The Snow Made Me Do It!

I've been trying REALLY hard to avoid the temptation of eating sweets as it is visibly showing on my figure! But, I was reading Nikki's blog and she told me when it snows you bake, and since it has not stopped snowing since Tuesday this is what happened!

I used the Martha Stewart Recipe and reduced it by 3/4 to only make 6 cupcakes instead of 24! She always manages to fine some way to make this baking thing complex! They turned out really good so I suppose it was worth it.

Now...if we could just get this white stuff off the road!

Oscar Night Dips

Oscar night, my favorite night! Fashion, movies, and a great excuse to sit on the couch and eat! I made two different dips that are very simple, and pack a ton of flavor.

Baked Goat Cheese in Tomato Sauce

1- 4oz. package goat cheese
Favorite Tomato Sauce ( I used the "Rao's Famous Marinara Sauce")
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Baguette
garlic clove
olive oil

Slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices and place on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler and brown each side of the bread slices (crostini). Take clove of garlic and rub vigorously on one side of each of the crostini. Brush each crostini lightly with olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place goat cheese logs on the bottom of an oven safe small baking dish and then pour the hot tomato sauce over top until it almost but not quite covers the cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes or until bubbly and hot. Place each dish on a larger plate and surround it with the crostini. serve hot.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

 

1 can artichoke hearts (about 9 ounces), defrosted and well drained

1/2 Cup fresh spinach, chopped

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup Monterrey jack cheese shredded (I used mozzarella)

¼ part skim ricotta cheese 

8 ounces package reduced fat cream cheese 

½ tablespoon lemon juice 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

¾ teaspoon salt 

½ teaspoon pepper

Don’t worry about exact amounts for this recipe. If you can only find artichokes or spinach in slightly smaller or larger amounts, that’s fine. I like to use fresh ingredients because I feel like I am getting more nutrition, but you can use frozen spinach & artichoke hearts. Just make sure they are fully defrosted and completely dried. (Use a strainer & Paper towel)

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. (I use a hand blender to combine all the ingredients)

Pour the mixture into an oven-proof dish or casserole. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and just starting to bubble.

Remove from the oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm with thin slices of baguette, raw vegetables, baked tortilla chips, or crackers.

Chef's note: I wasn't going to use all of the Artichoke-Spinach dip so I put it in the freezer. It saves great and make for an easy last minuet appetizer.

Enjoy!

The Healthy Cookie

I am back on the health kick with a new cookie that I am bringing with me. It's a whole wheat, sugar free cookie. It's very different but pretty good and a lot of texture!

Here's the recipe:
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies (with Honey)
Ingredients:
Dry ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour (a pinch more depending on the moisture of the mix)
• 1 1/2 cups of Large Flake Rolled Oats (smaller flake is ok too)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Wet ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 egg (beaten with 1 tsp water)

  Yummy ingredients (you can use any varieties of these ingredients)

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 crasins

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Hint: when measuring out the honey, spray the measuring cup with oil or baking spray--your honey won't stick).
3. Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. If it isn't binding together very well, you may wish to add an egg white.
4. COOL the mix for 20 minutes in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 335 degrees (lower temperature due to the honey in the recipe which will burn more easily).
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your baking sheet (I recommend lining the baking sheet with parchment paper). Press down with a fork to ensure even cooking.
7. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until golden on the bottom of the cookie. The cookies freeze very well and make a great snack! Enjoy.

Guacamole with a Twist

I just picked up Bethenny Frankel's new cookbook "The Skinnygirl DISH". I came across her Mock-a-Mole recipe in which she added cooked peas to the guacamole. I took that idea and ran with it.

Here is all of the ingredients you will need!

-3 Roma tomatoes

-2 Large or 3 small avocados

-1/2 onion or shallot

-1 clove garlic

1-lime

-Large bunch of cilantro

-1 cup cooked peas

Chop it all up, throw it in a bowl, smash your avocado and peas, season with some salt and you have yourself some tasty guacamole with some added vitamins!