Healthy Snack: Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

Image via: Green Spirit Adventures

Ingredients:

2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp paprika, ground

¼ tsp cayenne pepper, ground

¼ tsp cumin, ground

½ tsp salt

Image via: Better With Cake

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
2. After draining and rinsing the chickpeas, dry with a towel.
3. In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, the oil and the spices. Stir until chickpeas are well coated.
4. Spread chickpeas on a pan lined with baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes or until crispy and golden, stirring once halfway through. Enjoy!

To store this healthy snack, keep the chickpeas in an airtight container once they have cooled down completely, at room temperature for about a week.

Image via: BHG

This recipe can be adapted in any way you would like. Use more or less of the spices, omit some you don’t like or add some others. Great spices to consider would be garlic powder, barbeque spice, and chili powder, cinnamon or ground coriander. Herbs like rosemary or oregano. Of course they would taste great even with salt and pepper alone! Just have fun and try different combinations to find out your healthy snack favorite!

For more healthy snack recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Labor Day Snack: Patriotic Popcorn Recipe

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Patriotic Popcorn Ingredients:

• 12 cups popped popcorn (choose a white variety), divided into 3 parts
• 3 cups chocolate candy melts (blue, red, white) or white chocolate which you can dye it with gel paste colors (the water based food colorings are not suitable for this use)+

Directions:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with wax paper.
2. Melt one color of the chocolate melts in a double broiler or in a microwave. If you’re using white chocolate melt 1/3 of it, choose some good quality one and heat it very carefully, since white chocolate can get clumpy really fast, especially if melting it in a double broiler. Add the desired color and stir quickly.
3. Pour the melted chocolate over 1/3 of the popped popcorn and stir until everything is covered well.
4. Spread the popcorn on the baking sheet. You can now choose to either form popcorn balls (as soon as the mixture is cold enough to handle but still formable) or leave it as it is. If making the popcorn balls, you can even try to insert a lollipop or ice-cream stick to make serving it easier and more fun.
5. Let the mixture cool down. If you decided to spread the popcorn, just break it apart.
6. Repeat the procedure with the remaining colors.

Serve the popcorn in a bowl by mixing all the colors together or arrange them on a serving plate by color. Filling small cellophane bags with it for individual serving is another cute idea, especially if you want to give them away as a Labor Day Snack gift. Making popcorn balls on a stick and wrapping them individually or arranging them to display them would make a perfect snack for a Labor Day Party Buffet. Just let your imagination guide you on how to serve this easy but at the same time impressive Labor Day Snack and it’s sure that you will delight anyone who tries it.

For more patriotic recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

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Fall Snack: Healthier Pumpkin Spread Recipe

Image via: BHG

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Fall Snack: Healthier Pumpkin Spread with Cream Cheese

Ingredients

1 package (about 8 oz) of softened cream cheese (low fat is fine)

½ cup canned pumpkin

3 tablespoons or to taste organic brown sugar

1 teaspoon or to taste pumpkin pie spice

1/3 cup finely chopped pecan nuts (optional)

½ teaspoon vanilla or vanilla extract

Image via: Pillsbury

Directions

1. To make this easy spread, just take a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat all the ingredients and combine them well. That’s it!
2. Let the spread sit covered in the refrigerator for an hour or more and up to 24 hours, so all of the flavors can blend well.

Image via: McCormick

The best way to serve this delicious Fall Snack is to accompany it with bread or crackers. Bagels and fruit slices would be ideal, too. Try apple and pear slices for a wonderful experience! And don’t just stay at the basic recipe, but go ahead and add some ingredients, like grounded cinnamon, nutmeg or/and ginger. Also, half cup sour cream can be added for extra creaminess. Lastly, a little maple flavoring can take this spread to the next level!

Another great way to serve it is together with ginger snap cookies or some type of nut bread, where of course homemade ones will always be the better choice.

For alternative substitutions to adding sweetness, consider substitudes like brown sugar substitude, Sucanat, natural sweetener, yucan syrup, raw agave nectar, molasses or a combination of the above, depending on what you like most. Even honey could work, it all depends on your taste. Also, use organic ingredients for a better result and serve it with gluten free and sugar free cookies or almond biscotti.

This really easy to prepare Fall Snack recipe is a great addition for any Thanksgiving dinner or just as an everyday fall snack at a friendly gathering or while watching a movie at the end of a busy day. Simple, fast and yummy… what more could you ask from a Fall Snack?

For more fall snack recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Fall Dinner: Deep Fried Ravioli with Marinara Sauce

Image via:  Food Network

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Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15min
Total Time: 30 min
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

Olive Oil (For frying and to taste)
1 cup of Buttermilk
1 box of Store- bought Cheese Ravioli (approx. 24 Ravioli)
2 cups of Italian-style Bread Crumbs
¼ cup of Freshly Grated Parmesan
1 Jar store bought Marinara sauce, heated for dipping purposes

Image via:  Willies Pub

Directions

1. First, get a large frying pan and fill it with about 2 inches worth of the Olive Oil and cook it over a medium heat, let it deep-fry to about 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In the meantime, while the oil is heating for your fall dinner, take the buttermilk and the Italian-style bread crumbs in two separate shallow bowls. Then get out the ravioli and dip a batch at a time in the buttermilk making sure each ravioli gets evenly coated.
3. When the ravioli has been fully coated with the buttermilk, let the access buttermilk drain off and dredge them in the bread crumbs, then place them on a baking sheet and repeat the process for each of the ravioli.
4. Hopefully, the oil has reached the proper temperature, start frying the ravioli again in batches turning them occasionally until each side has turned a golden brown, which should take at least 3 minutes. Scoop out the readied ravioli with a slotted spoon and place them on paper towels for them to drain.
   Sprinkle the fried ravioli with the Parmesan and warm up the marinara sauce. Pour the marinara sauce in a bowl and serve next to the ravioli and…Bon Appetite!

Usually by the end of the day cooking a huge and complicated meal is the last thing we want to do.  So for dinner tonight make this quick and simple meal that will be a sure hit at the table.  Plus, who doesn’t love ravioli?  And ravioli that has been deep fried at that?  Just take a look at the recipe above for inspiration for your fall dinner.  Also, Stagetecture Readers, what deep fried goodies do you like to make for the Autumn season?  We’d love to hear about them.

For more easy meals on Stagetecture, click here.

Healthy Snacking: Homemade Granola Bars

Image via: Fabtastic Eats

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Ingredients

(makes about 24 bars)

2 cups regular rolled oats

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup wheat germ

¾ tsp cinnamon, grounded

1 cup all-purpose flour (or whole grain)

¾ cup raisins

¾ tsp salt

½ cup honey

1 egg, beaten

½ cup vegetable or canola oil

2 tsp vanilla extract

Image via: My Natural Family

Directions

1. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan generously and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Take a large bowl and mix together the oats, sugar, wheat germ, flour, cinnamon, salt and raisins. Make a little well in the center and pour in the honey, the beaten egg, oil and vanilla. Now mix well with your hands. Put the mixture into the pan and flatten it with your hands.
3. Bake for about 20-30 minutes or less, until they become brown at the edges. Let it cool down for 5 minutes and, while still warm, cut into bars.
4. Keep them in a ziploc bag to keep them chewy for a longer time.

Image via: Craftsy

This recipe is just the beginning. You can add pretty much any dried fruit or nut into the mixture, use more or less raisins and cinnamon or cut down on the sugar a little. Here are some ideas to try: add dried cranberries and sliced almonds; use chocolate chips in the mixture, dip one side into melted chocolate or just drizzle a little melted chocolate over the cool bars and add shredded coconut; try adding some peanut butter or apple sauce. You can choose to make them more crunchy by using more nuts or add seeds or trail mix, whatever you might have in your pantry.  And as the pumpkin season is here, try experimenting with some canned pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice to get a unique seasonal treat. The possibilities are almost endless!

For more healthy recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Autumn is the perfect time for taking advantage of crisp apples in recipes. Whether you like to cook fresh baked apple pies or you’d like a fresh way to eat crisp raw apples, this Heath Candy & Autumn Apple Dip recipe is for you. This dip is delicious with your favorite fruit and makes a wonderful gift! Put in jars this season for great Autumn gifts for friends, neighbors and co-workers.

Heath Candy & Autumn Apple Dip

Image via: Just Helen

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Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Yields: 8 servings

Ingredients:

8 ounces softened cream cheese

½-teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 jar marshmallow crème (7 ounces)

Heath candy bar broken into small pieces

Apple wedges

Image via: Pemberely Bake Shoppe

Procedure:

1. In a bowl, beat cream cheese, pumpkin spice, and peanut butter until smooth.

2. Slowly fold in marshmallow crème and add Heath Candy bar pieces into dip mixture.

Refrigerate. Serve with apple wedges.

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Have you ever noticed that snacking can often be worse off for your calorie intake than your regular meals? Instead, why not find healthy snacks and recipes that taste great and still provide low calories? Prepare your kitchen and get hold of your cooking utensils. This is an easy to cook snack but packed with flavor. The Baked Sweet Potato recipe is a low calorie snacks that you enjoy and make anytime.

Baked Sweet Potato Chips Recipe

Image via: Minimalist Baker

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Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, unpeeled, washed, and dried (about 9 ounces)
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Parchment paper
• Cooling rack
• Baking sheets

Image via: Key Ingredient

Directions

1. Heat oven to 200°F with two racks.
2. Line two baking pans with parchment paper, and set aside.
3. Slice potato crosswise, as thin as possible.
4. Arrange the slices on the prepared sheets, and keep them from touching as much as possible.
5. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
6. Cook for 50 minutes.
7. Slices will dehydrate and shrink; turn chips over, and rotate baking sheets if needed for even cooking.
8. Cook until slices are crisped and floated around the edges and the centers are still orange, not brown, 30 to 40 more minutes.
9. Transfer to cooling racks and cool chips on baking sheets.

NOTE: Chips will be soft when removed from the oven and will crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container, at room temperature, up to 3 days.

That’s how quick and easy you can have this Baked Sweet Potato. You can have a mayonnaise or ketchup for your dip. But you can consume it directly without dips and still enjoy the delicious taste of sweet potatoes.

This recipe is best when shared with your loved ones while watching your favorite show. You can also serve this if you host a party or any gathering you have at home. Make sure you choose fresh potatoes to ensure a tasty treat.

For more food recipes on Stagetecture, click here.