Food Friday - Guilt Free Eating

from Tracey G

Orzo Pasta Salad

Still trying to stay in the better-for-me mindset. And this recipe covers that pretty well. Yes, there's fat involved but it's olive oil, a good-for-you fat. This is just one of those things that came into my mind by being pulled from a few different recipes using orzo as the basic inspiration when I was needing some recipes that were flavorful but not too hard on the heart and body. I twisted it and turned it a little bit until I got it the way I wanted it :-) It couldn't be simpler, and is always fresh tasting - never heavy like a traditionally dressed pasta salad. 

I think it's the clean combination of fresh lemon juice (and it has to be fresh, it's the only way to go! :-) ) and the olive oil that keeps it bright. And with the using of the lemon juice, a lot less salt can be used - even none if you so desire, making it even a little bit better for your heart along with the olive oil. ;-) But for the salt addition, the only salt I use is kosher - the flat flakes allow you to use less, as the flavor is spread out over the flake, instead of in salt granule therefore you get the salt flavor without all the salt. When I was taking care of my mom, between the renal diet and the CHF heart diet she was on, I learned to use very little to no salt when I cook, so when I cook my pastas, I never add salt to the water. I'd rather save the salt flavor for somewhere I can taste it - not on a pasta that's buried under a sauce etc... Lemon juice is a wonderful alternative to salt, and lemons became a staple in the house for her to squeeze onto her foods instead of salt and it worked really well. There's something to the sharp brightness of the lemon juice that can mimic that salt experience without the salt. 

The Greek in me also adds some Kalamata olives occasionally (as the above garnished photo shows ;-) ) and feta cheese. The feta makes a wonderful addition, the flavors all work together. Shoot, even red bell pepper would be great in it if you don't want the tomatoes, and you still get that bit of red to liven it up - or really get crazy and use both red pepper AND tomatoes! LOL 

Once again, my "recipe" is more of a method, fully customizable to your tastes, don't be afraid to add your own twist to it! 

This pretty much sums up the ingredients, minus the olive oil and salt :-) Summertime makes this salad even better with all the fresh veggies that are out there and in season!

After the orzo gets cooked, drained, rinsed in cold water and then while it's draining again from the cold water rins, I get my dressing put together. The lemons can be temperamental, as I was reminded of again today - instead of it taking the usual 2 lemons to get my 1/2 cup of juice, it took close to 3, just had some not-so-great lemons today. Glad I bought extra just in case! And I do like to combine my seasonings with the acid first - even when making a vinaigrette or a marinade, the seasonings get mixed/dissolved into the acid, be it vinegar or lemon juice. Things combine much better when I do it that way, then add the oil/fat of choice. Adding in the fat before the seasonings doesn't allow them to mix in very well as they won't dissolve in oil. ;-) So, whisk the salt and garlic into the lemon juice, when well combined, whisk in the olive oil. When I'm making my dressing, I like mine to be more lemony so I usually only use about 1/3 cup of oil to the 1/2 cup of lemon juice - this is another thing to do as to your tastes - if you want it less tart/lemony, use a bit more oil etc. It does mellow out the following day, so that's just something to keep in mind ;-)

I like to use my Microplane grater for the garlic. I used to use my press, but this seems faster somehow and I know it's easier to clean, lol. I prefer though to have the garlic this way, instead of minced - either grated or pressed, that way you don't bite into a good sized piece of garlic, because even a smallish minced piece can pack a big a garlicky punch, lol. Alternatively, if you don't have either a grater or press, you can use a knife - mince your garlic well, sprinkle with a little kosher salt (the salt also seems to mellow the flavor of the garlic) and then mash with the back of your knife until you have worked it into a paste. 

I make sure I get my orzo into a bowl large enough for easy mixing, there's nothing worse than mixing and having things jumping out of your bowl, lol. At this point I, I mix my dressing into my orzo, then add the vegetables.

Once I add in the vegetables in, I then mix them up well until they're combined fairly evenly and are coated well with the dressing. 

That's it! I then usually transfer to a smaller bowl for storage, cover it well and pop it in the fridge if I don't use it right away. :-)

And here's the "recipe" (again, I had to write it as I went along since this was one of those things trapped in my head only! LOL)

Orzo Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

16 oz pkg orzo pasta

1 English cucumber, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 of a red onion, chopped

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, left whole or halved

Dressing:

1 garlic clove, grated or pressed through a garlic press (alternatively could be minced and mashed with the back of a knife and a little kosher salt)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp kosher salt (optional)

1 1/2 - 2 lemons, juiced to equal approximately 1/2 c juice

1/3 - 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Cool orzo according to package directions, drain, rinse with cold water and allowed to drain again. 

While the orzo is draining, combine the dressing ingredients: mix the lemon juice, garlic and kosher salt, until salt is dissolved. Whisk in the olive oil. 

Put the orzo in a big enough bowl for easy mixing/combining of ingredients. Pour the dressing over top, then add the cucumber, onion and tomatoes. Stir well to coat. Refrigerate or serve immediately. After being refrigerated, stir before serving.

from Kris B.

I am in the midst of week two in my quest towards a smaller butt.  And, I am happy to say, it is going well...so far.  I hope that all of you don't mind a few weeks of lower calorie recipes as Tracey and I strive to drop a few extra pounds.

As I confessed last week, I am a serious carbohydrate addict, so any eating plan that avoids carbs completely is never going to work for me.  As a compromise, I have to work to find meals and snacks that still allow for my carb fix but don't send the scale tipping in the wrong direction.  I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing; it is not just sweet carbohydrates that I love, though they are mighty tasty, but also crackers, beans, rice, noodles…and so on…

As far as ethnic cuisines go, Asian is my favorite, because, well, it contains lots of rice and noodles.  Generally, I don't cook a lot of Asian food;  it is much easier and tastes much better when we go out to eat.  But, we all know that eating out can be a major stumbling block when we are trying to carefully monitor all that we put into our bodies.  I have been on a search to find a simple make-at-home, but still-tastes-good, healthy Asian noodle recipe.  I have tried several that have been OK, but I think now I have found THE ONE!  And as a bonus... It is actually a Weight Watchers recipe!!!  Needless to say, I am one happy eater right now.

This recipe is all about "hitting the bottles" in the pantry and fridge to make a flavorful sesame sauce...

...and then adding it to a few fresh ingredients.  

Sesame Noodles with Chicken are quick, easy, and, best of all, really good!

Weight Watchers Sesame Noodles with Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of skinless, boneless chicken thighs cooked and cut into thinly sliced strips

8 oz whole wheat udon noodles (In a pinch you can use whole wheat spaghetti.)

1/2 Cup chopped scallions

Shredded carrot

Chopped cilantro for garnish

2 tsp sesame seeds

For the sauce:

3 TBS rice vinegar

3 TBS soy sauce

2 TBS hoison sauce

1 TBS dark sesame oil

2 tsp chili sauce with garlic

1 1/2 tsp honey

Cook the noodles as directed on the package.  Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid and then drain the noodles.

Place the noodles, cooked chicken, and scallions into a large bowl. Mix gently.

In a small bowl, combine the reserved water from the noodles, vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oil, chili sauce, and honey.  Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and chicken.  Gently toss until the noodles are coated.

If desired, mix in some shredded carrot to add a little color.  Top with sesame seeds and cilantro.  (You may notice no carrots.  I forgot to add them before I took the photos:-))

Sesame Noodles with Chicken can be enjoyed as either a hot or a cold dish.

There is no question about which of the two of us is the better food photographer.  It has quite the learning curve, at least for me.  And though I obviously still have much room for improvement, I have actually learned a few things in the past six weeks since we began Pixels, Plates, and LOLS!.  Since at my core I am a teacher and my job is to impart knowledge and perhaps a little wisdom, I am going to take this opportunity to share what I have learned thus far:

• The better your camera (and your ability to use it), the dirtier your kitchen seems to be.  An odd correlation, but oh so true!  It is amazing how those crumbs and spots appear.

• Don’t try to photograph the dinner that you are making at the end of a very long work day when you are already hungry and ready to eat before you even start the process.  This is the method to madness, frustration…and inadvertently omitted ingredients.

• There is no good angle or light that will make raw meat photograph well.  There just isn’t.  Cooked meat is only marginally better, in my opinion.

• A surprising amount of food and its ingredients are brown.

• Kitchen tools and appliances are rather fascinating through a macro lens.

• I never thought that noodles would be so interesting to photograph.

• Bad food photography is the worst kind of bad photography.

That’s where I am right now.  I know that there is so much more for me to learn!

Have a great and healthy week.  
We'll see you in March!

Food Friday - Smarter Eating For A Smaller Butt!

From Kris B.

Do you ever wonder how people who write blogs come up with material for their posts?  I am about to share with you the down and dirty of how Tracey and I work together to create our Food Friday topics.

Here is the conversation we had about this week’s post:

Tracey: Got any easy ideas for this week's Food Friday? Celebrating Harry's birthday Saturday, and it's likely to get a little nutso around here this week, lol.

Me: I don’t have a particular idea in mind for next week.  Since it is Harry's birthday, is there something that he likes that we could work in? Favorite kids meal?  I might be able to remember one. LOL.

Tracey: Harry unfortunately has no favorite meals, lol....I get out of making dinner tonight.  Jeremy and Harry are out running errands and offered to bring something home. I wanted KFC.  Now I better not complain about gaining weight. lol. But I am going to for sure get the treadmill cleaned off… and get back to my happy place.

Me: LOL! We really must have been cast from the same mold.  I'm not cooking tonight either because Weber suggested pizza from Papa Murphy's.  It's a take and bake. We stopped there on the way home from the grocery store where I had just bought 10 Weight Watchers meals for my lunches and dinners this week. LOL  I too need to return to my “happy place.”  Maybe what we need for Friday is our favorite low-cal meal.  Oh wait...I'm not sure that I have one.  That coulb be my problem:-). I could think about this.  Really there probably is one.  I'll let this roll around in my worn out head.

So there you have it…how we roll here and why you are getting healthy recipes from us this week!  It is comforting to have a friend who understands how I feel right now as far as not being happy with my current weight.

I am a believer in Weight Watchers.  Twice I have successfully shed a goodly number of pounds quickly and easily following the Weight Watchers plan.  The fact that I have had to repeat the process is because I returned to bad habits knowing full well what the consequences would be.  When I am overly tired, I turn to snacking for energy.  With all that has been going on in my world over the last year, I have needed a lot of extra energy.  Late night snacks as I was burning the midnight oil trying to get work done for school or record keeping done around my dad's estate and early morning snacks to keep me awake because I had been up late the night before have taken their toll.  I managed to do pretty well with all of the emotional ups and downs around my dad's illness and death, but my weight only experienced the ups and I now I need to make a concerted effort toward the downs.

Because I am so intimate with counting Weight Watcher’s points, that thinking went into my contribution for this week’s recipe.  It is a “low point” snack.  However, if I hadn't told you that, you never would have guessed that these tortilla pizzas really are a healthy snack or lunch choice.

It’s not that I don’t like or enjoy healthy foods.  I'm not a big candy eater, but I do enjoy a good cookie or four.  I do actually love fruits and veggies and if they are readily available, I will chose them before sweets or chips.  My real problem is that I also LOVE bread.  Well, I love any kind of carbohydrate actually, though not necessarily sweets.   This is why I am such a fan of pizza…lots of veggies and, when you order thick crust, lots of bread as well.  That’s what makes pizza the perfect meal in my book. Perfect except for the calories.

Enter the Texan in me…The “bread” of choice in Texas is the tortilla.  Tortillas serve as a delivery vehicle for many things - salsa, guacamole, queso, chili, just about any kind of dip that you can think of, and pizza!  I made tortilla pizzas for my girls often when they were little, and I still to this day enjoy them as a snack.  And the good news is, for those of you who are calorie or Weight Watchers point counters, they only have 6-7 points depending on your choice of ingredients.

Truthfully, there is nothing new or original that I am sharing here except perhaps how I like to cook my tortilla pizzas…in a cast iron skillet.

Let me digress for a moment.  My kids were, and still are as adults, classic nerds.  My youngest collected dictionaries and then decided in high school that the mark of success was to have the biggest graphing calculator and know exactly how to use every single button on it.  She was a great success!  My oldest worked to have more holdings in her personal book collection than did many small rural public libraries.  She believed that your place in society was determined by how many books you owned and, because in addition to reading she loved to cook, the size of your cast iron skillet said a lot about your worthiness.  So now you see why I make tortilla pizzas in a big cast iron skillet; it is a mark of my maternal success in my daughter's eyes.  And, I needed something, anything some days, while raising these two weirdos to make me feel like a competent parent!

There really is no recipe here, just a few instructions and suggestions.  The amounts given here are those that keep the these reasonably healthy.  If that’s not a concern for you, heap the goodies on!!!

Ingredients:

Olive oil

Tortillas

Pizza sauce (I use store-bought)

Shredded mozzarella cheese, or cheese of your choice

Toppings of your choice (I have used Canadian bacon, pineapple, and fresh basil here.)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Brush your cast iron skillet with just enough olive oil to coat.

Or, spray with non-stick cooking spray though the olive oil adds a nice touch of flavor.

Place the tortillas in the coated pan.  I use either basic  flour “fajita” tortillas or whole wheat.  If you are counting calories, it is important to know that not all tortillas are created equally.  Check your labels!

Spoon the pizza sauce onto the tortilla and  spread to the edges; then add your desired toppings.  Top with cheese all the way to the edges.

Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned-about 10 minutes.

Here are some suggested low calorie and Weight Watchers friendly toppings:

Canadian bacon is a calorie friendly meat  so when I am feeling carnivorous it is my first choice.  It is certainly tasty on its own.  Add pineapple for a sweet and savory combo.

The classic freshly chopped basil and tomatoes is always a great choice.

I am also a fan of any kind of leafy green, particularly spinach and kale, and garlic as a topping.

Since these tortilla pizzas are meant to be a simple snack, top them with whatever ingredients you happen to have on hand.  With Weight Watchers almost all vegetables are "point free"; this includes the pizza sauce itself.  Go heavy on the vegetables and light on the cheese!  Be creative!

Here's a bonus!

I do like something sweet every now and then. Fortunately, the fewer sweets I eat, the fewer sweets I crave.  This is a good thing.  But, when I want them, I REALLY want them  The best I can do when trying to make healthier food choices is accommodate these cravings more responsibly.  To that end, here are two versions of sweet tortilla pizzas.

Cinnamon Apple:

Tortilla of choice

1-2 tsp melted butter

1 TBS brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Thinly sliced apple

Spray your skillet with non-stick spray.  Place tortilla in pan.  Brush the tortilla with butter.  Sprinkle a little of the brown sugar on the buttered tortilla.  Then layer the apple covering the entire pizza.  Sprinkle the cinnamon and remaining brown sugar on top.  Bake until bubbly and the edges of the tortilla are golden brown.

Chocolate Banana:

Tortilla of choice

I banana thinly sliced

1-2 TBS Chocolate chips (Mini chips work best.  I used regular chips for the photos because my mini chips had disappeared.)  If you take the time to place a large chip atop each slice of banana, which personally for a snack I wouldn’t do, you do end up with an attractive snack because the larger chips don't lose their shape in baking.

Prepare the skillet as for the apple cinnamon pizza.  Layer the sliced bananas covering the tortilla then sprinkle with chocolate chips and for a little more flavor, add a sprinkle of cinnamon.. Bake 10 minutes.

A little chocolate and brown sugar is not that bad.  As with most things, moderation is the key here.

From Tracey G.

I have noticed that my clothing has progressively gotten smaller. I think the fairies are coming in at night and taking in the seams without me knowing it, because it certainly can't be because I've gained weight!?! It can't be my totally lax eating habits - choosing fast and easy as a rule, because things have gotten kind of busy since the holidays and I've been moving less and less it seems? The treadmill has become a storage thing covered in boxes that were to only be stopping there "temporarily" on their way to the knee-wall storage space...and have yet to make it into the knee-wall. And the only heavy lifting I've done is with my camera. My water consumption has gone down and replaced solely with coffee it seems. I used to drink water all day long, now I find I have a cup of coffee next to me at all times (with creamer and sugar of course). 

Then there's the fact I've probably thrown my body into starvation mode with weird eating habits, so it's hanging onto all the weight that's there because, I eat like, well, um, once or twice a day max lately. Hey, that's what coffee's for! :-D And I know for a fact it certainly can't be all the potato chips I've eaten lately, once or twice as a meal in themselves, they are my true weakness. Make them barbeque flavored and I can wolf down a whole bag in no time flat. Nope, can't be any of that. Must be the fairies. Right? 

I can say that it's been a very long time since I've been this annoyed with a weight gain. It's annoying when you buy some new jeans around Christmas time and by February you can't fit into them properly?? That's depressing as well as annoying! I am person who, like Kris, loves fresh foods. I love vegetables, fruits, etc. This fast food trend I've found myself in is not like me at all. There was a time where it was something if I ate fast food once a month. I don't drink pop anymore at all (gave that up a few years ago), so that's not going to hurt giving up....it's those potato chips I must part ways with for awhile that's going to hurt, lol. I totally get that there was a time I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't matter, and that the older you get the slower the metabolism becomes - I think that in combination with my not being happy about not being able to comfortably wear my new jeans has been the push to do something about it again. I know I can, for some reason I don't doubt that and I never have when I've embarked on a drop-a-few-pounds quest. I know I can do it, my biggest enemy has been, well, laziness I imagine. The "I'll get to it tomorrow, I'm in a time crunch now so Burger King it is and maybe treadmill tomorrow" kind of thinking.

I'm also of the mentality of everything in moderation - there's not really any "bad" foods, it's our use of them that's "bad", lol. A little bit of ice cream is ok, sitting down to eat the whole pint (or quart, lol) is not ok. I've also always been of the mindset that it's not forever. I must change things for awhile now, and eventually I can add things back in again. That mentality makes it much easier for me to part ways with my favorite guilty pleasures without that feeling of since it's off limits now, never to be had again, it's all I want. If I view it as a temporary thing, it's much easier to do, for me anyway. ;-)

Kris mentioned she's enlisting her Weight Watchers knowledge to help her get back to her regular eating habits - I'm doing something similar. It cracked me up when we were chatting about what to do for this week's recipe, that we found we were in the same "place" per say on wanting to get back the control. I have to get back to my happy weight and then I can maintain easily. It's once it gets out of control that it stays out of control. So, I need a jump-start to get me back on track and one that I have no excuses for not using, so I decided to try Nutrisystem's 5 Day Weight Loss kit from Walmart. I bought 2 of them, for a total of 10 days. I've never ever done anything like this, I usually just do my own foods etc. I've never tried the pre-packaged pre-portioned kind of thing, although you do supplement it with fresh fruit and whatnot from what I've read. As I said, I've done my own thing usually, plus I've bought Healthy Choice, Lean Cuisine and some Weight Watcher frozen meals to add in. But, for some reason I think this time it's a good idea to make the beginning of this endeavor as no-brainer as much as possible. 

So, I decided to start getting back to my tried-and-true snacking favorites that are good and good for me. Get back into those habits now, so that when the jump start kits are done, I've set myself back up to healthier eating habits. This granola recipe is one of them. I'd keep this stuff with me at all times it seemed, lol, it's always been helpful when I find myself in the "I need to drop a few pounds" situation. It's good and filling and has kept me from some poorer choices! ;-) Plus it's super easy to make - that's the best part. ;-)

The ingredients. Very simple and readily available. I usually have all the items in my pantry at all times anyway. Walnuts (or whatever nut I have the most of on hand, this time around it was walnuts), brown sugar, oatmeal, vanilla and dried fruit. I've included the dried fruit here (it's a mix of cherries, cranberries and blueberries), but I didn't add it to my final product, as I like to add it in when I want it. Not always in the mood for it in my granola, lol. ;-)

In a large bowl, combine your oatmeal and nuts.

Next combine one cup of firmly packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup water in a 4 cup microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. It will boil over, trust me on this, lol. I've learned from experience so you want to give it plenty of room to do it's thing! LOL ;-) You then put it in the microwave and cook on high for about 5 minutes, or until sugar dissolves. After you take it out of the microwave, add in your 4 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp salt. Make sure you stir it well until the salt dissolves, I've had it happen more than once that when I add the syrup to the oat mixture the salt is still on the bottom of the measuring cup... 

Once your syrup is ready, pour it over the oat and nut mixture. Stir well to make sure it's all coated evenly.

After the mixture is good an coated, spread it on your parchment-prepared cookie sheets. I like to drop mine unevenly - keeping it lumpy so I get good clumps when it's baked. Put the cookie sheets in the oven for about 45-60 min or until golden and crunchy. At this point, when it comes out of the oven, you can add in the dried fruit if you're using it. (As I said before, I add my fruit when I eat it as desired) Once it's cooled completely store in an airtight container. 

This is one of those recipes you can make your own, add a touch of cinnamon and some dried apples and have an apple and cinnamon granola etc... Lots of ways to play with your food! :-D

I found this recipe originally in Kathleen Daeleman's cookbook "Cooking Thin with Chef Kathleen", I used to watch her show and she's awesome! 

Crunchy Granola

1 c firmly packed brown sugar *

1/2 c water

4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

8 c old-fashioned rolled oats

2 c chopped pecans, walnuts or slivered almonds

Dried fruit (optional)

1) Preheat over to 275°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2) Combine brown sugar and water in at least a 4 cup microwavable glass measuring cup or bowl. Nothing smaller or it will likely boil over. Place in microwave on high for about 5 minutes and cook until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from microwave and add vanilla and salt. Stir until salt dissolves. 

3) Place oats and nuts in a large bowl and pour the brown sugar syrup over them. Stir until thoroughly mixed and coated. Spread mixture onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake 45-60 minutes or until golden and crunchy. 

4) When mixture comes out of the oven it's still pretty pliable, if you're using dried fruit, add it in at this time. When it's cooled completely, store in airtight container. 

*If you want your granola clumpier, you can use 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar. You can use your hands to clump it together as you drop it on the cookie sheet, but I usually just drop it in clumps directly. Once it's cooked it will be clumped, just handle it carefully to keep it that way. Mine usually comes out in big pieces so I just break into the size I want.  

Happy and healthy snacking, everyone!

Food Friday - Sweet Treats for Our Sweeties

From Kris B.

I'm not one for the overly romantic expressions of Valentine's Day.  I don't expect fine chocolate and a dozen perfect roses.  Nor do I give the male equivalent, whatever that is, to my Valentine sweetheart.  We tend more naturally  toward a simple and genuine spoken "I love you!" and some quiet time together over a nice cup of coffee and perhaps a shared sweet treat, which is sometimes bought and sometimes homemade.  

All in all, my hubby is pretty good guy and awesome husband.  He makes the bed every morning before heading out to the kitchen to pack our lunches.  He empties the cat litter and takes the trash out.  He's good about helping with the laundry and dishes.  More importantly, he always knows when I need a hug and when I need to be left alone.  He knows when my body hurts and when my heart hurts.  He respects the quirky person that I am.  That is saying a lot!  

He does, however, have one major character flaw; he does not like chocolate in baked goods.  No chocolate cake, no chocolate iced donuts, no chocolate chip cookies, and no brownies.  He prefers his baked goods (and his wife) to be blonde...and with coffee.

It has taken the chocoholic in me some time to not immediately reach for the chocolate chip cookie or brownie ingredients when baked goods are called for.  But after six years, I now will think Snickerdoodle or peanut butter cookies and "blondies" first, thus proving that old dogs can be taught new tricks!

In the recipe box that my mom gave me in 1983 when I got married the first time, she included a basic recipe for what she called "Butterscotch Squares."  In all honesty, I always thumbed right past that card giving it not even a glance because of its lack of chocolate until I married "Mr. I Don't Like Chocolate In My Baked Goods."  Suddenly I found myself reaching for that neglected recipe.  How did my mom know back in 1983 that in 2010 I would need a recipe for "Butterscotch Squares," more commonly known as blondies?   

Most recipes for blondies call for the same ingredients as real brownies minus the chocolate.  They get their added "flavor" from nuts.  The recipe that my mom gave me calls for walnuts, which admittedly are my least favorite kind of nuts.  I will usually substitute the walnuts with pecans.  Though nuts are perfectly okay with both of us, I wanted to come up with something, some ingredient, that would make these blondies a little bit special for my hubby.  Coffee is always the first thing that comes to mind when I am thinking of ways to his heart...and stomach.  

Since any kind of brownie gets its liquid from only butter and egg, I wasn't sure how to incorporate actual coffee because of the additional liquid.  I finally had an "aha" moment and decided to add espresso powder.  Success!  So here I share with you one of my sweetie's favorite sweet treats, Espresso Blondies. 

Espresso Blondies

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. espresso powder

1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.  Glass works best.

My mom’s recipe called for melting the butter first.  My daughter, the trained pastry chef, says the butter should be used at room temperature, but not melted.  I have done it both ways and have not noticed a marked difference.  

in an electric mixer mix the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and continue mixing until creamy.

Mix the vanilla and espresso powder together in a small bowl and then add to the batter.  

Then add the flour, mixing just until it is incorporated.  Do not overmix.  The batter will be quite stiff.

Spread the batter into the greased pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until blondies are golden brown on the top and start to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let the blondies cool completely before cutting.  If you line your baking pan with parchment paper, you can cool them in the pan for ten minutes and then lift the blondies and place them on a cooling rack to speed up the process.

This recipe can be easily doubled to make a 9x13 pan. The one time that I did this, I did not have enough brown sugar so I used 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar and a 1/2 cup of white sugar.  It worked just fine.

From Tracey G.

I have no idea how I came to find this recipe, I'm sure I didn't search for it on purpose, lol, as I'm really not a big fan of German Chocolate cake - well, the frosting I should say, as it's not ever really been a favorite of mine. So I must have stumbled upon it by accident, while looking for something else, likely some kind of bar cookie for a bake sale or something. I think it originally came from the Betty Crocker site, but I can't be sure anymore as it's been quite a few years ago that I acquired it. And I haven't made it in ages either actually. So when Kris and I were talking about doing sweet treats in honor of Valentine's Day, it popped into my head. Glad it did, because I forgot how much I really do like them! LOL And oh my goodness are they simple to make, wow, super easy.

 I love bar cookies, they are a great thing to have in your bag of tricks for when you need something fast and easy, for whatever reason - bar cookies and easy brownies are a great go-to when you need a quick batch of treats. I remember I'd made a batch of some kind of chocolate chip bar cookie (another recipe I need to resurrect!) for a fund raiser for a person in my community who had been diagnosed with cancer, the local bar/restaurant where everyone went put the fundraiser on - I believe there was an auction and so forth. So, anyway, I'd made a batch, packaged them up nicely and left them on the kitchen island to be taken the next day, a Saturday, early. Well, my mom was living with me even then and before she'd left for work she'd thought they were for us here at home, so she'd helped herself to a few, lol. I had to quickly bake up more - thank goodness for bar cookies! I had another batch done in no time - and they sold fast because I got them there while they were still warm, lol. So, yes indeed thank goodness for the wonderfully easy bar cookie, one pan, a few cuts and you've cookies or treats for a few people ;-) 

As I said, this recipe is super easy, a box of German Chocolate cake mix, a tub of German Chocolate frosting or otherwise known as creamy coconut pecan frosting, 1 cup chocolate chips, butter and milk. That's it. :-) Preheat the oven to 350°F....

Cut the butter into the cake mix with a pastry blender or fork...

Until the mixture looks like fine crumbs...mine still had some larger crumb to it, but it still worked out just fine ;-)

I like to line the pan with foil so I can pull it out to cut it into bars easily. I then lightly grease the foil. Next, you pat in about 2 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture and bake for about 10 min.

After the 10 minute baking, remove it from the oven and sprinkle on the cup of chips. Then you drop tablespoonfuls of the frosting evenly over them. With the remaining crumb mixture, mix in 1/4 c of milk, and then drop that onto the frosting layer. Pop back into the oven and bake for about 25-30 min. When the top cake layer is dry to the touch, it's done. Cool it completely, then pop into the fridge until firm. 

And now, the recipe:

German Chocolate Cake Bars

2/3 c butter or margarine, softened

1 pkg German chocolate cake mix

1 c (6oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

1 tub creamy coconut pecan frosting, ready-to-spread

1/4 c milk

1) Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease bottom and sides of rectangular pan, 13x9x2 inches.

2) Cut butter into cake mix in medium bowl, using pastry blender or fork, until mixture looks like fine crumbs. Press half of the mixture, 2 1/2 cups, in bottom of pan. 

3) Bake 10 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked layer, drop frosting by tablespoonfuls over the chocolate chips. Stir milk into remaining cake mixture, drop by teaspoonfuls onto frosting layer.

4) Bake 25-30 minutes or until cake portion is slightly dry to the touch; cool completely. Refrigerate until firm. Cut as desired. To get 48 bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows.

May your Valentine’s Day be sweet!