Category Archives: Vegetarian

Hazelnut Spread No Bake Bars

We had a quarterly meeting today at work. To help improve attendance I try and made a home baked treat. During my research for the perfect mid morning treat, I came across a no bake recipe using hazelnut spread which intrigued me. However I was appalled by the recipes I found adding up two two cups of sugar into the recipe! Yikes! In preparation for this snack I wanted to decease some of the less favorable calories by removing the butter (saturated fat) and significantly decreasing the added sugar to make the bars a little more diet friendly.

Recipe yields 24 bars

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup Nutella or the New the Jif Hazelnut Spread (or any other Hazelnut Spread)
1/2 cup skim milk
3 1/8 cup of old fashion oats (not the quick oats)
1/2 TB of Mexican vanilla extract (however if you do not have this kind on hand I recommend purchasing it!! However in the meantime you could double the traditional McCormick Vanilla extract for this recipe)
Canola oil cooking spray

Directions:

Line an 8 by 8 inch glass dish or pan with foil. Spray the foil with cooking oil spray and set a side.

Add hazelnut spread, sugar, and milk into heavy sauce pan and bring to a simmer for approximately a minute to dissolve the sugar granules.

Add vanilla and oats to the sauce pan.

Mix to fully incorporate and then pour into the lined pan.

Spread the batter evenly and freeze for at least 2 hours in the freezer.

Remove the bars from the freezer and lift the bars out using the foil to make for easy cutting. Store in a cold dry place for optimal flavor and shelve life .

Enjoy! WW Plus 4 points per serving.

Nutrition Facts Hazelnut Bar
24 Servings

Amount Per Serving

Calories		139.4

Total Fat		5.5 g

	Saturated Fat	1.3 g

	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.3 g

	Monounsaturated Fat	0.3 g

Cholesterol		1.8 mg

Sodium		15.5 mg

Potassium		8.3 mg

Total Carbohydrate		20.2 g

	Dietary Fiber	1.4 g

	Sugars	13.1 g

Protein		2.1 g


Vitamin A	0.2 %

Vitamin B-12	0.3 %

Vitamin B-6	0.1 %

Vitamin C	0.1 %

Vitamin D	0.5 %

Vitamin E	0.0 %

Calcium	2.6 %

Copper	0.0 %

Folate	0.1 %

Iron	4.6 %

Magnesium	0.1 %

Manganese	0.0 %

Niacin	0.0 %

Pantothenic Acid	0.2 %

Phosphorus	0.5 %

Riboflavin	0.4 %

Selenium	0.2 %

Thiamin	0.1 %

Zinc	0.1 %

Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

I have been wanting to make cinnamon rolls for a while now and this recipe is a nice size for a small crowd. All the recipes I’ve encounter make 12 or 24 large rolls which has deterred me from making them. Little treats of sweetness are permitted from time to time especially on a Sunday morning with a nice cup of coffee. The smell of these tasty rolls in the oven will wake up your husband and have him asking for seconds. This recipe was adapted from TOH.

This recipe yields 8 small Rolls

Dough Ingredients:

79 milliliters of warm skim milk

2 1/2 TB of maple syrup

3 TB of unsalted butter (softened)

1/4 Tsp Kosher salt

2 tsp of active dry yeast

1 1/4 Cup of Bread Flour

1/4 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour

1 TB egg substitute

Filling Ingredients:

4 TB of Brown Sugar

1 TB of Bread Flour

2 Tsp of ground Vietnamese Cinnamon

3 TB of unsalted Butter

Maple Icing:

1/2 Cup of Confectioner’s Sugar

1 1/2 TB of Unsalted Butter

1 1/2 TB of Maple Syrup

1 Tsp skim milk

1/4 tsp of Mexican Vanilla

In standing mixer place the first seven ingredients in the bowl and set mixer with dough hook attachment. Use dough hook and knead dough for 6 to 8 minutes on medium speed. Dough will form a ball shape.

Cooking spray a glass bowl and place dough in bowl covered with plastic wrap for 60 to 90 minutes (or until dough doubles in size ).

Once dough has doubled; roll out

On lightly floured surface. Roll dough into one 12-in. x 7-in. rectangle.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle evenly the brown sugar mixture over the rolled out dough.

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting from a long side; pinch seam to seal.

Cut in half with sharp knife.

Then half the halves and so on.

Until you get 8 slices. Place cut side down in one greased 8 x 8-in. baking pan.

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 23-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, butter, syrup, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency.

Spread over warm rolls. Yield: 8 rolls.

Apple Spice Oat Bars

We have an intern leaving us tomorrow and as a farewell I wanted to bake her a special treat. I used my Grandpa Harper’s Dehydrated Apples and my apple butter recipe. This recipe bakes really nice and is full of flavor!

Ingredients:
2/3 cup chopped dehydrated apples
1/3 cup chopped raisins
1 cup slivered almonds toasted
2 1/2 cup old fashion oats (not quick oats)
1 tsp ground Vietnamese cinnamon
1/2 tsp Mexican vanilla
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup apple butter
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

This recipe yields: 12 bars

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 by 8 inch Pyrex glass dish with foil. Spray with cooking spray.

Mix wet ingredients in a bowl ( apple butter, honey, agave nectar, vanilla, peanut butter) and cinnamon.

Mix until incorporated.

Add oats to liquid batter and fold.

Now add almond slivers, apples, and raisins.

Fold in almonds, raisins, and apples mix by hand with spatula until all ingredients are spread evenly throughout.

Pour batter into foil lined and cooking sprayed 8 by 8 inch baking dish. Pat down the batter to make uniform and level so that the bars will bake evenly.

Bake on 325 degrees for 25 minutes and place in freezer to cool for at least one hour.

Remove the bars using the foil (which makes this job a lot easier than trying to cut in the pan.

Cut into 12 bars and enjoy!

The Harper’s Hot Peppers!

Well, finally, it is here….by popular demand…. tried and true the best hot pepper recipe out there! They go perfectly with homemade bread or any type of cracker. They also go very nicely on a white pizza or in a pizza roll. Whatever way you like them ! Watch out because they are addicting. I think my husband and I made 3 to 4 batches this year because we had oodles of hot peppers.

HOT PEPPERS

1/2 Bushel of hot pepper (we like a variety of banana and jalapeño)

4 CUPS Plus of Distilled White Vinegar

48 ounces Plus of Canola Oil (One whole bottle)

16 Whole Garlic Cloves

1 CUP Canning Salt (NON IODIZED)

Fresh Oregano, about 8 sprigs

Caution: Wear gloves!!!!!! Especially if you wear contacts (we learned the hard way….ouch!).

Directions:

1. Cut and core peppers to remove the seeds. You can use handy dandy Chile Twister (pepper seeder) for this which will save you a great deal of time.

You can then place your peppers in a food processor to chop into rings.

Place pepper rings in colander over night sprinkled heavily with canning salt (salt them every time you empty the food processor full of pepper rings into the colander). Let the peppers set in a colander overnight (16 to 24 hours is optimal). The peppers will reduce in size significantly. Not to mention the hot pepper smell will permeate throughout you entire home (you know, clean out your sinuses!).

2. After you have let the peppers set over night rinse with water to remove the salt and let them drain thoroughly.

3. In a quart size jar, place 2 cloves of garlic in the jar along with one sprig of oregano, you can put the whole sprig in, or you can tear the leaves off and put them in the jar. Pack the jars full of peppers from the colander, make sure you pack it tight! Put 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar into the jars and fill to the brim with canola oil. Pour it slow, the jars will be so packed with peppers that it will take a few seconds to make it to the bottom of the jar. Be sure to leave about a 1/2″ gap between the liquid and the top of the jar.

4. Freeze the jars immediately for fresh, crisp pepper rings right out of your freezer. You can also “can” them, however, the texture and quality of the pepper tends to be compromised. Think if it this way, it is like eating fresh versus canned green beans!

Enjoy!!!!

Hot Pepper and Egg Pizza

Egg Pizza

There was a restaurant my family used to go to back home and they had one of the best pizza’s in Youngstown. We would travel 30 minutes and wait 2-3 hours for a few pies (no joke) out of their brickoven. When we moved pizza was so expensive in the Burgh and mediocre. My husband and I practiced, and practiced making pizza dough and different variations of our hometown favorite pizzas (no offense Pittsburgh your pizza’s does not hold a candle to Northeast Ohio Pies). The first time I saw “egg pizza” on the menu I thought “yuck” but my mom ordered it and needless to say we loved it. Now this is something I make often for dinner or brunch.

Egg Pizza

Ingredients:

Prepared dough (store bought your favorite) This is our favorite: Best Pizza Dough Every time

Gouda Cheese 1 Cup or if you don’t have gouda cheese use mozzarella

Parm Regino cheese 2 tb

3 egg yolks and one egg ( beat w/ a fork)

a splash of fat free half & half (2 tb)

natures seasoning & sandwich sprinkle (or pizza seasoning)

banana hot rings ¼ cup

red hot pepper flakes (optional but recommended)

cornmeal for dusting

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 550 for an hour w/ pizza stone in the oven.

2) Roll pizza dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a circular shape with edges (which is extremely important later on to prevent the egg mixture from spilling out into the oven when baking. Place on a pizza piel that has been sprinkled with a small amount of cornmeal (to prevent the dough from sticking to the piel).

3) Decrease the oven temperature to 425 before placing the pizza in the oven.

4) Sprinkle the seasoning salt or sandwich sprinkle onto the dough evenly. Place the pizza on the pizza stone in the oven for 5 minutes on the stone.

5) Take out of oven, spray with cooking spray. Place the hot pepper rings evenly on the pizza and also the hot pepper flakes if you are interested in adding more heat.

6) Take eggs, and egg yolks along with the half and half and beat with fork to incorporate. One trick my husband and I learned is to place the cheese on get the pizza before placing the pie in the oven without the eggs. The best thing to do with the eggs is place the egg mixture in a pourable container kind of like a measuring vessel with pouring capability.

7) Once the pizza is in the oven pull out the oven rack with oven mitts and pour the liquid egg mixture evenly onto the pizza. This method prevents the eggs from running off the pizza when you are trying to place the pizza in the oven (lesson learned the hard way).

8) Place the pizza back in the oven for 12 minutes.

9) Remove from oven and sprinkle the freshly grated parm cheese.

Enjoy!

Cabbage and Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

Nothing says warm up the soul like a good dish of cabbage and noodles! There was an Orthodox Church near my mother’s place of employment that made homemade halushki a.k.a. cabbage and noodles and pierogies. I can still remember when my mom use to bring them home for us when my sister and I were growing up. This noodle dish is definitely a comfort food for me. Not to mention they pair well with pierogies. The bad news is halushki the church made was saturated in butter and high in calories! The good news, I found a way to enjoy the flavor without all the extra calories of butter. There is one secret ingredient and that is freshly Cracked Pepper!!!

Ingredients:
1 small head of cabbage (Rinsed & chopped)
6 oz of dry whole wheat egg noodles
2 small onions, chopped
Canola oil Spray
4 Large cloves of garlic, diced
Salt to taste
Up to 1 TB freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Heat a large skillet to medium high heat.

Spray heavily with Cooking spray.

Add onions and garlic to heated pan and sauté until the onions are translucent.

Sprinkle onions and garlic with salt and sprinkle with cracked black pepper. Don’t add all the pepper at one time. I like to add a little at a time.

Add the chopped cabbage.

Spray with cooking spray and sprinkle some additional black pepper. Cover and continue to stir every 5 minutes.

After 15 minutes have elapsed turn heat to low.

Add egg noodles to boiling water and cook according to package.

Add drained noodles to cabbage and season with pepper and salt one last time.

Enjoy! Hopefully with some Pierogies !

Pistachio Cake from scratch with Cream cheese frosting!

Sunday was my nephew’s birthday ! We celebrated his birthday with rocket theme. I still cannot believe he turned two years old! Wow how time flies! My sister requested a pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting. This is what I came up for the big day. I wanted to stay away from the traditional yellow cake box with jello box of pistachio pudding (no offense). The traditional pistachio cake is one my husband’s favorites for sure! This recipes just less processed.

Yields a two layered 9″ cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cup cake flour
3/4 cup AP Flour
1 cup of pistachios
1 stick (8 TB) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 TB baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 TB Mexican vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup graduated sugar
1 1/2 cup iced water
2 eggs at room temperature
3 egg whites at room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tarter

Frosting:
24 oz cream cheese (8 oz regular & 16 oz 1/3 fat reduced room temperature)
12 TB unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 cups powdered sugar
1.5 tsp Mexican vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

1) parchment paper line two 9″ round cake pans and spray with combination cooking spray/ flour spray such as Baker’s Joy. I like to place a metal flower nail in the center to help the cakes bake evenly.

Set aside.

2) In a food processor pulse until fine 1 cup of roasted pistachios.

3) Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, stir in pistachio powder. Set aside

4) In a stand mixer with paddle attachment with spatula beat butter and shorten together until creamy (takes about 1 minute).

5) Add 1 1/2 cup of sugars & vanilla and beat until mixture is fluffy (this can take 3-4 minutes on medium speed). Now turn mixer to low and add whole egg (save the 3 whites for below). Beat until well incorporated.

6) Now alternate between adding the flour mixture and ice cold water. Make sure you start and end with flour. Mix until well combined.

7) In a clean bowl for stand mixer with whisk attachment whisk egg whites and cream of tarter on medium speed .

Whisk until foamy.

8) Now add remaining sugar and beat until soft peaks form (please be carful not to over beat!)

9) Take egg whites and gently fold them into the cake batter.

10) Once batter is prepared divide between the two pans. I like to weigh the pans to have accurate measurements which mine came out to 29.3 oz each.

11) Make sure to lightly bang the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles. And if you are using flower nails make sure they are center for placing your pans into the oven. Place both pans in oven staggered from one another. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

12) Leave in pan for 20 minutes and allow to cool on wire rack. Remove from pan and continue to allow to cool on wire rack.

13) After the cakes cool completely wrap in plastic wrap and place back into the pans.

Place in freezer overnight. This prevents crumbs from getting in the frosting.

Prepare frosting:
Place butter and cream cheese in stand mixer beat until fluffy.

Add vanilla. Add powered sugar in small amounts (1/2 cup portions works well) .

Lay flat of cake side down. Place a small amount of frosting in the center.

Now lay round portion of the cake on to frosting. Which would allow the flat surface appear on the top. Frost to your liking.

Enjoy!

Serves 12 to 16 servings (really just depends on how you cut it)

Say it isn’t so ….Pumpkin Alfredo

I am been working on trying to make all the canned pumpkin recipes that FN had in their October 2013 Magazine. The other night I was making my pumpkin granola bars and had some left over fresh roasted pumpkin puree. I don’t like to waste food, so I decided now was as perfect time as ever to make this Alfredo for dinner. I made a few modifications to lighten up the recipe and add some whole grains as well.

Ingredients:

12 ounces of Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (if you do not like the nutty flavor of whole grain go with Dreamfield’s pasta or Smart Taste made by Ronzoni) both of these pasta’s cook white and trust me no one will know the difference!!
1 Cup of fresh pumpkin puree
1 Cup of Fat Free Half and Half
2 TB of Butter
10-12 Fresh Sage leaves
a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly grated parmesan cheese to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box.

2. In the meantime whisk pumpkin puree, half and half & nutmeg in a 2 qt sauce pan on medium heat allow to simmer for 5 minutes. In a small sauté pan melt butter and add sage leaves sauté for 2 to 3 minutes add to pumpkin puree mixture, whisk until incorporated.

3. Drain the pasta and add the penne to the sauce.

4. Add freshly grated cheese to taste and serve.

Enjoy !

Pumpkin Granola Bars

If you didn’t know it by now, I’m sure you would have eventually guessed…I love pumpkin! My husband does too! I even made pumpkin Alfredo tonight for supper!

Tomorrow at work we are having a lunch and learn (without the lunch) unfortunately everyone is having to cut back. The plus side packing a lunch is less expensive and can be healthier! That said I decided to make us a fall snack for during the webinar. I cannot think of anything better than this wholesome snack.

Ingredients:
4 cups of old fashion oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 roasted pumpkin seeds (chopped)
1 TB of high quality pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
3/4 cup purée pumpkin (I used fresh)
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 honey
1 TB milled flaxseed
1/2 TB of pure vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Line a 9 by 13 pan with foil & spray with cooking spray.

Place all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Whisk dry ingredients together until incorporated.

In a separate large bowl add the wet ingredients together.

Whisk until mixed well.

Add dry mix to wet batter. Fold in the dry ingredients until there are no signs of dry crumbs.

Add the batter into the foil lined baking dish.

Press the batter evenly into the pan using a spatula.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Let cool completely. Use excess foil as handles to help you remove the granola from pan.

Cut into 12 bars

Pierogi Pizza

My husband and I love pierogi. The other night I wanted to make pierogies and I didn’t have any in the freezer. I made a pot roast instead with some garlic mashed potatoes. We had mashed potatoes left over so I made some pizza crust (TOH whole wheat) and thought well I can make a pierogi pizza. Now it is a favorite!

Ingredient:

ht tp://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/thin-crust-pizza-dough

~1-1/2 cups of cheddar cheese

~1 cup left over seasoned mashed potatoes (I used roasted garlic)
~1/4 tsp garlic salt
~1/2 chopped onions sautéed in 1 tsp butter
1 TB cornmeal

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven with pizza stone at 500 for one hour.
In the meantime get your crust recipe going or thawing if you are using a store bought dough frozen or fresh)

Roll out dough and sprinkle cornmeal on either a pizza peal or back of a sheet pan and set dough on top of the spread out cornmeal this makes it easier to slide the dough onto the hot pizza stone. Sprinkle garlic salt over the dough and make fork marks in the dough to prevent the dough from bubbling up in the oven. Now place the dough in the oven.

Let the dough bake for 5 minutes and then remove from the oven.

While the dough is pre baking sauté up the onions. Get a pan hot (medium heat) and melt the butter and the onions. Cook until the onions are transparent about 5-8 minutes.

Spread out the mashed potatoes on top of the dough. Sprinkle the sautéed onions. One top of the onions sprinkle the amount of cheese you would like on top and bake pizza for 10-15 minutes.

Be careful the mashed potatoes are a good insulator and make this pizza hot.

A Pinch of Luv

from scratch baking and cooking blog

Category Archives: Vegetarian

Hazelnut Spread No Bake Bars

Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

Apple Spice Oat Bars

The Harper’s Hot Peppers!

Hot Pepper and Egg Pizza

Cabbage and Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

Pistachio Cake from scratch with Cream cheese frosting!

Say it isn’t so ….Pumpkin Alfredo

Pumpkin Granola Bars

Pierogi Pizza