Posted in Food, recipes, tagged food, recipes on November 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I will be on Hiatus for the next couple of weeks but I promise to have some really nice Christmas Treats to share when I return. I’m excited for Christmas! So for now I’m wishing you all a Happy and Warm Thanksgiving!
Here are some recipe ideas I’ve made in the passed for this Holiday……enjoy!
I wish I had more to post but I’m usually the person doing the Desserts for this Holiday while other people are preparing the actual meal. 
Posted in Desserts, Food, recipes, tagged desserts, diet, recipes, yogurt on November 7, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Have a sweet tooth but really don’t want to crash your diet? Okay so maybe my blog wasn’t helping this last week with the whole brownie post ….. I have the perfect cheat dessert for those of you dieting and want something that isn’t going to make you gain so much weight the next day. I found through Cooking Light Magazine a really quick, easy and tasty dessert that is low in calories and you can still get your Protein, Calcium and Fiber while having this sweet tooth! All you have to do is buy plain Greek Yogurt, frozen bag of Blueberries and Blackberries and make the sauce to add to your plain Greek yogurt. You can even control how much of this sauce you want to add to even lessen your calorie intake or possibly put too much sauce which if you’re serious about your diet you won’t do!
……I can make food look pretty……. I’m very proud of this set up…unfortunate my photography is lacking talent here.
Sauce in the making…..so yummy!
Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light
JULY 2011
Posted in Food, recipes, tagged Chinese noodles, Cooking Light, food, recipes on November 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I go out to eat Chinese food maybe once every two months if even that, I don’t crave the taste of it, not like the way I do with Thai food. So, I was browsing through one of my Cooking Light Magazines in search of something new and I wrestled with the idea of giving this Chinese Egg Noodle recipe a try. I’m glad I did as I was not only impressed once again by one of Cooking Light‘s healthier take on a very high calorie dish but I’m adding it in the rotation with my other repeated dishes I make. I think it’s the combination of Egg, Mushrooms, my favorite veggie Spinach, Green Onions, Chinese Noodles and because it’s meatless which is hard for a Carnivor like myself to find such recipes and like them. I really loved the flavor this had and I can see myself munching on this for lunch at least once a week. You can totally change it up a bit too, I’m going to cut the carbs out and make it with Shrimp instead of noodles next time.
Just FYI- If you’re not use to cooking fresh noodles, make sure your water is boiling and salt added in before dropping them in or they will be sticky and mushy and it will totally ruin your dish. Don’t let them sit in the boiled water too long too, remove quickly, run them through a strainer and run cold water through it to prevent the heat from making them stick together.
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When dieting remember it is all about portion control. Rely on the serving size and if you’re use to eating out all the time it’s a good idea to measure your food with a measuring cup until you get the idea of what a serving size is. Most Restaurants put enough food on one plate to serve 2-3 people.
Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light
SEPTEMBER 2011
Posted in Desserts, Food, recipes, tagged brownies, desserts, food, recipes on November 4, 2011 | 2 Comments »
My sweet tooth dared me to….. I’m calling these the “Oh My God Brownies.” They had me at first bite. Here is another sweet idea for anyone up for trying something new for the Holidays. The Sea Salt really pulls through in the Caramel and I’m listing this recipe as one of my favorites on my site’s facebook page, so yeah…. go make these. I’m definitely sharing my love of these and making these for some lucky person for Christmas. My only challenge was making the caramel, it required lots of attention so if you have the patience, they’re totally worth the drama of standing there and stirring the sugar forever. You can always skip the step of making the caramel yourself and just buy store bought but you would need to melt it in a pan and add 1 tsp of sea salt to it for the flavor you’re trying to capture in these brownies.
Brownie’s fresh from the oven. When you put these in the Refrigerator over night they taste like fudge the next day….so freaking good. They harden up a bit too giving them that firm texture you see when you buy them, I still think fresh from the oven is best.
Every bite I was ooing and ahhhing….yeah bedroom sounds…hehe
Melting down the sugar to make Caramel from scratch.
Once the sugar has melted and turned brown in color, I added in the butter and Sea Salt…..the smell of cooked butter over sugar…damn! Don’t forget to add your heavy cream once you remove it from the heat.
Mixed the Caramel in with the Brownie mixture and baked at what felt like an eternity….smelling this bake around the house was insane.
I found this fabulous recipe from food blogger Brown Eyed Baker. I always post the recipe on my site too just in case something happens with the link location, some recipes are not worth losing such as this one.
Salted Caramel Brownies
Yield: 16 brownies
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 35 to 40 minutes
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 eggs
1¼ cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
Salted Caramel Sauce (recipe follows)
Fine sea salt
1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line the pan with overlapping pieces of foil and spray the foil.
2. In a medium heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, melt the chocolates and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. (Or, melt in the microwave on 50% power for 30-second increments, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.) Whisk in the cocoa until smooth. Set aside to cool.
3. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture; then stir in the flour until just combined. Pour about half of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan and spread into the corners. Spoon 9 dollops of Salted Caramel Sauce on top of the brownie batter. Top with the remaining brownie mixture, spread into the corners and level the surface with a spatula. Again, spoon 9 dollops of the Salted Caramel Sauce on top of the brownie batter. With a dull butter knife, gently run it through the batter to swirl the batter just a bit (don’t do it too much or it will all mix together). Sprinkle a bit of sea salt on top.
4. Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil handles and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
(Brownie recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated
Salted Caramel Sauce
Prep/Cook Time: 10 minutes
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2/3 cup heavy cream, at room temperatureIn a 3-quart saucepan, heat the sugar over medium-high heat, whisking as the sugar begins to melt. Some of the sugar will harden into clumps, but that’s okay – it will melt eventually – just keep whisking. Continue to cook the sugar until it reaches a dark amber color. At that point, whisk in the salt, and then add the butter all at once and whisk until it is completely incorporated into the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the heavy cream (it will foam up when first added). Continue to whisk until it forms a smooth sauce.
Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before using in the brownies. The leftover sauce can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (You’ll probably need to warm it up a bit straight from the refrigerator.)
