Saturday, October 24, 2009

Greek/Mexican Fusion?



Last night we went to my parent's house for dinner and my sweet mom made a delicious Greek casserole with chicken, potatoes, feta and tomatoes in it. We brought some leftovers home and so tonight I made some sort of Greek tortilla situation that was quite scrumptious. Having run out of pita I used a flour tortilla instead.
Place tortilla on cast iron skillet, put Greek casserole on top of tortilla until heated through. Top with Greek yogurt and green onions.

How I Roast Squash







Place 2 Tbsp of butter on a roasting pan on opposite sides. Put 1 Tbsp of brown sugar, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a little bit of salt and pepper on top of the butter. Cut the squash in half, remove seeds and place upside down on top of the butter, with the hollow part of the squash right over the butter and sugar. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Flip squash over, sprinkle with a small amount of brown sugar, cinnamon and salt and broil for 3-5 minutes.
That picture doesn't look very appetizing, but it tasted great.

Fall Salad






2 cups Arugula
2 cups Spring Mix
1 Golden Delicious apple
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup turkey bacon, well cooked

Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
A squeeze of honey
A sprinkle of Italian seasoning
A dash of Parmesan cheese

Sometimes a salad is all you want for dinner. But we also had Red Oval beer from Trader Joe's, $2.99 for a 6 pack. Considering the price it was actually pretty good.

Punkin Scones!








In a medium sized bowl, combine:

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Using your hands or a food processor cut 6 Tbsp very cold butter (cut into 1/4" cubes) into the dry ingredients until mixture resembles tiny course crumbs

In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, thouroughly whisk together:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
5 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp raw sugar
3 Tbsp half and half
1 egg

Fold liquid mixture into dry ingredients until well incorporated, being careful not to over-mix or the scones will become tough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat into a large round about 1/2" tall. Cut into 6 triangles and place on baking stone. Bake in 415 degree oven for 13-15 minutes.

While scones are baking, make the glaze.

Whisk together:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp whole milk
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Pour over scones while they are still warm (but not hot).

These are so so good.
I slightly modified my recipe from this recipe.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Veggie Soup



Sometimes I like to go through the pantry and fridge and throw a bunch of stuff together in a pot and see what kind of soup it creates! This was something akin to minestrone, but it was more of a hearty vegetable soup.

4 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
1 cup water
1 celery stalk, halved, quartered and diced
1 carrot, halved, quartered and diced
Small handful of green beans, cut into 1" pieces
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/3 cup bulgar wheat
1 sprinkle of pepper
2 sprinkles of salt
Finely minced fresh basil
Finely minced lemon thyme
Dash of garlic powder
Dash of onion powder

Put all ingredients in a large stock pot and simmer for at least 45 minutes, preferably 1-2 hours.

I also made egg salad sandwiches because we have an overabundance of eggs right now, but it was nothing crazy...and I ruined the picture that I took of it.
It was just:
5 hardboiled eggs
1/2 celery stalk, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil mayo
1 tsp mustard
s&p

The End!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Sandwiches for Breakfast


2 Ciabattinis lightly toasted
2 eggs, cooked medium well
1 piece of cheese, cut in half and placed on each egg (after you flip the egg, of course)
Tomato slices
Avocado slices
Olive oil mayo
French's mustard

Assemble all ingredients on the bread and eat it up.

BLTAC






Last night my husband and I bought tickets for the 7:30 showing of Where the Wild Things Are (which I really enjoyed and he didn't like), but we didn't get home from work until after 6pm...our tummies were hungry but we didn't have much time so I threw together a BaconLettuceTomatoAvacadoCheese sandwich and some quick tomato soup on the side.

Cooked 4 pieces of turkey bacon on a skillet

Cut up tomato into thick slices

Cut up avacado into thick slices

Spinach leaves for the "L"

I had 2 Ciabiatinni's (cut in half with a piece of Muenster on one side of each) heating in a 350 degree oven while I made everything else.

Take bread out of oven and slather with Olive oil mayo, a dash of S&P and assemble: first bacon, then avacado, then tomato, then spinach.

1 can of tomato soup, added the same amount of chicken broth (instead of water) and a dash of 1/2 and 1/2. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of pepper.

Stir Fry



In a medium size sauce pan heat:

3 cups water
1 1/2 cups brown rice
dash of salt
dash of olive oil

Heat and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes or until tender and all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile:

1 lb chuck steak, cut into thin strips and lightly season with s&p
2 bell peppers, julienned1 medium yellow onion, julienned
2 carrots, julienned

Heat wok or skillet over medium high heat and pour 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Once the oil is hot, toss in the veggies and sautee for 8-10 minutes. Add steak to the skillet and cook until strips are no longer pink. Pour this sauce over the top:

1/4 tsp chinese 5 spice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1-2 tsp brown sugar
dash of s&p
dash of red pepper flakes

And cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Serve with sesame seeds on top of the stir fry.

* this is actually a picture of the leftovers that my husband was eating for lunch the next day...it looked more appetizing the night we made it.

Butternut Soup












With the first hint of fall in the air, I felt the need to make a truly Autumnal feast a few nights ago. We had a couple of butternut squash laying around so obviously I decided to make Butternut squash soup! Who better than Micheal Chiarello to lead me in the right direction? I modified his recipe because it was way more complicated than it needed to be...unless you have 4 hours to devote to making a soup you may want to follow my version instead, but the original is here.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and seed 2 medium sized butternut squash. Roughly chop them into 1" pieces (they will eventually be blended so appearence doesn't matter.) Place them on a rimmed baking sheet and set to the side while you prepare the glaze:

In a medium sized sauce pan, melt 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter (you can also use olive oil) on medium heat. Once the butter is completely melted add in:

2 Tbsp finely chopped sage leaves
2 Tbsp raw sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Simmer for 1-2 minutes and then pour over squash mixing until all the squash bits are thoroughly coated. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour, tossing once or twice.

In the meantime dice:

1 small yellow onion
2 stalks celery (I didn't use celery, but you should)
1 small carrot

In a large stock pot on medium heat, pour 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the diced vegetables and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Allow to sautee for 8-10 minutes, stirring often to as not to burn anything. Season with S&P and slowly pour 4 cups chicken stock (can also use veggie stock). Put a lid on the top and turn heat to low until ready to incorporate the squash.

Once the squash is done roasting, puree in small batches in a food processor or blender and add to the soup base. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes and then puree the soup in a blender and pour back into stock pot. If you like you can add 1/2 cup half and half ( I did and it was awesome). Serve with sour cream.

I also made a salad with crumbled cheese, dried cherries and toasted walnuts with a balsamic viniagarette and a multigrain baguette on the side. It was the perfect fall meal.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Enchiladas!

It's been about 5 or 6 years since I've made enchiladas, but last night I was really craving some, so I took the plunge unsure of whether or not I was doing it correctly. They turned out to be pretty fantastic, in a really bad for you Mexican food sort of way.

Here you go:

1 lb chicken tenderloins, seasoned with s,p, chili powder and tapatio sauce, cooked and shredded

1 10 oz can red enchilada sauce

1 bag shredded Mexican cheese

1/4 cup Queso Fresco (Mexican crumbling cheese)

1/2 cup lowfat sour cream

1/2 cup salsa

8-10 fajita size flour tortillas


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour enough enchilada sauce in the bottom of your casserole dish to thinly coat it. Put the rest to the side for later.

Assemble enchiladas by placing the tortillas in 2 rows. First put a schmear of sour cream down the middle of each tortilla, then chicken, then a dab of salsa and a sprinkle of mexican cheese and a dash of Tapatio sauce. Roll up tightly and place seam side down in the casserole dish. Once they are all in the dish, pour the remaining sauce over the top, coating evenly. Sprinkle with a generous amount of the cheese and all of the queso Fresco. Cover with tin foil and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook for another 5-8 minutes. Remove and allow it to rest for 5 minutes. And they're done! We also had quacamole, chips and refried beans to accompany. Sadly, there are no photographs because I forgot to take pictures before they were all eaten up :( next time.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

So Down Home




I'm not exactly what you would call a "beans and rice" kind of girl, but this CSA has taught me to stretch my normal food boundaries. It always ends up being a good idea.

Here's what I did a few nights ago:

With burner on medium high, place a large stock pot on the range

throw in 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp olive oil. once heated, add:
1/2 diced yellow onion
3 'soup bones' (beef bones with some meat still on them)

Sweat the onions and add a sprinkle of salt and pepper
Brown all sides of the beef.
Add 2 cups of water and heat until boiling.
To the boiling water, add:

1 1/2 lbs purple hull peas, shucked and rinsed well
3 more cups water
2 tsp fresh or dried flat leaf parsley

Heat to boiling again and turn heat to low, place lid on top of pot and simmer for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.

When the beans are about 30 minutes away from being done, begin to cook the rice and corn bread. I used Basmati cause it's all we had, though next time I would use a shorter grain. I used a Jiffy cornbread recipe cause it's my favorite. I also sauteed some green bell peppers in olive oil, but they ended up tasting grilled and it was weird. Sometimes cooking fails, and that's ok. The beans were super awesome though! And it ended up tasting just like a meal I would make if my husband was a cowboy and I was a downhome country wife. Giddyup!