Hot Cocoa

Hot cocoa is the quintessential  winter treat.  As soon as the weather turns brisk, I'm busting out my saucepan to make some warm beverages to fill my cold tummy.  I used to always buy the hot cocoa packets, until I stumbled upon this recipe.  My eyes were opened to the sheer awesomeness of homemade hot cocoa, and I was a changed woman.  Once you make homemade hot cocoa, it will be hard to go back to the packaged variety.

This is a pretty simple recipe for homemade hot cocoa, but I like this for my everyday go to cocoa.  It is not too rich or too sweet.  I always have the ingredients sitting in my pantry, and this cocoa comes together in minutes.

Hot Cocoa

Yields 1 serving

*3 POINTS+ per serving

1 c. skim milk

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. water

1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a mug, combine the sugar, cocoa and water.  Mix up to make a paste.  In small saucepan, heat milk stirring occasionally.  Do not boil milk.  Pour milk into mug and stir gently until combined with chocolate paste.  Stir in vanilla.  Enjoy!

Change up flavors by subbing out other flavor extract such as raspberry or orange.

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

I love pancakes.  Mike loves pancakes.  It is a win-win breakfast, lunch or dinner in our house.  The problem with pancakes is that that they are frequently packed with white flour and no whole grain.  That is where these amazing pancakes come into play.  They are filled with whole grain flour and oatmeal and give you staying power to energize your day.

Not only are these pancakes good for you, but they are truly delicious.  They have a wonderful nuttiness to them and the oats make them a little chewy but still with a tender crumb of the typical pancake.  These are a definite must try recipe.  I promise these will become a regular in your pancake rotation.  In fact, they are now our go to pancake recipe.  Serve some fruit and milk along side and your meal is good to go!

These pancakes begin with you making a mix.  This mix will keep for 2 weeks at room temperature in an air tight container or indefinitely in the refrigerator.  This makes for quick and easy pancake making since the mix is already made.  Before you know it, your are chowing down on heart and healthy pancakes that will power throughout your morning.  We love to serve these up with a spread of Brummel and Brown yogurt butter and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.  (If you don't buy pure maple syrup, go ahead and give it a try.  You'll never go back to the fake stuff!)

Oatmeal Pancake Mix

King Arthur Flour: Whole Grain Baking

Yield: 10 cups mix, 6-7 pancakes per cup of mix

*1 pancake = 3 POINTS+

 3 1/2 cups rolled oats, quick cooking

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1 cup vegetable oil

Mix together all dry ingredients in a mixer with paddle attachment or by hand.  While mixing on slow speed, drizzle the vegetable oil into the bowl.  After oil is added, stop mixer and test consistency.  Squeeze a clump of mix in your hand; if it stays together, the consistency is right.  If the consistency is crumbly, continue to aid more oil 1 Tbsp. at a time until the consistency is right.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature or indefinitely in the refrigerator or freezer.

To mix up the pancakes:

1 cup pancake mix

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

Whisk ingredients together until just combined.  The mixture will seem thin at first, but allow it to sit while you heat up your griddle and the mixture will thicken up as the oats soak up the liquid.  Preheat your griddle to 350-375 F.  Lightly grease griddle with cooking spray  Drop batter onto grill, and cook until the edges look dry and bubbles come to surface and don't break.  Flip pancakes and finish cooking.

Baked Apples

This post is a touch overdue since the snow has been flying for the past few weeks, but this is an amazing fall recipe. Truthfully, this is great any season as long as you have some apples sitting around! This recipe is from Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes, which is an amazingly awesome website that lightens up while still maintaining all the great flavor.

Baked apples are fantastic dessert treats since they get a fruit serving in for the day, and they fulfill that need to have a little something sweet and warm at the end of supper.

Soft tender apples are paired with a delicious sweet crumble filling. Serve it up along with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Baked Apples
Yield 4 servings, 1 serving = 1/2 apple
From Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes
 
*4 POINTS+ per serving


2 large apples, cut in half
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. quick cooking oats
pinch of cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a melon baller or a spoon and pairing knife, remove the core and seeds of each apple half, leaving a hole in the center of the apple for the filling.

In small bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon. Divide equally into each apple. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with fat free whipped cream/cool whip or light vanilla ice cream (this may affect the pts+ value).

Cinnamon Sugar Baked Doughnuts

Who doesn't love doughnuts...but most of our waistlines don't love them as much as our tastebuds! These hit the spot to fulfill that tasty craving without breaking your calorie bank.

To make these more doughnut authentic, I went out a bought a Wilton mini-bundt pan at Walmart. It gave the doughnut the hole in the middle, and since we eat with our eyes first, I wanted it to look like I was eating a doughnut. However, if you don't have one, you could probably make these in a muffin pan (you'd really end up with more of a French Puff Muffin).

These baked cake doughnuts are rolled in a delicious cinnamon-sugar coating to echo the cinnamon and nutmeg that is in the batter. But you could really make a nice glaze to dip these in or roll them in powdered sugar. I am planning on modifying these to produce a pumpkin doughnut some time soon. This recipe will make 12 mini doughnuts (which I thought were a great size) or 6 regular sized doughnuts.

Pair this up with a cup of coffee and a piece of fruit, and you have a delicious breakfast that is a healthier indulgence.

Cinnamon Sugar Baked Doughnuts
From King Arthur Flour
Yield: 12 mini doughnuts for 3 POINTS+
or 6 regular doughnuts for 6 POINTS+


1 cup (4 ounces) Round Table Unbleached Pastry Flour or 7/8 cup (4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons dried buttermilk powder (or use 2 tablespoons buttermilk or yogurt in place of the 2 tablespoons water)
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Mix all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl, set aside.

In separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil, and water/buttermilk/yogurt until foamy.

Pour liquid ingredients into dry ingredients.

Spray a mini bundt pan or doughnut pan with nonstick cooking spray. Fill each section half full with batter.

Bake mini doughnuts for about 7 minutes or regular sized doughnuts for 10-12 minutes. (Be careful to not over bake, because these are low fat, they can dry out easily). When done they will spring back when touched and be browned on top, or a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove doughnuts from pan and roll in a cinnamon-sugar mixture. Enjoy!!

Chili...the best I've ever made

Chili is one of my all time favorite fall and winter meals. It makes a warm and comforting supper and rolls over nicely to make delicious and filling lunches for days to come. I've never actually followed a recipe for chili and so it always turned out differently. Some batches were good and others were not. What I wanted was one recipe that I could use to consistently make good chili. I was sick of winging it and have my craving for warm comfort unsatisfied because my pot of chili turned out to be a flop. So, I did my research. I wanted a hearty and meaty chili that wasn't overly spicy and wasn't too watery.

I found my inspiration over at Brown Eyed Baker. One of her chili recipes fit the bill perfectly and I made one small modification to better suit our tastes. This is a great recipe. It is thick and hearty and has amazing flavor. You can adjust the spices to suit your own tastes. Serve this up with some shredded cheddar cheese on top and a slice of cornbread and you are in business. As the weather continues to cool down and the snow begins to fly, I know this recipe will be gracing our table frequently.

Chili
Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker
Yields: 11 cups
1 cup = 6 POINTS+

2 lbs. lean ground beef (93/7)
1 - 29 oz. can tomato sauce
1 - 15 oz. can Bush's Chili Beans with Sauce (I used mild)
2 - 15 oz. cans Pinto beans, undrained
1 medium onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 bay leaves
2 c. water

In a large pot, brown beef and break into crumbles over medium heat. Drain off fat.

To beef, add all remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over low to medium low heat.

Simmer partially covered for 2-3 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.

I should make a note that I'll be making some healthy changes to my food blog. Don't get me wrong, I'll still post yummy cakes and cookies...but all my recipes from here on out will include Weight Watchers POINTS values and serving size. I'll also start making updates to previous posts to include the Weight Watchers POINTS values. We still live Simply Delicious Lives without added calories and fat. I've been doing Weight Watchers the Simply Delicious Living way for about 7 weeks now without feeling deprived at all and I'm 13 pounds lighter already!

Pita Wrap Bread

I love pita bread. It is soft, chewy and delicious. I love to make gyros, chicken sandwich wraps, or just gnaw on a big ol' round of it. It is delicious. Usually I would just buy it at the store, but then I saw on the King Arthur Flour Website Blog a recipe for it and it also popped up on one of my favorite blogs Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I knew I had to try it, and boy am I glad I did!

Initially I was intimidated. Could I possibly make my own pita bread? Could I produce such a blissful food? Oh yes I did!! For this recipe, the toughest thing was finding the yeast. This isn't the usual active dry yeast, instead, this is an instant yeast found in the refrigerator section that is more like a crumbly paste. It is very different to work with, but it turned out great!

The fresh warm pita bread that came off my griddle was pure heaven! Never again will I buy the pre-made packaged stuff at the store. I'm now an official pita bread snob.

Pita Wrap Bread
From Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Yields 8 bread rounds
7 POINTS+ per bread round

3 -3 1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1/4 c. potato flour or 1/2 c. potato buds or flakes (I used potato flour)
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp instant yeast

Place 2 c. flour in bowl and pour boiling water over top of flour. Stir until smooth. Cover bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

In seperate bowl, whisk together potato flour & 1 c. remaining flour with salt, oil and yeast. Add this to cooled flour/water mix. Knead for several minutes by hand or mixer to for a soft dough. Dough should be somewhat sticky but will be fairly stiff. Add additional flour (1/4 c.) only if necessary. If kneading by hand keep hands and surface lightly oiled. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover and let rise 1-2 hours (I did 2 hours and it was perfect).

Divide dough into 8 pieces. Cover and let rest 15-30 minutes. Roll each 7"-8" circle and dry fry with oil in a griddle or skillet/fry pan. Fry until puffed and flecked with brown spots, over medium heat about 1 minute per side. Do not cook too quickly or slowly or they will dry out or have raw middles.

Transfer to rack and stack them to keep them warm and soft. Serve immediately or cool completely before storing in plastic bag.

Transformed into a Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap...Yum!

Canadian Cookies on Bars

Hold on to your seats because these bars will change your life! No, I'm not joking. These are rich, chocolaty and moist. Get ready to have your life rocked!!

This recipe has been in my family for years. I believe it came from my Great Grandma Shoe, and it has been making appearances at family functions for as long as I can remember. Everyone loves these bars, especially my sister. After we went to college, these were a frequent requests on a visits home.

You have got to try these!

Canadian Cookies on Bars
Yields 1 9x13 pan

1st layer:
1/2 c. margarine
5 Tbsp. sugar
5 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. pecans
2 c. graham crackers, crushed
1 c. coconut

Mix together margarine, sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla. Melt over double boiler, stirring until the consistency of pudding. Then stir in nuts, graham crackers and coconuts. Press into 9x13 pan.

2nd layer:
4 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. instant vanilla pudding
2 c. powdered sugar
1 pkg. (12 oz) chocolate chips, melted

Mix butter, milk, pudding and powdered sugar. Spread over the first layer. Melt chocolate chips and spread on bars. Allow to chill and set. Cut into bars. Store in the fridge.