No coy title. Just cookies.

As usual, I came across this recipe on Pinterest and did NOT think this one was legit. No measuring of sugars and flour and baking soda? No cutting in or gentle blending? 

Nope. Check this out: 

Yeah. You are four (five if you count the eggs as individual units,) simple ingredients away from a fabulous, painfully easy, batch of peanut butter cookies. 

All you need to do is combine the cake mix, eggs, 1 cup of PB and 1/2 cup of canola oil. Roll into one inch balls - just use your hands, no fancy tools required - then evenly space on a baking sheet. 

Gently smoosh each with a fork one way, then the opposite to make pretty criss-crossy patterns. You know what's next: Put those babies into a (preheated) 350 degree oven. 10 to 12 minutes is all it takes... Keep your eye on them around 8 or 9 minutes. They can overbake in a hurry! 

* The lighting in this shot is weird but trust me; these are baked.* Set on racks to cool before packaging up. 

Oh, hello cookie. Why yes, I will take a plate of you to the family dinner for all. And I will save a few to have as tomorrow's breakfast, heh. Since I slaved ALL day making these, I deserve a few. Right? 

Get baking,

Stace. 

Source: www.youthlitreviews.com/2012 

 

Did you know?

Short and sweet (pun intended) entry: 

Apparently, if you wash your berries in this easy concoction, they can last days, even a week or two, longer than if left as-is. 

Mix one part apple cider vinegar to ten parts water. Put your fresh fruit in for a quick bath, rinse, and then store in the fridge. 

Have you tried this? If so, did it help? I've just done it for the first time tonight...so I'll let you know if it works! 

*The Web said no vinegar taste should be evident, either. I hope not...*

You know ya wanna quinoa.

Quinoa. The holy grain of the giantly popular paleo lifestyle. *Note: never call it a diet to one who follows it. They WILL correct you to the word "lifestyle." Whatever. Let's all just eat and enjoy the stuff, shall we? 

Today I decided to get off the dinner (read: animal protein) cookery, and bake something that can be eaten as breakfast, a snack, or as a light lunch with something like a side salad. IF my recipe works, that is!

As always, I have to put my own spin on it and in this case I did for three reasons: The original calls for stevia, juice and zest from a fresh lemon, and egg whites. I did not have the first 2 and was feeling a bit anxious about wasting yolks (yeah I know, but if you've read previous posts you know this kills me). So let's see what my ingredient list looked like: 

You'll need: 

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa 

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon pure honey

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla 

3 whole eggs

1 cup thawed bite size fruit blend

1/4 cup frozen pomegranate seeds

1 /2 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt 

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray a standard-size muffin pan with cooking spray. Now in a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Nom....look at that ooey gooey honey drip off the spoon...

Let your mix hang out in the bowl for awhile so it can thicken up a bit; I let mine sit about ten minutes while I hung laundry. Happy Susie Homemaker, that's me...*cough-not-quite-cough-cough.*

Ahem.

Here is what I found when I returned to the kitchen. Apparently I am now going to bake a batch of Smurfs.

 Alas, do not fret! I carried on with the plan and scooped even amounts into the pan, filling each cup halfway. Then off to the oven they go for 35 minutes.

This photo was after about 15 minutes of baking. I was expecting this to be a flop as they looked very wet and unhappy still. 

Nooooo! These have to come through! And guess what? 

They did! Oh quinoa. I'll never doubt you again. They weren't even blue anymore after they were done, but a toasty brown and perfectly moist in the middle.  Pleasantly surprised, for sure. 

Three tips: These do not rise like muffins or cupcakes; they're rather small and disc-like so be prepared for that. Also, they are tricky buggers to get out of the pan, so go heavy on the pre-greasing before baking. Lastly I think 3 whole eggs may have been a bit much, so next time I'll try with just 2. 

Now to eat with a wee dollop of Greek yogurt! 

Get cooking, or uh, baking,

Stace. 

Source: www.damyhealth.com

Green is Good.

What I'm talking about here? Is the avocado. Full of the "good fat", avocados are a tasty addition to any diet.

Especially when they've got gorgeous toppings and are served right out of the oven. 

Whoa. That’s really the only word that sufficiently describes my first bite of this recipe. Savoury, creamy, with just enough tangy sweetness as well. Talk about a satisfying mouthful! And these were ready in less than ten minutes! (This is minus the time your oven takes to preheat, of course.) 

Here’s the recipe for salsa-topped avocados. I will say "you're welcome" right now because you will make these again and again. Betcha $5. (I would say more than $5, but I need that money for more groceries, to try more recipes, so you can keep eating well too. It's all about you, really.) 

Preheat your oven to 450.

Ingredients: 

1 avocado, sliced in half lengthwise and stone removed 

¼ cup panko bread crumbs 

¼ salsa. *I used the ‘mild’ spice level (because I’m a bit of a wuss). 

1 tablespoon basil

3 teaspoons lemon juice 

1 tablespoon crumbled feta

1 large strawberry, cut into 6 little wedges 

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Combine all ingredients except the avocado and strawberry, in a small bowl. Split contents evenly and spread on each avocado half, then top each half with three apiece of the strawberry. Place on baking sheet, throw in the oven for 5 minutes, and they're ready! 

I ate mine with rice crackers; take a fork to the goods and spread on each. I can't stop making these. Healthy fast supper. 

Get cooking,

Stace

NOTE: Sorry my cooking photos aren't on here! I don't know why my computer hates me lately. It would NOT upload photos to this site, no matter how many times I tried. Check out the pics on my recipe source; it honestly looked just like theirs: www.melecotte.com/recipes

Beef: Bring it.

Burgers.
Meatballs.
Spaghetti sauce.
But most of all? Steak. Ooooooh, how I love thee. And it's not something I treat myself to that often at home because really, I haven't a bloody clue how to grill. Plus I don't own a BBQ, which is rather essential and I've never tried using my George Foreman for anything other than ground beef. Although there is a BBQ here where I am housesitting all summer...yet I fear turning it on, lest I singe off my face and I have no one around to call 911 as I live alone. *Uh...that took a rather overdramatic turn...*

So this was the compromise! I broiled some lovely thin flank steaks, stuffed with goodness. Check it:

HUZZAH!

Steak rollies.

Now it's your turn! Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Saute' 3/4 of a large box of organic fresh spinach, until wilted down.

In a medium bowl, combine:
1 wee jar of sundried tomatoes, drained
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 egg yolk
Garlic salt and pepper
Your saute'ed spinach

~ Season your meat with additional sprinkling of the S&P. Then spread an even amount of the filling on each of your steaks; leave a bit of room around the edges. I also mixed in some feta (shocker, I know) as the original recipe called for blue cheese but I'm not a fan of that stuff. Do as you see fit; that's the fun in cooking, modifying it to whatever you want to do! No rules!

OK, OK. There's some rules. Like, don't serve this raw. Time to roll them up and put them in the oven. I secured each of mine with dental floss as I didn't have cooking twine and it worked like a hot damn.

(Yeah they look a bit creepy here, I agree. But after about 35 minutes of roasting, plus a quick 5-minute broil (sadly mine had a 10-minute broil and as you see below from the color, it was too much.) I did say I would admit my wins and losses on here, sigh.

Alas, it was still damn tasty! Enjoy your fancy pants creation with some fresh veg and a lovely starch.

Thanks for tuning in to another entry. Now get cooking,

Stace.

 
Source: http://www.familycircle.com/recipes/comfortfood/stuffed-flank-steak/?page=4

You little tart, you.

What do you get when you combine pastry, cheese, and the good earth's snobbiest vegetable? Why, an asparagus tart, of course! My variation on the original recipe I found is that I also added fresh mushrooms, and used a bag of pre-shredded cheese. Hey, I'm not going out for a brick of gruyere when this might not even work out. Next time, however, now that I know this recipe is FABULOUS. And painfully easy.

Ingredients:

~ Asparagus! Enough to cover your pastry
~ 3 medium white mushrooms, sliced
~ 1 sheet of puff pastry *buy frozen, and thaw it the day you're gonna use it.
~ olive oil
~ a handful of shredded cheese
~ Salt and Pepper, if desired

I know you are loving how accurate my measurements are, yet again. Oops.

Preheat your oven to 400.

Now! Let's get rolling! Literally. Step one: Flatten the pastry.

Spread some baking flour on your work surface then roll your dough into a rectangle, about 10" x 16" and place on your foil-lined baking sheet. Martha wants you to "trim the edges". WTF? It's pastry. You trim NOTHING! No waste here! Just smoosh it into shape if it's not pretty enough for your pan.

Then with the tip of a sharp knife, score (this means make an almost-cut) through the dough, 1" from the edges to mark a rectangle.

DON'T cut right through! Careful. Slow and steady wins...uh...the biggest piece when it's done. Yeah.

Then take a a fork and pierce the interior of your rectangle, about 1/2" apart. Bake until golden, about 8-10 minutes. Keep an eye on it! Some are faster or slower and you don't want to crisp it up before you've even gotten to the toppings.

Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with some of the cheese, then layer your asparagus in an alternating head-to-toe style along the length of the tart. Throw down your mushrooms and some more cheese, brush your pastry with a bit of oil, and season with salt and pepper if so inclined.

Bake about 10 more minutes. Cut into squares with a very sharp knife (as the pastry is uber-flaky and will crumble everywhere if you don't), and eat it pizza-style.

Easy, right? Right.

SIDENOTE: Fancypants Martha used fresh asparagus, so adjust your cooking times accordingly. And if you do go fresh, definitely plan to use all of it up within 2 days. Finicky, grouchy veg. It doesn't wait around for nobody.

Get cooking,

Stace.

Enough with the parm. Bring on the feta.

I made these a few weeks back and posted them to the other weird blog. Slowly moving things over to this one. The REAL blog.
A blog for readers.
A blog for people who want a written play-by-play of the cooking action, not just photos.
A blog for those who, maybe, don't get shit out of just seeing pics and need words.

This? Is for you. Well, if you like bell peppers. If you don't then best you wait on the next one as the bell pepper is the superstar in tonight's entry. Check this noise out.

You need:

~ 4 bell peppers. Green or red. Or orange. Or maybe yellow if so inclined, you rebel.
~ 1.5 lbs ground turkey
~ 1 can diced tomatoes
~ 3 green onions, diced
~ 2 stalks celery, diced
~ 1 tbsp coconut oil (or use olive oil if you're not a fan of coconuts.)

*Random fact: Coconut oil can also be eaten by the spoonful and yes, I've tried it. Often, actually.*

Moving right along! You also need:

~ 2 tsp minced garlic (I used the pre-minced-jar stuff you can find at any grocery.
~ 2 tbsp tomato paste
~ 2 tsp EACH of dried oregano, dried basil, and salt
~ 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

The-how-to:

Turn the oven on to 350. Slice off the tops of each pepper and remove the seeds. Warm up the oil in medium heat in a large skillet, then saute' your onion and celery for about 5 minutes, until soft-ish, then throw the garlic in for another minute or so. Keep stirring.

Turn the heat to high. Add the tomato paste and mush it around, combining well with the onions, celery and garlic. Cook for three minutes, stirring continuously. I know, so much stirring! But it's worth it.

Then add the ground turkey to this same pan until it is browned; this takes around six minutes. Throw in the tomatoes, salt, basil, and oregano. Mix well then reduce your dish to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes, until sauce reduces and isn’t sloppy/runny, otherwise it will just leak out of your peppers in the heat. Yick!

Place each pepper on a tin foil-lined baking sheet, then fill each HALFWAY with your turkey mixture. Throw in a good amount of the feta, then top off with more mix, and then....hello...more feta, of course.

Once all peppers have been filled, make a tent of foil overtop, and seal around the pan edges. Bake those babies for 30 minutes. That's it! Done and done. You will be surprised at how much stuffing each one holds, and that one is a meal. Well, maybe add a salad. Or some garlic toast.

The reheats are awesome too. Just beware, if you have a wonky microwave like mine the peppers might start to burn (not kidding), yet the turkey centre stays cool, so you might want to just scoop the guts out before nuking.

Get cooking,

Stace.

Source, via Pinterest: http://www.eatliverun.com/turkey-and-feta-stuffed-peppers/