Tag Archives: cherry

Dark Chocolate Brownies with Cherry Flavored Filled DelightFulls™

Oh my goodness, you guys. First of all, roaming around the baking aisle of my local grocery store or Target this time of year can make my heart go pitter patter. I found myself stocking up this weekend on baking supplies (even though I wasn’t planning on doing any holiday baking for another month) all because of these flavor filled morsels. Say whaaaat? I get pretty excited about chocolate-covered cherry things so when I saw the cherry flavor filled morsels and this recipe for Dark Chocolate Brownies with Cherry Flavored Filled DelightFulls™, I was sold. I loaded up my cart and started some early baking.

Dark chocolate chips give this batter a rich, deep flavor (way better than boring old cocoa). Cherry flavor filled morsels are then folded into the batter which ups the ante. Chocolate-covered cherries in a brownie? Yes, pleeeeeeaaaase! There isn’t much else I can say about this other than if you don’t like chocolate-covered cherries, I would recommend some of the other flavors like peanut butter, caramel or mint. These brownies are too good to pass up. And the best part? The recipe doesn’t call for the whole bag of morsels so you’ll have plenty left over to nosh on while you wait for the brownies to bake.

Preheat oven to 325° F. Line 8-inch-square baking pan with foil. Lightly grease. Heat dark chocolate morsels, sugar, butter and water in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate and butter are melted. Pour into medium bowl. Stir in eggs, one at a time, with wire whisk until blended. Stir in vanilla extract. Add flour and salt; stir well.

Stir in 3/4 cup DelightFulls morsels. Pour into prepared baking pan.

Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup DelightFulls morsels over batter.

Bake for 42 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Lift out by foil edges to cutting board. Carefully remove foil. Cut into bars.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love it

Source: verybestbaking.com

Stone Fruit Chicken-Rice Salad

I don’t know why it doesn’t occur to me to always have precooked rice, lots of fruits and/veggies, and chicken on hand to make a hodge podge rice bowl. These kinds of meals are always exactly what tastes so good to me and what leaves me feeling satisfied. I do have a ridiculous love for rice so I try not to eat too much of it (hence why it’s never in the house). If I could figure out how to control myself, maybe I could actual have certain foods on standby. But rice with chicken and fruits or veggies along with an Asian flavored sauce or a light vinaigrette is usually my perfect little meal. Which explains why I was so drawn to this Stone Fruit Chicken-Rice Salad.

Grilled chicken, nectarines, brown rice, cherries, scallions, almonds, and mint are mixed together before being tossed with a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon and Dijon. Served with whatever kind of green you like (I used arugula), this salad is a perfect lunch or even a light which takes advantage of summer’s fruits. I look forward to nectarines, peaches, berries and especially cherries each year so as soon as I saw cherries in the store, I grabbed a huge bag no matter the cost. Substitute this salad with rotisserie chicken, turkey, blueberries, corn, spinach, zucchini, basil, tomatoes or whatever your heart desires. No matter what you throw in, you won’t go wrong.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 5 minutes on each side or until done. Let stand 5 minutes. Chop chicken.

Combine oil, rind, juice, and mustard in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk.

Add chopped, cooked chicken, nectarines, and remaining ingredients; toss well.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Arugula
Sliced almonds

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Smoothie

Every once in a while I become obsessed with certain foods and eat them constantly. I’ve been through brownie batter fits, black bean burger rages and trail mix binges. Recently, I’ve been on an almond milk kick. I’m not really the biggest milk drinker in general and only have it in the house if a specific recipe calls for it or if I have a box of cereal. But lately, I’ve been drinking almond milk, both plain and chocolate, like it’s going out of style. I decided the chocolate almond milk was begging to be mixed with the bag of frozen cherries I’ve had in my freezer for a while now and despite the fact that I’m always cold and am still dealing with 11 inches of snow from the other day, I wanted to make a smoothie. This Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Smoothie completely knocked my winter socks and slippers off.

Cherry Greek yogurt, chocolate almond milk, frozen cherries, and a dash of almond extract are blended together until smooth making for a rich, sweet and satisfying smoothie. Regular milk and regular yogurt could be substituted here but I really love the thickness of the Greek yogurt and the added hint of flavor the almond milk provides. The chocolate almond milk adds just the right amount of chocolate which pairs so perfectly with the bright cherries. With 1 gram of fat and 14 grams of protein, this smoothie is perfect for breakfast, an after workout drink or satisfying enough for dessert.

Chocolate-Cherry-Almond Smoothie (makes 1 smoothie)

1/2 cup non-fat cherry Greek yogurt
1/2 cup dark chocolate almond milk (I used Silk)
1 cup frozen dark sweet cherries (fresh pitted cherries may be used instead, just add ice)
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Combine all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Add ice if necessary to reach your desired thickness. Top with a cherry and chocolate shavings (if desired).