Adventures in cooking: Chocolate chip skinny scones

I saw this recipe on SkinnyTaste.com (also where photo is snagged from), a great blog for all your favorite foods slimmed down. I whipped up a batch of these Friday night to feed everyone at the Facets photo shoot Saturday morning, and they were a hit! They end up really soft and thick—just the way a scone should be. Served with a side of coffee, of course.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup cold buttermilk
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp chilled butter (must be cold) cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• Cooking spray
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender, or you could use two knives, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gently fold in chocolate chips. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist.
3. Place dough onto a floured surface and knead lightly four times with floured hands. Form dough into an 9-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4” thick. Using a knife,cut dough into 12 wedges all the way through.
4. Brush egg white over dough and sprinkle evenly with sugar. Bake until golden, about 18-20 minutes. Serve warm.

Servings: 12 • Serving size: 1 scone • WW points: 5 • Calories: 199.6

Adventures in cooking: Creamy avocado pasta

Like every other new recipe I try out, I found this one through Tumblr (thanks, guys!). What drew me in was the use of avocado, but also that it is a healthy alternative to calm those creamy pasta cravings. What made me vow to make this again, though, is the ease of the recipe. A must try!

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 large ripe Avocado, pitted and peel removed
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Salt the water and add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.
2. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by placing the avocado, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy.
3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place pasta into a large bowl. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss until pasta is well coated. Season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Adventures in cooking: Loaded sweet potato soup

The same day I saw this recipe via pinotandthefig, I was at the grocery store buying the ingredients to make it for lunch that afternoon. The final product was delicious, and this soup is a new cold-weather staple in my home. My advice: MAKE THIS. The recipe below is my altered version. 

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Garnishes: bacon, mascarpone cheese and crispy onions

Directions:

1. Peel and cube sweet potatoes, then add to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high power for about 10 minutes or until fork tender, tossing 2-3 times during cook time. 
2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Melt butter, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Then add flour and whisk continuously to create a roux. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until it starts to golden in color a bit and smell nutty. 
3. Add in stock, milk, smoked paprika and potatoes, then bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes over medium heat, stirring often. The potatoes will begin to break down at this time. If they are not as broken down as you’d like, mash a bit more with a fork or throw the soup in the blender to make it super creamy. Turn heat down to low and add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings according to preference. If you’d prefer a thinner soup, add more stock to thin it out.
4. Serve hot with garnishes of crumbled bacon, mascarpone cheese and crispy onions.

Check out my mom’s infamous pumpkin bread recipe. So easy and delicious!

facetsmag:

My mom passed down this pumpkin bread recipe to me, and it’s a yearly staple in my home come fall. It’s light enough to have for breakfast with a cup of coffee, sweet enough to eat for dessert with a bit of cream cheese frosting, and simple enough to mix with any of your favorite additions like chocolate chips, walnuts or cranberries.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups of pumpkin
• 1 1/4 vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil in another medium mixing bowl.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients mixture until batter is smooth.
4. Bake at 350°F for one hour. Enjoy!

Adventures in cooking eating: Beef brisket sandwich and sweet potato fries from Sweet Baby Ray’s by way of Frontier Days, the annual carnival in town

Brad and I hit the food tent before we hit the ferris wheel Sunday afternoon. We grabbed a few overpriced but oh-so delicious sandwiches, and split an order of sweet potato fries.

I was skeptical that the fries were homemade, but good gawd was the beef tender. The melt-in-your-mouth meat was worth the $6 a piece food stand price tag.

Adventures in cooking eating: Cali chicken sandwich (grilled chicken breast, avocado and bacon with honey mustard on foccacia) and tots from Harrys’ in Arlington Heights, Ill.

I’m just going to leave this gem right here.

Saturday afternoon lunch on Harrys’ patio.

Adventures in cooking: Organic, whole-wheat rigatoni with vodka sauce, herbs, fresh mozzarella and steamed broccoli

Diets without carbs are just not me. In order to indulge in my pasta cravings without the guilt, I usually pair it with a side of veg (broccoli, cauliflower and brussels sprouts are my go-to), and try to stay away from the super creamy sauces and mounds of parmesan.

However, diets without cheese are just not me either, so I opted to throw on a few chunks of fresh mozzarella instead. Yum.

Is 11:10 a.m. too early for lunch?

Adventures in cooking: Mom’s deviled eggs

Mom and I spent Easter morning with our family laughing and laughing over bagels, cinnamon rolls and strawberries, and we left only after our stomachs hurt from too much brunch and laughter.

Later in the afternoon we whipped up her version of deviled eggs, an Easter staple around our house. I could eat a plate full of these things.

Ingredients:

• 7 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut lengthwise
• Mayonnaise and mustard to your taste
• Table salt 
• Ground black pepper 

Directions:

1. Pop out (remove) the egg yolks to a small bowl and mash with a fork. 
2. Add mayonnaise and mustard and mix thoroughly. 
3. Fill the empty egg white shells with the mixture
4. Sprinkle lightly with paprika, salt and pepper.

Adventures in cooking: Mom’s pistachio pudding cake

My mom has been baking this green-tinted dessert for decades, and each time she does, she digs out her recipe buried deep in a drawer. Written on a tiny piece of orange, flower-print paper and splattered with years of ingredients, the recipe is hard to read but so easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 5 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 packages pistachio pudding
• 1/2 cup oil

Frosting ingredients:

• 1 8 oz tub Cool Whip
• 1 cup milk
• 1 package pistachio pudding

Directions:

1. Mix together.
2. Pour into two non-stick 8 inch cake pans.
3. Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hour
4. Let cool, then frost.
5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Best served cold.

Adventures in cooking eating: Godzilla maki and a glass of chablis blanc from Mariano’s Fresh Market in Arlington Heights, Ill.

Yesterday after work I didn’t feel like cooking so I stopped over at the nearby market to pick up some sushi and a bottle of wine. Mariano’s, which I frequently profess my love for, has a sushi chef on staff all day to whip up made-to-order rolls.

After ordering the Godzilla maki, composed of shrimp tempura, cream cheese, avocado and eel sauce, the chef told me it wouldn’t be ready for 10 minutes. So what’s a girl to do? Check in on Foursquare and saunter to the wine aisle, of course.

I picked up a $9 bottle of my favorite not-too-sweet white, chablis blanc (which I recently, embarrassingly learned is pronounced sha-blee, not cha-bliss, oops!), and then picked up my sushi for $14. It seems a little overpriced, but this roll is thankfully the most expensive on the menu, the rest averaging around $8.

Once I got home, I took the sushi out of the plastic carrying box, placed it in a neat row on my fanciest, sushi-serving plate and poured myself a glass of vino. I’m a firm believer that a pretty presentation makes it taste twice as good.