Guac!

I didn't even really like guac until I tried this recipe, and now I'm addicted.  I'll be making it for one of my favorite parties of the year tonight, and then again on Monday for Chuck to enjoy with all of the college football games.
I'll also be slicing pita bread into triangles for Monday, and then slightly toasting them in the oven with olive oil and sea salt.  It makes for wonderful homemade, healthy pita chips!



Chunky Guacamole
3 large avocados
1 small red onion, chopped
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 lemon, juiced
fresh cilantro
sea salt

Directions
1. Take flesh out of avocados and place into large bowl
2. Add onion, tomatos, lemon juice, and cilantro into bowl with avocado.  Mash together, into chunks, with fork (do not use blender, unless you want smooth guac.)

I couldn't even get the picture taken before it was 1/2 way devoured!

There's No Such Thing As Too Much Baking

As if Thanksgiving week wouldn't be busy enough, I decided that we needed some yummy baked goods in the house to start off the week.  So I made cookies.  I left just enough in the house to get us to Wednesday, and brought in the rest for my coworkers this morning.  They really do go wonderfully with coffee first thing in the morning.

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cookies
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark dutch cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
15 oz canned pumpkin

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in bowl.  Set aside.
3. Beat butter in separate bowl.  Add in sugar and brown sugar, beat well.  Add in eggs and pumpkin, beat well.
4. Slowly stir dry ingredient mix into butter mixture, until fully blended.
5. Scoop onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake for 15 minutes.

It's the Perfect Season for Crockpots

In an attempt to make a dish that would serve quite a few dinners, limit my prep time, and keep our belly's full and warm (and not bigger!) I turned to a good old chili.  It can be made with turkey or beef, though I used organic beef for this batch.
It is perfect for freezing, too.  We'll be defrosting the second half of the batch this weekend.

Chipotle Chili
2 pounds ground beef or turkey
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 cup chili powder
25 ounces low sodium beef broth
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup stout beer
2 tbsp canned chipotle chilies, diced finely
2 tbsp yellow cornmeal
31 ounces canned black beans, drained

Directions
1. Saute beef for about 8 minutes over high heat, or until beef is nicely browned.  (You don't have to do this step, but it really helps hold the nice beef flavor in the finished product.)
2. Add beef to crock pot.  Add in onions, garlic, chili powder, beef broth, tomatoes, beer, and chipotle chilies. Mix well.
3. Slowly add in cornmeal and beans.  Mix well.
4. Turn crock pot on high for 6 hours.

How can you not love the simplicity of a good crock pot recipe?

Happy Halloween!

I made this for our work Halloween party to have some dessert that was a bit of a break from all of the chocolate and candy.  The cake has a great pumpkin/fall flavor, and the frosting is not at all overwhelmed by cream cheese or maple.  It really is the perfect fall balance.

I'm thinking I might try making this again for Thanksgiving breakfast, and taking out a bit of the sugar, while swapping out the frosting for a drizzled cinnamon sugar glaze.

Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Cake:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (like Libby's)
2/3 cup toasted chopped walnuts

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup toasted walnut pieces

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13x9 pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Set aside.
3. Beat the oil, brown sugar, and sugar in a bowl.  Add in the eggs and mix well. Add in the pumpkin puree and beat until well blended.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the oil and sugar mixture.  Add the toasted walnuts.
5. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out completely clean.
6.  Allow cake to cool completely before icing.
7. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together.  Then beat in the maple syrup, followed by the confectioners sugar.  If the mixture does not seem to spread easily, add some additional maple syrup.  If it appears runny, add in additional confections sugar.
8. Ice the cake and add the toasted walnuts on top.

Happy Halloween!

The Most Delicious Brownies EVER

The title is about all that needs saying.  I'm probably going to eat another one as soon as I finish posting the recipe.

Midnight Brownies
1 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/3  cups dark dutch cocoa (the dark makes a big difference, so make sure it's not regular dutch cocoa!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp espresso powder
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 c dark chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9"x13" baking pan.
2. Melt butter over low heat.  While still over the heat, add the sugar and stir to combine.  Turn the burner to low and leave the mixture on.  Stir occasionally.  (If the mixture begins to bubble, remove from heat briefly.  Place back over the heat while you are finishing the third step.)
3. While the sugar and butter is still over the heat, combine the eggs, cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Add the butter and sugar mixture into the egg mixture.  Stir well.
5. Allow the mixture to sit and cool for about 2 minutes.  Then stir in the flour chocolate chips.  This will allow the chips to slightly melt, but still maintain their form (it makes the chips melt in your mouth in the final product!)
6. Pour the batter into the baking pan.  Bake for 30 minutes, until sides have pulled away from pan.  If you test with a toothpick, it should come out with a few moist crumbs still on it (but not a ton)
7.  As they are gooey, allow for them to fully cool (maybe 2 hours?) until you cut them.  Wet the knife blade between cutting new rows/pieces.

Long Overdue for a Healthy Dinner

We've been eating, well, not as well as we should have been eating lately.  So on Friday we decided to kick off the weekend on a healthy note.  I tried a roasted bell pepper stuffed with quinoa at Salt Creek Grille a few months back and LOVED it (though I am normally not a fan of quinoa, it's just too bland in most dishes).  So I re-created it at home and came up with a very tasty, and extremely healthy dish.

Roasted Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa (for 2)
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced scallions
1/8  cup minced garlic
Dash of salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon of any spices you desire (we used rosemary and cumin, but any of your favorites will work)
2 red bell peppers
1 cup uncooked quinoa
*The great thing with this recipe is that you can add in pretty much whatever you have around the kitchen.  Some people serve this dish with mushrooms, carrots, and zucchini in it.  Others with lemon and cheese.  If you add in larger vegetables or other foods, simply reduce the amount of quinoa by about 1/4 cup.

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut off the tops of the peppers, and remove seeds.  Very lightly brush some oil on the outside and and inside of the red peppers.  Place inside oven and allow to cook until sides are soft, but still in tact (and upright.)
3. While peppers are cooking, cook quinoa according to box directions.
4. While quinoa is cooking, sautee the onions, garlic, and scallions.
5. Add in spices and continue to mix.
6. Remove peppers from oven, and pour the quinoa mixture into the pepper shells.  Place back in oven for 10 minutes.

5. Once quinoa is cooked, add it into the onions, garlic, and scallions.  Mix well and add in spices.

Chicken Fajitas

Fajitas are pretty much one of my favorite dishes of all time.  Well, really anything Mexican will please my palate.  One of my favorite standby recipes is my chicken lime fajitas, which seemed like a nice meal for the first night of football (not to worry, we had wings for the 1pm games.)

Chicken Lime Fajitas
3 skinless chicken breasts
3 limes
1 clove of garlic
2 sprigs of fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil

6 tortillas

Accompaniments:
1/2 of an avocado
2 red peppers
1/2 of a yellow onion
salsa

Directions:
1. Place chicken breasts into one gallon size plastic bag.
2. Cut up limes into wedges (I quartered each one).  Squeeze over chicken breasts and toss lime wedges (after squeezing) into plastic bag.
3. Mince garlic and dice cilantro.  Add to bag.
4. Pour olive oil in bag.  Seal bag and use fingers to mix ingredients around.
5. Allow to marinate.  I let it marinate overnight, but a few hours would be fine.

6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
7. Grease 13x9 baking pan and lay chicken breasts flat.  Place lime wedges on and around chicken, and dump remainder of marinade in the pan.
8. Cook for 30-35 minutes.
9. Slice into strips and place onto warmed tortillas.  Add whatever accompaniments your heart desires.  We used a little homemade corn salsa, sliced avocado, and some yellow onion and red pepper sauteed in olive oil.

Happy Eating!


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

It's Almost Fall!

Happy Labor Day!  Though not the 'real' beginning of fall, I am still pacing around the room wondering if it's too early to take out my sweaters and cook up all of my favorites.  I think there are two times of year when I get really excited for the change in the season simply because it means my favorite foods are coming my way - summer, for the fresh fruit, and fall, for everything pumpkin, squash, and cinnamon.

So while my loving fiancee is passed out on the couch (after all, what else are days off for?), I decided to whip up one of his all-time favorite desserts: pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
15 ounces (one small can) pumpkin
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used dark, but you could certainly use any type, or even cinnamon chips)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.  Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, beat butter.  Add in sugar and beat until smooth.
4. Add the pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture.
5. Blend the dry ingredients into the mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.
6. Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets.  Wet fingers or back of spatula and press down on the cookies to flatten slightly.  The cookies won't spread much so you can place them rather close together.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

We had some great vegetarian chili and some chicken stirfry during the storms this weekend, so I decided to whip up a delicious zucchini bread to go with both dishes.  If you aren't familiar, it is a relatively healthy loaf bread (think banana bread) with a bit more of a mealy texture.  There isn't too much flavor (most eating it will hardly know there's zucchini in it!)

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

2 large eggs
1/8 cup agave or 1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini (about 1 small/medium zucchini)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease and flour a loaf pan.
2. Mix together eggs, agave or honey, oil, sugar, and vanilla.
3. Blend in flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
4. Add in zucchini and nuts, if desired.
5. Pour batter into loaf pan and spread with spatual to make sure top is even.
6. Bake for 60 minutes.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Rainy weather always makes me want to cook something yummy.  This is really probably dangerous given that we're in for another five or so days of storms.

I've got some nectarines that never ripened when I got home - the flavor is good, but they are still hard as a rock.  So I figure my best option was to think about some fun ways to cook them up.

So here's what I'll be cooking up tonight:

Nectarine and Tomato Bruschetta

1 1/2 cups diced nectarines

1 1/4 cups chopped yellow tomato

2/3 cup coarsely chopped arugula

1 tbsp vinegar (you can really play with different kinds here.  White wine is the best bet, but I may try it with apple cider tonight to add some fun and acidity)

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Bread of your choice (I do prefer the French Baguette, but whole wheat will work just as well!)

*(I'm thinking I might also add a bit of mascarpone to the bread tonight and call it dinner.)

Directions

1. Dice and mix, then place it on some deliciously toasted sliced bread!

Later tonight I will also be attempting an almost entirely healthy nectarine crisp (I mean, you can't ditch ALL of the brown sugar - that would just be wrong!)  Hopefully, I'll have the recipe down soon to share with you all.

Baking Frenzy

Last week, I was in one of those moods where I just needed to bake, and bake, and bake.  Most of my friends are out of town this weekend, though, so I knew there would be few people with which to share the delicious treats - so whatever I made would have to be relatively healthy, as it would be sitting in the house with me and my resident cookie monster.


So here's what I made, and let me tell you, YUM.


Cranberry-Oat Bites
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups dried cranberries (unsweetened)
1 cup diced pecans or walnuts


 Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine oats, flour, dried fruit, nuts in a bowl.  Set aside.
3. Cream butter in separate bowl.
4. Add sugar, spices, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla to butter.
5. Beat in the egg.
6. Add in dry mixture and stir well.
7. Place the dough in small mounds (just under a tablespoon) onto parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.  Turn the tray, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.




Chewy Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 2/3 cups dark chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat together the butter, oil, sugars, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt.

3. Add in the vinegar, egg, baking soda, and baking powder.

4. Stir in the flour, then the chocolate chips

5. Place tablespoonfuls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes.

And last but not least...

Lite Banana Bread

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt3 medium bananas

1/2 cup all-natural applesauce
2 large egg, or eggbeaters
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup diced walnuts

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a loaf pan.

2. Beat butter.  Add in sugar and mix well.  

3. Mix in vanilla, baking soda, salt, and bananas.  Leave some chunks of banana.

4. Add in the honey and eggs.

5. Stir in the flour and walnuts.

6. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan, and smooth out.  Let the batter sit in the pan for five minutes at room temperature.

7. Bake for 60-65 minutes, placing a piece of aluminum foil over the top for the last 15 minutes.

I think I'm going to go eat some more leftovers...Enjoy!

Pesto!

Pesto is one of my absolute favorites.  There isn't much better than angel hair pasta with pesto, served warm or cold, though it also makes a great accompaniment for fish, chicken, or steak.  My mom always makes a big batch with fresh herbs in the summer, and then freezes it in an ice cube tray over the winter.  Just pop one out of the ice cube tray when you're ready for a serving, and get that fresh herb feeling while it's cold and snowy outside.

Basil Pesto
2 cups fresh basil
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted and cooled
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Grana Padano Stravecchio (of course, fresh Parmesan always works, too)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
1. Pulse basil leaves, pine nuts, and garlic cloves in food processor until thoroughly chopped.
2. Slowly add oil into food processor, while food processor is on.
3. Add cheese and continue to pulse until mixture is blended.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

More healthy muffins

There's no such thing as too many muffin recipes.  These are delicious, great for your digestive tract, easy to make, relatively inexpensive, and low cal!  Where could this go wrong? I've already had two today...

Wheat Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups plain wheat germ
1 cup nonfat milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Mix together wheat germ and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla.
4. Sift in all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. Stir in bran mixture until just blended. Fold in blueberries.
6. Scoop into muffin cups.
7. Bake in oven for 17 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.

Makes 12 muffins, around 125 calories each.

*You can also make these even better for your digestive tract using wheat bran instead of wheat germ (same quantity in recipe); however, wheat bran can be very difficult to find in your typical grocery chain.*

My apologies for being MIA...

Well in the midst of planning to move, to wed, and celebrating other events with friends, I have failed miserably to keep up the posts.  To make up for my absence, though, I plan to repay you with a few weeks of really good food.  The next few recipes will all be ones that have been in my family for generations, and never seem to let us down.

Nana Ann's Marble Cake

Vanilla section:
1/2 lb butter
1 1/2 c sugar
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla

Chocolate section:
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c milk
5 tbsp butter
2 tbsp chocolate syrup

Directions
1. Mix all ingredients for vanilla section in one bowl. 
2. Mix all ingredients for chocolate section in another bowl. 
3. Alternate pouring the batters into any size cake pan (if you use an 8in, you may need two layers), and swirl mixtures together with a spoon. 
4. Bake for 30-45 minutes at 350, or until toothpick comes out clean.

(Simple right?)  Enjoy!

My Favorite Muffin

My Favorite Muffin used to be (maybe it still exists somewhere) the most delicious muffin place in the food court of a local business park.  Since then, the food court has been replaced by a gym. (I think the world was trying to tell me something...)  They had the most delicious chocolate chocolate chip muffins.  What a better way to start and kill your day?  Most muffins will get your day to a tasty but unhealthy start, as they average around 500 calories and contain minimal protein.

My answer?  These healthy muffins, adapted from a recipe in Women's Health Magazine.  They are a bit smaller, so have one with two scrambled egg beaters or a greek yogurt, and get your day off on the right foot!  They can also make for a wonderful mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

The great thing Women's Fitness advocates about these muffins is that the magazine claims the muffins will actually make you happier, thanks to the combination of omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed, and complex carbs.  I'm not sure if it's true, but I'm happy enough just eating something that tastes this good and summery (and, let's be honest, is a carb.)  Mmm...carbs.

Papaya and Mango Muffins

1 1/2 c whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c diced mango
1 c cubed papaya
1/3 c Chobani greek vanilla or plain yogurt
1 egg serving of egg-beaters
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c agave syrup
1/4 c walnuts
1/2 c dried cranberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
3. In a blender, purée mango, papaya, and yogurt. Mix in egg, oil, sugar, and syrup.
4. Combine mango and flour mixtures; fold in walnuts and cranberries.
5. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on a wire rack.

From Women's Health:
Makes 12. Per muffin: 160 cal, 5 g fat (.5 g sat), 114 mg sodium, 28 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein
*Mine are slightly off, as I used egg-beaters, greek yogurt, and mango, and made a few other minor alterations.  Overall, that should account for less fat and more protein!

Let's Set the Table

I like to eat.  My friends like to eat.  I don't like people who don't like to eat well or spend nine hours a day on the treadmill.  I believe in a really good chocolatey fudgy cake and margaritas.  But I also know that in order to enjoy these treats, there has to be some healthy food for the other meals.  That doesn't mean sacrificing taste, and sliding your veggies under the table anymore, though.  So I'm here, with one of my best friends, to help share a good mix of our favorite healthy and not-so-healthy meals.  We have tips for making healthy versions of some of our favorite pastimes (burgers, fajitas, etcs).  (Out of our own selfishness, you're most likely to get the healthy recipes when one of us sees the scale is up a little bit, and the unhealthy ones when one of us just happens to have had 'one of those days.')

I'm already getting hungry thinking about this...