Dessert Sushi - Chocolate Peanut Butter Rolls

I won't call this a guest post, because I'm still doing the post. But, I have to give credit where credit is due. My sister decided to tackle dessert sushi for her husband's 30th birthday. Cakes are boring, and my mom usually "takes the cake" in terms of her elaborate donut cakes, cupcakes or tiered cakes she locates for her many parties. I will start off by saying this is not healthy, but I could not go without sharing it. We both searched high and low for the best recipes that didn't look too daunting. My sister had the day off Friday and snuck around making the sushi while hubby was at work. While these may seem a bit labor intensive, the overall report was that they were easy to make!

Ingredients:

• 14 ounces chocolate
• 6 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 6 cups Rice Krispies
• 2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:

• Melt chocolate gradually in microwave safe bowl on low power. Start with 20 second intervals, whisking in between. Stir until completely smooth.
  
• Whisk in the corn syrup. The mixture should stiffen and change in texture. Mix until combined.
• Transfer the chocolate to a ziploc bag or piece of plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours.
• Place peanut butter and 1/4 cup butter into microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 second intervals until soft. Stir in vanilla extract and confectioners sugar and mix until doughy. Roll into thin logs and freeze to firm up (not too long!).
• Melt 1/4 cup of the butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until smooth. 
• Remove mixture from heat and stir in Rice Krispies, until evenly coated.  
• Press marshmallow mixture into shallow baking pan lined with wax paper. 
• Take the peanut butter logs and place it on the Rice Krispies, rolling up and trimming as you go. She got about 5 rolls.
• When chocolate is chilled, remove from fridge and coat a flat work surface with cooking spray. Knead chocolate until it is soft and workable. 
• Roll out a thin layer on wax paper (or your sprayed surface), about 12".
• Place Rice Krispies roll (with PB inside) on the chocolate, roll up and trim.

Lemon Garlic Marinated Shrimp

This weekend was my brother-in-law's 30th birthday. I headed up to Rhode Island to celebrate. It was a low-key gathering of his closest friends and a heck of a lot of food. No, it wasn't all healthy, but it was all good! My mom decided to bring some marinated shrimp and after checking out the recipe, figured it would be perfect for the blog! Its simple, easy and tastes good! Would be great for summer, a nice change of pace to shrimp cocktail.

Stay tuned for dessert sushi! Amazing treat, not so healthy, but I had to share!

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/4 pounds cooked shrimp

Directions:

• Put garlic and oil in a small skillet and cook over medium heat about 1 minute. Add lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Toss with shrimp in large bowl. Chill until ready to serve. 

Pork Tenderloin Flautas

I'm a huge fan of pork tenderloin. Its a tender, delicious cut of meat that's low in fat and easy to dress up any way you'd like! I've grilled it, baked it, done medallions, you name it. Now, I've chopped it up and put it in flautas! It seems that most of my dishes are Asian, Mexican or Italian inspired. I am obsessed with guac and am always looking for an excuse to make it. While I plan my menus out for every two weeks, I don't match each day to a meal. Sometimes Skinny Fat Kid won't come home from work and I'll eat something simple myself. Sometimes I have more time than others. Sometimes I'm craving beef or pasta vs. something else. Needless to say, I bought avocados to make guac with my flautas. Due to the hectic week, it was Friday night and my avocados were on the verge. I paid $2 a piece for them and was not going to let them go down! We had guac and pasta primavera that night. My flautas were a bit lonely, but sour cream came to the rescue!

Adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 pork tenderloin, diced
• Chili powder, to taste
• Paprika, to taste
• Garlic powder, to taste
• Cumin, to taste
• Oregano, to taste
• Black pepper
• Whole wheat tortillas
• Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with foil or parchment.
• Heat half of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until caramelized.
• Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced pork tenderloin and season with spices to taste. Cook, being careful not to overcook as pork will continue to cook in oven. 
• Place a bit of cheese in center of each tortilla, followed by onions and pork. Wrap each tortilla and place seam side down on tray. Spray each with cooking spray.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Turn and bake for another 8 minutes, or until crispy.

Dogs From Blogs: Shelby from Healthy Food for Living

As I immerse myself more and more into the cooking/recipe/healthy lifestyle blog culture, I find that we are a cult group of dog owners. Nearly every one of us bloggers has a dog that is a huge part of our lives. They're not just a pet, but a member of the family. We enjoy sharing their stories (good and bad!) and their adorable little faces. Some of my most popular posts are those that feature or are about my crazy pup, Izzy. 

I've been thinking about starting a blog for Bizzy Izzy, but there's just not enough time in the day! Instead, I will feature her and some of her new "friends". This is the first bi-weekly Dogs from Blogs!

Meet Shelby from Healthy Food for Living! Visit Lauren and her blog at www.healthyfoodforliving.com

Shelby is a sweet-tempered six-year-old retriever/shepherd mix that Lauren and her husband adopted from the SPCA a few years ago. She has quickly become a beloved member of their family and they can't imagine life without her!

Shelby loves riding in the car

Chasing Dad at the beach!

Hiking

Eating peanut butter (she's a smart snacker!)

And of course sleeping

"Shelby is basically love rolled into a mess of soft reddish fur, and she shows it every single day. Dogs are - in my opinion - the absolute best animal companions, and I honestly couldn't ask for a more loveable, friendly, playful and loyal friend. Cuddling with Shelby is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I do at night and I wouldn't have it any other way" - Lauren

Lauren - I think we have a lot in common, but not sure our pups do!! I wish Izzy liked the car, but alas she tends to vomit every time she's in it. The beach scares her because there's a whole lot of water there! Izzy loves small containers of water (like stealing a few laps out of my glass on my nightstand) but swimming is scary! Peanut butter is a no-no in our house because SFK and Izzy is wayyyyy tooo busy all the time to get much sleep in! But, she has totally taken over our lives and joined our little family. We can't imagine life without her. Snuggling is #1 for me in morning and at night. Nothing better than a good furry snuggler!!

Turkey Sausage Pasta Primavera

I have a confession. I served Skinny Fat Kid "kill me sausage". To me or you, its just your typical pork sausage. To SFK, it's deadly. The entire A&P was out of turkey sausage, hot or sweet. I prefer hot but am sometimes forced to buy the sweet, just doctoring it up with some extra red pepper flakes. Not this time. My only option was breakfast sausage and I knew that wasn't going to work. I took out the sausage in the morning to defrost it in the fridge while we're at work. He said "what is that"? I said "dinner". He said "why"? Ughhhh. Needless to say he ate it. And ate the leftovers.
My other confession is that both "spotlights" blew out on my photo studio, hence the bad pics! Bulbs are on their way from Hong Kong. Should be here soon and back to semi-decent pics!

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 16oz box whole wheat pasta (I used shells)
• 1 pound turkey sausage, casings removed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 2 small yellow squash, chopped
• 5 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 20 leaves fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons no sodium chicken bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup grated Parm cheese
  

Directions:

• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• Cook sausage in skillet over medium heat until brown, breaking up into pieces. Set aside once cooked.
• Heat 3 tablespoons oil in same skillet. Add garlic and onion and cook until tender. Mix in zucchini, squash, tomatoes and basil. Dissolve bouillon in mixture and add red pepper. Continue cooking for 10 minutes. 
• Add cooked pasta, sausage and cheese to skillet. Stir to combine and cook until heated through.

Sweet Potato Bacon & Blue Cheese Bites

I think about food all day long. Whether I'm looking at blogs, talking about the latest restaurant or wondering what I'm going to feed Skinny Fat Kid, its all food all the time. I know SFK thinks about food all the time too because he is always hungry. When I see a blog post that totally grabs me, I know I need to try it immediately! That is exactly how I felt when I saw these little morsels of heaven from "Family Fresh Cooking".
One of Skinny Fat Kid's favorite foods is sweet potatoes. He will eat them baked, just plain. I, on the other hand, at least need a little dab of butter. I'm always trying new ways to dress up these sweeties.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Paprika
• Thyme
• Olive oil
• 8oz cooked & crumbled turkey bacon
• 8oz blue cheese crumbles
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425. Prepare baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Toss sweet potatoes with olive oil and seasonings. Arrange in single layer on baking sheet.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until softened. 
• Remove sweet potatoes from oven. Set oven to low broil.
• Top each sweet potato with bacon and blue cheese.Broil until cheese is bubbly and melted.

I apologize for the terrible picture. I couldn't get my settings right this day and have had this recipe sitting in my drafts for some time now. It was too good not to share though! Check out the original recipe for the amazing, appetizing photos! I'll just have to make this again to get good pics....

PS...the cut sweet potatoes are a stock photo. Needed to jazz this up somehow!

For Japan

Bizzy Izzy: Shuffle Bone Dog Puzzle

I would consider myself dog obsessed. Maybe I'm a crazy dog lady. I've tried to surround myself with other dog lovers to try and not feel so crazy. Some of my friends think I'm nuts, but as more and more of them adopt dogs, we're becoming our own little cult. Love it!

Izzy is an extremely hyper lab mix. We have heard from a few trainers that she is extremely smart (not totally sure about that one) and needs a lot of mental exercise to tire her out in addition to physical exercise. My mom decided to pick up these Shuffle Bone puzzles for both Izzy and her dog Salem to see who was "smarter". I'll just say my dog won. Sorry Salami! I'll give Salem credit though because Izzy pushed her way right in there and said I'm getting these treats, back off! Salem, being a mature 5 years old, said "see ya later crazy puppy" and gave up. I will also give credit to my mom for teaching Izzy how to use the puzzle. She credits her teaching background with the skills to teach the dogs how to figure this thing out. Patience and slow, small steps. A treat in the open slot. Then drop a treat in the open slot and cover it up. Slide the disc partially over to show the treat and let the dog get their nose or paw in there to finish the job!
Izzy loves getting to do her "puzzle" every night after dinner. Drop in a few treats and she goes to town, sliding over the discs to get out the treats. She'll continue to slide the discs back and forth to double and triple check that they're all gone. She has to make sure!

Now? Can I get it now?

I'm on it!

Makin' moves

Honey-Jalapeno Chicken with Sesame Soba Noodles

Skinny Fat Kid and I are having a love affair with soba. Nearly every deli/bodega in NYC has some sort of Asian section now with Soba, Udon, Sushi, Bibimbap, Donburi and more. We love the soba which typically consists of soba buckwheat noodles, various vegetables (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.), seaweed and green onions all dropped in a dashi stock with some awesome spice mixture that gives the soup a kick. SFK gets his with chicken because he can't live without protein. I settle for just veggies or some tofu. They have beef or shrimp tempura also. Like matzo ball soup is the Jewish penicillin, I'll call soba/udon the Japanese amoxicillin. Good for hangovers, sore throats, colds, crappy days, you name it.

While I haven't attempted yet to make the soba in broth, I have been cooking more and more with the noodles. They're buckwheat and I can often find an organic, low-sodium version. Can't be that! This recipe from Food Network's Robin Miller is far from Asian, but it certainly was good! Quick, easy, and full of flavor! If I only didn't touch my eye after cutting into the jalapeno, would have been a perfect meal!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 12 oz soba noodles
• 1 jalapeno, seeded
• 1/3 cup honey
• Black pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 large cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions (green part only)
• 2 tablespoons minced picked ginger

Directions:

• Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.  
• In a food processor, combine jalapeno, honey and black pepper. Puree until smooth. Add the water until a saucy consistency is achieved.
• Add olive oil to skillet. Add shredded chicken and sauce until heated through.
• In a bowl, combine cooked soba noodles, soy sauce, sesame oil, scallions and ginger. Pour chicken and sauce over noodles and toss to combine.

Parmesan Chicken Tenders

Parmesan cheese is one of my favorite cheeses. It's lower in fat that many other cheeses but still tastes full of nutty goodness. When Skinny Fat Kid and I first moved in together, I bought a wedge of parmesan for a recipe. We grated our own fresh parm over our pasta. When I would look at SFK's plate, I noticed it was totally covered in parm, you could barely see what was for dinner...I think someone likes parm more than I do!!

This was a quick, simple meal I came up with. I had some acorn squash to make so wanted something simple and easy to go with it. And I had to cook the acorn squash fast. Izzy thought it was a toy and kept trying to get at it. 

Serves 3

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken tenders, cleaned
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup dry Italian whole wheat bread crumbs
• 1 egg white (or some skim milk works)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix together breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
• Dip chicken in egg whites and then breadcrumb mixture. 
• Place on baking sheet and bake. Should be about 20 minutes but check your tenders often!

Chicken Rice Bowls

 I can't believe another weekend is already over! Izzy did awesome in agility class as always and came home and slept the whole time. Love it! She did the A-Frame which is about 6' high that she has to climb up. She would make it nearly to the top and then realize she was so high up and look for a way to bail. Take out her tennis ball toy and she can't get up there fast enough!

I need that ball!!!

The Tunnel, Izzy's best event!

One of the few places in town that Skinny Fat Kid will let me order takeout from is Pita Grill. One of our favorite things there is the Rice Bowls. Simple, grilled meat (chicken or steak) with arugula, sun-dried tomatoes, golden raisins, green onions and feta cheese. I pour the red wine vinaigrette over mine. SFK opts out of the additional calories (and taste!). I decided to re-create this as its a simple dish that tastes so good! I marinated my chicken in some low-fat dressing while we were at agility and was ready to get cookin' as soon as we got home. Unfortunately I think I got a bit carried away and totally overcooked the rice into mush. Whoops! It still tasted good but definitely lost some texture....

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Two chicken breasts, pounded thin
• 2 cups arugula, chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 3 cups brown rice, cooked per package directions
• 1/3 cup reduced fat feta cheese
• Red wine vinaigrette

Directions:

• Cook chicken on grill pan until cooked through (or until smoke detector goes off and you have to move it to the oven...grrrrr)
• Chop up chicken into bite-sized pieces and add it to rice. 
• Mix in rest of ingredients (up to vinaigrette)
• Serve in bowls with pita and hummus. Pour vinaigrette over to taste

Szechuan Green Beans and Pork

Pork. The other white meat. And its goooood. I love buying ground turkey and ground chicken. When I saw ground pork on sale, I figured why not! Its easy to find recipes for ground meat and they're often 1 pot and quick. This asian sensation is no exception! Simple, easy, and quick. Great for a weeknight when its just me and Iz monster. Izzy and I went for a nice jog this night since the weather is starting to get warmer. I think she's a huge fan of getting her feet movin' a bit faster. And it helps to keep me going because she'll pull a bit on the leash because she's ready to run! Teamwork!!

Adapted from Cooking Light

 Serves 4

 Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound lean ground pork
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2 1/2 cups cut green beans
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon Splenda
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
  

 Directions:

• Combine first 3 ingredients in medium bowl.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture, beans and garlic. Cook 4 minutes or until pork is no longer pink. 
• Combine hoisin, sugar, red pepper and soy sauce in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Add it to pan. Cook until heated through. 
• Serve over brown rice!

Smoked Sausage Risotto

One of the first blogs I started visiting regularly for recipes was Fight the Fat Foodie. The blog is written by Scott who had a weight loss goal but did not want to give up on eating good food. He found a healthier way to prepare his favorites and incorporate them into his new healthy lifestyle. I've made a few of Scott's recipes as I'm definitely on board with the idea of eating healthy, but not giving up on your favorite foods and flavors. My most recent recipe was the risotto with smoked sausage. I admit I faked it a bit by adding in brown rice instead of Arborio, but it was still delicious! It was a bit hard to multitask having to stir the rice so often while trying to shred the carrots for my carrot muffins, take pictures, entertain Izzy and try to keep the kitchen clean! The recipe was well worth it though!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 6 cups low sodium, low fat chicken stock
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1/2 white wine
• 1 cup evaporated skim milk
• 1/2 cup Romano or Parm cheese
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• Black pepper
• 14 oz smoked turkey sausage, cut into pieces

Directions:

• Heat chicken stock to simmer. Remove from heat and cover. 
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add rice and cook 3-4 minutes. Add wine, cook, stirring often until liquid is absorbed by rice. Add 1/2 cup stock and continue to cook, stirring, until liquid is absorbed. Continue, 1/2 cup at a time, until all stock is absorbed
• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in skillet. Add sausage and saute, allowing edges to sear and sausage to be heated through. 
• Once broth is all absorbed, add in peas, evaporated milk and cheese. Stir until combined. 
• Plate and top with sausage!

Carrot Muffins

I've tried to totally immerse myself in the food blog world. Not only are there tons of food blogs out there, there are a plethora of foodie social networks as well. I've puttered around Foodbuzz a million times, gone over to Foodista (and used their badges), and checked out Foodie Blogroll. Now I've come across additional sites like Food52 and Mixing Bowl. Sure, I've been to Tastespotting, but I'm not quite on that level yet. I scroll through to get ideas for my food photos and use it as something to aspire to!
Food52 and Mixing Bowl are currently running some recipe contests so I figured I would dabble in that and see how it goes! While I have zero expectations of winning, I see it as somewhat of a challenge. Skinny Fat Kid's only requirements are its pretty healthy and tastes good. I love food enough to be able to figure out what I want to make each week, but love the idea of cooking for a contest. Food52's was for carrots. I don't think I've ever purchased a large bag of carrots. Sure, I've picked up some baby carrots for hummus dippers, but never a full, big bag of giant carrots. Luckily I found some Israeli carrots that were already trimmed and peeled. The only other option was a 5 pound bag! Too many carrots!!

Adapted from Food Network.

Makes 12-16 muffins

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup no sugar added applesauce
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 carrots, grated (about 2 cups)
• 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple, drained 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line your muffin cups with liners. Ask a question about this step.
2. Whisk together the flours, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Add in the egg, apple sauce and vanilla and mix together. Ask a question about this step.
3. Stir in the carrots and pineapple until everything is combined. Drop batter into muffin cups. Ask a question about this step.
4. Bake about 30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

These little guys were awesomely moist! The lack of fat in them made them stick a bit more than I would have liked to the muffin cups. I may not use cups next time and just spray the pan with non-stick.

Happy Adoptaversary Izzy!

One year ago this weekend, we decided to bring Izzy into our lives for good. We had fostered her for a weekend for a local rescue and I couldn't get her out of my head. She was the sweetest pup, didn't have accidents and was so laid back and calm. After being back in the shelter for 3 weeks, I decided she didn't deserve that and needed to come home with us. Skinny Fat Kid agreed even though we didn't want a puppy. When we picked her up for our foster-to-adopt trial she came tearing out of her kennel at us with a giant cone on her head as she had been spayed that week. She tore out of the shelter and into the muddy parking lot bouncing off us and jumping everywhere. SFK had mud all over his jeans, jacket and even on his face. He looked at me like what happened to that calm puppy we met a few weeks ago...
After a vomit filled car ride back home, we took Izzy right to the Dog Wash to get a good cleaning and then to her new home. The first few days were great! Our dog walker had great reports about her during the day, she laid in her crate even when we were home and loved just hanging out with us! One night, SFK took her out for a walk...she came tearing back in the house, jumping off the bed, the couch, barking and going nuts. Little did we know that this would be the first of many "zoomies"! I said "What did you do to her??" The honeymoon period was over!!!! Crazy Izzy was here to stay, but we love her just the same!

A baby Izzy when we first fostered

Fun toys from Aunt Meghan!

Shouldn't I be up here??

Bird's Eye View

Snoozin'

Hedgehog!!

Cuddlebug

Sleeping under the bed

Izzy and her best friend Minnie

I hate swimming

A huge find in the city....