Thin Mint Brownies

I love Girl Scout Cookies, yet I'm not sure why.  They are good, but I've had better cookies.  But, I still purchase these cookies every single time someone approaches me with the option.  Somehow, we ended up with 7 boxes of girl scout cookies this year.  S.E.V.E.N.  What the heck?  For someone who bakes as much as I do, this is completely unnecessary.  Apparently, I must have been making up for cookie-less times in past years (or I was shopping on an empty stomach) when I ordered these damn things.  


So, I decided to do something fun with this impulse purchase.  Originally, I decided to have a mini-Girl Scout Challenge in my kitchen.  I have a ton of copycat recipes for girl scout cookies and thought it would be fun to have a bake-off/taste-test, etc.  Then I realized that it would be even more absurd to have double the amount of cookies in our house.  So, I settled on a single brownie recipe instead.   These brownies are baked with chunks of thin mint cookies.  


I love dark chocolate and decided these would be made best with all things dark.  I opted for Hershey's dark cocoa powder instead of unsweetened cocoa powder.  I also used 8 ounces of dark chocolate (61% cacao) Ghiradelli baking chips instead of baking chocolate because I didn't have it on hand (although convenient, chocolate in bar form retains chocolate flavor much better than chips, it makes a difference in baked goods, try it!).  These brownies were an explosion of chocolate and pretty good.  I made mint brownies last year (during one of my 3am baking binge sessions at finals) with Andes baking chips and a chocolate ganache frosting.  Those turned out to be pretty good and I think that if I baked again, I would use that recipe w/ the thin mint pieces and add the ganache.  The brownies would be absolutely amazing.  I need to find that recipe...


On a side note, my mom suggested that I start bringing some of my baked goods to a shelter or a senior citizen's community.  I often bring goodies into work/school, but I'm fearful that people get annoyed when I do this.  I'm weird, I know, but if someone was always shoving baked goods into my face, I'd feel compelled to eat them and I would feel bad if I turned them down.  I wish I had a place to bring all of these goodies (like a bakery shop that I own!!) and I am on a hunt to find a willing place.  I still intend to bring goodies into work/school, but for how much I bake, this stuff needs to go elsewhere too!  

Thin Mint Brownies
adapted from The Food Librarian
Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• I used Hershey's dark cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped 
• I used dark Ghiradelli baking chips
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 sleeve Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies, chopped. 
• (16 cookies)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line 9 x 9 square pan with parchment paper and butter or spray with Pam with flour.
1. I could not find my 9x9 so I used an 8x8.  It worked fine.
3. In a small bowl, whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
4. Place butter and semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate in a large heat-proof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of gently simmering water. 
1. I used my double-boiler.
5. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. 
6. Remove bowl from heat. 
7. Add sugar; mix to combine. 
8. Add eggs one at a time, and mix to combine. 
9. Add flour mixture; mix just until moistened (do not overmix). 
10. Fold in chopped Girl Scout Thin Mints. 
11. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top.
12. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 40-50 minutes. 
1. Original recipe note: be sure to check them early.  The original recipe says "50-60 minutes" but she found them to be done at 50.
1. With 8x8 pan, mine took about 46 minutes (with a wavering oven).  
13. Cool in pan for 30 minutes.  
14. Using paper overhang, lift brownies out of pan; transfer to a rack to cool completely (still on paper). 
15. On a cutting board, using a dampened serrated knife, cut into squares.

Brown Sugar Roasted Norwegian Salmon with Maple Mustard Dill Sauce

I have a confession.  Despite how easy it is, I have never cooked fish in the kitchen.  I used to blame it on the fact that "fish smells" but truthfully, it was because I could never tell if it was done.  In fact, I purchased the No Name brand because they had this little plastic thing stuck inside the fish and it would pop out when the salmon was cooked.  Gross?  Yes, kinda.  Pathetic?  Definitely.  But, this is what this blog is all about.  Getting away from those short-cuts.


However, plastic fish hook thingy no more!  This post indicates that I have successfully cooked salmon.  Each month, I browse through my Cooking Light magazine and mark recipes that I intend to make.  I always keep a notecard in the front of the magazine with the page number.  When I pulled out the notecard this week, I noticed that I had indicated that one of the recipes came from an advertisement.  I flipped to the page and saw the recipe for this salmon.  Brown sugar and maple syrup?  With salmon?  YUM!


I made this dinner the other night when Ron wasn't around for dinner.  I cut the recipe in half and purchased two 6 oz. salmon fillets.  Easy enough.  I wasn't eating both pieces of fish, so I only chose to make one serving of the mustard-dill sauce - it could easily be cut in half - and it worked out perfectly.


This dinner was absolutely incredible.  I cannot even describe how good it was.  The sweet, the salt, the spice, the tang!  All of the flavors mixed together so well.  The salmon is caramelized with the brown sugar mixture for about 15 minutes prior to baking.  I also made roasted some asparagus to go along with the meal and placed it in the oven at the same time I cooked the salmon.  The asparagus was so crisp.  It was done at the same exact time the salmon was done!  Perfect timing.


If you are a fish fan (or even if you are not a fish fan), I encourage you to make this recipe!  It is simple for a weeknight meal and takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and make.


Note:  I did not include a picture of the salmon with the sauce on top.  I mixed a bit too much dill in mine and it looked like green goo.  Although it looked somewhat unappetizing, the taste was amazing.

Brown Sugar Roasted Norwegian Salmon with Maple Mustard Dill Sauce
adapted from Norwegian Salmon ad in Cooking Light magazine
Yield:  The amount reflected below yields 2 servings.  Double as needed.

• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp black ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 2 salmon filets, about 6 oz each
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp dried dill
• Fresh Asparagus, if desired (to serve as side dish) 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Combine the brown sugar, pepper & salt in a bowl.  Rub on the flesh side of the salmon, using all the mix.  Place on a plate & let stand for 15 minutes in the refrigerator, covered lightly with plastic wrap.  
3. Coat a small baking dish with 1/2 tbsp olive oil.  Put the salmon on the oil, skin side down. 
4. Drizzle the remaining oil over the top. 
5. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes or until desired doneness.  (Mine took about 13:30)
6. Combine the maple syrup, mustard & dill together to create a sauce.
7. Serve the salmon with the sauce over the top.

Asparagus

1. With oven preheated to 400 degrees, place prepared (ends cut) asparagus spears on a baking tray.
2. Drizzle spears with olive oil and toss them to coat.
3. Spread spears out evenly on baking tray.
4. Sprinkle seasoning over asparagus (I used sea salt and black pepper).
5. If preferred, sprinkle chopped garlic over asparagus.
6. Place in oven and cook for 10-15 minutes.
7. Once removed, sprinkle additional seasoning over spears (lemon juice, parmesan cheese, balsamic, etc.)

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken

I didn't always appreciate quinoa.  I think it might've been because I couldn't pronounce it properly.  (It's pronounced keen-wah.)  Today, I cannot get enough of this grain.  I recently learned that quinoa has ancient origins that date back 5,000+ years ago to the Inca civilization of South America.  It was so important to their culture that they referred to the grain as the Mother Grain.  And with good reason!   Quinoa has more high quality protein than any other grain.  Plus, it is gluten free.  This is essential for my training purposes.

 

This quinoa stir-fry was prepared for my weekly lunches.  It is incredibly healthy, can be easily adapted (made w/o egg and + tofu, made w/ additional vegetables, etc) and is so delicious!   The recipe makes a ton and 1 serving is definitely filling.  As mentioned in a previous posting, I've found that the key to making a successful stir-fry comes with prepping the ingredients beforehand.  Time to prepare is probably about 10 minutes (depending on your chopping skills) and time to cook is less than 10 minutes.  YUM!   

On an unrelated note, I'm in the process of updating this blog.  Ron's been working with me to fix the font and the background, etc.  Hopefully it can be debuted at some point soon.  I know my 3 readers (thanks, guys!) would love looking at something with a better format.

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken

adapted from Handle the Heat who adapted from Self magazine

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped (or half red/half green)
• 1/3 cup sliced & chopped mushroom
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 small red chile, chopped (optional)
• 2 cups snow peas, trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 oz grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup dill (or cilantro)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1. Place quinoa in a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until quinoa absorbs water, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and leave uncovered. 
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook carrot, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 1 minute. Add mushroom, bell pepper, ginger, garlic and chile, if desired; cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. 
3. Add peas, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. 
4. Remove vegetables and return skillet to heat; add quinoa, along with egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until egg is evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. 
5. Add vegetables, chicken, scallions, dill or cilantro and soy sauce; cook 1 minute more.
6. Divide stir-fry among 4 bowls; serve warm.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Orange Sauce (for Two)

We love stir-fry around here!  I certainly make it often because it's so easy.  Plus, I am a big fan of dinners that you eat from a bowl.  They are always easy and always delicious.


I decided to mix this shrimp up a bit.  Instead of the typical rice, I mixed it with some pasta shells.  I also scaled down the recipe for the shrimp to cook up a 2 serving meal.  I added some carrots and peas to my bowl and omitted them from Ron's.  Perfect!  The carrots and peas can easily be incorporated to the recipe (as reflected below).  We were both very surprised at how flavorful the meal turned out.  The orange shrimp had such a unique flavor and the meal seemed to get better with each bite.  Don't be turned off by the unpleasant color/picture, this dish was very good and very filling!
Note: you can find the original measurements for 4 servings by clicking on the Cooking Light link.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Orange Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light 
Yield:  2 servings
Ingredients

• 1/2 box medium shells
• 3/4 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. chili paste, such as sambal oelek
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 3 Tbsp. chopped green onions
• 1/2 c. sliced carrots
• 1/2 c snap peas
• 1/4 c sliced almonds

Directions

1. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside in bowl.
2. Place shrimp in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat.  Set aside.
3. Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
4. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. 
5. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. 
6. Add juice mixture, carrots, peas and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. 
7. Once cooked, pour shrimp and sauce mixture in pasta bowl.  Toss well to coat evenly.
8. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Pineapple Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken

I am always trying to find recipes that Ron will eat, that I will also love to eat and that I will love to make.  It is a constant battle.  If it was up to Ron, the meal would be strictly meat and starch.  Perhaps he'd add a side salad of lettuce or spinach, but the greens would be drenched in ranch dressing.  If it was up to me, it would be something with a small amount of chicken, a starch and a buttload of vegetables and/or fruit.  We could not be more opposite when it comes to our food preferences.


Since I've started cooking, I have to give him credit.  He has been adjusting well.  He always tells me that he will eat whatever I make, which he does, but it is always disappointing to see a pile of leftover vegetables on his dish when he's finished.  I think that I will continue to question his "I don't like the texture of vegetables or fruit" claim for our entire lives, but whatever, I'm just going to keep making foods that I like.  After all, I am in the one running shop here.  :) 


This meal was a mixture of the best of both worlds.  It combined the tanginess of pineapples (which I love when incorporated into a meal) and the nutrients from the vegetables.  At the same time, it also added sweetness to the chicken from the sweet and sour sauce which turned it into an ethnic asian meal that Ron would find acceptable.  Of the six peppers that found their way onto his plate, he ate three!  Hell, it's an improvement and I'm not complaining.  This meal is fantastic for a quick and easy weekday dinner.  Although it adds a bit of sugar to a dinner plate, it can quickly satisfy a craving for take-out sweet 'n' sour.  I prepped everything before and it took about 20 minutes total from start to finish.  

Pineapple Sweet 'n' Sour Chicken
adapted from Dole
Yield:  4 servings @ 471 calories, 7g fat, 62g carb, 39g protein per serving
Ingredients

• 1 can (20 oz) Dole Pineapple Chunks
• 1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into chunks (or both!!)
• 1 medium onion, cut into chunks
• 1/2 c sliced mushrooms
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 c prepared sweet and sour sauce
• 2 tbsp less sodium soy suace
• 4 c cooked brown (or white) rice

Instructions

1. Drain pineapple; reserve 2 tbsp juice.
2. Cook; stirring pepper, onion and mushrooms in hot oil, over medium heat, in large skillet, until tender-crisp.  Remove vegetables from skilletr; set aside.
3. Cook chicken in same skillet, until chicken is browned.  Add vegetables back to skillet with sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, pineapple chunks and reserved juice.  Heat through.  
4. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Mango & Currant Muffins

One potato, two potato, three potato, four.  Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more!  Today, I realized that I was singing this while making these muffins.  Yet, I had no idea how I knew this rhyme.  When did I learn this rhyme and why has it stuck with me this long?  A quick google search told me that I must have learned it in preschool when I was learning to count.  Even though this is a simple rhyme, it has occurred to be that I seem to know a lot of lyrics to a lot of older songs that I haven't heard in a while.  Apparently, I remember things better when they are in song form.  Perhaps I should start turning the law into a song.  I wonder if I would see a jump in my gpa :)


Anyway, I bookmarked this recipe a few weeks ago when I was on a sweet potato binge.  Perhaps my favorite thing about sweet potatoes is the way they smell when they are baking in the oven.  It is definitely among my top ten favorite smells.  These muffins are very good.  They are very flavorful and I really enjoy the addition of mango.  These are good right out of the oven but I found that the spices came out more the next day.  The majority of the muffins are now in the freezer and I'm looking forward to nuking them in the microwave for a quick breakfast.


Although they are good muffins, I don't think I will be making them again anytime soon or on a weekly muffin rotation (I eat a lot of muffins)!  My parents got me Dorie's cookbook (aka the Baking Bible) for my birthday and there are TONS of recipes in there that I want to make!

WW Sweet Potato Mango & Currant Muffins
adapted from La Spicy Vita
Yield:  12-14 large muffins (I forced the batter to fit in the tin so I had 12)
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pureed sweet potato (about 2 medium)
• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour 
• Original called for WW pastry flour
• 3/4 cup unbleached AP flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup diced mango
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger (many recipes suggested 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped currants (or dates)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork and place on a baking sheet lined with foil. 
3. Roast for about one hour or until caramelizing and tender. 
4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before peeling and mashing with a fork. 
5. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees. 
6. In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potato, eggs, agave, applesauce, ginger and vanilla extract. 
7. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and cardamom. 
8. Next fold together the wet and dry ingredients until just mixed, and then add in the mango and dates. 
9. Pour into greased muffin pans. 
10. Bake for 20-30 minutes until lightly browned.  (Mine took closer to 30 because they were large)

Feta Shrimp w/ Brown Rice (and Chicago)

We're back from a fantastic trip to Chicago.  My gosh, I love that city!  Each visit makes it more and more clear that we need to spend some time as Chicago residents before settling down!  Looks like I might've found the best graduate program for me as well after graduating from WMCL :)


In any event, we're also back to reality and I'm excited to get back to the kitchen.  I love vacationing but I always find that I eventually get sick of eating at restaurants.  Don't get me wrong, we had some amazing dining experiences.  It's not the food that bothers me.  It's the fact that I don't know how the food is being prepared.  I have so many food allergies/issues that it's hard to plan a day when you don't know if you're going to break out in hives or not!  However, this was probably one of the best Chicago food experiences I've ever had.  We kept it consistently on a budget too (no Charlie Trotter's here!) so we didn't look at our bank accounts after the trip and cry.


My birthday weekend began by a side trip to the Bleeding Heart Bakery.  I have pretty much been obsessed with visiting this bakery since I saw the owners, Michelle and Vinny, featured on a few of the cake challenges on the Food Network.  They are seriously awesome and I managed to slightly freak out when I saw Michelle at the Roscoe Village bakery on Sunday.  I think she knew I was stalking her.  I smiled at her, she smiled back and I let her continue on her path without interrupting her busy day.  Their bakery is amazing and their goodies are so delicious!  I picked up one of the infamous 'Take a Hike' scones.  Oh my, this baby was amazing and lasted the duration of our trip!  I couldn't eat the whole thing in one sitting.  Ron had a s'mores cupcake and I had a raspberry cupcake w/ chocolate frosting.  Seriously, amazing.  If you are in Chicago, make a detour and go to this bakery!!

Later on that night, we had my birthday dinner at the Atwood Cafe for the final evening of Chicago's restaurant week.  On my birthday, we had breakfast at the Corner Bakery and Cafe, lunch at Hannah's Bretzels and a late dinner at Harry Caray's.  We stopped in for some amazing Cuban coffee at a fantastic little shop in the heart of the city.  The next day, we had brunch at the Bongo Room and dinner at Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder.  Amazing, amazing, AMAZING dining in Chi-town!  We spent a lot of time just walking around the city, running on the lakefront path, browsing the museums and walking through Lincoln Park (where we decided we would live!) and checking out cool bars.  This trip made us both realize how un-suburban we are at this point in our lives.  We need the city, we need those unique coffee shops and fun little restaurants.  I've known this for a long time.  My favorite place in Pittsburgh was this tiny little organic coffee shop on N. Craig Street.  I was happiest when I was sitting in that shop, sippin' on some joe and watching people.  I don't have anything remotely close to that in our new apartment.  I miss that.  I need that.

Ok, enough gabbing.  Although I managed to eat healthy while in Chicago (Ron didn't; he ate pretzel pancakes with white chocolate caramel sauce for breakfast, hehe) I still feel like a giant load.  So, I knew we needed something healthy for dinner.  This dish was inspired by a picture hanging in the elevator of our hotel.  I wanted it so bad but the dish no longer appeared on the restaurant menu.  Plus, the restaurant was not in our food schedule while in town.  So, I took a photo and attempted to recreate it because I couldn't get the image out of my head!  How did I do?

I took a lot of shortcuts with this recipe (used precooked items).  This was in part because I did my grocery shopping late at night and could not get raw shrimp.  Also, the damn store was out of orzo and I wanted orzo!   Plus, we were eating at 9:30 at night.  I did not want to eat cereal but I wanted vegetables.  So, here we go.  Quick and easy in about 10 minutes total.  However, the recipe turned out very good.  I also cooked up some asparagus to eat on the side, but you can also serve with some bread and butter.

Feta Shrimp w/ Brown Rice and Asparagus
created by Me but inspired from a picture (above) hanging in Hotel Allegro's elevator (featuring the 312 restaurant)
Yield:  3 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, cooked, peeled, deveined and tail-off, drained and pat dry
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• kosher salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes
• 3 cups pre-cooked brown rice blend (I used a brown rice and quinoa blend)
• 1/4 c pine nuts
• 1/2 c green onion
• 1/4 c fresh dill
• 1/4 c fresh parsley
• 1/2 c chopped roasted red pepper
• 1/2 c feta cheese
• Spinach leaves

Instructions

1. For Shrimp:  Heat pan over medium high heat.  Once heated, add oil.  Add shrimp, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil.  Saute until shrimp have shrunk and soaked in flavors, about 4-5 minutes.  Remove from heat.
2. Place hot cooked rice in a large bowl.  
3. Mix in pine nuts, green onion, dill, parsley and roasted red pepper.
4. Spread some spinach leaves across plate.
5. Add about 2/3-1 c rice mixture to plate.
6. Add as much shrimp as desired.
7. Sprinkle w/ feta cheese and more pine nuts.