What I've Been Cooking Lately

While I haven't had a ton of time to blog lately (the posts you've seen have been compiled over several weeks, pieced together here & there), I have still been cooking.  When I went back to work we quickly realized we needed to do some meal planning so we didn't starve to death or end up eating pizza every night.  Having a meal plan written down for the week helps us to figure out who's cooking what, which nights we won't need to cook anything and can just eat leftovers, and helps us to make sure we have enough leftovers for lunches.  

I've been ever-so-slowly working my way through my Recipes to Try on Pinterest. I try to keep a running list of what recipes I want to try next alongside my menu plan for the week, so I can cross things off as we use them and then add new recipes based on what's on sale or what we need to use up in the fridge. So, here's what I've tried recently, and my thoughts/tweaks to those recipes:

Easy Weeknight Chicken Parmesan - This was the recipe found inside a can of Progresso  Fire Roasted Tomato Recipe Starters in our pantry.  I've used a few of these Recipe Starters and have thus far been underwhelmed.  They all have a pretty "prepackaged" flavor.  I added a ton of garlic and basil to this sauce, which helped.  We used the excess sauce to make a pasta side dish.

"Chicken parm you taste so good..."  Thanks, Manning.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup:  This one was practically perfect as-is. I made it for my church small group and everyone requested that I send them the recipe. I did use more cumin (probably closer to 2-3 teaspoons) and used smoked salt instead of regular--what can I say, I like my Mexican dishes a little smoky!

Crockpot Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs:  This is possibly the easiest meal I've ever made, and it was really tasty.  You literally cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, plop the two halves into the crock, then pour in a jar of sauce and toss in some frozen meatballs, set to high for 3 hours, then go back to playing with your kid.  Perfect.

Crockpot Mashed Potatoes:  This one ended up being a flop for me, but I think I accidentally used too much milk--I also think it would have worked better with russets instead of red potatoes.  Reds have a tendency to not be as fluffy, and when I OD'd on milk the end result was a gluey mess.

Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli:  This one was also a flop.  The meat completely fell apart after having been cooked for 8 hours on low, so we essentially had shredded beef & broccoli over rice.  The sauce also didn't really ever thicken up, and was sweeter than I would have liked, so we added extra soy and sriracha. 

Baked Crispy Sweet Potato Wedges:  While not as crispy as I had hoped, these were still delicious.  Great as a side with burgers or brats.

All grilling best when completed by The Hubs with his young apprentice.

Hummus Crusted Chicken:  The hummus "crust" never really got crunchy, but it DID keep the chicken nice and moist and even my father-in-law, who doesn't like hummus, said this was a really tasty dish. I used Sundried Tomato Basil Sabra hummus, and seasoned both sides of the chicken with Cajun seasoning before adding the hummus.

Baked Garlic Paprika Chicken:  This was tasty. I recommend using smoked paprika.  Also--I was lazy and didn't heat the oil & spices together--I just tossed them in a gallon Ziploc and then added the chicken to the bag, tossing to coat.  Still a delicious result.

Biscuit Waffles 'n Gravy:  Technically only "pinspired" by Pinterest, and the trend of waffling everything these days.  We stuck some Grands biscuits in the waffle iron, and my Hubs made his famous sawmill gravy.  The biscuits were a little tough, but tasty--and no fork required, you could just pick them up & eat them.  Good schtuff.

Cajun Black Bean Soup:  My soup did not end up as creamy as I would have liked--I could never get the puree to be thin enough, so it just had some bean chunks in it. I did use Camellia brand black beans. However, flavor-wise this was delicious.  Also--before you start this recipe, note the long cook time.  I didn't and we ended up eating dinner at about 8pm that night. :)

Mushroom & Kale Ramen:  This was a nice spin on regular ramen.  I used baby portabellas instead of shiitake, but it was still a yummy bite. I also added a bit of fish sauce because...well, because it's in our fridge, and it makes me feel fancy.

Ravioli Lasagna:  We didn't really follow any recipe exactly, but the recipe under the link is close to what we made.  I used frozen cheese raviolis from Aldi, 1 lb of sliced smoked sausage links, 1 jar Italian sausage pasta sauce, and tons of mozzarella & Italian cheese blend.  Just layered the ingredients and baked for 40 minutes at 350F.

PF Chang's Style Lettuce Wraps:  These were super-tasty & really easy to throw together. I will definitely be making again.

Herbed Chicken & Pasta:  This dish had great flavor but ended up being WAY too salty for our taste. I think if you could find a low-sodium version of the soup mixes it might help, or just eliminate one of the mixes (either the garlic mix or the onion soup mix).

There's a few other things I've made recently but they were tinkered with enough (or are Cajun enough) to warrant their own post, so I'll save those for later.  You know...when I have time. :)

Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole

I made this dish for Christmas last year, and now I think it's my "signature" dish that I'm required to bring to all holiday functions.  Even the kiddos loved it (who previously wouldn't eat sweet potatoes)-- "it tastes like pie!" they told me.  Honestly, I didn't eat sweet potatoes at the holidays until I was in college--even that weird coating of marshmallows couldn't entice this kid to try them.  However, if the sweet potato casserole at my family functions would have looked like this, I probably would have tried them a lot sooner!

Looks more like my mom's apple crisp, and less like somebody baked a box of Lucky Charms.

This is also great if you have to travel for the holidays--you can make the two parts separately ahead of time, refrigerate, and then put the topping on the casserole when you get where you're going and just bake for 30 minutes.

What I also love?  This is SUPER easy to make.  Even with a fussy 2 month old in the next room.  AND you can take super-cute Christmas photos of him after you put the casserole in the oven.

INGREDIENTS:

filling:

3 cups cooked & mashed sweet potatoes

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 cup half & half

topping:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Start with the topping, as you'll want to chill it after all the ingredients have been combined--this results in a beautifully crisp crumble topping.

Combine the topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl, using a pastry cutter or a fork until crumbly.  Stick in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350F, and lightly spray a 9"x 13" pan with oil or cooking spray.

For the filling, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or stand mixer and blend until thoroughly mixed.  Then place in the baking dish, and add the crumble topping.  Bake for 30 minutes, and then allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving.

Crawfish Boil Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

A few weeks ago I posted about making bacon-wrapped crawfish stuffed jalapenos using leftovers from a crawfish boil.  We didn't quite use up the filling we made with the jalapenos, so I decided to use the rest to make this side dish!

We added some sweet corn to the filling to round out this dish and make it truly reminiscent of a crawfish boil.

INGREDIENTS (makes 4 servings):
2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup crawfish tails
1.5 Tbsp low fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 cup sweet corn
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the oven to 350F.
Wash the potatoes, stab with a fork and nuke in the microwave for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
Combine the rest of the ingredients, minus the mozzarella, in a small bowl.
Cut the potatoes in half, then mash the guts with a fork, pressing the potato flesh to the sides to make a hollow for the filling.  Fill each of the potato halves with 1/4 of the crawfish filling, and then sprinkle the cheese over the top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is browned & melted.

Serving suggestion: baked or grilled chicken and a green salad.

Daniel Fast Day 7: Sweet Potato Pancakes, Red Beans & Rice, & Avoiding Cupcakes

Today’s Devotional: “Complete & Perfect Peace -- Isa.26:3 ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.’  We have arrived at the 7th day & are completing our first week of our fast. You are 1/3 of the way there & in case you haven’t realized it yet, the earth is moving & shaking because of your faithfulness to fast & pray. Strongholds are falling to the side & real Kingdom Living is being released in you & the ones you are praying for. 2014 is having a course dug out as a trench that will allow the water of the word of God to freely flow into the purpose of the Lord for your life, & the most powerful thing about this is that He is able to keep you in Perfect Peace throughout the whole process. Seven is the number of Completion & Perfection & this is the day you are living in.”

Hooray—we’ve made it through the first week!  Not without some trials & tribulations, but so far it has been a wonderful experience.  I’ve spent more time doing devotions with my husband, and learning to pray in a less superficial and more eternal way. 

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Pancakes!  I took my pumpkin pancake recipe and tweaked it a bit, leaving out the leaveners, replacing the egg with applesauce, and adding a bit more cinnamon & pie spice to help compensate for not putting in the brown sugar. I also toasted the pecans to help boost their flavor.  Since we can’t have syrup, I spread about a teaspoon of Polaner AllFruit seedless blackberry jam between the two cakes to help give a little boost of sweetness.

Calories: 204, Protein: 5g, Carbs: 34g (for two pancakes) 
NOTE: if you wanted to start your day with a little more protein, you could mix some some protein powder into the batter as well.
Lunch: Spinach salad with…well, a little bit of everything, plus some homemade balsamic vinaigrette.

And in the afternoon, I went to a bridal shower for my friend Amy!  Luckily, the snacks were very Fast-friendly:  fresh fruit, veggie tray, Triscuits (with cream cheese & pepper jelly; unfortunately I didn’t get to have any of that but it looked delicious as always!)… Alas, I couldn’t have any of the delicious looking punch (vanilla ice cream + iced mocha coffee, it looked SOOOOO good), or any of Amy’s cupcakes!  Because yes, it’s THAT friend Amy!  *sigh*  Sooooooo hard to not nom!!!

So… I brought a couple home & froze them for the Hubs & I to enjoy after the Fast! XD

DINNER: Isn’t this a Cajun blog?  Well of COURSE it is!  And what better dish to make while on a Daniel Fast than some Red Beans & Rice! I started this in the Crockpot in the morning so that it would be ready for dinner.

INGREDIENTS:

• 15 oz kidney beans
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups vegetable stock (sugar free)
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp cajun seasoning
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 cup portobella mushrooms, chopped (this helps make up for the lack of meat)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (if you like a kick)
• 1 cup instant brown rice, dry

DIRECTIONS:
Add all ingredients except the rice to the Crockpot & set to High for 4 hours or Low for 8. 

With 1/2 hour left, add the rice.  It will help to absorb the remaining liquid.  Season to taste & garnish with green onions.

NutriFacts (Makes 6 servings):
Calories: 200
Fat: 1.1 g
Cholesterol: 0
Sodium: 1123mg
Potassium: 421 mg
Carbs: 41 g
Fiber: 9 g
Sugars: 6g
Protein: 6.8 g

Feta & Mint Sweet Potatoes.

I dream of someday having a gorgeous tiered herb garden.  Something aesthetically pleasing, yet simple & convenient, full of thriving green seasonings ready for the picking:  rosemary, basil, mint, cilantro, lavender, chives…

(This is not my house.)

…but given that I nearly killed my poor tomato plant this year by allowing it to get “root-bound”, I don’t have high hopes.  I’ve made attempts at herb gardens before.  One was a “pizza spice” set from Wal-Mart which was more successful at growing weeds that accidentally blew into it than any actual spice.  In 2010 I attempted cilantro from seeds…I started with 20 potential little pods… of which 12 sprouted, then 6 died due to heat, and the rest drowned at the young age of 4 inches tall.  Quite sad, really.

Last year I did successfully manage to keep a dwarf rosemary bush alive indoors all year, but once the cooler weather rolled around, our central heating system dehydrated the poor dear.  But I can successfully keep hydroponic green onions alive. Goooooooo me!

So…anyway.  I continue to buy herbs when I need them.  When I bought mint for the SoCojito a while back, that meant the rest of my recipes that week needed to focus on mint as well. 

We went to a BBQ over Independence Day weekend where a friend made a watermelon+mint+feta salad that was pretty freakin’ awesome.  So I came home with the feta+mint pairing on the brain.

The next time we got some decent weather, it was time to bust out the grill.  Well—for the Hubs anyway.  I stuck with the microwave.  This is one of those side dishes that looks really fancy, but it’s just crazy-simple.  It also tastes AMAZING because you’re essentially blowing up your tastebuds with flavor:  tangy feta, acidic lime juice, syrupy brown sugar, and fresh mint & onions… and because the toppings won’t be evenly distributed, every bite is just a little different.

 

INGREDIENTS: (per potato)

1 sweet potato, scrubbed

1 lime wedge

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp crumbled feta

2-3 mint leaves, julienned

1 sprig green onion, chopped

black pepper (to taste)

 

DIRECTIONS:

If you have time, you can grill your sweet potatoes, or oven-roast them.  But we were grilling corn & smoked sausages—neither of which take very long.  So I opted to prepare the sweet potatoes in the microwave.  Poke a few holes in each spud with a fork, then wrap in a paper towel & place in the microwave.  Heat on High for 3 minutes, then flip & go 3 minutes more.  (depending on how many potatoes you’re cooking, you may have to heat longer.  I usually go 3 minutes per potato, but be sure to flip them).

Split open the tops and then squeeze the sides of the potato to open up the top more.  Then squeeze the lime juice across the open face and season with black pepper.  Place the brown sugar next (so it can blend with the lime juice & melt into the potato) and then add the remaining toppings.

 

NutriFacts: (per potato)

Calories 155.4

  Total Fat 3.2 g

  Saturated Fat 2.2 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 0.7 g

  Cholesterol 12.6 mg

  Sodium 200.6 mg

  Potassium 569.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 28.7 g

  Dietary Fiber 3.8 g

  Sugars 13.7 g

  Protein 4.4 g

Sweet Potato - Pumpkin Bread: Oven or Crockpot?

 

We got a nice big 6-quart Crockpot as a wedding gift, so I’ve been trying to use it at every opportunity I can.  Since both my husband & I work, it’s really nice to be able to do a bit of prep the night before, throw things together in the removable crock, put it in the fridge, and then the next morning, finish assembly and start it cooking on low.  By them time we get home, dinner’s done!  Coming from someone who has an hour roundtrip commute and 9 hour work days, not having to cook when I come home is fanTASTic.

So when I saw a recipe last year for Slow Cooker Pumpkin Bread on 52 Kitchen Adventures, I HAD to try it.  This is one of those recipes that’s been sitting in my stockpile for a while.

We had some canned pumpkin on hand, but not enough to make this recipe.  But I did have some sweet potatoes in the crisper, so I simply peeled & boiled one, then pureed that to make up the difference.

Ingredients: (makes one 9x5x3 loaf)

• 1.5 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 large egg
• 8 ounces of pumpkin and/or sweet potato puree 
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Combine sugar and oil in a large bowl, beating to blend. Mix in eggs and pumpkin.

In a separate large bowl, combine flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add to the wet ingredients in 2 batches.

Now, the original recipe says there are two ways to make bread from this point.  You can be all traditional, and heat your oven to 350F, and bake the bread in a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan for 1 hour (or until a toothpick comes out clean)

OR…

You can be a rebel…with a Crockpot.

In a slow cooker large enough to fit a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan (we have a 6 quart), place a ball of aluminum foil to hold up the pan.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan, and place into the Crock on top of the aluminum foil.

Cover, and set the CrockPot to High and cook for 2-8 hours.  Yes, you read that right—apparently it can be really variable, depending on the size of your slow cooker, the brand you use, maybe the stars and the weather too.  For us, it took about 3 hours.

We set it to cook for 2 hours, then I started checking it with a toothpick every 20-30 minutes after that.

The end result was really moist and a little dense, but delicious.  The wait was a little agonizing though, because it smelled sooooooo good.  I think I definitely want to try this recipe again in the oven to see what it turns out like. 

Oven Baked Sweet Potato “Fries”! (Sweet or Spicy)

This is one of my favorites, because it’s super-simple and makes a great side dish for, well, anything! 

As you know, I love potatoes.  That being said, I love fries.  I’m the gal who goes to a restaurant with the intention of getting a really beautiful salad that’s chockablock full of spiced pecans and dried cranberries & strawberries and jicama and other fruits and goat cheese crumbles, and comes with some sort of honey-lime-cilantro-basil-walnut-balsalmic vinagrette…. the type of thing I’m typically too lazy to make at home:

 

…and then I see something like a “Gryo Wrap with side of fries”,

and I get that instead.  Fries are seductive like that.  Because I can eat ketchup with them.  I cannot eat ketchup with a salad.

So I like to make oven-baked fries at home—that way I still get the satisfaction of dunking warm wedge o’ potato in ketchup (or cocktail sauce.  Don’t judge, it’s delicious).

Sweet potatoes are better for us than regular ol’ Joe Idaho, because they are high in wonderful things like beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin B6 and vitamin C; fiber, thiamine, niacin, potassium and copper. They are also a good source of protein, calcium, vitamin E.  Plus, this is a Louisiana food blog, and there are no fewer than 22 yam & sweet potato shippers in Louisiana, and everyone’s favorite Bruce’s Yams are headquartered in New Iberia, Louisiana.

 

So, recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes (Or, if I’m just making a few to munch on for myself, I just use one), peeled & sliced at your preferred fry thickness.

butter-flavored cooking spray

For Sweet Version:

2 tsp white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, and take a medium size cookie sheet out.  Line with slightly crumpled aluminum foil, and then lightly spray the foil with the butter spray.

Once you’ve sliced your potatoes, put them in a large bowl & cover with cold water.  Let sit for 3 minutes.

Remove the potatoes from the bowl, & let drain on a stack of paper towels.  Place on the cookie sheet & lightly spray with butter-flavored cooking spray.  Place in the oven on the middle rack & bake for 25-30 minutes or until well browned on the outside (the ends might get a little dark since they cook faster).

In a baking dish (I use my bread loaf pan) mix the sugar & cinnamon.  When the fries come out of the oven, give one more light spritz with the cooking spray, and then toss them into the dish with the cinnamon sugar. cover the dish & shake well to coat.  Serve them up & you can sprinkle what doesn’t stick over the tops of the fries for presentation.

 

OR—if you’re not craving sweet, how about spicy?  This is another favorite blend of mine.

 

Cut the fries same as above, but this time, before cooking, toss them in the following spice mix:

For Spicy Version:

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder (or Pampered Chef’s Chipotle seasoning blend)

1/8 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning

1/2 tsp onion powder

Bake for the same amount of time.

 

The awesome thing about this?  You can have a whole potato’s worth of fries to yourself…for 150 calories.

NutriFacts:

Calories: 150

Fat: 0.5 g

Protein: 3.6 g

Total Carbohydrate: 37.3g

Dietary Fiber: 5.9g

Starch: 12.7g

Sugars: 11.7g

Vitamin A: 692% daily value

Vitamin C: 35.3 mg

Vitamin B6: 0.5mg

Calcium: 68.4 mg

Iron: 1.2 mg

Magnesium: 48.6mg

Potassium: 855mg

Shared on: 33 Shades of Green

Entry Deux: Sweet Potato Mini-Muffins

Food background: http://www.foodreference.com/html/louisiana-sweet-potatoes.html

Dish type: Dessert/Snack

Method Utilized: "Quick & Simple"

When I first moved to New Orleans, I worked for a wine shop/gourmet deli called Martin's Wine Cellar. During the holiday season, my good friend who worked in catering would bake loaves of pumpkin bread & sweet potato bread, to which I became mildly addicted. Sweet potatoes are a common staple down here, as we have our own Louisiana sweet potatoes. However they're typically dished out in the form of greasy, salty sweet potato fries, or the marshmallow & brown sugar-laden dish we all know from holiday dinners. Even mashed sweet potatoes down here tend to be doused in maple syrup.....delicious, no doubt, but not exactly healthy.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent alternative to traditional side dishes as they're highly nutrient dense (but you probably already know that, and are about 10 seconds from saying "shut your yup, woman and just get to the darned recipe!!!) Okay, fine. *pouts* :)

I DO have in my possession my dear friend's recipe for her famous sweet potato bread--however it's for a yield of about 40 loaves...and since I have no fish, and no followers to feed, just wee lil' me, I don't need quite that many. It's also a slightly labor intensive process that involves baking the delectable orange starch-vessels, blending the dough base....let's just say it's an all-day thing.

However, there are ways around that. And they're called "bread mixes". I find delicious-sounding bread mixes at Big Lots, Marshalls, & Ross all the time for cheap. This time, I had one that's actually for "pumpkin bread", but if you examine the box, you see that it requires you to ADD canned pumpkin. This can EASILY be swapped for an equal amount of cooked sweet potatoes. Cooking potatoes yourself = less processed additives in your food. Baking works great, so does cubing and steaming them. I don't recommend boiling them because they get too waterlogged.

And if you want to save even MORE time, check out your local farmer's market--ours has frozen bags of sweet potato rounds that just need to be reheated. Each round is approximately 1/4 c.



Shopping List:
- 1 box bread mix (a mix that specifies pumpkin, sweet potato, or "spice" bread is ideal, and keep an eye out for one that uses wheat flour if you can for extra nutrients)
- Egg Beaters "All Whites" (equivalent of 2 Large eggs--it's on the side of the package. Wanna say it's 1/3 cup)
- applesauce (plain or cinnamon)
- 1/2 tbsp butter (half a pat), melted
- 3/4 cup pureed sweet potatoes
- 1/3 cup water
- mini muffin pans (I got some of the silicone ones and they're AWESOME)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

This is not a toughie. In fact, all I really did was modify the instructions on the box to cut the fat & calories. Replace the eggs with egg whites (if you don't have EggBeaters, you can simply use 4 egg whites instead), and replace the oil with the applesauce. I add the half tbsp of butter for the flavor boost it gives to the bread (use REAL butter, and not margarine--butter is less processed, and margarine breaks down into some rather devious chemicals when heated. Besides--this recipe will make (12) 3-muffin servings. That's a MINISCULE amount of butter in each muffin.)

If you can find the sweet potato rounds, I defrost them in the micro (takes about 2 minutes on the defrost setting--add 1/2 tsp of water to the bowl you defrost them in) and then just whip 'em up and add them to the wet ingredients. Blend thoroughly, then add in the powdered bread mix and blend till smooth.

Lightly spray your muffin pans w/ Pam (I use the Olive Oil version, though I like the Pam for Baking especially well too) and add in the batter to 2/3 full. If you use the silicone trays like me, place them on a cookie sheet for easy handling.

TIP FOR ELECTRIC OVEN READERS: I've noticed my electric oven does not bake things as evenly as gas stoves do (dastardly landlords...grrr...) so I put these on the middle rack, and bake these for 10 minutes on the "Bake" setting (bottom coil heated), and then switch it to "Broil" (top coil) for 5 minutes. You get a gorgeous even color and baking this way.



Prep time: 5 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes per rotation (I had two pans that fit 6 muffins each, so I did 3 batches)

Yield: 36 mini-muffins, or (12) 3 muffin servings

Original Nutrifacts from the box: 248 calories per serving (if prepared as instructed), 12 servings

New Caloric: 150 calories for 3 muffins, still 12 servings.

Sadly my Nutrifacts calculator doesn't have a "boxed bread mix" option, so I can't give the rest of the details. :(

What would I do differently next time? I might consider adding the equivalent of one more egg white to "fluff" it up a bit--the end result was a wee bit denser than I like. Otherwise, the flavor was FANTASTIC. In fact, I brought a serving in a baggie to have for my mid-afternoon snack--I put them in the microwave for 10 seconds, and now the smell has permeated my office. It's like Christmas in here! YUM!

I also might consider making some with chopped pecans mixed in--pecans are a staple around here, and they're very good for you. Plus--my boss gives everyone a 5lb box of shelled pecans for Christmas every year, so I always have some laying around. :-)

I promise I WILL, at a later date, do a "traditional" baked version of this recipe as well, doing everything from scratch.