Chocolate Pecan Pie

I am in charge of bringing three things for Thanksgiving this year; chocolate pecan pie, mac 'n' cheese, and butternut squash casserole. Since I have already posted my mac 'n' cheese and squash recipes on this blog, I thought I should go ahead and post the recipe I used for the chocolate pecan pie. I made a test pie today while Audrey was napping, and Emily happily watched from her little seat. :)

I found this simple recipe on www.allrecipes.com and didn't change a thing.

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

2/3 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz can)

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla

1/4 t salt

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 9 inch pie crust (I used a store bought one)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium sauce pan, combine chocolate chips, butter, and condensed milk over medium heat. Stir constantly until everything is melted and blended.
Remove from heat (I used a spatula to scrape it into another bowl to speed up the cooling process so the eggs wouldn't cook). Add the eggs, salt, vanilla, and pecans. Mix well.

Pour mixture into pie shell, and bake on bottom shelf of oven for 40-45 minutes. Serve hot or cold, preferably cold.

I had a slice warm from the oven, and it tasted very similar to a gooey brownie with a crust. I am a huge fan of a gooey brownie, and always love a crust, so to me, it was perfection. :)

I plan to serve it cold on Thanksgiving, with a side of vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. I'm sure it will be delicious!

Honey Cinnamon Banana Muffins

As usual, we had a handful of overripe bananas sitting on the counter this week, so it was time to whip up some banana bread. It has become a staple in our house, but I always try to do something a little different each time I make it. This time I skipped butter, and used honey and a little brown sugar in place of the white sugar...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 T cinnamon

6 oz (one small container) plain yogurt (ours came from our organic farm delivery)

2/3 cup honey

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

2 large eggs

3 large overripe bananas

Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a stand mixer (or large bowl), cream together the brown sugar and yogurt. Add in the honey and continue to mix well. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

Slowly pour the flour mixture into the honey mixture, and blend together (but don't over mix). Finally, add the bananas and mix until combined.

Pour into greased muffin tin, and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Healthier Twice Baked Potatoes

I made these as a side for dinner last night, and I have to say, they were just as delicious as their sour cream, bacon-filled counterpart. :)

I used:

Two medium-sized baked potatoes, cut in half lengthwise (baked at 400 degrees for an hour)

One small container (7 oz) of 2% Greek Yogurt

2 T butter

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used a cheddar, mozzarella, monterey jack blend)

Salt and pepper to taste

After the potatoes have cooled, slice them in half, and scoop out the insides. Mix the insides with the yogurt, butter (it should easily melt in the hot potatoes), half of the cheese, and some salt and pepper.

Using a spoon, scoop the filling back into the potato shells, and top with the remaining cheese. Place on a baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy (and be patient so as not to burn your tongue!) :-)

Zucchini Bread

We received our weekly delivery of fresh produce yesterday, and it included a handful of medium sized zucchini. There's nothing better than the smell of something cinnamon-y baking on a cold, rainy day, so I decided to make some (healthy) zucchini bread. (I am no longer on the dairy-free diet, but this bread happens to be dairy-free.) I used the following ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis finely chopped or shredded (I used a food processor)
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup canola oil
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
2 T cinnamon
1 t pumpkin pie spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg)

Mix the wet ingredients (eggs, brown sugar, oil, vanilla) together (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer). In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, flaxseed, cinnamon, pp spice). Slowly blend the wet and dry ingredients together. Finally, mix in the zucchini, but do not over mix.

Pour into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. This makes a great healthy snack for kids and adults. :)