Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Not your usual coffee cake (made from refridgerated bread sticks!) but probably the easiest you'll ever make. This loaf found on My Kitchen Snippets was delightful. Michael and I polished off all but one piece. My father in law came over just after breakfast and inquired why I didn't make two.

It turned out a bit smaller than I expected, and I had twice as much cream cheese filling than I needed, but that's good to know for next time - and there will be a next time - so I can make two just as easily as one!

This loaf would be good with pretty much any kind of fruit. I used blueberries not so much because that's what was in the original recipe, but because I had them on hand.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Source: My Kitchen Snippets
*Refer to the link above for more detailed photos of making the loaf.

6 oz of low fat cream cheese (I used 8 oz - the whole block)
1 egg, separated
3 Tbsp of powdered sugar
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (or fruit of your choice)
1 (11 oz) tube of bread stick dough

For the glaze:
1/2 cup of powder sugar
2 Tbsp of lemon juice (I ran out of lemon juice so I subbed lime)

Preheat over to 350.

In a bowl combine soft cream cheese, powdered sugar and egg yolk. Mix until well combined. Remove breadstick dough from the tube, unroll it and separate the dough and you will have two rectangles. Join the dough up by placing both dough rectangles horizontally on a lightly greased baking sheet. Press the steam together. Spread cream cheese mixture onto the center of the dough. Sprinkle the blueberries on top of the cream cheese.

Separate the dough perforations up to the cheese mixture (you might need a scissors for this). Slightly pull and stretch the dough strips. Start from the top and braid dough strip to cover the filling. Make sure to tuck and seal both ends of the loaf. Beat the egg white and brush it all over the loaf.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. (I had to bake mine a bit longer and the dough was still not cooked all the way in the center). Cool the loaf. Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle all over the cool loaf before serving.

Not Quite Semi-Homemade

"Hey, aren't you going to take a picture of this for your food blog?"

"Well, of course, I was just getting out the camera."

"Use my plate. It'll photograph better."

I was running late last night so Michael was kind enough to make dinner for us. Two nights in a row, he's had to do this. I am very lucky to have a husband who doesn't just sit around scratching himself on nights like these when I can't get home before quarter to seven. Not only did he cook, but he also had a little ankle biter to watch.

I'm afraid I don't have any recipes or kitchen tips from the chef. But the menu consisted of chicken nuggets, green beans and Velveeta shells and cheese. A meal the whole family could enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Calzone

Ah blog... it's been too long. Too many weekends spent out of town and away from the kitchen. Hopefully this post is the first of many to come this month.

Some talk on the cooking board I frequent inspired me to create a buffalo chicken calzone. I had the pizza dough in the fridge, which I had planned to use to make one of my giant calzones anyway, so why not go spicy? And spicy it was. Wowza. A little too spicy for me, but if you like your wings flaming hot, you'll love this recipe.

If not, I suggest going the way of the legendary buffalo chicken dip, and to the ground chicken add up to one block of cream cheese, 1/2 cup hot sauce and 1/4 cup ranch dressing. That should temper the heat while maintaining a little kick.

Buffalo Chicken Calzone

Source: Yours Truly

1 lb ground chicken

Poultry seasoning to taste

Ground pepper to taste

3/4 block 1/3 less fat cream cheese

3/4 cup hot wing sauce (like Frank's)

Frozen onion/celery mix to taste

1 handful shredded mozzarella (or to taste)

1 handful shredded cheddar (or to taste)

1 refridgerated pizza dough

Ranch dressing for dipping

Preheat oven to 425. Put jelly roll pan or pizza stone in oven to warm. Brown chicken and frozen onions/celery. Drain fat and add poultry seasoning, ground pepper and cream cheese. Stir until cream cheese melts. Add wing sauce. Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced. Remove from heat.

On a piece of parchment paper, roll out pizza dough. Sprinkle cheese over dough, then spread slightly cooled chicken mixture over half (long ways) of the dough. Roll the dough long ways and seal the dough at the seam. Helpful hint: rather than trying to pull the dough from the parchment as you roll it, lift the parchment long ways so that the entire piece of dough rolls at once without breaking. Note that with the amount of meat in the calzone, you'll only be able to fold the dough over once and seal; you won't be able to form a pinwheel.

Cut slices on top of the dough with a knife so steam can escape. Spray lightly with olive oil, or brush dough with an egg wash. Put calzone with parchment on the hot jelly roll pan and bake for 17-20 minutes, or until brown. Once out of the oven, let calzone rest for a few minutes and slice into generous diagonal pieces. Serve with ranch for dipping.

Spicy Polenta Tamale Pie

I know. From the photos, this doesn't look like much. Might not even look that appetizing. Oh, but it is. If you're a fan of tamales or polenta in general, and if you're dieting or not, this is a delicious and easy week night meal.

I'm actually looking forward to left overs tonight.

Spicy Polenta Tamale Pie

Source: Aimee's Adventures

Serves: 6, 1 cup each

24 oz. Pre-packaged cooked polenta (comes in a plastic roll)

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (10 oz.) can enchilada sauce (mild, medium, or hot) [I suggest you go with "hot" if you want this to live up to it's name - "spicy" - otherwise it will likely not be so.]

1 (11 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained [I didn't have corn so I subbed hominy.]

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 cup fat free cheddar cheese [I used reduced fat.]

Ellen's additions:

1 lb 93% lean ground beef

Chopped, frozen onions

1 small can diced green chilis

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8X8 dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cut polenta into small cubes. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl and pour into prepared dish. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes*.

* This dish can be served even more quickly by cooking the meat (if you add any) in a large skillet, then adding the rest of the ingredients and simmering for 10-15 minutes. I've made this both ways and prefer the skillet method.

Per Serving (without my additions or substitutions): 263 Calories; 7g Fat; 7g Dietary Fiber = 5 WW points

Hershey Bar Haystacks

Here is another winner courtesy of Aimee's Adventures. I swear, that girl has so many unique, delicious recipes that are Weight Watchers compatible, it's ridiculous. These haystacks... you wouldn't even know they are "diet." They are freaking unbelieveable. Michael even pronounced last night that they are better than a similar recipe his mom makes using those fried Chinese noodles. If you're a fan of the chocolate-peanut butter combination, which - who isn't - you'll enjoy these.

But not only are these amazing tasting, they are so quick and easy to make, which makes them even more marvelous. AND, you can't feel too terrible when you eat the whole batch in one sitting because they are diet! Though, I guess if you actually are on a diet, you should feel bad about that, but we're veering off course here.

The only change I'd make to the recipe is to double the recipe (at least). If there are two of you eating these, you'll be out inside of five minutes otherwise, then you'll have to wait another 40 minutes or so for more.

Please make these. They are completely super.

Hershey Bar Haystacks

Source: Aimee's Adventures

Serves: 6

1 Cup Fiber One cereal

1 (1.5 oz.) Hershey's milk chocolate bar

1 Tbsp reduced fat peanut butter, smooth or chunky [I use smooth.]

Melt bar and peanut butter in microwave until smooth at 30-second intervals. Be careful not to burn. Stir to mix chocolate and peanut butter. Add cereal and gently toss till coated. Drop onto parchment paper making 6 pieces. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens (about 30 minutes).

Per Serving: 71 Calories; 4g Fat; 5g Dietary Fiber = 1 WW point

Fiber One Crunchy Fudge Cookies

Michael loves Fiber One cereal and is often trying to make me eat it. I do not enjoy it, as it is not Captain Crunch. However, he left the box out on the counter last Friday and I noticed this recipe. I know from doing Weight Watchers in the past that the more fiber a recipe has, the lower the points, so these were immediately appealing to me. Plus, I had all of the ingredients. What I enjoy most about these cookies, besides how quick and easy they are to make and the low point value (one point per cookie!!) is how cinnamonny they taste. Next time I'll probably crush the cereal a bit before adding it to the mix, as these are a little too crunchy for me (every time I bite into one I expect it to be semi-chewy, since they look like they are, but then there's the cereal). However, they're good dipped in milk, and if you're dieting and looking for a chocolate fix, this is a great recipe.

Fiber One Crunchy Fudge Cookies

Source: Fiber One Cereal Box

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen cookies (my batch yielded 2 1/2 dozen)

1 box (1 lb 2.3 oz) fudge brownie mix

2 cups Fiber One cereal

1/3 cup water

1 egg

1 Tbsp vegetable oil (I subbed apple sauce)

2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp mini semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment. In large bowl, mix all ingredients with spoon. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls two inches apart on cookie sheet.

Bake 10 - 12 minutes until set. Cool two minutes, remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container. Can store baked cookies for up to two months in freezer in tightly wrapped.

Per cookie: 70 calories, 1g fat, 2g fiber - 1 WW point

Canteloupe Granita

Found the recipe. Photos looked delicous. Had the ingredients and the time. Made it and enjoyed it.Canteloupe Granita

Source: Gourmet, August 2005

2 cups coarsely chopped canteloupe (from 1/2 melon, seeded)

1/4 cup sugar, or to taste

1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste (just realized I misread this and used just under 1 Tbsp lime juice)

1 cup ice cubes

Puree all ingredients in a blender (or food processor) until smooth, then pour into a 13" x 9" metal pan and freeze until mixture becomes a firm slush, at least 40 minutes. Scrape with a fork and served in chilled glasses.

Five Minute Ice Cream (aka Creamy Fruit Smoothie)

I've been wanting to make ice cream lately but don't have the time after work. I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com called "Five Minute Ice Cream" that looked easy enough. I played around with the ingredients to try to make it a little less bad for me (no heavy cream, etc.). It was the consistency of a smoothie when it was all blended, and it was freaking delicious, but I decided to hold out until it had frozen before I really went to town. It was good, but not creamy enough. (Maybe because I didn't measure out the fruit when I dumped it into the food processor). It kind of reminded me of Baskin-Robbins' Daiquiri Ice, which I haven't had since about 1987, when it was all the rage amongst my seventh grade class. (A search of the web indicates the original is no longer available! My 13 year old self is heartbroken). So to finish it off, I just added more liquids and drank it like a smoothie. A delicious, thick, can't-get-enough-of-it smoothie.

Five Minute Ice Cream
Source: this recipe found at Allrecipes.com

1 (10 oz) package of frozen fruit (I used 1/2 bag frozen raspberries and 1/2 bag frozen mango)
1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda, and poured to taste)
2/3 cup heavy cream (I used 1/3 cup FF Greek yogurt and 1/3 cup low fat soy creamer, which was surprisingly delicious)

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth (unless you like the fruit chunky in your ice cream). Put into freezer-safe container and freeze for a few hours until it hardens, or add more liquids and drink immediately.

Taco Salad with Edible Bowl

I am very behind on reading my magazine subscriptions. Except for US Weekly. I always find time for my celebrity friends. But Sunday night it was Michael's turn to put Chloe to bed so I read an issue of Family Fun magazine. Got it for free for subscribing to Parenting. It's a decent pub. Anywho, there was an article on kid-friendly salads, and while my kid is too young to find any salad friendly, the taco salad caught my eye. Mainly because the ingredients looked fresh and healthy and it required making your own edible bowls from tortillas. Sounded like fun. So I made taco salad last night. I didn't stick with the recipe, in that I didn't make the dressing (looked delish, but not so much with the taco meat I added - which kind of makes the salad look wilted and gross in my pics and in person, even though it was neither wilted nor gross) and I added more ingredients. It was a huge hit, and Michael commented several times on how good it was. Nice to hear for something so easy. I'll make this again, though next time I may substitute the ground beef for cubed chicken, and make the honey-lime dressing the actual recipe calls for.

Source: adapted from a recipe in Family Fun magazine, July/August 2008 issue

3 flour tortillas (6" diameter)
About half a head of iceberg lettuce
1 tomato, large dice
1 avocado, large dice
Handful of cheddar cheese
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup salsa
1 lb lean ground beef
Taco seasoning packet

Heat oven to 350. Microwave each tortilla under a damp paper towel for roughly 20 seconds - enough to make it soft and pliable. Put three ramekins upside down on a cookie sheet. Spray each side of the tortillas with cooking spray and lay on top of each ramekin, gently encouraging the tortillas to form a ruffled cup. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the tortillas are golden brown. Remove from oven and set right-side up on each of three plates. Let cool.

Cook the meat in a skillet. Drain if desired. Add seasoning and a bit of water if necessary. Set aside to cool. Meanwhile, chop the lettuce and add it to a large bowl with all ingredients other than tortillas. Toss to combine. Put a generous amount of salad in each bowl and serve.

Quick Ensaymadas (Filipino Sweet Rolls)

I grew up in your standard Midwestern household. When we'd go out to eat, the most exotic we'd get would be Mexican or Chinese. When I got together with my husband, a whole new culinary world opened up to me. His parents are from Manila and his mom is an excellent cook, so I was introduced to lots of delicious new dishes from the Philippines. One treat in particular, ensaymada, is a sweet roll with butter, cheese and sugar. Until recently I had only had pre-packaged ensaymada from Goldilocks Bakery.

Michael's parents usually had a stash in their freezer from relatives who visited from California. In my attempts to learn how to cook some traditional Filipino dishes, I recently bought a cookbook of Filipino cuisine. The other night I realized I had all (four) of the ingredients needed for Quick Ensaymada, so I thought I'd try it. So glad I did. This tastes pretty much like the real thing. Maybe even better, as it's smaller and likely quite a bit better for us (or less bad, depending on your outlook).

Since we generally start with frozen ensaymada, we tend to microwave ours before eating, so the cheese is pretty melted. According to this recipe, that's not how you'd normally eat it.

Source: Philippine Recipes Made Easy by Violeta A. Noriega

Hawaiian sweet rolls
Butter or margarine
Sugar
Shredded cheddar cheese

Butter your roll, dredge in sugar and top with cheese. (I then microwaved for 11 seconds). Enjoy. Because seriously, you will.