Lighter Flourless Chocolate Cake

Well, hey there, all!  Happy Friday to ya :)

Just popping in to give you a deliciously decadent while at the same time light and airy dessert to try this weekend.  Or whenever.  But you should try it.  

I wish I had taken a picture of a slice, but when I turned around to do so, the cake was annihilated.  That should tell you something ;)

Lighter Flourless Chocolate Cake

serves 12

4 ounces dark chocolate (60-72% cacao), in small pieces

¼ cup butter

¼ cup nonfat yogurt

3 eggs (or you could sub Eggbeaters)

1/3 cup white sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

For serving:

1/2 slivered almonds

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

fresh raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with a nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and spray again on top of the parchment paper. Place chocolate and butter in a bowl. Place over a pot of barely simmering water. Gently heat until the chocolate is melted. Whisk in yogurt and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until thick and fluffy, about 4 minutes on high speed. Stir in salt and vanilla then gently fold in chocolate. Do not overmix. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar and top with berries and almonds.

recipe adapted from Fitsugar

Have a lovely weekend!  See you Monday with a budget friendly pantry meal!

What I Ate Wednesday: Leftovers

Did everyone have a super fantastic Thanksgiving weekend?  I did, I did!

In fact, I made a little collage of some fun times that were had (above).

I'll start at the top and summarize.  I enjoyed the fall colors, ate Thanksgiving foods, did the Turkey Trot 4 miler with my Mom, played high stakes (sarcasm) poker, cuddled kittens, made nachos..and a flourless chocolate cake, hung out with my awesome nephews, went fishing and caught a leaf, went to the dog park, made pasta, sewed a shirt for Baby the Cat.

Whew.  that was the world's longest run on sentence ;)

Ok, so that was my leftover memories from this past week...now, onto leftover foods!  Well, not all of them..but you get where I'm going with this, right?

source

Breakfast 1: Toast

Before getting back on schedule with 5 a.m. boot camp, I made my favorite pre-workout snack: peanut butter toast (Natural Jif on Sarah Lee's Delightful 45 calorie wheat bread).

Breakfast 2: Eggs, of course 

Boy, am I predictable!  Yes, I made an omelet for protein's sake ;)  My omelet today was 1/2 cup of egg whites (had some leftover from making pasta), chopped up Thanksgiving turkey and cheddar cheese.  On the side was the last of my wheat bagel thins with butter spread.  For beverages, I had gingerbread coffee and POM juice.  Super filling, indeed.

Morning Snack: Nuts & Berries 

I actually thought it would be harder than it was to make myself eat this snack...mostly because this has been staring me in the face since yesterday (they were a holiday gift from a customer--clearly a saboteur of diets).

I noshed on some of these yesterday (actually Monday, but whatever), but stayed away from them today (yay, me!).  I enjoyed my blueberries and almonds instead.

Lunch: Leftover Stuffed Shells & Veggies 

I made a pretty rockin' pumpkin stuffed shell with sauteed mushrooms Monday night...recipe will be on Endless Simmer by Thursday.  On the side, some leftover broccoli and green beans.

Dessert: Starburst 

Since I'm obviously not immune to temptation, I had packed 3 Starburst candies in my pocket this morning.  And, of course, they were consumed.

Dinner: Burger & Fries

This dinner sure did hit the spot.  I made a lean sirloin burger topped with goat cheese, avocado and tomatoes.  My bun was a 100 calorie English muffin.  Sides were sweet potato fries and roasted veggies.  Yum yum!

My brother came over after dinner and helped me set up Christmas decorations!  It's beginning to look alot like Christmas up in here.
I also snuggled with this cutie.

Have a grrrrreeeaaaatt week!

Flourless chocolate cake recipe comin' at ya on Friday ;)

WIAW: Potato Soup

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Wow, I cannot believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  It does not feel like it at all!  So, I'll just go on with my normal What I Ate Wednesday post..

Breakfast 1: Toast

I had a piece of 45 calorie Sarah Lee bread with some natural peanut butter before heading out to boot camp this morning.  Whew!  It was tough.  The workout, not the toast.

Breakfast 2: Eggs

For my second breakfast (as the hobbits call it), I had a veggie, egg white omelet and another piece of toast with butter spread.  The omelet innards were leftover from this weekend when I made giant omelets..so no chopping required :)  In the mix: egg whites, mushrooms, sweet peppers, onions, spinach, tomatoes and chopped bacon.  Yum yum!  Also, coffee on the side.

Snack: Orange & Cheese

I have really been struggling with fruit lately.  I just don't want it, for some reason.  But, I forced myself to eat this orange today and it was quite delightful.  Plus I had one of these delish cheese rounds from Babybel.

Lunch: Soup & Crackers

Some days I do NOT feel like packing lunch, so I had this stored in the cabinet at work for such a day.  I was not crazy about this soup.  It was way too sweet, in my opinion.  I added salt to it, but still.  I do like this line of Campbells, though.  All the other ones that I've tried have been good.

 Dinner: Soup...Again!

I had soup again for dinner tonight.  It was really, really good.  I made this potato soup recipe from AmyBites.  Hop over there and make it.  I added peppers and carrots to it, though it did not call for it.  I just can't help myself.

Dessert: Froyo

Had to enjoy some of this tasty stuff for dessert.

Ok, well I hope everyone has a super fantastic Thanksgiving!!!!

See you later, gators.

Endless Simmer Recipes from Me!

Hey, y'al!  If you read this blog regularly, you probably know that I've been blogging on the foodie site Endless Simmer for about 7 months.

I love coming up with creative recipes to post.  Usually on my own blog, I post healthier recipes that I eat in my daily life...but on ES, I am all about the splurge-y recipes ;)

So, I thought I'd give you a round up of all the recipes I've posted to date.  Scroll through and enjoy.  If you want to see the recipes, click on the name below each picture.

Sweet Potato, Butterscotch, Bacon and Goat Cheese Quesadilla

Smackaroons: Coconut Crème Kiss Filled Macaroons

Chunky Rosemary-Infused Hummus

Strawberry Snickerdoodles

Homemade Doritos Crunch Wrap

Spinach & Feta-Jalapeño Dip Turkey Burger

Mango Coconut Mojito

Crispy French Toast Strawberry Shortcake

1-Minute Sea Salt Chocolate Cherry Cake

Hawaiian Pizza Sliders

Grilled Rosemary Chicken and Potato Skewers

Cherry Berry Chiller

Stuffed PayDay Cookies

Grilled Watermelon & Feta Salsa

Attack of the Oreo…Cocktails!

Coconut Shrimp Meatball on Crostini with Fruit Salsa

Bourbon & Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes

Healthy Lobster Mac and Cheese

Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich…on a Stick

Shrimp Poboy Pizza

Weeknight “Gumbo”

Zombie Head Brownie Bites

Easy Zombie Brain Cheese Ball

Rustic Mushroom Tart

Creamy Veggie & Bean Soup with Homemade Rustic Rosemary Bread

Update: This posted yesterday :) 

Bacon-Wrapped Smoked Turkey Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Chicken Breast and Bacon-Wrapped Lamb Meatloaf

WIAW: White Chicken & Veggie Chili

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Hey, there, party people!

I'm not sure why I called you that.  Attempting to be cool?  In 1997??  Whatever.

It's Wednesday, again!  Time to talk food stuffs.

Breakfast, Part I: Bar

I slept so cozy, it was hard to get my butt out of bed for 5 a.m. boot camp.  I did it though.  But not without complaint.  Anyways, I ate this Luna bar before I went.  FYI, it tastes absolutely NOTHING like a brownie.  Don't be fooled.

Breakfast, Part II: Pumpkin Protein Oatmeal

I tend to repeat meals alot, in case you have not noticed...but rather than make an omelet today (which is kind of what I wanted), I created a new oatmeal.  I'm glad I did.  It was so creamy and filling-perfect for a chilly morning!

Pumpkin Protein Oatmeal

serves 1

1/2 cup of quick oats

1/2 banana

1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder

3/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1-2 sweetener packets

sprinkle of cinnamon

Mix all of this together in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.

Top with lite syrup and walnuts, if you want.

Coffee was consumed, as well...

Didn't really get a good photo of my coffee, because I was distracted by this face (Baby the Cat).

She loves watching me take pictures...and having her picture taken!

A.M. Snack: Nuts

I usually buy the Heart Healhty Nut-rition, but they were out at the store.  So, I got Men's Health.  To be honest, I just ate the pistachios out of this pack.  If that's a crime, lock me up, because they were delicious   All 6 of them.

Lunch: Salad with Chicken & Veggies

For lunch today I had some leftover teriyaki baked chicken over spring mix with goat cheese, walnuts, tomatoes and dried cranberries.  On the side I had brussels sprouts and baby carrots dipped in this hummus:

Yum!

Then for dessert, I finished off these bad boys (there were probably 5 or 6 crisps left).  They were delish!

I just noticed I'm holding almost all my food.  Is that something I do?  Hmmm, not sure.  I guess it makes sense though to hold it for the camera.

Dinner: White Chicken Chili & Bread

 I threw together some super fantastic chili/soup to share with my mom while watching our favorite Tuesday shows (New Girl fans in tha houze??) .  Here's how I made it:

White Chicken & Veggie Chili

serves 6-8

olive oil

2 large chicken breasts, cooked & diced

3 carrots, diced

3 ribs celery, diced

1/2 onion, finely diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 green pepper, finely diced

1/2 red pepper, finely diced

jalapeno, seeded and finely diced

handful of mushrooms, diced

2 cans white beans with juice

1-1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp chili powder

3/4 tsp cumin

1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and cook onions for about 4 minutes.  Throw in the garlic for another 2 minutes.  Add in all your veggies and peppers (except the mushrooms) and cook for about 6-8 minutes.  Throw in the mushrooms for an additional 2 minutes.  Add all the other ingredients and raise the heat to a boil.  Simmer for a few minutes and then serve.  Enjoy!

For dessert, I had some of this:

Are you sensing a food trend today?  Lots of chocolate brownie.  Need it, want it, gots to have it.

Stay tuned to Endless Simmer, because there is an EPIC Thanksgiving post going up tomorrow (Thursday)!