F is for Fudge Brownie

This recipe comes from the very first cookbook I ever had, the Gold Medal Alpha-Bakery Children's Cookbook.  Yes, I started young.  When it comes to brownies, the boxed mixes are generally just as good as anything else, except this recipe.  Its my all-time favorite (hence, this page in the cookbook is a little, um, chocolatey?) 

I do alter the original recipe very slightly (adding cocoa powder), with extra alterations when I begin making them and realize I'm almost out of chocolate chips...  I love the addition of cocoa powder to the recipe as I think it makes the chocolate flavor a little richer.  Its a personal preference, but can be left out since its not part of the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup margarine or butter (butter is always better)
1 package (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts, opt
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, opt

Heat oven to 350.  Grease bottom of a square pan (8x8).  Heat butter and 6 oz chocolate chips over low heat on the stove, stirring constantly (or in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, being careful not to burn the chocolate).  Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and 1/2 cup chocolate chips until smooth.  Stir in nuts and chocolate chips.  Spread into pan.  Bake until center is set, about 30 minutes.  Let brownies cool completely before cutting. This recipe doubles easily and bakes in a 9x13 dish. 

Last time I made this recipe I realized I only had 12 oz of chocolate chips (I was doubling the recipe), and I really like to add the additional chocolate chips at the end.  I did, however, have some milk chocolate stars.  Since milk chocolate isn't as rich as semisweet chocolate, I added an additional Tbsp of cocoa powder.  I will admit that even though I substituted in the melted chocolate portion in order to have leftover chocolate chips to stir in at the end, I completely forgot to stir in the additional chocolate chips before baking.  Oops!  Oh, well.  I took the brownies to work anyway, and my co-workers raved over them.  In fact, I found out there's a sort of "calling-tree" that happens when someone realizes I've brought treats.

As usual, I went back to the break room after a little bit and there was one lone brownie left.  And, yes, I did eat the last brownie.  

TIPS:

Bake (will take less than the 30 minutes in the recipe) as muffins and freeze for future single treats.  Microwave individual frozen brownies for 20-30 seconds and enjoy (may need to let cool slightly).

Instead of chopping walnuts with a knife, place nuts in a zipper baggie and "smack" with your rolling pin.  Also a great release for frustration.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Fall.  My FAVORITE season.  The colors.  The clothes.  Season premiers.  Warm blankets.  The yearly return of SOUP to the menu.

Soup kind of has a bad rap.  I blame the invention of condensed soups.  While great for cooking, they're not particularly great for eating after you turn 25 (kind of like canned pasta...).  Never fear, GOOD soup has made a comeback, you just have to know where to get it (or how to make it).  Enter, my Chicken Corn Chowder recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
1/2 - 1 cup red pepper, chopped
2 stocks celery, chopped
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
3-4 cup chicken broth or stock
2-3 medium potatoes, cubed (regular potatoes or combination of regular & sweet potatoes*)
Thyme (1-2 tsp if using dried)
1 lb frozen corn
12 oz evaporated milk
2 carrots, grated**
1/2 roasted chicken, chopped (or 2 hindquarters)
corn starch & water (or potato flakes) - as thickener***

Cook bacon in stock pot over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon with slotted spoon.  Drain all but 1/4 cup drippings from pot.  Add butter and peppers to pot.  Cook until peppers are tender.  Add flour, stir with whisk, cook 2 minutes (will be thick - see picture to the right).  Add broth, potatoes and thyme.  Cook until potatoes are tender.  Add corn, carrots and milk.  Simmer until corn is tender.  Add chicken and cooked bacon.  Season with salt & pepper.  Thicken with corn starch or potato flakes as needed. 

* Remember sweet potatoes are generally big.  I usually use one sweet potato and one medium regular potato.  

** If you buy carrots with the tops still on, leave a bit of the top on when shredding the carrot so you have something to hold on to.

*** If using corn starch to thicken the chowder, shake 2 Tbsp corn starch in a small sealed container with about 2 Tbsp water, enough to make a "slurry."  Shake well and then add a little at a time to the chowder until desired consistency is reached.

Can you make this a vegetarian dish?  Yes, eliminate chicken and bacon, and substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth.  You'll have to take further steps to make it vegan (substituting for the butter and milk).  If you're using this as more of a side-dish, feel free to leave out the chicken.  The chicken is meant to make this soup a meal.  However, bacon DOES make everything better, so don't skimp on the bacon.  :)

HOMEMADE TOUCHES:

I roast the chicken myself and then make my own chicken stock.  You, too, can do this.

WHAT IT TAKES:

1 roasting chicken (generally 4-5 lbs)
2-3 carrots, peeled
2-3 stalks celery, washed
Several cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 Tbsp kosher salt (or 1 Tbsp table salt)

Heat oven to 350 F.  Remove the packet from inside the chicken ("you want me to stick my hand in WHERE?  and pull out the WHAT?").  The good news is that someone has already "dislodged" the "innards."  All you have to do is pull out the packet with the "usable innards."  NOTE: we will not be using them in this recipe.  Discard appropriately.

Place the chicken, back-side-up, in a roasting dish (a casserole dish will work).  Salt and pepper the chicken.  Bake 20 minutes for every pound (so a 5 pound chicken would cook 1 hour 40 minutes) or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 180 degrees.  Flip chicken breast-side-up half-way through cooking.  You can cook the chicken breast-side-up the entire time, but that tends to dry-out the white meat.


Let chicken cool slightly, then remove the meat from the bones.  There's no real rhyme or reason to removing the meat; remove the skin and then pull off the meat.  Keep all parts of the chicken, separating the meat from the skin and carcass.  Chop the meat into small pieces and refrigerate until ready to use.

I gave a little bit of the chicken to Gracie with her dinner.  She gave it two paws up.


Well, she would have given it two paws up if she could get her face out of the bowl. 

Place carcass and skin in a stock pot.  Add carrots and celery (cut into 3-4 inch lengths), garlic and salt.  Cover with water (as much as your stock pot can hold), or about 4 quarts (16 cups).  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat slightly and cook for a couple hours, until liquid is reduced slightly.  Strain liquid into a bowl.  I used a colander lined with cheesecloth.  Discard carcass and vegetables.  Season stock with additional salt if necessary.  Use necessary amount of stock for your chicken corn chowder.  The remaining stock can be frozen.  I choose to freeze some in 2-cup quantities and some in ice-cube trays, for those times that you need just a small amount.

You can still have a little bit of homemade without having to deal with the raw chicken (or the "innards").  Just buy a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.  

Cinnamon Crown Cake

You know all those funny e-card pictures floating around Facebook and Pinterest these days?  I saw one the other day that made me laugh harder than most.  "Everyone's in a relationship, getting married, or having babies.  And I'm just over here like 'I love cake.'"  I laughed, and laughed, and laughed, and then realized that was me.  So, I guess the least I can do is share a good cake recipe with you, right?

I consider this one of my mom's signature recipes.  I'm not sure where she got the recipe from, but I LOVED when she'd make it (though I don't remember her making it just for us as a family - there was always an occasion).  These days I don't need an occasion to enjoy this great cake.  Its very much like a coffee cake, so it works for breakfast or dessert.  Or whenever.

It looks like it might be difficult, but its actually very easy.  The trick is in the pan.  I find two things necessary when using a bundt pan.  1) Get a good bundt pan.  Cheap ones don't bake or release properly in my experience.  2) Grease the pan generously and then dust with flour.  Make sure you grease all the crevices, or the cake won't release from the pan properly.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups flour
1/2 cup applesauce
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
2 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 350.  Generously grease and flour 12-cup bundt pan.  Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off.  In large bowl, combine first 8 ingredients (flour through milk).  Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.  Spoon 1/2 batter into pan.

Stir remaining ingredients into remaining batter.  Spoon over batter in pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool upright in pan 30 minutes.  Invert onto plate.  You may need to loosen the sides of the cake from the pan with a butter knife.  Serve warm with ice cream or applesauce.

I find that I don't need any sort of occasion to make this fabulous cake.  In fact, my co-workers seem to love me because I selfishly make something because I want some of it, then bring them the rest.  In fact, I put this cake in the break-room first thing one morning.  20 minutes later I came back to find this:

And, yes, I ate the last piece of cake.

Spaghetti Squash

You see it at the grocery story, but you're just not sure what to do with it.  Squash.  Specifically, Spaghetti Squash.  I see healthy recipes try to replace pasta spaghetti with spaghetti squash.  I can't fake out my mouth when it comes to pasta (I LOVE my carbs).  However, if I think of it like a vegetable (though technically its a fruit), its delish!!!!

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut your spaghetti squash in half (length-wise).  Note: Use the biggest knife you have.  This will NOT be easy (unless the biggest knife you own is a machete). Remove seeds with a spoon.  Place cut-side-up in a baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until mostly tender.  [8/21/2012 EDIT: increase oven temp to 375; bake about 45 minutes.  If its not tender yet but getting brown on top, turn over the halves to be open-side-down for the last 10-15 minutes.]

Let sit for a few minutes, then remove from "shell" with a fork (hold squash with pot-holder if needed).  Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired, along with about 1 Tbsp butter (real butter - sliced thinly) and freshly grated parmesan cheese.  

The Single Girl's Pantry

Do you want to have a nicely stocked pantry, but don't know what to keep on hand and what to buy as you need it?  Good news: The Pioneer Woman has a great list for you.  All you have to do is click here. 

What's that you say?  You don't have an army to feed?  Or you don't have a literal pantry cupboard with tons of shelf space to stock up on non-perishables for the Apocalypse?  (No offense Pioneer Woman.  I love your page.  As does my sister.  In fact, she suggested I write this post because she loves yours so much, but has neither the pantry space nor the army to feed).

My pantry/freezer/fridge varies from season to season.  For example, I have more soup vegetables on-hand during the winter months (carrots, celery, etc), and more fruit on-hand during the summer (apples, peaches, etc).  Here's a list of what I, a single girl who likes to cook, keeps in stock on a regular basis.

PANTRY/FREEZER

Pasta: a select stock of basics.  Depending on how much room you have, you do not need to keep a box of every shape of pasta ever created in your cupboard.  For those limited on space, I suggest the following: spaghetti or fettuccine (one long pasta) and penne or macaroni (one short pasta).

Spaghetti Sauce: one jar of your favorite.  

Dried and/or Canned Beans: one or two varieties - I generally keep black beans in both dried and canned, and canned red beans. 

Rice: white & brown (though you should keep your brown rice in the freezer. The natural oils in the  "husk" can go rancid if you don't use your brown rice quick enough - like me)

Cream Soup: one or two cans of mushroom, one can of celery and/or chicken if you use it often enough

Powdered Milk (for cooking/emergencies - not the zombie apocolypse type of emergency, the "crap, my milk is bad and I'm making muffins" type of emergency)

Canned Milk: One can each of evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk.  Evaporated milk comes in handy for cooking, so at least keep that one on hand.  I love that you can buy the evaporated milk in small 5-oz cans - no wasted leftovers.

Instant Mashed Potatoes / Potato Flakes: For cooking - not for mashed potatoes

Macaroni & Cheese: one box (because, let's face it, we all crave a little Kraft now and then)

Oatmeal: Large container of what you use most, small container of the other for cooking/baking needs (Old Fashioned Oats vs. Quick Oats) - or a small of each if you don't use it regularly.  I make baked oatmeal to have for breakfast every morning, so I keep stocked on Old Fashioned Oats.  If you don't do last-minute cooking/baking, don't worry about keeping stocked on the type of oats you don't use often.

Chocolate Chips (in the freezer):  Keep a bag on-hand for impromptu cookie making, or just to grab a few when you've got a chocolate craving.  Note: freezing is not a requirement, more of a preference in a hot/humid-summer kind of climate.

Individual pack applesauce: Applesauce is handy for baking (and snacking) but it never fails, if I buy a jar its moldy before I finish it.  Plus the jar takes up valuable fridge space once you've opened it.

Bread Crumbs: Plain and/or seasoned.  The plain ones are easy to season, so if you're only going to keep one, plain gets my vote.

Pancake Mix and Syrup: Because breakfast is never a bad idea.

Canned Vegetables:  One can (maybe two) of the canned vegetables you enjoy (green beans, corn, etc.).  There's no easier way to add veggies to a meal than to open a can of green beans and nuke in the microwave.  If you like frozen veggies better - and have the freezer space - that's ok, too.  For me, canned veggies stay fresh longer (things like beans and corn are usually freezer-burned by the time I use it), and I like to save my freezer space for other things.

Black Olives and Green Chilies: One small can of each.  They keep forever (until opened), together they take up less room than one can of cream soup, and they come in handy. 

Frozen Vegetables: Broccoli and cauliflower.  (See note above why I don't keep other frozen veggies on hand regularly.)

Frozen Blueberries: For muffins, pancakes, or breakfast bites.

Canned Tomatoes: Unlike garden-fresh tomatoes, these are always in season.

Fresh Grape Tomatoes:  In the summer I just pick these right off my tomato plants on the back patio.  Other seasons I've always got a container of grape tomatoes sitting on the counter.  They're so small that you can't fake the freshness of them (so its not like buying a regular tomato at the grocery store in December - gag).  Put them on tacos, pizza, or just pop 'em in your mouth for a sweet snack.  

Broth/Stock: One or two cans chicken, one can beef.  What I don't use out of the can after I open it gets frozen in ice-cube-type trays.

Spices: Almost everything.  If you don't use it often, buy the tiny containers (as a recipe calls for them).  If you use it all the time (chili powder, garlic powder, etc.), buy it in warehouse club quantities.

Basic baking essentials: flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda/powder, vanilla, salt, etc.

Flax Seed Meal: Anytime a recipe calls for flour, I replace about 1 Tbsp per cup of the flour with ground flax seed meal.

Peanut Butter: Natural creamy peanut butter for sandwiches and such, and cheap crunchy peanut butter for baking and Thai Peanut Butter Chicken.

Corn Muffin Mix:  One box

Honey: Bear-shaped bottle optional. 

Nuts: Walnuts, pine nuts (in the summer - for pesto).  Keep nuts in the freezer.  They contain oils that you don't want to go rancid (unless, of course, you eat them quickly - then the pantry is ok).

Bacon (freezer): I've always got bacon around.  ALWAYS.  And in the thickest slices available.  Freeze slices individually and then wrap in foil, then you can just take out what you need (i.e. one slice - chopped - to go on the Pesto Chicken Artichoke Pizza or a few slices for the BCTA).  If you place the frozen bacon directly into the warming pan, your bacon will cook slower and thus not curl as much on you. 

Oils & Vinegars: Vegetable/canola oil, olive oil, cooking spray, white vinegar, balsamic vinegar.  If a recipe calls for another (like cider vinegar), buy the small bottle.  It won't take up a lot of shelf space but will keep pretty much forever.  White vinegar is fantastic for cleaning.  Buy it by the gallon.

Raw Shrimp (freezer):   Such a quick way to add some protein to your favorite pasta dish (or tacos).  They thaw quickly and cook even quicker.

Wine: (why are you looking for an explanation here?)

REFRIGERATOR

Tortillas: flour and/or corn.  I keep both.  Why?  I like them both.

Eggs: The more you use, the more you should keep on-hand.  I went from buying eggs by the half-dozen to buying eggs by the 18-pack now that I have egg muffins for breakfast every morning.  And an egg sandwich on Sandwich Thins makes for a great quick/healthy supper.  Speaking of......

Sandwich Thins: I generally move these to the freezer after a week or so.  Microwave (from frozen) for about 10-15 seconds then pop in the toaster.

Cheese:  There's always an extra block of cheddar and mozzarella in my fridge, as well as sandwich slices. Frequent visitors include smoked gouda, fresh mozzarella and fresh parmesan. If you prefer to buy your cheese already shredded, keep it in the freezer unless you use it quickly.  Shredded cheese gets moldy quicker than block cheese in my experience.

Individual Thin Pizza Crusts (package of 3): For Pesto Chicken Artichoke Pizza or Sausage Bruschetta Pizza.

BUY FRESH / AS YOU NEED IT

Potatoes: I use them so rarely that I don't even buy them by the bag, I buy them by the potato.

Lasagna Noodles: There are other lasagna ingredients that you'll be buying fresh (ricotta, for example), so you can just pick up the lasagna noodles when you're at the store.  Not to mention I can count on one hand the number of times I just suddenly decided I wanted to make lasagna.  Generally, something like that is planned.

Meat: Sure, you can freeze meat.  And I'm not against it.  But in an effort to keep valuable freezer space for other things (and because I'm only feeding myself, not an army), I try to buy meat as I use it (so not in bulk), or only freeze what I can't use out of a single package, and make sure to use the rest within a couple weeks.  Exceptions: shrimp, bacon, leftovers.

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Shopping Convenience: I live in a large city where I can go to the grocery store at any hour of the day, so keeping stocked on items is not done out of necessity.

Freezer Space: If you don't have a deep-freeze (or any type of second freezer), you know how valuable freezer space can be.  Since moving recently, I've decided not to use my deep-freeze until I need to, mostly because when I do use it, things tend to get lost and forgotten. 

Menu Planning: Is there something you make regularly, or is your star-standby?  Make sure you've always got ingredients stocked for it.

Because I'm always discovering new recipes, I'm sure this list will evolve from time-to-time, so feel free to check back every once in a while.  I'll also continue to link my recipes to the list as new recipes get posted.  

Thai Peanut Butter Chicken with Rice Noodles

So this one day, I was at the store, and I saw a bottle of "Thai Peanut Sauce,"  and I thought, "YUM!  That sounds delicious!"  Turns out, it was horrible.  I'll spare you (and the makers) from telling you what brand it was.  No need to knock them down.  After all, I do like other items in their line.

In an effort to still get to enjoy some Thai Peanut Butter Chicken, I read the ingredients on the back of the bottle and decided to give it a try myself. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp fresh ginger or ginger paste
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Dash red pepper flakes
1 lb chicken breast, cooked and cut into small pieces
1 cup frozen shelled eda mame
1 cup carrots (match-stick shredded or thinly sliced)
8 oz rice noodles, cooked per package instructions (like pasta)

DIRECTIONS:


Cook eda mame and carrots.  I use a microwave rice cooker/vegetable steamer.  You can also just put them in a microwave-safe bowl with a couple Tablespoons of water.  On the stovetop, cook rice noodles per package directions.

 Meanwhile, place sauce ingredients (peanut butter through red pepper flakes) in a saucepan over medium heat until peanut butter is melted.  (If you're sauteing the chicken, you can use the same pan you sauteed the chicken in.)  Add chicken, vegetables, and rice noodles to sauce and stir until coated.  Serve.

HANDY TIPS:

Have some leftover chicken broth and not sure what to do with it?  Freeze in ice cube trays or these fantastic silicone ice cube thingy-ma-bobs that take up much less space in your freezer.  Then, when you need just a little broth to lighten up a dish, you've got it!

For the chicken, you have several options.  1) Cut up raw chicken and saute in a small amount of oil with salt and pepper.  Use this same pan for the sauce (no need to wash out the pan - the chicken "drippings" will add more flavor. 2) Use pre-cooked chicken from the deli section of your grocery store.  Not as much flavor here, but easy-peasy.  3) Pan-sear and then oven-bake chicken breasts when you buy them.  Freeze individually, and then wrap in foil.  When you need one (or two), thaw, cut and use appropriately.  That's what I did here, using 2 chicken breasts.

Cooking for one isn't nearly as difficult as we make it out to be.  It just makes me make better use of my freezer space and my math skills. (I cut this recipe in half tonight so I didn't have as many leftovers.)  Its the cleaning up after myself that I hate so much...

Breakfast Bites

It's the most important meal of the day: Breakfast.  Why is that?  I'm sure doctors and researchers will tell you lots of things about why eating breakfast makes you more likely to be healthier.  For me?  What I eat for breakfast sets the tone for what I eat all day.  If I start my day with a sugary donut, well, you can imagine what goes across my taste-buds the rest of the day: more sugar.

After starting a "new life" in a new city recently, I thought maybe this was a good time to alter some of my bad habits into good (or at least better) ones.  Among these: Be intentional about what I eat for breakfast.  I've learned that adding protein to my breakfast routine helps keep me full longer, which means I don't reach for my morning snack quite so quickly.  Because I'm also a coffee drinker, I need some carbs in my breakfast to keep my coffee from eating my stomach.  Thus, after I'd joined the world of "egg muffins" (recipe below), I added a frozen waffle or two each day to counter-act my coffee addiction.

Then one day as I was perusing Pinterest, I came across a recipe for baked oatmeal.  I'd heard about baked oatmeal before, but wasn't yet a believer that oatmeal could be that good outside of cookies.  I don't dislike regular cooked oatmeal, but its not great, nor is it something I can eat on the way to work.  [Have I mentioned I'm not a morning person?  Sleeping is my favorite.]

I used the recipe I found on Pinterest as a basis for my baked oatmeal.  However, because I don't keep everything on her ingredient list on-hand, I made some substitutions, coming up with my own recipe, making some additional adjustments for taste and consistency.  I've made several variations over the course of a few weeks, and have found only one way so far that I don't like the baked oatmeal: with peanut butter. 

None-the-less, following is a great recipe that can be made like a cookie (with nuts & chocolate chips), like a muffin (with berries), or just plain (with a light banana and cinnamon flavor).

 

Baked Oatmeal

INGREDIENTS:

1 Banana
1 cup Natural Applesauce (2 4-oz individual cups)
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
6 oz Vanilla Yogurt
2 Tbsp Splenda Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Ground Flaxseed Meal
1-2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats (Old Fashioned Oatmeal)
1 cup Skim Milk
Various mix-ins (Chopped Walnuts, Blueberries, Chocolate Chips, Raisins, Craisins, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 24 muffin cups with cooking spray.

Peel banana into a microwave-safe mixing bowl.  Microwave 30-45 seconds to soften banana (unless using a very ripe/brown banana).  Mash banana.  Whisk in applesauce, eggs, vanilla, yogurt, and Splenda.  When mixed well, whisk in flaxseed meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.  Stir in oats with a wooden spoon.  Finally, carefully stir in milk.  If you're going to add any mix-ins, now is the time to stir them in as well.

Using a cookie-dough scoop, scoop mixture into the muffin cups.  Divide remaining mixture among the cups evenly.  I've found that to divide into 24 "muffins," each muffin cup will get approximately 1 1/2 scoops (a little more if you're using mix-ins).

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  I usually keep them on the wire rack while freezing so that they don't stick together, and then transfer to a zipper baggie for storage.

Word to the wise: don't over-do it with your mix-ins.  Less really is more in this case.

Without the mix-ins, each of these is approximately 75 calories, as are the egg muffins, so any combination of 4 muffins makes a 300-calorie breakfast.  (If adding nuts and/or chocolate chips, you will go well beyond 75 calories.  Berries, however, only alter each "muffin" by a couple calories.)

COOKIE EDIT: Tonight before adding the milk I put a scoop of the mixture onto a cookie sheet (sprayed with cooking spray), flattened slightly with my fingers (the cookie won't flatten out in the oven like normal cookies do so go ahead and make it as flat as you'd like at this point), and then baked for about 12 minutes.  When I pulled it out of the oven, I placed 5 dark chocolate chips on top, and after they melted swirled them with my finger.   Once cooled, it made a FANTASTIC cookie!  It was very soft, so next time I might try this before even adding the yogurt.  [8/19/2012 EDIT: I tried it without the yogurt this time.  Its still soft, more like cake than a cookie, so I'm going to keep trying different things to make it more like a cookie.  Nonetheless, it still tasted incredible.]

APPLE-CINNAMON BAKED OATMEAL: (9/19/2012 EDIT) Its officially Fall this weekend (and I didn't have any bananas at home), so I decided to try an apple version of the baked oatmeal.  Mixing and baking instructions are the same, but I used the following ingredients:

1 apple (peeled, shredded)
1/2 Cup applesauce (1 4-oz individual cup)
2 Tbsp oil
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
6 oz Yoplait® Apple Turnover Yogurt
1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal
1-2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups rolled oats (old fashioned oatmeal)
3/4 Cup milk

Yield: 24 "muffins" at approximately 80 calories each - If you'd like a little crunch, chop an additional peeled apple into tiny chunks and mix in with the milk.  You'll only add an additional couple of calories per "muffin."  Dried cranberries could be a yummy mix-in for this one as well. 

Egg Muffins

Now for the protein.  I actually started doing this before I found all the recipes for "egg muffins" on pinterest.  I knew an egg was the best way to get protein into my breakfast, but, as I mentioned before, I'm not very good at waking up in the morning, so anything I can do to be prepared for my morning routine is best done well in advance.  Thus, I decided to make "egg muffins."  Its as easy as beating eggs, adding whatever goodies you like, bake in a muffin pan, and you've got yourself a pre-made breakfast.  Most people say you can keep them in your fridge for a week.  I just go ahead and freeze them, that way I can microwave my egg and oatmeal at the same time while I'm packing up my lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

12+ oz Eggs (mixture of whole eggs and egg whites - to your liking)
3 oz Sharp Cheddar, shredded
1 oz fresh Parmesan, shredded or grated
1 tsp. Ground Mustard (optional)
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of Ground Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare 12 muffin cups with cooking spray. 

I use a plastic Tupperware shaker when mixing this up, it includes the measurements on the side so I know how much egg I'm getting.  You can get 12 oz of eggs in several different ways: 5 whole eggs + 5 egg whites, 6 whole eggs + 3 egg whites, I think you get the picture.  The more whole eggs you use the more calories you will be including.  However, its OK to have calories at breakfast.  [Really.]  Add ground mustard, salt & pepper to the eggs, seal the container, and shake til the eggs are "beaten."

Divide cheeses (or various mix-ins such as ham, veggies, etc) into the muffin cups.  Then pour in 1 oz of the egg mixture into each muffin cup.  I say to use "12+" ounces of egg as its sometimes difficult and tedious to get exactly 1 ounce into each cup.  (Honestly, I use a measuring cup that looks like a shot-glass - measures 1/2, 1, and 1 1/2 ounces.)  Stir each "muffin" lightly with a fork to mix in the cheese.

Bake 20-25 minutes.  The egg will puff up in the oven, and then shrink back down when cooling.  Once they've shrunk back down, cool on a wire rack.  Freeze on the wire racks, then move to a freezer container that will be easy to reach in the morning in my pre-coffee stupor.

Morning Routine:

Pull your desired amount of Breakfast Bites out of the freezer, wrap in a paper towel, and microwave for 60-90 seconds.  I eat 4 Breakfast Bites each morning, and 90 seconds is just about right.

BCTA (My Take on the Classic BLT)

BLT.  A summertime favorite.  Ever since I was a kid, though, I've never liked lettuce on a sandwich.  Its kind of a waste of space: no flavor, no nutritional value, you're basically putting water on your sandwich (no offense to those that like lettuce on a sandwich).  :)  Things did change a little since I was a kid, though, and I did at one point start liking mayonnaise on my BLT (my, um, BMT?). 

The BCTA is my take on the classic BLT.  Replace the lettuce with cucumber.  It doesn't have a ton more nutritional value than the lettuce, but there's more flavor than lettuce, and more crunch.  Then replace the mayonnaise with avocado.  Unlike mayo, avocado actually HAS nutritional value.  Not to mention the flavor of an avocado...  (Uh, anyone know the best way to get drool out of my laptop keyboard?)  All remaining ingredients are the same.

Here's what you'll need:

2 slices toasted bread
2 slices bacon, cut in half
3-4 slices cucumber
2-3 slices tomato
1/4 avocado, sliced

It all starts in the skillet.  Fry bacon til done.  If you like crisp bacon, fry til crisp.  I personally like mine a little bit under-crisp, but not completely chewy, either.  When the bacon is done to your likeness, drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, while the bacon is cooking, slice tomato, cucumber, and avocado.  Slice the cucumber with your vegetable peeler (or mandolin slicer if you'd like) as we did for the Cucumber Feta Rolls.  Slice the tomato as thin or as thick as you'd like.


Assemble your sandwich and enjoy.


Tips for a better sandwich:
1) Thick-slice bacon is always better.
2) Garden-fresh tomatoes are a must.  This is why a BLT (or, in my case, BCTA) is best in the summer when you have access to good RIPE tomatoes.
3) Learn to pick a good avocado.  Not firm, but not too soft.  You'll get it right after a few bad avocados.
4) Use Saralee 45 calorie bread and you'll end up with a 250-275 calorie sandwich (depending on your bacon and avocado - they're your biggest calorie producers outside of the bread).


IN A NUTSHELL:

2 sliced toasted bread
2 slices bacon, cut in half
3-4 slices cucumber
2-3 slices tomato
1/4 avocado, sliced

Fry bacon.  Slice produce.  Slap it all together.  Let your tastebuds do what they do best.

PS - I learned this week that bacon is the "gateway drug" to vegans who become meat-eaters (Thanks Eve!).  Bacon.  I can't think of a better reason to eat meat.  Can you?  :)

Pesto Chicken Artichoke Pizza

Pizza seems to be my easy evening go-to meal during the summer.  I keep pre-made pizza crusts on-hand, and, let's face it, you can put pretty much anything on a pizza crust, top it with some cheese and, voila, you've got dinner

This week I went a little bit more "gourmet" in pizza style, replacing the traditional red sauce with homemade pesto, and mozzarella with smoked gouda.

A couple of notes when you make your shopping list: 1) I make my own Pesto, but store-bought is ok, too.  If you want to make your own, I follow this recipe.  2) For the chicken it can be leftover grilled chicken breast or even leftover KFC (sans skin).  The chicken doesn't really add tons of flavor, just some protein and texture.  3) Sun dried tomatoes were not on my original pizza, but the second time I made it I had some on-hand from the Cucumber Feta Rolls and decided to utilize them.  You could also add some crumbled cooked bacon instead of the tomatoes (which is AMAZING, by the way - when isn't bacon amazing?).  4) Always buy smoked gouda.  The flavor added by the smoking process is what makes this cheese so fantastically amazing.

Here's what you'll need:

1 Individual Size Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust
2 Tbsp Pesto
1/4 Cup Chopped Cooked Chicken
1/4 Cup Chopped Artichoke Hearts (canned)
1 Tbsp Chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes
1-2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Basil
Shredded Smoked Gouda Cheese

 Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  If using a pizza stone, let the stone pre-heat with the oven (stone will need at least 10 minutes to heat fully).  While oven is pre-heating, chop chicken, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and basil.  (Not sure how to cut basil?  Check out my instructions in the Sausage Bruschetta Pizza Recipe.)  Shred cheese.

Cover pizza crust with pesto.  Top with chicken, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, basil and cheese.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.




Remove from the oven and slice into quarters with pizza cutter, serve, and enjoy! 

IN A NUTSHELL:

1 Individual Size Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust
2 Tbsp Pesto
1/4 Cup Chopped Cooked chicken
1/4 Cup Chopped Artichoke Hearts
1 Tbsp Chopped Sun Dried Tomatoes
1-2 Tbsp Fresh Chopped Basil
Shredded Smoked Gouda Cheese. 

Pre-heat oven to 400.  Chop pizza toppings.  Shred Cheese.  Assemble pizza.  Bake 10-12 minutes directly on rack or on pre-heated pizza stone.  Remove, cut, and WOW your taste-buds. 

As with any pizza, if you want to make a larger pizza, just use a larger crust and more of each topping! 

If you're feeling super-domestic and want to make homemade crust, my friend Tesa has a fantastic recipe on her blog.

Appetizer Rollups

I both love and dread the announcement of "Food Day" at work.  I love it because I LOVE to cook and I LOVE to share my cooking with friends.  I dread it because I'm just not sure which recipe to pull out of my collection.  Appetizer?  Crock-pot concoction? Dessert? There are WAY too many choices.  The good news is that different styles of appetizer rollups are ALWAYS a hit.  Here I'll showcase both a tortilla option as well as a vegetable option.

Let's start with my old favorite:

Tortilla Pinwheels

This was probably the very first recipe I developed.  I was looking for something to make for my High School graduation reception.  There were some decent recipes out there, but none of them were quite what I wanted.  So, I put this recipe together, and its been a pot-luck and family-holiday favorite ever since.  

Here's what you'll need:

5-6 Burrito-size Tortillas
1 Pint Sour Cream
1 8-oz Pkg Cream Cheese, softened
2-3 Tbsp Southwest Seasoning*
1/2 Pkg. Ranch Dip Mix
1/2-1 small (4.25-oz) Can Chopped Black Olives
1/2-1 small (4-oz) Can Chopped Green Chilies
1 Cup Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Thinly Sliced Ham (lunch-meat works well)

*Taco Seasoning will work, but I prefer Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning

Mix together cream cheese and sour cream.  Stir in Southwest Seasoning and ranch dip mix; Stir in olives, chilies and cheese.

Spread mixture over tortillas.  Place ham in individual slices on top of spread.  Roll tortillas tightly.  chill in fridge at least 1-2 hours, either in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap.

Once chilled (giving the cream cheese a chance to firm back up), slice into 1/2 inch slices and serve.  NOTE: Use a serrated knife and rely on the sawing motion to cut, not the downward motion.  This will help keep the shape of the roll.

Leftovers can be saved in an airtight container in the fridge for several days. 

IN A NUTSHELL:

5-6 Burrito-size Tortillas
1 Pint Sour Cream
1 8-oz Pkg Cream Cheese, softened
2-3 Tbsp Southwest Seasoning*
1/2 Pkg. Ranch Dip Mix
1/2-1 small (4.25-oz) Can Chopped Black Olives
1/2-1 small (4-oz) Can Chopped Green Chilies
1 Cup Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Thinly Sliced Ham

Mix sour cream, cream cheese, Southwest Seasoning, ranch dip mix, olives, chilies and cheese.  Spread over tortillas, top with ham slices.  Roll.  Chill.  Slice.  Watch your friends DEVOUR.



P.S. Some people like these with salsa.  I think there's so much flavor already packed into these rolls, who needs to "water it down" with salsa?  Just my humble opinion.  :)


***OTHER GOOD FILLING IDEAS***


JALAPENO-BACON "POPPERS"
1 Pint Sour Cream
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 of a 12-oz Jar Sliced Jalapenos, drained & chopped
1/2 Pound Bacon, cooked & chopped
1 cup Finely Shredded Cheddar Cheese



BUFFALO CHICKEN ROLLS
1 Pint Sour Cream
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
12 oz (approx) Buffalo Chicken Bites (such as Tyson Any'tizers - Buffalo Style Boneless Chicken Wyngs), baked as directed, chopped
2-3 oz Louisiana Style Hot Sauce
*sprinkle some additional hot sauce over the finished rolls if desired.

 ***

Looking for a "lighter" option?  This recipe has been floating around Pinterest for a while.  I decided to give it a try!

Cucumber Feta Rolls

As much as I'd love to claim this recipe as my own, it is not.  You can find the full recipe here.

Use a vegetable peeler to create your cucumber slices.  For this recipe (and really any recipe that calls for cucumbers), I like to use "English" or "Hot House" cucumbers.  They're longer and leaner, and have less seeds. Peel one strip off of the cucumber, then in the same spot peel one more strip.  This will create a "flat" surface so the cucumber doesn't roll around on you.  After you flip the cucumber over to sit on the flat side, make the same two peels on the top side.  Continue to peel in the same fashion until you get to the seeds (you will have a couple strips that have some seeds, that's ok).  Once you've got all the peels you're going to get from one side, flip back over and peel slices from the bottom side until you get to the seeds.  Do this with 2-3 cucumbers (I needed about 2 1/2 cucumbers since I don't use the middle). Lay the slices out on paper towels while you make the filling.

In a bowl, mix the feta and Greek yogurt with a fork.  Add in the chopped sun dried tomatoes, chopped Kalamata olives, dill, lemon juice and pepper.

Place 1-2 tsp. of the mixture at the end of each cucumber slice.  If there's one end of the cucumber that has some seeds and one end that doesn't, place the filling on the end with seeds (so it ends up in the middle).  Roll up the cucumber around the filling and secure with a toothpick.  If there are too many seeds, the toothpick won't hold in the roll very well when you go to pick it up.


I think these also might be good with a dried cranberry & pecan mixture.  I might have to try that.  I'll let you know if I try it.  Let me know if you try it first! 


IN A NUTSHELL:

2 cucumbers
6 ounces crumbled feta
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 tablespoons finely diced sundried tomatoes or red bell pepper
8 - 12 pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon roughly chopped dill or oregano
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch of pepper, or to taste

"Slice" cucumber with vegetable peeler.  Lay flat on paper towels.  Mix remaining ingredients with fork.  Place 1-2 tsp filling on end of cucumber slice.  Roll.  Secure.  Enjoy without guilt.

***Also good with diced roasted red peppers in place of the olive and tomatoes.***