Top Ten of Twenty-Eleven!

Without further ado...

1. Edamame Mac & Cheese

2. Peach Frozen Yogurt

  

3. Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie

4. Pumpkin Prune Bread

5. Pork Chops with Sour Cream Sauce

6. Toddler-friendly Round Crayons
You can make more than just food in the kitchen!

7. Mini Canadian Bacon Quiche

8. Experiment! Oven Ready Lasagna

9. Banana Muffins with Caramel Icing

10. BOMB (Burst of Mega Blueberry) Muffins

The Most Viewed Desserts of 2011

And the fun continues!  Listed below are the most viewed dessert posts of the year.  The stats range from 16 to 52 views.

::Easter Brownies {16 Views}
Topping Robin Eggs on brownies?  Seems like a win-win to me!

::Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt
My first try with my new frozen yogurt/ice cream maker!

::Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies {17 views}
Oh, my!  These are delicious!!

::Fruit Biscuit Braid
This is also in the quick bread list.  It makes a light dessert and fairly addicting.

::Strawberry Shortcake {19 views}
My first attempt at making homemade Strawberry Shortcake.  The cake was easy to bake although there were jokes about how it tastes like a fancy biscuit.

::Low-fat Raspberry Yogurt Pie {20 views}
This is such an easy pie to make!  I made the crust from scratch, but that isn't necessary.  Making the raspberry heart was a last-minute thought that made a big impression.

And the number 1 most viewed dessert of 2011...

Peach Frozen Yogurt!
This was also my favorite frozen yogurt (or ice cream for that matter) of the year!

Most Viewed Quick Breads of 2011

Quick breads are one of my favorite things to bake.  The stats showed this as well, the most popular range from 15 to 32 views.

::Raspberry Muffins {15 views}
I like to add fruits into muffins.  This is the best (aka healthiest) recipe I found for raspberry muffins.

::Experiment!  Irish Soda Bread {16 views}
It seems that around St. Patrick's Day food bloggers are baking Irish Soda Bread.  Let's just say that I tried... :)

::Fruit Biscuit Braid {17 views}
I tried to substitute biscuit for a pie-crust dough, and it's definitely hit or miss with making it.  Taste wise, it took some getting used to, but I kept going back for more!

::BOMB (Burst of Mega Blueberry) Muffins {22 views}
This is an excellent recipe for blueberry muffins!  Looks like I'll be making them again soon.

::Banana Muffins with Caramel Icing
These muffins are so good!  I like that the caramel icing automatically makes an okay muffin become acceptable as a gift or to serve at a holiday gathering.

And the most viewed quick bread post of the year is...

Pumpkin Prune Bread!
My very own recipe! :)

Most Viewed Meals of 2011

In the next few days, I'll be reviewing the most popular posts of the year. Here's the list for the most viewed meals (breakfast, soups, salad, main course) of the year. The viewers range from 16 to 62.

::Steel-Cut Oatmeal {16 views}
Once you have steel-cut oats, you won't want to go back!

::Oven-fried Chicken
This is one way to make chicken.  It's not my favorite, but I could see myself trying this recipe again

::Chicken Tortellini Soup {17 views}
I have made this soup dozens of times this year.  I love the versatility and the pasta really tops it off!

::Set for Life's Potato Salad {18 views}
This has been my potato salad of choice lately.  It seems to marry the potato salad I grew up with, with the vinegar taste I love in German potato salad.

::Spicy Potato Soup {19 views}
I remember this soup being a staple in childhood.  I recently made it for dinner and it's a hit-- again!

::Experiment! Oven Ready Lasagna {23 views}
This post was the first time I made lasagna with the no-cook noodles.  It's my updated lasagna recipe and my favorite, as well.  Recently I've been laying the pasta in the baking dish and covering it with boiling water, letting the pasta soften as I make the sauce.

::Mini Canadian Bacon Quiche {24 views}
It's interesting that this post is up there in viewership.  I had great intentions with this idea, but it just wasn't executed as I imagined!

::Pork Chops with Sour Cream Sauce {28 views}
After grilling, this is our favorite way to make pork chops!

::Biscuit Chicken Pot Pie {40 views}
I love the comfort-food aspect of this recipe.  I just haven't perfected the biscuit part.

The number one most viewed "meal" of the year is...

Edamame Mac & Cheese!
A quick lunch that Julia and I often eat.  I just discovered Edamame on January 2nd, and it's also a snack that everyone in the family enjoys!

Baked Potato with Chili

Yesterday we had my parents and sister over for a winter/early Christmas party.  I bought five baker's russet potatoes and wanted to know how to bake them properly.  In a search, the first four links came up with the exact same method of baking potatoes.
1. Scrub potatoes
2. Poke potatoes with 6-12 deep holes
3. Rub them with vegetable oil (or cooking oil of your choice)
4. Sprinkle kosher salt or sea salt
5. Bake in the oven, placing a baking sheet on a rack underneath for about 1 hour at 400 degrees.
After making these and seeing that we needed to clean the oven rack, we thought about baking them directly on the baking sheet next time.

The skin is crisp and flavorful.  The potatoes were gorgeous.  We topped them with chili and everyone was completely full.  Some were good and ate salad (I wasn't among them), but we all had room for some chocolate fondue and fresh fruit!

Potato bar with chili, toppings and sauteed mushrooms

Sparkling Cider, ginger snaps, Spitzbuben, and banana bread

(P.S. sorry the pictures are terrible quality)

Lasagna Soup

In the fall of 2008 I created this soup with inspiration from Good Things Utah.  It was a dinner staple until mid 2010.  Originally I would use 1/2 pound of Jimmy Dean sausage, but this time I used ground turkey.

Recipe
1/2 pound of ground meat (turkey, sausage or beef)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cups of pasta
Cheeses like Mozzarella or Parmesan

Vegetable suggestions
(aim for about 1 cup for each vegetable)

diced carrots
baby spinach
diced zucchini
onion
mushrooms

Herb/spice suggestions
(to taste)

Italian seasoning
Parsley
onion powder/dried onions
garlic powder
black pepper
salt

Instructions
Cut carrots and begin to boil in a medium saucepan.  If you'd like to use an onion, dice and begin to sautee in a skillet.  Brown ground meat in a skillet until cooked through.  (I like to spice the ground turkey to ensure more flavor.)  In the skillet, add cans of chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Simmer until bubbly.  Stir in all herbs and spices into the meat/sauce mixture.

Meanwhile, add any other vegetables into the medium saucepan to soften.  Make sure there is enough water to cook two cups of pasta.  Add pasta to the boiling water. 

Add baby spinach in the skillet after pasta begins to cook.  After the pasta has cooked and the baby spinach has wilted, drain the pasta and vegetables returning them to the saucepan.  Mix the meat/sauce/spinach mixture into the pasta. 

One suggestion is add the cheese to the bottom of the bowl and ladle the hot soup into the bowl.  Or just top the soup with your cheese of choice. 

Mashed potato casserole

With some leftover ham from Thanksgiving and leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving weekend, I decided to get rid of them all by making a casserole.  The great thing about this idea is that anything that complements potatoes would work well in the casserole.  I started out by layering the mashed potatoes, mozzarella cheese, chopped ham and topping it with more cheese.  I decided to amp up the flavor a bit by mixing garlic powder, onion powder and dried parsley with the potatoes (also stir in some milk if they need moistened.)  After that I decided to mix it all together instead of doing a layer-thing.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then broil on low for 4-5 minutes to brown the top.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

After I saw these featured on Today, I immediately wanted to make them for a Thanksgiving dessert.  They weren't as hard to make as I thought and they're worth the effort.  They taste like pumpkin pie but instead of crust, it has chocolate goodness!

Brownie crust:
5 ounces chocolate, unsweetened {I melted 4 oz in the beginning and 1 oz later on for drizzling}
2 ounces chocolate, bittersweet
4 ounces butter {1 stick}
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1-1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Pumpkin topping:
8 ounces cream cheese
15 ounces pumpkin puree
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
6 eggs
1 ounce melted chocolate, for drizzling

 Grease (shortening and flour) a 9x13 pan

 Line pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, so there is enough over hang to help remove the bars when they're baked.

 In a double boiler, melt 2 oz. dark chocolate, milk chocolate and butter

Off the heat, stir in cocoa and sugar

Whisk in eggs. Add salt; stir, then add flour.  Combine well.

 Pour evenly into lined-pan

For pumpkin mixture, combine cream cheese and pumpkin

  Add sugar, salt and spices.  Stir well. Add eggs one at a time.  Continue to stir until smooth.

 Pour over the chocolate crust

Drizzle melted chocolate on top with a spoon or piping bag.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes {it took about 1 hour to bake for me} or until puffy in the middle.  Allow to cool.

Remove and cut into bars when chilled.

Source: Jansen Chan. "Chocolate Pumpkin Bars." Today.  2011.

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This salad has become a staple at holiday dinners in the last few years.  It is also the most asked for recipe among extended family and friends.  Although it's not my favorite, it seems to be the little salad that could.  I made it this year for Thanksgiving, and I found that I liked it best two days after it was made.  This salad has three layers.

Crust
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter {I would like to try less butter}
3 T. sugar

Stir and press into a 9x13 baking dish

Middle filling
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1 tub whipped topping (Cool Whip)
1 cup sugar

Combine and lay on top of cooled crust

Topping
2 cups hot water
2 pkg (6 oz) strawberry Jell-o {would like to make "natural" strawberry gelatin with strawberry juice}
1 qrt frozen strawberries (do not thaw)

Mix in a saucepan, let thicken slightly.  Pour over the cream cheese layer. Best if chilled 1 to 24 hours before eating.

Enjoy!  Recipe from Grandma Bonnie
Also check out the recipe and directions from Life As Mom

Pumpkin Cookies

Although there is already a pumpkin cookie recipe on this blog, I wanted to try another recipe.  The result was a rich, delicious cookie.  They're also easy to make.  Julia even helped me.

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour {as my thing, I used 1 cup pastry wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose}

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoons ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups (260 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil or corn oil (or other flavorless oil)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)
1 cup (215 grams) pumpkin puree

Optional goodness:
1 cup chocolate chips or chopped nuts
frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, regular or low-fat, room temperature
2 T unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Stir together dry ingredients.  In another bowl, mix eggs and sugar until thoroughly mixed (about 2 minutes).  Add oil, pumpkin and vanilla extract.  Slowly beat in the flour mixture.  Fold in chocolate chips or nuts.  (I used 1/2 cup dark chocolate and 1/2 milk chocolate chips.)  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Use 1/4 measuring cup to scoop out huge cookies.  Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.  It made 15 giant size cookies.  The original recipe says it yields 18. 

Source: Jaworski, Stephanie. "Pumpkin Cookies." Recipe  Joy of Baking.com.  http://www.joyofbaking.com/PumpkinCookies.html#ixzz1e7h8Enhi

Easy garlic bread

I splurge and use "white" bread, any kind, usually we buy them at Costco {below is their Torta sandwich rolls.}  Spread some butter, sprinkle garlic salt (I used garlic powder, but Thomas said it needs salt), and Parmesan cheese.  Broil on low for 4 minutes, but check multiple times to make sure the bread doesn't burn.  In the future, we (re: Thomas) want to try to make garlic bread with grated, fresh garlic.

This is from last night when I made chili.

Spicy Potato Soup

This is one of the soups from my childhood.  Thomas says it's his favorite soup that I've made.  However, I don't really have a recipe to write down.  It's all an approximation but maybe next time I make it, I'll note more specific measurements.

4 medium (red) potatoes
6- 8 oz. tomato sauce (so not the entire can)
1/2 - 3/4 lb. lean ground turkey
1 zucchini (or green beans; peas)
chili powder
garlic powder
onion powder {alternatives: saute onion to your taste, or dried onion}
black pepper
salt

Wash and dice potatoes, peeling is optional.  In a medium saucepan, cook for 20-30 minutes until potatoes are tender.  Meanwhile, {saute onion}, brown ground turkey, sprinkle chili powder, garlic- and onion powders, and pepper.  Wash and slice zucchini into fourths, add into turkey mixture.  Drain potatoes (when done.)  Combine the potatoes and meat into the medium saucepan.  Add tomato sauce (until it barely covers food), pour in a little water (about 1/2 cup) to thin out the sauce.  Sprinkle in more chili powder, pepper, salt, garlic- and onion powder.  Stir over medium-high heat until the soup comes together, slightly bubbly and thickened.  My mom's original recipe suggested to top with Tabasco.

Beef Stroganoff

Yesterday we were watching Zonya Health Bites (on KBYU), where her featured recipe was crock-pot beef stroganoff.  Thomas commented that he wanted that for dinner.  He went to the grocery store to get some beef.  He cut up the roast and an onion.  We followed the recipe, except I only added one cup of light sour cream at the end.  It was pretty good, a little bland, but a filling meal.  I know that I've been making too many meatless meals when Thomas craves meat!

1 can cream of mushroom soup (healthy request)
1 can beef broth (reduced sodium)
1 can (4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
3 T cornstarch
3/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/3 cup Marsala wine (optional)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
Stir together in a slow cooker.

1 large onion, diced
2.5 lbs lean top round or sirloin steak, well trimmed of fat, cubed
Add into the soup mixture

Cook on high for four to five hours or on low for nine to ten hours.

About 20 minutes before serving
*stir 1-1/2 cups of light sour cream in the slow cooker
*boil water, cook 12 oz. whole wheat pasta
     *add frozen vegetables about five minutes before pasta is finished
Drain cooked pasta and vegetables, plate beef stroganoff on top
{I found salt and pepper is needed, especially if you didn't add salt in the slow cooker.}

Source: www.zonya.com. Lickety-Split Meals. "Beef Stroganoff over Noodles." http://www.zonya.com/pdf/recipes/Beef_Stroganoff.pdf

Blueberry parfait

I've been very eager to try out my new dessert glasses and -spoons.  I created a parfait with Greek yogurt, blueberries and a granola cereal.  The first layer is about three spoonfuls of yogurt, couple spoonfuls of thawed blueberries and 1/4 cup granola pumpkin seed cereal (from Costco).  I repeated the layers: yogurt, blueberries, cereal, then more yogurt and berries to top off the dessert. 

I was skeptical of my idea at first because I'm not a huge fan of blueberries, but it was an incredible dessert.  The blueberries sweetened the yogurt and the cereal provided a nice crunch.

Should have made one for Julia, too!  She ate half of ours.

"Flower" Biscuits

I made soup last night, but instead of throwing pasta in there, I decided to make biscuits.  Whenever I make biscuits, I ask myself why I like making them so much.  They're messy and the biscuits are saturated in flour.  I used little flower cookie cutters to cut them out, and in the end they turned out pretty well.  We all ate four of them with our soup.  Julia was eating them by the hand full.

The recipe is so easy, and doesn't have any butter in it.

1 cup whole wheat flour {I use wheat pastry}
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder
2-4 T. oil
1 cup 1% or skim milk

Mix dry ingredients (you may also use 2 cups white flour), add liquids and stir just until blended.  Knead dough on floured counter top for 30 seconds.  Press or roll dough to 1/2-inch thick. Cut into 2-inch circles or squares.  Place on a nonstick baking sheet, bake at 425 degrees for 12-14 minutes.

Recipe source: Merrill Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland.  "Baking Powder Biscuits." Set for Life.  Salt Lake City, UT: Sunset Publishers, 1995. 94.

Skillet Squash Dish

I've made this dish twice in the past two weeks.  I cooked three red potatoes in the microwave.  Meanwhile I sliced yellow squash and began to sautee them in (as little as possible) olive oil.  I sprinkled "Pasta- und Pommessalz", which main ingredient after salt is garlic, on top of them.  When they're cooked (translucent), transfer to paper-towel lined plate.  Dice cooked potatoes and sautee in (as little as possible) oiled skillet. The first time I just seasoned them with black pepper and the second time I seasoned them with smoked paprika.  Thomas seemed to like the latter better.  Add ham, low-fat weiners, sausage with the potatoes.  Combine the squash with the meat and potatoes.  Sprinkle parsley over the dish before serving.  Easy peasy.

What's-in-the-pantry Meatless Taco Soup

It's one of those nights with an almost bare fridge, so I needed my creative juices to help me out for dinner.  But we have plenty of cans in the pantry (tomatoes, corn, beans), so a soup made sense to me even without beef.  I had carrots that needed to be used, so I just threw those in too.

Carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
3 T taco seasoning
1 can beef broth
1/2 box (13.25 oz) whole wheat rotini pasta

Chop baby carrots and boil them for about 20 minutes.  Drain and return to the medium saucepan.  Add canned corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, taco seasoning and beef broth.  Stir in pasta.  Raise the heat to high until boiling (stirring occasionally).  Turn the heat down to low, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes. 

It turned out great!  The pasta really thickened it.  It's definitely a nice to-go-to soup when there isn't a lot of time to cook!  Top with your choice of flavor, any cheese, sour cream, or spicy sauce. 

"Meaty" Taco Soup
Here's the same soup, but with ground turkey, chicken broth (instead of beef broth) and without pasta.  Delish!

T's Chicken & Rice

Thomas made dinner tonight.  This isn't new-- but he came up with this idea without my input.  He combined 1 cup uncooked rice (parboiled) with 1 can cream of mushroom soup with roasted garlic, and 1 can chicken broth, Italian seasoning, dried onion and smoked paprika.  Let sit (20 minutes) while preparing 1.5 lb chicken breast tenderloins then sprinkle salt and poultry seasoning on the chicken.  Layer the 9x13 baking dish with rice mixture and chicken.  Okay, I lied, my contribution was adding the carrot sticks.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour, remove foil cover from dish 10 minutes before to let the sauce thicken. 

Chicken Divan

Chicken Divan has intimidated me for a couple of years now.  After reading the low-fat recipe from Set for Life, I decided to give it a try.  This recipe isn't intimidating at all.  But of course, with Thomas and I, we rarely follow a recipe to a T.  We mixed the rice, soup mixture and chicken together (instead of layering them separately) and just layered the asparagus.  It was pretty scrumptious!

2 (10-oz) packages frozen broccoli or asparagus spears
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup sour cream, low fat
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp curry powder (optional)
1 (10-3/4 oz) can cream of chicken soup, low fat
2 cups cooked brown rice [we used half parboil and half brown]
2 cups cooked and cubed chicken or turkey breast
2 slices whole wheat bread [we omitted]
2 T Parmesan cheese

Slightly cook broccoli [or asparagus.]*  Mix buttermilk, sour cream, lemon juice, and soup.  In large baking dish, layer half the soup mixture, rice, chicken and [vegetables].  Top with remaining soup mixture.  For bread crumbs, place bread and cheese in a blender and pulse until fine.  Sprinkle over the top.  Cover and bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Uncover and bake five more minute or until hot and bubbly.

From: Merrill, Jane P. and Karen M. Sunderland. "Chicken Divan."  Set for Life. Salt Lake City, UT: Sunrise Publishers, 1995. 164.

*{Tips: to microwave, place frozen packages of vegetables on paper towel and cook on high for 3-4 minutes.  Cook asparagus thoroughly as I only cooked them on the stove for a couple of minutes and they were still crunchy after 25 minutes in the oven.  To microwave the entire casserole, cover with plastic wrap and cook at 70% power for 12 to 15 minutes or until done.}

October 21, 2011

Chicken Divan with french beans

This time I mixed the sauce with minute rice, layered half the sauce, chicken (from rotisserie), green beans, and the remaining sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese (of course Thomas added lots more!)

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes {au Gratin}

Have I covered all the possible potato dishes in that title?  Scalloped potatoes are good, but I'm a big sucker for cheese, so I had to cheat and add cheese.  This recipe is sort of my own-- a concoction of a couple of different recipes.  Potatoes are versatile, so just imagine the possibilities! 

First thinly cut 1 pound of potatoes.  I used red potatoes this time around.

For the sauce, melt 1-2 Tablespoon butter in a saucepan.  Mix in an onion or dried onions.  To make the roux add 2 T flour, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and Parmesan cheese (all to taste). Pour 1-1/4 cups milk all at once and whisk well.  At first I kept the heat on medium low until I figured out that turning up the heat to medium high will get the sauce thick and bubbly in no time.  I do like to keep stirring it so the milk doesn't burn on the bottom.

Layer half the sliced potatoes in a greased casserole dish (8x8), cover with half the sauce and repeat.  Cut two slices of (wheat) bread into 1-inch cubes.  Cover the top of the dish with bread cubes and 1/2-1 cup shredded cheese.

Bake for 1 hour in a 350 degree oven or until done.

Inspired by Better Homes and Gardens and Set for Life.

Strawberry Shortcake

This cake didn't turn out as I anticipated, but it was pretty good.  At the party, Thomas remarked that it will taste like a biscuit, so a couple people teased me saying that it was a tasty biscuit.  It wasn't very thick, so I didn't cut it in half, but it would probably be doable. 

For strawberries:
1/4 cup sugar
6 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
Mix together in a large bowl

Cake:
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk

Whipped cream:
1 cup whipping cream
beat until creamed

 Fanchy schmancy greasing- shortening and dusting of flour
Use an 8 inch round baking pan

Stir together 1/4 cup sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 tsp baking powder

 I learned some great tips here on "cutting in butter."  First, cut the butter into cubes.

 Then cover the butter chunk with the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender to combine the butter into the flour mixture until butter is like coarse crumbs.

Whisk together 1 beaten egg and 2/3 cup milk

 Mix the dry and wet ingredients together

 All stirred and incorporated

 Bake for 15-18 minutes in a 450 degree oven.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

You can split the cake in half and spread the strawberries and whipped cream on the first layer, add the top layer and top with remaining whipped cream and strawberries.  Or just top the cake with store-bought whipped cream and strawberries. :)

{From: Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. 12th ed. Des Moines, IA: Better Homes and Gardens Books, 2002. 246-247.}