Summertime Brown Sugar Pavlovas

I found this recipe 10 years ago in my Cooking Light magazine and just had to try it. Over the years I have modified it a little here and a little there and it has become a star player in my repertoire. It always is a crowd pleaser. I made it Sunday for a baby blessing and it once again went over fabulously. Over the years I have tried a 1/2 dozen other pavlova recipes and I don't really like them. This is also a VERY cheap recipe to do for a crowd! You can prepare the shells ahead and freeze them for up to a month. Not sure what makes this one a stand out but OH MY!

Brown Sugar Pavlovas

4 large egg whites

2 tsp corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Beat egg whites, corn starch, and salt at high speed till frothy. Add brown sugar and regular sugar one TBSP at a time until thick and glossy (see picture). Add vanilla. Shape into meringue nests on parchment or silpat making the nest part with the back of a spoon (you want the sides about an inch tall). Put them in the oven and immediately reduce the temp to 300. Let them cook for one hour. When they are done turn off the oven but leave them in there with the door closed for 4 hours or overnight (I think they are a little better overnight...not sure why). CAREFULLY remove from paper or silpat.

Now to dress those little precious nests. My all time favorite is sliced strawberries and blueberries mixed with strawberry jam. I pile that up atop some lite cool whip. DELICIOUS. The original recipe has you using a combo of tropical fruit (mango, kiwi, pineapple) and drizzling with caramel syrup...also good. I have also done raspberries and mandarin oranges. You pick what you like and what you have on hand. I have also done a large pie sized pavlova for a birthday cake. Quite impressive but harder to cut. Hope this becomes a favorite for you too!

Addictive and Healthy Peanut Butter Balls

My sis-in-law and I were talking about using the powdered milk in our food storage. We like to rotate but just didn't have a lot of use for powdered milk. This recipe is so easy, full of protein, and pretty healthy (as far as treats go). Check out this link for the source.

Peanut Butter Balls
1 cup light (or regular) peanut butter
1 cup dry milk (fat free or low fat is fine)
1/2 cup honey (use 1/4 cup if you are doing light PB since it is sweeter)

Mix all together and form in 2 tsp. balls. With clean hands roll to smooth out. Put in fridge for an hour. Yum!

Mint Brownie Bars

photo from cookinglight.com

These Mint Chocolate Bars were the cover recipe for Cooking Light last March. I have had a number of requests for the recipe. It is a "go to" crowd pleaser :) I thought I would share with all.
The dense base layer is like a rich, fudgy brownie, so don't overcook it or the dessert bars will be dry. Refrigerating the mint bars allows the chocolaty top layer to set properly. You can make the dessert up to one day ahead. For a more grown-up taste, you can also use dark chocolate chips for some or all of the semisweet chocolate chips in the glaze. Also, remember these were "lightened" by 1/2 from the original but they are by no means calorie or fat free :)
Ingredients Bottom layer:
1 cup all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, beaten
1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup
Cooking spray
Mint layer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 drops green food coloring
Glaze:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter
Preparation
1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2.To prepare bottom layer, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and salt; stir with a whisk. Combine granulated sugar, egg substitute, 1/4 cup melted butter, 2 tablespoons water, vanilla, eggs, and chocolate syrup in a medium bowl; stir until smooth. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. Pour batter into a 13 x 9–inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack
.3.To prepare mint layer, combine powdered sugar, 1/4 cup melted butter, and next 3 ingredients (through food coloring) in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread mint mixture over cooled cake.
4.To prepare the glaze, combine the chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until melted, stirring after 30 seconds. Let stand 2 minutes. Spread chocolate mixture evenly over top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cut into 20 pieces.
Yield20 servings (serving size: 1 piece)Nutritional InformationCALORIES 264(30% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 5.2g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 2.8g; CHOLESTEROL 38mg; CALCIUM 12mg; SODIUM 139mg; FIBER 0.5g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45gMegan Patterson ,Cooking Light, MARCH 2008

Zucchini day two- Zucchini bread dressed up!

My friend Lisa started a food Blog recently too. One of her first posts was for THIS wonderful bread. I was looking for something that I could possibly make with frozen shredded zucchini. I had one or two of those HUGE zucchini a neighbor gave me weeks ago. They are not great for eating so I shredded them up, put them in 1 cup portions in my freezer and hoped for the best. I made this recipe using those. I took 2 out and put them in the micro for about a min and a half. They were VERY watery. I know you need that moisture to make the bread good so I threw it in and hoped for the best. I also used frozen blueberries. I have fresh ones from my produce co-op last week but those are Keaton and I's favorite treat so we used frozen ones. Lisa's Mom suggested coating them with flour if using frozen. I did and it was perfect. I have to tell you the recipe made not only the perfect 4 mini loaves but also a dozen mini muffins. Those are not pictured. Keaton and I will not tell you why :)

P.S. We hurried and shared the rest with neighbors. They were not safe in our house :)

Blueberry-Zucchini Bread

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups white sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 pint fresh blueberries
DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans.
In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini-loaf pans. Lightly sprinkle the tops with sugar.
Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.