Chocolicious

Just when you think Minnesota is finally ready to say goodbye to winter, you get this..

I have my fingers crossed that Mother Nature is possibly pulling an early April Fool’s joke? It’s most likely not the case, but hey, a girl can hope right?

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Lately I’ve been cooking more than usual, so be ready for a flood of new recipes, videos, and product reviews.

How about starting today with 4 recipes? I taught yet another cooking class for my town’s Community Education program this past Friday.  The theme?

Chocolicious!

First, take a look at my other classes here:

• Dessert First (February 2011)
• Christmas Cookie Swap (December 2010)
• A Cup of Comfort (November 2010)

Chocolate Bread with Chocolate Butter

Ingredients:

• Butter, for pans
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
• Chocolate Butter, recipe follows

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter and flour (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans.

• In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla at medium-low speed with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in the chocolate morsels and pecans. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Shield the bread with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with rich Chocolate Butter, if desired.

Chocolate Butter:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons hot fudge topping

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• In a small bowl, beat the butter and fudge topping at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Cover, and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

Chicken with Cocoa Tomato Sauce 

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 pint tomato sauce
• 1 pint diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Yellow or white rice, cooked and kept warm

Directions:

• Season both sides of chicken breasts with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. In a cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, about 10 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken from pan to a plate and set aside.

• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, onion, and garlic to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, cocoa, oregano, basil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Stir until well blended. Return the chicken to pan, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn chicken over and continue cooking, covered for 15 minutes. Arrange the chicken on a serving platter and serve over rice.

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen

 

Chocolate Chip Cheese Ball

Ingredients:

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
• 1 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
• Chocolate and honey flavored graham crackers and fruit

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter.

• Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, cocoa, brown sugar, and vanilla.

• Beat until well combined. Add the marshmallows and chocolate morsels. Stir to combine well. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

• Form the mixture into a ball, then roll it in walnuts.

• Arrange the cheese ball on a serving platter and serve with graham crackers and fruit.

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen

Peanut Butter Crunch Brownies

(aka better than crack brownies)

Ingredients:

• 1 batch brownies (boxed mix)

• 1/2 cup salted peanuts 1 cup chopped

• Reese’s peanut butter cups

• 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

• 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

• 1/2 tablespoon butter

• 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal

Directions:

• Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. Remove and top with peanuts and peanut butter cups, and bake for 4-6 minutes more.
• While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Stir in cereal. Remove brownies from oven and evenly pour chocolate mixture over top.
• Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

Recipe adapted from How Sweet It Is

And here’s some more random shots from the night…

 

 

 

What is your favorite chocolate recipe?

Spring Break

Thursday already?

Happy St. Patty’s Day!

Lucky Charms Cupcakes

{Va-va-vanilla cake topped with whipped vanilla frosting, and garnished with Lucky Charms cereal.}

Andes Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

{Andes Chocolicious Cake studded with bits and pieces of chocolate mint candy bar, topped with a whipped mint frosting, and garnished with more chocolate candy bar pieces.}

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Wow, I guess time flies when you’re on the last stretch of the semester! I can’t complain though, I had a great spring break that was busy, yet relaxing in the way of just not having to get up and go to class. I spend the week down in Minneapolis which is always a good time. I’ll keep the words to this post on the sparse side and just fill you in with pictures. By the way, if you haven’t noticed I am playing extreme catch up with my Google Reader, so hang in there! =)

We kicked off spring break by going out to Dave and Buster’s, which if you don’t know, is like a big restaurant/arcade all in one. Tons of fun!

We also spent a day at the Mall of America doing some much needed shopping!

All of that shopping sure works up an appetite!

Healthy Express  strawberry frozen yogurt topped with bananas and a layer of strawberries.

Friday started off with lunch at Jimmy John’s, which I had never eaten at before. I decided on the Totally Tuna, which is fresh housemade tuna, mixed with celery, onions, their tasty sauce, alfalfa sprouts, cucumber, lettuce, and tomato. But instead of getting it on a sub, I opted for the JJ Unwich which is basically a lettuce wrap.

We had to make our way across the metro to get to the Xcel Energy Center for the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournaments. I picked up some new diet sodas for the ride.

I am in love with the blue kind!

I also tried a new-to-me yogurt…

Weight Watcher’s Amaretto Cheesecake—pretty tasty!

We had a lot of fun at the games—17,000 people total were there!

That night, we ate at one of my favorite places ever—Red Lobster!

I got the stuffed flounder and grilled shrimp with a baked potato—hit the spot as usual!

The next day we hit up Bunny’s Bar and Grill in downtown Minneapolis—it’s basically a sports bar with superb food!

I got their tomato basil soup with a spinach and egg salad—I would highly recommend both and cant wait to go back and try more dishes on their menu!

We spent the rest of the afternoon pretending we were in a tropical getaway, but instead just hit up the water slides at the indoor Water park of America.

Our last night we decided to go out to a really nice, authentic Italian restaurant. I had never been to a Buca’s so I was pretty excited! It’s a really fun dining experience; they give you a tour of the kitchen, and everything is served family style. So for example, you order 5 entrees and everyone takes a little of each—way fun!

We ordered the Chopped Antipasto Salad(Diced pepperoni, red onions, pepperoncini peppers, cucumbers, provolone, feta and Gorgonzola cheeses, tossed with our fresh lettuce blend in our signature Italian vinaigrette), Spicy Chicken Rigatoni (Awaken your taste buds with a new favorite - tender chicken breast sautéed with garlic and red pepper, tossed with peas, a spicy rosa sauce and imported Italian rigatoni pasta), Chicken Carbonara (Tender chicken breast, prosciutto and peas with imported Italian spaghetti tossed in our creamy Alfredo sauce), Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken (Breaded chicken breasts stuffed with mozzarella and prosciutto, baked and topped with marinara, served on a bed of pesto cream sauce), and the Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Our famous mashed potatoes made with skin-on red potatoes and dare we mention…garlic).

Let’s just say when this meal was done, I was one  full girl!

After all was said and done, we made one last trip to Sam’s Club to stock up on food. To say we barely had any room in the car would be an understatement—we won’t need food for at least a month!

 

What did you do for St. Patrick’s Day??

Share Your Breakfast

(California October 2010)

It’s spring break, and even though I’m not going anywhere warm, it’s still nice to relax!

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Who doesn’t like breakfast? If you’ve been reading for awhile, you know breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I know a lot of you can relate.

Now your  breakfast can  make a difference with just the snap of a picture and a few minutes of your time.

Share Your Breakfast runs from January 20 to July 31, 2011, and provides people with multiple ways to get involved. Each time you share a photo or description of your breakfast, Kellogg’s will donate money to increase school breakfast participation through Action for Healthy Kids.
$1 donated = 5 school breakfasts shared through the grants distributed by Action for Healthy Kids.

SHARE YOURS HERE

I shared mine…

Egg white veggie omelet and kamut puffs with sliced banana topped with cinnamon.

What are America’s most shared breakfasts so far?

• 31% Fruit
• 25% Cereal
• 20% Milk
• 16% Eggs
• 12% Toast
• 11% Coffee
• 11% Oatmeal
• 11% Juice
• 7% Yogurt
• 6% Strawberries

And for Minnesota…

• 34% shared breakfasts include fruit
• 3% of breakfasts include bacon
• 0% of breakfasts include beans
• 18% breakfasts include eggs
• 18% breakfasts include coffee
• 3% breakfasts include ham
• 9% breakfasts include juice
• 32% breakfasts include milk
• 12% breakfasts include oatmeal
• 9% breakfasts include waffles
• 6% breakfasts include yogurt

 

What is your state’s favorite breakfast??

 

 

I’d Love It If You’d…

 

For the past 3 years this little blog has grown quite a bit, along with my experience/skills in the kitchen and food world in general. I love to share recipes, healthy living tips, and lifestyle/travel tips. I hope all my followers enjoy reading posts as much as I enjoy writing them. If you do, now’s your time to make light of it!

Women’s Health Magazine is currently looking for submissions for your favorite fitness, health, weight loss, and lifestyle blogs on the web.

Nominate A Pinch of This, and a Dash of That HERE!

Happy Friday!

Making My Way to Nine-a-Day

 

Does anyone remember these guys? I used to watch Veggietales all the time when I was younger! And what does Veggietales have to do with today’s post? Well, nothing really, except for the fact that I think they’re cute and I thought it was a good way to kick off a post pertaining to all thing vegetables. Just bear with me! :-)

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So lately I’ve found some time to finally catch up on my magazine reading. I was developing quite the pile since the start of the new year. So many subscriptions, so little time. Anyway, I started noticing a trend in all of the New Year’s Resolution articles—most people want to get more vegetables into their daily diet. Now as far as my diet goes, I never go a day without vegetables, but the latest recommendation from the new dietary guidelines released by the departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services recommends nine servings translate to about 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables every day. A lot of days I can say that I hit the 2 1/2 c mark, but realistically, when my life gets busy, my vegetable consumption takes a nosedive, and lately my life has been busier than ever..I’m sure you get where I’m going with this—I needed to find some sneaky ways to add more veggies back into my life!

1) Pick restaurants that offer all you can eat veggies

This past weekend I went to my all-time favorite restaurant, the Golden Corral. I wish Minnesota would get one, but instead I drive to North Dakota, about an hour away to get my “Corral fix” haha.

They have the best veggie selection ever, and they are all delicious. It’s a perfect way for me to pile on the veggies like so:

Steamed cabbage, baked potato, steamed carrots and broccoli, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and steak.

2) Always start your meal with a salad.

So maybe you can’t always go to an all-you-can-eat buffet. In that case, you always have salads to back you up. I am a huge fan of salads, but as we all know, they can turn into a diet disaster—just stick with veggies, no cheese or croutons, and a light or fat-free dressing. Some places really skimp on side salads, but I am always happy with Applebee’s generous side salads!

 3) Or better yet, make your salad the main meal.

I don’t know about you, but just the word “salad” doesn’t sound filling enough to be a meal, but trust me, one you load up on all the good stuff, it can be the perfect meal to satisfy your appetite and a tasty way to get even more veggies!! My favorite salad that I eat as a meal is Subway’s Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki salad with Sweet Onion Dressing (is anyone else is love with this dressing?) And even better, you can make any sub into a salad—so you have lots of options!

4) Soups on

Soup has always been one of my favorite ways to get in lots of veggies, especially with the cold wintery days of late. I’ll usually whip up one of my favorites ( a good one for lots of veggies is my Very Veggie Soup) or if I am out to eat, I love Olive Garden’s minestrone soup!

I also recently tried this soup for the first time..

Dr. McDougall’s Minestrone

Loaded with chunks of fresh-tasting veggies.

5) If your favorite produce isn’t in season, use frozen or canned (low-sodium preferably)

I especially love having lots of canned veggies now ever since I got my soup can organizer from Progresso Soup—love it!

6) And the last way I like sneaking in extra veggies to my diet? Baked good of course!!

My veggie loaded cupcakes…

Zucchini Nut Cupcakes
Moist Zucchini Cake Studded with Orange Zest
Topped with a Brown Sugar Frosting
Garnished with a Pecan
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Moist Carrot Cake
Topped with a Cream Cheese Frosting
Garnished with Walnuts and Coconut

Now for a new & delicious veggie loaded cookie recipe—Bonus: it’s semi-homemade!

White Chocolate Dipped Carrot Cake Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 box carrot cake mix
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 oil
• 1 bag white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 c sliced almonds, if desired

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Mix cake mix, eggs, and oil until thoroughly combined—add it grated carrots.
• Place in preheated oven on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and bake 7-11 or until edges start to brown.
• Remove from oven and let cool on cooling racks for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the white chocolate chips over a double broiler, stirring until a dipping consistency is achieved.
• Dip half of a cookie in the white chocolate, and immediately dip in the sliced almonds.
• Place on parchment paper to harden

How do you reach the daily serving of vegetables, or are you still working on it?

--Thank you for the votes on my POM Pink Velvet Cupcake—keep voting here!!--