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Strawberry Blood Orange Bread

February 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment

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One thing that hasn’t slowed at the end of pregnancy is my urge to bake. I guess why not while I can, right? Last week, Chobani Greek yogurt sent me 12 of their three new flavors to sample and tell you about. They came out with Apple Cinnamon, Blood Orange, and Passion Fruit. I have been raving about Chobani for a few years now, and am glad they are expanding their flavors and becoming so popular.

I actually like the Vanilla flavor best and rarely buy the other flavors. But since they sent me some…I’ll try them. With 12 yogurts to eat, I used one of them to bake something.

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I reviewed their site and Pinterest, my new favorite place to find recipes, and decided to adapt one of their recipes to use the new flavor (Blood Orange) and a more seasonal fruit (strawberries in place of cranberries).

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This is quality control from the back end of the loaf. No one will know…

I loved so many things about this bread. Let me tell you:

  • It was so easy to cook–just two bowls and a spatula and measuring tools. No fancy mixers.
  • I had all the ingredients in the house already (Thanks Cho).
  • It was so soft on the inside, thanks to the yogurt.
  • No butter or oils.
  • Has a great gooeyness from the strawberries and yogurt and a nice bite from the nuts.
Now obviously, you can trade out the Blood Orange for the Plain or Vanilla yogurt flavor, but since I had it, I wanted to bake with it.

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Strawberry Blood Orange Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 t baking powder
  • 1/2 t each baking soda and salt
  • 3/4 C (6 oz) Chobani Greek Yogurt Blood Orange flavor
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 C orange juice
  • 1 T grated orange zest
  • 1 1/2 C fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 1/2 C pecans, chopped coarsely

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  • In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, mix together Chobani Greek Yogurt and sugar. Add egg and combine. Stir in orange juice.
  • Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir with spatula.
  • Fold in orange zest, strawberries, and pecans.
  • Pour into prepared pan.
  • Bake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert pan to remove, and finish cooling on rack.

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Strawberry Blood Orange Bread
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

 

Ingredients
  • Strawberry Blood Orange Bread
  • 2 C all-purpose flour
  • 1½ t baking powder
  • ½ t each baking soda and salt
  • ¾ C (6 oz) Chobani Greek Yogurt Blood Orange flavor
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 egg
  • ¾ C orange juice
  • 1 T grated orange zest
  • 1½ C fresh strawberries, sliced
  • ½ C pecans, chopped coarsely

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mix together Chobani Greek Yogurt and sugar. Add egg and combine. Stir in orange juice.
  4. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir with spatula.
  5. Fold in orange zest, strawberries, and pecans.
  6. Pour into prepared pan.
  7. Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert pan to remove, and finish cooling on rack.

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Citrus Fest

January 30, 2012 by 1 Comment

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The past few weeks have been “Citrus Fest” at our Central Market grocery stores. Usually I am not much a fan of oranges because of the work they take to get the good stuff, but if Central Market says it’s prime orange time, I’ll try it. I bought a few navel oranges, and they were so delicious! So then I bought some more the next week, and more again. They were the juiciest and most pretty oranges.

Then I saw a beautiful smoothie on Edible Perspective last week using blood oranges. Her smoothie turned a beautiful pink color. I didn’t have blood oranges, but did have my beautiful navels. I also never really thought about using oranges in a smoothie because I didn’t think a blender was strong enough to get through the pulp.

Have no fear, it blended up very smooth and frothy and tasted like a smoothie and not like orange juice.

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Orange Yogurt Smoothie

Ingredients:

  • 1 navel orange, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 banana
  • 4 oz Greek yogurt (I used Chobani Very Berry kids cup but if I had a tub of plain I would use that)
  • 1/4 C orange juice
  • 1/4 C skim milk
  • few ice cubes
Instructions:
  • Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
  • I topped mine with a little crunchy granola and ate it with a spoon, but you could drink it without that, or add a topping of your choice.

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I thought this smoothie was very refreshing and I liked that it used a different fruit for a smoothie than I would think to use. The yogurt and milk made it creamy, and added some protein. A winning snack or meal!

Speaking of Greek yogurt and Chobani, see this article from the weekend in USA Today.

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Back to Basics: Granola

January 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

I have a new idea for the blog–a series on basics. Not all recipes can be creative, take a half a day to make, or use lots of ingredients. And not all weeks have original content all the time! We like repeats too, especially when they are awesome. It also takes a lot of time to continuously find new things to try and write about!

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This week, we’re talking about granola! If you were reading about a year ago, I was on a granola kick. There were bars, sticky bites, loose granola. It was crunchy, sticky, one burnt batch from not watching close enough, and some were fruity or full of good spices. We went through a lot of Quaker Oats!

Recently, I’d been thinking about granola again. I like it with breakfast, on top of yogurt for a snack, and I had a lot of raisins in my pantry.

I referred to my favorite recipe from last year and made some modifications based on what I had in the pantry. From the original recipe, I accidentally left out the brown sugar and didn’t notice in the taste. I don’t have flax meal in the pantry anymore, and I used more raisins instead of craisins. I also didn’t have almonds so I used more pecans and peanuts. Use what you have!

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Oatmeal Raisin Granola

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 C old-fashioned oats
  • 3/4 C pecans, chopped
  • 1/4 C unsalted peanuts
  • 1/4 C sweetened coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C gold rainsins
  • 1/2 C black raisins
  • 1/4 C maple syrup
  • 3 T applesauce
  • 2 T smooth peanut butter

Instructions:

  • Mix maple syrup, applesauce and peanut butter in a small pan on the stovetop and let simmer for 8-10 minutes over low heat. It will get thick and caramel-like. Don’t let it burn.
  • Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the wet to the dry once thickened.
  • Pour on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Bake at 300* for 45 minutes, stirring every 12-15.**
  • Cool for 20 minutes before eating.

For this batch, I actually had to take Lily for a walk while the granola was baking. She insisted. I turned the oven off at about 20 minutes and left the tray in. It was perfectly done when I got back. Just watch your batch so it doesn’t burn!

 

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Oatmeal Raisin Granola
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

 

Ingredients
  • Oatmeal Raisin Granola
  • 2.5 C old-fashioned oats
  • ¾ C pecans, chopped
  • ¼ C unsalted peanuts
  • ¼ C sweetened coconut
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch nutmeg
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ½ C gold rainsins
  • ½ C black raisins
  • ¼ C maple syrup
  • 3 T applesauce
  • 2 T smooth peanut butter

Instructions
  1. Mix maple syrup, applesauce and peanut butter in a small pan on the stovetop and let simmer for 8-10 minutes over low heat. It will get thick and caramel-like. Don’t let it burn.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl and add the wet to the dry once thickened.
  3. Pour on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
  4. Bake at 300* for 45 minutes, stirring every 12-15.**
  5. Cool for 20 minutes before eating.

Filed Under: Breakfast, Snacks · Tagged With: , , ,

Oatmeal Bars…with M&Ms

December 14, 2011 by 7 Comments

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This is a quick and easy recipe and makes a great snack. I made a similar bar last June and froze them, and have been thinking about them! I like these best because they cut really nicely. No ragged edges. Pretty colors inside.

This time, I decided to put in some crushed M&Ms because why not? More colorful for the holidays.

I think these make a great little snack, and even better with peanut butter spread on.

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Chewy Oatmeal Bars–with M&Ms

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 C rolled oats
  • ¼ C chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 C raisins
  • 1/4 C M&Ms, chopped
  • ¼ C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 ½ C milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In two separate bowls, mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry, mixing until combined.
  • Pour batter into a square baking dish lined with parchment paper for easy transferring. My dish is 9 x 9.
  • Bake 30 minutes. Once cool, cut into bars or squares.

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Chocolate Chip Snack Squares

September 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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This quick and easy recipe is a great one when you need a snack in a jif, or something simple and fast to take to a friend. I made these for a friend who just had a baby. Good for a sweet breakfast added to yogurt, or an afternoon or evening snack, it’s an all-purpose treat. The thing I liked best about these is that they cut so nicely. A lot of bars I make are a little jagged when cutting, but these looked real nice. Soft and chewy. Mmm.

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Chocolate Chip Snack Squares

Ingredients:

  • 2 C rolled oats
  • ½ C whole wheat flour
  • ¼ C chopped pecans
  • ¼ C chocolate chips
  • ¼ C sugar
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 & ½ C milk (any kind in your fridge)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 375.
  • In two separate bowls, mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry, mixing until combined. Pour batter into a cooking-sprayed baking dish (I use 8×8, but use what you’ve got).
  • Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely and then cut into 16 squares.

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An easy modification to this would be to use blueberries instead of the chocolate chips to make it more of a breakfast bar. Or nuts and raisins instead of the chocolate.

These also freeze easily so you can grab one at a time to make them last longer.

Can’t beat a quick dish with few ingredients. Easy to make, easy to clean!

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Chocolate Chip Snack Squares
 

Ingredients
  • Chocolate Chip Snack Squares
  • 2 C rolled oats
  • C whole wheat flour
  • C chopped pecans
  • C chocolate chips
  • C sugar
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • tsp. salt
  • 1 & ½ C milk (any kind in your fridge)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375.
  2. In two separate bowls, mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry, mixing until combined. Pour batter into a cooking-sprayed baking dish (I use 8×8, but use what you’ve got).
  3. Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely and then cut into 16 squares.

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Cantaloupe Yogurt Popsicles

August 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

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Last week, I tried my luck again at making popsicles. I saw a recipe for a smoothie that sounded good and I thought freezing into a popsicle sounded even better. The result was a strong cantaloupe flavor. So if you like that, you might like this!

It’s very simple and easy for a summer treat.

Cantaloupe Popsicles

Ingredients:

  • 1 C cut cantaloupe
  • 1 container Greek yogurt (5-6 oz)
  • drizzle honey
  • splash of orange juice
Instructions:
  • In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until liquid consistency.
  • Pour into molds and freeze overnight.
  • To release from mold, run mold under lukewarm water and twist off.

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Jeffrey thought they were too strong in the ‘loupe for him, but one person in our house can’t get enough. She loves these!

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Homemade Popsicles

August 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

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I had this idea after seeing many variations of simple, homemade popsicles around the web lately. So easy, colorful and pretty healthful, popsicles sounded great for this hot summer!

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I bought this little set of molds at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $3 and used whatever fruit I already had in the refrigerator.

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I filled each popsicle about 3/4 with fruit. I used cut up strawberry slices, small peach slices and blueberries. Sounds good, right? Just whatever you have on hand cut into small bites.

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Then I poured apple juice in and filled to the top. Placed the lid on and froze overnight.

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To remove the popsicle from the mold, run cool water over the mold to loosen it up. Then wiggle it out and it comes out perfect.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the apple juice flavor! It was simple to make, so I’ll try again with a different “filler” juice. Any suggestions? Apple was too strong a flavor, and I probably wouldn’t have even liked apple juice by itself without the fruit in it.

I was looking forward to having these as an afternoon refreshing treat since it’s just frozen fruit and juice. I also liked that no sugar or cooking was involved. Many popsicles are sugar and fruit cooked together and strained, then frozen.

Have you made homemade popsicles before?

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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: , , ,

Snack bar squares

June 5, 2011 by 12 Comments

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It’s nice to do things for other people. It’s even nicer when it involves food, and when it’s not a time consuming deed. These little oatmeal bars are a perfect gift. Here’s why:

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  • They have a short ingredient list.
  • They are healthy.
  • They are good for breakfast, snack, or dessert.
  • They freeze well.
  • They are quick to make with few bowls to clean.

I really think this makes for a perfect goodie. Easy on the baker, easy on the recipient. I made two batches–one each for two friends with newborn babies. These little treats would be such a nice gift for new parents who don’t have time to grocery shop or research easy recipes to try. A grab and go bar to eat with one hand seems like a good idea. I’d like to receive something like it! Gifts baked with love are the best.

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Chewy Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 C rolled oats
  • ¼ C chopped walnuts
  • 1/4 C sunflower seeds
  • 1/2 C dried fruit (I did raisins in one batch and raisins + apricots in another)
  • ¼ C brown sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 ½ C milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • In two separate bowls, mix dry ingredients, then wet ingredients. Pour wet into dry, mixing until combined.
  • Pour batter into a square baking dish lined with parchment paper for easy transferring. My dish is 9 x 9.
  • Bake 30 minutes. Once cool, cut into bars or squares.

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If you are curious about the nutritional info, they are 2 Weight Watchers Points Plus for a square, and 5 PP+ for a bar. The recipe makes 8 bars or 16 squares.

They are most tasty when slathered in peanut butter. For two points (not counting peanut butter), they would be a great little meal ender or something to snack on. I see a third batch in the making.

I saw two similar recipes online, one by Anne and one by Kath. I compared ingredients and instructions and  created my own as the recipe above. Things you could change would be the type of dried fruit and seeds or using chocolate chips.

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I loved that these bars were chewy and easy to slice, and not too sweet. A short ingredient list is also nice. These would be so nice to wrap individually and freeze to take when traveling. And I do encourage the use of nut butter slathered on. Makes it last longer.

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I boxed up the squares in this box lined with foil on the bottom and tissue paper on top. And tied with a bow.

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Since we didn’t get our own batch, I’m off to make another!

What’s your favorite food gift to give?

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Three K for P recipes

April 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Are you tired of this stuff yet? Hope not! A few more days of Passover eating to go, then it’s back to muffins and cookies and cereal.

So far, Passover hasn’t been that bad. For me, getting past breakfast is the hard part, and lunch and dinner aren’t a big deal. It’s good to change things up once in a while to get out of food habits. I have eaten all my meals in the house, but the weekends are usually tougher. Not sure of our plans this weekend. It ends Monday night.

Today I have three recipes to share, one is new, two are twists on ones I know and love. All are made in the food processor for easy cleanup.

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Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter

First up is homemade almond butter. Peanuts are a no-no for Passover because they are from the bean family, but almonds are ok. I actually didn’t know that until this year. I have wanted to make peanut butter for a few months ever since I saw many great looking ones on Ashley’s blog, and Passover was the time to try.

Making peanut butter (I use that term to mean any nut butter) looked pretty simple. It’s few ingredients, and you whirl away in the food processor for a long time, like 15 minutes. That’s a real long time when usually things are ready in seconds.

My final picture is the one above, and the texture never got quite right. It was very crumbly and I kept adding water and oil, but it wouldn’t come together in a smooth texture. Any ideas? I followed her recipe to the T.

Ingredients:

  • 1 C raw almonds
  • 2.5 T maple syrup
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2T oil (she called for 1/2 T, but I streamed in quite a bit more olive oil and water)

Instructions:

  • Preheat your oven to 325*
  • Pour the almonds on a pan or in a baking dish and mix with the maple syrup.
  • Roast for 15min, stirring 3 times.
  • Let them cool for 5 minutes.

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  • Process and let it go until it’s buttery ~15min.  Scrape down the bowl as needed (I did this part a lot).
  • Add in the salt + cinnamon after 12ish minutes and process again until smooth + buttery.

(this was after a few minutes)

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(This was after more minutes, it was about as “together” as it came.)

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Final product, served with matzo crackers called Tam Tams. It was not easy to spread. What did I do wrong?

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Herby Hummus

I had much more success with this recipe because I make it every week. It really is my favorite hummus of all time. I do realize this looks like tuna salad and I’m not sure why. It’s hummus with parsley.

We had parsley left over from Passover seder so I added it to the hummus for a little greenery. I used this recipe exactly. If you want a runnier hummus, add more water.

I talk about hummus a lot, you know I use it with everything.

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Cherry Pie Bites

Next up are cherry nut balls. These are like homemade Larabars, and I keep variations of flavors in my freezer always. Especially for this week when grabbing a nibble of something is off limits, these are great. When I wake up at 5:32 a.m. for a 6 a.m. exercise class, I usually grab a handful of cereal to chug some water. Now I’ve been grabbing a bite of these. With simple ingredients in a bite size, these are great for little hold you over snacks.

Another one I made recently (not kosher for Passover) are cookie dough flavor. They are awesome if you’re looking for another one. I also like the Cocoa Nut Balls. I really do have a lot of these in my freezer always.

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Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C almonds
  • 1/4 C dates, pitted
  • 1/4 C dried cherries or craisins
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 T water

Instructions:

  • Pulse everything but water together until it turns into tiny bits. Add water and pulse again to come together.
  • Form into small balls, press down if you want a flatter cookie shape. Refrigerate or freeze.

What are you doing this weekend? Happy Easter if you’re celebrating!

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