Carrot-Walnut Cookies

If you know me, you know I have a sweet tooth.  I pretty much love all cupcakes, cakes, cookies and candy.  But guess what?!  I cannot find a single store bought cookie that doesn't have evaporated cane juice, corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar, etc. in it.  This makes my love affair with sweets rather frustrating at times.  So in my never ending quest to find something to satisfy my sweet tooth without eating refined sugar I came across this recipe and decided to give it a shot.  It was super quick and easy to make, delicious and very moist.  I believe it could also be easily adapted to a gluten-free recipe as well if someone wishes to do so. 

P.S.  Don't be scared of the walnuts if you're not a fan of nuts in cookies.  I absolutely prefer all desserts without nuts--I simply don't think they're necessary.  For this recipe, though, you grind them up so you can't even tell they're there. 

Picture courtesy of Whole Foods

1 c. raw unsalted walnuts

1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (Note:  I only had 1/3 c. of rolled oats so for the other 2/3 c. I used steel cut oats.  I think this may have changed the texture a bit but they were still delicious).

1 c. raisins

1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

2 carrots, grated

1 apple, grated (I did not peel it and don't think it is necessary at all)

1 very ripe banana, peeled and mashed

1/4 c. apple juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Combine walnuts, oats and raisins in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger.  Add carrots, apples, banana and apple juice.  Stir until combined.  Drop by rounded tablespoons an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets, making about 24 cookies.  Press down on each cookie with a fork to flatten them slightly.  Bake until tops and bottoms are lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. 

Per cookie:  80 calories, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated f, 0 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 13 g total carb (2 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar), 2 g protein

Shhhh.... don't tell anyone but these are vegan as well.

Bucatini all'Amatriciana

This past weekend I tried a new recipe from May's Bon Appetit magazine--Bucatini all'Amatriciana.  Patrick and I LOVE italian food and this dish was amazing.  Here's the recipe I used--I only made on slight modification to the original.  Hope you enjoy! 

Patrick barely had the patience to wait for me to take this picture!  It smelled delicious!

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz. thinly sliced guanciale, pancetta, or chopped unsmoked bacon
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-oz. can peeled tomatoes with juices, crushed by hand
Kosher salt
12 oz. dried bucatini or spaghetti
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino (about 1 oz.) --I omitted the cheese

Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add guanciale and sauté until crisp and golden, about 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the guanciale to a cutting board.  Finely chop the guanciale and add it back to the pan.  Return the pan to the stove.  Add pepper flakes and black pepper; stir for 10 seconds. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 2 minutes before al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta cooking water.

The sauce before I added the pasta.

Add drained pasta to sauce in skillet and toss vigorously with tongs to coat. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water and cook until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. (Add a little pasta water if sauce is too dry.) Stir in cheese and transfer pasta to warmed bowls.

After I added the pasta and pasta water--just before serving.

Hope ya'll enjoy this one as much as we did.  It was phenomenal! 

P.S.  I broke this down a little and believe that each serving costs approximately $1.12--better tasting than any italian restaurant I've ever eaten at and at a much better price.  It also only took about 30 minutes to prepare.  This one will become a regular in our house for sure!



Homemade Yogurt

Well... I've successfully made my first batch of homemade yogurt and I'll probably never go back to the ones at the store--it is SO much better. You can add whatever fruits and flavors you'd like to this plain yogurt base. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

1/2 gallon milk (I used 2%)
1 c. of plain yogurt (This is for your starter--it's how you get the probiotics into the yogurt. After the first batch you can use 1 c. of your previous batch as a starter.)
1/2 c. dry powdered milk

Pour milk into crockpot. Whisk in powdered milk. Heat on low for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the milk reaches 185 degrees (I used a candy thermometer), stirring occassionally.

Turn off crockpot and unplug. Let set 3 hours or until milk reaches 120 degrees.

Take 1 cup of the milk out of the crockpot and put in a small bowl. Add the yogurt to that bowl. Whisk until it is mixed thoroughly. Add yogurt and milk mixture to the crockpot, stirring to make sure the yogurt is mixed evenly throughout.

Cover the crockpot well with two beach towels and let set 10 hours. Uncover and dish into storage containers. Refrigerate 8 hours before serving.


Notes: I used a little less than 1 c. of yogurt for my first batch--I used one 6 oz. container. In the future, though, I will use 1 c. of my previous batch. Also, you can freeze the yogurt so I froze 1 8-oz jar of yogurt to use as the starter for my next batch.

To speed the cooling process along you can put your pot in an ice bath for about 10 minutes until it reaches 120 degrees. Then put the pot back into the crockpot, stir in the yogurt per the directions about and cover. (This is what I did since it was 10pm when it reached 185 degrees and I didn't want to wait up for 3 hours for it to cool down).

Lastly, if you want a thicker yogurt you can add more powdered milk in the beginning or before you put it in the storage containers you can strain it.

Let me know if you have questions. I will do my best to help!

Aquacate del Chocolate

Another cheater recipe that's actually good for you!  Cyrus was very skeptical of this one and ended up really liking it.  And once again I didn't tell my dear hubby what was in these before having him lick the spoon but he liked it anyway.  Super yummy and no sugar!!  :)

1 ripe banana
1/4 c. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 avocados, mashed
1/2 c. plus 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Process banana, agave nectar and vanilla in a food processor (or blender) until smooth.  Add the avocados and cocoa powder and process until creamy.  Add up to 1/4 c. water (as desired) to make the pudding thinner.  Store in a sealed container.  It will keep for three days in the fridge or two weeks in the freezer.  Serve chilled or at room temperature. 

Black Bean Brownies

Black bean brownies have become the "new" old rave again but this recipe is different than most.  Many people think that something is "healthy" just because it has beans or greens in it, and while those things do add some nutritional benefit they simply don't make a recipe healthy.  This recipe, on the other hand, is a lot healthier than any other I've seen.  The sweetender is agave nectar which is low on the glycemic index, it has bananas (which provide potassium), beans (fiber and protein), cinnamon (good for blood sugar management) and oats (fiber, good carb).  Notice:  There's no sugar!

Now I know you're probably thinking these sound awful--and a lot of black bean brownies probably are.  Being the good wife I am, I told Patrick I would make him homemade brownies and did not tell him any of the ingredients (afterall, if he knew what was in them before he ate one he'd never even try one).  But when they came out of the oven he ate one.  Then another.  Then he told me how wonderful they were.  Then when Molly and Cyrus came home they each had one and were also very surprised.  So before you turn your nose up to this recipe, give it a chance.  It's pretty darn good! 

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 whole bananas
1/3 c. agave nectar
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 T. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. instant oats

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease an 8x8" pan and set aside.  Combine all ingredients, except oats, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scraping sides as needed.  Stir in the oats and pour batter into the pan.  Bake approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool before slicing. 

Note:  Rolled oats run through the food processor may be substituted for the instant oats.  If you find these brownies are too soft, add another 1/4 c. oats or flour.

Braised Lamb Shanks

Thank you Whole Foods for probably the most wonderful recipe I've ever made! I even impressed myself--which doesn't happen too often! This entire meal cost me about $25 to make for the both of us and would have cost at least $35+ per person at a very nice restaurant (in KC... even more in a bigger city). This recipe would be amazing with risotto but I decided to treat P & I to Truffled Mashed Potatoes--not too healthy but a new love of ours that we occassionally treat ourselves to! I cheated this time and bought the potatoes already made from Whole Foods... less mess, wonderful taste and even better price! So enough of the build-up, here's the recipe!

Braised lamb shank with truffled mashed potatoes and sauted red chard

1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
6 lamb shanks
5 T. olive oil, divided
1 leek, chopped, white part only
4 carrotes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 whole garlic head, chopped (about 12 cloves)
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. beef or chicken stock
4 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 3 T. of olive oil over medium heat in a braiser or casserole dish. Coat lamb shanks with flour and place in pan. Salt and pepper as desired. Cook shanks in olive oil until evenly browned on all sides. Once browned, remove shanks from pan and wipe clean.

Add 2 T. olive oil to pan and heat over medium heat. Saute leek, carrots and garlic until golden. Add diced tomatoes, chicken/beef stock and thyme to pan and stir. Add shanks and cover with veggies. Place in oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning once or twice throughout.

When lamb is tender (about to fall of the bone), remove shanks from pan and return the pan to the stove. Heat veggies on medium high until sauce has thickened. If you want to make it thicker, whisk 1-2 T. cornstarch into sauce. Serve shanks with sauce on top!

P.S. I'd provide the link to the WF recipe but unfortunately their site is down right now... I will add it later! Hope ya'll enjoy this dish as much as we did!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

Lately Patrick and I have turned into Food Network junkies--it's pretty much on 24/7 in our house. Our favorite show, though, is Worst Cooks in America. I've always considered myself a pretty decent cook but I think it's possible that even I could fail some of their challenges!

Anyway, two weeks ago they did a challenge where each contestant had to make something they hated and one of the recipes given out was for Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. Now, I'd never had Brussels sprouts prior to watching this show, but I probably would have told you I didn't like them (pretty much because most people don't like them so naturally I assumed they were awful). But after watching Carlos make these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon I decided I should give them a try--after all, he had hated them before he made this recipe and when he tried them he decided they weren't too bad afterall. Then this weekend I decided to try my hand at the recipe by Anne Burrell. It was AWESOME!

So... for all you Brussels sprouts haters and nay-sayers out there, this recipe is for you! Hope you try it (and enjoy it as much as we did)!

Ingredients
12 Brussels sprouts
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 c. pine nuts
2 slices slab bacon, cut into lardons
1 block Parmigiano-Reggiano (optional)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the Brussels sprouts in half lengthwise, from top to bottom.

Toss the sprouts with olive oil, salt and crushed red pepper. Toss in the oven until tender, about 20 minutes.

Place the pine nuts on a sheet tray in the oven for the last 5 minutes of roasting the sprouts.

While the sprouts are roasting, put the bacon in a small saute pan with a splash of olive oil and bring the pan to a medium heat. Cook the bacon until it is crispy, 7-8 minutes. Remove the bacon from the pan.

Toss the roasted Brussels sprouts with the crispy bacon and toasted pine nuts. Using a peeler, shave a few slices of Parmigiano on top.

Chicken Andouille Sausage Gumbo

This recipe takes a while to make but it's definitely worth it! Make yourself a drink, turn on some good music and enjoy being in the kitchen.

Just before serving the gumbo over brown rice.

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs/legs
8 cups chicken broth
1 lb frozen okra (cut), optional
½ cup plus 2 T. cooking oil (I used Canola Oil)
½ cup all purpose flour
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped green pepper
½ cup chopped celery
1 16 ounce can chopped tomatoes
¾ lb Andouille sausage or Smoked Sausage, sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp. sage (I didn't have this so I skipped it)
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt

Remove the skin from the chicken. Cover chicken with water and simmer for about one hour until chicken is tender and easily removed from the bones. Allow chicken to cool, remove from bones and set aside.

As the chicken is cooking, chop the onion, pepper and celery. Set aside. Slice the sausage into 1/2 inch rounds and set aside.

Thaw the okra and saute in 2 T. of oil. You want to cook the okra until most of the ropiness is gone, and has caramelized a little on the bottom of the pot. Once the okra is cooked, stir in the tomatoes. This will deglaze all of the caramelized okra, and incorporate it into your gumbo. Sit until all of the caramelized okra is released.

Making the roux: You'll need about 45 minutes of uninterrupted time. Heat 1/2 c. oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed pot. You want to use a metal or wooden spatula to stir the roux. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, stir in 1/2 c. flour a little at a time until it is all incorporated. Start stirring. You may want to have a drink handy and make sure to sip slowly because this can be a long process!

Stir constantly so the mixture doesn't stick to your pan or clump up. Keep stirring until it is a "chocolate" color. You may wonder if it will ever get to this point but I promise it will--it will just take about 45 minutes. You know you're making progress when it's a peanut butter color and from there it will take about 20 more minutes.

As soon as the roux is finished, add the onion, celery and pepper. Saute in the roux until the veggies are soft. It's okay if they stick a little to the pan--it will give it more flavor. When the veggies are done, add the sausage and okra/tomato mixture to the roux. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. Add the spices, broth and chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 1 1/2 hour with the lid off. Taste and adjust spices.

My gumbo simmering!

Just before serving, sprinkle about 1 tsp. of gumbo file into the roux. (Note: Do not do this if you plan to reheat the soup. If you are going to have leftovers just add a dash of it to your individual bowl.) Serve over rice.

Buttermilk Whole Wheat Biscuits

Patrick and I LOVE our biscuits... for him it's a southern thing (I think) and for me it's a love of bread. When we started eating organic and whole grains I thought that biscuits would become our long lost love--the only whole grain biscuits I could imagine were dry, crumbly things that weren't hardly fit to eat! And then I found this recipe and knew we'd never go without our beloved biscuits again!!

Fluffy Buttermilk Whole Wheat Biscuits

2 c. whole wheat flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 T. stevia
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. butter
1 c. buttermilk

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, stevia and salt; mix well. Cut in butter until mixture reseambes course crumbs. Stir in milk until moistened. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 8 to 10 times. Roll to 3/4 inch thickness; cut with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until browned. Serve warm.

The biscuits before going into the oven.

Biscuits after they've come out of the oven and have been brushed with butter.

Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This past weekend I decided to forego the store-bought spaghetti sauce make my own. I found a recipe for a basic tomato sauce courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis and doctored it up a bit. Hope ya'll enjoy it as much as we did!

1/2 c. EVOO
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
4 T. unsalted butter, optional
1 lb. hamburger
1/2 lb. hot italian sausage
1/4 c. panchetta, chopped
1+ T. red pepper flakes (as much as you desire)
1 lb. mushrooms

In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.

In the meantime, brown 1 lb. hamburger, italian sausage and pancetta in a separate pan. Lightly season with salt, pepper and add red pepper flakes. Crumble beef and sausage as it cooks. Once the meat is done cooking, drain fat and set to the side.

Once sauce has thickened and after you've added butter, add the meat and mushrooms to the sauce. Cook until mushrooms are softened. Serve over pasta.

If you want to make a thinner (not so chuncky) sauce: After you've added the butter to the sauce, add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce. Return to pan and add meat and mushrooms.

You can also make up a bunch of this sauce and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. Once you've added the butter to the sauce, let it cook and then pour into freezer bags or containers.

Yield: 6 cups of sauce

Sweet Potato Apple Cake

I found this recipe on the Whole Foods website the other day as I was trying to find a "healthy" treat that would satisfy my sweets craving. I wanted to make the cake sugar free so per a suggestion in the reviews I used 1 T. stevia instead of brown sugar... next time I'll try something different to make it a little sweeter. It was still pretty good, though, and despite the lack of sugar my hubby loved it!

Natural cooking spray
1 c. whole wheat pastry flour (I used regular whole wheat flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg (I substituted cloves)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 lg apple, peeled, cored and grated
1 (3/4 lb) sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c. chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients; set aside. In a second large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg until well combined. Stir in apple, sweet potato, vanilla and walnuts and then add to flour mixture and stir to combine.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and baking until cake pulls away from the edges and is deep golden brown (approximately 40-50 minutes). Set aside to let cool and then cut into squares and serve.

Note: I'm kinda lazy and used my food processor to grate the apple and sweet potato which made it go a lot faster (in my opinion). It would also be pretty good with a little pumpkin pie spice added to it.

Healthy Blueberry Banana Muffins

Quite possibly the BEST muffins I've ever had... my hubby agrees! I'm not really a blueberry muffin fan but my hubby requested them and I wanted to fulfill his wish. I found the recipe on Epicurious.com and adapted it to be healthier--no sugar, no oil and more whole grains and fiber.

(I'd include a picture but I'm not good at photographing food!)

1 ¼ c. unbleached all purpose flour
¼ c. flaxseed meal
½ c. stevia
¼ c. oat bran
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 c. mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
½ c. unflavored soy milk (or buttermilk or regular, organic milk)
1 lg egg
2 T. plain yogurt
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 ½ c. fresh blueberries or 1 ½ cups froze blueberries, unthawed
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; whisk to blend.

Place mashed bananas in large bowl. Stir in milk, egg, yogurt and lemon juice. Mix in dry ingredients, then blueberries. Divide batter among muffin papers. Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Turn muffins out onto rack and cook 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: Can substitute wheat flour for all-purpose flour if you want a more dense muffin although it is recommended to use at least some all-purpose flour so muffins do not become too heavy. I used 1/2 all-purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour. Can also add oats instead of oat bran--again, I used 1/2 and 1/2.

Christmas Pasta

For New Year's Eve Abbey and I experimented with a new recipe from Rachael Ray. It was awesome so I thought I'd share it with all of you. Hint: Cut up all the veggies and get all your ingredients ready before you begin making this recipe. It goes kinda fast once you start.

(Picture courtesy of Rachael Ray... I wish I could take pics of food that actually turn out good!)

2 T. EVOO
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1/4 lb. pancetta, thick cut, chopped into bits
1/2 lb bulk hot italian sausage
1 lb. combined ground beef, pork and veal
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. good quality dry red wine
1 c. prepared beef stock
2 (32 oz) cans chunky style crushed tomatoes
A handful chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
1/4 tsp. allspice or cinnamon
Course salt and black pepper
2 lbs. penne rigate, cooked to al dente
Grated Pecorino Romano, as an accompaniment

Heat a deep pot over medium high heat. Add oil, garlic, bay leaf and pancetta bits and brown for 1 minute. Add meats and brown and crumble for 5 minutes.

Chop carrot, celery and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 miute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot. Stir in parsley, allspice and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes minimum before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.

Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.

The sauce will cover up to 2 lbs. of pasta.