salad of the week + father's day idea #1

Has it really been just about 2 weeks since I last posted on here?? Last week really flew by. Between having a midterm & going to Disney to celebrate one of my best friend's birthday, my time was very limited. I really wanted to post a new salad last week for the June Salad-A-Day Challenge, but unfortunately it didn't work out. I decided that it might be easier to post a "salad of the week" from now on, rather than trying to post multiple recipes per week.

On a happy note, next week is the last week of my 4 hour microbiology lab on Tues/Thurs! That means more free time, which will ultimately be filled with gymmin' it up, kickboxin' it up, and recipe testin' it up. Flatbreads and sparkling summer beverages anyone?? The excitement is almost too much!! Throw in planning my birthday trip to NYC and I'm a happy, happy lady!

The salad I came up with for this week is simple, healthy, and super easy. It's nothing too fancy, but the flavors complement each other very well. It's been a go-to salad in my house, and with a little tweaking it is now another staple to be enjoyed all summer :)

Salad of the Week: Cran-Apple Salad with Mixed Greens, Feta, Sliced Almonds, and a Tangy Vinaigrette

Yield: 1 serving

 Ingredients:

• 3 slices of a Granny Smith apple (~1 cup), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 tablespoons reduced fat feta, crumbled (I usually buy mine already crumbled)
• 3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
• A couple of handfuls of mixed greens, I used spring mix    
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon honey
• good pinch of salt
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Toast sliced almonds in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. You can also do this in a toaster oven. Rinse mixed greens, set aside. Make the dressing by whisking together apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey. Once mixed, whisk in EVOO until dressing is emulsified. Add salt and pepper, give it a quick whisk. To slice the apple, I find it easiest to use an apple slicer, then cut those slices in half since they are pretty thick. Once cut in half, cut into smaller bite-sized pieces. In a large salad bowl or mixing bowl, toss together mixed greens, apples, dried cranberries, reduced fat feta, sliced almonds, and the vinaigrette. Add a little more dried cranberries or feta to garnish, (optional).

prepare ingredients

whisk together apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey

whisk in EVOO until emulsified

apple slices are thick. cut these in half, then slice into bite-sized pieces :)

I feel so good when I know I've been fueling my body with healthful foods and exercising regularly. I can almost hear my heart saying "Thank You" as I'm jogging away on the elliptical.

There comes a time though, usually a special occasion, when you know that you may splurge a bit. Said splurging may consist of cheesy pasta for dinner, cake for breakfast, or sinful cookies for dessert. I am both saddened and pleased to tell you that I have recipes for all of these! Saddened because healthy eating is not the priority in these dishes, but very pleased because they are all finger-lickin' (or fork-lickin') good!

As I'm sure you're aware, Father's Day is just around corner, and if you're like me, then you love to cook for any occasion that you can possibly can. Especially the kind that allow you to show your love for someone through delicious food. I thought it would be fun to post a few dishes that are inspired by dad, and may inspire you to make for your dad. :)

As an Italian, a former New Yorker, and now a boating/fishing junkie, my dad is all about the comfort food. You can't blame him, especially when his ideal meal is some sort of Italian dish for dinner and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I've decided to amp this up a bit though, and provide you with a new take on old comforts! Traditional chocolate chip cookies are taken to a new level with.....

Ooey Gooey & Chewy S'mores Cookies,  Father's Day Idea #1

Memories of sitting around the campfire, toasting up marshmallows and smushing it between two honey graham crackers flood my mind after taking a bite of one of these cookies. Oozing chocolate and gooey marshmallowey goodness.... it's so perfect!! If you like chunks of chocolate rather than mini chips, by all means use the big ones. With a cookie like this, you can't go wrong.

I can honestly say that these are in my top 5 best cookies I've ever had. And as I try to think of 4 other cookies just as amazing as these, I simply can't. So I might as well say that these are my number 1. We can all admit that that's kind of a big deal. They are gooey and very chewy, just as the name implies. If you like your cookies soft with chocolate chips that melt in your mouth, then you will be in heaven with these.

Although I don't cook or bake with butter often, there are times when you just can't replace it with something healthier. I was, however, able to use organic whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour, and Sucanat sugar in place of brown sugar. (Sucanat still contains some nutrients!)

I'm kind of going backwards here in terms of my Father's Day ideas. Starting off with dessert first wasn't my intention, but who's really complaining, right? My roommate, my brother, my friend, (and of course me), absolutely loved them! I am 99.99% sure that any guy who appreciates some good ol' cookies, would enjoy these very much!

Make these! You (and/or your father) truly will not be disappointed!!

****

Yield: ~20 medium sized cookies 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup= 1 stick of butter)
• 3/4 cup Sucanat sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 inch of a vanilla bean (scrape out & use the tiny beans) or 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs, ~6 crackers
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 bag (or 1 cup) of semisweet mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of mini marshmallows
• extra crushed graham cracker pieces & marshmallows to place on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside. Gather all of your ingredients.

Place 6 graham crackers in a food processor and pulse until they become crumbs. If you don't have a food processor, don't worry! You can place the graham crackers in a sealed plastic bag and use the back of an ice cream scoop to crush them.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), add butter to the mixing bowl and mix on medium speed until creamy, less than a minute.

Add in Sucanat sugar and granulated sugar, and cream together with the butter on medium speed until airy and creamy, ~3 minutes. This is an integral step in making sure your cookie has just the right texture and leavens correctly.

Scrape down the bowl and paddle as necessary.

Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Again, scrape down the bowl and paddle as necessary.

In a small mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients (whole wheat pastry flour [wwpf], graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.) While the stand mixer is running on low-medium speed, add your dry ingredients into the bowl. Add a little, let it mix in, then add a little more, let it mix in, and so on. The goal is to make sure all of the dry ingredients are incorporated evenly. Remember that they contain the baking soda and baking powder that cause it to rise, so you want to be sure that they mix in evenly so every cookie turns out the same.

Once the dough has come together (it will be sticky), add in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. You can use a rubber spatula or a low speed on the stand mixer to mix them in, but I prefer to use my hands.

Using a medium cookie scoop, a big spoon, or your hands, place medium sized (about the size of a golf ball, maybe a tinyyy bit bigger) cookie dough balls on your parchment lined baking sheets ~1 or 2 inches apart. Add extra graham crackers pieces and marshmallows on top. This step is optional but I highly, highly recommend it. The extra marshmallows on top get golden brown and gooey!

Bake for 10-11 minutes for a chewy, gooey texture. Let them cool for 10 minutes, if you even can! I couldn't resist and tried one almost straight out of the oven. Sometimes I have little to no self control :P

Place extra cookies in a Tupperware. They should be good for at least a few days. I can guarantee they won't stay around that long though!

ingredients

mini chocolate chips are so cute and delicious. there's no way you can eat just one

use a stand mixer to cream the butter and sugar

you want it to be mixed very well so it is creamy and airy. this step plays a part in leavening the cookie

add the egg and vanilla

it will look like this

mix together dry ingredients (wwpf, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder/soda, salt)

add the dry ingredients a little at a time so it is evenly mixed

stir in the chocolate chips and marshmallows. don't be afraid to also use your hands to make sure it is evenly mixed

i used my hands to form medium sized cookies, but that's only because I don't have a cookie scoop. make them as small or as large as you want :)

mine are about 3 inches in diameter. they're pretty big!

beauties

Tomorrow I'll be posting the remaining two Father's Day Ideas!

*comfort breakfast food in style

*easy Italian pasta becomes cheesy Italian pasta (don't worry it's still easy)

easy lemon blueberry whole wheat pancakes

I have this thing about eating pancakes on Sundays. It's just something that feels comfortable. When you have a heaping amount of blueberries in the fridge that are going to go bad soon, and more lemons than you know what to do with them, it results in easy & quick lemon blueberry pancakes.

The fact that today was Mother's Day and I wasn't able to spend it with my mom, had me thinking of some of her favorite foods. Instantly, pancakes were on the brain. One thing you need to know about my mother though, is that she is a very picky eater. I give her a hard time about it, but then I remember that I used to be just like that. I shudder at the very thought of never trying new things when I was younger. Mom, if you're reading this (which I know you are because you are continuously supportive of everything I do), then I dedicate the *idea* of pancakes to you, though maybe not the flavors ;). Although come to think of it, she does like blueberries.... I am hoping that after she reads the following (very corny, yet very loving) acrostic, she will put her picky-ness aside and try these pancakes! Acrostics have always reminded me of Mother's Day, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Bear with me guys... I haven't written one of these since probably the 2nd grade!

P ositively beautiful, in every sense of the word
A lways putting others before herself
N ever, ever gives up
C ooks my favorite ziti & meat sauce, which I miss sometimes
A shley, her daughter, is pretty great ;)
K racks me up!! (Ok I cheated, but Ma you really are a character!)
E njoys being home in her pj's, relaxing with her babies (the dogs) more than anything else
S teven, her son, is a little less cool than Ashley, but still pretty awesome ;P

Okay, well there's my attempt at getting creative with letter-to-sentence associations! In all seriousness though, I really would like to express just how grateful I am for having such a fun-loving, caring, & supportive mother. She is my best friend, and without her I truly wouldn't be who I am today. I love you so much, Ma!

easy lemon blueberry pancakes:

 Yield: 6 medium-sized pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon of Sucanat, or brown sugar
• 3/4 cup of milk + 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
• the zest of 2 lemons
• 1 cup of blueberries, ~ a 6 oz container, rinsed

Note that these are egg-free pancakes, so this recipe can easily be made vegan by using non-dairy milk.

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, & brown sugar. Mix together well. In a measuring cup, add milk and lemon juice. Let sit for a few minutes. This will mimick buttermilk, but will also add a lemon flavor to the pancakes.

Add the milk+lemon juice to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add lemon zest, mix until just combined. Stir in blueberries or sprinkle them over pancakes as soon as batter is poured onto the pan.

Spray the griddle or pan with non-stick cooking spray and turn on medium heat. Once griddle/pan is hot, add ~1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. If you want to make bigger pancakes, use a bigger measuring cup to scoop out batter. This will result in less pancakes, though, unless you double the recipe.

Serve with your favorite syrup and enjoy!

You may recall the whole grain & almond pancakes I posted a few weeks ago with homemade banana syrup. Since I had leftover syrup from those, I decided to use it today. It does have a strong banana flavor, so it kind of over-powered the lemon in these pancakes. I may simply drizzle these with raw honey next time instead. Don't get me wrong though.... that banana syrup is so delicious and was thoroughly enjoyed :)

I hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day!

skinny & mini blackberry-pear crumbles

If you love fruit crumbles, but rarely indulge because of the high calorie content of butter and sugar, then I undoubtedly feel your pain. I decided that I shouldn't deprive myself of a dessert that has a warm, sweet, refreshing filling with a toasted oat topping, and neither should you. Oats are such a healthy grain, and crumbles don't have to be bad for you. Fruit contains natural sugar, so I didn't feel the need to add heaping amounts of granulated white sugar, as per regular crumbles. A little honey, lemon juice, your favorite paired fruit, and rolled oats can make your mouth just as happy.

Light, refreshing, and fruity are just a few reasons for making this a go-to dessert throughout the summer days. During a season where bathing suits become the norm, skinny and mini sounds entirely appealing.

Yield: 6 (mini) servings

Ingredients:

Filling

• 2 ripe pears, cored and diced. I used Bartlett pears, but I'm sure you could use Bosc.
• ~1 cup of blackberries, rinsed
• 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (~1/2 a lemon) 
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon of honey (or Sucanat sugar)
• 1/2 tablespoon raw agave*

*Note: If you don't have agave, it's not necessary to go out and buy it just for 1/2 tablespoon. You can substitute all honey. I used both because agave is slightly sweeter than honey, but I don't think it will make too big of a difference if you sub it out. You can also use Sucanat sugar in place of the honey, agave, or both. I explained here why I like to use Sucanat where applicable.

Oat Topping

• 1 tablespoon of whole wheat pastry flour (optional, but adds texture)
• 2/3 cup of old fashioned rolled oats
• 1/8 teaspoon of kosher salt
• drizzle of honey over each crumble

Note: For 6 regular ramekins or a medium-sized baking dish, my guess would be to double the recipe. I have only made this in my mini ramekins though, so I'm not 100% positive. For this recipe, it's more of a "if you like a lot of pear, then decrease the amount of blackberries" kind of thing, and vice-versa. Lastly, if you still only want to make 6 small servings, but do not have mini ramekins, then just use a small baking dish. For all of these instances, as long as you choose something that will hold all of the ingredients, then you will be fine :).

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse blackberries, set side.

Peal the pears, slice them in half, and scoop out the core. Dice them into about 1/2 inch cubes. You don't want the pears to be too big for the mini ramekins.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine diced pears, blackberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and agave (Sucanat if substituting.) Toss together until everything is evenly coated. Place filling into ramekins.

In a small mixing bowl, toss oats, flour, and salt together. Sprinkle over ramekins. Drizzle the oat topping with honey.

Place ramekins on a sheet pan and bake them in the oven for 35 minutes. The crumbles should be bubbling and the oats should be slightly browned when they are ready. Serve warm, or place left-overs in the fridge and warm them up later in the microwave.

I hope you enjoy these skinny and mini crumbles as much as I did! If you try them with different kinds of fruit, leave a comment and let us know how they turn out :)