Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies used to be sold in the Center Cafe at the Dan Abraham Healthy Living Center (DAHLC). The dietitians & chefs at the DAHLC did many cooking demonstrations and also created their own recipes. These cookies were very popular & always a favorite of mine. I have always wanted to recreate them at home, so I finally did!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1.5 oz. dark chocolate bar (60% cocoa), grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2.  Place oats in a food processor (or small blender) & process until it turns into a powder.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered oats, flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
4. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars for 3 minutes on medium speed. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually beat in dry ingredients.
5. Sir in chocolate chips.
6. Roll or scoop dough into 2-inch sized balls & place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake for 12 minutes
8. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Tupps Tidbits: We omitted the white sugar &  the dark chocolate bar. We lowered the oven temp to 350 (the bottom of the cookies were browning faster than the top). We also pressed the dough ball down a bit on the baking sheet to flatten the cookie before baking.  We ended up with 26 cookies.

Recreation was success!  Sweets are such a challenge when focusing on nutrition and healthy foods can taste great!  This recipe is a KEEPER at our house (well at least for me, Tupps will take a real chocolate cookie instead).  They came out to be about 120 calories per cookie for us. Fit & Flavorful!  

The recipe stated the scooped dough freezes well and bakes up as delicious as fresh but you would need to add 1-2 minutes to bake time for frozen dough.  

Steakhouse Soup

Enjoy a steak dinner in a bowl with this super simple, hearty steak soup. We forgot to take a picture of our end result of this awesome soup.   Instead, you might need a little help in locating where "Beef Stew" comes from???  It typically comes from the large shoulder of a cow, more commonly called “chuck”. But roast, top & bottom round, tips, and even steak can be used as stew meat. MOOO!

Ingredients

1 carton (32 oz) beef broth
1.5 pounds red potatoes, cubed
1.5 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 package (16 oz) frozen veggies, thawed
2 cups water
1 medium onion
1 cup steak sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley or 2 tsp. dried 
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a 5- or 6qt slow cooker.  Cook, covered, on low 8-10 hours or until steak and potatoes are tender.

Tupps Tidbits:  We recommend adjusting to a little less than 1/2 cup of the steak sauce.

We did not have any leftovers, but you could freeze cooled soup and then to use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight and add water if necessary.  The steak was super moist and tender.

KEEPER RECIPE AT OUR HOUSE!

Everything Seasoned CHICKEN TENDERS

Chicken tenders are pretty much a staple food when we go out to eat. With chicken tenders your can’t go wrong because they are always delicious! We often make chicken at home but when it comes to recreating those restaurant-style tenders it is not easy to do unless you want to use a lot of oil to cook them in.

Ingredients
24 oz boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
1¼ cup panko crumbs
⅓ cup flour
2 eggs
⅓ cup buttermilk
5 Tbs everything but the bagel seasoning (Trader Joe's)


Instructions

• Add cooking spray to the bottom of the frying pan and warm over medium heat, add the panko crumbs, stir occasionally for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the crumbs are a nice brown toasted color. Place crumbs on a flat plate.
• Preheat oven to 400F
• Cut the chicken into strips
• Mix the flour with 1 Tbs of the seasoning and put on a flat plate.
• Whisk the eggs with milk and place in a bowl big enough for dipping the chicken pieces in.
• Add remaining 4 Tbs of the seasoning to the toasted panko
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
• Dip each chicken piece into the flour, then the egg mixture and finish off with the panko mixture. Place on the baking tray, repeat with all cut chicken strips.
• Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes. Makes approximately 5- 5oz servings
• Store any leftovers in the fridge, these chicken tenders will freeze well.

Tupps Tibits: When browning the bread crumbs, watch your temperate of the pan and make sure to stir "frequently" to avoid burning! We adjusted the recipe and used skim milk in place of buttermilk.

We were determined to try our best to make them crispy and tasty, these everything seasoned chicken tenders are good!  We enjoy adding Trader Joe's seasoning to dishes.  It consists of sesame seeds, sea salt flakes, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, black sesame seeds, poppy seeds. You can just add these simple spices yourself. As you see in the picture, we made homemade crinkle fries too! This made an awesome, quick week night meal. KEEPER RECIPE at our house!

Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

We love Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno. This is a copycat recipe using marinara, alfredo, mozzarella, fontina, romano & parmesan cheese and baked with a panko bread crumb topping.

There is little doubt that COVID-19 pandemic is affecting every aspect of your/our lives. Please observe public health measures and reduce exposure to the virus to slow the spread of the disease. 

Healthy eating is especially important for keeping your immune system in top condition. Our blog offers many easy meal ideas!

Pasta:
1 pound ziti pasta
4 cups marinara sauce
2 cups alfredo sauce
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Fontina Cheese shredded

Topping:

2 cups mozzarella Cheese shredded

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup romano cheese grated

1/4 cup parmesan cheese grated

2 cloves garlic minced

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven 375 degrees
2. Cook the pasta one minute shy of the directions and drain.
3. In a large bowl add the pasta, marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, ricotta cheese and fontina cheese and mix.
4. Pour in to a 9x13 pan
5. Mix the mozzarella, panko, romano, parmesan and garlic together, add this over the pasta
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes uncovered until golden brown and bubbly.

Tupps Tidbits: you can use low fat cottage cheese in place of ricotta cheese

Just put a salad together & fresh garlic breadsticks and enjoy an Olive Garden meal at home, safe and healthier!  This recipe is definitely A KEEPER at our house.  It heated up great for lunch leftovers!

Cheesy Rosemary and Pecan Snack Mix

Need a new 2021 football snack this year? With the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications hanging over games, will there be a 2021 Super Bowl?  Either way, on game day, plan to try this!

3 cup pecan halves
2 cup oyster crackers
2 cup square white cheddar cheese crackers
1 ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
½ cup melted butter

In a large bowl, combine pecan halves, oyster crackers, cheddar cheese crackers, Parmesan, pumpkin seeds, brown sugar, rosemary, crushed red pepper, and garlic. Drizzle in melted butter; stir gently to coat. Spread on a large, foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. 

Bake at 300° for 15 minutes; toss, then bake 15 minutes more. 

Let cool, then store in an airtight container. 

Tupps Tidbits:  Make sure to toss or stir frequently, the parmesan cheese will stick to the pan!

Don't discard your mom's original Chex/party mix for this one. It was OK - but probably would not make it again. If you are looking for something new, give it a try but this recipe is NOT A KEEPER at our house!

Effortless Eggnog

This is a wonderful holiday beverage brings back memories of the old-fashioned eggnog.

Eggnog, egg nog or egg-nog, historically also known as milk punch or egg milk punch, is a rich, chilled, sweetened, dairy-based beverage. 

It is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, whipped egg whites, and egg yolks but check out this "Effortless" idea below:

1/2 gallon cold milk, divided

1 package (3.4 ounces) Instant French vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

In a large bowl, whisk 3/4 cup milk and pudding mix until smooth.

Whisk in the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. 

Stir in the remaining milk.  Refrigerate until serving.

Tupps Tidbits:  Add  some, rum, brandy or bourbon. 

The higher alcohol level will cut through the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.

It was Christmas Eve, friends were all in town & singing Christmas songs.  As the snow was falling down & I don't know for certain, how it happened, or who's to blame. But someone at the party...Tell me who, who spiked the eggnog?

DEFINATELY A KEEPER RECIPE!
Merry Christmas to all & to all a GOOD NIGHT!🎄 

Honey-Oat Pan Rolls

We really enjoyed these for Thanksgiving!

The  rolls are relatively quick to make. 

Whole wheat flour and oats make them nutritious, too.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
2 pkg. ( 1/4 oz. each) active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1/4 cup honey
5 Tbs. Butter, divided
1 large egg, room temperature

1. In large bowl, mix 1 cup flour, and the whole wheat flour, oats, yeast and salt. In small sauce pan, heat the water, honey and 4 Tbs. butter, add to dry ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes . Add egg, beat on high for 2 minutes.  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough, dough will be sticky.
   
2. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic about 6-8 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, divide and shape into 24 balls. Place in greased 13 x 9 in pan. Cover with kitchen towel, let rise in a warm placeh, until doubled, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 375.  Bake 20-22minutes or until golden brown. Melt remaining butter and brush over rolls  Remove from pan to wire rack.

Tupps Tidbits:  We used margarine (not butter) and egg whites (not whole egg)

Nothing better than smelling fresh bread baking in the house.  

This is definitely a keeper recipe at our house!