Chocolate Mint Bars

I remember the day I received the March 2008 edition of Cooking Light.  I pulled the mail out of the mailbox and the magazine fell onto the porch, cover facing up.  I stared. I slowly picked the magazine up and stared some more.  I could make those? I could make those! I could! Yes!! I could!!! But they seemed so perfect that I just continued to stare at the cover for a few more months.  I eventually made them in August (August! Of all the HOT months to be baking in my tiny 2nd floor apartment!!) for a friend's 30th birthday.  I wasn't able to make it out that night, but I sent my Hubby2B with a big tupperware container to disperse among the party.

He came back with rave reviews. "Everyone loved them!", "They want you to make them again!!", "Eric stole the box and ate all of them! I didn't have any!!" (real mature, guys.)  So I made them a couple more times soon after, then forgot about them...

...that is until my Hubby2B's 29th birthday rolled around this year.  Last year I made him a chocolate layer cake, the year before that a (requested) dutch apple pie. Before that, I don't even remember. What to do this year?  So I went with an oldie but goodie, Chocolate Mint Bars.  The cover of the magazine still flutters my skirt and makes me sigh happily. 

The only thing is, I always cheat on these bars (!)  Included in the original recipe is a brownie mix "from scratch".  Now I love doing everything from scratch but I always hesitate when it comes to brownies.  I have had sooooo many bad brownies.  I like a moist, chewy, chocolate chip brownie - none of this "cakelike" brownie business.  And every time I make these Chocolate Mint Bars it is someones birthday or special occasion and I really don't want to mess up on the brownie part - it is so essential! So... I... use a... triplechocolatechipbrowniemix!! (gasp!) There. I said it. Whatevs - it guarantees a good brownie when you're in no mood to fool around.  I will include the original recipe but seriously, use the box mix if you want.

Suggestion: you MUST let the brownies cool thoroughly before adding the mint layer.  Once you add the mint layer, put them in the fridge for an hour or so to slightly harden - it is then easier to apply the chocolate layer on top.  Once you finish mixing up the chocolate layer, definitely make sure you wait a few minutes to let the chocolate cool before you add on top of the mint - this is so the two layers don't combine.  Just don't wait any longer than a few minutes or else the chocolate will be too hard to spread.  Once the chocolate is on top, put those bad boys back in the fridge and let them harden up.  To serve: I actually recommend letting them sit out for 30 minutes or so.  I notice when you eat them straight out of the fridge you can tell the layers apart a little too well; it's like eating a sandwich.  When you leave the bars out a little while, the layers all meld together in your mouth creating a combined delicious experience.

Alright, enough of this tawkin', let's get on with it.

Chocolate Mint Bars
By Cooking Light

Bottom layer: (I cheated and used a triple chocolate chunk brownie mix. It was de-licious!)

• 1  cup  all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1  cup  granulated sugar
• 1/2  cup  egg substitute
• 1/4  cup  butter, melted
• 2  tablespoons  water
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 2  large eggs, beaten
• 1  (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
• Cooking spray

Mint layer:

• 2  cups  powdered sugar
• 1/4  cup  butter, melted
• 2  tablespoons  fat-free milk
• 1/2  teaspoon  peppermint extract
• 2  drops green food coloring

Glaze:

• 3/4  cup  semisweet chocolate chips (I bumped it up to 1c.- I like a thick chocolately layer.)
• 3  tablespoons  butter (so I had to proportionally bump this up to 4 tbsp.)

1.Preheat oven to 350°.
2.To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
3.To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.
4.To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.

Cooking Light, March 2008

Michelle's Sesame Chicken & Pork Fried Rice

I was surfing the web one day at work browsing all my favorite blogs when I came upon Michelle's Sesame Chicken recipe on Rookie Cookie (the blogger's name is actually Whitney but she got the recipe from Michelle. Read all up on it in her original post.)  This is one of my hubby2B's favorite chinese dishes so I quickly bookmarked the recipe and decided to try it soon.

As fate may have it, I came also came upon a Pork Fried Rice recipe in Family Circle within just a few days (another one of hubby2B's favorites).  I took this as a sign to make it right away!

You might think I'd have some initial hesitation trying to pull off a few of my honey's favorites that he usually only gets in restaurants, especially considering I never make chinese food.  For some reason that thought didn't even occur to me.  I was so excited to make the best chinese food ever! On my first try! In my own kitchen! Cheaply! Hoooray! Before I gave it another thought it was already set in stone.

Since I really get back into the swing of cooking in September (when my kitchen is not a million degrees) I think this is a great way to kick a plain old weeknight meal up a notch (or maybe a Friday dinner? That's what we did.) I had just walked into the other room for napkins when I heard Hubby2B take his first bite. "WOW!" he said outloud (to himself). "This is good."  I came back in the room smiling ear to ear.  "Really? You like it?!?"  He responded, "Babe, this is better we get in some restaurants."  Which I guess justified the kitchen full of dishes I created.

Bon Appetit.

Michelle's Sesame Chicken
by Rookie Cookie

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of any fat and cut into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp flour
Kosher salt and ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 bunch green onions, chopped (forgot to pick-up, omitted.)
2 cups white or brown rice, cooked according to package directions (I subsituted for Pork Fried Rice.)
In a bowl, combine soy sauce and sugar and stir well to combine. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine chicken pieces and flour. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Once hot, add chicken. Cook, stirring often, until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Transfer chicken pieces onto a plate and put the pan back on the heat. Pour in the soy sauce mixture. With a wooden spoon, scrape the cooked bits on the bottom of the pan while the soy sauce mixture simmer. Let simmer for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add the chicken back into the pan. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and toss well, coating all the chicken pieces in the soy mixture. (After doing this I took chicken out of pan and tossed them again in more flour to thicken the outside a bit, and reintroduced them to the soy mixture - essentially double coating them.)

Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.

Yields 6 servings.



Pork Fried Rice
by Family Circle

1/2  cup  reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used vegetable broth.)

1/4  cup  light soy sauce

1  tablespoon  oyster sauce (I couldn't find this in the store, omitted.)

1/2  teaspoon  ground ginger

1/4  teaspoon  red pepper flakes

1  pound  boneless pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick (I picked up some very thinly pounded ones in the butcher case at Whole Foods.)

2    eggs, lightly beaten

1  tablespoon  canola oil

1    large onion, peeled and chopped

1    large red sweet pepper, cored, seeded and thinly sliced

3  cups  cooked brown rice

4    scallions, sliced (forgot to pick-up, omitted)

1  cup  frozen peas, thawed

1  tablespoon  sesame oil (forgot to pick-up, I substituted olive oil.)

1. In a small bowl, mix together broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger and pepper flakes. Set aside.
2. Heat broiler. Broil pork chops for 4 minutes per side. Dice and reserve.
3. Heat a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat with cooking spray. Add eggs and cook for 2 minutes, until set. Remove to a plate and cut into 1/2-inch strips. Reserve.
4. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Add onion and red pepper and stir-fry for 5 to 6 minutes, until softened. Stir in broth mixture and rice. Stir-fry 2 minutes. Add reserved pork, egg strips, scallions, peas and sesame oil. Stir gently to combine and heat through, about 2 minutes.

Family Circle, October 2010

Chocolate Chip Cake

OK, let me start off my saying that I royally screwed up this cake... twice... in two days.  But both were tiny, itty bitty mistakes and I'm sure you're all much smarter than me and have learned these lessons already.  This picture turned out to be the prettier of the two, but tasted like junk.  Why? Oh, because I thought I would make a "healthy" Chocolate Chip Cake (healthy? what was I thinking?) and use Whole Wheat Flour instead.

I know, I know, most of you are laughing.  For those who have already gone through this rookie mistake you know that subsituting whole wheat when it doesn't call for it turns baked goods into hockey pucks.  My chocolate chip cake turned out more like two frisbees but that's neither here nor there.  A word to those who have not goofed up on this yet: seriously, only use whole wheat flour when it's called for.  And PS - Baked goods, healthy? Pfffft. What was I thinking? Seriously, go all the way or go home, that's my motto (now.)

I was SO DETERMINED to get this cake right that I made it again the next night. After work. After dinner. And you know how it goes, it was getting late and I was tired but the darn cake was still cooling and I really wanted to try a bite before going to bed.  So I iced it when it was still warm and the icing started melting and the top layer started slidding all over the place.  It was a mess, albeit a delicious mess.  A nice, fluffy, chocolatey, delicious mess. Yummm.

I found this cover attached to the original magazine in the lunchroom at work and immediately ripped off the cover and recipe inside (cuz I'm all aggressive like that).  It had been in my pile of things to make.  I finally got to it and I have a feeling I will be coming back to it for many family parties in the future.

Chocolate Chip Cake
From Family Circle

3  cups  all-purpose flour

2-1/2  teaspoons  baking powder

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1  cup  (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1  cup  plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4    egg whites

3/4  cup  buttermilk

1  bag  (12 ounces) mini chocolate chips

1-1/3  cups  confectioners' sugar

2/3  cup  heavy cream

Chocolate curls, to garnish (optional)

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Coat two 8 x 2-inch straight-sided round cake pans with nonstick spray; line bottom of pan with waxed paper. Coat waxed paper with spray. Set aside until batter is ready.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. With mixer on medium speed, beat butter and granulated sugar in bowl until light. Add egg whites, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. On low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating after each addition. Stir in 2/3 cup of the mini chips. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Spread level.
5. Bake at 325°F for 37 to 39 minutes, or until cakes spring back when pressed. Cool in pans on a rack for 15 minutes. Invert cakes; remove pans and paper. Turn right side up; cool completely.
6. Place remaining chips (1-1/3 cups) in a glass bowl. Microwave on HIGH 30 seconds and stir. Heat 45 seconds more; stir until smooth. Set aside. In large bowl, beat together confectioners' sugar and heavy cream until blended, 1 minute. Beat in half of the melted chocolate, then remainder. Beat 1 minute, until shiny, smooth and good spreading consistency, scraping down bowl halfway through.
7. Place one cake layer on a pedestal or platter. Spread with 2/3 cup frosting. Top with second cake layer. Spread side and top of cake with remaining frosting (if frosting becomes stiff, use warm spatula to spread). Garnish with chocolate curls.

Family Circle, February 2007

Chicken & Bacon Roll-Ups

I discovered this recipe a few summers ago while thumbing through Cooking Light.  It's a treat when we have bacon in our house and this is a good way to use up a few pieces.  Another good early September meal when it's still warm outside and you want something light.  We have months of heavy dishes ahead of us, so try this as an easy weekday meal.

Suggestion: the original recipe calls for pulled rotisserie chicken.  You can either plan to have rotisserie chicken earlier in the week and use your leftovers for this meal (their intention with original recipe) or do like I did and cook up some chicken on the stove.

Another suggestion: layer all toppings on one have of the wrap and roll towards empty half. Easier to keep everything tight and together.

I served it with freshly chopped salsa and Trader Joe's organic long board chips (those things are good!)  I usually also add some cut up fruit (oranges) if I have any laying around needing to be used.


(I used cilantro instead of tarragon cuz I love cilantro. )

(Thick cut, free range, organic and local BBQ marinaded bacon.

Nuttin' but the best for my baby.)

(Cilantro Mayo)



(All done and ready to eat!)



Hubby2B rates this an "A+++!" and requests often. Hope you enjoy it just as much.



Chicken and Bacon Roll-Ups

From Cooking Light

1/2  cup  reduced-fat mayonnaise

1  teaspoon  minced fresh tarragon

2  teaspoons  fresh lemon juice

4  (2.8-ounce) whole wheat flatbreads (such as Flatout)

2  cups  shredded romaine lettuce

2  cups  chopped tomato (about 2 medium)

4  center-cut bacon slices, cooked and drained

2  cups  shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast

Combine reduced-fat mayonnaise, minced tarragon, and fresh lemon juice in a small bowl. Spread 2 tablespoons mayonnaise mixture over each flatbread. Top each with 1/2 cup shredded romaine lettuce, 1/2 cup chopped tomato, 1 bacon slice, crumbled, and 1/2 cup chicken. Roll up.

Cooking Light, July 2007





Andes Mints Cookies

Does this look good?? Oh yes it does!  It is one of my favorites and most frequently requested recipes, Andes Mints Cookies.

A chocolate cookie with bites of andes mints inside and an andes mints frosting on top.  Really, what's not to love?

Oh, you want this recipe?







Sorry, it's a secret!

Happy Birthday, Buddy Bear!



Congratulations, Jamie & Jools!!  Little Buddy Bear Maurice Oliver joined the brood yesterday.  I'll just come out and say it, I've always loved Jamie Oliver.  He's so fun and young with a refreshing attitude on life and how we eat food.  He would make a good mate; I want to be chums with the ol' boy. (Oh sod off, you bloody well know what I mean.)

After hearing the news this morning, I went home for lunch and dug into some leftover mashed potatoes sitting in the fridge from yesterday.  I didn't think much about it.  When I have leftover mashed potatoes, the only thought that ever enters my head is "Attack!"  So attack I did and enjoy I did.  On my way back out the door to return to work I picked up my calendar of scheduled meals for the month, my grocery list and for posterity (since he just had a baby and all) I grabbed one of Jamie's old Naked Chef books from my shelf to see if I could whip something up in honor of the new whipper snapper.  I planned on going back to work and throwing together my grocery list for shopping tomorrow.  As you can see, I was planning to do a lot of "real work" at my desk.

I got such a kick flipping through The Naked Chef Takes Off!  I hadn't looked at that book in quite a long time.  It's Jamie's second book and he's 25 years-old. (Oh, man. Talk about making me feel incompetent.)  I remember the first time I saw the book I was a few years younger than Jamie and I looked up to him in some sort of dreamy way.  If I had an older brother, Jamie would have been his best friend that I was secretly in love with.  Anything Jamie said was okay by me.  Now looking back at this book, you can see what a kid Jamie really was at the time!  He is incredibly adorable and full of character, zest for life!! It just oozes off the pages.  And I can't blame myself for being so infatuated early on - those blond waves? the totally approachable attitude? the awesome cooking skill? Hello, honey, I have good taste.



And his recipes!! Haha! I got a good laugh as you hear his personality fly off the page.  Frequently in his recipes he lists the ingredients, then the directions are quick and to the point. Something along the lines of: "Riooght! Mix these fings tah-gefha, mix those fings tah-gefha, cook these fings. Gih' the pan a good shake, riooght, then mix them olh tah-gefha and riooght.  Ya awl done, cheers!" So easy, Jamie. Well done.

(What? Doesn't everyone read his cook books in a thick Essex accent? Riooght. That's what I thought.)

So as you might imagine I was very excited to cook up a good Jamie dish.  But when to do it? I looked at my calendar and tonight was Chicken & Mashed Potato Hand Pies (an adaptation from sweet potato and chicken hand pies in Sept.'10 Everyday Foods) and also garlic string beans.  Did you hear that? Oh yeah, that was a record being scratched in reverse.  What? Mashed Potato Hand Pies tonight!?!? Can you see where this is going? I forgot!! I ate all the leftover mashed potatoes for lunch!!  Bingo. And I also served the string beans to guests last night because I looked in the fridge and thought, Ooh, better use these before they go bad, totally forgetting I was using them the next night.  Yeah, so suddenly I had a free opening.

But payday is tomorrow, so that means I have to cook with what's in the house tonight.  And what's in the house after a week without grocery shopping means one thing only... not much.  So I thumbed through Mr. Oliver's chicken recipes.  Know how many there are in "TNCTO"?  Three.  Know how many there are without bones? None.  Yeah, disappointing.  Even on Jamie's website, most of the chicken recipes have bones or I don't have all the ingredients on hand tonight for the boneless recipe.  This crunchy garlic chicken recipe looks good!  But I made breaded chicken last night. Kinda wanted to switch things up a bit.  Anyway, I'm still fussing a little over what to do tonight, but it will be good.

In the meantime I'm going to put a thousand post-it notes in this here cookbook and pull of something particularly Jamie Oliver fantastic in the very near future.

Eggplant & Mozzarella Melt

Let me tell you, I got loads of inspiration from that Everyday Foods, July/August 2005.  They had some good stuff in there!  Including this Eggplant & Mozzarella Melt that I made later in the week.  Let's get serious though, this is an Eggplant Parm Hero, plain and simple.

The recipe called to bake the eggplant, but try as hard as I might I just don't like eggplant baked.  Maybe I'm not doing it right? Possibly.  For me, there is just something about frying it up in a heavenly breadcrumb batter that makes eggplant oh-so-magical.  Come here my little fried, magical eggplant. Let me pet you. Good little fried eggplant. Let me eat you. Oh, you are so yummy my eggplant friend!

Oh, ahem. Sorry, where was I?

Right, eggplant parm.  So I double battered the eggplant to give it a good thick coating of breadcrumbs then fried it up in the pan.  I bought some awesome crunchy bread and (ridiculously expensive) fresh mozz at the farmers market earlier in the day which worked out just perfectly. Hmmm... I was hungry just cooking it all!  I'm hungry now just thinking about it all!!  Once everything was all fried up, laid out on the bread, sauce and cheese added, I threw it in the oven at 350 degrees until the cheese was melty and bubbly. I probably could have let it brown more but I was hungry.

My hubby2B and I were all mesmerized by the sandwich that we both totally ignored our tossed side salads.  Oh, well. More veggies tomorrow.  It was an awesome weeknight meal, if I do say so myself. 

Eggplant & Mozzarella Melt

From Everyday Foods

Serves 4

• 2 large eggs
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• Olive oil, for baking sheet
• 1 medium eggplant (about 1 pound), sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1 loaf (8 ounces) soft Italian bread
• 2 cups store-bought tomato sauce
• 8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread breadcrumbs in a pie plate or shallow bowl. 2. Oil a rimmed baking sheet. Dip eggplant rounds in egg, then dredge in breadcrumbs, turning to coat completely; transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake (without turning) until golden and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. (need I repeat? I fried these suckers instead.)

3. Meanwhile, split bread lengthwise, and place cut side up on another baking sheet; press gently in centers to create a well. Layer both halves with tomato sauce, eggplant, and cheese. Bake until cheese is browned in spots, 6 to 8 minutes.

Everyday Foods, July/August 2005