"Deceptively Delicious" Brownies

I recently checked out the cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld at the library.  As you can already tell, I've been baking and cooking with more vegetables or fruit and with fewer oils and fat.  This book is just what I need!  The cookbook uses vegetable purees in every recipe.  This one uses carrots and spinach.  There are popular recipes for zucchini brownies, which actually sounds better than using spinach.  Making the brownies was a pain.  First I cooked carrots and spinach, then pureed both (separately) in the food processor.  Then I needed to melt the chocolate, which I found easier just to do so in the microwave, not a double boiler, for just three ounces.  After that it was pretty easy to mix the ingredients together.  It baked for 40 minutes and it was done when I took them out!  That made me happy.  The taste is different.  The texture is strange, maybe because I didn't puree the vegetables to be creamy and smooth.  A lot of chocolate taste, but not a lot of moisture.  Not what I expected, but I can try other recipes from the cookbook.

Ingredients:
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
**I used 1 oz. 70% cocoa chocolate and 1/4 cup (= 2 oz.) of semisweet chocolate chips**
1/2 cup carrot puree
1/2 cup spinach puree
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
**This didn't mix well.  I guess it was still too cold**
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Break chocolate into pieces and melt in a microwave, stirring every 20 seconds until smooth.  In a large bowl, mix together melted chocolate, carrot puree, spinach puree, brown sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla.  Mix for 1 to 2 minutes until creamy.  Mix in two egg whites and add flour, baking powder and salt stirring with a wooden spoon.  Pour batter into the greased pan and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Cool completely.  Makes 12 bars.

Seinfeld also remarks that you must wait for the brownies to cool, or they will still have a spinach taste to them.  The featured nutritionist, Joy Bauer, informs us that each brownie is only 133 calories and has three grams of fiber!  Wow, that's impressive.

Recipe from Seinfeld, Jessica.  Deceptively Delicious. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. 156.

Rice Pudding

Last year I tried Rice Pudding for the first time.  I was instantly addicted until I had to wash the saucepan.  Yes, it is good but the clean up is not easy.  Maybe you'll have better luck at not burning the bottom of the pan.  This is a good dessert, breakfast or even dinner.

Ingredients and Method:
3 cups milk
1/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
dash of ground nutmeg

Pour milk into a medium saucepan.  Cook on medium high until just boiling, add rice.  Cover and cook over low heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When the mixture has a pudding consistency, stir in sugar and vanilla.  Dish up in dessert cups and sprinkle ground nutmeg on top.

Stirred together

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. "Saucepan Rice Pudding".  12th ed. Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Corporations, 2002. 256.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

It's getting into pumpkin season again.  This recipe looked good to me although I'm not sure if they'll be eaten up at the family party since there will be actual pie and a pumpkin roll (that I also made).  At least I'll get a little help eating it!  What I like about it is that it's on the healthy side and it tastes like pie without having to deal with a crust.

First part of three
Crust:
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter

Mix ingredients until incorporated, yet crumbly.  Press into 9x13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Second part of three
While the crust is baking, make the filling:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup honey or 3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

Thoroughly mix together and pour onto the baked crust.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Third part of three
Meanwhile, make the crumble topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 T butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix together to form a yummy, buttery, pecan mess.  After taking out the pan of the oven, sprinkle the topping over it.  Place bake into the oven for 20 minutes (or longer) until done.  Cool in the pan and cut into squares.

Recipe from Merrill, Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  Set for Life.  "Pumpkin Pie Squares".  Salt Lake City: Sunrise, 1995. 268-269.

Banana Drop Cookies II

I grew up on these cookies, but I decided to change them up a little.  Regardless, they are moist and sweet!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar {1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar}
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1-1/4 cup pastry wheat flour {or 1-1/2 cups}
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour {with 1 cup}
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts

Directions:
Combine shortening and sugar until clumpy then add eggs.  When these are incorporated into a smooth yellow mixture, add mashed banana.  Dump in flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla.  Mix together.  When most of the thick batter gets mixed together, pour in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Spoon batter in rounded balls onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake in pre-heated 375 degree for 10-12 minutes.  You'll probably get three dozen out of the recipe.  Since my cookies are both tiny and huge, I baked a total of 29.

That's how I made them today, but it'll probably change the next time that I make them according to what I have in the house!
{changes made 7/18/11}

Spaghetti Primavera

This is a great pasta dish if you feel for spaghetti, but not marinara sauce.  I found this recipe on the back of a soup can when I was looking for a dinner idea.  I had all the ingredients, so naturally I tried it out. Since then I've made it two more times.  The second time because I was having problems with acidity in tomatoes, and the third time (see photo below) because I thought it would make a good vegetarian pasta dish.

To Start:
1 can (10 3/4 oz) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 cup milk
3 T Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bag (16 oz) California-style frozen vegetables
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken [also good without]
1/2 pkg (8 oz) wheat spaghetti

How to Make:
Boil salted water in a medium saucepan.  Meanwhile, mix together soup, milk, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, frozen vegetables, and chicken in a small saucepan.  Heat until boiling then let simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, stirring frequently.  Add the uncooked spaghetti into the boiling water and cook according to directions (about 10 minutes).  Drain the spaghetti, put it back into the original saucepan and pour the sauce over the pasta.  Toss together and there you have a delicious pasta dish!

Another variation of Pasta Primavera!

Recipe from Campbell's Kitchen

Tuna (or Salmon) Quesadillas

This was a quick lunch that I made today.  I mixed together 1 can of tuna fish [canned salmon would also be good] with 1/4 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic salt (or to your liking), 1/2 tsp paprika (or to your liking), and 1 tsp onion powder.  It would also be tasty to saute garlic cloves in 1 tsp oil then stir in tuna/salmon with the spices.

After the tuna/salmon is mixed, spray a skillet with cooking spray and place down a (wheat) tortilla.  Heat over medium low.  Add 1/4 cup cheese, layer with the tuna/salmon mixture, and top with 1/4 cup cheese.  Put another tortilla on top of the cheese.  When the cheese has melted on the bottom, flip over.  It's done when the tortillas are crisp and cheese is melted.  The tuna mixture with a 7-ounce can made two quesadillas.

Experiment! "Kettle Corn"

I found a brilliant baking blog!  I wish that I had that creativity or even the ambition to make such cute things.  I was intrigued by their Kettle Corn.  Was it really that easy?  I so wanted to experiment!

First, as instructed, I got everything ready.  3 T vegetable oil, 1/3 cup popcorn kernels and 3 T sugar. 

kernels and sugar

On the stove, I poured 3 T vegetable oil in a big pot.  I waited until the oil heated up on medium high.  When I could see some faint smoke in the light, I knew it was hot enough.  Then I poured in the kernels and sugar.  As advised, I quickly stirred it around to incorporate everything.  A wooden spoon would work the best.  With the lid on and using a towel to hold the lid and handles, I shook the pot like crazy.  It must have been hot enough because kernels began to immediately pop!!  It's important to shake the pot, so the sugar doesn't stick to the bottom.

Popping in Progress-- I found my glass lid very helpful!

Almost done

 Hot!

 Dished it into a bowl using a big spoon

The unpopped kernels.  I found a couple in my bowl, though.

If you'd like, shake some salt onto the Kettle Corn (I don't think it's necessary though).  This took literally minutes to make.  It's good, but kinda too sweet.  Maybe 2 T sugar would be enough?  After I spooned the popcorn into a bowl, I thought it might have been a better idea to spread the popcorn out onto a baking sheet to cool down (popcorn balls, anyone?).  That would be the best approach if the popcorn is given as a gift.  This recipe has changed the way that I think of popcorn!

Tomato Brain Soup

Again, in the Halloween spirit, I made Tomato Brain Soup for the family.  It was fairly simple and brought lots of taste to the simple tomato soup can.  I doubled the recipe, for 7 people, and there was a lot of leftovers.

Served on Halloween night

What you need:
2 cans tomato soup
3 cups of water
2-3 stalks green onion
1 package roman noodles
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat tomato soup with water until boiling.  Turn down the heat and add green onions, roman noodles, garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Cook for 6-8 minutes until noodles are done.  Top bowls of soup with mozzarella cheese.  {If desired, broil the soup bowls briefly so the cheese turns brown.}

*Adapted from Pizza Brain Soup by George Duran
{edit: 9/24/11}

Candy Corn Milkshake

Here is my attempt at making a milkshake that is supposed to look like a candy corn:

What you need to try it yourself:
Blender, vanilla ice cream, ice cubes, milk, mango puree and raspberry puree

In a blender add 4 cups of crushed ice cubes, 4 scoops of ice cream, and 1 cup of milk and liquefy until it becomes a smooth consistency, pouring in more milk as needed.  Scoop out spoonfuls into chilled glasses. Pound the glass to even off the ice cream. Add 1/2 cup of mango puree into blender and blend until combined.  Scoop the yellow ice cream into the glasses.  Pound the glass against the counter to make the second layer even. Add 1/4 cup of raspberry puree (hopefully reaching an orange color) until combined.  Scoop the orange ice cream into the glasses, topping them off. 

*Recipe adapted by George Duran