Pumpkin Chocolate chip cake cookies

Craved cookies, pies and cake today. This is what I came up with. A yummy treat that remind me of all three. Chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin pie and rum bunt cake without the guilt. 

Ingredients

2 c gram flour (coconut or almond flour if you like)

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg 

1/4 c coconut oil

1 c natural sugar crystals

2 tsp cinnamon powder

1 c chocolate chip morsels

2 tsp organic vanilla extract 

1/2 goji berry powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 c pumpkin purée

1 tsp coconut milk 

Mix dry ingredients flour, cinnamon, goji berry powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder sift and set aside. 

In another bowl add purée, egg, milk, oil and sugar. Whisk well then add to dry ingredients and mix. 

Once well mixed add chocolate chips and extracts. Fold to mix them through well. 

Place spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet and bake them for ten minutes. 

Let them cool on a cookie rack before storing them away. 

Voila! This batch make 24 large cookies. 

Iceberg Arugula Mango Zucchini Salad

1/2 c iceberg lettuce shredded 

1 c arugula

1 c ripe mango sliced 

1 tbsp mango chopped 

1 tbsp reconstituted dried cranberries

1/2 c zucchini sliced thin

1 plum tomato sliced 

1 tsp chives chopped

Vinaigrette 

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil 

Instruction 

In a small bowl add lemon, salt and pepper and whisk the oil. Set aside. 

In a salad bowl add you iceberg, arugula, tomato, zucchini, mango, cranberries and chives. Toss or display as you wish then coat with vinaigrette.   

Plate & serve. 

Bon Apetit! 

Stuffed mushrooms

I've made these with weight watchers cream cheese as well as lighter sour cream cream , ricotta and Cabot reduced fat cheeses. They turned out just as delicious. But this round of stuffed mushrooms grocery list was not gathered by me. 

This way or the lighter version are just as addicting. So be prepared to woof these down. 

Ingredients

1 8 oz container of white mushroom

4 oz Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature 

1/4 c Ricotta cheese

1/4 c sour cream

1 tbsp Monterrey cheese shredded

1 tsp whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 c green onions chopped

Instructions 

Preheat oven 350.

9 inch round baking dish line with aluminum foil set aside. 

With a damp paper towels wipe the mushrooms to remove any left soil.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms. Diced the mushrooms stems set aside. 

In a medium bowl add cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream. diced mushroom and green onions. 

Spoon the cheese mix into the mushrooms. 

Sprinkle a little bread crumbs and a top it with shredded cheese. 

Bake till cheese melts. 

Serve and enjoy!

Bon Apetit ! 

Chicory green vegetable juice

1 full head of chicory greens

1 large cucumber

2 extra large celery stalks

1/2 lemon

1 inch of ginger root

Feed them all through the omega juicer and store in mason jar with lid. Drink w/in 72 hours. 

May garnish with chia seeds, cayenne pepper and or turmeric powder. 

Enjoy!

Black bean fritters

Lent is here and Fridays we avoid eating meat products. I thought of a bean fritters for dinner. I'm so glad they turned out so good and filling. Definitely will be doing these tasty treats again. 

Ingredients

2 cups of soaked beans or 1 16 oz can

2 green scallions chopped (both white & green parts)

1/2 c red peppers

1/2 c green peppers

2 1/2 tbsp of Sofrito

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 small onion diced

2 large garlic cloves grated 

3 tbsp bitter orange

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 c fresh cilantro chopped

1 tsp goji berry powder 

1/2 to a cup of gram flour ( keep at hand extra)

1 tbsp of chopped jalapeño pepper *optional 

Citrus Garnish

1/2 c cherry tomatoes halved

1/2 c onion chopped

1/2 c flat Italian parsley chopped

Juice of a lime

Instructions

Soak beans overnight. Rinse them. In a medium cook them in chicken stalk or 3 to 4 c of water for about 45 minutes or till tender. 

If you are using can beans you can skip the instruction just above. 

In food processor add beans, oil, Sofrito, bitter orange, goji berry powder, black pepper and salt. 

Transfer to a bowl and add red & green peppers, cilantro, garlic & scallions. Stir with spoon to mix well.Test taste for balance. Be advise that this mix is delicious alone and excellent served as a dip with tortilla chips. 

But today we are frying them in pure olive oil. 

As you can see my mix was a bit wet so I added a bit more gram flour. 

Now I was able to handle the mix better. 

Meanwhile, heat your skillet to medium/high. Add olive oil. Then begin to shape your fritters.

Flour your palms with gram flour. Scoop a spoonful of the bean mix on to your hands then carefully lay them into the hot oil. Do not disturb them. Let cook tilll golden brown on each side for about 3-5 minutes. Then careful flip on to the other side and do the same. 

Don't over crowd your skillet so you have enough space when you turn them over as well as you don't want to cool your oil too much. You want your fritter to be crunchy on the outside. 

In a small bowl add tomatoes, onions, lime juice and parsley. Mix. 

Drizzle some of the citrus garnish mix over the hot fritter. 

Delicious!

Great as an appetizer or as a side dish. 

Fried or not this bean mix is yummy. 

Bon Apetit! 

Wheat crusted chicken sandwich w/ sriracha-mayo, krab salad & tabbouleh

Spring is in the air and so are my quick light meals. I love crab salads with real crab meat, but at times my budget don't allow me so I found this imitation crab meat and called Krab salad because its not the real deal. I don't always buy processed stuff but sometimes I have to improvise because of my budget so this one of the items use, as I do with can goods.

 Fresh fish is on my shopping list to buy but I didn't because here in New York (if you haven't seen on the news) we have a bad scare with contaminated fish at our big fish market in China town. Just days ago my daughter and her friends ate fish downtown and came home with food poison. 

That scared the heck out of me. Until they announce more on what's exactly contaminated these fresh fish and what coast are they fishing them from. Canned, dry salted cod and this imitation crab will have to do for the time being. 

Serves 3 - 4 

6 to 4 in sandwiches can be made. 

Salads can be served seconds or store for lunch the next couple days. These salads hold well for up to 5 days in the fridge. 

Ingredients

1 boneless chicken breast thinly sliced

Garlic salt

Black pepper

1 c 4C plain whole wheat bread crumbs 

1 tbsp of wheat flour

1/3 c Olive oil 

Skillet

Paper towel

Plate

 2 loaves of Artisan bread of choice (eg. Italian, Cuban, French, grains, oats or wheat etc.)

1/2 c baby spinach

black pepper

Rice vinegar

Small bowl

Sriracha

Hellmann Mayonnaise 

Instructions

Rinse chicken breast under cool water. Pat dry with clean paper towel. Slice lengthwise very thin so cooking time is super quick. 

On a shallow plate add you wheat bread crumbs, wheat flour, black pepper and set aside. 

In a medium bowl add you chicken and season with garlic salt , lemon and a little black pepper.

Now heat a skillet on meadium high heat. Add olive oil. Test that the oil is hot enough by sprinkling a bit of you crumb/flour mix to the oil. If it sizzles its ready. Dip one fillet of your raw chicken to the breadcrumbs/flour mix and coat each side. Shake off access and gently place in the hot oil. 

 Don't over crowd your pan. Add no more then two fillets at a time. You don't have to cool the oil to much. 

Because you sliced the chicken very thin they will cook quickly. About a minute and a half on each side. Keep close eye they can burn easy. 

Transfer them to soak on plate lined with a clean paper towel like so. 

Continue the process with the remaining chicken. 

Assemble your sandwich. Spread mayo and drizzle sriracha on both sides of the bread. I did not whisk these in a bowl because some of my family member love hot, spicy and some perfect it more mild. So I adjusted the sriracha-mayo according to who I was serving it for. 

Add your breaded chicken, fresh spinach and drizzle some rice vinegar on top of the greens. 

Tabbouleh 

1 c bulgur wheat

Water to soak wheat in

A medium bowl

1/2 c red pepper diced

1/2 c green pepper diced

1/2 c onion diced

1 c grape tomatoes halved

1/4 c extra olive oil

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp of Italian parsley

Let it soak over night. 

 

As you can the bulgur wheat consume all the water. Fluff it with a fork and now add the peppers, onions, balsamic vinegar, parsley and oil. Cover and store it in the fridge till ready to plate and serve.

Krab Salad

1 pk imitation crab (Louis Kemp)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tbsp distilled white vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

A medium bowl

Directions

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate till serving. 

Plate and serve your sandwich with the salads. Enjoy! 

Bon Apetit! 

Mustard Green Dandelion Celery Green juiced in the Omega J8006 Nutrition Center

 I received my new Juicer the Omega J8006 Nutrition Center yesterday. I couldn't wait to share with you all about this powerful machine. 

My daughter bought us our first juicer the Hamilton Beach juicer from Walmart back in September of 2013. I've been using this juicer almost every day, well I tried to use it everyday. For being my first juicer I can't complain. The $40 juicer got the job done. 

Juicing allowed me to control my anemia, migraines, GERD, stomach surgery, vitamin D & B-12 deficiency and arthritic pain. I have others ailments but so far these are the ones I have been able change from severe/chronic levels to mild and almost normal. When I didn't juice because timing restraint or from being lazy I became horribly sick. I knew then juicing is a serious necessity for my well being. 

My goal is to completely be free from having them. So, upgrading my juicer jumped to the top of my priority list. 

Thanks to my daughter, mom and my Instagram customers that purchased my  hand mades on Instagram or on my website  www.cupiecakesgumdrop.com  helped to make this purchase possible. 

Because I rambled on about my health history, I will quickly jump into how it went using the Omega Juicer. 

More input on this machine will surely follow on future articles of mines. 

This bad boy can do a variety of jobs not solely extracting every drop from greens, so stay tuned. 

Let's begin :

Ingredients 

1 large bunch of fresh Dandelions

1 large bunch of fresh Mustard Greens

1 celery heart

Before I started anything I read the small handbook cover to cover. 

Then assembled the machine following the simple instructions. Washed my greens. Then plugged the power house! 

I must admit, when I took out this bad boy from its box I was intimidated and taken by its beauty.

I thought it was going to be loud machine surprisingly it wasn't at all. I was able to keep a conversation with my sister as I fed the greens to the machine. With the Hamilton Beach juicer I couldn't.

With this machine I noticed the foam sits on the wire net sleeve and none in the collection bowl. Excellent. 

The other thing I noticed was the juice extracted from the greens was so thick and bright green. It looked like paint. 

The juice did not separate as it does using the Hamilton Beach juicer.

Now for the taste test. The juice was so potent and strong that I was only able to drink a little less than 8 oz. I felt it in my brain, my heart well actually every single part of my body.

 My friends, you heard it right, I felt every cell in my body come alive. It was so strong that I had to lay down for a minute. 

I then called my mom to tell her about it. She was thrilled to here my voice full of energy. I told her that all my senses have awaken. My vision cleared, my hearing my sense of smell all of it! She laughed and shared my joy. 

So there you have it my friends. I am proud of my investment. Much more expensive than the Hamilton, but worth every hard earned penny. Plus it also has a 15 year warranty.  

 

This is my health insurance! 

Cheers to health. 

 

Asian Style Meatballs & Roasted Asparagus

A simple light asian inspired touch to tonight Sunday dinner 

Yummy meatballs and thin roasted aspagus is what's on the menu. 

Ingredients 

1 lb of ground chicken

2 tbsp Panko plain crumbs ( may want to add more) 

1 large garlic clove minced

1/4 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp mustard greens chopped

2 tbsp flat Italian parsley chopped

1 green onion scallion chopped

1 medium onion chopped

1 tbsp fresh grated ginger

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

Non-stick skillet or frying pan

Medium bowl

1 tbsp olive oil ( optional - if not using a non-stick pan )

1 tsp butter ( optional - if not using a non-stick pan )

Liquid Mix

1/3 c light soy sauce

2 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp chili oil

1 tsp natural sugar crystal ( or sweetener of choice )

1 tsp chives chopped

Small bowl

Whisk

1 lb of thin aspagus washed/ends trimmed

1/8 tsp garlic salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 tsp olive oil

Shallow baking dish

Serves 2 - 3

Instructions

Preheat oven 350.

In a small bowl combine and whisk all the ingrediedients for the liquid mix. 

Set aside. 

In a medium bowl mix ground chicken, 

onions, mustard greens, parsley, garlic, Panko, black pepper and liquid mix. Add more Panko if you see you need it. Sadly I couldn't because I ran out. This helps bond the ground meat better and won't fall apart. 

In a non stick skillet over medium heat (add oil and butter if you are using a regular frying pan).

Spoon and shape the meatballs placing them into a non stick pan. Let them cook for about 3-4 minutes undisturbed. Add water so they steam further for another minute. Flip them over and do the same to all sides. 

Meanwhile, place the aspagus on a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle garlic salt, black pepper and olive oil. Toss to coat evenly. 

Bake for about 3-4 minutes. 

Plate and Serve. 

Bon Apetit! 

Spinach barley pea chicken soup

 

For simple nutritious soup for chilly and rainy days like today are just what I need. 

Ingredients 

2 boneless/skinless chicken thighs cubed

1 bag of spinach

4 c of chicken stock

2 medium potatoes cubed

1 medium onion cubed

1/2 c barley

1/2 c dried split pea

1/4 tsp black pepper

*Check for salt and add if you need. 

Instructions

Add spinach leaves into a blender with a cup of water to liquefy. 

Meanwhile in a large pot add barley, split pea and chicken stock. Let simmer for about 20 minutes. Then add potatoes, the liquified spinach onions and cubed chicken till potatoes are fork tender. May add additional water if needed. 

Plate and serve. 

Bon Apetit.