An Apple a Day

....makes the doctor happy! I always love a good reason to try a new recipe. Sometimes I'll try one and just take it to the lounge, but I really like an even to cook for. This weekend, I got just that! My Sunday School class had lunch together after church. Mrs. V made a yummy brisket with dirty rice and salad. Michelle brought chocolate delight (which we call Joe's surprise...I'll have to make it some time and tell the story...it's a good one). I decided to try Abby's Apple Streusel Cake. It turned out great! Everyone liked it (I think!). :-) M went back for another piece and Mrs. V kept a piece for breakfast (I think it would be a GREAT breakfast!). Abby served her cake without the glaze but when I asked the crowd whether they wanted glaze or no glaze, the IMMEDIATE response was "Glaze!" Okay...glaze it is. I think I have to agree...the glaze was a great addition. I did make a couple of adaptations to make it a bit "healthier" and because of what I had on hand. Three other changes were because I forgot to add an ingredient and didn't completely read the recipe! First off, I forgot to add the melted butter to the apple mixture before I put the first half in. I did add it to the portion used for the topping. Honestly, since you mix the first half in, I don't think it really needs that extra butter. So you really could just add about 1-2 tablespoons melted butter the apples AFTER putting the first half in the batter. The second change I made (because of what I had in my pantry) was to use apple sauce instead of apple juice. Now, my cake was a tad dry. I don't know if it was due to the half and half flour, the apple sauce, or because I cooked it a bit too long. It wasn't overly dry, so I'm not too concerned. Thirdly, I didn't read the part about pouring half the batter in the pan then adding half the apples then topping with batter. SO, after I put all the batter in the pan, I swirled (with generous swirls!) half the apples into the batter...it worked well. This recipe uses surprisingly little butter for a cake recipe (Oh...I did decrease the butter to 6 T instead of 8 T. Another possible reason for slight dryness...though I'm apt to believe that it was more due to slight overbaking than otherwise.). I highly recommend this cake...it's a nice fall cake that I think will please many palates.
Apple Streusel Cake adapted from Creative Cook's Kitchen
Streusel:
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup chopped apples
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 cup AP, I cup whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (I used 6 T)
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup apple juice (I used apple sauce)

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons apple juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 9- or 10-inch tube pan. To prepare streusel, in a medium bowl combine brown sugar, apples, pecans, flour and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter (I did this after the first addition of the apple mixture to the batter)

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; beat well after each addition. Add vanilla.

3. Set mixer to low; alternately beat flour mixture and apple juice (or sauce) into egg mixture. Spoon half the batter into tube pan. Sprinkle half the streusel over batter. Spoon remaining batter over streusel, carefully spreading it to make an even layer. Swirl batter with a knife to make a marble pattern. (or do as I did and vigorously swirl the apples into the batter after putting all the batter in)

4. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven; sprinkle top with remaining streusel (that now has butter in it). Return cake to the oven; bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (I checked at 20 minutes and cooked for 10 more minutes but probably could have taken it out earlier. Yours may take up to 35 minutes. Watch carefully and don't let it overbake or the cake will be dry.) Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Combine powdered sugar and apple juice. Mix well. Turn cake onto a serving plate; invert so streusel is on top. I did this by transferring it to a plate and then flipping onto the dish I was serving from. Drizzle glaze over cake and serve.

Jumbo Fun

I saw a yummy looking treat on katrina's site a while back and decided to try it, but I failed to get the caramels needed, so I just make "regular" rice krispie treats with the jumbo version. There is something different about these jumbo krispies...I really liked it. They are made from whole grain (supposedly), so I guess that technically makes these healthier. Plus, rice krispies aren't the most decadent of treats to start with. I do recommend these, though...it is a jumbo pan of fun! Also, check out Sarah's giveaway here. It's her first food giveaway and would be a great snack to have if you're on call or running around busy with the kids or just out and can't get to food quickly.

Jumbo Krispies
3-4 T melted butter or margarine
1 bag (14-16oz) marshmallows
6 cups jumbo rice krispies

Melt the butter and marshmallows in a sauce pan. Stir the melted mixture over the krispies while stirring. Very quickly spread the mixture in a greased 13X9 pan and allow to cool. Enjoy.

Simple Spaghetti Squash

Whenever I get spaghetti squash, I tend to simply use it as a base. this time I wanted to make something with it. I found a yummy looking yet simple recipe on allrecipes. I was unsure of how it would turn out but when I finished the portion I packed for call I said, "Mmmm, I wish I had more." The biggest problem was that i put too much onion in it. I thought my onions looked small, so I put two in...yeah, one means one! The saltiness of the olives and feta is a good compliment to the sweet squash taste. Highly recommend this one...if you like spaghetti squash.
Simple Squash Dinner

• 1 spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used 3 roma)
  
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons sliced black olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
  Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the prepared baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a sharp knife can be inserted with only a little resistance. Remove squash from oven, and set aside to cool enough to be easily handled.
  Heat some olive oil or cooking spray in a skillet over medium heat. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and cook only until tomatoes are warm. Use a large spoon to scoop the stringy pulp from the squash, and place in a medium bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Serve warm.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...but It's a Cookie!

So, these are "halloween" cookies, but they're too good to pass up showing you...maybe you could use them for something else slightly modified. When I saw this cookie, I knew that I wanted to make it for our last call this month. It was so much fun and so fall-y. It comes from Oatmeal Cookie Guy, so you know it's pretty good. Honestly, I would have rather left out the oatmeal and just used flour for a shortbread cookie...some people thought the oatmeal was coconut! Somehow, mine ended up a little too dry...I did only use 2 2/3 T (tablespoons) butter for each, but somehow I don't imagine that 1/3 T being so detrimental. Who knows! When I started cutting the dough I thought I was in trouble...it was breaking apart, but as I moved in more, it held together and made pretty little cookies. The response was good. One of my co-residents tasted one and immediately got excited because it reminded her of the chocolate orange candies; and, indeed, it does have a slight orange taste but it's not overpowering...I almost wish there was more. One of our docs even came in and, after asking me if I was good at this, replied "Yep, you're good at this" as he grabbed two more cookies. :-) This would be a fun one to try and modify for other holidays. Maybe red, white, and green with int for Christmas? Hmmm!

Vanilla (yellow) Layer

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon scrambled egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon yellow food coloring

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup finely ground Nilla Wafer cookies

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Orange

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon scrambled egg

1 teaspoon orange extract

1/8 teaspoon orange food coloring (or the formula given on back of box)

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Layer

3 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon scrambled egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon black food coloring (or just combine colors until you like the color!)

1/2 cup finely ground oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Repeat Steps 1-4 for each of the three layers of dough.

1. In your Kitchen Aid or a large mixing bowl, cream together the creamables.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients and then add to the creamables. Mix together until smooth.
3. In another bowl, add the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, fold together until evenly distributed. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamables and wet ingredients. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until chilled and firm.
   

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5. Roll out each chilled dough ball into a 1/8-1/4"-thick sheet.
6. Stack the three layers of rolled-out dough on top of a piece of plastic wrap.
7. Roll the stack onto itself to create a cookie dough log and wrap with the plastic wrap. Smooth out the log until it is even and cylindrical.
8. Place the dough log in the freezer for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
9. Preheat oven to 350º.
10. Remove the dough log from the freezer. Using a serrated knife, cut 1/4"-thick disks from the log.
11. Place the dough slices about 2 inches apart on Silpat- or parchment paper-lined cookie sheets.
12. Bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookie sheets from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes. Then place cookies on wire racks to cool.

Foot-"less" and Fancy Free

When I saw the Daring Bakers' challenge for this month, I was really excited. Finally, something that is a bit different from a challenging cake...and it's something that I've been wanting to make! Macaroons!!! The 2009 October Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to us by Ami S. She chose macarons from Claudia Fleming’s The Last Course: The Desserts of Gramercy Tavern as the challenge recipe.

These were a bit different than I thought; I thought that macaroons by definition had coconut in them. However, according to wikipedia :-) (or the lovely explanation on the DB site if I had read it well!) they are "made either with coconut and egg white or with a coarse almond paste." So, they CAN have coconut, but don't have to have it. I'd like to try one with coconut at some point but didn't this time. I guess, technically, with my nut substitution, I didn't really made a macaroon, as I used pecans, but let's look past that. It appeared to me, after looking at the discussion board, that my attempt at macaroons had failed. I did not have any of the lovely "feet" that everyone was talking about. However, after looking at multiple pictures, I see that it doesn't HAVE to have this foot process. Maybe mine actually needed to cook longer, they did seem very dry to me. I decided to flavor my cookies with cinnamon and fill them with (store bought!) Nutella. Let me just say that these flavors perfectly complemented each other. I took the cookies to call with me and they were QUICKLY eaten. I really enjoyed the texture of the cookie. It was soft and just melted in my mouth without that grainy meringue texture. Yum! I would definitely try these again. Thanks Ami for the great challenge! I loved it. Check out more results here.

French Macarons

Ingredients
Confectioners’ (Icing) sugar: 2 ¼ cups (225 g, 8 oz.)
Almond flour: 2 cups (190 g, 6.7 oz.) (I made pecan flour by processing 2 cups pecans with 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar)
Granulated sugar: 2 tablespoons (25 g , .88 oz.)
Egg whites: 5 (Have at room temperature)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). Combine the confectioners’ sugar and almond flour in a medium bowl. If grinding your own nuts, combine nuts and a cup of confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a food processor and grind until nuts are very fine and powdery.
2. Beat the egg whites in the clean dry bowl of a stand mixer until they hold soft peaks. Slowly add the granulated sugar and beat until the mixture holds stiff peaks.
3. Sift a third of the almond flour mixture into the meringue and fold gently to combine. If you are planning on adding zest or other flavorings to the batter, now is the time. Sift in the remaining almond flour in two batches. Be gentle! Don’t overfold, but fully incorporate your ingredients.
4. Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain half-inch tip (Ateco #806). You can also use a Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. It’s easiest to fill your bag if you stand it up in a tall glass and fold the top down before spooning in the batter.
5. Pipe one-inch-sized (2.5 cm) mounds of batter onto baking sheets lined with nonstick liners (or parchment paper).
6. Bake the macaroon for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and raise the temperature to 375°F (190°C). Once the oven is up to temperature, put the pans back in the oven and bake for an additional 7 to 8 minutes, or lightly colored.
7. Cool on a rack before filling.

Yield: 10 dozen. Ami's (and my) note: My yield was much smaller than this. I produced about two dozen filled macaroons.

Fish Tales

You know how when people go fishing and catch some amazing sized fish, every time they tell the story the fish gets bigger? Well, you'd think that's what happened with this piece of tilapia when I tell you that it was the size of my entire pan...but it's not! It really was! Now this is obviously a toaster oven pan, but still! This fish was good for about three meals (really 2.5 but well paired made three). I wanted to do something a little different from what I usually do with tilapia, so I pulled out the Panko bread crumbs I found at Big Lots and thought. What could I use to bind the crumbs to the fish? I didn't really want to use egg...mayo! I pulled out my mayo (which is fake stuff, the fat free kind...I know, I know!). Just season your fish, spread some mayo on it and sprinkle with panko crumbs. For some color, which I didn't even think about but my friend Sarah suggested, spray the crumbs with Pam or even a bit of butter. In a 425 degree oven cook for 12 minutes or until the fish flakes. This is SOOO good and moist! Probably one of the best ways I've had tilapia.

Be-Twix-t and Between

When our college students returned to school, the Sunday school hosted a welcome back spaghetti lunch (eww...not a big fan!) and I offered to make spaghetti and a dessert. For the dessert, I decided to make something different because I knew that there would be a lot of chocolate chip cookies and brownies (which seemed to be the popular thing to bring). I went thumbing through Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my Home to Yours. Finally, I settled on what she calls "Snickery Squares." After making these, I think they are really more like Twix (with the addition of peanuts). Now, these bars are supposed to have a layer of caramel between the shortbread crust and the chocolate on top. Ummm...so, I didn't realize that dulce de leche is different from caramel sauce. Let me tell you...IT IS!!!! I basically had a soup of caramel. I put the bars in the refrigerator and it solidified some but after I cut the bars the caramel very quickly ran out. Even with this mistake...totally on my part!...the bars were delicious! I loved how the caramel kind of soaked into the shortbread. I could just eat the shortbread with caramel and be happy. YUM! I would make these again but get the right product for the caramel next time...or do that trick with sweetened condensed milk. Isn't there some way to cook it and make dulce de leche? I doubled the recipe and it seemed to work well. Anyway, with Halloween coming up, make your own candy with this recipe...Snickers or Twix...it's good. :-) Snickery Squares from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my Home to Yours
Crust:
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 T confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk (I may not have used this...don't remember!)

Filling:
1/3 cup sugar
3 T water
1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
1 1/2 cups store-bought dulce de leche (oops... I used caramel)

Topping:
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet chips)
1/2 stick unsalted butter, room temp

Preheat oven to 350 and prepare an 8-inch pan. For crust toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar, and salt in a food processor. toss in cold butter pieces and pulse until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Pour the yollk over the ingredients and pulse until clumps are formed. Turn into the prepared pan and press over the bottom of the pan. Prick with a fork and place pan into the oven, bake for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges. For the filling you will candy the peanuts first. To do this, put the sugar and water in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and cook while stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolved. Continue cooking, without stirring, until it just starts to color (high heat). Toss in peanuts and start stirring right away. Stir until the peanuts are coated and begin to turn white and then turn amber colored. Remove from heat and pour over a silicone liner or parchment paper. Cool. When cool, break into small pieces. Spread the dulce de leche over teh shortbread base and sprinkle over half of the candied nuts.

For the topping melt the chocolate in a bowl (I used a microwave). When melted, gently stir in the butter until fully blended. Pour over the dulce de leche and smooth with an icing spatula. Then sprinkle the other half of nuts (finely chopped) over the top. Refrigerate about 20 minutes. May serve cold after refrigerating for 3 hours.

Organized....or Not!

Do you ever need help keeping things organized? I do...yet, I don't use that help as I should. Maybe a little organizer before the new year would help. If you need help, stop by Sarah's site and check out her latest give-away. It's a lovely orange planner all set and ready for 2010 to come.

One way I keep my recipes organized is to bookmark recipes that I think look good. Sometimes I randomly browse these recipes in search of a good new treat to try. Last month, I found a recipe that I had bookmarked for a LONG time (maybe my organizational method doesn't work so well!). It was some brown sugar cookies from Jane. One reason I wanted to try these cookies is that they are simply a sugar cookie, just made with brown sugar...a little different take. Another reason....brown butter! Mmmmm! These cookies did NOT disappoint. They reminded me a bit of molasses cookies (which I don't think I've posted on here yet...will do!), which makes sense seeing as brown sugar is simply granulated sugar made moist by adding molasses. The cookies were simple to make and temptingly delicious. I highly recommend them.

Brown Sugar Cookies modified from Just Jane
11 tablespoons unsalted butter (I decreased the browned butter to 8 tablespoons and then had three waiting to be used...so used that instead of 4)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (about 1 3/4 ounces)
2 cups packed dark brown sugar (14 ounces)
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Heat 8 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 3 tablespoons butter into hot butter to melt; set aside for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, baking soda, and baking powder together in medium bowl; set aside. Mix granulated sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar together for rolling the dough in later.

3. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups brown sugar and salt to bowl with cooled butter; mix until no sugar lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula; add egg and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bowl. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

4. Rolling dough into walnut sized balls, about 1- 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, toss balls in reserved sugar mixture to coat and set on prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake one sheet at a time until cookies are browned and still puffy and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone) 12 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Do NOT overbake.

6. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes...but not too long or they'll be hard to get off the pan; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

When You Don't Have Time

My time in the kitchen has been limited recently. Some of that because I'm lazy and some of it true lack of time. I know that a lot of people have this "issue" as well. However, all of us like a good homemade cinnamon roll from time to time. A while back I found a great looking recipe for cinnamon roll muffins that claimed to have the taste of cinnamon rolls but made much more quickly than those delectable treats. I decided to take these one day last month for call instead of cookies...I had been reprimanded for bringing cookies because apparently some residents don't have much self control. I figured that muffins would be less harmful as there are less per batch and you can tell how many have been eaten. :-) These muffins were very good and did have a cinnamon roll taste about them, but the texture is obviously different. Part of that may be due to the fact that I did have to modify the recipe slightly...I didn't have any yeast; so, these were your traditional muffin. The original recipe may be more like a cinnamon roll than the muffins I ended up with. Try for yourself!Easy Cinnamon Roll Muffins from Joy the Baker

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 tsp active dry or rapid rise yeast (I didn't have any...it works without but would be good with)
2/3 cup warm milk (100-110F; low fat is fine)
3 tbsp vegetable oil (I think I reduced this...not for sure)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg

Filling/Topping

2 tbsp butter, room temperature
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground cardamom

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tbsp milk or cream

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Stir milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and egg into the flour mixture. Mix well, until very smooth. Pour into prepared pan and let rest for 15 minutes.
While the dough rests, mix together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom in a small bowl using a fork (or fingers) until all the butter has been incorporated into the sugar and mixture is crumbly. Divide the batter between 12 greased muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly on top of rested dough and press the mixture down into the dough with your fingertips (or swirl in with a spatula.)
Place pan into a cold oven, then set the oven temperature to 350F.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until bread is lightly browned at the edges and the center of the bread springs back when lightly pressed. Some of the sugar mixture on top may still be bubbling.
Cool for at least 30 minutes before whisking the powdered sugar and milk together to form an icing and drizzling it onto the bread.

Shrimpy is Often Good

I have now transitioned to a month on pediatric wards (basically, in-hospital team for kids). Last night I was on call...and our post-call list is three patients long. That is UNHEARD of...incredibly, well, shrimpy! I will take shrimpy. I'll also take shrimpy for a good lunch. I got an e-mail from Real Simple with this yummy looking taco recipe that I decided to transform into a salad. Initially it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but after sitting for a little while it got better. Probably would be better as the tacos, but I thought it was a refreshing change for a salad. The biggest problem was the cole slaw...it was just too tough for me and didn't really soak up the dressing very well. If you try this, maybe play around with the greens...the shrimp and citrus flavors were wonderful!

Shirmp and Citrus Salad
1/2 bag cole slaw
4 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons sour cream/Greek yogurt
salt and pepper
1 cup corn kernels, cut fresh from cob (about 2 ears)
1 can mandarin oranges
1 pound medium shrimp, thawed and grilled
sliced almonds (optional - I didn't use but just now thought it would be a yummy addition)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk the orange and lime juices, sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the cabbage and corn. Let sit, tossing occasionally, for 10 minutes. Overnight is better.
2. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Cook on grill (I used George Forman...you could just saute in a skillet) Cook until opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. When ready to serve, add oranges to slaw (almonds would make a good addition, too) and serve shrimp on top.
   

NICU is Daring Enough

Yes, it is Daring Bakers' (check the blogroll here!) post day and I have not post. I think that it is fair to say that this month, the NICU is daring enough for me! The challenge this month was a lovely, buttery puffed pastry...that I used to LOVE when I was little. Well, I've never actually had it homemade but one of my favorite dished was a chicken dip that my mom served in these very pastries...the American version, straight from the freezer...they were delicious! And to top it off...it's QUICK AND EASY...and obviously kid friendly! I have recreated this recipe with a few changes...adding some broccoli and decreasing the delicious creamy stuff. I must say that the regular version IS better but the slimmed down version is still quite yummy! I'll give you both here. And if you're daring enough you can make some of these delicious pastries and try out chicken dip for yourself!

Chicken Dip (the original)
1 8oz cream cheese (1/3 less fat is what my mom uses), softened
1 can cream of mushroom soup (98% fat free)
1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1/2 cup milk

Stir ingredients together and microwave at 50% for 6 minutes. Stir and then on high for 3-4 minutes. Serve in puffed pastry "baskets."

Slimmed down version - okay...I don't remember what I did because it's been so long, but I know I used a bag of broccoli and less cream cheese and soup...probably half, enough to coat the chicken and broccoli (the other version is very creamy). Then I topped it with some fiber one and baked in the oven at 350 until bubbly.

Snickerdoodle Cake

I have come to the conclusion that snickerdoodles are one of my favorite cookies. So, whenever I see something with the name "snickerdoodle" in it, I want to make it. Like snickerdoodle muffins. Or how about snickerdoodle blondies. Or snickerdoodle pound cake from Julie at Dozen Flours? Well, that's what I decided to make this week for a meeting where M was talking about a mission trip to Nicaragua. It was for a group of women, so I knew that this lightly flavored cake would be perfect. I did have one little snag while I was making it (on my pre-call day knowing that I would not have time to make it post-call)...I CANNOT FIND MY BUNDT PAN! I'm so sad...somehow, in my move, it has been misplaced and I still haven't found it. Thankfully, I have a glass tube pan from Granny. It is a bit smaller than your typical bundt pan, so, the cake came close to overflowing, but it still worked. I did have to change one thing in the recipe because I didn't have any sour cream; so, I substituted buttermilk in equal portions. I think it worked, though sour cream probably would have made for a slightly moister cake. One of the cool things about this cake is the crust that the cinnamon sugar leaves on the top of the cake...LOVE IT! I also love the layers left by the cinnamon mixing with the batter. Beautiful! So, how did it go over at the meeting? I was worried that I would come home with lots of leftover cake...well, I came home with ONE piece! I'd say the ladies liked it. So, try this delicious cake...it's perfect for a tea, Sunday dessert, or just beacause. And stay tuned, because I have another different snickerdoodle recipe to try out sometime. Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup white sugar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature (I used 1 cup buttermilk)

In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix together really well and set aside. Preheat oven to 325F (oops...I did it at 350).

Spray a 9 inch Bundt pan with cookiing spray, being careful to cover all the nooks and cranies, as well as the center tube. Gently dust the entire inside of the pan with the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Beat just the butter on medium speed for one full minute. Add the white sugar and mix for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and blade and add the brown sugar.

Mix for 2 minutes until the mixture looks light brown and uniform in color. Add the eggs one at a time, beating each for 1 full minute. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream; beat well. (I just added all the flour at once AFTER adding the buttermilk...partly because I just didn't read this instruction. It still worked but might be more tender if you do it the correct way.)

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture over top the cake. Spread the rest of the batter into the pan and sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top. (If you run out of cinnamon sugar, you can mix just 1/4 cup of sugar + 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon together for the top of the cake. It should be more than enough.)

Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Sweat and Sour

...and no, that's not a typo! In July I decided that I wanted to try and make a vegetarian version of shepherd's pie...I guess that would make it a gardener's pie! So, I searched for recipes but didn't really find one I liked. I did notice, however, that most recipes used curry powder...which I tend to enjoy. So, I chopped up some veggies including eggplant, zucchini, squash (summer and pattypan), and onions. I sauteed these in my cute new PINK pan that I purchased at Kroger (ha!). Then I added some seasonings along with curry powder. A few minutes later this weird, sweaty smell arose from my pan. What is it with curry that makes it smell like sweat? Hmmm...I still like the taste of it! One other thing I changed from the traditional shepherd's pie is substituting mashed cauliflower for the potatoes! I have mentioned in the past how much I love mashed cauliflower and I think it really worked for this dish. On top of the dish went Parmesan cheese and some sharp cheddar, which browned nicely. Now, to the taste...overall, I really enjoyed this. However, there was something not quite right...something, oh, sour! It drove me crazy for a while, then I determined that it was the pattypan squash. Every bite I had that contained this squash was a bit sour. I'm wondering if the squash I had just wasn't quite ripe, because I've had pattypan before and don't remember it being sour. I think this was a fun variation on a comfort food classic...try it out some time with your OWN variations! Gardener's Pie
1 eggplant, cubed
1 zucchini, cut into thin slices
1 summer squash, cut into thin half moons
1 patty pan squash, cubed
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
1 tomato, cubed (optional - wanted to increase the tomato)
1 onion, diced
salt, pepper
curry powder- 1/2 tsp or more as needed for proper seasoning
1 head cauliflower, steamed and then mashed/pureed (I used one and it really could use up to two heads)
Parmesan cheese, grated
sharp cheddar cheese

Prepare the cauliflower. In a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray, place eggplant, onions, and squashes. Saute until softened. Add seasoning and curry to taste. When softened more, add tomatoes and stir until heated through. In an oval baking dish or 11X8 pan, pour cooked vegetable mixture. Spread mashed cauliflower on top. Sprinkle a liberal amount of grated parmesan cheese on to and add a handful of cheddar cheese. Place in a 350 degree oven until bubbly and cheese has browned.

Lightened Up

So, my last call was MUCH better than my previous one. The babies were kind, didn't crump, and though there were lots of babies born, they were mostly on time. I was already sleep deprived after going to a retreat for our church college Sunday School and getting up early to come to call with M, so around 0030 when I was unable to keep my eyes open, I went to bed. I didn't get paged and got up around 6:30 (after fitful sleep). Then, we had a delivery to attend and I got to intubate a baby again...successful on the first time! Woo Hoo! My call was definitely lighter! And so is this bar cookie I took to call a couple of weeks ago. This is one of the recipes I had saved from a Cooking Light (April 2009). It's for a lightened up Butterscotch Bar. One reason I like it is that it uses sweetened condensed milk. Yes, I know this stuff is horrible for you, but I love it. I used to always get one of the flavors that "required" it when I would get sno-biz (Hawaiian shaved ice....so good!). However, this recipe only used 3/4 cup of it (about half a can). I didn't have any butterscotch and, after NOT reading the instructions, thought that white chocolate-chocolate swirled chips would be yummy. Well, you end up melting the chips, so the swirl didn't really matter! It still turned out being pretty good. The bars were a tad dry but not so dry that it hurt to eat them. I enjoyed one for breakfast post-call. :-) Lightened Chocolate (or Butterscotch) Bars from Cooking Light April 2009
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
9 ounces AP flour (2 cups)
2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (I only had old fashioned...maybe this is why they were a bit dry) 1/2 teaspoon salt (I didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk
1 1/4 cups butterscotch morsels (or your chosen flavor)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (I don't think I used nuts)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine sugar and butter in bowl. Sitr in vanilla and egg. Combine flour and oats and soda in a bowl. Add oat mixture to sugar mixture; stir until combined and crumbly. Place 3 cups oat mixture i the bottom of a cooking spray coated 13X9 pan. Press into the bottom of the pan. In a bowl place the sweetened condensed milk, morsels and microwave for 1 minute or until morsels melt, sitrring every 20 secconds. Stir in nuts if using. Scrape on top of crust until evenly covered. Sprinkly evenly with the remaining oat mixture and press into the milk mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Run a knife around the edges after removing from oven. Allow to cool completely. Yield: 36 bars at 146 calories a bar.

What Do I Say...

WARNING: The first of this post is a run-down of an on-call day in the NICU...if you just want the cookie, PLEASE scroll down to just above the first picture! :-) It's a great cookie!

I guess I'm liking the NICU thus far. I really like my babies, though some of them have decided that it's cool to just hang out and let us pump formula in the instead of sucking the bottle. We'll just have to teach them. I was on call Tuesday night and it was busy to say the least! Between 6:30 and 8:30 we had three deliveries to attend. Then from 10 until about 2:30 we were dealing with a baby who was crumping (basically trying to die). We sat there and watched while her heart rate dropped into the 40's and, at times, even to virtually zero. Somehow, she kept returning to a rhythm. By about an hour to two hours in to working with her, we knew she was dying but "stable" for the night. So, we went to bed...for 15 minutes when we were paged to another two deliveries...then returned to bed for 30 minutes when we were paged to a delivery only find that the baby was already in the NICU...strange! Got that baby situated and we were paged to ANOTHER delivery...where I successfully intubated the baby!!!!!! I was so excited. That's where my call went really bad. I was on rounds and the nurse came to tell us that the baby we worked on for so long had no heartbeat...and my attending decided that it was a good idea for me (after virtually no sleep) to pronounce her. Um....let's just say my emotions were running on high (or low). I had to compose myself before I gave a time of death, then had to compose myself before returning to round...and on and on. Let's just say I had several moment of tears and basically broke down in my car on the way home. I think, though, that it's a good thing that this happened. It helped me see that, even though in the heat of the moment, in the stress of trying to figure out what's going on you almost HAVE to detach so that you can get things done, I am still human and really do care about my patients. That sweet thing was so small and her Mama didn't get to take her home. I cannot imagine.

After all that, it was a good thing I had one solitary cookie left over from call! Yep...I'm continuing the tradition of making treats for call. This time, I purchased a bag of toffee and went in search of a cookie recipe, and, boy did I find a good one! This is, once again, from Anna. The recipe is actually from Reynolds wrap. I changed it a bit for what I had on hand. Although Anna calls them capuccino cookies, I honestly couldn't taste the coffee. That did NOT detract from the cookie itself, though. My fellow on call residents thoroughly enjoyed them...M even told me that I had to quit bringing such good things on call because he had already eaten around 7 cookies. :-) Even my attending had a couple...of course, he never got away from the NICU, so they served as his supper. Anyway, I highly recommend these...and I'm not even a huge chocolate fan! Chocolate Toffee Almond Cookies

2 1/2	cups flour
1/2	cup cocoa
1	teaspoon baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	cup (2 sticks) butter, softened - I used 1 stick plus 3 Tablespoons and they were still quite moist and delicious!
1	cup packed brown sugar
1/2	cup granulated sugar
2	tablespoons instant coffee
2	tablespoon milk
2	eggs
2	teaspoons vanilla extract
1	package (8 oz.) toffee bits, divided I didn't use the full package...probably have 1/2 cup left
1	cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks I used about 2/3 cups white chips and 1/3 plus a little more of semi-sweet chips
1/2	cup sliced almonds, toasted I used pecans

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a bowl (or just wait and do my quick combine on top of the butter sugar mixture!)

BEAT butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together in a large bowl, on medium speed of an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Dissolve instant coffee in milk. Beat in coffee mixture, eggs and vanilla until well blended.

ADD flour mixture gradually to creamed mixture; beat on low speed just until blended. Reserve 3/4 cup toffee bits; stir remaining toffee bits into dough. Drop by heaping tablespoons about 2-inches apart onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Combine chocolate chunks, almonds and reserved toffee bits (or white chocolate chips, pecans, and toffee!; set aside.

BAKE 4 minutes (cookies will still be wet on top.) Remove from oven; press cookie flat with the back of the measuring spoon. Sprinkle 1/2 heaping tablespoon almond-toffee mixture onto each cookie. Using the back of the measuring spoon again, lightly press topping into dough to form a larger round cookie.

CONTINUING BAKING 8 to 9 minutes longer or until cookies are set. Do not over bake. Slide parchment with cookies onto a wire rack to cool. This suggests using parchment paper...I didn't have any, so didn't use. IF you don't use it, be sure to remove the cookies after about 4 minutes of cooling or they will be VERY hard to remove from the pan!

It's ah Pizza-ah.

Before I get to the pizza, I want to make you aware of a simple way that you can help someone in need. Kristen, of Dine and Dish, has a friend, Ann, who is battling breast cancer. As you can imagine, there are lots of struggles that come along with this, one of which is money. Any time you visit Kristen's site some she "earns" money, which she is donating to Ann's family. So, stop by and help Ann out through Clicks-4-a-Cause. Now the pizza...I've been seeing several people making these wonderful looking vegetable pizzas. Well, I decided to join in and make a roasted veggie pizza. It was pretty good but I think that my yeast was pretty dead because the crust was fairly flat, whereas it is normally delicious! I didn't put much sauce ON the pizza because I was putting tomatoes on there, but after the fact, I think sauce on the crust would have been better. I ended up dipping it in sauce like you would stromboli. I used goat cheese on the pizza and it was pretty good. I'm going to have to revisit this sometime.Recipe...well, basically you make the crust linked above, roast the desired veggies (I did zucchini, squash, peppers, mushrooms and I think eggplant). Then spread sauce on, put the veggies on, add some tomatoes and cheese and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Baby, Baby, How was I Supposed to Know...

On Tuesday I started my new rotation in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Now, this is somewhat...okay, TOTALLY uncharted territory for me. I did not do a NICU rotation my fourth year in medical school and it just kind of scares me. Most of these babies are teeny tiny. All of mine are less than four pounds (most less than three) and turning them over to listen to their hearts the first day was a bit nerve wracking...I'm a pro now. Now, I'm on call tomorrow and have no upper level to help me as there are three interns this month to two upper levels. Yes, I am the chosen one to be on call alone. Apparently, this won't really change much because there are nurse practitioners on with us, but it still makes me nervous. I guess that's all the more chance for me to learn quickly. There is SO much that I just don't know.....but one thing I do know is that browned butter makes just about everything better. I've found that using browned butter allows you to use LESS butter. I guess the flavor is just so rich, that you don't need as much to give the flavor. So, several months ago I decided to make a new recipe for chocolate chip cookies using browned butter. I must say that they were a success. I took these to a college Sunday School gathering and several of the other teachers requested the cookies just for them! The texture of these was just perfect....crispy on the outside and soft, almost chewy on the inside. I'm definitely going to try this technique again for some other "traditional" cookies...wonder what a browned butter snickerdoodle would be like? Would it change the taste too much? Hmmm...might just have to try that out! In the mean time, enjoy these! Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 cup chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet over medium heat, cook the butter until melted and browned (about 3-4 minutes). Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. When cooled, cream together the browned butter and sugars. This will be thinner than the typical creamed mixture. Add egg and buttermilk and mix until combined. Stir together flour, soda, and bran. Mix into the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chunks. Place the dough on baking stone or sheet in tablespoon sized balls. Place stone in oven and cook for 8-9 minutes or until slightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Remove from stone and cool on cooling rack until ready to enjoy!