Betty goes GF!

Betty Crocker is a household name. From cook books, to cake mixes and cookies. Many women I know (including myself) own a Betty Cookbook, and for many it's their favorite.

As many of you know my mom has been diagnosed with Celiac's disease which is an allergy to gluten (or wheat). So I am very aware when see any foods that are Gluten Free. I do whatever I can to support my mom, and encourage her.

I had heard the Betty Crocker was releasing a line of GF mixes, cookies, cakes and brownies. I was quickly excited by this because I figured, it's Betty so they have to be good, and inexpensive.

Last night as I was walking through Safeway to get a few things, and I ended up on the baking aisle (shocking, I know) and there in front of me were these boxes that screamed at me "GLUTEN FREE"!! I couldn't contain my excitement and I immediately called my mom to share my excitement! "Guess what I am looking at??? Betty Crocker Gluten Free cake mixes!!!!" She was excited too.

Now, I cannot vouch for the flavor of these just yet, but the cost wasn't too bad. It is more than your traditional cake mixes, but still less than many of the GF mixes I have found.

I might just have to make a cake this weekend...or next when my mom is here for a visit!

Lemon Bars

I have been craving lemon bars. I have never made them from scratch, usually I just use the box mix stuff....but I found a Weight Watchers recipe and thought I would try it. I had to half the recipe, but they turned out great none the less. They are only 3 points each!

Lemon Bars
Ingredients

1 1/3 cup(s) all-purpose flour
5 tbsp packed light brown sugar
8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 large egg(s)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup(s) powdered sugar, divided
3/4 cup(s) fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.


To make crust, mix flour and light brown sugar using a food processor until fully incorporated. Toss butter into flour mixture and pulse to combine using short bursts of power until butter is cut into tiny pea-sized pieces and dough appears lumpy. Sprinkle crust mixture onto an ungreased 13 X 9 X 2-inch baking pan as evenly as possible; press down with a spatula to create a packed surface. Place crust in middle of oven and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.


Meanwhile, to make lemon topping, beat eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until well blended. Add vanilla extract and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar; mix well. Add lemon juice and remaining powdered sugar; mix until powdered sugar is completely dissolved and then add zest.


As soon as crust is finished, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300°F. Immediately pour lemon mixture over hot crust. Bake completely, about 30 minutes; cool, and cut into 24 bars. Yields 1 bar per serving.
Notes
The crust must be HOT when you pour on the lemon mixture.

You’ll need approximately three lemons to yield the amount of juice and zest in this recipe.

You can increase the lemon flavor of these bars by adding more zest or eliminate the zest altogether for a less tart taste. You can also change the flavor completely by subbing fresh lime juice and zest for the lemon.

* Photo and recipe courtesy of Weightwatchers.com

BBQ Chicken Salad

Last night for dinner I was planning on grilling some chicken that had been marinating in BBQ Sauce all day. But because it was soooo hot I didn't want to use the grill. So I cooked the chicken on the stove.

I really didn't want just plain BBQ Chicken. So I added it to some lettuce. Then I caramelized some onions (cooking them with a bit of butter)and threw them in. Then I cut up a tortilla into small strips and sprinkled them with some EVOO and salt and set them under the broiler until crispy.

The salad turned out delicious! I added some low fat ranch to mine and Ryan added some fat free Italian to his and we both enjoyed the refreshing summer salad. We will definitely be having this one again!

Claim Jumper

Ryan and I wanted to eat out this weekend. We had planned to just do appetizers, or dessert and maybe a drink. We ended up at Claim Jumper. I was excited to eat there, we hadn't been there in almost two years. We began looking through the menu. Then we found the nutrition facts section. Great! We can figure out the points. Sweet.

Not. Their calories are off the chart high! They have this famous cake that was like 6 layers thick...three thousand calories!!!! For one slice! There was nothing really (besides some vegetables and some things like that) that were below 5 or 6 hundred calories. The average dish was about a thousand calories.

We decided that Claim Jumper was not the place for us, or anyone on Weight Watchers. I settled for the small order of wings (like 500+ calories) and Ryan had the kids fish. We were so surprised when we looked at the nutirtion facts, and well, disappointed.

http://www.claimjumper.com/hypertext/nutritionalfacts.aspx

Sage Pork Chops

Last night for dinner I made Martha Stewards Sage Pork Chops, they were delicious!!I used a Pinot Gris (or a Pinot Blanc) for the white wine and it worked well (it was the only white I had that wasn't too sweet-like a Riesling or Gewurztraminer). We had a glass of wine and a side of rice to go with it. We both really liked this meal. I would have liked to try the Parmesan Rice that Martha has, but I didn't have the recipe. Brown rice worked fine with some of the sauce drizzled on top. YUMMY!

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/sage-pork-chops?autonomy_kw=Sage%20Pork%20Chops&rsc=header_1

Ingredients
* 4 boneless pork loin chops (6 ounces each)
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 medium shallot, minced
* 1 teaspoon chopped fresh sage or 1/4 teaspoon dried
* 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
* 1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions
1. Season pork generously with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil and butter over medium; add pork. Cook until browned and opaque throughout, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate, and cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
2. Make sauce: Add shallot to skillet; cook over medium, stirring until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add sage, thyme, and wine. Simmer until sauce is reduced to about 1/3 cup, 2 to 3 minutes; stir in any accumulated juices from plate with meat. Transfer chops to plates, drizzle with sauce, and serve with Parmesan Rice.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Biscotti

My co-worker loves biscotti. I made some at Christmas that were chocolate peppermint and she enjoyed them. Today is her last day, so I decided as a goodbye I would make her chocolate peanut butter biscotti! What a hit!!

I used this recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/peanut-butter-and-chocolate-biscotti-recipe/index.html. I used normal peanut butter as opposed to "natural" as the recipe calls for. I would also use less peanuts. I melted some chocolate chips and drizzled them on the top, as well as some peanut butter.

They turned out really well. This is a pretty easy recipe, you just have to make sure they get crispy enough...but not too done!

What a yummy morning treat!


Ingredients

* 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons)
* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
* 3 large eggs
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter, room temperature
* 1 1/4 cups dry roasted peanuts
* 1 1/4 cups chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chunks (about 6 ounces)

Directions

Position racks evenly in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally. Continue to cook until the butter browns and gets a nutty aroma, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.

Beat the eggs in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar while beating. Then slowly add the butter and vanilla until evenly mixed, about 30 seconds more. Add the peanut butter and mix until combined.

While mixing slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet, in 2 additions, mixing just until absorbed. Fold in the peanuts and chocolate pieces.

Divide the dough evenly into thirds, and put each portion in the center of a baking sheet. Shape the dough with slightly wet hands into logs about 2-inches wide and 15 inches long. Bake until set and brown around the edges, about 25 to 30 minutes. (For even baking take care to rotate the pans-- top to bottom and front to back--about half way though.) Cool logs on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Carefully transfer the logs to a cutting board. Cut logs crosswise, with a long serrated knife at about a 45 degree angle, into 1/2-inch thick cookies. Place cookies cut side down on the baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 8 minutes. Flip the cookies over and bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes more. Cool biscotti on the baking sheets. Serve.

Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 3 days.

Peaches and Blueberries

I love to bake. And I usually try and bake once a week. This weeks attempt: Peach and Blueberry Cobbler (by the way the picture is not of my food...but it looks just like it). I had a few peaches in the fridge that when I ate one, I thought it was a bit tart, so I needed to bake them. Ryan loves blueberries, so I found this Weight Watcher friendly recipe for Peach Blueberry Cobbler. I didn't eat any, but I know it was good, because it didn't last!!! Here is the recipe that I used:
http://www.angelfire.com/journal/wwrecipes/peachand.htm

1 cup low-fat biscuit and baking mix

1/2 cup regular oats

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup chilled reduced-calorie stick margarine, cut into small pieces

4 cups frozen sliced peaches

2 cups frozen blueberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar



1. Preheat over to 350º. 2. Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal (I did this part in my food processor). Set aside. 3. Combine peaches and blueberries in a 2-quart casserole; sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over fruit. Bake at 350 º for 45 minutes or until bubbly.

Mmm Cheese

My Co-worker and I were just talking about cheese. Now, I am not a big cheese fan, but there is one cheese that I love. I can eat a lot of it...even if it makes me sick, I just keep eating it. It's amazing.

You should really try it, that is if you want to pay a little more for cheese.

It is Tillamook's Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar. You won't be disappointed, well unless you don't like cheese.

Baking Tools

I love to bake. I have a few tools that I love to use when I am baking.

I love my new cherry pitter. I can actually do four with mine, with two different size options. There is an attached tray to hold the juice and pits to save a mess. It makes cherry pie so much eaiser!

I love my pastry chopper/scrapper. I use it for herbs, pie crusts, you name it! It's a beautiful thing.

I love my apple corer. Ryan likes this gadget more than me, but it sure is helpful with apple pies!


I love my cookie scoops. I have 3 sizes now. They are great for well, cookies. And cupcakes. And muffins.

I love my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. My favorite. And it's def. seen some better days.

And my favorite baking tool...my super duper heavy duty all time amazing, Kitchen Aid Mixer. LOVE IT!