Pecan Tassies

Puppies. Babies. Cupcakes. It seems to be a reoccurring pattern that when things are miniaturized, they become adorable. Recently I got hooked onto the HBO show True Blood (if you haven't seen it, go watch it. now!) and there is a scene where one of the main characters eats an entire homemade pecan pie. Needless to say that after watching that scene I was craving something with pecans, brown sugar, and a crust. Luckily, my boyfriend recently bought me Martha Stewart's Cookies and Cupcakes cookbooks (sweet, i know) so I had a nice variety of pecan recipes to try.

When I saw the recipe for Pecan Tassies I had to try them because they're just so cute. Bite size pecan pies (that rhymes too!). Martha never fails me. These tassies required a lot of prep work but were easy to make and had just the right amounts of smooth brown sugar filling and crunchy pecans. There's something about the combination of not only smooth and crunchy, but brown sugar and nuts. Bite sized perfection.

Pecan Tassies
Makes about 1 1/2 dozen
From Martha Stewart's Cookies

For the dough:

• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese (4 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Make dough: process pecans in a food processor until finely ground (you should have about 1/2 cup). Put mascarpone and butter into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until well blended. Add flour, ground pecans, and salt; mix just until dough comes together. Alternatively, stir together ingredients with a wooden spoon in a large bowl.

2. Roll dough into sixteen 1-inch balls; press into bottoms and up sides of cups of mini-muffin tins.

3. Make filling: Whisk the egg, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter, and salt in a bowl. Stir in pecans. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons filling into each muffin cup.

4. Bake until crust begins to turn golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely in tins on wire rack. Unmold. Tassies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Another muffin post? Another Ellie Krieger post? I promise I'll get out of this habit of redundancy, I do have some posts coming up that feature different recipes, and some exciting news! This post is a day late, sorry Craving Ellie in My Belly members. I was unusually busy yesterday and didn't have time to post. However, I was super excited when I saw this recipe, chosen by Oddball Oven Mitt, was up for the week of Halloween.

Time for another Ellie Krieger recipe analysis. This muffin recipe has somewhat of a large list of ingredients that might be hard to find for some people. I noticed a few Craving Ellie members and some people who reviewed the recipe on FoodNetwork.com made some ingredient swaps. Applesauce or yogurt for the canola oil, maple syrup for the molasses (I think I might try that if I ever make this recipe again), doubling the spices, adding chocolate chips (might try that too), or adding pecans or walnuts. I made the recipe as written except for the pumpkin seeds, I couldn't find any at the 2 of my local grocery stores I tried (weird, right?).

My verdict on the muffins? They were good, but not amazing. They were more 'spicy' than sweet, which makes them nice for breakfast or a snack. I used a generous hand when measuring the spices since some reviewers complained that the muffins were too bland and would double the spices next time. I definitely think I missed out on a necessary texture component by excluding the pumpkin seeds, these muffins needed a little crunch. They were very moist in texture though, which is hard to achieve when making a healthy recipe so props to Ellie. If I make them again I would swap the molasses for maple syrup and perhaps make a pecan-brown sugar topping and bake them in muffin liners so they look cuter (yes, cuteness should be a factor!).

Pumpkin Pie Muffins

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-grain pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of 1 of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous

A delicious yet healthy, easy, and inexpensive weeknight recipe. Nearly everyone, even cooking fans, don't always have the time, money, or room in their jeans to indulge in dining out or creating high caloric dishes like lasagna every night of the week. Because of this, 100,000 people search the keyword "chicken recipes" in Google every month, 12,000 people search "easy chicken recipes", and 6,600 people search "healthy chicken recipes". Chicken is relatively cheap, healthy, easily accessible, and versatile.

If this is the case, why aren't there more yummy chicken recipes available that fit this desired mold!? On my quest to find easy, delicious, healthy chicken recipes, one of the first places I turned was to Ellie Kreiger's The Food You Crave. Ellie always managers to create recipes that are simple and healthy (she also has a new cookbook being released tomorrow whose title, So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week, couldn't fit my search for recipes better!). So when I stumbled across Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous and read the recipe introduction, I knew I had found a perfect weeknight chicken recipe.

The introduction reads, "As a busy mom who is really cranky when she's hungry, I need delicious rush-hour meals I can get on the table fast. This is one of my absolute favorite. The chicken breast is smothered in a balsamic-laced tomato sauce served over garlicky spinach nestled on a bed of warm fluffy couscous. All that and it only takes 15 minutes to make."

Ellie sold me on this recipe (and I'm not even a mother)! I scaled this recipe down to serve one person when I made it which was actually pretty easy. A little bit of botched mental math and pure estimations still produced a great dinner. Not only does it taste great (reading Ellie's description creates a little bit of mouth watering) but it also presents great with the color of the tomatoes and the spinach contrasting beautifully. This dish also provides whole grains, lean protein, and a good source of veggie vitamins. Who could ask for more?

On an unrelated side note (sorry, Ellie! I have to stop talking about you at some point...), who is excited for Halloween in 10 days? I haven't gotten a costume or my work schedule so I don't know if I'll be participating but I'd love to know what you all are doing! Anyone have any awesome costumes? Will you be making even more awesome goodies?

Balsamic Chicken with Baby Spinach and Couscous
Serves 4

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
• 8 ounces baby spinach
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup low-sodium canned chopped tomatoes with juice
• 2 cups whole wheat couscous, cooked

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.

Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.

Pear Plum Crisp

The weather here in Phoenix, Arizona is finally starting to cool down. I am happy to say we are no longer in triple digits. To celebrate, I decided to make a sweet treat that tastes and smells of the flavors of fall. Plus, my local grocery store has finally gotten in some nice fresh pears and plums. Yum.

There is something about the simpleness and rustic-ness of crisps and crumbles that makes them so comforting, especially when the weather is cooler. I remembered when I first purchased the Baked cookbook I saw a delicious looking recipe for a pear plum crisp. The recipe turned out to be as delicious as it appeared in the photo: tender warm fruit swimming in a pool of gooey cinnamon-y sweetness sprinkled with some more crispy sweetness. The textures of the tender fruit, gooey sauce and crisp topping are perfect compliments to each other.

I love the flavors of fall! This dish perfumes the whole house beautifully. Who needs Fabreeze when you have a crisp baking in the oven?

Pear Plum Crisp From: Baked
Yield: 1 8x8x2 crisp or 4 servings

For the fruit filling:

• 2 medium Bosc pears, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 medium Bartlett pears, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 large plums, pitted and cut into thin wedges
• Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of 1/2 orange
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the oat topping:

• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pea sized pieces
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

To serve:

• vanilla ice cream

Make the fruit filling:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, using a wooden spoon toss together the pears, plums, and the lemon and orange zest and juice. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and flour and stir until just combined. Set aside.

Make the oat topping:
In a small bowl, using a wooden spoon, toss together the butter and flour until the butter pieces are evenly coated. Add the oats and both sugars, and using your hands or the back of a wooden spoon, rub the mixture together until it resembles coarse meal.

Assemble the crisp:
Pour the filling into one 8-by-8-by-2-inch pan, and completely cover the top of the filling with the oat topping.

Bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for 20 minutes, and serve slightly warm with a scoop of ice cream.

The crisp can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, and can be reheated in the microwave in 15-second bursts until warm.