Dairy Free Brownies!

I wanted brownies. I had no butter. I Googled substitutions, and olive oil is what I used. The result: So delicious, that I permanently changed my recipe!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp dark cocoa




Mix sugar and oil together, then add remaining ingredients and mix well. Using more olive oil, grease an 8x8 glass Pyrex baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, then turn off heat and leave the brownies in the oven for an additional 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.



Nutrition Facts (from SparkRecipe's Recipe Calculator)

Makes about 12 Servings
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 161.6
Total Fat 8.1 g
Saturated Fat 1.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g
Monounsaturated Fat 5.4 g
Cholesterol 30.8 mg
Sodium 60.8 mg
Potassium 59.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 22.1 g
Dietary Fiber 1.0 g
Sugars 16.7 g
Protein 2.1 g
Vitamin A 1.0 %
Vitamin B-12 1.3 %
Vitamin B-6 0.9 %
Vitamin C 0.0 %
Vitamin D 1.7 %
Vitamin E 2.8 %
Calcium 0.8 %
Copper 5.5 %
Folate 3.6 %
Iron 4.2 %
Magnesium 3.7 %
Manganese 7.0 %
Niacin 1.8 %
Pantothenic Acid 0.3 %
Phosphorus 4.2 %
Riboflavin 3.8 %
Selenium 3.2 %
Thiamin 2.9 %
Zinc 2.2 %




*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Fat Free Pickle Chip Dip

Sometimes I crave food that tastes like it is a heart attack in a dish.  Cream Cheese qualifies as something that is horribly fattening, so I eat it sparingly.  However, I have a super easy recipe for chip/cracker dip that is completely fat free, yet tastes like you'll have a coronary once you see the bottom of the dish.  Here's how to make it!

Ingredients:

Dill Pickles, whole (approximately 1.5 cups diced/shredded, adjust to taste)
1 8-ounce tub of fat free cream cheese
optional dash of Worcestershire sauce
optional tbsp of minced onion

First, cut the ugly ends off of 3-5 pickles. I usually dice one and shred the other 4 in a cheese grater.  I love pickles, so I load them up in this batch.  You can use less, but it won't be as awesome.

Next, I soften the tub of cream cheese in the microwave for about 20 seconds on defrost setting and combine the cream cheese with the pickles.  All that's left is to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce, stir it up, and refrigerate until serving.  Of course,you would want to add the minced onion as well, but I never do because I think onions are gross.  If I am serving this at a party, however, I add the onion to make it fancier, and people usually gobble it up.

I prefer to use wheat thin crackers to dip in my pickle dip, but I have also used Triscuit crackers, tortilla chips, pretzels, and pretty much anything.  I don't really like potato chips, but I imagine it would be a good combination.  You would probably want to opt for the kettle cooked chips because this dip is pretty heavy once it sets.

Delicious, and it's fat free!

This recipe (if you can even call it that, it's so simple) makes approximately 10 2-ounce servings.  Here's the total nutrition breakdown:

10 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		25.6
Total Fat		0.3 g
	Saturated Fat	0.2 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.1 g
Cholesterol		1.8 mg
Sodium		398.2 mg
Potassium		61.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		2.2 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.3 g
	Sugars	0.8 g
Protein		3.4 g

Vitamin A	5.0 %
Vitamin B-12	2.1 %
Vitamin B-6	0.7 %
Vitamin C	0.7 %
Vitamin D	0.0 %
Vitamin E	0.2 %
Calcium	4.4 %
Copper	1.4 %
Folate	2.1 %
Iron	0.9 %
Magnesium	1.4 %
Manganese	0.7 %
Niacin	0.2 %
Pantothenic Acid	0.6 %
Phosphorus	10.3 %
Riboflavin	2.7 %
Selenium	1.6 %
Thiamin	1.0 %
Zinc	1.5 %

Nutrition facts courtesy of SparkRecipes Nutrition Calculator, a very awesome tool for those of us who are horrible at math.c

Antique Typeset Drawer Table--the Reveal!

If you follow my blog, you know that I have been working on making an antique typeset drawer into a small coffee table.  It is finally finished! After lots of prying, sanding, staining, and waiting, I'm finally finished with my project.  It's perfect for my living room decor, and the size is versatile enough that I can use it as a small coffee table or as a side table.  Here's the photos!

 Normally that blue couch has a white slipcover, please ignore it for now! 

 I need to find more knick-knacks from around the house to put in the compartments.

The stain job is not that great upon closer look, but with the glass over it and once more stuff is in there, one won't be able to tell.  It was very difficult to get the stain in all those nooks and crannies, and I soon discovered that imperfections and drips were inevitable.  I decided to focus my time on the outside of the table, where drips would be much more noticeable. 

What to do with an Antique Typeset Drawer?

My friend Julie, her mother and I went to a place called Loafer's Glory in Blanchard, MI yesterday.  It is an antique shop, a restaurant, an old-fashioned soda fountain, candle shop, and more all in one.  There are also a few other antique shops within about fifty feet of Loafer's Glory.  It was heaven, and we were there for several hours looking at all the neat things.  Among them, I found this:

I had initially planned to hang it on the wall and put some knick knacks in it, but then it hit me:  coffee table!

So here is how I did it:

First, I removed the main drawer part.  I bought a piece of 1/4" plywood to replace the particle board at the bottom of the drawer, since I planned to stain it and I'm pretty sure particle board would not look good with stain.

The particle board wouldn't come off the drawer sections!  There were brads in different areas that had hooks at the bottom, so I had to break off the particle board in chunks to maintain the drawer sections.  Then I glued the wooden slats back together and put them in the frame and nailed the plywood to the bottom.

After nailing the bottom back on, it was time to put the hardware on the bottom for the legs.

Home Depot sells table legs that come ready to screw into this type of hardware, it was very easy to mount.

Now all that is left is a coat of stain!

I plan to add one or two more coats of stain, then I am going to get some glass cut for the top after I find some fun things to put in it!  I'll update with the finished product in a few days!


Also, Julie painted her antique table, her first refinishing project.  Here's the before:

And here's the after (still wet paint):

******UPDATE******

I added a second coat of stain to the table, and I have the glass ordered for the tabletop.  I plan to add a third coat of stain (I think I can be patient enough!), but here's what it looks like after the second coat:

Some of the stain is still damp.