Chocolate Date Cupcakes (2 Star)

If you want a recipe for an extremely decadent, rich, chocolate cake, then click here. I made it once and it was chocolate magnificence, as the title indicates. When I made it I also made the mistake of calculating the calories contained therein, just because I was curious. All I have to say is, you don't want to know. I plan to reserve future makings for very special occasions.

However, I still wanted to be able to enjoy some moist, dense, chocolatey richness on any old regular day, so I decided to try to create something resembling this cake but also containing some healthful substances. I am far from expert in recipe creating, so I am sure that someone could easily improve upon this, but this is what I came up with. It fulfilled my desires in the moist, dense, and chocolatey categories, so I am fairly proud of myself. However, due to the fact that I used dates and fruit juice for a portion of the sweeteners, there is a bit of a different flavor which some of my boys were not fond of. This is why only two of my boys liked these. So, the resultant cake has a little less oil, a lot less sugar, whole grain flours, mousse and ganache replaced with a dusting of powdered sugar, and viola! Containing a fraction of the original caloric content these little chocolate satiated cupcakes are enough to satisfy a craving while imparting some antioxidants, vitamins, and fiber.





Chocolate Date Cupcakes

1 cup chopped, pitted dates
1/2 cup 100% white grape juice concentrate
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate squares
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small, microwave safe dish, microwave the grape juice concentrate on high for about a minute, or until it is hot. In a blender or food processor, puree the dates, grape juice concentrate, and cottage cheese until smooth.

In the same microwave safe dish used for the grape juice, microwave the chocolate squares on high for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Stir in the oil, sugar, and powdered sugar. Pour into the blender or food processor along with the eggs and whir briefly, until smooth.

In a separate, medium bowl, put the flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Pour the batter into a paper lined muffin tin, dividing the batter equally.

Bake in preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until cupcake centers spring back to the touch. Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar.

Doughnuts (4 Star)

For Halloween this weekend I made two kinds of doughnuts. This first kind was Pioneer Woman's raised doughnuts and they were challenging. I think if I tried making them another time or two I might get them right. The dough was so soft that after they rose it was really hard to get them into the oil without mutilating them. I read that the key to light, fluffy doughnuts is a really soft, loose dough, but I think mine were too soft. Also, I think my oil was probably not the correct temperature, either, since I didn't have a thermometer. A lot of the first ones I made cooked too long so they were grease bombs. (Sorry if you ate one of these at my party!) The last few I made weren't so bad. Brandon's mom made the maple frosting and that was the best part about them, I thought. Anyway, I guess it was good for a first try.

Click here for the recipe.



The other kind I made were pumpkin doughnuts and they turned out really good.

Click here for the recipe.

Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sauce (0 Star)

This is another recipe from Cheeky Kitchen. Unfortunately, not one of the younger crowd approved, but I thought they were great. The only change that I made was to use milk instead of cream. While cream is far, far superior in flavor and texture, it is also far, far superior in caloric content, and we are counting calories around here, ya know? (Sniff, sniff.)



I did use Queso Fresco in this (a first for me) because Cheeky Kitchen highly recommended it, but I think I would actually prefer Monterrey Jack. The Queso Fresco was mild, but it didn't thrill me and it was pricier. So for next time...Monterrey Jack it will be.



Click here to view recipe.

Chicken Nuggets (2 Star)

These are chicken nuggets that hide a multitude of veggies and are made a super quick and easy way. My way was even easier than the recipe, courtesy of Cheeky Kitchen, but not nearly as cute. I'm not all that great at cute but I sure did want easy.

Half of my boys loved these, half were not so thrilled. But this is one of those recipes that can be changed a million ways to suit your tastes, so I think if I tweak the seasonings a little more next time I may get more likers.



The ratio of veggies and egg to chicken turned out a tad runny for me so I changed things up a bit. And I increased the recipe quite a bit and used what veggies I had on hand.

Chicken Nuggets

1/3 head medium green cabbage
1/2 head medium cauliflower
2 medium carrots
2 eggs
2 1/2 lbs. ground chicken
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 dashes liquid smoke
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
Salt & pepper to taste

Put the veggies and eggs in a blender. Blend until pureed. Pour puree into a large bowl. Add the ground chicken, sea salt, onion powder and liquid smoke. Mix together with a fork or hands until well mixed. Butter a large cookie sheet. Spread a layer of half of the bread crumbs onto the buttered pan and salt and pepper lightly. Drop spoonfuls of the chicken mixture on top of the bread crumbs and then carefully spread it with a spatula until the chicken mixture covers the pan in about a half inch layer. Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the chicken layer. Salt and pepper the bread crumbs lightly. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or just until the chicken is cooked through. Cut into squares or diamonds using a pizza cutter and serve with ranch dressing or barbecue sauce.

For the original recipe, click here.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (3 Star)

This is my new favorite thing to make with overripe bananas. Funny thing is, my kids (especially the more picky ones), do not like bananas in baked goods and are not that crazy about peanut butter, either. However, this bread was a huge hit with my pickiest son. He almost refused to try it, but lucky for him, he did try (after several threats and pleadings). Strangely enough, my least picky boy didn't like this that much. Brandon and I love it. Banana, peanut butter, and chocolate is a tasty combination. And as far as quick breads go, this one is on the healthy side of the spectrum.





Click here for the recipe, courtesy of One Hot Stove blog.

Snickerdoodles (4 Star)

There are many perfectly good snickerdoodle recipes in this world. However, I happen to think that mine is pretty much the best.



You may be astonished at my brazen assertion. Either I am uneducated, inflammatory, or I'm right. Give them I try and find out which it is.



This recipe comes from my mother's recipe file and was labeled "Laur's Sugar Cookies". Thanks Aunt Laur! I grew up on these so maybe I am a little biased. Or maybe not.



Snickerdoodles

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream the butter and 1 cup sugar. Add egg, vanilla, cream of tartar, soda, and salt. Beat until creamy. Stir in the flour.

In a separate small bowl stir together 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll the dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll each ball in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes.

Yogurt Pancakes (4 Star)

Does anybody else out there like pancakes? I must say that I like them a lot, hot, crisp, and moist with butter and syrup. I think pumpkin pancakes still top my pancake world, but these are a very close second.

But beware of the yogurt syrup in this recipe because it is out of this world (pancake world?). The first time I made these pancakes I made the yogurt syrup to go with them but I didn't take pictures. The second time I made these pancakes, when I did take pictures, I did not make the syrup because most of my boys wanted regular maple syrup (a perfect example of how wacked out their taste buds are). And because the first time I made the yogurt syrup turned out to be a trial of my will-power (a losing one because all I wanted to do was to eat the syrup with a spoon--and "caramel" is actually a better word for this "syrup") it was in my own self interest that I not make it again very soon. What I am trying to say is; this yogurt syrup (caramel) is heavenly (or devilish, depending on your point of view).

Okay, back to the pancakes. I found this recipe on Favorite Family Recipes blog and because I altered it, I am posting it here. I made them whole wheat and omitted the 1/2 cup of butter (!!! My regular pancake recipe has no oil or butter in it and is fabulous so I didn't think these would need it either and they didn't. I imagine they are probably good with it, but they were awesome without and I definitely don't need that much butter inside me.)

Yogurt Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 eggs
2 1/2 - 3 cups plain yogurt (or 2 c. buttermilk)
1/2 - 1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wire whisk until fairly smooth but don't over mix. There can still be some lumps. If it seems too thick, add milk a little at a time until it reaches a good "pancake batter" consistency. Cook on a hot, buttered griddle as you would any other pancake.

Yogurt Syrup

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup butter
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring first four ingredients to a boil in a large pot. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and stir constantly for 5 minutes. Add baking soda and vanilla. Remove from stove and serve over pancakes, waffles or french toast. (The syrup will be thin-- this is normal. After it cools off a bit it thickens up. Store any extra syrup in the fridge for later use.)
**The baking soda will make it boil high so make sure you use a large pot.***

I did not alter the syrup recipe at all and let me just remind you; YUM.

For the original recipe, click here.