Healthy Cooking Night

Come to Tracy's house on Tuesday, February 22nd, 7pm for our Healthy Cooking Night. Bring something healthy that you've made, and the recipe. We'll sample all the yummy food!

Happy New Year!

Gather up your favorite healthy recipes. We're hoping to have a cooking club in January that will feature healthy food! If you have a favorite website with healthy recipes, please share!
Two of my favorite sources for healthy recipes are:
Trainer Momma
Skinny Taste

Simple Salsa

Simple Salsa, by Kate Zeedik

This is such an easy recipe to make and has an authentic Mexican fresh flavor.

1 can of diced tomatoes
1/3 of a green pepper
3 green onions (white & green parts)
1 handful of cilantro
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. crushed red pepper (for heat)
half of a lime; juiced

Add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until desired consistency. Or add all into a blender and use "chop" setting. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips. Enjoy! :)

Fall Cooking Club

We had a fabulous night for our Fall Cooking Club. Thank you, Summer, for hosting it! Here's some pictures of all the yummy food. See recipes posted below.

Pumpkin Roll

Pumpkin Roll by Cynthia R.

3 large eggs
1 c sugar
2/3 C canned pumpkin
1 C chopped walnuts, optional (I didn’t use)
¾ C flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
¼ tsp salt
¼ C powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 C powdered sugar
6 Tb butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Grease 10x15 inch jelly roll pan. Line with wax paper with some hanging over on the short ends. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle powdered sugar onto a kitchen towel.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in mixer until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with nuts.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.

Wassail

Wassail by Karmy M.

1 gallon Apple Juice
1 cup Tang
2 and 1/2 tbs Mulling Spices

Bring to a boil and simmer.

Savory Autumn Oatmeal Cookies

Savory Autumn Oatmeal Cookies by Kate Z.

1 C butter
1 C packed light brown sugar
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
3 C rolled oats
1 C dried cranberries, chopped
1 C semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 C pecans, chopped
1/4 C flaked coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream wet ingredients until smooth. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the sugar mixture. Add the oats, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, nuts, and coconut. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 10 min. Drizzle cookies with Brown Butter Glaze.

Brown Butter Glaze

1/4 C butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
powdered sugar

Melt butter in pan on medium low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until butter becomes foamy and turns golden brown. Remove from heat and cool. Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract to desired consistency and taste. Can add water if glaze is too thick.

Pear, Apple & Cranberry Crisp

Pear, Apple & Cranberry Crisp by Holley T.
found in Barefoot Contessa at Home

4 ripe Bosc pears
6 firm red apples
3/4 c. Cranberries
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1 tsp. gated lemon zest
2TBS. freshly squeezed orange juice
2TBS. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. all -purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

For the topping
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. granulated sugar
3/4 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter diced

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and core the pears and apples and cut them into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and toss with the cranberries, zests, juices, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Pour into a 9x12x2 inch baking dish.

For the topping:
Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.

Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly.
Serve warm.

Cinnamon Toasted Pumpkin Pie Tarts

Cinnamon Toasted Pumpkin Pie Tarts by Lori S.
(Recipe from Picky Palate)

1 Cup canned pumpkin
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
4 sheets (2 boxes) of puff pastry, thawed

3 Tablespoons melted butter
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon

Melted chocolate for drizzling (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl mix the pumpkin, sugar, heavy cream, egg, cinnamon and nutmeg until creamy and well combined.
2. Place puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface and cut out 4 pumpkins per sheet of pastry. Place pumpkin cut outs onto silpat or parchment lined baking sheets. Brush each pumpkin lightly with butter then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Spoon about 2 Tablespoons of pumpkin pie filling around center of pumpkins leaving 1/4 inch border around edges.
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until puff pastry is golden brown on the edges and pumpkin pie is cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet then transfer to cooling rack. Serve room temperature or chilled. Drizzle with melted chocolate if desired before serving.
16 pumpkin pie tarts

(Just cut out as many pumpkins as you can from the puff pastry with your cookie cutter.)

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins by Lori S.

2 cups of pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 18-24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. (I made mini muffins)

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together 2 cups pumpkin puree, vegetable oil and eggs. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Makes at least 24 regular size muffins.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

Blueberry Oatmeal Bars, by Janell Fanger

From the Deceptively Delicious cookbook

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¾ cup soft tub margarine spread, chilled
1 cup low-sugar blueberry preserves
½ cup spinach puree (I used sweet potato puree)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, combine oats, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, and stir to mix well.

3. Add the margarine and cut it quickly into the dry ingredients with two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal and is no longer powdery. Do not over mix-bits of margarine will still be visible.

4. Set aside about half of the oat mixture; press the rest of it firmly into the pan. Bake until lightly browned at the edges (but not fully baked), 13 to 15 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, mix the preserves with the puree in a small bowl.

6. Spread the preserves mixture over the partially baked oat layer, then sprinkle with the rest of the oat mixture. Bake until the topping is slightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes. Set the pan on a rack to cool completely before cutting into 12 bars.

Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder by Teresa B.

Ingredients
1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
5 unpeeled potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams with juice
2 (1.8 ounce) packages dry leek soup mix
1 quart half-and-half

Directions
Place the bacon in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisped and browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the drippings in the pot. Set the bacon aside. Stir the potatoes and carrots into the bacon fat. Season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour the juice from the clams into the pot, and add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Gently stir the leek soup mix into the potatoes until no lumps of soup remain. Stir in the clams, reserved bacon, and half-and-half cream. Cook and stir until the chowder returns to a simmer and thickens, about 10 minutes more.