Broccoli Cheese & Avocado Bites

We decided to go on adventure this weekend. An adventure by hopefully, making something "fun" and "green." Guess what? It worked! We took left over broccoli and bok choy added avocado, breadcrumbs, cheese and of course Calvin's favorite food....honey mustard. Made some fancy shapes and ate it up. This is a great way to use up extras and the kiddos loved them. The adult kiddos too. 

Steamed broccoli, toasted  healthy grain bread, grated cheese, an egg and honey mustard to bind the patties together. I added some avocado for extra goodness. You really can't go wrong with any veggies your kids will eat or what you have on hand. 

 Mix together. I pressed mine through cookie cutters for fun shapes. You could just make patties, but we were on a baking adventure. 

 Sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and baked until golden brown. 

 Dipped in extra honey mustard for a healthy dinner. Kid approved. 

 Broccoli Cheese Bites

Ingredients

1-2 cups of steamed broccoli or any veggie of choice
1 1/2 cup of grated cheese. I used about 1 cup as we ran out of cheese and it worked just fine.
1 egg
1/2 avocado chopped
2 pieces of 9 grain toast / processed into breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons honey mustard (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Make small patties or shapes and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 Degrees for about 25 minutes, turning them once during the cooking process. Let cool and watch your kids enjoy!

Coffee, Coffee Cake Muffins

Spring has hit Santa Cruz making me think of all things tank tops, flip flops, BBQ's and beach traffic. This nice weather always inspires me to attempt to get into the best shape possible as upper arms and legs tend to come out when the sun is shining. Alas, this muffin does not help any of this business. This muffin is a tried and true muffin top and if you eat too many that is what can happen. Shhh don't tell. 

 As you can tell I enjoyed every last bit. There are two layers of flavors in this muffin. Espresso flavor mixed into the coffee cake. You know an extra kick of coffee in the cake really make your morning take off.

Extra butter, cinnamon and sugar to make a crunchy top. Now that is a muffin top I can get used to.

Ingredients get going. 

The brown butter adds a nutty flavor and makes your kitchen smell like magic. 

 Save half the batter and add the espresso powder mixture. 

              Mix with the remaining batter and then scoop on top of the first layer of muffins.

 Sprinkle the flour, sugar and cinnamon mixture on top. Serious muffin top madness.

White Chocolate Oreo Rice Krispie Treats

Lady luck has been sitting on my shoulder. We found a twenty dollar bill at the park, and used our new found treasure to enjoy coffee and juice outside with the kids after riding bikes. The people watching and coffee are what one would expect in Santa Cruz...amzaing. I call this one damn good afternoon. Just as good as these Rice Krispie treats. Simple, fast and easy. If you find one in your lunch box then you too have found lady luck. 

    Cereal, mini marshmallows, Oreos and white chocolate. A combination made from the gods.

 Crushed Oreos

 Melt marshmallows with a bit of butter. 

 Add the melted marshmallows to the cereal and Oreo mixture stir to combine and press into a pan. No baking involved.

I made mine fancy by melting white chocolate and drizzling it over the top. Once cooled cut into squares.