A Couple of Recipes

Last week I got the itch for some homemade bread.
I don't know where it came from. I can't rememeber the last time I made bread.
Maybe it was inspired but the Amish Friendship bread living on my counter.
Anyway, I made some of the "easiest bread you will ever make."
Turned out, it lived up to the name and was delicious.

For some reason, I also whipped up two batches of granola. For the first time ever.
The first batch was good but relied a bit heavily on spices for my taste.
The second batch was delicious.  Next time I make it, I'll use a bit less sweetener, a pinch of spice, and I'll add some dried fruit.

Potluck Season

As December presses on and Christmas approaches ever more rapidly, I find myself in the midst of Potluck Season. This week alone, I will attend three potluck events each with a different theme.  When I consider what dish to take to a potluck I assess general likeability, time to make, ease of transport, serving temperature, and cost of ingredients.  I have found a few fail-safe recipes that are sure to please. Each time I've made these one of these dishes, I've left with an empty dish and requests for the recipe – I'd say that constitutes a potluck "win."

For the Brunch Potluck: Monkey Bread or Glazed Doughnut Muffins
For the Tailgate Potluck: Buffalo Chicken Dip , Tailgate Toasts, or Hot Jalapeño Popper Dip
For the Fiesta Potluck: Chicken & Cheese Taquitos
For the "Letter S" Potluck: [Butternut]Squash & Sage Soup or Spaghetti with Sausage
For the Dinner Potluck: Buttered Rosemary Rolls or Greek Salad Quinoa (I add cucumber)
For the Dessert Potluck: Oh Baby! Bars, Brownies, Buckeyes, or Sweet Pumpkin Dip

Picture from Wedding-zine.com

Dog Treats

Yesterday afternoon I found myself in a familiar predicament: we'd been to the grocer twice already and yet I was in need of another item. I hate going to the store without a list! Anyway, we needed dog treats. I figured the dogs could live without their treats for another day so I moved on to bigger and better things— like making fruit leather. If you've ever made fruit leather you know its a rather time consuming process, if you haven't just take my word for it. While my fruit purée cooked down, it struck me that I could probably make some dog treats with ingredients I had on hand saving me another trip to the store and at least $10. After a quick internet search I learned I could!

With a combination of seven wholesome ingredients and 90 minutes, we are now stocked up on dog treats. Gunther even assisted me by cleaning up the bits that fell onto the floor. He is such a helpful sous chef.  I'm hoping that the simple ingredients are kind to Gunther and don't upset his stomach. If all goes well, I will certainly be making dog treats again. I may even put the money we save into the pups' daycare fund. 

 

If you're interested in making treats for your own canine friend, the recipe from 17 Apart is simple and easily adaptable to the ingredients you have on hand: 

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 finely chopped apple (or sweet potato or banana or carrots or a mixture of them)
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup cold water 

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350°. Blend flour and cornmeal in large mixing bowl, then incorporate the remaining ingredients until well blended.  Flour a workspace and roll out dough to desired thickness. Cut cookies into desired shape and size (I used biscuit cutters to make 1" discs for Gunther and 1.5" discs for Lily). Place cookies on greased baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes. After baking, turn oven off and leave cookies inside for another 30-45 minutes until crisp.

Build Me Up Butternut

The holidays make healthy eating a challenge. At least for me. For the last week my body has been pleading with me, begging for healthy food. But, I ignored all demands and enjoyed homemade Championship cookies, mini-pickles, Cinnabon, multi-meat meals, and, while on the road, fast-food. I'm disgusting. Help me!

Last night, I obliged. Finally. And it tasted pretty good.

I made butternut squash soup and a spinach, beet salad with walnuts and goat cheese. Both were crowd pleasers —in our crowd of two. The soup was my variation of a Real Simple recipe. I omitted the cheese and croutons, cooked the butternut squash whole, doubled the amount of butter {please don't judge} and used significantly more pepper than recommended. For the salad I tossed walnuts, goat cheese, and a roasted beet onto a bed of 50/50! Peter whipped up a dressing using red wine vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, and a pinch of sugar.

Everything turned out well and fortunately there was enough for leftovers.

Pantry Scavanger: Fix & Freeze

For the last three years, I have done the heavy majority of cooking in our house. In the last two weeks, Peter has regressed to his single man cooking ways: preparing a large portion of a given dish then eating that same food all week. Two weeks ago was spaghetti and last week was tacos. Despite the fact that I now live in Nashville, I wanted to ensure that my husband is better fed. Since I am home for the weekend, I employed the Fix & Freeze method yesterday afternoon. Following one very strategic trip to the grocery store, I prepared five main courses which he can cook at will. He now has: Ooh-la-lasanga, Chicken Parmesan, Manicotti, Spaghetti with Sausage and Peppers, and Lemon Chicken Orzo.

Knowing that Peter has community group, church, and work potlucks on the horizon, I went ahead and made some cookies. There are now 10 dozen flash frozen chocolate chip cookies waiting to be cooked at a moments notice.

Quinoa and Black Beans

After last Sunday's unfortunate food incident, I was hesitant to get back on schedule for Slow Cooker Sunday. Thus, in the form of a true pantry scavenger I opened the pantry doors this evening and thought, "What to make?" The pantry is currently packed full with items I've been stocking up for Thanksgiving and unfortunately nothing was really jumping out at me. When I spotted our 4 lb. bag of quinoa I could hear Minx whisper "Use it!"- she's been on a quinoa kick recently. I opted for a meatless main {from All Recipes} which I altered ever so slightly. Peter and I dressed up our dinner with sour cream, salsa, and cheese. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 can vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2-3 shakes cayenne pepper
1-2 shakes Hot Shot
1-2 shakes Mixed-Up Salt
1 can sweet corn kernels
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. { While that is simmering, send your husband to the grocery store to pick up some shredded Cheddar cheese.}
3. Stir in corn and black beans and let it simmer for 5 minutes {or until your husband returns, which ever comes first}.

10 servings.

Gnocchi

Last night's dinner was extremely simple and even more flavorful. The sauce would make a wonderful topping on any pasta. With the temperature starting to drop, I've been in the mood for a hearty meal. Gnocchi is hearty enough to fill you up but not so heavy you feel stuffed. Peter had the leftovers for lunch and said they were great (and I'm pretty sure made a few of his coworkers jealous).

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 can (28 ounces) whole plum tomatoes with juice, crushed by hand
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) tomato sauce
2 sprigs basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Gnocchi
Thinly shaved parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add wine; cook until most liquid has evaporated. Add tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, basil, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until slightly thick, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm.
2. Bring a large pot water to a boil; add 1 tablespoon salt. Add half of the gnocchi; when they rise to the top (after about 2 minutes), continue to cook until tender, about 15 seconds more. Transfer gnocchi with a slotted spoon to pan with sauce. Repeat process with remaining gnocchi.
3. Reheat gnocchi over low heat; gently toss. Serve with cheese shavings. (Serves 6)
   

Creamed Chipped Beef

Since moving South, I have found there are only a few foods that I cannot buy regionally: UTZ chips, Rapa scrapple, Esskay products, Berger Cookies. It's when I get a craving for one of these foods that I start to wish I had a Giant I could run to. Instead, I head to the local grocers. Believe me when I say I am serious about my cravings. Without hesitation I will go from one grocery to the next. Last night, my search for Esskay Chipped Beef meant bouncing to four different stores. Ultimately, I ended up buying Amour Dried Beef.

The Dried Beef wound up being a suitable alternative. I sliced the beef, cooked it in some butter and Worcestershire then added a bit of pepper for flavor. While that was cooking, in a separate saucepan, I mixed 3 tablespoons of melted butter with 3 tablespoons of flour. I whisked the two creating a roux. I added a cup and a half of milk and continued whisking. Once that had thickened I added the beef and a bit more Worcestershire then I put some bread in the toaster.

All in all dinner was pretty great. All of the ingredients, save the dried beef, were in my pantry (or fridge) and fortunately the dried beef only cost $1.83. *For those of you wondering: Yes, it tastes much better than it looks!

Chickpea, Tomato, and Spelt Soup

In an effort to live with less waste and excess, I began meal planning about two months ago. Each week I scan our pantry and plan our meals around the things we already have; going to the store only to get the food we need and not to stock the cupboard. Peter and I are spending far less on food and I'm making only what we can eat. It's been marvelous. Mostly.

For whatever reason I have had a can of Chickpeas on my shelf for almost a year. Whatever recipe it was originally purchased for has been long forgotten. Each week I'd stare the can down and resolve to use it but the plan never came to fruition. Until now.

Meal planning last week I looked for an entree recipe that would include my Chickpeas. I found one on wholeliving.com: Martha Stewart's Chickpea, Tomato, and Spelt Soup. Initially, the thought of a veggie soup with some foreign grain seemed like something from Aunt Kate's kitchen but it ended up being pretty delicious.

Ingredients

1 cup spelt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch lengths

1 celery stalk, diced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon saffron (optional)

4 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Directions

1. Place spelt in a medium bowl and cover with cold water. Let soak for 1 hour; drain

2. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large soup pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, paprika, cumin, saffron (if using), spelt, broth, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes or until spelt is tender.

3. Add tomatoes and chickpeas and cook for 20 minutes or until flavors have blended. Discard bay leaves. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.