Fallen Souffle

So I included these cookies in my latest BBM4 package. I got the recipe form a cookbook I received at my bridal shower, it’s a Junior League Cookbook and it has typical southern staples. I wanted to represent more of NC in this package so I thought only the best would do.

This is the first time I have made this cookies, and I re-read the recipe many time because there is no flour in the recipe, only rolled oats. I was really nervous that these would never set and be a big puddle of mush, but they firmed up nicely and created a soft, chewy cookies.

These are by no means low fat cookies, and I didn’t even try to skimp with low fat peanut butter- only the best would do for these cookies. Though this recipe made about 5 dozen cookies, so use it for a bake sale or your Super Bowl party because you don’t want all of these in your house at one time…too dangerous!

Raleigh’s Best Ever Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (18 ounces) crunchy peanut butter
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 (10 ounce) bag M&M’s or Reese’s pieces
1 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine first 9 ingredients and mix well. Mix in oats. Stir in chocolate and candy.

3. Drop by tablespoonfuls, about 2 inches apart, on a greased baking sheet.

4. Bake for 10-13 minutes until golden brown around the edges.

5. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

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So I made two pretty good dinners this weekend and I thought I would quickly share them before it is time to end this busy weekend.

Saturday night I took some inspiration from Rachael Ray and a re-run I saw last week in which she made Tomato, Basil and Cheese Baked Pasta. So Evan isn’t a huge pesto fan so I whipped out my cute individual Corningware dishes and I made personal pasta dishes. I followed Rachael’s recipe for mine but used canned sauce because I wanted to clean out to fridge and just omitted the pesto in Evan’s. Here is the link to the original recipe.

Tonight I found a recipe at Chef Michele’s Adventures for a Honey Dijon Chicken. I omitted the onions and mushrooms because I didn’t feel like chopping, but this dish was amazing. Cooked up some mashed potatoes and roasted broccoli and I had dinner ready in 30 minutes. Evan said this was a definite repeater. Here is the link to her post.

(Sorry for all of the links I wanted to get this up before I forgot!)

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When the weather turns to the chilly side the only think I want it s nice steaming bowl of soup. I am cold natured while my dear husband is the exact opposite and I often lose the battle of the thermostat. Therefore I spend most winter nights hugging the space heater with 2 pairs of socks on, a thick sweatshirt and a large blanket (now I am so wishing we had a fireplace!) Soup is the only thing that warms me up, like the Campbells’ commercial with the little boy/snowman that comes in and slowly thaws out while sipping soup…that is me to a tee.

I stick to the classic when it comes to soup, relying on tried and true chicken noodle, vegetable and tomato soups, occasionally I will be adventurous with butternut squash or a cream soup. So while on the hunt for a great new soup I thought nothing says comfort like Paula Deen. She just oozes warm and fuzzies. She knows her comfort foods.

So for this month’s Weekend Cookbook ChallengeI turned to a cookbook given to me by my sister for Christmas, Paula Deen’s Kitchen Classics. Inside is a recipe for Tomato and Dill Soup that is really wonderful. I would have never thought to put tomato and dill together but they really compliment each other. The recipe is comprised of mostly pantry items so it can be thrown together on a busy weeknight. My only change would be to omit the chopped garlic if you are not planning to cook it for the entire 30 minutes. Because I used canned tomatoes I pretty much heated the soup through but the onions didn’t cook so I had chunks of raw onions- yuck. Either omit them or strain them or use your boat motor to puree them (my boat motor died).

Pair this with some cheese toast and you are sure to be warmed to the core.

Paula’s Tomato and Dill Soup

1- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes or 3 cups of fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups of chicken stock
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
3/4 cup heavy cream (I used fat free half and half- sorry Paula!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped (I omitted this)

In a large pot combine first 7 ingredients. Cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.

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I know what you are thinking…Jen, you posted a picture of an empty plate. Yes, I know but this is the sign of a truly great dessert

I stumbled upon this recipe over the summer and it originally called for lemon yogurt but it could not be found in the grocery store when I had my intense craving so I went for the next best thing…key lime. We are trying to not eat as much crap since we did a lot of eating last week, but I can’t give up my desserts so this recipe is perfect. It has the creamy consistency of regular cheesecake and the lime adds a wonderful crispness. This can be whipped up in no time with a store bought crust (which is what I did) but you could certainly make your own. Something I discovered, I baked mine for about 55 minutes then turned off the oven and let it sit there with the oven door cracked for another hour or so, which allowed it to firm up nicely. Then I refridgerated it overnight.

This is a great base recipe for other flavorings, basically the only limit is the number of yogurt flavors. I think next time I will try black cherry yogurt…oh yum!

Low-Fat Key Lime Cheesecake

1 (9 inch) reduced fat graham cracker pie crust
2 (8 ounce) packages reduced fat cream cheese
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
1/2 cup egg substitute
1 (8 ounce) container nonfat lime yogurt (or any flavor of your choice)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in flour. Beat in lemon juice and egg substitute. Stir in yogurt. Pour into crust.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Allow to cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

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The weather in NC has been really wacky lately. It was extremely windy at the beginning of the week which threw the trash can and all of my outdoor pots all over the yard. The it was a balmy 70 degrees over the weekend then I woke up yesterday to a rainy yucky 40 degree day. Yuck! I am afraid to put my summer clothes away!

So this morning was rainy again so after I got back from a much needed work out I whipped up some comforting oatmeal. This oatmeal is packed with all things good for you…whole grains, calcium, potassium and the wonderful benefits of cinnamon. As a side note, cinnamon is great for helping with high cholesterol, so if it runs in your family it wouldn’t hurt to have a teaspoon a day.

So if you need an energy boost or just something to get you through a nasty day…this breakfast is right on target. Sorry for the lack of pictures, the camera didn’t want to focus and oatmeal isn’t really photogenic as it is

Oatmeal with Bananas
serves 1

1 cup low fat milk
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 medium banana, smashed
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. In a small saucepan over medium high heat, heat milk until simmering. Add oats and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring continually.

2. Add the remainder of the ingredients and stir until combined. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for about 2 minutes, Stir again before stirring.

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I don’t think I have ever eaten as much tuna as I did last week…not that I am complaining While at the beach we were treated to an amazing lunch of fresh tuna that was literally alive just that morning. It was cooked perfectly…nice and rare…though I think I could have had it raw with some soy sauce. We were given the leftovers to enjoy for dinner so I though I would get a little creative and whip up a tuna salad for a slight change of pace.

I had just seen Ina make a fresh tuna salad so I took some inspiration from her recipe. Unlike her I did not take exact measurements but you will get the gist of it. I am intrigued by avocados right now for some reason so I added one which added a nice creamy texture to the tuna. I made a simple vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper. I added all of this to about 2 cup of chopped fresh tuna and a chopped roma tomato. The result was a clean, crisp, healthy salad that I ate for about 2 days.

Heaven on a plate!

I also added a picture of the kitchen that I got to cook in. Just needed to add a camera and I was ready for Food Network baby!

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Ok so not really, but I am going to the beach for a few days. I am meeting up with the hubby in the Outer Banks for a few days of good eatin and relaxation then it’s off to the wedding of our friends Jason and Liz. So I won’t be back online until Sunday. Don’t miss me too much! I will have a full report of all of the wonderful seafood!

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I have been quite uninspired to cook the last few days as Evan has been out of town since Friday. This is the longest we have been apart in a long time and I miss him Nonetheless I have to eat but no one says I have to eat healthy! I had a hankering for these sandwiches after seeing the new Food Network show “Ham on the Street.” I really like this show! He made a chocolate breakfast sandwich so I decided to put a spin on mine and make them with Nutella (the hubby’s favorite) and cherry preserves. I love chocolate and cherries together (but not those gross chocolate covered cherries- yuck!) so this was a great combo.

There isn’t really a recipe, just pretend you are making grilled cheese except slather on a good amount of Nutella and your favorite preserves. Make sure to use a good crusty bread. I actually had to go out and buy a baguette since we don’t make them at the bakery…first time in months I have bought a loaf of bread!

I don’t know if I could eat this for breakfast- I am not a fan of sweets in the morning, but this makes an awesome snack and even better dessert!

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Ok so not really but I think it’s pretty cool! Evan and I were chosen to appear in the newest issue of The Knot for the VA/MD/DC area and it has just been published! So we only got a half page write up in the magazine but we have a full write up online!

So if you are feeling bored, check us out here!

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So I got tagged by Alicat at Something so Clever and since the hubby is out of town and I am too lazy to post anything else I thought this is as good a time as any to do this.

It actually took me longer than I expected to fill this out. I have a ton of things I want to do before I die (most of them are travel related) so it was hard to narrow them down. I also don’t watch alot of movies, so my range of movies is limited.

So here goes…oh and for some reason everyone is posting a picture of the dogs, here are Bella and Sasha sleeping in the exact same position…too cute!

Seven Things To Do Before I Die:
1. Have Children
2. See the Big 5 on an African Safari
3. Live in Italy and take some sort of culinary class there
4. Write a book
5. Start a business
6. See a World Series game, a Super Bowl, a College National Championship Football Game and The Kentucky Derby
7. Live on a farm where I can have as many dogs as I want

Seven Things I Cannot Do:
1. Take criticism well
2. Whistle
3. Be chipper in the morning
4. Drive a stick shift
5. Eat lima beans
6. Stop being a people pleaser
7. Fathom the thought of losing anyone close to me

Seven Things That Attract Me to Blogging:
1. Motivation to try new things
2. I find other foodies like me!
3. Self Expression
4. Inspiration to try new things
5. Creating a network of friends across the country
6. Keeps me focused
7. Keeps me busy

Seven Things I Say Most Often:
1. “What up G?” (to my sister)
2. “Can I get you a slice of bread today?”
3. “Shut Up!”
4. “Who wants to go outside?” (to the pups)
5. “I Love You” (to Evan)
6. “Sweet!”
7. “What do you feel like for dinner?”

Seven Books I Love:
1. “She’s Come Undone” Wally lamb
2. “I Know This mUch is True” Wally Lamb
3. “Davinci Code” Dan Brown
4. “A Dog Year” Jon Katz
5. “Neither Here Nor There” Bill Bryson
6. “The Notebook” Nicholas Sparks
7. Any Travel Book by Rick Steves (I know I am a travel nerd)

Seven Movies/DVDs That I Watch Over and Over Again:
1. Animal House
2. Mary Poppins (Now that’s an interesting #1 and #2!)
3. The Usual Suspects
4. The Thomas Crown Affair
5. Chicago
6. The Sound of Music
7. Hmm…I’m stumped…I don’t watch too many movies

Seven People (or Dogs!) I Want To Join In Too:
1. Yeah I’m too lazy to do this one right now….

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