Chocolate Chip Bars

Believe it or not, I have actually made these 3 times in the last week and a half. These treats were my contribution to a couple of different church functions. One was for our "5th Sunday Sing" that we had (a week postponed) at our church this past Sunday.

In spite of my intention to take all the pictures before I left for the event, I ran out of time and didn't get any shots of the finished product. I came home with a completely empty plate, so I knew I would have to make them again. Was the empty plate a sign of their popularity? Oh yeah! Many people raved.

I have had way too many cookie bars that are, on the dry side. So I went to a very trusted source to find the best of the best bars and cookies.

Anna over at Cookie Madness has a whole treasure trove of great recipes for cookies, bars, brownies and desserts. I knew I could trust her to come through and these were perfect.

They were moist, full and flavor and loaded with chocolate. Now we have plenty for all my hungry boys to eat over the next few days.

Anna's version was larger and went in a 15x10 inch pan. I cut the recipe in half to fit in a 13x9.

Chocolate Chip Bars

Adapted slightly from Cookie Madness

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) regular salted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose four
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 (12 ounce) package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugars, beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients and blend in. Add chips and nuts. Spread in a greased 13x9 inch baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until bars appear set. Cool and cut into bars.

Zucchini Pancakes

Are you getting lots of zucchini from your garden or perhaps the farmer's market? Looking for a different way to prepare it? We enjoyed these zucchini pancakes as a great side dish to just about any entrée. I love the fresh colorful foods of summer!

These beauties came straight from our garden. We are presently also getting some squash, green beans, peppers and a variety of tomatoes.

These savory pancakes are easy to throw together. Starting with just 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini.

Next comes the egg, fresh parmesan cheese, flour, and a pinch of this and that and they're ready for the griddle.

It helps to have a nice big griddle, but if you don't have one, no worries, just use a frying pan.

Fresh zucchini + simple ingredients = a wonderfully tasty side dish. Cooked to golden brown perfection–yum!

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

Zucchini Pancakes

Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups shredded zucchini

2 tablespoons four

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Dash pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions

In a sieve or colander, drain the zucchini, squeezing to remove

excess liquid. Pat dry; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the

baking mix, cheese and pepper. Stir in egg until blended. Add the

zucchini; toss to coat.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; drop 1/4 cupfuls of

batter into skillet; press lightly to flatten. Fry for 2 minutes on

each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 pancake equals 88 calories, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 56 mg cholesterol, 134 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Lemon Basil Sorbet

Hot summer days are great occasions for cool and refreshing lemon sorbet. It has been scorching and humid here the last couple of weeks. This treat is light and perfect for cooling off at the end of the day.

I have tons of basil growing and I like to find fun ways of using it. Here is my container garden that sits on my deck, right outside my kitchen. It really makes it convenient for when you need to grab a handful of herbs while cooking. There are a few more basil plants growing in my garden. I always like to have plenty on hand for pesto and lots of Italian dishes.

The star ingredients, right before cutting, zesting, juicing and enjoying the aroma from such tasks.

Zesting!

Juicing!

Cutting the fragrant basil to steep with the lemon, sugar and water.

Straining the steeped mixture.

Pouring into the ice cream maker, (or pour into bowl and freeze for several hours).

The mouth-watering finished product.

And, a huge thank you to my new daughter-in-law who was visiting for the weekend. Those are her lovely hands in all the pictures. It sure was a help to this photographer!

Lemon Basil Sorbet

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 1/14 cups sugar
• 4-5 lemons (to equal 1 cup of juice)
• 12-15 fresh basil leaves

Directions

Pour water and sugar into medium saucepan. Gently heat to dissolve sugar. Zest 1 lemon, juice all lemons to equal 1 cup of juice. Add zest and lemon juice to sugar/water mixture. Cut basil in thin strips and add to saucepan. Heat to just a boil over medium heat. Simmer and steep for 10 minutes. Taste after steeping, if you prefer more of a lemony taste, cut up lemon peels and add to mixture, steeping another 5 minutes. Pour through a strainer and allow to cool completely. After cooling pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for 2-4 hrs. Or, if you don't own an ice cream maker, just freeze for several hrs. after mixture has cooled.

Yield: 5 - 6 servings

Chicken Bryan

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

I may have mentioned before my love of Italian food. It is my favorite cuisine! One of my favorite places to eat Italian food is Carrabba's Italian Grill. Yes, its a chain, they are all over the country. Oddly enough, I noticed that there are none in California. If you are a Californian and find yourself venturing to another state and run across Carrabba's, I highly recommend it!

There is a dish there called "Chicken Bryan." Years ago my oldest son ordered it and liked it enough to try a copy cat recipe of it. I thought he did a sensational job of recreating it! So, here is his version of this delicious entree.

Ready for the grill. The chicken prepared with olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper.

Grilling to perfection!

Taken off the grill and spreading with goat cheese.

Sun-dried tomatoes added, drizzling with butter/lemon sauce.

The finished product! Watch carefully as the sun-dried tomatoes can burn fast under the broiler!

Chicken Bryan

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley)
• salt and pepper
• 3 - 4 ounces goat cheese
• 3 ounces sun-dried tomatoes (2 or 3 tomatoes per chicken breast)
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Combine olive oil and herbs. Brush chicken with olive oil/herbs, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Prepare the grill. Put foil on the grill, spray foil with cooking oil. Grill chicken until cooked through. Meanwhile prepare the lemon butter. Combine butter, garlic, chopped basil and lemon juice. Preheat oven to broil.

When chicken is done remove from grill. Spread the goat cheese on top of each chicken breast. Place 2 or 3 sun-dried tomatoes on top of the goat cheese. Drizzle each chicken breast with the lemon butter mixture. Place chicken on a broil pan and broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully or sun-dried tomatoes can burn.

Yield: 6 servings

Blackberry Shortbread Squares

Blackberry season is in full swing here in the Bluegrass State. We try to do some picking every year. I've discovered however, that blackberry picking is not for the "faint of heart."

There is of course always the heat and humidity one deals with in mid-July. We always must be hyper-aware of snakes that could be lurking in the tall weeds. Copperheads seem to be the most common dangerous snake "'round these parts." Then there are the briers that get a hold of your clothes or skin and just won't let go.

Most bothersome of all, to me, are the insects! Chiggers, ticks, bees, and hornets love the blackberry patch. This year the June bugs seemed to be out in force, feasting on the luscious black beauties. I believe that the big green bugs were happy to share with me, but every time I infringed on their territory, they would come buzzing right by me. I screamed about every time. June bugs sound to me, like an army of angry bees bent on destruction!

I was grateful that my dear husband was there so that at least someone was hearing my screams. He laughed. He is used to my "fear-of-bugs-that-sound-as-if-they-are-all-going-to-sting-me." I'm grateful that a June Bug's bark is bigger than its bite!

For all the sweat and fear—in the end—blackberry picking is always so worth it! I try to make different things every year with our picked berries. I thought these shortbread squares looked good—and we did enjoy them very much.

Our first day out picking we didn't have much time so we only gathered 2 cups. Consequently, I made a half-batch of these and four of us devoured them in one night.

Below you will find the recipe for the full batch. Make sure you see my note at the bottom concerning the almonds.

Blackberry Shortbread Squares

A Martha Stewart Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2/3 cup whole blanched almonds (about 3 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 pound blackberries (about 4 cups)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Line with parchment; butter lining. Dust with flour; tap out excess. Arrange nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 minutes; let cool. Grind in a food processor until fine.

Whisk together flour, nuts, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside. Put 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in almond extract. Add flour mixture in 2 batches; mix until a crumbly dough forms.

Press all but 1 cup dough onto bottom of pan. Scatter berries evenly over dough. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar; crumble reserved dough on top. Bake until golden, about 30 -40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Cut into 12 squares; dust with sugar.

This post has been linked to Eat at Home.

Yield: 12 servings

Note: I found the task of blanching the almonds (boiling and peeling), to be a bit labor-intensive. To skip that step you can use 1/2 cup of slivered almonds. Cut your roasting time to 10 minutes and be sure to watch carefully as they roast.

Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry

I threw this stir-fry together a few weeks ago and my husband and boys liked it so much they said "are you blogging about this?" When I answered no, they said "great, you'll need to make it again soon and blog about it. This is really good..." So, I did! I made it last night and they were pleased.

Stir-fries are a healthy and quick main dish to get on the table . The key to preparing with ease is to be sure and have all your ingredients cut, diced, assembled (sauces), before you start actually stir-frying.

Often times you can find beef that is already cut and prepared for stir-fry.

Stir-frying at high temps, until the meat is cooked through.

Loving the green, green color of the broccoli while it cooks till tender-crisp.

Putting it all together with the sauce.

I usually use brown rice, since it takes longer to cook, it's important to plan ahead and get that going before any of the stir-fry prep.

Beef and Broccoli Stir-fry

Slightly adapted from Food.com

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
• 1/2 cup water, plus
• 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steaks, cut into thin 3-inch strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 small onions, cut into wedges
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• hot cooked rice

Directions

In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic until smooth.

Add beef and toss.

In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.

Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.

Return beef to pan.

Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.

Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Oxytocin and the Family Table

A family get-together around Nancy's table.

My big sister is guest-posting for me today. Nancy is a Marriage and Family therapist in California. She is passionate about family and taught me everything about nurturing. She not only loved and nurtured me growing up but gave me wonderful tools with which to nurture my own family. Here she writes about the importance of the family table!

Nancy, cutting a piece of her famous Huckleberry Pie, a recipe handed down to us by our grandmother.

Oxytocin: The Chemical of Love.

Did you know that when you share a meal with another person that you not only get to nourish your body, but also your mind and soul? Good conversation stimulates healthy brain function and development. In addition, we also release a hormone called oxytocin, sometimes referred to as the "cuddle chemical" or the bonding hormone. Oxytocin is released in large amounts at important bonding times, such as when a woman gives birth, and nurses her baby, and in smaller amounts when we hug each other.

Oxytocin leads to feelings of well-being, relaxation, and helps the gut to function better during digestion.

Many studies have shown that when families share regular meals there is more healthy connection. In addition, when children grow up enjoying these meals with parents, they are less likely to experiment with nicotine, alcohol, and other drugs. The risk of developing eating disorders is lower for adolescents who eat with their families. Grades are consistently higher for children and adolescents in families where mealtimes are made a priority.

To make the most of mealtimes, it is good to unplug—turn the TV off, no cell phones (especially texting) or other electronic interruptions. This is such an important time for families to enjoy each other as parents teach values and ideas and encourage children of all ages to form their own ideas as well as to share about how the day went and the important events that impacted each family member.

Bon appetite!

Nancy Williams, MA, IBCLC, CCE

Marriage and Family Therapist

Joyce's Big Sister