A Dash of Megnut

Blueberry Banana Oat Bread

2012-08-15T12:01:00.001-05:00

Lately all I want to do is eat blueberries. I don't know if it's because of how cheap they are or what. But I keep finding myself coming home with at least a pint of blueberries every time I go to the grocery store. And if you know me well you know I'm there at least twice a week. I have a tendency to forget things and end up at the store to buy the ingredient only to come home with at least 20 more things than I needed. So anyways, blueberries. I've made this amazing blueberry banana oat bread, some orange blueberry scones with orange glaze, and brown sugar blueberry cookies. The bread is nutty and banana and wheat and bursting with blueberries. In other words, it's awesome. Now I'd love to be able to share these other recipes with you, however, I didn't capture the best pictures of them. This picture isn't very good either, so you can only imagine what the others look like. Somehow (I say this like it's out of the ordinary, but it's not), I lost my camera charger in the move. I have all the boxes unpacked, not to be confused with organized, and have not found this charger anywhere. I have a feeling I left it at the old house in Madison. Or it's lurking somewhere in the giant mess that has consumed my room. Well anyways, I ordered a new charger that should be here any day now so hopefully I can start taking some better pictures. For the past 2 weeks I've been using my old camera which does the job but has issues focusing and giving me clear pictures. I guess I'll just have to remake those blueberry cookies and scones once I get my charger. Such a hard life. Sigh.

Oh funny story about the bread. So I gave some to Amy and she brought it to work for breakfast. As soon as she cut into it, a blueberry exploded all over her keyboard and as she tried to clean it up it smeared even more. I kinda laughed at hearing this. So, don't eat this near electronics. You've been warned.

Ingredients:
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana, about 2 medium ripe bananas
2/3 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cups canola oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a 9 x 5-inch bread pan with butter and dust lightly with flour. In a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, mashed banana, brown sugar, and canola oil until blended. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Carefully fold in the blueberries. Then, pour the bread batter into the pan. Bake at 375F for 55-60 minutes, until the bread is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Source: Recipe from Picky Eater Blog

Cheesy Dill Beer Bread

2012-08-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

Guest post by Amy Hastings

It was an especially brisk day in Chicago after weeks and weeks of 90–100 degree heat and humidity. Not only was the drop in temperatures a welcomed hello to the fall weather that would soon be coming, preseason Bears football was on. As I laid on my couch switching between the Bears and the Olympics, my (our) cousin Sarah pinned a delicious-looking cheesy beer bread onto Pinterest.

Now this has been a bit of a crazy week and thank goodness Ms. Megnut moved to Chicago last week because without her, I’d be carless. To sum it up quickly, one of my car’s evil dome lights had stayed on from Monday night until I attempted to meet my trainer at the gym on Wednesday night. Not only would I have caught a ton of flak for canceling a mere 30 minutes beforehand, I also would have lost a session. It’s good to know that little sisters will come to the rescue when need be. On top of picking me up and getting me there on time, she made me dinner and let me hang out with her and the roomies—Nathan and Jake.

I figured this seriously easy-looking, and hopefully delicious-tasting, beer bread could be a minor thank you in the pile of thank yous I owed Meg and her roommates. Needless to say, it was cheesy and dilly and delicious. And, no joke, the prep time was 10 minutes at the most. Next time I might try an Italian cheese and rosemary!

Enemy bobblehead invading the kitchen!

Ingredients:
1.5 c bread flour
1.5 c all-purpose flour (or you can use 3 cups of either all-purpose or bread flour)
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp dried dill (or 2 tbsp fresh chopped dill)
1 c grated sharp cheddar (or mild)
12 oz beer

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease your loaf pan.

Sift the flour (or mix it with a wisk for 2 minutes). Then mix in the sugar, salt, baking powder, and dill. Fold the cheese into the dry mix. While mixing, slowly pour in the beer. Mix until just combined. The texture will be thick and sticky.

Plop your dough in the greased loaf pan and pop it in to the oven for 45 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean from the middle. Let the bread sit for 15 minutes before slicing into it. This bread is great on its own or with a little butter. It can be eaten warm or cold, either way the dill and cheese come through very nicely.

Source: Slightly adapted from Dine & Dish.

Passion Iced Tea Lemonade

2012-08-10T10:32:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love Starbucks' Passion Iced Tea Lemonade. If I could have one every day I definitely would. I have two drinks at Starbucks, passion iced tea lemonades and a calm (chamomile) tea. So as soon as it gets to be anywhere above 55 degrees outside, I run over to the nearest Starbucks for my Passion Iced Tea Lemonade. Passion tea is an herbal tea made with orange peel, hibiscus, mango, cinnamon, and other fruity goodness. Pretty much it's fruity. And the best part? It's caffeine free! I spend a lot of time at coffee shops to study for my CPA exams so this drink has become a bit of an obsession. You know what I'm not obsessed with? Starbuck's prices. I typically get a venti iced tea lemonade and that's somewhere in the neighborhood of $4. Even if I were to get a tall it would still be in the $2-3 range. And for what? a tea bag, lemonade, and sugar syrup? No thank you. I don't even want to think about how much money I've spent on these drinks. Well no longer my friends. I can honestly say that I will never buy another one of those drinks again after I found this recipe. It tastes just like the real thing! The best part is that you can modify the sweetness to your level of satisfaction. I like mine with more tea than lemonade so you get a little bit more tang. This recipe is super easy, the longest part is waiting for all the ingredients to cool before you can mix them together. After that, just put it in a pitcher, serve with ice, and enjoy! Oh and the price! So I bought my box of Tazo Passion Tea for a little under $4. There's 20 teabags so thats $.20 per teabag. I used two teabags so we're up to $.40. The lemonade was $2.99. I used maybe a fifth of the lemonade, probably a little less, so $.60 there. A cup of sugar cost me about $.30. So we're at about $1.30 for over a quart of iced tea lemonade. I'd call that success!

Ingredients:

1 quart water

2 teabags of Tazo Passion Iced Tea

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 1/3 cup lemonade

Directions:

In a large pot, boil 1 quart of water. After it has finished boiling, take it off the heat. Steep 2 teabags in the pot for 5-10 minutes, then discard the bags. Place the pot in the refrigerator to cool. Then, to make the simple syrup, place 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar in a small saucepan. Boil over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Then, let simmer for 10 minutes. Cool in the refrigerator. Once all of the components have cooled, combine the tea with 1/3 cup of the simple syrup and 1 1/3 cup of lemonade. Mix together. Cool in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve over ice and with your hand or other covering over the glass shake to get that Starbucks taste.

Source: Adapted from My Frugal Adventures

Coffee Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2012-08-08T14:46:00.003-05:00

I don't know if any of you know this, but I don't drink caffeine. I haven't for almost three years and it's probably one of the better decisions I've made in my life. Caffeine makes me jittery and way too anxious for my own liking. So I gave it up. It sure wasn't easy because I definitely had my fair share of Diet Cokes in my 7am accounting class to wake me up Sophomore year of college. But I guess drinking less soda is also a good thing. One of the things I miss most is coffee drinks - tuxedo mochas from Starbucks, hazelnut coffee from Einstein's, iced coffees from the school cafe... ahh sooo good. But really I'm not going to go to Starbucks to get a decaf mocha for $5. That makes no sense. Sure it's good, but so not worth it in my opinion unless you need the caffeine. Enter coffee ice cream stage left. This ice cream gave me my coffee flavor fix without any of the caffeine! My grandma happened to have some decaf coffee on hand which is what we used. I made this ice cream for a big family dinner at our lake house. So about 14 people and 1 quart of coffee ice cream... it was gone in no time. My dad took a huge scoop first because he apparently loves coffee ice cream. Everyone else just kind of had a spoonful to give it a try. It was so good. I personally wouldn't skip the vodka because it prevents the ice cream from becoming rock solid. I think that some sort of coffee liqueur would also be really good instead!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vodka (to prevent the ice cream from getting too hard)
1/2 cup strong coffee, chilled
1/2 cup chocolate chips (feel free to add more!)

Directions:
In a bowl, using an electric blender or whisk, blend together eggs, yolks, and sugar for about 5 minutes. Then, in a saucepan, heat milk and cream over medium heat. Do not let the mixture boil. Take off the heat before it begins to boil. Slowly pour 1 cup of the heated milk mixture into the egg mixture, whisking rapidly to prevent the eggs from cooking. Once the milk is whisked into the eggs, pour the egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk mixture, while whisking. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the custard becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Turn off heat. Pour the custard into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press the plastic wrap down so that it touches the surface of the custard. Chill in the refrigerator until cool. Once the custard is completely chilled, pour into the ice cream maker bowl with the vodka. Follow the manufacturer's instructions. Halfway through the churn time, pour in the 1/2 cup of chilled coffee. When the ice cream has a few minutes left of churning, add in the chocolate chips. Store in an airtight container in the freezer. Freeze ice cream for a few hours before serving.

Makes about 1 quart.

Source: Recipe slightly adapted from Not Eating Out in NY

Chocolate Strawberry Banana Baked Oatmeal

2012-08-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Don't you just love when your breakfast tastes like dessert? I know I do. Now, this baked oatmeal isn't too chocolatey, but enough to satisfy any chocolate craving that you might have. My favorite way to eat it is served warm with some chocolate chips and a drizzle honey, just to add a little bit more sweetness. If you've never had baked oatmeal before you should definitely try it. The texture is a bit more cake-like than regular oatmeal which is probably why I like it. I just started eating oatmeal a little less than a year ago, so I'm still getting used to the texture. Baked oatmeal is a great alternative to get your family, friends, or even yourself to eat a healthier breakfast. There are so many variations that you can try that you're bound to find a version that fits your style. If you don't like chocolate, be sure to check out my blackberry baked oatmeal!

Ingredients:
3 large bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

1 large banana, peeled, 1/2 inch slices

1 cup sliced strawberries, plus a few more for topping

honey, for topping
chocolate chips, for topping

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, mash 3 large bananas, to get about 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana. Combine the mashed bananas with the eggs, cocoa powder, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk together until the mixture is smooth. Then, add in the milk and continue whisking until there are no clumps. Stir in the oats and the strawberries. Spray the inside of an 8x8 inch casserole dish or late pie pan with non-stick spray. Pour the oat mixture in the plan. Arrange the banana slices and extra strawberry slices on top of the oatmeal mixture. Bake in the oven at 350F for 45 minutes. Serve warm with a drizzle of honey and some chocolate chips.

Source: Recipe adapted from Budget Bytes

Honeydew Melon Sorbet

2012-07-17T08:36:00.002-05:00

So I'm taking my next CPA exam today. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an exam to get certified as a public accountant. Today is number 2 out of 4. I'm at the point where I want more time to study but also just want to get this done with in the hopes that I don't have to take it ever again. I'm currently sitting at the kitchen table with mounds of note cards, my review book and chocolate (necessary at 8am) sprawled all over. My nerves are extremely high and my motivation is varying from high to low (beyond low right now) depending on the minute of the day. Although five o'clock seems a long ways away, I'm sure the time will fly by. Obviously it seemed appropriate to write to you all while I should be studying. Procrastination at its best I suppose. In other good news I'm going to Hawaii in just a few short days! I haven't allowed myself to think about it too much because as soon as I start doing that I'm all over the internet looking at sites to see, new clothes to buy, and packing my bag. Another reason I'm excited for tonight. I get to start getting ready for vacation! Woohoo!

Alright enough about me. Today's recipe is a honeydew melon sorbet. I looovvveee honeydew which is why I loved this sorbet but I have noticed something. People who like honeydew don't like cantaloupe and people who like cantaloupe don't like honeydew. I've strangely found this to be true in most of my family and friends. So if you love honeydew this is a recipe for you. It's extremely easy to make and crowd pleasing. People will think you spent forever on this, but really it has minimal prep and then you can just let it do it's thing. I strongly advise you put vodka in this to make it softer. The original recipe didn't call for vodka but I always put it in my ice creams so they don't freeze over too hard. However, this time I couldn't find the vodka in the house so I didn't put it in and boy did I regret that. If you choose not to use vodka because you have kiddies or whatever, let it sit at room temp for 5 or so minutes to make it a little easier to scoop!

Ingredients:
1 honeydew melon, about 6 lbs., cut into small chunks
1/2 cup simple syrup (1/2 cup water, 1 cup sugar)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vodka (optional)

Directions:
In a small pot, combine 1/2 cup water with 1 cup sugar over medium-high heat. Stir while the mixture boils for about 5 minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool. In the meantime, cut the honeydew into big chunks and puree in a food processor or blender so that you get 4 cups of honeydew puree. Mix together with the cooled simple syrup, lemon juice and vodka. The vodka is optional but it helps the sorbet from not freezing over too hard and keep it nice and smooth. Freeze according to your ice cream maker's manufacturer instructions. Then place in a tupperware and freeze for 1-2 hours or until read to serve.

Makes about 1 quart of sorbet.

Source: Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Breakfast Egg Cups

2012-07-11T11:49:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, it's Amy (Megan's older sister) again. My family has been on a collective health kick as of late. It's probably because we are headed to Hawaii in less than 2 weeks and the time to get in shape has slipped away. Even before the trip, we've been trying to make things healthier and more exciting. I can attest to the fact that bringing my lunch to work every day is probably smart for my waistline and my wallet, but let's be honest, that's happening because I started a new job and no longer have the chance to eat with my old lunch crew (whom I miss dearly).

I've been looking for ways to incorporate eggs into my breakfasts because I think they definitely do the best job when it comes to keeping me full and satisfied. On one of my many Pinterest binges, I stumbled across a recipe for Egg Cups. These little guys are a meal in one convenient muffin-shaped wonder. I'd recommend grabbing 2 for breakfast. They can be refrigerated and kept for a few days, but they are best right out of the oven. These are super easy to put together and I know you could easily customize the recipe with your own toppings. We stuck with the basics: hash browns, eggs, cheddar, and bacon; but I am sure sausage, spinach, tomatoes, and feta or any other combo would be great!

Ingredients
12 oz of hash browns (typically come in a 24 oz bag in the frozen foods aisle)
12 eggs
6-10 slices of bacon (it's all preference, we are bacon eaters)
1/2 c shredded cheddar
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
extra cheese for topping

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cook your bacon (if you aren't using bacon bits) and set aside. Lightly grease the muffin tin with cooking spray or use a paper towel and vegetable/olive oil to lightly wipe the cups. In a mixing bowl, throw in the hash browns, 1/3 c of cheddar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Once you've mixed these ingredients, load up the muffin tin. Fill up the cups evenly. The potatoes will cook down. The oil is supposed to help them crisp up a bit, a little extra cooking spray will help that process along.

Place the potatoes in the oven and cook for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. While the potatoes are cooking, roughly chop up your cooked bacon. Once the potatoes are ready, take the potatoes out and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. You can press the potatoes down with the back of a spoon to create a little nest for your egg. It's not necessary, but the potatoes will come up around the egg a little more. Now crack an egg in each of your cups, top with the bacon, and sprinkle a little cheese on each cup. I threw a pinch of salt and pepper on each egg as well. Place the muffin tin back in the oven (at 350 degrees) and cook for 13-15 minutes depending on how firm or runny you want your eggs.

When the eggs are done, remove the pan from the oven and use a knife to loosen the egg cups from the sides of the muffin tins. Getting them out is typically the toughest part, but they should slide out pretty easily. Voila! Breakfast in a cup.

Makes 12 egg cups.

Source: Adapted from Little Birdie Baby

Sugar Cookie Flag Cake

2012-07-04T14:43:00.000-05:00

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone's having fun celebrating with friends and family! Here in Wisconsin it's miserably hot so we're spending majority of the day inside cherishing the air conditioning. However, later we plan on grilling out at a friends place. Hopefully it will be a little cooler than 104 degrees outside but I'm highly doubting that. I started off the morning making pancakes for friends and eating bacon of course. I even made a Fourth of July pancake with blueberries and strawberries! Then I made this cookie cake. It's super simple and patriotic. I used store-bought dough and frosting because let's face it, it's too hot to be cooking for a long time. So I just made it easy on myself and used store-bought ingredients. But do feel free to make your own dough and frosting. I really can't wait to dig into this cookie cake later tonight! Hope everyone has a happy and safe Fourth of July! In case you're looking for some other patriotic treats to make for the holiday check out these recipes:

4th of July Sugar Cookies

Stained Glass Jello Shots

Ingredients:
16 oz sugar cookie dough (I used store-bought)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 pint blueberries
10-16 strawberries, hulled and sliced (depending on how big they are)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare the sugar cookie dough as instructed in the recipe/on the box. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.Pour the cookie dough in the pan and spread with a knife to smooth the top. Bake for 25-40 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cookie. Once the cookie is cool, spread the cream cheese frosting over the top. It's okay if you don't use the whole can. Just try to get an even coating. Starting in the top left corner, make a row of 10 or so blueberries (depending on the size of the blueberries). Underneath that row, do the same. Keep doing that until you get about 8 or so rows (It should look like a big square). Then starting at the bottom of the cookie cake, place the sliced strawberries in a row. Leave a little white space above the strawberries and make another row. Keep doing that until you get 5 rows of strawberries and 4 rows of white frosting. It's okay that you don't have 13 stripes! Put in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve. Cut into slices.

Strawberry Cobbler

2012-06-29T13:39:00.001-05:00

Alright strawberry lovers! It's the last post of strawberry week here at A Dash of Megnut. I'm kinda sad it's over. But that doesn't mean there won't be anymore strawberry recipes the rest of this summer. I assure you there are more to come. Today's recipe is a strawberry cobbler. I like this cobbler because it's not too sweet and the biscuits soak up the fruity goodness. This is another one that's perfect to bring to a dinner party. I used regular milk instead of whipping cream in the biscuits because I was trying to make it a bit healthier/lighter/whatever. I thought it was delicious this way and the biscuits were perfect. However, you can always use whipping cream instead! Either way it will be really good! If you haven't had enough of strawberries, here's a roundup of this weeks recipes as well as a few more strawberry recipes from the blog:

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Strawberry Ice Cream

So I have a fun week coming up. My boyfriend Ben is coming into town so I'm about to drive 6 hours to Indianapolis to spend the weekend with his family. Then we're going to come back to Madison to see some friends and hopefully I can eat at every restaurant in Madison that I haven't eaten at before the week is over. Madison has an amazing selection of restaurants, something that I didn't take advantage enough in my 5 years of college here. I spent more time at Noodles & Co freshman year than I care to share when I really should have been exploring the food scene in the city. However, I've tried my best to make up for that the past few years and I'm doing a pretty good job. There are a few more restaurants I REALLLY want to go to so I'm hoping Ben and I can make it to most of those. A few other things I want to cross off of my Madison bucket list before I move in August... walking to Picnic Point, observation deck of the Capitol building (already did it, but I think it will be more of a reflective/sentimental thing about the past 5 years when I go this time), and go sailing on the lake. Not surprisingly, most of my Madison bucket list consists of food ventures. There's this cheese farm I really want to go to as well as a few breweries that I'd like to hit up. After all of that madness we're going to go to my family's lake house in Lake Geneva for the weekend and play some golf and relax on the lake. I'm pretty excited for the next week but I'm hoping I'll find some time to study as well for my upcoming exam. Luckily (or unluckily), I spent majority of the past week in the library so I could take a little break this week! Watch for some awesome ice cream recipes next week as well as a few other recipes!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup water

4 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 tbsp cold butter, diced

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp cold butter, diced

1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish and set aside. In a large pot, combine 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and water and stir together. Then turn the heat on medium, and while stirring, cook the mixture until it is thick. Pour the strawberries in the pot and stir until coated. Turn off the heat and pour the strawberry mixture into the baking dish. Dot the top of the strawberries with the 2 tbsp of diced butter (a little piece of butter every inch or so). In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Then, with your hands, work in the 3 tbsp butter until the texture is like sand. Add in the milk and stir until the dough is soft. Put big dollops of the dough on top of the strawberries. Bake at 400F for 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

Source: Adapted from All Recipes

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

2012-06-27T07:59:00.000-05:00

I've never made jam before. I looked all over the internet, trying to find the "perfect" jam recipe. This is what I sound like talking to my computer as I look through recipes...

Not enough strawberries.

Too much sugar.

Pectin? I don't really want to deal with that.

Why aren't you using lemon juice? Lemon juice would be good.

Well we don't have that much rhubarb,

You have to do WHAT with the jars? Well that seems difficult.

Mannn, I don't have my candy thermometer with me.

I finally decided that there wasn't going to be a perfect recipe to fit my needs. By the end of it I had read over 20-30 recipes and gotten the gist of the process. So, I took what I liked of each of those recipes and made a completely new one. And I think it turned out pretty well! Everyone liked it which is always a good sign. I may have overcooked mine a bit. It was ready after 35 minutes of cooking at a boil but I got nervous and let it go longer, so it turned out more like preserves which I was okay with. But I tasted it after 35 minutes and it was sooo good then too! I put this jam on literally everything. Remember those rosemary pepper scones I posted last week? The jam went on those for sure. I also had it on crackers, toast, english muffins, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I don't even know what else. Simply delicious. This may not be the most traditional jam (i.e. no pectin and no processing/canning) but it certainly is the most delicious jam I've ever tried!

Ingredients:
3 cups strawberries, hulled, sliced and mashed
2 1/2 cups rhubarb, finely diced
5 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 pinch of salt

Directions:
In a large pot, mix together strawberries and rhubarb. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and salt and stir until the fruit is well coated. Cook over medium-high, stirring frequently, until the fruit comes to a rolling boil. Put a small plate in the freezer. Then reduce the heat a bit so that the fruit is still boiling but not so rapidly. Continue cooking for 30-40 minutes while continually scraping around the sides, checking that the bottom isn't burning and skimming off any foam.

You will know when the jam is ready when it passes the "wrinkle test" (Something I learned from David Lebovitz's blog). Take the small plate out of the freezer, place a little dollop of jam in the middle of the plate. Place in back in the freezer for a few minutes and take it back out. Nudge the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles when you do that, the jam is ready. If you have a candy thermometer, great. The jam should reach 220F. Take the jam off the heat and ladle into mason jars, cover and store in the refrigerator.

Notice I do not use pectin or process the jars at all because we plan on eating this jam rather quickly. If you do plan on doing that now would be the time. However, I have no experience in this area so I have no advice sorry!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2012-06-26T11:34:00.002-05:00

Ooookay. Summer, where are you? Yes I realize its beautiful outside. I see those people suntanning, reading a book, enjoying one another's company. But instead, I find myself holed up in the library studying my day away. Let's be real. The view from the library is not a bad one. Take a look.

However, I'd rather be out there than in here. I just need a little summer in my life. Soon enough I suppose. I'm taking my next CPA exam in just a few short weeks so I'm slaving away in the library until then. Luckily most of my friends have to be doing the same thing so at least we're in it together right? Well in case you're also in need of a little summer in your life, here's an awesome recipe to help you out.

Today I'll be sharing with you a fantastic strawberry rhubarb pie. It's from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook which my sisters and I each got for Christmas a few years back and we LOVE it. Seriously, everything we have made turns out, it's awesome. And it always provides substitutions in case you don't have an ingredient and techniques. I'm finally understanding why things work instead of just reading a recipe. However, this recipe called for arrowroot. Arrowwhat? I had never heard of it. But apparently it's a thickening agent and can be found in the spice section of the grocery store. However, Amy and I couldn't find it anywhere so we just subbed in some cornstarch. I'd be interested to find out if anyone uses arrowroot and what it's like, so please do share if you have used it before. We also decided to use a store-bought pie crust from Trader Joes to make it a little easier on ourselves, but feel free to make your own. Trader Joe's has a really good pie crust so I don't find much difference between that one and a homemade one. This pie is perfectly sweet with a little tartness from the rhubarb. It's absolutely perfect for any summer shindig that you may be attending. But don't forget to serve it with vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients:

two 9 inch pie crusts

2 tsp vegetable oil

4 cups strawberries, hulled, sliced and mashed

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces (5-6 cups)

1 to 1 1/4 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp arrowroot (I substituted with 1/4 cup of cornstarch)

1 egg white, for egg wash

1 tbsp sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:
Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and place a rimmed baking sheet on it. Preheat oven to 500F. Roll out pie dough and press into a 9 inch pie plate (vague I know, but depending on what kind of dough you're using it's different... ours was pre-rolled). Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the rhubarb and 1/4 cup of sugar. Cook, while stirring frequently, until the rhubarb has lost most of its liquid but is still firm. This should take about 5 minutes. Pour the rhubarb on a large plate and refrigerate until cool. In a large bowl, stir together the cooled rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour the arrowroot (or cornstarch) and 1 cup of sugar (we went with 3/4 cup so it wouldn't be so sweet, but adjust to your liking) over the mixture. Then, stir until the sugar and arrowroot are incorporated. Spread the fruit mixture over the unbaked pie crust. Lay the top crust over the fruit and seal the edges with your fingers. Cut a few slits in the top of the pie to create vents. Put the egg white and 1 tbsp of water in a bowl and whisk together to make the egg wash. Brush the egg wash on the top of the crust to allow it to brown in the oven. Sprinkle the top with sugar if desired. Place the pie on the heated baking sheet and lower the oven to 425F. Bake 25 minutes, or until the top crust is golden. Rotate the baking sheet and reduce the oven again, this time to 375F. Bake until the crust is a deep golden color and the fruit is bubbling, about 30-35 minutes. Transfer pie to a wire rack for cooling before serving.

Source: Recipe adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

2012-06-25T09:08:00.001-05:00

It's strawberry season! A few weeks ago I went to a strawberry farm in Elkhorn, Wisconsin with my two sisters and my Aunt Lauri.

I had never seen a strawberry plant until that day. I honestly didn't know what to expect. Unfortunately, I tend to think of strawberries as the $2 pint I buy at the grocery store, not the little, ripe strawberries sitting on a farm in Wisconsin. If you've never been strawberry picking it's really fun. You drive up and get a box to fill up and park your car and walk up to the field and start picking.

We got two 8 quart boxes for under $15 which is a pretty good deal. The strawberries are a lot smaller than the kind you see in the grocery store but so much more delicious. 16 quarts doesn't seem like that much when the box is empty but all the sudden when you have two really heavy boxes of strawberries its a ton. Seriously, look at that box. It's huge! What were we thinking!

But after 20 or so minutes of picking strawberries the boxes were full and we were on our merry way.

The whole ride home we were wondering what we could possibly do with 16 quarts of strawberries.... fear not dear readers, we figured it out! I hereby dub this week Strawberry Week at A Dash of Megnut! This week I'll be bringing you 4 strawberry recipes to get you in the summer mood. Today I'll be sharing with you strawberry frozen yogurt! You all know I love to make ice cream... I even have some interesting flavors to share with you next week (coffee, s'mores, and honeydew sorbet!). However, ice cream is not always the best for you. As someone trying to not add some extra poundage.. and let's be serious, I have a food blog, it's tough... I'm always trying to find ways to make the things I love a little "less bad" for me. Enter strawberry frozen yogurt stage left. I have a recent fascination with greek yogurt and I like to try to use it in place of it's friends... sour cream, cream cheese, heavy cream, etc. When you try this frozen yogurt there's no way you're going to miss ice cream. There's still sugar in this and I won't say it's the best for you, but I'm just going for "less bad" for you. Definitely a less guilty way to have your dessert!

Ingredients:
1 pound strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
2/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vodka (optional, but in my opinion, not really optional)
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:
Toss strawberries into a bowl with the sugar and vodka*. Stir with a spoon until the sugar begins to dissolve. Then, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for two hours, stirring every once in awhile. Transfer strawberry mixture to a blender or food processor (don't forget the juice at the bottom of the bowl). Add the yogurt and lemon juice. Pulse the blender until the mixture is smooth. If you want to strain out any seeds you can, however, I chose to leave them in. Pour mixture in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for one hour. Freeze in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. After churning place in the freezer to firm up before serving. To serve, top with fresh strawberries.

Makes about 1 quart.

*The vodka is used so that the frozen yogurt doesn't get so hard that it's impossible to scoop out. Without it, you get a rock hard frozen yogurt instead of a creamy dessert. However, if you choose not to use it, just make sure to allow time to thaw your ice cream at room temperature before serving!

Source: Recipe from David Lebovitz

Rosemary and Pepper Drop Biscuits

2012-06-13T14:25:00.000-05:00

After all this time yeast breads scare me. All of the varieties that I have tried have failed miserably. I think it's the rising stage that I screw up. I don't let it rise enough, or the temperature isn't warm enough in my apartment, or my yeast isn't activated. I don't know. I'm not ready to give up on yeast breads yet but I'm really not dying to make one anytime soon. Quick breads though? I like those. No yeast, no rising time, just easy and quick. Drop biscuits are probably one of my favorite kinds of quick bread because there's no rolling or cutting out circles, just spoon it on the baking pan and bake it as it is. I think they look so rustic and yummy this way. I really like the spices in this recipe. The pepper and rosemary give the biscuits a little kick. I served them with a steak and bleu cheese salad and sweet baked potatoes with goat cheese and roasted grapes and it really finished off the meal nicely. I can't wait to play around with the spices in this recipe based on what I'm serving it with!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp dried rosemary, roughly chopped

1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

1 tsp sugar

3/4 to 1 cup of milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, rosemary, cracked pepper and sugar. Stir until well combined. Add the cubes of cold butter to the flour mixture and work with your hands or a pastry cutter until the butter is worked in to the flour. The texture should resemble dry sand when it is done. Starting with 3/4 cup, add in the milk until the mixture just reaches a paste-like consistency. I used a little less than 1 cup of milk to reach this point. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon 2/3 cup of dough (there should be 8 dollops of dough). Bake the biscuits at 400F for 18 to 22 minutes, until the biscuits are a light golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes 8 biscuits.

Source: Recipe from Budget Bytes

Lemon "Brownies"

2012-06-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you all have at least heard of Pinterest by now. If you haven't, it's basically a virtual pinboard. You can "pin" things you find on the internet and organize them into boards. I have a food board, crafts board, and even a castles food. The best part about Pinterest is you can see what other people pin and repin them to your boards. That's where I find most of my ideas for recipes, DIYs, clothes, etc. However, I've been absolutely awful at following through with any of said pins. Yeah I have 120 recipes pinned.. but now what? I rarely ever put those recipes into fruition. I've probably made about 5 of the recipes I've pinned. I've made it my goal now to start actually making the recipes, doing the crafts, and even going to the places I've pinned. I'm starting here with these lemon brownies. I pinned these over a month ago and always had the ingredients in my apartment but never got around to it until now. And boy am I glad I did. Obviously you know I'm obsessed with lemon. Bright, sunny, fresh, summery, tart, refreshing lemon. LOVE in a bar. These lemony bars of goodness are a cross between a lemon bar and a brownie. My sister Katie likes to refer to them as whities because they aren't brown.. so very clever that girl. These lemon brownies are very moist and a little gooey but nothing a little finger licking can't solve. Most of the lemon flavor comes from the glaze, so that's something that you should definitely not skip in this recipe. It's rich but oh so good!

Oh and feel free to follow me on Pinterest here!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3 large eggs

1 (12 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice + 3 tbsp for glaze

1 tsp packed lemon zest (from 1 lemon) + 1 tsp for glaze

1 cup powdered sugar (for glaze)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt until combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. Spread the batter into the baking pan and bake for 25-35 minutes (mine took 30) until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean, it still might be a little gooey. Let the bars cool before spreading the glaze on top. To make the glaze, in a small bowl stir together the powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar), 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, and 1 tsp lemon zest until it forms a smooth glaze. When the bars have cooled, pour the glaze over the brownies and spread with a knife or spatula. Allow the glaze to harden before cutting into squares.

Source: Recipe from Becky Bakes

Lemon Sour Cream Bundt Cake

2012-06-04T14:54:00.001-05:00

I LOVE me some lemon. I'd honestly rather eat lemon than chocolate any day so I'm always looking for lemon dessert recipes. Put lemon in a bundt cake and I'm there. You know most people say bundt cakes aren't the prettiest of cakes but I think they're wrong. I like the homey feel of a bundt cake. Light touches of powdered sugar on top. Drizzles of icing dripping down the sides. The slightest bit of crust in every piece. The rustic look of a piece of cake. I love it all and I think it looks so pretty. So you can imagine what I immediately thought of when I found myself with a few lemons and sour cream in my house... you're right. A bundt cake.

Last weekend, I made some cookies for my cousin's engagement and needed my dad to take them with him to work in the morning so he could get them to my cousin. However, the cookies weren't dry the night before so I had to wake up around 6am to get them all packaged. Now I'm the type of person who doesn't go back to bed when I awake up. If I'm up at 6am, I'm up for the day. So I had a bit of time on my hands and decided to bake. I was headed to Indianapolis to spend the weekend with my boyfriend's family so I thought a bundt cake would travel well and would be a nice treat to bring with me. Boy was I right. I had to drive 4 hours with this cake next to me.. with all of that lemon sugary goodness wafting into the air it was pure torture. This cake is absolutely delicious. It has just enough lemon in it and the sour cream makes it extremely moist. If you don't want to use sour cream try it with yogurt instead!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vanilla
2 lemons
1 cup fat free sour cream
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. Zest lemons into a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and stir in sugar. Add lemon zest, vegetable oil and vanilla and stir until combined. Then, cut the lemons into quarters and remove the seeds. Squeeze the lemon juice into the bowl and mix until combined. Add flour, baking powder, and baking soda and stir together. Then, mix in the yogurt. Spray the inside of a non-stick bundt pan with cooking spray and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then invert on a wire wrack to continue cooling. Sprinkle with powder sugar when cool and serve.

Source: Recipe adapted from Melanie Cooks

Graduation Sugar Cookies

2012-05-31T19:40:00.001-05:00

It's that time of the year! Graduation season is upon us and you know what that means... plenty of graduation parties! If you're looking for a fun gift for the graduate or a dessert that's sure to wow at your party then look no further. As you all know I love making sugar cookies for any and all occasions. I love the almondy flavor in the sugar cookies as well as in the royal icing. And they're almost too cute to eat. I said almost.. no worries. You can make the graduation caps any color you want to match the graduate's school colors. I made these for Ben's sister who graduated from high school a few weeks ago.

Oh by the way! I graduated! I finally received my Masters of Accountancy at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. The past 5 years have been amazing in Madison and I'm sad to leave but also really excited to move back to Chicago. I don't start work until the end of October though so until then there will be plenty of baking adventures to break up the CPA studying. I just passed my first CPA exam and still have 3 more to go so it's going to be a loonnnggg summer full of studying. Don't you love that just when you think you're done with the school and studying you have to spend all summer doing just that? Ugh. Here's to the procrastobaking that is undoubtedly going to ensue this summer!

Ingredients:
Sugar Cookies
Royal Icing
Graduation Cap Cookie Cutter
Navy Blue Gel Food Coloring
Golden Yellow Gel Food Coloring

Tips:
I used a #3 tip for the outlining and the tassel. If doing a white cap make sure you wait until the icing has completely dried before doing the blue outline and yellow tassel. Otherwise, the colors will run into the white. You can also try doing a blue outline first and waiting until that dries and then filling the cookie with white. You will have a smoother surface rather than the raised effect I used. Good luck and happy cookie decorating!

Irresistible Chocolate Chip Cookies

2012-05-23T11:01:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Megan's little sister, Katie, here. I just graduated from college and am in that semi-relaxing/semi-terrifying limbo of boredom called unemployment. Anyway, my second week of "fun" has begun and I decided to spice up the day by baking the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever. I am a firm believer in the power of a good classic chocolate chip cookie and this recipe has never failed me. Everytime I make them for friends, they are gone in the blink of an eye. When made right, these cookies are soft, chewy, and ginormous. If you are still searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, seriously look no further. You're welcome.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
2 cups of semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Place oven racks are in the upper- and lower-middle positions then preheat the oven to 325F. First melt the butter in a bowl and put it in the fridge to cool. Then whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside. Next crack 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks into a bowl together and add the vanilla. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine then cooled butter and sugars--this should only take a minute or two on medium speed. After the butter and sugars are combined, add your egg and vanilla mixture. It'll be a bit more soupy that usual with the extra eggs and melted butter. With the mixer on a low speed, add the flour mixture in small increments until it is all combined. The mixture should be relatively thick by now and is ready for the chocolate chips or chunks! Just pour in the whole bag and mix! *If you're looking to add some extra flavor, you might try pressing some sea salt onto the tops of the cookies before baking.* Grease two cookie sheets with baking Pam, crisco, or just line them with parchment paper. Then divide the batter up into heaping scoops (about 2 inches wide and 1 inch tall) and place them on the sheet. I've only ever made these cookies oversized, but am sure they would taste just as good if made smaller--just be sure to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Bake the cookies for about 17-20 minutes at 325 degrees. Finally, enjoy and pretend like the recipe is a super secret family jewel.

Source: Recipe adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Chocolate Thin Mint Ice Cream

2012-05-21T11:42:00.001-05:00

I'm back!!! I know I haven't blogged in almost a month but grad school got the best of me. I started studying for my CPA exams and got a little overwhelmed with attempting to study for that as well as finishing my normal school work. I did manage to bake a few things during all of the craziness but didn't find time to blog about them. The best thing I made had to be this thin mint ice cream. You all know you love Girl Scout cookies. I mean who doesn't? I was on my way to work to teach dance on a Saturday morning and I had to stop by the store for some stickers for class and to my surprise there was a little girl selling Girl Scout cookies. I thought Girl Scout cookie season was over months ago so I was so beyond excited. Maybe even a little too excited. Four boxes later I was on my merry way to work. I chowed down on 3 of the boxes while I studied and did work over the next few weeks. But I saved the thin mints for this ice cream. I was looking for a recipe that wouldn't just be chocolate and chopped up thin mints though, I really wanted the mint flavor to shine. In this recipe, the thin mints are steeped into the custard as well as chopped up and later mixed into the ice cream after it has finished churning. This means lots of thin mint flavor. This was extremely easy to make and much much better than any store bought ice cream. The ice cream is really rich and chocolatey so I've found that a little bit goes a long way!

Ingredients:
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 cups half and half
28 thin mints (1 box), divided
5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped fine
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
In a medium sauce pan off heat, whisk together the eggs and sugar until the mixture gets really light in color and slightly thickened, about 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the cocoa powder until no clumps remain. Slowly whisk in the half and half. Finely chop 10 Thin Mints (no larger than the size of a pea). Stir the cookies into the dairy mixture. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook the dairy mixture while whisking frequently. Keep cooking until the temperature reads 180 degrees Fahrenheit (the custard should coat the back of a spoon when it's ready). Remove the custard from the heat. Mix in the dark chocolate until it is fully melted into the custard. Transfer custard to an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but it's best if its overnight. Churn in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Chop the remaining Thin Mints (sizes can range from pea-sized to nickel-sized) and in the last minute of the churn add the cookies. Spoon ice cream into an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes about 1 quart.

Source: Recipe from Serious Eats

Red Velvet Rice Krispies Treats

2012-04-30T20:58:00.002-05:00

Because Megan is living the life of a hyper busy grad student and is taking her CPA exam, I am filling in. I'm Megan's big sister, Amy, and I am an editor, so that is my disclaimer that my writing might be a little different from Meg's.

In honor of our family being together over Easter, I went a little Pinterest experimenting crazy... I'm totally hooked and if you aren't, I envy you. My "Bakelicious" and "Foodilicious" boards (http://pinterest.com/amykhaste/) are growing daily, but I am getting better at trying them out.

Red velvet seems to be very en vogue in the last 2 years. I can barely recall ever seeing red cake when I was little. Trust me, I would have remembered. I love red. Not only are the Red Velvet Rice Krispie Treats pretty easy to put together, but the color is WONDERFUL! Try these for a quick, no-bake dessert idea. The chocolate is subtle (even with the cocoa krispies) until you get a great bit of white chocolate on the top.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp butter
1 (10.5 ounce) bag of mini marshmallows
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup red velvet cake mix
6 cups Coca Rice Krispies cereal or regular Rice Krispies
4 ounces white chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

Start by lining your 9×13-inch pan with wax or parchment paper; coat well with cooking spray.

Over low heat, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add marshmallows, cake mix, and vanilla stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Fold in the cereal until well combined and coated. This part usually gets a little tricky with rice krispy treats. With the red velvet cake mix, you’ll know if you haven’t coated any of the cereal.

Source: Pass the Sushi

Tilapia with Mango Salsa

2012-04-11T14:25:00.000-05:00

I was in Atlanta last week for Spring Break visiting Ben. We had some pretty amazing dinner plans for most of the week. Last time I was there we were dying to go to Rathbun's for a steak dinner but the restaurant is closed on Sundays and it's a bit pricey. However, this time we caught the tail-end of restaurant week so we got a pretty decent deal on a three course meal. Ben and I both started with the ahi tuna for the appetizer, steak as our dinner, and for dessert I had a strawberry buttermilk poundcake with sour cream ice cream that was to die for and Ben had a triple chocolate mousse cake. The steak was delicious but the real stand out for me was the sour cream ice cream. I've never had it before but I can't wait to find a recipe and give it a try. It was really really good. Sunday during the day we grilled out in Piedmont Park and made brats (brats a la sconnie as Ben likes to call them).

We boiled them in beer and onions before we got to the park and they were soo good. We also grilled up some asparagus, had some potato salad and my blueberry hand pies! Unfortunately, we forgot utensils so we ended up trading pies for forks with a nice family. We threw a football around (I even learned how to make the ball spiral!)

Sunday night we went back to the italian restaurant from my last visit where we got the italian sausage and apple ravioli. The ravioli was just as good as I remembered. Ben tried to get the recipe since the last time we went there and they're just not budging still. Wednesday night we went to a sushi restaurant because Ben got a groupon for a three course meal. The appetizer was cheese kari kari, which Ben referred to as a cheese curd but better. Uh, not quite, buddy... cheese curds are the bee's knees. The kari kari was just okay for me.. I was expecting something more like a crab rangoon and it wasn't anything like it so I let him eat most of mine. Then we had some kind of fried beef dish for dinner which was so so good. The best part was the tempura oreos. They were best when you took every bite with a little bit of ice cream, chocolate and raspberry sauce though. I inhaled mine.

Then it started pouring rain so we went to see the Hunger Games. I kept telling Ben I wanted to go since I had read the books last summer and love them. He ended up loving the movie and has told his friends to go see it even. I highly recommend it to those of you who haven't seen it yet.

To the recipe! With all of these amazing food plans and dates planned throughout the week, we had to make some meals at home to save money. We also wanted them to be healthy, especially since we had a lot of rich, heavy and fried foods. So we came up with tilapia with mango salsa. The recipe makes quite a bit of salsa, way too much for the fish. But I think it would be good with chips or even mixed with rice and black beans and served for lunch. We meant to save the rest of our salsa for lunch the next day but forgot to put it in the refrigerator. The salsa was amazing and paired so well with the fish. I think it would be good with any kind of fish really. I liked that I could prepare everything ahead of time and let it sit in the refrigerator for awhile. It made it seem a lot easier to make since I was able to prepare most everything when I had time. This is a recipe that I will be making all summer long!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 (6 ounce) tilapia filets

For the mango salsa:
1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp red onion, minced
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbsp lime juice (about one lime)
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, parshley, garlic, basil, black pepper, and salt. Pour into a large resealable plastic bag (like a Ziploc freezer bag). Add in the tilapia filets, seal out excess air in the bag, and press closed. Move the tilapia around in the bag until they are coated with marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour. To make the mango salsa, in another bowl, combine together diced mango, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, jalepeno pepper, lime juice, and lemon juice. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. To make tilapia, preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add just enough olive oil to coat the pan. Shake off the excess marinade from the tilapia and place them in the pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until the fish is no longer translucent and flakes easily with a fork. Remove form the pan and top with mango salsa. Note: You can also grill the tilapia for 3-4 minutes over medium high heat as well.

Source: Recipe from All Recipes

Hummus

2012-04-03T15:33:00.000-05:00

Hummus is a treat I only recently started liking, but now that I've discovered it I'm addicted. Hummus is so versatile- you can eat it with pita, veggies, as a spread on a wrap, and much more. I love that it's filling, healthy, and can be whipped up in a food processor in a matter of minutes! There are many ways to make hummus, but traditionally it contains mashed chickpeas combined with a sesame paste called tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. There are many variations on the traditional hummus. Personally I like to add just a few spices or sometimes when I'm feeling bold I prefer cucumber and dill hummus. This recipe is one of my own. I took the typical ingredients you find in hummus and changed the measurements to get them to my liking and added a few spices. I don't like my hummus to have too much tahini or too much lemon and I think my recipe has reached a perfect middle ground between the two. Feel free to add different spices or change the measurements to find the perfect hummus for you! Make sure to eat with homemade pita chips for an extra special treat!

Ingredients:
2 cans (3 cups) garbanzo (chickpeas) beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp tahini
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup hot water
olive oil and paprika for topping

Directions:
In a food processor, add garbanzo beans, lemon juice, lemon zest, cumin, red pepper flakes, paprika, salt, tahini, olive oil, and garlic cloves. Combine until smooth. Add in small doses anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of hot water to reach your desired consistency. Make sure you blend in between each addition. The hummus will set up a bit more in the refrigerator so keep that in mind when you're adding your water. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving to let the flavors meld. Drizzle olive oil on top of the hummus and sprinkle with paprika just before serving.

Source: An A Dash of Megnut recipe

Homemade Pita Chips

2012-03-30T09:58:00.000-05:00

I love to snack. Like wayyy too much. But has anyone noticed how much chips are? Like $4 or $5 and then you realize that half of the bag was filled with air. Snacking is a pricey hobby. But don't fret my friends because I have a solution! Homemade pita chips! Making pita chips is extremely easy and tasty. Not to mention making pita chips costs about half as much as their store bought counterparts. As a college student, I'm all about the cheap and easy snacks. These chips work really well with hummus but I'm dying to try them with an avocado yogurt dip I want to make. They taste really good all by themselves as well. This recipe is really basic, but you can definitely customize it to your suit your tastes. I think it would be really good with some parmesan or some dried herbs. I've made these twice in the past few weeks, once with whole wheat pitas and the other time with regular white pita bread. I personally enjoyed the white pita chips better, but this time around I wanted something a little healthier. Just note that I took the pictures with the whole wheat pita chips which is why they're darker. If you make it with a lighter wheat pita or a white pita your chips will come out a little lighter in color. Make sure you come back tomorrow for my homemade hummus recipe that goes great with these chips!

Ingredients:

1 package pita bread
6 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325F. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Using kitchen shears or a large knife, cut pita bread into 8-12 triangles (I did 12 because I like my chips smaller). Brush the oil mixture on both sides of the pita triangles. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the chips are golden brown and crispy.

Source: Recipe from Julie Ann Art

Carrot Fritters

2012-03-22T13:51:00.000-05:00

Well hello healthy goodness! I have a new obsession... and it's carrot fritters. A few weeks back I was prepping for St. Paddy's week on the blog and had so many recipes planned... grilled cheese, ice cream, brownies, stew, and bread. I was planning on having 5 days of recipes. Well reality struck that it was midterms week and that just wasn't going to happen. I got through some of the recipes (although not in time for St. Paddy's day.. but hey I'm still enjoying that ice cream), but I never ended up making the stew. Meaning I have leftover chicken, guinness, onions, garlic, and carrots. Now most of those ingredients I can incorporate in other meals... but carrots? Well carrots are something I only eat in soups or stews.. until now. I was trying to think of creative ways to get rid of these carrots beyond the normal soup or carrot cake recipe. That's when I stumbled upon carrot fritters. I was instantly intrigued by the recipe as it's really similar to a potato pancake or zucchini pancake which I have never tried but I always figured I would like those. Plus, I had all of the ingredients in the house with the exception of the green onions, which were easy to pick up on my walk home from class. I devoured these carrot fritters. The recipe makes four so I figured I would be able to eat them as side dishes with my next few meals. I had one right away and then left the other three in the refrigerator and headed off to class. The next three hours of class were agonizing as I thought about carrot fritters. I could not stop thinking about them. Now this is extremely unusual for me to be jonesing for some carrots. Ice cream? yes. But carrots? normally no. But honestly they were just so flavorful and good. The original recipe didn't really incorporate any spices into the recipe but since I'm in love with using the spices in my spice rack I decided to add ground mustard and cumin. I also added some garlic for more flavoring. However, feel free to omit the spices completely or change them up based on what you have! These would be really fantastic as a side dish to your dinner, but I just ate them as a meal in itself. I like to top the fritters with some plain greek yogurt and lemon juice. I honestly can't wait to make these again!

P.S. Just discovered this blog, A Good Appetite, and I absolutely love it. It's written by Kat and Matthew, a couple from Minneapolis (yay Midwest food bloggers!) I've bookmarked a ton of their recipes in addition to this one. So check it out!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of carrots, peeled and grated (about 3 large carrots)
4 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp cumin
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
Grate carrots using either a box grater or a food processor*. Pour them in a large bowl. Add the green onions, yellow onion, and garlic and give it a good stir. Then add the flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard, cumin and egg. Mix until everything is combined and you will have a thick paste-like mixture. Form the mixture into 4 1/2 inch patties. Set aside for a minute. Just coat the bottom of a non-stick skillet and heat over medium. When hot, place the fritters in the pan. Cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip over, and press the fritters down with the back of a spatula. Cook another 3 minutes or so, until the bottom is golden brown. Remove from heat and top with greek yogurt. Place any uneaten fritters in a tupperware and refrigerate.

Makes 4 fritters.

*The grater will make the carrots thinner and longer, but I tried that for 2 minutes and got anxious so I just chopped up my carrots in big chunks and threw it in the food processor. You get thicker, shorter pieces but it still tasted delicious and it saved me from orange hands and some time so I'll probably continue doing it this way. If you have a grater blade for your food processor even better!

Source: Recipe adapted from A Good Appetite

Brown Bread Ice Cream

2012-03-20T15:56:00.000-05:00

Okay, okay. I know I said on Friday that I would be posting another St. Patrick's Day recipe over the weekend. I tried to make an Irish grilled cheese using brown bread, Irish cheddar and corned beef. In theory it was a good idea, but the brown bread wasn't browning as much as I wanted it to. I suppose I could have just done it on regular bread but I wasn't feeling it. Instead I just happily popped little pieces of cheddar and corned beef in my mouth as I watched TV. Anyways, you might be wondering why I would ever put bread in ice cream. I was a little skeptical myself when I heard of it but as soon as I saw that you actually caramelize the bread crumbs I was sold. I had about half of my brown bread loaf left so I caramelized all of the bread crumbs and put the leftovers in a tupperware to use as a topping for later. I keep eating them every time I pass the tupperware because they're so good. Just crunchy little cinnamony bread bits. I love it. I highly suggest you try this ice cream! If you don't have brown bread any kind of hearty bread will do!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1/8 tsp salt

5 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp Irish Whiskey

4 oz crumbled brown bread

4 oz dark brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon (I added this to the original recipe, can be omitted)

Directions:

In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together the sugar, whole milk, heavy cream, salt and egg yolks. Heat over medium and continue whisking until the mixture is thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and whiskey. Strain the mixture through a metal sieve into a metal bowl. Place in an ice bath to cool and then wrap with plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator to chill ( preferably 5-6 hours or overnight). Place mixture in an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Meanwhile, place crumbled brown bread, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a large skillet. Mix together with hands. Heat over medium, continually stirring with a rubber spatula so that the sugars don't burn. Continue doing so until the sugar has carmalized. Spread out on a sheet of parchment paper to cool completely.

When the ice cream has finished churning, transfer it to a freezer safe tupperware container. Mix in the bread crumbs a little bit at a time until you've reached an amount to your liking. Save the rest in a tupperware for extra topping. Freeze completely in the freezer.

Makes approximately 1 quart of ice cream.

Source: Recipe from Being The Secret Ingredient

Irish Brown Bread

2012-03-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

Now I know I've posted Irish Brown Bread before, but I just love it so much that I had to try another recipe for St. Patrick's Day. This recipe had oats in it and you all know how I love oats so I definitely had to give it a go. The thing that I love about brown bread is that it's so hearty and it pairs so well with cheese or butter (especially Irish butter). It's also nice that it doesn't contain any yeast and it requires minimal kneading. I've had issues with yeast in the past and still haven't seemed to feel comfortable enough to post a recipe containing yeast, but I'll get there. For now, I'll stick to my Irish brown bread. It's perfect to have with creamy butter and jam in the morning, to eat with cheese as a snack, or to soak up your stew for dinner. So versatile. Well I hope this gets you in the St. Paddy's Day spirit! I have one more recipe for you tomorrow and it's an easy one (only 3 ingredients!). So easy, I'm not sure I can call it a recipe!

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, the coarser the better (stone ground works well)
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
1/2 cup finely ground old fashioned oats
1 1/3 cup whole milk
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar*

*You can use buttermilk instead of the whole milk and apple cider vinegar (about 1 2/3 cup) but I didn't have any on hand

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine milk and apple cider vinegar and mix. Let it sit 5-10 minutes until it thickens. Meanwhile, if your oats aren't already ground, put them in a food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds or until they are finely ground. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Cut in the butter using either a pastry cutter or two knives (Don't judge, but I had to research how to do it with two knives.. Thank you You Tube!). Stir in ground oats. Pour buttermilk/milk and vinegar mixture into the flour. Stir the dough until it is just combined but still sticky. Place down on a well flour surfaced. Knead the dough 4 or 5 times. Pat and shape into a 7 or 8 inch disk. Place on the baking sheet. Dust the top of the dough with flour. With a large knife, cut an "X" 3/4 inch deep into the dough. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the bread is golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Source: Recipe from Kiss My Spatula