Multi-Grain Batter Bread

I love bread.  For real.  It's fun to make, and kneading bread sometimes keeps me from killing people!  (Kidding.  Mostly.)  It smells good and there is nothing quite as good to eat as fresh bread with butter.

This is a great bread since there's only an hour between that time you're thinking, I could eat some bread, and that time when you pull the bread out of the oven.

Bread in one hour!

Multi-Grain Batter Bread
adapted from Betty Crocker

cornmeal for dusting
4 1/2 to 5 c. all-purpose or bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/2 c whole wheat graham flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c regular rolled oats (or quick oats)

Grease and dust 2 cookie sheets w cornmeal.  Preheat oven to 400.

Mix 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, soda, and yeast in a bowl.  On the stove, heat the milk and water until it is very warm.  Do not boil!  If it gets too hot, it will kill your yeast.  Add the milk mixture to the dry mixture.  Beat on low until everything is moistened.  Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl now and again.  Stir in the wheat flour, wheat germ, oats, and remaining all-purpose flour to make a stiff batter.  (You're not making a stiff dough, which would be very dry, but you want it to still be a batter.)  Divide the dough between the two pans.  Grease and flour your hands, and then shape them into a ball.  Sprinkle a little more cornmeal on top.

Cover and let them rise for a half hour.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Mini-bagel Pizzas

What is it about lunch that drives me batty?  It's hard enough to plan dinners and shop for those, but then these kids want to eat lunch, too!?  The nerve.  After about five years of rotating through pb&j, chicken nuggets, and mac & cheese out of a box, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Here's an easy lunch that doesn't make me sad, unlike having to eat goldfish crackers.  Again.

Yes, I'm a bad photographer.  That's why this isn't a photography blog.

Mini-bagel Pizzas

1 bag of mini-bagels (I used whole-wheat ones from Trader Joes)
1 can of pizza sauce
sliced salami/pepperoni (or veg, whatever you like)
sliced or shredded cheese (I used provolone, because that's what I had)

Slice the mini-bagels and put on a cookie sheet that you've sprayed w non-stick spray.  Top the bagels w a spoonful of sauce, meat, and cheese.  Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

So easy, the kids can make it.

I know; this isn't really much of a recipe.  It's really meant to remind me, and maybe you, that lunch can still be easy, and tasty.  This is also good with English muffins.

What are your go-to kid-friendly lunches?  Share in the comments!

Cinnamon Muffins

Really, a cinnamon muffin and a cup of coffee is one of the small pleasures in life.  I just want you to be happy, so do me a favor and give it a try.

Cinnamon Muffins
adapted from Whole Foods for the Whole Family

3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. milk

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix well the eggs, butter, oil, and milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Stir just until combined.  Over-mixing is bad for muffins; it makes them sad.  Fill the wells about 2/3 full in a greased muffin tin (or use paper liners).  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. This recipe makes about 2 dozen.  Obviously you could divide it in half, or you could just freeze the extras, which sounds better to me.

Candyland

I almost never bother to make candy.  My kids get way too much of it from AWANA, and I'm pretty happy with the occasional bit of dark chocolate.  Every time I've made fudge, it hasn't turned out.  And so, maybe I'm a little afraid of candy.  But that never stops me from trying again.  It's handy to be stubborn.

This is from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, by Nigella Lawson.  I adore the way she writes about food.  She likes food.  A lot.  Plus, the book is very pretty to look at.

Cinder Toffee (aka honeycomb)
from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

3/4 c. sugar
4 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tbsp. baking soda
8 inch square pan, well-greased

Grease that pan.  Seriously.  With some butter, in fact.

Mix the sugar and syrup in a heavy-bottomed pot.  THEN turn the burner on, to medium heat.  Let it heat up and you can stir it a bit to make sure it doesn't burn and that the sugar is dissolving.  It will begin to bubble and just start to change to a yellowish-brown.  (Mine took about 5-6 minutes, Nigella says 3-4)  You are not looking to caramelize this to a dark color.

Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the baking soda.  This part is exciting, and next time I am going to let the kids do this.  It fills the candy with air and the whole thing puffs up.  Fun!  Quickly pour into the dish and let it harden for a few hours.

I used my meat mallet to break this right in the middle and the whole thing split into 4 big pieces that I could then pull out of the dish.  Then I broke them further (with the mallet) into bite-sized pieces.

Our friend Nigella suggests we dip them in chocolate, if we feel so inclined.  I like the way she thinks.  I'm going to do that next time too.  All the little bits you can save for an ice cream topping.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

I own very few cookbooks.  I mean, for someone obsessed with cooking, anyway.  Less than 10, I think.  Instead, I keep a giant binder full of recipes.  This is one of them.  I have no idea where the original came from. But I am oh-so-glad I have it.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

4 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 c. melted butter
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. chocolate chips (I used combination of chocolate chips and a giant semi-sweet chocolate baking bar)
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecan chips)

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl.  Combine pumpkin, butter, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla in another bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in chocolate and nuts.

Drop dough by tablespoonful onto cookie sheet.  Space about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 375 degrees for 13-14 minutes.  Let cool a couple minutes on pan, then move to rack to finish cooling.

Hola, Deliciousness!

Here's a recipe from the archives...


Mexican Mac & Cheese
adapted from Fast, Easy, Fresh


2 c. elbow mac
2 links fresh chorizo, removed from casings and browned/broken up
1/2 c. salsa verde (from a jar)
1 c. (packed) fresh cilantro leaves
3 c. (packed) shredded cheddar, plus 1 c. for sprinkling (4 c. total)
4 tsp. flour
1 c. 1% milk
3/4 c. heavy cream (don't see why you can't use all milk, but cream is tasty)
1/4 tsp. (scant) ground cloves
1 c. corn chips

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cook macaroni until al dente, about 6 minutes and drain.
Meanwhile, blend/process the salsa and cilantro until smooth. Toss 3 c. cheddar with the flour in a bowl to coat.
Bring milk, cream, and cloves to simmer in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cheese mixture. Stir until cheese melts, a couple minutes. Mix in macaroni and cooked chorizo. Season with pepper, if you want.
Spread half of mac & cheese in 13x9 dish (spray first). Pour half of salsa mixture over top. Sprinkle with 1/2 c. cheese (more cheese!!!!). Top with remaining mac & cheese, and another layer of salsa. Sprinkle chips over (I used the little ones from the bottom of a bag), then top with remaining 1/2 c. cheese. Bake until heated through, about 10 minutes.

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

Here's a super easy, kid-friendly dish!  Yay!

I cooked my chicken in the crock pot with one quart of water for about 6 hours until it started to fall apart, and then shredded it.  You can skip that by starting with a rotisserie chicken.

Chicken Soup with Cheese Ravioli

1 whole cooked chicken, diced or shredded, however you like it
2 boxes chicken broth (or 1 box plus the broth from cooking your own chicken, if that's what you did)
1 onion, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic or 1-2 tsp. garlic powder (or more!)
pepper to taste
1 tsp. oregano
olive oil or butter
1 package cheese ravioletti (small ravioli), or ravioli/tortellini (I used a 9 oz. package of Buitoni brand ravioletti)

Saute onion, celery, and garlic (if using fresh) in oil or butter about 5-8 minutes, until onion is soft.  Add garlic powder (if using).  Stir in chicken and broth, and bring to a boil.  Add ravioletti, and cook according to package directions (3-5 minutes).  Season with pepper and oregano.  Eat!  If you want something more soupy, you probably want to add more broth.  It was close to being a stew, really, and we were happy with that.

We ate this with some really good garlic bread.  All of my kids LOVED this.

Fried Chicken Tenders

If you eat meat, you like fried chicken.  It's true.  And if you comment and tell me you don't, I will just call you a liar, so don't bother.

This is an easy, quick fried chicken.  It makes little mess, since you don't need as much oil as you would if you were using bone-in chicken pieces.  My measurements are ballpark figures and can be adjusted to suit your own tastes.  I always err on the side of too much breading mix, and that is reflected here.

Meat just isn't that pretty in pictures.  But there it is, anyway.

Fried Chicken Tenders

1-2 lbs. chicken tenders, depending on how many you want to eat

Breading mix:
1 c. flour (any kind is fine)
1/2 c. bread crumbs (mine were wheat, but any kind would work, even Italian if you wanted that)
a generous shake or 5 of garlic powder
pepper to taste
a few shakes of season salt if you want

vegetable oil

In a ziploc (because we're working smart), combine the ingredients for the breading mix.  Close the bag and shake it to combine.  Open your chicken package(s) and rinse the chicken with water and just throw them in there.  Close again and shake to coat.  Let it just sit there on the counter for 5 or 10 minutes.

In a large frying pan, pour oil so that it will go about half-way up the side of your fattest piece of chicken.  That is probably only about 1/2 inch or so.  Heat your oil up on medium-high heat.  It's ready when you sprinkle some water in there and it sizzles like crazy.  This should take about 5 minutes or so, to be good and hot.  What makes for gross, greasy chicken?  Oil that isn't hot enough.

Once the oil is ready, add the chicken one piece at a time, shaking off excess breading.  Don't crowd them in the pan or they will steam instead of getting crunchy on the outside.  You might have to do two batches; you'll use the same oil.  Depending on the thickness of the chicken, it could take 3-5 minutes per side.  You can pull one out and cut it to check it.  Mine took about 3 minutes on each side for the ones that I didn't let get real crispy because I was impatient.  It was about 4 minutes for each side for the ones that were nice and brown.  It's up to you.

Since you're the cook and you cut one open to make sure it's done, you can eat that one.  Does it need salt?  If it needs it, sprinkle a little salt over the top of the plate of cooked chicken.  This is good hot, but is also good cold.  Mmmm.... If you've never had cold fried chicken, you should start.

Vegetarian -- We're Done!

Silly was the only one who remained vegetarian for the entire week.  Well, it was 6 days, because on day 7 we went to a funeral luncheon and there was meat, meat, everywhere meat, on the buffet.  On day 6 I caved and had some fish.  Oh well.

Things I learned:
1.  I don't actually want to be a vegetarian.  It's more than my love of bacon that stops me.
2.  If I had to be a vegetarian for health reasons or similar, I could.  I think.
3.  Indian food is really easy to cook.  I am going to make more of it.
4.  Most of my friends are quite supportive of my random schemes and plots.  That's nice.
5.  My kids are adventurous eaters.  Okay, I knew that.  But it is worth pointing out.
6.  We were in a food rut, mostly because I claim to be busy, but really it's because I've been lazy.
7.  We ate SO MUCH fruit this week.  A lot more than usual.  We should always eat that much fruit.
8.  We need to eat more veggies.  There are lots of places to throw them in while cooking, or ways to make them super tasty.
9.  It would be nice if people thought about what vegetarians might like to eat at their events.  And at restaurants.  Gardenburger?  For real?
10.  There's going to be cauliflower pie in heaven.

Vegetarian -- Day Five

Day Five
Breakfast:  bagel/cereal bar choice (Really, I can't believe I haven't made one breakfast yet.  Sad.)
Lunch:  spaghetti, sauteed cauliflower and broccoli, garlic bread
Dinner:  aloo gobi, samosas, pita (yes, wrong bread, I know)

Aloo gobi, samosa, chutney and pita

I love Indian food.  For real.  I think I might've died of food boredom without it.  It's so delicious.  If you've never had it, I'm sad for you.  The best thing for a first-timer is to head to your local Indian buffet and try some of everything.  Be brave.  You will love it.

One of my favorite buffet staples is aloo gobi.  Mmmm.  I love cauliflower.  But you know that already if you've read this blog lately.  Anyway, it turns out that this dish is very easy to make at home.  It only took about 20 minutes, which is a bonus.  I forgot to make rice, but you don't really need it.  I wanted naan, but we didn't have any.  I thought about whipping up some chapati, but opted instead to just have pita.  I had samosas in the freezer, so we had those too.  And do NOT even get me started on how good coriander chutney is.  We dipped the samosas in the chutney, and some of it got on the aloo gobi.  So tragic.  Yum.  If you like cilantro, you want to try to get your mitts on a jar of this little piece of heaven on earth. You cilantro-haters...well, you're weird.  But I love you anyway.

Aloo Gobi
adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian

peanut or canola oil, or ghee for shallow frying
1 lb. new or red potatoes, cut into 1" cubes
1 head cauliflower, cut into small flowerets (small, they only fry for 4 minutes, then steam for 4 more)
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric (I subbed curry powder here)
3/4-1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander (I left this out)
3 tbsp. coarsely chopped cilantro

Put the oil or ghee in a large frying pan and set over medium heat.  (Remember, I said large.)  When hot, add potatoes and fry until golden and almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels.  Turn heat to medium-high and add cauliflower, frying about 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Turn off heat.  Remove all oil but about 2 tbsp. from the pan.  Turn heat to medium-high and add ginger.  Stir 10 seconds.  Return potatoes and cauliflower to pan and turn to medium.  Add turmeric, salt, cayenne, cumin and coriander.  Stir to coat veggies.  Add 3 tbsp. water.  Stir once and cover the pan.  Turn to low and cook about 4-5 minutes.  Add cilantro, toss, and eat.

Aloo gobi.  So pretty you could eat it.

I'm categorizing this as thrifty only because I had all the spices already.  If you had to buy them all, it would add around $10 to your cost.  But cauliflower and potatoes cost less than $5.  We are getting two meals out of this.

Vegetarian -- Day Four

Day Four
Breakfast: toast w pb and fruit (me), pineapple and banana-chocolate chip bars (Hub and kids)
Lunch:  mac and cheese with veggies
Dinner:  pancakes and onion rings (me) I know that's not healthy, cheese pizza and cottage cheese (Silly), meat (everyone else)

We ended up going out to dinner with the family, and so most everyone ate meat last night.  Eh.  Silly and I are the last hold-outs here.

I love homemade macaroni and cheese.  For real.  I don't usually add veggies, but I think I will from now on.  It's an easy way to increase our veggie consumption.  I mean, they are covered in cheese.  Yum.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 lb. pasta of choice (I used wagon wheels)
1/4 to 1/2 onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp. butter
up to 1/4 c. flour (or so)
1 lb. cheese, shredded (I used cheddar, and a few slices of cojack that I needed to use up)
1 1/2 c. milk
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
pepper to taste
veggies of choice (see below)

Preheat oven to 350.  Put the pasta on to cook.  Be careful not to overcook it.  In fact, because it bakes a little, I usually drain it just before it's done.  That's me.  In a skillet, melt butter (you could use less, and then you need less flour).  Saute onion and garlic until opaque.  Add flour to soak up the butter, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Oh look!  You've made a roux!  Now you want to add the milk and let it warm up.  Add the cheese, and stirring frequently, let it cook and melt (this takes about 5 minutes).  You can add some pepper here, too.  Once it is just about all melted, turn up the heat to a brief boil, stirring constantly.  That helps it to thicken.

For the veggies, I used a bag of frozen mixed veggies (broccoli, corn and red peppers).  You could just saute some of whatever you have in your fridge, or use a whole bag of broccoli or whatever.  It's up to you.  I did saute the frozen veggies for a little bit in a pan to thaw them out most of the way.  I also put a very light sprinkling of salt over them.

Put the veggies, cooked pasta, and sauce into a large bowl or right into the casserole if you want to wash fewer dishes (who doesn't?).  Stir to coat everything with the cheese.

Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Vegetarian -- Days Two and Three

Cauliflower-Cheese Pie, I love you

Day Two
Breakfast:  granola bar/cereal/yogurt/fruit choice
Lunch:  nachos with madras lentils --I need to make these from scratch, because they are so delicious and taste like chili (me), leftover peanut noodles (Hub), pb&j with veggies and popcorn (kids)
Dinner:  cheese pizza (me), roast beef sandwich (Hub, he forgot), spaghetti (kids)

Day Three
Breakfast:  granola bars (yes, I have not made a single breakfast this week)
Lunch:  leftovers, fruit, pretzels
Dinner:  cauliflower cheese pie

We had a death in the family this week, so we're all a bit mopey.  Hub's meat-relapse occurred at the hospital, and is certainly forgivable.  I mean, we're not doing this for any reason other than because we can.  No one signed a contract or anything.  I am not surprised to learn that baking the cauliflower cheese pie actually made me feel a lot better.  You know I am passionate about, well, everything, but I really love cooking and it helped me channel some nervous energy and taking care of my family in this way was comforting.

Now onto the recipe for the cauliflower cheese pie.

This is a Moosewood recipe.  I really love this cookbook.  It's full of tasty recipes and is all hand-lettered, which makes it extra nice.  It's full of exotic things (for the time--1970s) such as hummus and guacamole.  It is one of the books that I would never get rid of, and would love to pass down to one of my children one day.  See how much I love it?

Sample of the art in the book.  Lovely.

Cauliflower-Cheese Pie
adapted from Moosewood Cookbook

Potato Crust:
2 c., packed, grated raw potato
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. grated onion

Heat oven to 400.  Let the shredded potatoes sit a few minutes and then squeeze the liquid out of the potatoes (you can use a cheesecloth, colander and your hands, or paper towels).  Combine potatoes, salt, egg and onion.  Pat it into a well-greased 9" pie plate, building up the sides of the crust with your fingers.  Bake 30 minutes and then brush with a little oil and bake 15 more minutes.

Filling:
1 medium cauliflower, broken into small flowerets
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tbsp. butter
dash thyme
1/2 tsp. basil (I happened to have fresh, dried is fine)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 heaping, packed cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
pepper to taste
paprika to taste

Turn the oven down to 375.  Melt butter in skillet.  Saute onion and garlic in butter for about 5 minutes.  Add herbs and cauliflower and cook, covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Spread half the cheese into the baked crust, then top with the cauliflower filling, then the rest of the cheese.  Beat the eggs, milk, and pepper then pour mixture over the pie.  Dust with paprika.  Bake 35-40 minutes until set.

I have had this cookbook for years, and am a little bitter I never made this pie until this week.  Hub and I agree that it goes on the list of the best things I have EVER made.  The recipe claims it feeds 4 people.  And my vegetarian friend also agrees, 4 people, though that is with a salad.  I feel pretty confident in reporting that it could feed 2 people.  I'm just saying.  Next time I am doubling it for sure, especially since I only used 1/2 of my head of cauliflower.  It's quite addictive.

Vegetarian -- Day One

It's only seven days.  I know some people are always vegetarian.  We have friends who were vegetarian for a month.  There's some movement to get people to go meatless on Mondays.  I'm feeling optimistic.  It's not like I am worried about Hub and myself.  We're grown adults (technically).  It's the kids.  I have one kid who doesn't really like to try new things.  I have a meat-loving child who has been dreading the day he ever suggested trying out vegetarianism.  But he has survived today, and even liked what he ate.  A lot.

Breakfast:  apple with peanut butter (me), yogurt/fruit/granola bar/cereal choice (them)
Lunch:  veggie wrap with lettuce, tomato, carrots, cukes and ranch (me and Scrappy), leftover mushroom pizza (Hub), pb&j (everyone else)
Dinner:  carrots with garlic & thyme, peanut noodles
I admit that I hope my evening involves a scoop of ice cream.

Noodles covered in peanut butter sauce are not very photogenic.
However, those pieces of garlic are gorgeous.

Roasted Carrots with Garlic and Thyme
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 lbs. baby carrots (or regular carrots, cut into chunks; baby carrots were cheaper at my store)
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
10ish little garlic cloves, unpeeled
generous tsp. dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Put the carrots in a 13x9 casserole and toss with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Stick the garlic here and there in the pan.  Sprinkle with thyme.  Add 2 tbsp. water and cover tightly with foil.  Bake under they are as tender as you like, 25-45 minutes.  Check them a couple times to make sure they aren't drying out.  Uncover for the last 5-10 minutes so they can brown a bit, if you want.

These were SUPER good.  I love this cookbook; it is one of my favorites.  I had never made this recipe before, and I will definitely make it again.  As a bonus, the garlic pops right out of the skin and you can eat it and ward off vampires.



Peanut Noodles aka Gado-Gado
adapted from Moosewood Cookbook

1/2 c. chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. natural peanut butter
1 tbsp. honey
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. grated ginger
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp. cider vinegar
3 c. water
1 tsp. salt
dash tamari or soy sauce
couple dashes sesame oil
2 tbsp. butter
1 bunch cilantro, chopped (or less, up to you)
1/3 c. peanuts, crushed with the side of your knife
cooked noodles, such as spaghetti or soba (about 2 lbs.)

In pot, melt butter.  Add onion, garlic, bay leaf, and ginger.  Saute until onion is translucent.  Add remaining ingredients except peanuts, cilantro, and noodles.  Simmer on low for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.

Pour the sauce over your noodles.  Chill at least an hour (more is better).  Before serving, stir in peanuts and cilantro.  You could eat this hot, too.  I just wanted mine cold.  See, it's flexible.

Now I totally admit that gado-gado is not meant to be served this way.  You're supposed to serve it over an assortment of veggies and hard-boiled eggs.  But I really wanted peanut noodles.  So I made this work for us.

Three out of four kids liked these noodles (in fact, one loved them).  One kid made horrible faces and told me peanut butter doesn't belong on noodles (yes, the picky one).  The meat-lover told me that they would really be good if I added some chicken.  Sigh.

Vegetarian Recipes Needed!

A while back, I was talking to the kids about lobsters, and somehow, that turned into a conversation about factory farming and vegetarianism.  I know, things are kind of odd here sometimes.  Maybe all the time.  As a result of this conversation, we decided we would take a stab at being vegetarian for a week.  Now, I love many, many vegetarian dishes.  I don't really need meat, except for the occasional slice of bacon.

I thought I would ask any of my faithful readers if they have a favorite vegetarian dish they would like to share?  Some considerations:  we have baseball a few nights next week, so I need a portable dish or two that would we can eat while watching the game.  Also, we might be going to a cookout, and I could use a suggestion there, as well.  I know we could just eat massive amounts of side dishes, but there has to be a better way.

Eggplant/Zucchini Parmesan

Before I started this blog, I used to post recipes in the "notes" section on FB.  Here's an oldie, but goodie.

I started with one of those horribly overgrown zucchinis and an eggplant.  They were organic, so I did not peel them.  Peeling is optional.  The eggplant has a slightly thicker skin.  It just depends what you like.

Slice into rounds of uniform thickness.  Mine were probably about 1/4 inch thick.  Maybe 1/3.

I had A LOT of vegs so I beat 4 eggs in a bowl for dipping.

In a 13x9 I mixed about 1 cup. flour, 1/2 c. (at least) parmesan cheese, garlic (probably a couple tsp. because I like garlic), and some pepper.

Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan.

Dip the pieces of eggplant into the egg, then into the flour mixture.  When you have enough coated to fill your pan, fry 'em up.  You are just browning them, not cooking them through.  Maybe one minute each side?  If that.

Drain on paper towels.

For my giant family, I greased a 15x9 casserole.  Put a smidge of your favorite tomato sauce in the bottom.  Layer with cooked eggplant/zucchini.  Top with cheese (I used sliced provolone; it's what I had, and I am a GENIUS for it).  Continue layers, ending with a sauce layer.  Then, because we are gluttonous and I only make this dish once a year, I topped it with more cheese.  Parmesan this time.

Cover with foil and bake.  I did mine at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

Ta-da!

Potato Chip Cookies

I know, weird, right?  That's what I thought, too.  I like cookies.  I like chips.  Why not give it a try?  These cookies are super buttery; they remind me of shortbread.  And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Potato Chip Cookies
from The Spiced Life

1 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. coarse salt (optional--depends how salty your chips are.  I left this out, but probably would add it next time, if using the same chips.)
2 c. flour
2 c. coarsely crushed potato chips, divided
coarse salt and sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325.  Line your cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  (Add salt if using.)  Mix in vanilla, then flour and 1 c. potato chips.  Mix well to incorporate chips, but don't overmix.

Using cookie scoop or spoons, shape dough into 1" balls and roll in remaining crushed chips.  Put on the cookie sheet 2" apart, and flatten slightly.  Sprinkle salt or sugar over the top (both are good, but I preferred those with salt on top).  I fit 12 cookies on my first sheet and 10 on the second.

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 325.  These cookies don't really brown.  Let cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Lemon Bread

I love a quick bread.  You know, they're quick.  They're bread.  What's not to love?  This is easily my favorite for a couple reasons:  it's easy and it makes everyone happy.  Lemons are like some kind of cheap Zoloft.  Everyone loves something lemony.  It's a fact.

Lemon Bread
from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil or melted butter (you know I used butter; it's worth it)
2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. lemon juice (for topping)
1 tbsp. sugar (for topping)

You only need one lemon for this recipe, FYI.

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of a loaf pan.  Mine was a 9" one; an 8" probably would've looked nicer, but it was fine.

Combine flour, sugar, powder and salt in a medium bowl; make a well in the center and set aside.  Combine your beaten egg, milk, butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice.  Your microplane grater is perfect for zesting the lemon.  Don't buy the stuff in a jar.  For the same price, you can buy a microplane.  Just don't zest the pith (the white part).  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (a little lumpy).  Pour into your loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Set pan on a rack to start cooling.  Meanwhile, combine the 1 tbsp. sugar and 2 tbsp. lemon juice in a bowl.  Spoon or brush this over the top of the warm bread.  Trust me.  You want to do this.  Let the bread cool about 10-15 minutes in the pan, the remove it to finish cooling on the rack.  This is best if you can wrap it and eat it the second day, but really, a few hours wrapped up is fine, too.

New to zesting a lemon?  Here's a handy video.

Come to the Dark Side

I am trying really hard to like dark meat.  I thought I would start with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, because they are easy, and they were on sale.  This is actually supposed to be a beef recipe (hence the beef broth, and not chicken) but I have a cold and I was confused.  It happens.

The chicken cooked very nicely and fell apart, which is always lovely.  Be careful that you don't overcook your broccoli, because that's just gross.  The original recipe called for thawing the broccoli first, but I don't see why that's necessary.  Plus, it would affect the texture, I think.

I served this with some brown rice, and a smile.

Asian Chicken and Broccoli in the Crockpot
adapted from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 c. beef broth
1/3 c. soy sauce
2-4 cloves garlic or 1 tbsp garlic powder
1 onion, chopped
pepper to taste
1 tbsp. brown sugar
16 oz. bag frozen broccoli (you know, or more; it's your dinner)
2 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Chop chicken into 1"-ish cubes.  Combine broth and soy sauce in slow cooker.  Add chicken, garlic, and onion.  Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.  One-half to one hour before this is done, combine the water and cornstarch and stir it into the pot.  Add the broccoli at this point, as well.  Add pepper to taste.


I would make this again, because it's freakishly easy.  And I LOVE that.  It definitely needs something.  I think next time I will add some honey and ginger, at the very least.  But I didn't hate it, so that's a win!  Everyone else in the house really, really liked it.

Turkey & Lentil Chili

So my kids suddenly think they hate beans.  And this makes me so sad, because beans are (a) cheap, (b) good for you, and (c) pretty tasty.

I thought I would try lentils.  I mean, they cook to mush if you let 'em and they fit all the bean criteria listed above.  Plus, I had this ground turkey and needed to do something with it.  Hub won't eat meatloaf (I know, right!?) and it was only a pound so not enough for really much else anyway.  Have I told you that there are a lot of us?

Turkey & Lentil Chili
adapted from allrecipes.com

1 lb. ground turkey
1 32 oz. box chicken broth
2 c. lentils, rinsed (I used red but any kind would work)
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium onion, chopped
3 or 4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
pepper to taste

Brown the meat with onions and celery in a skillet.  Toss mixture into crock pot.  Add rinsed lentils and remaining ingredients.  Cook on low for about 6 hours.  Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.

You really don't need any salt here since you're using canned broth and canned tomatoes.  But I suppose if you want, you could add some salt at the end.  Just taste it first.

This went over way better than chili with beans.  It was more soupy than stew-like, and I have adjusted the broth amount accordingly so that you might avoid that problem.

Lazy Cream Bundt Cake

Generally, cake isn't exciting.  Frosting, yes.  Cake, no.  You know why I think that?  Because most of the cake I've had in my life has come from a box.  I totally think that cake mixes have their place.  There is something comforting about their odd lightness and fluffiness.  But, generally, for me, that's not really what I want from a cake.  I want something a little denser, and definitely more interesting.  That's my personal preference.

This is an extremely easy cake to make, especially if you are first-timer and a little nervous.  The main trick with this one is just to be sure to grease and flour the pan really well, or it'll stick.  Plus, someone you know has a Bundt pan you can borrow, and so you don't have to buy your own.

Lazy Cream Bundt Cake

from The Spiced Life

3 c. flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 large eggs, room temperature (just set them out at the beginning of prep time and they'll be fine by the time you need them)

2 3/4 c. sugar

4 tbsp. vanilla or 1 tbsp. vanilla plus 1 tsp. lemon or orange zest (I totally forgot about the vanilla.  So my cake just tastes like cream.  I'm not really complaining.)

2 c. heavy cream (the package might say "whipping cream"), room temperature (again, just let it sit on the counter a bit)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside.

Beat the eggs and sugar together in a mixer on medium speed for about 5 minutes or so.  The batter will start to thicken up a little and turn a lovely pale yellow color.  While mixing, slowly pour in 1/3 of the cream, followed by 1/3 of the flour mixture, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl after the flour addition.  Do that two more times and then beat the whole thing for a minute on medium to combine well.

You can't really tell, but I promise this is yellow.

Scrape the batter into the pan.  Bake one hour, checking at 45 minutes to see if it's getting too brown.  If so, tent some foil over the top.  Mine was fine, so I just baked it the whole hour with no foil.

Ready to go in the oven.

When the cake is done, it'll start to pull away a little from the sides of the pan.  It'll be puffy and beautiful (it will deflate some after you take it out).

It's done!  You can see how much it rose and how it's pulling away from the sides.

Let it cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack, then invert it onto the rack and slowly (and wiggly) remove the pan.  Let it cool completely.  Then eat it!

Don't tell the raw egg police, but we actually argued over
who got to lick the bowl.  Super tasty.

I'm linking up with Sweets for Saturday here.  Check it out for more tasty treats.