Creamy White Mess: Coleslaw

It is now July and to me, July is synonymous with BBQ.  What better to serve at your BBQ than coleslaw!  It is delicious with so many main courses. 
As a kid growing up, I did not like coleslaw.  To me, it always just looked like a creamy white mess on a plate.  Plus it had cabbage and carrots.  No thanks.  But I have a new found love for the stuff.  I have determined I just didn't like that store bought mess.  Homemade is so much better than the store bought kind!  Sure it still kind of looks like a creamy mess, but it has cabbage AND carrots.  Two things I LOVE.  Plus it adds a great splash of color to any plate of food. 

One of the big problems I see with coleslaw is that that said creamy mess is not so pretty on your waistline.  Built on a base of mayo and often oil, it not a friendly side dish.  So I set out to healthify it.  And that is just what I did!  I hope you enjoy it at your next BBQ and don't even hesitate to have a second helping  :)

Healthified Coleslaw
inspired by allrecipes.com

1 bag coleslaw mix
1/3 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
1/3 cup reduced fat mayo ( I just buy the olive oil based)
1/3 cup sugar
1 TBSP white vinegar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/4-1/2 tsp poppy seeds (optional)

With a fork or whisk, mix everything except the coleslaw.  When it is blended thoroughly, pour over the coleslaw mix and toss to coat evenly.  Cover in the refrigerator and chill a couple hours.  It is key to allow it to chill for a bit so that it has a chance for the flavors to really marry.

Chicken Tikka Masala w/ Basmati n Tumeric Rice

Jay and I love cuisines from around the world. We are fortunate in that the area we live has many great restaurants, including several Indian places. We have come to really enjoy Indian food! So a couple of weeks ago, I set out to make Chicken Tikka Masala. To say we enjoyed the meal would be an understatement. We loved it! I was very pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it was, especially when I cut a lot of the fat and calories. We have already made it again, so that makes it twice in about 2 weeks. Obviously we liked it :) I hope you like it too!

Chicken Tikka Masala

adapted from AllRecipes

serves 4

Marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 tsp ground cumin

pinch ground red pepper

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 TBSP miced fresh ginger

**

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

**

Sauce:

1 TBSP butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

1 oz can tomato sauce

1 cup half and half (or 3/4 half and half, 1/4 whole milk)

1/4 cup chopped fesh cilantro (oprtional)

In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients. Stir in chicken, cover and refigerate for about 1 hour.

Preheat a grill for high heat.

Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard the marinade. Grill until jices run clear. It only takes about 5 minutes per side.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet. Saute the garlic and jalapeno for about 1 minute over medium heat. Season with cumin and paprika. Stir in the tomato sauce and half and half. Simmer on low until the sauce begins to thicken, around 20 minutes. Then add the grilled chicken and simmer for 10 more minutes. Pour over rice tumeric basmati rice (recipe below) and garnish with cilantro.

Tumeric Basmati Rice

Mealplanning101

1 cup basmati rice

2 cups water

pinch salt

1/4 TBSP (so a little less than a tsp) tumeric

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

Pour rice, water, salt and tumeric into saucepan or rice cooker and stir a little. Simmer until done (I use a rice cooker, so I just push the little button down :) )

After the rice is done, mix in the peas, and serve! You could also mix in raisins before cooking if you want to add a little sweetness. If I can convince Jay to like raisins more I will try this next time!

Coconut Cream Filled Macaroons

You didn't think I would leave you hanging did you???

Of course not! Salivate no more! Now you can enjoy these decadent little treats anytime.

Something about the name "macaroon" automatically induces "oohs" "awws" and "You made THESE?" by those that choose to have these meet their mouth! I personally am not a fan of coconut (just the texture; the flavor I love!), but I have received countless complements on these macaroons every time I have made them. These reactions and compliments have lead me to continue making them! If you are looking for a quick, easy, impressive, and scrumptious dessert - search no more!

Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons
by Martha Stewart COOKIES

Cookies:
3 cups unsweetened shredded (finely if possible) coconut - I usually use sweetened cause it is all I can find!
3/4 cup sugar
2 large egg whites
1 tsp coconut extract
1/8 tsp salt

Cream Filling:
4 TBSP unsalted butter (in two 2TBSP slices), room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp coconut extract

To Make Cookies:
Stir together cocnut, sugar, egg white, coconut extract, and salt in a large bowl. Refrigerate, covered until cold, at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Form heaping teapoons of dough into balls; space 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Gently flatten to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake cookies, until edges begin to turn golden, 9 to 10 minutes (you may need to rotate the baking sheets halfway through). Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Make the filling!
Put butter and shortening in mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and coconut extract; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Assemble cookies:
Place heaping teaspoon of filling on the bottom of one cookie. Sandwich it together with another cookie! Repeat with all of the remaining cookies. Transfer to platter and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until the filling is firm, around 30 minutes. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

DONE!

Bunnies Galore!

One thing I have always looked forward to is baking (and cooking) with my kids. I have long awaited the day we could frost, dip and pour in the kitchen! Maister is finally old enough to enjoy this, and we are having a fun time with all sorts of kitchen projects. I have been trying to have a new "treat" for every holiday. I was really excited to make these little cuties with her this year! I took two ideas I found and mashed them together to make a batch of these guys:

Don't you just want to squeeze those cute little bunny cheeks?!

Here is how we assembled them on top:
Dip the frosted cupckaes in coconut to give it that furry look
Large marshmallows cut in half and dipped in pink sugar
mini marshmallow cut in half for cheeks
M&M's for eyes and nose
Small black licorice squares cut in segments (I couldn't find any black licorice rope!)

VOILA!



Maister was quite proud of her little creation. She opted to have no coconut fur on top. She is definitely my daughter :)

For these cupcakes I created a sweet new frosting that I have been excited about! Jay seemed to like it, and he is a pretty good critic! We will definitely be making this frosting again. I hope you enjoy!

Coconut Buttercream Frosting

3 TBSP butter, softened
2 1/2 cups (approx) powdered sugar
1/4 tsp coconut extract
2 1/2 - 4 TBSP milk

In a mixer combine butter and powdered sugar, add coconut extract. Slowly add in milk 1 TBSP at a time until the desired consistency. VOILA!

Busy Baking

There has been a lot of baking going on around here. Infact, there has been more baking than is even pictured here! Between hosting a baby shower and the Easter holiday, I found myself more often than not, in the kitchen! No compaints here! Here is a virtual "taste" of what we have had baking around here:

Bunny Cupcakes with Cocnut Buttercream Frosting (recipe to come)

Mini Cordial cups filled with vanilla pudding, whipped cream, and strawberries!


Stuffed Brownie Truffles

Coconut Cream filled Macaroons (recipe probably to follow :) )

What have you been baking lately?

Fire it up!

There is something about the taste of grilled meat the just makes me happy. I have visions of summertime's past, and dream of the weekend barbecues in the future. When we go on walks and smell backyard BBQ's it makes me want to go home and grill too! With the warm weather that has been spoiling us, I have been itching to get our grill on! Monday Jay spoiled me by firing up our grill for the first time! I love preparing the food, and letting Jay fire it on the grill. It is perfect teamwork. Plus, Gator and Maister LOVE to run around outside with their Daddy.

When I made the fresh hamburger buns, I wanted something delicious to rest on the top. I am big grilled chicken fan, so that is what I settle on. I began throwing things together, and this was the end result of my grilled chicken sandwich experiment:

I marinated our chicken with Lawry's Szechuan Sweet n Sour Barbecue marinade. Then once it was grilled we added 1 piece of lowfat Jarlsburg (similar to swiss) cheese and let it get melty.

THEN:

Sauteed 1/2 an onion, half a red bell pepper in 1 1/2 tsp olive oil.

Once they were almost tender, I added 2 (diced) mushrooms.

Once the mushrooms have reduced I added 1-2 cloves grated/minced garlic and 2 handfuls of spinach. I allowed the garlic to get fragrent - about 30 seconds - and then removed it from the heat.

Add this the the top of your chicken breast, followed by a few slices of avocado and ENJOY!

HOT {Hamburger} BUNS!

There is something I have wanted to do for a long time. This is of course besides my secret wish to go to culinary school, or become a nurse. Wouldn't it be fun to cook all day, and be critiqued and receive pointers by a professional! Anyways... on to the point:

I am all about making as much as I can from scratch for our family. Even if it has more calories or a little more fat than the ones you buy at the store, I am OK with that because my food isn't stuffed with preservatives or chemicals! I like to try and keep our diet as natural as possible. Not that I didn't down several handfuls of the Easter Jubilee mix our grocery store had in the bulk section....but my obsession with fruity candy can be saved for another day.
For a long time I have wanted to bake my own hamburger buns. When I woke up this morning I wasn't planning on baking these, but as the day went on it just came together perfectly. I looked at a couple recipes, but couldn't pass on the recipe that told me I could be done in less than an hour from start to finish - including baking and rising! I was SOLD!

I was a little nervous, but I was thrilled with the way they turned out, even with the changes I made. * I have a hard time sticking to a recipe 100%. I love to add my own flare to things. *

Here is one of the trays of buns.
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns:
Adapted from allrecipes.com
16 buns

2 cups warm milk (110 degrees F)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup warm water - almost hot, but still warm
1/4 cup sugar
2 packets or 4 1/2 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 egg
1 TBSP water

1. In a saucepan warm milk until 110 degrees Faranheit
   
2. In a large bowl, mix the warmed milk, melted butter, warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes, until it gets foamy.
3. Mix in the salt, and gradually stir in the whole wheat flour, let it mix a minute or two.
   
4. Add the all-purpose flour until you have a soft dough. Divide into 16 pieces, and form into balls. Place on greased baking sheets so they are 2 to 3 inches apart. Let rise for about 20 minutes, or until they have grown a little bigger - not necessarily doubled but close to.
5. Lightly whisk the egg and water together, and then brush the tops and sides of the buns with the egg wash.
   
6. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until golden on top. Cool slightly, then split them in half horizontally. Serve with a juicy burger!

Carbs: Whole Wheat Bread

Carbaholic. Yes, that is me. Spaghetti or lasagna served without french bread is like Siegfried without Roy, Seinfeld without Kramer, cutting onions without crying... ok I think that was going down hill quickly. There is only one thing better than finding your favorite bread on sale at the store, and that is baking your own FRESH bread! I absolutely love to have a slice of piping hot bread with honey on it. That is seriously dessert to me...Alright, you caught me! I would still have a scoop of nutella on the side :)

I have been baking many more loaves of my precious bread lately. I always bake two loaves; one to eat on the spot, and one to place in the freezer so we can enjoy the home baked goodness later. It works out perfectly, and thank goodness it thaws quickly too! If you love homemade bread, try this recipe it is QUICK (only has 1 rise) and is scrumptious!



The title of this recipe is "The Best Homemade Bread Ever"
I am not sure I can say it is the BEST, I still have many recipes to try before I can claim that. So I will name it this:

Really Yummy Whole Wheat Bread
yields 2 loaves

2 1/2 cups Warm water (almost hot)
2 TBSP Butter in slices
Put in bowl and let butter melt a little in the water. Then Add:
1 1/2 TBSP Yeast
1/3 cup Sugar
Let sit until foamy. While you wait you can get everything else out. Then add:
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Oil
Mix a little. Then add:
1/2 cup Gluten Flour
Add half of the flour (the whole wheat half) as well and let it mix for a few minutes
5-6 cups Flour (half whole wheat, all purpose/ bread flour)
Add your flour 1-2 cups at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the mixer and is not sticky to the touch. Form 2 loaves and place them into greased pans. Cover and let rise 30 minutes - 1 hour, or until it is about 2 inches above the top of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Your house is going to smell amazing by this point, so get your bread knife out and prepare to start slicing!

From the Kitchen: Healthy Barbecue Chicken Burgers

I wish I had some picture to share today, but we scarfed down our dinner too quickly to take any pictures! I suppose that is a complement from the family. I threw together a little something for dinner tonight and wanted to share it with you! Plus, I need to write it down before I forget :)

Healthy Barbecue Chicken Burgers
Serves 4

2 chicken breasts
2/3 cup barbecue sauce (plus a little more for drizzling) --we used Kinders - DELISH!
3 TBSP red onion, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
4 pineapple rings, or some pineapple tidbits
4 whole wheat burger buns

Place chicken breasts in greased slow cooker. In a bowl mix barbecue sauce, onion, and carrot together. Pour over the chicken and set cooker to low. Let cook for 4-5 hours
A little over half way through cooking, shred the chicken and allow it to continue cooking and marinating in the sauce.
To serve, place some shredded chicken on a toasted bun. Place 1 pineapple ring on of the chicken and then drizzle a little barbecue sauce over top. Place top bun on, and take a big bite!

ENJOY!

Chicken Salsa Tacos

As promised, here is yummy, simple, recipe #1 for the week. This is one of my "go to," always have ingredients on hand, recipes. It is quick, flavorful, and healthy!

Chicken Salsa Tacos

1 chicken breast

1/2 cup salsa (I prefer mango)

Put chicken breast in 2 qt. crockpot (I use a smaller crockpot when I do just one breast to prevent burning), and pour salsa over the top. Cook on low for about 4 hours. About an hour before you want to serve, shred the chicken and allow it to really soak up the juices.

We serve in a tortilla with rice, pinto beans, little cheese and more salsa!

I even like to add some of the leftover chicken into my lunch time veggie wraps. Adds great taste!

Hope you like it!

More Peanut Butter Please...

For about the past 25 years I have been craving chocolate and peanut butter. Yes, I am only 25 year old, so you can take take that to mean I have always loved peanut butter :) But lately, I have been on peanut butter & chocolate craving overload. A few of our friends have been feeling under the weather (one feeling the nausea that comes with having a baby on the way, and one with some laryngytis) so I jumped at the chance to make them something scrumptious! I wasn't necessarily planning on posting this recipe, but that was before I tasted these bitesize guys:

I got rave reviews from everyone that tasted them. And have been asked for the recipe by both friends. And since I can't help but share something delicious with YOU too, here is the yummy recipe for you to enjoy! Let me know if you try it. I would love to hear how you liked it!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

from allrecipes.com

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used smooth)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBSP milk

40 miniature peanut butter cups

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter, and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and milk. Slowly addd the flour mixture, and mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each ball into an lightly greased mini muffin pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool for about 5-10 minutes, and then place in the fridge for 5-10 minutes longer. Carefully remove from the pan.

*

Do you eat peanut butter any chance you can?

YES!

Less than perfect day = Baking Cookies

To say the least, today was not the best one I have ever had. I just wanted to go back to bed and wake up, ready for the day to be better! Unfortunately, my attemps to take an afternoon catnap failed, and I had to trudge through the remainder of the day wollowing in my sadness. Ok, I am being dramatic, but you get the idea. I decided cookies would make it better, so I told Maister if she ate some of her asparagus at dinner I would make cookies. I figured this would give me a better excuse to make cookies, and I can get Maister to do almost anything for a promise of dessert! She ate her asparagus (can I get a WOOT WOOT!), and I began baking.

I chose my favorite "healthy" cookie recipe. Isn't that kind of an oxi-moron...healthy and cookie? Well in this case I think it almost fits! You see, about a year ago, after we moved into our house I was enjoying the new space in my kitchen a little too much. I was baking a little too much, if that is even possible. I decided that I needed a healthier dessert option that still tasted delish, and would fulfill my need for sugar at night. So I pulled a ton of ingredients out of my cupboards and just starting adding a little of this and a lot of that, and before I knew it I had these beauties sitting on my counter. And I was never more proud, don't worry it was the good kind of proud :)

I like to call them "Healthy Oatmeal Pecan Cookies"

I used a mix of extra dark chips and semisweets for tonights batch

Tonight we baked these with out the pecans as I didn't have any left...dang. I love the extra crunch of the nuts in the cookies. I love having a cookie recipe where I can enjoy eating several cookies and not worry about how I shouldn't be grabbing another one. Try them, your mind and body will thank you. And let me know what you think! I would be totally embarassed if they were awful and I have been feeding them to people. I know sometimes I can get in my own little world, and maybe my taste buds are just trying to boost my confidence by telling me they are good. Although, the chocolate smeared on my kids faces should say it all. I can trust the opinions of a 1 and 2 year old right? Right. Now that we have that settled...

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Healthy Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

makes about 3 1/2 dozen

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1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature (almost warm)

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup dried cranberries

1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips or coursely chopped chocolate

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix butter, applesauce, and sugars until combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and mix well. In a separate bowl whisk baking soda, quick oats, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Then slowly incorporate into the wet ingredients. Mix well. Add the pecans, chocolate and craisins until just combined. Drop by the tablespoon full onto greased baking sheet (I recommend pamper chef baking stone). Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, just until the edges are slightly golden. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing.

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Now if you will excuse me, I have about 30 cookies left to eat...