Friday, December 30, 2011

Cooking for One with Katy - Episode 25

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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I made these over the weekend and they were a hit.  I love the crumbly top.  And I love having an apple peeler/corer.  Go get one and make these.

2 1/3 c. flour


1/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

9 tbsp. butter

2-3 small apples, cored, peeled and cut into small pieces

1/3 c. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

*Heat oven to 375. Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.

*Combine 1/3 c. flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Cut in 3 tbsp. butter until mixture resembles small crumbs; set aside.

*Combine remaining 2 c. flour, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt together in separate bowl.

*Melt remaining 6 tbsp. butter, mix egg, milk, vanilla, and sugar to melted butter.

*Combine butter mixture to flour mixture. Stir well. Add apples to mixture.

*Spoon into muffin tins; top with crumb mixture.

*Bake about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Had these at a party the other night and made them a couple days later.  Best I've found.  And no Crisco.  Only one pound of butter.  Don't worry about it; let's enjoy our lives.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Kodi Smith


Cream Well:

1 lb. butter
2 c. brown sugar
1 ½ c. white sugar

Add:

3 eggs
2 T vanilla
Cream for 6 minutes

Add:

6 c. flour
1 ½ t. salt
1 ½ T. soda

Blend mixture slowly and thoroughly

Add:

2 c. chocolate chips (Ghirardelli semi-sweet)

Bake at 325 for 10 minutes.

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Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Pesto Alla Trapanese

I promised myself I wouldn't have to make dinner tonight to convince myself to start canning the very ripe peaches on my back porch.  This was the easiest thing I could come up with that didn't involve fast food which is kind of the opposite of home canning.  It is a yummy recipe that is easy to make and the ingredients are plentiful right now. 

We eat this  sauce over pasta with some parmesan, or with warm grill bread.  My Mom said it was really good spread thinly on grilled cheese sandwiches.

Pesto Alla Trapanese

¼ c. blanched, slivered almonds (I use whole ones with the peel on.)

12 oz. (about 2 ½ c.) grape or cherry tomatoes (If you substitute large tomatoes then seed them first.)

½ c. basil leaves (I use up to a cup if I have it, but it is good both ways.)

1 large clove garlic, chopped (I like to cook this for just a minute in the oil before I put it in)

1 tsp. red wine or sherry vinegar

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes ( I don't use these b/c of the kids.)

1 tsp. salt (If you double the recipe, just use 1 tsp. salt and then see if it needs any more.)

About ¼ to 1/3 cup olive oil (I use 1/4 cup at the most.)

Toast the almonds and let cool. Combine all ingredients except the oil in a food
processor and pulse to your desired consistency. Slowly drizzle in the oil until
evenly combined.

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Friday, May 27, 2011

Baked Southwest Wraps

We had these tonight for dinner and even the kids loved them. With the dipping sauce they remind me of the southwest wraps at Guru's in Provo. I would recommend doing some of the prep work (chopping, thawing, gathering cans of things etc) ahead of time because with the distractions of children and phone calls it took me about 45 minutes to get these in the oven but I think that's extreme. It should take a lot less time. Like making enchiladas. And I love that these have spinach in them. My kids didn't even pick it out!

Find the recipe HERE
 
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Monday, May 23, 2011

Four Grain Pancakes

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 tablespoons vinegar plus milk to equal two cups)
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. (If you use the vinegar and milk method the batter will be thin. Never fear, they're still delicious).  Heat skillet or griddle to 375 degrees. Grease lightly with oil or spray. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook 2-3 minutes. Turn when bubbles start to appear on surface and edges look cooked.  Continue to cook 2-3 minutes more.  

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Hot Cereal in the Crockpot

I love my crockpot. I also love a hot breakfast but don't necessarily like making them in the morning. Here's one you can wake up to. 

1 C whole or cracked wheat
1/2 C brown rice
1/2 C pearl barley
1/2 C oat groats

Put everything in the crockpot with 4-5 cups of water. Cook on low overnight.

(I'm sorry I can't get the template to work correctly. I'll blame blogger's recent issues).

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Baked Oatmeal

Another easy breakfast. You make this one the night before and refrigerate it.

  1/2 C vegetable oil
1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 C milk

Mix together the oil, sugar, and eggs. Add oatmeal, baking powder, salt and milk. Refrigerate batter overnight. In the morning stir well and pour into a greased 9x9 pan. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve with cinnamon and sugar or nutmeg.

Alternatives:
Reduce oil and sugar to 1/4 cup each and add 1/2 cup applesauce
Bake in muffin pans for 20 minutes instead of the 9x9 for 30 minutes.

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Ham and Egg Breakfast Cups

This is an easy breakfast. Sometimes we even have this for dinner.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease cupcake pan.
Place 1 thick slice ham in each cup of a cupcake pan (I usually only do 6 cups)
Sprinkle some cheddar cheese in each cup
Crack an egg into each cup.

Bake for about 15 minutes or to desired doneness.


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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Indian Curry Sauce (better Ann Dee?)

Whoa boy.  This is good.  Made it tonight for the first time and plan to make it again next Sunday.  Really easy and even my two year old ate two helpings.  What?  Yep.

Indian Curry Haystacks

1/2 c butter
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 cup finely chopped apple (I used a Gala apple)
4 tsp. curry powder
5 c chicken stock OR 2 3/4 cans Swansons clear chicken broth (13 oz cans)
6 T. flour
Salt/pepper to taste
1 - 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I used a rotisserie)
Rice (I used Jasmine with some fresh cilantro throughout)

Melt butter in a large pan.  Add chopped ingredients as you get them chopped.  Saute a little.  Add cu rry and mix well.  Add all BUT one cup of chicken broth.  Put remaining broth in a cup/jar with flour and shake/mix well to mix thoroughly.  When main mixture reaches boiling, add salt and pepper.  Add flour mixture to thicken.  Add chicken.  Cover and simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes.  Stir often to keep chicken from sticking to bottom of pan. 

[Sauce can be made up well ahead of time, even night before, allowed to cool then reheated or frozen]

Serve over rice.

Top curry sauce with any or all of the following:

Sweetened coconut
Chopped salted peanuts
chopped hard boiled egg
chopped celery
bacon bits
raisins

I just used peanuts, coconut and raisins and it was awesome.  This would easily feed four adults.

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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Bran Muffins

I had a baby.

It was fun.
Now my husband is back to work.

Breakfast is a bear.
So I decided to try this recipe and it is awesome. My mom had one like it and we loved it. My mom's recipe had dates and walnuts or something other nut. This one doesn't but it's still delicious. I did throw in some coconut and raisins. And it makes a ton--lasts in the fridge for a month!! Love it.

please keep posting, girls. I need the all help I can get. Even if you link to recipes online. Like someone brought me these after I had the baby and they were yum. Holly said she's made them before too and liked them.

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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Really good soup that feeds a crowd.

On Thursday night I was in charge of feeding about 60 people at a Relief Society Party.  I woke up Friday morning and knew I had my brother Bart and his wife and baby and my Dad and Gigi coming to dinner that night.  I wanted to make something really good and not way hard and I didn't want to go to the store.  I also wanted to be able to do most of the work in the morning, so I could straighten up the house in the afternoon.  I turned to King Arthur Flour because if I was going to try something new on all of those people I needed a reliable recipe source.  

I decided on this recipe for Italian wedding soup.  It was a big hit.  And it makes a ton.  

Notes:
I had to move it from my six quart to my eight quart pot.  For the meatballs I mixed half pork and half ground beef.  I patted the meatball mixture out in a jelly roll pan with my hands and baked it all in one piece.  After it was cool I used a pizza cutter and cut the meat into small squares.  Way easier than making dozens of tiny meatballs.  

I completed through step 4 in the recipe and then put everything in the fridge to be completed later.  I also added a chopped up fennel bulb that I needed to use up to the vegetable mixture.   I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. 


I served the soup with these breadsticks.  They are chewy and a bit like bagels because you boil them before you bake them.  Don't make them longer than about 6 inches.  I didn't have diastatic malt powder, so I used malted milk powder in the dough and left it out of the boiling water.

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Monday, March 14, 2011

Best Banana Cream Pie I've ever had

Not your typical banana cream pie.  My husband doesn't like this stuff and loved this recipe.  The only changes I made were: 1. I made graham cracker crust from scratch with butter and 2. I sprinkled honey roasted peanuts on top.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Link:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/banana-cream-pie/

Enjoy!

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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Potato Gnocchi with Rosata Sauce

I have been making gnocchi for a few years and I liked them, but I knew there was a better way.  Every time I tasted them at Gloria's Little Italy I was a bit sad because mine weren't as good.

I tried some different things, and had a Julia Child recipe in mind, but then this recipe turned up in my inbox this morning. Happily it turned out to be the one I was looking for.  I boiled two yukon gold potatoes and mashed them for the recipe.  I don't have a gnocchi board and didn't bother to use the fork.  I just used a bench knife to cut the ropes I had rolled out and plopped the pieces in the boiling water.  They were tender and delicious when served with a simple rosata sauce.  I am not surprised that King Arthur Flour once again came up with the best recipe.  I didn't try the parsley pesto because parsley isn't my favorite.

Rosata Sauce
1 Cup cream or more to taste
2 Cloves minced garlic
1 24 oz can Strianese Whole Peeled D.O.P. San Marzano Tomatoes 
Salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp)
Put the cream and a saucepan on medium heat and crush the two cloves of garlic into it.  Leave it for about 5 minutes while you open the can and blend it really well in the blender.  Pour the tomatoes into the cream mixture and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Salt to taste.  Serve with parmesan, or dry cheese of your choice.

Notes: We were out of parmesan, but we happened to have an Irish cheese I bought at Sam's Club called Dubliner.  It was really good.

I got the fancy canned tomatoes from my cousin Laura's Harvest Bundle awhile back.  I found them on amazon, and haven't looked in the grocery store.

 







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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Orzo with Roasted Vegetables

This recipe was really good.  We used some eggplant to replace part of the peppers and only used about 1/3 of the olive oil for the roasting and the dressing.   We also substituted toasted, blanched almonds for the pine nuts since we aren't millionaires ;). We ate it in homemade  whole wheat pitas.  Yum.  You can also add fresh cherry tomatoes at the end.  Next time I will try it with whole grain orzo available here.


Vegetables:
4-6 smallish zucchini
yellow, red and orange peppers (1 of each)
1 red onion
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/3 C olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

chop vegetables, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread onto a foil lined baking sheet and roast in oven at 425 for 40-50 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook orzo (1 lb.)

Toss cooked vegetables and orzo together with:

Dressing:
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper

drizzle over salad and add:

1/2 c toasted pine nuts
8 oz. crumbled feta cheese
15 fresh basil leaves - chopped.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.

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