Banana-Nutella Galette

Play dates aren't just for my little guy anymore. I am blessed to have gotten closer with a couple of women who have a child/children my son's age. So, when we get together for a play date, sure, it's for the kids. But not just for the kids. 

We had one recently so out came the apple juice, Goldfish, the wine & a little dessert I actually created on the fly. I didn't get a chance to go to the store that day but I wanted to make something sweet for my friend & used what I had in the house.

I wouldn't have minded if it was a flop because I am close enough to her not to be embarrassed but it turned out to be one heckuva hit. The underlying amaretto flavor from the extract paired so perfectly with the hazelnut spread & bananas.

I also love that, aside from the pie crust, this was a healthier alternative than most desserts & I didn't feel a tad guilty.

Banana-Nutella Galette by Live.Love.Eat

{ Click for Printable Recipe }

1 pie crust
About* 1/4 cup plus 2 tblsp of Nutella Hazelnut spread
1/2 to 1 banana sliced
Skim milk
Almond extract
Powdered sugar (for serving)
Fat free Cool Whip (for serving)

Pre-heat oven to 375. Unroll pie crust. Spread Nutella thinly on crust leaving a 2 inch border. Scatter bananas on top.

Whisk extra Nutella in a bowl with skim milk until you reach a drizzle type consistency. Add a drop or two of almond extract & whisk well.

Drizzle over bananas. Roll the border of the pie crust covering part of the filling slightly. Bake for 20 minutes, adding a few extra minutes if crust needs to golden more. Let stand for 10 minutes. 

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, cut into wedges & serve with whip cream.

{ Food for Thought }

Measurement on Nutella is not exact, just use your judgement & spread thinly on crust.


Linking Deliciously to Lisa at Blessed with Grace for Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays. 

Chicken Piccata - Healthy Makeover

Hello everyone & Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!! And I am definitely happy today, especially after a few days of going on the treadmill in the early morning before work. It's a perfect way to start the day on a good note.

It's been a while since I have done a Not So Fat Friday. If you look at my side categories on the right you'll see there are plenty more healthy recipes under this name. However, I do need to re-label as Recipes - Not So Fat Fridays but for now just go to the N's for Not So Fat Friday.

This dish was so light, fresh & just a little lemony & perfectly filling & I love having my whole grain pasta without the guilt.

CHICKEN PICCATA - HEALTHY MAKEOVER from Eating Well

{ Click for Printable Recipe }

6 oz whole grain angel hair pasta
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 chicken cutlets, (3/4-1 pound total), trimmed
3 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 10-oz pkg mushrooms, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 tblsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tblsp capers, rinsed
2 tsp butter (optional)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add pasta & cook until just tender, 4 to 6 minutes or according to package directions. Drain & rinse.

Meanwhile, whisk 5 teaspoons flour & broth in a small bowl until smooth. Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper & dredge both sides in the flour. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken & cook until browned & no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover & keep warm.

Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms & cook, stirring, until they release their juices & begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add garlic & wine to the pan & cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice & the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer & cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in parsley, capers, butter & the reserved mushrooms. Measure out 1/2 cup of the mushroom sauce. Toss the pasta in the pan with the remaining sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the chicken and the reserved sauce.

{ Food for Thought }

Although I've never been a caper fan I loved them in this dish. I had them in the pantry so I wanted to use them up. If you don't want to go that route then this dish would be just as good without. I also didn't bother measuring out the sauce at the end. I just put the chicken back in with the sauce to warm through & served it all over the pasta on a large serving platter.

~ ~ ~      ~ ~ ~      ~ ~ ~

I will definitely be getting around today & the next few days to catch up. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!!!

Coming soon: a Banana Nutella Open Galette I recently created.

Coca Cola Chocolate Pan Cake

This past weekend was exactly what I was craving. It was the perfect balance of relaxation, productivity, family time, a little girlfriend time, a glass of wine, a mug o' beer, a lot of home organizing & plenty of outdoor time in our quaint, sweet town.

On a previous busier weekend, I made this cake for a small gathering. While I never drink soda, I was really intrigued. I would definitely make this again since it was really moist & delicious. It was also pretty easy to make for a cake from scratch. I LOVED that I only needed my whisk!!

 A chocolate lover would fall for this cake.

Coca Cola Chocolate Pan Cake

{ Printable Recipe Here }

Cake

• 2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 2 cup(s) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 1/2 cup(s) miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup(s) (2 sticks) butter or margarine, cup up
• 1 cup(s) Coca-Cola
• 1/4 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 cup(s) buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, well-beaten
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

Frosting

• 1/2 cup(s) (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut up
• 1/3 cup(s) Coca-Cola
• 1/4 cup(s) unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1 package(s) (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13 by 9 glass baking dish. In large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda & salt. In 2-quart saucepan, heat marshmallows, butter, cola & cocoa over medium-high heat until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat; continue stirring until marshmallows melt.

Pour marshmallow mixture over flour mixture; with wire whisk, stir until well combined. Whisk in buttermilk, eggs & vanilla until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack.

Meanwhile, prepare frosting: In 1-quart saucepan, heat butter, cola & cocoa to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove saucepan from heat. Add vanilla & stir until butter melts. Place confectioners' sugar in medium bowl. Pour hot butter mixture over sugar. With wire whisk, stir until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.

Stir frosting well; spread over top of hot cake immediately after removing from oven. Cool in pan on wire rack.

{ Food for Thought }

Check your cake at 40 min but you may need to cook it a bit longer like I did, anywhere up to an hour. The sides were perfectly done but the middle was still very moist & loose at 40, so you may want to cover it if you need to go longer.

Miniature Pancake Muffins

Whew...this past weekend marked the end of a wonderful month full of entertaining, get togethers & visiting family. It's been awesome & tiring at the same time!!!!

A sweet reader had emailed me this recipe thinking I might like it. Since my sister & her kids were visiting last week I figured it would be perfect as a breakfast appetizer. We really enjoyed them & they were super easy to make. I loved having all the ingredients on hand, except the buttermilk which I subbed.

Next time I will definitely be making these with blueberries!! These would even make a nice gift to your neighbor or friend, fresh out of the oven & wrapped up in a basket.

MINIATURE PANCAKE MUFFINS

{ Printable Recipe Here }

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tblsp sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk or substitute *
1 egg
2 tblsp pure maple syrup
2 tblsp melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips or blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 24 mini muffin pan with liners. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk. In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup & melted butter until just combined.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients & stir with a spoon until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour 2/3 full into each cup. Bake for 9-11 minutes. Serve with syrup.

{ Food for Thought }

If you don’t have buttermilk, just put 1 tblsp white vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup. Fill with milk to get to 1 cup. Let rest for 5 minutes.

I'd suggest using a bit less than 1/2 cup chocolate chips as it was a little overpowering. 

{ For more deliciousness, visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays! }

Hey Hey Old Bay!

I wanted to share a few things I am enjoying lately.

While I absolutely love to entertain & happily obsess over my menu for days & days prior, I don't go crazy with unnecessary gadgets or houseware items. Once in a while, though, I see something that just rocks my apron off & I must have. This, my friends, is one such thing. I am in love with my cooler! 

I already christened Tommy last weekend when I had friends over. The cooler even lifts off so that it can be transported. And you just gotta love the bottle opener! Not only is it pretty but it works well too ~ the ice hardly had melted when we checked it the next morning. 

Onto more things I am diggin'...

Old Bay & Garlic Crab Legs by Live.Love. Eat

{ Printable Recipe Here }

My previous post was for crab legs with an Asian twist that were to die for. I loved them so much I had to prepare them again the same way, stovetop, but with my own special sauce this time. The result was a solo lovefest with just me, 1.4 lbs crab legs, a side of mashed potatoes & a glass of white wine. They were out of this world, better than any crab legs I've had. I even thought of starting my own little crab truck where I serve nothing but crab legs in different sauces.

Can you picture that? BYOB!

Bring Your Own Bib

1.5 lbs Snow Crab Clusters
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 stick of Butter

Garlic Powder

Old Bay Seasoning

White wine

Prepare the crab as in in this recipe by breaking the crab legs into pieces & removing joints & unnecessary parts. Since this was just for myself I didn't even bother cutting the shell on one side as I did in the last recipe. I did, however, try out the clusters this time. While a part or two were fishy I enjoyed them.

Heat olive oil & butter in a skillet on medium high. When butter is browned & hot, add crab leg pieces. This will make a beautiful sizzling sound. Toss the pieces around to coat in the oil butter mixture. Add a few sprinkles of garlic powder & Old Bay. Use your judgement here. Add white wine, about 1 cup. Toss lightly. Crab legs should warm through over medium heat for no more than 7 minutes. Take off heat & keep covered until ready to indulge.

{ Food for Thought }

1.4 lbs = 2 clusters was perfect for me. If you're preparing for quite a few people, I say plan on 2 clusters per person. And you definitely want to have a seafood/nut cracker & little fork standing by to help you with this.

And one last thing to enjoy....

I had forgotten how much I loved Old Bay Seasoning. So, tonight after  cleaning out my freezer to make room for about 40 lbs of meat I got from my boss who bought 3 cows in an auction, I decided I needed to make french fries that were taking up way too much space. That's what I told myself.

Have you ever just added a few seasonings on hand to spice up your fries? Oh my.....

Cook your fries the way you want. As soon as they are off the heat, sprinkle with sea salt, a little garlic powder & just a bit of Old Bay seasoning. Wow....

Go spice things up a bit & have a great weekend!!!!!!

Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays!

Sweet & Peppered Crab Legs

The original name of this dish from the Food Network magazine was called Spicy Peppered Crab Legs. Since these weren't really spicy & my 6yo boy even loved it, I wanted to give it a more fitting name. Now, let me get on to telling you how much I am in love with this dish.

For years I have been enjoying crab legs, whether out or at home, simply broiled then dipped into butter! So when I came across this recipe that prepared them in such a unique way I had to give it a try. My mom came over for dinner while Dad was away golfing with the boys & since she loves crab legs but doesn't have the patience to crack them, I knew these would be perfect.

My mom & I loved these!!! To top off my excitement of the success, Tristan ended up enjoying quite a few pieces of crab meat that I had picked off & handed to him without the sauce.

This is simply a MUST try. With a little Asian influence, the sauce is just perfect without overpowering & taking away from the sweet subtlety of the crab meat.

SWEET & PEPPERED CRAB LEGS

{ Printable Recipe Here }

3 pounds Alaskan king or snow crab legs, thawed if frozen
Freshly ground pepper
2 tblsp vegetable oil
1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
6 cloves garlic, chopped
10 thin slices peeled ginger
8 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
4 red or green jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
2 tsp sugar
2 tblsp oyster sauce
2 tblsp soy sauce
White rice, for serving

Pull a leg off the cluster (1). You will see it has 2 joints (2 & 3), one on each side. I like to remove these knobby little ends because the meat sticks to them when you crack open the leg. Also, break the claw (4) off then pull the pointy thing (5) out of the claw & discard.

You are now left with a thick leg, a claw & a skinnier leg. Depending on the size of the thick leg you can break it in half or just leave whole. You want 3-4 inch pieces. The skinny little leg doesn’t have much meat in it but just save them & add to the pot. Now, cut along the shell on each piece so the meat can easily be removed after cooking.

Place the remaining ingredients by the stove. Toast 2 tablespoons pepper in a small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes; remove from the heat. Heat the vegetable oil & butter in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions & jalapenos; sprinkle with the sugar & cook, stirring, until the mixture is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the crab pieces, oyster sauce & soy sauce.

Cook, tossing, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Scatter the toasted pepper on top & continue to cook, tossing, about 1 more minute. Transfer the crab & sauce to a bowl. Serve with rice.

{ Food for Thought }

First things first, this was not spicy. My 6yo even ate the meat with no problem.

I usually use the thinner snow crab legs since I find them easier to handle without all the sharp points that king crab has. Also, 4lbs = 9 clusters = 3 hungry people was a perfect equation. While I always pick from parts of the cluster when just serving crab legs with butter I didn’t use the clusters for this recipe nor did it call for it. It's up to you. Some people tend to say the clusters are fishy.

I was running late for this weeknight meal so I just used ground ginger & it was more than OK!

{ Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays }

Chocolate Mousse Torte

Hope everyone had a su-weeeeeeeet weekend!!!! Mine was just lovely. I had family over for dinner Saturday night & I made this for dessert. I found it in one of my magazines & knew I had to make it. It was too pretty not to! 

I made a few changes to it, making it even easier & also a bit healthier too. Everyone really loved it. As always, the original recipe is right here, just see my notes for changes I made. This is definitely a must make again!!!!! 

Since I didn't use the semi sweet chocolate at all, I am thinking I need to change the name to chocolate pudding torte.....nah!

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE TORTE Adapted from Kraft

Click for Printable Recipe

37 (approx) Nilla wafers
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate, divided
2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) Chocolate Instant Pudding
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. cold milk, divided
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed, divided (I used Free)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh raspberries

Stand 16 wafers (approx) around inside edge of 9-inch round pan lined with plastic wrap. Melt 3 chocolate squares as directed on package. Beat pudding mixes & 2 cups milk in medium bowl with whisk 2 min. Add melted chocolate; mix well. Stir in 1 cup cool whip; pour into prepared pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar & remaining milk with mixer until well blended. Stir in 1 cup of the remaining cool whip; spread over pudding. Top with remaining wafers. Refrigerate 3 hours.

{ don't do what I did & try to squeeze pieces of wafers in between. there's no reason to }

Invert torte onto plate. Remove pan & plastic wrap.

 Top torte with remaining cool whip, berries & chocolate curls.

 { not the most perfect slice in pictures but it was perfectly heavenly }

{ Food for Thought }

I recommend spraying your pan with just a little cooking spray. Maybe this will help the plastic wrap to stay in place.

I used sugar free pudding since some family members are diabetic & it was wonderful. Just remember that sugar free pkgs will have less volume than the regular. I only used 2 pkgs regardless. I suggest just following the directions on the package if you’re using sugar free. Buy 3 pkgs but start with 2. Then pour in what you need, leaving room for the cream cheese mixture as well as the final cool whip.

I also didn’t bother adding the melted 3 squares of chocolate & probably won’t next time either. One final note is I just grated some chocolate rather than making curls.

{ Linking Deliciously to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays }