Let Comfort Food Season begin...

Last week, we had a bit of a cold spell... I'm talking hat and gloves, down coats and scarves cold spell.  Looking ahead to the winter, it definitely wasn't as cold as the low temperatures we'll see far too soon - but still, we weren't quite ready yet for the chill.

Cold weather is, of course, an opportunity to make some yummy comfort food.  One of my favorites is Shepherd's Pie, although since I don't like lamb I never make it according to the "traditional" recipe.  I did a little research to see what the origin of Shepherd's Pie is and found out a few interesting things... the dish was first referred to as "cottage pie" as a modest meal in Great Britain, back in the late 18th century.  It was made with leftover meat, and featured a mashed potato crust both lining the pan and serving as a top crust.  Potatoes didn't make it to Europe until the 1500s, when the Spanish brought them back from the New World.  Now, "cottage pie" is used when referring to the recipe when made with beef, and shepherd's pie refers to the recipe when made with lamb.

In reviewing the recipes that are out there, there is a wide variety of ingredients to accompany the meat.  Some of the more basic ones layer meat, corn, and then the potatoes, but that strikes me as a bit... bland.  Others add a little too much gravy for my taste.  Nearly all of the recipes call for butter and milk to be added to the potatoes, and some even call for an egg (or an egg plus egg yolk) to the potatoes to help bind the potatoes and keep them together, and some recipes call for Parmesan cheese to be added to the potato mixture or sprinkled on top.  I prefer a recipe that has some of the classic flavorings - carrots, onions, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes - and I never add butter to my potatoes.


For this version of the recipe, I decided to amp up the potato layer by adding some parsnips to the potatoes; I have been using lowfat buttermilk (Kate's brand) in lieu of butter and milk in mashed potatoes for some time, and that works well in this recipe - I did add an egg, though, to help the topping stay together as a crust - it's a nice touch.  I also used the classic flavor of thyme along with some Worcestershire sauce to add depth to the "gravy".

This recipe is pretty forgiving, and is a good opportunity to use up veggies that would otherwise go to waste, like ends of celery, turnip, corn, or butternut squash.  You could also certainly substitute sweet potatoes for the regular potatoes, and then complement by adding a bit of cinnamon to the meat mixture.

So here's the recipe - it makes about 6 servings if accompanied by a veggie or salad, and 4 if on its own.  Leftovers are great for a take-to-work lunch.

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and diced (you can also use Yukon Gold or Red Russet - when I use these varieties, I leave them unpeeled and mash them with the peels)
• 2-3 medium sized parsnips, peeled and diced
• 1 lb. ground turkey (you can use turkey breast, but ground turkey - including the darker cuts - has a slightly better flavor and the fat lends a nice "mouth feel"; a lean ground beef would also work well)
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 package sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 T. dried thyme 
• 1 t. poultry seasoning (I used Penzeys, but Bell's works also
• 1-1/2 c. chicken broth
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• splash of dry red wine
• 1 cup frozen peas
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 - 1 c. lowfat buttermilk
• 1 egg

Directions
1.  Heat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place potatoes and parsnips in a medium saucepan, and just cover with water.  Place over medium-high heat, and cook until both parsnips and potatoes are tender, or a fork can pierce them easily.
2.  While the potatoes and parsnips cook, heat a large skillet; spray with cooking spray.  Add the onion and carrots, and saute until the onions start to get translucent.  Add the mushrooms and combine, adding some salt and pepper and stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.  If  the mixture starts to stick, add a bit of chicken broth or additional cooking spray. 


3.  Check the potatoes and parsnips - if they are done, drain them and then start to mash with a potato masher.  Add the buttermilk, about 1/4 cup at a time, and mash to incorporate; continue to add buttermilk until the potatoes are mashed smooth; add salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.

4.  Once the vegetables are soft (the mushrooms will shrink considerably), add the ground turkey to the skillet, and break it up with a wooden spoon or spatula so that it cooks into crumbles; stir frequently so that the meat continues to break up and cook through.

5.  Once the meat has finished cooking, pour in about a cup of the chicken broth, and stir in the tomato paste, herbs, splash of wine, and Worcestershire sauce until the tomato paste is fully incorporated.  Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until it thickens a bit.  Add frozen peas and stir t combine.

6. Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray; pour the turkey mixture into the dish.  Add the egg to the potato mixture and stir well to combine.

 7.  Spread the potato mixture over the turkey mixture, and make some swishy shapes in the potatoes...or not.  If you wanted to get really fancy, you could pipe the potato mixture over the top with a pastry bag...but that's just another thing to clean, so save it for when you're in a cleaning mood (or when someone else is doing the dishes).  Put the dish into the oven and bake for about 35 minutes on the center oven rack, or until the sauce bubbles around the edges...you *might* want to put a baking sheet or sheet of foil on the rack underneath the dish in case the sauce really bubbles and wants to travel outside of the casserole dish...When it comes out of the oven, it will look a little something like this:

And when you put some on your plate it will look a little something like THIS!

This version of Shepherd's pie is well paired with a dry red wine; I have a French Malbec that I love, but some of the Italian reds would also work well.

Careful not to burn your tongue as you enjoy this - bon appetit!

Easy weeknight chili / Back to business

Wow.  I knew it had been a while since I'd posted anything, but... November 2011?  Almost one year?  That's way too long.

So I'm here with a kind of boring post, but with a commitment to post more often...I swear!

E left for London today, and it's kind of a rainy, gray and drizzly day, so I wanted to eat something tasty and comforting, but which was healthy and didn't take too long to cook.  So...scanning the fridge, I found some ground turkey breast, fresh carrots and onions from the farmer's market.  At first I thought I'd make a Shepherd's Pie, but realized I didn't have any eggs...so, I'll have to make that another night.

What I did have on hand were some black beans and kidney beans, and some tomato sauce  - so chili it was!  This went from pantry to table in about half an hour, including hands-off simmering time.  I served it over steamed butternut squash, but it would go great with steamed brown rice, or over a baked white or sweet potato.  Because I used only cooking spray there's no added fat, so the recipe is full of protein, fiber, and vitamins - you can up the vitamin and fiber content by throwing in some canned pumpkin puree.  YUM.

OK, on to the recipe:

Easy weeknight chili
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
1 lb. ground turkey or turkey breast
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 T. chili powder (I used Penzeys Chili 9000)
1/2 t. ground chipotle pepper

Directions
1.  Heat a large skillet or medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray, and add onions, garlic, and carrot.  Saute until soft, being careful to stir frequently so that nothing sticks (add more cooking spray if needed).  Season with salt and pepper
2.  Add turkey, and break it up, stirring frequently so that the meat cooks and crumbles
3.  Add beans, tomato sauce, and spices and stir to combine; add a little water if needed.
4.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until heated through.  The longer this cooks the better the flavors will blend
5.  Serve over steamed brown rice, steamed butternut squash, or baked potato and enjoy!  Top with sour cream or plain yogurt if desired.

TIP - you could add some canned pumpkin puree to this either in addition to the tomato sauce or in place of part of it; that would add some extra fiber and nutrients, and who couldn't use some of that!

Got maple?

OK, so anybody who's not completely tuned me out when I've talked about my fall cooking and baking escapades knows that maple syrup (yes, the real stuff) is a big part of my ingredient go-to list. Maple syrup is sooo good for you, and you don't need a lot of it. You really add fewer calories cooking with maple syrup than when you add sugar. So there.

So here's a recipe that was inspired by a Cook's Illustrated recipe for perfecting pan-roasted chicken, together with my love of maple syrup.

Maple Dijon Pork Tenderloin (or chicken breasts)


Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin or boneless, skinless chicken breasts (between 1-1.5 pounds)
Olive oil (around 1T. or so)
1 T. dijon mustard
2-3 T. pure maple syrup
1 -2 t. bouquet garni or poultry seasoning (if you don't have either, then use some combination of sage, thyme, marjoram and similar herbs)
1 medium apple, sliced

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 400F. Remove the pork (or chicken) from its packaging and place on a plate or paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and herbs, ensuring to cover all sides.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet, or another similarly stove-to-oven appropriate pan, and when hot add the olive oil and swirl to coat.
3. When the oil has heated up just a smidge, place the pork (or chicken) in the pan - watch the heat and dial it back if it seems that the pan is too hot. After 5 minutes, turn over (in the case of pork you will make 3 rotations to cover the whole surface). The side that just cooked should be a bit golden - if it's darker then cook the other side using less time. (This step is searing the meat, all the better to keep the juices inside...)
4. While the pork (or chicken) is cooking, combine the Dijon mustard and maple syrup in a small bowl. After you've turned the pork (or chicken) the first time, baste the cooked side with the mustard-maple syrup mixture. Repeat after you turn the meat over again.
5. Once all sides of the meat have seen the "hot" side of the pan, throw the apple slices into the pan, turn off your burner, and place the pan into the oven. Make sure that you have basted the pork (or chicken) one last time before placing into the oven.
6. Cook for an additional 15-25 minutes (will really depend on the thickness of the meat) until cooked - use a meat thermometer to test for doneness (pork should be 160-165 degrees and chicken should be 165 degrees)
7. Let it rest so the juices can redistribute. Serve with mashed potatoes, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, Sauerkraut, applesauce, etc. Slice and enjoy!

Mardi Gras, one day late

Wow - has it really been three weeks since I last posted? Yikes! Well, a lot has happened. Actually, I was on vacation for one week - the rest of the time I was just too pootered (apparently) to post. The important thing is, I'm back!

I have another recipe to post (Holy Posole!) which I'll save for tomorrow, but today's recipe is an adapted Shrimp Etouffe, partly in honor of Mardi Gras (yes, it was yesterday!) and partially because I had the Holy Trinity (pepper, celery, and onion) in the fridge. So using a few recipes for inspiration, I created this one - the main adjustment I made was to use 1 T. olive oil instead of the 4-8 T. of butter typically called for in these recipes, saving about 700 calories total. I had this with some roasted cauliflower to get a few more veggies in.

Jen's Shrimp Etouffe

Ingredients:

• 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, green, or orange), cut into chunks
  
• 3 medium celery stalks, coarsley chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 t. (or more to taste) cayenne pepper
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t. thyme
• 1 15-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
• 12 oz. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled
  

Directions:

1. Finely chop the celery, onions, and pepper (or pulse in a food processor). Heat olive oil in a saucepan over a medium high heat and add vegetables. Cook, stirring, about 10 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add the flour and stir completely until flour is incorporated. Stir frequently so that it doesn't burn, about 5 minutes, then gradually add the chicken broth, stirring to incorporate each addition. Turn the heat down to a medium-low. Add seasonings and tomatoes, stir to incorporate, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Stir every few minutes to ensure it's not sticking.
2. Add the shrimp, stirring to ensure they're incorporated; replace the lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes being careful that the shrimp doesn't overcook. Serve over rice.

Nutrition information per serving: 200 calories, 17g carbs, 5g fat, 21g protein, 2g fiber

Cranberry Oat Pancakes

I was looking for a way to mix up my normal Saturday morning pancakes. Having just made some delicious cranberry oatmeal muffins (aka Yummy Bliss muffins), I thought - why not make some cranberry oatmeal pancakes? I didn't get to take pictures of these pancakes, but will make them again soon, and be sure to post photos from that batch.

I took the basic Saturday Morning Pancake recipe and made the following ingredient modifications:

• Swap out 1/2 cup oats for 1/2 cup of the flour, so that you use 1/2 cup oats and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• Add 3/4 cup fresh cranberries, frozen
• Use fat free buttermilk instead of reduced fat, to make up for the fat that the oats add
  

The technique for grinding the oats and chopping the cranberries is exactly as you use them for the Yummy Bliss muffins. I made these changes to the directions:

• Add the ground oats to the flour
• Add the sugar to the cranberries as you process them, instead of adding the sugar to the other dry ingredients
• Add the cranberries to the buttermilk mixture before you combine with the dry ingredients to impart a pinkish hue. If you don't want the pinkish hue, then add the cranberries to the dry ingredients.

Cook as you would the regular pancakes, and enjoy! Here is the nutrition information - you get a little bit more calorie-wise, but you get additional fiber:
Per serving (about 4 pancakes, assuming 24 pancakes from the entire recipe): 223 calories, 40 g carbs, 3 g fat, 10 g protein, 5 g fiber.

Sneaky Chili

Lately I haven't been getting enough veggies, and I was trying to think of a more interesting way to get them than green beans. One of my girlfriends who has kids was talking about a cookbook she has that helps parents "sneak" vegetables into kids' foods. So I'm thinking... I'm on a food processor kick (see the Madras Meatballs recipe) and I'm looking for something different to do with veggies. Why not put those together and think of a way to boost the nutrient content of something I love? And hence Sneaky Chili was born! The recipe is built very much in the same way Tasty Turkey Chili was, with similar technique... If you don't like the veggies I've selected, as my sister (who hates peppers and mushrooms) doesn't, use whatever veggies you have on hand that you like.

Sneaky Chili
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey breast (you can sub veggie crumbles or crumbled tofu)
• 2 small onions or 1 medium onion
• 1 T. canola oil
• 1 T. chili powder
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 yellow or red bell pepper
• 2 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 1 cup mushrooms (pre-sliced or roughly chopped whole ones)
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1/4 c. tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with chiles

Directions

1. Peel and quarter onion, and mince in a food processor
2. In a skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the turkey, taking care to break it up into crumbles.
3. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat; add the olive oil and heat til shimmering. Add the onions and stir. Saute for 2-3 minutes; add tomato paste, chili powder, and garlic. Turn heat to low and cook while you prepare the veggies.
4. Trim the pepper, carrots, and parsnips and add to the food processor; add the mushrooms. Pulse until vegetables are minced.
5. Add the vegetables, diced tomatoes, and turkey to the onion-tomato mixture and stir to combine.
6. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables are all cooked through. Serve over brown rice or a baked sweet potato

Per Serving (assuming 6 servings): 169 calories, 15 g carbs, 3 g fat, 20 g protein, 3 g fiber

Madras Meatballs

So I just bought my first domain name - healthytastyeasy.com - and that was exciting. It got me to poke around and look at other foodies' blogs. I stumbled across nomnivorous, which I think is a nicely written, personable blog, and saw this recipe for Tikka Masala Meatballs (which in turn was inspired by Big Girls, Small Kitchen and Pretty Girls Use Knives). To me, cooking is about expressing yourself and trying new things. And like nomnivorous, I very seldom follow a recipe exactly. Besides, I typically stay in the European (French, Italian, German, Spanish) and Latin American cuisine genres - very seldom do I experiment with more Asian flavors. So - mainly because I didn't have exactly the same ingredients - I've tweaked the recipe very slightly. Here's my take on the recipe, which I'm calling Madras Meatballs. With some brown rice, the recipe makes four decent sized servings for dinner - but you could get away with six servings if you had a side dish or appetizer.

Ingredients Meatballs

• 3/4 c. oats
• 1 medium onion
• 1 lb. ground turkey breast (you could also use ground chicken breast)
  
• 1 egg
• 1 T. tomato paste
  
• 1 t. ginger
• 2 t. dried cilantro (or chopped fresh - 2 T.)
• 1 t. salt
• 2 cloves garlic (or equivalent pre-minced)
• 1 t. cumin

Sauce

• 2 medium onions
• 3 carrots
• 1 T. canola or other neutral vegetable oil
  
• 2 cloves garlic (or equivalent pre-minced)
• 1 t. cumin
• 2 t. dried cilantro (or chopped fresh - at least 2 T.)
• 1 - 2 t. hot curry powder (I used McCormick Hot Madras Curry powder) - use as much as you would like, depending on taste. E's not crazy about heat so I kept it closer to 1 t.
• 1 1/2 t. ground ginger (you can use fresh if you have it)
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with chiles (I used Trader Joe's fire roasted tomatoes with chiles)
  
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 c. light coconut milk

Directions

1. (Note: This recipe works really well if you use a food processor, but it's optional. My directions will assume you're using one.) Turn on your oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray.
   
2. Place the oats in the food processor and pulse until they look like coarse flour. Pour the oats into a bowl for now.
3. Peel and quarter the onion. Place the onions in the food processor and pulse until they are minced.
4. Add the turkey, the processed oats, the egg, tomato paste, salt and spices to the onion mixture in the food processor. Pulse until all ingredients are incorporated.
5. You can make the meatballs any size you would like, I made smallish ones using a small cookie dough scoop. You could use an ice cream scoop, spoons, or your bare hands to shape the meatballs.
6. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet (I ended up with 40 small ones) and cook under the broiler for about 10 minutes, watching to ensure they don't burn.
7. Wash out the food processor, you'll need it for the sauce! Peel and quarter two onions; remove the ends from the carrots, and peel if you'd like to (I didn't, I just washed them) and cut the carrots into 1-inch chunks. Place the onions and carrots in the food processor and pulse until they are minced. In a skillet, heat 1 T. canola oil over medium-high heat and add the onions and carrots. Add the garlic and other spices, stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes to allow the flavors to combine and heat up a bit.
   
8. Add both cans of tomatoes and the coconut milk, stir to combine, turn down the heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for another 15 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through (they should have cooked pretty well under the broiler).
9. Serve over brown rice (I like to use Trader Joe's microwaveable pre-cooked brown rice). Have some plain yogurt on hand in case you went a little overboard with the spice - it'll help balance that heat.

Per serving: 319 calories, 9 g fat, 29 g carb, 32 g protein, 6 g fiber

Notes on this recipe:

• If you don't have diced tomatoes with chiles, you can use regular diced tomatoes and add chopped jalapenos, or crushed red pepper, or a pinch of cayenne, or just up the curry powder.
• If you don't have coconut milk, you could use regular milk, or you could just go all-tomato.
• You don't have to use diced tomatoes, you can use crushed or whole peeled and break them down yourself.
• Fresh herbs and spices or dried? Usually 1 t. of a dried herb is about as powerful as 1 T. fresh. Use your taste buds to guide you here.
  

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Everyone has their weekend rituals. For E and me, one ritual we have is Saturday morning pancakes. Typically this involves my going downstairs first, putting on a pot of coffee and cleaning the kitchen (depending on how much cleaning up we didn't do from Friday night's dinner - if it's been a long week and there was a martini involved, chances are no dishes got done on Friday night), then getting pancakes going - and E finally comes downstairs after everything has been magically cleaned and the pancakes are nearly done. His sense of timing is quite remarkable in this regard.

Anyway, I have a pancake recipe that's now committed to memory, which I love to make - it's easy and tasty and, of course, healthy (sensing a pattern yet?). I'll make it with pumpkin and spices during the fall and sometimes into the winter, and with applesauce the rest of the time. I love topping these pancakes with no-sugar-added pumpkin butter and pure maple syrup (2 T does the trick) as I have given up artificial and processed foods - I used to be a SF syrup junkie!

Here's the recipe... it turns out best if you have a cup of coffee to keep you company as you cook.

Oh - and I've written this recipe for people who may not make pancakes that often, so it has a lot of guidance. If you're an expert pancake maker and are just interested in the recipe, well, you know what to do.

Saturday Morning Pancakes (makes 24 pancakes, 4 pancakes per serving)

• 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 T. granulated sugar or evaporated cane juice
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional)
  
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 1/2 c. low-fat or fat free buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin or 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
• Optional add-ins: fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, chocolate chips
  

**Pre-heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees, or one of those stove-top grill pan / griddles over medium-high heat. I don't recommend using a skillet as you can only make 2 or 3 pancakes at a time and it will take forever!
1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl
2. In a medium mixing bowl (or a 4-cup measuring glass if you hate doing dishes as much as I do), whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and pumpkin (or applesauce)
3. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently until combined. It's important that you NOT over-mix or the resulting pancakes will be flat and sad, and nobody wants that. The batter will look a little bit lumpy, and you will see some bubbles start to form as the baking soda and powder begin to react with the buttermilk. Let the batter sit for a few moments before you start making pancakes.
4. Now, make the pancakes.

• I've found that using a 1/4 cup dry measuring cup to pour the batter works well - you end up with evenly sized pancakes at just about the right size. Spray the skillet with a little cooking spray (canola oil is best) and dab any excess with paper towel.
• Using the measuring cup, pour the batter onto the skillet, evenly spacing each pancake - you want about half an inch between them. My skillet fits eight pancakes (2 rows of 4). Bubbles will start to appear on the surface of the pancakes.
  
• When the edges of each pancake look like they're cooked, and the bubbles have slowed / stopped - this should take about 2-3 minutes - it's time to flip the pancake.
  
• This is the fun part - and the part that takes practice if you're a pancake novice. Just trust that it will work, and it will - if you get too nervous, you'll psych yourself out, the pancakes and the spatula will sense this, and they'll flop. Take a spatula and with confident, quick, movement, slide it under the pancake. Again, with confident, quick, movement, flip your wrist so that you put the pancake back on the griddle on its other, uncooked side. Smile at your mad pancake flipping skills, but briefly - you've got 7 other pancakes to flip.
• Take a moment to observe the color of the pancakes - do they look golden brown? A bit too dark? Not dark enough? Adjust the cooking time if necessary.
  
• After you've flipped all of the pancakes, they'll need another 1 or 2 minutes before they can be removed and the next batch of batter can be cooked.
• You can tell if the pancakes are done in a couple of ways: Lift the edge of a pancake with the spatula and have a peek - is it golden brown? Then it's ready. You can also poke the top of the pancake with your finger - if the surface springs back, it's ready. If not, leave it for a while longer.
• I like to put the finished pancakes on a large platter that sits underneath the griddle to keep them warm - you can also keep an oven-proof platter in the oven at about 200 degrees, and put the finished pancakes in there until all of the batter is cooked.
• Nutrition information per serving (about 4 pancakes): 186 calories, 33 g carbs, 3 g fat, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein
  

Recipe Notes

• Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk, you can use regular milk - just reduce the amount to 2 cups. You can also add plain yogurt to milk to thicken it up, or you can add 2 T. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the milk and let it sit to thicken for a moment.
• Applesauce vs. pumpkin: I've found that you need less applesauce than pumpkin, as the pumpkin is a bit thicker. If you're opening a new can of pumpkin for the pancakes, freeze the rest in 1/2 cup portions so you can thaw just what you need for the next batch. Or, make some pumpkin muffins with the rest. If you're not someone who eats a lot of applesauce (like me) I've found that the applesauce cups are a great way to buy applesauce for baking - they come in 1/2 cup portions and you don't end up opening a whole jar that will likely go to waste.
  

Recipe update: dark chocolate brownies

So - last night we had some turkey chili to try and ward off Snow Fatigue... after shoveling snow today for about an hour (E's forearm is still hurt from the spill he took on some ice last week, so I was shoveling solo) I thought about how it would be nice to be someplace warm. Where they have nice, spicy food. And ice cold beer. And nice, spicy food. Ooops, I said that already.

Anyway, when I posted the Dark Chocolate Brownie recipe, I had said I wanted to try them with chipotle, so I thought that today would be the perfect day to do that. I also wanted to see if I could cut the fat - and keep / increase the moisture - by replacing the canola oil with reduced fat buttermilk. I also happened to have dark chocolate on hand, so instead of the substitution I made last time (cocoa powder, canola oil, and sugar), I used the chocolate.

The resulting flavor is nice - the cinnamon really comes out, and the heat is slow to build. You don't taste the chipotle right away, rather it builds with every bite. My suggestion for serving these brownies would be topped with a scoop of either vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream, drizzled with Kahlua, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. If you use just a small scoop of ice cream, you're not adding too many calories. Next variation will be to bake these with the Mexican spices, but add some coconut. I'll also try ratcheting up the chipotle, as these could have been a bit spicier.

Oh - and a note on moisture... I think that unless you're using the usual amount of butter called for in brownies, you're going to have a cakier brownie. Delicious, but cakey and crumbly. E said that these brownies were more delicious than the "original". In his taste buds I trust!

So - here is the revised ingredient list; follow the directions as before:

* 8 ounces dark chocolate (chips or broken into pieces)
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder (from Nuts Online)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (less or more to taste)
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
* 1/4 cup buttermilk (substitution for canola oil)
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Per brownie (assuming 24): 119 calories, 19g carbs, 5g fat, 3g protein, and 2g fiber (savings of 3g fat and 30 calories per brownie from the "other" recipe)

Chicken Pot Pie Stew with Drop Biscuits

Just before we got the Blizzard here in Massachusetts earlier this week, I started craving warm comfort food. I also want to make something delicious for E, because isn't the way to every man's heart through his stomach? Sure, I know I have his heart, but I like to spoil him - especially when he's traveling. I saw America's Test Kitchen over the weekend - one of my favorite cooking shows ever - and they did a segment on "the perfect" chicken pot pie. The key, they said, was to cook the ingredients separately before joining them together, to allow each one to develop its own personality and flavor. Makes sense to me.

I didn't want to "spend" a lot of calories on the crust, and I also wanted to save a little time on preparation, so decided to try this as a stew with quick drop biscuits.

The stew recipe is inspired by ATK and Martha. The biscuit recipe is from Cooking Light.

Chicken Pot Pie Stew (Serves 4)

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
• Chicken broth (enough to just cover chicken breasts)
• 1/2 c. Dry white wine
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 T. olive oil
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 onions, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t. dried thyme
• Low fat milk (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Poach the chicken breasts in the broth - cover the breasts in broth, and bring to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes, until breasts are fully cooked through. Remove breasts from poaching liquid and transfer to a cutting board to cool. Strain the poaching liquid into a 4-cup measuring cup, ensuring you add no more than 1 cup of poaching broth. Add the wine to the measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the total amount of the liquid to 2 1/2 cups.
- When it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken using two forks.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil with the thyme until the carrots are tender; add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the flour to the onion / carrot mixture and stir for about 1 minute.
- Add the liquid to the pan gradually, stirring as you add it, and cook it, stirring, until it thickens.
- When the sauce has thickened, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the peas and the chicken. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until it bubbles around the edges.

Per Serving: 272 calories, 20g carbohydrates, 6g fat, 30g protein, 3g fiber

Drop Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• Cooking spray

Directions
- Preheat oven to 450º.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives** until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; stir just until moist.
- Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from pan immediately, and place on a wire rack.

**after trying to use two knives, I tried an apple corer / slicer and found that it works as well as a pastry blender!

Per biscuit: 119 calories, 17g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 3g protein, .5g fiber

Bring it all together
Use pasta dishes or plates with rims to serve. Slice one biscuit (or two!) in half and spoon one fourth of the stew over it. Enjoy!