Fudge Pops

I love chocolate.  Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semi sweet chocolate, mint chocolate, chocolate with sea salt, you name it - I love it.  I'm always looking for new ways to satisfy my chocolate cravings without adding a ton of extra calories to my diet.  I watched Daphne Oz make these frozen fudge pops on "The Chew" a few weeks ago and they really peaked my interest.   A low-fat, cool, fudgey Popsicle with chocolate and coconut? - sign me up.

Fudge Pops
5 Tablespoons cocoa powder
13.5 ounces light coconut milk
salt
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla











Blend all ingredients in a blender. 












Pour into individual molds or cups. 

After 1 hour, insert sticks into cups.  Freeze overnight.

Now I keep a batch of these frozen treats in my freezer for those chocolate cravings.  These are my new favorite chocolatey treat. 

Ciao!

Fresh Pasta Sauce

When life gives you lemons ... you make lemonade.  When neighbors give you tomatoes ... you make pasta sauce.  (and salsa and soup)  I got some beautiful, fresh from the garden tomatoes from a neighbor so I decided to turn some of them into a fresh pasta sauce for dinner. 

Fresh Spaghetti Sauce
3 Tablespoons oil                            salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh garlic                pinch of sugar
¼ cup fresh parsley                         pinch of red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh basil                           
3 cups fresh tomatoes                    







Heat oil in skillet.  Add garlic.









Add tomatoes, parsley, basil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

 Cook 30 minutes.

Sometimes I serve my sauce just like this but this time, I decided to run it through a food mill to take out all of the tomato skins.







The result was a nice, smooth, bright flavored tomato sauce.

Toss with pasta and top with cheese.

Do those meatballs look familiar?  I made a double batch of the turkey meatballs that I put in the minestrone soup and I served the extra's with my pasta dinner.

This pasta sauce was really similar to the sauce that we had while we were in Italy.  Simple and delicious.

Ciao!

Turkey Sloppy Joes

I will be the first to admit that I have never been a big fan of sloppy joes.  Perhaps it's the name alone that's a huge turnoff to anyone as compulsive about order and neatness as I am.  I do understand why people enjoy these warm, meaty and hearty sandwiches.  As a matter of fact my own family really enjoys this messy sandwich, so I decided to give them another chance.   I decided to adopted my kids theory of food for one night - the messier the better.  The recipe came from the Martha Stewart website - if Martha can make sloppy joes, so can I.  

Turkey Sloppy Joes
 

Everyday Food, September 2007

• Prep Time 15 minutes
• Total Time 30 minutes
• Yield Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 carrots, coarsely grated (2 cups)
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3/4 pound ground turkey (93% lean, dark meat)
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 whole-wheat hamburger rolls, split

Directions

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium; add carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

 

Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve on whole-wheat rolls.

As it turns out, my family loved the sloppy joes.  And as much as I hate to admit it, I liked them too.  This version of turkey sloppy joes are a nice healthy alternative to the beef sandwiches.

Who knows where this will lead. Could I be eating "sloppy" food all the time?

Ciao!