Unbelievable

To know me is to know that I love cheese. In fact, I love it so much that I don't keep it in the house unless absolutely necessary for recipes, with the exception of swiss slices (low sodium) and cheese sticks for the kids (low taste).

This unabashed, lifelong love of cheese was going to be fulfilled tonight when shredded Mexican was to serve as a topper to the main event. Except that I forgot to add it. And just realized it as I was sitting down to type this post.

Who forgets the cheese?

Luckily - I pretty much had nothing to say, so this omission served as the jump-start to tonight's post.

In addition to cheese, I love dark chocolate. Luckily I can manage to keep that in the house without shoveling it in by the fistful (thanks to those ingenious pre-packaged individual chocolate squares from Ghiradelli). I don't often bake with dark chocolate, but a few days ago I happened upon an amazingly easy fudge recipe that catered to my dark chocolate needs. So we'll start with that because honestly peeps, it is so so so easy to throw together that you must make it immediately. And bring me some.

Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Fudge
Source: Cooking Light (not sure of issue)

Ingredients:

• 1 (14oz) can of fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 c. semisweet chocolate chips (used dark chocolate)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened dark cocoa powder (used regular unsweetened)
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee granules
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 3/4 c. peanut butter chips
• 1/4 c. salted, dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Directions:

• Line an 8-inch square dish with wax paper.
• Place 9 tbsp milk in a microwave safe bowl. Add chocolate chips, cocoa and coffee. Microwave at high for 1 min or until melted. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla. Spread into prepared pan.
• Combine the remaining milk, peanut butter chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 min or until melted. Stir in remaining vanilla. Spread evenly over chocolate layer and sprinkle with peanuts.
• Cover and chill 2 hours (I chilled overnight). Cut into 25 squares.

Yield: 25 servings (1 square)
Per serving: 123 cals; 4.7g fat (3.1g sat, 0.7g mono, 0.1g poly); 3.5g protein; 47mg sodium; 2mg chol

For tonight's (cheese-free) meal, we had:
Charred Corn Chop Salad with Chipotle Cream Dressing
Source: Clean Eating, August/September 2011

Ingredients:

• 2 c. fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears corn)
• 1 med. poblano pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 15-oz can no-salt added black beans, rinsed
• 1/2 c. low-fat sour cream
• 1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 tsp chipotle chile powder
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced, white and green parts separated
• lettuce of choice
• 1/2 c. low-fat cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, toss corn, poblano and potato with oil. Spread mixture onto a 9x13 baking sheet and roast for 30 mins, tossing every 10 mins.
• In a large pan cook turkey until browned. Add 1/4 c. water to pan and scrape browned bits from bottom. Add cumin and beans and stir to combine. Cover, reduce heat to low and keep warm until ready to serve.
• Make dressing: In a small bowl, whisk sour cream, buttermilk, chile powder and white scallions. Cover and chill until ready to use.
• Plate: Divide lettuce among plates and top with turkey, veggies, etc. Sprinkle with remaining scallions and cheese, and top with dressing.

Yield: 4 servings (2 c. lettuce; 1/2 c. turkey-bean mix; 1/2 c. veggies; 3 tbsp dressing)
Per serving: 470 cals; 11g total fat (3.5g sat; 3g mono; 1g poly): 61g carbs; 10g fiber; 31g protein; 220mg sodium; 40mg chol.

Reviews:
Fudge: My family went a little insane about the fudge (it was for a 4th of July gathering) - to the point that I had to fight them to bring some leftovers home for me us. I made the fudge on one of those super-hot nights, and it was so fast and easy, and the results so stellar that this is a must-do for pretty much everyone.

Salad: The kid requested a salad for dinner, so a salad he received. He did not appreciate the sweet potatoes, and the hubs made a nasty face when he saw the veggies sullying his turkey/bean combo. If it wasn't for the annoying chopping associated with this dish, it would be very easy to throw together. I liked it a lot - despite the lack of cheese - and we have enough leftover for lunches this week.

Rankings:
Fudge: Four Forks
Salad: Three Forks

Did you really think I'd use the "clean" version of this song?



Best Email Ever

Hey ho peeps. Today sure has been a Monday in every sense of the word, right? Are you feeling it too? Do you feel like I do? (Bonus points for lyric reference, btw)

A few items to quickly address.

• Great Mother's Day! My wonderful boys and babe spoiled me with some super fun presents and by grilling a delish healthy meal (chicken and asparagus).

• I am ridiculously excited about Howard Stern on AGT tonight. YES I am one of those Stern Super Fans who has listened to him for almost 25 years. LOVE HIM.

• Over the weekend, I made two desserts: One for us and GA, and one for a little shin-dig we attended on Saturday eve.

A note about these desserts. Once again, due to our awesomely ridiculous schedule, I had to squeeze both in during the baby's nap. Blah blah blah. Schedule blah blah. Anyway. On behalf of GA, I cranked out two dozen Triple-Chocolate Cupcakes (source: unknown) and for the soiree, I butchered Tiny Lemon Gem Tarts (Betty Crocker Indulgent Desserts, Winter 2007). And that's what leads me to this email thing.

I received an email from a certain party hostess who was frantically searching for more lemony things. At 4 a.m. Peeps! This made my life for a number of reasons. One: Hysterical email in and of itself. Two: Despite my inability to remove the tarts from the pan without completely crumbling more than half of them (and then hiding this effort in muffin tins), they were edible! Can I have a woot woot?! And I had my doubts! Side note: I was NOT awake at 4 a.m. to receive this email. For once.

On to tonight's dinner:
Asian Chicken Salad
Source: EatingWell Diabetes Cookbook

Reviews:
As you may remember, during the warmer months I like to throw in a salad or two every once in a while. Plus, this one promised to be quick and easy. And it was! I made some simple substitutions to meet our tastes (no radishes, romaine instead of cabbage), but otherwise this required no chopping, some measuring and easy mixing. We all liked this dish - lots of flavor, not too heavy.

Ranking:
Three Forks

At the Kid's Request

Last week, the kid randomly mentioned that he liked eating shrimp with the little tails on it. Aha! We haven't had shrimp in a really long time, so I decided to add it to the meal list for this week.

Honestly, I'm not the world's biggest fan of shrimp. I do not like it raw, and I prefer that the shrimp is doused with a lot of sauces or spices to cover up its taste.

Luckily Cooking Light had the perfect recipe to do this - shrimp curry! Talk about a promised flavor punch. And, talk about doing something a little different. I don't use a lot of curry in my cooking so I thought this was a win-win situation for all of us. Kid: Shrimp fix. Me: Lots of spices to hide the shrimp taste. Plus this recipe is one of Cooking Light's "Super Fast" options, promising a delish meal in approx 20 mins.

Bombay Shrimp Curry with Coconut Rice
Source: Cooking Light, July 2011

I don't feel like typing this whole thing out - if you want the recipe, ask. What you should know is that part of this recipe called for coconut milk rice, which was a complete and total fail. The rice was supposed to absorb the milk in 5 minutes. After 15 minutes, that was a no-go. Boo.

Reviews:
The boys really enjoyed it. I thought it was a hassle and not timed out that well. The taste was OK - not that spicy. The shrimp flavor still came through - a positive for most people.

Ranking:
Two Forks

And, lest I forget, last night my family did a combo Passover Seder-Easter dinner (we don't discriminate against holidays). So, to mark the occasion, I brought a Lemon Buttermilk Cake (Betty Crocker Super Moist Cakes, Spring 2009) and Passover Brownies (KraftFoods.com). Both recipes earned rave reviews - per usual from my fam - but, truth be told, they both turned out pretty darn well.

Super Sunday

It would have been too cliche to make New England clam chowder or New York cheesecake for Super Bowl Sunday. So I didn't. It's not because I'm anti-Super Bowl (I'm not) and anti-cliche (I'm obviously not based on previous blog posts), but mostly because I don't like either of those foods.

So, instead I went with a "man's meal" of chili. Again. With a twist, of course. Chili as a casserole! Because I love a casserole! (And yes, you read it right - I do not like cheesecake.)

I don't make tons of casseroles during the week because I don't have as much time, plus a casserole usually lends itself to over-sized portions and over-eating. But, my heart still belongs to an old-fashioned casserole.

Chili Cornbread Casserole
Source: EatingWell, Sept/Oct 2010

There are a ton of ingredients and directions to type in, and I have Super Bowl commercials to watch. Therefore, I'm instead just providing you a link.

Heart healthy ingredients: Kidney beans; tomatoes; cayenne pepper

We also had:
Garlic Roasted Kale
Source: Cooking Light, not sure of date

I also made:
Texas Sheet Cake
Source: Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2012

This cake is one of the "All-Time Best" Cooking Light chocolate recipes I referenced in a previous post. This cake came in second place, so obvs I had to give it a whirl. I made a couple of minor adjustments (mainly no nuts because I don't like them in baked goods).

Reviews:
Kid: "Didn't love it." He forced himself to eat approx 10 bites so he could partake in post-dinner ice cream. He did eat all of his kale, and the hubs ate most of his kale, which is a win-win in my book. The hubs gave it a double thumbs up. I thought the chili was good, but the cornbread portion was a little bland. I also cut back on the cheese, so that kind of got lost in translation.

I don't think the cake warrants its runner-up ranking in all-time best ever chocolate recipes, but it is very rich and has an interesting flavor, thanks to the fun addition of cinnamon. And there's a TON of it, which will make my mother happy when she stops by later this week to hang with the kiddos.

Ranking:
Chili Casserole: Three forks - made a ton, overall pretty good
Texas Sheet Cake: Three forks

Double Post! Dessert Day

DOUBLE POST TODAY!

When I launched the blog, one of the first recipes I made was for truffles, which resulted in a few of my peeps being less than thrilled that this was a one-time deal (at least for the year).

Of course, given the fact that I have thousands of recipes, are you really that surprised that I found another variation of truffles to make? I actually made them for a party we attended last night (didn't have the chance to do an entry yesterday), and threw them in cute little mini-muffin holders.

Cute, right?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
Source: Kraft Food & Family, Holiday 2006

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg (8 squares) semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1 8oz tub cool whip
• 1/4 c. powdered sugar

Directions:

• Microwave chocolate in large microwaveable bowl until chocolate is almost melted. Stir until completely melted. Add in peanut butter and stir until well blended. Cool to room temp. Gently stir in cool whip. Refrigerate 1 hour.
• Scoop peanut butter mixture with melon baller or teaspoon, then shape into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Store in refrigerator. Per the recipe's suggestion, I also crushed up Nilla Wafers and rolled them in that. You can also use grated white chocolate, crushed peanuts, coconut, etc.

Yield: 3 dozen (I got about 2 dozen)

Review:
The truffles went super fast, and everyone seemed to enjoy them. I thought they were so-so - almost too sweet for me. They were very fast to make - I squeezed them in during the babe's naptime - and I liked doing the different variations.

Ranking:
Three Forks - based on ease and everyone else's reviews

And now here's your second post!When I rec'd my Jan/Feb 2012 issue of Cooking Light, I saw BEST LIGHT CHOCOLATE RECIPE EVER screaming from the cover. That's a mighty big claim, so in addition to my usual excitement over simply receiving a new recipe source, I was even more thrilled to give the BEST LIGHT CHOCOLATE RECIPE EVER a whirl and see if it truly lives up to this distinction.

Let's get right to it:
Classic Fudge Walnut Brownies
Source: Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2012

Ingredients:

• 3.38 oz all-purpose flour (approx 3/4 c.)
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 3/4 c. unsweeted cocoa
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 c. bittersweet chocolate chunks, divided
• 1/3 c. fat-free milk
• 6 tbsp buter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, divided (skip - don't like)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Combine 1/2 c. chocoalte and milk in a microwave safe bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute; stirring after 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla, and eggs. Add milk mixture, 1/2 c. chocolate, and 1/4 c. wlanutes to flour mixture; stir to combine.
• Pour the batter in a 9-inch square metal baking pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 22 mins or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean with moist crumbs clinging. Cool. Cut into 20 pieces.

Yield: 20 pieces (1 brownie)
Per brownie: 186 calories; 9.1g fat (4.2g sat; 2.2g mono; 1.7g poly); 2.8g protein; 25.4g carb; 1.4g fiber; 30mg chol; 74mg sodium

Review:
The hubs is out of town while I write this, so he'll have to leave a comment later tonight after he tries the brownies, but the kid and I each shoveled one in after his travel soccer game. Delish! I can't say with certainty that this is the best chocolate recipe ever, but peeps, it is pretty frickin' good. Of course, I will now have to have a challenge wihtin a challenge and make all of the other chocoalte recipes provided by Cooking Light in its fun little bake-off battle. I'm sure my family will hate that.

Ranking:
Four Forks

This is what 1/20th of a brownie looks like. I could eat the whole pan.

A Bunch 'o Babka

As you know, we have the good fortune to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas in our house. Not only does this mean a mammoth amount of running around for yours truly to try and make both holidays extra special for the kid, but it also means a mammoth amount of cooking and baking for family celebrations. To be honest, I really prefer the family, cooking and baking part of it, not so much the give give give part. But I digress.

Today we had our annual family Hanukkah party, and I was asked to bring dessert. Luckily, I didn't really need to scour my files that much because I had spotted a new challenge in a recent Cooking Light that I wanted to give a whirl. And it really was a challenge (for me at least) because although I consider myself to be half decent at baking, I don't have that much experience with the whole yeast-dough rising-kneading thing. In fact, I bought ingredients for a back-up dessert in case this one didn't work out.

Rich Chocolate Babka
Source: Cooking Light, November 2011

I'm not going to type the whole thing about because it is super long. So look it up or go buy the magazine. In case you are wondering, "babka," depending on your source, is a pastry of Eastern European descent - Polish, Jewish, blah blah - filled with fruit or chocolate. LUCKILY I am both Jewish AND Polish (and Russian, btw - score on the Eastern European front) so this is a win-win as far as my ancestors are concerned.

This was also a win-win as far as the fam was concerned. It turned out really well and the recipe made so much that we were able to keep half of it at home for our future eating enjoyment. My brother even made note of the lovely swirls. (And there's your shout-out, boy!)

Rating:
Three Forks (It took a really long time to make)

Babka cooling

Extreme babka close-up

Cupcake Wars

OMG - I love the show Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. LOVE IT. I love it when they have the most off-the-wall ingredients, and when that one judge says, "It's a no for me." If you haven't seen it, tune in.

Now that my non-paid and unofficial endorsement is out of the way, let's move on to the task at hand. I did not cook dinner tonight. I had a lovely Meatless Monday dish all planned out, but honestly peeps, I am not that hungry, and the boys were later than usual tonight, so it was shelved for tomorrow's meal. Instead, I whipped out three dozen cupcakes to aid in the celebration of my daughter's first birthday tomorrow.

Now - before my trainer's head spins off its neck at the thought of me downing 36 cupcakes - I will share these cupcakes with my daughter's school and possibly my office (depending on my mood - haha), so they will not all be consumed by our little group.  Most likely, I will only shovel in three or four. I kid, I kid. Maybe.

Mini Oreo Surprise Cupcakes
Source: Kraft Foods, not sure of date

Here's a link to the recipe, along with a fab photo. I have no photos tonight, as the cupcakes are still cooling. Obviously my cupcakes will look exactly like those in the picture. Can we say work of art?

Reviews:
While I can't comment on taste, I can comment on preparation. Overall fairly easy to prep. I decided to double the recipe with the hope of making four dozen, but could only squeeze out three dozen, so I think the recipe (or my measurements?) was slightly off. I'm also not sure what the judge from Cupcake Wars would say about the cakes, but I bet my not-as-critical fam will approve.

Ranking:
Three Forks


Late breaking update: Here's a picture of the cupcakes in all their delish glory, as snapped by KSkull:

December-palooza

And we're officially off to the races! December is an insane month for our little family. We have the pleasure of observing both Christmas and Hanukkah - with multiple family celebrations, of course - and last year, we were blessed with the addition of a sweet little girl mid-December. Holy craziness, Batman! And of course, for you lucky blog readers, this means you might just get a few extra posts thrown in... you are very welcome for that.

Today we kicked off the month-long festivities by putting up the tree and other holiday-y accessories. This always involves the boys doing all of the grunt work while I point and gently critique, and me baking something for a mid-grunt-work break. The baby added all sorts of fun and games, with ample box climbing, ornament grabbing and overall mischievousness.

White Chip Brownies
Source: Very Best Baking

I am not going to type this in. Look it up - that's what I did. I only made this because I mysteriously had some white chocolate chips on hand.

Stray white chip

I also made soup today, because I felt like it.
Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Source: Taste of Home Heartwarming Soups, Fall 2011

I am also not going to type this in - because I don't feel like it. Yes - I'm being lazy tonight. Yes, I'm tired from the ample amount of celebration running around I did this weekend. OH I love this season so much.

A nutritional powerhouse!

Finally, for dinner we had:
Quesadilla Casserole
Source: Clean Eating Classic Comfort Foods, Fall 2011

A little extra cheese... just because

Reviews:
First - the brownies. The hubs may have said, "I could eat this entire pan in one sitting," so I guess he liked them. I, on the other hand, thought they were OK. But, this is because I had an a-ha moment today: I do not like white chocolate. I thought the actual brownie part was delish, but the white chocolate chips brought them down a notch for me. Blech.

Next - the soup. The soup has an OK flavor - kind of bland and not as thick as I had hoped, but I like the idea of all of the nutrients in the soup (pumpkin! black beans! diced tomatoes!), so I will continue to eat it all week for lunch. The hubs actually ate it for lunch as well and seemed to enjoy it. And don't despair, I made it all no-salt added, just in case you were wondering.

Finally - dinner. This was a four fork day for the hubs. He loved the dinner. I thought it was OK - nothing special. The recipe calls for corn, which I picked out because corn and I are not besties. The kid ate the chicken, and picked out everything else. It was good - just not my usual Clean Eating good.

Rankings:
Brownies: Three Forks
Soup: Two Forks
Dinner: Two Forks

T-Day, Part One

About 15 years ago, when my now-hubs and I moved in together, being young and oh-so-in love, I didn't want to be apart for Thanksgiving (his family lives about four hours from mine). So, I offered to host both families in our little apartment. Completely out of selfish reasons! And while we have moved on to something just a tad bigger than two bedrooms, the hosting gig has stuck. Oh - and so has the hubs. Ha ha ha.

I kind of have this holiday down to a science. I start planning the menu about two weeks in advance, assign various guests their contributions, and do all of my shopping the Sunday before. I also have all sorts of lists - lists of menus, prep schedules, serving dishes to use, etc.

Soooo, today I was scheduled to make several things for tomorrow's main event. I am not going to write out all of the recipes because, ummm, I don't want to. If you want one, contact me. I am also not going to add my typical stellar images because I kind of forgot to take pictures. AND, these are not all clean and healthy and low fat/cal/whatever recipes, even though I still try to select better ingredients when possible. It is Thanksgiving, after all. A celebration of gluttony! Plus, I think my family would freak if I tried to force some sort of low-sodium veggie concoction down their throats instead of 'taters and stuffing.

Of course, I need to add a little bit of fun to tonight's post. Therefore, since today's big focus was dessert, here's a little ditty for you:

Yes - there is a Beatles song for every thing.

Today's list:

• Chocolate Truffle Pie: Betty Crocker Indulgent Desserts, Spring 2007
• Pumpkin Doughnut Muffins: Everyday Food (Martha Stewart), November 2010
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake: Duncan Hines Baking With Love, 1999
• Honey-Spiced Cranberry Sauce: Weight Watchers Magazine, Nov-Dec 2011
• Prep-Ahead Mashed Potatoes: Kraft Food & Family, Holiday 2006

I also made corn bread for corn bread stuffing tomorrow, but will provide specifics upon completion.

Happy night before T-Day... more tomorrow.

Scary Saturday

There's something you should know about me - as much as I love to cook and bake, I am no good at decorating or making food look pretty. You may have already surmised this based on my stellar food images, but as long as it is healthy, tastes good and looks somewhat edible, I'm not all about the food styling.

Of course, some of my friends and neighbors are especially good at this (I'm looking at you, Juls A!). That's why, when I happened across this "recipe" I knew it would be perfect for the annual Halloween fete we are going to tonight. Bring it on! (Is that so Brandi Glanville of me?)

This also fits a number of my requirements for today: Fast, easy and festive. What this does not fit is healthy. But listen, sometimes you just have to go with it. Plus, I have no intention on eating these, because they will probs be way too sweet for me.

Ghost Cookies
Source: Food Network Magazine, October 2011

"Frost" nutter butter or similarly shaped cookies with marshmallow fluff. Dot with black decorating gel. Let set. Eat. Boo!

No rankings, no reviews.

Channeling My Aunt

Although both of my parents are only children (weird, right?), my grandfather (92 years-old and "still vertical" - his words, not mine) had four older sisters - my aunts. Although one passed long before I was born, the other three played a big role in our lives, which included frequent trips to Rhode Island for visits. Luckily for us, all of my aunts (pronounced auhnts, btw, seeing as they were proper New Englanders), lived until ripe old ages, and one - Aunt Rose - was "still vertical" when the kid was born.

Aunt Rose was also the resident homebody of the group. While she was an extremely successful special education professional and advocate, she was simply known to us as the Aunt who loved to cook and bake. And baked. She had an amazing home and kitchen, and would even go so far as to send us her specialties via UPS.

Luckily for me, I have inherited not only her love (although not necessarily her talent) for cooking and baking, but also some of her recipes, hand-written in her perfect penmanship. I thought one of her classics would be appropriate for tonight's holiday dinner.

Perfect Apple Pie
Source: Rose Waterman Pierce (my aunt)

Ingredients:

• 6 or 7 tart apples (I used Red Delicious; can also mix varieties)
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine
• Dash of nutmeg
• Dash of salt (skip)

Directions:

• Pare apples and slice thin. Combine sugar, flour, spices and salt; mix with apples. Line 9-inch pie plate with pastry, fill with apple mixture, dot with butter.
• Adjust or put on top crust; sprinkle with sugar for sparkle. (!!)
• Bake in 400 degree oven for 50 minutes or until done.

Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 3 c. flour
• 1 c. margarine
• 3 tbsp water (I used a bit more)

Directions:

• Mix flour & margarine thoroughly until very crumbly. Mix in water until smooth. Form into ball, then divide ball into two balls. Roll out one ball until flat and not thick. Use as bottom crust. Roll out second ball and cover apples.

Is my pie sparkling?

Unfortunately, my husband does not like "fruity desserts," so I also made brownies.

Double Chocolate Brownies
Source: American Medical Association's Family Health Cookbook (1997)

Ingredients:

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 tsp instant coffee
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 oz (1 square) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp smooth applesauce
• 1 c. and 2 tbsp of sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 baking pan with spray.
• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, coffee, baking powder and salt. In a 2 or 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted, then stir in the applesauce and sugar until blended. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites and vanilla. Whisk the egg mixture into the saucepan, then add the dry ingredients and stir until blended and smooth.
• Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake until the brownies are just firm and begin to pull away from the edges, 20-25 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes.

Yield: 16 squares
Per serving: 123 calories; 3g fat (2g sat); 19mg chol; 79mg sodium; 23g carbs

The applesauce makes them perfect for the holiday

And FINALLY, I also made a side dish for dinner. There is nothing even remotely clean about this, and I would not make it for a typical family meal. However, it is very fast, very easy, very tasty, and most important, due to some dietary restrictions in our fam, perfect the the entire group.

One-Pan Mac & Cheese
Source: Kraft Food & Family (not sure of date)

Ingredients:

• 2 pkg Kraft Mac & Cheese
• 4 c. boiling water
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, cut up
• 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 24 Ritz crackers, crushed

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Place macaroni in prepared dish. Stir in boiling water, cover with foil.
• Bake 15 minutes, stirring after 7 minutes.
• Stir in cheese sauce, milk and butter. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and crushed crackers. Bake, uncovered, an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and crackers begin to brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Reviews:
In addition to all of the above, I also brought last night's honey cake so my family could sample it. Overall, they all really enjoyed every item. I knew the mac & cheese would be a hit b/c I've made it before. The kid had two helpings of brownie (special dinner, peeps - not normally how we roll), everyone liked the honey cake and the pie was declared a "thing of beauty" by my mother. While I wouldn't necessarily go that far (refer to the above picture), I am also pleased with how everything turned out. Even my bro, who is the official pie connoisseur (my Aunt always made the pies especially for him), declared the crust excellent. The brownies, btw, are very sweet. And one more btw - my family is not one of those overly polite crews - if they didn't like something, they would totes report it. I guess the New England prim and properness from my Aunt's generation has lost its was down here in the NEO!

Ranking:
Only because I always listen to my momma, she declared tonight's effort four forks. Thanks for the inspiration, Aunt Rose!

Happy New Year!

That's right peeps, tonight marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. While we will celebrate this holy holiday tomorrow with my entire family, tonight my little nuclear group commemorated it on our own.

One of the things that I find so interesting about Judaism is all of its symbolism. One of the things I find so interesting about religion overall, in fact, are the traditions - both family-born and long-standing. In our "halfie" house, we celebrate pretty much every holiday, so as we teach our children and create our own traditions, I really enjoy the ongoing education.

Woah - deep thoughts!

Anywho, some of the symbolic foods for Rosh Hashanah include (in a super-over-simplified way): round challah loaves (unending circle of life); apples dipped in honey (renewing for a good and sweet year); honey cake (another way to mark a sweet new year); and many more.

Although we skipped some of the symbolic foods, I did manage to include a couple - namely - a round challah loaf (store-bought) and homemade honey cake. Our main course also included a honey component.

Challah... mmmmm

Honey Chicken with Crumb-Topped Tomatoes
Source: Good Housekeeping Best Chicken Dishes (1999)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed (used boneless breast of chicken)
• 1/4 c. Dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (didn't use fresh)
• 2 large tomatoes, cut in half horizontally
• 1 slice firm-textured bread, torn into small pieces
• 2 tbsp parm cheese
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1/4 tsp salt (skip)
• 1/3 tsp pepper (skip)
• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 13x9 glass baking dish with foil. Place chicken, skinned side up, in dish.
• In a small bowl, mix mustard, honey, curry powder and lemon juice. Brush mixture over chicken. Bake chicken, uncovered, 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place tomatoes, cut-side up, in 8x8 glass baking dish. In small bowl, stir together bread, parm, parsley, salt and pepper. Sprinkle crumb mixture over tomato halves. Spray each tomato lightly with cooking spray.
• After chicken has baked 40 minutes, place tomatoes in same oven and bake for 20 minutes longer or until heated through and chicken is golden brown. (Note: I have a double oven, and b/c I used boneless chicken, I only cooked it for about 35 minutes and cooked the tomatoes at the same time in my second oven.)
• Arrange chicken and tomato halves on plates. Spoon any remaining glaze over chicken.

Yield: 4 servings
Per serving: 325 calories; 45g protein; 23g carbs; 4g total fat (1 g sat); 2g fiber; 109mg choles; 720mg sodium

I served our chicken with Trader Joe's mushroom risotto. Yes frozen. Yes easy. (150 calories/350mg sodium per 1c. serving)

GA would love this tomato

Honey Cake
Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 3.5c all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder (I use sodium free)
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1-1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 c. honey
• 1/2 c. strong brewed coffee (Starbucks, duh)
• 1/2 c. almonds (skip)
• 1/2 c. raisins (skip)
• 1.5 c. honey
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 2 oz. slivered almonds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, gradually adding the sugar. Beat until thick and light in color, about 5 minutes. Beat in the oil, honey and coffee. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture. Chop almonds and mix with raisins, stir into batter.
• Oil the two pans (what two pans? I used one 13x9) and line the bottom with waxed paper. Oil again. (Huh? Just sprayed it down) Fill each pan with batter to within 1-1/4 inches from the top. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until cake tests done. Let cool for 10 minutes and remove from pan.
• To make glaze (skipped this whole step): Boil together 1.5 c. honey, lemon juice, zest and water. When glaze reaches a thick consistency, remove from heat and drizzle over cake. Sprinkle with almond slivers.

Yield: 24 servings (!?!?!)
Per serving: 316 calories; 6.1g fat; 35mg choles; 122mg sodium; 65.2g carbs; 4.3g protein
(This assumes all of the items I skipped, btw)

Honey-tastic

Reviews:
First up, the main event. Chicken turned out really well - very juicy. I liked the tomato, the boys - who each managed to choke down just one teeny bite - did not. In fact, the hubs wrinkled his nose, ala a 5-year-old. Awesome. Luckily, both also liked the chicken. It was also fast and easy to prepare, and the curry added a bit of interest.

Confession: I do not like honey cake. I have never found it to be that flavorful, particularly b/c I'm a chocolate gal at heart. But, in wanting to do something traditional (and also in wanting to make the house smell delish), I went with it. I had the teeniest of pieces and thought it was pretty good. For honey cake.

Ranking:
A solid three forks for both.

Smell-tastic Sunday

Why Smell-tastic Sunday? First, I like the alliteration. That's always uber-important to me. Second, I made two dishes today that filled our house with lovely scents.

After the massive fail of my crock pot cake on Friday and at the request of the kid, I made brownies. He actually asked for "my famous brownies" which are neither famous nor mine (think boxed brownies in a rush). Instead, I made brownies from scratch, because they are healthier and I once again had all of the ingredients on hand. And let's be honest - I like brownies.

For dinner, I turned to one of those cookbooks that I bought with great aspirations of doing every recipe - I even went through it and put sticky notes on my possible faves - and have since picked it up maybe once. Kind of what this challenge is all about, huh? Anyway, the Moroccan Chicken - like the brownies earlier today - has filled the house with a what I can only imagine is the scent of Morocco, seeing that I have not (yet) visited said country. Unlike the RHONYC. (Actually, the house kind of smells oniony-cinnamony-cuminy all wrapped into one. I bet Morocco doesn't smell quite like that.)

Side note - I heart the Emmy's. Who doesn't love Jane Lynch? And the Fashion Police the next day? Obvs I'm tuning in until I get booted by the hubs for football. Or fall asleep.

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils
Source: The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, by Tosca Reno (2007)

Ingredients:

• 8c water
• 3 tsp salt (skip)
• 1 lb dried lentils, rinsed, drained and picked through
• 1/4 c. plus 2 tbsp evoo
• 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced (used refrigerated minced)
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 1 c. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (skip - I have decided I don't like parsley)

Directions:

• Combine water and 1 tsp salt in stock pot over high heat. Add lentils. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes. Drain well. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Place in large bowl and set aside.
• In a small bowl, mix 1/4c olive oil, vinegar, 2 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp chili powder, garlic, and 1 tsp sea salt. Pour this dressing over lentils. Toss gently and let cool.
• In large skillet heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Add onion and saute until well cooked, about 5 minutes. Onion should appear dark brown and soft. Add chicken and saute 2 minutes more. Add 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Saute until poultry is cooked through.
• Arrange lentils on a large serving platter. Place sliced chicken on top of lentils. Use remaining dressing and pour over chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Yield: 12 servings (I assumed 4oz chicken, 1c. lentils - but this book does not break it down. Annoying.)
Per serving: 391 calories; 28g protein; 25g carbs; 5g fiber; 3g sugars; 20g fat; 564mg sodium

Reviews:
I like my food hot, so instead of letting the lentils cool, and serving the food at room temperature, I made the chicken (and the accompanying rolls for the boys) at the same time the lentils were cooking, so I could serve it all at once, hot. I also didn't use even close to all of the dressing - the boys don't like a lot of sauce, and just little drizzles over the lentils and chicken were enough. That said, both the hubs and I liked this dish a lot - lots of flavor, very satisfying. The hubs offered that he usually doesn't enjoy my lentil dishes (huh?), but he really liked how they were prepared tonight. The kid thought the whole meal was just so-so.

Ranking:
Three Forks

Would the Countess approve of this Moroccan dish?

Irresistible Brownies
Source: Prevention magazine, October 2009

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder (I use sodium-free)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 c. dark brown sugar
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 c. mini chips (used 1/2 c.)
• 1 c. chopped walnuts (skip - don't like walnuts)

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with cooking spray.
• Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in large bowl.
• Put sugar, oil, egg and egg white in small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Pour into flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts (batter will be stiff).
• Spread batter in prepared pan. Put in oven and bake 20-22 minutes or until it comes out clean.

Yield: 8 bars
Nutritional info per serving (this is with the walnuts): 305 cals; 5g protein; 31g carb; 2g fiber; 22g fat (2g sat fat); 73mg sodium

Reviews:
Easy to prepare, but instead of coming out cake-like or kind of puffy, the brownies are very flat - they didn't rise at all, which was kind of disappointing. That said, the flavor is super-delish. Very chocolatey and decadent. The hubs and my 'rents also enjoyed as I so generously brought them samples to try at travel soccer. The kid didn't get a chance to taste one because he had ice cream instead (we don't roll with unlimited sugar).

Ranking:
Three Forks


Halle Berry at the Emmy Awards a few years ago. FYI, in case you were wondering, this is not me.



Hot Mess

"Hot mess" is a favorite phrase of my lovely blog designer, K-Skull, but it is also appropriate for tonight's post.

I normally do not cook on Friday nights. I'm too tired, or not all of us are home (meaning the boys since the baby goes to bed at 7p these days), so we usually order in, grill out or just eat whatever. I did not cook tonight, but I did attempt to continue my crock pot success with a crock pot-based dessert.

I have always breezed right by these recipes, because it honestly seems weird to me that you can bake a cake in a crock pot. Tonight I decided to give it a whirl because I had everything on hand, and who doesn't love a little warm chocolate cake on a chilly evening.

Hot Fudge Cake
Source: Crock Pot Slow Cooker Best-Loved Recipes (2006)

Ingredients:

• 1-3/4c packed light brown sugar
• 2 c. flour
• 1/4 c. plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus additional for dusting, if desired
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c. milk
• 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3.5 c. boiling water

Directions:

• Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Mix 1 c. sugar, flour, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Pour into crock pot.
• Blend remaining 3/4 c. sugar and 1/4 c. cocoa powder in small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over mixture in crock pot. Pour in boiling water. Do not stir.
• Cover, cook on high 1-1/4 to 1.5 hours or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow cake to rest for 10 minutes, then invert onto serving platter or scoop into serving dishes. Serve warm; dust with cocoa powder, if desired.

Yield: 6-8 servings
(No nutritionals on this one)

Reviews:
When I checked it at the 1-1/4 mark, it was still a gloppy, watery mess. Then, I checked at the four hour mark and called it a night. This cake is not happening. The end "result" is kind of cakey on the bottom, and super watery all over. I guess my great experiment in baking a crock pot cake is also a massive fail. Oh well. The kid has already hit me up for another dessert over the weekend.

Ranking:
One Fork

Baking for a Break

We had quite the interesting evening last night on our little cul-de-sac. The least important - there was a false fire alarm a couple of houses down, sending us nosy neighbors out into the rain to check things out around 10p (usually way past my bedtime, btw). And, earlier in the evening, my kid's best bud across the road tumbled off his trampoline and endured a pretty nasty arm break. Ick.

We were supposed to have the kid's first flag football game today, but due to rain, it was cancelled, so I took the opportunity to whip out some cookies for our peeps across the street. I doubled the recipe so we could also benefit from the cookies (duh), and since I completely and totally forgot to tell my parents that the flag football game was cancelled and they went anyway, they will also receive some cookies.

I happened across this recipe whilst (!) planning my weekly meals, and saw that I had every single ingredient on hand. That's called a no-brainer, peeps.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Cooking Light, July 2009

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. mashed ripe banana (about 1 medium)
• 1/2 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. butter, softened
• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 5.6 oz all-purpose flour (about 1.25 cups)
• 2 c. old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add egg; beat well.
• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to banana mixture in bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake for 18 minutes or until golden. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

Yield: 2 dozen (serving size: 1 cookie)
Per cookie: 115 calories; 3.6g fat (sat: 2g; mono 1.1g; poly: 0.3g) protein: 2g; carb: 19.1g; fiber: 1.2g; chol: 14mg; sodium: 121mg calc: 10mg

Reviews:
First: Notice what's missing? Oil! Yay!
Second: This was very easy to prepare, and I was able to whip out two batches very quickly. Also - typically when I make cookies (not too often - kind of suck at it, to be honest) - the yield is never true to recipe. But this time it was! This made a ton of cookies!
Third: The kid thought the cookie was so-so (he threw half out), but both the hubs and I liked these cookies a lot. Think kind of crunchy banana chocolate chip bread. Bam!

Ranking:
Three Forks

Other random ranking: Ohio State: ZERO FORKS for the almost heart-attack they gave Buckeye Nation today.

Lots of cookies - batch one

Cookie close-up

Four for 40

No blog last night, peeps, but I was absolutely in the kitchen, prepping for my parents' 40th anniversary shin-dig at the boy's house today.

First - kudos to my parents for being married for 40 years! As my father so nicely pointed out, "we are one of the few who have made it this long." Romance is obviously not dead.

Next - although we are not the largest of families, we do love our grub. And, since I love to cook and bake, and am not particularly good at editing myself, I tend to over-do it on certain occasions. Dear readers, you will continue to see this inability to pare down my selections unfold as we have more holidays and family gatherings throughout the year. I guess this also corresponds with my overwhelming bounty of recipe selections.

Anyway, for the 40th anniversary cookout (six adults, four kids - only one of which is in elementary school, btw) - I made four items. Not all of them are necessarily healthy, but so it goes. I am not going to list out all of the recipes for each one, because that will result in a super-long post. And one thing I can edit is writing.

Selection One
Lo Mein Noodle Salad
Source: Betty Crocker Potlucks & Barbecues, June/July 2009

Note: I used to love those little cookbooks that line grocery aisle - the paperback ones. I probably have 30. Most of them are not healthy recipes, so you won't see me pull too many from there nor do I buy them anymore, but they do have great potluck/company/apps/dessert choices when I am not as concerned with the whole clean eating factor.

Reviews:
My family loves this recipe - especially my father. It is very fast and easy. It includes lo mein noodles, a peanut butter sauce, edamame, green onions and red peppers. I've made it many, many times and it is always a winner. Delish.

Lo Mein Noodle Salad

Selection Two
Creamy Potato Salad Made Over
Source: Kraft Food & Family, Summer 2006

Reviews:
Again - very easy to prepare. The whole point of this recipe is to make potato salad less fattening - it is only 150 cals/serving (3/4 c), vs. the traditional (approx) 340 cals. I doubled the recipe because 1 lb of red potatoes (as it calls for) just didn't seem like enough. But, I think doubling the dressing (mayo, zesty Italian dressing, Dijon mustard) made it a little too creamy for my taste. My family really liked it - my mother loved the dressing, and my SIL enjoyed the hard boiled eggs.

Creamy Potato Salad

Selection Three
Lemon Crumb Cake
Source: Duncan Hines Baking with Love, 1999 (another one of those grocery-aisle booklets)

Reviews:
Peeps, I do not like lemon desserts. Blech. However, my father and SIL both love it, so I went with it. Very fast and easy to prepare, although the "crumb" topping didn't really turn out very crumby and kind of sunk to the bottom. My SIL noted that it was not too lemony, in a good way (i.e., doesn't make your mouth curdle?).


Lemon Crumb Cake, sans crumbs

Selection Four
Deep-Chocolate Angel Food Cake
Source: Weight Watchers, Jan/Feb 2010

Reviews:
I made a chocolate angel food cake especially for my mom, who loves angel food cake and chocolate. I didn't necessarily select this recipe because it was healthy or less calories, but because it sounded good. It was kind of a pain in the butt to make, to be honest. It calls for grated chocolate, which I did by hand. Really? However, I was surprised at how cleanly it came out of the bundt pan and how well it turned out. Very light, and my mother really liked it (after mentioning she knew what a pain this was to prepare).

Sideways picture for deep-chocolate cake