shared bread recipe 8/10

So a few weeks ago I posted some stuff that my best friend made and I had really wanted to try her bread recipe. Since I always have about-to-go-rotten bananas around I love finding ways to use them besides in shakes and on pnut butter and banana sandwiches. So we tried out her recipe in our brand new bread maker and WooHoo! We can make sweet “batter” breads in this machine too! It came out really moist and delish. I can tell you we’ll definitely be trying more sweet breads in the future!


Lemon-Blueberry Banana Bread
from cooking light

2c Flour
3/4 t Baking Soda (if the bread forms a crack down the center while baking, then the soda is doing its job)
1/2 t Salt
1 c Sugar (I used crystallized cane sugar)
1/4 c Butter, softened (always unsalted for baking)
1 c Mashed Bananas (about 2)
2 Eggs (or 1/2 c substitute)
1/3 c Low Fat Sour Cream
1 t Vanilla
1 c Fresh Blueberries (I used frozen, thawed, drained, patted)
1 T Lemon Zest i used dried
i also added some cinnamon and mace becuase i thought it needed spice

Preheat oven to 350. Put the flour, soda, and salt into a small bowl and incorporate. In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and butter (sugar is usually considered a 'wet' ingredient because it will absorb into the wet). Add bananas, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet about 1/2 cup at a time. Then, fold in zest and blueberries. Spoon batter into a greased loaf pan (I used two small disposable pans lined with parchment). Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

i just poured everything except blueberries into the breadmaker and pressed start. after a bit i added the berries (so they wouldn't get all chopped up in the mixing) and waited. an hour later i had fabulous blueberry banana bread! we didn't make the glaze, below.

Glaze (really, just extra calories)
1/4c (2 oz)
1/3 less fat cream cheese (a.k.a. Neufschatel) softened
3 T Powdered sugar
1 T lemon juice (I used more because it needed more tang)
3 T water.

stir until smooth and pour over banana bread

so this was another success that was also a first; sweet bread in our new bread maker! i didn't totally adore the recipe though. i thought it's be better with brown sugar, lots more spices and maybe some walnuts. it was a really interesting twist with the berries and bananas though. not sure if it was a little too overwhelming for my amature taste buds but it sure tasted good just the same. more to come in the future! keep baking...

yummy mex pie! 10/10

YUM! So a long time ago I tried to make something sortof like this recipe and it turned out a terrible mess! So I really didn’t want to make this but tom thought it sounded so good and looked so cool so we tackled it. And wow!!! It turned out perfectly! And since we let it set up for a while it was really easy to cut and looked really pretty. Taste wise it was delicious and complex and very filling. It’s a good-for-you meal too because of all of the fiber, protein, and complex carbs. Great vegetarian meal that looks really cool.

Tortilla Pie
from jan 07 runners world
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery stalk, chopped i never, EVER add celery to anything! i hate it! any recipe that has celery just know that i didn't add it. gross!
1 clove garlic, minced
1 15-oz can yellow corn, drained
1 15-oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15-oz can black beans, drained
1 15-oz can small white beans, drained used NAVY beans, of course!
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 tablespoon taco seasoning home made; recipe below
1 tablespoon dried basil whoops! forgot to add this! probably would have added a little sweetness but still good without...
5 10- to 12-inch soft tortillas we ended up just using 4 because i think i bought like super-extra-large tortillias; like 14"!
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or less, of course

In a frying pan, heat oil and saute the onions, celery, and garlic until onions are transparent. Add corn, beans, tomato paste, and seasoning, heat thoroughly. Set two tablespoons of the bean mix aside. Place one tortilla shell on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray, and spoon a few tablespoons of the bean mix onto it; spread evenly. Place a tortilla on top of beans, top with mix again, and repeat until pie is five layers high. Add two tablespoons water to the remaining mix and spread over the top of the tortilla (this will prevent it from drying out during baking). Bake at 350? for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and bake until cheese is melted. Let sit for 15 minutes. Serves six.

there's a little article that goes along with this tastee recipe and they interview the chef that made it. check it out by clicking below...
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-303-309-11184-0,00.html

I totally forgot to buy taco seasoning so we quick hopped online and searched a recipe on google to find one. This one was teriffic and didn’t make too much so there;s more but not a whole ton. And the only ingredient I didn’t have was the onion powder. Looks like it’s time to send some more business to penzey’s spices!

taco seasoning from allrecipes.com
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder didn't add because i didn't have any
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

So if you like delishious and healthy food, make this! It’s really good and fun. And it was actually really easy too. Just don’t start with a huge piece; it’s really filling! Keep eating…

MY tasty salsa 10/10

I don’t know how much you like salsa but we LOVE it! I think it’s expensive and stupid to buy crappy salsa at the store just to have on hand for when we want it so I’ve been making my own. I’ll list the ingredients and how-to but it’s always changing and I never measure. But try your own and you’ll find out how easy, tasty and satisfying it can be. It freezes well too, so make a big batch and tuck some into the freezer for later…

MY damned-good salsa
from my own brain and taste buds

Stuff:
can crushed tomats
Can of diced tomats, drained
Jalepeno fresh or canned
Onion
Garlic
Roasted red peppers
Lime juice
Cilantro
**this is a very important key ingredient: chipolte chili powder which and a little heat, a lot of spice, and tons of smoky, tasty goodness
this time I added some corn too, turned out great
cyanne pepper
black pepper
salt

mostly I take the chunky things like onion, pepper, garlic, cilantro and half the corn and blend them until fairly smooth. It helps a ton if you have a hand blender; a godsend for stuff like this! Then I mix it with the tomatoes and other stuff, like spices, and stir it really well. After letting it sit a bit I dump off any really watery stuff from the top. My goal is a thick chunky salsa with a really rich, spicy taste. I can always add heat later with more cyanne pepper or hot sauce or something but I always start pretty weak with the heat (also because I like it hotter than most but I still want to share my salsa with my friends!)

this is one of those recipes that’s really cheap and easy to make and is great for experimenting. You can add or take away whatever you want and change the amounts of what you add too. And it keeps so well! Something about the acidity in salsa keeps mold and bacteria away for ages, which also means it’ll pack to a picnic really well too. Keep eating!

Vegetarian Lasagna 7/10

this was more of an experiment than anything, and from that perspective it was successful. tom has a great lasagne recipe from his mom that we both love but he wanted to try a vegitarian version and i found this weird slow-cooker recipe so we decided to try it. i really didn't believe that we'd be able to make pasta in the crock pot but we actually did. and it was actually pretty good! it was a tasty meal but just not quite as good as our usual recipe and really not any less work. i think next time we'll just use his usual recipe and add some veggies.

Vegetarian Lasagna
from "quick and simple" magazine feb 07

Stuff
25-26oz jar marinara sauce
14 1/2 can diced tomatoes
8-9 oz package oven ready (no-boil) lasagna noodles wheat worked great
15 oz container part-skim ricotta cheese low-fat
8 oz package frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeezed dry used a bunch more, probably 2xs as much
1 cup frozen veggie crumbles (such as Morningstar Farms or Boca) these weren't at the commissary so i just used broccoli instead; it was a tasty addition...

Directions
1. In a medium bowl, combine marinara sauce and tomatoes with their juice
2. spray 41/2-6 quart slow cooker bowl with nonstick cooking spray or use one of those insanely expensive slow cooker bags. Spoon 1 cup tomato-sauce mixture into bowl. Arrange 1/4 of noodles over sauce, overlapping noodles and breaking into large pieces to cover as much sauce as possible. Spoon about 3/4 cup sauce over noodles, then top with 1/3 of the ricotta (about 1/2 cup) and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Spread half of the spinach over cheese.
3. Repeat layering two more times, begining with noodles, but in middle layer, replace spinach with frozen veggie crumbles or broccoli. Place remaining noodles over spinach, then top with remaining sauce and shredded cheese.
4. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs on low setting for 2 1/2-3 hours or on high setting for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until noodles are very tender.

see? pretty successful. it actually set up really nicely even though it's kind of hard to tell from this picture. after it was done cooking (about 2.5hrs on low) i turned it to warm for an hour or 2 and then just let it sit til we ate it (maybe 2 more hours). successful food experiment! keep eating you experiments...

Salmon and Zucchini baked in parchment 7/10

so here's another good but not very special recipe. tom made this whole dinner and he said it was way too much trouble for what you get. the benefit, he thinks, would be preparing the packet ahead so it's ready to bake when you are. it was a tasty meal but just not really fabulous. but it is fairly healthy and would be good from the make-ahead perspective. might be nice with mixed zucc and summer squash too.

Salmon and Zucchini baked in parchement

from martha's edf apr 07

Stuff

(this recipe is for 1 so we doubled it, duh)
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed for some reason i didn't have the dill, i had bought fresh and then threw it away because i didn't think i needed it. whoops.
1 lemon slice, halved
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 skinless salmon fillet

How
1. Preheat over to 350F. Fold a large piece of parchment paper (about 15 by 16 inches) in half to crease it; open, and lay it flat.
2. On one side of crease, mound zucchini; top with shallot, butter, dill, and lemon slices. Season with salt and pepper. Place salmon on top; drizzle with lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
3. To close, fold parchment over salmon; make small overlapping pleats to seal the open sides and create a half-moon-shaped packet. Place on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until salmon is opaque throughout, 15 to 17 minutes.

To Serve:
You can either place the packet on a plate and cut it open, or make a slit in the paper and use a large metal spatula to gransfer the contents to a serving place.

like i said, good but not great. tom ate his with some tasty fresh home made bread though! that looks delishous! i ate mine cold at 2am at the hospital. definitely not ideal. keep eating...

Asian Chicken Soup 7.5/10

Here’s a really fast, easy, yummy soup that makes a light dinner or a nice lunch. The broth is the best part! It’s really flavorful and fabulous. tom thought this was too light for dinner (he is a big, strapping man, afterall) but i thought it was good. not the most fantastick ever but good. may not make again but that's just because there are so many more reicpies to try!

Asian Chicken Soup

from martha's edf apr 07

Prep: 20 minutes Total: 20 minutes

In our top pick for lightest chicken dish, there's no fat needed: Chicken poaches in broth with ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, veggies, and soba noodles.

Ingredients
3 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth used bullion, as usual
1 Tablespoon grated ginger (from a 1-inch piece) from the tube, again
1 garlic clove, slivered
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
4 Ounces soba noodles or whole-wheat spaghetti
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each), thinly sliced crosswise 3
1 medium red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), cut into bite-size strips
1 Cup snow peas, sliced 1/2 inch on the diagonal 2C
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Coarse salt

Directions
In a large saucepan, bring broth, ginger, garlic, red-pepper flakes, and 2 cups water to a boil over high heat. Add noodles, lower heat, and simmer until noodles are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add chicken, bell pepper, and snow peas; cook until chicken is opaque throughout, about 1 minute. Add lime juice, scallions, and salt to taste. Serve.
(From Martha Stewart Food Everyday)

yummy, quick and healthy. what more could a girl ask for? keep eating...