Samoas Cookie Bars

Have you ever craved Girl Scout Cookies when it's NOT that time of year? Nope...neither have I! haha...but seriously, sometimes you just have a craving for one of those good old Samoa cookies that they sell. I knew when I found this recipe, that I would have to try them. It took me a long time to actually accomplish trying them, but I finally did it. Now it's taken me almost a month to get them onto this blog. Between working at my job, working out, and taking a Martial art a few nights a week, I am one busy gal! When I made these, I promised myself to only try one little bite and I actually succeeded. I took them to work and the students and staff gobbled them up fast enough that I didn't have to fight my temptations.
Woo Hoo!! Thank goodness, because if they hadn't, I am positive I could have consumed the entire pan all by myself. Yes...they are THAT good!

Recipe Source: http://bakingbites.com/2009/02/homemade-girl-scout-cookies-samoas-bars/

Makes 30 bars

For the cookie base:

1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla 

 2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

Start by  making the cookie base. Preheat your oven to 350°
Spray a 9 x 13 pan with Pam or line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and butter, until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg and vanilla. Put your mixer on low speed and gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. It will probably look somewhat like wet sand.
Pour the crumbly dough mixture into your greased pan and press it all out into an even layer.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until it is set and the edges are lightly browned. Cool completely before before putting the topping on.

For the topping:
3 cups shredded, sweetened coconut

1 (12 oz) pkg of Kraft caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp milk
10 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 300°
Spread out the coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toast the coconut for  20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the coconut is a light golden color. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
Unwrap the caramels and place them in a large microwave safe bowl. Add the salt and the milk. Cook on high for 1 minute and stir. Cook 1 more minute and stir. Continue this process for 3-4 minutes until the caramel is all melted.
When the caramel is smooth, fold in the toasted coconut with a spatula.
Using a spoon, plop dollops of the topping all over the cookie base. Using a spatula, or the back of a spoon, spread the topping into an even layer. Let topping set until it is completely cooled.
When it's all cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter.
Once the bars are cut, melt the chocolate chips in a small bowl by heating on high for about 30 seconds and stirring. Then heat them 15 more seconds and stir. Continue until they are completely melted, but be sure to stir in between or they will scorch and burn.
Dip the bottom only, of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Place the remaining chocolate  into a Ziploc baggie. Snip a small corner off with scissors and you can now drizzle the chocolate over the bars to finish them. .
Let chocolate completely set.
Store in an airtight container.

Hawaiian Coconut and Macadamia Nut Salmon with Coconut Lime Sauce

Well it's been awhile since I posted any regular meals. The whole foods,  natural eating plan is going wonderful, but boy oh boy do I miss cooking things like this. This meal didn't quite fit into my doctors eating plan for me, so tonight when I knew my daughter would be here for dinner, I decided to make something special for her and my hubby. I'm glad I did, because they both thoroughly enjoyed this. I will "fess" up that I took a very small bite just to see if it tasted good. Yes it sure did!! It felt so amazing to let my creative juices flow and put together a great meal again, as it's been quite awhile since I have cooked anything very fancy, beyond basic meats, veggies etc. So be patient with me and I will try to post every once in awhile when I make something special for visiting family members and friends.

I know this picture is not very great. But it will have to do, as hungry family members are not to be kept waiting just to get a decent shot of dinner ;)

For the Salmon:
1 ex. lg Salmon fillet
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
10 wheat thins, crushed
1/8 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs, sold at most grocery stores)
3 Tbsp flour
1 egg, beaten

1/8 cup vegetable oil or cooking the fish 

For the Lime Sauce:
 1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
Zest of medium lime
1 large lime, juiced
1/8 tsp lemon pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp sugar
* 1 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened, shredded, coconut (see note at bottom of recipe)
7 ounces coconut milk ( I used the canned as it's a little thicker than the one from the deli department)

 Be sure to have the lime sauce ingredients all ready to go as you will be making the sauce while the fish is cooking and it doesn't take very long to cook the salmon.

For the Salmon:
In a medium bowl, mix together the macadamia nuts, wheat thins and panko bread crumbs. Mix them together well. Pour out onto a plate ( I would suggest a paper plate for less dish washing later on). Set aside.

On another plate (again paper plates work well here) place your flour and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the egg. Pout into a shallow dish that you will be able to dip the salmon into. Set aside.

Clean your salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Dredge the salmon in the flour, making sure to coat all sides, then into the egg wash, again coating all sides of the salmon, then into the macadamia mixture, coating all sides with the mixture. Set the fish on a plate while you are heating your oil.

Heat 1/8 cup canola or vegetable oil in a skillet. Make sure it's good and hot before you add the salmon. Place the salmon in the hot oil and cook on both sides, until it's cooked all the way through. It's hard to give a time for this because the size and thickness of salmon fillets differ so much. When you think it's done, test the edge with a fork. If it flakes away easily, your salmon is cooked through.
While the salmon is cooking, prepare your lime sauce.


For the Lime Sauce:
In a small or med saucepan, melt butter. Add the flour and stir. This will look lumpy and clumpy, that's ok. You are basically making a roux (pronounced ROO, which is a thickening agent for sauces).
After that's stirred together, stir in the lime zest, lime juice, lemon pepper, salt, onion powder, sugar and shredded coconut. Stir together. Don't worry this will still be super thick and clumpy. Now add the coconut milk. Stir together and press out any lumps, with the back of the spoon, as you stir. Cook until thick and bubbly. Cook for one additional minute.
Pour the heated sauce over the salmon and enjoy!!

 *You can substitute sweetened, shredded, coconut if you would like, I think it actually would taste good, but I stuck with the unsweetened for this attempt.

Coconut and Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi with a Lemon/Lime Butter Sauce

All this dinner needed was a swaying palm tree, a pina colada and some hula dancers to make me feel like I was in Hawaii. The neighbor's lawn mower, his dog barking and the motorcycle going up and down the street definitely did not lend itself to a Hawaiian ambiance. So I closed my eyes and pictured it all in my head. Oh wait....I definitely do NOT want the picture of me in a bikini in my head. *sigh*
Way to ruin a perfectly good dream!
Now, back to the reason I am writing. This dinner was so scrumptious. It was light, all the flavors worked so well together and the hubby and I loved it! This will positively be made again at our house. This just might be one of my most favorite seafood recipes. So for those of you who like coconut, lemon, macadamia nuts and fish...this ones for you!!

This recipe is for two pieces of Mahi Mahi:

For the fish:

10 saltine crackers, crushed finely
1/4 cup macadamia nuts (chopped finely)
1/6 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (make sure it's unsweetened)
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil for cooking fish

For the Sauce:

2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Peel from one medium lemon, zested
Peel from one lime, zested
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
Juice from one lemon
Juice from one lime

To prepare the fish: Place the crushed saltine crackers, the chopped nuts and the coconut together in a bowl. Mix together well. Place the flour in a separate bowl. Place the beaten egg in another bowl. Rinse your fish and pat it dry with a paper towel. First dip the fish into the flour and coat on all sides. Then dip the coated fish into the egg and then into the cracker mixture. Make sure to coat it on all sides.
Heat oil in a  cooking pan until it is hot. Cook the breaded fish in the oil until it is cooked through. Serve with sauce. Place the sauce under the fish and on top of the fish, so every bite has sauce!

To prepare the sauce: Place the butter in a pan and melt it completely over a low-med fire. Stir in the flour, parsley, salt, pepper, and the peels from the lemon and the lime. Stir together. Mix in the milk and the cream and cook for about a minute until it thickens up. Then stir in the juices from the lemon and the lime. Cook for about another minute or two on low heat. Keep warm until time to serve it over the fish.

Samoa Brownie Cookie Bars

What do you get when you mix, brownies, shortbread cookies and yummy caramel and coconut? You get a mouthful of yummy goodness! This just might be one of my new favorite ways to eat brownies. Of course, it doesn't take much convincing for me to enjoy a brownie. If you eat a few of these, you could definitely conserve energy. By that I mean, you will no longer need to run your heater because you can create your own warmth from your thighs rubbing together. See...there are plenty of reasons to eat lots of them ;)

* This link is where the original recipe is from:jaseyscrazydaisy.com

Shortbread Crust

3/4 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes

3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Brownie Layer:

1 package brownie mix, 

Water, oil, and eggs called for in the directions on the brownie box

1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, straight from the jar, unheated

Coconut Caramel Layer:

3 cups toasted coconut,

1 (17 oz.) jar caramel topping

Chocolate Drizzle:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread coconut evenly over baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure coconut browns evenly. Set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all crust ingredients and cut with pastry knife, or mix with mixer until coarse pea-sized lumps form. Press evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish. Bake until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, prepare brownie batter according to package directions, adding 1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, unheated and straight from the jar. Make sure to follow the high altitude directions if you live at high altitude. Pour over shortbread crust and bake as directed, until a toothpick comes out nearly clean with only a few crumbs remaining.

When brownies are almost finished, scoop caramel topping into a heavy bottomed saucepan and heat over low until caramel is soft and easy to stir. Add toasted coconut and stir gently until evenly mixed. If brownies are not quite finished, keep this warm, stirring occasionally. Keeping the coconut caramel mixture warm will help it to spread evenly without tearing brownies apart.

Pour coconut caramel mixture over brownies and gently spread evenly over the top. 

Place chocolate chips into a zip-loc baggie and put into microwave for 20 second intervals. Squish the bag with your fingers to mix and smooth the chocolate between intervals. When melted smooth, snip a tiny piece off of the corner of the bag and drizzle over bars. Cool. 

Banana, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Bread

Lately I have been finding recipes and modifying them. That's almost as fun as creating it yourself, not quite....but almost! I found a recipe for banana coconut bread on Pinterest and then modified it, by adding less almond extract, a little pinch of cinnamon and a few chocolate chips. It turned out really good.

The original recipe can be found here:
http://fatgirltrappedinaskinnybody.blogspot.com/2011/10/coconut-banana-bread.html

I modified this recipe by adding only 1/4 tsp almond extract instead of the 1 tsp it called for.  I also added about 1/8 tsp cinnamon to the dry ingredients. You can add as many chocolate chips as you like, but I only added about 1/4-1/2 cup as I don't like my bread too chocolatey! I also found that mine cooked for quite a bit less time then the original recipe called for. So set your timer for about 40 min and keep checking it from there!