cindy cooks

Last-Minute Wheat Bread

2011-11-27T09:54:00.001-08:00

(Ok, so technically this is a picture of my 5-minute wheat bread—but we ate the
Last-Minute Loaf already!)

Prep Time: Easy

Do you ever find yourself needing a loaf of good bread, but without the time to let it rise? I came up with this recipe (based on several others) the other day when I was in just that situation. From start to finish it takes about an hour. This recipe yields one medium-sized loaf, but you could easily double or triple (or quintuple!) it for more. This recipe is so quick and easy you don't even need to make it in a mixer.

1 cup warm water

1 T yeast

1/2 T table salt

2 T canola oil

1 1/2 T honey

2 cups wheat flour

1/2-3/4 cups white flour

Egg white (beaten); any desired toppings

Mix all ingredients together in medium bowl (I just do it with my hands—the dough comes together quickly and easily). Knead dough a few times until it is elastic and holds together (should only take about 60 seconds). Grease medium loaf pan. Shape dough into loaf (my preferred method is to roll it out on the counter and then roll the sheet up into a loaf) and press into pan. Brush top with egg white and top with any desired seeds, oatmeal, etc. With serrated knife, make 3-4 slashes in top of loaf (a lot of the rising will happen quickly as the oven heats, so this helps your loaf keep a pleasing shape through that fast rising!). Allow to rest on warm countertop or in oven (turned off) for about 20 minutes. Without preheating the oven, place loaf into oven and set oven to 350. Cook for 45 minutes (this includes the preheat time). Cool on a wire rack.

Poppyseed Chicken (Cream of Chicken Soup-Free)

2011-11-10T08:38:00.001-08:00

Prep time: Easy (though a little harder than using a can of cream of chicken soup)

This is Mahon's favorite meal ever. I haven't made it a lot in the last two years because I've really stopped using cream of chicken soup base, and don't make a lot of casseroles at all, but I made it the other day for his birthday and came up with a way to do it canned-soup-free. It's still not what I'd term a "health food," and the Ritz crackers on top still (obviously) put it squarely in the camp of "processed food." Though I have to say, unhealthy as they may be, the crackers really make the meal. Seriously. So good. This recipe yields a small-ish casserole and would serve about 4-5 adults.

2 large chicken breasts, thawed and cubed

2 T butter

2 T flour

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 t parsley

1/2 t pepper

1/2 t salt

1/2 cup sour cream

2 T poppy seeds

1 sleeve Ritz crackers

3 T butter

Heat oven to 375. Cube thawed chicken and place in medium casserole dish. In small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 T butter. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, till bubbly and thick (about 1-2 minutes). Whisk in milk and let cook another 2 minutes or so (mixture will thicken quickly; stir constantly to keep it smooth). Add chicken broth, parsley, pepper, and salt, and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 more minutes. Pour over chicken in casserole dish. Add sour cream and 1 T poppy seeds; mix everything together until creamy and well-combined. Cover dish with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly and chicken is cooked through. While chicken is cooking, crush Ritz crackers in medium bowl and add remaining 3 T butter and 1 T poppy seeds. (If the butter isn't soft, go ahead and stick the whole bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds.) Mix everything together. When chicken is cooked through, remove foil and sprinkle cracker mix on top and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Blueberry Struesel Muffins (AKA, Best Blueberry Muffins Ever!)

2011-11-10T08:25:00.001-08:00

Prep time: Medium (for muffins—still not that hard)

Source: Adapted from OurBestBites.com

Words cannot describe how amazing these muffins are! Everyone I have made them for has begged for the recipe. They are seriously delicious! I also have found that you can replace at least 3/4 cup of the white flour with wheat flour without changing the flavor or texture much. Since I don't usually have buttermilk on hand, I substitute it. My favorite combination has been using half regular milk and half plain yogurt—this combo makes the muffins SO incredibly tender and fluffy! I've also used soured milk (just under 3/4 cups milk with about a teaspoon of vinegar, allowed to stand for about 5 minutes) and that worked just fine. Also, I've adapted the original recipe so that it only uses 2 bowls instead of 1.

1 large egg

3/4 c. buttermilk

1/3 c. canola oil

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

2 3/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. table salt

2 tsp. grated orange or lemon peel (optional—I'm sure it's amazing but I usually don't have it, so I leave it out; sometimes I add a splash of lemon juice instead)

1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp. sugar

Streusel Topping

1/4 c. sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 Tbsp. softened (not melted) butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In medium mixing bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, and oil and beat with a fork or whisk until thoroughly combined. Gently scoop flour, sugar, baking powder, zest, and salt into the bowl so that they lie on top of the wet ingredients. With your fork, gently whisk dry ingredients together; when they are somewhat combined, go ahead and mix everything (wet and dry) in the bowl together until just combined. In smaller bowl, mix 1 T each flour and sugar. Add in blueberries and stir together until blueberries are coated with flour mixture. (This helps keep your blueberries from turning the whole batter purple!) Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin.

In the same bowl that the blueberries were just in, add sugar, flour, and cinnamon for streusel topping. Cut in softened butter with a fork until topping is moist but crumbly. Sprinkle streusel over muffins (about 1/2-1 t. each). Bake at 400 for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool on a cooling rack still in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to the cooling rack by itself. (If you can resist eating one immediately out of the oven!) Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bread

2011-10-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars (I am seriously considering getting rid of the whole rating system on this blog... I mean hello, haven't we figured out that ANYTHING I consider blog-worthy is at least 4.5???)

Prep time: Easy

Source: Various blogs, adapted by me

I discovered pumpkin chocolate-chip bread my first semester in college and immediately fell head-over-heels in love! I have used a recipe given to me by the neighbor who first introduced me to the stuff ever since, but I think that this recipe will be my new go-to recipe. It's moist, delicious, and is just as good the second day! I actually already dialed down the sugar from the original recipe, and I think I could subtract a bit more and it would still be delicious.

This recipe makes two tall medium loaves of bread (probably two flatter large loaves), or 24 muffins.

2 ½ cups white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 cup canola or vegetable oil

4 large eggs

2/3 cup water

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. I like to line my loaf pans with foil or parchment paper because they tend to slightly carmelize the outside crust of quickbreads like this, and I don't like that... but that's completely optional. Grease pan (or muffin tin). In large bowl, mix together water, eggs, oil, and pumpkin until smooth. Gently add dry ingredients on top of the wet ones (I do flour first, then sugar, then baking soda and spices) and sift together with a fork, then combine with wet ingredients. (This is my easy one-bowl solution to the wet mix/dry mix problem!) Fold in chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared receptacles. Bake for 20-30 minutes (regular-sized muffins) or 60-70 minutes (loaves), until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This bread is delicious warm, and equally delicious after it cools! It also freezes REALLY well - just let it cool completely and then wrap it first in plastic wrap and then in tinfoil. When you're ready to eat it, let it thaw for a few hours at room temperature. This recipe is a definite all-around winner!

Lemon Spaghetti

2011-10-11T19:43:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: SUPER easy

Source: SmittenKitchen.com

This recipe is similar to the Rosemary Grilled Chicken with Lemon-Cream Pasta, but—dare I say—it is both simpler and better. Cream, lemon juice, olive oil, and pasta water combine to create an unbelievably light and delicious meal that takes 15 minutes or less to put together! It's a great alternative to picking up pizza on those nights when you just can't spend a lot of time on dinner. And in all honesty, I could probably eat this every day for a week (maybe more!) and still be in heaven. Divine, I tell you. Divine.

I usually do 1/2 or 3/4 of this recipe and it makes two meals for us. (The leftovers are great drizzled with a little extra olive oil before they're reheated!) Also, it's definitely a flexible, "go by taste" recipe, as I've indicated by my somewhat imprecise measurements!

1 lb spaghetti, linguine or fettucine (it's good on small noodles as well, but the silky sauce really is best on something long and stringy!)

Salt

1/4 cup lemon juice (extra if desired)

1/4 cup heavy cream (I tend to go a little easy on my 1/4 cup of cream)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/3-1/2 cup grated parmesan

Black pepper

Fresh or dried basil

Bring salted water to a boil on stove; cook pasta until noodles reach desired tenderness. When noodles are finished cooking, reserve about 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water and drain the rest. Leave the noodles in the strainer in a minute and combine lemon juice, olive oil, cream, pepper, and one cup of the pasta water in the pot. Boil for 2 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring a few times to get everything combined. In large bowl, toss together pasta, sauce, and parmesan (reserving a little bit to put on top). Taste a noodle to see if you want any more lemon juice; you can also add more pasta water if you want the dish looser. Garnish with basil and remaining parmesan.

Peach Smoothie

2011-09-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

A perfect, simple, tangy peach smoothie!

Peach Smoothie

3/4 cup plain yogurt

1 large peach (1 1/2 regular peaches)

1 T orange juice concentrate

1 T sugar

4-8 ice cubes

Blend until smooth, adding ice until your desired thickness is reached. May need a little more sugar if your peaches aren't naturally super sweet. Enjoy!

Tamales

2011-07-17T19:54:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Hard (but really, not that hard!)

When I was born, I had tons (and I mean TONS) of black, black hair. My family called me the "Gonzalez baby," saying I must have been switched at birth with a Mexican family's child! Maybe that's why I love homemade Mexican food. Then again, maybe it's just because my dad served his mission in Mexico and so I grew up eating traditional Mexican fare! Either way, these tamales were superb. Don't let everything you read about tamales being "tricky" scare you. These take some prep work, but they turned out perfect the first time I made them! This recipe is my own, after I spent about a day reading everything Google had to say about making perfect tamales.

4 cups masa harina (Mexican corn flour)

1-2 cups broth (I used beef broth made from roast drippings and my rotisserie chicken stock—and then when I ran out I used a little whey from the queso fresco I'd made earlier that day!)

1 t salt

1 1/3 cup softened/room temperature butter (or lard, if you have it!)

2 t baking powder

1 package dried corn husks

You can use whatever fillings you like, honestly. Traditional tamales usually have some sort of meat and chilis, but the possibilites are endless. They even make sweet tamales in Mexico. I did two fillings when I made them, both very simple and easy to whip up—for the first one, I took about 1/2 of a leftover pot roast and mixed it together with some queso fresco. Done! For the other filling, I boiled a chicken breast and then shredded it, added in about 2 ounces of cream cheese, and some seasonings (chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, black pepper, salt). They both turned out great! I don't like things very spicy, so if you want a "hot" tamale, use spicy peppers or more dried chili powder/cayenne pepper!

Put about 2 dozen corn husks into a bowl to soak. In a large bowl or stand mixer (I used my Kitchenaid with the paddle attachment, but a sturdy set of hand beaters would work too), cream together butter and salt with about 1 tbsp broth until it's smooth and beginning to look "fluffy." Add in masa, baking powder, and about 1 cup broth. Mix on medium until everything comes together. The final consistency you are looking for is sort of like dry peanut butter - it won't be greasy, but it will be soft and spreadable. Add more broth as needed. You will want to keep "whipping" the tamale dough for several minutes even after you have the right broth ratio; the more you whip your dough, the lighter and fluffier your tamales will be. To test if the dough is ready, take a small ball of dough and place it in a cup of warm water. If the ball floats, it's done. If it sinks right to the bottom, you need to keep whipping. (I probably whipped for about 4-5 minutes total).

Unwrap soaked corn husks and spread out on the counter. Take a spoon (or wet hands) and spread tamale dough, about 1/4" thick, on the lower (wider) half of the corn husk (you'll want 1/4-1/2" of room on all three sides). Place a generous tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough. Bring one side of the husk and fold it over the filling (you'll want it to just barely cover the filling). Bring the other side of the husk over the filling as well, so that the sides meet or just barely overlap. (I actually was pretty meticulous and made sure that my dough seamed together on my tamales, but you don't have to be that anal if you don't want to!) Fold long (narrow) end over so that it covers the seam you've just made and makes it a nice little package. Place open side up in a steamer (you want them to all be standing up vertically, packed together). Note: The corn husks are all different sizes—at least mine were. So don't expect your tamales to be totally uniform in size!

Steam for about 40 minutes. The tamales should not be standing in any water, however, MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE REPLENISHING YOUR WATER IN THE BOTTOM REGULARLY. Probably more often than you think you need to! I thought I got to it soon enough, but I ended up MELTING THE BOTTOM OF MY POT! So if you're not using an actual tamale steamer, be sure you're not too far away from the stove!

Serve with sour cream and, if desired, salsa (and/or chili sauce, which is the traditional topping—but remember, I don't like spicy!). This recipe yields somewhere in the vicinity of 2 dozen.

Rice And Beans

2011-06-17T20:48:00.000-07:00

{Picture coming soon!}

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

This spring, I've been trying to incorporate a few meatless meals into our lives for health and budget reasons. So far, this is the only meatless meal (it's not really "vegetarian" since it has chicken stock in it) that my meat-and-potatoes husband approves of. It's a simple dish, but one so packed with flavor that it's hard to stop eating! It would also make a great filler for tacos or stuffed peppers.

1 clove garlic

1 T olive oil

1 cup rice

2 cups chicken stock

3 cups black beans

1/2 cup corn (cooked)

1 bell pepper, chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. chili powder or mexican spice blend (I use a tex-mex blend that has chili powder, cayenne pepper, and other things)

1 T lemon or lime juice

1/2 t dried cilantro

Finely chop garlic. In medium saucepan, sautee garlic in olive oil until garlic is just barely beginning to brown. Add rice and sautee for a minute, then add chicken stock. Allow everything to come to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low (it should be higher than a simmer, but not a full boil). Cook for about 20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed the liquid. Add all other ingredients and cook for another two or three minutes. Serve hot.

Zebra Brownies

2011-06-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

{Picture coming soon}

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Medium (Still easy, but a little more involved than a box of brownie mix)

Cream cheese "zebra" brownies have always been my very favorite kind of brownie. I have been wanting to make some for weeks, and having company for dinner tonight gave me the excuse I needed! I adapted this recipe from a few different recipes, and it turned out perfectly. I may never be able to go back to brownies out of a box again!

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 stick butter plus 2 tablespoons

1 cup cocoa

1 cup sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. vanilla

4 eggs

2 c. white flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric beater until soft. Add vanilla, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 egg and cream together until smooth. Set aside. In medium saucepan on stove, melt butter. Mix in cocoa and stir until combined. Remove from heat and add sugar, salt, vanilla, eggs, flour, and chocolate chips. Stir until combined. Pour into a greased 9x13" pan. Drop spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture over the top of brownie batter and use a knife to swirl the two together. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center is no longer gooey. Enjoy... and try not to eat too many!

Making Chicken Stock From Rotisserie Chicken

2011-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years, I've experimented with making more and more things from scratch... but until recently, I had never made my own chicken stock. I decided about two months ago that that was going to change! Inspired by a method on "Our Best Bites," I used a rotisserie chicken carcass to make some truly delicious chicken stock. I plan on doing this once a month for, oh, the rest of my life! I don't know if I can go back to bullion cubes!

I tweaked the original method a little bit. Here is how I did it:

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken carcass, picked clean of meat (I picked all the meat off and then used it in meals throughout the rest of the week)

1 medium onion

1 potato

A few cloves of garlic, peeled

Fresh ground pepper, coarse

LOTS of coarse salt

Rosemary, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, basil (and really, whatever spices you feel like!)

Water

In large stock pot, place chicken carcass, root vegetables, and seasonings. (Don't skimp on the salt... and plan on adding still more later. I had Mahon periodically taste the stock, and he kept adding a ton!) Fill pot with water until your water depth is about 3 inches over the chicken. Bring to a boil on high heat, then turn to low and cover. Simmer about 3 hours (I tasted mine after about 2 and then added more salt and spices) or until broth is a rich golden color and has lots of flavor. Strain all ingredients through a colander. I got about 20 cups of stock out of this! To store it, I froze it in various containers—one that held about a quart (I later used that big container to make chicken noodle soup) and several pint-sized freezer jam containers. I also filled three ice cube trays with stock, let them freeze, and then transferred the stock cubes to a ziploc freezer bag. Each cube was about 1/8 cup, and they were GREAT for anytime I needed a cup or less of stock—I could just pull out a few cubes and let them melt in whatever I was making!

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-05-25T07:49:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars (Mahon literally just ate this for breakfast!)

Prep time: Easy-medium

My mom taught me to make chicken noodle soup with a can of cream of chicken in it to make it a little bit creamy. Lately I've been making my own chicken gravy (recipe to come soon) instead of cream of chicken soup, so I don't have any on hand anymore. I wanted a way to make my chicken noodle soup still a little creamy, so the other night I did some experimenting. Mahon pronounced this "the best chicken soup" he'd ever eaten, and we both were practically licking our bowls by the end! The tiny hint of chili powder gives it just the barest, most subtle kick and helps round out the flavor beautifully. If you want it less creamy, halve the roux mixture and add a little more broth or water.

5 cups chicken stock (I used homemade—it really made a HUGE difference!)

2 T butter

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

1/4 cup flour

1 1/4 cups milk

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1-2 stalks celery, sliced

1 chicken breast, boiled and chopped

About 1/2 cup small pasta or egg noodles

1/8 t chili powder

Salt and pepper

In medium saucepan, melt butter and sautee onion, pepper, and garlic on medium-high heat until just barely brown (about 2 minutes). Add 1/8 t. chili powder. Add in flour and stir quickly to combine. Cook a minute or two, until mixture is thick and bubbly. Turn heat down to medium, add in milk and stir to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for about three minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly. (Cooking hint: This is called "making a roux", pronounced "roo." A roux, or basic white sauce, is the basis of a lot of recipes!) Add in chicken stock and stir until stock and roux are well-integrated. Turn heat down to medium-low and add carrots, celery, chicken, salt, and pepper. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until carrots are just barely tender. Turn heat back up to medium-high, add pasta, and cook until pasta is done. Serve with bread (we made a version of the 5-minute boule using about 1/2 wheat flour, and it was delicious!). A great rainy day meal!

Strawberry Vinaigrette

2011-05-25T07:32:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Super easy

Someone gave us some beautiful garden spinach the other night, but since we haven't eaten much salad in the past year (it hasn't done well with my stomach issues) we didn't have any dressings on hand. Though Mahon and I are both diehard Ranch dressing fans, we wanted something quick and easy the other night to eat our spinach with. We both also happen to be diehard fruit vinaigrette fans, so I took a few nearly-dead strawberries in our fridge and whipped up this strawberry vinaigrette! It turned out PERFECT, and was so easy to make!

1/4 cup mashed strawberries

Just under 1/3 cup vinegar (we used red wine vinegar because that's what we had; I would imagine it would also be good with white wine vinegar, balsamic, or maybe even apple cider—anything but regular white, probably)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Honey to taste (I probably used a little under a tablespoon)

Mash strawberries with fork until they are well mashed and separated, but not pureed. Add vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix vigorously with a fork until liquids are combined. Add honey a little at a time until the dressing reaches the desired flavor—it shouldn't be sweet, but it shouldn't be take-the-roof-of-your-mouth-off sour, either. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve over any kind of salad—it was to die for on our fresh spinach!

Cream Cheese Won-Tons

2011-05-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4 stars

Prep Time: Easy

The other night while making eggrolls, we had several pasta sheets left over after the eggroll filling was all gone. Rather than stick them back in the fridge, I decided on the spur of the moment to imitate an appetizer we had had at (where else) Panda Express once—cream cheese won-tons. They were very easy, and the cream cheese went surprisingly well with the fried wrapper. We dipped them in soy sauce and the zing of the sauce was a great complement to the mildness of the cream cheese.

Eggroll wrappers cut in fourths (or won-ton wrappers)

Cream cheese

Canola/veggie oil for frying

Scoop a small dollop of cream cheese into the center of each won-ton square. Wet fingertip with water and dab on opposite corners of square. Bring opposite corners together and push to seal. Do the same thing with remaining corners. (Essentially, you're trying to draw all four corners into the center and seal the sides. You'll end up with a neat-looking little package.) Alternatively, if you're using won-ton wrappers, you can wrap them according to the directions on the package.

Fry in oil over medium heat, or when oil pops when water is dropped in, but isn't smoking much. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your choice of dipping sauce.

Chinese Eggrolls

2011-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 lick-your-finger and steal-your-neighbor's plate stars

Prep time: Medium

This recipe is pretty versatile. If you're making it for a large family or group, add more ingredients; if you're making it for just two people, use the given proportions or add less. For Mahon and I, we usually end up with somewhere between 7-10 eggrolls, which is plenty for the two of us (they are big!). Also—as far as I know, Chinese eggrolls are usually made with cabbage, but I don't usually have cabbage on hand so lately I've just been putting spinach in these instead. It's delicious.

1 package egg roll wrappers (the big ones)

1-2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded

2 large handfuls of spinach or about half a head of cabbage (chopped)

1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and grated

1-2 cups mung bean sprouts (probably about a package)—really it just depends on how much you like bean sprouts!

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

Soy sauce

Paprika, if your husband is addicted to it like mine is

Canola or vegetable oil for frying

In large skillet or wok, heat a little olive oil. Add in onions, spinach/cabbage, carrots, and chicken. Season with garlic and paprika (if using). Stir-fry all ingredients on medium-high heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are beginning to be soft and spinach (if using) is wilted. Splash in a few teaspoons of soy sauce. Once the onions and carrots are crisp-tender, add in the bean sprouts and sautee for another minute or so (not long or your bean sprouts will become limp and uninteresting!).

Remove from heat. Fill a smaller skillet with about 1-1 1/2" of canola oil and heat over medium-ish heat, until it pops if you drop water into it, but isn't smoking a ton. While oil is heating, fill eggroll wrappers according to package directions. We've found that we like long, thin eggrolls more than short, fat ones.

Fry eggrolls until evenly golden-brown on both sides. Serve warm, with sweet and sour or soy sauce to dip in. Try not to eat too many!!!

Lemon Cheese/Paneer/Queso Fresco

2011-04-07T07:44:00.000-07:00

So this is my new thing: making cheese. Because I haven't yet invested in things like rennet and cultures, I've been limiting myself to a very simple "lemon cheese" (also called "paneer" in India and "queso fresco" in Mexico). You can also make it with vinegar, if you don't have lemon, though I haven't tried it yet. The cheese is VERY simple and incredibly delicious. Serve this next time you need appetizers for a party and I can assure you, you will wow everyone!

1 quart whole milk

1/4 cup lemon juice (I used the kind from a bottle)

Salt

(Any other desired herbs/spices)

Line a colander with cheesecloth OR loose (clean) cotton. I just used cotton—in fact, I recommend it for this cheese, since it has small curds. If you use cheesecloth, use 2 or 3 layers to make sure the curds don't slip through. If you want to save the whey from your cheese, set the colander inside a bowl so that the bowl will catch the whey when you strain the cheese. (Whey is apparently really healthy and can be used in baking. I don't honestly know much about it, except that every cheese recipe I've seen has talked about saving the whey!)

In double-boiler (if you don't have a double-boiler, find a metal or glass bowl big enough to sit on top of one of your existing saucepans and use that!) heat milk over medium heat, stirring frequently, just until milk begins to have frothy bubbles around the edges and in the middle (DO NOT let it boil). For those with a thermometer, this is really anywhere between 100-180 degrees. As soon as you start seeing these frothy bubbles, remove the top part of your double boiler (pot or bowl, as it may be) and set on a hot pad on the counter. Let it sit for 15 minutes; it will maintain a temperature of over 100 degrees this whole time. Once the 15 minutes is up, pour lemon juice into milk and stir it all up with a spoon. You will start to see the milk thicken and separate almost immediately. Stir for a few minutes until the milk is fully separated—you will see stringy white curds and watery yellow/green whey. Once milk is separated, pour into lined colander. (Because I use cotton and not cheesecloth, I let the cheese sit in the colander for 3-5 minutes so it's not still swimming in whey when I hang it.)

Once most of the whey is strained off, gently draw the corners of your cheesecloth/cotton into the center and tie them together with a string. Hang the string from something in your kitchen (I use a kitchen cabinet knob; I've also seen pictures of people using their sink faucet), with the whey bowl underneath to catch the drips. Let your cheese drain 30-60 minutes, depending on whether or not you want a creamier or a dryer texture. (Using my cotton, I let my cheese drain for 60 minutes and it is perfect—creamy and spreadable, but not quite as creamy as, say, cream cheese.) If you are going for crumbly queso fresco to use in Mexican recipes (it's great on top of refried beans!), let it hang 2 hours.

Once the cheese is done draining, gently untie your bundle and scrape the curds into a bowl. At this point, if you want savory/salty cheese, add salt to taste. (Err on the side of too little, as the salt flavor will get stronger as the crystals dissolve and the cheese cures.) You can also add in any other herbs/spices/flavorings that you'd like to at this point. Once everything is mixed in, take the back of a spoon and press the cheese gently into the bottom of the bowl so that it is one cohesive unit, rather than a lot of loose curds. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours; the cheese is best the next day, after its flavor has had a little time to mature, but about 3 days down the road it loses flavor. For queso fresco, don't press the curds into the bowl - just stir in the salt and let them remain loose and crumbly.

Enjoy! It's SO easy and SO delicious! I also think it tastes a little bit like chevre goat cheese, which I love.

Easy Asian Noodles

2011-02-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

I love Asian noodle dishes, but I've never had good success at replicating authentic Asian-style noodles (which I LOVE!!!). The kind that you can buy packaged up in the grocery store really don't taste anything like the real thing... plus, they are pretty expensive!

I started using packages of ramen noodles in my stir-fry in my early college days as a cheap Asian noodle substitute. I would just boil the noodles without the seasonings, drain, and throw them into the stir fry to be seasoned by whatever sauce I had in the wok. The only problem is that, in my opinion, you can always taste that distinctive "ramen noodle flavor" in your finished dish. I've seen some recipes that use regular spaghetti noodles, which is also fine, but gives your food that Italian semolina flavor.

A few weeks ago, I was making string bean chicken (seriously, one of our new favorites!!!) and didn't have any rice to serve it with, so I pulled out a package of ramen noodles instead. Struck by a bit of inspiration, after I had drained the ramen noodles I put them back into their pot and added in a generous shake of soy sauce. I let them marinate about five minutes, until I was done with the string bean chicken, and then I threw them in the wok and coated them with the string bean teriyaki sauce.

It was amazing! They still don't taste like authentic Chinese noodles, but they also don't taste like ramen. (I would say they're about on the level of what you would get at a Panda Express-type place.) This is definitely the cheapest, yummiest noodle solution I have come up with to date. Now whenever I make a stir-fry with noodles, I let them marinate for about five minutes in soy sauce before adding them into the wok and coating them with my stir fry sauce. It makes a delicious stir-fry, WITHOUT feeling like you're just eating jazzed-up ramen! (Even though, you know, you are.)

Enjoy!

String Bean Chicken

2011-01-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

One of our favorite restaurants is Panda Express. I know, I know... it's neither the healthiest nor the most cultured place to eat, but we love it! Last week we ate there. One of the dishes we had was their String Bean Chicken. As I ate it, I thought—I could make this! So a few days ago, I did. It is not an exact copy of the recipe... it's a little more strongly-flavored. I actually like it better. This recipe makes about 3 generous portions.

2-3 chicken breasts, thawed and marinated with Soy-Citrus Marinade

1 medium onion

1-2 cups green beans (fresh or frozen... NOT canned)

1/4 cup teriyaki sauce

2 t cornstarch

Sesame seeds (about 1 teaspoon)

Grill chicken on hot pan or outdoor grill. (If you choose the former, hopefully you can do it WITHOUT setting off the fire alarm, which is what has happened both times I've used my grilling pan in my new apartment!) When chicken is cooked through, cut into small cubes and set aside. In wok or large skillet, sautee onions in olive oil until tender and lightly browned. Remove from wok and set aside. Put green beans in wok and coat with olive oil. Sautee until beans are beginning to brown. While beans are cooking, toast sesame seeds—you can do this either by sprinkling them onto a cookie sheet and placing it in the oven on broil for 1-2 minutes, or you can sprinkle them on a plate and microwave for 1-2 minutes. When toasted, they'll be a very light brown. Once beans are done cooking, remove from pan (or, if you have a wok, push the beans up on the sides to leave the center clear). In a bowl, combine cornstarch and teriyaki and pour into wok center (this will smoke). Quickly whisk the sauce for a moment; it will start to thicken immediately. Add beans, onions, chicken, and sesame seeds back into wok. Stir everything together for about a minute, until sauce has thickened. Serve over rice or noodles.

Soft Caramels

2011-01-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep Time: Long (but worth it)

I make caramels once a year... when I visit my parents' house. I LOVE soft caramels and literally would eat the entire pan in about two sittings if I made them at home! This is my favorite recipe, honed and perfected over the last several Christmas seasons. It is labor-intensive in that it involves a considerable deal of time hanging out at the stove, but it's not difficult. If you follow the directions exactly, you will get PERFECT caramels every time!

1 3/4 c sugar

1 c firmly packed brown sugar

1 c butter

1/2 c milk

1 1/2 c cream

1 c light corn syrup (3/4 c water, 2 c sugar, 1/4 t cream of tartar - boil and simmer to soft ball stage, yield 1 1/2 c)

1 t vanilla

Dash of salt

Butter 9 x 13 pan, set aside. In large saucepan or cooking pot (you really want a 4-5 quart pot because it will boil very high), combine sugars, corn syrup, butter, and salt and heat on medium. When ingredients are melted, add 1/2 cup cream. Bring to a boil (over medium heat), stirring frequently. Slowly stir in remaining cream and milk without disrupting boil—you want to pour it in a slow drizzle so that your caramel keeps boiling the whole time (it will not be boiling much by the end, though—it will need to heat back up). Bring back to a boil and cook, stirring frequently, until 242 degrees F (or soft ball stage, but for caramels I do recommend a thermometer—they can be pretty picky). Remove from heat, add vanilla, and pour into prepared pan. Do not scrape the sides of your pot—just let the caramel pour into the pan. The stuff on the sides has been cooked at a higher heat than the rest, and if you scrape it into your pan you will end up with chunks of caramel that has gone grainy. (I like to pour out my pot, give it about 10 minutes, and then get a spoon and eat the stuff off the sides!) To speed cooling, put pan in fridge. It takes several hours for your caramels to cool completely. Cut into squares and wrap in buttered wax paper... or, if you're like my family, skip the waxed paper and just eat them straight out of the pan all week!

Wheat Blender Pancakes

2010-12-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

1 cup milk

1 cup wheat kernels

1 1/2 t salt

2 T oil

2 T honey

2 eggs

2 t baking powder

Preheat griddle or pan. In blender, combine milk and wheat kernels and blend on high for 3-5 minutes. Add in other ingredients and blend for another minute or two, this time on low. Pour onto griddle and cook (you want to flip your pancakes when the bubbles get big and the first few start to pop). The end! These are delicious and have a great texture—and they're healthy too!

Heart Attack Mashed Potatoes

2010-12-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Super easy

Too late for Thanksgiving but in time for Christmas, I present you a recipe (sort of) for the best mashed potatoes EVER. These are the kinds that will have you sneaking helpings from the bowl and licking your plate when you're done. My only problem in sharing this recipe is that this is one of those dishes that I don't really USE a recipe for—it's all done "a little of this, a little of that." So I guess you could say it's more of a "method." Either way, it's easy, and you'll never be able to go back to plain-with-butter potatoes again!

Potatoes

Milk

Sour cream

Butter

Cream Cheese

Salt and pepper

Peel, chop and boil potatoes until soft. Add butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and milk (I usually start with about 2 T of the first three ingredients, and 1 T of milk). Using hand beater, whip potatoes until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. If needed, add more sour cream/butter/cream cheese—I think I always have a little more sour cream than anything else, and a little less milk (you don't want potato soup!). Enjoy!

Soft Pretzels

2010-12-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 Delicious Stars

Prep Time: Easy-Medium

Source: Adapted from my friend Sacha

I LOVE soft pretzels. I mean, they are a combination of two of my favorite things: bread and salt. What could go wrong? I even have a favorite soft pretzel vendor... weird, huh! In high school, I used to make soft pretzels all the time, but I fell out of the habit after I went to college. The recipe I used required a long rising time, which isn't difficult, but I'm all about instant gratification—I want snacks that don't take a huge amount of foresight! So when I found a recipe that required NO rising time, I knew I had to try it. This recipe is for non-risen pretzels, but if you would prefer to let yours rise, simply allow to rise 2-2 1/2 hours after kneading dough. With this method, you can skip the boiling water bath and simply brush pretzels with warm water that has baking soda in it, then put them right in the oven.

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 T yeast

1/3 cup brown sugar

4 1/2-5 cups flour (to get a typical mall-type pretzel you will need to use all white, but you can substitute about half wheat if you prefer)

Baking soda

Egg white

Kosher or other coarse salt

Preheat oven to 475 (be sure to do this at the beginning, cause it takes awhile!). Grease cookie sheet. Fill a medium saucepan with at least 3 inches of water and add about 1 tsp. baking soda for each cup of water. (I usually just estimate). Put on stove to boil. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a normal bowl if you're feeling really buff), combine water, yeast, and sugar. Add flour (I usually put in about 4 cups, then let it mix for a minute, then add more if it needs it) and knead until you have a soft, elastic dough that isn't sticky to the touch (if you use half wheat flour, it will be slightly sticky, but not much).

On a clean countertop, pull off small sections of dough (mine are usually about the size of a clementine or a bit smaller) and roll into long snakes—yep, just like you used to do with playdough. For best results, you want your "snakes" to be about half an inch in diameter. Cross ends to form a traditional pretzel shape, and press dough together in the three places that it meets (this will keep it from all falling apart in the boiling water bath). To get that perfect pretzel shape, slip two fingers through the top loops of pretzel and carry it over to the water bath that way. Gently boil for about 30 seconds, then remove and place on cookie sheet. When all of your pretzels are done, brush with beaten egg white (if you don't have an egg you can use a cornstarch wash—1 T warm water to 1 T cornstarch—but it isn't quite as good for this) and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until pretzels are a deep golden brown and no longer doughy on the inside. Let cool a few minutes before trying to get them off the pan—in my experience, they come off better when they're cooler. Before eating, brush warm pretzel with butter (and if you're me, sprinkle MORE salt on it!). Enjoy! This recipe would also make great bagels (just shape your snakes into circles, boil them, and omit the salt on top).

For other pretzel flavors: I like my pretzels as salty as possible, but if you prefer other pretzel flavors, feel free to switch things up! For cinnamon sugar bagels, omit the salt, brush with butter when they're out of the oven, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. For parmesan pretzels, omit the salt and sprinkle with parmesan after doing the egg white wash. You can really do anything you like with these - use your imagination!

Homemade Granola Bars

2010-10-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

(Our granola bars all wrapped up and ready in what has become the official granola bar basket!)

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

Source: My friend Stacy

I've been wanting to do homemade granola bars for months, but just couldn't find a recipe I liked the look of. The one that came most highly recommended used an ENTIRE CAN OF SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK to hold it all together. Now, I like sweetened condensed milk as much as the next person (almost as much as Winnie the Pooh), but let me tell you something about the sticky stuff. It has 22 grams of sugar...per tablespoon. So, for obvious reasons, I opted against that recipe. When I found this granola bar recipe on my friend's blog, I was so excited. I made it for the first time last week, and we're already on our second batch! These make great take-along snacks for class/work/gym/errand-running/whatever. They're also delicious for breakfast. And unlike the sweetened condensed milk recipe, these granola bars only have roughly 10 grams of sugar per bar (if you cut them into 15 squares like I do).

1/4 cup sugar (I prefer brown)

1/4 cup maple syrup (I'd also like to try molasses, since I don't have real maple syrup and my fake stuff isn't very healthy!)

1/4 cup honey

2 T peanut butter

1 egg

1 T milk

1 t vanilla

1 cup wheat flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t cinnamon

1/4 t allspice (I use nutmeg because I have no allspice; it gives my bars a nice autumnal flavor!)

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 1/2 cups rice krispie cereal

1/3 cup chocolate chips (I like to chop mine up a bit so that the chocolate is more evenly distributed.... you could also use mini chocolate chips) - The chocolate is technically optional, but what's a granola bar without a little chocolate?

Anything else you want—dried fruit, nuts, seeds, etc. I typically use a mix of sunflower, pumpkin, and flax seeds.

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, combine first seven ingredients and mix well. In smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and allspice/nutmeg. If you're lazy like me and don't want to use two bowls, here's my cheat: I pour the flour on top of the wet mix in one corner, and then add the soda and spices on top of the flour. I gently mix all the dry things in without incorporating the wet mix, so that the soda and spices are mostly blended through the flour. Then I integrate it all together. Pour dry mix into wet mix and stir to combine. Add oats, cereal, chocolate, and extras. Mix well. Press into greased 9x13 pan and, using a sharp knife, cut into 15 squares. Cook for 18-20 minutes (in my oven it's exactly 18). If your oven is cheap like mine and cooks unevenly, you might want to turn the pan halfway through cooking so that the bars are evenly cooked and not overdone on one side. Granola bars will look light brown and toasted when they're ready. They'll still be very soft while they're hot, so don't take that as a sign that they need more cooking! Let cool completely in pan. Once bars are cool, re-cut along the lines you put in at the beginning and wrap individual bars in plastic wrap. Enjoy! Try not to eat them too quickly....

Whole Wheat Crackers

2010-10-16T12:23:00.001-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

One of my favorite snacks of all time is saltine crackers with cheese and some fruit. I don't usually buy crackers, though—they're cheap, but even cheap things add up, and they're so not good for you! I never seem to be able to justify spending a few dollars on totally empty calories. However, I'm trying to work on having more quick snack-friendly foods in my house, and so I decided to take a shot at making my own crackers. There are tons of basic recipes floating around on the internet. This is the one I used—it's super easy and very customizable. You can add herbs for a savory snack, or honey or sugar for a sweeter cracker. I also want to try adding some parmesan cheese sometime. The options are endless! I put sesame seeds on top of mine, because I love sesame seed crackers, but next time I would add them in the beginning with the flour because they do have a tendency to fall off the dough!

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white unbleached* flour

3/4 t salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3-3/4 cup water

Salt for sprinkling

Other desired herbs or spices

Preheat oven to 350. In medium bowl, mix flours and salt. Mix in oil and water with wooden spoon. I found that after the oil and water were mostly integrated, it was easiest to use my hands to knead the rest of the dough together. Knead for a minute or two; dough should be supple but not sticky or wet to the touch.

Divide into 3 sections. On lightly floured surface, roll dough out as thinly as possible. Transfer to cookie sheet (it sounds difficult, but it was actually pretty easy to pick the dough up and slide it onto a sheet). Repeat with other two balls. If you don't have three cookie sheets, you can do them in batches in the oven. Using a fork, prick a few holes in each cracker.

Using pizza cutter or pastry roller, score or cut crackers (my original recipe said just to score them, but I honestly didn't think it made any difference whatsoever) into desired shapes. I just did squares and rectangles this time, but you could also use a cup to cut round crackers—next time I have to do a snack plate for a party, that's my plan! Sprinkle salt over dough. Bake for 10-15 minutes; when the outside edges of the dough start to turn golden, your crackers are done. The longer they bake, the drier they will be; we thought that the best time was when just the edges were golden, so the crackers in the center were still a little more moist (but crunchy). Let cool. If you scored before baking instead of cutting, break crackers along scored edges. Enjoy! They are delicious with cheese and like I said, this recipe is VERY customizable.

*This recipe is fine for bleached flour too. I always use unbleached because it's typically the same price, contains more of the wheat protein, and doesn't have as many harmful additives.

Chiles Rellenos

2010-10-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

I had this meal this summer in Utah and loved it! I knew Mahon would like it too, so once I got back I made it for him. We've now had it a few times, and I can tell it is one that will become a favorite in our rotation!

Crock pot roast

Mild long green peppers, such as Anaheim or banana (the larger the better)

1 egg

1 T flour

Monterey Jack, Mozarella, or Parmesan cheese

Oil for sauteeing

In crock pot, cook roast according to your crock pot's settings with about 1/4-1/2 cup water and your desired blend of Mexican-esque spices. When roast is well-done and falling apart, shred and set aside. In bowl, combine egg and flour. Wash peppers and slice off tops and bottoms. Slice down the middle to open them, and remove seeds and membranes. Fill peppers with shredded beef and cheese (stuff them as full as possible, but not to the point where the stuff is falling out, or it will make your life harder during the next step). Heat skillet to medium-high and drizzle with oil or butter. With pastry brush, coat outside of peppers with egg mixture. Place in hot pan and fry until egg is cooked and pepper is tender (1-2 minutes). Transfer peppers to baking dish and sprinkle with more cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese starts to brown. Enjoy! We had this tonight for dinner along with roasted chickpeas and apples and let me tell you, we were licking our plates!

Cindy's Fresh Pasta

2010-10-14T20:50:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars... we make it every week or two!

Prep time: Medium-hard (if you have a pasta machine it would be a lot easier)

I love pasta, and I love cooking, so it was only a matter of time before I tried making my own pasta, right? It is a HUGE hit with us—it's become one of our regular meals and we have it every week or two. I almost always serve it with a simplified version of the cream sauce from this recipe. The homemade pasta with that sauce is hearty enough that I usually just serve it with that and veggies on the side. Fresh pasta definitely takes more time and effort than store-bought, but the taste is so unbeatable!!! We make a huge batch and it never lasts more than 2 meals!

5 regular eggs

3 1/2 cups flour (I do at least half whole-wheat, it's so much yummier!)

Dash of salt

Olive oil

Water

In bowl of stand mixer* with dough hook attachment, combine eggs, flour, and salt. Let mix on low speed until everything is integrated. At this point you will start to have a dough ball forming on your hook, but it will be fairly dry/crumbly and there will be a lot of crumbs left in the bottom of the bowl. Slowly drizzle olive oil in until a lot of the crumbs are moistened and integrated into the dough ball (I usually end up with about 2 tsp olive oil). If you don't want olive oil (which enhances the flavor), just use water. Let mix for another moment to get the olive oil worked into the dough. There will still be a few crumbs in the bottom of your bowl and your dough will still be fairly dry. SLOWLY (you don't want much water) drizzle water into bowl ONLY until the rest of the crumbs are moistened and integrated into the dough bowl (it usually works best to drizzle a little water, wait a few minutes, add a bit more, etc.—if you get too much water, your dough will be very sticky and tough to roll out). If you do end up with too much water and sticky dough, add a tablespoon or two extra flour and let it integrate into your dough ball. You are going for a dough that is not at all sticky—it should be sticking together, but fairly dry to the touch. If you don't get this right the first time, don't worry; it took me a few times to figure out the right consistency for the dough.

Once everything is added, allow the dough to knead in your mixer for about 5 minutes. Once it is done kneading, remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest at room temperature for at least 20 minutes (if you skip this step, your pasta won't work). After dough has rested, fill the biggest pot you have with salted water and start bringing it to a boil. On lightly floured surface, roll dough as thin as you can get (if you have a pasta maker, great, use it!). It's tough to get this really thin by hand, especially if you add wheat flour. Ours is usually pretty, um, robust. ;) Using a pizza cutter or pastry wheel, cut pasta into desired shape (because our dough is fairly thick, like I said, I usually try to cut it into very thin strips). Do not let your strands drape over each other, or they will start to stick and mold together. We usually will divide the dough into 2 portions and roll it out on 2 separate surfaces, and just leave the noodles flat until we're ready to put them in the pot. When your water is ready, gently lift your cut noodles (a flat plastic spatula or pastry scraper can be helpful if they are stuck to your rolling surface) and toss into water. They will float to the top fairly quickly, so I find it helpful to stir the pot often to make sure noodles boil evenly. The boiling time will depend on the thickness of your noodles; ours usually take 6-10 minutes. I test the noodles frequently. When they are cooked through to your satisfaction, strain them and add to sauce. We usually put half of the noodles in cream sauce to eat that night and the next day for lunch, and drizzle the rest of the noodles with olive oil (to keep them from sticking to each other) and put in the fridge for a meal in the next few days. Depending on how hungry we are, this recipe usually provides enough pasta for 2 meals (including leftovers). I won't lie, though, when we make this, we eat a ton—it's delicious! It definitely is a more time-intensive meal, but on a day when you can spare a few extra minutes in the kitchen, it is SO worth it. We make this meal as a team—I try to get the pasta dough all put together and resting by the time Mahon gets home from work, then he rolls it out and I cut it.

*If you don't have a mixer: Pour flour out in a mound on a clean countertop. Create a well in the center of flour; add eggs and salt. With your hands, slowly work the flour into the eggs (starting from the inside of the well and working your way outward). Once everything is combined, add a little bit of olive oil and/or water to help dough hold together (without getting sticky). Knead dough for 10 minutes, cover with plastic, and let rest 20 minutes.

Chicken Fajitas

2010-09-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 (million) stars

Prep time: Easy (it is less easy, but yummier, if you pair this meal with fresh Flour Tortillas)

This has been our favorite new meal this summer. We can't get enough of it! It is also extra delicious if you fry up a little yellow squash and add that to the filling.

2 chicken breasts (marinated with Soy-Citrus Marinade)

1 bell pepper

1 medium onion

Olive oil

Heat outdoor grill or stovetop grilling pan (depending on the weather!). In medium skillet, heat about 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat. Chop pepper and onion into large pieces and add to pan. Season with salt, black pepper, and chili powder. Sautee pepper and onion until tender and browned. While pepper and onion are cooking, grill chicken until cooked through and slightly blackened. When chicken is done, remove and slice into thin strips. Fill tortillas with a few pieces of chicken and some of the pepper/onion mixture. Top with desired toppings (i.e. cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc.). Roll up and enjoy!

Soy-Citrus Marinade

2010-09-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy, as long as you remember to thaw the chicken first!

There are a lot of delicious marinades out there that combine soy sauce with fresh citrus. I have always been a fan. But here is a recipe for those of us that don't always have fresh lemons on hand! This makes about enough marinade for 2 large chicken breasts.

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

3 T lemon juice

1 T orange juice concentrate

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t black pepper

Water (if you plan to marinade more than 2 hours)

In plastic bag or suitable container, combine all ingredients and mix. Add thawed chicken breast(s), making sure to coat both sides. Marinade 30 minutes-2 hours (or 12-24 hours if your marinade contains water), turning chicken once or twice. Grill in hot grilling pan or outdoor grill. Enjoy in Chicken Fajitas, stir-fry, or alone!

Jam Tips

2010-09-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

I get asked a lot about my freezer jam recipe. Well, let me tell you—it's easy. I buy the No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell pectin (in the pink box) and use the Quick and Easy Freezer Jam recipes included. Contrary to the label on the box, you do need sugar, but it's a lot less than a typical recipe. The directions are given in minute detail; as long as you follow them to the letter, you will get perfect jam every time! For my last two batches of jam, I also went off the beaten path a little and substituted some mild-flavored clover honey for some of the sugar. (I would have done all, but I didn't want the honey to overpower the fruit. As it is, it adds a nice sweetness and mellow undertone.) In both jam batches I made (strawberry-raspberry, and peach) I put in half the sugar called for. Because honey is slightly sweeter than sugar, I didn't put in quite as much honey as sugar; the general rule of thumb is to replace sugar with honey at a 1 cup to 3/4 cup ratio. So for a jam that called for 3 cups sugar, I did 1 1/2 cups sugar and about 1 1/8 cup honey. For a jam that called for 2 1/2 cups sugar, I did 1 1/4 cups sugar and 1 cup honey. The only other change I made was to decrease the water by 1/4 cup and boil the honey/sugar/pectin/water mixture for 3 minutes instead of 1, to account for the extra moisture in the honey. Both jams ended up with a great taste and a nice firm set. So go out and buy yourself some fruit and No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell! Freezer jam is really one of the easiest recipes around!

There is one other issue with jam... the issue of texture. As any jam maker will tell you, the texture of your jam is very important! The fruit shouldn't be pureed; you should have visible chunks in your jam. (Yum...)

HOWEVER, I personally don't agree with the way that the package tells you to prepare your fruit (berries: mashed, fruit: finely chopped). I like chunks of fruit in my jam, but I also like my jam to have a good amount of spreadability. What I've found works best for me is this—for most fruits, I will take about 3/4 of the fruit called for and put it in my blender on the lowest setting (on mine it is called "grate"). This setting evenly chops your fruit without grinding it too finely. It gives you nice fruit chunks that are not too big, not too small, and fairly even in size. (The exception to this rule is raspberries, which really are by nature pretty mushy and so can be smashed with a masher and come out just fine.) Once the fruit in the blender is all evenly chopped, I put it into a 4-cup glass measure or small bowl. (It may help to process your fruit in smaller batches if your blender is having a hard time with the full 3/4 amount.)

Then I take the last 1/4 of my fruit and put it in the blender on the highest setting. This will finely puree the fruit into a smoothie-like consistency. Once this part is all pureed, I pour it into the glass measure along with the rest of the fruit and mix it up. Now, when I mix this with my pectin/sugar mixture, I'll get a perfectly-textured jam that has lots of fruit chunks but also a very good spreadability! (This method is also good for fruits like plums and peaches that have a lot of hairy fiber in them... it helps separate the fibers so that you don't have stringy jam that is difficult to spread.)

So there you have it... Cindy's Science of Jam Preparation. This may not be the way that works best for you, but as for me and my house, this makes the best jam on earth!

Cindy's Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

2010-09-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Rating: 5 hefty stars!

Source: Me!

It's jam season. Do you know what that means? I want to eat jam. All. The. Time. And, though my awesome 5-minute boule is good for many things, it's not a fabulous bread to have with jam. I like to have a good whole wheat sandwich bread on hand for my jam sessions. The problem? Until this week, I didn't have the "perfect" whole wheat bread recipe—my basic Whole Wheat Sandwich bread took too long and wasn't amenable to storing (which means no fresh bread every morning!), and my 100% Whole Wheat sandwich bread had too many ingredients and wasn't quite what I was looking for anyway.

Enter my decision to try to make my OWN 5-minute bread stored dough recipe! I've spent enough time reading and making the recipes from "Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes A Day" that I figured I had a pretty good handle on what elements were essential to the stored dough process. Accordingly, I took my beloved Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread and tweaked it until I ended up with what is, in my opinion, the BEST jam-friendly bread EVER! So here, for your culinary pleasure, is my very own bread recipe.

Cindy's 5-Minute Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 T yeast

1 generous T salt

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/4-2 1/2 cups white flour

Cornstarch

Warm water

Oatmeal, seeds, any desired toppings

In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine water, yeast, and salt. Add oil and honey and mix a little bit. Add in flour (holding back the last 1/4 cup to make sure your dough is not too dry) and mix ingredients together. Dough should NOT form a ball, and should still be fairly sticky, but you want it to be oozy, not runny! If needed, add more flour. Transfer into a 5-quart plastic container (or a metal bowl lined with wax paper/freezer paper/plastic wrap). Obviously, if you have a mixing bowl that is at least 5 quarts and plastic, you can do this all in one bowl! Cover with something that is not airtight (but DON'T use a towel, or the dough will stick to it... trust me!) and let rise for 2 hours on a draft-free countertop. At the end of the 2 hours, you can shape a loaf or store in the fridge. When you are ready to shape a loaf: Grease loaf pan. Sprinkle flour liberally on top of dough, and get plenty of flour on your hands. Remove a section of dough about the size of a canteloupe. Work into a loose ball (dough will not hold shape very well; that's okay). Set in bread pan. Turn oven to 375 degrees. While oven is heating, let dough rest for about 40 minutes if it has been refrigerated (if it hasn't been it doesn't really need any resting time at all). Just before baking, combine about 1 t. water with 1/2 t. cornstarch. Brush over top of loaf. Sprinkle with desired toppings (oatmeal, seeds, nuts, whatever you feel like—my favorite combination right now is flax & poppy seeds.) With serrated knife, slash loaf three times diagonally across the top. Place on top rack in oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until the top of the loaf is a deep brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool on a rack. Enjoy with butter and your homemade freezer jam! Now pardon me, I have to go ~~eat the rest of the loaf~~ clean my kitchen.

Yield: I like to use medium-sized loaf pans, which take a fair bit of dough. I estimate that this amount of dough will probably make 2 medium loaves and 1 small loaf, depending on how much dough you use. The recipe can easily be doubled if you have a big enough container (10 quarts or more).

Extra healthy tip: I have also made this bread recipe using nearly all wheat flour (5 1/2 cups wheat, 1/2-1 cup white) and it works great, especially if I give the dough a little extra resting time before baking it.

5 Minute Bread, Two Ways

2010-07-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 million bajillion stars

Prep time: So easy you won't believe you're making bread

I have had the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day technique bookmarked to try for several months. Two or three weeks ago, I finally tried it... and now, the only thing I can't figure out is why I didn't start making bread this way sooner! Not only are these recipes the easiest bread recipes I've ever tried, but they are also THE MOST DELICIOUS. And the best part about this technique is that you can have fresh bread every single day! For more recipes from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book, see this article. Though I do recommend the book... it has TONS of different quick recipes!

AN IMPORTANT TIP: I learned from this method that the proper way to store a crusty bread is NOT in a plastic bag. The best way to store crusty bread, it turns out, is to simply place it on the cutting board with the cut side down. I was a little skeptical of this idea at first, but it works GREAT.

One other thing—you may be tempted to brush the top of the boule with egg white/oil/something else, like you do in many bread recipes to create a better crust. I did that for awhile, but once I stopped doing it I realized how utterly stupid that was. Trust this bread: it will make you the tastiest, chewiest, yummiest crust you've ever tasted, no help needed.

Basic Loaf (French Boule)

3 cups warm water

1 1/2 T yeast

1 1/2 T salt*

6 1/2 cups flour (I like to use 5 1/2 cups white, 1 cup wheat)

(It's important to use unbleached all-purpose white flour for this, rather than bleached flour. Unbleached flour—besides being generally healthier for you—is higher in protein, which helps this recipe work.)

In a large (5 quart) container that is NOT metal, mix together all ingredients with a wooden spoon. (I don't have a bowl that is big enough and not metal, so I usually mix up my dough in a smaller plastic bowl and then pour it into my largest metal bowl, lined with freezer paper. It is kind of a pain, but it has worked fine so far.) That's all you have to do: mix gently until all the ingredients are combined and evenly moist. Then stick your spoon in the sink, cover your bowl with something breathable (I typically do plastic wrap or tin foil, and I punch holes in the top of the covering—I tried a towel at first but my dough rose so high it stuck to the towel and that was a pain to clean off!) and let sit in a draft-free place for 2 1/2 hours. After that time, you can work with the dough; however, it IS easier if it's been refrigerated for awhile (less sticky). I usually mix up my dough in the afternoon, stick it in the fridge, and it's ready by morning. When you're ready to shape a loaf: If you're lucky enough to have a pizza stone and pizza peel, then sprinkle some cornmeal on your pizza peel; if not, you can be like me, and pull out oa piece of parchment paper to use instead. To shape the loaf, pull out a grapefruit-sized portion of the dough (or however big you prefer) and gently stretch the "corners" of the dough under, until you have a nice little ball. Plop your ball on the pizza peel/parchment paper, and use a serrated knife to slash the top of the loaf in whatever pattern you desire (I like to do my slashes only in one direction, which makes the loaf come out slightly more oval-shaped and better for slicing). If your dough is very sticky you may need to lightly brush it with flour before slashing. Allow your dough to rise for about 30 minutes. 20 minutes before you are ready to put it in the oven, turn your oven on to 400 degrees. On the top rack of the oven, place your pizza stone (or, if you are like me, your cookie sheet). On the bottom rack, place a boiler pan (in my world, that is an old 9x13 cake pan). Once the oven is fully heated, slide your risen loaf from the pizza peel to pizza stone (or simply lift the parchment paper and place it on the cookie sheet) and add about two cups of hot water to the boiler pan. Close the over door, allow to bake about 40 minutes, and voila! You have officially produced THE MOST AMAZING BREAD EVER TASTED. And tomorrow after you've eaten every last crumb, you will still have dough in your fridge to make another loaf. Note: this is definitely a savory bread, the kind that is great for soups, sandwiches, or eating plain with butter. I've heard a few people describe it as "too salty"—it's not really salty, but the high salt content makes it a savory bread rather than a sweet bread. For a sweeter bread to put jam on, decrease the salt or use the recipe below.

100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

1 1⁄2 tbsp granulated yeast (1 1⁄2 packets)
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
5 tbsp neutral-flavored oil, plus more for greasing the pan
1 1⁄2 cups lukewarm milk
1 1⁄2 cups lukewarm water
6 2⁄3 cups whole wheat flour

(Tip: I tried to mix this one up with a wooden spoon and my arm almost fell off. Use a mixer with a dough attachment—but only use the lowest speed, or else it will knead your bread, which you don't want.) In mixer with dough hook, mix together water, yeast, salt, honey, milk, and oil. Add in flour and mix until combined and moist. Allow to rise 2-3 hours until your dough has risen and collapsed or flattened on top. At this point your dough is ready to work with, though (again) it's easier once it's been refrigerated. When you're ready to make a loaf: Spray medium-sized loaf pan with cooking spray. Pull off a large section of dough (about the size of your fists together, or the size of a very small canteloupe) and shape it by gently stretching the "corners" of the dough under, until you have a nice little ball. Place in loaf pan (you want the pan to be a little more than half-full). Slash the top of the loaf with a serrated knife and allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes. About 5 minutes before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350, with a boiler pan (aka old cake pan) on the bottom rack. When the oven is preheated, place your loaf pan on the top rack and put 2 cups of hot water in boiler pan. Bake for 50 60 minutes, until deep brown. This is GREAT with butter and homemade jam!

Now go try these recipes... your life will never be the same!

Old-Fashioned Whole Wheat Bread

2010-07-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Not hard, but time-consuming

This is soft-crusted wheat sandwich bread like your mom/grandma/Relief Society president used to make. Although I've lately gone to using the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day method, I still have a soft spot in my heart for this recipe.

3 cups warm water

1 T yeast

1 T salt

Generous 1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup honey

Approximately 8 cups flour (I typically do about 6 wheat, 2 white—my store-bought wheat is too coarse to use 100% whole wheat and get a proper raise)

Sunflower seeds, rolled oats, flax seeds, poppy seeds or any combination of preferred grains & seeds (optional)

Egg white (if you use seeds)

Preheat oven to 350. In mixer with dough hook attachment, combine water and yeast. Add 3 cups wheat flour, salt, oil, and honey, and mix on low speed until combined. If desired, add a small handful of sunflower seeds to dough at this point. Slowly add in the rest of flour until your dough is no longer sticky and forms a ball on the dough hook, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. (A note on breadmaking: the flour measurement is NOT an exact science. Depending on the temperature, humidity, and other factors, you may need more or less flour. Once your dough ball is pulling away from the sides of the bowl and you can touch the dough without getting it all over your finger, then you have added enough flour.) Turn to a higher speed and let the mixer knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes. Remove dough from hook and form into a ball; spray with cooking oil (making sure to coat all sides) and let rest in bowl, covered, for about an hour or until doubled in size. Divide dough into 3 portions. Roll each portion flat with a rolling pin to remove air bubbles, then shape into a loaf (you do this by rolling your flat rectangle up into an oval and patting the ends together). Place loaf in sprayed loaf pan, cover, and allow to rise for another hour or until doubled in size. If desired, brush loaf with beaten egg white and sprinkle toppings over loaf—I use a mixture of ground rolled oats, ground flax seed, and poppy seeds. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 30 minutes, or until loaf is rich brown.

Strawberry Lemonade

2010-06-28T19:08:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars!

Prep time: Easy

It's that time of summer when I find myself craving cold, fruity drinks all day long. Tonight I came up with this delicious creation to assuage that thirst, and it was perfect! I will definitely be making it again. Also, if I've calculated it correctly, it's only got a little over 7 grams of sugar per cup. Then again, I never said I was good at math....

1 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup finely chopped or pureed strawberries (I used frozen strawberries and just put them in the blender while still frozen to chop them up)

1/2 cup lemon juice

5 cups water

In small saucepan, combine sugar, water, and strawberries. Heat until boiling; reduce heat and simmer for three or four minutes. Cover and let stand in refrigerator for about 15 minutes. In pitcher, combine water and lemon juice. Add strawberry syrup and stir; serve over ice (if you serve the lemonade right away, it will still be warm from the syrup, so don't skimp on the ice!). Enjoy. I also would love to try this with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc... the options are endless!

Chicken Parmesan

2010-06-28T19:02:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

Uncooked chicken breasts, cubed

Bread crumbs

Italian seasoning

Olive oil

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in skillet. Mix breadcrumbs (about 1/3 cup) with about 1 T italian seasoning. Toss chicken breasts with breadcrumbs and fry in skillet until lightly browned on each side. Transfer browned chicken into casserole dish; cover with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with parmesan cheese; bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with tomato sauce, or if you discover you have no tomato sauce halfway through cooking your meal (like I did), with lemon dressing (mince one clove garlic and add to 2 T olive oil; heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes; stir in 2 T lemon juice). Serve over pasta; top with parmesan cheese.

Flour Tortillas

2010-06-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Medium... at least compared to the tortillas you pull out of a bag!

Growing up, I LOVED it when my mom made fresh flour tortillas. Fresh flour (I can't believe I initially spelled that "flower"! yikes!) tortillas + crock-pot cooked pinto beans was my idea of heaven. These tortillas have so much more flavor than tortillas from a bag! Now, we make them once every week or two. In this particular picture I used 1/2 wheat 1/2 white flour, but I sometimes do all white flour—they are both good in different ways.

4 cups flour

2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking powder (err on the side of too little or you will end up with puffy flatbread instead of tortillas)

1/2 cup shortening or butter

1 1/4-1 1/2 cups hot water

Heat pan or griddle to about 325 (do not grease). In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking powder. With pastry blender, cut in shortening or butter (tip: if you are using refrigerated butter, slice before adding to flour mixture for easier blending). When shortening/butter is mostly blended, add water gradually (I usually start with 1 cup, mix, and then add the water about 1/4 cup at a time after that) until dough is moist and holds together without being sticky. Knead with hands for a minute, then divide into balls a little bigger than a golf ball. On VERY VERY lightly floured surface, roll balls as flat as possible and transfer immediately to hot griddle or pan (otherwise they will puff up). Cook a few minutes on each side, until tortilla is just beginning to have golden-brown spots but still flexible. Fill with your normal taco filling.

Six (or five!)-seed Soda Bread

2010-06-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars for heartiness and great for soup!

Prep time: Easy

Source: 101 Cookbooks

This, paired with Panera soup, was my lunch today. It's definitely denser and heartier than a yeast-risen bread, but oh my goodness, was it good!!! It was absolutely divine paired with the broccoli cheese soup. I might never be able to serve the two dishes apart again! Not to mention, it was so EASY and so GORGEOUS!

2 1/2 tablespoons each sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, and flax seeds (I actually had all of these on hand)

1 t. fennel seeds (I didn't have these, so I just left them out—you really can customize this seed list to be whatever you prefer, or have on hand, though I thought the 5 I used were perfect)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups spelt or wheat flour (for those of us who don't have spelt flour on hand!)

2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

1 3/4 cup buttermilk, plus a little more for brushing (I didn't have buttermilk so I used a buttermilk substitute, 1 cup milk to 1 T lemon juice)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees (really, let it preheat all the way before you start making the dough—the dough makes up very fast and you want your oven to be all the way hot when it goes in). Place a rack in the center of the oven. Mix all seeds together in a bowl; set aside.

In larger bowl, combine flours, baking soda, and salt. Mix in all but 2 tablespoons of seeds. Create a well in the center of flour mixture and pour in 1 3/4 cup buttermilk (or substitute). Mix until just combined (but not too sticky), then turn onto a lightly-floured surface and knead about one minute (add a little flour at this point if necessary) or until mixture makes a nice bread dough. You don't want to knead too long, as the bread should go into the oven ASAP. Lightly flour a cookie sheet OR line with parchment paper. Shape dough into a round loaf and place on cookie sheet; with serrated knife, mark deep X in top of loaf. Brush with remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with remaining seeds. (Next time, I'd mix some egg yolk in with the buttermilk as some of the seeds fell off after baking—although I'm actually pleasantly surprised by how well the buttermilk did hold them on.) Bake for 35-40 minutes or until bread is a rich golden brown. Enjoy! Yields one loaf.

Fresh Strawberry Tarts/Pie

2010-06-04T21:28:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy-medium

My mom always makes fresh strawberry pie in the spring, when NC strawberries are abundant, delicious, and cheap. I was just dying for some strawberry pie this spring, but we just didn't have enough in the budget for the 4 pounds of strawberries it would take—plus, two people don't exactly need a whole pie to themselves. Instead, we created these darling strawberry tarts. I won't tell you how many of these we've eaten in the past week....

For those more interested in the pie, I've put the pie measurements in parentheses. The tart recipe is intended to yield one dozen tarts, but it totally depends on how thinly you roll your pie crust—the first time I didn't roll it out very thinly, and we only ended up with 7 or 8 tarts.

1 9-inch pie crust (I used this recipe)

1/2 cup mashed or pureed strawberries (1 cup)

1/2 cup sugar (1 cup)

1 1/2 t. cornstarch (1 T)

1/4 cup water (1/2 cup)

1 oz cream cheese (3 oz)

1/4-1/3 t. sugar (1 t.)

1/2 T milk (1-2 T)

1 lb chopped strawberries (app. 4 lb strawberries, whole), less the amount you used for the puree

Whipped cream (I definitely recommend using real, freshly-whipped cream! Then again, I recommend that for just about anything) for topping

For tarts: Heat oven to 375. Roll pie crust as thin as possible (really, as thin as you can get it without it falling apart on you). Punch circles in pie crust with the biggest cup or other circle you can find—we used a 32oz hospital mug, which I think is about 5 inches in diameter. Gently stretch circles with your fingers, and place into cups of muffin tin. The edges of the crust should be at least as tall as or taller than the edges of your muffin tin. Prick crust with fork (including sides) and bake for 8-12 minutes or until very lightly golden. Once crusts are done baking, gently remove from muffin tins and let cool on a plate. While crusts are baking, mix sugar and cornstarch together. Fold in pureed strawberries and combine. Add water; heat until mixture has boiled for 1 minute (on the stove or in the microwave, either works—if you heat it on the stove, be sure to stir regularly). Let cool. Combine cream cheese, sugar, and milk. Once crusts are cooled, spoon a dollop of the cream cheese mixture into the bottom of each crust. Spoon a few of the chopped strawberries into crust (don't overdo it—these will fill up fast!), using the spoon to pack them in if necessary. Gently spoon or pour glaze over the strawberries. Top with another layer of chopped strawberries. Add a dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy! They can be eaten right away (and trust me, we did), but the next-day leftovers are even better.

For pie: Heat oven to 375. Roll out pie crust and place in pie dish. Prick bottom and sides with fork and bake for 8 minutes (or until done). While crust is cooking, mix sugar and cornstarch. Fold in pureed strawberries and combine. Add water; heat until mixture has boiled for 1 minute. Let cool. Combine cream cheese, sugar, and milk. Spread over bottom of (cooled) pie crust (if you don't let it cool a little, it will melt the cream cheese... ask me how I know!). Spread one layer of strawberries, sliced in half, over bottom of pie (cut sides up). Layer glaze over strawberries. Continue to layer cut strawberries and glaze until pie crust is full; top with whole berries. Serve with whipped cream.

Garlic-Herb Focaccia Bread

2010-05-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Super easy

I love focaccia bread, and actually used to make it pretty frequently before I got married. The recipe I used then was an authentic Italian focaccia recipe, and it was yummy, but it took about 4 hours to make and dried out after about a day. A few months ago, I realized there was no reason I couldn't use my all-purpose dough to make a light and fluffy—and much faster to make—focaccia. The other night I put the idea to the test, and it was delicious—including the leftovers! I will definitely be repeating this. It's also a pretty healthy snack, since it's loaded with healthy oils and spices.

1 batch pizza/breadstick dough

1 clove garlic, finely minced

Olive oil

Rosemary, oregano, and basil

Grated parmesan

Coarse sea salt

Heat oven to 425. Grease cookie sheet. Make up one batch of pizza/breadstick dough according to recipe—you are aiming for a pretty soft dough here, so go easy on the flour. Knead minced garlic into bread dough. Coat dough with oil and let rise, covered, for about 15 minutes. Gently work dough onto greased cookie sheet, spreading evenly but not too thinly. Cover and let rise for another 20-30 minutes. Brush top of bread with olive oil; with fingers, press dimples into bread every 3-4 inches. Top with sea salt, rosemary, oregano, basil, and grated parmesan. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. (Note: the second time I made this, I cooked it on the second oven rack instead of the highest rack out of necessity. It actually ended up making a FABULOUS crunchy artisan bottom crust... I think I will do it on that rack from now on!) Let cool for a few minutes; cut into squares and enjoy!

Roasted Chickpeas

2010-05-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Super easy (though the cooking process takes about 20-30 minutes)

I am always looking for healthy snacks that are high in protein and... oh yeah... taste good too. I found these roasted chickpeas on a few blos, and tried them this week—oh man, are they good!!! I told Mahon, "They taste like they shouldn't be healthy..." but they are. So indulge yourself! They are such an awesome combination of crunchy outside and creamy inside.

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (you can use a can; I personally get the dried beans and cook them)

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

A generous sprinkle of your favorite seasonings

Preheat oven to 425-450 (if your chickpeas are very soft, the higher setting will work better). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a bowl, toss the chickpeas, olive oil, and seasonings together (I've been using my Creole seasoning again and LOVING it on these, but I plan to try different things as well—I have even seen some done with cinnamon sugar!). Spread coated chickpeas onto pan, making sure that they are not on top of each other. Bake for 15-30 minutes, depending on how hot your oven gets and how crunchy you want them, stirring occasionally. I usually will put them in for 10-15 minutes, stir them, and then check them in 5 minute increments after that so that they don't burn. I take them out when they no longer feel soft and squishy to the touch, and when my "test chickpea" tastes a bit crunchy on the outside.

Green Smoothies

2010-05-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars—even my super picky sister likes these

Prep time: Easy

This is not so much a recipe as a method. Really, you can use any combination of greens/fruits that suits your fancy; you can also add sugar (although that would totally kill the nutrition factor), honey, agave, or another sweetener if you so desire. For me, the 100% OJ concentrate, plus the banana, sweetens it up just fine. This is the smoothie that I make every morning; it yields 4 cups.

Here are the steps:

1. Fill blender with 1 1/2 cups warm water

2. Add fresh greens in until blender is almost all the way full (but not packed)—I alternate using baby spinach and spring mix salad right now

3. Peel and chop one medium carrot; put chopped carrot on top of greens

4. Pulse in blender until carrots are somewhat chopped up; then allow to blend on highest setting for 1-2 minutes, or until you can't see anymore leafy bits and it's all liquified. (My blender is really enthusiastic and tends to throw stuff up onto the sides while it's blending, which leaves me with a lot of carrots and spinach chunks... not what I want to be eating with my smoothie! While the blender is going, I'll usually take a spoon and scrape down the sides so that all the chunks get integrated.)

5. Turn the blender off. Add in 1/2 banana (fresh or frozen), 1-2 Tbsp 100% orange juice concentrate, a handful of frozen strawberries (I probably do about 6-8 strawberries), and some frozen blueberries (I probably do about 1/4-1/3 cup blueberries). Pulse blender again to get the big chunks broken up, then blend on highest setting for another minute until smooth. If the smoothie gets too thick to blend, add in another tablespoon or two of hot water, stir it up, and blend it again. When it's done, I usually taste it to see if it needs something else—more OJ, fruit, etc.

Like I said, this can be done with any combination of fruit. I use the berries and banana because they are a) cheap and b) very flavorful, and make a great balance to the spinach. I know my mom sometimes puts apples in hers, but apples are a precious resource in our house and aren't getting wasted on any old smoothie! When peaches & pears are in season, though, I plan to add some of those in as well.

One last note—I do my grocery shopping every 2 weeks, which means it's hard to keep all the fresh stuff fresh. At the beginning of my grocery period, I will pull out some of my fresh spinach and put it into ziploc bags to freeze for the end of the grocery period, when the spinach tends to get wilty. Also, I will usually get about 7 bananas, enough for 2 weeks worth of smoothies. For the first week, I'll use half of a fresh banana every day, and freeze the other half... then when the second week rolls around (when the bananas would be brown), I use the frozen halves.

Lemon Cream Pasta with Rosemary Grilled Chicken

2010-05-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep Time: Easy (and fast!)

Source: YourHomebasedMom.com

Man, this pasta dish is good! The original name is actually—I kid you not—"Really Good Noodles & Chicken," but I wanted to call it something that actually describes what's in it. This cooks in about the amount of time that it takes to boil your spaghetti! The original recipe also has tomatoes and bacon in it, but we didn't have any. I also adapted this to be cooked entirely by stovetop, since we have NOT been having grilling weather!

8 oz spaghetti

1/2 cup cream

2 T butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 T lemon juice (or the juice of one lemon)

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

3 chicken breasts, thawed and patted dry

Olive oil

Rosemary

A little more lemon juice

Boil salted water for pasta. On another burner, heat (empty) skillet over medium-high heat. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with olive oil. On one side, sprinkle black pepper, salt, and dried rosemary. When skillet is hot (really hot—it will start smoking slightly), place chicken breasts in pan. (I recommend covering them with a lid as well unless you want to set off your fire alarm.) Cook about 5-7 minutes or until very brown; flip breasts over with tongs and cook 5-7 minutes on other side. Once chicken is thoroughly grilled, remove from pan onto cutting board. Lightly pour lemon juice over hot chicken breast; slice into long strips and tent with foil until ready to use.

Once pasta is almost done, melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; cook for a few minutes until lightly browned and softened. Add cream, salt and pepper. Cook for another minute or two until bubbly. Add in pasta and parmesan cheese. Serve, topped with chicken and more parmesan cheese (and bacon and tomatoes if you so desire).

Tres Leche Cake

2010-05-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 amazing stars

Prep time: Medium

Source: The Pioneer Woman (slightly altered by me)

We will be serving this at birthdays, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, and every other place we can think of for the rest of our lives. Period.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

5 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 t. vanilla

1/3 cup milk

1 cup evaporated milk

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 pint heavy cream (I just used what was rest after subtracting that 1/4, and it was plenty)

1 1/2 T sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees; spray 9x13 cake pan. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Separate eggs. Beat egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar on high speed, until yolks are thick and pale yellow. Stir in milk and vanilla. Pour yolk mixture over flour mixture and stir very gently until combined.

Beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Continue to mix while pouring in remaning 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until egg whites are stiff but not dry. Fold egg white mixture into batter very gently until just combined. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean. (The original recipe says to bake 35 minutes minimum, but I did that and my edges were definitely overcooked. Next time I would start checking at 25 minutes.) Turn cake out onto a rimmed platter (or, if you are ghetto like me, a rimmed cookie sheet!) and allow to cool completely. The cake will not be as thick as a normal cake—this freaked me out at first, but once it was iced with lots of whipped cream, I decided it was actually a good cake-to-whipped-cream ratio. However, if I wanted to serve more than 12 people, I would probably do 1.5 times this recipe to make a thicker cake.

When cake is cool, combine sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and 1/4 cup heavy cream. Pierce surface of cake with fork several times. Slowly drizzle ALL of the liquid onto the cake—I stopped too soon last time, and the middle of my cake was too dry. This cake can hold a LOT more liquid than you think it can! Next time I will saturate the cake in installments... drizzle some liquid, wait 10 minutes, do some more, wait 10 minutes, etc. That way it can all soak in. (Note: the Pioneer Woman's recipe says to discard 1 cup of the liquid, but that offends my miserly sensibilities, so I just subtracted 1 cup of the liquid to begin with.) Cover cake with plastic wrap and chill until you are almost ready to serve it (at least 30 minutes). Don't ice it until you're ready to serve it—that way the cake won't absorb the whipped cream frosting.

To ice the cake, place remaining whipping cream in mixer with 1.5 T sugar and beat on high speed until very thick and fluffy. Spread generously over top and sides of cake. Top cake with maraschino cherries (a la the Pioneer Woman) or chopped strawberries (our preference!). Try not to eat the whole thing! This cake yielded 12 slices for us.

Southwest Eggrolls

2010-05-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Medium

These Southwest Eggrolls are a lot like the ones you get from Chili's.

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 large bell pepper, chopped

1 can (or equivalent) black beans

1 can (or equivalent) corn

2 large chicken breasts, boiled and cubed

1 generous handful fresh baby spinach (or 1/2 package frozen)

1 package won ton wrappers OR soft taco size flour tortillas (if you do tortillas, you will need toothpicks as well)

Spices (see below)

Vegetable oil for frying

In a large skillet (and I really do mean large!), sautee onions and peppers in butter until lightly browned and tender. Add beans, corn, chicken, and spinach. Season to tase—I use Emeril's seasoning blend, which according to this recipe has paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano, and thyme. Cook on medium-high heat until all ingredients are hot and spinach (if fresh) is moist and wilted. Remove mix from heat. In skillet (I usually empty the filling into a bowl, rinse the skillet, and reuse it) heat vegetable oil with your stove set to just above medium heat. You want enough oil so that it will cover at least 1/2 of your wrapped eggrolls. (Oil will pop a lot when it is ready to use.) While oil is heating, fill won ton wrappers or tortillas with filling. Won ton package will tell you how to seal the wrappers; if you are filling tortillas instead, use toothpicks to keep them closed. Once oil is hot, place sealed eggrolls in skillet. Fry until lightly browned on each side; remove with tongs and let drain on a plate covered with a paper towel.

Serve hot. For a dip, mix equal parts Ranch dressing and salsa. Enjoy—these are seriously addicting!

Chicken Pillows

2010-03-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

6 oz. cream cheese

2 T butter

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

2-4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

2 packages crescent rolls

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 can milk

Soften butter and cream cheese. Mix in salt, pepper, and chicken. Press two unrolled crescent rolls together to make a square; spoon filling into center and fold corners together to make a pillow. Cook at 375 for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve over rice. For gravy: heat chicken soup and milk over medium heat until warm and blended.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup Like Panera

2010-03-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

I love the broccoli cheddar soup from Panera bread. I found a copycat recipe on the internet, and made a few alterations. Now I like it just as much as Panera's!

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 small onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk

2 cups chicken stock or bouillion

1/2 lb. fresh broccoli

1 cup carrots, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups grated sharp cheddar

Saute onion and garlic in butter. Set aside. Melt butter over medium heat; add flour and mix well. Cook until bubbly. Slowly add milk, continuing to stir. Add chicken stock, salt & pepper, broccoli, carrots, onions and garlic. Cook over low heat until the veggies are tender (about 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add cheese, and stir until fully melted. If desired, add small shake of nutmeg before serving.

Alfredo Pasta

2010-03-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars

Prep time: Easy

8 oz. Fettucine or Penne pasta

3 T butter

1 T flour

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. black pepper

1 c. whole milk

2 oz cream cheese

1/3 c. fresh grated Parmesan

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring continually. Cook until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and stir constantly, until the cheeses melt. (An additional 1/4 c. milk may be added if needed.) Add sauce to prepared noodles and serve garnished with parmesan cheese. Makes 2 generous servings.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins (Sugar-free)

2010-02-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep time: Very easy

I use no-sugar-added applesauce and whole wheat flour in these delicious muffins. The natural sugar and the high fiber content make this my current favorite snack - they seem to have almost no impact on my blood sugar. Awesome!

1/2 c. white flour*
1/2 c. wheat flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. rolled oats
3 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda
1 egg
1/3 c. milk
Just under 1/4 c. oil

1/4 c. honey
2/3 c. applesauce

Preheat oven to 350, spray pans with cooking spray. In medium-sized bowl beat egg, then add oil, honey, and milk; stir in applesauce. Add dry ingredients; stir until just barely combined.

Bake for 15-20 min. Yield: one dozen muffins.

*I tried these with a whole cup of wheat flour, but they ended up just too dry, so I usually do half-and-half.

World's Best Hot Chocolate

2010-02-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep time: Medium (as far as hot chocolate goes)

Trust me, after a few batches of this, you won't be able to go back to Swiss Miss!

2/3 cup sugar*

1/3 cup Hershey's unsweetened cocoa

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

5 1/2 cup milk

1 (12 ounce) can of evaporated milk or 1 1/2 cups cream

1 Tablespoon vanilla

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, and salt; add water. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture boils. Boil and stir 2 minutes. Stir in milk and evaporated milk (or cream) and heat. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Makes 8 cups.

*The original recipe calls for a full cup of sugar, but I have never actually made it with that much. It is VERY overly sweet to me. I use 2/3 cups, which (oddly enough) doesn't make the cocoa taste darker, just brings out the chocolate flavor a little more and makes it healthier.

Tuscan Chicken Pasta

2010-02-10T17:53:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep time: Very, very easy!

Recipe adapted from this blog.

6 Tbs. olive oil
1 clove garlic (or 1/8 tsp garlic powder)

2-4 chicken breasts (depending on size - the ones I get are big so I usually only use 1-2)
Salt and pepper
1 lb. penne pasta
Baby spinach (I usually use about half of a big bag)
1-2 T lemon juice (or juice from 1-2 lemons)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Bring water to boil in large pot. Meanwhile, combine garlic and oil in bowl and microwave 1 minute.

Transfer 1 Tbs. oil from bowl with garlic mixture to large skillet. Add chicken breasts and season with salt and pepper. Cover (unless you want to get spattered with oil!) and cook on medium-high heat until each side is browned; reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 more minutes. (I use frozen chicken - if you use fresh chicken, you won't have to cook as long.)

Add salt and pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and transfer to large bowl. Cube chicken and add to pasta, along with spinach, remaining oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy

I also like to add things to this meal - it is DELICIOUS with peas fresh from the garden! I think sometime I'd like to try garbanzo beans as well.

World's Creamiest Macaroni & Cheese

2010-01-21T13:59:00.001-08:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Easy

Way back when I was nine or ten years old, I learned to make a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe from an old microwave cookbook my mom had. This was the first dinner I ever learned how to cook, and it has always been a favorite. Since I got married, I've been playing around with macaroni and cheese recipes and I think I've finally hit on the perfect one! This recipe is super creamy, flavorful, and even makes great leftovers. I always say that this is what macaroni and cheese wants to be when it grows up. The recipe I use now is sort of adapted from both the original microwave cookbook recipe and Ina Garten's mac & cheese recipe, but the final product doesn't bear a lot of resemblance to either. I can promise, though, it is DELICIOUS!

World's Creamiest Mac & Cheese

3/4 lb-1 lb elbow macaroni (or whatever smallish pasta you like—I love using shells, wagon wheels, and other fancy noodles). 3/4 lb makes for a cheesier, creamier dish, while a full pound makes more servings.
4 cups milk
4 T butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups grated fresh parmesan cheese (pre-grated parmesan won't add enough flavor). If you don't have parmesan, just add an additional 2 cups of cheddar... but it's not gonna be as good!
1/8 t pepper
1 t salt

2 T butter

Preheat oven to 375. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil; add pasta and cook until tender. In large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until bubbly. Whisk in flour and cook until mixture is bubbling. Slowly add milk; cook for a few minutes until sauce is warm, thickened, and smooth. (It will not be as thick as a regular white sauce.) Remove from heat; stir in salt and pepper. Add cheeses and stir. If your pot is big enough, fold in pasta, mix well, and pour into large baking dish; if not, fold pasta into large baking dish, pour cheese sauce on top, and mix well. Dot remaining 2 T of butter over top of macaroni. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until top is brown and toasty. Enjoy!

The Most Versatile Dough Ever (Breadsticks/Pizza Dough)

2009-10-31T08:55:00.001-07:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Minimal

This basic pizza dough recipe is adapted from the Betty Crocker cookbook. One batch, separated into two parts, makes two round pizzas. Or you can use all of the dough on a large rectangle pan to make delicious, fluffy breadsticks. The adaptability is endless—this recipe can be used for white pizza dough or wheat pizza dough, and the breadsticks are limited only by your imagination! Some of my favorite breadsticks: 1. All-white flour brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and fresh parmesan, baked till crispy and golden outside and white and fluffy inside (shown above.) 2. Half-wheat, half-white, brushed with butter and sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese (shown in the picture with the potato soup). You can also add your favorite combination of spices....something we do often!

Versatile Breadsticks/Pizza Dough

1 cup warm water
1 T yeast
1 t sugar

Combine these ingredients in medium-sized bowl. Let yeast sit for a minute to proof. Then add:

2 1/2 cups flour (sometimes it needs a little more, sometimes a little less)
1 t salt
2 T vegetable oil

Stir with one finger until flour is moistened and ingredients being to come together. Then use hands to knead dough into a smooth ball. Spray ball with vegetable oil spray, cover with a clean towel or napkin, and let stand at least 5 minutes. (Wheat dough takes longer to rise. Also, I usually raise the dough more for breadsticks than pizza, because I like thin pizza crust and fluffy breadsticks.)

For pizza: divide dough into 2 separate balls. Working dough gently with fingers, spread on 2 greased round pizza pans. Brush edges with olive oil. Top with desired toppings and bake at 425 for about 12 minutes.

For breadsticks: Working dough gently with fingers, spread dough on greased rectangular pan. Top as desired. Before baking, cut breadsticks in dough with pizza cutter. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Apple Pancakes

2009-10-18T12:40:00.001-07:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Medium

1 egg
1 c. flour
1 c. milk
1 T. sugar
2 T. oil
3 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 medium apple, chopped finely

For topping:
Whipped cream OR next 3 ingredients
Approximately 1/3 cup whipping cream
2 T. sugar
1 t. vanilla

3-4 apples, sliced thinly
1 T. sugar
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. butter

In medium frying pan, heat butter (over medium heat). Put topping apples in pan; sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Stir and cover; let this cook on medium heat for 5-10 minutes and then switch to low heat until you are ready to use them. For whipped cream: combine all ingredients and mix on high until cream is fluffy.

For pancakes: Beat egg until fluffy. Add all other ingredients except chopped apple; stir until just mixed (don't overstir). Fold in apples, mix and fry on griddle or pan around 350ºF (surface will need to be greased if it's not already seasoned).

Top cooked pancakes with whipped cream and apples and enjoy!

This recipe is made possible by my brother Jared, who gave us an awesome griddle for our wedding present.

Black Bean Tortilla Soup

2009-10-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite super-easy recipes. It comes together in exactly as long as it takes your chicken to boil! I usually boil the chicken separately and start the soup at the same time, so that when the chicken is done it can quickly be cubed and added to the soup and served immediately. It also can stand a lot of abuse. The last two times I've made it I have left out a crucial ingredient—the first time it was the chicken, the second time it was the tomato sauce! Both times we hardly even noticed!

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Prep Time: Very Easy!

3 cups chicken broth
3 cups beef broth
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 small can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 chicken breasts, boiled and cubed

Sautee onion and pepper in butter. Combine all ingredients in large saucepan and heat over medium-high for 10-30 minutes, depending on how much time you have! Serve topped with cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. (And, if you're like Mahon, sour cream.)

Mother Hubbard Apple Salad

2009-10-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

The other day I was desperate for some fresh fruit with dinner, but all I had was a handful of tart baking apples. After scouring my cupboards, I realized that I had absolutely none of the usual ingredients for apple dips or dressings, either, so I improvised. This is a very simple dip/dressing that turned out deliciously—I will definitely be making it again.

Rating: 5 Stars
Prep Time: Very Easy

Several tart apples, diced
1-2 ounces cream cheese, very soft
3 oz (1/2 container) fruit-flavored yogurt
1-2 tsp white sugar, depending on how tart your apples are
Sprinkle of cinnamon

Soften cream cheese and mix with yogurt. Pour into bowl of diced apples. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over top of salad; mix, and enjoy! With a little lemon juice added, this will refrigerate great (covered with plastic) and make a delicious breakfast snack!

Baked Potato Soup

2009-10-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

This is one of the very first things I learned to cook as a
little girl! It is a Ray family favorite and now a Baldwin

family favorite, as well. Although it is called "Baked
Potato Soup," I actually prefer the potatoes boiled.
It's much faster and they have a smoother texture.

Rating: 1 million stars
Prep Time: Easy

Baked Potato Soup:
1/4 c. instant mashed potatoes
2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
3 c. milk
3 lg. baked or boiled potatoes, diced
1/4 t. garlic pwdr.
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt (at least)

Combine mashed potatoes & broth. Melt butter in pan, mix in flour and cook till bubbly. Slowly whisk in milk. Add spices, then add broth to mixture. Top with cheese, chives, or crumbled bacon. (Or, if you're me, none of these!)

The breadsticks featured in this picture are my favorite (and extremely versatile) recipe, which I'll post later.

Apple Harvest Coffee Cake

2009-10-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Easy

Recipe adapted from Johnny Appleseed Coffee Cake, found here.

This recipe calls for Bisquick, which I don't have . . . so I looked up a recipe for homemade Bisquick mix and improvised. This proportion makes almost exactly the amount called for in the recipe. It can also be quadrupled to make a lot, and frozen for later use. (I probably would have done that, except that we're running dangerously low on flour!)

2 cups flour
2 T baking powder
3/4 t salt
2 T sugar
1/4 c shortening

Mix first 4 ingredients together; cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. In separate bowl, mix:

2 cups Bisquick (or all but 2 T of mix listed above)
2 T sugar
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 egg
1 cup milk (I think I did more than this - it was awfully thick)
1 cup peeled, finely chopped apple

Combine all ingredients but apple, beat vigorously 1/2 minute. Fold in apple; pour batter into greased 8 or 9-inch pan.

Topping:
2 T bisquick
1/4 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon
2 T cold butter, sliced

Combine first 3 ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over coffee cake; bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Apple Pie

2009-10-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5 stars
Prep Time: Easy

Recipe adapted from Southern Living Cookbook.

9-inch Pastry Crust:
(This recipe only makes one crust, so in order to do a lattice-top pie it must be doubled. I actually find it easier to just make it twice, since the dough is VERY flaky and so not really easy to divide into two balls without overworking the dough.)

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water (I have never managed it with less than 4)

Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle ice water, 1 T at a time, evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball; cover and chill until ready to use (at least 30 minutes). Roll pastry to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. (I find that I have to have my surface more than "lightly floured" or else the dough sticks to the table and breaks when I try to remove it. If the dough is sticking to the table despite the flour, use a flat spatula to gently scrape it off the table. Usually this works just fine.) Fold in quarters, place in pie plate, and unfold. Trim excess pastry along edges. For lattice top: roll out second ball of pastry as directed; cut into one-inch strips. Weave in lattice over filled pie. Separate 1 egg yolk and beat slightly; brush over lattice with pastry brush. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Apple filling:

6 cups sliced apples (the recipe also says to peel them, but I actually didn't notice that until this very moment and have never peeled mine)
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 T butter or margarine

Combine apple and lemon juice in large bowl. Combine next 4 ingredients. Spoon over apple mixture, tossing gently. Spoon filling evenly into pastry shell, and dot with butter. (Alternatively - if you are making the pie in stages, you can mix up the crust and the filling and put each of them in the fridge for a few hours. This marinates the apples and makes a nice sugary sauce... if you do that, leave out the butter.) Cover pie with lattice top. Cover edges of pastry with aluminum foil. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake 50 more minutes. Dish up and enjoy!