Luv What You Do

Balancing a Busy Life with a Healthy Lifestyle

Nutella Puppy Chow June 9, 2013

Filed under: Dessert — Luv What You Do @ 6:28 pm
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Hello Friends!  I’m back from the woods and had the best weekend relaxing and soaking up some nature!

 

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Devil’s Lake, Wisconsin 6/08/13

 

Although I know that ya’ll are excited to hear about my camping trip, I’m sure you have also been looking forward to this recipe after I’ve been teasing you with it all week!

 

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I made two attempts at Nutella Puppy Chow last weekend.  Both turned out addictingly good, but this recipe had a little bit of a stronger Nutella flavor.  Bonus!

 

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Puppy Chow is always a crowd favorite, and this recipe won’t disappoint!

 

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I recommend my favorite freezer storage method to keep things fresh and because I love that first chilled bite!

 

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But be warned…no matter where you store it, this Puppy Chow won’t last long!

 

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Do you like Puppy Chow?

What is your favorite variation?

 

 

Nutella Puppy Chow

 

Ingredients

6 cups Chex cereal

1/2 cup PB

1/2 cup Nutella

4 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 cups powdered sugar

 

Directions

Pour Chex cereal into large bowl.

In a separate microwave-safe bowl, combine peanut butter, Nutella, and butter.  Microwave for ~2 minutes in 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.  Do not overheat.  Stir in vanilla.

Pour Nutella mixture over Chex using a spatula to spread evenly over cereal.  Stir in powered sugar 1 cup at a time until well coated.

Store in airtight container.

 

This Week in Treats June 4, 2013

Filed under: Dessert — Luv What You Do @ 7:51 am
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Sunday was another grey day perfect for staying in.  I counted walking around the mall as my morning workout and quickly got comfortable upon returning home.  This is a bit of a transition week for me.  Last week was my last week of full time, but my new summer schedule doesn’t start until next week.  Yesterday, I did some orientation at a different clinic before working my full Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday schedules.  It’s only fitting for my last Tuesday of work that it is my turn for Treat Day!

 

In the past,  I have covered the table with dips and desserts.  This time I went a little more low key and since the BOY and I decided to be too lazy to go to the grocery store on Sunday, I got started baking with what I had available in the house.

 

First up…brownies!

 

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I found a box of Thin Mints in the freezer and always keep Baker’s chocolate on hand.  I followed the brownie recipe on the package, which is rich and tasty.

 

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I poured half of the batter into a greased 8 inch square pan.  Then layered on my somewhat frozen cookies, and dumped the rest of the batter over the top.

 

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I baked up up the brownies per the directions and then let them cool while I worked on some of my other sweets!

 

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Although the brownies smelled wonderful, they looked a little boring.

 

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Which was nothing that white chocolate drizzle couldn’t fix!

 

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After an afternoon in the kitchen, I was happy to retreat to the couch to catch up on this season of So You Think You Can Dance!  I missed last summer, and was laughing and crying my way though the auditions.  I swear I saw like 30 people who could win the entire show!

 

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You know how I love to taste test my baking, so I packed everything away for Treat Day and made sure to get up early Monday morning for a post baking day run!

 

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What is your favorite from scratch brownie recipe???

Link ‘em up!!!

 

 

Baker’s One Bowl Thin Mint Brownies

From Baker’s Chocolate

 

Ingredients

1pkg.  (4 oz.) BAKER’S Unsweetened Chocolate

3/4 cup  butter or margarine

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup flour

1 sleeve (16 cookies) Thin Mints (plus more for garnish if desired)

2 squares of BAKER’S white chocolate (optional)

 

 

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F.

Spray an 8×8 inch pan with cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour; mix well.

Pour half of the batter into prepared pan.  Place cookies in single layer over batter.  Cover with remaining batter spreading evenly over the cookies.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. (Do not overbake.) Cool completely.

Melt white chocolate and drizzle over brownies.  Sprinkle with crushed Thin Mints if desired. 

Serve warm or cold!

 

*NOTE: You could follow a similar process using a box mix if you prefer.

 

What else can you do with Thin Mints???

Thin Mint Brownies

Thin Mint Fudge

Thin Mint Truffles

Thin Mint Bark

 

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (Cake Mix Recipe) June 3, 2013

Filed under: Bread,Breakfast — Luv What You Do @ 5:57 pm
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When I went searching the internet for a simple Chocolate Chip Pound Cake recipe, I kept coming across the same easy recipe on a few different sites.  I figured if everyone was making it, it should be pretty good.

 

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I had a time crunch on Saturday, so this was the perfect recipe to pull together quickly.

 

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Although it’s a long bake time, that gave me plenty of time to clean and make Puppy Chow.

 

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I made this the night before, but since this recipe uses a cake mix, you could easily pull it together in the morning.

 

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Sunday morning, I was eager to try a slice.

 

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The cake looked inviting, and the center was slightly undercooked, just the way I like it

 

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Although I think that made from scratch is better, this is one fantastic easy morning breakfast cake!

 

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It’s the perfect recipe to save for your next breakfast guests…like a Girls Sleepover!

 

 

What is your favorite pound cake???

Share your recipes!

 

 

Easy Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

From All Recipes.com

 

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 (39 g) package instant chocolate vanilla pudding mix

1/2 cup white sugar

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup sour cream/Greek yogurt

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips + More! (I used a little under 1 cup)

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, instant pudding and sugar. Add the water, oil, eggs, and sour cream, mix until well blended. Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before cutting and serving.

 

Drop the Tension May 19, 2013

Filed under: Dessert,Yoga — Luv What You Do @ 10:44 pm
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It’s been way too long since I’ve been to a yoga class!

Which is why despite staying up late drinking wine with the neighbors last night, I woke up this morning determined to go to yoga.  Upon waking, I immediately began to rehydrate, chugging tons of water.  My studio has a few classes on Sundays, so it was easy to get to the 11:30am class with a fantastic instructor.  The moment I walked into the studio, I knew I’d made the right decision.  A few minutes later, I was laying supine on my mat, excited to be back, and starting to sweat in the warm studio.  I love the atmosphere at my yoga studio, and it’s because of scheduling conflicts that I don’t get there more often.  Today’s class started slowly with breathing in stand and then we plunged right into sun salutation while The Lumineers Stubborn Love played in the background.  During an early downward facing dog, the instructor came up to me and gently rotated my shoulders.  ‘Good’, she said, ‘Now drop the tension in your shoulders’.  Ahhh…I let the tension release from my shoulders and my entire body.

 

Truth be told, there hasn’t been a lot of tension this weekend.  The BOY and I intentionally didn’t make plans knowing we wanted to celebrate the end of his second year of law school with some time together.  We were moving non-stop yesterday and had the best day!  And today was another unscheduled day.  I let this feeling of weightlessness carry me through the rest of the class which included some challenging poses (like bound Warrior III).  By the end of the class, I was both exhausted and exhilarated.  I soaked up the peace of shivasana before heading back into the sunshine and driving home.

 

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This afternoon turned into an impromptu BBQ with the neighbors (planned last night over wine).

 

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We pulled together some tables, cracked open cold beers, and ate grilled meat and veggies.

 

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For dessert, I made one of the BOY’s favorite recipes…Caramel Brownies!

I just searched my blog and couldn’t find this recipe anywhere.  Is it possible that I’ve been blogging for this long without sharing this recipe with you?  There’s no way!  If you find it on the blog, please let me know!  I swear I remember bragging about how much I love these caramel bits!

 

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They make these brownies super easy!  Which is why I could pull them together after yoga this afternoon.

 

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No worries…I’m sharing this recipe now and you will thank me : )

 

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Save this recipe for your next impromptu BBQ!

And as you head into the week, remember to ‘drop the tension’.  I know that’s my game plan!

 

Caramel Brownies

 

Ingredients

1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped (if you can find the little caramel bits, that’s the way to go!)

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 (18.25 ounce) package chocolate cake mix (my favorite is dark chocolate or triple chocolate!)

3/4 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a heavy saucepan, combine caramels and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth; set aside. Grease a 9×13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, melted butter and 1/3 cup of evaporated milk by hand until dough holds together. Press half of the dough into the prepared pan, reserving the rest.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crust, pour the caramel mixture evenly over the chips. Crumble the remaining dough over the caramel layer and return to the oven.
Bake for an additional 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool in refrigerator to set the caramel before cutting into bars.

 

Eat warm or frozen!

 

They’re Back April 17, 2013

Filed under: Breakfast,Fruit,Oatmeal,Vegan — Luv What You Do @ 9:41 pm
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Overnight oats are back!

 

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Woo Hoo!  It’s been a little while since I’ve had this breakfast, so I whipped up a batch in prep for tomorrow morning’s track workout.  I am meeting a coworker at the indoor track near work, so it was an early morning…perfect for breakfast in the car.  I convinced my coworker to try one of my new favorite interval workouts, so we’ll see how it goes.  With breakfast and a friend waiting, it will be hard to sleep in…even if it is another grey day!

 

Not yet back…the sun!

 

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It’s been way too long since we’ve seen you!

 

Also back in the picture…

 

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Banana Soft Serve (with almond butter)!

 

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This stuff is amazing!  But even better with a tiny cookie dough ball.

 

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It’s about as close to a homemade DQ blizzard as you can get!

 

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Although my workouts are going well (I ran 9.5 miles this weekend), my eating has been a bit overboard.  It’s really time to get that BACK on track!

 

 

What’s back in your world???

 

 

Banana Almond Butter Soft Serve

 

Ingredients

1 frozen banana

2-3 tbsp almond milk

1-2 tbsp almond butter

Chocolate chips (optional)

 

Directions

Place frozen banana and almond milk in food processor.  Blend until smooth, adding more milk as needed.  Add almond butter and chocolate chips (if using) and blend until well combined.  Eat immediately!

Optional: Stir in more chocolate chips, peanuts, or Vegan Cookie Dough Balls!

 

Coconut Fudge Balls April 3, 2013

Filed under: Clean Eating,Snacks — Luv What You Do @ 10:02 pm
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I’ve been wanting to make another batch of energy balls using my dried coconut!

 

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I finally had some time on Monday, and was excited to combine the coconut with chocolate, kind of like the Chocolate Coconut Chew Larabars.

 

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The dried coconut is the perfect compliment to the sweet dates.

 

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Everything chopped up nicely and the flavor was exactly what I was hoping for (sometimes these ‘recipes’ end up being more like ‘experiments’).

 

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I did need to stream in some agave to help the balls come together.  To be honest, I didn’t really measure it, but you’ll know when you’ve added enough because a ball of dough will form.

 

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Then you can either press the ball into a greased pan to make bars or roll it into balls.

 

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Yummy!!!  Need I say more?  These healthy-ish balls are FULL of flavor!

 

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Store these balls in the fridge for an afternoon or mid workout snack!

 

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Does anyone else try to make homemade Larabars?

What is your favorite flavor?

 

So I had plans to share with you the Strawberry Balsamic Quinoa Salad that I have been eating for lunch this week because it is awesome, but I didn’t get any pictures of it.  I will definitely try to snap one later this week and share that recipe soon because it will be perfect for spring strawberries!

 

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I will get your mouth watering with pictures of tonight’s Grilled Garlic Pepper Shrimp form The Grilling Bible courtesy of the BOY!

 

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I still don’t know what’s with the Christmas plates : )  Looking for dessert, I highly recommend these Double Chocolate/Single Chin Brownies!

 

Coconut Fudge Balls

Adapted from German-Chocolate Fudge Bites

 

Ingredients

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup dried coconut

1 cup almonds

4 tbsp cacao powder

2 tsp vanilla

1-2 tbsp agave

 

Directions

Combine dates and coconut in a food processor and blend until combined.

Add almonds, cacao powder and vanilla.  Blend until well combined.

Stream in agave until a ball of dough starts to form.

Roll dough into balls and refrigerate for ~2 hours until set.  Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

 

All Done April 2, 2013

Filed under: Dessert,Dinner,Running,Swimming,Vegetarian — Luv What You Do @ 9:25 pm
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The BOY and I are All Done with Passover!

As is his tradition, he had pizza for dinner.  I’d show you a picture but the entire pie was gone by the time I walked in the door after work.

I wanted something a little healthier and because it’s a week night…easy!

 

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I found this delicious looking recipe in Mama Pea’s cookbook for Thai Veggie Burgers.

 

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I prepped my ingredients in the food processor last night and then refrigerated them.  I have never tried this with veggie burgers before, but I figured it it worked, it would be a great way to make healthy weeknight meals.

 

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When I came home, I heated up a skillet and rolled out my burgers.

 

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I fried the burgers in cooking spray ~7 minutes each side until they were warm on the inside and crispy along the edges.

 

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The Thai flavor in these burgers is strong and the texture is spot-on.  I ate my burger plain with a side of green beans.  The premade burger mixture worked perfectly!  I will definitely do it again!

 

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For dessert, I whipped up a batch of Mama Pea’s brownies (that I found a few pages later).  The toughest part was making these yesterday and having to wait to eat them today.

 

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I was a little nervous because they are healthy and vegan (although I didn’t use vegan chocolate chips, so they are not fully vegan).

 

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I sprinkled the top with powdered sugar, and the BOY and I dug into them right after dinner.

 

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I was a little nervous that he would notice the texture difference in the brownies, but he grabbed them and ran.

 

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When I asked about the brownies, he answered with a nod, smile, and a mouth full of chocolate.  That’s usually a good sign : )  These brownies are rich and cake-like…you’ll never know that they are healthy (whole wheat flour) and vegan (minus the chocolate chips)!  I bet you have all the ingredients in your house right now, so go preheat your oven.

 

On the exercise front…

I got in my first double workout this morning.  I was at the track early for a 30 minute run before changing into my bathing suit for a 15 minute swim.  It was an awesome workout with some well-deserved hot tub time at the end.  I am super sore from ‘Barbara Lite’ yesterday, and I am hoping to get registered for my triathlon this week!

 

 

Here are the recipes for Thai Veggie Burgers and Double Chocolate/Single Chin Brownies from Peas and Thank You.

Enjoy!!!

 

How Paleo Helped Passover March 30, 2013

Filed under: Cookies,Dessert,Holidays,Running — Luv What You Do @ 5:21 pm
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Typically Passover (a time where Jewish people do not eat bread, flour, yeast, or corn) is known for it’s blah food.  As children, we would be so excited for that first bite of matzah every year, but as the days wore out we quickly got tired of matzah nachos, matzah pizza, and matzah PB&J.  As an adult, I’ve tried to get a little more creative with my Passover food…often cooking up a quinoa stew or something similar on the weekends to eat throughout the week.  In the past few years, the BOY and I have barely eaten any matzah during the 8 days.  We can usually make it a a few days on leftovers from our family sedars and then it’s the weekend and the BOY gets excited to cook up his favorite red meats.

 

As I was a trying to figure out what to eat for a pre-run breakfast (oatmeal is out during Passover) this morning, I realized that I could totally make my new favorite pancakes.

 

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They didn’t turn out so pretty looking, but they are a nice balance of carbs and protein which is perfect before a workout! 

 

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A quick pre-run selfie (complete with sunglasses)…Hooray for sunshine!

 

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Last weekend’s running group of four decreased to two, but it was great to catch up with my friend.  We are both running the half marathon in 5 weeks and haven’t done many miles.  This morning we ran about 8 miles (72 minutes).  I felt better than expected considering last night’s weak dinner, but I did slow towards the end.  It was a gorgeous morning for an outdoor run!  We have big plans to run again in two weeks (next week is the Shamrock Shuffle) and increase our miles before the race.  Post run, I snacked on pear with almond butter and chugged lots of water.  We had a few errands to run and then were back home for lunch!

 

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Although I don’t follow the Paleo diet, the blog world is abuzz with the newest Paleo recipes.  Many of which use almond meal in place of flour…which is PERFECT for Passover!  This afternoon I made Chocolate Chip Cookies from Fast Paleo.

 

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Heads up, this recipe uses one egg and maple syrup at room temperature, so pull them out of the fridge early.  After you make your dough, refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

 

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I had heard that the dough tastes fantastic, so I had to try it before making my cookies!

 

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Somehow it actually tastes like cookie dough!  It’s amazing!!!  And I’m not just saying that because it’s Passover and I’m slightly starving : )

 

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The cookies baked up soft and puffy.

 

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I had to try a bite while they were warm with the gooey chocolate.

 

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The recipe made one dozen cookies, which is the perfect amount to get the BOY and I through the last few days of Passover.

 

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These cookies are delish (and the BOY totally agrees).  I can see why they are called the BEST!

 

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I would make these any time of year!

 

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You can guarantee they will be making an appearance at next year’s Passover dinner.

 

 

What holidays do you change your eating habits for?

What is your favorite Paleo recipe?

 

 

 

The Best Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Fast Paleo

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sifted blanched almond flour (I used almond meal from TJ’s)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (melted, not softened)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 whole egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips (kosher for Passover if desired)

 

Directions

In a bowl, mix together your almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt. In a separate bowl mix together your melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, room temperature maple syrup, and room temperature egg. Incorporate your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients, then add your chocolate chips.

After everything is mixed, preheat your oven to 350F and refrigerate your batter for 30 minutes.

Once the 30 minutes are up and your oven is heated, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or Silpats and roll your dough into even balls-to whichever size you desire.

Put them in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, then take them out and slightly flatten them with the back of a spatula. Put them back in the oven for about 5 more minutes, or until they look done.  You will see just a hint of golden brown. 

Remove from the oven and set on the counter to cool.

 

 

I found a few other recipes for Almond Meal Cookies worth checking out!

And you can always make my favorite Clean Almond Butter Cookies!

 

I Went Swimming Again March 29, 2013

Filed under: Swimming — Luv What You Do @ 7:41 pm
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Say What???

 

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Yes, I have now been to the pool the same amount of times (twice) in two weeks as I did all of last summer in prep for my triathlon.  I’d say that is a good start!  Especially since I haven’t even signed up for any summer tri’s.  I am considering one on father’s day and one the end of July.  Tri training is a great way to get in shape and cross training worked well when I did my first marathon in 2011. 

 

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So yesterday morning when the only thing I wanted to do was stay in bed, I crawled out and into a swim suit.  Again, my goal was 20 minutes of swimming.  I did 10 minutes of freestyle (new this season with my new goggles is that I can breathe on both the right and left side) and then about 8 minutes of kickboard drills before finishing off with a few more laps.  The reward, as always was the hot tub waiting for me when I finished.

 

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Friday is typically my day off from working out, but I did drag the BOY out for a 10 minute walk around the neighborhood.  It was 50 degrees today, and the snow pile in our front lawn is almost fully thawed.  It’s been a rather uneventful Passover so far so tonight the BOY and I had a rather uneventful dinner.  I’ve been feeding my carb cravings with chocolate…not too good for the waist line but nice on the taste buds : )

 

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They BOY is already asking when I’ll make another batch of Matzah Toffee.  Now that HIS college basketball season is over after a sad Indiana loss last night, he is transferring his attentions elsewhere…the grill : )  With warm weather expected this weekend and no bread in sight until Tuesday, we are hoping to spend some quality time soaking up vitamin D out back.  Woo Hoo!

 

Alrighty, I have a run planned for early tomorrow morning, so it’s a little TV for me and then off to bed!

Happy Weekend Ya’ll!

.

 

Chocolate Fudge Cake {Revisited} March 27, 2013

Filed under: Dessert,Holidays — Luv What You Do @ 9:35 pm
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I woke up Monday morning with plans for CrossFit, but my stomach wasn’t feeling 100% and it looked like a REALLY tough workout.  I’m not one to usually shy away from a challenge, but an intense weekend of workouts combined with this IBS fare up didn’t sound like a good plan for CrossFit.  Especially since there were like 90 burpees involved!  Instead, I had a productive morning of Passover baking before going to a noon Hot Yoga class.

 

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The yoga class was a wonderful idea.  I love the physical and emotional benefits of sweating away in a hot room pushing my limits in strength, balance, and flexibility.  That morning, my legs were shaking immediately after entering high lunge and chair pose.  I blame Saturday and Sunday’s leg heavy workouts.  The core work and stretching at the end of the class was a wonderful way to wind down the weekend.  When I came home, I had another Passover dessert to make.

 

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Don’t be scared away by the word Passover because this is the Best Flourless Chocolate Cake EVER!

 

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I discovered this cake around Passover time a few years back, but this cake is good enough for year round consumption.  The last time I made it, it came out in a few pieces.  So I was determined to do it right this year.

 

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The cake came out of the oven with a bit of a lump.

 

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That soon turned into a crater.  I decided to let it cool fully before taking it out of the pan.  And then decided to just travel to my parents with the cake still in the pan.

 

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Where it stayed…so I decided to sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve it from the pan.  The cake tasted just as good, if not better, than I remember!  This is one INCREDIBLE chocolate cake.  Not too rich, but with a creamy chocolate flavor.  We had a beautiful Passover evening at my parent’s house with delicious food and great company!  I’m so exhausted from the last few nights of fun (and wine) that I am heading to bed early tonight.

 

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In honor of Passover, I made another one of my favorites…

 

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Matzah Toffee!

 

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This might be my best batch yet!

 

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I love the dark chocolate flavor from the Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar!

 

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I’ve been collecting some new Passover recipes, so we’ll see have time to get to this weekend!

 

Anyone else celebrating Passover?

How’s it going?

 

 

 

Chocolate Fudge Cake

From Southern Living

 

Ingredients

Vegetable cooking spray

Unsweetened cocoa

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup margarine

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a 9-inch pieplate with cooking spray, and dust with cocoa.

2. Melt chopped chocolate and margarine in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth; whisk in 3/4 cup sugar, whisking until blended.

3. Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in chocolate mixture, whisking until blended. Pour into prepared pieplate.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until edges are dry and center is set. (Do not overbake.) Cool in pieplate on a wire rack 30 minutes or until completely cool. (Cake will fall slightly when removed from oven.) Dust with 2 Tbsp. powdered sugar just before serving.

 

 

Matzah Toffee

 

Ingredients

2-3 sheets of matzah (broke up as needed)

2 sticks of butter

1 cup brown sugar (I used light)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Trader Joe’s Pound Plus dark chocolate bar (or 1 package of semi sweet or dark chocolate chips)

 

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cover a 9×13 pan with foil or parchment paper.  Spray well with Pam to cover.

-Break up matzah as needed to cover the entire bottom of the pan.

-In a saucepan on the stovetop, combine butter and brown sugar, stirring constantly until boiling.  Continue to stir for 3 minutes until thickened.  Cool slightly and then stir in vanilla.

-Bake in preheated oven for 5-7 minutes until mixture starts to bubble.

-Remove from oven and cover toffee with chocolate chunks.  Return to oven for 2-3 minutes until chocolate starts to soften.  Spread chocolate with a spatula to cover toffee.

-Optional: cover with almonds, walnuts, sprinkles, or anything else you want!

-Let cook completely or place in fridge/freezer before breaking apart.

-Store in airtight container in freezer.

 

 
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