Pistachio Brownie Wedges

This is the other treat we made when we took our neighbor some goodies a couple weeks ago. I don't really care for brownies and neither does my hubby, so I don't ever make them.
My son on the other hand, loves brownies.
He saw the picture for these in the book and begged me to make them.

These definitely turned out to be cakey instead of fudgy. I sent the remainder of the brownies to work with my hubby and the dipped pistachio combination was a real crowd pleaser.


Pistachio Brownie Wedges adapted from Better Homes and Gardens the ultimate cookie book
1/2 cup butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted
1/3 cup pistachio nuts or pecans, finely chopped
dipping chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch baking pan with waxed paper (I used foil); Grease waxed paper and sides of pan. set aside.
2. In a small saucepan heat and stir butter and unsweetened chocolate over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat; let cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs 1 minute or until frothy. Add sugar and vanilla; beat 2 minutes or until thickened. Beat in melted chocolate mixture. Stir in flour. ( I added half the pecans to the batter and stirred them in at this point).
Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with toasted pecans; press lightly into batter.
4. Bake about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Remove brownie from pan. Remove waxed paper. Cut brownie into quarters; cut each quarter into 4 wedges.
5. Carefully dip outer edges of brownie wedges into melted dipping chocolate and then into pistachios. Place on waxed paper and let stand until set.

Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Cabbage with Roasted Shrimp

On one of our recent trips to the Farmer's Market, we were able to get some beautiful swiss chard, kale, red leaf lettuce, and bok choy. All from the same farmer. He was so grateful for our business or maybe just thought my girls were so cute, that he threw in another bunch of bok choy, free of charge.

I decided a simple stir fry was in order and found the perfect recipe.
I had also been wanting to try Ina's method of roasting shrimp in the oven and it turned out to be a perfect meal. I added some brown rice to round out the meal.

My kids loved this shrimp.
The stir fry was mild enough for them too, so this was a really kid friendly dinner.

Recipe for Stir-Fried Bok Choy and Cabbage

Recipe for Roasted Shrimp

Recipes from Gale Gand's Brunch

Have you seen this book, Brunch by Gale Gand? Well, it is a really good one, full of delicious pictures and great recipes.

It has been sitting on my book shelf for quite a while and I decided it was time to give some of the recipes a try.

The other day we had Backwards Day at our house. We ate brownies for breakfast, read our bedtime story after that, went to the library in our pajamas, etc. and we finished off the day by eating brunch instead of dinner.
I chose 4 recipes from this book for our menu- Pineapple-Blueberry Smoothie, Roasted Pears & Rhubarb w/ orange, Bacon Waffles, and a variation of the cover recipe- Egg Cups.
I don't like cooking with bacon and usually don't, but my kids love it when they get the chance to have some and I figured this was a fun way to use it.
We spent the afternoon swimming, so when I started making all these recipes, everyone was starving. I was almost out of eggs, so I used egg substitute in the waffles. (not by choice, I couldn't run to the store at that point)
The batter was light and airy, which made delicious waffles.

The smoothie was one of the best I have ever had. I don't know if it was simply because we had been out in the hot sun for hours and I was overly thirsty or just the wonderful combination (I am leaning towards this explanation) but it was great. The frozen pineapple and mint just added a delicious zing to the smoothie. My girls always like having their smoothies in "fancy" cups.

The egg cups were delicious. I didn't really use her recipe, but it was the same idea. I added some spinach to get some sort of vegetable in there.

The roasted fruit was really good. I liked the rhubarb part better because the sweet roasting liquid really went well with the tartness of it. The pears were a little too sweet. I would reduce the sugar in that one next time. The roasted fruit would be a great topping for vanilla ice cream or filling for a crumble/cobbler.

Overall, this was a really fun brunch, even if it was for dinner and we loved it.

Bacon Waffles (* I used 1/2 cup egg white substitute and low fat buttermilk)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup whole milk
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
maple syrup, for serving

Heat a waffle iron.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour and next 3 ingredients.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and next 3 ingredients.
Stir crumbled bacon into the wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients all at once, just until combined.
Don't overmix- it should be lumpy.
Make waffles according to manufacturer's directions; serve with maple syrup.


Egg Cups
I kinda did my own thing here.
I combined 3 eggs, 4 egg whites and 1/3 -1/2 cup skim milk in a bowl, then seasoned it with salt and pepper.
I sprayed a jumbo muffin tin with cooking spray and press a ham slice in each of the muffin cups.
I steamed some spinach and placed that at the bottom of the ham cup.
I poured the egg mixture into the ham cups and then added cubes of mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes to the egg mixture.
I baked them at 375 degrees F, until the egg was completely cooked, about 17-20 minutes.

Pineapple-Blueberry Smoothie * I used Apple Passion-Mango juice concentrate and Stonyfield Blueberry Low-fat Yogurt
2 cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 fresh mint leaves

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Roasted Pears & Rhubarb with Orange (I halved this recipe)
4 medium pears, ripe but firm
4 stalks rhubarb, trimmed and washed
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbls honey
2 Tbls red wine ( I used cranberry juice)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 vanilla bean, split open
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Quarter and core the pears (do not peel them). Cut the rhubarb into 1-inch pieces.
In a large bowl, combine orange juice and remaining 6 ingredients. Add the pears and rhubarb, and toss to coat.
Pour into a casserole or gratin dish and bake until tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

Not really TWD but the word shortcake is involved-- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

I feel kinda bad about not making this weeks TWD recipe, because it was chosen by one of my favorite bloggers ever- Cathy, who blogs over at The Tortefeasor. (You can find the recipe over on her blog- My apologies to you Cathy!). Even if you aren't interested in the recipe you should go read her blog. She is funny and entertaining and I love her blog.

I have a couple of projects going on with my kids that involve cooking/baking this summer and I just couldn't fit the TWD baking into our schedule. Plus, I am trying not to bake more than once or twice a week (unless it is for someone else) just for the basic health of our family.

I made these cookies last month when we went to pick strawberries and hadn't posted the recipe yet, so I decided they would be an okay substitute since they are shortcake, in a way.

I had so many fresh strawberries that I didn't know what to do with all of them. I found this recipe and it looked like an interesting twist on shortcake.
The cookies are made like a biscuit or scone, with the butter being cut into the dry ingredients and then the cream being added to bring it all together.

I used a little bit more chopped strawberries than called for and it made a really wet dough. The cookies still worked though, they just aren't as pretty as Martha's. oh well.



Recipe for Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies
* I used half & half instead of cream, since I had that on hand.

Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Scallions

The other day I made Lentil Minestrone (recipe to come), even though some people in my family don't really care for soup and definitely don't want to eat soup in the summer.
I made a comment about it on twitter and Nancy sent me the link for this delicious lentil salad as another way to enjoy lentils that doesn't involve soup.

As soon as I looked at the ingredients I knew that I would love it and quickly put it on the menu for the next week.

I absolutely love lentils. You might think I say I love everything, but there are a few things I don't love.
Lentils are definitely a top 5 food for me though.

When I was mixing up the dressing I realized that I was almost out of olive oil, so I only used about 2 Tbls. It still worked out great.
I loved this salad warm and cold.
I enjoyed the leftovers over salad greens.

Recipe for Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Scallions

Quinoa & Swiss Chard with Fried Egg

Going to the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings is one of my favorite things to do in the summer. I love all the local produce. It makes me feel great when I support local growers and also makes me happy to know that the swiss chard, or whatever else I buy is grown naturally without pesticides.
I also love taking my kids with me so they can see how important it is to me to buy local whenever possible. Plus, they love having input on what we purchase.

One of my favorite things to buy is swiss chard. I just love it right now.
This is one of the ways we enjoyed it recently. I sauteed the chard like I usually do, then added some cooked quinoa that I had in the fridge. I topped it all off with a fried egg (courtesy of my neighbor across the street). Perfect dinner, in my opinion.

Heirloom Tomato and Basil Tart

I planted basil a couple of months ago and it has really been producing and growing quite a bit.
I love growing my own herbs because it saves me so much money and because it is fun to just walk out the door and snip what I need for dinner.

My hubby doesn't really care for pesto and he can't stand tomatoes, so I waited until we had a family dinner at his mom's house to make this recipe. I knew there would be enough other people who like both of those things to help get this eaten.

Making pesto is so easy. I reduced the oil in the recipe by quite a bit (I only used 1/4 cup) because I like my pesto less oily and a little bit thicker.

This turned out to be a really simple, delicious tart. Great for a group/party. And perfect for summertime when basil and tomatoes are at their peak.

Recipe for Heirloom Tomato and Basil Tart
* I only used 1/4 cup oil in my pesto

Mahi-Mahi with Macadamia Nut Crust & Braised Kale with Cherry Tomatoes

A couple of weeks ago when we were grocery shopping, my daughter wanted to try the "rainbow" fish. She said that because the package that contained the mahi-mahi had a pretty, colorful picture on it. It was on sale, so I decided we could try it.
I love nut-crusted fish andI had already marked this recipe to try in my Mayo Clinic Cookbook. I decided to pair it with the kale because that is what the cookbook suggested.

The fish was delicious and really easy to prepare. My whole family really loved it.
The cooking method for the kale was nothing new to me since I cook dark greens this way all the time. I removed some of the kale from the pan before I added the tomatoes though, since my husband doesn't like tomatoes at all.

Another great healthy dinner. I love the Mayo Clinic cookbook and the great thing is that you can find most of the recipes online at mayoclinic.com.


Recipe for Mahi-mahi with Macadamia Nut Crust


Recipe for Braised Kale with Cherry Tomatoes

Gingery Lavender Shortbread

A couple of weeks ago when we went door to door, up and down our street to collect food for the food bank, we met our across the street neighbor for the first time.
She happens to be an older woman who lives all alone. Her husband passed away quite a few years ago and she has no children. We stayed and talked to her for a while.
The next day my 5 year old was begging to go across the street to talk to her again.
The next day- same story. and the next day and the next day.

So, we decided to make her a treat and go drop in to say hi and see how she was getting along.

I am growing lavender and had successfully dried some, so I was anxious to use it in a recipe.
I found this shortbread recipe in a book I have on the shelf and made a few tweaks to it. I added lemon zest and a little bit of salt and topped the shortbread off with some purple sugar.

We had to taste test it before we took it over (of course), and then we tied some ribbon around it and headed off across the street.

The kids were happy because we made someone else smile and because we were able to have a sweet treat. We had some shortbread leftover so I shared with some other friends. I thought the lavender flavor was faint, but one taster said it was definitely noticeable.

Gingery Lavender Shortbread- adapted from BH&G the ultimate cookie book

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms
• 1 cup butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• zest of 1 lemon
  

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. In bowl, combine flour, sugar, crystallized ginger, lavender, and ground ginger.
4. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs and starts to cling.
5. Form mixture into a ball; knead until smooth (dough may be crumbly at first but will come together as you work it with your hands).
6. Roll or pat dough onto prepared cookie sheet in 11” x 6” rectangle.
7. With large knife, carefully halve rectangle lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 16 slices.
8. Do not separate slices.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are light brown and center is set.
10. Re-cut the rectangle and separate the slices while warm.
11. If desired, sprinkle with additional sugar.
12. Cool on cookie sheet 5 minutes.
13. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
14. To Store: Place cookies in layers separated by waxed paper in an airtight container.
15. Store at room temperature for 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

TWD- White Chocolate Brownies

I made these 1 1/2 years ago because they just looked so good in Dorie's book. This week Marthe chose them as her pick for Tuesday's with Dorie. You can find the recipe on Marthe's blog- Culinary Delights or from this post when I made them quite a while ago.

When I made them, I smashed the meringue because I didn't invert them gently enough, so I wanted to give them another try - but didn't get to it. I did have to bake them for about 15 minutes longer then called for in the recipe to make sure they were done in the middle.
I remember these being very yummy. Probably because they were more cake-y than a traditional brownie.

Go see what the other TWD-er's thought by checking out which baker's participated this week!

A Variety of Mini Scones

On Mother's Day, we had a brunch and program for all the women at church. When we were discussing the menu, we decided to keep it simple. I suggested scones and volunteered to make a few varieties.
I apologize for the bad photos, but they were taken in a rush, on my way out the door to church.

I made a few recipes that I have made before- like these rhubarb and cranberry ones (Yes, I had one last bag of cranberries in the freezer that I used). And I tried a couple new recipes, like the Cherry Chocolate Scones and the Ginger Scones- both were very popular.

I also made a gluten-free scone, but used a gluten free mix and just had to add butter, buttermilk, dried blueberries and lime zest.
I used the Pioneer Womans' directions found in this post, to cut all my scones into minis, making them all much more figure friendly. Each recipe yielded about 30 or so mini-scones.
I also shaped and froze most of the scones ahead of time and just baked them straight from the freezer (just add a few minutes to the baking time)- a tip that Bridget shared on one of her posts about scones.

Recipe for Cherry Chocolate Scones
* I used milk chocolate chips
* I made a glaze with half&half and powdered sugar for these scones

Recipe for Ginger Scones
* I used milk, powdered sugar and ground ginger for the glaze

Recipe for Rhubarb Scones
* I used fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar for the glaze

Recipe for the Cranberry Scones
* this time I left out the egg yolk and used 3/4 cup buttermilk instead of heavy cream
the scones were much easier to shape because the dough wasn't as wet
* I used fresh orange juice, zest and powdered sugar for the glaze

Almond Butter Snickerdoodles

Have you tried freshly ground almond butter? It is soooo good.
A couple of months ago a friend asked me what kind of peanut butter I used. She told me she got her's from Earthfare, where it is freshly ground from peanuts. Just plain peanuts. No added oil, sugar, salt, etc. like you find in all the jars that are commercially packaged.

I went to check it out and was surprised by the price, which was so much lower than all the packaged peanut butters. Plus, the taste was unbelievable. Probably because it was really just peanuts. Funny how that works. You can even grind your own into a little plastic tub and watch the peanuts being turned into peanut butter.
Point of story- It is the only peanut butter I use. I eat a little bit of it daily. It is so good.
So, they also have freshly ground almond butter, which is a little bit more expensive, but oh so divine.
I saw this recipe in Cooking Light for Almond Butter Snickerdoodles and decided it was a great way to use a little of the almond butter.

These cookies are superb. Not the traditional flavor of a snickerdoodle, but so much more complex and I think, so much better. There is lemon zest, whole wheat flour, and cinnamon- which all combine for a perfectly chewy cookie. The almond butter adds a delicious layer of flavor.

My entire family loved these cookies. Even my husband- He couldn't tell they were "healthier".
Can't wait to make them again.


Recipe for Almond Butter Snickerdoodles
* the recipe said to use "smooth" almond butter, but I used the freshly ground kind which has a slightly chunky texture and they turned out great

Chicken Parm Burgers and Carrot Fries

I saw this recipe for Chicken Parmesan Burgers in Bon Appetit magazine and thought it was a really fun twist on chicken parm and a burger.
We don't eat burgers very often or meat for that matter, but these just looked too fun to pass up.
I used some local, lean ground turkey (93 % lean) instead of ground chicken since it was from a local farm and I have switched the two before with great results.

I had also seen a recipe for Carrot Fries that I wanted to try and this was the perfect opportunity to have a classic "burger and fries" dinner, but without the classic part.
The burgers were great. I made them smaller than the recipe said because I used a whole grain baguette for the "bun" and didn't want the burgers to be too big for the bread.
I used basil from my basil plant (Yay!- I love having my own herbs!) and used provolone cheese instead of the fresh mozzarella called for since that is what I had in my fridge.

I think I overcook my carrot fries a little bit, but they were still delicious.
This was a fun dinner.

Recipe for Chicken Parmesan Burgers
* I used local, lean ground turkey (93% lean)
* I used a whole grain baguette
* I used provolone cheese

Recipe for Carrot Fries

Wicked Good Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cups

My son somehow saw this post by Bakerella and decided we needed to make this dessert as soon as possible.
I thought it would be a fun one to celebrate school getting out and the beginning of our summer vacation.

The idea and recipe are from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey Treats for Kids by Jill O'Connor. Somehow I totally missed this cookbook, although I do have the original Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey, which happens to be the source of my husband's all-time favorite treat, Cheesecake Pops. A better picture can be seen in this post.

Back to the point- My son and I made the pudding on Sunday night. Yesterday we all made the chocolate cups and my kids consumed these for dessert last night. (I usually don't get posts of things I make up this quickly, but someone requested it)

I tasted a spoonful and thought that the chocolate pudding had the perfect mix of pb and chocolate flavor and it was just sweet enough. Smooth and silky. Everything chocolate pudding should be.
It does make enough to feed a small army. I should've halved or 1/3ed the recipe.


We used Baker's dipping chocolate for the cups- I would probably use a different kind of chocolate if I made these again.


The water balloons were impossible to blow up with your own lungs. I had to use a basketball hand pump to blow them up.
Naked pudding
Whipped cream and sprinkles added
Happy kids
Messy and fun treat

Recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding
* I used whole milk instead of half&half
* This makes a TON of pudding, especially when you are serving it in little chocolate cups

How-to for the Pudding Cups from Bakerella