Clever Recipe

Earlier this week I came across a really cute recipe. I've never been a huge meatloaf person but I couldn't resist trying this recipe. It may have transformed me more into a meatloaf person. They're called Diner Meat Loaf Muffins. They are easy to serve and Sydney LOVED them. She had them for lunch for like the next 2 days in a row. Brandon and I both thought they were delicious and I could see me making this as a quick and easy weekday recipe for years to come (it's a great way to sneak in some veggies into dinner too)! Just last night I made an interesting side dish. It's called Turnip-Parsnip Gratin. I love gratins and I've never had turnips or parsnips so I figured it'd be worth a try. Sydney and Brandon both loved it. I wasn't a huge fan. But it wasn't because I made the recipe wrong or anything, it's just that I learned here that I don't really like turnips or parsnips. Just not a huge fan of the taste. Parsnips are kind of like carrots but sweeter. I can't really explain turnips. Anyway, this recipe--for me, not so much so I'm not going to bother writing it down (it's a Cooking Light recipe if you want to try it for yourself). Oh yes, and I learned AFTER I'd thinly sliced and cooked the parsnips that parsnips are actually covered in a layer of waxy stuff to help preserve them and you're not supposed to eat the skins because it's bad for you and can cause diarrhea. Let's just say it took me quite a while to de-skin a whole bunch of sliced parsnips. I guess that's how you learn, right? But as I'm probably not going to be using parsnips again, it isn't that relevant to my future. Haha, oh well!

Diner Meat Loaf Muffins


Ingredients:

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, extra lean (raw)
1 cup finely crushed fat-free saltine crackers (about 20)
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried oregano, and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Cool.
Combine onion mixture, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.
Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Top each with 2 teaspoons ketchup. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

My variations:

I used ground turkey instead of beef and instead of crushed saltine crackers I used some leftover corn stuffing mix I had in the cupboard. They turned out awesome.

I've been a busy cook

This last week has kept me busy cooking, that's for sure. I tried a ton of new recipes and all of them were amazing. I was asked to make a treat for one of Brandon's classes (it was their last day of class and the day everyone was presenting their term projects). I made two different kinds of cookies: Mexican Chocolate Cookies and Spicy Oatmeal Crisps. The Mexican cookies were amazing. They had a little cayenne pepper in them which I think is fun and it adds a nice little spice kick. Sydney helped me make them and did a very good job. It was so cute to have her get so excited to help! The oatmeal cookies had ground black pepper in them which seems weird but worked really well with the other spices in the cookies. They were both great and Brandon said his class had no leftovers! One of our weeknight meals was Sweet Potato Chicken Curry which was amazing. Sydney loved it. Another weeknight meal recipe I tried was called Penne with Sausage, Garlic, and Broccoli Rabe. I'd heard of broccoli rabe but had never had it. I decided to give it a try. I knew it's supposed to be a little bitter, which made me nervous because of my recent experience with Brussels Sprouts (eww!). But, I did it and I'm glad I did. The dish was really good and the broccoli rabe was inexpensive and very good. It had the perfect amount of bitterness, making it pleasantly savory. Yummy. As far as treats go, I made some Chocolate Babka bread for breakfast yesterday. I have to admit the process was quite time consuming and a little tedious, but totally worth it. That bread was so warm and gooey I could hardly stand it. Such a comfort food! Now I do have to say that the streusel for the top of the bread was supposed to be crumbly and mine was definitely more dough-like (I followed the recipe I swear!). So instead of "sprinkling" on the topping, I more like spread/dropped it on. It looked like my bread had been stricken with knarly growths or something but it still tasted good which is the most important part! Making this bread has also shown me how those bakeries make swirl patterns in the inside of their breads (see the recipe below if you want to know). My last recipe of this week was gingerbread ice cream sandwiches. I'd never made gingerbread man cookies before and I wanted to try it, especially with Christmas coming up! The cookies turned out very good (though I'm sure my gingerbread men aren't shaped perfectly--let's just say some of them were born with some deformities and they're each morbidly obese). I had some leftover pumpkin pie ice cream in the freezer and found a gingerbread man ice cream sandwich recipe online and went with it. The recipe actually calls for vanilla ice cream infused with crystallized ginger, but all I had was pumpkin pie ice cream and HOLY COW it was so good. Like the best ice cream sandwich I've ever had. They will definitely become a holiday staple in my household from now on!

Mexican Chocolate Cookies


Ingredients:

5 ounces bittersweet (60 to 70 percent) chocolate, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 1/3 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of black pepper
Dash of ground red pepper
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place chocolate in a small glass bowl; microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through red pepper); stir with a whisk.
Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg; beat well. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; beat just until blended. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended. Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven. Cool on pans 2 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.

Spicy Oatmeal Cookies


Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (optional)
1 cup packed brown sugar
5 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup regular oats
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (flour through pepper) in a medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Stir in flour mixture and oats.
Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until crisp. Cool on pan 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. Remove cookies from pan; cool on wire racks.

Sweet Potato Chicken Curry


Ingredients:

2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
3/4 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add peas; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf.

Penne with Sausage, Garlic, and Broccoli Rabe


Ingredients:

1 pound broccoli rabe (rapini), trimmed
8 ounces penne (tube-shaped pasta)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces turkey Italian sausage
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Directions:

Cook broccoli rabe in boiling water 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into ice water; drain well. Coarsely chop. Return water to boil. Add pasta; cook according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broccoli rabe; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in pasta, reserved cooking liquid, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Babka Bread


Dough:
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
3/4 cup warm 1% low-fat milk (105° to 110°)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
7.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 2/3 cups), divided
5.85 ounces bread flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
5 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces and softened
Cooking spray

Filling:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Streusel:
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter, softened

Directions:

Dissolve 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and yeast in warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, vanilla extract, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and egg yolk. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour and bread flour to milk mixture; beat with dough hook attachment at medium speed until well blended (about 2 minutes). Add 5 tablespoons butter, beating until well blended. Scrape dough out onto a floured surface (dough will be very sticky). Knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes); add 1.5 ounces (about 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will be very soft).
Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let dough rest 5 minutes.
Line the bottom of a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan with parchment paper; coat sides of pan with cooking spray.
To prepare filling, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside.
Place dough on a generously floured surface; roll dough out into a 16-inch square. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges. Roll up dough tightly, jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam and ends to seal. Holding dough by ends, twist dough 4 times as if wringing out a towel. Fit dough into prepared pan. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare streusel, combine powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, and 1 tablespoon softened butter, stirring with a fork until mixture is crumbly; sprinkle streusel evenly over dough. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until loaf is browned on bottom and sounds hollow when tapped. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool bread completely on wire rack before slicing.

Gingerbead Ice-Cream Sandwiches


Cookies:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided

Filling:
1 quart vanilla low-fat ice cream, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:

To prepare cookies, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat at low speed until well blended. Divide dough in half; gently press each portion into a 4-inch circle on plastic wrap. Cover and chill 1 1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Unwrap each dough portion and place on 2 sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Cover each portion with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll, still covered, to a 1/4-inch thickness. Place dough in freezer 30 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed. Remove plastic wrap; cut dough with a 3-inch gingerbread man cookie cutter to form 12 cookies. Place cookies 1 inch apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle cookies evenly with 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar. Bake at 350° for 12 minutes or until set. Remove cookies from baking sheets; cool completely on wire racks. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar.
To prepare filling, combine ice cream and crystallized ginger, stirring well. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons ice cream on the flat side of each of 12 cookies; top with remaining cookies, flat sides down, pressing gently. Wrap each sandwich tightly in plastic wrap; freeze 4 hours or until firm.

Enjoy!

Mexican and Thanksgiving treats

Thanksgiving! Full of food and . . . cooking! I love it. But before I get to that, I made this easy weekend meal the other night that was really easy and super good. It's called Beef and Rice Casserole. I cooked it in my Dutch Oven, a pot that had given me a little trouble when I first started using it but I tried cooking with it again and this dish turned out fine in it. I thought this casserole was really flavorful and filling (you'll find the recipe and picture below). For Thanksgiving, we drove up to my uncle and aunt's house. It was really fun because I don't see that side of my family very often. My aunt is an authentic Italian so I don't even have to tell you the food she cooked was amazing. So, since she did the cooking this year, I figured I'd at least bring a couple treats with us to offer. I made Popcorn Brittle (which I thought sounded cool and is an interesting and lower fat spin-off of peanut brittle of coarse) and Chocolate-Drizzled Mandelbrot (basically a German version of Italian biscotti). They were both really good. The Popcorn Brittle tasted amazing, but since I didn't have a candy thermometer, I wasn't able to make sure the cooking temperatures were exact. So the result was a divine-tasting brittle that was not quite brittle enough and very hard to chew. But, people seemed to enjoy it regardless so that's good. The Mandelbrot was amazing. I've never made it before (I've actually never made brittle before either, so a lot of firsts!) so it was interesting to me that you have to cook the cookies like two or three times. It's worth it though. They have dried cherries in them which makes a perfect tart counterpart to the dark chocolate on top. Let's just say those didn't last long. I want to make them again sometime and serve them with some hot chocolate. Now THAT would be good!

Beef and Rice Casserole



Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef or ground pork
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 cup long grain rice
1 14 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, cut up
1/2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
1 4 ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons instant beef bouillon granules
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

In a large ovenproof skillet cook ground beef or pork, celery, and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat.
Stir in uncooked rice. Stir in 1 1/4 cups water, undrained tomatoes, olives, chili peppers, bouillon granules, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Remove from heat.
Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour or until rice is tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.

My variations:

I used ground turkey instead of ground beef or pork. I think each of these meats would taste great though. I also omitted the chili peppers--not a fan. Lastly, I did actually forget to sprinkle on the cheese at the end (I know, how could I forget the cheese??!!) so I'm sure it would have been even tastier if I'd remembered that!

Popcorn Brittle



Ingredients:

Cooking spray
5 1/2 cups popcorn, popped without salt of fat
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons light-colored corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with foil; coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
Place popcorn in a large Ziplock bag; seal. Crush popcorn using a meat mallet or rolling pin; set aside.
Combine sugar, syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook 1 minute or until sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.
Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 270 degrees (about 8 minutes). Stir in molasses and butter; cook until thermometer registers 290 degrees (about 5 minutes). Stir in baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir in popcorn into boiling syrup mixture. Working quickly, pour popcorn mixture onto prepared pan; spread to 1/4-inch thickness using a wooden spoon coated with cooking spray. Cool completely; break into large pieces.

Chocolate-Drizzled Mandelbrot



Ingredients:

7.75 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 3/4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon light-colored corn syrup
1 teaspoon water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; beat until combined. Stir in cherries and almonds.
Shape dough into 2 (9-inch-long) logs. Place logs on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper; pat to 1-inch thickness. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until logs are golden. Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes.
Cut each log diagonally into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices. Place, cut sides down, on baking sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn cookies over, and bake an additional 10 minutes (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from sheet; cool completely on a wire rack.
Combine chocolate chips, corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl. Microwave on high for 10 seconds at a time until nearly melted; stir until smooth. Spoon chocolate mixture into a small Ziplock bag; seal. Snip a tiny hole in one corner of bag. Drizzle chocolate over cookies.

Note: I found that trying to shape the cookie dough into logs on the parchment paper was a lot easier when I used a little flour to help the dough not stick so much to the paper and my hands! It was quite a mess there for a while! Oh yes, and I used semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of dark because that's what I had. I bet dark chocolate would have been even tastier.

Never EVER again

So today I tried a new side dish for dinner. It's called roasted Brussels Sprouts with Apples. Sounded interesting and I'd actually never had Brussels Sprouts before so I figured I'd try it out. Let's just say it lives up to its stereotype. They were the most bitter, stupid, gross things that have ever passed through my lips. I had Sydney try them too and her face was awesome. She obviously has the same opinion I do. I didn't make her eat anymore and I quickly just zapped some frozen peas for us in the microwave instead. One words says it all: NAH-AH-STAY!

Red velvet

So I had a great excuse to make some yummy cupcakes today. I needed to make a treat for one of my visiting teachees and my good friend's husband recently found out he passed the law bar exam and I wanted to congratulate them. What better way to do that than with sweets, right? I mean, I like 'em. Anyway, I had this recipe for red velvet cupcakes that I've been meaning to try out. So, basically, they were great. Surprisingly moist and decedent. I actually learned something too. I always assumed red velvet cake was simply white or yellow cake batter tinted red. Well, making this recipe taught me that the batter is actually chocolate batter tinted red. Never knew that! Yummy none the less. The frosting was a little different consistency than I expected (a little more runny and not as fluffy as I thought it would be), but it was still delicious! To add a little flair, I added some sprinkles on top. They were left over from Sydney's birthday party and I figured, what the heck, why not? Anyway, this recipe is definitely going in my recipe collection! On a different note, I found these two Cooking Light books that seem so awesome and I want them sooooo bad! One is called Cooking Light's "Way To Cook" and it teaches you all about cooking methods and ingredients and stuff. It seems like a great way to educate myself about cooking at a time that I can't afford cooking school. I also am also very interested in Cooking Light's "Complete Cookbook: A Fresh New Way to Cook." It's got TONS of recipes that I want and also has a lot of informational cooking sections. Brandon and I give ourselves a little discretionary money each month, so hopefully I can save up for these two books! Wow, I'm such a cooking nerd aren't I? Oh well!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
Cooking spray
10 ounces cake flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups nonfat buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons red food coloring (about 1 ounce)

Frosting:
5 tablespoons butter, softened
4 teaspoons nonfat buttermilk
1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (about 1 pound)
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To prepare cupcakes, place 30 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat with cooking spray.
Weight or lightly spoon cake flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine cake flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Place granulated sugar and unsalted butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and 1 1/4 cups nonfat buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add white vinegar, 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and food coloring, beat well.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire racks.
To prepare frosting, beat 5 tablespoons butter, 4 teaspoons nonfat buttermilk, and cream cheese with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar; beat until smooth. Add 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla; beat well. Spread frosting evenly over cupcakes.

My variations: Again, I did not have cake flour, so I made that corn starch/all-purpose flour substitution I explained in my last post. I also did not have buttermilk so I put one tablespoon of white vinegar into a liquid measuring cup and filled the measuring cup with nonfat milk until it reached the one cup line (so, a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice for every cup of buttermilk called for). Then, you just let it stand for 5 minutes before using, Also, I halved the recipe and didn't encounter any problems.

Missionary dinner

So I had the missionaries over for dinner last night. I wanted to make something that wasn't too off-the-wall so it would be something they liked, but I also wanted it to be something a little different. I decided to make Greek Pasta with Meatballs. It was really a success. I made the meatballs a couple of days in advance and let them hang out in the fridge. Then I just heated them up in the oven last night while I was making the rest of everything. The pasta in the dish is orzo, a small pasta that looks like rice. I knew what it was but had never eaten it. Brandon and I both loved it! It has such a cool texture and is fun to eat. We will probably start eating it more regularly now. My favorite part about the dish as a whole is that you can taste the faint hint of the cinnamon in the meatballs. Mmmm. There were definitely no leftovers! For a side dish, I made roasted asparagus with balsamic browned butter. Again, this was great and really easy. For dessert, I made a Salted Chocolate Ganache Cake. I made that the day before because I wasn't going to have time to make it last night. It would have definitely been better straight from the oven. Since I stored it in the fridge for an entire day, it's texture was a little different than it was originally, but not too bad. The recipe asks you to whip egg whites until they form stiff peaks, which I'd never done before. I did not know how much of a delicate process that is! If your beaters and bowl aren't perfectly clean and dry, the air bubbles in the egg whites can deflate and it'll ruin it. You also have to beat continuously or the same problem will happen. I leaned this the hard way as Sydney had to pee like 3 times while I was beating the whites so I stopped to take her a few times and soon learned after about 10 minutes of beating and having nothing but egg soup in my bowl that I needed to start over and not interrupt the beating. But, I was successful the second time around! It's so cool how the whites like change color and texture while you beat them. Crazy. You also have to fold them into the batter super gently or they'll deflate. A little nerve wreaking. Egg whites need to cool it with the always wanting to deflate thing. Haha. Anyway,for the cake's chocolate topping, I was able to just use some leftover homemade hot fudge sauce, which was a great way to use those leftovers. I used the amount of salt they told me to sprinkle on top, but Brandon and I both agreed that it was a bit much. The salt did accentuate the chocolate flavor, but it would have been better with a little bit less salt. But, it was still really yummy and the missionaries each had two slices and took the last piece home with them. All around, a scrumptious meal for sure.


Greek Pasta with Meatballs



Ingredients:

2 cups hot cooked orzo
1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound lean ground lamb
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups jarred marinara sauce
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. Keep warm.
Combine breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley. Add egg whites, stirring mixture until just combined. Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; cover and chill meatballs 5 minutes.
Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs to pan; cook 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Drain well; wipe pan clean with paper towels. Return meatballs to pan. Spoon marinara sauce over meatballs; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 11 minutes or until meatballs are done. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley. Serve over orzo.

Note: To make meatballs in advance, brown them, freeze them on a tray, and store in a ziplock bag for up to one month.

My variations:

Instead of lamb, I used ground turkey. I do want to try it with lamb sometime--I've never had it. I also used dried parsley instead of fresh because that is what I had on hand. For the marinara sauce, I just used a jar of meatless spaghetti sauce.

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter


Ingredients:

40 asparagus spears, trimmed (about 2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Cracked black pepper (optional)
Grated lemon rind (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°.
Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until tender.
Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat. Garnish with cracked pepper and rind, if desired.

Salted Chocolate Ganache Cake


Ingredients:

Cooking spray
2 teaspoons cake flour
5.3 ounces sifted cake flour (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup evaporated fat-free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 1/2 ounces dark chocolate, divided
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or fleur de sel (supposedly "a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans" according to Wikipedia)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat 1 (9-inch) round cake pan with cooking spray; dust with 2 teaspoons flour.
Weigh or lightly spoon 5.3 ounces flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Place 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter an a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add egg; mix well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.
Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy using clean, dry beaters. Gradually add 3 tablespoons sugar, beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold half of egg white mixture into flour mixture; fold in remaining egg white mixture. Grate 1/2 ounce chocolate; fold grated chocolate into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.
Chop the remaining 2 ounces chocolate. Combine chopped chocolate and 1 tablespoon butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at medium 1 minute or until chocolate melts, stirring every 15 seconds. Spread chocolate mixture over top of cake; sprinkle evenly with sea salt. Cut into 8 wedges.

My variations:

I didn't have any cake flour, so I replaced a small amount of my all-purpose flour with corn starch (2 tablespoons of corn starch for every cup of flour--so basically, for every cup of flour, fill your 1-cup measuring cup with 2 tablespoons of corn starch and then fill the rest of the measuring cup with flour until you reach the top).

Enlightenment

So I made tacos the other night. I usually make them according to the method I've grown up with my entire life--pan fry the corn tortillas flat in oil in a skillet and then you fold them up after you put your toppings in. Believe me, they're VERY yummy this way. But, I wanted to try something different this time. So, I learned how to easily make shaped taco shells. This method makes sense, but it's one of those things you wouldn't think of right off the bat. All you do is salt and lightly coat both sides of each corn tortilla with cooking spray. Wrap tortillas flat in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds. Then drape each tortilla over two panels on your oven rack and bake in 375-degree oven for 5 to 7 minutes. Carefully remove tortillas after they've baked (I used a butter knife to help me slide them each off without burning myself). They came out awesome! I was so proud of myself because they looked as good as something from Taco Bell. They're easy to stuff with filling and they stand up on their own. Anyway, let's just say I've found my way to make taco shells from now on!