe says to really mash up the banana for best results, which may have been done easier with a potato masher (which I do not own). It also suggests adding cinnamon; I added pumpkin spice and brown sugar. The recipe also does not specify how many pancakes it creates, it's about 4.

The "pancakes" don't really taste like traditional American pancakes, yet they don't taste eggy. The consistency is a cross between an omelette and creme brûlée. If you are a lover of pancakes, but want a healthier option, this may be for you!

Difficulty Level: 1+ so easy, a monkey could do it!

Yum Factor: 2-3 depending on what spices, etc. you add