Dinner Rerun

Another reason there haven't been as many posts is that I've been doing a lot of repeat recipes. Monday night I made one of my more common repeat recipes, Penne with Zucchini and Feta. It's such an easy dinner to make, coming together really quickly with minimal prep work. Definitely a Monday kind of meal. I originally got the recipe from poco-cocoa, which has unfortunately been laid to rest. I wish I had had the time to print off all her recipes before that happened. Oh well. This is a dish that she got from Cooking Light, but with her adjustments. I don't have a picture for two reasons- It's one of those meals that really doesn't photograph that well, and I was so hungry I didn't even think about taking a picture. I just wanted to dive right in! Obviously it's not peak zucchini time right now, but it's one of my favorite veggies to work with so as long as I can find decent ones in the store I'm going to keep cooking with them.

Penne with Zucchini & Feta
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light; Serves 4 (although we ate it all Monday night, ha)

8 ounces uncooked penne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise an sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oregano, zucchini, and garlic; saute 3 minutes. Stir in broth, rind, juice, and pepper. Add drained pasta and cheese; toss well.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I've been waiting several weeks to post this recipe. But that isn't the reason it's been so long since I last posted. I've just been lolly-gagging around while a cold virus kicked my butt. And a cold in my nose equals a cold kitchen. Well, I did make some cookies and pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving. And there was a failed attempt at pie crust that we will NOT be discussing just yet. But aside from that I pretty much didn't go near the kitchen. However I wouldn't let myself post this recipe because it's relation to Christmas made me feel as though it should be saved for the right time. And now that Thanksgiving has come and gone the time has come to share.

For the second year in a row I will be hosting my mom, brother, and sister-in-law for Christmas morning. Last year I made pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sweet & spicy bacon. We had a delicious breakfast, but a late breakfast. I had a lot of trouble timing everything, especially in my teeny, tiny, apartment kitchen. The kitchen where I took up almost all counter space with the electric griddle for the pancakes. Leaving me to balance the bacon plate on the small ledge in front of the sink to drain. And Josh and I bumping into each other constantly as he scrambled eggs and I flipped pancakes. It all came out well in the end, but I was a bit frazzled when it was all said and done. So I pretty much decided from there out that things would be different this year. Now, I can't predict the future, so I can't say for sure that things will go more smoothly, but I am doing my best to try and ensure that it does. And part of that effort has been the search for a great baked french toast recipe. I decided that this dish would be the ideal Christmas morning dish. I tried one from all recipes that was okay. Josh liked it, his co-worker loved the leftovers I sent him to work with, but I only thought it was okay. Does okay sound good enough for Christmas? No, I didn't think so either. So, I continued the search. That's when I came across a recipe for Boozy Baked French Toast from Deb over at Smitten Kitchen. I gave this recipe a shot and ladies and gentleman (Josh, you're likely the only man who reads this), we have a winner. As soon as I took my first bite I knew that I had found what I was looking for. So, to start off the holiday season around here, here is the recipe we shall be dining on Christmas morning.

Baked French Toast
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen; Serves 6

1 loaf Challah bread in 1-inch slices
3 cups whole milk
3 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Generously grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with salted (my choice) or unsalted butter.
• Arrange bread in two tightly-packed layers in the pan. If using braided Challah, cut one slice into smaller pieces to fill in gaps.
  
• Whisk milk, eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla and pour over the bread. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
• Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The bread will absorb all of the milk custard while you sleep.
• Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden. This will take longer if you have additional layers.
• Cut into generous squares and serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar or all of the above.

My notes: This is the teetotalers version of this recipe. I was looking for a recipe with just a hint of sweetness, which the teaspoon of vanilla and sprinkle of cinnamon sugar provides. For those of you who are more adventurous than I, Deb had the following advice for flavorings: "I use 3 tablespoons Bailey’s and 3 tablespoons Cointreau, but Frangelico (hazelnut), Chambord (raspberry), Crème de Cassis (black currant) Grand Marnier or just a teaspoon or two of vanilla or almond extract can do the trick. You can bump up a citrus flavor with a teaspoon of zest, add a half-cup of chopped nuts such as almond slivers or pecans between layers or on top or a similar amount of raisins or other dried fruits." If you're going to add any fillings, like nuts or dried fruit, then that needs to be done the night before while arranging the bread in the dish.

Super Soup

Don't you hate it when you make a recipe you think your significant other is just going to love, and they give you an "it's okay", in response? Well, no matter what Josh thought of this soup, I thought it was fantastic. I don't have a picture for it, it was so good the thought didn't even cross my mind before I dug in. But I wanted to tell you about it anyway. This recipe come from Jane at This Week For Dinner. She has plenty of great recipes, so definitely check them all out, but here is the recipe that I made and happily gobbled up.

Lentil Soup
Recipe from This Week For Dinner

1 cup dry lentils
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 cups beef broth
1 7.5 ounce can tomatoes, cut up
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cumin
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 lb. fully cooked smoked sausage links, sliced - or chopped ham

• Rinse lentils, set aside. In a large saucepan cook onion and garlic in hot oil until tender but not brown. Stir in lentils, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, thyme/oregano, pepper, cumin, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add carrot and celery. Return to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until lentils and veggies are tender. Stir in meat - heat through. Discard bay leaf.

My notes: I used thyme, and I opted for ham. It was delicious, but I think next time I'm going to try turkey sausage to see how good that is. This made enough for Josh and I to each have a big bowl for dinner and I had enough leftovers for two lunches. I don't really get why Josh wasn't head over heels for it, it seemed like such a man-pleasing soup, but he does have particular taste at times. He liked it, but just wasn't as head over heels for it as I thought he would be. Like I said, I'll definitely make it again and try changing it up a little just to see how it comes out each way.

Spice It Up

Looking for something a little different? Interested in kicking your Thanksgiving celebration up a notch? Then I suggested you turn to chili. Chili powder that is. I love chili powder, and I especially love roasting things with it. It's practically the only way I like eating sweet potatoes, and I certainly enjoy some oven fries coated in it. But I think that this Thanksgiving would be a perfect opportunity to introduce your family to chili-roasted acorn squash. I made this side dish a week or two ago after seeing it in the November issue of Everyday Food. It went deliciously with the southwestern turkey burgers I cooked up. So, I say give something slightly difference a try this holiday season.

Chili-Roasted Acorn Squash
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4


2 acorn squashes (1 1/2 pound each), halved lengthwise, seeds removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
coarse salt and ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut each squash halve into several wedges, then halve wedges crosswise.
• On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss squash with oil and chili powder; season with salt and pepper, and toss again. Roast until tender and starting to brown, 20 to 25 minutes, tossing halfway through.

My notes: I halved this recipe, since its just the two of us. I'm a squash novice and I had a heck of a time cutting it. I got a tip from Josh's aunt Nelda tonight to poke it several times with a knife and microwave it for a couple minutes to soften it up before trying to slice all the way through it. Next time it should be much easier!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! I should be back sometime this week with posts about the goodies I'll be preparing for my family get-together on Thursday.

101- Buttermilk Biscuits

I think that a good biscuit recipe definitely falls under the 101 category. They are so easy and so versatile that you can pair them with many things. You can have them with sausage and gravy for breakfast, on the side of a nice bowl of soup for lunch, or with some chicken and veg for dinner. Obviously those aren't the only limits to buttermilk biscuits, those are just some ideas. November's Everyday Food did a little feature on these delicious delights so I decided to whip some up last week. Instead of using all the all purpose flour the recipe called for I substituted half of it with white whole wheat, just to make things a smidge healthier for us. With it being holiday season it seems like the perfect time to whip some of these babies up.

Buttermilk Wheat Biscuits
Recipe from Everyday Food; Makes 12


4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling and cutting
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoons salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut into bits, plus 4 tablespoons melted
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees, in a food processor. In a food processor, pulse flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt to combine. Add cold butter; pulse until mixture is the texture of coarse meal;, with a few pea-size pieces of butter remaining. Add buttermilk; pulse just until dough is moistened, 2 to 3 times.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead just to combine (do not overwork). Roll with a floured rolling pin (or pat with hands) to a 3/4" thickness. Cut out rounds with a floured 2 1/2 : round biscuit cutter.
• Transfer to a baking sheet, 1 1/2" apart. (Re-roll and cut scraps only once.) Brush top and sides of rounds with melted butter. Bake until biscuits are puffed and golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My notes: They also had some hints for biscuit variations and I decided to go with black pepper, so I added some black pepper into the dry mixture and some on top after brushing them with butter. They suggest 1 teaspoon in the dry mixture and 1/2 teaspoon atop them. I just cracked till I was happy, ha. And give the white whole wheat a shot, cause they tasted great and at least it's only half as bad for you. Also, I hate my food processor, so I didn't mess with it. I used my handy dandy pastry blender to cut in the butter and a fork to gently mix the buttermilk in.

Coming Soon

Another 101 Post will be coming very soon. Sorry, I'm a bum and forgot the recipe, ha.

Quichee-Quichee-Coo

Sorry, that's a pretty silly title, ha. Well, as the days get shorter not to mention busier with holiday events, I know I'm going to be relying on quick and easy recipes for our weekly dinners. Last week I made just such a meal. I wanted to make a quiche, like the Crustless Broccoli-Cheddar one that I love, but decided I wanted to use feta instead. To compliment the feta I chose asparagus and white mushrooms. I can't wait to think up the next version.

Crustless Asparagus Mushroom and Feta Quiche
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food; Serves 4












Butter for pie dish
Coarse salt
1 lb. asparagus spears, cut into 2" inch pieces
1/2 cup sliced white mushrooms, chopped
6 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
Ground pepper
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9" pie dish and set aside. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain well.
• Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 ground pepper. Stir in mushrooms, asparagus, and feta cheese.
• Pour mixture into pie dish. Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes.

My notes: I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before to play around with the ingredients, but you can look forward to more variations on this meal, I'm sure.

Baked Ziti

I made this a couple weeks ago, but hadn't posted it because I wasn't able to get a picture. This morning I realized it's been awhile since I posted though, and I don't have pics of my other recipes ready just yet, so I figured I'd go ahead and put this up. It was such an easy and quick meal that I will definitely be making it again.

Baked Ziti
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 oz. ziti rigate (ridged)
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.
• In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.
• In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Feeling Fallish

Sorry the posting has been a little scarce. Things have been a little hectic, and this has been a really terrible week. I'm ready for it to be over. Anyway, this past Saturday, when I was feeling much more chipper, I decided to get myself into the kitchen and do a bit of baking. I have been waiting all year for autumn. All summer long, telling myself that it would be crazy to indulge my craving for pumpkin bread when it's time for berries and things. But the time had finally come, so I pulled out my Grandma's recipe and got to work. The recipe makes two loaves, so I sent one to work with Josh this week. It went over well, as his tiny office ate it all that day. Guess I'll have to pull the recipe out again real soon.

Pumpkin Bread
Family recipe; Makes 2 loaves












3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 can pumpkin puree
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and oil together. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix well. Sift together dry ingredients; add dry ingredients alternately with water.
• Pour into well greased and floured 9" x 5" loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 90 minutes, or until tests done. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool.

My notes: The only thing I have to say is that this is probably one of the things I most looked forward to my grandmother making at Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it makes me really happy that I'm able to make it now too.