Smashing, Smushing, Squishing- It’s All In The Bag

By Michelle Plummer of Winners Drink Milk

Cooking is a challenge, there is the shopping, chopping, assembling and cleanup-that is always the problem...cleaning up.

I have been using resealable bags for a long time for making meal time easier.  Resealable bags can be your best kitchen tool!  They are great to use as a way to smash crumbs, a mixing bowl, a pastry bag, a serving dish; the ideas are endless.

I want to share with you my Three S’s Pie (Peanut butter Chocolate Silk Pie) Resealable bags are wonderful for Smashing or making quick cracker crumbs.

 

Smushing is a highly technical term for mixing and a great way to gets kids involved in cooking, food in progress always looks a bit icky!

 

Squishing is the finale of the resealable bag. Using the bag as a quick pastry bag, you can look like a pastry chef by the way you cut the tip of the bag. To make it into a star at the tip, cut it 2 ways. For a shell tip and for the finishing results, snip a larger hole in the bag.

  

 

Pie making can be fun for all ages!

 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Silk Pie

Ingredients

• 1 graham cracker pie shell (or make your own with cracker crumbs)
• Large package instant chocolate pudding
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp. instant coffee
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 container whipped cream

Instructions

1. In large resealable bag add pudding mix, milk, vanilla, peanut butter and mix well. 
2. Add container of whipped cream and gently combine the pudding mixture and topping. 
3. Squish into pie crust; refrigerate for 2 hours. 
4. Using a second resealable bag place whipped cream into bag and pipe dollops on top of pie.

Have your chocolate and eat it too!

By Diane Ruyack of Winners Drink Milk

The holiday season is a time to indulge in delicious sweets, but that doesn't mean you have to take in a lot of fat and calories. There are dozens of tempting cookies that give you all the sweet taste you expect without the diet-wrecking consequences. Consider recipes that use health-conscious ingredients, such as oats, whole-wheat flour, and dark chocolate. Current research indicates that cocoa-rich confections actually help control blood pressure, promote blood flow, and keep the heart healthy. So go ahead, indulge! These cookies make great hostess gifts.

Dark Chocolate Florentines

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup canola oil

2 cups quick-cooking oats

3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup low-fat milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup toasted almonds or walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips    

1/2 cup apricot preserves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with foil or nonstick baking mats.

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat. Add oil, oats, sugar, flour, milk, vanilla, salt and nuts and mix well. Drop level teaspoons of dough 3 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Spread each cookie into a thin, 2-inch circle.

3. Bake the cookies, in batches, until set, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from the foil or mats.

4. When the cookies are cool, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler over hot, not boiling, water (or microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between). Spread the chocolate on the flat side of half (about 36) of the cookies. Spread a little jam on the flat side of the remaining cookies. Press the apricot and chocolate halves together to make sandwich cookies.

Chocolate Bark

1 1/2 cups walnut halves (6 ounces)

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup dried sour cherries (4 ounces), coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, or until golden and fragrant. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. In a glass bowl, heat two-thirds of the chocolate in a microwave oven at high power in 30-second bursts until just melted. Stir until smooth. Add the remaining chocolate and stir until melted. Stir in the walnuts, cherries and crystallized ginger until evenly coated. Scrape the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it into a 12-by-8-inch rectangle. Refrigerate for 10 minutes, or until firm enough to cut.

3. Cut the bark into 48 pieces (6 rows by 8 rows) and transfer to a plate. Serve cold or at room temperature.

4. Make Ahead: The bark can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

For the Love of Chocolate

Guest Post By: Liz of Two Maids a Milking and Real Farmwives of America and Friends

Did you know Monday was National Cocoa Day?!?

Let all the chocolate lovers rejoice!!

I thought I would celebrate by sharing some of my favorite recipes that use cocoa!!

Now if only I could send you one through the computer....

Lets start with Cocoa Banana Bottom Bars. Perfect for breakfast, well... they do have fruit in them!!

For a fun activity with the kids you can make Chocolate No-Bake Cookies.

If you are looking for a recipe to take to a Holiday party I have the perfect one, Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies!! Perfect with a tall glass of ice cold milk!

I hope you enjoyed Cocoa Day!! I know I will all week long!!

Psst... have all you chocolate lovers entered our Chocolate Giveaway this week.

Chocolate as its own Food Group?

Chocolate can be used in so many great dishes and has so many healthful benefits! Whether you choose a rich dark chocolate or a creamy sweet milk chocolate there are nutritional benefits. Below is the top 10 reasons to have chocolate in your daily diet.

1. High in Antioxidants - Cocoa contains flavanols, a type of flavanoid that is only found in cocoa and chocolate. Flavanoids are naturally-occurring compounds that occur in plant foods that act as antioxidants and help counteract free radicals in the body.

2. Blood Pressure Benefits - Dark chocolate has been shown in studies to lower blood pressure in people with elevated blood pressure.

3. Lower LDL Cholesterol - Eating dark chocolate on a regular basis has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol by as much as 10 percent.

4. Natural Anti-Depressant - Chocolate contains serotonin, a natural anti-depressant. Chocolate also stimulates endorphin production, which creates feelings of happiness and pleasure. In fact, one study found that melting chocolate in the mouth produced feelings of pleasure longer than passionate kissing. This may explain why many people naturally reach for chocolate when they're depressed.

5. Cancer Fighter
Several studies have found chocolate to be one of the best cancer-fighting foods along with foods like red wine, blueberries, garlic, and tea. Two ways that chocolate works as a cancer fighter is by inhibiting cell division and reducing inflammation, though research is ongoing and will probably find additional ways in which chocolate fights cancer.

6. Prevents Tooth Decay - Research has found that the theobromine in chocolate prevents tooth decay by eliminating streptococcus mutans, a bacteria found in the oral cavity that contributes to tooth decay.

7. Longer Life and Less Disease - One Dutch study followed 200 men over 20 years and found that those who consumed large amounts of chocolate, both milk chocolate and dark, lived longer and had lower overall disease rates than men who ate little or no chocolate.

To further strengthen the case for dark chocolate as a life extender, the world's longest-lived person, Jeanne Louise Calment, lived to the age of 122 and many ascribed her longevity in part to her consumption of 2.5 pounds of dark chocolate a week.

8. High in Magnesium - Cacao is higher in magnesium than any other plant. Magnesium is an important mineral that helps in the regulation of the digestive, neurological, and cardiovascular systems. Since many people are magnesium deficient, adding magnesium-rich dark chocolate to the diet can improve overall health.

9. Artery Cleanup - Studies have shown that the antioxidants in cacao work like brooms in sweeping plaque out of the arteries.

10. Brain Health - Many studies have shown that dark chocolate is good for the brain. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that it can protect the brain after a stroke by shielding the nerve cells from further damage. Dark chocolate has also been found to improve memory.

To help you with your chocolate intake if you let Indiana Family of Farmers know your favorite use for chocolate ONE lucky winner will receive a luscious Chocolate Gift package, just for letting us know how you cook with chocolate and reap the many healthy benefits from a great tasting “food group”.

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