Chocolate Cobbler

My brother, Stephen, is in town this weekend visiting, and my Mom's out of town for work, so me, Daniel, Stephen and my Dad had dinner made by Dad. It was a "special treat" dinner! We had lobster (YUM!), steak, asparagus, baked potatoes, salad and corn on the cob. Yum, yum, yum! We were all STUFFED after this meal, but had a little tiny room left for dessert. I made the dessert...Chocolate Cobbler. It's basically like a chocolate molten cake...delicious, warm, creamy and gooey. Mmmmmm. It was stupid easy and super delish. I served it with a scoop of vanilla icecream...

Chocolate Cobbler

from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup packed brown sugar

1-3/4 cups hot water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder sugar and 2 tablespoons cocoa. Stir in milk and oil. Pour into a baking dish – I used an 8-inch oval. Combine the brown sugar and remaining cocoa and sprinkle over batter. Pour hot water over top (do not stir). Bake for 40-45 minutes.

South Carolina Peaches

I had a wonderful girls weekend at my parents house in Pawleys Island, SC, with a few good Clemson sorority friends. I hadn't seen them since our wedding, but even then I didn't get to talk with them much, so it was a great weekend of catching up and reminiscing of old times. My Mom requested that I bring her back a bunch of SC peaches, so...I did. I brought back a HUGE box of peaches, and they have been simply amazing. My Mom is going to make a bunch of fresh peach jam with some. Daniel and I have been eating them like candy...they just melt in your mouth. My Mom is out of town this week for work, so tonight I had my Dad over for dinner. I had a peach-themed dinner...it was wonderful. Shared below are the recipes I used to make this dinner a sure hit!

Found at www.foodnetwork.com I made Grilled Pork Chops with Peach Salsa. Instead of grilling the pork chops (our grill isn't quite ready yet), I seared the chops on the stove, then popped them into the oven at 350 for 40 minutes. Before searing them, I put salt, pepper, and chili powder on one side of each chop.

Cook Time:8 min Level: Easy Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

Peach salsa:
1/2 red onion, diced (reserve the other half for Online Round 2 Recipe Orzo Soup with Pork)
2 peaches, halved, pitted and diced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
Pinch kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pork chops:
5 pork chops, end cut
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Salsa:

In a bowl toss all of the salsa ingredients together and set aside.

Pork chops:

Heat an outdoor grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Brush the pork chops with the oil. In a small bowl combine the chili powder, salt and pepper. Generously sprinkle the rub over both sides of each pork chop. Grill the chops until cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Arrange the chops on a serving platter and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Serve the chops with the peach salsa.



Along with the chops we had brussel sprouts that I just boiled in fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth. I also made Potato Salad for our starch. We had a salad and delicious wine my Dad brought as well.

Potato Salad

Makes about 5 servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs. red potatoes (about 5), cut into chunks
1/3 cup low-fat mayo
1/4 cup kraft light zesty Italian dressing
1 1/2 tsp. grey poupon dijon mustard
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
4 green onions, sliced

Directions:
-Cook potatoes in boiling water in saucepan about 15 minutes or until tender; drain. Rinse with cold water until cooled; drain.
-Mix dressings and mustard in large bowl. Add potatoes, eggs, onions; mix lightly.
-Refrigerate at least 30 mins. before serving.


And, last but not least...drum roll, please...

PEACH COBBLER thanks to Paula Deen's recipe! I used a little less sugar that Paula, but nothing too drastic. I didn't want the overload of the sugar she put in to take away from the sugars of the fresh peaches.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup self-rising flour
8 tablespoon (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup water
2 cup sugar, divided
4 cup peeled, sliced peaches
1 1/2 cup milk
ground cinnamon, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt. Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes. To serve, scoop onto a plate and serve with your choice of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Servings: 8 to 10 servings
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Difficulty: Easy

Show: Paula's Home Cooking


Thanks to two of my favorite men in this world for sharing in this meal with me. :) Love you!!!!

Sunday Dinner

Our Sunday night tradition is to go over to my parents for dinner every Sunday...well, when we are both in town (which is sometimes a rare occurrence!). My Mom is an AMAZING cook and my Dad an amazing griller...and great cleaner-upper. ;) It is fun going over for dinner there on Sundays as Mom is always trying new, delicious, flavorful and healthy recipes. She always makes complicated recipes, yet gets them done in a timely fashion and manages to have everything together perfectly. Every Sunday we come over we are excited to see what will be on the menu for the evening.

This past Sunday was different. Daniel and I had my parents over to our new home, instead. Now that our kitchen is in working order, it was our turn to have them over. We ate our first meal at our new dining room table...used our fancy wedding gifts that we hadn't used yet (finally!!!), and made our first "complicated" meal. (Our meals before this have been horribly easy to throw together) We are all kicking ourselves because we forgot to take pictures of the big event. The four of us had a great time, and Daniel and I kept saying how grown-up we feel to own a large, formal dining room table. Yozers! (haha)

On the menu for Sunday night was:
-Sweet and Sour Tilapia
-Zucchini bread (recipe in post before this)
-Brown Rice
-Fresh green beans (you know the ones you snap the ends off...yum)
-Summer salad
-Tri-Berry Trifle for dessert

Since it's been 100 degrees plus, I wanted to do something light and cool for dinner. I found the tilapia recipe from Cooking Light and it turned out good, but not great. I will not share the recipe because I did not love it, so it's not worth the post. :) I didn't do anything fancy with the green beans, but my Mom usually boils them in fat-free chicken broth...this adds some good flavor. I would have done this but didn't have the broth on hand, so I just used water. For the summer salad, I mixed up fresh spinach, blueberries, chopped cashews, and a little bit of Gorgonzola cheese, then tossed this with a fat-free raspberry vinaigrette...yum-o.

Lately, I have been on an eating local kick...mainly for fresh, local, farm-grown fruit. I have been eating my weight plus in blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc. this summer. I usually eat a lot of fruit, but man---this summer I basically have fruit with every meal, plus for snacks. I can't get enough. I don't want summer and all this fresh produce to end!!!! So, for dessert, I made a Tri-Berry Trifle. I think this was my most favorite part of the meal. I got this recipe from a web-site called: "You've Got Supper"...great cooking web-site for those of your interested. Here is the recipe:


Servings: 8 Prep Time: 20 min.
Berry deliciousness!!

INGREDIENTS:
• 2 cup(s) whipping cream (I used 2 containers of light cool whip and it worked great!)
• 1/4 cup(s) sugar (I used a little less than this b/c it's not really needed)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 lime(s)
• 1 cup(s) blackberries
• 2 cup(s) blueberries
• 2 cup(s) raspberries
• 1 angel food cake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Beat together heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form. Fold in lime zest from one lime.

2. Set aside 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/4 cup blackberries and 1/4 cup raspberries in separate bowl. Combine the remaining berries in a flat dish and gently crush with a large spoon to release the juices. Add juice from one lime and stir.

3. Cut angel food cake into 1/2 inch cubes. Place half in bottom of glass trifle dish. Top with half of crushed berry mixture and then 1/2 of whipped cream. Repeat layers with remaining angel food cake, crushed berries and whipping cream. Top with reserved bowl of berries.

*This is SO delicious and so easy. I was curious to how this would taste, but it is sooo good and the lime really makes the dessert. I have to thank my mother-in-law for her inspiration with trifles. I looove trifle desserts and think of her everytime I make or eat them. :) She makes a mean coffee trifle and berry trifle!

Love,

Zucchini Bread

One of our nice neighbors dropped by a HUGE fresh garden grown zucchini along with some delicious tomatoes. Since the zucchini was obviously over grown, the taste wouldn't be the same if I were to put it in a salad or other dish where it doesn't cook much. However, I had to put this fresh zucchini to use some how! Mmm...zucchini bread! I got this recipe from Cooking Light, but made a few changes, so here is the recipe below:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/3 cup canola oil
1 t. grated lemon rind
2 t. vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (if desired, I don't like nuts in my bread so didn't use them)

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350.
-Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) in a large bowl.
-Combine sour cream and next 4 ingredients (through egg) in a large bowl; add sugar, stirring until combined. Add zucchini; stir until well combined. Add flour mixture, stir just until combined. Stir in walnuts.
-Divide batter evenly between 2 loaf pans (or if you want 1 large loaf, this works too) coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 1 hour (may be closer to 2 hours if you just do one large loaf) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Enjoy! This is delicious for breakfast, with lunch and dinner, as a snack...or my favorite with peanut butter!

Change

"Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”

I'm not sure who wrote this quote, but I love it. It sure has been a year of change for me. Beginning in January, I accepted a job at the Retail Merchants Association in sales. I have enjoyed this job and the staff. The experience to get out in Richmond and meet very important people who make Richmond what it is has also been great. Although I have had a good experience, this week I resigned. Sales is tough and requires a special person to do it. Selling retail memeberships is not my passion, however; I am pleased to say that I have finally discovered my true passion in life. Well, I've known about it for gosh, the past 20 years? But, it has officially surfaced and has been like a bright, shiny light going off in my head. I mean, it's as clear as the bright sun...wham right in my face.

I began personal training about three months ago. And, I love it. I don't even think that love is a strong enough word to describe my passion towards it. Growing up in a family where exercise and nutrition play a huge part in our lifestyle and a Mom who is a registered nutritionist, I know-has had a lot to do with where my heart is leading me. Not only do I l.o.v.e. reading about exercise/nutrition, cooking healthy and exercising almost daily, but I also love helping others. Growing up I've always wanted a career that helps people. Whether it be helping a little old lady with her groceries...helping deliver meals on wheels to the less fortunate...helping "Tammy" become more tone...or helping "Jared" to get one stop closer to his fitness goals. Help---such a simple word that can mean so much. I love helping others and the sense of peace and happiness that comes from this.

Now...if I could just pass the darn personal trainer's exam! There are a few PT exams out there, but of course, I've picked one of the hardest and highest ranked...darn it! But, I am NOT giving up and I WILL pass it. The test is A LOT harder than I ever imagined...plus I am a AWFUL test taker (not a good combo). Now that I have resigned from RMA, I am going to have more time to focus on studying and passing this baby. Thankfully, Dustin (owner of Stride Club where I train) allows me to train there as he knows my background and that I'm working hard to pass this test.

August 6th will be my last day at the RMA. I am already getting more PT clients and couldn't be happier about it. Right now I have four, and will be able to get even more once I'm not working full-time. This will now be my full-time position beginning early August, woohoo.

Back to "change"...it's been a year of changes with jobs and with buying our first home. We've had a lot of first time home experiences with the new house and all that comes with it...hello renovations. Phew! I have learned through growing up and moving a lot and then the experiences I've had of late that change is hard, but it can be so good and so worth all the tough times. If you're going through change or thinking about going through change...you can do it, and you'll have me as your cheerleader if you need it. Thankfully, I have an EXTREMLEY supportive husband and family who have been my cheerleaders. THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you! I wonder what will come next for the Hoffman's?? Hopefully nothing too crazy...well...unless we won the lottery or something??! ;)

Oh, and this is the longest post ever, but update on our house: It's going great! Our (or should I say Daniel's) big project that we are currently working on now is remodeling a bathroom. Man this is a lot of work and nasty work. Thankfully we can close the door and not see it when we don't want to! I promise I will post pictures soon. Our Mac has been and still is in the shop, so once we get it back I'll be able to get some pics up (using my work computer currently).

Have a lovely weekend!

Egg o'licious

It's been a while since my last recipe post. Although our kitchen is 95% done (horray!), we are still working hard on our house, so I have not done anything super exciting in the kitchen yet. The nice thing about our kitchen being done though is that we can now eat at home...ahhh...sigh of relief. :) However, because we have been so insanely busy, I have been creating super easy and healthy meals for us at home. Nothing yet has been *fabulous* enough to share, until I made egg salad last night for us. With these 100 degree days, I have been wanting cool and light meals. I love egg salad, but don't eat it that often as I don't like when it's loaded with mayo. I thought a perfect, cool, light dinner last night would be to fix up some egg salad sandwiches. I got the recipe off allrecipes.com, but I changed it, so this is my version below:

Egg Salad

Ingredients:
8 eggs
2 T. low-fat mayo
2 T. prepared Dijon-style mustard (I only had honey mustard on hand, and it worked great)
1 t. paprika
1 t. prepared dried onion/herb mix (if you have this on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cool water. Bring water to a boil; cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10-12 minutes. Remove hot water and add cold water to the eggs. Remove water after eggs are cooled, then peel and chop.
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, mayo, mustard, paprika, onion and salt and pepper. Mash well with a fork or wooden spoon.
3. Serve on bread as a sandwich or over crisp lettuce as a salad.

SERVES: 4

YUM!

I served this as a sandwich on toasted whole wheat sandwich thins, as sides we had fresh pineapple, a spinach salad with crasians and cashews, and baked chips with salsa. Delicious summer meal.

Dimples

If this picture doesn't make you smile, then I don't know what will! I am a proud Aunt to baby James. James is doing well and growing lots. Michael called the other day and heard James laugh for the first time. This was a special moment for all! I told him I wish he had it on video...next time they will be prepared.

Happy Friday to all!