Chocolate Bundt Cake

It had been a while since I had baked (I took a break after the holidays). I knew I wanted to make something, but I also wanted it to be light. This Chocolate Bundt Cake fit the bill. I saw the recipe on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board and knew that I had to make it.

The cake was very good - moist, chocolaty and light. I made it in a regular sized bundt pan, but since it calls for a smaller bundt, it came out really low. Next time I will follow the suggestion of the recipe and use a loaf pan. It also had a difficult time coming out. I have a silicone bundt and thought that I wouldn't have to spray the pan - I WAS WRONG :) Luckily, my family doesn't care about looks of dessert ;)

Chocolate Bundt Cake
A 6-cup Bundt pan is smaller than the standard size. You can also use a 9-inch round cake pan.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 teaspoons instant espresso granules
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add butter, egg whites, and egg; beat with a mixer at low speed 1 minute. Beat at high speed 1 minute. Add milk, espresso granules, and vanilla; beat 1 minute. Pour batter into a 6-cup Bundt pan coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.


Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

CALORIES 192 (28% from fat); FAT 6g (sat 3.5g,mono 1.8g,poly 0.3g); IRON 1.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 34mg; CALCIUM 27mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.8g; SODIUM 225mg; PROTEIN 4g; FIBER 1.8g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2002

Tis The Season

The parties are starting and the drinks are starting to flow. I made this a couple of weeks ago and it went SO quickly that I didn't have time to take a picture.

It actually comes from Cooking Light, which is not the publication I usually get my drinks from.

I will be making this OVER and OVER again! And you should too!


Pomegranate-Rosemary Royale

This simple twist on the traditional kir royale blends tart-sweet pomegranate juice with subtle herbal notes from a rosemary-infused syrup. Float rosemary leaves on the drinks for a pretty garnish.

Ingrediants:
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 cup pomegranate juice
2 cups Champagne or sparkling wine

Directions:
1. Combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat. Add rosemary; let stand 30 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids.
2. Pour 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice and 1 tablespoon rosemary syrup into 4 Champagne glasses. Top each serving with 1/2 cup Champagne. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 115 ; FAT 0.0g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 9.5g; SODIUM 4mg; PROTEIN 0.1g; FIBER 0.0g; IRON 0.1mg

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2009

Polenta with Smoky Mushroom Ragout

Tonight we had a play date. The older child is in the same grade as the older monkey, and the younger child is in the same grade as the younger monkey.

This was the first "get-together". The mom brought pizza for the kids (the monkey's other friend was there too) and I made dinner.

I prepped/cooked most things last night. Tonight I only needed to put the crock pot on and put one thing in the oven (the polenta below).

Of course I didn't have time to photograph anything. :(

One of the dishes I made was a SUPER simple polenta. Most people don't like polenta because you have to stand there and stir forever! Also, most polenta has heavy cream or tons of butter or milk.

With this recipe, you can easily make it non-dairy, and almost no fat, without sacrificing ANY of the taste.

In fact, my friend's daughter is lactose intolerant and went nuts over it. I gave her the polenta leftovers and had to call her to snap a picture and send it to me :)

Polenta with Smoky Mushroom Ragout
Serving Size : 8
Cooking Light April 2004
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Ingrediants
POLENTA
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups cornmeal -- (polenta)
1 tablespoon butter - I used olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
RAGOUT
1 tablespoon olive oil - I used less
2 cups chopped onion
8 cups oyster mushrooms -- sliced (about 1.5 pounds) - I omitted this because I didn't have any
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon chipotle chile canned in adobo -- finely chopped - I subbed chipotle powder because it's what I had on hand
1 tablespoon dried oregano - I subbed dried parsley and dried italian blend because it's what I had
3 cloves garlic -- minced
28 ounces canned tomatoes -- whole, drained and chopped - I just used canned diced tomatoes
8 ounces queso fresco -- 2 cups - I omitted for my lactose free friend
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro -- chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

To prepare polenta, combine first 4 ingredients in a 13x9 baking dish, stirring well. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until liquid is absorbed. Cover and keep warm

While Polenta is cooking, prepare ragout. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add mushrooms and salt, saute 10 minutes or until mushrooms release liquid and begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Add wine, chile, oregano, and garlic. Reduce heat to medium and cook until liquid evaporates, stirring constantly (About 1 minute). Stir in tomato, reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes or until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally.

Spoon ragout over polenta, sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 350 15 minutes or until cheese begins to melt. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Watermelon

I bought 2 watermelons before I got my wisdom teeth out. One was 15 lbs and I decided to crack it open today. Instead of eating it after dinner, in a fruit salad, I decided to look up some recipes.

I didn't take any pictures of the finished products, but trust me, they looked great, and tasted great as well.

Watermelon Mojito ( I made it non-alcoholic although it will be kick ass with the rum)
Recipe courtesy Sunny Anderson, 2009
Prep Time: 10 min
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
2 1/2 to 3 pounds watermelon flesh, pits removed
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup packed mint leaves, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 cups white rum (omitted, obviously)
1/4 cup agave syrup

Directions
In a blender (I used a food processor), puree watermelon, fresh lime juice and mint in batches until smooth. Strain into a pitcher (I omitted because I was lazy). Mix in rum and syrup. Serve in glasses filled with ice and garnish with mint leaves.

________________________________________

Watermelon Salsa
Adapted from (Sesame Chile Chicken with Gingered Watermelon Salsa, CL 6/05 )

Instructions
2 cups diced seeded watermelon
1/4 cup diced yellow bell pepper (I used red)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger (omitted because I couldn’t find the ginger until after I completed the dish)
2 teaspoons mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced (I used about ½ of the can of green chiles from Trader Joes)

Directions
Mix all together and chill until ready to serve.

So if you're over inundated with watermelon, try using it in some forms you normally wouldn't think of.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce

Friends came over today to swim (well, the monkeys and their friends swam while the moms and I gossiped) so I made lunch.

I got another great recipe off of Mom's Cooking Club and thought is would be the perfect one dish meal.

Because thee were four adults, three pre-teens and 5 kids, I bulked up the dish by doubling the pasta, adding a 1/2 lb. more of shrimp, doubling the sauce and adding mushrooms, asparagus, patty pan squash and yellow squash to the mix.

Everyone loved it!

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Spicy Orange Sauce
Cooking Light
August 2007

Neutral-tasting canola oil allows the flavors of orange juice, honey, ginger, and chiles to shine. It can also withstand the heat of stir-frying in this tasty take on sweet-and-sour shrimp. Serve over rice or udon noodles.

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chopped green onions (omitted)



Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat. Set aside.
Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add juice mixture and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

CALORIES 301 (30% from fat); FAT 10g (sat 1.1g,mono 4.6g,poly 3.2g); IRON 4.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 259mg; CALCIUM 103mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16.8g; SODIUM 621mg; PROTEIN 35.3g; FIBER 0.5g

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Last week I was looking at a great new blog, http://momscookingclub.blogspot.com/, when I came across a recipe for Creamy Cajun Shrimp Linguine. It was from Cooking Light so I knew it would be relatively healthy. It was just what I was looking for to bring to Saturday nights girls night!

The recipe was a hit!

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Cooking Light – September 2006
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup water
1 can fat-free -- (14-ounce) less-sodium chicken broth (I used a low sodium vegetable bouillon cube soaked in 2 cups boiling water)
6 ounces uncooked linguine (I used 1 box of penne)
1 pound medium shrimp -- peeled and deveined (I used 1.5 lbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter (I used 2 teaspoons)
1 package presliced mushrooms -- (8-ounce)
1 large red bell pepper -- cut into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I used 2 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup half-and-half (I used 1.5 cups of fat free half-and-half)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used 1/3 cups)
1 Patty Pan squash and 1 yellow squash



Combine 1 cup water and broth in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Break
pasta in half; add to pan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat,
and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp to pan. Cover and simmer for 3
minutes or until shrimp are done; drain.

Note: I did not drain the liquid since there wasn’t THAT MUCH LIQUID.
I just took out the pasta and shrimp and proceeded in the dutch oven.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, squash and
pepper to pan.

saute 4 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Add flour,
seasoning, and salt to pan; saute 30 seconds. Stir in half-and-half; cook
1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pasta
mixture and parsley to pan; toss.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items and my additions): 173 Calories; 6g Fat (33.8%
calories from fat); 23g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 184mg
Cholesterol; 401mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1/2
Vegetable; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

This picture is of the leftovers because I forgot to originally take a picture of the finished product. It looked MUCH better than this :)

Braised Chicken in Coconut Milk

Looking through the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards (OK, I say that all the time) I came across this recipe at the same time as I can across the beans recipe.

I bought the chicken breast a couple of days ago and they were in the refrigerator. I knew if I didn't use them today, that I would be scared to use them tomorrow and would throw them away.

Before going to Latin Jam tonight I quickly cooked up this recipe (about 10-15 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of total cook time). I ended up eating this when I got home from class.

The braised chicken was SO tender. The flavors were rich but not so much that you can't eat a big portion of this. The spice was very mild, and the cayenne pepper can easily be increased if you want SPICY.

I can easily see myself making this meal for company, and will definitely be making this again for just our family.

Braised Chicken in Coconut Milk
PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes
MAKES: 4 servings

2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground dried turmeric
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (5 to 6 oz. each)(I used about 2 lbs. of chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon salad oil (I cooked on a little chicken stock instead, since it was already on the stove)
1 cup thinly sliced onion (I used 1 sweet onion)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I used 1 tsp. ginger powder)
1 can (14 oz.) reduced-fat coconut milk (I only had regular coconut milk, hence me saving on the oil and using more chicken to increase the servings)
About 1/2 teaspoon salt
Thin red or green bell pepper rings (optional)

1. In a small bowl, mix coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and vinegar until smooth.

2. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub spice mixture all over breast halves.

3. Pour oil into a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat, swirling to coat bottom. When oil is hot, add chicken and turn as needed to brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a rimmed plate.

4. Add onion, garlic, and ginger to pan; stir often until onion is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir often until mixture boils. Add chicken and any accumulated juices, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered, turning pieces once, until no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a rimmed platter.

5. Turn heat to high and boil sauce until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 4 minutes. Spoon evenly over chicken. Add more salt to taste, and garnish with pepper rings if desired.

Per serving (without my changes): 253 cal., 30% (76 cal.) from fat; 35 g protein; 8.4 g fat (3.9 g sat.); 10 g carbo (0.8 g fiber); 411 mg sodium; 82 mg chol.

Impromptu Dinner Party

I was supposed to go see Phantom of The Opera tonight. One little problem - the show is next week :)

I called friends of ours, the older monkey's good friends family, and invited them to dinner. Then I was talking to another family friend with sons my monkey's ages. And then finally I texted my single friend and told her to come over. At first she said no, but then decided to come.

My favorite quote all night was said by family friend number 1. She told my single friend, "When Julia calls you and invites you to dinner, why would you ever say no??"

It was really nice to hear.

I only had about 30 minutes to start making dinner before everyone came over so I didn't have time to take pictures. Also, every one finished every last morsel, so I couldn't take pictures of the food afterwords.

I hope you make the recipes, especially the potato one! Yum!!! Oh, and the chicken! The chicken was so un-believably moist!!!

Salt-Baked Chicken

Traditionally, this recipe uses a whole chicken, marinated, wrapped in lotus leaves, immersed in a bed of hot rock salt in a wok, and cooked on a stovetop. The modern convenience of an oven makes it much easier to control the cooking temperature. Allowing the chicken to stand at room temperature for an hour before cooking creates succulent results. The golden color of the roasted bird also represents wealth, and serving a whole chicken is thought to ensure good luck for the coming year. Garlic chives make a memorable garnish.

2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 (1 x 2–inch) strip dried tangerine peel
1 (4.5- to 5-pound) roasting chicken
5 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooking spray

1. Combine 2 1/2 cups boiling water and tangerine peel in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid.
2. Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Trim excess fat. Starting at neck cavity, loosen skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Rub 1 tablespoon salt under skin; let stand 5 minutes. Rinse chicken under cold water; pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken on the rack of a roasting pan; let stand 1 hour at room temperature.
3. Preheat oven to 425°.
4. Transfer chicken to a work surface. Combine remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, shallots, ginger, wine, soy sauce, oil, and honey in a small bowl. Rub 3 tablespoons shallot mixture inside cavity of chicken. Place onions and tangerine peel inside cavity. Rub remaining shallot mixture under loosened skin.
5. Place chicken, breast side up, on the rack of a roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Pour reserved tangerine soaking liquid into a shallow roasting pan; place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer registers 165° and skin has turned a dark golden brown color. Let stand 15 minutes. Discard skin, and slice.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 3 ounces)

CALORIES 171 ; FAT 4.4g (sat 1g,mono 1.4g,poly 1.2g); CHOLESTEROL 85mg; CALCIUM 21mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2.5g; SODIUM 885mg; PROTEIN 26.8g; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.6mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2009

Shoestring Fries with Garlicky Dijon Mayo

Cutting potatoes into thin strips, soaking them in hot water, and cooking at high heat makes for a crisp texture without much fat. Instead of ketchup, we enjoyed dipping the fries in this tangy sauce, a riff on aioli.

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1 1/4 pounds baking potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray


1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine vinegar and garlic in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and parsley.
3. Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices; stack slices and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Place in a large bowl; cover with hot water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain potatoes; pat dry with paper towels. Combine potatoes, oil, and salt in a large bowl; toss gently to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 35 minutes; carefully turn over and bake an additional 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve with sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup fries and about 1 tablespoon sauce)

CALORIES 180 ; FAT 7g (sat 0.5g,mono 4.3g,poly 1.5g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 21mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26.2g; SODIUM 233mg; PROTEIN 3.2g; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 1.3mg

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2009

Crockpot Cooking

Trying to keep my financial resolutions, I decided to start cooking meals to take to work again. Also, I love to cook and love to share my successes, and failures, with the blogging community.

Last night at 11pm I decided to throw off my warm blankets, and put something in the crock pot. I had been looking at this great recipe for Jambalaya, and although I wouldn't be putting it over rice, I thought that the flavors would go nicely together. Thanks to the vegetables, it's also quite healthy.

FYI - I was back in bed by 11:20pm. Gotta love that.

Crock pot Jambalaya
Posted by Dewey on the CookingLight Bulletin Board

12 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, 1/2" cubes (used 1lb. turkey legs)
2 green peppers, chopped (used 16 oz. frozen pepper blend and 2 zucchini)
1 medium onion, chopped (omitted)
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced (used pureed garlic)
14 1/2 ounces whole tomatoes, canned
1/3 cup tomato paste (subbed ketchup)
14 1/2 ounces fat-free beef broth, canned (subbed ½ water and ½ red wine)
1 Tbl dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried basil & 1/2 tsp dried oregano (subbed Penzey’s Pasta Sprinkle)
1 tsp Tabasco sauce (used ½ TSP)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (used ½ TSP)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb low-fat smoked sausage (omitted)
3 cups cooked brown rice


Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add all ingredients except sausage and rice to Crock-Pot. Cover; cook on Low 8 to 10 hours (High: 3 to 4 hours). Add sausage last hour of cooking. If you want to include shrimp, add last 15 minutes of cooking. Stir in rice when ready to serve. 6 servings (big servings!)



This was REALLY good! Of course, I doubt it tastes anything like a real jambalaya (some of that is due to my changes) but it is a good comforting, healthy meal loaded with tons of vegetables!

By the way, I am submitting this for Gayle's recipe swap at http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/

Gluttony - My Favorite Sin

When I get a thought in my head, I tend to follow it. A couple of weeks ago I read an article HERE that spoke of falling lobster prices. So began my search for lobster. First I called Whole Foods (OK, stop laughing, whole paycheck lived up to its' moniker). Then I tried Smart & Final - better but still pricey.

On Tuesday the 30th of December I thought of going to 99 Ranch, an Asian food chain in Southern and Northern California. If you've never been in one, it is like a feast for the eyes. There is any type of Asian produce, hot food, sauces, canned goods, seafood, meat, etc... you could possibly want or need. Usually at MUCH lower prices.

The lobsters - $11.99 a pound. Not cheap for most things - but a darn good price for lobster. So I bought 2. I wasn't sure what to do with them so I put them in the refrigerator. Since we were going to a friends house for NYE, I decided to bring the lobsters with me. I had never made them before so I looked to my favorite source, the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards, for inspiration and/or a recipe. I found one.

According to a bulletin board member (I can't believe I forgot who):
Look for active lobsters. The feistier the better. If they spread their claws far when picked up they are called "flyers". If you like the orangy-red roe, ask for females - these have feathery final (closest to the tail section) swimmerettes on their undersides. The ones on males are hard and narrow. (you can educate your fishmonger if they don't know how to pick females).

When you buy them, keep them in the fridge no more than a day. Do NOT immerse in water as this will kill them (tap water will kill most sea-dwelling critters). You can also put them in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to make them sleep before cooking, according to Alton Brown.

We usually steam them as this keeps the water to a minimum (I boiled). Some herbs, whole peppercorns, lemon halves, salt, and water or white wine at the bottom of a tall stockpot. Put in your steamer thing. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, toss in a little vodka, maybe 1/2 cup (this REALLY seems to work - at least for us). Put in the lobster (DON'T clip off the rubber bands). Cover (sometimes you have to weight the cover for the first 10 seconds). I think the usual cooking time is about 15 minutes for 1-1 1/4 lbs. It's 25 minutes for 2 pounders.

Use something to pull them out - either some aluminum foil on your oven mitts or tongs to keep from being scalded by the heat. Use kitchen shears (or tin snips as AB used) to clip the ends of the claw shells off as you hold the lobster(s) over the pot to drain any water out of the shells. You don't have to do this, but it keeps your plate from being flooded with water when you do start eating.

Serve with melted butter (I like to put a lemon slice at the bottom of a ramekin then pour the melted butter on top). Sometimes I sprinkle a little cajun seasoning on the lemon slice before I pour in the butter. We did melt butter but ended up not really using it.


We demolished those lobsters. They didn't even make it to the table. We stood up in the kitchen while my one friend was cracking them and just made her feed the meat to us! My other friends' daughter took a picture of the carcasses but has yet to email it to me. When she does I will post them.

So tonight we were going back to the same friends house. I went and bought 6 more lobsters. 5 adults and 2 kids (only 2 of the kids had mass quantities like we did) finished everything but one tail and 3 bodies devoid of tail and legs!!! And there was other food! One friend brought chicken gyros and the woman whose house it was bought tacos and burritos, made roasted potatoes and veggies (both are amazing), chicken nuggets for the kids (there was 1 pre-K, 4 1st graders and 4 pre-teens) and had hummus, salad (which she makes REALLY well), etc...

Since I am on the SHFA "PLC" Challenge put on by Scandy, I ate one chicken soft taco (no cheese) and about 1 lb of lobster. It was soooo GOOD! And since I dipped in to the butter only once, I had maybe one teaspoon of butter. I can definitely live like this - a very low fat food that I can gorge myself on! Of course, just in case, I might wait until after Zumba to do my daily weigh-in.

Breakfast

This morning the monkeys decided they wanted pancakes. Not the beautiful waffles that come out perfectly out of the All Clad waffle maker, but pancakes. The free-form ugly ones that don't come out perfectly. The kind I haven't had to make since getting the waffle maker.

But what the monkeys want, they usually get.

I opened up one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooking Light Complete, and turned to pancakes.
These are so easy, and very tasty. They taste wonderfully light and airy, but not low fat at all. To make the kids happy (and me), I did add about a 1/4 cup total of chocolate and peanut butter chips.

I also chopped up some apples, squeezed some lemon on them, and put them out to eat with the pancakes. The hard, tart apples were a a nice complement to the warm, soft, sweet pancakes.

The older monkey ate a piece of apple with EVERY piece of pancake. Did I mention she ate 4 pancakes and the younger monkey ate 2 pancakes???

Warning: These are some ugly pancakes.

Buttermilk Pancakes
Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

1 cup all-purpose flour ( I used whole wheat flour)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk (I used kefir - which is pretty much the same thing)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten (for some reason you can't see the egg in the picture)
Cooking spray



1. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl, and make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, oil, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring until smooth.
2. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. Turn pancakes when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Yield: 9 (4-inch)




Sorry that these picture blow, but my camera had no charge so I used my cell phone camera.

What a long strange month it's been

I started this month (less than 2 weeks after I started my blog) committing to posting each and every day. I joined NaBloPoMo for the month of November - and miraculously was able to keep the blog posting up. I completed the challenge! And...I signed up for December's challenge.

I have met so many great bloggy moms in this past month (virtually) and feel like I'm really a part of a community.

Yesterday, a friend came over with her daughter to play. It was 1pm and no one had eaten so I decided to make lunch.

The way I cook my Thanksgiving Turkey is to boil it (with onion, celery, carrots and peppercorns), breast side down, for 2-2.5 hours, flip it breast side up, remove most of the broth, smother with mayonnaise, and bake at 350 degrees for another 1.5-2 hours (this was for my 17 lb. bird). The bird turns out amazingly juicy, and beautifully brown.

Anyways, I keep the turkey broth from the bird, to use instead of chicken stock. It makes the most amazing stock. And I had leftover turkey, of course. So, I decided to make the most amazing Tortilla Soup from, of course, the Cooking Light Bulletin Board. If you click on to the thread, you will notice that this recipe is #1 on the Most Popular threads archive. For good reason, too! I just swapped out turkey stock and leftover turkey for chicken stock and chicken breasts.

Since I was in a hurry to put this on before our friends came over, I forgot to take a picture of my ingredients. The picture of the final product is from today (I had 2 bowls left over).

According to my girl-friend, "If I cooked this for my husband, he would buy me lots of jewelry". That's sounds like a resounding thumbs-up to me :) And the perfect way to use up left-over turkey without most people realizing it is turkey.

Tortilla Soup
6 tablespoons vegetable oil [I used 2 at most]
6 corn tortillas, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 diced tomato
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
6 cups chicken stock (I used turkey stock)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 to 6 cooked chicken breast halves, shredded (about 2 cups) (I used leftover Turkey)

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add tortillas, garlic, cilantro, and onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in canned tomatoes and diced tomato. Bring to a boil and add cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Return to a boil. Reduce heat. Add salt and cayenne. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in turkey. Reheat.

Garnish with cheese, avocado, sour cream, and tortilla strips (we just used avocado).

Serves 6 (1.5 cup servings)

Something Comforting

As some may have guessed, I spent Sunday recuperating. By 9pm, I was HUNGRY! And I felt like a nice light Asian soup.

On to the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards I went. I ended up with a fantastic, light recipe that took about 40 minutes from getting out the ingredients to eating. I had all the ingredients on hand (OK, fine, you caught me, I made a couple of substitutions) and it was super simple.

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup
Cooking Light, MARCH 2001

Vietnamese cooking often calls for adding herbs and sauces to a dish at the end. More than just a garnish, these ingredients allow you to tailor the final product to your taste. Additional chili oil and fish sauce will, though, increase the fat and sodium.

4 cups water
1/2 cup sliced shallots (I used a 1/4 of an onion, thinly sliced)
1/4 cup minced peeled fresh ginger (I used about 2 tablespoons ginger powder)
5 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 large cloves)
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.75-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 pound uncooked rice sticks (rice-flour noodles) or vermicelli
1 cup fresh bean sprouts (omitted)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (thought I had, but didn't, so used parsley)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil (from my back yard
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint (used all my non-dead mint from the front yard, from the summer)
4 lime wedges (forgot to add)
Chopped hot red or Thai chile (optional) (didn't)
Fish sauce (optional) (didn't)
Chili oil (optional) (used sesame chili oil drizzled on top)





Combine the first 9 ingredients in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan; cool slightly. Cut into bite-size pieces.
Cook rice sticks in boiling water 5 minutes; drain.
Divide chicken and noodles evenly among 4 large bowls. Ladle 2 cups soup into each bowl. Top each serving with 1/4 cup sprouts and 1 1/2 teaspoons each of onions, cilantro, basil, and mint. Serve with lime wedges; garnish with chopped chile, fish sauce, or chili oil, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 346 (18% from fat); FAT 7.1g (sat 1.7g,mono 2.1g,poly 1.7g); IRON 2.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 141mg; CALCIUM 61mg; CARBOHYDRATE 29.1g; SODIUM 1279mg; PROTEIN 40.4g; FIBER 1.1g



I'm not the best photographer, but I think it it looks pretty good!

What do you think?

Why does the big monkey think that I should come up with her spelling sentences? And decide whether her writing is neat. It's constantly "what do you think"? I guess I should be lucky that she's asking my opinion at all. It's just that suddenly -I'm in 1st grade. I don't remember my parents ever helping me come up with sentences - heck their English was pretty darn poor only 2 years after coming to America.

So how did I survive??

Either kids were more resourceful back then or the kids today are just plain dumber (I'm only partially kidding). We've made it so easy for them to get help on the answers that they don't need to think too hard about anything. We are making "survival of the fittest" a crap shoot for their generation.

It's not just me either - there are plenty of articles that talk about parents enabling kids to the point of writing notes to their work excusing "Billy" from work due to illness or just being tired!! As I have stated before, my parents are immigrants. We are used to hard work! My parents stood in lines for hours for bread and then trudged home in the snow! No excuses for them!

Maybe that's why I am struggling to draw a fine line with helping my children with whatever I can (each generation has to do better than the previous) and teaching them how to be independent.

In regard to my goal of health and money savings, I've realized that I need to plan for bringing lunches - otherwise I'm more tempted to go out and spend money. I've been taking whatever is available. Some examples:

* Two garden burger patties (taken from home) covered with salsa and queso cheese dip (found in the work kitchen).
* Lean Cuisine Ravioli (that I brought to work about 1 year ago)
* Leftover Waffles

It dawned on me - if make a crock pot meal once a week I will be able to have at least 3 no-brainer, healthy lunches. Apparently I'm a slow learner ;)

Last night I decided to make a meal I have been eyeing for a while.

Crock pot Thai Chicken
Bettycrocker.com



8 chicken thighs (I use 3 lbs chicken legs)
3/4 cup salsa (I should have used 1.5 cups or whole jar)
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
1/4 cup chopped peanuts (didn’t added – I had walnuts, pine nuts and macadamia nuts, but no peanuts)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (I forgot to add)

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix other ingredients except peanuts and cilantro. Pour over chicken. Cook for 8 hours on low. (4 HOURS ON LOW FOR BONELESS BREASTS)

Save the peanuts for garnish, along with the cilantro.

Posted by Claire 797 from the Cooking Light Bulletin Board


WARNING - don't do what I did!!! Don't layer each ingredient separately in to the crock pot. If you do layer each ingredient in to the crock pot, mix around before cooking, if you don't mix before cooking, mix about 1 hour before taking out of crock pot.

If not - the top pieces will have chunks of creamy peanut butter on them - BLECH!!! Then, you will have to re-heat in a frying pan (see above) to mix up all the ingredients sufficiently.

So - I think that this could be really good if it wasn't for user error - and a little bit of tweaking on my part.

Sunday mornings

During the week we are always busy. The kids eat a European supper (main big meal at 3:30pm or 4:00pm) and then a light meal (usually cereal and milk)at about 7:30pm (before bed). Which means that we don't eat dinner together as a family.

On Sundays, we try our hardest to eat breakfast/brunch together as a family. Recently, I received an AMAZING All Clad waffle iron (a Williams Sonoma exclusive) as a present. We had had the Disney Mickey waffle maker, and the Disney princess waffle maker, but neither of those turned out "REAL" waffles.





With this waffle maker I've been able to turn out wonderful (and pretty) waffles. Normally, I'm an omelet person, but I'm good with eating these waffles - because they are SO TASTY!

Lately I've been using a Mark Bittman recipe for waffles but my brain was so scattered this morning that I didn't remember which cookbook his recipe was in. So...Cooking Light to the rescue. I used the recipe from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook (the one published in 2000, not the latest one).

Blueberry Waffles
Yield
8 (4-inch) waffles (serving size: 1 waffle)

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1 2/3 cups skim milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (I used mini chocolate chips and PB chips instead)

Preparation


Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well. Combine milk, oil, egg whites, and egg in a small bowl; stir well. Add to flour mixture, stirring until well-blended.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray, and preheat. Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter per waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Spoon 2 tablespoons blueberries (I had the kids sprinkle on the chocolate and peanut butter chip) per waffle evenly over batter. Cook 6 to 7 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter and blueberries. Serve with syrup.




Note: If you are using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them before adding to batter. (This did not apply to me).

Nutritional Information
Calories:152 (30% from fat)
Fat:5g (sat 1.0g,mono 1.4g,poly 2.1g)
Protein:4.9g
Carbohydrate:22g
Fiber:.9g
Cholesterol:22mg
Iron:1.1mg
Sodium:149mg
Calcium:110mg

These are really good, and don't taste "light" at all. The big monkey LOVES to cover hers with the Greek FAGE yogurt (very thick, almost sour cream like), syrup and strawberry slices. The little monkey LOVES to DRENCH hers with syrup.

I actually made a double batch of these so that the big monkey can take some to school for lunch - which is my daily battle to try and find something she WANTS to take for lunch instead of buying lunch at school (which I sometimes give up on and let her do anyways).

Beans - yes, I'm immature

Beans, beans, they're good for your heart.
The more you eat, the more you fart.
The more you fart, the better you feel.So let's eat beans for every meal!



I love me some Rancho Gordo Beans. I found out about them on the Cooking Light Bulletin Board, one of my favorite places on the web ever! Before Rancho Gordo Beans I had never cooked beans from scratch. I always used canned - it was easier, faster and truthfully I didn't know what to do or how to do it.

It turns out - it's SUPER easy. And these beans are about 10 times tastier than canned - including the broth, which oddly enough is not supposed to be sticky and filmy looking (like the stuff you rinse off of the canned beans)!

This is where, for me, the crock pot comes in. There really is no recipe, just Steve Sando's (of Rancho Gordo) method... or at least my version of it.

Crock pot Beans (any type really)
Ingredients:
1 lb, beans
Water to cover beans by 1/2 inch
1 Onion, roughly chopped
2 Carrots
2 Stalks of Celery
5 Whole Peppercorns (I just throw in a couple)
Salt

Rinse beans in colander for at least 1 minute to get rid of any dirt or pebbles. Dump Beans in crock pot. Add onion, carrots and celery on top of the beans. Pour water over beans until the beans are covered by at least 1 inch (I layer the vegetables over the beans before I pour in water so that the beans don't float up to the top). Add peppercorns and salt.

Set the crock pot on low for 8 hours. Taste after 8 hours and adjust seasonings.

Don't resist the urge to have some beans broth soup. Super yummy, super tasty and no pre-soaking or fussing. So far for me, it has worked perfectly every time.

Time on My Hands

I decided to take the 7pm Zumba class tonight and was home and done exercising by 8:05pm (still LOVE the class). After putting the big monkey to sleep (she was waiting up), I ran out to Ralphs, picked up the 2 ingredients I needed and was making these bars by 9pm! Usually, I am only heading out to the gym at 9pm! Woo Hoo, extra time!

So, what did I do with my extra time?

Well - I spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out the LAUSD "Choices" brochure. It's the crazy "points" getting game you have to play if you want your child in a gifted program. And I'm already a YEAR LATE in accumulating points :0 !!!! I guess we'll find out in May if and where she gets in.

So far, these bars smell and look great. Taste test tomorrow!

Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars
These bar cookies strike a nice flavor balance: not too sweet and not too tart. Be sure to zest the orange before you squeeze the juice.
Yield
24 servings (serving size: 1 square)


Ingredients
Crust:
·4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
·1 cup quick-cooking oats
·1/2 cup packed brown sugar
·1/4 teaspoon salt
·1/4 teaspoon baking soda
·1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
·6 tablespoons butter, melted
·3 tablespoons orange juice
·Cooking spray (I didn't use this - I used the wrapper of the butter)

Filling:
·1 1/3 cups dried cranberries (about 6 ounces)
·3/4 cup sour cream
·1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda instead)
·2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
·1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
·1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through cinnamon) in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle butter and juice over flour mixture, stirring until moistened (mixture will be crumbly). Reserve 1/2 cup oat mixture. Press remaining oat mixture into the bottom of an 11 x 7–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. (This crust is SUPER thin - for a more substantial "bar" I would double the oat mixture for the crust).
3. To prepare filling, combine cranberries, sour cream, granulated sugar (Splenda instead), and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well.

Doesn't the filling look amazing? White, red and speckles of orange - YUM!!


4. Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until edges are golden. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.



Nutritional Information:
Calories: 133 (31% from fat)
Fat: 4.6g (sat 2.6g,mono 0.8g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 1.5g
Carbohydrate: 21.9g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol:13mg
Iron: 0.6mg
Sodium: 67mg
Calcium: 20mg
Kathy Farrell-Kingsley, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2008

A good influence

I went to another Zumba class tonight and did not have time for dinner (but I did have time to eat 2 chicken nuggets). I got home and was starving!

Since I'm blogging, and haven't posted a recipe yet this week, I decided to cook instead of eating eggs or left overs. See - this blog is a good influence on me.

I wanted something quick, easy and healthy. So I went to my "go-to" source - The Cooking Light Bulletin Board.

Bobmark226 (Bob) posted a recipe from Bittman: HTCE, 2008 revised edition. Of course, and I don't know HOW THIS HAPPENED, I am out of onions and garlic. I also made a couple of other substitutions and eye-balled the ingredients.

I will post the recipe as written and add my changes on the side.

Beer-Glazed Black Beans (turned out to be Wine-Glazed Black Beans)
Makes: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes with cooked beans

It's amazing how much flavor you can get from adding beer to black beans. Lagers and wheat beers will produce a lighter, fruitier dish; porters will add richness and stouts a deep, caramelized flavors.Other beans you can use: pinto, pink or black-eyed peas



2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped (I used onion powder)
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (I used garlic powder)
1 cup beer (I used white wine - which isn't in the picture)
3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained but still moist (I used one can Black Beans since I scaled it down just for me)
1 Tbsp. ground chili powder or ground cumin ( I used both)
1 Tbsp. honey
salt & freshly ground pepper

1. Put the oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about five minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute, then add the remaining ingredients with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.
2. Bring to a steady boil and cook til the liquid is slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot or refrigerate for up to 3 days and reheat.

While searching through the pantry, I noticed a tin of sardines!!



Yummy!! So - I added one on top (I think it's a European thing to love sardines).



WOW!!!! This was "lick my plate" good. Eat "way too much" good. The honey, chili powder and cumin really packed a flavorful punch!! So tasty!!