Pomegranate Martini

Hello, fellow food lovers! The next few blog posts will probably be spread out a bit...school has started up again, and this year I am starting my master's degree program, so I am already fairly busy. However, I did want to share a couple of treats that I made for my "Weekend Before School Starts" girls night with my sister, sisters-in-law, and cousin. The first is a first for the blog, since it is a beverage. I give you: the Pomegranate Martini.

I found the recipe here: http://www.martinirecipe.net/pomegranate-martini-recipe.html and am so glad I did! Here are the ingredients:

1 oz vodka (or citrus vodka, if you have it)
1/2 oz Cointreau orange liqueur (or triple sec)
3 oz pomegranate juice
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
lemon slice, for garnish

1/2 cup of sugar (for rim)

First, pour the 1/2 cup of sugar onto a plate. Make sure that the sugar is spread out enough that the entire rim of your martini glass will be covered. Wet the tip of your finger with water and run it around the rim of your martini glass. Set top-side down into the sugar (the sugar should stick to the rim where the water touched). Set aside.

Mix the vodka, pomegranate juice, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. I have read that martinis actually should NOT be shaken, so be sure your pomegranate juice has been chilled for a cold cocktail. Pour the mix into the martini glass.

Finally, chop up a lemon, and add a half slice to the edge of the glass as a garnish.

Drink and repeat (just be sure to keep re-sugaring your guests' martini glasses, as my sister was disappointed when her second drink was mostly sugar-free :p). Taste-wise, I had no complaints from any of my guests and was pleased with my own drink-making abilities! The pomegranate tasted sweet, and was a nice change from your standard cranberry cosmo. And of course, you can't help but feel sophisticated (if a bit tipsy) with a martini glass in hand. 

So grab some friends and some pomegranate juice, and enjoy (responsibly)! 

"Chipotle" Burrito Bowls

I feel almost sacrilegious blogging this, but...today I attempted to make a Chipotle burrito bowl at home. To give you a bit of context here, my husband and I *LOVE* Chipotle. My husband discovered this heavenly burrito establishment when he was still in college and ate there at least once a week (sometimes more), since he lived right down the street from one (he's still a slender guy, too, for all that!). Then, as part of our second date, we went to Chipotle for lunch. I'd only been there once, and hadn't been overly-impressed (I just had a taco salad--lettuce, pinto beans, salsa, cheese--and so didn't see what all the fuss was about). BUT, I wanted to look like a regular burrito-eater to impress him (because clearly, an affinity for burritos is what men look for in a woman), so I ordered a vegetarian burrito: rice, black beans, salsa, sour cream and cheese, and guacamole. And holy crap was that thing good! The rice, guacamole, and tortilla really make the whole meal, and from that moment on, Taco Bell had to watch its back (in terms of my keeping my stomach's affection--Chipotle is not actually making threats against Taco Bell, in case that was unclear).

 Mmmmmmm.......

Since that moment, two things have happened. One, I married the most amazing man in the world. Two, we have made regular visits to Chipotle, celebrating Chipotle Saturday every week, ever since. We always go for lunch, we order the same exact thing each time (he is a chicken burrito lover, whereas I heart my veggie burrito), and the employees know our order and often comp us for our drinks. Once, my husband was out of town during one of our scheduled Chipotle Saturdays. I still went, but sent him an email from my burrito, saying that his burrito was missed. I even attached a picture:

Yes, the frown is made out of guacamole...as an English teacher, I reserve the right to personify my lunch.

ANYWAY, the idea is, Chipotle is a ritual for us, and it felt kind of wrong to attempt to re-create something so sacrosanct. But, we're on a budget now as we save for a house, so I decided to take on the challenge after all. This is a recipe for a copycat Chipotle burrito bowl (vegetarian). I figured that, so long as I wasn't messing with my husband's specific burrito of choice, we'd be ok ;).

So, let's begin with the foundation of our lovely burrito bowl: our rice. I found a recipe for the rice here: Chipotle Copycat Lime Rice. I doubled the recipe, and I would use the following ingredients:
-2 teaspoons of veggie oil for cooking rice (if specified by your package of rice)
-1 tablespoon of veggie oil for mixing at the end
-1 and 1/3 cups of basmati rice
-1 lime (juice and zest)
-1 tablespoon cilantro
-1 teaspoon of salt
-3 cups of water

*Note that I say "would use." I read PAGES of comments about how sticky the rice turned out due to too much or too little water in the basmati rice. I ended up using 4 cups of water (about 2 cups per 2/3 cup of rice), but that was just too much, and my rice ended up a bit mushy. So, I would use 3 cups instead (1.5 per 2/3 cup of rice) to fix that. I also did not zest the lime and used half the juice in my guacamole and salsa when I should have had a separate lime reserved for that purpose. Otherwise, the rice was actually really tasty and close in flavor to Chipotle's!

(Had to add in a quick shot of the lime--the view is gorgeous, but the smell was heavenly!)

To make, cook your basmati rice according to package directions (mine said to rinse the rice, cook the grains in a bit of oil, THEN add in the water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes). Just be sure to use the amount of water specified above. When finished, fluff with a fork and add in the cilantro, oil, lime zest and juice, and salt. Set aside.

Next prepare your salsa. I always get the mild salsa from Chipotle, which is more of a pico de gallo. To make, mix together the following:
-1 large, chopped tomato (or 2-3 roma tomatoes)
-1  medium red onion, finely chopped (I had some leftover vidalia onion, so I used that--still delicious)
-2-3 tablespoons of cilantro (or more or less to your taste)
-1 Jalapeno pepper, no seeds, finely chopped
-Salt to taste
-Lime juice (1/2 a lime, squeezed)

The ratio of tomato to onion in the pico de gallo should be pretty close to 1:1, with perhaps a bit more tomato. And if possible, make the salsa an hour in advance of your meal to give the flavors a chance to meld together a bit prior serving. Set aside.

The last part of the meal that needs to be prepared is the guacamole. If you have an avocado masher, this is extra fun (it's like a mini-potato masher, so it fits inside your little prep bowl), but a fork will do just fine if not. You will need the following:
-1 RIPE avocado
-cilantro to taste
-lime juice (the other 1/2 of the lime from your salsa)
-garlic powder to taste
-salt to taste

The star of the show, of course, is the avocado. Make sure it is ripe, or it will be impossible to mash and make into a smooth guacamole. Use the avocado masher or fork to mash into a green mush (I know it doesn't sound appetizing, but guacamole is another one of those foods I would take with me if I were stranded on an island. It is also a source of good-for-you fat, so love the green mush, people!). Squeeze in your lime juice, then add as much cilantro, garlic powder, and salt as you need to flavor it to your liking. In fact, you may want to add them one at a time and taste your guacamole between each addition. Because you need to be sure that it is flavored sufficiently. This is definitely not an excuse to eat additional guacamole. Ahem.

Finally, heat your beans on the stove (I simply bought a can of black beans from the store--you could absolutely cook up a batch of your own if you were so-inclined, however!) and shred some fresh cheese of your choosing (I used colby jack). Then, assemble in the following order:

-Rice (about 1 cup)
-Black beans (about 1/2 cup)
-Salsa (about 1/2 cup)
-Cheese (about 1/4 cup)
-Guacamole (all of it!!!--ok, just kidding. But at least 1/3 cup)
-Sour cream if desired

I had to dive into this right away, and it was worth all the prep work--my husband even said it was really good, and this is one dish where I KNOW he would tell me if he disliked it! Of course, nothing will ever beat Chipotle's burritos for either of us, but if you're looking to save some money by eating in and still enjoy the delicious-ness that is Chipotle, give this recipe a try. Enjoy! :)

Panko-Breaded Tilapia in Wine-Butter Sauce

Today was a great day for cooking! I honestly didn't much care what my main dish today was--I just needed something to go along with my cheesy broccoli rice casserole. I had planned on just making salmon (it's basically the only fish I have ever made well--until now, of course), but the cheapest cut I could find at the grocery store was $10. Right next to the salmon, however, was a comparably-sized filet of tilapia for $4, and it was pre-breaded with panko bread crumbs. I bought the tilapia and figured I would find something to do with it later.

Then, while I was waiting for the cheesy broccoli rice casserole to cook, I located this recipe for Tilapia with Lemon Butter Sauce. And, since the grocery store was already kind enough to bread my fish for me, I really only needed the sauce ingredients. But, in case you are not so lucky, I will include ingredients for both the fish and the sauce below:

-2 filets of tilapia, about 4 ounces each (or, one big one that you can cut in half yourself, as I did)

-1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs (these are found in the Asian foods aisle)

-1 egg (lightly beaten)

-1/2 cup of flour

-1 lemon (or teaspoon of lemon juice)

-1/4 cup white wine (and extra to serve along with the meal ;) )

-2 tablespoons of butter

-Salt to taste

-Parsley (fresh or dried) to garnish

First, if you need to bread your fish, arrange your flour, beaten egg, and bread crumbs in three separate bowls. Dip your fish filets into the flour, then the egg, and finally, the bread crumbs.

Next, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat until melted. Add your breaded tilapia filets and cook for three minutes. Flip the filets and cook for three minutes on the opposite side. At this point, my broccoli casserole was still happily cooking away in its 350 degree oven, so I took the tilapia (now beautifully-browned on both sides) and placed it, skillet and all, into the oven to finish cooking the inside of the fish. My two filets took about two minutes to finish cooking, but you basically just want to make sure your fish flakes easily with a fork--then you know it is done!

Finally, plate the fish and prepare the sauce. In the skillet (now empty of fish), mix together the wine, remaining butter, lemon, salt, and one teaspoon of flour (to thicken the sauce). Let the ingredients simmer for a minute to meld the flavors and cook off a bit of the wine, then pour over the top of your tilapia filets. Sprinkle with parsley if desired, and serve! The fish and the sauce were beautiful together: buttery and melt-in-your-mouth tasty. And, I can now proudly say that I know how to make TWO types of fish! So if you haven't already, give tilapia a try--with a nice butter sauce and glass of white wine, it is impossible NOT to enjoy!

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

And now, for a culinary stroll down memory lane! Every time my family celebrated a holiday with my dad's side of the family, my Aunt Gayle would make this DELICIOUS cheesy broccoli rice casserole dish. I cannot tell you what any of the main dishes or other side dishes were from any family gathering I have attended--but I can honestly say that I remember looking forward to eating that casserole every single year.

My sister has tried to contact my aunt for the recipe--and I know at one time, we did have it--but we lost our original copy, and my sister has yet to hear back from my aunt. So, I decided to track down a recipe that at least seemed close to see what I could accomplish. And so I give you: Broccoli Cheese Casserole. Note that I modified the ingredients to make the recipe resemble my aunt's version:

• 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
• 1 can of chicken stock
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli, thawed (again, I like the microwave steamers--minimal effort and better taste!)
• HALF of a 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
• HALF of a 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 (16 ounce) jar cheez whiz
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, then get your rice going. The package instructions of the rice will tell you to cook the cup of rice in 2 cups of water. Instead, I cooked mine in the can of chicken stock to give it more flavor. Following the package instructions, I brought the chicken stock and rice to a boil, then simmered it for about 12-13 minutes, until the liquid had been fully absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, chop your onion and saute until transparent in the tablespoon of butter. Pop your broccoli steamer bag into the microwave and cook according to package instructions (about 5.5 minutes).

Finally, mix it all together: the two half cans of soup, the cheez whiz, the milk, the onion, the rice, and the broccoli. Add salt and pepper as desired, then place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes (or until bubbly and slightly golden on top).

You might want to let it sit for a few minutes once it is out of the oven to allow the rice to absorb a bit more liquid (as you can see, the addition of the milk has the casserole looking a bit soupy below):

But after sitting out for a few minutes, the casserole thickens! Now, this recipe tasted VERY close to my aunt's, so I was very proud. However, it wasn't exact. If I were to make it again in the future, I would add more onion, cut back on the cheez whiz a bit, and just add a whole can of the mushroom soup instead of the half can of each. I might even add an extra half cup of rice, since it was so wonderfully creamy. Regardless, it was warm, cheesy, and delicious (my husband even went back for seconds, which is how I gauge the yumminess of any given recipe), and so I declare the recipe a success. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Banana Bread French Toast with Mashed Potato Pancakes

Growing up, we HATED eating up the leftovers from the previous night's dinner. Now in part, this is due to the fact that neither my sister nor I could cook all that well at the time--it was enough to get through the meal the first time, let alone face it twice. Of course, had I known that you could make the recipes I am about to share with you, we would have skipped the original meal altogether!

First, I had a few remaining pieces of Sarah's Banana Bread leftover from about a week and a half ago. As you can well imagine, the bread was starting to get a bit stale--so, I decided to make some banana bread french toast! To make this, you will need the following ingredients:

-Stale banana bread (week old or so)--sliced 

-2 eggs, lightly beaten

-Splash of milk

-Pinch of salt

-1 tablespoon of sugar

-1 teaspoon of cinnamon

-1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

-1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

-1 tablespoon butter

First, mix all ingredients except for the butter and banana bread in a shallow dish (I used a pie tin). Place the slices of banana bread face down in the egg mixture and allow to sit for 3-5 minutes. This will give the bread some time to soak in the egg mixture. Flip the bread over and allow the other side to soak in the mixture for about three minutes as well. In the mean time, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Finally, place the slices of banana bread into the skillet. Let them sit for 2-3 minutes, and when they are lightly browned on one side, flip the slices over. Cook for an additional minute or two, until the opposite side is brown. See below:

 When both sides are browned, remove from the skillet and plate!

Mmmm...buttery, eggy, banana-y goodness! Serve with powdered sugar. You can choose to use syrup, but between the bananas, chocolate chips, and sugar, this dish is already pretty sweet. My husband was not a huge fan (as I mentioned in the banana bread blog entry, he likes banana bread--just not bananas). According to him, "It was too banana-y; [the french toast] accentuated the banana-ness." I will take that as a compliment!

The final, delicious leftover is pictured below with two cheesy, mashed potato pancakes, which I will explain next:

Now onto the potato pancakes! I found the idea for these watching a Rachel Ray show and checked out the recipe online. I usually read through the comments at the bottom of any recipe (people often comment about their challenges while making the recipe and ways to improve upon it), and the comments on this one left me a bit apprehensive. Most of the posters struggled with the potato pancakes falling apart, just staying mushy and not solidifying, etc. and, having failed to make a tasty boxty (an Irish potato pancake) in the past, I was worried I was going to waste my time and potatoes this morning. However, I am proud to say (and my Irish ancestors should be as well), that I made AWESOME potato pancakes this morning. And soon, you will too.

A quick word on this recipe: these are not traditional potato pancakes. They are not made from shredded potatoes destined from the start to become potato pancakes, and they have no flour. Otherwise, they are potatoes, cake-shaped, and made in a pan, so they still count! Here is what you need:

-2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes (I used my pierogi filling extras from an earlier blog entry)
-1 egg
-1 tablespoon butter

That's seriously it. How easy, right?

First, mix together your mashed potatoes and egg. You ideally want to use leftover mashed potatoes, because you want them to be cold and a bit stiff for the recipe. Freshly-cooked potatoes are fine too, just give them some time to cool off in the refrigerator before you use them.

Next, melt your butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Using a large spoon, gather up a heaping spoon's worth of mashed potatoes and drop them in the skillet. Flatten the potatoes into a potato patty about an inch thick, then repeat for another two patties (or as many as will fill your skillet, if you chose to make yours smaller). I was able to get 5 potato pancakes (about 3-4 inches in diameter) total out of my mashed potato/egg mixture.

See? They just look like little heaps of mashed potatoes:

Here is the key to perfect mashed potato pancakes: once they are flattened, put the lid on your skillet and leave them alone for 8 minutes. I am not kidding on this. Do NOT NOT NOT try to move them at all during those 8 minutes. Read my blog, facebook stalk someone, reflect on the mysteries of life, but leave the pancakes alone! If you try to move them before the 8 minutes are up, they will not be able to crust up on the bottom and become pancake-y, and you will have a weird, half-pancake/half-mashed potato combo that will not impress anyone. So leave them be.

Once the 8 minutes are up, however, get a spatula and carefully flip the mashed potato pancakes over. Note that the top and middle of the cake are all still mashed potato, however--and, hence, not solid yet--and set the pancakes back into the skillet carefully to cook the other side. I stupidly forgot to check the time once I flipped them back over, but I know they cooked for at least 6 minutes on the other side too. This is how the potato pancakes should look after the flip--just look at that color!

If you want to cook your pancakes in several batches, or just have several dishes to make, you can always keep these warm in the oven (I technically made these and then went back and made the french toast). Just preheat your oven to 200 degrees and place your pancakes on a rack so that the air can circulate around them (keeping them crisp and not soggy).

When you're ready to eat, plate them and serve with a little side of sour cream or applesauce. My husband wasn't a fan of the french toast, but he did eat three of these and loved them. So give them a try, and remember that you CAN enjoy your leftovers!

Pierogies with Kielbasa

For a couple of weeks now, I have been wanting to try making pierogies from scratch. In part, this is because my husband and I are both part Polish, and I thought he might enjoy a more authentic meal...and in part, it's because my younger sister has fallen in love with Polish food, and she never comes to visit me. So I figured this might entice her to come over, Mickey Mouse style:

We shall see if it works. I found a recipe for potato, onion, and cheese pierogis here: Pierogies and invited Sarah over to cook with me and end the night in a double date dinner with my husband and her boyfriend. (The night turned out even better when her boyfriend offered to make us the best chocolate chip cookies in the world, recipe care of America's Test Kitchen. And holy cow were those ever good! But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Dinner before dessert.)

Ingredients: 

Dough (we doubled the amount for extra pierogies)

-2 cups of all-purpose flour (and extra for rolling out the pierogies)

-1/2 teaspoon of salt

-1 large egg

-1/2 cup of sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi

-1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into pieces

-Extra butter for frying

-1/2 of a medium Vidalia onion

Filling

-Butter for frying

-other 1/2 of vidalia onion

-1/2 bag of red potatoes, peeled and cubed

-4-8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

-Salt and pepper to taste

And so it begins. First, prepare the dough. To get the best consistency, you want your 1/4 cup of softened butter really REALLY soft. To the point that it should melt if you just look at it the wrong way. Since we doubled our batch, we saw firsthand how big of a difference the consistency of the butter made. In our first batch, the butter was soft, but still very solid and kept its shape when cut into pieces. In the second batch, the butter was practically oozing out of its wrapper. The result was that the butter in the first batch still had tiny little butter chunks in it, did not mix as well with the dough, and made the dough dry. We made the mistake of adding water, which created a sticky mess when it came time to roll the dough out. The second batch, however, rolled out smoothly and with no problems. So let that butter soften!

Anyway! To make your dough, mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg in a separate bowl, then add to the flour and salt and mix together. Next, add in your sour cream and REALLY SOFT butter, mixing until both ingredients are fully incorporated and the dough loses some of its stickiness. Wrap your dough in plastic and place it in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

While the dough is refrigerating, make your pierogi filling. First, whip up a batch of mashed potatoes: place your peeled and cubed potatoes in salted, boiling water and boil until soft. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Here is where you can add your personal favorites: Sarah will add anything from cream cheese to sour cream in her potatoes. I typically just add butter and milk to mine (though I would like to try some cream cheese in them when we make them again in the future). You could also add in chives or bacon bits. For this recipe, we added 1/2 the vidalia onion sauteed in butter (until it turned translucent), about 6 ounces of cheese, and a stick of butter. The potatoes were smooth enough that we didn't need milk (and didn't want the potatoes to get too liquidy, because that could make wrapping them in the dough more difficult). A little salt and pepper later, and we put the potato filling in the refrigerator to cool, as well.

Next, assemble the pierogies! If you followed my advice on the soft butter, this will go by fairly quickly. Simply flour an even surface (we rolled out our dough directly on the counter), flour a rolling pin, and roll out the dough to a 1/8 inch thickness or thinner (just make sure you can get the dough back off the counter again!). Using a glass or cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles, approximately 3 inches in diameter. With our pain-in-the-rear-end dough, we were able to cut 12 circles. With our awesome, non-sticky dough, we were able to get at least 15.

Place a tablespoon's worth of the potato filling in the center of each dough circle and wet the edges of the dough with either egg or water. Then, press the edges of the dough together around the potato mixture, using a fork to help seal the edges. Complete this step for all dough circles; they should look similar to the ones below:

Finally, on to the cooking! Pierogies are cooked in two steps: boiling and sauteing. Fill a medium sauce pan with water and bring to a boil. Salt the water, then add in about a third of your pierogies (so you don't overcrowd the pan). The pierogies will sink to the bottom, and when they float back up to the top, they are done. They will look sticky and glisten at this point, like below:

When you have finished boiling all of your pierogies, it is time for the final cooking step: the saute. Melt some butter in a large skillet (and you can choose to add the other 1/2 of your vidalia onion here for a little added flavor) and again be sure to cook in batches so as not to overcrowd the skillet. Add in enough pierogies to fill the skillet, and cook over medium heat until lightly browned on each side (our cooking times varied thanks to my electric stove, but by the end, it didn't take more than a minute per side to brown the pierogies). You may need to add an extra bit of butter here and there between batches to keep the pierogies from sticking to the pan.

And you're done! We chose to serve our pierogies with kielbasa. See below:

Close-up of browned pierogies (no kielbasa):

And with kielbasa:

If you or someone you love is Polish (or if the idea of stuffing mashed potatoes inside of pasta and cooking it in butter sounds pretty tasty to you), then give homemade pierogies a try. Thanks again to Sarah for being an awesome fellow cook, and as always, enjoy!

Potato and Cheese Frittata

Eggs and I had a bit of a love-hate relationship this summer. I began the summer low-carb dieting (not healthy, not tasty, and definitely not blog-worthy--you can only post "put some chicken on some lettuce" so many times...), and eggs were a great breakfast for a low-carb dieter. However, I made the mistake of cooking eggs in some leftover bacon grease one morning, and all I could taste was toasted fattiness, triggering feelings of nausea for a good month whenever I so much as thought of an egg. 

But then, the egg begged me for a second chance, dropping the recipe for an egg and manchego cheese frittata into my lap. And I was able to put the past behind me and love the egg once more.

I actually came across the recipe in the cookbook Vegetarian Basics by Cornelia Schinharl and Sebastian Dickhaut. I tried to be a veggie for a brief time, but missed Taco Bell too much and quit--still have the book though. I'm glad I kept the book, too, because the frittata was AWESOME!

Now, I could list their ingredients for you, but I changed almost all of them (their directions and general idea of putting potatoes into an egg type deal were still very inspiring), so I will just tell you what I used:

-2 large Yukon gold potatoes

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-2 garlic cloves (minced)

-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 

-8 eggs (medium-sized)

-Salt and pepper

-1 bunch green onions (reserve some for garnish)

-Chopped tomato for garnish

*I also ignored the cookbook's title and added four slices of centercut bacon. Just don't tell Cornelia and Sebastian...

First thing's first: if I were to make this frittata again--and I will make it again--I would try harder to find manchego cheese or at least substitute in a milder cheese. The cheddar stood out too sharply and just didn't seem...sophisticated enough for the dish. Same with the green onions--when I make this dish again, I will substitute in a Vidalia onion sauteed in a little butter instead to help the flavors meld a bit better. That said, this was still tasty. So, you have your ingredients:

First, peel your potatoes and cut them into thin slices--think scalloped-potato slices. Heat the oil in a skillet and cook your potato slices over medium heat (about 8-10 minutes, until they are soft). Here is where I would also slice and cook my Vidalia onion in butter (or you can chop and add in your green onions here as I did in reality), as well as any additional veggies if you'd like to add them in! Add the minced garlic (and crumbled slices of bacon if you want to defy the purpose of the cookbook like I apparently did) to the skillet, as well.

In a separate bowl, crack your eggs and whisk lightly. I chose to add my cheese here, since I just used shredded cheddar, as well as my salt and pepper. Had I found manchego cheese, I would have sliced it and added it to the layers of potato and onion in my skillet, not to my eggs. Only add 3/4 cup here--save the remaining 1/4 for the top of the frittata.

Here, I deviated from the cooking directions of the book (which involved cooking each side of the frittata for 10 minutes....there was flipping and it seemed complicated). Instead, I remembered a chef on a cooking show I'd seen earlier in the summer (it wasn't a food network guy, so I am afraid I can't identify or properly cite him) make a frittata and followed his method. So here's what you do:

First, preheat your broiler, then add your eggs to your skillet of potatoey goodness. Gently, cook the eggs for a few minutes as though you are scrambling them (i.e. use your spatula to pull the liquid egg away from the edges of the pan, till you start to see little bits of cooked egg forming in the skillet). When about half the egg looks cooked, but there is still liquid egg in the pan, leave it sit on the stove for one minute (to allow the egg on the bottom of the pan to set up), then top the frittata with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and place it under the broiler.

Watch the frittata closely, because it only needs about 5-7 minutes to finish cooking (and no flipping necessary!). When the egg has solidified and the cheese is melted, remove from the oven. Let it rest and completely finish cooking on the counter for a minute or two, then turn the frittata out on to a plate.

Finally, slice, serve, and enjoy for a yummy breakfast or for dinner as a variation on La Tortilla Espaniola for you tapas lovers!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I doubt even my husband knows this--because I'm usually too busy drooling over a Taco Bell commercial to bring it up--but this casserole is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods. I came across the recipe in one of my Mom's old cookbooks* back in high school, made it, and fell in love with the creamy, melty texture and the flavor of curry powder. Since then, I've made it here and there (the mayo in it usually reminds me that it can't be a weekly dinner), but love it every time. I hope it warms your stomach like it does mine!

Ingredients:

-1 large bag of frozen broccoli (or veggies of choice)

-3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

-2 cans cream of chicken soup

-1/2 cup mayo (the original recipe called for a full cup--see, I'm looking out for your health here ;))

-1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

-2/3 cup of breadcrumbs

-1 tablespoon of butter

-1.5 teaspoons of curry powder (or more or less, to taste)

-Salt and pepper 

-Oil for browning chicken

I like to prepare the saucy part of the casserole first. To do this, simply mix together the cream of chicken soups, mayo, cheddar cheese, and curry powder. Set aside, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Next, get your broccoli into the microwave (or on the stove-top--I just love the convenience and crispness of the broccoli in those microwave steamer bags) and cook according to package directions. If you like your broccoli to have a bit more bite to it, take it out of the microwave (or off the stove) a minute or two earlier, because it will finish cooking in the oven later.

For the chicken (and to expedite the process), I typically cut my uncooked chicken breasts into cubes, salt and pepper them, and then toss them in a skillet with some oil to brown. When I was baking the casserole this time, however, I already had some leftover chicken breasts that I had baked from the day before and used those. Really, so long as you have some form of cooked chicken, you can't go wrong.

Set the chicken aside, then melt the butter in a small skillet and add the breadcrumbs. Make sure the breadcrumbs absorb the butter evenly and toast them for a few minutes until they get crispy (just be sure to keep stirring so they don't burn).

Finally, assemble the casserole. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Then layer the following in the following order:
1) Broccoli
2) Chicken
3) Sauce
4) Breadcrumbs

Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until everything is heated through and the sauce is bubbly around the edges. And, if you want to get a bit more texture into the dish or just can't handle such a concentration of yummy creamy goodness, you could also serve the casserole over rice. Enjoy! :)

*My apologies, but I do not remember the name of the cookbook since this was about 10 years ago. Eesh, I'm getting old!!!

Homemade Pop-Tarts

Last week, Sarah invited me to bake with her because she found an awesome recipe for Homemade Pop-Tarts. Great company AND sweet treats? Who could say no to that?? Now, the recipe calls for the following ingredients for a set of cinnamon and a set of strawberry pop-tarts:

For the pastry crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks, or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk

For the cinnamon sugar filling (amount for 8 pop-tarts--adjust as needed):
½ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour

For the strawberry filling (amount for 8 pop-tarts--adjust as needed):
¾ cup strawberry jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon water

However, the beauty of a homemade pop-tart is that the filling can be whatever your hungry little heart desires. So, we made: 2 cinnamon sugar, 2 raspberry, 2 fig (I told you I was going to use those preserves again!), and 2 nutella pop-tarts. Mmmm! The raspberry and fig are made in the exact same way as the strawberry (with preserves, cornstarch, and water), and the nutella needs no added ingredients.

We also ended up making an icing for the fruit-y pop-tarts and covered the nutella in powdered sugar, so you might also want to have the following on hand for this Icing recipe:
-2 cups powdered sugar
-1.5 tablespoons of softened butter
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1/4 teaspoon of salt
-3 to 4 tablespoons of milk

First, make your pastry dough. As per the recipe, "To make the crust, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work in the butter until it is the size of peas and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. Whisk together the egg and milk and add to the dough. Mix together with a fork until everything is evenly moistened. Knead briefly on a floured surface, if necessary, until the dough comes together." Sarah was able to perform this step brilliantly without the use of a pastry blender, so don't worry if you don't have one. Divide the dough in half.

And this is admittedly, where we made a crucial mistake. The recipe on the website says that you can refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days or just keep working, and that if you do decide to refrigerate, to bring the dough back up to room temperature before rolling out. If we were to make the recipe again (which I feel fairly certain we will--it was SO good!), we would without a doubt refrigerate for a good hour or so. Since you will be rolling out the dough to 1/8 inch thick, it easily falls apart at room temperature. So learn from us and refrigerate first!

While the dough is setting up in your refrigerator, prepare your fillings. For the fruity ones (the strawberry, raspberry, or fig preserves), put your preserves into a small saucepan, then mix together and the cornstarch and cold water separately and add to the preserves. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 2 minutes (or until it is thickened). For the cinnamon and sugar, simply mix the ingredients together in a bowl (note: it may be easier for you to microwave the brown sugar first if it has been sitting in your pantry for awhile). And for the Nutella...just try not to eat it out of the jar while you are waiting for your dough. That may be the hardest step of the entire process.

Now, once you have refrigerated your dough and made your fillings, it is time for assembly! Lay out one half of the dough on a non-stick baking mat or on a sheet of wax paper that you have sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Place another piece of wax paper on top of the dough, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 1/8 inch thickness. Try to keep the shape of the dough as rectangular as possible to make the standard pop-tart shape, but know that you can always re-roll the scrap dough into rectangles if your shape is imperfect. Ours was imperfect and took a few re-rolls.

Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut the rolled dough into 8-10 rectangles, depending on what you are able to get out of your dough (we ended up with 8 pop-tart rectangles). Transfer your dough rectangles onto a baking sheet. Then, place about 1.5-2 tablespoons of your selected fillings on top of each one. Be sure to leave a good 1/2 inch open around the edges. Lightly beat one egg, then carefully brush the egg on around the edges of your pop-tarts' fillings. This will act as a glue when the tops of the pop-tarts are placed on top of the bottoms. See below:

Repeat the dough roll-out process with the other half of the dough for the tops of the pop-tarts, then place the  second set of dough rectangles directly on top of the first. Use a fork around the edges to seal the pop-tarts, and puncture the top of the pop-tarts a few times so that steam can escape (and they will not explode while baking). Then refrigerate the pop-tarts for 30 minutes to set up.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and take the pop-tarts out of the refrigerator. Pop them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes (ours took the full 30) and get your toppings (if desired) ready.

To make the icing, simply mix together the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and butter. Then, one tablespoon at a time, add in the milk until you have your desired consistency (spreadable, but not runny). You can also have extra cinnamon-sugar and powdered sugar on hand for the non-fruity pop-tarts.

The pop-tarts should be crisp and flaky when finished, like so:

Allow them to cool, and then decorate! We chose red sprinkles for the raspberry pop-tarts and gold for the fig pop-tarts. Cinnamon-sugar pop-tarts received an extra sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar, and we figured that the nutella were already fairly decadent and gave them a sprinkle of plain powdered sugar.

Let me tell you: these tasted AMAZING. This was easily my favorite recipe for the summer. The fruity ones taste like you are eating your own mini-pie, anything with nutella is delightful, and the cinnamon-sugar just brought out the buttery, flakiness of the dough. Eating these put us into such a state of bliss...I swear I was a better human being for at least that hour (not that I was eating them for an hour--the effects of the pop-tart bliss made me feel happier for at least an hour after eating them....I promise I only ate the one...stop looking at me :p). Anyway, do yourself a favor and make these--you'll never want the boxed version again. Thanks again to my fabulous co-baker Sarah, and we both hope that you make these and enjoy!

"Taco Bell" Mexican Pizza

I've said before that I love cheese--as a result, all foods made with said cheese are near and dear to my heart. Thus, I have always had a dangerous love affair with the Taco Bell Mexican pizza. And I'm not joking on the dangerous part: I've had food poisoning at least twice from Taco Bell alone, and I know my waist line gives me dirty looks as soon as it sees the bell on the bag. But I have a cheese addiction, and the Mexican pizza keeps me from tweaking.

So, as a compromise one night, I decided I would at least attempt to make my own pizza (and maybe cut down my chances of getting the food poisoning again :p). It turned out really well and was MUCH more filling than Taco Bell's version--my husband even said he liked the taste of this one better, but as he could take or leave Taco Bell, I'm not sure that will convince you other Bell lovers out there that this is worth a go. But the lack of food poisoning should--so try it any way.

Ingredients:

-Flour tortillas (props if you make these yourself--I used store bought)

-Quart of veggie oil for frying

-1 pd. of lean ground beef

-1 packet of taco seasoning (I found a taco bell one--score!)

-1 can refried beans

-1 jar salsa (also found a taco bell one)

-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 

-1 bunch green onions

First, you need your flour tortillas crispy. Heat the veggie oil in a large skillet over medium heat. You will know the oil is ready when you stick a wooden spoon into the middle of the oil and bubbles rise up around it (or if you have a thermometer). (Disclaimer: I don't really believe I need to say this, and this is rather tongue-in-cheek, but as I married a lawyer, I will: do not use your fingers or any other body part to ascertain that the oil is hot. It will burn you, and then you will won't get to eat the Mexican pizza. And you'll have hospital bills. So use the spoon.)

When the oil is ready, carefully place a tortilla in the oil. It will begin to puff up, so carefully puncture any bubbles in the tortilla with your spoon, fry until the tortilla is crisp, and then remove and place on a plate covered with paper towels (to absorb the extra oil). Repeat this process until all tortillas are cooked.

Next, get your ground beef ready. Cook the ground beef in a skillet until it evenly browned, then drain off any residual fat. Mix your taco seasoning with water according to package directions and add to your ground beef in the skillet (note: if you are trying to cut back on your sodium, look for a low-sodium mix or do not add the full packet of seasoning to your ground beef...or add your own spices that do not contain salt for best low-sodium results). Simmer over low-heat until all water is absorbed and the beef is evenly coated with the seasoning.

Chop the bunch of green onions, shred your cheddar cheese, and turn the broiler on in your oven. The rest is all assembly!

On top of one of the crispy tortillas, place the following:

-a layer of the refried beans

-a layer of the ground beef

-a second tortilla

-a thin layer of salsa

-a generous sprinkling of cheddar cheese

-a sprinkling of green onions

Place all assembled pizzas onto a baking sheet. Finally, place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes, or until cheese is melted, and serve! 

The beauty of this recipe is that you can even add other veggies, change the meat (say you'd prefer a ground turkey Mexican pizza for health/diet reasons), alter the cheeses, or make any other changes you want to fit your needs. Of course--I like the original best, and I hope you enjoy!

Tomato, Lemon, and Cannellini Bean Pasta

Let's face it--trying to cook a healthy meal is expensive. It's much easier to buy a package of Ramen noodles or macaroni and cheese for a dollar than it is to find something that is affordable AND has nutritional value. So, wanting a recipe that wouldn't break the bank, I found this: Lemon, caper, and white bean pasta. The recipe is supposed to be made from foods that are generally already in your pantry (and that are fairly cheap!), so I decided to give it a try. I omitted the capers (I didn't have any, and didn't want to spend money on them just for this recipe) and instead used my friend Sarah's roasted grape tomato idea in their place.

Ingredients:
1 box grape tomatoes
1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil (fresh would be even better!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 box angel hair pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 large lemon, zested and juiced
1 teaspoon garlic pepper
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt to taste
Optional toppings: Parmesan cheese, parsley 

Put the water on to boil for your spaghetti. Salt the water to flavor your pasta.

While the water is heating up, prepare your roasted tomatoes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together your grape tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and minced garlic cloves until all the tomatoes are well-coated. Spread out on a baking sheet. When the oven is ready, cook at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes (7 minutes is fine if you want the tomatoes a bit firmer; they will start to break down by 10 minutes). I may come back to this recipe for a homemade pasta sauce in the future--the smell of the tomatoes when they are finished is amazing!

Next, get your sauce ready. Melt the butter in a skillet over low-medium heat. Using a handheld grater, shred the peel of the lemon (the shreds of lemon peel are the zest) into the butter. To get the most juice from your lemon, roll it on the counter applying pressure with your hands to get the juices to flow, then cut the lemon open and squeeze the juices from each half into the butter, as well. Add in your garlic pepper and salt and mix well. Finally, toss in the cannellini beans and roasted tomatoes until heated through.

Toss with the spaghetti or simply serve the tomato-bean sauce on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and parsley if desired. Enjoy the meal--and the extra money in your wallet! :)

**I had to include a close-up to point out the color here. The dish is still tasty without the tomatoes, but they provide both an added depth of flavor and beauty in presentation. A feast for the stomach AND eyes! (Now really...go enjoy ;)).