Recipes

KNR, p. 126 “75 Second Mookies”

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I’ll admit it. I’ve got a sweet tooth. That’s not a secret, but the doc says I should drop ten pounds and that means cutting back on calories. No more eating a dozen cookies in one evening, or having two of those amazing chocolaty chocolate muffins for breakfast, or several of the Vegetarian Detective’s super brownies at one sitting. I could have gotten away with extra helpings of everything before I got sidelined from my very active job, but no more.

We plan a pretty balanced menu, with lots of fruits and veggies, but it’s the extra potatoes and slices of pie that do me in. Exercise burns some of it off, but pushing away from the table is the best diet plan out there.

The Doc and Sheila and I came up with a way to help me lose the weight and it’s mostly about reducing the desserts. She promised not to bake batches of three dozen cookies/muffins at a time and I promised not to hound her or sneak out to the bakery. The Doc admitted that I might feel deprived if I gave up dessert completely, so the new plan could include a daily ‘something’ for my sweet tooth – just not five daily ‘somethings.’ He hinted that fruit between meals might change my cravings, but I’m hedging my bets on that.

So, here’s what Sheila came up with: single serving cookies. That way, there won’t be yummy leftovers calling me from the kitchen, tempting me. She tells me the idea has been around for a long time, but she never had a reason to try it before.

I call them mookies, because to me they’re like a cross between a cookie and a muffin. So simple to make, not a lot of cleanup involved and I can make one myself. All you need is a microwave and a few ingredients and in less than ten minutes of prep and cooking time, you’ve got a dessert. 

Chocolate Chip Mookie

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Mookie

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

pinch sea salt

1 egg yolk

4 Tablespoons King Arthur’s cake flour

2 Tablespoons Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Ingredients for Pumpkin Mookie

1 ½ Tablespoons butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

pinch sea salt

1 egg yolk

1 ½ Tablespoons organic pumpkin puree

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 Tablespoons King Arthur’s cake flour

2 Tablespoons Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

(Topping is frozen vanilla yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon)

 

Double Chocolate Mookie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients for Double Chocolate Mookie

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract

pinch sea salt

1 teaspoon Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder

1 egg yolk

4 Tablespoons King Arthur’s cake flour

2 Tablespoons Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Preparation for all varieties

Use a medium sized glass or ceramic mixing bowl.

Melt the butter for 20 seconds in the microwave. (Doesn’t have to be completely melted)

Add all ingredients for the chosen mookie to the melted butter.

Mix thoroughly using a fork.

Transfer mookie dough to a ramekin or other cup-sized glass or ceramic dish.

Place in microwave and cook for one minute + 15 seconds (75 seconds).

Serve immediately in the ramekin.

The ramekin will be hot, so handle with care.

 

*Photos by Patti Phillips

 

 

 

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KNR, p. 155 “Triple Baked Beans with Bacon”

 

WTripleBakedBeansIMG_4591-2
It’s near the end of the Major League Baseball season and one of our teams made it into the playoffs! I won’t mention which one it is because I don’t want to jinx their chances. 😉

 

In honor of a great finish to the regular season, the neighbors are having a garage cookout – it’s too cold to stay outside in the backyard for long – and we thought we’d try a new baked bean recipe to go along with the hot dogs and hamburgers our buddies are serving.

 

Easy, tasty and we can make it last minute or the day ahead. Day before prep means that the flavors will be more intense on the day of the party.

 

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Triple Baked Beans
Author: 
Recipe type: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 - 15 oz. can black beans
  • 1 - 15 oz. can pinto beans
  • 1 - 15 oz. can northern beans
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon mustard powder (Colman's has a great flavor)
  • 1 heaping Tablespoon green chilies
  • 2-3 strips bacon, cooked, drained & chopped
Instructions
  1. Pour off most of the liquid from each of the cans of beans.
  2. Place all the beans into a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add brown sugar, mustard powder, and chilies and stir until well mixed.
  4. Pour mixture into shallow 2 quart baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
  5. Stir the mixture and then add the cooked bacon. Stir again.
  6. Stir every 15 minutes until the beans are tender – about an hour total.

 

Serve with corn bread and enjoy!  🙂

 

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KNR, p. 84 “Creole Chicken Salad for lunch, please!”

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Creole Chicken Salad

It’s hot and humid and that means salad weather has arrived. But, I need more than a  lightweight veggie-only salad for lunch, so Sheila makes a great chicken salad with some real zip for us. We didn’t want to heat up the kitchen, so we picked up a cooked chicken from the grocery store. The deli counter sells garlic & herb, barbecue, and plain roasted chickens. We like the garlic & herb the best because the chicken already has a great flavor before we add any other ingredients. And, it can also work as a stand-alone roasted chicken for dinner.

As always, Sheila and I work as a team. She directs me toward the chopping board to make quick work of the veggies while she chunks the chicken. When all mixed together, the chicken salad can be served warm right away in a sandwich roll, or chilled for two hours in the refrigerator to be placed in the center of a salad platter later on. Depends on how hungry we are as to whether we can wait to eat, but we’ve had it both ways and liked it.

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Creole Chicken salad

Sheila & Charlie Kerrian
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Course Entree
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cups cooked chicken
  • 1/2 cup onions, finely chopped (preferably purple onions)
  • 1 cup tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 cup celery, diced
  • 1/2 cup red bell peppers, chopped
  • 1/2 cup yellow (or green) bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder (Hot Mexican)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
  • 1 cup mayonnaise

Instructions
 

  • Pull the meat off the cooked chicken while it’s still warm from the store. Then cube into 1 inch chunks and dump into a large bowl.
  • Add onions, tomatoes, celery, yellow bell peppers, and red bell peppers, but do not mix.
  • Add mayonnaise – still no mixing.
  • Add garlic powder, chili powder, sea salt, black pepper, and cayenne powder. Time to mix it all together.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings or other ingredients as desired.
  • Serve on toasted roll while still warm.
  • Chill the rest of the chicken salad for two hours if you can wait to serve it as part of a salad platter.
  • The recipe gets spicier overnight, so keep that in mind if you are making it the day before an event.

 

Very popular at our lunch gatherings!

 

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