Treats and Eats

Lots of baking going on before this Thanksgiving again. Here are a few of my favorites!

Chocolate-Pretzel Cookies

1 cup butter

6 squares unsweetened bittersweet chocolate (Baker's)

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups crushed pretzels (with salt)

Kosher salt

1. Melt butter and chocolate together

2. Blend sugars

3. Add butter/chocolate mixture to sugars

4. Add eggs and vanilla

5. Add in dry ingredients

6. Gently add in pretzels, stir to combine

7. Shape into rounds, place on baking sheets, sprinkle with kosher salt

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes

Sweet Potato Bread

Blend together:

3 1/3 c. sifted flour

2 t baking soda

1 t EACH: salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves

In a large bowl, mix together:

3 c. sugar

1 c. vegetable oil

4 eggs

2/3 c. water

1 large can sweet potatoes, drained

Add dry ingredients to wet, slowly. Pour into loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for one hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sweet Potato Cookies

I must admit, this is not my recipe, but I liked it a lot. The only thing I did to alter the recipe was to add cinnamon. I did not top them with the cream cheese frosting and they were perfectly moist and fine. Enjoy it!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-challenge/brown-angel-iced-sweet-potato-cookies-recipe/index.html

Balsamic Tomato Chicken

I'm back on Weight Watchers again so I'm trying to add some healthier recipes. Hope you all enjoy this one! (And, even if you're not trying to lose weight, it's still a great recipe.)

** If you don't have easy access to phyllo dough and you're not as worried about the carbs, you can serve this over pasta or with a good thick bread.

5 sheets phyllo dough
3 ounces cooked chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 small onion
3 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar (use a good one to get the best flavor)

Cut or tear the phyllo dough sheets into 1 inch pieces. Place on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for about 5-6 minutes until lightly toasted.

Heat olive oil on medium. Add the onions and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes to release flavors.

Add tomatoes. Cook 5-10 minutes until they blister and soften.

Shred the chicken and add to the tomato mixture. Pour balsamic vinegar on top and mix well. Allow flavors to blend for 2-3 minutes.

Put 1 c. phyllo dough on a plate. Spoon half of the tomato/chicken mixture on top. Enjoy!

For 5 points, you get a pretty big serving. The phyllo dough gives a lot of volume and satisfies some carb cravings without adding a lot of extra points. Add a fresh salad if you want more volume.

Salmon Pot Pie

I must admit, this dish is a labor of love and is not low calorie, but is well worth both the work and the indulgence. This will serve 4-6 people if you add a salad or veggie. You can prepare it ahead of time and just bake it when you get home. It tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had a chance to meld. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. salmon

4 cups broth (veggie, chicken or turkey) or a combo of broth and white wine

2 large potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces

3 hardboiled eggs, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 small onion, diced

1 can cream of celery soup (could also use cream of mushroom)

1 cup mayo

1 tsp. dill

1 tbsp. garlic salt

1 full (top and bottom) pie crust

1. Poach the salmon in the broth/wine. I use a combo of broth and something like a Chardonnay. Allow to cool.

2. While the salmon is cooking, boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain.

3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, carrots, celery, onion, soup, mayo, dill and garlic. Mix well.

4. Add potatoes to mixture.

5. Shred salmon, add to mixture.

6. Grease pie plate. Lay down bottom of the pie crust.

7. Pour in salmon/potato/soup mixture. If you have extra mixture, you can freeze it and/or make a second pie.

8. Place the top crust of the pie over the mixture. Pinch edges to seal. Prick holes in top to allow the pie to breathe during cooking.

9. Cook at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Brush with melted butter immediately after removing from oven.

Once again, this is a labor of love, but it is so amazing, that I find the work worth it.

Rosemary Apple Pork Tenderloin with Apple Chutney

Let me preface this with, I am a Jew who does not keep kosher. But, for various reasons, I am just learning how to cook pork roasts and chops. I happen to love pork roasts, tenderloin and chops but have had to teach myself how to cook them. Little did I know, cooking the perfect pork tenderloin is surprisingly easy. The instructions both in The Joy of Cooking and on the package just said to season with salt and pepper and cook at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes per pound. I just added a few additional flavors. The recipe for one of my new favorite meals follows:

For the tenderloin:

1 2lb. pork tenderloin

1 large apple, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 sprigs rosemary

1 cup apple juice (sweet wine or water will also work)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place tenderloin in roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Nestle rosemary sprigs inside tenderloin.

Place onions and apples around and on top of the roast.

Pour juice around roast.

Cook for 1 hour. Let stand a few minutes before cutting to seal in the juices.

For the chutney:

While the roast is resting, remove the onions and apple. Place in blender/mini food processor and puree. If it's too thick, just add in a splash of white wine or apple juice.

Serve with roasted rosemary potatoes (slice potatoes thin, place on greased baking sheet, sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper, roast until lightly browned).

Time for a Reappearance!

It's been a while, but I just had to share this super easy recipe I created for a sweet potato/pumpkin casserole. Since I didn't have milk, I replaced the used both canned pumpkin and applesauce and it turned out great!

3 large sweet potatoes

1 can pumpkin

4 ounces applesauce (1 single serving container)

3/4 c. sugar in the raw or brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 T. cinnamon

1/4 t. salt

2 eggs

dash of cloves

dash of nutmeg

Mini marshmallows

Poke a few small holes in the potatoes and roast at 350 degrees in a greased casserole dish for about an hour. Allow to cool.

When cool, scoop flesh out of potatoes and into a large bowl. Mash with a spatula or your favorite stick blender.

Add all ingredients except marshmallows to potatoes and mix well. Pour into the baking dish you had used for roasting the potatoes and top with marshmallows. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Yum!

Couscous Fruit Salad

This is such an easy dish to make and take with you to a potluck or summer picnic. Its also very healthy and kid friendly. I've been known to eat it at all hours of the day. It's good served at room temp or cold. Enjoy!

Cook the couscous using the directions on the box for the time, but substitute juice (apple, cranberry or white grape) for the water and don't add the salt and oil.

Mix together 1 chopped apple, a can of mandarin oranges (drained), sliced grapes, dried cranberries and pineapple (fresh is better, but canned works)

If you don't have any of the fruits, its fine, just put in what you have; if another fruit inspires you (blueberries, raspberries, etc.), add it!

Mix the couscous with the fruit, chill and enjoy at any time of day!

Pumpkin Bread

Hello from snowy Washington, DC! Grandma Dee Dee requested my recipe for my mom's pumpkin bread so I thought I would share it with the world. As always, its super easy and delicious!

Notes:

I really like the cooking sprays that are made for baking specifically. They have flour in them and make it extremely easy to release the goods from the pans. I recommend keeping a canister in your pantry.

Pumpkin and chocolate are flavors that go extremely well together. I know this may seem weird to some, but trust me on this one. If you don't want to put the chocolate chips into the batter, you can also drizzle some chocolate syrup or hot fudge on top. If you like chocolate, you will not be disappointed.

3 1/3 c. sifted flour

2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

3 c. white sugar

1 c. vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

2/3 c. water

2 c. canned pumpkin

1 c. mini chocolate chips (optional)

Heat oven to 350. Grease 3 loaf pans.

1. Sift all of the dry ingredients together.

2. Mix sugar, oil, eggs and water together.

3. Add dry ingredients to wet -- always. Mix until smooth.

4. Add pumpkin, mix until smooth.

5. Pour batter into 3 medium greased loaf pans.

6. Mix chocolate chips into any or all of the pans.

7. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until tester comes out clean.