No Heat Week Part 3- Bean, Corn, and Tortilla Salad

This isn't the first time I'm sharing this recipe, but it makes repeated appearances in our kitchen. Thanks to it's beloved status in our hearts and stomachs it was a natural choice for our week of cooking as little as possible. This recipe does involve some heating, but it's all via the microwave which results in minimal heat created in the house and makes for a speedy meal too. And this salad is easily adapted to what you have on hand, as I'll share post-recipe. I didn't take a snapshot of dinner, so this picture is via Martha Stewart.

Bean, Corn, and Tortilla Salad
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4















1 can (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels (2 cups)
1/4 cup prepared medium tomato salsa, plus more for serving
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
3 plum tomatoes, thickly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 (12 ounces) romaine hearts, cut into bite-size pieces
3 cups (3 ounces) broken baked tortilla chips
3/4 cup coarsely grated pepper Jack cheese

• In a medium microwave-safe bowl, combine beans, corn, and salsa. Microwave just until warmed through, 1 minute. Stir in scallions, avocado, and tomatoes; season with salt and pepper. Set bean mixture aside.
• In a large bowl, toss lettuce and chips together. Divide evenly among plates; top with bean mixture and cheese. Serve immediately, topped with additional salsa, if desired.

My notes: After the two previous salads I was out of tomatoes, so I used some red and yellow bell peppers to add more color and crunch to the salad. You could use black beans or kidney beans instead of pinto, or even a mixture of two or more. Substitute red onion for scallions, perhaps Monterrey or Cheddar for the Pepper Jack. Or even queso fresco or blanco, both traditional Mexican cheeses. What do you have on hand? Because it will probably work with this salad.

No Heat Week Part 2- Greek Salad

Another thing I relied on during our week without air conditioning was healthy prepared or ready to eat items from the grocery store. One night I paired store-bought roasted red pepper hummus, marinated olives, and whole wheat pitas with some fresh, summery crudites and a Greek salad I threw together. Not a smidge of "cooking" involved in this meal, but plenty of flavor all the same.

Fast Greek Salad
Recipe adapted from Everyday Food














2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chunked
1 small cucumber, seeded and chunked
1/2 red onion, cut into chunks
1/4-1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
coarse salt and ground pepper

• Combine tomatoes, cucumber, onion and parsley in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together lemon juice and olive oil. Toss vegetables with dressing and cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

No Heat Week Part 1- Cold Pesto Pasta w/ Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Recently we had the displeasure of discovering our air conditioning wasn't working properly, and upon inspection by our home warranty servicer, that we in fact needed an entirely new condensor. That is unfortunately not the kind of repair with a speedy turn around time. This situation rather inconveniently coincided with the increase in temperatures- it is indeed summer here in Texas. We used the windows when the heat wasn't severe, lots of fans, and kept almost all the lights off to cut down on creating any unnecessary heat. Once we had our "cooling" plan in place, my mind naturally turned to our cooking plan, ha. What exactly could we eat all week? I knew that it wouldn't take much cooking in that hot house before I'd pass out from heat stroke. So I came up with a week of food that required very little cooking. I guess the one bonus of it being summer is all the great fresh produce I could take advantage of. We usually eat salad with dinner each night, but this week I made them a bit bigger and added even more veggies in. This is the one recipe that really required any cooking, and as I suspected the mere boiling of a pot of pasta was borderline torturous! But the meal was delicious, so I suppose it was worth it. I based this recipe off the Caprese combo of basil, tomatoes and mozzarella- using the pesto my step mom-in-law generously shared with us.

Cold Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes and Mozzarella
Recipe by me














3/4 lb. rotini pasta
1 cup prepared pesto
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 oz. fresh mozzarella, cubed

• Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain pasta and rinse with cold water till cool to touch.
• Toss pasta with pesto, tomato and mozzarella. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. Chill in refrigerator for at least 15 minutes. Serve.
  

Pot Sticker Dinner

After getting a bag full of sugar snap peas from my pop-in-law's garden I was thinking about what I'd like to use them for when I remembered a recipe I had torn our of an issue of Real Simple. I decided this would be a good time to give it a shot, but ended up using the recipe as more of a jumping-off point for putting together something more my own. Real Simple's recipe called for several ingredients I didn't have on hand, so I just worked with what I had and really enjoyed the outcome.

Pot Sticker Dinner
Adapted from Real Simple; Serves 2
















6 frozen pot stickers (I used chicken)
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 red bell pepper, in strips
2 servings of brown rice
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated

• Prepare rice per package instructions.
• Meanwhile fill a large saucepan with 1 inch of water and fit with a steamer basket (or fill a large skillet with 1/2 inch of water). Bring the water to a boil. Place the pot stickers in the basket (or skillet), cover, and steam for 4 minutes.
• Add the snap peas, carrots, bell pepper, and broccoli cover, and steam until the pot stickers are cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce and fresh ginger to taste. Toss the pot stickers and vegetables with the sauce. Divide the brown rice among bowls/plates and top with the pot stickers and vegetables.

Stuffs

I've been so busy editing pics from the DC trip, wedding and my sister's graduation that I haven't had any time to fix up some of the food pics I've got in my queue. But stuff is coming- I swear. And I'm really looking forward to more cooking this summer. Is there anything quite as wonderful as summer produce? It's still a bit early yet, but just this week I've had zucchini, yellow squash, peaches and cherries. Heaven! We've got plans for a nice dinner on our deck this weekend which I will most definitely document, and I've already got ideas swirling around in my head for our planned outing to the Concerts In The Garden for this year.

Also I am super excited about a new food-related blog on the block. I think it's pretty fair to say that I have a bit of a blog crush on Joslyn at Simple Lovely. I often find myself quite envious of her style. And she has just started a second blog, Raising Foodies, to document the task of opening up the food world to her two darling daughters. I'm definitely looking forward to keeping up with their new adventure.

Roasted Broccoli

Happy Memorial Day. I wanted to make sure I got one more post up before we leave for our vacation tomorrow morning. This is a fantastic recipe I stumbled across while looking for a way to use up some leftover broccoli. It is an Ina Garten recipe, so you know that it is good, that I found by way of The Amateur Gourmet. He was practically shouting from the rooftops about this broccoli, so I figured it was definitely worth a shot. I made this as an accompaniment to some grilled trout, caught fresh by my father-in-law, along with some rosemary roasted potatoes. This was one heck of a weeknight meal- super simple, but really enjoyable. Josh went on and on about the broccoli, mentioning to people days later. We both liked it so much I made it again the following week. This is definitely a keeper.

Roasted Broccoli
Recipe from Ina Garten via Amateur Gourmet














4 to 5 pounds of broccoli, washed and thoroughly dried, cut into florets
5 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1.5 tablespoons more
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• On a baking sheet, toss broccoli with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add garlic and toss again.
• Roast for 20-25 minutes, until tips of some florets are starting to brown.
• Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, additional olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and basil. Toss and serve.

My notes: I've given Ina's measurements, ingredients and amounts here, but I followed Adam's version more closely; leaving out the pine nuts and basil. Also, I had far less broccoli than the original recipe calls for so I just eyeballed my olive oil, salt, pepper. I skipped the lemon zest and additional olive oil, and just gave a good squeeze over all the broccoli with half a lemon. I grated the Parmesan over the broccoli till it looked like enough. I can only imagine how good this must be if you go all out, since this half-finished version was so darn delicious.

Granola Bars: Fail

When we were working on the house all the time, but hadn't moved in just yet, we made sure to keep a stock of quick and easy eats in the pantry. That included some granola bars that were no doubt not great for me, but very delicious all the same. I figured that I could surely recreate something similar and a quick Google search turned up a recipe for granola bars from Alton Brown. I decided to give it a go, with a couple of changes. The granola was delicious, but refused to remain in bar form. I don't know if I just didn't press it into the pan hard enough, or if I did something else to cause the poor results. It's not that big of a problem though, since this granola makes a great breakfast with a bit of soy milk. Yum! I'll definitely make it again, maybe give the bar thing another shot. If it doesn't work I won't be too upset. I'll just have a few great mornings ahead of me!

Granola Bars
Recipe from Alton Brown via Food Network; Makes 16 2" bars















2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 ounce unsalted butter, plus extra for pan
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 1/2 ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries

• Butter a 9 by 9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Spread the oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In the meantime, combine the honey, brown sugar, butter, extract and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
• Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

My notes: I was doing some other stuff in the kitchen at the same time, so I wasn't quite "immediate" with mixing the oat and liquid mixtures. Perhaps therein lies my problem. I bought toasted wheat germ, so I added it to the mixture post-toasting of the other ingredients. And for dried fruit I used apples and cranberries to recreate some of the flavor of the bars that inspired me in the first place.

More Mushrooms

Alright, this is the last mushroom recipe.....for now. Seriously, I'm kind of in love with them lately. And, there are mushrooms growing in my front yard now. Not the edible kind, in fact probably poisonous or something, but still. They seem to have really worked their way into my life, ha. Clearly I can't just write about mushrooms though- talk about a niche! But I do need to share this one last fungi recipe with you. This has been on my to-cook list for a seriously long time. This recipe was one of the reader submissions in the October 2007 issue of Everyday Food. If you don't have this issue you should look on eBay, or order a back issue, something. That is my favorite issue of EF (should a person have a favorite issue? Oh well, I do.) I've gotten a lot of great recipes out of that month's magazine, and there's still a lot in it that I haven't made yet. This recipe finally jumped from the to-cook to the gobbled up column last week though. With a nice salad, and maybe glass of wine and a little fruit for dessert you have such a lovely meal! The original recipe did not include mushrooms, so some alterations had to be made.

Baked Eggs with Mushrooms, Onions and Croutons
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4















3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for ramekins
3 slices white sandwhich bread, cut into small cubes
coarse salt & pepper
1 small onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
4 large eggs
¼ cup heavy cream

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter four 8 oz. ramekins or custard cups. Set a kettle of water to boil.
• Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium-low. Add bread; cook, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Season with salt & pepper, and transfer to a bowl; reserve skillet.
• Melt remaining tablespoons butter in skillet on medium. Add onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3-5 minutes.
• Dividing evenly, spoon onion into ramekins, and top with croutons. Gently break 1 egg into each ramekin (keeping yolk intact). Top each egg with 1 tablespoon cream, and season with salt and pepper. Place ramekins in an 8-inch square baking dish, and pour enough boiling water to come halfway up side of ramekins. Bake until whites are set, 15-18 minutes.
• Carefully remove ramekins from water bath, and serve immediately.

My notes: I added a cup of sliced mushrooms, which I just tossed into the skillet with the onions. Also I decreased the onion by 1/2, and used 2 small slices sourdough bread for my croutons. I was only making 2 servings in my 10 oz. ramekins, so I used 1 tablespoon of cream per cup.

Balsamic Mushrooms

It may seem I have gone a bit mushroom crazy lately, but these recipes haven't been prepared as close together as they are being posted. That said, I have a meal with mushrooms on the menu this week, so perhaps I have gone a little mad cap. Get it? Cap, mushroom, mushrooms have caps. Alright, I'll reign in my attempts at humor and just tell you about this delicious recipe. Way back in January Josh had himself a birthday, and I wanted to make him a little something special. Can you believe that I had never made him a birthday meal before? We always have a lot of family dinners to celebrate, so I'd never really had the opportunity. This year though I really wanted to put something together. I wasn't looking for the hardest or fanciest recipe. Josh isn't a foodie frou-frou, he just likes stuff that tastes good. I roasted a pork loin that came pre-stuffed with mild Italian sausage (ohmygodsogood), and roasted up some asparagus along with it since we're both a big fan of that. I didn't really want to make a dessert for him (did I mention we closed on our house just two days after his birthday?), so I picked up some of our favorite Tiramisu from Central Market. Don't worry, we put a candle in it. So, now that you know about all the rest of the meal, here's the side that became the show-stopper. This recipe had been on the to-cook list for a while. It comes from the June 2007 issue of Living, but I stumbled across it online and had printed it out for future use. I thought it would be just the thing, especially since I could make it on the stove top since I already had so much else going into the oven. These mushrooms cook up really fast, and they are just as good at room temperature as they are fresh from the stove. I think that is a great trait for a good side dish to have; I am not always the best at planning my kitchen timeline. Well, I'll stop rattling on and just share the recipe already so you can give it a shot sometime soon.

Balsamic Mushrooms
Recipe from Martha Stewart Living; Serves 4














1/4 cup olive oil
12 ounces white mushrooms, halved (quartered if large)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
Freshly ground pepper

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, salt, and red-pepper flakes, and season with pepper. Cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl, and serve.

Herbed Mushroom Custards

A quick perusal of my computer turned up a few recipes that I hadn't shared before my blog hiatus. As soon as I saw this recipe in the December issue of Everyday Food I knew I had to make it. It looked so good! I had larger ramekins than the recipe called for, so I made 4 instead of 8. And I was a little low on the mushroom count, but regardless the recipe was delicious and I'm sure will be even better when I have more mushrooms the next time I make it. This is one of those recipes that is so easily elegant. The individual serving size and creamy flavor make it seem like much more effort than it really is and would be wonderful for entertaining. I know I'll definitely use it for a future dinner with friends.

Herbed Mushroom Custards
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 8













4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 pounds mixed mushrooms (such as button, crimini, and shiitake), trimmed and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1 large egg
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms begin to brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cream, egg, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in mushrooms, and divide among eight 6-ounce ramekins.
• Line a roasting pan (just large enough to hold ramekins) with a dish towel; place ramekins on towel. Transfer to oven, and pour enough boiling water in pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custards are just set, about 30 minutes. Carefully remove ramekins from water.

My notes: As I mentioned, I was low on mushrooms, so next time they won't be quite as yellow. There'll be more delicious brown jewels in there. :) I can't remember what else I served this with off the top of my head, but if I can find it in my notebooks I'll add that here.

The New Pantry

When we bought the house it had your average pantry, typical of most older houses. It was also pretty darn gross. Something, which went unidentified, had been spilled (exploded?) on the shelves and seeped into the wall. That stain even remains after three coats of Killz primer, so it's a real mystery to me what that substance was. But I digress- the point was it was gross and a general cleaning wasn't going to solve anything. This little project was done almost entirely by yours truly. I took the shelves out and removed the slats from the walls that were holding them up. Then I had to sand down some of the paint and muck that had surrounded the slats, clean all that mess up, and fill in the nail holes. Once that was done I painted two coats of primer (and a third over the mystery spot). After the primer I was planning on trying to paint it with some leftover color from the hallway- however I realized that painting a 36" x 36" square box was incredibly uncomfortable. And there was also some question as to how much paint I had versus how much I'd need. So the pantry remains a lovely shade of primer, ha. And I'm fine with that. At this point in the project I brought in my lovely husband to help install the Elfa shelving we bought for the new pantry. He screwed in the top bar for me, and then I put all the shelves up. While I did that Josh put together the cart. And then all that was left was to fill our pantry with all our food! The end result is a much more usable space. With the ventilated shelves the light can filter through, which means no more strange things lurking in the dark corners of your pantry. No mystery cans popping up here! And don't worry, I spared you a close up of the stain. I utilized an Elfa cart to store our snack foods and the microwave. I didn't want that big thing taking up any of my new counter space. An added bonus is that we haven't used the microwave yet since we've moved in!
































As far as organizing the items in the pantry I've got a shelf for baking supplies, one for canned goods, and one for pastas and grains. We store our chips and bread in the cart's large basket and smaller things like granola bars in the shallow drawer. At the top you might just spy a couple of bottles of wine and liquor. Not sure if that will be it's final resting place, but it works well enough for now. Here is a closer look at the shelves. You can also spy some of the fresh ingredients that are best stored in a cool, dry place. This week it was sweet potatoes, an avocado and a tomato.

The New Kitchen

Setting up my new kitchen was a pretty exciting adventure. Since we had plenty of time before we actually moved in I was able to mull over where I would like to put everything. I tried to be logical about my use of the space, placing things close to where I would most likely use them in the space. There are still some things to be done(I still need to create a solution for spice storage, actually hang my hanging baskets), and I'm sure as I begin to work more and more in here that some necessary adjustments will become obvious, but for now this is where we stand.



This is a general outline of how I've organized my kitchen cabinets.



To the right of the cooktop I set up my prep area. I have my cooking utensils, knives and cutting board set up for easy access while cooking. In the cabinet above I will store my spices and currently store my cooking oils, vinegars, the plastic cutting boards that I use for meats, and other prep work tools like my cheese graters and mandoline slicer. In the drawers beneath this area are my less frequently used knives, measuring spoons, vegetable peeler, zester, etc.



This is my mixing area and also where I keep our dishes. I originally planned on storing our dishes above the dishwasher, but the upper cabinets aren't deep enough for our large dinner plates. So instead I arranged our smaller salad plates and bowls in the upper left cabinets and the large dinner plates in the lower left cabinet. These cabinets are still definitely within easy reach of the dishwasher though. The rest of the upper cabinets contain the glass and Corningware serveware and my mixing bowls, measuring cups, etc. I keep my mixer on the counter top for easier access, much easier than it's apartment space- the top of the refrigerator! In the lower cabinets, beside the dinner plates, I store appliances like the slow cooker, blender, and toaster.



This slightly disheveled area is where we keep the coffee stuffs, on a tray to help prevent staining our white counter top & grout. The upper cabinets are filled with our glassware and cups and saucers. I split up our dinnerware this way because it made more sense to me to keep things where they would be used. The lower cabinets are mainly filled with Tupperware and food storage supplies. This area is next to the refrigerator, so it seemed like a logical space for the leftovers tools.

Cooking in this new space has so far been pretty easy. Every space has pluses and minuses- for instance my new oven is smaller than my old one. But this smaller oven also has a window and oven light. I don't have to open the door to check on stuff- which saves me cooking time and energy. It's a give and take with everything I guess, but so far I'm getting a lot more enjoyment out of this kitchen. Soon I'll share my new pantry with you!

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake

Well, things are still progressing slowly at the house but I had some good motivation to give my new kitchen a work out recently. I signed up to make a dinner for Josh's boss during her recovery from surgery and I of course wanted to go all out. You gotta impress the husband's boss, right? I wanted to make something that felt fresh and healthy to help cheer her up and help her on the road to wellness, and since I would be making the same meal for us I wanted to make sure it was something we love too. I know the family enjoys Mexican food, so I made a batch of my favorite guacamole, some cilantro-lime rice and a big pan of vegetable enchiladas. I decided I'd like to make something for dessert too and settled on this Everyday Food cake that I'd had on my to-bake list. We still don't have permanent internet at the house, so uploading pics is not something I can get around to yet. I was too busy cooking to take pics anyway. Photo via Martha Stewart.

Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 10















1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice, drained well

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally, 6 to 10 minutes; set aside. Butter and flour a 9-by-5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low, and alternately add flour mixture in three parts and sour cream in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined (do not overmix).
• Using a rubber spatula, fold pineapple and 1 cup coconut into batter. Spoon into prepared pan, and smooth top; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes (cover pan with foil halfway through). Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

My notes: I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and used a can of pineapple "tidbits", which are smaller than chunks but larger than crushed. I think the slightly smaller pieces of pineapple made the loaf easier to cut. Also, I cooked my cake about 75 minutes after reading several reviews on Martha's website about undercooked results. This cake was really delicious and the flavors worked well together without anything being too dominant. I think I'll definitely make this again.

Soon, I Hope

If you'd be so kind to take a gander to the right, you'll see that I have once again listed a menu for the week. Things are far from being "normal" around here, but I'm starting back to cooking with some of the easiest recipes from my repertoire. Then it should be just a hop, skip and a jump to getting to all the stuff on my to-cook list, meaning I'll finally have some new things to share. Slowly, but surely, I'll get there. Also, we don't yet have interwebs at the house, so we gotta fix that too, ha.

Easy Entertaining with Proscuitto-Wrapped Chicken

Yeah, yeah, yeah- I know. I'm still being lazy about posting. But it's not general laziness, I've just been far busier in other places than the kitchen. But I am very much looking forward to getting back to lots of cooking when I'm finally set up in my new kitchen at the house. In the meantime, here's a recipe I made back in January that I can share with you. Josh was a very busy guy during that month, and there were a lot of nights where I only had myself to cook for. Sometimes I wouldn't bother to go to the effort of making a meal, but I did take the opportunity to try out this "Cooking for One" recipe from Everyday Food one night. This recipe was so simple and fast, not to mention delicious, that I quickly realized how great it would be for entertaining. Just multiply your ingredients by the number of guests and you're ready to go.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Breast
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 1
















1 teaspoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast half
3 thin slices prosciutto
Lemon wedge, for serving

• Heat broiler of toaster oven (or oven). Season chicken with salt and pepper; wrap with prosciutto. Place chicken, seam side down, on baking sheet; rub with remaining teaspoon oil.
• Broil until chicken is opaque throughout, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with a lemon wedge.

My notes: The side dish was included in this recipe, green beans that you broil along side the chicken. Mine came out inedibly burned to a crisp. Hence the cropped photo and edited recipe. If you'd like to give the green beans a shot, Everyday Food tells you to toss about 4 oz. green beans, ends trimmed, with 1 teaspoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Just pop on one half of your baking sheet, opposite the chicken breast. And good luck, cause my chicken was perfect, but my green beans had a trash can burial.

Still Behind

Remember Christmas? You know, that big holiday that was over a month ago? Yeah, I still haven't posted what we did for Christmas breakfast. Better late than never. I guess. We were in such a hurry to get to the presents that we just tucked in to breakfast and I didn't even take a picture of the table set up. I did manage to shoot a quick pic before I put the goodies in the oven to warm though. I made my usual Sweet & Spicy Bacon- that's a requirement according to my brother and his wife. Additionally I made cheap, fast and easy sausage rolls- no real recipe there, refrigerated crescent rolls, shredded cheese and small smoked sausages. Voila! And then for the sweeter side of the menu I made Deb's Whole Wheat Apple Muffins. On half of them I added a topping, and the other half I left plain to avoid possible allergens for my niece.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen; Makes about 16













1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk or yogurt
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease and flour a muffin tin and set aside.
• Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and add the granulated sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Beat until fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.Mix in the buttermilk gently. (If you over-mix, the buttermilk will cause the mixture to curdle.) Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the apple chunks.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, sprinkling the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar on top. Bake for 10 minutes, turn the heat down to 400 degrees, and bake for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the tin, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

My notes: I used buttermilk, and don't worry about the curdling. I mixed it in the first time like I was folding clouds into the batter and it still curdled. Everything comes back together when you add the dry ingredients, so it doesn't really make a difference how gentle you are. I skipped the brown sugar on the plain muffins because I didn't really want to coat my niece's muffins in sugar. The topping for the other muffins is comprised of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans- basically a version of what I did for the Peach Muffins but with more oats and pecans. Since I wasn't doing the brown sugar topping I simple cooked the muffins at 400 degrees for 17-20 minutes. Much easier than me remembering to turn the temp down. Because I just wouldn't remember, ha.

Playing Catch Up

So, it's not like I've been gone for a while. Oh wait, it is? Well, it's not like I completely overlooked all of the cooking I did during the holidays. What's that you say? That is exactly what I did? I see. Well, I have a feeling you'll forgive me. If you just make the recipe I'll be sharing with you now. I made this cookie, along with Espresso Double-Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Cheesecake Cookies, for my family's Thanksgiving gathering. I am most definitely not the first person to share this cookie recipe with you. It is the infamous chocolate chip cookie recipe that appeared in the New York Times. Molly has made it, Deb has made it, and the list could go on and on. The recipe, while not terribly hard, does require some effort and ingredients that I don't usually keep on hand. So, here's my somewhat dumbed-down version. Trust me when I tell you that these cookies, even in their remedial form, rock. And they aren't as overly fancy or fussy as the original recipe would suggest. My uncle gave me on of the best compliments I could probably receive- he said they tasted just like my grandmother had made them.

NYT Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe from David Leite in the NYT, Adapted by Moi














3 2/3 cups, minus 2 tablespoons, all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 stick salted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as Ghiradelli

• Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.
• Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butters and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
• When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly, about 30 minutes. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.
• Scoop about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Bake until golden brown but still soft, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

My notes: You can view the original recipe through either of the links I posted in the paragraph above, but this recipe is my adapted version. My changes include using all-purpose flour, a mixture of salted and unsalted butter, Ghiradelli chocolate chips, and baking smaller cookies. The original recipe calls for baking 1/3 cup of dough and makes about 24 cookies. I made mine smaller and got somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 dozen. I baked 2 dozen for Thanksgiving, a few more the next day, and I froze a big ball of dough for later. I baked that a few weeks ago and it made a dozen more. To freeze I double-wrapped the dough in plastic wrap and then put it in a large freezer bag. I thawed it overnight in the fridge and let it sit out for about 30 minutes again.

Keeping Healthy and Warm

I was planning on making Huevos Rancheros tonight, and I might still. But last night I dreamed I was sick. I've definitely been feeling run down, especially right now after the long, busy weekend. I'm starting to get paranoid about impending illness, so I might just make this soup instead. A few weeks ago I was planning on making this recipe. However it got shuffled to the end of the week and by then the collard greens I had were half wilted. Considering that I'd only bought half the greens the recipe called for in the beginning I was going to have to make some adjustments if I still wanted some soup for dinner. So, I looked over the Classic Minestrone recipe from my October 2008 issue of Everyday Food and made my own mish-mash of the two soups with what I had in my pantry and fridge. I thought it came out great and Josh liked it better than the original recipe so I think it's a keeper for us. And with all the good-for-me veggies in it I'm thinking it might be just the thing to fend off an (imaginary?) cold.

Minestrone Mine
Adapted from Everyday Food; Serves 4-6













Olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 pound collard greens, stalks removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cans great northern beans
1 can diced tomatoes in juice
Frozen french cut green beans

• In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn golden, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Add tomato paste, and cook, stirring, until onion is coated, about 30 seconds. Add collard greens, thyme, and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until collards start to wilt, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Place 1/4 of beans in a bowl, and mash them with the back of a spoon (this will help thicken soup). Add all the beans to the pan, as well as tomatoes with juice and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil.
• Stir in green beans. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; serve with grated Parmesan, if desired.

My notes: I had a 16 oz. bag of frozen green beans and I just dumped some in. You could do the exact same or use a 10 oz. box. Can't really mess this yummy soup up. Everyday Food had a list of substitution and addition ideas as well.

Easy Entertaining with Beef Bourguignonne

I realize that I took my little blog vacation, said I was back, posted two entries and then promptly disappeared again. We've been so busy with house-hunting, family holidays, and Josh's shows that I've either not been cooking at all or I've been making fast, familiar recipes. However, just because a recipe is fast doesn't mean it can't impress. I recently tried this recipe I'd pulled from my February 2008 Real Simple. You may be familiar with their "Fake It, Don't Make It" recipes usually in each issue, and this is one of them. This meal was so easy and so quick, and on top of that so delicious. This would be a great recipe for having friends over during the holidays, like we all so often do. Of course half our friends are vegetarian, so you'd need to make sure you've got the right crowd for this dinner. I served it over egg noodles and it was seriously fantastic. Since we were all on our lonesome the night I made it I froze the extra two servings and it was still just as good when we had that a month later. Serve it with a fresh salad and some good bread and you'll be ready to go.

Quick Beef Bourguignonne
Recipe from Real Simple; Serves 4














1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and pepper
1 10 ounce package sliced mushrooms
1 16 ounce package frozen pearl onions
2 cups red wine
1 10.75-ounce can Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Season the steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the steak to a bowl and set aside.
• Add the mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the soup and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the steak and juices from the bowl and simmer, 2 minutes.
• Divide into individual bowls and sprinkle with the parsley, if using.

My notes: I used a relatively cheap Cabernet Sauvignon for this recipe and it was really good. I don't know anything about wine, but I found the recipe had enough other flavors going on in it that I could drink the same wine with my meal without it being too much. I left out the parsley, since this dinner was just for us and I saw no use in buying a whole bunch of parsley just to sprinkle on this one meal. However, for entertaining I would definitely use it to help break up the brownness of the dish. Not the prettiest picture, I realize, but I was in a hurry. Afterall, I got to eat it when I was done!

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

I made this recipe last week and I can't tell you how pleased I was with how it came out. Especially because I had some concerns as I sniffed the nearly-finished beans simmering on the stove. I think I must have an olfactory problem with vegetable broth, cause I always have my doubts about recipes that I use it in. But, like those other recipes, I loved the results in this case too! I am so pleased to have a really fast, really filling and really delicious vegetarian recipe to add to the repertoire. When Josh got home he said the kitchen smelled just like the burrito he had in NYC. He stuffed some of his dinner in a tortilla and was very, very happy. This recipe is supposed to serve four, but the protein-carb punch of beans and rice is really filling. We got two dinners and 4 lunches out of this one batch, which makes it pretty pocketbook friendly too!

Cuban Black-Bean Stew with Rice
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4













1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
2 cans (19 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) vegetable broth
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Garnishes (optional): lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and sliced radishes

• Prepare rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add beans, broth, vinegar, and oregano. Cook, mashing some beans with the back of a spoon, until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fluff rice with a fork. Serve beans over rice, with garnishes, if desired.

My notes: I had half a red onion leftover in the refrigerator, so that's all I used and am likely to keep it that way since we were both so pleased with the outcome. I didn't bother with any garnishes because I knew whatever we didn't use would just sit in the fridge and be a waste of money. Josh did however point to the radishes in the recipe's picture and say that they were a part of his NYC burrito, so I guess I might include them next time, just for him. :)

Hello and Chicken Enchiladas

Well, I'm back. That vacation went a bit longer than I had intended it to. If only the part of it that was spent in Cozumel had gone longer too! I've been getting back into the habit of meal-planning and cooking more and more, but it has still been a rather sporadic thing. Josh has been practicing several nights a week, and along with shows, plans with friends and a good pinch of laziness cooking hasn't been a full-time thing again just yet. And just as some of this stuff will be slowing down after Friday, other things will be picking up. We'll be starting the house hunt this weekend, which I'm sure will only make me crazier, and then lazier. So things won't be quite back to normal for some time I would guess, but I am back to cooking and will be happy to share the new recipes I make when I get the chance. :)

So, we had a little Mexican/Caribbean vacation earlier this month and upon our return I wanted to keep us in the vacation spirit. To help I decided to make these Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce for dinner the week after we got back. This recipe had been sitting around on my To-Cook list for an embarrassingly long time. I figured like crossing it off would be a good way to jump back into the kitchen habit. I halved this recipe, just using the two chicken breasts I had in the freezer. That was apparently more chicken than I needed cause I ended up making two extra enchiladas and still had some chicken leftover. The extra enchiladas threw off my salsa ratio a bit, so these enchiladas were truthfully a little dry. But they were also truthfully delicious! And I can only imagine that they will be that much better when I get the math right.

Chicken Enchiladas with Creamy Green Sauce
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 6













3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 jars (16 ounces each) medium green salsa
3/4 cup heavy cream
12 corn tortillas (6-inch)
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, coarsely shredded (3 cups)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place with garlic on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine salsa and cream.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Once chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat, discarding skin and bones. Peel and chop garlic. In a large bowl, combine chicken, garlic, and 1/2 cup salsa mixture.
• Stack tortillas flat, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute to soften. Working with one tortilla at a time, dip in salsa mixture, lay flat, and fill with 1/3 cup chicken mixture. Roll up and arrange, seam side down, 8 enchiladas lengthwise and 4 crosswise in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Top with remaining salsa mixture, then cheese.
• Bake until cheese is browned and salsa is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes; let rest 10 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with cilantro, if desired.

My notes: I will definitely be making this recipe again, and probably just make the full-size batch so I don't have to worry about any of that pesky dividing. The only other change I might make would be to add a bit of cheese to the filling. I served this with Cilantro-Lime Rice on the side and our usual pre-dinner salad.

Blog Vacation

I'm going to take a little blog vacation. I know what you're thinking- "Isn't that what you've been doing already?" Ho, ho, ho- clever lot you all are. Things are getting a bit hectic around here and between all the soft food diet, attempts to control the grocery bill and find time to get all the things done I need to this blog hasn't been getting the attention I could once give it. So, going to take a little sabbatical so I can come back with a refreshed palate. And I will actually be on vacation the first week of October, so I wouldn't be able to blog then anyways. But I'll be back shortly with some new recipes- I promise! Thanks to everyone who stops by my little corner of the world wide kitchen, I really do appreciate all the comments and feedback that you all share with me.

Brown Bagging It

My lovely husband Josh is starting a new job next week. We're both very excited about it. I want to start making him some nicer lunch stuff to help deter eating out for lunch, starting with something special for his first day. I've already worked up a great snack to keep him away from the vending machine- Peanut Butter Granola with banana chips, sliced almonds and cacao nibs tossed in. So, onto some lunch ideas.

Right now Stephmodo is sharing some beautiful lunch photos from Donna Hay.

Martha Stewart had some great wrap ideas.

Apartment Therapy's The Kitchn offers up some great recipes and ideas for weekday lunches.

Serious Eats has a column dedicated to lunch-time grub.

That's where most of my inspiration has come from. Do you have any suggestions? I think I've figured out his first day lunch menu, but I'll need plenty of ideas past that! Thinking about making something nice for a lunch dessert, but still a bit lost on that. Until after his first day I won't know the breakroom/kitchen situation, so lunch number one has to be ready to go. Here's what I'm thinking for the big day.

-Caprese Sandwich
-Baked Potato Chips
-Carrot sticks
-Apple
-Blueberry crumb bar
EDIT: Decided to go with the Blueberry crumb bars from Smitten Kitchen for dessert.

Thanks for any ideas!

Pantry Cooking: Bean and Cornbread Pie

A couple weeks ago I came home with no idea of what I'd be making for dinner. Not my usual situation, but luckily after a few moments perusing the contents of my refrigerator and pantry I had a plan in hand. My pantry contained a a couple cans of beans, some canned tomatoes and a box of cornbread mix. My refrigerator had the ingredients for the cornbread along with some cheese and sliced peppers. And I had an onion from my father-in-law's garden in my veg basket. This let me cobble together a yummy dinner for Josh and me.

Bean and Cornbread Pie
Recipe by me; Serves 4


























1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil
1 box cornbread mix
shredded cheese
sliced jalapeno

• Preheat oven to temperature noted on cornbread mix. Heat oil in medium sauce pan over medium heat (I used about a tablespoon). Saute onion till softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute more. Add in beans and tomatoes with juice. Reduce heat and let warm through.
• Make cornbread mixture according to the instructions (or from your own recipe). Add in shredded cheese to your taste.
• Place bean mixture in oven safe dish. Spread cornbread mixture atop bean mixture. Top with jalapeno slices and more shredded cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes, done when a toothpick inserted into the cornbread topping comes out clean.

My notes: I used a mixture of cheddar and pepper jack cheese in this recipe, but you could use whatever you personal preference might be. I almost always have these ingredients in my kitchen, so I'll definitely be making this recipe again. When I can chew well, that is. :)

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Couscous

Well, like I said posts are going to be a bit rare for awhile. Josh is busier and busier with each passing week, making a lot of dinner effort hard to muster when he won't even be eating it several nights a week. The grocery budget is getting tighter for us too, just like it is for so many other households. Just doesn't allow for as much freedom as I once had in planning the weekly menu and shopping list. This is a recipe that I actually made quite awhile back. I didn't think the picture turned out all that appetizingly, but I decided to go ahead and share it with you guys. Chicken thighs can be a very cost effective protein choice, so a good option for meat eaters these days. And with only 5 ingredients required, several of which might be staples in your kitchen, it could be a recipe that keeps your weekly grocery spending down.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Couscous
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4












8 chicken thighs
2 zucchini (about 1 pound total), halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with rack in upper third. Season chicken with salt and pepper; place, skin side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes.
• Remove sheet from oven, and turn chicken, skin side up. Scatter zucchini around chicken, and season with salt and pepper; toss with pan juices. Return sheet to oven, and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 7 to 10 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan; season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and stir in couscous. Cover, and let stand until all the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Stir in parsley, vinegar, roasted zucchini, and 2 tablespoons pan juices; season with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with zucchini and couscous.

My notes: My chicken stuck a little bit to the pan, so maybe a light rubbing with olive oil could help with that. Other than that this was a good, easy recipe that I'd probably make again.

Bonjour Breakfast!

Okay, I'll give you a little break from the spinach with a yummy breakfast. Sorry the posts are fewer and far-between, but I've just got a lot of stuff going on. It's just one of those times when it's easier to make fast and familiar things, meaning not much new to share. Anyway, recently I decided to do a little experiment in freezing bread. I love to buy fresh sourdough and challah from the Central Market bakery, but with just the two of us we either have to throw ourselves under the power of white flour full-time (not too healthy) or some of it goes to waste (not too frugal). This time I packaged up pairs of slices in plastic wrap, then foil, and popped them in freezer bags. This has turned out really well, so far. Last weekend I made some really yummy french toast with the challah. I used a Martha Stewart recipe as a sort of guideline, and did some tweaking based on serving size.

French Toast
Adapted from Martha Stewart; Serves 2












4 slices challah bread, about 1" thick each
4 eggs
3/4 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Butter

• Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and salt in a bowl; set aside.
• Place bread in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold bread slices in a single layer. Pour egg mixture over bread; soak 10 minutes.
• Heat butter in skillet over medium heat. Fry bread until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Serve warm.

My notes: I used this Martha recipe, eliminating a few things I didn't care for (nutmeg) and adjusting a bit for what I had on hand (soy milk) and serving size. I probably could have done with one less egg too. The recipe tells you to soak for 20 minutes, 10 on each side. My bread filled my shallow pie dish, and from the lack of space was very well soaked through with just the first 10 minutes. Also, Martha suggests using butter and vegetable oil for frying, but I just went with butter and have no regrets. :) If you're making more servings then you can keep your first batches warm in a 250 degree oven.

Spinach Fest 2008- Spinach Quesadillas

Boy, you'd think I'd married Popeye the sailor man what with all these spinach recipes in a row. And I even have one more in my pocket! This is a little something I whipped up a couple weeks ago. I had one night open on my menu plan that I just couldn't think to fill. I wanted something that would be really easy to put together, so I decide I would just come up with some kind of quesadillas. I decided on using chopped spinach and black beans for my filling, along with some cheese of course. These were really great! I think I might make a batch to tuck into the freezer for emergency meals. I can't remember now what I served with them, aside form our usual salad. I think we just had some chips & salsa with them. I would have liked cilantro-lime rice, but I think cilantro and peppers were off the shelves at the time.

Spinach Quesadillas
Recipe by me; Makes 6












6 wheat flour tortillas
1 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess liquid
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 4.5 oz. can chopped green chiles
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
Ground cumin
Shredded cheese- I used cheddar and pepper jack
Olive oil

• Mix the drained beans, spinach, and chiles together in a bowl. Add salt, pepper and cumin to taste.
• Heat a skillet over medium heat. Rub surface with paper towel dipped in olive oil. Place one tortilla into the pan. Top with shredded cheese. Once the cheese starts to melt place about 1/3 cup of the filling on one half of the tortilla. Gently fold the tortilla over the filling and press down. Let sit for a moment on each side of the tortilla to warm the filling through and finish melting the cheese. Remove quesadilla from pan and repeat process with remaining ingredients. Serve, cutting into wedges if you like.

My notes: The chile amount is a guess. Jalapeños were hard to come by, and I had a 7 oz. can of chopped green chiles, of which I used half or more. And the cumin I really did just sprinkle liberally over the filling, so just use your personal judgment. I love using wheat tortillas to make quesadillas this way. They are a little sturdier than white flour tortillas, so the don't tend to split when folded or become soggy from cheese or fillings. What are you favorite quesadilla fillings?

Spinach & Feta Hand-pies and Roasted Carrots with Honey

I've been relying on some of the goodies I had stashed away in the freezer earlier in the season. These hand-pies are one of the recipes that I stocked the freezer with. Everyday Food called them turnovers, but I prefer my title, ha. These things were a little bit of a pain to make at the time, but having something I can just pop in the oven has really made up for any frustration I felt at the time. Of course, I only have one more pair in the freezer, so I may be remembering that frustration very soon indeed. This side dish is so easy, and so delicious. A really great alternative to glazed carrots, which I often find too sweet. This is also a fast and easy fix when I know in advance that I'll be making them. I just cut my carrots while prepping the rest of my weekly produce, then have only to toss with oil and toss in the oven.

Spinach & Feta Hand-Pies
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 8












2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 10 oz. boxes frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups crumbled feta
2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash
All purpose flour, for work surface
1 box (17.3 oz.) frozen puff pastry, thawed but still cold

• In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium; add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; mix in spinach, feta, lemon juice, and cayenne. Season filling with salt and pepper, set aside.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each portion of dough (still folded in thirds) into a 12" square; cut each into quarters to form a total of 8 equal squares.
• Dividing evenly, spoon filling onto center of each of the 8 squares. Lightly brush two adjoining edges of each square with some egg wash. Fold these edges over filling to form a triangle; press firmly to seal (dough should be tightly pressed around filling). With a floured fork, crimp edges.
• Transfer turnovers to two baking sheets; brush tops with remaining egg wash. Bake until golden and puffed, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating sheets half-way through.
• To Freeze: Freeze unbaked turnovers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once frozen, wrap turnovers individually in plastic wrap; store in a resealable plastic bag in the freezer for up to 2 months.
• To Bake From Frozen: Unwrap frozen turnovers, and bake as in step 4, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.

My notes: I had trouble getting the puff pastry rolled out properly. I ended up doing squares, and they are smaller than the recipe intended, but still substantial. I had filling leftover, which I put in the freezer. I have used some of it for another recipe, and still have plenty in there to make more pies with or use for something else. Since I typically only bake two at a time I don't have to worry with rotating the pies, and usually just bake with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Roasted Carrots with Honey
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4

1.5 lbs. carrots, cut on the diagonal into 2" lengths and halved lengthwise if thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon honey

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss carrots with oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, and toss with honey.

My notes: All I have to say is yum!

Spicy Chicken Pasta

Actually, not so spicy if you ask me. Still quite yummy though. This was a pretty easy recipe, and actually meant to serve one. I just doubled it up and that means that it was easy to split between two and not worry about portion control. I'll probably make it again, probably with even more red pepper next time.

Spicy Chicken Pasta
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 1












Coarse salt
1/2 cup penne or other short pasta
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 plum tomato, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
3 cups baby spinach
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• In a large pot of boiling slated water, cook penne until al dente, adding chicken during last 2 minutes of cooking. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. Drain chicken and pasta and return to pot.
• To pot add tomato, tomato paste, garlic, olive oil, red-pepper flakes and spinach; season with salt. Cook over medium, tossing until spinach is barely wilted, about 1 minute. Remove post from heat; stir in lemon juice and enough water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Season with salt, if necessary, and serve immediately.

My notes: Like I said, I'd probably like it a bit spicier, so more red-pepper flakes for me next time. This would be an easy enough dinner to make in a pinch, as I've always got a variety of pasta and usually have chicken in the freezer and spinach in the fridge.

Nacho Ordinary Dinner

Uh, so yeah. Long time no post. Well, you know how it is- you get busy, things come up, and some things sort of slip through the cracks. Like cooking, plating your food, taking pictures of your food, editing the pictures, and putting together a post all about it. Don't get me wrong, I have been cooking. But it's the kind of stuff that's so easy and convenient that I would even think of putting it up on here. Or repeat recipes, some that I've even posted repeatedly on here. Or stuff pulled from the freezer (I do have a recipe for one of those meals, coming soon). But I've got at least a few photos in the can, so there'll be a bit more posting to come. This definitely falls in the category of easy and convenient, assuming like me you always have tortilla chips and pepper jack cheese (why wouldn't you?). Last Friday night I was going to make my favorite Bean, Corn and Tortilla Salad for dinner. But my lettuce was looking a bit raggedy, to say the least. So, I thought to myself, "What do I have when I remove the lettuce?". The answer of course was some pretty good nacho toppings.

Nachos
Adapted from Everyday Food by me












Tortilla Chips, your personal favorite
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 10 oz. frozen corn, thawed
1 small bunch scallions, diced
1/3 cup salsa, your personal favorite
1 or 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut to your preference- sliced, diced, chopped
Shredded Cheese- I used a little cheddar, a lot of pepper jack

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a small bowl mix together the beans, corn and salsa. Warm in the microwave for about a minute.
• In a baking dish (I used a pie plate), lay out a layer of tortilla chips and sprinkle with scant amount of cheese. Top with half of bean mixture, then scallions and tomatoes. Top generously with cheese. Repeat for one more layer, using rest of bean mixture.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, will warmed through and cheese is well melted.

My notes: Maybe next time I'll do it in just one layer and we can each have our own pie plate of nachos! I also had an avocado, which is part of the salad recipe. I just diced that up and served it on the side as a nacho topping for us. Guacamole would be preferable, but the whole cilantro and hot pepper thing tends to put a damper on that.

Still Peachy: Whole-Wheat Peach Muffins with Pecan Crumble Topping

This weekend I went on a bit of a produce binge. But what better time of the year, right? We got our usual fruit staples- apples and bananas, but accompanying those home from the store were grapes, cherries, watermelon, lemons, limes and peaches. Blueberries were supposed to be on that list. I hadn't made blueberry muffins in a long time and thought they would be a great weekend treat. Apparently, since blueberries were on sale, everyone else thought so too and beat me to them. Undaunted, I grabbed the peaches instead and decided to figure out what to do with them later. So Sunday morning when I woke up I went in search of a muffin idea. I went straight to Everybody Likes Sandwiches. I've been getting lots of recipes and ideas from her lately, and I knew I'd find something great to start from. I landed on her recipe for Blackberry Muffins with Crumble Topping and decided it was just the thing. And with a few minor changes I had some really awesome muffins coming out of my oven!

Whole-Wheat Peach Muffins with Pecan Crumble Topping
Adapted from Everybody Likes Sandwiches; Makes 12-16
















Batter:
2 cups white whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 peaches, peeled and chopped

Crumble topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons oats
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter

• Preheat oven to 375. Grease or line muffin tin.
• In a medium sized bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• Prepare crumble topping in a small bowl by combining dry ingredients and then crumbling butter into the mix with your fingers until everything is all crumbly. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together sugar and eggs until pale and creamy. Add yogurt, oil and vanilla and mix well. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Gently fold in blackberries until evenly distributed throughout batter.
• Add batter to prepared tin, filling them 3/4 full. Sprinkle topping on each muffin and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 20 minutes or so. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My notes: I used plain yogurt, because that's what I had. I added the pecans and omitted 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg from the crumble topping, I'm not crazy about nutmeg. And I had to MacGyver my oats. Realizing that I had used the last of them when I made another ELS recipe I reached for one of my husband's flavored instant oatmeal packets. I dumped it into a fine mesh sieve and sifted away all the powdery flavoring and it actually worked, ha. I certainly wouldn't suggest this option when you need a lot of oats, but for my 2 tablespoons it was a good solution. These muffins had a really great crumb, not too moist to where it stuck to the roof of your mouth, but not too dry either. Definitely making them again!

P.S. I served my muffins on the awesome platter I got from my Favorite Things swap partner Ginger. Thanks Ginger!

Cuban Sandwich Cheat

Is it the summer heat? Blog burn out? Stray radio waves frying my brain? Who knows, but in the continuing saga of lazy cooking I bring you my new favorite sandwich. Recently I found myself with a strong and impossible to ignore craving for a Cuban panini. One just like what I had at a restaurant on the Upper West Side on our NYC vacation. The prospect of cooking a pork tenderloin in order to make sandwiches? Not promising in the big picture sense. But I did remember that there had been a single page in the back of one of my Everyday Food issues about a quick version of the Cuban. Just eliminate the pork, and that's just what I did. Good golly, this is so easy and fast. And I so love it. Right now I'm making a mental note to buy more ham on my next grocery store trip. And the next time I want to make a pork tenderloin I will remember to save some for some real sandwiches.

Cuban Sandwich
Recipe from Everyday Food












Good sandwich roll, baguette, whatever your bread preference really
Sliced ham
Swiss cheese
Dill pickle, sliced lengthwise
Dijon mustard

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Slice your bread in half horizontally. Spread each slice with Dijon mustard. Layer bottom slice with ham, swiss cheese and pickle slices. Top with other bread slice and press down. Place on parchment lined baking sheet, top with another baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

My notes: We had our sandwiches with some salt and cracked black pepper potato chips, mmm. But of course this sandwich could be enjoyed with a variety of sides. So good. Really, I wish I had everything so I could make one as soon as I get home. :)

Spaghetti Dinner

Oh my goodness! Things have been super hectic at work, so you'll have to forgive me for not coming round more often. In fact, fast and easy cooking hasn't been more helpful as it has the past week or two. I wanted to get this posted since it really helped me get dinner done and in my tummy in a hurry last night. Super simple, super fast, and best of all, super yummy! Pic here is courtesy of Martha. Definitely gonna keep this recipe in my back pocket.

Herbed Spaghetti
Recipe from Everyday Food; Serves 4
















Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 pound thin whole-wheat spaghetti
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon, and chives

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return pasta to pot.
• Stir in butter, lemon zest, juice, and herbs; season with salt and pepper. Add some of the reserved pasta water to adjust consistency, if needed. Serve.

My notes: I used parsley, and I forgot to keep any of my pasta water, so I just added a little extra butter. Mmmmm. Hopefully things will be slowing down soon, and I'll have more free time to devote to getting recipes up on here. :)

No Energy Cooking

A couple weeks ago I had big plans for making a simple meal. I came across Elise's recipe for Huevos Rancheros and had added it to week's menu. I was going to make the salsa like her, and it was going to be grand. And someday I will. But I got home, beat down by a day of work and problematic sleep patterns. I couldn't have cared less about chopping an onion and smooshing tomatoes with my hands. But I still needed to eat and was hungry at that. So, I took the easy way out. Boy, am I glad I did too. Always so happy to have something that is meal-like without requiring a meal sized effort.

Fast & Easy Huevos Rancheros












Eggs
Corn Tortillas
Salsa

And that's pretty much all you need to know. You like your eggs scrambled? Go for it. Soft yolks? Have at it. I like my eggs cooked through and through, so that's what I made. Warmed corn tortillas, topped with egg, topped with salsa. Alter as you see fit. :)

Creamy or Crunchy? Peanut Butter Granola

I have been finding a lot of inspiration lately over at Everybody Likes Sandwiches and this is just one more recipe that turned out great. Seems like granola has been popping up everywhere, especially since Molly at Orangette posted her recipe for chocolate granola, which is waiting patiently for me on my to-cook list. But this peanut butter granola called out to me with a stronger siren song. And I'm glad I listened. I thought this recipe was really good and Josh loved it. It's also incredibly easy, so if you can stand the heat get in that kitchen and get some in the oven.

Peanut Butter Granola
Recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches; Makes about 3 cups












2 1/2 c oats
1/2 c wheat germ
1 t vanilla extract
2 T canola oil
3 T natural peanut butter
2 T brown sugar
3 T chopped chocolate (optional)

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix oats and wheat germ together. Set aside. In a small saucepan, heat up oil, peanut butter, vanilla and brown sugar over medium high heat and let it all get melty together. Pour hot mixture over oats and stir well, so that everything is covered. You may have to use your hands if your peanut butter mixture is extra stiff. Add chocolate, if using, and mix well.
• Spread mixture on a baking sheet or large glass baking pan and toast in oven for 20-30 minutes, checking on it and stirring it occasionally until mixture is dry. When cool, store in a tightly lidded container.

My notes: I used toasted wheat germ, as that's what I had. I also used regular old jarred peanut butter. Natural peanut butter probably tastes a lot better, but that's what was in my cupboard - and waste not, want not. I omitted the chocolate, want to try Molly's recipe before I go there, but I did toss in a handful of sunflower seeds that I had in the cabinet. This would make a great trail mix. Add in some raisins, dried apple, or banana chips. Maybe some pretzel bites and M&M's. Yummy!

Graham Cracker Addict

My husband is a self-proclaimed graham cracker addict. Considering there are much worse things a person could be hooked on this doesn't really bother me. And although I would hardly consider store-bought graham crackers to be very expensive, we were buying them so often that I started to wonder if I couldn't just whip up our own. A lightening quick Google search lead me to a recipe on bakingsheet, which has long been transformed into Baking Bites. The recipe looked so simple that I decided I would definitely give it a shot. This is the second time I've tried this recipe and this was the closest I've gotten to what most people expect from a graham cracker. I think next time I make them they will be perfect. And now the kitchen is stocked for my hubby to grab a fix whenever he needs it. Guess I need to get around to trying one of those marshmallow recipes that have been so ubiquitous in the blogosphere as of late!

Homemade Graham Crackers
Recipe adapted from Retro Desserts by Bakingsheet; Appx. 48 crackers












1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoon molasses
1/4 cup cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• In a food processor, mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the cold butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 30 seconds or so. Add the honey, molasses, water, and vanilla. Mix until the dough startes to come together in a ball, another 30 seconds. Scrape dough out of the mixer.
• Between 2 sheets of waxed or parchment paper, roll the dough 1/8-inch thick. Chill for at least 1 hour, until firm (I chilled for several hours).
  Preheat oven to 350F. Retrieve dough and roll it a bit more if it is not yet 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Arrange the crackers on parchment lined baking sheets. With a toothpick, prick several holes in each cracker.
• Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan.
• Note: If you cut the dough through but leave the squares together, you can break them up after they're baked, just like a store-bought graham.

My notes: I use white whole-wheat flour, as that's what I have in the pantry. I don't see that it makes much of a difference. I also hate my food processor, as you might already know, so I use my pastry blender to cut in the butter. This dough doesn't take long to warm and I have limited rolling space, so I've found working in batches allows me to get the correct thickness in the shortest amount of time before all my dough goes gooey.