Spiced Quinoa

I've suddenly become fixated on this healthy grain. I've been ill for the past few months and haven't focused on eating in a healthful manner. In addition, my appetite hasn't been consistent. I'm hoping the addition of this grain along with more vegetables and spices/herbs will help me enjoy my meals more.

No pics on this one yet. I will update and add them the next time I make this side.

Spiced Quinoa

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3/4 to 1 C grated carrot (estimate it - don't lose your shorts over this)
1 1/4 cups raisins
1tsp cumin
1 1/2 cups quinoa
1 1/2 cups orange juice
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans) optional
1/2 cup chopped parsley OR cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, carrots, raisins, and cumin until onion becomes golden, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir in quinoa and allow to toast for 2-3 minutes.
3. Pour in orange juice, water, and zest and stir to combine.
4. Bring this to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the liquid is absorbed - 15-17 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Add nuts and parsley or cilantro and fluff with a fork before serving.

I served this with citrus-marinated boneless, skinless chicken breasts and will post that recipe soon.

Notes:

Quinoa: You can easily purchase this grain in the "health food" aisle at your local grocery store. Barring that, find a local co-op or natural foods store. They'll likely have it in bulk. This grain packs a punch of protein that rice just doesn't have. In addition, it's gluten-free for those of you who are struggling with the damn gluten.

Raisins: If you feel that yours are a little tough, soak them in some warmed apple juice or water prior to adding them to the pot. I used a mixture of regular and golden. I think this would also work well with some snipped apricots.

Oil: Feel free to reduce this if you're looking to lower the fat content or if you find the finished product to have too much of it. I usually start with 2 Tbl and up it if my veggies require it.

Orange Juice: I bought a case of oranges and grapefruit from the citrus sale at my school and decided to squeeze the juice rather than buy some from the store. Either way will yield a good end product.

Feedback:
The kid was a little skeptical. He's on a mac n cheese and chicken noodle soup bender right now. I'll continue to introduce him to this grain, though. I'm playing around with a hot breakfast quinoa and think he'll go for it. The Pack Mule was digging how the citrus in both the quinoa and chicken complimented each other.

Apple Crumb Pie

Apple Crumb Pie
See that caramelized edge? Think apples swimming in caramel under that crumb topping. Let's get cooking, kids!


Here are your basic ingredients. Nothing out of the ordinary, right?

Ingredients:

1 store-bought pie crust, defrosted (See the NOTES below)

4-5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (chunky - not paper-thin)

1/3 C white sugar

2/3 C brown sugar, divided

1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp cinnamon (divided)

1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp nutmeg (divided)

2 tsp lemon juice

1/3 C + 1 Tbs all-purpose flour

2/3 C oatmeal

1 stick butter, softened


Directions:
1. Peel, core, and slice the apples. Simplest way to peel, core, and slice an apple: cut that sucker into fourth, slam your knife diagonally at the core to get it out, peel the remaining goodness, and slice, slice, slice. Is there undoubtedly going to be some wastage? Yeah. Will you be spending your entire day peeling and coring? Nope.

2. Combine the sliced apples with 1/3 C sugar, 1/3 C brown sugar, 1 Tbs flour, and 1/4 tsp EACH cinnamon and nutmeg. See that glossy sheen on the bowl? The apples are macerating in the sugars and beginning to create what will mimic some creamy caramel in the pie.

3. Let the apples sit while you go to work on the crumb topping.

4. If you're feeling like the kid needs to be put to work, let him mix the apples a little.

5. Prepare the crumb topping by combining 2/3 C oatmeal, 1/3 C AP flour, 1/8 tsp EACH cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 stick of softened butter. Some people use a fork or pastry blender. At this point, I toss all utensils aside and mix everything with my sausage-like fingers. You should too; even if you don't have sausage-like fingers.

6. See? A few minutes of crumbling, and this is what you'll see in your stainless steel bowl as well!

7. Add the apples to the defrosted crust, top with the crumb topping, pressing it down a bit into the apples, and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Full recipe without the shots:

Apple Crumb Pie

Ingredients:
1 store-bought pie crust, defrosted (See the NOTES below)
4-5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (chunky - not paper-thin)
1/3 C white sugar
2/3 C brown sugar, divided
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp cinnamon (divided)
1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp nutmeg (divided)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/3 C + 1 Tbs all-purpose flour
2/3 C oatmeal
1 stick butter, softened

Directions:

1. Peel, core, and slice the apples. Simplest way to peel, core, and slice an apple: cut that sucker into fourth, slam your knife diagonally at the core to get it out, peel the remaining goodness, and slice, slice, slice. Is there undoubtedly going to be some wastage? Yeah. Will you be spending your entire day peeling and coring? Nope.

2. Combine the sliced apples with 1/3 C sugar, 1/3 C brown sugar, 1 Tbs flour, and 1/4 tsp EACH cinnamon and nutmeg. The apples will macerate in the sugars, beginning to create what will mimic some creamy caramel in the pie.

3. Let the apples sit while you go to work on the crumb topping.

4. Prepare the crumb topping by combining 2/3 C oatmeal, 1/3 C AP flour, 1/8 tsp EACH cinnamon and nutmeg, and 1 stick of softened butter. Some people use a fork or pastry blender. At this point, I toss all utensils aside and mix everything with my sausage-like fingers. You should too; even if you don't have sausage-like fingers.

5. Add the apples to the defrosted crust, top with the crumb topping, pressing it down a bit into the apples, and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.


Notes:

Crust: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know some purists out there won't like that I appear to be advocating for store-bought crust, however, when it means saving some times and/or presenting a recipe that will cause more people to MAKE their own pies than BUY their own pies, I'm ok with this. I do have a pretty good crust recipe you can easily make using some basic ingredients that are thrown into a Tupperware container and mixed by shaking the holy hell out of the container. I'll post it another time. If you're feeling all sorts of Pie Militant, feel free to make your own crust, my brothers and sisters!

Apples: I have made a myriad of apple pies using various apples, but I almost always come home to the Granny Smith when making a pie for someone else. I also do not slice the apples paper-thin because they tend to just disappear as they bake. I like a good chunky apple in my pie.

Butter: I have made this very same recipe using Smart Balance with very good results.

Brown sugar: I PACK it for the crumb topping but merely spoon it loosely when adding it to the apples. You can certainly play with the sugar amounts. I tend to just throw the sugar in when baking pies. When I made this most recent one, I forced myself to measure everything - which just goes against my nature when cooking anything other than bread.

Variations:
I made this same pie last week using peaches rather than apples.

Add chopped walnuts and golden raisins to the apple mixture to create a more rustic pie.

Serve the pie warm with some aged cheddar that's come to room temperature.

Whipped cream? If you must, please make your own. Please? I beg of you.

Feedback:
My Pack Mule and Butter loved the peach one I made last week. This very pie you see here was brought to a friend's house. While I didn't taste it, people said it was delicious goodness.

Potato-Cheese Casserole

A casserole, at least in my world, needs to have some cheese. Please don't talk to me about gut-clogging fat. Just eat in moderation, ok, folks? In addition, this particular bit of goodness is EASY. I'm talking stupid easy. Simplicity at its best.

You can throw this sucker together when you get home from work and are debating whether or not to sell your children to the highest bidder because they won't do their homework but WILL argue with each other incessantly. Or. Just for kicks, throw it together in 10 minutes or less before leaving for work and let it sit in the fridge while you're at work - knowing that you're halfway to dinner before even leaving work.

Good. Now take a look at this.

The finished product is cheesy goodness.


Potato-Cheese Casserole
Ingredients

1 20oz package of pre-shredded fresh potatoes
1 1/2 C shredded cheese, divided
3/4 C low-fat sour cream
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 c green onions, thinly sliced


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8X8 or similar size pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Combine potatoes, 1C cheese, sour cream, seasonings, and green onions in a bowl.

3. Spread the potato mixture in the pan and top with the remaining 1/2 C cheese

4. Bake for 45 minutes until bubbly and golden brown on top. Be sure to keep an eye on the dish the first time you make it because oven times vary. If yours browns the cheese too quickly, cover the pan with foil and uncover for the last 15 minutes.


Notes:

Potatoes: This recipe is based on using the PLAIN potatoes. The freshly-shredded potatoes can also be purchased with "Southwestern spices." I used these in the original recipe and omitted the salt and pepper. The spices were JUST RIGHT without having to adjust anything.

Cheese: I used Monterey Jack because I adore how it melts and becomes ultra-creamy. Cheddar fan? Go ahead. Cheese is cheese. Use what you like!

Additions: Chop 1/4 C each of onion and green or red pepper and add to the mixture. Finely chop fresh mushrooms to add a different texture to the casserole.


Feedback:

The Pack Mule was digging on the casserole. He is a potato whore and will eat them any way I fix them. I made this casserole on a day when my house was under attack from a bunch of neighborhood boys who would pop into the kitchen every five minutes asking for lemonade or a snack. I served the potatoes with grilled sirloin steaks for the Pack Mule and crab legs for me. We loved the spicy nature of the dish since I used the preseasoned Southwestern potatoes, but Butter wouldn't touch it because of the aroma of the hot peppers.

Could I have shredded my own and added my own spices? Sure. But this is simple stuff. I'm approaching D-Day with my work schedule and am willing to take a bullet from the "I Cannot Believe You Bought Prepared Stuff!" people.

Country White Bread

I have been playing with bread of different types over the past couple of months. Some have been wonderful while others have fallen short. Today I wanted to challenge myself to make a loaf without using someone else's recipe. I know...could go either way, right? Well, this one turned out AMAZINGLY well. I classify myself as a "recently-deflowered-yeast virgin." Yes. Me.

Yet, I attempted a yeast recipe today that came from my own damn head; of course it DID rely on the experiences I've had this summer. I started this bread this morning, and by the early afternoon, the loaf was completely baked and cooling on top of the stove. There were neighbor kids who'd recently descended on my home who were walking past the bread with hope gleaming in their eyes. Only one had the guts to ask for a slice before I'd taken one for anyone in my family. Good for him. I like a kid with courage! He waited until the other kids were elsewhere, stole into my kitchen realm, and politely asked for a slice. I left the end piece on the cutting board because most kids loathe the heel of the bread. Fine. He ate the slice I handed over, took the heel, and then sought me out in my home office to ask for another slice.

This is THE loaf. The crust had a bite to it, and there was a hefty crumb to the dough itself. By the end of the day, the bread was gone. Extinct. Butter got ONE slice. My Pack Mule and I shared one piece. Every other slice fed that herd of boys in my yard and home. Very good times!

Country White Bread

Ingredients
8 oz warm water (90 - 1oo degrees), divided
2 1/2 tsp bread machine/fast-rise yeast
2 Tbs honey
2 3/4 C bread flour + scant amount for kneading
2 Tbs dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs oil

Directions:

1. In a small bowl combine the yeast, honey, and 1/2 C warm water. Allow to sit for 8-10 so the yeast can proof. After that time span, the bowl should look puffy and bubbly. If not, try this again. You must see growth in size and bubbles.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, remaining water, dry milk, salt, and oil. The mixture will be crumbly and very dry.
3. Add the proofed yeast mixture to the large bowl and combine.
4. Transfer dough to a floured board and knead for 10-15 minutes adding minimal amounts of additional flour to avoid sticking.
5. After kneading, form the dough into a ball, coat it in oil, and put it in a bowl. Let the dough rest for approximately an hour in a draft-free area.
6. After the dough's risen, punch it down and knead again for 5 minutes.
7. Shape the dough into a loaf of sorts and add to a loaf pan. Put the pan in a draft-free location and allow to rise a second time for 30 minutes
8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes - until golden brown
9. Allow to rest and cool before cutting. Hot bread from the oven will shred and bunch up easily if cut before being allowed to cool.

Notes:
Yeast: If your yeast doesn't proof, try it again. Your water could have been too hot or too cold. Additionally, your yeast could be bad.
Flour: I chose to use bread flour for this one because I love the consistency of it.
Oil: I used canola. I also poured a scant amount into the bowl and then rolled the dough into before allowing time for the first rise. Nothing is worse than dough that sticks to the bowl when it's rising. Hence, oiling the BOWL.

After the second rise. (See that glimpse of maters behind the bread? They came from MY mater plant. *preening*)

After baking in the oven.

Feedback:
Like I said, the neighbor kids scarfed this bread in record time. The Pack Mule LOVES bread. He would live on bread alone if given the opportunity. And this bread? He was digging it. Butter? The kid. Not the delicious fatty stuff. He took a plain slice and savored it. Not one of the kids asked for butter, jam, peanut butter, or any other condiment. The bread alone was plenty to satisfy. Coming from someone who has been deathly afraid of yeast, this was a VERY simple recipe. I can also attest to the fact that kids love kneading the bread.

Soyrizo and Beans

Batten down the hatches.I have "invented" a new recipe with SOY. No meat here, kids. Nope. You can always throw in something from a cloven hoof if you feel the need, but I don't think it's necessary here.

Ingredients:

29oz can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 package of Soyrizo (look for it in the produce section with the tofu, egg roll wrappers, etc.)
1 cup salsa - I used Newman's own.
1 cup Sofrito (made by Goya - a mixture of tomatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic, and cilantro)

Tortillas and/or rice
Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and chopped onion
Shredded cheese of your choice

Directions:

1. Remove the Soyrizo from the plastic casing and saute until heated through, browned, and slightly crispy.
2. Add the Sofrito and salsa and mix thoroughly.
3. Add the humongous amount of beans.
4. Allow to heat through completely.

Notes:

You'll notice the shortage of "fresh" vegetables here. There are plenty of tomatoes, onions, and garlic in the salsa and sofrito. If you want to beef up the veggies. Go for it. I didn't feel the need. Obviously.

"What ARE these things she's talking about?" Here. Take a gander at the pics. You can easily find these items in your everyday grocery store.

Variations:

Serve over rice (white, brown, or some made with Sazon!) or in warmed flour tortillas with shredded sharp cheddar or monterey jack, low-fat sour cream, and fresh cilantro.
I know there are some of you out there who can't stomach the "soapy" taste you get when eating cilantro. If that's you, chop up some fresh parsley. Nothing says loving like fresh herbs. I ate this in the tortilla and folded it up burrito style.

You NEED meat? Add some meat. Real chorizo, ground beef, tips, whatever. My only caution is that if you're going to use anything other than chorizo or another kind of sausage is to SEASON the meat before searing and cooking. I'd say salt, pepper, ground ancho chiles or plain old chile.

Feedback:

I fed this to my husband who states that a meal is not a meal unless there is something that's come from a cloven hoof. He had NO IDEA the chorizo was actually soy and will NEVER find out!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies (adapted from www.skinnychef.com )

Sweet Mother of God. You must make these brownies. Get thee to a farmer’s market, snatch up some zucchini, and BAKE, DAMMIT! Just listen to me and take a gander at the pics. I know throwing a vegetable into a chocolate chunk of love seems like a travesty of all that is gooey, chocolate, and comforting. BUT trust me. I may not be as big as I used to be, but I still categorize myself as a Big Girl. If you trust nothing else, trust the food that comes from this Big Girl’s kitchen. I will certainly make these once my son starts preschool this fall. I see a lunchbox treat in the making!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
Ingredients

5 oz bittersweet dark chocolate, chopped

1/4 C vegetable oil

1 egg

1 C granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 C all-purpose flour or oat flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, (about 1 large zucchini)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or almonds

Non-stick cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
   
2. Place chocolate in microwave (30 seconds to 1 minute) until melted. Cool slightly.
   
3. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, egg, sugar, vanilla and melted chocolate until well blended.
   
4. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
   
5. Fold in the zucchini and nuts and spread evenly into the prepared pan.
   
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the pan. Cool completely in the pan and cut into squares. Store in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Makes 12, 1.5 ounce brownies
   

Notes:

Chocolate: I made this on a spur of the moment and had to accept that Wal-Mart only has so much to offer in regards to chocolate. Those in the chocolate world may cringe, but the best I could do was one of those super-size Hershey Special Dark bars. I used my handy 10-inch butcher knife to chop it up.

Flavoring: The original recipe called for cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. I have a tough time stomaching the taste of cinnamon outside of a few recipes. I don’t even want to discuss pumpkin pie spice. This one? I couldn’t make myself put in either spice. I’m sure if you’re a lover of all that’s cinnamon, you’ll like one, the other, or both. The Skinny Chef called for 1 tsp of that stuff.

Batter: Not unlike the zucchini fritters also adapted from the Skinny Chef, this batter will be unbelievably dry and tough until you add the shredded zucchini. Do NOT despair and do NOT add any other moisture. And for all that’s holy USE YOUR HANDS to combine the batter with the zucchini. It’ll be messy but so much easier and “mother earth” than using some new-fangled spoon thing.

Zucchini: This lovely stuff adds so much moisture to the brownies. No cake-like texture in THIS recipe! No no no! And fiber. My brothers and sisters, you can eat these suckers with the knowledge that you’re getting some FIBER. For real. Amazing stuff, I tell ya.

Nuts: I didn’t put any in here because the kid gets ookey about what he calls “creepy” textures. Yeah. He’s four and uses the word “creepy” to describe things. Just roll with it. That’s what I do.

Cook time: I must confess that I only cooked these for 20 minutes and liked the texture of what came out of my oven. Some people are zealots when following a recipe. I follow my gut.

Variations:
Change up the nuts or leave them out.
Add chunks of chocolate.

Feedback:
Both the husband and the kid were salivating when I pulled these suckers out of the oven. I used the oven timer because we were eating dinner while they were cooking. When the beeper went off, my son flew into the kitchen. Note: He hadn't eaten his dinner and was summarily sent back after being allowed to inhale all that is chocolate and top-secret zucchini. I didn't tell him these suckers had vegetables in them and never will!

Zucchini Fritters

I found this recipe on a night when I knew I wanted to use some zucchini I'd picked up at the farmer's market. I'd purposely chosen some of the larger ones because they were cheaper and could be easily used in a recipe calling for shredded zucchini. I have this "thing" about cooked zucchini: I can only eat it in small chunks, shredded, or grilled. The high water content makes it feel gross in my mouth if it's in large pieces.

Needless to say, I went in to the afternoon planning for the evening meal with "shredded zucchini on my mind. This lovely and so very simple dish is adapted from the Skinny Chef. I've seen other adaptations and ideas on blogs and other sites over the years but viewing a recipe that I was certain I'd like on a site that has "skinny" in its title made me try it.

Zucchini Fritters (adapted from http://www.skinnychef.com/ )

Ingredients
3 C zucchini, shredded

1 egg lightly beaten

1/2 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8-1/4 tsp nutmeg

scant 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions
1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the zucchini in a large bowl.
2. Whisk to form a batter, removing large lumps, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the grated zucchini it to the bowl. The moisture from the zucchini will produce a batter. Use your HANDS in this one. Stirring with a spoon is just not something I normally do. I’m a hands-on chick. Try it. You’ll like it. And the consistency once you add that zucchini? Goopy goodness. If you have kids who won’t fling this stuff around your kitchen, let ‘em get down and dirty with this stuff. They’ll love you as much as my kid does!
4. Use the batter immediately.
5. Heat olive or canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a 1/4-cup measure, pour out 3-4 cakes. Cook 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Drain on paper towel

Serves 2-4.

Notes:

Moisture: Please believe me when I say you should NOT add any extra moisture to this recipe. When you see how dry and crumbly the batter will be before adding the shredded zucchini, you’ll be hard-pressed to not dump in some water or milk. DO NOT do this.

Mixing: Use your hands. But for all that’s holy, will you PLEASE remember to take off your rings before you do this? I never remember to take off my wedding rings and always get chunks of zucchini and soupy batter stuck under the diamonds. Learn from the error of my ways. Someone should.

Variations:

I’ve doubled the recipe and used ½ Parm and ½ mozzarella with good results. I don’t recommend using a cheese with a high moisture content (fresh mozzarella) because the batter and resulting fritters will likely be very soupy. You want crunch with these babies.Serve hot or at room temperature. These will be great on a buffet because they retain their quality really well. If serving them as an appetizer, I’d recommend using a tablespoon measure for each fritter.

Feedback:

The husband LOVED these things. Loved them. The kid? Not so much. He knew they were “fried” and heard daddy raving about them but wouldn’t touch them. His loss is my gain.