2 in 1 day!!!

I also found a recipe on called Chocolate Chip Clouds!! I have been craving chocolate all last week and saw these and they are only 1 pointplus!!! I had to make them!!

• 9 tbsp egg whites (room temperature)
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips
1. Heat oven to 300°F.
2. Cover cookie sheet with silpat or nonstick silicone pad.
Using a mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together in large bowl at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar a little at a time, then vanilla, beating well after each addition until you get stiff peaks, the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is glossy.
3. Sift cocoa onto egg white mixture; gently fold until combined.
4. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop mixture by tablespoons onto cookie sheet. Makes 30 cookies.
5. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or just until dry. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire rack. Store covered, at room temperature.

Weight Watchers Snacks!!

I am doing Wieght Watchers with my mom and my sister, and I have been having a hard time with snack food! Well I found this amazing blog. All of her recipes look so good!! I decided since I was off today that I would make a couple of snacks and try them out. Ok I will admit that I was missing being in the kitchen too!

The recipe that I was really excited to try is called Healthy Roasted Chickpea Snack.

• 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
• olive oil spray
• salt
• 1 tsp chili pepper powder (to taste)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
Preheat oven to 375°. Drain chickpeas in a colander and let them dry completely. Pat dry with a paper towel if needed.

Arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and roast for about 30-35 minutes, shaking the pan every ten minutes. All ovens are different so make sure they don't burn. They will be golden brown and crunchy on the inside when done, not moist.

In a medium bowl, combine all the spices. Remove chickpeas from oven when done and spray with olive oil spray. Immediately toss with spices while hot. Eat at room temperature.

All I have to say is that they are so delicious!!

Banana Bread

I realized that we had some bananas that were going bad so I decided to make banana bread the other day. I could not remember my mom's recipe so I had to go with the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook's recipe. (My mom has the Good Housekeeping Cookbook and I absolutely LOVE it! I want it so bad!) It wasn't too far off of my mom's recipe though.

The recipe was:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1.Grease bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp salt. Make well in center of four mixture; set aside.
2.In a medium bowl combine eggs, bananas, sugar, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Fold in nuts.
3.Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

This is what it looked like before I put it in the oven....and I forgot to take pictures of after it came out!

Breaded Green Beans

The other day I was off so I decided to go to the grocery store and of course I was hungry. So I picked up a few extra things. (My mom would always have to ask if I was hugry before we went to the grocery store and if I was she would have to get me something to eat first because I would always put extra things in the cart!)

One of my extra things this trip was fresh green beans. I have had a recipe for breaded green for a while and have wanted to buy some and try it. So the green beans looked fairly decent so I grabbed some.

Here is the recipe that I used:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
4 cups chicken broth
6 to 8 ounces fresh green beans
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup plain, breadcrumbs (like Progresso brand)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 to 12 cups vegetable shortening or oil

1. Prepare beans by bringing 4 cups of chicken broth to a boil. Boil beans in the broth for 15 minutes and then plunge them into ice water to keep them from getting too soft.

2. Combine beaten egg with milk in a shallow bowl. Measure 1 cup of flour into another shallow bowl. Combine bread crumbs 3/4 teaspoon salt, black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder in a third shallow bowl.

3. Working with a small handful of beans at a time, remove them from the ice water and coat them with flour. Shake off any excess flour. Dip the beans one at a time into the egg and milk mixture and then coat each one with the breadcrumb mixture. Lay the coated beans on a plate until all of them have been breaded.

4. Heat shortening or oil to 350 degrees F. Use the amount of oil require by your fryer.

5. Fry the beans in bunches for 1 1/2 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on a rack or paper towels, then serve them up with the wasabi-cucumber ranch dip.

Serves 2 to 4 as an appetizer.

I don't have fryer so I just pan fried them.

Here are a few pictures:

New Favorite Salad

So I am about the worst blogger ever!!! I'm sorry I haved posted anything in a long time. Life is just super busy and after being on a computer all day long, the last thing I want to do when I get home is get on the computer at home.

In other news, I made the best salad ever on Saturday. Angi was nice enough to have me over for dinner with her and her husband. She made the best lasagna and you should check out her post about it at www.angiy.blogspot.com. (I still need to learn how to do links on words!) But I asked her want she wanted me to bring, and she suggested a salad, like Olive Garden's house salad. Which is awesome!!! Well I googled Olive Garden's salad and found a recipe, which turns out that I already had it in my computer files!

Here is the recipe that I have (I don't remember where I got it or else I would give them the credit):
Olive Garden Salad

Olive Garden Salad Dressing:
½ c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. white vinegar
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 Tb. corn syrup
2 Tb. Parmesan cheese
2 Tb. Romano cheese
¼ tsp garlic salt – or one clove garlic, minced
½ tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp parsley flakes
1 Tb. lemon juice

Salad:
1 large head romaine lettuce
slices red onion
black olives
2-4 banana peppers
2 small tomatoes, quartered
½ c. croutons
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

For homemade croutons:
4 slices sandwich bread
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tb. butter
salt and pepper
dried parsley flakes

Mix all dressing ingredients in a blender until well mixed. If this is a little too tart for your own personal tastes, add a little extra sugar.
Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Put lettuce in bowl. Place on top of lettuce red onions, black olives, banana peppers, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top.

For the homemade croutons:
Cut off crusts of sandwich bread, and cut bread into cubes. Melt butter in small saucepan and add minced garlic. Toss sandwich cubes in the butter and spread out in a pan. Sprinkle salt and pepper and parsley flakes to taste. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°, turning half way through baking.

Sorry I don't have any pictures, I forgot to take my camera to Angi's. The best part of the salad was definitely the croutons though. The are so easy and SO good!!