Last day of vacation - procrastination?

Yesterday was the last day of my month of Chillin'!  I can't believe it - I managed to waste a whole month and actually find a magical blissful state called rested!  To make the most of yesterday I didn't finish my bucket list of chores or studying.  I baked and cooked instead.

Baking Adventure

When my sister Kim went to school today she recommended very strongly that I make something with cream cheese - TODAY - as it could not wait!  So in search of a cream cheese recipe I went to my favourite place - Foodgawker!

The recipe I used was courtesy of The Baker Chick's blog - the blog of a New York Actress which she slightly adapted from Natalie's Killer Cuisine another great food blog!

WARNING:  I am not responsible for any addictions that may arise out of consuming these brownies!

Coconut Cream Cheese Brownies

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Coconut Cream Cheese Brownies

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup Sugar

1 Egg Yolk

3/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 cup Shredded Coconut

2/3 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup butter (she used Coconut Oil) 

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (recipe calls for dark chocolate but I didn't have any and didn't feel like going to the store)

1 cup Sugar (recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup but as I used semi-sweet chocolate instead of dark chocolate I cut back on the amount of sugar in the recipe)

3 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Grease an 8×8 baking pan

Filling:

1. In a medium sized bowl combine the softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, egg yolk, vanilla and coconut. Mix together using an electric mixer until well combined. Set aside and make the brownie batter.

Batter:

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a smal bowl. Set aside.

2. In a metal or glass bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water combine chocolate and oil. Stir until chocolate is melted.  Let mixture cool slightly. Add 1 1/4 cup of sugar, eggs, vanilla and whisk until smooth and lump free.

3. Combine the flour mixture with the chocolate mixture and stir until combined.

4. Pour half of the brownie batter into a prepared baking pan. Add the coconut filling in even spoonfulls and gently spread across the batter, and top with the rest of the brownie batter. *

5. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.

*Note: The brownie batter is much thinner/lighter than the coconut mixture. Because of this, layering evenly is difficult. Don't worry too much if you can't perfectly spread the coconut mixture over the first layer of brownie. Even if that bottom layer doesn't stay too thick they will be amazing!

Suzie HomeMaker Stays Home and Makes Dinner For Her Hard Working Man

For any of you who know me quite well although it is one of my life goals to be Martha Stewart I am not the type of person who could ever sit at home and wait for my husband to come home for work with an apron on and a smile on my face after sitting at the kitchen table doing absolutely nothing!  If I could build a small empire of housewives and take over the local PTA that may be a different story, however, I digress.

Last night, while Cam was working hard to bring home the bacon (ok not entirely true because technically I was paid for yesterday as well), I did some grocery shopping and then made Quinoa Loaf for dinner.  I found this recipe on the Whole Foods app and had made it a little while back and wanted to try it out again with a couple of tweaks.  

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas

Source: Whole Foods Recipes

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing 
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced 
Salt and ground black pepper to taste 
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 
3/4 cup rolled oats (I used quick oats - this is what I use in oatmeal too so I figured it would work out alright)
2 cups cooked quinoa ( Learn to Cook: Quinoa) 
1 cup frozen green peas 
2 tsp dried thyme  (the recipe calls for 1 TBSP fresh thyme and/or 1/2 c of fresh parsley.  I substituted dried thyme as I didn't have any fresh thyme and left out the parsley completely)
1 cup (about 1 onion) chopped walla walla onion (the recipe calls for red onion but I still have lots of Walla Wallas from the Farmers Market so I used them instead)

*The recipe also calls for 10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped but Cam didn't like them last time so I left them out.

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch loaf pan with oil; set aside. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Meanwhile, put beans, oats and 1/2 cup water into a food processor and pulse until almost smooth. In a large bowl, combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to prepared loaf pan, gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle*. Bake until firm and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

*I had more than enough for my loaf pan so I put the remaining amount into a greased muffin pan.  These were delicious!  Cam and I both agree that I should make them in muffin sized amounts instead of in the loaf pan as it is much crispier and delicious!