Girl + Food = Love

Table Talk: Multi-grain Pizza Dough

2013-12-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is the last post for Table Talk! It's flown by. There would be one more post this year but it happens to fall on Christmas and let's face it, a healthy dinner option won't be my priority Christmas morning, or probably even Christmas Eve. And I expect it won't be yours either so this is it!

I have loved cooking from the The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. I have learned new techniques and found new foods that I didn't know I liked. I think I've gotten a little better in the kitchen with every recipe and maybe a little healthier. :) I'm going to include a link to a couple of my favorite recipes from the series at the end of this post. But for now, let's talk about pizza dough. We eat a lot of pizza at our house. Is there a kid alive that doesn't love pizza? My kids are in love with it anyway. I think we could eat pizza every night and they would never get sick of it. I wanted to try this recipe to see if there was a healthier alternative that my kids (and Tyler) would still love.

Remember the Multigrain Bread from Bake 52? I loved that recipe so much, I thought this one would be up there with it. And it was. My family still loved their pizza and I felt a little bit better about feeding them glorified bread with cheese on it for dinner. :) The dough came together easily and it was also easy to shape. I had a few things to do in between the rise time and the baking so it got more of a rise than the recipe called for but it still worked beautifully. My only complaint was that the crust didn't brown up as nicely as I would have liked but that's completely a cosmetic issue. I might try a few things in the future to make that happen.

Multi-grain Pizza Dough

1 cup Bob's Red Mill 5 grain hot cereal mix

1 3/4 cups boiling water

1 T active dry yeast

2-2 14 cups bread flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 T canola oil

Mix hot cereal mix and boiling water, cover and let sit, stirring occasionally until mixture is just warm and most of the water is absorbed.

Add yeast and stir. Let sit until yeast is dissolved, about 5 mintes. Combine flours, and salt in food processor with steel blade or dough blade attached. Process briefly to combine. Cover with cereal mixture and oil.

Process until mixture forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. If mixture seems too sticky, you can add the additional 1/4 cup of flour a tablespoon at a time processing to combine until it's the right consistency. You could also add a tablespoon or two more water if it's too dry. (I didn't need to do either.) Let sit for 2 minutes.

Process again for 30 seconds. The dough will be smoother and more cohesive.

Form dough into a ball and transfer to a greased bowl or dough bucket to rise. Let rise 1-1 1/2 hours or until double in size. Dump out onto lightly floured surface and divide into 2 balls of dough. Use as specified in recipe.

(What I did---preheat baking stone and oven to 500 degrees. Roll dough or press into 12-14 inch circle. Brush edges with canola oil and add pizza sauce and cheese to 1/2 inch of edges. Bake on stone for 10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly all over. I didn't have parchment paper this time so I used a lot of cornmeal and flour to be able to transfer it to my stone but you can shape the dough on sprayed and cornmeal dusted parchment paper and then transfer the pizza with the paper to the stone. It's a bit easier.)

Makes 2 lbs of dough or enough for 2-14 inch pizzas.

Source: Adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Some of my other favorites from Table Talk:

Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Toasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Buffalo Chicken (Sticky Finger) Salad

Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce (Sandwiches)

Chicken Parmesan

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

Table Talk: Stir-Fried Chicken and Green Beans with Spicy Orange Sauce

2013-11-13T11:27:00.001-07:00

The sun goes down here now at like 4:30. Yeah, 4-stupid-30. I hate it more than words can say. It seems like it's midnight because it's been dark for hours when really, it's only 8 o'clock. It's a crazy world. And when you're trying to take photos for your blog, you have to have dinner ready at an insane time that can only be construed as Linner or Dunch, it gets in the way. Where's the light??? Anyway, long story short, please excuse the above photo. It's Mother Nature's fault. Or the people who decide on Daylight Savings. Or Tyler's for messing with my plans to be earlier with dinner. Or the kids' for having to run them around everywhere last night. Good thing I love them. Well, Tyler and the kids. Mother Nature and the Daylight Savings people? Eh, not so much love there.

Speaking of not so much love, that's how I felt about this stir fry. As I've mentioned, last night didn't run as smoothly as one would hope so maybe my opinion is skewed. While everything else was hectic, this dish did come together pretty easily. The chicken ended up marinating for more than the hour in the recipe because my plan went awry so maybe that also had something to do with it.

What I liked: I loved the chicken to vegetable ratio, there seemed to be quite a few green beans and I like the idea of that since I've been trying to be more conscious about the size of vegetable portion we are eating. I liked how fast it came together and how easy it was. Now the dislike: There was a little something 'off' with the orange sauce. Or maybe it was the orange sauce and the marinade together? Like a weird kind of after taste? It seemed a little too vinegary so I added some extra sugar to try and counteract that. It did help, but I still wasn't wowed. Or even pleased enough to make this version again.

I've been doing a lot of soul searching where this blog is concerned and I've decided (tentatively) on a few things. One of them is that I want to make sure I'm only posting LOVED recipes. Recipes I would make again and do make again regularly. Since I didn't really feel this way about this one, I'm just going to give you a link to the recipe so you can try it for yourself if you'd like. Just because we didn't love it doesn't mean you won't! I'm not saying I'd never make this again. I might make it again with some tweaks, and if I do that and love it, I will update or re-post with what worked for me. Until then, this is going in the 'to tweak' pile. :)

Get the recipe HERE.

Table Talk: Pad Thai with Shrimp

2013-10-23T01:56:00.000-06:00

I have some confessions to make. I'm not really sure what this is supposed to taste like. I don't know that I've ever been to a Thai restaurant. The only Pad Thai I've tasted is from a kit at the grocery store. So I probably am not the best judge of what Pad Thai should be. So, just keep that in mind when you read my opinion of how it came together! Mmmkay?

I liked it. I thought it tasted fresh and delicious. My kids liked it too but Tyler isn't really a fan of Thai food so he just tolerated it. I can see myself making this again. It came together pretty quickly and easily. The hardest part was finding the rice noodles! I went to 16 grocery stores before I found them. Okay, maybe it was 5 but it still seemed excessive! I, luckily, had some tamarind concentrate that I'd ordered from Amazon for a different recipe, otherwise that would have been harder to find (I've tried before). The book included a substitution list for the tamarind which would have been super helpful in that circumstance.

Pad Thai with Shrimp

Sauce:

1 T tamarind concentrate

2/3 cup hot water

3 T fish sauce

3 T sugar

1 T canola oil

1 T rice vinegar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I only used a dash because I was scared! Next time I might use a little more)

Noodles, Shrimp and Garnish

8 oz dried, flat rice noodles (Thai rice noodles) about 1/4 inch thick

1 T canola oil

12 oz medium shrimp (40-50/lb) peeled and deveined

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 oz bean spouts

4 scallions, sliced thin

Salt to taste

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

2 T chopped, roasted, unsalted peanuts

Lime wedges for serving

Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil. Remove from heat and stir in noodles. Let stand, stirring occasionally until softened but not fully cooked (8-10 minutes). Drain noodles and set aside in colander.

Heat 1 1/2 tsp oil in skillet or wok, until just smoking. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp are curled and browned slightly, turning as necessary, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil until shimmering. Add shallots and garlic and cook until lightly browned about 1 1/2 minutes. Add eggs and stir constantly until scrambled but still moist (about 20 seconds).

Add noodles and sauce. Cook, tossing gently until noodles are evenly coated, about 1 minute.

Add shrimp, sprouts, and scallions to the skillet and cook, tossing gently until shrimp are heated through and noddles are tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt to taste. To serve, sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4

Source: Adapted from: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

2013-10-10T07:00:00.000-06:00

Our garden was weird this year. I guess I shouldn't say that. I've never gardened in Southern California (kinda) before so maybe it was normal, but I thought it was weird. The cherry tomatoes were supposed to be the first to ripen! It said so on the package of seeds. For some reason, they ripened AFTER some of our other tomato varieties that were supposed to take twice as long. While I was a little confused as to why these sleeper tomatoes did that, I wasn't upset that we actually got some produce from our plants.

When we did get cherry tomatoes a couple weeks ago, we picked about 2- 1.5 gallon buckets of them! I decided I needed something to do with them and this was one of my decisions. And it was a darn good one. I know you are probably not in that same predicament right now because it's October, but I really wanted to get this recipe down so I'd remember it for next year. It was so easy, hardly any prep time or hands-on time and we really liked the result.

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

5 cups cherry tomatoes, washed and stemmed

1 med onion, sliced

5 cloves garlic, smashed

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar

3 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss all ingredients in a bowl until well mixed. Transfer to baking dish (I used 9x13) and bake for about 30-35 minutes.

Until tomatoes are roasted and popped and onions are tender.

Puree in food processor and check seasonings-add salt/pepper to taste. Serve. I didn't need it right away so I froze it in a bag until we were ready to use it. This is what we did with it when we took it out of the freezer.

Soooo good!

Makes about 3 cups sauce.

Inspired by: Brooklyn Farm Girl

Table Talk: Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Toasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2013-10-09T05:00:00.000-06:00

I know, I know....How many recipes with corn and black beans can one cooking blog have? There's never too many, I tell ya. This recipe was so appealing to me on so many levels. Not only did it have a plethora of ingredients that I love, it was also labeled 'fast'. And I do love fast. Every single weeknight we have something on the schedule and all things seem to fall right when dinner is supposed to be being prepared or eaten. I like having recipes that are a little flexible, easy to prepare and healthy. I feel like I get in a rut and cook the same thing over and over to satisfy my need for speed. I think this will make it into the rut-rotation.

It was a great recipe for busy weeknights because I prepared the salsa ahead of time and combined the seasonings for the meat so when it came down to the wire, all I had to do was rub the meat down and cook it. (About 15 minutes!) I ended up having a little extra time, which never happens, so I cooked some rice and roasted some asparagus. This meat doesn't really need a companion though so if you find yourself without that extra time, this could be a meal in itself. And pretty darn healthy. Unless you think red meat is the devil. Then, uh.....

Anyway, we loved it. I missed the fresh corn by a couple weeks so I had to use frozen corn. I defrosted it and tried to dry it the best I could but it kinda acted like popcorn and started jumping out of the pan. Maybe that's why the recipe says you have to use fresh! Other than the jumping corn, it all came together smoothly.

Spice-Rubbed Flank Steak with Toasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients for the Salsa

4 1/2 tsp olive oil

1-2 ears corn, kernels removed (or I used 1 1/2 cups defrosted, frozen corn--dry it as much as you can)

1 can black beans (15 0z) rinsed and drained

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine (I had a bag of baby bell peppers that needed to be used so I used those and it was about 1 1/4 cup chopped peppers)

1/2 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded and minced

2 T minced fresh cilantro

2 1/2 T fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)

2 green onions, sliced thin

3 cloves minced garlic

1/2 avocado, diced

salt pepper

Steak

1 1/2 lb flank steak, trimmed of visible fat

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp canola oil

For the Salsa: Heat 1 1/2 tsp olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat until shimmering. Add corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer corn to bowl and add remaining salsa ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (This can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. May need to adj lime juice, salt and pepper before serving) Cover and let sit while cooking steak.

For the Steak: Mix spices together. Pat the steak dry and sprinkle/rub with seasoning mixture on both sides. Wipe out skillet and add canola oil. Heat over med-high heat until just smoking. Add steak and sear for 3-5 minutes. Flip, reduce heat to med and cook for 5-10 minutes more or until meat registers 125 degrees on an instant read thermometer (for med-rare). I just cooked it for 4 minutes on the first side and 7 on the other and called it good. Reduce the heat more if pan begins to scorch. Transfer steak to carving board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing. Slice steak thin, against the grain and serve with salsa.

Serves 4.

Source: Adapted from: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Table Talk: Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2013-09-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

I don't even think I have to explain why I picked this recipe. Why would I not pick this recipe??!! That's the question. The only thing that surprised me when I checked the ingredient list and instructions was that there wasn't a dipping sauce. Um, what? For some people that would probably be something they could live with but for someone like me, it's all about the sauce.

I subbed Calrose rice for the brown rice simply because it was faster and I wanted to be done cooking in half an hour. I know what you're thinking---isn't brown rice healthier? Yes, my friend, it is. Have I mentioned I'm lazy?

We really liked this and I would make it again-with the dipping sauce, of course. In my opinion it needed it-but like I said, I'm a sauce kind of girl.

The recipe called for ground chicken but I couldn't find ground chicken at my grocery store. Not even the 99% fat free version (ground chicken breast) the recipe warned against. I could have tried a different grocery store, but I grabbed some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and got outta there.

And then I threw half a pound of the thighs and half a pound of chicken tenderloins in my food processor.

Whallah! Ground chicken. (pulse until chicken is mostly ground up and then alternate between pulsing and running until it's the right consistency)

And it worked really well in the recipe. Yay!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1.5 cups calrose rice

3 cups water

1 lb ground chicken

2 tsp canola oil

1 jalapeno

2 tsp grated lime zest and

3 T fresh lime juice from 2 limes

3 T fish sauce

1 1/2 T brown sugar

1 tsp corn starch

2 T chopped fresh basil

3 scallions, sliced thin (I only used 2 because they were on the large side)

12 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves (about 1 head) --I couldn't find either of these so I used plain ol' iceberg lettuce.

For the dipping sauce:

2 T soy sauce

2 T water

4 T brown sugar

1 tsp minced garlic

I used my rice cooker for the rice but you can follow the package directions, adjusting the water to what your package says. While that's cooking, combine lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar and corn starch in a small bowl and set aside.

Combine ingredients for dipping sauce (soy sauce, water, brown sugar and garlic) in either a small sauce pan or a med size bowl. Cook on stove top or microwave until sugar is dissolved. (On stove top, bring to boil and boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. In microwave, microwave 45 seconds, stir and then 45 seconds more if needed to dissolve sugar. Just make sure bowl is not too small or sauce will boil over.)

Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat, (I skipped the oil and used a non-stick pan) add chicken, jalapeno and lime zest, breaking meat into smaller pieces while cooking. Cook until chicken is browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Whisk lime juice mixture again and add to skillet. Cook stirring constantly until sauce has thickened, about 45 seconds. Off the heat stir in basil and scallions.

Serve the chicken filling with rice, lettuce leaves and dipping sauce.

Serves 4

Source: Lettuce wraps adapted from: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

dipping sauce: girlplusfood original

Table Talk: Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

2013-09-11T11:53:00.000-06:00

I've been crazy about tomato soup and cheese sandwiches lately. I've always liked the combo, but I've just gotten back into it. I picked this recipe because I wanted to try it and use some of the tomatoes from my garden. To make it creamy without cream, bread is thrown into the mix. I thought that was interesting when I read the recipe but it seemed to work. Although, I'm not sure why I am leaving out the cream only to load the soup with cheese? Less cream equals more cheese, I guess. Yeah, that's how I roll.

At some point, I'm going to have to try the original recipe with canned tomatoes and see how it compares. We enjoyed this soup but I will be making some changes for next time. The original recipe is also super easy and fast but it added a few steps using fresh tomatoes. If you've canned tomatoes before, you are probably familiar with the process. Add tomatoes to boiling water and boil for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the skins start to separate. Transfer to ice water bath. Remove skins and core. Lightly squeeze tomatoes to remove some of the seeds and juice. Transfer to a bowl and use a knife to cut into smaller pieces.

I stated with a gallon and a half ice cream bucket of tomates and my goal was to end up with 3 lbs 11 oz once the tomates were peeled and squeezed a bit. I should have weighed the tomatoes before hand, but didn't. I ended up with 3lbs and 10 oz and called it good. :)

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (next time I'll just use the 2 T for sauteeing and leave out the remaining 2 T)

1 onion, mined (about 1 cup)

pinch red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf (I think next time I will sub basil or majoram for the bay leaf)

3 cloves of garlic, minced (1 heaping tsp)

3lbs 11oz tomatoes, prepared as shown above or 2 (28oz) cans tomatoes halved or diced

1 1/2 T brown sugar (I added a little extra)

3/4 tsp salt (omit if using canned tomatoes)

3 slices white sandwich bread, crust removed and torn into 1 inch pieces

2 cups chicken broth

2 T sherry or brandy (next time I will omit, didn't like it)

salt pepper to taste

Add 2 T oil, onion, pepper flakes and bay leaf (or other spices) to pan. Cook over med-high heat until onion is softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Add tomatoes, brown sugar, and salt and simmer for 20-30 minutes until tomatoes are tender and can be easily smashed with a spatula. (if you're using canned tomatoes you only have to simmer for about 5 minutes) If you use a bay leaf, discard here. Add bread and simmer until bread dissolves, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to blender (if using all of the olive oil, add remaining 2 T now) or use immersion blender to puree mixture. Blend until completely smooth, seeds will no longer be visible. (If using a blender, make sure to vent a little while blending to keep pressure from building.) Return to pan and stir in broth and sherry or bandy if using it. Heat over med-low heat until soup is heated through. Season with salt and pepper (and brown sugar) to taste.

Serves 6

Source: Adapted from THIS recipe that can also be found in The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Table Talk: Healthier Zucchini Bread

2013-08-28T20:28:00.000-06:00

It's our last official week of Table Talk as a group. I'm going to finish out the year posting recipes every two weeks from the The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook but it will be more of a series now than a group.

This zucchini bread was pretty good. Was it the best zucchini bread I've ever had? No, but I'm sure the best zucchini bread is also quite a bit less healthy. :) I haven't fooled myself into thinking that this bread is entirely healthy, but if you are trying to change some small things and make healthier choices when it comes to sweets, this bread would be a great choice. Some of the fat in the bread is replaced with low-fat yogurt (or sour cream in my case) and some of the white flour is replaced with whole wheat. Anytime I make small changes like that, I feel just a little bit better about eating it. Then, I can have 2 slices instead of 1. ;)

Of course, my kids liked it too even though they refuse to eat zucchini by itself. I'm going to start covering all vegetables in sugar to get them to eat them I guess. ;)

If you'd like the recipe, you can get it at the blog of our host this week, Valerie. She picked the recipe and chose a good one, thanks Valerie.

Tomatoes, Squash and Fresh Mozzarella with Creamy Polenta (Or without, whatevs)

2013-08-14T11:35:00.000-06:00

I don't want to sound like a loser or anything but I've never had polenta before. I've never cooked it before and I've never even seen it at the grocery store before. I was wondering if I would even be able to find it but Bob's Red Mill came through for me.

If I'm being honest, I would have to tell you that I almost didn't even make the polenta. I almost decided that it wasn't worth buying something I knew I wasn't going to like. Then, I realized that I'm not a five year old and that this is the reason for the cooking group to begin with. To learn new things. To try new things that I wouldn't normally try. To cook new things. To eat new things. To not be a 5 year old.

After a pep talk in the mirror, I tried the polenta by itself and was less than impressed and wondered if maybe I was a 5 year old after all. Determined to try everything together before I wrote off polenta forever, I dished everything up and took a bite. And was pleasantly surprised. All the flavor combinations really worked together. The juices from the vegetables mixed with the polenta and it was really good. It's almost like America's Test Kitchen knows what it's doing. Weird. And the texture of the polenta was completely lost in the vegetables and flavors. I actually really liked it and would maybe make it again.

If you leave the polenta uncovered, it turns into a rubbery brick of cornmeal so make sure to serve it right away.

And this is how the rest of the family ate their vegetables. Okay, fine. This is how Tyler ate his and the kids pretty much had noodles with parmesan cheese. (I forgot to add the mozzarella to his plate before the picture. oops)

I know what you're thinking, I should have just made them eat the polenta. If they get hungry enough they'll eat it right? Well, let's just say that all of my ideas about eating from my younger years have been blown out the window. Like with a hand grenade. I usually make them taste it and if they don't like it, they don't have to eat it. When an autistic kid can't handle the texture of something, I don't make him eat it. Or he will throw up. Yeah. And Tyler's decided he's pretty much autistic too so he got noodles. And I can't punish Hadlee for being the only 'typical' one around here so she got to have noodles too. (I learned that's what you call your normal kids when you have an autistic one, 'typical'.) Maybe now that I'm more of a polenta eater, I will convert them in the future. Like when all their taste buds have grown up a bit. :) And Tyler did actually try a bite of the polenta with veggies and said it was pretty good. He liked his noodles better though. :)

If you'd like to try the recipe you can get it at Janet's blog. She was our host for the week and chose the recipe. Thanks for making me try something new, Janet!

Here's what I did differently this week:

Not much. I didn't have cherry tomatoes, but we have a lot of tomatoes in our garden so I used about 4 medium tomatoes, sliced them and roasted them in the oven. Then, cut the slices into 4 quarters each and added them to the recipe like they were cherry tomatoes. I didn't have fresh thyme so I used 1/4 tsp dried. Other than those things, I followed the recipe pretty closely this week! It's almost a record for me!

P.S. I think I said 'polenta' 3000 times in this post.

Happy National Cheesecake Day!

2013-07-30T13:31:00.001-06:00

Usually when I hear about these holidays, I'm like, 'Really? Should we really be calling that a holiday?' With cheesecake, I'm totally on board. It's National Cheesecake Day! And if you live near a Cheesecake Factory, you can get a slice of cheesecake for half price. If you don't, or only believe in homemade, here's a couple ideas for you. These are some of my favorite cheesecakes. I like most of these more than any cheesecake I've ever eaten, restaurants included. Hurry and make one today! :)

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake- Oreo cookie crust, vanilla cheesecake with Oreo chunks. Topped with crushed Oreos and white chocolate drizzle/ganache.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake- Graham cracker crust with vanilla cheesecake, covered with cinnamon apples, caramel, pecans and melted marshmallow. (And I think toasted coconut would be good here. Like it on an apple? Throw it on your cheesecake.)

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake- Spiced graham cracker crust with pumpkin cheesecake covered with caramel and toffee bits. Maybe it's just for fall. Maybe not.

Turtle Cheesecake- Vanilla wafer crust with a chocolate cheesecake base, pecans, caramel and white and dark chocolate.

Have a great Cheesecake Day!

Table Talk: Southwestern Black Bean Salad

2013-07-24T02:00:00.000-06:00

It's my week to host and when I chose this recipe, I wanted to pick something easy. I haven't really been feeling like spending a ton of time in the kitchen lately. I think it's because I'm pregnant (with someone else's baby) and nothing really sounds that great. Then, late last week, we got some devastating news. My little baby nephew had passed away in his sleep. It was the most heart-breaking experience but at the same time, there was such an out-pouring of love for my brother and his family, it was lovely to see. Our weekend was spent crying and driving and then more crying and driving and I don't know that we'll recover anytime soon. This recipe ended up being about all a person can handle after something like that. I knew it would be easy and once I got in the kitchen to make it, I found my kitchen to be what it always is-therapeutic. I know some people won't understand but sometimes I think cooking keeps me sane. Once I got in there I decided to bake some bread because fresh baked bread makes everything seem a little better. And also because I knew Calvin wouldn't be too savvy on the dinner plans but he always likes bread. :)

This recipe is full of things I love and that was another reason I picked it. I got to use some of the tomatoes from our garden and I always love an excuse to use fresh corn. It all came together pretty easily and we will make it again. It was really good with some chips (which defeats the 'healthy' aspect of it, but whatevs) and it was also really good as a salad. I can see myself eating this on all kinds of different things. Like a quesadilla with some sour cream and this stuff on top sound delicious. I'll get there.

Southwestern Black Bean Salad

2 T olive oil

2 ears of corn, kernels removed

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed (I cooked my own beans and used about 1.5 cups)

1 tomato, cored and chopped

3 T minced fresh cilantro

2 scallions, sliced thin

3 T fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

1 1/2 tsp minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1/2 tsp honey

salt pepper

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Heat 1 T of oil in medium skilled over med-high heat until oil is shimmering. Add corn and cook 6-8 minutes, until golden brown. Transfer to a bowl and mix in beans, tomato and cilantro.

In a separate bowl, whisk the scallions, lime juice, chipotle chiles, honey, remaining T of oil, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper together. Pour over salad and toss to coat.

Gently fold in the avocado and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

We added some lettuce, homemade ranch (kind of like the one here) and some chips for crunch. I find it's better for me to crumble some chips on top and then eat it rather than scooping with chips. When I crumble over the top, I only eat 3-4 chips and who knows how many I eat scooping. :) If you like black beans and corn, you need to give this a try. It's a keeper.

Serves 7

Source: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Table Talk: Pasta Salad plus Sun-Dried Tomatoes minus Arugula

2013-07-10T12:20:00.001-06:00

Last time I made something with Arugula in it, my family wasn't impressed. I decided to leave it out of our pasta salad since I didn't want to watch everyone pick it out and waste it. I'm wondering though if I should have given it a go. I'm thinking that the vinegar in the dressing might have been enough to tame the overwhelming flavor that arugula can have. Next time, I'll have to throw it in and see how it goes. I threw in some olives and I had deli sliced provolone that I cut it into strips. The recipe called for whole wheat penne but whole grain works too, right? I didn't have parsley so I substituted basil. Next time I would add quite a bit more than 1 T.

My husband and I liked this dish. It was easy to make and worked perfectly for last night because I made it and then put it in the fridge for an hour while I took Hadlee to swimming and it was ready to eat when we got home, starving. Calvin didn't love it but his palate is pretty sensitive and things with vinegar usually aren't his cup of tea. He took a couple bites and then poured himself a bowl of Life cereal.

I think this would also be great with some cucumbers for crunch and anything else you like with vinegar-like dressing.

If you'd like the recipe you can buy the book or get it at Jen O's blog. She was our host for the week and chose the recipe.

Berry Cheesecake Salad (Red, White and Blue)

2013-07-02T21:49:00.001-06:00

Are you still deciding on your 4th of July menu? I, personally, like to wait until the last possible minute. I'm one of those people. Decisions are hard for me. Especially really big ones, like menu finalization. I have to think about it for a few days and weigh all options before committing. Some people might say it's smart planning to look at every angle. Others might say I should just make up my mind already and quit being such a procrastinator. (I tend to fall in with the latter crowd, I don't know what my problem is.) Well, if you're anything like me and you're still looking for ideas for what to take to a barbecue or what to make for guests, this 'salad' is super easy and a complete crowd pleaser.

You can really add almost any fruit to this. My mother in law makes a version of this salad with just grapes and it's so good it's ridiculous. I chose strawberries and blueberries simply because of the holiday breathing down our necks. I was trying to come up with some kind of fruit that wouldn't be good in this and I am stumped. Anything from bananas to apples to cantaloupe would be delicious. What I'm trying to say is this salad is not only a super easy crowd pleaser, but it's also so versatile. I can't come up with any reason not to love this salad. ;)

Since we were going for the berry cheesecake version, we served it with graham crackers. I put them on the side and let everyone decide if they wanted to crush them over the salad or put some salad on a graham cracker and eat it. If you wanted to skip the graham crackers, you can totally get away with that. Some almonds for crunch would work really well, or probably whatever kind of nut you like.

Berry Cheesecake Salad

4 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese (not that I think this is necessary since we are dumping in whipping cream, but that's what I used.)

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

dash salt

1 cup whipping cream

1 1/2 lbs strawberries, quartered

8 oz blueberries

Graham crackers, optional

Add cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla to the bowl of a mixer. With the whisk attachment, beat until smooth 2-3 minutes, scraping down the bowl if necessary. Once smooth, add whipping cream and whisk at medium speed until thickened. About 2-3 minutes, the whisk will leave 'trails' in the mixture.

Add berries or fruit of your choice.

Fold together.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves about 6 as side/dessert portions.

I took a picture of mine with the graham cracker crumbled over top.

Normally when I eat cheesecake, I just eat the middle, and leave the crust but I really liked the graham cracker here. I'm all about crunch these days. ;) Just be sure to wait until serving to add the graham cracker so they don't get soggy-or just serve the graham crackers on the side so people can do what they want with them.

*This is best served the day it's made.

Source: girlplusfood original

If you're looking for more 4th of July menu ideas, here's a few:

These are close to the salad but take a little more work. They might be worth it for how cute they are though.

I still remember this blueberry nectarine pie with crumble topping and how delicious it was warm, topped with ice cream.

I've learned that you really can't go wrong with pavlova. If you haven't had it yet, you must make it soon.

For some reason the 4th of July is synonymous with corn for me. If you don't care about the red, white and blue pallet then this salad is perfect.

If you ask me, any day is a great day for s'mores but wouldn't a 4th of July s'more party be fun? Nothing says patriotism like homemade graham crackers and marshmallows.

This fruit tart takes some work, but makes up for it by being so beautiful.

I, obviously, need to make these again so I can take better photos. Don't let it deter you, these are delicious and would be well received anywhere. (unless someone is allergic to deliciousness.)

I know I gave you mostly desserts here. It's almost like there's a reason for that. If you're cooler than me and would rather bring a side dish, you can see more side dishes HERE and more salads HERE.

Happy 4th of July!

Table Talk: Buffalo Chicken (Sticky Finger) Salad

2013-06-26T19:08:00.001-06:00

I'm not a huge buffalo wing fan. Mainly because I'm the biggest sissy ever when it comes to spicy food. Ever. There might be something wrong with my taste buds, I don't know. I knew right off the bat that I wouldn't be making this full-spicy, since I have issues. When I read through the recipe, and it said to use specifically-'Frank's Hot Sauce'- it reminded me of THIS recipe for Winger's Sticky Fingers that I've been wanting to try. I thought it might be a nice compromise for my sticky situation. (See what I did there? Yeah, I'm also a dork.)

It was perfect for my family and me. Tyler normally likes buffalo wings but the kids weren't going to eat something too hot and this seemed to be a perfect balance to please everyone. It had a little bit of heat and just enough for me. The dressing and the veggies toned it down a bit in the salad and made it perfect.

Here's what I did:

I used chicken tenderloins and cut them in half lengthwise.

Michelle mentioned in her post that the cornmeal mixture kind of fell off the chicken after cooking so I decided to experiment and see if I left the chicken in the cornmeal for a while, if it would stay on the chicken better. I prepared the chicken first and left it coated in the bag for probably 20 minutes, while I got everything else ready for the salad.

For the sauce- 1/3 cup Frank's Wing Sauce, 1/4 cup water and 1 cup brown sugar (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups but I didn't think the extra half cup was needed and I was right-it does happen sometimes.) Mix all together in a sauce pan and bring to boil. Boil 1 minute and then remove from heat and set aside. {Next time I would half this mixture, I had quite a bit left over but I've heard it's good mixed with Ranch. If I do leave these proportions, I would reserve half to mix with Ranch and dump half over the chicken}

Once everything else was ready, and the chicken had become one with the coating, I tested my theory and cooked the chicken. I used a bit more oil than the recipe stated, maybe 2 T altogether, but probably because I had more coated surface with my smaller pieces of chicken.

Once the chicken is browned and cooked almost through, add the sauce and stir and turn to coat the chicken.

I would have liked blue cheese dressing but I know my family would have not appreciated it (mainly Tyler) so I whipped up a simple, light Ranch dressing to go with it. {1/2 cup light sour cream, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, juice 1/2 lime, 3 T cilantro-combine in food processor or blender, add water to thin to desired consistency} More kid friendly, ya know. To make myself feel more adult-ish, I added some goat cheese to my salad. It was a good call.

I'm happy to report that the coating stayed on the chicken. I decided I really liked this method of cooking the chicken and pouring the sauce over it. I will be doing that everyday in the future.

If you'd like to try the recipe, you can visit Michelle's blog for the recipe, she was our host for the week. Thanks for picking such a fun recipe Michelle!

Sources:

Sauce: Adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff

Dressing: Girlplusfood Original

Salad: The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Table Talk: Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

2013-06-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Valerie was missing Bake 52 so she decided to pick a dessert this week. I'm always on board with those kinds of ideas. But then I remembered that this would be a healthier version of a dessert. I'm fine with having fruit for dessert or something light but I'm not always a fan of turning a classic dessert into a healthier version. I figure if you're going to eat a chocolate chip cookie, then just eat a chocolate chip cookie, don't be a pansy about it. I expected to open the cookbook and find some weird substitutions in the recipe. At least some applesauce or pureed prunes for the fat in the cookies. Nope. What I found was a pretty normal cookie recipe. It left me wondering if these were in fact healthier? At some point I'm going to have to do a comparison with my regular chocolate chip cookie recipe and see what the real difference is. The book does a comparison but I'm not really sure what they were comparing this recipe to.

According to the book, the reduced the amount of butter and made up for it with the addition of some brown butter. I don't have any pans that aren't non-stick so I just used my microwave and a glass bowl. This was after I added the regular butter to stir it in.

It seemed like my dough was a little less stiff than the dough in the photos. I used my scale to measure the flour in hopes that it would be spot on but ?

As a result of the looser dough, my cookies were a little more flat than the picture in the book. They were still pretty good.

They had a slight crunch on the edges while the center was softer and moist. The next day, the cookie texture was slightly different, more of a chewy/soft combo but they were still really good. I didn't expect them to dethrone my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and they didn't, but no one was complaining. We all really liked them. And you can never have too many good cookie recipes.

If you'd like to try the recipe, you can visit the blog of our hostess for the week, Valerie.

Table Talk: Vegetable Lo Mein

2013-05-22T20:06:00.000-06:00

I was so on board with this week's recipe choice! I happen to think lo mein is one of the greatest things on earth. I've made quite a few versions of it and most of those include me going into the kitchen and throwing a bunch of stuff together.

We all really liked this recipe and I would make it again tomorrow. I loved how fast it was-after everything was chopped and ready to go-and I loved that there wasn't an insane amount of dishes.

The only thing is, I didn't realize until I was cooking that I was missing a few ingredients I really thought I had oyster sauce, but nope. I didn't have corn starch, which I was supposed to buy at the store and I forgot. I used a few vegetables that weren't in the recipe-zucchini, yellow squash, and broccoli. And I just used regular mushrooms instead of shiitake. I also used a lb of pasta instead of 12 oz so I increased the sauce amount to 1 cup chicken broth, 1/3 cup soy sauce (and I would have added 1/3 cup oyster sauce but didn't have it) so I went with 2 T brown sugar, 2 T rice vinegar and about 1 T of sweet red chili sauce and 1 T of flour to make up for my lacking corn starch. I didn't have sriracha so I just added a few red pepper flakes.

Oh, and I also used linguine. Have I told you guys about my weird aversion to regular spaghetti noddles? Yeah, it's weird. When I can, I always sub either angel hair or linguine. Thin spaghetti is only marginally better and I'll only use that as a second to last resort. Don't ask me to explain it either. I'm a weirdo. I've tried to tell you guys.

That seems like a lot of changes now that I've typed them all out......

Anyway, here's a picture of all the veggies right before I added the sauce.

And here's a picture right before I ate it.

This was a great recipe. Everyone should make it. If you hate meat-less meals, a few of my cooking friends added chicken and it looks delicious. You can buy the book, or get the recipe at Talesha's blog.

TWD: Savory Brioche Pockets

2013-05-21T21:10:00.000-06:00

After looking at the recipe, I felt like I should stuff some chicken and other things inside these 'pockets' but decided I better just stick to the recipe. And after making them and eating them, I'm thinking maybe I should have listened to my heart. Dramatic, I know. I forgot to add the chives to the potato and goat cheese mixture, oops. I ended up sprinkling them on top to try to make up for my misfortune but these just didn't wow me enough to make them again.

It was a 2 day process for the brioche and then several different pans are needed to 'steam' the potatoes and cook the asparagus and caramelize the onions. And honestly after all that time and all those dirty dishes, I was expecting to have my socks knocked off. Sadly, they weren't. My socks are still in tact.

I enjoyed mixing the dough, but we've made brioche before so I knew what to expect. And I have to admit, I think she's so pretty.

Calvin helped me fill up the pockets and I caught him eating asparagus! I just about died because he usually and forcefully refuses asparagus. So there's that.

The pockets before the rise.

After the rise and ready to bake.

Baked. The edges didn't really want to stay nicely pressed like they were in the book, but I figured the fillings were solid enough, I didn't worry too much about it.

I KNOW the brioche recipe is a winner because these Pecan Sticky Buns blew my mind and used the same brioche recipe. I think it's just a matter of what you shove inside these things and your preferences. If you'd like to try the recipe or a variation of it, you can visit the blog of our host for the week: Loaves and Stitches.

I'm sure the amazing TWD bakers have come up with some mouth-watering renditions. To see their links go HERE.

Table Talk: Breakfast Strata

2013-05-08T15:15:00.002-06:00

The book we are using { The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook} is all about making everyday meals healthier. I don't recall that I've ever eaten strata before, so I can't really compare it to the full-fat and calorie version but I thought this was pretty good.

My only complaint, again, is the amount of dishes this recipe created. If I made it again, I would definitely try to streamline that. I would also probably half the spinach and throw in some other vegetables. I did add some mushrooms, but not nearly enough. Also, I didn't have enough feta cheese so, after mixing the feta in with the strata, I just threw some monterey jack on top instead of more feta.

My pie weights came in handy to weigh the strata down for an hour before baking. Fine! I'm not fancy enough to have pie weights. They are just beans. Happy?!

After the weight was lifted.

After baking.

We had this for dinner but if I were going to make it for breakfast, I would put everything together the night before and refrigerate it over night. The recipe says you can refrigerate for up to 24 hrs.

If you'd like the recipe you can buy the bookor you can visit the blog of our hostess for the week, Janet.

TWD: Fresh Rhubarb Upside-Down Baby Cakes

2013-05-07T18:06:00.000-06:00

I don't have baby cake pans, baby. I told you that when we made Gingerbread Baby Cakes. Last time I used ramekins. This time I thought I'd use my jumbo muffin pan (the muffin holes are 3 inches across). It doesn't get used all that much and I think it feels left out most days.

We had maple flavored whipped cream to go on top and the whole thing was the kind of dessert that almost makes me forget who chocolate is. And my own name. I love being pleasantly surprised. But what's not to like about a cake with caramel, walnuts (I didn't have pecans) and rhubarb. Did I lose you there? At the rhubarb? Yeah, I didn't add very much but I wished I added more. It was delicious.

I halved the recipe and it was perfect for the muffin tin.

Look at her all happy and buttered and floured.

All good things start with caramel. (Remember, I forgot who chocolate was for today.) And this is where I should have been more bold with the rhubarb. Probably twice as much.

And then cake batter on top. I used my 1 oz scoop and put 2 oz in cake hole. Yes, we are making cake right now so they're cake holes.

Bake and dump out. I had to take a knife around the edge of each one before they really wanted to come out.

And then wonder if they are worth all the dirty dishes. But my little saucepan was also happy. He doesn't see much action either, normally.

And then (almost) accidentally beat your whipping cream until it turns to butter. Oops. I caught it just in time. It was probably about 1/2 cup whipping cream, 2 T sugar, 1/4 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp maple flavoring and I want to remember that for next time. I might have just eaten some whipped cream. Maybe.

Then, decide it was worth all the dirty dishes.

And then forget there are even dirty dishes.

These were so good I might have to throw the rest away so I don't eat them all.

If you'd like to try them yourself, you can buy the book or you can visit the blog of our hostess for the week at: When it Doubt....Leave it at 350

If you'd like to see what the other TWD bakers did, you can go HERE.

Homemade Graham Crackers and the best S'mores ever!

2013-04-29T12:51:00.000-06:00

Last week, I made two different graham cracker recipes. There are quite a few out there. I started with THIS one and it was good. Tyler really liked them plain, with milk or with frosting but when we paired them with marshmallows and chocolate there was something off. It was almost like the flavor wasn't subtle enough and it kind of got in the way of my s'more-but Tyler said I needed to keep the recipe because he loved it. If you are someone who likes just plain graham crackers or, like Tyler, likes them with milk, this first recipe might just be for you. But if you're like me and you feel like the only reason graham crackers exist is to make s'mores and graham cracker crusts then this next recipe is the ticket. It has the perfect subtle graham-cracker-flavor but the feeling of something a little better because it's homemade.

I didn't have a square cookie cutter. (I feel like a failure. Who doesn't have a square cookie cutter?) So I went rooting around in my kitchen to find something that would work. I settled on some glasses that were square with rounded corners and about 3 inches. But you could also just use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut these into squares or rectangles. Then I made half of this marshmallow recipe and used the same kind of glass that was smaller (so they were the same shape but 2.5 inches) to cut the marshmallows. I think even an inch smaller might work. Once the marshmallows are cooked, they puff up quite a bit.

One of the things I loved about this recipe that was missing from the other one was-you roll the dough out and then refrigerate it before cutting. In the other recipe you refrigerate the dough and then try to roll it out. It's way easier to roll it before refrigerating but nice to have that firmness when cutting. If I made the other recipe again, I would add that adaption.

Graham Crackers

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup graham flour (the original recipe says you can use whole-wheat instead)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

6 T unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 T (1.5 tsp) molasses

1 egg

turbinado sugar (or coarse sugar) for sprinkling, optional

Whisk dry ingredients together, set aside. In mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy (3 minutes), Add molasses and egg and combine. Add flour mixture and mix to combine.

Roll out to 1/8" thickness: (Mine might have been slightly thicker than that but less than 1/4") I found it was pretty easy to put the dough onto lightly floured parchment paper, cover with plastic wrap and roll over the plastic wrap.

Remove and straighten the plastic wrap a few times to keep it from tearing.

Then I just left the plastic wrap on the top, slid the whole thing onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Once firm, Cut into desired shape and use a spatula to transfer to baking sheets. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

I baked the first sheet while I re-rolled and re-refrigerated the second batch. Then baked the second batch. If your dough is firm enough you can bake them both just rotate baking sheets halfway through. Bake until firm to the touch and golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Transfer to wire racks to cool. I got about 16 crackers.

Now get the marshmallows you made. Or I guess you could cheat and use store bought.

And put them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and throw them in the oven until they look puffed. (These were at 350 or so but if you want them darker and puffed, 425 would be good)

While that's happening, melt some chocolate. I didn't have any milk chocolate so I used some semi-sweet chocolate chips and some white chocolate chips.

Then spread both sides of your graham cracker with melted chocolate and add one of your puffed marshmallows.

And enjoy a bit of heaven. (If you like them less messy, refrigerate for a bit before eating)

I used to think there was nothing better than a s'more. But now I know, the only thing better is one made with homemade graham crackers and marshmallows.

Let's just stare at this for a while. And wish that I had about 20 of these. And while we're wishing, let's wish they didn't have any fat or calories.

I think I'm going to have a s'more party soon. I'll let you know how it goes.

Source: Marshmallows: This recipe

Graham crackers adapted from MarthaStewart.com

Table Talk: Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

2013-04-24T00:59:00.000-06:00

Whaaat? Who would pick that for their recipe? Is this some kind of joke?

Um, no. Not a joke.

It was my week to host.

And I was trying to choose a recipe that was new and different.

I also noticed that we hadn't made anything from the vegetarian section of the book yet.

Have I told you that Tyler almost turned into a vegan a couple weeks ago?

Yeah, he eats humus now.

I'm not really sure how it all came about but it was about the same time he turned into a cowboy and started listening only to Country music. Well, and Classical music sometimes.

Basically, he wanted to be a vegan cowboy.

It's weird, but that about sums up Tyler. Weird. But also why I love him.

Never a dull moment and just the way I like it.

Anyway, I thought since he was a humus-eating-fool these days, it would be a good time to try and throw something like a chickpea cake on the table for dinner.

A couple months ago, he probably would have taken one look at this and walked out. Maybe for good, maybe just to head to McDonald's.

We'll never know.

I chickened out during the last couple days and decided I had to at least make these into a sandwich.

I mean, we've shown some progress in the eating healthy department lately, but just a chickpea cake might just be crossing a serious line. Just to be careful, I threw in some buns, made from this potato bread recipe (I made one regular loaf and then 10 rolls with 2-2.5 oz of dough/roll).

I'm pretty sure I would eat anything on that potato bread.

And then, like any other time I'm uncomfortable, I threw in some avocado and tomato.

I know what you're thinking. Why am I being a freak when I'm the one who picked the dang recipe. Because I'm a weirdo too. That's why Tyler loves me. ;)

The verdict: Not so bad, my friend. My kids actually ate these! What? Yeah. We all ate them. I had Ramen on stand-by because I was feeling a little bad for Calvin. And when he saw what I was making, he started making the Ramen for himself. Poor kid. I told him if he ate some of his dinner (like, tried it) he could have something else. But, no need. He ate his sandwich and then just some extra bread. And even though Tyler can give him a run for his money, Calvin is my pickiest eater. If the pickiest eater eats it, it's a keeper.

Now, would I crave this? No. Would I make this again? Probably. I really liked the cucumber yogurt sauce and I didn't mind the cakes but I did have a hard time getting those stinking things to stay together.

You know what irks me? When a recipe (and there are a few of them in this book) says 2 slices of bread. Seriously? Give me a measurement! All slices aren't created equal! I need to know how many cups of bread crumbs I'm supposed to end up with. I'm not sure if that's why they didn't stay together, maybe my slices were bigger/smaller than whatever they used in the test kitchen, I don't know. They held up enough to cook them, I just had to be super careful when flipping but I would have liked the recipe a lot more if that weren't an issue.

All in all, they were healthy, flavorful and delicious and I hope all my cooking friends don't hate me for picking such a bizarre recipe.

Oh, and in the original recipe, you end up with 6 cakes, but I made 10 smaller ones to better fit my buns.

Chickpea Cakes with Cucumber-Yogurt Sauce

2 slices high-quality white sandwich bread, torn into pieces (see what I mean? Dude!)
1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and shredded
Salt and pepper
1¼ cups 2% Greek yogurt (I used 0% Greek Yogurt and it worked great)
6 scallions, sliced thin
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed
2 large eggs
10 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garam masala
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (I left this out because I'm a sissy)
1 shallot, minced
Lime wedges (for serving) (I forgot to serve with lime wedges, but will next time, it would have been delicious!)
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the bread in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Spread the crumbs out over a rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Meanwhile, toss the cucumber with ½ teaspoon salt in a colander and let drain for 15 to 30 minutes. Combine the drained cucumbers, ¾ cup of the yogurt, 2 tablespoons of the scallions, and 1 tablespoon of the cilantro in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor to a coarse puree with large pieces remaining, about 8 pulses. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 2 tablespoons of the oil, garam masala, cayenne, and ⅛ teaspoon salt together. Add the processed chickpeas, breadcrumbs, remaining ½ cup yogurt, remaining scallions, remaining 3 tablespoons cilantro, and shallot until just combined. Divide the chickpea mixture into 6 equal portions, about ½ cup each, and lightly pack into 1-inch-thick patties.

4. Heat 2 teaspoons more oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Carefully lay half of the patties in the skillet and cook until well browned on both sides, 8 to 10 minutes.

5. Transfer the cakes to a plate and tent loosely with foil. Return the skillet to medium heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and remaining burgers. Serve with the cucumber-yogurt sauce and lime wedges. Or you can serve like this:

And then do this:

To make ahead: The sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. The cakes can be prepared through step 3, covered tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerated for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Serves 6
Cal 240; Fat 12g; Sat Fat 2.5g; Chol 75mg; Carb 23g; Protein 12g; Fiber 5g; Sodium 570mg

Note: This post was, in no way, meant to be offensive to vegan cowboys.

As well as being posted on America's Test Kitchen Feed, this recipe can also be found in The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Kale, Strawberry and Avocado Salad with Light Poppy Seed Dressing

2013-04-18T01:24:00.001-06:00

I really liked this salad. Like, really liked it. Tyler, on the other hand, wasn't as in love as I was. He has a block when it comes to fruit in a savory (at all) salad or dish. The bacon and strawberries together totally threw him off. And he didn't think strawberries belonged in a salad with lettuce. I don't know, man. I"m slowly breaking him down but we're just not to the strawberry/bacon/lettuce point yet. He ate it though. I took his strawberries and he seemed to be content with the remainder of the ingredients together. I didn't complain. This salad had a bit of everything to tantalize taste buds and it was pretty healthy. I will make it again (because I loved it and every once in a while I make something I love and tell the rest of them to deal with it) and just leave the strawberries off his salad. This was a perfect light evening meal but I wouldn't say no to it at lunch. I can see us making many more salads like this for summer. And I'm hoping to have avocados coming out of my ears because we have a lot of trees in our yard. I'm getting excited!

This recipe was inspired by these two salads. One has bacon and the other had almonds. If you wanted this to be vegetarian, the almonds would be lovely here. And they both have a different version of poppy seed dressing. One was very healthy and the other wasn't quite as healthy. I wanted something in the middle so I just did what felt right. I kind of based it off of our regular poppy seed dressing but lightened it up with some greek yogurt instead of some of the oil.

Apparently kale salads are trendy right now. I had no idea. I picked some up at the store because it looked healthy but didn't know what to do with it once I got it home. It was a revelation when I saw this salad. Not to mention, I had all the remaining ingredients. I love when that happens.

Kale, Strawberry and Avocado Salad with Light Poppy Seed Dressing

4 cups chopped, stemmed kale

2 avocados pitted and sliced

2 cups sliced strawberries

4 slices low sodium bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped

1 T chopped onion

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

3 T sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 T mayo (light mayo would probably work too)

2 T fat free greek yogurt

1/2 T poppy seeds

In a blender or food processor, combine onion, vinegar, sugar and salt and process until smooth. Add yogurt, mayo and poppy seeds and blend. (if you don't have a food processor, you can mince the onion very fine and whisk everything together or just omit the onion.)

To serve: On each plate, place 1 cup kale, 1/4 of the avocado slices, 1/4 of the strawberry slices and 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Drizzle with dressing.

Simple. Fast. Delicious.

Serves: 4

Source: Inspired by Lauren's Latest and Two Peas and Their Pod. Dressing adapted from THIS recipe.

And the nutrition info:

For full nutrition info you can go HERE.

Serving Size 289 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories

343

Calories from Fat

195

% Daily Value^*

Total Fat

21.7g

33%

Saturated Fat

3.9g

19%

Trans Fat

0.0g

Cholesterol

9mg

Sodium

306mg

13%

Total Carbohydrates

32.8g

11%

Dietary Fiber

9.2g

37%

Sugars

14.8g

Protein

8.0g

Vitamin A 209%	•	Vitamin C 230%
Calcium 13%	•	Iron 12%

Nutrition Grade A-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

Low in cholesterol
High in dietary fiber
High in manganese
Very high in vitamin A
High in vitamin B6
Very high in vitamin C

Bad points

High in sugar

TWD: Madeleines

2013-04-16T23:16:00.000-06:00

I've never made madeleines before. The only reason I've even heard of them before is because of FRIENDS. Remember when Sandy made madeleines? And Ross was mad because they were 'lighter than air'? Yeah, that about sums up my knowledge on the subject. I can't really comment on how successful I thought the recipe was and if they turned out how they are supposed to or not because I really don't know. I wish Ross or Monica were here, they could tell you. For a couple hours today, I thought there would be a reunion season of FRIENDS. It was a blissful couple hours, but the dream has been crushed.

I will say that my kids ate all of these. I had one and couldn't quite figure out what the fuss was all about. I mean, where's the freaking chocolate? Maybe I can't wrap my head around it because I'm not a coffee or tea drinker? Maybe they go hand-in-hand.

I took the advice of a fellow baker and rather than greasing and flouring the pan, I brushed it with just butter. That seemed to be a great tip.

For some reason, when I took them out of the oven, they all looked like they had tumors or something growing out of them. Maybe they are supposed to look like that? I really don't know. The recipe just said to fill the molds with the batter, it didn't say how full. I filled 'er up (I used my 1 oz cookie scoop and it seemed to be perfect). Maybe I wasn't supposed to fill them all the way to the top though?

I'm not sure I would make this recipe again, but not because I don't think it's a good recipe. I might just not like madeleines enough. I guess I will have to try a couple other recipes to decide how I really feel about them.

If you like madeleines, you should give this recipe a try. You can buy the book or get it at our host blog for the week, Counter Dog

If you'd like to see how the other TWD bakers fared this week, you can go HERE to get their links.

White Chicken Enchiladas (Lightened-up) with Corn and Avocado Salsa

2013-04-11T12:51:00.000-06:00

The other day I got a hankerin' (have I told you that Tyler, my husband, wants to be a cowboy now? Just practicing.) for chicken enchiladas. Which is weird because I keep telling people (including myself) that I don't really like Mexican food. I could be in denial. I went looking for a recipe but it started to seem like a lot of work to try and find one that fit what I wanted. One of my stipulations was the it would be semi-healthy. We are trying to be good over here, ya know? After searching for a few minutes I decided I was bored with it. I would just throw a few things together and could make it how I wanted it. Guess what? This time, it worked out. These were delicious and only ended up being about 375 calories per serving (2 enchiladas). I was pretty pleased with them so I thought I'd share. If for no other reason than to have the recipe next time I want to make these.

I made my own corn tortillas because we didn't have any on hand. A few of them were a bit thicker than they should have been (I was hurrying) and weren't as flexible so they broke a little while rolling.

White Chicken Enchiladas

1 med onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 T olive oil

6 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 T white cooking wine, optional
1 cup low sodium chicken broth

4 oz can green chilies

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins (can still be frozen)

1 cup greek yogurt

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

2.5 oz (about 1 cup shredded) Monterey jack cheese, divided

12-14 corn tortillas, homemade or store bought

1 green onion, diced

Corn Salsa

2 med tomatoes, diced

1/2 avocado, diced
1/3 cup thawed frozen corn, still cold

1 green onion, chopped

2 T chopped cilantro

juice 1/2 lime

1/4-1/2 tsp salt to taste

1/8 tsp pepper

to serve: (optional)
2 cups green leaf lettuce, chopped
lime wedges

Heat 1 T of oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper, cook about 5 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms and cook about 2 minutes more. Stir in cooking wine and cook about 2 minutes until most of the moisture is gone. Stir in the chicken broth and can of green chilis. Add chicken to pan and cover and simmer until chicken is done.

Meanwhile, add cream cheese and greek yogurt to bowl of mixer and beat until smooth.

Once the chicken is done, drain chicken and vegetables and reserve juices. Shred chicken and return to pan with drained vegetables. Add 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture and 1/2 of the monterey jack cheese to pan and stir to combine. Set aside.

Warm tortillas (wrap about 5 at a time in a wet paper towel and microwave for about 30 seconds) or if you've made your own, keep them warm.

In mixing bowl, add juices (reserved from chicken and vegetables) to remaining cream cheese mixture along with remaining monterey jack cheese and green onion. Mix well. It should be thin enough to pour and spread over enchiladas at this point but if it's not, add a couple tablesppons of milk to thin.

Fill each tortilla with about 3 T of chicken mixture, roll and set seam side down in a greased 13.5x9.5 inch pan (you could probably just use a 13x9 and just have them be a bit more snug). Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. {You can see which ones I didn't roll thin enough. oops. :)}

Pour cheese mixture over enchiladas

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until heated through. While enchiladas are baking combine ingredients for salsa and set aside.

Remove enchiladas from oven.

Serve with corn and avocado salsa, lime wedges and chopped green leaf lettuce.

*If you like spicey things you can add a chopped jalapeno with the red bell pepper but the green chilis made it plenty hot for me. (sissy!)

This is based on 7 servings (so 2 enchiladas/serving) and I went ahead and added in the corn salsa. Enjoy!

Serving Size

1 serving (392.9 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories

376

Calories from Fat

157

% Daily Value^*

Total Fat

17.4g

27%

Saturated Fat

8.3g

42%

Trans Fat

0.0g

Cholesterol

65mg

22%

Sodium

563mg

23%

Total Carbohydrates

31.8g

11%

Dietary Fiber

5.7g

23%

Sugars

6.9g

Protein

26.5g

Vitamin A 30%	•	Vitamin C 68%
Calcium 22%	•	Iron 11%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

For more Calorie/nutrition information you can go HERE.

Source: Girlplusfood Original

Table Talk: Creamy Chicken and Spinach Casserole

2013-04-10T10:00:00.000-06:00

I am a messy cook. I try not to be, but I just am. Hopefully it's something I will be able to remedy over time, but for now, when I am done cooking, the kitchen looks like a bomb went off in there. How hard is it to put things away while you go?! My pea-sized brain just can't handle it. What I like about recipes like this? While the casserole is in the oven I have 20-30 minutes to clean up before anyone can see the evidence. :)

The recipe starts with a creamy sauce made from parmesan, milk, onions and spices. Add some chicken, spinach and whole wheat penne and then top it off with mozzarella cheese. And then somehow call it healthy. My kids loved this (they did pick out the spinach) and Tyler and I loved it too. We divided it into 6 servings rather than 4. The 540 calories per serving was a bit much for us; 350 was more doable.

I also threw in some sun dried tomatoes because I had some, and because I love them and I thought it sounded good. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only other thing I changed about the recipe was that I seared my chicken and then cut it (remember my aversion to cutting raw meat). And I would also do that again.

And you wanna know what else I'd do again? Make this. Our smaller servings were perfect with a salad (balsamic vinaigrette goes pretty well with this) and it was a crowd pleaser. There wasn't so much cheese that it was unpalatable, but it was cheesy enough that it didn't feel 'healthy'.

*One side note, the sauce doesn't really specify how much salt/pepper to add, it just says 'to taste'. I added 1/2-3/4 tsp salt and I could have even added a bit more.

If you'd like the recipe, you can get it at Jen O's blog. She was our hostess for the week and chose this fabulous recipe.

Want to know more about Table Talk? Click HERE.