This morning I got my cooking bug back when I realized that we have no decent food in the house, I'm without my van for the weekend (power steering system is being completely replaced), don't want to drive the car to the store, and I'm hungry.  Nothing fancy, but some muffins sounded good and I tried out ones with dried cranberries, apples and pecans.

The recipe I modified from the book Muffins Galore by Catherine Atkinson.  It was quick and easy to throw together -- and tasted delicious.  Some of the best things about a recipe.

Dried Cranberry, Apple and Pecan Muffins

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup milk mixed with 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with paper cups.
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.  Stir in apple, cranberries and pecans.
3. In another bowl, mix together eggs, butter and milk/lime juice mixture.  Add this to the flour mixture all at once and mix until just combined.
4. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.  Combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over muffins.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

Liam likes his chili with just "beans and sauce" so this was perfect for him.  The meat in it?  Fresh chorizo.  I'd never worked with the "tube" of chorizo that you find by the sausage section of the supermarket -- and it wasn't what I was expecting.  The recipe stated to cook the chorizo and then slice it when it's done but when I cooked it (no casing) it almost disintegrated leaving a very fine paste.  I was seriously worried about the taste and texture of the final dish but I have to say I was impressed.  Just the right amount of spice and a good texture.

When we were eating it last night I realized it was the perfect consistency for a topping for hot dogs or even french fries so tonight's dinner idea was born ... chili dogs (and Travis' request chili cheese fries).  Great way for me to use up the leftover chili and the kids are happy because they get hot dogs.  :)

Pinto Bean Chili with Mexican Sausage
(modified from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Entertaining by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann)

12 ounces fresh chorizo
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
56 ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Cook sausage until meat is no longer pink.  Add in onions and garlic and cook until softened.  Add in spices and cook for another 1 minute to blend.

Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.  Serve with toppings of your choice (I used cheddar cheese, sour cream, onion and cilantro).

How was it?  It was good but a bit too greasy (from the sasusage).  I opted to use spicy sausage instead of sweet and I'm glad I did because it added a nice bite.  It really reminded me of my mom's cabbage and noodles -- which is basically cabbage saute'd in butter and then mixed with either egg or bow tie noodles.  (That, by the way, happens to be a favorite of my brother.)  No, I don't believe I would make this again.  While it was eaten (by everyone but Liam who had plain spaghetti) it didn't receive big rounds of applause.

While I did make a nice Thanksgiving dinner, I still wasn't in a blogging mood so I didn't get any photos of it... so I'll have to make this first post about what I made Travis and I for dinner tonight ... shrimp and potatoes.

The recipe was one I modified from November's Everyday Food magazine ... Shrimp with Scallions and Crispy Potatoes.   The original recipe uses curry powder as the seasoning and while I would have enjoyed that, Travis isn't a big curry fan so I opted to dump some Old Bay Seasoning on it instead.  Diced potatoes stir fried with some scallions and then mixed with shrimp .. easy and delicious.

This is a recipe that I've had for several years now and even blogged about before but I thought it deserves a repeat.  Really it's a little time consuming, but the end result is worth it.  (And it really is easy to make).  This last time I made it I forgot the cheese inside so that's why I put some cheese on the top of the dough.  I'd really NOT recommend forgetting the cheese -- the cheese does a good job melting the inside ingredients together and helping it stay together to eat as finger food.

See, doesn't that look good?  :-)

Stromboli
(courtesy of Food Network)

1/2 recipe basic pizza dough
For toppings choose any variety of the following or select your own:

• sliced ham
• pepperoni or salami
• mushrooms and onions saute'd in a little butter until caramelized
• roasted red bell peppers
• sliced cherry peppers
• 1 cup of shredded cheeses - Italian mixture is usually what I use
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chives, etc.)

Olive Oil for brushing on top
Cornmeal for pizza paddle

Preheat oven (with pizza stone inside ) to 450 degrees F. (If do not have pizza stone, can use a baking sheet). Sprinkle a little flour on your work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 10 by 14-inch rectangle. Cover the rectangle with layers of your desired toppings, leaving a 1-inch border around the sides and at the top. Mix the three cheeses and the herbs together in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of the toppings.

Starting at the end closest to you, roll the stromboli into a log. Seal the dough by pinching firmly with fingertips on sides and ends.

Sprinkle a little cornmeal on a pizza paddle. Put the stromboli on the paddle. Make sure the seam is on the bottom. Use a pastry brush to brush the top and sides of the stromboli with a little olive oil. Carefully place the stromboli on preheated pizza stone. Turn down oven temperature to 400 degrees F. and bake for 35 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Slice with a serrated knife.

Basic Pizza Dough
(adapted from Food Network)

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon olive oil

Put all ingredients into bread machine according to manufacturer's directions for dough.

A little background first before I try to explain it...  For those of you that don't know, WoW is a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game) with over 10 million subscribers.  It's a multi-faceted game that's really pretty simple to play but has complexities to it.  On the surface, it looks like your goal is to get your character to level 70 (soon to be 80 in the expansion) but it really is so much more.  One of the parts Liam likes is battlegrounding.  What that means is you pit yourself and your allies against an equal number or the opposing faction.  Each character class has a different set of abilities:  both in strengths and weaknesses.

One of the abilities of a rogue is to Sap people.  That means he sneaks up to you stealthed, and hits you so you're unable to move.  In the game when you (or anyone) gets sapped there's a swirly circle above your head until you can move again.  Hence, that's what the red circles above the guys heads are.  The little bubble states "No Wonder They Win"  since all the characters except one are sapped.  (And btw, the guy on the left side that's lying down is a hunter that has feigned death but is still sapped.) 

This probably makes NO sence to anyone that doesn't play, but I thought I needed to share it -- he did a great job. :)

If you're curious, here's our character breakdown:  Liam has a lvl 54 hunter, Adrienne has a lvl 43 mage, Travis has a lvl 70 priest, a lvl 70 warrior, and a lvl 46 mage, and I have a lvl 70 paladin, a lvl 70 warlock, and a lvl 50 rogue.  Wanna play?

Now on to some food ...

This last week on my Costco trip I picked up a brisket thinking I might use my standard Ina Garten recipe but opted instead to try a new one.   The new one comes from Emeril and is beer braised instead of the tomato braised and I think just about as good as the Ina recipe.  My brother was over for dinner last night too and he said that while they were both different from each other, they were each very good.  One of the things I liked about Emeril's recipe is that you put the vegetables in about an hour before it's done so they have a little more texture to them -- but as my brother said last night also, mushy veggies are good too.

My only changes to the recipe were that I didn't brown the brisket before I put it into the oven, I omitted the tomato paste and doubled the amount of beer and beef broth.  Next time I might even triple the amount of liquid because there wasn't anything left in the pan after I took it out.  (Oh, and I cooked it for about 4 hours.)

Luckily I have leftovers today for lunch (as long as they'll agree with me!)

Emeril's Beer Braised Brisket
(courtesy of Foodtv.com)

4 slices of bacon, chopped
1 (2-pound) beef brisket
Essence, recipe follows
2 large onions, sliced thinly
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer (not dark)
1 cup beef broth
2 carrots, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch-thick pieces
1 boiling potato, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 turnip, cut into 1-inch pieces
Cooked buttered noodles, as accompaniment
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a Dutch oven, cook bacon in 1 tablespoon water over moderate heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Pat brisket dry and season with salt, pepper and essence. Brown in bacon fat. Transfer brisket to platter. Add the onions to the Dutch oven and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook 1 minute more. Add beer, broth, and bacon bits. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer. Braise the brisket, covered, in the oven for 2 to 3 hours. Add carrots, potatoes, and turnips for the last 45 minutes.

Transfer the brisket and vegetables with a slotted spoon to a plate and keep warm, covered. Bring the braising liquid to a boil. Let sauce reduce over high heat until thickened. Season sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper. Slice the brisket and arrange it and the vegetables with the noodles on a platter. Spoon some of the sauce over the brisket and the vegetables, sprinkle the dish of parsley, and serve the remaining sauce separately.  (Note, I didn't have any braising liquid left ... maybe because I cooked it for longer than 3 hours?)

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

How was it?  Well, I don't think I'll make it again.  I didn't eat it (my stomach still isn't behaving itself) but Don and the kids just gave it an "eh".  I mean, it got eaten, but not gobbled.  Hence, I'm not posting the recipe... but if you'd like it (and it looks good to you!), click on the above link and it will take you to it on Food Network's site.

In other "news", Liam's second soccer game yesterday was another win.  Yeah!  I'm so glad he has fun playing soccer -- he played the first 3 quarters and thankfully it wasn't as hot as it was last weekend.  (Though the game was at 8am so that helped).

While I was on my hiatus from blogging I took maybe 2 pictures of things I could share.  I'm not proud to say that over the last 2 months we've eaten a lot of quick throw together things as well as a number of take out meals.  When you don't feel good it's hard to get excited about cooking (or anything for that matter).

One of the meals that I actually cooked and we liked came out of the Crockpot cookbook Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes.  It's not very exciting, but it worked.

Yes, it's a pasta sauce recipe.  Unfortunately it's not just a "throw all together in the morning and let it cook all day recipe" but it was nice that it was ready to eat when we were and at 5:00 I didn't have to stand and cook.  The original recipe says you can cook it all day (well, 6 to 8 hours), but in the past I've found if you cook Italian sausage all day in the crockpot it gets, well, mushy and unappetizing.  I opted to throw all the actual sauce ingredients into the crockpot in the early morning and then about 2 hours before dinner throw in the browned sausage (and mushrooms).  All in all something I could happily repeat again.

Fettuccine with Sausage & Mushrooms
(modified from Better Homes & Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes)

• 12 ounces sweet Italian sausage (I used a pound)
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 6 ounce can tomato paste
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 9 to 12 ounces dried fettuccine or spaghetti
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. In Crockpot, combine crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, sugar, rosemary and pepper.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. In a large skillet, brown the sausage (crumbled) with the onion and garlic.  Once almost brown, add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have wilted and are slightly brown.  Add to the cooking tomato sauce and continue cooking on low for another 1 to 2 hours.
3. Cook pasta according to package directions.  Serve pasta sauce over pasta and top with Parmesan cheese.

While I don't have anything foody to share with you today, I wanted to put a shout out to Liam's new soccer team - the Infernos.  Their first game was last weekend and it was SO hot.  Game time was at 11:45 and the temperature was already over 100.

Liam had to play the entire game (we only had 7 players show up) and during the 4th quarter it was all he could do to walk after the ball (poor kid was so hot and tired!)  They all played a great game, though, and won 6-0.   I'm hoping this will be a great start to a great season.

Thankfully our game this Saturday is at 8am -- it will actually be pleasant outside and we won't have to melt.  (I feel sorry for the poor goalies who have to wear long sleeve shirts and gloves!)

GO INFERNOS!

Basically it's shrimp simmered in a coconut green curry paste sauce and then topped with sliced chilies, fresh basil leaves and strips of cucumber.  It was so delicious -- but it was also very very spicy.  My brother and I both agreed that we liked the green curry taste but would love to try the same recipe using red curry paste instead ... the flavor is a little richer.  Definitely something I'd like to repeat!

Green Shrimp Curry
(modified slightly from 400 Chinese & Thai Healthy Recipes for Modern Living)

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons green curry paste (I found ours in Whole Foods)
• 1 pound large (21/25) shrimp
• 2 limes, zest only
• 1 cup reduced fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and cut into short thin slices
• 10-25 basil leaves
• 4 green chilies, sliced

1. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan until hot.  Add the green curry paste and fry over a medium heat until bubbling and fragrant, stirring constantly.
2. Add the shrimp and lime zest.  Fry for 2 minutes or until the shrimp starts turning pink.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a gentle boil.  Simmer, stirring often, for about 5 minutes until the shrimp is cooked through.
4. Stir in fish sauce, cucumber, basil and chilies.
5. Serve over rice.

The unfortunate part?  I thought they'd like the harder kind of breadsticks to dip into their spaghetti sauce but it was received as a "eh, don't do that again".  I'm sure by today they'll be fine (I put them into a zipper top bag to soften up) but last night, while they were eaten, they weren't inhaled.

The dough for these is made in the bread machine and then shaped, dipped in milk and whatever topping you prefer and then baked in a 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  The recipe comes from The Bread Machine Cookbook VI by Donna Rathmell German which I highly recommend the whole series for great bread machine recipes!  Here's the list of ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons rapid yeast

This is another recipe from Muffins Galore by Catherine Atkinson that Travis tried out while my mom was here.  The title is "Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins" and use a chocolate muffin batter with a cheesecake-ish filling topped with almonds.

How were they?  Eh .. not memorable.   Amazingly they didn't have much flavor and didn't seem to be worth eating.  (Though refrigerating them seemed to help their texture.)  So, a recipe we won't be making again.  (Makes a great looking photo though!)

What else is happening around here?  Well, our beautiful new pool has not been getting the workout I thought it would -- Liam developed his first ever ear infection so he's been banned until at least Wednesday.  The weather has just been miserably hot (like 108) so we've all been staying inside as much as possible (and to the kids happiness they've been play Warcraft a little more than I would like).  Oh and speaking of Warcraft, Travis got his 2nd character ('toon) to 70 last night with a little help from me and another player so he's a happy camper.

Happy Monday all!

Always having bananas in the house also means several times a week we have old bananas in the house.  (Liam only likes them when they're yellow with no brown spots -- I think he gets that from me.)  So instead of throwing them away I really like to find good ways to use them.  Last week when my mom was here I assigned Adrienne to bake this cake while I was out running errands.

Looks pretty good, doesn't it?  Adrienne had a few issues with the baking of it (like spilling ingredients on the counter, not reading the recipe all the way through first, forgetting to preheat the oven) but even with the mishaps it came out good and we ate our way through it in a couple of days.

Banana Snack Cake
(modified from Taste of Home, August/September 2008 issue)

• 2/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine almonds and brown sugar; set aside.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in almond extract.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda and baking powder; add to the creamed mixture alternately with bananas, sour cream and applesauce.  Fold in chips.  Spread into a greased 13x9 inch baking pan.  Sprinkle with almond/brown sugar mixture.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

A few weeks ago I felt like something a little different and chose their Middle Eastern Chickpea Platter. 

A salad made of eggplant, garlic and chickpeas in a tahini based dressing, add some Kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and pita bread and you've got a light, healthy delicious meal for summer.

The big question is how did everyone like it ... Travis, my brother and I really liked it.  Don I don't think was crazy about it and Adrienne and Liam didn't even give it a shot (good thing they like pasta with parmesan cheese!).  I'm not sure I'd make it again anytime soon (mainly because I hate having to make multiple meals) but it's something to keep in mind when you're looking for something light, fresh and tangy.

Lisa commented about yesterday's post and asked what I served the dip with -- they're Plantain chips from Trader Joe's (what was recommended).  And by the way, I tried the leftovers yesterday and they just weren't good straight from the refrigerator.  I think the tang of the cotija mixed with the slightly metallic taste of cilantro clashed.  So if you are going to make that dip, I don't think I'd save the leftovers.

Middle Eastern Chickpea Platter
(courtesy of Eating Well Magazine)

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small eggplant, cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 15- or 19-ounce can chickpeas or cannellini beans, rinsed (I used chickpeas)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
• 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
• ½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup crumbled feta
• ¼ cup halved pitted briny black olives, such as Kalamata (optional)
• 4 whole-wheat pita breads, warmed and cut in half or into wedges

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add eggplant, garlic and 1/8 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is soft and beginning to brown, about 8 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, whisk tahini, lemon juice, water and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Stir in chickpeas (or beans), parsley and the eggplant.
3. Arrange the chickpea-eggplant salad, tomatoes, onion, feta, olives (if using) and pitas on a platter. Serve at room temperature or chilled and sprinkled with more parsley, if desired.