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One confused turkey burger

June 30, 2011 by 4 Comments

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This dinner wasn’t supposed to be “blog-worthy.” It was just another Tuesday night dinner. I defrosted ground turkey meat and planned to make burgers on the stove. I looked up this recipe that we liked with a Greek theme of feta and seasonings. I was missing an onion, but I had cilantro. Then my brain started to think about changing it up. Cilantro made it more Mexican. Feta made it Greek. I decided to smear it in BBQ sauce on the top of the patty before flipping it over. That made it smokey and BBQ style. This burger was becoming an ethnic lovechild.

This burger wasn’t a weird combination of flavors, it all went together. Sometimes the problem with stovetop burgers is that they don’t get a really good grilled char like it does on a grill.

The BBQ sauce gave it the char I was looking for, and some extra flavor.

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Greek turned BBQ Turkey Burgers

(I don’t know what to call this one)

Ingredients

  • 1.25 lb lean ground turkey (one package Jennie O)
  • 1 T Greek seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/3 C feta cheese
  • 1/4 C BBQ sauce (or enough for a drizzle on each burger)
  • 1/4 C cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except BBQ sauce and mix with spoon or by hand.
  • Refrigerate up to a few hours.
  • Form patties (I made 8 smaller burgers) and place on medium high heat grill pan on stove.
  • On the top side, drizzle with BBQ sauce and spread with back of spoon.
  • Flip after 5 minutes so the BBQ sauce side is face down.
  • Cook another 5 minutes, or until burger is cooked through.

 

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One confused turkey burger
Author: 
Recipe type: Dinner, burger
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6-8
 

Ingredients
  • 1.25 lb lean ground turkey (one package Jennie O)
  • 1 T Greek seasoning
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • ⅓ C feta cheese
  • ¼ C BBQ sauce (or enough for a drizzle on each burger)
  • ¼ C cilantro, chopped

Instructions
  1. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except BBQ sauce and mix with spoon or by hand.
  2. Refrigerate up to a few hours.
  3. Form patties (I made 8 smaller burgers) and place on medium high heat grill pan on stove.
  4. On the top side, drizzle with BBQ sauce and spread with back of spoon.
  5. Flip after 5 minutes so the BBQ sauce side is face down.
  6. Cook another 5 minutes, or until burger is cooked through.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: , ,

See ya, June

June 29, 2011 by 7 Comments

Well since it’s about to be a new month, how about a little look back at June. This month was pretty good, I discovered a few things I enjoy, traveled to a new place, and moved into my very first work office (with a door and walls!).

1. I re-discovered swimming! I can’t get enough. Well kind of, last week I swam three days! I am really enjoying it, find myself getting better, swimming longer, and not putzing with my goggles every lap. Little improvements…

2. I broke up with running. Why fight it, I’m just not that into it right now. When the weather gets cooler, I’m sure I’ll want to run again. But for now, it’s just not appealing. It’s hard to breathe and miserable outside with the humidity. And I found swimming!

3. I went on a bike ride. This is a big deal since I am previously scared of the bicycle. Now I want to move to a remote area, buy a bike, and train for a triathlon. Where did that come from? Since I will not be moving, I won’t be buying a bike, leaving me one leg short of a tri.

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4. I went sledding in June. Aspen, CO was a beautiful city. I want to go back for long periods of time every summer.

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For someone who isn’t training for a race like I was last year, I had a pretty active June. All of these activities were mixed with two days of CrossFit each week and a lot of walking around the Rice Loop or on the treadmill.
5. I cooked some great things for other people, like this Banana Bread. Also some summer salads too!

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What did you love about June?

Filed Under: Exercise, Running, Swimming, Thoughts, Travel · Tagged With: , , , , ,

Summer Gazpacho

June 28, 2011 by 2 Comments

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Talk about a healthy soup. This is raw. Vegan (if you exclude Worchestershire sauce). Full of fresh and seasonal vegetables. And my husband ate it too! It’s summertime gazpacho, one of the easiest and quickest soups making it perfect for summer. No stove or oven needed.

This is my mom’s recipe, which is probably my grandmother’s too. I used to help chop vegetables because I used to enjoy that when I was a youngin’ just like I do now. This soup is extra tasty with toasted bread with hummus and feta cheese on top to make it a full meal. I recommend it. Also perfect for lunch or dinner, or a refreshing afternoon snack. It’s full of veggies, you can’t go wrong.

Summer Gazpacho

Ingredients

  • 24 oz tomato juice
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 T red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce (not vegan, has anchovies, who knew?)
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1/4 C onion
  • 1/2 C red bell pepper
  • 1/2 C cucumber
  • 1/2 C celery
  • 1/2 C corn kernels (I used from a frozen bag)
  • 2 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp chives

Instructions

  • Chop all vegetables and add to large bowl or container.
  • In blender, combine tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chives, worchestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and one tomato. Blend until combined.
  • Pour on top of vegetables in  large serving bowl.
  • Refrigerate and serve cold.

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Gazpacho can come in so many variations. There are fruity ones like watermelon or canteloupe. There are green ones, pureed ones, etc. I really like this one best, probably because it’s a family recipe! But I also like textured soups more than a puree. I don’t like a soup to be like drinking a smoothie. There is a time for smoothies and a time for soups. Keep your soups chunky.

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What a difference a year makes! I made this soup last July, which is the last time I made it. I had just started to blog, and here’s the post from then. What a newbie I was…I didn’t even photograph on place mats.

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What a nice little cup of soup.

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Summer Gazpacho
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Prep time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6
 

Ingredients
  • Summer Gazpacho
  • Ingredients
  • 24 oz tomato juice
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 2 T red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • ½ tsp Worchestershire sauce
  • 2 tomatoes
  • ¼ C onion
  • ½ C red bell pepper
  • ½ C cucumber
  • ½ C celery
  • ½ C corn kernels (I used from a frozen bag)
  • 2 tsp parsley
  • 1 tsp chives

Instructions
  1. Instructions
  2. Chop all vegetables and add to large bowl or container.
  3. In blender, combine tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chives, worchestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and one tomato. Blend until combined.
  4. Pour on top of vegetables in large serving bowl.
  5. Refrigerate and serve cold.

 

Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , ,

Weekly Prep

June 26, 2011 by 1 Comment

I write often about prepping ahead for breakfasts like overnight oats and muffins, but I haven’t written about lunches and dinners.

Last Sunday, we came home from vacation, and after unpacking, going to the grocery and starting laundry (my husband did that one), I was in the kitchen getting ready for the week. I decided to roast a lot of vegetables, make hummus, make a salad dressing, and bake tofu. Eating those in different combinations took care of Sunday’s dinner, and a few packed lunches during the week.

Here are the steps:

First, I made the hummus. I added basil from our garden and this will keep about 5-6 days.

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I rinsed out the food processor and decided to make a salad dressing. When I am working with my food processor, I try to make two recipes because cleaning it is a pain. I don’t use store salad dressings, but sometimes lettuce is just too dry, even with hummus. I wanted to make a red wine vinaigrette and just played around with it.

Simple Salad Dressing

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Ingredients:

  • 3 T EVOO
  • 2 T red wine vinegar
  • 1.5 T fresh lemon juice
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped

Instructions:

  • Whirl all ingredients away in food processor. Store in airtight container. Shake before use.

 

Roasted Vegetables

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On two baking sheets, I roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli, tofu, carrots and asparagus. I ate part for dinner on Sunday, and refrigerate the rest to add to lunch salads with lettuce, tomatores, and whatever else you want.

Instructions:

Prep all vegetables (I peeled 5 big carrots and 2 sweet potatoes, trimmed a bunch of asparagus, chopped 2 heads of broccoli).

Lay on Pam’d baking sheet. Drizzle with 4 T EVOO, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder.

Roast on 400* for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Roasted Tofu:

I actually have not made tofu in months. Sometimes it sounds good, sometimes not. When I make tofu, I cook the whole block to have last about three meals.

I baked this one in the oven, here are the steps:

  • Slice extra firm tofu block in 6-7 pieces.
  • Lay slices on a clean towel and cover with the top half of the towel. Place something heavy on top of the tofu for about 15 minutes to press out the moisture.

Prep marinade while tofu is pressing. I did the following:

  • 2 T EVOO
  • 1 T water
  • 1 T sesame oil
  • 1 T honey
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 16 squirts Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (this is like soy sauce but less sodium. I am not a fan of the smell of it, but it accomplishes the same thing. I probably wouldn’t buy it again and use teriyaki or soy sauce instead.)

Remove block and towel.

Dip blocks in marinade and place on baking sheet.

Bake at 400* for 25 minutes, flipping halfway through.

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The hummus lasts many days, and the vegetables and tofu last about three lunches, which is great for me!

What do you prep ahead?

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , , ,

Week in Review

June 25, 2011 by 5 Comments

Hope you’re having a great Saturday! My parents are here to see Lily me, so we are most likely at the mall or playing with dog toys.

I hope you enjoyed this summer foods week on the blog! I really liked all of these recipes, they were all very easy and seasonal and simple, and I hope you will try them! All are great for entertaining for 4 or 40. I also hope you noticed the new Print Recipe feature, which will help make it easier to get these recipes from your computer screen to grocery list.

This week in exercise, I did two days of CrossFit, two days of swimming, and one day of treadmill walking. Weekends are always dependent of what’s happening, I’ll probably be in the gym or maybe swim again. I bought a new swimming laps bathing suit, which is always a good enticement to keep swimming! I am really enjoying it. 60 minutes in the pool is a great workout.

Monday: No Guilt Brownies

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Tuesday: Summer Corn Salad

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Wednesday: Summer Pasta Salad

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Thursday: Homemade Guacamole

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Friday: Homemade Lemonade

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Filed Under: Week in Review ·

Homemade Lemonade

June 24, 2011 by 5 Comments

If anything says summer, it is lemonade. I drink a lot of water, especially in the summer, but sometimes you want something with flavor. Recently in our house, we have been keeping a pitcher of Crystal Light lemonade in our refrigerator. Not to be a snob, but it’s not a real food. The color isn’t quite right, and I don’t feel right drinking a powdered sugar, unless it’s used to make buttercream.

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A few weeks ago, I saw Brooke’s post on homemade lemonade. I bookmarked it and emailed it to Jeffrey, and we made it last Sunday after buying a dozen lemons at Costco.

It was tangy, it was slightly sweet, it was easy. It was exactly what we were looking for in a summer refreshing drink. We even got to make a simple syrup in the process.

I do not know if we will be boiling a cup of sugar each week to keep up this habit, but fresh lemonade is a nice treat.

Homemade Lemonade

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(by Plum Pie Cooks)

Ingredients

  • 5.5 cups water, divided
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 2 cups fresh squeezed lemons (juice from about 10-12 lemons)
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

Instructions

  • Pour 1.5 cups of water into a small saucepan.
  • Stir in 1.5 cups of sugar.
  • Add half of the mint sprigs.
  • Bring sugar/water mixture to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved.
  • Remove from heat and let cool.
  • Discard mint sprigs. You now have mint infused simple syrup!
  • For regular lemonade, skip the mint step.
  • In a large pitcher, combine 2 cups lemon juice, 4 cups of water, and 1 cup of mint infused simple syrup. Taste.
  • Add more simple syrup if you prefer a sweeter lemonade.
  • Add remaining mint sprigs and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
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Brooke’s pictures are also really much better than mine. I had a very hard time photographing this recipe! You will drool over hers, not mine.

Note: If chilling overnight, remove mint sprigs after an hour or so as the flavor can turn somewhat bitter if the leaves are left too long in the pitcher.

P.S. You may have noticed that I changed my blog header! Sometimes I get tired and want a change, so I play with headers. Hope you enjoy some of my favorite pictures.

Also, I have a Print Recipe feature. It’s only for recipes starting with this week and forward. Maybe if I get adventurous (bored) one day, I’ll add it to past recipes too.

Have a good weekend!

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Homemade Lemonade
Author: 
Recipe type: drink
Serves: 6
 

Ingredients
  • 5.5 cups water, divided
  • 1.5 cups sugar
  • 2 cups fresh squeezed lemonade (juice from about 10-12 lemons)
  • ¼ cup fresh mint leaves

Instructions
  1. Pour 1.5 cups of water into a small saucepan.
  2. Stir in 1.5 cups of sugar.
  3. Add half of the mint sprigs.
  4. Bring sugar/water mixture to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved.
  5. Remove from heat and let cool.
  6. Discard mint sprigs. You now have mint infused simple syrup!
  7. For regular lemonade, skip the mint step.
  8. In a large pitcher, combine 2 cups lemon juice, 4 cups of water, and 1 cup of mint infused simple syrup. Taste.
  9. Add more simple syrup if you prefer a sweeter lemonade.
  10. Add remaining mint sprigs and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Filed Under: Recipes · Tagged With:

Homemade Guacamole

June 23, 2011 by 1 Comment

Now that the calendar agrees with the temperatures outside that it really is summer, I know you will spend more time outside, enjoying drinks with umbrellas in them watching the condensation drip off glasses. If you decide to try some food favorites at home, I can help.

Over the weekend, we made these shrimp tacos for Father’s Day dinner and wanted to make guacamole from scratch. While we were on a roll of not taking shortcuts, we decided to make lemonade from scratch too. More on that tomorrow.

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When we are looking for a simple recipe that we know we can count on, we go to Ina Garten. Especially living in Texas, we know guacamole. We’ve tried them all, with all kinds of add-ins, but a basic, classic guacamole can’t be beat. And making it from scratch is all the better. It just takes one bowl! Not even a food processor to dirty.

Homemade Guacamole

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(from Ina Garten)

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe avocados
  • 3 T fresh lemon juice (one lemon)
  • 8 dashes Tabasco sauce
  • 1/2 C small red onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced

Instructions

  • Cut avocados in half and remove pits, scoop out flesh in a mixing bowl.
  • Add lemon juice immediately. Then Tabasco, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
  • Toss well with hands.
  • Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocados until they are diced.
  • Add tomato and mix well.

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It is really interesting that Ina uses a knife to mash the avocados and not the back of a knife. It keeps it extra chunky. We love the texture of the onion and tomato, and there is a nice kick from the Tabasco and jalapeno.

This recipe is a keeper. I can see us making this anytime we are entertaining from now on.

P.S. Jeffrey was making fun of how I take photos, why I take so many, how he thinks I’ve done enough. (isn’t he kind?)  I offered him the camera. This is the picture he took. Now maybe he understands how you have to get close and try different angles and settings. And now you’ve seen one of my set-ups!

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Guacamole
Author: 
Recipe type: dip
Serves: 6
 

Ingredients
  • 4 ripe avocados
  • 3 T fresh lemon juice (one lemon)
  • 8 dashes Tabasco sauce
  • ½ C small red onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
  • ½ jalapeno, seeded and diced

Instructions
  1. Cut avocados in half and remove pits, scoop out flesh in a mixing bowl.
  2. Add lemon juice immediately. Then Tabasco, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
  3. Toss well with hands.
  4. Using a sharp knife, slice through the avocados until they are diced.
  5. Add tomato and mix well.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Snacks · Tagged With: , , ,

Summer Salads Part 2

June 22, 2011 by 2 Comments

Are you still with me for summer eating week? So far, there has been brownies and one salad. Here is recipe #3.

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This tortellini salad was the second salad I brought to the baby shower I hosted over the weekend. I made one similar a few weeks ago to try out flavors and proportions.

The key to serving a large amount of people was to make as much as I could ahead of time and then use the immediate time before serving to finish it and plate it. The ingredient list for this is short, the manpower was all in the chopping. The key again was the dressing.

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Cold Tortellini Salad

(serves 40)

Ingredients

  • 96 oz tri-color cheese tortellini (two jumbo packs from Costco)
  • 3 red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 C red tomatoes, halved
  • 3 C black olives, halved
  • 3 T EVOO
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions

  • In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil, filled about 2/3.
  • Add tortellini and cook as package says, about 10 minutes until pasta is ready.
  • Drain in a collander.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine olives, tomatoes and bell peppers.
  • When tortellini is cooled, add to the vegetable bowl.
  • Refrigerate at this step until ready to serve.
  • In a small bowl, combine 3 T EVOO, 3 T water, 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper, the juice of one lemon, and one garlic clove and whisk together.
  • Pour on top and stir until mixed well.
  • You can leave this dish out a while because the refrigerator tended to make the tortellini stick together.
  • Serve at room temperature.

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This dish was a nice medley of cheesy and crunchy, and was filling because of the dense tortellini. A great picnic or party summer salad because it was easy to prepare and can be served or left sitting out for a long time. Also great for lunch or dinner.

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Summer Tortellini Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 40
 

Ingredients
  • 96 oz tri-color cheese tortellini (two jumbo packs from Costco)
  • 3 red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 C red tomatoes, halved
  • 3 C black olives, halved
  • 3 T EVOO
  • ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil, filled about ⅔.
  2. Add tortellini and cook as package says, about 10 minutes until pasta is ready.
  3. Drain in a collander.
  4. In a mixing bowl, combine olives, tomatoes and bell peppers.
  5. When tortellini is cooled, add to the vegetable bowl.
  6. Refrigerate at this step until ready to serve.
  7. In a small bowl, combine 3 T EVOO, 3 T water, ¼ tsp each salt and pepper, the juice of one lemon, and one garlic clove and whisk together.
  8. Pour on top and stir until mixed well.
  9. You can leave this dish out a while because the refrigerator tended to make the tortellini stick together.
  10. Serve at room temperature.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes, Vegetarian · Tagged With: , ,

Summer Salads Part 1

June 21, 2011 by 2 Comments

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This dish is all about summer. Summer dishes are best served cold. This cold salad uses summer corn and other seasonal vegetables like tomatoes and green beans, and it’s a great make-ahead salad. Cold salads travel well. It’s all about easy picnic-like food in the summertime.

I made this dish and another salad (that would be Part 2 tomorrow) for a baby shower last weekend. I am becoming an expert baby shower hostess, and I’ve learned that easy food is best. Colorful helps too. The ingredients for this dish are scaled to feed an army or a football team. I prepared it for about 30 people. You’ll need to scale it down for less, it doesn’t need to be exact.

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In my opinion, they key to this dish is the dressing. Without dressing, it’s just corn + green beans + tomatoes in a bowl. The dressing brings out the sweet of the corn and blends it all together.

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Summer Corn Salad

Ingredients

(makes enough for 30 as a side dish)

  • 5 pounds (!) corn (I used a frozen bag of organic corn from Costco. Corn on the husk would be great but I didn’t want to shuck and boil so many ears.)
  • 2 pounds green beans, stems cut off
  • 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 C feta cheese crumbles
  • 2 T sugar
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • 4 T evoo

Instructions

  • In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil, filled 2/3 with water.
  • Add corn to water and boil about 5 minutes until soft. No thaw time necessary.
  • Remove corn from water with slotted spoon but do not discard water. Place corn in collander and let water drain for about 10 minutes in the sink. I pressed the water out with my hands. They retain a lot of water.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine tomatoes and corn.
  • Add green beans to water and boil about 8-10 minutes, until the color is bright green and they are soft.
  • Remove pot from stove and drain water from green beans in collander.
  • Once green beans have cooled, cut them in thirds.
  • Add green beans to the corn/tomato bowl.
  • If you aren’t serving immediately, refrigerate after this step.
  • One hour before you are ready to serve, add feta to the bowl and stir.
  • In a separate small bowl, combine EVOO, salt, pepper and sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves.
  • Pour over the corn mix and stir well.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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I really love the feta in this dish. It gets all creamy with the dressing and is like an added creaminess in the crevices of the tomatoes and through the corn. The sugar really brings out the sweet of the corn, and the pop of the green beans compliments the crispness of the corn too.

It’s just a nice and light summer salad!

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Summer Corn Salad
Author: 
Recipe type: salad
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 40
 

Ingredients
  • Ingredients
  • makes enough for 30 as a side dish)
  • 5 pounds (!) corn (I used a frozen bag of organic corn from Costco. Corn on the husk would be great but I didn’t want to shuck and boil so many ears.)
  • 2 pounds green beans, stems cut off
  • 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 C feta cheese crumbles
  • 2 T sugar
  • ¼ tsp each salt and pepper
  • 4 T evoo

Instructions
  1. Instructions
  2. In a large stock pot, bring water to a boil, filled ⅔ with water.
  3. Add corn to water and boil about 5 minutes until soft. No thaw time necessary.
  4. Remove corn from water with slotted spoon but do not discard water. Place corn in collander and let water drain for about 10 minutes in the sink. I pressed the water out with my hands. They retain a lot of water.
  5. In a large mixing bowl, combine tomatoes and corn.
  6. Add green beans to water and boil about 8-10 minutes, until the color is bright green and they are soft.
  7. Remove pot from stove and drain water from green beans in collander.
  8. Once green beans have cooled, cut them in thirds.
  9. Add green beans to the corn/tomato bowl.
  10. If you aren’t serving immediately, refrigerate after this step.
  11. One hour before you are ready to serve, add feta to the bowl and stir.
  12. In a separate small bowl, combine EVOO, salt, pepper and sugar and whisk until sugar dissolves.
  13. Pour over the corn mix and stir well.
  14. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes · Tagged With: , , ,

No guilt brownies

June 20, 2011 by 6 Comments

Gear up for summer week on the blog! Everything this week is quick, easy, full of strong flavors, and perfect for a long, hot summer.

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Every other week on Thursdays, I get together with a group of girls to play poker. We’ve been playing together for two years, and it has turned into less poker playing and more chatting and snacking. We rotate houses and play for $10 each week. It usually lasts under two hours, but we love our poker Thursdays.

I hosted last week’s game, we ended up not playing at all. After a busy day, I could have picked up something at the grocery store, but I wanted to bake something. On a weeknight, I really don’t enjoy baking something that takes a long time and makes a mess.

I went to my recipe book where I collect recipes I’ve printed over the past five years. I remembered this recipe I printed last summer as something I thought looked easy, healthy and still indulgent. Mama Pea is always to the rescue. (Pre-order her book here. I did! This is her first cookbook of all meatless family dishes. Her blog is so witty and fun, and her recipes are so creative. She transitioned her family to a meatless lifestyle and has blogged and written about it. I met her in November, and she is so kind and fun in real life too. I can’t wait for the book.)

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No guilt brownies

(called Single Chin Double Chocolate Brownies by Peas and Thank You)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 C whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/3 C cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1  C unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 C organic sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 C chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
  • In a smaller bowl, combine applesauce, sugar and vanilla.
  • Add wet to dry and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
  • Pour batter into an 8×8 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Bake for 20 minutes or until brownies are set and edges are coming away from the pan.
  • Let cool before cutting and serving.

 

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These brownies remind me of Snack Wells that I used to eat all the time, two a day. Those have a lot of processed ingredients, these do not. Those come in a box, these come out of your oven in 20 minutes. Those dry out quickly, these stay ooey and gooey. Did you notice they’re vegan?

My poker group thought they were delish. My husband even liked them too. I was just glad to use two bowls to make a treat and not have to buy anything at the grocery. The only problem is it only makes twelve squares!

A winning weeknight treat it was.

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