Honey Oat Bread

In my daily eleven hour boredom until Molly gets home, I decided I wanted to try baking a new kind of bread.  I had to go with something that we had the ingredients for.  I knew we had honey and I knew we had oats.  After contemplating this information for hours, I had a brilliant idea:  HONEY OAT BREAD!!!  So, I set about on the internet; that wonderful invention of Henry van Statten or Al Gore, depending on whether you are a fan of Dr. Who or just plain gullible, respectively.  I found many recipes, but they all contained things that were just not in my lexicon:  like self-rising yeast.  I finally found a recipe on eatingwell.com.  As usual (well, if usual is, in fact, usual with this only being my second posting), the address for the original recipe is linked in the last statement.  Having now tried the bread, I find it to be a good recipe, and it was really simple to make. I mostly post recipes on here for my own convenience, as I hate to try to google it every time I want to make it.  However, I am going to break the recipe down a little more so it easier to follow.

Timing:

Preparation:  About 15 minutes

Cooking:      40-50 minutes (maybe a bit more or less depending on your oven.  I'm assuming yours is not 

                    schizophrenic like mine.)

Cooling:       About an hour is recommended.  (15 minutes in pan, then 45 minutes out of pan)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats for the mixture.
2. About 2-4 tablespoons of old-fashioned rolled oats for pan and topping.
3. 1 and 1/3 cups of whole-wheat flour.
4. 1 cup of all-purpose flour.  (I used the bleached variety.)
5. 2 and 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder.
6. 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda.
7. 1 and 1/4 teaspoons of salt
8. 1 cup of plain yogurt
9. 1 large egg
10. 1/4 cup of oil (either vegetable or canola oil is fine)
11. 1/4 cup of honey
12. 3/4 cups of milk

Directions:

1. Put a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sift the wheat flour and the all-purpose flour together into a large bowl.  I sifted two times.  This mixed the different flours together pretty well.  (Also, I read on the internet that sifting wheat flour more than once makes the final product less dense.  And we all know the internet knows everything.)
3. Add the baking soda, baking powder, and salt to the mixed flour.
4. Use a small to medium-sized rubber spatula to mix the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour together.  
5. Now, get out a medium-sized bowl.  ( I assume you already have the bowl out by this point, as most people would read through the recipe before attempting to make it.  Nevertheless, I added this step just in case the under-prepared, or maybe incredibly stoned tries using this recipe.)
6. In the medium-sized bowl, put the 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats.
7. Add the yogurt, egg, oil, and honey to the oats.  
8. Use a fork to stir/beat the oat/yogurt/egg/oil/honey mixture.
9. Now, add the milk to this mix, and stir a bit more with your fork.
10. Leave the two bowls alone for a minute and go to your loaf pan.  Use a cooking spray to grease the bottom and sides of the pan.  Take 1-2 tablespoons of the remaining oats, and sprinkle them on the bottom and sides of the pan.  You don't have to coat it all.  this is just to get some oats on the outside of the bread.
11. Go back to the bowls.
12. Pour half of the yogurt mixture from the medium bowl into the flour mixture in large bowl.
13. Use your spatula to mix this up a bit.
14. Pour the remaining yogurt mixture from the medium bowl into the flour mixture in the large bowl.
15. Use your spatula to mix this thoroughly.  Be careful not to over-mix, as this may toughen your bread.  The consistency will be more like a batter than a dough.  So, it will be looser than other breads.  Do not continue mixing thinking this will make it more dough-like.  (I don't know if most people would have this thought, but I did.  So, either "silly me" or "yay me for saving you from making a mistake")
16. Once you have finished mixing, pour the batter into the greased and oat-ed loaf pan.  
17. Even out the batter in the pan.  
18. Take the remaining 1-2 tablespoons of oats and sprinkle them over the batter.
19. Put the pan in the oven.  (If you've been following along, this pan will contain the batter you just spent all this time making.  If it doesn't, time to give up the baking (as in the process making food), or the BAKING (as in smoking the weed))
20. In 40 minutes, check your bread.  Do this by putting a toothpick or butter knife into the center.  If it comes out clean, it's done.  If not, put it in for 5 more minutes and repeat.
21. Once your knife comes out clean and you take the bread out of the oven, place the pan on a wire rack to cool, for 15 minutes.
22. After 15 minutes, take the bread out of the pan and continue to allow it to cool.  ( the bread, not the pan, though that will likely cool as well.)
23. Let the bread cool until it is just barely still warm.  This may take about 45 minutes.

And there you have it.  A good tasting and easy to make Honey Oat Bread.  I've taken the 3 steps from the original recipe and turned it into 23 steps.  Maybe that's excessive, but I like things spelled out for me when cooking.

--D. Mosier

Hummus!

I am in LOVE with chickpeas right now! Before December I had never had them in anything besides hummus.  But, then I tried some delicious Arabic food courtesy of my students and have been craving chickpeas ever since.  Tonight, I'm making a Chickpea and Lentil Stew, and will post the recipe a bit later, but last night I made hummus.  I have made hummus a few times before and each time it turns out a bit differently, but it is always good!  Below is a rough recipe for the garlic hummus I made last night.

1 15oz can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed well
1/4 cup tahini (I have found this in the peanut butter aisle and the organic food section)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 tsp to 1 Tbs. of garlic powder (depends on your taste...we LOVE garlic so ours has a bit more than 1 Tbs.)
About 1/4 c. water to thin, and not kill your blender (you can add more, of course, depending on what consistency you like...mine is about a peanut butter consistency)

I threw all of this in a small bowl and used my immersion blender, but you can also make it in a regular blender or in a food processor.  Eat with veggies or my favorite, Tomato Basil Wheat Thins.

For a fun twist (that my husband would not approve of) blend some roasted red peppers into the hummus...or artichoke hearts.

Garlic and Cheese Beer Bread

In an effort to help some young friends raise money for their school fundraiser, Molly and I (Molly's husband and writer of this post) purchased a beer bread mix.  When we got around to making it, we found it utterly delicious!  Continuing to purchase this mix would have proved to be an expensive habit, however.  As such, we decided to make our own.  Well, I decided to make our own.  And let me say, it was extremely easy to do.  If it's easy for me, anyone can make it!  This recipe was adapted a bit from one found on food.com (the original website is linked.  See, no plagiarism from the English MA!).  

Prep time:  5 mins
Bake time:  50 mins - 1 hour
Eat time:  Depends on your will power.

Ingredients:

1. 3 cups flour
2. 3 teaspoons of baking powder
3. 1 teaspoon of salt
4. 1/4 cup of sugar
5. 1 can of beer (12 oz.) (I find dark beer to be the best, as it adds more flavor)
6. 1/4 cup butter
7. 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (this is optional, and we usually use Mexican cheese)*
8. 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder (optional)*

                 *though these are optional, they will be included in the directions

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (that's Fahrenheit.  The rest of the world is Celsius, but we in the US like to be "unique.")
2. Sift the flour into a big bowl (yes, big bowl is a technical cooking term).
3. Add the baking powder, salt, sugar, and garlic powder to the flour.
4. Use a small to medium sized rubber spatula to mix the dry ingredients together.
5. Put the butter into the microwave to melt.  (I would put it in a plastic or glass container of some kind.  Otherwise you'll find yourself cleaning up a now useless mess.)  30 seconds should be sufficient.  (DO NOT mix the butter into the dough!)  
6. Once the dry ingredients are mixed, pour in the entire can of beer.  (When I say pour it in, I mean into the bowl.  If you want to pour it into your mouth, you'll need a second beer.)
7. Mix the ingredients in the bowl until all the liquid has been absorbed and there is no dry powder left.  Remember to scrape the excess off the side and back into the mix.
8. Mix the cheese into the dough.  Not all of it will mix in.  In fact, most of it will sit on top and help to form the crust.
9. Grease a loaf pan.
10. Pour the dough into the loaf pan.
11. Even out the dough.
12. Pour the melted butter over the top of the dough.
13. Put in oven to bake.  Depending on the oven, it will take between 50mins-1 hour.  
14. When finished, take it out of the oven, take it out of the loaf pan, and let cool for 15 mins.
15. Enjoy!!!  (Could have left this one out, but 15 seemed like a nice round number.)

When you take it out, the crust will be fairly hard.  Don't worry, you didn't over-bake it (well, maybe you did.  If it's all black, then you should probably have your oven checked out.)  The inside will still be soft and oh so delicious.

-Posted by D. Mosier  

Chocolate Cake with Buttercream (like you've never eaten before!)

I love to experiment with cooking and baking, which I'm sure is quite clear from this blog.  However, last week I had a failed experiment in adapting my go to cake recipe into a strawberry cake.  I had made the cupcakes and then I made a strawberry buttercream to go on top.  The cupcakes turned out not so great and the frosting was ok.  As not to waste the frosting, I decided to make some chocolate cupcakes.  The last time I made chocolate cake from scratch, it was dry and not so tasty.  By chance, I chose a recipe that called for boiling water at the end, which I thought, "hey, if it does not turn out well, then you find something later that does."  Well, this chocolate cake recipe (with my adaptations-half brown and half white sugar and sour cream instead of oil) turned out to be delicious! My husband, a cake hater (I'm working on that), loved this cake.  It is a bit more dense than I had thought, but its down right delicious.

So, last night the husband said, "can you make more of those cupcakes?" Not in the mood, I said I'd make a 9x13.  Also noticing that we had no frosting he requested more.  However, I did not have enough confectioners sugar to make enough buttercream to frost a 9x13 cake.  Then I remembered I had found a recipe on Pinterest for a buttercream that uses white sugar and flour.  That's right, flour.  Always a skeptic, I thought again, if it does not turn out then I know for next time.  I was wrong.  This is literally the best buttercream I have made.  It's light, fluffy and delicious.  Now that I've got you craving chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream, here are the recipes!

Chocolate Cake

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream 

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour pans, or use cupcake liners. (I use a bit of butter or skip this step all together)

2. In a large bowl, stir together sugars, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add eggs, milk, sour cream and vanilla.  Mix for 2 minutes on medium speed.  Stir in boiling water last.  The batter will be very thin, but do not worry, it is supposed to be.  Pour into pans or cupcake liners.

3. Bake for 30-35 minutes for 8" rounds, about 35-40 for a 9x13 and 15-18 for cupcakes. (This was for my oven, which is not very good at retaining heat and is often much too warm so adjust to your oven)

Buttercream

5 Tbsp. flour

1 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar (not confectioners!)

1. In a small saucepan whisk flour into milk, stirring constantly, until it thickens.  It needs to be thicker than brownie mix, mine had a nice gruel like consistency, but that's ok!  Remove from heat and let cool completely.  I put mine in the fridge until I was ready for it.

2. Once cool, stir in vanilla.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar.  This took about 5 minutes on medium speed because you want all the little granules of sugar to be gone (don't worry if a few are left because they'll disappear in the next step).

4. Add the flour, milk and vanilla mixture.  Beat together until it looks like whipped cream.  It took me about 5 minutes on medium high to get there.

5. Frost your cooled cake and ENJOY!

P.S. Sorry I do not have pictures for this one! How boring is taking a picture of a 9x13 cake still in its pan :/

Curried Chicken and Lentil Chili (Vegetarian/Vegan Modifications too!)

What do I do with all of these ingredients?

 Ingredients

1 lb. ground chicken

1 lb. lentils, rinsed (I used brown lentils)

64 oz. chicken broth (you can use stock)

1 15oz. can diced tomatoes

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 Tbsp. curry powder (depending on your taste)

2 tsp. cumin

1 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. ground ginger

1 t. garam masala (optional, if you have on hand)

2 t. chili powder

Directions

Brown chicken (I usually throw in some salt and pepper) in a Dutch oven and drain excess grease.  Return chicken to the pot and add all of the other ingredients.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook 25-30 minutes until lentils are tender.

Vegetarian/Vegan Modifications

Finished product! 

Omit chicken and substitute vegetable broth/stock for the chicken.  Add all of the ingredients to a Dutch oven.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook 25-30 minutes until lentils are tender.  You could add some more vegetables such as, peas.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (12-ounce package) semisweet chocolate chips

Place an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Put the butter, peanut butter and the sugars in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer or a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again. Add the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and beat on low speed until well blended. Add the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly.

Using a teaspoon as a guide, scoop a portion of the dough and, with your hands, roll each portion into a ball. Place the balls on each cookie sheet, about 16 on a sheet. Flatten the balls with the heel of your hand or the tines of a fork so that they spread to about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake each batch, one cookie sheet at a time, for about 10 minutes. The cookies will be firm to the touch and just beginning to brown.

Remove from the oven and cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes. Then transfer them with a spatula to a cooling rack. Let the cookie sheet cool for 1 or 2 minutes more before reusing so the dough doesn't melt. Store in an airtight container.

Homemade Pizza

This past weekend my sister, cousin and I went to the Wisconsin Dells for a girl's getaway.  We found a really good deal on Living Social for a resort (one bedroom, with Jacuzzi, full kitchen...nice location!), four lift tickets to Cascade Mountain and four indoor waterpark tickets to Mt. Olympus.  Needless to say, we had a blast!  We decided in order to keep the trip cost effective that we would cook most of our meals.  I had made homemade pizza dough a few weeks ago and froze some.  I ended up bringing it along and my cousin brought the toppings. What resulted was some very delicious pizza.

Whole Wheat Crust

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon white sugar
  1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  1 tablespoon olive oil
  1 teaspoon salt
  2 cups whole wheat flour
  1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  
  
  Directions
  In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
  
  
  Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  
  
  When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
  
  
  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
  
  
  Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate and Vanilla Swirl Cream Cheese Frosting

Another pin I've added also comes from Your Cup of Cake, but again, I have slightly adapted the recipe.  I must say, these cupcakes are the moistest, most delicious cupcakes I've ever made.  I will be following this simple box mix preparation in the future!

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Vanilla Cake:

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

¾ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Vanilla Cake Mix (not white cake mix)

Cookie Dough Filling:

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 ¼ cup flour

7 oz sweetened condensed milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Buttercream:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

½ cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

½ cup unsweetened cocoa

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line pans with 20-22 cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, gently combine eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix in sour cream.  Add cake mix and mix until smooth.

     

      Fill cupcake liners ¾ full and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

      Filling: Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy and smooth.  Add flour and let mix.  Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.  Stir in Chocolate chips.  Place in a small Tupperware and let refrigerate until ready to use. 

Cookie Dough filled cupcakes

     When cupcakes are out of the oven, cut a cone shaped piece from the top of each cake. 

      Remove the filling from the refrigerator and stuff about 1 ½ -2 teaspoons of filling into each hollow cupcake. 

      Buttercream: Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy.  Add vanilla and powdered sugar.  Adjust the consistency using milk if it is too thick.  Remove half of the buttercream from the bowl (this will be the vanilla).  Add cocoa to the remaining half and beat well. 

      Fill your piping bag by filling one side with vanilla and one side with chocolate.  It is a little tricky, but it can be done! Pipe over cookie dough hole and top with mini chocolate chips or chocolate chip cookies (I left mine plain, because the frosting was so beautiful!) 

Cupcakes are frosted!

Cross section!

Nutella Cupcakes with Nutella Buttercream

I've become a Pinterest addict over the past couple of weeks and I keep pinning recipes that I hope to make at some point.  Yesterday, I made two such recipes and I have to say, they turned out pretty well.  This first post is for Nutella cupcakes with a Nutella buttercream.  I adapted the recipe from Your Cup of Cake.

Nutella Cupcakes

Yield: 18-24 cupcakes

Nutella Cakes:

2/3 cup butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ cup sour cream

½ cup Nutella

Nutella Buttercream:

¾ cup Nutella

¼ cup butter, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoons whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners. (I got 18 cupcakes from this recipe, but I am sure you can get 24)


Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  On slow, add eggs one at a time.  Waiting until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Add vanilla.

Nutella & Cookie Dough Cupcakes

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder.


Add ½ of the flour mixture, then add sour cream, then the rest of the flour.  Again, waiting for the flour or sour cream to fully mix in before adding the next.  Finally, add ½ cup of Nutella and gently incorporate. (You kind of want a swirl effect going on)


Fill cupcake liners ¾ full  and bake for 22-25 minutes, or until an inserted knife comes out clean.


Nutella Buttercream: beat Nutella and butter.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and whipping cream.  Adjust as needed using more powdered to thicken, or more whipping cream to loosen.  (Also, if the batter is too light in color, you can always add some unsweetened cocoa.)  Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and you can use chopped hazelnuts roasted in the oven to top, but I just left them plain on top.

Black Bean Tortilla Soup

Ingredients
1 cup diced roasted red peppers (I had jarred ones, but you could make your own)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 whole white onion, chopped
1 whole Garlic clove, minced
2 cans black beans
32 oz. vegetable stock
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (I did not have fresh so I used dried)
2 tsp cumin

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic, and sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent.Add the beans and stock, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cilantro, cumin and red peppers. Simmer 5 more minutes.

We served ours with sour cream, sharp cheddar cheese and tortilla chips. Skip those and you've got a tasty vegan meal!

Canastas de Navidad/Sausage Dip

Every Holiday season I cater a party for my dad's office, but this year I will be on my honeymoon so that will not happen.  However, we went to a part last night and I made my "famous" Canastas de Navidad (Christmas Baskets) and Dustin and I ate the leftovers as a dip for lunch today.

Canastas de Navidad

Yield: about 90 phyllo cups or 45 cups + 3 cups of dip or 6 cups of dip

1 pound bulk sausage

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 medium sweet red pepper, diced

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained

1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped ripe olives, drained

1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix (follow directions on package)

Phyllo cups

In a skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Add cheeses, peppers, chilies, olives and dressing mix; mix well. Set aside. Fill each phyllo cup with about 2 tablespoons of the sausage mixture. Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm.

If you have leftovers, spread in a pan or an ovenproof bowl and bake at 350°F for 25 minutes. This makes a delicious dip with tortilla chips.

Egg Nog Cupcakes

Here is the recipe I used for egg nog cupcakes...I substituted the rum with brandy and did not add it to the frosting because I brought them to a party where children were present.  If you would like to see the link for the recipe, it can be found here.

Yield: about 18-20 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

¼ cup dark rum or bourbon (optional)

1 cup eggnog

¼ cup vegetable or canola oil

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

For the frosting:

20 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2½ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

2½ tbsp. eggnog

1 tbsp. dark rum (0ptional)

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg; whisk to combine.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar, and sugar.  Beat on medium-low speed until well blended.  Add in the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until incorporated.  

Divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners, filling the cups 2/3 full.  Bake 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth, 20-30 seconds.  Add in the powdered sugar, salt and nutmeg, and mix on medium-high speed until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add in the eggnog and  whip on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 4 minutes.  With the mixer on medium-low speed, blend in the rum.  

2010 Holiday Party

Every year since my family has moved to the Janesville, WI area, I have been asked to "cater" for my dad's holiday party.  I have been meaning to post recipes and pictures of this for about a month now and I am finally catching up!  Below you will find the food, with pictures that I made for the 2010 Holiday Party.

Canastas de Navidad

Canastas de Navidad...after the party

1 pound bulk sausage

1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 medium sweet red pepper, diced

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained

1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped ripe olives, drained

1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix (follow directions on package)

Phyllo cups

In a skillet, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain. Add cheeses, peppers, chilies, olives and dressing mix; mix well. Set aside. Fill each phyllo cup with about 2 tablespoons of the sausage mixture. Bake at 350°F for 5 minutes or until heated through. Serve warm.

Spanakopita-make ahead and freeze!

Spanakopita

3 T good olive oil
½ cup chopped yellow onions
1 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cups small-diced feta cheese (8 oz.)
Phyllo cups

Heat olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, gently squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large bowl. When the onions are done, add them to the spinach. Mix in Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Fill phyllo cups and bake for 5-7 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp.   Serve warm.

Before sauce and baking

After baking, ready to eat!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 cups ketchup

1 pound bacon

2 (8 ounce) cans water chestnuts

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup. Cut bacon in half. Wrap one slice of bacon around each chestnut. Secure the bacon with a toothpick.  Arrange the water chestnut wraps in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Bake the water chestnut wraps for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from water chestnut wraps from the oven and drain some of the grease out of the pan. Pour the sauce over the wraps. Bake for 30 to 35 more minutes.

Asparagus Rollups

2 sheets puff pastry such as Pepperidge Farm, defrosted

1 5.2-ounce block herbed soft cheese, such as Boursin or Garlic Herb Laughing Cow

20 spears asparagus, woody ends trimmed

These go quickly!

Preheat oven to 400ºF (according to package directions).  Unroll the two sheets of pastry out onto counter and spread the soft cheese over each. Cut each sheet into 10 strips. Starting on the diagonal, roll up each of the asparagus spears with a strip of dough in a spiral shape. Make sure to leave a little of the tip and the end of the asparagus sticking out on each end. Transfer pastry-wrapped spears to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown and puffed, 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Sinfully Stuffed Potato Skins

20 small new potatoes

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 c. shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 c. sour cream

1 ½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

Paprika, for garnish

Bite sized twiced baked potatoes!

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Pierce the potatoes with a fork, arrange on a baking sheet in a single layer and brush with the olive oil. Roast, uncovered, until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Halve the potatoes; using a melon baller or a teaspoon, scoop out most of the flesh into a bowl. Return the potato skins to the baking sheet. Coarsely mash the potato flesh in the bowl and stir in the cheese, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper. Sprinkle the insides of the skins with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; stuff each with the potato-cheese mixture and sprinkle paprika on top. Bake the stuffed potato skins until golden-brown on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Dinner: Re-purposed

Last night I had turkey tacos and black beans for dinner.  I had quite a bit left over as I was not  feeling very well.  So, this morning, trying to be better about using leftovers, I made omelets with the taco meat and cheese and made a hash with the black beans and some frozen organic French fries (as I did not have hash browns).  Below is a very rough recipe...or rather, suggestion:

Omelet
2 or 3 large eggs
Salt, pepper & garlic powder (to taste)
1/2 T. butter
1/4 c. taco meat
Cheese

Preheat small skillet, on medium to medium high, with butter.  Whisk together eggs and salt, pepper and garlic powder until the yolks and whites are incorporated. Pour eggs in the pan, with a spatula move the cooked portions toward the middle until you have a cooked egg patty.  Flip the eggs and cook on the other side.  Put taco meat and cheese on one side of the omelet, fold the other side over and let sit for 30 seconds or so, to melt cheese.

Black Bean Hash
Preheat large skillet with a tablespoon of butter.  Take two handfuls of frozen French fries (or hash browns) and place in skillet, once they thaw a bit cut them into small pieces using a spatula.  Once browned (about 5 minutes or so) add in black beans.  I also added a bit of garlic and black pepper, again, to taste.  Serve with a sprinkle of cheese, salsa and sour cream.

Mini-Update

It has been a month since I posted last, but I promise, I have recipes to post...it's just been a busy time of year for me, but I'll be back soon...with a lot of fun things!

The Final Thanksgiving Post...

My amazing Thanksgiving meal...created by my mother (I helped quite a bit, but she's a real superstar!)

Turkey stock for soup...my mom usually makes a very tasty Turkey and Wild Rice soup

Ready for roasting.

The table is almost ready...

Turkey!

Make ahead mashed potatoes (see Thanksgiving #1 for recipe)

Thanksgiving #3

On Thanksgiving this year, I decided to make quiche for the morning.  I have been experimenting with quiches of late, but these particular quiches turned out better than planned.  Here is my recipe, it is a rough estimate as it really does change each time I make one.

Quiche

18 eggs well beaten

½ lb. bacon, cooked

1 lb. turkey sausage, browned

1 onion, finely chopped (or grated)

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 2 deep dish pie crusts

 Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix eggs, onion, cheese and salt a pepper in a large bowl.  Line the pie crusts with the bacon or sausage (this recipe makes two different quiches).  Pour egg mixture into crusts.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until browned on top or a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

I also usually add some garlic powder and other spices depending on my mood.  I love garlic so I usually make a point of adding the garlic powder :) 

Thanksgiving #2

My all time favorite thing about Thanksgiving is my grandmother's pumpkin pie.  This is no ordinary pumpkin pie.  My grandmother uses a secret ingredient in her pies, but I am going to share the recipe with you here.  An easy to make pie, but incredibly delicious.  One thing to note, is that my grandmother and my mother do not make their own pie crust, if you do this pie works just the same.

Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie

1 lg. can of Libby’s pumpkin

1 ½ c. brown sugar

4 eggs, well beaten

3 T melted butter

2 T molasses

1 T pumpkin pie spice

1 ¼ t. salt

2-12oz. cans evaporated milk

2 deep dish pie crusts

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine pumpkin and sugar.  Add, in order, the remaining ingredients, mixing well between each addition. Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350°F for 40-50 minutes, or until set.  Makes 2 pies.

And what pie is complete without whipped cream? Here is a very simple recipe for a delicious homemade whipped cream topping to the perfect pumpkin pie.

Whipped Cream

1 pt. heavy whipping cream

1 T white sugar

1 ½ t. vanilla

Add all ingredients to a chilled bowl whip, with mixer, until combined and the consistency is that of whipped cream.