Monday, March 30, 2015

Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs



We love deviled eggs. When I saw we, I mean my husband and I. My boys, not so much. I find it hard to fathom since they are one of my most favorite appetizers.

For over 10 years I've stuck to my old try and true recipe and my Deviled Egg Spread (what better way to use up all those boiled Easter eggs right?)

I saw a recipe for Sour Cream and Onion Dip Deviled Eggs on A Spicy Perspective and thought I'd give it a whirl with a few additions of my own thrown in.

So I bring you Sour Cream and Onion Deviled Eggs. My version.

Creamy, oniony and satisfyingly delicious!

There's a new deviled egg in town!



Sour Cream & Onion Deviled Eggs
adapted from a recipe at A Spicy Perspective.
PRINTABLE RECIPE
12 extra-large hard boiled eggs
4 large shallots, finely chopped (or 1 small onion)
1/2 cup thick sour cream
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard.
2 green onions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
salt & pepper to taste.

Drain the sour cream  in a sieve over a bowl using a coffee filter or a piece of paper towel. Let drain for about an hour. You should see some liquid drain out.

Peel the hard boiled eggs, cut them in half and place the yolks in a food processor.
Place a skillet over medium heat. Drizzle in some olive oil and add the chopped shallots. Saute for 3-5 minutes until soft and golden. Set aside.

Drain (or strain) the sour cream so it is as thick as possible. Place it in the food processor along with the sautéed onions. Puree until totally smooth. Remove mixture to a bowl and stir in the vinegar mustard and chopped green onions. Salt and pepper to taste. You might want to add more vinegar at this point. I like my deviled eggs a little tangy. If you do too, add in a splash more.

Fill the centers of each egg white and garnish with a little more of the chopped green onion. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.


Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake

Chocolate Bundt with Peanut Butter

My youngest is a peanut butter fiend.

I buy the big jars at my local BJ's Wholesale club and I'm telling you, that child goes through a jar every few weeks!

I'm not the biggest peanut butter fan but I make treats with peanut butter in them because I know he likes it so much.

I decided to make him a cake over the weekend. I'll admit, I was busy experimenting with a few new recipes so I looked for a cake that started with a cake mix. I have no shame in using a cake mix. They can be a working Mom's best friend at times.

He loved the super moist cake and the peanut buttery filling (and I'm sure the gooey chocolate topping didn't hurt either).

When you need something quick....this will fit the bill.

Chocolate Bundt with Peanut Butter 1


Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake
PRINTABLE RECIPE
1 box (about 18 oz) yellow,  white or butter cake mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 small package (4 servings) instant chocolate pudding mix

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat together the cake mix, water, oil and eggs. Remove one cup of batter to a small bowl. Beat peanut butter into reserved one cup of batter. Add the chocolate pudding mix to the large bowl of batter. Beat until well combined.

Grease and flour a 10-12 cup bundt pan (or use non-stick baking spray with flour). Spoon about 1/3 of the chocolate batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spoon peanut butter batter over the chocolate layer, keeping batter away from the edges of the pan. Spoon remaining chocolate batter over the peanut butter layer. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and cool completely. Once cool, top with ganache.

Chocolate Ganache Frosting
4 oz chocolate chips
1/2  cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the chips in a mixing bowl. In a saucepan, heat cream until it comes to a boil. Pour cream over chocolate in mixing bowl and stir until chocolate is melted and glossy. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cooled cake. You can pop it in the fridge to let the ganache harden up a bit.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Healthier Chocolate Banana Cake


Healthier Choc Banana Bread

I'm always looking for healthy breakfast choices. I watch my sugar and carbs and breakfast can get a little boring for me. After months and months of eating wasa crips, Weight Watchers cereal, fruit, hard boiled eggs, etc., I was feeling the need for a treat in the morning. I found this recipe ages ago and clipped it out of a magazine. I can't even tell you what magazine or who the author was, so if this is your recipe, please let me know!

It's not "healthy, healthy" hence the title of "healthier", but if you use dark chocolate chips and leave out the mini chips on top, it's not too bad at all. I used Truvia Brown Sugar blend so that kept the sugars down.

This makes a small 8x8 cake. I can tell you it tastes just as good as an "unhealthy" cake cause my boys both ate most of it on me. I had a piece for breakfast on Sunday morning and was anticipating another slice for Monday morning, but when I woke up my cake pan was empty. That's life with two teenage boys in the house! Nothing is safe!

It's a delicious little cake.

Healthier Choc Banana Bread 2

Healthier Chocolate Banana Cake
recipe from Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary
PRINTABLE RECIPE
3 medium bananas
¾ cup brown sugar (or 1⁄4 cup + 1⁄8 cup of Truvia Brown Sugar Blend)
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Dash salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)
Mini chips for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8 inch pan with cooking spray. Place the bananas in a bowl and whip them with an electric mixer for approximately 1 minute. Stir in the brown sugar and beat to combine. Add in the applesauce, vanilla and egg. Hand stir to combine. In a separate bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the banana mixture. Stir to combine. Add in chocolate chips if you are using them and gently fold to combine. Pour into prepared dish. Top with mini chips if desired. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Winner - Golden Girl Granola

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Congratulations to Amy Leach!

Winner of the granola giveaway. Thanks to all of you who participated on the blog and on Facebook!

I have another giveaway coming up soon!

Monday, March 2, 2015

No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Granola Bars & a Giveaway!

No bake granola bars 2

So I was contact by this small batch granola company in Carlisle, MA called Golden Girl Granola about a month ago. They sent me some of their delicious granola to try. I'm very picky when it comes my granola, so I was not anticipating to LOVE this granola, but I have to say...I LOVE IT! I make my own granola, but I don't make often enough that I have a constant supply of it, so this granola has now become my new favorite!

Golden Girl uses the finest ingredients and hand-stirs each small batch to create a lightly crunchy, wholegrain treat. Their customers say it is the best granola they have ever had and I have to agree!

It is an excellent as a cereal, a topping, or a snack right out of the bag. It’s head-over-heels delicious! Truly Tropical is my favorite. It is loaded with mangoes, coconut and lots and lots of cashews! They sure don't skip on ingredients!

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Those are just two of the terrific flavors that you can choose from. Here they all are:

Forest Maple
Creative Cranberry
Bluesberry
Chocolate Decadence
The Original
Home Sweet Honey
Truly Tropical
Pumpkin Harvest

I wanted to develop a recipe using this fabulous product so I tinkered around in the kitchen and came up with this No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Bar. It's nothing like those cardboard granola bars you buy in the store. You're going to love this! See below for the recipe.

The nice folks at Golden Girl would like one lucky winner to try their granola, so we will be giving away 2 bags of granola! What do you have to do to enter??

Go the their site by clicking "here" and tell me what 2 granola's you would choose.

Want another chance to win?? LIKE Golden Girl Granola on Facebook (click here). Let me know you did in the comments and you'll be entered in the contest twice!

Contest ends Friday, March 6th, midnight EST.

Golden Girl Granola is available in many stores in Massachusetts but you can also purchase it online here!

Please give me your email address so I may contact you if you win.

Entries on my Facebook Page will also count!

No bake granola bars

No Bake Chewy Peanut Butter Bars
recipe from Lisa@ The Cutting Edge of Ordinary
PRINTABLE RECIPE
2 Cups Golden Girl Granola
1 Cup Rice Crispy Cereal
¾ Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
½ Cup Agave or Honey
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla Extract

Line an 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine Granola and the cereal.

In a microwave safe bowl combine peanut butter, agave or honey, vanilla and the brown sugar. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth. Using a spatula gently combine the peanut butter mixture with the dry ingredients. Press into the 8x8 baking dish and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour. Remove from baking dish and cut into bars.