Brownie Baked Oatmeal is wonderful for a special breakfast. Soo decadent and delightful with 8 grams of protein and, with milk, 32 carbs per serving. When Valentine’s Day falls in the middle of the week, it is sometimes hard to find time to celebrate. Make this the day before and refrigerate before baking 20 minutes on Valentine’s morning – a special glow all day long! Or celebrate birthdays – or acceptance into college of choice – or making the cheer squad – or any other special occasion. Customize Brownie Baked Oatmeal with your choice of chocolate chips. We like dark chocolate so that’s what I usually choose. If all I have on hand is semi-sweet, that’s the choice. Both good. I’ve not tried white chocolate chips, but I bet they would be good and have some “visual interest” , ... [Read More]
Valentines Day
Crunchy Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Valentine's Day has a few traditions around our house. Wheels comes up with beautiful heartfelt cards that make me cry. And sometimes the perfect -- although quite unexpected -- gift. When Bytes and his brother were little I would find something red to gift them -- a red truck, a red book, red handled pliers, red earbuds -- something small and red that fit their interests at the time. And I always make something special to eat. Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars fits right in the special category, from the peanut butter cup bottom to the peanut butter hearts on the top. The peanut butter bar is a classic knock off of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Use graham cracker crumbs in the box if you have them on the shelf. To make your own, use 9 sheets (2 squares each) of graham crackers. ... [Read More]
Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprints
Chocolate and peppermint – the flavor combination is perfect! The red and white stripe lends a bright note for both Christmas and Valentine’s Day! Peppermint Chocolate Thumbprints lend themselves to a variety of “fancies”. A hardworking, versatile cookie, some might say. Others just say “YUM!” I omitted rolling the cookies in sugar when I made this batch to save a few carbs. You could substitute powdered sugar for the ½ cup sugar for a frosted look. Or use ½ cup sanding sugar with its larger granules for a festive look. Or small sprinkles for a colorful look. This is a good recipe to make with young helpers. They can unwrap kisses, roll the cookie dough into balls and then in the sugar. It’s a fun cookie to make and fun to eat. This visitor would certainly agree with the last part of ... [Read More]
Macaroons dipped in chocolate
Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate would be a perfect Valentine gift. Or an any time treat! Cookies are extra chewy because they are loaded with coconut. I love coconut. And chocolate. Put the two together – heavenly! My brother Jay was also a big coconut fan and between the two of us we could consume a bag of coconut in an afternoon. Much to Mom’s consternation. And to the younger kids loss. Because no matter where Mom hid the coconut for her planned culinary endeavors, Jay and I would find it. Eventually she quit buying it. The four other siblings missed the clandestine consumption of coconut! They had to wait until later to find the joy! I’ve learned to discipline myself and leave the bag unopened until time to use it. This recipe is great since it uses the entire ... [Read More]
Little Napoleon Sweethearts
I was curious how this delicious pastry filled with fruit and creamy pudding came by its name. Napoleons seem to be a Neopolitan invention as they originated in Naples, Italy. The French adopted the dessert, calling it "mille-feuille" or “ thousand leaves” for the many layers of pastry. As the dessert traveled from France the description of their place of origin, Neopolitan, became corrupted to the more familiar Napoleon associated with France, but there is no evidence that Emperor Napoleon had anything to do with these particular pastries. Napoleons traditionally have a confectioners sugar glaze on top (1 Tablespoon water to 1 cup of confectioners sugar) but I eliminated this to control the sweetness (and carb count). They are also typically larger in size and frequently have 3 ... [Read More]
Sweet News about Dark Chocolate
Several years ago, for Valentine’s Day Wheels gave me two bags of Dove Dark chocolate and a magazine article about the health benefits of dark chocolate. He’s a keeper! Gave me chocolate and a reason for eating it! If you need a reason to eat your Valentine chocolate, you’ve come to the right place! Surprisingly, chocolate is much better for health than Americans recently believed. In fact, the earliest use for chocolate was medicinal. Chocolate is plant based, as are the fruits and vegetables recommended for good health. Used by the Aztecs to keep public officials healthy and give their warriors strength and endurance, the beans of the cacao tree were made into a frothy bitter brew. The Spanish explorer Cortes took cacao beans back to Europe where it was used medicinally and ... [Read More]
