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TWD - Granola Grabbers

I was so excited to be making cookies this week. They tend to be quick, easy, and so yummy! These Granola Grabbers were no exception! The batter came together in a few minutes (while my stand mixer was working the butter and sugar, I got everything else together). I overfilled a 2 tsp cookie scoop to make my cookies, and just popped them in the oven. I went slightly over the suggested cooking time for my tray of larger cookies. I did notice that mine flattened right out. I'm not totally sure why. It didn't really bother me though because they were really good! I made a few adjustments... omitted the almonds and peanuts because my granola had almonds in it. I was cutting the recipe in half, but forgot to halve the egg (may have contributed to my spreading problem). Either way, YUM. As a side note, I found a granola I love! I had tried Bear Naked granola before, years ago, and at the first bite definitely noticed how little sugar there was. Maybe I have gotten used to lower sugar foods, or maybe this is just that good, but I LOVE their Vanilla Almond Crunch and almost didn't want to make the cookies and use up 1.5 cups of it! (Photo from Bear Naked website)
Granola Grabbers
From Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Michelle of Bad Girl Baking.
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

Homemade Protein Bars

I am always looking for something that packs a lot of bang for your buck for my husband to eat. He needed something to give him a good jump start in the morning, and when I saw these protein bars over at It's Melissa's Kitchen, I thought they looked great! I made them once, and my husband was hooked! He requested them all! the! time! and wanted them bigger (of course). So I tweaked the recipe and added a few things. We each have one everyday for breakfast! Here is my version:

Homemade Protein Bars
from It's Melissa's Kitchen
Makes 20 regular or 16 large bars

~1.5 cups natural peanut butter (I use Smuckers Natural, Crunchy)
~3 cups chocolate whey protein powder
~6 cups oats
~6 tablespoons ground flax seed
~6 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
~1 cup milk (plus additional as needed to blend)

Combine protein powder, oats, flax seed and wheat germ in a large bowl, stir with a wooden spoon until mixed. Add peanut butter and milk, and stir with spoon or mix with hands (messy, but the most effective method!) until thoroughly combined. Add additional milk as necessary to bring all ingredients together. Line a 9x13 pan with parchement paper. Press mixture into the pan evenly. Place pan in the freezer until bars are set. Remove from pan using parchement paper, then peel the paper off. Cut into 20 regular bars or 16 large bars.

Nutritional Information for 1 regular sized bar:
Calories - 290. Total Fat - 11g. Sat. Fat - 2.1g. Carbohydrates - 29g. Fiber - 4.5g. Sugar - 4.4g. Protein - 22g.

BB: Panzanella

Panzanella is a bread salad. I had never even heard of it before, but it definitely sounded interesting! My parents were visiting last weekend, and it turned out to be the perfect light lunch before we headed south for a Cubs game. I made the full recipe, and it was great for 4 adults. I only used 1/2 to 2/3 of the dressing, though, as I didn't want it saturated in oil. We all thought it was great! It came together very quickly, I can definitely see us having it again!

Panzanella
from Barefoot Contessa Parties! on page 102
Chosen by Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen
See the other Barefoot Bloggers here.

~3 tablespoons good olive oil
~1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
~1 teaspoon kosher salt
~2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
~1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced
~1/2-inch thick 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
~1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
~1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
~20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped
~3 tablespoons capers, drained

For the vinaigrette:
~1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
~1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
~3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
~1/2 cup good olive oil
~1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
~1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.

For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

TWD - Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

I sorta feel like I am cheating a bit here. I made this over a month ago and just never posted about it. I have all intentions of either making it again tonight or making cherry sour cream ice cream tonight... so hopefully you'll see the latter (if I make it) tomorrow. I really liked this ice cream, despite my probably going overboard with the sour cream. It was very pronounced for me. I will definitely be measuring more carefully in the future!

Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream
From Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Dolores of Chronicles in Culinary Curiosity.
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.

PCC8 - Plum Squares and Roasted Eggplant with Tofu and Olives

Today I present my entries for Platinum Chef Challenge #8: Plum Squares and Roasted Eggplant with Tofu and Olives. I really enjoyed hosting this round, be sure to look for a wrap up of all the great entries towards the end of the week!

I tried a few different ideas that kind of flopped, and eventually found two great recipes that I was very happy with. The plum squares turned out a little different than I was expecting, but I was really proud of my first attempt at making fruit preserves. They were so good! I chose eggplant as an ingredient because I had never cooked with it before. I had a great time experimenting with it! The final dish came together with great flavor and would be great with either rice (as I served it) or pasta.

Roasted Eggplant with Tofu and Olives

~1 small eggplant
~about 1 tbsp olive oil
~3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
~1/3 cup diced onion
~12 oz firm or extra firm tofu, chopped into cubes
~about 20 kalamata olives, chopped
~1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (I used homemade ones!)
~1/2 cup artichoke hearts, quartered
~1/2 cup white wine
~1/2 cup chicken broth
~1/2 tsp chili powder
~1 tsp dried thyme
~1/2 tsp dried oregano
~1/2 tsp coriander
~pepper to taste
~juice of 1/2 of a lemon

Dice the eggplant into 1" cubes. Place in a colander in the sink and salt well. Let drain for one hour, then rinse the eggplant well and dry by pressing between paper towels. Prepare a pan (jelly roll works fine) with a little olive oil or cooking spray. Place eggplant on pan in a single layer and roast at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes, until golden.

When eggplant is done, heat olive oil in a large pan. Saute garlic and onions 1-2 minutes, until onion softens. Add tofu, olives, sundried tomatoes, and artichokes to the pan and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add white wine, allow to reduce by half. Add chicken broth and spices, allow to reduce by half, stirring to coat other ingredients. Add eggplant and toss to coat and heat the eggplant through. Add lemon juice, toss to combine. Service over rice or pasta.

Plum Squares
Makes 16 squares

For the plum preserves:
~12oz plums (about 3)
~4oz of cherries (about 10) (or an additional 4 oz plum)
~2 tsp lemon juice
~5 Tbsp sugar
~1/8 cup water
~pinch salt
~1/2 tsp vanilla

For the bottom crust:
~1 1/4 cup flour
~3/4 cup oats
~1/4 cup brown sugar
~1/4 cup white sugar
~1/2 tsp cinnamon
~1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
~1/8 tsp baking soda
~1/8 tsp salt
~8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces

For the upper crust:
~1/2 cup oats
~1/2 cup brown sugar
~1/4 cup flour
~1/2 tsp cinnamon
~1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
~4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

To make the plum preserves: Wash and pitt the plums and cherries. Quarter the plums and halve the cherries. Combine with other ingredients in a saucepan and cook for about 45 minutes, until fruit is soft. Blend into a puree with a blender, food processor, or immersion blender. Set aside to cool slightly.

To make the squares: Make the bottom crust by combining the flour, oats, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Whisk to mix thoroughly. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, until there are pea sized bits. (Alternately, use a food processor). Press into an 8x8 pan that has been prepared with a baking spray or lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the top crust. Combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, until there are pea sized bits. (Alternately, use a food processor).

When the bottom crust is done, spread the plum preserves over the bottom crust. Sprinkle the top crust over the plum preserves. Place back in the oven for 30 minutes more. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cut squares once fully cool.

TWD - Black and White Banana Loaf

This week's recipe was a Black and White Banana Loaf. I had lots of fun trying to make a nice marble without actually reading any of the marbling techniques. ;-) I think they still turned out pretty good. My loaf was quite dense, and I almost forgot it was going to be chocolately when I bit into it. The chocolate was very subtle for me (I used semi-sweet), so being a non-chocolate lover, I really liked that. I served it to friends who loved it, and one even was able to pick out the run flavor.

Black and White Banana Loaf
From Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Chosen by Michelle from Michelle in Colorado Springs.
Check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers here.