Cup O' Chocolate-Coconut Bread Pudding

I just got Hungry Girl's newest cookbook and this recipe made me think of you, Sylvia! I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds yummy. Here is her description, "Hot, sweet, chocolate-coconut-marshmallow fun in a cup. This weird and wonderful dessert will become one of your new BFFs!"

One 25-calorie packet diet hot cocoa mix
Dash salt
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
1/3 tsp coconut extract
2 slices light white bread
1 tsp mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
10 mini marshmallows

Combine cocoa mix and salt in a glass. Add 1/4 cup very hot water and stir until ingredients have dissolved. Add egg substitute and coconut extract, and stir. Set aside.

Toast bread and teaer into cubes. Spray a large microwave-safe mug lightly with nonstick spray. Add bread cubes and top with cocoa-egg mixture. If needed, stir gently to ensure bread is thoroughly soaked. Top evenly with chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Microwave for about 2 minutes and 15 seconds, until bread budding is set. (It will puff up once set.) Enjoy!

Makes 1 serving. Per serving (entire recipe): 215 calories, 2 g fat, 755 mg sodium, 33.5 g carbs, 6 g fiber, 11.5 g sugars, 19 g protein

A Late Entry For The Macaroni Wars . . .

Sorry I'm late, but I made this Southern Living version of mac and cheese for our Easter egg hunt luncheon.  We had "picnic style food" and I felt like mac and cheese was a perfect fit!  This recipe is TASTY and I think of all the recipes posted thus far, it may just have the fewest ingredients {read: no fail}.  Give it a try and tell me what you think:

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

1 8 oz pkg elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 C milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 8 oz block sharp cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

1.  Prepare pasta according to directions. Keep warm.
2.  Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes.  Gradually whisk in milk and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in salt, peppers, 1 cup of cheese and cooked pasta.
3.  Spoon pasta mixture into lightly greased 2 qt. baking dish and top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
4.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly.  Let stant 10 minutes before serving.

Easter Cake 2010

This years cake, it was yummy.

Peter Rabbit gives this two paws up!

Quick breads usually taste like cake to me and so I always feel a bit guilty eating them as if they were bread. This recipe takes away the guilt because it has grated carrots in it. Anything with grated carrots must be a healthy choice, right? I've also done some subsituting with oil and flours in this recipe attempting to make the bread even healthier. The subsitutions make for a dryer bread but still very tasty.

Banana Carrot Bread

2 cups of flour (sometimes I substitute some of the white flour with whole wheat flour, I say about 3/4 cup)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup (usually 2 bananas) mashed, ripe bananas.

1 cup sugar

3/4 vegetable oil (I substitute with a generous 1/4 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce)

2 eggs (don't forget them, I did once; it was still eatable though.)

1 cup of finely grated, pared carrots

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Sift together flour baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside combine bananas, sugar, oil and eggs. Beat with electric mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in dry ingredients. Fold in carrots and pecans. Spread in greased and floured regular size loaf pan (I just spray the pan with cooking spray)

Bake at 350 degree oven for 55 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out clean.

I don't have a very good oven, hence the big crack on top of the bread, it's not suppose to do that. It's not stopping me though, as I'm off to take a nibble with Peter.

Green Chile Frittata

Melody, a friend of mine posted this on her facebook, and so I gave it a try. It's simple to make and very tasty. I believe you could make this up for any meal of the day. I halved the recipe when I made it.


Green Chile Frittata

10 eggs beaten
1/2 Cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 (4oz) cans diced and drained
1 16oz container low_fat cottage cheese
1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 Cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 400*. lightly grease 9x13" baking dish

In a large bowl, mix eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the green chile peppers, cottage cheese, and melted butter. Poor into greased baking dish.

Bake 15 minutes at 400*, reduce heat to 325* and bake an additional 25-35 minutes.

When I made the half recipe, I did not bake it for 35 minuted. I inserted a toothpick, and took it out of the oven when the toothpick came out clean, I took it out at 29 minutes.

Waffle-mania

My mom gave me a book of a thousand waffle recipes (more like 100...but still), and I've tried a few and I'm going to post my two favorites (so far) here.

Broccoli-Cottage Cheese Waffles

Don't knock it till you try it. These are a savory waffle that can be served as lunch or an early dinner. Great for springtime or St. Patrick's day because they are bright green.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. Broccoli, trimmed. (I just got a regular bunch from the grocery store, seemed to work out fine
• 1 C Cottage Cheese
• 1 1/2 C Milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 C flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/4 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 4 scallions (thinly sliced, white part only)
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/4 C olive oil

Cook the broccoli until it can be pierced easily with the point of a knife. Drain and cool for 10 minutes. Blend up the broccoli and cottage cheese with a food processor. (I used an osterizer, which took a little more shaking and stirring than a food processor, but blended the broccoli just fine.) Blend until completely pureed, about 90 seconds. Add the milk and eggs to the blender and blend for another 30 seconds.

Whisk together the dry ingredients until combined. Pour the blended broccoli over the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Add the scallions, garlic, and olive oil.

Make the waffles according to your waffle iron's directions.

When I made these we cut them in half, broiled them with a layer of cheddar cheese, and served them folded over like a calzone with a slice of tomato in the middle. The cook book suggested you eat them with a dollop of plain yogurt or roasted red peppers. You could even try them topped with Ratatoulli (from a previous post).

I have no idea what the fat and caloric intake is for these, but they seem pretty healthy, and they prevent cancer, I'm sure of it :).

Oatmeal-Banana Waffles

I just made these about an hour ago, and they were pretty tasty. They seem like a good way to get some whole grain without it being whole wheat (blech).

Ingredients:

• 4 T (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 C Old-fashioned oats
• 1 C flour
• 1 T baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 3 T packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 C buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 medium-size, very ripe bananas, thinly sliced crosswise

Melt the butter and reserve for later. Whisk together the dry ingredients including the brown sugar. In another bowl, beat together the eggs and the buttermilk until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and mix until just combined. Mix in the banana slices and the butter.

Make waffles. You'll probably have to use a wooden spoon or metal spatula to spread the batter around your waffle iron since the batter is very thick. You may also have to wait longer than usual to cook the waffles for the same reason. They should be golden and crisp when done and fluffy in the middle.

Eat these with syrup, fruit preserves, or any of your favorite waffle toppings. I think it would be excellent with more fresh bananas and cinnamon sugar on the top or fresh raspberries and whipped cream.

You really should try the broccoli waffles, not only so you can make people panic, but so you have some veggies in a fun new way.

Tinker Bell's Magic

Several years ago I was talking to a friend about a dinner party I was hosting and she said, "I'll make dessert for you." I told her that wasn't neccessary, because she wasn't invited to this particular dinner party, but she insisted. Tinker Bell, as I sometimes call her, is a very good friend and also a very good cook. She told me that she had cut some cake recipes out of her local newspaper (hopefully, you do remember what a newspaper is) and that she wanted to try one of them. Orange/Pineapple Cake was the chosen recipe and it proved to be a scrumpteous choice! Needless to say, my guests were impressed and asked for seconds. This cake has now become an Easter tradition; it is the grand finale to our Easter feast.

Pineapple/Orange Cake

Cake:

1 pkg yellow cake mix (I always use Duncan Hines)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (11oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

2 (8 oz) cans crushed pineapple with juice
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (3 oz pkg)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three round 9 inch cake pans. Combine cake ingredients in bowl and mix with hand mixer for one minute on low and then three minutes on medium. Mixture should be smooth with small bits of mandarin orange. Pour equally into three pans. Bake for 25 minutes until cake is spongy to the touch or a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes IN PANS on wire rack. Then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

While the cake is cooling, make frosting. Drain pineapple juice, adding it to pudding mix and combining well. Add pineapple, powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold in cool whip.

To assemble cake, frost between each layer, then the outside of the cake.

You can add some toasted coconut to the top for decor purposes if desired.

This cake tastes best if you assemble it several hours ahead of time and then of course, keep it REFRIGERATED!

I like to decorate with pansies and blue vinca flowers for Easter another lovely option is orange slices and toasted coconut like the one Samantha made.

Oh, you high altitude folks may need to make some adjustments to the cake part of this recipe.

Enjoy! You'll lick the plate clean; I know I will on Sunday!