Taking the month off...

Right now things are a little crazy in our house! I started a new job Monday, which I absolutely LOVE at the YMCA. My husband also is currently working on the IU Football Athletic Training Staff as one of their staff resigned. His hours are now 6am-9pm. We also have a few more places to go and dinners to attend, so the kitchen will be somewhat closed, except for my normal pesto, pasta and peas dinners!

However, in September, my husband's schedule will be back to normal, and I'll be settled in my schedule, so look for tons of new, fresh, healthy, and delicious meals! I have kept a notepad with tons of ideas and classic dishes I want to make.

For now, I will be focusing on my other blog, www.ashisfit.blogspot.com. When I return to the kitchen, my recipes will often be very healthy, low calorie, and will contain the caloric breakdowns.

I hope everyone has a nice last few weeks of summer, and I'll see you at labor day :)

Summer Rigatoni

For tonight's dinner, I wanted to use up a few things in the pantry. I always have onions, garlic, parmesan and pasta. I had a zucchini on hand from my dad's garden, so I figured I'd make a pasta dish with it. I grated the zucchini so it would cook faster and blend with the pasta better. I topped it with a veggie chik'n patty, but a nice parmesan chicken breast would be nice or even a grilled chicken breast.

Summer Rigatoni

1/2 lb. rigatoni

1 large zucchini, grated

1 yellow onion, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper

1/2 c. white wine

5 sun dried tomatoes, minced

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Chicken breast, sliced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily and add pasta.

In another large skillet over medium high heat, add zucchini, onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to sweat out veggies, it will get a bit watery, so turn up the heat and cook off the water. Stir often so zucchini doesn't stick. Once the water evaporates, add wine and turn to high. Reduce until there is no water or wine left, but veggies are moist. Add tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and some parmesan.

Drain pasta, add to veggies.

Plate mixture, add more cheese and top with chicken.

Sweet Potato Hash

When we got back from Cincinnati with a cooler full of veggies from my dad's garden, and a big poblano growing out in my pots, I knew this week's dinners would revolve around the veggies. I always have eggs and potatoes on hand, so I figured a hash would be quick and easy.

Southwest Sweet Potato Hash

1 large sweet potato, cubed

2 green bell peppers, diced

1 poblano chile, diced

1/2 large red onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Splash of chicken stock

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

2 eggs

Sour Cream, optional

Grits, optional

Steam the sweet potato for 6-8 minutes until just tender. Set aside.

In a large pan over medium heat, sautee peppers, onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sweat for 8-10 minutes until just soft. Turn heat up a bit, add potatoes, cumin, chili powder, half the cayenne and chicken stock. Press the potatoes into the peppers and let the mixture brown and form a bit of a crust.

Meanwhile, heat another nonstick skillet over medium low. Spray with nonstick spray, crack in eggs. Sprinkle with cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook until desired doneness, then flip and cook.

Flip and press the hash mixture continuously until browned and crispy.

Plate over grits, top with egg and sour cream.

Becky's 21st Birthday Cake!

My sister is turning 21 on October 11, howver she'll be studying abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, so we had a surprise 21st birthday party for her over the weekend. Her favorite beer is Heineken Light, so I made her a Heine cake. I asked her what her favorite cake flavors would be because I had a cake to make for a wedding shower as well, and I she told me I should make lemon cake with a strawberry creme filling. So I used that flavor combo for her!
I used this recipe for lemon verbena cake, I used Dorie's pastry cream recipe, halved, mixed with 1/2 c. fresh pureed strawberries, and my standard buttercream and fondant.

This is the pastry cream, no cake photo!

Grilled Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Pizza - Sucess!

A few weeks ago, I tried to grill pizza. I failed miserably. I took what I was going to put on the pizza into a quesadilla, and it was awesome. I still wanted to make it as a pizza though, so I did that again, this time not grilled though. I made my basic pizza crust and topped it with the delicious combo and it was awesome! The balsamic reduction is what really makes it special!

Grilled Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Proscuitto Pizza

Dough:

1 packet active dry yeast

1 tbsp. granulated sugar

1 c. warm water

1 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. all purpose flour

Toppings:

2 large zucchini, sliced lengthwise and grilled

1/4 lb. sliced prosciutto

2 slices of red onion, grilled

4 oz. herbed goat cheese

Salt and Pepper

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp. cornstarch

Add water, yeast and sugar to a mixing bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes, yeast will bubble. Turn the dough hook on and add in the flours. If the dough is too sticky, add another 1/4 c. all purpose flour. Let it knead for 5 minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let it sit for 1-2 hours.

Slice zucchini, salt and pepper both sides very well. Lay zucchini on grill and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, or until a bit charred. Add onions, be careful with them, they fall apart easily! Add prosciutto to a cooler part of the grill, keep an eye on it! Remove everything from the grill and lay on a sheet pan.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk vinegar and cornstarch until it's thick and hot. Set aside.

Roll out dough, and place on a pizza pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Add toppings and put back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes. Drizzle with balsamic reduction, slice and serve.

Chicken and Rice Tortilla Soup

After the party on Sunday, we had a good amount of leftovers. My favorite way to jazz up leftovers and make something new is to make a big pot of soup/stew/chili. This one was a no-brainer, there! I diced up the chicken and some veggies, added some chicken stock and the rice, and it was delish! JJ and I have both been fighting sinus infections, so the hot and spicy soup was delish!

Southwest Chicken and Rice Tortilla Soup

2 c. diced marinated and grilled chicken breasts

2 c. southwest spiced rice

1 zucchini, cubed

1 green bell pepper, cubed

4 c. chicken stock

1 c. leftover tomato sauce or salsa (I had leftover zesy marinara from friday)

Salt and Pepper

1 tsp. cumin

Garnish:

Guacamole

Sour Cream

Cheddar Cheese

Tortilla Chips, crushed

Place all soup ingredients in a crock pot on low for 8 hours, or high for 3. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with lots of toppers!

My TWD Pick - Black and White Banana Loaf

This week was my week to choose the TWD recipe. I had the hardest time deciding what to choose! I wanted to please the group, as well as my husband, and myself!
I decided to make this cake because we haven’t made a loaf cake yet, and I have never made a marbled cake. When I first saw this cake, it reminded me of the marbled loaf cake at Starbucks, as well as the banana chocolate chip cake, one of my favorites!
I have remade a few of Dorie’s recipes to tweak it a bit, and that’s what I had to do this week! The first time I made it, the batter was too runny and the marbling didn’t stay intact (that’s the photo down below). Since it was my host week, I was determined to get it right, so I tried it again. The second time, I cut the nutmeg back for taste, used only 1 banana, ¼ c. milk, and added ¼ c. flour, used light butter, and omitted the granulated sugar and rum (because I could barely taste it in the first loaf). This time, the cake marbled beautifully and tasted even better!

I hope everyone enjoyed this cake as much as I did, though I wish it came out ‘right’ the first time, it was nice to be challenged a bit to get it right! I ate mine with some chocolate milk (JJ had vanilla) like Dorie recommended and it was a fantastic breakfast.

Black-and-White Banana Loaf

1 1/3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 ½ ripe bananas, peeled
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
Grated zest of ½ lemon
1 tbsp. dark rum
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 stick plus 2 tbsp. room temperature butter
2/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1/3 c. sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
½ c. whole milk

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8 ½ x4 ½ x 2 ½ inch loaf pan on an insulated baking sheet.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
In another small bowl, mash the bananas with lemon juice, zest, then stir in the rum.
Melt the chocolate and 2 tbsp. butter together in a microwave or saucepan over simmering water.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for 2-3 more minutes, until light and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. The batter will look curdled, and it will continue to look curdled as you add ingredients. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add half the flour mixture, mixing only until it is just incorporated. With the mixer running, pour in the milk and when it is blended add the remaining dry ingredients.
Scrape down the bowl and mix in the mashed bananas. The batter will look even lumpier.
Pour a little less than half the batter into the bowl with melted chocolate and stir to blend. Drop alternating spoonfuls of both batters into prepared pan (or follow any of the marbling techniques on page. 229). Then, using a knife, swirl the batters taking care not to overdo it.
Bake for 1 hour and 20 – 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Check after 30 minutes, if the cake browns too much, cover loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it cool for 15 minutes before removing it from the pan. Continue to cool on the rack.

The original loaf, not exactly marbled, and too wet!

Tex-Mex BBQ Party Menu

To welcome the new first year grad students, and welcome back JJ's fellow 2nd year grad students, we threw a party! JJ and I love grilling, and we love tex-mex food, so I created a menu to incorporate our favorites! Almost everything was grilled - even the veggies in each dish!


My mom is a great hostess, and as far back as I can remember, when we had big parties she'd have me wrap up the silverware in the napkins, so it's much easier to carry with your food and drink.


Tex-Mex BBQ Menu:
Tortilla Chips with a dipper Trio (Guacamole, Grilled Pico de Gallo, Mango Tomatillo Salsa)
Chile Rubbed Steak
Mango Spiced Chicken
Southwest Spiced Rice
Grilled Corn Salad
Coconut Cream Pie
Key Lime Pie
Strawberry Kiwi Tart

Grilled Corn Salad

12 ears of corn, grilled
1 red onion, grilled and diced
2 poblanos, grilled and diced
1 jalapeno, grilled and minced
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
1 tsp. honey
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and Pepper


Mix all ingredients, serve at room temperature

Strawberry-Kiwi Creme Tart

To make this tart, I used a basic tart shell with Dorie's Pastry Cream recipe. I filled it with fresh sliced Kiwi and Strawberries. It is beautiful and very tasty!

Strawberry Kiwi Tart

Tart Dough:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 stick of cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 egg yolk
2-3 tbsp. ice water
½ tsp. salt
To make pastry, combine flour, sugar and butter ina food processor. Pulse until it resembles crumbles, add yolk and water, process until a soft dough forms, wrap in a ball in plastic, chill for an hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough and press it into a tart shell. Cover dough with aluminum foil. cover with pie weights and bake for 15 minutes.


Pastry Cream
2 cups whole milk
6 large egg yolks
1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits at room temperature
Bring the milk to a boil in a small saucepan.
Meanwhile, in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk the egg yolks together with the sugar and cornstarch until thick and well blended. Still whisking, drizzle in about 1/4 cup of the hot milk-- this will temper, or warm, the yolks so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the milk. Put the pan over medium heat and, whisking vigorously, constantly and thoroughly (making sure to get the edges of the pot), bring the mixture to a boil. Keep at a boil, still whisking, for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.Whisk in the vanilla extract. Let sit for 5 minutes, then whisk in the bits of butter, stirring until they are full incorporated and the pastry cream is smooth and silky. Scrape the cream into a bowl. You can press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the cream to create an airtight seal and refrigerate the pastry cream until cold or, if you want to cool it quickly--as I always do--put the bowl into a larger bowl filled with ice cubes and cold water, and stir the pastry cream occasionally until it is thoroughly chilled, about 20 minutes.

Key Lime Pie

I found this 5 star key lime pie recipe on food network. It was simple, basic, and fantastic! I used my basic graham cracker crust, again, for this.

Key Lime Pie

Filling:

3 egg yolks

2 limes, zest grated (about 1 1/2 teaspoons)

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup freshly squeezed key lime juice


For the graham cracker crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch pie pan. Break up the graham crackers: place in a food processor and process to crumbs. (If you dont have a food processor, place the crackers in a large plastic bag: seal and then crush the crackers with a rolling pin.) Add the melted butter and sugar and pulse or stir until combined. Press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan, forming a neat border around the edge. Bake the crust until set and golden, 8 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
For the filling:

Meanwhile, in a electric mixer with the wire whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks and lime zest at a high speed until very fluffy, abut 5 minutes. Gradually add the condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixer speed and slowly add the lime juice, mixing just until combined, no longer. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the filling has set. Cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Coconut Creme Pie

For dessert for the party, I decided to go with three fruity, summery desserts. I love coconut, and had some in the pantry, so I decided to try out a coconut cream pie. I went with Emeril's recipe because he's never given me a bad recipe! However, I made a graham cracker crust instead of a regular pie crust. It was delish!

Coconut Cream Pie

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

3 cups milk

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter

Toasted coconut, for garnish, optional

Basic Graham Cracker Crust

In a nonstick 1-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 3/4 cups milk together. Bring the milk to boiling point and scald the milk. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining milk, egg yolks, and cornstarch together. Whisk until smooth. Temper the egg yolk mixture into the scalded milk. Bring the mixture up to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is thick, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the flaked coconut, vanilla and butter.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill the pie completely, about 2 hours.

Crust:

2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 c. sugar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, press into a pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Cool before filling.

Southwest Spiced Steak

I decided to make spicy flank steak and chicken for the party. I used a caribbean marinade for the chicken - store bought - and marinaded it overnight. For the steak, JJ and I came up with a way to add spice to Penzey's mixture that was outstanding!

Southwest Spiced Steak

2 tbsp. Penzeys Chicago Steak Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, smoke, lemon)
1 tsp. chile powder

1 tsp. cumin

2 tbsp. brown sugar

Toss all spices together, rub onto steak and let it sit in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Bring to room temp. before grilling for 7 minutes per side. Let it sit under foil for 10 minutes before slicing.

Southwest Spiced Rice

4 c. quick cooking rice (brown or white)
3 1/2 c. chicken stock
2 poblanos, grilled and diced
1 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 red onion, grilled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
Salt and Pepper


Mix all ingredients in a casserole dish, bake at 300 for 40 minutes.

Dippers Trio

I wanted to have a few dipper options for the party, keeping with the tex-mex bbq theme, so I did Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and Mango Tomatillo Salsa.
I made my standard Guacamole and Mango Salsa, but I switched up the pico a bit by grilled the veggies.

Guacamole

4 haas avocados
2 lime, juiced
2 tsp. salt
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp. ground cumin

Chop the garlic and sprinkle with salt, paste it together. Dice the avocado, add to a bowl, squeeze lime juice over, add garlic paste and cumin, stir and cover with plastic to keep from browning.

Mango Tomatillo Salsa

1 mango, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 tomatillos, husked and chopped, and pureed in a food processor

2 tbsp. minced grilled red onion

1 tbsp. minced grilled jalapeno

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp. honey

Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors develop

Grilled Pico de Gallo

2 cups tomatoes, diced
¼ cup grilled red onion, diced
2 tbsp. cilantro, minced
½ lime, juiced
1 jalapeno, grilled and minced
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Refrigerate to let flavors combine.

Goat Cheese Chicken, Zucchini Patties, and Feta Mint Cous Cous

My mom brought me some random vegetables from home, so I had to think of some ways to use them. Two of the many kinds were green beans and zucchini. I decided to make them somewhat greek flavors. I added a balsamic drizzle on top last minute because I felt like the dish needed something... but that can be omitted.

Goat Cheese Chicken, Zucchini Patties and Feta Mint Cous Cous

Goat Cheese Chicken

1/2 lb. steamed Green Beans, trimmed

Feta Mint Cous Cous:

1 c. whole wheat cous cous

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

drizzle of EVOO

1 c. chicken stock

1 tbsp. minced mint

1/4 c. crumbled fat free feta

Bring chicken stock, salt, pepper and EVOO to a simmer, add cous cous, cover and turn off heat. Let it sit for 8 minutes, then toss in mint and feta and fluff with a fork.

Zucchini Patties:

2 c. grated zucchini

2 egg white

1/2 c. bread crumbs

2 tbsp. flour

1/4 c. crumbled fat free feta

1 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Preheat a nonstick skillet to medium-high. Gently toss all ingredients together in a bowl. Spray pan with nonstick skillet, drop heaping spoonfulls of of mixture into skillet, cook for 7 minutes per side, until browned. Flip and cook the second side for 6-7 minutes. Serve right away or they'll lose their crispness.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs and Spinach and Artichoke Ravioli

In order to thank my Mom for keeping Pumpkin for a week while we were on vacation, then bringing her back to Bloomington, I made her an Italian Feast! Well, not really a feast… but a good dinner with some of her favorites, including fresh pasta! She has never made it, so I told her it was easy and we could do it together no problem.
Now my mom is a bit weird, and doesn’t eat poultry, but eats beef. I bought organic ground beef and made some delicious meatballs in a spicy red wine and fennel seed marinara. My key to maximum moistness is cooking them half way in a hot oven to form the outside shape, then simmering them in the sauce to retain the most moisture (because I use 96/4 fat content). I also stuffed them with a little bit of mozzarella (idea from Rachael Ray) and sun dried tomatoes, for a little extra flavor.
We’re big fans of anything spinach and artichoke, so I thought a spinach pasta ravioli with artichoke filling would be great. Then to get our veggies in, I made grilled eggplant, simply seasoned and grilled until tender. This meal was a bit time consuming, but it was fun to cook with and for my mom!

Sundried Tomato and Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

&

Spinach and Artichoke Ravioli

1 lb. organic lean ground beef

1 egg

¼ c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

¼ yellow onion, grated

1 clove garlic, grated

2 tbsp. grated parmesan

Salt and Pepper

½ tsp. oregano

1 tbsp. tomato paste

12 sun dried tomatoes

8 mini mozzarella balls

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, gently toss together beef, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano, and tomato paste. Divide into quarters. From each quarter, make 3 balls. Roll each mound into a ball, push your thumb in and stick in a piece of cheese and a tomato. Close the hole, form into a ball, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Continue until all balls are made.

Place into the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and gently place each meatball into simmering tomato sauce.

Simmer for 20-30 minutes or longer.

Spinach and Artichoke Ravioli:

Fresh Spinach Pasta:

1 c. all purpose flour

¾ c. whole wheat flour

¼ c. thawed, well drained, and finely minced spinach

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

Filling:

¼ c. chopped artichoke hearts

½ c. part skim ricotta

¼ c. parmesan

½ tsp. dried thyme

Salt and pepper On a non stick silicon mat, form flours into a mound. Make a well in the middle, add spinach, eggs and salt. Gently mix together with a fork, then knead with hands. Make sure spinach is separated throughout the dough evenly. Cover with a damn towel and leave in a mound to rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into fourths. Flatten each fourth and dust with flour. Run through a pasta roller on the largest setting. Fold in half and continue a few times, adjusting the setting to smaller and smaller. Lay long strips of dough out on a floured nonstick mat.

When all 4 pieces are finished, drop tablespoons full of filling every 3” apart. Using a pastry brush, run an egg wash border around filling 1” out. Top with another layer of pasta, press to seal, then use a cookie or ravioli cutter and form into disks or any other shape. Lay on a floured sheet pan and set in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil. Season with salt. Drop ravioli in 8 or so at a time. Boil for 4-5 minutes, drain and serve with marinara.

Zesty Marinara:

1 tbsp. EVOO

½ yellow onion, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

Salt and Pepper

1 tsp. dried oregano

½ tsp. fennel seed

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

½ c. dry red wine

1 15 oz. can organic diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can organic tomato sauce

1 6 oz. can organic tomato paste

10 torn basil leaves

In a saucepot over medium low, add EVOO, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sweat onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Turn heat to high, add red wine, reduce by half, turn to low, add spices and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add torn basil right before serving.