Poached Pears with Blueberries

Happy February! 

Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad! I love you more than anyone in the world.)

Who watched the Superbowl? Anyone? Yeah, I failed as an American and didn't watch it. Partly because I worry about seeing people get injured (apparently someone broke their arm? Can't handle it), and also because I'm an avid Sea Hawks fan and I knew that I would be sad if they lost. (Which, whelp... we all know how that ended). I will admit that I'm more of an ice skating fan than I am a football fan, though. Maybe because I can actually imagine myself ice skating, but not playing football? I am way too intimidated by large men running towards me to be successful in any type of football career.

Things here at CSU have been going very smoothly. I've been drinking copious amounts of coffee and keeping up with school work, which is great. I still have this weird sensation that each day is flying by faster than I can catch up, though. I'll wake up at 6AM and bam, it's 7PM and I'm tired (because yes, I do go to bed at 8PM every night. I am internally an old person in terms of sleep. And probably about five years old in terms of energy level during the day). 

I've really been digging having before-bed snacks. They're usually composed of mini caramel rice cakes (once again: I'm old) or some type of cereal doused in soy milk (living the college life). But recently it's been all about the fruit. Fruit fruit fruit. It started out with me adding frozen raspberries to my cereal but after a while I was really craving something more fresh. Then a few days ago I started to feel a cold come on, which made me crave ginger --I have this weird association between sickness and ginger, because I always crave it whenever I'm sick-- and that led to some pretty creative combinations. 

Thankfully for you, I won't be sharing all those disgusting creative combinations (dates and rice and popcorn may have been involved). Instead, you get this lovely creation, which has actually been a staple of mine for some years now.

Poached pears with blueberries! And ginger. And vanilla extract for that little extra (is that a pun? It could be a pun) sweetness. This is a simple recipe that still impresses friends and family. When I made this for guests back in High School, they thought I was some type of fruit magician. In reality, I put the pears in a pot, walked away to do something else, came back and voila! That was pretty much it. It is a quick and easy way to create a fresh end to a meal. 

A simple scoop of ice cream or some whip cream is always a bonus, but this perfectly sweet dessert is delicious without it as well! Cooking the pears brings out a nice sweetness and the poaching softens them to give a smooth, melt-in-your mouth desert. Blueberries and ginger add little pops of flavor to keep it interesting.

If anyone has suggestions of fruits besides pears to use in this, I'm all ears! Because I think I could devour a whole table's worth of ginger-based goods around this time.


Xoxoxo. 

Poached Pears with Blueberries

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large Green Anjou pears (firm, but ripe), peeled and cored, cut in half
• 4 and 1/4c. water
• 3tbl sugar
• 1/2 inch segment of peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2tbl vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen (thawed) or fresh blueberries

 Instructions:

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil. Dissolve in the sugar, and add ginger/vanilla. 
2. Gently slide the pears into the water, and cook over medium until soft when a knife is able to slide in and out easily (about 15 minutes, but may take as much as 30 depending on your elevation).
3. Remove the pears from the syrup, and let cool. Cut pears into bite-sized cubes, and divide cubes evenly among 4 serving bowls. Top each serving with 1/4c. blueberries and 1/4c. liquid.

Note: If you want to serve the pears warm, you can chose not to cut them up into pieces. Simply serve each person the equivalent of 1 pear, 1/4c. blueberries, and 1/4c. liquid. This method is best if you are planning to top it with ice cream or some other creamy deliciousness!

Nutritional Information: 
Sodium: 7mg
Total Fat: 0g
       Saturated:  0g
       Trans: 0g
Protein: 1g
Sugar: 39g
Calories: 196

Green Chile Cheddar Biscuits

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I debated not posting today, in honor of his legacy and the lives and dedication of those who took part in the Civil Right's Movement, but I realized that I wanted to write a little dedication in the end. Although this country is far, far away from being equal in many respects, it honors me to be able to learn about those who have stood up against oppression and unfair treatment, even when risking their own lives in the process. Due to sacrifice and hard work from people who were willing to give up every physical and emotional comfort, things are not as bad as they once were. We, as individuals, need to come together and continue the wave of civil rights legislation and mindset that those before us have fought for.

So, Happy MLK day.

We are going to do a complete turn-around now, and switch topics back to the blog. Hang onto this train of thought with me, ok?

Going back to CO was rough.

How can someone easily transfer from 65F weather to just 10F?? If any of you internet friendsies have advice on how you got insane enough to live in a cold state, shoot me a message.

Seriously, though. I've been curled up in a heated blanket with so many layers on, drinking copious amounts of tea, and attempting not to catch the sickness that every single one of my friends seems to have. Soup and sauteed vegetables have been my go-tos this entire week. It's not even snowing, currently, and this weather is apparently "warm." I missed the coldest weeks of negative degree days, thank goodness, when I was in CA. I'm pretty sure all my Coloradan friends think I'm pathetically below average temperature. There are girls walking around in short sleeved shirts, and here I am barely able to leave the heated apartment.

Such first world problems.

But! Do you know what isn't a problem?

Biscuits. So many biscuits, I can't even begin to describe the pure biscuitness (making this a word now) that I am filled with currently. They're helping me keep warm, and require very little effort which translates to more time that I can spend wrapped in my heated blanket. Those beauties above (look at them again. Look at that cheese!) combine whole and all-purpose flours, rich green chiles, and sharp cheddar to basically make heaven on a baking sheet. In all honesty, I ate about three of these before they even cooled down? Burnt tongue= totally worth it.

These aren't your traditional flaky biscuits, because I've never found those kind enjoyable in cold weather. At Thanksgiving or in the summer with a BBQ? Heck yes! But not in January. When it's cold, all I want is something to dip in soup or to slather with some type of spread (read: butter). You just can't dip those other biscuits in soup. You can with these. I really love drop biscuits, because they are a bit more crumbly and (in my opinion) have more flavor than just butter biscuits.

These kind of have a southwest feel, but aren't spicy because of the balance between the cooling yogurt and the mild green chiles. They are also a lot lower in fat (particularly saturated fat), calories, and sugar. They also pack 6g of protein each! I basically took my standard biscuit recipe and added some pops of color and deliciousness, because I knew that I would want to eat a few a snack just on their own. It works perfectly. Flavor isn't sacrificed just because they are healthier, that's for sure.

Check out the recipe below.

Green Chile Cheddar Biscuits

Serves 6                 Serving Size: 1 large biscuit

Ingredients:

• 3/4c. all-purpose flour
• 1/4c. whole-wheat flour
• 1/4c. light margarine 
• 1/2tbl. baking powder
• 1/8tsp. baking soda
• 1/4tsp salt
• 1/2tsp honey
• 1/2c. nonfat plain yogurt
• 3/4c. (3oz) finely shredded sharp 2% cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons diced green chiles, from the can, drained
• cooking spray

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the margarine into the mixture a little bit at a time until the mixture is coarse.
3. Add the honey and yogurt into the dry ingredients, mixing until nice and moist. The resulting mixture should be a little bit sticky, but not incredibly so.  Add in 2 tablespoons of the chile, and 1/2c. plus 2 tablespoons sharp cheddar.
4. Coat a medium baking sheet with cooking spray. Divide the mixture into 6, making each 1/6 a biscuit dollop (I divide my mixture in half, and then take that half and split it into 3). Make sure to space them apart, as the biscuits expand a lot during cooking.
5. Gently press down on the biscuits with the back of a spoon so they look prettier in the end with a smoother top.
6. Take remaining 2 tablespoons cheese and divide evenly among biscuit tops.
7. Bake in the oven for 16-19 minutes (or until cheese is melted and golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a biscuit comes out completely clean).

Nutritional Information
Sodium: 927mg
Total Fat: 6g
       Saturated:  2g
       Trans: 1g
Protein: 6g
Sugar: 1g
Calories: 151

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

I seriously feel like I was just celebrating New Years 2014, and in a bit over two days we will be celebrating New Years 2015! It just absolutely astounds me how quickly a year can pass, and how everything just rushes by in a cacophony of memories and noises and experiences.

This is the time of the year where, if we are lucky, we have family or friends over to help celebrate the season with us. It often means that we have a lot of things to do: shopping, cleaning, traveling, hosting, and, of course, cooking. It can be ridiculously stressful to be balancing all of these things at once, which is so opposite of the point of having everyone over (or going over, if you are that lucky one who is going to someone else's house). Maybe there are kids running around, or animals tearing up some random piece of furniture (or climbing the tree, knocking over the Menorah, eating all the sugar cookies...), or people who you haven't seen in forever and have changed. It can be overwhelming. But among all the stresses of this season, we need to remember how to value and savor each and every moment. 

For me, that means not worrying about what I am going to cook, because that's such a silly distraction from the things that really matter: people, memories, laughter. (If you're in my family, also tears every time the Muppet Christmas Album comes on because gosh darn it, Kermit the frog somehow makes us all emotional in seconds). I make a lot of cook-ahead dishes that I can just shove in the fridge overnight, because the last thing I want to do in the morning before I've had my coffee is actually make something for a group of hungry people. Not happening. Not without caffeine. So I do things like french toast or quiches, or the bread pudding recipe I'm sharing today (because who doesn't love chocolate for breakfast, right??)

Slightly related side note: Does anyone else go through "phases" of breakfast? I feel like I have a weird habit of eating the exact same thing for breakfast for months, until all of a sudden BAM-- I switch to something new or I add in a new element.  For example, when I was a kid it was totally pancakes. Pancakes were the bomb, as the kids say (am I getting my hip lingo right? I'm a mess). And then when I was in elementary school (when I started to take cooking super seriously) I switched to mushrooms sauteed in butter over scrambled cheddar eggs (sounds fancier than it was, I promise). Then I went through an overnight oatmeal stage (with plenty of sugar and yogurt), and for the past few months I've just been eating bagels with peanut butter because I am a college student and have no sense of what time is. With coffee.

Always with coffee.

Anyways. So that's the mode I've been in for a while now, and making stuff ahead just was not in my mind. But here come the holidays and I actually have time and people to cook things for, and it's marvelous! So here comes the bread pudding. Bread pudding with chocolate. 

So we need to have a serious discussion about this bread pudding. Because it is kind of (aka most definitely) ah-may-zing. Amazing. First, the photo above is from before it was cooked because as soon as it came out of the oven it magically disappeared. Maybe into some tummies. But, no photo happened. Sooo... Trust me when I say it gets all golden and melty and perfect, ok? It's rich but not too rich because it's the holidays and we need room for all those other sweet, delicious dishes, right? But this is basically an excuse to eat dessert for breakfast-- which obviously isn't a thing we should do all the time BUT it's also important to actually live your life and not be obsessive about food and to let yourself enjoy a treat. Which this is. It's a breakfast treat. Who wouldn't want to dig into cubes of whole wheat French bread that have been soaked in a vanilla custard, baked until creamy on the inside and with a nice crust of sugary-cinnamonness (not a word, but it is now) on the outside, with chunks of chocolate scattered throughout? Like... what? Holy fudge muffin, yum.

Plus, plus-- this is actually a lighter version of the original bread pudding. If I hadn't made the recipe myself, I would never have believed it was healthier for you. I didn't tell anyone, and no one knew or guessed. The huge pan was demolished by happy, hungry, and (unknowingly) kinda-healthy people. So the basic consensus is that bread pudding for breakfast equals yes. Everything in moderation, yeah? This serves twelve and so you get a perfectly-sized piece that is a great way to start out a sleepy morning, and coffee may be required because it is coffee.

But for real: this bread pudding is decadent and the perfect way to make your morning a little more indulgent. Plus stops you from needing to worry about basically anything but preheating the oven in the morning in order to bake it. Aka please enjoy more time with those around you, because that is what matters. And if you don't have people around you currently, then go out and explore! Enjoy the season! Look online at some cute cat videos via YouTube! Wear fuzzy socks! And eat Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding.

Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Inspired by Cooking Light

Serves 12 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat French bread loaf, left out 2 days, crust on, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 (12oz can) evaporated (not condensed-- very different things) fat free milk
• 2c. skim milk
• 2/3c sugar OR splenda*
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2tsp cinnamon
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 large egg whites, beaten
• 1/4c. mini chocolate chips

*I personally always prefer the Splenda recipe, because I have nothing against Splenda, but I understand that some people do, so sugar is always an option still. Splenda substitutes just fine in this, though. 
 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Meanwhile, coat a rectangular glass baking pan (I used 13x9x2) with cooking spray. Put the bread cubes into the pan; set aside.
3. Thoroughly whisk together the evaporated milk, the skim milk, splenda, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs together in a large bowl (about 4 minutes). Pour the custard mixture over the top of the bread, pushing down cubes to make sure that they are all covered. Let sit for 20 minutes to overnight, allowing the bread to absorb the custard. Occasionally press down on the bread to ensure saturation, and if needed feel free to gently rotate some top pieces to the bottom of the pan to make sure they sake up well.
4. Bake for 35 minutes at 350F. Remove the pan from the oven and evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top. Return to oven and bake another 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out almost clean (a tad of moisture isn't bad-- its part of the creaminess).
5. Allow to cool slightly (this tastes wonderful after refrigerated, too) and serve.

Nutrition Information (With Sugar):
Sodium: 248mg
Total Fat: 4g
      Saturated: 1g
      Trans:0g
Sugar: 30g
Protein: 9g
Calories: 259

Nutrition Information (With Splenda):
Sodium: 248mg
Total Fat: 4g
      Saturated: 1g
      Trans:0g
Sugar: 8g
Protein: 9g
Calories: 173