This Fall Pasta Dish is Divine!

Tonight I made Rachel Ray's recipe for Butternut & Parsley Penne with only a couple changes and it was SO good. Rich tasting, but with very little fat (if you forget the cheese like I did!) and easy to tweak to accommodate picky palates.
My changes:
Used caramelized onion instead of scallions
Omitted the chili pepper (hoping my 3-year old would eat this dish)
Forgot to add the cheese - but it honestly wasn't needed!
Added some leftover chicken breast

SO GOOD! Seriously.

Sneaky Peanut Butter & Cocoa Brownies

I don't usually gravitate towards recipes with "hidden" ingredients or call for hard-to-find flours or ingredients. But, when I found this recipe today for Lightened- Up Gluten Free Brownies I was intrigued because it doesn't call for ANY flour at all OR call for anything strange. Well, except for chickpeas...and I've had some lurking in my pantry for awhile...so awesome use for something that no one else in my house will eat!
Oh...but they did for dessert this evening. Heeheehee!
I tweaked this recipe a little and am pleased to say that these brownies received rave reviews from both my 2-yr old and my husband. 

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter & Cocoa Brownies
3/4 c. peanut butter (or nut butter of your choice)
15-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 c. milk
2 eggs
 1 T. vanilla
3/4 c. honey
3/4 c. dried mission figs
1/2 c. dark cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
Combine nut butter, chickpeas, milk, eggs, vanilla & honey in the bowl of a food processor. Puree mixture together. Add figs and pulse until figs are chopped fine and mixed in well. In a separate large mixing bowl, combine cocoa, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. Pour nut/chickpea mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
Spread batter evenly in your prepared dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until center is set.

Frost while still warm with Vegan Chocolate Ganache (like I did)!

Watch your loved ones devour these brownies and smile knowing you are sneaking in some extra protein into their diets. :)

Chocolate Velvet Dessert

Chocolate Velvet Dessert

1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
2 Tbs  sugar
1/4 c butter, melted

2 c semisweet chocolate chips
6 egg yolks
1  3/4 c  whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1/2 c butter
3 c powedered sugar
3 Tbs  cocoa
3-4 Tbs milk


Combine first three ingredients until crumbly. Press onto bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9in springform pan.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Melt chocolate chips in microwave or in saucepan on the stove, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool. In mixing bowl combine egg yolks, whipping cream and vanilla. Beat well. Gradually stir 1/3 of the cream mixture into the melted chocolate. Continue adding remaining cream, beating well to combine. Pour into colled crust.

Place pan on baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge to loosen. Cool for an hoour before topping with frosting.

For frosting, beat first four ingredients until combined; Then add milk by tablespoonfuls, beating after each addition until smooth.

Refrigerate after completely assembled. (and we found this to be even richer on day #2...if you can make it last until then!)

DIY Frame Desk Organizer

I saw this idea on Pinterest awhile ago and when I saw this I thought it would the perfect use for some scraps I had leftover from a skirt refashion.

It was really simple.

Here's what you need:

- an old frame with a removable back that can stand on its own
- three (or more) pieces of fabric
- hot glue
- paint (optional)

First off, this was originally a brown frame. I painted it black to match my fabric choice. (Think about the paint/fabric possibilities here!)

I cut three pieces of fabric so they stretched tightly across the back insert piece of the frame. I chose to have three pockets, but you can choose to have more or less. Starting at the top, I hot glued each piece along the bottom and sides, then inserted the back into the frame.

I'm Craving Thanksgiving Dinner Casserole

Imagine Roasted Turkey, Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole all rolled into one. It may sound odd, but the results last night were SO good. This recipe reminds me of "Impossible Pie"s which use a certain "convenience" product...which I don't use, but have fond memories of growing up.

Turkey & Vegetable "Thanksgiving" Casserole 

1 medium onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

16 oz. ground turkey

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 c. chicken stock

1 c. chopped fresh green beans

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1/2 c. skim milk

1 T. light olive oil

1/2 c. fried onions (Durkee)

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion, carrot and celery in 1 T. butter or oil until slightly softened. Add ground turkey and seasonings. Cook and and stir until meat is browned. Add the chicken stock and green beans and cook until liquid has evaporated and beans are cooked. Remove from the heat and mix in 1 T. of parsley. Turn meat mixture into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a small small whisk together the eggs, milk,oil and remaining parsley. Mix wet into the dry mixture. Pour evenly over meat mixture. Sprinkle with fried onions. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.

  

Yum.

Scooby Doo- Where Are You?

 One of my husband's imaginary friends as a child was Daphne - from Scooby-Doo .:) So it is only fitting that our daughter be her for Halloween - especially since it's her dada's favorite holiday and this is probably the last year we will be able to pick her costume. 

 I re-sized a small women's long sleeve t-shirt (from Goodwill for $1.75) to a 2T dress. For the light purple I used and old t-shirt of mine! The bottom of the dress was the bottom hem of my shirt and the ends of her sleeves were cut from the neck of the shirt - giving the edges a finished look that I didn't have to sew! The light green scarf was cut from one of my daughter's old shirts. 

Bonus! The dress doesn't scream costume, so she has a new outfit to wear.

Not bad for $1.75!

Easy Dill Pickles

In our house we go through insane amounts of pickles. Pickles on sandwiches, chopped pickles in salads, pickles eaten while they drip on my kitchen floor (ahem).

Despite the nearly rain-free summer we've had here in Indiana, our local farmer's market still has cucumbers, which means I can have homemade pickles. In the past I've made the kind that mirrors bread starter where you have to feed it floue every day or it dies (you know, the Ziploc baggie full of sludge your 'friends' give you to show how much their friendship means... but DOES produce dang good cake-like bread in the end.)

Anyway, this year I wanted simple. Not only has Indiana been rain-free here, it has been HOT. So the less I have to stand over the stove, the better.


Easy Dill Pickles

Prepare jars for pickles (which means make 'em clean with hot, soapy water). You decide how many jars you're making based on how thin you cut your cukes. The liquid is enough for 2-3 pint jars.

4-6 medium cucumbers    (I judge by how big around I want my pickles)
1 cup white-wine vinegar 
1/4 cup sugar
3 TBS salt
2 cups water
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed 

          (smashing tip: place clove on cutting board after peeled; take a wide butcher knife and lay it flat on the clove; pound down with your fist and voila! smashed garlic)

2 sprigs fresh dill per jar

Place dill springs in jars. Set aside.

In medium saucepan combine vinegar, sugar, salt, water and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Cut pickles into desired thickness....we like ours a bit thick. Place inside, leaving 1" head space. Pour liquid over pickles in jars, screw on seals/lids tightly. Let jars stand at room temperature to cool 1 hour. Store in fridge up to 2 weeks.