Browned butter Heath Bar Cookies

There was a bake sale at work a few weeks ago and one of the girls (Heather) who actually organized the event, brought in these cookies for the sale Hospice was putting on.  I bought a pack and then when back, after devouring them, to buy another pack for Dave and to get the recipe from her!  Today I finally had all the ingredients and time so made a batch to share with two of my kids that are nearby this afternoon and some for us.  They are so good, and kind of a nice treat from the standbys I usually make.  They make great gift giving cookies because they hold up well and stay nice for more than a day or two like some.  Be careful when browning the butter so it doesn't get too dark, just a golden color is perfect to bring out the flavors you need. (Tip: they would make awesome ice cream sandwiches for the warm weather just around the corner).

In a large bowl mix together:

3/4 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Then add: 1 tsp vanilla, stirring in well.

Add: 2 sticks (1 cup) real butter that has been gently cooked until light brown (warm still), until sugar starts to dissolve. (I actually started this before pulling out all the other ingredients I needed)

Add 2 eggs beating well into the dough.

Add 2-1/4 cups flour, and 1 tsp. baking soda and stir until just combined.

Finally:  Add 10.2 ounce total of 1/4 inch diced health bars.  (I used the mini ones and diced them in 4 pieces each.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets in rounded Tablespoon (I used a heaping small cookie scoop and formed them in balls) (12 to a sheet-they spread out).  Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes until they look slightly browned and set.  cool.

Keto Sour Cream and Chive Bisquits by Carrie Brown

I have been trying to keep my carbs in check for the last few months so I can keep my blood sugars down and keep my driving privileges intact!  It's been helping a ton so I plan on continuing (although already know I will cheat on special occasions a little!)  Life is too short either way to not enjoy treats occasionally with family and friends.  Anyway, I made these a little bit back on the program and loved them, so made another batch today.  They are very versatile,  you can pretty much use whatever cheese you like and herbs etc.  I used sharp shredded cheddar both times and just about a tsp of onion powder instead of the chives because I didn't have them and then sprinkled Everything but the Bagel seasoning (they have it at Trader Joe's, but I am hearing them have tons of variations also everywhere now) on the top.  that has garlic and other seasonings in it already.  I cut them in squares, but I have seen them with circles like bisquits also.  You can find the almond flour even at Walmart now and I think the xanthan gum also..I am an Amazon shopper though to save me the trip and get the brands I want.  I like the Honeyville super fine almond flour a lot.  These taste a lot like the biscuits at Red Lobster and are great with a salad or soup.

Here is the recipe (Carrie Brown).  Oh, she is from the UK I believe and they use weights for their recipes a lot.  I just brought a digital scale from Walmart for about $20 because of this)

SOUR CREAM AND CHIVE BISCUITS:
15 oz almond flour
4 tsp backing powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
6 oz cold butter-cut up in tiny pieces

1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon cold water
1/2 oz chopped fresh chives (I used 1 tsp onion powder)
6 ounces feta cheese (I used shredded cheddar) FYI-she says not to buy the crumbled feta, use a fresh block and crumble it yourself so it's more sticky.

Beaten egg to glaze
paprika (I used the Everything but the Bagel seasoning)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1.  Place the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt and cold butter into a food processor and pulse just until it resembles bread crumbs, do not over process (I actually just put everything in a bowl and used my pasty blender and hands to work in the butter-I still had little tiny pieces of butter in there, but my biscuits came out nice and tender/fluffy)
2)  With everything in a mixing bowl, add the egg, sour cream, water (I beat these 3 ingredients together) , chives and cheese and mix just enough to form a rough, soft dough.
3)  Turn onto a board (use a little almond flour to keep from sticking to the board) and knead about 10 times until dough is all together.
4) Flatten the dough lightly with your hand until it's 1 inch thick (square).  cut into 12 squares with a sharp knife.
5)  Place biscuits on a baking sheet (not greased), brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle with paprika (I used the EBTB seasoning)
6)  Bake in the center of the oven at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Just an fyi, I did these on my recipe calculator and they are 243 calories each and only 4 Carbs each..fyi.

How to Make Hawaiian Loco Moco

When Joe and I went to Hawaii a month ago we went to a restaurant called Loco Moco that he had on his bucket list of things to do there.  I have no idea why they don't have that place in the states!  The food was awesome!  Hawaiian BBQ meats with rice and their signature dish of Loco Moco.  Joe actually ordered that and I got BBQ pork chops the first day (yes, we went two days in a row!) and we both left raving about it.  Anyway, I have been thinking about it ever since and last night I made a recipe that I found online to try it.  We both thought it turned out really good, so am posting it so I don't forget what I tweeked with it.  Here goes:

LOCO MOCO:

Prepare White Short Grain Rice-this will be for 4 servings, so make the amount you would like to eat with these.  I had about 2 cups.

For the gravy:
In a large frying pan add a little extra virgin olive oil.

Add one medium onion that has been diced finely and cook on medium heat until it's translucent and slightly caramelized.  Separate in half and remove half of it into a medium bowl to use for the hamburger patties.

add 6 mushrooms that have been cleaned and diced finely (or half a small can of sliced mushrooms that have been chopped finely) and continue cooking until mushrooms are cooked.

Add 1-1/2 cups beef stock, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce, a small amount of your preference of salt, some ground black pepper.  Bring to a simmer.  In a small bowl, make a slurry of 1 Tablespoon of corn starch and 1 Tbsp of water and slowly stir it into the broth to thicken.  Add 1 Tablespoon of Accent or MSG to enhance the flavor.  NEXT TIME I WILL MAKE DOUBLE THE GRAVY-WE BOTH WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE MORE TO ADD, ALTHOUGH IT WAS FINE.  Set aside on low heat to keep warm.

(I actually had a little bit of KFC gravy in my fridge and dumped it in too to use it up and since we liked the taste I might do that again, although it was good without it too)

For the patties: Place all in the bowl with the onions you set aside.
1 lb of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs (they say panko can be used-I used regular)
2 Tbsp of milk
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
pepper
Mix thoroughly with your hands and form into 4 patties that are slightly flattened.

Spray a large frying pan with cooking spray or use a small amount of the olive oil.  Fry patties until thoroughly cooked through.  Add to gravy and warm thoroughly.

Eggs:
In a smaller fry pan, fry 4 eggs just until centers are still soft and slightly runny (you break the egg once it's on the stack to let it run down it a little)

ASSEMBLY:
Rice goes on the bottom, then patty with gravy, then fried egg..you can pour more gravy over the whole thing at this point or eat as is.  They served it with Kimchi or a cucumber salad with a vinegar type sauce..I didn't do that because I was lazy, but would next time because it's good with it.

Keto tuna melt biscuits

I made some of these little biscuits to have around for lunches for work or afternoon hunger pains.  A person on one of my Keto blogs had made them with salmon, but they are pretty versatile so I changed them up to canned tuna with cheddar cheese and a few different seasonings and they came out great.  Here is what I did.

KETO TUNA MELT BISCUITS: (6)

Heat oven to 325 degrees F

Drain one can tuna (I used the water one because that's what I had, Starkist) and tuna to a medium sized bowl.

Add about 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I had mild)

1/4 cup avocado mayo

1/4 cup sour cream

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons fine almond flour

1 tsp dried dill

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 tsp baking powder

small amount of lemon zest (I used about half a lemon)

small shake of sea salt

Mix thoroughly with a fork.  Fill greased muffin tray about halfway full, bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.  I think they taste better when cooled/room temp because all the flavors come through more.

A 2019 Project. Hats for the Homeless.

A friend from work and I decided we wanted to do something with some of the yarn we have and have fallen "out of love" with.  We decided to use some of our lunch breaks and crochet hats for the homeless and donate them in the Fall to an organization who could distribute them and help keep people warm in our cold Minnesota winters.  Here is how we decided to make them.

I really didn't have a pattern. I just chained 43 with worsted weight 4 ply yarn and an I hook and then just did half double crochets in the back loop only, chaining 2 at each row turn, until it measured 19 inches..tied off leaving a long tail. slipped stitched it into a tube and then used that tail to close up the top, attached a pom pom there and turned up the edge..let me know if you have any questions!  

Here are pictures of my first three hats..hoping this will increase to lots more pictures by this Fall!  She has also made three!  She actually had an afghan that she started some years back and was not liking it, so took it all apart and is using the yarn for her first hats.  They are cute and in fact her boss begged her for one and she gave it to her since her hat was getting frayed and she wanted another one.

Another hat (5/1/19), different pattern.  

Men's brown beanie 5/5/19

Pineapple Bread

When Joe and I went to Hawaii last week we were given a sample of Pineapple Bread at the Delta Sky Club while we waited for our return flight home.  I had never even heard of it before and we both liked it a lot, so I searched online for a recipe and made it this afternoon.  It's supposed to used a lot with ham dinners down south and I can see that it would be really good with ham.  I will make some up next time I cook one.  Here is the recipe..you can also add some coconut to it and/or crushed pecans if desired.  I did add some coconut because I had some and I like it, but the sample we had was just the pineapple and it was great.

PINEAPPLE BREAD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  (makes 1 loaf, I doubled it because I read it was so good and the can of crushed pineapple I had was enough for two loaves)

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 -8 ounce can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter, gradually add sugar, beating well (I used my electric mixer).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixure alternately with pineapple, mixing well.  stir in vanilla.

spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan.  Baked at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes until a wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Cool loaf in pan 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Benihana Shrimp Sauce, my version

We are having a fondue at Kim's for New Year's Day and I make the sauce for them.  I would call this a shrimp sauce, but it goes on everything in our family!..the rice, the tempura vegetables, and all the meats.  I don't think we could have a fondue without it..it just wouldn't be worth it..LOL.  Anyway, I decided to post the recipe so I wouldn't have to keep digging for it down the line and others could also try it.  Here goes.

Gaile's Version of Benihana Sauce:

in a container with a lid, whisk together:

2 cups real mayonnaise
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
dash or two of salt
1 Tablespoon of garlic JUICE.  (I always have the minced garlic in a jar in my fridge and use the juice from that)
3-4 teaspoons ketchup
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon pepper
and one 12 oz bottle of Heinz chili sauce.
(optional: you can add a little horseradish if you want more zing-I don't though generally)

put in fridge for several hours or overnight..serve.