Magical Chocolate Pudding

It sounds most unusual but tastes delicious. The kids will love it. Who would have thought . . .
Tastes & Treasures Cookbook has Strawberry Spinach Salad but this takes healthy to another level.

Magical Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:
1 medium banana, frozen (it makes the pudding more creamy when frozen)
Flesh from 1/2 medium or 1 small avocado
1/3 cup strawberries, hulls removed
1/3 cup kale, chopped
2 dates
2 heaped tbsp cocoa powder (raw if desired)

Directions:
Put everything in a food processor, and process. Serve immediately or allow to chill in the refrigerator first.

Thanks to bitesizedthoughts.com for recipe

Polka Dot Cheesecake

Something sweet, low in calories, and you make it a day ahead! My kind of recipe. We also like the traditional cheesecake on page 170 in Tastes & Treasures cookbook.

Polka Dot Cheesecake

Directions for Crust:
Preheat oven to 300 F.  Line 8" X 8" pan with baking paper.
In medium sized bowl  mix together 1 cup of graham crumbs with 1/4 cup of melted butter, 2 tbsp of sugar and 1/4 cup of cocoa. Pour mixture into pan.

Directions for Filling:
Beat 16 oz softened cream cheese and add 1/2 cup of sugar and 2 eggs to it. Stir it on low speed and add 1 tbsp of vanilla and 2/3 cups of sour cream. Pour one half of this mixture into pan.

Melt 2 oz of dark chocolate and stir into the other one half of the cream cheese mixture. Put chocolate/cream cheese mixture into pastry bag and place some dots all over your cheesecake.

Bake for an hour at 300 F. Turn off oven but leave the cake inside for an additional one hour.  Refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.

Ingredients for Crust:
1 cup Graham crumbs
¼ cup cocoa
2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup melted butter

Instructions for Filling:
16 oz softened cream cheese
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 oz dark chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sour cream

Banana Split Bites for Your Valentine

Something fun to make for Valentine's Day. The kids will love it. Tastes & Treasures cookbook also has a delicious dessert - Chocolate Peanut Treats page 162. Yummmm.

Chocolate Covered Banana Split Bites
Makes about 24

• 24 – 1″ pieces from about 1/2 small pineapple
• 2 large bananas, sliced into 24 bite sized pieces
• 12 small to medium sized strawberries sliced in half

• 150g(5oz) good quality dark chocolate (I used 72%) (this is between 3/4 – 1C if using a cup measurement for chocolate chips)
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• chopped nuts or coconut for rolling in (optional)

Chop fruit and assemble into stacks.  Press a popsicle stick through the fruit and freeze until solid.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper, wax paper or a silicone mat.  Melt the chocolate along with the coconut oil either in a double boiler or in the microwave using short intervals and stirring frequently to prevent burning.  Once completely melted, remove the frozen fruit from the freezer.  Dip the fruit in the chocolate, let the excess drip off for a minute and then place on the sheet to harden.  If desired, dip the chocolate covered side immediately in chopped nuts or coconut before placing on the sheet to harden.  Once the chocolate is completely hardened (you may need to place in the freezer for it to harden completely), remove from the sheet and place in an airtight container to store in the freezer until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, remove them from the freezer and let sit at room temperature for a couple minutes before serving – if you can wait that long. 
I don’t recommend letting these sit for any length of time at room temperature though as they will thaw and the fruit – especially the banana – will not be pleasant.  Please enjoy these within a few minutes of removing from the freezer.

German Chocolate

Did you know that German chocolate cake has NOTHING to do with the country of Germany? The dessert gets its name from Sam German, the man who created a mild baking chocolate for Baker's Chocolate Company in 1852. The chocolate was named after him, but an entire century passed before the cake recipe we know became popular.

Try this recipe using Sam's chocolate from Baker's Chocolate Company.

Espresso Brownies page 163 Tastes & Treasures
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until blended, stirring occasionally. Add the espresso powder and stir until dissolved.
Combine the chocolate mixture, sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl and beat vigorously until blended. Add the flour and beat just until combined. Stir in the walnuts. Spread the batter in a buttered and floured 8 X 8 inch baking pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edges pull from the sides of the pan. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Cut into squares and cool completely on the wire rack. Store in an airtight container.

Makes 16 brownies