Thursday, October 30, 2008

Show & Tell: Telling Tales...

True ones of course!!! And the best ones are about ME! I really get a kick out of myself. Come along and I'll tell you why...
Show and Tell
I watched Oprah when Jessica Seinfeld shared her pureed veggies hidden in many yummy foods. I bought the cookbook. I made MANY things that the family wasn't aware of how healthy they were. The added pureed veggies really add a moistness. Then I packed up the book. AND we moved. AND I haven't unpacked it yet. Months passed.

SO, my mom had lots of spinach in her garden. I (being the Suzy Homemaker that I am) cut BAGS worth, brought it home, washed it (like Rachael Ray does), pureed it in my bullet, measured it, bagged it, and froze it flat. BEAUTIFUL green perfectly square bags stacked in the freezer. Go me!!

Stay with me here:

Then I decided to make some healthy oatmeal choc chip cookies for Taylor's (18 yo-last child in school) grab and go breakfast habit. I decided to add some pureed veggies, and didn't want to use sweet potato because I didn't want it to be orange-ish. I didn't want anything that tipped off Tay that these were healthy. I found a good healthy sounding recipe on the web.





So, I remembered Jessica used spinach for choc things. I mixed it up, and popped it in the oven (all done while Tay was at school so he wouldn't know. I'm not just Suzy Homemaker, I'm a little Donna Reed too;).





Imagine my surprise when this came out of the oven!!


Ready????


Yep, green!!! (they came out of the oven the prettiest emerald green, after freezing they turned more of a cow-patty green)
I was thinking choc chip=spinach use, NOT cocoa powder=spinach use.
Pureed spinach SHOULD be used with COCOA POWDER!!!
TO HIDE THE GREEN!!!

I immediately put them in the deep freeze to hide them from Tay's all seeing eye.
Later, my little girls and I ate them. I told the girls they were St. Paddy Day cookies-thanks mom:) Really no taste at all, except the white choc chips. That recipe (with or without puree veggies) might need more cinnamon:)

Green cookie anyone??? I have the recipe and will gladly share:)
LOL
I CRACK MY SELF UP!!
Usually I'm the only one who gets ME-so I might as well enjoy myself:)
(and you know I'm brave if I will share these with you crafty homemakers!!)

Lesson learned: Pureed Spinach Goes With Cocoa!!!

Below is Jessica's Brownie recipe. I recommend adding puree veggies to meals. A little fiber and nutrients never hurt ANYONE!!
(yes, Tay, that means you too:)
Later, Tay, saw them and asked what they were, I told him they were MY healthy cookies, and he could have one if he wanted.
Surprisingly, he did not want one.
He thought they were alfalia:)
I didn't correct him:).


Brownies (with Carrot and Spinach)
Created by Jessica Seinfeld

Brownies (with Carrot and Spinach)
These brownies fool everyone! You won't believe how scrumptious they are (or how good they are for you) until you make them yourself. Just don't serve them warm—it's not until they're completely cool that the spinach flavor totally disappears.

Ingredients:
Makes 12 brownies

* Nonstick cooking spray
* 3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
* 1/2 cup carrot puree
* 1/2 cup spinach puree
* 1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 2 large egg whites
* 3/4 cup oat flour or all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat an 8" x 8" baking pan with cooking spray.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame.

In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine and vanilla and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.

Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.


Oh, yeah, Happy Birthday ERIC!
And Happy Halloween everyone:)
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And for my partner in crime...

"Love is pooling your loose change for pizza the day before payday."
My sweet hubby rocks because he willingly stays on for the ride!!! No matter how silly I get, AND always laughs WITH me and not AT me! I love ya sweetie!! (want some green spinach cookies??? huh huh??? There good for you-HONEST!!) Well, maybe just (spinach) pizza then:)


Join KatyLin at for more "My Husband Rocks!"

22 comments:

Julie said...

Carla--that post made me laugh out loud. You go girl!! I love the St. Paddy story--too funny!! Hope you have a nice(spinach-free)Halloween-LOL!! Julie

Kathy said...

Well, that is just hilarious, Carla! What a hoot. My daughter has that book and I hope she doesn't expect her girls to eat green cookies - they are two picky little girls! Too bad though, it's a great concept! Very funny post, Carla...Kathy

onlymehere said...

Carla, you crack me up!! I love the green cookies too! You may just be the one I need to answer a question. I used to have the absolutely best zucchini chocolate brownie recipe but lost it. Do you have any such thing? My whole family loved them but no one knew zucchini was in it! Can you help at all? Cindy

Mary said...

Carla,

You're right. They are cow patty green. Being a farm girl I noticed that right away. lol But St. Patrick's Day cookies was classic. I'm sure they were tasty.

I purchased that cookbook for my daughter last year and she loves it. The boys have eaten stuff they didn't even realize and Brandon loves the mashed potatoes with cauliflower.

Thanks for sharing. Happy Halloween to you.

Anonymous said...

Those look so yummy. NOT! Thanks for the funny story and Happy Halloween.~~Dee

Anonymous said...

That is so interesting! I bought this cookbook because I think we need more fiber in our food and we don't have any little kids here. I say the best fix-powdered sugar!
Thanks for sharing and thanks for stopping by my blog!
Happy Halloween!
~The Secret Gardener

Katie @ makingthishome.com said...

My aunt had this obsession with dying food to match the holiday. Green oatmeal, red milk... (she was a little weird). Now your green cookies? That doesn't sound so bad! I'll all over the natural food coloring, even if that wasn't quite the objective here. You're too funny!

Pamela said...

Gives a whole new dimension to Green Eggs and Ham - Green Cookies and Milk! Loved the story.

Kellie said...

Carla - thank you SO MUCH for the laugh at loud!! I haven't laughed that hard in weeks probably!! OMG!!
I have heard about that cookbook but have not seen any of the recipes or thought to try any...I would have to NOT let my husband know the ingredients...but I think it is definitely worth the try to get more veggies in my kids' tummies. Do they have a recipe to hide them in cheeseburgers and french fries?? :-)

Unknown said...

You may not want to know this, but here in Ireland we don't tend to go in for green food on St Patricks Day, or wearing green, or anything like that!

Love those cookies though.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Mindy said...

Oh my gosh that was too funny! I can so see that being me.

Michelle said...

Hey Carla!

Happy Halloween! Love the ghoulish looking cookies! Hey, I don't care what color my cookies are, if they are yummy that is good with me! :)

Michelle

Rhonda said...

Hey! I love it...the way you played it off like they were st patricks day cookies, that sounds like something *I* would do.

I have that cookbook too but haven't used it all that much. Still have some frozen purees in my freezer though!

Anonymous said...

ROFL...Its a riot that you wouldn't use the sweet pototoes for fear of them turning orange but saw no problem turning them GREEN...Snicker! You are truly a baker after my own heart!

Elizabeth said...

No offense, they do look like poopoo cookies, although I'm sure they are tasty. Actually, I'm glad you shared about spinach+cocoa powder, because I was thinking of doing the same thing you did, since one of my friends has been adding purees to her sweets.

I am so glad that I found your blog! Thanks for visiting me or I wouldn't have come across it!

Take care,
Elizabeth

Gail said...

Some of the best recipes are discovered this way. Could you have butterscotch chips and made them Halloween Cookies?

Thanks for your kind comments.

Nola said...

I have tears rolling down my cheeks; those are the ugliest cookies I've ever seen! I don't think I could have even passed them off as St Patrick's Day cookies with a straight face! I do like the brownie recipe, and will give it a try; we don't eat nearly enough veggies! Thanks for the laughter...

DP Nguyen said...

Hahaha, those are really gross looking cookies, but I do love spinach! lol.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

You should have told him the were special for Halloween. He probably would have eaten them.

Anonymous said...

LOL that was funny. Before seeing the picture I was thinking, could it have come out as brown cookies? That would be amazing! LOL


Happy Halloween!

Lisa Cobler said...

LOL!! That is to cute!

American Homemaker said...

LOL I've made green zucchini cookies for St. Patty's day, but usually in March :) Your spinach cookies cracked me up.