You say Cottage Pie, I say Shepherd's Pie

So, during the day today, while I was thinking about making tonight's dinner, I kept referring to the dish I was going to make as Cottage Pie. I can't even remember at this point where I first learned that Shepherd's Pie made with ground beef instead of ground lamb should be referred to as Cottage Pie. And since I've never made either before, I really had no reason to worry about the specifics. Turns out, here in the good old US of A, we refer to it as Shepherd's Pie whether it's made with lamb or beef. From what I read on Wikipedia, in England they make the distinction, based on what type of meat is used. But the article I read said that in Ireland, they will refer to it as Shepherd's Pie whether beef or lamb is used. Why might this be so important, you might ask?? Well, because today is St. Patrick's Day and, being the good Irish girl that I am, I decided to make something traditionally Irish for dinner tonight. I've made Irish Soda Bread in past years, and had totally planned on making some today. But my laziness got the best of me and my family is lucky I bothered to cook anything at all :) So anyway, for my purposes, this dish will be known as Shepherd's Pie, being that I'm both American and Irish :)

This is a tradition Irish dish that is made, usually, to use up leftovers. So I'm pretty sure you could use any vegetable you have in the house. I considered adding green beans, but I thought my husband might boycott, since there are already peas in it and he doesn't much like either peas or greens beans. So I left the green beans out. But, like I said, I'm sure most any vegetable would go well here.


I saw this recipe on this morning's CBS Early Show and decided it would be perfect for dinner tonight because I had everything I needed and because I had been trying to think of something Irish to make. I was happy that this recipe turned out to be kosher-friendly. I found that a lot of the Irish recipes I was finding weren't. I mean, I know I can always omit the bacon or ham or whatever. But still, I needed something that was already easily made kosher without having to make a whole lot of substitutions due to my lack of motivation :) The only thing I had to do was scale the recipe down a bit. I only had a pound of beef to work with and the original recipe calls for 2 pounds of lamb. Also, I chose to omit the celery since I pretty much despise the stuff, so I just added an extra carrot. I used an 8x8 baking dish to bake mine and the "gravy" started bubbling over the sides. Probably because I forgot to scale down the amount of broth I used. But it turned out OK. I just put a baking sheet underneath of the baking dish while it was baking to avoid any drippings ending up on my stove. And I like lots of gravy anyway, so it all worked out. The only other changes I made were to use beef broth instead of chicken broth and I did not brush my potato topping with heavy cream and I used dried basil instead of thyme.

Shepherd's Pie ( source: CBS Early Show)
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 pounds ground lamb
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large carrots, diced
1 large celery rib, diced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup frozen peas
Simple Mashed Potatoes (recipe below)
2 tablespoons heavy cream

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the lamb and use a wooden spoon to break up the meat as it browns, season with salt and pepper. Transfer browned lamb to a paper towel lined dish to drain. Wipe skillet clean.

Heat remaining oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and thyme. Cook until the onions are translucent and vegetables are tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. Return the lamb to the skillet and stir in the tomato paste. Add flour. Cook about 2 minutes. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in the corn and peas.

Transfer to a casserole dish and spread mashed potatoes on top. Use a fork to create swirls on top. Brush with heavy cream. Bake 20 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Simple Mashed Potatoes

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
Kosher salt
1/2 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

METHOD:
Place potatoes in a medium pot. Cover with cold water and add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

In the meantime, heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted and milk is very hot but not simmering.

Return the potatoes to the pot and add the hot milk mixture and 2 teaspoons salt. Using a handheld electric mixer, whip the potatoes until smooth and creamy with no lumps. Adjust seasoning to taste.

I did not use Katie Lee's mashed potato recipe since it would have made this dish not kosher. I just boiled my potatoes in salted water until they were fork tender, drained them, and mixed them with some chicken broth and parve margarine. They were pretty tasty, but if you're not worrying about keeping it kosher, I'd go with the butter and cream version :) Mostly because I think butter and cream makes everything better. But honestly, I didn't miss it in this recipe. It was super flavorful and my whole family loved it.

Beef Stew

So, incase you hadn't heard, the Mid Atlantic was hit by a HUGE snowstorm on Saturday. Here in Columbia, MD, we got 30+ inches of snow, and we're expecting another 12-20 inches tomorrow night. Needless to say, we've been pretty much stuck in the house, no school (I happen to be on vacation this week) and lots of free time that is getting harder to fill. I'm trying not to bake too much, because I know we'll just sit around and eat it all out of boredom. I have some chili leftover from last weekend, but since Rob and Maura don't like chili, I knew I needed to make something warm and comforting for them.

I have made beef stew once before, in my Crock Pot, and it was ok, but nothing I was head over heels for. My mom makes a wonderful beef stew, but I wanted to try something a little different. When I saw that this recipe called for red wine, I knew this would be the one I'd try because I'm always looking for a reason to cook with wine, and because I had half a bottle sitting around that needed using up. Also, I found this recipe on my good friend Chelle's website, and I know that any recipe that she has endorsed is going to be a good one. This will, from now on, be my go to Beef Stew recipe.

I plan on playing around with a little to make it more broth-y. The potatoes and beef soaked up most of the liquid, and the stew was amazingly flavorful, but I would have preferred more broth. I am amazed by how few ingredients this stew called for, yet how much flavor it has. I was floored and I can't wait to eat the leftovers. It was so simple and so comforting, and I am quite sure I will always have beef stew meat waiting in my freezer to make this dish.

I will link to the recipe on Chelle's site, but I will also post my slightly adapted version below. Chelle originally found this recipe on Good Things Catered, but I believe it was originally an America's Test Kitchen recipe.

Hearty Beef Stew

2 lbs. beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 in. cubes
Salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium onions, chopped
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-in. cubes
4 large carrots (about 1 lb.), peeled and sliced 1/4 in. thick

Dry beef throughly and season generously with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add half the meat so that pieces are not touching and cook not moving until brown (about 2-3 min). Use tongs and rotate pieces until all sides are browned (about 5 additional min.). Transfer beef to medium bowl and add another 1 tablespoon oil to pan, repeating previous steps with other half of beef (I wasn't able to do this process in just 2 batches. I had to do it in thirds.)

Reduce heat to medium and add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now empty pan and swirl to coat bottom. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, scraping bottom of pan for brown bits until softened (about 5 mins). Add garlic and continue to cook for 30 sec. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly colored (1-2 min.). Add wine, scraping the bottom and stiring until thick and flour is dissolved.

Gradually add the beef broth, stirring constantly, scraping up the remaining browned bits on bottom of pan. Add bay leaves and thyme and return to simmer. Add beef, return to simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.

Add potatoes and carrots, leave uncovered, increase heat to medium and cook for about 45 minutes.

Discard bay leaves and serve immediately.

This is the wine I used. It is one of the best Kosher wines I've found, so far, and I know that this wine is a huge reason why my stew turned out so flavorful. I plan to use this wine next time I need to cook with red wine.

Herbalicious

So, I don't like turkey. On Thanksgiving, I pile my plate with side dishes and save room for dessert. Call me crazy, but I have just never liked the stuff very much. But when I saw Turkey breasts at Trader Joe's I decided I wanted to try to roast one. Because I love the idea of roasted turkey this time of year. Also, my daughter loves turkey so I knew that even if I didn't like it too much, I could slice it up and make turkey sandwiches for her lunches.

I had the day off today (thanks Veterans!) so I decided that since it was rainy and gross outside, and I had a few extra hours to spare, I'd give the turkey breast a shot. I knew that it couldn't be that complicated. I've roasted meats before and it's one of my favorite ways to prepare proteins because it's so simple and produces such great flavors. All I really needed was a guide to oven temperature and what temperature the turkey needed to come to before we could dig in. So off I went to allrecipes.com. Surprisingly enough, when I typed "turkey breast" into the search field, I came up with a big fat nothing. I was dumbfounded. It's November people! Sites such as this one should be bursting with turkey recipes. Then I remembered seeing a delicious looking roasted turkey recipe on Annie's blog and traveled on over to see what I could see.

Annie's recipe was everything I was looking for. Not only did it sound like an amazingly simple but delicious recipe, Annie told me everything I needed to know about oven temperatures and internal temps for the meat. I knew Annie wouldn't let me down :) The woman is a cooking and baking powerhouse and never ceases to amaze me with her awesome skills in the kitchen. But I digress. Back to the turkey.

I can now honestly say that I love turkey. Prepared just like this. It was amazing. Tender, juicy, flavorful, just the right amount of herbs. The vegetables were out of this world and made me want to jump up and down. I didn't have any white wine in the house, so I used chicken broth instead, and I think I will do this every time I make this recipe. It made for an amazing pan gravy, which we enjoyed pouring over our meat and veggies. We all enjoyed this meal immensely (my husband looked at the pictures as I uploaded them to my computer and said "I miss that meal" heehee) So thanks Annie, for providing me with just the right recipe for an amazing meal for my family :) I strayed from the recipe only slightly, so I'll type it just as a made it, but I"ll link to the recipe on Annie's blog here.

Herb Roasted Turkey Breast with Vegetables

3 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 lb. turkey breast
4-6 carrots, chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 onion, cut into small pieces
6 red potatoes, quartered
3/4 cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Combine the garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Spray a 13x9 inch roasting pan with cooking spray and arrange the vegetables in the pan in a single layer. PLace turkey breast on top of veggies. POur olive oil and herbs over turkey and vegetables, making sure to cover the turkey with the mixture liberally. Rub the oil and herbs into the turkey. If your turkey breast still has the skin on, rub some of the herb mixture underneath the skin as well. Pour the broth over the vegetables, as well as a few splashes over the turkey breast itself.

Bake uncovered for approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours (mine only took about 1 1/2 hours, until the internal temperature of the turkey breast reaches 170-175° F. Transfer the turkey breast to a serving platter and surround with the roasted vegetables. Let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Apple-Oat Cookies

Another winner from the Betty Crocker Fall Baking cookbook! I knew this cookbook would serve me well. These cookies are very yummy, and I am excited to take them to my coworkers tomorrow. The only issue I had is that the drizzle was not thick enough and basically soaked right into the cookies. So, aesthetically, they may not be too pleasing, but they sure are yummy.

Apple-Oat Cookies (source: Betty Crocker Fall Baking cookbook)

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon abking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups old fashioned or quick cooking oats
1 medium apple, peeled and shredded (about 1 cup shredded)
1 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons apple juice or milk (I used milk because we never have apple juice in the house)

Heat oven to 375. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla, scraping sides occasionally, until blended.

In medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually beat flour mixture into sugar mixture. Stir in oats and apple. Onto cookie sheets, drop by rounded tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart.

Bake about 10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.

In medium bowl, beat powdered sugar and apple juice (or milk) until smooth, using wire whisk or fork. Drizzle over cooled cooking on cooling rack. Let stand about 1 hour or until glaze is set.

Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies.

Chicken Soup with Rice

So the pictures of this soup pretty much speak for themselves. There's not much more that I can say, except that this was one of the most comforting, delicious soups I have ever made. This was my first time making chicken soup with rice instead of noodles, and I definitely prefer the rice. Of course, Maura and Rob both said they prefer noodles, so there ya go. Anyway, I loved this soup and plan on making it this way from now on. So there! I decided to go ahead and cook the rice separately. I figured that way the rice would not soak up all the yummy broth.

I normally use boneless skinless chicken breasts in my soup, but I opted for chicken legs and thighs this time. My reason for this was that I was making my own stock, and I used chicken leg quarters to make it. So I just used the meat from making my stock in my soup. I definitely prefer the flavor of the dark meat over the white, and it is so much more affordable. I doubt that I'll ever use white meat in my soups again. It just dries out too quickly.

Chicken Soup with Rice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into coins
2 celery stalks, sliced
4 cups chicken stock (I used homemade. You could definitely use store bought)
3 chicken thighs and 3 chicken legs, cooked and de-boned (You could definitely use pre-roasted chicken here. Or you could use boneless skinless breasts. I just find that the dark meat is juicier and more flavorful)
Thyme, basil, oregano, salt and pepper (I did not measure these at all. Sorry!)

1 cup long grain rice
2 cups water

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and cook until softened. Add carrots and celery and cook over medium heat for approximately 3-5 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Add stock, chicken, and herbs and spices. Cook over medium-low heat, testing the seasoning as it cooks, for approximately 45 minutes.

In a separate pot, add rice and water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until all of the water is absorbed into the rice and the rice is light and fluffy. Fluff rice with fork and spoon into soup bowls. Ladle soup over rice and enjoy!

Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting

So, apparently, the big pumpkin scare is over. I was worried there for a while that I wouldn't be able to find any canned pumpkin this season, and I have to admit that I was getting kind of anxious about it. I did end up finding a bunch of sugar pumpkins to roast, which kept my anxiety at bay. But now the shelves in the stores seem to have an ample supply of the canned stuff so everyone can stop panicking :-) I grabbed a few small cans at Target last week, and my Mom grabbed me 4 of the big guys. So now I should be set until next year :) I'd also like to thank my good friend Meredith for picking me up a can of pumpkin when she found some at the grocery store. Sorry I had to turn it away Mere, but I just don't know what I'd do with one more can! Thanks for thinking of me anyway!

Now, on to these cookies. I believe I started hearing about these last fall on a cooking message board I used to frequent a lot more often than I do these days. I'm pretty sure I recall these babies being pretty popular and I'm not sure why I never tried them. I guess I just had so many other things to try, they never made it close enough to the top of the list. Well, I am really glad that I decided to give these a whirl because they are really yummy! A note of caution though, the frosting is very rich. I mean, 3 cups of confectioner's sugar will hurt your teeth, and your tummy. The recipe says to frost the cookies generously, but I think just a thin spread would be sufficient. I went ahead and generously frosted mine, and they are very yummy, but maybe a bit too much frosting for me. I think spreading too much frosting on hides the real flavor of the cookies. And these cookies deserve to shine. They are light and cakey with a hint of spice from the cinnamon. I'd even venture to say you could go without the frosting, if you're the kind of person who prefers their cookies frosting-free. Either way, these are a winner, and I'm excited for Maura to test them out when she gets home from school today.


Pumpkin Cookies with Browned Butter Frosting (source: Betty Crocker by way of Carrie's Sweet Life)

2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin ( not pie mix)
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Browned Butter Frosting

3 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3-4 tablespoons milk
1/3 cup butter (do not use margarine or spread; it will burn)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, beat granulated sugar, brown sugar, 3/4 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until well blended. Beat in pumpkin and eggs until well mixed. On low speed, beat in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. (I always mix my dry ingredients together with a whisk before adding them to my wet mixture. This way, I'm sure that everything is as evenly incorporated as possible.)

On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

In medium bowl, place confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 3 tablespoons milk. In 1 quart saucepan (I used my 9 inch nonstick skillet and it worked just fine) heat 1/3 cup butter over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until light brown,

Pour browned butter over powdered sugar mixture. Beat on low speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Gradually add just enough of the remaining tablespoon of milk to make frosting creamy and spreadable. Generously frost cookies. (I did not need to add any additional milk. Three tablespoons was perfect.)

I wanted to add that I think this frosting would pair well with other types of desserts. I'm thinking some kind of spice cake or apple spice cake. Maybe I'll experiment with it a bit...

Dutch Apple-Pumpkin Crisp and the (possible) return of my blog

Fall is officially here. Which means I'm probably going to be doing more baking, much to the chagrin of my bathroom scale. I had to cut back on my baking because we were all eating way too many sweets and no one could fit into their pants. So, now that I have lots of coworkers who are willing to eat all my yummy goodies so I don't have to, I figure I'll bake more and see how it goes. My problem is that when I take the goodies into work, I still have to face them and the temptation that comes along with them. So we'll see.

The other main reason for my complete abandonment of my blog is that I just don't make anything new and exciting. Pretty much the same stuff every week. All stuff that has already been posted here. So obviously, I had no reason to blog.

Well, while shopping over the weekend, my mom and I found one of those wonderful little Betty Crocker "cookbooks" in the checkout aisle at Target. It was full of a ton of really yummy Fall Baking recipes, so we both grabbed one and pored over it when we got back to her house. It was so hard to decide what to make first. A few things stood out to me, but I just couldn't pick something. So with the help of the lovely ladies on The Nest's What's Cooking message board, I decided to go ahead and try the Dutch Apple-Pumpkin Crisp.

I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical about this one. For some reason, the idea of pumpkin and apple together just sounded a little off to me. I don't know that I've ever had them together before now. Well, Betty Crocker sure does know her stuff. Cause this is a seriously delicious dessert. And incredibly easy as well. Chopping the apples is the most complicated part of the whole process. I highly recommend looking for Betty Crocker's Fall Baking mini cookbook in the checkout aisle of your local Target/grocery store. There are some really great looking recipes that I'm sure you'll see featured here in the near future.

Dutch Apple-Pumpkin Crisp (source: Betty Crocker's Fall Baking cookbook)

1 1/2 cups chopped peeled apples (2 small) - I used 2 small apples and didn't measure. But I don't feel like that was quite enough. I"ll probably do 3 small or 2 medium apples next time
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup of milk- I used half and half because all I had was skim milk and I really wanted this to be rich and creamy
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 egg
whipped cream, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread apples over bottom of 9-inch glass pie plate. Microwave uncovered on high about 4-6 minutes or until apples are crisp-tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss 3/4 cup flour, the brown sugar, butter and 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice until crumbly. Set aside.
3. In medium bowl, beat remaining ingredients except whipped cream with wire whisk until smooth. Pour over apples. Sprinkle with flour mixture.
4. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool 20 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Hummus

I got the inspiration for this hummus from Katie over at Good Things Catered. I will link her recipe here, but type my slightly different version below. I have been wanting to try my hand at some homemade hummus for a long time, and since I finally own a food processor, I decided that would be a great way to use it for the first time. I used 2 cloves of garlic, which worked out fine for me since I love the stuff. But if you're not a fan of lots of garlic, I'd cut it back to maybe just 1 clove. This is such an easy recipe, even for a first timer and I can't wait to dive into it with some pita chips!

Hummus

1 15 oz can of chick peas, drained (reserve the liquid)
1-2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp+ extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp+ tahini
1/4 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon (I didn't happen to have any lemons today, so I left this out. Don't know how big of a deal it is. It tastes fine to me without it!)

In a blender or food processor, combine chick peas, garlic, olive oil, 1 tsp tahini, salt and half the lemon juice. Process for about 1-2 minutes and check the flavor and consistency. Add more tahini, lemon juice and reserved liquid from the chick peas as needed. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

I found that I ended up needing more olive oil than just 2 tbsp. But that could be because I didn't use the lemon juice? I'm not really sure. I will definitely be playing with this recipe a little and maybe trying some adaptations like adding roasted red peppers or roasted garlic in place of the raw garlic I used today.

First Time's a Charm

So, until today, I had never tried to make chili. As a matter of fact, for a large part of my life I didn't even like chili. I had a huge aversion to beans growing up and avoided eating anything that contained them. Well, as with pretty much everything else I thought I didn't like (don't worry, there wasn't much. I've never been super picky) I've learned after trying them again, that I do, in fact, like beans. My biggest problem with chili is that I love to put cheese and sour cream on mine, but since we keep kosher at home I wouldn't be able to have ground beef in my chili if I wanted to add sour cream and cheese. And I worried that I'd miss the beef. I considered adding fake beef, like the Morningstar Farms crumbles I've used before. But I've never really been a huge fan. They're alright, but I didn't want them in my chili.

I decided that I'd go ahead and look for a vegetarian chili recipe and atleast give it a shot. I don't have a whole lot of patience for searching through recipes and recipe reviews looking for the perfect recipe. Actually, it probably has less to do with patience and more to do with the fact that my 9 year old can be a bit demanding. So I don't always have a ton of time to sit at the computer searching through websites. Anyway, it all worked out perfectly because within about 2 minutes I found what looked to me like the perfect recipe on allrecipes.com. I really wanted a chili recipe that didn't include any seasoning packets and that also looked like it would be easy to adapt to my own liking. The recipe I found turned out to be perfect and I honestly don't think I would change a single thing from the way I made it. The recipe on allrecipes called for tofu, but i decided not to add it. Instead, I added just a little more beans and some frozen corn. It turned out amazing and colorful and I absolutley loved it. I am so happy that I have found my go-to chili recipe on the first try.

I think the one thing that really made me choose this recipe in the first place was the picture on the website. It looked exactly like what I wanted my chili to look like. And although mine came out looking a bit different, it ended up tasting exactly like I wanted my chili to taste. Which is what's really important, right? But it just proves the statement that we eat with our eyes :-) I'll link here to the original recipe here, but will type my adapted version below.



Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

~1/4 cup olive oil
~2 onions, chopped
~1 green pepper and one red pepper, chopped (I happened to have a bag of frozen red, green and yellow pepper slices in my freezer so i chopped those up and used them instead)
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~8 oz frozen corn
~1 29 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (I also added a little bit more from some I had leftover from another black bean dish i made last week. not sure how much more I added though)
~1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (I didn't actually add the whole can because I was afraid if I added too much it would water down the chili. It would probably be ok to use the whole can though)
~1 tsp salt
~1/4 tsp black pepper
~1 tsp ground cumin
~2 tbsp chili powder (the original recipe called for 6 tbsp, but I did half the recipe and decided not to add 3 tbsp of chili powder. I don't like my chili super spicy)
~1 tbsp oregano
~1 tbsp cider vinegar

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft. Add peppers, garlic and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.

Pour beans, crushed tomatoes and seasonings into pot, lower heat to low and simmer on stove top approximately 4 hours. Makes about 6 servings (This is a total guess. The original recipe says it makes 8 servings, but even just making half the recipe made a ton of chili).

Oh, and before I forget, I had an awesome helper in the kitchen today. Maura helped with everything from stirring the chili to baking the cookies. Thanks Maura!

Apple Spice Cookie Bars

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love when the temperature drops and I can start wearing my sweatshirts and jackets again. There is something about the air that I just love this time of year. But another reason I love this season so much is because of all the fall baking I get to do. Luckily, I have lots of friends and family and coworkers to share my goodies with so I don't have to worry about eating them all :-)

We started a new tradition last year of going to the apple orchard and picking apples. We went to a different orchard this year. It was much bigger and they had things besides apples for us to pick. We got a bunch of heads of broccoli and some bunches of fresh spinach. So exciting! I definitely see a quiche in my future...

But we came home with about 15 pounds of apples, and aside from having plenty of apples to snack on, I knew I'd want to bake something new and yummy. So I went blog surfing last night and came up with these tasty looking treats on Katie's blog. They looked amazing so I decided they would be the first thing I made with my apples.

I am so glad that I stumbled across this recipe. It is relatively simple and the taste screams fall. If you're like me and love fall baking, you must try these!

Katie's Apple Spice Cookie Bars (source: Good Things Catered)

2 c. plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
small pinch ground cloves
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
2 apples, peeled and diced
cinnamon sugar for sprinkling


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 9x13 pan with foil and baking spray. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Whisk to combine well and set aside.

In bowl of stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well to combine. Add vanilla extract and beat to combine. Turn mixer on slow and fold in flour mixture a little at a time until just combined. Fold in apples. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan and sprinkle top generously with cinnamon sugar.

Place in oven and bake until cooked through, when top slightly bounces back to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before removing from pan, cutting and serving.

World Day of Bread - Cornbread

I'm back in business! After months of not posting in my beloved blog, I'm back in the blogging world. I have to give some of the credit for getting me back into it to my good friend Chelle. If she hadn't told me about the World Day of Bread, I would have probably gone weeks or months without posting anything. So thanks for being the extra little motivation I needed Chelle! I am so excited to be participating in World Day of Bread. I love the smell of fresh bread baking in my home. And I have, sadly, not had a whole lot of time to do much bread baking lately. So I am going to use this event to help motivate me to make more time for trying different bread recipes in the near future.

My one and only issue was that I was afraid I wouldn't have time to make something and blog it before the deadline. I knew I definitely wouldn't have time to do a yeast bread. And I couldn't come up with any quick breads that I either hadn't tried yet or was interested in making. So I consulted my other good friend, Martha Stewart. Now I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook is a must have if you're as in love with baking as I am. Some of the recipes seem a little intimidating or daunting, but there's really something for everyone in here. And there are pictures for every recipe, which I love. But my favorite thing about this book is the detail. Martha has taken so much time to explain how things work and what tools you'll really need to do what. There is so much attention to detail in this book, that even a novice baker, like myself, would feel comfortable tackling even the most intimidating recipe.

So I went to my Martha Stewart Baking Handbook in search of a relatively simple, no yeast, bread recipe. There were so many options, but I decided on the cornbread. Cornbread is something that I have not mastered yet, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to try another recipe. The flavor of this cornbread is amazing. The only thing I may do next time is not use skim milk. I think a little milk fat would add some flavor and moisture. Outside of that, this cornbread recipe is very yummy and I will definitely be making it again.

Cornbread (source: Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook pg 51-52)

1/3 cup vegetable shortening, plus more for pan
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat an 8-inch square baking pan with vegetable shortening; set aside. Melt butter in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat; add corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until corn has softened and some of the kernels have begun to turn light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the cornmeal. Using a pastry blender, cut shortening into mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, egg and reserved corn; stir to combine. Do not overmix.

Transfer batter to the prepared pan and bake until the top begins to turn golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Martha's Notes: Sauteed corn moistens this cornbread, but you can moit it if you are using the bread in a traditional stuffing. For a spicy variation, add two medium jlapenos, seeded and finely chopped, to the corn before sauteeing. Cornbread is best served the day it is bakes, but it can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic, for up to 1 day.

I've been a bad blogger...

I can't believe how long it has been since I've blogged.  I have about 3 posts that i've been meaning to get up.  But I just haven't been able to find enough time to devote to them.  I have pictures and stories of my trip to Japan, some cookies, and some other dishes I've made.  The pictures are sitting in my memory card in my camera waiting to be uploaded.  I am going to try to make some time to just sit down and do it.  Hopefully soon!  I miss my blog and I wish I had more time for it.  Hopefully now that Fall is just around the corner I'll have lots of inspiration to get back into blogging.

Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce

I have been making this dish for a while now. I invented it on a whim about 5 or 6 months ago, but was never able to get a decent picture. And it seemed so simple that I never considered it blogworthy. Well, I made it again tonight after not having it for a while, and I decided that it's totally blogworthy. Mostly because of it's simplicity. But also because it tastes wonderful.

This is the kind of meal that can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes, is cost effective and sure to be something everyone will like. Any short pasta will work fine with this recipe, but I find that Rotini/Fusili works best. They just tend to hold the sauce better. I haven't tried it with spaghetti or linguini or any other long pasta noodles, so if anyone decides to give that a shot, I'd love to hear how it turned out.

I'd also like to say that I've made this sauce without the cream/half and half and cheese and it's really good that way too. So if you're looking to cut back on fat and calories, just leave out the cream/half and half and cheese. It will still be very yummy! I also like to mix it up with the herbs I use. Tonight I used dried oregano and fresh sage. I loved the sage in it and I think next time I'll just use sage.

And Mom, if you're reading this, you HAVE to try it. I think of you every time I make it because I know how much you'd love it.

Pasta in a Tomato Cream Sauce (source: my brain)

olive oil
1 (14.5 ounce) can Diced tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tso dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
about 6-8 ounces pasta (like I said, I prefer Rotini)

Heat medium skillet over medium high heat and drizzle about a tsp or 2 of olive oil into the skillet. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Meanwhile, start cooking the pasta in boiling, salted water. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the tomato chunks start to soften. With a spatula, lightly mash the tomato chunks to release the juices and soften the chunks. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, approximately 5 more minutes. Add the cream and cheese and cook 1 more minute, or until cheese has melted. After the sauce has thickened to your liking, add the pasta to the skillet and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Serves 2-3

Chocolate Ice Cream

Although the Vanilla Ice Cream recipe I posted below is easy and yummy, I have to admit that I am really not a huge fan of vanilla ice cream. I can usually only eat it with pie or brownies or some other kind of dessert. Or if it is drowned in caramel or fudge sauce. Chocolate Ice Cream, on the other hand, I could eat just the way it is every day of my life and never get tired of it.

This particular Chocolate Ice Cream recipe is not hard to throw together at all and results in a rich and creamy ice cream. It is perfect and I can't wait to make it again. Once again, this recipe comes from the user's manual of my ice cream maker :-)

Basic Chocolate Ice Cream (source: Cuisinart ICE 20 User's Manual)

1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar
8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2 inch pieces (I used semisweet)
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the whole milk until it is just bubbling around the edges (this may
be done on the stovetop or in a microwave). In a blender or food processor
fitted with the metal blade, pulse to process the sugar with the
chocolate until the chocolate is very finely chopped. Add the hot milk,
process until well blended and smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and
let the chocolate mixture cool completely. Stir in the heavy cream and
vanilla to taste. Chill for 30 minutes or longer.
Turn the machine ON, pour chilled mixture into freezer bowl through
ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes.

I missed my blogiversary!

Yep, July 14, 2007 was the date of my first blog entry. And I missed my blog's birthday :-( I can't say I'm surprised though. I've had a couple of recipes that I've wanted to blog about this month, but I just haven't had the time. And I apologize for neglecting my blog so much. I feel lucky some days to have time to breathe. But I have a few minutes today and so I figured why not finally add those ice cream recipes that have been waiting to be put in my blog.

I bought myself a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker a while back and only really used it once. So when summer rolled around and it started getting really hot, I decided to break it out and get some good use out of it. I started with the Basic Vanilla recipe I had used before (it's the one in the user's manual from my ice cream maker ;-)), but decided to add chocolate chips to it, since my husband loves Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. I used mini chocolate chips which turned out to be perfect. This ice cream recipe is so simple and yummy that we have made it at least 3 times this season already.

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream (source Cuisinart ICE 20 User Manual)

1 cup whole milk, well chilled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream, well chilled
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste (I always use 1 teaspoon. I find anything more than that is overpowering)

In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to combine the milk and
granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 – 2 minutes on low
speed. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla to taste. Turn machine on,
pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until
thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes.

To make chocolate chip ice cream, simply add about 1 cup of chocolate chips in the last 5 minutes of mixing.

Serve with a fresh, warm brownie :-)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I love pot lucks at work. It gives me a chance to bake something new and have people to share it with so I don't eat it all by myself. Everyone at work said they wanted cookies. And they requested the molasses cookies I made around the holidays. That sounded good to me because they are my favorite. But I didn't have all the right ingredients so I decided to try something new. And as common and "run of the mill" as Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are, I think I've made them once. And it was years ago and they didn't not turn out well. I don't know what I did differently, but I know I used this same recipe and that they were not good at all.

This time however, they were perfect. Soft and chewy, sweet but not too sweet. They are wonderful, and I will make these over and over.

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (source: Quaker Oats by way of Bakingblonde's Weblog)

2 stick margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins (bakingblonde soaked her raisins in warm water and vanilla for 10 minutes and i didn't not do this. i think i will next time though, because my raisins weren't as tasty as i'd hoped they'd be)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat margarine or butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes (mine took more like 15 minutes for some reason) or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wir rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered.

Better Homes and Blondies

Blondies are kind of a staple dessert in my house. it's something that everyone here likes, and they're easy to throw together so they're perfect for those sudden cravings. Like the one I was experiencing tonight. But I haven't been super thrilled with the recipe I've been using. They always seem to come out raw and I can't seem to find the right baking time. So I've been planning on trying out a new recipe for while, but haven't gotten around to it.

I wasn't even planning on baking blondies tonight. I wanted to make some cookies, and I wanted to try a new recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook again. But when I saw that there was a recipe in there for blondies, I decided that blondies would be even better. I am SO HAPPY that I stumbled across this recipe. It is perfect. These blondies puff up quite a bit more than the other ones I usually make, so I was afraid they'd be too dry and cakey. Not the case at all. They are still gooey and soft and chocolatey and everything I've always wanted in a blondie. Needless to say, this will now be my go to blondie recipe :-)

Blondies (source: Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Cookbook)

2 cups packed brown sugar
2/3 cup (10 2/3 tbsp) butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped nuts ( I omitted these)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13x9 baking pan; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat brwon sugar and butter over mudium heat until butter melts and the mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Cool slightly. Stir in eggs one at a time; stir in vanilla. Stir in flur, abking powder and baking soda.

Spread batter in prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean (avoid chocolate chips). Cool slightly on wire rack. Cut into bars while warm.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

This cake is a very popular one in my family. My dad loved it, and my Aunt Clare is almost famous for it. So it seemed only fitting that I should make it for her for her birthday this year. It was a big milestone birthday for her ( I won't announce her age here, out of respect) and the whole family got together to celebrate. We had tons of fun and the cake was a huge hit.

I'm glad that I decided to try to make it myself. I thought it would be complicated, but it wasn't. Aunt Clare told me that she usually uses half and half for the milk part because it makes the cake richer. But she said that using skim, or 1% or 2% would work just as well. So I decided to save myself a trip to the store and just use the skim milk I already had in my fridge. The cake was definitely rich enough with the skim milk and I will probably always just use skim, unless I happen to have some half and half on hand and I feel like being extra bad ;-)

I was always a bit skeptical about the use of unsweetened chocolate for the drizzle on top. But the frosting is so sugary, and the cake is so rich, that it really is a nice balance. I will definitely be making this again very soon!

Hot Milk Sponge Cake (source: my Aunt Clare)

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup half and hlaf (or skim, 1% or 2% milk)
4 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a tube pan or 2 cake pans (I used 2 9" round cake pans)

Sift together flour and baking powder; set aside

In a mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed about 4 minutes or until thick. Gradually add sugar, beating on medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until light anf lfuffy. Add the dry mixture; beat on low to medium speed just until combined.

In a small saucepan heat and stir milk and butter until butter melts. Add to batter, beating until combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake in a 350 dregree oven for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Butter cream frosting
5 tbsp butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
milk to obtain consistency

Beat butter until smooth. Slowly add confectioner's sugar, alternating with milk until spreading consistency is obtained.
(You may find that this recipe does not make enough frosting for your cake. I like lots of frosting so I made 1.5 of this recipe. so I used 10 tablespoons of butter and 3 cups of confectioner's sugar. I didn't really measure the milk too well, but I'd guess I used about 1/4 cup)

After icing cake with butter cream frosting, drizzle melted unsweetened chocolate on top and down sides in an interesting pattern.

Corn Muffins

The recipe for perfect cornbread continues to elude me. I was in the mood to bake some muffins the other night, and I have a ton of cornmeal to use up. So I decided to break out my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and give their recipe for cornbread a try. I find that I don't use my cookbooks a lot, and this particular cookbook does not get the attention it deserves. It's one of those cookbooks that is a staple in any kitchen. There are so many timeless, classic recipes in there, and I always seem to forget about it.

I'm glad I tried this recipe because it is quite good and very easy to throw together. It's a little crumbly for my liking, but still very tasty. And definitely still worth trying. I will definitely make these again.

Corn Muffins (source: Better Homes and Gardens 75th Anniversary Edition Cookbook)

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
2-3 tbsps sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil or melted butter

In a medium bowl stir together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a small bowl combine eggs, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened.

Spoon batter into 12 greased, or paper lined, muffin cups, fillinf cups two thirds full. Bake in a 400 degree oven about 15 minutes or until lightly browned anda wooden toothpick inserted in centers come out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

I've been tagged!

I'm usually really bad at actually posting these things :-) But I was tagged by Christina over at Nothing to see here! and I thought it would be fun to do it this time around :-)

The rules:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
Graduating from High School :-)

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Go to the store for some ingredients
2. Cook dinner
3. Bathe my daughter and put her to bed
4. Watch a movie with my husband
5. Eat some ice cream :-)

Five snacks I enjoy:
1. Doritos
2. guacamole and tortilla chips
3. soft pretzels
4. White Cheddar Cheez-its
5. Popcorn

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Buy a house
2. Build my dream kitchen
3. Have more children IMMEDIATELY
4. Quit my job :-)
5. Donate a large sum of money to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Places I’ve lived:
1. Baltimore, MD
1. Columbia, MD
LOL I haven't exactly moved around a lot :-)

Jobs I’ve had:
1. worked at a bakery
2. Cashier at a children's clothing store
3. Cashier at a toy store
4. After school daycare program
5. Cashier at a gift/card /book store
6. Bank Teller
7. Mom :-)



I am tagging:
Bakingblonde
Gillian
Steph
Annie
Chelle