Paw Paw Muffins

About a week ago, I went to a friend’s house to pick up something I had ordered from her.  When I stepped on her porch I could smell this really sweet, fruity scent.  When she opened the door the first thing I said was “what smells SO GOOD out here???”  It smelled absolutely divine.  I can’t even describe it.  She informed me that it was Paw Paw fruit from her Paw Paw tree.  Seriously?  I had only heard of them from The Jungle Book movie!  Is there really such a thing?  Yes, there really is.  She gave me a bag of them to take home and try.  She told me that they are an ‘acquired taste’ for most people, so don’t be alarmed if you take a bite and don’t really like it at first.  So, I took my little bag of Paw Paws home and was anxious to taste one and make something with them. 

First, I just cut one open, and ate a bit of the flesh with a spo0n.  Hmm…she’s right.  I didn’t love it.  But I didn’t hate it either.  I couldn’t decide.  So, I made muffins with a few.  I did like the muffins better than the plain paw paw, but I still didn’t love it.  My husband really liked the muffins though.  Here’s the recipe, in case you ever come across some Paw Paw fruit yourself!

Paw Paw Muffins

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3 medium-large paw paws (or 4 small ones), flesh removed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup walnuts

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In seperate bowl, combine paw paw flesh, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg yolk.  Stir just until mixed together.  Add dry ingredients and walnuts to paw paw mixture, stirring just until combined.  Don’t overmix.

Divide evenly into 5 or 6 muffin cups (grease the muffin cups or use papers).  Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes, or until a tester inserted comes out clean.  Cool slightly before serving.

Creamy Tomato Soup

Love tomato soup?  You’ll love this delicious version of the classic.  A grilled cheese on the side and you’ll instantly be transported to your childhood.  Or, top with a dollop of whipped cream or sour cream for your grown-up tastes!  This soup starts with canned tomatoes, but if you have some fresh ones you need to use, throw those in too, as well as that little bit of leftover tomato paste you have hanging out in the fridge.  Extra tomato flavor won’t hurt!

Creamy Tomato Soup

• 14 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
• 6 tbsp flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

 

Heat a large, heavy stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tbsp of the butter along with the onions.  Cook until onions are soft – lower heat if needed.

Add bay leaf, tomatoes, and tomato paste.  cook over low heat until the vegetables are very soft, about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in seperate pan, melt remaining butter.  Add the flour, mixing until combined.  Cook over low heat until the mixture starts to turn golden brown and gives off a nutty aroma.  Slowly whish the half-and-half and the milk into the flour mixture.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.   Carefully pour the milk mixture into the pot with the tomatoes and whisk well.  Add 1 cup of heavy cream and simmer another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove bay leaf.

Puree the soup until smooth (use an immersion blender, or blend in batches in a blender or food processor).  Bring soup back to a simmer, and add more milk if soup is too thick.  Serve warm.

 

Blueberry Cheesecake No-Churn Ice Cream

Yes, another ice cream recipe.  My kitchen has turned into sort of an ice cream factory lately.  I just keep thinking of new flavors I want to play with!  Can you blame me?  Smooth.  Creamy.  Just mix it up and throw it in the freezer.  Doesn’t get much easier.  So, when we had a big bowl of blueberries that were reaching their last days, I decided to make a blueberry cheesecake ice cream!  Super delicious.  Seriously.  It was my husband’s favorite so far. 

Blueberry Cheesecake No-Churn Ice Cream

Ice Cream:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup spreadable cream cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup graham cracker chunks

Blueberry Sauce

• 2-1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice

Prepare the blueberry sauce by combining all ingredients in a small saucepan.  Cook, stirring often, until thickened.  Let cool before proceeding.

For the ice cream, whip one cup of the heavy cream to stiff peaks.  In seperate bowl, beat cream cheese with sweetened condensed milk until smooth.  Add remaining cup of heavy cream and vanilla; stir until smooth.  Fold whipped cream into mixture.  Spoon blueberry sauce over whipped cream mixture.  Sprinkle graham cracker chunks over top.  Gently fold in until there are ribbons of blueberry sauce running through – do not overmix.

Pour into a freezer proof, airtight container and freeze until firm.

 

Zuchinni Tart

It’s summer.  And that means that zuchinni is everywhere!  I usually get smaller zuchinni, but when I went to the farmer’s market last week, all I could get was a huge one – I mean, this sucker was 5 inches in diameter and over a foot long!  I had to come up with something to do with all this zuchinni!  I found a recipe for a zuchinni tart/quiche, and decided to give it a try.  It turned out wonderfully.  We had this as a side dish with dinner, but I can totally see this being served for brunch.

Zuchinni Tart

Crust:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 Tbsp plus 2 tsp water
• 1 tsp baking powder

Filling:

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 cups chopped zuchinni
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese, any type
• 1/4 cu parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup skim milk

 

Spray a tart pan or springfrom pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Prepare crust by combining flour, salt, and baking powder.  Stir in olive oil and water.  Knead to form a dough and roll out into a circle large enough to fit into your pan.  Press into pan and (and 1″ up the sides if using a springfrom pan. 

Beat together eggs and egg whites.  Brush mixture over crust.  Bake crust in  375 degree oven for 8 minutes.  Cool on rack while preparing filling.

For filling, saute onion in a little olive oil until tender.  Add garlic and zuchinni; cook another 10 minutes.  Spread into crust.

Add milk to remaining eggs.  Pour over vegetable mixture.  Pour milk mixture over all and sprinkle with cheeses.  Bake for 45 minutes or until tests done.

 

Serves: 8

Weight Watchers Points + per serving: 5

Browned Butter Toffee Bars

I’ve sort of been on a browned butter kick lately.  It’s just so darn good!  I’m convinced that pretty much anything that is ‘good’ with butter in it would be absolutely fantabulous with browned butter in it…and I’m on a mission to find out!

I’ve made these bars a few times, but always just melted the butter and proceeded with the recipe.  This time I decided to let the butter brown before adding the other ingredients.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much better these are with the browned butter.  I’ll never go back to plain ol’ melted butter!  Oh, and by the way, this recipe is not at all healthy.  As a matter of fact, it’s down right dangerous.  Four sticks of butter go in here.  Four.  Sticks.  Seriously. 

Browned Butter Toffee Bars

• 4 sticks butter
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk (did I mention this wasn’t healthy??)
• 4 tbsp corn syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with foil; spray foil with cooking spray.  Set aside.  Place graham cracker crumbs in a medium bowl and set aside.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat until it turns amber brown in color.  DO NOT LET IT BURN!  Pour one cup of browned butter into graham cracker crumbs.  Stir to combine and press into prepared pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool while making toffee layer.

In pan with remaining browned butter, place brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and corn syrup.  Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Pour toffee mixture over crust.  Let set until cooled and firm.

Melt chocolate and spread over cooled toffee layer.  Let set until chocolate is firm (you can pop the pan in the fridge to speed up this process).  Cut into squares and serve. 

 

Sun-tella Spread (Sunflower Seed-Chocolate Spread)

Nutella.  It’s smooth, creamy, delicous.  It’s also kind pricey.  I wanted to try to make my own version.  So, I go to the grocery store only to discover that they don’t carry hazelnuts.  Seriously?  Change of plans.  What can I use in place of the hazelnuts that would still taste yummy.  On a whim, I decided to try sunflower seeds.  Yes.  Sunflower seeds.  The end result was yummy.  Not the same at Nutella, but  yummy none the less. I decided to go with salted sunflower seeds because I love that salty-sweet combination.  If you don’t want the salty-sweet combo, just use unsalted sunflower seeds.   I’m anxious to try other nuts/seeds for other flavors as well! 

 *NOTE* Because this is made with seeds, not nuts, those with nut allergies SHOULD be able to eat this.  But don’t just take my word for it.  Ask your doctor first if you’re not sure.

Sun-tella Spread

• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 4 oz. semisweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 4-6 teaspoons vegetable oil

Place sunflower seeds in food processor and process until almost powdery.  (If you want a chunkier spread, don’t process quite as long).  Add enough vegetable oil to form a smooth, soft paste.  Pour in the melted chocolate, pulsing until smooth.  Add powdered sugar, pulsing until it forms a smooth, spreadable consistency.    

Store in airtight container.  Because there is no dairy in this spread, and because we’ll eat it up in about 3 days,  I just leave it at room temperature.  If you will be storing it for more than a few days, I’d refrigerate it and let it come to room temp before using.

Makes: 1 cup

WW Points + Per Tablespoon: 3

Birthday Cake Batter No-Churn Ice Cream

After making the Birthday Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats, my sprinkle-obsessed daughter has been begging me to make Birthday Cake Batter Ice Cream – her absolute favorite ice cream.  So, while I was in my ice cream-making mode last week, I whipped up a batch.  She was in heaven.  If you’re a birthday cake ice cream lover like her, I think you will be too.

Birthday Cake Batter No-Churn Ice Cream

• 2 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup dry yellow cake mix
• 1 tbsp butter flavor
• 1/3 cup sprinkles

In medium bowl, whip 1 cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks. 

In seperate bowl, stir together remaining 1 cup of heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, cake mix, and butter flavor.  Fold whipped cream into this mixture.  Fold in sprinkles.  Pour into a freezer safe airtight container and freeze until solid.

Skinny Brownie Batter Pancakes

After making the Brownie Batter No-Churn Ice Cream last week, I’ve had brownie batter on the brain.  Then, while browsing other food blogs, I discovered a recipe for brownie batter pancakes on Chocolate Covered Katie’s blog.  Oh yeah.  I adapted it just a bit – I used Splenda, added an extra tablespoon of cocoa powder, and used skim milk – and now I am in love.  It’s like eating brownies for breakfast!!  It doesn’t get much better than that.  Well, okay.  Yes.  It could get better.  Plop a big glob of sweetened whipped cream on top and it would *almost* be like having brownies and ice cream for breakfast.  But, we’ll leave the whipped cream off for today.  All that no-churn ice cream has plenty of cream in it.  I don’t need any more.  I can barely button my pants already. 

Instead of posting the recipe here, I’m simply linking to Katie’s blog (above).   I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

When made with my changes, the Weight Watchers points are as follows:

Serves: 1

Weight Watchers Points + : 4 points for the pancakes, add another 3 points for 2 Tbsp. of chocolate syrup

Caramel Latte No-Churn Ice Cream

After making that delicious Brownie Batter Ice Cream a few days ago, the ideas have been turning in my head with other flavors to try.  The first thought that popped in my head is my favorite coffee drink – the caramel latte.  Yes.  I must do this.  If you need an excuse to get more caffeine in your system, give this simple ice cream a try!   (There are more No-Churn ice cream recipes coming in the next few days!!!)

 

Caramel Latte No-Churn Ice Cream

Caramel:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup milk

Ice Cream:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup instant coffee
• Caramel (from above)

Prepare the caramel by cooking sugar in a saucepan until golden brown.  Add butter and stir.  Stir in the cream, and then the milk.  Let cool completely.

Whip heavy cream in a bowl.  In seperate bowl, combine milk, sweetened condensed milk, and instant coffee until smooth.  Fold in whipped cream.  Pour into a freezer safe container with a lid, and freeze overnight.

 

Brownie Batter No-Churn Ice Cream

I am not ashamed to tell you that I have been known to mix up a batch of brownie batter just to eat it with a spoon.  Well, I have never eaten the whole batch, but I can make a good dent in it before finally baking the rest of the batter.  I’ve had crazy thoughts of brownie batter running through my head lately…Brownie Batter Rice Crispy Treats (still need to make those).  Brownie Batter Pancakes (recipe coming soon!).  And Brownie Batter Ice Cream.  Obviously, my first creation was this ice cream.  And the best part?  You don’t even need an ice cream maker!  Sure, you could make it in one if you want…but I never feel like dragging out the machine for just the four of us.  So, here’s my version of Brownie Batter Ice Cream.  Smooth.  Creamy.  So rich, chocolately, and brownie-batter-y that you will get cavities just thinking about it!  Seriously.  Have a glass of milk nearby.  You’ll thank me.

Brownie Batter No-Churn Ice Cream

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2/3 cup dry brownie mix
• 1 cup crumbled brownies, optional (I did not have any mix left to make brownies…but next time I will!)

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, and dry brownie mix. 

In a seperate bowl, whip remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until stiff peaks form.  Slowly add sweetened condensed milk mixture into whipped cream, while whisking.  Pour into a freezer safe airtight container.  Freeze for at least 6 hours, but overnight is best.  Scoop and serve!