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.

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.

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.

]]> http://dailyhomemade.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/almond-date-bites/feed/ 1 kellyaversa datebites http://dailyhomemade.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/parent-child-cookie-contest/ http://dailyhomemade.wordpress.com/2012/09/14/parent-child-cookie-contest/#comments Fri, 14 Sep 2012 22:39:26 +0000 kelly@dailyhomemade http://dailyhomemade.wordpress.com/?p=3061 ]]> 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.

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.

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.

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

I guess my time is up.

He loves breakfast, so these waffles are a great start to his day. They can also be frozen for days when you don’t have as much time in the morning. Like when you are rushing around trying to find signed permission slips and mouthguards. Just let the waffles cool, then freeze them in ziplock freezer bags. Warm them up in the toaster oven or a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles

• 1 1/3 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer’s directions.
  Mix white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg substitute, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla until smooth.  Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined (it will be lumpy).  Ladle into waffle maker and cook according to directions.
  Recipe from September/October Weight Watchers Magazine.
  Each waffle (using 1/2 cup batter) had 3 PointsPlus.

So Devon’s getting adopted. We’re going to the Humane Society today to get his paperwork all finalized, and then he’ll go home with his new owners…US!!!  He fits in super well with our family, and we all absolutely love him.  And it really was my Mom’s idea!!

To celebrate, I’ve made our dogs some peanut-butter and carrot pup-cakes with a strawberry cream-cheese frosting. August 24th will be Dexter’s (we decided to change his name, Devon just didn’t fit him) official adoption day (it’s a rescue dog’s birthday).

Peanut-Butter and Carrot Pup-Cakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin pan. In a bowl, mix flour with baking soda. In another large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring well until everything is combined.

Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way high. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 6 pup-cakes.

Strawberry Cream-Cheese Frosting

• 8 tbsp low-fat strawberry cream cheese
• 2 tbsp plain, low-fat yogurt
• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour

Mix ingredients well, and then frost the pup-cakes. Top with shredded carrot.

I hope your dogs enjoy these pup-cakes as much as ours did!

I would like to start out by saying that these frozen treats do not contain real pups . But they will make your dog go absolutely bananas, and are a great way to keep them cool in the late summer heat.

My interest in doggie popsicles started with purchasing relatively expensive dog ice-cream from a supermarket in Chelan. While our dogs loved them, it would have been ridiculous to buy them all the time.

Enter Devon (pronounced “Dev-in”, not “Dee-von”), our new foster dog. Devon is a black lab mix who dwarfs our Australian cattle dog mix, Zippy. I’m convinced he could eat Charlie, our Westie, in two bites. My mom is continually amazed by his size, and exclaims “he’s so big!” every time he walks into the room (in reality, he’s not that big. We just have tiny dogs). He heats up quickly, because of his black fur coat, and I needed a way to keep him comfortable in the heat.

So, after some research on the interwebs (as my mom calls them), I whipped together these three recipes.

Frozen Banana and Peanut Butter Cubes

• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 banana
• splash of water
• ice-cube tray

Combine ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and mix (I used a potato masher). Dish into ice-cube tray. Freeze. Run warm water over tray to loosen cubes. Makes about 8 servings.

Frozen Strawberry and Banana Cubes

• 1 banana
• 5 medium-sized strawberries, crudely chopped
• splash of water
• ice-cube tray

Mix ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and then dish into ice-cube tray. Freeze. Run warm water over tray to loosen cubes. Makes about 8 servings.

Breakfast Pops

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 5 strawberries, cut small
• 4 Beggin’ Strips (my dogs are crazy about them) or other type of thin rawhide
• popsicle mold

Put eggs in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour into the bottoms of the popsicle molds and place the Beggin’ Strips or rawhides in the middle. They will be like the popsicle stick. Freeze. When completely frozen, mix the yogurt with the strawberries and fill the rest of the molds to create a second layer. Freeze. Run warm water over the molds to loosen the popsicles. Makes 4 servings.

Be careful about serving your dogs too many raw eggs. I would limit giving your dog this treat to once a day.

Another great thing to try is a Kong. Peanut butter, small treats, cheese, broth, and wet dog food make great Kong stuffing. Just throw together whatever your dog loves the most and freeze. Kongs are a great way to keep your dog entertained.

When stuffing a Kong or making frozen treats, keep in mind that there are plenty of foods that humans eat that are poisonous to dogs. To keep your dog healthy, avoid using things like onions, garlic, chocolate, macadamia nuts, grapes or raisins, avocado, bones, and raw meat or fish.

I hope your dog enjoys these tasty pup-sicles!

Anna