Healthy Chef Recipe: Yam Chocolate Spice Bars

From Denny:  Here's an interesting twist for the holidays - chocolate chips in your yams!  This is a quick recipe utilizing a spice cake mix, canned sweet potatoes, chocolate chips, real butter and reduced-fat cream cheese to create a delectable but easy to make dessert!

This recipe comes from Holly Clegg who has been a celebrity in Louisiana from some time now.  Why?  She was on the cutting edge of the food trends to reduce calories in our favorite comfort foods while adding nutrition.

Holly's father suffers from arthritis and she has developed a book of recipes to help those with arthritis reduce inflammation through food choices (think watermelon and sweet potatoes).  Holly also has a book on diabetes recipes.  Her mind is always thinking of healthier ways to trim, substitute or re-think our favorite recipes for modern times and health needs.

Louisiana yams and sweet potatoes are quite popular in our state so the local chefs are constantly thinking of new ways to include these vitamin A and vitamin C packed veggies into our everyday diet.  Holly also suggests this recipe is a good way to use up leftover sweet potatoes.

Vintage Bicycle Cookie Jar

Vintage Bicycle, a curious blast from the past, to warmly decorate the present. This design also available in flour and sugar containers, and teapots, cocktail plates, platters, serving trays and bedding, pillows, shower curtain, clocks, area rugs and more!

Here are a few tips to get you through the holidays from Holly Clegg:

• 1 cup canned = 1 medium cooked, fresh
• 1 (16-ounce) can = 1 cup mashed sweet potatoes
• When using canned sweet potatoes, add at end of recipe
• Baked sweet potatoes freeze well
• Store at room temperature

Yam Chocolate Spice Bars

Servings:  48 squares

From:  Holly Clegg for Albertson's grocery stores - and HollyClegg's Site

Preparation Time:  15 minutes

Cook Time:  50 minutes 

"One bite of this incredible fall favorite made with a spice cake mix, yam filling and chocolate chips was a taste sensation. Everyone requested this recipe. Good use for leftover cooked sweet potatoes."

Ingredients:

1 box (18.25-ounce) spice cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg

1 package (8-ounce) reduced-fat cream cheese

1 can (15-ounce) sweet potatoes, drained and mashed

1 box (16-ounce) confectioners’ sugar

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat 13x9x2-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In mixing bowl, beat together cake mix, butter, and egg until well mixed. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3. In mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, sweet potatoes, confectioners’ sugar, egg whites, and vanilla until creamy. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour mixture over batter in pan.

4. Bake 40-50 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool to room temperature and cut into squares.

Terrific Tip: Most bar cookies freeze well, so feel free to make ahead and pull out when you have a craving.

Nutrition Nugget: You know yams are an excellent source of antioxidant-rich carotenoids because of their deep orange color – great for reducing inflammation.

Nutritional Information: 

Calories 134

Calories from Fat 42

Total Fat 5g 

Saturated Fat 3g 

Cholesterol 12mg 

Sodium 116mg 

Total Carbohydrate 22g 

Sugars 16g

Protein 2g


And here is a site for:  Easy DIY Thanksgiving Crafts Kids Can Make

Writers Thank You Greeting Cards (Pk of 10)

Elegant lady writer ponders what to write on her scroll.  This design also available as an ornament for your tree or to include with your thank you note as a little gift for the holiday season!

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Thank you for supporting this cause.  You rock!

Subscribe in a reader to Romancing The Chocolate

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

* * * Be sure to check out the Romancing The Chocolate Amazon book store for cookbooks on chocolate!

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Holiday Cookie: Chocolate Bon-Bon Drops

From Denny:  These are simple chocolate cookies that your kids could help you make.  You roll the dough into small balls before placing on the cookie sheet.  Little hands love to do fun projects like rolling cookie dough.  The trick is to keep them from stuffing the raw dough into their mouths! :)

These easy cookies are deep-chocolate rich, topped off with a very sweet vanilla glaze.  For the holidays you could top them with a Hershey's chocolate kiss or a bright red cherry or other holiday decoration to dress up the cookie tray.  Better yet, give them away as a holiday food gift and become the favorite friend and relative for life!

Included are reviews of bakers who tried this recipe.  Since I enjoy reading them I thought you might too.

Celebrate Dark Chocolate Queen Duvet

Chocolate Bon-Bon Drops

From:  King Arthur Flour, ingredients list available in ounces and grams as well as volume.  "Tender, deep-chocolate cookies with a rich, sweet vanilla glaze, these bite-sized beauties are perfect for a holiday cookie tray or hostess gift. Topped with a chocolate pearl, or bright red cherry, each cookie is a jewel to the eyes and a gem for the tastebuds."

Hands-on time:  8 mins. to 10 mins.

Baking time:  7 mins. to 10 mins.

Total time:  15 mins. to 20 mins.

Yield:  approx. 2 dozen cookies, depending on size

Tips from our bakers

• When making the glaze, heavy cream will give the richest, most creamy results. The creaminess of the glaze is a perfect counterpoint to the crisp, shortbread-like consistency of the cookie.
• While you can choose to skip the chilling step for these cookies, they'll bake up flatter, and not as nicely domed as when chilled.
• For festive chocolate-peppermint bon-bon drops, replace the vanilla bean paste in the glaze with 3 drops of peppermint oil, and garnish each cookie with a sprinkling of peppermint crunch or crushed candy canes.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cookies

• 12 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process (European-style) cocoa
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Vanilla Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1/4 cup heavy cream OR half and half OR milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Directions:

1) Place all the cookie dough ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat on medium speed until a soft, smooth dough is formed. Remove from the bowl, and shape into a 3/4" thick disc. Wrap well in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes, or as long as overnight.

2) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Shape the dough into small balls, about the size of a large gumball (a teaspoon cookie scoop is a huge help here). Space evenly on the cookie sheet, leaving about 2" between cookies. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Watch the cookies carefully to avoid scorching the bottoms.

3) Remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool slightly on the pans while you prepare the glaze. For the glaze:  blend the sifted confectioners' sugar with the heavy cream and vanilla bean paste. This glaze will be thick, almost icing consistency. If you use half and half (or milk) and vanilla extract, the glaze will be much thinner and not as rich.

4) Using a teaspoon, portion the glaze over the barely warm cookies. You can pipe the glaze from a piping bag or zip-top bag with a corner cut off as well. Top with chocolate pearls, slivers of maraschino cherry, or chocolate sprinkles. Store any leftovers at room temperature for up to a week.

Celebrate Chocolate Silver Square Necklace

Reviews

• 2darnhot2 from KAF Community

• Jen 

• Erin from Boston

• Amanda from Vancouver, BC, Canada

• Jennifer from Dallas, TX

• Mitchell Geller from Watertown MA

• Sofia from Phoenix, AZ

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Thank you for supporting this cause.  You rock!

Subscribe in a reader to Romancing The Chocolate

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

* * * Be sure to check out the Romancing The Chocolate Amazon book store for cookbooks on chocolate!

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Holiday Recipe: Frozen Grasshopper Pie

From Denny:  This retro recipe is a blast from the past - with updates!  The decade of the 1950's sported the food trend of frozen desserts, especially for entertaining and the holidays.

Historically, it was in the 1950's when freezers were first mass manufactured as separate from refrigerators.  This new appliance trend created some serious creativity in the cooking arena with frozen desserts offered.

This Christmas holiday favorite has survived the test of time, in this decade with a couple of tweaks as options for ingredient substitutions - like frozen yogurt or reduced-fat ice cream for the original full fat ice cream in the filling.  Using canola oil reduces the saturated fat in the original crust that used butter - later in the 1960's and 1970's it was worse, using solid shortening like Crisco for the crust.

Basically, this is a type of frozen mint ice cream pie with a delicious chocolate cookie wafer or chocolate graham cracker crust.  It's a very easy recipe to make which also makes it a big hit.  This recipe is an easy one for beginners.

Celebrate Chocolate Queen Duvet

Celebrate Chocolate every day as a holiday!

Frozen Grasshopper Pie

Yield: 8 servings

Serving size: 1 slice

From:  CanolaInfo

Ingredients:

• canola oil cooking spray
• 1¼ cup finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies or chocolate graham cracker crumbs (310 mL)
• 3 Tbsp canola oil (45 mL)
• 4 cups mint chip reduced-fat ice cream or frozen yogurt, softened* (1 L)
• 1/3 cup chocolate shavings (1 oz (30 g) chocolate)* (60 mL) 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray 9-inch (22-cm) pie dish with canola oil cooking spray.
2. In medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and canola oil and mix until combined, then press mixture into prepared pie dish. Bake until fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes. Allow to cool completely.
3. In large bowl, place softened ice cream and mix well until uniform texture forms, similar to soft-serve ice cream. Fill cooled pie crust with ice cream, smoothing out top. Garnish with chocolate shavings, cover with plastic wrap and put back in freezer until solidly frozen, at least 4 hours. 
4. When ready to serve, heat knife under hot water and use it to cut pie into slices. 

* Notes: An ice cream or frozen yogurt without green food coloring is recommended. To make chocolate shavings, use a vegetable peeler to peel strips from a thick block of chocolate. If the chocolate crumbles as you make the shavings, put it in the microwave at 10-second intervals to soften it slightly.

	Per Serving Calories 290 Total Fat 14 g Saturated Fat 5 g Cholesterol 15 mg Sodium 190 mg Carbohydrates 36 g Fibre 1 g Protein 5 g Celebrate Chocolate Earring Circle Charm

Celebrate Chocolate Necklace Circle Charm

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  Thank you for supporting this cause.  You rock!

Subscribe in a reader to Romancing The Chocolate

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

* * * Be sure to check out the Romancing The Chocolate Amazon book store for cookbooks on chocolate!

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Christmas Gift Recipe: Peanut Butter Fudge

From Denny:  This is an easy unique way to cook fudge - in a slow cooker!  What fun, a super simple fast recipe!  It has our name all over it and think how you can make up many batches of this to give as hostess gifts at Christmas parties or other seasonal gift giving.

It's also a kid friendly recipe it's so easy to do.  You cook the fudge on High in the slow cooker for about 20 minutes total and then pour it out into a pan lined with waxed paper.  Place in fridge to cool and harden.

Angels Rejoice Snowflake Ornament

'Tis the season, let the angels Rejoice!

Peanut Butter Fudge

From:  Ramon Biggio

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 (18-oz.) jar peanut butter, crunchy or creamy
12 ozs. semisweet chocolate chips
1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Spoon out peanut butter into slow cooker and add in chocolate chips.
2. Cook on High for 10 to 15 minutes or until melted. Stir.
3. Pour in condensed milk and vanilla. Stir and continue cooking on High for 10 minutes.
4. Pour into 9x9-inch dish lined with wax paper. Refrigerate until firm and cut into squares.

Santa Rejoices Music Round Ornament

Santa loves the music of the season!

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - helping homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  

Subscribe in a reader to Romancing The Chocolate

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place.  A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

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Comfort Food From Louisiana: Beef: Braised Sirloin Tips

Mushrooms Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Comfort Food From Louisiana: Beef: Braised Sirloin Tips: From Denny: Want a low maintenance meal to throw in the oven during the holiday season while you tend to other things? A hearty casserole is always welcome when the weather turns chilly. You might want relief from dining on turkey. Why not try this easy braised sirloin tips recipe?

Besides, it has brain food: mushrooms. During the holiday season it's easy to get frazzled and it sure is fun to know that mushrooms are available to get our overloaded brains back on target. :)

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