Hi all, I hope you are having a grand Wednesday. Before I start on today’s really fun post I just wanted to mention again that if you have not voted yet for my recipe on goodbite you can do so by going over here now.  You can only vote once per day but together I hope we can make a difference and donate a $1000 to Heifer International.

On to the Food

Who said chips had to be made with potatoes?  Not me that’s for sure.

Today I wanted to create something a little different and of course use one of my favorite kitchen products – my swissmar slicer.  If you have never tried this slicer – it is a must have in your kitchen.  You can pick one up at Opensky today.  Parsnips have a very unique flavor but there is something about them – that I just love.  For this recipe I thought I would kick them up and add a little cinnamon and honey.  They turned out almost candy like but were very yummy.

Let’s just say I probably should have peeled a few more parsnips into the mix but it was all I had left.  This is great for an appetizer or even a side dish with a nice piece of fish.

Ingredients

• 1 Large Parsnip
• 1 Tbsp. Honey
• 1 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• Ground pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and peel the parsnip





2. Using your slicer, slice the parsnip into discs.
3. In a large bowl toss the parsnips slices with olive oil, pepper, cinnamon and honey







4. Arrange on a pre lined baking sheet and bake for about 25-30 minutes



5. Turn parsnips after 15 minutes and continue cooking
6. Remove when golden brown
7. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Be careful not to burn this little chips.  Because of the high sugar content they will burn if left unattended.  I like to move them to the top rack after the first 15 minutes and turning once.  This will allow them to dry out and crisp up without burning.

Around the Blogsphere

• Janna over at Just Flourishing is having a fun Valentine’s giveaway.  You have to check this out and you may be just in time to be the lucky winner.
• Late last week Deb from smitten kitchen made one of my all time favorite dishes…. Ginger Fried Rice.  I would so eat the whole pot.

It is baking night at Zesty’s! Nothing fancy but I thought I would share with you a family favorite for a quick yet satisfying dessert. I sometimes add nuts but they are not a huge hit at our house so I left them out for this one.

 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping

• Chocolate Sauce (for topping)
• Cherries
• Ice Cream

Method

1. Grease bottom of an 8 inch square baking pan.
2. Melt both chocolates with butter in a medium saucepan stirring over low heat until smooth (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
3. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in flour, salt, vanilla,  stirring only until mixture is smooth and ingredients are combined. Once flour has been added, do not overmix to prevent toughening.
4. Spread mixture into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until brownies begin to shrink from sides of pan.
6. Allow to cool before cutting into squares.

Note: if your brownies are dry or tend to be overbaked consistently, reduce the temperature of your oven by 25 degrees.
Recipe can be doubled by baking twice the amount of all ingredients in a 13X9 inch pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.