No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Ya'll know I don't bake much. I seriously don't even get the cake ball thing. They physically hurt my teeth. With all this dissing of dessert I should make it clear that I will eat peanut butter on just about anything. On an apple... yep. Rice cakes... in the desk drawer. Banana... big head nod. I like natural peanut butter alright, but there's nothing to replace good 'ole creamy Jif in my life. They didn't even pay me to say that. Put it with chocolate and I'm down for the fat kid count.

I saw this recipe pop up on Pinterest and had been considering it for awhile. I had originally planned to make them as marathon day snacks, but my sink clogged #boocrappyapartment. I'm glad I didn't give up on the peanut butter ball dream... chocolate and peanut butter are obviously incredible, but the oats in these cookies give them remarkable texture and a little less guilty.

Just a few simple ingredients and no need to get out the kitchen scale. I did do a bit more measuring than usual though. Bakers be proud.

Whole grains = chewy. Delicious.

This is a similar method to a Rice Krispy treat. Easy enough for kiddos and room for endless variations.

Ahh.... this shit just got real. Once everything is combined, you'll need to move quickly to scoop the cookies before they dry out.

I wished I had a small ice cream scoop. I used a tablespoon with a flexible end and my fingers instead.

No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups rolled oats

Cover one cookie sheet in parchment paper.

Melt butter over low heat in a heavy bottomed pan. Add sugar, milk and cocoa powder and stir until combined. Add in peanut butter and chocolate chips, stir until melted. Remove from heat and add oats, stirring quickly to combine.

Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out individual cookies onto parchment. Move quickly to complete this before mixture dries out. Refrigerate cookies for 30 minutes before serving.

Acorn Squash Apple Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

Living away from your family can be hard. More than anything I just miss the normal stuff. Hanging out on a Sunday afternoon or someone helping me fix random things around the apartment. Though I've lived hundreds of miles from my parents and brothers for the better part of a decade, I'm so lucky to have a few cousins here in Chicago. They just "get" what it is to be in our family... loud, cheesy jokes and all. We know that its special to have one another, so we try to make an effort to have "family dinner" every few weeks.  

This Saturday night my cousin Michael made KILLER ribs for us and it was requested that I bring a salad. Maybe it was all of the gorgeous foliage, but I couldn't resist apples and squash. Maple vinaigrette and walnut give the punctuation to make this expression of fall complete. 

Michael's roommate Dale joined us for dinner too. He's not the most lively of party guests, but it makes up for it in good looks. 

Ingredients are simple, but flavorful and oh so seasonal. 

The vinaigrette uses olive oil for fat, apple cider vinegar for bitterness and maple syrup for sweetness. You can make any vinaigrette with that simple formula -- fat, bitter and sweet. Add salt and pepper for the finish.

Acorn squash is sliced and simply roasted until tender. To easily remove the skins afterward, put the hot squash into a zip top bag and allow to steam. The skins will come off easier than my heels at the end of the day.

Whether your family is blood or just great friends, always be thankful for them. If you're fortunate enough to spend more time laughing together than arguing -- consider yourself especially blessed. I know I do.

Acorn Squash Apple Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

For salad

1 acorn squash

2 Honeycrisp apples, chopped

1 6oz bag baby spinach

1/4 cup walnuts

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

For vinaigrette

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons maple syrup

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut acorn squash in half and use spoon to scoop out seeds. Thinly slice acorn squash cross ways. Place slices on cookie sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in oven 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. 

Toss spinach, apple walnuts and cooled acorn squash. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and toss with salad. Serve immediately.

5-Spice Pork and Soba Noodles

One thing I love about so many Asian dishes is that they are speedy quick. Great weeknight fare, but one can only eat so much stir fry (like you don't have a bag in your freezer). Soba noodles make this feel "different" enough to keep from getting bored . I've paired with thin-sliced pork, crunchy vegetables and a simple vinaigrette.

I always find that if I eat sensibly during the week, I never feel guilty indulging on the weekends. Lean meat, whole grain noodles and mess of veg? We're totally nailing it! Bring it Saturday... I've got my stretchy pants ready.

Need another reason to keep reading? This makes for awesome lunch leftovers too, so you can get a good chunk of your week's cooking done in 20 minutes. #winning

Slice the pork into thin strips and simply toss with Chinese 5-spice powder.

And quickly saute. Since you've sliced thinly, the pork will cook up in under 5 minutes. A fresh cabbage salad keeps things nice and light.

Toss and top with a bit of avocado to lend a creamy bite.

5-Spice Pork and Soba Noodles
1 lb boneless pork chop, thinly sliced into strips
2 bunches soba noodles
2 tablespoons Chinese 5-spice powder
2 tablespoons vegetable or grapeseed oil
1/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3 carrots, shredded
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 avocado, sliced

For vinaigrette
1/8 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/8 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Toss sliced pork with 5-spice powder. Boil water and cook soba noodles according to package directions. Heat oil over high heat for 2-minutes and then saute pork. The meat will only take 3-5 minutes.

Toss cabbage, carrots and green onions together. Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients and taste/adjust to personal preference. Toss with salad.

Combine drained noodles with dressed salad and toss. Top with pork and avocado. Also delicious served cold.

Debating

So I love debates....even the boring tax code questions. And this one is getting good. So listen up... order some takeout and do your due diligence as a voter. As for me, I'm spending the night with two of my Chicago favorites.

I hope Mitt Romney doesn't hate on a Goose this time, because mine certainly is delicious.

Pumpkin Tortilla Soup with Chili Lime Chicken

I'm slowly giving in. Rain and general dreariness forced me to break out the Le Creuset and make a comforting soup this Sunday night. I don't wax poetic about pumpkin spice lattes every fall (did you know I don't like coffee? I know...weird), but there are a few pumpkin treats I can get behind. Pumpkin tortilla soup is one of them.

I stumbled upon this recipe on the Kitchn last fall and have made some adjustments to amp up the flavor and make it a bit healthier and substantial. I recommend serving on a cold night, snuggled up on the couch with a cute guy and a cute dog (kitties would make a nice -- albeit more sassy -- substitution). Or maybe that's just me.

This go-round, I made some roasted chicken to make the soup more filling AND so that I'd have leftovers for lunch this week. This addition of a bit more protein makes it more of a meal. If you're going veg, black beans would be awesome too.

Corn tortillas give this a lot of depth and a thick, luscious texture. Check your grocery store for fresh corn tortillas... in many big markets they're delivered daily. At our local store, if you arrive on a Saturday morning sometimes they're even warm.

First can of the season. Note, DO NOT use pumpkin pie mix here. Just go for the straight pureed pumpkin.

After an hour of simmering, the flavors have melded and you're ready for dinner.

Serve with baked tortilla strips, shredded chicken, avocado and cilantro.

Pumpkin Tortilla Soup with Chili Lime Chicken
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
10 6-inch corn tortillas, 6 cut into 1/2 inch squares and 4 cut into small strips
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons cumin
3 teaspoons cayenne
1 teaspoon salt
1 avocado, cut into strips
2 bone-in chicken breasts
Juice of one lime

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken breasts on a cookie sheet or  in a casserole dish. Cover with 1 tablespoon olive oil, lime juice, 1 tablespoon cumin and 1 teaspoon cayenne. Massage into chicken and let rest.

Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Cook onions, garlic, cilantro and tortillas until onions are soft; stirring often so that tortillas don't stick. Add 1 tablespoon cumin and 2 teaspoons cayenne; cook until fragrant. Add pumpkin, tomatoes and chicken stock. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour.

Place chicken in oven and cook for 35-45 minutes, or until the juices of the chicken run clear. Remove from dish and allow to cool before handling. Use fork and knife to shred meat from the chicken breast.

Place remaining tortilla strips on a cookie sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Back for 5 minutes or until crispy.

Once soup has finished cooking, serve with 1/4-1/2 cup shredded chicken, tortilla strips, avocado and bit of cilantro.

*There will be remaining chicken from this recipe

Butternut Sweet Potato Barley

In the slow, colorful slide into winter -- or Autumn as some of you may call it -- you can only fight the cozy cravings for so long. I wore boots today. They were adorable and remarkably depressing all at the same time. Soon there will be no choice and there will also be days I can feel my contacts freezing to my eyeballs. I'm hard core Chicagoan and therefore know how to cover every inch of my body in multiple layers of wool, fleece and down. Boo.

Okay, end weather rant. But now that things are cooling off, I am firing up the oven and enjoying fall vegetables. Butternut squash and sweet potatoes happen to be two of my favorite things. This salad pairs them with hearty barley, dried cranberries and rosemary.

Even the colors are Autumnal.

A lot of people don't quite know what to do with a butternut, but its simple when you have a sharp vegetable peeler and knife. Start by peeling down long strips on the neck and go in a circular pattern on the base.

Wasn't that easier than you thought?

Then simply chop off the ends and slice in half. Use a spoon to scrape out the insides.

Barley will add a nutty, toothsome quality.

Roasted and ready.

Toss and enjoy warm or at room temperature. Really yummy for lunch.

Butternut Sweet Potato Barley
2 cups barley, rinsed
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons rosemary, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
S&P

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add barley. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 35-45 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potatoes and butternut squash in 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with S&P. Roast for 20-30 minutes or until tender.

While barley is still warm, toss with cranberries, sweet potatoes and butternut squash. In a separate bowl, combine remaining olive oil, vinegar and honey. Toss barley with dressing and rosemary and season with salt to taste.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Works well for leftovers.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

It's rare that pasta is necessary for health reasons. Carbs were needed for science...legit. Because this: 

Led to this:

So proud of the Husband for running and (even more impressively) finishing the CHICAGO MARATHON on Sunday. 26.2 damn miles fueled on the finest refined carbs this girl could muster. Homemade marinara and meatballs were most certainly in order. 

This is the base of many awesome things.

Simmered for the afternoon to perfection. This will make A LOT of sauce, but if I'm going to take the time, I always make extra for the freezer. Saved stuff like this are a lifesaver on hectic weeknights.

While the sauce gets good, I started mixing up this meatball business. I put a healthier twist on tradition with spinach and lean turkey.

Be careful not to over mix or tightly pack your meatballs. No one likes tough balls. Everyone loves Schweddy Balls though.

It's immature, I know, but I could have made some disgusting marathon chafing joke. I could have, but I didn't. Such a lady I am!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For sauce -- makes 10-12 cups sauce (I reserved 2/3 in the freezer for future use)

3 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes

4-5 garlic cloves

3 carrots, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

2 small yellow onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup red wine

3 bay leaves

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For meatballs

1 lb lean turkey

1 cup frozen spinach, defrosted

2/3 cups bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1/2 cup grated parmesan

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

S&P

1 lb thin spaghetti

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pot over medium high heat, saute onions until soft (about 10-15 minutes). Add garlic, carrots and celery and saute for another 10 minutes or until carrots have softened. Add red wine and crank heat to high, scraping off the bits from the pot. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and red pepper flakes and simmer over low heat for at least an hour. Remove bay leaves. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start by squeezing all of the liquid from the spinach. Combine spinach, turkey and all remaining meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Take care not to over mix or squeeze too tightly. Gently roll into 1-2 inch balls and back in the oven until golden, about 30 minutes. 

Both the sauce and meatballs can be prepared ahead of time. When ready to serve, prepare pasta to box instructions and serve with meatballs and sauce.