Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Southwestern Quiche

So I love quiche.  And starting to think outside the box of my normal repertoire.  Today it was a southwestern style quiche.  I love heat so added jalapenos and cumin to this recipe.  Very happy with how it turned out so without further ado...Yoyo's SW Quiche.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust (used Immaculate Kitchen)
1 1/2 cups 1% milk
4 eggs
1 cup mild shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 onion (used yellow) roughly chopped
1/2 jalapeno (de-seeded and minced)
1 cup black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin (plus more for sprinkling)
1/2 salt
Fresh lime juice
Freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 tbsps olive

Prebake pie crust (follow instructions on box) for 10 minutes @ 400 degrees.  Drop temp down to 325.  Saute onion and jalapeno in olive oil over medium heat until soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes).  While sauteing, add 1/2 tsp of cumin and pinch of salt.  Take off heat and cool in bowl.  While cooling, squeeze some lime juice over mixture and in a medium bowl,  mix together eggs, milk and cheese.  Pour onion mixture in bottom of pie crust.  Pinch salt over black beans and scoop over onion mixture.  Pour egg mixture on top (easiest to leave pie on rack to avoid spillage) and sprinkle cumin over eggs.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until eggs are set.  10 minutes before pulling out of oven, sprinkle fresh cilantro all over top. Cool on wire rack and serve.  Add more cilantro if you like.  It's my favorite herb, so always think more is better.

Happy Cooking!  Happier Eating!

xoxo,
Yoyo

Monday, January 9, 2012

Great night!

Oh, did I have a fun & delicious night in the kitchen.  I'm a "follow the recipe" kind of cook, but lately, I've been feeling more creative.  Maybe my confidence is growing.  And I did just upgrade my cookware from poor college student to grown-up status.  Whatever it is (obviously the clear counter space), it's working and I love it.

I made 3 recipes tonight.  Parmesan, Mozzarella and Leek Quiche, Whole Grain Dijon Mustard Encrusted Chicken and Glazed Carrots.  B had seconds of the quiche.  So did I.  Because it was delish.  I'm looking forward to having this again for breakfast and probably lunch too.

Here goes:

1 frozen 9” Pie Shell (I used one from the Immaculate Kitchen)
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup finely chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (you’ll need 1–2 leeks; be sure to clean well, especially between leaves where there can be a lot of grit)
1½ cups 1% milk (can also use heavy cream, but mine was bad and like a lighter quiche)

4 large eggs
2 teaspoons dried Fine Herbs (think it's a blend of parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil)

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (used Whole Foods 365)
1/2 cup low fat shredded Mozzarella (used Trader Joe's version)
¼ teaspoon salt, plus extra for leek mixture
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus extra for leek mixture


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pie shell from freezer and thaw until just soft enough to easily prick with a fork (10-20 minutes). Prick bottom and sides all over with a fork. Bake on center rack until lightly golden, about 10 - 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 325 degrees.
2. Melt butter in small sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until very soft, about 15 minutes. Do not brown. Set aside to cool.
3. In a medium size bowl, combine milk, eggs, fine herbs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Mozzarella, salt and pepper. Mix well.
4.  Sprinkle some fine herbs on the bottom of crust.
5.  Spread cooked leeks over pre-baked pie shell, taking care not to puncture crust (it may be fragile around rim, or where there are air bubbles). Pour egg mixture over top. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 (mine needed closer to an hour) minutes or until custard is set but still moist. Serve hot or warm

This is probably one of my favorite quiches to date.

WGDM Chicken (single serving):

1 chicken breast
1 to 2 tbsps whole grain Dijon mustard (used Trader Joe's version)
1 to 2 tbsps panko crumbs (used Whole Foods 365 brand)
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2.  Rinse and pat chicken dry.
3.  Place in small casserole dish and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Spread 1 to 2 tbsps whole grain Dijon mustard over chicken and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.  Lightly press into chicken.
5.  Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until internal temp reaches 160 degrees.  I love my temperature timer.  Picked up at Target for under $20 and now always have perfectly cooked chicken without the guesswork.  Highly recommend.

Okay ~ will add carrot recipe tomorrow.  Time to sip some Mark West Pinor Noir, enjoy the fire and read some Food & Wine articles.  Till next time.

Happy Cooking!  Happier Eating!

xoxo,
Yoyo

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Yoyo's Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I love pumpkin.  So I whipped up a breakfast treat for us this morning.  I experimented with adding ground oat bran in place of oil.  Really hoping it turned out yummy.  Drum roll please...

It's delicious!  One of my fav variations to date.  Here's the recipe ~

1 box Spice Cake (used Duncan Hines)
1 (4 serving) box vanilla pudding
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup ground natural toasted oat bran (I used Trader Joe's version)
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin (used Libby's)
1/2 cup toasted/chopped/unsalted pecans
Sprinkle of turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Put first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  I used my new Cuisinart Smart Stick with whisk attachment.  I.love.it.   If you don't have one, I HIGHLY recommend.  One of my favorite Christmas gifts from my lovely Aunt Jane.  Back to recipe.  Grease bundt pan and sprinkle turbinado sugar and handful pecans in bottom of pan.  Pour (or scoop) 1/2 batter into pan.  Sprinkle another handful of pecans around pan (liked the crunchy layer) and add the rest of the batter to pan.  Smooth out top and pop in oven for 38 to 42 minutes.   Cool in pan for 15 minutes.  Pop cake onto wire rack and cool for another 10 to 15 minutes.   Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee or tea!

Hope everyone has a fantastic Saturday.   Happy cooking!  Happy eating!

xoxo,
Yoyo

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Salsa & a Cowboy Salad

So, it's been awhile.  The holidays are over and I'm beginning to breath normally again.  It was such a nice holiday season.   I already feel like preparing for Christmas 2012.   But for now I'll just concentrate on getting back into a proper gym routine, gutting and reorganizing my house and cooking, cooking, cooking! 

I did get new pots and pans.  And new knives (cut myself twice immediately).  And a Cuisinart Smart Stick handheld blender with multiple attachments.  I then treated myself to a magnetic knife holder for over my oven and am saving for a new Cuisinart TBD how many cups food processor.  Any suggestions?

And I gutted and reorganized my kitchen.  It feels like a brand new space and I couldn't be more excited.  The key, get sh*& off your counter tops (if at all possible).   There you go.  That's my big advice for the day.  Your welcome.  Now on to the recipes.

Salsa (used the Smart Stick):

1 large tomato (used hothouse variety from WF)
1/2 large red onion
1 lime (for juice)
1 red chili pepper (nice heat)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 tsp (or to taste) Mexican sea salt (Sal Viva...The Salt of Life...got as a present and love, love, love)

Chop/dice first two ingredients and throw in bowl (throw some cilantro in as well) and blend until you have the desired consistency.  Add remaining ingredients and stir.  I added lime juice, salt and cilantro until I was happy and let some of the seeds of the red pepper slip in as I like some heat in my salsa.   It was delish.

Cowboy Salad (got this recipe off a can of black-eyed peas) ~ made on New Year's Day

1 (14 to 15 oz) can black-eyed peas (ready to serve)
1 lime
1 tomato
1 onion (used white)
1 red chili pepper (added that to recipe)
Salt/pepper
Called for cilantro, but didn't have any

I drained the peas, but didn't rinse (might do that next time) and added them to a medium sized bowl.   Chopped/diced tomato, onion and red chili pepper and added to peas.  Added lime juice and salt/pepper to taste.  Nice combination, but def would've been better with cilantro.  I ate most of the salad so obviously should have a nice amount of good luck in 2012. 

I'm backlogged with recipes from the holidays.  Going to chose my fav's and post soon.  In the meantime, look out for a stuffed chicken and other yummy dishes to come.

Get in the kitchen and cook something fantastic...I mean it.  Go!  Then please report back and share recipes. :)

Here's to a new year of cooking! 

xoxo,

Yoyo

Monday, December 19, 2011

Wraps for dinner ~ Donut holes for dessert

I'm back.  I know I've been a bit lax this month, but it's been busy so fall back.  I'm here now and I've got two recipes to share.  One is all mine, the other is from http://www.onceuponachef.com/

Here goes:

Spinach roll-ups with pancetta ~

1/2 bag of frozen spinach ~ 4 strips of pancetta ~  tbsp olive oil ~ 1/4 cup panko crumbs ~ tbsp minced garlic ~ kosher salt/freshly ground pepper ~ dash of minced onions ~ 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese ~  2 whole wheat tortillas

Heat a medium size saute pan on med/high heat.  Pour in olive oil and continue to let pan heat up.  Pour in frozen spinach (don't thaw).  Saute for a couple minutes.  As it thaws, dump in bread crumbs, minced garlic, minced onion and salt/pepper.  Continue to saute.  In another smaller pan, cook pancetta.  Once done, crumble and mix with spinach.  While spinach is finishing up (takes about 10 minutes, but wasn't really timing!), take out tortillas and sprinkle one side with cheddar cheese.  Spoon spinach mixture on top of cheese and tightly roll up.  Cut in half and serve.   I gave these to my kids with carrots and ranch dip on the side.  E hates anything green so big flop with her.  Brooklynn is negotiating bites but does that with everything so not a reliable judge.  Ben thought the spinach was 'pretty good'.  So, there you go.   Hope you like it!

On to snickerdoodle donut holes care of http://www.onceuponachef.com/.  Or going to have to break because Brooklynn is driving me absolutely mad.  And so is Ben.  Breath.  Just breath.

I'm baaaaaccckkkk.  And just had a donut hole for breakfast.  So much for eating healthy these days.  I have totally given in to the holiday overindulgence.  And.am.loving.it!

Let's talk about sweets.  I made this adapted recipe from Nigella Lawson/Once Upon a Chef.  Ben thought they came out a bit dry, however, I like them.  And they were super easy to make.  I don't think I creamed the butter/sugar well enough, but not sure how much that affects the overall product.  Maybe I'll see some of you this week and you can sample and let me know your thoughts.  I'm going to try to makes these again soon because I can do better and really want to serve these guys on Christmas. 

http://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/12/donut-hole-cookies-snickerdoodles.html#more

The big difference in her cookies and Nigella's is nutmeg.  Gives them that donut-y taste.   I followed everything to the letter minus creaming the butter correctly (rookie mistake).  Oh, I also used Vietnamese cinnamon (Extra Fancy) from Penzey's spices.  According to the bottle, it is the 'highest quality cinnamon available in America'.  What?????  It ends with 'an amazing cinnamon'.  So you should probably get some.  Because it's the best.  And who doesn't want the best.  If you say you don't you are a liar and probably shouldn't read my blog anymore as I don't want to be associated with liars.  Thanks.

Okay, so make a batch of these little guys and let me know how they came out.  Feel free to drop by and I'll make us some coffee and we'll sample and discuss their delightfulness.  See you soon.

Happy Cooking!  Happier Eating!

Yoyo

Monday, December 5, 2011

Dinner for a friend

A friend of mine recently had an adorable baby girl.  After signing up on www.takethemameal.com, I decided to bring her and her family stuffed chicken breasts, arugula and couscous.  I grabbed the chicken recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The American Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.   It was risky because I never made it before, but thought the flavors sounded great and it was relatively easy to put together.  I also liked it because you can prepare ahead of time.   She said it turned out great.  Still haven't made for my family, but thinking of adding it to the menu this week.

Stuffed Chicken Breasts with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes (pg 304/305):

8 oz cream cheese, softened (omitted this) ~ 4 oz goat cheese (used crumbled) ~ 2 tsps minced fresh thyme ~ 1 garlic clove, minced ~ salt/pepper ~ 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ~ 3/4 cup mayo (used canola) ~ 2 tbsps Dijon mustard (used Grey Poupon) ~ 2 tsps fresh lemon juice ~ 3 cups (fresh) breadcrumbs (used panko) ~ 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (omitted) ~ 1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, patted dry, and minced

1. Heat oven to 425 and adjust rack to middle position..  Stir cream cheese (omitted), goat cheese, thyme, garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper together until smooth.
2.  Pound chicken to even 1/4 inch thickness.  Pat dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper.  Mound 1/4 cup cheese mixture filling at the wider end of the chicken, form the cheese into a log, then roll chicken up (you will have leftover filling).
3.  Arrange chicken rolls, seam-side down, about 1/2 inch apart in a 9x13 inch baking dish coated lightly with vegetable spray.
4.  Mix any remaining cheese filling with mayo, mustard, and lemon juice, then brush mixture over the tops and sides (only did top) of the chicken.  Toss the breadcrumbs with the butter (omitted butter), then press onto the tops and sides of chicken roll.
5.  Bake until  breadcrumbs are golden and the very center of the chicken rolls registers 160 degrees, about 30 minutes. 

Can make ahead.  Follow through step 4, the dish can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 8 hours.  Remove wrap and bake as directed in step 5.   You may need to increase the time by 5 to 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Yoyo

Pumpkin Soup

If it ever transitions fully to winter, this is a sure fire soup to warm you up.  It's a "Spiked Pumpkin Soup", but I've never had bourbon in my house when I've decided to make it, so can't speak to the true recipe.  However, by adding more apple cider and cumin, the non-alcoholic version is one of my fav's.

This is also a Cooking Light recipe out of the 2006 annual edition, page 381.

1 cup chopped onion (I use a sweet variety) ~ 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger (used regular) ~ 1/2 tsp ground cumin (increased to 1 tsp) ~ 2 garlic cloves minced ~ 1.5 cups apple cider (used 1 3/4) ~ 1/3 cup bourbon (omitted) ~ 1/4 cup maple syrup ~ 1 (29 oz) can pumpkin ~ 1 (14 oz) can fat-free, less sodium chicken broth (also used vegetable broth, does change the flavor a bit) ~ 2 cups 2% milk (used 1%) ~ 1 tsp all-purpose flour ~ 1/2 tsp salt ~ 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper ~ 9 tbsps red-fat sour cream ~ 3 tbsps chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat a large Dutch over over med-high heat.  Coat with cooking spray.  Add onion, ginger, cumin and garlic; saute 5 minutes or until lightly browned.  Stir in cider and next 4 ingredients; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
2. Place 1/2 pumpkin mixture in a blender; process until smooth.  Pour pureed mixture into large bowl.  Repeat procedure with remaining pumpkin mixture.  Return pureed mixture to pan.  Stir in milk, flour, salt, pepper; cook until thoroughly heated (do not boil), stirring frequently.  Serve with sour cream.  Garnish with parsley.  Yield: 9 servings

I served this on Thanksgiving before my aunt's main course.  It really complimented the rest of the meal.  I'll probably make this for upcoming holiday dinners as well.  It's easy to make and transports well. 

Happy Cooking!  Happy Eating!

Yoyo