Beet It!

Oh, lucky readers! A double post this fine day! Aren't I ambitious? (Actually, since I haven't really posted anything for a week-ish, that would be a negative on the ambition, Ghostrider.)
So, somewhere I read or heard about beet brownies and I was all "Barf!" because beets? Barf. (Not that I have ever tasted a beet but still, barf. They are a super pretty shade of red, though, so they have that going for them.) But, since I'm all about trying to incorporate the healthy into my snackedy snacks and baked goods, I thought, "Why not?" If I don't like them, I can always toss them in the trash or feign being a good neighbor and give them to the neighbor whose dog leaves its own treats of the butt chocolate variety in my yard.
So off I went in search of a beet brownie recipe. Wow, why do so many of these recipes call for a gazillion eggs? Search, search, searchedy search. And then I digressed, because that is what I do. I happened upon some nutriotional facts about beets. You can read up on them here: http/www.hubpages.com/hub/Health_Benfits_of_Red_Beets
Holy Healthy, Batman! Beets are a healthy powerhouse!
Anyhow, I digressed and then got back on track and found a recipe for Beet Brownies. As I do with almost everything, I altered the recipe I found. I added extra vanilla (I add extra vanilla to evvvverything), cinnamon, cayenne pepper, extra cocoa powder and did not use quite as much pudding mix (I didn't have the larger size on hand, so I just used the smaller box that was in my pantry and crossed my fingers it wouldn't mess up the recipe.) This is the recipe I used/altered: www.food.com/recipe/beet-brownies-151739
These smelled super scrumptious as they were baking and when I took them out of the oven, they were not brownie-like at all, but definitely cake-like, but who cares, because they are total Nomsville, like a super moist cake. I can't wait to share them with family, friends and neighbors.
They only thing I do not like about this recipe is the crazy amount of vegetable oil it calls for. 1 cup? Geez. So, next time, I will tinker even more with the recipe and reduce the oil and maybe add some applesauce in lieu of it.
BTW, I don't know what a beet tastes like, but I am pretty certain these haven't a trace of beet flavor to them, as they are a yummy chocolatey-spicy-cinnamon flavor.

Banana Nut Bread Saturday

Nothing excting or unusual on the baking front today, just a classic banana nut bread. I veered away from the usual recipe I use, and I'm experimenting with the recipe I found on the Food Network site. I followed the recipe, making only a few slight alterations: I added walnuts, vanilla and an extra smooshed up banana. I also sprinkled a cinnamon sugar mixture atop the bread before making it. YUM!
Recipe can be found at : www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-bread-recipe/index.html

Hooray for Hats!

I won the Hats in the Belfry contest I mentioned in an earlier post. Hooray! Thanks to everyone who voted for me.

I won the Keira hat that I used in the outfit, as well as $50 gift card to the most excellent hat site, http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/. Check them out for all your noggin warmer and hat needs. Also, for a short while, they are running a promotion where you get 20% off your entire purchase if you use the coupon code LOVE20 at checkout. (I believe it expires at the very super beginning of February.)

Anyhow, with my $50 gift card and 20% discount, (and my free Keira hat), here is what I got, grand total, with shipping and handling, after discount and gift card? $3.60. SCORE!!

Food and Fashion

So, you know, as much as I LOVE to bake and cook, I also LOVE fashion. Hats in the Belfry is having a contest, where you create a look around one of their hats. You can find the details at:

http://blog.hatsinthebelfry.com/fashion-style/looks-you-love-january-contest.html

I put together the above look and that'll be my entry!

Putting together an outfit is always fun and this is a great way to have fun without doing damage to your bank account!

UPDATE:
Sweeeeeeeeeeeet! I won! I won the hat I incorporated in the above outfit AND a $50 gift card to Hats in the Belfry! Thanks to veryone who voted for me and Hats in the Belfry!!

Pineapple Blueberry Muffins

So, another cold, snowy dreary day from the shores of Lake Erie. As always, there's nothing better than smelling something baking in the oven on a cold winter's day so, of course, I baked today. I bought a fresh pineapple and cut it up a few days ago, but whoa, there is A LOT of pineapple in a fresh pineapple!L ike a super sized mondo bowl of pineapple chunks are to be had. I ate gobs, brought some to a friend, ate gobs more and still had a ton leftover. What to do? What to do? I also went to Cleveland's West Side Market yesterday (http://www.westsidemarket.org/) which, by the way, is SO a destination place if you are a foodie and in he Cleveland area. Anyhow, at the market I bought several large containers of plump, juicy blueberries. At 2 for $2, I couldn't resist. So now, I am left with tons of fresh pineapple and blueberries, so I decided, YUM! Pineapple and blueberry sounds like a scrumptious flavor combo, and you can never go wrong with muffins, so off to Internet World I went for a Pineapple Blueberry muffin recipe and came upon this oneat http://www.grouprecipes.com/, which I altered because it is for a cream cheese filled muffin and I didn't have any cream cheese on hand and HELLO! it is like 4 degrees and windy out there and there's no way I'm in the mood to leave my cozy abode to get some cream cheese!
So the muffins are baking away in my oven as I type and they smell divine. I will report back and update later as to how they came out, and hopefully, photos,too, but my dang camera is still acting up.
Edited for results: Wow. These SO did not turn out. At all. I have no idea what went wrong, because muffins are super ultra easy to make. Anyhow, since the Spicy Mexican Brownies I made the other day were such a colossal hit, I decided to make them again today. However, instead of using cayenne pepper, I decided to use some red bell pepper that I smooshed up in the food processor. I also added some orange peel. They are cooling off right this very moment and I will report back how they taste. *FINGERS CROSSED!!!*

Brownies...with avocado.

Yeah, you heard that right. Brownies made using avocados. With the new year comes my resolution to eat healthier foods and I'm not even gonna lie; I hate veggies. LOATHE them, so any way I can incorporate them into my diet, I will. And while avocados are fruits and not veggies, they're green and soooo not fruity tasting to me ( I love most fruit) so I have taken it upon myself to consider them an icky veggie. So I poked around the internet for some avocado dessert recipes and I wasn't really coming up with anything until I happened upon this Mayan Mudslide Brownie recipe I found at Sugar Plum blog. (http://www.visionsofsugarplum.com/)
I made the recipe this cold and snowy afternoon and let me tell you, the batter tastes incredible! They are in the oven right this very moment baking (and smelling scrumptious!) and I will report back to you on how they taste and what my friends and family think of them. And while obviously masking avocados with chocolate isn't the heathiest way to eat them, but it IS getting me to eat them, which is a step in the right direction. And I will never give up brownies, so why not try to healthy them up??
Here's the recipe: (www.visionsofsugarplums.com/2010/05/mayan-mudslide-brownies.html )The few alterations I made: instead of using coffee (I hate coffee) I used a tsp. (I like spicy heat...you might want to alter this )of cayenne pepper and a tsp. of cinnamon. After all ingredients were added and before pouring into the pan, the batter seemed reallllllllllllllllly thick so I added a smidge less than a 1/4 cup of no sugar added pure applesauce. Also, the recipe calls for dulce de leche. I skipped this step because I don't know where I would buy it, and quite frankly? I didn't have any in
the house and was too lazy to go looking around for it in stores. I don't think it will be sorely missed, plus? Calories saved!

Hump Day FAILURE

Ok, so I have been wanting to make marshmallows FOREVAH but I have never gotten around to it. I am not even a huge fan of marshmallows, but hello, how fun would it be to say, "Oh, I just whipped up some homemade marshmallows this afternoon?" Plus, I know lots of people who go gaga over marshmallows who I would be more than willing to share with!
So, yesterday I set out to make them. And I did. And they seemed to work. Until I tried to get them out of the pan. And they kinda-sorta tasted ok even when I kind of picked away at the sticky mess to at least taste them and try to salvage parts of the Gigundo Sized Marshmallow before tossing it in the trash. Unfortunately, the recipe said, when transferring the marshmallow mixture from the mixing bowl to the pan, spray the spatula with cooking spray so the marshmallowy goodness doesn't stick to the spatula. Well, I did that, but unfortunately I used an olive oil cooking spray and let's just say...eww to the residual taste it left behind.
Because I am a trooper (and because I really want to make homemade marshamallows to give out to friends and family!), I will attempt to make these again, using a different recipe. (I used one off Martha Stewart's site.)
So, until next time, my cocoa will have to go sans marshmallows!

Seriously?

Ok, I so totally could not have my first post of this wonderful BRAND SPANKIN' NEW year be about Jiffy mix blueberry muffins and some pasta with lemon-garlicky goodness, sooooooooooo...

...I poked around the internet and happened upon a recipe for what sounds like a deliciously fabulous recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Brownies. Hellllllllllllllllo, yummy! I just got finished baking them (and also got my first oven injury of 2011; a slight burn to the left lower pinkie. WAH WAH WAHHHHHHHHHH! ;) )and let me tell you, they smell D-I-V-I-N-E!! (And I tasted both the batters, the chocolate and the peanut butter part and HOLY PEANUT BUTTER CUP, BATMAN! I wanted to set the bowls of batter on the floor and lap it up like a hungry kitteh laps up some warm milk on a cold winter's night! I'm waiting for them to cool off and I will report on how they taste later, as well as post pics. Until then, my friends...
P.S.
I totally got the recipe from Joy the Baker, at joythebaker.com. Thank you sooooooooooo much for making this recipe public!!

Edited to add: the brownies turned out amaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzzzzzingly delicious!! Everyone loved them. So rich! So dense! So chocolatey! So peanut-buttery good! Pictures to come, once I figure out why I can't get my pics from my camera to my laptop...

Baking it Up in 2011!

Hooray! It is the start of a new year! New years always bring resolutions and ways to better ourselves...new beginnings...fresh starts. This year I have decided to document my cooking and baking, as they are 2 things I quite enjoy. Hopefully I will incorporate some healthy foods (2011 Resolution #1: eat more salads and veggies. Eww, veggies!) as well as documenting my love for baking. I hope to bake and/or cook at least one brand new recipe every week, documented here, for my (and your!) viewing pleasure.
I'd like to start 2011 off with a bang but unfortunately, I just got back from a NYE weekend in Chicago and all I have for you thus far? Blueberry mini muffins (And a Jiffy mix at that!) and some whole wheat pasta with a garlic/lemon/cracked black pepper/olive oil "sauce." I *promise* upcoming days' food items will be much more exciting!
To a fabulous 2011! *CHEERS!!!*