Golden White Chunk Nutty Bars

by penji1

This recipe comes from the “Mrs Fields I Love Chocolate!” cookbook.  I made these for Bob’s Sunday School class but they didn’t eat them all so I need to get them out of the house!

2 cups flour

1/2 teasoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded coconut

2 teaspoons vanilla

10 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 10 ounces of white chocolate chips)

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 300.  Grease a 9 x 13″ pan.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  In a mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat in eggs, coconut and vanilla, then blend slowly until smooth.  Add flour, chocolate and nuts.  Scrape dough into prepared pan and level and smooth surface.  Bake 40 – 45 minutes, or until center is set and top is golden.  Cool to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Easy Garden Bake

by penji1

I received this recipe in an email from “Eat Better America” which comes from General Mills.  Bob and I are in the process of a” Lifestyle Change”, NOT A DIET!  🙂  We are counting calories and exercising and trying in general to be healthier so some of the recipes that will be showing up here will hopefully be on the healthier side but that does not include all the treat recipes which will not be healthier but will mostly be for other people and removed from the house as quickly as possible!  The thing I’ve noticed about a lot of these healthy recipes and a lot of recipes in general is that you can make them as healthy or as fatty as you like!  The zucchini and tomatoes I used were from the garden; I strolled on out there and picked them fresh.  Enjoy!

1 cup chopped zucchini

1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup) (I used grape tomatoes since that’s what we have in our garden)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (I used fat free Cheddar)

1/2 cup Bisquick Heart Smart mix (I used regular Bisquick)

1 cup fat free (skim) milk

1/2 cup fat free egg product or 2 eggs (I went with the eggs)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1  Heat oven to 400.  Lightly spray 8″ square (2 quart) glass baking dish or 9″ pie plate with cooking spray.  Sprinkle zucchini, tomato, onion and cheese in baking dish.

2  In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until blended.  Pour over vegetables and cheese.

3  Bake uncovered about 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 5 minutes.

(One serving is 1/4 of the pan and has 150 calories!)

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Cookie Dough Truffles

by penji1

On Tuesday I went to the “Taste of Home Cooking School” at Thanksgiving Point in the Barn with my friend Diane.  They make a bunch of recipes and give you cooking tips and they have lots of prize giveaways from their sponsors and at the end of the night they give away all the food they’ve made.  I’ve been going for probably 5 years now and have never won a thing, I think I’m due!  Anyway, this was one of the recipes that they demonstrated that night and I knew I had treats to make today for my friend Terra’s wedding shower so I decided to give these a try.  They really are easy to make and they are so good!  The filling really does taste like cookie dough.  I highly recommend them!

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (one of the tips she gave at the cooking show was that if your brown sugar was a little hard, you could put it in the microwave for a few seconds and it would soften right up and so mine was a little hard and I put it in for about 20 seconds and it worked!)

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (since I was taking them to a shower, I left the nuts out since you never know who’s allergic)

1 1/2 pounds dark chocolate candy coating, coarsely chopped (I used a 1 1/4 pound package of chocolate flavored almond bark and had some left over after dipping the truffles)

1  In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla.  Gradually add flour, alternating with milk, beating well after each addition.  Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Shape into 1″ balls and place on wax paper lined baking sheets.  Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1 – 2 hours or until firm.

2  In a microwave safe bowl, melt the candy coating, stirring until smooth.  Dip the balls in the coating, allowing excess to drip off then place on wax paper lined baking sheets.  Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.  Store in refrigerator.

(I got about 48 truffles from this recipe.)

Harvest Chicken Salad

by penji1

A Pampered Chef salad recipe, they have such good ones.  Don’t let the dressing recipe scare you, it’s really very easy.

dressing:

2 oranges

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons mustard

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 small clove garlic, pressed

salad:

1 (6 oz) package fresh baby spinach leaves

2 cups diced roasted chicken (I used 1 large barbequed chicken breast)

1 cup diced celery

2 medium Red Delicious apples (I used Braeburn this time, not really a fan of Red Delicious)

1/2 cup chopped red onion

3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries

1/2 cup toasted pecan halves (I used almonds.  Toasting is easy, just microwave the nuts for a minute at a time, stirring after each minute, until the nuts become very aromatic and start to brown slightly, I think it took about 3 minutes to do the almonds this time.)

For dressing, zest 1 orange to measure 2 teaspoons zest.  Juice oranges to measure 1/2 cup juice.  Combine zest, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk until smooth.  While continuously whisking, slowly add orange juice in a thin, steady stream until smooth and well blended.

For salad, place spinach in large bowl.  Dice chicken and celery.  Cut apples in half, remove stems and seeds, cut each half into 4 wedges and cut wedges into small pieces.  Chop onion.  Layer chicken, celery, apples, onion, cranberries and pecans over spinach.  To serve, drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat.

Broccoli and Feta Frittata

by penji1

I’ve always wanted to make a frittata so when I saw this recipe in “All You” magazine, I knew it was finally time to try one.  It was so good!  We’ll be making this again for sure, trying different combinations of fillings.

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 onion, finely diced

2 cups chopped broccoli florets

salt and pepper

7 large eggs

3 oz feta, crumbled (3 oz was a lot so I went with 2 oz)

1  In an 8″ ovenproof nonstick skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Toss in broccoli, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 6 minutes longer.

2  Preheat broiler to high and set an oven rack 4″ from heat source.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs; season with additional salt and pepper.  Pour eggs over vegetables, stir to combine, then dot surface with feta.  Cook, without stirring, until eggs are set on bottom and beginning to set on top, about 5 minutes.  Transfer pan to oven and broil until eggs are set and beginning to brown, 2 – 3 minutes.

Grilled Chicken with Cucumber, Radish and Cherry Tomato Relish

by penji1

With Fall on the way, we’re trying to get in as much barbequing as possible before the weather changes too much.  This is a perfect Summer barbeque dinner from Martha Stewart, light and tasty and easy!

1/4 cup white wine vinegar, plus more to taste

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon sugar

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 small jalapeno chile, stem removed, quartered (you can also remove the seeds and ribs for a milder version, which is what I did)

salt and pepper

1 English cucumber (12 oz) peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4″ dice (I had seedless mini cucumbers from Costco in my fridge so I used 12 oz of those which was about 5 and chose to keep the skins on since that is how they are meant to be eaten)

5 radishes, very thinly sliced

8 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large (I used grape tomatoes from my garden)

1 small red onion, cut into 1/4″ dice

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (2 pounds)

oil for grill

1 cup fresh mint, torn into 1/2″ pieces, plus sprigs for garnish (didn’t have any so left it off)

1  Bring vinegar, water, sugar, garlic, jalapeno and 3/4 teaspoon salt to a boil.  Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.  Strain through a fine sieve and discard solids.  Let cool completely.

2  Combine cucumber, radishes, tomatoes and onion in a medium bowl.  Pour in vinegar mixture and toss to coat.

3  Preheat grill to medium high.  Season chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.  Lightly oil the grill grate.  Working in batches, grill chicken until cooked through, 6 – 7 minutes per side.  Transfer to a platter and let stand for 10 minutes.  Stir mint into relish.  Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with vinegar if desired.  Spoon relish on top of chicken and garnish with mint sprigs.

Alaskan Prize Pack Giveaway Winner Announced!

by penji1

First of all, I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading about your dining experiences.  They were unique and varied and fun.  And now on to the announcement of the winner!  The Alaskan Prize Pack consisting of an Ulu knife, a set of Pasta and Salad Paws and 4 oz of Smoked Salmon goes to my neighbor and friend, TERESA PACE!  Congratulations Teresa!  I will bring your prize over to you later today.  (FYI  I always choose the giveaway winners in a random drawing and my husband Bob chooses the name.)  If you didn’t win, stay tuned because I already have the prize ready to go for my next giveaway which will be at the beginning of October.  Thank you all for subscribing and thank you for sharing your dining experiences with me!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Crumble Cupcakes

by penji1

I’ve made these once before but they came out so much better this time, not sure why.  This recipe is from Wendy Paul’s “101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes” which I’ve already professed my love for on this blog.  (I’m thinking about getting a copy or two of it and giving it away on the blog; I’ll get to that eventually.)  My Sunday School class was coming over for a barbeque today and so these treats were for them.  They smelled so good while baking!

1 box chocolate cake mix, 1/2 cup reserved (I used Devil’s Food)

3 eggs

1 cup milk

2 cups peanut butter chips

1/2 cup quick oats

4 tablespoons butter, softened (I softened it in the microwave until it was on the verge of melting)

powdered sugar

ice cream

chocolate syrup

Mix together cake mix, eggs and milk.  In a separate bowl, combine peanut butter chips, oats, butter and reserved 1/2 cup cake mix with a fork until small crumbles appear (make sure it’s a fairly large bowl so you have room to mix it all together, I stared with a medium size one and had to go to a larger one).  Scoop batter in paper liners, filling 2/3 full.  Top with a spoonful of peanut butter crumbles, dividing evenly among all cupcakes.

Bake at 350 for 18 – 20 minutes.  Cake will be uneven on top.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.  Serve with a garnish of ice cream on top of these warm cupcakes, drizzled with chocolate syrup.

(Just a note, I got about 18 cupcakes from this recipe.)

Chunky Chocolate and Almond Bars

by penji1

Chunky Chocolate and Almond Bars

Neighborhood party tonight and I signed up to make cookies or brownies.  Perfect time to try out a new recipe such as this one from Betty Crocker.  Courtney and I nibbled at the pieces that fell off in the pan while I was cutting them up and they were so good!  Gooey and yummy!  Easy to make too.

crust:

1 box chocolate fudge cake mix (I used Devil’s Food)

1/2 cup butter, softened

topping:

4 eggs

1 cup dark corn syrup (I only had light corn syrup so used that instead)

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 cups salted roasted whole almonds, coarsely chopped (I used a combo of salted/roasted and raw)

6 oz dark or bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped (I just used 1 cup of semisweet chips)

1  Heat oven to 350.  Place cake mix in medium bowl.  Using pastry blender or fork, cut in 1/2 cup butter until crumbly.  Press firmly in ungreased 13 x 9″ pan.  Bake 12 – 14 minutes or until set.

2  In large bowl, beat eggs, corn syrup and 1/4 cup melted butter with wire whisk until smooth.  Stir in almonds and chocolate.  Pour over crust.

3  Bake 25 – 30 minutes longer or until golden brown and set.  Cool 30 minutes.  Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate is firm.  Store covered in fridge.

Kitchen Tip:  Much like the center of a pecan pie, the center of these bars is very moist and may even look raw.  Not to worry – that’s how they should look.

Alaskan Giveaway Last Call!

by penji1

Just a reminder that on Saturday I will choose a winner of the Alaskan prize pack consisting of an Ulu knife, 4 oz of smoked salmon (we just had some for dinner tonight, yummy!) and a set of Salad and Pasta Paws.  All you have to do to enter is subscribe to the blog and/or share 1 – 2 unique dining experiences that you have had (by commenting on this post) for a total of up to 3 entries in the drawing.   Good luck!