Homemade Thin Mints

 

I was never a Girl Scout. Most likely because I'm pretty sure my mother didn't want to pick me up late after school.  But even though I never officially earned any badges, I probably should've given my love and devotion for their cookies. I may have been known to consider a sleeve of frozen Thin Mints or a couple rows of Caramel de Lites a well-balanced dinner. (P.S. They call Caramel de Lites "Samoas" out here- weird.....)

And guess what?! Its Girl Scout Cookie Season!!! (also known as the fifth season, snuggled in between Winter and Spring.  And you thought there were only four seasons a year.....)  But I'm sorry- I don't care how cute you look in your little sash and beret- $6 a box is flippin' insane! Solution: Convince yourself that "I could totally make these myself!"

I mean, there's a reason why those little chocolate and mint crunchy morsels are the Girl Scout's best selling cookie.  They're sheer perfection.  And the thought of having then at my disposal at all times of the year? Consider me a happy girl :)

Now it wasn't easy- took THREE tries and A LOT of patience but I got there.  There were a couple of recipes floating out there on the interwebs, but after two attempts of one's I found, I learned that if you want cookies done right, you gotta do it yourself.


The result- Pure chocolate and mint heaven....

Turkey Gyros

I came across a Greek Turkey meatball recipe and was so excited to try it.  I love gyros and haven't had one for years.  Plus I loved that it used ground turkey.  Unfortunately wasn't a great success.  The flavors were pretty bland and it texturally didn't work too well.  But it gave me the idea to more or less make a turkey meatloaf that I could shave and then make it into a gyro.  Granted, its nothing like Uncle Pete's Gyros (if you're from my hometown, you know what I'm talking about), but it made for a pretty decent, homemade second.  Cucumber (tzatziki) sauce recipe came from Skinny Taste.com

How Long Is This Gonna Take:
About 30-45 minutes


But Is It Good For Me:
Makes 4 gyros, 9 points+ each


What You'll Need:
For the Cucumber (Tzatziki) Sauce:
Should be made beforehand

For the Gyros:

What To Do:
1. For sauce, prepared about 1 hour before you plan to eat.  Mix all sauce ingredients together and chill for 1 hour.

 2. For gyros, preheat oven to 500F.  In a bowl, mix turkey, onion, garlic, parsley, thyme, and S&P. In a large skillet (make sure its one you can also use in the oven!), heat EVOO on medium heat.  While oil heats up, form turkey mixture into 4 thin loaves, about 1/4 inch thick.


3.  Cook loaves until brown, about 1-2 minutes on each side.  Then place skillet into the oven and bake for 6-8 minutes. (I used a meat thermometer to ensure the loaves were completed cooked).

4. Right before the loaves come out of the oven, microwave pitas for about 15-20 seconds.  Remove turkey loaves from the oven and thinly slice (I recommend a serrated knife).  Assemble your gyro and top with cucumber sauce.

The Search for A Heathy Muffin

One of my best friends in the world has a serious problem- she LOVES Lifetime Original Movies.  I know....they're awful in every way, shape, and form.  But she doesn't care- if one is on, she's watching it.  Well, rewind about a year or so ago.  I'm sitting at home alone, Marshall's off somewhere, and I'm trying desperately to find something on one of the bazillion channels we get.  Of course there isn't anything, but somehow, I end up stopping on some Lifetime movie.  Kate would be so proud.....

::hangs head in shame::

I couldn't tell you a single thing about the movie.  Don't remember a thing about it.  But for some reason, one line has stuck with me.  Horrible, Washed-Up Actress #1 is comforting Horrible, Washed-Up Actress #2 because #2 got dumped by Terrible, yet Somewhat Handsome Actor #1.  In doing so, HWUA #1 brings over coffee and a muffin to HWUA #2.  But, not your normal muffin. 

No- its "One of those muffins that fools you into thinking you're only eating a muffin when it really has the same number of calories as a 16-ounce steak. "  And you know those muffins.  They're the size of your face, stuffed full of chocolate chips and nuts and they look and taste like heaven.  And I'll admit it, if I could have one of those babies regularly for breakfast without any negative impacts to my hips, I probably would.  But that is unfortuantely not the case.

So as an alternative, I wanted to find a muffin recipe that was fairly healthy but didn't taste like stale cardboard aka NO BRAN ALLOWED. 

I came across this recipe which was a standard, whole wheat muffin recipe.  However, it needed some piazz and that's where I come in.

So here's my answer to the staying away from the muffin-with-as-many-calories-as-a-16oz-steak muffin: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Mini Muffin

How Long Is This Gonna Take:

About a half hour or so, which includes the 10 minutes baking time

But Is It Good For Me:

This recipe makes 28 mini muffins, at 3 points+ per 2 muffins, but mine were pretty big. Could probably stretch to 36-48, at 1 point+ per each muffin.

What You'll Need:

What To Do:

1.  Preheat oven to 400F. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray or line with cups (I didn't due either due to my non-stick pans and lack of liner cups).

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder & salt.  In a small bowl, whisk together milk, banana & egg. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine.  Mix in chocolate chips.  

3.  Fill cups 2/3 full (I used my 2 tbsp cookie scoop. It made for a very full cup, but was incredibly easy and mess-free. I highly recommend getting one. The small one would've been better suited for this job though). Bake for 10 minutes or until it passes the toothpick test. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. 

 

A Valentine's Day Treat

I've never really been into Valentine's Day.  I'm one of these girls that will spend V-Day at a bar chowing down cheeseburgers and Irish nachos (Oh, Murphy's how I miss you....).  Not exactly what most people would call "romantic", but it works for me.

However, I do love a themed dessert.  However, I'm kinda currently "cup-caked" out and since last week was a brownie, I didn't want to do something chocolate.  However, I always bring my dessert creations into work (or send them off with Marshall), so its always best do make something that doesn't require cutting or a plate.

Soooo......

Cookies it is!  I've always loved those peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kisses on top.  And when I came across these heart-shaped chocolates in the store, I knew I had a winning idea.  However, most traditional PB cookie recipes include shortening, tons of sugar and flour, plus PB (duh!) which is incredibly high in fat.  Yeah- that definitely wouldn't be too WW friendly.  So I debated....could I really come up with a recipe that would a) bake up like a cookie b) be pseudo-diet friendly and c) actually taste good??

Well, I was going to try....

I researched several recipes and all kinda mixed-and-matched and hoped it came out decent.

How Long Will It Take:

About an hour total

But Is It Good For Me:

Well, not every dessert recipe is going to be an awesome diet success as the brownies. But that aren't too terrible.  Recipe makes 2 dozen cookies, 3 points+ per cookie

What You'll Need:

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Beat together the PB, egg, Splenda, and vanilla.  The add flour and mix until incorporated. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

2.  Roll into 1/2-3/4 inch balls and place on cookie sheets. Bake about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and immediately press a chocolate into the middle of each cookie.  Allow to cool on the sheet for a few mintues and then move to a wire cooling rack.

Good for You and Your Tastebuds Brownies

I was a searching the interwebs for a psuedo-healthy dessert I can make to bring to a Superbowl party and I kept coming across cake and brownie recipes that used black beans. Yeah, you read correctly- black beans....

I know- that was my first reaction too. DISGUSTING.

But, everyone who tried it raved about it, so I thought it couldn't hurt to give it a shot. (wow- 4 "it"s in one sentence...my honors English teacher would be so proud...)

Everyone had their own "recipe" so I thought I'd let my creative side take over and just wing it. Here's what I came up with: Healthified Mocha Brownies Cupcakes

How Long Is This Gonna Take:
About an hour and a half from start to finish


But Is It Good For Me?
The recipe makes 24 cupcakes, 3 points+ each. Not to bad considering its a frosted brownie :)

What You'll Need:

*Yes, I know the picture is of 4 TABLESPOONS of margarine, but after re-consulting several frosting recipes, only about 4 TEASPOONS is needed....sorry for any confusion!

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F (or whatever your brownie directions say). Drain and rinse black beans, but keep the can. Once well rinsed, put beans back into their can and then fill to the top with water. Put beans and water into a blender and puree until smooth. (Its not going to look pretty, but stay with me. DON'T LOSE HOPE)

2. In a bowl, mix together brownie mix, bean puree, and 2 tsp coffee granules. DO NOT ADD any other ingredients that the box says to add. Bake brownies as directed on box (I put mine into cupcake tins because they're easier to transport and serve that way. If you want to do yours like this, I used my 2 tbsp "cookie scoop" to fill the tins. They aren't going to be as thick as normal cupcakes, but you don't want that...these are brownies & an inch thick brownie I think would kill a person. Bake for 25 minutes). And just take a taste of some of the leftover batter- chocolatey, coffee goodness. Not a hint of black beans. And you doubted me....

3. While the brownies bake, dissolve 1 1/4 tsp instant coffee in hot water in a medium bowl. Add powdered sugar and margarine and mix until smooth. If too thick, add an additional 2-4 tsp of water. Spread over completely cooled brownies. (I piped mine onto the "cupcakes"). Add a slight dusting of cocoa powder on top if desired.

Caramel Cheesecake Brownies

So sit back and let me tell you the story of the time that Sarah created her own dessert. At work, someone had the fantastic idea to have a Dessert Challenge. Think Chili Cook-off, minus chili plus dessert-y deliciousness. There were 2 categories I could enter: fruit and/or chocolate. I'm not one for fruit-based desserts, so I went with chocolate. (Plus, its me....why wouldn't I do chocolate?!)

So I'm wracking my brain- do I do a cookie? a cake? a brownie? a cheesecake? oh- a cheesecake brownie...maybe. Oh, but a caramel brownie could be good too.... Wait a minute! What about a Caramel Cheesecake Brownie?? Now going into this, I knew it was either going to be awesome or awesomely horrible. You'll have to wait til the end to see how it turns out ;-)

How Long Is This Gonna Take:

About an hour to an hour and a half....perhaps a little less (mine took a long time to cook)

What You'll Need:

For the brownie layer:

1 boxed brownie mix, 9x13 size (no....I didn't make it from scratch)
egg, oil, etc called on browie box

For the caramel layer:

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 stick butter

OR

1 jar caramel ice cream topping for when your caramel doesn't come out right like what happened to me.....

For the cheesecake layer:

8 oz cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

I ended up doubling what was needed for the cheesecake layer because it looked like it wasn't going to be enough, but in the end that was a mistake- took FOREVER to bake. Make a single batch as above and if you end up needed more, maybe try a 1/2 batch

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven and mix brownies as directed on package. Set batter aside

2. Make the cheesecake topping by mixing cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, vanilla, and egg until nice and smooth. Set aside

3. Make the caramel by heating 1/2 cup sugar in a small pot until deep brown. Into the hot caramel, add butter and mix well, but be careful of splattering. Set aside. Mine turned into like a crunchy caramel brittle, but I was lucky because I had caramel topping on hand. Turned the brownies a little gooey, but it was ok

Thank You Hershey's!

4. Into a 9x13 pan, pour the brownie mix and level out smoothly. Then pour the still-hot caramel onto the brownie mix, spreading it as evenly as possible. Top with the cheesecake and spread evenly, making sure to get the corners. To make a design, drag a skewer or toothpick through all the layers, moving it up and down to slightly mix the layers. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting or serving.

This is it....the moment of truth.....it was

AWESOME. And I won ;)

My "Award Winning" Chili

A couple weeks ago, we had a chili cookoff at work. After my last attempt at chili, I got quite a bit of questioning from the "I don't like the taste of cooked tomatoes" Marshall. Now, I will say, the chicken chili was a bit of a looser chili, so there was a stronger tomato taste but dang, was he ever a non-believer :-P

Anywho, the chili I enter for the cookoff was a traditional ground beef chili. No beans, just beef, tomato sauce, beef broth and lots of spice :) And it took third place! Woohoo. And I didn't even use a recipe. Which yay for me except now I have to figure out how to recreate it. Hence a) why I'm making it again and b) why I chose to blog about it- document it for future re-creation.

How Long Is This Gonna Take:I made mine over the course of about 2 hours, letting it cook inbetween some spice additions. I'm not sure if this is necessary, but if you have the time (say a lazy Saturday afternoon), then it can't hurt.

What You'll Need:
2-2.5 lbs ground beef (lucky for me, 93/7 was on sale...you'll want to try to get the leanest possible)
1 tbsp granulated onion
1- 15oz can tomato sauce
1- 14oz can beef broth
5 tbsp chili powder, divided
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cumin, divided
1 tsp cayenne pepper, divided
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chipotle powder
2 cans of beans, drained, whatever you prefer (I used one can kidney, one can pinto)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained

What To Do:1. Brown ground beef along with granulated onion in a non-stick skillet. Drain.
2. In a large stock pot, combine beef with tomato sauce and beef broth. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. Add in 3 tbsp chili powder, garlic powder, salt, 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, black pepper, and chicken bouillon cube. Simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

4. Add in 2 tbsp chili powder, paprika, 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, chipotle powder, beans, and tomatoes. Add water if you want more liquid

5. Simmer, covered, for about another 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

6. Top with your favorite sides- I go with oyster crackers and a little shredded cheddar.

(sorry for lack of pictures...chili isn't too exciting to make.)