Stress, food, and some great recipes to try

Stress and food, need I say more? For me they seem to go hand in hand and it is not a good combination for me being I am trying to lose weight. When I am stressed I love to cook and eat all my favorite comfort foods that I remember from growing up, the problem with these foods is that they are full of calories and high in fat.

I love to cook and cooking is a way for me to relieve stress, I just send the girls downstairs and turn up the tunes. Lately though while trying to lose weight cooking has become boring to me, I think it is the one ingredient cooking (Leigh Peele) that is doing it to me. To those who are not into cooking, I think one ingredient cooking while trying to lose weight is a wonderful idea, it is quick and straight forward, but to me it has gotten boring not only to me but to my kids. I try different spices to mix things up and it works great, but I miss some of my favorite dishes as does my kids. I am getting tired of hearing, "Oh, chicken again!" So, the following cookbook a friend let me borrow has given me a great idea, it is called NOW eat THIS! 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods All Under 350 Calories by Rocco DiSpirito. It is a great cookbook full of stuff we love to eat. I have tried two recipes, Meat Loaf with Portobello Mushrooms and Grilled Chicken Parmigiano, they both went over well and will be made again. I try to plan my meal plans 2 weeks in advance, so my new goal is to try and make the comfort foods I love a bit healthier.

I just read a great review of this book on Diets in Review.com. I have not tried the recipes that are listed on this site, Rocco’s Brownies and Flash-Fried Finger-Lickin’ Chicken but I will soon along with the Mac n' Cheese recipe he has in there. Until then I will leave you with the Meat Loaf recipe in hopes you will follow the links and try all these tasty recipes and go buy the book for even more. If these recipes are not what you are looking at trying I found some more sample recipe in the Google Books section.


For this recipe I could not find Ian's All-Natural Panko breadcrumbs, so I used other whole wheat ones. I also added 1-2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes in it to give it a bit of a kick, it turned out great and does not add any additional calories.


Meatloaf with Portobello Mushrooms
Serves 4
Per serving: Fat 8.9g, calories 212, protein 21g, carbs 11g, cholesterol 55mg, fiber 2g, sodium 400mg
From Now Eat This!

Ingredients:

4 ounces portobello mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup reduced-sugar ketchup, such as Heinz
12 ounces 93% lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (try and use fresh, dried just does not taste the same!)
1/2 cup whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs, such as Ian's All-Natural
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and set it aside.

Place the mushrooms in a food processor, and pulse until they are very finely chopped; scrape them into a large mixing bowl. Add the garlic cloves to the food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the egg substitute and 1 Tablespoon of the ketchup, and puree until the garlic is smooth. Scrape the garlic mixture into the bowl containing the mushrooms.

Add the beef, parsley, and panko to the bowl. Add the salt and season with pepper to taste. Using your hands, gently mix the ingredients until they are just combined.

On the prepared baking sheet, form the meat mixture into an 8x4x1 1/2 inch loaf. Brush the remaining ketchup over the loaf. Bake until the meatloaf is cooked through, 18-20 minutes.

Allow the meatloaf to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.


Source: DiSpirito, R., (2010). Now eat this!. New York:Ballantine Trade Paperback Original.

Game Day Food

This weekend is the big game, Steelers vs the Pack. Everyone who knows me, know I live in cheeseland, but me and my family are HUGE Steelers fans. This sometimes makes it difficult for my 8 yr old.

One thing I love about the Super Bowl is the food. I am always amazed at what everyone serves. Being we are in a new home this year and have plenty of room we are having our second football party and our very first Super Bowl party. My daughter is very excited to have people over, but I am not sure if she is more excited for the people or the food. At the last one she pulled a chair up to the counter and grazed on all of the food. There were few people here, but enough food for 4 times that many! Some of you may be curious as to what that food was, well I am going to tell you what we had last time and what I am making this time.

Game Day Food Ideas

This is what we had a few weeks ago.

Cheesy Potatoes
Sloppy Joes
M & M Dream Bars
Veggie Tray & Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dip (16 oz of sour cream mixed with 1 Packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dip)
Beer Dip
Tastefully Simple's Warm the Oven Dip served with their Bountiful Beer Bread
Hummus variety pack with some Pita Chips
Warm Pizza dip, this is so yummy and super simple I have yet to get the recipe for this one!
Nacho Cheese with tortilla chips (my daughter asked for plain nacho cheese, she didn't want any stuff in it! LOL!)


Super Bowl Food

Here is some things I am having, I am excited to see what everyone else will bring.

Veggie Tray with a dip
BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Cheesy Potatoes
Guacamole with chips
Lil' Smokies

So, whether it be for a game or just a fun filled get together, here are some foods to try. Enjoy!

Brownies

For me brownies are the devil, the devil I tell you. I could eat a whole pan and not even think twice. They are even better warm with ice cream. Now that I have shared one of my deep dark food secrets I will share my famous brownie recipe. Which I cannot believe I am doing in the first place. Some recipes should never be shared, but I am willing to take a risk with this one. Please do not share it with anyone else or else there may be some consequences to face. Muaaawww-aww-aww!


1 box of Duncan Hines Chewy Fudge Brownie mix (yup, you read it right, a boxed brownie mix. Oh, My!)

You Will Need:

Fudgy Brownies (I make it exactly how the recipe says, it is on the back of the box as well.) :

2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil



Pan Size/Bake Time:

* Metal Or Glass Pan:
* 13"x9": 27-30 minutes
* 9"x9": 34-37 minutes
* 8"x8": 42-45 minutes
* Makes 20 Brownies

1. Prep: PREHEAT oven to 350°F for glass or metal pans, 325°F for dark or non-stick pans. GREASE bottom of pan with shortening or cooking spray.

2. Mix: EMPTY brownie mix, egg(s), oil and water in large bowl. STIR until well blended (about 50 strokes). SPREAD in greased pan and bake immediately.

3. Bake: BAKE following times listed. ADD 3-5 minutes for dark or non-stick pans. Brownies are done when toothpick inserted 1 inch from edge of pan comes out clean. COOL completely in pan before cutting and serving.




I have tried so many different brownie recipes and all are very good, but whenever I make these to take somewhere for a potluck or for a meal for someone they get rave reviews. So, I figure, why mess with something as good as these.

Cookie Cheesecake

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but a former co-worker gave me this idea. It is a great dessert!







Ingredients:

3- 8oz cream cheese (softened)
¾ C sugar
1 T vanilla
3 eggs
2 rolls of refrigerated cookie dough

Directions:

Blend cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
Slice cookie dough (thinly), layer bottom of a 9x13 pan or you can press it into the bottom. Either way works. Pour the batter onto the top of the cookie bottom. Take the other roll of cookie dough, thinly slice, and layer the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

Tips:
You can freeze the cookie dough to make it slice easier.
You could also use sugar cookie on the bottom and put strawberries on top.

Lemon Bars

1 pkg lemon cake mix
1 can lemon pie filling
2 C powered sugar
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
1 8oz tub of Cool Whip
1 tsp lemon juice

MIx cake mix as directed on box. Then add one-fourth can of lemon pie filling to batter. Bake in a cookie sheet at 350 for 15 to 18 minutes. Cool and frost with remaining pie filling.

Frosting: Mix powered sugar, cream cheese, cool whip, and lemon juice with a mixer. Frost bars again.

O'Henry Bars

2/3 C margarine or butter
1 C brown sugar
4 C quick rolled oats
1/2 C light corn syrup
3 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1 C chocolate chips
2/3 C crunchy peanut butter

Cream margarine and sugar, add oats, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir until blended. Press firmly into a 9x13 greased pan. Bake at 375 for 12 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a double boiler. Spread melted topping over cooled, baked mixture. Top with nuts of your choice and press into topping. Chill and cut into bars.

Peach Dessert

2 cans of sliced peaches with juice
1 box of butter pecan cake mix
1 stick of butter(cut into slices)

Grease Pan

Mix altogether and bake at 370 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

M & M Dream Bars

This is an awesome bar! I have made this for many potlucks, family gatherings, and just to share, everyone loves them.

2 C oatmeal
1 tsp baking soda
½ C coconut (optional)
1 C melted butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 C peanut butter
1 C m & m’s
1 C chocolate chips
1 C brown sugar
1 ½ C flour
½ tsp salt

Combine: Oatmeal, brown sugar, soda, flour, coconut, and salt. Mix well. Add melted butter. Stir until moist. Will be crumbly. Reserve 1 ½ C of the crumbs. Press remaining crumbs into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 12 min at 375. Combine milk & peanut butter and spread over baked crust. Sprinkle m & m’s and chocolate chips over top. Sprinkle on remaining crumbs. Lightly press crumbs down. Bake for 20 min. Cool before cutting.

Apple Snicker Salad

2 pkgs. Instant French vanilla pudding -- (4oz.)
2 cups milk
8 oz. Cool Whip
1 bag fun-size Snickers bars or 7 large (set some aside for top)
5 Granny Smith apples -- (5 to 7)

Mix pudding & 2 cups milk. Blend 1 minute. Mix pudding & Cool Whip. Cut up apples & Snickers bite-size. Mix together, with pudding mix. Refrigerate hour before serving. Throw reserved Snickers pieces on top for decoration.

Cornbread

I received this from a friend and it is by far the best cornbread I have had. I however, do not put the bacon in mine.


2 slices peppered bacon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (or milk, but I like to use buttermilk if I have it, you can be all healthy and use skim milk if you want, I LIKE FAT)
1/4 vegetable oil or 1/4 cup cut-up butter (what do you think I prefer?)

Using a large iron skillet (a regular is fine also), fry the two slices of bacon. Remove the bacon and drain to use for another purpose OR crumble and stir into your cornbread mixture before baking.

In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, milk, and oil or butter. Stir to combine. Do not overstir! (Sometimes more or less milk is required, depending on slight variations in measuring dry ingredients–add what you need to get a nice, thick almost pourable consistency.)

Variations: More sugar, if you want really sweet cornbread, or less sugar if you plan to add vegetables to the mixture–you can add 1/2 cup or so diced, sauteed onions, peppers, anything that appeals to you. Add shredded cheese, or corn, or even chopped pecans.

Pour cornbread mixture into the iron skillet you used to cook the bacon in to season it with the bacon drippings. (First tip the pan all the way around, spreading the bacon drippings to grease the pan.) Bake in a 425-oven for 20-25 minutes.