Just in Time for Summer: Fabulous Fruit Pies

Thank you all for the well wishes will my new job—I am still on cloud 9. I made a trip to the library to get  a few books to do some culinary cramming. I know a lot, but there is SO much to learn in the culinary field, I’ve just scratched the surface. So in other words, I’ve gone from college textbooks to culinary books—I am definitely not complaining!

Also, I’ve been in the process of covering my pantry door with a variety of food magazine covers—I’m liking it!

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So, lately, a lot of blogger’s have been focusing on summer produce from the grocery stores or farmer’s market, so it’s about time I jump on the bandwagon! And what better way than with some sweets right? And even better when they are a little on the lighter side of course!

Cherry Ricotta Cheesecake

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Fiber One piecrust (recipe here), or one store-bought graham crust
• 4 oz fat-free cream cheese
• 1 c ricotta cheese
• 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp sugar, or Splenda
• 1/2 c eggbeaters, or egg whites
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• For serving—cherry pie filling (recipe below), and Cool Whip, if desired

Homemade cherry pie filling:

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 cups fresh tart cherries, pitted

1-1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

6 drops red food coloring, optional

1. In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the cherries, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in food coloring if desired. Yield: 4 cups.

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Prepare Fiber One or store-bought piecrust.
• Add medium speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, 1-2 min. Add ricotta and sugar, beat until smooth and creamy, 3 minutes. Beat in egg whites, flour, vanilla, and almond extract.
• Pour batter into pan; bake 1 hour 15 minutes, until center slightly jiggles. Turn oven off; let cheesecake cool in over for 1 hour.
• Chill at least 4 hours.
• If desired, spread about 3 Tbsp cherry pie filling onto individual slices and top with a dollop of Cool Whip.

 

Creamy Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Fiber One piecrust (recipe here) OR store-bought graham piecrust 
  RHUBARB LAYER:
• 2 cups sliced fresh or frozen rhubarb
• 1/4 cup sugar, I used Splenda
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 
  CHEESECAKE LAYER:
• 1 packages (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened—I used fat-free
• 1/4 cup sugar, or Splenda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 c + 2 Tbsp egg beaters or egg whites
  TOPPING:
• 3/4 c fat-free or regular sour cream
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, or Splenda 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tsp strawberry Jell-O powder

Directions:

Prepare Fiber One crust.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine rhubarb, sugar and flour; spoon over the crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg whites, beat on low speed just until combined.

• Pour over hot rhubarb layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the sour cream, Jell-O powder, sugar and vanilla; spread over hot cheesecake. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour.

Refrigerate overnight. Refrigerate leftovers.

What’s the Difference?

Finally the weekend—it seems as if the week leading up to the weekend just drags by, and then the weekend itself is gone in a blink of an eye! Can anyone relate? Today my parents are coming down for the day and we’re going to have a nice dinner together and just catch up a bit! So I decided to make the dessert ahead of time (yesterday) just in case it didn’t turn out. I have never made a Black Forest Cheesecake before, but I am a fan of anything with cherries and/or cream cheese so that sealed the deal!

But first, while I was in Wal-Mart the other day getting groceries for the weekend and such, I was rifling through the cream cheeses to find the lowest priced one when it hit me as to how many different types of cream cheese there was; regular, low-fat, fat-free, and Neufchatel. Of course I knew there was various types, just like most things, but I wanted to find out the difference in how they perform in certain recipes. As I was researching, I found some other interesting differences in foods that I thought you would like—enjoy!

What’s the Difference

Cream Cheese

• Neufchatel- Real Neufchatel cream cheese hails from the town of Neufchatel France in the Normandy region.  It is a soft, unripened, somewhat salty, yet mild cheese with a fat content of 20 to 45 percent. In America, Neufchatel cream cheese has a fat content of 23 percent.
• Low-Fat- Emulsifiers—which help ingredients stick together—and thickeners account for most of the rest of the extra ingredients needed to stabilize the cream cheese. Not a huge taste difference from the full fat version.
• Fat-Free- Fat-free cream cheese is a good choice for some recipes but doesn't work everywhere. It is made with skim milk and the texture is not as creamy as regular cream cheese or the low-fat versions. The best use for fat-free cream cheese is to use it in a chilled dip, dressing or dessert or where it is blended into other ingredients. It can work well in baked goods also

Brown Sugar

• Brown sugar is simply regular white sugar combined with molasses.  To make sugar, the juice from the sugar cane is boiled and the sugar crystals are then extracted.  The remaining syrup is molasses.  Dark brown sugar has a higher concentration of molasses and hence, a stronger flavor than the light brown.

Corn Syrup

• Corn syrup is made by processing cornstarch with acids and/or enzymes.  Cornstarch is the starch harvested from the endosperm of corn kernels.  Light corn syrup has been refined to increase its clarity and remove any color.  Dark corn syrup has had caramel coloring added and has a stronger flavor.

Cocoa Powders

• Cocoa beans are fermented and roasted and then ground to remove most of the cocoa butter, (the natural vegetable fat in the cocoa bean).  What remains is a paste called chocolate liquor.  This is dried again and ground to produce cocoa powder.  Dutch cocoa powder has been treated with an alkali which neutralizes the powder’s natural acidity.  Depending on the recipe, you cannot substitute regular cocoa powder for Dutch cocoa powder or vice versa.  The leavening effect of many baked goods requires a delicate balance of acid and alkaline ingredients.  Regular cocoa powder is acidic while the Dutch variety is neutral.

Coffee and Espresso

• The term espresso refers to the method of making the coffee, not the beans or how they are roasted.  Nevertheless, espresso normally employs beans that are roasted more than regular coffee beans and then finely ground.  The espresso part of the equation is injecting very hot, pressurized water through the grind to produce a dark, rich cup of coffee in a fraction of the time of regular coffee.  A cup of espresso has about the same amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee BUT a “cup” of espresso is approximately 2 oz. as compared to a 6 oz. cup of regular coffee.  Thus, ounce for ounce, espresso has notably more caffeine. 

Black Pepper

• Ground pepper, like any ground spice will lose its flavor rapidly.  Within no time it will have little taste although it might retain its kick.  It is absolutely worth buying fresh peppercorns and grinding them as needed on your dishes.  You will add greater dimensions of flavor as well as a bite to your food. 

Black Forest Cheesecake

6-8 servings

Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) low fat cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar (I used Splenda)

1 cup (8 ounces) fat free sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 carton (8 ounces) fat free frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 chocolate fiber crust (recipe below) OR 1 chocolate crumb crust (8 inches)

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

1 can (21 ounces) sugar-free cherry pie filling

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Fold in whipped topping.

Spread half of the mixture evenly into crust. Fold cocoa and confectioners' sugar into remaining whipped topping mixture; carefully spread over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Cut into slices; top each slice with cherry pie filling. Refrigerate leftovers. 

Chocolate Fiber Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 c Fiber One cereal
• 1 bag Chocolate Fudge Hybrid Cookies(pictured below)
• 1/4 c I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• water as needed

Directions:

• Pulse cereal and cookies in a food processor. Add butter, vanilla, and water until completely moistened.
• Press into 9-inch pie plate and bake on 350 F for 10 minutes.

Info adapted from here.

Spring Semester and Swapping Sweets

I think it’s finally safe to say that things around my place have returned to a normal pace. For awhile there I just felt that I didn’t even have time to sit, yet alone blog and read blogs!

This semester I decided to take a few less credits than the previous just because my cooking classes start soo(more info on that soon) and because I want to squeeze a few more things in besides school, eating, and sleeping. I am taking some interesting classes this semester:

• Computer Business Applications- Learning how to use different computer applications and applying them to situations we would use in the business/corporate world.
• Marketing- This one is shadowing my major—it’s already really interesting. Learning all about the concepts, pitfalls, and strategies of marketing everything from toilet paper to food.
• Spanish- I have already taken four years of Spanish during high school, but just my luck, a foreign language is required for my major—plomazo!
• Astronomy- This is my only online class this semester. I basically took it to fill my last science liberal education category, although I have always been fascinated by space and such!

What was your favorite class you took/are taking in college?

So before the holidays were over, I signed up for a cookie swap over at Steph Chows. I was drawn to it because number one it involved cookies, and number two, they didn’t need to be made and sent out till after the holidays which is nice because things tend to get overly hectic then.

I have millions of cookie recipes that I love, but I have millions of bags of butterscotch chips that I bought on sale awhile ago that are calling my name. That left me with the only obvious cookie choice—Oatmeal Scotchies!

Oatmeal Scotchies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats, uncooked

1-3/4 cups (11-oz. pkg.)  Butterscotch Chips

Directions:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
• Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in oats and butterscotch chips; mix well. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

Verdict: I think these turned out fabulous for a flat cookie! They were chewy, plenty of butterscotch flavor, and a perfectly crisp outside.

What’s your favorite way to incorporate butterscotch into baked goods?

I shipped my cookies out to Val (she doesn’t have a blog unfortunately) all the way to New York. I highly suggest using a sturdy box and bubble wrap after sealing them in zip-loc baggies.

One of the things I love about swaps is the anticipation of what your going to get! Val spoiled me with not one, but two goodies! Cherry Wink cookies and Coconut Almond Bars—both were wonderful. Cherries are one of my favorite flavors and who can resist a chewy almond bar?

Hope your having a great Monday even if you didn’t have the day off!

Want to win a Vita-Mix blender? Of course you do..who wouldn’t?! Click here now for a chance.

Jeweled, Spiced, and Everything Nice

I can’t believe Christmas in next week!!

I am a tad bit nervous to host my family at my place for the first time—well it’s the first year I’ve had my own place. Plus I am doing the cooking which shall be a blast!! I recently read an article in Body & Soul that talked about being stressed around the holidays and trying to make everything perfect and then we miss out on the true reason we even gather! So when a few cookies burn, or the cheesecake ends up cracking down the middle(fingers crossed mine doesn’t—always use a water bath!)—don’t fret, your family will still stick around, I guarantee it! Do you feel a lot of pressure around the holiday time?

Today’s post is a bit short—I have some TV/blog reading to catch up with!! No homework FOR ONCE!!

If you all decide to try these cookies, you will get endless compliments! An easy dough combined with some candied cherries to give a “jeweled” appearance will stand out at any Christmas bash—these are one of the recipes I make every year. Easy, tasty, and pretty—cheers!

Recipe HERE!

23 Days Till Christmas

Hey guys!

Minnesota decided to dump our first snow of the season last night. About 2 inches—how did I know we definitely would have a white Christmas? As long as the temps don’t dip to –30 like last winter, I can deal.

Did you enter my holiday photo contest yet?! The box of goodies is getting bigger—I can’t wait to give it away. I wish I could give all of you gifts =)

First matter of business—if you’re looking for some holiday-themed treats to bake up this year, check out my favorites that I made last year:

Top 10 of 2008

• Ginger“head”Reindeer Cookies
• Christmas Pinwheel Cookies
• Snowflake Cardamom Crisps
• Christmas Chocolate Cheers
• Festive Cake Bars
• Nuts Over Nuts Nibbles
• Better-Than-Average Molasses Cookies
• Strawberry Poinsettia Blooms
• Hint of Mint Munchies
• Peppermint Oatmeal Crunchies

Those were the top 10 I picked last year and this year my top 10 will be unveiled starting December 15th—get excited!

Also my gift guide (last years is still here) & holiday tips will be crammed in somewhere as well! :-)

Why do grocery stores around here not have fresh cranberries?? I went on a wild goose chase all over town trying to find some for these bars, and at my last stop I found them! If you like tart berries paired with a sweet pound cake, this fits the bill! However, it didn’t photograph well at all. “Santa please bring me a fancy shmancy camera—thanks!”

Cranberry-Cherry Pound Cake Bars

Makes 2 dozen bars

 Ingredients:

Crust:

• 3/4 c butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 all-purpose flour

Cake:

• 1/2 c butter or margarine, softened
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 2/3 c all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 c cranberry juice (I used light)
• 1/4 c whipping cream
• 1 bag (5 oz) dried cherries (1 cup)
• 1 c sweetened dried cranberries

Glaze:

• 1 c powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp cranberry juice

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray 9 x 13’ pan with cooking spray. In medium bowl beat all crust ingredients with electric mixer on medium until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan.
• In large bowl, beat 1/2 c butter, 1 c granulated sugar, and almond extract on medium until well blended. Beat in eggs until creamy. On low speed, beat in 1 2/3 c flour, the baking powder and soda, the cranberry juice, and cream. Fold in cranberries and cherries. Spread over crust.
• Bake 45-50 min until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
• Beat glaze ingredients with wire whisk until smooth—drizzle over bars.
• Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows and serve.

--Dreaming of tropical places? Enter this giveaway--

Gourmet Goodies

 

Good Monday morning all.

How did the weekend go? Lots of candy, costumes and all things spooky? I did the norm—shopping, baking, cooking, cleaning, and actually got around to playing my Wii for awhile. Did you notice something missing there? No homework! Yes, it was a dream, and I savored the fact that I didn’t have to crack the books for once.

So I know everyone is probably tired of hearing/seeing candy after Halloween, but you must give these sweet treats a chance! They are not typical candy, but something I like to call gourmet goodies. I recently was so lucky as to have a chance to sample the divine Amella Caramels. Here’s a bit about the company:

  Our team at Artisan Cocoa has created an exciting and new taste sensation for you to enjoy.  Amellas are an all-natural buttery caramel made using pure cocoa butter, real fruits, nuts, and vegetables all hand dipped in the finest chocolate.

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They make 3 amazing flavors of caramels:

• Carrot Cake
• Passion Fruit
• Black Forest

If the names don’t have you salivating, the pictures will!

My Chew Review

Carrot Cake

If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile, you know I am a die-hard carrot cake fan—but in cake form. In caramel form, I wasn’t so sure. It sounded amazing, but how could they capture that carrot cake taste and place it in a caramel form with an equal great taste experience? Apparently I don’t have to worry about it because the folks at Amella Caramels figured it out for me! I was in love at first bite! It was actually a really crazy experience, because you bite into it thinking your going to get a fluffy cake texture, but instead it’s a smooth and chewier texture, but still has that carrot cake taste—I was amazed! Not only is this flavor delicious, it also has a great visual appeal with a dark carrot hue, bits of roasted pecans, and the “icing” is a tasty layer of white chocolate. My favorite of the three!

Black Forest

Check out the details in these caramels! You can definitely tell they are handmade with tender loving care. I am a huge cherry fan, and love that this caramel is 70% dark chocolate. You better believe it makes for a rich and satisfying chocolate experience. Although the chocolate flavor is present, it doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the cherry and vanilla flavors, it balances out perfectly. I also really like the addition of the dark chocolate sprinkles as well. Second favorite!

Passion Fruit

Who would have thought that a fruit flavor and a caramel flavor together would meld into another one-of-a-kind caramel experience? I sure didn’t until biting into the Passion Fruit caramel. The slight tart taste of the passion fruit somehow highlights the creamy caramel deliciousness. It’s hard to explain—it’s one of those things you need to taste for yourself! This is good, however it would be one that I would eat occasionally—not everyday more often like the Carrot Cake flavor.

Overall thoughts:

Amella Caramels are to die for! If you’ve never experienced the delight of trying cocoa butter caramels, don’t hold off too much longer! I have a feeling I am going to be slightly disappointed when eating everyday caramels now, just because these take it up a notch…or five! =)

Another noted thing I like about the caramels is how they’re packaged—it makes the whole experience a little more fun!

Plus the nutritionals for these caramels aren’t half bad meaning you can eat more of them. Check those out here.

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Amella Caramels would also make a fantastic gift for the upcoming holiday season. I am hoping Santa would possibly leave some under my tree.

Thanks again to the wonderful caramel creators at Amella Caramels for the awesome opportunity to spread the word!

Picking Your Meal Apart

Don’t you sometimes wonder when your eating a supposed healthy meal, what is really healthy about it, what it can do for your body, and what vitamins and such it provides? I usually just jump at the word healthy, but for today’s meal, I wanted to see what it was really doing for me!

The meal:

Swiss Chicken with Roasted Fruit Compote

(recipe below)

Butternut Squash Fries

(recipe here)

[[Picking It Apart]]

• Chicken (4 oz breast)
• 4 ounces of chicken provide two thirds of your daily protein requirements
• A serving of chicken supplies 72% of the RDA for niacin, a B vitamin that can protect DNA from cell damage and has cancer-preventative properties.
• That 4-ounce serving of chicken also provides nearly half of your RDA of the trace mineral selenium that is essential for manufacturing glutathione, a powerful immune boosting and cancer-fighting enzyme.
• Vitamin B6 in chicken helps process carbohydrates and helps regulate blood sugar.
  • Cheese
• Cheese contains a high concentration of essential nutrients, in particular high quality protein and calcium, as well as other nutrients such as phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12.
• Certain cheeses such as Cheddar, Swiss, blue, Monterey Jack, and process American cheese, among others, have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of dental cavities.
• Because cheese is a calcium-rich food, its inclusion in the diet may help reduce the risk for osteoporosis.
  • Apples
• Apples are source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber such as pectin actually helps to prevent cholesterol buildup in the lining of blood vessel walls, thus reducing the incident of arteriosclerosis and heart disease. The insoluble fiber provides bulk in the intestinal tract, holding water to cleanse and move food quickly through the digestive system.
• It is a good idea to eat apples with their skin. Almost half of the vitamin C content is just underneath the skin. Eating the skin also increases insoluble fiber content.
  • Cherries
• Cherries, along with many other berries, are a rich source of antioxidants. They help prevent or repair the damage that is done to the body’s cells by free radicals. This means that antioxidants replace free radicals in your body before they can cause any damage.
• Cherries are rich in two important flavonoids, isoqueritrin and queritrin, which act as antioxidants and work to eliminate byproducts of oxidative stress, therefore slowing down the aging process.
• Melatonin is also found to help the body’s natural sleep patterns. Since the body so rapidly absorbs melatonin, cherries can increase melatonin levels in the blood, therefore improving the way you sleep.
• Butternut Squash
• Low in fat, butternut squash delivers an ample dose of dietary fiber, making it an exceptionally heart-friendly choice. It provides significant amounts of potassium, important for bone health, and vitamin B6, essential for the proper functioning of both the nervous and immune systems. The folate content adds yet another boost to its heart-healthy reputation and helps guard against brain and spinal-cord-related birth defects such as spina bifida.
• As if this weren't enough, butternut squash may have anti-inflammatory effects because of its high antioxidant content. Incorporating more of this hearty winter staple into your diet could help reduce risk of inflammation-related disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma.

Wowee!

Sounds like a power-packed meal to me! I bet a lot of you eat great tasting meals filled with tons of benefits. Maybe take a few minutes this weekend and pick apart your meal. I’d love to see a picture and the health benefits your getting—so email me at apinchandadash@live.com and I will post my favorite next week! =)

 

Swiss Chicken with Roasted Fruit Compote Recipe

Serves:4

Ingredients:

• 1 oz red wine vinegar
• 1.5 oz apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp honey
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 c chopped Fuji apple
• 1/2 oz unsalted butter
• 3.25 oz of Swiss cheese, shredded
• 3.25 oz of frozen bing cherries, thawed

Directions

• For the marinade: Place the red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, the mustards, and honey in a food processor. Turn it on and drizzle in the olive oil until fully incorporated. Marinate the chicken breasts overnight in this mixture. Or in my case, I did it for 3 hours, and it worked fine!
• Preheat 12-inch skillet sprayed with nonstick spray on med-high. Remove chicken breasts from the marinade and transfer to a plate. Season them with salt and pepper. Cook each chicken breast about 4 minutes on both sides, and transfer back to plate. (Chicken breasts will still not be fully cooked, so do wash your hands and take precautions with using raw meat!)
• For the stuffing: Peel, core, and very roughly chop the apples. Melt the butter in a saute pan over medium/high heat and add the apples. Cook the apples for roughly 5 to 10 minutes or until they are deeply browned. Remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the Swiss and cherries and mix. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

• For the chicken: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Cut a slit in the side of each breast (in the thicker part) about 1-inch wide, creating a pocket almost as large as the breast itself. Stuff the breasts with the apple stuffing mix – cramming in as much as possible without ripping the breast.  Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 to 15 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 155 degrees F in the thickest part of the breast.

Great blend of sweet and savory flavors!

Wrap It Up Redo

    Another week is well on it’s way, and MN has finally got a taste of summer weather! Yesterday was the first dab of 80 we’ve felt in a long time. Will it stay? Probably not, but you’ll have to stay tuned to see.

    Question #1-So do you guys like Lean Pockets, Hot Pockets, or any kind of quick and convenient on-the-go pocket you can grab, heat, and eat? I sure do! Especially when the college year kicks off and I barely have time to sit down, it’s nice being able to know I have a Lean Pocket in my lunchbox. But, sometimes I often find myself feeling like I fork over a lot of money for the things(unless of course they’re on sale), and most of the time I was wishing there was more of this or that or an added vegetable. Can you relate? If so, you’ll want to keep reading!

    Question #2- Do you guys like McDonald’s cherry or apple pies that they sell for under a buck? They are usually piping hot from being “baked” and aren’t half bad—although the nutritionals could be improved a bit. What if you could make your own—sound interesting? Read on!

   So, I decided to take on the challenge and make my own Lean Pockets and Homemade Cherry Pie Pockets as well. Sounds like a daunting task you say? Not so much when you use the unlikely ingredient I did. It turned out to be great + cheap! Let me introduce the 2nd Recipe Redo on a Budget--->

This or that?

Can you guess the secret ingredient these little gems are wrapped in? Egg wrappers! For $2.49 for 25 it’s a price that can’t be beat! Now I did my Lean Pocket in a cream of chicken flavor—you could do ANYTHING—meatless, pizza, a recreation of your already favorite pocket—the sky’s the limit! If you have any awesome ideas lemme know! (I was thinking Hawaiian pizza theme next?)

Recipe Cost Analysis

• Canned Mixed Veggies $1.19
• Egg Roll Wrappers(med size) $2.49
• Butterfield Canned Chicken $1.00
• Can of FF Cream of Celery Soup $0.89

Total= $5.57  Makes= 12 Cost Per Serving= $0.46

Lean Chicken Pockets Inspired by Hungry Girl

PER SERVING (1 pocket): 88 calories, 1g fat, 242mg sodium, 16g carbs, 1g fiber, 1.5g sugars, 4g protein

Ingredients:
*12 large square egg roll wrappers (found in the refrigerated section of the supermarket with the other Asian items)
*One 10.75-oz. can 98% fat-free cream of celery condensed soup
*2 cups canned bite-sized mixed veggies (like diced carrots, peas, corn, etc.)
*2 oz. cooked skinless lean chicken breast, finely chopped
*Optional: salt and black pepper, to taste
Directions:
1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2)In bowl combine soup, veggies and chicken, mix well, and then season to taste with salt and pepper, if you like. This is your filling. Set aside.
3)On a large dry surface, lay out three egg roll wrappers. Set out a small dish of water, dip your finger into it, and then run your finger along all of the wrapper edges -- repeat this as needed while preparing your pockets, as it will help keep them sealed.
Starting about 1/2 inch from the bottom, place 2 - 3 tbsp. of filling along the bottom half of each wrapper, leaving a 1/2-inch border on both sides. Fold the top half of each wrapper over, so that the top edge meets the bottom -- the mixture should be completely encased with a 1/2-inch border on three sides. Dab each border with water, and fold each inward about 1/4 inch to lightly seal all sides. Press firmly along the borders with the prongs of a fork to seal completely.
4)Line a large baking pan with foil and/or spray with nonstick spray. Using a large spatula, carefully transfer the pockets to the baking pan. Repeat the entire process 3 more times, so that you have 12 pockets on the baking sheet. If needed, prepare and use an additional baking sheet.
5)Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Then dig in!

In a Snap Cherry Wrap

Recipe Cost Analysis

• Can of light cherry pie filling= $2.39
• Egg Wrappers= $2.49

Total=$4.88 Makes=12 Cost Per Serving=$0.41

PER SERVING: Calories-51.8 Total Fat-0 Sodium-3.0 mg Carbs-11 g Fiber-1.2 g Sugars-2.8 g

Ingredients:

• 2/3 C + 2 TBSP cherry pie filling
• 6 large egg roll wrappers, each cut into two

Directions:

1)Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2)On a dry surface, lay four half egg roll wrappers out. Set out a small dish of water, dip your finger into it, and then run your finger along all of the wrapper edges -- repeat this as needed while preparing your pockets, as it will help keep them sealed.
Starting about 1/2 inch from the bottom, place 1 tbsp. of cherry pie filling along the bottom half of each wrapper, leaving a 1/2-inch border on both sides. Fold the top half of each wrapper over, so that the top edge meets the bottom -- the mixture should be completely encased with a 1/2-inch border on three sides. Dab each border with water, and fold each inward about 1/4 inch to lightly seal all sides. Press firmly along the borders with the prongs of a fork to seal completely.

4)Line a large baking pan with foil and/or spray with nonstick spray. Using a large spatula, carefully transfer the pockets to the baking pan. Repeat the entire process 3 more times, so that you have 12 pockets on the baking sheet. If needed, prepare and use an additional baking sheet.
5)Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

A Slew of News

  I am overly eager to report my apartment is better than I could have imagined! Of course I scouted the kitchen out first—and it is the cutest! It’s all white, lots of cupboard/counter space and just perfect for me! Then there’s the huge bay window in the living room/dining room area that provides a great view from the 3rd floor. When you walk in to the left is a giant pantry and the right is a giant coat closet complete with shoe racks and all! Then the bathroom is a bathroom, nothing too extravagant. 2 bedrooms—the guestroom is a little smaller but still has a big closet(I am using this for my craft room/office like I have at home), and then my room is gigantic complete with a walk-in closet!! I have never had a walk-in..just 2 closets I took over here! So needless to say the 2nd week in July cannot come any sooner. Bad news—no pictures could be taken seeming how the prior family was still partially there. So you’ll have to imagine for now. My room themed plans are as follows:

• Kitchen-White/Pink Cupcake/Ice Cream Theme
• Bathroom-Tropical Flare
• Living Room-Not Too Sure, More of a Modern Look
• My Bedroom-Fantasyland Complete With All Things Butterflies
• Guestroom-Undecided. Any fun ideas?

So my wonderful mom who already knew my whole pink/white cupcake/ice cream kitchen theme has started early to stock me up =)

(Cupcake plates, dish scrubbies, hot pads, cooking mitts, baking funnels, and a tie apron for all those messy jobs!)

 

Our day ended with a nice meal (one of my fav fast food meals) and a sweet treat dessert—DQ anyone(hey, Krista!) For those of you that are new to the blog, I know I mentioned it before in previous posts that my first job when I was fifteen was at KFC—yes I know I was young/desperate—but hey I worked with a bunch of friends and we had a blast all the while earning moolah! So I decided it was time for a little walk down memory lane! I had planned on trying the new KFC Grilled Chicken, but my mom ordered hers first and I was a bit disappointed that it had skin on it!(I despise skin on my chicken), so I passed it up and went with the standard. My mom said to Grilled was nothing to rave about and she really didn’t find any significant difference between the grilled and the original + it was even a bit drier!!—Bummer!

My Standard(minus the biscuit!):

I ordered up a Tendergrill chicken breast without the wrap and all the extras, some good ol’ green beans and some comforting mashed potatoes with half the gravy. It really is a healthy meal for a fast food place although I wouldn’t advocate eating instant mashed potatoes 24/7. Also I learned that you could just order a nice chicken breast when I worked there—I would actually bake them—they are just frozen like you would buy at the store, a little bit of seasonings baked with no oils/grease/butter/etc. So now you know a little trick—order a Tendergrill chicken breast sans anything else.

Then who doesn’t want to end a great day on a sweet note? I do!

DQ Cherry Sundae can’t be beat! I always get it with 1/2 the syrup otherwise it’s a major sugar overload. Such a nice occasional treat!

Enjoy your Friday and remember—tomorrow’s the weekend!