One Healthy CHICK

As you can tell by all but one (the tacos) of my food posts, I LOVE SWEETS. Well, for the next ten days, I will not be eating any. For my Leadership class, we're going on this detox diet thing created by Dr. Mark Hyman to promote healthy eating amongst teens. Apparently, we're the first class to do it in the whole country, so I guess that's pretty cool. What's not cool is that I'm not supposed to eat any dairy, gluten, or sugar for ten days. Technically, we aren't required to participate, but I need to start eating healthier anyway, so I thought this would be a great start!

While shopping at Whole Foods for an after-school snack a few weeks ago, my mom and I discovered some pretty yummy food there. The best part was, it was already prepared for us. We literally took out our forks and started eating as soon as we got in the car. We tried one of their pasta salads and chicken salad and they were delicious! Since then, we have been shopping there even more and found other things to try as well, like quinoa salads. I could probably eat this food for the rest of my life. I love it!

My school lunches are usually a sandwich with a bunch of little sides things like chips, fruit, and a cookie. For the detox, I had to come up with new ideas for lunches. I really wanted the chicken salad, but it's a little expensive and goes by so fast, so my mom and I decided to find the recipe and make our own!

Here is how we did it.

Sonoma Chicken Salad

Photo and Recipe via Whole Foods

For the DRESSING, you will need: 
1 cup mayonaise
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
5 tsp honey
2 tsp poppy seeds
salt & pepper to taste

For the SALAD, you will need:
2 lbs boneless chicken breast
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced


* We had to half the recipe because we didn't have enough chicken. There will usually be more. *

Start by preheating your oven to 375ºF. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking dish filled with 1/2 cup of water. Cover the dish with foil and bake for twenty-five minutes or once the chicken is completely cooked through. Remove the chicken breasts from the dish and let them cool at room temperature. This should take around ten minutes. Cover the chicken again and refrigerate it to keep it cool. I'm sorry I didn't get pictures of this step. I was at soccer while my parents made the chicken.

While that's cooling, you can make the dressing. Combine mayonaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper. My mom was making this with me and forgot we were halving the recipe. We added double the poppy seeds that should have have been put in. Oops! It's a good thing poppy seeds don't really taste like anything.

Chop up the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. Mix the chicken, nuts, grapes and celery in with the dressing. Keep mixing until the dressing completely coats everything. We chose to not add nuts because I tend to eat around them. :)

Make sure you keep it cool because it tastes better that way and enjoy!

Fabulous Fudge in Five Minutes

Well, something is definitely wrong with me because the other day I craved a salad. I'm pretty sure that's never happened in my entire life. The good news is, right after I started craving chocolate, so it looks like I'm back to normal.

The only chocolate we really had in the house was Girl Scout Cookies, but not any of my favorites. We have a few boxes left in our pantry, but they're those kind of cookies that you order because you like them, not because they're your favorite. That means, we don't have any Thin Mints or Samoas left, so Girl Scout Cookies were out. 

My next idea was to make fudge, but not just any normal fudge. In seventh grade FACS, we learned how to make fudge in the microwave. I know, it sounds gross, right? WRONG. It is a chocolate lover's perfect fast snack. Plus, it's just about the easiest recipe ever.

Here's how to make it.

Microwave Fudge

You will need:
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

a large, microwave-safe bowl (make sure it fits in your microwave)

We didn't have enough powdered sugar, so I had to cut the recipe in half. There will usually be more fudge, don't worry.  :)

Combine the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in the large bowl and mix well.

Add the stick of butter and evaporated milk, but DO NOT MIX! To open the evaporated milk can, use a can opener to poke a large hole and a small hole directly across from it. Pour out of the large hole. The small hole prevents bubbling. Also, don't get a big can of milk unless you plan on using it for other things because you do't need that much.

Put the bowl in microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until the butter is completely melted. Be careful, though, it is easy to burn it if you cook it too long.

Stir all of the ingredients together.

Add the vanilla and stir again. Make sure you get all of the lumps out of it. It will taste better later on. If it seems dry, you can add a little bit more milk.

Technically, you could eat the fudge now, but it is probably really warm. Place the fudge on a cookie sheet and spread it out with either a spatula or your hands. I recommended using wax paper for easier clean up! I also used the wax paper to shape it better.

Place the entire pan in the refrigerator for ten minutes or more until it is firm.

Cut the fudge into squares and enjoy!




This fudge was literally gone in less than two days in my house. I'm not kidding when I say it's delicious!

Do You Know the Muffin Pan? - Cakes

I promised there would be a dessert muffin pan recipe, so here it is! This was on the same Brit+Co post as the tacos.

I think I was looking forward to making (and EATING) this more than the tacos. Don't get me wrong, they were both delicious, but let's get real, who doesn't love a warm, chocolate cake? This recipe pretty much had my name written all over it.

It's time to wash those jumbo muffin pans after making your tacos, because trust me, you'll want to use them again! Here is the recipe for the muffin pan molten chocolate cakes.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

(Muffin Pan Edition)

You will need:

1 cup chocolate chips (maybe a little bit more) ;)

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

4 eggs

3/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon paprika

We only had one stick of butter, so I had to cut the recipe in half. It still made four cakes, though, which was plenty.

First, melt the butter and chocolate chips together. I did this by using a homemade double broiler. I showed how to do this in one of my previous posts. However, the chocolate melted much faster than the butter. I ended up melting the butter in the microwave, then mixing it with the chocolate while it was still on the broiler. It was sort of lumpy at first, but after adding more chocolate and stirring, the mixture turned out smooth like it was supposed to. 

Add the vanilla, eggs and powdered sugar and stir until everything is combined. Don't let it sit for too long or it will get hard. Just a heads up! Mix in the flour and paprika and stir well again. 

Fill the muffin pan with the batter. Each cup should be about 3/4 full. The cakes will rise while they are in the oven.

Evelyn, Georgia, and I had some fun licking the extra batter from the bowl. 

Georgia

Evelyn

Georgia doing the "turkey" to Evelyn and I.
Sorry about my weird, mouse-looking face.
Pictures aren't really my thing unless I try to look weird.

Bake the cakes at 425ºF for ten to thirteen minutes. The sides will be firm, but the center will be all melty and "jiggly," according to Brit+Co. When I think of "jiggly," I think of Jell-O, not chocolate. But hey, whatever floats your boat. 

It's better if you serve these right out of the oven, but make sure you let the cakes sit for about two minutes before removing them from the pan. I skipped this step without realizing and got a melty, chocolatey mess. It still tasted AMAZING, but it wasn't very attractive. We let some of the other ones sit and they turned out better. I didn't get a picture of it, though, because we took it out, but decided we should wait for my sister to get home from soccer. Bad idea. It sort of collapsed. Oh well. It still tasted good and that's all that matters to me!

Enjoy your mini, Mexican-inspired, muffin pan, molten chocolate cakes! (What a mouthful!) I know I did!

Winter Weather Calls for Warm Drinks!

Lately, in Park City, the weather has been super weird. Last weekend it was snowing. Then it started to warm up again, and now there is a thunderstorm happening right outside my window! What a weird winter...

When winter comes along, what is on everyone's mind? Of course, there's Christmas, snow, skiing, snowboarding, sledding, warm pajamas, fires in the fireplace, but most of all, warm mugs of hot cocoa and apple cider. I know I always look forward to them. However, I'm sure most people know how to make hot cocoa and apple cider, so I'm not going to be writing about how to make those. I WILL be writing about two new warm drinks that I just tried for myself and turned out super yummy!

Warm Vanilla Milk

I remember someone telling me that she LOVED to drink warm vanilla milk and would bring it to school in the morning a lot in the winter. It sounded pretty weird and kind of gross when she first told me what she was drinking, but after she explained how much she loved it, I have always wanted to give it a try. I ended up completely forgetting about it until researching warm drinks for this blog. Ever since, I have been craving it and it was SO easy and SO good!


You will need:

1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp sugar
a mug

To start, warm up the milk either in a mug in the microwave or on the stovetop. Either way works, but I used the microwave because it's much faster and easier. It took about two and a half minutes, in case you were wondering.

After you have warmed up the milk to your desired temperature, stir in the vanilla and sugar with a spoon.

Top it off with a pinch of cinnamon and you're already done! Easy right?



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Spiced Hot Cocoa

This hot cocoa recipe that I found sounded really interesting and worth trying, so I did! It's just like normal hot cocoa with a little bit extra. This one was also easy and yummy!


You will need:

1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp hot water
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp almond extract

This recipe is kind of in two parts: the cocoa mixture and the actual drink part. Make your cocoa mixture by combining the cocoa powder, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Now, I didn't have a 1/8 teaspoon (who does?), so I had to guess by filling half of the 1/4 teaspoon and it turned out that I added a little bit too much for my liking. I would just add about a pinch of nutmeg instead. Anyways, mix the ingredients together after you have added them all.

The recipe also asks for a tablespoon of boiling water, but who wants to boil an entire pot of water for only one tablespoon? Not me, that's for sure. Instead, I used the hot water from the sink, which worked fine. I actually think cold water would have worked as well. Pour that water into the cocoa mixture and stir it until it is smooth.

Heat your milk up, again, either by microwave (but don't heat it in the same mug) or the stovetop.

Pour it in with your chocolate. Stir everything together well and top it off with some whipped cream and chocolate sauce and you're done! We didn't have chocolate sauce. Darn it! :(

I hope I inspired you to make a new drink on your next cold winter's day! Enjoy!

Sticky and Scrumptious

In the past few months, I've had some requests for Marshmallow Caramel Popcorn, so here you go! 

Once or twice a year, my whole soccer team goes to a teammate's cabin for a fun weekend together. One of my teammates, Lily, always brings this popcorn and we all LOVE it. Take it from me, once you have one tiny piece, within minutes, you will have a nice, ooey, gooey handful of this delicious popcorn. She brings a huge bowl full of it, which always ends up completely empty before the trip is even over. The recipe that I found is not the same recipe, but it still tastes DELISH! I mean, who doesn't like popcorn, especially when it's covered in sugary goodness?


Here's how you make the popcorn, it's super easy and takes almost no time at all!

MARSHMALLOW CARAMEL POPCORN

via All Recipes

Materials:

23 large marshmallows - Honestly, I have no idea why it has to be twenty three...
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 packages of microwave popcorn

1 large bowl
1 large pot

First, you need to pop the popcorn. Easy enough, right? Obviously, I don't make popcorn too often (AT ALL!) and burnt it. Whoops! Some parts were literally charred black, but don't worry, I took those parts out!

Now it's time for the good part. Melt your TWENTY THREE marshmallows, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and vanilla in a pot on medium-low heat and stir. It seems kind of pointless to stir at the beginning, but eventually it will be important so you won't burn it. That would truly stink if you burned the popcorn, like me, and the caramel!

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Keep stirring...

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Almost done...

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Woo hoo!

As you can see, I got a little bit tired of stirring.

Once your marshmallow mixture is completely melty and gooey, pour it over the popcorn, which should be in your large bowl.

Now all you have to do is spread the caramel throughout the popcorn. Being brilliant and all, I thought it would be easier to coat the popcorn with my hands. Sometimes I wonder where I get these ideas from. Let's just say... IT WAS SO HOT! Bad idea Claire. Instead, stir the popcorn with a spoon.

And that's that! I hope you have fun making (and eating, of course) your marshmallow caramel popcorn!

With Christmas, Comes Cookies!

To start things off, I hope you all are having a very merry holiday season so far! I know this last week before Christmas break is a little bit stressful, at least for me, but still, I hope it's fun.

Every year, when Christmas starts rolling around, my family and I always make our "famous" Christmas gifts- cookies! We started making these when we first moved to Park City, which if I am remembering right, was seven years ago. I guess you could say they have become our little tradition for the holidays. The good things about making these cookies as gifts is 1) They are AMAZING and 2) You can make tons!

The first few years, we didn't make as many, but as we've met more people, more people have been added to our gift list. These cookies are always a hit with everyone we make them for, so we have decided to make them every year. Even my cat likes when we make them, because again, she gets accidental samples! Maybe that's why she is so fat! I guess we should probably shoo her off instead of taking pictures, but hey, we tried!

I started making these for my friends last year and since so many people told me how yummy they were (some asked for the recipe too), I decided to make them again! So, this past weekend, I've been knocking out a ton of cookies. Since my last post, people have been asking me to make headbands too! Good thing they are easy! Hopefully I will be able to get those done before Christmas, but I'm not making any promises.

Now let's get to the good part.

Spicy Molasses Cookies

(Courtesy of Pioneer Woman)

1 cup sugar

3/4 Crisco (or other vegetable shortening)

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

First, preheat your oven. The original recipe says to set it at 350º, but I set mine on convection at 325º instead, to make sure they would cook evenly. 

Mix your wet ingredients together - otherwise known as sugar, shortening, molasses, and egg - in a large bowl until they are well combined. Once you can't see any more shortening, you should be good. At least that's how it went for me. 

Mix in your dry ingredients- flour, spices, etc. - while stirring slowly to avoid making a HUGE mess. 

Mix the dough until everything is thoroughly combined.

With your hands, roll the dough into "walnut-sized" balls. Honestly, I have no idea what size a whole walnut is because I never really buy them before they are cracked. This lead to dough balls that were about one to two inches in size, which worked completely fine. Pour a bowl or plate of sugar and roll the dough balls in it until they are evenly coated.

Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet and pop those suckers in the oven for eight to twelve minutes. 

HINT: Keep an eye on the cookies. Once they begin to crack, let them cook for another minute or so and then take them out. This will give you nice, soft cookies, which are always more delicious than burnt ones by far!

You can technically be done at this step, but why not make them even better? A fun and easy way to jazz these cookies up is to add some white chocolate. I'm sure I speak for a lot of people when I say that chocolate makes everything better. Period.

If you choose to be fun, allow your cookies to cool and while doing so, get ready to melt your white chocolate.

Last year was the first year I decided to try the chocolate route and it did not work...at all. Well, okay, maybe it worked, but it was a huge pain in the butt and I can not tell you that twice. This year, I did some searching and found a pain-free, easy way to melt the white chocolate on a blog called Craftsy.

I found on more than just this blog that using a double broiler is the way to go when melting any kind of chocolate, especially white chocolate because it has a lower burning point. Now, if you're like me, you probably don't have a double broiler, but don't worry! You can make your own with a pot and a bowl that fits over it. There is a picture of this on Craftsy. On there, it says to let the water boil first and then put the chocolate in, but of course, I didn't read carefully enough and had the chocolate in while it was boiling, which worked fine, so I ended up saving time in the end.

Once your white chocolate is completely melted, set your cookies out on pieces of wax paper. Don't make the pieces too long, unless you want to carry the hot bowl around...no thanks. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies with a fork or dip them in the bowl. Be creative! Putting the cookies on smaller pieces of wax paper allows you to drizzle or dip a few without making a mess, then set them aside while the chocolate hardens. I decided to be done with the cookies after that, but I'm sure it would be cute to put some holiday sprinkles on the cookies right after you drizzle them to make sure they stay on! Maybe I'll try that next year.

Because of the fact that we make so many, we usually make them in double-batch intervals, meaning if we were to make eight batches, we would only have to make the recipe four times. Make sense? Anyways, when I made these, it made a little over fifty cookies, give or take a few considering my dough balls were probably bigger than walnuts. I had a little over a hundred in the end, which was perfect for all of my gifts!


Happy Holidays!