Almond and Honey-Butter Cookies...

*Just a friendly reminder - Jeff and I are participating in the 35th annual 5 mile walk to support the Animal Humane Society on May 2nd in memory of Spike who we lost last year. Since Gus will be trudging his short lets as fast as they can go, we've decided we will be walking as Team Gus! Any donation small or large would be greatly appreciated - if you would like to support us, please check out our donation site!

We took Gus around Lake Calhoun for another walk yesterday to get him ready - it is just over 3 miles around and he finished happy with his tail still waggin' like crazy - I think he was still raring to go for more! Look how long his hair is getting!

Saturday mornings usually end up being the time that I make sure to set aside extra time to throw together some homemade snacks for us. I did just that again with a recipe for these honey-sweetened thumbprint cookies called Almond and Honey-Butter Cookies.

These round gems have a few things going for them that make them a bit better for you than your everyday cookie. Besides using only honey as the sweetener, we used a combo of soft whole-wheat pastry flour and all-purpose flour to achieve a delicate texture, yet still retain some good-for-you nutrients. Also bumping the cookies up slightly in protein and heart-healthy fats in the dry ingredients is a full cup of toasted whole almonds that we first finely ground in a food processor before adding them in.

While you would typically expect a stick or so of butter to get the cookies movin', this recipe only calls for three tablespoons used in the dough, while the remaining fat comes from canola oil. And as mentioned, instead of using white sugar, these are sweetened with a generous amount of sticky honey. This is where you can play around with imparting delicate notes into the cookie with the type of honey if you like - try orange-blossom, lavender or even tupelo, if you are lucky to find it.

Before you begin working with the dough, you'll want to let it hang out in the refrigerator for an hour to give the flour time to soak in the moisture and make it easier to work with. After rolling tablespoons worth of dough into balls, each is given a "thumbprint" or indent in the center, which will make for a crater to hold a creamy filling once they have cooled. You'll want to bake these just long enough to set the cookies and give them a light golden tinge around the edges. To fill up the dent in the cookies, we stirred together more of that sweet honey with just a tablespoon of softened butter to add just a kiss of richness without the guilt. To echo the almond in the dough and add a visual appeal, we slipped a couple sliced almonds that we toasted into each of the tiny honey-butter pools.

The texture of the actual cookie is somewhat crumbly, yet not dry and hard - they also contain a delightful nutty essence throughout. While the centers don't set up like a frosting, it does firm slightly so it isn't too messy to eat. If you're looking for a well-portioned cookie that tastes good and still packs a nutritious punch, I wouldn't wait too long to get a batch of these into the oven!

Recipes

Almond and Honey-Butter Cookies

Sausage and Red Pepper Pizza...

Jeff again added some input for this week's Friday Night Pizza. I had asked him when I was menu planning if he had any ideas in mind before I went searching for a recipe and he replied with "Sausage pizza sounds good!". Then he went and shocked me a bit when I said "That's good, how 'bout we throw in some red peppers too?" and he said yes, add some. Huh? Who is this person and why has he all of a sudden taken to requesting peppers? See, he used to say he "tolerated" them before when I included them in recipes, but I guess times are finally a changin'! Woo!

To get a jump on the Sausage and Red Pepper Pizza I made for dinner tonight, I filled up the food processor with the pantry ingredients to make our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough and set it off to rise while I got the laundry taken care of. Too bad I didn't come up with a more complicated pizza so I would have been too busy to deal with that!

To cut down on the grease factor, I used turkey sausage, hot Italian-style, and tossed the meat into a skillet, with a bunch of cubes from a red pepper to cook. This is the time you'll want to break down the sausage as it cooks into crumbles, however don't smooth it around too much - leave it on the chunkier side (about the size of a large marble) so you get bigger, meaty bites on your pizza. The sausage is nice as-is, but a minute or so before it was browned and cooked through, I scattered over cracked fennel seeds as I find I like a more poignant anise flavor to pair with the seasonings already inside.

Since I didn't want the sausage to cook much more, and we wanted a crispy thin crust, I went ahead and gave the stretched out round a quick pre-bake on the stone before continuing on. When you remove the crust, flip it over and add the toppings to the side that had is already slightly golden because of the contact with the baking stone - this helps protect that area from getting over-browned. A smear of pizza sauce, followed by a portion of the shredded mozzarella went on top, along with the sausage nuggets and red peppers. We rained down with more shreds of mozzarella over the top since extra cheese is always good idea.

Since the dough had already gotten a start, the pizza was ready in about ten short minutes when the crust had finished turning golden and the cheese melted on top. If you like an onion-y bite to your pizza, add rings of red onion on after you scatter the chunky bits of sausage and under the safety net of the cheese. With nothing complicated or fussy about homemade pizza and results much better than you'd get from the store (and not to mention better for you!), I hope we are inspiring others to settle into at least a night of pizza making at home each week!

Recipes
Sausage and Red Pepper Pizza

Black Bean, Corn and Shrimp Salad

Sorry for the upcoming whine, but after making this Black Bean, Corn and Shrimp Salad for dinner tonight, I've used up the last of the frozen fresh corn that we saved from last year's bounty. Sad! I tried to stretch it out as long as I could, but now it's all gone. Alas, we only have a few more months to go until those sweet kernels will start producing again, so there is hope!

After we fiddled with the shrimp to remove their shells, we tossed the little buggers with chili powder, cumin, granulated garlic and a bit of salt. In a hot skillet, laced with a tablespoon of oil, we added the shrimp and flipped them around until they were just beginning to curl and pink up. Just before we slipped them out onto a plate to keep them from getting over-cooked, and subsequently rubbery, we added in a splash of fresh lime juice for brightness.

The last of that sweet corn went in, and after allowing it to be alone with the heat for a short stint, we stirred in smoky chipotle salsa, distinct cilantro and black beans. Giving those ingredients just a minute to heat through, we added one more dose of fresh lime juice before portioning the hot vegetable salad out onto the plates and arranging the tender shrimp on top.

With a total time of less than 15 minutes from start to finish, this was without doubt one of the speedier dinners we have prepared. The smokiness from both the chipotle and cumin were well noted and appreciated, but I think Jeff was more excited about the aggressive heat the salsa added. Now, even though we approve of that spice, that doesn't mean that you can't go with a milder salsa and still be just as happy with the result, especially with those fresh notes from the tangy lime and cilantro. By the time we were done eating the well-seasoned shrimp, we still had a good amount of the corn and bean salad left behind. Instead of just eating it with a fork, which would have been sufficient, I served along side plenty of those baked tortilla scoops for a fun way to complete our meal.

Recipes
Black Bean, Corn and Shrimp Salad

Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Chicken...

If you glance at the ingredient list for this Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Chicken dish that I made for dinner tonight, it might look fairly daunting at first and not reasonable for a weeknight meal. However, taken step by step, it really isn't too bad and it comes together in a flash once the ingredients hit the heat.

The first step is to create a brew that a pound of sliced chicken breasts will sit in. The ingredients used here are soy sauce, fresh ginger, tamari, Shaoxing, pepper, a couple garlic cloves and a spoonful of cornstarch. If you've never used tamari before, it is similar to soy sauce, but has a more complex flavor, is darker and is typically wheat free (though you always want to check the label to be sure!), making for a great alternative for those who are sensitive to wheat. Shaoxing is an aged Chinese rice wine - if you can't locate this in your area, you could swap it out for dry sherry. While the chicken sits, we prepared the sauce that goes in later before we got to work on the vegetables. To a half cup of broth, we whisked in ketchup, a touch of brown sugar, chile paste for bite, toasted sesame oil, cornstarch to thicken and more soy sauce to play off the chicken with a salty edge.

To get the vegetables goin', we diced up a mess of red bell pepper, onion and green onions - while the original called for green bell peppers too, their harshness just isn't for us. If you groove on that, use half red and half green. To help keep the vegetables crisp, yet with a little tender give, they are only cooked for a few minutes and then scooped out. A little more oil went into the same skillet, followed by the chicken mixture that had been lounging around. As soon as it goes in, be sure to arrange the chicken in a single layer so it all gets direct contact with the heat.

After letting the chicken cook through, the vegetables are tossed back in, along with the cornstarch-laced broth mixture and diced pieces of sweet, fresh pineapple. At this point, everything is cooked as much as it needs to be - the liquids just need to reach a boil to activate the cornstarch, which then turns the sauce into a tantalizing thick glossy glaze.

Lighter than the versions you might find at your local restaurant, we found this to be just as tasty with a fresher feeling and not very difficult to prepare. Serving this over a batch of nutty brown basmati rice (prepared using our favorite no-fuss method) made for a dish that definitely made our stomachs full and happy! This would also be great served over noodles if you are so inclined - you may want to think about doubling the broth mixture though so you'll end up with a more saucy result (rather than more of a glaze) to lube up the noodles.

Recipes
Spicy Sweet-and-Sour Chicken

Peanut Butter And Jam Crescents...

Jeff asked if I could make some sort of cookie for this week's Wednesday Treat Day - I said that wasn't a problem, but gave him such a selection that I think I overwhelmed him a bit! He gave up on trying to pick out one... so he closed his eyes to randomly pointed to these two-bite Peanut Butter And Jam Crescents.

Peanut butter actually plays a role in two area of these cookies - besides being in the filling, it also works itself into the dough! Into the bowl of dry ingredients, I added chunky pieces of softened cream cheese, butter and a couple scoops of creamy peanut butter. Instead of bothering with a pastry blender, I plunged my fingers right in and used them to work those into the flour, creating a shaggy mess that quickly came together into a smooth dough. After dividing the dough into two pieces, you'll want to wrap each well and set them aside into the refrigerator as we gave it a work out and it needs to rest. This also gave the cream cheese and butter a chance to firm back up, which will aid in the ease of rolling it out.

After an hour of chilling out, we rolled the discs of very forgiving dough into a large ten inch circle - on top of each, we smeared on a creamy concoction of peanut butter and jam. You can use any smooth jam you like, be it grape, strawberry, raspberry or whatever your heart desires and would go well with peanut butter! With lots of soft textures, we wanted to add some textural contrast to the cookies - to achieve that, we scattered finely chopped peanuts over the top, which also played a role in ramping up the magnitude of peanut flavor. Just be sure to gently press those peanuts into the jam layer to give them some staying power as you roll them up.

To cut these cookies out, find your pizza wheel you have hidden in your drawer - it will make quick work of slicing each round into sixteen equal wedges! To shape the cookies, you'll want to start at the wide end of the cookie (the edge) and tightly roll the cookie up towards the point to form a crescent shape. To help give the cookies a rich color, we prepared a simple egg wash by mixing a golden egg yolk with a splash of milk to give each a light coating with a pastry brush. Once browned, you'll want to let the cookies cool completely before dusting them with powdery confectioners' sugar for an attractive finish.

Using the cream cheese and butter in the dough made for quite a tender cookie, while the peanut butter bounced off the flavors inside the spiral for a more cohesive nature - I also enjoyed the fact that these were just barely sweet, a nice change! Dainty and just the right size for a treat, I'm already conjuring other fillings that might mingle well - maybe a handful of miniature chocolate chips or swapping out the jam for Nutella and using chopped hazelnuts? I also wonder if it would work to use mashed roasted banana and swirl it with the peanut butter, along with a drizzle of honey!

While we didn't prepare a new main dish for tonight's dinner, I did throw together a new side to go with!

In these Shoestring Fries with Garlicky Dijon Mayo, we got the sauce together first so the flavors had mingle while the fries baked. To soften the harshness of the fat clove of raw garlic we used, we let the minced pieces float in a little sherry vinegar for a few minutes. In addition to those two ingredients, we stirred in mayonnaise, a dollop of grainy Dijon mustard and a little fresh parsley for color.

For the potatoes, we sliced away at a couple russets until we had fries that were roughly 1/4" thick and wide. Since these are baked, not fried, there is one step that takes them a step above your ordinary baked fries. To help them crisp as the bake, but stay moist and fluffy on the inside, the potatoes are placed into a bowl and covered with hot water to sit . The hot water works to draw some of the starch out, which you'll be able to see at the bottom of the bowl when you drain away the water! You could use colder water, but using hot speeds up the process to a short ten minute wait. While I was busy finishing up the potatoes, I also did one more trick that I like to do to help the fries along... I slid the coated pan I was going to bake the potatoes on into the oven for five minutes to preheat before I added the fries. I find this gives them a head start and I love hearing the sizzle as soon as the hit the pan!

One of the more important parts to this is you'll want to drain away that hot water and dry off the potatoes as much as you can - if they are still wet, the minute amount of oil we used would have a tendency to slide off and not stick. While we do make sure to season them well with salt before they hit the oven, I also like to toss them with a bit more as soon as they come out from the oven as a lot of the salt gets left behind in the bowl or on the pan. As much as I've seen others do it, I've never been one to dip my fries into a side of mayonnaise... I never saw appeal. However, this easy garlicky dip sure threw my reasonings right out the window! Creamy with just enough bite from the garlic, this tantalizing mixture persuaded each crispy fry I picked up to go for a dip. Needless to say, I was sad when I noticed it was all gone while I still had a few fries to go - I'll have to scribble down a note to double that next time!

Recipes
Peanut Butter And Jam Crescents
Shoestring Fries with Garlicky Dijon Mayo

Spring Noodle Stir-Fry...

Last week we made a dish that called for asparagus, but the spears at the market were definitely looking sad and pretty unappealing. However, we tracked over to a different area yesterday and snatched up a heavy pound that looked strong and vibrant, which means this Spring Noodle Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Walnuts I was waiting to make went back on the menu!

Asparagus was one of the numerous vegetables that I don't think I even tried once when I was younger and if I was served it, I probably slipped it to the dogs so I wouldn't have to try it. I often think about all of the foods I missed out on years ago because I was so stubborn and set in my picky ways... however, I'm thankful how much I can appreciate them now.

While I waited on a pot of water to boil for the pasta, I made a piquant dressing by whisking together toasted sesame oil, cider vinegar, soy sauce, a healthy four cloves of garlic and fresh ginger, along with a couple shakes from our jar of crushed red pepper flakes. Once the pasta was dropped, I drizzle a little more of that toasted sesame oil into a skillet to begin cooking an onion that we cut up into chunky pieces. A few minutes before the onions were completely softened, we tossed in the diagonally sliced asparagus and let it go for a couple minutes. Our asparagus was on the thinner side, but if yours are thicker, you may want to add the pieces when you add the onion to allow enough time for them to cook.

Crisp sugar snap peas that we halved were then placed into the skillet, along with the toasted sesame mixture we prepared earlier. Since they cook in a flash and you want them to retain a bite, only a minute ticks by before we slid the cooked pasta in and tossed all the ingredients together to coat in that snazzy dressing. After plating the servings, we scattered toasted chopped walnuts over each for a crunchy finish to this dish. Since the pasta we used, vermicelli, was quite thin, it only took a few minutes to cook and since we had enough time to prep the remaining ingredients as we waited for the water to boil, I think we spent less than 20 minutes getting this together!

Even though there was a paltry ounce of dry pasta per serving, bulking up the meal with those nutrient-dense vegetables and omega-3 rich walnuts made for a gratifying meal that was filling without making you feel overly full when your plate was clean. I didn't have any on hand, but I bet some toasted sesame seeds scattered on top would be a nice way to weave another layer of sesame into the dish if you wanted to leave off the walnuts - or, if your so inclined, go crazy and add them both!

Recipes
Spring Noodle Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Walnuts

Polenta "French Toast"...

We whipped through 8 new recipes this week - picking out three favorites was tough, but we nailed it down to those toasty Browned Butter Butterscotch Bars, that Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza and the Campanelle with Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley and Breadcrumbs dish.

*A quick note before we get to the rest of today's post... I won't be putting this up everyday, but every once in a while I'll post a reminder since we have less than a month to go! We just found out about an event on May 2nd to support the Animal Humane Society - Jeff and I have signed up for the 35th annual 5 mile walk that will be taking place and we will be walking as Team Gus in memory of Spike who we lost last year. Any donation small or large would be greatly appreciated - if you would like to support us, please check out our donation site!

You've heard me sing the praises of taking those coarse nuggets of cornmeal and slowly cooking them down into a savory pot of thick, delicious polenta. Have you ever wondered if you could swing it to the sweet side of life? While we've taken steel cut oatmeal, which is typically sweetened, and made it savory before and quite enjoyed that twist, I hoped this Polenta "French Toast" I planned on making for dinner would work out just as well!

While we had this tonight, I did have to do the majority of the work last night, so if you plan on making this, be sure to note all the lengthy times needed during the preparation. To fully develop the cornmeal's flavor, the grain is cooked at a very low temperature for a full hour. Over that hour, you'll want to make sure you stir the pot fairly often as it does have a tendency to sink and want to stick to the bottom of the pot you use. When the hour has passed, the cornmeal will almost be hard to stir as it will be thick enough that a wooden spoon would stand straight up.

Right now, it could go either way between savory and sweet - since we were going away from savory, we added milk, pure maple syrup, our favorite pungent Vietnamese cinnamon, fresh grated nutmeg and the vibrant zest of an orange, along with a combo of dark and golden raisins. The milk, which adds a creamy background, now brings a lot of moisture to the mix that we needed to cook down. You'll need to tack on another 30 minutes or so - this will give extra time for the grains to soak in those essences of sweetness we added and allow the raisins to plump up. After that half hour had passed, we scooped the viscous cornmeal out onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread the mass to an even thickness. This now needs to cool down completely and be left in the refrigerator overnight - while it is spreadable now, by the next day it will have tightened up enough to cut into firm triangles.

Now, that brings us to tonight where I divvied the block of polenta up and dusted each triangle with corn flour. Unlike traditional French toast, there is no dipping in an egg and milk mixture or whatnot as you don't want to add any more moisture - the polenta is already moist enough that the flour will adhere in a thin coating. To finish them off, we slid the dusted triangles onto a hot griddle that I laced the surface with butter and let them heat through to get a light golden crust on each side. This gives you some textural contrast - you'll have some crispness to the outside, while the warm center stays somewhat creamy in nature.

To play off the clean maple already inside the polenta, I served this with a warm drizzle of pure maple syrup on top. Decidedly different, it almost felt like we were indulging in a special treat as we ate through our portions and I loved how just a tiny bit of that oily orange zest was able to make itself known throughout each bite. I do think this would be a great morning dish when you have guests around (and it would also get bonus points for this purpose since most of the work is done ahead of time!) to enjoy this unique take on breakfast.

Recipes
Polenta "French Toast"

Browned Butter Butterscotch Bars...

*A note before we get to today's post. We just found out about an event on May 2nd to support the Animal Humane Society - Jeff and I have signed up for a 5 mile walk that will be taking place and we will be walking as Team Gus in memory of Spike who we lost last year. Any donation small or large would be greatly appreciated - if you would like to support us, please check out our donation site! Gus has also volunteered to walk with us, although he says we need to bring a fun wagon for him to jump into in case he gets too tired! Pampered much?

I saw the bars that I made this morning in one of the latest cooking magazines and while it sounded inviting as is, I had a few ideas in mind to add some oomph to them.

The original recipe only called for five tablespoons of melted butter, but that seemed a little skimpy to me for a large baking pan - so, one of the first changes I made to these Browned Butter Butterscotch Bars was to add two more pats. Rather than just melting it in the microwave, I placed the butter into a pot and left it over medium heat until the butter melted and started to turn a rich golden brown color. Why go that far? This process ripens the flavor and produces such a nutty and provocative background that makes for a more unique experience. There is nothing wrong with just melting the butter to use if you'd rather not bother, but I would encourage you to give it a try and see how you like it!

(Looking for inspiration? Here are some other recipes we've browned butter for - Banana Bars with Browned Butter Pecan Frosting, Browned Butter Oatmeal-Cranberry Bars, Roasted-Garlic Pierogi with Shallot-Browned Butter, Coconut-Blueberry Cheesecake Bars with a Browned Butter Graham Crust or Browned Butter Oat 'N' Toffee Grahams.)

After combining that liquid gold with brown sugar, an egg and a splash of vanilla, the dry ingredients consisting of rolled oats, flour, salt and a pinch of baking soda were added to form a crumbly mass. The changes I made at this point were to use old-fashioned rolled oats, rather than the quick-cooking called for, along with a dash more salt since I was using unsalted butter. I like to use this type of oat as it brings a heartier texture with a bit of chew, but you could go either way and end up satisfied. You could also make your own quick-cooking oats by tossing regular rolled oats into a food processor and blitzing them just a couple times to break the oats down - pulses work best as you don't want to make oat flour!

These bars are assembled by adding scoops of the crumbly oat mixture into a baking pan and pressing it down firmly to create a sturdy base. Sweetened condensed milk (which is not the same as evaporated!), butterscotch chips and a bit of salt (which helps to control the sweetness) are then quickly melted together with the help of a microwave and evenly spread over the base. Notice that you still have a generous amount of the oat mixture left in your bowl? The remaining crumbles are scattered all over the top to hide the butterscotch filling and create a streusel-esque topping. Nothing more than your eyes and nose are needed for doneness - the bars are ready to come out when the top is golden and you can smell the nuttiness of the now-toasted oats.

Because that butterscotch layer is somewhat sticky, but firms up as it cools, you'll want to run a knife around the bars between the edge and the side of the pan. After letting them cool completely, they easily sliced into clean bars - I think those extra two tablespoons of butter we added helped this happen. If you went with the requested five, I could see how it might be on the drier side, which would lead to crumbling as you sliced the slab into bars. Even though there was only a half cup of nuts used, toasting them first made for more vivid notes of nuttiness that broke through the sweetness of the condensed milk and butterscotch. Before telling Jeff what these were, his first words were that the taste reminded him of a sweet toffee while the smell was that unmistakable aroma of butterscotch. The taste isn't exactly a true butterscotch since this uses the flavored chips, but it wasn't that far off. I would say that these bars do rank pretty high on the sweet scale, but using the extra salt, along with the more developed browned butter, did help wrangle it down from being too sweet for us. I did like our change of using the sturdier oats, instead of the quick-cooking, as I thought it gave them a chewier texture as well.

Recipes

Browned Butter Butterscotch Bars

Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza...

*A note before we get to today's post. Jeff and I have signed up for the Humane Society Walk on May 2nd in memory of Spike. I know times are tough, but we would welcome any donation if you would like to support us, please check out our donation site!

For this week's Friday Night Pizza, I wasn't looking for anything fancy or crazy... we were just in the mood for a basic, comforting and cheesy pizza that had a little zip. And if we didn't need to pick up any ingredients for it, all the better! After taking a few glances through the pantry and freezer, we decided that a Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza sounded right up our alley.

No surprise, I did get right to business this evening by getting our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough quickly prepared in the food processor and off to rise while I prepped the toppings. For those, I cooked a few slices of salty bacon since I needed them crisp later on and because I had plans to use a little of those naughty drippings that get left behind. I did try to show some restraint and didn't use all that rich fat, but I did save a couple teaspoons worth to brown a half pound of ground sirloin and soften a cup's worth of chopped onion. If you'd rather not use the bacon drippings, a splash of canola or olive oil would be fine.

To add a saucy edge, we added a generous amount of homemade pizza sauce that had been in the freezer - however, use whatever tomato product you think would work here. A homemade marinara would be nice or even a prepared sauce if you didn't already have some handy - whatever it would take to get you excited about making your own pizzas! And, if you like mustard on your burgers, why not think about stirring a few tablespoons into the mix for a tangy bite?

Now that the beefy portion was ready, I stretched out the crust to a large round - since we wanted a very crisp crust tonight, I tossed the dough onto a hot pizza stone for a few minutes to give it a head start before we started adding the toppings. After spreading out the saucy beef concoction, we added shreds of both mozzarella and sharp white cheddar cheeses over the top. We crumbled those bacon slices we crisped up earlier and scattered those on top as the finishing touch. Slid back onto the stone, the pizza needed less than 15 minutes to finish browning the thin crust and melting the cheeses.

Bacon? Check... Lots of cheese? Check... Zesty sauce studded with beefy crumbles? Check... This definitely met our requirements for an easy pizza tonight and then some! Can you guess what we'll be doing for breakfast in the morning? You can bet that we each saved a couple slices to devour tomorrow!

Recipes
Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza

Enchilada Lasagna...

When I was updating my inventory list of what is currently inhabiting our multiple freezers, I came across a stack of corn tortillas I was apparently saving for something. I can't recall what I had planned to use them in and decided if I didn't remember then it was time to move on and find another recipe. Searching through my to-try piles, I found a number of recipes that would have used a portion of what I had on hand, but a recipe for this Enchilada Lasagna caught my attention as it used up the entire stack!

Instead of using a prepared enchilada-type sauce, I was excited to find this recipe called for making a homemade version to use! After a quick trip to our favorite spice store (it is a blessing and a curse that the store is less than a 5 minute drive away!) to pick up a bag of dried chipotle chiles, I seeded and diced 'em up to be added to a pot full of fresh garlic cloves, chili powder, freshly toasted and ground smoky cumin seeds, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Once the liquids were rapidly bubbling, we turned the heat down to a simmer and let the mixture go until the chiles had softened.

Keeping my hand busy, I moved on by cubing up an even ratio of chicken breast meat and thighs to keep the filling lean, yet still have plenty of depth. You could use either all breast or thigh meat though... work with what you have and like to eat! After browning the chicken, we scooped them out to a bowl and tossed in a mess of chopped onions to soften. A fat clove of garlic, along with a couple pinches of dried oregano, were stirred in and left to sit over the heat to let their pungent essence permeate the onions. The cooked chicken is then added back into the pool and tossed around so all those ingredients were mixed together.

Before you start layering ingredients into the baking dish, make sure you spread a bit of the homemade sauce over the bottom so the bottom layer doesn't dry out. At this point, you may want to enlist the help of another pair of hands, because the assembly process can be a bit messy! Four of the tortillas are first dipped into that warm red sauce and then fitted over the bottom of the dish - three will fit well, but you will need to break up the fourth piece to cover any bare spots. Half of the chicken mixture is arranged on top of those soaked tortillas, followed by a generous shower of queso fresco cheese. This is a type of fresh cheese that is somewhat crumbly and has a taste that is mild, a touch salty and does have a slight tang to it. If you haven't come across this cheese, you could use a more readily available Monterey Jack, but do try and search it out first and you just might be surprised!

After repeating the process and ending with a layer of tortillas on top, you'll notice that there is still a ton of sauce in the pot. You may think it would be crazy to add it all, but have faith! It will look flooded, but after a trip through the oven, all of those dry tortillas will drink up the liquid and expand, leaving you with solid portions to dish out. Using those chipotles in the sauce added more of a smoky depth that a spicy bite, but we found there was a tolerable amount of heat that I think most people would enjoy. However, if you do want a more intense burn, you could try leaving those stimulating seeds in with the chiles and see what you end up with! I think what Jeff appreciated most was the fact that the corn tortillas didn't turn into a pile of mush (you know about his texture issues!) and while they did soften, the tortillas still retained some integrity. Plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow too... I'm already counting down the hours!

Recipes
Enchilada Lasagna

Cheesy Hash Brown Chili...

As soon as I mentioned to Jeff that I was going to be making this Cheesy Hash Brown Chili for dinner at some point this week, he had been anxiously awaiting to see how it was going to pan out. He loves chili and can't get enough potatoes in any form, so I had a feeling this would go over well.

After browning and crumbling a pound of lean ground sirloin in one of my saucepans, I tossed in a chopped onion and let it cook out, softening the pieces into translucent bits. Besides salt and fresh ground black pepper, we seasoned this mixture with a combination of medium-hot chili powder, regular chili powder and ground cumin - we also stirred in a few lumps of tomato paste. Before you add any more ingredients, be sure to stir these ingredients around the pot and let the spices toast and give the concentrated paste time to mingle with the heat and bloom, letting the flavor release from their cocoons.

For the beans in this chili, we added a can of black beans since that's what I already had in the pantry, but red kidney would certainly work well. Juicy fire-roasted dice tomatoes followed the beans and we left the mixture to bubble at the barest simmer while the oven was finishing bringing itself up to temperature. Once we scooped out the chili and nestled it in a baking dish, we flooded the top with a combo of shredded hash browns and sharp white cheddar cheese. While the chili is completely cooked, the potatoes still needed a good amount of time in the oven to cook through and melt the cheese.

While the chili was already fairly thick when it went into the pan, I wasn't sure how it was going to end up once we pulled the pan out. I was pleasantly surprised to see that we were able to pull out tidy slices without it running all over! That's not to mean it was dry though - the chili was still moist and thanks to that golden, cheesy topping, the pieces didn't fall apart. Needless to say, Jeff drifted into a delightful comforting state as he plowed through his portion. I did think that using the spicier chili powder and the fire roasted tomatoes lifted the chili portion from what would have ended up being a fairly ordinary chili. We've used those meatless crumbles before with good success, so if you are looking for a more veggie friendly option, I bet they would work well here!

Recipes
Cheesy Hash Brown Chili

Oreo Biscotti...

Jeff has been asking that we work Oreo's into the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day for a few weeks now and I made good on the promise that I would by making these Oreo Biscotti.

Unlike many of the biscotti on our website that we've made in the past, this recipe has a bit of butter included. When you use only eggs as the liquid to bind the dry ingredients together, the resulting biscotti will be especially crispy and firm. However, if you introduce a fat like butter, as with these biscotti, it doesn't take away the crispness, but adds a tenderness that some prefer.

While there are the customary ingredients - sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and of course, the butter - these biscotti get a funky speckle to them by mixing in coarsely chopped Oreo's into the mix. Why, pray tell, are there red streaks in our biscotti? Well, apparently the Oreo's we had in the pantry were stuffed with a red filling rather than white - makes for an interesting appearance if nothing else! And no, there is no reason to scrape out that sweet filling before chopping the cookies - everything goes in here! You might find the dough a little on the sticky side when it has combined, but just scoop the mass onto a lightly floured surface and you should be good to go. You are not looking to add much flour to the dough, just enough to keep it off your fingers.

After dividing the dough in half and shaping each into a loaf, we left them to bake until the tops were golden and firm to the touch. I don't like biscotti to cool completely before slicing them - I usually let them cool just long enough that I can comfortably handle the warm loaves. I find they crumble more if they do cool all the way - also, to aid in the prevention of any crumbling, I've been using the method of spritzing the tops of the baked loaves with water and letting it gently soften the crust for a few minutes before sliding my serrated knife through. Don't worry about this making them soggy - as soon as the slices go in for their second bake, any extra moisture will quickly evaporate and leave you with the crispness you crave.

Also, don't forget - you do have a bit of leeway with the texture. If you want them to be a little more softer to the tooth, you can take them out about 10 or so minutes before the timer goes off during the second bake. Once the slices had a chance to cool down, we topped them off a duo of melted chocolate drizzles on top for a swanky finish. Now that I've made them and we both give them a big thumbs up, I have a feeling it is going to be a challenge to convince Jeff he has to take them in to share!

Okay... we've talked about the sweet treats we are sending in tomorrow, it is time to move over to the savory side! If you've been wanting to serve more than a couple omelets for dinner and don't have enough pans (or patience!) to either get them all done at the same time, this Rolled Omelet with Spinach and Cheddar I made for dinner tonight is a recipe you might want to try!

To help ease the eggs out of the pan and give you a helper handle to roll them up, you'll want to spray or brush it well with oil and stick on a sheet of parchment paper. Once I had the pan prepped, I made the egg-y mixture by whisking together milk, flour, whole eggs, egg whites and Dijon mustard. Huh? What's with the flour in this so-called "omelet"? Well, using just a bit of flour will act as a structure builder - it will give the dish enough strength to hold the roll shape and resist falling apart.

To add a little color and a truckload of nutrients, a couple packages of frozen chopped spinach that we thawed and squeezed all the excess liquid out was strewn all over the top of the egg mixture once we poured it into the parchment-lined pan. This will then go into the oven - bake it long enough until the edges are no longer wet looking (just set) and then take it out to give the top a generous shower of sharp white cheddar cheese. The eggs go back into the oven as the last blast of heat quickly finishes cooking them through and melts the cheese into a slick of gooeyiness (if that's even a word).

As soon as you take the pan out, you'll be able to easily roll this slab of cooked eggs up since the parchment paper had a slight overhang to give you a piece to grip. Roll it somewhat tightly, but not too tight as you would a jelly-roll type cake as you don't want to squish all the cheese out. All of that melted cheese also acts as a good glue so the rolls don't unravel as you slice into the egg monster! Jeff gave me one of those famous uneasy eyebrow raises when I took a big scoop of mustard out of the jar to add in, but he was the first (funny how that goes...) to comment how its subtle tang was a nice counterpoint to the richness of the cheese and eggs. Great for a breakfast-for-dinner night, this could also be whipped up in a jiffy for a hearty meal in the morning too!

Recipes
Oreo Biscotti
Rolled Omelet with Spinach and Cheddar

Campanelle and roasted vegetables...

Hmm... apparently I wasn't paying too much attention when I was planning the menu this week. Even though we just had a pasta dish last night, I guess I must have been craving pasta as tonight I also had this Campanelle with Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley and Breadcrumbs recipe on tap for dinner.

At least this didn't end up remotely close to yesterday's meal! Loaded with vegetables, I got right to work by breaking down a massive head of cauliflower, slicing a red onion into thin wedges and halving a few cloves of fresh garlic. Tossed with a couple tablespoons of oil, we scattered the vegetables out onto a large baking sheet and roasted them until the vegetables were tender and had taken on a golden hue.

As we waited on the oven to work its magic, we placed sliced fresh bread into a food processor, added a drizzle of olive oil and pulsed the duo together until the bread turned into moist coarse crumbs. You could toast the crumbs in a skillet, but since the oven was already on and fiery hot, we distributed them onto a small baking sheet and set the pan in the oven to quickly crisp them up. Once you put them in though, don't go far as they can go from the perfect color to burned in a snap.

We also took this time to bring a pot of salted water to a boil to cook the flower-shaped campanelle pasta. Before you drain the water way, don't forget that you'll need to set aside a half cup of the starchy liquid to help moisten the dish. Into the now-empty pot, the pasta is tossed back in, along with the roasted vegetables, a sprinkling of chopped parsley and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Rather than adding in a sauce, one is created when you a pour over that warm liquid we set aside - once mixed in, it quickly melts the sharp cheese and coats the pasta with a thin dressing.

Now, don't skimp on the roasting of the vegetables part - when the high heat hits those cauliflower florets, it brings out such a pleasant nuttiness that you would miss if you just steamed them. The heat also allows the cloves of garlic to mellow out, while the petals of the onion sweeten as they caramelize. Adding those crunchy toasted breadcrumbs on top finishes off this pasta dish with such a bang while the pasta rounds this meal out with hearty, stomach-warming feel. The exact pasta shape we used isn't a make or break here - if you don't have campanelle, use your favorite short pasta.

Recipes
Campanelle with Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley and Breadcrumbs

Italian Egg and Pasta Scramble...

We went through 7 new recipes this past week - looking back, our tops this time were those slow cookin' Chili Chicken Tacos, the spotted Black-and-White Cheesecake Squares and that snazzy Roasted Garlic-and-Spinach White Pizza.

Need to use up a bunch of eggs and have no plans for dinner? Then you'll have to try out this Italian Egg and Pasta Scramble I made for our meal tonight!

This is one of those speedy weeknight dishes that I'll have to repeat when I'm low on time or don't feel up to making a new recipe. After bringing a pot of salted water to a boil, we dropped in a smattering of rice-shaped orzo pasta. Be sure to check the bag for the cooking time as some take a short 5 minutes to cook, while other varieties need close to 8 to 10.

The recipe called for a total of ten whole eggs, but in scrambled eggs or frittatas, I like to cut down the amount of yolks a tad by switching out some of the whole eggs with egg whites. I went for seven whole eggs and six egg whites - typically the ratio for this substitution is two egg whites for each whole egg. Seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper, the beaten eggs were perked up with diced bits of smoked mozzarella and sliced fresh basil.

Before we went to scramble the eggs, we melted a pat of butter in a large skillet (haul out your biggest one!) and added chopped pieces of salty pancetta. Don't want to spend the dollars for pancetta and already have bacon on hand? You could use that instead, but just keep in mind that there already is a smokiness coming from the cheese and you don't want it to overwhelm the dish - saying that, I don't think I'd give a second thought to using bacon if I needed to! After giving the pieces enough time to crisp, we sprinkled in fresh chopped onion and let the two continue to cook until the onion was tender. Asparagus was suppose to go in at this point, but they didn't look so hot at the market this week... we decided to throw in a handful of green peas instead. I have another dish in mind for next week that uses asparagus, so I hope a good batch comes in by then!

The drained orzo was then tossed in - don't fret if the pasta looks clumpy at first as the heat from the skillet will quickly allow them to separate. The beaten egg and cheese mixture is finally poured into the pan and in just a few short minutes the pasta swells slightly, the eggs begin to form soft curds and the cheese slowly melts in. Besides adding a pop of color, the peas broke through the curds and pasta with a delightful freshness (and I'd still love to try this with asparagus!). While there isn't even an ounce of cheese per serving, the full-bodied smokiness of the mozzarella flowed throughout the mix and when paired with the rich pancetta, you definitely don't go away hungry when your plate is clean. The basil was also a nice touch!

Recipes
Italian Egg and Pasta Scramble

Ginger Pudding...

While vanilla, chocolate or butterscotch puddings are fairly common, we thought it would be fun to infuse a sweet heat into the pudding I made for us to snack on this weekend.

To prepare this Ginger Pudding this morning, I finely diced a few rounds of crystallized ginger and tossed the pieces into a pot that was filled with milk. We brought the milk up to a simmer (be sure to stir often!) and then took it off the heat to hang out, giving the ginger time to work and the milk time to cool down slightly.

We need to impart some richness and power to thicken the pudding, so we whisked together a bit more milk with granulated sugar, potato starch (yes, cornstarch would be fine) and three golden egg yolks. You'll also want to add a pinch of salt - besides highlighting the flavor points, the salt also works to balance and calm the sugar so it doesn't come across as being too sweet. Instead of dumping this into the hot milk and risk curdling those delicate yolks, a portion of the ginger-infused mixture is instead slowly whisked into the milk and egg mixture. This way the yolks won't be shocked by the heat and ruin the pudding!

Poured back into the same pot you already used, the loose base is placed back on the stove and brought to a boil - this will continue cooking the yolks and activate the starch, which will give you a luxurious and thick texture after it has had a chance to chill out in the refrigerator. Before that happens though, we sneaked in a bit more punch by adding a knob of butter, brilliant lemon zest and a splash of floral vanilla. Now, if you're a pudding skin fan, which I am definitely not, leave the cover off once you go to cool the pudding. If you're not a fan, lay a piece of plastic wrap right on the surface so a skin doesn't have a chance to form.

We went out and ran some errands after I was finished, but we raced home as I was eagerly awaiting my chance to dig a spoon in. At first, I was a little thrown off by the soft pieces of ginger that studded the silky pudding, but I quickly grew to love the sweet bite they threw into the mix. The essence from the lemon zest brought an unexpected brightness that Jeff and I both agreed added to the attractiveness of this unique pudding. I'm sure you could push the pudding through a sieve if you wanted to maintain a smooth texture with just a hint of ginger, but now that I've tasted this, I'm glad we didn't go that route. If you wanted to gussy up this pudding, a dollop of fresh whipped cream would be a wonderful way to go!

Recipes
Ginger Pudding

Roasted Garlic-and-Spinach White Pizza

It's time for another Friday Night Pizza! I hope we've inspired others to start their own pizza night. Plus, there are some great things about pizza - they are completely customizable, if you have little ones around they can help shape (or well, play with!) the dough and they don't take too much effort to make! Especially if you whip up a batch of our favorite snazzy whole-wheat pizza dough that comes together in no time using a food processor.

While the dough was hanging out in the warmth of the cabinet above the refrigerator, I kept myself busy preparing the other ingredients needed for this Roasted Garlic-and-Spinach White Pizza.

I pulled apart a head of garlic so each clove was separated, but still left in its papery peel - while we would normally just slice off the top and roast the garlic whole, doing it this way shaved about 15 to 30 minutes off the baking time! Drizzled with oil and a bit of water, we wrapped the cloves up in a tidy ball of foil and slid them into the oven.

Cooking the bacon was on tap next - we cut a couple slices into pieces and tossed them into a skillet to crisp, which means I had to deal with two pups sitting at my feet the entire time waiting for any little bits to fall to the floor! The smell of bacon sure seems to slow everyone in the house down, leaving the house nice and quiet for a few minutes. Once golden, I scooped the pieces out - in its place I added in thawed frozen spinach that I squished dry. You can use a kitchen towel to remove the excess liquid, but I like using our potato ricer... no towel to then clean and it makes use of a utensil that doesn't get much love! You are not really trying to cook the spinach, just warming it through and getting some seasonings on it. Don't forget about that garlic in the oven! When it was done roasting and had cooled down slightly, we squeezed the cloves out from their protective wrappers and mashed them into a paste with a touch more olive oil.

By now the dough had risen and I started pressing and pulling it to make a fairly large circle - I used the twelve-ounce version for a thinner, crisp crust, but if you would like a bit more heft, try using the pound version. We smeared the top with the thick garlic paste, scattered the warm spinach on top and followed that up with dollops of ricotta cheese that we seasoned with salt, fresh ground black pepper and crushed red pepper. The crisped bacon and shreds of mozzarella were scattered on next before we slid the pizza onto the stone to bake.

That garlic paste slathered on the crust underneath the toppings was a slick way to impart its sweet and mellow flavor without it becoming obtrusive. If you wanted a sharper flavor to perk up those cheese dollops, I think mixing in fresh grated Parmesan cheese into the ricotta would be the way to go. I also mentioned to Jeff that this would be one of those pizzas that could be a fantastic base to top with a few fried eggs to add a fancy element and dress it up.

Recipes
Roasted Garlic-and-Spinach White Pizza

Barley and Beef Soup...

I guess I spoke to soon - while it was starting to warm up around here... apparently old man winter has no plans on letting go of his grip! With flurries floating around yesterday, the temperatures didn't even go much above freezing today. I was definitely in the mood for comfort food (oh! I'm on a roll with these rhymes...) and I'm glad I picked out this Barley and Beef Soup to make for dinner tonight.

We took a good 'ol hunk of chuck steak, trimmed it and sliced it into cubes to use for the meat - if you'd rather not deal with that, you could pick up a pound of stew meat at the market and save yourself some time. The original recipe had you soften the onions and try to brown the beef at the same time, but that adds a lot of moisture to the pan and I find the beef doesn't get a chance to caramelize as well as it should that way. I'd rather add another step so you get the development of flavor and brown all the cubes of beef first, then soften the onions in the drippings left behind.

To the beef and onions, we added chopped carrots and celery - once they were given a few minutes to mingle in the pot, we tossed in a generous amount of minced garlic cloves. Pearl barley, along with beef broth, water, tomato puree and a couple bay leaves are added into the mix and left uncovered until the liquids came up to a boil. The pot is covered at this point, the heat is turned down to a simmer and the soup bubbles away until the barely plumps up and the vegetables are tender.

Paired with a hearty slice of crusty bread to dip in, the combination of nutty, chewy barley, the abundant variety of vegetables and the cubes of tender beef, this was a gratifying way to fill up our stomachs! It may not be much to look at, but what a way to warm up from the inside out and I'm betting it is one of those dishes that will be even better tomorrow as leftovers. If you've been wanting to try out lamb by chance, I also think this dish would be a great way to introduce it to you or your family since there is a plethora of other familiar ingredients used.

Recipes
Barley and Beef Soup

Black-and-White Cheesecake Squares

We combined a dark, brownie-like base and a cheesecake to form these Black-and-White Cheesecake Squares that I made for the Wednesday Treat Day that we do each week for Jeff's co-workers.

Before we jump in, I'll suggest you try and keep an open mind... this is quite the fussy recipe, but you'll enjoy the results. That's not to mean this was at all difficult, but there are several steps and lengthy wait times!

A dense chocolate base is prepared using an obscene amount of butter, coarse grains of granulated sugar, a couple eggs and your best sweet vanilla. Where's the chocolate? That comes in the form of smooth Dutch-process cocoa powder that is whisked together with the flour. Before spreading the dark, thick mixture into the baking pan, a cup is reserved and set in the refrigerator to hang out until a little later. Once the chocolate base was pressed over the bottom of the baking pan, the recipe calls to be placed into the refrigerator to chill out for 30 minutes. The dough is on the stickier side and I'd suggest you lay a piece of plastic wrap on top when you go to press it in the pan - makes life easier and keeps your digits clean! When you hear the timer ding and the oven's heated, the base goes in and bakes until the center has set and the edges have puffed up.

So... now what? Yeah, it also called for the base to lounge around on a wire rack to cool before continuing on - see where the fussiness comes in? Well, as it finally cooled down, I creamed together softened cream cheese, enough confectioners' sugar to add a pleasant sweetness, an egg to bind and a dribble of additional vanilla to bounce off the dark base. Not too thin or thick, the creamy topping is spread over the cooled base and is then topped off with crumbles from that reserved dough we had set aside from the beginning. No, we're not done yet... because now this has to go back into the oven and bake once more until the cheesecake topping has set. Whew!

After all that time, you'll still have to wait a bit more as it needs to cool completely before you take your knife and cut yourself a well-deserved square! The decadent base is set off by the striking contrast between the layers - the cheesecake topping is smooth and creamy, while the bottom is rich, moist and chocolate-y. Yes, it might make for a crater in your caloric intake for the day, but after taking a bite from these swoon-worthy bars, who's to care?

I was tempted to skip dinner and have a bar or two instead, but I did have to make sure there was enough left to share tomorrow! So, for dinner tonight, I dipped into the final remains of our corn supply we had in the freezer to make these Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadillas.

To go in between the white corn tortillas, I added a cup of corn into a skillet with a touch of oil coating the bottom until the kernels gained a bit of color. Sliced green onion and a bit of chopped jalapeño were then added and pushed around the pan until that had just heated through. Scoop out into a bowl, I stirred soft, tangy goat cheese into the vegetable combo and let the residual heat smooth the cheese out.

After divvying out the mixture between four tortillas, we spooned a little prepared salsa verde (basically just tomatillo salsa) over the filling and set the remaining tortillas on top to cover. You can finish these off two at a time if you have a fairly large skillet, but don't stress about it - you can bang then out in no time as they only take a minute or two per side to get the tortillas crisp and heated through. After cutting them into wedges, we served them with a bit more salsa verde for added zip. Allowing the kernels to brown first lets the corn caramelize and bring out its inherent sweetness, adding character and depth. While I'm crazy about goat cheese, if it is too much for you, you could cut it with cream cheese so you retain that creamy mouth feel and still get some of the cheese's distinct flavor.

Recipes
Black-and-White Cheesecake Squares
Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadillas