Summer Wild Rice Salad With Corn {Vegan Optional}

Prep time: Easy

Yield: 4 main dish or 6 side dish servings

1 cup wild rice

2-3 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water

1 cup frozen or canned corn

1-2 scallions, chopped

3 Tbsp EVOO

3 Tbsp lime juice

One bunch fresh parsley, chopped (about 1/4 cup, probably)

Cook wild rice & corn together in broth. (I used my Instant pot and did 3 cups liquid, 25 minutes, with a 10 minute pressure release; when I released it there was still a lot of liquid and the rice was a little overcooked, so I'm going to try decreasing both the liquid and cooking time very slightly next time.) If there's liquid remaining after rice is tender and fluffy—which isn't uncommon with wild rice in my experience—strain it off with a fine mesh sieve. Return to pot with the heat off; add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Can be served warm or (theoretically) cold.

Pressure Cooker Teriyaki Chicken and Brown Rice

I got an Instant Pot on sale on Black Friday, and after a few easy things over the weekend I was ready to try a more ambitious meal. I was pretty nervous because I couldn't find a recipe for exactly what I wanted to do, so I had to combine different things, but it turned out perfectly. We'll definitely be making it again! I used the pot-in-pot method to cook the rice separately from my chicken. After playing around with different stuff I had on hand, I ended up using the liner from my old rice cooker to be the rice pot, but any oven-safe container will do; I also had a Pyrex bowl that was pretty close to the right size.

The instructions I use here are specifically for brown rice and frozen chicken breasts. If you're using thawed chicken and white rice, your rice will need less water (most ratios I've read suggest 1:1 for pot-in-pot white rice) and a shorter cook time (probably more like 12-15 minutes).

3 large frozen chicken breasts (or 4-6 small ones), not thawed

4 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

4 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate OR 4 tablespoons apple juice

3 tablespoons honey

A dash of pepper

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups brown rice

2 1/2 cups water

Mix together soy sauce, vinegar, apple juice/water, honey, pepper, sesame oil, and garlic. Place sauce and frozen chicken breasts in bottom of pressure cooker. Rinse rice and place in smaller oven-safe bowl or pot (test to make sure that your inner pot will fit inside your pressure cooker, on top of the chicken, without overfilling the cooker), with the water. Cover with foil and if your inner pot doesn't have a handle, use tin foil to make a "sling" to go under the pot for easy removal.

I used the liner from my 6 cup rice cooker for my inner pot.
Here it is covered in foil with a folded-tinfoil sling.

Place your rice pot on top of the chicken—either directly on top, or using the Instant Pot trivet upside-down like this:

My rice cooker pot inside the Instant Pot—
it hits right at the Max Fill line.

Put on pressure cooker lid and cook for 23 minutes. (It took mine about 10-15 minutes to come up to pressure at the beginning.) I am not familiar enough yet with my Instant Pot to know the ins and outs of pressure releases, so I'm not sure if there's a specific method that works best with this recipe, but I ended up letting my pressure cooker sit for between 5 and 10 minutes and then letting the rest of the pressure off with the quick release valve because we needed to eat right then. ;) It worked great and I did NOT make the pot explode! It was cooked enough that I suspect it would be fine to do quick release from the start, but also fine to leave it on warm and let the pressure release naturally if you want to keep it warm for awhile.

Everything about this meal was perfect—the chicken was cooked perfectly, the rice was excellent, and the teriyaki sauce is the best I've ever made and one of the best I've ever tasted. I've been trying all year to imitate the sauce from my favorite teriyaki joint, and while this wasn't quite to that level, it was pretty darn close!

Serves 4-6.

Giada's Alfredo Sauce

Source: Food Network

Prep time: Very easy

I've never been a huge red-sauce-on-pasta fan, and so it's not really a surprise that when I discovered as a child that people actually ate pasta with something other than spaghetti sauce, it was love at first taste. Alfredo sauces in particular have always been a favorite of mine, and they're on of the few things that I'll occasionally indulge in these days, even when it means a stomach ache later for my dairy-sensitive self. I've shared several cream sauce recipes here in the past, including my previous favorite alfredo sauce. A year or two ago, however, I discovered this unusual-but-totally-amazing alfredo sauce from Giada de Laurentiis, and there is been NO going back for the Baldwin family. If we have alfredo these days it's always this recipe, and it never disappoints. As if that's not recommendation enough in itself, it's very fast and easy to prepare and usually cooks up in much less time than it takes your pasta to boil.

Because the original recipe called for a rather odd amount of pasta, I have adjusted the proportions a little to suit a regular 1lb box of pasta instead. I often halve it for the two of us, depending on how hungry we are; it makes at least 4 generous main-dish servings. It isn't nearly so good the next day, which always breaks my heart, but a tiny drizzle of fresh cream on the reheated noodles goes a long way.

1 one-pound box of your choice of pasta

2 cups heavy cream

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan

The zest of your lemons, if you used fresh

Salt and pepper (the original recipe called for freshly-ground white pepper; I usually use freshly-ground whatever-I-have-on-hand)

A sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)

Cook the pasta in salted water until it's done according to your taste; drain and set aside. In a large skillet or in the empty pasta pot, stir all but 1/4 cup of the cream with the lemon juice to combine, then add butter and heat over medium heat just until the butter has melted. Turn heat to low, add the pasta, and toss until it's coated. Add the remaining ingredients (including reserved cream) and stir everything together over low heat until the sauce thickens a little, about one minute. Served immediately, garnished with a little more parmesan if desired. To revitalize leftovers, drizzle just a little bit of fresh cream on noodles after reheating and toss.

Lemon-Lime Risotto

Source: Adapted from the Southern Living cookbook (Lemon-Lime Risotto)

Prep time: About 45 minutes of fairly dedicated cooking (come on, it's risotto!)

I've read so many accounts of people first trying risotto and having an essentially transcendent experience. It changes their lives, they remember that moment with perfect clarity, yaddah yaddah. I've made risotto a few times in the past, using different recipes, and honestly, every time Mahon and I were extremely underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, but it was kind of... blah. Bland. Far from transcendent.

Most risotto recipes call for a cup of white wine early in the cooking process. Well, although cooking with alcohol is not usually regarded as being against the Mormon word of wisdom (health and living code), white wine is obviously not something we typically have on hand—and since I typically have a fairly strict policy of not buying ingredients that are only called for in one or two recipes, I've never bought any. (Plus, I'm pretty sure it would make my husband uncomfortable! ;) ) However, I long suspected that the lack of wine was what made my risotto so underwhelming. I'd tried substitutes, like apple juice and more chicken stock, but neither added the twist of flavor that I felt like risotto needed.

Enter this Southern Living recipe, slightly adapted by me (it didn't call for garlic, which seemed sinful!). I've nicknamed it my "Mormon" risotto, because instead of white wine, it uses a dash of lemon juice and a dash of lime juice to add flavor. And guys? This was our transcendent risotto experience. It was even worth half an hour determinedly stirring at a hot stove while my 11-month-old whined at my feet.

6 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade stock; I would definitely recommend using real stock or broth for this recipe since that's where most of the flavor and richness comes from)

The zest and juice of one lemon OR 1 1/2 T bottled lemon juice

The zest and juice of one lime OR 1 1/2 T bottled lime juice

1 large onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t sea salt

2 T EVOO for sautéeing

2 cups uncooked Arborio rice

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

Bring broth, zest, and lemon/lime juices to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a large saucepan or large skillet with tall sides, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and salt and sautée about five minutes, until onions are softening and beginning to be translucent and sweet-smelling. Add garlic and continue to sautée for another two or three minutes, until garlic is just barely beginning to brown and is very aromatic. Add Arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about two minutes, until the rice is turning translucent and looking plumper. Add about 1/2 cup (I used a ladle and just did one ladleful at a time) of the hot stock/juice mixture and stir until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add liquid 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it's absorbed. The first two or three ladlefuls absorb/evaporate very quickly; as the cooking time goes on it will take longer and longer to absorb. I also found that after the first ten or so minutes of near-constant stirring, it was okay for me to leave the risotto without stirring for a minute or two while I did other things around the kitchen as long as I was still stirring very frequently. The frequent stirring is what releases the starches in the Arborio rice to create a delectably creamy sauce—you'll find it hard to believe that there's no milk or cream in it!

When all the liquid has been added and the rice is "al dente" and plump, remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, garnished with more Parmesan and veggies if desired. 

Curried Cauliflower and Potato Soup

Prep time: Easy

Source: My own brain!

When we first got married, the list of vegetables Mahon really liked was pretty short. In the five years since then I've found ways to prepare a lot of veggies so that he shares my love for them, but broccoli and cauliflower are still—at best—tolerated. Several years ago when I mentioned that they were known as "cruciferous vegetables," he misheard me, and ever since then he refers to them as "Lucifer's vegetables"! Since cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies of all time, I decided that I was going to do my best to come up with a cauliflower soup recipe that he liked. I also wanted to make a creamy, comforting soup that was dairy-free, since I am dairy sensitive.

1 head cauliflower, chopped

4 russets, peeled & diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t kosher salt

1/8 t chili powder (optional—my curry powder was VERY mild

1/8 t black pepper

1 t curry powder

EVOO for sauéeing

6 cups broth

Sautee all veggies together 5-10 minutes until starting to brown/tender. Add spices and broth and bring to boil. Simmer at least 30-40 minutes until potatoes and cauliflower are soft (you can leave simmering longer if desired). Puree with immersion blender (or puree in batches through a regular blender), reserving a few veggies for chunks if desired. Serve with crusty bread.

Quinoa Patties

Prep time: Easy-medium

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

I'm always on the lookout for interesting new recipes, but especially right now—the last trimester of pregnancy has brought with it some pretty severe food intolerances to meat and dairy, so we've had to get pretty creative in the kitchen! This is a recipe I pinned to try a few weeks ago. I was initially skeptical—I like quinoa, but would it really be able to hold its own in such an unadorned main dish? Mahon wasn't so sure how he was going to feel about this dinner, either, so both of us approached it with a little hesitation. However, it didn't disappoint! We both loved it and mutually decided it should join our rotation. Mahon tried various toppings on his patties (I think maybe his favorite was BBQ sauce?) but decided he might like them best with gravy, so that the flavor of the patties could shine through a little more. I guess we'll have to try that next time! I halved the original recipe for the two of us, but ended up wishing I hadn't, as it only yielded 1 serving of leftovers and not 2.

In the future, I'd also like to play around with switching up the spices in these to create different flavors.

(Yield: About a dozen patties)

2 1/2 cups quinoa cooked in broth, cool enough to touch*

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 t salt

1/4 t black pepper

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley (or about 1 T dried)

1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese

2 cloves minced garlic

1 cup crushed crackers (Ritz or saltine), bread crumbs, or oatmeal

1 T extra-virgin olive oil

Combine eggs, salt, pepper, and quiona in a bowl. Stir in parsley, parmesan, garlic, and bread crumbs. (Go ahead and add a little more crumbs, or a teaspoon or two of water, if your mix seems too wet or dry.) Let stand five minutes. 

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Form mixture into patties with hands (about 1" thick) and cook until the bottoms are browned (between 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot your stove is). Flip and cook about 5 minutes on second side. Remove from pan and continue until all the mix is used up (you may need to add more EVOO to your pan in between batches—I did).

Freezer instructions: Flash freeze uncooked patties on cookie sheet; place in ziploc bag when frozen. Cook from frozen (will need to increase cooking time a few minutes).

*Everything I read online says that quinoa quadruples when cooking, but I think that's crazy... mine never expands to that degree. I would say it tends to triple. After experimenting with several different ratios, I typically cook my quinoa with one cup grain to 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups broth.

Whole Wheat Waffles

Prep Time: Easy-medium (typical for waffles)

Source: Adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook

This has been our go-to recipe for waffles ever since we got married. Made with white flour and sugar, as the original recipe calls for, it produces light, deliciously buttery waffles that crisp up just enough on the outside. After we got a wheat grinder this last Christmas, however, we used some of our freshly ground white wheat flour to make them, and oh my goodness, are they good! We made them probably 4 times in the days after Christmas, and have made them several times since. For classic white waffles, replace the wheat flour with white flour and the honey with white sugar.

1 3/4 cups white wheat flour

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

2 eggs

2 T honey

1 3/4 cups milk

1/2 cup canola oil or melted butter

1 t vanilla

Preheat waffle iron. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, milk, oil, and vanilla. Gently scoop flour into bowl so that it sort of sits on top of the wet ingredients, and then add baking powder and salt on top of flour. Use your whisk or fork to gently sift the baking powder and salt into the flour a little, and then combine all ingredients together and mix until smooth. 

For our waffle iron, we've found that using about exactly 1/3 cup of this batter is absolutely perfect, but yours might be different! Cook according to the directions on your waffle iron. Serve hot with butter and syrup. Waffles typically come out of the iron a little soft and crisp up in the first minute or two on the plate.

Classic Pancakes

Prep time: Easy-medium

Source: Ray family recipe (I believe it's originally from the Betty Crocker cookbook)

This is another recipe I was shocked to not find on my blog! This is the classic pancake recipe I grew up loving, and it will always be one of my absolute favorites. The original recipe yield is only about 5-6 pancakes, so we typically will double it, depending on how many we're planning to feed.

1 egg

1 cup flour*

1 T baking powder

1 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1 cup milk

Preheat griddle or skillet to about 350. In medium-sized bowl, beat egg until fluffy. Gently scoop flour into the bowl and add all other dry ingredients on top of them. Use your whisk or fork to gently sift the dry ingredients together a little bit (so that the baking powder is integrated into the flour and isn't clumpy). Add milk and mix all ingredients together until just combined. Cook each pancake 2-3 minutes per side, depending on your preferred level of doneness. Serve with maple syrup or fruit and fresh whipped cream. (For a delicious variation on these pancakes we like to make in the fall, try these!)

*Oddly enough, this is the one recipe in the world where I personally prefer white flour to wheat—it's something about the flavor and texture of the pancakes. However, they're also delicious with wheat flour.

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Rosemary or Coriander

Prep time: Easy

Source: Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe (I think)

Looking through my list of favorite recipes today, I couldn't believe that this one was somehow missing from my blog! This is one of our go-to methods for quick, easy grilled chicken, either to eat as an entrée with lots of yummy sides, or to use over pasta or in stir-fry. The original recipe used rosemary as the seasoning, but last year I also found a nearly identical recipe that used coriander. Both are delicious, and I alternate between the two depending on which sounds best!

Chicken breasts, thawed

Olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

Black pepper

Rosemary or ground coriander

Preheat a skillet or grilling pan on your stove over medium heat (if your stove tends to cook low, try medium-high), for 5-10 minutes or until it's quite hot. (To test it, put your hand over the pan—if there's enough heat rising from the pan that it's uncomfortable to keep your hand two or three inches above it, then it's ready.) 

Pat chicken dry with paper towels. If desired, you can butterfly the breasts to make them thinner (I do this sometimes when I end up with fairly thick ones). Brush both sides of breasts with olive oil. Sprinkle tops of breasts with salt, pepper, and rosemary or coriander; place the unseasoned side down on the preheated pan (it will sizzle and smoke a bit). Cook 5-10 minutes on first side, depending on the thickness of your chicken and how thoroughly it was thawed. You'll know it's done when the edges have turned white and only a little bit of pink is left in the middle of the top. Using kitchen tongs, flip chicken so that the seasoned side is down and cook for 4-5 minutes on second side.

Remove chicken from pan and place on a clean plate. Drizzle with lemon juice and tent with foil (this helps keep the chicken deliciously moist and tender, and finishes up the last few minutes of the cooking process). Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Rosemary-Balsamic Roast Chicken

Prep time: Easy-medium

Source: My own brain! :)

For the last few years, I've been making and freezing chicken stock regularly. In the beginning, I did it with a rotisserie chicken, but about a year ago I got brave and decided to start roasting my own chicken instead. Now I roast a chicken at least once a month. We eat the chicken with a few sides for dinner one night and then I remove the rest of the meat and store it in the fridge for later meals (soups, pot pies, stir fries, pasta dishes, etc.) and use the carcass to make 5-6 quarts of stock. Lately, I've just been taking the veggies I used to stuff the chicken for roasting and using those to flavor the stock as well—simple, easy, and cheap!

1 whole chicken, cleaned and dried (I usually rinse mine and then set it on a paper-towel lined plate in the fridge for several hours; the dehumidifying action of the fridge helps dry it very nicely!)

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1 T balsamic vinegar

1-2 T kosher salt

1 t black pepper

1 T rosemary, fresh or dried

Whatever root veggies you have on hand (carrots, celery, onions, garlic, potatoes, etc.—I typically do one carrot, about 1/3 of an onion, 2-4 cloves of garlic, and the leafy parts of a few celery stalks)

Preheat oven to 475. Prepare a roasting pan with rack for the chicken. Prepare veggies however you need to (I typically peel the carrots and potatoes if I'm using, and roughly chop everything so that it will fit into the chicken cavity). Set aside.

In regular-sized bowl, mix butter, vinegar, and spices together until combine (it will take a little coaxing to get the butter and vinegar into a smooth paste). Use your fingers (I always wear gloves for this part) to thoroughly coat chicken in butter mixture; you can loosen the skin and rub it underneath, but I haven't found that it makes a ton of difference and so I usually just do everything over the skin. Be sure to coat the inside of the cavity, as well. Stuff veggies into cavity. If your chicken's drumsticks have a tendency to fall away from the rest of the bird, either truss them together with baker's twine or (my preference) use a knife to cut a small hole in the chicken skin near the tip of the drumstick, and then insert the round end of the drumstick into that hole to hold the legs close to the bird (so they don't cook faster than the rest). Place chicken breast side down on roasting rack. Reduce oven heat to 375 and place bird in oven.

The size of your bird will determine the cooking time—a good rule of thumb is 20 minutes per pound, though I sometimes have to do a bit more. I usually cook mine for about 2 hours and they are always 4-5 lb birds. About halfway through your cooking time, turn the chicken breast-side up—I do this (awkwardly!) with 2 wooden spoons. Cooking it this way helps keep the breast meat tender and moist without basting.

To check for doneness, make a small cut in one of the legs and press with the edge of the knife to see if the juices run clear. (I also do this in the breast as well, since for some reason my chicken legs sometimes cook before the breasts.) 

When juices are clear, remove pan from oven and tent chicken with foil for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Black Bean Soup

Prep time: Easy

Source: Adapted from Our Best Bites

You may be able to tell from reading this blog, but I really like soup! This is another favorite we've made a lot over the last year or two.

About 1 T EVOO

4 cloves garlic, diced

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1-2 celery ribs, diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

2 cans black beans (or about 6 cups home-cooked beans), drained and rinsed

1 large anaheim pepper or 1/2 bell pepper, diced

4 cups beef or chicken broth (I never seem to have beef on hand so I usually use all or part chicken)

1 t kosher salt

1/8 t black pepper

1/8-1/2 t chili powder, depending on how strong your chili powder is and how spicy you like things

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dried oregano

1 bay leaf if you have them

In a large saucepan or stock pot, saute onions, carrots, garlic, and celery for a few minutes (until onions are translucent garlic is browning). Add beans, anaheim or bell peppers, broth, and spices. Simmer (without a lid) for 30-60 minutes or until the carrots are tender. Remove bay leaf (if you happened to not have run out of them, which I always do!) and purée soup with stick blender or in batches in regular blender. Squeeze in the juice of one lime (or add about 1 T bottled lime juice). Top with chips, cheese, sour cream, and more lime juice, if desired. 

Cauliflower Soup

Prep time: Easy (about the same as most soups)

Source: Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

Mahon is not a fan of cauliflower and gives me MAJOR grief for making this soup, but even he likes it once it's done! It's especially delicious with a little cheddar cheese mixed in. However, I have been having major problems with large amounts of dairy—especially cheese—lately, and so I ate it without any garnishes and it was still quite yummy. (Because of my dairy issues, I served the soup with the sour cream as a garnish rather than as part of the body of the soup, like the original recipe indicates.) I streamlined the original recipe a bit because I thought it came together in a really odd way, and tweaked a few of the proportions. I also decided after the last time that I made it that it needed a longer simmering time so that the cauliflower was softer and less grainy after the soup was puréed.

1/4 cup butter

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 whole carrot, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, diced

1/4 cup flour

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 T fresh parsley (or about 1 tsp dried), chopped

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup half-and-half (or 1/4 cup each cream and milk)

1-2 tsp salt (or more) to taste

Shake of pepper

In medium saucepan, melt butter and saute onions, carrot, garlic, and celery for a few minutes or until onions begin to look translucent. Add flour and cook until the flour/butter mixture is golden and bubbly. Slowly add chicken stock, stirring as you go until everything is integrated. Add cauliflower, parsley, and salt (err on the lower side for now) and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 20-40 minutes or until cauliflower is fairly tender. Add milk and half-and-half and simmer for another 10-20 minutes (don't allow the soup to boil), until cauliflower is very tender and all ingredients are heated through. Purée soup using a stick blender, or in batches in a regular blender. Add more salt if needed and a shake of black pepper. Serve garnished with sour cream and cheddar cheese, if desired.

Crepes

Prep time: Medium

Source: Our Best Bites

I've really neglected this blog for the last year. Because there are a LOT of recipes we use and love that haven't made it up here, I'm resolving over the next little while to get this blog back up to date! I'm also going to try to be less of a slacker about taking pictures of stuff before we gobble it all up. We'll see how that goes!

We started using this crepe recipe a year or two ago and it is, hands-down, one of our favorite recipes. Our #1 favorite way to prepare them is layering several crepes together sandwiched with butter and maple syrup... it's to die for! We also love them with fruit and cream cheese or Greek yogurt, berry syrup, homemade whipped cream, and stewed apples (or any combination of the above—drizzling a little maple syrup over stewed apples with whipped cream is pretty divine!).

2 eggs

2 T canola oil

3 T sugar (or, if using wheat flour, honey; leave this out if you're making savory crepes)

1 C flour (it's equally great with white or whole-wheat)

About 1/8 tsp salt

About 1 1/3 cups milk

Combine eggs, oil, sugar/honey, and salt in blender and pulse to combine. Leave the blender running on low and alternate adding milk and flour. (If you're using a top-motor blender, like we now are, you'll have to add everything together and then open it up again to scrape the flour off the sides.) If any flour clings to the sides, scrape it down with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Like many recipes, the exact ratio of flour to milk can be a little fickle and depend on the weather/your ingredients/what your astrological sign happens to be doing at the moment. You're looking for a batter that is quite runny and easily pourable (not at all like pancake batter).

Pre-heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat on the stove and grease with butter (be sure to get part of the sides, as the crepes will often creep up the sides as they cook!). When pan is warm (you want the butter to sizzle, but not immediately turn brown), pour a small amount of batter into the pan. We use small omelet-sized pans to make ours, and pour only a silver-dollar sized amount of batter or less into the pan. (Experiment a little til you find the right amount!) Quickly use your wrist to swirl the batter in the pan until it has evenly and thinly coated the bottom (and bottom of the sides) of your pan. Cook until the crepe starts to brown around the edges and most of the center is no longer liquid (usually 30-60 seconds).

Although we've gotten pretty good at making crepes and can make them quickly and beautifully now, neither of us has ever been able to master either flipping them with the pan (HA) or using only one utensil to flip them. Instead, we take a heat-safe rubber spatula (the kind you use to get the last of the cake batter from your bowl) and gently work it around the edges of the crepe as soon as they begin to brown. Then, even more gently (thin crepes are pretty fragile—but totally worth it!), we take a regular flipping spatula and use that to flip the crepe to its other side.

Cook about 15-30 seconds on the second side and then gently flip finished crepe off onto a plate. Voila! You're now a master French chef! (Or something like that.)

Pinterest Macaroni & Cheese

Prep Time: Medium

Source: Pinterest (with adaptations)

You know the mac'n'cheese recipe that's been floating around Pinterest for ages—the unique characteristic being that the noodles are cooked in milk? Well, we fell in love with it last year and now make it regularly. Here's my take on it!

3 cups pasta

1 cup water

1 cup whole milk

(Or else use 2 cups 2% or skim milk)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground mustard

A shake of pepper

3/4 cups sharp(ish) cheddar cheese

1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese

In medium saucepan, combine all ingredients except cheese and stir to combine. Place saucepan over medium heat until milk just barely begins to boil, stirring frequently; once milk is showing signs of boiling, turn it down to low. Allow pasta to cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. When the milk is mostly absorbed and about the consistency of a cream sauce, test a noodle for doneness. If the noodles need more cooking time, add a little water (about 1/4 cup at a time) and allow to keep cooking until desired tenderness is reached. Stir in grated cheese, remove from heat, and cover for about 5 minutes to allow cheese time to melt. Serve immediately.

Cindy's Favorite Pizza Sauce

I would have a picture of this... 

But I'm pregnant, so I just ate it all.

Prep Time: Very easy

Source: I had a few different inspirations for this sauce, but a lot of the basis came from Peter Reinhart's Crushed Tomato Pizza Sauce

If you know me at all, you probably know that I have always hated tomatoes and anything containing tomatoes—from ketchup on down. For most of my life, pizza sauce has been no exception, and I'm still not overly fond of most pizza sauces. Around high school, however, I started noticing that I actually enjoyed some kinds of pizza sauce, but not others. Over the last few years, every time I've had pizza I've tried to identify what elements about it I did or didn't like. Eventually, I had a pretty detailed list of things that I did or didn't like in a pizza sauce. (In case you wondered, it was: Savory, not sweet; fresh crushed tomatoes, not simmered-for-hours tomato sauce; simple and Neopolitan-style; and nothing that got its start in a jar of tomato sauce—turns out there's something in those basic tomato sauce cans I hate!) This summer, with fresh tomatoes from my garden, I decided to take what I learned and apply it to my own sauce recipe. This very simple sauce has since become our go-to recipe. Mahon and I can't get enough of it! It's also very easy to customize to your own taste preferences by adding sugar and other spices. We personally love the fresh-tomato taste, but if you prefer a stewed tomato sauce, feel free to simmer the sauce on low heat for an hour or two before using.

This recipe makes enough for a large pizza or two medium pizzas (unless you are like my husband and would like 1" of sauce on your pizza!), but it can easily be doubled as many times as you need. It can also be frozen and used later.

3 medium tomatoes*

1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinaigrette

1 t salt

1/2 t oregano

1/8 t garlic powder

1/8 t black pepper

Parmesan or romano cheese, grated (optional)

If you'd like to remove the tomato skins—gently score a cross into the bottom of each tomato and blanch for about 60 seconds in boiling water. Skin and cut off the tomato tops. Toss in blender along with all other ingredients except cheese. Pulse on the lowest setting until tomatoes are crushed but not puréed. Pour sauce into a bowl. If desired, stir in about 1/8-1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese. (I'd never heard of cheese in pizza sauce before, but it turns out it's pretty common and really delicious!) Technically, you're supposed to allow the sauce to marinade for about an hour before using, but we've done it both ways without a hugely noticeable taste difference—the flavors steep together pretty well when cooking.

Although I initially tried this sauce recipe with a fancy, double-raised, all-afternoon pizza crust recipe, since then I've ended up going back to our tried-and-true favorite pizza crust recipe every time, made with 100% whole wheat flour. I always cook the pizzas for 12 minutes. This crust recipe pairs wonderfully with this sauce! (As evidenced by the fact that I just ate. My. Whole. Pizza. Granted, it was small!)

*Thus far, I've only used fresh garden tomatoes for this sauce. Once I run out, however, I plan to do some experimenting with canned tomatoes, which I'm sure will work just fine too.

Baked Chicken & Spinach Flautas

Prep time: Medium (mostly because they are time-consuming to roll)

Source: Healthy-delicious.com

This is one of the great recipes I've found on Pinterest. We had these for dinner last night and loved them! We'll definitely be introducing this into our rotation. 

I made a number of changes to the original recipe, for various reasons (making it alcohol free and a little easier to assemble, as well as using the ingredients I had on hand). I also did about twice the amount of filling recommended, so that we'd have enough for leftovers. It made enough for about 4 adults.

2 large chicken breasts

1/2 cup chicken broth

5 or 6 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped or torn into smallish pieces

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coarse salt (or about 3/4 tsp regular salt)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped

Another 1/4 cup chicken broth

About 2 cups grated mozzarella or monterey jack cheese

10 8" soft taco sized flour tortillas (I'd also like to try this with my homemade tortillas, which are about 6")

Olive oil

Put chicken breasts and first 1/2 cup broth in a medium saucepan; fill with enough extra water to cover the chicken by about 2 inches. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. 

Once chicken is cooked, preheat oven to 450. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Shred chicken (for a super easy and fun way to do this, see this link! I love Pinterest!). Mix together spinach, peppers, chicken, spices, and remaining 1/4 cup chicken broth together. Cut tortillas in half. Spoon a bit of the filling onto each tortilla half and top with cheese; roll them up starting from the flat side (I found it helpful to tuck the corners in before I rolled it up as well, although it's not quite as authentic!) and tuck them together, roll-side down, on the cookie sheet. We also have used this recipe with whole tortillas, which makes them more chimichanga-style but is a little easier to prepare. Brush tops with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then use tongs to turn flautas over and cook for 10 more minutes on the other side (or until the exposed sides are a dark golden-brown). Serve hot, with salsa if desired.

Tortilla Talk (And a 2nd Flour Tortilla Recipe)

So, I've seen a lot of (identical) recipes floating around the Internet lately that advertise themselves as "fresh tortillas just like Cafe Rio!" I admit, this bugs me every time, because friends—that recipe is NOT anything like the tortillas you will get at Cafe Rio, or any other similar restaurant. Here's why:

The most popular online recipe for flour tortillas calls for four cups of flour and two teaspoons of baking powder. Years ago, when I started making my own tortillas (before I even got married), I tried this recipe. And what I ended up with was a number of rounds of big, puffy flatbread. Even when I rolled them out as hard as I could, the amount of baking powder in the recipe was so large that it caused the tortillas to puff up into something more like Indian naan than Mexican tortillas.

Eventually, after some playing around with the proportions, I adapted that ubiquitous recipe in the flour tortilla recipe that I shared on this blog. My main change was to dramatically decrease the baking powder to just under 1/2 teaspoon. Still, if I let the tortillas sit too long they were apt to get too thick, and because of the baking powder in the recipe and the way it interacted with the dough I couldn't use my tortilla press to smash them—which meant that making flour tortillas was a time-consuming and laborious process involving liberal use of the rolling pin.

And, as much as I loved my tortillas, they weren't like the ones I'd had at Cafe Rio. There was something different about them that I couldn't put my finger on. Earlier this year, when I was in North Carolina, I went to a Relief Society activity where a dear friend gave a demonstration on making fresh tortillas. When I tasted hers, I realized that they were much more texturally similar to the Cafe Rio tortillas I remembered eating. And she made hers using a tortilla press! Once I saw her recipe, I realized the difference—there was no baking powder at all!

Intrigued, I started some more experimenting. At first, I took my own favorite recipe and adapted it so that it didn't use any baking powder, but did involve a dough resting time of 30 minutes (as my friend's recipe instructed). It turned out great, and worked terrifically in my tortilla press (cutting down on the inconvenience factor a LOT!). Then one night, I was impatient and didn't want to wait for my tortilla dough to rest. So I went ahead and made the tortillas without any resting time. And guess what? They turned out perfectly! (The only difference between a resting time and no resting time was that the ones that didn't rest had a little less developed gluten in the dough, which meant that they were a tiny bit more prone to breaking before they were cooked and didn't stretch as well.)

Now, at least once a week we make flour tortillas using this new-and-improved recipe. And yes, friends, this is VERY similar to what they use at Cafe Rio. So don't believe that one going around on Pinterest! THIS is the recipe you want.

(Also, a troubleshooting tip: Tortillas need to cook at a relatively low heat for a longer time. If your tortillas—flour or corn—are breaking or crumbling, it's because you cooked them too hot. I usually set my griddle between 300 and 325.)

One of these days, I'll actually post my corn tortilla recipe too....

Cindy's Flour Tortillas, Version 2.0

4 cups flour (I typically 75%-100% whole wheat)

2 t salt

1/2 cup canola oil

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

Heat pan or griddle to 325-ish (do not grease). In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Stir in canola oil. 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 about the size of a ping-pong ball or smaller. (Your dough balls can be bigger if you are rolling out by hand and not using a tortilla press.) In a tortilla press lined with a sliced-open plastic bag (to prevent sticking), press balls twice (I usually press, pick up the tortilla, flip it over, and press again). Cook tortillas 3-5 minutes on each side. Fill with your favorite taco or fajita fillings.

Chicken Pot Pie Crumble

Source: Adapted from MelsKitchenCafe.com

This is, hands-down, my favorite chicken pot pie iteration we have ever had—and also one of the easiest and healthiest! I changed up the original recipe a little bit; I halved it so that it was more suited to two people rather than a whole family, and I also replaced about half of the called-for chicken with potatoes instead (because I didn't have enough chicken, and as Mahon says—what kind of fool makes chicken pot pie without potatoes, anyway?). I'm including the original proportions of the recipe here, but with my other alterations. Like any chicken pot pie, this really could be done with any veggies you have on hand.

For filling:

3-4 potatoes, peeled and diced

About 1 1/2 chicken breasts, boiled and chopped or shredded (I actually used leftover rotisserie chicken!)

Olive oil for sauteeing

1 cup chopped onion (about half of a large one, or a whole medium one)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 or 4 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks diced celery

3/4 cup frozen peas or corn (or half of each)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 stick butter

1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

For topping:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or chili powder, if you happen to have used all the cayenne on your garden to keep away neighborhood cats... long story!)

6 tablespooons chilled (and sliced) or room temperature butter

3/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese

1 cup heavy cream (you can sub some of this for regular milk)

In a medium saucepan with just enough water to cover the potatoes, boil potatoes until they are almost (but not quite) ready to eat. While potatoes are boiling, prepare other vegetables. Once everything is ready, preheat oven to 400. Sautee all veggies together in a large skillet or medium saucepan with olive oil, about five minutes (or until the veggies are beginning to brown). 

While veggies are cooking, get started on the crumble topping. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne/chili powder in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry cutter or fork. Stir in parmesan cheese. Add cream/milk and stir until just combined.

Once the veggies are done cooking, remove and put into a casserole dish, along with the chicken. In the same large pan you used to sautee the veggies, melt butter. Add flour and stir to combine, then add broth. Stir until everything is smooth. Add milk, salt, and pepper, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sauce begins to thicken. Stir sauce into casserole dish with veggies and chicken.

Break topping dough apart with your fingers and sprinkle as evenly as possible over top of casserole. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, or until topping is browned. Serve immediately. Try not to eat the whole thing.

Poppyseed Chicken (Cream of Chicken Soup-Free)

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.

Lemon Spaghetti

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.