Chocolate Ball "No-Bakes"

I made these little guys one night when I actually had planned to make the peanut butter brownies I've been craving (check back soon for that recipe!) Unfortunately that night, I lacked motivation to actually "bake" anything, so I settled for these instead. I got the recipe from IKEA (shocking, I know, since I've pretty much lived in that store since we got to San Diego).  Obviously it's not an IKEA original, as Drew let me know his mom made these a lot when he was growing up. Whether you've been making them for years, or this is your first time like me, they're easy, delicious, and you probably have all the ingredients on hand. Enjoy!

7 tbsp butter
7 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups rolled oats
3 tbsp cold strong coffee
Crushed sanding sugar (I used regular white sugar) or shredded coconut

Mix butter, sugar, unsweetened cocoa and coffee.  Form into small balls, about 3/4"-1" in diameter (I like to think of the same size that you make chocolate chip cookie dough before baking). Roll them in either sugar or coconut. Put them in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving. Eat with milk, coffee or what I did...wine.

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

I found this recipe on two different food blogs I read, so I figured they must be good. Turns out, they're awesome. They stay fresh, dense and chewy for days (two of us polished them off in three days)! I also learned how to spell "mascarpone," so making these brownies was quite a personal success. They are a little more time consuming than other made-from-scratch recipes, but I think it's worth it for these guys have when you're done. 

1 cup unsalted butter

3 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened

3 large eggs, at room-temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped walnuts

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, or leftover chopped semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 325°F; butter an 8-inch square pan. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and bring it to just below a boil; have the chopped chocolate in a mixing bowl--pour the hot butter over the chocolate and let stand for 30 seconds.

I used a combination of dark and milk chocolate from bars we got at IKEA…so just use whatever you have on hand for the chopped chocolate, it will be good regardless. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add the sugar and cocoa powder. 

With a wooden spoon, beat in the mascarpone, eggs (30 minutes on the counter brings them to room temperature-I also recently learned you do this to avoid any chance of cooking the eggs when adding them to batter or dough mixtures). Then add vanilla, mixing until smooth.

Gently fold the flour and salt into the batter. Add walnuts and chocolate chips, stirring only enough to mix in. 

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly--if the batter isn't spread evenly, it won't bake evenly.

Place into preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean (45 minutes did it for me). Place pan on a cooling rack and let brownies cool for 10-15 minutes. Eat. Immediately. 

They were so good, I was told "I can't believe these didn't come out of a box."  You know how most brownies get a little "crusty" on the edges and corners? These have the exact same softness and texture throughout. Basically, the corner pieces feel and taste the exactly like the middle piece--that's pretty incredible if you ask me, and one more reason I will be making these guys again...soon. 

Asian Noodle Salad with Salmon

Inspired by a friend's delicious dish, I made this meal as the first official dinner cooked in the new San Diego kitchen (on the new kitchen island--see previous post!). It's flavorful, light, full of veggies and best of all, it's super easy.

4 Salmon filets, seasoned with soy sauce and rice vinegar, grilled or baked
1/2 lb. whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1/4 cup rice vinegar
4 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh grated or finely chopped ginger
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced lenghtwise
6 large strawberries, sliced
2 handfuls of spring mixed greens

Get the salmon rolling, either on the grill or in the oven. Cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente, drain, rinse with cold water, then set aside. Whisk together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, soy sauce and ginger. Set aside.

Mix bell pepper, strawberries, and greens in large bowl with the noodles (as always, add any different variety of fruit and veggies to this recipe to suit your tastes). Add sauce and toss to combine. I also reserved a small amount of the sauce to spoon over the salmon filets half-way through the baking time.

Once the salmon in cooked, serve atop or next to cold noodle salad and dig in!
And when you're putting away the leftovers, make sure you get the Tupperware back on the counter before trying to put the lid on, otherwise..... :)

Homemade Kitchen Island Brought to you by IKEA

Finally settled in the new home in San Diego! But before anything could be cooked, or even put away, the kitchen needed way more space--counter space and storage space. So, Drew came up with an ingenious idea that cost less than any kitchen island would at retail: fix together four IKEA LACK side tables, and top it off with two large butcher block cutting boards. We used the kind with the lip that goes along the wall, but flipped it upside down so that it keeps the block on the top of the tables without needing to be fastened down.

4 IKEA LACK tables @ 7.99
2 large cutting boards w/ lip @ 9.99
8 small screws w/ elbow fasteners (free @ IKEA AS-IS section)

Here's the laborious process, and the final result. All for only $51.94!

Colorado Peach French Toast-coming soon!

I did not make this dish...yet. A few friends and I indulged in this delectable breakfast last weekend at the Regis Cafe in Red Lodge and I had to share the glorious picture of it's perfectness. We actually all got different things but couldn't pass up this menu special, so we ordered it to share and all had a few bites (thought I'm sure we all would have gladly had the whole thing to ourselves.) I've been wanting to perfect my own french toast recipe, so I figured I would post this first as a teaser to my own version. In the meantime, head down to the Regis in Red Lodge and ask for their special french toast--you will not be disappointed!

Summer Broccoli Salad

This recipe was created by my old roommate, who invented it just in time to take on a little picnic to the river. The light dressing and sweet and crunchy additions were a perfect compliment to the healthy broccoli that makes up the bulk of this side dish. Make it in the morning and pack it on ice with your beer and sandwiches and enjoy an afternoon lunch at your favorite summer spot!

2 full heads broccoli, chopped
large tablespoonful of mayo
a little bit more than  1/4 cup of Asian dressing (I used Kraft's Asian Toasted Sesame)
1/2 red onion, chopped
large handful of dried cranberries

The steps are simple: 1) chop and 2) mix! Oh and 3) eat!

Cheddar-Stuffed Turkey Burgers

This recipe is  killer--even my youngest brother who "hates" turkey burgers devoured them! I think the secret is the oozing cheesiness of the cheddar tucked inside the grilled patties. And my mom loved the cilantro cream that goes with it--if you like cilantro (I absolutely love it) making the cream will make your whole kitchen smell ah-MAY-zing.


1 1/3 pounds ground turkey breast
1/3 to 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
1 rounded tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil , for drizzling
1/2 cup sour cream
A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped

Preparation

Chop and dice the onion, cheddar cheese, pepper (I love spicy so I don't seed the jalepeno--even if you don't like spicy these did not turn out hot at all even with the seeds so I say leave 'em in when you chop), garlic.

Pre-heat a large nonstick skillet, or grill to medium-high heat.

Combine the ground turkey, onion, cheddar cheese, chili powder, ground cumin, jalapeño or serrano pepper, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl and mix everything together with your hands. Separate into four equal amounts. Form the mixture into four large patties no more than one inch thick. This recipe makes either four large patties, or can make several smaller patties depending on what you want. My mom suggested making small ones and having them in the fridge for a little high protein and delicious snack!

Drizzle oil on the patties and place them in a hot skillet or on a hot grill with a spatula and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until the turkey is cooked through.

For the cilantro cream, finely chop cilantro, and then combine with sour cream and salt and pepper in a small bowl. I used less sour cream and a little bit of miracle whip, so experiment with what you like and use that for the cream (mayo, etc.).

I also made a quick and fresh salad to serve on the side. Just dice up some ice berg lettuce, red peppers, mango, the other 1/2 of the red onion and top with lime juice and salt and pepper--toss to coat.

Serve the burgers on toasted buns topped with a little of the cilantro cream, and voila!