teacher by day - chef by night
Actually: come to think of it, there may have been some smacking of hands as the boys tried to sneak these the night before and I yelled at them that they had to play fair & that they were for breakfast. I guess that just goes to show how yummy these are!
In order to celebrate Blue’s Clues I made BLUE VELVET CUPCAKES! Warning: these take a lot of food coloring and unlike Red Velvet: these are made with vanilla cake. I did cheat a little on these and used a box of Betty Crocker Mix (but I did make my own frosting since I’m not a fan of can frosting at all – that is why I thought I hated frosting growing up actually).
I love me some pesto!
AND
I love me some garlic!
When we did our 1st CSA pick-up we had some garlic scapes (basically a white, more mild garlic – and the scapes are the top, kinds curly). Heidi (our farmer) told us to make a garlic pesto with it. So I found Skinny Taste’s version and got to it. The next week we got more scapes (which I didn’t use) and then this week we got even more – so I knew what to do… get out the food processor and make LOTS of pesto to freeze and enjoy whenever we want that fresh garlic taste!!
Cut the garlic scapes into small pieces. In a food processor or mini blender pulsescapes, basil, parmigiano, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil while pulsing. Store in an air-tight jar for up to two weeks OR freeze in snack baggies for the perfect serving for 2 whenever you want.
Remember – this is a pesto, so feel free to play however you want to get the flavors you want! I actually used a little less basil (I didn’t measure), but basically because our basil is still small and I didn’t want to pick it clean!
And I leave you with this… a quote by Louis Diat (French chef who was the first chef at the Ritz in NYC) – “Without garlic I simply would not care to live.”
BEST MEATLOAF EVER. Warning: this is not low-calorie and there is nothing you can do to make it low-calorie, so run a few extra laps, go take a hike, hop on a bike – whatever you have to do to make and enjoy this meatloaf!!
Pasta: go to & quick and easy. There are so many ways to do pasta, but so often we find ourselves going to the same recipes. No no no – not this time! I pulled out my Pasta and Sauces cookbook from the Prevention Magazine’s Quick …
Think “Blondie Brownie” with all sorts of goodies added in!
I guess these are called “Congo Bars” – but I had never heard them called that (I do not think I have ever had them before either). These bar cookies are a perfect way to use up some of those 1/2 bags of sweets you have left over from other sweets. I did not have plain chocolate chips, so used a mix of plain/peanut butter. My mom hates coconut, so for her I would replace that with something else. You could make this with dried fruits to pretend to be healthier.
We recently brought these to a pot-luck (that we showed up late to) and even though most people had already eaten & had dessert – these still ended up disappearing!
Congo Bars
(as adapted from The Curvy Carrot, check out the “Congo Bars“)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Fold and fit two large pieces of foil perpendicular to one another in the baking pan, making sure to leave about 3 inches of overhang on each side. ***This will help you remove the bars from the baking pan. Spray the foil with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the melted butter and brown sugar until combined. On medium-low speed, add the eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Stop the mixer and manually fold in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula, mixing until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut to the batter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared baking pan.
Bake for at least 22-25 minutes (until the top is slightly cracked and the bars feel firm to the touch). *I ended up baking mine for at least 30 minutes – but be sure to check frequently to avoid over-baking. Remove the bars from the oven, garnish with the additional chocolate chips and coconut (if desired) and cool on a wire rack. Remove the bars from the pan by holding on to the overhanging foil edges and cut into bars.
And I leave you with this… these bar cookies are made with your “sweets leftovers” – so the next time you meet someone who tells you they don’t like leftovers (even though I’m not sure how that is possible) you should direct them to these bar cookies & then ask them how they feel about leftovers!