Well, I have no meals to post.  That’s right, friends, there has been nothing but cookies ‘round this joint!  Let me tell you that cookies do not a meal make.  However, I am not getting that memo for some reason.  It’s bad.  I’m struggling and floundering.  My pants are tighter.

But enough about me.  How are you guys?!  Eating cookies????

*cricket….cricket*

Okay, well let me tempt you then.  You know misery loves company

I’ve had a few requests for the Ricotta Cookie recipe from my Cookie Day extravaganza.  These are a favorite in our family, so if you’re running low on cookies (ahem) or looking for a new recipe this year, give these a try!

Ricotta Cookies

• 3 eggs
• 2 c. sugar
• 1/2 lb. butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 lb. ricotta (whole milk or part-skim)
• 4 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda

Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together until smooth.  *you may need to add more sugar or milk depending on the consistency you like.  I tend to like it thicker so that I can dip the tops of the cookies in and not have much drip down the sides of the cookie.

Cream butter and sugar;  add vanilla, eggs, ricotta.  Beat with electric beater about 5 minutes.  Then add flour, salt and baking soda.  Beat until smooth.  Drop by spoonful (or small cookie scoop) onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (*they do not have to be brown).   Cool completely, then ice and sprinkle!

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

I’m off to put on stretchy pants.

Have a great day, everyone!

You know it’s gonna be a good weekend with that post title

Maybe it’s the fall air, but I’m in a baking mood!  Good thing I was in a running mood, too.  Well, not really but I made Pumpkin Cinnamon Bread and knew I better get my booty out there (4 miles was on the schedule and I got ‘er done!).  Before we get to the sweetness, let’s do the savory first…

I came across a recipe for Zucchini Bake in an old cookbook called, Healthy Cooking for people who don’t have time to Cook by Jeanne Jones.  Jeanne wins the award for longest title ever.  But, she also has some winning recipes in this book.  This recipe looked very similar to one my Gram makes (with no recipe, of course), so I decided to give it a try….

Zucchini Bake
adapted from above long title book

• 1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium), shredded or sliced
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup liquid egg whites or egg substitute
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, reserving 2 tbsp.
• 1/3 cup shredded swiss (or cheddar)
• 1/3 cup onion, diced fine
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 2 tbsp. canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9” square baking dish with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except 2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese.  Mix well and pour into prepared baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tbsp. cheese.
4. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool slightly, cut into squares and serve.

Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Okay, now for something sweet.  Again inspired by Jeanne’s long titled book.  Her recipe for Sweet Cinnamon Quick Bread sounded perfect for fall.  For being labeled a “sweet” bread, I was surprised that called for less than a cup of sugar!  I’ve been looking for an opportunity to use my recent hoarding-type purchase of canned pumpkin and this was the recipe to do it!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Quick Bread

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 egg whites
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a 9” x 5” loaf pan with nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.  Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf;  approx. 16 slices

Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

Oops.

Better go….run, Marisa, run…..

Have a great baking day, everyone!

Happy Monday!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  We had some milestone birthday parties this weekend!

First, we celebrated my BIL’s 60th birthday party with a surprise event at their home.  My SIL did a great job pulling that one off!  The food was delicious. 

Especially the cake…

so I was told   Yes, I refused the birthday cake.  Sad, but true.  There was a milestone right there!

Today, we remotely celebrated my grandmother’s 100th birthday!  She lives in Italy and was having the whole town come to wish her happy birthday.  We Skyped our family in Italy and sang “Happy Birthday” in Italian to her!  So cool!  I hope I can get to 100 years, too!

In other milestone news…

I met my running partner, Kerry, this morning for a most humid and hot run.  But, we didn’t let it get us down!  We knocked out a sweaty 6.13 miles – my longest run ever!!  I was so psyched to finally hit that 6 mile mark…

We made a couple pit stops back at the car for a drink because it was just so hot.  I came to the conclusion that I really need a Camelbak!

Our overall time was 1 hour and 20 minutes with 20 intervals of 3:1…

I’m so proud of us for getting that far.  Just knowing I’m getting to the halfway distance mark for my upcoming half marathon makes me feel more confident that I can do it! 

And now, I feel it’s time for me to scale back on my running.  I know that sounds like the weirdest thing right now, but I’ll talk more about it in an upcoming post

Okay, so on to the food…

Well, coffee first

Breakfast was my new favorite – Cottage Cheese Fruit Bowl…

• 3/4 cup nonfat cottage cheese
• 1/2 diced gala apple
• 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
• 2 tsp. sliced almonds
• 2 tsp. reduced-fat unsweetened coconut

I never liked cottage cheese so much!  The coconut really makes it.  I found this in my local Giant Supermarket…

Delish…

A while later, I had a small snack – egg whites on Triscuits…

Funny looking egg whites, right?  See, I had this idea to use up my carton of egg whites…

I bought them because I was feeling badly about chucking all the egg yolks when I made my egg sandwiches, etc.  However, sometimes, ya just want a hard boiled egg!  Again, I waste the yolks.  So I came up with a method to simulate a hard boiled egg white.  I’ve tried the microwave and it’s just not the same as that firm boiled egg.  Instead, I baked them!  Here’s the method for my Hard Baked Egg Whites…

A mini-muffin tin coated with cooking spray…

A large roasting pan with sides…

Place tin in roasting pan and fill each cup with 2 tbsp. egg whites…

*note:  do not shake the carton before using as instructed

Fill roasting pan with VERY HOT water until it reaches just under the lip of the muffin tin…

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until firm …

Let cool slightly.  Run a knife around the edges and release egg whites from the pan.

Make a tower cuz it’s fun…

They were nice and firm with the texture of a hard boiled egg.  Easy to make ahead and store in the fridge for snacking…

And no peeling!  Don’t ya just hate that job?!

At lunchtime, we met at my parents’ new home where we Skyped, celebrated and ate.  Mom made a roasted chicken, salad and had hoagie bites for the kids.

I enjoyed my chicken and salad with an Ezekiel roll and a smidge of buttah!

When back at the homestead, I noshed on an apple with warm natural peanut butter (thanks for that idea, Tamara!)…

Dinner was a filling bowl of brown rice pasta with Trader Joe’s Giant White Beans and leftover sauteed spinach…

Now, if I could just get the rest of the family to eat this……that would be one amazing milestone

Have a great day, everyone!

Would you want to live to 100?  Why or why not?