Salted Dry-Roasted Peanuts

This was my first attempt at this. Personally, I don't think it is the best option--so I am on the outlook for better ideas. 

 2 cups dry-roasted peanuts

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons sea salt

Mix ingredients in saucepan. Cook over medium heat until water is evaporated. Stir CONSTANTLY to prevent peanuts from burning. I had a few burning problems--so you really do have to stir the whole time. And it takes quite a while too.

 

Even though the peanuts were already dry-roasted, I needed to find a way to completely dry them. Place in single layer on baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees until dry.

So....how where they?

The flavor was wonderful. Much better than I expected. To be honest, I made these for my step-father. I try to keep a low salt intake. But sea salt is supposedly better than regular table salt... But I had to try a few to make sure they were edible.

The problem was the texture. The peanuts absorbed a lot of the water, so they were soft. Definitely NOT what I am looking for in a peanut. The crunch is part of the satisfaction.

So needless to say, I will have to try some other techniques. I will report back.

And I realize that this is not a Valentine's Day recipe, but at least my mother and I wore appropriate socks!

Recipe adapted from COOKS.COM

Tapioca Pudding

I had never tried tapioca pudding before today. It always made me think of coconut--so I thought of tapioca as a fattening no-no. But I've found a way to make it delicious and guilt-free...okay--so maybe only guilt free.

2 3/4 cups fat-free milk
3 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (precooked)
1/2 cup sugar substitute
1/2 cup egg substitiute
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon imitation vanilla (or true extract)


In large saucepan, combine first 5 ingredients. I always use dryed milk because I don't drink milk straight.....and because my mother refuses to buy skim milk. Hopefully, you don't find a bug in your tapioca like I did. I'm thinking we have not used it in a while, and thank God the bug was dead (so I just scooped it out with a spoon). Egg whites can be used instead of the egg substitute. Lemon zest can be used instead of orange peel--I just didn't have any lemon zest in the house. Let the combination stand for 5 minutes.


Cook over medium heat and whisk until the mixture comes to a boil. This took much longer than I expected, and I got impatient and turned up the heat to medium-hot because it was taking so long. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.


Let the pudding cool for approximately 20 minutes. Stir and then transfer to a dish. I put it in one dish since my mother and I plan to eat it right out of the big bowl, but you can put it into 6 individual serving dishes if desired. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cool and ready to serve.


Note: I measured all of the ingredients for this recipe since I would consider it more baking than cooking, and I did not want to mess with the chemistry.

So how was it?

Definitely NOT what I thought it would be. And according to my mom: not what it should be either.

The tapioca was little crumbles, so it made the pudding very gritty. This was because of the type of tapioca I used.


The flavor was--I'm not going to lie--pretty bad. I blame it on the sugar substitute and the fat-free milk. You should have seen the look on our faces as we took the first bite. It would have been a good picture moment--but my camera was not near by.

  However, I will call the tapioca pudding acceptable. Because at this point I would prefer guilt-free to delicious. I might binge on it if it actually tasted good.

It is not worth showing my socks today. They were boring. So here are my mother's socks instead!

Free-Cheese Calzones

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 large sweet red pepper
1/2 fork full minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, unthawed
2 tablespoons water
1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated fat-free cheese substitute
1/4 cup egg substitute
1 pound frozen whole-wheat bread dough, thawed according to package directions
whole-wheat flour
water
grated fat-free cheese substitute


Heat oil in skillet. Coarsely chop onion and red pepper. Add onion, pepper, garlic, and basil to oil. Saute until onion is translucent. If I was as talented as my step-father, I would saute by flipping the veggies in the air (without spilling). But, alas, I am not. So I just stir with a wooden spoon. Add broccoli and water. The broccoli is still in a frozen chunk--do not be alarmed. Cover and allow to cook. Also, do NOT try to break the broccoli cube apart until it is soft in the center. I made the mistake of doing this and ended up with veggies flying all over the stove-top. Once broccoli is completely softened, turn off heat. Mix in cheeses and egg. Now I want to point out that I DO NOT measure my ingredients. I have tried to add estimations here. Measuring ingredients is compulsive and obsessive for me--so I am breaking the habit.

Divide the (now thawed and risen) dough into fourths. I use whole-wheat because of its nutritional benefits. I have a hard time eating starchy carbohydrates, but if I can convince myself of their health benefits they tend to go down easier. Whole-wheat (in comparison to white or regular wheat) is lower in calorie, lower carb, higher fat, higher fiber, and higher protein. The higher fat is due to the use of the whole kernel--it is mostly unsaturated (healthy) fat. Besides, I am already using all fat-free cheeses. Roll each 1/4 portion on a floured surface. Make large enough to hold approximately 3/4 cup of the filling, leaving a margin to pinch together. Place on an aluminum-foiled baking sheet.

Cover with a cloth. Place in the oven on warm for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush calzones with water. Sprinkle grated cheese substitute on top.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

So how was it?

My calzones were huge to begin with--and they only grew during the baking. So they ran into each other a bit.

A few of the calzones stuck to the aluminum foil. This could have been due to the fact that the undersides of the dough were less baked than the top. But why would that cause them to stick? Hmmm.

The dough was quite soft, which I loved. And the broccoli filling was steaming hot.

I must admit that the filling was not bursting with as much flavor as I had hoped. This is probably because I used fat-free cheeses. But I am willing to sacrifice some of the flavor in order to feel less guilty about enjoying the meal. And both of my parents took seconds--so that implies that they tasted good to their tongues as well.

I enjoyed this so much that I ate more than I normally do. I feel a bit uncomfortable about that. One thing that I've found happens to me is that I had restricted certain foods for so long--that, now that I am allowing myself to eat them, I have little self-restraint. I need to learn to control my body's urges in a healthy way--everything in moderation.

Oh! I almost forgot about my socks!


Simple white with green stripes today. Not all that exciting. But they are a thicker pair of socks, and I wore them because I participated in a walk for the homeless today (hosted by Rescue Mission).

Recipe adapted from Reader's Digest One Dish Meals The Easy Way