Food goodness

from Cooking Light Geoff and I had this tonight, and it was really good. We did it in the slow cooker, on low for about 12 hours. The carrots and corn weren't totally mushy, which I liked; perhaps if I'd actually followed the directions they wouldn't have been. Cooking spray 1 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/4 cups sliced carrot 2 garlic cloves, minced 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 2 teaspoons sugar 1 (16-ounce) package frozen shoepeg white corn 1 (15-ounce) can red beans or kidney beans, drained 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained 1 (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained (I used diced tomatoes with jalapenos) 1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles Place a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, carrot, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in broth and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat

In keeping with our pact to use up all the dried beans in the house before I bought more (errr....I did buy a bag of barley on a whim this weekend, and have no idea what to use it in), I'm making this lentil soup right now for lunches for the rest of the week. It was easy to put together, I had all the ingredients in the house and it tastes good, too. My adaptations in parenthesis. from Better Homes and Gardens "Celebrating the Promise" 2 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 1/2 c. water 1 c. brown lentils, rinsed and drained 1 c. sliced celery (I omitted, since I had none in the house) 1 c. sliced carrot 1/2 c. chopped onion 1 tsp. snipped fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (I used chipotle pepper here) 2 cloves garlic (I used 3, more garlic is always better in my book) 6 oz. cooked smoked sausage links, quartered and sliced (I used some Italian sausage I had in the freezer, just sliced it up. I think any kind of sausage would work.) In

I was craving something chocolate last night, and definitely did not have the time or ingredients to make the sort of chocolate cake I was envisioning. (G - will you make me a chocolate cake?) Instead, I flipped through my cookbooks looking for something that would take care of the chocolate-cakey cravings, and these did the job nicely. Quick to pull together and I had all the ingredients on hand, I was able to make the batter while dinner (pasta shells stuffed with ricotta cheese) were in the oven, and they were done by the time we were done eating. from Better Homes and Gardens new cookbook "Celebrating the promise" 1/2 c. butter 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped 1 c. sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 2/3 c. all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional) Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, cool. Grease an 8x8x2 or 9x9x2 pan, put aside. Stir sugar into melt

From: Simply Recipes This is a basic recipe, which is good on it's own. You can also alter it by adding additional ingredients to the sauce, such as: thinly sliced lemons, sliced mushrooms, a touch of cream, spinach, peas, etc. When I made it, I added sliced lemons as I was simmering the sauce to reduce it. At the very end I whisked in a touch of milk to make it a bit more creamy. 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 pound total) 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese 1/3 cup flour Salt and pepper 4 Tbsp olive oil 4 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine 3 Tbsp lemon juice 1/4 cup brined capers 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley 1 Cut the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them open, or put breasts between pieces of plastic wrap and pound with a meat pounder/tenderizer. Chicken should be 1/4" thick when finished with this process. 2 Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Rinse the chicken pieces in water. Dredge them t

This recipe is from Vegetarian Times and is not to be confused with Banana Buckwheat Pancakes which is a vegan recipe. Not that vegan recipes are bad but I like dairy and eggs in my pancakes. I also like to make breakfast for dinner--especially during bitterly cold February evenings. These went over quite well at our house and there was enough left over for Michael to have them for 2 more breakfasts. 1 cup buckwheat flour 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 Tbs. granulated sugar 2 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda Pinch salt 2 large eggs 1 cup nonfat milk or soymilk 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt 2 Tbs. vegetable oil 1 firm banana, diced 3 Tbs. shredded coconut (I'm not sure I'll bother with coconut next time) Put buckwheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, and set aside. Beat eggs until foamy in a second bowl. Stir in milk, yogurt and vegetable oil. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until free of lumps. Carefully fold banana an

This stew was inspired from a recipe I found on Simply Recipes . 6 Tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, chopped (or put through the garlic press) 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (or eyeball some dried parsley) 1 can diced tomato, with juice 2 Tbsp. of tomato paste. 8 oz of clam juice (or shellfish stock) 1 c. dry white wine 1 1/2 lb fish fillets (use halibut, cod, sole, red snapper, sea bass), cut into 2-inch pieces 1/2 lb. shrimp Frozen corn Frozen green beans Touch of dry oregano, Tabasco, thyme, pepper Salt Heat olive oil in heavy large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté 6 minutes. Add parsley and stir 2 minutes. Add tomato, tomato paste and cook 2 minutes longer. Add clam juice, dry white wine, shrimp, corn, green beans and fish and simmer until fish and shrimp are cooked through, less than 10 minutes. Add seasoning. Salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve.

I don't recall seeing this posted before but if it's a repeat it's because it's just so darned good. I made this Rachel Ray recipe for Valentine's Day last week (and admittedly it's about the only thing I've cooked in the last week) and it was delicious. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 shallots, minced (I used one small yellow onion, minced) 1 cup vodka 1 cup chicken stock (I omitted this in favor of a bit of water used to rinse out the cans of crushed tomatoes) 1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounces) Coarse salt and pepper 16 ounces pasta (I used whole wheat penne) 1/2 cup heavy cream 20 leaves fresh basil, shredded or torn Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add oil, butter, garlic, and shallots. Gently saute shallots for 3 to 5 minutes. Add vodka to the pan and reduce vodka by half, this will take 2 or 3 minutes. Add chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble and reduce heat to simmer. S

from The Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil 2 medium-sized onions, chopped 1 c. red lentils 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped about 2 c. canned coconut milk (I used 1 can, which is slightly less than 2 c) 1 tsp salt, or more to taste 1 bay leaf 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and minced 1 Tbsp. curry powder 1/2 c. chopped cilantro (I omitted) Heat 2 Tbsp. of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until they start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add 4 c. water, the lentils, carrots, coconut milk, salt and bay leaf. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and cilantro. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add to the soup. Remove the bay leaf. Put the soup in a food processor

Gwen posted this recipe a while back I think, with some of the variations she used. I'm going to post it again, with the two variations we made today. from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything 3 Tbsp. melted butter or canola or other neutral oil, plus some for greasing the muffin tin 2 c. all-purpose flour 1/4 c. sugar, or to taste 1/2 tsp. salt 3 tsp. baking powder 1 egg 1 c. milk, plus more if needed Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-compartment muffin tin. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat together the egg, milk and butter or oil in another bolw. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, combine the ingredients swiftly, stirring and folding rather than beating, and stop as soon as all the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter should be lumpy, not smooth, and thick but quite moist. Spoon into muffin tins. Bake 20-30 minutes until nicely browned and a to

Another great one from everybody likes sandwiches . I made a lot of changes, which will be in brackets, but I think part of the beauty of this recipe is that it's very flexible. 4 c water (plus extra to cook the noodles) [I used a whole carton of vegetable broth, plus another 4c water] 1 cube of vegan vegetarian broth [I skipped] 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 onion, diced [I used whole] 2 inch piece of ginger, grated 1 heaping t of curry paste (or powder) [I used a lot more; would probably cut back next time because it came out crazily spicy] 2 heaping T of miso paste a couple drops of toasted sesame oil 1/2 t soy sauce [I used more] 1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks [I used sliced portabello mushrooms -- my first time ever cooking with mushrooms of any kind!] 1/2 red pepper, cut into matchsticks [I used whole] 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets [I used two baby bok choi] 1/2 block of tofu, diced 1 t sriracha (if you dare) 2 packets of fresh udon noodles [more would have b

From Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 2008 I made this tonight, intending to eat it for my lunch most days this week, but then I ate about half of it as I was preparing tonight's dinner because it was so good. So, I didn't even get to the "chilling" step, or the basil or almonds. I just ate it warm out of the mixing bowl. Oh well. I think it would be good for a pot-luck or picnic side dish, too. (I used beef broth instead of chicken because I had some left over from another dish I was preparing at the same time - I think either would be fine, as would vegetable, probably.) 1 3/4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth 1/2 cup uncooked brown and wild rice mix 1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley 3/4 cup rinsed and drained chickpeas 1/3 cup golden raisins 1/4 cup sliced green onions 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar 1 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil 2 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted Combine first 3

I found this on another recipe blog (http://juliatylerfoodblog.wordpress.com/, though she got it from betterrecipes.com), and figured I'd post it over here. We made it tonight, and it was delicious and easy. Ingredients: 2 salmon fillets 1/4 c. honey 1/4 c. dijon mustard 1/8 c. olive oil, or as needed to thin glaze 1 T lemon juice 1 1/2 cup shelled pecans, finely ground* salt and pepper to taste Directions: In small bowl combine honey, mustard, oil, lemon juice for glaze using just enough oil to keep glaze from getting too thick. Coat salmon lightly with glaze, then cover with ground pecans. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake salmon on a baking sheet lined with foil for 12-15 minutes or until salmon flakes. Serve at once, top with more glaze if so desired. * We definitely used less pecans than this, probably closer to a cup, including some that we put on our baked sweet potatoes.

Adapted from a Paula Deen recipe For the cupcakes: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 3 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cocoa powder 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature 2 large eggs, room temperature 2 tablespoons red food coloring 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract For the Cream Cheese Frosting: 1 pound cream cheese, softened 2 sticks butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish (or red sugar like you'd use for decorating sugar cookies) For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet a

Every good Southern girl, I think, should know how to make sausage and biscuits. Although I'm no good at the homemade biscuits part, I did find a good recipe for the sausage gravy part, which you can find in its entirety here . But here's how I did it: 1 package mild sausage 1 package refrigerator biscuits 3 Tbsp. flour 3 Tbsp. butter 2 c. milk First, cut the sausage into rounds, however thick you like. Brown the sausage in a pan while you heat the oven to bake the biscuits. I used a cast iron skillet, because I wanted the brown bits on the bottom. After the sausage is cooked, remove it from the pan. Toss the grease. Put the butter in the pan and melt it, then add 3 Tbsp. flour. I was always taught to make a roux you needed equal parts flour and fat. Mix it all together, then let it cook a minute until it gets nice and brown. That's a good roux. Be sure to scrape up all the nice brown bits from the bottom of your pan. That's good stuff there. Add the milk slowly to the