Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

I once heard a rumor that there are certain people on this earth, who actually don’t like peanut butter and chocolate together. Seriously. These people baffle me. Chocolate and Peanut butter together is one of greatest love stories of all time, it’s right up there with Romeo & Juliet. And this pie, is one of the best expressions of that love.

I often say no to dessert only to find myself trying to compensate with a variety of “healthier” options that probably in end, have just as many calories, but aren’t nearly as satisfying. So I say, every once in a while, when something really appealing presents itself, I say go for it. Indulge a little. I know I thoroughly enjoyed each and every bite of this one! ;)

Crust

• 1 and half boxes of Oreo cookie crumbs 
• 1/2 cup of melted butter

Peanut Butter Layer

• 1 packages of light cream cheese (2.5 oz) at room temperature
• 1 tbsp of softened butter
• 2/3 cup of icing sugar
• 2/3 cup of smooth peanut butter
• 2 cups of heavy cream (whipped) 

Chocolate Mouse Layer

• 1 packages of milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of heavy cream (whipped) 

Chocolate Glaze Layer

• 3/4 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla

• chopped peanuts for garnish

 1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the melted butter and Oreo cookie crumbs. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch spring form pan. A drinking glass works great for this. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl or kitchen aid beat together the cream cheese and butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat until fluffy. Fold in the whipping cream and pour over the prepared crust, and smooth the top so it's even. Place in the fridge while you make the next layer.

3.  In a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth. Add the vanilla and fold in the whipping cream until consistent in color. Spread across the peanut butter layer and return to the fridge.

4. In a small sauce pan on low heat, carefully heat the heavy cream, be careful not to burn. Cream should not bubble. Once heated mix in the chocolate chips and stir until they are all melted. Add the vanilla and then pour over the top of the pie, spreading to the crust with the back of a spoon. Garnish with peanuts. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before consuming.

50 Shades of Reality

I thought I would break up what has appeared to have turn into a food blog with a little book review.  

*Spoiler Alert*

I just read the first 50 Shades of Grey book, well rather listened to it on Auditable. I know I am extremely behind the times but I never had an interest in reading it. But I just happened to have an extra credit to use up and figured with the movie coming out it would be worth a try.

The fact that this book became so extremely popular remains a mystery to me. Is this the type of relationship most women want? A borderline abusive relationship with a control freak? Is Mr. Christian Grey the man of everyone’s dreams?
No matter who you are, I assure you, you could do better.

I do, however, understand the allure of having an extremely good looking, rich man making elaborate gestures to win you over. And that reading a book like this can be a nice little escape from reality. But please be advised, this is a fairy tale and no real life relationship advice should be drawn.

While listening to this book, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and think how off base this book truly is from reality. (Thank god Mr. Grey didn’t see otherwise I would have a very sore behind)

So I thought it would be fun to do a little compare and contrast. Book vs reality.
Please note that this post is intended for humorous purposes only. The reality scenarios do not in any way depict anything remotely close to how my fiancé, Andrew would behave….ex-boyfriends….maybe.

Book Scenario– Even though Ana is a virgin, Christian gives her multiple orgasms every time they have an encounter. (Including the very first time she has sex) Christian is apparently some sort of energizer bunny and doesn’t need a break…ever.
Reality – Ana’s first time is not very pleasurable, and it will most likely take a number of times of having sex before she can have an orgasm. And Christian is far more concerned with his pleasure then hers. After he’s done. He goes to sleep, not particularly caring what Ana does.

Book Scenario – Thinking ahead, Christian wants to surprise Ana by upgrading her flight her to first class. He also spends a little extra to purchase the seat next to her because he is a possessive, jealous man.
Reality – Men don’t think ahead.

Book Scenario – Christian flys across the country to see Ana because he misses her after being gone for only 3 days.
Reality – Christian is ecstatic to be rid of the old ball and chain for a few days. He enjoys not showering, playing xbox all day, and eating take out.

Book Scenario – Every time Ana emails Christian, Christian responds immediately with a witty email, expressing his feelings for her.
Reality – Christian doesn’t respond to Ana for a few days to keep her on her toes, and only a “sissy” would be upfront about his feelings.

Book Scenario – Christian is always very concerned with Ana’s health and always insists she eats everything on her plate.
Reality- Christian makes an underhanded comment about Ana’s weight and suggests she should skip a meal every now and again.

Book Scenario – Christian spends tons of money and fills up an entire closet full of designer clothes just for Ana.
Reality – Christian doesn’t care what Ana wears, would never go shopping for her, and thinks anything more than $30 for any article of clothing is exorbitant.

Laters, Baby.

Red Velvet Cookies

I’ve been a total cookie monster the past few weeks. Feeding my addiction probably isn’t the smartest thing I’ve done but I send majority of the them with Andrew and only sneak a few before they go. Sooooo that’s how I’m going to justify making these.

• 1 box of Red Velvet cake mix
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 bag of white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla together. Add the cake mixture, and baking powder. Mix to form a dough - stir and fold until all of the pockets of dry cake mix are gone. The dough will be oily. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Drop rounded balls of dough, about 1 Tablespoons of dough each, onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake each batch for 10 minutes.

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Maintaining a balanced life is all about give and take, and compromising. Think of this recipe as middle ground between fried donuts covered in sugary glaze and, well, not eating a donut. Baked, homemade donuts are all about treating yourself, without feeling copious amounts of guilt.

Who knew baked donuts are so Zen? ;)

• 1 cup of flour
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• ½ tsp of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp of nutmeg
• ¼ tsp of salt
• 1 egg
• ½ of buttermilk (I made my own)
• 2 tbsp of butter, melted
• 1 tsp of vanilla
• 6 cavity donut pan

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

• ½ stick of butter, melted
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of cinnamon

1) Preheat heat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease donut pan and set aside.

2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the center and add the egg, melted butter, vanilla, and buttermilk (I make my own by adding 1 tsp of vinegar to milk). Mix everything together. You should have an airy batter.

3) Either spoon or pipe the batter into the donut pans and bake for approx. 12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. While the donuts cool in the pan, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl to make the topping.

4) Turn donuts over onto a cool rack and brush the tops with butter, then dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture, and set back onto the rack. Either consume immediately or wrap each individually and freeze. Makes approx. 8 donuts

Hoisin Pork with Rice Noodles

I am in love. Not only do I cure my Asian/Chinese craving with this recipe but I also get my pasta fix. Both with a lot less guilt.

 

• Pork Tenderloin, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 1 tbsp of fish sauce
• 3 tbsp vinegar
• squeeze of lime juice
• 5 cloves finely minced garlic
• 2 tbsp of fresh grated ginger
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp of hoisin sauce
• 3 tbsp peanut butter (optional)
• 2 large carrots, grated 
• 2 Bell peppers, sliced thin
• 2 bunches of green onion, chopped
• chopped peanuts & fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)
• 1 package of white or brown rice noodles, cooked

1. Whisk or blend, all of the sauce ingredients together (soy sauce, water, sesame oil, honey, sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, peanut butter) Marinate pork in the sauce for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

2. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and stir-fry the pork until browned on the outside, and cooked through. Add in the carrots, peppers and green onions. Saute for a few minutes, then add the noodles, stir to coat. Dish into bowls and top with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro.

Cookies & Cream Chocolate Chip Cookies

Do you like Oreo cookies?    Yes!?

Do you like chocolate chips cookies?!!   Yes?!

Then you will LOVE these cookies!

It’s like the two cookies got together, and this recipe is their love child.
Thick, chewy chocolate chip cookies with chunks of double stuffed Oreos…I can die happy.

• 2 ¼ cups of flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• ½ cup of butter
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup of milk chocolate chips
• 10 -12 double stuffed Oreos, broken into bite sized pieces and frozen

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.

2. Cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar until fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

3. Beat in flour, baking soda and salt. Fold in the chocolate chips and Oreo pieces. (Freezing the Oreos will ensure they don’t break and crumble into the dough when mixing)

4. Drop spoonful’s onto baking sheet. And bake for approx. 10 mins. The trick to these cookies is to slightly under bake them. There should just be a small hint of golden around the edges and tops of the cookies. They will firm up when cooled. This will ensure they are moist, soft and chewy.

Pesto Pearl Couscous Salad

I just discovered pearl couscous, and I’m really excited about it! I came across a recipe for a pearl couscous salad online and was intrigued but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Then all the sudden, when I wasn’t looking for it, there it was right in front of my face at good old Super Store!

So what is it? Pearl Couscous (also known as “Israel Couscous”, “Jerusalem Couscous”, or “ Ptitim”) is a small, whole grain food made from semolina or wheat flour. It’s basically a little round pasta. It can be interchanged for pasta, rice, regular couscous or orzo. I just think it’s fun just because it’s a little bit different.

Pesto Pearl Couscous Salad

• 2 cups of pearl couscous, prepared
• 1 red pepper, diced
• ½ cup of Kamala Olives, diced 
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ½ cup of Basil Pesto (I used the stuff from a jar)
• 1 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp of Kraft Parmesan cheese
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

1. In a large bowl, toss together the couscous, pepper, olives, tomatoes with the olive oil.  
2. Add the pesto until everything is evenly coated. Sprinkle with Parmesan and salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Slow Cooker Beef Tips

Hardly a summer meal, I know. But crockpot meals are a nice change from our summer staple which is BBQ. And using the crockpot doesn’t make the house hotter than it already is and I can throw it together in morning, go out and enjoy the day, and come home to a made meal. It’s actually pretty amazing.

I can’t even tell you how delicious this recipe is! I normally don’t like to use prepackage soups and ingredients that often as they aren’t as healthy and I think they never taste as good as home made, but this recipe is the exception. It is one of the best slow cooker recipes I have made to date and tastes better then scratch gravy, no lie.

• 2.5 lbs of beef tips, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 can of condensed mushroom soup
• 1 package of dried onion soup mix
• 500 ml of beef broth
• 1 tbsp of butter (must be butter not margarine)
• 1tbsp of gravy flour or corn-starch
• Salt & Pepper

1. Place the beef tips in the bottom of the crockpot, lightly season with salt pepper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the mushroom soup, onion soup mix and beef broth until well combined. Pour over beef tips. Add butter, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. (The butter will help tenderize the meat while it cooks)

3. Use the gravy flour to thicken up the gravy before serving. To do this, I usually dish out some of the gravy from the crock pot into a small measuring cup, add the flour and mix until smooth, then add it back into the crock pot to thicken up the whole batch. This method will avoid any flour lumps. Serve over mashed potatoes. Makes 6 servings.

Poppy Seed Summer Salad

This salad is so fresh, it had to go live with its aunty and uncle in Bel-Air.

Haha, no? Well I thought it was funny. It’s sad to think that kids today will have no idea what the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is. Sigh. I feel old.

Anyway this salad is great, especially for the summer!

• 1 bag of butter lettuce
• 1 cup of Red seedless grapes
• 1 fuji apple, sliced thin
• ½ cup of walnuts
• Kraft Creamy Poppy Seed Salad Dressing

The Perfect Cesar

Have you noticed that when you order a Cesar these days, it pretty much comes with a meal made from garnish. I’ve seen them come with pepperoni sticks, shrimp, onion rings, even mini sliders, all protruding out of the top of glass. And while that’s all fine and dandy, what really matters is the taste of the beverage itself. With it being patio season I decided it was the best time to perfect this classic drink. And boy was it fun!

First things first, keep it simple.
I didn’t stray too much from an originally recipe, why mess with a good thing?
I also never rim my glasses with salt or other seasoning as I feel like it always makes a mess. But if that’s your thing, then I say go for it!
But most importantly, you MUST use Mott’s brand clamato juice. In my mind this is not negotiable. Not for any other reason than for the fact it just tastes the best. Just like boxed mac and cheese, it’s gotta be Kraft Dinner, and clamato juice has gotta be Mott’s.

• 1 oz. Of vodka
• 2 dashes of Tabasco Sauce
• 4 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp of pickle juice (the secret ingredient)
• Celery Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 4 to 6 oz. Of Mott’s Clamato juice
• Celery Stick for garnish

1. Pour pickle juice into a tall glass. Add the Tabasco, Worcesterhsire, Celery Salt & Pepper, mix well.

2. Add the vodka, some ice cubes, and celery stick. Top the glass with Clamato until full. Enjoy!

Lemon Velvet Pie

For me, the most depressing thing about summer is not being able to bake as often as I like. When it’s 30 degrees outside, and even hotter inside, turning the oven on is the last thing I want to do.
However, this recipe looked so good, I bit the bullet and made an exception. (you actually only really bake it for about 25 minutes so it’s not that bad)

While shopping for ingredients I grabbed some Meyer lemons over regular lemons as they are in season. For this recipe you could use either. Regular lemons will give you a more tart taste, while the Meyer lemons will have a sweeter taste.

Overall this pie was the perfect the complement to our BBQ dinner. Sweet and refreshing.

Graham Cracker Crust

• 3 cups of graham cracker crumbs (I used a whole box)
• ¼ cup of sugar
• 1 stick of butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together all of the ingredients until well combined, press firmly into the bottom, and half way up the sides of the 9’’ spring form pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes only. (We are slightly under baking the crust as it will be baked again once the filling is added in) Set aside to cool.

Filling

• 1 tsp of unflavored gelatin
• 2 tbsp of cold water
• 6 egg yolks
• 1.5 cups of sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4  cup of whipping cream
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 3/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
• Whipping cream and lemon peel slivers for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl soften gelatin for 5 minutes. Heat in microwave for about 14 seconds and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine egg yolks, and sweetened condensed milk. With an electric mixer, beat on high speed 2 -3 minutes until well combined. Beat in gelatin, whipping cream, and salt on low speed. Add lemon juice and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Pour mixture into prepared graham crust.

4. Bake 22- 25 minutes or until center of pie looks set when gently shaken; cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

5. Top with whipping cream and lemon slivers before serving.

Baked Chicken with Peaches

I thought I would ease back into the blogging scene by starting off with an impossibly easy, not to mention healthy recipe. No oil, no fat, and only minutes to prepare.

Have you ever heard your parents say "Do as I say, not as I do"? Well, that expression applies here - I used canned peaches, as fresh peaches weren’t in season when I made this a few months back. But now that it’s summer, and peaches are at their prime, I highly recommend using fresh ones. Canned were good, but I think fresh would make this dish amazing!

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1-2 Fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
• Salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lay the chicken in a glass baking dish. (I usually cut my chicken breasts in half to cut down on cooking time) Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with fresh peach slices.

3. Bake for approx. 30 minutes. Enjoy!