Sunday, December 30, 2012

Cookies

White Chip Orange Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 cup butter softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 to 3 t. grated orange peel
1 t. orange extract
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 pkg. dark chocolate melting chips

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy.  Beat in egg and orange extract and orange peel. Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in morsels.  Drop dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.  Bake in preheated 350 oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.  Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to racks to cool completely. When cool melt dark chocolate chips and drizzle on top.

This one's for you Suzy

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

Had this at mom's and it was pretty good...

4 c shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1 can Italian tomato sauce
1 medium green pepper, chopped

Place zucchini in a strainer; sprinkle with salt.  Let stand for 10 minutes; squeeze out moisture.
Combine zucchini with eggs, Parmesan, mozzarella, and cheddar cheeses.  Press into greased 9X13 inch baking dish.
Bake uncovered at 400 for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.  Add tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture.
Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; add green pepper.  Bake 20 minutes or longer, until heated through.

Monday, June 11, 2012

raw donut holes

Here's one of my new favorite snacks. I got the recipe from Raw Recipe a Day on Facebook.
Totally healthy and SO delicious!
Since we don't eat walnuts at our house, I just throw in some almonds. I'm sure any nut would work.
I also substitute the agave with pure maple syrup because that's what I like, and have on hand.
Also, I like these cold, I don't warm them up at all.

Just click on the picture to enlarge recipe.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Baked Chicken Taquitos


Made These Tonight and they were yummy!

Makes 12 taquitos
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup salsa (green or red)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 12 (6 inch) flour tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray
Directions
Preheat your oven to 425?F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat matte or foil lightly coated with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the tortillas.)
Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).
Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.
Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone, making sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt (don’t skip the salt!)
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

vegetable pan bagnat

http://www.recipe.com/vegetable-pan-bagnat/
Here's yet another warm-weather recipe my entire family loved. It's adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine, but I switched out the mushrooms for turkey lunch meat, so it's not vegetarian. But it's still full of good veggies!

Pan bagnat is a sandwich found in the south of France. It's pressed with a weight and refrigerated to allow juices to "bathe the bread," which is the literal translation of the term.

Ingredients: (it looks like a long list, but it's not too hard to throw together.)
1 8-inch round loaf of crusty bread, preferably with rosemary. (mine was just whole wheat)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used an olive oil sprayer)
 1 large clove garlic
2 Tbs. low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 6-oz zucchini, ends trimmed
3 4-inch portobello mushroom caps, gills removed (or in my case, lunch meat, or mashed beans, or shredded smoked salmon)
1 8-oz pkg. tomato and basil hummus (any hummus would be fine. I could only find sun dried tomato hummus, so I used that and then sprinkled on a little dried basil.)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into sticks and then broiled w/ a little oil until edges brown.  (or a jar of roasted red bell peppers, drained)
1 packed cup baby arugula leaves (or spinach, or whatever)
1 large ripe tomato, thinly sliced
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:
Halve bread horizontally, using serrated knife. starting 1/2-inch from edges, remove about 1 inch soft bread from center of each half, making hallows for filling; lightly brush (or spray with manual sprayer) with oil. (The recipe says to rub with the garlic, but whatever. Who has time for that, when you'll be getting the garlic flavor in a minute, anyway...)

Squeeze garlic clove through press into bowl; add 2 Tbs. of oil, soy sauce and mustard, and whisk to blend. Pare zucchini lengthwise with vegetable peeler into paper-thin slices, omitting seedy center. (this is where you cut the mushrooms into thin slices also, if you're into those...), then add zucchini and mushrooms to dressing. Toss. Marinate 10 minutes.

To assemble sandwich, spread bread hollows (top and bottom) with hummus. Over bottom half of bread, layer zucchini slices (don't worry if it looks like soggy pasta here. It settles down in the fridge), peppers, mushrooms, arugula, and tomato slices. Grind on black pepper to taste, and replace bread top. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap; place on large plate and top with heavy pot lid (I just put a pan on top of it, since I didn't have a heavy lid). Refrigerate at least 4 hours (mine was only 3, and it still tasted great), or up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, unwrap and cut into 6 wedges (I cut mine into four, then cut one of those in half, because our youngest kids don't eat as much).

Friday, March 30, 2012

Tijuana Torta

This recipe is adapted from Eating Well magazine. You can see a picture of this sandwich, if you can't picture what a torta should look like. My family really likes this sandwich and actually asks for seconds and thirds.

1 15-oz. can black beans, or pinto beans, rinsed
4 tablespoons prepared sasla
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 ripe avocado, pitted
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 16- to 20- inch long baguette, preferably whole grain (I buy two whole wheat batons that are a little longer than a foot)
1 1/3 cups shredded cabbage

Mash beans, salsa, and cumin in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mash avocado, onion and lime juice. Cut baguette into 4 equal lengths (I cut mine into whatever size I think each family member will be able to eat). Split each piece horizontally, then pull out some of the bread from the center to hollow it out a little. Spread a layer of the beans on one side, and the avocado on the other, put a layer of cabbage on it, then close the sandwich and serve.

7-Layer Greek Dip

This recipe is adapted from Our Best Bites. It's one of my family's favorite hot-weather meals. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's really easy and pretty fast. Plus, it can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a while.

1 6-oz. container of Greek yogurt (I like Chobani's non fat)
1 tsp dill weed or Greek seasoning (go for a mix that just has herbs)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 c. hummus (I don't actually measure this, I just put in however much looks good)
1 c. diced cucumbers
1 c.  diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chopped (or sliced) Kalamata olives
1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley (I don't think I've ever added this, but whatever. add it if you love parsley)

combine yogurt, seasoning, garlic, and lemon juice, mix well. Spread in the bottom of a pie plate or a small, shallow baking dish. Then spread a layer of hummus. Create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, feta cheese, and parsley. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (althought we usually just eat it immediately and it's still great).

We like to eat it with torn flat bread, or even spread on top of a flat bread, like a pizza. But you can also eat it with pita chips, fresh veggies, or chips.





Friday, March 9, 2012

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I got this recipe off Allrecipes.com. They were really good! The boys loved them.


Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until
moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined
muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes or until a
toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire
racks.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Chinese Chicken Salad

3 pounds chicken thighs, skinned
Ground black pepper
1 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c hoisin sauce
3 TBS soy sauce
2 TBS grated ginger
2 tsp Asian chili sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 c rice vinegar
8 c shredded romaine lettuce
1 c shredded carrots
1/2 c cashews
2 TBS snipped cilantro

1. Sprinkle chicken with pepper. Place chicken, celery, onion, and garlic in a slow cooker. In a small bowl combine hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger, chili sauce, and sesame oil; pour over mixture in slow cooker. Stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5-6 hours or on high-heat setting for 2 1/2-3 hours.
3. Remove chicken from cooker, reserving 1/2 c of the cooking liquid. When chicken is cool enough to handle, use two forks to pull chicken apart into shreds.
4. For dressing, in a screw top jar combine the reserved 1/2 c cooking liquid and the rice vinegar. Cover and shake well to combine; set aside.
5. Arrange romaine, chicken, carrots, cashews, and cilantro onto dinner plates. Just before serving, shake dressing and drizzle over salad. Toss to coat.

Friday, January 6, 2012

White Sandwhich Bread

My friend Valerie gave me this recipe and seriously..... it is just as good as Grandma Sycamore's. We had it with grilled cheese sandwiches today... mmmm.... now if only I had some of that costco ham it would have been the most delicious sandwich ever. I baked mine for 20 minutes like she suggested... but my oven must not be as hot because it wasn't quite done on the inside. I would try 25 minutes the first time. Better a little over cooked than doughy!

Amy Stephens' Amish Bread
2 c. hot tap water
2/3 c. sugar (stir into the water until dissolved)
1 1/2 T yeast (stir into the water and sugar)
Let this mixture sit until bubbly (about 5 mins.)

1 1/2 t salt
1/4 c. oil (I use olive or vegetable, I haven't noticed a difference)
Put these two ingredients into your mixer (I use a Bosch) then add the bubbly yeast mixture.
Finally add:
6 c. flour (I think it helps to fluff the flour first, so it's light and not heavy)
Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Move the dough to a bowl (spray the bowl) and place in a warm spot (covered with a towel) for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough in half, and knead each half into a loaf. Place in loaf pan, cover and let raise in a warm spot for 45 minutes more.
Heat oven to 350, cook 2 loaves at 350 for about 20-25 minutes depending on how "crusty" you like your bread. I don't like it crusty, so I normally do like 20 mins. at the most. (Each oven varies though, of course.)
(I have 3 loaf pans, so I always make this recipe 1 1/2 times. It can be doubled, but that means 12 cups of flour and not many mixers can handle much more than that! My mixer handles 9 alright though.)


My mixer almost pooped out with the 6 cups..... it seriously smelled like it was going to start smoking. I don't have a bosch though. :)