Thursday, May 10, 2012
Trail Mix Quinoa Balls
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Bananas (the riper the better)
Nilla Wafers (vanilla wafers to people not from the South)
Large box of instant vanilla pudding (using pie directions)
6 oz sour cream
6 oz cool whip
Mix pudding as directed and then add the sour cream and cool whip.
Layer bananas and wafers on top of a layer of pudding, continue layering until full. Top with cool whip.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
(Not Spaghetti) Squash
Balsamic Chicken
Monday, December 19, 2011
Bean Salad
This salad is good after 24 hours, better after 48 hours and perfect at 72 hours.
Ingredients
1 can green beans
1 can wax beans
1 can light kidney beans
1 can dark kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can lima beans
1 can chick peas
1 can green peas
1 can corn
Or any combination of canned beans
1 green pepper, sliced or chopped (I use yellow peppers)
1 onion, sliced into rings
4 celery stalks, sliced or chopped
1 pimento, sliced or chopped (I found a small jar of pimento at the grocery and tossed in a couple tablespoons)
1 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
Directions
Drain beans and rinse. Drain peas and corn. Combine with green pepper, celery, onion and pimento. In a separate bowl combine vinegar, oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over vegetables. Marinate overnight in refrigerator.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Shortbread
This comes from the Joy of Baking website. There is an extensive set of instructions on the website, but here are the basics.
Shortbread Cookies:
2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks) (226 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup (60 grams) powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
Shortbreads: In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated. Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle. Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter. Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 -10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
For Chocolate Dipped Shortbreads: Place 3 ounces (90 grams) of the finely chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place it over a saucepan of simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove it from the heat. Add the remaining chocolate and stir with a wooden spoon until it has completely melted and is smooth and glossy. Taking one cookie at a time, dip one end of each cookie in the melted chocolate and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet. Once all the cookies have been dipped in the chocolate, place the baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, or until the chocolate has hardened.
Shortbread cookies with keep in an airtight container for about a week or they can be frozen.
Makes about 20 shortbread cookies.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Whole Grain and Nut Pancakes
Anyway, I cannot eat regular pancakes. Before losing 70 lbs last year I was pre-diabetic and would go into a massive sugar crash after eating pancakes. Between the white flour and sugary syrup I would feel awful! So I stopped eating pancakes and just made them for everyone else.
Well, I've finally found my pancake answer and it is TASTY! These pancakes are made with whole grains and nuts, the only questionable component that I haven't worked out of them is the oil, but I'm okay with that because it isn't the oil that causes problems for me, it's the fluff (white flour and sugar) that makes me feel icky. So here is my new Sunday morning ritual!
Ingredients:
1 cup rolled oats, ground into flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or read my buttermilk alternative note at the end)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup whole almonds, ground
1/4 cup walnuts, ground
This is one of the last pancakes.