Apartment Blog

I saw this recipe on Goneraw.com, submitted by evergreen last October and I just knew I had to share it. For me, any ‘treat’ that’s healthy is a double bonus! Plus with a name like Boo nanners, who wouldn’t like it? Here’s the recipe that was submitted with a few supplemental ingredients.

Servings:  2 per banana
Ingredients: 

peeled banana, cut in half
orange juice
dried shredded coconut
currants or raisins or chocolate sprinkles
popsicle sticks

Preparation: 

1. Sprinkle banana with orange juice

2. Roll in coconut… you may find it a little easier and neater to use a zip top bag for this step if the kiddies are making these

3. Gently press in currant eyes or two chocolate sprinkles if you think they kiddies would like that more

4. Place on popsicle sticks, you can either put it in the freezer to keep them for later or have the healthy snack now!

 While looking for what to cook for St. Patrick’s Day I stumbled upon this wonderful recipe. I am definitely planning on making this for my household on Tuesday. Take a look…

What You Need

Mini Pretzel Twists
White Chocolate
Candy Melts
Green Chocolate Candy Melts
Candy Sprinkles & Colored Sugar
Microwave Safe Bowl
Fork or Skewer
Wax Paper

What You Do

Using a microwave, melt the chocolate in two separate bowls, stopping every 30 seconds to stir the chocolate.

Using a fork or skewer to hold each pretzel, dip it into the melted chocolate. Lay the pretzels on wax paper. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with candy sprinkles or colored sugar. Allow to dry at least 15 minutes before removing the pretzels from the wax paper.

Store in a sealed container in a cool place. Do not refrigerate or freeze because it could cause the appearance of the chocolate to change colors.

I was watching TLC’s ‘Take Home Chef’ this morning while at the gym and I saw this decadent dessert that I must share. This is a dish I definitely plan on making for Valentine’s Day. When I saw how easy it was to prepare and how delicious it looked, it made me want to hop off the elliptical machine and run to the store (literally run to burn off the extra calories I’ll be consuming)!

Here it is…..

Chocolate Cheesecake

Makes 6

Ingredients:

For the cheesecake crust:

8 ounces/225 g semisweet chocolate wafer cookies
5 tablespoons/75 g unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake filling:

8 ounces/225 g good-quality semisweet chocolate (such as Scharffenberger), chopped
1 1/2 pounds/700 g cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup/200 g superfine sugar
3 tablespoons/30 g all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons/10 ml vanilla extract
3 large eggs

For the chocolate sauce:

2/3 cup/155 ml heavy whipping cream
4 ounces/115 g good-quality semisweet chocolate (such as Scharffenberger), chopped

Method:

To prepare the crust: Finely grind the cookies in a food processor. Blend the butter into the crumbs to form a moist sandy texture. 

Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom (not the sides) of six 4-inch-/1-cm-diameter spring form pans. Refrigerate the crust while preparing the filling.

To prepare the filling: Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, then set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Stir the chocolate until melted then set aside to cool to lukewarm.

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar, flour and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well blended.

Stir the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture to blend. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the chilled crusts, dividing it equally.

Place the cheesecakes on a heavy baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the cakes puff slightly but the tops do not crack and are slightly darker in the center. The cakes will be slightly wobbly but will become more firm as they cool.

Turn the oven off and leave the oven door open to allow the cakes to cool for 1 hour. The cheesecakes will have cooled but will still be slightly warm. If desired, they can be refrigerated at this point until they are cold.

Meanwhile, to make the chocolate sauce: Heat the cream in a small saucepan over a medium heat just until it begins to simmer. Place the chocolate in a bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes to allow the chocolate to melt slightly.

Stir the cream mixture with a whisk until the chocolate has melted completely and the sauce is smooth.

To serve: Run a small sharp knife around the pan sides to loosen the cheesecakes from the pans. Release the pan sides and transfer the cheesecakes to plates.

Drizzle the warm chocolate sauce over and around the cheesecakes and serve.

Valentine’s Day is this Saturday! Are you prepared?? We all know there is a lot of pressure to pick out the perfect gift. And if you’re not into homemade gifts, it makes searching for one the only option. Well, we’ve provided some great tips of ‘What NOT to buy for Valentine’s Day‘ to help narrow it down, but now we want to provide you with suggestions on what TO buy.

Women:

• Jewelry
• Chocolate
• Music (CD or music download)
• A book (or gift card to a bookstore)
• Dinner-cooked for her or taken out
• Perfume
• Purse
• Sleepwear
• Flowers (always SAFE)
• Gift card to local coffee shop
• A Spa trip
• o Massage
• o Manicure/pedicure
• o Facial
• Weekend Get-a-way
• Adventure/Experience Classes (such as: Dancing, Scuba and Cooking)

Men:

• Sweater
• Watch
• Wallet
• Gloves/Scarf set
• Cologne
• Tickets to a sporting event
• Music (CD or music download)
• A book (or gift card to a bookstore)
• GPS System
• Dinner cooked for him
• Adventure/Experience Classes (such as: Rock climbing, Skateboarding, Surf Lessons and Sky Diving)

Valentine’s Day can be one of the most stressful holidays of the year. It’s marked as the day to express your love for those you care about most. However, there are so many questions as to what to buy, what he/she will think of it and whether or not it’s appropriate.  We’ve all gotten bad gifts on Valentine’s Day so to help you on your hunting expedition here are a few items NOT to get your Valentine this year!

For Him:

Anything he has to take care of. I.e. Flowers, a plant, an animal, etc.

Boxer shorts. Now I am guilty of this one, I’ve bought my boyfriend boxers many times before. I guess there really isn’t anything too exciting about opening up a gift with those bad boys inside!

Any type of soap, lotion, etc. He won’t be excited

For Her:

Anything that even remotely implies that her body has imperfections. I.e. gym memberships, Botox, diet plan subscriptions, self help books and the like.

Any type of appliance.  Just because she says, ‘I need a new….’ does not mean you should be the one to buy it for her! Trust me!

Any type of candles. Candles are boring and come on; everyone knows that you give candles when you can’t think of a gift.

Anything from the gas station on the way over. Cute flowers with the price sticker on it and a cheap box of chocolate screams ‘last minute’ which shows you didn’t really put much thought into it!

And the worst possible gift would be…….Nothing at ALL! Come on guys, even a card has to be done on this day! (Even if she says she wants to ‘skip’ Valentine’s Day, you know she doesn’t really mean it)

If you’ve got a story to tell with the worse Valentine’s Day present, feel free to share here….

With the holidays so near, I know everyone is searching for the perfect holiday treat to make! ForRent.com wants to provide you with our holiday recipe tips. The first six are regarding essential holiday pantry items and the remaining six are holiday treat recipes!

6 Essential Holiday Pantry Items:

• Chocolate Morsels
• Pam Cooking Spray
• Vanilla Extract
• Holiday Candy
• Sprinkles/Food Coloring
• Cookie Cutters

During our annual Marketing Department treat exchange, here were six of our favorite treats that were brought. You’ll see that some of them require one of the essential holiday pantry items mentioned previously!

                
SALTINE TOFFEE BARS

Ingredients:

• - unsalted Saltine Crackers (not premium-too thick)
• - 1 stick butter
• - ¾ cup sugar
• - 12 oz bag chocolate chips
• - sliced almonds, optional
• - powdered sugar, optional
• - “Pam” cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350-400 degrees.  Line a 9 X 11 jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam.  Place saltines, edge to edge, over the bottom of the pan.  Melt butter, add sugar and bring to a boil.  Boil about 3 minutes to dissolve sugar.  Spoon (not pour) over the saltines and then settle the saltines and bake for about 5 minutes.  The saltines will look like they are floating.  Turn off the oven and remove saltines.  Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and return to oven until they are melted then add almonds if desired.  Cool a bit then cut (but do not try to separate- too runny still) and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.  Refrigerate until hard then break into pieces, removing foil from the back of the crackers.

Peppermint-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients:

1 (16.5 ounce) tube refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1/4 cup all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Decorating suggestion: crushed candy canes or peppermint candies; white, red and green sprinkles; or red and green decorating sugar
Special equipment: a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, and a ½ ounce cookie scoop

Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, knead together the cookie dough and 1/4 cup flour until smooth. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough. Knead together any scraps of dough and roll out again. Continue to cut out pastry circles until there are 24 pieces in total. Place the dough circles on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are slightly golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Reserve 1 parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Combine 1 cup of chocolate chips and the cream in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the peppermint extract and refrigerate the mixture for 1 hour. Using a 1/2-ounce cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, place the chocolate mixture in the center of the flat side of 12 of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top and gently squeeze to distribute the filling evenly. Place on a baking sheet and freeze until the filling has set, about 25 minutes.

Combine the remaining chocolate chips and the vegetable oil in a small bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water and stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Dip the top of each cookie in the melted chocolate and return to the baking sheet. Sprinkle the tops with crushed candy canes or peppermint candies. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Store in an airtight plastic container.

Christmas Cupcakes

Ingredients:
Pillsbury Cake Mix Funfetti
Duncan Hines Classic Vanilla Frosting
Eggs
Vegetable Oil
Baking Cups
Directions:
Follow directions on the box for cooking cup cakes. After cup cakes have cooled, put vanilla frosting on the cup cakes. For extra decoration, you can use holiday colored sprinkles!

Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:
12 oz bag of White Chocolate Morsels
12 oz bag of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
8 regular sized Candy Canes

Directions:
Lightly grease a large cookie sheet. Break up candy canes into one inch pieces and put into a sturdy plastic bag. Crush candy canes inside the bag until they are in very small pieces. Next, put the semi-sweet chocolate morsels into a bowl and put in the microwave for 1 minute; stir in 15 second increments until it is completely melted. Pour melted chocolate on the cookie sheet and spread to make a thing layer. Put the white chocolate morsels in a bowl and repeat microwave cycle (while white chocolate is in the microwave, put baking sheet of semi-sweet chocolate in refrigerator for cooling). Once melted, stir in ½ of the candy cane pieces and spread on top of semi-sweet chocolate layer. Top with the remaining pieces of candy cane; be sure to lightly press into the chocolate layer to secure. Cool in refrigerator until hard and then break into pieces!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE KISS COOKIES 
Ingredients:
1 c. butter
2/3 c. creamy peanut butter
1 c. granular sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
16 oz. pkg. chocolate kiss candyDirections:

Combine butter, peanut butter and sugars; blend until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; blend. Mix flour, salt and soda, add to cream mixture; stir well. Roll dough into quarter size balls. Roll ball in bowl of sugar. Bake dough at 350 degrees for 8 minutes, take out, place chocolate kiss in center of each cookie. Bake an additional 2 minutes.

M&M Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
Pillsbury Sugar Cookie Dough
Bag of Holiday Colored M&Ms (could be the regular kind or the mint flavored!)

Directions:
Cut the sugar cookie dough into slices for the appropriate sized cookies (you could also roll into whatever size you choose). Put on greased baking sheet and lightly press to flatten the dough. Place M&Ms on top of the cookies and bake accordingly. Wait for the cookies to cool before taking them off the baking sheet.

Happy Cooking!