MAKING SPREADS WITH HEATH AND BELLE!

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of making cookies and Valentines (for them to give to their families) with two of my grandsons on Saturday and then with my dear granddaughter on Sunday.  We made simple Spreads cookies - on Friday with milk chocolate topping and on Sunday with white chocolate topping.  These cookies are both simple and delicious.  A great cookie to make with kids.  I told my granddaughter that this would be a great cookie for her to make for the first time on her own.

These cookies are so simple - just a few ingredients.

Spreads Cookies Recipe

Preheat oven to 350°

Ingredients:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup butter (two sticks) softened

1 egg, room temp

2 cups AP flour, preferably King Arthur

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp salt

8 ounces of chips – your choice semi-sweet, white, butterscotch, etc.

Directions:

In your mixer whip the butter until fluffy, add the brown sugar to incorporate, in a separate bowl mix together the egg and the vanilla and add to the butter, then add the salt and finally add the two cups of flour.

Once the mixture is all incorporated spread onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet making a rectangle as smooth and even as possible.  You want the mixture to be as even as possible.

Bake for about 15 minutes, remove from the oven and put the chips on top and return to the oven for approximately 1 minute 30 seconds.  Remove from the oven and spread the chocolate (or other chips) to the edges of the cookies and then place your toppings.  Let the cookies completely cool and cut into squares.

 

On Saturday Heath and I made Spreads with semi-sweet milk chocolate chips, Heath bar chips (natch!) and walnuts that we put into the food processor - we called these "English Toffee Bars."

Once the cookies are done and you put the chips on to melt then simply add  your toppings, let the cookies cool and cut into squares.

On Sunday Missy Belle wanted to do white chocolate chips...

A mixture of sprinkles, jimmies, Hawaiian rainbow sugar and red hearts for Valentine's day were Belle's choices.

Cooled and ready to cut...

We placed them in a Valentine tray, covered with plastic wrap, added a bow and she was ready to take her Valentine cookies home for the family - with her homemade cards too!

Hubby, Belle and I liked the ones with the white chocolate best but there are so many ways to make these your cookie.  Some semi-sweet (or Hershey's chips) then add crushed graham crackers and little marshmallows, butterscotch chips and some walnuts and drizzle with caramel - or just add the chips - whatever your little heart desires. Have some fun with this cookie.

Recipe adapted from the Pioneer Woman.

Thank you for stopping by.

 

 

TASTY TUESDAY INDIVIDUAL POTATO GRATIN

This weeks recipe features a potato gratin done in such a way as to eliminate a lot of fat and calories while maintaining great flavor.  For the starch on the Valentine's menu I decided that these little individual gratins would be great with the menu that featured fillet Mignon, etc.
             
The TT item this week was served on Sunday for our Valentine's Day dinner...

I love the polka dot salad plates and little covered dishes and have had them for sometime and then one day last spring I was at a local (in Utah and some in CA too) store called Tai Pan Trading and they had some stacks of plates for $1.97 and so I picked up a few of the red/white polka dot - they had black and white with polka dots too but I contained myself and only brought the red.

I chose the little covered dish (without the cover) for the potatoes.

Full calorie, full fat potato gratin will have things like cream and my favorite cheese with potatoes, Gruyere so my goal was to get some good flavor with a whole lot less fat.  So I used 2% milk (only for cooking the  potatoes) green onions, fresh chives, fat free half and half, Pam spray, potatoes, some bacon crumbles (from Costco in the bag) and most important some grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese - you can use the stuff in the green container but the flavor of the Parmigiano Reggiano is so much better and so worth the extra money.

Peel russet potatoes (I used 10 ounces of peeled potatoes) and slice them very thin, use a mandoline if possible because the slices are very uniform this way and will be done at the same time.

Place the sliced potatoes in a pot with milk (I did not measure, just put in enough 2% milk to cover the potatoes). To this mixture add salt, pepper, a few chopped fresh chives (or sliced green of a green onion) and about 1 tsp of the Costco bacon crumbles.  Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are all most done.  Turn off the heat and let the mixture steep for about 30 minutes - the potatoes will absorb the flavor of the seasoned milk mixture.

 While the potatoes are steeping in the milk, slice one green onion, white and green parts, spray your containers with Pam or other non-stick spray and have your grated cheese and non-fat half and half ready.....

To assemble, drain the potatoes (retain the milk for use in soup etc. if desired) then place 1/4 of the potatoes in the bottom of the dish, sprinkle with onions, add 1 tablespoon of the cheese and 1 tablespoon of the FF half and half, sprinkle with salt and pepper and repeat, using all the onions and two tablespoons of the cheese and the half and half.

Place in a 350° oven for approximate 15-20 minutes, until the cheese turns a golden brown.

Each serving (using 10 ounces of potatoes) is 162.5 calories, 2.25 grams of fat and 6.25 grams of protein.

Cooks notes:

Because I was serving this dish with a dinner that included, soup, salad, steak, mushrooms, asparagus and dessert, I really wanted the starch component to be very low in calories and fat but if I were serving this with a protein, veggie and salad, I think I would use regular half and half - it will still be a very healthy version of potato gratin.  My test pilot gave it two thumbs up and added more salt and pepper.  By letting the potatoes steep in the milk-bacon-chive mixture, they are really tasty.

Thank you for stopping by.
 

VALENTINE'S DAY MENU

House is decorated for Valentine's Day (did I mention I love Valentine's Day?) and my granddaughter is coming over in the morning of VD to make cookies to take home for her family.  I decided better sit down and do my menu.  I had a sweet someone in my doctor's office this week ask me if we were going out and my reply was "no." I certainly understand that it is a lovely day to go to dinner but I don't like crowds and I like cooking a dinner with big love for my hubby - not a chore - we make it fun.

 Mostly old (the Leeds creamware pitcher full of Trader Joe's flowers), the little demitasse cups with votives, my funky pine cone girl with hearts, the sweet Annalee and last years heart wreath - all old but loved.  The lovely clear candle holders with the votive top are new.

See she is a funky little piece and I love her.  This red ribbon with the black and white trim is a favorite and this bow gets packed away with the Valentine things to be brought back year after year.

We were in the Midwest last week and I had the great fortune to mosey down to Atchinson, Kansas with my dear DIL and visit Nell Hill's wonderful store. As she is want to do she had these candlesticks and the votive topper all around one area showing just how versatile they could be - I dropped a red glass votive holder into them for VD but you can use these in so many ways and the candlestick part can be used either way so that the larger round part is either at the top or the bottom.  Neither piece was expensive but they were heavy......at the third and last airport I was wishing that I had asked them to ship them to me but once I got home with them safe and sound I was happy.

Hubby is a meat and potatoes guy and when I ask what would make him happy it is usually a steak. I picked up a couple of small beef fillets and will pair them soup, salad, asparagus and onions and individual potato gratins. I have discovered that one has to be really careful when looking on the internet for nutrition information.  I was frustrated with the wide range of calories, fat and protein for fillets so I finally found what one ounce of lean (all fat cut off) beef fillet would be.  The answer is for a 6 ounce fillet, 324 cal, 12g fat, and 48g protein.  If you do not trim the fat the calories and fat go way, way up.

For the steak I will brown the steak in a heavy pan in some olive oil and butter (not a lot) adding only salt and pepper.  I will then put the pan in a 350° oven, each steak having an individual thermometer in them and remove them when they reach medium.  Hubby steak is always bigger than mine so mine will come out first - that is OK as they have to rest. They always come out perfect for me - this is my formula.

The asparagus is trimmed and cut into pieces and I dice about half an onion and stir fry in a little butter and olive (little - the butter flavors and the olive oil keeps the milk solids in the butter from burning) just a little salt and pepper - do not overcook.

Green salad with two different kinds of lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, green onions, green pepper, I love the mix from Trader Joe's that has all kinds of green crunchy things so I add that along with some sunflower seeds - homemade buttermilk ranch.

I cook the mushrooms in a little wine with salt and pepper and a little of the Costco bacon bits and pile the mushrooms on the steaks.  If you are not watching your calories go big and add some butter and olive oil.

French Onion Soup Recipe:

Ingredients

·        1 1/2 pounds onions, very thinly sliced

·        2 tablespoons butter

·        1 tablespoon Cognac

·        1/2 cup red wine

·        3 cups beef stock

·        Salt and pepper

·        4 croûtes, for garnish

·        Grated gruyère cheese, for garnish

Directions

    Melt the butter in a soup pot and sauté the onions until very soft, at least 20 minutes. Add the Cognac and the wine one minute. Add the stock. Simmer, covered, 45 minutes. Check the seasonings. Ladle into oven-proof soup bowls and set on a baking sheet. Top each with a croûte. Sprinkle the top generously with cheese. Broil until the top is lightly browned.

Note: This is Laura Calder's recipe and is very good but I will cut the recipe in half (the recipe is for four servings) and forego the bread and cheese on top and will instead add some real, grated Parmesan-Reggiano on the top.

Individual Potato Gratin Recipe:

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Vegetable spray
2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.

I love this simple recipe from Melissa d'Arabian but I am going to make little pots of potatoes and try and make them good but take out the heavy cream and cheese.  If they turn out (fingers crossed) I will post on Tuesday.  This recipe is so easy and good and if you are serving several people, a real time saver.  I do not use Swiss cheese when I make this I use Gruyère . 

Thank you for stopping by.