I am in love…

I am in love with Trader Joes!!!! Now I really understand what all the hype is about in the blog world. At home there is not one near me but at school there is!!! It’s a 20 minute drive which will be taken often after the success I had yesterday

 

I had to follow the trend and picked up a couple of things I have seen people rave about!

 

Look at the loot:

I am obsessed with anything pumpkin flavored!

 

This is seriously like pumpkin pie in a jar. So far I have used it on toast and in oats! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G ! Now I know what everyone has been raving about.

Another pumpkin YUM! This is great on yogurt .. Now I just need to find that Stonyfield pumpkin pie flavor yogurt .. I can’t find it at any store near me.. boo!

Can’t go wrong with these! .. Heavenly snack

Nut Butter lovin’ ! Mmmm My favorite is AB with an apple. I have also tried AB with carrots on a wrap. At first I was a little hesitant .. but of course it was tasty

Perfect salad topper. I tend like sweeter salads with walnuts and craisins for example.. and this mixes well with it! Stir fry anyone? .. I’ve been adding this to my veggies all the time! MMMmmm!

 

 

What are your favorite finds at Trader Joes?

Also.. anyone know where I can find that Stonyfield pumpkin pie flavor yogurt .. I’m dying to try it!

Just Pictures!

 

I wish I had more time to devote to this blog! Right now I am working at my internship at Sid Wainer & Son which is taking up a lot of my time. They have a specialty outlet with AMAZING products. Definitely check out their website

 

These are some pictures of things I have been making !

 

 

  

Information Station: Sweet Potatoes

 

I found another great article from CookingLight.com

I really love their magazine and website!

 

A little trivia: Sweet potatoes are related to the morning glory family, not the potato. People in the northern United States seem to prefer sweet potatoes with a more mealy consistency, while those in the South like their sweet potatoes with a more moist, sweet texture.

 

What they look like: There are two main varieties of sweet potato that are available commercially. The pale sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin and a pale yellow flesh. It’s not as sweet as its darker counterpart, which has a thick, dark orange skin and a bright orange flesh.

 

Selection tips: Look for sweet potatoes that are small to medium in size with few bruises and smooth skin.

 

Storage tips: For optimal storage for up to three or four weeks, keep your sweet potatoes in a dark, dry, and cool (around 55 degrees) environment. They keep best when not stored in the refrigerator, so if you can’t manage a naturally low temperature for them, try to use your stash within a week.

 

How to eat them: This versatile food may be used in a variety of ways, including boiling, baking, and sauteing. Some health food stores and restaurants are now making chips out of them as well.

 

Preparation tips: Sweet potatoes may be substituted for regular potatoes in almost any recipe. To peel a boiled sweet potato, just drain off the hot water and immediately submerge them in cold water.

 

Peak growing season: You should be able to find fresh sweet potatoes at any time during the year, though they may be more readily available in the cooler months. You may find canned and frozen sweet potatoes erroneously labeled as yams.

 

Health benefits: Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamins A and C. They are more nutritious if cooked in their skins.

 

Here are come great recipes to utilize sweet potatoes !

White Chocolate & Sweet Potato Cake

 

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Streusel

Sweet Potato Casserole

School is starting again !

 

I loveeeeeeee school! Just looking back on my first year at Johnson & Wales I really learned a lot!

This fall I am starting my paid internship and am so excited about it! I will be working a regular 9-5 type job 5 days a week in a test kitchen for the fall trimester.

It’s kind of a weird feeling to be back at school but not going to class. I will miss that first day of school excitement! (I know that may be weird ) haha

 

Here are some pictures of things I have made in class throughout the year

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe: Thick, Chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was on a mission to make nice big chewy cookies. Have you ever had trouble with cookies. Either they come out too flat and crispy or thick and hard. Sometimes they end up spreading into each other. I wanted to try and recreate the large cookies like you would get at Starbucks, or Panera. I wanted it so even after they were cooled off that they still had that nice chewy soft consistency.

 

Here are some helpful tips to achieving this

Tip #1: Let the eggs sit out on your counter until they get to room temperature as you are grabbing the other ingredients. By letting the eggs get to room temperature it gives maximum volume during baking. Also, it aids in mixing the batter. When cold eggs are added to a batter, it will create more clumps and lead to uneven distribution of ingredients.

Tip #2: When a recipe calls for butter, use stick butter. If you substitute margarine or oil for butter, chances are you’ll end up with flatter cookies, because they can contain more water than butter. If you substitute shortening, chances are your cookies will be more cakelike and won’t flatten as much as they should.  (source)

Tip #3 : Cookie sheets should be cool when the dough is loaded on so that the cookies don’t melt and start "baking" before they’re in the oven. Use at least two cookie sheets; one sheet should be off the stove and cooling while the other is in the oven. (source)

 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter flavored shortening (chilled, cut into slices)
2/3 cup unsalted butter (cut in chunks)
1 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup PACKED brown sugar
2 large eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE
2 tsp. real vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour (spooned into cups and leveled off)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (spooned into cups and leveled off)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips

You can also add is other things like: toffee chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, walnuts, pecans, craisin, raisins.. the list can go on forever.

 

Preheat convection oven to 375 degrees.

In stand mixer, cream the shortening, butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.

Combine the flours, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture.

  

Stir in the chocolate chips and any other additions.

Use a large tablespoon (or ice cream scoop like I used) to round dough into balls. Don’t roll the balls, just make them rounded.

Place them on a baking sheet. I used a stone, but if you use a regular baking sheet place parchment paper that is ungreased.

Bake 12-14 minutes in preheated oven. Don’t over bake. Slide parchment paper with cookies off of pan, and let pan cool before scooping out next batch.

 

 

Enjoy

Stuffed Peppers with Ground Turkey

 

Serving Size:  3

Ingredients:

• 3 bell peppers
• 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/8 cup onion
• 1/4 cup mushrooms
• 14 oz canned tomatoes
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon basil

Directions:

1. Clean peppers. Gently cut a whole in the top and remove all the inside and seeds. Boil for 4 minutes. Then shock them in cold water.

2. Cook turkey, garlic, onions, and mushrooms until tender.

3. Cook brown rice according to box directions. (I used 5 minute brown rice)

 

4. Add the tomatoes, rice, brown sugar, and basil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until most the liquid is absorbed.

5. Stuff the peppers. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

Tip: This recipe is great for different variations. You can easily alter the ingredients to what you enjoy. For example you can use beef instead of turkey. Also, tempeh or tofu can be used for a vegetarian option. It is also easy to double this recipe to serve more people.

Seared Bay Scallops with Lemon Orzo and Sautéed Asparagus

 

I found a couple of scallops recipes and decided to alter some ingredients and this is what a came up with!!

 

Ingredients:

• cooking spray
• 1/2 cup pre-chopped onion
• 1 cup uncooked orzo
• 1 cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth 
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound bay scallops
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 tbsp garlic
• salt and pepper

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium- high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan. Sauté 3 minutes. Stir in pasta, broth, wine, and thyme – bring to a boil

 

2. Cover, reduce heat, and summer 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente. Stir in chopped chives and lemon juice. Keep warm.

3. In medium saucepan, and spray with cooking spray. Add asparagus and toss as they sauté. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic the last minute of cooking time (so it doesn’t burn). Cook until desired firmness.

 

4. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Pat dry scallops and sprinkle with scallops evenly with salt and pepper. Add scallops to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve on top of the pasta mixture.

5. Toast up and nice piece of garlic bread! And enjoy your meal

 

Product Review: Gnu Bars

 

The Gnu company was so generous and sent my a sample package of all of the flavors! There were two of each kind

 

 

About Gnu:

One Gnu Bar a day gives you 12 grams of seriously good-for-you soluble and insoluble fiber. That’s nearly 50% of your Daily Value of fiber in a delicious and healthy bar! You can find out more information on why this fiber delicious bars here!

My thoughts: I love how you can get 50% of the daily value of fiber in one bar! I love the fact that they use entirely natural ingredients. I think this a great company and I would buy their products!

 

Banana Walnut:

 

My thoughts: Great Banana Flavor! I thought it tastes just like banana bread but in a bar form. It wasn’t overly sweet which I like. It was just sweet enough! I could taste the nuttiness of the walnut, but not actual walnut chunks. It was like Banana Bread on the go!

 

Cinnamon Raisin:

My thoughts: This one is by far my favorite! It tasted just like an oatmeal raisin cookie! It had great cinnamon flavor but not overpowering. It was nice and chewy like a fresh baked cookie. Healthy treat.. Count me in!

 

Orange Cranberry:

My thoughts: I wasn’t sure really what to expect when I first tried this. I thought the combination of orange and cranberry was intriguing. My first bite I was surprised of such a string orangey flavor. You can taste the cranberry too, but you taste more of the orange flavor. It was a refreshing bar.

 

Chocolate Brownie:

My thoughts:  I wouldn’t exactly describe this as a brownie. I had the texture of a bar. It has a light chocolate flavor. I think I was expecting a Hershey bar flavor? If you are looking for a chocolately healthy bar. This one is it.

 

Peanut Butter:

My thoughts: I am a HUGE fan of peanut butter and I was a little disappointed by this one. It had a very subtle peanut butter flavor. I wish it had a stronger PB flavor. It had a nice chewy texture like a cookie.

 

On their website they have this cool chart that you can compare their gnu bars nutritional facts to other brand bars and other foods.

 

 

Source: Gnu Foods
Opinions by me

Lighter Pumpkin Muffins

 

I found this vegan muffin recipes, which I altered it a bit by taking out some ingredients and adding some of my own and made it un-vegan because I didn’t use soy yogurt, but if you have soy yogurt use that and then it’s vegan again!

 

Equipment:

• muffin tin (either makes 6 jumbo, or 12 small muffins)
• cupcake liners

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 cup pureed pumpkin (fresh or from a can)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you are not using cupcake liners, make sure to grease muffin tins with vegetable shortening or spray on oil.

2) Sift together ingredients (flour through pumpkin pie spice). Then in a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients (pumpkin through pure maple syrup)

3) Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well together

4) Fill muffin tins about 2/3 of the way. I like using an ice cream scoops because it is less messy plus each scoop is consistent.

5) Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes (If baking the 6 jumbo muffins 27-30 minutes) until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Then just let them cool and ENJOY

Everyone in my family said they were really good! (and they didn’t know they were healthy!) I will definitely be making these again. Next time I think I will substitute the oil for applesauce, but since we didn’t have any I just used oil this time.

 

Enjoy

Black Bean Burgers

It was my first attempt to make Black Bean Burgers. And let me just tell you, I will DEFINITELY be making these again! They were so good.. and really tasted like a real burger!

Gather ingredients in a bowl:

• 1/3 cup black beans (or any beans)
• 1 tbsp WW flour
• Red pepper flakes
• Hot sauce
• BBQ sauce
• Salt and pepper

(You really can add anything you want! Mushrooms, peppers, corn, etc.)

Then mash it all together with a fork. Then form into a patty with your hands.

Spray a pan so it won’t stick. Let it cook for 4 minutes and then flip (or until it is not sticking to the pan) and cook for another 4 minutes.

While that is cooking, toast your bread and melt cheese (if you want). I used a deli flat and a slice of cheese. I just put it under the broiler until the bread was toasted and the cheese was melted.

Then put whatever toppings you want on it! I added some lettuce.

 

You can make any changes to this recipe by adding ingredients that fit you.

 

Enjoy