Marcela's Rosemary-Skewered Shrimp Marinated in Chipotle

I am a HUGE "Mexican Made Easy" fan! Have you experienced Marcela Valladolid show on Food Network? I have gobbled up every episode, and she is so charming! She makes mexican dishes with such ease and so quickly! I have made several dishes of Marcela's but this is the latest. Super delish shrimp with a nice zest. They are a great app or would be scrumptious over a fresh salad! Cant wait to try them hot off the GRILL next time=)

 Adapted From Marcela Valladolid

15 fresh THICK rosemary sprigs, or if you run out of rosemary use bamboo skewers
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TBS. fresh lime juice
2 garlic cloves, grated or minced
3 TBS. chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons ground dried chipotle chile
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound raw medium shrimp, peeled but tails left intact, and deveined
Lime wedges, for serving

Remove the leaves from half the length of each rosemary sprig, and set aside. Chop enough of the rosemary leaves to make 1 1/2 teaspoons. Combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, ground chipotle, and rosemary in a med bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Let stand 5 min , then skewer on sprigs of rosemary and/or bamboo skewers. Heat a large heavy skillet or an outside grill. Cook a 1-1 1/2 mins per side and flip. Plate them up and sever with lime wedges.

"BEETING" Heart Donuts

So that day has come around yet again. That day we know as V-day! With it being February 13th today I did feel slightly compelled to bake a little something red to ring is the day of love tomorrow. I know the day it's self is a little touchy. Some people hate it some people love it, if they are in or out of a relationship it dose not matter the thought they have of the "made up" day will never change. I am pretty sure you all don't care for one second about my opinion on the subject so I wont go into it anymore. The bottom and tasty line is that wether you love the holiday tomorrow or if its just a normal Tuesday in February for you.....you should make these donuts. If you have not figured it out by the cocky name, these babies do contain BEETS....so in turn you don't need add in any red coloring.
Ok, for those people who just experienced a mild heart attack by me saying that I put beets in donuts...calm it down....

They only contain 1/4 cup of roasted beets. They are so beautiful, what's not to love=)

They are tossed with some milk...

Then puree them=)

If you are lucky enough(or crazy enough, like me) to own a heart shaped donut tray...SCORE you are in luck!

If not a regular donut tray works just as good, without the overly mushy, fuzzy aspect. 

The top heart is how they look when you pull them out of the oven, and the bottom in the underside. Apparently beet puree rises when cooked in a bake good.

A donut can't be a donut without a nice glaze....so add a little pom love=)

DIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!......and then

FLIP!!!!!!! and let it harden a min

Repeat with the rest....YUMMMMMMMM

Adapted from: A Good Appetite

"BEETING" Heart Donuts

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

1/4 cup chopped roasted beets

1/4 cup of milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 teaspoon melted butter

For the Glaze

1-2 Tbs, POM juice

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325*

In a small bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cayenne to combine. 

In a mini food processor or blender, puree beets and milk. They will still have little chunks...not totally smooth and that is ok.

Mix the beet mix with the flour mix, and add in vanilla, one egg, and the melted butter. Mix it all together to combine. Then pour in the donut tray and bake 11 mins until it springs back to the touch. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Mix the juice and sugar to make glaze and dip the donuts into the glaze, and let harden a little and enjoy.!

HEALTHY Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat Cookies!!!

I must say my favorite classic cookie is not chocolate chip alone...I would much rather dive into a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, must be a texture thing.  So, needless to say the rare times I make a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, they vanish almost instantly!  I have wanted to incorporate a few of my new favorite ingredients into a batch of cookies and see how these new HEALTHY versions stack up. Lets just sum it up by saying the moment these babies hit my lips the heavens opened up! JACKPOT!!!!!! These are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!

When a photo shoot takes a little too long....................


So before I get to the recipe let me share my three new favorite ingredients with you.

Number One:

Number Two:

Number Three:

These three are sure to be new staples in my pantry! Not only to have them on hand for these tasty cookies but to incorporate them into many other recipes, stay tuned=)

HEALTHY Dark Chocolate Whole Wheat Cookies

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oats
1 cup extra dark chocolate chips
2 Tbs. milled flax seeds

Preheat oven to 350*
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with butter. In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl cream the butter with the brown sugar until light in color, about 4 mins. Beat in the egg until well incorporated. Then add in the vanilla and beat. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and flax seeds. Drop a Tbs. of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake 8 mins until golden. Let sit for a min a cookie sheet once out of the oven, then transfer to a cooking rack. ENJOY!!!!!!!