Skillet Berry Cobbler

December 19, 2014 by Christine Skari

Sometimes I have a hard time jumping on with the full-on Christmas bandwagon. Us coastal Californians don’t get much (read: zero) snow and this “winter” so far has been especially mild (again, read: 70 degrees). I don’t think I can even remember a typical white Christmas, except for one that I spent in Norway when we visited our extended family. Normally, we go fly over to the motherland in the summer, so this trip especially stands out in the few memories I have of my super early childhood. I have to rack my brain reeeaaaaall hard to bring anything up, but I specifically remember a few memories of being driven over to a hill to sled on with my cousins in their dad’s tractor and trying in vain to finish a snowman, but repeatedly having the carrot nose eaten off by one of my four boy cousins. Did I mention that they’re all around 6”2 to 6”6 tall, blue eyed, and pale as can be? A pretty far cry from the 5 foot 3 mass that is MOI.

So anyways, since I’m lacking in the snow and cold weather department, I usually have to ease myself into the holiday spirit by immersing myself in plenty of holiday food. I’m not complaining. Warm spices, beautiful red and black coloring, and sweet goodness do the trick for me.

HEY. Kinda like this recipe for healthy Skillet Berry Cobbler!

Funny how things work like that 😉 .

While this can be made in an ordinary pan/large skillet, my sister and I found these adorable mini skillets at World Market (if you’ve never been there before, it’s magical) and, after debating the hefty $6 a piece price tag (hey, we’re cheap college students), we splurged and picked a few up because the cuteness of all the possible future recipes were swimming around in our head and hellloooo impulse buy! Money well spent.

While not everyone may have have a mini-skillet, don’t fret. These can easily be made in a normal sized skillet or in any sort of ramekin or baking dish. My easy berry cobbler recipe doesn’t discriminate.

This recipe is everything you could want in a dessert. This mixed berry cobbler recipe uses frozen berries which bake in their own juices and make a thick sauce that’s the perfect medium between tart and sweet. A super easy and super fluffy biscuit complements each bite with warm, buttery goodness. Top everything of with a dusting of powdered sugar and we are in H-E-A-V-E-N.

I know what you’re thinking. How could this recipe get any better? Well, let me fill ya in because this recipe is lightened-up and made with minimal added sugar and with a biscuit made with half whole wheat flour. It’s the perfect way to help balance all those Christmas cookies and decadent mashed potatoes we’ll be eating this month without feeling deprived!

My mom specifically asked me to save this recipe, which she only does when something is really, really good. Good on the level of our family recipe for Sticky Asian Ribs or the party-killing deliciousness of our Mexican Layer Dip. Automatic indicator of success. YES. Mom-approved!

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Mint Cookies

December 16, 2014 by Christine Skari

You know how sometime you see a new-to-you product in the grocery store and immediately toss it into your cart? No hesitation. No looking at the price tag. You just gotttttaaaa have it. And you know what? I’m not gonna lie. The minute I saw the new DelightFulls filled morsels from Nestle I squealed. I’ll admit that squeal became a piercing scream when I was contacted to created a recipe for them using the product. LIKE WHAT 😯 . Ok. No problemoooo.

And thus, Fudgy Dark Chocolate Mint Cookies were born.

These would be perfect to bring to any cookie exchange or holiday get-together. I would absolutely love to bake up a big batch to take to the annual one my friend Erin puts on, but I’ll be in Japan with my family eating sushi instead. I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through you guys 😉 .

We aren’t talking your normal, run-of-the-mill cookie here. I want you to look deep into the dark, chocolate-y swirls of brownie-esq goodness. Do it. You might see your soul in them. Then, please divert your eyes to that gorgeous minty frosting that’s swirled to perfection. It’s light as air and, with one bite, you’re transported to minty-sweet heaven. Angels are singing. And see those pretty mint-stuffed chocolate chips crushed on top (yes, you read that correctly…. these chocolate chips are filled themselves with delectable flavor)? The crunch and extra texture complement the fudgy brownie cookie and silky mint frosting like whooaaaaa.

Are you drooling yet? Release the flood gates!

Head over to the Nestle Toll House website to discover more DelightFulls recipes and learn how you can use these delicious chocolate chips to put a twist on your holiday baking!

A big thanks to Nestle for sponsoring this post! While I received compensation for my time and work, all thoughts, opinions, and photos are my own.

Skinny Dark Chocolate Strawberry Muffins

November 21, 2014 by Christine Skari

Let’s play a game.

The game involves stuffing as many of these skinny dark chocolate strawberry muffins into your mouth in one day as possible.

I challenge myself.

I win 😯 .

Don’t you like games like this? I sure doooo. But really, I think I have a new favorite healthier muffin! I’ve tried a good number of “healthy” muffins in my time, and I’ve found a lot of them to be disappointing. Dry, lack of flavor, general “meh”-ness. These are anything but that! Prepare yourself because these pretty little gems are fluffy, but dense at the same time and perfectly sweet with bites of dark chocolate and strawberries.

My heart is pounding in my chest and I’m pretty sure it’s the sugar rush, but I’m going to play it off as infatuation with all the flavor and those bites that are perfectly studded with chocolate chips (as in a ratio of 5 chips per inch of muffin, please). I mean, COME ON PEOPLE. AHH.

I think I tortured my housemates with this recipe. Oftentimes I’ll make a recipe at night and photograph it the next day since my class schedule is all over the place and I need certain natural lighting for my photos. My friends know this and won’t touch what I make without the ready… set… EAT from me. I left these out and was gone for most of the day, and came back to a living room full of girls saying “CAN WE EAT THEM”. I gave the green light and they were promptly demolished with plenty of yums and happy filled stomach noises. Woo! Success!

These muffins are made without any butter (coconut oil and greek yogurt replace it), and have a combination of whole wheat flour and white flour to balance health and flavor. Each one comes out to just under 230 calories and are just plain delicious <3. These will be your morning coffee’s best friend and will satisfy any sweet tooth craving that hits!

Buckeye Brownie Cookies

November 10, 2014 by Christine Skari

I’m sorry guys. I know this is mean. Flashing pictures of ridiculous cookies like these without much warning just isn’t fair. I actually had to go downstairs to the kitchen to get some food while I was putting this post together since my stomach was going haywire and started to sound like an angry animal. What can I say, cookies bring out the beast in me. BEAST MODE.

Sometimes I don’t even know where I’m going when I start typing up these posts. At one mine I’m like yeah! Grumbling stomach! I’ll talk about that! Then somehow I find a way to branch between being hungry to cookies my inner animal to come out. Like woah there, Christine. Where are you possibly trying to go with this. Can we just try to pretend my writing is coherent? Purrrttty please?

You guys daaaa best <3.

I’m going to go out and say it right now. These cookies aren’t healthy. They are loaded down with sugar and chocolate and oodles of gooey peanut butter and everything else that’s good in life. RAINBOWS. UNICORNS. ZAC EFRON. It’s packed with the things that are good for your soul. They’re what your dessert dreams are made of and are completely over-the-top with a super fudgy and thick brownie-esq cookie, a beautiful pat of fluffy peanut butter frosting, and a drizzle of extra chocolate because why the heck not. Might as well go overboard, right?

Overboard it is. I took half of these cookies over to Kyle’s family when we went back home for the weekend and they luurrrveeed them. His dad’s reaction was “these are stupid” *cue heart dropping sadness*… “stupid GOOD!” and his mom exclaimed “OMG, KYLE” as she took a bite into one. Not bad reactions if ya ask me!

Healthy Warm Cinnamon Apple Mess

November 6, 2014 by Christine Skari

Warm (pseudo) baked apples that are cooked in brown sugar until perfectly tender and bursting with cinnamon flavor? Gimme. Even better? Add in a secret ingredient that makes all the difference and takes this healthy breakfast/snack/dessert over the top!

I have been a huge lover of this secret ingredient ever since I was little. I grew up eating it with yogurt and granola (something I got from my mom) and in the BEST lasagna ever, which is a recipe from my tiny asian Obachan. Funny how a little Japanese woman can make lasagna better than any Italian restaurant, right?

What is this magical and perhaps underrated ingredient? Cottage cheese!

Lucky for me, it turns out that cottage cheese just happens to be a great healthy addition to my diet! With 13g of protein for only 90 calories (for 2% fat cottage cheese) Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese contains none of the additives and preservatives found in other leading brands, and is a smart snack on its own or as a healthy substitution in a recipe! Daisy Brand is a 4th generation, family owned dairy business, focused on making high quality, limited ingredient dairy products. The company is one of the leading brands for cotage cheese, and trust me, it makes a difference. I’ve gone through times where I’ve tried to get by with other brands, but they just don’t compare to the creamy and fresh texture that Daisy provides.

To help show how versatile cottage cheese is, I created this super quick and easy recipe that will not only satisfy your sweet tooth (sweet and salty flavors=HEAVEN), but will be a great addition to your healthy recipe collection! Oftentimes I’m in a big rush in the morning as I run around the house trying to get ready for my classes, but this breakfast, snack, or dessert comes together by simply microwaving cinnamon, brown sugar, and some freshly cut apples to spiced and tender perfection, then adding some cottage cheese to the mix to give it a great salty kick and protein boost.

Since I don’t always have time to snack during my busy day, I depend on a breakfast that will keep me full and energized! Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese does the trick perfectly!

Want more healthy, delicious, and easy recipe? Here’s a goldmine of great options!

Disclosure: While this recipe is sponsored by Daisy Brand, all opinions are, of course, my own and this recipe is an Apple of My Eye original created to show the versatility of Daisy cottage cheese.