Zucchini Bites

I'm always trying to beat the sugar addiction. To say I love sugar is a gross understatement. This week I've done pretty awesome at my quest for clean eating. The body is an amazing thing and the more I age, the more I truly appreciate it's miraculous abilities. I am such a believer in the philosophy that how we eat can really determine how we feel! 

This last week I tried some new things. Every morning I put a 16 oz glass of fresh lemon water by my bathroom sink. The bathroom is always the first place I travel to in the morning. I chug the entire bottle down when I see it sitting there. By the way, you can figure a big gulp is almost an ounce of water. Most people don't realize your body needs rehydrated first thing in the morning. After emptying my water bottle, I take it to the kitchen and fill it again several times throughout the day. Especially in the afternoon. I also take a bottle of water with me everywhere. If I forget one, I stop and buy a bottle. If you are tired in the afternoon, you don't need a diet coke! YOU NEED WATER! And most likely some healthy fuel for your body! Wow, what a difference staying hydrated makes. I've also been looking for new ways to cook and new ways to eat whole foods! 

It wasn't two days into being off sugar and junk food that I noticed the places in my body that were starting to feel arthritic felt 100 percent better. Pain was my motivation for changing how I eat. It also wasn't two days into my attempts to form new habits in eating the nutrients that do a body good,  that I realized, I don't know how to cook healthy!

Warning: You might be seeing a lot of healthy stuff, like these yummy Zucchini Bites I'm making today. 

Here's to EATING CLEAN!

Ingredients

4 medium, fresh Zucchini, sliced in half
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
1-2 tablespoons fresh Rosemary & Thyme, minced
Smidge of olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350F, lightly brush both sizes of the zucchini with olive oil and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Mix cheese and herbs together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the zucchini along with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 15 minutes and place under the broiler for the last 3-5 minutes until cheese is crispy and browned. 

ENJOY! AND EAT HEALTHY, STAY HEALTHY!

Dinner Recipe: Baked Potato Casserole

A baked potato sprinkled with cheese and sour cream? Delicious. All the makings of a baked potato in an entire casserole dish? Really delicious. With this recipe for baked potato casserole, this popular side dish takes center stage as the main course.

The great thing about this casserole is that you can easily adjust the recipe to match what you like in your own baked potato. Bacon or no bacon; chives or no chives; even if you want to use different cheeses, there is plenty of room to experiment and make the recipe your own. And if you’re looking for a dish to bring for a potluck or a side dish for a big dinner table, this casserole comes in handy then as well.

Get ready to serve lots of second helpings after bringing this dish to the dinner table.

Baked Potato Casserole

Ingredients

• 8 medium-size potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (divided)
• 6 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Green onions or parsley for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put the chopped potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook them over medium-high heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender. Then, drain the potatoes. (You could also bake the potatoes in the oven and then cut them into chunks.)
3. Put the potatoes back in the saucepan and toss with the bacon.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, pepper, 1 1/2 cups of cheese, sour cream, and onion. Then, add this mixture to the saucepan with the potatoes and toss thoroughly.
5. Grease a 2.5- to 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray, and then spoon the mixture into the dish.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, then top the dish with the remaining cheese and garnish and let it bake for another 3-5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
7. Enjoy!

Sesame Seed Dressing! YUM

I was shopping today and had the cutest little clerk share a yummy recipe. She wrote it down on a little shred of newspaper. You know very well what's going to happen to that... In a half of a heart beat, it's going to get lost in my sea of endless junk piled high on my desk. I decided NOT to procrastinate. So here it is! YAY!!!

This recipe uses a Cup of Oil! With that being said, here is the scoop on the oil!

1/2 Cup Sesame Oil. If you use toasted Sesame Oil then decrease the amount. Apparently toasted has a much stronger taste.

1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil. Again if you are using Toasted Sesame Oil, add more Grapeseed oil and less Sesame Oil.

2 tsps of Sea Salt

1 tsp of Pepper

1/4 Cup Lemon Juice.

Now if you really want to enjoy this dressing, buy a bag of Eat Smart Sweet Kale Vegetable Salad at Lee's Market. Costco also has a great vegetable salad mix.

Here's to eating healthy!

Pecan Pie Cobbler

Haven't tried it, but it looks good and I'm going to!

Pecan Pie Cobbler

1 Box refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box OR I've read it's even better if you use a Duncan Hines Golden Butter Cake Mix mixed with a stick of real melted butter (mix till crumbled) and press that in the bottom of your pan instead of the pie crusts.  
2 1/2 cups light corn syrup 
2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
6 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
Butter-flavor cooking spray
2 cups pecan halves
Vanilla ice cream, if desired

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Grease 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with shortening or cooking spray. Remove 1 pie crust from pouch; unroll on work surface. Roll into 13x9-inch rectangle. Place crust in dish; trim edges to fit.
2. In large bowl, stir corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with wire whisk. Stir in chopped pecans. Spoon half of filling into crust-lined dish. Remove second pie crust from pouch; unroll on work surface. Roll into 13x9-inch rectangle. Place crust over filling; trim edges to fit. Spray crust with butter-flavor cooking spray.
3. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until browned. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Carefully spoon remaining filling over baked pastry; arrange pecan halves on top in decorative fashion. Bake 30 minutes longer or until set. Cool 20 minutes on cooling rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Almond Shortbread And Jam Cookies

Can I just say I'm in love with this little cookie!

My cute little daughter in law introduced me. Now every time I see a jar of jam I want to make a batch. And I dare anyone to try and eat just one, it's perfectly impossible. In fact, I can sit down and eat the whole batch, especially if the jam is homemade!

The How To's:

Ingredients:

COOKIES

•  1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2/3 cup (134g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups + 2 Tbsp (264g) all-purpose flour (measured correctly!) 
• 1/2 cup (160g) raspberry jam

GLAZE

• 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon (15g) cream or milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (optional) 

Directions:

Make the cookies: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Switch mixer to medium speed and add the the sugar, vanilla, and almond extracts. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl as needed. Turn the mixer off and pour the flour into the wet ingredients. Turn the mixer on low and slowly beat until a very soft dough is formed.  Press the dough down to compact it and tightly cover with plastic wrap to chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (silicone mats preferred to reduce spreading). Shape the cookie dough into balls. Mine were about 1 Tablespoon of dough per ball. Make sure they're nice and smooth. Make an indentation with your thumb into each ball. The dough may crack slightly when you press your thumb into it. Simply smooth it out with your fingers if you can. Otherwise, it's perfectly fine to have a few cracks. Fill each with a scant 1/2 teaspoon of jam. (Or however much it can hold.)

Bake the shortbread thumbprint cookies for 14-15 minutes, or until very lightly browned on the edges. The cookies will puff up and spread slightly. Do not over bake.  In fact, I only baked mine for 13-14 minutes. I prefer them a little soft. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing.

Make the glaze: stir together glaze ingredients until smooth. Add more liquid to thin out or add more powdered sugar to thicken to your desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cookies. Glaze will set within a couple hours.

Store cookies covered at room temperature for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 6 days. Shortbread cookie dough may be frozen up to 2 months.

NOTES

• 2 Tbsp of flour has been added to the recipe on 12/21/13. I make my cookies with only 2 cups of flour, however I suggest readers add 2 extra Tbsp to prevent extra spreading.
• Make sure the cookie dough is cold and firm at all times. If it's not firm and cold, put back into the refrigerator to chill. When working in batches, keep the unused dough chilled in the refrigerator. You may roll, print, and fill batch #2 and stick in the fridge while batch #1 bakes.
• This shortbread cookie dough may be used to cut into your favorite shortbread cookie shapes. 
• Any flavor jam is OK. 

Healthy PizZa

How about a little PizZa!

Yup, just like the photo says, use 1 cup of yogurt and 1 cup of self rising flour.

Place some parchment paper out and put a dusting of flour on it. Mix and kneed the dough. Flatten it with a rolling pin, put it out on a slightly greased cookie sheet, or a pizza stone. Bake it at 350 until it's golden brown. Doesn't take long, so keep an eye on it! Top however you like. A nice red pizza sauce, some turkey pepperoni and low fat cheese are delish.

Creamsicle Cake

Tell me you don't want to sink your teeth into this! Go on just try. Nope not happenin'.

Ingredients:

1 Pkg Yellow Cake Mix
2 Pk (2.9 oz) Orange Jello Gelatin 
1 Pk (2.9 oz) Vanilla Instant Pudding
1 Cup 2% Milk
2 Grade A Large Eggs
2 Tsp Imitation Vanilla
1 Tub Whipped Topping (choose the size you like depending on how much you want in between each layer.)

Directions:

Bake the cake as directed in a 9 x 13" pan. Let cake cool completely. Poke holes in cooled cake. Mix 1 package orange gelatin dessert with 1 c. boiling water and 1 c. cold water. Pour over cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Mix pudding mix with cold milk the other package of orange gelatin dessert and vanilla. Beat by hand with a whisk until thickened. Fold in the whipped topping. Frost the cake with the pudding mixture.
***
For a layered Creamsicle Cake: Make the cake batter as directed, then batter pour evenly into 3 round 9" cake pans. Bake cakes as directed and let cool.

Then, make the orange gelatin as directed on the package — but with this version, you'll let the gelatin set up instead of pouring it into the cake. We recommend using your round cake pans, or using a 13 x 17" jelly roll pan (1" deep cookie sheet with edges). Once you pour the liquid gelatin mixture into the pans, it will need to be refrigerated for about 4 hours. Meanwhile, make the pudding mixture according to the original recipe. Finally, layer in this order: cake, gelatin pudding mixture. Repeat once more for a 6-layered Creamsicle Cake.

ENJOY!