Leftover Halloween Candy? Bake it!

My aunt passed on these recipes to me for that use candy bars. I think they are just perfect for using up all that Halloween candy! Bake these up, and freeze them to put in the kids lunch boxes. Or send them with the kids for the teachers lounge at school. Of course, save a few for yourself :) If you don't have enought candy for one of these recipes, it's the perfect excuse to head to Target and buy all that candy at 75%.

Butterfinger Cookies

ingredients
1/2 cup butter (or marg) softened
3/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4-5 butterfinger candy bars (2.1 ounces each) chopped

directions
Mix butter and sugars, then add eggs and beat well. Add peanut butter and vanilla, and blend. In a seperate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt and then add to the creamed mixture and stir well. Stir in candy bars. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a greased baking shet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.

tip
Unwrap the butterfinger bars, and put them doubled up freezer bags, and put in the freezer a day ahead. When frozen, just use the side of a hammer to smash the bars in the bags into small pieces.

Rolo Cookies
Some places Rolos are hard to find, so look for them first before planning to make this recipe

ingredients
1 bag of Rolo candy (should have 48-50 pieces)
1 cup sugar plus more for rolling
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
finely chopped pecans

Directions
Mix sugars, vanilla, eggs, cocoa and baking soda well with an electric mixer. Add flour and mix again. Shape 1 tablespoon dough around a Rolo candy. Roll in finely chopped pecans and then roll in sugar. The dough will be soft to work with. Do not flatten the cookie. Bake for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees until lightly cracked. Do not overbake. Cool.

optional
When cool, drizzle with melted almond bark.

Jack-o'-latern Quesadillas

Do you have favorite recipes you come back to every Fall? It's a tradition in our house every year to make a HUGE amount of caramel corn, and bag it up all pretty to deliver to the neighborhood. This year my air popper died so we didn't get to make as much as we wanted, and only got to half the neighborhood, but it was still so much fun! We carved pumpkins, and Saturday will go to a local Harvest Party.

If you have any fun fall recipes or tradition, I'd love to hear them!

Here's a cute recipe I plan to try with the kiddos this weekend in between festivities. We'll use Whole Wheat low carb tortillas.

Jack-o'-latern Quesadillas

from delish.com

You'll need a sharp paring knife to create the recognizable faces in the tortilla.

ingredients
16 (8-inch) flour tortillas, preferably red or orange
8 teaspoon(s) vegetable oil
4 cup(s) (12 ounces) grated pepper Jack cheese

directions
Preheat broiler to high and place an oven rack about 5 inches from heat source. Line a baking sheet with foil and mist with nonstick cooking spray. Stack 8 tortillas on a cutting board and use a sharp paring knife to trim away some of top, leaving a 1-inch "stem" so tortillas are shaped like pumpkins. Repeat with remaining 8 tortillas. Use a knife to cut two triangles for eyes and a crescent for a mouth into 8 tortillas.

Warm 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add a tortilla without eyes and mouth, sprinkle with a scant 1/2 cup cheese. Cover with cutout tortilla. Cook until underside is golden, 1 to 2 minutes, slide onto baking sheet, and repeat to make three more quesadillas.

Place baking sheet under broiler and broil until tops are golden. Slide onto a serving platter and loosely tent with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining tortillas and cheese. Serve immediately.

nutritional information
Calories 524 Total Fat 25g Saturated Fat 11g Cholesterol 45mg Sodium 753mg Total Carbohydrate 55g Dietary Fiber 3g Sugars Protein 19g

Curried Chicken Salad with Apples and Walnuts

Yep, we're still working on apples. I love it! I made this the other night, and served it with some roasted kohlrabi and new potatoes. It was fabulous! I highly recommend using Organic Chicken.

If you have some leftovers, wrap them up in a tortilla and bring them to work for lunch, or pack them in your kids lunch box.

2 8-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 1/4 -inch-thick slices fresh ginger
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
2 green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 heirloom apple, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons store-bought apple chutney or make your own
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
5 ounces arugula
1/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts

1. Place chicken in a 2-quart saucepan and cover with water by 2 inches. Add ginger slices and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. Remove chicken and place on a plate to cool. (Discard cooking liquid.) When cool, chop into 1/2-inch pieces.

2. In a medium bowl, place chicken, celery, green onions, bell pepper, and apple. In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, chutney, lime juice, ginger, curry powder, pepper, salt, and cilantro. Mix until smooth. Add to chicken mixture and toss well.3. Divide arugula onto four plates. Top with chicken salad and garnish with walnuts.

PER SERVING: 180 cal, 31% fat cal, 6g fat, 1g sat fat, 44mg chol, 20g protein, 12g carb, 2g fiber, 357mg sodium

Apple, Raspberry, and Frisée Salad

I'm still here, and still in apple heaven. I made this salad the other night, and it was divine. The lime in the salad dressing does something so perfect with the raspberries. Put it on your must try list!

Dressing
2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad:
3 cups frisée
5 cups mâche
1 sweet-tart red apple (such as Gala or Braeburn), cored and sliced
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) crumbled goat cheese
2-3 tablespoons toasted chopped pecans

1. Mix all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. In a large salad bowl, combine frisée, mâche, apple, raspberries, goat cheese, and pecans. Drizzle with about three-fourths of the dressing and toss gently.

PER SERVING: 104 cal, 62% fat cal, 8g fat, 2g sat fat, 4mg chol, 2g protein, 8g carb, 2g fiber, 38mg sodium

German Apple Cake

We have SO many apples right now, it's awesome! We have two apple trees in our back yard, plus we got a bushel from our CSA. We are in apple heaven. We've been chopping them up in lettuce salads, chicken salads, making crisps, pancakes, you name it.

But one apple recipe I can't wait to make every year is one that I had growing up called German Apple Cake. Not very many people have heard of it, or had it. But when they take a bite they always groan and say "This is SOoooooo good!" :) All it needs is a dusting of Powdered Sugar to serve.

If making at altitude, keep an eye on the top. You might have to cover it with foil the last 15 minutes so the top doesn't burn, but the cake can cook through.

GERMAN APPLE CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups generously filled thinly sliced peeled apples (about 4-5 apples)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
Confectioners' sugar, optional

Combine the first three ingredients; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat
eggs and sugar. Combine oil and orange juice and add alternately with dry
ingredients to egg/sugar mixture. Mix until smooth; add vanilla and beat well.
Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured Bundt (tube) pan. Arrange
half the apples over the batter. Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle
half over the apples. Top with remaining batter, apples and cinnamon/sugar.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cake tests done.
Allow cake to cool 1 hour before removing from baking pan.
Cool, apple side up, on a wire rack. (It is served with apple side up, or upside down.)
Sprinkle top with confectioners' sugar, if desired.
Yield: 12-16 servings

My auntie says: "With long, cold winters we have here, this recipe has warmed many a kitchen.
The cake is perfect for breakfast, mealtime dessert or evening snack. I've make it
for many parties, and I've always received compliments on it and shared the recipe
with many people."

The Ringling Brothers Circus Comes to Denver!

We had the opportunity to go to the opening night of the Ringling Bros Circus Thursday night and it was so much fun. The kids (and I) have never been to a circus before.

This year’s Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus presents a new production called Barnum’s FUNundrum, which celebrates the 200TH anniversary of the birth of the legendary P.T. Barnum. It is seriously JUMBO-sized. It will be playing Denver Coliseum September 30 – October 10.

The animals are beautiful! You can learn more about their animal care, and specifically, their commitment to the Asian elephant at http://www.elephantcenter.com/. They also invite everyone to come see their high standards of animal care firsthand at the Ringling Bros.® Animal Open HouseSM which is FREE to all ticket holders! You get to see all of the amazing animals up close, ask questions and speak with their animal staff. This special event begins 90 minutes before every show (excludes the Friday, October 8th, 11am school performance). So come early! Your kiddos will love to pet the animals and see them up close before the performance.

You also get to meet the performers and hang out on the main floor 60 minutes before the performance starts. This was really cool! The kids got autographs, pictures, and got to see up close some juggling and other acts. We had such a fun time.

I have a coupon code to offer to all of my Colorado readers:

Purchase a 4‐pack of tickets for only $44 for weekday performances with the code FFAWD
or receive $4 off weekend tickets with the code FFAWE
Enter the chosen code at: www.Ticketmaster.com/circuspartners or call 1‐800‐745‐3000
(Weekday = Wed 7pm, Thurs 7pm, & Fri 11am performances. Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required for 4‐pack; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each.)

The Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes & Other Riches

Wednesday night I had the opportunity to go to a fabulous exclusive members-only adult event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science . I went with the Mile High Mamas and Mom It Forward Colorado groups and we had a blast!

The evening was so that we could have a private showing of their new exhibit The Amazon Voyage: Vicious Fishes & Other Riches. We got to tour the exhibition, and enjoy a South American buffet dinner.

The new exhibit is amazing, and I can't wait to take my three kids! They had interactive videos and stations to learn more about all of the animals on the Amazon River. There is a huge life size snake, insects, birds, and of course "vicious fishes" galore! My boys especially are going to be thrilled to see it all!

It's a beautiful museum and the new exhibit will be in Denver until January 2, 2011. I was so honored to be amoung such amazing ladies that night. Thank you so much to Mile High Mamas, Mom It Forward Colorado, and The Denver Museum of Nature and Science for having me!!!