roasted vegetable and lentil salad

I almost decided to post-pone posting this recipe until next week.  The reason being that my husband is away until Friday chaperoning 6th grade camp, and I didn’t want him to see what he was missing at home.  He says the camp food isn’t that bad.  They had stuffed peppers for dinner last night and Alex loved them.  Today’s pizza at lunch was a low-point, but we are pizza snobs, so he could be a little biased.  As biased as a half-Italian who has a pizza oven in his back yard and buys special Italian flour for his pizza dough.

Many thanks to my Pilates student Missy for passing on this recipe.  Marc will love it when he gets back home.

Roasted Vegetable and Lentil Salad

• 6 carrots, cut into 2 inch lengths and halved
• 3 shallots, halved
• 1/2 lb. brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeds removed and cut into 1/2″ thick slices
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 Tbsp. olive oil (divided)
• 1/2 cup French lentils, rinsed
• 1/2 onion, studded with 4 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 6 oz. arugula
• 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• zest and juice of one lemon
• parmesan shavings
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss carrots, shallots, brussels sprouts, butternut squash and garlic with 2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place on rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for 30 minutes, turning once.

Place lentils in a small saucepan.  Cover with 2 inches of water.  Stud 1/2 onion with cloves and place in pot, along with bay leaf.  Bring to boil, then cover and simmer until lentil are tender.  Drain off water and discard onion and bay leaf.  Season with salt and pepper.

To make vinaigrette, mash garlic in a small bowl.  Add vinegar and mustard.  Whisk in 2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place lentils in a bowl and toss with vinaigrette.  Fold in arugula, then vegetables.  Add chopped celery and zest and juice of one lemon.  Top each serving with parmesan shavings.  Serves 6.

Recipe from Daphne Oz.

Using the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder, each serving has 7 PointsPlus.

 

butternut squash and sage soup

It’s tradition in our house to have breakfast in bed and the dinner of your choice on your birthday.  My daughter turned 17 on Tuesday and requested butternut squash soup and biscuits.  I’ve never been happy with the recipe I’ve used in the past.  It just lacked flavor.

I found this recipe on Realsimple.com and after making it, realized that the simple act of roasting the squash before putting it into the broth made all the difference.  It was delicious, super low in Points, and made the birthday girl very happy!

Butternut Squash and Sage Soup

• 6 cups cubed butternut squash
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 teaspoons salt
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 3 stalks of celery, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 6 fresh sage leaves, chopped
• 6 cups vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, toss the squash with 1 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons of the salt, and the pepper. Place the squash on a rimmed baking sheet and roast in oven for 15 minutes. Turn the cubes over and continue roasting for 15 minutes or until they are caramelized; set aside.

In a Dutch oven or a large stockpot, heat the butter and the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and sage and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are translucent and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the squash, broth, and the remaining salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid is flavorful. Remove from heat.  Using an immersion blender, process until smooth.

Makes 10 cups.

Recipe adapted from Realsimple.com.

Using the Weight Watchers Recipe Builder, each 1 2/3 cup serving has 3 PointsPlus.

 

almond date bites

I will admit it:  I went a little overboard with the Fair food contests,  My first clue was the morning that I made four dozen pumpkin pecan scones in order to achieve four perfectly formed specimens.  As the 48 scones were cooling, my husband asked if he could take a few to work.  I believe my reply was “but I need four for the Fair!” (with a wild look in my eyes).  Marc couldn’t tell if I was serious or joking (for the record, I was serious).

I did let him take a few.

So I had every intention this week of refocusing my culinary efforts on delicious, savory dishes that didn’t include sticks of butter or cups of sugar. Or an entry form and a 9″ diameter paper plate for display.

Well, I came close.  Not quite savory, but a delicious whole food snack that the family will love.  And only 1 PointsPlus per bite!

Almond Date Bites

• 1 cup pitted, dried Medjool dates
• 1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• pinch sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. grapeseed oil or coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut, toasted
  Place dates, almonds, almond extract, pinch of salt, oil and cocoa powder into a food processor and pulse until well combined.
  Form into 24 balls and roll each in toasted coconut.  Refrigerate.
  Using the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder, each bite has 1 PointsPlus.
  Recipe slightly adapted from EverydayMaven.com.

 

parent-child cookie contest

Alex and I entered Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies into the Puyallup Fair’s Parent and Child Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest sponsored by C&H Sugar.  Except for using the oven, he made the entire recipe.

I took him to the Fair this morning and showed him the ropes of entering the culinary contests.  I tried not to be too much of a nerd, but I did utter “stay cool, stay cool” several times under my breath as we watched the judge sample our cookie.  (I’ll put it in writing once again….I’ll be happy to pay for his therapy when he is older).  There were 28 entries and it looked like we had some good competition.

We took home the 3rd place prize!  Alex received an apron, a nice ribbon and a cash prize of $25.  All that is great, but I do hope my kids are also learning important life lessons:

Be involved.

Try new things.

Have fun.

Eat lots of cookies.

 

chocolate peanut butter pretzel tart

I’ve been bitten by a bug!!  No, I don’t need antibiotic ointment, and no, I don’t need an intervention (just yet).  Buoyed by my first place win of my Mexican Chocolate Biscotti,  I entered the Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Championship at the Puyallup Fair. I decided on a peanut butter cup-like dessert with a trendy pretzel crust.  It was an easy recipe with a ton of chocolate flavor, both of which were part of the grading criteria.  I’m a little worried about my Weight Watcher’s weigh-in, since I’ve made three in the past two days, making sure I had the correct ratio of ingredients (all in the name of science, of course).

In my haste to get out the door to meet the deadline, I forgot to take a “good” picture with my fancy camera.  Here’s a mediocre picture I took on my phone.

Drumroll please…..I placed third!  I won a huge basket of Ghirardelli’s chocolate and a very nice embroidered apron.  No cash prize for third, but I have a giant white ribbon for my trophy case.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Tart

• 2 cups crushed pretzels
• 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 5 ounces Ghirardelli’s semi-sweet chips
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• additional peanut butter, heated, for decoration
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine pretzels, melted butter and sugar in a bowl.  Press into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom.  Bake for 20 minutes and let cool.
  Combine peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar.  Spread onto the bottom of the cooled crust.
  Heat whipping cream until just before boiling.  Pour over chocolate chips and let stand 2 minutes.  Whisk together thoroughly.  Pour over peanut butter.
  Quickly drizzle melted peanut butter over ganache and swirl with a toothpick.  Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

 

mexican chocolate biscotti

Here’s my entry into the Dillano’s Biscotti Contest at the Puyallup Fair this year.  After weeks of playing around with a fig soaked in port cookie idea (weeks which included a teary statement of “maybe I shouldn’t enter this year.  Isn’t this supposed to be fun?”), I switched gears and decided to do a chocolate biscotti.  I remembered a delicious cookie my step-mom made with cayenne and black pepper, so in it went.  And I had to add the Bob’s Red Mill shredded unsweetened coconut since I am convinced this lends to its wonderful texture.   For the finishing touch I sprinkled Flavorstorm’s Cinnamon Sugar on top….it sparkled!

Oh, and by the way….the judge loved it!  I won the Blue ribbon for the 2nd year in a row!  Is a biscotti cookbook in my future?   The judge’s comments:  “Wow!  Outstanding work.  Different and tasty.  Real “pop” of flavor with lingering heat.  Thank you!”

I’m pretty sure I let out a little squeal when I saw my cookies in the case.  People may have thought they were in the pig barn. 

Mexican Chocolate Biscotti

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. espresso powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup cinnamon chips (I used King Arthur’s)
• 1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar from Flavorstorm

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheets with silicone pad or parchment paper.

Combine flour through espresso powder in a small bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract.  Add flour mixture to butter mixture.  Stir in cinnamon chips, chocolate chips, coconut, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Form batter into 2 logs, approximately 3 inches wide x 12 inches long.  Smooth top with an off-set spatula and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes.  Slice on the diagonal and bake an additional 10-12 minutes.

 

potato focaccia

Bakingbites.com is one of the few websites that spurs me into immediate action.  Nordstrom happens to be the other one  I read this recipe Sunday morning, and 15 minutes later the dough was rising.  Our family loves potato pizza , so I thought this would be a nice treat for lunch.  I served it with a homemade vegetable soup (0 PointsPlus) to rave reviews.

I’m on a baking kick, since this Tuesday is the due date for the biscotti entry for the Puyallup Fair.  I am finalizing my recipe…hopefully it will be a winner!  Stay tuned.

Potato Focaccia

• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp (.25-oz) active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups water, warm (100-110F)
• 3 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• approx 1 lb cooked potatoes, cooled
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp herbs de Provence
• 2 tsp coarse kosher salt or sea salt

Combine sugar, yeast and warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 1/2 cups flour and salt.  Add liquid and combine.  Using a bread hook, knead for 3-4 minutes, adding up to an additional cup of flour, until a smooth ball forms.  Place dough in a bowl coating with olive oil or non-stick spray, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Line a jelly roll pan (12×18 pan) with parchment or spray with non-stick spray.  Pour dough onto pan and using your fingertips, press and spread dough into a rectangle approximately 10×16.  Brush with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. herbs de Provence.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice cooked potatoes 1/4 inch thick.  Arrange potatoes on top of dough, pressing down lightly.  Brush potatoes with 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with remaining herbs and salt.  Let rise for 30 minutes.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Recipe from bakingbites.com.

Using the Weight Watcher’s Recipe Builder:

12 servings = 5 PointsPlus each

16 servings = 3 PointsPlus each