From the category archives:

Oh, Nuts!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies With Golden Raisins

by Joi on February 3, 2010

I’m fixing to make a batch of one of my husband’s favorite cookies, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. The boy could eat about 12 at one setting. Sigh, I love him so.

We’re simply big on cookies in our house, whether it’s Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Birthdays, March Madness, the Superbowl, a night our beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing baseball, Survivor Thursday, or a nothing really going on but lets celebrate it with cookies Wednesday night like tonight – you can almost always find a plate of cookies in our kitchen.

These Oatmeal Raisin Cookies never disappoint.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES RECIPE

3/4 cup butter (not margarine, please)
1-1/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup black raisins
1 cup crushed walnuts

Mix butter and sugar together. Add the eggs and the dry ingredients. Add oatmeal, nuts, and chips. Drop by teaspoon on a greased, shiny cookie sheet. If your cookie sheet isn’t the shiny pan it once was, cover it with Reynold’s 100 % Recycled Aluminum Foil. The shininess helps the cookies to cook more evenly.

Bake at 400 degrees.

My mouth is watering….

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Even with a great recipe (Which I believe the one above to be) and an outstanding cook (I know you are!), your cookies will only be as good as the cookie sheets you cook them on. The professional cookie pans you see below are incapable of producing a bad batch of cookies. For bakery-quality cookies each time, these are the cookie pans you need.

Chicago Metallic Set of 2 Professional Nonstick Cookie and Jelly Roll Pans

Outstandingly Delicious and Healthy Snacks for Game Day

by Joi on January 15, 2010

One of our biggest pitfalls as a family trying to eat healthy foods is snack time. I make healthy meals and, even when we eat out, we make healthy choices. But when we’re watching football games, basketball games, baseball, Survivor, The Biggest Loser, or anything else on TV – we love our snacks.

Also – aside from my youngest daughter and our cats – the members of my family come and go all day and night. It can be exhausting for us homebodies watching them come and go. I’ve noticed that they all love to snack along their journeys… fuel for the road, I suppose. I try to keep healthier options in the kitchen and dining room for them to grab. Sure, we’ll have various forms of chocolate at any given time – I won’t even try to deny that. Besides, you’d smell the chocolate on my breath and call me out.

I always remind people that chocolate…

Is actually good for you – nutritionists sing the praises of dark chocolate almost as much as I do
Chocolate makes the world go round
Chocolate is sexy

So, you can count on this kitchen always, always, always boasting plenty of chocolate goodness just as surely as there will always be a coffee pot ready to play . The coffee will warm your body as the chocolate warms your mood. But potato chips, soft drinks, and fried, greasy crap has been exiled from our home.

Nuts are also remarkably good for you, so I keep several candy dishes filled with different kinds of nuts and nut blends. The largest candy dish is currently holding chocolate covered raisins and chocolate covered nuts. Another has almonds, which are a huge hit in my family.

Recently, I happened upon a combination that blew me completely away: Mariani Vanilla Yogurt Raisins and walnut pieces. I keep these yogurt covered raisins on hand because I’m totally addicted to them. They are ridiculously delicious. They had commandeered a large candy dish and I couldn’t find a spot for a bag of walnut pieces I’d just brought home from the store. So, I tossed the walnuts in with the yogurt covered raisins. When I passed by, I’d either pick out the raisins or the walnuts until I saw my husband grab a mixture and put them in his mouth. In an unsettling display of monkey-see/monkey-do, I jumped over and tried it for myself.

Holy deliciousness, Batman!!!

The combination reminds me of one of my favorite cookies, Iced Oatmeal Cookies. For whatever reasons, the vanilla-flavored yogurt, the raisins, and the walnuts make a powerhouse combination that convinces your mind that you’re eating the best Iced Oatmeal Cookie ever made. With less calories.

Try different combinations of nuts and dried fruit with your snackers… but, whatever you do, try the Vanilla-Flavored Yogurt-Covered Raisins paired with Walnuts first. It’ll blow you smack away. These yogurt-covered raisins are also outstanding when eaten with fruit such as pineapple wedges, grapes, strawberries, raspberries (!!!), blueberries, blackberries, and so on.

Below is a great recipe for Trail Mix Bars from Mariani – makers, not only of the yogurt covered raisins I eat like a cat with salmon, but also makers of many outstanding dried fruits and other snacks. Look for them on the shelves at your grocery store. In my favorite store, they’re located in the health food section.

Mariani Trail Mix Bars Recipe

2 cups margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
6 cups mixture of Mariani Premium Banana Chips – crushed, raisins, mixed nuts, and chopped, Mariani Premium Mixed Fruit.
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3 cups granola

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix margarine, brown sugar, and white sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda, and add to butter and egg mixture. Stir in trail mix, oats, and granola. When mixed, drop spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

For more healthy recipes from Mariani, see their website.

Did you know that walnuts are very good for your brain? Click the link to learn how!

Alaska Salmon Recipes: Salmon, Artichoke and Bean Salad, Thai Salmon Cakes, and More!

by Joi on December 9, 2009

Alaska Salmon Artichoke and Bean Salad

ALASKA SALMON, ARTICHOKE AND BEAN SALAD (a 15 minute meal!)

1 jar (14 oz.) marinated, quartered artichoke hearts
1 jar or can (16 oz.) marinated bean salad
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (14.75 oz.) or 2 cans (7.5 oz. each) traditional pack Alaska salmon OR 2 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 oz. each) skinless, boneless salmon, drained and chunked
1 package (10 oz.) ready-to-eat salad greens or spinach leaves

Dressing: Drain liquid from artichokes and beans into a small bowl or pitcher. Blend in mustard and cumin.

Salad: In separate bowl, combine beans, artichokes, salmon and dressing. Portion 2 cups greens onto each of four plates. Top each plate of greens with 1-1/4 cup salmon mixture.

Makes 4 servings. Nutrients per serving: 330 calories, 15g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 37% of calories from fat, 58mg cholesterol, 28g protein, 28g carbohydrate, 9g fiber, 1768mg sodium, 325mg calcium and 2.4g omega-3 fatty acids.

THAI SALMON CAKES WITH HOT AND SOUR SAUCE

2 cans (14.75 oz. each) or 4 cans (7.5 oz. each) traditional pack Alaska Salmon OR 4 cans or pouches (6 to 7.1 oz. each) skinless, boneless salmon
1 Tablespoon peanut or canola oil
¾ cup diced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons seeded and minced jalapeño pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons minced lemon grass
Juice and zest of ½ lime
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 cups finely sliced green onions
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain and chunk Alaska Salmon. Heat oil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add yellow onion and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño pepper and lemon grass; cook an additional 1-2 minutes. Cool. In large bowl, combine lime juice and zest, soy sauce, sugar, green onions and cilantro. Mix well and reserve. In small bowl, whisk eggs. Add cornstarch, salt and pepper; mix. Add egg and cooled onion mixtures to large bowl; fold gently to mix. Add salmon and carefully fold until just combined. Form salmon mixture into 8 cakes (3 oz. each) and chill for at least 30 minutes. Pan fry salmon cakes in oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes per side, or until heated through. Serve hot with Hot and Sour Sauce.
Makes 4 Servings.

HOT AND SOUR SAUCE

2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons chili sauce (sambal or roasted)
1 Tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro

Dissolve sugar in vinegar. Add chili and cilantro; mix together. Makes ½ cup.

Nutrients per serving (with ½ dipping sauce): 444 calories, 19g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 39% calories from fat, 238mg cholesterol, 47g protein, 20g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 1919mg sodium, 498mg calcium and 3.6g omega-3 fatty acids.

ALASKA SALMON WITH HORSERADISH, WALNUTS AND HERBS

2 Alaska Salmon fillets (4 to 6 oz. each)
Olive oil
3 Tablespoons horseradish sauce
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 Tablespoon each chopped fresh chives, parsley and tarragon
1 Tablespoon softened butter
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 450.

Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Rinse any ice glaze from frozen Alaska Salmon under cold water; pat dry with paper towel. Brush both sides of fish with olive oil and place in the pan. Roast, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine horseradish sauce, walnuts, herbs and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Remove fish from oven and spread mixture evenly over salmon fillets.

Return fish to oven and roast an additional 8 to 10 minutes for frozen fillets or 5 to 6 minutes for fresh/thawed fish. Cook just until fish is opaque throughout.

Serves 2.

Recipe and Photo Credit: http://www.alaskaseafood.org/

***** To read why we all need to eat more salmon, check out the recent post on my Self Help Blog! One of the benefits may surprise (and delight) you.

Grilled Shrimp Salad Courtesy of a George Foreman Grill

by Joi on November 3, 2009

Baby Spinach is Love.

A few of my daughters and I often have lunch at Applebee’s in Owensboro, Kentucky. There is a particular salad that my oldest daughter (Emily) and I are addicted to. I’m kind of surprised that the servers don’t just bring it to us automatically. It’s a grilled shrimp and spinach salad with a vinaigrette dressing.

Few things tickle my fancy more than trying to play copy cat with restaurant recipes, so I tried to knock this one out a few days ago.

I bought a bag of frozen Salad Shrimp, some baby spinach, a jar of roasted red pepper, a purple onion (I refuse to call it red, it’s purple), sliced roasted almonds, and a few vinaigrettes – one was a Red Pepper Parmesan vinaigrette and the other was my personal favorite (Ken’s Steakhouse Raspberry Vinaigrette with Walnuts – What?! Why so good?).

I thawed the shrimp, then tossed it lightly with olive oil. I threw on a little seafood seasoning and grilled it on my beloved George Foreman Grill. Then I tossed it into a gorgeous bed of baby spinach and added coarsely chopped purple onion, red pepper slices, and almond slices. I didn’t add any fresh bacon crumbles because, frankly, I was out of bacon! However, it would have been a great addition.

If it had just been my daughters and I, I would have marinated the salad with the Raspberry Vinaigrette, but my husband (the silly man) doesn’t like it, so I kept the salad bare and allowed people to add the vinaigrette of their choice. He opted for the Red Pepper and Parmesan Vinaigrette. It would have been better if it had just been a red pepper vinaigrette (sans the Parmesan) – the Parmesan was unnecessary and just got in the way, in this particular salad anyway. The Raspberry was the better call, in my opinion.

If you’re looking for healthier lunch alternatives, this is a great one. It’s also quick and easy which is usually a popular scenario for lunches.

Another great alternative would be to go the way of the Orient, and replace the red peppers with mandarin oranges – then use a ginger-based vinaigrette and maybe crispy Asian noodles in addition to the almonds. I’d also throw in some edamame.. I basically just look for ways to add edamame to my day – love it.

A Site and Blog to Go NUTS Over

by Joi on July 8, 2009

Pecan Caramel Chocolate Turtles Gift Box

You pretty much know my culinary passions by now – coffee, chocolate, nuts, cheese, buttermilk, cream cheese, coconut, tea, onion rings, salads, paninis, and dessert (all desserts, thank you very much). Sure there are plenty of others I adore, but the group I just named? I live for them.

Something I’ve always noticed about this group, however, is this: Quality matters. Whether it’s coffee beans, chocolate, cheese, or cashews – know this, you almost always get what you pay for. If you’re serious about what you cook and feed your family, then you HAVE to be serious about where you get your ingredients and staples from.

To that end, I want to tell you about a fantastic site for those of you who love nuts as much as I do: Superior Nut Store.com. I’m the sort of nut fanatic who stands at the counter eating walnuts out of the bag as she crumbles them into her cookies, bread, fudge, or whatever. This sort of passion for all things nutty pretty much identifies me and I love Superior Nut Store’s dedication to making a nut lover’s world go round.

On Superior Nut.com you can find tins, gift baskets, boxes, peanut butter topping (Yum!), dried fruit, towers, and countless other beautiful gifts. You should keep this website in mind not only for Christmas gifts but also for cooking during Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are also some spectacular goodies that would make Back to School less brutal and Halloween more funtastic.

In an effort to totally destroy what’s left of my willpower, Superior Nut Store has combined two of my greatest loves: chocolate and nuts – and they’ve done it in ways that makes me weak in the knees. At the top of the post is the Pecan Caramel Chocolate Turtles Gift Box (Rich, smooth caramel is combined with hand picked premium Pecans and is topped with Milk Chocolate. - Superior Nut Store.com). Yeah, I knew you’d like to see that staring you in the face. I figure if I’m going down, I’m taking y’all with me.

You’ll noticed I’ve included another picture for you below. It’s the Almond Butter Crunch (Fresh Butter is simmered with Roasted Almonds to Create a Mouth Watering Toffee, we then dip it into a rich Milk Chocolate and Top it With More Roasted & Chopped Almonds. Our Old Fashioned Almond Butter Crunch is truly unique and absolutely Irresistible! – Superior Nut Store.com). And you’re welcome.

You’ll also want to check out Superior Nut Store’s blog for some killer recipes. I’ve printed out quite a few that I intend to cook asap. But first things first, I’m taking a candy break. Must have something chocolaty and nutty….

Almond Butter Crunch

Skippy’s Peanut Butter Recipes – Safe and Delicious!

by Joi on February 21, 2009

If you love peanut butter as much as I do, the recent Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) recall sent you reeling. Fortunately, there was at least one peanut butter brand that wasn’t affected by it at all: Skippy. Why? Neither Skippy brand peanut butter nor any of the ingredients contained in the peanut butter are sourced from PCA.

Welcome back peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter fudge, peanut butter crackers, peanut butter cookies, and fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches.

Skippy Peanut Butter Cookies

The outstanding recipe below is for BEST EVER PEANUT BUTTER-OATMEAL COOKIES.

Ingredients
2 cups quick-cooking oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup Shedd’s Spread Country Crock® Spread
1 cup Skippy ® Creamy or Super Chunk® Peanut Butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 package (12 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in small bowl; set aside.
2. Beat Spread with Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter in large bowl, with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in sugars, then eggs and vanilla until blended. Beat in flour mixture just until blended, then stir in chocolate.
3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
4. Bake 13 minutes or until golden. Remove cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

The recipe above is from Skippy’s Official Website, where you can find tons, tons, tons of other great recipes. The ones below are just a few – to sort of get your mouth watering and your pulse going.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Banana and Peanut Butter Muffins

Decadent Drizzled Cheesecake

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Buckeyes

And My absolute favorite???? Peanut Butter Fudge. Oh yeah! I know what we’ll be having for snacks during the Oscars. Cheering on Angelina Jolie with peanut butter on my breath. I’m so there.

Skippys Peanut Butter Fudge

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Hamilton Beach Bake Right 17 Inch Cookie Pan Champagne

The 13 Most Powerful Super Foods

by Joi on October 4, 2008

Avocados - The First Step Toward Guacamole! In case you were wondering, someone has indeed come up with a list of the 13 Most Powerful Super Foods.

I’m over the moon because not only did my good friend the Avocado make it, the following regulars in our kitchen made the cut as well: mushrooms, garlic, eggs, almonds, blueberries, and fish. Click through to see the WHAT’s and WHY’s of what we should be eating more of.

Bread Pudding With Caramel Sauce

by Joi on October 1, 2008

1 loaf day-old bread
1-1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup whole grain sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chopped pecans
8 eggs, beaten
2 cups diced apples
1 banana, diced
brown sugar
1/2 cup butter

Cut the bread (or rolls) into 2 inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the milk and soak the bread thoroughly.

In another bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, almond extract, pecans, eggs, apples, and banana. Mix well.

Spread 1/2 of the bread on the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish. Add a layer of half of the sugar mixture, sprinkle top with brown sugar and dot with 1/2 of the butter.

Repeat layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Serve with the Caramel Sauce (below) drizzled over the top.

CARAMEL SAUCE
1 box light brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup heavy cream

In a heavy saucepan, melt the brown sugar in the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Simmer until thickened and glossy. Excellent on ice cream, too.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

by Joi on August 15, 2008

CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES RECIPE

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2-1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (or 1/4 of each!)
1 cup coconut
1 tsp soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream sugar and shortening together until creamy – add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add oatmeal and coconut. Stir in the flour, soda, baking powder, nuts, and chips.

Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 – 12 minutes.

*** Because ovens vary, check on your cookies after 8 minutes. My oven lives in its own little world (like its mom, I guess). When I’m baking cookies, the first batch is NEVER through when my recipe or common sense tells me they should be. The cookies generally need about 2 minutes longer than the norm. However, after the first batch – and with each subsequent batch – they’re ready to come out about 3 minutes ahead of the norm. A lot of times, if goes to a fourth batch, it seems like I’m putting them in and taking them out in one motion. Once my oven gets going, it doesn’t play around!

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Hamilton Beach Bake Right 17 Inch Cookie Pan Champagne

If We Are What We Eat, Why Do We Keep Eating Junk?!

by Joi on July 30, 2008

Broccoli! Sometimes we’re more like children than we are adults, aren’t we? We know, full well, what foods we should be eating more of and what ones we should be eating less of – yet, off we go on our merry way to the nearest hamburger in a hurry joint. What’s worse, when we get there we almost always make our sinister selection as large as possilbe and, yes, of course, we would very much like fries with that.

Maybe, just maybe, if we were to concentrate more on the Positive Foods and less on the Negative Foods – we’d fill up so much on the good stuff that we wouldn’t even want the bad. Worth a try? Worth a try.

The following are a few ideas for sneaking more of the highly recommended foods into your day. If we fill up on what we SHOULD, it’ll leave very little room for what we SHOULDN’T. Well, that’s the plan anyway.

Garlic
Garlic is known to be one of our heart’s favorite foods. Fortunately, it’s very simple to up our garlic intake. Garlic goes beautifully with just about every meat and bread you can think of. To get the most from garlic, we should eat several cloves a day, so we need to work it into our meals as often as possible.

In addition to serving garlic with meat dishes, minced garlic is heavenly when served over steamed green beans. If, like me, you’re trying to wean yourself off of bacon fat for seasoning (Yum….sorry, but yum), garlic makes a great substitution. I’ve also used slivered almonds (more on them later) on my green beans.

Crushed Garlic can be added to Salad Dressing or Mayo to create a Kicked Up Sandwich spread.

If you don’t get too crazy, garlic can also be addded favorably to Ranch Dressings for salads. It’s especially good if you add a little finely chopped basil with it.

Olive Oil
Since our heart also loves Olive Oil, it would be a great idea to keep a bottle or two on hand at all times. Even though you may think it sounds excessive, keeping regular olive oil AND Extra-virgin olive oil each in your pantry is a good idea. Why? Extra-virgin olive oil packs extra polyphenols (compounds that keep LDL cholesterol from sticking to artery walls) than the other varieties. But, since it costs several dollars more, I’m not that keen on cooking with it. I like to save it for drizzling over salads, pasta, breads, and steamed vegetables.

Almonds
Almonds are proven to lower LDL levels – they’re brillaint at it, actually. While all nuts are healthy and should be included in our daily diets, almonds have a bit of a heart-healthy edge – they have vitamin e and are also a good source of calcium. If you toast them in the oven, you’ll bring out more of their flavor, without lessening their nutritional benefits.

Carrots
A Harvard University study found that a half cup of dark yellow vegetables, like carrots, eaten daily cuts the risk of diabetes in women by 27 percent. They’re one of those foods that seemingly increase their nutritional value daily, so it would be ridiculous NOT to use them in our meals more. As an added bonus, they’re not nearly as costly as other vegetables. (I made a huge salad last night with a Ravioli meal that nearly required a small loan. Cauliflower and Broccoli should be ashamed of themselves.

Personally, I love carrots (and celery, for that matter) enough to eat them in the raw – them, not me. But, if you require a little more flavor, a buttermilk ranch dressing is always a delicious way to go. You can work a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil into your portions and get a one-two punch by drizzling it over steamed carrots. Finish it off by snipping a little thyme on top. Fresh herbs are also healthy – and add an aggreable flavor to everything. Rosemary and Thyme are perfect with everything known to man or woman.

Salmon
Salmon is one of the biggest of shots when it comes to omega-3 fatty acids. I can’t understand anyone NOT love, love, loving salmon – but if it’s not your favorite thing, experiment with different flavors. Add a little dill and lemon, and never forget the pepper.

In a Saving the Best for Last type of thang – see the following post on Self Help Daily. Of course, if (nudge, nudge) you’re really just not that into chocolate, don’t bother.

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