Sausage Crescent Rolls

 At Costco, we bought the turkey sausage and the refrigerated crescent rolls. I thought, let's try making sausage crescent rolls. So, I made them. I made them for breakfast for my siblings. They're pretty good, but my sister says that you can taste the bread a lot though. Also, I fried some egg, along with the rolls. Here's a pic:









 It looks quite delicious, doesn't it? Don't you like the happy face I made with the eggs and the rolls?

Anyways, here's the recipe. Enjoy. :)

Ingredients:

• crescent rolls
• turkey sausage

Directions:

1. Divide the dough into 8 parts.
2. Roll them like play dough, like  shape of a worm.
3. Wrap it around the sausage.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake them for 12 to 15 min.
5. Take them out and enjoy. 

By the way, each sausage crescent roll is 140 calories, with the products I used.  

  I decided to use some of the turkey sausage we bought for something else too. You guys are thinking, what are those things on the plate? Well, it's an egg white veggie omelet, turkey sausage, and whole wheat bread with dulce de leche. It was pretty yummy. The only thing I might do different next time is add more veggies to the omelet.
So, how many calories was this? Well, for the bread, I just ate one slice of the sandwich thins. So, that counts as 50 calories. The turkey sausage was 80 calories. The egg whites were 40 calories, since I used 2 egg whites. The veggies were about 20 calories. So, this breakfast was around 200 calories. Not bad at all, and it was delicious and filling. The egg whites and sausage gave a salty egg while the bread with dulce de leche gave something sweet to eat.

Rice Krispies Treats

When I was in elementary and middle school, I loved eating rice krispie treats. My parents would buy the packaged ones for me, the Kellogg brand kind. They'd buy the huge box from Costco. Sometimes, they would buy it from other places and there would be cocoa ones too. ;) I love the cocoa ones, but they usually bought the original ones.
Well, now that I'm older, I still love Rice Krispies. But, I learned that the packaged foods are not good for you. So not healthy, with the preservatives they add sometimes. So, I've decided to make them myself. In my opinion, they taste better (fresher taste). Also, I get to control what goes in what I eat. And, I get to cut them into bigger sizes if I want to eat a large one, and I get to add chocolate if I want too. ;) All I have to do is either use cocoa rice krispie cereal or add in chocolate chips (or M&M's) at the very end.

I started making rice krispies treats when I first started baking chocolate chip cookies (which were the first things I actually made). Here's the link to the post about how I started baking (and my first blog post). So, after making rice krispies treats for the first time, I decided to make them myself from now on instead of buying them. I've been them countless times now and everyone loves them. Here's the recipe. It's quick, simple and delicious. Buen Provecho.

Ingredients:

• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 3 tablespoon butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• chocolate chips or M&M's (optional)
• sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

1. In a sauce pan, melt the butter and marshmallows under low heat. 
2. Once melted, add in the vanilla extract.
3. Remove from heat, and mix in the cereal. Make sure all the cereal is coated with the marshmallow mixture. 
4. Pour into a buttered 9x13 inch baking pan (or any size pan) and using a buttered spatula, evenly press the mixture in. Then, press in the chocolate chips. M&Ms, or sprinkles (do not mix it into the mixture). You can also drizzle melted chocolate over the top too. 
5. Wait for them to cool and, then cut them into squares (any size you want). 
6. Enjoy. :)

Some people use marshmallow fluff  instead, but I don't. In my opinion, it doesn't give it the same taste. Also, you can also use a microwave to melt the marshmallows and butter. You just risk burning it. That's why I like using the stove top method.

So, what are your guys favorite Rice Krispies flavor? What about your favorite childhood treat?

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Mini Pumpkin Pie.

Happy Thanksgiving you guys! Happy Turkey Day. 感恩节快乐! Feliz Día de Gracias. Today was such a nice day. Yes, I am posting this kind of late, but hey. I was busy. So, Thanksgiving was okay. I stayed home all day, and I baked bread to bring to the family potluck. Everyone loved them. 
I also baked these mini pumpkin pies. As you see, they look ugly (epic fail). That's why I didn't bring them. They tasted okay though. I like the Costco pumpkin pie a lot better. The filling is good, the crust is terrible. I should have used a pre-made crust instead of making one from scratch. I tried using a sugar cookie base for this pie, but, it didn't turn out. Lesson learned Use premade crust. The filling was really good though. So, I'll just give you guys the recipe for the filling. 
This also reminds me of the egg tarts I made. The egg custard was the best I've ever had, but, the crust didn't turn out so good. So, I guess I'm just not a crust making person. Oh well. I will post the egg tart recipe, well, the egg custard part. Once I get the crust right, I will post that too. But, for now, the pumpkin pie filling. :) 

Ingredients: 

• 1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp ground all spice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Mix all the above ingredients together. If you are making mini pumpkin pies, preheat the oven to 425 F, let it bake for 15 min, the lower the temp to 350 and continue baking for 25 min.
2. If you want to make it crustless, I would play around with it. I would still bake it at 425 F for 15 min, and then lower it to 350. However, I don't know how long to bake it at 350. I assume around 40 minutes. Just keep checking on it.

More Favorite Health Foods

 I love chocolate. Chocolate is delicious. Yummy chocolate bars, candy bars. Who doesn't agree? It's rich, and it makes me feel good, until I realize how many calories I've eaten worth of chocolate.
I want to eat my favorite chocolate bars while still getting the nutrients I need. That's why I like certain types of granola bars, including these Clif bars. These are S'mores Cliff Bars, and boy are they good. I love that they make the bottom chocolate, The top is sort of like a rice krispie, but much chewier. However, the top part did have a bit of an odd taste to them. These are good and did satisfy my craving. They're ogranic and they have tons of nutrients.  But, if you want something more unhealthy, but tastier, I say that it's probably best to make your own rice krispie treats, melt some dark chocolate, and spread them on the treats.
These bars are also only 180 calories, better than the 280 calorie snicker bars. Here's a picture I took of the Luna Bar package. They're only 99 cents at Target. If you look through my other posts, there is a Luna Bar recipe too.

Another type of granola bar I tried are these:

 

These are the Snack Well's Bars and my friend gave me one to try. Sadly, they are not chocolate.  However, I do love cinnamon too. These bars are absolutely delicious. It tastes like a cinnamon roll, and the glaze on top makes it even better. This is must try. They're only 140 calories too! Score. They also come in different flavors too, including a chocolate one. I must try it when I can.

So, I've talked about healthy granola bars. Now, let's talk about sandwiches. I love these sandwich thins, which I think I have mentioned before. But, here's the picture of the actual package. I also love peanut butter and nutella. Make a sandwich with them and  it's like you're lost in a dream. The peanut butter I chose is healthy, and it costs a little less than 4 dollars. 190 calories per 2 tablespoons, but these have omega 3s, and are much healthier. The nutella, I can deal with. I mean, it's chocolate. ;)

You can use more filling. Add 1 tablespoon of each instead.

Also, instead of using these dessert like fillings, I also make these sandwiches with this bread:

• peanut butter and honey sandwich
• peanut butter and banana
• the combination of the two above
• peanut butter and nutella (of course)
• veggie burger, the Boca kind
• egg whites with the oven roasted turkey breast deli meat (Hillshire Farms)
• hummus. :D
• and much more. 

What's your favorite type of sandwich?

Yummy Cookie Cake!

I love cookies. Chocolate chip cookies. Who doesn't? They're sweet, soft and chewy. The buttery goodness in your mouth, the chocolate. I want some. Now!
Yes. I made chocolate chip cookies and they're amazing. I used a different recipe, since I ran out of flour. These cookies use cake mix instead. I bet you guys are thinking, "No way. Making cookies with cake mix?" Yes. Of course. They work and they're delicious. It's also a really quick recipe, and you get your cookie cravings satisfied.
Don't think that using cake mix will make your cookies taste like cake. You won't notice a difference. I used yellow cake mix, but you can also use any other type of cake mixes. I use chocolate cake mix sometimes, but the yellow cake mix works the best for me. Here's the recipe. Enjoy. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)
• 2 eggs
• 5 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup chocolate chips (white, milk, swirl, dark, butterscotch, pb)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Empty the bag of cake mix into a mixing bowl. 
3. Cut the butter in and try to mix it in with the dry ingredients. Cream it as best as you can. 
4. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract and make a dough. 
5. Once the dough has come together, mix in the chocolate chips. 
6. Divide the dough into about 20 pieces, about the size of golf balls. 
7. Place them on a baking sheet/pan and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes. 
8. Take them out, let them cool, and enjoy. :) 

Yummy White Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake! 

 

Yummy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake!!

                                        

Luna Bars

Hey everyone! I've been eating a lot of Luna Bars lately. They're quite delicious and are healthier than other kinds of bars. This one is the Chocolate Peppermint one. Look at my other posts for the other ones I have tried. I'm going to post a recipe from another blogger.
Anyways, this one had enough chocolate flavor, but the peppermint was a bit overpowering. I still liked it though. The white chocolate macadamia is still my favorite.


Anyways. the Luna Bar recipe is from the blog chocolate covered katie. Here's the link to the recipe. However, I will retype it. Here's the recipe.

• 3 cups rice crispies
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup plus 2 T nut butter
• 1/2 cup sticky sweetener, such as agave or brown rice syrup
• 2-3 T protein powder (you can omit)
• melted chocolate chips or No-Sugar Chocolate Sauce

Mix your pb, sweetener, extract, and salt. Melt (either in the microwave or stove), then pour over the cereal and powder, and stir very well, making sure to coat all the crispies. Smush and smash the crispies. Line a pan with wax paper and spread the mixture evenly into the pan. Place a sheet of wax paper on top of the mixture, then press down as firmly as you can. Really press it down! Spread the chocolate on top, and freeze for at least a half hour before slicing.



Thanks Katie for posting this recipe on your blog!

Steamed Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls

These are the ones my aunt made. I helped her.

I've had a craving for the steamed glutinous rice balls since my aunt made them a week ago. The only time I ever eat them is when my aunts make them to bring to the huge family gatherings. So, I finally decided to ask them how to make these Steamed Sweet glutinous rice balls. It's the not actual translation, but it's what I'm calling it. In Taishanese, it's called yuan tei. The ones I made look ugly, while the ones my aunt's made look nice. I added too much water, which gave it that look. My aunt never told me the liquid measurements for the recipe, so I guestimated. I did measure the liquid though, so, I can say to not go over 5 cups of water.

Mines didn't turn out so pretty, but they were delicious.

 However, they taste just the same. Maybe another problem is that I halved the recipe to make this, but, it's okay. I'm sure your guy's attempt will be better. I'll remember to use less water next time. It'll make it look better too. I will replace the picture once I made it again. They taste pretty good though. As long as something tastes delicious, the looks of it shouldn't matter. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag glutinous rice flour
• 1 bag wheat starch
• 1 bag of brown  candy sugar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 cups water

Directions:

1. In a pot, boil the water and add all the sugar until it all melts and dissolves. Then, mix in half the bag of wheat starch. Keep mixing and stirring until it gets a bit thick. Remove from heat. 
2. In a bowl, mix together the rest of the dry ingredients and form a volcano. In the center of the volcano, add in the sugar mixture. 
3. Mix the mixture together until it forms a dough. You may need to mix and knead it a few times. Be careful, since the mixture is hot. 
4. Once the dough has formed, you take small bits of dough and roll them into palls. Place them on a pan. Put them all together on the pan. Once you have used up all the dough to make the small balls, steam them for 30 minutes. You may need more than 1 pan.
5. Take out and enjoy. You might want to let them cool a bit first. Remember to cover these soon, for these tend to dry out a bit easier due to the lack of lipids. 

As you see, mines didn't turn out so pretty, but the ones I helped my aunt make did. At least mines tasted the same. It just looks different.

Favorite Health Foods

Hey you guys. As you know, I am a health freak. I really want to eat healthy. It's my goal to become a RD, Registered Dietitian. I'd like to share some foods with you guys that I eat. It's just a few of the many healthier food options I choose. I will post more as time goes on. 

So, I love granola bars. Luna Bars, Luna Protein Bars, Clif Bars, Fiber One Bars, and Kashi Bars are my favorite bars. There are other granola bars that I like too, but that will be the next post. I will be posting each bar as I get them. 

White Chocolate Macadamia is so far my absolute favorite Luna Bar flavor. I still have to try other flavors first. 

The coconut chocolate chip is absolutely delicious! Such a nice balance of coconut and chocolate. 

The mint chocolate chip Luna protein bar is really chewy, and very chocolaty. I like that they have a lot of protein. I like that it has a small hint of mint.  

This Lemon Zest Luna Bar is awesome. It 's full of lemon flavor, which I like. It's a nice change from chocolate. 

This White Chocolate Macadamia Cliff Bar didn't quite meet my expectations. They were decent. Not even chocolate flavor. the Luna bar version is much better.  

The Fiber One bar is really chewy and chocolaty, and I love it. I didn't care for the Kashi bars. 

*Edit* The Kashi bars are actually good! I like them. I like its healthy taste. It's satisfying. Sweet and salty.

So far, I can say is that out of all the granola bars I have mentioned so far, the Luna Bar, the White Chocolate Macadamia is my favorite. As I try the other flavors, I might change my mind. Keep updated with my granola bar adventure. I hope to find some recipes to these granola bars. I will post it once I find a good one. 

I also love greek yogurt. I like the vanilla kind, with granola. It's simple, delicious, and quite healthy. It's better to get the fat free Greek yogurt, but my local store doesn't carry Fat free Vanilla Greek Yogurt, so I chose the regular vanilla kind. 

I always get the whole wheat sandwich thins. Notice the whole wheat?  They are only 100 calories, and they are quite delicious too. I love nutella sandwiches, though it's not that healthy. I also love the Smart Balance Smart Balance® Rich Roast Creamy Peanut Butter. I always get that kind of peanut butter. It's so yummy, creamy, and it has Omega 3s too. I like peanut butter and banana sandwiches. :)