french bread

you know in the bible, it says man cannot live on bread alone, but i've been surviving on this bread for the last few days. it is DELISH!! there is nothing like fresh baked bread to make life livable once again and i think this may be the best (and easiest) bread i've ever baked.

 FRENCH BREAD
2 pkg yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. hot water
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
5 tbsp vegetable oil
6 c. white flour
1 egg white
sesame seeds (optional)

dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water; let stand for 10 minutes. in a large bowl, combine 2 c. hot water, sugar, salt, vegetable oil, and 1/2 of the flour; beat well. stir in dissolved yeast. add remaining flour and mix well. rest 10 minutes.

repeat four times. kneed one or two times on a floured surface. divide in half. roll each half out and roll up like a jelly roll. place seam side down in french bread pans or on a cookie sheet (i like to dust the pan with corn meal first). cut slits in the top and brush with beat egg white. sprinkle with sesame seeds. let rise for 30 minutes. bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

pasta alfredo with chicken and veggies

i've got zucchini coming out my ears! i have one plant, ONE PLANT and i can't keep up with it! and since i am currently overrun, i find myself in the unenviable position of needing to use it. i'm working on some more inventive ways to use it, but i'm also relying on some old favorites. like this one:

alfredo sauce
1 tbs butter
1 clove garlic, chopped (the smaller the pieces, the stronger the flavor)
heavy cream
grated parmesan cheese

melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. add garlic. allow garlic to steep in the butter for a minute or so, DO NOT brown. at this point, you may choose to remove the garlic pieces, or leave them in. add heavy cream. this is the body of your sauce, the amount that you add will determine how much sauce you ultimately have. without increasing the heat, whisk cheese into sauce and bring to a low boil. allow to bubble for 2 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired consistency.

i use this basic recipe and add in grilled chicken breast and sauted veggies. in this case that means zucchini, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

fig bundles

i get my produce from this great little traveling co-op called bountiful baskets. it's a really good deal and i get my fruits AND veggies for the week. actually, mine usually last two weeks. the catch is, you never know exactly what you're gonna get, but that's also part of the fun. my last basket brought me a surprise. figs. i've never had them before, and i wasn't even sure what they were right off the bat. this is what they look like, just in case you've never seen them either:

being the adventurous person that i am, i was determined to use them. so, i went on a little scavenger hunt and i found some recipes that sounded really good. of course, i never actually follow recipes, so this is my reinterpretation of one of the one that i read.

figs bacon (one slice per fig)
bleu cheese crumbles
honey
sea salt

cut a small slit in the side of each fig, piercing through to the center.

is it just me, or does my hand look really old in this picture?

stuff one average sized (or larger than average is you prefer) crumble of bleu cheese into the slit you just cut.

 seriously! big, old looking, man hands!

now, wrap each stuffed fig with a slice of bacon. the bacon i used was thick cut, thinner might be better in this case.

place wrapped figs on a baking sheet and slide into a 400 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes, or until the bacon browns and begins to crisp up.

let cool slightly on baking sheet, then transfer to a platter. drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sea salt. serve warm.

VOILA! so simple and really delicious!

something yummy for which i can think of no suitable name

spring is here! spring is here! it's about time!!! for those of you not yet able to enjoy the lovely weather i have here. i am sorry. i just heard that many of my dear friends and family members received a lovely april fool's joke from mother nature. she clearly doesn't own a calendar. april fool's day was friday. HELLO! well, i made a meal tonight that is perfectly suitable for any time of year and any sort of weather. well, maybe not the intense heat of summer, since it involves lots of roating, but the other three seasons will love it! i can't think of a good name for it that isn't super long (balsamic and herb crusted chicken with roast vegetables is a mouthful), so if you have any suggestions, i'd love to hear them.

veggies:

1/2 large or 1 small onion
3-5 carrots, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
1 lb baby or "new" potatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
whisk together herbs, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. toss veggies and let marinade 15 minutes. scoop out veggies and place in a roasting pan. reserve marinade for chicken. roast veggies at 375 degress 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender.



chicken:

* the chicken is a little dark, not because it is burned, but because balsamic vinegar has a high sugar content (as far as vinegars go) and that get's dark in the oven.

1 whole chicken
1/2 large or 1 small onion, cut into wedges
remaining veggie marinade

preheat oven to 375 degrees. rinse chicken and pat dry, your coating will not stick to a wet chicken.  truss your chicken (or don't. i never do) and place in a roasting pan. place onion in the cavity. pour herb mixture over the top and give your bird a loving massage. place him in the heat lodge known as your oven and let him roast until he reaches a balmy internal temperature of 185 degrees and/or juices run clear. serve with roasted veggies.


just to be sure nothing went to waste i made a pan gravy from the drippings (just add a tablespoon or so of flour and whisk in some chicken stock to finish it off)

and to round out the meal, a big, fat salad:

minestrone soup

relatively inexpensive, super filling and enormously delicious, not to mention easy, soup is pretty much the greatest meal ever. it's also (arguably) the most comforting. i don't know what the weather is like where you are, but where i am it's a little cold and a lot windy and that just makes me want a big bowl of soup. soup like this one:

easy minestrone

1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 bunch asparagus, chopped
1 large (28 oz) can tomatoes with juice
1 can white beans, drained
1 bunch kale (i used purple kale because i like the color), roughly chopped
6 cups chicken stock

handful of small pasta or broken bits of pasta

begin by sauteing mushrooms, onions and asparagus in 2 tablespoons olive oil for 3-5 minutes. add tomatoes, white beans, kale and chicken stock. cover and simmer 20-30 minutes. add a handful of dry pasta 5-8 minutes before serving. i like to serve mine with a generous grating of parmesan cheese right on top.

*this is just the recipe for the version of the soup i made recently, but you can substitute the veggies based on what you have around. minestrone is equally delicious with zucchini, carrots, celery, potato, or eggplant. you can also substitute the kale and use cabbage, spinach or some other dark, leafy green.

stuffed pork chops

realizing, of course, that there are about a million things with which you could stuff your chops, i am working on a better name for this meal. you should just know that i find this particular combination of flavors thoroughly satisfying.

stuffed pork chops

you will need:

4 bonless pork chops

1 small or 1/2 a large acorn squash*, diced

1/2 a medium onion, diced

8 leaves of fresh sage

salt and pepper

sharp paring knife

heavy skillet (i'm partially to cast iron, but use what you've got)

the stuffing:

saute onion and squash in a tablespoon or so of oil. after 2 minutes, give half of your sage a rough chop and add it to the pan. season with salt and pepper. continue to saute, stirring often 4 more minutes. remove from heat and allow to cool while you prep the pork.

prepping the pork:

it is difficult to stuff something which has no cavity, so you must create one. if raw meat grosses you out, i am sorry, but it is a necessary evil. for this portion of the preparations, you will need a sharp paring knife. now, i know paring knives are generally reserved for fruits and veggies, but in this case, it really is the best tool for the job. cut a small slit in the side of you chop. when i say small, i mean small. about an inch or so. any larger and the stuffing will fall out as it cooks, and this is not what we want. now, use your paring knife to enlarge the cavity inside the meat without making the opening slit any bigger. be careful not to cut through the meat on any edge, but make sure the stuffing will have a home within a 1/2 inch or so of all sides of your chop. this can be a little tricky, but be patient, work slowly, and you will be fine. when you're done you should have something that looks like this:

stuffing the chop:

this can get a little messy, but it is totally worth it. i have no fancy tools for this job, i simply shove the stuffing into the prepared pork chop with my fingers. if you have a better method, i'd love to hear about it. be careful not to overstuff the chop. you want enough squash in there to have some in each bite, but not so much that it is overflowing.

 that one on the left was too full, he lost some of his filling during the cooking process...

cooking:
preheat oven to 350 degrees. season your chops with salt and pepper and press a sage leaf into one side, it will stick (without the aid of any adhesive even!). preheat a skillet to med-high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. place chops, sage side down, into the pan. once they're down, don't move them until they have had a chance to sear, so make sure you position them accordingly. work in stages if you need to. after about 2 minutes, flip and repeat the process on the sage free side.

transfer chops to a baking dish and add enough water to cover the bottom of the dish. cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.** remove foil and continue to bake 5 minutes. voila! dinner!

i think the pork chop looks like he's wearing a hat. maybe, a beret. i guess he's french (which would explain why he looks so grumpy...)

*butternut squash can be used as well, since the flavor and texture are surprisingly similar (almost indistinguishable)
**if you are using an oven proof skillet (like cast iron) there is no need to transfer to a baking dish. simply add the water to the skillet, cover, and bake. since the skillet is already hot it will cook faster so reduce your cooking time to total 15 minutes instead of 20

the best is yet to come

i spent the weekend cooking, just for you. now i just have to find the time to put all of that goodness out here. no worries, it's coming. patience, grasshopper...

baking cookies

i have the most adorable niece and nephews on the planet, 2 of whom LOVE to bake cookies with their auntie lindsay. please ignore the fact that i look totally disgusting in these pictures and instead focus on the fact that i am baking deliciousness with my 3 year and 18 month old helpers who are cute as can be :)

 
well that's it for the baking, now we'll enjoy the spoils :)

leftover casserole

okay, i my family we have turkey for both thanksgiving and Christmas, which means we have to get pretty creative with the leftovers to avoid feeling like we're eating the same thing over and over and over again. this is a casserole we make that uses a little of everything you might have stealing up all the space in your refrigerator. i see no reason why you couldn't just swap in some ham and make the same meal if you didn't have turkey.  it's kind of a shepherd's pie of sorts, at least that's the only thing i can think to compare it to, and it is soooo simple. simple enough, in fact, that i will skip the "recipe" and just post assembly instructions.

lightly grease a baking dish (we use a 13x9, but there are a lot of us, you could totally use an 8x8 if you are a smaller bunch) and put a thin layer of gravy in the bottom. now you just layer on stuffing, turkey, beans (or whatever veggie you have lying around), mashed potatoes and top with gravy. bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until warmed through. remember everything is already cooked so don't go overboard here! that's it. told you it was easy.

snowman soup

this isn't really a recipe, but i don't care. it's cute and festive and i'm posting it anyway!

Snowman Soup 

Assemble in a gift bag, gift mug or small zipper food storage bag:

• 1 individual packet hot chocolate mix
• 2-3 chocolate kiss candies
• 10-15 mini-marshmallows
• small candy cane

Attach free printable Snowman Soup Gift Tag or Snowman Soup Bag Topper and share a warming gift!
Or, hand-write this poem and attach to gift:

Snowman Soup
Was told you've been real good this year.
Always glad to hear it!
With freezing weather drawing near,
You'll need to warm the spirit.Printable Snowman Soup Gift TagSo here's a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick.
Add hot water, sip it slow.
It's sure to do the trick!

the leftover makeover

if i had a show on the food network, this is what it would be called. it's also one of my favorite things about thanksgiving. so,brace yourself, i've got oodles of recipes for using up all the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and other goodies. great, now i'm hungry...

roasted acorn squash

okay, so this isn't so much a recipe as a simple set of instructions. why? well, because there is no recipe. just estimate the amounts as you go. that's pretty much what i do every time i'm in the kitchen and things turn out just fine. usually. so here goes:

roasted acorn squash

acorn squash

butter

fresh sage

brown sugar

apple juice

cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds (bonus! you can roast the seeds of any squash the same way you would pumpkin seeds at halloween). use a fork to poke some holes in the squash, then coat the squash halves with butter and leave a dab in the bowl of the squash. you can use olive oil if you prefer, in which case you would omit the bit in the bowl. sprinkle with brown sugar, leaving a bit in the bowl of the sqaush. place in a roasting dish with 1/2-3/4 of an inch of juice (you could use water if you like) roast, uncovered, until squash is soft.

double bonus! acorn squash, butternut squash and even pumpkin can be used interchangeably in this recipe

harvest stew

this hearty meal is an excellent way to celebrate the bounty of the autumn harvest. some of the ingredients may seem a little strange, but trust me, the finished product is quite delicious.

harvest stew

 

1 1/2 lbs pork

1 1/2 cups of flour seasoned with 1/2 tsp each: dried sage, salt, pepper, allspice

3 tbs olive oil

1 acorn or butternut squash

2-3 potatoes

2-3 carrots

2 apples

handful of mushrooms

1 cup apple cider or juice

3 cups chicken stock

water to cover

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup dried cranberries

cut pork and vegetables into 1 inch cubes. dredge pork in seasoned flour. coat the bottom of a large pot (the bigger the better) with olive oil (2-3 tbs should do) sear the flour coated pork over medium high heat. remove pork, set aside and add the squash cubes to the pot, season with salt and pepper. saute for 3 minutes then add potatoes and carrots, season. saute 3 more minutes and add apples and mushrooms. pour apple sauce over the veggies to deglaze the pan (make sure you use you spoon to sort of scrape up the flavorful bits on the bottom of the pot), then add the pork back to the pot. add chicken stock and water to cover. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. add dried cranberries just before serving.

sidenote: if you anticipate a lot of leftovers (as i always do) you might want to leave the cranberries our of the pot and simply add them to the bowl as you serve the stew. they get a weird texture when heated, then refrigerated. i don't know why, that's just the way it is.

chicken soup for my soul

it's officially fall, which means it's officially soup season. happy face. let's say we kick thing off with this oldie but goody (maybe besty). chicken noodle soup. used to be i only liked the stuff when i was sick, but this version is sooo good i could eat it all year long. wait...that's exactly what i do. anyhow...
i think this soup is best made with the carcass leftovers of a roasted chicken. even if i'm buying chicken specifically for this soup i'll roast it first. it may seem like an extra step, but the flavor is IMMENSELY better that way. also, you really can't substitute boneless anything into this soup, it will be bland and gross. okay, so here it is, my grandmother's recipe with a few little tweaks of my own:

chicken noodle soup

2 tbs olive oil

1 onion, diced

1-2 medium to large carrot(s), diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 tbs salt

1/2 tbs pepper

6 cups water

bones from a roasted chicken

6 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cups chicken stock

noodles (recipe below)

heat olive oil in a large soup pot. saute vegetables 3-5 minutes. add salt and pepper, water, thyme and chicken bones.  bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour. strain and reserve liquid (this is homemade chicken stock for those who are wondering). let the bones cool enough to touch. pick off and reserve any meat left on the bones, then discard them along with the vegetables* and thyme sprigs (the leaves will have fallen off into the liquid). return your cooking liquid to the stove over medium to medium-high heat, add the extra chicken stock** and the reserved meat. slowly drop in your homemade noodles and heat through (about 10 minutes).

*these vegetables have totally leached all of their flavor and nutrients into the broth so they're pretty gross now. if you like veggies in your soup (like i do) chop up a few extras and saute them before you add the liquid back into the pot.

**i supplement with extra stock rather than more water to deepen the flavor.

noodles

5 large eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

measure flour either onto your board/counter or into an extra large bowl. add salt. form a well in the middle (like a flour volcano). break eggs into the well. using a fork, break the yolks and slowly mix the flour into the eggs. mix until you have formed a stiff dough. on a floured surface, roll dough out very thin (about 1/8 inch thick). using a pizza cutter or a vary sharp knife, cut into strips (noodles) make sure each of your noodles is covered with a dusting of flour (this thickens your soup later). let stand 1-4 hours*

*the drier the better. if your noodles are too wet, they cook up more like dumplings than noodles-not that that's a bad thing...

holy slacker batman!

i apologize for my absence (although very few people actually care). i have no legitimate excuse so i won't bother. no recipe in this post, but i have big plans for dinner tonight so i'll get back to you on that one. i'll be better. i promise.

i will not be shamed by this

sometimes when i cook i pretend i am hosting a cooking show. rephrase: almost every time i cook i pretend i am hosting a cooking show. i talk to imaginary cameras and give tips to an imaginary audience, even when i'm making grilled cheese. ridiculous? maybe, but when the food network offers me my own show, i'll be ready...

a tour of my kitchen

please forgive my absence, i have been busy preparing to move. again. i do that a lot. i have mixed feelings about this one though, there are some things i will totally miss about this place and there are things i most definitely will not. for example: my tiny kitchen. it's not the world's smallest by any means, there's actually plenty of room to move around, but there is very little cupboard space and even less counter space. this problem is compounded by the fact that i have roommates. plural. so here's my tribute/goodbye to this space and a little insight for you.

see why i'm glad to get out of here?

a fiesta for your fourth

summer is upon us and summer brings all sorts of wonderful things, including weather so hot you cannot imagine wanting to stand inside and cook a meal. so what do we do? we take it outside to the grill. ahhhh, the grill, the most manly cooking accoutrement since we emerged from the cave and stopped consuming raw dinosaur meat. ladies, don't let them fool you, you more than capable of holding your own out there (but if they're willing why not let them do all the work?). we have reached the height of summer, the fourth of july, and that means 2 things: fireworks and hamburgers. yeehaw! two of my very favorite things brought together on one fabulous day. but in a summer filled with grill marks, burgers can be a little mundane. worry no more, my friends, i am about to introduce you to the anti-mundane burger-well, one of them anyway...

fiesta burger with all the fixings

fiesta cheeseburger (and toppings)

1 lb ground beef

3 tbs fajita seasoning (that's 1 1/2 packets of the store bought stuff)

2 bell peppers, sliced (1 used 1 yellow, half a red and half a green, but do your own thing here)

1 small/medium or 1/2 large onion, any variety you like, sliced (use more if you like, less if you don't)

5-7 mushrooms, sliced (optional)

2 tbs oil (vegetable, canola, olive, i'm not picky)

1/4 cup water

sliced tomato, sliced avocado and sliced cheese (i use this great chipotle cheddar i found at winco)

mix 2 tablespoons (1 packet) fajita seasoning, water, and oil in a large ziploc bag, seal and shake to mix. add peppers, onion and mushroom slices, seal and shake again. set aside while you prepare the burger.

add remaining seasoning mix to ground beef and get handsy with it. combine well, but be careful not to over-mix because that will make your burgers dry and tough. form beef into patties (4 to be exact) and let them rest a minute while you tend to the peppers. now, i live in a small apartment, with a small kitchen, and no yard, which means no grill. so i'm using a grill pan and sauteing my vegetables in a large skillet over high heat. if i were grilling for realsies i would pop my veggies into a foil packet (just fold the foil in half and crimp the edges into something resembling an envelope) include the liquid from the baggie, and throw them on the grill while you cook the burgers. speaking over burgers, it's time to throw them on the grill too. i'm gonna go ahead and assume that you know how to proceed from this point and jump to the end. put your now cooked burgers on a bun and top with the cheese, your also finished veggies (they need the same amount of time as your burgers, and need to be flipped once, just like your beef), tomato and avocado. i find that tongs are the best tool for this job. this is not a ketchup and mustard kinda burger, so if you need a condiment stick with mayo-the creaminess can help counteract the heat in the seasonings and such.

chili spiced corn on the cob

4 ears of corn, in the husk

1 stick of butter, softened

1 tbs chili powder

soak the corn in water for 3-5 minutes. leave it in the husk. i know it sounds weird, but this is my favorite way to grill corn. now place your husky, soaked corn directly on the grill for 10-15 minutes. since i don't actually have a grill, i put mine directly on the rack of a 425 degree oven. you'll know the corn is done when you can smell it, or, for you visual people, when you pull the husk back a bit and it looks done. while your corn is cooking, mix up a little chili spiced butter by combined the chili powder and butter. that's really all there is to it. remove the husk, smother your corn with the spiced butter and enjoy.

classic creamy coleslaw

okay, not my recipe (i don't have one) so click the link and use that recipe.

orange/honey glazed chicken

confession: this recipe was invented because i had an orange that wasn't gonna last much longer, but i wasn't in the mood to just eat it. they say necessity is the mother of invention and, in this case, they were right.

orange/honey glazed chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, or 2 lbs chicken tenders
2 oranges
4 tbs honey
1 tbs poppy seeds
1 tbs fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
zest and juice the oranges into the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. add honey, poppy seeds, rosemary, salt and pepper. whisk to combine. add chicken, cover with foil and marinate for 15-30 minutes. bake (covered) in a 350 degree oven until chicken is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes (tenders will only need 15-25 min). remove foil and let rest 5 minutes before serving. the sauce will concentrate as it cooks leaving a delicious glaze on the chicken and the rosemary adds a great earthiness to an otherwise sweet glaze.
this glaze also works on pork and is delicious over a whole roasted chicken, although the application is a bit different in that case. look for a post about it in the future, or feel free to e-mail me if you just can't wait :)

a taste of the tropical

we've been hit by a heat wave, and that means i'm feeling tropical. as much as i would like an island vacation, i REALLY can't afford it right now (can anyone?). so, to satisfy my craving for something tropical and delicious.

pina colada chicken and dipping sauce

chicken

1 1/2 lb chicken tenders or boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips

1 can coconut milk

1/3 cup pineapple juice (i reserve the stuff from a can of pineapple)

pinch of salt
2 cups shredded coconut flake (i like mine sweetened but unsweetened is fine. use what you like)
combine coconut milk, pineapple juice and salt in a deep dish or large plastic bag. add chicken and marinate for 30-45 minutes. remove the chicken and dredge in the coconut flakes. place on a lined cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, flipping after 8 minutes.

dipping sauce
1 can pineapple (chunks, rings, crushed, anything will work really, you'll just have to do some extra chopping)
1 1/2 tbs corn starch
3 tbs apple cider vinegar (plain old white vinegar will work too)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce

drain the pineapple and reserve the juice. add water to pineapple juice to equal 1 cup. whisk cornstarch into juice. pour juice into a skillet or saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. reduce heat to medium-low. add vinegar, brown sugar and salt. remove from heat, add pineapple. (i like a little texture and extra flavor to my sauce. this is where you'll need to chop any extra large pieces of pineapple).
i use this sweet 'n' sour sauce on all sorts of things (pineapple and all). i even add pieces of bell pepper sometimes for a little extra layer of flavor