Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake/Brownies

My sweet daughter and I were in the mood to do some baking, and brownies were on our mind. Our dishwasher is scheduled for repair on Monday, thus making it unusable today. The thought of hand washing a million utensils made me shudder a little, so I was hoping to make these using one thing: THE PROCESSOR. I pulled out all the ingredients, and what do you know...we are out of black beans. We have just about every other type of bean but the one we needed for brownies...so we improvised with cannellini. It worked. It worked so well! Our brownies turned into chocolate chip cake, but we got some much needed time together doing what we both love to do; Cook, Eat, and Enjoy each other. This scrumptious cake came out perfect and moist. And the little taste tester in our house totally approved. Low in sugar, high in protein and fiber, they are the perfect snack. (At the bottom of the recipe I put the replacements for the brownies if that is what you prefer.) Also, to make it dairy free, use carob or Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips.


Ingredients:


1 15 oz can Cannellini or Garbanzo Beans, rinsed well and drained



1/2 cup agave (or sugar replacement)



1/2 c Pamela's Baking Mix- (or unbleached all purpose flour, but i must add it is better with a flour blend such as Pamela's or King Arthur)



4 egg whites



1 egg yolk



1/4 cup unsweetened Cocoa(or Carob)



1 teaspoon baking powder



2 teaspoons vanilla



1 cup chocolate chips (or carob chips)




Directions:


Preheat oven to 350

Grease 8x8 baking pan with Coconut oil (or oil of your choice)

In a food processor mix beans and agave until very smooth

Add remaining ingredients except chocolate chips

Process again until smooth

Add chocolate chips and pulse once or twice to incorporate

Pour into baking dish

Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean

For Brownies:

Use black beans instead of cannellini and process the chips a little longer to break up the chocolate chips. If you like your brownies on the gooey side, try adding half a banana or 1/3 of a cup of apple sauce.

injoy,

Dannielle

Chicken Cream Sauce on Angel Hair Pasta

This is my first attempt at a cream sauce for quite some time and I can honestly say I don't know why I haven't made this more often. It is delicious and very easy. I found a local farmer that grows, dries, and grinds most of their own herbs, so i used one of their blends for this dish. I believe it would be just a great with any seasoning but here is a list of the herbs in my good'n garlicy blend:
Garlic
Onion
Sea Salt
Basil
Oregano
Parsley
Marjoram
Thyme
Black Pepper

This is pretty much a one dish meal (minus the pot for the pasta). It is very easy and super yummy.

Ingredients:
2-3 Chicken: skinless boneless breast, sliced
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
heaping hand full of grape tomatoes, diced
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into bite sizes
1-2 Tbs capers
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup white wine
1/2 pint heavy cream
Parmesan or feta cheese as topping
1 LB Angel Hair Rice Pasta or Penne
optional:
spinach, chopped asparagus, cooked chopped bacon
salt and pepper

Directions:
slice and marinate chicken in seasoning for 2-24 hours
Boil salted water for pasta
Heat oil in a sauce pan
Saute onion and chicken in sauce pan over medium/low
Add additional spices of your choice
Cook until onions are transparent and chicken is almost done
Add diced grape tomatoes, artichokes, capers (add optional ingredients)
Once soft (about 5 minutes) sprinkle with a little more seasoning
Add minced garlic saute for about 1 minute
Add white wine
Bring to a simmer
Add cream to taste
(you can add tomato sauce if you want a rosa sauce at this point)
Simmer on low stirring to incorporate ingredients for about 3 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
Top cooked pasta with sauce and sprinkle with cheese and cracked pepper

injoy,
Dannielle

Cinnamon Apple Rasin Bread - crock pot style

Between feeding an infant, diaper changes, and gratefully being caught up in some rendition of a Disney Princess classic, time for me is hard to find. I ran across a recipe(Thank you a Year of Slow Cooking) for bread in a crock pot! I gave a try and I must say, with some of my own changes...it is MY NEW FAVORITE! After my loaf cools, I usually slice it and freeze half of it for a quick breakfast or snack later in the week. It is great both fresh out of the oven or toasted later.

Cinnamon Apple Raisin Bread

Bread:

2 cups Pamela's Baking Mix or Bisquick

2/3 cup applesauce

1/4 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced

1tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp clove

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/2 cup raisins (also great with dried cranberries)

Coconut oil or cooking oil

Topping:

1/4 Cup Pamela's or Bisquick

1/8 Cup brown sugar

2 tablespoon butter, softened

1/8 Cup Agave

Directions:

Grease loaf pan
Mix all ingredients for the bread in a mixer until blended
Put batter into greased loaf pan

Combine first three ingredients for topping in a separate bowl
Put topping in loaf pan on top of batter
Drizzle with agave

Place loaf pan in your crock pot and cover
cook on high for 2-3 hours until it begins pull away from the pan
uncover and cook on high for 30 more minutes until a toothpick comes out clean
cool and slice or serve warm

injoy,
Dannielle

Gratitude UPDATE

It is official! Our cleaner diet has helped alleviate the symptoms of my Sweet Whits arthritis. I started seeing changes in her May 2009. That October we changed our diets and since December of 2009, we haven't seen many of the painful signs. Here it is March 2011! 15 MONTHS!!Praise the LORD!

We will occasionally splurge and when we do we see some swelling and she does complain of a tiny amount of pain, so I KNOW it is diet related! but PRAISE THE LORD for the knowledge I have now! I am so thankful for all of the direction HE has given me in this quest. I am so thankful for the ability to learn from so many other bloggers out there going through some sort of dietary challenge. Knowing what I know now, I feel so guilty putting the crud back in our kitchen. And every time I am at the grocery store, and some form of a "processed glob" ends up in our basket...I silently remind myself that the ease of that "glob" is not worth the pain my daughter once daily endured.

On top of that, my husband and I both have felt better than we ever have before. I have not been sick in over a year-not even a cold! With the arrival of Baby William this past December, I have even more motivation to keep my diet pure and my immune system in check for his benefit.

Cooking has been getting easier and with so many disasters in the kitchen at first, I have learned what does and doesn't mix. I experiment a lot and I alter others successes in the kitchen to make them fit our needs. I have started batch cooking and freezing which makes it so much easier to reach for a quick healthy meal instead of fast food or processed snacks. The crock pot has become a new love for me since time doesn't always work in my favor. With all these changes, it has been easier than ever to stay clean on the inside and out. I am not extreme, but i do cut out what I can when I can. I am a scatter brained mom of a newborn and 4 year old...if I can do this...anyone can!

I look forward to sharing so many successful recipes this year!

injoy,
Dannielle