January | 2008 | Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen

Archive for January, 2008

Not another chocolate chip cookie recipe!

Posted in cookies on January 15, 2008 | 2 Comments »

While I was browsing my google reader this morning I saw these cookies and starred the recipe so I could make them at a later time. Well that later time ended up coming tonight! And wow they are just as good as I imagined they would be, actually better! I had some pecans in the freezer from our trip to Arkansas at Thanksgiving. Shelling all those pecans was worth it to come home with 5 lbs of free pecans! They are almost gone now (after I accidentally burned some of them tonight in my first attempt to toast them, whoops!)

Blue Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies (As seen on Smitten Kitchen, originally from The Great Book of Chocolate)

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches apart, on the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes approximately 2 dozen cookies.

Read Full Post »

Cooking Light Category

Posted in Cooking Light on January 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »

No new recipe to share, but last night while I was making these delicious cookies I realized that there were many recipes on my blog that I had failed to tag properly. So I just went back through and tagged all the recipes that are originally from Cooking Light Magazine. You can see them all (including those cookies and some other fabulous light desserts!) if you click on the “Cooking Light” tab on the right hand side of the screen. I know that a lot of people are trying to eat healthier these days so I wanted to make it easy for you to find the healthier recipes I’ve tried out. I don’t list the nutritional info in my entries but if you follow the link back to the original recipe you’ll see it on their website.

Read Full Post »

chop chop, yum yum

Posted in salads, side dishes on January 7, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Well this recipe has certainly been receiving rave reviews from many of my food blogging friends. Now that I’ve made it I understand why! Tyler and I were both raving about it as we gulped it down. Can’t wait to have leftovers at lunch tomorrow. Mmmm. I rarely make my own salad dressing but it’s a must for this salad, it truly makes the dish. I simplified the original recipe by using a bag of already washed and ready salad. I also made it as a side salad so I cut out the pasta and chicken so it would be lighter fare, I can’t wait to make it as a main dish though. This is definitely a salad I would serve company, in a heartbeat!

Ten Restaurant’s Signature Chopped Salad (original recipe from the wonderful Cast Sugar blog)

Ingredients:

1 bag green salad, with iceberg and romaine lettuce
6 bacon strips, fried and crumbled
1 c. diced tomatoes
1/2 c. green onions, chopped
4 oz. blue cheese crumbles

For the mustard vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 to 2 Tbsp. sugar, to taste
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 c. salad oil
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch of coarsely crushed black pepper

Combine the bag of salad, crumbled bacon, tomato, green onions and blue cheese crumbles in a large bowl.
For the mustard vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the vinegars, water, garlic, dry mustard, sugar and salt and whisk until blended. Pour in the oils slowly, whisking constantly until the mixture is emulsified. Whisk in the oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper.

Pour as much of the Mustard Vinaigrette as desired over the salad. Toss to coat. Makes 4 main course salad meals, or 8 side salads.

Read Full Post »

Spectacular Shells

Posted in beef, italian, pasta on January 7, 2008 | 4 Comments »

Oh these were delicious and way less work that I imagined (although I did have Tyler do a lot of the prep since I was so sore from our afternoon hike!) As I was perusing all the end of the year “best of” blog entries I kept finding amazing recipes that I knew I just had to try in 2008. This one comes from Delish, a really fantastic and colorful food blog. I had never made stuffed shells before, and buying the big box of pasta shells made me a bit nervous. I was worried they would all break and I’d be out of luck when I went to make them. Fortunately just enough shells make it through the trip home and the boiling process in one piece for me to make my meal. I had just enough whole shells for my amount of filling. This made a huge dish of food, which is great since it will give us leftovers for lunch this week. You could easily freeze some of the shells and just reheat them later.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells (adapted from Delish, original recipe can be found here)

12 oz package pasta shells
1 lb ground beef
6 oz cream cheese
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup finely chopped onions
3 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (26 oz, I use Tyler’s favorite Classico Spicy Tomato and Basil)
1/2 – 1 cup mozzarella cheese or italian cheese blend

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place shell pasta in the pot, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a medium baking dish.

Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat. Cook until beef is evenly brown and crumbly. Drain grease from skillet. Add garlic, onions & herbs. Saute 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and add in cream cheese, ricotta, and 1/2 cup of marinara.

Stuff the cooked pasta shells with the beef mixture (I used my medium Pampered Chef scooper, made stuffing them quick and very easy!) , and arrange in the prepared baking dish. Cover evenly with the rest of the marinara sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake 15-25 minutes in preheated oven, or until bubbly.

Read Full Post »

Better Late Than Never

Posted in Cooking Light, desserts on January 6, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Well I was supposed to make this about a week ago for Tyler’s birthday, but his mom made him a huge hummingbird cake and I got busy, then tired, and then lazy. We ran out of Christmas cookies and were in dire need for a sweet pick me up. This crumble is mostly tart, a little sweet, and way healthier than most desserts out there. Too bad we didn’t have ice cream to serve on the side, but Tyler prefers his plain anyway, weirdo. You could make this with any tart apple, I used Braeburns because they were on sale and I had never had them before. They were very good and not as tart as Granny Smiths!

Cranberry and Apple Crumble (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
6 cups sliced peeled Braeburn apple
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine apple and cranberries in a large bowl. Combine juice and remaining ingredients; pour over apple mixture. Toss well. Spoon apple mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with flour mixture. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve warm.

Read Full Post »

Vegetarian Delight

Posted in Cooking Light, italian, vegetarian on January 2, 2008 | 2 Comments »

I want to get back in the habit of making at least one vegetarian dish a week, not only is it a good way to eat healthier but it’s also a good way to trim our grocery spending. This is another recipe that caught my eye in my new Cooking Light Cookbook (expect many many more raves about this cookbook in 2008!) Be aware this is a time consuming dish to make. I cut at least 30 minutes off the prep time by using no boil lasagna noodles, but the ones on the top layer were a bit crispy on the edges since this lasagna doesn’t have as much liquid in it as most. I would make it the same way again though because I do not have 2 hours to devote to lasagna making! 90 minutes is my max Totally worth the time and effort, this dish was sooooo tasty.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites

1 large egg
1 (1-pound) eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (I only had plain so I added some Italian seasoning)
Cooking spray
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
5 tablespoons (1 1/4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (12-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 large egg white
1 (26-ounce) bottle fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce (I used Classico)
12 cooked lasagna noodles

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine 2 egg whites and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Dredge 1 eggplant slice in flour. Dip in egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumbs. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs. Place slices in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of slices with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, turning eggplant after 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet; cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.

Combine 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, oregano, basil, ricotta, cottage cheese, and 1 egg white in a large bowl.

Spread 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles slightly overlapping over the pasta sauce; top with half of cheese mixture, half of eggplant slices, and 3/4 cup pasta sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Cover and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 35 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 5 minutes.

Read Full Post »

The perfect asparagus

Posted in Cooking Light, side dishes on January 2, 2008 | 3 Comments »

I believe Tyler’s family introduced me to asparagus, I don’t remember eating it as a kid (there weren’t many veggies I was willing to eat!) I love it, and I am so glad I finally got around to trying this recipe. I read about it a couple of months ago in the 20th anniversary Cooking Light, then saw it again in my new cookbook. Tyler and I were both raving about it over dinner. I look forward to making this over and over again, I can’t wait for the next time asparagus goes on sale!

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

40 asparagus spears, trimmed (about 2 pounds)
Cooking spray
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until tender.

Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and vinegar. Drizzle over the asparagus, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately.

Read Full Post »

Oh so appetizing

Posted in appetizers, Cooking Light, party favorites on January 2, 2008 | 1 Comment »

It’s time to introduce you to my new best friend. The All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook, given to me by my secret santa. This cookbook is beautiful. Great photos, amazing recipes, and organized so well. I am in love. The nice thing about Cooking Light is you can find all of their recipes on their website as well. So it’s easy to email them to a friend if you find one you love! Last week I went through the entire cookbook and bookmarked recipe after recipe, earmarking a few special ones for Tyler’s 24th birthday dinner. His birthday was Sunday but due to family engagements I wasn’t able to make the dinner until tonight. Oh man it did not disappoint! First course: stuffed mushrooms!

Stuffed Mushrooms (from Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

24 large button mushrooms (about 1 3/4 pounds)
Cooking spray
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
4 ounces 50%-less-fat pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean 50% less fat)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Clean mushrooms, and remove stems; finely chop stems.Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onions and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add sausage, and cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Add the reserved mushroom stems, red pepper, salt, and black pepper; sauté 2 minutes or until stems are tender. Remove from heat; stir in cream cheese and breadcrumbs. Stuff 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each mushroom cap. Arrange mushroom caps in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; sprinkle evenly with Parmesan. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until lightly golden and thoroughly heated.

Read Full Post »

Year in Review 2007

Posted in year in review on January 1, 2008 | 3 Comments »

Another year has passed us by! Time for one of those blogging year in review entries we all know and love My food blogging adventures started back in April. Since then I’ve tried lots of great recipes and enjoyed sharing them with my friends, both those in real life and my many wonderful online friends and readers. I was inspired by Foodie Bride and Sugar & Spice to post my favorite recipes from 2007. These are the recipes that stand out as some of my favorites and will definitely be made again in 2008. I can’t wait to share all the new recipes I’ve got bookmarked with you in the new year (I got a new cookbook that I am beyond excited to use). Thanks for all your encouragement and comments and inspiration in 2007! I love my little food blogging community It’s been one of the constants in this up and down year.