Fudgie Chocolate Cookies

Today I had a craving for brownies. Is anyone surprised? I wasn't! I know if I have brownies around I will eat them . Sometimes all of them. It's kind of my weakness. So I try to just keep packages of mix in the pantry so when I'm desperate, I can throw some together quickly. I get el cheapo brand and the dress it up with goodies like nuts and chips and other stuff. This of course doesn't solve my problem of binging on them. So I had an epiphany... why make a PAN of brownies, when cookies are easier to grab one of?

So I calculated the package of cheapo brownie mix to be 30 points plus for the whole shebang (something to keep in mind if I ever eat an entire tray again. That's my entire daily target!) and if I wanted to make something that was only 1 point, I would have to make 30 cookies. Ok.

So I stuck with the original recipe, no substitutions and no additions, but I am inspired next time to see what the egg whites would do and find a good substitute for the oil. I preheated the oven to 375 degrees. I sprayed oil on 3 cookie trays (next time I'm going to try also flouring them and see if that helps with spreading or jack up the heat to 380.) and I whisked all the ingredients listed in the packages recipe together until just small lumps of dry mixture were in the generally wet batter. 

Then I took a teaspoon, and I dropped small dollops onto the trays. See below for average size. 

You'll know if you get to the end of your batter and you have too much (like me, so I just added a little to some of my smaller ones.) or too little in which case I'm sad to say you either have to recalculate your points and enjoy them the way they are, or dump it all back in the pan and start again. NO ONE wants to siphon a little of each one to make more. I shudder at the time wasted. 

Major heads up. These spread a lot, so keep them well apart. WELL APART. Cook for between 4 and 1/2 minutes to 5 minutes depending on how crunchy you want them, but check them at least once. They could be spreading all over your oven, burning to a crisp if you've undersized them or still be raw in the middle if they're too big. 

They smell amazing! I let them cool at least 5 minutes before attempting to remove them from the tray because I know they'll be fragile. 

The edges are crispy and the middle is fudgie. And these are ONE POINT PLUS. I can't even handle that. Obviously you can now control how many points you take in by how many cookies you eat. Yummy!!!!

I opted to store them between cut sheets of wax or parchment paper. 

Store them in the fridge if you have the will power of a camel, you can nuke them for 5 seconds before enjoying them with a glass of milk. 

But me? I'm sure I'll finish these off in less than a week, but that's ok!! I will have make a conscious choice about spending my points! Yay!!!

Love!

Brooke

Happy Birthday Princess Pepper!

Happy April Fool's Day!! 

Today is Ms. Pepper's unofficial birthday, she turned 3!!! Check out the timeline for her Birthday festivities!!!!

Sniffer sticking out the window enjoying the awesome rain free weather!!

Thanks to the Three Dog Bakery! Where we got her Birthday yummies!

Unwrapping the delicacy!!

Look at how pretty it is! All natural and vet approved! Safe for puppy's to eat!

Waiting so patiently before she swallows it almost whole! Check out the videos on Facebook!

Night night Pepper! Hope you had an awesome 3rd birthday!!!!

Love, 

B

Dark Chocolate Macadamia Maple Cookies

That's a mouthful!

And so are these!! Also....

THEY'RE VEGAN!!!

(Not for you Pepper!)

I was at Trader Joe's and saw some coconut oil, and have since been biting at the bit to try it out instead of butter. Unfortunately it has more fat than butter, so I probably won't use it again, but it was a cool experience to experiment with!! Since I made these relatively normal sized cookies, they are 4 pp each regardless if you use butter or half the sugar (which I considered doing, then, after doing the math, I decided it wasn't a big enough fat saver). If you take out the nuts, or halve them, it's going to make a huge difference.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (consider using 1/2 cup)

• 1 cup coconut oil (or butter if you're not vegan or want to save on fat)

• 1 tsp. Maple flavoring extract

• 3 TBSP. Egg whites (the equivalent of one large egg)

• 2 & 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, scooped and sifted!

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 bag dry roasted (not salted or anything fancy) macadamia nuts. {let me just say a normal recipe will call for one cup and this is twice, but we love nuts and they have good Monounsaturated fats, but if you want less fat, use half a bag, or omit!}

• 3 bars (1 pack) dark chocolate coarsley chopped

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) In a large mixing bowl beat sugars and coconut oil until well combined.

 It may be necessary to scrap clumpy oil off the mixing paddle a few times. 

2) Add maple extract and egg whites, beat till combined. 

3) Gently scoop flour into measuring cup, do not pack!

Put in a sifter and sift onto silpat or parchment paper.

4) While sifting, sift in baking soda and salt. You can toss out anything that just won't sift in. I take that as a sign from the Universe that I don't need it.

5) I switch to a dough hook, to ease the mixing process. I put the dry ingredients in halves, I don't need to be wearing it!

Let it go, stop to scrap down the sides a few times.

6) Add in chopped chocolate.

7) add in chopped nuts.

8) When it's all combined, if it looks too dry splash in some coconut milk to help it bind.

9) in order to achieve even baking times, I'm methodical about dividing my dough into fourths. Each fourth yields 12 cookie balls, spaced evenly apart on a cookie sheet.

11) TIP TIP TIP: When you've rolled them all out, put them in the fridge to chill for 10 min!

12) Bake for 5 short min. in the middle of the oven.

13) Cooling TIPS: 

      a) on the pan for 5 min.

      b) on a brown paper bag for 10 min.

      c) on a rack until ready to store 

   This helps them from falling apart.

14) Lavish lovings on your adorable puppy as she looks for crumbs to clean up.

So that's them! A pretty decent punch of flavor for 4 pp. I think the man will enjoy them too and won't even notice that they're vegan hahhahahahhahahahah!!!

Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Pepper and Brooke

A (imagined) Perfect Day for Soup!

Even though we are suffering from freakishly warm October weather, I am so geared up for the holiday season that I had no problem imagining a cooler change. 

As usual, I was conscious of keeping the points+ as low as possible, so I made a point to use quinoa pasta and low sodium broth. You can totally use your own, homemade broth. I plan to do so just as soon as I've made some. But then you'll have to alter the nutritional information. And quite frankly, I'm stumped on how to calculate it for a broth recipe. So I used boxed. :]

I love making soup. It’s very homey and comforting to put a lot of things in a pot and then slurp them down later. I spent today making two and by far this was the easier and more delicious of the two. I foresee this being a staple for winter. With only 3 points+ per serving I can even have two servings before feeling guilty. MMMMMMMM, imagine how delectable this would be with some cornbread!!!!

Conscience Chicken Noodle Soup (optional soda on the side)
(adapted from Better Homes & Gardens)
Makes 15 servings| Serving size 1 cup| 3 points+

INGREDIENTS

• ·         1 whole Rotisserie Chicken
• ·         5 cups (approx.) Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• ·         5 cups (approx.) water
• ·         3 TBSP chicken bouillon
• ·         1 bunch celery, diced
• ·         1 large carrot, shredded
• ·         1 medium onion, diced
• ·         1 box quinoa noodles

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1.       Pull the meat off the rotisserie chicken, I like to save the bones, skin & cartilage to make my own broth one day, though I have yet to do this.
2. 2.       In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine all ingredients EXCEPT chicken and noodles.
3. 3.       Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low & simmer COVERED for 15 minutes.
4. 4.       Add chicken and noodles. Bring heat back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer UNCOVERED for an addition 10 minutes, or until your noodles are tender.
5. 5.       Allow to cool before packaging half up to freeze and half for the fridge. You may opt to portion out the fridge half into 7-8 1 cup servings.

This soup was soup-er easy to make once I prepped the vegetables chicken. That did take some time, but it can be done ahead of time if needed. This recipe makes a ton and its super delicious. Not overtly salty, but a strong base flavor profile.

Enjoy the hopefully-soon-to-be warm weather!

B

A little slice of sunshine.

Today I needed to bake something. It's been raining (literally) for 2 days straight. I have cabin fever! I wanted it to be something I could make relatively quickly without a ton of fuss, but as usual, it needed to be from scratch (I have my pride!) and relatively healthy. I found a whole wheat lemon cake recipe on Nigella Lawson’s website. It didn't call for icing (some cake!) but I was envisioning a Starbucks lemon pound cake icing on top so I whipped some up and loaded it heavy with lemon juice.

Whole Wheat (Iced) Lemon Cake
serves 16  at 5 WW Pts+ per serving.

Ingredients

·         2 cups whole wheat flour

·         1 ¼ cups dark brown sugar

·         1 stick butter

·         ¾ cup egg whites (or 4 eggs)

·         1 tablespoon cream cheese

·         Zest of 2 lemons

·          Juice of 2 lemons (separated)

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 cup confectioner’s sugar

Method

1.      Preheat oven to 375ºF

2.      Sift the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, into a bowl and throw out anything that doesn't sift through.

3.      Add the sugar into the bowl.

4.      Melt the butter in a microwave or pan and add to bowl.

5.      Add the eggs and combine the ingredients well.

6.      Stir in the lemon juice and lemon rind.

7.      Add the cream cheese, as much as you can get on a spoon and mix it in well.

8.      Put mixture in a prepared cake tin.(I used a bread tin)

9.      Bake in the oven until cooked,

10.  Let it cool & make the icing!

ICING:

11.  Sift confectioner’s sugar into a mixing bowl

12.  Juice the 2^nd lemon into the mixing bowl and beat till smooth and consistent.  

13.  Drizzle over cooled cake and let it firm.

Chili, in JULY?!

Williamson Turkey Chili

One of my allllll timeee favorite meals any time of year is my family’s chili. My daddy taught me how to make it and I have added spices to improve the taste (since I use turkey instead).  My man doesn't like it so I only make it when he has his own meal taken care. I package up leftovers and keep a good stock in the freezer for a quick meal. Just thaw, add sour cream and cheddar cheese and enjoy! Yumm!

Ingredients:

·         1 lb. Ground Turkey (93/7)

·         2 cans Hot Chili Beans (Pinto in Chili Sauce)

·         2 cans Dark Red Kidney Beans

·         2 Cans Light Red Kidney Beans

·         1 Can Corn (not “sweet” or “creamed,” just plain old corn)

·         1 large can diced tomatoes(unflavored)

·         1 small can tomato paste

·         1 TBSP. Chili Powder

·         1 tsp. Paprika

·         1 tsp. Cinnamon

·          Sour cream & cheese to garnish!

Instructions:

1)      Brown the turkey in a Dutch oven or large sauce/soup pot. (I have stainless steel pans; I use olive oil for EVERYTHING that I cook.)

2)      Add in this order & stir well between each addition:

a)      Diced Tomatoes

b)      Corn

c)       Chili Beans

d)      Dark Red Kidney Beans

e)      Light Red Kidney Beans

f)       Tomato Paste

g)      Spices!!!! Add more if you like it even spicier!

3)      Let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes (serve at this stage!!)

4)      (For fabulous Leftovers!!) Turn off heat and let it rest as long as you want to thicken

5)      Spoon into containers about 3 cups each serving store in fridge for 2 weeks or freezer for 2 months.

Enjoy!!!

B.

Bangin' Baked Bang Bang Shrimp

A few weeks ago we were in New Jersey visiting family & went to dinner at Bonefish Grill for the first time. In all honesty, I was left less than thrilled with the menu but what I did decide to order was delicious. There just wasn’t that much from which to choose. Bittersweet. One thing that I ordered was their (in)famous Bang Bang Shrimp and impressed everyone in attendance by eating several pieces of shrimp! (A food I typically avoid because of the texture.) The taste was too good to pass up. Both Crunchy from being deep fried and smooth from the creamy sauce. Savory and spicy (pretty spicy… did I mention spicy?) I surprised myself! When we came home I decided I needed to make this for J, but in order to enjoy it with a clear conscience I looked up a bangin’ (pun totally intended!) baked recipe. Then I tweaked it a twerked it to make it even lower in points! Yay me! Here it is, enjoy!

Baked Bang Bang Shrimp: WW Style!
adapted from jocooks.com

Prep Time: 30 min (I had to thaw the shrimp first)
Cook Time: 15 min
Serves: 7 (6 shrimps per serving, or 2.25 oz) @ 6 Points+ !!!

Ingredients:

SHRIMP:

1 lb shrimp peeled, deveined & tail-less (save some $$!), I used Large instead of Jumbo because I wanted to stretch it farther
½ cup Quinoa Flour
½ TBSP Garlic Powder
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
¾ cup Plain Greek Yogurt
½ cup milk (I used 2%, cause that’s what we had)
½ TBSP Tobasco
**Salt & pepper to taste, I omitted this**
2-2 ½ cups Panko Breadcrumbs (I started with 1 and added as much as 1 ½ more while coating!)

SAUCE: **We decided to double this recipe for next time**

¼ cup Plain Greek Yogurt
¼ cup milk (again, we used 2%)
2 TBSP Sriracha
1 TBSP Honey

Instructions:

1.       Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat.

2.       If you, like me forgot to thaw your shrimp, it’s easy! Dump it in a colander and run tepid water, tossing shrimp so that each pieces thaws evenly.

3.       In a medium bowl, mix flour, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt & pepper (if you want) until combined.

4.       To the bowl, add Greek yogurt, milk, tobasco and egg. Whisk until smooth.

5.       Dump the shrimp into the batter and toss to make sure each is coated completely.

6.       In another bowl, put your Panko breadcrumbs. (Keep the box on hand in case you need more! If you use more be sure to add it to the points.)

7.       In yet another bowl (I know, lots of dishes) mix all the SAUCE ingredients and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

8.       Working in small batches, coat each shrimp in the Panko and place on the baking sheet. I used 2 tongs, one for moving wet shrimp to the Panko bowl and another moving dry shrimp to the baking sheet.

9.       Bake for 10 minutes, then flip the shrimp and bake for at least 5 minutes or more, until the shrimp are golden.

10.   If desired, move shrimp to serving dish and drizzle with sauce. (Or just pour it on and eat from the baking sheet! We won’t judge!)

11.   **We made some spaghetti and olive oil to go with this, adding 4 more points, and called it an entrée. Pretty awesome!

ENJOY!

Brooke.