This is Miracle Mousse

Jennie found this super simple recipe for chocolate mousse.  We were both like...  riiiiiiight, this will never work.  BUT IT DID DAMMIT.  It.  Did.

Here is a link to the recipe we used:

Herve This Chocolate Mousse

I used 6 ounces of Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk and one cup of a Trader Joe's Semi Sweet morsels.

I heated the Soymilk on medium high in a saucepan then removed from the heat.  I whisked in the chocolate chips until melted and gelatinous.

I then filled a stock pot with ice water and placed the saucepan in it and whisked by hand for a minute.

When cooled, I transferred the mixture to my electric mixer with the whisk attachment and whisked on high until it was firm.  It was about 4-5 minutes.

It looks creamy and fluffy but when you put it in your mouth it is definitely mousse texture! It's a kitchen miracle!

Faux Pumpkin Carrot Cookies

Can't eat pumpkin?  Don't like pumpkin?  Here's my replacement for fall favorite flavors in a quick cookie!

2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, softened
2 tablespoons Smart Balance Lite tub margarine
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup drained and puréed canned carrots
1 cup GF baking mix
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Raw sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, combine your dry ingredients.

Beat the margarines, maple syrup and sugar until light.  Add the carrot purée and combine.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by teaspoon full onto cookie sheet about 2" apart.   Sprinkle with raw, larger crystal sugar.

Don't forget your tester cookies!  I skipped that step last night on some sugar cookies and ended up wasting the whole recipe.  I could have added more baking mix and saved them but I didn't bake two cookies first to see how much they would spread.

Bake for 12 minutes or until set.

You can make a nice powdered sugar glaze for these but no can do that here.

The "OMG, I'm sick of making other people dinner" Dinner

I love cooking.  My kitchen is my favorite room.  What I don't love is always thinking up dinner ideas.  I'll make it but just throw some ideas at me once in a while.

For some reason, I have a lot of frozen fries right now.  Between Peapod and Target, I must have gotten them twice.  I decided to turn a bag into a sort of casserole/hot dish/thing.

1 lb ground beef
1/2 bag frozen spinach
1 bag frozen fries
Cheese (we use Daiya)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Paprika

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef.   Add the spices, stir to combine, and even out in a single layer in bottom of skillet.  Add the spinach evenly over the top.   Next add the cheese.  Pile the fries evenly oven the top.

Bake according to the fry directions until crispy.

It's no award winner but it is easy, pretty cheap, fast, and I know they will like it.  The vegan cheese and the spinach make it not awful health wise.  I'm not saying it's healthy, but it's better than fast food.

Super easy pork shoulder dinner

The first cool, fall Sunday!  The perfect day for slow roasting.  I really wanted to get pork shanks and create something I saw on a travel channel but, Peapod didn't have any and neither did the market I stopped at.  I'm not a fan of shopping or running around to hunt things down.  

Peapod had pork shoulder so that is what I got.  I did a little online research and went with a Food Network recipe that could not have been easier!

Check out this link to see the recipe:

Food Network Simple Roasted Pork Shoulder

I added a bag of baby red Klondike potatoes for the last 90 minutes of cooking.  Add tender butter lettuce, and it's dinner.  Scrubbing the potatoes was the most work this meal required.  The double Derek's gave it thumbs up.