Fruit Bars

I think I could stay home all day and just make yummy treats. This would be fine if I didn't want to eat all the yummy treats that I made (my taste buds love it, my thighs do not). The reason I love baking so much is because I LOVE eating the things that I make. I have very little desire to make something that I don't like (my husband can attest to the fact that I have a long list of foods that I do not like). Well today I unexpectedly got the day off. Of course the thing I wanted to do most was make some yummy treats. I found this recipe in my recipe box and knew that this one was the winner for the day!

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white whole wheat and 1/2 cup white flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups quick oats
3/4 cup butter
1 cup fruit jam (I used a mixture of homemade raspberry and strawberry jam)

Mix flour, baking powder, brown sugar and oats. Place flour mixture into a food processor. Cut the butter into slices approximately 1-2 tbs thick and add to the food processor. Pulse until all the butter is incorporated and is a crumb texture.  Pat 2/3 mixture into a 13X9 inch pan. Spread jam over top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 of the mixture over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

I got this recipe from my good friend Matney. She calls them apricot bars because she uses apricot jam. I call them fruit bars because I like to use a variety of different jams. Regardless of the jam you use these are amazing. Thanks Matney for the great recipe!

Green Smoothies

I'm sure most of you have heard about green smoothies. As far as I can tell they are kind of the craze right now, and why wouldn't they be? What better way to eat a bunch of fruits and veggies than to blend them all together and drink them? Not to mention that there is no better way to start you morning off right. My husband and I heard about these a few months back and decided to try them. I will admit my husband was quite skeptical at first. He told me he didn't want to actually know what was in it. He was shocked that it wasn't actually green. I have definitely experimented a lot with different fruits and some turn out much better than others. I usually use whatever fruits and veggies I have on hand. Here is the smoothie I made today.

Green Smoothie

1/2 cup milk
3-4 hand fulls of spinach ( will often fill the whole blender with spinach)
2 cups fresh strawberries
1 banana
1/2 cup blueberries
2 tbs honey
1/4 cup strawberry lemonade

Combine the milk and spinach in a blender and blend until smooth. Add strawberries, banana, blueberries, honey and lemonade blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Like I said this is the one that I made this morning and it was really good. Here are 2 other fruits combinations I have used in the past in my smoothies and really enjoyed.

Spinach, pineapple, orange juice, banana (this one is actually a lovely color of green)

Spinach, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, yogurt, honey

I have even added whole carrots to the process and enjoyed that. These smoothies are not an exact science so please feel free to play around with the fruits and veggies. Spinach is typically my staple in these, but I have also used other types of green leafy vegetables.

S'more Cookies

I got the idea for these cookies a few years ago when my mom made these fantastic bars (of which I'm sure I will post on here at some point so be patient). The bars were ooey and gooey and delicious. The only downfall to them is that they are very rich and messy and although most days I don't oppose to these two wonderful traits sometimes it is just better to have something fast to grab and snack on as you go. I decided to try and turn these wonderful bars into a wonderful cookie. I was quite pleasantly surprised at the results. I think I have since made these cookies more than I have made the bars (not to discredit the bars at all because they are fantastic as well). Who doesn't love warm cookies with chocolate and marshmallow melting all over them? These cookies get me really excited for the coming summer months when we have have campfires and roast marshmallows!

S'MORE'S Cookies

 1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs (about 1 single package)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 cups chocolate chips (I always side with more chocolate)
1 cup mini marshmallows

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. In a separate bowl combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and blend until mostly mixed. Add chocolate chips and marshmallows. Mix until incorporated. Roll into balls and place on a silpat lined baking sheet. If you don't have a silpat line it with parchment paper or anything that will help the marshmallows not stick to the pan. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Do not over bake. Cookies should look gooey with the marshmallows melted. I like to enjoy mine with a glass of milk!

Here's the line up

Look how yummy this cookie dough looks. Its amazing any of the scrumptious little mounds of cookie dough every got baked.

Please not that the first batch I forgot to use my silpat. They still tasted amazing, they just didn't want to come off the cookie sheet at all. Since they didn't come off the sheet very well I took it upon myself to try multiple cookies to make sure they still tasted good. You can use this same excuse if you feel the need.

Oh the wonderful silpat. I often forget how fantastic this thing is until I use it again. My cookies came off this thing so simply and beautifully. You wouldn't even know that they were sticky.

Add a little milk on the side and who wouldn't want to eat 1 (or 12) of these!

Tangy Cauliflower Casserole

My mom always says that I must have gotten my love for cooking from my grandmothers. My mom is actually a really good cook she just doesn't enjoy it like I do. Well whether or not that is true I will admit that I have some fabulous cooks as grandmas. This is a recipe that I got from my mom who got it from her mom. The first time I had it I knew that it had made it onto my favorite veggie dishes list. I have made it a few times since then and continue to love it. I hope you enjoy.

Tangy Cauliflower Casserole

1 medium head of cauliflower
1/2 cup mayo or miracle whip
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp green onion (optional)

Wash and cut cauliflower and place in a glass casserole dish with a lid. Microwave for 7-9 minutes. Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour over cauliflower. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 2 minutes before serving.

Apple Dip

I don't know about you but I seem prefer my fruits and veggies with some sort of yummy dip or sauce all over them. Really anything that gets you to eat your fruits and veggies should be completely acceptable on all diets and be counted as 0 points or 0 calories however you want to count it. The only problem with this dip is I can eat it with or without apples. Secret confession - when I eat this dip with my apples I usually have more dip than apples but who's keeping track right? I have loved this recipe since I was a little girl. If I ever need a little extra encouragement to eat more apples this always does the trick!

Ok I know there are some of you that don't like butterscotch chips. I am actually one of those people. You are just going to have to take my word for it until you make this dip that it doesn't taste like butterscotch. Just try it, you will be glad you did.

Apple Dip

1 cup butterscotch chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp cinnamon

In a saucepan over low heat melt the butterscotch chips and sweetened condensed milk stirring frequently to prevent burning. When all the chips are completely melted remove from heat and add the salt, vinegar, and cinnamon. Serve warm with sliced apples. Stores well in the fridge, just rewarm dip in the microwave or sauce pan prior to serving.

This recipe is courtesy of my wonderful mother.

Eggs Benedict Pizza

This is one of my husbands favorite breakfasts! He prefers more of the salty protein type breakfast. I typically enjoy a sweet breakfast with some sort of syrup, but for something without syrup this is fantastic. I made this a year or so ago for a friend get together where we had breakfast for dinner, (also one of my favorite things) everyone loved it. I have kept it in the back of my mind wanting to make it again soon. This weekend, being conference weekend and all, was the perfect opportunity. I of course had to change things a little bit this time but the results were so good! I really should have made 2 so I could have left overs, oh well maybe next time.

For the crust I used a cottage cheese roll dough that I got off one of my good friends sites. It turned out so wonderful for my crust. You can check her site out here.

Eggs Benedict Pizza

Crust

1/2 cup warm water

1/4 cup sugar

2 TBSP yeast

1 16 oz tub cottage cheese warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minutes

2 eggs

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 cups flour

 

Hollandaise Sauce

6 egg yolks

2 cubes butter melted

2 tbs lemon juice

a dash of white pepper

 

Toppings

 

12 eggs scrambled   

2-3 cups cubed ham

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the water and sugar in your Kitchen aid mixer and then sprinkle the yeast on top. Leave it for a couple of minutes while you get the next part ready.

Blend cottage cheese, eggs, salt, and baking soda in your blender so that the cottage cheese is nice and smooth. Add to the yeast mixture. Blend well.

Add the flour and mix with your flat blade attachment. This is a very VERY sticky dough so don't think you need to add more flour. Let it raise on the counter for 45 minutes or in the fridge for 2-3 hours. 

 

After the rising period is over you can use the dough to make one large pizza or 2 smaller ones, or even 1 pizza and some rolls. The possibilities are endless. I used the whole recipe for one large pizza and it was still more than enough dough. Use as much or as little dough to make the right thickness of crust for you particular taste.

Once you have shaped your dough bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until edges are a nice golden brown color. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes while you make the hollandaise sauce.

For the hollandaise sauce combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Blend for a few seconds to mix. Melt the butter in the microwave. You want your butter to be very hot and bubbly. While the blender is running pour the hot bubbly butter into the blender in a steady stream. Keep blending for about 10 seconds to make sure it is all incorporated.  Sauce should thicken as you pour the hot butter into the blender.

Spread the sauce onto the cooked pizza crust.

Scramble a dozen eggs and place on pizza. Top with cubed ham. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and everything is hot. Cut into slices and enjoy.

 

All of these pictures were taken by my wonderful husband! He was busy taking pictures while I was busy devouring this yummy pizza.

 

Note: There are shortcuts to this recipe if you choose to take them. You can use any recipe for pizza dough so if you already have a favorite feel free to use it. You can even get a package of crescent rolls and spread them out and them into your crust. Shortcut #2 you could use a package of hollandaise sauce and spread that on you pizza. I have tried the pizza with the crescent roll crust and it was quite tasty but I felt like making my own would be slightly more healthy. I haven't ever tried packaged hollandaise sauce. I love real hollandaise sauce so much that I can't bring myself to try the packaged kind. The technique used above for making the hollandaise sauce is so easy and well worth the results.

Start the morning off right!

I am always looking for healthy ways to start the morning. I have always been a HUGE breakfast lover but as I grow up (kinda) I have tried to make my breakfasts more with whole grains and other healthy stuff. I have recently gotten into green smoothies which I love but I don't always have the fresh fruit and veggies on hand needed. This is also something I can put in a container and bring with me to work. I hope you enjoy.

Steel Cut Oat and Quinoa Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 a cup quinoa
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I use fresh ground cinnamon)
1/4 - 1/2 cup cream, half and half or milk
2-4 tbs honey
Fresh fruit (optional)

Rinse and drain quinoa. Combine oats, quinoa, water, and cinnamon in a rice cooker. Turn it on and let it do its thing. When oats are soft, quinoa has opened, and all the water has absorbed add the cream and honey mix well. Add fresh fruit if desired. Enjoy!

Note - The cream just gives it more of a creamy texture. You could also use milk in place of the water while cooking which also gives it a creamy texture but you have to watch it very closely because it will boil over and make a mess.