It's Wicked Good

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

2011-10-17T21:29:00.002-05:00

Yesterday on Twitter I started raving about the pumpkin turkey chili I was making in my crock pot for Sunday dinner. Immediately I started getting requests for the recipe, which I got in the mail from a supermarket I frequently shop at. I used the recipe as a springboard and made my own modifications (as usual).

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen bell pepper strips
2 tsp minced garlic
1.25 pounds ground turkey
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with chilis
2 14.5 oz cans kidney beans
1 large can (about 3.5 cups) pumpkin
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
shredded cheese
sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat and saute onion and peppers and garlic until tender. Add the ground turkey and cook until evenly browned.
2. Pour mixture into crock pot/ slow cooker. Add can tomatoes, pumpkin, and spices.
3. Cover and cook at low heat for 4 to 5 hours.
4. Serve topped with cheese and and sour cream, a side salad, and warm cornbread.

Cook's Notes

1. This is ridiculously good. The cornbread I made was not, therefore I won't impose my recipe on you.
2. I know what you're thinking- pumpkin? Gross! But wait. The pumpkin gives it a nice creamy texture and the taste is very subtle.
3. The original recipe didn't call for beans. WTF? Who eats chili without beans?
4. The menfolk I fed this two have already asked that I make it again.

Pictures to follow soon.

Easy Crock pot Beef Stew

2011-10-10T22:01:00.003-05:00

Fall has set in here in Seattle and we're craving stews and soups like it's nobody's business. I've made this beef stew three times in the last eight days, that's how much we love it.

Ingredients

3 Russet potatoes, cubed
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
2 tspn minced garlic
1 pound beef stew meat
3 cups beef broth or 3 tspn boullion granuales disolved in 3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
italian seasonings to taste

Directions
1. Throw everything in crockpot.
2. Set it to low and cook 6-8 hours or 1 hour on high and 4 hours on low
3. Watch a football game or do yardwork
4. Eat the stew

Cook's Notes
I didn't use a recipe for this and I tend to add things willy-nilly. Like today's batch had 4 potatoes and a lot of celery. Occasionally I dice up my own tomatoes.

You can manipulate this a doezen ways. Add barely or rice or kale or whatever you like in stews. I've seen variations that add red wine.

I serve it with day old sourdough or french bread and a salad.

Make it your own!

Garlic-Basil Shrimp

2011-10-08T18:07:00.003-05:00

This might have been a Weight Watchers recipe that I adapted. I found it in my recipe file during a routine sweep of things I thought I'd cook buut likely never will.

Ingredients

2 tbspn olive oil
1 pound frozen shrimp (peeled and deveined)
2 tbspn minced garlic
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
fresh basil (or 1 tbspn from the basil in a tube)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup parmesian cheese
1 cup orzo
1 large zucchini, cubed

Directions
1. Cook orzo according to package
2. In a large skillet cook shrimp, tomoatoes, garlic, oil, and zucchini until tender. Add the wine and red pepper flakes and basil. Stir and turn down heat.
3. Mix it all together and sprinkle with cheese. Serve with a salad.

Easy Peach Pie

2011-10-03T22:27:00.002-05:00

Somebody (likely my mom) emailed me this recipe a bazillion years ago. I amde it two weeks ago to bring to a dinner.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 can peaches (I used a big can)
1 stick of butter

Directions

1. Mix first three ingredients together
2. Melt butter in the pan you are using
3. Mix in flour/milk/ sugar
4. Dump in can of peaches
5. bake 30-45 min

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream

**note: really good cold for breakfast

Cook's Notes:

There are no photos because people ate it so quickly. But I don't think it was that good. I won't make it again. Mr. Snowgoose and his dad snarfed it up, but that's not saying much.

Tomato basil buttermilk soup

2011-09-12T20:42:00.004-05:00

Since it is September in Seattle we finally have reached summer and have a crapload of tomatoes. I'm giving away containers of cherry tomatoes to everyone I see and we're going to have tomato themed dinners for the next few weeks. But I'm not complaining!

I was all set to make gazpacho this morning but the weather had different ideas. It was cold and gray. Not cold soup weather. So I opted to make a tomato soup instead. The problem was NONE of my cookbooks (soup ones included) had a recipe I liked. My solution? Make my own.

Ingredients

A mess of tomatoes (try 3 or 4 pounds any variety or size)
bunch of basil
1/2 c vegetable broth
1/2 c reduced fat buttermilk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Put tomatoes into a saucepan on medium heat with garlic and oil and vegetable broth and let it cook down for about 30 minutes. Go take a shower, fold laundry, and wash dishes while you wait.

2. Add basil and buttermilk and salt and pepper. Puree the hell out of the tomatoes with your immersion blender.

Cook's Notes

1. The recipes I read called for me to peel the tomatoes and remove seeds. Are you kidding me? How on earth do you do that to a cherry tomato? I left everything intact. It will give your soup a little texture but who cares!

2. Why buttermilk? Why not? Next time I'll try cream.

3. I'd add some red pepper flakes to this to give it a kick.

4. Also, you should know I guessed on the measurements because I really just eyeballed it all. I never measure anything. True story.

5. This is a recipe you could really make your own: add pesto or more herbs, white beans, ect.

Chilled peach soup

2011-06-20T22:43:00.003-05:00

My mom sent me the recipe for this peach soup. She at the cabin, where there are apparently mountains of fresh peaches. Her email to me said: Sounded good when I saw it this am on an Atlanta station so I tried it (1/2 recipe) and was pretty good did not use the cardamom as it was not in the cupboard…and it’s to far to run to the store for only 1 thing here.

Chilled Peach Soup

This soup can be a starter, side dish, or even dessert and the taste is absolute heaven

Prep Time: 10 min.

Level: Intermediate

COOK TIME 10 minutes

YIELDS 4 cups

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (about 5 medium peaches)

1 cup white wine (such as pinot grigio)

1 cinnamon stick (3-inch)

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

2 tablespoons honey

juice ½ lemon

6 ounces plain yogurt

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

fresh mint for garnish

Directions

FIRST In a medium saucepan combine peaches, wine, cinnamon, and cardamom over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes or until peaches are soft.

NEXT Remove peaches from heat and let cool slightly. Puree in food processor or blender until smooth. Add honey, lemon juice, yogurt, and vanilla and pulse until smooth. Thicken with addition yogurt if desired.

LAST Refrigerate until chilled. Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh mint, and serve.

Cook's Notes:

I made this for Father's Day. Papa Snowgoose (upon hearing that my parents may have added vodka to their soup) said, "Is there more? Mr. Snowgoose liked the complex taste.

I used chardonnay since that's all we had in the house. The mint came from our backyard.

We'll likely eat this again. I ate the leftovers for breakfast!

Ice cream (frozen yogurt) for dogs

2011-06-19T17:19:00.007-05:00

Given that summer has been creeping in this last week (70 degrees! sun!) we've been feeding our girls puppy ice cream in the form of Frosty Paws. However, they are expensive and probably not the healthiest for the dogs. I put my reference librarian skills to the test and found a recipe written by a vet.

Ingredients:

32 oz lowfat vanilla yogurt

2 ripe bananas

1 cup peanut butter

Directions:

Blend everything in a blender. Pour into 3 oz dixie cups and freeze. Make about 16-18 servings.

Cook's notes:

This is totally safe for humans and I will not lie, I licked the spatula and ate one cup. It's freaking good! The dogs loved it too. It's safe to say that I will never buy Frosty Paws again and we will eat these all summer. I've also turned into the type of person who makes frozen yogurt for dogs.

epic fail: kale smoothie

2011-06-19T17:14:00.004-05:00

Last weekend was gorgeous and sunny and after a hike in Dsicovery park with the dogs we came home and decided we wanted to make smoothies for lunch. We had an abundance of kale in the bakyard that was about to go and I found the following recipe for a kale-apple smoothie on the Real Simple website.

Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped kale, ribs and thick stems removed
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1/2 banana
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 cup ice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions
1. Place the kale, celery, banana, apple juice, ice, and lemon juice in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth and frothy.

Cook's notes:

It was too pulpy and gross to try and drink. I felt bad about wasting all of that kale. I will not be making this again.

I should note that I subsituted in orange-mango juice for apple. I would say that was my problem but it still tasted like kale.

Microwave lasagna, or how to set cheese on fire

2011-06-01T19:26:00.003-05:00

This is another Real Simple "classic." As if lasagna wasn't already easy enough, let's try microwaving it to save 5 minutes of cooking time.

Bomb! Epic Fail! (But still edible).

Ingredients
1 15-ounce container ricotta
4 cups baby spinach, chopped (about 4 ounces)
2 cups grated mozzarella (8 ounces)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan (1 1/2 ounces)
kosher salt and black pepper
1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce (2 3/4 cups)
6 no-boil lasagna noodles

Directions
In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, 1 ½ cups of the mozzarella, ¼ cup of the Parmesan, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.

In the bottom of a microwave-safe 8-inch square baking dish, spread ½ cup of the sauce.

Top the sauce with 2 lasagna noodles, ½ cup of sauce, and half the ricotta mixture. Repeat.

Top with the remaining lasagna noodles, sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.

Cover with wax or parchment paper, then a plate. Microwave on high (power level 10) until the noodles are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Cook's notes:

I would not make this again. Traditional lasagna in the oven is just as good and the cheese doesn't blacken. I didn't even cook it for the full time.

Polenta stacks

2011-05-05T19:51:00.009-05:00

I have a confession to make. On meatless Mondays I get a bit too excited and overambitious with the meals.

For Monday night's meal I had a vision. I saw stacks of polenta with eggplant, mozzarella, and roasted tomatoes. I did not have a recipe.

Bachelor Dave was coming over for supper. He was early so I put him to work slicing the polenta and eggplant into rounds while we waited for Mr. Snowgoose to get home from work.

Ingredients

1 small-medium eggplant, sliced (you probably want to peel it first!)

1 tube of polenta, cut into 1/4 inch rounds

2 tbsps oilve oil.

1/2 cup roasted tomatoes

1/3 of a mozzarella log, sliced

Directions

1. Panic (kidding!)

2. Slice eggplant, polenta, and cheese into 1/4 slices

3. Spread eggplant and polenta onto baking sheets and bake for 20 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil.

4. Make "stacks" of polenta, eggplant, mozzarella, and tomatoes and place on baking sheet. Broil for 3-5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and brown.

Cooks Notes

1. Mr. Snowgoose said we should make the polenta crispier.

2. Bachelor Dave said the presentation was lovely.

3. Apparently, I'm the only one who liked eggplant.

4. Serve with a side salad or roasted potatoes.

5. We also tested out a dessert recipe that I can't talk about until Saturday.

Easy Roast Beef Sandwiches

2011-05-05T19:40:00.005-05:00

The other night as I was flipping through a magazine looking for recipes, Mr. Snowgoose saw an advertisement (with a recipe included) and pointed to it. "Make that," he said.

The recipe was for a roast beef sandwich that takes only minutes to make. Of course I said yes.

Ingredients

1 can condensed french onion soup (or homemade french onion soup if you're lucky enough to have some on hand).

1 tbsp Worestershire sauce

3/4 pounds sliced roast beef

4 hoagie rolls

4 slices provolone cheese cut in half

1/4 cup drained mild bananna peppers

Directions

1. Heat over too 400

2. Heat soup and Worcestershire sauce in saucepan over medium high heat to a boil. Add meat and heat through, stirring occasionally.

3. Divide beef among rolls. Top beef mixture with cheese and place sandwiches onto a baking sheet.

4. Bake 3 min of until sandwiches are toasted. Spoon soup mixture onto sandwiches and top each sandwich with 1 tbsp pepper rings.

Cooks Notes

1. I broiled the sandwiches open-faced for a few minutes.

2. Also, we did not spoon the soup into the sandwiches. No, we ate the soup separately and dipped the sandwiches into the soup like a french dip.

3. I served it with a side of broccoli, but a side salad would be nice too.

4. This would be perfect for rainy days.

Mexican Polenta Pie

2011-04-20T18:10:00.006-05:00

Mr. Snowgoose will tell you that we've been a) eating a lot of polenta and b) eating a lot of Mexican, yet he still was willing to make the polenta pie last weekend for Sunday supper. Given that he had dinner duty on the account I was at a writing conference most of the weekend,he needed something that was foolproof and we already owned all of the ingredients. This was it.

From Better Homes and Gardens

Ingredients
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 medium green sweet pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound uncooked ground turkey
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup bottled salsa
2 16-ounce tubes refrigerated cooked polenta
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2/3 cup chopped fresh tomato
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. In a 12-inch skillet cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in 1 tablespoon hot oil until tender. Add turkey, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Cook until turkey is no longer pink, stirring to break up the meat. Add beans, undrained canned tomatoes, and salsa. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer gently, uncovered, 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, grease a 3-quart rectangular baking dish with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Cut 1 tube of polenta into 1/2-inch cubes and press evenly into prepared baking dish. Halve remaining polenta lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices; set aside. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over polenta in dish. Top with meat mixture. Arrange sliced polenta over meat; sprinkle with remaining cheese and fresh tomato. Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro. Let stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

black bean cakes

2011-04-14T21:41:00.003-05:00

In an effort to help the planet, we've been going meatless on Mondays. Last week we tried polenta cakes. This week we kept the cake theme with a recipe from Health magazine.

Ingredients
3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained
2 eggs
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco (pasteurized)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 cup salsa fresca
Minced fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions1. Preheat oven to 375°. Place beans in a large bowl; mash lightly with a fork. Add eggs and cheese; whisk with fork until combined.
2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, stir in onion and garlic; cook until onion is soft and golden (2-3 minutes), stirring frequently. Stir in cilantro; remove from heat.
3. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper (taking into account how well-seasoned your beans were initially) into bowl with beans. Add onion mixture; stir with fork just until combined. (The consistency should be like thick cookie dough. If not, add a bit of flour).
4. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, and set aside. Using a large spoon or your hands, form bean mixture into 8 cakes; place onto prepared pan. Bake until golden and crisp (about 30 minutes); serve hot or at room temperature with salsa and cilantro, if desired.

Cook's Notes

1. These were quite time consuming but good. They'd make a good replacement for veggie burgers at our next cookout.

2. We used regular cheddar cheese instead of queso fresco.

3. I served them with arugula and cheese quesadillas.

Lamb meatballs with cous cous and feta

2011-04-14T21:34:00.003-05:00

We've been on a Greek food kick recently. For someone who used to shy away from lamb, I'm sure cooking a lot of it these days.

From Real Simple magazine October 2010 issue

Ingredients
1 pound ground lamb or beef
1/4 cup dried apricots, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 small red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup couscous
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1/2 English cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
4 ounces Feta, crumbled

Directions

1.Heat broiler. In a medium bowl, combine the meat, apricots, coriander, chopped onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
2.Form the meat into 1 ½-inch balls (about 20) and place them on a broilerproof baking sheet. Broil until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes.
3.Meanwhile, place the couscous in a bowl. Add 1 cup hot tap water, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
4.In a small bowl, mix together the oil, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.
5.Serve the couscous with the meatballs, tomatoes, cucumber, Feta, and sliced onion. Drizzle with the dressing.

Cook's Notes

1. I made lamb meatballs/ burgers a few weeks back and used garlic and egg and yellow onions and they tasted much better. The apricots and red onion are a little much.

2. I also roasted potatoes with the meal.

white bean and olive tapanade

2011-04-05T19:37:00.003-05:00

When the end of the month rolls around, we get more creative in the kitchen. It's like Iron Chef where we see what we can make with whatever we have left. I had some cherry tomatoes that were getting wrinkles and a bunch of leftover olives, feta cheese, and white beans from a greek themed dinner we ate earlier in the week.

I combined:
1/2 cup white beans
1/4 cup feta
1 cup cherry tomatoes (I roasted them first)
minced garlic
1/4 cup olives
olive oil

and threw it into a baking dish for 10 minutes at 350.

Serve with crackers

Crispy polenta cakes with garlicky mushrooms

2011-04-05T19:11:00.006-05:00

In an effort to go meatless a couple of times a week, Mr. Snowgoose and I have been trying new recipes. Last night I felt ambitious and made these polenta cakes. Now, I've experimented with them before, though never Mark Bittaman's way. A few years ago I had polenta jenga sticks at a Boston-area vegetarian restaraunt and loved them.

Most of the time when I make polenta (from scratch), we just eat it in it's soupy form. The other week I tried to make cakes and it was a disaster. Last night, not so much.

This recipe came from Bittman's Food Matters Cookbook

Ingredients

1 cup course cornmeal
salt
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups water
1 pound mushrooms
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic

Directions

1. Cook cornmeal according to directions (ie whisk the cornmeal into the water and milk until it is lump free and thick)

2. Grease a baking sheet with oil. Pour hot polenta onto the sheet and spread with spatula so it is about 1/2 inch thick. brush the top with oil, cover, and refridgerate it for a minimum of two hours.

3. Heat oven to 375. Grease a new baking sheet and cut polenta into 12 squares or shapes. Put cakes on baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes (outside will be toasted while the inside is soft).

4. Meanwhile cook mushrooms and garlic in oil. Add thyme if you'd like. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and then add wine and let it bubble for a few minutes until the wine has cooked off.

5. Serve a spoonful of mushrooms on each cake.

Cook's Notes

1. I added some parm cheese to the polenta in the pot since we like it cheesy. I also served it with roasted brussels sprouts with a basalmic glaze.

2. Mr. Snowgoose enjoyed it.

3. Since it is so time consuming, I'd advise to make a larger batch because it will get eaten immediately. We'll make this again.

who knew Falafels were this easy to make?

2010-12-30T22:24:00.004-05:00

My health food store sells falafel mix in the bulk bins. Mr. Snowgoose and I have been on a greek food kick and after reading the directions I thought I'd try to make them.

Ingredients

1 cup falafel mix
3/4 cup water
2 tbsn oil

Directions

1. Combine mix and water in bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Shape into 12 patties or balls.

3. Fry them until they are crispy/ hardened.

See, so simple! And good. And cheap. I have a feeling we'll be eating a lot of these!

Fake out take out: spicy orange-ginger beef with broccoli

2010-12-30T22:11:00.004-05:00

Usually as the month draws to a close, I get more creative with my cooking as I play "let's clean out the fridge/pantry/ freezer." Last night was no exception. We had beef and frozen broccoli and brown rice among other things and since my take out fake out cashew chicken was so well recieved I wanted to try another spin on faux Chinese food.

Ingredients

3/4 pound beef for stir fry
1 large package frozen broccoli
1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 tbsn soy sauce
2 tspn ginger
2 tbsn minced garlic
1 tbsn chili paste
1/3 c orange juice
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tbsn oil

Directions
Note: If possible, marinate beef in 2 tbsn soy sauce for a few hours

1. Cook brown rice according to package

2. Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes in oil. Add soy sauce, ginger and beef and cook until beef is done. Add broccoli and cook for 2 minutes before adding orange juice and chili paste. Cook 1-2 more minutes.

3. Serve over rice.

Cook's notes:

1. You can do the ingredients in any order and add more chili paste if you like it spicy.

2. Mr. Snowgoose loved it!

Fake out take out: Sweet and Sour Chicken with Cashews

2010-12-24T16:47:00.005-05:00

Mr. Snowgoose loves Chinese food. I do not, though I will compromise and make him fake out take out dishes from time to time. In the April 2010 issue of Real Simple I came across a recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken with Cashews. Last week I finally made it, though I made several modifications to make it easier (and healthier)

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice
18 ounces frozen chicken nuggets
1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoons dried ginger
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 package stir fry veggies
1 tbsn chili paste
1/2 cup roasted cashews

Directions

1. Cook the rice according to the package directions.
2. Meanwhile, cook the chicken according to the package directions.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the preserves, soy sauce, vinegar, and ginger. Set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the veggies and chili past and cook until the vegetables are just tender, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Add the chicken, sauce, and cashews and toss to coat. Serve over the rice.

Cook's Notes:

1. It was good, though even better the next day.
2. I love the use of chicken nuggets because they hold the sauce perfectly. Maybe next time we'll try sesame chicken or kung pao chicken with the nuggets.
3. This is going into our take out rotation!

French onion soup for beginners

2010-12-16T23:36:00.004-05:00

Ever since Mr. Snowgoose and I were in Paris this fall I've been craving French onion soup. Combine that craving with torrential rain last weekend and you have my motivation for making this classic dish.

I had made it about 4 years ago with disastrous results and haven't tried it since.

This time I opted to fly by the seat of my pants and make it American-style. Warning: it still took forever.

Ingredients:

4 cups beef broth

2 tbsp olive oil

4 large yellow onions, finely sliced

2 tbsp diced garlic

salt and pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or cheddar or mozzarella)

6-8 slices of slightly stale french bread

2 tbsp cornstarch

4 tablespoon red wine

Directions:

1. In large stockpot or dutch onion, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions have caramelized.

2. Add beef broth and salt and pepper. Let simmer for 1- 1/2 hours. Add red wine and corn starch to thicken soup.

3. Broil french bread with enough shredded cheese on top to cover it for 5 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.

4. Serve in bowls with french bread and cheese on top.

Cook's Notes

1. It made about 6 large servings, though you can add more beef broth and water if you want.

2. We freeze wine in ice cube trays when we near the end of a bottle no one wants to drink. One cube= 2 tablespoon.

3. Full confession: we were out of parm cheese so I used mozz and cheddar!

my now famous candied almonds with rosemary

2010-12-16T23:27:00.004-05:00

Special thanks to my grandma who sent me the recipe as a hint after I sent her dried rosemary for Christmas last year.

This tastes like a million dollars and like you slaved over a hot stove for hours. In reality, it takes 10 minutes. Thank you Martha Stewart!

Indredients:2 tablespoons sugar
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups almonds (raw or blanched)
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Stir together 4 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Heat butter and honey over medium-high heat in a large skillet until bubbling. Remove from heat. Add almonds and rosemary, and toss to coat.

2. Transfer almond-rosemary mixture to a rimmed baking sheet (do not scrape excess syrup from skillet). Sprinkle with sugar-salt mixture. Roast almonds until fragrant, 8 to 9 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss to coat. Let cool completely.

Cook's Notes:

1. Of course when I made it I didn't measure anything, which comes as no surprise. The beauty of this simple recipe is that you can play around with it.

2. I used fresh honey from a health food store, but I imagine the honey that comes in pastic bears will work fine.

3. Also, Martha says not to scrape extra syrup from skillet, but I did and so far no one has died.

4. I'm gifting this to practically everyone this year. So far no complaints. It pairs well with granola if you're making your own food gifts (I don't mean combining the two in one container).

5. Since my yard is overrun with rosemary I imagine I will gift this forever. Also, check the bulk bins at stores for almonds, it's often cheaper than the packages!

Happy Holidays!

That mushroom/chicken/ rice dish your mom made in the 80's

2010-12-16T23:18:00.003-05:00

Lately I've felt like I'm turning into my mother (in the kitchen that is). Over the past few years I've embraced the semi-homemade recipes she made from my childhood: homemade pizza, chicken and yellow rice, turkey soup, just to name a few.

Post-Thanksgiving I was cleaning out my freezer/ cupboard and I stumbled on a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup. I tried in vain to remember what she used to make that involved chicken and mushroom soup. Google came to my rescue with Creamy Mushroom-Garlic Chicken, a no-fail recipe with stuff that you already have on hand!

Creamy Mushroom-Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic Soup

1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1.Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides.

2.Stir the soup and milk in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.

Cook's Notes:

1. In a total 80's move I added rice and brussel sprouts, though I gave it a 2010 twist: brown rice and sauteed the sprouts in bacon, olive oil, garlic, and sprinkle shredded parm. cheese on top.

2. Mr. Snowgoose loved it. Adding it to my rotating menu. The best part? It took 20 minutes to make.

3. I don't even like brussel sprouts, but it's true. Bacon makes everything better.

Crock pot classic: beef stew

2010-11-17T20:34:00.003-05:00

Given that winter has set in here in the PNW, I've had the crockpot in heavy rotation. I was in the mood for beef stew over the weekend and after searching through dozens of recipes for this crock pot classic I opted to make it off the top of my head based on what I'd seen

Ingredients

1 pound beef, cubed
2 cups water
4 cups vegetable stock
2 stalks celery, sliced
6 carrots, sliced
4 russet potatoes, cubed
2 onions, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, chopped
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Throw everything into crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. Eat it.

Depending on how stew-y you like it, add more or less veggies and meat.

Bacon mac and cheese

2010-11-17T19:38:00.004-05:00

True story:

Mr. Snowgoose and I were driving home from the gym Monday night when I said, "I'm craving bacon mac and cheese. Mind you, I've never even had it, but I was craving some comfort food during our rcent windstorm. Mr. Snowgoose was like, "make it!" But I was tired and had already planned for us to eat leftover beef stew. I promised that if I had a recipe readily available and all the ingredients I would make it and only if it took less than 30 minutes.

Guess what? All the stars alligned and I found a recipe from a September 2009 issue of Cooking Light. Here is the recipe complete with our modifications.

Ingredients
3 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
12 ounces penne pasta
4 teaspoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1/4 cup sliced green onions (we used some from our garden)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Preparation1. Preheat broiler.

2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155°. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, garlic, onions, pepper, and bacon; stir. Add pasta; toss. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese (optional).

4. Broil 7 minutes.

Cook's note: The longest part of the recipe was cooking the bacon. Short on time? Use that weird already cooked Bacon.

Because this was a Cooking Light recipe, it's a little short on cheese and bacon. Mr. Snowgoose would have been happier if I'd added at least two more pieces of bacon (or the whole pack) and added more cheese.

But it was wicked good and we ate all six servings that night. It may become a comfort food staple in the Snowgoose household. I'm curious to add some pancetta instead of bacon and maybe some spinach next time.

Fake out take out: Enchiladas

2010-10-29T18:28:00.003-05:00

Stillme passed on a version of this recipe to me. I've made it twice and modifed it. It's delicious and quick and perfect for company. In fact, a bachelor friend of ours (who doesn't cook) asked for the recipe. He said it was comparable to the enchalada he had hile living in SoCal.

From my rusty memory

1 package (10) soft taco shells/ tortillas (note: you can use corn, but wheat works best)
1-2 14 oz cans enchalada sauce (red or green) if you like your enchaladas saucey use two cans.
4 oz can diced green chilis, drained
8 oz block of cream cheese
1 pound chicken breasts, cubed or cut into small pieces
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in oil in a pan until nearly done. Add chilis and cream cheese to chicken and cook until cheese is melted.
2. Add chicken, chili, cheese mix to tortillas. Roll and place tortillas seam side down in an 8x10 baking dish.
3. Pour enchalada sauce over tortillas and add shredded cheese to top.
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with spanish rice, black beans, and corn.

Mom's pico de gallo

2010-09-09T21:43:00.003-05:00

I love salsa. We finally hit that part of summer (or fall as it now seems to be in the Pacific NorthWet) where our peppers and tomatoes are ready to eat. While on vacation my mom made this awesome pico. We tried to replicate it.

Ingredients

2 tomatoes chopped
1 bunch green onions, cliced
1 tbspn fresh cilantro
3 tbsn lime juice
1 tbsn olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tspn ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt
chopped jalapeno

Directions

Combine everything, cool for 4 hours in fridge.

Yields 2 1/2 cups

Note: It was good, though I forgot the cumin. You'll want to double or triple the recipe.

Citrusy Shrimp with Asparagas

2010-09-09T21:40:00.001-05:00

This is a Mr, Snowgoose favorite. From thw May 2010 issue of Health magazine. I've seriously made it half a dozen times. It's quick and easy.

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 cup dried couscous
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
3/4 pound raw large shrimp (about 18), peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
3 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 minced garlic cloves
Olive oil cooking spray
3/4 pound asparagus spears, trimmed (or use frozen)
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup chopped chives

Directions
Preparation
1. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in medium saucepan. Remove from heat, and stir in couscous; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; stir in 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

2. Bring another pan of water to a boil.

3. Meanwhile, toss shrimp in 1 tablespoon each lemon and lime juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, garlic, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Marinate for 5 minutes.

4. Preheat grill pan or grill. Lightly coat with cooking spray; grill shrimp, turning once, 3 minutes or until just cooked through. Cover and keep warm.

5. When water is boiling, add asparagus, and cook 3 minutes or until just tender. Drain, and cover.

6. Whisk together honey, chives, and remaining lemon juice and olive oil.

7. Arrange couscous and asparagus on serving plates, and top with shrimp. Drizzle with dressing.

Spicy sesame scallops

2010-08-25T18:32:00.002-05:00

From Sunset magazine (I think).

Ingredients
12 large sea scallops (about 1 lb.), rinsed
1 tablespoon Asian (toasted) sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons Asian chili paste
Rice and steamed vegetables (optional)
Toasted sesame seeds

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, mix scallops, sesame oil, and salt. Let scallops marinate 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, preheat broiler. Arrange scallops in a broiler pan. In a small bowl, combine chili paste with 1 tbsp. water. Spoon about 1/2 tsp. chili sauce onto each scallop.

3. Broil 4 in. from heat until scallops are opaque and chili sauce starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve with rice and steamed vegetables if you like. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Cook's Notes:
1. It wasn't until I had started dinner that I realized I had forgotten the seame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Needless to say, I skipped step 1.
2. It's pretty spicy, so watch out!

Grandma's coming to dinner, or spinach and ricotta stuffed shells

2010-08-25T18:17:00.002-05:00

My grandmother was recently visiting the PNW from FL and we were hosting her for dinner. Mr. Snowgoose wanted to make dessert (buttermilk cake with blackberry/cream cheese frosting) and I needed to make something equally impressive.

I also hadn't made stuffed shells in ages. Now I remember why: I had to visit 4 grocery stores to find jumbo shells.

But the following recipe is ridicuously simple and is a perfect vegetarian meal. From the May 2010 issue of Real Simple.

Note: I used a whole 12 oz box of shells, and 36 oz marinara sauce (1 1/2 jars) and still had extra filling.

Ingredients
20 jumbo pasta shells (about half a 12-ounce box)
1 24-ounce jar marinara sauce
2 15-ounce containers ricotta
2 cups baby spinach, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup grated mozzarella (4 ounces)
green salad (optional)

Directions
1. Set an oven rack to the highest position and heat oven to 400° F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain and run under cold water until cool.
2. Spread the marinara sauce in the bottom of a large broilerproof baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, Parmesan, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spoon the mixture into the shells and place them on top of the sauce.
3. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake until the shells are heated through, 10 to 12 minutes.

Serve with the salad, if desired.

Note: the recipe called for me to broil the shells for 2-5 minutes at the end but I declined to do so.

Mr. Snowgoose makes Pasta Carbonara

2010-08-06T19:30:00.005-05:00

I am generally the cook in the family as I tend to have more time and motivation than Mr. Snowgoose. His cooking jobs usually involve doing the dishes, making pizza dough, and baking. Recently he came home from a long day at the office and annouced he wanted to make pasta carbonara. Great! Except that I'd already precooked dinner the day before (chicken and yellow rice) and the fact we had no eggs, bacon, or white wine in the house. We set off to a local market down the street with the dogs so that he could get ingredients.

The recipe comes from The Joy of Cooking (Mr. Snowgoose's cooking bible) and involves cooking everything in the bacon grease.

It was to die for. We barely had enough for lunch leftovers.

You can bet he'll be making this again, though probably not anytime soon. I don't know if it was the pasta or the fact all the animals sleep on the bed, but in the middle of the night that night, the wooden bedframe snapped.

The culprits?

Roasted Pork Chops with Peaches

2010-08-04T13:31:00.006-05:00

Yes, this is another Real Simple recipe.

Ingredients
1 10-ounce package couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 bone-in pork chops (each 3/4 inch thick; about 2 pounds total)
kosher salt and black pepper
2 peaches, cut into wedges
1 small red onion, cut into thin wedges
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Directions
Heat oven to 400º F. Cook the couscous according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until browned, 3 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

Add the peaches, onion, vinegar, and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper to the skilley and cook, tossing, for 1 minute. Return the pork (and any accumulated juices) to the skillet. Transfer the skillet to oven and roast until the pork is cooked through and the peaches are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the basil and serve with the couscous.

Cook's Notes:
1. The peaches were from the farmer's market, the basil from our yard. I also served a salad with lettuce, olives, feta cheese, and basalmic vinegar to round out the meal.

2. I used red wine venegar instead of white wine vinegar. It did smell slightly of vinegar, but tasted fine.
3. Mr. Snowgoose really enjoyed this. Me? Not so much (though the peaches were great). Turns out I only like my pork cured.

Coming soon: pickles!

Curried eggplant with tomatoes and basil (vegetarian)

2010-07-23T13:30:00.011-05:00

Mr. Snowgoose loves Indian food. I did until I had an unpleasant experience at an Indian buffett a year and a half ago. He's been craving Indian for some time and since it is his birthday month I decided to induldge him with this recipe for curried eggplant. I think he was so excited to have Indian again he didn't notice it was vegetarian.

This was from the April 2009 issue of Real Simple

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 25m

Ingredients
1 cup white basmati rice
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
1 eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (preferably Greek), optional

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. (Do not lift the lid or stir!) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, eggplant, curry powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

3. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the eggplant is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas and cook just until heated through, about 3 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Serve over the rice with yogurt, if using.

Cook's notes:
1. I added yogurt to mine, Mr. S. did not.
2. The basil was from our garden.
3. I didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand (the ones in our garden were not ready yet) so I drained a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes.
4. I liked it so-so. I think I'd rather make the Keema Matar or shrimp curry.

Garlicky baked shrimp

2010-07-23T13:24:00.002-05:00

This is quite possibly one of the easiest meals I've ever made for Sunday dinner, though I did make it harder by toasting my own bread crumbs.

Adapted from a Real Simple Recipe:

In baking dish combine

package of thawed frozen shrimp (1 pound)
4 cloves sliced garlic or several tablespoons of minced garlic
2 tblsp olive oil
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 tbspn chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
Bake at 425 15-18 minutes

Serve with a large salad and cooked broccoli.

Serves 4.

Orzo with spring vegetables and ricotta

2010-07-15T20:36:00.002-05:00

Earlier this year I tried Weight Watchers. It lasted about 3 months before I gave up and got tired of counting points. The only beneficial thing from the program was that I found some new recipes, like this orzo and spring vegetable one.

Ingredients

1 cup orzo
1/2 lb asparagas, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup frozen baby peas
1 tbspn olive oil
1 red onion thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup drained peite diced tomatoes
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn black pepper
1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped basil

Directions

1. Cook orzo according to package, add asparagas and peas to pot during the last 3 minutes of cooking time, drain.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook, stirring until softened. Add tomoatoes, orzo, asparagas, peas, salt and pepper; cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta, parmesean, and basil.

Cook's notes
1. I also sauted some shrimp in olive oil and garlic to add on top of the orzo as it was lacking meat.
2. It tastes good cold the next day. It'd make a good salad or dish at a potluck or picnic.

Pesto Vegetarian Lasagna

2010-07-15T20:02:00.003-05:00

I've been wanting to try pesto lasagna for awhile. I love pesto, and since we have an abundance of basil in our yard, it made sense to try this recipe.

Ingredients

8 ounces whole wheat lasagna noodles
15 ounces part skim ricotta
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (toast in a dry skillet until golden)
1/3 cup pesto
4 ounces part skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook lasagna noodles as directed or use no boil.
2. In a bowl combine ricotta, basil, pine nuts.
3. Spray 11 1/2 x 7 inch baking pan with spray. Spread 1/3 pesto on bottom of pan. Cover pesto with 1/2 noodles. Spread half the herb-ricotta mix over noodles. Repeat previous steps and cover whole thing with pesto. Sprinkle with mozzerella cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Cook's notes:
1. Um yeah, this was mediocre at best. It was missing something (like tomatoes). The lack of tomatoes and filling made it dense.
2. I like pesto, but this was pesto overload.

Mr. Snowgoose ate it and didn't complain, though he did agree it needed some tomatoes. Would I make this again? No way!

It's all Greek to me: Steak and veggie kabobs with chickpea salad

2010-07-15T13:02:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago, Mr. Snowgoose and I had ourselves a Greek feast. He had been requesting it for months, so I sorted through my massive folder of recipes and found one from the September 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine.

The recipe calls for cooking the steak in a skillet, but since it was so lovely out we wanted to grill. So we made steak and veggie kabobs (onion, red and yellow peppers, and mushrooms) and cooked the chickpea salad seperately. I also made my own yogurt/dill sauce and served everything with warm pitas, hummus, and cous cous.

For all you vegetarians, this is a great and filling veggie meal(just omit the steak).

Here is the original recipe from Real Simple

Steak with chickpeas, tomatoes, and feta.

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 25m

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1-inch-thick strip steaks (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
kosher salt and pepper
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 plum tomatoes, sliced into half-moons
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup crumbled Feta (4 ounces)

Directions
1.Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the steaks with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook to the desired doneness, 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove from the skillet and let rest for at least 5minutes before slicing.

2.Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Pat the chickpeas dry with paper towels and add them to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly crispy, 3 to 5 minutes.
3.Stir in the tomatoes, cilantro, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to plates and sprinkle with the Feta. Serve with the steak.

Cook's note:
1. Make a double batch of the chickpea salad. It's fantastic! Also, you might want to make a double batch of the yogurt-dill sauce.

My Yogurt-dill sauce: (from the March 2006 issue of Sunset magazine)

1 cup low-fat Greek Yogurt
1 clove garlic (minced), or just use a teaspoon of minced garlic
1 tablespoon dresh dill, chopped
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn pepper
1 tspn lemon juice

In a small bowl mix it all together.

Cook's Note:
The dill came from our garden!

"Easy" fudge

2010-02-04T22:56:00.003-05:00

During the holidays, someone brought a giant vat of marshmallow fudge to the library. It was wicked good. I made an offhand comment about fudge and my coworkers assured me it was easy to make and virtually foolproof.

You know what this means.

I found an easy recipe via carnation evaporated milk and it took me three tries to produce one batch. The first two came out like a fudge sauce. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

LINE 8-inch-square baking pan with foil.

COMBINE sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

STIR in marshmallows, morsels, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.

FOR MILK CHOCOLATE FUDGE:
SUBSTITUTE 1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels for Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels.

FOR BUTTERSCOTCH FUDGE:
SUBSTITUTE 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Butterscotch Flavored Morsels for Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels.

FOR PEANUTTY CHOCOLATE FUDGE:
SUBSTITUTE 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.) NESTLE® TOLL HOUSE® Peanut Butter & Milk Chocolate Morsels for Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels and 1/2 cup chopped peanuts for pecans or walnuts.

Cook's notes:

The reason my fudge refused to set in those initial batches was because I used double the amount of evaporated milk. I wasn't paying attention to the size of the can and dumped the whole damn thing in twice. Whoops.

This is a great gift to give once you master it. People assume you slave hours over it when in reality it's like a minute (or 10).

Easy granola

2010-02-04T22:52:00.002-05:00

The October 2009 issue of Health Magazine had Jamie Oliver's easy granola as a feature and encouraged readers to "steal this dish." So I did and have been gifting it like crazy. I've since modified it to include whatever I have onhand. Here's the offical recipe!

Ingredients
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)
1 heaped cup mixed nuts
1/4 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, poppy, pumpkin, sesame)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 tablespoons maple syrup
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups dried fruit

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°. Put oatmeal, mixed nuts, mixed seeds, coconut, and cinnamon on a baking sheet. Stir well; smooth out. Drizzle with maple syrup and olive oil; stir. Bake 25-30 minutes. Every 5 minutes or so take out and stir, then smooth down with a wooden spoon and put back in oven. When granola is golden, remove from oven, mix in dried fruit (roughly chop any large pieces); let cool. Serve with milk or yogurt. You can keep leftover granola in an airtight container about 2 weeks, but it's so delicious we'll be surprised if it lasts that long!

Cook's Notes:

Triple this recipe. Trust me, everyone will rave about it and it is inexpensive to make.

In terms of dried fruit, I like the dried cranberry and pomegrante seed misture the best, but dried blueberries and raisins work well too. As for nuts, skip the chopping and buy walnut pices and sliced almonds.

Penne with Sage and Mushrooms

2009-12-22T23:04:00.002-05:00

I'm not normally a cooking Light magazine fan, but earlier this fall I came across thier recipe for Penne with sage and mushrooms and had to try it. In the Snoogoose household we love pasta and sage and mushrooms, so we figured this would be a hit.

From Cooking Light, September 2009

Ingredients
1 whole garlic head
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
2 1/2 cups boiling water, divided
1/2 ounce dried wild mushroom blend (about 3/4 cup)
8 ounces uncooked 100 percent whole-grain penne pasta
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
2 1/2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 6 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 ounces fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Cut top off garlic head. Place in a small baking dish, and drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil; cover with foil, and bake at 400° for 45 minutes. Remove dish from oven. Add 1/2 cup boiling water to dish; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Separate cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp into water. Discard skins. Mash garlic pulp mixture with a fork, and set aside.

3. Combine remaining 2 cups boiling water and dried mushrooms in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes. Rinse mushrooms; drain well, and roughly chop. Set aside.

4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat.

5. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sage to pan; sauté 1 minute or until crisp and browned. Remove from pan using a slotted spoon; set aside. Add cremini mushrooms, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic mixture, chopped mushrooms, and broth to pan; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by about half. Grate 1 1/2 ounces cheese. Stir pasta and grated cheese into pan; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Thinly shave remaining 1/2 ounce cheese; top each serving evenly with cheese shavings and sage leaves.

Cook's Notes:
1. We omited steps one and two because roasting garlic is a pain in the ass and does not make for quick dinner prep.

2. This sounds really good on paper, but it wasn't that great once we made it. In fact, in order to eat the leftovers I had to add jarred pasta sauce to make it taste better. We will not be making this again.

Roast Turkey with Sage (and Rosemary!)

2009-12-22T22:52:00.004-05:00

Our house came with sage and rosemary bushes, so for the last six months we've enjoyed cooking with fresh herbs. We made this roasted turkey with sage last Thanksgiving and it was easy enough so we repeated it again, only we added rosemary and extra garlic to our turkey breast.

This was also from the November 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine.

Ingredients
1 12-pound turkey, giblets removed (or tutkey breast!)
1 bunch sage (plus 1 bunch rosemary)
6 onions, unpeeled and quartered
4 carrots, unpeeled and cut in half crosswise
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
kosher salt
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Directions

Heat oven to 400° F. Stuff the turkey cavity with the sage and 4 onion quarters. Scatter the carrots and the remaining onions in a large roasting pan.
Place the turkey on top of the onions and carrots. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine and tuck the wings underneath the body. Brush the turkey with the butter and season with 1 teaspoon salt.
Roast the turkey for 45 minutes. Add the broth to the roasting pan. Continue to roast the turkey, covering it loosely with foil if it browns too quickly, until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 165° F, 2 to 2 1/4 hours.

Carefully tilt the turkey to empty the juices from the cavity into the pan. Transfer the turkey to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving. Discard the onions and carrots.

Cook's notes
1. We used a 4 pound turky breast but it still cooked for a couple of hours.
2. We actually used twice as much sage as the recipe called for!

Our Thanksgiving table:

sage and apple stuffing

2009-12-22T22:45:00.003-05:00

On Thanksgiving I tried my hand at stuffing from scratch. I'll admit, for years I was a Stove Top stuffing kind of girl. It was easy and tasty and good enough. I didn't know what I was missing.

I had this recipe for rye and apple stuffing from the November 2008 issue of Real Simple Magazine. I had been saving breadcrumbs for months, mostly sourdough and french, so I omitted the rye from the recipe.

Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for the dish
1/2 loaf rye bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
1/2 loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
2 onions, chopped
4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
2 Granny Smith apples, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh sage, chopped
2 large eggs, beaten

Directions
Heat oven to 400° F.
Butter a deep 3-quart casserole dish.
Place the bread on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden, 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the apples and cook for 2 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the vegetable mixture, parsley, and sage to the bread and toss to combine. Mix in the eggs. Transfer to the prepared dish and cover loosely with buttered foil.

Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

Cook's notes:
1. I actually had homemade chicken broth on hand from earlier this fall. I think it's what made the stuffing so good.
2. The sage came from our yard!
3. Sausage would have been a nice addition to the recipe. Maybe next year?
4. The stuffing was so good I decided it will be my go-to Thanksgiving stuffing from now on. It was time consuming and occasionally a pain in the ass, but it was worth it. So long Stove Top!

Goat cheese and roasted corn quesadillas

2009-12-12T14:19:00.004-05:00

I came across this dish in an advertisement for Propel water. We had most of the stuff on hand and needed a quick dinner post-yoga one Monday night and tried our hand at it.

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh corn kernels (we used frozen)
2/3 cup (5 ounces) goat cheese, softened
8 6-inch tortillas
1/4 cup chopped green onion
10 tablespoons salsa
cooking spray

Directions:

1.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add corn and saute for 2 minutes or until browned. Add goat cheese to corn.

2.Divide corn mix among 4 tortillas and sprinkle each tortilla with 1 tbsp green onion. Top with remaining tortilla shell
3.Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray and place 2 quesadillas in pan, cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove from pan, keep warm.
4.Wipe pan clean and repeat step 3.
5. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges and top with 8 tbsp salsa. Serve with a side of black beans.

Cook's notes:
1. This wasn't the most spectacular meal, but it was good. We just made jumbo 10 inch quesadillas as we didn't have any small ones.
2. We also added shredded cheddar cheese to either side of the tortilla's during cooking.

broccoli and cheese macaroni

2009-12-12T14:12:00.003-05:00

I've never made mac and cheese before. In organizing my recipe file a few weeks back I cam across a recipe for cheesy baked shells and broccoli. Since it's wicked cold in the Emerald City these days and it was a "quick" meal, I decided to try it Thursday night. Now I veered off the recipe's path a bit. I used an entire box of whole wheat ziti instead of shells and used skim milk rather than whole (we all know that Real Simple is trying to give me a heart attack).

Here is the original recipe from the October 2008 issue of Real Simple:

Ingredients
3/4 pound medium pasta shells
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups grated Cheddar
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
kosher salt and pepper
1 16-ounce package frozen broccoli florets

Directions
1. Heat broiler.
2. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Add 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and stir until melted. Stir in the nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper.
4. Add the pasta and broccoli and toss to combine. Transfer to a broiler proof 8-inch square or another 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1⁄2 cup of cheese. Broil until golden, 3 to 4 minutes.

Cook's notes:
1. In true Snowgoose home cooking tradition, we fried three strips of bacon and crumbled them in the pasta during step 4.
2. If we make it again (not very likely) we'd add more cheese. It wasn't cheesy enough for us.

Super fast and super easy Creole Shrimp and Sausage Stew

2009-12-12T13:38:00.003-05:00

We like spicy foods in the Snowgoose household. We also like anything with sausage in it. So when I came across this recipe for Creole Shrimp and Sausage Stew in Cooking Light (September '09), I knew I had to make it.

It's probably the easiest thing I've made in a long time and aside from the shrimp and suasage, it uses indredients that are staples in my fridge and pantry.

Creole Shrinp and Sausage Stew

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup thinly sliced turkey smoked sausage (about 6 ounces)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (such as Rotel)
8 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp
1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add bell pepper, sausage, and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes or until bell pepper is tender, stirring occasionally. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Stir in shrimp and beans; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 6 minutes or until shrimp are done. Sprinkle with parsley.

Nutritional Information
Calories:191
Fat:6g (sat 1.7g,mono 2.7g,poly 1g)
Protein:21.3g
Carbohydrate:13.2g
Fiber:3.5g
Cholesterol:97mg
Iron:2.9mg
Sodium:694mg
Calcium:127mg

Cooks notes:

1. It took slightly longer than 20 minutes and I used a red bell pepper instead of green. Since my tomatoes didn't have chiles in them, I subsituted several dashes of tabasco sauce for heat.
2. Make a double or triple batch because it's so damn good you'll go through it wicked fast. It freezes well and makes a great lunch or quick super. You can even serve it with rice or french bread. My FIL and Mr. Snowgoose loved it so much I've made this two more times in the last few months for them. It will be in heavy rotation on our menu this winter. It's a nice change from chili.

Note:
The next time I make this I'll take photos and post them!

Herb-Pesto Barley Soup

2009-11-10T22:49:00.003-05:00

I found this soup to be incredibly boring and in need of Parmesan cheese. Mr. Snowgoose thought it was savory (though he refused to add yogurt to his). I was surprised to see how willing I was to try and make pesto again so soon! This also came from the January 2009 issue of Body and Soul Magazine.

Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup pearled barley
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves (from a large bunch)
1 cup fresh dill, coarsely chopped
1 cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup plain 2 percent Greek yogurt

Directions:
1. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high. Add onions and garlic and cook until caramelized and tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes, scraping up the browned bits (add a little water to the bottom of the pot if it begins to overbrown). Season with salt and pepper.

2. Add barley and 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer partially covered over medium until barley is tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in beans and chickpeas and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, stir in the 2 cups whole parsley leaves. Add more water to thin soup as necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Meanwhile, in blender, combine dill, mint, chopped parsley, vinegar, remaining 1/4 cup oil, and 2 tablespoons water. Puree to desired consistency. Serve soup topped with herb pesto and a dollop of yogurt.

Cook's notes:
1. Did you see how much salt and pepper I had to add?
2. The mint made the soup too minty for my liking and I added fresh basil to the pesto mix along with Parmesan cheese.
3. I goofed on the vinegar added the wrong kind.

Chicken Cacciatore with Cremini Mushrooms

2009-11-10T22:32:00.005-05:00

We're big cremini mushroom fans in the Snowgoose household. Well, at least I am. I probably go through two packages a week.

In cleaning out my recipe file I found this recipe from last January's Body and Soul Magazine.

Note: this is not a quick recipe. It requires at least four hours in the crock-pot. But it's a classic! I made some slight modifications and this is the result.

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled plum tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine like as Sauvignon Blanc
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon dried

Directions:
1. In a 5-quart slow cooker, stir together chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, flour, wine, celery, onion, rosemary, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

2. Cover; cook on high setting until meat is tender, 4 hours. Do not lift the cover of the slow cooker while cooking. To serve, discard rosemary sprig.

Cook's notes:

1. I somehow ran out of onions and thought I'd add extra celery for crunch. Guess what? Celery is not a good onion substitute! As my FIL said, "maybe next time include the onion."
2. I didn't use a rosemary sprig. Instead I added lots of fresh rosemary from my garden and it worked fine.
3. I did not serve it with brown rice, but we did use sourdough bread to mop up the juice.

Would I make it again? Hell yes!

I can't find the photos, but I will upload them eventually!

How to get your husband to eat more veggies:baked spinch and swiss

2009-10-15T21:19:00.003-05:00

This one is for all you vegetarians out there.

This is a Real Simple Classic. We've got wine, cheese, and whole milk and cream!

Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1hour 25 minutes (not really. We watched like 2 1/2 episodes of Mad Men).

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for the dish
6 shallots, thinly sliced
kosher salt and black pepper
6 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
4 10-ounce boxes frozen leaf spinach, thawed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere (8 ounces)
1 cup dry white wine

Directions
Heat oven to 400° F. Coat a shallow 2 1/2- to 3-quart baking dish with oil; set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until evaporated, 4 to 6 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, milk, nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper.

Squeeze the spinach to remove excess liquid. Stir the spinach, shallots, Gruyère, and Parmesan into the egg mixture. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Bake until bubbling and the top is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes.

Cook's Notes:
Because I love my husband and like my father-in-law, I pulled the old bait-and-switch and used half and half and skim milk.

The recipe calls for Gruyere but the grocery store I was at charged an arm and leg for it, so I went with Swiss.

I also forgot the shallots, so I omitted the step with the shallots and wine.

Mr. Snowgoose roasted potatoes and winter squash to add as a side. H even had seconds!

My father-in-law demanded the leftovers and that I make it again soon, which I will. It was wicked good.

And the baking time was only about 35 minutes.

Rosemary Apple Scones

2009-10-15T21:10:00.005-05:00

A few weekends back, before the pesto incident and all the rain, I had family over for coffee one Sunday morning. Since it was above 50 and not raining (and there was sun!) we dined al fresco at the patio Chez Snowgoose.

I haven't made scones from scratch (or if I have I can't remember) and was eager to try them. I had seen a vegan apple-rosemary scone recipe in the Vegan Brunch cookbook, but want to feed it to my carnivore family, so I merged the VB apple-rosemary scone recipe with the scone recipe in Joy of Cooking.

8 to 12 scones

Increase the sugar up to 1⁄4 cup for a sweeter scone.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Sift together into a large bowl:
1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1⁄4 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Cut in, using a pastry blender or 2 knives, until the size of small peas:
1⁄4 cup (1⁄2 stick) cold butter
Beat in a small bowl:
2 large eggs
Reserve 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs. Beat in to the reminder:
1⁄3 cup heavy cream
1 cup diced apple
1/4 cup fresh rosemary (less if you don't like it)
Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour in the liquid and combine with a few swift strokes. Handle the dough as little as possible. Turn it out onto a lightly floured board. Pat to 3⁄4 inch thick. To make the classic wedge shape, pat into an 8-inch round and then cut into 8 to 12 wedges or cut into diamond shapes or as for Biscuit Sticks, above. Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with the reserved egg and sprinkle with:
Salt or sugar

Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cook's Notes

Of course we added extra sugar.

Who owns a pastry blender. What is that?

The rosemary was from our yard!

Trying to make them into wedges was a pain in the ass. I just dropped them in lumps like cookie dough. No one complained.

Serve with butter and jam.

The four of us ate them all within an hour. They were that good.
And I will totally make this one again. It's perfect for fall baking.

How to give yourself a heart attack: creamy shrimp and bacon

2009-10-15T20:57:00.003-05:00

As much as I love Real Simple magazine, I think they might be trying to kill me. I swear that every dish has at least three of these ingredients:
1)bacon
2)whole cream
3)wine
4)cheese

Not that it's a bad thing, but I would like us to still be cooking 50 years from now.

Creamy Shrimp With Corn and Bacon

From the April 2009 issue

Serves 4
Hands-On Time: 25 minutes (ha!)

Total Time: 25 (more like 40!)

Ingredients
1 cup long-grain white rice
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 slices bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (or depooped in the Snowgoose house!)
1 10-ounce package frozen corn

Directions
In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine rice, 1 1/4 cups water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 18 minutes. (Do not lift the lid or stir!) Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes; fluff with a fork before serving.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel, let cool, then break into pieces. Wipe out the skillet.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the cream and bring to a boil. Stir in the shrimp, corn, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Simmer until cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the bacon; serve over the rice.

Cooks notes:

We don't eat white rice in the Snowgoose household and we didn't have brown rice on hand, so we used orzo instead.

As requested by Mr. S, we used 2x the bacon

But omitted the white wine because SOMEONE drank the cooking wine. I'm not naming any names (Mr. Snowgoose). But actually, the wine wasn't missed.

We cooked this late one Sunday night, so there are no photos, by Real Simple has what theirs looks like.

I sent the leftovers to work with Mr. S and his dad and all they other attorneys were jealous of the bacon goodness.

Would I make this again. Probably not.

The time I tried to make pesto and nearly cut off my finger

2009-10-15T20:11:00.011-05:00

You know how this one ends, but do you know how it begun?

Ten or so days ago, I was home prepping dinner before yoga for Mr. Snowgoose and I. We had just cleaned out the lettuce and herb containers and planted garlic and onions, so I was using the last of our homegrown basil to make pesto.

We love pesto in the Snowgoose household, and Mr. Snowgoose usually makes it.

This time I decided to try. The recipe was from Better Homes and Gardens.

Ingredients
1 box Thin Spaghetti
1 cup fresh basil
1/2 clove garlic
2 tablespoon pine nuts (I used 1/4 cup cheese)
2 tablespoon Parmigiano cheese
1 tablespoon Romano cheese (Actually I used more like 1/4 c cheese)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
To taste salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Add garlic, pine nuts, grated cheese to blender and blend for about 15 seconds until brought together.

(note: this was when it went downhill and when I discovered that Mr. Food. Processer would not be fufilling his sous chef duties.

Add basil, oil, salt and pepper and continue to blend until a slightly loose pesto forms, about 2 minutes.

Cook pasta according to directions.

Toss pasta with pesto in a bowl and serve immediately.

Cooks notes:

I think the key to success in this dish is just mixing in the amount of oil, pine nuts, cheese, garlic, and basil, that you feel like and it makes a creamy paste.

What you don't want to do is use your immersion blender to grind the stuff up when you can't work your husband's food processor that was made in 1984. Immersion blenders do not bode well with dry goods, stick to soups that need to be pureed. Otherwise, this happens:

and this:

8 stitches, 4 cute fireman, and a trip to the ER in an ambulance. Fortunately I still have a functional index finger.

But I'll leave the pesto to chef Snowgoose.

Oh, and yes, the pesto was ruined.

Zucchini boats with quinoa stuffing

2009-09-22T22:04:00.003-05:00

I've been cooking a lot of vegetarian meals as of late (not on purpose). This recipe for zucchini with quinoa stuffing was another one rescued from the recipe folder. It wasn't as easy to make as I'd hope, but it made a great Sunday dinner and worked well as leftovers for Mr. Snowgoose and his dad. It came from the September 2008 issue of Real Simple magazine.

Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 medium zucchini
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup almonds, chopped (about 2 ounces)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (3 ounces)
4 tablespoons olive oil

Directions
1. Heat oven to 400° F. In a large saucepan, combine the quinoa and 1 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Arrange in a large baking dish, cut-side up.

3. Fluff the quinoa and fold in the beans, tomatoes, almonds, garlic, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and 3 tablespoons of the oil.

4. Spoon the mixture into the zucchini. Top with the remaining tablespoon of oil and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until the zucchini is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Serves 4 (actually served five!)
Hands-On Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Cooks notes:

1. We had trouble scooping the seeds out of the zucchini to make a boat and wound up chopping it in half. Maybe next time we'll use a grapefruit spoon to scoop it out.
2. A coworker brought in the most delicious cherry tomatoes from her garden, so we used those instead of the ones I bought from the store.
3. It's an odd mix of ingredients, but the texture is nice. There is something crunchy, sweet, and creamy in each bite.
4. I might make a version of this using ground sausage or turkey.
5. I found the quinoa in the bulf food section at my neighborhood store. This is another under $10 meal!

Shrimp with tomatoes and olives

2009-09-22T21:55:00.002-05:00

This was another recipe I found in my file, and it was only a year old! I had to work late last week, so I left the ingredients out with directions and came home to a late dinner made by Mr. Snowgoose (which explains why there are no photos of it). You can see how Real Simple did it here.

Ingredients
1 10-ounce box couscous (1 1/3 cups)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
3/4 cup pitted green olives
1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
kosher salt and pepper
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions
1. Cook the couscous according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, olives, wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 4 to 6 minutes.
Add the shrimp, cover, and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with the couscous.

(Non)cook's notes:
1. I always by already cooked and shelled and de-pooped shrimp in packages from Trader Joes to make things easier.
2. This was really good hot or cold! I think this might find itself into our meal rotation since it was so easy and relatively cheap (under $10) to make.

Creamy Gorgonzola Polenta with Summer Squash Saute

2009-09-22T21:39:00.006-05:00

Apparently I found this recipe in an Eating Well magazine three years ago and tore it out and managed to stash it away until it was forgotten. Flashforward to last weekend when I was sorting through my folder of recipes (and tossing out all the one I knew I'd never make) I came across this creamy Gorgonzola polenta with summer squash saute. Now I love polenta and squash and cheese, as do my father-in-law. Mr. Snowgoose likes polenta and cheese and will only eat squash if it's covered in oil or cheese.

Since summer is winding down and my neighbor had given us a bunch of squash, I opted it to make it for one of our Sunday night dinners.

Look at the size of this squash!

Ingredients
2 14-ounce cans vegetable broth, or reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 cup water
3/4 cup cornmeal (I bought my cornmeal from a bulk bin at the store. It was wicked cheap)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic

2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 small yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Preparation

1. Combine 2 1/2 cups broth and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in cornmeal and pepper until smooth. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very thick and no longer grainy, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in Gorgonzola; remove the polenta from the heat.

2.Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in zucchini and squash and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften and brown in places, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Stir in the remaining 1 cup broth and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and the vegetables are tender, 1 to 3 minutes. Stir in basil; serve the sauté over the polenta.

Nutrition
Per serving: 264 calories; 14 g fat (5 g sat, 5 g mono); 20 mg cholesterol; 27 g carbohydrates; 11 g protein; 5 g fiber; 356 mg sodium; 351 mg potassium.

4 servings, 3/4 cup polenta & 1 cup vegetables each

Cooking time 40 minutes.

Cook's notes:

1. I added extra cheese which would have been fine had it not been such a rich cheese. It was actually too rich for my f-i-l. It kind of overwhelmed the squash, so your could barely taste it, which made Mr. Snowgoose very happy.
2. We used basil from our garden!
3. Since I had such a superlong summer squash, I just used one. We probably had more squash than we needed.

Mr. Snowgoose and I made it again last night, only we ommited the squash and added bacon. Polenta is super easy to make. I think I'll continue to experiment with different cheeses and veggies.

Maple Bacon Bars are the Bomb

2009-08-28T14:56:00.003-05:00

There's an awesome new gourmet donut shop that opened across the street from work. The donuts are so delicious I have to limit myself to one a week, otherwise my jeans start to get a little tight.

These maple bacon bars are the best things I've ever tasted:

When they're fresh out of the oven they taste like what I imagine a pancake-bacon burrito would taste like.

Turkey burgers and caprese salad

2009-08-18T20:53:00.006-05:00

I've only made hamburgers once before (on a grill pan) and it was slightly disastrous. We got a grill for a housewarming present and have slowly begun teaching ourselves how to grill. I cam across this recipe for burgers and since we were having a cookout I decided to let my guests in on the experiment. I had a pound of ground turkey so I opted to make turkey burgers instead of beef.

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients
1 slightly beaten egg white
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
6 whole-grain buns
Lettuce, tomato slices, and red-onion slices

Directions

1. Combine egg white, water, bread crumbs, carrot, onion, bell pepper, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.

2. Add Parmesan and turkey; mix. Shape into six 1/2-inch-thick patties.

3. Grill burgers on an oiled grill rack for 7 minutes. Turn and grill 8 to 11 minutes more, or until no pink remains.

4. Serve burgers on buns with veggies.

Cook's notes:
1. We used lettuce from our garden for the burgers!

2. I didn't actually measure any of the bread crumbs, red pepper, onion, or carrots. I don't think it matters.
3. These were surprisingly good and you couldn't even taste the veggies in the burger. Mr. Snowgoose ate three burgers! Looks like I found another way to sneak him vegetables.
4. And for a side, Mr. Snowgoose made Caprese salad with the fresh basil from our garden. Unfortunately our tomatoes haven't ripened yet.

Easy Summer succotash

2009-08-18T20:31:00.007-05:00

What I love best about summer is all the fresh produce. I'm not so much a fan of winter vegetables, but come summer I could eat squash and zucchini every day (much to Mr. Snowgooses's horror). Earlier this month I came across a recipe for edamame succotash with scallops and I just had to make it.

Note: for some reason I swore there was squash in succotash, so I cooked a bunch on the side and mixed it in.

From Heath magazine:

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds sea scallops (I used frozen)
Black pepper, to taste
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 finely chopped shallot
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 7 ears) or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 (8-ounce) bag frozen shelled edamame, thawed
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh chopped tarragon or basil, plus sprigs for garnish
Preparation

Directions
1. Rinse scallops, and pat dry. Pull muscle from side of scallops, and discard. Season with pepper, to taste.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderately high heat. Cook scallops, turning once, 4 minutes (depending on size of scallops) or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm.

3. Lower heat to medium; add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to skillet. Cook bell pepper, shallot, and garlic, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until slightly softened.

4. Stir in the corn and edamame, and cook, stirring occasionally, an additional 4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

5. Add the cider vinegar, and cook, stirring constantly, until completely evaporated, about 1 minute. Pour in the buttermilk; cook, stirring, until reduced in half. Stir in chopped tarragon, and spoon vegetables into 4 bowls. Top evenly with scallops; serve immediately.

Ta da!

Cook's notes:

1. This was the first time I've ever used or bought buttermilk. I was surprised a "health" recipe actually called for it.
2. I served it with some brown rice, but you could totally eat it without it.
3. I would probably make this vegetarian in the future and omit the scallops (though they were good- but expensive) or possibly toss in some shrimp.
4. It tastes good hot or cold and makes plenty of leftovers.
5. There are no lima beans in this!

The verdict from the men in my life was "it'd be nice if you made this again." Apparently if I add enough oil and sauce to vegitables, Mr. Snowgoose will eat it.

Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

2009-03-26T10:36:00.010-05:00

I don't recall eating much meatloaf growing up. If my mom made it, it certainly didn't leave an lasting impression (no offense, mom). I don't think I've eaten meatloaf in years.

Flash forward to 2009. We've been eating a lot of ground turkey lately on the account it's been on sale. I've exhausted turkey tacos and turkey burgers for awhile. I was trying to come up with turkey recipes and came across this recipe for turkey meatloaf. Mr. Snowgoose likes roasted red peppers, so the recipe with the sauce sounded appealing. I was making dinner for Mr. Snowgoose and his dad and they were game to try it.

Turkey Meatloaf Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
* 1 tablespoon minced garlic
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/8-inch dice
* 3/4 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and very finely chopped in a food processor
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
* 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ketchup
* 1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
* 1/3 cup 1% milk
* 1 whole large egg, lightly beaten
* 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
* 1 1/4 pound ground turkey (mix of dark and light meat)

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

* 1 small head garlic (2 inches in diameter)
* 1/2 pound plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
* 1 large red bell pepper (1/2 pound)
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, or to taste

Directions for Turkey Meatloaf:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 2 minutes. Add carrot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated and they are very tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in Worcestershire sauce, parsley, and 3 tablespoons ketchup, then transfer vegetables to a large bowl and cool.

Stir together bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes.

Stir in egg and egg white, then add to vegetables. Add turkey and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to vegetable mixture and mix well with your hands. (Mixture will be very moist.)

Form into a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf in a lightly oiled 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan and brush meatloaf evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons ketchup. Bake in middle of oven until thermometer inserted into meatloaf registers 170°F, 50 to 55 minutes.

Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving.

Directions for Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cut off and discard top quarter of garlic head and wrap remainder in foil. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides up, in a foil-lined 13- by 9- by 2-inch baking pan and sprinkle lightly with salt. Add whole bell pepper and garlic (in foil) to pan and roast vegetables in middle of oven 1 hour.

Transfer bell pepper to a bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap, then let stand about 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel pepper, discarding stem and seeds, and transfer to a food processor or blender along with tomatoes.

Unwrap garlic and squeeze roasted cloves from skin into food processor. Add remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste, then purée sauce until smooth.

Cooks' note: • Sauce can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

Notes:

My only gripe with the meal was the fact it took two hours to make and I cheated by using already roasted red peppers from Trader Joes. Next time I won't roast the garlic and I'll just use already minced garlic from a jar.

It turned out really watery and moist, probably because there was an entire salad in the meatloaf. Mr. Snowgoose was hesitant to eat meatloaf at first because it tends to be dry, but this was not the case.

The roasted red pepper sauce was incredible. I recommend making a double or triple batch and using it with other meals.

Serve with mixed vegetables and salad (or mashed sweet potatoes and green beans).

It looks like I'll be making this again.

Crock pot classic: pulled pork shoulder

2009-02-09T13:11:00.004-05:00

Last week my mom was telling me about pulled pork that she made in the crock pot and served on nachos for my dad during the Superbowl. Mr. Snowgoose agreed that pork sounded good so we decided to attempt to make pulled pork for dinner last night.

Pulled Pork in the Crock pot:

Ingredients:
2.5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, seared
2 sweet onions, sliced
salt and pepper
1 cup of water
various seasonings

Directions:

1. Sear pork in a pan on the stove so that it is lightly brown on all sides
2. Slice onions and add to bottom of crock pot.
3. Add pork on top of onions.
4. Add seasoning and water.
5. Set cooker to low for 6.5 hours or high for 2.5- 3 hours.
6. Spend the day away from home.
7. Come back later and enjoy a nice home cooked meal.

The ingredient list was pretty short (sweet onions and 2.5 pounds of boneless pork shoulder) and we needed some sides, so we headed to the grocery store.

We couldn't find boneless pork shoulder, let alone only 2.5 pounds, we we wound up with a little over 3 pounds with bone (it was only $4. Who knew pork was so cheap?).

We came home and seared it. However, our 3lbs of pork were too big for the crock pot so we had to cut it in half and stand them diagonally to fit.

We left it alone while we did errands and laundry and went for a walk. When we came home about 6 hours later I popped a couple of sweet potatoes in the microwave to bake them and boiled some green beans.

The pork cooked perfectly and just fell off the bone. We enjoyed it with bar-b-que sauce (hickory smoked), pickles, and hot peppers. Mr. Snowgoose made pulled pork sandwiches.

This was seriously one of the best meals I've made in a long time. I think pork might make a regular appearance at the Snowgoose household. Plus the 3 pounds made enough to take left overs to Mr. Snowgoose's dad and have enough for tomorrow night's dinner.

Chewy Granola Bars

2008-11-11T17:52:00.006-05:00

Last March when Sharona and I went to London, Sharona brought homemade granola bars to snack on. They were really good. She told me they were easy to make, so I filed the thought in the back of my head for future reference.

Mr. Snowgoose and I eat a lot of granola bars. I've had a recipe from vegetarian Times in my idea folder since last summer and I finally decided to make some.

Guess what? They were totally easy to make and tasted wicked good. So good in fact I think I'll just make a batch every week rather than buy granola bars.

Chewy Granola Bars
makes 25 squares

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (I used regular flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
2/3 cup chopped dried apricots (I used a dried fruit mix)
1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used regular size)
1/2 cup walnuts (skipped this but added raisins)
1 cup packed light brown sugar (I used dark since it was what I had on hand)
1/2 cup maple syrup (I used sugar free)
1/2 cup almond butter (I used reduced fat peanut butter since I am not a fan of almond butter)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray
2. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt in bowl. Stir in apricots, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

3. Beat brown sugar, maple syrup, almond butter, oil and egg whites with electric beater until smooth.

Stir in oat mixture.
4. Spread mixture in prepared baking dish and pat down firmly. Sprinkle top with remaining salt. Bake 30-35 minutes or until firm.

Cool 20 minutes before slicing into bars. Unmold, and store in an airtight container.

Per square: 202 calories, 4 g protein, 8.5 g total fat, 2 g fiber.

Fakeout Takeout: Crockpot Eggplant and Pea Curry

2008-11-10T13:31:00.005-05:00

It is finally crockpot season out in the PNW, especially now that it only ever seems to rain. It had been awhile since I made Indian, and I had been itching to use my new digital crockpot which we received as a wedding gift and try an eggplant and pea curry from the cookbook "The Gourmet Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Recipes from Around the World."

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 tablespoon cumin seed
2 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large yellow onions, finely chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated or finely minced ginger
1 tablespoon ground turmeric1 tablespoon ground paprika
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped, or 1 14-oz can crushed tomatoes
2 large eggplants, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
salt
1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro for garnish
rice

Directions:
Combine the coriander, cumin, and cinnamon in a mortar or coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the onions and saute, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for 30 seconds. Add the spice mixture, turmeric, paprika, and pepper flakes and stir foe 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until some of the liquid evaporates.

Transfer the mixture to a blender (or use an immersion blender in the pan) and puree until almost smooth.

Place the eggplant at the bottom of the slow cooker and pour the pureed vegetables over the top. Stir gently.

Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours, until the eggplant is tender. Stir in the peas during the last 15 minutes of cooking and season with salt to taste.

Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with cilantro.

Serve over rice with naan bread.

Cook's notes:
1. I know the combination of spices makes it a true Indian dish and that Indian cooks don't use curry powder, but using curry powder instead of running around the bulk spice bins at QFC would have made the dish a bit easier and saved a few bucks. And considering how I don't grind my own coffee and therefore do not have a coffee grinder. I tried to use a cup to grind the spices but it was a pain in the butt. Eventually I just used some ground cinnamon and left the seeds whole. Also, I used fresh tomatoes but didn't bother to peel them.

2. I've mentioned this before, but I hate having to COOK my food before putting it in a slow cooker. Doesn't it defeat the purpose of a crockpot? You should just be able to dump everything in the crockpot (once chopped, of course) and let it cook. or just cook everything on the stove.

3. It turned out kind of bland and made a ton. Mr. Snowgoose was nice about it but I could tell it wasn't his favorite, yet his still was willing to take leftovers for lunch.

Would I make this again? No. Would I recommend this to you? Heck, no.

Mr Snowgoose makes mushroom risotto

2008-11-03T16:18:00.006-05:00

When Mr. Snowgoose and I got married in August, we had the most delicious mushroom risotto at our dinner reception. It was so good I ate two plates of it in addition to my steak. Since them I've been dreaming about it.

We got a cookbook as a wedding gift called Boston Uncommon. We'd been eating the boxed version from Trader Joes which was acceptable. But we wanted the real stuff, and since Mr. Snowgoose was feeling ambitious, I let him take over the kitchen.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 ounce dried porchini mushrooms
2 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons evoo
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1/3 cup freshly grated Romano cheese
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup button mushroom, sliced, lightly sauteed in 1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano cheese

Directions

1. Bring the broth to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat.
2. Soak the dried mushrooms in the lukewarm water in a bowl for 30 minutes.
Remove mushrooms from bowl by hand and squeeze out as much water as possible. Strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter to remove any residue. Save that water! Rinse the mushrooms several times and pat dry with a paper towel. Coarsely chop mushrooms and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the rice.

Cook for about 2 minutes. Stir in the wine. Cook for 1 minute or until the liquid is evaporated. Add the hot broth 1/2 cup at a time, simmering after each addition until the broth is completely absorbed.

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When the rice has cooked for 10 minutes add the dried mushrooms and 1/2 of the mushroom water. Cook until the water is evaporated, stirring constantly. Repeat with the remaining liquid. Continue to cook the rice for about 20 minutes, adding the broth as needed, until the rice is tender but firm to the bite. Remove from the heat. Add 1/3 cup cheese and 1 tablespoon butter; stir until cheese melts and clings to rice. Season with salt and pepper. Top with the button mushrooms. Serve immediately with 1/2 cup cheese.

Makes 4-6 servings.

This risotto was a pain in the ass. It turned out okay but it took ages and the dried porcini mushrooms grossed me out. In the unlikely event we were to recreate this, we'd leave them out.

Hungry Cougar's Super Yummy Homemade Applesauce

2008-10-21T19:57:00.002-05:00

I recently went apple picking, as I love to do every fall, and ended up with the usual abundance of apples that I had no idea what to do with. So I went looking for applesauce recipes, and found this great, easy recipe that I modified a bit. I did a small batch to see how it went, but I'm sure you could easily double it. This was also my first time using my slow-cooker, and wow do I ever love that thing. Sorry I have no pictures, me and the fiance ate it too fast.

Ingredients:
5 apples (I used Macintosh and Courtland), peeled, cored and chopped
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon (I was a little more liberal with the cinnamon)

1. Add everything to slow cooker and stir a bit.
2. Cook on high for 3-3 1/2 hours.
3. Depending on how chunky you like your applesauce, you can leave as is or mush it up a bit.
4. Chill and enjoy!

Broccoli-Cheese Cornbread Muffins

2008-10-15T20:12:00.003-05:00

These were recommended to me by another mom with a picky eater. For a kid who really only likes to eat cheese and carrots, my daughter likes these a lot.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 tsp salt

1 box cornbread mix (I used an 8.5 oz Jiffy)

1 10oz bag frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained and chopped finely

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

(1 medium onion, chopped)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a muffin pan with liners.

In a bowl, combine eggs, butter and salt.

Stir in cornbread mix until just blended; stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour into muffin pan and back for about 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Serve warm.

Notes:

I always leave out the onion to make them more kid-friendly.

They look a little moldy, thanks to the broccoli, but still taste great!

They freeze really well - just let them cool completely and toss them in a freezer ziplock bag. Reheat for about 20 seconds in the microwave.

the easiest vegetarian lasagna ever

2008-10-11T11:14:00.002-05:00

I love Mark Bittman as much as the next person, and I actually own the cookbook and use it quite frequently. But over the years I've devised my own semi-vegan, sorta lowfat lasagna method, which now M makes when we have people over for dinner. People luv it. And it's way easier than Mark's.

you need:

lasagna noodles
2 jars pasta sauce or you can make your own (I make pasta sauce all the time, so I often have some kicking around)
2 packages tofu: one soft, one extra-firm*
1/2 cup grated parmesan (grate it yourself! on the small holes. don't buy pre-grated, blech.)
2 eggs
frozen spinach OR sauteed fresh spinach and garlic OR sauteed mushrooms and onions OR slices of baked eggplant
one package veggie ground (the fake ground meat stuff), optional
grated mozzarella or cheddar for the top (again, grate it yourself!)

and here's how you do it:

first) consider your veggies; ie, saute your mushrooms, defrost your spinach, bake your eggplant, etc.

second) mash the whole package of soft tofu and half the package of extra-firm tofu* with the two eggs. Add the parmesan cheese and some salt and pepper.

third) don't cook the pasta! You don't need to. And you don't have to buy special "no-boil" pasta. It just doesn't matter. If there are any exposed edges they might get a tad crunchy. Whatevs.

fourth) construct. Layer as follows in a big glass baking dish:
on the bottom: about 1/3 a jar of pasta sauce, ish
pasta, in one layer
tofu/cheese/egg mixture
spinach/mushrooms/eggplant/whatever veggie you're using
about half the package of veggie ground, no need to cook it first
Keep layering. You'll run out of stuff as you go. No biggie. End with pasta and then another layer of sauce on top. You need lots of sauce in this lasagna, since you didn't cook the pasta first.

fifth) on the top: a whole lot of grated mozz or cheddar. I really like cheddar for this, and as a plus, I always have it in the house. Also add lots of Italian seasoning (or any fresh herbs you may have). Sometimes it's nice to add cherry tomato halves, nestled facing up amongst the cheese.

sixth) bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covered with tinfoil. At this point, take the tinfoil off and bake for another 15 minutes. Let it sit for 15 minutes after you take it out; this helps it stay together.

* About the tofu: this recipe works best with 1 1/2 packages of tofu. Therefore, I always do one soft and one half extra-firm, since I am way more likely to use the leftover extra-firm in a stirfry before it goes bad. By all means use two softs and then you can use the extra half block of soft for something else. Smoothie? Pudding? I have no idea.

Take that, Mr. Bittman!

The Most Complicated Vegetarian Lasagana Ever

2008-10-09T11:44:00.012-05:00

I love, love, love Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food. It's chock full of delicious things (but no photos), and if I had more room for cookbooks in my hallway bookshelf I'd buy my own copy instead of repeatedly borrowing it from the library.

It seems like it has been a billion years since I made vegetarian lasagna. Now that the weather has turned crisp I've been itching to make it. Bittman has a wonderful recipe for it and at first glance it seems like every other vegetarian lasagna recipe I've made in the past. But here is where it gets complicated- Bittman's recipe called for fresh pasta (ha! I'm not where near that yet) and homemade sauce (which I have not made before but curious to try). Then he suggests 11 options for layers in the lasagna including:
Broiled or Steamed Greens
Roasted Artichoke Hearts
Grilled or Broiled Eggplant
Eggplant Slices with Garlic and Parsley
Sauteed Mushrooms
Caramelized Onions
Roasted Red Peppers
Oven Roasted Fresh Plum Tomatoes
Butternut Squash, Braised and Glazed
Panfried Pumpkin with Tomato Sauce
Baked Mixed Vegetables with Olive Oil

Now the recipe already calls for 3 cups fresh spinach so I didn't want to go overboard with veggies (actually I did, but Mr. Snowgoose who didn't). Mr. Snowgoose requested the grilled eggplant and since we had received a grill pan earlier in the week as a gift, I was glad to oblige him.

Before I continue I should show you exactly how small my kitchen is. I've had bigger bathtubs.

My small kitchen made the lasagna quite difficult. For starters the grill pan take up most of the stove top, so I had to grill the eggplant first and set it aside. Then I boiled the noodles (though we don't have a large pot to boil in yet) and started the tomato sauce. During the process I ran out of counter space and had to get creative on where I made my work stations.

Here is a breakdown of the recipes:
Lasagna
Ingredients:
Salt
1 recipe any fresh pasta, rolled into sheets, or 12 dried lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons softened butter or extra virgin olive oil
2 recipes Fast Tomato Sauce
3 cups cooked spinach, squeezed dry and chopped or any other dropped vegetable
3 cups ricotta, plus more if needed
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the noodles (6 at a time for dried noodles) until they are tender but underdone (they will finish cooking as the lasagna bakes). Drain and then lay the noodles flat on a towel so they don't stick.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a rectangular baking dish with the butter and olive oil, add a large dollop of tomato sauce, and spread it around. Put a layer of noodles in the dish, trimming any overhanging edges; top with a layer of tomato sauce, 1/3 spinach, and 1.4 of the ricotta and Parmesan. Sprinkle some salt and pepper between the layers of tomato sauce and spinach as needed.
3. Repeat the layers twice and top with the remaining noodles, tomato sauce, ricotta and Parmesan. I added 1 layer of grilled eggplant instead of a layer of noodles.

4. Bake until the lasagna is bubbling and the cheese is melted and lightly browned on top, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

Grilled Eggplant
Ingredients:
2 medium or one large eggplant
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Peel the eggplant if the skin is thick or the eggplant is less than perfectly firm; cut it into 1/2 inch thick slices. Heat a charcoal or gas grill or the broiler to moderately high heat and put the grill rack about 4 inches from the heat source or the broiler rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source.
2. If you like, stir the garlic into the olive oil, then brush one side of the eggplant slices with the oil. Place oiled side down, on a baking sheet or directly on the grill. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then brush with more oil.
3. Broil or grill until browned on both sides, turning once or twice, brushing with more olive oil if the eggplant looks dry and adjusting the heat or position as necessary to keep the eggplant cooking steadily without burning. , usually less than 10 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Fast Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
1 medium onion chopped
one 24-36 ounce can tomatoes, drained and chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan
chopped parsley or basil leaves for garnish

Directions:
1. Put the olive oil in a 10-12 inch skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break up and mixture comes together and thickens, 10 to 15 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and immediately toss the pasta (garnish with cheese or an herb if you'd like)or use in other dishes.

The tomato sauce is really good!

Cook's notes:
The whole cooking process took over 2 hours, but was worth it. We took the lasagna over to my Father in Law's house for Sunday dinner. Both he and Mr. Snowgoose ate several helpings and took leftovers to work for lunch for two days. Mr. Snowgoose even requested we eat the lasagna two nights in a row. I suppose it helped I made an extra side dish of it.

Would I make this again? Probably, though I'd make the sauce ahead of time and probably just use caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms, though the grilled eggplant was a nice addition.

Also, I just mixed the ricotta and spinach together to make it easier to spread for the layers.

Really, Really Simple Creamy Pesto Gnocchi with Green Beans

2008-09-26T11:33:00.010-05:00

I love gnocchi. I order it whenever I am out and it is on the menu. The best gnocchi I've ever had was for my birthday last year when Mr. Snowgoose took me to a local vegetarian restaurant. I actually didn't order the gnocchi, Mr. Snowgoose did, but that didn't stop me from eating his. Since then I've been craving gnocchi.

Much to my delight, the September issue of Real SimpleI Magazine had a recipe for gnocchi.

Since it is from RS this means I didn't have to make the gnocchi by hand, I could buy frozen.

Since the magazine arrived in my mailbox over a month ago I've been walking around with the recipe in my wallet searching for frozen gnocchi. When I lived in Boston I often saw gnocchi at the grocery stores near my house; however, despite that I live near six grocery stores I hadn't been able to find any. Finally, last Friday I found some at Trader Joes in the frozen foods. Chances are, if you live near a large grocery store you should be able to find gnocchi.

Ingredients:

1 pound gnocchi (refrigerated or frozen)
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 pound green beans, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 8-ounce container store-bought pesto (about 1 cup)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup ricotta

Directions:

Cook the gnocchi according to the package directions. Drain and return them to the pot.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add the green beans and cook until tender, 3 to 4 minutes; drain.

Add the pesto and cream to the gnocchi and cook over medium heat, stirring, just until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide among bowls and top with the green beans, ricotta, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Substitution: If you can't find gnocchi, try this quick and easy pesto and cream sauce on pasta. Frozen peas are a fine stand-in for green beans.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 631; FAT 37g (sat 13g); CHOLESTEROL 56mg; CARBOHYDRATE 55g; SODIUM 1344mg; PROTEIN 22g; FIBER 6g; SUGAR 7g

Cook's notes:

When I bought the gnocchi I failed to notice that it came with giant frozen chunks of Gorgonzola cheese. It wasn't until Mr. Snowgoose poured the the frozen pasta into the frying pan that we saw it. Since the cheese was giving the gnocchi a creamy consistency, we agreed to skip the cream and it turned out fine.

I would recommend using peas instead of green beans, I think it would have tasted a bit better, though I personally enjoyed the green bean and pesto combo and I don't even like pesto that much.

And it's totally vegetarian.

Really Simple End of Summer Vegetable Soup

2008-09-24T19:18:00.003-05:00

I know I'm a couple of days late with this post considering Fall started Monday (right?), but if you're like me and refusing to acknowledge that summer is over (and clinging desperately to the hope of an Indian Summer and sunshine) or if you have leftover summer veggies that are thisclose to rotting in the crisper, then I have the perfect soup for you, courtesy of the September issue of Real Simple Magazine.

Note: it is not vegetarian, but you can make it by swapping out the chicken broth for vegetable broth.

Also the recipe is for a make ahead version. I just cooked the whole thing and then froze what I didn't eat.

Ingredients:

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 large zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large yellow squash, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 pound green beans, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cups corn kernels (cut from 2 ears, or frozen)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
Kosher salt and pepper

In a large bowl, combine the broth, cannellini beans, zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, corn, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Divide the mixture among freezer-safe containers. Freeze until ready to cook, up to 3 months.

Cook It
Frozen soup mixture
1/4 cup fresh dill sprigs

Transfer the frozen soup mixture to a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the dill.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 140; FAT 1g (sat 1g); CHOLESTEROL 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 26g; SODIUM 273mg; PROTEIN 9g; FIBER 6g; SUGAR 6g

Cook's notes:

I used chicken bouillon cubes rather than plain broth because it was what I had on hand.

Also, I didn't add any dill, but I added a lot of garlic. And by a lot of garlic I mean vampires are afraid to come within a ten block radius of my kitchen.

I ate the soup the day I made it. The green beans were a little crunchy, but after I started reheating and eating the soup the green beans became softer and more manageable. And I totally used frozen corn.

Moonblush Tomatoes

2008-09-16T14:57:00.002-05:00

Hello again.

Remember the too-many-tomatoes conundrum? It continues. So here is a better, easier, sexier way of roasting them, via your fave food goddess Nigella Lawson. Even the recipe's name is sexy, don't you think? Nigella, you tease, you.

Preheat oven to 450.

Put many cherry tomatoes (sliced in half; such a good way of using up all those split ones that were left on the plants too long) in a glass baking dish.

Throw in olive oil, salt, pepper, fresh thyme, fresh basil, dried Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, whatever you've got.

Mush around.

Here's the fiddly part: the tomatoes really like to be right side up. I understand if this is not possible, but I've tried it both ways and they really come out better if they're facing up. Plus they look very cute and eager.

Put them in the oven. Now turn the oven off. Leave overnight. No peeking!

In the morning you will have lovely roasted tomatoes that are fantab over pasta or couscous for lunch. I swear to you this is true!

Enjoy.

Fake Out Take Out: Curried Rice and Shrimp

2008-09-15T20:52:00.005-05:00

Welcome back to another edition of Fake Out Take Out, where I create an authentic ethnic meal without picking up the phone.

Today's meal comes from the September issue of Real Simple Magazine, so you know that recipe is ridiculously easy and fast.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 cup long-grain white rice
Kosher salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup fresh basil

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and curry and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes.

Add the rice, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

Season the shrimp with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and nestle them in the partially cooked rice. Cover and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes. Fold in the basil and serve.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 431; FAT 7g (sat 1g); CHOLESTEROL 259mg; CARBOHYDRATE 50g; SODIUM 757mg; PROTEIN 39g; FIBER 3g; SUGAR 3g

Cook's notes:

I used brown rice to make the dish slightly healthier. I also added a simple salad to the meal.

As for the shrimp, I totally just used a bag of frozen shrimp from Trader Joe's. I didn't even thaw them, just dumped them frozen in the pan. It's cheating, but seriously who doesn't cheat at cooking?

Look! It looks just like the picture in the magazine!

I also added extra curry just for fun. My apartment smelled like an Indian restaurant for three days. I'm sure my neighbors were thrilled.

But it a really good meal. I will make it again, only toss in a few other veggies. And there was plenty left over, so Mr. Snowgoose had Fake Out Take Out for lunch. I'll be his coworkers were jealous.

Zucchini Bread, Plain and Simple

2008-09-14T18:37:00.005-05:00

Sunshine has all these variations on zucchini bread, and I got curious enough to make my own. Also, this version has a ton of actual zucchini in it, so you can feel slightly virtuous when eating it - despite the oil and sugar. This counts as one of your 5-a-days, right?

prep time: 20 minutes

cook time: 1 hour

makes 2 large loaves, 6 mini loaves

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini (green)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Ingredient Notes:

The original recipe called for all white sugar, but after reading some of the reviews, I opted to use half brown, half white.

I am a big fan of cinnamon, so I used heaping teaspoons of the spice.

You can use 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce to cut the fat content.

I left out the nuts so that my toddler could eat it.

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Baking notes:

Use Pam with flour - so easy!

I think I slightly over-cooked mine, so they were not quite as moist as promised, but next time I will just take them out of the oven sooner.

Still delicious though - I will definitely make this again.

Really Simple: Garlicky Broiled Salmon and Tomatoes

2008-09-09T13:18:00.003-05:00

From the September 2008 Real Simple Magazine.

For my new Father-In-Law's birthday, I wanted to make something that was easy yet tasted like I had spent most of the day in the kitchen (which was true about the dessert: chocolate zucchini cupcakes).

I chose the Garlicky Broiled Salmon and Tomatoes because Real Simple claimed it would take 15 minutes from start to finish and because it looked good. Since there was only three of us, I modified the recipe and only bought 1.15 pounds of fresh salmon from the market.

Ingredients:

3 6-ounce pieces skinless salmon fillet
4 medium tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 teaspoon paprika, preferably hot
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
8 sprigs fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic, sliced

Heat broiler. Place the salmon and tomatoes, cut-side up, in a broiler proof roasting pan or on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the salmon with the paprika.

Drizzle the salmon and tomatoes with the oil and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Scatter the thyme and garlic over the top.

Broil until the salmon is opaque throughout and the tomatoes are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Yield: Makes 3 servings

Since I packed up all the ingredients and brought them to Mr. Snowgoose's dad's house, I forgot the garlic. Since he didn't have any, I added a garlic rub and garlic pepper but it wasn't as garlicky as I'd have liked.

Since I added the easy edamame salad and booked some instant brown rice (I love boil in a bag rice!), the total time was more like 20-25 minutes.

This was the end result:

Next time I'll add more paprika and garlic to the tomatoes.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

2008-09-09T12:27:00.006-05:00

This is a similar recipe to my famous blueberry-zucchini bread. Sharona made a chocolate zucchini cake and bragged about how good it was, so I had to check it out for myself. It's from the Bon Appetit Cookbook (2006).

Since I don't have cake pans (yet), I opted to make cupcakes so that I could share some with Mr. Snowgoose's dad (for hos birthday) and send Mr. Snowgoose into work with some.

The recipe claims to make 12 servings, but it made 24 cupcakes.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (sifted, then measured) (note: I did not sift. I do not own one of those sifter things).
1/2 cup unsweetened coca powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (I used Splenda for Baking)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used soymilk. When Sharona made it she used a combination of milk and yogurt.)
2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
1 6 oz package semi sweet chocolate chips (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (I used 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line and grease two 12-cup cupcake tins with cupcake wrappers.

3. Sift flour, cocoa powder, biking soda, and salt into medium bowl.
4. Beat sugar, butter, and oil in a large bowl until well blended.
5. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Beat in vanilla.
7. Mix in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each.
8. Mix in grated zucchini.

9. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts.

10. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes, Cool cake completely.

These turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. We wound up serving them with ice cream.

Easy Edamame Salad (as seen at Whole Foods)

2008-09-09T12:04:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe at Whole Foods. The description was kind of funny: "Edamame are protein rich and kids love them. This salad is good enough to make them eat their vegetables. It holds up well in the lunch box and comes together quickly. Let the kids help with the grating."

Serves 4

Ingredients:
one- 16 oz bag of shelled edamame
3 carrots, peeled and grated (using the large holes of a box grater)
1 zucchini, peeled and grated (using the large holes of a box grater)
8 radishes, quartered

Toss together all the above ingredients with your favorite bottled sesame dressing.

Note: I forgot the zucchini.

I used it as a side in the birthday dinner I made for my new Father-In-Law. His verdict was "While I wouldn't ask you to make the salad again, I would eat it again if you made it and laced it in front of me."

Fake out Take out: Chinese Chicken and Rice with Veggies

2008-09-04T18:04:00.005-05:00

It's no secret that I don't really like Chinese food. It makes me feel gross and I'm hungry like 15 minutes after eating it.

But I do like brown rice and chicken and veggies.

A few weeks ago, while shopping at my neighborhood Trader Joe's when I discovered Soyaki Sauce.

Since Mr. Snowgoose likes Chinese food (and pretty much everything) I decided to make my own version of Chinese take out.

It's relatively simple and quite filling.

Ingredients:
3 or 4 tablespoons Soyaki Sauce
garlic cloves, crushed (as much or as little as you like)
frozen peas
three or four small chicken breasts
frozen edamame, unshelled
2 cups instant brown rice cooked
frozen broccoli
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Cook brown rice as directed
2. In a skillet saute chicken in garlic, olive oil, and soyaki sauce
3. When chicken is nearly cooked, toss in frozen veggies and saute with additional sauce.
4. Mix everything in a big bowl.
5. Serve.

If you're a vegetarian, this is relatively easy to modify. Switch out the chicken for tofu or just add more veggies.

Fast French Toast (with apples)

2008-09-04T17:48:00.004-05:00

For our first breakfast/ brunch as a newlywed couple, I decided to make Mr. Snowgoose and I French Toast. It also helped that in the freezer I had some stale french bread, and exactly two eggs left over from the zucchini bread and an apple that was about to go bad.

From the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook (page 125)

Ingredients:

2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup milk (we used soy)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
5 1-inch thick slices of French bread or 6 slices of normal bread
1 tablespoon margarine, butter, or cooking oil
maple-flavored syrup
1 apple. sliced and de-cored.

Directions:

In a shallow bowl beat together eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Dip bread into egg mixture, coating both sides.

In skillet or a griddle cook bread in hot butter (or cooking spray like we did) over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Serve warm with syrup. Makes 5 or 6 slices.

Since I had left over egg mixture I dipped my apple slices in it and let them soak it up. then I threw them in the skillet after the French Toast was done. Then I tossed everything together.

Without syrup:

With syrup:

Serve with your favorite coffee and yogurt. I think if I'd had soem bacon it would have made it even better.

what to do with an overflowing garden

2008-09-04T16:07:00.002-05:00

Look, I'm back! Woo hoo. Anyway.... our little community garden plot has been producing loads of stuff. We're overloaded with tomatoes and jalapenos in particular. You start getting that vegetable guilt, you know, when you look at the windowsill and twenty tomatoes are there staring at you petulantly, developing black spots, because you just ate twenty yesterday and just picked a hundred from the garden today and frankly it's a little overwhelming. (And no, I don't can; the initial buying output is too much for me.)

So I roast! Load many many tomatoes in a baking dish (all kinds of tomatoes, cut into wedges, and you can use cherries as well). Slick with good olive oil. Also salt and pepper. I use my hands to stir, it's easier, although then it's helpful if someone's around to turn the faucet on for you. Throw in the oven for 20 minutes or so at 425. Serve plain as a side dish, or on pasta, or on bread as bruschetta. Consider also whirring in a blender and turning into soup.

As for the jalapenos: if you know people who love them some heat, try jalapeno salsa. Chop coarsely as many jalapenos as you want, including seeds and pith in maybe half. (Although you could go nuts and throw all the seeds in, who am I to judge.) Put them in a food processor (or the chopper thingie of your immersion blender) with a tomato or two (deseeded), salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil. And whir! This went over very well at a recent burrito party. It's lovely and green with little red flecks, and makes a nice counterpoint to your standard homemade pico de gallo (also a nice use of tomatoes).

That's it from this urban farmer! If you're in my neighborhood, come on by and visit. We've planted about thirty turnip plants for the fall. Anyone know any good turnip recipes??

Smoked Gouda Pasta Salad

2008-09-02T13:10:00.002-05:00

contributed by stillme, with help from loutre and Mimi.
This is a dish we found in a Southern Living magazine (which was available because Loutre is from Louisiana) and modified to our own tastes. The result was significantly fresher, lighter and healthier than the original. It's very nice for a hot day, and makes great left-overs.

makes 6 servings
prep: 20 minutes
cook: 12 minutes; chill 1 hour

1 can marinated artichoke hearts in brine
1 8oz package rotini pasta, cooked
1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 lb smoked gouda, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 5oz bag baby spinach leaves (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 4.5oz can chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 cup spicy brown mustard
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t pepper
garnishes: tomato wedges, baby spinach leaves

Drain artichokes, reserving liquid. Cut artichokes into strips and place in a large bowl.
Add pasta and next 4 ingredients, and gently toss.
Stir together reserved artichoke liquid, mustard and next 4 ingredients until blended. Add to pasta mix, stirring to combine.
Cover and chill.
Garnish if desired.

Real Simple: Golden Gazpacho with Feta Cheese

2008-08-21T11:52:00.006-05:00

Mr. Snowgoose and I were making dinner for his dad last Sunday and since it was super hot (in Seattle standards) I thought gazpacho and a salad seemed like a good idea. Plus we were headed to the farmer's market and we could pick up pretty much everything we needed except for the yellow pepper and feta cheese.

Has anyone else noticed how expensive tomatoes are? We were buying local and they were still $4 a pound. The recipe called for 3 pounds of yellow tomatoes but since there was only three of us eating soup I got away with buying 2 1/4 pounds (six tomatoes total).

This also came from Real Simple Magazine, the August 2008 issue.

It wasn't like the traditional gazpacho recipes of my past that were spicy. It was kind of sweet and obviously really simple.

Golden Gazpacho with Feta
Real Simple

Ingredients:
3 pounds yellow tomatoes (about 6), cut into large pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into large pieces
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Kosher salt and pepper
4 ounces Feta, crumbled (1 cup)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound thinly sliced prosciutto and/or salami (optional)
8 bread sticks (optional)

Working in batches, puree the tomatoes and bell pepper in a food processor and transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in the vinegar and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Divide among serving bowls and top with the Feta, basil, pine nuts, oil, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve with the prosciutto, salami, and bread sticks, if desired.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 255(69% from fat); FAT 20g (sat 6g); CHOLESTEROL 25mg; CARBOHYDRATE 15g; SODIUM 1116mg; PROTEIN 9g; FIBER 3g; SUGAR 2g

Notes: I lost the grocery list and recipe somewhere between the farmer's market and grocery store so I forgot the pine nuts. They weren't missed at all. Mr. Snowgoose's dad wound up reheating some leftover flank steak and we had a large cheese and salami plate beforehand so we would up not eating much of the garden salad or any of the bread.

Repeat: Zucchini-Blueberry Bread

2008-08-21T11:41:00.003-05:00

Remember this?

Since I picked up yellow zucchini and a flat of blueberries for wicked cheap at the Farmer's Market last weekend I decided to finally break out the Kitchen Aid mixer and stoneware loaf pans and bake some bread. Well that and it was really gloomy out and I wanted the apartment to smell liked baked goodness when Mr. Snowgoose came home.

Here's a recap of the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 eggs, lightly beaten or equivalent egg replacer
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup shredded zucchini (I peeled mine first) I used 3 small yellow ones.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 pint fresh blueberries (or about 1 1/2 cups frozen)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two mini loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer into mini loaf pans.
3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes (slightly longer if you double the recipe like I did). Let cool for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Notes: I had no idea how heavy the mixer would be! But it was a life changing experience using it. How did I exist before without it?

Just as I was getting ready to bake at 5 o'clock I discovered we did not own any vegetable oil so I had to pop out to the closest grocery store (6 blocks) in the rain. I suppose I'll get used to it.

But the bread turned out pretty good. The yellow zucchini worked just as well as green zucchini. In fact a whole mini loaf was devoured by me within 12 hours.

Real Simple: Pasta wuth Yellow Zucchini and Goat Cheese

2008-08-20T16:33:00.004-05:00

I'm back in the kitchen after a brief hiatus in which I packed up all my stuff (including kitchen supplies) and drove cross country with my friend and occasional guest blogger, Hungry Cougar.

Since I don't have a job (yet), I've been cooking more. Mr. Snowgoose has been reaping the benefits of my unemployment.

We have an awesome farmer's market in our neighborhood that we've been frequenting every Sunday.

I found yellow zucchini! (photo to come) It's not squash. It's really zucchini that is yellow.

Since I had fresh zucchini and goat cheese in the fridge, I opted to surprise Mr. Snowgoose with this pasta dish from the June 2008 Real Simple Magazine:

Ingredients:
12 ounces (3/4 of the box) linguine
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound zucchini, sliced into thin half-moons
Kosher salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped
5 ounces fresh goat cheese, crumbled
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, drain the pasta, and return it to the pot.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until the zucchini is tender and any liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more.Add all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese to the pasta. Add the reserved pasta water, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir until creamy.

Serve the pasta topped with the zucchini, lemon zest, and the remaining cheese.

Tip: Fresh goat cheese is creamy and soft, which makes it ideal for incorporating into pasta dishes. Buy a log and crumble your own; the precrumbled bits sold in stores often don't melt as well, and they can be more expensive.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 455(24% from fat); FAT 12g (sat 6g); CHOLESTEROL 16mg; CARBOHYDRATE 68g; SODIUM 746mg; PROTEIN 20g; FIBER 4g; SUGAR 6g

They weren't lying, this recipe is really simple.

I made a few changes though: I used a whole package of this whole wheat colored pasta we got from someone as an early wedding present. I only had 4 ounces of goat cheese and I left out the lemon zest, so the end result was a little less creamy. And I probably only used half a pound of zucchini since it is not Mr. Snowgoose's favorite vegetable.

Served with salad and slightly stale french bread.

And we had plenty left over so Mr. Snowgoose had two more lunches worth of pasta and goat cheese.

The end result:

On Hiatus

2008-07-16T13:28:00.002-05:00

Since I'm in the process of moving to Seattle, I won't be posting anything until mid August.

Coming attractions include: mussles, "Danielle" spaghetti, and more!

In the meantime, enjoy the summer and all the awesome produce.

Cut Cookies

2008-06-14T15:21:00.003-05:00

These are a family favorite that recently went public at a friend's baby shower. They take a lot of work to make them look pretty, but you can ice them in solid colors to simplify things. After all, patterns don't change the taste.

Cookies:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
flour for rolling out dough

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Note - I love the taste of cinnamon and nutmeg, so I always put in slightly heaping teaspons of the spices.
Slowly add the dry mix to wet ingredients.
Wrap dough in waxed paper and freeze for 3-4 hours, or overnight.
Dough can be frozen for up to 6 months.

Let dough thaw slightly.
Sprinkle work surface and rolling pin with flour.
Roll out dough fairly thin for crispy cookies or thicker for chewy cookies. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.
Note - We like them less done, so I cook them for 7-8 minutes.
Transfer to cooling racks. When cookies are cool, decorate with icing.
Depending on the size of the cookies, makes 3-4 dozen.

Icing
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup Crisco
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
about 5 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
2-4 tbsp milk
gel food coloring (optional)

Beat together butter and Crisco. Add vanilla.
Alternate adding sugar and milk until desired consistency is reached. If you are planning to pipe the icing, thicker and stiffer consistency is better.
If tinting icing, separate into bowls and add food coloring. Spoon icing into pastry bags and pipe onto cookies.

Three Bean and Goat Cheese Salad

2008-06-11T17:31:00.002-05:00

It's summertime and that means one thing: salads.

I went through this faze last summer where I ate only lettuce-free salads. I have nothing against lettuce except that everytime I make a salad using it, my salad somehow winds up slimey and gross. This could be because I'm lazy and my bag o'salad (as my family calls it) and I usually bring said salads to work for lunch. This means that the salad has sat in it's fake tupperware for hours soaking up olive oil and vinegar dressing.

But I digress.

Lately for lunch, Hungry Cougar and I have been hitting up the local Au Bon Pain for their ginormous salad bar. The other week I noticed they had three bean salad out.

I love, love, love three bean salad.

I know what you're thinking:

three bean salad? That's the food of choice for potlucks and picnics. My grandmother makes that.

This isn't your grandmaother's three bean salad, I promise you.

The secret ingiedient (which isn't a secret because it's in the title of the post) is goat cheese. A few weekends ago I visited Mr. and Mrs. Butter in Indianapolis and had the most wonderful local goat cheese from their local farmer's market. The minute I got home I went to my local farmer's market and picked what I can only describe as goat cheese heaven.

It was goat cheese with olive oil and garlic. It was divine.

I hadn't intended originally to put the cheese in the salad but I threw it in at the last minute and it seriously brought the whole meal together.

Three Bean and Goat Cheese Salad (a Wicked Good Cook Original)

Ingredients:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 scallions, chopped
1 cup green, red, and orange bell peppers,diced
1/2 cup cucumber diced into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup mixed olives
1 cup pepperchinis (optional)
3-4 oz goat cheese
3 tbsp italian dressing

Directions:
Mix all ingriedients in a large bowl

Chill for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

The best part about this recipe is that you could literally throw anything into the mix: feta cheese, tomatoes, red onions, celery, carrots, ect. After all it is a salad.

You could serve it as a side dish, or on top of lettuce, or even eat it as a meal. Just remember, there are a lot of beans. Eat at your own risk.

It's a totally veggie friendly meal. Make it vegan by taking out the goat cheese.

Tale of two (mini) Cheesecakes

2008-05-29T09:04:00.003-05:00

I recently had a request from a friend in Belgium for a cheesecake recipe. Apparently the cheesecakes over there aren't so hot.

Since cheesecake isn't an everyday treat in my world (if it was I probably wouldn't fit into my jeans), I've been waiting for the perfect occasion to make it.

Sadly, there have been no birthdays or promotions that call for celebratory cakes. Last night my friend Steve came over for tacos. He also just so happened to have hit his 10-year anniversary at his job. It was time for cheesecake.

My problem with cheesecake is that there's so much of it. I knew I didn't want to make a whole cake (otherwise I'd be eating it for breakfast), but I'd never made a small cheesecake before. I searched for some "mini" cheesecake recipes. Basically I wanted something that could be done in my muffin/cupcake tin. I didn't want to make a zillion mini cheesecakes. Fortunately allrecipes.com allows you to manipulate the number of servings and sizes the recipe accordingly.

Earlier this week I printed out a copy of the recipe, made my grocery list, and promptly lost the recipe. I printed another recipe out, one that I thought was the right one.

This was what I had intended to make:

Mini Cheesecake 1.0

Ingredients:
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon melted margerine
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165 degrees C) . Grease a 6 cup muffin pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and margarine with a fork until combined. Measure a rounded tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup, presing firmly. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes, then remove to cool. Keep the oven on.
3. Beat together the cream cheese mixture into the muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool completely in pain before removing. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 6 servings

The one I actually made
Mini Cheesecake 2.0

Ingredients:
1/2 (8 ounce) package vanilla wafers (I just used graham crackers)
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese
6 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins with paper liners
2. Crush the wafers or graham crackers and place 1 teaspoon into each paper cup.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fill each muffin liner with this mixture, almost to the top.
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool.

Cook's notes:
As you can see, they aren't that different. Mini Cheesecake 2.0 actually called for the use of "mini" muffin tins and "mini" paper liners. Since I only have "normal" sized tins, I modified the recipe so that it would make 6 servings. The changes are reflected in the indredients list above.

I really liked using muffin liners. It made the cheesecakes easy to pop out of the tin. I can't imagine how it would have been without them.

The only problem was that the cheesecake sometimes stuck to the paper as you unpeeled it. But it was really good and the perfect portion size.

You could likely top the cheesecakes with pie filling or jam or fresh berries or even some chocolate. These really are the perfect size. And they're pretty easy to make.

Steve even took the leftovers home with him.

There are no photos because I bought a new camera and haven't figured out to use it yet. But I do plan on making them again, probably for my annual 4th of July Party, so I'll post photos then.

Happy Baking!

Pre race Fuel: No Boil Baked Ziti

2008-04-28T19:10:00.002-05:00

The night before the marathon I wanted a good, homecooked meal. And by homecooked I mean one I didn't have to make.

My mom and Mr. Snowgoose were in town for the big race, so my mom made dinner. While Mr. Snowgoose and I saw a movie, my mom made baked ziti.

I borrowed this recipe from the internet. I think it's a Ragu recipe.

Ingridients:
1 (26 oz.) jar Ragu Pasta Sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 oz container ricotta cheese (we used whipped cottage cheese)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces uncooked ziti pasta

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Combine sauce and water. Stir in cottage cheese, 1 cup mozzarella and Parmesan, then uncooked ziti. Spoon ziti mixture into a 13 x9 baking dish. Cover with foil.

3. Bake 55 minutes

4. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake uncovered for 5 more minutes.

Serves 8.

I know what you're thinking- only 8 ounces of pasta? Seriously?! But it was enough. We used whole wheat pasta and I don't think my guests noticed the differance.

Serve with a salad and french bread.

Sorry no photos! Next time I make it I'll take some.

This is by far one of the easiest recipes to make. And it's super yummy!

From the Freezer: Quick Scallops and Asparagus Risotto

2008-04-09T11:10:00.002-05:00

This is another from the freezer meals. I found the recipe at Whole Foods in their Meals for 4 under $20 pamphlet.

I had been wanting to make risotto (from scratch) for ages. I invited my friend Steve over for dinner promising scallops and risotto (two of my favorite foods to eat out). The day he was supposed to come over for dinner and a scrabble rematch, I went for an epic training run. I came home tired and sore and I had no desire to slave in the kitchen, but I didn't want to cop out and order a pizza.

This recipe was really simple yet tasted like a million bucks. I was tempted to lie and say the risotto was from scratch, but instead I told the truth.

Ingridients:
1 6 oz box Tomato and Basil Risotto
1 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 10.6 oz package of scallops
1 small bunch of fresh asparagus cut into 1" pieces (note: I cheated and bought frozen aspagus which was already pre cut into 1" pieces)

Directions:
1. Prepare risotto using olive oil according to the package, adding asparagus and all but 12-16 of the scallops to the simmering rice after 5 minutes.

2. Continue cooking, stirring a few times while simmering.

3. When the risotto is almost finished, saute the reserved scallops according to package directions.

4. Top each serving of risotto with a few sauted scallops.

Cook's notes:
1. I sauted all of the scallops in olive oil and garlic before adding to the risotto.
2. I also sauted spinach in olive oil and garlic and served it alongside the risotto (in addition to frozen french rolls which I heated up).
3. From start to finish the meal took less than 30 minutes.

It was super good and the perfect recovery meal post run (lots of protien and carbs). I will definately make it again since it was so easy and fairly cheap. And Steve loved it.

Sorry no photos. Maybe next time!

Ricotta Pancakes

2008-04-02T16:56:00.003-05:00

A short story about ricotta pancakes.

When Mr. Snowgoose and I began our courtship in 2004 he wooed me with ricotta pancakes. I wasn't the biggest breakfast fan then (and living in a dorm) but often on weekends when I would be hanging out at Mr. Snowgoose's apartment (with a big kitchen!) having epic Scrabble tournaments, he'd make me ricotta pancakes. I'll tell you a secret: there's nothing I love more than a man in the kitchen. The way to my heart is seriously through my stomach.

So it's appropriate that the morning after Mr. Snowgoose and I got engaged in Seattle, we walked to the market and bought supplies to make celebratory ricotta pancakes.

The recipe comes from the Food Network website and actually calls for homemade Banana-Pecan Syrup, but Mr. Snowgoose and I opted to just use regular sugar free syrup and instead we added frozen blueberries to the batter just for kicks.

Ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, separated
2 cups milk
4 ounces ricotta, well drained (1/2 cup)
Butter or vegetable oil

For the Ricotta Pancakes:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt together onto waxed paper or a plate.

Beat the egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer or whisk until stiff but not dry.

Beat the egg yolks, milk, and ricotta together in a large bowl until well blended and smooth.

Add the dry ingredients and mix gently with a large spoon. Stir a spoonful of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites with a rubber spatula.

Warm a serving platter in a 200 degree F oven.

Heat a nonstick flat griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until hot.

Grease with butter or vegetable oil.

Pour 1/4 to 1/3 cup batter per pancake onto the pan and cook for about 2 minutes, or until bubbles form on the surface, then flip the pancakes over using a large wide spatula. Cook on the other side for 2 minutes, or until golden brown.

Transfer the pancakes to the warm platter.

Serve immediately or hold in the oven while you cook the rest of the pancakes. Serve the pancakes on heated plates topped with the syrup.

They turned out pretty good. I won't lie, they do take some time to make (a bit longer than regular pancakes, but they're worth it because they are so light and fluffy they practically melt in your mouth. It's a perfect addition to Sunday brunch (along with the NYT!)

We did have some help in the kitchen: Elsa the kitten.

From the Freezer: Ravioli and Edamame in Parmesan Sauce

2008-03-31T17:40:00.006-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted, but March has been a crazy month: a trip to Seattle, an engagement, a trip to London, and Marathon training. I've had to rely heavily on my freezer for meals. Under normal circumstances my freezer houses a bad of frizen peas (for injuries. it's better than a bag of ice), some hard liqour for parties, and coffee. This month my freezer has been home to girl scout cookies, frozen berries, edamame, scallops, ravioli, and lots of frozen veggies. Since I've been traveling so much it's been easier to just pop frozen green beans into my pot of ziti or zap frozen corn for my bean burritos rather than having to deal with fresh produce gone bad because I was away for a long weekend.

I found the following recipe for Ravioli and Edamame in Parmesan Sauce in the March 2008 issue of Heath Magazine. It was ridiculously easy and good and the perfect post-run meal.

Ravioli and Edamame in Parmasian Sauce

Prep: 3 minutes; Cook: 7 minutes.

Ingredients
1 (9-ounce) package whole-wheat cheese ravioli (such as Buitoni brand)
3/4 pound frozen shelled edamame
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. While the water is heating, measure remaining ingredients.

2. Add the ravioli to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Add the soybeans and cook an additional 1–2 minutes or until tender.

Drain the ravioli and soybeans, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.

3. Return ravioli to the pot and stir in thyme. Whisk together sour cream, Parmesan, salt, pepper, and reserved cooking liquid. Toss the pasta mixture with the sour cream mixture, divide among 4 bowls, and serve immediately.

Yield
Makes 4 servings (serving size: about 2 ounces pasta and 3 tablespoons edamame)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 394; FAT 16g (sat 7g,mono 2g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 23g; CHOLESTEROL 62mg; CALCIUM 304mg; SODIUM 634mg; FIBER 8g; IRON 3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 37g

Cook's notes:

1. The only whole wheat ravioli I found was spinach and cheese, so I used that.
2. Instead of sour cream I used a half cup of my favorite whipped cottage cheese. It was only a modeate success. I would recommend that everyone stick to sour cream, unless of course they want the extra protien.
3. I did not have fresh thyme. I used a pinch of dried. You could even leave it out.
4. It tasted better the second day. I even liked it cold.

"Smoky" Corn Chowder

2008-03-01T09:45:00.003-05:00

I love corn chowder.

Well, maybe not as much as I love lasagna or garlic soup, but if I'm out and there's corn chowder on the menu, I have to have it. There are a number of places around the library that have corn chowder on the menu and I probably seek it out almost every week or two. Until I moved to New England 4 1/2 years ago I didn't even really like corn. Then I discovered how sweet fresh corn is and how much fun it is the shuck your own, and suddenly I was hooked.

My friend Cougar (or Hungry Cougar as she wants to call herself on the blog) also loves corn chowder, probably more so than me. Also, she was responsible for getting me a subscription to Real Simple Magazine, and of course my first issue had corn chowder on the cover.

Since all the chowder stars seemed to be alligning, I invited H.C. over after work last week to watch a really bad movie, knit, and eat Smoky Corn Chowder. And it rocked!

Ingredients:

8 ounces sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 10-ounce packages frozen corn
3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup half-and-half
Kosher salt and pepper
4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

Directiouns:

1. Cook the bacon in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

2. Spoon off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the drippings and return the pot to medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika, and red pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the corn, broth, and half-and-half and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth. Return to the pot, add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and stir to combine.

4. Divide the soup among individual bowls and top with the scallions and reserved bacon.

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 359(58% from fat); FAT 23g (sat 9g); SUGAR 20g; PROTEIN 10g; CHOLESTEROL 41mg; SODIUM 597mg; FIBER 6g; CARBOHYDRATE 32g

Cook's notes:

1. I was smart and made it the day before, partially because I wanted it to be ready when we came home from work, but also to let the flavors blend longer. It's a good thing I made it without an audience, otherwise I would have embarassed myself. You want to know why it's called "Smoky Corn Chowder?" It's because if you're anything like me, the house will fill with smoke while you're cooking the bacon and you'll have to rush around and open every window (even though it's 20 degrees out) to let out the smoke before the fire alarm goes off in the building and all your neighbors hate you. I like bacon a lot, but I hate cooking it, mostly for this reason. It could also be that my problem is that I like my bacon extra crispy. Next time I'll either buy precooked bacon or the microwave kind to avoid the drama.

2. I did not add scallions at the end. I was too lazy.

3. The soup works best if you have an immersion blender. Just be careful that you don't puree everything, otherwise you'll have to add in more froze corn at the end like I did.

4. My package of bacon was 12 ounces (low sodium) and I think the extra 4 ounces made a difference. I loved the bacon bits! Also, I added the bacon after cooking and let it blend in with the chowder overnight, and I think the flavor was enhanced.

I recommend serving the chowder with a large salad (Cesar) and fresh French Bread. It doesn't seem like much, but the chowder is very filling.

I will say the chowder was a success. Next time I'll make a double batch and freeze it, though this batch gave me 3 meals plus one for a guest. I think it'll taste even better with fresh corn come late summer, so don't be surprised if it shows up again (or if you're over and I serve it to you). This is one of the best meals I've made so far this year!

Long Overdue Birthday Ice Cream Cupcakes

2008-02-20T16:30:00.011-05:00

I decided to make ice cream cupcakes after watching a few too many episodes of Unwrapped on the Food Network. The recipe basically follows their description of Maggie Moo's Ice Cream Cupcakes.

What you need:

Chocolate cake
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (or any kind will do)

Chocolate Ganache

Step One--Make the cake

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup low-fat milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

1. Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Mix about a minute on low speed.

2. Add eggs and chocolate, mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Then beat at medium-high speed, about 1 minute.

3. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9 inch round baking pans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

4. Cool cake for about 10 minutes, remove from pans, then continue to cool on wire rack.

Step Two--Assemble cupcakes

1. While cake is cooling, fill cupcake sheets with paper cupcake wrappers.

2. Use cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to cut round sections of cake, about the size of a cupcake.

3. Put one cake round in each cupcake holder and push cake down with your fingers.

4. Add scoop of ice cream to each cupcake, pushing ice cream down so that it's flat on top.5. Freeze for at least an hour.

Step Three--Make ganache

Ingredients:

1 cup heavy cream

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 tsp. vanilla

1. Heat heavy cream over low heat in small sauce pan. Bring cream to bare simmer.

2. Put chopped chocolate in medium bowl, add heated cream.

3. Let sit for 3 minutes.

4. Add vanilla and whisk until chocolate melts and thickens

Pour ganache on cupcakes, completely covering the top. Freeze overnight.

Yield: 20-24 cupcakes

Cook's Notes:

I didn't like the chocolate cake much. When I was making it, I let the chocolate sit too long after I melted it, and it didn't completely blend in with the batter. If I make these again, I'll probably use a box cake mix. I think they turned out well. I'm sure I'll make them again, probably with different ice cream or toppings to mix it up.

Lasagana Redux

2008-02-19T10:29:00.004-05:00

Since I'm training for the Boston Marathon (9 weeks!) I'm eating a lot of carbs, especially pasta. My all time favorite (as you know) is lasagna. Whole Foods had some recipes out the other day, so I swiped this one for Spinach and Cheese Lasagna and made my own modifcations.

Here is what I used:

1 cup whipped cottage cheese (same texture as ricotta cheese, less fat. I used the Friendship brand)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 10 ounce package of frozen spinach, thawed, chopped, and drained
sea salt and pepper
1 tablespoon fresh oregano

half a jar of pasta sauce (I used Ragu)
6 no boil lasagana noodles, uncooked
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons parmesean cheese

I should note that this is not a full recipe. I had these noodles left over from the crockpot lasagana and wanted to use them up. The same goes for most of the ingredients. I was trying to clean out the fridge and pantry.

I used two small baking dishes for my mini-lasagnas.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl mix cottage cheese, half the mozzarella, the parmesean cheese, spinach, salt, pepper, and oregano.

3. In a baking pan or dish, layer sauce, then a layer of noodles, then a layer to spinach/ cheese mix and repeat. Top with sauce and sprinkle top with remaining cheese.

4. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes or until it smells done. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Cook's notes:

This was so good I'm sorry to say I ate both pans in one night. I had no willpower. In my defense I needed to carbo-load before the next morning's long run. I will seriously make this again it was so yummy (and easy!). Next time I'll make an extra large batch and freeze half.

Real Simple's Chickpea and Sausage Stew

2008-02-19T10:12:00.005-05:00

You'd think a recipe from the magazine "Real Simple" would be, well simple. Not so much. For the purposes of this post, I'll rename the stew "Not So Simple Chickpea and Sauage Stew."

Note: this comes from the February issue of Real Simple Magazine

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
12 ounces Italian sausage, thawed and casings removed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 10-ounce package frozen leaf spinach
Kosher salt and pepper
8 slices bread, toasted (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add the sausage and cook, crumbling it with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the parsley and cilantro and cook for 1 minute more. Add the broth and chickpeas and bring to a boil.

4. Add the frozen spinach and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork to separate the leaves. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

5. Divide the toasted bread, if using, among individual bowls and spoon the stew on top.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 485(49% from fat); FAT 24g (sat 6g); SUGAR 5g; PROTEIN 29g; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; SODIUM 1679mg; FIBER 11g; CARBOHYDRATE 40g

Cook's Notes:

1. So I rarely make sausage, but I thought the meal looked good and since it's winter and all I'm all about stews and soups. The recipe did not specify what kind of Italian Sausage to buy, so I went with chicken sausage.
2. This is kind of gross, but when I went to throw the sausage in the hot pan I didn't think it was in a casing. The minute it hit the pan and started to cook I realized my mistake, so I had to fish the now hot sausages out of the pan and cut off the casings. It was nasty and I probably contaminated my entire kitchen with salmanela.
3. Where is the garlic? I added a ton of minced garlic to the onions in step 1.
4. Upon tasting it immediately after cooking I wasn't impressed. I was actually kind of mad because I thought I might have wasted time and money on this dish. So I divided it up into four containers and popped them in my fridge and freezer and ate lasagna instead. I had the soup the next night and it was quite good. I think the flavors really needed to sit overnight. You might want to take this into consideration and make ahead and freeze.

Would I make it again? Maybe. I feel like this is a meal Mr. Snowgoose would enjoy more than me. Maybe I'll make it for him sometime (or he can make it himself).

Note: Make sure to take some beano before eating the stew. The beans pack a punch. I'm just saying.

Simple Sweet Scones by guest blogger Library Lady

2008-02-18T20:30:00.005-05:00

I love scones. I have loved them ever since my first trip to England after college. Ever since then, I have checked out every scone cookbook I could get from the library in search of wonderful scone recipes. But the best book I've found for scones is one that I didn't get from the library-- I was shown it by my best friend, Christine, who got it from her mom. It's called "Biscuits and Scones" by Elizabeth Alston. Unfortunately, the book is out of print, but I did manage to find it used on Amazon.com .

The following recipe is the best basic scone recipe I've ever come across. I've used this as the basis for my Blueberry Scones-- recipe addition at the bottom of this post--, but it works wonderfully for lemon scones, simple cranberry scones, or whatever you desire. I recommend playing around with additions-- I'm sure you'll find something tasty!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut up

1/4 cup granulated sugar (use 1/3 cup for slightly sweet scones)

2/3 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Put flour, baking powder, and sugar into a large bowl; stir to mix well.

3. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender-- or two knives held scissor style cut into the mixture-- until the mixture looks like fine granules or slightly sticky large crumbs.

4. Add milk and stir until a soft dough forms.

5. Sprinkle some flour onto the counter and cut the dough in half. Lightly knead the half about 6-8 times, turning it over while doing so.

6. Pat out the dough into a roughly 6-inch circle that's about 1/2 an inch high. Cut the circle into wedges and put the wedges on an ungreased cookie sheet.

7. Bake 12-15 minutes or until medium brown on top. Put on a linen or cotton dish towel on a wire rack; cover loosely with the cloth and cool completely before serving.

8. Repeat steps 5-7 with the second half of the dough.

Serve with jam, butter, clotted cream, or whipped cream if desired. Perfect with tea!

Cook's Thoughts:

1. You can use a round, 2-inch biscuit cutter instead of cutting scones into wedges. Roll up the scraps and keep cutting out scones until the dough is gone. This actually makes them the perfect size for afternoon tea.

2. Make sure the butter is all mixed in as this will affect the texture and moistness of the scones.

3. This is how you know the dough has the right amount of liquid: it will not stick to the spoon. If it sticks to the spoon, add a little more flour. If it won't stick together at all, keep adding a little more milk until it sticks together. This is very important as it will give you wonderful, moist scones. Trust me, I've made scones enough times that I know what the dough should look like.

4. The recipe does call for 1/2 teaspoon of salt, but since I don't use salt in my baking, I didn't include that, but you can if you wish.

5. To make blueberry scones: add 2 teaspoons cinnamon with the flour mixture; then add 1/2 pint of blueberries, rinsed and drained, after adding milk. Stir to mix and bake as directed above.

6. To make lemon scones: add 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel, or 1 tablespoon lemon extract to flour mixture. In a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice with 2 tablespoons sugar; top each scone with 1/4 teaspoon before baking.

Easy Enchiladas by guest blogger Library Lady

2008-02-18T20:04:00.006-05:00

I like Mexican food. Really, I do. But you would never know it by how rarely I eat at Mexican restaurants. And the reason for that is that I often find the food way too heavy. I always need to have veggies or something healthy with my meals, and most Mexican restaurants don't offer much more than a little bit of iceberg lettuce on a taco. (And iceberg lettuce is basically water...) So therefore, when I don't feel like going to a Mexican restaurant, and I want to please my Mexican food loving husband, I make it at home!

I generally like to use fresh, "from scratch" ingredients when I can, but when I have the opportunity to use something that's packaged and it tastes good, then I will. I highly recommend Trader Joe's various sauces, by the way. They are often fantastic and not as full of nasty, bad for you junk that so many other prepared sauces contain. And now the recipe:

Ingredients

1 lb chicken, cut up into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces

1 small onion, chopped

1/4-1/2 teaspoon EACH of cumin, chili powder, and minced garlic (You can use 1 clove of fresh chopped garlic if you wish-- I had some minced garlic to get rid of.)

1/8 teaspoon (or just a few shakes) of red pepper flakes

1/4 cup salsa

1 jar of Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce

4-6 flour tortillas, fajita size

1-2 cups shredded cheese, depending on how cheesy you like it (Cheddar or a Mexican cheese blend)

1 tablespoon oil-- vegetable or light olive oil

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pull out a 9X13 baking pan, glass is probably best

2. Coat a large skillet with the oil

3. Saute the chicken, spices, and onion until chicken is cooked thoroughly

4. Heat up the tortillas in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds until they are soft and pliable

5. Fill each tortilla up with the chicken mixture, top with a few spoonfuls of salsa and some cheese and roll them up, placing them an equi-distance apart in the baking dish so that they all fit

6. Pour the enchilada sauce over the top and then sprinkle remaining cheese

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Serve with veggies or any condiments you desire.

Cook's Thoughts:

1. I only had four tortillas, so that made the sauce a little runny as there wasn't as much food to soak it up. I would definitely use 6 tortillas and make them a little smaller so as to soak up the sauce.

2. Sauteing the chicken with the spices was a spur-of-the-moment invention of mine and I love it! It really adds flavor to the meat.

3. My husband and I like spicy food, and this was just the right amount of spicy. I used Paul Newman's Medium Chunky Salsa and that added another nice little kick.

4. I imagine you could use chopped green chiles in the filling as well. I may try that next time...

Enjoy!

Pancakes!

2008-02-12T22:25:00.003-05:00

Last night after work I had a craving for pancakes. I've maybe made them twice before, and both times I've set off my smoke detector. I'm proud to say that even though there was smoke, there was no alarm. And the pancakes weren't blackened!

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons cooking oil

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture, set aside.
2. In another medium mixing bowl combine egg, milk, and cooking oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3. For standard sized pancakes, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle or heavy skillet.

Cook over medium heat about 2 minutes on each sideor till pancakes are golden brown, turning to second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges are slightly dry. Makes 8 to 10 standard size pancakes.

Vegan Cupcakes Just Took Over This Blog Part 5: S'mores

2008-01-22T14:15:00.001-05:00

You're probably thinking,another cupcake post? Is this becoming a cupcake blog?

I promise you this is not turning into a cupcake blog, but I'm trying to keep up with demand of birthdays and special occasions. Apparently January is a popular birth month (mine is in a week!). This means cupcakes!

In honor of two co-worker's birthdays this weekend, I made S'more cupcakes from the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" book I so love and cherish.

PS to Mrs. Butter: there is no apple cider vinegar in this!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup soy yogurt
1 1/4 cups soy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

For the topping:
6 graham cracker rectangles, broken in half
extra graham cracker crums

vegan buttercream frosting

1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffn pan with cupcake liners.

2. Mix the brown sugar, oil, molasses, yogurt, soy milk, and vanilla in a large bowl.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, bking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a sperate bowl and mix. Add the graham cracker crumbs and mix it up.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in three batches, mixing well after each addition.

5. Fill cupcake liners full. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely before decorating.

To assemble the topping:

1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, beat for another 5-7 minutes until fluffy.

2. Spread a thick layer of frosting onto each cupcake. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the frosting. Drizzle with ganache or sprinkle with shaved chocolate and stick a graham cracker square onto each cupcake.

Cook's Thoughts:

1. Now it's been like 20 years since I was a girl scout, but I'm pretty sure S'mores have marshmallows in them. It's what makes it gooey and good. So why aren't there any marshmallows? Are they not vegan? Aren't they just sugar? Instead of a graham cracker square on top, there should totally be a marshmallow, even a baby one.

2. I didn't have any chocolate to shave or to melt to make a ganache. Instead I sprinkled cocoa powder along with the graham cracker crumbs on top of the frosting.

3. There should have been chocolate chips in the batter to melt inside the cupcake. You know, like a REAL s'more.

4. A coworker noted that they tasted like gingerbread cupcakes.

5. Molasses= gross. I've never used it before and the smell repulsed me. I would have rather had the apple cider vinegar/ soymilk smell than this. Yuck.

Despite all this, they tasted good, but I'm not making them again. Not unless someone begged and provided compensation. The mint chocolate ones are so much better.

Cougar and her cupcakes

Crockpot Lasagana

2008-01-22T11:29:00.001-05:00

I love lasagna (actually I love all pasta, I'm an equal-oppertunity pasta consumer) and I love my crockpot. I've been dreaming about the two merging and coming up with something glorious.

I guess Real Simple Magazine heard my pleas, because in the January issue there is a recipe for "slow-cooker lasagna."

Lasagna is a slow cooking food anyways. It takes at least 45 minutes in the oven (if not more). This recipe promises to have it ready in 2 hours, 25 minutes.

I wanted to try this recipe out for a special occasion. It was my friend Cougar's birthday, so I opted to have a small dinner party in her honor. The recipe claims to serve 6, so I purposly only had Cougar and another friend over because I was convinced we wouldn't have enough food.

Because we were going to see a movie and then have dinner, I threw everything in the crockpot and set it on the lowest setting and let it cook for 3 hours. We came home to a house that smelled delicious.

Ingridients:
2 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, drained
3 garlic cloves fibely chopped
1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper
16 ounces fresh ricotta
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsely, chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
12 ounces dry lasagna noodles
1 bunch Swiss Chard, tough stems removed and torn into large pieces
12 ounces mozzarella, grated

Now before I start in with the directions, let me tell you how difficult these ingridients actually are. The first grocery store I went to had two types of parsely: curled and uncurled. I assumed the uncurled was really flat leaf.

That grocery store did not have swiss chard. There had been some debate between my friends and I on if I should include the swiss chard. I don't like it, I had a bad experience with it, but Cougar (who likes her veggies hidden in food) wanted to try it. The second grocery store I went to had two types of chard: red and green. I felt like the swiss chard I'd had and hated was red, so that's what I bought.

Oh, and no one had fresh oregano. I bought one of those fresh spice in a tube things.

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

In another medium bowl, combine the ricotta, parsley, Parmesan, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Spoon 1/3 cup of the tomato mixture into the bowl of a slow cooke. Top with a single layer of noodles, breaking them to fit as necessary.

Add half the swiss chard. Dollop with a third of the remaining tomato mixture. Sprinkle with a third of the mozzerella. Add another layer of noodles and repeat with all the other ingridients. Finish with a layer of noodles and the remaining ricotta mixture, tomato mixture, and mozzerella.

Set the slow cooker to low and cook, covered, until the noodles are tender, 2 hours

Cook's thoughts:
1. Leave out the swiss chard (unless of course you totally love it and won't mind that some bits will be cooked and soggy and other bits will be bitter and tough). I don't see why we couldn't have used spinach, or even left the veggies out.

2. Use the no boil noodles.

3. I didn't like the chunky tomato consistancy. I like my sauces smooth. Next time I'd use regular jar sauce.

4. It was really hard spreading the ricotta on the swiss chard. It might have worked better if the layers were noodle, cheese, chard, tomato, cheese.

5. I had a square crock pot and the noodles fit pretty well. It really does serve six. This is a tall lasagna.

It wasn't bad, but most of us kind of ate around the chard. I have leftovers and I won't mind eating it for the next three days as long as I can pick out the chard.

I'd say the crockpot lasagna was a moderate success.

Cheese and Tofu Stuffed Shells

2008-01-16T18:53:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, my mom occasionally made stuffed shells. I remember helping her mix the cheeses to stuff inside. Oh, how I adored these cheesy pasta goodness!

But I haven't had them in years. Actually that's a lie, I had them once in Healthy Choice frozen dinner.

I bought a replacement "Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook" because my old mass market paperback one fell into a sink full of dirty dish water (don't ask). This new one actually has more recipes and photos! So during my first read through of the cookbook I stumbled on the stuffed shells.

It looked easy enough.

Ingredients:
12 jumbo pasta shells
1/4 cup shredded carrot (1 small)
2 tablespoons sliced green onion (1)
2 ta8 ounces tofu, drained
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 beaten egg white
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes, cut up (or just buy it already diced)
1/2 of a 6-ounce can (1/3 cup) tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, in a saucepan cook carrot and green onion in a small amount of water until tender; drain.

2. For filling, in a medium mixing bowl mash tofu with a fork. Stir in carrot-onion mixture, ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, the egg white, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

3. For sauce, in a saucepan combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, sugar, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

4. Stuff each cooked shell with about 1 rounded tablespoon of the filling. Place shells in an ungreased 2-quart square baking dish.

5. Pour sauce over shells and baked, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until heated through.

Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Makes 4 main dish servings
349 calories
15 g total fat
3 g fiber
25 g protein

Notes:

1. I had to go to two stores to find the shells. Of course when I got home and started to make the shells I realized I forgot the tofu. So my "cheese and tofu stuffed shells" are actually just cheese stuffed shells.

2. Whomever created this recipe had the math skills of a cat. Seriously. There's at least 24 pasta shells in a box. Plus, what am I going to do with the remaining ricotta and tomato paste? It makes more sense to double it. Besides, once your dinner guests discover how great these are, they'll want seconds. And I'm sorry but 3 shells is a serving? What is this, Jenny Craig?

3. But they turned out really well. So well I ate all 24 over the course of two days. As much as I love them, they were a pain and a but to make, and I can't resist them.

4. Oh, and the carrot and onion- what was that about? Leave them out, trust me. Vegetables have no business in the stuffed shells. None. So if you really want veggies heat up some frozen broccoli or make a salad, but leave the carrots out!

Maggie's Onion Eggplant Soup

2008-01-07T17:50:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago my friend Maggie passed on a few recipes to me, including this one for Onion Eggplant Soup.

I had the recipe with me when I went to buy the ingredients, but after that it was lost (until it popped up in my planner today), so I had to play it by ear and guess for part of the recipe.

Here is the original:

Ingredients

2 small zucchini or yellow squash
5 cups water or more
4 large onions cut into rings
1 medium eggplant peeled and chopped
1 6oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
1 can beef broth (or use bouillon cubes)
1 t basil
1 clove garlic minced
1 t olive or vegetable oil
1 t sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut up all vegetables and combine with other ingredients. This can be cooked in a slow cooker or on the stove (takes an hour or so)

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese when serving.

How I remembered it:

2 small yellow squash
some water
3 onions, chopped
1 medium eggplant, chopped (I left the skin on! Oh no!)

1 6oz can tomato paste
1 can beef broth
Italian seasoning
lots of minced garlic
olive oil (to saute onion first)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Freak out that you misplaced original recipe
2. Decide that four onions are too may and chop three. Use onion chopper and squirt onion juice in eye so that temporary blindness occurs.
3. Saute onions and squash in olive oil. Add garlic.

4. Dump eggplant in, followed by a can of broth. Realize there is not enough liquid, so continue to fill pot up with water.

5. Add tomato paste and stir.
6. Add seasoning.
7. Taste soup and decide it is too bland. Dump in a mountain of cayenne pepper.
8. Let it simmer for awhile.
9. Add lots of Parmesan cheese to soup when served.

Notes:

As you can see my soup and Maggie's are nothing alike. You could vegan/ vegetarianize these by replacing the beef broth with veggie broth.

Crock Pot Concoction # 1 or Super Easy, Nothing Fancy HAPPY NEW YEAR Winter Crock Pot Recipe # 1

2008-01-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

In an effort to stop spending so much money in 2008, I am going Crock Pot crazy for the winter...I often read Crock Pot cookbooks and use their recipes but I wanted to try an "off the cuff" version of my own.

Last night, I made an amazing, comforting-on-a-cold-day, SUPER EASY Crock Pot concoction! I thought it would turn out to be more of a "hearty soup" or "stew" but it came out more like a pasta dish with a nice sauce in the end...so outcomes may vary.

Ingredients:

*vegetables -- carrots; tomatoes; broccoli; onions; dulse*..whatever else you want to throw in would probably work out great too!..the vegetables were frozen and pre-cut..making this recipe even easier

*chicken broth (I used organic but use whatever you prefer)

*chicken patties cut into small bits

*crock pot seasoning for beef or chicken..bought at local supermarket....or you could throw in a bunch of your own spices that you have handy with some flour....but for SUPER EASY just buy the crock pot spice packet..and the spice packet will give this recipe a better consistency

*bowtie pasta (or whatever shaped pasta that you have on hand that would be suitable for a pasta dish with sauce..not spaghetti though)

*add all ingredients to the crock pot!

cook for 4 hours on high..add bowtie pasta 30 mins before your 4 hours are up....I added them the last 45 mins and they were overdone...but again check on them after 30 mins.

Eat over more pasta or rice or solo! Could also be an appetizer. I also added some salt and pepper to the mix however the dulse offers a lot of natural salt flavor.

Serve with salad and a nice loaf of fresh bread and olive oil!

Warning: try dulse* before you use it..it's definately an aquired taste and not for everyone...after visiting a friend in Canada who LOVES it --I snacked on it for the rest of the winter and still like it when I want something healthy but salty!

For more dulse info visit:

http://www.grandmanannb.com/dulse.htm

http://www.healthrecipes.com/health_dulse.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmaria_palmata

Will post picture soon!

HAPPY COOKING!