Saturday, November 20, 2010

Raspberry Cheesecake

We did this one for my birthday and it worked out really well...it's a nice cheesecake that's not too sweet, and the fresh fruit makes it even better.
  • 1 9 or 10 inch graham cracker pie crust, unbaked
  • 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 16 oz packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
  • whipped cream, as much as desired
  1. Follow directions on crust to pre-bake, if necessary, then preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Use blender to mix cottage cheese and milk until smooth. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in cottage cheese mixture, flour and vanilla. Beat in eggs just until blended. (Make sure your cheese mixtures are smooth before adding the eggs, or you'll be finding cream cheese lumps throughout when you eat it!) Pour into pastry shell (pie will be full). Sprinkle with 1/2 cup raspberries; gently press into filling with the back of a spoon.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until the center is almost set (cover edges loosely with foil if browning too quickly). Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Top with whipped cream and remaining raspberries. Store in the refrigerator.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Southwest Pasta Salad

Super easy and fast to make!!!

8 oz whole wheat pasta, cooked
15 oz frozen corn
15 oz can black beans
1 C. salsa
1 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 green bell pepper, diced
Optional: add garlic powder, black pepper, or cayenne pepper to taste (in any combination)

Combine ingredients and serve cold. Serves 8.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Jenna's Incredible Chocolate Raspberry Cake!

Ingredients
1 pound semisweet chocolate, good quality
3 tbs instant espresso powder
1/2 cup creme de cassis
4 eggs, separated
12 tbs unsalted butter
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pints fresh raspberries
2/3 cups sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 tbs water
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375. Butter and flour a 9-inch round cake pan. Line the bottom with waxed paper. Butter and flour the waxed paper; shake to remove the excess.
  2. Combine 8 oz of the chocolate, 2 tbs of the espresso powder and 1/4 cup of the cassis in a heavy saucepan, and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Stir to blend the mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  3. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Remove the pan from the heat once more and add the butter, beating it in 1 tbs at a time. Stir in the flour.
  4. Combine the raspberries, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and 1 tbs of the cassis in a bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.
  5. Combine the egg whites and the salt, and beat until they form soft peaks. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup sugar over the whites, and beat until glossy, 30 seconds.
  6. Fold the whites, in thirds, into the chocolate mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until the cake is slightly puffed but not completely cooked in the center, 20 minutes.
  7. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 45 minutes. Then unmold it onto a serving platter. Turn the cake right side up. Leaving a 1-inch border around the edges, scoop out the top 1/2 inch of cake. Fill the cake with the reserved raspberries, patting them down gently. (Nibble on the scooped out cake scraps while you finish the cake.)
  8. Combine the remaining 8 oz chocolate with the water, the remaining 1 tbs espresso powder, and the remaining 3 tablespoons cassis in a heavy saucepan. Place over low heat and stir until melted and blended. Remove the pan from the heat, and glaze the cake while the icing is still warm, covering the top and the sides.

Savory Golden Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients
1/2 c. dried lentils, soaked
3/4 c. sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (or 1 medium sized)
1 c. red onions, diced (or 1 medium sized)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. carrots, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable broth (low-sodium)
2 c. water
1/4 c. red wine
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. chili powder
1 dash red pepper
1 Salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Soak the lentils in roughly 1 cup of cold water or green tea for at least 30 minutes.
  2. In a medium-sized stock pot over medium-high heat, sautee the diced onions and garlic in 1/4 cup of the chicken broth until the onions become translucent (around 5 minutes).
  3. Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, and red wine. Cook for around 1 minute or until the wine becomes very fragrant.
  4. Add the lentils, water, and chicken broth. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring the mixture occasionally.
  5. Reduce the heat. Add the spices and cover, allowing the soup to simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes begin to fall apart. (Also suggested: 1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds at this point, if desired)
  6. If you would like to get a thicker consistency, kick the heat back up and reduce until it hits the desired thickness. You may want to adjust the amounts of salt and pepper, depending on your own tastes.
  7. Serve the soup either on its own or over a starch with a dollop of raita (thick yogurt mixed with vegetables) or sour cream. Garnish with whatever you like (Featured in the photo is yogurt, carrot, and a dash of paprika).

I just found this online and it looked tasty, so I figured this was the easiest way to save the recipe.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Another quiche recipe

This one can be made with any combination of vegetables and meat. I've done ham and peas, and chicken and broccoli.

ingredients:
1 pie crust
3 eggs
1 c milk
1/2 lb shredded cheese (about 1 1/3 - 1 1/2 c)
1 1/2 c vegetables
1 c meat, chopped (or you can just add more vegetables)

put pie crust in a pie pan and bake for 10 min at 450
mix everything else together and pour into crust
bake for 10 min at 450, then turn oven down to 325 and cook until it's firm, 20+ more min

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Mian kam- "Thai tacos"

These are actually nothing like tacos, but I guess the nickname comes from the fact that you're putting stuff inside some type of wrap. This recipe sounds strange, but I promise, it's actually good!

Ingredients:
shredded coconut
purple onion
limes
fresh ginger root
peanuts
brown sugar
salt
lettuce (any kind, as long as it's strong enough to use as a wrap)

1. put the coconut on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for a few minutes
2. chop up the onion, lime (with the peel still on), and ginger root into small (1cm-ish) cubes.
3. mix brown sugar and water with a small dash of salt, and heat it up on the stove so it sort of carmelizes/thickens.
4. put the coconut, onion, lime, ginger, peanuts, and brown sugar sauce out in separate bowls (you'll want roughly eqivalent amounts of each ingredient), with the lettuce.
5. everyone makes their own "taco" with whatever proportion of ingredients they want. Take a piece of lettuce, add all the solid ingredients, drizzle a little of the sauce over it, wrap it up, and eat it! It's an odd combination of ingredients, but somehow they all combine nicely for a very nice flavor.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Southwest Turkey Stuffed Peppers

1/2 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup salsa
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 large red bell peppers, tops cut off and seeded (for the college grads: I learned green peppers are a LOT cheaper then red, and will make a good substitute)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
Salsa
Sour Cream

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the peppers and cheese. Fill each red pepper with turkey mixture, wrap each pepper in tin foil leaving the top open. Place in bottom of slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. When peppers are tender, top with cheese. Turn cooker to high and cook until cheese is melted. When serving, top with salsa and sour cream, and serve warm with rice. Makes 3 servings.

I made this recipe today, and loved it! It is for a slow cooker, which I think can be compensated for. Maybe saute the turkey mixture first, then put stuffed peppers in oven on low for a while?

Pizza Dough

1 package yeast
1 C. warm water
1 Tbs. sugar
2 Tbs. oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 and 3/4 to 3 and 1/4 C. flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water to activate. Mix all ingredients together, knead ~5 min, allow dough to rise ~30 min. If you are using the dough for pizza, 15-20 min at 425F. If you are making calzones, 1 batch of dough makes 6 calzones, and they bake 25 min at 375F or until golden brown.

French Crepes

1 pound flour
1 liter milk
6 eggs, beaten
white sugar (less than 1 C. for dinner crepes, slightly more than 1 C. for dessert crepes)
~ 1/3 C. beer
2 Tbs. oil

Beat ingredients, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hr. Spray a large frying pan with nonstick cook spray and cook ~1/3 C. batter (depending on the size of your pan) on medium heat for each crepe (the first side takes the longest, flip it and cook the second side very briefly).

These are delicious for dinner or dessert. You can put almost anything on a crepe. Also, this recipe it HUGE!!! I would only cook a half batch unless you are cooking for lots of people.

Cheddar Salmon Quiche

10" One-Crust Pie Crust
15 oz. can of salmon, drained, bones and skin removed
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 C. chopped green pepper
1/4 C. chopped onion
1 Tbs. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
3 eggs, beaten
1 and 1/4 C. milk

Bake crust 10 min at 350F. Combine salmon, cheese, green pepper, onion, flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Spoon into crust. Combine eggs and milk and pour over salmon mixture. Bake 50-55 min or until a knife can come out cleanly.

I have never actually tried this recipe but my sister says it is awesome, so hopefully it works out for whoever tries it first!

Pie Crust

9" One-Crust:
1/3 C. and 1 Tbs. shortening
1 C. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2-3 Tbs. COLD water

10" One-Crust:
1/2 C. shortening
1 and 1/3 C. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 Tbs. COLD water

9" Two-Crust:
2/3 C. and 2 Tbs. shortening
2 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
4-5 Tbs. COLD water

10" Two-Crust:
1 C. shortening
2 and 2/3 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
7-8 Tbs. COLD water

Applesauce Cake

This was the cake we made over Fall break with all the apples. Sorry it took me so long to get the recipe to you!

1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 to 1 C. WARM water
1 C. unsweetened applesauce
1 C. white sugar
1/2 C. oil
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
1 and 3/4 C. flour

Dissolve the baking soda in the warm water. Stir in the applesauce before mixing in all remaining ingredients. Bake 45 min at 350F.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

2 C. peanut butter
1 and 3/4 C. white sugar
2 eggs
1 and 1/2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 C. quick oats
water (to taste)
chocolate chips (if you want them)

Bake 10-15 min at 350F. Deliciousness =)

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Good ham and egg casserole

This is both good and quite easy.

Ingredients:
3 hardboiled eggs
1 c ham, cut into cubes
1 small (10.5 oz) can cream of celery soup
10.5 oz milk (just refill the can from the soup)
8 oz. noodles
frozen peas

Mix everything together into a 9 x 13 glass pan. Heat in oven or microwave until it's warm.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Most Awesome Vegetarian Chili in the WORLD

I found this recipe in the cesspool of the internet dumpster. Despite the previous sentence, it's pretty delicious.

Ingredients:
2 tbs Canola Oil
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 1/2 zucchini, diced
2 cups corn kernels
1 1/2 lbs portabella mushrooms, cubed
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups cooked black & kidney beans (or canned & drained)
1 can tomato sauce (or paste)
1 jar of salsa, spiced depending on taste
1 cup veggie stock (or water if you don't want to spend $)

Optional:
Cilantro
Chili peppers
Avacado
Sour Cream
Thyme
Oregano
Green onion

___________________________________

In a large pot...

  • heat oil over medium-high heat
  • add onions, bell peppers, garlic and stir until soft (about 3 minutes)
  • add zucchini, corn, mushrooms, stir until soft & veggies give off juices & start to brown (about six minutes)
  • add chili powder, cumin, salt & cayenne
  • add tomatoes, stir well
  • add beans, tomato sauce, salsa and veggie stock, stir well & boil.
  • reduce heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
  • Remove from heat (this is where you would add any optional ingredient to taste)
I'm not sure exactly how many portions this makes, but it kept me and my roommate fed for about four days eating chili about twice a day (sometimes more). It was a lot of chili.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Strawberry Mochi Cake

This is the cake I made for Sunday Night Dinner the other day. I was looking for a way to use one of the five pounds of mochiko I have in my room, and I found a yummy looking recipe here (courtesy of Kirbie's Cravings). I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was a total success! The cake has a unique texture, sticky and chewy like mochi but light like a cake. The blog authoress has also used blueberries or cherries directly subsituted for the strawberries.

This recipe uses "sweet" or "glutinous" rice flour, which is sometimes also called "mochi-ko" after the Japanese. (Despite the name, it is actually gluten-free!) It can be found at Asian supermarkets or online, and possibly at whole food stores. It is very different from normal rice flour, so be careful!

Ingredients
  • 16 oz (1 pound) "glutinous" or "sweet" rice flour
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 (12 ounce) can (or 1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, cut into small cubes (I used frozen)
Directions
  1. Cream the butter with sugar. It helps to melt the butter a little first.
  2. Mix in the evaporated milk to the butter/sugar mixture.
  3. Mix eggs into the mixture.
  4. Mix in the rice flour, baking powder and vanilla.
  5. Stir in the strawberries.
  6. Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 pan. (I recommend using foil--this stuff is hard to scrub off)
  7. Bake for approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees.
  8. Let cake completely cool, allowing the mochi to set, before cutting and serving.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Sweet potato and peanut stew

Sweet potatoes, peanuts, and chickpeas may sound like an odd combination, but this stew is actually really good! It's pretty easy to prepare too, and it freezes well.

Recipe as it appears in the magazine:

3 med. sweet potatoes, well scrubbed & cut into 1 1/2 " chunks
1 T. Olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed with garlic press (or 1 generous tsp minced garlic from the jar)
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. salt (optional)
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. crushed red pepper (optional)
2 cans (15 to 19 oz. each) garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth (1 3/4 c.)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter
1/2 c. loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Place potatoes in 2 1/2 quart microwave safe dish. Cover dish and
microwave on high about 8 mintues or until fork-tender.

2. Meanwhile, in 5 or 6 quart saucepot, heat oil over med-high heat. Add
garlic, cumin, salt, cinnamon, and crushed red pepper, and cook 30 seconds,
stirring. Stir in beans, broth, tomatoes, and peanut butter until blended;
heat to boiling and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.

3. Reduce heat to med low; add sweet potatoes to bean mixture and simmer 2
minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro.

*The magazine says the potatoes only take about 8 minutes to microwave--this probably depends on what type of microwave you have, but in ours it takes about half again as long. Just make sure they're pretty much fully cooked before you add them to the stew.

*When I make this, I usually use dried cilantro instead of fresh. If you do this, add it a little bit earlier (when you add the sweet potato) so that its flavor has longer to be absorbed.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Carolyn Cookies

Outside of our family these are probably known as yogurt cookies, but our family friend Carolyn always made them for birthdays and other occasions, so we've called them Carolyn Cookies for as long as I can remember. No one can make them as well as she does, but when I brought these to Emily's house the consensus was that mine came out just fine. :-)

Ingredients:
1 cup sour milk or 8 oz yogurt, any flavor (strawberry or lemon adds a nice touch)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Cream shortening and sugar; add eggs. Sift dry ingredients. Add soda to sour milk/yogurt. Add alternately with dry ingredients. Add vanilla; mix well. Bake 10-15 min at 375F. Cool and frost with favorite frosting and top with sprinkles.

Buttercream frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
3 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla

Beat with electric mixer. Add milk as needed to get the right consistency.

Pita Bread

I found this recipe at: http://mideastfood.about.com/od/breadsrice/r/pitabreadrecipe.htm

I wasn't sure if they would work, but they did! A perfect pocket in the middle.

Ingredients:
1 pkg of yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
1/2 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 cup lukewarm water

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add sugar; stir until dissolved. Let sit 10-15 min until water is frothy.

Combine flour and salt in large bowl.

Make a small depression in the middle of the flour and pour yeast water into it.

Slowly add 1 cup lukewarm water and stir until elastic (use wooden spoon or rubber spatula).

Place dough on floured surface and knead 10-15 min until dough is smooth and elastic, not sticky. (You may need to keep adding flour to the surface.)

Coat large bowl (I used the one I mixed the dough in) with oil. Put dough in and flip it over so all sides are greased.

Allow to sit in a warm place for about 3 hours or until it has doubled in size (it took 2 hours for mine).

Once doubled, preheat oven to 500F. Position rack as low as possible in the oven, and put in your baking sheet to preheat. Roll dough into a rope and make into 10-12 small balls. Let sit on a floured surface for 10 min.

Roll out each ball into circles about 5-6 inches across and about 1/4 inch thick.

Back each circle for 4 min until bread puffs up. Turn over and bake 2 more min. Remove from baking sheet (and repeat for next set of circles).

Gently push down on the puff. Immediately place in storage bags. Can be stored for a week without being frozen or a month if frozen.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Banana-Oatmeal Cookies

This recipe is from Tori. I think she invented it, hence the vague amounts.

Ingredients:
Bananas (the riper the better)
Oatmeal
Olive Oil
Anything else you want to add-- I used walnuts and chocolate chips.

Mash up the bananas and add oatmeal. It took more than I initially expected-- I don't have an exact amount, but enough to make everything hold together well. Add a bit of olive oil. The bananas I used were ripe enough that I barely needed any. Add whatever else you're putting in-- chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, etc. Bake at 350F until they're done (oatmeal crispy/slightly browned). It took 8 minutes for mine. Makes... well, that depends on how many bananas you want to use and how big you make the cookies. I used 3 bananas and it made about 2 dozen small cookies.

And... that's it! Very easy and very tasty.

***edit from tori
I also like to add a teaspoon (quite literally, considering I don't have measuring spoons) of cinnamon and a half a teaspoon of nutmeg. Also, a half a teaspoon of chili powder is a nice kick...so are raisins. ***

Monday, February 8, 2010

Judy's cocoa cake

This is a family recipe...I think? Though I don't know why it's "Judy's"...
My mom made it for my birthday for the first ten or so years of my life, so it's somewhat of a tradition in any case. It's got a nice, deep chocolate flavor.

Makes 2 9" round layers.

Ingredients
2 c sugar
3/4 c butter
1/2 c cocoa
2 c flour
1 t vanilla
1 c cold coffee (instant mixed with water works as well)
1 t baking powder
2 eggs, well beaten
1 t baking soda dissolved in 1/2 c warm water

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Mix cocoa & sugar and cream them with the butter.
3. Sift together the baking powder and flour.
4. Add flour mixture and coffee alternately to the butter mixture.
5. Add eggs, vanilla, water & baking soda last.
6. Pour into two greased 9" round pans.
7. Bake for 30 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Half-Baked Biscotti

This is my grandmother's biscotti recipe, which comes out rather soft and fluffy. I suppose if you want to double-bake them (broil for ten minutes) to make them hard like ordinary biscotti, you can. However, I always ate them this way at Grandma's house, with apple juice in tea-cups.

Biscotti (Ada Bommarito's recipe)

6 c. flour
6 eggs
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c. brandy

Sift dry ingredients. Soften butter, then beat in eggs, vanilla and brandy. Mix wet and dry ingredients, adding brandy or lemon juice if too firm. Knead until glossy.

Separate into three balls, and roll out the length of cookie sheet, 2" wide, 1/2 inch thick. Bake at 350 deg.F for 25 minutes. Let cool, then slice diagonally.

Enjoy!