Filed under
,
by
Miranda
on
6:59 AM
This is a delicious pesto recipe sent to me from my friend Larissa. We love it over brown rice penne. This is filling, easy to throw together and beautiful on the table.
¾ pound (about 2-1/2 cups) cherry tomatoes, very ripe and sweet
12 large fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup of whole almonds, lightly toasted
1 plump garlic clove, crushed and peeled
1/4 teaspoon peperoncino or to taste
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste, plus more for the pasta
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound spaghetti (we like wheat or brown rice pasta)
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano
Recommended equipment:
· A blender (my preference) or a food processor
· A pot for cooking the spaghetti
Rinse the cherry tomatoes and pat them dry. Rinse the basil leaves and pat dry.
Drop the tomatoes into the blender jar or food processor bowl followed by the garlic clove, the almonds, basil leaves, peperoncino and ½ tsp salt. Blend for a minute or more to a fine purée; scrape down the bowl and blend again if any large bits or pieces have survived.
With the machine still running, pour in the olive oil in a steady stream, emulsifying the purée into a thick pesto. Taste and adjust seasoning. (If you’re going dress the pasta within a couple of hours, leave the pesto at room temperature. Refrigerate if for longer storage, up to 2 days, but let it return to room temperature before cooking the pasta.
To cook the spaghetti, heat 6 quarts of water, with 1 tablespoon salt, to the boil in the large pot. Scrape all the pesto into a big warm bowl.
Cook the spaghetti al dente, lift it from the cooking pot, drain briefly, and drop onto the pesto. Toss quickly to coat the spaghetti, sprinkle the cheese all over, and toss again. Serve immediately in warm bowls
Filed under
Breakfast
,
by
Miranda
on
6:53 AM
healthy banana-blueberry muffins
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (3/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup fozen blueberries
Preheat oven to 375, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars, add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition; in another bowl mash bananas, stir in milk and vanilla. Combine flour mixture, butter mixture, and banana; stir gently and fold in frozen blueberries. Pour batter into 12 cup muffin pan, bake 18-20 minutes.
I found this recipe from a family's blog that lives in Spain. The Basque area of Spain has really rich culture and unique food/cooking. We love this dish. It has an interesting blend of flavors and if you haven't tried chorizo - you must! When we have this, we love to talk about the area and how amazing different people and foods from those people are.
Spanish Paella:
in a paella pan (or a large shallow saucepan that can go stove-top as well as oven) fry the following in a bit of olive oil:
three boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thirds, salted and peppered and browned just slightly. (take out of pan and set aside)
one diced red pepper - - sauteed until just soft (take out of pan and set aside)
1/2 link of Spanish chorizo (I buy the kind that can be found in any grocery store but the more authentic the better), cut into rounds and just barely browned (take out of pan and set aside)
in the same pan, add:
1/4 c. olive oil
one can of diced tomatoes
2c. fresh or frozen green beans (preferably flat) cut into 2 inch strips (I always used frozen cut up green beans)
a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary
a few cloves of garlic, diced
a teaspoon or so of salt
cook this up for about five minutes and add:
1.5 c. short grain rice (again, sushi rice is short grain if you can find that kind instead of just "short grain")
the set aside peppers
the set aside chorizo
with a wooden spoon, smooth the top of the rice mixture and press the chicken pieces into it. pour 3 c. boiling chicken broth over the top. do not stir. cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, and then place into a preheated 350 degree oven for another 15 minutes. cover with a clean dishtowel and let sit for 10 minutes. serve it up with lemon wedges, a crusty baguette, and a nice Spanish salad (it's easy - - lettuce, tomato wedges, sweet onion wedges and green olives - - dressed with extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, and salt.)
Filed under
,
by
Miranda
on
5:33 AM
3/4 c. dry lentils
3/4 c. brown rice
4 c. water
4 beef bouillon cubes (Okay, I did not do this--I did 4 c. of homemade chicken stock, actually 8 c. because I doubled the recipe)
2 t. chili powder
1/2 t. cumin
1 t. onion powder
1.4 t. garlic powder
1 can diced tomatoes
*You can't really substitute white rice for brown because of the difference in cooking time between brown and white, UNLESS you cook the lentils for about 25 minutes, then add the rice.
Bring water to a boil and then add all. Bring back to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer with lid on for 45-50 minutes. Fill tortillas with lentil rice mixture and top with sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, etc.
This recipe came about from one of my recipe swapping sessions with a close friend, Larissa. I've slightly changed a few things. She's a great cook and always has good ideas for me. I love knowing she's making things like this to love and serve her sweet family.
Chicken Oriental
4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 tbsp asian chile oil (or more if needed)
3 cloves garlic chopped or 3 tsp already chopped garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1/2-1 c. chicken broth
Put the chile oil in the bottom of a slow cooker until the bottom is covered, but not too much. Add the chicken, still frozen, sprinkle the garlic, onion and brown sugar on top and add the soy sauce next. If I have time I have cubed up the chicken before throwing it in the crockpot as well. Add chicken broth over everything, this will make a little more sauce from the dish to go over rice. Cook on high, about 2-3 hours and removed chicken and chop into chunks or cubes then add back to the crockpot and cook another 30 minutes to an hour. Serve with yummy brown rice and stir fried broccoli.
Yummy Brown Rice
Make your brown rice like you would from the package but add a few Tb of butter and use chicken broth instead of water. I often add salt and pepper to the broth while it's getting to a boil. This makes great brown rice with lots of flavor. Soaking brown rice the morning before you eat it that evening helps your body break down the nutrients better, it cooks faster too.
Easy Stir Fried Broccoli
Cut up broccoli into florets or small pieces. Throw it in a wok or saute pan with a few Tb of water or chicken broth over it and let that evaporate as your stir. Add chopped garlic, a little sugar and soy sauce to taste and saute until soft and done.
Filed under
Breakfast
,
fall
,
by
Miranda
on
4:47 AM
I got this recipe off of a friend's blog. It's a fallish (don't think that's a word...) recipe I tried around Thanksgiving and think I will start a tradition of it. But personally, I would eat it anytime of year. Our family really loves pumpkin.
Pumpkin Bread Pudding
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 c. milk
3 beaten eggs
1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz.)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
5 c. bread cubes (whole wheat is fine)
1/2 c. broken pecans (opt.)*
Stir together the first 7 ingredients. Add pecans and bread and let soak. Pour into buttered baking dish
(9 x 13); cover and refrigerate overnight. Take out about 45 minutes before baking, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until firm but not dry. Spoon into bowls and serve with whipped cream and pecans.
Filed under
crockpot
,
fall
,
soup
,
by
Miranda
on
8:25 AM
This recipe is from one of my best friends, Alyson. She's a hearty cook who has some signature dishes that are so good. Maybe one day she'll try one of my crazy ethnic recipes :) This girl is an amazing friend and I'm forever grateful we crossed paths - we've truly done life together.... without further ado here's her easy and yummy potato soup recipe:
3 cups of chicken broth
2lb bag of hash browns *I just use real potatoes chunked up instead because I prefer not to use premade stuff*
4 oz. of cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp of salt
3/4 tsp of pepper
Put all these ingredients in the crockpot on high for 4 hours. After the 4 hours, mash up some of the potatoes in the crockpot and keep some whole.
Add the following to the crockpot , stir up and leave on high for about another hour.
3 cups of milk
3 cups of cheese
5 strips of bacon - cooked and cut into tiny pieces. *rarely use this and it's still great*
Filed under
Breakfast
,
by
Miranda
on
8:08 AM
This recipe comes from my sweet sis. These are truly amazing though totally full of sugar :) They will always remind me of my sissy's yummy cookin' ...
- 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
-
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
-
- 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
- After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
- Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
Filed under
Meat Main Dish
,
by
Miranda
on
1:18 PM
1 lb. of chicken breast or pork tenderloin, cut into strips
1 T. Lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. cumin
1/2 t. coriander
1/2 t. salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
flour tortialls
topppings
Toss meat with the first 7 ingredients and marinate 15 minutes or longer. Heat 1 T. oil in a skillet and cook until meat is done. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil and cook onion and green pepper until crisp-tender. Spoon mixture into tortialls and serve with desired toppings.
Can go great with the homemade tortilla recipe complete with pics found HERE.
Filed under
Side Dish
,
by
Miranda
on
10:21 AM
These things are amazing. I make them for holidays and special occasions. Every time I make them they get rave reviews. I got this recipe from a friend at our old church.
5 or 6 cans whole green beans (my option: lots of fresh green beans steamed to tender)
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. garlic powder
4 tsp. soy sauce
2 dashes of pepper
1 package of bacon (cut strips in half)
Drain the beans. Wrap handfuls in bacon. Place in baking dish (9 by 13 is good). Combine the rest of ingredients in a saucepan on med-low heat. Do not let it get too hot or the sugar and butter will caramelize. Pour mixture over green beans. Bake uncovered 50 minutes-1 hour.
