Chocolate Cookie THM S

I am a big fan of cookies and sweet treats, that really should be no surprise. On the Trim Healthy Mama plan it is encouraged to enjoy treats on a regular basis. It isn't always easy to find a treat that taste great and is still on plan. But these are on plan, delicious, and no one will guess there is a special ingredient in them. 

Chocolate cookies are not always my first pick, but these fresh out of the oven taste like the cookie part of an Oreo. I can't wait to put some kind of filling to make it like a whoopie pie or actual oreo. Still working on an on plan fluffy filling, as soon as it is perfected I will share it with all of you. 

The secret ingredient here is okra. Yes I know it sounds gross, but it gives these cookies the perfect texture and you won't even notice it is there. If you do taste an off flavor at first give them a day or so to sit and they will taste just right. 

Health benefits of okra or why you should sneak it into your desserts. It is a great source of fiber which helps with digestion. It also helps to reduce and stabilize blood sugar levels. It also contains many vitamins and folates. I don't like okra enough to eat it on its own but baked inside things I can't tell it is there and I get the extra benefits. 

So lets get to this cookie recipe. 

Chocolate Cookies -THM S

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Almond Flour
• 1/2 cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2/3 cup 100 % Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 cup Pyure
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1 cup Frozen dieced Okra (slightly thawed)
• 1 cup melted Coconut oil
• 2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350F.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix flours, cocoa, baking soda, salt and pyure together. 
3. In a blender combine okra and eggs, until the okra is broken down. While blending pour in the coconut oil until it is all combined well. This is important if the oil is still warm so the eggs don't start to cook. 
4. Add the liquids into the mixer bowl. Mix on medium until well mixed. You can use a handheld mixer too, stiring by hand though will be difficult because of the stickiness. 
5. Using a small cookie scoop place them about 1/2 inch apart on a lined cookie sheet. 
6. Bake for 15 minutes. Let sit for a 1 minute on pan then cool on cooling rack.  

**Note these are sugar free and gluten free! But you would never know.**

Adapted from THM Cookbook

Romantic Valentine's Day Desserts

Looking for a good dessert for Valentine's Day I went through my archives and found a few that I thought would be perfect. 

These lava cakes are good and simple to make. 

Apple Pie Egg Rolls are a creative dessert.

Zeppole- Fried Donuts

What are you planning for dessert on Valentine's Day?

Simple Dinner For Two

Valentine's day is coming up and what I am most looking forward to is a romantic dinner for two. Great food, wine, romantic table with Hubby across from me there is nothing better. This will be our sixth Valentine's together, we have had some wonderful meals together. One year we had a homemade fondue night, a steak surprise dinner, a couple fancy night outs, all were delicious. This year we are creating a four-course meal together, each making two of the courses. Hubby is in charge of appetizer and soup, I am making our main course and dessert. I can't wait to share with you in the coming weeks what we make.

Today I want to share with you an easy, classic dinner for two that anyone can make. Steak with caramelized onions and mushrooms, asparagus and a side salad. Pair with your favorite drink, a sweet dessert and you have a delicious meal.

For the steak:

Pick your favorite cut. Get this from a good butcher so it is a good quality.
Season with salt and pepper.
Make sure the meat is at room temperature before cooking.

You can grill your steak if the weather is nice, February can be tricky with the weather. If it is not an option to grill here is a wonderful way to cook it in the oven with a cast iron skillet.

Don't cook it more than medium rare for the best flavor and texture.

For the onions and mushrooms:

Ingredients

• 1-2 medium sweet onions
• 1 8oz pack mushrooms
• 2 tsp of oil or butter
• ¼ cup of red wine (cooking wine is fine)

Directions

1. Slice the onion very thinly and the mushrooms into ¼ inch slices.
2. Heat the 1 teaspoon of oil in a pan without nonstick coating, when it is hot add in the onions. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes without disturbing them.
3. Once the 30 minutes is up, stir to check the texture you are looking for soft but not mushy. When the texture is where you like them remove the lit and let sit for 5 minutes. You should start to see some slight browning around the edges when you do stir them. Repeat this until the onions are a nice golden brown color. If it is taking too long adding a bit of sugar will help speed the process up but you need to stir more often to keep it from scorching.
4. When the onions are getting close to being done heat the other 1 teaspoon of oil in a skillet.
5. Add in the mushrooms when the oil is hot, cover and let them sweat until most of their moisture is out, about 10 minutes.
6. Once they have shrunk and are tender add in the red wine. Let simmer until all the red wine is soaked up.
7. Serve immediatly along side your meat. 

For the Asparagus:

You can grill or roast it and have a great flavor. 
Season with olive oil salt and pepper and you are good to go with either method.

Don't forget the dessert. There are many great desserts here in my Recipe Box on the dessert page. 

Now go make a memorable Dinner for Two! These recipes are simple with big flavor that is sure to impress anyone. Something to remember for a great meal choose something that you both enjoy but don't have all the time.

Fakeroni and Cheese THM S

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For full recipe at new site please click here. There you can also find many new THM recipes.

Dunkable Chocolate Chip Cookies

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  They turned out pretty well, he loved them. They are best when warm, about twenty seconds in the microwave is perfect. The main difference to Toll House recipe is that there is more sugar, giving them a chewy consistency. 

The Best Chicken and Dumplings

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M&M Pudding Cookies- Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap

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Trim Healthy Mama Update and Cheeseburger Pie Recipe

 PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK FOR TO GET TO THIS POST ON MY NEW SITE. IF SPOONS COULD TALK, IT HAS A FUEL CYCLE REVIEW AND MANY MORE THM RECIPES AND TIPS. 

Turkey Talk

   It is November and I can officially start thinking about the holidays. Thanksgiving will be here soon and with that some wonderful foods. This month I will be sharing recipes for Thanksgiving lunch or dinner. Today I want to talk turkey. There are many ways to cook your turkey and all can turn out wonderful. Here are some tips when choosing and cooking your turkey for the big day.

Baked Chicken Wings

   Baking instead of frying chicken is not a new idea. These though you can get to the same crispness as a fried wing and I think they taste even better. We are following the Trim Healthy Mama plan and these are on plan and great for a date night or when watching a football game. These alone would be a FP but served with a side of sweet potato fries would make an E.

Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

   This recipe was found by my dear Hubby and I am so glad he did. I have only made a couple of homemade baked mac and cheeses so I was a bit nervous on getting it just right. This turned out amazing though and this sauce before adding the cheese will be my base for all cheese type sauces. It came out ooey and gooey and didn’t set up so hard that you couldn’t enjoy it. Then after baking it is a gooey and stringy cheese sauce you think of and the crunch of the panko on top. It is perfect.

I am trying a new thing with my recipes and adding an easy printable recipe at the end that you can click on and print.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

   I typically don’t make chicken in the crock pot, I tried when we first got married and it turned out dry and one time burnt. I thought it was the crock pot, but it made everything else perfectly, so I decided no more chicken in there. But when I saw this recipe and the blogger said that hers is normally dry as well and this one was moist and perfect, I decided to go for it. I am so glad I did because it is amazing and on our list to make often.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Chocolate Chip Cookies without Butter

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Here is what I did with them.

First I cleaned them up. I washed them to get off all the dirt and germs.  Cut the ends off. I tried to make sure they were all about the same size.

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An Indian Dinner, Butter Chicken with Nann

   Disclaimer these are not my recipes I just have to share them because they are so stinking good!!

   We have started to attempt to venture out in our food and try different things. If you’ve been around long you know that Italian used to be all the time in our house, but pasta, while amazing, is not something that we should be eating every night. We do Chinese(ish) often as well, so we went a little different and tried some Indian food.