WW Project - Month 4

Month four of the WW Project was a big month for me - I'm excited to share that as of Aug. 23, I've lost 26 pounds. I'm back in the clothing I was wearing before leaving the corporate beast in 2009. I'm feeling good, I feel like I have a new wardrobe.

I should have hit the 30 to 40 pound might by this point, but I admit I had a few opportunities.

Opportunities ... one of the most overused words used by corporate professionals. In the fourth month, I found myself getting bored with the food I was eating. I don't crave things like I used to, but I was just getting to be too much of a creature of habit.

I didn't embrace vegetables like I had planned on doing, but I am drinking a lot of water. At book club, I decided I needed to start looking at eating veggies as a need not a want. I ate asparagus. It wasn't bad, but I will be shocked if you ever hear me say something like, "asparagus would really hit the spot."

My traditional lunch - ham and cheese sandwich with Baked Lays - has had a mini makeover. I changed it to just the ham, a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, a pickle and Baked Lay or Triscut Thins. It's less points and I like it just as well.

My emotional eating habits have changed a bit - I'm more alert to the urge to emotionally eat. I've started to somewhat reward myself by making it through the emotional eating days. I find that when I emotionally eat it tends to be a day long thing - anything within reach is fair game. Once I realized this, I decided instead of giving in to that and just eat something that really didn't satisfy me that would treat myself at the end of the day. My treat is an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. I love a cones of chocolate ice cream. Oddly enough, I'm often 'over it' by the end of the day and don't follow through with the treat.

Until next month ...

Chocolate Chips Make Everything Better

My Pinterest addiction helped me discover a recipe for Brownie Batter Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes by Kevin & Amanda. I made them for the card night; they were delicious!

The next time I make them I will half the frosting recipe and use three trays for the cupcakes (making 36). The ones that turned out the best (by looks only) were the ones that had closer to 2 Tablespoons of cake mix and a drop of brownie batter. They are also great without frosting.

I had so much frosting left over from making the Brownie Batter Cupcakes that I decided to try a little something.. With a few tweaks of the original cake recipe, I made French Vanilla & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with chocolate frosting (scroll down to the frosting recipe). I used a Wilton's 2A Boquilla tip - bought them at Walmart in a set.

As a kid, my favorite birthday cake was chocolate chip with chocolate chip frosting.
Making these cupcakes brought bake a lot of great birthday memories!

French Vanilla & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Line cupcake pans with 24 to 30 liners. I used the Reynolds Baked for You - Stay Bright Liners. I found them at Walmart in the aisle with the Ziploc bags.

• 1 French Vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)
• 1 box French Vanilla pudding (3.4 to 3.9 oz box)
• 1 cup sour cream (I use regular)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (2% or whole)
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I used Nestle)

Mix the cake mix and pudding mix (just the dry - you don't actually follow the recipe on the boxes) - set aside about 1/4 of the mix in a separate bowl with the chocolate chips. 

Pour a big glass of milk and enjoy! These are moist and the
frosting is rich.

Mix the remainder of the cake mix, pudding, sour cream, vegetable oil, eggs, milk and vanilla bean paste for about 3 minutes on 'stir'. I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixture, but you can easily use a hand mixer on low speed.

Stir the bowl of mix and chocolate chips to 'coat / dust' the chips with the mix. This helps keep them from sinking in the batter. Then fold in to the cupcake batter. 

Spoon or scoop the batter in to the cupcake liners. Fill 1/2 to 3/4 full. Be careful not to overfill.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool and top with frosting.

Yummy Goodness - White Chocolate Cheesecake

Several years ago, I purchased the cookbook Favorite Brand Name Best-Loved Chocolate Recipes. This book is where my signature cheesecake recipe came from - it's a White Chocolate Cheesecake. Over the years, I've discovered a few tips for making it.

This is my go-to base for a basic cheesecake. I add different toppings, but the base is usually white chocolate. I think you could easily substitute semi-sweet chocolate and create a marble cheesecake.

Cheesecake is easy to make, it just takes a lot of time. I think a lot of people don't like to make it because it's not something you eat right out of the oven. Also, the ingredients for cheesecake cost $15 and up.

Here's the recipe for the base and how to jazz it up and make it a turtle cheesecake.

The crust is kinda like a sugar cookie. I think you could do about any kind of cookie for the bottom. Depending on the size of your springform pan, you might want to double this. I use a springform pan from Pampered Chef - I've used several over the years and this is my favorite.

You can top with your favorite topping - sometimes I just use chocolate shavings.

Heat your oven to 325 degrees.

The Crust

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter - salted or unsalted is fine
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla (to your taste)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)

Cream together all the ingredients - a hand mixer works great to get it fluffy. Spray the bottom and sides of your springform pan with a non-stick spray. Press the dough onto the bottom of the springform pan; prick with a fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool in pan.

The Base / Filling

• 4 blocks (8 oz size) of softened cream cheese (I use Philadelphia brand)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 to 2 teaspoons vanilla (to your taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)
• 4 large eggs
• 12 oz white chocolate (I use Bakers), melted and slightly cooled

I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but you can also use a hand mixer. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla  until well blended (about 2 minutes on 'stir'). Add the eggs - one at a time - until blended. Do not over mix.

Fold in the melted / cooled chocolate. They say if the chocolate is too hot it can start cooking the eggs. I have no clue if this is a myth.

Poor the mixture over the slightly cooled crust. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. The center will be almost set and the edges will start to pull away. 

Place on a cooling rake - run a knife around the edges. Let cool for about 15 minutes. Then slowly release the form of the pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. 

Good to Know

Cheesecake splits when it pulls away to quickly from the sides of the pan. I've made a lot of cheesecake and can only remember one not cracking. No need to fret because the topping covers it all up.

I find that cheesecake cuts better after setting out for about 10 minutes.

This cheesecake it rich and heavy. I've never substituted reduced or fat free cream cheese or a sugar substitute, so I'm not sure how it would turn out using substitutes.

Make it a Turtle

I use this ganache recipe from Taste of Home.

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (I use Hershey's)

1/4 Heavy Whipping Cream

Bring the heavy cream just to a boil; pour over the chips and stir until smooth. Let the chocolate cool slightly and poor over the cheesecake - you can spread or drizzle it.

Sprinkle chopped pecans (to taste) on top of the ganache then drizzle caramel sauce (I use Hershey's or Smuckers) on top.