Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

Somehow, this week became granola bar week and I'm definitely ok with that.  I made granola bars yesterday from the New York Times that were great, but they had the consistency of a crunchy Nature Valley Bar which is a little too crunchy for a toddler.  Today, I decided to try an attempt at a chewier granola bar to please his Majesty (a 2 year old)

Chocolate Chip Oat Bars
1 1/4 cup oats (old fashioned)
1/3 cup of oat flour (can make in a blender or food processor)
1/3 cup of flax seed
1/4 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup (or both if you happen to run out of honey)
1/4 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F

Grease an 8x8 glass pan with vegetable oil (or another neutral oil) and make sure that surface is well covered.

Place oats, oat flour, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl and mix

Place coconut oil, honey and peanut butter in a small saucepan and cook until the coconut oil is melted.  Whisk to incorporate the peanut butter until it's a smooth mixture.

Pour the peanut butter mixture over the oats and stir together.  Let this cool for a few minutes and then stir in the chocolate chips.  

Pour this mixture into your heavily greased 8x8 pan and press the mixture down so that it is even.

Bake for 25 minutes

Let cool for as long as you can.  I cut right into these about 5 minutes after they came out of the oven, but you should let them cool so that they solidify to each other and become friends.  I did cut them right away to make it easy to break apart later.  After thoroughly cooling they will still be a little crumbly, but they are still tasty!

Fall as a Pizza: Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion and Gruyere

If you are looking for a fall pizza recipe to change things up, then look no further then this beauty.  This pizza uses homemade dough (or you can use whatever store bought you'd like), roasted butternut squash with roasted garlic and onions and gruyere cheese.  There is no sauce and it is not needed.  The roasted squash gets creamy and sweet and the gruyere balances that sweetness perfectly.  I like to use applewood smoked gruyere, because that is all I can find and it adds such enormous flavor to the pizza.  Give this pizza a try for Halloween!

Fall Pizza
1 Butternut squash diced (you can peel if you'd like, but I don't like to do that)
1 head of garlic
1 onion sliced
8 oz applewood smoked gruyere cheese
Salt to taste
Olive Oil
1 lb pizza dough (homemade or store bought)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Put garlic in aluminum foil and drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over it.  Put the package in the oven and let it cook for about an hour, until the garlic is soft, set aside

While the garlic is in the oven, combine the diced squash and slice onions in a bowl.  Drizzle with about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and a generous amount of salt. Spread the mixture onto a foil lined pan (sprayed with cooking spray for extra insurance) and place in oven to cook for 35 minutes.

After the garlic and onions and squash are cooked and tender, turn the oven to 450 degrees.

Place the onions and squash into a large bowl.  Add the grated gruyere and squeeze out the garlic cloves and combine everything together.

Spread your pizza dough onto a well oiled pan.  Top the dough with the squash and gruyere mixture.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, let cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

Another Double Chocolate Muffin Recipe

I love chocolate muffins and honestly, who doesn't?  I was inspired to make some chocolate muffins after seeing that my son's snack time had them at school and so this recipe is dedicated to him!  These muffins are moist and flavorful, but not too sweet and are perfect with a cup of black coffee for the adults, or with cottage cheese if you're a toddler.  These come together quickly and are a perfect after-school snack. Let me know what you think!

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (I used stevia)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup white flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan

Mix together the wet ingredients

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients

Scoop into the muffin pan 

Bake for 18 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins: 2016 Edition

Wow,  it's been exactly one year since I've written an entry! A lot has changed since then and it's been an adventure and I wouldn't change anything about it!  Except some unhealthy eating habits.  I've started a new telework position that doesn't allow me time to eat lunch.  I told myself I was going to cut back on baking this year in an attempt to be healthy, but I remembered I had made some oat bran muffins without any flour and they were tasty and healthy and it sounded like the perfect snack to have at work!  I've made these muffins again but this time I've added baking soda and baking powder for some lift and I used buttermilk instead of almond milk because that's what I had on hand.

These are surprisingly light and not dense and are like a better, portable oatmeal.  You can whip them up quickly and even with a baby attached to your leg!

Check out this recipe and let me know what you think!  Tell me what other foods you'd like to see made healthier!

Chocolate Chip Oat Bran Muffins

2 1/4 cups oat bran
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp flax seed
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cup egg whites
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup chocolate chip

Preheat oven to 425F. Spray a muffin tin with Pam

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together.

Divide the batter equally in the muffin tin.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool and Eat!

Yields 10-12 muffins

Salmon Gougeres (Salmon and Cream Cheese filled French Cheese Puffs)

What is a gougere and why does my blog talk about something so gourmet sounding?  A gougere is a tasty cheesy puff ball of pastry.  It's quite simple to make and I think lends itself very well to lots of creative ideas.  One of those creative ideas is to stuff them with a salmon and cream cheese mixture!  I was inspired by not wanting to eat just healthy salmon and cauliflower rice.  After some google sleuthing, I saw a recipe for Cheddar and Smoked Salmon gougeres, which was not what I wanted, but I would take that inspiration and make it my own.  Make it your own too, and try it out with other protein and cheeses!  So, here is my creative weeknight gourmet meal for you to try out!  

Salmon Gougeres
Inspired by Cabot Cheese

Gougères:

1 cup water
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
4 large eggs
6 ounces Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch ground red pepper (cayenne)
Filling:
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 salmon filets, cooked and chopped fine.  I cooked the salmon filets whole the same time as the gougeres.
2 tbsp basil
Pinch of mustard

Pinch of cayenne

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Directions:

To make gougères:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In saucepan, heat water, butter, salt and sugar until butter is melted.

3. Add flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture breaks away from side of pan and forms smooth ball.

4. Remove from heat and let rest for two minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, stirring quickly so egg doesn't cook, until dough is firm, smooth and waxy.

5. Add all of mozzarella, all but 2 tablespoons of Parmesan, mustard and red pepper, and stir until well blended.

6. Using a cookie dough scoop to portion the dough onto the parchment paper.  They don't spread so you don't have to worry about leaving a lot of room between them.

7. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes longer or until completely golden brown.

To make filling:
1. Beat together cream cheese, ricotta cheese, spices, salmon and basil

2. Split each gougère. Spoon some filling into each one and enjoy!

Sandwich Fondue? Knife and Fork Fondue? Sloppy Fondue?

Well, tonight I started out wanting to make meatballs but got lazy.  I went on pinterest and saw some recipes for a Philly Cheesesteak dip, which was very interesting and was something I was potentially more interested in.  That's where the inspiration came from, but this dish is more fondue like, or so I think.  It's up to you to decide what to call this, but just know that it is very yummy!  Can you really go wrong with meat, cheese sauce and bread?  No, you cannot! Let me know what you think!

Ground Beef Mixture
one shallot minced
1 lb ground beef (turkey would work well too!)
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
minced garlic
Splash of hot sauce

Cheese Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove minced garlic
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup mozzarella
1/4 cup parmesan
Splash of hot sauce

Hoagie rolls

Ground Beef Mixture
Preheat a pan over medium heat and add the meat, shallot and garlic.  Cook until the meat is almost brown and then add the onion powder, salt and pepper and hot sauce and cook until the meat is completely browned.

Cheese Sauce
Heat a sauce pan over low heat and add the butter and minced garlic and cook until the butter is melted.  Add the flour, onion powder, salt and pepper and hot sauce and whisk until the mixture is light brown.  Slowly add the milk and the yogurt and allow to cook together for a few minutes.  Quickly stir in the cheeses and set aside.

Serve the beef and the cheese sauce over a toasted hoagie roll and enjoy!

Barbecue Salmon Burgers

When you want a burger, but you've already defrosted salmon the only logical thing to do is making salmon burgers.  Salmon burgers are a delicious alternative to beef burgers and you can make them taste "beefier" by using a little barbecue sauce.  Try this recipe for barbecue salmon burgers with some sweet potato fries and homemade buns!

Barbecue Salmon Burgers
Serves 2

2 salmon filets chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce (I had Sweet Baby Ray's in the fridge)
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs (I had Panko)
A few dashes of Old Bay Seasoning
2 tsp Coconut oil for frying

Heat the coconut oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat.

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until combined.  Form the mixture into two patties and place in the skillet.  Cook on both sides for 3-5 minutes.  Serve with your favorite toppings like avocado and tomato and a side of oven-baked sweet potato fries!

Cheese Sauce Chicken Cheesesteaks

After hearing what my Aunt's planned cheesesteak dinner plans were, I knew I had to make my own cheesesteaks.  This is a quickly developed cheesy, chicken cheesesteak.  It's a good weeknight meal and if you have about two hours before dinner you can even make some lovely hoagie rolls to go with it!

These cheesesteaks feature chicken, onions and peppers and a really cheesy sauce of three cheeses to smear your hoagie roll and then drizzle on top.  These are flavorful with a hint of spice (you can always add more) and can be done during a weeknight.  If you're ambitious you can even make your own buns!

Cheesy Chicken Cheesesteaks
1 onion sliced thin
1 bell pepper sliced thin
2 chicken breasts
1 tbsp oil of your choice (olive oil, butter, coconut oil...)
1 clove minced garlic
garlic powder
onion powder
cayenne peppers
Seasoned salt
Hot Sauce of your choice (I used Tapatio)
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Heat the oil in a large non stick pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and peppers and cook until the onions are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, season the chicken to taste with the garlic powder, onion powder, Seasoned salt and the cayenne pepper.  Slice thin and add to the pan to cook along with the garlic.

Once the chicken is cooked add the hot sauce to taste, the worcestershire sauce and the apple cider vinegar.  Cook until the liquid has evaporated.  Your chicken is ready to go!


Cheese Sauce
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups mozzarella
1/4 cup cream cheese
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp nutmeg

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk together.  Slowly whisk in the chicken stock until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in the cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg until you have a cheesy sauce!












Bread
Your choice of hoagie rolls OR
This really good recipe that can be made in 2ish hours.

Assemble
Take your hoagie roll and smear each side with that cheese sauce.  Top one half with the chick and then drizzle with some more sauce.  All that's left is to eat it!

Four Hour Meatloaf

Four hour meatloaf? Are you kidding? This must be some sort of joke.  Nope, this is not a joke. I made a delicious, moist and tasty meatloaf today in about 4 hours.  Your meatloaf doesn't need to take as long, but if you want it to have the same taste that mine did today, then you'll want to take these steps.  

My (give or take) four hour meatloaf started with caramelizing an onion over low and slow heat in a cast iron pan for about two hours.  Caramelizing the onion adds a lot of moisture to the loaf and caramelized onions just taste so darn good! I added a bit of honey, cayenne, two cloves of garlic and salt and pepper to my onions to develop that rich taste and finished with worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, and chicken broth to the pan.  After my onions cooled for a bit, I mixed them with the meat, eggs and bread crumbs and allowed the mixture to rest in the refrigerator for an hour.  I'm not sure if this added to how delicious this loaf was, but that's what I did because I wasn't ready to cook it.  The last step I did was to baste the loaf in the oven every 30 minutes and then broiled it with a final layer of glaze for 3 minutes.  Are all of these overcomplicated steps necessary for a delicious meatloaf? Probably not, and of course you don't need to caramelize onions or let the meat rest, but that's just what I did and that's what produced an out-of-this world moist meatloaf.  Here's the breakdown!

Four Hour Meatloaf

Inspired by Ina Garten's Meatloaf and Abs Diet Sloppy Joes

Caramelized Onions

1 tbsp butter

1 onion diced

1 tbsp honey

Pinch of cayenne

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/4 cup chicken broth

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Melt the butter in a cast iron pan and add the onions and honey and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper and cayenne. Take off the heat and add the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar.  Let cool for a few moments.

Meat Mixture

2 lbs of ground beef

2 eggs beaten

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Salt and Pepper and cayenne to taste

Caramelized onion mixture

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and pop in the refrigerator for an hour

Glaze

1/2 cup Ketchup

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp mustard

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Meatloaf Assembly

Preheat oven to 350F

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Put meat mixture on the baking sheet and form into a rectangular loaf.  Brush the loaf with the glaze and bake for 60-90 minutes.

Check the temperature after 60 minutes.  If your loaf is at 160F congratulations! It's finished. 

Let the loaf rest for about 15 minutes, slice it up and enjoy with mashed potatoes, mashed cannelini beans, or your carb of choice, and peas!

After a 15 minute rest

Sliced

Ready to enjoy with mashed beans and peas

Black Bean Protein Brownies

I ran out of my homemade protein chewy bars so I thought it would be time to make a new recipe and to experiment a little.  I decided that it might be time to be adventurous and try the infamous "black bean brownies". I needed to put my own spin on such an idea so I decided that I would have to add protein powder to the mix and so I did.  I happen to have gluten-free and vegan protein powder and so that is what I used in my brownies, but you could use whatever you have on hand.

Believe me, I was extremely skeptical in making this, but these do indeed taste like brownies and it's great to know you're getting lots of protein in these guys.  The protein powder gives them a distinct taste, but that's what protein powder does when baked.  If you don't like protein powder baked, then don't add it, but they are fudgy and rich, but without being heavy.  These are a great compromise for the buttery version!  They don't taste like coffee, but taste very chocolatey!

Black Bean-Protein Brownies
1 15oz can black beans
3 tbsp honey
6 dates
3 tbsp melted coconut oil
3 eggs
2 tbsp coffee
2 tsp espresso powder
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp flax seed
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 inch pan.

Combine black beans, coffee, honey, dates, coconut oil, eggs in a blender and blend until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

Meanwhile, place the espresso powder, protein powder, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl and pour the liquid over that.  Stir to combine and add the chocolate chips.  You can add some extra on top to make the brownies look more decadent

Bake for 23 minutes and dig in!