In the last week, we've tried a couple of new pasta dishes.
The first is Penne and Broccoli from Recipe for Disaster.
The second one is from The Pioneer Woman Cooks. The kids weren't crazy about it, but I thought it was good.
Baked Lemon Pasta
I may eventually get around to typing the recipes up here, along with the small changes that I made for our family. But in the meantime, at least I remembered to link them. :)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
from Sunset Magazine, October 2006
original recipe, here
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, peanut butter, and vanilla until well blended.
2. In another bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir or beat into butter mixture until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Spread dough evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake until pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes, then cut into 12 pieces. Let cool completely.
original recipe, here
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, peanut butter, and vanilla until well blended.
2. In another bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir or beat into butter mixture until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Spread dough evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake until pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes, then cut into 12 pieces. Let cool completely.
"THE" Dip
1 can black eyed peas (drained)
1 can shoepeg corn (drained)
3 TBSP green onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped (optional - peel and seed them)
3 avocados, chopped
2 TBSP chopped cilantro
1 package Italian dressing, mixed according to directions
Put everything together and stir well.
Serve with tortilla chips.
We sometimes have this for a main dish. The kids love it, and with some fruit it can be filling enough for our family.
1 can shoepeg corn (drained)
3 TBSP green onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped (optional - peel and seed them)
3 avocados, chopped
2 TBSP chopped cilantro
1 package Italian dressing, mixed according to directions
Put everything together and stir well.
Serve with tortilla chips.
We sometimes have this for a main dish. The kids love it, and with some fruit it can be filling enough for our family.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Homemade Flour Tortillas
I have a thing for good flour tortillas. However, back in January we started paying more attention to trans fat, and I found out that all of the flour tortillas at our grocery store had trans fat in them. (I've recently discovered that some of the uncooked flour tortillas at a few stores do NOT have trans fat - hurray!) We tried using corn tortillas for a while, and that was fine until near the end of my pregnancy. I started to have dreams about flour tortillas. Seriously.
One night, I was craving something. I narrowed it down to Sees and flour tortillas, but only mentioned chocolate to John. He was sympathetic, and offered to go to the mall to get some Sees for me. What a guy! However, I decided that even more than chocolate, I wanted to eat a flour tortilla. (Weird?) When I told John, he offered to MAKE me tortillas. I had tried several times before, but they always turned out tough. John did a quick search online, and found this recipe. Instead of going out to buy candy, he spent the rest of the evening making me tortillas. And boy were they good! Soft and so yummy. He made them for me again the night that I came home from the hospital; and a couple of nights ago he helped me make some for dinner.
They're really good plain, but we had most of them with refried beans, cheese, and taco sauce. Anyway, here's the recipe. Oh - the site it's from, Rockin Robin's Cooking Mexican Recipes, has some other recipes I'm hoping to try.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water
Directions:
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough. The dough will be sticky.
Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour, but you want the dough to stay soft.
Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.
Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.
Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.
Preheat a skillet to medium high heat.
Lightly dust a cutting board or other rolling surface with flour. Use your hands to pat a ball into a circle, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 thick. Add more flour if you need to as you roll the dough out.
Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds. Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft. Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.
One night, I was craving something. I narrowed it down to Sees and flour tortillas, but only mentioned chocolate to John. He was sympathetic, and offered to go to the mall to get some Sees for me. What a guy! However, I decided that even more than chocolate, I wanted to eat a flour tortilla. (Weird?) When I told John, he offered to MAKE me tortillas. I had tried several times before, but they always turned out tough. John did a quick search online, and found this recipe. Instead of going out to buy candy, he spent the rest of the evening making me tortillas. And boy were they good! Soft and so yummy. He made them for me again the night that I came home from the hospital; and a couple of nights ago he helped me make some for dinner.
They're really good plain, but we had most of them with refried beans, cheese, and taco sauce. Anyway, here's the recipe. Oh - the site it's from, Rockin Robin's Cooking Mexican Recipes, has some other recipes I'm hoping to try.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Ingredients:
2 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water
Directions:
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the warm water and oil. Add the water/oil mixture to the flour mixture, one tablespoon at a time and mix the dough with a fork. Once the water is mixed in, add another tablespoon of water and repeat the process until all the water is mixed into the dough. The dough will be sticky.
Lightly flour a wooden cutting board and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour, but you want the dough to stay soft.
Place the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a damp towel or damp paper towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into golf-ball-size balls by pinching off the dough with your thumb and fore finger. Form each ball into a nice ball shape.
Place the balls on a flat dish making sure they don't touch each other and cover with the damp cloth.
Let the dough rest again for 10 minutes.
Preheat a skillet to medium high heat.
Lightly dust a cutting board or other rolling surface with flour. Use your hands to pat a ball into a circle, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 thick. Add more flour if you need to as you roll the dough out.
Once you have rolled out the tortilla, place it on a preheated skillet. You don't need to add any oil or butter. Cook the tortilla for about 30 seconds. You will notice brown spots all over your tortilla. Flip it over and cook an additional 30 seconds. Don't over cook it as you want the tortilla to be nice and soft. Keep your tortillas warm by covering them in a towel on a plate or in a tortilla warmer.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Teriyaki Chicken Salad Sandwiches
We had this for dinner after the baby's blessing on Sunday. Not vegetarian, but good. :)
It's from Our Best Bites.
Teriyaki Chicken Salad Sandwiches
2 chicken breasts
Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped (the white ends only)
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1 small can of Mandarin oranges, drained
1 small can pineapple tidbits OR roughly-chopped chunks
1/3-1/2 c. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Croissants or pitas
Lettuce leaves
Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours. Grill. While chicken is grilling, combine celery and green onions in a small mixing bowl or a plastic storage container with a lid. When chicken is done, allow to stand for about 10 minutes and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Toss with celery and onions and then add mayonnaise and mix thoroughly. Start with 1/3 c. and go from there. Add 2-3 (or more) tablespoons of Teriyaki sauce to taste.
Refrigerate for several hours.Right before serving, add oranges, pineapple, and nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You may need to add more mayo and/or Teriyaki. Serve on a lettuce leaf in a croissant or a pita.
I used 8-10 split chicken breasts and that fed about 20 people. I'm guessing that the recipe as written would feed about 4 people.
It's from Our Best Bites.
Teriyaki Chicken Salad Sandwiches
2 chicken breasts
Kikkoman Teriyaki Baste and Glaze
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped (the white ends only)
1/4 c. sliced almonds, toasted
1 small can of Mandarin oranges, drained
1 small can pineapple tidbits OR roughly-chopped chunks
1/3-1/2 c. mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Croissants or pitas
Lettuce leaves
Marinate chicken for at least 4 hours. Grill. While chicken is grilling, combine celery and green onions in a small mixing bowl or a plastic storage container with a lid. When chicken is done, allow to stand for about 10 minutes and then cut into bite-sized pieces. Toss with celery and onions and then add mayonnaise and mix thoroughly. Start with 1/3 c. and go from there. Add 2-3 (or more) tablespoons of Teriyaki sauce to taste.
Refrigerate for several hours.Right before serving, add oranges, pineapple, and nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You may need to add more mayo and/or Teriyaki. Serve on a lettuce leaf in a croissant or a pita.
I used 8-10 split chicken breasts and that fed about 20 people. I'm guessing that the recipe as written would feed about 4 people.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)