Sarah's Kitchen Adventures

Honey-Chipotle Pork Meatballs

2012-01-29T17:59:00.002-05:00

Here is another recipe from my Magazine of the Month, Everyday Food January 2012: The Light Issue. This time I made the Honey-Chipotle Turkey Meatballs. I wanted to make this with ground turkey, but when I went to the grocery store to get the ingredients, there was no ground turkey. I know that sounds crazy, but the last two times I have tried to get ground turkey, it wasn't available. Maybe there is a shortage or a recall of which I am not aware, but fortunately there was ground pork on sale, so I decided to make the meatballs with that instead. Granted, they are a bit fattier with turkey, but after making these meatballs, I think any kind of ground meat would work well with this recipe.

I loved these meatballs, they had a great flavor, and the combination of sweet and spicy was spot on. I did make some changes. I like my meatballs to be a bit saucier, so I doubled the ingredients of the sauce. I used a chipotle sauce instead of the straight chilies, because I thought it would add a bit of a richer, more complex favor than the chilies alone. The original recipe called for shaping the meat into 16 meatballs, but they seemed too big to me. I wanted bit-sized meatballs, so I shaped mine into 20 meatballs instead. These would make a great appetizer for a dinner or if you want to take them to a tailgate or potluck, you can easily double or triple the recipe.

Honey-Chipotle Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey or pork
1/4 of a yellow onion, minced finely
2 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. flat leaf parsley, chopped finely (optional)

2 Tbsp. honey
5 Tbsp. chipotle sauce
2 tsp. cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, add the ground meat, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley. Mix together until just combined, being careful not to overmix as the meat will become tough when cooked.

Form into 16-20 meatballs depending on the size of meatball you like. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil to medium high. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake an additional 5 minutes. Test for doneness by cutting one of the meatballs in half to make sure it is cooked all the way through.

While the meatballs are cooking, stir together the honey, chipotle sauce, and cider vinegar.

Remove the oven from the skillet and transfer the meatballs to a serving bowl, draining any fat that has accumulated (if using pork). Pour the honey-chipotle sauce over the meatballs and toss to combine, serve immediately.

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Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad

2012-01-20T18:35:00.004-05:00

I made this pasta salad when I had a few friends over for lunch one Sunday. It's a great dish because you can make it the night before and serve it cold or at room temperature. I found this recipe over at the Food Network. It's from Paula Deen if you can believe it or not, and it doesn't contain one bit of butter. Based on the reviews I changed things from the original recipe, like I reduced the oil in the recipe and added more soy sauce and some of the other ingredients. I thought the changes added a lot of flavor, and I really liked it. This recipe makes a lot, so it's great for a party, light and pretty healthy too.

Asian Chicken and Orzo Salad

1 cup of shelled, cooked edamame (you can cook them by blanching them in boiling, salted water for about 4-5 minutes if they aren't cooked when you purchase them)
1-16 oz package of orzo, cooked and drained
1 cup water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3 cups diced cooked chicken
2 green onions, whites and greens, sliced thin
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil (any neutral tasting oil will work)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tsp Sriracha (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the orzo, chicken, edamame, green onions, and red bell pepper. In a small bowl, whisk to combine the canola oil, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin, and Sriracha. Pour over the pasta and chicken mixture and toss to combine. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Can serve cold or at room temperature.

Note: When you are ready to serve, give it a taste, it may need more soy or hoisin sauce. Mine felt a bit dried out the next day, so I drizzled some extra soy sauce and hoisin sauce over the top, stirred to combine, and it was just great.

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Easy Blackberry Cake

2012-01-15T23:42:00.002-05:00

If you are looking for an easy weeknight cake studded with delicious fruit, then this is recipe for you. I found this over at Pioneer Woman's website. She calls it a cobbler, but to me, cobbler is usually a fruit filling topped with a biscuit-like crust. In this recipe you make a batter, then scatter the fruit over top, and as the cake/cobbler bakes, the fruit sinks down into the batter and releases its delicious juices. She does have another recipe for blackberry cobbler that is more like to kind I am used to, and I will have to try it sometime.

So like I said, this is an easy weeknight recipe, and you will see why. It's a recipe that comes together in a flash, you don't even need to get out your mixer. You can easily throw it in the oven while you are baking dinner on the stovetop, and it will be ready by the time you are finished eating dinner. I made mine with blackberries like the Pioneer Woman did, but I think it would be good with almost any fruit. I would love to try cherries, blueberries, or peaches as well.

Easy Blackberry Cake

1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup of sugar, divided (3/4 cup and 1/4 cup)
1 cup self-rising flour (or 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt)
1 cup milk
2 cups blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter a baking dish (I used a glass pie pan).

Melt the stick of butter in the microwave. In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1 cup flour, slowly pour in the milk and mix well. Then pour in melted butter, and mix until it is fully incorporated into the batter.

Rinse and thoroughly dry the blackberries. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish and scatter the blackberries over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup over the top of the cake. (Don't skip this step, as it gives a sweet, crisp top to the cake).

Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. For me it was about 40 minutes, but the original recipe calls for up to one hour. So check around 35 minutes, and keep close watch from there. Remove from oven, and cool on a wire rack. Serve alone or with ice cream or whipped cream.

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Honey-Glazed Carrots with Cilantro and New Blog Features!

2012-01-10T22:20:00.002-05:00

So I haven't blogged in almost three months. I really didn't want to post one recipe in November and one in December. I wanted to come back when I was ready to devote more time to it and really make it a commitment in my everyday life. I've decided that there is no time like the present. In order to blog more and to utilize my great collection of food magazines and cookbooks, I am introducing two new features to my blog. One is what I am calling Magazine of the Month. I am going to take one of my many magazines from my numerous subscriptions and cook 3-4 recipes from that magazine during the current month. The recipe above is from this month's choice.

Everyday Food January 2012: The Light Issue

Another addition to my blog is what I am calling my Current Cookbook. I am going to pick one cookbook and cook 4-5 or more recipes from that book. At the end, I will write a comprehensive review of the cookbook and give it a rating. I have so many, yet I rarely cook from them, I just love to look through them and get ideas about what I want to cook. This isn't a bad thing, I just want to try so many recipes from these books, now I am giving myself the chance to do it. My first choice for my Current Cookbook is America's Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution. I thought it would be a good choice for these cold winter months, and I also just got a new slow cooker that I am eager to try out.

So onto the recipe. Like I said, this is from Everyday Food, and the reason I picked it was because it had an interesting method for cooking the carrots. You place the carrots in a skillet with a little olive oil, then you cover it for water. As the carrots boil in the water they become soft, and then the water eventually evaporates. The carrots then begin to caramelize in the skillet and pick up those lovely charred spots that add a lot of flavor to the carrots, add in some honey time to bring in a bit of extra sweetness. You then deglaze the skillet with a bit of water or broth. The carrots are finally tossed with a bit of cilantro for some brightness. I really love this technique. It's so delicious and the carrots and cooked wonderfully. I will definitely use this method from now on.

Honey-Glazed Carrots with Cilantro

serves 4

6 medium sized carrots, halved lengthwise and chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons of broth, white wine, or water
2 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh cilantro

In a large skillet, combine the carrots and the olive oil. Add just enough water to cover the carrots (about 2 cups). Cook over medium-high heat until the water is evaporated and the carrots are soft, about 15 minutes.

At this point, cook, tossing often until the carrots are light golden brown with some charred spots. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1 tablespoon honey and 2 tablespoons broth, white wine, or water. Stir and scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon, until the carrots are glazed, about 2-4 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.

Print Feature:

Another great feature that I have added is a "Print/PDF option" to the blog. This means if you click on the icon below, you will be able to print or save a pdf of this blog post. I really love this feature on other blogs, because when I see a recipe I like, I like to print it out immediately or save it as a PDF onto my computer, so I can use it later. Anyway, I hope you like the new features, and I hope to be around more often!

Pinterest:

I don't know who has checked out Pinterest yet, but it's a great website where you can "Pin" different things on your personal pinboard. It's a place to share all the wonderful things you see on the web. People use Pinterest to remind them of ideas for cooking, organizing, decorating, you name it. If you see a recipe you like here, and you want to "pin" it, that would be wonderful. Just click on the button below, and you will be able to do that.

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Pumpkin Apple Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze

2011-10-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. Living in the Midwest, you get to experience the best of it. The leaves change color, and it's finally getting cooler. It's this time of year that you start to see all the pumpkin recipes showing up on the blogs and in the cooking magazines. I love pumpkin desserts, and after I got this pan on sale the other day, I knew I wanted to make pumpkin donuts. I had some honeycrisp apples (another wonderful fall occurence) on hand, so when I found this recipe from Cherry Tea Cakes for Pumpkin Apple donuts, I knew I had to try them out.

These donuts are really delicious, they are cake-like considering they are baked and not fried, and the apple cider glaze add a spicy sweet topping to the apple filled donuts. I altered the original recipe a bit by decreasing the amount of sugar and increasing the spices in the batter. I also swapped out some of the white sugar for brown sugar to incorporate a deeper more molasses-like flavor to the donuts. I think the changes turned out well. You will have some extra glaze left over after you dip the donuts, but I just spooned some over the donuts once the first glaze had dried to add an extra sweet layer. I will definitely be making these again.

If you didn't have a donut pan, you could always bake these in muffin tins, but you would have to increase the baking time a bit.

Pumpkin Apple Donuts with Apple Cider Glaze
makes 10-12 donuts

For the donuts:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup peeled, cored and chopped apple

For the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup, or less of spiced apple cider or milk if you don't have cider
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease donut or muffins pans.

In a large bowl sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix together egg, white and brown sugar, pumpkin and oil. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture; stirring just to moisten. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into doughnut molds filling roughly half full to three quarters full.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let sit in the pan for a few minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Allow to fully cool before dipping in the glaze.

To make the apple cinnamon glaze, mix powdered sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add cider or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Dip each doughnut in and allow glaze to set. If you have any extra glaze you can always spoon it over the donuts once the first layer of glaze has fully set.

Butterfinger Cookies

2011-08-27T23:13:00.000-04:00

I've never been a huge fan of Butterfinger candy bars, they always seemed brittle and crumbly, and they got stuck in my teeth. However, when I saw this recipe from Lori over at Recipe Girl, I thought it sounded intriguing. The Butterfinger pieces actually melt in the batter and become chewy bits of toffee-like chocolate and peanut butter. I love toffee and peanut butter, so count me in.

These cookies were pretty great. They were chewy and sweet, with a slight peanut butter flavor, and Lori was right, the Butterfinger does turn into chewy bits of toffee. I would definitely make these again. Thanks Lori for another great recipe!

Butterfinger Cookies
adapted from Recipe Girl

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups Butterfinger pieces (I used a sharp knife to cut them up into chunks, you also end up with a lot of crumbly pieces too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until thoroughly incorporated. In another bowl, combine the flour, salt (if using), and baking soda. Add to the butter/egg mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in the Butterfinger pieces. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 min.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper and drop rounded tablespoons of dough (I used a medium cookie scoop) at least 3 inches apart on the sheets (the cookies will flatten and spread out).
Bake cookies for about 12 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

CEiMB: Saffron Chicken, Lemon and Green Bean Salad

2011-08-24T22:01:00.004-04:00

It's my week for picking a recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly. I chose for our group to make the Saffron Chicken, Lemon, and Green Bean Salad from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I wanted to pick a recipe that would both use some summer ingredients like green beans and fresh mint, and I also wanted something healthy and light I could take to work for lunch.

However, the main reason I chose this recipe was because it had an unusual cooking technique that I had never tried before. The recipe calls for boiling a whole lemon for 50 minutes until it breaks down, and the skin is so soft that you actually scoop out the pulp and chop up the peel and add it to salad. It's kind of messy because the pulp disintegrates and breaks down, so scooping out the pulp is a bit difficult, and I wanted to completely get the skin clean and free of the pith, so I found that laying the lemon flat on the counter and scraping out the pulp with a spoon worked rather well.

I found this salad to be so delicious. Chicken is marinated in fresh mint, saffron, garlic and lemon juice. Once it is cooked, it is combined with steamed green beans and the chopped lemon peel. You then toss the salad in a lemon-honey dressing. The mint and lemon combination is so bright and fresh. It really is bursting with lemon flavor, but it is soft and mellow, not tart or abrasive at all. The saffron adds a subtle floral flavor and the sweet honey balances out the lemon flavor. I think this recipe is a wonderful discovery, and I will make it again and again.

Saffron Chicken, Lemon, and Green Bean Salad

1 lemon, preferably unwaxed
1 1/4 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste, divided
Pinch saffron
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 1/4 pound skinless boneless chicken breast, pounded to 1/2-inch thick
1 pound green beans, washed and trimmed
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon honey
Freshly ground black pepper

Prick the lemon in 3 or 4 places with a fork and place in a small pot with 1 teaspoon of salt and cover with water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 50 minutes or until the lemon is very tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

In the meantime, mix the saffron, mint, garlic, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Pour the marinade into a sealable plastic bag, add the chicken and let it marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.

Steam the green beans for 4 minutes and set aside to cool. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

Preheat a large skillet or grill pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cook the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Set aside to cool. Cut into bite-sized chunks.

Slice the ends off of the lemon and slice it in half lengthwise. Scoop out the pulp. Slice the peel thinly and then again into 1/4-inch pieces.

In a large bowl, combine the chicken, lemon, green beans and thyme. In a small bowl combine the rest of the lemon juice and the honey, whisk in the remainder of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Nectarine and Blueberry-Almond Cobbler

2011-07-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

With summer in full swing, I thought it was a good time to post this recipe. I adapted this recipe from David Lebovitz's book Ready for Dessert. This book is full of lovely desserts and when I saw that the topping for the cobbler contained almond paste, I knew I had to try it. David also has a really great blog with recipes and musings on his life in Paris. The original cobbler called for cherries, which I also want to try, but this time I decided to make it with a combination of nectarines and blueberries. They go very well together with the sweetness of the nectarines balancing out the tartness of the blueberries. It a simple recipe. The fruit is tossed with some sugar and lemon juice, and the cobbler topping is spread on top. This isn't a typical cobbler with a biscuit like topping. This is more like a fluffy almond-flavored cake. It goes really well with a scoop of ice cream. I had to bake mine about 10 minutes longer than the original recipe called for, so if your topping gets too brown before the cake is fully baked, cover it with foil so it won't burn.

On another note, I know I haven't posted much lately, but I plan on unveiling some new features on the blog soon, so I hope you keep reading. Thanks!

Nectarine and Blueberry-Almond Cobbler

Filling:

2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain them)
3 1/2 cup nectarines, halved, pitted and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Topping:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
7 oz. almond paste, crumbled
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (whole milk or 2%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the filling, in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, toss the nectarines and blueberries with 2 tablespoons of sugar and the lemon juice

To make the topping, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the almond paste and 1/3 cup sugar on medium speed until the almond paste is broken into fine pieces. Beat in the butter, then the egg and vanilla extract. Add half of the flour mixture, followed by the milk, then the remaining flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

Spoon the batter evenly over the fruit in the baking dish. Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the topping comes out clean, about 45 minutes (mine took about 55 minutes)

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.

Chickpea and Tuna Salad

2011-05-30T22:12:00.000-04:00

After a long weekend hiking and backpacking at North Manitou Island (see pictures below), I wanted to prepare something healthy and light to take for lunch over the next few days. I got home late today, so I didn't have time to go to the grocery store, so I was stuck with what I had in the fridge and the pantry. I had some red peppers and carrots in the fridge, so I decided to combine them with a can of chickpeas and a packet of Herb and Garlic Starkist Tuna Creations. I tossed in some capers and some fresh parsley and added a dijon-lemon vinaigrette, and I ended up with something quite healthy and tasty. The sweetness of the carrots and red peppers balances nicely with the tanginess of the capers and lemon juice. I think this simple salad makes a great lunch when you want something healthy and filling.

Chickpea and Tuna Salad

For the salad:

1-15oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1-4.5 oz pouch of Herb and Garlic Starkist Tuna Creations
1/4 cup thinly sliced baby carrots (I used a mandoline, just be very careful because the carrots are so small)
1/4 finely diced red bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the vinaigrette:

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 teaspoons olive oil

In a medium sized bowl combine the chickpeas, tuna, carrots, red bell pepper, parsley and capers, set aside while making the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, mix the lemon juice and the Dijon mustard together to form a smooth mixture then slowly drizzle in the olive oil to make a complete emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the chickpea and tuna salad and toss to coat the salad. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

A Duo of Dips: Edamame Dip and Roasted Red Pepper Dip

2011-05-22T18:21:00.001-04:00

For a friend's party I wanted to make something that was healthy, but still tasty, and I came across a couple of Ellie Krieger (the same Ellie of Craving Ellie in My Belly fame, of which I am a member) recipes on the Fine Cooking website. One of my friends who was attending the party cannot eat much dairy, so I wanted one of the dips to be dairy free. I found a great recipe for an Edamame Hummus that was made "creamy" with the addition of silken tofu. The other dip I made was a Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip. It combines red peppers that you roast yourself (you could use jarred roasted red peppers, but doing it yourself produces sweeter, smokier peppers in my opinion) with feta and dill. Both were great, and I actually liked the combination of the two together. If I made the edamame dip again, I would cut back on the garlic because it was a bit overpowering. They both last for days after you make them, and I used them both as sandwich spreads in the place of mayonnaise. A great healthy alternative.

Edamame Dip

2 cups frozen shelled edamame, cooked according to package directions
1 cup silken tofu, drained
1/2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
Pinch of white pepper, plus more to taste
1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin, plus more for garnish
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 Tbs.) (I would use 2 garlic cloves)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste (I added a few additional tablespoons of lemon juice)

Set 1 Tbs. of the edamame aside for a garnish. Place the rest, along with the tofu, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, oil and lemon juice, in a food processor and process until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, if desired.

Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl and garnish with the reserved edamame and a sprinkle of cumin

Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip

3 medium red bell peppers
1 medium clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta (about 3 oz.)
2 Tbs. plain dry breadcrumbs
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. chopped fresh dill

Position a rack 5 to 6 inches from the broiler element and heat the broiler on high. Put the peppers on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet and broil, turning every 5 minutes, until the skin is charred all around and the peppers have softened, about 20 minutes. Put the peppers in a large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit until cool enough to handle. Remove the skins, seeds, and stems.

Put the peppers, feta, breadcrumbs, lemon juice, chopped garlic and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the dill. Season to taste with salt and serve.

Serve the dips with mini pita breads, fresh vegetables, or crostini.

CEiMB: Muesli Parfaits

2011-05-12T18:36:00.000-04:00

This is my week to pick a recipe for the Craving Ellie in My Belly, and I decided to go with something a bit different than my previous picks. My other picks included Curried Chicken Salad, Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame Sauce, and Sesame Shrimp Fried Rice with Cabbage. I decided to go the complete opposite way with this pick. I picked the Muesli Parfaits from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. Muesli, in case you didn't know is defined as a breakfast dish consisting of milk, uncooked oats, fruit, and nuts. I have often seen it done with yogurt, and that is how Ellie makes it as well. I often eat a makeshift muesli for breakfast. I will mix some yogurt and some granola together, pack it in a container, and eat it when I get to work. By that time, the granola has softened, and sweetened the yogurt.

I really liked this recipe, you can make it the night before, and have a healthy breakfast in the morning. I used a combination of blueberries and cherries. They go well with the honey and vanilla that is in the yogurt. It's not overly sweet, which is good because I used some plain granola instead of the just oats, so I didn't need a lot of added sugar. I would recommend this dish for a quick, healthy breakfast. Be sure to check out the Craving Ellie in My Belly blogroll to see what the other bloggers did with their recipe!

Muesli Parfaits
serves 4

1/2 cup unsalted raw almonds
1 cup nonfat milk
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (I used some plain almond and honey granola)
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen, if using strawberries, hull and halve them

Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Chop them coarsely.

In a medium bowl, stir together the milk, yogurt, oats, honey, and vanilla. Divide the oat mixture evenly among 4 small dishes or parfait glasses. Top each with 1/2 cup of berries, then 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. The parfaits with keep up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Cherry and Peach Snack Cake

2011-05-08T18:41:00.000-04:00

For a Mother's Day family gathering, I wanted to make something simple and not too rich. I saw the first cherries of the season when I was at Whole Foods earlier this week, and I knew I wanted to include them in this dessert. Since my dad isn't a huge fan of any kind of cherry that isn't in a pie, I decided to add peaches to the cake as well. Another one of the reasons I wanted to use cherries is because I wanted to try out my new fancy Oxo Good Grips Cherry Pitter. And let me say, it works really well, I know I will be making some pies this summer.

I got the recipe for this cake from the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. I really like America's Test Kitchen. They take a scientific approach to each recipe they create, and I like to read about the steps they took to come to best recipe possible. This is a really easy, quick recipe, great for weeknight or anytime you want a light cake that isn't too rich or elaborate. It's great plain or with a dollop of whipped cream on top. I think if I make this cake again, I might substitute half of the vanilla extract for almond extract or maybe top the cake with crystallized ginger for a different flavor. Both would work well with cherries and peaches.

On a side note: I made a different cake originally, and it came out of the oven just like a hockey puck. And I had made that cake before, so I was worried that my baking powder had become inactive, so I thought I would test it out. A quick tip, to make sure you baking powder works, add a small amount to about 3-4 tablespoons of water, if it reacts and starts to bubble, then it still works. This tip is the same for baking soda, but use vinegar instead of water (you know like the old volcano science experiments) :)

Cherry and Peach Snack Cake

makes one 8 x 8 inch cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 eggs and 1 egg white, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature (I used non-fat plain yogurt because I didn’t have any whole milk, it worked fine)
2 cups ripe fruit (any fruit would work, I used a combination of fresh, pitted cherries, and diced frozen peaches I thawed and drained thoroughly )

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter and dust with flour. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg white, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated.

Reduce the mixer to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the milk. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and remaining milk. beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated. Gently fold in the fruit with a rubber spatula. Note: The batter will be quick thick, so don't be alarmed.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and gently tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the top. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool slightly in the pan, about 30 minutes before serving. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

CEiMB: Blueberry Coffee Cake

2011-03-24T20:08:00.000-04:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was picked by Bri of Yoshi vs. Motherhood. She chose for us to make Ellie's Blueberry Coffee Cake. The recipe can be found on the Food Network's website. Ellie made this recipe healthier by swapping out some of the butter with canola oil and using non-fat yogurt to make the cake very moist. I used vanilla non-fat yogurt and sliced almonds in place of the walnuts. I really liked the mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and almonds that are both layered in the middle of the cake and sprinkled on top. It made the whole house smell like cinnamon toast when it was baking.

I liked this coffee cake, it wasn't overly sweet and the cinnamon sugar on top gave it a crisp crunch. It definitely tastes healthier (i.e. not rich and buttery), but it still is very moist and tasty. I enjoyed it very much and I think it would also go well with other berries as well as apples and pears or stone fruits such as peaches and plums. Bri also mentioned that it will last quite a bit of time after baking (up to 5 days) and it tastes best when reheated for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave. Thanks Bri for a good pick, and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what others did with their recipes.

Nutella Rice Krispies Treats

2011-03-06T18:30:00.000-05:00

I love Nutella. For those who don't know, it is basically smooth hazelnut butter with cocoa added to it. It is delectable, and when I saw this recipe for Nutella Rice Krispie Treats over at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, I knew I had to make them.

This bars are very easy to make, just like the original Rice Krispies Treats, but with the addition of Nutella. It makes the bars a bit richer, a bit chewier, and ultimately more delicious.

Keep in mind, when you add the Nutella to the melted marshmallows and melted butter, it makes the marshmallows harder to stir than the typical recipe, and you need to make sure the Nutella is incorporated into the marshmallows before you add the Rice Krispies. Also, the original recipe calls for you to use a 9 x13-inch pan, but I like my Rice Krispies Treats to be thick, so I use an 8 x 8-inch pan, and I just cut smaller squares than I would when using a 9 x 13-inch pan. This results in a denser, chewier treat, but you can use either pan you like.

Nutella Rice Krispies Treats

Makes one 9 x 13 or one 8 x 8 inch pan

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons salted butter
1 package (10 oz.) regular marshmallows
1 cup Nutella
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:

Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Stir in Nutella until fully incorporated.
Add cereal. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until they are well coated with the Nutella/marshmallow mixture. It helps to spray a little nonstick cooking spray on the spoon to keep it from sticking.
Using a sheet of wax paper, evenly press mixture into a 13 x 9-inch or 8 x 8-inch pan. (I just coated my fingers with a little non-stick spray and used them to press down the treats.)

Salmon Piccata with Roasted Broccoli

2011-03-03T15:49:00.001-05:00

I wanted to post this recipe earlier, but a trip to beautiful Banff, Alberta (see pictures below), and an unexpected surgery prevented me from doing that. This recipe is one of my favorite, and although I usually use it with chicken, which is what the original recipe calls for, I made it with salmon this time, and it is equally, if not more delicious.

This is a basic recipe for Salmon Picatta in which salmon fillets are dredged in flour, then sauteed in butter and olive oil on the stove top until crisp and golden brown. A sauce is then made in the same pan with broth, lemon juice, capers and parsley. I love capers, anytime I see a recipe with them in it, I always take notice. I recommend this recipe with salmon or chicken, whichever you prefer. I then served the salmon with lemon chive fettuccine and roasted broccoli. I also included the recipe for the roasted broccoli with the recipe for the Salmon Picatta.

Salmon Piccata

4 Salmon (about 4-5 oz each) fillets, skin on
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock (or chicken broth)
1/4 cup brined capers, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge salmon in flour and shake off excess.

In a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the salmon, skin side down, to the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes. When salmon is browned, flip and cook the other side for another 3-4 minutes until the salmon is cooked through and flakes easily for a fork. Remove and transfer to plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, chicken stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the salmon to the pan (skin side up) and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove salmon to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously, add the parsley and whisk into sauce. Pour sauce over salmon and serve with lemon wedges and roasted broccoli (see recipe below)

Roasted Broccoli

4-6 cups fresh broccoli florets
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spread broccoli florets onto a non-stick baking pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the broccoli and toss the florets in the olive oil. Spread the broccoli back into an even layer on the baking sheet. Season with salt and crushed red pepper (depending on your spice tolerance you may want to only use a pinch or so, it is up to you).

Roast the broccoli in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the broccoli is tender with crispy brown edges. About halfway through, toss the broccoli with a spatula and again spread back out onto an even layer on the baking sheet. This is to prevent over or uneven browning as well as to prevent the broccoli from sticking to the pan. Serve along side the salmon.

This is a great technique that works with so many different vegetables such as cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, brussels sprouts, the list is endless.

CEiMB: Sesame Shrimp Fried Rice with Cabbage

2011-02-10T00:00:00.002-05:00

It's actually my week to pick a recipe for the group over at Craving Ellie in My Belly to make. I chose for us to make the Sesame Shrimp Fried Rice with Cabbage from from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. I wanted to pick something that would be fast and flavorful and a great weeknight meal. This recipe literally takes minutes to throw together. Shrimp is a great choice for a quick meal because it cooks in just a few minutes. This recipe begins by sauteing ginger, scallions, and shrimp in a very hot skillet, you then add in some cabbage and cook for a few minutes more, which leaves the cabbage a bit crisp without making it soggy. You then stir-fry cold cooked brown rice and the dish is dressed with soy sauce and sesame oil. I added a bit of chili-garlic sauce to give it a bit of kick because I thought it would go well together with the other Asian flavors.

The thing I liked the most about this dish was the different textures and how well they worked together. You have chewy brown rice mixed with crisp cabbage and nutty sesame seeds. I think it has a prominent ginger flavor and I like the soy and sesame flavors as well. Next time I might at a bit of honey to balance the saltiness with a bit of sweet, I often do that when I am making teriyaki sauce. If you like heat, I would definitely recommend adding chili-garlic sauce like I did. This wasn't a wow dish, but it was a fast flavorful, satisfying dish that is great for a busy weeknight. Which is what I needed because I worked over 12 hours today. I am just glad I didn't pick a more complicated recipe. This is what is so great about Ellie's recipe, always easy, always tasty! Be sure to check out the CEiMB blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their dish.

Sesame Shrimp Fried Rice with Cabbage

1 tablespoon canola oil

4 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon peeled, grated fresh ginger

1 pound peeled, cleaned small shrimp

5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage, cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

4 cups very cold cooked brown rice

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions

Heat the oil in a very large nonstick skillet or wok over a high heat. Add the scallions, ginger, and shrimp and cook stirring frequently until the shrimp turn pink, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add the cabbage and continue cooking until it begins to soften, but is still somewhat crisp, about 2 minutes more. Transfer the shrimp-cabbage mixture to a bowl.

Heat the sesame oil in the same skillet or wok over a medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook stirring frequently, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp-cabbage mixture back to the skillet, stir in the soy sauce and sesame seeds and serve.

Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

2011-02-07T20:43:00.001-05:00

I wanted to make something a bit different for my Dad's Superbowl party this year. I always make my Pecan Tassies, and when I came across this recipe for Cherry Cheesecake Cookies on Tasty Kitchen, I knew I had to try these. The recipe sounded so unique. How could you make a cookie taste like cheesecake? Well, this recipe accomplishes just that. It basically combines a cheesecake batter with some butter and flour in order to make cookie dough. The dough is then shaped into balls and rolled in graham cracker crumbs. An indentation is made in the cookie, then 3 cherries from cherry pie filling are placed in the center and the cookies are baked. These have a really great flavor, not quite cookie, not quite cheesecake, but very delicious! The recipe on Tasty Kitchen says it makes 36 (but at the bottom it says 48), and the original recipe is found in America's Test Kitchen Holiday Cookie Magazine. The original recipe says it makes about 4 dozen. I used a 1 1/2 Tablespoon scoop, and I ended up with 52 cookies. So if you don't want a ton of cookies you might want to cut the recipe in half. I posted the recipe below, with my changes in red. These are not easy on the waistline, but for a special treat, they really hit the spot!

Cherry Cheesecake Cookies

3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
2-½ sticks Butter, Softened to room temperature
2 packages Cream Cheese (8 Oz Packages Softened to room temperature)
1-½ cup Sugar
2 whole Large Eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (I used ½ cups of store bought graham cracker crumbs)
3 cans (21 Oz. Can) Cherry Pie Filling, Drained (I only needed 2 cans, I used Comstock Brand Cherry Pie Filling which claims to have more fruit in it)

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place graham cracker crumbs in a shallow dish.

Roll dough into 1 ½ inch balls (or use the above mentioned cookie scoop), then roll in crumbs. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using a tablespoon measure, make indentation in the center of each ball. Place 3 cherries in each dimple.

Bake until golden around the edges, about 12 to 14 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. (My cookies took about 16 minutes)

Cool for 5 minutes on the sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. (Cookies can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days.)

Note: to make graham cracker crumbs, process 8 whole graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground.

CEiMB: Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce and Shrimp

2011-01-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

This week's pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Jessica from Learning to love vegetables. She chose for us to make the Fettuccine with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I knew as soon as I saw this recipe that I wanted to make it. I love roasted red peppers in pasta sauces, and the addition of feta cheese sounded delicious.

I made a few additions to the dish that I thought would work well the red pepper sauce. I added some chopped spinach and crushed pepper to the sauce. Once it was pureed, I tasted it, and it tasted too much like just a jarred red pepper, so I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste to the sauce to add some sweetness and remove some of that "jarred" flavor. It worked perfectly. While the pasta was cooking I sauteed some shrimp seasoned with salt and pepper in some olive oil. Once they were cooked, I added them to the pasta and sauce.

This was another great recipe for me. I think the additions I made really enhanced the sauce, especially the crushed red pepper and the tomato paste. I would definitely make this again, the shrimp were wonderful with the pasta, but I think shredded chicken or Italian sausage would also work well. Thanks Jessica for a great pick, and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what others did with their recipe!

CEiMB: Vanilla Spice Oatmeal

2011-01-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was picked by Mary of Popsicles and Sandy Feet. She chose for us to make the Vanilla Spice Oatmeal from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. This is a simple recipe, but a hearty and healthy one. It makes a wonderful breakfast that will keep for days in the fridge, so you can make it on Sunday and enjoy a great breakfast throughout the week.

I made quite a few changes to the original recipe to accommodate what I already had on hand in my kitchen. First, I used steel-cut oats instead of old-fashioned oats. I really love the nutty, chewy flavor of them, and if you stir them often while they are cooking, they become really creamy, similar to risotto. Granted, they take quite a bit longer to cook than the old-fashioned oats (about 25 minutes), but I think it is worth it.

I added dried cranberries instead of raisins. This recipe has a unique technique in which you add the dried fruit at the same time you add the oats, so the dried fruit plumps up and releases some of its flavor into the oatmeal. I used some honey cinnamon almonds instead of pecans, and used cinnamon to complement the almonds.

This isn't a dish that you typically find in a cookbook, and it is one that you might easily pass over because it is so simple, but I am glad I participated this week. I learned a new trick for oatmeal that I will use again and again. Thanks to Mary for this week's pick, and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their recipe!

Roasted Salmon with Honey Mustard and Dill

2011-01-17T21:55:00.000-05:00

I can't start this post without thanking my Uncle Gary. He went to Alaska last year and sent back some beautiful salmon that was frozen just after it was caught. It is some of the best salmon I have ever tasted, so fresh and flavorful. I literally made this dish in anticipation of making salads and pastas with it later in the week, but I just stood in the kitchen eating it after it came out of the oven, so I may only get one more dish out of it.

This is a very simple, but delicious way to serve salmon. You roast the salmon in the oven, and the salmon is covered in a honey mustard and dill sauce that keeps the salmon from drying out. I roasted a whole fillet of salmon, but you can easily use the sauce for individual portions, you may just have to cut back on the cook time. I know it's not the most beautiful picture, but this recipe is so good and easy, I couldn't help but post it on this blog.

Roasted Salmon with Honey Mustard and Dill

1 1/4 lb salmon fillet (skin on, pin bones removed)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard (I used Grey Poupon)
2 T. honey
1 T. mayonnaise
1 t. dried dill (or 1 T. fresh dill, finely chopped)
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat liberally with non-stick cooking spray. This will help with clean up and will keep the salmon from sticking to the foil. Place the salmon fillet, skin side down, on the prepared baking sheet and season well with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, dill, and garlic. Spoon the sauce over the whole fillet and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors permeate into the salmon.

Roast in the oven until the mustard sauce has formed a nice crust and the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 25 minutes. If you are using individual portions of salmon, the time may be less. Transfer to a platter and serve (if it makes it that far, like I said, I stood in my kitchen and ate some of it right off the baking pan :) ).

Penne with Braised Short Ribs

2011-01-11T17:51:00.000-05:00

I love short ribs. They are delicious when cooked low and slow until the meat just falls off the bone, so when I saw this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis, I knew I wanted to try it. The ribs and onions and garlic are sauteed on the stove top, then they are braised in a unique tomato sauce for a few hours in the oven. This braising results in a rich sauce that goes great with the hearty meat. Once you pull the short ribs out of the oven, the sauce is pureed, so even picky eaters (like my boyfriend), who don't like big chunks of tomatoes, like this sauce. It's a great weekend meal, and perfect for those cold winter nights.

Ingredients

4 pounds beef short ribs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths

1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

1 pound penne pasta

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

CEiMB: White Turkey Chili

2010-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was picked by Leslie of Lethally Delicious. She chose for us to make the White Turkey Chili from from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. This is an easy weeknight recipe that is light and fresh, which is good the week after lots and lots of Christmas indulgences.

After looking at the recipe, I decided that I wanted my chili to be a bit heartier, so I halved all of the ingredients except for the turkey and the spices. This made for a meatier chili with less beans, which is how I make chili normally, so I quite liked it. I am also glad I kept the spices at that level as well, because without, the chili might have been less flavorful. I added a jalapeno for a bit more spice, and instead of salt and pepper I used Goya Adobo with cumin, which is what I use for seasoning whenever I am cooking Mexican or Southwestern food. I absolutely love it. I used corn instead of hominy because that is what I had on hand. I also would say it is imperative to add a splash of lime juice and fresh cilantro to your chili because it really brightens up the flavor. Thanks Leslie for a great pick, I thought it was light, but comforting at the same time. Be sure to check out the blogroll to see what the other CEiMB bloggers made.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

2010-12-18T22:11:00.002-05:00

When I was shopping at my local grocery store the other day, I came across these Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips. They are basically small pieces of those Andes chocolate mints you get after dinner at restaurants. I wanted to find a chocolate cookie recipe where I could incorporate these chips, and I found this one, which sounded really good.

These cookies have a great mint flavor, and they taste a bit like Thin Mints, but thicker, so Thick Mints I guess. Next time I make these I will probably dip them in chocolate, that would really make them great. The batter was quite thick and the cookies seemed a bit dry, so dipping them in chocolate would be a great addition. They were crisp, rich, yet refreshing cookies. Great for the holidays!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cup (1 - 10 oz. package) Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a bowl and set aside. With a hand held or standing mixer, beat together the shortening and butter until creamy. Add the sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until thoroughly incorporated. Add the flour mixture and blend until smooth. Fold in Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips.

Roll the dough, by hand, into a 1 1/2 inch balls. Roll the balls in the powdered sugar to fully cover ball. Flatten the balls gently into 1/2 inch thick disks and place about 2 inches apart, spacing them evenly on ungreased baking sheets. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cookies set 1 minute on baking sheet. Remove from sheet and move to wire rack to cool completely.

CEiMB: Beef Stroganoff with Green Beans and Grainy Mustard

2010-12-09T00:01:00.002-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen. She chose for us to make the Beef Stroganoff recipe from from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. It's a pretty straightforward beef stroganoff recipe in which beef is simmered in red wine and beef broth with mushrooms and onions. At the last minute, I added some light sour cream to the gravy. The original recipe called for some nonfat Greek yogurt, but I like the flavor and tang that the sour cream adds to the dish. The beef stroganoff is served over some egg noodles with a side of steamed green beans that have been tossed in some grainy mustard and seasoned with salt and pepper.

I liked this dish, it was a nice hearty, weeknight dinner. Perfect for this time of year when the low tonight is supposed to be in the single digits. I did think that it was a bit underseasoned the way that recipe called for, but with a bit extra salt and pepper, it perked right up. The green beans were a simple easy side that packed a lot of flavor, and it was a good accompaniment to the beef, so thanks Liz for a good pick, and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what everyone else did with their dishes!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2010-11-23T20:52:00.000-05:00

Myself and another co-worker usually make the desserts for the birthday celebrations at work. For a particular birthday, I had a request for Red Velvet Cupcakes. I had never made Red Velvet Cupcakes, so I wanted to make sure I had a good recipe. I decided to try a recipe I found over at Simply Recipes. Elise has such wonderful recipes, and I love her descriptions of the food she cooks. This particular recipe was from a guest blogger named Garret McCord. He has his own website called Vanilla Garlic. I recommend checking out both Garret's and Elise's websites. You will find wonderful recipes at both sites.

Red Velvet Cake is quite interesting. It is basically a white cake that has just a touch of cocoa powder added to the batter. It gives the cake a nice, subtle chocolate flavor, kind of like the hot cocoa I used to have as a kid. The cake is also called Red Velvet due to the copious amounts of red food coloring added to the batter. I actually cut back on some of the food coloring because the batter began to be so red, I didn't think it needed anymore. I also have included my recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting, which is the typical accompaniment to Red Velvet Cake. This was a good recipe. I recommend it if you are planning on making some Red Velvet Cupcakes in the future.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
makes about 24-30 cupcakes (depending on how high you fill your cupcake molds)

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 cups of cake flour
2 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of buttermilk (I used low-fat)
1 tablespoon of red food coloring (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 tbsp)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese (low fat is fine), room temperature
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar (or more if you like a sweeter frosting)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Add a fourth of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a third of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.

Scoop into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting:

Ensure that the butter and cream cheese are both fully at room temperature, otherwise you will not be able to achieve uniform, creamy frosting. Beat the butter and cream cheese together until they are thoroughly mixed. Next, add the vanilla extract and mix briefly to combine.

Gradually add the powdered sugar until desired sweetness and consistency is achieved. I like my frosting to not be overly sweet, but feel free to add more powdered sugar if that is what you like.

CEiMB: Cioppino

2010-11-18T23:04:00.000-05:00

This week's pick is from Margaret of Tea and Scones. She chose for us to make the Cioppino from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. Cioppino is fish stew originally from San Francisco. It is a tomato-based broth that has wine and garlic added to it. Ellie's recipe called for a combination of scallops, shrimp, and halibut.

Unfortunately, my stew only contained scallops and halibut. I thought I had frozen shrimp at home, but when I got home from the store with the scallops, I went in the freezer to get out the halibut, but there was no shrimp. So, scallop and halibut cioppino it was.

I really liked the flavor of the broth. It had a rich tomato taste, and I enjoyed the heat from the crushed red pepper. I added a bit of smoked paprika as well to give the broth a hint of smoke. I thought it was a nice touch. I do have to say that as much as I like the broth flavor, I didn't think that flavor infused into seafood. The seafood was a bit bland, but overall I did like the dish. I think the broth would also be good with some pasta and some Italian sausage, but I would substitute the fish broth with beef broth. Thanks to Margaret for hosting this week, and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what the other bloggers did this week!

Happy Halloween: Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Icing

2010-10-31T22:29:00.009-04:00

Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love when the leaves change color, and it starts to get cooler. I also love the baking that begins this time of year. Apples, pears, and especially pumpkin. This is the first of many recipes I plan on making this year. I wanted to make something for Halloween and these pumpkin cookies from The Joy of Baking looked delicious. These cookies are more like little cakes than cookies, light and fluffy. I changed some spices from the original recipe and reduced the sugar a bit. They are very flavorful, and the cream cheese icing is a nice balance with the cookies because it is not too sweet.

Cookies:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup plus 2T light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil (or other flavorless oil)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree

Cream Cheese Icing:
4 ounces room temperature cream cheese, regular of low fat
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 pure vanilla extract

Halloween sprinkles (optional)

Note: Instead of frosting the cookies, you could add to the batter 1 cup of chopped nuts or 1 cup of chocolate chips.

For the Cookies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until light and smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the oil, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Place small mounds of batter onto the prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. I used a 3T cookie scoop. Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cookie comes out clean. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting. Place small dollops of the frosting on each cookie. Decorate with Halloween sprinkles if desired. Store uniced cookies at room temperature. Store iced cookies in the refrigerator.

For the icing: Beat the cream cheese and butter until combined. Beat in the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until the frosting is soft and creamy.

Makes about 20 cookies

Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie

2010-10-26T22:56:00.001-04:00

I love all things apple, so when my mom's work was hosting an apple pie contest, I knew that i wanted to enter. I decided to make a version of this pie from epicurious.com. Cinnamon and apples are a classic combination, and I liked that this version was a bit different from a traditional Dutch apple pie. The crumb topping actually forms a crisp, sugary, cinnamon crust on top. I thought it was delicious, and so did the customers at my mom's work, who did the voting.

I followed the recipe for the most part, but I did use a different crust. The crust I use for every pie is Good for Almost Everything Pie Dough from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. It is buttery, flaky, and delicious. It uses a combination of butter and shortening to give it great flavor and a flaky texture. It easily comes together in a food processor, and the recipe is easy to double, so you can always freeze half of it to use at another time.

Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie

Crust (makes one 9-inch single crust)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose floor
2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) very cold (or frozen) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
2 1/2 T. very cold (or frozen) vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water

Filling

3 1/4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 t. ground cinnamon
2 T. unsalted butter, melted

Topping

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
6 T. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

To Make the Crust:

Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse just until they are cut into the flour mixture. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 3 tablespoons of water. Then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn't look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary so the dough will stick together when pinched. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface or between sheets of wax paper. If working on a floured surface, turn the dough over frequently and keep the counter floured. Fit the dough into the pie plate, and using a pair of scissors, cut the excess dough to a 1/2 inch overhang. Fold the dough under itself, so it hangs a bit over the edge. Flute the edge or use a for to make a decorative edge.

To Make the Filling

Mix all the ingredients together to coat the apples.

To Make the Topping

Blend first 5 ingredients in processor. Add chilled butter cubes; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles wet sand.

Toss filling to redistribute juices; transfer to crust, mounding in center. Pack topping over and around apples. Bake pie on baking sheet until topping is golden, about 40 minutes (cover top with foil if browning too quickly). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until apples in center are tender when pierced and filling is bubbling thickly at edges, about 45 minutes longer. Cool until warm, about 1 hour. Serve with ice cream, if desired

CEiMB: Chicken Pot Pies with Phyllo Crust

2010-10-21T22:30:00.001-04:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly pick is from Shandy of Pastry Heaven. She chose for us to make the Chicken Pot Pies from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I really wanted to try this recipe because instead of the heavy crust that usually accompanies a chicken pot pie (which I do love), this pot pie uses a phyllo dough crust. Phyllo dough is light and crispy, and typically used in Greek dishes such as spanakopita or baklava.

I must admit, I took a few shortcuts this week, but that is what is so great about Ellie's recipes, they are always adaptable. Whenever I am making an Ellie recipe, I try to make the most of the ingredients I have on hand because it can get a bit expensive buying special ingredients on a weekly basis. Fortunately, I had everything on hand for this recipe except the phyllo dough. Instead of the vegetables called for in the recipe, I used a medley of frozen vegetables from Alexia foods. It was a combination of roasted red potatoes, carrots, green beans, and onions in a sage broth. I simply cooked the vegetables as directed on the package, in place of the fresh vegetables, after you cook the chicken, and before you make the broth. I had frozen peas, so I added them at the end. I didn't have any Parmesan cheese, so I just added some fresh cracked pepper and coarse salt to the top of the phyllo crust.

I quite enjoyed this recipe. The sauce for the chicken and vegetables wasn't too heavy, and it complimented the light crust really well. I will definitely make this again, I think the recipe lends itself to so many great combinations. Thanks to Shandy for a great pick, and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what other CEiMB participants did with their pot pies!

CEiMB: Apple Brown Betty

2010-10-14T23:22:00.000-04:00

After a hectic September, and a much needed vacation I am back on track with Craving Ellie in My Belly. This week's pick is from Jessica of Learning to Love Vegetables. She chose for us to make the Apple Brown Betty from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger.

I had never made an Apple Brown Betty because for some reason the concept of it never seemed that appealing to me. An Apple Brown Betty is essentially an apple crisp, but instead of an oat and flour crumble topping, the apple mixture is topped with bread crumbs. So I am glad that this recipe is was chosen this week, and that I belong to a group like this because without it, I probably wouldn't have tried this recipe, and I am really glad that I did. Like most of Ellie's recipes, this was quick and easy to put together. You simmer the apples in apple cider and brown sugar then place them in a pie plate, top with bread crumbs and nuts (the original recipe called for walnuts, but I used pecans because I like their flavor better than walnuts), and bake in the oven.

I really enjoyed this. I liked the fact that the apples were simmered in cider, it gave the dish a wonderful "Fall" feeling, and the dish wasn't overly sweet, which I think is the problem with a lot of desserts. The sweetness usually overpowers many of the flavors, and this isn't the case with this dish. I used Honey Crisp apples (my absolute favorite) instead of Golden Delicious. On another note, my dish only took about 25 minutes to bake instead of the 30 minutes called for in the original recipe. I also doubled the amount of cinnamon called for in the filling because it just didn't seem like enough, and I really love cinnamon, you could smell the dish baking throughout the whole house. I would definitely make this again, and I like the "crust" that the bread crumbs formed on top of the dish. Next time I would like to mix it up a bit. I might try it with pears or maybe add some dried cranberries and some orange zest. So thanks Jessica for a great pick, and be sure to check out the Craving Eliie in My Belly Blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their dish!

Ham, Tomato, and Spinach Frittata

2010-09-12T22:03:00.001-04:00

A frittata is basically a crustless quiche. They are great for brunches or family breakfasts because they require minimal preparation, and you can make endless combinations. I like to start my frittatas on the stovetop and finish in the oven. You can add any ingredients that you would normally add to an omelet, and once the initial ingredients are softened on the stovetop, you don't have to sit and monitor the eggs, just pop it in the oven. I made my frittata with a combination of diced ham, spinach, scallions, tomatoes and cheddar cheese, a great combination.

Ham, Tomato, and Spinach Frittata
serves 6

2 tablespoons butter
10 larges eggs
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup (packed) baby spinach, chopped
1-2 scallions, whites and greens, thinly sliced
8 oz. diced ham
2-3 Roma tomatoes, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat an ovenproof, nonstick skillet over medium heat and melt the 2 tablespoons of butter.
Add the ham, spinach and scallions and cook until the onions are soft and the spinach is wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and stir in the Cheddar cheese and season with salt and pepper. Spread out the ham, spinach, and scallions mixture evenly in the pan, pour the egg mixture into the skillet and using a spatula, lift up the mixture to allow some of the eggs to flow underneath. Place the tomatoes slices on top of the frittata.
Place the skillet in the oven, and cook until the frittata is puffy and golden, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven (careful, the handle will be hot), and let the frittata cool for at least 5 minutes. Cut the frittata into six wedges and serve.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

2010-08-25T21:30:00.000-04:00

What do you do when you have a table full of tomatoes from your garden??

You make salsa! I love my Pico de Gallo recipe, but this time I wanted to try and give the salsa a more roasted flavor. so I simply took the same ingredients and tossed them in some olive oil, and roasted them in the oven until they were soft and a bit charred. I then put them in a food processor with some lime juice and cilantro, and presto, salsa! This recipe makes quite a bit of salsa, but it will keep for at least a week in the fridge, and it can be used for so many things. It is great topping for fish or chicken, or stir in some black beans and corn for an easy side dish. I like my salsa hot, but feel free to scale down on the chile peppers if you like a more mild salsa.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium red onion, quartered
6 hot peppers, stems removed (I used 3 jalapenos and 3 serranos, if you want a milder salsa, cut back on the hot peppers or slice the peppers in half and remove that seeds and inner ribs of the peppers)
6 lbs tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Juice from two limes
1/4 cup cilantro
salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place garlic cloves, onion, and hot peppers in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and toss with olive oil. Roast for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. You can use this time to chop and seed your tomatoes.
Remove the dish from oven and add the tomatoes, season with salt. Return the dish to the pan and roast the tomatoes until they are soft and somewhat charred, about 20-25 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool at least until the dish can be handled.
Transfer the contents of the dish to a food processor (if your food processor is small, you may have to do this in batches). If your tomatoes are ripe, roasting them will generate a lot of juice. I used a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes, because if I were to transfer all that juice the salsa would be way too runny.
Add the lime juice and cilantro to the food processor and pulse until you reach the desired consistency for the salsa. The vegetables should be pretty soft, so it won't take long. Taste and re-season with salt and/or lime juice if necessary.

CEiMB: Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame-Ginger Sauce (and a giveaway)

2010-08-19T00:00:00.015-04:00

It's my week to pick a recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly. I have chosen for the group to make the Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame-Ginger Sauce from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I thought this recipe would be a good alternative to your typical crab or tuna cakes, plus I loved that the ingredients had an Asian flair with lots of healthy ingredients that I enjoy.

This salmon cake combines ingredients such as water chestnuts, cilantro, and scallions. It uses eggs and whole wheat bread crumbs as binders, and the cakes are served with a yogurt-based sauce with flavors of sesame oil, ginger, and soy sauce.

A few notes/changes to the original recipe:

I think that it is important not to chop your water chestnuts too finely or else you will lose that great crisp texture.
Next time I may cut back on the bread crumbs because I found that the cakes did not hold together to well. I had a hard time flipping the cakes without them falling apart. Alternatively, I might refrigerate the cakes before adding them to the skillet so they will hold together better.
I added a few tablespoons of chili-garlic sauce to the cakes to impart a bit more flavor and add a bit of heat to the cakes.
For the sauce I cut way back on the amount of ginger that is in the original recipe. Instead of 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, I only added 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger and I still found the ginger to be quite prominent. 1 1/2 tablespoons would be way too overpowering. I also doubled the amount of soy sauce called for in the recipe, I wanted the sauce to have a bit more of a salty flavor.
I served my cakes on a bed of baby spinach, it went really well with the salmon cakes.

I liked the flavor of these cakes and I think that the sauce complemented them really well. I would definitely make these again

Salmon Cakes with Creamy Sesame-Ginger Sauce
Yield: 6 servings (2 cakes plus 1 1/2 tablespoons sauce per serving)

6 slices whole-wheat sandwich bread
2 (15-ounce) cans salmon, drained, skin and bones removed (I used boneless, skinless cans of salmon)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
5 scallions
1/2 cup finely chopped canned water chestnuts
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons Chili-Garlic sauce (optional)
Creamy Ginger-Sesame Sauce (Recipe follows)

Salmon Cakes:

Remove crusts from the bread, break into pieces, and process in a food processor until you get a fine bread crumb. In a large bowl, flake apart the salmon with a fork. Add the egg and mix well. Finely chop 4 of the scallions and add to the bowl. Add the water chestnuts, cilantro, pepper, and the bread crumbs and mix well. Shape the mixture into 12 patties.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil over a medium heat. Add 6 patties and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the cooked patties to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm. Add the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil to the pan, and cook the rest of the salmon cakes, 5 minutes on each side.
Chop the remaining 1 scallion. Serve salmon cakes with the sauce and garnish with scallion.

Sesame-Ginger Sauce:

1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, or 6 tablespoons nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger (I only used 1 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce (I used 2 teaspoons)
If using regular yogurt place the yogurt in a strainer lined with a paper towel. Put the strainer over a bowl and place in the refrigerator to drain and thicken for 30 minutes.
Place drained yogurt or Greek-style yogurt into a small bowl. Add mayonnaise, ginger, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Whisk until smooth.

In addition to hosting CEiMB this week, I am also giving away an extra copy of The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I love this book, and I would love to be able to share it with someone else. All you have to do is leave a comment here by Sunday, August 22 by 8pm EST telling me what is your favorite healthy recipe. My apologies, but I can only send the book to residents of the United States and Canada.

Thanks for checking out this post, and be sure to check out the Craving Ellie and My Belly blogroll to see what other members of the group did with this recipe.

Chickpea Salad with Summer Vegetables

2010-08-10T12:35:00.002-04:00

When it is the middle of summer, and I am picking vegetables daily from my garden, sometimes the easiest thing to do is just to make a simple, refreshing salad. Nothing taste better than fresh corn and tomatoes at the peak of ripeness. They are sweet and delicious. I've had a garden for three years now, and I have been spoiled. Each year, tomatoes have been abundant. A store bought tomato cannot compare with a tomato picked from your backyard. For the most part, if it's not summer, I usually cook with canned tomatoes because they have so much more flavor than a fresh tomato in the middle of winter.

This salad is simple and filling it is full of chickpeas and summer veggies. The zucchini, shallots, and corn are sauteed briefly before being mixed in with cucumber, tomatoes, chickpeas, and feta cheese. The whole salad is dressed with a light champagne vinaigrette and fresh herbs add some great flavor. It is a great healthy lunch option. You could also add some canned tuna to the salad for some extra protein.

Chickpea Salad with Summer Vegetables

for the salad:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium zucchini, halved and thinly sliced
1 small shallot, minced
2 cups of fresh corn, from 4 ears of corn
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 medium seedless cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, minced
3 oz feta cheese, crumbled

for the vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon champagne vinegar
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

finish with:

juice from half a lemon (optional)

To assemble the salad:

First make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl add the vinegar and Dijon mustard, slowly drizzle in olive oil, while whisking constantly to emulsify the vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper, set aside while preparing the salad.

In a skillet set over medium heat, add the olive oil and once it is warm, saute the zucchini, shallots, shallots until everything is slightly soft, but not mushy, about 3 minutes. It is going into a salad, so you still want the vegetables to still be somewhat firm. Place in a bowl and allow to cool.

Add the tomatoes, cucumber, chickpeas, dill, parsley, and feta cheese to the bowl, pour on the vinaigrette (whisk before adding to the salad if it has separated while it had been set aside), and stir the salad gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper, and if desired squeeze a half of a lemon over the salad and stir to combine. I felt that the salad needed a bit more tartness, which is why I added the lemon juice at the end, but that might not be the case for everybody.

CEiMB: Chicken with Warm Tomato, Corn, and Black Bean Salad

2010-07-22T21:01:00.002-04:00

It's Thursday! That means it is time for another Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe. This week's recipe was chosen by Danica of Danica's Daily. She chose for us to make Chicken with Warm Tomato and Corn Salad from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. A link to the recipe online can be found online at Ellie's website here. This was a perfect recipe for summer. It is full of wonderful summer vegetables like corn and tomatoes. I used cherry tomatoes and cilantro that I picked from my garden and fresh corn that I picked up from a farmer's market earlier this week.

I changed this recipe up a bit, instead of salt and pepper, I used my favorite southwest/Mexican spice, Goya Adobo with cumin to season the chicken and the corn and tomato salad. I also added a jalapeño to the salad, and, instead of avocado, which I only like in guacamole form, I added a can of black beans. Black beans and corn is one of my favorite combinations, and I thought that it would add some substance to the dish and make it more of a complete meal.

I love the flavors of this dish, it is fresh and light, a great summer meal. Thanks to Danica for a great pick, and be sure to check out the Craving Ellie in My Belly blogroll to see what the other bloggers did with their dishes.

Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-Cream Filling

2010-07-12T20:38:00.003-04:00

Fine cooking is one of my favorite food magazines. They constantly have great recipes, tips, and techniques. One of my favorite issues has a feature on blueberry desserts, and I must have looked at this recipe for Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-Cream Filling a hundred times, saying to myself "You've got to try this recipe." Well, I finally got around to making them for a co-worker's birthday, and I wish I would have made them sooner. They were delicious. The blueberry flavor is quite prominent and goes so well with lemon filling. And I love the combination of blueberries and lemon. Another great thing about this recipe is that it is really easy to make, I didn't even have to use my mixer. So, even though I couldn't seem to get a great picture of these bars, I just had to post this recipe because I loved these bars so much.

Blueberry Streusel Bars with Lemon-Cream Filling
adapted from Fine Cooking Magazine

8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened; more for the pan
13-1/2 oz. (3 cups) all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats)
1-1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 large egg, separated
14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2-1/2 cups room-temperature blueberries (about 13 oz.), washed and drained on paper towels

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the ends. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of the foil.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Using your fingers, blend the butter completely into the flour mixture. Transfer 2 cups of crumb mixture to another bowl and reserve for the topping. Blend the egg white into the remaining crumbs and then press the mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a level crust. You can tamp it with the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out. Bake the crust until it starts to form a dry top about 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolk. Let this mixture stand for 5 minutes; it will begin to thicken.

Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over the hot crust and then drop spoonfuls of the lemon mixture over the blueberries. Spread gently with a spatula to distribute a little more evenly, but take care not to crush the berries; it’s fine if the lemon mixture isn’t perfectly even. Bake until the lemon mixture just begins to form a shiny skin, 7 to 8 minutes.

Sprinkle the reserved topping over the lemon-blueberry layer, pressing the streusel between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle. Bake until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the topping is brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack until just warm, about an hour. Carefully lift them out of the pan using the foil overhang and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the foil and cut into 24 bars when cool. The bars may be stored at room temperature for a few hours but otherwise should be kept in the refrigerator.

Note: I refrigerated my bars still in the foil, and I had some difficulty removing the bars from the foil once the bars were cold. It may be better to try and remove the foil once the bars have cooled and before you store them in the refrigerator.

Look how attentive my dog Riley can be when he wants a treat!

Ginger Limeade

2010-07-05T20:21:00.005-04:00

It's really hot and humid here this time of year. I had been looking for a refreshing summer drink, and I found one in my copy of Fresh and Fabulous from Cuisine at Home. Cuisine at Home is one of my favorite magazines. They always have delicious and unique dishes, but the recipes never seem overcomplicated or labor intensive. This drink recipe is no exception, it takes about 5 minutes to mix together.

I loved this drink. It is tart, sweet, and incredibly refreshing. The lime and mint brighten the flavor of the ginger ale. This is a drink I will make again and again throughout the summer. This drink would also be a great base for a cocktail. I think it would work well with vodka or gin. This drink serves 2-3, but can easily be scaled up for large groups.

Ginger Limeade
adapted from Fresh and Fabulous from Cuisine at Home
serves 2

Ingredients

1/2 cup superfine sugar
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
8 fresh mint leaves
2 cups ginger ale
lime slices, for serving

Directions

Whisk together sugar, lime juice, and mint leaves in a pitcher until sugar is dissolved. Strain out the mint if desired.
To serve, add ginger ale to lime mixture in the pitcher and mix gently to combine. Pour limeade over ice in glasses; garnish with lime slices

CEiMB: Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans

2010-07-01T19:43:00.002-04:00

It's Thursday! That means it is time for another Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe. This week's recipe was chosen by Bri of Yoshimi Vs. Motherhood. She chose for us to make the Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and White Beans from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. It is a simple dish that takes minimal preparation.

The thing that I love about being part of this group is that there are many recipes that I normally wouldn't think about trying, and this group suggests wonderful recipes that I may have passed right by while flipping through Ellie's cookbooks. This pasta dish is one such recipe, and I am glad I participated this week, because I really liked it. The creamy white beans contrasted nicely with the chewy pasta. I added some crushed red pepper to bring a little bit of heat to the dish, and I used feta cheese instead of Parmesan cheese to give the meal a bit more "bite".

I think this dish makes a great vegetarian meal because the beans are a nice substitute for meat or poultry. The only thing I would change would be to increase the amount of tomatoes in the dish. My tomatoes shrunk a lot while they were roasting, and they seemed rather scarce when added to the pasta and beans. Thanks to Bri for suggesting another great Ellie recipe, and make sure to check out the blogroll to see what other Craving Ellie in My Belly bloggers did with their recipes.

CEiMB: Chicken Paella with Sausage and Olives

2010-06-24T06:10:00.010-04:00

It's Thursday! That means it is time for another Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe. This week's recipe was chosen by Margaret of Tea and Scones. She chose for us to make the Chicken Paella with Sausage and Olives from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. The recipe can be found online here.

I had never made paella before, and this recipe is a bit different as far as other recipes I have seen. Traditional paella is made is a special pan that allows the rice to form a chewy, crispy crust on the bottom. Unfortunately, I do not have one of those pans, but I think that the fact that the dish is cooked in the oven adds a nice chewy texture to the rice. For me, what makes this dish different from a common chicken and rice dish is the addition of green Spanish olives and saffron. These ingredients add an extra layer of flavor that makes the dish a little sour (olives) with floral undertones (saffron). With the addition of turmeric, it makes the rice a lovely yellow color.

Of course, like always, I made some substitutions and additions. I am finally seeing the first vegetables pop up in my garden. Earlier this week I picked a handful of sugar snap peas and a small yellow squash. I sliced the sugar snap peas and used them in place of the frozen peas called for in the recipe, which was quite lovely, they were sweet and had a great texture to them. I also sliced the squash into rounds and added that to the dish as well. Unfortunately, I don't have any tomatoes in my garden yet, and the tomatoes at my grocery store looked dreadful, so I substituted about one cup of canned diced tomatoes that I drained and added to the pan. To compensate for the extra liquid, I cut back on the chicken broth and used one 14 ounce can of chicken broth instead of the 2 1/2 cups used in the original recipe. I think that worked really well because the tomatoes added a nice sweetness that balance out the briny-ness of the olives. Finally, to give the dish an extra Spanish flair I added 1/2 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika.

I was quite surprised how much I liked this dish. I am not a big fan of olives, and when I do eat them, I prefer the Greek kalamata olives, not green olives. But luckily for me, I live next to a great specialty grocery store that has an olive bar, so I was able to pick up some green Spanish olives that were stuffed with red bell peppers. They were delicious. Another great recipe from Ellie. Be sure to check out Margaret's blog for the recipe as well as the Craving Ellie in My Belly blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their recipes!

Pasta Ponza

2010-06-13T20:14:00.004-04:00

I love quick pasta dishes, especially ones that use unique ingredients. I have posted a few here, like Pasta with Chicken and Mixed Vegetables, Pasta with Potatoes, Pesto, and Green Beans, and Pasta with Kalamata Olives, Capers, and Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce. That is why I was eager to try the Pasta Ponza recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. It is pasta with a roasted tomato sauce, but what makes it unique is that the tomatoes are mixed with breadcrumbs and capers. That combination sounded unique to me, and I love capers. Anytime a recipe has them in it, I take notice.

I liked this pasta dish, but I didn't love it. It's quick and simple, and the roasting of the tomatoes is a great way to bring out their natural sweetness. If I made it again, I would probably leave out the breadcrumbs or I would mix the roasted tomatoes with the pasta and capers, and top the dish with the breadcrumbs, cheese, and some olive oil, then bake the dish so that it would form a crispy crust on top. Some of the breadcrumbs became soggy and the texture was not very appealing. However the tomato/caper/cheese mixture was delicious. I will definitely try the combination again.

Pasta Ponza
from Giada De Laurentiis
serves 4 to 6

Butter for greasing
2 cups (12 ounces) red cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups (12 ounces) yellow cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
1/2 cup Italian-style seasoned breadcrumbs
1 pound ziti or other short tube-shaped pasta (I used rigatoni)
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 ounces) Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 8-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

Place the tomatoes, capers, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the prepared baking dish. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the tomato mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is golden. Cool for 5 minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl. Spoon the tomato mixture onto the pasta. Add the cheese and toss well. Thin out the sauce with a little pasta water, if needed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and basil and serve immediately.

CEiMB: Shortcut Collard Greens

2010-06-10T21:55:00.004-04:00

We haven't had a Craving Ellie in My Belly Recipe in the past few weeks, as our site leader has been out of contact for the past few weeks. We hope all is well for her. Fortunately, Joanne of Apple Crumbles and Peggy of Pantry Revisited stepped up to the plate, and picked this week's recipe, Shortcut Collard Greens from from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger.

I really like collard greens, I think they have a nice flavor and texture. The way that I usually have them is slow cooked for hours with a ham hock or bacon, therefore, I was interested when I read that this recipe only takes about 10 minutes to complete. It involves first microwaving the greens to soften them, and then adding them to a skillet with onions and Canadian bacon. The recipe also calls for other ingredients that I thought would a twist to the typical collard green recipe. You add apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and crushed red pepper. This makes for a nice flavor combination. The crushed red pepper balances nicely with the sweetness of the maple syrup and the saltiness of the Canadian Bacon. I also like the slight bite that the vinegar adds to the dish. I cut down the amount of onion the recipe called for because collard greens really cook down, and I felt that the whole small onion would overwhelm them, so I only added half the amount. I also added a minced garlic clove along with the onion. A quick note, the collard greens still had quite a bite to them after 5 minutes in the microwave, so if you like the texture to be a bit softer, I would add a couple minutes to the cook time. This was a quick, unexpected side dish, that I will definitely make again. Thanks to Ellie for another great recipe!

Pasta with Chicken and Mixed Vegetables

2010-05-24T19:07:00.006-04:00

In an effort to utilize the ingredients I already have on hand, I created this easy weeknight meal. Everything in this recipe, except for the rotisserie chicken, I had either in my pantry, my freezer, or my refrigerator. And I even got the rotisserie chicken on sale for $2.99, because I was at the grocery store late, and they were trying to get rid of the chickens they had roasted that day. I just went home, popped it in the fridge, and it was ready for me tomorrow.

This is a very simple meal consisting of pasta, chicken, and a mixture of frozen and fresh vegetables. It can be adapted to suit whatever may be in your freezer/fridge at that time. It's easy and comforting, and the addition of the lemon juice at the end brightens up the dish, and makes it an easy, affordable, weeknight meal.

Pasta with Chicken and Mixed Vegetables

Ingredients

8 oz. short pasta (I used rotini, but penne, farfalle, or gemelli would also work well)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen mixed greens ( I used Trader Joe's Greens with Envy, see below, which is a mix of broccoli, edamame, asparagus, spinach, and green beans)
1 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed, and the chicken meat shredded
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the pasta according to the package directions.
While the pasta water is coming to a boil, in a large skillet, saute the onions and carrots in olive oil over medium-high heat until they are soft, but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic, and saute for an additional minute.
Add the frozen greens and corn, season the mixture with salt and pepper. Be sure not to over salt the vegetables at this point because both the chicken broth and the cheese also add salt to the dish.
Once the vegetables have heated through, add the shredded chicken and chicken broth to the skillet and saute until the chicken is heated through.
Drain the pasta, reserving a 1/2 cup of the pasta water, and add the drained pasta and reserved water to the skillet. Stir the mixture until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Finish by sprinkling the pasta with the cheese and the lemon juice, stir to melt the cheese and incorporate the lemon juice.

CEiMB: Southwestern Hash

2010-04-29T16:36:00.007-04:00

It's Thursday! That means it is time for another Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe. This week's recipe was chosen by Melissa from It's Melissa's Kitchen. She chose for us to make the Southwestern Hash from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger.

I really changed this one up a bit. First off, I wanted to make this a dinner rather than a breakfast meal, so I eliminated the eggs, and instead, added some Habenero and Green Chile Chicken Sausage to the hash. I also substituted a poblano pepper for the green pepper in the recipe because I think poblano peppers have such better flavor than plain ol' green bell peppers. I upped the amount of cumin from 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon. Cumin is one of my favorite spices, and I can't get enough of it. I also threw in some frozen corn at the same time I added the black beans. Black beans and corn are a staple for me whenever I am making a southwestern dish.

I thought this was a filling, flavorful meal. I am glad that I added the sausage and made it for dinner. It was a complete, one skillet meal, with tons of spice and flavor. Yet another great recipe from Ellie. Thanks to Melissa for picking a delicious recipe and be sure to check out the blogroll to see what other participants made!

Rotini with Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade

2010-04-11T18:25:00.009-04:00

My pantry is getting pretty full. I tend to do that. I will buy sauces or marinades or jars of delicious concoctions, and they will sit in my cabinets while I keep buying more and more things. That has to stop, my cabinet is way too full, and my grocery bill is still way too high. That is how this dish came about. I was looking for something to throw together based on what I had on hand. You will probably be seeing a lot more of these dishes, because I have a lot of great ingredients just sitting in my cabinet waiting to be used. I made this delicious pasta dish from a few ingredients I had in my pantry, and few ingredients I had in my fridge.

Now, I have stated before how much I love Trader Joe's grocery store, and I had a jar of their Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade (see picture below), so I decided to base a meal around that. I also had some Tomato Pesto tuna (see picture below) and some fresh tomatoes and basil. I made a sauce from those ingredients and served it over whole wheat pasta. It's a very healthy dish that comes together quickly if you have all the ingredients on hand. Now, I know this recipe calls for some specialized ingredients, and if you don't live near a Trader Joe's, you could probably use some roasted red peppers and some marinated artichokes in place of the tapenade. But hopefully you do live near a Trader Joe's because it is a wonderful grocery store.

Rotini with Tuna and Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade
serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1-10 oz jar Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade
3/4 cup chicken broth
1-4 oz pouch of Starkist Tomato Pesto flavored tuna
10 oz. whole wheat rotini
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to directions on the box, however, make sure the pasta is al dente because we will finish cooking the pasta in the sauce.
While the pasta is boiling make the sauce. Add the olive oil to a pan that has been heated to medium-high, toss in the onions and cook until the onions are soft, but not browned, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute a few more minutes until the garlic is fragrant. Be sure not to burn the garlic, as it will turn bitter.
Once the onions and garlic are cooked, add the tapenade, tomatoes, chicken broth, and tuna. Cook until the sauce is simmering and everything is heated through.
Drain the pasta and add to the sauce, toss everything together and simmer for a few minutes until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. I only needed to add pepper because the tuna, tapenade, and chicken broth all contained salt.
Divide amongst four bowls and top with fresh basil. Serve immediately.

Picture from Fun with Jane and Dick

CEiMB: Garlic Basil Shrimp

2010-04-08T21:02:00.002-04:00

This week's pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Margaret of Tea and Scones. She chose for us to make the Garlic and Basil Shrimp from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger.

I loved this dish. It was extremely easy and delicious. I mean, the whole dish takes about 10 minutes start to finish. The dish has a wonderful balance of flavors, the heat of the crushed red pepper is a good contrast to the sweetness of the shrimp, tomatoes, and wine. I used some vine ripened tomatoes I found at the grocery store instead of the grape tomatoes. I also made some toasted bread with olive oil to soak up the wine sauce. I will definitely make this again, it is so easy. A great weeknight meal. Be sure to check out the Craving Ellie in My Belly website to see what other bloggers did.

Chicken Stir-fry in a Thai Red Curry Sauce

2010-04-05T20:23:00.003-04:00

When I lived in Chicago, I lived in an area surrounded by Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. I must have eaten Thai once a week. Now, back in my hometown, a suburb of Cincinnati, it isn't as easy to find that cuisine. Fortunately, I live by a wonderful grocery store, Jungle Jim's, that is full of many ingredients from all over the world. There is a whole aisle devoted to ingredients from Thailand. Therefore, I decided to make this Chicken Stir-fry that is cooked in a Thai Red Curry sauce. It is similar to the Chicken Teriyaki Stir-fry I made previously, with just a different combination of flavors.

I make a sauce of red curry paste, coconut milk, soy sauce and lime juice. I pour this sauce over a mixture of chicken and vegetables. It's a spicy sauce that is mellowed by the coconut milk. It is funny, I can't stand coconut, but I love Thai cuisine that includes coconut milk in almost every dish. It is important to serve this stir-fry over rice because the recipe makes a lot of sauce, and the sauce is quite thin, so you need to rice to soak it up.

Chicken Stir-fry in a Thai Red Curry Sauce

Red Curry Sauce:

1 14-oz can light coconut milk
2 to 4 Tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Juice from 1/2 lime

Stir-fry:

3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 cups assorted vegetables (I used a combination of carrots, snow peas, sliced mushrooms, and water chestnuts, broccoli and bamboo shoots would also work well)
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
salt

For serving:

green onions, thinly sliced
fresh cilantro, chopped
additional soy sauce
hot cooked rice

Directions:

To make the sauce:

Pour the coconut milk in a medium size bowl, whisk the milk if it has separated in the can. Add the Thai Red curry paste and whisk to combine (it depends on how spicy you want your sauce, I used 4 tablespoons, but that may be too spicy for some, start with a few tablespoons and add until desired spice level is achieved, be sure to taste as you go along). Add the soy sauce and lime juice. Set aside and begin the stir-fry.
Note on the sauce: It really is all about personal preference. If you want it saltier, add more soy sauce, if you want more of a tart taste, add more lime juice, and if you want it spicier, add more curry paste.

To make the stir-fry:

Add the 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. First add the vegetables that take longer to cook, like the carrots, and stir-fry until tender, then add the vegetable that cook quicker, like the sugar snap peas, mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Season lightly with salt, and stir-fry until all the vegetables are tender. Remove vegetables from skillet and keep warm. Remember that the sauce contains soy sauce, so you don't want to salt the vegetables too heavily.
Next, heat the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons in the skillet and add the chicken and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
Once the chicken is cooked return the vegetables to the skillet, and pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables. Cook the stir-fry until it has come to a simmer, and everything is nice and hot.
Serve the stir-fry over hot cooked rice and top with green onions and cilantro for some fresh flavor. Also, serve with soy sauce if additional saltiness is desired.

Green Beans and Corn with Salsa

2010-04-03T21:16:00.006-04:00

If you are looking for an easy, healthy side dish, then this is a good choice. You simple saute green beans in a skillet, stir in corn, then add fresh salsa. I can't wait for summer to come, so I can make this again with ingredients from my garden. I used a store bought fresh salsa this time, but next time I am going to use my recipe for Pico de Gallo. This dish makes a lot, so it is great for parties and gatherings.

Green Beans and Corn with Salsa

2 lbs. fresh green beans, washed and trimmed, cut into large pieces
1 lb fresh or frozen corn
2 cups fresh salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil to medium-high in a large skillet, add the green beans and saute until they become crisp-tender. Add the corn and heat through. Finally mix in the salsa, and simmer the dish until everything is hot and the flavors had blended. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve warm at room temperature.

Marble Bundt Cake

2010-03-15T17:18:00.007-04:00

I had been wanting to make something from my copy of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito for some time now, so when I was asked to make a cake for a recent family gathering, I knew this was my opportunity. I decided to make the Marble Bundt Cake from the book because it was simple yet complex. You make one batter and then add one third of the batter to melted chocolate, this is used to make the chocolate swirl.

I found this cake to be sweet and moist with prominent vanilla and chocolate flavors. I think it would be too sweet if there was a frosting on the cake, but a dusting of powdered sugars looks and tastes nice. I think this cakes goes well with a cup of coffee and makes a nice after dinner dessert. It also tastes great the next day.

Marble Bundt Cake
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the chocolate swirl:

6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

For the sour cream cake:

3 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened
2 ¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs
16 oz sour cream
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (if desired)

Make the chocolate swirl:
In a double boiler set over simmering water, melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely smooth, add the cocoa powder and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a 10” bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix for 30 seconds. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour one third of the cake batter into the chocolate swirl mixture. Use a spatula to combine the chocolate mixture and cake batter to make a smooth chocolate batter.

Spread half of the remaining plain cake batter in the prepared pan. Use an ice cream scoop to dollop the chocolate cake batter directly on top of the plain cake batter. The dollops will touch and mostly cover the plain batter, but some plain batter will peek through. Pour the remaining plain batter over the chocolate batter, and use a butter knife to pull through the layers to create a swirl.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake and invert it onto the wire rack and let it cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cake will keep for 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature.

CEiMB: Peppercorn Au Poivre

2010-03-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

This week's pick for Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Rachel of Rachel Hearts Food. She chose for us to make the Pork Au Poivre from from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This is a simple recipe where pork tenderloin is coated with Dijon mustard and sprinkled with a generous amount of coarse ground black pepper. The pan is then deglazed with red wine and chicken broth. I made a few changes to the recipe, unfortunately, my local grocery did not have pork tenderloin available for portioning, so I decided to go with thin cut pork loin chops. Additionally, I omitted the wine in the recipe. I didn't have an open bottle, and since I am heading out of town, I didn't want to open a new bottle for just 1/2 of a cup. Therefore, I added a 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a pat of light butter to the pan to make the sauce more robust.

This is another winner from Ellie. The sauce is so flavorful, and the black pepper adds a nice heat that burns subtly in the back of your throat. The pork is light and moist, and I added the pork back to the sauce at the end to rewarm the pork to impart more flavor of the sauce into the pork itself. I will be making this again, and I would love to try the sauce with chicken as well. I served my pork with brown rice and roasted vegetable for a delicious, healthy meal.

Thanks again to Rachel, and be sure to check out the Craving Ellie in My Belly blogroll to see what other bloggers did with their recipe.

Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw

2010-03-02T22:25:00.005-05:00

I was looking for a light and flavorful dish to cook for a easy weeknight dinner when I came across this recipe for Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw in the March 2010 edition of Cooking Light Magazine. This recipe is extremely simple, I think it took me 15 minutes from start to finish to make this meal. My jerk seasoning was quite spicy, so it was a nice balance with the cool coleslaw. You can always omit the jalapeno that is in the slaw if you don't want too much heat. The natural sweetness of the catfish complimented the tangy coleslaw. I will definitely be making this again in the future.

Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw (adapted from Cooking Light, March 2010)

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and about 2/3 cup slaw)

Ingredients

3 cups cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw mix
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3 1/2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper
Cooking spray
4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets
4 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish evenly with jerk seasoning. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; serve fish with slaw

Polenta Crusted Shrimp with Mustard and Herb Mayonnaise

2010-02-21T20:49:00.008-05:00

I am always looking for new shrimp dishes, and when I came across this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network, I thought it looked delicious. Besides, anytime you can get crispy shrimp by baking it in the oven, I think that is a good choice. This recipe uses a classic breading technique by first dipping the shrimp in flour, followed by an egg wash, then finally dipping the shrimp into the polenta. I used a medium coarse ground polenta, and I would recommend using a finer grind, or just plain cornmeal. The flavor was really good, but the coarse ground was a bit too "grainy". When I make this again, I will used a finer grain of cornmeal. In addition to the mustard and herb mayonnaise sauce, I also made some homemade cocktail sauce. I simply use three ingredients, ketchup, prepared horseradish, and lemon juice. It is really up to you how spicy you want it, I usually add a heaping tablespoon of horseradish, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to about a half cup of ketchup. Also, the mustard and herb mayonnaise makes a lot, so I just used it as a spread for some turkey sandwiches and for some tuna salad. It will keep in the fridge for quite a while.

Ingredients

Mustard and Herb Mayonnaise:

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Polenta Crusted Shrimp:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups polenta
2 teaspoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail-on
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil (or non-stick cooking spray)
Kosher salt, for sprinkling

Directions

To make the Mustard and Herb Mayonnaise:

In a medium bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, Dijon mustard, parsley, and chives. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To make the Polenta Crusted Shrimp:

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. Cover a heavy-duty baking sheet with aluminum foil. Combine the flour, sea salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the beaten eggs into another small bowl. Mix together the polenta, paprika and thyme in a medium bowl. Working in batches, dredge the shrimp in the flour. Shake off any excess flour. Dip the flour-dredged shrimp into the eggs and then coat with the polenta mixture. Drizzle the shrimp, on both sides, with the olive oil. Place the shrimp on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until crisp and golden. Sprinkle with the kosher salt.

Serve immediately with the Mustard and Herb Mayonnaise and cocktail sauce, if desired

CEiMB: Curried Chicken Salad

2010-02-04T00:01:00.003-05:00

I am so excited because this is my week to select a recipe for Craving Ellie in My Belly! The recipe I chose for my fellow bloggers and me to make is the Curried Chicken Salad from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. It's a very simple, but delicious salad consisting of chicken and grapes in a yogurt curry sauce.

First of all, I really love the flavor of curry powder, so I was sure that I would like this salad, but I was quite impressed how well the flavors were balanced. The warm spice of the curry balances well with the sweetness of the grapes and the bitterness of the cilantro, and the almonds added a nice crunch and contrast in texture. I actually mixed my sliced almonds into my salad instead of sprinkling them on top. Many chicken salads feel heavy and rich, but this was very light. The recipe doesn't make a lot of sauce, just enough to coat the chicken and grapes, so it doesn't weigh them down, and their flavors really come through. I served my salad on a bed of spinach sprinkled with lemon juice along with toasted whole-wheat pita chips.

The recipe on the Food Network website includes instructions for poaching chicken, so I have included the instructions for that as well in case you wish to cook your chicken that way.

I want to thank all of my fellow bloggers over at Craving Ellie in My Belly for participating with me! I really enjoyed this recipe, and I hope that they did too. Be sure to check out their blogs as well to see how they made their Curried Chicken Salad.

Curried Chicken Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pounds, poaching instructions below)
1 cup halved red grapes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
5 ounces mixed greens (about 5 cups lightly packed)
4 lemon wedges
4 ounces pita chips

Directions:

For poaching the chicken: Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off and let chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch dice.
Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Fold in the chicken, grapes and cilantro and season to taste, with salt and pepper. This salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To serve, put a scoop of the chicken salad on a bed of greens and top with the toasted almonds. Add a lemon wedge to squeeze over the greens jut before eating. Serve with pita chips.

Serving size:

1 cup chicken salad
1 1/4 cups mixed greens
1 lemon wedge
1 ounce pita chips

Easy Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-01-15T22:12:00.007-05:00

This really should just be a recipe for the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, because I made the cupcakes using a boxed mix, and all I did to improve on that was to add the zest of half a lemon to the batter. The real star of the cupcakes is the frosting. It's rich and creamy with just the right about of lemon flavor and tang to balance out the sweetness of the cupcakes. I added a Lemon Drop candy to each of the cupcakes to make them look special.

For the cake:

1-18.25 oz box lemon cake mix
1 1/3 Cups Water
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Large Eggs
Zest from half a lemon

For the frosting:

1-8 oz package of cream cheese (can use 1/3 less fat cream cheese), softened to room temperature
1/2 (or 1/4 cup) of butter, softened to room temperature
juice from 1/2 lemon (just a scant couple of squeezes)
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
16 oz. powdered sugar

20-24 Lemon Drops (optional)

Directions:

Bake the cupcakes according the to directions on the box, the only difference is to add the lemon zest to the batter last, and make sure that it is fully incorporated without any clumps. The cake mix I used made 20 cupcakes when the cupcake liners were filled 2/3 full. Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature before frosting.
To make the frosting, it is very important that the cream cheese and butter are at room temperature. If they are not, there will be lumps of butter or cream cheese in the frosting, and that will be very unappealing.
First, using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until they are uniformly mixed, then add the lemon juice and lemon extract, and mix briefly to incorporate.
Next, slowly add the powdered sugar in batches, and ensure all the sugar is incorporated before making the next addition. If you want a stronger lemon flavor, add a bit more lemon extract at this time. If you want it sweeter, add more powdered sugar. This frosting is very versatile, and it is easy to make to your liking.
You can frost the cupcakes at this time, but I like to stick the frosting in the refrigerator for an hour or so, so it will firm up, and make the cupcakes easier to frost. After frosting the cupcakes, if you wish, top with a Lemon Drop and enjoy!

CEiMB: Arugula, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza

2010-01-14T17:54:00.005-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Maria of Half Meatball/Half Matzoh Ball Children. She chose for us to make the Arugula, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This is a quick and easy meal, you simply sauté onions until they are soft and caramelized, you then add arugula to the skillet to wilt it slightly. Then you top your whole-wheat tortilla or flatbread with the onion/arugula mixture, dot with goat cheese, and pop in the oven. I added some sun-dried tomatoes to the onion/arugula mixture to balance the peppery flavor of the arugula with the sweetness of the sun-dried tomatoes. I also added a small amount of balsamic vinegar. It really perked up the topping. I used herbed goat cheese that had basil and garlic in it. I think this tasted great. It's really quick and would make a great dinner for one or two, or it would be a great appetizer when it is cut into wedges.

Chicken Teriyaki Stir-fry over Udon Noodles

2010-01-10T19:23:00.007-05:00

One of my favorite quick dishes to make is teriyaki stir-fry. I start with a purchased teriyaki sauce, my favorite is Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki, it has a great flavor and is full of sesame seeds, which I really enjoy. I then make some additions to the sauce, which I think really enhances the flavor of the whole dish. This time I served the stir-fry over udon noodles, but I often make this same dish with rice as well. The recipe makes a lot of sauce, so it is good to have something like noodles or rice to soak it up.

Chicken Teriyaki Stir-fry over Udon Noodles
serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 1/2 cups purchased teriyaki sauce
2-3 heaping tablespoons chili-garlic sauce (or more or less depending on your preference for heat)
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cups of assorted vegetables (I used a combination of onions, carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli, and sugar snap peas)
1-8 oz. can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
4 oz. fresh bean sprouts

1-10 oz. package of udon noodles
Chopped cilantro (optional)

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the teriyaki sauce, chili-garlic paste, and honey. Mix well.
Place the chicken pieces in a resealable bag and add 1/2 cup of the teriyaki marinade. Move the bag around to distribute the marinade to make sure it coats all the chicken pieces, and place the bag in the refrigerator and marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade for later use.
Following the marination, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add the udon noodles and cook according to the package directions.
While the water is coming to a boil and the noodles are cooking, begin stir-frying the chicken and vegetables. In a large skillet, add the olive oil and heat to medium-high. Add the vegetables that take longer to cook (onions, carrots, peppers) and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, just to soften.
Drain the chicken and add it to the skillet, discarding the marinade. Stir-fry the chicken until it is almost cooked all the way through, about 6-8 minutes.
Add the vegetables to the skillet that cook quickly (broccoli, sugar snap peas), and continue stir-frying until the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender.
Add the bean sprouts, water chestnuts, and remaining 1 cup of marinade to the skillet, and cook until the sauce is heated through.
Place some udon noodles on a plate and top with chicken stir-fry and a few extra tablespoons of sauce.
Sprinkle some cilantro on top if desired.

CEiMB: No Bake Lemon Bars

2009-12-31T11:00:00.001-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly was chosen by Amy of Playing House. She chose for us to make the No Bake Lemon Bars from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger. I love anything lemon, and this recipe looked easy and quick, so I was looking forward to trying this recipe.

I really liked the flavor of these bars, they were creamy and tart. I had added the zest of the whole lemon, not just a teaspoon to amp up the lemon flavor, and I am glad that I did. My only complaint is that even though these are "No bake" lemon bars, I would suggest baking the crust to get it to set up more. My crust was very crumbly, and it kind of fell apart when I was removing the bars from the pan. Other than that, this was an easy, tasty treat!

Baked Shrimp Scampi

2009-12-26T15:11:00.006-05:00

I wanted to make something special this past week for dinner, and I came across a recipe for Baked Shrimp Scampi from The Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. There was only going to be two of us enjoying this dish, so I cut the recipe in half. Per reviewers' suggestions, I also cut down on the amount of butter called for in the recipe, and increased the amount of crushed red pepper to give the recipe a bit more heat. You can always decrease amount of, or eliminate all together, the crushed red pepper if you don't like things spicy. I think this dish is easy to put together, and it cooks in just minutes. I did choose to place my shrimp under the broiler for just a few minutes to make the buttery breadcrumb mixture bubbly and golden brown. I would definitely make it again, it is great for a special dinner.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

1 pounds large shrimp, tail on, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

If needed, peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 1 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a small gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1-2 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

Serves 2-3

CEiMB: Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs

2009-12-17T19:41:00.005-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Tessa of Handle the Heat. She chose for us to make the Maple-Mustard Chicken Thighs from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I was really looking forward to this dish. I loved the flavor combination of the mustard sauce. I didn't have any dried marjoram on had, so I added a tablespoon of chopped fresh dill to the sauce. I also lightly seasoned the chicken thighs with salt and pepper before adding the sauce on top.

This dish couldn't have been any easier to throw together. It literally took me five minutes to whip up the sauce and get the chicken in the oven. My chicken was done in about 5o minutes, and the mustard sauce made a nice "crust" on top of the chicken. The chicken was moist and flavorful, this dish will definitely make in into the weeknight rotation. So easy and delicious.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

2009-12-15T18:27:00.002-05:00

I had some leftover pumpkin from Thanksgiving, and I was thinking about what I could make with it, when I came across this recipe from the Taste of Home website. I altered the recipe a bit by decreasing the amount of sugar, and increasing some of the spices in the recipe. The original recipe states that this recipe makes 24 muffins, I had enough left over to also make a miniture Pumpkin Chocolate Chip loaf. In other words, this recipe makes a lot of muffins, so if you only want a dozen or so, I would recommend halving the recipe. The pumpkin in these muffins is very subtle, so are the spices, but they are definitely there, and it works well with the chocolate chips. Speaking of chocolate chips, these muffins are chock full of them. I could barely test to see if the muffins were done without poking into a chip. These were moist and rich, and I would make them again. Next time, however, I might add in extra pumpkin and decrease the amount of oil in the recipe to get a more prominent pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1-1/2 cups canola oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: about 2 dozen muffins.

Mini Cherry Cheesecakes

2009-12-13T18:10:00.005-05:00

Per my co-worker's request, I decided to make her miniature cherry cheesecakes for her birthday lunch. I adapted these cheesecakes from this recipe over at the Martha Stewart website. This recipe is super simple to throw together, and they come together in no time. I made these the night before because they are supposed to set up in the refrigerator overnight. I think these are great for an office or holiday party. Note: It is very important that your cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature. I took my cream cheese out in the morning, and let it sit on the counter all day until I made the cheesecakes in the evening. The eggs took less time, I only let them sit out for about 30 minutes prior to making the cheesecakes.

Miniature Cherry Cheesecakes
makes 14-16

Ingredients

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 pound cream cheese, softened (two 8 oz. packages cream cheese)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt
1 can of cherry pie filling (21 oz)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Mix graham cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar in a bowl. Stir in butter. Press 1 tablespoon of mixture in bottom of each cup. Bake until set, about 7 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees. Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar, then vanilla. With mixer running, add eggs slowly, scraping down side of bowl. Add sour cream and salt. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling almost to the tops.
Bake until sides are set but centers are wobbly, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks. Wrap tins tightly with plastic, and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Spoon about 3-4 cherries from the pie filing onto each cheesecake. Cheesecakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.

CEiMB: Confetti Chili

2009-12-03T20:24:00.005-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Lauren of I'll Eat You. She chose for us to make Confetti Chili from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. I hadn't made chili yet, and since it is finally getting cold around here, I was looking forward to this making this. The recipe on the Food Network is slightly different than the recipe in the book. Basically, instead of one of the cans of beans, 1 1/2 cups of corn was added to the chili instead. I like the idea of corn in chili because it adds some nice sweetness to balance the heat. I used black beans and pinto beans, because I like the texture and flavor of those beans better than kidney beans. I also added 2 teaspoons of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and one clove of minced garlic to the chili. I really think those additions boosted the flavor of the chili considerably. I didn't have a red bell pepper on hand, but I did have some poblanos from my garden that I had roasted and frozen this summer, so I used that instead.

I really liked this chili. There is a nice smokiness to it due to the chipotle pepper and the smoked paprika, and a slight bit of heat. Next time, I might add some jalapeno or some cayenne pepper to boost the heat a little. The carrots and and corn balance the smokiness and the heat by adding sweetness. Overall it is a very balanced dish. Black beans and pinto beans have much better texture and flavor than kidney beans, and I think I will use both of them chilis I make in the future. Another good recipe from Ellie.

Easy Beef and Scallion Cheese Ball

2009-11-30T18:27:00.009-05:00

One of our family's favorite appetizers that we always make around the holidays is this Easy Beef and Scallion Cheese Ball. It only has three ingredients, but it tastes great, and it practically disappears as soon as it is put out. It goes great with crackers and vegetables, and I can't wait to make it again for Christmas. It's by no means low fat, but hey, it's Thanksgiving. :)

Easy Beef and Scallion Cheese Ball

2-8 oz blocks of cream cheese
2-2 0z packages of chipped beef (I used Buddig Beef), chopped, 2 tablespoons reserved
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sliced scallions, divided

Combine the cream cheese, the chipped beef, and 1/4 cup of the scallions in a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer beat the mixture until it is well combined the and beef has been minced into smaller pieces. Place in plastic wrap or a covered bowl until ready to be served.

For serving, place the cheese ball on the serving platter and shape into ball. I usually place plastic wrap over the cheese ball while doing this, so my hands don't get covered in cream cheese (and the guests probably appreciate that as well). Take the reserved chipped beef and scallions and sprinkle over the cheese ball, pressing gently into the cheese ball, so they adhere properly.

Serve with crackers (Wheat Thins are the best in my opinion), as well as vegetables such as baby carrots and celery. Enjoy!

A few other pictures from Thanksgiving:

My niece Julia with her Great Grandmother (my Grandmother) and her dad (my brother) enjoying her first Thanksgiving.

And our beautifully decorated Thanksgiving table (my Mom always does such a wonderful job).

CEiMB: Cranberry French Toast Bake

2009-11-19T18:17:00.005-05:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Liz of The Not So Skinny Kitchen. She chose for us to make Peach French Toast Bake from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. Since I had a lot of cranberries left over from my Cranberry Orange Applesauce, and since cranberries are more in season than peaches, I decided to make my French toast bake with them instead.

I made a few additions and substitutions since I was using cranberries instead of peaches. Since cranberries are much tarter than peaches I added an additional tablespoon of brown sugar to the egg mixture and an additional 1 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the cranberry topping. I substituted orange juice for the lemon juice in the recipe, and added the zest of half an orange to the egg mixture. Based on the reviews on the Food Network, I added some spices to the egg mixture as well. I added 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon and ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

This dish was incredibly easy to throw together, and you can make it the night before, and bake it off in the morning for a quick breakfast. I actually only let mine rest in the refrigerator for about 4 hours, but that seemed to be plenty of time for the bread to soak up the egg mixture. My French toast took about 50 minutes to bake. The orange flavor went well with the tart cranberries, which were still quite tart, but when I drizzled maple syrup over the top, it was a nice combination of sweet and sour. This recipe is very versatile, I would like to try it with blueberries and almonds or plums and crystallized ginger. There are really a lot of combinations that would work well with the French toast, but I think it is really important to add a lot of flavors to the egg mixture or the French toast will probably come off as a little bland.

Cranberry Orange Applesauce

2009-11-11T17:23:00.005-05:00

I was trying to think of an easy side dish for a fall meal, when I came across a recipe for Cranberry Applesauce over at Simply Recipes. I changed the recipe a little bit by reducing the sugar in the recipe and adding some orange juice and zest. This recipe was very easy to throw together, you simply just throw everything into a pot and let things simmer until until the apples are soft. The sauce has a great sweet-tart flavor to it. It would make a great side dish for roast pork or a Thanksgiving meal.

Cranberry Orange Applesauce

Ingredients

3 to 4 pounds of peeled, cored, roughly chopped (Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp)
1 1/2 cups to 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
the zest and juice of 1 large orange
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt

-Place all of the ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a
simmer and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, or until the apples can easily be mashed.

-Remove from heat. Mash the apples and cranberries with a potato masher to desired
consistency

CEiMB: Pumpkin Pie Muffins

2009-10-29T17:01:00.009-04:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Oddball Oven Mitt. She chose for us to bake the Pumpkin Pie Muffins from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. These are quick and easy to put together, and you don't even need an electric mixer.

After reading the reviews on the Food Network website, I decided to add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the batter to increase the spiciness. I also substituted 1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup for 1 1/2 tablespoons of the molasses because some reviewers said that the molasses was overpowering, and I think the combination of the two gave a great flavor to the muffins. I didn't have any pumpkin seeds on hand, but I did have some chocolate covered sunflower seeds, so I sprinkled them on top instead. The batter actually could make about 13 or 14 muffins if you fill them 2/3 the way full like the recipe suggests. I just decided to fill my muffin cups to the top because I don't mind if the puff out over the top of pan.

The muffins were light and more "cake-like" than "muffin-like", and adding the extra spices really helped, i think. The pumpkin flavor wasn't as prominent as I would have liked, but they were still delicious, more like a spice cake. I would make these again, maybe next time I will add some chopped apples or pears to the batter, I think both of those would make great additions.

Happy Halloween!

CEiMB: Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadilla

2009-10-22T19:00:00.003-04:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Marthe of Culinary Delights She chose for us to make the Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This recipe is extremely easy to throw together because the ingredients cook quickly, perfect for a weeknight meal. The filling is very flavorful and doesn't seem heavy at all. I am always looking for new combinations of veggies and meats to throw into a quesadilla, and I will be making this again.

I made a few substitutions to the recipe. I added some frozen corn and cilantro to the filling, and I substituted scallions for the onion in the recipe. Instead of the white button mushrooms, I used cremini because I think they have more flavor. Check out the other bloggers at Craving Ellie in My Belly to see their creations!

Smoky Black Beans and Corn

2009-10-11T10:38:00.006-04:00

I am always looking for quick and easy side dishes. I love black bean and corn salsa, so I thought I would make something similar with a little more body as a side dish for some chipotle chicken skewers I got from Trader Joe's. This dish is easy to throw together, and you can do almost anything you want to it to suit your tastes. You can stir in some cheese and cilantro, or add mor spice by including jalapenos or minced chipotle peppers from a can (in this case, I just use the adobo sauce from the can, but I have added the chipotle pepper as well to increase the spiciness). It is really simple to make this side dish your own.

Smoky Black Beans and Corn
serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1-15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon Goya Adobo with cumin
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers
1 1/3 cups corn, fresh or frozen (If frozen, don't thaw)

Heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat, add the onion and poblano pepper, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute longer.
Add the black beans and the water, smashing some of the black beans with a spoon or the back of a spatula to thicken the sauce.
Mix in the Goya seasoning, cumin, and adobo sauce. Reduce the heat to a low and allow the sauce to thicken and the beans to heat through, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the corn, and continue to cook until the corn is warmed through, add more Goya seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

CEiMB: Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese

2009-09-24T18:42:00.005-04:00

I haven't been able to post a Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe in a few weeks. First I was on vacation (see below), then two days after I got home my brother and sister-in-law welcomed a baby girl into this world (also see below). It is their first child, and I am now an aunt! Between all of that and trying to catch up on things at work, I haven't been able to blog as much as I normally do. So I was glad to get back to with this recipe for Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This particular recipe was chosen by Leslie of Lethally Delicious.

I am really glad she chose this recipe because it is quite different from the way I usually make grilled cheese. I like my grilled cheese the way I had it as a child, two slices of Kraft singles sandwiched between two slices of white bread slathered with butter. Serve that up with some Campbell's tomato soup, and I am happy. However, I was glad to get a chance to try something different. This sandwich combines two different cheeses (I used colby and pepper jack), with caramelized onions and tomatoes. It really is a great combination, the spicy cheese with the sweet onions and juicy tomato. It is a quick and easy snack, and I would definitely make it again

Badlands National Park

Devil's Tower National Monument

Grand Teton National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Sunset in Montana

and...my beautiful niece Julia Marie

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting

2009-08-26T23:44:00.005-04:00

I was deciding on what to make for a coworker's birthday when I came across this recipe for Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Frosting. I am a huge fan of the food blog smitten kitchen, in my opinion, it is one of the best food blogs out there. Deb always makes interesting and delicious-looking dishes, and the food photography is just beautiful. I hope that one day when I have more time (and better lighting and a better camera), that I can take pictures and create recipes that are half as good as hers.

Anyway, these cupcakes are fairly easy to put together, you simply sift the dry ingredients together, cream the butter and sugar, add the wet ingredients, then incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. It is a pretty standard recipe for a cake. The cupcake is light and fluffy and Deb recommended cutting the peaches into pretty small pieces, so they wouldn't sink to the bottom of the cupcake. I really appreciated that tip, and the peaches were nicely incorporated throughout the whole cupcake. I typically make a cream cheese icing with just powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla. This recipe uses brown sugar as well as powdered sugar. In order to get the icing to set up a bit better, cornstarch is added to the icing.

Peach Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 24 cupcakes

3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup dark or light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, sour cream or full-fat yogurt (I used low-fat buttermilk)
3 large peaches, peeled, cored, and chopped smallish (about a 1/3-inch dice)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line muffin tins with 24 cupcake wrappers

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices and set aside. Cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between each addition, and then the vanilla. Gently mix in the buttermilk, sour cream or yogurt. Mix in the dry ingredients, until just incorporated and fold in the peaches.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes for five minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cornstarch and powdered sugar, breaking up the clumps of brown sugar. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the sugar-cornstarch mixture and vanilla, beat until frosting is smooth and light. Chill the bowl in the refrigerator until it thickens back up a bit, about 30 minutes, then spread or dollop on cooled cupcakes.

Notes: These cupcakes were very light, and the little bits of peaches throughout each cupcake is really delicious. I would use this batter again with other fruits like apples, plums, or berries. The brown sugar icing was good, but it didn't add anything to the typical cream cheese icing for me, next time I will stick to my original recipe or add some peach puree to the icing to enhance the peach flavor. I recommend checking out the smitten kitchen blog. It really is one of the best out there.

Also, I had A LOT of frosting left over, to the point that I could have probably halved the recipe and still had enough to frost the cupcakes. I don't like a lot of frosting on my cupcakes, so that is probably why.

Creamy Polenta with Smoked Sausage and Summer Vegetables

2009-08-24T18:24:00.005-04:00

My garden is at the point where I am picking many tomatoes and peppers every week, so I wanted to come up with something quick where I could use up a mixture of these vegetables. Based on the ingredients in my pantry, and refrigerator, I came up with this quick meal of cheesy polenta with sauteed vegetables and smoked turkey sausage. This meal came together very quickly, which makes it perfect for a weeknight. The polenta was creamy, and the goat cheese added a nice bite to it. The summer vegetables added a sweetness to balance the cheesy polenta and the salty sausage. This is the first time I tried something like this, but I will be making it again

Ingredients:

Polenta:

4 1/2 cups water
1 cup polenta (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
pinch sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 1/2 oz soft goat cheese

Smoked Sausage and Summer Vegetables:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/4 red onion, diced
1/3 cup diced peppers (I used one Anaheim and one jalapeno pepper, but red or green bell pepper would work as well)
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups corn, fresh or frozen
8 oz. smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1 inch slices

Directions:

For the polenta:

Bring the water and salt to a boil, and slowly whisk in the polenta, add the pinch of sugar. Bring the mixture back to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until the polenta is soft and creamy, about 10 to 15 minutes, whisking frequently. Turn off the heat and whisk in the butter and goat cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the smoked sausage and vegetables:

Heat one tablespoon of olive olive over medium heat, then saute the onion and peppers until soft, but not browned, about 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and corn and heat through, season lightly with salt and pepper (the smoked sausage and polenta will be salty, so be careful not to over season), about 3-5 minutes more. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add the second table of olive oil to the same pan and cook the smoked sausage until it is browned on both sides, and 5 minutes total. Add the vegetables back to the pan to rewarm them.

To serve: whisk the polenta in case it has started to set up, then divide the polenta into four bowls and top with 1/4 of the sausage/vegetable mixture. Enjoy!

TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars

2009-08-18T19:32:00.004-04:00

This week's Tuesdays with Dorie is from Karen of Something Sweet by Karen. She chose for us to bake the Applesauce Spice Bars from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. You can find the recipe here. It is a simple recipe, and the perfect snack to get ready for Fall. I could smell the cinnamon throughout the house while the bars were baking. The only substitutions I made to the recipe is that I used nutmeg and ginger instead of the allspice, since I didn't have any on hand at the time. Also, I left out the raisins because I didn't have them as well. I wouldn't recommend making this recipe all the time because it does have a lot of butter and sugar in it, but every once in a while, it makes a nice treat.

CEiMB: Stuffed Turkey Burgers

2009-08-13T19:14:00.000-04:00

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Peggy of Pantry Revisited. She chose for us to make the Stuffed Turkey Burgers from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This is a pretty simple recipe, in which the burger is stuffed with roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. I was in the mood for something a little spicier, so I decided to make some changes to the recipe to give it a southwest flavor.

Additions that I made to the ground turkey meat:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons Goya Adobo with cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced
juice from 1/2 lime
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced

I also swapped out the roasted red peppers for some roasted Anaheim peppers from my garden, and used shredded colby jack cheese in place of the mozzarella. Instead of broiling or grilling, I sprayed a pan with non-stick spray and seared the burgers over medium-high heat for 5 minutes on each side, then I finished the burgers off in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. The burgers turned out nicely browned, juicy, and cooked all the way through.

These burgers were spicy and had a great flavor. I would definitely make these again. I topped mine with some baby spinach and a juicy tomato. This was a great summer dinner.