The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

Fiesta Carmelita

Every so often, I come across a recipe on the internets that speaks to me.  It doesn't happen often, but a few months ago I fell on these crazy looking Carmelita's on Pinterest (courtesy of Lulu the Baker). Everything about them appealed to me.  The drippy caramel, the melted chocolate, and the fact that all this was sandwiched inside of an oatmeal crust - just thinking about it makes me... hungry. But one cannot subscribe to healthy eating and to a world where Carmelita's are a regular occurrence so I tucked the recipe into that little spot in my brain that I reserve for naughty stuff and went on my way. Then, the perfect event reared its head - we were invited to a Mother's Day BBQ and I was tasked with dessert!  So I cracked open that naughty nook and got to work.  And now, I share with you, the sickest dessert in the history of desserts - I even added a little party to the name for affect - the Fiesta Carmelita.

Ingredients:

• 2 bags of chewy Werthers caramels
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 sticks of butter (I never said they were healthy!)
• 1.5 cups brown sugar, packed
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups old-fashioned or rolled oats
• 2tsp's baking soda
• 1 bag of chocolate chips

While I amended some of the ingredients a bit, I followed Lulu's instructions to the t:

"Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until completely smooth; set aside. In a separate bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats, and baking soda. Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting.

*A stint in the fridge will help them cool off if you're pinched for time. They shouldn't be served cold, but all of that molten caramel takes a long time to cool down. They should be stored and served at room temperature."

Yield - A 9x13 pan of perfection.

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Nutella-filled half-moon shaped spring roll thingys

I know.  Sounds crazy.  But I've been bit by the Pinterest bug and I've become obsessed with amazingly delicious-looking food pictures and I came across this from Recipe Girl:

So, ours didn't look like that; we made our sort of flat, like half-moon shaped simply because we (my girls and I) were more interested in teasing our taste buds rather than our eyeballs (but aren't the heart shapes beautiful?).  So we bought a package of Nasoya egg roll wrappers, a jar of nutella and got to work.

We literally smeared a tablespoon or two of the hazelnut chocolate spread inside of each egg roll wrapper, wet the edges to seal it in half, and tossed it in the frying pan with about a quarter inch of canola oil and, dare I say it, fried until brown.  That's it.  Obviously they were devoured quicker than I could photograph them but the pics above are far more aesthetically pleasing than ours looked. 

Next time we are feeling crazy, we'll tackle these babies, courtesy of The Apron Gal:

Oh, and stay tuned for my latest weight loss update. :)

Four Ingredient Cookies

I received an email from my mom the other day. It wasn't a fwd: fwd: fwd: fwd about the deadly lead in lipstick or how the plastic cups in my home are going to come alive during the night and kill us all. Nope - it was a recipe for cookies, with just four ingredients. And it looked so strange that I had to try it. So yesterday, during one of my computer breaks, I made these:

Four Ingredient Cookies

• 3 egg whites, mixed (not beaten)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1.5 cup Craisins

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

My mom's recipe called for Heath or Skor bar instead of coconut but I had none in the house so I improvised. Here's what we got:

They were TOTALLY delicious and without all the added stuff we usually use to make cookies, not horribly unhealthy either. So there you have it. Now we're going to work them off running around in the sprinkler.

Health(ier) No-Egg Double Chocolate Cupcakes

Yesterday was a gray day in Boston.  We slept-in a bit and with every passing Spongebob, our idea of heading to the Museum of Science were dashed more and more, until there was nothing left.  So we did what any mom and daughters would do - we baked!  However, in keeping with my mindful indulgences theme, (at least for them, (am I the only mom who is more respectful of what goes into her kids bodies than what goes into her own?  Didn't think so.) I wanted to bake something delicious (read: chocolate) but still relatively healthy.  Oh, and I was out of eggs.  So I dusted off my old stand-by (thanks, Norene!), and found a recipe for No-Egg Double Chocolate Cupcakes.  We made an adjustment or two, but the recipe ended up like this:

No-Egg Double Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1.5 c flour (I used .5 c whole wheat flour)
• 1 c sugar
• 1/3 c unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 c orange juice
• 1/2 c coffee (or water)
• 1/4 c chocolate chips (or not. but we did.)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray (we used cupcake liners).  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix well.  Add wet ingredients except chocolate chips.  Mix until smooth and blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Don't over mix or cupcakes will be tough.

Pour batter into the muffin tins.  Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until done.  Cool completely.  You can sprinkle with icing sugar or ice with store bought icing (but keep in mind this will increase calories and fat).

Yield: 12 cupcakes. These freeze well and recipe can be doubled.

183 calories per cupcake, 5 g fat (or 166 cals and 3.9 g fat without chocolate chips).

 Enjoy!

 

 

 

Butternut Squash Soup from NYC's The Lion

My Canadian status notwithstanding, I love Thanksgiving.  The cooking part began in 2008, when I decided that my American kids were starting to be old enough to know the difference, and the traditions started to mold themselves last year, when my oldest let me know that we'd need to buy a "big fat turkey".  And this year, though we're traveling a few hours south to a friend's house to join them  in their traditions, I just couldn't resist jumping in and cooking something festive, if not just to enjoy any old night.  So when I saw a recipe in last week's People for butternut squash soup that looked amazing, I cut it out and made it.

It was DEE-LICIOUS.  Not too time-consuming and really, just so tasty.  I told my kids it was pumpkin soup, figuring they'd be more likely to eat something that they could relate to (butternut squash?), and it worked.

Check it out:

The Lion's Butternut Squash Soup

• 5 tbsp butter
• 6 cups cubed butternut squash (check the frozen aisle - it's the cheapest way besides actually cooking a whole squash - MESS!)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 Granny Smith Apples, cubed, peeled, cored
• 5 cups water (I used about 4.5)
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 2/3 cup heavy cream (I used light cream - gotta watch that waistline!)
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg for garnish (I omitted)

Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. 

Saute squash and brown sugar, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 15 minutes.  Add apples, water, cider, salt, cinnamon, sage and cloves and bring to boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are tender, 30 minutes.  Cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender (I left a little bit of chunk, for effect).  Return soup to pan, add cream.

The Lion's recipe calls for a topping of 1 tbsp of sour cream and a dusting of nutmeg but I omitted these ingredients and just got down with my soup.  It was delicious, froze perfectly, and is hearty and perfect on a chilly fall day.

 
 

Lobster Salad Sandwich on Cape-Cod Cranberry-Walnut Bread topped with Avocado & Tomato Salsa (Phew!)

When asked by the Hass Avocado folks to come up with a recipe that combines Hass Avocados with a local Boston flavor, immediately I got a craving for something lobster-y topped with something avocado-y.  So rather than intricately map out a creation using the delicious (and nutritious!!) fruit (did you even know Avocado is a fruit!), I went with something that sounded AMAZING to me, both in taste and texture.  And amazing it is.

Introducing....

Lobster Salad Sandwich on Cape-Cod Cranberry-Walnut Bread topped with Avocado & Tomato Salsa 

Ingredients:

• Meat from 1 1/4lb lobster, chilled
• 2tsp's finely chopped shallot
• 1tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4tsp sea salt
• 2tbsp's EVOO
• Loaf of cranberry-walnut bread or 2 large cranberry-walnut rolls (from Cape-Cod's bogs or just your local bakery :)
• 1 ripe Hass avocado 
• 1 medium tomato

Instructions:

• Chop the lobster into small pieces, leaving claw meat slightly larger.  
• In a small bowl, combine shallot, lemon juice, and sea salt.  Add oil in a slow stream.  Whisk together and let stand 15 minutes.
• Slice the avocado into bite-sized cubes.
• Chop the tomato into small pieces and combine with the avocado.
• Pour 3/4 of the lemon juice and EVOO dressing over the lobster meat, tossing gently.  Cover all pieces. 
• Pour the balance of the mixture over the avocado and tomato salsa.
• Prepare enough cranberry-walnut bread for two large sandwiches, or slice rolls.
• Scoop lobster meat onto the bread or roll. 
• Layer the avocado & tomato salsa over the lobster meat, even allowing some to spill over onto the plate.
• Serve the second piece of bread next to the open-faced sandwich.

What's so good about this recipe?  What isn't!  The combination of succulent New England lobster with the creamy, and healthy, Hass avocados (and everything else in there) is just mouth-watering. 

ENJOY!

  I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association. Mom Central also sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Awesome Broccoli & Spinach Lasagna

Lasagna can be boring.  Not only can it be boring, veggie lasagna is sometimes dry.  I actually love to serve lasagna, since it's easy to feed a group, and it's typically a crowd pleaser for adults and kids.  So I've spent a bunch of time perfecting this broccoli and spinach lasagna by including a few atypical ingredients.  Let me know what you think:

Ingredients:  

• 1 box of no-cook lasagna noodles (I can't tell the difference, can you?)
• 1 15oz container of ricotta cheese
• 1/2 of container of 15oz cottage cheese, small curd
• 1 egg
• 1 10oz package of chopped frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 10oz package of frozen broccoli florets, thawed
• 1 7oz container of pesto
• 1 3lb jar of tomato sauce (Prego is VERY tasty)
• 1 8oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Combine ricotta and cottage cheese in a medium bowl.  Add the egg and mix it in.  In another bowl, combine the thawed veggies and douse in the pesto. 

Prepare a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.  Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish, then begin layering noodles, cheese, then the veggies.  Repeat until you have three layers, finish with noodles with thin layer of sauce and cover the top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake on 350 until brown or about 40 minutes.  Let it settle for about five minutes, then serve.  Can be made in advance, and frozen.  

Yield: 8 servings

Note: You can make this dish lower fat by using 2% cottage cheese, light ricotta, and part-skim mozzarella. 

So a tuna and a tartare walk into a bar... a recipe.

And they combined and got saucy and lived happily ever after.

Just kidding.  But I did make one of the finest tuna tartare's I've ever eaten this weekend, and I have to share this culinary experience with you.

First of all, as some of you know, I've often talked about how I missed my calling as a chef/caterer/food critic/whathaveyou... so I try to keep up with food blogs and learn new cooking techniques all the time.

Plus, I'm a bit tired of steaks on the BBQ.

So I jumped on fellow Montrealer (and my friend's sister-in-law) Danielle Garonce's blog, to see what's new.  As a caterer and all around foodie, her blog is always full of recipes, food ideas, and reviews of Montreal restaurants, many of which I so miss.  Her food always looks so beautiful and delicious, that I was looking forward to trying one of her (less intricate) recipes. 

Last week she posted this recipe for tuna tartare and I knew I had to take the challenge.  As is typical, I changed a few things, some due to laziness (I bought rice crackers instead of frying my own lotus root), some due to caloric intake (still working on reducing mine), but in general, I think I did pretty well.  Even my hard to please dinner mate went back for more. 

So here it is, made for two -

Ingredients:

• 3/4 of a pound of sashimi grade tuna or better
• 2 limes, zested
• little less than 1/2C of olive oil
• 1 tsp wasabi powder
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• drop of sesame oil
• 1tbsp Sriracha sauce (if you're like me and need to Google this, it's just hot chili sauce)
• salt & pepper
• 2 tbsp scallions, sliced thin
• 1 and a 1/2 ripe avocados
• package of rice crackers
• Optional: spicy mayo (from the sushi counter)

Dice the tuna into small cubes (or smaller, depending on your taste), and place in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, lime zest, wasabi, soy sauce, Sriracha, salt, and pepper. Pour over the tuna, add the scallions, and mix well.  You will not need all the marinade, so use your discretion.  Cut the avocados in half, remove the seed, and peel. Cut the avocados into 1/4-inch dice, add  lime juice and toss.  Using a mold (or in a pinch, cut out the bottom of one of your kid's plastic bowls, as I did), fill the bottom with avocado.  Layer the top with the tuna and carefully remove the mold.  Serve with simple rice crackers or go crazy and make Danielle's amazing looking lotus root chips.  Drizzle plate with the spicy mayo, and serve.  You will have two large dinner servings, and enough for 4 apps. 

Seriously delicious, and not hard on the eyes either:

Uncle Ben's Introduces Whole Grain WHITE Rice

I'm on a CONSTANT quest to balance my kids diet.  I mean, as a fan of moderation, I enjoy treating them to fun foods like cookies, cupcakes, and other not-so-healthy things, but on the flip side, I try to include as many whole grain and healthy foods as possible.  All in the name of a well-rounded diet.

Whole grain bread, pasta, and even crackers, have become a staple in our kitchen but until now I could not win the battle with rice.  I happen to prefer brown rice (weird, I know) but those small people in my house would leave it untouched. 

Until last night.

Last night I prepared Uncle Ben's new Whole Grain White Rice and they ATE it (alongside their roasted kale and organic chicken nuggets of course).  The rice is not as stark white as regular rice, so if you have a super picky eater this might not go unnoticed, but it's as close as it could be and it tastes just like regular white rice made from a box.  Except instead of ingesting nasty white carbs with little to no nutrition, they got twice the amount of fiber, 45 grams of whole grains per serving, no preservatives or artificial colors, and loved every minute of it.

My only thing is this -  I have made it a habit to serve the healthy stuff openly in our house, as opposed to sneaking it in to the food.  No trickery in my food, since I hope my kids will adopt the brown and green foods as openly as they do the "kid food."  But to be fair, the rice was in fact the one food I couldn't get them to eat in any color other than white.  So this is considered a victory.

Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice comes in a variety of flavors - long grain, chicken, broccoli cheddar (my kids would love this), taco style, and sweet corn. 

All products reviewed were provided to me at no cost by Uncle Ben's and Mom Central.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.

Healthy Eating and Two Delicious Summer Recipies

It's almost summer and we're trying to eat healthier in our house.  One of my daughter's is extremely enthusiastic about food (as am I), and well, it showed at her well-doctor's appointment last week.  While I'm sorry I allowed her to be indulged as she was (food is love, isn't it?), I'm now more aware and have put the brakes on.  And it's an easy time to do it!  Fruits and veggies are in full bloom and ripe for the eating.  Also, I take great pride in my abilities to find ways to yummify otherwise bland foods.  Here are my two latest discoveries: roasted kale chips (yup - I said kale!) and an avocado and hearts of palm salad to die for.  Enjoy.

Roasted Kale Chips

• 1 bunch of kale
• approx 2tbsp's olive oil (I just drizzle it over the Kale
• salt
• garlic powder
• chili powder

Pre-heat your oven to 300.  Lay the kale out on a baking sheet.  Using tongs, cover the kale in the seasonings - use as little or as much as you want, but don't be shy!  The more the tastier!  Bake for about 15 minutes, 5 minutes more if it's not crispy around the edges.  (Be careful - the kale will start to brown if you leave it in too long.)  Remove from oven, enjoy the same day (it'll get soggy overnight).  My kids even eat this!!

BTW - kale is LOADED with good stuff like minerals, vitamins, manganese, calcium, and potassium.  It's high in iron too (one daughter is iron-deficient) and has all kinds of nutrients and compounds helping in warding off cancer and other diseases.  Sold?

Next up:

Avocado, Hearts of Palm, and Red Onion Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

For dressing

• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil
  

For salad

• a 14-ounce can hearts of palm, drained
• 4 California firm-ripe avocados
• 1 small red onion, sliced thin
• Boston lettuce leaves (from about 2 heads)

Make vinaigrette:
In a blender purée garlic and coriander with lemon juice, sugar, and salt. With motor running add oil in a stream, blending until dressing is emulsified.

Make salad:
Cut hearts of palm and avocado into 3/4-inch cubes and in a large bowl with a rubber spatula gently toss with onion and vinaigrette until combined well.

Line 8 salad plates with lettuce leaves and mound avocado mixture on top.

I got this one at Epicurious.  I ended up loving the dressing so much that I quadrupled it and have it in the fridge for everyday use over any salad.

Share yours!!