Quickie: Chocolatey Pretzels

With the leftover M&M's from the best M&M cookies I decided it was time to create those delicious little pretzels with chocolate on them that always seem to be present at bakesales. For this you only need three ingredients and 5 minutes.

Oven Temp: 350 F
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Bake Time: 2 minutes
Ready-In: 5 minutes

Square or circular pretzels (I bought some circular ones sandwiched with peanut butter)
chocolate kisses, or flat chocolate discs
M&M's

Preheat oven. On a baking sheet, place pretzels with a kiss on top. Bake for about 2 minutes, until chocolate is melted. Press an M&M into the top. Let cool. Then consume.

(The Latest and Greatest) Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love chocolate. In fact, I love it the point where my love is unhealthy. Some may call it an addiction, based on my symptoms of withdrawal when I have not had chocolate in a week. Yet, as summer surrounds me and my thoughts turn beachward I remember why people opt out of eating delicious, chocolate dessert made with gallons of butter. 

However, do to my reliance on chocolate, I cannot ignore my tummy's grumbles for cookies. So instead I decided to modify several chocolate chip recipes and produce something that vaguely resembles healthy. 70 calories healthy. 2 grams of fat. 
 I'm not one to watch my weight or anything, but I know that numbers like that NEVER come with this much choco-deliciousness. 


Now, when I first hear someone describe their recipe as healthy, especially when it comes to desserts, I usually think of something along the lines of this:

Ewwwww

 Let me set you straight. Think this:

Heavenly

Oven Temp - 380
Prep Time - 15 minutes (plus cooling)
Bake Time - 7 minutes
Total Time - 30 minutes

(Makes about 30 cookies)

2 and 1/3 cup oat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 chocolate chips
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil (I love coconut oil)
1/4 cup to 3/4 cups milk

Special note! For those of you who, like me,  don't have oat flour here's an easy way to make your own. Take about 3 cups of rolled oats and blend them. They will turn into a very fine powder that should measure close to 2 and 1/3 cups.

Woah! Hold on a second - there's no eggs! Wait....but that means you can eat the raw dough.
Let me say it again.
You can eat the raw dough. 
That's right. Not only is this a healthy recipe, but it also makes an excellent snack. Alright, you can carry on now.

Combine dry ingredients and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients. For soft cookies, refrigerate until cold (otherwise, just bake right away).

Bake 7 minutes at 380 or until the cookies spread out and look slightly undercooked. The thing about this dough is that it will cook more easily on the cookie sheets than normal dough, so once you take it out, they will continue to cook for about 10 minutes.

Easy Bake Fries

I'm sorry to lead you here under false pretenses by calling these "Easy Bake Fries". If you're like me, a child of the '90's, hearing easy bake, or more particularly and easy bake oven, makes me picture one of these suckers:

No, these french fries are not going to be baked under that sweltering heat of a light bulb. These fries take about 5 minutes of preparation, and the work ends there.


Begin by slicing potatoes. I use about a small potato per person. Per potato you will need

1 tbls olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Begin by slicing up your potatoes...

As you can see, I go for pretty slender slices. That's just a preferences- if you like wedges, you'll just want to adjust the baking time.

Mix them in a bowl with olive oil

Mix the spices together. Draw pretty designs.

 Add to the potato bowl and mix until everything is equally coated.
Your oven should be at 400 degrees.
I place the slices on a cooling rack and then place that on a baking sheet. This makes it so that you won't have to flip them half way through and they won't drip in your oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes. You may need longer depending on thickness. Let cool and then demolish.

Garlic Butter for Everything

I have a soft spot for dishes that sound homey. Garlic butter makes me picture a goldeny wheat field.

Step into my mind

 But not just a wheat field. There's a little picnic table with a red plaid table cloth and a homey wife is serving her cute little kid and stoic husband some fresh baked bread. On the side there is some homemade jam and a little tub with a hand written label saying "Garlic Butter".
Yeah. Garlic Butter. It's all completely adorable. It's my backup plan if the whole library-mansion thing doesn't quite pan out.
See, garlic butter isn't just for bread (although it does make a mean garlic bread) - it can be used in a million places. Pasta becomes garlic pasta. Eggs become garlicy eggs. Steak becomes garlic steak. Okay...I guess that seems pretty obvious. BUT, cooking should never be restricted just because something has a common usage. New recipes are made by mixing new things - so use that garlic butter all over your refrigerator!

1 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground paprika
Of course, Parmesan Cheese

Mix the butter, garlic, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, pepper and paprika together.

 So, that's the basic recipe. Here's a few recommendations.

Take a baguette and cut it diagonally.

Like so

Turn your oven up all the way to broil (500 degrees). Pop the bread in for about 3 minutes. Take it out and spread the garlic butter on them. You may wish to add cheese. I recommend parmesan or blue cheese. Put bake in oven until the bread is a golden brown.

Another simple recipe is melting the butter over pasta and sprinkling with cheese. Very simple and very yummy.

I will try to update this post to include other uses for garlic butter. If you think of any yourself feel free to comment and I'll add them!

Addicting Stuffed Mushrooms

When I smell cooking beef it takes every ounce of ladyship to stop myself from drooling. This recipe makes me go nuts. I love the smell of butter in a pan, I love the smell of sauteing onions, I love the smell of sauteing mushrooms - heck, I love the smell of anything in a pan with butter.

12 mushrooms
1/2 lb ground beef
1 tbls onion minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tbls butter + 1/4 c butter (used separately)
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1/4 heavy cream (milk will work, too)
1 tsp chili powder
grated Parmesan cheese

Oven Temperature: 425
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes
Prep Time: 20-25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour

Remove the mushroom stems and chop'm up!
In a saucepan over medium heat begin browning the beef. Add the onion and garlic. Cook until the beef has no more pink. Add chopped stems, 1 tbls butter, salt, pepper and  bread crumbs.
Cook for 5 more minutes, then remove from heat and add cream.

Melt the remaining butter and dip the mushroom caps in it. Place on a baking sheet. Fill each cap with meat mix. Sprinkle with chili powder and cheese. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Okay....I lied. I drool over these.

Gigante Bean Antipasto Replica

I love the Giant Bean Salad from Whole Foods. I don't shop at Whole Foods much, but when I do it's for the beans. In fact, I think the only time I've been there that has not been for getting beans is the time when my brother and I went to see how long we could keep our hands in the wine cooler.

You really need some giant beans for this. I believe I could go vegetarian if I had access to giant beans. Unfortunately, I don't. Kidney beans are my substitute when I cannot get a hold of giant beans.

Time: Several hours (4-6, the longer the better). Plan ahead!

1/2 lb giant beans, or kidney beans
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 small onion
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbls olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste

You want to roast the peppers and onion on some kind of open flame. I use my papa's grill. Once roasted, cut them into small strips, about 1/4 inch thick. It's nice if you want get the skin off, but not necessary. The beans should be cooked already, if not, here's a little how-to for you:
You can let then soak overnight. 3 cups of water per one cup of dried bean.
OR, a quicker method (but still takes over an hour) - Bring the beans to boil in a pot of water, then simmer for 2 minutes. Let soak until soft - about 60-90 minutes.
Okay, now that we've got that worked out let's put everything into a bowl, give a quick mix and set it in the fridge for several hours. This lets everything marinade. Yum yum yum!