tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23989134592998859562024-03-13T07:12:50.179-07:00Cookin' Something GoodRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-8702326615800115722011-09-03T10:56:00.001-07:002011-09-03T10:57:03.337-07:00Last few postsThe mail lady accidentally delivered a neighbor's Latina magazine. It was 115 out when I got it, so I was going to wait until it was cooler to walk it over. I looked at the cover and saw "Cream Cheese Flan" and knew I had to read the recipes. I've shared them with you, and I will be giving my neighbor her magazine later today.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-10421563792449455992011-09-03T10:44:00.000-07:002011-09-03T10:48:55.705-07:00Arroz con chorizo1/4 c olive oil
<br />1 lbs Spanish chorizo, casing removed, cut into 1/2 inch slices
<br />1 large onion, diced
<br />1 medium green bell pepper, diced
<br />3 cloves garlic, minced
<br />1 c tomato sauce
<br />1 bay leaf
<br />2 c long-grain white rice
<br />1 tsp Bijol
<br />1/4 c dry white wine
<br />3 1/2 c chicken stock
<br />Hot sauce, optional
<br />Salt and pepper
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<br />In large saucepan, heat olive oil over med heat. Add chorizo and saute 3 to 5 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook until onion is translucent (5 to 7 minutes). Add tomato sauce and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and stir well. Add Bijol, dry white wine and stock, and bring mixture to boil. Cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, fluff with fork, cover and cook until rice is tender (17 to 20 minutes). Add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
<br />Makes 6 to 8 servings.
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<br />Ana's Advice: Another option is just making a sofrito (onion, pepper, garlic, 1/2 c tomato sauce), chorizo and a packet of yellow rice mix (reduce stock accordingly). You can throw the bay leaf in to make it look more homemade!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-20848289411708397182011-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:002011-09-03T10:44:14.913-07:00Cream cheese flan1 c sugar, divided
<br />4 large whole eggs
<br />2 large egg yolks
<br />1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
<br />1 can (14 oz) evaporated milk
<br />1 tsp vanilla extract
<br />8 oz whole cream cheese at room temp
<br />1/4 tsp salt
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<br />Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
<br />In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 c of the sugar over medium-low heat until it turns light caramel color (about 15 to 20 minutes), and pour into foil loaf pan.
<br />Combine remaining ingredients thoroughly in blender and pour evenly into loaf pan.
<br />Fill large rectangular baking pan halfway with water. Carefully place flan pan into water pan, and place on center rack of oven. Bake until center of custard is set (about 45 minutes). Let cool to room temp.
<br />Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
<br />Before serving, run knife around edges and invert onto plate. May be eaten plain or topped with guava marmalade, dulce de leche, or dulce de coco (all are available in Hispanic section of most supermarkets).
<br />Makes 6 servings.
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<br />Ana's Advice: The great thing about the foil loaf pan is that you can pull it apart on the sides. I've had many cakes not unmold correctly, but I've never had it happen to a flan.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-38211742106364631912011-09-03T10:35:00.000-07:002011-09-03T10:39:23.408-07:00Cuban-style sugar cookies1 c vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
<br />1 c sugar, more for garnish
<br />3 c all-purpose flour
<br />1 tsp lemon zest, grated (optional)
<br />1/2 tsp salt
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<br />In a large bowl, combine shortening and sugar. Gradually add flour until firm, but not flaky. Mix well. Stir in lemon zest.
<br />Place dough in plastic wrap and form into 2 1/2-inch wide cylinder. Wrap plastic around dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350.
<br />Cut dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on greased baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. After taking cookies out of oven, immediately sprinkle with additional sugar.
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<br />Makes 3 dozen cookies.
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<br />Ana's Advice: I've made these for Christmas with different colors of sugar, and they look nice too. They're also great for topping with guava or dulce de leche.
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<br />NOTE: I'd probably use butter instead of Crisco.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-45475074463995663032011-09-03T10:28:00.000-07:002011-09-03T10:34:44.495-07:00Cuban Shepherd's PieMashed Potatoes
<br />3 lbs deli mashed potatoes (not instant)
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<br />Picadillo
<br />1/4 c olive oil, divided
<br />2 cloves garlic, minced
<br />1 medium onion, diced
<br />1 small green bell pepper, diced
<br />1 lbs ground sirloin or ground round
<br />1/2 c dry white wine
<br />1 c tomato sauce
<br />1/2 tsp ground cumin
<br />1/2 tsp ground oregano
<br />1 tsp salt
<br />1/2 tsp pepper
<br />1/4 c raisins, optional
<br />1/4 c pimento-stuffed olives, roughly chopped
<br />2 tbsp capers
<br />1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated
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<br />In frying pan, heat half of oil over med-high heat. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute 5 to 7 minutes. All pan to return to med-high head, then add beef. Saute until thoroughly cooked (10 to 15 minutes), breaking up large chunks. Drain excess liquid.
<br />Add white wine, tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and remaining olive oil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Add raisins, olives, and capers. Set aside.
<br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer half of mashed potatoes evenly on bottom of large, oiled ovenproof casserole dish. Cover with picadillo. Top with remaining potatoes, sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until top of casserole turns golden brown.
<br />Makes 6 servings.
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<br />Ana's advice: There are many things you can omit, such as the raisins, olives, or capers, if you don't like them.
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<br />NOTE: If you're going to make the picadillo, make the mashed potatoes too. Deli mashed potatoes in this will be fine, I'm sure, but homemade will be SO much better, especially if they're garlic. Just a suggestion.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-12133365181310091502011-09-03T10:21:00.000-07:002011-09-03T10:28:05.660-07:00Brie and Guava en Croute1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury crescent rolls
<br />1 round (8-10 oz) Brie cheese
<br />1/2 c guava preserve
<br />1 egg, beaten
<br />Crackers, for serving
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<br />Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into rectangular sheet (ignore perforations). Cut 1-inch strip off longer ends. Carefully place Brie in center of dough and pour preserves on top. Fold shorter edges over Brie, then two longer edges. Press to seal. Brush top of pastry with egg. Bake pastry 15 to 20 minutes on greased baking sheet until dough is golden and flaky. Remove from oven. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with crackers.
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<br />Makes 6 to 8 servings.
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<br />Ana's advice: I've used the red pepper jelly with this and it's awesome too. You can use any kind of preserve.
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<br />NOTE: I don't normally eat Pillsbury products, I'm not testing this recipe, I just thought it sounded good, sans Pillsbury product.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-74097226850195142762011-08-20T19:15:00.001-07:002011-08-20T19:27:40.127-07:00Cold avocado soupIt's been awhile since I blogged. Life has been hectic and I lost my cooking mojo for awhile. There was a lot of stuff from Fresh & Easy that was heat and eat, or cook and eat. Very little thought behind what I was cooking. I hate when I get like that! Anyway, I was in a soup mood today and I found a recipe for quinoa and corn soup. I got corn in my bountiful basket, so I need to use it, but I have to soak the quinoa in stock or water overnight so it'll sprout (whether or not it'll ACTUALLY sprout in stock will remain to be seen. I vote no.) I was looking around and remembered reading about cold avocado soup in Debbie Macomber's book <u>Hannah's List</u>. It sounded interesting, so I googled it and one of the first results that came up was an Emeril recipe.
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<br />Now, if there's one person I love from the Food Network, it's Emeril, and technically he's no longer on FN. His recipes always turn out for me, which is more than I can say for some (Paula Deen, you disappoint me.) I read the recipe and I was practically drooling at the end, so I rushed out and got the things necessary for it (and toilet paper which was the real catalyst for the shopping trip. I figured while I was at the store, I'd pick up stuff to make something fun.) <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/cold-avocado-soup-recipe/index.html" target="resource" window="">Here</a> is the recipe:
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<br />3 large, ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
<br />1 1/2 cups chicken stock
<br />1/4 cup minced scallions
<br />2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
<br />2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, plus 6 sprigs
<br />1 1/2 teaspoons salt
<br />1/2 teaspoon cayenne
<br />1 cup heavy cream
<br />1 tablespoon olive oil
<br />1 cup corn kernels
<br />1/2 teaspoon cumin
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<br />Directions
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<br />In batches in a food processor, puree the avocados, chicken stock, scallions, lemon juice, cilantro, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the cayenne. Pour into a soup tureen or large pitcher and stir in the heavy cream just before serving. In a small skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the corn kernels, cumin, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook until fragrant and golden brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and garnish each serving of soup with 2 tablespoons of the toasted corn and 1 sprig of cilantro.
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<br />I followed the recipe pretty closely, but because I was going to be serving it to my kids, I decided to use 1/4 tsp of cayenne. I served it with chips and salsa. The flavor was great, it was like the best guacamole ever, but I had to add to it to change it up. We added a few spoonfuls of salsa, some steamed white rice, it all helped. The winning combo for my kids was a few spoonfuls of salsa and various amounts of rice (more rice for my youngest, less rice for my oldest.) Here's a picture of it before I added the salsa and rice:
<br /><img src=http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/308814_10150751208420453_609395452_20202530_4727118_n.jpg>
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<br />Definitely give this recipe a try. If you do a variation on it, let me know, I'm very interested to hear of all the ways you can make this soup. I think next time I'll put a clove or 2 of garlic in it (2 max, raw garlic is very strong tasting!)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-70894791910864822422011-03-19T15:57:00.000-07:002011-03-19T16:12:44.583-07:00Nearly 5 monthsNearly 5 months have gone by since my last blog post and a lot has happened. We bought a house, and moved into it. It was a short sale that we got a very good deal on. We decided to get a single story house because we didn't want to have to deal with insane electricity bills come summer, and I have to say that I'm very happy with our house.<br /><br />I've been thinking about a turn of phrase that people say lately. "Easy to please." Some people say it like it's something to be ashamed of, but I can't think of any reason why that would be a bad thing (unless EVERYTHING pleases you.) When my husband and I first married I was making him a batch of chocolate chip cookies to take with him on the plane for a business trip. We didn't have an electric mixer and he had the brilliant idea of having me use a blender. I looked at him like he was crazy (rightfully so!) and showed him it didn't work. He thought I broke the VitaMix and I cleaned out the blender, then mixed the cookies by hand. When he came home from his trip he said he had a gift for me and pulled out a hand mixer. I was so touched, it was a really thoughtful gift. Someone told me that it was a crap gift, why was I so happy with it, and I couldn't figure out why they would say those things. I didn't expect the gift and I surely didn't think it was crap. Regardless of how much money said mixer cost, he thought of me while he was on his trip and saw something that he knew I wanted, and needed. I still have that mixer today.<br /><br />I hear stories of women that are completely hard to please and I feel bad for their marriages. Now, hear me out, I'm not saying that I'm so above them, or that they're stupid, I just think their attitudes are poor. It seems like their husbands can do nothing right and I can't imagine that would be a happy marriage. Some women are so focused on the physical things their spouses bring to the table that they overlook the emotional things their spouses bring, or that their spouses have feelings at all. I know a woman who hates her husband, has given him permission to have an affair because she's not having sex with him, but she won't divorce him because she doesn't want to lose her house (and at the same time she tries to get uppity with me and lecture me about marriage. It would be amusing if it weren't so damn sad.) Awhile back she was upset because he didn't ask her how a doctors appointment went when she thought she had cancer. She didn't, but she spent more time than she should have stewing about the fact that her husband hadn't asked how the appointment went. Perhaps her husband emotionally checked out of the marriage when he was told that he could have an affair? Perhaps he was giving her space to cope with the news that he assumed was bad because she didn't dance through the door singing, "It's NEGATIVE!" (Which is TOTALLY something I would do.) I'm not sure how, or if it's even possible, for her to get back to a good marriage with her husband, but thinking of her, and the way that she speaks about her husband, makes me so glad that my husband is who he is.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-27048725989578645022010-10-21T23:13:00.000-07:002010-10-21T23:20:36.094-07:00Happy birthday to Lana!Here is my birth story with my youngest, Lana:<br /><br />I woke up Sunday at around 7:15 with a few little back pains, but I<br />figured they would go away. We had Mexican food Saturday night to<br />celebrate Kevin's birthday, so I figured it would go away when I<br />finally passed some gas (I had been having a lot of "contractions"<br />that ended up being from needing to fart, so I tried not to get my<br />hopes up.) I went to the bathroom and they didn't stop after I'd<br />farted, and I had really bad bloody show (like I was getting ready to<br />start my period), so I told dh and he was timing the contractions for<br />me. I got into the shower but he didn't stay there, and in my 15<br />minute shower I had 4 really powerful contractions (all in my back.)<br />I got out, got dressed and went downstairs. We figured they were<br />about 5 minutes apart, so I called the midwife who said she'd have to<br />call me back. My MIL and mom were here, so they were getting ready<br />for the day, and when they had finished getting ready before I got a<br />call back from the midwife, we decided to go ahead and go to the<br />birth center. We made Emily some french toast sticks and bagged some<br />cereal and headed out the door. I called again and talked to Kel, my<br />regular midwife, who said to come on in and get checked. We got there<br />at about 8 am and waited for awhile, another family was there, and we<br />talked to them in the waiting room. Their mama had the baby at 7:15,<br />but she needed stitches, so Kel was finishing up on those.<br /><br />We realized they didn't see us come in, so my mom went out and rang<br />the doorbell to let them know we were here, and the birth assistant<br />came out, telling me Kel was finishing up, so we went to an exam room<br />and waited. She came out and checked me, saying that she wasn't sure<br />I was in labor because I was only 3-4 cm dilated and 90% effaced<br />(thank you EPO!) so she said I should go to the back labor room and<br />hang out for an hour or two, that she'd come to check on me and see<br />how things were going. I decided to have Emily snuggle and nurse to<br />make sure things kept going, and to have our last moments of her as<br />an only child before labor got really intense. She came back in about<br />an hour and said I was at 4-5 cm, still 90% effaced, but that there<br />was definitely something going on so she was going to admit us (which<br />at the Birth Center basically means we get to stay, lol. No paperwork<br />or anything.) When I got to 5 cm, I decided to try out the birthing<br />tub because the contractions were all in my back (even though baby<br />wasn't posterior) and Kevin tried sacral (sp?) pushes to counteract<br />the pressure, which helped a lot. Emily was in the room up to that<br />point, she had been nursing to jump start labor (while we were there<br />for the first hour, before we were admitted) and she had been doing<br />the breathing with me, she'd say, "Mama!" and then blow, blow, blow.<br />It was pretty cute. While I was waiting for the tub to fill up I was<br />sitting on the toilet in the bathroom and she would dip her hands in<br />the water and run over to put them on my belly. I was amazed at how<br />perceptive she was. My MIL and mom went off in search of swim<br />diapers, just in case, but Emily ended up leaving the room before I<br />got into the tub and didn't come back until the baby was born.<br /><br />I labored in the tub for about an hour when I decided to try getting<br />out and doing other positions. We tried the dance position (leaning<br />against dh with arms around his neck) and I didn't really like that,<br />then we tried laying in bed on my side, on the birth ball while<br />rotating my hips, on hands and knees, butt in the air, every little<br />position I could think of, I tried it, and quickly discarded it after<br />each contraction. We refilled the tub with warm water and I got back<br />in like a woman on a mission (my midwife laughed at how fast I walked<br />back to the tub.) I progressed fairly quickly in the tub, my midwife<br />told me to try to butterfly my legs to make my pelvis bigger, so with<br />each contraction I did that and leaned forward while dh did some<br />symmetrical hand movements on my back. We did this position where I<br />leaned over the edge of tub, while still in it, my arm pits were<br />against the top of the edge of the tub, and I was holding myself up<br />with my knees, spread wide apart to get gravity into things. I felt<br />the need to push, but my midwife said I was only 8 cm and had a<br />little lip of cervix left, so I could do little baby pushes. The baby<br />pushes were not what my body was telling me to do, so she told me I<br />wasn't allowed to push anymore (bad mama, not listening!) so she told<br />me to do these little breaths where you pretend like you're blowing a<br />feather up, that it keeps you from pushing. She checked me again and<br />said I was at 9 cm, a little cervix left, but that there was a bag of<br />water in the way, so I laid back and she broke my water for me, which<br />came out clear. I got back into position at the end of the tub, and<br />got ready to push (she told me that if I felt like I needed to push<br />that I could.) With the next contraction I started pushing, and it<br />burned pretty bad, but I felt her head coming down the birth canal,<br />and the midwife said she was crowning. I couldn't get her out with<br />that contraction, and I felt pretty frustrated when I felt her head<br />go back in, but with the next contraction I tried to push the entire<br />time. Kel said that the head was out and she needed to do something<br />with the cord (I think move it so that she could have better access<br />at the baby) and then gave me the go to finish pushing and she was<br />out! I asked dh what time it was and he said 12:12 pm. We drained the<br />tub and I held baby while we waited for the placenta to be delivered<br />and for the cord to stop pulsing. While we were waiting, Lana decided<br />it was time to poop, and pooped for about 5 minutes straight (the<br />midwife and birth assistant were laughing because she just kept<br />pooping!) Kel checked me and said that I had two really small tears<br />that didn't need stitches (not bleeding, they were overlapping<br />themselves already so they would heal quickly) and that I looked<br />perfect. Lana has some bruising on her face, but other than that,<br />she's perfect. She just squeaked by needing a blood sugar test,<br />weighing in at 9 lbs 13 oz. She doesn't fit any of the newborn sized<br />cloth diapers I made and we had to loosen the straps on her car seat,<br />we were totally not prepared for a baby her size.<br /><br />There were times during the labor that I thought I couldn't do it, in<br />fact I told my midwife and Kevin that I couldn't, but they just kept<br />telling me I could. I think I was 7 cm when I told them I wanted<br />drugs (to which my midwife said, "We don't have any drugs." which<br />they didn't, and I'm eternally grateful for because I was probably an<br />hour away from delivering her and would have kicked myself forever<br />after that!) I told Kevin he has to go get me a medal now, lol.<br /><br />10/21/07 - 12:12 pm - 9 lbs 13 oz - 22 inchesRebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-24779884684521339122010-10-14T14:02:00.000-07:002010-10-14T14:08:22.122-07:00Birthday cake plans!My 2 year old is turning 3 at the end of the month, and it's my husband's birthday the day before hers. His fave cake is red velvet, so I've been on the hunt for a dye free red velvet cake recipe (it was shared on my facebook in February, but I don't want to sift through 8 months of posts to find it!) I found one that looks tasty, and I'm going to fill them with the ganache from a second recipe. <a href=http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/seeing-red/ target=resource window>Here's</a> the dye free cake recipe:<br /><br />Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes<br /><br />1 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour<br />1 Cup Granulated Sugar<br />2 Tablespoons Natural Cocoa Powder*<br />1 Teaspoon Baking Powder<br />1/4 Teaspoon Salt<br />1 8.25-Ounce Can Water-Packed Sliced Beets<br />1/3 Cup Canola Oil<br />1/4 Cup Lemon Juice<br />1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract<br /><br />*VERY important, do not use dutch processed for this recipe<br /><br />Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line 12 cupcake tins with papers.<br /><br />In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt so that all of the ingredients are evenly dispersed throughout the mixture. Set aside.<br /><br />Get out your food processor or blender, and toss the entire contents of the can of beets, water included, into the machine. Process the beets for a solid 2 – 4 minutes, depending on how powerful your machine is, until completely smooth. Add in the oil, lemon juice, and vanilla, and pulse briefly to incorporate.<br /><br />Pour the beet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, and mix just enough to combine. Equally distribute the batter between your prepared tins, and bake for 18 – 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before applying the mandatory “cream cheese” frosting.<br /><br /><a href=http://betterbatter.org/dye-free-ganache-filled-red-velvet-cupcakes-regular-and-df target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe for the ganache:<br /><br />Ganache Ingredients<br />6 ounces bittersweet chocolate<br />2 cups heavy cream OR Silk creamer OR homemade Almond Creamer<br /><br />Melt chocolate into cream in a double boiler over low heat, stirring constantly. pour into a large bowl and set in the fridge to cool, about 30 minutes. This should be thin enough to pipe but thick enough to hold a shape. Place into an icing bag fitted with the largest star tip or a filling tip.<br /><br />Take a toothpick and poke the top of each cupcake. Swirl the toothpick around to create a ‘hole’ in the center of each cupcake, disturbing as little of the surface as possible. Pipe about 1 1/2 tbsp. of ganache into the center of each cupcake.<br /><br />And of course, the necessary cream cheese frosting:<br /><br />Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients<br />1/2 cup butter or margarine<br />8 oz. cream cheese OR Tofutti Cream Cheese OR cultured nut cheese<br />3 cups powdered sugar<br />1 tsp. vanilla extract<br /><br />Cream butter or margarine and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla extract and beat till very smooth. Add powdered sugar. Spoon into piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes.<br /><br />Return cupcakes to fridge for 30 minutes to set the frosting.<br /><br />Sprinkle with red sugar, if desired.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-759389279396048212010-10-11T22:18:00.001-07:002010-10-13T23:19:12.034-07:00Basil Pesto Chicken PastaBasil Pesto Chicken Pasta<br /><br />Fresh diced chicken breast with a sauce that will knock your socks off!! Basil pesto pasta with a creamy feta cheese sauce.<br /><br /><br />I love pesto. I've had my mind blown by the idea of the different tastes that can come from mixing and matching the herbs and nuts used in the pesto, and whether or not you put cheese in it. Mint pecan pesto? Sounds tasty! I love a recipe that Rachael Ray had for parsley pesto. It's cheaper than using basil, and very fresh tasting.<br /><br />I've mentioned the parsley pesto recipe <a href=http://cookinsomethinggood.blogspot.com/2010/03/yummy-lenten-meal.html target=resource window>here</a> but I'm posting it again.<br /><br />Parsley Pesto<br /><br />2 cups parsley<br />3 oz jar or 1/4 c pignoli nuts (I leave these out, they're kind of expensive)<br />1 clove garlic, cracked away from skin (I generally use 2, we love garlic in our house!)<br />1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil<br />1 tsp black pepper<br />1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano<br /><br />Combine parsley, pignoli nuts, and garlic in food processor or blender. Process and stream in about 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Remove paste to a large serving bowl, stir in pepper and grated cheese. Add the rest of the olive oil, stir to combine.<br /><br /><br />Super easy! Now, there have been times that I've just dumped everything into the blender and it's turned out great, so don't worry so much about the steps, this is really a fuss free dish. It's done in the time it takes to boil the water for the noodles (unless you have a fancy induction cook top, in which case, it's done before the noodles are al dente!)<br /><br />Here's a recipe for basil pesto which is fantastic, and the best part about it is that it's made in bulk, so as long as you have noodles in your house, you'll always have a quick dinner!<br /><br />Basic Basil Pesto<br />3 garlic cloves<br />1/2 cup toasted pine nuts<br />1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />1/2 teaspoon black pepper<br />3 cups loosely packed fresh basil<br />2/3 cup good quality olive oil<br /><br />With food processor running, drop in garlic and finely chop. Stop motor and add nuts, cheese, salt, pepper, and basil, then process until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil slowly, blending until incorporated. Store in a tight container in the fridge for up to a week. Or, put pesto in an ice cube tray and freeze. Store pesto cubes in a frozen bag and use on pasta, chicken and salads throughout the year!<br /><br />So, for the most flavor, you can marinade the chicken in the basil pesto for 2-12 hours, grill it, then cut it up and toss with noodles and more pesto. I also like the idea of just grilling up the chicken while you're making the pesto in the blender and cooking the noodles, dicing it up, and tossing the whole meal together before serving it. I like this way too because I can reserve some of the chicken and noodles aside in case my youngest decides she hates something suddenly.<br /><br />Now, if you've been reading this thinking, "But I was promised feta cheese!" I can give you an option for that too, I haven't forgotten that!<br /><br />Here's what you'll need to pull the sauce together:<br />1 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth<br />2 cloves garlic, minced<br />1 tablespoon olive oil<br />1 teaspoons cornstarch<br />3/4 cup prepared basil pesto<br />1/4 cup chopped fresh basil<br />3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese<br /><br />Stir cornstarch into a couple of tablespoons of chicken broth. Stir remaining chicken broth, pesto, and basil into the skillet, mix cornstarch mixture into the sauce, and cook until thickened. Add feta a few minutes before serving.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-80548672094869916672010-10-11T22:07:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:19:01.687-07:00Amber Bock Sizzling SteakAmber Bock Sizzling Steak<br />Customer Favorite! Our Signature lean and tender bistro steaks marinated in dark beer, brown sugar, and spices. Creates a rich flavor you'll never forget. Bag ***contains soy product <br /><br />With fall upon us, the days of grilling are coming to a close (or in Arizona they're kicking into high gear!), I figured I'd share this recipe. You can do this under the broiler as well (personally I'd put a sear on it in the frying pan and then finish it off under the broiler if you're going to skip the grill totally)<br /><br />I found this recipe <a href=http://www.thesmokerking.com/pagegrilledsteak.html target=resource window>here</a>. I found another recipe that left out the red wine vinegar, but I think the vinegar is a great addition to the marinade, so I'm sharing this one, but you could always leave it out if you want to (or don't have it!) Now, I want to remind y'all, if you don't like Amber Bock, DON'T use that beer. Use a dark beer that you like, only cook with good booze!<br /><br />12 ounces of a dark beer such as Amber Bock<br />3 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled and mashed<br />1/4 Cup Chopped Onion<br />1 TSP Fresh Ground Pepper<br />1/4 TSP Salt<br />1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil<br />1/4 TSP Cumin<br />1/4 TSP Dried Thyme<br />1/4 cup red-wine vinegar<br /><br />Whisk together all Ingredients<br /><br />Place steak in a safe container, such as Tupperware, and pour marinade over the steak<br /><br />Put a lid on the container, and refrigerate for 6-12 hours, turning the steak over once.<br /><br />Remove the steak from the marinade, and let it sit for about 1 hour before you grill it. This will bring the temperature of the meat closer to room temperature.<br /><br />Before lighting the grill, spray on pam to prevent sticking.<br /><br />Gas Grill Method: If you are using a gas grill, hopefully it has two burners. Heat the grill by turning one of the burners on high, and the other on medium-low. This will allow you to sear the steak and seal in the juices. Place the steak on the hot side of the grill for 1.5-2 minutes. Turn the steak over and cook for 2 minutes. Move the steak to the cooler side of the grill and cook it for about 7-8 minutes for medium rare. The internal temperature should reach about 135F degrees.<br /><br />Charcoal Grill Method: Build a fire in 1/2 of the pit, and let the charcoal burn down; they will turn white, and you should not be able to hold your hand over the top of the grill for more than 1-2 seconds. Place the steak on the hot side of the grill for 1.5-2 minutes. Turn the steak over and cook for 2 minutes. Move the steak to the cooler side of the grill and cook it for about 7-8 minutes for medium rare. The internal temperature should reach about 135F degrees.<br /><br />Let the steak rest by placing it on a plate and covering it with foil for about 2 minutes or so. This will help in making the steak tender and juicy because if you cut the steak too early, the juices will be hot, causing them to ooze out.<br /><br />Now, these tips this recipe gives are really what takes a great steak and puts it over the top. Choosing a good cut, letting it come close to room temp, and letting it rest after cooking ensure a choosy, delicious steak. If you're going to put the time and effort into cooking a steak at home, make it worth your while!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-52120631545913084302010-10-11T22:00:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:18:46.361-07:00Buffalo chickenI mentioned buffalo chicken in my last post, and noticed that buffalo chicken was on one of the company's menus!<br /><br /> BUFFALO RANCH CHICKEN <br /><br />A healthier version of an American favorite! Boneless, skinless, all natural chicken breasts are flavored with a mild Buffalo wing marinade, then grilled or broiled and glazed with a kicked up lite Ranch dressing, finished with a sprinkling of Gorgonzola cheese.<br /><br /><a href=http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/juan-carlos-cruz/buffalo-chicken-and-blue-cheese-dipping-sauce-recipe/index.html target=resource window>This</a> is the recipe I started making buffalo chicken with.<br /><br />12 chicken tenders, about 12 ounces<br />1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce<br />1/2 cup all-purpose flour<br />1 teaspoon kosher salt<br />1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning<br />1 tablespoon butter<br />2 tablespoons vegetable oil<br /><br />Soak the chicken in the hot sauce in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Put the flour in a pie tin and season with salt and Cajun seasoning. Remove chicken from hot sauce, shake off excess, and dredge chicken in the flour. Set on a baking rack.<br /><br />Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the butter has stopped bubbling, add the chicken tenders and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Serve warm with blue cheese dipping sauce and celery pieces.<br /><br />I always had a hard time getting the coating to stay on without egg, so I got rid of the coating all together. Now, be careful, we used to just slap it in a frying pan and it was like someone sprayed pepper spray in the house (cooking is about trial and error, that was all error!) I now use my tabletop grill, which, if you don't have one, I highly suggest that you get one. They're fantastic, especially now that we live in Arizona and the last thing we need is something making us warmer!<br /><br />So basically, my way of cooking it is marinade the chicken in your favorite hot sauce for about an hour (the longer you leave it in, the hotter it gets. Once I left it in for a day, it was almost too hot to eat!) Then I grill it. Healthy, delicious, inexpensive, and quick!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-49076992607386458992010-10-11T21:51:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:18:31.819-07:00Buffalo Chicken Stuffed French BreadWith football season upon us, I thought this would be a fitting choice of a recipe to find :)<br /><br />BUFFALO CHICKEN STUFFED FRENCH BREAD<br />A pub favorite! We've combined flavors of Buffalo Chicken, bacon and Gorgonzola cheese. Stuffed into a crunchy French bread, the flavors melt together to make a tantalizing new baked sandwich! Sliced and served at your next halftime or tailgate party.<br /><br />I found the recipe very quickly <a href=http://www.food.com/recipe/buffalo-chicken-stuffed-french-bread-396759 target=resource window>here</a>.<br /><br />4 boneless chicken breasts<br />1 cup ranch dressing<br />1 cup chili sauce<br />1 cup shredded cheddar cheese<br />1 loaf French bread<br />cayenne pepper<br /><br /> Change Measurements: US | Metric<br /><br />Directions:<br /><br />Prep Time: 20 mins<br /><br />Total Time: 35 mins<br /><br />Cook the chicken breasts (I like to boil them) and then shred with two forks.<br /><br />Mix cheese, ranch dressing, and chili sauce with the chicken.<br /><br />Slice the french bread loaf lengthwise. Do not separate the two halves -- just butterfly it. Scoop out the soft bread filling, and break into little bits with your fingers.<br /><br />Add the bread pieces in with the chicken mix, and stir well to get everything coated nicely.<br /><br />Spoon all the chicken filling back into the french bread shells. Close the loaf together, and wrap tightly in foil.<br /><br />Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes to melt the cheese.<br /><br />When cool enough to handle, slice into rounds about 1 or 2 inches thick.<br /><br />I'm definitely going to be trying this very soon! My husband loves buffalo chicken, especially mine because it's lower in fat than most places (and cheaper!) so I'm sure this is something he'll love.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-84215065609828170622010-10-11T21:46:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:18:14.402-07:00Maple glazed roast porkHere's my next choice of recipe to help others find.<br /><br />MAPLE GLAZED PORK ROAST<br />Taste October! Our lean pork loin is roasted and glazed with a delicate blend of maple-flavored syrup, herbs, Dijon mustard and a touch of cider vinegar creating a sweet, yet savory, roast. Cooked until tender and succulent, the aromas fill the house after you pop in the oven and relax.<br /><br />I found the recipe very quickly on allrecipes.com <a href=http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/roast-pork-with-maple-and-mustard-glaze/Detail.aspx target=resource window>here</a><br /> <br />Ingredients<br /><br />2 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin roast<br />1 cup real maple syrup<br />4 tablespoons prepared Dijon-style mustard<br />2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar<br />2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce<br />salt to taste<br />ground black pepper to taste<br /><br />Directions<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).<br /><br />Stir together the maple syrup, mustard vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Place pork roast in a shallow roasting pan. Spread glaze evenly over pork roast.<br /><br />Roast pork in the preheated oven uncovered, until internal temperature measured with a meat thermometer reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C), about 1 hour. Remove from oven, and let rest about 10 minutes before slicing to serve.<br /><br />I will eventually try this, I'm very curious about the taste of it. If anyone tries it, let me know how it turns out!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-54007764864731963042010-10-11T21:16:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:17:49.160-07:00Tested the recipeSo, I tested the first recipe, it came out pretty good! You didn't really need the butter, but like everything butter touches, it just made it better! We followed the recipe and let it marinade for 4 hours. Here it is on my tabletop grill:<br /><br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs673.snc4/61366_10150257200590453_609395452_14787125_6007959_n.jpg><br /><br />I used breasts that weren't split, I really loved how that one looked like a heart. Grilled chicken is love, hee hee!<br /><br />This is a pic of the finished grilled chicken:<br /><br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs690.snc4/63026_10150257205910453_609395452_14787181_1262472_n.jpg><br /><br />Yeah, sure, you can eat that with some rice, and vegetables, call it a meal, but I decided to get a little different with it. Using one of the breasts (so half of that heart), I was going to make a salad with a friend. I wanted to grill the romaine (don't gasp with shock, I saw it on the food network and thought, well that could be good!) but she had a new lettuce knife that she was dying to try and got a little overzealous with it. Whatevs, I wasn't dying to try a totally grilled salad! I grilled 2 tomatoes that I cut in half, and an ear of corn. I cut the niblets off the corn and diced the grilled tomatoes, adding them to the romaine lettuce. I cut up the chicken breast and added a Sargento's salad finisher (this one was dried cranberries, pecans, and mozzarella asiago blend), and that was that. You heard me, NO DRESSING. It didn't need it. All the flavors blended and the textures were so great, it didn't need to be covered with anything. My friend agreed. Here's a pic of the salad:<br /><br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs338.ash2/61845_10150257212910453_609395452_14787232_1258142_n.jpg><br /><br />The second way that I made this chicken was cut up and tossed with a stir fried bok choy. I mentioned in a <a href=http://cookinsomethinggood.blogspot.com/2010/05/vegetarian-week.html target=resource window>previous post</a> that I made "chicken" and broccoli stir fry. Well, the week that I made this chicken, I also made hot and sour soup. I bought too much bok choy, and had to figure out what to do with it! I enjoyed the glaze on the vegetables in the previous recipe, and since it was just me eating it, I went crazy. I followed the recipe and put the red pepper flakes in it. Umm, yeah, NOT DOING THAT AGAIN! It was super hot. I think I doubled the recipe but still used 1/4 tsp red pepper and it hurt the next day, I'll just put it that way. Here's the recipe again:<br /><br />2 Tbsp. soy sauce<br />1 Tbsp. cornstarch<br />1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar<br />1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger<br />1 tsp. minced garlic<br />1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes<br />1 head bok choy<br /><br />In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, cornstarch, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Whisk until combined.<br />Cut the bok choy into 1/4-inch-thick pieces.<br />Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the oil. When almost smoking, add the vegetables, stir-frying for 1 minute. Add the broth and cook, scraping the bottom, until the vegetables are tender.<br /><br />It was quick, and tasty, working with the sesame, ginger, and soy from the chicken as well. I don't think that I'll be using fresh ginger in this recipe again though, I don't like to bite into fresh ginger, so it'll be ground ginger from here on out!<br /><br />So there's two other ways to serve this tasty chicken. I used half a breast with the bok choy and that was the perfect lunch size, so we were able to have 8 lunches out of the 4 breasts I marinaded with this. I think that's pretty awesome for those on a budget (we're stressing portion size here, 4 oz of chicken is roughly half a breast.)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-65387262006102681052010-09-23T21:37:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:16:57.739-07:00First recipe!SAVORY GRILLED CHICKEN WITH SESAME HONEY BUTTER <br /><br />Back by popular demand! Our sesame honey butter tops our all natural chicken breasts marinated in a scrumptious blend of sweet sesame, ginger and garlic for a punch of flavor. This moist golden brown chicken is ready in just 15 minutes and is bursting with flavor.<br /><br /><br />So, when you get through the fancy terms you see sesame honey butter on top of chicken breast that was marinaded in a sesame, ginger and garlic sauce. Pshaw, easy!<br /><br /><a href=http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/chickenturkeymore/r/chixsesging.htm target=resource window>Here</a> is a recipe for the chicken.<br /><br />4 boneless & skinless chicken breasts<br />3 garlic cloves peeled & crushed<br />1/2 cup soy sauce<br />1/4 cup seasoned rice wine vinegar<br />2 tablespoons honey<br />1 Tbsp fresh ginger root, peeled and grated<br />4 medium green onions, chopped<br />2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil<br />4-6 sprigs fresh cilantro, rinsed and dried<br />1 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)<br /><br /><br />Combine the soy sauce, garlic, vinegar, honey, ginger, onions, sesame oil and optional sesame seeds to make a marinade. Pour the marinade into a large plastic zipper baggie. Add the chicken breasts to the baggie, squeeze out the excess air and seal. Transfer the baggie to the refrigerator and allow the chicken to marinate for 3 to 4 hours.<br /><br /><br />Prepare a grill or grill pan by spraying with a bit of canola cooking spray, then get it very hot. Pick the cilantro leaves off the stems and set aside. Remove chicken from the marinade. Broil or grill 3 to 4 minutes per side, until it is tender and fully cooked. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve.<br /><br /><a href=http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/cheese/butter/holiday-butters.asp#honey target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe for the butter.<br /><br />1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature <br />2 tablespoons honey <br />1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil* <br />3 teaspoons lightly toasted sesame seeds† (or a mix of black and white sesame seeds) <br />*Use toasted sesame oil and sesame seeds to bump up the sesame flavor. <br /><br />†To toast sesame seeds, place seeds in a single layer on an ungreased, shallow pan. Bake at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to cool. <br /><br />Preparation<br /><br />Place the butter in a medium mixing bowl and, with an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle) or wooden spoon, beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides. <br />Add the honey, sesame oil and sesame seeds and beat to incorporate, scraping down the sides. Taste for salt. <br />Scrape into a small bowl, serving crock or butter molds and cover tightly; or shape into a long roll in grease-proof paper (plastic, wax or parchment) for storing and slicing as needed. <br /><br /><br />Ok, don't let the times listed on the sites freak you out. If you're planning your menu for the week and doing prep ahead of time, you can prepare the marinade and put it in a baggie with the chicken ahead of time. It can hang out in the marinade in the freezer and then when it's thawing. The butter is super easy to make, but if you're going for a lighter dish, you can easily leave it off. I'm going to be trying this in the next few days to test out the recipes.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-20529162623005667362010-09-23T21:21:00.001-07:002010-09-24T13:14:50.805-07:00A thought on where to take the blogA friend of mine had told me that this local business that supplies food for dinner was a great value. I trusted her opinion and we placed an order for carne asada and something they called "Pacific Rim chicken". We paid $40 for it and when I saw how much we got, I was upset. It was barely enough for dinner and a lunch leftover in both bags. The beef was sliced, making it hard to grill (even though that was the method of cooking they recommended), they were really heavy handed with the cilantro and the tortillas they provided were awful. The fact that the beef was sliced in the manner it was told me that the beef they used was a cheaper cut of meat, so they cut it for their customers to make sure no one cut it wrong (because cutting skirt steak, flank steak, and cuts of that nature the wrong way makes it really chewy.) It was $20 for just marinaded meat and bad tortillas. I was peeved to say the least.<br /><br />I gave them one last chance with the Pacific Rim chicken. Pacific Rim chicken is not good! It tasted like teriyaki chicken, which to be quite honest is a breeze to make simply (Kikkoman teriyaki, the runny kind, in a baggie with chicken for 30 minutes, then cook, all done!) The sugar content in the marinade was through the roof, and to cook the chicken until it was done (ie, so it was safe for consumption!) it burned the crap out of a nonstick skillet I had. Notice, I said HAD! After a week of soaking, scrubbing, and bitching, I finally threw it away.<br /><br /><br />Needless to say, I'm not going back to this place. I can get marinaded meat anywhere around town for a fraction of the cost of what I paid at this place. A lot of places offer free marinades for meat you buy, and it's really not that hard to whip up a marinade. Maybe it was my fault for picking 2 things that were seriously simple to make, but if you can't do simple properly, then you have issues.<br /><br />I've looked at the different menus of businesses that are of the same model (come pick up premade freezer meals and/or make them yourself) and I have to say that a lot of the dishes are super simple to make, or would take a few minutes on google to find a good recipe that would work for you. I've made copies of these menus for myself (not naming any names!) and I'm going to share recipes on how to make them yourself. Save yourself some money! Get comfortable in the kitchen!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-83922614490875327262010-09-23T21:17:00.001-07:002010-10-13T23:16:29.799-07:00Red snapper baked Alaska style and Vichy carrots<img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs311.ash2/59126_10150250024565453_609395452_14629918_6551974_n.jpg><br /><br /><a href=http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Red-Snapper-Baked-Alaska-Style/Detail.aspx target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe for the snapper.<br /><br />2 tablespoons butter<br />2 pounds red snapper fillets<br />salt and white pepper to taste<br />2 egg whites<br />2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley<br />Dijon mustard<br />1 teaspoon dried tarragon<br />3 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs<br /><br />Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spread butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange fish fillets in a single layer over the bottom of the pan, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. <br /><br />Bake for about 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Meanwhile, whip egg whites in a clean dry bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in the parsley, mustard and tarragon. Spread the egg white mixture over the fish in a layer about 1 inch thick. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top. <br /><br />Return to the oven, and bake for about 6 more minutes, or until meringue is golden, and fish flakes with a fork. <br /><br /><a href=http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/vichy-carrots-recipe/index.html target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe for the carrots.<br /><br />2 pounds carrots <br />4 tablespoons butter <br />Kosher salt <br />1 to 2 teaspoons sugar <br />Handful chopped fresh parsley sprigs <br /><br />Slice the carrots into coins. Put them in a saute pan with the butter, salt, sugar, and 1 cup water. Cook, tossing occasionally, until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced to a glaze. Scatter over the parsley, and serve.<br /><br />Ok, where do I begin in this review? Well, the carrots, basically, waste of butter. Seriously. The recipe just wasn't good and it left a residue on my plate that was unappealing. The fish was interesting, but Kevin hated the meringue on top. The girls were stealing it, so it might be a fun way to make eggs for the girls in the future, but I won't be trotting out this dish again.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-25343539562964319262010-09-22T17:31:00.001-07:002010-09-23T21:16:50.732-07:00Update time!I didn't get a picture on Sunday but I'm down almost 3 lbs, so yay! I've been going to the gym and working out on the elliptical every day this week for an hour, except for today. I was just feeling blah and didn't want to do much of anything. Oddly enough, last week I felt the same way on Thursday. Hopefully next Thursday I won't be feeling blah too.<br /><br />Last night I made a very tasty spiced shrimp recipe which was so simple! The recipe also had a papaya salsa that went with it, but Emily is the only one in our family that likes papaya, and she wouldn't be eating spicy shrimp anyway, so it seemed like a waste of money to make that part of the recipe. I got the recipe from an old Weight Watchers recipe book, but I figured even if things had changed, it's still a good recipe because it's shrimp and spices, nothing else (except some Pam.)<br /><br />Here's the recipe:<br /><br />1 1/2 tsp paprika<br />1/2 tsp dried thyme (I used ground because that's what I have)<br />1/2 tsp salt<br />1/2 tsp black pepper<br />1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne (I used 1/4 tsp chipotle peppers and it was spicy!)<br />1 1/4 lbs large shrimp, peeled (tails left on) and deveined (I took the tails off)<br />(I left this out, but I'm including it in case it sounds tasty to you!)<br />2 cubes cubed papaya<br />3 scallions, thinly sliced<br />1 lime, peeled and diced<br /><br />Spray a grill basket or the broiler rack with canola oil nonstick spray; prepare the grill or preheat the broiler. Combine the paprika, thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a zip-close plastic bag; add the shrimp. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag; shake to coat the shrimp.<br /><br />Meanwhile, combine the papaya, scallions, and lime in a small bowl; set aside.<br /><br />Grill the shrimp in the basket or broil the shrimp 6 inches from the heat until just opaque in the center, about 3 minutes on each side. Serve with salsa on the side.<br /><br />I didn't use my broiler, I just did it in a frying pan. I was using cooked shrimp, so 2 minutes in the skillet was enough. I served it with rice, peas, and a salad. The shrimp was a 2 pound bag, so I split it and made some with garlic salt for the girls, they are very anti spicy!<br /><br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs345.ash2/62533_10150255966910453_609395452_14762010_3687066_n.jpg><br /><br />Best of all, there's leftovers!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-13487930813142536852010-09-13T23:12:00.000-07:002010-09-13T23:13:03.649-07:00Amazing tip I just got from Daisy Cooks!When making things with clams, put them in salt water with some corn meal in it. She said that the clams will eat the corn meal and spit out the sand, so you don't have sand in your dish. This is a pet peeve of mine, so I'm definitely going to try this in the future!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-62955584155188004462010-09-13T22:55:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:16:06.640-07:00Moroccan chickenI love trying new dishes (obviously!) and this one seemed like a nice stewed chicken dish with lots of sauce to put over tasty couscous. If you haven't tried couscous yet, it's super simple to make. You can buy it by the ounce at Sprouts for very cheap, and it's quick to make. You use 1 part couscous and 2 parts of water/stock/broth. You bring boil the liquid, add the couscous, make sure it's all in the liquid, turn off the heat, put the cover on, and leave it alone for 5 minutes. You can then fluff it with a fork and it's good to go. It's great for a quick snack or a side dish when you realize that you forgot to make something (or the kids are still hungry!) It's one of the best grain dishes to use, containing protein and more vitamins than pasta and rice.<br /><br /><a href=http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-morocco-291442 target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe.<br /><br />4 chicken leg quarters, skinned <br />1 tablespoon olive oil <br />1 medium onion, cut into chunks <br />4 garlic cloves, minced <br />1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced <br />2 medium carrots, cut into chunks <br />1 cup canned chick-peas, drained <br />1/2 cup golden raisin <br />2 cinnamon sticks <br />1 1/2 teaspoons cumin <br />1/2 teaspoon turmeric <br />5 cups water <br />2 medium zucchini, cut into chunks <br />1/2 teaspoon salt <br />1/4 teaspoon pepper <br />2 cups couscous <br /><br />In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, place olive oil over high heat. Add chicken and cook about 10 minutes, turning to brown on all sides.<br /><br />Stir in onion, garlic, ginger, carrots, chickpeas, raisins, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook about 20 minutes.<br /><br />Meanwhile make couscous according to directions on package and divide among 4 serving bowls and set aside.<br /><br />Stir in zucchini to the chicken in the pot, and cook about 10 minutes more. Remove cinnamon sticks and add salt and pepper. Serve chicken over the couscous with sauce spooned over.<br /><br />I made some changes to this dish. I knew my husband wouldn't eat it if it had raisins in it, so those weren't added. The chicken leg quarters didn't thaw in time, so we ran to the store and got some chicken thighs to use instead (because we couldn't find chicken leg quarters.) I pretty much did the rest of the recipe as it's written, using my <a href=http://cookinsomethinggood.blogspot.com/2010/05/vegetarian-week.html target=resource window>vegetable bouillon</a> to make the couscous (seriously, make the bouillon, there are so many applications for it, and it's nice to have in the freezer when you need stock or broth and realize you have none!)<br /><br />Here is a picture of it:<br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs296.snc4/41150_10150243360635453_609395452_14474076_676332_n.jpg><br /><br />The changes that I would make in the future would be to leave the zucchini and chickpeas out (per the hubby's request), and use boneless skinless chicken breast, so that we don't have to worry about skin sticking to my pan! Other than that, it's a tasty dish. My 5 year old loved it, and my 2 year old ate it without complaining, so win for me!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-77766223411214955172010-09-13T22:42:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:15:52.675-07:00Tasty steak marinadeAt the beginning of September I went to a bunch of the stores having meat sales and stocked up. I think I spent about $150 and got a month's worth of meat hanging out in my chest freezer (which is full, yay!) I was looking for different ways to make the meat, even though the hubby would love it if we just grilled it with some spices and served it with rice and a vegetable. I'm not down with that! I found this recipe and I used it on a ribeye (because Kevin didn't want to dig around to get the sirloin!) He was worried he wouldn't like the steak, so he took out 2 and asked me to only marinade one. Sure, no problem, but you're seasoning the other steak. I followed <a href=http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Marinated-Sirloin-Steaks/Detail.aspx target=resource window>this</a> recipe for the marinade and it was super tasty.<br /><br />1/4 cup honey<br />3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce<br />2 tablespoons olive oil<br />1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar<br />2 garlic cloves, peeled<br />1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper<br />2 (5 ounce) boneless beef sirloin steaks<br />3 green onions, sliced<br /><br />In a blender, combine the honey, soy sauce, oil, vinegar, garlic and pepper; cover and process until blended. Pour 1/3 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add steaks and onions. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours. Cover and refrigerate remaining marinade for basting. <br /><br />Coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray before starting the grill. Drain and discard marinade. Grill steaks until they're done to your liking.<br /><br />I used my indoor grill for this, and it doesn't have a cover, so I couldn't follow the recipe exactly, and I didn't baste it, but that wasn't an issue because it was juicy and flavorful!<br /><br />Here's a picture of the steaks. Top is not marinaded, bottom is.<br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs210.ash2/47331_10150246352985453_609395452_14542805_6126633_n.jpg><br /><br />The best part is that Kevin liked the marinade! The simple seasoned and grilled steak was forgotten, poor thing. He ate it for lunch later in the week (as did we, we're really trying to focus on our portion sizes, so most of the time a single steak will be a meal for the 4 of us.) The marinade really helped get those lovely grill marks that people look for, more so than the simple seasoned one.Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-26606318943259986842010-09-13T22:35:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:15:25.028-07:00Tomato Curry Lentil StewEvery week I try to make a soup. It's a nice quick lunch when we're busy, it's something Kevin can take to work if we don't have leftovers from the night before, and they're filling and generally inexpensive. I actually made this recipe when I made the masoor dal, in case it wasn't filling enough. No one else ate it but me that night, and in the days since I can say that this is definitely a make ahead dish. It has gotten MUCH better while hanging out in my fridge!<br /><br /><a href=http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tomato-Curry-Lentil-Stew/Detail.aspx target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe.<br /><br />1-1/2 cups dry lentils<br />3 cups water<br />15 ounces stewed tomatoes<br />1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped onion<br />6 stalks celery, chopped, with leaves<br />3/4 teaspoon curry powder<br />9 cloves garlic, minced<br />salt to taste<br />ground black pepper to taste<br /><br />Combine lentils and water, bring to a boil. <br />Lower heat to simmer, add tomatoes, onion, and celery. Cover and let simmer 45 minutes. Check every 15 minutes to stir, and add water if necessary. Add spices last 15 minutes to taste. Taste and re-spice if necessary before serving. <br /><br />I like allrecipes.com because they have the option of changing the number of servings and they give you an altered recipe. It really takes the guess work out of it, which is fantastic. I made this recipe with 6 servings, so that I could buy a 15 oz can of stewed tomatoes (I hate recipes that only call for 1-2 tablespoons of tomato paste when the smallest can you can buy is 4 or 6 ounces!) Anyway, I probably wouldn't use stewed tomatoes again, they're basically whole tomatoes that have been stewed, so you have some really big unwieldy blobs of tomato hanging out in your soup. I'm not a fan of needing to cut your soup (unless it's matzo ball soup!) so I'd probably substitute a can of diced tomatoes. I added about a cup of water at the 15 and 30 minute mark as well.<br /><br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs669.snc4/60979_10150246352395453_609395452_14542797_5212552_n.jpg><br /><br />This is a tasty soup, and with the few changes I've mentioned, I think it's a real winner for a make ahead soup. The recipe was really cheap to make, and for those on WIC, this is a great way to use the dried beans you get (and the beauty of lentils are that they don't need to be soaked overnight!)Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398913459299885956.post-1719464620098297312010-09-13T22:24:00.000-07:002010-10-13T23:14:58.293-07:00Masoor DalA friend of mine was telling me that incorporating a vegetarian meal at least once a week into her menu has helped cut her grocery costs. I think that's awesome, and I'd heard of "Meatless Monday" in the past. I love Indian food, and it's hard to get the family on board when we're looking for somewhere to go out to eat (they NEVER want to go!) so I decided to take matters into my own hands and make some at home. My husband likes lentil soup, so I figured this would be a fantastic recipe to try because there's nothing in it that he doesn't like (except for ginger, but tumeric is a heavy spice, so I figured it would blend in.)<br /><br />I went to Sprouts and got the tumeric and cumin seeds by the ounce. I think it cost me like 30 cents for the spices, and I had much more than I needed.<br /><br /><a href=http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Masoor-Daal/Detail.aspx target=resource window>Here</a> is the recipe.<br /><br />1 cup red lentils<br />1 slice ginger, 1 inch piece, peeled<br />1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste<br />4 teaspoons vegetable oil<br />4 teaspoons dried minced onion<br />1 teaspoon cumin seeds<br /><br />Rinse lentils thoroughly and place in a medium saucepan along with ginger, turmeric, salt and cayenne pepper. Cover with about 1 inch of water and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on top of the lentils. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and soupy. <br /><br />Meanwhile, in a microwave safe dish combine oil, dried onion and cumin seeds. Microwave on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute; be sure to brown, but not burn, onions. Stir into lentil mixture. <br /><br /><br />Again, I did a variation on the recipe. Looking at the reviews, someone said it's better to use fresh onion (I wasn't about to buy dried onion just for this, even though I could get it by the ounce) and I'd NEVER heard of anything browning properly in the microwave, so I browned the onion and garlic in the oil on the stove while the lentils were doing their thing. The recipe had great flavor and only my 2 year old refused to eat it (she just wanted to eat rice.) My 5 year old LOVED it, and my husband liked it, so I call it a win. The lentils can be bought by the ounce as well, and I think it was only $2 for the lentils I needed for the recipe (note, the recipe yields only 4 small servings, but can be altered on the page, they do all the work for you, yay! I highly recommend making more, it was very tasty.)<br /><br /><img src=http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs317.snc4/41212_10150246351940453_609395452_14542795_3165269_n.jpg><br /><br />Obviously I served it over rice. It doesn't look like much, but it packs a lot of flavor. The great thing about lentils is that they're one of the highest vegetarian forms of iron, and when paired with rice, they make a complete protein dish. In short, this dish is tasty, easy on the wallet, AND good for you!Rebeccahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15849246896292703934noreply@blogger.com0