Monday, December 13, 2010

Menu Week of 12/13/10

Okay, well, Andy is gone until Thursday so that means I get to cook whatever I want for dinner! Woohoo! I'm going to cook nothing. Hehe! Instead, I'm going to figure out my Holiday gift baskets.

I have 5 couples I want to gift with baskets: Andy's bosses, my mom and her new husband, a friend who designed my Etsy shop for my metal clay jewelry, and some friends who will watch our dogs while we're out of town for the holiday. So, I've been thinking and thinking about what to put in my baskets and I think I've come up with some pretty good, homemade ideas!

Dulce de Leche Sauce

It's so easy it's almost hard to justify an entire post but it's also the yummiest sauce ever so it's hard to excuse the omission. So, here we go.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Rosemary Butternut Squash Savory Bread Pudding

I had to fix up something quick for party and I had day-old bread and butternut squash that I had roasted. So, I sort of winged it and it was delicious! None of these measurements are exact; feel free to wing it yourself! You can use sage, a different kind of cheese, add some kale and walnuts, whatever you want!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Lemon Curd and Meringue


I wish I had painted the tree blue; that would look cool. I'm totally addicted to Foodgawker.com and Tastepotting.com and always wanted pics on this site but I'm not a photographer..but I'm gonna try. This lemon curd has been waiting patiently for me to figure something out for about a week and it did not turn our as I would have liked. At all and the next day this was on Foodgawker to taunt me. Oh, well. I had time to paint the tree but the curd and meringue cookie were eaten before that could happen. By who, I can't say. It just sort of happened. Yumm...I mean, umm, yeah. Recipes follow...

Monday, December 6, 2010

Menu 12/06/2010

*currently on the menu*


Monday: Homemade Pasta and Puttenesca (Gotta make Stock, gravlax, creme fraiche, extracts)
Tuesday: Chicken, Goat Cheese, Potato Quiche, mixed green salad (Gotta make guac for tmrw night)
Wednesday: Chili with Chips and Guacamole (Andy's boss's wife made us a bunch of meaty, homemade chili..yum! I'll spruce it up with the chicken stock, make stew for tmrw night)
Friday: Leftovers (betcha Andy will want take-out; make Rice Krispy Treats)

Gotta Try: Rice Krispy Treats with those Homemade Marshmallows that will go to waste if I don't use them
Meringue for Lemon Curd Pic
AND I have dill leftover from making pickles to make: Gravlax and Creme Fraiche!




You think I'm doing too much. You're reading this and thinking, she never leaves the kitchen. But look. This weekend I am going to a friend's dinner to which I will bring the Gravlax and Creme Fraiche, both of which are put together and set aside to think about how they want to taste. The Rice Crispy treats and extracts: same thing; mix and set aside! The stock: boil some veg, simmer for a few hours, drain and chill or freeze, more likely; easy and can't let the chicken bones go to waste like last week's (I'm ashamed). I already made the pie crust for the quiche, it's in the freezer and the homemade pasta was my Sunday afternoon.  So you can stop worrying already.









Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Quick 3-Bean Chili

Sometimes Andy comes home and just kind of looks at me when I tell him what's for dinner. He never says, "I don't want that;" he says, "that sounds heavy/breakfast-y/like a lot of work" and from this I am to ascertain he doesn't want what I'm making. Now, I could tell him to suck it, you'll eat what I freaking make you but a good part of the pleasure of cooking comes from feeding the person (people) you're for whom I'm cooking.

Long story short: my Cherizo Quiche became a Quick 3-Bean Chili.

Lemon Buttermilk Snow

Yellow snow* you can eat! This ice cream seriously reminds me of being a kid, eating handfuls of snow off my mittens. It's got the wet but dry, crumbly mouth feel that is followed close by lemon and cream. Omigosh, I drove home on my lunch break to dig into it again; it's that good. Perfect winter dessert.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Chicken and Spinach Casserole

This recipe is, um, fat forward, let's just say. I can't get Andy to eat this kind of meal very often so I don't think this will become a part of the repertoire and I hesitate to include it but I liked it, so here we go. I cut the fat by a tiny bit by using milk (the original recipe called for 1 1/2 c half and half. Oof.)

Menu 11/29/2010


currently on the menu

Week of Nov 29, 2010

MonChicken and Beet Salad
Tues: Cherizo QuicheBroccoli  (quiche turned into Quick 3-Bean Chili)
WedPasta
Thurs: Ricotta, Sage and Asparagus Quiche with Potato
Fri: Veggie Burger (add egg to recipe!) with these


Gotta try: Homemade Gravlax (next week!!)
Lemon Curd (can use the leftover whites for Thurs Quiche!)

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Buttermilk Syrup

I used to get so frustrated that recipes would call for buttermilk because who the hell has buttermilk laying around? But now that I'm making my own butter (btw, whipping cream works as well as heavy whipping cream), I have all this buttermilk I have to use. Suddenly, it makes sense why all these old recipes call for it and I really don't need another excuse to make this Buttermilk Syrup.

Pickles!

Uh, too EASY. Something else to put in the Xmas baskets? Hmm..so far we have hot cocoa, marshmallows, and pickles...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Pancakes

3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 c wheat flour
3 1/ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 tbs melted buter
1 1/4 c milk

Mix dry ingredients then mix in the wet ones. Listen, you are going to want to mix the batter til it's smooth but DON'T. If you do that, your pancakes will be flat and dense. Dump the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just incorporated. That way you will have light, fluffy pancakes.

Spoon your lumpy batter onto a hot, buttered griddle or pan in 1/4 c. amounts and cook til both sides are brown. Here's a trick a grandfather taught me: when the first uncooked side is bubbling and the edges are dry, it's time to flip.

Homemade Marshmallows

I'm working on Xmas gift ideas that won't break the bank and I think I've hit on at least one: a hot cocoa recipe with homemade marshmallows. Seriously, these things have so little in common with the bags at the supermarket: they are airy, they melt, and they taste fantastic.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Best Brownies Ever

Seriously gooey and amazing and will make a great base for Rocky Road Brownies. With Homemade Marshmallows, of course

Homemade Butter

Heavy Cream or Whipping Cream

Whip a pint of cream until it hardens and starts to form liquid, buttermilk. Drain through a fine mesh strainer and mix for more buttermilk. Strain again. Return to mixer. Once it's done, the butter will tangle in the mixer spools. You just churned your own butter! Set the liquid aside and knead your butter in some cold water. When the water discolors, dump and do it again; keep kneading til the water is clear to make sure all the buttermilk is out. This is important because if there is any buttermilk left in the butter, it will go rancid within a week and ruin your Rice Krispy treats. When properly washed, the butter should last up to a month but, honestly, you'll have to weigh how much you really want that fresh butter. It tastes amazing but it can be work intensive with the straining and washing.

Also: the buttermilk byproduct can be used in the place of whole milk in recipes but not as buttermilk. Back in the day, they would sour milk and skim the cream off until they had enough to churn butter and the byproduct of the soured cream would be buttermilk but since we're basically using a shortcut (heavy cream that hasn't come from soured milk), it's not real buttermilk.  I learned this the "hard way" with what was supposed to be buttermilk dinner rolls: they made a great bread pudding but a lousy roll.

Handmade Pasta

3 cups of all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
dash of olive oil

Make a mound of the flour and a well in the middle. Crack egg into well and begin to swirl with fingers or fork (will be very sticky). Incorporate the edges of the flour into the well until a ball is formed (there will be plenty flour left over). You could also just mix this in your stand mixer and save your counter; it's not traditional and Molto Mario will shoot daggers from his eye teeth if he knew but since he doesn't live with you (presumably) do what you want. Either way, let the ball of dough rest for 30 minutes. Then roll out and roll out and roll out til thin (takes forever). Cut into strips and boil immediately for pasta!

I kind of forget how I have this recipe but one thing that I've sot of learned is that you need one more egg than cups of flour. So, if you want to make a smaller batch of pasta, you'd crack 3 eggs to 2 cups of flour or 2 eggs to one cup, get it? You get it.

I doubt I'll make much more of my own pasta til I have this.

UPDATE! I totally got my extruder and started pasta yesterday. I followed a recipe in the manual (1 1/2 c flour and 2 eggs and a teaspoon of water but had to add another egg and some olive oil. Anyway.) and it seemed to come out great! I dried it for almost an hour and packed it away for dinner tonight (Dec 6, 2010)

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Menu Week of November 22, 2010



Sun: Steak, Kale, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mon: Roast chicken, brussels, bread


Wed: Black Bean Soup, broccoli


Easy Bread


from New York Times

3 cups flour (pictured above is 1 1/2 c bread and 1 1/2 c whole wheat four)
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 tbs kosher salt
1 1/2 c warm water

Mix dry ingredients and add warm water stirring until the batter chases the spoon around the bowl. Cover and set in a warm place for 12-20 hours (overnight). Drop on floured surface and pull ends to the top of the ball to make a taut surface (wet hands to avoid sticking). Wrap in well-floured towel in a bowl and set in a warm place for 2 hours, the towel should cover the dough while it doubles in size. A half hour before preparing to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees and warm a lidded casserole dish in the oven. Line the warmed casserole dish with parchment paper (very important! I lost the lower half of my second loaf to the bottom of the dish because I forgot this, lol) and drop in dough. Bake covered for 20-30 minutes, uncovered for another 10-25 minutes or until sufficiently browned. When it's baked through, bread should sound hollow when tapped (or be 210 degrees in the center).

UPDATE! I've made this bread I think 6 or 7 times since I posted this and each time it's proven fool-proof. Honestly, I have not been able to mess this bread up (Andy did by adding too much salt one time but that actually had a silver lining since he's back to staying out of my kitchen, lol). I started to think: why do I need that second rising? It's no a No-Knead Bread! It would make sense if I had to punch it down but I don't so...I skipped the second rise this past weekend (Dec 4) and dropped it into a parchment paper-lined bread loaf pan and covered with tin foil. I even put it into a cold oven! 45 minutes later, I had a fluffy sandwich bread. Seriously, this bread is that EASY.

Friday, November 19, 2010

"Quick" Chicken and Rice Soup

Whole Roasted Chicken
2 apples, sliced
Celery stalks and leaves, rough chop
Onion, rough chop
Carrots, rough chop
Parsley, rough chop
Garlic, rough chop
Olive oil
Roasting spices
S+P
Brown Rice, prepared according to directions

Preheat over to 375. Coat whole chicken with oil, S+P, and spices (I used thyme, oregano, paprika, and herbs de provence) and rub in. Place in roasting pan and roast for 25-35 minutes or until temperature of breast is at 180. Allow to cool.

Take off the meat of the chicken and set aside for a few meals (wraps, quiche and this soup). 

Throw bones and rib cage into large stock pot with apples and veggies and a generous portion of S+P. Allow to simmer uncovered for as long as you can (I think I managed a couple of hours last night), skimming fat that rises to the surface. Don't boil. 

Strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve.

In large pot and olive oil, sautee onion, garlic, carrots and celery until soft. Add chicken stock and chicken and simmer until chicken is hot.

Lay brown rice into bowls and spoon soup over it. 

This is "quick" because you can roast the chicken and make the stock days in advance. But it's not really quick, I guess. Worth it, though!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Chicken Wrap #1

Roasted chicken, cubed or shredded
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Scallions, chopped
Green olive, pitted, chopped
Goat cheese
Mixed greens
Spinach or flour tortillas
Balsamic vinegar
S+P

Combine tomatoes, scallions, and olives in a small bowl and let marinate in some balsamic vinegar with S+P to taste. Warm tortillas in oven (optional) and spread with goat cheese.  Layer tortilla with marinated veggies, chicken, and greens.

(Save the bones of chicken for stock)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Kielbasa Quiche

5 eggs
Turkey Kielbasa
Scallions
Cottage Cheese
Onions
Garlic
Red pepper
Olive oil
S+P
Frozen or homemade pie crust

Preheat oven to 350.

Sautee onions, garlic and cherizo until it starts to brown and add red pepper and cook til soft in olive oil.

Meanwhile, beat eggs and add cottage cheese and scallion, salt and pepper. Fill pie crust with cherizo mix and top with egg mix.

Bake til firm, about 25-35 minutes.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Menu Week of November 15, 2010

Monday: Lentil Soup with Skillet Bread   
Thursday: Chorizo Quiche
Friday: Whole Foods Run, I think, maybe pasta; Fridays are hard.


Skillet Bread

I'm going to try this tonight with my lentil soup.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c flour
1 c. water
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:
Mix dry ingredients then add water. Pour batter into a buttered skillet on med high heat and cook til brown on one side then flip to brown the other.

Sounds easy! I have some leftover rosemary, I think I'll probably throw that in for good measure.

UPDATE: It was pretty good! I added more water to make it a pancake consistency since that made sense to me but I definitely needed to add more salt. No problem, this recipe is so easy, I'll just try again tonight!

UPDATE 2: Success. It's good with drizzled honey, by the way. Tastes like a biscuit.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Beef Stew

I did this in a slow-cooker overnight but I think 12 hours is too long to cook. Might have to try to make this into a stove-top stew some other time. 

Ingredients:

Beef stew meat, cubed
Celery, chopped
Onion, chopped
Carrots, chopped
Garlic, minced
Large russet pototo, cubed
All-purpose flour
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Olive oil
1 container Beef broth
1/2 cup Red wine
S+P
3 sprigs Rosemary
2 Bay leaves
Steak sauce or Worcestershire sauce 

Preparation:

Fill crockpot with potato, carrots, celery, bay leaves, some salt and pepper.

Mix flour, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper in a freezer bag and shake the beef in it to coat. Pan fry in a olive oil, adding them in batches so your pan doesn't instantly cool down. Remove meat to crock pot, add a little more olive oil to sautee onion and garlic until soft. Deglaze pan with red wine. Add beef broth and sauce and simmer for a few minutes. Add mixture to pot. Top the stew with rosemary sprigs and set to low for 12 hours.

It's good and cheap but I'll add more salt next time with a shorter cooking time. I still cannot seem to make my crockpot to work for me! Maybe when I'm home with the baby and can keep an eye on it, it will work better. ;)

Almond Cheesecake

From Epicurious. (I didn't know cheesecake was so easy to make and now that I do, I'm doomed.)

Ingredients:
3 packages of 8oz cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp almond extract (or vanilla if you prefer)

Vanilla cookies, crumbled
1/2 stick butter, melted
extra butter for coating pan

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350.

Crust: Mix cookie crumbles with melted butter and press into the buttered bottom of whatever you're using to bake. I used a silicone muffin baking sheet that holds 6 heart-shaped and another small casserole dish. (You can use a mini muffin tin or cupcake pan or a baking dish but whatever you use keep in mind that the larger the receptacle, the longer the baking time.) Leave some crumble left over to put over the top of the cheesecake.

Cake: With an electric blender mix the sugar, cream cheese and extract until smooth. Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Divide the mixture up into baking dishes and place them in the bottom of a large roasting pan. Fill the pan with hot water, about halfway up the baking dishes.

Bake until cheesecakes are firm. My smaller cakes took 45 minutes while the larger took a little over an hour.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

White Quiche

Ingredients:
5 eggs
Shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 russet potato, cubed and boiled til tender but not falling apart
3/4 c. cottage cheese
1/2 bag frozen cauliflower (doesn't have to be frozen but that's what I had on hand)
1/2 lb Roasted turkey, chopped (I bought some already prepared at the deli counter = easy)
3 large sprigs Fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp thyme
1 tbs butter
salt and pepper
Frozen deep dish pie crust (you can make your own from my recipe on Feb 9, 2009 but, eh, I didn't feel like it and Mrs. Calendar is buttery and EASY)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375. While the crust thaws and the cauliflower is defrosts, sauté your shallots and garlic in olive oil til fragrant. Add rosemary, thyme, cauliflower, cubed potato; season to taste and sauté with butter until veggies are browned. Scramble eggs until really loose and then add cottage cheese, turkey, and veggie mix. Load into pie crust and bake 30 minutes or until firm.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Menu week of November 1, 2010

Monday: Too expensive Sushi with Amy (Ouch)
Tuesday: Salmon, Kale and Cous Cous with Cherry Tomatoes
Wednesday: Shrimp Scampi
Thursday: Seriously, No Idea
Friday: Chinese BBQ Spare Ribs Take-Out with Brown Rice

Experiment: Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup with Sage (Update: didn't happen)

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Caribbean Rice and Beans

Ingredients:
(makes 4 heaping servings)
One bag frozen black-eyed peas
2 tbs olive oil
10 ounces turkey kielbasa, thinly sliced
1/2 c. celery, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 c. scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
1 Jalapeno, chopped
1 tbs freshThyme or dried to taste
Jerk seasoning
1 cup uncooked rice
3/4 large package of chopped collard greens


Preparation:
Boil peas in 3 cups of water. Sautee kielbasa in olive oil til until browned. Add garlic, celery and the white parts of the scallions, thyme and jerk seasoning and sautee til veggies are soft. Add peas in the liquid to the pan with the rice. Do not stir. Bring to a boil. Top with collards, cover and simmer 50 minutes to an hour until rice is cooked. Stir in scallions greens and serve.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Week of October 18, 2010 Menu

Monday: Filet Mignon (on sale!), rice, and broccoli
Tuesday: BLT and A with Kale
Wednesday: Fish Sticks (never got made the week before last) with Baked Fries

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Manhattan Clam Chowder

Ingredients:
(makes 6 servings)
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans chopped clams
2 fillets of white fish (I used tilapia)
one large russet potato,
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp corianders seeds
1 tsp whole black pepper
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Toast your seeds and black pepper until fragrant and grind. Sautee bacon and add onion and garlic once fat has rendered. Cook til onions are soft and bacon is browned. Add spices and sautee for a minute more with some salt (you don't need much because the bacon is salty. Add potatoes and cook til soft. Add fish and clams and cook through.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Oct 11, 2010 Menu


Mon: Clam Chowder
Tues: Steak with Broccoli and rice
Wed: Shrimp Scampi
Thurs: AAALLL BYYY MYYYYSEEEEElf Baked Potato
Fri: Salmon and cous cous with Kale
Sat: Eat/order out (CHEAP!)
Sun: TBD
Snacks/desserts: Granola bars and baked apples


Friday, October 8, 2010

Awesome Lasagna

I'm just gonna post a link here with some notes for this awesome lasagna. I didn't change much.

http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Lighter-Lasagna-Primavera-(Moosewood-Restaurant-New-Classics)/28886/

Notes:

1. I made my own basil sauce which is my puttenesca recipe minus capers and olives, plus basil (http://lttlpggy.blogspot.com/2009/12/puttanesca-sauce.html)

2. I didn't add the crumbled tofu because Andy says he doesn't want to have it much (something about estrogen? I don't know)so I subbed in chopped turkey meatballs cooked in the sauce.

3. I didn't puree the cottage (or ricotta cheese); it saved me a dish. I just mixed together the cheeses with the asparagus in a bowl. I also didn't add garlic to this mix; I felt there was enough in the sauce.

4. I used a smaller pan (8X8) since there are only two of us.

5. No nutmeg on hand; it was fine and I used whole wheat noodles.

6. Finally! To keep confusion limited, the layers go thusly: sauce, dry noodles, cheese mix, chopped meatballs, dry noodles for two layers then a final layer of the artichoke hearts topped with dry noodles and SMOTHERED in sauce (make sure you reserve enough for the final layer of noodles or they won't cook through.

Such a great recipe! Andy loved it.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Baked Apple from 10/4 Menu

Ingredients:
1 apple (not granny smith unless you want apple sauce)
1 tbs of brown sugar
1/4 cup white wine
pinch cinnamon or allspice
pinch salt

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350. Core apple leaving bottom intact. Mix cinnamon, brown sugar,* and salt and pack into the cavity. Bake covered with tin foil for one hour. Let cool for a bit and top with whipped cream.** Pour a tablespoon of the juices in the baking dish on top. (I thought briefly about reducing the juices to make a syrup and I might do that next time.)

*Did you know that brown sugar is just white sugar mixed well with a dollop of molasses? And if you mix it to order, you'll never have to deal with that brick in a box you chip away at every time you need brown sugar. Add less molasses to make light and more to make dark sugar.

**Whipped cream is just heavy cream whipped til it forms peaks (5 minutes give or take on hi). I don't add sugar because chances are the dessert is always sweet enough without it; add a dash of salt for character.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Menu Week of October 4, 2010

Okay, so last month Mama (me) went a little overboard on the family credit card and needs to make up for it by actually planning a menu and STICKING TO IT GODAMMIT. So. Here is this week's menu for all posterity (me) but already I've had to amend because I was to make lentil soup last night but it would have taken an hour and it took that long to do the grocery shopping soo... we had the BLTs with my soon to be world famous HOMEMADE MAYO and potato salad made with same(recipe posted below). So freaking good and worth the carpel tunnel.

Also of note:

I'm totally pregnant!


MENU 10/4/10
Monday: BLT and Lentil Soup (NOPE)
Tuesday: Cheap Cioppino
Wed: Provencal Veg and Pepperoni Pizza and salad
Thurs: Fish sticks and broccoli and fries
Fri: Lasagna
Sat: Eat/order out (CHEAP!)
Sun: BBQ?
Snacks/desserts: Granola bars and baked apples

Homemade Mayo

I was watching Two Fat Ladies (a cheeky, old British cooking show) and they made mayo and I was struck by how easy it looked. Next day, I had to make it and it is just so much better than anything you will get from a jar; holy crap, I could eat it with a spoon. Almost did.

Ingredients:
Dijon Mustard, spoonful
tsp salt
pepper (if i had white pepper on hand I would have used that)
2 egg yolks, room temperature (very important)
tsp vinegar or squeeze of lemon
Canola oil or other mild oil (not extra virgin olive)

Prep:
Whisk Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, lemon and egg yolks til creamy. Then, DROP BY DROP, add the oil until it looks and feels like mayo! It's that easy! Mine was a little yellow because I used too much Dijon but it tasted fantastic.



Thursday, September 23, 2010

Kale with Pan-fried Walnuts

Ingredients:

2-3 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup walnut pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced or finely chopped
Large bunch of kale

Preparation:

Tear kale into pieces and add to heavily-salted, boiling water and boil for 6 minutes.
Drain and set aside.
Fry walnuts in oil until golden brown and then add garlic til fragrant.
Add cooled kale and sautee til heated.




Spicy Garlic Tofu

From Epicurious

Ingredients:
1/4 c Scallions, chopped
Garlic, 2 cloves, roasted
1 tbs sesame oil
3 tsp sesame seeds, toasted
3 tbs soy sauce
pinch salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
soft tofu

Preparation:
Rinse tofu carefully and Cut in half (top and bottom) and place in large pan and cover with cold water; set pan to simmer of med heat while you prepare the sauce.
Roast garlic (wrap cloves in tin foil in 350 degree oven til soft and golden).
Toast sesame seeds til golden brown in hot skillet.
Mash roasted garlic with a pinch of salt and then mix with other ingredients.
Crush sesame seeds with a knife or spoon and stir into sauce.
Carefully remove tofu from water and set on paper towels to drain.
Plate and serve with sauce on top.

I served this with brown rice and Kale with Panfried Walnuts.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Easy Banana Muffins

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
3-4 ripe, mashed bananas (can use as few as two)
1/2 c. sugar (original recipe calls for 1 whole cup but, yikes, that's sweet especially with chocolate chips! might have to play around with that to get perfect ratio)
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg beaten
1/4 c. melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
nuts and chocolate chips are optional (if you're the type of person who thinks nuts and chocolate chips are, in fact, optional...I'm not.)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix ingredients, divide in buttered or Pam-med muffin tin, bake until tops are golden brown, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Sirloin Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
Sirloin, 1/2 inch strips
Cilantro, chopped
Garlic, minced
Tomatoes, chopped
5 Limes, juiced
2 Avocados
1 can White Beans, drained
Chipotle BBQ Sauce (your choice, whatever)
Onions, 1 chopped, 1 sliced into strips
Red Peppers, strips
Romaine Lettuce
Salt, to taste

Preparation:
Marinate your sirloin in the bbq sauce of your choice (Trader Joe's ahs one already marinated) and lime juice. While it marinates you can combine chopped onions, garlic, salt and lime juice in a bowl and let that sit while you puree your avocados and white beans in a food processor. Heat a skillet for your meat on high. Add the meat and cook till done, about 6 minutes. Remove the meat and let rest. Add sliced onions and red peppers to the pan's juices and cook till tender. Meanwhile, combine the avocado mixture with the onion and lime juice; add cilantro and tomatoes.

Wrap the meat and veg in lettuce wraps and serve your guacomle with sliced veggies or chips.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad 2

Ingredients:
Red and Golden Beets
8 oz Goat Cheese
Dried Tarragon
Walnut pieces
EV Olive Oil
Watercress
Salt

Preparation:

Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast. Chill overnight. (Maybe spend a Sunday afternoon roasting so they'll be good to go for Monday dinner.) Arrange your chilled, peeled, and chunked beets on a plate (the red ones stain!) and salt. Drizzle with olive oil; top with walnuts and washed watercress leaves. Serve with dollops of goat cheese mixed with dried tarragon.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Carrot Ginger Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:
1 Onion, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Shallot, Chopped
1/4 cup Ginger, peeled and minced
3 Tbs Butter
2 Tbs Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
4 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced
8 cups Veg Stock

Preparation:
Saute onion, garlic, shallot and ginger in butter and oil until soft and aromatic. Deglaze with wine and cook for 5 minutes. Add carrots, stock and sweet potato, boil for 45 minutes. Puree. Serve cold or hot iwth a pinch of curry and a squeeze of lemon if you'd like. Yum!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Happy Anniversary!

Haha, it's been a year! I really like how this blog has worked out for me. It actually has become my own cookbook of tried and true, Andy-proof recipes. I have used the Shrimp Scampi recipe countless times; Andy begs for puttenesca; the balsamic glaze is still a favorite over fish and broccoli with lemon, yum.

Some of the recipes I've made exactly once since they are so time-consuming: Crusted Tuna and those delicious fishcakes.

I hope to add lots more successful (read: easy!) recipes in the months to come!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Creamy Lobster Stew

Ingredients:
2 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 red bliss potatoes, chopped
the meant of 2 lobsters
8 oz Heavy Cream
2 cups vegetable stock
4 cups milk
S+P

Preparation:
Steam lobster in a large pot: fill pot with two inches of water, set in your lobsters and cook until bright red. We cut the tails off at one point and realized the meat was still raw and threw it back in, no harm done. The second time we took it out, some meat was still raw but cooked the rest of the way in the stew. (So, you'll be fine even though lobster is scary and ugly before it's cooked.)

While your lobster steams, saute your veggies in the vegetable stock with a dash of salt and pepper. Add meat of lobster, milk and heavy cream; season to taste with salt and pepper. There you go--nothing to it!

(Leftovers can be served as pie with puff pastry.)

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
(Eyeball amounts)
Whole chicken
Leeks, sliced in rounds from stalk to leaf
Zucchini, sliced
Onion, sliced
Apples, sliced
(Carrots and celery can be added, too.)
Olive Oil
Tarragon
Water
Egg Noodles
S+P

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375.
In a large pot, saute in oil your chicken innards and wings (cut from the whole bird) until golden brown.
Pop the rest of the chicken with some apple slices and drizzled with oil in the oven for an hour to roast (or until inner temperature reads 180).
Add veggies, tarragon, and apples to the large pot and saute with a little more olive oil until veggies are softened.
Add enough water to serve as broth for soup.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Boil the mix for almost an hour as the chicken roasts (you are making chicken stock!).

Once chicken is roasted, you can carve off pieces to add to the soup and boil your noodles. Keep the noodles separate from the soup, preparing enough for as many servings as you need. This way the noodles don't get mushy.

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