Chocolate-Peanut Butter Smoothie

This chocolate-peanut butter smoothie doesn't have to be dessert; it can be a quick and energizing breakfast as well. I made it in no time flat tonight, and it was delicious! Despite sounding rich and fattening, it is more nutritious than not, especially if you follow the directions to use unsweetened cocoa powder and low-fat or nonfat yogurt. Our peanut butter does not have any added sugars, so that is an added bonus: protein and flavor with less sugar. Yogurt has active cultures that keep the intestinal tract healthy, and the calcium can help maintain a trim waistline. Despite what our skinny culture tells us, everyone needs fats, and these ingredients provide some healthy fats.

Ripe banana, 1

Milk, 1/2 cup

Creamy peanut butter, 1 1/2 TBS

Unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 1/2 TBS

Vanilla low-fat or nonfat yogurt, 1 cup

Peel and break banana into chunks.

In a blender, combine banana, milk, peanut butter, and cocoa. Process until mixture is smooth.

Add yogurt and process until mixture is thoroughly blended.

Pour smoothie into 2 tall glasses and serve at once.

Calories:260 Carbs:34 g

Protein:12 g Fat:10 g

Cholesterol:10 g Fiber:4 g

Sodium:160 g

From the book Eat Well

Pesto Spaghetti Squash

Many times I make concoctions for dinner from ingredients needed to be used or to clean out the fridge. Sometimes they are a success; other times, not so much. Tonight's was definitely a success!

1 spaghetti squash

1 package of pesto mix, or about 1/3-1/2 cup homemade pesto

1/4-1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2-1 cup mushrooms, sliced

Bread crumbs

Italian seasoning

Cut the spaghetti squash in half length-wise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard. Place facedown in a baking dish, with just enough water to coat the dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, or until tender. Let squash cool, then take a fork and scrape the flesh out along the length of the squash. It comes out looking like "spaghetti". Put squash in a mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, sautee mushrooms in olive oil. If using a mix, make the pesto. Mix bread crumbs with some olive oil, enough to bring the crumbs together, but not enough to make them soggy. Add a TBS or so of Italian seasoning, and a dash of salt and pepper. (I would have also added freshly grated parmesan cheese at this point, if I had some.)

Mix squash, pesto, ricotta cheese, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Spread in a 9X9 baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumb mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until heated through and until bread crumbs are golden brown. Enjoy!

Baked Nectarines with Granola

The last time I published something on this blog was on my birthday, eight months ago! Part of the reason is that Kimball keeps me busy, and I definitely try out new things much less frequently since he's been born. I think I also just didn't want to be bothered with taking and posting pictures of the food, so I won't worry about that too much anymore. Just imagine breathtakingly beautiful dishes, and that will suffice.

Last night I made only a so-so dinner (out of a box...gasp!), so to make up for it, I decided to make dessert, which I rarely do. I thought we had two peaches in the fridge, but they turned out to be nectarines. In the end, I don't think it mattered. This dessert can be made with nectarines, peaches, and probably even plums or apples. Just something that is somewhat firm to begin with. It's really fast and simple. Jordan and I loved the results!

Baked Nectarines (or whatever you've got on hand) with Granola

Fruit, cut in half and pitted (but not peeled)
Butter
Brown sugar
Water
A sweet type of granola
Whipped cream

Half your nectarines and scoop out the pits, leaving a little basin in the middle of each half. Place the fruit halves in a baking dish, skin side down. Add a dab of butter to each little basin in the fruit, and sprinkle a little brown sugar over the fruit. Fill the bottom of the baking dish with just a few tablespoons of water.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes (I suppose time will vary depending on the fruit you use. Just make sure the fruit is cooked and tender before you take it out.) Put a small amount of butter in a pan with the granola. Heat for just a few minutes, until the butter has melted and has coated the granola.

After you take out the fruit, sprinkle the granola over it. Top the hot fruit with some whipped cream, if you desire. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Cornbread

Butternut squash adds flavor and moisture to this classic buttermilk cornbread.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup stone-ground cornmeal or white cornmeal
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup cooked mashed butternut squash
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Grease or spray an 8-inch square baking pan or deep-dish pie plate. Heat oven to 375°.

In a mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, 1/2 cup of the buttermilk, squash, and vegetable oil. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients; mix until well blended, adding more buttermilk if needed. Batter will be thick, but easy to stir by hand. Spread batter in the prepared baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until nicely browned.

White Chocolate Creme Brulee Cheesecake

There are two major parts to this cheesecake. First the cheesecake and then the creme brulee. The problem is that they really need to bake at about the same time since their baking times overlap and the creme brulee needs to be applied to the top of the cheesecake before either of them are completely done.

For the crust I use:

1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (7 ounces)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted.

Finely grind almonds and crumbs in a food processor and add butter, blending until combined. Press over bottom and 2/3 up side of a 10-inch springform pan.

I then preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

For the fillings I use:

1 1/2 cup of fine-quality white chocolate
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 whole large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon of almond extract

Melt chocolate in double boiler or a large metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring until smooth, and remove from heat.

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy, then beat in sugar. Add whole eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, beating well at low speed and scraping down bowl after each addition.

Beat in flour and vanilla until just combined, then add melted chocolate in a slow stream, beating until filling is well-combined. Bake in the middle of the oven until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still wobbly when pan is gently shaken, 40 to 45 minutes. This needs to be baking at about the same time as the creme brulee.

For the creme brulee I use:
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of almond extract
1/2 cup of dark chocolate, chopped
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon sugar
4 to 6 tablespoons cane sugar, for topping

Mix the cream and vanilla and almond extract together in a double boiler. Heat the mixture for 10 to 15 minutes and stir in the chocolate.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour the chocolate cream into the egg mix, continuously whisking. Place the bowl over simmering water until the cream mix thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 6 to 8 minutes. Pour into 4 (4-ounce) custard dishes. Place in a large baking pan and add enough water to come up halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake along with the cheesecake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the water and and then gently spoon the chocolate custard on to the top of the cheesecake. Smooth it out over the entire surface of the cheesecake. Then bake together for 10-15 minutes. Then let it stand and cool. After it as cooled down (about and hour or two) sprinkle the top of the custard with about 3/4 cup of refined sugar, or just until it has smoothed other the entire cake. Then broil until the sugar begins to boil and slightly brown. Remove from oven and let it cool for three-four hours.

When that is done take 1/2 cup of melted white chocolate (from the double boiler) and pour it over the creme brulee crust. Then take magic chocalate fudge shell and drizzle it over the white chocalate. Top with berries if you desire. Have fun and don't eat this too often...it would probably kill you.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

One day Jordan decided that since he liked both pecan pie and pumpkin pie, he wanted to find a recipe that combined them! So we found one online. A yummy holiday (or anytime) dessert!

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, divided
• 1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1/2 ts ground cinnamon
• 1/4 ts ground ginger
• 1/8 ts ground cloves
• 2/3 cup karo light or dark syrup
• 2 tb butter, melted
• 1 ts vanilla
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 prepared deep dish pie crust*

Preheat oven to 350.

*If using a frozen pie crust, do not thaw; preheat a baking sheet in the oven and place the pie on the cookie sheet to bake.

In small bowl, combine one egg, pumpkin, 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Spread in pie crust.

In medium bowl, beat remaining two eggs, slightly. Stir in corn syrup and remaining 2/3 cup sugar, the butter and vanilla; stir until well blended. Stir in pecans. Carefully spoon over pumpkin mixture.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until filling is set around edge. Cool pie completely on wire rack.

Black Bean and Pineapple Enchiladas

This is a recipe I just kind of made up. I think it's really yummy, and I like how healthy it is. It's also so easy. I think every time I make it the amounts of the ingredients change a little bit, but here is the recipe as best as I can write it down:

6 whole-wheat tortillas
1 14 oz can green enchilada sauce (mild)
1 8 oz can salsa verde
1 can low-sodium black beans
1 can pineapple tidbits
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1-2 TBS cilantro, chopped
1 small bunch of green onions/scallions, chopped

Black pepper, to taste

Ground cumin, to taste

1 cup monterey jack or mozzarella cheese, grated

In a bowl, mix the chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, chopped green onions, pepper, ground cumin, and drained pineapple. Drain the can of black beans and pour most of them into a strainer to rinse off the salty liquid. Mash the remainder of the beans in the can to make them kind of pasty. Add all the beans to the bowl. Add just a little bit of the enchilada sauce, a tablespoon or so, and mix.

Fill each tortilla with a few large spoonfuls of the filling, roll them up, and put them seam side down in a 9X13 inch baking dish. You should be able to fit 6 enchiladas in the pan, which should use up all of the filling. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce and the salsa verde over the enchiladas. Bake, covered with foil, in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle the grated cheese over the enchiladas, and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes or so. Let the enchiladas sit for a few minutes before dishing up.