Currently Browsing: Snacks
Nov 2, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 2, 2011 in cookies, party food!, Snacks | 1 comment
I have Heidi from 101 cookbooks to thank for this recipe. She made this recipe for chocolate chip cookies in a skillet and it was a huge time saver for me over the weekend. I volunteered to make cookies for Claire’s Halloween party at school AND I had to make something for a cooking contest at work. I loved this recipe because it takes just a few minutes to put together and then you just put it in a cast iron skillet and bake for 35-40 minutes and that’s it. You need to put butter on the bottom and sides and it comes out super easy, then you just cut them up into pieces.
Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookies Adapted from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks
3 cups / 13.5 oz / 380 g whole-wheat flour (I used all purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
8 ounces / 225 g (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, plus more for buttering the pan
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g dark brown sugar ( I used light brown sugar)
1 cup / 7 oz / 200 g sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
8 ounces / 225 g bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped into 1/4- and 1/2-inch pieces (I used chocolate chips – about 1/2 cup)
Add the sugars and butter and cream for a few minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix together. Add the rest of the ingredients. This batter is super fluffy and yummy!
Coat a cast iron skillet with butter and pour the batter into the skillet and press down so it reaches the sides of the skillet.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes – mine took 40 minutes. Take out and cool completely.
I just put a plate over the skillet once it was completely cooled and flipped it over and it came out very easily. Then just cut them up into pieces. Claire said her whole class loved them.
Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you the pictures of the Halloween cooking contest at my office. I sadly did not win, but it was really fun! 
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On another note, who watched Biggest Loser last night? I thought this episode was the best one so far. I always think it is funny that people get so bent out of shape when they have to switch teams, switch trainers, etc.. I want to shout at the TV “Have you not watched Biggest Loser before?” They always change something around!
Some of the contestants were sobbing because they couldn’t have Bob as a trainer or they weren’t working out with a former teammate. I especially felt bad for Anna because going in with her new team they were COMPLETELY against her. They didn’t even want to have anything to do with her. But I think she did the right thing by saying don’t get too dependent on a certain person or trainer to help you lose weight – in the end its all up to you anyway.
After the week Anna’s team lost the most weight – a few lost 15 & 16 pounds and another lost 11 pounds – in week 7!!! They did awesome.
Do you have a favorite contestant so far??
Oct 1, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Oct 1, 2011 in Snacks | 7 comments
Over the summer I collected over 50 cooking magazines from a Mom in my area looking to de-clutter – I was happy to take Cooking Light, Rachel Ray, Bon Appetit, etc… Looking through the magazines the other day I was reading a 2009 October Rachel Ray Magazine and found a recipe for these pretzels. After reading the ingredients and steps to make them I thought – “I think I can do that”!
You do use yeast, but you don’t have to wait hours to let the dough rise – so that is why these come together so quickly. I am not going to lie, my daughter Claire and I sat on the floor of the kitchen looking into the oven as these baked and as they became more looking like pretzels – we got so excited. These are soft pretzels – and since they were pretty much gone in one day, the next time I think I’ll double or triple the recipe!
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
4 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons table salt
1 large egg, separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons baking sodaCoarse salt, for sprinkling
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the water and yeast; let stand for 5 minutes.
Using a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, brown sugar and table salt. Mix in the egg yolk, butter and yeast mixture on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
In a large, shallow baking dish, combine the baking soda with 2 cups warm water. On a work surface, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Using your hands, roll out each piece into a rope about 42 inches long; dip in the baking soda mixture for 30 seconds. Using the prepared pans as a work surface, shape each rope into a pretzel.
In a small bowl, beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon water. Brush the pretzels with the egg white mixture. Sprinkle with the coarse salt and bake until deep golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
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I got better and better at rolling out the dough with each one. I didn’t measure the 42″ that the recipe said. I just rolled it out long enough to make a good sized pretzel.
The good thing about this dough is that it does not stick to the counter when you roll it out, so it’s not necessary to keep flouring the surface while you are rolling it out into a rope.
Some other add ins: You can dip these in cinnamon & sugar OR parmesan cheese to dip in marinara sauce.
You can also take 2 ropes and twist them together like this:
These were so much fun to make – if you’ve never tried it before you can’t mess this up – it’s that easy
Have you ever made pretzels before??
Jan 10, 2011
Posted by Jennifer on Jan 10, 2011 in a day in the life of me!, Dinner Idea, Snacks, soup | 12 comments
So, my first week of getting back on track and I did way better than I thought I would. I used www.myfitnesspal.com to track all my foods and exercise in. So are you ready?
-5.6 pounds!
What did I do?
Planned my foods in advance
typed in everything I ate to know how many calories I consumed
walked home from work instead of getting a ride/taking the bus
Did a few workouts on demand
limited alcohol
Cut out late night eating during the week.
No seconds at dinner
So, I am pretty excited about that!
This is going to be a short post, I have to make my breakfast and lunch for work, but I did make a few great things:
I made my Baked potato soup:
My favorite soup!
And I made some Salsa
And yesterday my Mom invited me to a club she belongs to for a nice luncheon and singing program. Thanks Mom, it was a lot of fun!
My plate (except my Mom stole my french toast! )
This is where the lunch was
And, I didn’t have dessert OR seconds at the buffet, I chose smaller portions! Wahoo!!
Have a great Monday!
Jun 14, 2010
Posted by Jennifer on Jun 14, 2010 in appetizer, bread, general ideas, Snacks | 10 comments
Jenn's homemade crackers!
With all the rain we had this weekend, I was able to spend time in the kitchen!! Yeah!!
I made these only once before last year, but was thinking about them again, so it’s worth posting again.
Here is the recipe!!!
The other day (last year!)while reading blogs, I came across www.ceramiccanvas.com blog. He had made home made crackers that he had read about from a book called Turquoise by Greg and Lucy Malouf.
I said to myself, I’ve made home made bread, home made english muffins, I think I will try these crackers! And it was so easy to make!
Here’s what you will need:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
1 tsp. sugar
2.5 TB unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, plus 1 TB. for later
1 large egg
Mix of dill, sesame and poppy seed (I didn’t have any dill, so I omitted that)
I’ve actually had sesame and poppy seed for the longest time, I store them in my freezer, so I can use them whenever I want and it keeps them fresh.
I combined the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. I added the butter and using my hands, just kind of broke up the butter into the flour. Add the 1 cup of milk. His suggestion was to knead by hand for 5 minutes. I used the dough hook on my kitchen aid and mixed it for 5 minutes.
Cover it with wax paper and leave it for an hour.
After the hour, take the dough ball out and divide it into 4 equal parts. Take one piece and put it on a flat surface dusted with flour. The other 3 pieces, place back in the bowl and cover until ready.
Roll out the dough as flat as you can and transfer to a cookie sheet covered with foil.
Using a pizza cutter, I just cut the dough into strips, then again to make squares.
In a small dish, beat 1 egg and the remaining 1 TB. of milk. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the dough with the egg mixture. Sprinkle with the poppy and sesame seeds and bake at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.
I was so excited about how good they turned out. Very light and crispy! Once they are fully cooled, you can store them in an airtight container. Serve with your favorite dip or tompenade!
Come back tomorrow, when I will have a video from Rouxbe cooking school to share!
Nov 20, 2009
Posted by Jennifer on Nov 20, 2009 in appetizer, dieting, lunch, News, Snacks, weigh in friday | 8 comments
So, since I had no plan yesterday, I ran to Whole Foods at lunch and I was going to get a salad, but when I was walking the aisles, I saw the Amy’s frozen lunches. I saw the tortilla bowl and looked at the nutritional information. Not bad! 380 calories, 18 grams of fat and 9 grams of fiber. I also picked up a bag of Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips. I’ve never tried them before, but what I liked was that you got 18 chips per serving at 120 calories per serving.
And then I would put some of the black beans on the chip…
I didn’t like it at all!
Just kidding, if I could have licked the bowl I would have!!
And it’s weigh in Friday again! The weeks are flying by.
I was EXACTLY the same!! I always think that’s weird when you work out differently, eat different things, yet stay the same… but hey, I am glad its not up!
Today is going to be a challenge at work. We have our annual Turkey Day Potluck. With 50 people bringing food, grilling out burgers and brats, its going to be hard. But, a bunch of people play tag football afterwards, and I am going to play and burn some calories!
I am bringing turkey meatballs.
This is the recipe. One of my coworkers brought this last year and they were amazing!
GRAPE JELLY MEATBALLS
2 12 oz jars Heinz chili sauce
1 32 oz jar grape jelly
1 bag meatballs (about 80 in a bag)
Put chili sauce and jelly in a large pot, heat until jelly is melted and sauce is smooth, stirring often. Add frozen meatballs; heat until meatballs are thawed and then simmer for 3 hours.
I know it sounds disgusting, but trust me, they taste AMAZING. These will be simmering at my desk all morning in my crock pot before the party so I am going to have to be strong and not eat a ton before it even starts!
Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!
Also, check out these great ideas from Fitness Magazine for the Holidays!
Fitness Magazine’s 10 Holiday Super Foods
Also, Fitness Magazine, 9 healthy appetizers to make/bring to a party.
