Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
Parchment paper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together first 5 ingredients in medium bowl until well blended. Stir in chocolate morsels.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets on a wire rack 5 minutes. Remove to wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes.

Beef & Black Bean Chili

We haven't eaten this yet, it's cooking now... smells like it will taste good - I'll update and let you know.

Ingredients

1 pound beef chuck, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
1 cup dried black beans, rinsed
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chili powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup sour cream, for serving

Directions
In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine beef, tomato puree, beans, onion (reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish), garlic, chili powder, 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Cover, and cook on high, 6 hours (or on low, 8 hours). Serve chili topped with sour cream

Oven Baked Onion Rings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cornflake crumbs
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs (I used panko because that's what I had)
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
2 tablespoons olive oil


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. In medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

3. In another bowl combine bread crumbs & cornflake crumbs

4. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate.

5. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet.

6. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Honey Teriyaki Chicken

Allison & Christine thought this was great. You may want to go a bit easy with the ginger or at least make sure you mince it very small.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds total)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

2. In a large bowl, mix honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat.

3. Transfer chicken and sauce to baking sheet.

4. Bake chicken, skin side up, basting occasionally with pan juices, until well browned and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve chicken drizzled with pan juices.

Some new recipes

Still haven't been doing full week's worth of cooking thanks to lots of softball and soccer, however, I have come across a few good recipes worth sharing. So, here they are:

Honey-Teriyaki Chicken
Baked Onion Rings
Beef & Black Bean Chili (in crockpot)
Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies (for all you unlucky people w/ gluten issues)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Pulled Pork Tacos

Ingredients:

2 to 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup apricot jam or preserves
2 jalapenos, sliced into rings and seeded (I use only 1)
1 red onion, roughly chopped
8 small flour or corn tortillas, warmed
cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 300° F. Place 2 large sheets of aluminum foil on a work surface, one atop the other. Place the pork in the center of the foil and season on all sides with the salt, pepper, and cumin. Spoon the jam over the pork, turning to coat. Scatter the jalapeƱos and onion around the pork. Fold the double layer of foil around the pork and crimp the edges to seal tightly. Place in a baking dish. Roast until fork-tender, about 4 hours; let cool.

2. Unwrap the pork, reserving the juices and discarding the foil. Use a fork to shred the pork. Transfer to a bowl. Pour the cooking juices, onion, and jalapeƱos over the pork and toss.

3. Serve with the tortillas, cilantro, and lime wedges.

Peanut Noodles

You can eat this warm or cold as a salad. You can also add cooked chicken or other meat to make it more of a meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces linguini
1/4 cup chopped green onions
thinly sliced red pepper
thinly sliced carrot
thinly sliced cucumber

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until tender according to package directions. Drain.

2. Meanwhile, combine chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, chili sauce, and garlic in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until peanut butter melts and is heated through.

3. Add noodles, vegetables and toss to coat.

Tex-Mex Pasta Bake

This is a variation of a recipe from the Washington Post. We really liked it. Looks a bit, funny with the cottage cheese, but it was very tasty (and easy to make ahead)


Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked penne rigate
1 1/3 pounds lean ground turkey breast
1 cup mild salsa
10 ounces frozen corn kernels (defrosting is not necessary)
16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese
1 large egg
Leaves from 4 to 6 sprigs cilantro, chopped (1/4 cup)
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 ounces grated or shredded cheese, such as Monterey jack or cheddar, or a combination

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions (ignore the instruction to salt the cooking water). Drain.

2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Have ready a 2-quart (ungreased) baking dish, preferably at least 4 inches deep.

3. Cook turkey until no longer pink, in LARGE non-stick

4. Add the salsa and corn; stir to mix well, then remove from the heat.

5. Combine the cottage cheese, egg, cilantro, white pepper and cumin in a medium bowl. Add cooked pasta and mix well.

6. Spread half of the turkey-salsa mixture evenly in the baking dish, pressing it down slightly.

7. Layer with the cooked pasta mixture.

8. Spread half of the grated cheese on the combined pasta layer, then spread the remaining turkey mixture on the cheese.

9. Finish with the remaining grated cheese, sprinkled evenly over the top.

10. Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until it is heated through and has a melted, slightly crisped top.

Week 10

Well, it's not going to exactly be a week's worth... I told you I don't cook much during softball and soccer season. But, I have come across a few recipes worth sharing, so here they are:


1. Peanut Noodles
2. Tex Mex Pasta Bake
3. Pulled-Pork Tacos