Friday, January 29, 2010

The million dollar bar... plus more!

OK seriously... it's like candy... amazing delicious candy... that is only 155 calories, 3.5 g fat, 10 g sugars, 1.5 g fiber, and 15 grams of protein!!! It's a layer of nugget type stuff, covered in caramel... then soy crispies and chocolate!! OMG YUM!!!

(if you are curious about the ingredient list here it is: Ingredients: Protein Blend {Whey Protein Isolate, Soy Crisps (Soy Protein Isolate, Tapioca Starch, Calcium Carbonate), Whey Protein Concentrate, Milk Protein Isolate, Soy Protein Isolate, Hydrolyzed Gelatin, Calcium Caseinate}, Protein Coating {Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Whey Protein Isolate, Cocoa Powder, Whey Powder, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Vanilla}, Skim Milk, Sugar, Glycerin, Water, Corn Syrup, Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil, Sweetened Condensed Milk, Inulin, Salt, Coconut Oil, Soy Lecithin, Salt and Natural and Artificial Flavors.)

I don't understand how this tastes so good, you people at mydietshops.com THANK YOU!! The packaging says it tastes like a candy bar.. did I believe the packaging... hell no... and was I proved wrong! If you gave this to someone and said "hey try this new candy bar" they would happily chow it down without any idea there's 15 grams of protein in it!

I've tried a ton of different protein bars... some really are more like candy bars nutritionally than anything else... many are nutritionally sound, but give you a chalky after taste. Others are made for meal replacements and have over 300 calories and 14 grams of fat. This million dollar bar is the real deal and perfect for a snack or to eat right after a workout to refuel. So tasty!

OK lets start over for a second... The people at mydietshops.com contacted me about doing a post about them, I'd never heard of them and truthfully am a a little sketchy of "diet" websites. I looked through what they were selling and let them know I didn't promote products I hadn't personally tried and that I'd be happy to do an unbiased review if they wanted to send me some things to review. A few days later a box with a variety of protein bars and a few flavors of prepackaged shake mixes showed up.

Looking at what they sent me I still wasn't sold. (one of the bars had a disclaimer that it shouldn't be used in diets under 400 calories a day) wait what?? did you say 400 calories A DAY??? At this point I was over the top skeptical about what this site was promoting and went back to do a little more looking around. I found some things on their diet page about a 1000 calorie a day diet... and I have to say I wouldn't support that at all. To me (not a nutritionist just a person who loves to work out and eat healthy) 1000 calories is way too low for a healthy lifestyle that involves being active, which is what I'm all about. At the same point I think their products are top quality and taste amazing.

So let me tell you about the other things they sent, because even though I wouldn't follow their diet philosophies these products are amazing.

The Double Peanut Butter Bars - Diet Health & Sports WISE Brand (ITEM #DHSW-BAR-204) I can't seem to do a direct link so I gave you the full product description. These aren't as amazing as the million dollar bar but they are still wicked tasty. I actually had this one first and thought it was great! But then I ate the million dollar bar and don't want to eat anything else ever again haha. Nutritionally they are still good compared to other bars on the market. 150 calorie, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 fiber, 15 grams protein. So a little more fat, and less fiber than the million dollar bars, but still not too shabby. This bar comes in a bunch of flavors: chocolate, rocky road, PB and jelly, oatmeal... and more.


They also sent me some protein shakes. They come in plastic bottles with the powder portioned out. All you do it add water and shake! Since they are so lightweight you could easily have one stashed in your gym bag for an emergency snack (plus no worry about a premade shake spilling all over your stuff!). John and I tried the coffee cooler tonight and John thought it tasted great especially considering it was only mixed with water. I wasn't sold on the coffee flavor but John was a total fan! I on the other hand prefer the straight up chocolate variety they sent :)


OK seriously I wish they sent more of the million dollar bars... I'm craving one now! IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!

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Thursday, January 28, 2010

I'm on a cherrios box


No seriously I am... tiny as it may be... it's me! (not the little girl silly... in the mosaic of pics making up the little girl)


See I put an arrow on it so you could see... I'm like a good 1/8 inch big...and actually repeated a bunch of times... pretty impressive right?


Want a box with my tiny picture on it? Just go to Shop Rite and pick one up!! Remember when you helped comment to get shop rite to donate cereal? Well this was the outcome 3,000 boxes were donated! You can do more to help hunger too... in Shop Rites own words.

In addition, we are excited to announce another way to help raise awareness of the issue of hunger. ShopRite Partners In Caring, together with General Mills, has launched a video contest, Expressions of Hunger, that challenges everyday people to submit videos using song, poetry, dance or dramatic reading that creatively express the plight of the hungry or offer solutions to the issue of hunger. Up to six grand prize winners will have their stories and photos featured on a special-edition Cheerios box available exclusively at ShopRite stores in September 2010! The contest is open for submissions from January 1 through March 1, 2010.

So go fight hunger people!!

Tomorrow get ready to hear about the most amazing protein/candy bar I've ever eaten! And sorry for all the random product stuff this week, I'll be back to new recipes next week!!! Like that banana cupcake with cream cheese frosting healthed up that was requested!

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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Cookie Round up!!!

I just want to say a huge THANK YOU for everyone who participated in this! I had a wonderful time and I hope you all did to! Sorry for the delay in the write up, but here is what I heard back from you all!

Here are the stats:
We had 24 people exchanging on the North American continent... and 2 people exchanging over in the UK! Woo wooo! Now in no particular order here is what everyone sent! (links to peeps with blogs and to posts about what they sent)

First off Amanda and Ann! Ann sent oatmeal choc chip and oatmeal raisin cookies. Amanda in her own words sent "steph, here are a few pics of the cookies I sent to ann. they are called pee wee cookies, and the recipe is from a book my sisters and I read when we were kids. we've been making the cookies ever since! they are basically choc chip with oatmeal, pecans, and corn flakes, though the unbaked ones in the photo have some bacon mixed in as a little experiment I tried this morning... ann, I hope yours arrived safe and sound. thanks again to you both!"




How amazing do they sound... and the pictures... beautiful!

Next we have CaSaundra and Valerie. Cassie sent over some oatmeal scotchies (delicious, chewy oatmeal butterscotch cookies). Val "sent her coconut almond bars and some cherry winks (essentially a sugar cookie base with dates, pecans and cherries, rolled in corn flakes before baking. She emailed and said they were tasty."

CIMG1541


Next we have Wendy and Sarah, both with little girls who helped bake up a storm!! Wendy sent chocolate chip espresso cookies, and some canadian momentos. Wendy's daught Carly is the chef here, too cute.



Sarah and her daughter Kaileigh sent Oatmeal Cherry White Chocolate Cookies and Easy Lemon Cookies!



Next are the Lisa's (I had to pair them up). Lisa A sent Tasty Trail-Mix Cookie and Nikki's Healthy Cookie.




Lisa K sent "The ones on the left in the mini baking wrappers are French Christmas Cookies (http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/French-Christmas-Cookies) made with chocolate covered sunflower seeds instead of plain-'ol choco chips.The ones on the right are freakin' delicious Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies(http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/07/31/chewy-chocolate-gingerbread-cookies/
)."



Then we had the Natalie's that I also had to pair up! Natalie H sent Andes mint cookies!

Natalie M sent Grammy's chocolate cookies!!!

I paired Jeanne and Ashlie together. Jeanne sent some gingerbread, date squares, and sugar cookies. Ashlie sent this amazing variety!

I never heard back from Tanya or Katie so hopefully their cookies made it safely to each other!

Next is Nicole and Shannon. Shannon "sent Nicole some Blueberry Lavender Butter Cookies and Crisp Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies. Nicole sent some amazing Chocolate Peppermint Cookies and Oatmeal Cran White Choc Cookies.


Stef and Kendra are up next. Stef sent Mexican Mocha cookies and Gingersnap cookies! Kendra sent Loaded Oatmeal Raisin Cookies- oatmeal, raisins, butterscotch chips, and a bunch of yummy spices. Here are some pics of Kendra sharing said cookies with her coworkers lol.

I was matched up with Out of the Rabbit hole. I sent her poose cookies! She sent me two types of toffee cookies! For some reason the image on her site isn't working and I didn't grab it before!

Leslie and Hannah got to swap across the canadian board! Hannah sent heavenly peanutbutter cookies *drool*


Leslie sent soft sugar crusted ginger cookies, and glazed pumpkin cookies.



Maria sent two types of her famous family pizzelles (traditional and chocolate orange)! Suhagi sent her some chocolate rum balls.



And the final two! Linds and Tam participated with us over in the UK! Linds sent some flourless peanut butter cookies and some coconut macaroons.


Tam sent chocolate/raisin and coconut golden syrup cookies that were gluten and dairy free!

Phew that was a long post! Hope you enjoyed all of the cookies and make some for yourselves :) Thanks again everyone!!!

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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Around Me

I was recently asked to do a writeup about a somewhat new website called Aroundme.com I was a little skeptical at first but gave it a good go and looked around.



(full disclosure: I was paid to do this review... but all truth here, that had no effect on what I wrote and I let the company know straight up that I'd be writing my honest opinions... they happily said they understood and wanted truthful posts! Hooray for telling the truth!)

Onto the website. I asked them if it was pretty new since there were only 50 restaurants listed for Rochester NY... and I know for a fact there are MANY MANY more than that! I mean when I lived on park ave I had 50 places within a mile radius of my apt... pretty sweet huh? Also amazing I didn't gain 50 lbs. The peeps from aroundme.com told me they are currently in the process of making the site updatable (kinda like a wiki). Which I think will be a huge asset. I currently use rocwiki.org when looking for reviews of local places, but aroundme.com lets me see places other than Rochester which is a bonus for planing vacations.

Another cool thing is it integrates with facebook. Ahh evil facebook yet another reason to spend time on you! This makes total sense though... no one likes talking to each other in person... so why call someone to ask where you should eat when you can very quickly see lists of their favorite places right on facebook! (John is currently rolling his eyes at me). John also likes to make fun of my virtual friends... silly John.

I digress... aroundme.com isn't all about chowing... although that's what I'd be using it for :D You can find out people's opinions about dentists, doctors, plumbers.. you name it! Seriously though an opinion from a friend is always more trustworthy than a stranger telling you... at least that's how I think. I'm excited to see when we can update entries, I have a ton of great places to eat that aren't currently on the list and I want to share :)

So have you guys heard about this site yet? What do you think?

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Monday, January 25, 2010

Operation Health Up Coconut Bars

First off, as you read this, I'm sitting waiting to be called in for jury duty... that's right... after 28 years on this earth they finally realized I've never been called to jury duty *sigh* As you may be able to tell from this blog, I'm pretty feisty... and I get more feisty when I'm hungry... these poor civil servants have no idea the handful they are about to get today :) Anyone want to bet how long I last before they kick me out!? My guess is I don't even make it into the court room :D

OK back to operation health up! My awesome friend Val who I met through playing ultimate frisbee (this girl is fiercely good!) emailed me the other day asking if I was up for a challenge. Challenge you say? What kind of challenge!?! A health it up challenge!! She had a recipe she loves, but she knows it's totally bad for her, she wanted to know if I good make it any better for her... or at least not as bad :)


I started looking over her original recipe... It was a shortbread base, baked, then you add a sugary coconut topping and bake it again... 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup shortening 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup flour... ummm wow there isn't anything redeeming in there LOL. Then the topping: more sugar, coconut, eggs, almonds... Hmmm ok getting some ideas...

I needed to get rid of that cup of fat in the base... and who needs a 1/2 cup of sugar? I decided to take the almonds out of the topping and add them into the base to replace some of the fat with healthy fats. Then I subbed in some agave to get some moisture back, plus a little unsweetened apple sauce. The cookie base was dense for sure, but had a nice nutty flavor to it. I may try adding an egg white next time so they aren't so dense. (will let you know how it goes)

As for the topping, I was amazed there was so much sugar! Really do we need a cup of brown sugar?? I think not. Out went 3/4 of the sugar, and the two eggs were replaced with egg whites. The results a totally delicious gooey topping!


The verdict:
I loved them, totally sweet and gooey.

My roommate wasn't a fan of the cookie base but said "I could eat this topping for days!"

My coworkers all agreed they loved them. One said the base wasn't flaky like a shortbread would be... but she still liked how it tasted and the more dense texture.

Want to make them for yourself?

Coconut Almond Bars
recipe redo by steph chows

cookie base:
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs whole wheat flour
2 Tbs organic zero (or splenda or white sugar)
2 Tbs agave nectar
2 Tbs unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup almonds (toss them in a food processor and get them to a flour like texture)
1 egg white (didn't try this out, will next time, I think it will lighten the dough a bit)

Mix it all together in a bowl and then press into the bottom of a greased pie pan. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until golden.

Now make the coconut topping:

Mix together:
1 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 Tbs whole wheat flour
dash of salt
2 egg whites (beaten until slightly foamy)

Remove the golden crust from the oven and spread topping over the top. Place back in oven and reduce temperature to 325. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly golden brown on top (and center doesn't jiggle when you shake the pan.


OK who's next!! What recipe can I health up for you!!! Don't worry I'll keep it tasty! Email it to me at stephchows at gmail.com :)

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Friday, January 22, 2010

Fruit crisps


Whoever came up with the 100 calorie snack idea better be making some serious coin off this idea... because it's blown up everywhere! Through the Foodbuzz tastemaker program I was able to get my hands on some new 100 calorie treats, AND some "light" granola... hmmmm I'm pretty picky with my granola... we'll see what I think...


First off... is anyone else bothered by the typography for the product name? All lower case for fruit, all upper for CRISPS? What's the point, graphically it's not doing anything for me... Right, this is a food blog not a design blog... anyway the fruit crisps... whoever named these were spot on with the crisp part. MAN! The texture is delightful, totally light and crisper than I expected. The fruit center is definitely on the sweet side, but I still enjoyed them. PLUS you get two of them for 100 calories total. But that doesn't make these things healthy for you or anything... yeah they only have 100 calories... but look at the ingredient list... 1. enriched flour... 2. sugar... 3. glycerol... 4. vegetable oil... hmmm


I wont argue that they aren't tasty... so if you are looking for a better option than a vending machine run, these are a good tasty bet... But if you want a healthier 100 calorie snack... I'd go with a small apple and a dab of nut butter :)


Onto the granola! It does have a somewhat light airy crispy more than crunchy texture to it. Definitely liked the mouth feel of it, and I like the subtle honey flavor. Yet again the 2nd and 3rd ingredients are forms of sugar... *sigh* at the same point it has 7 grams of sugar per serving and a serving size is 59 grams... so that's only 11% sugar... which is actually rather good. How is it the 2nd and 3rd ingredients are sugar yet the count is so low??? Does that make sense to anyone else?? If it does please enlighten me :)


I had mine mixed in with some greek yogurt, tasty!

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

Pumpkin Banana CC Cookies

So this pumpkin shortage thing is rather annoying... I love baking with pumpkin!! I wanted to make some of these pumpkin CC cookies I made recently... but I only had 1/2 cup of pumpkin left in the freezer... what's a girl to do?? Sub in a banana for the missing 1/2 cup of pumpkin! The end result was a banana pumpkin hybrid cookie! Pretty darn tasty :) I'll be making them will all banana next time... unless this darn shortage is done with!



Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe by steph chows

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
dash salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1/2 cup splenda granulated plus 1/4 cup white sugar... OR (3/4 cup white sugar)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 ripe banana mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips, or any chip you like

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with silicon baking mats.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar/splenda until smooth and lightened in color. Then mix the apple sauce, pumpkin, mashed banana, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.



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Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Almost cookie time! and happy 101

OK first off, I'm still waiting on some pictures before I post about the amazing cookie exchange we had here! So keep your pants on and check back soon... :) To hold you over here are a few quick bites of what was sent... full write up with links and credits to come!



In the mean time in between time, Jennifer at Maple n Cornbread gave me this Happy 101 Award! So now it's time to brighten someones day!

The rules are:

-Copy the award image into a post.
-List 10 things that make you happy.
-Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
-Put in a link to their blogs.
-Notify the award receivers.
-Recipients should link back to the sender’s blog.

10 Things That Make Me Happy:
  1. Baking up something new and tasty
  2. Goofing around with John
  3. Obviously friends and family
  4. Taking pictures/ looking through old pictures
  5. Getting a snuggly hug from my nephew
  6. Doing something nice for someone without expecting anything in return
  7. Getting an unexpected package in the mail
  8. Being curled up reading a good book
  9. Having a great workout and feeling refreshed afterward
  10. Watching really stupid TV that lets my brain click off

So tell me what makes you happy??

I say let anyone play this game... if you'd like to play just let me know when you post it on your site!

Thanks Jennifer!!

Tomorrow I'll be bringing you a tasty pumpkin banana cookie... interesting huh!



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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread


I've said it before... and I'll say it again, there is nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread wafting through the house. I'm addicted to it, seriously. I saw this recipe and knew I had to make it, and I was off to kneading first thing. You may be wondering... why didn't you use your stand mixer... because I was at John's... and my stand mixer was at my house.. booo Really though this wasn't bad to do by hand, so don't give the excuse of not having a mixer for not making it! :D


Since this was my first time making cinnamon raisin bread I figured I'd stick to the recipe... well mostly to the recipe :D Next time this is getting some whole wheat flour for sure! Things I changed up...

Added 1 tsp of cinnamon to the dough
Used agave nectar instead of maple syrup
Added more raisins... LOVE raisins. and soaked them in amaretto... (what why are you looking at me like that... tasty!)

Agave spread out on the dough

Another helpful hint... We keep our house on the cool side... so it's not very conducive to having bread rise. If you are in the same camp here's what you should do. Before you start kneading your bread put a bowl of water in the microwave and set it for 10 minutes. Once you are done kneading place your bread in a big bowl and cover with a towel, open up the microwave door and quickly put your bowl in, close the door (this way you don't let out all the nice hot air). The warm/humid environment will help your bread puff up perfectly!


I mean look at my cute baby?? I'm such a proud mama.



Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Slightly adapted from Sugar Plum

2 tablespoons + 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar + 1/4 cup
3/4 cup warm milk (not hot)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons agave + 2 tablespoons (she used pure maple syrup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt (she used 1/2 teaspoon salt)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (I just realized I used melted butter... worked fine!)
3 1/4 cups bread flour, plus additional for rolling
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I added another tsp into the dough in addition)
1/2 cup raisins (I soaked mine in amaretto for a few hours.. YUM!)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and warm milk until well combined; allow to sit 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, egg, 3 tablespoons maple syrup (agave), vanilla, salt, and butter, and mix using a dough hook, until well combined - about 1-2 minutes. Add flour and mix on medium speed for 10 minutes.

Remove dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for an additional 8 minutes. Shape dough into a ball, place in a greased bowl, lightly cover, and allow to rise in a warm area for 1 1/2 hours.

In a small bowl, stir together brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins until combined.
Roll dough out using a rolling pin, into a rectangle, 1/4-inch thick. Brush remaining 2 tablespoons syrup (agave) over dough. Sprinkle raisin mixture over dough. Roll up, jellyroll style, pinch and tuck ends under, and place in a greased loaf pan. Lightly cover and allow to rise in a warm area for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together an egg and a teaspoon of water and brush over the top of bread (optional). Bake for 40-45 minutes or until deep golden brown and well risen. Cover with foil if bread browns too quickly. Cool for 30 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.


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Monday, January 18, 2010

Dear Pad Thai,

.... why must you hate me...


I keep trying to make you at home... I really want things to work out! I mean I'm always trying so hard... and every time you let me down. I'm beginning to think this relationship isn't working pad thai... I think we need to break up... you're too high maintenance... either too sweet, or just coming out bland... You are always so good when we eat out... yet at home when it's just you and me, it's just not working. I left you a box to put all your stuff in, please be gone by the time I get home tonight.

Love,
Steph chows...

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Friday, January 15, 2010

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Happy Friday everyone!! woohooo!! Lets all give a good cheer! Bring on the weekend! What do you have planned? John and I are headed to see a couple houses, and of course there is football on sunday (isn't that over yet... man!) Well no matter, just gives me more time to bake up more goodies!! Like these:


Triple chocolate cookies by Ellie. They have 1/4 cup butter and a 1/4 cup oil in them... and I have to say they left little puddles of oil on the siliplat... not cool... but they did taste delicious! I made these straight from the recipe.. next time... I'm cutting the oil... I don't like oil puddles on my baking mat... kinda skeeves me out... how about you?


Triple Chocolate Cookies
by Ellie Krieger
Ingredients
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch processed)
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional
1/3 cup coarsely chopped dark chocolate (2 ounces)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped milk chocolate (2 ounces)
2/3 cup chopped pecans, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mash together the butter and sugars with a fork until well combined. Add the oil and egg and beat until creamy. Mix in the vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and the pecans and mix well. Using a tablespoon, scoop the batter onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.


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Thursday, January 14, 2010

The comfort of Lasagna


The temperature has been down right chilly here, and the snow keeps on blowing... my nice professional long black wool coat has been put back into the closet and replaced with my crazy warm BRIGHT RED ski coat... not so subtle I know... but darn warm. A hat is always required, and gloves are of course a must. *sigh* I am far from being any form of stylish this time of year. Yeah... you should have realized I'm one of those comfort over style girls... what shoes am I wearing you may ask? Certainly not a cute little trendy pair of "boots"... I use quotes because really most of these "boots" wouldn't last 5 seconds in this weather... I've got on sh*tkicker boots for sure... and they keep my feet happy and warm :)

I digress... either way you come from style wise, this lasagna will warm you up just right for dinner. You can make a batch, eat half, and freeze the other half, it keeps great, and packs up perfect for lunch time as well... although you might want to pack it up in a larger container than this one...



Turkey and Spinach Lasagna (or Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna for the veggies)
by steph chows

In a large pan with a little olive oil brown up
1 lb 99% lean ground turkey (or to make it vegetarian friendly, 1 lb of chopped mushrooms)

Once cooked through add in
1-2 cups frozen spinach
Set aside

In a medium bowl mix together
15 once container fat free ricotta cheese
1/2 cup lower fat parmigiana cheese
1/3 cup skim milk
1/2 cup freshly chopped flat leave parsley
1 cup fat free mozzarella shredded
salt and pepper to taste

You will also need:
26 once jar diavola tomato sauce (or other spicy sauce)
1/2 cup part skim mozzarella shredded (use this as the top layer... it melts better)
whole wheat lasagna noodles

First pour a little sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Top off with a layer of whole wheat lasagna noodles. Then add half of your turkey spinach mixture. Next spread a 1/3 of your sauce over top. Then do a layer of your ricotta mixture. Now do your next layer of noodles going in the opposite direction (if you went long wise first, go across the short way now) this helps hold everything together better when you slice it up! Then put the remainder of your turkey/ 1/3 of the sauce and remainder of the ricotta on top. Put on one more layer of noodles and sauce, and top with your park skim cheese!

Bake at 350 for around 45 minutes.


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Want more chow like what you just read? You can click to subscribe to the feed, follow me on twitter, or become a fan on facebook! Can't wait to see you there!

Why hello there

congrats you reached the bottom of the page! *phew* that was a long scroll, you must be hungry and tired! Click the images to see the recipes... YUM!

Disclaimer

So this is the spot where I tell you that you are a big boy or girl and make food choices for yourself. I'm not a dietitian... nor do I play one on TV! I do this for fun and for the sake of sharing and meeting new people. If you don't agree with what I cook or the ingredients I use that is 100% ok, please just don't harass me with insults about why I choose to eat the way I do :) thank you!

Questions? Comments? Arguments?

I'm always happy to answer any questions you have! I may not know the answer... but I'll give it a good go! You can email me at stephchows (at) gmail (dot) com