Tag Archives: recipe

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hooray for long weekends! Hooray for mid-summer weather in mid-October! And hooray for tasty, tasty feasts of far too much food after a far-too-long run. Okay, not really. But it was the farthest this girl’s ever run; and it did have the bonus of pre-emptively burning off a whole dinner’s worth of calories (ish).

We had our Fiesta of Yums yesterday with LX’s family. And for my contribution, I brought dessert. It was a creation of my own based a couple of different recipes I’d found. But mine was better (feigning modesty in your own blog just seems gauche.) And had half the calories & fat. I know. I think I’m pretty awesome, too.

Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp

Ingredients:
Apple Filling
5 large Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tbsp. whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1 cup Smuckers No Sugar Added Caramel Sundae Sauce
2 tbsp. chopped pecans

Crumble
1 1/2 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Irresistibles brown sugar blend
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup applesauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°
In a medium bowl, toss apples with Splenda, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water
Spread apple mixture evenly into a 9 x 13″ pan
Drizzle caramel sauce, then sprinkle pecans over apple mixture
In another bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar blend, oats, and applesauce
Spoon mixture evenly over apples
Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes (apple mixture will bubble and topping will be golden brown)
Breyer’s Smooth & Dreamy Half-Fat Vanilla Bean ice cream is a PERFECT topper (in case you were at all curious)

A snap to whip up & it tastes FAR more decadent than it actually is.

I made this the night before and popped it back into the oven at around 300°, so it was re-heated thoroughly by dessert time 🙂

Muffins and (Half) Marathon Training

I’ve been MIA for far too long and it’s high time for a bit of an update. So what’s new, you ask? And I’m sure you were. Asking, that is.

Well, honestly, pretty much the same ol’, same ol’… I’ve just been failing a wee bit with my time management skills. In fact, as I type, I’m still snuggled cozily in my fuzzy robe with a coffee to my left and a fat, sleeping kitteh to my right.

But what I should be doing is getting off my arse, lacing on my sneakers and heading out for my 15k training run. I know, I know – why procrastinate this far along in the game? I’m not. Not really. I just need to be well and truly awake before I head out to abuse my body for that length of time. I’m almost there. One more cup of coffee and a bit of peanut butter and carby goodness and I should be good to go.

In the meantime, let me share with you my latest creation:

Oatmeal Apple Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup old fashion rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar Splenda
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites (1/4 cup liquid egg whites)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup blueberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°
Soak the oats in milk for about an hour
Spray muffin pan with cooking spray (I like Butter-flavoured Pam)
Combine the oat mixture with applesauce and egg whites & mix until just combined
In a separate bowl measure and whisk the dry ingredients together
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined
Fold in blueberries.
(NOTE: You reallly do have to be careful that you don’t over-mix this batter or your muffins will end up the consistency of tiny tennis balls )
Spoon muffin mixture into muffin pan
Bake for 20 minutes
Remove from pan, cool and enjoy!

Okay! My artfully-honed procrastination skills are now sated for today. I’m off to run. Enjoy your Sunday!

Anniversary Rock Star Cupcakes

Two of my lovelies celebrated an anniversary of sorts this weekend – the first anniversary of their band, Arizona Lily. In honour of the occasion, a small gathering of a few friends and more than a few cocktails was held Chez Murdoch where a good time was had by all.

In addition to a couple of bottles of cheer, I decided I wanted to contribute some sugar & chocolate to the mix and came up with a pretty tasty concoction, if I do say so myself.

More than one of these pretties, however, will most likely throw you into a diabetic coma… so tread lightly, if you do decide to try out this recipe. These are neither calories-wise nor fat free. I make no apologies.

Mocha Rock Star Cupcakes with Buttery Bailey’s Coffee Icing

Ingredients
1 C strong black coffee (or 2 tbsp. instant coffee + 1 C warm water)
½ C (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 C granulated sugar
4 eggs
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract
1 C all-purpose flour + 1 C whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line standard muffin pan with baking cups (recipe makes 24)
If you keep such a thing in your home (blargh) combine instant coffee and water; mix well and set aside.
In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time; mix well.
Add melted chocolate (there are a few ways to melt chocolate; I prefer the microwave method), vanilla and coffee mixture; mix well.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl.
Slowly add to butter mixture; mix well.
Spoon into baking cups.
Bake 18-20 minutes or until center of cupcake springs back when lightly touched.
Cool cupcakes in pan on cooling rack 5-8 minutes.
Remove from pan; cool completely before icing.

Icing

3.5 C confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 C butter or margarine, softened
2 tbsp. strong brewed coffee
1 tbsp. Coffee Flavoured Bailey’s

In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners sugar and cocoa powder. In another bowl, beat the butter until creamy, gradually beat in the sugar mixture, being sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl, occasionally. Finally stir in the coffee, and beat until smooth.

Decorate as you please!

Banana Bread & Guinea Pigs

In this case, I’m speaking of the human variety of guinea pig. It’s good to have a guinea pig. Or, as it happens, today – two.

You see, today my husband & his BFF are having a Boys’ Night – which, in this household, roughly translates as the two of them eating crap food, playing video games, drinking beer & acting, essentially, like pre-pubescent boys. Mercifully, I have a laptop & there’s a Blu-ray player in our master bedroom upstairs, so it’s incredibly easy for me to make myself scarce. Because, much as I love them both… they’re pretty much idiots during Boys’ Night.

The upside to Boys’ Night being held at my house is that I get to try out a new recipe that I’d just found & altered (Well, that and they bring me wine) and sate my craving for chocolate with no fear that any leftovers will remain by the end of the evening.

So without any further ado:

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread à la Weez.

Ingredients
4 small bananas
1.5 C whole wheat flour
0.75 C Splenda
0.25 C Egg Beaters – Plain
1.25 tsp Baking Powder
0.5 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice
0.25 C Applesauce, unsweetened
3 tbsp Nestle Toll House Mini Chocolate Chips (Semi-Sweet)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°C
Spray an 8 x 4″ loaf pan with Pam
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda & pumpkin pie spice
Add Egg Beaters, applesauce & bananas (mash with a fork in a separate bowl first); stir just until combined
Fold in chocolate chips
Pour batter into prepared pan
Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean
Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool before slicing

When I baked this, I took it out of the oven at 30 minutes, but I’m thinking that leaving it in for the full 40 minutes would have worked a wee bit better. The very centre was a bit on the too-moist side. But it was DAMN tasty, if I do say so myself. And, as I may have mentioned before… it’s my blog, so I figure there’s no rule against patting myself on the back.

Also? One of my guineau pigs, upon being offered a piece, responded with, “Oh, yes please! But I’ll just take a small piece cuz banana bread’s dry (inhale piece) OH HEY! That IS damn good. Not even a little bit dry at all.”

Cue additional inhalations.

So I guess it’s safe to say that it passes muster; I’ll go ahead and add it to the To-Be-Repeated recipe pile.

Shepherd’s Pie à la Weez

Last weekend the bleak grey skies were starting to take a toll and, as a result, I got a hankerin’ for some tummy warmin’ comfort food. And one of my favourite comfort foods is the North American rendition of Shepherd’s Pie (the ground beef version; not the traditional lamb.)

The only problem with that is that, despite my feelings toward red meat, it refuses to return my affections. As a result, I’ve gotten quite good at finding substitutes for quite a few recipes & dishes.

I’ve also gotten quite adept at altering rather calorie-rich recipes into dishes that won’t bust out the seams on your denims quite so quickly.

So, for this dish I got creative. I didn’t have potatoes on hand, anyway, so it made the decision to swap out the carb-heavy topping for something a bit more guilt-free. Believe it or not, some steamed cauliflower & sweet potato, whipped together with some soy milk and Parmesan herb spice mix makes for a pretty fab substitute.

A lot of these ingredients are interchangeable; I just used what I happened to have on hand. This recipe makes 6 hearty servings. And, if you keep it covered, it’ll last all week in the fridge – perfect for an entire week’s worth of lunches!

Ingredients
160 g carrots, shredded
1 C Red Peppers, chopped
1 C Onions, chopped
227 g Fresh Mushrooms, chopped
450 g (1 package) MC Extra Lean Minced Turkey
2 C Cauliflower, frozen
½ C Sweet Potato, cubes
1 C Peas & Carrots, frozen
150 mL Irresistibles Life Smart Chicken Broth
3 Cloves of Garlic
.25 C Silk Light Plain

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°C
Brown ground turkey & sauté together with carrots, peppers, onion, mushrooms, peas & carrots
Add chicken broth & minced garlic
Simmer for 2 – 3 minutes
Transfer mixture to casserole dish
Steam cauliflower and sweet potato (I use those handy microwave steam bags) until cooked through
In a large bowl, mix cauliflower, sweet potato & soy milk with a hand blender
Spoon topping onto turkey & veggie mixture
Sprinkle with black pepper & Clubhouse Parmesan & Herb mix
Bake for 25 minutes