Posted by alisa on January 28, 2010 | 25 Comments
Even after making two big batches of Chocolate Peppermint Oreo Treats, I had gobs of marshmallow creme leftover, both Fluff and Ricemellow. Feeling uninspired, I simply made some s’mores for an after-dinner treat. Spread some marshmallow creme on a graham cracker, melt some dark chocolate, spread that on the other graham cracker, mush the two together and freeze for 10 minutes. Yes, they are sooo good chilled, just so you know. Anyway, this became our nightly dessert ritual for about a week, until sadly, I ran out of graham crackers. Not wanting to continue this sugar fest by investing in another box of grahams, I decided to go back to basics.
I still had some rather large dark chocolate bars on hand (when your local store is blowing out 1 lb bars of Callebaut chocolate for $.50 a piece, you stock up!), so I stayed with the choco-mallow theme and made some simple fudgie crispy treats. I known, nothing fancy, but when you have a chocolate craving, and want something the size of a chocolate bar (not simply a little square) without causing too much damage to your waistline, these will do the trick. Just a warning though, they may be ugly, but they are rather addictive!
Easy Fudge Crispies
This recipe is optionally Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-free, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, and Nut-Free, depending on the ingredients you choose. Both the marshmallow creme and vegan ricemellow cream work quite well. The latter produces slightly softer results, which I actually preferred.
- 2 Ounces Dark or Semi-Sweet Chocolate
- 1 to 2 Teaspoons Coconut Oil (pretty sure I used 2 teaspoons for best results)
- 6 Tablespoons Marshmallow Creme, Fluff, or Vegan Ricemellow Creme
- 1-1/2 Cups Crispy Rice Cereal (I used gluten-free brown rice crispies)
Melt the chocolate in a small to medium bowl - I did this in the microwave. I heated it for 1 minute and stirred it vigorously. If there are any big chunks left, return it to the microwave for 15 seconds, and stir again.
Stir in the coconut oil and marshmallow creme / fluff until smooth. Add the cereal, and gently stir to combine. Plop equal amounts into 6 muffin cups (I used silicone ones, and didn’t need to grease them). Press the mixture into the cups - I use a little piece of saran wrap over my fingers as I press down to keep them from sticking. If using the ricemellow creme, you may find that the mixture is much stickier. I put them in the fridge for 5 minutes, pulled them out and then pressed them in to combat this issue.
Place the crispy treats in the freezer for 15 minutes. Pop them out and enjoy! Keep in mind, these will get very, tooth-breaking firm if stored in the freezer for more than the 15 minutes. Move them to the fridge for prolonged storage.
Options: Add in some vanilla extract, peppermint extract, chili powder, ginger, chopped dried fruit, nuts, or cinnamon to customize your own Fudge Crispies.
Yields 3 treat-like snacks (2 crispies each)
Posted by alisa on January 25, 2010 | 26 Comments
In looking through the recipes on my blog, I couldn’t believe I had yet to post a waffle recipe. Though I go through phases, I somewhat frequently whip up batches of the insanely easy Oatmeal Blender Waffles from Go Dairy Free to have on hand. They freeze beautifully, and make a hearty breakfast that I can have ready in just five minutes (a quick pop in the toaster) when I don’t feel like making a big effort for breakfast.
Also, I do love oats, but I find a bowl of oatmeal weighs really heavy on my stomach as the first meal of the day … and though I can see how many bloggers love putting nut butter in their oats, the resulting texture is not pleasing to my palate. But, when I did some experimenting with my trusted blender waffle recipe, injecting it with some naturally healthy nut butter, I ended up with amazingly quick and easy waffles that don’t weigh you down. Yet, they are rich in fiber, and have just enough healthy fats and protein to keep me satiated. Usually, I avoid sugar in the morning, but that hint of dark brown sugar makes these wonderfully noshable on their own. Of course, my sugar-addicted husband still tops them with maple syrup!
Nutty Oatmeal Blender Waffles
Recipe adapted from Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook
This recipe is Vegan, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free, Wheat-Free, Low in Sugar, optionally Gluten-Free, and optionally Nut-Free. Plus, you can literally make these with 100% everyday pantry supplies!
- 2 Cups Plain or Vanilla Milk Alternative of Choice (I use unsweetened rice milk, but you can even sub in water in a pinch)
- 2-1/4 Cup Oats (use certified gluten-free oats for gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup Peanut Butter, Sunbutter (for nut-free), or your favorite Nut Butter (can use just 1/4 to 1/3 cup if you want lower fat or less nutty)
- 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar, Sucanat, Maple Syrup, or Sweetener of Choice (I like the TJ’s Organic Brown Sugar best with the peanut butter)
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt (omit if using salted nut or seed butter)
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Okay, are you ready? Throw all ingredients in your blender, and let ‘er rip for about a minute. The batter may be hearty looking, but that is all good. Now, preheat your waffle iron and coat it with cooking spray (baked goods with nuts tend to like to stick). This will give your batter about 10 minutes to thicken. The thicker the batter, the more bready the waffles. I like the batter really thick, but if it gets too thick to pour at any point, blend in some more milk alternative or water a tablespoon at a time. Make waffles according to the instructions with your waffle iron. Eat waffles.
Tip #1: If you have a cheapy waffle iron like myself, you may not want to follow the little “all done” light. I usually let them cook until I can visibly see little to no steam emerging.
Tip #2: These freeze beautifully. Let them cool on a wire rack and then fire them in a freezer bag. If you put them in the freezer bag while still warm, steam from the waffles will cause them to stick more once frozen (yeah, learned that the heard way). Pop them apart and toast when hungry.
Optional Ad-Ins:
- 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons Protein Powder of Choice
Peanut Butter & Jelly-Filled Waffles: Fill those little waffle holes with your favorite jam/jelly (homemade, organic, all-fruit, etc) or two …
Yields 4 to 5 breakfasts-on-the-go
Happy Monday,
Posted by alisa on January 20, 2010 | 25 Comments
If you are in google reader, pop on over and check out the new and improved One Frugal Foodie, courtesy of The Blog Fairy! What do you all think? Personally, my eyes are loving the slightly bigger font. I still have some updates to do with the widgets and such, but overall I am very happy with it. I am also going to add a links page, so please let me know if I don’t have your blog in my blogroll. I will be updating!
Things have been insanely busy lately as you may have guessed from my very slow posting. And to be quite honest, I haven’t had much time for creating, or at least documenting, new recipes. My husband and I have been in throw-it-together mode. The results have beeen delicious (a dairy-free/gluten-free eggplant lasagna that I created and a spicy mushroom pepper pork stir fry courtesy of my husband), but alas, they really were using up the fridge meals that I just didn’t have the energy to measure and write down. I will see if we can’t repeat those when things settle down though.
But in the spirit of things, I thought I would share one of my quick lunch meals. It is truly a speedy endeavor, flavorful, and quite versatile. The recipe, as I have made it numerous times for myself and a ravenous husband, is below. However, I tend to fiddle with the seasoning amounts often, so feel free to adjust to your own tastes.
I am planning on attempting a vegetarian / vegan version of it using lightly smashed chickpeas and a sheet of nori seaweed (cut into small pieces) in place of the tuna. Nori seems to have that great “from the sea” taste and I thought it might compliment chickpeas/garbanzo beans well.
Though I find this version quite tasty, I would love to hear ideas from you. Do you have any suggestions for modifying it to create a new dish or flavor?
Ten-Minute Tuna Couscous
This recipe is Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free, and optionally Egg-Free (use that vegan mayo – I am a fan of Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise). See below for a Gluten-Free option, and the post above for my idea on making this Vegan / Vegetarian.
- ½ Cup Uncooked Whole Wheat Couscous
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas, thawed
- 1 Can Tuna, drained (I use solid white in olive oil, and save the oil for another use, or I even use some of the oil in place of the mayo on occasion)
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise (regular, light, or vegan – I have tried them all)
- 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 3/8 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 Teaspoon Dried Dill
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/8 Teaspoon Sugar (or sweetener of your choice)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste (optional)
Cook the couscous according to the package directions. This literally takes just 5 minutes.
While that is cooking, I run the peas under some warm water to quickly thaw them (this isn’t a plan ahead kind of meal!).
Then, I combine the mayo, mustard, onion powder, dill, salt, sugar, lemon juice, and water in a small dish.
Take the lid off of the couscous, give it a quick fluff with a fork, and stir in the peas and mayo mixture. Using your fork, crumble the tuna in and give everything another stir to combine. Dish up into two bowls and serve!
Gluten-Free Option: I haven’t tried it as of yet, but Lundberg has a new brown rice couscous. It looks like it will make this a 15-minute dish instead of ten, but will probably yield excellent results.
Yields 2 very fast lunches
Posted by alisa on January 13, 2010 | 6 Comments
When we moved back to Lake Tahoe I was elated to return to our old doctor. He brings decades of emergency room work to the table, but he merges his medical training with the studies he acquired over ten years ago in alternative medicine. I love that he looks at the whole person, seeks out causes rather than just treating symptoms, and how he doesn’t frown upon Eastern or Western medicine. He uses both. All that matters to him is what is effective in bringing people to a true healthy state.
But, what he emphasizes most is that people need to take an active role in managing their own healthcare. When they rely too much on doctors, that is when things go wrong. His wisdom feeds my desire to learn, which led me to discovering the most awesome deal on a book that I must share.
Last week I ordered “New Medicine: Complete Family Health Guide” for $3.18. This is a $25 book that was published in April of 2009 and it was just $3! I wanted to make sure it was okay before suggesting it, and wow, it is better than okay.
This is a BIG book that gently covers so many different health topics, concerns, and diseases / disease prevention in an encyclopedia-type format. It explains each topic (in layman’s terms) along with treatments using diet, herbs, alternative medicine, prescriptions, and/or surgeries. Whatever is effective and available. The authors don’t instill their opinions, rather they give you a good baseline of information to help you understand all of your options (whether Eastern, Western, or plain old diet) and feel knowledgeable enough to manage your own health. I am impressed. Of course, I have only had time to skim it since my husband has already swiped it to read himself, but at $3, I really don’ think you can go wrong.
Honestly, I have no idea why such a new and thorough book has been marked down so dramatically – we are not talking out-dated material here! I am also not sure if the price is temporary, so if you are interested, I would jump on it.
What does this have to do with a food blog? Well, not a lot. But I have noticed that most of us foodies seem to take a higher than average interest in health, and really, where else could I share such a good deal?
So, while we are on the topics of food and health, are there any books you recommend?
Posted by alisa on January 8, 2010 | 13 Comments
After getting to sample some POM, and reading about the great pomegranate buzz they created in the blogosphere, I finally broke down and bought a whole pomegranate fruit when I spotted the organic ones on sale … oh about 2 months ago. Two months ago? Yes, so why in the world would I be blogging about it now? Um, perhaps because I didn’t actually use it until today.
Yes, I confess, I watched that bright red bulb shrivel and dull … my creative juices just weren’t flowing and I truly had no idea what to do with the thing. But last night, as I finally cleaned out the fridge, I knew that fruit could stay in there no longer. Expecting the worst, I cut into it, only to discover brilliant bright red seeds inside that decrepit peel.
Now that is a protective coating! I had not expected to blog about the pomegranate here as it is a rather pricey fruit, but when I discovered how many of those wonderful fruity seeds lie within a single pomegranate, it looked like a deal! I did get mine on sale for $1.50, and they seem to more often be $2 or $2.5o, but even so, the seeds add such delight to recipes (seriously, have you ever had pomegranate champagne with those seeds? OMG!) and so little is needed that a single pomegranate goes a longs ways.
If you do purchase one (trust me, they are much less intimidating than they seem!), definitely read some instructions on how to cut them open – it will make your life easier trust me. I couldn’t find the instructions I used again (lost in the internet somewhere!) but here is Elise’s over at Simply Recipes. I actually deseeded them in the bowl of water, which kept me from getting squirted with any of the bright red juice (yes, no stained clothes!). I noticed Elise doesn’t do this, but I recommend it.
My first pomegranate seed dish wasn’t adventurous to say the least, but it was delicious. I actually threw the seeds right into my blender – it isn’t a powerful one, so I was left with very crunchy seeds in my smoothie, which I liked but want to warn you about – with my simple favorite breakfast blend, a banana smoothie/shake.
If you like your smoothies drinkable rather than spoonable (I like them thick!) then I recommend using pomegranate juice (bottled, or squeezed from your little seeds), so that you don’t end up with crunch little seeds. Maybe you Vitamix people can pulverize the seeds, but my $15 hamilton beach can’t!
Either way, the seeds taste very similar to sweetened cranberry juice to my taste buds, and make a perfect addition to the ordinary breakfast smoothie for a sweet (yet unsweetened) treat that goes down easy!
Good Morning Pom-Banana Smoothie
- 1/4 Cup Pomegranate Seeds or Pomegranate Juice, plus additiona pom seeds for topping
- 1 Large Frozen, Ripe Banana
- Vanilla Milk Alternative (I usually start with about 3/4 cup and add more as needed; I used unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze)
- 2 Tablespoons Protein Powder (unflavored or vanilla – I used plain, unflavored egg white protein powder, which makes it nice and creamy)
Blend the 1/4 cup of pomegranate seeds or juice and all remaining ingredients in your blender until nice and smooth. I use a lesser amount of milk alternative for a thick spoonable shake-style smoothie, but you can add more. Just note that those uber-crunch seeds may not fully blend! Top with some additional seeds for taste and asthetics.
Yields 1 easy-on-the-early-morning-tummy breakfast
Posted by alisa on January 4, 2010 | 18 Comments
I love it when the holidays just keep on giving! Four days into the new year, and what should arrive, but a wonderful gift package from Maggie at Dog Hill Kitchen. Out of the blue this lovely lady sent me a gift of homemade treats, including caramels, jams, and almond cookies (for taste-testing the jam!).
And these aren’t just any jams …
Is she amazing or what? Of course, I am not going to leave you all hanging. Though I don’t yet have my own recipes for preserves, Maggie can definitely tell you how to do it. See her posts on:
“The nitty gritty of making grape jelly“
“Autumn olive jam and leather“
Thanks Maggie!!
