Dirt Cake!!!

Okay, again, I am way overdue in updating this blog.

I have made my family's famous Dirt Cake for 2 different functions this week and everyone is asking for the recipe. This is best made 1-2 days ahead!

You will need:

approx 10-12" tall clean flower pot

4 rows of Oreo cookies (there are 3 rows per package so you need to buy 2)

1 block of cream cheese- let it get room temp

1 stick butter- let it get room temp

1 cup powdered sugar

3.5 cups cold milk

2 small instant pudding (the original recipe calls for both vanilla- i usually do one vanilla flavor and 1 cheesecake flavor if they have it)

12 oz of Cool Whip (Cool Whip comes in 8 oz or 16 oz containers so use your trusty math skills to measure it out the way that works for you!)

1. Make sure your Cool Whip is thawed before you begin!!!!!! (I make that mistake often)

2. If you flower pot has holes in the bottom, line it with a little foil or parchment paper to keep things from falling out.

3. Pulverize your crumbs first. I use my friend- The Magic Bullet, but a food processor works well too. You can also toss them in a bag and beat with a rolling pin.

4. Put the cream cheese & butter in a large bowl. Mix it with a hand mixer till fluffy. Add powdered sugar and mix. Set aside.

5. In another bowl- mix up pudding & milk for about 1 min with hand mixer. Add cool whip and mix just until combined. (Do this fast before your pudding starts to set!)

6. Gradually add the Cool Whip mixture to the cream cheese mixture and combine with mixer.

7. Now you have 2 things- crumbs & a yummy white mixture.

8. Start layering! Put about 1-2 inches of "crumbs" in the bottom of your pot. Then alternate layers of white & crumbs til you get to the top. End with a layer of crumbs for your 'dirt'.

9. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hrs or more. Garnish with fake flowers and gummy worms!

10. Try not to eat it all at once. :)

Pumpkin/Squash & Sausage Soup

***I sometimes make this with canned pumpkin and sometimes with pureed squash. You can buy butternut squash whole and cook & puree yourself OR Target sells it in cans and Kroger sells it in the frozen organic section. It takes about 2 small cans or 2 frozen containers for this recipe. You could probably even use the squash baby food if necessary! Pumpkin makes it a little thicker and richer like a stew and squash makes it a little lighter and a little sweeter.

1 lg can pumpkin (not pie mix) or squash puree (see above note)

1 cup dry rice, cooked to package directions. (I like brown rice cooked in 1/2 water 1/2 low sodium chicken stock)

1 lg carton of low sodium chicken stock

Sweet Italian ground sausage (I like the one from sprouts or Jenny O has a good turkey one)

white wine (cheap in fine)

1 package sliced mushrooms

1/2 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

2Tb half & half

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (You can use skim milk but I love cooking with almond milk b/c it's slightly sweet and creamy with 1/2 the calories and sugar of skim milk)

1/4 tsp EACH of ground thyme, red pepper flakes, ground sage

1. Cook Rice according to package directions and set aside.

2. In large soup pot or dutch oven, sautee onions & garlic with just a tiny bit of olive oil (like less than 1 tsp). Cook on low, covered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until nice & soft. Don't let them burn!

3. Turn up heat to med-hi & add meat & mushrooms to pot. Cook until meat is no longer pink- about 10 more minutes.

4. Leaving pan on med- hi heat, add the wine! I use about 1/2 cup or so.

5. Add rice to pan and mix thoroughly.

6. Add pumpkin or squash puree and at least 1/2 of the chicken stock from the carton. Mix well.

4. Add almond milk & half & half. Mix well.

5. If your soup needs to be thinned out, add as much chicken stock as necessary to get the consistency you like.

6. Simmer over medium until ready to eat. The longer it simmers the better.

7. 10 minutes before serving- stir in the thyme, red pepper, & sage.

VALENTINE'S DAY-PERFECT Chocolate Dipped Strawberries & Healthy Chocolate Cheesecake!

                                                            

One tradition I started when Michael and I first got married is making chocolate dipped strawberries for Valentine's day. When he proposed on Feb 13, along with the ring was a gorgeous box of Godiva chocolate strawberries. So, besides being pretty to look at and tasty, they are symbolic in our marriage. I started out doing it just the regular way of melting chocolate bark and dipping it in. Have you ever found that when you do that, you take one bite and ALL the chocolate falls off the strawberry? 

A couple years ago, I was cooking some other candy at Christmas with a recipe out of an OLD cookbook. It had something mixed in with the chocolate that I thought was crazy! But I tried it, and have made everything chocolate dipped that way to this day. Works out perfect every time!

The secret is adding a little something called Gulf Wax. Our granny's used it back in the day when they canned as a sealer. You can find in the baking aisle by the canning supplies and it is cheap! It binds the chocolate together and to the strawberry so the experience is not messy and you get a bite of chocolate with every bite of strawberry!

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh strawberries

1/2 bag of chocolate chips of your choice- I like Hershey Special Dark the best

1/3 block of Gulf Wax (it comes 4 blocks to a package, the rest will keep in your pantry for ages!)

wax paper

toothpicks

Prep:

1. Rinse your strawberries and lay them out to dry on a clean towel. They have to be REALLY dry.

2. Lay a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet next to where you will be dipping the strawberries.

3. Make sure your strawberries are dry before starting to melt chocolate. Insert a toothpick into each strawberry through the top.  Chop your 1/3 block of wax into 3-4 pieces.

4. Place wax pieces in a medium saucepan  and turn on med heat. (I use an old cheap, stainless steel one so chocolate doesn't melt onto my nonstick ones. I also finds it melts quicker and more evenly in a old thin one instead of new fancy heavy one.)

5. When wax is almost melted, turn to med low heat and and chocolate pieces. Stir with a wooden spoon until is all is melted together. 

6. Once everything is melted, turn your heat to low. 

7. To dip, pick up the toothpick with one hand and the pan with the other. Dip in the strawberry just right up to the green. Hold over the chocolate and swirl to let excess drip off. 

8. Place on wax paper. Repeat until all strawberries are dipped. Place cookie sheet in fridge to set. Should be set in 1-2 hours.

*I usually have enough chocolate left to dip a few bananas and raspberries or any other fruit I may have around. Pears are amazing too! You could even dip some graham crackers or other cookies if you have them!

As for the cheesecake recipe, I can take NO credit for this. I printed it off the Eating Well Website. It is totally sinful and amazing and much lower in fat & sugar than your traditional cheesecake. It puts the Cheesecake Factory plain Splenda cheesecake to shame!

The only things I changed were instead of the chocolate coffee beans for garnish it calls for, I used a little lite Cool Whip in the can and fresh raspberries. And for the 'chocolate wafers' it calls for in the crust, I wasn't sure what they meant so I used chocolate graham crackers. You will need exactly 1 of the plastic packages inside of a full box. 

EatingWell Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

                

Strawberry Spinach Salad

It seems like every nice restaurant has a take on this salad. Strawberries have been way cheap recently so I made this last night to use them up before they went bad. We try to do a main salad for dinner probably once a week. Instead of putting everything in a big bowl, I just put out all the ingredients salad bar style- in individual containers. That way, we can pick and choose what we want on it AND leftovers taste better b/c they haven't sat together and gotten soggy! Also, you can prep everything during the day, and when it's dinner time, everything is ready to go!

1 bag fresh spinach

1/2 pint strawberries, sliced

reduced fat Feta cheese crumbles

Spiced Pecans (see recipe below)

Sweet Onion Balsamic Vinaigrette (see recipe below)

Simple Pan Chicken (see recipe below)

Spiced Pecans (healthy!!)

Most versions of these are loaded with salt, sugar, and fat b/c they are usually coated in butter to get the spiced to stick! I came up with this version to satisfy the taste, but not have all the calories. You could use it on almonds or walnuts, too. By toasting them in the oven instead of sauteing on the stove, you get this nice toasty flavor. 

Michael's PawPaw has a pecan tree and he is always sending us fresh, home grown pecans. I constantly have a stash in my freezer. If I know I need some, I just set a few out on the counter for an hour or so and they are good to go! 

1 cup pecan halves

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray

3/4 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp Splenda

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1. Heat oven to 350. 

2. Place pecans in a ziploc baggy. Spray with 4-5 sprays of the butter spray. Close bag and shake to coat evenly. 

3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over pecans and shake bag again to coat evenly. 

4. Spread out on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 7-10 mins, shaking pan every 2-3 minutes. 

5. Allow to cool on pan about 10 minutes or so, then chop coarsely. 

Sweet Onion Vinaigrette

1/4 c minced onion

1/3  c olive oil (or your favorite oil)

1/4 c sugar free pancake syrup

1/4  c balsamic vinegar

2 TB dijon or spicy mustard

1. Place all ingredients in food processor or Magic Bullet and mix until blended! Can store in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

Simple Pan Chicken

I learned this method of cooking chicken from this book. In my opinion, it's the best method for cooking chicken if you are serving it on a salad. It gets the outside nice and crispy like you pan seared it, but it keeps the moisture in b/c it's partially poached as well. You can experiment with different seasonings, but this version is simple b/c of all the great flavors in the salad.

chicken breasts

garlic powder

Lowry's seasoning salt

1/2 tsp oil per chicken breast

1/4 c water

1. Place a skillet over 'almost high' heat and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat cleaver to thin out evenly. If you don't have a meat cleaver, you could use a rolling pin. 

2. When skillet is hot, add oil to pan- 1/2 tsp per chicken breast. Swirl to coat.

3. Remove plastic wrap from one side of chicken. Sprinkle evenly with garlic powder and seasoning salt. 

4. Place chicken, seasoned side down, in the hot skillet. DO NOT MOVE for at least 3 minutes. 

5. When you can see the edges turing white from the other side, turn chicken over. Add water to pan, turn skillet to medium, and cover. 

6. Allow chicken to cook about 5-7 more minutes (add more water to pan if necessary).

7. Remove from pan and let cool for 5 minutes before slicing. 

(Fake!!) Veggie Quiche

Breakfast for dinner is a fun way to change it up. Growing up, at least once a week my mom would make us grits, biscuits, sausage, and eggs for dinner and we thought it was such a treat!

 I made this last night and we all gobbled it up! I love quiche, but with the egg yolks, heavy cream, and full fat cheese, it is a nightmare on the calorie and cholesterol count. This is my version. If you don't like spinach & mushrooms, sub any other veggies you like- peppers, artichoke hearts, broccoli, zucchini, even tomatoes! We had this with a salad and you could also maybe do some whole wheat toast b/c the little amount of baking mix doesn't contribute too many carbs. Limit for veggies though to 2 cups (cooked) or else your pan will overflow!

Ingredients

1 small box frozen spinach or 1/2 of a large bag, thawed and squeezed of water*

1 package mushrooms, sliced

1/2 tsp olive oil

2 green onions, finely sliced, greens all the way to whites

4 slices Extra Lean Jennie O turkey bacon (even healthier than regular turkey bacon!), cooked, and crumbled to small pieces

1/2 c 2% mozzarella cheese

1/2 c Bisquick Heart Smart baking mix

1 c skim milk or light Almond Milk

1 c egg whites or Egg Beaters

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

***It's kind of a pain, but the most effective way to remove water from frozen spinach is to lay out 2 dry, clean kitchen towels (not white!), place your spinach in the center, and cover with the towel, pressing firmly until moisture is just about gone. 

1. Heat oven to 400. Spray a pie plate, 8 x 8 brownie pan, or other small casserole dish with cooking spray. 

2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium hi. Add green onions and mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms just start to soften. They will soften more in the oven, don't worry. 

3. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, whisk together the Bisquick, milk, egg whites, salt & pepper unti smooth. 

4. Sprinkle spinach in bottom of cooking dish. Cover with green onions & mushroom mix. Top with the crumbled bacon. Sprinkle cheese over bacon. Finally, pour the egg mixture over this. 

5. Bake at 400 for about 35-40 mins. You can stick a butter knife down inside and spread apart to check for doneness. There will be no remaining liquid in bottom when it's done. 

Blueberry Banana Muffins

I love baking, especially when I can make it healthy and a little more guilt free than normal! I made these today on the cold, icy day. I found this online and tweaked it to my needs. 

Makes 12 regular muffins or 24 minis

Ingredients

2 c whole wheat flour

1/3 c brown sugar (not packed)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c ripe mashed bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large)

2 whole eggs

2 egg white

1 tsp vanilla

1 c fresh blueberries

1. heat oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper or spray with non-stick spray. I used mini muffins.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside. 

3. In another medium bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add eggs, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir until combined. 

4. Rinse blueberries, drain, and place in a small bowl. Take a few spoons of the flour mixture and toss with blueberries. This coats them and keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin when you bake it!

5. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Pour in liquid and gently fold with a large rubber spatula. Stir just until moistened. Over stirring will make your muffins tough. Something about the gluten in the flour and the eggs. 

6. Stir in blueberries.

7. Spoon evenly into muffin tin. 

8. I baked my minis for about 15 minutes. regular sized muffins may make closer to 20. They are done when a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Chicken Sausage with Apples

I made this last night! I have been working on this recipe for a while now and I think I finally perfected it last night so I thought it would be a perfect one to start my blog! 

It tastes like it shouldn't be good for you, but it is so cozy and homey tasting! Pair it with a salad and maybe some steamed broccoli or green beans. 

Ingredients

*1 package of Archer Farms mini chicken apple sausages (from Target)

3 small Granny Smith Apples, sliced

1/3 of a small onion, diced

2 TB Smart Balance Light, divided

1 TB cornstarch mixed with 1/4 c cold water 

1/2 c chicken stock

2 TB lemon juice

1 TB brown sugar, packed

salt & pepper to taste

**1 TB fresh sage, chopped

*You can use any variety of chicken apple sausage. Sprouts sells large links- you would need 2-3 of these. The Archer Farms are precooked, so just make sure the sausage you buy is either cooked or boil it first for 20 minutes or so.

**If you absolutely have to, sub 1 tsp dried sage for the fresh, but only if you HAVE to. The flavor combo of the sausage and apples and sage is to die for!

1. Place 1 TB of the Smart Balance, the onion, and apples in a large skillet over medium-hi heat. Stir frequently and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until onions start to soften. Apples will still be pretty firm, but thats okay. 

2. Sprinkle brown sugar over the apple onion mixture and stir just until sugar is melted. 

3. Add the chicken stock and the cornstarch/water mixture to the pan. Turn up the heat just a tad, cover and bring to a boil. (This will take 1-2 mins). Let it boil for 1 minute.

4. Remove lid, stir, and bring back down to a simmer over medium. Add the lemon juice and the sausages. (If you are using large links, cut them in bite sized pieces) Stir to combine. 

5. Add the last TB of Smart Balance and the chopped sage and stir. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes or until sausages are heated through. 

6. Serve!!