I thought the age old question would suite this thread.

coke or pepsi? I am defiantly for coke myself. I think pepsi is sweeter, also vanilla coke is my weakness. I am not a big chip or fatty food eater, my unhealthy food consists of soda, I usually only have one every 2 or 3 days, it should be 2 a week.

My mum and grandma cook very nice pavlovas, I love them.

Shadowlander, may I just say that your Coma Cake sounds absolutely wonderful. You were a very very lucky young man. Butter, chocolate frosting, cocoa ANDchocolate chips!That sounds like a cake my grandfather made. We used to just call it "Pop-pop's Chocolate cake" because (being the wonderful chef he is) he just made it up one day. None of us have ever had a cake in comparison to it. I've never seen the recipe, but I know that there's very little liquid in it other than string black coffee. It really makes that cake moist and it intensifies the chocolate taste. He's the only one who knows how to make it, so one those very few occasions he does - it's heaven. Chocolate cake with a cream cheese chocolate icing... O gosh I miss it. Been a few years...

I wanted to share this recipe. It's for a bean salad, commonly known to the Amish as "Chow-Chow" Having grown up on the stuff, it was a pleasure to make it again and find this recipe tastes just like it did when I was a child. Also, it's a really versatile recipe, you can add just about anything to it. Last week I added a can of carrots and a can of red beets, drained really well. The Amish normally will put cauliflower in it too.
_____________________________________________________________________
Hearty Bean Salad (aka - Chow Chow)
Ingredients:

1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 1/4 oz.) corn, drained
1 can 14 1/2 oz.) cut wax beans, drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) green beans, drained
1 can (8 oz.) sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 small sweet red pepper, chopped

Dressing:
2/3 cup sugar (because I used raw sugar, I had to add a bit more)
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper (I didn't add this)

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing together, pour and stir into bean mixture. Cover and refrigerate for @ least 1 hour. Stir before serving. Serve with a slotted spoon.
Makes 10 servings.

I just wanted to say that those peanut butter filled molten chocolate cakes I made for my husband's birthday turned out AWE-SOME!!! After making those cakes, I had a little bit of the chocolate batter left over, so last night we made another little cake and stuffed it with Andes' thin mints. Also quite tasty.

SnowAngel, biscuits and gravy is one of my all-time favorite breakfast dishes. I love it. I'm also pretty lazy and don't make it very often so whenever I go to a diner for breakfast, that's usually what I order. It's not as good, but it's still quite tasty. There's a restaurant not far from where where I live that serves a dish called Biscuit Debris It's biscuits and gravy, but they also top it with cheddar cheese and small pieces of ham. You have to go on a diet shortly after eating it. (Not that I'm doing much better with my billions of molten cakes )

IloveFauns, I'm not into either Pepsi or Coke. They both taste terrible to me. I used to be a hardcore Dr. Pepper drinker, but a few years ago now I started having issues with my maintaining my blood sugar, so I cut way back. Once I got pregnant, I gave up caffeinated beverages altogether.

SL, Coma Cake

AslansChild, your Hearty Bean Salad looks like my mom's Three Bean Salad. Looks quite tasty. I ought to try it because I'm always having trouble coming up with good side dishes.

*peeks in again*

Okay, I just saw all the posts about molten cakes and chocolate and had to share this recipe for brownies. I made it last week for my sister's birthday and they are to die for. Or if you're not in a dying mood, they're to kill for. The recipe is super easy and relatively low carb, which is great for people like me.

SL, your Coma Cake sounds delicious. I want.

Fauny, I'm not a huge soda drinker (I'm actually not supposed to drink regular soda at all anymore), but I'm neither a Pepsi or Coke person. I prefer diet Dr. Pepper if I have to have a soda.

Another note on the vegetable lasagna, my sister said she wouldn't like this one as much as the meat one because vegetarian meals are plain and boring, now she begs me to make it.

In western Australia dr pepper is only at discount stores. I don't usually drink it to much, the taste is nice but maybe slightly too sweet.

@Lia, I may have to try those. Even though 90% of my posts in this thread are about chocolate, I actually try not to eat a lot of it because of the killer sugar/caffeine combination of death. Yeah, those brownies look really yummy.

*came in this thread to post about chocolate*

Last night my husband and I made one of my childhood staples. I don't know if any of you have ever purchased a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips? (Looks like this) The recipe on the back of the bag for Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies is crazy good. And thanks to Alton Brown's Good Eats episode I watched recently on chocolate chip cookies, I have discovered the giant cookie scooper that makes giant sized cookies. Yum!

So I've got a question for all of you, what is your favorite healthy snack? I've been surviving on trail mix and cheddar cheese for the past several weeks because they're high in protein, but I'm looking to branch out.

I've never heard of Dirt Cake.

I can't tell the difference between Coca Cola and Pepsi. I enjoy soft drink but not as a regular thing.

That Dirt Cake is such fun, fantasia. For a couple of our kids' birthday parties, I made this in pails, decorating it with gummy worms. The kids were enthralled. And was it yummy!

Melian, I have emailed that brownie recipe to myself. It looks amazing! And hurrah for a quick, simple recipe.

Coke or Pepsi? Neither. Years ago, I would drink a bit of pepsi once in a 'blue moon', but I've totally lost interest now. If I drink any pop at all, and that is rare, it will be root beer or Dr. Pepper. Sometimes orange crush. But so seldom in one year, I could count the number of times on one hand.

So I've got a question for all of you, what is your favorite healthy snack?

*raw brussel sprouts
*apples (preferable Honeycrisp or Pink Lady)
*thawed peas (from a frozen bag—love those as a snack!)
*old cheese (the older, the better)
*cottage cheese
*chocolate ... oh wait.

I've never heard of Dirt Cake.

You have now! If you get a chance, you ought to make them because it's easy and quite tasty.

For a couple of our kids' birthday parties, I made this in pails, decorating it with gummy worms. The kids were enthralled. And was it yummy!

Like, little bitty pails? That's a fun idea. I'll have to remember that for the future.

*raw brussel sprouts
*thawed peas (from a frozen bag—love those as a snack!)

Brussels sprouts are one of my least favorite veggies ever. But peas... I'll have to remember that when I'm looking for something different for a change. I love peas.

So I thought I'd share a recipe for Baked Tilapia that my husband and I made the other night that was really good and really simple.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Baked-Tilapia

Itty bitty pails is a marvelous idea. To make one little pail for each child at the party, how cool! However, I just made three larger pails.

Peas are deeeelicious, yes. In fact, I'm eating some now. Thawed the frozen bag this morning and am chowing them down. *alongside a few Whoppers, but lol*

I tried that recipe for Sole the other night, fantasia (although without the capers, since I didn't have any) and it was very good.

A favourite supper of ours is what my grandma called 7-layer casserole, consisting of the following ingredients, layered: long-grain rice, carrots (cooked first), peas or/and beans, onions, browned hamburg, then tomato soup and 1 can water (mixed) and poured over all. Bake it around an hour at 375°. It's tasty and heartening on a cold winter's night.

EDIT re healthy snacks: Oh gracious, I don't know how I ever left out these three beloved snacks of mine: clementines, radishes, and raw mushrooms. ♥

It's Pi(e) Day here in the US! My husband made a couple Grasshopper Pies last night, one for us and one to take to work.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/grasshopper-pie-2
Does/Did anybody else celebrate this goofy date by making pies? If so, what did you make?

I don't know how I ever left out these three beloved snacks of mine: clementines

I don't know how I missed that either. I think I remember every year when you find the first clementines on the store shelves... we all hear about it.

Does/Did anybody else celebrate this goofy date by making pies? If so, what did you make?

Pie is something only a few people like at my house, so no, we're not making/having any today. I would really love a slice of berry pie right now, though. Only a few more months until our local bakery/orchard opens!!

I don't know how I ever left out these three beloved snacks of mine: clementines

I don't know how I missed that either. I think I remember every year when you find the first clementines on the store shelves... we all hear about it.

Clementines!! Goodness, I love those. For us Californians, they're available year round, so they're not exactly a treat, but they taste best in the Spring/Summer, so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some of those too.

@Lia, I may have to try those. Even though 90% of my posts in this thread are about chocolate, I actually try not to eat a lot of it because of the killer sugar/caffeine combination of death. Yeah, those brownies look really yummy.

I have since made them four more times. xD

And thanks to Alton Brown's Good Eats episode I watched recently on chocolate chip cookies, I have discovered the giant cookie scooper that makes giant sized cookies. Yum!

That's how we make them in our house! Alton Brown's The Chewy are our personal favorite for chocolate chip cookies. They're gooey in the middle and crisp on the edges. So good.

So I've got a question for all of you, what is your favorite healthy snack? I've been surviving on trail mix and cheddar cheese for the past several weeks because they're high in protein, but I'm looking to branch out.

Um. I'm really loving Trader Joe's Salty and Sweet Pecans lately. They're crunchy and delicious. Also, apples/occasionally celery with peanut butter, a handful of lettuce with a drizzling of my favorite dressings. Lunch meat when I can't have carbs. I also snack on the baked potato chips to my endocrinologist's dismay.

I actually popped in to share this recipe for low carb strawberry frozen Greek yogurt that I came up with. It's incredibly easy and doesn't take long to make at all. I used less sugar than I could have...it wasn't terribly sweet, so I've included in parenthesis the amount of sugar I would use for a sweeter version.

Strawberry Frozen Greek Yogurt

1 pound of strawberries
1 cup of plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
1/4 (2/3) cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Slice the strawberries and put them in a bowl with the sugar. Mix together until the strawberries are more or less coated with the sugar. Let sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours.

2. Pour the strawberries and juice into a blender. Add the yogurt and lemon juice and puree until well blended (scraping down the sides to get all the yogurt may be required).

3. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and turn it on. It'll take about 30-45 minutes to completely freeze.

4. You can serve immediately (with chocolate syrup and whipped cream!) or put it in the freezer to continue to chill. If freezing it before serving, I would suggest pulling it out 15-20 minutes before because it gets very frozen.

Nutritional analysis: serves: 8; serving size: 85gm; calories: 56; total carbohydrate: 11.6gm; protein: 2.1gm

😮 I don't know how I missed that either. I think I remember every year when you find the first clementines on the store shelves... we all hear about it.

Yeah, no kidding. Actually, the clementines have disappeared now (Melian, you're lucky you have access to these all year round!), but mandarins are in fine form, so we're currently downing those.

Nope, didn't do a pie on Pi Day , although there are some major pie-lovers in our family. I am not one of them, though. However, from time to time I do enjoy a slice of (warm) raspberry pie, mmmm!

I have since made them four more times. xD

Way to go!

Another healthy snack of which I partake every morning is almonds. I have 30 or so—about a 1/4 cup. They are great for one's cholesterol, apparently. Also oatmeal and garlic, both of which I love as well (especially the latter).

When we were having a rough spell awhile back, some friends arranged for us to have a meal brought over every week, which was amazing. One of them made pork chops with a scrumptious coating around them. If I remember, I'll post that recipe in here. Another delicious dish was what we know as Shepherd's Pie, but, being English, my friend called Cottage Pie. So tasty and heartening!

One of the more recent snacks I've picked up on is Sardines. I know, right? I always have the line from LWW going through my head when Tumnus offers Lucy sardines as part of his menu. Anything but that!!! But they're packed with protein and Omega-3s and other goodness, and while they're not a favorite of mine, they're not that bad.

Another delicious dish was what we know as Shepherd's Pie...

Funny, we were thinking of making that for dinner tonight! I love Shepherd's Pie, though I don't have it that often for some reason. Maybe because it's not a super simple dish to make. I bet your friend's version was fantastic being authentically English and all.

I had a sudden realization last week... I don't ever recall baking a cake from scratch. I've made several from a box mix and I've made cupcakes from scratch, but not a cake. I love making desserts but cakes tend to be my nemesis. More for visual reasons that flavor reasons. So anyways, I'm gonna attempt to make a cake sometime in the near future. I'll keep you all posted on how it turns out.

Anyone doing anything special for Easter dinner this year?

fantasia_kitty, I baked my very first by-myself-on-my-own-scratch chocolate cake for Valentines day. This is the recipe that I had used, if you're interested.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/One-Bowl-C ... etail.aspx

It was way easy and I topped it with homemade cream cheese icing, which is really easy. Only thing though, is that I used a bunt cake pan, and it baked for about 40-50 minutes rather than the 30-35. And I coated my pan with butter and unsweetened cocoa, rather than flour. I just made another one the other day and froze it for Easter, but this time I replaced the oil for butter and added a tbsp of instant coffee grounds to the batter. Tastes pretty decent, based off of the crumbs. Hoping it'll turn out okay...

For Easter, we are doing something we've never done before...we're having pizza. Holidays have become much simpler for us, and it's way cheaper and easier on the chefs than our usual dinner. But we're all going to be together, and have coffee and dessert, so...it'll be nice. Less stressful.

And, I'll be making some of johobbit's ginger snaps for Easter as well. Thank you!

Your sardines sounds yummy, anyway. I actually like them, very much. Anchovies too. How do yo eat them? Straight from the can? I always liked the idea of sardines on toast, but I mostly just eat them in Spaghetti with Ahleegse.
(Just for the record, I haven't the faintest if I spelled that right, but that's how you spell it.)It's a pasta dish with a sauce/puree made of olive oil, garlic, onion, anchovies, sardines, and Parmesan. Very good, but VERY fishy.