Saturday, March 29, 2008

Quick Morning Scones

So many of us forget breakfast. We shouldn't. We need to be fueled to start the day. I am guilty of forgetting breakfast, I grab a Coke Zero or a cup of Folgers (that is all Rob will drink) and go. The other night I was craving a scone. So I opened the teeny tiny cabinet I call my pantry and pulled out a box of Bisquick. (Sorry scone purists, note the title of this entry says Quick Morning Scones) Digging through the top shelf of my pantry I found my supply of dried goodies and designed my Scone. Yum!

Quick Morning Berry Scones
2 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 packet instant oatmeal
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Cinnamon Sugar for sprinkling the tops before baking.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized bowl mix Bisquick and buttermilk together. Stir cinnamon and oatmeal into scone mix. Fold in cranberries, blueberries, and mini chocolate chips. Using a soup spoon, scoop scone mix into little mounds and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle tops with Cinnamon Sugar and bake in oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Jamie's Trail Mix

In the search for healthy foods and snacks, I have been inspired by my friend Denise J., who makes her own Trail Mix. So while at Trader Joes last week, I visited the nut and dry fruit aisle. One of my favorite isles at my local Trader Joes. I grabbed a bag of this and a bag of that until I had enough nuts and dried fruits to fill a brown bag. I use nuts and dried berries in my other healthy baking too. So here goes, my Trail Mix. Feel free to design your own.

Trail Mix that Jamie Likes

2 cups Trader Joe's Half the Salt Almonds
1 cup Dried blueberries
1 cup Dried cranberries
1 cup Sunflower seeds
1 cup Dark chocolate chips
1 cup Cashews
1 cup Pepitas

Dump all of the above ingredients into a large bowl. Stir until mixed together. Using a 1/2 cup measuring device, scoop a 1/2 cup full into a snack size Ziploc bag. Zip it and put your baggies in the pantry for a quick snack for work, watching TV, surfing the web, etc. Enjoy.

A New Twist On An Old Sweet

If you scroll down you will find a recipe for these really yummy Caramel Chocolate Bars. They are truly out of this world.

I went to Walmart the other day. There was a table with some Girl Scouts standing around it selling the yearly cookies. The sign on the table read, "LAST CHANCE FOR COOKIES". SCARE TACTICS at their finest. I was a bit sad thinking I would not be able to get a box of those delicious SAMOAS for one more year? How tragic. Then I thought about those Caramel Chocolate Bars and with that recipe below, I can recreate that caramel-ly, chocolate, and toasted coconut deliciousness whenever I want. I turned my frown upside down!

I simply placed some shredded coconut in a pan and toasted it in a 350 degree oven, checking it every couple of minutes for the perfect brown hue. It toasted pretty quickly. I set that aside and made the bars. I then substituted the toasted coconut for the sliced almonds. I have to say, when I served them as desert at dinner, people commented on how they were better than the Girl Scout cookie. So, if the Caramel, Chocolate and Coconut cookie is one of your favorites, you too can sleep better knowing you do not have to wait a year. Praise God, there is a placebo! :)

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Healthy Cookies That Taste Good!?!

What? Did I just type that. Is that some sort of oxymoron? How could a cookie be healthy? Well, again trying to eat better, and being the sweet lover that I am, I needed to find a way to have a sweet but be healthy about it too. So wha-la here goes my attempt at a sweet that is relatively good for you.



Berry Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup Organic Kirkland Peanut Butter from Costco
1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
2 Tbsp. blue agave syrup
1 1/2 cup unbleached flour or wheat flour
3 packets of instant oatmeal (any flavor)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds or pepitas
1/2 cup dried cranberries or blueberries
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dark chocolate semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix first four ingredients together. Slowly add flour. 1/2 cup at a time. Add remaining ingredients until mixed well. Using a tablespoon scoop mixture and roll dough into a ball. Place on cookie sheet and bake 12-15 minutes. Enjoy! You will have a very soft, tasty, berry nutty cookie.