Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Archives for August 2012

Funfetti Party Popcorn.

by Filed Under: Popcorn, Snacks Leave a Comment

 

Are you ready to party?  This super fun Funfetti party popcorn is a reason to celebrate if you have a reason or NOT!  The kids love it.  The adults love it.  Super fun, colorful and a great little birthday treat to bag in clear bags and tie with a fun ribbon.  Easy & the perfect treat to make with your kids or grandchildren.  Also perfect for a sleepover.

Ingredients:

1 cup of popcorn kernels (or 2-3 microwave bags of popcorn popped)
3 tablespoons of oil
1 cup of white chocolate
3/4 cup of Funfetti cake mix
Rainbow sprinkles

Directions:

Over a medium flame, add some vegetable oil into a large Dutch oven.  Get the oil hot and add your popcorn kernels.  Cover the pot and give it a good shake.  The popcorn will start popping within 30 seconds or so.  Keep shaking it off and on.  When the popping slows down, remove from the heat and set aside.

Over a double boiler or in your microwave, melt one cup of white chocolate wafers/chips.  When they start melting add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil.  Keep whisking until melted.  Then add the Funfetti cake batter powder.  Whisk to combine.

Place a large piece of tinfoil on your countertop.  Lay the popcorn out in an even layer.  With a large spoon, drop some of the white chocolate throughout.  Then add some rainbow sprinkles.  Give a good toss with clean hands (be careful it will be hot/warm).  Top with additional sprinkles.  Let set up on your counter or refrigerate for about 15 minutes.  Serve immediately!  Watch the smiles 🙂

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Dark Cherry, Almond & Amaretto Tart.

by Filed Under: Desserts, Valentine's Day 4 Comments

 

 

 

This creamy, dreamy tart is the perfect embodiment of all things wonderful.  Creamy custard. Marcona Spanish almond crust and smooth Italian Amaretto. If you need a dessert that will wow you family, friends or acquaintances – this is the dessert of choice.  I can’t say anymore… I need to go and eat this piece I photographed.

Ingredients:

8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted & cooled to room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup of Marcona almonds (or blanced almonds)
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon of Amaretto
1 pound dark cherries, pitted and washed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your 9 inch tart pan (with removable bottom) with non stick baking spray.

Combine butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract along with 2 tablespoons of ground almonds in a medium mixing bowl.  Add 1 1/4 cup of the all purpose flour.  Blend well.  Add the dough to the tartlet pan and press it down and up the sides of the pan to form an even crust.  Prick the crust with a fork all over.  Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden brown.

In your mixing bowl, combine the cream, egg and Amaretto.  Add in the remaining 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of ground almonds.  Take the remaining almond flour and sprinkle it atop of the tart crust.  Then evenly distribute the cherries throughout the crust.  Pour the custard over the top of the cherries.  The custard will self-level and fill in all of the areas.  Then bake for 40-42 minutes until set.  Remove and let cool for at least one hour.  Once the pan is easily held, drop the bottom & tart (removing the side ring), place on a platter and let cool.

 

— Knead to Cook

Carrot & Coconut Whole Wheat Muffins {and there’s Chobani in there too}.

by Filed Under: Muffins, Vegetarian 5 Comments

I’m always trying to whip up new recipes that my family will love but also are healthy.  Aren’t we all?  We don’t eat a lot of processed foods in our house and I want to have snacks that the kids will grab.  These fit the request.  My youngest already ate 2 of them hot from the oven!

This recipe is easy, the biggest pain is is grating the carrots but other than that… Easy to prepare and clean up!

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/4 cup of Chobani vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of grated carrots
1 1/2 cups of toasted coconut (grated)
1 cup of chopped walnuts
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur’s Flour for both flours)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of golden flax seed (ground)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Oats

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tins with muffin cups.

In your stand mixer, paddle attachment on, beat eggs, Chobani, oil and vanilla extract.   Then add your carrots, coconut and walnuts.  In a separate bowl, add the flours, sugar, soda, powder, cinnamon, flax seed and salt.  Add to the wet mixture and blend.  Avoid over-mixing.

Spoon into your muffin papers.  I filled about 3/4 of the way filled.  I topped each with some oats.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let cool and then store in a covered container.

— Knead to Cook

Meyer Lemon & Honey Vinaigrette.

by Filed Under: Salads, Vegetarian, Vinaigrette 2 Comments

I was craving a big salad.  I have laugh, I feel like Elaine on Seinfeld.  So I made a huge salad topped with some organic grilled chicken and I needed a great vinaigrette.  I luckily scored some fresh Meyer Lemons and thought it would be perfection. I was right, it was really good and really simple.  Can’t go wrong!  This is so good, I could possibly eat it straight!  Ha ha.  I normally don’t use a lot of dressing but admittedly, got a bit heavy-handed with this one.  I hope you give this one a try.

Ingredients:

2 Meyer Lemons (zest from one) juice from both
1- 1.5 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar
1/2 cup of good olive oil 
Pinch of salt
Ground pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and shake well.  Enjoy!

 

— Knead to Cook

Rainbow Swiss Chard.

by Filed Under: Vegetarian Leave a Comment

How could I ever resist these colors?  I love Swiss chard!  I think a lot of people are a bit intimidated by how to cook it but after reading this recipe hopefully you will love it as much as we do!  Plus that color… talk about eating the rainbow!

Ingredients:

1 bunch of rainbow or green Swiss chard (washed with the very ends of each stalk removed)
1 pat of butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat a pat of butter in a heavy sauté pan over low to medium heat.  In the meantime, cut the celery-like stalk into smaller pieces (about 1.5 inch).  Add that to the sauté pan to cook.  While cooking, chop up the green leafy tops.  Then add that to the sauté pan and cover.  The greens will wilt down.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl.  Serve hot.

— Knead to Cook

Flax seed beef garlic meatballs.

by Filed Under: Beef 4 Comments

I harvested several pounds of tomatoes from our garden today and I thought I would whip up a batch of ground sirloin beef flax seed meatballs.  The flax seed takes the place of the bread crumbs or panko and add great soluble and insoluble fiber & omega 3’s.  My house smells so good… I do love a good meatball.

Ingredients:

2 lbs of ground sirloin beef
1/4 cup of ground flax seed
1 egg
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped
8 basil leaves, chopped or torn
Salt and Pepper
Ground red pepper (about 1 teaspoon)
Italian seasonings (about 1 teaspoon)

Directions:

In your stand mixer, paddle attached, add all of the ingredients and mix until incorporated.  When well-blended, but not over-mixed, make one tiny meatball and set aside.

Over medium flame, add a small amount of olive oil in your sauté pan and let it get hot.  Once heated, add the meatball and cook until nicely browned on all sides. Remove, let cool and taste.  Check for seasonings… adjust the remaining meat mixture as needed and then cook in batches.  Add olive oil as needed.  Sauté the meatballs until browned on all sides.  Place the finished product on a paper towel lined platter to absorb any extra oil.  Serve or add to your favorite sauce and enjoy!


 

— Knead to Cook

Key Lime Ice Cream. {no equipment necessary}

by Filed Under: Ice cream 3 Comments

After coming home from a lovely week of vacationing ~ my kids have a renewed appreciation for all things key lime/mango and anything tropical.  I wanted to surprise them tonight by making them some fresh key lime ice cream.  I think they’ll love it!  This recipe is super easy and requires no salt/ice cream maker.  Super easy and I promise – on hot night, this will be a welcome dessert!

Ingredients:

1 c of heavy cream (chilled)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces)
4 tbl of Key Lime Juice (either fresh or bottled)
Zest from one lime or key lime
1 lime or key lime cut into bite-sized segments (with the peel removed)
1 tsp of lemon extract

Directions:

In your stand mixer, whisk attached, whip the cold cream until stiff peaks form.  It will look just like whipped cream.

In a separate bowl, add the sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, zest and segments and extract. Stir to combine and then fold into the whipped cream mixture.  Spoon into a tupperware container with a lid and freeze for at least 12-24 hours.

Enjoy!

 

— Knead to Cook

Granny Smith Apple & Blueberry Crisp with White Chocolate Chips.

by Filed Under: Desserts 2 Comments

The last day of our vacation.  As I’m sitting here typing this scheduled post, I’m sure I’ll be quite anxious to get back to blogging after a lovely week away with my family.  We need some family time to reconnect after a very hectic summer.

The last and one of my favorite foodies, Carrie, is sharing quite a beautiful recipe with you all today.  Apple and blueberries… plus add chocolate in there – YES, you had me at dessert!  Carrie is one of those awesome women who always makes me smile.  She sends random happy emails that always put a smile on my face, regardless of the day I’m having.  She is beyond knowledgeable and oh-so-creative with food.  I love her!!!  Check out this fabulous recipe along with her blog and FB page.   Thanks Carrie!!! oxoxoxo

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CarriesExperimentalKitchen
Blog:
http://carriesexperimentalkitchen.blogspot.com/2012/03/granny-smith-blueberry-crisp-with-white.html

Did you ever just want something sweet but you’re trying to be “good” so you don’t buy anything to keep in the house? Well, last week I had one of those nights. I found some apples in the refrigerator that I hadn’t eaten yet and a pint of blueberries and decided to make this quick and easy crisp. I made this the night I had the grilled chicken so my total WW Point intake for dinner was only 10pts. leaving me with quite a few extra points to spare for the day (so I didn’t feel so bad once I realized this was 9pts per serving) but man oh man was it good! I probably could have left out the chocolate chips but it did add that extra sweetness I was craving. And since it is National Frozen Food Day today, you could also use frozen blueberries if you’d like too.

Granny Smith Apple & Blueberry Crisp with White Chocolate Chips

3 Granny Smith Apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1 pt. Fresh Blueberries (though you could also use frozen)
1/4 c. Honey
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon

Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix well, then add to a 9×9 oven safe baking dish.

Topping
1/2 c. Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 c. All-Purpose Flour (I’m sure Gluten Free or Whole Wheat Flour would work as well)
1/2 c. Light Brown Sugar
1/2 c. White Chocolate Chips
2 tbsp. Butter, melted

Mix together in a small bowl until it is crumbly. Top the apple and blueberry mixture then bake at 425 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Serves 6.

— Knead to Cook

Corn cakes with chipotle yogurt sauce.

by Filed Under: Side dish, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Katrin from Running With Devil(ed) Eggs is one of my very best foodie friends on Facebook!  She makes me laugh hysterically, inspires me with her generosity and kindness… I just love her!  I couldn’t resist having her share a delicious treat from her food repertoire & boy she delivered.  These look incredible!

Thanks Katrin!!  oxoxox Robin

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Running-With-the-Deviled-Eggs/182951875090222

Website:  http://runningwiththedevil-eggsthatis.blogspot.ca/2012/07/corn-cakes-with-chipotle-yogurt-sauce.html

Did you see the Chipotle Yogurt Sauce?
It’s PERFECT for the corn cakes I’m about to share with you.

I had to make em.
My dear friends mommy turned a milestone age 2 weeks ago and I was in charge of making them for her party.  They were gobbled up quicker than free gas!  Naturally they should be shared with my family too!  Not the gas, just the cakes.

Now these ones differed slightly than the ones I made for the soiree *using Bisquick*.
I didn’t have any of that nor cornmeal on hand but I did have a box of Jiffy corn bread mix.
Honestly speaking, we picked it up on our wedding road trip, never using it before for anything so I was flying blind.

The texture was wonderful, they held up very well with the frying, and as mentioned, they accompanied the chipotle sauce swimmingly!

I roasted off some ears of corn on the bbq but using canned corn would work too.
Enjoy!

I’m Listening to:  Yellow Ledbetter – Pearl Jam

makes approx. 12 – 15 2″ cakes

1 box Jiffy Cornbread mix
2-3 tbsp. flour
3 ears of corn roasted and kernels removed
(or 1 can of kernels)
1/2 yellow pepper diced finely
1/2 red pepper diced finely
3-4 green onions sliced
couple pinches of fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Prepare the Jiffy mix as directed on the package.
Add in the flour – your mixture should resemble a thicker pancake batter.  My first go round I didn’t add any flour – they lacked a certain hold together component, hot mess I tell ya!

Incorporate the spices and then add in your veggies, stirring just to combine.
Heat a skillet on med-high.  Now, I used 2 methods of cooking these.
The first half I fried in an inch of veggie oil and the other half I simply prepared with a lightly greased pan (these turned out more like pancakes in consistency)
You choose what you feel best suits your pallet!  We enjoyed both methods.

Drop by tablespoon (rounding them out) into the pan.
Either way you choose to make them you are only going to fry them about 3 minutes per side (or less) as you want them to be golden brown.

If frying in oil, transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towel.
You can also make a bunch and keep them hot by placing them in a warm oven (set about 200F) until all have been made and you are ready to serve.
Drizzle with cream sauce!

Sauce recipe:

CHIPOTLE YOGURT CONDIMENT

1/3 c. yogurt
1/4 c. mayo
2 tsp. chipotle in adobo
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
pinch of chili powder

Chop up a little chipotle but use the adobo as your base.
Add this to your yogurt and mayo.  Mix well to combine.
Start adding in your spices, tasting as you go.
That’s it….
🙂

— Knead to Cook

Cherry Walnut Coffee Cake Muffins.

by Filed Under: Breads, Muffins, Vegetarian 6 Comments

Do you know when you first meet someone let’s say in a yoga class, at school, or at a party and BAM!!  Some people just hit you, instantly knowing that you’ve found a friend, connection, great person that you know you’ll end up being friends with forever?  I have been so fortunate to “virtually meet” so many awesome men and women through blogging.  Abby is definitely one of those girls that I wish I could go to a yoga class with.  She is so energetic, adorable and sweet.  Plus, I’ll admit, I have a slight obsession with her puppy Watson!  I’ll sneak one of her picture onto this blog so you can fall in love with him too!

When I asked Abby if she would like to be a guest blogger, I was so excited when she sent me her fabulous recipe.  It sounds delightful and being a cherry fan, these are definitely on my list to make when we get back.  I think these will make the perfect breakfast treat or mid afternoon snack!

Thanks Abby!!  You’re the best!  oxox  Robin

Website:  http://www.seaweedandsassafras.com/2012/07/cherry-walnut-coffee-cake-muffins.html

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SeaweedandSassafras

Thank you all for such supportive and encouraging comments!  I’m definitely not giving up, I’m the kind of person who isn’t afraid of getting told no, I have to try.  What’s the quote…something about how you miss 100% of the chances you never take.  I’m sure I have it on here somewhere….
This morning I went to one of the most physically challenging yoga classes I’ve ever taken, complete jello arms by the end, oof!  (But I love it!)  As the instructor paced between our mats, calling out words like chaturanga and shavasana, she kept mentioning letting go.  I got to thinking about where I feel the most free.  As an adult I think it gets harder to find places where you can just throw your head back and laugh.  Free.
I’ve imagined some dramatic scene where I’m standing on a wide, empty, beach with the wind blowing my hair off my face as I cast a determined stare out to sea.  Full of strength and dignity, but does strength equal freedom?  And then I watch our little Watson raise his little puppy butt in the air before going on a full charge after his toy.  I can’t help but laugh at his unbridled joy.  Free.
Cherry Walnut Coffee Cake Muffins
(Adapted from Seattle Times)Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Egg
3/4 cup Milk
1/3 cup Grapeseed oil

1 1/2 cups Fresh Cherries, stems removed, pitted and roughly chopped or halved
Cooking spray
1.  Line a muffin tin with paper cups and spray evenly with cooking spray.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2.  In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon.  Set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.
4.  In another bowl, mix together the oil, milk and egg.  Whip in the egg and mix together.
5.  Now combine the egg mixture to the flour mixture stirring until blended, do not over mix.  Now add your prepared cherries and stir in.
6.  Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the batter into the bottom of each muffin cup.  Now add a sprinkle (about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon) of the brown sugar mixture over the top of each.  Be sure to save some to top each muffin.
7.  Now fill the rest of the cups with the batter and then sprinkle remaining brown sugar mixture over the top of each muffin.
8.  Bake for 20-22 minutes, until lightly browned.
Enjoy!
Okay, I had to steal some pictures of Watson off Abby’s site.  I cannot stand how adorable he is!!!  That fat little tush kills me!  Sweetie face…  I’m in love~~~

— Knead to Cook