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Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Split pea soup – Or, the ugly duckling

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , on April 9, 2011| 4 Comments »

Homemade split pea soup in white dish

It’s not much to look at. If you’ve never had it, you can probably imagine a lot of things you’d rather eat. But to those of us who have tasted good split pea soup, it is a beautiful sight to behold.

Back when I was looking for a split pea soup recipe, it seemed like they all involved some random piece of meaty bone that you boil with the soup and then discard. I’m not a huge fan of spending money on something I’m just going to throw out, so this recipe was the solution.

I can’t remember where I got this recipe. Off the internet somewhere a while back? Who knows. I made plenty of changes anyway. 🙂

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 medium carrots, chopped (I never peel my carrots if I’m putting them in soup. It’s a waste of time. It’s not like they have a “shell” or anything; the only reason we peel them is because they’re not pretty.)
  • 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 16-oz bag dried split peas (sift through the bag and check to make sure there are no tiny rocks mixed in!)
  • 8 cups chicken broth (I use fat-free low-sodium)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt-free seasoning blend (I used a random “savory” mixture I had on hand. You probably have one of those too, but if not, splash together some thyme, basil, etc…)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
  • A few good shakes of Cholula hot sauce (This sauce is one of my staples. I grew up on it. Stephen is now addicted. You can use another hot sauce if you don’t have Cholula, though.)

You may be tempted to avoid the red pepper and hot sauce. Don’t. My friend Andrea is very sensitive to spicy foods, and she didn’t think it was spicy at all. It just adds extra flavor, I promise!

Directions

It’s actually very easy, especially if you’re lazy like me and mash the soup with a potato masher instead of puréeing it in a food processor or blender (hey, it’s fewer dishes to wash!).

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saut̩e the onion, carrot, celery and garlic until onion is translucent. Stir occasionally Рit should just take about 5 minutes.
  2. Stir in the split peas. After about 30 seconds, stir in the broth, seasonings and salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (lid still on!) for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  3. Mash with a potato masher. If you want a perfectly velvety soup, you can purée it in a food processor or blender, but mashing it actually does a pretty good job otherwise.

We ate it with homemade biscuits. Perfect.

Soup vegetables in pot - carrots, onions, celery, garlic, olive oil

Ready to add the peas:

Sauteed vegetables in pot

 

Herbs in soup ready to start cooking

 

Split pea soup after mashing

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Fruit smoothie

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on April 3, 2011| 4 Comments »

Fruit smoothie in blue cup with a straw

Mmmm.

Frozen fruit medley.

Milk.

Vanilla extract.

Sugar.

Mmmm.

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Mom’s amazing gingerbread cookies

Posted in Recipes, tagged , , , , on March 31, 2011| 2 Comments »

homemade gingerbread cookies with raisins

I have no idea where she got this recipe. All I know is, it was a legend in our family, and I have very fond memories of this special treat. It’s fun, versatile, easy, unique and delicious. Really, it’s that awesome.

My sister-in-law, Rebecca, came over and made these with me tonight, molding them into adorable shapes and popping them in the oven. That, coupled with watching the movie Julie & Julia while the dough was in the refrigerator, made us feel all culinary and inspired and French. We can dream.

Ingredients

It’s actually pretty basic. The only thing you might not have on hand is molasses. It looks like a long list, but it’s mostly just spices.

  • 1 cup butter (I always use unsalted)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed down in the measuring cup)
  • 2/3 cup molasses
  • 4 cups flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves (optional, but I always use it)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

I also sometimes use raisins on the cookies when I’m molding them into shapes.

Directions

You need to set aside a little time to make these, but it’s mostly just waiting. There’s hardly any busy work. I made a second batch of dough tonight to bring to a friend’s house tomorrow so we can just mold it into shapes and bake it.

  1. Melt the butter, brown sugar and molasses together in a medium saucepan. Stir, and then let cool for at least 10 minutes (If it’s too hot, it will scald the egg).
  2. Combine all remaining dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
  3. Add the egg and vanilla to the butter mixture, then immediately add it to the flour mixture and stir well. Cover and chill the dough at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  4. Form shapes on ungreased cookie sheets (I always use Airbake cookie sheets, they’re amazing. Its virtually impossible to burn the bottom of your cookies on those.). Make sure they’re not too close together, because they do rise a little. Bake 12-15 minutes at 325°. Remove from pan and let cool (or not…).

They’re awesome with milk, but sadly I didn’t have any in my refrigerator tonight. Thanks for baking with me, Becca!

Melting butter with molasses and brown sugar

 

Dry ingredients in mixing bowl

 

Melted butter, molasses, brown sugar, egg and vanilla

 

Mixing bowl with dry and liquid ingredients

 

Gingerbread cookie dough after refrigerating

 

Cookie dough twist

Becca is neat and organized. Here are her cookies lined up in pretty rows:

Organized cookies

I am random and sporadic. Here are my cookies sprawled all over the cookie sheet:

Random sporadic cookies on cookie sheet

Et voilà!

Homemade braided gingerbread cookie

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Indian spiced rice

Posted in Recipes on March 21, 2011| 1 Comment »

Bowl of Indian spiced rice with vegetables

I just love pretty food. This dish was so colorful, and it smelled amazing! The best part – It was really healthy. I found the recipe online, but I was missing a couple spices, so I improvised. It turned out delicious, but I also like a little more kick in my food, so I’ll tell you what I would change for next time too.

Ingredients

Here’s my version. Don’t be intimidated by the ingredients: It’s mostly just spices!

  • 1 Tbs olive oil (or thereabouts)
  • 1 cup chopped onion (I used 1 medium onion)
  • 1/2 tsp ginger (powder) – I can’t stand the taste of too much ginger in my food, so I always use it sparingly. If you like ginger, you might want 1 or 2 tsp
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (with one of my favorite kitchen tools ever)
  • 1/2 tsp coriander (the recipe called for ground coriander seed, but I just had the whole seeds. Either is fine.)
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp curry powder (I would use about 3 tsp next time)
  • 1 1/4 cups dry jasmine rice
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup dry lentils
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped (this was good, but it kind of tasted like it didn’t belong in the dish. I might leave it out next time.)
  • 1/2 cup green peas (I used frozen)
  • 3 Tbs raisins
  • 1 Tbs butter (optional – I forgot to add it this time, but I’ll try it next time)

I would also add a few teaspoons of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper next time to give it some more kick.

Directions

This is actually pretty quick and easy to make.

  1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, stirring frequently.
  2. Sprinkle in the ginger, garlic, coriander, nutmeg, cumin, curry powder, and whatever other spices you use. Cook a few more minutes, stirring frequently to evenly distribute the spices.
  3. Pour the rice into the pan and sautée it with the onions and spices for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lentils, salt and water, and stir.
  4. Add the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover the pan. Cook 10 more minutes.
  5. Place the bell pepper, peas and raisins into the pan and stir well. Cover the pan and cook 10-20 minutes more, or until the rice and lentils are tender. (This is not a delicate dish. Don’t feel the need to check it every 2 minutes.) Stir in the butter, if you’re using it.

Depending on how many veggies you add (I always use a little bit more than a recipe calls for), this dish will feed 4-6 people.

Pot of homemade indian spiced lentils and rice with vegetables

 

Homemade Indian rice, lentils and vegetables close-up

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Mexican pizza

Posted in Easy meals, Recipes, tagged , , , on March 17, 2011| 2 Comments »

Mexican pizza casserole homemade

I’ve had a lot of people ask me for easy recipes that you can throw together without a whole lot of effort. I have quite an arsenal of these from my highly creative mother (who fed our family of 6, plus the odd guest or 2). She is a genius at coming up with simple, delicious recipes with random ingredients, and over time many have developed into family favorites. Thus, I have decided to add a new category on my blog just for these. I’ll tag these recipes (and any other ones I come up with along the way) as “Easy meals,” and if you want to look at the whole list of these easy recipes, you can just click on “Easy meals” button at the top of the page. These meals are perfect for:

  • Beginners
  • Anyone who is busy ever.

I think that pretty much covers it.

Ingredients

Now this will be fun… These recipes are in this category partly because you can make them with an assortment of ingredients. Mexican pizza is really quick to whip up if you have some of these ingredients on hand! You don’t need everything I’m listing – this is mostly to give you ideas.

  • Ingredients to make cornbread (or cornbread mix)
  • 1 can refried beans
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • Black olives, sliced
  • Shredded meat (I used chicken)
  • A handful or two of frozen corn
  • Shredded cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Salsa

You can also add green chiles, bell peppers, or whatever you want.

Directions

This is ridiculously easy, and it tastes delicious!

  1. Prepare 1 batch of cornbread and bake it spread out in the bottom of a large glass casserole dish. Leave the oven on when you take it out.
  2. Heat a small sautée pan while the cornbread is in the oven, and sautée the corn in about 1/2 tsp olive oil until some of the edges are just barely turning brown. I used chipotle-flavored olive oil, and I sprinkled a lot of black pepper on the corn as I cooked it. Set it aside. You can just use plain corn, but this extra step gives it an amazing flavor.
  3. I sautéed a chicken breast (seasoned with Cholula chili-lime seasoning) in a few drops more of the same chipotle olive oil, then I took it out and shredded it with a fork. I put it back in the sautée pan for another minute or so, so the shreds from the inside of the chicken breast can get some seasoning too.
  4. Spread the refried beans evenly across the cornbread “crust.” Sprinkle the tomato, olives, shredded chicken, corn and whatever else on top.
  5. Sprinkle cheese across the top to your desired thickness (or at least to whatever thickness you can get away with..).
  6. Bake it for about 10 minutes, or just until the cheese is fully melted.
  7. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

I grew up eating it, so it’s a comfort food for me too. This is seriously delicious. What would you put on it? I’d love to hear your variations!

Mexican pizza close-up ingredients

 

Mexican casserole side view of cornbread, beans, tomatoes and olives

 

chicken sautéed in olive oil and seasoning

 

Sautéed shredded chicken breast

 

Finished Mexican pizza with melted cheese

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