Walnut Date Energy Bars

My first stab at homemade energy bars...four thumbs, and two paws, up (Geof gave them the seal of approval, and if Lucy had opposable thumbs she probably would, too :))

I casually glanced at the ingredient list of my beloved Fig Newtons last night and noticed it includes a lot of crap, including HFCS and AND corn syrup...because one just wasn't enough.  Blech, so now that I know that my favorite work snack is truly fake food I had to do something about it.  

Like, make my own :)

So I searched and searched the interwebs this morning and found a recipe I approved of.

Ba-blam!  I do have a photo, but I'm posting via phone for the first time ever (how 2013 of me!) and it's telling me I need to download some silly app to enable that feature.  Next!

So I adapted the recipe from HERE, I made some slight changes which is the recipe below.

They are just barely sweet, filling, and quite tasty.  These bars reminded Geof and I of apple crisp...minus the apples and vat of sugar.  I will be bringing these along for skiing this weekend!  So easy to make, so delish, and tons of potential for customization :)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup bran hot cereal
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup walnut pieces
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped stemmed dried dates
• 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place the oats, cereal, flour, walnuts, dates, dry milk, cinnamon and ginger in a food processor; coarsely chop.

Add the honey and eggs; pulse until well combined.

Transfer the mixture to the pan; spread evenly with your fingers. Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then cut into bars. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrap individually and freeze for up to 3 months.

Enjoy!

Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges

We had sweet potatoes, we had spices, I had time, and Google was a welcome assistant.  Born from this was a fantastic little side dish that made our taste buds sing.

No picture this time as we ate them too fast :)  I reheated some leftovers for lunch the next day and they tasted just as delicious.  We also dined on sautéed broccoli with mushrooms and parmesan cheese, and quinoa.  How vegetarian of us.

Warning: these are DELICIOUS!

Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato Wedges
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes (more red pepper = more spice!)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 pounds medium sweet potatoes (I used two larger potatoes)
3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Coarsely grind coriander, fennel, oregano, and red pepper flakes in an electric coffee/spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle.  We are without a these items at this time, so I got creative and used an old-fashioned ice cream scooper and crushed the spices in a small bowl.  It worked pretty well! Stir together spices and salt.

Cut potatoes lengthwise into 1-inch wedges. Toss wedges with oil and spices in a large  bowl before transferring to a large pan and roast in middle of oven 20 minutes. Turn wedges over with a spatula and roast until tender and slightly golden, about 15 to 20 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Pan Seared Alaskan Halibut with Arugula, Butternut Squash, Spicy Vinaigrette and Bella Mushrooms

Okay, last one for today.  I had a bit of a backlog of recipes I wanted to post :) This one's a bit different from what I usually post.  It was somewhat involved, but so crazy easy, and even crazier delicious!

Rob had thawed out some of the halibut he had caught on a recent fishing trip to Alaska, and I had some butternut squash I wanted to use (I'm on a major squash kick right now).

Enter: technology.

I Googled "halibut and butternut squash" not actually thinking something would jump out at me, and lo and behold, I found this recipe!  I had to make a few substitutions, but nothing major.  I also included mushrooms.  I felt like having mushrooms :)  The flavors all worked together really well!

Ingredients 

2 halibut filets (approximately 6-7 ounces each)
1 large butternut squash, diced
Arugula (as much as you want to use!  I used more since there were three of us dining)
1/4 red onion, shaved or sliced very thin
2 tsp aged balsamic vinegar (and a splash of rice vinegar!)
1 oz extra virgin olive oil
1/3 tsp of spicy brown mustard
1/3 tsp of honey
Sea salt and pepper

Mushrooms

One package sliced Bella mushrooms, rinsed; sauté to liking in a small pan with olive oil; sprinkle with parmesan cheese on plate.

Instructions 

1. Make the vinaigrette by mixing the vinegar, mustard, honey, and 1 oz of extra virgin olive oil
2. Sear the halibut in a hot pan with olive oil
3. Once the halibut is browned on one side, flip the filets, turn down the heat just a bit, and continue until cooked through
4. While the halibut is cooking, in a separate pan sauté the diced butternut squash in butter until golden brown (make sure the squash is not over cooked and mushy)
5. In a mixing bowl, toss the arugula and onions with the vinaigrette (hold back a portion of the vinaigrette to spoon over the top of the halibut)
6. To plate, place the arugula salad mixture in the center of the plate and top with the halibut filet
7. Dress the top of the fish with a spoonful of the sherry vinaigrette, and then the butternut squash

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I'm on a roll.  So roll with me.

Something savory, now something sweet (as that is what I love best)!

I found the below recipe HERE and it was so perfect that I didn't change anything.  Oh, except for the amount of oatmeal.  I reduced it from 3 cups to 2 cups...it would have been too dry.

These are SO GOOD.  Much lighter than a cookie somehow (even though they are just as sinfully awesome).  I suggest topping a fresh-from-the-oven square with a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream (or vanilla, if that's your gig) and enjoying immediately.  

Ingredients: 

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
2 cups rolled ("old-fashioned") oats
12 ounces (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I also sprinkled extra on top...that's how I roll)

Instructions: 

1. Cream butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla with electric mixer on high.

2. Stir in flour, salt, and baking soda, all at the same time. Stir in oats. Last, add chocolate chips and stir them in (or use clean hands, if the dough is too stiff).

3. Press cookie dough into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Dough should be somewhat flattened, but it's okay for some cracks to remain. :)

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly golden and cookies are set in the middle.

5. Cool for 20 minutes; cut into squares (the original recipe said it would yield 24 squares, but, c'mon, that would have made them tiny so my pan yielded 12 squares, Paige Size :))

Enjoy!

Cheesy Spaghetti Bake

Who's ready for some cheese???

This chick is, I know that for sure!  If it were even somewhat advisable to live off of nothing but cheese, I would.  Or sushi.  That one I could do without issue.  Nothing but cheese might...back things up.

Anywho!

I asked Geof what he felt like for dinner last night, and he said, "something with cheese."  So that's what I did.  I found the following great recipe online and tweaked it to my liking.  No, it's not exactly healthy, but it sure is fantastic comfort food, and easy to make.  It was met with rave reviews.  If you want it to be a little heartier, I suggest adding the beef (as in the original recipe) or something cool like tofu, tempeh, chicken sausage, etc.

Now, kick back, relax, and imagine yourself in a cozy (well insulated) log cabin with the snow falling outside the window (which looks out onto an enormous pasture at the foot of the mountains), a fire going in the fireplace, plenty of fleece and/or flannel, and perhaps a glass of vino.  Then read the below recipe...and also try it.  It's delish!

Ingredients

• 1 16oz package spaghetti1/2 red onion, finely chopped16 ounces spaghetti sauceSalt & Pepper, to taste2 tablespoons butter2 tablespoons whole wheat flour12 ounces evaporated milk1 cup shredded parmesan cheese1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, DIVIDED1 teaspoon oregano
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish; set aside.  (I forgot to grease the glass baking dish, and it was fine.  Not sure it would be so in a metal dish, however.  So, get greasy with it.)
2. Boil spaghetti noodles to al dente according to package; drain.
3. While spaghetti is boiling, brown the onion in a skillet. Add the spaghetti sauce to the skillet.
4. Add the hot, cooked, drained spaghetti to the skillet; stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
5. In a saucepan, melt butter; add the flour, stirring constantly to make a roux. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk.
6. Turn heat to low and stir in the parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup only of the mozzarella. stir constantly until melted and smooth.
7. Pour the cheese mixture evenly over the spaghetti in the 13 x 9 dish.
8. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of parmesan cheese and then the oregano.

     9. Bake; uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly/starting to brown on top.
Enjoy!

Oh My Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies!

I'm baaaaack!  And it's cookie recipe sharing time :)

Geof and I are living with friends here in Salt Lake City and one of them, Rob, has recently adopted a gluten-free diet.  At first blush I thought that sounded terrible (no beer?!).  But, it's actually been a lot of fun participating in ensuring he is following the rules, and enjoying a relatively gluten-free diet ourselves (FYI, there is gluten free beer :)).  You wouldn't believe how much stuff has gluten in it!  Wow!  It became almost instantly second nature to check the labels of everything.

In any event, I had the urge to bake this week, and in the interest of ensuring all members of the household could enjoy the fruits of my labor, I set out to find a decent gluten-free cookie recipe.

Ask and ye shall receive!

The cookies came out great and are so delicious!  They won rave reviews and glowing praise.  I will definitely be making these again.  You would never guess there was zero gluten...no flour, no oil.  Just pure awesome.

I adapted this recipe from Make It Naked, a great little blog.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies (makes about 4 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup peanut butter (I used all natural PB and it worked great)
3 cups rolled oats (gluten free)
6 oz chocolate chips (NOTE: I used raisins as we didn't have chocolate chips)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy.
3. Add the eggs, vanilla, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix. Add peanut butter and mix.
4. Add the oats and raisins (or chocolate chips...or both!). Mix slowly until combined.
5. Scoop about a teaspoon of dough onto a greased or parchment-covered cookie sheet.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown at edges. Remove and let cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Kickin' Quinoa Kale

This picture makes me giddy...it is so pretty!

This was lunch today, and I loved every bite.  I think we're getting pretty good at creating some pretty power packed lunches: good (read: real) protein, complex carbs, dark leafy greens, good fats and a whole lotta flavor.  Perfect food for training peaks and valleys :)

Todays's concoction was perfect for two lunches.  I eyeballed everything so there's no specific measurements, except for two ingredients.  Are you sensing a kale theme here, or is it just me...? ;)

Kickin' Quinoa Kale

Red quinoa
Kale, hand torn
Cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 avocado, chopped
Coarsely ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Crushed red pepper (gives it a good kick!)
1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
Shredded mozzarella cheese

I nuked mine for one minute and enjoyed it immensely!

The only thing that could have added a little something extra would have been some sriracha sauce :)  We're kind of on a sriracha kick of late.

Filling, beautiful to look at, and tasty to the max.

Enjoy!