I forgot where I was going with this….

I put some recipes here for your enjoyment. And also so my mom and sister will stop calling me every five minutes for the recipe I’ve emailed them 40 times already. My sister loses the gooey butter cake recipe AT LEAST once a month. ;)

Prunes: You can use baby food pureed prunes (plums) or I take prunes, soak them in boiling water (just barely cover the prunes) and then puree them slowly adding the water you soaked them in until they are the texture of pudding. If you leave the prunes chunky or not pureed enough, they might possibly be detected. I usually use between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup. You can add a little more flour (up to 1/4 cup) if you find the cookies spread too much.

Easy 3 minute microwave fudge (It’s low in fat and calories compared to regular fudge):

1 can fat free condensed milk (NOT evaporated)
18 ounces semi sweet chocolate (or 3 cups of chips)
pinch of salt
1.5 tsp. vanilla
1- 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme (I used Kraft Jet Puffed)

As always, the higher the quality of chocolate that you use, the better the fudge. Chocolate chips will work but try to use at least Baker’s Semi Sweet Squares. Microwave milk, chocolate and salt for 1.5 minutes. Stir. Microwave 30 more seconds and stir again. Keep alternating stirring and checking every 30 seconds until mixture is smooth. It takes  less than 3 minutes in my microwave. If you microwave it too long or microwave without stirring, the chocolate will seize and it will be ruined. When chocolate is melted stir in vanilla and marshmallow creme. Pour into greased (with butter) 8×8 pan. Refridgerate until set. This doesn’t need to be refridgerated once it is set. Cut into squares and serve. Serves 18 (approximately 2×2 inch pieces in 11×7 pan- 238 cal per piece. 5 points weight watchers.)

Enjoy!

Chocolate Brownies (Lowfat version using prunes)

4 eggs
1 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter MELTED
Pureed Prunes (puree 1/2 c. prunes with 3-4 TBSP. of hot water. Let prunes soak in hot water until soft first. Puree until smooth and the texture of yogurt. You may need extra water.) or 1/2 cup + 2TBSP prune baby food
2 c. Ghirardelli ground chocolate
1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped semi sweet chocolate (I used schokinag baking chunks from whole foods). You can omit this for lower calories.

Stir with a spoon: eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add melted butter and mix thoroughly. Add prunes and stir. Sift together flour, chocolate, baking powder and salt and add to mixture. Mix thoroughly again. Add chocolate chips and mix. Grease 13″x 9″ pan and bake at 350 degrees until toothpick in the center comes out clean. (about 40 minutes or so)

Protein Smoothie: (One serving)

1 scoop high quality, microfiltered vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 cup vanilla nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup lowfat or nonfat milk
1 handful of strawberries
1/2 medium banana
ice

Blend until smooth. 4.5 points Weight Watchers.

Orange Julius tasting smoothie: (This makes 3 servings, not one)

2 scoops (4TBSP) Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
1/4 tsp. orange extract
3/4 cup Orange Juice (not from concentrate!)
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup egg beaters or pasteurized egg substitute
2 cups (heaping) of ice

Blend well. Makes 3 servings. 3 points Weight Watchers. My kids like to add 1 large overripe banana, but that ruins the whole Orange Julius taste. Add (WW) one point per serving if you use bananas. 

Chocolate Protein Shake- 1 serving

1 scoop high quality, microfiltered chocolate whey protein powder
1/2 cup lowfat milk
2 TBSP fat free evaporated milk
1/4 cup egg beaters (pastuerized egg substitute)
ice 1-2 cups

Whip all ingredients except ice for a about 2 minutes- until fluffy and lighter colored. Add ice. 4 points weight watchers.  30 grams protein

Drinking Chocolate:

Sorta like hot chocolate but WAY better. It’s like drinking a liquid candy bar.

Beau requested this recipe and since I make it like I make everything else (my grandmother or mom taught me and I don’t have a recipe) I’ll have to write approximates.

For one person:

1/2-1 TBSP butter
1 can evaporated milk
Chocolate to taste*
1/2- 1 tsp vanilla
marshmallows (to soften and sweeten the intense chocolate taste)

*I use whatever I have on hand. Probably the best choice is Schokinag Triple Chocolate (available at Whole Foods and other specialty markets) and I buy the triple chocolate. I use A LOT of chocolate like 2/3 cup or so, maybe more. The more chocolate you use, the darker and richer the flavor. Also full fat evaporated milk is richer than fat-free but you can use either. If you make it too chocolaty, you can add a little regular milk to make it less intense. I also will use unsweetened chocolate like Scharffen burger cocoa and add sugar. You could even use plain old Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa but it’s not as good. Chocolate quality makes a difference. Don’t use sweetened cocoa like Ghiradelli, it always comes out too sweet and never develops that rich chocolate taste. The ratio probably ends up about 2 parts chocolate to 1 part sugar, or maybe a little more. You’ll have to taste it since I was unprepared for Beau’s request.

On the stove, melt butter, pour in milk then whisk in chocolate until melted and steaming. Remove from heat, add vanilla, stir and enjoy. You do not need to boil this. If you boil it, you will probably burn it. If you use powdered cocoa you’ll have to whisk constantly until it’s hot and steaming to keep from getting bitter tasting lumps. Enjoy!

Waffles From Scratch:

Sift together: 3 cups of flour, 1 Tbsp. Baking Powder (brands such as Rumford that contain no aluminum taste better), 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 Tbsp. Sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt. Organic ingredients taste better as well. Now beat 2 eggs in separate bowl (this is important for light, fluffy waffles) with a whisk. You will need 3 cups of buttermilk (fresh tastes much better than powdered and is fluffier) and 2/3 cup shortening. Cut the shortening into the dry  ingredients then add the buttermilk and eggs and mix. Batter will be lumpy. Grease your waffle iron and follow the manufacturer’s directions. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Cherry Brownies with Fudge Icing:

A serious death by chocolate- no it’s not low cal!

4 eggs

1 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup butter MELTED

2 c. Ghirardelli ground chocolate

1 1/3 c. flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips or chopped semi sweet chocolate (I used schokinag baking chunks from whole foods)

1 20 oz can cherry pie filling

1 tsp almond extract

Stir with a spoon: eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add melted butter and mix thoroughly. Sift together flour, chocolate, baking powder and salt and add to mixture. Mix thoroughly again. Add chocolate chips and mix. Then add cherry pie filling and almond extract. Mix thoroughly but carefully trying not to break up the cherries.

Grease 13″x 9″ pan and bake at 350 degrees until toothpick in the center comes out clean. (about 40 minutes or so)

For fudge icing:

2 c. sugar

10 TBSP butter

2/3 cup evaporated milk (full fat NOT fat free)

12 oz semi sweet chocolate (2 cups) (I used a mixture of the schokinag chunks again and some organic chocolate chips)

In sauce pan over medium heat, combine sugar, butter and milk. Stir constantly. When it reaches FULL ROLLING BOIL, boil for 1 minute more stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips, stirring until smooth.Pour over partially cooled brownies. Allow entire dessert to cool completely then cover with saran wrap.

Most of the ingredients were organic which makes a difference in taste. (The ground chocolate, chunks and pie filling were not.)

TDF Death by Chocolate Chunk Cookies- Lower Fat version

I tried the death by chocolate cookies again with prunes to lower the fat. OMG TDF!!!!! You gotta soak the prunes in boiling water first to soften them up then put them in the food processor with the water until they are the consistency of baby food. (You could also use baby food- the first foods and they call them plums now not prunes.) I had to add quite a bit of water (like completely cover them in water to soak) to get them the right consistency, like thin pudding or yogurt. Tonight I also used a higher quality chocolate for the “chunks” (Scharffen Berger). So here’s the recipe modified for lower fat and better chocolate. You can also just use 16 squares of Baker’s Semi Sweet Chocolate if you wish.

8 squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate,

8 oz. Scharffen Berger 70% dark chocolate
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 T.  butter or margarine

1/4 cup prune puree
2 eggs or 1/2 c. egg beaters
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coarsely chop 8 oz. of the Scharffenberger chocolate; set aside. Microwave the 8 squares Baker’s semi sweet chocolate in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted and smooth.Stir in sugar, butter, prune puree, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour and baking powder. Stir in reserved chopped chocolate. Drop by 1/4 cupfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until cookies are puffed and feel set to the touch. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. ( I usually have to bake them a little longer.)This recipe for Baker`s One Bowl Death By Chocolate Cookie makes 1.5 dozen. As a chocolate connoisseur, trust me, I would not steer you wrong. These cookies are incredible. I’m not a big cookie fan, so when I say these are to die for, they truly are.

Soda Cake:

Ok, the verdict is in on the soda cake. (Low calorie and virtually fat-free or fat-free cake made from a can of soda and a box of cake mix.) Tina and I (and the taste testers) give it two thumbs up. I made Orange Dreamsicle cake.  I used a box of Duncan Hines white cake mix. Instead of using a can of Fanta or something (I don’t buy those kind of sodas) I used a can of the Santa Cruz Organics Tangerine Sparkling Beverage. Since I knew it wasn’t full of syrupy additives, I added 1/2 tsp of almond extract and 1/2 tsp of orange extract. This resulted in an awesome orange cake flavor. You might want to add a few drops of food coloring to give an orange color because the Santa Cruz Organic Sodas aren’t full of dye either. The cake was outstanding. I had family coming over and I tried it out on young and old alike and from the 5 year olds to the 70 year olds, it was a hit.I tried to keep with the fat-free theme for the icing so I made a batch of icing from powdered sugar, lemon and orange juice, vanilla, almond and orange extract and some meringue powder. I didn’t use a recipe so I have to give you approximates on that icing. I used about 1/2 bag of powdered sugar, maybe 1-2 TBSP of lemon juice, probably about 1/3 cup of orange juice- maybe more- enough to make it the right texture, 1/2-1 tsp vanilla, almond and orange extract, and about a TBSP or two of the meringue powder. You whip it for a little less than 10 minutes or so, until the icing has become light and fluffy. You must keep these muffins in a airtight container or the icing will dry out and harden. Tina used Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake and a can of Diet Cherry Coke. Tina reports: Ok, the cupcakes were a HIT. Dang good and no oil added. I am thoroughly satisfied with the experiment. The girls dipped them in cool whip and they thought they died and went to heaven. SO cute. As for the diet soda- my mom is a dietitian and said she thought that when aspartame is heated it turns to wood alcohol and should not be eaten. So use diet soda made with Splenda.I have to make a birthday cake for my diabetic grandfather so I had to try another experiment to see if I could get the sugar count down without using diet soda. I also wanted to experiment with the line of cake mixes by Dr. Oetkerthat are organic, with none of the junk like the regular cake mixes. These cake mixes contain no hydrogenated oils or any fat for that matter.  The challenge here became that if these cake mixes don’t have all the chemical stabilizers like Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines, will the soda cake still work? I decided to experiment and make a lemon flavored cake. I became very concerned that since the mix had no fat in it that it would not work. So I decided to add an over ripe banana to compensate for that. (This is food science at it’s finest here, people!) I used a box of the vanilla cake mix, 1 medium over ripe banana,  1 can of RW Knudsen Light Spritzer Lemonade(only 60 calories a can with 15 grams of carbs- not diet but it contains no artificial sweeteners- Knudsen makes a line of sodas with juice and sparkling water- an excellent alternative to soda), 1/4 tsp orange extract and 1 tsp lemon extract. I made cupcakes again and they were unbelievable. The banana made them so moist- even more moist than the orange ones I made. It does have a mild banana flavor, but it tastes like an excellent lemon cake. Son #1 ate his with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. I tried mine with a squirt of low calorie whip cream (remember I was going for diabetic cupcakes here with the added benefit of low calories.) I admit that the batter on these had me concerned because it was very runny, but the result is excellent and it appears you can use soda on any type of cake mix.I tried the chocolate flavor Dr. Oetker next with a Cherry Light Spritzer. I added a little bit of pureed prune (2-4 TBSP.) to compensate for the lack of fat. Use egg beaters for the eggs and add 2-3 tsp of almond extract. All in all, I’m happy to report that soda cake is a resounding success. My aunt says she has a recipe for soda cake from scratch so I’m waiting for her to send it to me so I can try that one too. I’m excited about being able to make cake for dieters and diabetics alike! Enjoy!GRILLED ARTICHOKES

Ingredients:
4   large artichokes
¼  cup balsamic vinegar
¼  cup water
¼ cup soy sauce
½ tsp- 1 tsp crushed garlic
¼  cup olive oil
salt, fresh ground pepper to taste

Method:

• Slice artichoke tops off, crosswise. Trim Stems.
• Boil or steam artichokes until bottoms pierce easily, or a petal pulls off easily.
• Drain artichokes. Cool. Cut each artichoke in half lengthwise and scrape out fuzzy center and any purple tipped petals.
• Mix remaining ingredients in a large plastic bag. Place artichokes in the bag and coat all sides of the artichokes. For best flavor marinate in the mixture overnight in the refrigerator but should marinate at least one hour.
• Drain artichokes. Place cut side down on a grill over a solid bed of medium coals or gas grill on medium. Grill until lightly browned on the cut side, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn artichokes over and drizzle some of the remaining marinade over the artichokes. Grill until petal tips are lightly charred, 3 to 4 minutes more.
• Serve hot or room temperature

Half the fat, more fiber oatmeal cookies

You’re not going to believe this, but I read in my Vegetarian Times magazine that you can use canned great white northern beans to substitute for up to half the fat in baking recipes. I was skeptical because I’ve made black bean chocolate cupcakes before and they were ok hot out of the oven, but nasty little bricks the next day.

Tonight, I made oatmeal raisin cookies (the recipe on the Quaker Oats lid) and instead of 1 cup of butter, I used ½ cup butter and ½ cup of the beans (you put them in the food processor until they are pureed and creamed) and used it in place of the butter. The cookies were awesome. There was no discernible difference in flavor, texture or color. So you get ½ the fat and plenty more fiber. The cookies are awesome! Needless to say, I’m totally shocked. I tried substituting prune paste for half the fat in brownies and it was excellent. I recommend not telling people you made bean cookies or prune brownies though and just let them enjoy it.