Lower-Fat Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Ganache is so much easier and better than frosting, not sure I will ever go back...

Ingredients:
1/2 cup skim or low-fat milk
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Put chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl.  In a small-medium saucepan heat milk until just-before boiling and immediately turn off the heat; or heat milk in a microwave for 1 minute.   Add milk to chocolate chips and stir until chocolate is dissolved. Ganache will be thick.  Pour over your favorite cake. Let harden at room temperature or in the refrigerator and then serve.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ingredients:

Pancake Mix prepared as directed and set aside (for 24 pancakes, this is generally 2 batches, but it depends on your mix)

Swirl Mix:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 stick  butter melted
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese
4 Tbsp. butter
1 1/4 cups powder sugar
1 Tsp. vanilla

Directions:

For Swirl Mix:  Mix melted butter, brown sugar and cinnamon together until combined.  Pour mixture into a small zip lock bag and let sit.

For Frosting:
In a Microwave:  Place cream cheese and butter in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds at a time until butter is melted.  Stir butter and cream cheese together until combined (a few lumps is okay).  Add powder sugar and vanilla.  Stir until frosting consistency.  Set Aside.

On the Stove:  Place cream cheese and butter in a small and cook on medium until butter is melting stirring to combine.  Take off heat.  Stir butter and cream cheese together until combined (a few lumps is okay).  Add powder sugar and vanilla.  Stir until frosting consistency.  Set Aside.

Assembling the Pancakes:
Start cooking your pancakes on a skillet as directed.  As soon as the batter is poured onto the skillet, be prepared to use the swirl mix.  Cut a small hole in one corner of your zipped zip-lock baggie of swirl mix.  Starting in the center of each pancake make a swirl design outward of the swirl mix.  Once the pancakes are cooked on the one-side (bubbles will start to show through on the swirl side), flip your pancake and let cook until done (batter is fully cooked).  Before serving, top with the cream cheese frosting by spreading evenly over the top.  Serve hot.


TIPS FOR THE WISE:
You may need to clean your pan every few batches of pancakes since the sugar can burn to the pan. Some cooked sugar is good, but if it gets too burnt it will be bitter.   Make sure that you grease the skillet as directed on your pancake mix instructions.

I usually preheat my oven to 200 degrees and place my cooked pancakes in the oven while the other pancakes are cooking.  Then at the end, I frost each pancake as it is served out.

So delicious, enjoy!

Thai Peanut Butter Pumpkin and Kale Soup

Ingredients:

10 cups water
8 chicken bouillon cubes (enough for 8 cups of broth)
2 sweet onions diced
1 Tbsp. ginger (minced fresh or dried)
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (you may prefer to add more, up to 1 cup)
10 oz. bagged Kale (cut, cleaned and ready to cook - I use the ones from Trader Joe's)
1 (15 oz.) can Pure Pumpkin
crushed salted peanuts for topping (optional)

Directions:

Add water, bouillon cubes or powder, diced onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and pepper.  Heat on high until boiling, add peanut butter and stir until combined.  Add kale.  Turn heat down to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add pumpkin and stir until combined.  Simmer 5 more minutes.  Serve hot.  Top with crushed peanuts if desired.  Great served along side couscous or jasmine rice.

If you like the peanut butter flavor feel free to add more!  I like to keep things on the lighter side, so I stick to a modest amount of peanut butter.  However, it is delicious with more!

Easy Peasy 4 Ingredient Brown Sugar Cookies

So easy to make and SO GOOD!!!

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups flour

Direction:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon into melted butter.  Mix in flour.until incorporated.

Roll into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Place about 1/2 inch apart.  Cookies do not spread much at all.

Bake for about 10 minutes until done.  Let cool and store in airtight container.  Enjoy!

Hashbrown Bacon and Egg Casserole

Hashbrown, Bacon and Egg Casserole

My family visited me this weekend and I decided to give them "the red carpet treatment", to quote my sister, and make them a hearty and yummy breakfast of Hashbrown, Bacon and Egg Casserole, Fruit and Yogurt Parfait with apples, blueberries, banana and cinnamon and homemade biscuits.  We all loved this casserole!

Ingredients:
8 hashbrown patties
1/2 lb bacon put into small bits
2 small or 1 large onion diced
1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 egg whites + 5 whole eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Start cooking the bacon in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.

While bacon is cooking place the hashbrown patties in a single layer on the bottom of an ungreased 13X9X2 inch baking dish and then place the hashbrowns in the preheated oven to begin cooking (about ten minutes).

Once your bacon is almost done, drain and remove bacon and place on a plate.  Pour out the remaining grease from the skillet (it's ok to have a layer of grease, you want that), reserving skillet.  Put skillet back on medium heat and add back the bacon and the onions (but not the grease!).  Saute until onions are translucent and tender (about 6 minutes).

While the bacon and onions are cooking, whisk eggs, egg whites, salt, pepper and milk together in a bowl and set aside.

Once the bacon and onions are done, remove the baking dish with the hasbrowns from the oven.  Cover hashbrowns evenly with the bacon and onions.  Cover evenly with the cheese.  Pour egg mixture over the top.  Bake at 400 degree for 15 minutes.  Turn temperature down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until the casserole is golden brown at the edges.  Serve hot, great with homemade biscuits or Skillet Bread.

Photo courtesy of my awesome sister Jenny.

Dark Chocolate Turtles

Dark Chocolate Turtles

Ingredients:
Ghirardelli Dark Melting Wafers (about 30 wafers)
Whole Pecans Haves (about 150 whole pecans; about 2 1/4 cups of whole pecan halves)
1 (14 oz.) bag caramel candies unwrapped (I used Kraft Caramel Squares)
Non-stick Cooking Spray

Directions:
Spray a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Place all unwrapped caramels in a double boil and melt caramel over medium-high heat.

While caramel is melting arrange pecans in groups of 5 pecan halves.  Prepare for at least 30 turtles.  You want five pecan halves grouped with one edge of each pecan half in the center which is where the drop of caramel will go to  hold the turtle together.  The pecan halves represent the turtles 4 feet and head.  Depending on how much caramel you use per turtle you may be able to make more than 30 turtles.  It's not an exact science.

When the caramel is melted, place about 1 heaping tsp. caramel over the center of each turtle to hold the turtle together, caramel will spread a bit.  Keep the caramel on medium low in the double boiler during this process so caramel doesn't become difficult to work with.  It is a little messy, but worth it.

While the turtles are still hot, place one melting wafer on top of the hot caramel.  I put wafers on the turtles after every 5 or so turtles  to make sure the caramel is still hot enough to melt the chocolate.  Let the turtles cool at room temperature or in the refrigerator until chocolate hardens.  Remove from pan and store in tin, separating each layer with wax paper.  Store at room temperature if you plan to eat within 1-2 weeks.Can refrigerate for a longer shelf life or freeze and keep turtles for months.

But make sure to always serve at room temperature or caramel will be really hard.

Makes about 30 turtles.

Makes a great cookie tray addition!

Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust

Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust 
1 1/4 cup chcolate graham cracker crumbs or oreo crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbsp. butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Melt butter in microwave or place butter in 9 inch pie pan, bake until butter is just melted.  Add butter, graham cracker crumbs and sugar to pie pan.  Mix until well blended.  Press into sides and bottom of pie dish being careful not to burn your fingers.  You can choose to bake the crust for a slightly crispier texture or simply use the crust as is.  Optional:  Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.  Let cool.  

Crockpot Hearty Beef Tomato Sauce

Crock Pot Hearty Beef (or Pork) Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 small sweet onions chopped (or 1 large)
2 Tbsp. garlic minced
1-2 Bell Pepper diced, orange, red or yellow
1 lb. 97% lean ground beef (or 1lb. pork sausage)
4 slices of Prosciutto sliced into small pieces (***optional)
3 diced tomatoes (or 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes with garlic and green pepper)
1 jar tomato sauce of your choosing (or marina sauce)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crockpot (except the Parmesan), break up the beef or sausage into chunks.  Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Serve over Cheesy Bread or pasta of your choosing.  If you love cheese, top with some shredded mozzarella.  Serves 8.

***My all-time favorite Tomato Sauce is Ragu Robusto Parmesan & Romano...it's amazing!

If you don't have fresh tomatoes, the 3 tomatoes can be replaced with another jar of tomato sauce such as Ragu Parmesan Romano Robutso

Mocha French Silk Pie

Mocha French Silk Pie

Crust Ingredients:

Pie Crust.- Roll out and fit into pie dish baked at 350 degrees until golden.  Let cool.  Using this recipe you should only need half the dough, freeze the rest to thaw and use it another day -

or

Chocolate Graham Cracker Pie Crust
 or

To save time - (you can also use a pre-made crust)

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
4 egg yolks
3 cups milk (skim or 1%)
2 Tbsp. instant coffee powder
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Grind up chocolate using a food processor.  Set aside.

In a bowl whisk your egg yolks.  Add milk and whisk together.  In a medium sauce pan, add sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Turn on to medium heat and whisk in milk mixture.  Add instant coffee.  Whisk for about 7 minutes until thick.  Turn off heat, add ground chocolate, butter and vanilla.  Whisk together until combined.

Pour into cooled pie crust and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.  Serve with whipped cream or cool whip.  Also great topped with chocolate shavings.  Enjoy!

Easy Penne Meatball Bolognese Casserole

Easy Penne Meatball Bolognese Casserole

Ingredients:
About 20-25 Pre-cooked 1 inch round Meatballs (frozen or homemade, my meatball recipe will be posted shortly)
1 Box Penne Pasta cooked according to directions to al dente
2 Tbsp. butter
2 stalks of celery finely diced
1 Sweet (Vidalia) onion finely minced
2 Tnsp. minced garlic
2 carrots finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2 (24 oz.) Ragu Parmesan & Romano Robusto Sauces
2 cups Mozzarella
1 cup Grated Parmesan

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat.  Add celery, onion, carrots and garlic.  Cook until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Add wine and reduce to about half over medium to medium-high heat (about 5-7 minutes).  Turn off heat and add 1 can of Parmesan & Romano Robusto Ragu Sauce.  Mix to combine.

In a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking dish evenly spread out the cooked Penne pasta.  Drop meatballs into Penne so they are evenly distributed throughout the casserole.  Pour your homemade sauce evenly over the casserole.  Cover with 1 cup Mozzarella and 1 cup Parmesan.  Pour the extra jar of Ragu Parmesan & Romano Robusto Sauce evenly over the cheese.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 45 minutes covered.  Uncover, and top with remaining 1 cup of Mozzarella.  Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve hot.  Great with Garlic Parmesan Skillet Bread.

Cauliflower Spinach Au Gratin

Cauliflower Spinach Au Gratin

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups milk
16 oz. frozen or fresh spinach
1 head of cauliflower cut up into bite size pieces (use all of the cauliflower, including green portion)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese shredded (or your favorite cheese)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat over to 350 degrees.

In a medium-large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Quickly whisk in the flour, and slowly add in milk stirring constantly with whisk to avoid lumps.  Add salt, pepper, spinach, and cauliflower.  Cook on medium-low heat for 10 minutes until vegetables are tender.  Add sharp cheddar cheese and cook until cheese is melted.  Pour into baking dish (11 X 7 X 2 inch works well, but basically any medium sized baking dish should work).

Cover evenly with grated Parmesan.  Cover evenly with breadcrumbs.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 25 minutes covered, continue baking for 15 more minutes uncovered.  Serve hot.