Dark Magic Cheesecake Bites & A Keurig Giveaway!
PIN IT!Hi friends! Happy Saturday! I must REALLY love y’all (which I do) because I’m coming atcha with ANOTHER giveaway today! And this one, is pretty freakin’ rad too, I mean, one of you will walk one with a Keurig Special Edition! But, before we get to that, I have to share an amazing recipe one of my sponsors, Barbara, created for Green Mountain Coffee! I asked her to whip up whatever her heart desired, as long as it had Green Mountain Coffee in it. And guys, what she came up with BLEW ME AWAY! Check out these Dark Magic cheesecake bites!
But, I’ll let Barbara take it away and share her amazing creation with you!
Dark Magic Cheesecake Bites
Yields 24 cheesecakes.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 – 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 16 ounces Neufchâtel cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large egg whites
- 3 ounces dark chocolate chips (60% cacao)
- 1 Tablespoon fat free milk
- 1/2 cup brewed Green Mountain Dark Magic coffee, cooled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 48 wonton wrappers
- 1/8 cup hazelnuts, crushed
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting (optional)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, beat the Neufchâtel cheese with a hand mixer or stand mixer until light & fluffy. Continue beating, slowly incorporating the sugar into the cheese. Add the egg whites & beat on medium speed until blended.
- Combine the chocolate chips & milk together in a small bowl & microwave on 20% power for 1 minute. Stir until fully melted.
- Add the chocolate, Green Mountain Dark Magic Coffee, vanilla & salt to the cheese mixture. Beat on low speed 1-2 minutes until combined. Fold in sour cream.
- Spray a mini tart pan or mini cupcake pan with an oil mister or cooking spray. Press a wonton wrapper into each round. Spritz the edges lightly with the spray/mister. Spoon 1 Tablespoon of the cheesecake mixture into each of the wonton rounds.
- Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown & cheesecake looks slightly firm. Turn off the oven, crack open the door and let cool 20 minutes. Remove from oven & continue cooling on rack an additional 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts & confectioner’s sugar (if desired).
Nutritional information per 2 cheesecake bites:
Claire
Tags:cheesecake recipes, chocolate recipes, dessert recipes, green mountain coffee
Seared Scallops & a Rye Berry Chick Pea Salad
Man, do you guys want to win that knife or what? I’m so thrilled with the response to the giveaway! Remember, you have until tomorrow at midnight so get to entering!
So, as we had discussed earlier, Thanksgiving is next week. And guess what? I’m so SICK of the food already. As a food writer, I’ve been cooking Thanksgiving meals since the beginning of November so as you can imagine, the thought, sight or smell of turkey has me ready to gag. I’m sure this will pass next week when I’m enjoying t-day at my BFF’s, but until then, my house is a turkey free zone. Instead, I’m eating things unrelated to holidays at all, like perfectly seared scallops served over a rye berry chick pea salad. See, that is the kind of stuff I want to eat.
Until a few weeks ago, I’d never actually made a scallop. I had this innate fear that they would turn out inedible, rubbery, disgusting. Perhaps it’s because I watch a lot of Top Chef (and subsequently, a lot of top chefs f up these mullosks) I was terrified. And you know what? That was the dumbest fear I’ve ever had. These are the easiest things to cook in the entire world. The only thing you have to perfect is the timing. 2 minutes on each side in a hot, stainless steel pan coated with oil. If you get the timing right, you get beautifully seared scallops that are a little crispy on the outside and perfectly soft on the inside.
Really, it’s as simple as that. In addition to timing, you need fresh scallops. I was lucky enough to get sent an entire BOX filled with amazing seafood (and a few bags of luscious scallops) from Alaska. And you know what? You’d be hard-pressed to find a fresher, better scallop than the ones caught by the tireless Alaskan fishermen.
So, scallops are incredibly delicious on their own (and low-calorie, just 35 in one!) but you need a little more umph to make them a meal. That’s where my rye berry chick pea salad came in. I had a huge bag of organic rye berries from the fabulous folks at Bob’s Red Mill that was begging to be used.
Rye berries are so flavorful and fragrant on their own, but I wanted a heartier salad. So I paired them with chopped chick peas, a honey mustard dressing and some crunchy pomegranate seeds for good measure. Then, places a few plump, juicy scallops on top and WALAH!
I’m so proud of this dish. I’ve been feeling so uninspired and unoriginal lately and this dish just proves to me that I’ve got it. That I’m creative and exciting in the kitchen. And, this fiber rich, lower calorie entree has nothing to do with any holidays. It’s just good food for a Wednesday night. I think that’s what I’m most excited about!
Sear Scallops & a Rye Berry Chick Pea Salad
Serves about 3. Salad recipe inspired by Bob’s Red Mill.
Ingredients:
For the scallops:
- 9 small – medium size fresh scallops
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the salad:
- 1/2 cup dry rye berries (will make 1 cup cooked)
- 1 3/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup chopped chick peas
- 1 tablespoon honey mustard
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 2 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Heat water in a medium size saucepan over high heat. Add rye berries and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about an hour, or until soft.
- Pat scallops dry with a clean towel. While rye berries cook, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium size stainless steel skillet. Once hot, add scallops and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside.
- When rye berries are done cooking, place them in a mixing bowl. Add chopped chick peas and pomegranate seeds and stir. To prepare the dressing, whisk the honey mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, pomegranate juice, parsley and salt and pepper. Add additional ingredients to taste.
- Pour dressing over the rye berry and chick pea salad and mix well. Distrbute among two bowls. Top the salad with lettuce leaves or basil and place 3 scallops on each. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Nutritional information per serving (3 scallops and about 2/3 cup salad)
Calories: 410.67
Fat: 14 grams
Carbohydrates: 50 grams
Fiber: 7 grams
Protein: 18.6 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 9
Thanksgiving Side Dish Roundup & a Wüsthof Giveaway [CLOSED]
Can you believe Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK?? Not a few weeks from now or a month away anymore. IT’S NEXT WEEK. Are you hosting your own shindig this year? Having a cozy dinner for two at home? Going to watch your mom or in-laws cook while you drink? All are totally acceptable options in my opinion. If you’re making the feast or bringing some sides, I decided to give you a roundup of some of my all time favorite Thanksgiving side dishes, most of which are light and easy on the waistline and a chance to win a fancy new Wüsthof knife! But, before we get to that, we’re going to talk food.
Side dishes
Sides are my favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal. Yes, I love me some turkey and pie, but I always load up on sides. Luckily for you (and my scale), these sides are all lower in fat and calories, so you can have double servings for the same nutritional breakdown as one serving of the regular stuff.
Green bean pasta with gorgonzola cream
Mashed potatoes with kale and garlic
Creamy garlic vegan mashed potatoes
Crock pot honey and balsamic carrots
Light confetti corn with bacon
Roasted butternut squash risotto
Creamy butternut squash mac n’ cheese
Broccoli with roasted new potatoes
Slow cooker carrot and ginger soup
Phew! Are you drooling yet? And can you tell I’m absurdly obsessed with mac n’ cheese? Even though I could eat only side dishes for the rest of my life, I know you can’t have a proper Thanksgiving meal without a turkey (or a vegan substitute).
Now, roasting a turkey is the easy part. The hardest part? CARVING IT! I was the world’s worst turkey carver (just ask my husband) and this is really due to the fact we didn’t have a proper carving knife! Well, that was until the amazing folks at Wüsthof sent me one to review and give away to you!
Guys, this knife IS A DREAM! The hollow ground edges make the perfect thin slice and the oval depressions make for an even cut, with no messy pieces or strings left behind. With this knife, your turkey will be so beautifully carved, people will ask if you work in a butcher shop. I can’t carve anything to save my life and with this knife? I’m a badass in the carving department.
SO GUESS WHAT? One of you lucky readers will get this beautiful Wüsthof Grand Carving knife (a $125 value) FOR FREE just in time for Thanksgiving! AWESOME RIGHT? Just enter the prompts below by Friday at midnight! Good luck!
*If you are chosen, you have 72 hours to respond to my email asking for your address. If you do not respond, you forfeit the winnings to the next person. It’s only fair!
Claire
Tags:easy side dish recipes, healthy recipes, side dish recipes, thanksgiving recipes, wusthof giveaway
Low-fat Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
My life has been moving so fast lately I feel like I’m watching it go by on a speeding train. The trees, hillsides and towns blur by me as I race onto my next stop, my next fleeting destination. As much as I love every aspect of my crazed life, I also wish it would slow down. I wish I could stop the train and stare at the beauty around me without worrying what I’m going to miss next or what/who I’m late meeting. I can’t stop time nor do I want to stop living this dream life, but I can give myself a few moments of peace. And in those moments I don’t want complicated food with fancy ingredients. I want simple. I want low-fat fluffy buttermilk pancakes. I want food that reminds me of those times I wasn’t living in the future or past, but the here and now.
The funny thing is when I made these on Saturday morning, I was feeling rushed. I had to get the recipe done and photographed, had to shower and get ready for my part time job, had to spend just a few seconds with a husband who barely knows me anymore. As I rushed to perfect the recipe and the shot, I spilled about a cup of syrup all over me. Now, after a few curse words and aggressive strokes to remove said syrup from the floor, I just started laughing. I sat down, sticky and sweet, and laughed.
Nothing like a syrup mishap to really bring you back to life. Life is weird, in the strangest, most unplanned moments do you feel the most alive. After that, I washed myself up and sat down to enjoy these pancakes. I didn’t rush through them because I knew I’d be late to work. I sat down and savored every bite. I let my mind vacation back to those uncomplicated saturday mornings of my youth when I had not a care in the world. That’s what I spent my few minutes of peace remembering.
It’s so easy in our incredibly busy lives to take these simple moments for granted, trust me, I know this. But it’s those moments that keep us grounded, keep our heads above water, keep us from crashing or fast forwarding through life. So guys, just take them. Let those moments give you the peace and tranquility you need to keep going.
Low-fat Buttermilk Pancakes
CLICK HERE FOR THE PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS RECIPE!
Yields about 8 pancakes. Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Dash of salt
- 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 1 egg
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Dash of oil for cooking
Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda together. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk the applesauce, buttermilk, vanilla and eggs together. Carefully add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients with a whisk (this will make the pancakes fluffy, do not stir with a spoon). Mixture will be chunky and lumpy (which is a good thing).
- Heat about 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan. Cook pancake on one side until the batter starts to bubble. Then, using a nonstick spatula, flip the pancake. Cook another 3 – 4 minutes, or until both sides are golden brown.
Nutritional information per pancake:
Calories: 155
Fat: 4 grams
Carbohydrates: 26.5 grams
Fiber: 1 gram
Protein: 3.2 grams
Weight Watchers Points: 4
The Enchanting, Majestic Scotland
As I sit here, hands on the keys ready to pour my soul into this post about Scotland, nothing comes to mind. Not because I didn’t learn or experience anything there, but because no matter what I say and how I say it, I will never do this majestic place justice. I can tell you that the views in the city and the countryside take your breath away to the point you have trouble breathing.
I can tell you that the people are animated, proud, extremely playful, absolutely hilarious, passionate and loving.
I can tell you that on every corner you’ll find a castle from the 12th century towering over the soft, rolling hills painted in bright greens, yellows and oranges.
I can tell you that the food is unbelievably comforting and decadent. I can tell you that the culture, the traditions and the history are so moving you can’t help but cry.
I can tell you I had the time of my life with the most amazing new friends a girl could ask for. I can tell you we had so much fun I was crying laughing about 95% of the time.
I could tell you all of this but it won’t make an impact on you. So instead, I chose to show you. Tell my story of the most enchanting place on earth with photos and videos. Again, a huge thank you to Disney and Pixar for the incredible experience. *I’m trying to get the videos to work so when they do, I’ll share them!
