Project 365: 110 | Brulee | 10.07.12

Project 365: 110 | Brulee | 10.07.12

I made creme brulee to bring to my parents' house for our Sunday night dinner. My honey bruleed the tops and we enjoyed it while watching the second episode of the current season of Amazing Race. I haven't decided who I am rooting for yet. Or who I don't like.

Camera: iPhone

Menu: Fast, Fancy Dinner

Happy Valentine's Day!

If you happen to need a quick, easy, and impressive dinner menu, today or any other day, I put together a mix-and-match menu for you. The ones with asterisks are or can be made vegetarian/vegan.

You're welcome.

Appetizer: Artichoke and Green Olive Spread* or Cream Cheese and Salsa Spread*
Salad: White Bean and Spinach Salad* or Spicy Salad
Dinner: Chicken in Thyme Marsala Cream Sauce over rice or Cherry Tomato Spaghetti all'Amatriciana* w/ garlic bread or Avocado Pasta*
Dessert: One-Minute Mug Brownies* or Fresh Fruit with Fruit Dip*

Recipe: One Minute Mug Brownie

This is a super simple and fast way to make a single serving brownie.   

This is dangerous information.  It is delicious but not the least bit healthy.  Consider yourself warned.  

Flour and brown sugar.

Seriously, if you would like to stop reading now, I won't be offended.  

Dry ingredients.

Or, if you are interested in a quick and not-quite-as-unhealthy dessert option, consider checking out my previous Cake in a Cup post.

Brownie batter.

If you still want to know how to make the easiest, quickest, and most perfectly fudgy chocolate brownie ever, then read on.  

Warm and fudgy mug brownie.

But it is not healthy at all and you have been warned. 

So yum.

One Minute Mug Brownie
Adapted from Instructables.com

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tablespoons milk or water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Whipped cream (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a microwave safe mug. 
2. Add milk and vegetable oil and stir together until no lumps remain. 
3. Microwave for 60 seconds, checking after 30 seconds. The brownie should be firm but still a bit soft in the middle.  
4. Remove from microwave and top with whipped cream, if using.

Recipe: Fruit Dip

Although I prefer savory foods over sweet ones, this fruit dip recipe is too easy and delicious not to share.

Ingredients:

• 1 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme
• 1 8-ounce container cream cheese, softened
• Fruit for dipping

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the marshmallow cream and cream cheese until fully combined.
2. Serve with fresh fruit. 

Recipe: Drunken Chocolate Covered Cherries

Life is just a bowl of [drunken chocolate covered] cherries! 

Chocolate Covered Drunken Cherries

Ingredients:

• Fresh cherries
• Brandy
• Chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Rinse cherries.  Do not remove stems.
2. Carefully slice a few shallow slits into each cherry.
3. Put cherries into a bowl and cover with brandy.  Let soak at least four hours, preferably overnight.
4. Drain liquid from cherries and dry off the cherries with paper towels.  Set aside.
5. Put chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave in 15 second intervals at 50% power, stirring in between, until melted.  
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
7. Carefully dip each cherry, by the stem, into the chocolate.  Let the excess chocolate drip off and then place on baking sheet.  Repeat with all the cherries, making sure they don't touch.
8. Refrigerate the cherries until the chocolate is hardened.  Remove the cherries from the baking sheet to a bowl or plate. 
   
   

Cherries getting drunk.

Notes:
The amount of cherries, chocolate and brandy will depend on how many you want to make.  We made 45 cherries with about half a small bottle of E&J Brandy and just under one 11.5 ounce bag of 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips.

We saved the soaking brandy in an empty bottle.  We're not quite sure what we'll do with it but we thought it might come in handy for a future cocktail.

When serving, be sure to have a small empty bowl nearby for stems and seeds.  It is also nice to give people a heads up that there are still seeds in the cherries.   

Recipe: Pineapple Cupcakes

Make these cupcakes and eat them too!  Why?  Two ingredients that you can easily keep on hand, nonfat/low calorie and inexpensive.

Oh, and they are delicious too! 

I put this query out on my Facebook page yesterday:
I could use recommendations for a yummy cookie or cupcake recipe for my agency's staff meeting on Thursday. Bonus points for being a "lighter" recipe because I wrote our healthy food and beverage policy...  

The responses were overwhelming.  My friends are awesome. 

However, one recipe stood out.  My friend Megan (@2020Aftermath) shared a recipe that she found on a message board at myfitnesspal.com. 

Are you ready for this??


Pineapple Cupcakes

Makes: 32 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1 box angel food cake mix
• 20-ounce can crushed pineapple 

Ingredients

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º.  Line cupcake pans with baking cups. 

Mix together angel food cake mix and the can of crushed pineapple, including juice.  Fill each baking cup 2/3 full.  

Batter filled cups.

Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.  

Pineapple Cupcakes

Notes:
These little cups of goodness, based on my calculations, are only 62 calories a piece. 

Both angel food cake mix and crushed pineapple were on-sale at our local grocery store.  The total for the cupcakes came out to just under $3.50, or approximately 10¢ per cupcake.  I know, right?

Refrigerate the batter in between batches.

Recipe: Cake in a Cup

cake in a cup w/ homemade whipped cream

This is most definitely from the "I can't believe this actually works" file.  My cousin James called and told my mother about this recipe and she promptly passed it on to me.

Cake in a Cup

Ingredients:

• 1 box angel food cake mix
• 1 box any other kind of cake mix

The dark chocolate mix was on sale so I got that.

Directions:

1. Empty both cake mixes into a large zip top bag, seal, and shake until well mixed. 
2. Put 1/3 cup of mix in a large mug.  (Seal the bag and save the rest for later.)
3. Add 3 Tablespoons water. 
4. Mix.
5. Microwave for 30 seconds (tall, big mug) or 60 seconds (wide, big mug).  
6. Enjoy!

*Update: Try mixing in a tablespoon of chopped up dark chocolate into the batter before microwaving.  It creates little lava cake like bites.  You're welcome.*

 

Hot out of the microwave.

I know this sounds crazy but it totally works.  In 30-60 seconds you will have cake in a cup.  The bonus is that since half of it is angel food cake, it is low in fat.  This also completely justifies the addition of dark chocolate bits and whipped cream, right?

Recipe: 5 Ingredient/Minute Berry Pie

A few years ago, I was working with a middle school group and one of the students was asked the following question during an activity: "If honesty is the best policy, what is the second best?" Without hesitation, she said "pie."  True story.

Also a true story, this is the easiest pie I have ever made.

5 Ingredient/Minute Berry Pie

Servings: 8
Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• Pie crust, baked and set aside
• 2 cups fresh berries (I used blueberries.)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3/4 cup water*
• Whipped cream

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water over medium heat.  Stir until well combined.  
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue to stir for 3 minutes until thickened.  
3. Add berries to the saucepan.  Simmer and stir for 2 minutes. 
4. Pour berry mixture into pie crust and refrigerate until cool.
5. Slice and serve with whipped cream.

* I didn't count water as one of the ingredients because it is water.