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7 Favorite Summer Recipes

Written on July 28, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Recipe Round-Up

Summer is an appetite killer. I can’t be the only one who has a hard time being creative in the kitchen and thinking of perfect flavors to mix for dinner when it’s 90 degrees outside and humid. I’d rather take out the ice cream and call it a night.

Mashed potatoes and gravy aside, there are still plenty of healthy and not so healthy foods you can make with a little forethought that’ll have you hungry even in the Summer. Here are some of my favorites to make when the temperatures climb.

Drinks

Tequila sunrises are a perfect Summer drink with only 3 ingredients and the refreshing taste of orange juice. A less complicated drink means more time having fun outside and socializing.

Appetizers

Firecracker guacamole has a nice spicy kick to wake up your taste buds. And of course it has a fresher taste than store-bought guacamole because it’s all homemade. It’s a winner for hosting a party or bringing to a party.

If you’re grilling, perfect grilled potatoes are the way to go. They’re similar to a thick-cut oven fry but instead get an added smoky flavor from the grill, and a cinch to make while you’re grilling up dinner.

Entrees

Hot or cold, caramelized onion and balsamic vinegar bean salad makes for a tasty dinner with sweet and savory flavors. You can make a big batch on the weekend and have it any night you feel like a home-cooked meal without the effort.

Easy black bean salad is the dish to make if you only have 5 minutes or don’t feel like turning the stove on. It’s a one-pot winner with a slightly spicy kick and and simple ingredients.

Dessert

Chubby hubby cheesecake lives up to all the expectations the Ben & Jerry’s flavor brings. The pretzel crust, peanut butter cream cheese filling, and chocolate ganache are always a hit. It’s a great ice-box dessert recipe to bring to the picnic.

If you’re a fan of s’mores stuck without a campfire, no-bake peanut butter s’mores bars are the perfect fix for a sweet treat. They’re easily portioned, too, so make them for a crowd and watch them fly off the plate.

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Easy Reese’s Fudge

Written on July 9, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

On a trip to New York a couple weeks ago, I had an hour to kill in Times Square. It’s probably no surprise I made a beeline for the M&M store and then quickly followed over to the Hershey’s store. Anywhere that sells that much chocolate should be a tourist destination in itself.

I still had chocolate on the brain after getting home from that trip and had to make this fudge. Surprisingly I hadn’t made microwave fudge in about a year so this was long overdue. Adding a little bit of Reese’s peanut butter cups was the perfect touch to these; if anything deserves a pairing with chocolate it’s peanut butter.

I used dark chocolate chips which made the fudge a little less sweet but gave a good contrast to the peanut butter cups. Instead of the fun-sized Reese’s cups you could use full-sized ones cut into more pieces or the new unwrapped miniatures.

Easy Reese’s Fudge

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 20 servings):

1 10oz bag chocolate chips
1 4oz stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
10 fun-sized Reese’s, chopped into fourths

Method:

Melt together the chocolate chips and butter in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together the milk and powdered sugar until the sugar dissolves.
Mix the milk in with the melted chocolate and butter and beat until smooth.
Pour the hot fudge into a greased 8-inch loaf pan. You can add wax paper as a liner to make the removal and clean up easier.
Sprinkle the chopped up Reese’s on top of the fudge and press it in gently with your hand.
Refrigerate the fudge until it hardens, about 2 hours.
With a sharp knife, slice the fudge into 1-inch squares. Keep it in the refrigerator when not enjoying.

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Oat Flour Brownies

Written on May 21, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

If there’s one thing I could make with my eyes closed, it’s brownies. I think my 6th sense is knowing when brownies are done in the oven without a timer. I can tell this is another brownie recipe I’ll come back to time and time again.

One commenter mentioned that she uses oat flour in recipes that call for almond flour regularly and I wanted to try that for myself with my almond flour brownies recipe. Almond flour is a great gluten and grain-free baking flour but I don’t always keep it handy.

This recipe is basically the same as for almond flour brownies except with a little bit of water added to account for the grains. The brownies came out perfectly moist and chewy. I think the grains made them taste a little bit more like regular brownies than their almond counterpart. They were also slightly cakier than the almond flour brownies but still completely enjoyable for fudgy brownie lovers. Overall these were definitely a winner.

You don’t need to go out and buy a bag of oat flour for this recipe; you can make 3/4 cup oat flour by grinding 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor or high-speed blender until it’s finely ground. If it’s big enough, you can even use the processor as a mixing bowl and blend the ingredients right in there instead of dirtying more dishes.

Oat Flour Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

3/4 cup oat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
1/2 cup butter
7oz semisweet or bittersweet baking chocolate, divided OR 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup water

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the oat flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and set aside.
In a separate bowl, melt together 4 ounces of chocolate or a scant 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, water, and coffee granules if using.
Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate and gently press it into the batter.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Written on May 13, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

It’s been a busy month. This blog(and cooking anything without a microwave in general) have taken a bit of a back seat. Hopefully someday soon I’ll have a more regular schedule and school off my shoulders but right now sporadic will have to do.

Thankfully you can make some pretty great things with a microwave and 5 minutes. I forgot about this recipe for almost a year and just thought of it again when I made a run to a mini-mart to stock up on chocolate and Reese’s cups. They’re probably much cheaper and more delicious than Reese’s cups. So far they’ve made a great study snack and given me something to stress eat at 2am.

This recipe is the same as the original post. I tried making it with cane sugar instead of powdered sugar because that’s what I had and—while still delicious—I think the powdered sugar has a much better texture to it. I would also try adding chopped salted peanuts on top of the chocolate if you like a little crunch.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars(adapted from Oh Baby Bars)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 24 servings):

3/4 cup peanut butter, runny or no-stir
7 Tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
10oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

In a large bowl, melt 6 tablespoons of butter along with the peanut butter until completely liquid.
Add the powdered sugar into the peanut butter and butter mixture and beat until completely incorporated. Press the peanut butter mixture into a loaf pan or a 9 x 9 pan for smaller portions.
Melt the chocolate chips and remaining tablespoon of butter together and mix. Pour this over the peanut butter layer.
Refrigerate until the chocolate has set. Cut at room temperature into 1 x 1 square servings.

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Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Written on April 29, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

When you find a recipe that just works, you never want to stray from it. This is the third time I’ve posted about these cookies; I didn’t realize that the original recipe post is almost 2 years old until I sat down to write this one. In that time a lot of commenters have made these and enjoyed them and I hope a lot more will continue to.

I’ve tried to make other gluten-free cookie recipes in the past and ended up with a tray of flattened, cooked dough; thankfully I’ve never had a problem with these. They bake and spread just like regular chocolate chip cookies. This time I mixed some chopped pecans and walnuts into the batter. I didn’t think that they could actually get better but that proved me wrong.

I’ve now made this recipe with almond meal(finely ground almonds) and almond flour(finely ground blanched almonds) and can tell you it doesn’t make much of a difference. The ones with almond flour were a little softer as they baked and lighter in color but the end results were pretty much the same.

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 12 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 12 cookies):

1 1/2 cups(6 ounces) almond flour or almond meal
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped nuts(optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Gradually beat the egg into the butter and sugar mixture.
Add the almond flour, salt, vanilla and baking soda in with the other ingredients and mix well.
Add in the chocolate chips and nuts if using and fold them into the batter.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and press them down gently onto a non-stick baking surface.
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies rise and the edges have browned.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool before moving. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

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Bailey’s Hot Chocolate Truffles

Written on March 24, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Spring is usually the end of hot chocolate and Bailey’s on the rocks, but with the weather we’ve been having this week I think it’s perfectly alright to keep those on the table for a little while longer.

I wanted to make these truffles for a friend and also as an excuse to pick up discounted Irish cream the day after St. Patrick’s day. The alcohol gives them a special warming kick that’s undeniably good. Since I was running low on cocoa powder, I used hot chocolate mix to dust them instead; I think they turned out a lot better than usual because they don’t have that bitter bite that cocoa powder tends to give.

I used American Heritage chocolate drink mix for the coating which was rich and flavorful. I wouldn’t recommend using a mix that is overly processed or full of chemicals. You could also mix 6 Tablespoons of sugar and 2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder for a nearly identical coating.

Bailey’s Hot Chocolate Truffles

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup(8.5oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 Tablespoons Irish cream
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup powdered hot chocolate mix*

*See paragraph above

Method:

Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Mix the Irish cream into the melted chocolate until it’s smooth and shiny.
Refrigerate or freeze the chocolate until it’s semi-soft and doesn’t stick to your hands. You want it to be a little colder than you think it should be since your hands will warm it over time.
Pour the hot chocolate mix into a small bowl or onto a small plate.
With a melon-baller or a spoon, carve out pieces of chocolate about 1-inch in width. Roll the chocolate into as round a ball as you can and drop it into the hot chocolate mix.
Roll the ball around in the hot chocolate mix until the sides are all covered and move it to an air-tight container.
Refrigerate the truffles for 30 minutes for the right consistency before eating. Keep them refrigerated when not enjoying.

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Almond Butter Fudge + Giveaway

Written on February 15, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert, Giveaway

It’s no surprise that I’m a fan of almonds in all form on this blog, whether its almond butter, almond flour or just almonds. I’m still trying to wrap my mind around where the milk comes from though.

The Almond Board of California alerted me that tomorrow, February 16th, is National Almond Day and what better way to celebrate than with a recipe and a giveaway?

I came across this crazy delicious recipe for coconut fudge on the Whole Foods recipe blog and had to try it out with almonds. I knew if the finished result tasted anything like chocolate covered almonds it would be right up my alley.

Salt and almonds are the perfect way to dress up a simple fudge recipe. You could add a little sugar into the melted chocolate but the simple flavor and crunch of the almonds shine through without anything added.

Almond Butter Fudge

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 20 servings):

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons natural almond butter
3 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup shaved almonds

Method:

In a medium-sized bowl, melt together the chocolate chips and butter until they are runny and smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the almond butter, water, vanilla extract and salt together until evenly mixed.
Stir the wet mixture into the melted chocolate and mix until smooth.
Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch loaf pan or other small Tupperware.
Pour the fudge into the load pan and lightly shake until it has set in an even layer.
Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the fudge and press them in gently.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes until the fudge has set before cutting into 1-inch squares.

Now for the exciting part. The Almond Board of California is giving away an almond prize pack to one random US reader. You’ll get the same package I received including almond butter, almonds, slivered almonds, almond flour, and flavored almonds. To enter, leave a comment for each entry below.

Follow @Almonds on Twitter and leave a comment.
Follow @WannabeChefEvan on Twitter and leave a comment.
Like California Almonds on Facebook and leave a comment.
Like The Wannabe Chef on Facebook and leave a comment.

The giveaway is open until Wednesday, February 20th. Good luck!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark

Written on February 8, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Whoever decided Cookies N’ Cream would get so much attention? There are Cookies N’ Cream ice creams, milk shakes, chocolate bars, granola bars—everything–Cookies N’ Cream.

I’m a bigger fan of the classic chocolate chip cookie; there’s nothing that you shouldn’t be able to do with a chocolate chip cookie. With chocolate, brown sugar, butter, and vanilla, there aren’t any other flavors you could ask for.

This bark, like most others, is simple to make but always a huge hit. Anyone who likes the taste of a chocolate chip cookie won’t be able to pass it up.

For this recipe you don’t want to use your grandmother’s fresh-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies but instead something from the store shelf like Chips Ahoy! or Lucy’s that’s crunchy and won’t get stale in the bark.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bark

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 16-20 servings):

8.5 ounces white chocolate OR 1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup chocolate chips
5 chocolate chip cookies, broken into pieces

Method:

Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave or over a double boiler.
Spread the melted chocolate out onto non-stick wax paper in a thin layer.
Spread the broken chocolate chip cookie pieces out on top and then the chocolate chips so that they evenly cover the bark.
Lightly press the toppings into the bark.
Refrigerate or freeze the bark for 20-30 minutes until it has solidified. Break the bark into equal-sized pieces to serve.
Keep refrigerated when not eating.

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Low-Fat Cake Balls

Written on January 5, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Cake pops are one of my favorite recent food trends, not because I think they taste all that much better than regular old cake, but because once and a while we all make that cake that doesn’t rise or come out just how we planned and won’t serve to people but can’t bear to throw away.

That’s the beauty of cake pops: They’re very forgiving. You can start out with dry or crumbly cake and still come out with something delicious.

Chobani sent me a few of their 32oz yogurt containers for their Just Add Good cooking campaign. They’ve added a new Kitchen page to their website full of yogurt recipes and beautiful photos to get your gears turning.

When I made these cake balls, I swapped out the oil in the cake recipe for an equal amount vanilla Greek yogurt. For the frosting I mixed the cake with, I swapped out the butter for 1/2 the amount called for of plain 2% greek yogurt. The result was just as moist and delicious as any cake ball I’ve made before.

Since you lose richness when you cut the fat out of a recipe, this works better with bitter or spicy cake flavors like chocolate, pumpkin, or carrot cake. I used a gluten-free pumpkin spice cake with a white chocolate coating.

Don’t forget when melting chocolate to look for baking chocolate instead of chocolate chips. Baking chocolate melts smoother and makes a better coating for the cake pops.

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12 Months Of Recipes

Written on December 29, 2012 by Wannabe Chef in Recipe Round-Up

It’s hard to believe the final week of 2012 is here. I wanted to do a round-up of some of my favorite recipes from the year but wasn’t sure how to go put it together. I decided to go with my favorite recipe from each month of 2012. Needless to say, there’s a lot of peanut butter and chocolate involved. I’m hopeful that I’ll get to make and share each of these again in 2013, especially the ones I haven’t made for almost a year; recipes only live as long as somebody’s making them.