Magic in the Middle Cookies (Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling)

I saw this cookie recipe last night and convinced my husband to lighten up about the extra pounds we promised we’d to loose and let me make (and share) them. It’s true; I've gained 15 pounds since I stopped breast feeding last June. It’s sad, really. My daily calorie requirements decreased substantially, but I continued to eat as much as I did before. I know; it’s the perfect formula for weight gain. So I made and shared the cookies with neighbors, eating two myself.

Magic in the Middle Cookies
recipe from MelsKitchenCafe.com

Chocolate Dough:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup white granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

Peanut Butter Filling:
¾ cup peanut butter
¾ cup powdered sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.

To make the chocolate dough, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Combine sugars, butter, and peanut butter in a separate mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk to sugar mixture and stir to combine. Add dry ingredients to sugar mixture and mix well.

For the peanut butter filling, stir the peanut butter and powdered sugar together until smooth. Roll peanut butter filling into 26 one-inch balls using a teaspoon scoop or floured hands.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of chocolate cookie dough (a lump the size of an unshelled walnut) onto a baking sheet. Press your finger into the center of the dough to make an indentation. Put one peanut butter ball into the indentation. Bring cookie dough up over the filling, pressing edges together to cover filling. Roll the cookie dough in the palm of your hand to smooth it. Roll in granulated sugar, place on baking sheet, and flatten to ½ inch thickness with the bottom of a drinking glass. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, leaving 2 inches between cookies on the baking sheet. Bake 7-9 minutes, or until they’re set. Remove from oven and cool them on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Apricot Glazed Cornish Game Hens

Ever since I roasted my first chicken a few weeks ago, I’ve wanted to roast everything I eat. My husband loves Cornish game hens, so I agreed to purchase two and prepare them for dinner. I decided to use a South Beach Diet recipe and the hens turned out really, really good. There were only three ingredients to make the sweet fruity glaze, along with salt and pepper to season the hens before glazing. The recipe couldn’t be simpler and the meat sweeter. For a truly heart healthy meal, serve the hens with baked sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Apricot Glazed Cornish Game Hens
recipe from The South Beach Diet
printable version of this recipe

1 cup Smuckers low sugar apricot preserves
¼ cup I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter Spray
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 Cornish game hens, thawed
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the bottom of a roasting pan with foil to catch drippings.

Combine the preserves, butter and orange juice to make the glaze. Rinse hens and pat dry; rub the cavities with salt and pepper. Place the hens breast sides up on a rack in the roasting pan—make sure they do not touch. Pour glaze over hens and roast for 1-2 hours, basting every 15-20 minutes.

Test thickest part of hen with a meat thermometer, making sure it doesn’t touch any bones. When the thermometer reads 170 degrees and the outside of the hens are dark brown they’re done. Remove them from the oven and let them stand for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Turkey Ranch & Swiss Sandwiches on Ciabatta Bread

My husband and I owned and operated a sandwich shop a few years ago and one of my favorite sandwiches was the Turkey Ranch and Swiss. I made one at home the other day for lunch and really liked the homemade version. Keep three things in mind when making deli-style sandwiches at home:

1. Use fresh deli style rolls. I love ciabatta bread and found a bag of pre-sliced rolls in the bakery at my local supermarket.
2. Buy good quality meats and cheeses that are sliced fresh from the deli counter at the supermarket. It makes a big difference in how the sandwich tastes.
3. Use fresh produce. I like to use bags of shredded iceberg lettuce, spinach, sliced roma (because they’re less juicy) tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and banana peppers.

Sandwiches like these are really easy to put together and pack up for a picnic, but if you’re planning on eating them at home, they taste even better toasted under the broiler, just add vegetables after toasting.

Turkey Ranch &Swiss Sandwiches on Ciabatta Bread

printable version of this recipe

1 ciabatta roll

1 tablespoon ranch dressing

Deli sliced turkey

Deli sliced Swiss cheese

Vegetables*

Spread ranch dressing evenly over both surfaces of the ciabatta roll. Fold slices of turkey and place them neatly on the top and bottom of each roll half. Put one slice of cheese on the top of the ciabatta roll. If desired, toast sandwich directly under broiler until cheese is melted, meat is heated, and edges of roll are dark brown. Add any or all of the vegetables listed below. Enjoy!

*shredded lettuce, spinach, bell peppers, onion, cucumbers, olives, mushrooms, banana peppers. 

Whole Wheat Waffles-Soooo Good!

My mom and dad gave me a grain mill for my birthday last year and I have to say that I am in love it! It’s wonderful! I really like that I can adjust the coarseness of the grinder so the grain being milled is course enough for cracked wheat cereal or fine enough for bread flour. It means I can have freshly ground grains whenever I want. It also enables me to rotate through food storage when I need to.

My parents also compiled a spiral bound book for each of their children teaching emergency preparedness basics—like how to use food storage, how to plant a garden, etc. The book contains a really, really good whole wheat waffle recipe that they received in an emergency preparedness manual in Rexburg, Idaho shortly after the Teton Dam broke.

Whole Wheat Waffles
recipe from the Rexburg Flood Manual
printable version of this recipe

1 cup sifted whole wheat flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 ¼ cups milk
¼ cup oil

Sift dry ingredients together. Add egg yolks and milk gradually, beating on low speed. Add oil. Batter will be very thin. Beat hard for 2 minutes. Fold in beaten egg whites. Bake in preheated waffle iron.

Orzo with Peas and Parmesan

What it the world is orzo? It’s the word for “barley” In Italian, a language that is foreign to me, but delightsome and fascinating nevertheless. Grains of orzo resemble grains of rice but they are in fact pasta, making this quick side dish Italian in only one way: orzo is the main ingredient.  It's tasty nevertheless.

Orzo with Peas and Parmesan
recipe from For the Love of Cooking
printable version of this recipe

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 green onion, diced
8 button mushrooms, chopped
1 clove crushed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup frozen peas, heated
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan (fresh Parmesan melts and tastes so much better)
Scant handful chopped parsley
1 cup orzo

Cook according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a medium skillet. When the oil is hot, add green onion and mushrooms and cook through. Add garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat and add salt and pepper.

When pasta is cooked, drain and return it to the pan. Stir in the mushroom mixture, peas, Parmesan and parsley; taste and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Cookie Dough Brownies

At Christmas a few years ago my sister-in-law, Heather, received a data CD of family recipes from her mother. Heather was kind enough to install the files on my hard drive so I could also have a copy of their beloved recipes.

These decadent brownies are from their family collection, and they are every bit as good as their title sounds—delicious chewy brownies topped with creamy cookie dough and decadent chocolate glaze.  They are really, really good.  I didn't have walnuts when I made them this time, hence the brownies sans walnuts in the rather blurry photo above. 

Cookie Dough Brownies
recipe from Heather
printable version of this recipe

Brownies:
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup cocoa
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts, divided

Cookie Dough Filling:
½ cup butter
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

Glaze:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening

Directions:
Coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and preheat the oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, and salt. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in ½ cup walnuts. Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes; cool completely.

For cookie dough filling, blend butter and sugars in mixing bowl until creamy. Add milk, vanilla and flour; mix well. Spread over cooled brownies; refrigerate until firm.

For glaze, melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon shortening in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Spread over filling. Immediately sprinkle with remaining ½ cup of walnuts; press down on them lightly. Return brownies to refrigerator and allow glaze to set up completely. Cut into 2 inch squares and serve. Enjoy!

Strawberry Salad Dressing

Strawberry Salad Dressing
½ pound strawberries
½ cup sugar
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup canola oil

Puree the remaining ½ pound of strawberries with the sugar, red wine vinegar and canola oil in a blender. Keep left over dressing in a container fitted with a tight lid for up to 2 weeks.