Bean and Corn Salad

This recipe was given to me by a good friend of mine, Katie, who had it for dinner some night last week. I was there when she made it, and it looked so yummy that I asked her the recipe. I've made it twice now and it will be on my menu at least once a week now!

I did make a few customizations to the original to suit my tastes, but nothing major.

To make it the way I did, you will need:

1-2 cans of black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup corn kernels
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Juice of one lime (2 tbsp)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-2 tbsp chopped parsley (I used dried)

Mix it all together and let it sit for an hour or two before serving. Fantastic with chips!

Challah Bread

This bread is so yummy that I will dispense with any further introduction and get right to the recipe!

The following are directions for one loaf (easily mixed in stand mixer, bread machine, or food processor). The original recipe can be found at Allrecipes.com (search for "Challah I").

1-1/4 cups warm water
1/2 tbsp dry yeast
1/4 cup honey
1 egg (plus one additional egg for the glaze)
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

Start by mixing the water and yeast. Stir till the yeast is dissolved.

Add honey, egg, oil, and salt. Stir till completely mixed. Helpful hint: Using a whisk will make your job easier!

Add the flour a cup at a time till a dough forms (use a whisk when you add the first cup and a large spoon after that!). It will probably be a bit shaggy, but it will become smooth after kneading.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for several minutes. By the end of the kneading process, your dough should be smooth.

Let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled.

Turn out onto a lightly-floured surface. Divide doug into 3 equal pieces and make these pieces into 18" long "snakes."

Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment. Place your three "snakes" on the prepared pan side by side. Braid the strands together just like you would braid hair. When you reach the end, pinch each of the ends together.

Mix your second egg with about 1/2 tsp water and brush over your completed braid. Let rise for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom. If your bread is browning too much, you can tent it with aluminum foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

This bread make excellent toast and is divine with some good butter slathered on it!

Manicotti Shells

I'm back from a long hiatus. This summer has been very busy for Stacey and I and full of quite a few changes for both of us.

I haven't done much cooking this summer (at least none that was worth posting!), but I am getting back to the kitchen now and hopefully will have a lot more to post.

This recipe is so easy and has quite a few applications. I use these pasta sheets for manicotti, lasagna, and even lasagna roll-ups. They're super simple to make, and you can easily customize the recipe.

To make these, you need:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups water
6 eggs
Pinch of salt

Start by preheating a large non-stick skillet on medium heat.

Mix the flour and water in a large mixing bowl till there are no more lumps. Add eggs and stir till smooth. The batter will be runny, but this is what you want.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter on preheated skillet, turning skillet slightly to spread out batter. Cook until top is completely dry. Remove to a cooling rack.

Repeat with remaining batter. I usually 14-16 shells.

For manicotti, stuff with your favorite filling, roll up, and top with sauce and cheese. For lasagna, use as you would lasagna noodles.

100% Whole Wheat Muffins

It's been a while since I posted last, but it's not from lack of cooking!  Things have been pretty busy around here lately and probably getting a lot busier soon!  I didn't want you all to think I'd forgotten about you, so here is a new recipe I found and a couple of variations.

This one comes from King Arthur Flour and is just about as healthy a muffin as you can get, short of making it sugar-free.  I started originally with just the blueberry recipe and then decided to try apple cinnamon muffins as well.

The base recipe will stay the same, and here it is:

2-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar (I reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup organic sugar + 1 tbsp molasses)
1 tsp cinnamon (I omitted this in the blueberry version)
1-1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk + 1-1/2 tbsp lemon juice)
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup berries or diced apples (use pretty much whatever fruit you want, just make sure it's the size of blueberries)

Preheat oven to 400F/200C.  Grease or line 12 muffin cups.

Mix all ingredients together, just till combined, and pour into prepared muffin cups.  An ice cream scoop (1/4 cup) works pretty well for this.

Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Here are the blueberry ones...

...and the apple ones.

Both were equally scrumptious, though I am more partial to blueberry.  You can probably do these with just about any fruit and maybe even add some chopped nuts! 

No Knead Pizza Crust

I feel like I should call this the "Sara Harper Pizza Crust." It was inspired by a friend of mine who wants to cook, but like many people, she's a bit wary of yeast doughs. They can be a bit scary if you haven't done many of them or have had bad experiences with them.

I have definitely been there, but after lots and lots and lots of practice and errors, I've found that they are not so scary after all.

To introduce the yeast-phobic to the wonderful world of yeast doughs in a gentle manner, I took a basic no-knead bread recipe and tweaked it to become an easy pizza crust.

Without further ado, here it is!

You need:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast (2-1/4 tsp)
1-1/3 to 1-1/2 cups water

Put everything in a big bowl and mix till it's combined. It will be very sticky, but this is fine. Let it sit a few minutes for the gluten to relax.

Oil your pizza pan. Spread out your dough to the size you want, wetting your fingers to keep sticking to a minimum. Place in a warm oven (turn it to lowest setting for 1 minute, then turn off) for 15 minutes.

Take the crust out of the oven and preheat oven to 450. While you wait, brush crust with olive oil.

Bake crust for 8-9 minutes or until starting to brown slightly.

Brush crust with a bit more olive oil and sprinkle some salt around the edge. Top with your favorite toppings and bake an additional 9-10 minutes or until the doneness you prefer.

Blueberry Picking at Morris Orchard

Back in May I did a post on our strawberry picking adventure with the promise to do more posts of our other pick-your-own excursions throughout the year.  This time we went to Morris Orchard in Monroe, Virginia.  Their pick-your-own blueberry patch is beginning to ripen and their peaches have begun to ripen as well. 

We went mainly for blueberries, but there weren't as many left by the time we got there.  We still had lots of fun picking and got a couple of pounds. 

After we got done picking and I realized we wouldn't be purchasing the 10 lb of blueberries I was hoping for, I decided to get some peaches as well.  I got a 1/2 bushel of the "second-rate" peaches (the ones that were not absolutely perfect) for around $13. 

After all was said and done, I still ended up with a good haul.  The kids and I got some good exercise and we were also able to support a local farmer (always a plus!). 

Here are the blueberries we picked (guess which ones the 2-year-old picked!):

And here are some of the peaches we got:

I would highly encourage you to connect with the farms in your area and see what they have to offer!  It's a great way to teach your kids about where their food comes from and to support your local economy :)

Smashed Potatoes

Hi from the UK! I've been very busy lately so haven't had much chance to update on here. I hope you enjoy this recipe though! It's a favorite in our house now - babies and adults both love it. It's easy and customizable based on what you have in the house.

Here's what you need:
New potatoes (I use about 1/4 a bag per person)
1/4 carrot, grated
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 small onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, diced
milk, for fluffing potatoes
You can add in other veggies as you see fit!

Cut up the potatoes and put them on to boil. Cook the onion, green pepper, aind garlic in a small amount of olive oil over low heat until onions start to turn see through. Be careful not to burn them, or the burn flavor will overpower everything else! Once they are cooked, set them aside off the heat. When the potatoes are cooked through, drain them and then add in the onion, garlic, green pepper, carrot, and milk. Using either a fork or fancy potato masher, SMASH them all together, skins and all. If you want you can add in some grated cheese, though it's not necessary.

The result is a DELICIOUS version of mashed potatoes, with extra veggie goodness. I don't have a pic at the moment (they don't last long enough for one!) But I will get one up the next time I make it.

Spinach Protein Tortillas

I am so excited about these tortillas!  I came up with the recipe last night to use for some veggie enchiladas and was so pleased with how they turned out!  What makes these different is that they are not your typical full-of-carbs-and-fat flour tortillas.  Yes, they still have a fair amount of carbs, but just take a look at what you get along with those carbs:

Calories:  122
Total Fat:  3.1g (!!!!!!)
Potassium:  256.3 mg
Carbs: 19.6g (and 5.6g of that is fiber!)
Protein:  8.3g (that's a full protein serving!)
Vitamin A:  14.1% DRI*
Vitamin C:  3.5% DRI*
Iron:  19.4%* (as a female vegetarian, this is pretty awesome!)

*These values may be more or less, depending on your specific DRI needs.  This was what MyFitnessPal said based on my info.

And the best part about these is that you can change the nutritional profile very easily by simply swapping out the vegetable used.  You might even be able to swap out the protein source, but I haven't tested that yet (soy protein powder perhaps?).

As an added bonus, because you're using a vegetable in these, the tortillas are brightly colored (mine were a pretty green!), which got the kids very interested in trying them.

OK, enough build-up.  On to the recipe!

To make these protein-packed tortillas, you will need:

1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (plus some all-purpose flour for dusting the board)
1/2 cup hemp protein powder (can be obtained at most health food stores and online)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups packed spinach
1/2 cup water (may need a little more to make a workable dough)
1 tbsp olive oil (or any other oil you have on hand)

Start by blending the spinach with the water.

You may have to stop and scrape down the sides every so often to get all the spinach blended.  Blend until very well pureed (may take a few minutes).  You should end up with about 3/4-1 cup of spinach/water puree.
 

Next, measure your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.

Add your spinach/water puree and the oil.

Mix to form a cohesive dough ball, adding more water a teaspoon at a time if needed.

At this point, you'll want to go ahead and preheat a griddle or skillet (no oil) on medium to medium-high heat.

Place on a floured surface and knead for about a minute to make sure your dough is nice and smooth.  Divide into 8 pieces (please note that mine was divided into 9 in the picture because I made a test tortilla).

Roll one of your pieces of dough out as thin as you can (about 8-9" in diameter).

Place the rolled-out tortilla on your preheated griddle or skillet.  Cook until air pockets have formed on top and the bottom is starting to brown.

Flip and cook on the opposite side till browned.

Transfer to a cooling rack or a plate and repeat with remaining dough (please excuse the floury cutting board in the background!).

These would be great for just about any application that you'd use a flour tortilla for.   A veggie wrap, a tortilla pizza, burritos, enchiladas... The possibilities are endless!

Here are my tortillas used in enchiladas...

And the finished product...

Overall, I was very pleased with this experiment.  The tortillas tasted great, the whole family liked them, and they are packed with nutrients!  I hope you all will give them a try and let me know what you think of them in the comments below :)

Fluffy Lemon Blueberry Mini Muffins

These are fabulous!  Not much else to be said. They are fairly low-calorie and full of blueberries (a super food!). They are the perfect size for little hands (and mama hands too) and a perfect recipe for little ones to help make :)

To make these, you will need:

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt (I didn't have any so I used soy milk)
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease 36 mini muffin cups.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and divide among the muffin cups.

Bake for 10 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

There is an optional glaze to go over them. I used a few spoonfuls of powdered sugar and enough soy milk to make it spreadable. Spoon over hot muffins and serve.

Just for reference, 3 mini muffins are about the same as one regular muffin.

Upside Down Apple Pie

Here is my promised apple pie post.  Last fall when I went apple-picking with the kids, I canned 6 quarts of apple pie filling.  I haven't used any till just recently and I thought that a nice apple pie would be just lovely today. 

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I prefer a crispy crust.  I always have a problem with my pie crusts coming out dense and chewy instead of crispy.  So for this pie, I decided to try something different.  Rather than put the crust underneath the filling, I decided to put it on top like I do when I make a pot pie. 

The crust I use for my pies is based on this recipe.  It is a very easy crust to make and comes out beautifully. 

To make this pie, you will need two things:
At least 5-6 cups apple pie filling (maybe more if you like more filling or use a bigger pan; revised this from 4 cups because you definitely need the extra filling!)
Pie dough for a 9" pie

I'm not going to put my recipe for the filling yet because I'll have to find it again, but I will show you step-by-step how I made the crust.

For the crust, you will need:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp lemon juice (or vinegar)
1-2 tbsp cold water

Preheat your oven to 425F/220C.

Pour your flour and salt in a mixing bowl.

To cut in your butter, use the large holes on a grater.  This is epically easier than using a pastry blender, especially if your butter is very cold.

Stir together the flour and grated butter, breaking up any big clumps.

Add your egg, lemon juice (or vinegar), and 1 tbsp of water.  Stir to combine.  Add more water if needed to form a ball of dough.

Now, a pie pastry expert would tell you to put the dough in the fridge for at least an hour to chill, but I'm not an expert and I'm also not patient.  I find it perfectly acceptable to go ahead and roll it out, slightly larger than your pie pan (I used a 10"). 

Now it's time to fill the pie.  Like I said, I used a quart jar of apple pie filling, though next time I may use a jar and a half for this size pie pan. 

As you can see, my quart jar didn't fill the pan too terribly far, but that was OK for me.

Next lay your crust on top of your filling and form a nice edge at the edge of your pan.  Put it out farther than you think it ought to go because the crust will shrink back a bit because of the egg.

Cut some vents for steam to come out.  You can make them in a little design to make your pie even prettier.

Put the pie in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature to 350F/180C for an additional 20 minutes.  With a pie like this, you will want to put a pan on the rack underneath your pie while it's baking to catch any drips.  I had a little bit of dripping as the filling bubbled up. 

When your pie is done, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a bit before cutting.  The filling is likely to be quite runny when it's still warm, so if you like a firmer filling, let it cool completely and put in the fridge before cutting.

I was impatient to get into my pie, so you can see my runny filling.  I'll take a better picture after the pie has chilled a bit.  This pie goes well with some vanilla ice cream or some fresh whipped cream (pictured above).

Whole Wheat English Muffins

I am always looking for healthy options for a quick breakfast, and through a Pinterest/Google/Youtube search, I found this recipe for English muffins. It is a very simple recipe and absolutely delicious! It is easily customizable to different varieties (whole wheat, maybe even a cinnamon raisin kind!). You can make these one night a week and have homemade English muffins for the rest of the week (if they last that long!).

Below, I am including directions for using a bread machine. If you want to make these by hand, the link above has a short video tutorial on that method.

To make a whole wheat version, you will need:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (you can play with the ratio to find one you like)
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp yeast

Put all ingredients in a bread machine according to manufacturer's directions and set to Dough cycle.

Once cycle is complete (or the dough has doubled in bulk), punch down and roll out to about 1/2" thick. Cut out 3" circles using a cookie cutter and place on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of each muffin. Leave to rise for 30 minutes.

During the last few minutes of rise time, heat a griddle on medium low heat.

When the griddle is heated, spray with non-stick or grease using a little butter (you may not even need any). Add 4 of the muffins and cook 15 minutes total, turning every 2 minutes. Repeat with the rest of the muffins.

To serve, split open with a fork and spread on some butter or your favorite jam. You can also turn it into a breakfast sandwich by adding a little cheese and some chopped hard-boiled egg!

Lasagna Soup with Gnocchi

I found this soup on Pinterest while looking for dinner ideas.  It comes from Paula Deen's sons and is a lighter version of one of her recipes.  I made it last night as part of a homework assignment for a Coursera class I'm taking and since it turned out so well, I thought I'd share it with you guys!

The original recipe calls for turkey sausage, but I omitted this completely.  It didn't need it, in my opinion, but you could certainly add it in or use something else.  Beans would probably be really good in this soup!

Also, in the original recipe, it calls for broken lasagna noodles, but I had some leftover cauliflower/potato mash so I made gnocchi instead.

To make the gnocchi, you need:

1/2 cup leftover mashed potato/veggies (any combination should work fine)
1 egg
1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour (you need just enough to make a soft dough)

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix to form a dough.  Turn out on a floured surface and knead till it comes together in a nice cohesive ball. 

Roll out to about 1/4" thick (can roll it thinner if you prefer) and cut into 1/2" squares.  Set aside while you make the soup.

For the soup, you will need:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable stock (any stock is fine)
28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained (original calls for 14.5 oz)
15 oz tomato sauce (use the "no salt added" kind)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 recipe gnocchi (see above; if you want, you can use a small pasta)
mozzarella and parmesan for garnish

In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium-low heat and add the onion and pepper.  Cook 8-10 minutes or until the veggies are starting to get tender.  Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes longer.

Add the stock...

... and the tomatoes, sauce, salt, and basil.

Bring to a simmer and cook 20 minutes.  Add gnocchi or pasta and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Here is the finished soup before the cheese is added...

... and after.

It didn't take long for the cheese to melt into the soup.  It was so incredibly yummy and my house smelled so good while it was cooking!

Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles

Mmmmm summer is coming and there's nothing like sitting out in the sun with an ice cold treat! I sometimes struggle getting enough fruit in my diet, so I came up with a solution.. combine the fruit with my treat! I'm really into blueberries at the moment, so I naturally thought of them first.

This is a SUPER SIMPLE recipe. I have a popsicle mold that makes 4, so that's what my quantities will be for. You could use paper/plastic bathroom cups that they sell in the US, you could make mini bites with ice cube trays, use whatever you have at hand.

You'll need:

Blueberries (I used a little over 1/2 cup)
Vanilla Yogurt (I used fat free from activia, 1 1/4 cup)
Honey (I used 1 tsp)

Put the blueberries and honey in a blender, and blitz to chop them up. Mix in 3/4 cup of the yogurt into the blueberry mixture, then pour evenly into the molds. Top them off with the remaining yogurt, and stick them in the freezer! Now all you have to do is wait (which is NEVER the easy part when you really want to try what you made..)

I let mine freeze for about 12 hours.. they were so YUMMY as you can tell by the nibble I took from the one in the picture! I couldn't wait to take the shot, just had to give it a bite!

Converting Oven Temperatures

Because Stacey lives across the pond and I live here in the US, we often have to convert oven temperatures from C to F and vice versa.  We try to include both temperatures in our recipes here on the blog, but in case we forget or just for your reference, here is a handy chart that has all the temperatures listed plus gas marks.  I found it here.

OVEN TEMPERATURE EQUIVALENTS

225 Fahrenheit = 110 Celsius / Centigrade = 1/4 Gas Mark = Cool

250 Fahrenheit = 130 Celsius / Centigrade = 1/2 Gas Mark = Cool

275 Fahrenheit = 140 Celsius / Centigrade = 1 Gas Mark = Very Slow

300 Fahrenheit = 150 Celsius / Centigrade = 2 Gas Mark = Very Slow

325 Fahrenheit = 170 Celsius / Centigrade = 3 Gas Mark = Slow

350 Fahrenheit = 180 Celsius / Centigrade = 4 Gas Mark = Moderate

375 Fahrenheit = 190 Celsius / Centigrade = 5 Gas Mark = Moderate

400 Fahrenheit = 200 Celsius / Centigrade = 6 Gas Mark = Moderately Hot

425 Fahrenheit = 220 Celsius / Centigrade = 7 Gas Mark = Fairly Hot

450 Fahrenheit = 230 Celsius / Centigrade = 8 Gas Mark = Hot

475 Fahrenheit = 240 Celsius / Centigrade = 9 Gas Mark = Very Hot

500 Fahrenheit = 250 Celsius / Centigrade = 10 Gas Mark = Extremely Hot

I will also find a chart to convert between volume and weight measurements and metric to standard.

Vegetable Pot Pie

I made a Quorn Turk'y version of this recipe for Thanksgiving one year and loved it so much that I decided to try a completely veggie version. 

I'll do a separate post for the pie crust recipe (view it here).  You can use a store bought pie crust dough (not one already in a pan) or your own personal favorite recipe if you so chose.

To make this recipe you will need:

1 pie crust for a 9" single-crust pie
1 tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 head cauliflower, separated into florets and diced
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cups veggie stock (can use water instead)
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
3 tbsp dried parsley
3 tbsp butter
6 tbsp flour
1 cup milk

To start, heat the 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet.  Add the veggies and spices and saute for about 10 minutes.

Add the stock or water.  Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

While the veggies are simmering, heat the remaining butter in a separate small saucepan.  Add flour and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add the milk slowly, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Bring to a simmer, and cook till thickened.  This shouldn't take terribly long because of the amount of flour.

You can preheat your oven at this point to 425F/225C.

Once the milk has thickened and the veggies are cooked, add the milk mixture to the veggies and heat through till thickened.

Pour veggies into a 9"x13" baking dish.  Roll out your crust to a little bigger than the side of your dish.  Lay crust over top of the veggies and cut little vents to let out the steam.

Bake 15 minutes at 425F/225C.  Reduce the heat to 350F/180C and bake 25 minutes more.  Let cool about 15 minutes for the gravy to set and cool down a little.

This dish is seriously very good and can be made with just about any combo of veggies you and your family like.  For directions on how to make with turkey (or Quorn), see the original recipe!