Chipotle Pork Tacos

This recipe is one I found on the blog Our Best Bites.  It's really easy to make and pretty healthy. You can also make it a pretty cheap meal if you sub chicken for the pork tenderloin (which is always kind of expensive). I also like to double it because we finish it pretty quickly around here.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, sliced thin
• 1 1/2 tsp grated lime zest
• 1 Tb fresh lime juice
• 2 tsp minced fresh oregano, or a heaping 1/2 tsp dry
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (use the peppers for heat and the adobo sauce for a mild smoky bite - I tend to put some extra sauce in there just because I love that flavor)
• 2 tsp minced garlic (fresh or from a jar)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3 tsp olive oil, divided
• 1 C thinly sliced onion, or shallots
• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• Sour cream
• Chopped cilantro

Combine thinly sliced pork, lime zest, lime juice, oregano, brown sugar, chipotles, garlic, and salt.  Set aside.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tsp olive oil.  Add onions and saute for 2 minutes or until tender.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Add 2 tsp olive oil to pan and add pork mixture.  Saute for 3-4 minutes or until no longer pink.  Add pork to onions.  Warm tortillas, and fill with pork mixture.  Top with sour cream and cilantro.  Serves 4.

Cheap and Easy Cans-in-the-Back-of-the-Cupboard-You-Never-Use Dip

As a college student, you learn to make recipes up when you live paycheck to paycheck and have limited resources. This one my old roommate and I came up with when our cupboards were looking a little sparse. We just called it "dip". It's cheap, easy, a little ghetto, and actually pretty good. Especially when you don't really feel like cooking something. Makes for great leftovers too.

Ingredients:

• One chicken breast (two if you like it more chicken-y) (*also optional for vegetarians)
• One can black beans
• One can corn
• One can rotel
• One cup uncooked rice
• One bag tortilla chips

Cook the rice, in a rice cooker or on the stove, your choice.  Cook the chicken breast to your likening, I normally have frozen chicken breasts so I fry it with a little water, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, whatever seasonings I have in the cupboard that tastes alright with chicken.  Once it's cooked through all the way, shred the chicken into bite size pieces.  In a bowl, add the cooked rice, chicken chunks, can of rotel, can of corn (drained), and can of black beans drained or undrained.  I normally drain off the top liquid from the can of beans, but leave the rest.  It makes all the ingredients stick together a little better, ideal for chip dipping, but drained and rinsed works as well.  I normally add seasonings to taste, like a little cayenne pepper, chipotle seasoning, to add a kick.  Since the rice should still be hot, it warms up all of the other ingredients.  Serve with tortilla chips.  Also works great if you add a little shredded cheese, smoosh some between a tortilla, and fry it up.  Then you got yourself a fantastic quesadilla.

Normally serves about four hungry people.

Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas

Makes two folded 8-inch quesadillas

Use a light hand when seasoning with kosher salt, as the cheese itself is rather salty. Cooling the quesadillas before cutting and serving is important; straight from the skillet, the cheese is molten and will ooze out. Serve the quesadillas with salsa, guacamole, or sour cream. Finished quesadillas can be held on a baking sheet in a 200-degree oven for up to 20 minutes.

Ingredients:


1/3 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 teaspoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing tortillas
1/3 cup minced red onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 cup black beans (canned)
2 teaspoons lime juice
Kosher salt
2 plain flour tortillas, eight-inch
2/3 cup Pepper Jack cheese (3 ounces)
1 tablespoon minced pickled jalapeños (optional)

1. Heat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Add corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until kernels begin to brown and pop, 3 to 5 minutes; tranfer corn to medium bowl. Heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in now-empty skillet over medium heat until shimmering; add red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes; stir in beans and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Return corn to skillet and toss to combine; gently press mixture with spatula to lightly crush black beans. Transfer mixture to now-empty bowl, stir in lime juice, and season to taste with salt.

2. Wipe out skillet with paper towels and return pan to medium heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Place 1 tortilla in skillet and toast until soft and puffed slightly at edges, about 2 minutes. Flip tortilla and toast until puffed and slightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Slip tortilla onto cutting board. Repeat to toast second tortilla while assembling first quesadilla. Sprinkle 1/3 cup cheese, half the corn and bean mixture, and half of jalapeños, if using, over half of tortilla, leaving 1/2-inch border around edge. Fold tortilla in half and press to flatten. Brush surface generously with oil, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside. Repeat to form second quesadilla.

3. Place both quesadillas in skillet, oiled sides down; cook over medium heat until crisp and well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Brush surfaces with oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Flip quesadillas and cook until second sides are crisp and browned, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer quesadillas to cutting board; cool about 3 minutes, halve each quesadilla, and serve.

*From Cooks Illustrated

Risotto with Tomatoes and Basil

Serves 4 as a main course or 6 as a first course

When the rice is done, stir in a little extra liquid as the sauce will set up a bit when served. Use homemade chicken broth if you have it, instead of the water/canned broth combination.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 2 - 4 ounces pancetta, country ham, proscuitto, or other flavorful cured meat, minced
• 2 cups Arborio rice, or medium grain rice
• Table salt
• 1 can low-sodium chicken broth, combined with 3 cups water
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or grated Asiago, plus extra for passing
• 1/3 cup fresh basil leaf, shredded

1. Heat oil in a heavy pot, 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Add onions and ham; sauté, stirring occasionally, until onions soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, cover and cook over medium heat until tomatoes start to look like a thin sauce, about 10 minutes.

2. Stir in rice and 1 teaspoon salt or to taste. Add 3 cups of the broth/water mixture and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until pan bottom is dry when rice is pulled back with spoon, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Add wine, stirring frequently until absorbed. Then add 1/2 cup of the broth/water mixture at a time, stirring constantly until each addition is absorbed; cook until rice is creamy but still somewhat firm in center (add more water in 1/2 cup increments if broth/water mixture runs out), 10 to 12 minutes longer.

4. Stir in cheese. Serve on a wide platter or individual plates, garnish with basil, and pass additional cheese separately.

*From Cooks Illustrated

Pumpkin Granola

I really like this healthy pumpkin granola.  Healthy because there is no fat in it.  Of course there is sugar, but it is not too sweet and crisps up as it cools.  Your home will smell delicious while you bake it!  Hopefully you have a little leftover pumpkin from baking pies or pumpkin monkey bread.  If not, pumpkin puree freezes well.  This recipe comes from the blog two peas and their pod but I have adapted it slightly.

• 5 cups old fashioned oatmeal
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup almonds, chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Stir together first five dry ingredients in large bowl.  Stir together next five ingredients and add to dry ingredients.  Combine thoroughly.  Stir in almonds.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place a sheet of parchment paper on a large rimmed cookie sheet/jelly roll pan.  Pour granola onto pan and press down evenly.  Bake 20 minutes and then stir.  Bake 20 more minutes and remove from oven.  Add cranberries and cool.

Easy Irish Brown Bread

This bread tastes fairly close to what we ate in Ireland...plus it is seriously easy to make!

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1-1/2 Tbs cold butter or margarine

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup regular or quick-cooking rolled oats

1-1/2 cups plain nonfat yogurt

milk

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, mix all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture forms fine crumbs. Stir in whole wheat flour and oats.

2. Add yogurt; stir gently. If mixture is too dry to hold together, stir in milk, 1 tsp at a time, just until dough holds together (it should not be sticky).

3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently 5 times to make a ball. Set on a lighlt greased baking sheet. Pat into a 7 inch circle. With a floured knife, cut a large 'X' on top of loaf.

4. Bake in a 375 degree oven until well browned (40 mins). Cool on cooling rack. Serve warm or cool.

Moroccan Chicken Soup

* taken from America's Test Kitchen: Best Simple Recipes

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

1 Tbs vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped fine

2 tsp garam masala (if not available at the grocery store: substitute 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, then measure out 2tsp)

5 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

2 16oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup plain couscous

1 rotisserie chicken, skin discarded and meat shredded

Directions:

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion until lightly browned (5 mins). Stir in garam masala and cook until fragrant (30 secs).

2. Add broth and tomatoes and bring to simmer. Stir in chickpeas, zucchini, and couscous and cook, covered, until couscous is tender (8 mins). Stir in chicken. Season with salt and peppper. Serve.

*this can easily be made into a vegan recipe by subbing the chicken broth for vegetable broth, and omitting the chicken

Pumpkin Monkey Bread with Maple Glaze

This recipe originated at www.laurenslatest.com if you would like to check it out. I adapted it slightly. Further, I made it in a bundt pan, but if you use an angel food cake pan with a removable bottom, make sure to wrap the bottom of the pan in foil first so butter and sugar do not leak out and make a mess of your oven. This monkey bread (as most monkey breads, I would guess) is best eaten while still warm. Hey, it's a tough job, but someone has to do it! Enjoy...we sure did!

Ingredients:

for the dough-
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup warm milk
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter, cooled
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 2/3-3 1/3 cups bread flour

for the coating-
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

for the glaze-
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons half & half {or milk}
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In large stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, stir milk, water, yeast and sugar together.

Stir in salt, egg, butter, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, nutmeg, and half the flour and mix. With mixer on, pour in remaining flour bit by bit until dough pulls away from the sides and is sticky but when touched doesn’t really stick to your hands. {For me, that was 2 tablespoons shy of 3 cups of flour.} Once you reach this stage, turn mixer on for 4-5 minutes to knead. Lightly grease dough and bowl and cover to rise for 1 hour. Stick it somewhere warm and draft-free.

Lightly grease a bundt or angel food cake pan with non stick cooking spray and set aside. Create a coating station by placing sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl and melting the butter in another bowl. Punch down dough and remove from bowl. Cut dough into small pieces about 1 tablespoon in size. Roll in butter, coat in cinnamon sugar and place into prepared pan. Repeat until no dough remains. If there is extra butter or sugar, pour over the top of the dough pieces in the pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let rise another hour in a warm spot in your kitchen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake monkey bread for 25 minutes or until the top begins to brown slightly. Remove from oven and cool 20 minutes.

While monkey bread is cooling, prepare glaze by mixing powdered sugar, maple syrup, half & half and vanilla together in a small bowl until smooth.

Remove warm pull aparts onto serving dish and drizzle with glaze. Serve warm.

Sufganiyot

Jelly doughnuts called sufganiyot in Israel, are a popular Hanukkah treat. Although fried foods are often associated with this holiday, these are baked. I have eaten these when I was a little girl but have never seen a baked version. After trying them, I can tell you they are really delicious. I filled some with apple butter (thanks Julianna!), some with lime curd (thanks, Laura!) and some with doctored Nutella (just add some powdered sugar, cocoa and a little water to Nutella to get it the right consistency). See directions on how to fill them...if you have piping bags for cake decorating, that would be easiest. But if worse comes to worst, I suggest just splitting them and making little doughnut sandwiches. This recipe makes 16. The recipe comes from The Good Housekeeping Cookbook 125th Anniversary edition.

Sufganiyot

3 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
5 teaspoons yeast (2 packages)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (preferably whole, but I used 1%), warm (120-130 degrees)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup filling (jam such a sour cherry or see above)
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

In electric stand mixer bowl, combine flour sugar, yeast cinnamon, and salt. With paddle attachment add oil and milk, and beat medium low for 3-5 minutes (mixture will be stiff). Add eggs one at a time and beat 10 minutes, scraping sides of bowl (mixture will be quite soft, to sticky...if too sticky to work with knead in a little flour by hand). Transfer to large greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise in warm place 40 minutes or until doubled.

Lightly grease 2 large cookie sheets. Gently punch down dough and roll into a 16" log. Cut into 16 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place each ball on cookie sheet (8 per sheet). Let rise 20-30 minutes or until slightly puffed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush tops of dough with milk. Bake one sheet at a time, 12-15 minutes or until pale golden. Cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes.

To fill, cut off corner of self-sealing plastic bag to make 1/4" diameter hole; fit with 1/4-1/2" plain piping tip, and fill bag with filling. Slide paring knife horizontally into one side of each doughnut and, using sawing motion, carefully cut pocket in pastry. Fit piping tip into hole, and pipe filling into it until filled. Repeat. Dust doughnuts with powdered sugar to serve.

Ono Butter Mochi

On campus at the Seasider Snack Bar, a common delicacy are these little cake-looking little square things that are easily one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten.  Or as they say in pidgin Hawaiian, it 'broke da mouth!'  The texture is so unusual.. it looks like a square cupcake but it's much chewier and the flavor much milder and less sweet than a cupcake.  Me and my friend Kaitlyn bought one as a little treat earlier this week and decided we should try making our own. So thanks to allrecipes.com, we found this recipe for ono (or 'the best' in Hawaiian) butter mochi.

• 1 pound mochiko (glutinous rice flour, can be found at your local asian market or pretty much anywhere in Hawaii)
• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 cups whole milk
• 5 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut (optional, if you're like me and hate coconut)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

-In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla and milk. In a separate larger bowl, stir together the rice flour, sugar, and baking powder. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir to blend. Mix in the melted butter and coconut (again, optional). Pour into prepared pan.

-Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven. Cool completely, then cut into squares. Serves 12.

This is just an image from google, but that's what it looks like.  If you don't like mochi or other squishy foods, then this probably would not be the best recipe to try.

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

This recipe was the winning cookie on an L.D.S. Web site. I tried it and thought it was very good. I love chocolate crinkles, but this lemon version is light, crisp and has just enough lemon to say it is Spring...bring on the citrus. Not too sweet either, but rolled in powdered sugar to give them the typical crinkled look. I am also glad to say that this cookie, when stored covered, did not dry out but remained chewy. Oh, go on, give it a try!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon each baking powder and salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients except powdered sugar. Mix well and chill for 30 minutes. Roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls and roll dough balls in powdered sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets for 9-11 minutes at 350 degrees until barely browned on edges and matte (not shiny and damp looking). Cool 3 minutes before removing to cookie racks to cool. Makes about 40? Can't really remember and now we have eaten them all!

Jacked up banana bread

For years I've been making different banana breads, in hopes of finding a really great one and saving that recipe. And for years, I've made banana breads that weren't banana-y enough. Even the highest-rated ones on allrecipes.com, which is my go-to site for recipes, weren't that great.

Last night I was bored and decided to do something with my overripe bananas. On a whim, I went to one of the ultimate great food blogs, smittenkitchen, for inspiration. Thankfully, she had a banana bread recipe, and more thankfully, it's fantastic! I've learned that the secret to better banana bread is (and please don't laugh if this sounds silly).... MORE BANANAS. WHO KNEW. Most of the banana bread recipes out there use 2 or 3 bananas for a 9x5 loaf. This one uses 4 for a 8x4 loaf. So here 'tis:

JACKED UP BANANA BREAD

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, she uses the smaller amount, I use the larger of course)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

YUM.

T's White Chicken Chili

Back in October, Steve and I went to a ward chili cook-off and someone made an awesome white chicken chili. We've been meaning to make our own ever since, but never got around to it until last night. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com and then made quite a few modifications. you can find the original recipe here. We had our neighbors over last night, and served it to them for dinner. It was a big hit.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed

1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 (10.75 ounce) can cream of chicken
1 cup sour cream
3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
3 (15 ounce) cans white beans
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the cream of chicken and sour cream. Add the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in cheese until melted. Serve warm.

NOTE: Even with the modifications I made to the original recipe, it's a bit spicy. Try using less cayenne pepper or replacing the green chiles with some green peppers if you're not big on spicy foods.

Almond Poppy Seed Bread

3 cups flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
3 eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 1/2 cups milk

For glaze:
1/2 c. powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 teaspoon each: melted butter, vanilla and almond extract

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in large bowl. In medium bowl combine eggs, oil, butter and flavorings and beat two minutes. Add wet mixture to dry mixture alternating with milk until all is smooth. Pour into well greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool on racks. Glaze with ingredients above for glaze. Makes two loaves 9"x5"x3" or at least 6 mini loaves (mini loaves bake only for about 35 minutes or less).

Pumpkin Garlic Knots

Since there really isn't much of an Autumn here in the islands, a few friends and I went through a pumpkin phase to make things taste a little more Fall-ish.  We pulled this one up from tastespotting.com and it proved to be DELICIOUS and super easy.

Pumpkin Garlic Knots

Yield: 2 batches

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt & freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

1. For the dough: Pour the warm water into a medium bowl and whisk in the yeast. Let sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the agave nectar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and pumpkin puree.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour in your wet ingredients.
3. Using a rubber spatula, pull all the ingredients together. When you can no longer mix, use your hands to start kneading the dough. Knead the dough until it comes together in a smooth and elastic ball, adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking.

4. Lightly oil another large bowl and put your dough ball inside it -- flipping over once to coat both sides lightly with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 hours; or until nearly doubled in size
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, put in a pizza stone (you may use a pan, too, but it works best with a stone), and divide the dough into two equal pieces. If you're planning to use the other half the next day, just put it in a large zip-lock bag and store in the fridge. You may also freeze the dough for up to three weeks.

6. To create the garlic knots: tear off sections of dough (2 tablespoons at a time) and roll them into a long snake shape. Tie that snake in a knot. Set aside and continue with the rest of the dough.
7. Once you've made all your knots, put them on your stone (or on your pan) and let bake until golden brown on the tops, about 10-15 minutes depending on size of knots.

8. While the knots are baking, in a bowl mix together the 1/3 cup olive oil with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. When the knots are done, toss in the olive oil mixture to coat. (We just brushed the oil mixture on, and also tried baking them with the oil mixture so it was a little less messy to eat. Both worked out fine)

Juli's "This is what I've had for breakfast every day for the last month" Smoothie

Like smoothies?

Want to stop drinking Starbucks' three pump white mocha chais for breakfast three stinkin' times a week? (That one might just be me...and did you know that it's a $4.51-apiece beverage?)

Trying to tone up and look hot?

Try this.

Place blender on counter, and add the following ingredients:

1/2 medium banana
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup frozen watermelon
1/2 cup nonfat yogurt
1/2 cup frozen spinach (must be frozen. Buy a bag of it and throw it in the freezer.)
1/2 cup orange juice

BLEND BLEND BLEND and then add:

1 scoop whey protein powder (vanilla, if you please), if you're into that sort of thing. Don't put protein powder in your smoothie unless you intend to exert yourself at some point during the day, or if you are upping protein for some other unknown reason.

BLEND BLEND BLEND!!

WICKED GOOD. Makes about 25 ounces o' beverage, which can be split up, I suppose, though I do not. The whole thing (including protein powder) is roughly 400 calories. Take out the powder and it's closer to 270.

You can substitute frozen blueberries or frozen peaches for the watermelon, but I find that the watermelon freezes kinda like ice cubes since it's so...watery...and so forth, and that helps the whole thing stay cold.

I promise you will neither smell nor taste the spinach, it will only turn your beverage a little greenish brown.

And that is all!

Here are two different vinaigrettes that I have tried and absolutely love. I've made the Balsamic-mustard vinaigrette for D&J, M&B, as well as B&D (Boyd and Janie) and it seemed to be a hit with all of them, so I will go ahead and recommend that you all try it. I'm also including one that I more recently tried and really enjoyed that's a lemon vinaigrette. I'll also include some salad fixings that went really well with these particular dressings.

Balsamic-Mustard Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons very finely minced shallot
1/2 teaspoon regular or light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
1/8 teaspoon table salt
Ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Combine vinegar, shallot, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste in small nonreactive bowl. Whisk until misture is milky in appearance and no lumps of mayonnaise remain.
2. Place oil in small measuring cup so that it is easy to pour. Whisking constantly, very slowly drizzle oil into vinegar mixture. Vinaigrette should be glossy and lightly thickened, with no pools of oil on its surface.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon regular or light mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon table salt
Ground black pepper
Pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Follow directions for Balsamic-Mustard vinaigrette adding the sugar and lemon zest with the salt and pepper.


*For the Balsamic-Mustard Vinaigrette I used more assertive greens (I generally prefer spinach and the like) with Cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, kalamata olives, and toasted pine nuts. I have also added penne to the mix to make a delicious pasta salad.
For the Lemon Vinaigrette its recommended to use milder greens, and I added white mushrooms, craisins, red onions, and toasted slivered almonds.

Chewy Congo Bars

For Father's Day I was to provide a dessert. After eating some congo bars at Annie's I was cravin some congos, but I haven't been able to find my moomy munker's recipe book for ages. I went ahead and checked out allrecipes for something that sounded good and this one came up. It's always a scary thing to try a recipe for the first time. I didn't know how they would turn out, but I must say...these were delicious. If you prefer a cakey congo bar over a chewy one I would stick to the classic moom recipe. If not try this.

Ingredients

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
2-1/2 cups packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (you can use dark or semisweet if you prefer)
1 cup chopped pecans (or nut of your choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Melt butter, stir in Brown sugar. Let cool.
3. Beat in all 3 eggs
4. Add dry ingredients
5. Add chocolate chips, nuts, and vanilla
6. Pour into 10"x15" pan and bake for 30 min.

These were very good. The original recipe called for 2 cups of chocolate chips. If you are a little intense in your love for chocolate you can try it out, but we all agreed that 1-1/2 cups was more than plenty.

Creamy Tomato Pasta

Alright, I thought I'd better finally get on here and add something. I found this recipe in one of my Cook's Illustrated Annuals, so I initially attempted it for D & J and it turned out well, but there were a few things that I thought might be nice to adjust to my personal taste. So, I tried it again for Brett and Meesh and I must say, those few minor tweaks made this great recipe into a spectacular one. This one can be easily made at least vegetarian by leaving out the prosciutto.

This sauce is best served with short pasta, such as ziti, penne, or fusilli.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ounce proscuitto, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 small onion, diced fine (about 3/4 cup)
1 bay leaf
Pinch red pepper flakes
Table salt
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (I added an extra tablespoon to make the sauce a little more tomato-y)
2 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained, rinsed, patted dry, and chopped course (about 3 tablespoons- I made these pretty generous tablespoons since I'm a huge fan of sun-dried tomatoes)
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons crushed tomatoes
1 pound pasta (I ended up using only about 3/4 of the box of pasta since I like it pretty saucy)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add prosciutto, onion, bay leaf, pepper flakes, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is very soft and beginning to turn light gold, 8 to 12 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high, add garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup wine and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 miutes.
2. Add 2 cups crushed tomatoes and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened (spoon should leave trail when dragged through sauce), 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil. Add pasta and 1 tablesoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.
   
4. Remove bay leaf from sauce and discard. Stir cream, and remaining 2 tablespoons crushed tomatoes; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sauce to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with up to 1/2 cup pasta cooking water. Stir in basil and serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately.
   

Mystery Biscuits

These biscuits are super easy and are always fluffy and really delicious. We use them as a side for almost any meal or as the substrate for tempeh sausage and gravy. If you make this recipe with vegenaise and soy or almond milk, then you can make them vegan in case you have any vegan friends or family members.

2 C. sifted flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

1/4 C. vegenaise (or mayonnaise)

1 C. soy milk (or almond milk or just regular milk)

1 t. sugar

Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add remaining ingredients.

Mix till smooth and drop by tablespoon on greased cookie sheet or fill 12 muffin tins two-thirds full.

Bake 18-20 minutes at 375°F.