Halloween and New England Clam Chowder

 Happy Saturday everyone! It is finally the weekend and I hope everyone gets to go out and do something fun or if you’re like me you work on weekends. I have to go into work later tonight, so I am trying to catch up on my recorded TV and sipping hot coffee.

Halloween is a little more than a week away and I can’t wait. I LOVE Halloween. Almost as much as I love Christmas. I’m gearing up for it by doing a very toned down version of my Christmas baking by doing a few treats. I will share those soon.  I checked the Halloween hours in my town and it’s from 6-9! I am hoping to have lots of people come because the last two Halloweens I lived in an apartment and didn’t get anyone even though I bought candy just in case. I live in a small subdivision this year so I am hoping I get a few trick or treaters. I haven’t decided if I will sit out and scare the people or not lol. I also need to run out and get some candy I haven’t done that yet

 I wanted to give you guys a great soup to try this weekend and it’s even better if it’s a cold day. It gets better though, you can go back for seconds on this soup because it’s a very healthy soup. Yes for real, healthy.

This soup comes together pretty quickly and tastes great. I got this recipe from my Rocco Dispirito’s cookbook “Now Eat This!” which offers healthier versions of comfort foods. All foods in this book are under 350 calories! You wouldn’t even know the difference trust me. I made a few modifications, but you should try this one. There is no fish taste if you are worried about that.  If you are still scared of seafood, leave them out. I’m not looking.

Here is my take on Rocco’s New England Clam Chowder

Serves about six 6

1 large onion

4 cloves of garlic, finally chopped

4 cups of cauliflower florets1 bag of frozen corn

3 cups of skim milk

3 6.5 ounce cans of chopped clams with their liquid*

3 tbs of cornstarch

6 tbs of real bacon bits (Make sure these are REAL bacon bits)**

3 wedges of soft cheese (like laughing cow-Aldis has a version or 2/3 cups Greek yogurt)

½ cup of scallions (or 2 tbs of chopped chives)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot add the onion, garlic, cauliflower, corn and skim milk. Bring to boil over high heat then reduce to low, cover and simmer for about 7 minutes or until the veggies are tender.

While the veggies are simmering, stain the clams and reserve the juice. Stir in the 3 tbs of cornstarch into the reserved juice.

Raise the heat to medium and add the cornstarch mixture into the pot stirring constantly. Reduce the heat again and let thicken about 2-3 minutes.

Add your clams and bacon to the soup and remove from heat. Stir in your cheese and scallions. Season with salt and pepper (I used a ton and added some hot sauce). Serve.

My calorie count comes in around 300 calories. The original recipe used Greek yogurt but it wasn’t a good price at the store so I used the soft cheese which are very low in calories. I believe the yogurt was supposed to make it creamy and the cheese really does.

*If you don’t use the clams, reserve one cup of milk and stir in your cornstarch than add it to the pot. I am really serious about it not tasting like fish either. When I opened the claims there was a little fishy smell, but once added to the soup and the liquid it was gone and my house didn’t even smell like it either.

**You can omit the bacon if you don’t dig it.

Enjoy!

Fall Food Finds part one…

How is everyone this cold, raining day (if you live in the Midwest)?  I am sitting here sipping a cup of coffee that is screaming hot.  I know you’re asking why screaming hot, because my heater is not working. Loads of joy. To be honest its not all that bad, but it is not fun either. I am planning my Halloween Baking so something will be going in the oven very soon to help warm it up while I am waiting for maintenance to come and fix my furnace.

I wanted to share a few food finds that I found recently.  I will be adding more as I find more fun foods! I hope you guys try these and enjoy!

Whoppers that taste like Peanut Butter, you cannot go wrong with Peanut butter

Ok Ok you can find it everywhere, but I am OBSESSED with this stuff

I know it has trans fats, but once in awhile its not bad. It has a nice Maple smell and slightly sweet taste

Good ol' Dunkin' Donuts. This was good, but has a spice undertone, not to much pumpkin

Found These at target. Taste pretty much like regular Dots

Yummy candy corn dots!

Paying it forward…Monkey See Monkey Do Pumpkin Muffins

Good Morning Everyone and Happy Monday!!! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was nice but flew by. I went to a few garage sales Friday morning and a friend and I noticed that there was money lying on a table. $16 worth of money! I don’t know about you but I would hate losing $16 bucks. That’s almost $20 which is a huge (at least to me) amount to lose.

Being the nice person that I am (my friend is too) I found the people running the garage sale and told them that there was money on the table. They were thrilled and so thankful that we told them. I guess the husband took the money from a person who bought something and left it on the table. They thanked us and we were on our way to another garage sale.  

It wasn’t the only time that I paid it forward this weekend either, there was a few other instances, but doesn’t it feel good to help others when needed? Not only that but hopefully it will come back to you. Like I said before even though the weekend went fast, it went really well.

Now on to the food. I read a lot of food magazines and read a ton of food blogs. This recipe was found on my favorite food blog Brown Eyed Baker. I could probably make everything on there. So this is my Monkey See Monkey Do recipe because I saw it and wanted it lol.

I told you I am obsessed with pumpkin and these are moist and delicious Pumpkin Muffins with a streusel topping! These babies are so good! I cannot describe how good these are. The pumpkin flavor runs throughout the muffin and then when you bite into it you get that nice surprise of cream cheese in the middle. I love the slight crunch and sweet streusel topping. Trust me you have to try this. I have a few ideas of other things I want to make with it but that will be in the future. 

 Serve these babies warm or at room temp. You can freeze them too just let cool and wrap in plastic wrap and put in a freezer bag.

Check out the recipe here.

Enjoy!

Messing with Black Magic...Not really...Halloween Cupcakes

Hello everyone! I am so angry this morning. Well I should say I am still angry from this Sunday. I like to get the Sunday paper for coupons and I went to two different stores and neither of the papers had them! My roommates parents also came to visit and brought him papers and there was none in those either!

I know it seems a little crazy to get coupons, but you would not believe all the stuff I "bought" for free.

I don't stockpile like you see on extreme couponing but getting stuff for free is amazing.

I also have a big announcement so stay turned to that. For now I want to share this recipe I found on one of my favorite blogs Gingerbread Bagels.

I heard about this recipe over a year ago from a co-worker who told me I have to this recipe. Well a year later i stumbled across it on Gingerbread Bagels and knew I had to try it, plus it helped that my roommate needed to bring something for a potluck. It was fun all morning updating my facebook status "messing with Black Magic."

I was afraid to make these at first because it uses a freshly brewed strong up of coffee, but the chocolate flavor it brings is amazing! If you are worried about a coffee taste don't because there is none.  This has to be my favorite chocolate cake recipe. The cupcakes were moist and had a nice crumb.The surprise filling also adds another surprise and enjoyment out of these.

I used a normal white frosting but you can tint yours orange for Halloween I wont look...ok maybe peeking lol.

My first time piping a frosting on a cupcakes

Yummy Moist Cream Filling

Please check out the Gingerbread Bagels for step by step photos and instructions


Black Magic Cream Filled Cupcakes From Gingerbread Bagels

Here is a recipe for a normal vanilla Buttercream Frosting which I used.

Ingredients

• 3 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk, mix together sugar and butter. Mix on low speed until well blended and then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes.

Add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium speed for 1 minute more, adding more cream if needed for spreading consistency.

Enjoy!

Weekend Special Roasted Jalapeno Poppers-Appetizer

How is everyone this weekend so far?  I have been up very early because I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been sipping coffee all day and I am hoping I can make it through my closing shift tonight because I am tired. 

 

I was driving around today and I cannot believe how the leaves are changing so fast! There was one tree that almost had all the leaves missing! It is scary how fast everything is changing. Fall is so beautiful and I enjoy it so much.

 

I wanted to give you guys a really easy appetizer which would be great for a game day party.  Roasted Jalapeno Poppers. I saw this on a 30 minute meal and new it would be amazing.I served these as an appetizer for a dinner party and they were a hit. The feta cheese sounded weird but added a great contrast and depth of flavor. Trust me use it, plus its only 2 ounces it’s not all that much. I adapted the recipe to what I had on hand. It called for a hot shredded cheese or sharp cheddar, but I just had normal cheddar on hand.  I also added more jalapenos because there is so much mixture that I wanted to use it all. One last thing I lowered the oven temperature to they would slowly roast. 

 

These are amazing and I hope you guys try them either for an appetizer or for your game day party.

 

 

Adapted from Rachael Ray's Roasted jalapeno Popper

 

Ingredients:

• 16 large jalapeno peppers
• 2 ounces feta cheese
• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 ounces shredded Cheddar Cheese
• A small handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons grated onion

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut 1/3 of each pepper off lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place on a baking sheet. If peppers do not sit flat on the baking sheet, slice a thin piece off the bottom of the pepper so it will not roll around.

Mash the feta, cream cheese, shredded cheese, cilantro, and onion together and stuff the peppers with the mixture. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is brown at the edges and bubbly.

Enjoy!

A nice warm up to and Chili

It is crazy how this weather changes all the time. I swear the weather person is never right. Does this happen to you? The weather person says one thing and it ends up being totally different. All well. I am enjoying this nice warm up. I have always liked warmer weather.

So I told you before that I am obsessed with pumpkin. There are so many pumplin (see my last post) recipes I want to make and try. My bookmark list goes on and on. I had a meeting today and I kept thinking about new dishes I can try, and of course a lot of them where pumpkin lol.

But I am not going to give a pumpkin recipe today, I am going to wait because I want to show you a really good chili recipe. This is a slight version of my Dads chili, which I will show you guys when the weather gets colder.

I also am just going to go on a slight tangent and encourage everyone to try something new, or don’t let fear get in your way of blocking something you want to do. I have been having that problem lately. I keep thinking I can’t do something but I know it is just fear. If I don’t take that first step and try how will I ever know if I am doing something right? So this week I have been taking on my fear and trying something different. I will expand on this more later, but this is my encouragement to you. Try something new, and take over your fear.

Now to the recipe. I made a veggie chili this week for the first time and I must say it was delicious. I really do try to keep all my recipes super simple and inexpensive and this one fits the bill. I also found out that going veggie once in a while is not so bad. I hope you guys like this one!

Let those mushrooms brown then add onions and fresno, Don't add salt until those mushrooms borwn

beans, yummy

tomatoes yum-o

seasonings and simmer

perfect...

wait wait wait, the cheese makes it perfect delish!

Recipe---Veggie Chili

Ingredients:

1 pt of Mushrooms (any kind you like)

1 onion

1 fresno pepper

1 can of black beans

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of fire roasted tomatoes

1 can of stewed tomatoes

2 12oz cans of tomato sauce

Season:

1 tbs of cumin

1 tbs of chili powder

1 tbs of garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place mushrooms in a large pot with 2 tbs of EVOO. Sauté until brown (do not salt yet). Once brown and your onion and fresno pepper, cook until tender. While the mushrooms are browning rinse your cans of beans. When the onion and fresno pepper are tender and your beans, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir. If it is very thick, add a can of water (I used my tomato sauce can). Add your seasoning, taste and add more if desired. Let simmer and keep adding water if the chili becomes to thick for your liking.

Now you can simmer as long as you would like. The longer you let it simmer the more flavorful it will get. You could cook it for 30 minutes and dig in, it’s your choice. I waited about 25 minutes and took out a bowl for myself and then let it simmer a little longer.

For me the seasonings where spot on. You can play around with any veggies you like or means or even canned tomatoes. This is just a basic chili, but it is super delicious and would be perfect for any night of the week.

Enjoy!

Hot Breakfast Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

How is everyone’s weekend so far? Enjoy your weather? Where I live it was sunny and cold!
Also sitting in my garage at 8 in the morning wasn’t so fun either. I had an end of summer, beginning of fall garage sale today. Not a lot of sleep, up early in the morning, tons of coffee type of deal. While it was a success, it was not as big as my last one. I think the cold kept people away, but any money helps though.

Keeping with the fall I wanted to give you guys a recipe that was fast and used ingredients that are in season and man do I have a good one for you. The best thing yet is it can be made in a microwave! How cool right?

How does apples and cinnamon oatmeal sound? Good huh? It is a wonderful easy breakfast that will keep you full and going for hours. Remember breakfast is your most important meal so give this one a try. It’s almost like a warm apple pie, yum-o.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Ingredients

½ of an apple depending on the size, any type you like (a sweeter one is really good)

1 tsp of cinnamon (or to taste)

A dash of nutmeg

½ cup of oatmeal

1 ½ cups of water or milk

Sugar or any sweetener to taste

Cut apply in half, take out core and cut into small chunks. (I only need a half of apple). Put on your cinnamon and nutmeg and sweetener of choice. Stir. Place in microwave for 45 seconds. This is to give the apple some tenderness.

Take out and add your oatmeal and add your liquid of choice. Place back in the microwave and microwave for another 2 minutes.

Let cool. Add another pinch of cinnamon if desired and enjoy!

You have to cook the apple first so this way it will get tender, also cutting into smaller chunks helps, but remember not to cut too small because you want it slightly chunky. My apple still had a slight bite to it, but was nice and warm like an apple pie.

I hope you guys try this one, it was so good!!!