Chocolate Chip Day!

 

Chocolate chips are a required ingredient in chocolate chip cookies which were invented in 1937 when a woman named Ruth Wakefield of the Toll House Inn added cut-up chunks of a semi-sweet Nestle chocolate bar to a cookie recipe. The cookies were a huge success, and Wakefield reached an agreement in 1939 with Nestlé to add her recipe to the chocolate bar's packaging in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate. Initially, Nestlé included a small chopping tool with the chocolate bars. In 1941 Nestlé and one or more of its competitors started selling the chocolate in chip (or "morsel") form.

Bake something yummy with chocolate chips today...or just eat a handful!

Stay Cozy & Chocolatey too!

Carrie

Today is Chocolate Parfait Day!

This dessert is just perfect - parfait means "perfect" in French!

American parfaits are usually  prepared in a tall glass filled with a layer of ice cream 

or pudding and whipped cream with the addition of your choice 

of any other delicious ingredients!

This recipe calls for pudding...

Growing up...I remember my mom making chocolate pudding for me 

and my 6 siblings.

She made it on the stove - the cooked kind!

 As it cooled in the fridge it would form a thin layer on the top that was quite thick.

Any body out there remember this?

I never liked this top layer - yuck -  so I would scrap it off with my spoon before I ate it! 

"Instant pudding" hadn't come out yet!  I  prefer that today!

Quickie Chocolate Parfait

1 12 ozs instant chocolate pudding mix (fudge)

2 cups skim milk (cold)

4 tsp vanilla

2 ozs cool whip (lite) 

 

1	Beat pudding mix into milk in bowl with whisk 2 minutes.
2	Add vanilla and cool whip lite and continue to whisk until smooth.
3	Pour into glasses layering with cool whip or whipped cream of your choice.
4	Refrigerate till ready to serve -- at least 5 -10 minutes.
5	Presto!

Recipe-a Day...

APR 30  Raisin Day

 

The word raisin is stolen word from the French.

Raisin in French literally means grape; pretty simple since they are dried grapes!

As a child I never liked carrot raisin salad...but I love this new

 lighter & fresher version...sans the mayo.

Carrot-Pineapple Slaw, adapted from Cooking Light
1/2 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/3 cup raisins
5 oz matchstick-cut carrots
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon fresh pineapple juice
1 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt and black pepper, to taste
Combine the first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine oil and next 3 ingredients (through pineapple juice), stirring with a whisk. Add oil mixture to carrot mixture; toss well. Add parsley, salt, and pepper; toss well. Cover and chill.

Stay Cozy, 

Carrie

Chocolate Cocolate Chip Banana Bread

I absolutely hate to toss out my bananas when they have over-ripened....

I am always looking for new recipes to use them up.

This cake is so rich and chocolatey good...

the sour cream & bananas add to the moist texture and wonderful flavor!

I used this cocoa powder from my local Trader Joe's store!

Cook time: 60 mins

Serves: 1 loaf

• 1 stick of salted butter, softened to room temp.
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 large ripened bananas mashed ( or 2.5 small bananas)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 Tbl. cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup of sour cream
• 1 cup of mini chocolate chips (regular chocolate chips work too)

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan, or 2 mini pans with non-stick spray.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Stir in egg, mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until well blended.
4. Add baking soda, cocoa, and flour.
5. Mix everything until well incorporated (about 3 minutes in a Kitchenaid mixer).
6. Add chocolate chips.
7. Pour batter into loaf pan(s) and bake for 50 minutes – 1 hr.
8. Insert a tooth pick into the center of the loaf and check to see if it comes out clean when you pull it out.
9. Remove from heat and allow bread to rest in the loaf pan for 10 minutes.
10. Invert the loaf pans onto a cooling rack. Enjoy warm or cold.

Take a moment and...

 

“Stop and smell the flowers”.... most of us know what it means...

 but how often do we actually stop and smell the flowers?

This expression was intended to help us realize the importance of enjoying the  

simple pleasures of life.

But many of us forget to take time to do this nearly as much 
as we should or as much as we think we do.

Take a moment from your usual routine today to notice the little things around you...

And you might just pick a flower along the way... 

Stay Cozy, 

Carrie