Cinnamon Roses with Pomegranate-Cranberry Glaze

I thought I'd share this elegant twist on a classic brunch treat. Cinnamon Roses are light, sweet, and perfect for summer!

You will need:

Store-bought crescent roll dough (I used Pillsbury)

Cinnamon-sugar

Cranberry-pomegranate juice (or blueberry-pomegranate juice, or just plain old pomegranate juice)

Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Unroll dough, separating down the middle perforation into two rectangles. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

2. Roll the two rectangles up as so.

3. Using a serrated knife, cut slices about 3/4 inch in thickness and lay them on their side.

4. Pinch the bottom of each roll with your fingers until it's completely closed up. This will cause the center part of the "rose" to pop up a bit. Make sure that all the layers still stay relatively close together and that the center isn't sticking out too much, because this will cause your roses to unravel during baking!

5. Your roses should look something like this. Stick them in the oven and get ready to make the glaze! (Follow the baking instructions on the dough package. I found that while the instructions called for 13 minutes baking time, these only needed about 10. Be sure to check on them!) 

6. Pour about a half cup of powdered sugar into a small bowl. Don't worry if your measurements aren't exact, because all you need to do is add the juice until the glaze is the perfect consistency! Start by adding a tablespoon of juice, and continue adding teaspoons, stirring as you go until the glaze is thin enough to be drizzled. I found that I needed about one and a half tablespoons.

(If you'd like a brighter, more festive glaze, add one drop of red food colouring to the mix!)

7. Drizzle your roses with the glaze and serve warm! :)

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza with Sweet Onions, Chicken and Bacon as a welcome back present?

Hello, all! I've taken a bit of a break from the blogging world, as you may have noticed, but I'm feeling happier and more inspired than ever and looking forward to jumping back into things. Posts probably won't be as frequent, perhaps two a week for the time being, and I'll kick it back up to speed once the summer is upon us. :)

Speaking of summer: this heavenly homemade dish was my dinner tonight, and boy, do I wish I could take credit for the recipe, because it's pure genius! I only varied the recipe found here, and it was one of most amazing foods I have ever eaten, honestly. Such depth of flavor! And, of course, you can't go wrong with bacon. This would be the perfect course to serve at a summer garden party with a few friends!

In other news, I've dyed my hair! Temporarily, for now, but I'm thinking very seriously about bleaching  my bangs and dying them blue permanently as my hair grows out. What do you think?

And yes, I am leaving the pixie cut behind... at least, I'm trying to. This is my second attempt to grow out my hair, so we'll see how far it gets me; I'm into the awkward stage now, and I came very close to cropping it all off again over the weekend, but I'm going to try to persevere. I just miss braids and non-terrible bedhead, you know? Especially with all the summery hair tutorials floating around on the interwebs...

This school year is coming to a close; only five weeks left, eek! I simply cannot wait for summer to arrive. With all the friends I've made and personal growth I've achieved this year, I have some very happy times ahead of me. :)

Miniature Key-Lime Pies

These tiny treats are not only delicious, quick, easy, and filling, but healthy, too! In fact, this recipe totals up to less than 200 calories--not to mention all the protein and nutrients in the yogurt!

Ingredients:
-key lime Greek yogurt
-mini graham-cracker crusts
-whipped cream

Directions:

1. Spoon yogurt into the pie crust until it is level with the edge. I used about half the container, which is maybe half a cup of yogurt.

2. Squirt whipped cream over the whole thing.

3. Enjoy! These little pies are ready to eat right away.

Alternately, make these pies with lemon Greek yogurt, or any other flavour of your choice! :)

As you may have noticed, I'm on a bit of a recipe kick lately! As well as a health kick - nutrition is fascinating me at the moment. While I get my spring cleaning done and resettle into daily routine, I probably will be posting less/mostly outfits and recipes. After these next two weeks I'll most likely be back on track, with lots of cute DIY ideas!

Zucchini Muffins, anyone?

Hello, all! This morning I am here to share with you one of my absolute favorite bread recipes from the, er, well-loved family cookbook. Zucchini muffins may sound disgusting to you, but as the world's pickiest eater it is some of the most delicious bread I've ever tasted, so I'm sure you'll adore it. Plus, it's a much healthier snack substitute than what you may usually munch on!

Ingredients: 

1½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup sugar

1 cup finely shredded unpeeled zucchini

¼ cup cooking oil

1 egg

¼ tsp finely shredded lemon peel

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line muffin tin with paper baking cups (or, if making zucchini bread, grease and 8x4x2-inch loaf pan).

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. 

3. In another mixing bowl, combine sugar, shredded zucchini, cooking oil, egg, and lemon peel; mix well.

4. Add dry ingredient mixture, stir until just combined.

5. Pour batter into muffin tins, about ¾ full. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (if making zucchini bread, bake for 55 to 60 minutes). Cool before eating.

Enjoy!

Nutella Pudding!

I've had a bit of an odd craving for pudding lately. In a fit of creative daring today, I decided to attempt a Nutella pudding from scratch. As everyone knows, Nutella is the eighth wonder of the world, and it seems only fitting to combine it with all other concoctions of chocolatey goodness. (A Nutella hot chocolate recipe can be found here). So, here goes nothing!

Nutella Pudding

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups whole milk (if you don't have whole milk, add a bit of cream or half-and-half to your milk)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons Nutella

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the ingredients, adding the milk last. Make sure there are no clumps of dry ingredients or Nutella at the bottom of the bowl.

2. Cook in the microwave for 3 minutes on high. Take it out, stir it, and then continue cooking at 1-minute intervals, stirring in between. The pudding should be thick and shiny after about two or three minutes. 

3. Pour into small cups or bowls. Careful, it will be very hot! If you don't like a skin to form on your pudding, cover it with plastic wrap before refrigerating it. The skin is my personal favorite part of puddings, so I just stuck it in the fridge as it was.

4. Serve once cooled with homemade whipped cream and enjoy!