Blondies by a blondie

I am very forgetful.  About the only thing I can be relied on to always remember are the names of people and actors.  I can spout off useless pop culture trivia.

But I forget to turn lights off when I leave rooms (a terrible thing to admit this close to Earth Day). I forget to bring important documents when they are necessary.  I forget to return phone calls, emails or texts.  For this reason, I was blessed with the nickname “Blondie” by my dad.  Well, he named me that for my forgetfulness as well as my penchant for asking silly questions on occasion.

I may forget to turn those darned lights off (which used to cost me $.25 when I was growing up) but I won’t soon forget the taste of these delicious, gooey Blondies.  I might be forced to remind myself again soon, since my first batch has barely lasted 24 hours.

Chocolate Nut Blondies

Makes 25 (perfect bite) bars

1/3 C butter

1 C light brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 C all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 C dark chocolate chips (or any type of chocolate)

1/4 C chopped walnuts (or other nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9×13 baking pan.  In a small saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together until smooth.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Stir in eggs, one at a time, and vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Add in sugar mixture and  stir until well incorporated.

 

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.

Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over top.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars (they will still be gooey!).

Love at first bite, I promise! 

So is this “blondie” thing good or bad?  I dunno, you tell me..

Chunky Apple Muffins

I’ve been baking alot recently.  Boredom is really bad for my coworkers & parents because, heaven knows, those treats will not stay in this house.  I definitely don’t need the temptation with California calling in a few months! 

Useful tip:  Keep the weights and kettlebells in view.  Keep the baked goods out of sight!

Did you think I was kidding?  I’ve loved having these on hand to do a quick 20-40 minute Exercise TV workout to start my day.  I’ve been trying to find the motivation to also work out in the evenings, but I really hate dealing with the after-work crowds (and accompanying body heat) at the gym.  Guess I’ve really got to get back into my 4:30am routine..

Back to the good stuff..

(adapted from King Arthur Flour) 

1 C whole wheat flour

1 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1/2 C butter, softened

1/2 C sugar

1/2 C light brown sugar, divided

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 C buttermilk

1 large or 2 small apples, peeled and chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with greased papers.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, cream butter for 1 minute. Add sugars and mix well.

Add in egg and mix well.

VERY slowly add buttermilk and mix just to combine.

Stir in flour until batter is moistened. Don't overmix.

Fold in apples.

Divide batter into baking cups and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until you get a clean toothpick.  Cool on a rack and enjoy!

 

These, according to the taste buds of myself and my mom, are the best apple muffins I have ever eaten!  I absolutely loved the texture of the apples after baking. 

Mom’s taste buds got 95% of them and my weights only lost about 5% of my attention for the morning.  A girl’s gotta take a break on occasion!

Sweet & Soured

I made a beautiful cake last weekend – the first complicated, from-scratch recipe for a cake since my angel food cake almost a year ago.  Mom’s birthday is once again approaching and lemon cake is on the wish list.  Without any history to pull from, I went a-googling!  I came up with a recipe at Taste of Home and went to work.  The cake turned out beautifully (after much coaxing from the tube pan and the resulting dent), but the icing was such a disaster that I refused to display the iced result.

So now, it’s on to find a better icing recipe.  Can’t have a scratch made cake without scratch made icing.  That would be  a crime!  But for now, my version of Lemon Chiffon Cake..

Lemon Chiffon Cake

7 eggs, separated

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1/2 C whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 C sugar

3 tsps baking powder

1 tsp salt

3/4 C water

1/2 C canola oil

grated zest of 1 lemon

2 tsps vanilla

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate eggs and allow egg whites to stand in a large bowl for 30 minutes.  In another large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

Whisk together egg yolks, water, oil, grated lemon zest and vanilla.  Add to dry ingredients and mix until well blended. 

Add cream of tartar to eggs and bit until soft peaks form.

Fold egg white mixture into batter.  Pour batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and run a knife through the batter. 

Bake on lowest oven rack until golden brown, about an hour.  Remove from oven when golden brown and immediately invert to cool completely.

 

Run a knife around the edges of the pan before removing from pan (good luck with this..)

Once it’s out, trust me.. it tastes great.  I just can’t live with an ugly cake.  Attempt #2 will be happening soon!

Fat Free (nearly) Protein PB Granola

Looky, looky!

Delicious chunks of oats, puffed kamut, almonds, raisins with an awesome peanut buttery taste.. and almost NO FAT.  I’m a proud girl.  I have read probably 100 recipes for fat free homemade granola and got a general idea of how to concoct this stuff.  Then, I decided to wing it. 

What I ended up with was most amazing on my Greek yogurt this morning and it’s got extra protein too.  Who needs to buy packaged granola?!  Not this chica! This was so easy – took me 5 minutes to throw together and only about 10 to bake.

(Almost) Fat Free Protein Peanut Butter Granola

1 1/2 C rolled oats
1 C puffed kamut (or other puffed grain)
1/3 C sliced almonds
1/2 C vanilla protein powder
2 Tbsp peanut flour (or PB2)
2 Tbsp flax meal
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
3 Tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/4 C raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
In medium bowl, mix oats, puffed grain, almonds, protein powder and peanut flour well. Stir in vanilla and agave.
In a separate, small bowl, add 3 Tbsps water to flax and stir. Let sit for several minutes to thicken. Once thickened, add applesauce, agave and vanilla. Pour this mixture over oat mixture and stir until clumps form.
Spread on prepared baking sheet and bake, stirring every 3-4 minutes for about 10 minutes total or until just beginning to crisp.
Allow to cool and stir in raisins. Store in an air tight (tupperware) container.

 

Nutritional Info for 18 servings (1/4 C or 20g)

• Calories: 72.0
• Total Fat: 1.8 g  (.2g saturated)
• Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
• Sodium: 18.7 mg
• Total Carbs: 11.0 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.4 g
• Protein: 3.7 g

I’m a big fan of the nutritional info too.. considering most store-bought granolas are much higher in fat and sodium.  A few tablespoons of it on my yogurt definitely powered me through a tough chest/tri/cardio workout this morning.. enjoy!

PB2 makes my day

You already know I love this stuff and the awesome creations that come from the jar -

So I pulled out a new jar to whip up one of Tina’s recipes, with some modifications.  Her original recipe is here.

PB2 Bars

 

1 1/2 C rolled oats

1/2 C flour

1/3 C agave nectar

1 egg

3 Tbsp PB2 (chocolate, regular or peanut flour is good too) mixed with 1/4 C water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8″ baking dish with foil.

Throw all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.

 

Press mixture into baking dish and bake 15-20 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Let cool several minutes and remove from pan, peel foil off and cool completely on rack.

 Stats (with 16 servings):  74 calories, 1 g fat, 14 g carbs, 2 g protein

 I was completely OK with enjoying these today.  I haven’t had a good workout in several days, but was forced to pull out the summer clothes in preparation for Florida.  I am SO glad that everything still fits really well, bikinis included.  Whew…

Planning a good workout session tomorrow with my parents and then  mom & I are getting our toes ready for sandals!  I absolutely cannot wait for 80-degree temps.  It didn’t go over 40 here today and that’s just wrong since we were in the 70s last week.  Boo to you, Virginia!

I need warmth.. and peanut butter!



volume eating and new dietary rules

I have a problem..

(source)

I’d actually refer to it as an addiction.  Hello, my name is Heidi and I am addicted to nighttime snackage.

It’s a habit – every night at 9:30, I pop a HUGE (seriously.. we’re talking multiple quarts) bowl of air-popped popcorn.  I top it with a dash of nooch and some salt and for at least an hour, I eat.  I’m not quite sure why I am so obsessed with having my bowl o’ corn every night.  Could it be ..

A: The crunch?  B: The saltiness?  C: The fact that I can eat for an hour straight and not feel guilty?  I’m gonna go with D: All of the above.

I am a volume eater.  I LOVE to feel like I am getting a lot of food accompanied by as few calories as possible.  Anyone else in that boat with me?  For that reason, I switched up my breakfast today.  Every morning, I had been eating a bowl of oats with 4 egg whites, half an apple and cinnamon alongside a 1/4 C plain greek yogurt sprinkled with granola.  Every morning.  I consume about 325 calories every morning with this meal.  Religiously.

Today’s breakfast looked like this:

Egg whites + spinach & broccoli; 1/2 FlatOut with Chocolate PB2; Red pear + cinnamon

215 calories and incredibly filling!  I was excited to not only change things up, but to get more bang for my caloric buck. Check out that variety and the addition of greens.  Apparently, I never knew what amazing green things I was missing..

Frozen spinach + Dole Antioxidant Berry Medley + Ground Flax

So why the self-assessment on eating methods?  Not sure if you have heard the news, but the dietary guidelines have once again been amended.

I’m partial to the 2 major tenants related to calorie consumption seeing as they support my reasoning for eating more nutrient-dense foods (can you even fathom how much fiber is in a big bowl o’ corn?!) and, as someone recovering from an E.D., I often need to be told that balance is key and that a little piece of dark chocolate once in a while won’t kill me.  Anyhoo, here’s what USDA now has to say:

1. Balance calories over time to reach and maintain a healthy weight -   I LOVE this idea, especially because I go way over my calorie budgets some days.  Who cares if I hit 1,800 calories yesterday.  I’ll balance it out with a lower calorie day today and try not to stress about it (which, I admit, is really difficult sometimes). 
2. Get most daily calories from nutrient-rich foods – Spinach and broccoli for breakfast?  Berry smoothies for lunch?  I definitely ate more fruit than vegetables in the past, but I like incorporating those veggies into a sweet treat.  Did I mention I have a huge sweet tooth, thanks to my Italian roots?

Those Buonocore’s.. well, it used to be coffee and coffee cakes daily!  Hey, I’m all for a good coffee cake in moderation.  I’m just glad Uncle Sam agrees!

On a side note, if you love healthy eats, swing by Friends for Weight Loss and enter the giveaway for an awesome cookbook!

Shortcut? Not quite.

I love to bake breads.  Crusty artisan breads. Flavorful quick breads. Traditional holiday breads.  So I guess I sort of took a short cut when I whipped up something from a frozen bread dough.  I wouldn’t quite consider this a true shortcut, however, because it was equally as complicated labor-intensive as any of the aforementioned recipes.  The only downside to this dough was that it was so glutinous that it resisted rolling, but it finally caved to my intentions.

Truth be told, I really just waned to see if it came out as good as my own, kneaded bread.  I’ve only attempted 1 recipe, but it was so much fun that more will surely follow.  And yes, the bread itself might just be made (and then frozen) by someone else!

Cinnamon Nut Twists

 1 loaf frozen white or whole wheat bread dough

2 Tbs butter, melted

1 Tbs ground cinnamon

1/2 C granulated sugar

1/2 C walnuts or pecans, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Defrost bread loaf. Roll into a rectangle, approximately 8" x 12".

Brush dough liberally with melted butter, reserving about 25%.

 

In small bowl, combine cinnamon, sugar and nuts. Sprinkle over dough and press down firmly.

 

Fold dough in half and pinch edges to seal. Press down firmly again on entire half.

 

Cut dough into 12 slices with a sharp knife or pizza cutter (You will get spillage at this point - don't worry!).

 

Twist each slice twice and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with any nut mixture that may have spilled.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and serve warm!

I wish I could say that was my serving, but I reserved those for my parents.  It was cinnamony taste and aroma heaven and totally worth the little shortcut.. or as I like to think of it, alternative method of baking!  Most of the twists ventured into work for a surprise breakfast for the girls and they got raves.

I skipped indulging in this one.  My stomach was full of another version of some green stuff.

1 1/2 C spinach, 1 small apple, 1 small carrot and 1 serving lite silken tofu. Nom nom nom!

I’m fully energized from my cardio and shoulder workout this morning.  No shortcuts there!

Cats & Crunch

I get to spend this week with 2 little rascals -

I’m watching Norris & Jack while my parents enjoy the sunshine and warm breezes of the Bahamas.  Lucky them.. but lucky me too!  I love these guys.  They’re almost like dogs trapped in cat bodies.  I’d love to have some cats at our own place, but the pet deposit is ridiculous.

In any case, me + 2 cats mean that I am making a lot of single-lady meals.  For the past 2 nights it’s been easy throw-together stir fry.

A bit of chicken breast, a whole bag of spinach and Trader Joe’s Hodge Podge frozen veggies.  Yum!  I can’t complain about single meals and the kitties to keep me company while I’m away from the hubby.

Of course, I have to keep myself busy and that involves lots of cross stitching and a bit of baking.  I whipped up something this morning to appease my coworkers.  Rumor has it that they were getting antsy for another baked good.  I got my fill of cookies at Christmas so coffee cake it was!

Cinnamon Crunch Coffeecake

Cast of Characters

3/4 C butter, softened

1 C sugar

1/2 C brown sugar, packed

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 C all-purpose flour

1 C plain nonfat Greek yogurt

Streusel:

3/4 C brown sugar, packed

3/4 C chopped pecans (or walnuts)

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

In large bowl, beat butter, sugars, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon and vanilla until well combined. 

Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Then, beat in flour and yogurt, alternating additions.

Spoon into a lightly greased 9×13 pan. 

In small bowl, combine streusel ingredients and mix well.  Sprinkle over top batter.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until topping is dark, golden brown.

Let cool slightly.  Slice and enjoy!

Crunchy and soft – 2 very good things!  I think the girls at work will be pleased.

The dark side of snow

Snow is beautiful, peaceful, calming.. right?  Wrong!  Snow is evil, inconvenient and annoying!

Let me just emphasize how such a thing could be possible.  Every Christmas, my aunt and uncle travel here from Georgia.  Most years, I am lucky to see these dearly loved family members twice a year.  I have not yet seen my aunt thanks to flight issues last June and so this holiday, I was even more excited to spend time with them.  We cooked together Christmas eve, enjoyed breakfast and gifts together Christmas morning and had planned to enjoy the Lion King live show and dinner on Sunday.

The snow had other plans.  Thanks to a foot of snow – something our area does not deal with often or has any idea how to deal with – our show was cancelled and I was stuck inside, 20 miles away from my family.

Yes, it’s clean and white, but that car is going nowhere.  I could will it to move with every fiber of my being and it couldn’t get over even a small hill of snow.  I have lost my love for the fluffy white stuff.  I truly have.  I have not, however, lost my love for this new camera with which to photograph all of that white.

 

Huge difference in detail, right?  We upgraded from a Canon 5 megapixel to a Canon 12.1 megapixel.  Our new toy:

(source)

In any case, I suppose I am still a bit lucky that I did get to spend 2 wonderful days with my family.  Preparations began early Thursday morning for our big Christmas Eve dinner. Mom & I spent the entire day prepping casseroles, simmering berries, proofing bread dough and roasting vegetables – all for a delicious spread.

 I absolutely love our Christmas Eve dinner.  It’s a relaxing time with my family and such a memorable tradition for our family.  It really doesn’t feel like the holidays until we sit down around the table.  I had to change-up the tradition just a smidge this year, but the family didn’t seem to mind since it involved the baking of delicious mounds of carbohydrate goodness.  Warm, soft, buttery goodness!  Thank you, thank you, audreystyle, who happens to be a member of my new favorite cooking site, Pioneer Woman’s Tasty Kitchen.  I followed her recipe to a tee and it was amazing.  For our dinner, I figured these monsters would be a bit too big, so I created 30 rolls instead of 15.  Still worked out lovely!

They were loved by all! I think just the sight of them (and all of our other tasty treats) put even Jack & Norris into food comas.

They have such a hard time finding a comfortable spot..

I suppose I can’t complain as I was able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my family.  I am just not the kind of person that enjoys being home-bound.  The snow finally melted enough that I felt (semi) safe driving the 20 miles to see my family yesterday before they left.  I just love these guys -

and this girl too, who has made a brief return from Miami!

We go way back.  Back to layered socks and side ponytails.  No, that wasn’t a normal outfit for me.  I was heading to my dance recital.

But I’m getting side-tracked.  I had started writing this post 2 days ago in frustration.  I sat here, crying about being stuck inside, away from my family, friends and the gym (it’s important too!) without realizing that the snow would eventually melt.  My family and friends weren’t going to disappear and 2 days indoors wasn’t all that bad.  I just needed the reminder of how important those people are to me and how much I need their presence in my life… and a bit of snow won’t change that.

I guess I need a little white fluffy stuff now and again.

Hi, Winter!

Thanks, for showing up so abruptly!  I am so grateful that you decided to make an appearance on my day off since I can enjoy you from the comfort of my home!

Thanks for being so beautiful upon your arrival and for forcing me to refocus on the magic of the holidays!  Thanks for making me forget about the endless to-do list.  Finally, thanks for adding even more enjoyment to today’s baking venture.  It’s almost as if my Papa, Nana and Aunt Angie were letting me know that they were proud of how I was putting their memory back into the holiday.

German Stollen

(adapted from King Arthur Flour)

 

2 1/4 C all purpose flour

1/2 C sugar

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C very cold butter, cut into chunks

1 C part-skim ricotta cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp orange extract

1 C dried fruit, diced

1/3 C sliced almonds, toasted

 

Topping:

1 egg white

confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

 

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles uneven crumbs.

 

 

Stir in almonds and dried fruit

 

 

In a separate bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, vanilla and orange extracts. 

 

 

Fold into dry ingredients and stir until moistened.  Move mixture to a floured surface (or silpat) and knead about 1 minute until dough holds together. 

Divide dough into 2 loaves (each about 1 lb.). Roll each half into an oval, about 1/2″ thick.

 

Fold each oval in half and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. 

 

Bake at 325 degrees about 40 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 

Brush each loaf with egg white and dust heavily with powdered sugar.  Allow to cool completely on rack.

Cut each loaf into 1/2″ slices and serve.  Each loaf makes about 12 slices and will keep in plastic wrap at room temperature for about 2 weeks. 

I couldn’t believe how moist this bread was – I think we can attribute that to the ricotta.  It was perfectly sweet, too – not over the top.  I think Nana would most certainly be proud!  Steve sure was – especially with the mountain of powdered sugar on top!

The stollen was a great addition to the other fun I have had this week.  For our work Christmas shindig, our bosses treated the girls to pedicures and champagne – a gift that I am happy to partake of anytime.  Especially since I haven’t had either since my best friend got married last November.. as in over a year ago!

We did our pedicures “Secret-Santa style” and each chose another girl’s polish color.  My chosen color was bright, festive red with some candy cane stripes thrown in for added celebration.  I wish the temperatures allowed me to show my tootsies off, but as you saw from the first photo, it’s a bit too chilly.  

I chose that Shrek-like green color with the poinsettia on the left.  She was definitely not digging the green until the flower was painted on, but I LOVE it!   We all had a great time, lots of laughs and a few bottles of bubbly!

Many cheers to these two people who made it a fabulous Christmas celebration!

Do you have unusual Christmas get-togethers (something other than the cocktail/dinner parties)?