Milky Way Brownies

I have a special place in my heart from brownies. I love them. A lot. I prefer brownies to cake and cookies. The perfect dessert.... a warm brownie with vanilla frozen yogurt on the side drizzled with chocolate sauce and a dollop of cool whip right on top. Now, my husband is well aware of the obsession I have with brownies. He is so good to me. He loves apple pie, crips, cake.... but a good portion of the time we are eating dessert it is some variation of a yummy brownie. I try to branch out for him and I do (made him his OWN apple pie this past weekend) but once and a while I NEED a brownie. I justify my addiction by making them low fat. They are so very g-o-o-d too.

When my mom was alive, EVERY weekend we would have dessert and watch a movie. Living a couple blocks from each other was such a blessing! Again, my dad and rex are very sweet to put up with us. I would make the brownies, they would bring the frozen yogurt (nonfat of course) and the dessert feast would begin. So many good memories. Around here we save dessert for the weekend. Probably because we go all out and i have to set some boundaries for myself :) So it is a special occasion. I made these and oh baby they were good! A fudge brownie on the bottom, smothered in caramel and peanuts, topped with a chocolate ganache. Yeah, I will be making these again. Sorry honey :)



Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 egg white or 1/2 cup egg beaters (i have been using egg beaters because it saves my eggs)
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
fat free caramel sauce
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts (more if you like:)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2-3/4 cup fat free half and half

1. Make up your brownies. Whisk together applesauce, sugar, vanilla, and egg whites. Add in your flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Mix until smooth and combined. Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish. You could always line your pan with foil and spray that if you want to pop them out and cut them. It is a bit prettier, especially if you are serving them to company....But if you aren't trying to take a picture or serving them to a crowd you can just pour all the yummy goodness right into the sprayed pan.
2. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until center is cooked in a 350 oven. When they are done let them cool for a about 20 minutes. Now what I did was after they had cooled for a bit I poked the brownies all over with a skewer and then drizzled the caramel topping all over until the brownies are covered. Yum. Next sprinkle your peanuts over the caramel. Ok, lets make ganache.
3.Very easy. Put your chocolate chips in a sauce pan and turn the heat to med-low. As the chocolate starts to melt add in 1/2 cup of the half and half. When everything is combined and smooth you can add a bit more half and half to thin out the chocolate. You are going to carefully drizzle the chocolate over the top of the brownies and WAIT for them to cool. Good luck it is really hard because they look soooo good! Cut and eat!

* With desserts that need time to cool or set I try to make in the afternoon or even in the morning. So after the kids are in bed.... those brownies are mine!

Big Soft Pretzels

I have been wanting to make homemade pretzels for a long time. I finally did it and I can't believe it took me sooo long. They were easy and so delicious! Seriously, we loved them and ate them for dinner one night with a big veggie platter and dips! It was a fun dinner and the pretzels were warm, chewy and had a nice salty bite to them. Amazing. Try them! This recipe is from Alton Brown and it got like a million 5star reviews...and now I know why!



Ingredietns:

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
kosher salt

Directions

1.Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

You could also brush with a bit of butter and sprinke cinnamon and sugar on them and dip them in a glaze. Yum! We dipped in mustard and had them plain, they were amazing!

Cheese Burger Sloppy Joes

My husband loves sloppy joes. Loves them. So, I decided to create a new version of the classic for him. Well, as I thought.... he loved it! Well here you have it....tangy sauce, cheeseburger toppings, all on a toasted bun, oh delish!



Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup ketchup
2-3 tablespoons spicy mustard
salt
pepper
chopped tomatoes
shredded lettuce
shredded cheese
sliced pickles
hamburger buns

1. This is so easy and great because it comes together really quick! First toss your onions in a non-stick skillet drizzled with just a teaspoon olive oil and cook over medium heat until they are a soft and translucent.
2. Next, add your ground turkey and crumble it into the onions. Cook all the way through. Add some salt and pepper. I like pepper, a lot.... so I added a little bit more. Time to add your condiments.
3.Add your ketchup and mustard and stir to combine. Add a splash of water to thin it out if it is a bit too thick. You want it to be nice and saucy. Now taste. Is it good? Add more mustard, ketchup, salt or pepper so it is just how you like it. Or don't touch it.... it is going to be delicious will all the toppings.
4. Toast your buns and top with your sloppy cheeseburger mixture. Right on topp add cheese, lettuce, tomato, and pickles and dig in!

*this is great with homemade french fries and fruit salad. Or in the summer, a nice juicy watermelon!

Glazed Baked Donuts

My husband started a mountain biking club at the high school where he works. So...what we have here is a bunch of high school boys riding around in the mud every other Saturday morning working up an appetite. I thought this is the perfect opportunity for me to try new recipes out on these boys. I mean they are high school boys. They will eat anything :) I made these a couple of weeks ago and they were a hit! I am pretty sure the plate came back with lick marks on it. They loved them and so will you!



Ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat free milk
2 beaten eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons melted butter (I used tub butter)

Glaze: 1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
(you want this glaze to be thin!)

Frosting: 1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons milk
(you want this frosting to be thick, spreadable, but thick so adjust according)

* DONUT PANS: ok, so you can use different pans for this recipe. I have a donut pan. I LOVE it. It is so much fun to use! I have seen them at walmart, target, target on-line, cooking stores, amazon..... If you want to make these without the pan you can use a mini muffin tin and they will be more like donut wholes. You could also use a mini bunt pan. Look for the dount pans.... the 12 bucks is totally worth it!

Directions:

1. In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla, and butter. Beat together until well blended.
2. Spray you pans with non stick spray. Pour all your batter into a storage sized zip lock bag. Snip the end and pipe the batter into the pans about half full. They get puffy. Just start in one spot and pipe around in a circle until you meet up with your batter.
3. Bake at 400 for 8-9 minutes until they spring back when touched. Give them a few minutes to cool before you put them on a cooling rack.
4. Now I did a double glaze for extra yumminess, but you could just frost them or you can dip them in the thin glaze. Totally up to you.
5. For the double glaze you dip both sides of the donuts into the thin glaze. Then but them back on the cooling racks for excess glaze to drip off. Once the glaze is cooled and hardened you can go ahead and frost them. Add sprinkles, nuts, chocolate chips, coconut....whatever you want!

Ham and Cheese Broccoli Roll-ups

This recipe is a spin off of a side dish that my mom used to make for us when I was a kid. I added the roll dough and a yummy sweet and spicy sauce and turned it into a main dish meal! It was soooo good. My husband and kids gobbled them right up. These will for sure be another dinner we will eat around here!



Ingredients:

1 batch of your favorite roll dough or refrigerated crescent roll dough (or Rhodes rolls thawed)
2-3 cups of trimmed blanched broccoli (how to blanch veggies at bottom)
sliced deli ham
sliced cheddar or Colby cheese
honey mustard sauce

Honey Mustard Sauce
1/3 cup light mayo
1-2 tablespoon spicy mustard
1-2 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper
I make the sauce with 1 tablespoon each mustard and honey and then taste it to see what I want to add more of. So just taste and adjust to your liking.

1. Divide your roll dough into 2 balls. I use my favorite roll dough that I make in the bread maker, but use any dough you want. Roll one of the balls out into a circle and you want the dough to be about 1/4 inch thick. Using your pizza cutter cut your dough into triangles. You should get 12 triangle wedges. Get all your toppings ready like this:




2. You are going to work with one triangle at a time. Spread a layer of sauce over your triangle of dough. Then at the wide end of the dough put a piece of cheese, top that with a folded piece of ham, and then top that with 2 pieces of broccoli. Like this:



3.Starting at the wide end again, roll up your filled dough and place on a sprayed and foil lined cookie sheet seam side down. Continue with the rest of your triangles. Now... that one ball of dough will make 12 broccoli ham roll ups, SO you can roll out your other dough ball and make another dozen or you can make a small batch of rolls (like I did). :) Totally your call. This is how all your roll-ups should look, yum!



4. Let those hang out for about 15 minutes and then pop them in a 375 oven for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. I cooked mine for about 10 minutes and they started getting brown so I covered them with foil and cooked them for another 10 minutes until they were cooked through. Eat with fruit salad or melon and you are good! You can use your extra sauce to dip in if you want, but they are pretty darn good right out of the oven! YUM!

HOW TO BLANCH BROCCOLI: Super easy and really good for meals like this or for even dipping veggies in dip or hummus. Blanching takes away the super crunch raw flavor of veggies, but still keeps them crispy and tender. All you do is bring a pot of water to a full boil. Drop your clean and trimmed broccoli in and boil 1 minute. Take off the heat and drop into a colander and run COLD water over the top of the broccoli to stop the cooking process. You can also drop your veggies into a bowl of water filled with ice for an ice bath..... but I do the cold water running over because it is easy and works. Anyway, that's it

Chicken Caesar Sandwhiches

I love sandwiches and burgers. They are so comforting and yummy. They always taste delicious with homemade french fries and fruit salad. This sandwich was right up there with all the deliciousness that it was. It has all the flavor of a yummy chicken Caesar salad....on a bun. So good and really really quick!



Ingredients: (yield 4 adults)

4 chicken breasts
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper
fat free Caesar dressing
romaine lettuce
4 toasted buns
extras for toppings: sliced tomato
sliced olives

1. First lets cook the chicken. Salt and pepper each side of the chicken breasts. Cook them over medium/high heat in a bit if olive oil in non-stick skillet until cooked through.
2. While the chicken is cooking, it is time to make the sauce. In a medium sized saucepan pour about 1/2 of your dressing (I know, super technical measuring here) and add the grated cheese. Stir that all together and keep on low heat to keep warm until your chicken is cooked. Once your chicken is cooked through, remove and shred. Add all your shredded chicken to your sauce. Stir in all together...yum.
3.Now at this point you can add more dressing if you like your chicken extra saucy. If you want to thin is our a bit add a touch of water. It's all up to you and your preference. You just want it all warm and mixed.
4. Ok, no toast your buns and add whatever toppings you like. I like mine with lettuce, sliced tomato, and sliced olives.
* add some fruit and homemade fries and you are set!

Mock Eclair Dessert

I got this recipe from Taste the Joy and I have been wanting to make it for forever!! Why I didn't make it earlier I am not sure but I finally did and it was amazing! Light and delicious with tons of sweet creamy flavor. This would be perfect for company, for your family, or maybe for you and your husband to eat all by yourselves....I am just saying it was really good and you all should make it this weekend!


Ingredients:

1 box low fat graham crackers
2 small boxes of french vanilla instant pudding (i used plain vanilla, that's all I could find and it was perfect!)
3 cups cold fat free milk
1 tub fat free cool whip

Frosting:

4 tablespoons cocoa
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons tub butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water

1. This comes together in no time. Place one single layer of graham crackers on the bottom of a 9x13. You can trim some of the crackers to make them all fit if you need too.
2. Mix your pudding and milk together. After that has set, fold in your cool whip. Pour half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top mixture with another layer of graham crackers. Pour the rest of the pudding on top of crackers. Ok, now put one more layer of crackers on top and set aside. Moving right along to making the frosting.
3. Cream your cocoa and butter together with a hand mixer. Add your vanilla and 1 cup powdered sugar. When it has come together add another cup and continue until all 4 cups have been added. Add water a little at a time until smooth and spreadable.
4. Spread on top of crackers and cover that baby and pop it into the fridge. YUM!!

Ok, now you MUST wait. The pudding soaks into those crackers and makes this dessert a dream, but you must wait. I suggest making it in the morning (like after breakfast early) so you can eat it after dinner. OR...... make it the night before and you will be set by the next day. Oh so good!