"buttercup bites" (recipe)

Buttercup Brownies / Buttercup Bites

Ingredients:

1 15 oz can pumpkin

1/4 c peanut butter

1/2 c canola oil

2 eggs

1 c whole wheat flour

1 c rolled oats

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  You may use a hand or stand mixer if desired, but I just stirred everything together with a wooden spoon. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together pumpkin, peanut butter, oil, and eggs. Once blended, stir in flour (substitute a gluten-free flour if desired), rolled oats, baking powder, and salt. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and spread batter in dish. (I used stoneware; glass is probably fine but may alter cooking time and texture.) Bake 25-30 minutes, depending on oven.

I made these tender dog treats for my sweet Yellow Lab, Buttercup. She definitely seems to like them, but then Labs will eat rocks and think ice cubes are treats. But really, I tried them and think they are pretty tasty. One of my cats even likes them, and we all know how picky cats can be! They are not sweet, so you won't be able to fool your kids into thinking they are people-cookies, but sugar is a no-no for our furry friends.

I let the cookies cool a few minutes when they came out of the oven, then cut 48 small squares while they where still warm. Once cooled, I removed the cookies from the pan and cut each one into four small bite-sized treats. Buttercup would happily eat the entire tray whether as one cookie or 100, but I am using these as a tasty reward whenever she hops down into the cabin since she used to balk at the top of the stairs before I broke down and just starting bribing her.

These bar cookie style treats were very simple and quick. Down the line I may try adding more flour and rolled oats to create a drier dough that can be rolled for crispy cut cookies, which could also be decorated if desired. However, because I have a small galley and oven aboard, rolled cookies take a lot of space and time to prepare.

Here's Buttercup looking sad that her beach is all frozen and hoping spring will arrive soon. In the meantime, she's pretty happy to enjoy her new cookies and snuggle up inside the boat. Hope your furry crew enjoys the recipe!

making ingredients multitask

I am a firm believer in making prep work and ingredients go as far as possible. I often pick up six chicken breasts, marinate them for a few days in a Ziploc bag with olive oil, chopped garlic, fresh ground pepper, and kosher salt. I grill up the chicken, cut it all up into bite-sized pieces, and store it in the reefer for use in multiple recipes. Not starting from scratch for each meal also helps me resist eating out or eating junk. It's one of my ways to set myself up for success instead of setting myself up for failure. 

One of my go-to chicken dishes is this Greek-inspired concoction. Heat 5 ounces (about 170 calories) of grilled chicken breast in a sauté pan; I use a non-stick pan (I know, they are not good for us) with a little olive oil cooking spray (calories are negligible). I add a sliced zucchini (about 60 calories for two cups, which is a decent-sized zucchini), sautéing it quickly to get it tender, but still looking bright. (I cut the zucchini rounds in half to make them more bite-sized.) Add fresh ground pepper and kosher salt to taste, and sprinkle with a healthy dose of oregano. Top with 2 ounces of light feta cheese (80 calories). In under ten minutes you've got a flavorful plate full of food for just over 300 calories.

I rarely grill up a bunch of chicken and don't make some iteration of my "Chicken and Italian Sausage" recipe. This time I sautéed half a chopped sweet onion in one tablespoon of olive oil until translucent. I then added two teaspoons of fresh chopped garlic. I added 3 ounces of sliced Baby Bella mushrooms and a tablespoon of butter. I gave the mushrooms a few minutes to sauté and then added the chicken and Italian sausage, which were already grilled and cut. I gave all those ingredients a few minutes to mingle and then added 3 ounces of White Bordeaux (it was a savingnon blanc and semillion blend). Then I poured in one cup of vegetable broth, reduced heat very low, covered the pan, and let everything simmer very gently for 20 minutes or so. I steamed up about two cups of broccoli and added it close to serving time so it would hold onto its vitamins and bright color. The base in this case was angel hair pasta, which cooks in just 4 minutes, saving me propane and time and creating less steam and heat in the boat.

Here's the ingredient and calorie breakdown:

1 tbsp olive oil (120 calories)

Half a sweet onion, chopped (50 calories)

2 tsp garlic, chopped (10 calories)

3 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms, sliced (7 calories)

1 tbsp butter (100 calories)

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and cut (400 calories)

1 sweet Italian sausage, grilled and sliced (260 calories)

3 ounces white wine (I prefer sauvingon blanc or riesling for this) (75 calories)

1 cup vegetable broth (15 calories)

2 cups broccoli, steamed (60 calories)

8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked and drained (800 calories)

Serves four; 475 calories per serving.

This one has nothing to do with my multitasking but the avocados I buy all ripen at the same time so needing to use one up, I made this delicious omelet. Two eggs beaten with fresh ground pepper and kosher salt. Once the omelet was ready to fill I added a quarter cup of reduced fat shredded mexi-cheese, a very small avocado (about three quarters of the size of a normal small one), and then topped it with a generous drizzle of Sriracha sauce. Yum! About 325 calories of healthy fat and protein to keep me full for breakfast.

adventures in the galley

Here's a twist on the classic caprese salad. I don't like tomatoes unless they are beaten into submission (i.e., pureed) so this is sans tomatoes and the protein is revved up with some chicken. A classic caprese is alternated slices of fresh mozzarella, fresh roma tomatoes, and basil leaves, and then the whole thing is drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Here I made a pile of chopped grilled chicken (which had been marinated for a few days in olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper) (5 oz is about 170 calories, I think I just put about 3 oz here), then I added two ounces of fresh mozzarella (170 calories), chopped fresh basil (the calories are so negligible they don't really matter), drizzled it with a tablespoon olive oil (120 calories), and then with a tablespoon of balsamic vinger (10 calories). I topped it off with fresh ground pepper and a bit of pink Himalayan salt. Yum!

Next up in making my grilled chicken multitask, chicken with Italian sausage, gemelli, and broccoli. I made four servings using one mild sweet Italian sausage, (that and the chicken both purchased from The Fresh Market), and ten ounces of grilled chicken, (about two breasts depending on how big they are). The anise in the sausage is key in getting the defining flavor for this very versatile combination. I sauteed onions and garlic in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, added the grilled chicken and sausage, (already cut up into bite-sized pieces), then added a cup of vegetable broth, (I used Rapunzel powdered broth), fresh ground pepper, and kosher salt, and let them simmer together. Meanwhile, I boiled the water and cooked up about 8 ounces (dry) of gemelli pasta. The spiral in the gemelli is nice for grabbing onto sauces. Once the pasta was al dente and drained, I added it to the pan and stirred it in. I also added a couple tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. I often make this with white wine, but didn't have any, so the vinegar added some needed sweetness. The combination of chicken with Italian sausage is very versatile. You can play around with the ingredients you happen to have and serve it with pasta, brown rice, risotto, or whatever mild starch suits your taste. To make it saucy I usually use vegetable broth and white white, but broth and Madeira or Marsala wine is also tasty. To jazz up the color and bulk up the volume with minimal calories I added a cup of lightly steamed broccoli to each serving.

Finally, I went really "iron chef" with what I had to work with and was thrilled with how well it turned out. I boiled up vegetable broth and mixed red and white quinoa. I like to make a few servings worth so I can have some on hand for random leftovers. Unless I'm making white basmati rice for curry, I always cook rice, quinoa, or cous cous with vegetable broth to give it flavor. While the quinoa was underway, I simmered haricot verts, i.e., snooty French string beans, in about a quarter cup of water in a saute pan. Once they were cooked but not overdone, I drained out the water, added a tablespoon of olive oil, and added three slices of julienned hard salami and a quarter of an orange bell pepper. Season to taste with a bit of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Next up I mixed a can of garbanzo beans a/k/a chickpeas with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. I topped the haricot verts and garbanzos (1/3 of a can here) with an ounce of light feta cheese. (The dinner plate above was full and came in under 500 calories). The salami really gave the haricot verts some zip, and while bacon is classic and would also be delish, salami was a fast and simple option to pull out of the reefer. 

My fridge is a converted icebox and is very small and very unpredictable. It freezes things I don't want frozen (lettuce, yogurt...), doesn't chill other things enough, it's just a constant challenge. Thus, I have to work with small quantities of groceries and pick items that will survive the haphazard conditions aboard, rather than what I might prefer under the best of circumstances. But life is all about making the best of the unpredictable and unexpected, so just go for it and have some adventures in your galley.

easy chicken and spinach dishes

Sautéed baby spinach with garlic, avocado, and grilled chicken. Delish! All-in about 560 calories (6 oz baby spinach, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp garlic, half Haas avocado, 5 oz grilled chicken breast, salt and pepper to taste). It's just protein and healthy fats to keep you feeling sated. Because I had the chicken prepped in the fridge already, this dinner took all of 5 minutes to make. It isn't just easy for me to eat right, especially because I love to cook and to eat. It is very hard to make healthy portions for one and sometimes it makes me sad not to have someone to cook for, so I don't put the same effort into cooking for myself that I do for others (uh, yeah, I'm a stupid girl sometimes!).

If I could keep fresh (or frozen) veggies in my boat icebox-turned-fridge easily, I would definitely be getting more bright, colorful veggies and especially dark, leafy greens in my diet. But bagged baby spinach does do pretty well if I use it up quickly and I can easily eat a bag myself at any given meal. I just heat up a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet or wok, sauté some chopped garlic in it, and then toss in half the bag, stir it as it cooks down, and then toss in the other half. I learned this super-quick, tasty technique when I was cooking Brazilian food all the time. Collard greens, couve in Portuguese, are very popular in Brazil, especially Minas Gerais. You lay all the big leaves flat and create a stack, then you roll them very tight, and slice from the end of the roll, making thin collard green "spaghetti." You heat olive oil in a large pot very hot, toss in the sliced collards, and then throw in salt to taste. Much healthier and nutritious than American southern style collards, that's for sure. While I skip slicing the spinach up, larger spinach leaves or other tougher greens will do well with that technique. The best thing about this side dish is you can have it ready in about 3 minutes! It only takes 4 ingredients and it's  packed full of nutrition. 

Here's another yummy chicken and spinach dish... I just sautéed up the spinach as usual, crumbled 2 ounces of light feta on top (half the calories but all the taste), and then topped it with the chopped grilled chicken. It's easy to add whatever other veggies you like; I can see going Greek with some oregano, red onion and, as one friend suggested, olives. If you come up with a good variation share it as a comment!

The other thing I like to have on hand for a quick and simple meal is grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast. If there is a Fresh Market near you, (I think they are along the US Eastern Seaboard from the mid-Atlantic to Florida), they have amazing plump chicken breasts on sale for just $2.99 per pound on Tuesdays. I generally buy two or three pairs of breasts and just have to separate them and trim only the slightest bit off (you will never want to eat Perdue or Tyson chicken again once you've had real, healthy stuff). I take a gallon Ziploc bag, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, lemon or lime juice if I have it, a couple tablespoons of chopped garlic, salt (pink Himalayan, sea, or Kosher), and fresh ground pepper. Then I put the chicken breasts in, zip the bag up, and massage the marinade all over to evenly coat the chicken. I just toss the bag in the fridge for one to three days and then grill it all up at once. Once it's grilled I chop it all up and either measure out 5 ounce portions or put it in a large container or Ziploc and measure out what I need during the week. The chicken is easy to heat up, or it's delicious cold with some tzatiki sauce, on a salad, or whatever. The options are only limited by your own palate and creativity.

baked rigatoni

This baked rigatoni is a great contribution for potlucks, freezes well, and is easier on your waistline than your taste buds would think.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz box rigatoni (penne or ziti will also work well) (calories: 1600)
3/4 cup yellow onion, chopped (calories: 50)
4 tbsp garlic, finely chopped (calories: 51)
2 tbsp olive oil (calories: 239)
1.5 lbs ground chuck (calories: 1680)
2 large cans crushed tomatoes (calories: 420)
2 medium zucchini, cut in half-rounds (calories: 63)
1 medium eggplant, cubed (calories: 132)
1 orange bell pepper, chopped (calories: 46)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (calories: 10)
3 oz red wine (calories: 60) (a little extra wine never really hurts...)
2 tsp dried basil (to taste)
1 tbsp dried oregano (to taste--I love oregano!)
kosher salt (to taste)
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
4 cups shredded mozzarella (calories:1280)
1/2 cup shredded parmesan (calories: 166)
14 oz part-skim ricotta (calories: 637)

Serves 12; (Total calories, 6434; calories per serving, 536)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil and sauté chopped onion until translucent. (A 3 quart pot was full to the brim with this recipe, so if you have a 4 quart or larger pot that would be preferred.) Add chopped garlic and sauté on low a couple of minutes, taking care not to brown the garlic. Add ground beef (I used chuck here but one can try a lower-fat option such as ground sirloin, or spice things up with some sausage as well) and brown, breaking up and stirring frequently. Once the meat is browned, add canned crushed tomatoes, chopped orange bell pepper (or yellow, red, or green if you prefer), basil, oregano, fresh ground pepper, kosher salt, balsamic vinegar, and wine. Simmer on low.

Cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions for al dente. If you already prepped the zucchini and eggplant go ahead and add them to the sauce, otherwise, prep them while the pasta is cooking and then stir into the sauce. Drain pasta and place in very large mixing bowl. Pour sauce over pasta and stir thoroughly. This recipe will fill two approximately 13" x 9" lasagna bakers. (I prefer Le Creuset-type stoneware, but a glass Pyrex will work fine, too.) Ladle a shallow layer of pasta/sauce mixture into each lasagna pan/casserole dish. Place scoops of ricotta evenly (see photo below), sprinkle half the shredded parmesan on each, then sprinkle each with 1 cup mozzarella. Ladle remaining pasta/sauce mixture into each dish and top with remaining mozzarella. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake 1 to 1.5 hours.

Enjoy!

garlic chicken with rice noodles

Here are the ingredients, clockwise from bottom left: butcher-wrapped chicken, Parmesan cheese, rice noodles, baby spinach, olive oil, pink salt, black pepper, and chopped garlic in the middle.

I picked up the fresh rice noodles at Trader Joe's. The appeal was that they cook in just 1.5 to 2 minutes. Especially in the winter, it helps to minimize the steam created in the boat--all that steam becomes condensation and can lead to mold. Thus, it is handy to have pastas on hand that cook quickly. These rice noodles are refrigerated, but each package comes with two smaller sealed bags of noodles, 6 ounces each. The noodles are very sticky, so I think they'd be very good with a lot of broth, some vegetables, and a few potstickers.

I'll be cooking lots of chicken this month since it is on sale for $2.99/lb. every Tuesday this month at The Fresh Market. I decided to try out the noodles with some chicken.

Garlic Chicken with Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. olive oil (119 calories)
3 tsp. raw garlic (13 calories) 
8 oz. / .5 lb. / 224 g boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (247 calories)
1 bag (about 3 cups) baby spinach (40 calories)
1 vegetable bullion cube (5 calories)
6 oz. rice noodles (320 calories)
7g Parmesan cheese, crumbled (28 calories)
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Total calories: 772
Calories per serving (serves 2): 386

Directions:

In a large sauté pan on medium heat, sauté chopped fresh garlic and cubed chicken in olive oil. Add salt (kosher, pink, or sea salt) and fresh ground pepper to taste. Add spinach, 1/3 of the bag at a time, until mostly wilted. Add 1 cup boiling water and vegetable buillion cube (or 1 cup vegetable stock). In a separate pot, boil water for the noodles. They do not need a lot of water so a small sauce pan will do. The noodles are extremely sticky, so as soon as they are done, drain them and add them to the chicken and stir in to distribute them evenly. Lower heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Much better served hot than cold! Best served in large pasta bowls. Top with a little crumbled Parmesan. Sorry the picture is blurry... the steam always does that to my photos!

suzy's mac & cheese

Here's my basic recipe for Mac & Cheese from scratch.  It's a comfort-food classic and a simple crowd-pleaser for potlucks. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 1 lb. box elbows (1600 calories)
4 cups / 16 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1600 calories)
3 eggs (225 calories)
1 cup / 8 oz. light sour cream (300 calories)
1 cup half and half (315 calories)
2 tsp. salt

Total calories: 4,040
Calories per serving (8 servings): 505

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Boil elbows but drain 1 minute before shortest time according to package directions (because they will continue to cook when baked in the oven and you don't want them to be mushy). While pasta is cooking, shred cheese and set aside. Put eggs, half-and-half, sour cream, and salt in a small mixing bowl and whisk together well. Once pasta is drained, put in a large mixing bowl and stir cheese into the pasta. Pour dairy mixture into pasta and cheese mixture, and stir together thoroughly. If you like to add anything special, e.g., bacon or ham, this is the time to stir it in. Pour into a baking dish. Bake, covered, 60 to 90 minutes. (Shallower pans will need less time, deep pans will need more; I keep an eye out for the cheese to get a little crispy and browned at the edges.)

Notes:
I am a big fan of extra sharp cheddar, (my father was a Tillamook addict), but you can mix it up and use a milder cheddar or blend with fancier cheeses likes Gruyere. Since the cheese is the main event, I think this is the time to buy better quality cheese if your budget permits.

If I weren't trying to keep the calories under control, I might take some shredded Parmesan and mix it with bread crumbs for a topping.

I have a square casserole with a glass lid (pictured above) that is perfect for this because it can go from oven to table to fridge, but shallow casseroles or lasagna pans covered with foil will work, too.

Because this recipe has three eggs, it "sets" and gets firm enough to slice. This won't ever replicate soupy Kraft-style Mac & Cheese, but if you (or your kids) prefer a squishier version, cut out an egg and don't bake quite as long. I tried using 2% milk instead of half-and-half, and while it made it much looser and cut out some calories, the cheese didn't emulsify into the other dairy well and was weird and lumpy, so I think cutting out one or two of the eggs and shortening baking time is the better way to achieve a squishier/looser consistency.

Divided into eight servings, they will not be huge. However, with a bowl of tomato soup or a nice salad on the side, or topped with some grilled chicken, it's just right. You can always divide into larger servings or serve as a side dish.

vegetarian burrito

Lunch today was a yummy low-cal vegetarian burrito. This is a short-cut recipe that just requires heating and assembly. I used a new-to-me product, Lightlife Smart Ground veggie mexi crumbles.

Here's the breakdown:

1 whole wheat tortilla (130 calories)
110 g (approx. 2/3 cup) Lightlife Smart Ground veggie mexi crumbles (120 calories)
150 g (half a 15 oz can, liquid drained out) black beans (132 calories)
1/2 cup reduced fat shredded mexi-cheese (160 calories)
2 tbsp Pace Picante salsa (10 calories)

Total calories: 552.

I sautéed the mexi crumbles in a small non-stick pan, (even with non-stick a little bit of cooking spray helps), and heated the beans in a small sauce pan. Then I just lined everything up on the tortilla, rolled it up, and flipped it over. This is too much filling to fold it closed to eat by hand, but I didn't want to add the extra calories of two tortillas. If I'd had it, I would have first covered my plate with chopped or shredded lettuce, then made the burrito, and maybe added a dollop or two of sour cream.

The Lightlife crumbles were in the refrigerated natural foods section at my local Giant. They have a definite Mexican seasoning to them, but not too spicy. For a pizza topping or a vegetarian Bolognese sauce I would use the crumbles that don't have the Mexican seasoning, so I'll have to pick some up to try. I'm working hard to find more items like this that are refrigerated, rather than frozen. I've always liked the Morningstar Farms products (though these crumbles are much better), but I don't have the freezer space on the boat to keep many frozen foods.

quinoa with chickpeas and veggie patties

Here's a flavorful diet-friendly shortcut meal. I heated up two Veggie Patch Mediterranean Spinach and Chickpea Patties in a sauté pan. They are 120 calories each and vegan. I find them in the refrigerated natural foods section at my local Giant grocery store. It'd be nice to always cook from scratch, but these little short cuts are healthier and more affordable in a pinch than eating out and help me count and control calories. (A container of 4 is currently $4.49).


Side dish: Quinoa with Chickpeas (makes two servings at 270 calories each)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup organic red quinoa (a la Trader Joe's) (320 calories)
1 vegetable bullion cube (5 calories)
2 tsp fresh chopped garlic (~ 8 calories)
1 cup water
245 g drained and rinsed canned chickpeas a/k/a garbanzo beans (207 calories)

Directions:

Put water in a small sauce pan, add vegetable bullion cube, garlic, and quinoa. Bring to a boil. Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas. (I weighed them on a food scale because it is far more accurate than using the approximate serving information from a can. Calorie counts on nutrition labels are based on weight, so it is much more accurate to weigh food than to guesstimate based on volume.) Stir the chickpeas into the quinoa mixture, stirring occasionally and simmering until liquid is absorbed and quinoa is "done," i.e., the germ ring is visible on the grain. I set aside half of the pot for the next meal. If I had had something green, I would have added it. Maybe stir in a bag of sautéed spinach or top it with some chopped scallions or cilantro.

For 510 calories, this is a heaping plateful of food, bursting with flavor.

red pepper and feta-stuffed chicken breasts

I recently had a friend over for dinner aboard the boat. He does not eat red meat, so my much-loved chicken and italian sausage was not a menu option. Therefore, I opted for red pepper and feta-stuffed chicken breasts accompanied by a white wine and parmesan risotto and fresh spinach sauteéd in olive oil and fresh garlic, with a touch of Kosher salt.

The chicken came from The Fresh Market; large, antibiotic-free, vegetarian fed. Here is my mise en place of crumbled feta, chopped red pepper, and chopped garlic, and then the breasts before they went in the oven.


The chicken breasts were large and much thicker at one end. I took the four breasts and created six servings by cutting the breasts in half and stacking the thinner ends, then taking the thick halves and slicing them horizontally for stuffing. I put a few tablespoons of olive oil in the baking dish, added a heaping tablespoon of garlic, fresh ground black pepper, and Kosher salt to taste. I dredged each piece of chicken in the oil and garlic marinade, then placed a spoonful each of red pepper and feta on the bottom six pieces of chicken, stacked the top pieces of chicken in place, and garnished each with a little more feta and red pepper. In my propane oven aboard, they were baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.

Here is the finished product. You can easily tell which side of the pan was adjacent to the gas flame.

Everything was so delicious I forgot to take a photograph before plating up our meal and forgot to take a photo of the plated dish. Sorry!

Here is a snap of the risotto in the works. It begins by sauteíng half a medium onion (chopped) in two tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of butter. When the onions are translucent, add one cup of arborio rice and sauté for one or two minutes. Three cups of water are called for. The only rice I ever cook in water is white basmati. All other rice should be cooked with flavor. For risotto I use one cup of vegetarian vegetable broth and two cups of wine. I often use a dry Washington Riesling, but I am currently on a kick drinking a lovely Vinho Verde from Portugal, pictured below with the parmesan that is added at the end.


Once the liquid is added, stir the risotto constantly until it is thick and creamy and stir in the parmesan at the very end. I save some time by using my pressure cooker and putting it under pressure for 10 to 15 minutes.

suzy's fruity rum drink

Summer arrived early in Maryland with an 80+ degree afternoon in March.  It seemed the perfect time for a nice fruity rum drink.  For lack of a better name, I simply call this Suzy's Fruity Rum Drink.

2 ounces Cruzan Aged Rum (or light rum of your choice)
2.5 ounces Cranberry/Pomegranate Juice Blend (or Cranberry Juice Cocktail)
2.5 ounces Pineapple Juice
1 ounce Orange Juice

Place 6-8 large ice cubes in a Boston Shaker.  Add ingredients, cover with pint glass and shake well.  Pour into festive glass of your choice and enjoy.  Spice it up with a garnish of fresh berries (mmm, blackberries) or a pineapple wedge.

For a cooler (frozen) twist, make it an Irie Colada: double the ice, add 2 oz. coconut milk (or Coco Lopez if you want it really sweet), and blenderize.  Top it with a Myers Dark Rum floater.  You'll be feeling irie before the first one is done!

The Running Rabbit lived in Miami a long time and spent time in Barbados, the Bahamas, and Jamaica--she knows her fruity rum drinks very well.  Hope you enjoy!

sometimes we need shortcuts; garlic cheddar biscuits

Although I love to bake and cook from scratch, and my cookies and cakes are always scratch recipes, we all need some time savers and shortcuts in our busy lives.  Better to use some shortcuts in the kitchen than simply throw up your hands and hit the drive-thru.  One of my favorite foods, and a pre- long run ritual, is garlic cheddar biscuits--and they are my favorite shortcut.  These are especially good with tomato soup on a cold day. Here's the recipe.

Suzy's Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Ingredients:
1.5 cups Bisquick Mix
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup cubed cheddar cheese (or shredded cheddar cheese if you're in a rush)
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
For easiest clean-up, cover cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together first three ingredients thoroughly
Add liquid and stir mixture together.
Drop in 9 evenly sized spoonfuls on cookie sheet, spacing about 1.5 to 2 inches apart.
Bake on center rack for 9 minutes.

Each biscuit is approximately 120 calories (less if you use reduced fat cheese) and has a three-to-one carb to protein ratio (for people like runners who are interested in that).  I line a bowl with a tea towel and fill with biscuits, covering up with the towel to keep them warm.  Delicious with Smart Balance or butter. (If you are not concerned with the calories double the cheese, which adds 30 calories per biscuit, or brush the biscuits as soon as they come out of the oven with a mixture of melted butter and garlic--and perhaps some Old Bay).

From hitting "preheat" on the oven until I'm snuggled on my couch munching these biscuits is about 15 minutes max.  How?  First, because I keep a glass jar full of minced garlic in the fridge and simply spoon out whatever I need for recipes.  I buy a container of whole peeled garlic cloves, toss them in the Cuisinart (a/k/a the "Whirly-Chopper") until minced, and then store in a nice glass jar [update: I had to give up my beloved Whirly-Chopped when I moved aboard so I hand chop now].  Second, I often use pre-shredded cheese.  Unless I am using a fancy-schmancy cheese for a special recipe, I find that the increased convenience of pre-shredded cheese outweighs the additional cost over shredding it myself. I do think that cubes of cheese will give you a better overall flavor and look, however, if you have the time to cube it up yourself.

Enjoy!

cheddar cornbread muffins

Here's the recipe for Suzy's Cornbread Muffins:

Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 eggs
1/2 cup fat free half and half
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together dry ingredients.
Stir in shredded cheese.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together eggs, half and half, and water.
Whisk melted butter into wet ingredients.  (Be careful to let butter cool a bit before adding to eggs so they don't scramble.)
Make a shallow "hole" in the center of the dry ingredients and then pour in wet ingredients.
Stir together.  Important: never overwork muffin batter!  Stir together just until the dry ingredients are all moistened.

Lightly spray a non-stick muffin tin with cooking spray (I suggest a canola-based one for this).
Spoon batter into muffin tin.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes (16 minutes was perfect in my oven).
Muffins are done if a toothpick or fork inserted in the center comes out clean.  Tops should be lightly browned.
Serve warm (great with butter), or cool on wire rack if not eating immediately.
Approximately 190 calories per muffin.

Special note: Forgive me, but I'm going to preach a bit here.  Over-mixing muffin batter prevents the air channels that make good muffins crumbly.  Muffins are NOT cupcakes and should not have a "cake" consistency.  Muffin batter is stirred together gently and is generally lumpy while cake batter is beaten smooth with a mixer and cake pans are shaken to remove the air pockets that are desirable in a muffin.

Modifications: This simple recipe can be easily modified with your favorite flavors.  You may omit the cheese or spice them up even more with pepperjack, chopped jalepeños, cheese and bacon, or cheese, ham, and diced green pepper for a "Denver."  Your imagination and flavor palate are what will add your special twist.

General notes: Ovens vary widely so it's a good habit to keep a close watch once you are within a couple minutes of the low end of the time suggestion.

Enjoy!

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