I Am of the Persuasion

… that Sweet & Sour sauce makes any food better, like turkey sandwiches, broccoli, scrambled eggs, etc…

Mmmmmmmmmmm….

Food Rut

This is my new food rut…

Dried cranberries.

Cereal.

Almonds.

Crackers.

100 calorie packs of popcorn.

Yogurt.

Carrots.

Apples.

I’ll confess to getting supremely bored with these selections.  Looks like it’s time to move home, Momma!  haha

Jim Gaffigan on Bacon

The link… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nT9P8MMpsE&NR=1

Philadelphia 3-Step Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Ingredients:

- 2 pkg. (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp. vanilla

- 2 eggs

- 3/4 cup prepared or refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, divided

- 1 Honey Maid Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.) <- (or make your own; so easy and so much better!)

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F.  Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Add eggs; mix just until blended.  Remove 1/2 cup of the dough; drop by teaspoonfuls into batter.  Stir gently.

POUR into crust.  Top with level teaspoonfuls of the remaining 1/4 cup cookie dough.

BAKE 40 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool.  Refrigerate 3 hours or over night.  Garnish as desired.  Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Makes 12 servings.

Cookbook and Recipe Cards. Lincolnwood, IL: Publications International, 2009. Print.

*P.S.  You can also make a cookie crust which is what the one in the picture has, instead of a honey graham pie crust.  Do whatever suits you!

Creamy Stuffed Pastry Bites

Ingredients:

- 4 oz. (1/2 of 8 oz. pkg) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

- 1/2 cup finely chopped cooked turkey or chicken

- 2 green onions, sliced

- 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh parsley

- Salt and black pepper

- 1 pkg. (17 1/4 oz.) frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

- 1 egg

- 1 Tbsp. milk

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees F.  Mix cream cheese, turkey/chicken, onions, and parsley until well blended.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

PLACE pastry sheets on cutting board.  Cut out 22 circles from each pastry sheet, using a 2-inch round cutter.  Beat eggs and milk with wire whisk until well blended.

SPOON 1 tsp. of the turkey/chicken mixture onto center of each pastry circle.  Brush edge of pastry with egg mixture.  Fold pastry in half to completely enclose filling; press edges together to seal.  Place on baking sheet; brush tops with remaining egg mixture.

BAKE 12-15 minutes of until golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Makes:  22 servings, 2 pastry bites each.

Sweet & Sore

I don’t really eat sweets anymore.  Isn’t that interesting.  I don’t even miss it either.  Just stopped buying all that stuff when I moved here, with the stipulation that if I really want it, I will go out and buy it at the time.

I never have.

The other night I was at a Christmas party and got a plate of “regular” food.  Then just never actually got dessert.

Like I said, I don’t miss it at all.  And it’s not that I can’t eat that stuff.  I can whenever I want.  Now I just don’t. Practically, by chance.  I mean, any day now I might want it and go to Cold Stone.  I just haven’t thus far and don’t really need or want to either.  Isn’t that interesting.

When I want something sweet I eat dried cranberries.  And that works quite nicely for me.

By the way, I must be getting sick.  Have had a headache for most of the last week and a  sore throat for going on three days.  Isn’t that interesting.

Oatmeal Raisin Scone

Mmm… my taste buds are still drunk with delight after sampling the dough from this delicious thing, which is currently browning itself to perfection in the oven…

Oatmeal Raisin Scone

2 c. flour

2 c. oats

1/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1  1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. backing soda

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

Mix above ingredients together.

Add:  1  1/2 sticks melted butter, 1/2 c. milk, 1/2 c. orange juice, 1 egg, 1 t. vanilla

Stir in 1/2 cup (or however much you want) raisins (or chocolate chips or whatever you want).

Bake in greased pie pan at 310 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour.

Yay!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made these yesterday.  Recipe courtesy of Bethenny Frankel…

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups oat flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/3 cup chocolate chips

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/3 cup soymilk

1/2 cup banana puree (1 medium-size banana)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1)  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.  Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, until well combined.

2)  Use a medium-size ice cream scoop or a large spoon to scoop batter onto a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.  Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through cooking, or bake until the edges of the cookies are light brown.

Makes 12 cookies.

My Diet

My diet consistents mainly of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and occasionally white meat.  I eat more vegetable soup than any human being should be allowed.

And There Was the Ice Cream

Today I opened the freezer door to grab a bag of frozen peas, but when I looked in the first thing I saw was the ice cream.  Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream.  It looked surprised to see me, but I just pretended like I didn’t see it so it wouldn’t say anything to me.  I hate it when that happens. 

Then I grabbed the bag of peas and closed the door, without even  bothering to look back.