Two Novice Chefs, One Tiny Kitchen

Although it hasn’t quite been a year yet, our very first blog entry was our Easter meal from 2007. We celebrated just the 2 of us in our little 1 bedroom apartment in D.C. This year we are back in Kansas, near family and in a slightly larger apartment much better suited for entertaining. My parents came over for lunch today, and we’ll be having dinner at Tyler’s parents home tonight. For lunch we wanted a meal that we could prepare quickly after church. We also wanted to try at least one new recipe, so we picked a bruschetta appetizer to tide us over until the rest of the meal was ready. It was all delicious and it was so nice to celebrate Easter with family!

Easter Menu:
bruschetta
chop salad w/chicken
mushroom rigatoni bake
asparagus with balsamic browned butter
texas sheet cake (recipe now updated w/WW points)
and pink lemonade!

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil (from delish)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs tomatoes (we used a mixture of roma and hot house, the ripest we could find)
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
5 large leaves basil, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh chopped parsley
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
coarse salt & black pepper, to taste

1 baguette loaf
3 Tbsp olive oil, or more as desired
1 clove garlic

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Remove seeds and juice from tomatoes; dice. In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, garlic, 1 Tbsp olive oil, balsamic vinegar. Add basil & parsley. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Set aside.

Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down and bake 5-6 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and rub each piece of toast on the olive oil side using a clove of garlic, allowing the juices sink into the bread (Ok I confess I tried this but got impatient and gave up, we were in a hurry!) Serve immediately with prepared tomato & basil mixture.

Yields: approximately 2 dozen.

I am not a big beer drinker (half a beer makes me flushed and sleepy), but I’ve found several recipes in which it is a great ingredient. I’ve used it in pot roast and stew, also cheddar fondue and now beer cheese dip. Yum! We usually use Blue Moon beer since that’s our favorite to drink. I had this dip at a get together recently and was craving it again so I made some for us to eat while we watch basketball games this weekend. It is delicious!

Beer Cheese Dip (from my friend Stacey over at Simply Tasty)

Ingredients:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese (I used one light and one regular)
1 pack of dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 cup of beer
shredded cheese to taste
Serve with: pretzels, tortilla chips, carrots, celery, etc.

Preparation:
Combine soft cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, and beer (I did this in my KA mixer). The consistency will be weird, but just keep stirring. When the consistency becomes thick and smooth add cheese (I mixed in the cheese by hand). Transfer to serving dish and top with cheese to taste.

A few notes on the recipe…

-Don’t use 2 packages of fat free cream cheese, the consistency of the dip just won’t turn out right. If you want to cut calories try a package of light and a package of full fat.
-Use whatever beer you have on hand.
-Keep stirring the mixture until the consistency gets smooth. It will look a little funky at first, but it will smooth out.
-I served this with wheat thins and fat free pretzels, the pretzels were fabulous with this dip!

And this is NOT a WW recipe, I did not bother to figure out the points so you’ll have to figure it out yourself, if you dare

Big football games call for great dip. It’s nice to have something yummy to munch on so you don’t bite your nails off worrying about whether or not your favorite team will win. I served this dip with a French baguette that I picked up from the store, but tortilla chips would also go well with it. Apparantly there is a “spinach shortage” right now and my local store won’t get fresh spinach in until February 1st. So frozen it was, and I thought it was still great!

Hot Spinach Dip (original recipe from Delish)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup skim milk
8 ounces light cream cheese
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
3 dashes Tabasco
3/4 - 1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onions and garlic, until softened and onions lightly browned. Add milk and heat. Stir in cream cheese until smooth. Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and 1/2 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in paprika. Pour into a shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake until golden brown, 15-20 minutes.

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

If you haven’t heard about or tried oreo truffles yet you may live in a cave. Have no fear, it’s safe to come out and try them, just be aware you may become addicted. And if you make them for your family, friends, coworkers, be prepared for some very positive feedback. These babies are a crowd pleaser.

Oreo Truffles (original recipe from Kraft Foods)

Ingredients:

1 pkg Oreo cookies (I used regular for one batch and mint oreos for the other)
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (light or fat free works great!)
16 oz. chocolate (I used Baker’s Chocolate, semi-sweet for one batch and white for the other)

Crush oreo cookies (I did this in my mini food processor)

Mix cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended (I did this with my KA mixer, but a wooden spoon or hand mixer is another option). Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls (mine were larger, I used my medium cookie scoop). Place on baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Put baking sheet in freezer for 10-15 minutes until truffles firm up.

Dip balls in melted chocolate; place back on paper-covered baking sheet. Sprinkle with cookie crumbs or sprinkles before chocolate hardens.

We live across the street from a Half Price Books. It’s a dangerous place to live. I feel drawn to the store, pulled in by the cookbook section, where I can peruse hundreds of cookbooks at discounted prices. A few months ago I purchased a copy of Pillsbury Best of the Bakeoff cookbook. I brought it home, flipped through it, and then set it on my bookshelf where all of my cookbooks sit, untouched. See I really prefer to find recipes online where I can read reviews. I have been burned by too many recipes where I followed them to the letter and they turned out terribly (i.e. the lasagna with 5 tablespoons of italian seasoning, blech). Now that I’m figuring out this cooking thing I figure it’s time to turn to my cookbooks and trust that maybe, just maybe, they won’t let me down. Tonight’s dinner was quick, simple, and very good. I love Mexican food, anything Mexican-ish I will try and likely love (oh, except for mole, Tyler loves it but I do not).  I think this recipe is a keeper, especially on game days! :)  It’s a good football finger food!

Chicken and Black Bean Tostizzas (from Pillsbury)

Ingredients:

1 can large refrigerated flaky biscuits
1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa
1 cup diced cooked chicken
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed.
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup green or red bell pepper strips
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Garnish: guacamole or sour cream

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Separate dough into 8 biscuits (my can had 10).  On ungreased cookie sheets, press or roll each biscuit into 5 1/2 inch circle (mine were not that big, maybe 4 inches max).  In medium bowl, combine salsa, chicken, black beans, cilantro and cumin; mix well.  Spread evenly over biscuits to within 1/4 inch of edges.  Top evenly with green onions, bell peper strips and cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 24 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and cheese is melted.  To serve, garnish with sour cream and guacamole.

I needed a dessert that I could whip up fast and I didn’t want to go through the whole “from scratch trash my kitchen with flour and sugar” mess so I went the easy route. All you need are some peanut butter cups and a box of brownie mix with its required ingredients. The end result: yummy peanut butter cup brownies.

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1 box brownie mix
any ingredients that the box of brownie mix calls for + an extra egg
1 bag mini peanut butter cups

Directions:
Mix up brownie batter with an extra egg for fluffier brownies.
Pour brownie batter into muffin cups lined with paper or foil wrappers.
Stick one peanut butter cup (all wrapping removed of course) in the center of each brownie
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until brownies are fluffy but not gooey inside.
Cool and then eat!

I used a box of pillsbury chocolate chunk brownie mix and it yielded a dozen brownies in a regular sized muffin tin. A mini muffin tin could also be used for bite sized brownies.

We definitely love Mexican food around here and probably have it at least once a week. I’ve been working on perfecting my guacamole recently, but I still like to cut corners a bit and use a package of Produce Partners Great Guacamole seasoning. Lawry’s also makes a good guacamole seasoning (the McCormick stuff in the orange package is nasty though). Eventually I may move to a completely from scratch guac with peppers and other spices, but for now I like my easy semi-homemade guac

Easy Mild Guacamole
4 ripe avacados (skin will be dark and the avacado will yield to slight pressure)
3 small roma tomatoes, seeds removed
1/4 of a white onion
1 packet of guacamole seasoning
juice of half a lime
dash of salt

Remove peel and mash up avacados in a large bowl. Chop up tomatoes and onion, add to the avacado mixture. Mix in packet of guacamole seasoning, lime juice, and salt. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

We went to a game night at friend’s home yesterday and in lieu of a rich and chocolaty dessert we took mini-fruit pizzas instead. I saw the recipe on the Pillsbury website a few weeks ago and bookmarked it in hopes that I’d have an occasion to make them soon. Now that strawberries are back in season I am always looking for an excuse to eat them! These were quick to make and tasted great! We are still chowing down on the leftovers! I used fruit I had on hand, strawberries, kiwis, and mandarin oranges.

Mini Fruit Pizzas (made by Julia)

1 (18-oz.) pkg. (20 cookies) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake!™ Refrigerated Sugar Cookies 1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened 2 tablespoons frozen limeade concentrate, thawed 1/2 cup powdered sugar 10 fresh strawberries, quartered 1 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into 10 slices 1/2 cup fresh blueberries 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1 . Bake cookies as directed on package. Cool 10 minutes or until completely cooled. 2 . Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine cream cheese, limeade concentrate and powdered sugar; beat until smooth. 3 . Spread each cooled cookie with 1 tablespoon cream cheese mixture. Arrange fruit on top of each. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 2 hours.