NNM!

it's national nutrition month- eat right, your way, every day. not sure what exactly that means, but i'm thinking this is full of nutritious goodness, makes me happy, it's just the "every day" that trips me up. but it's all a work in progress. 

it's another exam week so stress baking/cooking as i "study."

i can't remember how i stumbled on this recipe, probably one day at work killing time before closing. i do like delish's slideshows they have whenever i visit msn. but this recipe is super easy and quick and can really be fiddled with to your hearts content- "your way." if you look at the original recipe and then mine, i made several modifications (for instance i made mine gluten free, but then killed that w/ the bread), go ahead, have some fun!

Tuna Burgers

(serves 5)

Adapted from Delish

Burger

2 cans (5oz) chunk light tuna, not drained

1/2 T chia seeds

1/4 c plus 1 T corn meal

1/4 c plain yogurt

1/2 c finely chopped carrots (I used 3 fat baby carrots)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning, divided

EVOO (for cooking)

Garlic "aioli"

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4-1/2 tsp mashed garlic

1/4 tsp EVOO

5 whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted

5 lettuce leaves

5 slices tomato

1 avocado, sliced

5 slices pepper jack cheese

Slices of onion

Soak tuna (with water) in chia seeds for 15 minutes until the seeds become more gelatinous and the liquid is gone. *I'm really only testing this out, if you don't have chia seeds, drain the water and go forth! Add in the other burger ingredients until combined and mixed evenly. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, make 5 generous sized scoops and shape into 3" burgers. Heat up a skillet with olive oil and cook burgers about 2 minutes on both sides.  Toast the buns and spread aioli sauce on top and bottom. Layer vegetables and cheese and top with a tuna burger. 

the chips pictured above are from this company. they are cholesterol free, no GMOs, gluten free and peanut free. they are made with a combination of beans, potatoes and rice flour (among other ingredients). i like the texture but it tasted sweeter than i was used to. it might be that it only has 125 mg of sodium per serving. but not bad. they have baked fries and cheese puffs as well which would be fun to try out.

i think black bean brownies has become my staple stress baking go-to. and finally got a shot of them from the bottom! it's so easy to make (i even managed to make it by mashing the beans w/ a fork b/c no one else in the house was awake at 4 and the vitamix would not be very nice) and even if i have a couple pieces i won't feel bad b/c it is so good for you! i tried decreasing the sugar and chocolate chips and increasing the amount of bananas. will let you know how it tastes (waiting until dinner for this goodness).

happy eating, try new things and have fun with recipes :)

if today is lunar new year, then yesterday was dad's birthday

it was D's bday on saturday, so of course that meant happy cooking and baking. spent almost two hours at wegman's trying to figure out what to cook for his birthday and ended up making a decision on the spot with the help of a handy smartphone (what did people do before smartphones??)

these empanadas are really straight forward and delicious (it might help that there are 16 oz of cream cheese and two sticks of butter in the crust!) used the crust recipe from simply recipes but changed the ingredients of the filling. i made myself a samosa-esque emapanad with a combination of chickpeas, sauteed mushrooms and onions and this new sauce i got from wegman's. chef sahikh's curry sauces are tasty and good for you (low in sodium and minimal ingredients). here's a link to the nutrition info for the jar i got (the hot curry sauce is really not that hot at all). 1/4 cup of the sauce is only 50 calories and 110 mg of sodium. the meat eaters got chorizo, sauteed mushrooms and onions. 

Chorizo empanadas

(made about 25-30, lots of filling leftover)

1 large onion, diced

1 large king oyster mushroom, diced

olive oil

1 T minced garlic

salt and pepper

3 chorizo links, chopped in small pieces

pastry recipe from simply recipes

Follow recipe for pastry dough.

Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil and add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the chopped chorizo. Let cool completely.

Chickpea Indian empanadas

1 large onion, diced

1 king oyster mushroom, diced

olive oil

 1 T minced garlic

salt and pepper

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/2 c Chef Shaikh's hot curry sauce

Follow the recipe for the pastry dough. Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil with garlic and salt and pepper. Combine onions, mushrooms, chickpeas and sauce. Follow empanada recipe.

we got lazy and didn't use a 1/4 of the pastry dough from the empanadas, instead we decided to do our usual bake five million desserts and make a apple pie, minus the bottom crust, b/c really, who likes it when the bottom crust gets all soggy? 

roll out the dough and place over chopped peeled apples that are lightly tossed in cinnamon and sugar. the pastry dough with all the butter and cream cheese was absolutely delicious as a pie top.

this is the mother of all desserts- biscoff ice cream cake. and really, it just came down to mixing vanilla ice cream with biscoff. i love that stuff.

i wish you could taste how good this ice cream cake really was

i don't think you can go wrong with biscoff, but this ice cream cake is absolutely delicious, and it's minimal work but so pretty and melt in your mouth yummy.

Biscoff ice cream cake 
(adapted from two peas in a pod, took out the toffee bits to save D's teeth)

Crust:

1 2/3 cups crushed Biscoff cookies

1 T granulated sugar

4 T unsalted butter (1 stick), melted

*I have a feeling the butter amount for the crust can be decreased

Filling:

1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

1 cup Biscoff spread

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Topping:

Biscoff cookies, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine the crushed Biscoff cookies, melted butter, and sugar together and press into the bottom and sides of a 10" springform pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm and set. Let cool completely.

2. Melt the chocolate chips. In a large bowl, mix together the ice cream and Biscoff spread. Swirl in the melted chocolate. Spread the ice cream mixture evenly over the cooled cookie crust. Smooth out the top and sprinkle with chopped Biscoff cookies. Freeze until firm, about 6 hours or overnight.

3. Remove the cake from the freezer and let sit for 5 minutes. Loosen the pan sides and run a knife around the inside. Carefully remove the cake to serve. 

i'm not sure if i mentioned the black bean brownies i had in gmfr in vt, but they were pretty good for being made w/ no butter, flour and with black beans. i finally got around to making it for the family, and i don't know how it happened but this turned out soooo much moister and tastier than i remember it from vt. it's like fudge brownie. maybe it's the banana. i will have to experiment, how terrible :D 

Black bean brownies (9x9)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

splash of vanilla extract
1/4 c cocoa powder

~3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 to 1/4 cup canola oil

1 1/2-2 bananas, sliced (depends how thick this is sliced)

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 9x9 pan with canola oil and line w/ sliced banana. Puree all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Mix in the chocolate chips and pour over the bananas. Bake for about 30 minutes or until set.

happy year of the snake!

red velvet brownies

it's a rainy day, but spent the sunny morning hiking at patapsco state park w/ jazz and then getting food at bon fresco and shopping at wegmans :D

it became a rainy afternoon, so scoured the house for baking supplies and found a red velvet cake box + google search = red velvet cake brownies

they weren't kidding when they said the batter was thick! but don't worry, it comes out great, and then top w/ cream cheese frosting. happy saturday (the weather is getting cooler!)