Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Popcorn Cupcakes

Tomorrow is my baby's first birthday (sniff). I made some "practice cakes" for his daycare tomorrow in preparation for his circus birthday party on Saturday.

The idea was for the cupcakes to look like little sacks of popcorn. To make them, I alternated globs of yellow and white buttercream in a large ziplock bag, snipped a tiny hole in the corner, and started piping. The little cake liners are from Amazon, I was hoping a red and white stripe would resemble the old school popcorn bags.


I thought the ziplock made the kernels seem a bit more irregular and realistic than a regular piping bag would. Plus I don't have a piping bag as I am not that fancy.


After I did the first layer of kernels, the buttercream was getting a little warm from my hand so I put the cakes in the fridge for a bit. Then I piped on the second layer. You want your buttercream to be fairly dense so you can get the volume necessary to look like popcorn.


I think I mixed a little too much yellow in this batch. Too movie theater. It'll be better next time though, right?

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Feta Bacon Chard Tart

I'm pretty sure I posted about a chard tart before. This one is loosely based off the last, but it's different. Why?

It has BACON!

I know you are still reading (well, assuming you aren't a vegetarian anyway).

Another awesome thing about this tart: I grew the chard in my my little garden, with help from my son.

Bragging is over, here's the recipe:

Feta Bacon Chard Tart

Ingredients

1 c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. water

1 T oil (I used coconut oil)
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch chard, destemmed and chopped
1 1/2 t. dried basil
salt and pepper
4 slices thick pepper bacon (try the meat counter at your grocery or meat shop, they have great bacon that you can buy by the slice).

1/2 package cream cheese (I used light), softened
3 eggs
1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 c. feta (I used a sun dried tomato variety)
1 T. sriracha (rooster) sauce

Combine flour and salt, mix in the oil and water and briefly mix until it starts to get a bit gluey (maybe a minute). Press into an even layer in a square pan and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375

Heat the tablespoon of oil in a big, honkin' pan on medium heat. When it's hot, add the onion and sauté until mostly translucent. Add the garlic and the greens. Sauté until soft, another six minutes or so. Remove from heat, stir in salt and pepper to taste and the basil.

While the veggies are cooking, fry the bacon over medium-high. Drain on a paper towel and chop.

Mix the eggs, cream cheese (I microwaved it about 10 seconds beyond room temperature so it would mix easily), cheeses, and rooster sauce.

Add the veggies and bacon, mix well, and spread evenly over the crust. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes. Let cool, serve warm or room temperature.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Hummus

Here's my recipe for just a basic and quick little hummus. Today I ate some for lunch; I served it with baby carrots and cucumbers (dressed with seasoned rice vinegar and salt/pepper) as dippers and with sides of spinach salad and some leftover couscous salad.

You pretty much need a food processor for this, but you could probably use a blender too (especially if you are fancy and have a Vitamix or something).

Hummus

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 T. tahini (sesame butter)
about 3 T. lemon juice
3 big cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
about 1/4 c. olive oil

In the bowl of the food processor, dump the chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper. Turn on processor.

Once the beans start to get smashed, start drizzling the oil in slowly through the top opening. Stop as soon as the hummus starts looking creamy and smooth.

If your oil likes to pour fast, drizzle a bit then stop and judge before adding more incrementally so you don't over-oil your yummy hummus.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Bell Pepper Antipasto

I made some impulse purchases at Costco this week. I went with my mom, mostly for the conversation, and left with $50 of crap. How does this happen?

Anyway, one of my purchases was a big old bag of bell peppers. I'm not a pepper fan usually, but these looked good.

I made antipasto for the first time with them. You could use these on pizza, with crackers and cheese, gulped down by the handful ... trust me, I'm not a bell lover but these are tasty. Just don't over cook.

Oh, and these were especially lovely on a little turkey sandwich I made on a pretzel slider bun (also spontaneously purchased at Costco).

Bell Pepper Antipasto

Ingredients:
3 bell peppers (I used one each of ref, yellow, and orange), seeded and chopped into thin strips
1.5 T. coconut oil (olive would be fine)
Salt and pepper
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. garlic powder (or 2-3 garlic cloves, minced)
1.5 T. red wine vinegar

Heat a big pan over medium, add the coconut oil. When it's hot and melted, add the peppers, herbs and garlic powder, then salt and pepper to taste.

Sautée until peppers are just cooked. Turn off heat, stir in the vinegar.

Let peppers hang out, preferably at room temperature, for about an hour. Eat or cover and refrigerate to serve later.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Cottage Cheese Salad

Sounds funky, right? This is an adaptation of a Moosewood recipe. It's good, and it's a great way to get some protein without eating meat, if you so desire. You can sub in whatever veggies sound good to you (or whatever you have on hand), just make sure to dice them small.

Cottage Cheese Salad

Ingredients:

About 4 c. cottage cheese
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 green onion, chopped
About 3 T. lemon juice
1/3 c. craisins (dried cranberries)
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 hard boiled eggs, salted and diced

Combine all ingredients, adjusting lemon juice, salt, and pepper to your liking. Cover tightly and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Salt and pepper to taste

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Cherry Rhubarb Pie

Holy cow, my local grocery store had a huge cherry sale this week! Believe me when I tell you that this never happens. I may have overbought. So ... I made this. And it was GOOD.

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts
3 large rhubarb stalks, chopped
3 cups of cherries, pitted
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. almond extract
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
2 T. tapioca
1/4 c. lime juice

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix everything but the crust together in a large bowl, let it sit for 15 minutes.

Place one crust in a large pie pan, and fill it with the contents of your large bowl. Lattice the top (or just make a full 2-crust pie if you don't want to deal with a lattice).

Cover the edges with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool and serve.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Dinner Tonight

What's for dinner tonight? We did a quick and easy one, with lots of fresh veggies that are starting to hit our local produce aisle.

Raspberry Chipotle BBQ Salmon
Corn on the Cob
Sautéed Zuchini
Salad

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Creamy Tomato-Chard Pasta

This is an easy vegetarian (though not vegan) recipe. It's nice and light and fresh-tasting and perfect for summer. You can sub any green leafy for the chard; just remember, the "woodier" the green (like chard or kale) the longer it will need cooking. Delicate leafies like spinach don't take long at all, so start the onions in advance with those. Substitute fresh tomatoes if you have high quality ones available to you.

Creamy Tomato-Chard Pasta

Ingredients

About 1 pound of pasta, cooked al dente per package instructions
1 T. oil
1 package (or bunch) chard, washed, de-stemmed, and chopped
1/4 large onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, semi-drained (the tomatoes don't have to be bone dry, just not swimming in juice)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/2 t. dried basil
salt and pepper

While your pasta is cooking, add the oil to a large pan. Add the onion and saute a minute or two, then add the chard and garlic. Saute until the chard is tender, maybe 7-9 minutes. This will take a lot longer if you didn't get all the stems out. Add the tomatoes, basil and cheese, stir, and cook until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in the yogurt. Salt and pepper to taste, then mix in the pasta.


Thanks to food.com for the inspiration for this recipe.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

So I'm still on the springtime slough and I had Mother's Day on the horizon. Eeps, what's a girl to do? I needed to save some calories for cupcakes and champagne, so I found this super yummy recipe on Skinny Taste. It was good. The Buffalo flavor was very mild; if I was making it at home for just my family I think I would add a bit more buffalo sauce. The best thing about it was it was sooooo easy--just toss everything in the crockpot in the morning, no fussing over food on Mother's Day. Yay! I tweaked the recipe just a bit, mostly to accomodate a crowd. I also didn't offer blue cheese or blue cheese dressing--again, priorities! I wanted a cupcake BAD. If you read the recipe, you can see why.

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 celery stalk
1/2 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
about 2 c. chicken stock/broth
1 c. Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce (or Buffalo sauce of your choosing)

1 bag baby carrots
4 stalks celery
1 head lettuce

Spray some Pam around your crockpot and add the chicken. Lightly salt and pepper it, then cover with broth. Add the onion, garlic, and celery stalk and cook on high for four hours.

Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred with two forks. Keep about 1 cup of the liquid in the crockpot and return the chicken to it (don't throw the rest away--use it to make an amazing soup later in the week or freeze it for later. I'm doing crock pot chicken and dumplings with mine).

Add the Buffalo sauce and return the lid to the pot, cook an additional 30 minutes.

Run the carrots and celery through the food processor grater (or grate by hand if you prefer, but mind your knuckles). Remove lettuce leaves as best as you can to keep them big. To serve, have guests choose their leaves, top with chicken and with the carrot/celery mix. Enjoy!




Apricot-Blueberry Champagne Cocktail

I made these for Mother's Day this year, too. Less sweet than a mimosa but still light enough for brunch. Champagne is a funny alcohol; when you mix it, you add mixers first and the champagne second. Weird. But delicious.

Apricot-Blueberry Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients:
Apricot nectar (I used Santa Cruz Organics brand, from the natural foods section)
Blueberries, thawed from frozen or fresh
Dry champagne

In a champagne flute, put 3-4 blueberries (if using wild blueberries, add a few more as they are quite petite) in the bottom of the glass. Add apricot nectar to about 3/4" up from the bottom. Muddle the berries a bit in the nectar, then fill the glass the rest of the way with champagne. Enjoy!


Whenever I hear the word 'champagne' I think of the movie Wayne's World. Anybody else?

Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

For Mother's Day this year, I made these yummy cupcakes. My mom and I are big lemon fans (make that superfans), and the rest of the family just had to suffer along. These are pretty tasty; my only beef is that the cupcakes were a tad TOO lemony (did I just write that?). The recipe calls for an entire lemon's worth of zest and juice, and my lemon was pretty epic. When I make these again, I think I will use either a smaller lemon or just half a large lemon's worth.

Lemon Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream

Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 c. white sugar
1/2 c. butter (1 stick), softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1 3/4 t. baking powder
1/2 c. milk
1 lemon, zest and juice

Buttercream:
1 c. butter, softened
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. sea salt
4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. (or more, to taste) seedless blackberry jam

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners

Cream sugar and a stick of butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Mix well.

Add flour and baking powder and stir until combined. Add milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix well. The lemon may make the mixture separate a bit, but the batter should shape up fine.

Put batter into the cups, 2/3-3/4 full (these cupcakes are on the denser side, so you shouldn't have to worry about runaway cakes). Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Beat the remaining two sticks of butter with the 1 t. of vanilla and salt (start with a little salt and add to taste), until smooth and creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. If it starts to get a little thick, you can thin it with a tablespoon or so of milk. Beat in the blackberry jam.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Chicken Enchilada Soup -- Crock Pot Style

This is another recipe inspired by Skinny Taste. My husband requested something in the crock pot today as we are on the cusp of (another) super-busy week and he likes having food he can just grab out of the fridge. He's also one of those people that can eat the same thing over and over, so crock pot recipes are ideal as they usually make a ton of food.


I broke my cardinal rule of cooking, which is to ALWAYS saute the onions before putting them into anything. Again, I was pressed for time. And it's good in pico de gallo, so hopefully it will be good here.

Chicken Enchilada Soup, Crock Pot Style

Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 c. chicken stock or broth
8 oz can tomato sauce
1 T sriracha (Rooster) sauce*
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (you can substitute a cup of pre-soaked beans if you prefer)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can corn, drained
1 t cumin
1/2 t dried oregano
1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
about 1/4 c. cilantro, torn apart or chopped

Put all the ingredients into the crockpot. If you have time, saute the onions first in a teaspoon or so of oil. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the chicken. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours. Before serving, shred the chicken with two forks. Adjust seasoning.

Serve in bowls, garnished with shredded cheese, more cilantro, sour cream, and/or crushed tortilla chips. The soup is a thinner-based soup, so if you like a creamier soup, crush some tortilla chips and add at the beginning, or thicken with a tablespoon or two of flour or corn starch if you like.

Here's an in-progress shot. The soup is about half-cooked, and the onions are the same.



Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

You know what's awesome? Stuffed cabbage. This is a big stuffed cabbage slop, minus most of the prep work. Plus cheese. I adapted another Skinny Taste recipe for this, and it was very good!

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients:
4 t. olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
1 c. chopped carrots
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 head cabbage, cored and chopped
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 1/2 t. paprika
1 t. sugar
salt and pepper
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 large can/jar spaghetti sauce (28 oz or so)
2 c. cooked brown rice
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Spray some Pam on a large rectangular baking dish

Put half the olive oil in a large frying pan. When it's hot, sautee the onion and carrot over medium heat. When the onion starts to get translucent, add the ground beef, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, thyme, paprika, and sugar.

While that simmers, heat up the oil in a large dutch oven. Add the cabbage and stir, cooking the cabbage until it's about half-cooked, about 15 minutes.

Remove the sauce and cabbage from heat. Stir the rice into the meat/tomato mixture.

Put half the cabbage down in an even layer in the baking dish. Add half the tomatoes, then the remaining cabbage, and then the last of the beef mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, add the cheese (you could easily use less) and cook an additional 15 minutes uncovered.

Skinny Chocolate Chip Scones

I've neglecting my poor little blog; I mentioned earlier this month that it's the springitme slough here at my house, and I guess I've just been busy, well, sloughing. Anyway I've been exploring a few new recipe websites and I've really been enjoying Skinny Taste in particular. I was looking for a quick breakfast I could grab for me and the kids, and this fit the bill. It's actually pretty delicious, which is hard to believe considering it's a low-fat, whole grain scone. The only change I made to this recipe was how I put it together. I am lazy and don't enjoy cutting butter into flour for pastries, so I use my food processor. Works great (try it with pie crust!).

Skinny Chocolate Chip Scones

Ingredients:

3/4 cup cold buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp chilled butter (must be cold) cut into small pieces
3/4 cup chocolate chips  
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 375°. If you are using a stonewear baking sheet like I did, preheat it with the oven.

Combine the first four ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, in the food processor bowl. Dot the butter around the bowl, then pulse just until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Remove blade and gently fold in chocolate chips. Add milk mixture, stirring just until moist.

Give the dough a few turns around the bowl with your hands, then press it into a 9-inch circle onto baking sheet, about 3/4" thick. Use a knife or pizza cutter to pre-slice the dough into 8-12 scones.

Brush with egg white, then sprinkle the sugar on. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Ginger Soy Salmon Nuggets

It's time for the spring time slim down at our house. This recipe is a Weight Watchers recipe, altered for what kind of ingredients I had on hand. If you are a WW fan, about three of these nuggets equal two points. If you are not a WW person, this recipe is still really good. My husband is a fan (no, he was not told the recipe was from WW). I served them over quinoa, with some steamed broccoli on the side. It's quick, it's easy, it's flavorful, it's filling. What more could you ask for?

Ginger Soy Salmon Nuggets

Ingredients:
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. rice wine vinegar
1 t. cornstarch
2 tsp. fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pressed
1 pound salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1" (or so) cubes
1 t. (I used a bit more) sesame oil
3 green onions, sliced thin

Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, cornstarch, ginger, and garlic in a bowl. Add the cubed salmon and stir to coat. Let sit for 30 minutes to an hour if you have time.

While the salmon marinates, start your water if you are doing a starch, then start the water in the steamer for a side veggie if you are planning one. While you cook your other foods, stir the salmon occasionally to distribute the marinade.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat (if you don't use Teflon pans, you will need more oil than this). When it's hot, dump the bowl of salmon, including the sauce, into the pan. Stir occasionally (too much and you run the risk of smashing your fish), until salmon is opaque inside and starts to brown. Remove from heat, serve hot. Serve with green onions on top.


Crock Pot Mexican Lasagna

Who doesn't love crockpot dinners? Or lasagna? Or Mexican food? OK, maybe there are some weirdos out there, but for all you cool people, here's an awesome recipe. It's based on a Saving Dinner recipe. I put it together in the evening and stuck it in the fridge with the lid on, then pulled it out the next morning before work and turned it on. 

Crock Pot Mexican Lasagna

1 pound ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 T. oil
1/4 c. (or 1 packet) taco seasoning, plus water per directions
1 can (or about 2 c. homemade) enchilada sauce
1 can kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 c. salsa
2 packed cups spinach, or 1 package frozen
2 c. cottage cheese
2 c. grated cheese (you can reduce this easily if you are not down with gooey-ooey yumminess)
1 package (10) corn tortillas
oil to fry tortillas in

In a medium fry pan, heat 1 T. of oil over medium heat. When it's hot, add the onion and sautee until translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Add the taco seasoning and water and stir, simmer per package instructions (about 5 minutes).

While the meat cooks, mix together the enchilada sauce, beans, tomatoes, and salsa in a bowl.

Fry the tortillas in a small fry pan with a thin coating of oil. Place on a plate with a paper towel to drain.

Pam or oil your crockpot. Put about 1/3 of the tomato mixture in the bottom, spread evenly. Spread three of the tortillas out. Add all the meat in an even layer, then 1 cup of cottage cheese (again, evenly), then 1/2 c. of cheese.

Put another third of the sauce on top of this layer. Then three more tortillas, and then the last cup of cottage cheese. Add another 1/2 c. of cheese.

Add the remaining four tortillas, then the last of the tomato mixture, and finally the last cup of delicious, yummy cheese. Cook on low for 8 hours.

If you are in a time crunch, you can easily substitute tortilla chips, crunched up, for the tortilla layers. I would decrease the amount of taco seasoning you use if you do this, so you don't shrivel your tongue up from salt overload.



Friday, March 30, 2012

Kale chips have gone mainstream!

So you know that kale, and its tasty little derivative, kale chips, have gone mainstream when you can buy these nifty little pre-cut and washed bags from even our little podunk grocery stores. This bag made two pans of kale chips. Which, according to Martha Stewart's April edition of her magazine, are passe. Whatever. I love them, my husband loves them, and even my three-year-old loves them.


I use Smitten Kitchen's kale recipe. There are gobs of recipes out there that are virtually the same, so you can tinker with spices or sprinkling some cheese, whatever floats your boat. I like them just rubbed with olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt. YUM.

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
Chopped kale (remove stems)
about 1 T. olive oil
sea salt

Preheat oven to 300. If you don't have the handy bag o' kale like I show above, give your kale a good rinse, towel dry, then cut out the stems and rough chop them (to potato chip size).

Arrange your kale on a baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle the olive oil on, then use your fingers to rub it in so that the leaves are all covered. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 20 minutes, until the leaves are all crisp (soggy kale = chewy kale, blech).

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Jambalaya

I love jambalaya, but in no way, shape, or form do I love shrimp. Or any other shellfish for that matter. This usually makes jambalaya at a restaurant a no-no for me. This is my favorite way that I've cooked it so far. And if you happen to like shrimp, feel free to add some. Just don't tell me about it, please.

Jambalaya

Ingredients

1 turkey kielbasa, sliced
1 chicken breast, cubed
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 onion, minced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 c. carrots, diced (about 3 regular carrots or one handful of baby carrots worth)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes
2/3 c. brown rice
3 c. chicken broth or stock
salt and pepper
1 T. worcestershire sauce
1 T. rooster (Sriracha) sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. thyme

In a big dutch oven, heat 1 T. of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions, peppers, and carrots and saute until soft.

While the veggies cook, in a medium pan heat the rest of the oil over medium. Add the chicken and sausage and cook until the chicken is opaque and the sausage is browning. Remove from heat.

When your veggies are soft, add the garlic and cook another minute, then de-glaze the pan a bit with some of your chicken stock. Add the rest of the stock, the tomatoes, rice, and all of the spices. When the meat is done, add the contents of that pan as well.

Cook at low heat for 45 minutes, until rice is cooked through. Check the pan halfway and adjust the broth level accordingly so you don't end up with burned rice.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Green Enchiladas

My mom used to make these green enchiladas fairly often when I was growing up. I loved them then, and I love them now. I changed her recipe a tiny bit by adding some fresh onions and garlic (we would have likely all-out revolted if she had put onions in, I remember having a conniption the first time she made them and dared add the green chiles). These are super mild, though if you have any roasted chiles in the freezer, your version will likely be much spicier. These are also a super way to use up leftover turkey after the holidays.

Green Enchiladas

1 T. olive oil
1 onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground turkey breast
salt and pepper
cumin
1 cup sour cream (you could also sub in plain yogurt, especially Greek yogurt)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced chiles
garlic powder
onion powder
grated cheese
8 flour tortillas, soft taco size

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and turkey. Add some salt, pepper, and cumin to taste (I added just a little bit, maybe 1/2 t. at most). Brown the meat and remove from heat.

While the meat is cooking, combine the sour cream, soup, and chiles in a bowl. Sprinkle some garlic and onion powder in  (start with about 1/2 t. each). Taste and adjust as necessary. I added a little black pepper. The soup is pretty salty on it's own, but you may personally feel the need to add salt as well.

In each tortilla, spread a thin layer of the sauce, then add meat and cheese. Roll up and put in a greased 13x9 pan. Continue with all the tortillas (you should aim for evenly distributing the meat between each tortilla). Spread the remaining sauce over the top of the tortillas and bake for 30 minutes.


MMMM ... the finished product
Here's what the inside of the tortillas should look like before they are rolled up.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Beef Stroganoff

I'm not going to lie, I love me some beef stroganoff. I was really craving some last week and found Paula Deen's recipe for it. It was amazing! The only thing I really changed was the addition of Worcestershire sauce--no stroganoff is complete without it, in my book anyway. I served it with some sauteed zucchini and green salads, over a bed of whole wheat pasta. See--health food. Right?

Beef Stroganoff

1-2 pounds round steak or other lean meat, cut into thin strips
salt and pepper
garlic powder
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, minced
8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 t. flour
1 1/2 c. broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
about 2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. sour cream (if you have Tillamook brand locally, their natural sour cream is VERY good)
cooked egg noodles

Heat a large pan over medium heat, add the butter and oil. When the butter is melted, add the beef strips. Salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Brown the meat then remove from a pan and set aside.

Add the mushrooms and onions, sautee until the onions are translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and onions, stir. Add the beef back to the pot, the mushroom soup, the broth, and Worcestershire sauce, and stir. Cover and turn heat down to low, cook for 30 minutes.

Right before you remove from heat, stir in the sour cream. Serve over the egg noodles.

King Ranch Chicken

Oh boy have I been delinquent here ... I've got a few recipes to share. Last Monday, the Crockin' Girls shared a recipe for King Ranch Chicken. I had never heard of King Ranch chicken. I'd heard of the King Ranch from my husband's beef professor-uncle, and the King Ranch Ford pickup because I live in pickup country. But never chicken.

I served it over rice, and kind of mashed the two versions the Crockin' Girls offered based off what I had in the pantry. It was a good recipe to clear out the pantry cobwebs, I had everything already! I also used my last roasted Hatch chile from my freezer (sniff) instead of canned, so ours was a lot spicier than I think this recipe normally would be.

King Ranch Chicken

olive oil
1 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 chicken breasts, cubed
salt and pepper
1/2 t. cumin
1 roasted chile or 1 can of chiles, diced
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 can tomatoes
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 can chicken broth
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 c. tortilla chips

Heat a large pan over medium heat. Drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pan (maybe 1 T. total). Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the chicken and garlic. Salt and pepper to taste and add the cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is opaque inside.

Stir in the chiles, both cans of soup, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and broth. Remove from heat.

In a large crock-pot, put the tortilla chips down in an even layer. Add the contents of the pan. Cover with the cheese. Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.

Serve over rice (if desired).


Tuesday, March 6, 2012

What's for dinner?

What did everyone have for dinner tonight? We did a super easy pulled pork--just a pork tenderloin in the crockpot with some barbecue sauce, cooked on low for 8 hours then shredded. Added a little more sauce and served on homemade buns.The buns were just ok, I'm still looking for a better recipe. Any bun/roll recipes out there you want to share?

Monday, March 5, 2012

Crescent Roll Filling Ideas

We don't buy crescent rolls very often at my house. Don't get me wrong, I love them. Probably too much. But they aren't the healthiest thing on the planet and we do try to avoid processed goodies so crescent rolls usually get pushed to the back burner.

When I do buy them, I like to put different fillings in them. My sister and cousin recently got excited about a pin with chocolate chip and peanut butter-filled rolls. I don't know which awesome blogger posted about that, but it was an amazing idea.


Unfortunately for me, when it came time to make them, I didn't have more than a couple tablespoons of peanut butter left. Boo. Nutella and white chocolate chips to the rescue! That was even tastier, in my opinion, than the peanut butter and chocolate chip filling.


The easiest way, for me, to deal with the floppy crescent roll dough is to fill the rolls on a sheet of aluminum foil, then transfer the foil to a baking dish and bake per package instructions. You could arrange them right on your baking dish, too. I used a stoneware pan, which I like to preheat with the oven, so the tin foil was easier.


My sister also made some with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled inside, which sounds amazing. What are some fillings that you like in crescent rolls? Here are some that I like:

  • cheddar cheese
  • ham and Swiss
  • pepperoni and mozzarella (you could use string cheese), dipped in marinara
  • chopped spinach and Parmesan

Thursday, March 1, 2012

"Healthy" Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

This post is dedicated to my father-in-law. My father-in-law that hates, hates, HATES chickpeas and, especially, hummus. He is not a picky eater in the slightest, but for whatever reason hummus just sets him off. He also is a sugar addict, the kind that makes me feel better about my two boxes of Peeps a day habit. 

A mom friend of mine was raving about this recipe she found on pinterest. Immediately, I thought of my father-in-law. The recipe is a healthy version of cookie dough (the kind my husband eats by the pound if it's around the house), based on ... chickpeas. I can't lie, I had to try it. And ... it was pretty freaking good. Because of the beans and nut butter, it's also very filling so I found myself eating less the truckload I would have wanted to eat of regular dough.


So thank you to Chocolate Covered Katie, who came up with this tasty recipe. I tweaked it a teensy bit. If you are on the paleo bandwagon, this recipe is practically screaming for you to make it right now. Just substitute stevia or whatever non-sugar you like. Me? I used a combo of raw (turbinado) and brown sugars, and natural peanut butter. I want to try it next with cashew butter, I think that would be out of this world.

"Healthy" Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
a couple dashes of salt (I used sea salt)
pinch of baking soda
2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 c. nut butter
1/4 c. milk (non-dairy eaters will obviously want to sub a non-dairy substitute)
3T.-2/3 c. sweeetener (you can use brown sugar, raw sugar, maple sugar, or experiment with stevia-type fake sugars--the amount is to your taste. I used close to the maximum amount because I have burned off my sugar taste buds eating two packs of Peeps a day)
2-3 T. oatmeal or flaxmeal
1/2 c. chocolate chips

Put everything but the chocolate chips into a food processor and process until very smooth. Check the sugar/salt levels, then spoon into a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. You can eat it straight or serve it with dipping instruments like graham crackers, ginger snaps, Nilla wafers ... you get the idea.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Marshmallows

Another Pinterest recipe I was dying to try was this one for homemade marshmallows. I am a marshmallow freak. Jet Puffed, chocolate covered, Peeps--you name it, I covet it. One time, I went on a big camping trip and one of the girls that went was a baker of some sort, and she brought homemade marshmallows, homemade graham crackers, and some fancy chocolate for fireside S'mores. Not being a spawn of Betty Crocker, I had never even dreamed that marshmallows could be made (gasp) from home. Why this never occurred to me, I don't know, but anyway, fast forward to now and ... ta-da! Homemade marshmallows. They were relatively easy and ... DELICIOUS. But don't take my word for it (remember, I love Peeps) and make them yourself. Let me know how it goes.

Marshmallows

Ingredients

.75-oz unflavored gelatin (3 envelopes of Knox gelatin)
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Line 9 x 9-inch pan with plastic wrap and lightly oil it. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and boil hard for 1 minute.

Pour the boiling syrup into soaked gelatin and turn on the mixer, using the whisk attachment, to high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, add in the vanilla extract beat to incorporate.

Scrape marshmallow into the prepared pan and spread evenly (Lightly greasing your hands and the spatula helps a lot here). Take another piece of lightly oiled plastic wrap and press lightly on top of the marshmallow, creating a seal. Let mixture sit for a few hours, or overnight, until cooled and firmly set.

In a shallow dish, combine equal parts cornstarch and confectioners’ sugar. Remove marshmallow from pan and cut into equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef’s knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners’ sugar mixture.

Store in an airtight container.  Thank you to Baking Bites for this recipe.

Chocolate Chip-Pretzel Cookies

Thank you, Pinterest, for steering me towards these AMAZING little treats. And obviously, thanks to Jumbo Empanadas, who dinked with an Alton Brown recipe and came up with them. I thought, when looking at this recipe, that the amazing part was going to be the salty-sweet combo of the chocolate chips and pretzels. But what really seals the deal and makes this one of the BEST COOKIE RECIPES OF ALL TIME (shouting is so necessary, I want to make sure you try these cookies so my butt isn't the only one growing exponentially) is the browned butter. Make these. Try and eat just one. I double-dog-dare you.

Chocolate-Chip Pretzel Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks, (8oz) butter
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt (I used sea salt)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ cups lightly crushed salted pretzels

Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat.  Continue to heat until the butter turns brown and smells wonderfully nutty.  Be careful as it will go from lovely and brown to black and burnt quite quickly.

Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, and pretzels.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container. 

Monday, February 20, 2012

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

This is based off the Crockin' Girls' recipe from Monday. I LOVE tortilla soup. The only thing I like better is one that can be made easily in a crock pot. Try this out, see what you think. I want to make it again with some roasted green chilies I know are lurking in my freezer.

Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, roughly chopped
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 can Campbell's cheese soup
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can corn, drained
1 handful chopped cilantro
1 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
3 handfuls tortilla chips, smashed a bit in your hands

Plop everything but the chips in the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours. An hour before serving, stir and add the chips.

Serve garnished with more crushed chips, grated cheddar, and sour cream if desired. You could also garnish with some chopped avocado.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Quick Macaroni & Cheese

Need a quick bite of pure comfort? Mac and cheese always fits the bill. If you have a little more time, you can mix in some diced ham or crumbled bacon and top with bread crumbs and brown in the oven. But this way is just fine.

Quick Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
Half a package Bowtie pasta (or whatever shape you have on hand)
2 T. butter
3 T. flour
About 3/4 c. milk (chicken broth will also work great)
3/4-1 c. shredded cheese (I used about 3/4 c of a mix of Swiss and medium cheddar)
1 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cayenne
1/2 t. garlic powder
salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and continue to whisk until flour/butter mix is golden brown. Whisk in milk until smooth. Add cheese and whisk until cheese is melted and incorporated. Add spices and salt and pepper to taste. Continue to whisk fairly often until pasta is al dente. Drain pasta, then stir in the cheese sauce until well incorporated. Serve immediately.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Baked Blueberry-Pecan French Toast wtih Blueberry Syrup

This is an old Food Network recipe (that's no longer available), which I got from my mother-in-law. It's delicious, ridiculously good. Like diabetes-on-a-platter good. My sister is doing a brunch with some friends tomorrow (no school) and this is for her.

Baked Blueberry-Pecan French Toast with Blueberry Syrup

Ingredients:
1 baguette (24")
6 eggs
3 c. milk
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. pecans (about 3 oz)
1/2 stick plus 1 t. butter
1/4 t. salt
3 c. blueberries (mixed berries work awesome, too)
1/2 c. maple syrup (not Log Cabin!)
1 T. lemon juice

Grease a 13 x 9 baking dish. Cut 20 (1") slices from baguette and arrange in one layer in the baking dish.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, nutmeg, vanilla, and 3/4 c. of the sugar. Pour evenly over the bread slices. Chill mixture, covered, until all liquid is absorbed by the bread (8 hours and up to 1 day).

Preheat oven to 350.

In a shallow baking pan, spread pecans evenly and toast in middle of oven until fragrant, about 8 minutes. Toss pecans in pan with 1 t. butter and salt.

Increase oven temperature to 400.

Sprinkle pecans and 2 c. berries evenly over bread mixture. Cut 1/2 stick of butter into pieces and in a small saucepan heat with remaining 1/4 c. sugar, stirring until butter is melted. Drizzle butter mixture over bread and bake for 20 minutes, or until any liquid from the berries is bubbling. If you are watching your waistline, you can reduce or omit the butter step, but it's really, really good with it.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook remaining cup of berries and maple syrup over medium heat until berries have burst, about 3 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve into a heatproof pitcher (or Pyrex measuring cup), pressing on solids. Stir in lemon juice. Syrup can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered (reheat before serving).

Serve French toast with syrup.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Beach Day!

We're smack dab in the middle of another long, dark, snowy and cold winter around here. It's been a heck of a winter, too, and of course it's the one winter we decided to forgo the tropical thaw-out and just stay home.

To break things up a bit, we did Beach Day this afternoon. We cranked the thermostat to 80, changed into shorts and tshirts, played some games and made a picnic/BBQ lunch. It wasn't Hawaii, but it was pretty fun.

What do you like to do to keep yourself and kids busy during the winter?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Chicken (and Leek) and Dumplings

I love chicken and dumplings. Whenever I've made them though, they have turned out sort of ... meh. Nothing exceptional. Which would be ok, except whenever I've made them, I have spent way too much time in the kitchen for the lackluster result. 


Fast forward (do people still say that?) to tonight. I stumbled upon an easy, quick, and healthy approach to chicken and dumplings, based upon some of the randoms floating around in my fridge. The dumplings are half of a Mark Bittman recipe (again from the iPad app). My mom was over and said she really liked it (don't tell her there were leeks in there, she says she's not a fan). 

Chicken (and Leek) and Dumplings

Ingredients:

1-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T. butter
2-3 medium carrots, diced
1 leek, dark green removed and sliced thin
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 qt chicken stock
4 allspice berries
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried thyme

1 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
2 T. cold butter, chopped into little chunks
1/2 c. plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)

In a large dutch oven or pot, melt 2 T. butter. Add the carrots, leek, onion, and garlic, and saute over medium-low until veggies are soft. Deglaze with a bit of the stock, then stir in the rest of the stock, spices (with salt and pepper to taste). Bring to a boil and add the chicken. Reduce to a simmer and cover, cook 15 minutes. Remove chicken from pot, chop or shred, and return to pot.

When chicken is cooking, mix the flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a food processor until combined. Pulse in the butter until well combined. Add the yogurt and process just until the mixture balls up.

After re-adding the chicken to the pot, drop the biscuit dough into the pot. Try not to have the dough touch. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, and no peeking! The steam is what cooks the dumplings.

Gluten Free Brownies


I am personally not on the gluten-free train, as none of my little family are one of the 1 in 133 with celiac disease. My sister, however, has been trying to avoid gluten as of late. She and a friend were over this weekend and, among other awesome things, her friend freed my car from the seven thousand new inches of snow it was mired in. I am very grateful, you have no idea. To say thanks, my son and I wanted to bake a little treat for them. I dug around, and found this recipe for brownies (one of my personal favorite treats). I had to sub a bit in the flour category, but they turned out pretty tasty. I think you could play around quite a bit with this recipe, with different chocolate or flours, and come up with some pretty spectacular results. 

Gluten Free Brownies

Ingredients:
8 T. (1 stick) butter (I used salted butter)
4 oz dark/semi-sweet chocolate (I used most of a Ghirardelli Intense Dark 86% bar and some chocolate chips)
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. brown rice flour

Preheat oven to 400. Grease a square dark baking dish.

In a double boiler, whisk the butter (cut into small chunks) and chocolate (also cut into small chunks) until smooth.

In a stand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until they have a silky consistency. Add the vanilla, stir. Add the rice flour, stir. Finally, add the chocolate/butter mix and stir.

Pour the mix into the prepared pan and bake 22-25 minutes. Remove from oven and place in a sink that has been prepared with cold water and ice (be careful not to get water onto the brownies). Let brownies cool completely in the sink. After several hours (if you can help it), cut brownies and serve.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Chicken and Pear Salad with Vinaigrette

Salad! I really enjoy a hearty salad for a meal. We had some pears and feta around, but I think some goat cheese would be even better here. You can sub whatever seasonings you prefer for the chicken, or even buy that pre-cooked stuff if you are really strapped for time. I used an old baby food jar to hold the vinaigrette until we were ready to serve it, as I made the salad ahead of time.

Chicken and Pear Salad with Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast
1 T. canola oil
herbs de provence
salt and pepper

lettuce leaves, washed and torn (you can use any salad greens you like, obviously)
carrots, chopped or baby
1/4 of an English cucumber, sliced
1/2 of a pear, skinned and sliced
about 1/4 c. crumbled feta

3 green onions, coarsely chopped
3 T. honey
1 T. soy sauce
1 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
about 1/4 c. olive oil

In a small fry pan, heat the canola oil over medium. When it's hot, add the chicken. Season the top side of the chicken with the herbs, salt, and pepper. When the bottom is browned, flip, then cook until opaque. Remove from pan and allow to rest. After you are finished with the rest of the salad, slice.

In a small food processor bowl (or blender), add the green onions, honey, soy sauce, pepper flakes and vinegar. Turn the processor on. When the mixture is blended and onions are pretty pulverized, drizzle the oil in slowly. Feel free to add more oil if you like, this recipe is pretty light on oil and also fairly strong in flavor.

In a large bowl, assemble the salads: add the veggies, pears, cheese, and chicken slices. Drizzle with dressing and serve. This is enough for two salads (and you should have enough vinaigrette left over for another salad or two later in the week).

Whole Wheat Bread, sweetened with molasses

Sweet sassy molassey! I just really wanted to type that and luckily for me, today I made up a loaf of sandwich bread sweetened with molasses. So I have an excuse (although perhaps there is no real reason to ever say that).


I have a nice, smaller Zojirushi bread machine and it does pretty good work. My only complaint is that my go-to recipe for it, a 100% whole wheat bread, is pretty dense. I had a bit of extra time this morning and found this recipe. It turned out awesome, there's no refined sugar or flour in it, and bonus--no kneading and only one rise! I used the dough hook on my stand mixer to do the kneading for me.

I used the molasses option to sweeten, which is just sweet enough and gave the loaf a pretty hue, almost a pumpkin bread color. I'm excited to try the other sweetener options.


Thanks to King Arthur flour for this awesome recipe!

Whole Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water*
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey, molasses, or maple syrup
3 1/2 cups King Arthur Premium 100% Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast, or 1 packet active dry yeast, dissolved in 2 tablespoons of the water in the recipe
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
*Use the greater amount in winter or in a dry climate; the lesser amount in summer or a humid climate.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual.") Note: This dough should be soft, yet still firm enough to knead. Adjust its consistency with additional water or flour, if necessary.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8" log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1" above the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. The finished loaf will register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. If desired, rub the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust. Cool completely before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Yield: 1 loaf.