New here? Then you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

 I’ve just been informed by the folks at ClubMom that they’ve cancelled the ClubMom Mom Blogs program and will stop hosting our blogs as of January 31, 2008.

Now stop making faces at them. They were very nice about it and offered very generous terms. They’re even letting us keep our content, the banner artwork, and our blog’s name. (That’s huge because most blog networks don’t let you keep your content.)

So I’m looking into buying a domain name and hosting A Readable Feast elsewhere. It’s going to be a lot of work and require an investment of time and money. With that in mind, I won’t be posting and will probably wait until the move to start blogging regularly again.

If you’re a frequent reader, please have patience. I’ll be in touch via this blog to let you know where you can find me.

If you are a publicist or publisher and have sent me books or DVDs to review or give away, I will post a few more times to fulfill my obligation to you here or at my mommy blog, A Mama’s Rant.

I’ve enjoyed my time immensely at ClubMom and have been proud to call myself a ClubMom blogger. I’m sad to go, but excited about taking A Readable Feast out on my own.

UPDATE: Since the domain name has already been registered, I’ll be changing this blog’s name to “My Readable Feast.” You’ll eventually find me at www.myreadablefeast.com.

What did you make for Jenn’s Journal first annual virtual cookie exchange? I made brownies, which technically aren’t a cookie. But I think any bit sized morsel of yummy chocolate goodness is allowed.

I made these for my annual MOMS Club holiday party. They were extremely easy to make and the cream cheese marbling made them look sophisticated and more homemade than they actually were.

Cheesecake Brownies
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 32 servings, one piece each

Ingredients:

1. 1 pkg. (19.5 oz.) brownie mix
2. 1/2 cup applesauce
3. 3 egg whites, divided
4. 1/4 cup water
5. 1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
6. 1/2 cup sugar
7. 1/4 cup flour

Directions:

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F Mix brownie mix, applesauce, 2 of the egg whites and water. Pour into 13×9-inch baking pan sprayed with cooking spray.
2. MIX Neufchatel cheese, sugar, flour and remaining egg white until well blended. Spoon over brownie batter. Cut through batter with knife several times for marble effect.
3. BAKE 28 to 30 min. or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs attached. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Ideas:

Mocha Cheesecake Brownies - Mix 2 Tbsp. MAXWELL HOUSE Instant Coffee Granules with water; continue as directed.

Watch the Kraft Kitchens video.

Technorati tags: brownies, food, recipes

Did I tell you that Jenn’s Journal is doing a virtual cookie exchange? And did I mention that I was dumb enough to sign up to participate?

First, let me tell you what Jenn’s up to. First, leave a comment over at Jenn’s Journal that you plan to participate. Then follow these steps:

1. On December 11th, post your favorite cookie recipe on your blog.
2. TrackBack to her virtual cookie exchange blog post. (If you can’t or don’t know how to track back, go to her blog and leave a comment with a link to your post.)
3. Jenn will post her recipe on the 11th and list everyone who is participating.
4. Go over to Jenn’s Journal and read all the entries.
5. Get more ideas for cookies baking activities.
6. Bake until the utility company calls to complain that you are using too much gas/electricity.

Now why was I stupid enough to sign on to participate? After moving Colorado - where I’m at a slightly higher elevation than the city of Denver - I cannot bake any more. My biscuits turn into hockey pucks, and my cookie baking is usually a disaster.

Just check out what happened a couple of years ago when I tried to make pinwheel cookies. I’m not even going to tell you about my meringue kisses. (O.K. they turned into wafer thin, burnt, baked egg white discs - yuck!)

While I’m going to blame the whole pinwheel cookie debacle on Kraft Foods and their crummy recipe, I obviously didn’t learn my lesson. You see this year’s cookie recipe - the one I’m going to submit because I’m actually making it for two parties - is from Kraft Food’s food & family magazine (which you should sign up for since it’s FREE and full of terrific ideas).

I’m not going to tell you which recipe it is, just that I’ll be cheating big time and using a mix (thank you Duncan Hines).

Instead, I’ll be sharing a Kraft recipe for Baked Crab Rangoon that I’ll be making Friday night for my annual MOMS Club holiday party. These are always a big hit with the kids when we go to a Chinese restaurants. (I love them, too!)

This recipe is easy enough for the kids to help with, plus it’s been made a bit healthier than what you get at the restaurant (lower fat cream cheese and mayo, and baked not fried). If your kids don’t like crab, make a veggie rangoon instead with shredded carrots and some diced celery. Also, if you’re nervous about using wanton wrappers, you can watch the online cooking school video to see how it’s done.

Baked Crab Rangoon
Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 40 min
Makes: 12 servings, one wonton each

Ingredients:

1. 1 can (6 oz.) white crabmeat, drained, flaked 4 oz.
2. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese, softened
3. 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
4. 1/4 cup KRAFT Mayo Light Mayonnaise
5. 12 wonton wrappers

Directions:

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix crabmeat, Neufchatel cheese, onions and mayo.
2. SPRAY 12 medium muffin cups with cooking spray. Gently place 1 won ton wrapper in each cup, allowing edges of wrappers to extend above sides of cups. Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture.
3. BAKE 18 to 20 min. or until edges are golden brown and filling is heated through. Serve warm. Garnish with chopped green onions, if desired.

For Mini Crab Rangoons use 24 won ton wrappers. Gently place 1 won ton wrapper in each of 24 miniature muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Fill evenly with crabmeat mixture and bake as directed. Makes 12 servings, two appetizers each.

(Cookie Monster picture courtesy of BerryBurger.com)

Technorati tags: cookies, food, recipes

Reading a recipe for Oatmeal Spice Cookies in today’s Denver Post got me thinking about Don’t Forget the Oatmeal: A Supermarket Word Book, Featuring Jim Henson’s Sesame Street Muppets. This book is a favorite of Nathan’s. It features Burt and Ernie going on a shopping spree at the grocery store, but nearly forgetting to buy some oatmeal for breakfast.

Burt loves oatmeal, which makes him my kind of guy. For I believe that there are four types of breakfast people in the world - those who like bread (pancakes, French Toast, bagels, oatmeal, etc.), those who like milk (yogurt and cottage cheese for example), fruit eaters, and those who like eggs and meat (bacon, sausage, ham, and so on).

Nathan and I are bread people who love oatmeal. He also likes fruit, especially cantaloupe in the morning, and I grew up eating Dannon’s coffee yogurt every morning. My husband is definitely an eggs and meat kind of guy, who can be persuaded to eat fruit and yogurt on occasion. Lucie is a bread and milk with an occasional side of bacon kind of girl (aren’t we all?). However, she would love to eat Oreos and Rice Krispie treats for breakfast instead if I’d let her.

Whatever kind of breakfast person you are, we can all agree that eating oatmeal is good for you. Per writer Jill Wendholt Silva:

…oats are high in vitamin B-1 and contain a good amount of B-2 and E. A whole grain, oats are also packed with phytochemicals and insoluble fiber that have a beneficial effect on cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar and intestinal health. And they’re a stick-to-your- ribs sort of food that can keep hunger pangs at bay for hours.

Other ingredients that make this cookie a real standout are walnuts, which offer healthful omega-3 fatty acids, and sunflower seeds, rich in iron. Spices are high in antioxidants. (In a just-released American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study, 13 of the 50 food products highest in antioxidants were spices, including cinnamon.)

Sometimes you have to disguise oats to get people to eat them. Healthy, low fat cookies are a great way to do this. So why not give them a try?

Oatmeal Spice Cookies
Makes about 5 dozen

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup sugar
2. 1 cup brown sugar
3. 2 egg whites
4. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5. 2 teaspoons vanilla
6. 1/3 cup fat-free milk
7. 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
8. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
9. 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
10. 2 teaspoons baking soda
11. 1/2 teaspoon salt
12. 2 teaspoons cinnamon
13. 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
14. 3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
15. 1 cup raisins
16. 1/4 cup roasted, unsalted, shelled sunflower seeds
17. 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray baking sheets with nonstick spray coating.
3. Beat together sugar, brown sugar, egg whites and oil. Beat in vanilla, milk and applesauce. Stir together flours, baking soda, salt and spices; blend into sugar mixture. Stir in oats, raisins, sunflower seeds and walnuts.
4. Drop cookie dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart.
5. Dip the bottom of a glass into sugar, then use bottom of glass to press cookie down lightly and evenly to 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
6. Bake 11 to 13 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

Per cookie: 73 calories (17 percent from fat), 1 gram total fat (trace saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 14 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams protein, 64 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

Technorati tags: children’s books, oatmeal, Sesame Street, cookies, recipes

Wanna know an easy way to earn 50 ClubMom Points?

Subscribe to A Readable Feast at ClubMom’s new daily blog email!!!

What could be an easier way to get the latest on books, kid lit, and cooking for the family from A Readable Feast? You can also sign up to get updates on the rest of the ClubMom’s mom bloggers, too. Heck, this is even better than door to door morning newspaper delivery!

Subscribe NOW. (You must be a ClubMom member first…so what are you waiting for?)

(Oh and if you’re really interested in earning free stuff, go over to my other blog, A Mama’s Rant, and enter to win Amy Scheibe’s What Do You Do All Day?: A Novel.)

Technorati tags: Club Mom, blogs