Comfort Food!

Earlier this week, it snowed three times. Kinda makes you want to curl up with a warm, snuggly blanket and read. Or, make something warm and comforting...like rice pudding! Plus, it makes your house smell deeeeeelicious! And, for nostalgia's sake, I used my Mom's recipe, which I think may have been her Mom's recipe too. I remember coming home from school to this yummy treat...mmm...

Rice Pudding (with a special thanks to my Mom, Sharol Beckner Alexander Watkins)

1 cup cooked rice ( I used white Minute Rice, but any kind would work)
4 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar or 2/3 cup brown sugar (of course, you know I opted for the brown sugar!)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins

Combine rice, milk, sugar and salt.  Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 quart baking dish.  Bake at 300 degrees for one hour (stirring occasionally).  Add nutmeg and raisins.  Bake another 1 1/2 hours (stirring occasionally).

*My rice pudding turned out a tad bit runny this time, so next time I think I'll use 3 1/2 cups milk and see what happens.  Also, the brown sugar makes the pudding sort of a beigy-tan, instead of the usual white, but it also lends a brown-sugar-caramel flavor, which is awesome!

More healthy eating!

After a weekend of let's say, "less than healthy" meals, I am motivated once again to try to put good things in my body.  Yesterday, for lunch, my daughter and I had "California Turk'y" burgers (actually soy and wheat) with fresh avocado and tortilla chips with a Mexican-style layered dip - ole!

*While I found the "turk'y" burgers tasty, they are nothing compared to the black bean burgers I usually buy! I think the brand name is Morning Star...

Not ALL preschoolers are picky eaters!

I've also been busy prepping for Regan's Dr. Seuss-themed play date this week; his birthday is Friday, March 2nd! Check out the green eggs and ham I made from felt...I truly have some kind of crafting addiction...now I just need to come up  with a fun snack recipe...

Zucchini Cakes!

During a quick glance at the contents of our "garage freezer" (which is, not surprisingly, a small chest freezer in , yep, our garage...) I spied bags and bags of shredded zucchini from last summer's garden.  Lunch was a "no-brainer": zucchini cakes (or fritters, or pancakes, or whatever...)! This is a super-simple and very tasty alternative to boring old grilled cheese for lunch! The bright green zucchini really made me antsy for spring to get here, so I can get my garden started for the year! Soon, very soon...

Zucchini Cakes (origin of recipe unknown)

1 medium zucchini, shredded (I used 2 cups of frozen, shredded zucchini, thawed and drained)

6.5-ounce package cornbread mix

1 large egg

1/2 cup milk

vegetable oil (I used safflower)

Microwave the shredded zucchini 2 minutes on medium-high (I set the power to 80%); drain any juice.  Combine zucchini, cornbread mix, egg and milk.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Heat oil in a pan; drop heaping tablespoons of batter into hot oil.  Fry 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side.  Serve with your favorite dip.

I dipped my "cakes" in Tostitos Restaurant Style salsa, it's garlicky and I think it has cilantro in it too, it's also finely minced and pretty runny; just right for dippin'! You could also dip them in Cilantro Aioli (see 2/23/12 post for recipe) or ranch dressing, or even douse them with Tabasco sauce.  I also have a recipe for roasted red pepper dip, if you feel like giving it a whirl...enjoy!

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled

1 Tbl. olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

hot pepper sauce, to taste

Using a food processor, puree the red peppers with the garlic, olive oil and salt.  Add hot pepper sauce, to taste.

As per usual, if it's crummy outside...I bake! Today I felt like having some blueberry muffins with my morning coffee, but instead of my "regular" recipe, I made a muffin version of a blueberry lemon bread recipe I had.  The recipe is from www.allrecipes.com, from about 10 years ago, and it turned out great as cupcake-like muffins!

Blueberry Lemon Bread/Muffins 

1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 lemon, juiced (I used 3 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup  blueberries

Mix flour, baking powder and salt, and set aside.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggs and beat well.  Mix in lemon juice.  Add flour mixture, alternating with milk.  Fold in blueberries.  Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes. 

*I made 12 muffins and baked them for 30 minutes.  They turned out a little more cake-like than muffin-like, but it certainly did not affect the lemony-blueberry flavor! Regan and I ate them while they were still warm - heavenly!

It was my turn to host "girls night" last night, and I've been dying to try some new, healthier recipes out on my girlfriends! I found a great Thai peanut chicken recipe for the crock pot on Pinterest (from www.bhg.com) and thought I'd give it a whirl! It was delicious! Warning: there are a "butt-load" of ingredients!

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken 

2 medium onions, cut into thin wedges
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 small red sweet pepper, cut into bite-sized strips (I omitted)
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 Tbl. creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
2 Tbl. lime juice
2 Tbl. soy sauce
2 Tbl. quick-cooking tapioca
1 Tbl. grated fresh ginger (I omitted)
2-3 tsp. red curry paste (I omitted)
4 garlic, minced (I used dried, minced garlic)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
chopped peanuts (optional)

Place onions, carrot and sweet pepper in a slow cooker.  Top with chicken.  In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, peanut butter, lime peel, lime juice, soy sauce, tapioca, ginger, curry paste and garlic until smooth. Pour over all in cooker.  Cover and cook on LOW setting for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2-3 hours.  Stir in coconut milk and peas.  Let stand, covered for 5 minutes.  Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice.  If desired, sprinkle each serving with chopped peanuts.

I started my crock pot out at HIGH for one hour, and then LOW for 4 hours. I have a WARM setting on my crock pot, so I left the chicken mixture on WARM for two hours until it was time to serve. I also felt it was not "zesty" enough (perhaps because I omitted the curry paste and ginger), so I added more soy sauce and some bottled peanut sauce before serving over warm brown rice - so yummy!

As if that wasn't enough food for my guests, I also made roasted sweet potato cube skewers with a Cilantro Aioli dip. I also found this recipe on Pinterest, it's originally from http://rx4foodies.wordpress.com, and it was AWESOME!

Roasted Sweet Potato Cube Skewers

3 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled
extra virgin olive oil
Paprika
salt and pepper
bamboo skewers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Dice the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.  Place the cubes in a medium-sized bowl, drizzle with olive oil and season with paprika, salt and pepper. Toss with hands to coat evenly.  Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Stir the potatoes once or twice during roasting.  Roast for about 30 minutes, or until tender but slightly crispy on the outside.   Remove from oven and allow to cool just enough to be easily handled.  Skewer the cubes and enjoy with your favorite dip!

Cilantro Aioli 

1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, or 3 Tbl. Cilantro cooking base (found in the Hispanic food section of the supermarket)
juice of one lime
salt, to taste
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and chopped (optional)

In a food processor, combine the mayonnaise, cilantro and jalapeno; pulse until smooth.  Pour into a bowl. Add lime juice, and salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for one hour before serving, to allow all the flavors to develop. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Felt sushi! Just a cute little pick-me-up on this snowy morning...

Bread!

I've been looking forward to a nice, quiet weekend day to bake some bread, from scratch, but since I have a three-year-old, a nice, quiet weekend is pretty much a pipe dream! I bought all my ingredients weeks ago, in anticipation of some fun, old fashioned bread baking, and could not stand looking at them (the ingredients) one more minute, as they beckoned from the counter top! So, I finally just DID IT and baked my first loaves of homemade bread in probably 15 years! I used to have a bread machine, and pretty much killed it by making so much bread.  Then, there was a dry spell, where supermarket bread was sooooo much more convenient. Then, I took an EXTREMELY LONG maternity leave from work (it's been three years...) and have been baking and cooking up a storm!

I must thank Erin at www.houseonhillroad.com, whose blog I've been following for a while.  She posted this bread recipe on Pinterest, and felt I could trust her judgement! The original post is from Sara at  www.ourbestbites.com.  Her photo-filled tutorial REALLY helped me out! 

Multigrain Bread 

1 1/4 cups seven-grain hot cereal mix

2 1/2 cups boiling water

3 cups all-purpose flour (not bread flour)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup honey

4 Tbl. unsalted butter, melted and cooled*

2 1/2 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 Tbl. salt

Optional: 3/4 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds (I opted out)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats

*If you're using salted butter, just decrease the additional salt by just a bit.

Place cereal mix in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook and pour boiling water over it; let stand, stirring occasionally, until mixture cools to 100 degrees and resembles thick porridge, about one hour.  Whisk flours together in separate bowl.

Once grain mixture has cooled, add honey, butter and yeast and mix on low speed until combined.  Add flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, and knead until cohesive mass starts to form (1 1/2-2 minutes); cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rest for 20 minutes.  Add salt and knead on medium-low speed until dough clears sides of bowl, 3-4 minutes (if it does not clear sides, add 2-3 tablespoons additional all-purpose flour and knead until it does. Don't add more!) continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes.  Add seeds (if using) and knead for another 15 seconds.  Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand until seeds are dispersed evenly and the dough forms a smooth, round ball.  Place dough in large, lightly greased bowl; cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 45-60 minutes.

Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.  Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and divide in half.  Press one piece of dough into a 9 x 6-inch rectangle, with short side facing you.  Roll dough toward you into a firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go.  Turn loaf seam side up and pinch it closed.  Repeat with second piece of dough.  Spray loaves lightly with vegetable spray.  Roll each loaf in oats to coat evenly and place seam side down in prepared pans, pressing gently into corners.  Cover loaves loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled in size; 30-40 minutes.  Dough should barely spring back when poked with knuckles.

Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake until loaves register 200 degrees (check by poking with thermometer); 35-40 minutes.  Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for five minutes.  Remove loaves from pans, return to rack and let cool to room temperature, about two hours, before slicing and serving. 

The bread can be wrapped in a double layer of plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.  Wrapped with an additional layer of foil, the bread can be frozen for up to a month.

*For those without a stand mixer, stir wet and dry ingredients together with a stiff rubber spatula until the dough comes together and looks shaggy.  Transfer the dough to a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, 15-25 minutes, adding additional flour if necessary, to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter. Proceed with recipe as directed.

 before baking



 fresh from the oven

 I really feel empowered after this little bread-making adventure!