So Thankful

Yesterday's Thanksgiving was delicious. The best part was seeing friends before and family during the big meal. I am so thankful for all of my friends, family, food, and wine that I was blessed to be surrounded with this year.

The Sweet Potato Pecan Pie was a success! The Chantilly Cream with the iSi Gourmet Whip was not. I ended up with cream spatter everywhere and a charger discharged within momnets. After some research on the web, I think I know what I was doing wrong, but I haven't had a successful whip yet. I ended up with a nice cream anyway, thanks to a hand blender and some tenacity. Son of Food, please post a step by step on how to make the whipper work. Maybe with your guidance, next time will go better.

For Tomorrow; Sweet Potato Pie

This Sweet Potato Pie is ready for tomorrow. Chantilly Cream to be made then.

MandiCakes

A long time ago, at an improv audition far, far away, a friendship was formed between two food blogging giants. At the time, neither blogged, but both cooked, ate, and more importantly, laughed. Food was not what attracted me to the blond dessert maven you may know as MandiCrocker, rather it was her sparkling personality and terrific sense of humor; the sugar was just an added bonus to a pre-sweetended friendship.

MandiCakes is the physical manifestation of Mandi's sweetness. Her Cookies, Cakes, and Pies are simply stated, delicious. She has a "more is more" philosophy which brings good old fashioned homemade indulgence to her creations.

One my personal favorites is her Peanut Butter Chocolate cake made with chunks of Peanut Butter cups. The frosting is amazing. Most frostings are too sweet for me to eat much of, but this one I could eat all day. This unglamourous picture is of the cake Mandi made for my baby shower. We were lucky we got a shot of this cake at all, it was gone so fast.

Mandi does a mini cupcake version of this cake that is dreamy in it's own way.

Here it is now... The peanut butter cupcakes are rightfully in front.

Mandi's other cakes are terrific, too. The Red Velvet cakes with Cream Cheese frosting are another croud pleaser. You can see these yummies in the picture at the top of the post.

I am probably most fond of one of Mandi's most labor intensive treats... Her Cake Truffles. I liked the working title of these goodies better. Apparently "Cake Balls" aren't classy enough for the masses. I love them, under any name, though. They are bite sized chocolate/hard frosting coated cakes which are just as much of a treat for the eye as for the mouth. I really love the Grasshoppah Mint Cake Truffles, but the best part of the cake truffle experience is mixing up the different flavors.

Is your sweet tooth crying out yet? Mandi is creating platters and treats for the holidays. Check out her website for more information. http://www.mandicakes.com

Muddy Buddies Recipe

As requested, straight from the back of the Box... General Mills, please thank me... The recipe for Muddy Buddies.

I will print the half recipe version that I made, here:

9 Servings (about 1/2 cup each)




1/2 Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
4 1/2 Cups of Chex Cereal (any Variety)
3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar



Measure Chex into a large bowl and set aside.

In a 1 Qt. Saucepan, heat the Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter, and Butter over a low heat, stirring frequently, until melted.

Remove from heat and stir in Vanilla.

Pour Chocolate mixture over the Cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

Pour Mix into a 2 Gallon Food Storage Plastic Bag.
Add Powdered sugar, seal, and shake until well coated.

Spread mix out on parchment or waxed paper until cooled. Store in an airtight contained in the refrigerator.


1 serving = 5 WW Points, 220 Calories, Fat 9g, (Sat fat 4g, Trans Fat 0g), Fiber 1g, Cholesterol 5mg, Sodium 200mg, Total Carbs 30g, (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 17g), Protein 3g,

Muddy Buddies

I don't care, call it white-trash-junk-food, Muddy Buddies are awesome. I am so glad I only made half a batch. Who knows how many Weight Watchers Points are in there... OK, I'll calculate it... 5 points a serving, 9 servings in this 1/2 batch. 45 points in the pan, yikes!

I won't do it alone.

Between the kids, Friend of Food, and Me, these things may not make it 'till tonight. Husband of Food, I'll try to save you some. Come back soon!
Save me from this yummy batch of self destruction!!!

Free Krispy Kremes for Vets on Nov. 11

Free Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for Veterans and Military Personnel on Veterans Day!

This year, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation is honoring America's service men and women on Veterans Day by giving away free doughnuts to all veterans and active military personnel. Veterans and active military personnel are invited to visit any participating U.S. Krispy Kreme store on Veterans Day, November 11, and enjoy one free doughnut of any variety.

"Krispy Kreme is delighted to offer free doughnuts as a small gesture to thank the dedicated men and women who have served, or are currently serving in the armed forces," said Ron Rupocinski, corporate chef for Krispy Kreme. "It is our hope that veterans and active military will visit a participating U.S. Krispy Kreme store on Veterans Day to enjoy a free doughnut, and maybe share stories about their service to our country. We salute each and every one of them."

Veterans and active military personnel will be able to select from more than a dozen varieties - including Original Glazed(R), Chocolate Iced Kreme Filled, Chocolate Cake, Pumpkin Spice and Glazed Raspberry Filled - that are available at most Krispy Kreme locations.

Proud Saver

I will admit, I do not love the scrimping and saving, as I've had to do lately, but today I worked the system so well, I can't help but to be a Proud Saver. In the grocery store I bought $203.35 worth of food for $109.07. By using a combination of coupons, bonus cash, and grocery store specials I managed a $94.28 savings on the trip and in addition scored a "Rewards Voucher" of $20.00 to be used on a future trip. If you include the voucher, I saved more than I spent.

Included in the trip were plenty of staples, meats, diapers, treats for the Dog,and enough Diet Coke to serve Husband of Food and myself for several weeks, which my friends, is a lot of Diet Coke.

Some of the coupons came from the Sunday paper, some from grocery store mailers, and some from the sources found in the blogpost Food and Grocery Coupon Conglom-o-rama This trip made me appreciate my thrifty side. I wish you all your own proud savings.

Getting Back on Track with 1 Point Muffins

October was an especially difficult month for me. I still had no job, freelance hopes were dashed, and I lost Father of Food. Needless to say, I ate.

October was also a time of celebration, the twins turned three, many little friends had birthday parties, and of course we celebrated the joy that is Halloween. Needless to say, I ate.

October also happened to be the month where, due to death, sickness, and poverty, I most often found myself without a break as full time Mommy of my three year old twins. Needless to say, I ate.

I have been exercising more than usual, but needless to say, I gained.

This week I started to turn back the flow of calories by going back to my old Weight Watchers habits and have begun again to count the points of what I eat.
Today I made one of my favorite low point snacks, 1 Point Muffins. Now I use the term "muffin" loosely, since the plain version of these is more like a biscuit. It is a great grab and go food and since you make it yourself, it doesn't cost a fortune.

This muffin recipe originated from the
1998 version of The Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook.
There is a new version of this book out,



however, I am not sure if it has this recipe and I know it doesn't have my 1 point version, so I will share it here to help all of you folks looking for a great low cal snack:

Plain Muffins:

Makes 24 Servings - 1 Point each

1-3/4 cups of flour
4 tsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Cup fat free milk
1 egg
4 tsp unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray a 24 cup mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray (I use a silicone pan with spray)
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a small bowl combine egg, milk, and butter. Pour over the flour mixture and stir, just until blended (do not overmix).
5. Spoon the batter into the cups, only filling the cups until they are just to the top, not over the sides.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Now I'm back on track with a 1 point snack. I just need to be careful not to eat all 24 muffins by myself.