Pinterest Finds - May

I have been doing a little blurb with the Good, Bad and Ugly of my food related Pinterest finds, but decided that moving forward I should only mention the goods ones, and not the bad ones unless it is needed as an act of public service.

Because who really needs to search out bad recipes? They seem to pop up all on their own...

We have been eating a plant-based whole food diet here lately. (You can look up Engine No. 2 diet if you want more info on that.) It has required some rethinking of how I cook and some of the mainstays in our old diet. I have had to be diligent in my quest for some new healthier options. Buttery, cheesey casseroles and sugary dense desserts seem to be a dime a dozen but finding nutritious plant packed (and tasty) recipes is similar to snipe hunting. Here are a few really good finds that fit in with our new herbivore eating plan. These are really tasty even if you happen to fall in the carnivorous camp too.

Avocado Chocolate Mousse 

This amazing chocolate mousse is made from 4 ingredients and has an avocado as its base. My mind was blown - #1 because it's just an avocado and cocoa for the most part and #2 its sooooo goood!!!
It's super creamy and decadent just like regular mousse without all the artery clogging stuff.

Carrot Cake Balls
I have to have some little treat to look forward to and especially while I am making a concentrated effort to make healthier choices so I don't feel like a martyr. There is no guilt in these little bite size treats. They are also very portable to grab and go for a snack or as part of a healthy breakfast.

Not Kool-Aid, Cool-Aid

This is not as sweet as regular kool-aid but was surprisingly similar to the nostalgic summertime beverage. It made a great warm weather afternoon sipper while doing yard work as the mercury is rising here. I was shocked at what the apple cider vinegar added to this little party in a cup. Throw in a fun straw, an umbrella, play me some island music and I might could take a virtual vacation on the patio.
My kids were not as enthusiastic about it, so serve this for your book club and not the playdate (though you could add some more sweetener and it please the kiddies. My kids tolerated it mixed with some sweet tea.)

Last leg of winter

Spring is right around the corner, but its not here yet. Technically it's spring time but spring weather has not arrived. It's been a confusing combination of bone chilling and spring like days. As we drudge through this last let of winter, and as we nursed sore throats, I made this warming pot of soup.
I can't believe that I have never made broccoli and cheese soup at home before. It is one of those things I only eat out, and I don't know why. It is easy, and uses very common ingredients so I have no excuse. And you no longer have one either.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup diced onions
1 cup of diced broccoli stems (celery if you only have florets)
3/4 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half
8 oz cheddar cheese grated
1 tsp dry ground mustard
splash of worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
chopped steamed broccoli florets

Melt butter in soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions, broccoli stems and carrots, and cook until tender but not browned, 8 -10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, and cook while sitrring for 3-4 minutes. Slowly whisk in 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thickened, 20-30 minutes. Using an immersion/stick blender or a standard blender, puree until smooth. (I received an immersion blender for Christmas a few years ago and while I don't use it a lot, it is really useful for a dish like this where you want a super smooth soup base. Now that I think about it, I only use it for soup. Before I had it I would have to pour my soup in batches into my regular blender and usually made a gigantic mess. So go invest in one.)
Bring back to a simmer and stir in the half and half, cheese and dry mustard. Reduce the heat to low and stir until the cheese is melted. DO NOT let the soup come back to a boil. If it gets too hot, the cheese will break down and you will no longer want to eat it.
Add your broccoli and season with a splash of worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and if you want a little kick, go for some hot red pepper or hot sauce. I was hoping my kids would eat some so I left that out. If it is a little thick for you, thin it with some additional broth, cream or milk.
You could garnish this with some croutons or for those die-hard carnivores, use leftover diced ham.

So while winter lingers just a bit longer, chase the chill away with this soup. Because come mid-May, here in the South, we will be thinking BLTs and a cold glass of ice tea. A warm bowl of soup will be the last thing on our minds as the sweat accumulates on the back of our knees while sitting the grocery store parking lot.

vegetarian enchilada bake

I get very excited about recipes that are stupid easy. And then if it includes staple pantry items and can be adapted to be a vegetarian main course, I'm plain giddy.
This is plain ol' food. I wouldn't pull this out when company was coming over, but it suit our post-swim lessons, hurried weekday dinner fix. And really that is all most of us are looking for. Something that will fill our bellies, fuel our bodies with something nutritious, that doesn't require a culinary degree to pull of and makes as little of a footprint as possible on my kitchen by 8 pm.

Vegetarian Enchilada Bake

1 can black beans rinsed
1 Tbsp Taco seasoning (or mix up your own blend of chili powder, cumin and oregano)
1/4 tsp salt
1 can red enchilada sauce
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup chunky salsa
12 corn tortillas
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
8 oz shredded cheese (cheddar, colby or montery jack/pepper jack would all be good options)
sour cream and lime wedges for optional garnish

Combine beans, seasoning mix, salt, enchilada sauce, water and salsa in medium bowl/pot. Warm through either on the stove or the microwave.
Place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1 inch strips using a pizza cutter.
Arrange half of the tortialla strips evenly over the bottom of your casserole dish. (I used my large round stoneware baker but I believe a 9x13 pyrex would work.) Top with half of the bean mix, half of the cheese. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the cilantro on top. Top with remaining tortillas, bean mix and then cheese.

You can then microwave this for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Yes. It's done in 5 minutes!!! Now if you don't have a microwave or would prefer to bake it in the oven, you can do that too. I would imagine if it's in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes and it would be done.

Garnish with the remaining cilantro and serve with sour cream and lime wedges if desired.

February Pinterest: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A series of post of the successes and failures that have come from my recipe ventures through a little phenomenon you have probably heard of called Pinterest.

The Good

Fluffier rounded cupcakes
This little trick wowed me. I always wondered why my cupcakes and muffins were so flat. It's amazing how changing the temperature makes a huge difference. This will be even more satisfying and obvious of a difference with muffin mixes since there is no icing to hide the flat cake.

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Deanna on Pinterest

The Bad

Diet Coke Brownies

This is one of those it's too good to be true recipes. A diet coke and a brownie mix. Those things are good alone so why shouldn't they work together? I will tell you why. Because all the science of baking is removed. These are not good and a waste of perfectly good weight watchers points, even if it's just 2 of them. And a brownie mix. And a diet coke.

Source: auntpegsrecipebox.blogspot.com via Deanna on Pinterest

The Ugly
Dyed Deviled Eggs
I note I don't care for boiled eggs, period. Or deviled eggs. Blech. I get it's an easter thing. I know lots of people love deviled eggs. So it's a natural combination to dye your deviled eggs, right? But I can never picture myself eating green, blue or purple chewy boiled eggs. I have the mental image of chewing on a colored bouncy ball. It's really just a personal problem so don't take this one to heart should you think it's a novel idea.

Source: recipebyphoto.com via Deanna on Pinterest

Campfire Birthday Cupcakes

I do NOT usually make my kids' birthday cupcakes. Really I don't decorate any kind of food. It frustrates me. I think it should be picture perfect (such as something from Martha Stewart) but it never turns out that way. Probably because I don't have a staff of a dozen experts who work to make my food look just right. But due to Pinterest I found a few options that I thought I could tackle. I did and they turned out great. But I don't know that I will be doing it again. It still is a source of frustration rather than enjoyment.

I was going for a campfire themed cupcake. These are chocolate cupcakes made with the wilton approved double fudge duncan hines cake mix. The cakes were fluffier than my usual so I will be sticking with this mix from here on out. Also with some research I found that if you bake them 3/4s full at 325 for 25 minutes they rise up much taller. This little trick really did work. I will be using this for my muffins for sure.

I iced the top using homemade chocolate buttercream and then decorated them. Green can icing to make the grass, candy rocks for the fire circle, pretzels for the logs, and melted candy colors in red and yellow for the fire. My original plan was to use yellow, orange and red sugar rock candy but I could not find any anywhere. I like the way the fire turned out in the end. I melted the yellow and spread it flat on parchment paper, drizzled with the red melts and swirled it around. After it hardened i broke it into pieces for the fire effect.

Really they turned out darling despite my lack of a food styling staff. The birthday boy enjoyed them and I think that is all that matters.

Chicken Lo Mein

This is one of our favorite dishes from Pei Wei. It's funny because it is one of the few foods that we discovered because it was on the kid's menu. Otherwise we probably would have never ordered it since it is seemingly so simple. We still rarely order it for ourselves but it doesn't stop us from claiming the boys' leftovers as lunch the next day.



Chicken Lo Mein
(serves 4)
2 chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces



1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

2 tsp soy sauce

4 Tbsp chicken stock

1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp canola oil

1 Tbsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2  carrots thinly sliced

1 small head of broccoli chopped into bitesize pieces
1/2 sliced onion
8 oz spaghetti/thin spaghetti to al dente
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Combine 1 Tbsp soy sauce, cornstarch, rice wine vinegar and 1 minced clove of garlic with the chicken and allow to sit for 20 minutes or longer.  
In a small bowl, combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, chicken broth, and sugar. Set aside. Boil noodles as package instructions for al dente.  Drain the noodles. Heat a wok (or large, deep frying pan) over med-high heat. Add the Tbsp of canola oil, 1/2 tsp sesame oil. Add the chicken. Stir fry chicken until cooked – about 5 minutes.  Remove from wok and set aside. Add another Tbsp of canola oil, 1/2 tsp sesame oil to the wok. When the oil is hot, add the 2 additional cloves of garlic. Stir-fry until garlic browns, then add the veggies. Stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.  Heat oil in wok again and add the noodles and cook for about 2 more minutes. Add the sauce and chicken to the pan. Toss sesame seeds to the wok. Mix everything together and serve hot.

A few tips when stir frying:

• Have all the ingredients prepped and ready to cook. Once the pan gets hot, things move quickly.
• While some Asian ingredients are harder to find than others, splurge and get them because their unique tastes add a lot in small amounts and cannot be substituted. Oyster and fish sauce, I guarantee there is nothing in your pantry that will work as a substitute.  And the sesame oil adds a lot despite its small quantity.
• Different veggies can be substituted and stir frys are a great way to use up small amounts of leftover veggies.

There has to be an easier way...

In my quest for something different to bring for a dinner with friends, I found this really tasty recipe for a Strawberry Tiramisu and was stuck that I had to make it. But have you ever gotten elbow deep into a project only to realize that there has to be an easier way to do it? I had almost every bowl and all my spoons dirty. I had both mixers pulled out. This was all after spending what felt like a ridiculous amount on ingredients unnecessarily. My friends are totally worth it but do I think my friends could taste the $10-$15 difference. No. Probably not.

If Princess Kate and Prince William come over, I might make the fancy pants version, but otherwise the everyday version suits me just fine.
That was my experience this past week and here is my altered recipe that your kitchen sink and wallet will appreciate a little more.



Budget Berry Tiramisu
based on this Strawberry Tiramisu from Bon Apetit side notes in italics

• 1 1/4 cups berry preserves or jam (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry or any other combination. I used blackberry and raspberry because that is what I had in my fridge.)
• 1/3 cup plus 4 tablespoons fresh orange juice (Calls for orange liqueur here but I was serving it to a nursing friend and children - and it's not baked, so it won't cook out.)
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup orange juice (carton kind)
• 1 pound cream cheese, room temperature (Calls for mascarpone cheese which has a cheesier flavor but it's also $5.50 for 8oz and you need 16 oz. Cream cheese won't make a huge difference. I used Neufchatel cream cheese because it's a tad lighter. )
• 1 1/3 cups chilled whipping cream 
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• (If you are in a hurry or have it on hand, cool whip would work in a pinch and just leave out the cream, sugar and vanilla.)

• Thin slices of angel food cake - think .25" thin. Or thinner if you can do it without severing a finger. (The original recipe calls for 52 crisp ladyfingers. My grocery store only had one kind of ladyfingers and they weren't crisp. I had to buy 3 packages and couldn't tell a lick of difference between the ladyfingers and angel food cake.)
• 1 1/2 pounds strawberries, divided (I used some fresh and then some frozen strawberries and frozen blueberries because I had them in the freezer.)
• 
  

Whisk preserves, 1/3 cup fresh orange juice, and regular orange juice in 2-cup measuring cup. Place cream cheese and almond flavoring in large bowl mix to blend. Using electric mixer, beat cream, sugar, vanilla, and remaining 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice in another large bowl to soft peaks. (If using cool whip, leave out that step and proceed. ) Stir 1/4 of whipped cream mixture into cream cheese mix. Fold in remaining whipped cream (or cool whip if using instead.)

Hull and slice half of strawberries. Spread 1/2 cup preserve mixture over bottom of 3-quart oblong serving dish or a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange enough angel food slices over strawberry mixture to cover bottom of dish. Spoon 3/4 cup preserve mixture over cake, then spread 2 1/2 cups cream cheese mixture over. Arrange 2 cups sliced strawberries over cream cheese mix. Repeat layering with remaining cake, jam mixture, and cream cheese. Cover and chill a few hours but the longer it sits, the better it gets!

Slice remaining strawberries. Arrange over tiramasù and serve.

Despite all my alterations this turned out very nice. It was fruity, not too heavy and made a sweet ending for our dinner with friends (and their very sweet new baby.)