Traditional Bruschetta

So the word bruschetta presents a very large challenge for poor old Ashley.  She cannot pronounce it to save her life. So while we were making these traditional bruschetta, there was much fun had at Ashley's expense.  Aubree continuously asked, "What is that?' as Ashley fumbled over sounds and tried to say this word.  It was all good fun.  And in the end, it doesn't matter if you can prounounce bruschetta, as long as you can make it! And luckily for us all, this is one of the easiest recipes ever.  Just a couple incredients, a bit of baking, and you're sinking your teeth into a crunchy Italian classic.
Bon Apetit!

This recipe is quite simple.  Start with tomatoes and basil.

Roll up the basil and finely chop 1/4 cup worth.

Chop two tomatoes and place into a bowl.

Add the basil and 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil.

Slice one loaf of bread and place onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle garlic salt over each piece.

Grate Parmesan cheese and cover each slice with it.

Bake for 10 minutes at 400F.

Once that cheese is nice and melted, add a small amount of the tomato and basil mixture.

Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

 

When this is finally done, you have warm gooey cheese, soft baked tomatoes and a toasty slice of bread.  The Trifecta!

Enjoy!

Recipe

2 diced tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped basil

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 loaf sourdough bread

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

dash garlic salt

.

Combine tomatoes, basil and olive oil in a bowl.  Add a dash of garlic salt.

Preheat oven to 400F.

Slice bread approx 1-1/2 inches thick.  Lay on cookie sheet.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on one side of bread.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Put a tablespoon of tomato mixture on bread.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Low Calorie Red Velvet Cupcakes

Donna from the television show Suits is one of our favorite characters right now.  She is smart, witty, clever, and has her crap together.  In addition, she knows how to make justifications.  Have the skinny Starbucks in order to justify the whipped cream on top.  Well this cupcake is just like that.  We have a lower calorie cupcake  to compensate for the glorious mountain of our Cream Cheese Frosting.  This recipe has been adapted from a Weight Watchers Cookbook and was only 5 points for the entire cupcake.  Add in our cream cheese frosting with this red velvet cupcake is pretty perfect for Valentine's Day.

Start with a few ingredients.  Luckily, most of these should already be in the pantry.

These Low Calorie Red Velvet Cupcakes use sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, salt, low-fat buttermilk, red food coloring, white vinegar, vanilla extract and almond extract.


Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup  and 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Add two eggs, one at a time and beat until creamy after each egg.

In a separate bowl, combine 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 2 cups flour.

For the flour, spoon flour into a measuring cup and then level off with a knife.

Combine 1 cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon red food coloring, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in a separate bowl.

Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to the sugar mixture.

Be sure to start and end with the flour mixture.

Ashley's Tip: To spoon the batter in evenly use a 1/4 measuring cup.  It's makes the process easier. 

Bake the cupcakes at 350F for 16-18 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack.

Top with some cream cheese frosting (our favorite recipe found here). 

Make sure to enjoy these red velvet cupcakes without feeling too guilty!!!

 

Recipe

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup and 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 large eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup low fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon red food coloring

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Cream Cheese Frosting 

Combine sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl.  Add in eggs one at a time, beating until creamy after each egg.

In a separate bowl, add flour (spoon into measuring cup), cocoa, baking soda, and salt.  

Combine in a medium bowl buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and both extracts. 

Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternatively into sugar mixture.  Start and end with the flour mixture.

Spoon batter into the muffin cups.  

Bake at 350F for 16 -18 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.

Top with Cream Cheese Frosting and enjoy!

Caramel Covered Pretzel Sticks

Our grandmother has turned into a teenager.  She has become someone with a million different nicknames and frankly we can't keep up.  In December her nickname on our presents was "Granny J."  Where this came from, don't ask us.  Then there's our nickname for her when we're texting- "Gma" and lastly the good old "Grandma" because we're classy like that. She is not only responsible for many good times, but is also responsible for these Caramel Covered Pretzel Sticks.  We know what you're thinking: Caramel AND drizzled chocolate? That must be super rich! But the pretzel provides a perfect salty balance to that delicious sweetness.  Perfect for the Super Bowl or other parties, these Caramel Covered Pretzel Sticks will become your favorite go-to snack.

This recipe requires pretzel sticks, one 16 oz package of caramel, walnuts, condensed milk, and chocolate--we used bother vanilla and semi sweet.

 Start by melting one package of caramels in a sauce pan on medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons of cream.  We had condensed milk on hand and used that.  It's only a small amount so use what you have on hand.

Continue stirring until the caramel is completely melted.  Be sure not to over heat.

Meanwhile chop a cup of nuts. The more pretzel sticks you cover, the more walnuts needed.

Once the caramel is melted start covering the pretzels.

Aubree's Note: Use a spoon to cover the pretzel with caramel.  Tip it down so the extra caramel goes back into the sauce pan and so the layer of caramel isn't too thick.

Cover the pretzels with the walnuts. Having multiple hands help with this process.

Ashley's Tip: Roll the caramel covered pretzels in nuts on a plate and then place on a greased cookie seat.  

Melt both chocolates and prepare them to cover the caramel covered pretzel sticks.  Only a cup of chocolate melted is needed.

Create any design you want. The zig zag was the easiest. 

These Caramel Covered Pretzel Sticks were made in a snap and destroyed even quicker.  Best thing is our Gma discovered something great in time for the Super Bowl.

Recipe

1 Package Pretzel Sticks
1 16 oz Package Caramels
2 Tablespoons Condensed Milk
1 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Cup Melted Chocolate

Melt the caramel in a sauce pan on medium heat.  Add in the condensed milk.
Cover the pretzels with caramel and immediately add nuts. Let dry on greased cookie seat.
Use melted chocolate to drizzle over pretzels.
Enjoy!

Potato Skins

There comes a time in every wannabe chef''s life, when your small concoctions here and there make you realize you can do anything.  You can make that pesto instead of buying it, you can make your brownies from scratch and add nuts and peanut butter chips to your heart's content.  And this year, we realized we could do more than just buy potato skins as we celebrate New Year's Eve.  We wanted to make this awesome appetizer from scratch.   Unlike the boxed version which makes only 8 potato skins that are small and often not even that crispy, these home made potato skins really bring this bacon and cheesy treat to a whole new level.  Best part of course is that these do not cost $4.99 for a box of 8 halves.  We estimate the cost to be about $2.00 for 8 halves.

Start by preparing the baked potatoes. Microwaving them is an option however we recommend throwing them in the oven, the potato is easier to work with.

Make sure to coat the potatoes in olive oil and wrapped in tin foil. Bake the potatoes for 60 minutes at 400F.

While the potatoes are in the oven becoming delicious, grate some cheddar cheese.

We used bacon bits for these appetizers but if you want to use the real thing cook the bacon and let it cool during the hour cook time. Then cut them into small pieces.

Once the potatoes are cool to the touch cut them horizontally, in half, and then scoop out the inside.

Ashley's Tip: use a melon scooper to carve out the middle.  However try to leave 1/4 inch of potato around every edge.

Coat both sides of the potatoes in canola or vegetable oil; try to avoid olive oil as we want the edges to get crispy and smoke.

Aubree's Note: We didn't have a brush to coat the potatoes so we became resourceful and used a spatula.  It worked really well, you never know what tool can be used for multiple purposes. 

Sprinkle on some salt and place the potatoes on a baking sheet.  Try to use a heavy duty sheet in order to avoid warping.

Bake the potatoes for 10 minutes at 450F.

Flip over the potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.

Once the potatoes are done cooking, flip the potato skins right side up and place cheese and the bacon bits into opening.

Sprinkle with pepper and return to the 450 oven for 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

These potato skins are best eaten with ranch dressing.  Please consume immediately and enjoy these delicious appetizers.

Recipe

Medium to Large Potatoes
Olive Oil
Canola Oil
Salt
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese
Bacon Bits
Pepper

Bake the potatoes by rubbing in olive oil and wrapping in aluminum foil.  Bake for 60 minutes at 400F.
Once cooled, cut potatoes in half and scoop out the middle of the potato.
Coat in canola oil and salt.  Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 450F.  Flip potatoes and bake for another 10 minutes.
Once cool enough to touch put cheese and bacon bits into middle of potatoes.  Sprinkle with pepper.  Bake for another 2 minutes.
Add a scoop of ranch dressing and enjoy!

The Best of 2 Broke Bakers: Our 10 Most Favorite Posts

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Well this blog has had some lack luster posts.  But then, we hit the jack pot.  That is as this blog has progressed we have decided to become blog post geniuses.  From witty one liners, to a plethora of eye catching images, to an insurmountable number of movie references we have found our stride.  Here's our 10 favorite posts-- we came, we made, we posted.

1.  Jeanie's Banana Bread

2. Our Favorite Books Cake Pops

3. Tri-Color Pasta Salad














4. Aebleskivers














5. Cake Pops 101

6. Fresh Raspberry Homemade Ice Cream

7. Mediterranean Grilled Cheese Sandwich

8. Strawberry Banana Angel Food Cake

9. Pumpkin Cupcakes

10. Cake Pop Greatest Hits