Month: November 2012

Pumpkin + Protein = Perfect

Sadie1 Comment

Are you tired of pumpkin yet?  I’m not.  I found a great pumpkin granola bar recipe, and I needed to try it.  It was one of those recipes that I searched for on a couple sites, and they pretty much all brought me back to same recipe.  I took that as a sign that this recipe is a good one.  I like the recipe because it doesn’t have flour, eggs, or butter.  Instead, just applesauce.  The only thing I thought could make the recipe better would be protein powder.  So I added some.

I added a “scoop” which is about 25g, so it only really added a few grams of protein to each bar.  I was surprised, however, that the protein powder had a negligible affect on the taste and texture of the final product.  Score!

Pumpkin Protein Granola Bars

Yields about 9 bars (one 8 x 8 square pan) adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350. Cover an 8 x 8 square pan with parchment and/or nonstick spray.
  2. Combine oats, spices, protein powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside while you combine the brown sugar, applesauce, honey, pumpkin, and vanilla in different bowl.
  3. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir well to combine.  Add the cranberries, chocolate chips, and pecans.  Make sure the ingredients are well distributed.
  4. Pour batter into the prepared pan.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Allow to cool and enjoy!
    Packed up and ready for an adventure!


Manhattan Clam “Chowda”

Carrie1 Comment

This weekend, I really felt the chill in the air. It called for a bowl of clam “chowda” to warm the soul. It’s easy and it satisfies any need for comfort.

Ingredients
4 – 6 oz cans minced clams
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/3 c finely chopped leek or 4 green onions
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
3 c. V8 juice
2 med. potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 – 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 – 11 oz can whole kernel corn with sweet peppers
2 bay leaves
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp salt and pepper

Directions
Roughly chop clams, reserving juice in a separate bowl. In a dutch oven, cook bacon over moderate heat until crisp. Remove bacon reserving drippings. Add leek, celery, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes. Add V8, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. except for bacon and clams. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 45-50 minutes. Stir in clams and clam juice at the end. Do not boil the clams because they will become tough and rubbery. Enjoy with a fresh loaf of bread!

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies Round 2

Sadie1 Comment

A couple weeks ago I posted a recipe for chewy oatmeal cookies.  Well as we know, I am an oatmeal cookie addict, so I decided to try yet another chewy oatmeal cookie.  This one is from the blog How Sweet It Is, which is a fabulously beautiful food blog, which a great combination of interesting yet do-able recipes.

Her original recipe only calls for chocolate chips, but I decided to add a little more je ne sais quoi.  Which means, instead of chocolate chips, I went with butterscotch chips, M&M’s (autumn colors of course), and chopped pecans.  Basically I look for any excuse to make monster cookies with as many add-ins as possible.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies with M&M’s, butterscotch, and pecans

Yields about 30-40 cookies, adapted from How Sweet It Is

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 Tbs cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips
  • 1 1/2 cups M&M’s
  • 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

  1. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
  2. Mix together dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt), set aside.
  3. Beat eggs and vanilla into butter and sugar mixture.
  4. Add dry to wet and beat to combine.  Add oats and other add-ins.  Mix to combine, do not over mix.
  5. Allow dough to chill for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 375.
  6. Bake cookies 9-11 minutes until golden brown.  Allow to cool completely and enjoy!