Tasty Treats

I secretly like to bake...not cook so much, but bake. OK, I like to cook too, but I don't think I'm as good at it... I like to find "perfected" recipes and then make them my own. Eli and I have tried a few new recipes out this past week or so. (Thanks to time off from school!) Eli is a great helper in the kitchen. The bench his Grandpa Snyder made for him makes him just the right height to help.

The latest recipe was one I got out of Parent's Magazine, an "Easy Turkey Stromboli". It was pretty easy and quite tasty!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pkg (10 oz.) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 pkg (11 oz.) refrigerated thin crust pizza crust
• 1 cup pasta sauce, divided (I think I would have liked a little more sauce.)
• 2 tsp low fat milk
• 1/2 cup shredded Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend
• 2 tsp grated Parmesan
• 1 lb. turkey-breast tenderloins, cut into strips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Boil a cup of water on medium in a large skillet; add turkey and return to boiling. Cover; simmer 8 to 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then chop.
3. Unroll crust into a 14"x12" rectangle on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Spoon half the sauce down the center, lengthwise, leaving 3" on either side.
5. Layer spinach, turkey, and cheese over sauce.
6. Cut 12 strips on both sides of crust. Fold strips over filling, so they overlap. Brush with milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake for 12 minutes. Serve with remaining sauce.

Eli helped me layer the spinach, turkey, and cheese. He also helped "paint" the top of the dough with milk and then sprinkled the Parmesan cheese.

I also set out to find the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe this week to use to make "chip-wiches" (an ice cream sandwich using chocolate chip cookies...mmmm!!) I wanted tasty and chewy, so when I stumbled upon a recipe for "Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie", I knew I was on to something.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (i might cut this back to a little under 1/2 next time)
  
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg (room temperature!)
  
• 1 egg yolk (room temperature!)
  
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I didn't use quite 2 cups, and I combined milk and semisweet chips. We also added baking M&Ms for fun and color!)
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
   
3. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour (because of the melted butter, the dough needs to set a little more) And then Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
   
4. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
5. Bake for 13 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. For them to remain chewy, they need to cool on the baking sheet for a bit and then after they have cooled completely(on the wire racks), store them in an airtight container to maintain chewiness.

These really turned out wonderful...not as "fat" as I may have guessed based on their name, but I was pleased....and I didn't have a lot of time to cool them in the refrigerator...so I stuck the batter in the freezer to speed up the process. I wonder if more time and in the fridge would have *beefed* them up a bit. And to make them chip-wiches, I just put 1-2 scoops of vanilla fro-yo between two cooled cookies and rolled them in sprinkles for fun. (Hint: DON'T put the cooled cookies in the freezer!...All of the chewiness freezes and they become quite hard!)

Eli helped by pouring in the already measured ingredients and, of course, decorating them with M&Ms. He loved this last part!

And finally, my "Sneaky Chef" recipe that I got from the April 2009 issue of Parenting Magazine: "Peanut Butter Blondies". These not-too-sweet PB treats have veggies in them, but you'd NEVER KNOW! Eli (and his friends that we've shared them with) seem to like them and ask for seconds. That is a winning recipe in my book!
INGREDIENTS:

• Cooking spray
• 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sweet-potato baby food (stage 1 or 2)
• 1/2 cup carrot baby food (stage 1 or 2) (Note: Carrot and sweet-potato baby food can be used interchangeably; use one or the other, or both, as long as it totals 1 cup.)
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (plus extra to use as icing, optional - I did NOT do this)
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup oat bran (find it in the hot-cereal aisle, near the oatmeal)
• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour (I used whole wheat flour.)
  
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips (optional - I didn't use these, but only because I couldn't find them in our Publix. I think they would add a touch of sweetness that adults may prefer. I would like to try them in my next batch.)
• Powdered sugar (optional - I did this, but it was quickly absorbed into the brownies!)
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray the bottom, not the sides, of a 9 by 13-inch pan.
2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool a bit.
3. Whisk in the baby food, peanut butter, vanilla, eggs, and salt. Add the oat bran and flour, and mix until just combined. Mix in the peanut butter chips, if using, then pour into the prepared baking pan.
4. Bake for 30 to 33 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in pan. Frost with peanut butter and/or dust with powdered sugar.

Eli was napping when I made these, but as an added treat, he sometimes gets to decorate one with mini M&Ms.

That's all for now. If you try these, let me know. Especially if you make any changes for the better. As I said, I like to make them my own and perfect them.

****NOTE: I found the cookie recipe on All Recipes. I love this site because it not only includes pictures, but it also has reviews from people who have tried it before. This way, I am less likely to get stuck with a bum recipe. And a lot of the reviewers add their tips for better results. I always end up using the tips suggested. LOVE IT! Check out the site if you haven't before.****
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