Swamp Cake Lily

 Chef Lily debuts in her first cooking show! : ) The other day I spent some quality time with my kiddos, aka, my sister's kiddos...

 ...these two...

...and this one...

Anyways, we just had a good old timee, rented a movie, got pizza...and Lily and I made Swamp Cake!

 

Now, Swamp Cake is really just this Chocolate Cobbler , which is basically one of those pudding/cake kind of things...cakey on top, chocolate goo on the bottom. 

Yum. Anyway, when it came out of the oven, we decided that Swamp Cake was a more fitting name because it was so bubbly and swampy looking. 

Lily loved calling it that, so now that's it official title!

Strawberry Vanilla Almond Granola with Yogurt Cream

I must apologize for the recent lapse in posts. My only excuse is that my computer has been having serious issues...but it's mostly fixed now. So back to posting I come!

Strawberry Vanilla Almond Granola with Yogurt Cream

I have discovered homemade granola. I mean, it’s not that I had never had it before. I have, and I loved it those times too. I just hadn’t ever made it. So I hadn’t ever discovered just how simple it really is. And now that I have, I don’t think I’ll ever buy cereal again. It’s so easy and soo delicious! It took me five minutes to throw it together, then it just bakes in the oven. I like stuff like that. And, of course, what else does granola go better with then yogurt. I particularly like this Yogurt Cream recipe from the ever brilliant Pioneer Woman. It’s so creamy and rich and indulgent, yet still full of that great yogurt flavor. And while, admittedly, the added cream and sugar probably don’t enhance the healthfulness of the snack, I would be willing to bet it’s still better than a piece of chocolate cake. So there.
But seriously, oats are full of soluble fiber, which helps improve cholesterol levels and lowers the risk for atherosclerosis (fatty deposits on the arterial walls.) And yogurt is not only high in calcium, but it also has those helpful little probiotic buddies that help your immune system. It also has tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin, which promotes a relaxed mood. Nice.
So go eat a nice healthy bowl of granola and yogurt, get your calcium, manage your cholesterol, boost that immune system, and get relaxed baby! 

Strawberry Vanilla Almond Granola 
 (Note: I didn’t have any almonds, and don’t really like nuts in my grains anyway, so I just added ½ tsp. of almond extract instead…tasty!)

•    5 cups Oats
•    1 cup Almonds, Roughly Chopped
•    ½ cups Brown Sugar, Packed
•    ¼ teaspoons Salt
•    ⅛ teaspoons Cinnamon
•    ¼ cups Vegetable Oil
•    3 Tablespoons Butter
•    ¼ cups Honey
•    ⅓ cups Strawberry Jam
•    2 Tablespoons Sugar
•    4 teaspoons Vanilla
Preheat oven to 300F.
Lightly grease a baking sheet.
Mix oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
In a small saucepan, combine oil, butter, honey, jam, and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.
Pour hot liquid over the oat mixture, stir well until thoroughly mixed.
Spread granola onto prepared cookie sheet.
Bake until golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. (For less clumps, stir occasionally during baking. For more clumps, just turn the baking sheet once during baking.)
Cool completely.
Store in an airtight container. Makes about 9 cups or so.

PW's Yogurt Cream
(Another note, I prefer to use vanilla yogurt…cuz it’s my favorite. But you can just use whatever floats your boat!)
Ingredients
•    1-¼ cup Heavy Cream
•    1-½ cup Plain, Unflavored Yogurt
•    ½ cups (to 3/4 Cup) Brown Sugar
•    Blueberries (or Other Fruit Of Your Choice)
Preparation Instructions
First, pour the yogurt into a bowl. Then add the cream. With a whisk carefully stir until combined. It should be nice and thick.
Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the top of the yogurt mixture. Do not stir the mixture. Cover the bowl with foil or plastic wrap and tightly seal the edges. Place in the refrigerator for at least three or four hours.
When you are ready to serve, place a small handful of berries (or other fruit) into a bowl or cup. Now, you can either not stir the mixture and have small visible bits of brown sugar in the finished product or you can whisk the mixture until smooth. This is how I like it. Stirred or not, spoon the yogurt mixture over the berries or fruit. Repeat the layers once, ending with berries on top.

Now take this heavenly, creamy substance and indulge. You won’t be sorry you did.

hope.

 

 " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, ' Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' " Jeremiah 29:11

 

A Different Lunch

Crescent Cristo Sandwich

http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=13809

Check out this recipe. Seriously. It’s delicious, healthy, easy, and different! It sounds a little strange, jam on a ham sandwich, but keep an open mind...my husband didn't think he would like the jam, but he loved it. I didn’t change much, (except use strawberry instead of raspberry jam and add an extra slice of cheese to the first layer…oh, and instead of making it into a loaf, I just used the crescent triangles to make individual sandwiches) so I will just reference you to the site. But trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

The Beauty of a Flutterby

The Incredible, Edible...Sweet Potato!

So, have I mentioned before that I love sweet potatoes? Yea. I like them. They're pretty much my favorite. They are so packed with flavor, and so hearty, and so versatile. They can be mashed and fried and baked and grilled and sweet or salty or spicy or some combination of them all. My favorite ways to eat them has been mashed or grilled, with brown sugar and butter and cinnamon. (Yum.) But, sometimes, it's nice to mix things up and throw some spice in the mix.

A while back I had tried this recipe for Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes. We thought they were pretty good, but they were kind of labor intensive. The other night, I was going to make my sweet potato chips, but I wanted to add something more interesting. So, I took the leftover spice I had from the Crash potatoes and sprinkled it over the regular chips, and wow. What a great combo! (Recipe below.)

But you know what the best part is about these tasty taters? They are absolutely jam packed with nutrients! They're so good for you, you could practically live on them. Well, maybe not, but seriously. I actually just got a new book called Fight Back with Food: Use Nutrition to Heal What Ails You.
Great book. It lists all the benefits of specific foods, as well as providing a reference for foods to help with particular ailments. Anyway, it has tooooons to say about this little root.

"...one sweet potato has 187% of the recommended intake for beta-carotene. Beta-carotene may help to prevent certain cancers and macular degeneration.
Caffeic acid- this phenolic compound shows promise in fighting cancer...
Insoluble fiber- When eaten with it's skin, a sweet potato is an excellent source of insoluble fiber, which may help to prevent constipation, diverticulosis, and weight gain.
Pectin- about half of the fiber in sweet potatoes is soluble pectin fiber, which may control cholesterol.
Plant Sterols- theses cholesterol-lowering compounds may reduce cancer risk by binding carcinogenic agents in the digestive tract.
Potassium- this heart-healthy mineral, found in abundance in sweet potatoes, (397 mg per potato), is associated with lower blood pressure and a lowered risk for heart disease, kidney stones, and stroke."

And that's just a sample! They also are rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6, chlorogenic acid, lutein, and zeaxanthin.
Aren't they just amazing? And doesn't it just make you feel so healthy to eat it? And they're so sweet, it's like eating dessert! Anyway, perhaps that was long and involved, but I find it fascinating! Plus, it inspires me to eat more health consciously. So, expect more excerpts from this fun book!



Spicy Sweet Potato Crisps

1 Large Sweet Potato
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Spice mix:

• 1-½ Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
• ½ Tablespoons Sea Salt
• ½ teaspoons Ground Cumin
• ½ teaspoons Chili Powder
• ½ teaspoons Smoked Sweet Paprika
• ¼ teaspoons Onion Powder
• ⅛ teaspoons Granulated Garlic Powder
• ⅛ teaspoons Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Peel and slice your potato into the thinnest slices possible. If I were smart, I would use something like my food processor for ultimate thinness. But I'm too lazy to dig it out of my cupboard for one little potato. So I slice.
Layer your potato slices in a single layer in a rimmed baking sheet/pan. The less overlap, the crispier the slices will be. But, if you must overlap to avoid dirtying another pan, you must. At least, I must. As we've already established how lazy I am.
Drizzle LIGHTLY with extra virgin olive oil. I emphasize the lightly, because if you get too much, it will just be oily and...yech. The oil should form just a very thin layer over all of the potatoes. No oil hanging out in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle with spice mix.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes have gone past the soft stage and started to crisp. If you want them crispier, keep cooking, but you do run the risk of burning some. It all just depends on how much of a dare devil you are. I like 'em crispy, and am willing to sacrifice a few.
Enjoy warm! But, they're even still good after they cool, kind of like regular potato chips.

Love him.

Love him

'nuff said.

: )