What's for Dinner?

Mexican Quinoa (FodMap Friendly)

2013-08-22T11:01:00.000-04:00

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 bunch of green onions chopped white & green parts seperated
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 chipotle chili, chopped
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup diced tomato
1 handful cilantro, chopped

Directions
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the white and light green parts of the onions and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic, chili powder and chipotle and saute until fragrant about a minute.
Add the quinoa, broth, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the the quinoa is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in tomato and green part of onions.
Serve garnished with cilantro.

White Chicken Enchiladas (FodMap Friendly Version)

2013-08-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

This is a great money saving meal. Last time I made these my husband calculated the cost to be about $.50 - $.75 per serving. I've made a few minor adjustments to make them FodMap friendly. These can be made in a large pan to feed the whole family or if your family is smaller, like ours, in individual pans. I like to use mini loaf pans and put two enchilladas in each pan. Then I freeze them and can pull out just one pan at a time. I serve them with rice and beans so one enchillada a piece is suficiant for my husband and I. Disposable mini loaf pans are available in the baking section at the supermarket or you can invest in a permanent set like I did. My favorite are the William Sonoma Goldtouch.

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken
2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
12 whole Corn Tortillas
One bunch green onions (about 5) Diced
3 whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced
3 Tablespoons Jalapeno Finely Diced or one whole fresh Jalapeno
2 Chiplote peppers in adobe sauce diced
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1 cup Sour Cream
2-1/2 cups Grated Mexican Cheese
Salt And Pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (do not allow to become crisp.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, chipolte peppers and sauce and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in cornstarch. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Slowly whisk in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up.

Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish or two each in mini loaf pans.

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you'd like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. If you choose to freeze the individual servings they will reheat at 350 for 30-45 minutes as well.

Serve with rice & beans for a complete Mexican meal.

FodMap Friendly Strawberry Jam OR Strawberry Jam without Pectin or Corn Syrup

2013-08-20T14:30:00.000-04:00

Due to a medical condition my husband was recently told that he need to start following the FodMap diet. Which, actually, is less a diet and more a complete lifestyle change. On the FodMap there is an abundance of items that you cannot eat. Some of which are surprising as you traditionally think they are good for you, i.e. apples. However, people who need to follow the FodMap diet do not have the ability to digest these items. Needless to say this has been a learning curve in both our cooking and shopping. For example, even though strawberries are allowed strawberry jam from the supermarket is not okay due to having fruit pectin (from apples) and corn syrup. So I'm back to making jam from scratch but without the usual thickener. Strawberries aren't in season and even when they are they can be very expensive so I bought frozen strawberries in bulk which saved about 50%.

What you need

2lbs of strawberries
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp of reserved strawberry juice or water
2 tbsp of tapioca flour

What to do

I used frozen strawberries and reserved some of the juice as they thawed. Place the strawberries into a heavy bottomed pan with the sugar. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer until it has reduced by about a third to around 3 cups. In a small bowl, stir the tapioca and strawberry juice or water together before adding that to the berry mixture until it thickens. This won’t take long so be careful not to overcook. Spoon your freshly made jam into a couple of sterilised jam jars and allow to cool before storing them in the fridge. Or freeze if you do not plan to use immediately.

Dressed Up Baked Beans

2013-08-19T15:03:00.000-04:00

Baked beans are a staple side at when barbecuing but the ones from the can are predictably dull. Next time you are barbecuing try making these sweet and spice dressed up baked beans. They easily cook on the cooler side of the grill while you have the meat going on the hot side. They develop a nice smoky flavor by cooking on the grill rather than the oven.

1 can baked beans
2 T diced jalapeno
1 T jalapeno juice
1 T brown mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup ham cubed (used leftovers from a pineapple orange glazed ham we made for Easter, yummy)
1 T butter cut into tiny pieces
2 T brown sugar.

Mix all but the last two ingredients together put into ceramic or cast-iron pan (grill safe) place butter pieces over top of beans and sprinkle with brown sugar. Place on the cool side of your grill for 45 minutes to an hour. Stir and enjoy

Pot Roast Stew with Stilton Crust

2013-04-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

One of the best pot roast recipes ever!

For the filling:

7 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb button mushrooms, quartered
2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
Salt & pepper to taste
3 lb beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup all-purpose flour
24 oz Yankee Pot Roast Braising Base
1 lb carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice

For the Stilton Pastry:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
16 Tbsp cold butter cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water
4 ox Stilton cheese, crumbled

1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

To make the filling:

In a 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat warm 1 Tbsp of the Olive Oil.
Add the mushrooms, onions, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
Season the beef with salt & pepper.
Dredge the beef in the flour, shaking off the excess.
In the Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbsp of the olive oil.
Add one-third of the beef and brown on all sides (about 7 minutes total) - Transfer to separate bowl
Add 1/2 cup water to the pot, stirring to scrap up the browned bits. Pour the liquid into a separate bowl.
Repeat the process 2 more times

Return the pot to medium-high heat, Add the beef, liquid, mushrooms, onions and braising base. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, cove & simmer, stirring occasionally for 3 hours adding the potatoes and carrots after 1 1/2 hours of cooking.

To make the Stilton pastry:

In a food processor combine flour, salt & sugar and pulse until blended (about 5 pulses).
Add the butter & process until mixture resembles coarse meal (about 10 pulses)
Add 1/3 cup ice water & pulse 2 or 3 times. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but not be sticky. If it is crumbly add water 1 Tbsp at a time.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface & shape into a disk
Wrap in plastic wrap & refrigerate for 1 hour
Let dough stand at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the top with flour
Place on lightly floured parchment & roll out into 12-by-16-inch rectangle.
Sprinkle the cheese over half the dough, then fold the other half over the cheese. Roll out into a 16-inch square
Refrigerate about 10 minutes

Preheat an oven to 400

Brush the rim of the pot with water
Lay the pastry over the top, allowing it to droop into the filling. Trim the dough, leaving a 1-inch overhang and crimp to seal.
Brush pastry with egg mixture and cut 4 slits in the top
Bake for 30 minutes
Let rest 15 minutes before serving

serves 8-10

Copy-Cat WS Yankee Pot Roast Braising Base

2013-04-26T15:00:00.000-04:00

When I was first married I found an amazing recipe for Pot Roast Stew with Stilton Crust. It sounded delicious and we wanted to serve it to some friends of our from England. However it called for a jar of "Yankee Pot Roast Braising Base" from William Sonoma. Even though I was working there at the time, there was no way I was paying $16 for a jar of sauce! So, I checked the ingredient list and improvised the following recipe myself. It probably took me twice as long to make the pot roast since I had to first make the sauce then the roast but it was delicious and our friends were impressed. Not bad for a new bride. If you want to save some time on the day you plan to serve the pot roast, make up a large batch of this sauce in advance and freeze it.

1 Onion
1 cup red wine
8 oz white mushrooms,
8 oz cremini mushrooms,
4 oz wild mushrooms
2 sticks celery,
2 carrots,
1 small can tomato paste,
2 cups beef stock
2 Tbps red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic,
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil,
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp thyme,
2 tsp rosemary,
2 bay leaves.

Chop all dry ingredients except bay leaves very fine in food processor. Combine in large stock pot on stove with bay leaves and wet ingredients The mix should be very thick but not dry, add more beef stock if necessary. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and continue to simmer up to two hours (the longer it simmers the more flavor develops.) Use as a base for "Pot Roast Stew"

Homemade Lemonade for Two

2013-04-25T00:00:00.000-04:00

This is an amazing "special treat" lemonade. Great for a special dinner for two or a reward for the kids. Or, when lemons are on sale, increase the amounts for a dinner treat.

Simple Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2-3 sprigs fresh mint

Combine in saucepan on stove, making sure to crush the mint a bit for full flavor. Cook until sugar is fully dissolved set aside to cool while you make the lemonade.

Lemonade for Two

Fill a 4 cup measure with ice
Juice 4 lemons directly into the 4 cup measure
Add simple syrup
Fill to 4 cup line with water.

Caramel

2013-04-24T15:00:00.000-04:00

This is is the best caramel ever and absolutely fail proof. Far superior to store bought caramel it is excellent over ice cream, spread between cake layers, drizzled over apple cider, or for dipping your pretzels or apples into.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Heavy Cream
1 Vanilla bean, split
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Water
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoons Lemon Juice
4 Tablespoons Butter

In a saucepan combine Cream, Vanilla bean & extract. Place over medium high heat and bring to just under a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

In large heavy bottomed pan, combine sugar, water, salt, and corn syrup.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.

Than cook without stirring until mixture is amber colored. Mine is a little darker because my husband likes the stronger flavor, any more than this and it tastes burnt. Remove from heat.

Add the cream to the sugar syrup. It will boil up at first but them simmer down. Whisk smooth. Add the lemon juice.

Let cool for about 10 minutes then add the butter in chunks and stir until all combined.

Store in glass jars. Enjoy!

Spicy Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

2013-04-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

This dressing is amazing over taco salad or drizzled over top of tacos. If you just want plain buttermilk ranch dressing leave off the last 4 ingredients for an amazingly better than store-bought ranch dressing.

1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1/2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 tsp Dry Mustard Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp chopped chives
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp Diced Chiles
1/4 tsp Chile Powder
1/4 tsp Cayenne

Whisk together buttermilk and sour cream until smooth
Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, dry mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika
Stir in chopped chives - At this point you have a tasty, homemade buttermilk ranch dressing
Add the final four ingredients and stir to combine
Refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

This can be made a few days ahead of time.

Mom's Curry Yogurt Marinade

2013-04-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

This marinade give chicken or turkey for curry that extra depth of flavor

that you usually only find in an authentic Indian restaurant. This make enough for about 1-2 pounds of meat. It also freezes well so you can make extra & store it in a gallon zippered freezer bag. When you are ready to use just take it out of the freezer, let it thaw then add the meat right into the bag to marinade.

1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 yellow onion or 2-3 green "Florida onions"; chopped
2 cloves roasted garlic crushed
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
juice of 2 lemons
5 Tbsp olive oil
5 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp white or red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger (or fresh grated if you have it)
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in large bowl then pour over poultry in a large zippered gallon bag & let marinate for 2 hours up-to over night.

Aunt Ann's Chicken Curry

2013-04-20T16:44:00.001-04:00

For best results marinade the chicken or turkey in "Mom's Curry Yogurt Marinade" for 2 hours up-to over night then grill.

1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped peeled apple
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon curry powder
3/4 cup cold cooked chicken or turkey broth
2 cups coconut milk
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey
1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder

In saucepan melt butter
Add apple, celery, onion & garlic - Cook until onion is tender
Combine cornstarch, curry, salt & broth - Stir into onion mixture
Add Coconut milk - Cook & stir until mixture thickens and boils
Stir in chicken & mushrooms. Heat through.
Serve hot over rice

Suggested toppings:

raisins, shredded coconut, chopped peanuts and chutney, rita

Healthy Eggplant Parm

2012-10-12T12:28:00.000-04:00

Eggplant and I have had our run-ins in the past. Its taste, texture, the fact that it absorbs so much oil when you fry it...all these and more have contributed to my aversion to cooking it. Once, many years ago, I was served a sumptuous Eggplant Parmesan that rocked my preconceived notions about this vegetable. However, every recipe I have attempted has failed so miserably that for years I have been content not to butt heads with eggplant again. Until this week. We joined a CSA and our first weeks box contained not just one but two of my vegetable nemesis. Determined to succeed at last I searched for recipes to make this eggplant a palatable success. Not finding a single one to my liking I decided to combine what I felt were the best elements of several and set out to conquer the eggplant.

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
salt & pepper to taste
1 eggplant peeled & sliced into 1/2 inch slices

Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over the eggplant and set in a colander to drain. Not much water comes out but it helps draw out the bitter flavor of the eggplant.

Set up a dredging station, I found bread-pans worked great for this.

In the first pan whisk one egg with a tablespoon of water. In the second pan combine Breadcrumbs, Parmesan, herbs and salt and pepper.

Dip eggplant slices into egg mix then into breadcrumb mix and place on parchment coated pans. Sorry, no picture of this step, way to hard to use a camera when your hands are covered in egg and breadcrumbs!

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes then flip and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Top slices of eggplant with your favorite marinara sauce and a slice of Parmesan cheese. Here is a couple slices already to go in my lunch box. Yummy!

I had this for lunch everyday this week and it was delish! Finally a successful eggplant recipe.

Pizza and Breadsticks

2012-10-10T11:38:00.001-04:00

This recipe makes great pizza crust and breadsticks

Base Recipe:

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar

1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Optional Ingrediants:

1 Tablespoon Pizza Seasoning (Italian Seasoning makes an acceptable substitute if you don't have Pizza Seasoning)
2 Tablespoons Cheese Powder

Mix all ingredients together until dough is pulling away from side of bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let the dough rise in a draft-free place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Place on baking sheet covered in parchment. Press gently until it starts to pull back. Cover with Plastic wrap and let it rest.

After a rest of 20-30 minutes press it again until it shrinks back. Repeat until you reach the edge of the tray.

Now it is ready to become Pizza or Breadsticks!

For Breadsticks:

Melt 1 stick butter
Add 1 glove minced garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh Pasley
1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan

Brush the butter mix on the dough and slice about 1/2 inch thick with a pizza cutter. Separate slightly and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Serve with your favorite marinara.

Or you can make it into a pizza with any of your favorite toppings. I choose a Greek Pizza since it combines all our favorite flavors

For Greek Pizza:

Bake the crust for 5 minutes at 425. Then top with
Marinara
Sliced Tomatos
Cucumbers
Kalamata Olives
Sliced Artichoke Hearts
Parmasan Cheese
Fresh Basil Leaves
Cubed Chicken

Bake for 15 minutes at 425.

Homemade Greek Yogurt

2012-10-07T16:33:00.005-04:00

Did you know you can make your own yogurt in the crockpot? It is relatively simple and the health factor is much higher than store bought because you control the ingredients. I started doing this a few months ago and my very picky husband has declared this yogurt far superior to any other he has tried. I also have other family members who put in standing orders for their portion of my weekly batch. One has lost quite a bit a weight due to swapping out her normal breakfast for a cup of this yogurt and some fruit each morning. Because of the high protein content it keeps her full until the next meal but the minimal fat contact also works in her favor.

Choose a day when you will be home most of the time to make this. It takes minimal effort but timing is important.

To get started you will need:

1 cup yogurt starter (I love Stonyfield organic whole milk yogurt)
1 gallon milk (I use 2% lactose free since we are lactose intolerant)
Crockpot
Small whisk and Bowl
Sieve and large bowl that it will fit over
Cheesecloth or coffee filters
Containers to hold yogurt when finished

Note: This recipe will yield about 1/2 gallon yogurt. You can half the amount if you don't need this much

Directions:

Pour milk into crockpot and turn on low for two and a half hours.
Turn the crockpot off and let it sit for 3 hours
Spoon a few cups of the warmish milk into your small bowl and add the yogurt starter
Whisk together
Then add back into your crockpot and give a stir to make sure it is fully combined
Put lid back on crockpot and then wrap your crockpot in two beach towels
Allow it to sit for 8 hours
Line your sieve with cheesecloth or large coffee filter and place over your bowl
Fill the sieve with yogurt and let sit until it reaches your desired consistency, I usually let it go over night but as little as two hours will produce a thick Greek yogurt.
Transfer to your containers and refrigerate.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

2011-05-22T15:48:00.000-04:00

After trying three different recipes for bland and tasteless Pumpkin Zucchini bread I decided to develop my own recipe. After several attempts, serving my husband slices of bread and asking "what else does this need?" I finally came up with this winner.

Ingredients:

3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon almond extract
12 oz pumpkin puree
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup butter melted
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon Lemon zest
1 cup chopped or ground walnuts, almonds, currants, raisins, coconut (optional)

Preparation Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Canola cooking oil spray two bread loaf pans (or 5-6 mini pans).
Mix eggs, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
Stir in pumpkin puree and butter
Mix flour, baking soda, and spices in a separate bowl.
Stir dry ingredients into the first bowl containing the egg mixture.
Stir in the shredded zucchini.
Stir in nuts and other optionals, if you are using them.
Divide the batter into the bread loaf pans.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 to 50 minutes.
Test bread with a knife or a toothpick to see if it is done. Insert the knife into the bread. If it doesn't come out clean, bake for an additional 5 minutes and re-test.
Remove the bread from the oven and let set for ten minutes.
Remove the bread from the pan, and place on a wire rack to cool

1 Recipe, 5 Base Ingredients, 7 Different Cookies

2011-04-02T12:58:00.000-04:00

For this year's Christmas cookies I didn't have a lot of time, so I choose my most popular recipe and adjusted the flavors so that I would have a variety without having to buy a lot of additional ingredients. Each night I made one batch of cookies and after a week I had a great variety of Christmas cookies. They were such a huge hit that I was recruited to make another collection of them for the ladies tea party in April. The texture of these cookies - ultra tender, ethereally light, melt-in-your mouth-is unlike anything you can get from a traditional cookie recipe. The secret is over 200 years old - baker's ammonia. My base recipe is from the 1800's when baker's ammonia was a traditional ingredient in cookies.

NOTE: Do Not eat the raw dough of these cookies. The ammonia cooks off during the cooking. You may smell a strong ammonia odor while these cookies are baking but never fear - by the time they come out of the oven the odor will be gone. Can they be made without the bakers ammonia? Sure, substitute 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. Just be aware that the texture will not be nearly as good. Bakers ammonia is available at the local pharmacy or via mail order from King Arthur Flour. It is well worth getting for the texture of these cookies.

Base Ingredients

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baker's ammonia

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In medium bowl beat together sugar, butter, salt, flavoring. Add flour & any dry flavoring and baker's ammonia and beat until the dough almost comes together. The dough will seem quite dry at first, but keep beating, eventually it will clump up and become cohesive. This could take up to five minutes.
Squeeze the dough together, gather it into a ball, and scoop out pieces the size of a large gumball. Roll the pieces into a ball, then roll them in the coating ingredient. Place them on the baking sheet and use the bottom of a glass dipped in sugar to flatten the balls to about 1/4 inch thick.
Bake the cookies for 25 to 30 minutes until they are light golden brown around the edges.

Vanilla Dreams

Add

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract

Coating:

Coarse sugar

Almond Dreams

Add:

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract

Substitute:

1/4 cup almond flour for 1/4 of base flour

Coating:

Crushed almonds mixed with course sugar

Lemon Dreams

Add

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons lemon extract

2 Tablespoons lemon zest

Coating:

Coarse sugar

Chocolate Dreams

Add:

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract

Substitute:

1/4 cup cocoa powder for 1/4 of base flour

Coating:

Crushed almonds mixed with course sugar

For Christmas use crushed almonds mixed with Christmas sprinkles for a festive touch

Coconut Dreams

Add:

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons coconut extract

Substitute:

1 cup coconut for 1/4 of base flour

Coating:

Coconut mixed with course sugar

Orange Dreams

Add

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons orange extract

2 Tablespoons orange zest

Coating:

Coarse sugar

Mint Chocolate Dreams

Add:

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 Tablespoons mint extract

Coating:

Dip half the cookie in high quality melted chocolate and set on cooling rack to harden
For a festive touch at Christmas - sprinkle Christmas sprinkles over melted chocolate before it cools.

Bruschetta with Black Olive Pesto, Ricotta and Basil

2010-11-19T09:29:00.000-05:00

This is the final recipe in my Bruschetta series. Enjoy.

Bruschetta with Black Olive Pesto, Ricotta and Basil

Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer.
Use only a high-quality whole-milk ricotta for this recipe

Ingredients

1    medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
2    1/2    cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4    cup artichoke hearts
2    Tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan
2    Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil , plus extra for serving
1    small shallot , minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2    teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
1 1/2    cups whole-milk ricotta cheese (see note)
    Table salt and ground black pepper
4    tablespoons fresh basil leaves , finely shredded/divided

Instructions

Process garlic, olives, artichokes, grated Parmesan, olive oil, shallot, and lemon juice in food processor until uniform paste forms, about 10 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing. Combine ricotta with salt and pepper (to taste) and 2 tablespoons shredded basil in small bowl and spread to edges. Divide olive pesto among toasts and carefully spread over ricotta. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with reserved basil, and serve.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of Brushetta recipes and perhaps even gotten inspired to try some other flavor combinations. New tasty appetizers are always so useful for parties. I'd love to hear about your favorite.

Disappearing Artichoke Bruschetta

2010-11-18T09:51:00.000-05:00

This was the biggest hit of all the different Bruschetta recipes I tested. It literally disappeared. As an appetizer, latecomers didn't even have a chance to taste it! Better make extra.

Bruschetta with Artichoke Hearts and Parmesan

Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer.


Ingredients

14 ounces artichoke hearts , rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
1 medium garlic clove , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil , plus extra for serving
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves , finely shredded
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 ounces Parmesan cheese , 1 ounce finely grated (about 1/2 cup), 1 ounce shaved into strips with vegetable peeler


Instructions

Pulse artichoke hearts, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, basil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in food processor until coarse puree forms, about six 1-second pulses, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula once during processing. Add grated Parmesan and pulse to combine, about two 1-second pulses. Divide artichoke mixture among toasts and spread to edges. Top with shaved Parmesan. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Classic Bruschetta

2010-11-17T12:51:00.000-05:00

The first in my series of Bruschetta recipes.

Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Basil

Makes 8 large slices.

This is the classic bruschetta, although you can substitute other herbs. Decrease the quantity of stronger herbs, such as thyme or oregano.


Ingredients

4          medium tomatoes , ripe, (about 1 2/3 pounds), cored and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1/3       cup shredded fresh basil leaves
1 1/2    tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves
2          tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1          loaf country bread (approximately a 12-by-5-inch loaf), sliced crosswise into 1-inch thick pieces, ends removed
3          large clove garlic , peeled
7          tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2          medium red onions (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and diced very fine
1 1/2    tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves


Instructions

Heat 3 1/2 tablespoons of the oil in large skillet set over medium-high heat. Add onions and 2 cloves of garlic; sauté, stirring often, until softened, 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to cook, stirring often, until onions are sweet and tender, 7 to 8 minutes longer. Stir in mint and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set onion mixture aside. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 1 week.)

Mix tomatoes, basil, and salt and pepper to taste in medium bowl. Set aside.

Heat broiler or light grill fire.

Broil or grill bread until golden brown on both sides. Place toast slices on large platter, rub garlic over tops, then brush with oil.

When the onion mix has cooled mix together with the tomato mix

Use slotted spoon to divide tomato mixture among toast slices. Serve immediately.

Really Good Bruschetta; Techniques

2010-11-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

I was recently invited to an Italian themed party. Well when I think Italian food, I think "There goes my diet" But I don't want that to happen, and I can't not go to this party. So, since it was a pot luck, I signed up to bring "something w/veggies" (i.e. something I can eat even everything else is pasta) and started trying to find a truly Italian vegetable. Well of course I thought of the tomato, but all alone that is kind of boring, and I've done the tomato, basil, mozzarella salad so many times I'm bored with it. So my next thought was Bruschetta. YUMMY! but still a little plain. So, I decided to "dress it up". I also needed to find out how to make it “transportable” for a party without having it go soggy or all the toppings falling off. In my research I found the following information about the science of

Really Good Bruschetta!

There’s a whole lot more to bruschetta than chopped tomatoes and basil. I wanted smart flavor combinations that didn’t require a bib.

The Problem

The ingredients in modern bruschetta—toasted bread, tomatoes, and basil—may be an appealing combination, but in reality, the tomatoes usually lack flavor, excess liquid results in soggy bread, and precariously stacked toppings often end up on your shirt.

The Goal

I wanted my bruschetta to be full of flavor, easy to eat, and substantial enough to serve as either an appetizer or light entree.

The Solution

Aside from deciding on the ingredients, my biggest challenge was figuring out how to contain the toppings on my toasts so that they were easy to pick up and eat, even when drizzled with the standard vinaigrette.

I realized early on that to make the whole package structurally sound from crust to crown, I needed a “glue” to anchor the toppings to the bread. I discovered that the solution didn’t lie in a condiment, but in a technique.

By pulsing one of the topping ingredients in the food processor until it formed a rough paste, not only did I achieve the stable base I needed for the other toppings, but I provided contrasting textures. And to make sure it could offer optimum crunch with each bite, I toasted the bread and brushed it with fresh garlic butter right before topping it. I also discovered that while the individual toppings can be mixed up in advance, you want to assemble them right before you are ready to eat to avoid the toast going soggy.

Check back again soon for a sampling of some of the recipes I made.

Wild Rice Pilaf

2010-09-21T12:22:00.000-04:00

This recipe took a little more time than I usually spend for a dinner side but it made enough rice to last for several weeks so it was good well worth the extra work.

To a heavy bottom pot add:

2 cups broth
2 bay leaves
4-6 sprigs of thyme tide with kitchen twine

Bring to a boil and add:

1 cup wild rice

Reduce to simmer and cook 35-40 minutes.
If all the broth is absorbed before the rice is softened add another 1/2 cup and cook until soft

Meanwhile to a 12" skillet add:

3 T butter
1 onion chopped fine
1 carrot chopped fine
1 t kosher salt

Sauté for 3-5 minutes then add:

1 cup rice (I used short grain brown rice)
1 cup orzo
Cook until transparent another 3-5 minutes then add:

2 1/2 cups broth
2 bay leaves
4-6 sprigs thyme tied with twine

Simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed
Discard herbs and combine wild rice and regular rice mixture. Set aside.

In your skillet melt:
1 tablespoon butter

Add:

2-3 large mushrooms chopped fine
3-5 garlic cloves (you can use roasted for a more mellow flavor)

Sauté until browned.

Stir mushrooms into rice pilaf.

In your steamer, cook 2 broccoli stems as described in the "Broccoli" post.

Add to your rice pilaf.

This is enough rice to serve a family of eight twice or a family of two for several weeks. Package according to your usage and refrigerate.

Broccoli

2010-09-17T12:14:00.000-04:00

I really like broccoli. I eat it raw or steamed, mixed with other veggies, etc. But usually when using broccoli you only eat the flowerets. Nobody really wants to dip that unappetizing, tough stem into a veggie dip and eat it raw. So what do you do with it? Normally it will just go to waste, trash or compost. But it is still edible, just unappetizing in its current state. I found a great new way to use it.

You've seen those flavored rice packets? My local grocery sells one call cheddar and broccoli rice, and it has all of about, 1/8 of a teaspoon of actually broccoli along with a flavor packet of powdered cheese. I can do better than that. Here's how:

Take your broccoli stem and slice it about a 1/4 inch thick. Put these slices in your steamer with a little kosher salt & a few fresh herbs. Steam them until they get nice and soft.

While those are cooking start your rice. You will need:

1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice or medium-grain brown rice, or short-grain brown rice
2 1/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Kosher salt
1tablespoons unsalted butter
1tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Combine these ingredients in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer until rice has absorbed liquid and is soft, stir occasionally.

Now add your steamed broccoli stem and 1/2 cup shredded cheese, I used parmesan because it was what I had on hand but you can use whatever your favorite cheese is.

Yummy, my hubby is eating brown rice and actually liking it! And I found a way to keep perfectly good food from going to waste. Double score!

Mushrooms & sweet Potatoes

2010-09-16T12:13:00.000-04:00

Last night I had a little extra time to get dinner and wanted to change things up a bit so the dinner plates don't look exactly the same every night. :-) Well, that kind of a mood is when my kitchen turns into a science lab and occasionally what comes out isn't half bad. So here are two brand-new, straight out of my head recipes that I served last night and what I learned from them.

Mushroom Sauce

Approx. 1/2 - 1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 leek, chopped small the white & light green parts

1 clove elephant ear garlic sliced thin (A vegetable peeler works GREAT for this)

8 oz. of mushrooms sliced

Add these ingredients and sauté until nicely browned. Then add

2T white wine vinegar

1/8 cup white wine

Continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed then add

1/4 cup cream

Kosher salt to taste

Cook stirring constantly for about 1-2 minutes. Serve over brown rice or potatoes immediately

*What I learned on this recipe:

Be careful how much oil you use. You need a little to keep things from sticking but if you use to much the mushrooms absorb it all and the dish turns out greasy. Also, be sure to use olive oil or a sparing amount of Natural butter. I tired another form of fat and it did not mix well with the other ingredients.

Spice Garlic Sweet Potatoes

3 cups sweet potatoes

3-4 cloves roasted garlic

1 teaspoon cilantro

1 teaspoon parsley

1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Kosher salt & Pepper to taste.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly. If desired add 1/8 cup cream

NOTE: I started with cold sweet potatoes so I added all ingredients except cream & warmed them in my steamer. Then I mixed the cream in right before serving

*What I learned from this recipe:

Make sure you don't over do the spice. With only 2 cups of sweet potatoes this was to spice for one family member but just right for another, it depends on your tastes. Add more sweet potatoes if to spice & I added the cream to cut the heat a bit.

What's for Dinner? And Breakfast, and Lunch? Plus How to cook Brussel Sprouts

2010-09-15T12:15:00.000-04:00

OK. so you are probably asking yourself how does this work practically?

Well here is a typical day for me:

For breakfast I take a banana and a stone fruit (peach plum, nectarine, whatever happens to be on the best sale at the local farmers market that week) and a small Tupperware of grapes.

I usually eat the banana by 8:30 then perhaps an hour later the grapes and between 10:30 & 11:00 I'll eat the stone fruit, or I might save it till later in the day, the key is I only eat when I'm hungry. I also keep a water bottle filled with ice water at my desk - you should drink about a gallon of water per day and often those "hunger cravings" are actually "thirst cravings" but we have trained our bodies to get most of their water from the food we eat by not hydrating with pure water. When I start to think I'm hungry I drink some water first, then decide if I still need to eat something. When I do want to eat, I have a nice, healthy, guilt free, fresh fruit snack.

At noon I get some raw vegetables (sugar peas, broccoli, celery, carrots, etc.) and dip them into my homemade creamy balsamic dip. I will also have a bit of rice or vegetables left over from dinner the night before. (While I have brought my cooking down from every recipes feeds 8, I still usually have enough to feed 3 instead of 2 but I don't have an aversion to eating leftovers the next day so no problem. )

I will take a variety of dried fruit and another stone fruit back to work for the afternoon and when the 2 o'clock munchies hit and everyone else in the office is scouring for chocolate, I have my sweet dried fruit. Most dried fruit is as sweet as candy because the sugar in the fruit is concentrated. It also gives you a great energy boost without the sugar crash you exporiance from simple sugars like chocolate & other sweets.

For Dinner I have a variety of vegetables that I bought at the farmers market that weekend. When I get something that takes a long time to cook, like potatoes or corn on the cob. I cook it over the weekend and refrigerate it. Then it is a simple matter of re-heating in my steamer and it is ready to go. I usually make a side of either rice or potatoes and two vegetables. I was making more initially because my husband didn't think 2 vegetables and rice would fill him up. After a few days he asked me to limit the amounts I was cooking and keep it to just these three items. At some point, usually midweek, I serve a small portion of tuna salad, which I also made over the weekend so the flavors would have a chance to develop.

As you can see we aren't starving by any means, or even depriving ourselves. In fact, we are eating better, quantity and quality wise, than we had prior to this experiment. We are also exploring new foods and many things that one or the other of us thought we "didn't like" we have grown to love because it was on sale at the farmers market and we learned a good way to cook it.

For example, Brussel Sprouts. Can I see a show of hands, who hates brussel sprouts? Well same here, but my husband has fond memories of his step-mom's brussel sprouts growing up, so once a year I would make them for him. Granted, mine were never as good as hers. :-) Well brussel sprouts are incredibly cheap especially when they are on the "dollar discount" table at the farmers market. So I decided I would learn how to make them. Since I already had my stove burners full that night I decided to try them in the steamer. (besides, I had already tired making them sautéed, boiled, and baked & hadn't liked them much) I put a layer of them in my steamer and sprinkled them with olive oil. Them I decided for flavor to add a mix of herbs, I have a kitchen garden of herbs or you can use an Italian mix. I used oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, parsley) then I took about a teaspoon of kosher salt and sprinkled over them and steamed them until soft.

The result was the best veggie side dish that I could remember having. I now LOVE brussel sprouts and am probably driving my hubby crazy with how often I want to make them. I get so excited when they are on sale at the farmers market and so disappointed when they aren't.

So if you think you don't like something, try it again. You probably just haven't had it cooked right. I can't recommend the steamer enough for this. Vegetables were meant to taste GOOD. (I really don't thing God decided to make something that tastes horrible and force people to eat it :) They are also FULL of stuff that is GOOD FOR YOU. But so often we bake, boil or nuke the flavor and the vitamins right out of them. With the steamer, you retain all the yummy goodness and it takes much less time to cook. Besides just outright experimenting with food, I search the internet for recipes that include a new item I just found at the market or skim through some of the hundreds of cookbooks we have for recipe ideas. I usually use these as just a base idea and modify them according to our personal preferences, but these recipes give me a starting place. Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. What new vegetable can you cook this week?

New Diet

2010-09-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

I realize that there has been a long break in this blog, which is to be expected when you suddenly find yourself involved in as many activities as we have had going on over the summer. But this is also due to the fact that we have made a dramatic change in our eating and cooking habits. Over the summer my husband and I were challenged to try a diet/fast that is found in the book of Daniel

Daniel 1:8-16 (The Message)
But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. The head of the palace staff, by God’s grace, liked Daniel, but he warned him, “I’m afraid of what my master the king will do. He is the one who assigned this diet and if he sees that you are not as healthy as the rest, he’ll have my head!”
But Daniel appealed to a steward who had been assigned by the head of the palace staff to be in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: “Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see.”
The steward agreed to do it and fed them vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days they looked better and more robust than all the others who had been eating from the royal menu. So the steward continued to exempt them from the royal menu of food and drink and served them only vegetables.

We decided that as a spiritual discipline we would eat only fruits, vegetables and nuts for two weeks. In no way did we expect this to be easy or something that we would want to do long term. I am the Queen of Desserts (especially chocolate) and my husband is the King of Carnivores. We decided to do this for only two weeks as a spiritual discipline.

Here's what we found out:

The first three days are the worst, especially when your co-workers bring donuts, bagels and chocolate into the office.
Days 4 and following, you begin to feel "GREAT" and you loose the craving for sweets, breads, and meat.
By day 14 we were converts. We felt healthier than either of us could remember and both of us had lost 10 pounds!
Another benefit - Fruits and vegetables don't cost near as much as we thought, our grocery bill was cut in half by shopping at our local farmers markets and Whole Food, Greenwise stores. These are some of the more expensive stores but we weren't buying, meat, bread or prepared foods so it came out MUCH cheaper than "normal" shopping at a cheaper store.

At this point our spiritual exercise was over but we had also learned some valuable health lessons and as good stewards of the bodies and life God has given us we decided to continue this experiment with a few modifications.

We began incorporating fish 1-2 times a week. On the weekend, or if we are entertaining we will have a nice fish fillet and I make a nice tuna salad that we have a some point during the week.
We switched from two gallons of regular milk per week to a quart of organic, non-homogenized milk per week. (Yes organic, non-homogenized milk is more expensive, but we actually come out cheaper here b/c we are dinking less. I'll go into the problems with homogenized milk and milk products in general later).
We also buy dark chocolate covered pretzels from a local chocolate factory (yes, I can make my own but don't have time right now) we allow ourselves one chocolate pretzel per day if we want it. The surprise, we don’t always want it! When you have cut out sweets completely for a few weeks the craving isn't there anymore. Now when I get that occasional craving, I have something mildly sweet that doesn't leave me craving even more sweets and fat. It also doesn't have the milk products that were causing us so much trouble.
We also use chicken broth in our cooking and occasionally eggs.

As you can see this isn't strictly following any one diet, while it has similarities to vegetarian diets, vegan diets and the Daniel diet it is really not any one of them; instead it is a lifestyle choice that we have made for this time in our lives to eat healthier foods.

So how do we do it? I'm sure some of you are wondering if you can even think of 14 different vegetables, let alone ways to cook them. I know that is how I felt at the begin of this experiment. Well over the next few weeks I'll share some of the ones I've tried. I am finding that there are many wonderful new things to try at your local farmers market and just because you think you don't like something, don't write it off, you probably just haven't had it cooked the right way yet.

So what does a typical meal look like for us? Well here is what I am serving tonight.

Sweet potatoes
Green beans w/mushrooms & herbs
Brocciflower w/balsamic dip

Here's what I did

Sweet potatoes I wrapped in foil and baked at 350 for 90 minutes (until soft) I did this over the weekend so tonight all I have to do is put them in my steamer for about 12 minutes to warm up. Then I mash them with a little kosher salt. I have found that this year the fresh sweet potatoes are so sweet they don't need anything else to flavor them, if you want other flavoring feel free to play around.
In the second tray of my steamer I put the brocciflower and sprinkled it with just a touch of olive oil and some Italian herbs (fresh or dried) When it is finished in the steamer I cut a few leaves of fresh basil overtop and grate a tiny bit of parmesan cheese over them. I serve creamy balsamic dip on the side.
The only thing left to do is the green beans. I take a small handful of chopped mushrooms (about 4-5 small white mushrooms) and sauté them in olive oil with about 5 basil leaves chopped and 6 cloves of roasted garlic. I then add three handfuls of green beans and sauté for just a few minutes until al dente.

Dinners is ready and it only took 12 minutes! Doesn't sound like enough? You'd be surprised how filling vegetables are but if you feel the need for more add a side of rice.