Very Berry Hearts

Sugar free Valentine treat. Great for your little ones or for big ones trying to cut back.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup almond flour 

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 cup frozen strawberries or cherries

1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut plus 3 tbsps more for rolling

Use sweetened coconut to sweeten these up a little if you like.

Blend everything together in a food processor them press into a small heart shaped cutter. Coat with coconut and refrigerate or freeze until ready to snack. Makes 20 two-bite hearts.

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Slow Cooker Ginger Pepper Beef

Tender and succulent beef with a robust amount of garlic and ginger to warm your heart! Great idea for a Valentine's dinner for two ♥  

Ingredients:

1 lb stewing beef, cut in 1/2-1" cubes

1 large bell pepper, diced

1 large (or 3 small) onions, cut in wedges

2 tbsps minced garlic

2 tsps grated ginger

1 tsp dry onion soup mix

1/4 cup water

2 tbsps soy sauce

2 tsps brown sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper 

2 tsps cornstarch

2 tsps cold water

Place beef in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with bell pepper and onion. Mix the garlic, ginger, dry onion soup mix, 1/4 cup water, soy sauce, brown sugar and black pepper together and pour over the meat. Slow cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. In last 30 minutes mix the cornstarch and cold water together and stir into the pot. Serves 2 

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Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookies

What to do with one leftover egg white. You could make an egg white omelet (yuck) or this small batch of flourless, chewy chocolate cookies!

Ingredients:

 3/4 cup icing sugar

2 tbsps cocoa powder

1 tsp cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 egg white

1/8 tsp vanilla

sea salt optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment. Mix the icing sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt together. Add the egg white and mix on low to combine then beat on high for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto parchment and sprinkle with sea salt if desired. 

Bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 12

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Green Bean Bundles

Elegant and easy, these little bundles will definitely be showing up on my dinner plate again! And bonus... they can be completely prepped one day in advance!

Ingredients:

400 g (just under 1 lb) French green beans

8-10 slices prosciutto

sea salt and cracked black pepper

Honey Garlic Butter:

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 tbsps honey

1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

1/2 tsp garlic powder

First blanch the beans. Drop them into boiling water for 2 minutes, then right into a bowl of cold water. Drain and pat dry.

In a small saucepan combine the butter, honey, rosemary and garlic powder and heat just until the butter and honey are melted. Remove from heat.

Toss the beans with 1/4 cup of the butter mixture, then portion them onto prosciutto slices. Roll up and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. There should be about 8-10 beans per bundle. Brush with remaining honey garlic butter, salt and pepper. Bake at 450°F for 8-11 minutes.

Delicious with this seafood dinner, but would be equally good along side chicken, beef or pork!

Adapted from: gimmesomeoven.com

Here are the recipes for the seafood pictured here:

Shrimp Kebabs

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/shrimp-kebabs.html

Herbed Lobster Tails

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/herbed-lobster-tails.html

Baked Shrimp Scampi

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/baked-shrimp-scampi.html

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Baked Shrimp Scampi

Little shrimp scampi, pre-butterflied, were an easy dish to prepare. But I should have followed my instinct and not the recipe I was following. They called for the scampis to be placed cut side down in the baking dish. That meant the shell side was up with the topping on it. Didn't make sense. Flavouful to be sure, but next time I'm going cut side up!

Ingredients:

1 lb scampi tails, butterflied in shell

Marinade:

1 1/2 tbsps olive oil

1 tbsp white wine

salt and pepper to taste

Topping:

4 tbsps butter, at room temperature

2 tsps minced garlic

1 tbsp minced green onion

1/2 tsp dry parsley

1/4 tsp fresh chopped rosemary

2 pinches red pepper flakes

3/4 tsp lemon zest

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup Panko

salt and pepper to taste

lemon wedges to serve

So, pretty easy... combine the olive oil, white wine, salt and pepper and toss in the shrimp scampi. Set aside while you make the topping.

In a small bowl mash the topping ingredients together. 

Oil a 10" baking dish and arrange the scampi, side by side, cut side UP not down as shown in these photos! Pour the remaining marinade over them then spread the butter mixture on top.

Bake in a 425°F oven for 8-10 minutes then broil 1 minutes to brown the top.

They ended up being tasty although not terribly pretty to look at. Sometimes when you're cooking you have to go with your gut! Luckily they were part of a pretty seafood plate!

Shrimp Kebabs:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/shrimp-kebabs.html

and Herbed Lobster Tails:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/herbed-lobster-tails.html

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Herbed Lobster Tails

These sweet and tender lobster tails with herb and garlic butter are quite easy to prepare. Intimidating at first try, but butterflying the lobster tails is really an easy process. 

Ingredients:

4 lobster tails

salt and pepper

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tsps chopped garlic

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp dry thyme

1/2 tsp dry rosemary

First to prep the lobster. Begin by using sharp kitchen scissors to cut the shell right down to the tail. Don't worry if the meat gets cut a little too.

Next, have your sous chef (my daughter 😉) carefully pull the shell opened, slide fingers between the meat and the shell and lift the meat up leaving it still attached at the very tail end.

Plump it up so it sits above the shell.

Salt and pepper the tails and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment for easy clean up. 

Melt the butter and add garlic, paprika, thyme and rosemary and brush on top of the tails.

Have the oven rack 5 or 6 inches away from the top and broil for 1 minute per ounce or until opaque with lightly golden tips. These ones took 7-8 minutes.

Serve with lemon wedges and extra melted butter. 

Our New Year's Day dinner also included cute Shrimp Kebabs and Baked Shrimp Scampi. Here are the links to the recipes:

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/shrimp-kebabs.html

https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2023/01/baked-shrimp-scampi.html

Adapted from: therecipecritic.com

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World's Easiest Chocolate Mousse

 Do you need a last minute dessert?

Ingredients:

1 - 4 serving size instant chocolate pudding mix 

2 cups heavy whipping cream 

(That's it!)

Whip the 2 ingredients together until stiff peaks form, 1-2 minutes and spoon into jars or serving dishes. 

Makes 6 servings 

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Cranberry Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Soft and chewy and studded with dried cranberries and chocolate in every bite! 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups oats

1 1 /2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 1/4 cups dried cranberries

2/3 cup chocolate chips (or hearts like these Chipits shapes, recipe from the package)

Coloured sugar for rolling (optional)

Beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, then add the eggs. In a separate bowl combine the oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three additions, then add the cranberries and fold in the chocolate.

Take heaping teaspoons and roll into balls. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, press down slightly and top with another chocolate heart. If you like press the top into some coloured sugar. I used pink...Valentine's Day is coming up 💑

Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes

Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen 2-bite cookies

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Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Always a classic!

All you need is chocolate and some nice big strawberries!

Once you wash the berries make very sure that they are completely dry before dipping, otherwise things just won't go right.

Melt some semi sweet or dark chocolate in the microwave, 20 seconds at a time, until almost melted. Add a little solid shortening (Crisco). I added about 1/4 tsp to 4 oz of chocolate. Stir until completely melted then dip the berries in one at a time. Set them on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Melt some white chocolate for the drizzle but melt it very slowly as white chocolate for some reason has more tendancy to seize. Once it's nice a smooth spoon it into a small plastic baggie, snip the corner and drizzle.

Sprinkle on some coloured sugar before the chocolate sets.
Keep refrigerated until 30 minutes before serving.

Make a bunch...they go fast!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Meringue Pie

This pie uses 70% dark chocolate... dark chocolate is good for you! So make your heart happy and go for another piece of pie! And share it with your sweetheart! Happy Valentine's Day!

Ingredients:
1 - 9" baked pie shell
4 eggs (separated)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsps cornstarch
pinch salt
2  2/3 cup 10% cream (or milk)
2 oz (or 50 g) 70% dark chocolate, crushed or broken
1 tsp vanilla

Meringue:
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

Something I learned recently... it is easier to separate eggs while they are cold. So do that then let them come to room temperature. The whites especially need to be at room temperature before making the meringue.

In a saucepan mix the sugar, cocoa powder, cornstarch and salt together.  Add the cream and heat on medium-low to medium until it begins to boil, stirring regularly.
Whisk the egg yolks then slowly stream about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the yolks while whisking. Add the rest of the hot stuff and return to a boil for 1 minute.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the crushed or chunked dark chocolate and vanilla. I smashed the chocolate in a waxed cereal bag with a rolling pin. Stir until smooth then set aside. Stir once or twice while preparing the meringue so a skin doesn't form.

Now for the meringue...take those room temperature egg whites, add the cream of tartar and whisk on high until soft peaks form. Then, still on high, add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time. Whisk until no longer gritty to the touch and stiff peaks form.

Pour the chocolate filling into the baked pie shell. Pile the meringue on top making sure to seal the meringue to the pie shell all the way around. Like this spot below ↓

When the filling is completely covered with meringue bake at 375 F for 10 minutes or until meringue is golden.

Cool on rack 1 hour, then chill in the fridge 4 hours before cutting.

You might also like:
Old Fashioned Butterscotch Pie
https://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.com/2014/01/butterscotch-pie.html