Chocolate Peanut Butter Blobs

Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs are so delicious and when I saw a pin for this dessert by ChocolateCoveredKatie.com I had to make them. What is Fabulous about Katie's recipe is that you make your own chocolate rather than melting a store bought bar. This is Fabulous for four reasons, it is healthier, cheaper, easier and you eliminate the waxy taste in the chocolate! Cocoa powder is high in flavonoid antioxidants, Coconut Oil is a healthy fat and Peanut Butter has lots of protein. This recipe requires no cooktops or double boilers, only a small bowl and a microwave. I changed the recipe by eliminating the salt and confectioners sugar in the peanut butter.. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Blobs:

1/2 cup peanut butter made from fresh peanuts. Most healthier grocery stores have their own machine that makes PB out of fresh peanuts. 

2 Tbs cocoa powder

2 Tbs virgin coconut oil

2 Tbs pure maple syrup

Spoon bite size blobs of peanut butter onto a parchment or waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Put in freezer for about an hour. 

Melt the coconut oil in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Mix oil with cocoa powder in a small bowl. Add the maple syrup. Mix until it looks like chocolate sauce and taste to make sure it is sweet enough. Wait a few minutes for the sauce to get thicker (as the coconut oil cools it get thicker). 

Take one blob of PB out of freezer at a time (so the rest stay cold) and cover in chocolate. Immediately return covered blob to the freezer and let harden. If the chocolate mixture gets too thick just microwave it for a few seconds. 

After all the blobs are frozen transfer them to an egg carton for storage in the freezer. The egg carton is great for transportation if you plan on sharing these yummy treats! You can eat them frozen or thawed for a little bit but be sure to store them in the freezer. 

I am still working on reducing the sugar content in the coconut almond balls so will update this blog with that recipe soon!

Christmas Tree Appetizer

I had to bring an appetizer to a party this weekend so the first place I searched for a recipe was on Pinterest. I wanted the appetizer to be healthy and have a Christmas theme.  On Pinterest I found two wreaths, one was made out of brocolli and cherry tomatoes and another made out of Rosemary, olives and cheese. I also found a Christmas Tree made out of Thyme, brocolli, tomatoes and cheese. I decided to make a tree out of most of those ingredients and more. 

I put Christmas wrapping paper on a cookie sheet and covered that with parchment paper.  Then I  formed a tree with red peppers, cheese, broccoli, celery and cucumbers stuffed with roasted red pepper hummus. I outlined the tree with celery and topped it with a red pepper star. It was fun to make and was a festive crowd pleaser!

Veggie Fries

The only french fries I ever eat are the one or two I steal from a friend's plate while eating out. I can still hear Gram, my health food guru grandmother, telling me in the 1970s that french fries, soda, hot dogs and potato chips (among other things) are bad for my health. Even though I didn't want to hear it in my youth, I now credit Gram for instilling in me a passion for healthy food. What I love about these Veggie Fries from Voracious Vander's blog is that they are healthy, Gram would approve and I can eat them with my fingers, just like real french fries!

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut carrots and zucchini (or any other veggie) into 3-inch sticks. Make sure they are all about the same size so they cook evenly. Put the veggies in a bowl and gently mix with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and your favorite spices. Layer the veggies evenly on a cookie sheet and roast for 20 minutes, turning halfway through.

Spaghetti Squash Pie

Spaghetti Pie has been a favorite meal at our table since our grown children were little. Over the years I have tweaked this recipe to make it healthier; white pasta has been replaced by whole wheat pasta, meat and butter are grass fed and most of the ingredients are now organic. This autumn version of spaghetti pie makes it even healthier by replacing the pasta with spaghetti squash and it tastes as good as the original with no carbs!

1 spaghetti squash
2 Tbls butter
1 egg
¼ cup parmesian cheese
¾ cup low fat ricotta cheese
1 lb ground turkey/beef
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 garlic chopped
2 cups spaghetti sauce
spices to taste 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Poke the spaghetti squash with a fork a few times. Place the squash on a cookie sheet and cook at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes until a fork easily pierces the skin. 

After it cools a bit cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the center seeds and save for another time because they are edible just like pumpkin seeds. Using a spoon, scoop the squash out of the skin. Place in a bowl and add butter, a whisked egg and parmesian cheese. Gently combine these ingredients.  

Form spaghetti squash mixture into a "crust" in a 10-inch pie plate. Spoon ricotta over spaghetti crust. 

In skillet cook meat till browned and drain off fat. Add onion and garlic till tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce and spices. Turn meat mixture into spaghetti crust. 

Bake, covered, in 350° oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Bake 5 minutes longer or till cheese melts. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Bride and Groom Mugs

Several months ago I pinned a pair of Bride and Groom Mugs onto "Ideas for my Pottery Wheel". I recently got a chance to make them when a friend called and asked me to make her a Wedding Bowl for an upcoming bridal shower. I showed her a picture of a bowl I had just finished and she realized that her bride and groom had the same names and she was going to the same shower! I then showed her the Bride and Groom Mugs pin which she loved. Today is the bridal shower and the bride will be getting both a Wedding Bowl and matching Bride and Groom Mugs. Maybe one day I will meet Chuck & Lauren, after all, we do have two friends in common!

Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers

Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers ready to go in the oven

I love veggie burgers that are chock full of healthy ingredients instead of loaded with bread crumb filler and I found such a recipe at TheNakedKitchen.com.  I usually make lots of healthy substitutions to recipes but this was so delicious and healthy I only made a few minor changes to this one:

2 cups black beans (see below*)

3 cups cubed sweet potatoes, peeled (about 3 regular sized potatoes)   

3/4 cup sweet corn (organic is best to avoid GMOs)

1/2 med red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup cooked quinoa (easy, just follow pkg directions)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/3 cup garbanzo bean flour (you can also use finely ground rolled oats or almond flour)

2 tbsp raw sunflower seeds

1/4 tsp sea salt

to taste fresh black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)

1 tbsp hot sauce (optional )

*Black Beans  I make my own from dried beans and it is super simple. Rinse the dried beans, soak in water overnight and cook in a crock pot the next day until soft. I always have some on hand in my fridge to add to recipes.

Put sweet potatoes in boiling water to cover and simmer about half an hour.  Drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or non stick foil.

Mash potatoes to a mashed, not creamy!, consistency. 

In a large mixing bowl add half of the black beans and mash them with a fork.

Add the rest of the beans and the remaining ingredients.  Stir until just combined.

Form the mixture into 10 burgers about 1/2″ thick

Place each patty on your prepared baking sheet in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the burgers over once at 15 minutes.

Serve just as you would a beef burger. 

Polenta Wedges with Tomato Tapenade

Polenta Wedges with Tomato Tapenade 

(prior to slicing into quarters)

I had a tube of polenta in my pantry and I wanted to try a new appetizer for an upcoming dinner party so I tried Delish.com's Polenta Wedges with Tomato Tapenade. Polenta is ground maize that you can make from scratch or buy in tubes. I buy them at Trader Joes or Mom's Organic Market. It is not hard to make polenta from scratch, just time consuming, same thing as buying versus making hummus. 

1 Tube            (16 to 18 oz) prepared polenta (ends trimmed and cut into 12 slices)

2/3 cup         soft sun-dried tomatoes

4 tsp             extra virgin olive oil

1Tbs             lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tsp             rinsed capers

1 small            clove garlic, chopped

1 pinch            freshly ground pepper

Olive Oil Cooking Spray. (my friend, Mike, gave me an awesome gadget, an olive oil mister. You put olive oil in it and pump it so the liquid oil is now aerosol) 

Preheat broiler. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Slice the polenta roll into about 12 pieces, place on the prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray. Broil in upper third of oven until starting to brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Turn and broil until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes more.

Meanwhile, pulse sun-dried tomatoes, oil, parsley, capers, garlic and pepper in a food processor until coarsely chopped.

Cut each polenta slice into quarters. Top each quarter with 1/4 teaspoon of the tapenade.

I made this recipe near dinnertime so, instead of having it as an appetizer, I changed it up a bit by adding hammered locally raised pork and my husband and I had it for dinner. It was different (don't like "same old, same old"!) and very good!

I did not make this appetizer for the dinner party because it was too much prep time for someone else's house but I will definitely serve it next time I am serving apps at my house.  In case you are wondering, the appetizer I brought to the Vickie's dinner party was Rock Fish Balls. There were a couple of filets left in my freezer from fall fishing...Yum!