Creme De Menthe Brownies

Okay, it's no surprise at this point that I am a huge fan of the mint chocolate, especially at Christmas time. So, last year, while dedicating my life to the Food Network channel, Paula Deen blessed my life with mint brownies from heaven! These brownies are AMAZING and so rich. I just add entire Andes mints into the brownies, rather then the chips, mostly because mint chips are hard to come by here in Philly. Also, if you want a serious mint brownie, add mint extract into the frosting rather then vanilla. And for those of you that aren't mint fans (I got your back Jordan!), just add regular chocolate chips and you will have some killer fudgy brownies.


Thanks Paula Deen!!

Ingredients
1 cups (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
11/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 (10-ounce) package Creme de Menthe baking chips (recommended: Andes)
Shaved Creme de Menthe thins (recommended: Andes)
Chocolate frosting

Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan.

Using an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, mixing well.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Fold in mint chips. Spoon into greased pan. Bake for 35 minutes.

While brownies are baking, prepare frosting. Combine butter, cocoa, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk in a large mixing bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until dry ingredients are moistened. Beat at high speed until spreading consistency.

Remove pan from the oven and allow brownies to cool in pan on wire rack. Spread with chocolate frosting. Top with shaved mint thins.



*Baking Tip: If you plan to plate your bars, but hate that awkward process of cutting them and then digging them out of your pan, bake them in parchment paper. Then, once they are cooled and frosted, just lift them out of the pan, peel away the paper (it sticks to nothing), and you will be able to cut and plate them very cleanly and easily.

The Best Enchiladas Ever!!

I discovered this recipe about three or so years ago in the Body for Life cookbook. I LOVE these enchiladas so much and they are always the first thing I think of whenever I have leftover chicken or turkey in the fridge (I'm pretty sure this picture right here is made up of Thanksgiving leftovers). These enchiladas are packed full of flavor, incredibly filling, and they're really good for you. The biggest difference is that rather than using a red sauce, or a cream base, they're made with two huge cans of the Verde enchilada sauce, which I had shamefully never had until making these. Don't let the fact that you're not on a diet sway you from giving these a try, I would make them often even in a world where calories never counted (oh and what a world it would be!)

Ingredients

1 lb chicken breast

4 green onions, sliced

2 TB fresh cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno seeded and minced (if you get a hotter sauce, you may not need the jalapenos)

3 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce (I use 2 big 20-something oz cans, works just fine)

8 corn tortillas (I usually use at least 12)

1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup light sour cream

1 tomato, diced

1 can ripe olives, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Light coat a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.

2. Place chicken breast in large pot and cover with water, bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until no longer pink in the middle, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly, shred chicken with 2 forks.

3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add green onion, cilantro and jalapeno; saute for two minutes. Add shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

4. Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce in a medium bowl and microwave until warm, about two minutes. Dip each tortilla in the heated sauce and fill with about 1/3 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish.

5. Pour remaining heated sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes.

6. Divide lettuce onto four plates and place a portion of enchiladas on top. Top with a spoonful of salsa, a dollop of sour cream, tomatoes and olives. Enjoy!

The only downside to this cookbook is that there is no nutritional info posted on the recipes, which is a pet peeve of mine for any cookbook. However, if you are a die hard points counter, the ingredients are simple enough, I don't think you would have much trouble calculating it yourself.

ALSO

I've been offered another blog award! This one also came from Priscilla at Priscilla Bakes. This girl really knows her stuff when it comes to baking, and I just recently discovered how young she is, which really threw me for a loop because she is so talented! Definitely check out her blog. Thanks again Priscilla!

I'm going to pass this on to Christine at Cooking with Christine. She's got some very fun recipes with great pictures and stories to go with them.

I'm also going to pass this on to Nicole at Test Kitchen Recipes. I actually just discovered her blog last night, but she had me immediately at fish tacos. She's also got a lot of wonderful family friendly recipes that I can't wait to try out.

Hope everyone is having a great holiday!

Turkey Lasagna

When I started WW I was a little bummed about losing out on lasagna, one of my favorites. And when I found this recipe, I was a little skeptical, because, let's face it, ground turkey just can't stand up to Italian sausage and ground beef. But I'll try anything once, and it turned out to be one of the best lasagne's I've ever made. The trick is to make sure you're seasoning everything just the way you want it before hand, and you won't even miss the heartier meats that you're used to. This entire pan disappeared in a matter of 24 hours, because the leftovers were just as popular as the dinner itself (first sign that it's a winner!). So if you are looking to be a little healthier, but you don't want to give up beloved lasagna, I definitely recommend this recipe!

Slightly adapted from Weight Watchers, Simply the Best

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil

10 oz ground skinless turkey breast

1 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves minced

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 14 oz can tomato sauce

1/4 cup grated parmesean cheese

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried fennel seeds

12 no boil lasagna noodles

2 cups nonfat cottage cheese

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic salt

1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large nonstick saucepan, heat the oil. Add the turkey, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring as needed, until the turkey is browned, and the onion and garlic are soft.

3. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, parmesean, basil, oregano, and fennel, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until flavors are blended and sauce thickens.

4. Combine cottage cheese, egg, Italian seasoning and garlic salt until blended evenly.

5. Spoon one-third of the sauce in the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan; top with 3 noodles; spread with half of the cottage cheese, and top with 3 more noodles. Repeat the layering once more, ending with the sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly on top.

6. Bake, covered for one hour; uncover and bake until cooked through and golden, about 10 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Make 8 Servings

Points per serving: 6

Per serving: 275 cal, 5g fat, 2g sat fat, 37 mg chol, 359 mg sod, 31g carb, 2g fiber, 26g prot, 202g calcium

Swedish pancakes

These pancakes were actually discovered and prepared by my husband, who is the breakfast guru at our house. They are delicious, and pretty; great for the holidays. They have the flavor of a pancake, but the consistency and flavor of a crepe, so if you are a fan of both you're set. I would also highly recommend eating them with your favorite berry syrup.

Ingredients

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1 TB canola oil

1-1/2 cups flour

3 TB sugar

1/4 tsp salt

favorite berry syrup, or warmed jam or fruit spread

whipped cream

Directions

1. In a blender, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and process until blended. Heat a lightly greased 8-inch nonstick skillet; pour 1/4 cup batter into center of each. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer.

2. Repeat with remaining batter, adding oil to skillet as needed. Stack pancakes with waxed paper or paper towels in between. Reheat in the microwave if desired.

3. Fold pancake into quarters; serve with syrup and whipped topping.

Ebelskivers

A few years ago I had breakfast with some friends who served me these delicious pancake balls. They were so cute, and so fun and all I could keep thinking was what a fun holiday tradition. You know, it could be one of those things where years later, while my kids list off our holiday traditions they would always add "and mom made ebelskivers every Christmas morning!" So I went home, got online and bought the special ebelskiver pan on the spot, Christmas spirit in tow.

As of yet, I haven't actually had the opportunity to make these for Christmas morning, but we do make them often and the kids LOVE them, especially my boy, who is a picky little bugger. The fun part about them is that you stuff them with your favorite filling, so you can really go crazy experimenting. Our favorite is frozen blueberries that have been thawed and macerated in sugar. But you can fill them with applesauce, strawberries, raspberries, I've even heard of using pie filling, like pumpkin! You can sprinkle them with powdered sugar or soak them in your favorite syrup. The Ebelskiver pans are easy to find, on the internet at least. I would start at Amazon, or Williams Sonoma and start there. If you are looking for a cool breakfast idea, I would give these babies a whirl!

Ingredients

4 eggs, separated

1 TB sugar

2 cups cake flour (regular works fine too)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup melted shortening

Scant 2 cups milk

Berries of choice for filling

Directions

Beat egg yolk, beat in sugar. Combine dry ingredients. Add alternately with shortening and milk. Beat egg whites until stiff, but not dry. Fold into batter. Grease ebelskiver pan. Heat until smoking. Fill depressions with about 1/2 tsp, add filling, cover filling with another half tsp. When cooked on bottom, turn with two forks, or just use a spoon and your fingers, careful not to burn yourself! Cook the other side. Regrease pan between batches.

My OBSESSION

I rediscovered these sinful morsels going through the Hershey Factory over Thanksgiving. If you are a fan of all things chocolate-mint, you must stock up on these treasures. Mmm, this will be a short blog because I'm going to go get one now!

Crockpot Spicy Bean Soup

This is one of those recipes invented in the midst of scarcity. My pantry is always stocked with a variety of beans, broths and all types of tomato (sauces, diced, pureed) which always come in handy, especially when I'm low on ideas and food! So when I had a thawed 1/2 pound of beef in my fridge, behold this soup! My whole family loved it and it didn't take long before it was completely devoured. It's packed with flavor, and very healthy.

Ingredients

1/2lb-1lb ground beef or turkey

1 minced onion

4-5 stalks celery, chopped

2 cups diced carrots

2 15-oz cans chili beans, pinto beans or kidney beans (whatever you like really), drained and rinsed

2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies (if you don't like spicy foods, just use regular diced tomatoes)

2 cups beef, chicken or veggie broth (mine was a combination of all of them, because it's what I had in my fridge!)

1 TB garlic salt

1 TB parsley

1 TB dried oregano

1 TB cumin

1 tsp black pepper

1-2 TB chili powder

Directions

1. Brown beef or turkey and onions in a large nonstick skillet over med heat. Add carrots and celery and cook until just wilted. Place in a slow cooker.

2. Add remaining ingredients, stir to combine.

3. Cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

4. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers and shredded cheddar cheese.

Roasted Butternut Squash

This is actually the first year I've even tried cooking any type of winter squash, and now that I have, where has it been all my life!? It's so simple, delicious and healthy. This is an incredibly simple recipe that didn't require rocket science to come up with, but I wanted to post it for those of you that have never tried butternut squash, go try it!

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into uniform pieces

2 TB low calorie butter

1/3 cup brown sugar (or Splenda sub)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Directions

Combine squash and butter and toss until butter coats squash evenly. Add sugar, salt and pepper and toss to coat. Arrange evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 15-25 minutes, or until fork tender. Remove from oven and immediately toss squash with spatula (otherwise the sugar sticks to the pan and gets really hard). Enjoy, it's as good as candy!