Peanut Butter and Chocolate...

*** Just wanted to edit this to say - this recipe won me the contest and some great goodies from Kay's Natural! ***

So, I made and submitted this recipe for the Kay's Naturals contest. It's really good and FILLING... argh... should have just had 1/2 a peice.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Desert

3 bags (1.5oz) Kays Cinnamon Pretzel Sticks
3 tbl butter
1/2 cup grain sweetened chocolate chips (or sugar free)
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8 oz light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granular sweetner (like Splenda)
1/2 cup unsweetened, natural peanut butter
2 tbl sugar free caramel sauce
4oz sugar free whipped topping
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4oz sugar free whipped topping

Coarsley crush the Kay's pretzels and melt butter. Mix together and press into the bottom of an 8x8 casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. As soon as you get the crust out of the oven, evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the bottom. Cover with foil and let chips melt. Spread them over the bottom with a spatuala. (it's OK if it's not even or pretty) Set aside to cool.

With a mixer, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, sweetner and caramel until fluffy. Fold in the whipped topping (this is half of an 8oz container). Spread over cooled crust. Top with remaining whipped topping and chill.

Cut into 12 peices.

More Chocolate!

I have tweaked many, many recipes. I think this is one of my favorites. My friend Vicky loves this recipe as well. So in honor of her being the very FIRST follower on my blog, I thought I'd post this recipe for you all. Thanks Vicky and HUGS! For all you pumpkin haters, I promise you can't taste it in here.

Chocolate Flax Muffins
Nutritional Info
Fat: 9.9g
Carbohydrates: 6.4g
Calories: 134.7
Protein: 7.6g

Ingredients

1/3 cup ground almonds
2/3 cup ground flax seed (flax meal)
1/3 cup splenda granular
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use Max protein from GNC)
2 tsp baking powder
1 square unsweetened baking chocolate
1 Tbl powdered milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not flavored/spiced for pies)
1/4 cup sugar free syrup (I use DaVinci French Vanilla)
1 TBL plus 1 tsp oil

Directions

Mix the flax, almond, baking powder, splenda and chocolate protein powder and set aside.In a bowl large enough to accomodate the remaining ingredients (ie, larger than a cereal bowl), place the baking chocolate and melt SLOWLY in the microwave. Stir and break up every 10 seconds (Dont burn the chocolate). Once almost melted, stir vigorously to complete the melting. Add in the powdered milk. Add in one of the eggs and stir, stir, stir until it's incorporated. It will eventually incorporate, be patient. Then add remaining eggs until smooth. Stir in pumpkin, oil and syrup. Add the wet to dry and stir well. Let batter sit for 5 minutes and put into silicone muffin tins or spray with nonstick spray. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the top is firm to touch. Makes 9 muffins.

Apples and lots of em'

Well, I have to do something with my apples today. I'm going to make some dumplings using low fat Pilsbury crescent rolls, splenda and brown sugar. I'll make a sauce with SF Smuckers Caramel sauce to go over them.

The rest will go into the crockpot for apple butter.

Basic recipe for apple butter

Apples - cut and peeled

Cinnamon

Splenda

Optional spices - nutmeg, allspice, cloves

Put all this in your crock and cook for 10 or more hours. Dont take the lid off. About halfway through, smoosh 'em real good. Otherwise try to resist peaking. Did you know you lose 30 minutes of cooking time everytime you take the lid off your slow cooker?

I have seen a few recipes that add vinegar. I have never used this and not sure what it contributes. My apple butter always turns out good without it.

I also like to use some sugar free cinnamon syrup (DaVinci brand) to give it a little more "hot cinnamon" taste. Like those little cinnamon red hot candies. Remember those?http://www.ferrarapan.com/html/rh_history.html

Happy 4th of July!

For those who have served and are still serving and to the families that support them....

THANK YOU!!

We have a pretty uneventful 4th.Scored 10 lbs of apples for 5 bucks at our farmers market. Will have to come up with a recipe for these. I wanted to share the dessert recipe I'm taking to a picnic tonight. (No apples in this one :) )

~No Bake Pineapple/Peach Cheesecake~

I wanted to call this Pee-Pee Pie, but thought twice.

1/2 cup almond meal

2 cups sugar free cookies (I used the Joseph's Pecan Shortbread)

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1/4 cup splenda

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1 can crushed pineapple (in it's own juice) - juice strained and fruit squeezed dry to within an inch of it's life

-2 8oz packages light cream cheese, softened to room temp

-1/2 cup splenda

-1 sleeve of sugar free instant jello pudding for one (OK, not sure if you need the pudding mix, but I was paranoid it wasnt going to set up, so I threw it in. I'm sure it would be fine without. If you are a confident, self-assured person - leave it out)

-1 16 oz container Cool-Whip (I use sugar free, but there are a million other versions and they all basically have the same stats... not sure if it matters which you use)

Crush cookies in blender and add to rest of crust ingredients. Press into either two pie plates or a flat casserolle. I think a 9 x 11 pan would be too big. The one I used is about 7 x 10. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes and let cool. * you could skip all this and get a graham cracker crust.

With a mixer, blend cream cheese and splenda, add pudding and blend some more. Add pineapple and mix in by hand. Fold in cool whip by hand. Spread onto cooled crust and refrigerate.

IF YOU ARENT FAINT OF HEART and are channelling your inner Martha.... Then you can make the peachy glaze to go on top. You can also stop right here.

Use the juice of the pineapple you drained, heat on stove top with corn starch (start with 1 1/2 tsp and go from there) and some splenda to taste. Bring to a very slow boil, stirring constantly. Sprinkle 1/2 envelope of SF orange jello. When thickened, take off heat and add in some canned cut up peaches. Let cool slightly and put glaze over top the pie. This is really pretty and good.

Tweak, tweak... Chocolate cookies!

Chocolate cookies!

As promised, here's the tweak on the 7 ingredient cookie. This is a bit lower carb and makes a nice soft, cake-like chocolate cookie. It is the base of my sugar free brownie sundae. I can also imagine making a filling out of some cream cheese, coolwhip and splenda and having an old fashioned "whoopie pie". Those are actually what I'm reminded of with the texture. Never had a homemade whoopie pie?? http://www.recipezaar.com/Whoopie-Pie-Cookie-Sandwiches-288355 - Here ya go!

On to the recipe -

1 egg
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tbls cocoa (I used Hershey's)
dash of salt
2 scoops of chocolate protein powder (uh oh.... franken-food!) (just pick up some at your local health food store or even Walmart - good brands are Matrix, Max Protein, Designer Whey)
1/2 cup Almond Meal (Bob's Red Mill or just put some unroasted almonds in a blender and pulse slowly until they are fine crumbs. Keep pulsing and mixing or you'll get almond butter)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds (easy to find or just grind your own. Bob has these too.)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 - 1/2 cup splenda granular (to taste)

Mix all together and then... LET IT SIT.... clean your junk off the counter. Put your almond meal and flax back in the refrigerator (yes, I want you to store it there). Get out a cookie sheet and spray with non stick or line with parchment, cuz these puppies will stick. Preheat oven to 350. OK, about 5 minutes has passed. NOW you can put them on the cookie sheet. (It takes time for the flax to absorb some of the liquid, so this is why they are sitting)

Take a big spoon and plop little cow paddies onto the cookie sheet. This is runny, it's OK. Dont panic and add... gasp~ flour to them. Bake for 12-15 minutes (check them, b/c cooking time varies depending on how big you make them). Let them cool for a bit on the sheet and then transfer to a rack to cool.

Have fun - I mean it is chocolate. How could you not have fun?

Introducing... ME

I'm not a writer and I'm not pretending to be one in either real life or cyber space. I just wanted a place to put all my kitchen creations, thoughts on family and life and any other disjointed ramblings crossing my mind.

I cook for a family of 4 (soon to be 5) and we try for low carb meals. I'm not opposed to using "franken-food" to accomplish this goal. (Splenda, sugar alcohols in moderation and weird grains and flours) I'll put some of my recipes out here and if you tweak em' or try em' - let me know!

I have lots of thoughts on - pregnancy after age 40, the healthcare system, child rearing, kids with special abilities and other stuff. I may get brave enough to post those some day, but for now it's all about the FOOD!

The first recipe is NOT my own, I have just seen it on various message boards. I'll publish my own tweaks of it later, but for now - here's the original.

7 Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup splenda
1 cup oats (not sure if steel cut would work, I've just used rolled oats)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
** OK now is when I'm thinking - "What the heck is the seventh ingredient??????"
1 tsp cinnamon... whew, thought my Alzheimer's was kicking in

Just mix them all together and drop by little mounds onto a cookie sheet with nonstick spray. These will NOT rise or spread out, so you need to mound them up into whatever shape you want them to be. DONT spread them out. They are VERY runny, but they'll stay together.
Bake 350 for 15 minutes. They are VERY cake-like and not chewy at all. BUT at 70 calories a piece, they are great.

My tweak on this was to make them chocolate! Then I put some SF vanilla ice cream and SF chocolate syrup on them and I had myself a brownie sundae. I'll post that recipe later.