Not-Too-Sweet No-Bake Cookies

So I wanted a chocolate fix, and I had a kid over at my house who wanted to bake something while her mother was at a meeting. But there are no eggs in my refrigerator currently, which kind of puts a cramp in my baking style. (We really need to put chickens in our landlord's backyard. I'm sure he'd love it.)

No-Bake cookies can be a decent idea when these two factors come into play, but most often the ones I have had taste more of sickeningly sweet white sugar and cheap chocolate. After reading up on a bunch of different versions, I decided to come up with my own. I have to say it turned out pretty yummy, so it seemed like a good idea to share it here. It's easy and quick, and you'll have your chocolate fix in minutes. Plus you can feel all giddy inside because most recipes called for another 1/2 cup of sugar and double the butter. You can almost feel yourself getting skinnier just reading the recipe. =)

*****When I say "loosely packed" it means that you just take your 1/2 cup measuring cup and scoop it into your ingredient without packing it down or leveling it perfectly.

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 c. Brown Sugar (or Yellow Sugar if you are in Canada) loosely packed
1/2 c. loosely packed Cocoa
1/2 c. 1% Milk
1/4 c. Butter
1 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Salt
2/3 c. (heaping) Natural Crunchy Peanut Butter
2.75 c. Quick Oats
1 c. Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. In medium sauce pan, melt butter and peanut butter together over medium low heat.

2. Add in sugar, vanilla, salt, milk, and cocoa and stir to combine. Bring to a light boil for just a minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

3. Add in oats and coconut, stirring to combine completely.

4. Using a small cookie scoop (about a tablespoon size), drop mixture on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Let set until solidified. If you are like me, eat two while the rest are setting up. Sigh contentedly that you have just eaten what could be argued as oatmeal with chocolate and peanut butter. Wonder if it could count as a healthy breakfast. I feel almost like saying "rinse, repeat" at this point. But I'll just say "the end".

Makes about 38 small cookies.

Crunchy Orange Roughy

This was my latest "challenge" recipe...usually, with fish, I either batter and fry it, or douse it with lemon, EVOO, and seasonings, and bake it...this was something a tiny bit different. BB and I enjoyed it immensely, but the kiddos said they didn't like the coating. I think next time, I'll halve the oregano, and maybe try something like paprika or cayenne for a teensy bit of kick.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C lemon juice (I used the bottled stuff, as fresh are out of budget right now)
• 1 T EVOO (or other veggie oil)
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 C instant mashed potato flakes (DO NOT USE THIS MUCH UNLESS YOU ARE COOKING FOR AN ARMY!!!! I cut it by half and still had a TON left over)
• 4 - 6, 6oz roughy fillets, thawed, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray (I use my Pampered Chef mister and regular EVOO or corn oil).

Whisk together the lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, and oregano in a shallow container. Place fish fillets in container and set aside to marinate while oven heats and you prepare your side dishes.

To cook, dip the fish in the potato flakes, and place on lined baking sheet. Bake, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

* - I misted the coated fish with some more EVOO, and baked it close to the heat to get a good golden, crispy coating. The fish actually took about 10 minutes per side, so I think the original recipe might have left that part out.

Regardless, this produces a good, juicy fish with a delicate lemon flavor. It was a bit overwhelmed by the oregano, which makes me think that next time, I'll try subbing something like dill, and adding that dash of cayenne.

We enjoyed this with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Poor Man's Toffee

I admit, I haven't been here in quite a while & I've felt a bit guilty about it.  I'm so glad to see the renewed interest in the site & I hope things keep clicking along they way they have of late.

While scrolling through I've loved seeing the healthy recipes & adaptations you all have posted...and now I'm going to ruin all our resolutions to eat better in this new year.  This recipe is floating about the ether in a few forms but this is my favorite thus far.

You will need:
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers
1 to 1 1/2 cup good chocolate chips (I prefer Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate chips because they melt beautifully)


Heat oven to 350 degrees.


In a heavy sauce pan, melt butter and brown sugar together & bring to a boil.  Boil for 3 minutes stirring often.


Line a jelly roll pan (or any sheet pan with sides) with aluminum foil and lay out saltines to cover the entire bottom of the pan. 


Pour butter & brown sugar mixture over the crackers & bake for 7 minutes.


After baking, remove from oven for 1-2 minutes then sprinkle with chocolate chips and return to oven for 1 minute.  Once chocolate chips have melted, spread chocolate over crackers with a spatula.  Let cool, then break apart or cut between crackers to eat.


Now, I will warn you, this stuff is rich and addictive.  I love it but can easily eat myself sick on it.  It's best made when you're going to have company to share it with.


Enjoy!

Half Indulgent Penne

I was in the mood for a creamy alfredo type sauce tonight, and knew that my three year old would eat pasta (finally!). After figuring out was was available in frig, freezer, and pantry, I came up with this yummy, filling dish that caused my little boy to clean his plate and contemplate seconds. (This is a cause for celebration, just so you know.)

This dish is made up of a mish-mash of leftover bits and regular ingredients I keep in my kitchen, which you'll soon figure out when you see the amounts listed for the various cheeses. You can tweak it to fit what you have in your pantry and change up the amounts. Since my husband has been working on our landlord's barn for the past few weeks, I've served up some version of this for lunch about once a week. It really is a versatile dish and perfect for this winter weather.

At our house, we usually have Half and Half in the frig for my husband's tea, but we rarely have heavy cream. So that's what I most often use for this dish. Thus the name. I figure it's only half as fattening as it would be otherwise. And the tool that makes this super easy is a silicon Calphalon whisk that looks a bit like a spatula. (In other words, it's not a balloon whisk. But I don't know the exact name.) Happy cooking!

***This recipe easily serves 4. (We served two adults and one child, and have enough leftovers to have for tomorrow's lunch.)

Ingredients:
1 Package Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of water
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 c. Carrots, chopped
Handful of Asparagus Spears, ends snapped off and remainder cut into one inch pieces
1/4 c. Pine Nuts
2-3 T. Butter
2 c. Half & Half + some to get desired consistency (you could also use whole milk)
1/3 c. Grated Parmesan
1/3 c. Shredded Mozzarella
1 T. Cream Cheese
1/4 c. Basil Pesto (I make this in summer and freeze in cylindrical ice trays to use year round.)
Salt & Pepper to taste
2-3 cups Penne Pasta

Instructions:
1. Cook penne according to directions so that it is al dente. (I usually add in a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking.)

2. Melt butter in skillet and add in garlic with a bit of salt. Saute over medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant and slightly softened. Add in cream cheese and basil pesto and whisk to melt.

3. Add in half & half and gently whisk to combine. Slowly add in parmesan and mozzarella, whisking to combine as it melts. Sprinkle in salt and pepper.

4. Add in spinach and stir. At this point, you may need to add more half & half to retain a good sauce consistency. You be the judge. As the spinach cooks, it will give off a bit of liquid, but if you've drained it well, it won't give off that much.

5. Add in carrots, asparagus, and pine nuts. Add in more salt and pepper if needed, according to your taste. Cover and simmer on low until pasta is cooked.

6. Drain pasta and pour into skillet. Toss creamy sauce mixture with pasta until it is well coated and distributed evenly on all the noodles. Serve & Enjoy!

7. If any leftovers remain, refrigerate. To warm up, just add in a bit of milk or cream and heat in microwave or in non-stick skillet over low heat on stove.

King Ranch Casserole Results

OK - the taste and textures of this casserole were good. All in all it won reviews from BB and myself. The kids? Not so much...but that was later determined to be due to a stomach bug that traveled through 3 of the 5 of us between dinner that night and Sunday afternoon.

Good times...

All in all, I will indeed make this recipe again. I think next time, I will use the "Mexican Cheese blend" they recommend - I had a block of Mild Cheddar that I used and it was a tad lackluster. Or maybe it could be spiced up a tad with some Pepper Jack mixed with the Cheddar? Hmmmmm...the fresh onion was simply not cut into small enough pieces for my taste - I am not one who enjoys crunching on tender-crisp onions - they should either be cooked through and caramelized, OR raw on my salad or sandwich. I just don't like that in-between stage...especially in a casserole...

I will also use low-sodium soups, or even attempt to make their recipes for Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Chicken soups. I had no stock on hand and used Swanson broth. Over all, it was a bit salty for my taste.

DO NOT substitute regular flour tortillas in this recipe! The corn tortillas give a good texture, and a sweet but robust flavor to the otherwise mild tastes.

I hope I'm not boring you all!

My chicken tortilla soup experiment

Coming soon. I'm such a tease.  But if we're friends on FB, I did post it there yesterday.

King Ranch Casserole

As I approach my third straight week of "try something completely new" challenge, I am already finding myself gravitating towards recipes that are familiar - similar flavors and textures to those things I have in my arsenal. This King Ranch Casserole sounds really yummy, and I'm excited to try it out. Also, it will use up the rest of that package of corn tortillas I bought for the Mexican Lasagna from last week...

This recipe comes from "The Casserole Queens Cookbook". I love their recipes for the way they incorporate our favorite childhood dishes, but make them a bit healthier, classier, more grown-up.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 C chicken broth
• 1 can Rotel (or whatever brand of diced tomatoes with green chiles you buy)
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• cooking spray (I use my Pampered Chef mister filled with EVOO)
• 12 8-inch corn tortillas, cut into quarters
• 1 3-pound roasted chicken, boned and shredded (I admit to having 3 lbs worth of pieces, that I baked up, skinned, boned and shredded and popped into the freezer sometime in the fall, not a freshly roasted chicken)
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 C grated Mexican-blend cheese (8 oz when weighed)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine cream soups, broth, tomatoes and garlic salt. Stir until warm through - about 5 minutes. remove from heat and set aside
• Grease a 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray. Cover the bottom with half of the corn tortilla quarters.
• Layer in half EACH of the chicken, and onion, then sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese.
• Pour half of the soup mixture over top, then repeat layers.
• Top the casserole with the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

I'll let you know on Friday how this one turns out! We're having it Wednesday night, and we'll see how it goes over.