Long Time, No Blog

So its been about three years since I've posted to the blog. That's a daunting length of time to over-come. I find it ironically funny that while Life things got in the way of maintain the blog, new life things have inspired me to start writing and cooking again.

So what have I been up to all this time? In a nut shell, I got busy with my job and wrapped up in a new relationship, and I'm sure involved in many activities that took up my time.

I also stopped cooking as much, partly because of my hectic schedule, partly my new partner was also cooking for us. There's been some sporadic cooking events, and I will probably refer back to those recipes going forward.

Pinterest has been a major source of recipe inspiration (as well as an amazing time suck)

Recently I've decided to quit my job and go back to school, and once I got my schedule settled, it has been an interesting challenge.

I've also started a part time job at a local gym, its fun, and I get to exercise!

All that adds up to a reawakening of my interest in fitness and nutrition. Many of the recipes I've tried lately have been low carb, and low fat, and full of veggies.

For instance, this past Sunday I put together a Spaghetti Squash Lasagna based of a Pin found awhile ago, called "Million Dollar Spaghetti" The original recipe called for traditional spaghetti noodles, lean ground beef, tomato sauce, butter, and a cheese layer made of cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream. Admittedly, that sounds fantastic, but it also has a lot of unnecessary fat and calories. At 12 servings, each serving would be 555 calories, with 36 g of fat, 30 g of carbs, and 28.2 g of protein.

I substituted some ingredients, such as spaghetti squash for the pasta, 2 TBSP of olive oil for the butter. Other ingredients were omitted like the ground beef (personal preference) and the cream cheese (unnecessary). My version, divided into 12 servings has 135 calories per serving, with 13.4 g of fat, 23.6 g of carbs, 12.7 g of proteins. Less of each, but lean ground beef could easily be added back in if you desire more protein, but the dish don't need it to be amazingly delicious. Its a good thing this is healthier, its so good you want to go back for seconds, every time.

Million Dollar Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

1 med Spaghetti Squash, about 4 cups cooked
6 cloves, Garlic - minced
1 container 100% Natural Diced Tomatoes, 14.5 oz Can
2 cans of Tomato Sauce (15 oz cans)
2 tbsp(s), Oil - Olive
1/2 cup(s), Sour cream
8 oz(s), Cottage cheese - Lowfat, 1% milkfat
1 cup, Mozzarella Cheese Shredded
1/4 cup(s), Cheese - Parmesan, shredded

Pre-heat oven to 350* Prep spaghetti squash by cutting in half and removing seeds and guts. Drizzle on 1 tbsp of the olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste to cut side o squash. Place cut side down in baking dish and bake for 45 to 60 minutes in 350* oven. I like to check squash at the 45 minute mark, and if it needs more time, I flip them cut side up and bake for 15 more minutes. The flesh should be tender and flake away when scraped with a fork.

While squash is baking, make the sauce: Heat the other tbsp of olive oil on medium heat, in a sauce pan and add diced garlic, cooking until tender. Add canned tomato sauce and canned diced tomatoes, stir to combine. Reduce heat and bring to a simmer. Add any additional seasonings to tastes, such as Italian herb blends, and red chili flakes. Allow sauce to simmer for 30 - 45 minutes to reduce and thicken, stirring occasionally. Optional: after sauce has cooked down, blend with in a blender, food processor, or with a stick blender.

While sauce is simmering, combine the sour cream and cottage cheese in a medium bowl, stirring until combined, and set aside.

Once the squash is done, scrape the flesh with a fork to create the "noodles". Allow to cool slightly while getting the rest of the ingredients together for layering. The lasagna should fit into the same casserole the squash was baked in, so less clean up!

 I start the layers with a 1/2 scoop of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then add the squash noodles from one of the halves. Try to keep the layers even as you go. Next is the cottage cheese/sour cream mixture, use a spoon to dollop the entire mixture evenly across noodle layer. Next sprinkle on a handful (approximately 1/4 cup) of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Pour about 3 cups of the sauce evenly across. Then start the layers again, with the second half of the squash, another handful of mozzarella, and the rest of the squash. The rest of the mozzarella and the parmesan cheeses go on top to get all melted and delicious. Pop the casserole dish back into the hot oven for 10 - 15 minutes to warm through and melt the cheese layers.

Make sure the lasagna cools a bit before eating, its so tasty, eating it piping hot may lead to burnt mouths.

Revisiting the Ghost of Leftovers Past

Today a good friend of mine came over for lunch and girl talk.. I had an idea in mind for a simple menu, but alas, the items I needed were no longer in the refrigerator.

So back to the drawing board. What is in the refrigerator? I had some leftover Chicken and Couscous from last week that needed to be used up so I quickly formulated a plan of action:

First, gently reheat the casserole in the microwave.

Next, I trimmed some fresh basil from the herb garden to freshen the dish up.

Now, I separated the couscous mixture from the two chicken pieces that were left. The (boneless) chicken got diced and set aside in a bowl. The couscous was freshened up with the basil, which I cut into ribbons, a.k.a. chiffonade.

The chicken pieces were now going to be a tasty chicken salad, after the addition of about 3 Tbsp mayonnaise, and a hint of mustard, about 2 tsp. Stir to combine, correct the seasoning if necessary, and viola! Yummy chicken salad.

I served the chicken salad on toasted buns that I rubbed with a clove of garlic for an extra layer of flavor. Since the couscous already had the tomatoes and mushrooms mixed in, our lunch turned out quite balanced and delicious.

The Art of Pantry Foraging

We've all been there; staring at the contents of your refrigerator or pantry wondering, "What do I make for dinner"

Luckily I'm the kind of gal that always has canned tomatoes and rice, or in this case, couscous, in the cupboard. Also, luckily for me the herb garden is bursting with basil right now. That set the gears into motion..

I remembered seeing this dish on Rachael Ray's show before and decided to use that as my inspiration. Since I didn't have the soft cheese for the inside, I thought the couscous mixed with the pesto sauce would make a nice substitution. I also didn't have any pine nuts, so I used almonds instead.



Stuffed Chicken with Pesto Couscous

4-6 Chicken breast or thighs, boneless and skinless
1/2 cup slivered almonds (or pine nuts)
8-10 large sprigs of Basil
Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup couscous
1 cup chicken stock
2 medium onions, diced
1 large can of diced tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 small can of sliced mushrooms, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 350*F.

Start by toasting the nuts lightly in a skillet over medium heat, you do not need oil. Stir or toss often so that they do not burn. Pull the nuts off the heat when they start to turn toasty brown and release their delicious aromas and set aside.

Next start the couscous, bring 1 cup of chicken stock with about 1 tbsp of olive oil to a boil. Once the liquid comes to a boil, quickly stir in the couscous and remove from the heat. Cover the pot and let sit for 5 minutes.

Sweat a quarter of the diced onions in a medium saute pan with olive oil. Season with a small amount of salt and pepper. When they are translucent set aside for the Pesto sauce.

In the same pan, saute the remaining onions in another Tbsp of olive, again seasoning lightly, until they are translucent. Add in the can of tomatoes and bring to a simmer. To break down the diced tomatoes a bit you can use a potato masher to smush them and break down the chunks. Add the can of mushrooms last. Simmer over medium heat until you are ready to assemble.

To start the pesto, take the basil leaves off of their stalks and do a rough chiffonade, to help the food processor get started. Add the basil, nuts, onions, grated Parmesan cheese, and a few tablespoons of olive oil into a food processor. Pulse at first to combine, then puree until smooth, adding olive oil as necessary to make a paste. Combine the pesto paste with the couscous and adjust the seasonings if necessary.

To assemble: Spoon a small amount of the tomato sauce into the bottom a large glass casserole pan to help prevent sticking. For chicken breasts, slice the piece almost in half so that it opens up like a book. For boneless thighs, they should open up in a similar fashion, if not slice them open as well. Season the insides with salt and pepper. Scoop a large spoonful of the pesto couscous mixture onto the chicken pieces. Roll them up and place into the pan, seam side down. If there is any left-over couscous mixture, tuck it around the chicken pieces. Top the chicken with the remainder of the sauce. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 50 - 60 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are done.

Please note that for this recipe some measurements are estimated; I assembled this with the end result in mind, so please use your best judgement and adjust the amounts to your tastes

Classic Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

My take on the classic casserole. I start the dish on the stove top and finish it in the oven. It takes a good hour and a half total prep and cook time, but can be prepared in advance and frozen for later. You can use white or dark meat, use your preference, or what was on sale at the market. What I consider 4-6 servings would equal 3 or 4 large breasts or up to 6 thighs.

Classic Chicken and Mushroom Casserole

2 cups water
1 cup brown rice
Chicken, enough for 4-6 servings
approx 4 Tbs EVOO
1 large onion, diced
1-2 stalks of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
(1/2 cup white wine, optional)
2 cups white button mushrooms, roughly diced
2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
about 1 cup of milk or chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat the oven to 350* F, then start the water for the rice and add rice when it comes to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, undisturbed for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot or dutch oven, brown seasoned (salt and pepper, both sides) chicken pieces in a little bit of olive oil over medium high heat. Your pot should be able to go from stove top to oven; if the handles are not heat proof, cover them with aluminum foil before transfer it to the oven. The aim is to sear the chicken and get a nice yummy brown crust going. They may stick a little at first, but should come loose as the crust begins to develop. When they have browned on both side, pull the pieces out and set aside on a plate. (Use the cook time of the chicken to dice up your veggies)

Next into the pot should be your onion, celery, and carrot, all diced. (This trio is also know as trinity, and is considered to be a good all around aromatic addition to many dishes) Reduce the heat to medium and season the veggies and allow them to sweat, stirring often. You may need to add another Tbs of olive oil. As the vegetables sweat they should pick up the flavor left in the pot from the browned chicken. If they need help to pick up the color, deglaze the pan with white wine. The wine will dissolve the residue left from the chicken, and add a subtle layer of flavor in the dish.

When the first three vegetables have cooked down, add in the chopped mushrooms. Season these lightly and allow to cook down as well. Once the vegetables have become soft, you can add the seared chicken pieces back into the pot, along with any juices they have leaked onto the plate.

Add in the two cans of cream of mushroom soup and about 1 cup of milk or chicken stock, however much you need to loosen the soup into a thick sauce, and mix well. Put on the lid to your pot and put the whole kit and kaboodle in the oven.

When the rice is al dente pull it off the heat and add the entire contents of the pot to the casserole in the oven. Stir well to combine, and continue to bake, checking every 30 minutes or so for doneness. The chicken should be done when the juices run clear, or when it hits 165* F internal temperature.

When the casserole is done, pull from the oven and allow it to cool a bit before eating to avoid any burn tongues. However, it will smell so good, you won't want to wait. Don't say I didn't warn you!

N.B. If you are making this ahead, proceed through the recipe up until the point you put the whole thing in the oven. at this point you will want to transfer the mixture into a pan or casserole dish that can transition from the freezer to the oven. Stir in the rice when it is ready and wrap the dish in tinfoil, cool to room temp and then freeze for later. (Do not put the dish in the freezer while it is still hot, that would only raise the temperature in your freezer and potentially cause food born illness due to the other frozen items thawing and re-freezing)

To re-heat the meal, bake in 350*F oven until warmed through.

Tuna Croquets and Wilted Spring Salad with Mushrooms

This is a quick wilted salad bursting with garlic flavor, sized just right for one person as an entrée, or good for two servings when paired with a starchy side. If you are making this for two people I would suggest using 2 cans of albacore, and making 4 croquets total.

Ingredients
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Garlic Clove
1/2 cup Raw White Mushroom
3 cups 50/50 Mix
1 tsp Parmesan Cheese, Grated
1 can , drained Solid White Albacore In Water (5oz/142g)
1 tbsp Sandwich Shop Garlic & Herb Mayo
0 tsp Salt*
1/2 tsp Pepper*


Heat up 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Mince the garlic cloves and add to the oil in the pan until the garlic aromas have been released and the garlic has been slightly browned. Roughly chop the mushrooms and add to the garlic. Sauté in the pan for several minutes (5 - 8) until they have released their liquids and have browned up.

In the meantime, mix the drained tuna with the 1 Tbsp of garlic and herb mayo in a small bowl. Score the mixture in half and scoop the halves out and form into balls. Set aside.

When the mushrooms have browned add the salad mix to the pan, one handful at a time. Use tongs to toss the salad in the pan, so the leaves become evenly wilted. Pull the salad out of your pan and set aside on your serving plate.

Put the pan back on the heat and pour in 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Place the tuna croquets into the olive oil and let sauté until brown on the first side. Do not move them around or they will fall apart. Once a brown crust has formed, after 2 - 3 minutes, flip and allow the second side to brown.

Sprinkle the tsp of Parmesan cheese onto the wilted greens and plate the finished croquets on the plate.

* You may want to enhance the flavors more by squeezing on some lemon juice, onto either the greens or the croquets.

I didn't get any pictures in because I was hungry. Oops.. Next time I will have my camera handy!

Banana Rama Part 2

In honor of my boyfriend's birthday, I made him a cake flavored like one of his favorite desserts: Banana pudding. He absolutely adores bananas and the cake was a big hit with everyone who tried it. It was a "semi-homemade" concoction; I augmented some store bought ingredients to keep things simple.


Banana Pudding Cake

1 box Yellow cake mix
Water, eggs, oil, as called for in the cake mix
2 Bananas, mashed
1 box instant banana pudding
2 cups of milk
1 container of vanilla frosting
Nilla Wafers, crushed

Prepare you cake pans by greasing the bottoms and sides, either with a cooking spray or butter, or whatever your preference is. To make removing the cakes easier you may want to grease the bottom, then place in a piece of parchment paper that has been cut to fit the pan, and grease the paper.

Make the cake mix according to the directions, i.e. stir in the water, oil, and eggs until blended. Fold in the mashed bananas until well blended. Pour cake mix into greased pans and bake according to the directions on the box (approx 30 minutes for 2 8" pans at 350* F).

While the cakes are baking prepare the pudding according to the directions on the box. (Basically Whisk the powder and the milk together until smooth and slightly thickened.) Cover the pudding tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator to finish setting.

Also, while the cakes are baking, Crush a few handfuls of Nilla Wafers. You can pulse them in a food processor or pop them into a large plastic bag and roll them with a rolling pin until the break down into crumbs. Set the crumbs aside.

When the cakes are done, (a fork or toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean)remove from the oven and allow to cool. I prefer to let the cakes cool completely before I try to remove them from the pan, but if you are in a hurry, let them cool at least 10 minutes, then cool the rest of the way on a plate; this particular cake is quite moist, I think it would fall apart if you place it directly on a cooling rack.

To help get the cakes out of the pans, run a paring knife around the edge of the pan to loosen up the sides. Then just flip the pan over on top of a plate or round covered with parchment or plastic wrap, and let gravity do the rest. The parchment at the bottom of the pan (now the top) should keep the cake from breaking into sections as it falls out.

Once the cakes have been removed you can cut them into halves. Using a bread knife, keep the blade level as you score the outside of the cake. Using the score lines as a guide you can cut through the center and they should be even.

Layer your first piece onto a foil or plastic covered cake round, with strips of parchment paper just around the edges. You can make your own rounds with recycled cardboard, old pizza boxes work well. They should be the same diameter or slightly bigger as your cake.

Now you can start building your pudding layers, scoop about 2/3 of a cup of pudding onto the first layer and smooth it out to about a 1/4" away from the edge.

Next, careful place on the second layer, and repeat the pudding layer, then the third layer, and the last of the pudding.

Last, place your top layer on. Trim up the sides if they are uneven (save the trimming for a taste test :) )

I like to start icing the sides first, then the top. Use a thin layer as a crumb coat on the sides. Scoop the rest of the icing out onto the top and carefully smooth out, and down the sides until evenly coated. The sides don't have to be perfect, since we will be covering them with Nilla Wafer crumbs.


To add on the crumbs, carefully pick up the cake in one hand and scoop the crumbs into your other. Holding the cake at a slight downward angle, press the crumbs in, one handful at a time going around the edges until the cake sides are completely covered. I recommend doing this over a large platter or cutting board, or a wide shallow bowl to catch the falling crumbs. Once you have crumbs all the way around you can gently knock off the excesses back into the bowl/platter.

That's it! You can slice up another banana to decorate the top, but hold of doing so until just before serving time as the bananas will eventually start to brown (or in my case, slide off the top).

Banana-rama

Banana: a tropical ,mostly yellow, fruit that comes from an overgrown herbaceous plant (not a tree). The fruits have a rind that peels from the top offering great portability and a convenient handle for out of hand eating.

The banana has many culinary applications, ranging from sweet to savory, depending on the ripeness and thus the starch vs. sugar content. A green banana has a very high starch content and can be fried or mashed like a potato. A ripe banana will have a yellow or yellow-brown color and possibly soft brown spots that are sweeter than the rest. As the ripening process happens, the skins will turn from green to yellow, meanwhile on the inside of the fruit, the starches break down into sugars and the pectin found naturally soften the flesh.

We often see bananas at the supper market in their greener less than ripe state. I resist these bunches in favor of the bags of "Ripe" bananas. Ripe bananas are less expensive due to their shorter shelf life and have already started turning brown and are perfectly soft. These are the ones that are just right for baking purposes.

Banana bread is my usual "go to" application, though I often improvise fruit combinations for variety, my favorite being strawberry-banana. Another favorite banana confection are my Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. They tend to be quite moist and are packed with flavor.

The following recipes call for mashed bananas. To do so efficiently, slice them up on a cutting board first, then use a fork to smash them against the board. If you try it in a bowl they just slide all over the place.

As per the Joy of Cooking, 75th anniversary edition:

Banana Bread

A classic recipe, quick to make and a great standby.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)butter, softened
1 to 2 large eggs
1 to 1 1/4 mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3)

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 350* F. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. (You can re-use the wrapper from your butter)

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until its creamy. Then add the egg(s) one at a time, beating until incorporated. If you have closer to 1 cup banana, use both eggs, if you have more use just the one egg. Beat in the bananas until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients in about three parts, beating until smooth after each addition.

Scape batter into the greased pan. Bake the bread about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly then unmold. Cool completely before slicing.


This is my take on the basic banana bread recipe.

Strawberry Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick)butter, softened
1 to 2 large eggs
3/4 to 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (1 or 2)
3/4 to 1 cup mashed ripe strawberries (6 to 8 berries)

Use the same steps as above.


When choosing the strawberries, choose the soft or bruised "over ripe" berries. Since they are going to be mashed, their appearance won't matter, and they will be all the sweeter for their ripeness. When mashing use the same technique as above for the bananas; slice off the hulls, or the leaves. Then flip the berries onto the flat you just made and slice the berries into quarters. Mash the quarters with your trusty fork.

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Pre-heat the oven to 350* F. Grease an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. (You can re-use the wrapper from your butter)

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter until its creamy. Then add the egg(s) one at a time, beating until incorporated. If you have closer to 1 cup banana, use both eggs, if you have more use just the one egg. Beat in the bananas until incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients in about three parts, beating until smooth after each addition.

Scape batter into the greased pan. Bake the bread about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly then unmold. Cool completely before slicing.

NB - I used a 8 x 8 inch pan for the pictures. In doing so I was able to cut the cook time in half, to 30 minutes. Since the 8 x 8 inch pan is wider there was more surface for the oven heat to bake. Again, check for doneness with a toothpick or a fork.



Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

These cookies come out super soft and are very delicious!

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 Tbsp butter, softened
1 Cup Banana, mushed (approximately two whole bananas)
1 large egg
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
(1/2 cup slivered almonds, optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets (nonstick cooking spray works, but I like to use the butter wrappers, after I've dumped the softened butter into the mixing bowl.)

In a medium bowl combine the flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl beat the sugar and butter with a wooden spoon, until just combined; do not over mix. Add the banana mush and the egg and stir just to blend.

Add the flour mixture in three parts and stir well after each addition until just combined.

Drop the dough by rounded Tsps on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch in between. Bake until golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheets about 5 minutes then transfer to a rack to continue cooling completely.

*NB, I have made these before with a combination of rolled oats, and banana flavored instant oatmeal, approximately a 1/2 cup of each. This yielded a cookie with an extreme banana flavor.

One added bonus; since these are made with whole wheat flour and rolled oats they have a bit more fiber than your run of the mill chocolate chip cookie, not to mention the extra potassium and other vitamins contributed by the bananas.