Blueberry/Banana Parfait

Ok, I found my new all time favorite healthy 300-ish cal snack! And I even took a picture and wrote out the recipe in case you want to try... YUMM!

(It looks much better than the picture turned out.. :( )

Blueberry Banana Parfait

Layer in a wine glass or other pretty glass:

1 6oz conatainer Yoplait Light Very Vanilla Yogurt
1 medium banana, sliced
1/2 C blueberries (I keep a big bag of frozen in the freezer and a container thawed in the fridge)
1/4 C. Kashi Go Lean Crunch (or other) cereal.

Layer it however you like and enjoy!

www.myfooddiary.com says it breaks down like this, for those who like to keep track:
cal- 318
Fat 1.8 g
fiber 7 g
protein 9.7 g

Dh's Birthday BBQ and Bananas Foster

Chef John at the Big Green Egg (grill)-- Leg of Lamb Extrodinaire!

John and I enjoying a glass of wine as the leg of lamb cooked on the grill. Beautiful day.. a treat where we live!

(There are two dachshunds in this picture.. can you spot them?)
Here is the recipe of the day... we had bananas foster years ago, before we were married.
Click on the picture and it is big enough to read the recipe if you want to try!
Now that John travels to New Orleans for business a lot, he has sampled some great resturants and got this book from the library which has Brennan's recipe. The boys and I were going to make it for him as a gift, but as things got tricky we called him in... he is the master in the kitchen. More on that later...

Ralphie giving out free birthday kisses.
(tilt your head to the left)
John takes over with the Bananas Foster. It is like this giant pile of brown sugar, with some butter in the saucepan and you warm it... try to melt the sugar. It was not melting... I was worried.
(That was when we got John)
Then you pour on banana liquor and rum. He bought this giant bottle of banana liquore which we figure will last us at least 30 years. Ready to light the pan and FLAMBE'! Oui!
It is lit! Darn, the picture doesn't show the fire! He is sprinkling sugar and cinnamon in it and it sparkles! At the fancy resturants they do this at your tableside...
Stephen waiting for the kitchen to catch on fire and Bryan laughing. :)

See that giant bottle of banana liquor?? :0

And I had THIS for lunch.... mmmmmm!

Well, close. This pic is from the internet.. my parfait had blueberries, bananas, plain yogurt and grapenuts. I ate it before I could take a picture!

Quick Blueberry Bread

Just whipped this up for the boys... awesome! I keep frozen blueberries around and this is chock full- as they say. I did not make the vanilla sauce, bread is sweet enough without it. It was a hit!

Quick Blueberry Bread
"This loaf is chock-full of blueberries—two whole cups!" says Sue Davis from Wausau, Wisconsin. "When you pour the vanilla sauce over the bread, it makes it moist--almost like a pudding. I suggest serving a robust cup of coffee with this delicious treat."
INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

VANILLA SAUCE:

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter, cubed


SERVINGS 8

METHOD Baked
PREP 20 min.
COOK 50 min.
TOTAL 70 min.
DIRECTIONS
In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg, milk and oil. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating just until combined. Fold in blueberries.
Pour into a greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pan. Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
For sauce, combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Stir in cream until smooth; add butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with blueberry bread. Yield: 8 servings (2 cups sauce).

NUTRITIONAL INFO
Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 slice) equals 608 calories, 30 g fat (15 g saturated fat), 102 mg cholesterol, 424 mg sodium, 82 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein

Divine Lemon Cake Recipe

Here is the link to the lemon cake I made yesterday.

Like the picture? Not a good 'presentation' as my chef-ish dh would say but pretty good testamony that it was a hit!

Oh, and if you decide to make it, just a note to read the directions carefully as I found it a tad confusing but nothing major. Came out great.

Trying this new recipe today..

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
3 cups dry oatmeal (I have used both quick-cooking or old-fashioned)
Cream the shortening, butter and sugars. Stir in the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter. Stir in remaining ingredients. Put in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool. Frost with chocolate frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons milk
2/3 cup chocolate chips
Boil the sugar, butter and milk for 30 seconds. Stir in the chocolate chips until smooth. Pour the frosting over the oatmeal bars and allow to cool before cutting.

Will report the outcome later!

Our Freedom Cake

I have always wanted to make one of these... it was yummy and easy!

No, we could not figure out how to get all 13 stripes on. But we got 48 blueberres in our 6X8 configuration.. so just plopped Alaska and Hawaii right on top of the others! lol

FOURTH OF JULY FLAG CAKE

1 pkg. yellow or chocolate cake mix (we used yellow- choc is reserved for b'days)
2 pts. fresh blueberries
3 pts. fresh strawberries
3 c. whipping cream (do not use whipped topping in aerosol can)
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

Bake cake according to package directions in 9 x 13 inch pan. Cool. (May be made ahead and frozen). Set on serving plate or board. Whip cream with confectioners' sugar. Cut strawberries in half lengthwise. Spread cream evenly around sides of cake.
Using a pastry bag, pipe (or spread with a spatula) rows of cream alternating with rows of strawberries for the flag "stripes". Make a background of blueberries in the upper left-hand corner, then pipe stars on top to create the "star" section of the cake.

(I just spread the cream all over and placed the fruit.. next time I will try it their way...)

If making the cake ahead, arrange fruit several hours before serving. Add cream up to an hour before serving.

Serves 12.

( I found we didn't need all the whipped cream or fruit to make the cake, but served the extra on the side)

Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have been searching for new recipes lately and also am trying to eat healthy and lose a few pounds.

I love the weight watchers site and have found many great recipes there. The true test? That is is healthy but we actually like it! And my boys are great food critics.

Here is a recipe I made yesterday that got a thumb's up. I find it has just enough chocolate chips to satisfy my sweet tooth without overdoing. And almost all the oil is replaced by applesauce. We didn't miss it. Hope you enjoy it, too.



Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Muffins
Share these sweet, rich muffins with a special friend. They're perfect for breakfast or dessert.

POINTS® Value 3
Servings 12
Preparation Time 20 min
Cooking Time 23 min
Level of Difficulty Moderate


Ingredients


1 sprays cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1 large egg(s)
1 large egg white(s)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 tsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips


Instructions


Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a 12-hole muffin tin with cooking spray.

( note: I found the muffins were too brown, so am going to cut it back to 375 degrees and bake less time)


Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.


Separate egg, placing whites in a medium bowl and yolk in a large bowl. Set whites aside. Add brown sugar, applesauce, oil and vanilla to yolk. Mix with a wooden spoon until well blended. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined.


With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat whites until soft peaks form. Add whites to batter along with 1/4 cup of chocolate chips (4 tablespoons). Stir until well blended.


Divide batter equally among muffin cups. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate chips (4 to 5 chips) on top of each muffin.


Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean, about 23 minutes. (note- my muffins were VERY brown after 12 min so, watch them!) Cool 5 minutes in tins and then remove muffins to a rack to cool for 10 minutes more.

Check out www.weighwatchers.com for more!