Chewy Granola Bars

Chewy Granola Bars

2 C rolled oats
1- 1 1/2 C Honey Nut Cheerios (or your favorite cereal)
3 C miniature marshmallows --I skipped this step and opted for more PB and honey
1/2 C peanut butter
1/4 C honey
2-3 Tbsp butter
1 C dried fruit (I used raisins and dried apple bits, but dried cherries are great in this!)

Also, if they are too gooey, try adding a bit of powdered milk to help them hold up.


1. Preheat oven to 350 F and toast oats for about 15 minutes.
2. While oats are toasting, combine butter and marshmallows in a large pot and melt over low heat.
3. When the marshmallows have just about melted, stir in the peanut butter and honey.
4. Add in the toasted oats, cereal and dried fruit. Stir until well combined.
5. Spread mixture in a greased 8 x 8 baking dish and chill until firm.
6. Once firm, cut into bars.

*I was too impatient to actually toast my oats and just tossed them in the mix untoasted. Toasting them tastes great but is not absolutely necessary :)

Apricot Canapes

* 16 dried apricots
* 8 teaspoons crumbled blue cheese
* 2 ounces chopped shelled pistachios
* 1/2 teaspoon honey
* Freshly ground pepper


Top each apricots with 1/2 teaspoon cheese. Sprinkle with pistachios and drizzle with honey; sprinkle with pepper.

Peach-Mango Popsicles

Peach-Mango Popsicles
Ingredients:
1 cup puréed mango (from peeled fruit)
1 cup puréed ripe peaches (from peeled fruit)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons sugar
Lime or lemon juice to taste
6 to 8 popsicle sticks

Directions:
Combine fruit purées in a medium bowl. Heat water and sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add to purées with lime or lemon juice to taste. If you have popsicle molds, fill them, leaving some room at the top to allow for expansion, set the lids in place and insert the sticks through the holes. If you don’t have popsicle molds, fill small cups or empty yogurt tubs about 3/4 full, stretch plastic or foil across the top and make a small slit to insert sticks. Freeze until firmly set, 3 to 4 hours. To remove the pops, first remove the lids or wrap, then squeeze the sides of the molds, twisting them slightly, to dislodge the pop. If necessary, rinse the outside of the molds under hot water first.

A very happy tofu birthday :)

Good morning, everybody! Was going to try to be good and make this for my birthday today, but went with the second one instead. Girl does need her chocolate, y'know :)



Pina colada cheesecake

• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust, unbaked (your preferred recipe)
• 12 ounces organic firm tofu
• 4 ounces soy cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 bananas, preferably very ripe
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped, dried pineapple ring
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• coconut, enough to mix thru the batter, and extra to sprinkle across the top

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Bake the graham cracker crust for 6 minutes and set aside.
In a food processor, combine the tofu, soy cream cheese and sugar and puree until smooth. Add the banana and continue to puree until fully combined.
Pour into the prepared pie crust and spread the dried pineapple and macadamia nuts evenly across the top of the pie. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. Wrapped, this pie will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.






1/4C graham cracker crumbs (or just buy a cookie crust)
3/4C egg substitute (equivalent to three whole eggs)
10.5 oz silken firm tofu, drained and cubed
8T granulated sugar
1T lemon juice
1t vanilla
1C nonfat ricotta cheese
fresh berries (as you can see, I'm going for the nutella chocolate sauce instead)

Preheat oven to 325
Spray bottom of an 8" springform pan or pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Evenly spread graham cracker crumbs on bottom of pan. (OR - Take lid off of premade crust - discard)
Blend egg substitute, tofu, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and ricotta in a blender until smooth.
Pour into pan and bake 35-40 min. (I needed to leave it in for more like an hour...it just refued to set in the middle). Remove from oven and cool 15 min at room temp. Refrigerate for at least 1 hr. Top with fresh fruit (or chocolate sauce!!)

Way Cool...

Way-Cool Fruit Pops

Frozen fruit on a stick makes an easy and healthful snack. Each 34-calorie pop provides almost a full serving of fruit!

In a blender, combine 1 cup guava nectar, pear nectar or orange juice with 1 cup pineapple juice and 1 cup fresh pineapple chunks. Cover and blend until smooth. Divide 1 cup coarsely chopped or sliced fresh fruit (such as strawberries, kiwifruit, papaya or melon) among 12 freezer-pop molds or 4- to 6-ounce paper cups. Pour blended mixture over fruit.

Add wood sticks, and cover the molds. Or cover each cup with foil; make a small hole in the foil with a knife, and insert sticks into cups through holes where the foil will hold the sticks upright. Freeze 4 hours or until the fruit pops are firm.

Dessert Pizza

Today's post is for my friend, Deb. She's looking for a way to use sugar cookie dough. This was the first thing to sprang to mind. Always a favorite and it always disappears. I offer 2 variations for you, Deb. Lemme know how it goes :)

Fruit pizza

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1 (18 ounce) package refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 
  
• 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Slice cookie dough and arrange on greased pizza pan, overlapping edges. Press dough flat into pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool.
2. In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust. You can chill for a while at this point, or continue by arranging the fruit.
3. Begin with strawberries, sliced in half. Arrange in a circle around the outside edge. Continue with fruit of your choice, working towards the middle. If bananas are used, dip them in lemon juice so they don't darken. Then make a sauce to spoon over fruit.
4. In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add grated orange rind. Allow to cool, but not set up. Spoon over fruit. Chill for two hours, then cut into wedges and serve.

Note: Instead of making the glaze, the easy cheat is to melt down some apple jelly and pour it over the top in place of the glaze. Still gives you that finishing touch, but you don't have to 'cook' as much. And as you can see by the pictures, you can use it any occasion.

OPtion #2 for base: For the base: Mix ricotta cheese with vanilla, sugar and lemon zest. Reserve for topping. (Adventure Club: Add store-bought or home-made passion fruit puree to the ricotta cheese mixture.)

S'mores Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (16 1/2 ounce) package refrigerated chocolate chip (or sugar) cookie dough
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 cups graham crackers, broken in 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• chocolate syrup, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Spread the softened cookie dough into a lightly greased pizza pan, flattening it to the edges.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes until it begins to brown SLIGHTLY.
3. Remove the cookie from the oven and sprinkle the top with with the chocolate chips, graham crackers and marshmallows.
4. Return the cookie to the oven for 5-8 minutes until crust is brown and chips and marshmallows are melted.
5. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
6. Garnish with chocolate syrup, if desired.