Chocolate Chia Pudding

I got lost in Food Heaven late last week! I clicked on a few pics on Pinterest, followed them to their pages and poked around at other pics that interested me. During my little adventure I came across a recipe for Chocolate Chia Pudding which I was pretty keen to try out since I currently only use Chia Seeds in my daily morning Green Smoothies.

You know how it is when you start out following a recipe and soon have come up with your own unique creation? First of all, I had half a cup of left over coffee sitting in a thermos…I know, I know! How is that even possible? I subbed the coffee in for a portion of the milk and then I was thinking, Caramel Macchiato so I added some Caramel Sauce.  I had some leftover whipped cream handy so I folded that in after the Chia Seeds had “set”. I don’t think it needed the whipped cream, again, I just happened to have it on hand; I certainly would not have whipped up some cream just for this recipe.

The recipe I started following said it was a single serve so I doubled it…wrong…my husband and I both had a generous serving and there are probably still four servings left! Which is all good because I am really liking this pudding! Reminds me of Tapioca, which I LOVE but hate to make.

Chocolate Caramel Chia Pudding
Chocolate Caramel Chia Pudding

1 cup unsweetened Almond, Soy or Coconut Milk (I used Almond Milk)
1/2 cup Cold Coffee
2 Tablespoons Caramel Topping
3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
1 teaspoon Cocoa Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

In a  small measuring cup whisk together cocoa with about 1 Tablespoon of milk.
Combine milk, coffee, caramel topping, cinnamon, chia seeds, and maple syrup in a glass container with a fitted lid.
Add cocoa mixture and whisk everything together until well incorporated.
Refrigerate for at least four hours, stirring once an hour to keep the seeds from clumping.

Enjoy!

Notes:
– I made mine in a small pyrex dish with a lid.
– I did not stir it every hour, quite frankly I just left it for two days!
– I folded whipped cream the pudding before serving it; it didn’t need it.
– I will add another Tablespoon of Chia seeds next time.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

I NEEDED to fill up the Cookie Jar, Fast! See, my husband bought me a lil sign to hang in the kitchen: “Grandmas never run out of Hugs or Cookies!” and the grandsons were on their way over so I needed to get some cookies baked. The only problem is that I had a Turkey in the oven! But no worries because I have this fancy new stove that has duel oven capabilities! So, next step, find something yummy to bake that I can do all in one hit and not be feeding baking trays into the oven all afternoon long; voila, Cookie Bars!

Now the only trouble is that they were so good my Cookie Jar is almost empty again!

I found the recipe at Very Best of Baking

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

1 cup Butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 large Eggs

2 1/4 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 cups Chocolate Chips
1 cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.
Lightly spray at 15×10″ jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides)

In mixing bowl cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar.
Add eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition; stir in vanilla.
Beat until light and fluffy.
Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt just until combined.
Add chocolate chips and chopped nuts; stir well.

Spread cookie dough onto prepared pan, patting it down with your hands and pushing it towards the corners. (very messy process!)

Bake in 375F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool in pan on wire rack.
Cut into bars.

Makes up to 48 bars.

Dog’s Breath Biscuits

When we first got our Lab/Shep cross we often gave him treats when we were training him. Buying wholesome treats became pretty expensive! Then I remembered seeing a recipe for Dog Biscuits in a Canadian Living magazine, not that I could remember which issue; so I googled it and was pleased to find what would become a regular for Bear.
One time I went to make the biscuits, clicked on the saved bookmark and ACK! The recipe was missing! I quickly sent off an email to Canadian Living begging them to look into it; at first I thought maybe they had found the recipe was not suitable for dogs or something but they were quick to send back a response and the recipe was back online. Now I know it would be easy to just always google Doggy Treats but sometimes when I find a recipe that I really like, I prefer to stick to the tried and true. I swore I was going to get the Canadian Living recipe up on my page ASAP so I would never have to worry about finding it missing again….a year later and well, here it is, finally on my site. The biscuits do keep well in an airtight container so  I always double the original recipe and here on my site I give you the doubled amounts.
Oh, tried and true or not, I do like to experiment a little so I have also added some add ins that Bear has liked.

Thanks Canadian Living for a great recipe for an important member of our family!

Dog Biscuits, made with Love for our Bear
Dog Biscuits, made with Love for our Bear

1 cup Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups Rolled Oats
1 1/2 cups Cornmeal
1/2 cup Packed Brown Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Butter, softened (I sometimes sub in a bit of Bacon Fat)
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
4 Eggs
1 Tablespoon dried Mint
2 Tablespoons dried Parsley
1 cup shredded Cheese (optional)
4 strips cooked Bacon (optional)
1 Apple, shredded (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F.
Line 4 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In medium mixing bowl combine flours, oats, cornmeal, brown sugar,  baking powder and salt; set aside.
In mixing bowl beat together butter, peanut butter; add eggs, one a time then cream until smooth.
On low speed, stir in dry ingredients, mint, parsley and any optional ingredients to make a soft dough.
Turn out onto floured surface and knead until it all comes together; divide into two portions.
Roll out one portion of dough to  1/2″ thickness and cut with bone shaped cookie cutter.
Arrange on prepared baking sheets; you can put them pretty close together.
With second portion, again roll out, but directly onto a piece of parchment paper, into an 8″x11″ rectangle.
Trim rough edges; using a sharp knife, cut into small rectangles but do not separate.
Roll scraps and cut more bone shaped biscuits.
Bake in 325F oven for 35 – 40 minutes, until golden and firm; I start checking on them at 25 minutes, removing those that look like they are cooked through.
Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
With the 8″x11″ sheet, break along cuts to make treats to stuff into Kong toys or to have on hand when you go out for a walk.

 

Canine Pupcakes

Our Lab/Shep cross celebrated his second birthday! Last year I made him a cake for his first birthday and was left storing a huge portion of uneaten cake in the fridge/freezer. This year I got clever and made “pupcakes”; infinitely easier to store!
I used Brown Eyed Bakers recipe with a few minor alterations and the addition of a Doggy Icing to top the Pupcakes with. I also made Bear some Biscuits, a few of which I crumbled on top.

Birthday Pupcakes!
Birthday Pupcakes!

 

3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
3/4 cup Flour
1/4 cup Rolled Oats
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Applesauce
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I used Bacon Fat)
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Eggs
1 Apple, peeled, cored and shredded
1 cup shredded Cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In mixing bowl combine flours, oats, baking powder and baking soda.
In separate bowl combine applesauce, water, fat, honey, eggs, shredded apple and cheese.
Pour all at once into dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time.
Remove from oven and let cool in tin on wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.
When cool, Frost with
Doggy Delight Icing
4 ounces Strawberry Cream Cheese, or plain
2 ounces Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
In mixing bowl combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.

 

Super Simple BBQ Chicken Breasts

When the day gets away from you, you forgot to take something out of the freezer to defrost and the last thing in the world you want to do is cook but you have to feed your family then this has got to be the most simple meal to throw together!
I had some thin boneless Chicken Breasts in the freezer to work with, half a bottle of Chicken and Rib BBQ sauce in the fridge and I always have some kind of Potatoes and fresh vegetables on hand. Here is what I did:

Preheated oven. Got the Chicken into a baking dish, threw some baby potatoes into another and got them into the oven. Then I prepped the broccoli and went to put my feet up for a half hour before coming back to the kitchen to get the plates ready by layering lettuce leaves, sliced red cabbage, celery and tomato on one.

Now I am a Vegetarian so I skipped putting Chicken on my plate; instead I added chopped pecans, a bit of shredded Cheddar and some dried Cranberries to my salad. Not the most wholesome meal for a Vegetarian but, man, I was beat and so not into cooking two separate meals!

Super Quick BBQ Chicken Breasts
Super Quick BBQ Chicken Breasts

1- 1lb pkg Thin Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 cup Chicken and Ribs BBQ Sauce

3/4 lb each Baby Red Potatoes and Baby White Potatoes
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning spice mix
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 head Garlic

Preheat oven to 375F.
Spray one 9×13 inch casserole pan, 1-8″square casserole dish

Separate and lay chicken breasts, slightly overlapping if you need to, in prepared 9×13″ casserole.
Pour BBQ sauce over top, spreading with a pastry brush if needed.
Cover with Aluminum Foil.

Place baby potatoes in prepared 8″ casserole.
Whack the head of garlic and separate each clove; add to potatoes.
Drizzle both with olive oil, sprinkle with seasoning mix and toss to coat.

Put both pans in the oven and cook for 35 minutes at 375F.
Remove foil from Chicken casserole dish.
Increase oven temperature to 425F and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.

When you remove the foil and increase oven temperature that is when you would turn the broccoli on to cook and get your salad together.

 

Welcome to my Kitchen where the most important ingredient is Love.