Crockpot Chicken With Black Beans and Cream Cheese

Crock pot Chicken With Black Beans & Cream Cheese
Source: HDMac_WA (TOH)

This is one yummy dish and the crock pot does all the work! My chicken wasn't completely frozen so it came out of the crock pot semi shredded which didn't matter to us! It would of been great in a soft tortilla as well and I may try that with the little leftovers I have! My god-daughter also requested next time, that I buy sour cream and extra salsa for toppings! Sounds pretty good to me!


4-5 frozen boneless chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 16 oz. jar salsa, any kind
1 8 oz. package cream cheese

Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts and put into crockpot.

Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar salsa, 1 can of corn, drained.

Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.

Add cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. (I stirred mine in)

Dilled Shrimp Salad with Herb-Dill Dressing

This recipe comes from the South Beach Diet book. It is our favorite recipe so far.

Dilled Shrimp Salad with Herb-Dill Dressing

Shrimp:
1 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
1 lemon, sliced
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Herb-Dill Dressing
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 medium red onion,sliced
1 large head romaine lettuce
4 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
6 fresh mushrooms, sliced
fresh dill sprigs (optional)

To make the shrimp: Combine the wine, mustard seeds,pepper flakes, bay leaves, and lemon in a large saucepan. Add water to fill the pan two-thirds full. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp have turned pink and are no longer translucent in the center. Drain and cool. Discard the bay leaves.

To make the herb-dill dressing: In a screw-top jar, mix the olive oil, red wine vinegar,water,basil,dill,garlic,mustard and onion. Shake well. Place the shrimp in a large bowl and add the dressing. Toss well, cover and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve the shrimp mixture on romaine leaves and surround with tomato wedges and mushrooms. Garnish with dill sprigs if using.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies

1 box cake mix (I use spice and carrot)

15 oz can of pumpkin

1/2-1 cup of chocolate chips

Mix cake mix and pumpkin together. Stir in chips. drop by spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for 10 minutes.

Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies

I made these last week to take camping. The get better after sitting in an air tight container for a day or two. The recipe is from the Taste of Home cookbook The Best of Country Cooking 2003

Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

1 tablespoon hot water

1 egg white

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons corn syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup baking cocoa

1/4 teaspoon salt

In small bowl, dissolve coffee granules in hot water. In a mixing bowl, combine the egg white,3/4 cup sugar, oil, corn syrup,vanilla and coffee; beat until well blended. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; gradually add to coffee mixture.

Roll into 1 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten to 1/4 inch thickness with a glass dipped in the remaining sugar. Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes or until center is set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Store in an air tight container. Yield: 3 1/2 dozen. (I got closer to 50 cookies)

The dough is sticky, it helps to dampen palms when rolling into the small balls.

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

From the Recipe Blog called Tammy's Recipes

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
Sun, 2006-08-20 16:03 by Tammy Tags:

* Chicken
* chicken broth
* make-ahead
* milk
* Miscellaneous
* Soups
* stove-top

Recipe Name:
Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
Picture:
condensedchickensoupban.jpg
Description:

A flavorful condensed cream of chicken soup base recipe for use in dishes that call for canned creamed soups
Yield:

3 cups (about 2 cans)
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chicken broth*
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder**
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder***
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (or less; taste to test)
1/4 teaspoon parsley
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
Instructions:

1. In medium-sized saucepan, boil chicken broth, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the seasonings for a minute or two (longer if using fresh onions or garlic).

2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 cup of milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens.
Additional Notes:

*I use the broth from my oven-roasted chicken. Refrigerate broth and then take fat off the top. If you're using chicken bouillon + water for your broth, you may want to add a little extra seasonings, such as lemon pepper, extra garlic, or seasoned salt, since my broth normally has bits of those in it. You can also add bits of chicken, but if you have good rich chicken broth, you probably won't need any chicken in it.

**Or, diced onions (boil with broth for a few minutes)

***Or, fresh minced garlic (boil with broth for a few minutes)
Preparation Time:

5 minutes
Cooking Time:

10-15 minutes
Tammy's Review:

I think this is an excellent substitution for the store-bought cans of condensed soups. It's so flavorful (even without MSG)! ;) I like to make this with leftover chicken broth (or even turkey broth!) and then freeze in 1 1/2 cup sized portions. Then, when I need a quick "can" of soup for a recipe, I just thaw some! I have made this in large batches (3-4 quarts at a time) and it saves even more time rather than having to make a small amount each time you need some. My rating: 10/10.

Molli's Mullberry Pie Recipe

mix 3 to 3 1/2 cups of mulberries with 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. place mixture in unbaked pie crust. dot the top of the mulberry mix with a total of 2 tbsp of butter. place top crust on the pie and cut slits in it. let the pie rise in the ... refrigerator for 30 mins. then bake at 400 degrees for 15mins. turn the heat down to 350 and continue to bake for 30mins. let the pie cool and your done! i left the little stems on them.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

Linking a friend's recipe from her blog. This is so easy and good!

http://www.gwens-nest.com/family-favorite-recipes/tag/cream%20of%20mushroom%20soup%20recipe

To use: melt 2 T butter in skillet. Add 1/4 cup flour;stir til pasty. Add 1 cup milk and 1 cube mushroom mix. Stir. Add to casseroles calling for canned crm of mushroom soup.

Coffee Concentrate

I found this on the Taste of Home web site Bulliten Board. Thought it sounded very interesting. I'll have to try it sometime.


Coffee Concentrate
Posted by cookygram
Source: Family Favorites Hawaiian Cookbook

7 – 8 cups COLD water
1 pound coffee, any grind
For filtering, you should have:
Large receptacle
Strainer
2-4 layers coffee paper filters (Mr. Coffee/basket-style
filters work best)*
Put coffee and water into stainless steel or glass bowl; cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours. Line a strainer with coffee filters. In batches, use a ladle to put grounds and water into the lined strainer, discarding grounds (and filter papers, if needed) in about 10 minutes and reline and refill. It will take about three fillings of the strainer before you are finished. You will end up with 28 – 32 ounces of concentrate. Pour concentrate into any capable 1-quart container with lid and store in refrigerator. To reconstitute, use 2 ounces (1/4 cup) of the concentrate (or the amount according to personal taste) per 8 ounces of boiling water. *If using cone coffee filters, keep them flat, and shape and overlap them to line the strainer, making sure to completely cover all the mesh.

Kimberly Bunyards MONSTER Cookies

Kimberly Bunyards Monster Cookies
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Today at 8:23pm
Monster Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening ( I use either more butter, coconut oil, or olive oil)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white ( I omitted the white sugar and it was still great with less sugar in it)
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour ( I've used whole wheat, or oat flour)
1 12 oz pkg choc. chips, peanut butter pieces, or other cut up candy bars =2 cups

Preheat oven to 375
Beat butter and shortening, add sugar, and baking soda. Beat on medium until combined. Add flour, mix in last by hand if nec. Stir in choc. chips or candy.
Scoop dough by 1/4 cup (this is the best part!!!) onto ungreased cookie sheet. Leave about 4 inches between cookies. Bake for 11-13 min until lightly brown.

French Hamburgers

Recipe courtesy of Jillian Martin

Jillian Blair Martin
3/4 cup finely chopped onions
2 TBSP butter
Saute this slowly for about 10 min, until softened, not brown. Place in a mixing bowl.

Add to that:
1 1/2 lbs beef
2 TBSP fat(butter or lard)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp thyme
1 egg
Mix all with a wooden spoon until very well incorporated. Form into six 3/4 inch patties. Cover with wax paper until ready to use.

Just before sauteing, roll patties in 1/2 flour on a plate, and shake excess off.

Place 1 TBSP butter and 1 TBSP EVOO in a skillet or two. Saute meat for about 3 min. each side. Makes med-well burgers!

Garlic Bread

garlic bread

garlic bread by herbalrootszine.
i love making this bread. it is so easy and so tasty!

start by mixing 2 tablespoons of yeast with 2 tablespoons of honey or raw sugar. add 1 tablespoon of sea salt and 2 cups of hot water (about 115 degrees f). let sit until bubbly and add about 6 cups of unbleached flour. mix in a kitchen aid or knead by hand until dough is elastic.

place in a greased bowl and cover with a towel that has been wet with hot water and wrung out. let rise 15-20 minutes. while it is rising, boil a kettle of water.

chop up 3-4 cloves of garlic. mine was starting to sprout so you can see bits of sprouted garlic in there. flatten out the dough, sprinkle with garlic and fold/knead a few times to mix in the garlic.

divide into 2 loaves, place in greased loaf pans. place in a COLD oven on the top rack. on the bottom rack, place a glass 9 x 13 pan and fill with the boiling water. turn the oven on to 425 and bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is browned.

remove from the oven and loaf pans and let cool for about 10 minutes. slice, lather with real butter and devour!!

Cat Head Biscuits From Cook's Country April/May 2010 pg 12

Cook's Country (an america's test kitchen mag) has a recipe in the latest issue called Cat Head Biscuits! They are, well, as big a s a cats head!
Here is the recipe: makes 6 biscuits
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces and softened
4 tablespoons shortening cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (sub 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1 1/4 cups milk, let sit 10 minutes)
Preheat oven to 425. Grease 9 inch cake pan. Combine flours, bp,bs, and salt. Rub in butter and shortening,til mixture resembles coarse meal.
Using a 1/2 cup measure or spring loaded ice cream scoop, transfer 6 heaping portions of dough into prepared pan. Placing 5 around the pan and 1 in the center.
Bake until golden and puffed,20-25 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack. Serve.

Home Made Thin Mints

Cakespy: Homemade Thin Mints

Posted by cakespy, March 8, 2010 at 3:00 PM

Oh, they seem so friendly and accommodating now. But what happens in a month or so, when they're gone and you've got a serious jonesing for some Samoas or Thin Mints?You make your own, that's what you do.

Armed with a recipe from the baking blog Baking Bites, I tested out a batch of my favorite: Thin Mints. While I wouldn't call them a clone of the boxed kind (the texture is a little different, and they taste a little, well, fancier)

20100308thinminthowto.jpg
Homemade Thin Mints

- makes about 36 cookies -

Adapted from Baking Bites
Ingredients

For the cookies:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp peppermint extract

For the dark chocolate coating:
10 ounces dark or semisweet chocolate (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
Procedure

1. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look slightly curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.

3. Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1 to 2 hours (I did mine overnight), until dough is very firm.

4. Preheat oven to 375°F.

5. For the most authentic texture, slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick (they will not be as crisp if they are thicker, but they're still delicious) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you don't have to leave too much space around each one.

6. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.

7. Prepare the coating. While the original recipe suggested preparing it in the microwave, I did mine on the stovetop by combining the chocolate on butter in a medium saucepan on low heat, stirring frequently until the mixture was melty and fully combined. The texture will be thicker than a chocolate syrup, but not so thick that cookies can't easily be dipped and removed. You can put the chocolate mixture back on heat as needed to keep the coating smooth and easy to dip your cookies into.

Note: Per the recipe I adapted, this can also be done in the microwave: in a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45 to 60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating. (Note: Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into.)

8. Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.

Vegetable Broth Powder

From Dr. Christopher's Herbal Legacy Newsletter 3-10-10


RECIPE: Vegetable Broth Powder

Recipe created by Kal Sellers from the book Traci's Transformational Health Principles by Traci J. Sellers

INGREDIENTS

· 2 c nutritional yeast flakes

· 1/2 c sea salt

· 2 T onion powder

· 1 T turmeric

· 2 t dried dill weed

· 2 t marjoram (optional)

· 2 t dried powdered lemon peel (optional)

· 1 t celery seed

· 1 t basil

· 1 t powdered thyme

· 1 T dried parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Place all ingredients except parsley in blender in order listed and blend until powdered together.

2. Add parsley and pulse to chop. Store in an airtight container in the cupboard indefinitely.

To make broth, add 1 heaping T per quart of warm water. Simply stir powder into water, or shake together in a quart jar.

Liese's Cadbury Eggs

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Liese's Cadbury Eggs

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Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:07pm
Ingredients:

1/2 c light corn syrup

1/4 c butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

3 c powdered sugar

1 12 oz bag milk choc chips

1. Combine corn syrup, butter, vanilla, &salt. Beat until smooth.

2. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Mix until creamy.

Now, this where in the recipe you are supposed to separate out the filling & color some yellow to be the yolk & leave some white to be the whites but we skip this step. It tastes just as yummy without all the fuss.

4. Cover mixture & refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

5. When firm roll mixture into balls & shape like egg. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until firm.

6. Microwave chocolate chips on high for 1 minute, stir & microwave again for 30 sec.

7. Use a fork to dip each center into the chocolate, tap off excess, then place on wax paper. Chill.

8. After 1-2 hours dip each once more & chill until firm

Makes 2 doz. candy eggs

Soaked Honey Wheat Bread

We have been grinding our own wheat into flour for a couple years now. Just recently though I've been reading about soaking grains.

Basically you soak grains in kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, whey or lemon juice for at least 7 hours before using them. This helps break down the phytic acid. The phytic acid is something our bodies can not digest. Soaking kind of pre-digests the grain for us thus releasing more nutrients that would otherwise just um, pass on through.

If you want to learn more about soaking grains you can google it and research to your hearts content!

I found a wonderful recipe on Well Tell Me by linemansgirl that she had adapted. I made it on Saturday and fell in love. It is a 100% whole wheat recipe, yet the loaves are soft and light. Not the bricks I've managed to produce the last few tries with regular recipes.

So here is the recipe and a picture. Enjoy!

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

5 tsp. active dry yeast
2 c. whole milk (I use kefir)(Leat- I used 1/2 cup yogurt and 2 cups milk)
1/4 c. honey
2 large eggs
6 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. sea salt
6 T. unsalted butter

I grind my grain and add 1 1/2 c. kefir to it. Put damp cloth over the top and set in a warm place overnight.

The next morning dissolve the yeast in 1/2 c. milk or kefir heated to 105 to 115 degrees and let stand until foamy. Stir in the honey, eggs, salt and butter. Then I kind of knead this all in to the flour kefir mixture (you can also use a stand mixer). Now knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.

Butter two 9 x 5 loaf pans.

Punch down the dough. Divide into two pieces. Flatten each piece of dough out and roll it into an oval log, sealing edges as you roll. Place the log seam side down in greased loaf pans. Allow the loaves to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Bake at 375 until honey brown and sounds hollow when tapped upon. Cookbook says 35-40 minutes, but my oven only takes around 25 minutes. Also, if your dough needs extra rising time then ignore the times in the recipe.

Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs
Makes approx. 50 meatballs

1 1/2 -2 lbs ground beef
1 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
dash pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
1 egg beaten

In a large bowl, combine beef,bread crumbs,onion,salt,allspice,pepper, nutmeg,milk and egg. Shape into 1 inch balls. Bake 30 minutes at 350 in jelly roll pans.

Sauce:
3 tablespoon pure olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups beef broth or bouillon
1/2 cup cream or 1/2 & 1/2

In a large skillet heat oil til hot. Add flour to form smooth paste. Gradually add beef broth and cream with a dash of pepper. Stir until thick. Add cooked meatballs to coat with gravy and serve.

**Great with mashed potatoes

Dana's Taco Chili

On New Year's Eve 2009 our good friends had us over for dinner. Dana served this crock pot meal and called it Taco Soup. I tweeked it a bit and turned it into a stove top quick meal. Still just as delicious.

Taco Chili My quick version

1 lb ground beef, browned
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained
1 pint salsa
1 can diced tomatoes
1 pkt ranch dressing mix (I used homemade)
1 pkt taco seasoning mix (I used homemade)

shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
corn chips

Combine first 7 ingredients in a stock pot, Bring to low boil,simmer to heat through. To serve; place a small handful of corn chips in bottom of bowl. Top with chili, cheese, and sour cream.

Ramen Noodle Oriental Salad

We had this at the family dinner at Brian's Grandmother's funeral. We couldn't believe how delicious it was!


Ramen Noodle Oriental Salad

Ingredients

* 1 pkg. cole slaw mix
* 1 pkg. Ramen noodles (beef flavor), crumbled
* 1 cup sunflower seeds
* 1 cup almonds slivers

Dressing:

* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup oil
* 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
* beef flavor packet

Directions
Mix slaw, noodles, sunflower seeds, and almonds. Mix sugar, oil, and vinegar; pour over slaw mixture.

Hearty Chicken Soup

Hearty Chicken Soup

1 chicken (4-5lb.)
water to cover
1 onion, quartered
1 cup chopped fresh parsley (1/4 cup dried)
1 celery rib, sliced
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1-2 tablespoons or more sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
dash of dried thyme
2-4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 bag peas (8oz)

In a large kettle, combine the first 12 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth;cool. Debone chicken; cut into chunks. Strain broth; return to kettle. Ass chicken,carrots, and peas. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes.

Zesty Vegetable Beef Soup

Zesty Vegetable Beef Soup

Broth:
Water to cover
3 lbs beef with bones
1 large onion, quartered
2 medium carrots,quartered
2 celery ribs,quartered
8 whole allspice (1/2 tsp powder)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Soup:

4 cups tomato sauce
3 celery ribs, sliced
2-4 medium carrots, sliced
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp chili powder (opt)

In soup kettle, bring broth ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Remove ribs; allow to cool. Strain broth; discard (or whiz into broth) vegetables and seasonings. Remove meat from bones and cut into bite size pieces; return to broth. Add the rest of ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1 hour until veggies are tender.

Sweet and Sour Pot Roast

Sweet and Sour Pot Roast

1 beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon olive oil (coconut or ghee)
1 cup chopped onion
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt

Brown roast in hot oil on all sides in a skillet. Place meat in slow cooker. Saute onion in oil until tender. Stir in tomato sauce, honey, vinegar and salt. Pour over meat. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until the meat is tender. Before serving, pour sauce into a skillet. Cook and stir over med-high heat until thickened. Serve with baked beans and veggies.

Coney Island Hotdogs

Coney Island Hot dogs

2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion
1-2 green peppers ,chopped
1 15oz can tomato sauce
Paprika
chili powder
sea salt
11 hotdogs

Saute veggies with ground beef. Add tomato sauce and spices. Serve over hot dogs, and carrots.

Beef Stew

Beef Stew

2 pounds beef chuck, cut in 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups beef broth or water
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp paprika
2-4 carrots,sliced
1 bag of peas (8oz)
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced
slat and pepper

Place meat in crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours (high 4-6)

Lazy Stew

Lazy Stew

2 lb. beef cubes
2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 stalk celery
1 1/2 cup green beans
1 tablespoon slat
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 can tomato sauce (15oz)
1 can tomato paste
1 tablespoon honey
water to right consistency

Combine all in a large roaster. Bake in 300 degree oven all day.

Healthy Grain Free Brownies

Healthy Grain Free Brownies

2 cups black beans
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup melted coconut oil or butter
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey or sugar
1/2 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate (or what ever chocolate you prefer)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (opt)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8x8 baking dish. Toss all but final two ingredients into a blender or food processor; blend until smooth. Stir in chocolate and nuts. Spread into pan. Bake 30 minutes or until done.

Pita Bread

From Food Network
makes 16 pitas

Ingredients

* 1 teaspoon dry yeast
* 2 1/2 cups warm water (approximately 105 degrees F)
* 2 cups whole wheat flour
* About 4 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

You will need a large bread bowl, a rolling pin, and unglazed quarry tiles or several baking sheets, or alternatively a castiron or other heavy skillet or griddle at least 9 inches in diameter.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water in a large bread bowl. Stir to dissolve. Add whole wheat flour, one cup at a time, then 1 cup white flour. Stir 100 times (one minute) in the same direction to activate the gluten in the flour. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes or as long as 2 hours.

Sprinkle salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add white flour, one cup at a time. When the dough is too stiff to stir, turn it out onto a lightly floured bread board and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Return the dough to a lightly oiled bread bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least double in size, approximately 1 1/2 hours. Gently punch down. Dough can be made ahead to this point and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator for 5 days or less.

If at this time you want to save the dough in the refrigerator for baking later, simply wrap it in a plastic bag that is at least three times the size of the dough, pull the bag together, and secure it just at the opening of the bag. This will give the dough a chance to expand when it is in the refrigerator (which it will do). From day to day, simply cut off the amount of dough you need and keep the rest in the refrigerator, for up to one week. The dough will smell slightly fermented after a few days, but this simply improves the taste of the bread. Dough should be brought to room temperature before baking.

This amount of dough will make approximately 16 pitas if rolled out into circles approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than 1/4-inch thick. You can also of course make smaller breads. Size and shape all depend on you, but for breads of this dimension the following baking tips apply:

Place unglazed quarry tiles, or a large baking stone or two baking sheets, on a rack in the bottom third of your oven, leaving a one inch gap all around to allow air to circulate. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide dough in half, then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter. You may wish to roll out all eight before starting to bake. Cover rolled out breads, but do not stack.

Bake 2 at a time (or more if your oven is larger) directly on quarry tiles or baking sheets. Bake each bread for 3 or 4 minutes, until the bread has gone into a full "balloon" or until it is starting to turn lightly golden, whichever happens first. If there are seams or dry bits of dough - or for a variety of other reasons - your bread may not go into a full "balloon". Don't worry, it will still taste great. The more you bake pitas the more you will become familiar with all the little tricks and pitfalls, and your breads will more consistently "balloon." But even then, if you're like us, it won't always "balloon" fully and you won't mind because the taste will still be wonderful. When baked, remove, place on a rack for about five minutes to let cool slightly, then wrap breads in a large kitchen towel (this will keep the breads soft). When first half of the dough has been rolled out and baked, repeat for rest of dough, or store in refrigerator for later use, as described above. You can also divide the dough into more, smaller pieces if you wish, to give you smaller breads.

Chicken with 20 Cloves of Garlic

From Kraft Food & Family magazine Spring 2009 pg 29

Prep 5 minutes
Total: 20 minutes

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
20 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup Caesar dressing
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook 4 minutes,turning chicken after 2 minutes.

Stir in broth and dressing;cover with lid. Cook chicken 4 minutes on each side or until done (165 degrees)

Sprinkle with Parmesan. Remove from heat. Let stand covered 1 minute.

Serving suggestion: roasted vegetables

Midnight Brownies

From Dr. Oz show 1-6-10


Brownies

Ingredients

1, 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

½ cup agave syrup

½ cup self-rising flour

½ cup egg whites

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a food processor, mix all brownie ingredients (except chips) together. Chop on high, until smooth. Clean off sides and blend for another 20 seconds. Add the chips in and stir well. Spread into the 8x8 baking dish. Cook for 20 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for about 1 hour in dish at room temperature.

Frosting

Ingredients

6 oz fat-free cream cheese

¼ cup agave syrup

2 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp semisweet mini chocolate chips, melted.



Directions

Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly spray a 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. With a whisk attachment on an electric beater and blend all ingredients until light and fluffy. Spread evenly over the top of the cooled brownies. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the 2 tbsp of chips with a 2 second spray of nonstick cooking oil. Using a spoon, swirl the chocolate on top. Allow it to set in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy. Don't forget to have seconds!

Artisan Bread

From Well Tell Me

So.............here is the Artisan bread we have been using.
In a bowl, bucket,whatever:
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp salt
6 1/2 cups flour (all purpose is fine but you can play with this and add fresh ground and even herbs etc.)
3 cups warm water
You stir this together until it is all moist and there are no dry clumps.
Let it sit on the counter for 2 hours. It is really moist!
To form----------sprinkle with flour and take a piece of dough the size of a grapefruit----------sprinkle your hands and the dough with flour to prevent sticking. (The hardest thing about this is that I wanted to work the flour into the dough so it wouldn't be sticky. You really don't need to, just sprinkle flour on and form the dough into a round bun shape.)
Put your dough on a cookie sheet or pizza peel that is liberally coated with course corn meal or course flour. Let it raise for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the loaf with a light dusting of flour and slash a couple of times.
About 20 minutes into the raising time pre heat your oven to 450 degrees. If you use a baking stone it should be put in the oven to pre-heat. Also place a pan in the over to hold water.
After the 40 minutes slide the dough unto the heated stone in the oven and put 2 cups of water into the pan that is in the over. This steams the bread and causes a hard crust. Bake about 30 minutes. I guarentee the whole loaf will be gone in no time at all!
This recipe make 4 med. round loaves. The rest of the dough can be put in the fridge for up to 10 days. When you want fresh bread take out a chunk, form and let raise 40-90 minutes (because the dough is cold) and bake like above. HTH Sorry this is so long.