Chocolate Sandwich Ice Cream Cookies

I love, love, love ice cream. I honestly eat a bowl of it every evening. Terry and I started buying the low fat and calorie brands and didn’t miss the original full fat and calorie version. We found the Skinny Cow brand of ice cream sandwiches and were hooked on those for a while. They are fairly pricey so I was overjoyed when I read a review of a Cooking Light recipe posted by a trusted BB member, Sharon (Sharsd). She recommended using CL’s recipe, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies with Marshmallow Cream Filling. She made the recipe as written and also made just the cookies, filling them with ice cream. I decided to give it a try….

Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 5 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup fat-free buttermilk
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. To prepare cookies, combine 1 cup sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and eggs; beat until combined. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, 1 teaspoon salt, baking powder, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until set. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

These CL Chocolate Sandwich Cookies paired perfectly with ice cream. They are so tasty, and while they are easy to make, they are also impressive looking. I let the ice cream thaw for a bit so it would be easy to scoop onto one cookie, then I pressed down with the next cookie. To ensure that they would keep their form I froze the assembled ice cream sandwiches on a cookie sheet wrapped with plastic until they were frozen solid. After that I threw them into a large zip top bag. I plan on experimenting with as many types of ice cream fillings as I can!! These hit the spot for a nice dessert and were also a great mid-day snack during the month of August! Thanks to Sharon for posting such a great idea!

-Heather

Classic Waffles

School is back in full swing and my life has fallen into that familiar organized pattern that the fall seems to bring with it. August was a wonderful time, we packed an entire summer vacation into that single month. I attempted many different dishes but never found the time to post them, so September is officially my “catch up” month.

Breakfast is a meal that I enjoy making and eating when I actually have the time. School breakfasts for me usually consist of something that is easily transported and eaten because I am usually wolfing it down during the middle of class or between class periods. When I saw that SheRa (Ashley) on the Cooking Light BB had posted a waffle recipe I knew I needed to try it. Recommendations by SheRa always seem to lead me in the right direction. This time was no different, we really enjoyed this recipe for Classic Waffles which was posted on Allrecipes.com by Megan.

Classic Waffles
allrecipes.com - Megan

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups warm milk
⅓ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 25 Minutes
Servings: 5

"Simple waffles made with flour, egg, butter and sugar."

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside. Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.

2. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs. Stir in the milk, butter and vanilla. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.

3. Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately.

These waffles were wonderful and a nice change from breakfast sandwiches. I subbed white whole wheat flour for the regular flour and it worked out well. Terry was excited that we finally had a chance to use the waffle iron that he rescued from the old home economics room at his school. The Classic Waffles recipe has already been repeated and I would assume it will make an appearance at least once a month in our home.

-Heather

Yet Another Puppy Update!!! MANY Pictures!

I cannot describe what a life altering experience it has been raising two puppies. I love it, love it, LOVE IT!!! Sure, they dig giant holes in the newly laid sod, and they think the downstairs is "outside" but they are just the most amazing little creatures. Figgins is the spoiled crazy one, who ALWAYS wants to play. Halo is the timid shy guy who comes out of his shell once he gets to know you, and once he does, watch out. Just try to pet Figgins, and Halo will wiggle his way in between you two in a second. He LOVES attention! The boys spend their day sleeping, wrestling around with each other, taking walks thinking about food and being adorable.

The boys taking a little nap together.

Figgins

Halo.

Hanging out by the pool.

Getting to know each other again.

Getting ready for battle.

More wrestling about to ensue.

More fighting.

Scary puppies!

Figgins is calm again, laying on the "pee" blanket...let's not go into it.

Halo isn't used to posing, but does a great job!

Terry tried to wrangle Figgins, Halo and their brother Callahan (who my brother Derrick is raising) for a picture.

Awww...see why I can't resist these two!

-Heather

TF's Roasted Tomato Soup

WOW! It’s sure has been a while! I have been trying to enjoy the few weeks between summer school and regular school, known as, “summer break.” Terry and I have been acting like we are still in college, and having WAY too much fun. We took a trip down to San Diego to see Derrick and go to the Del Mar race track. We celebrated our third wedding anniversary by getting a new puppy, so now we have Figgins, and his brother Halo. Derrick took a third brother that he named Callahan. All three are just about the cutest things you have ever seen.

Terry went golfing with the guys today, so I thought I would take advantage of a quiet house and try a new recipe which came highly recommended by Canice on the Cooking Light BB. Tyler Florance’s Roasted Tomato Soup is absolutely outstanding. We stopped by the farmer’s market yesterday and bought the tomatoes which helps to make this soup delicious and perfect for summer.

Roasted Tomato Soup
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

2 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh heirlooms, cherry, vine and plum tomatoes)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 small yellow onions, sliced
Vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, optional
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional
3/4 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. If using vine cherry tomatoes for garnish, add them as well, leaving them whole and on the vine. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot (set aside the roasted vine tomatoes for later). Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, and butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish in bowl with 3 or 4 roasted vine cherry tomatoes and a splash of heavy cream.

Anything I thought I knew about tomato soup has been thrown out the window. Tyler Florance's Roasted Tomato Soup is hands down the best tomato soup I have ever had. It is rich, creamy, I might even go so far as to say velvety smooth (for some reason that word bothers me, but seems fitting here). It was not very difficult to make and I have read that it freezes very well. More than likely I will take another trip to the farmer's market, so that I can make a double batch and freeze it for the "winter." I made a few changes, as always to the recipe. I only used 1/4 cup of olive oil, about 2/3 of the amount of chicken broth that was called for, added a bit more garlic and used fat free half and half instead of heavy cream. I do not have an immersion blender, so I just blended everything in two batches in my regular blender. This soup came highly recommended to me, and in turn, I am recommending it to you, you will LOVE IT!!! Grilled cheese is the obvious accompaniment to this soup, and fresh, in season tomatoes can only add to this recipe, enjoy!

-Heather

MORE Puppies!!!

The end of summer school has put my writing on a hiatus. I can assure everyone that I will be up and blogging regularly as soon as school begins again. There is a lot of downtime that comes with teaching high school art. I wanted to update everyone on our puppy situation! We have gotten one of Figgins brothers, and my own brother, Derrick has gotten yet another of the siblings! The two new guys seemed to have been a bit neglected at the breeders, so we are showering them with love and care. Soon they will be as spoiled as Figgins!

-Heather

Simple Grilled Vegetables and Grilled Veggie Pitas

Champagne brunch is one of my favorite activities…especially when I get to enjoy it with my three favorite boys, Terry, Timmy and Derrick (I’m talking local boys of course, love you Cousin Bud!!) I got the breakfast quesadilla, with the sour cream on the side, like always. Verbally ordering is not necessary, our waiter Dino, knows my order by heart. Whenever we indulge in brunch, lunch is the furthest thing from our minds. While spending some time in the pool with Terry, I perused the August issue of Cooking Light. I came across the recipe Simple Grilled Vegetables and knew I had to try but it but I also knew had to add meat to the meal so that it would not be too veggie-tastic for Terry. I created a spin off of CL’s Grilled Vegetable Pitas with Goat Cheese and Pesto Mayo. I basically used their recipe as a guide, along side I altered the Parmesan Zucchini Sticks recipe to make Parmesan Baked Onion Rings.

Simple Grilled Vegetables

Cooking Light

Ingredients

8 (4-inch) Portobello mushroom caps (about 1 pound)
4 medium red bell peppers, quartered
2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions, each cut into 4 slices (about 1 1/4 pounds)
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

2. Arrange mushrooms, gill sides up; bell pepper quarters; and onion slices on a baking sheet. Coat vegetables with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with salt and black pepper. Drizzle vinegar over mushrooms. Place vegetables on grill rack; grill 5 minutes on each side or until tender.

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 mushroom, 2 bell pepper pieces, and 1 onion slice)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 65(4% from fat); FAT 0.3g (sat 0.1g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.1g); IRON 0.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 26mg; CARBOHYDRATE 13.7g; SODIUM 127mg; PROTEIN 2.8g; FIBER 3.3g

Grilled Vegetable Pitas with Goat Cheese and Pesto Mayo

Cooking Light

Ingredients

1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon commercial pesto
2 whole wheat pitas, cut in half
4 leaf lettuce leaves
4 servings Simple Grilled Vegetables

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation

1. Combine mayonnaise and pesto.

2. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture into each pita half. Stuff each pita half with 1 lettuce leaf, 1 serving Simple Grilled Vegetables, and 2 tablespoons cheese. Serve immediately.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 stuffed pita half)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 220(30% from fat); FAT 7.3g (sat 2.5g,mono 1.6g,poly 1.6g); IRON 2.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 7mg; CALCIUM 62mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33.7g; SODIUM 505mg; PROTEIN 8.9g; FIBER 5.8g

As I mentioned above, I used CL's Grilled Vegetable Pita with Goat Cheese and Pesto Mayo as a spring board in developing my own little creation. I grilled the veggies on an indoor grill pan, and we added left over Unbelievable Chicken to the pitas for protein (and to make Terry happy!) Instead of goat cheese, we used lite feta from Trader Joe's. I didn't have any pesto on hand, so I combined basil, lemon, garlic and store bought mayo together for a spread. I used the zucchini recipe to create onion rings, once this recipe is perfected, I will post it. As a whole, this meal was delicious! It is very versatile, I can picture adding steak, or following the original vegetarian version of the recipe. I would recommend giving this a try sometime in the near future while the veggies are abundant and fresh!

-Heather

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce

I LOVE FRIED FOODS, doesn’t everyone? Unfortunately for my taste buds, but fortunately for my waist line, I reserve eating them for special occasions. Fried zucchini from Phillies Pizza is one of my weaknesses. I have been looking for a way to recreate these delicious sticks in a healthier way for some time now. I just discovered the Cooking Light recipe, Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smokey Roasted Romesco Sauce, and I knew it was time to give this healthful recreation a try. I had a batch of Lindrusso’s marinara sauce in my freezer, so I passed this time on the Romesco sauce, but the end result of this recipe was a hit.

Parmesan Zucchini Sticks with Smoky Roasted Romesco Sauce

Cooking Light, JULY 2008

Crunchy breaded zucchini spears are delicious dipped in a summery sauce of roasted red peppers. The sauce is a zesty embellishment for grilled meats, too.

Sauce:
3 medium red bell peppers
2 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup (1/2-inch) cubed French bread baguette, crusts removed
1 1/2 tablespoons smoked almonds
1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 large garlic clove

Zucchini:
3 large zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup egg substitute
Cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare sauce, cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place bell pepper halves and tomatoes, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten bell peppers with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop, reserving any liquid.

3. Combine bell peppers, reserved liquid, tomatoes, and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.

4. Preheat oven to 400°.

5. To prepare zucchini, cut 1 zucchini in half crosswise; cut each half lengthwise into 8 wedges. Repeat procedure with remaining zucchini. Combine breadcrumbs, panko, cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a shallow dish. Dip zucchini in egg substitute; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place zucchini on a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat zucchini with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately with sauce.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 6 zucchini sticks and 1/4 cup sauce)

CALORIES 170 (30% from fat); FAT 5.6g (sat 1.3g,mono 2.5g,poly 1.3g); IRON 1.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 3mg; CALCIUM 107mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.4g; SODIUM 434mg; PROTEIN 8.4g; FIBER 3.9g

The Parmesan Zucchini Sticks accompanied some Unbelieveable Chicken that I had marinated, frozen, and defrosted that Terry threw on the BBQ. The only change that I made to the recipe was to use two eggs instead of the egg substitute because that is what I had on hand. I served some good ol’ mac n’ cheese right out of the box as a back up plan for Terry. He ate about four of the zucchini sticks, he said they were “OK”. I have to give him a lot of credit for trying all of my new veggie based creations, he is a real trooper. In my opinion these were really good. I will definitely make them again, perhaps along side some homemade pizza so I can have the full-Phillies experience! I can see this baking technique working well with other vegetables and will attempt onion rings in this manner very soon, I KNOW Terry will go for those!

-Heather

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki

I hate the CA DMV. I also hate the woman who did not look up from text messaging one time while she “helped” me. Lose your license at a Snoop Dog and 311 concert, and the next thing you know you are put through 2 hours of torture and you get to pay $22 for it!! I have learned my lesson, I will be more careful next time.

Anyhoo, even though I was SOO annoyed (if you know me this makes me act just a bit crabby) I still went and ran the rest of my errands, determined to make a nice dinner to take my mind off of the badness that was my day. I tried a new recipe that was recommended by PattiA on the Cooking Light message board. The Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki turned out very well.

Chicken Souvlaki with Tazatziki

Cooking Light

Ingredients

Souvlaki:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into (1/2-inch-thick) slices
Cooking spray

Tzatziki Sauce:
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and shredded
1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Preparation

To prepare souvlaki, combine the first 5 ingredients in a zip-top plastic bag; seal and shake to combine. Add chicken to bag; seal and shake to coat. Marinate chicken in refrigerator for 30 minutes, turning once.

Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Thread the chicken and zucchini, alternately onto each of 4 (8-inch) skewers.

Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add skewers; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, turning once.

To prepare tzatziki sauce, combine cucumber, yogurt, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 garlic clove, stirring well. Serve the tzatziki sauce with souvlaki.

Yield

2 servings (serving size: 2 skewers and about 1/4 cup tzatziki sauce)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 219(19% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 1.3g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.6g); IRON 1.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 69mg; CALCIUM 161mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.3g; SODIUM 705mg; PROTEIN 30.9g; FIBER 2.4g



We made the recipe as written except that we marinaded the chicken for an hour and added some red onion to the skewers. We also grilled more of the small tomatoes that we bought from the road side stand. The chicken and veggies were served over whole wheat couscous. I personally loved the tzatziki sauce, but Terry passed on it because he said it had too much of a cucumber taste. Cooking Light's Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki was extremely tasty and will be repeated in our house!

-Heather