Thanksgiving-style Cinnamon Rolls from TheKitchn

Oh my goodness. Can I just say the fact that this made two and a half pans of rolls was not a bad thing?? We're about to finish off the last pan tonight/tomorrow morning and I don't think I've ever made a sweet bread that was devoured like this recipe was. I made these for Thanksgiving breakfast and was pretty much ready to make another batch immediately after I tasted them. I love the simplicity of the cinnamon rolls I've made previously with leftover pizza dough but these are worth the extra effort. The recipe is below or you can click the link to find the recipe on TheKitchn website and read in the comments all the alternatives to pumpkin that people used. Enjoy!

No-Knead Pumpkin Rolls with Brown Sugar Glaze
Makes 16-18 rolls

For the dough:
1/4 cup water
1 scant tablespoon yeast
1 cup milk // coconut milk worked just fine
1/2 cup butter // earth balance worked perfectly
1/2 cup sugar
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling:
1/2 cup butter // used earth balance
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

For the glaze:
1/4 cup butter // earth balance
1/2 cup milk // coconut milk
1 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit a few minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

Meanwhile, warm the milk and butter in a small saucepan on the stove top until the butter is melted. Combine this with the sugar in a large heat-proof mixing bowl and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Let the milk mixture cool until it is just warm to the touch - NOT HOT. [This was the hardest part: being patient and letting it cool down. The milk, butter and sugar smelled so yummy and cozy.] Then stir in the yeast and the pumpkin. Add the salt and five cups of the flour all at once, stirring until all the flour has been absorbed. Squish it between your hands if you’re having trouble incorporating the last of the flour. The dough will be sticky, but should come together in a shaggy ball. If it's still more the consistency of cookie batter, work in an additional 1/2 cup of flower.

Cover the dough and let it rise for 1-3 hours. During this time, it should double in bulk. At this point, you can punch the dough down and refrigerate it overnight or continue shaping the rolls.

[I left my dough loosely covered in the bowl overnight in the refrigerator overnight.]

To shape the rolls (either immediately or with the refrigerated dough), sprinkle your work surface with a little flour and dump the dough on top. Pat it down into a rough rectangle and then use a floured rolling pin to roll it into a rectangular shape about a half an inch thick, longer than it is wide. If the dough gets sticky, sprinkle a little more flour on the dough’s surface and on your hands.

Melt the butter in the microwave and stir in the brown sugar and the spices. Spread this over the rectangle of dough, leaving an inch of bare dough at the top. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll the dough into a cylinder and pinch it closed at the top.

Grease pans (two 9x13 baking dishes, two 9-inch cake pans, or a combination). Using a sharp knife, cut the cylinder into individual rolls 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick. Place them into your baking dishes so they have a little wiggle room on all sides to rise. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise until they fill the pan and look puffy, 30 minutes for already-warm dough and 1 hour for dough that’s been refrigerated.

About 20 minutes before baking, begin heating the oven to 375°. When the rolls are ready, bake them for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and starting to look toasted around the edges. Rotate the pans halfway through cooking.

While they are baking, prepare the glaze. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter. When the butter has melted, add the brown sugar and salt. Stir until the brown sugar has melted. Remove from heat and strain into a mixing bowl to remove any sugar clumps. Stir in the powdered sugar. This should form a thick but pourable glaze.

Let the baked rolls cool for about five minutes and then pour the glaze on top. 

// TheKitchn recipe gives the option of using pecas (which I would definitely consider trying out!) but I removed those references so you can see just what I did. If you check out the recipe on their website you'll see when to use the nuts. 

Thanksgiving 2010

So after a whirlwind weekend of my and Meepies birthdays*, I flew back to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving and to pack-up Dre's place in OKC to go home. My family flew out to spend the week of Thanksgiving with us and we had a blast cooking up our first full Thanksgiving dinner.

We had dinner at POP's on historic Route 66. They have literally hundreds of different kinds of sodas.

We showed the fam one of our favorite places: the Oklahoma City National Memorial downtown. Pictured above is the "Survivor Tree" bare and ready for fall. It's still beautiful in it's own way even without it's greenery.

And then it was time for Thanksgiving! Cynthia, Dre and I stayed up late Wednesday night prepping things (well really I think I went to bed first and left them with more to do) and I was up and cooking from about 8:30-4pm. Making and hosting Thanksgiving certainly gave Dre and I a fresh perspective on what it means when we've just 'shown up' for Thanksgiving in past years. But oh it was so worth it! We're thinking of doing it every year and making it 'our holiday' if our families are agreeable.

On the menu this year were: free range turkey from the OKC-OSU farmer's market prepared with 'butter' blended with orange zest and rosemary under its skin and then basted with olive oil, the juice of three oranges, and it's own juices; Pioneer Woman's stuffing; mashed potatoes; sweet potatoes with homemade granola topping; blanched green beans; honey roasted carrots; roasted broccoli; sweet potato rolls; and Paula Dean's macaroni and cheese made by Dre's classmate Claudine. We had nine people to dinner (my family + us + four of Dre's classmates) and in what my mom called "true Garrison tradition" had enough desserts for everyone to have their own. (Cynthia made not one but two pumpkin pies plus a DF apple crumble.)

My hero dealing with the raw turkey so that when it was dinner time I still had an appetite to eat yummy turkey. I can deal with raw meat but it really affects my appetite for the item later.

Barry and Dre carving up the bird. It was definitely a two person project. :-)

My plate. Seriously. I've never worked so hard at a meal and found it so deliciously worth it. 

And since my family left we've just been counting down the days and getting ready to go home. Andree's dad came out and picked up our car and drove it back across country home for us. He loves road trips and we were definitely blessed to not have to make the drive again and worry about Dre starting work worn out from driving. Tomorrow (Tuesday) as soon as Dre gets out of class he's picking me up and then we're getting on a plane and going home! Together. For good. To our own bed. Our dear friends. And a whole new chapter of changes and new adventures!

*My birthday this year was probably the best ever. The simplest way I can describe it is that I just felt loved. Loved by my husband, loved by my friends, loved by my Savior. It's been quite a year and it was just a refreshing weekend in many small and big ways. [Thank you to everyone who contributed and played a part in anyway. I am so grateful and freshly aware of the kindness of God at work in my life.]

Zucchini Muffins

I made I don't even know how many dozen of these muffins before I went home and oh man, they were so good! The best part is the ones that are left from when I made and froze these in September are still just as delicious as they were hot out of the oven. These have probably become my favorite muffin right now. I came along them randomly looking at food blogs and then within a week saw them on a mommy-blog and knew I had to try them. And I'm so glad I did. They were easily done dairy free and you certainly can't tell they're missing butter.

Check out the recipe here and enjoy!

Chicken Taco Recipe

One of our favorite things in Oklahoma is the Farmer's Market at the OKC campus of OSU. If we could take it home to Maryland we would. It's made Oklahoma feel much more like home and helped so much with my dietary restrictions and our general goal to eat local. (Sonic counts right? I mean it's based in Oklahoma...) We go every Saturday morning and buy everything from meat to cheese and eggs and of course veggies. We signed up and ordered a turkey last week for Thanksgiving and can't wait to pick him up!

Dre's lunches the first few weeks were salads, all local ingredients and so nice and colorful! You can tell he's a man with a wife though. Poor guy. Who else has to eat salad for lunch while they're in training? ;-)

One of the best deals at the Farmer's Market is a bag of chicken thighs. They're about $5 for 15 lbs of boneless, skinless chicken meat (in Oklahoma) and make some great crockpot dinners. We bought a bag about every week when I was in Oklahoma August-September and I would make a meal or two out of them and then aim to freeze at least one meal's worth of leftovers for when I was back in Maryland and Andree was alone in Oklahoma.

I think our favorite chicken thighs meal is chicken tacos. There's just so many options of what to do to change them up; the possibilities are endless depending on either what you have at your fridge or are hungry for (verde salsa, pickled onions and cucs, cheese, avocados, cilantro). This is our go-to recipe for chicken taco meat though I don't follow it quite exactly if I don't have an ingredient I make it work with what I have. We eat the cooked meat as tacos, burritos, on nachos, or even on salads. It's so easy, and so good!

Martha Stewart Slow-Cooker Chili Chicken Tacos

• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can use bone-in or chicken breasts or whatever you have; Oklahoma is the first time I've used boneless, skinless; I just get Dre to take the meat off the bones for me after they're cooked)
• 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup prepared tomato salsa (any flavor you'd like; you can also easily add fresh tomatoes, onion, cilantro for a more 'homemade' flair)
• 1 to 2 tbsp. chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• salt & pepper
• extra fixin's and taco shells/tortillas for dressing up the meat into tacos

Combine all the chicken, garlic, salsa, chiles, chili powder, salt and pepper in the crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 8 hours).

Once cooked cooked, shred the chicken, mix in some of the juices to moisten and serve!

Seriously, the easiest, most delicious chicken tacos ever (even if meat never photographs well on the cell phone...)!

Cream of Broccoli Soup

I know what you're thinking. Well no, actually I don't. You could just be clicking here and not thinking anything or thinking about how awesome the moguls are in the Olympics. (Seriously. Insane. My knees cry just watching.) But if you're thinking "ew broccoli" or "wait, 'cream of...' I thought she couldn't have cream" have no fear this is a recipe that ignores either obstacle for a yummy, flavorful, creamy soup that is dairy free and also free of most other allergens.

The recipe is actually my mommy's. I altered it just a touch but my alterations are the same ones she makes when she makes it at Christmas so that I can have some along with the rest of the family. (On Christmas, after stockings are opened we all have soup as a snack to get us through opening all the presents!)

Not my picture: I found it online. :-)

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 lbs. fresh broccoli

- 1/2 c. chopped onion

- 2 tbsp. butter I substitute either a dairy-free "butter" or just use olive oil

- 1 c. diced potato I used both yukon gold and red potatoes when I made it today

- 1 c. light cream I use soy milk but you could really skip this step

- 3 1/2 c. chicken broth

- croutons, bacon, cheddar cheese, or any garnish you would enjoy

Directions

1. Trim broccoli; separate and cut into short lengths.

2. Parboil broccoli for 5 minutes. Bring water--enough to cover--to a boil; add broccoli and boil for about 5 minutes. Once it begins to soften move broccoli to an ice bath.

3. Saute onion in butter until soft. Again, or just use olive oil or your usual dairy free substitute.

4. Add potato, broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Add broccoli and simmer 5 minutes. I had to add additional broth/water to mine because I barely had enough water to cover the potatoes much less work in the broccoli.

6. Pour soup into blender. Blend until smooth. Be careful with this! Hot liquid in a blender with the lid on can have messy consequences. I opt to use my immersion blender--which personally is my favorite kitchen tool these days. It's so much easier to clean than a blender!

7. Return to pan (if you put it in a blender) and add cream. Once stirred in, garnish however you like and enjoy!! Again I used some soy milk. In my opinion using enough potatoes eliminates the need for any cream/milk. It's plenty creamy without it and I don't feel it adds that much flavor.

Hybrid Deliciousness

Some of our favorite people, the Goodlings, were coming over for lunch after church on Sunday and I was out of ideas. While thinking and distracting myself from the need to think of something and being disinterested in my usual go-to "company recipes," I checked my GoogleReader and came upon this one from one of my favorite food people SmittenKitchen. (Another delicious recipe of hers I posted is here.) I often forget the "magical powers" available when you use your crock pot. This recipe was good enough for me to want to make again within the week. We served it tostada style with pan fried corn tortilla, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, pickled onions (also a SmittenKitchen recipe), and all the usual taco extras. It was so good that it took Dre and I all day to clean up from lunch because every time we went back to the pot we ate more.

Southwestern Pulled Brisket

3 pounds beef brisket *I couldn't find brisket at Giant so I went with a roast instead.
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander *I didn't have this so I used Penzey's fajita seasoning.
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
1 to 2 whole canned chipotle chiles en adobo (I used one; two will give it a real kick)
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup molasses

In a pan lightly coated in olive oil: "Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about one minute. Add vinegar and boil until it’s almost gone (and seriously, get your head out of the way of the steam; inhaling vinegar is no fun!), scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 to 10 hours."

SmittenKitchen's original recipe called for browning the meat on all sides but to save time and because I couldn't find brisket and was using a roast instead I adapted the cooking technique a bit by combining with this one from AllRecipes. I froze the roast for a few hours (from when I got home from the store until when I pulled it out to cook it) instead of browning it on all sides. Then set my alarm for 3:30 am to get up and put the roast and pre-mixed flavoring combination into the crock pot and turned it on low. When we got home from church (second service) it was ready to go and unbelievably tender.

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Pizza Dough Cinnamon Rolls
makes 6

pizza dough (enough for a 12 to 16 inch pizza)
about 1/4 cup dairy free butter (softened) *I use Earth Balance and remember softened does not mean melted; you want it to be malleable but not liquid.
1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
cinnamon
1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
water

Roll out pizza dough to make a rectangle. Smear the butter over the dough and then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon making sure to leave about an inch of dough on one of the long sides. Starting the the long side that has sugar on it, roll the dough up. Slice the dough to make your rolls and place them cut side up in a 8 x 8 dish sprayed with cooking spray. Place in a cold oven* and then turn the oven on 375 degrees. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven. Next mix a tablespoon of water at a time into the powdered sugar to make a glaze. Pour the glaze over the rolls while they are still warm.

*Putting these in a cold oven gives them a little proofing time while the oven preheats. It cuts down on time and they puff up very nicely!
This recipe is from The Non-Dairy Queen food blog.

My personal execution was a little different than the directions called for. Because my dough (leftover from pizza with the Tirens on Sunday afternoon) was a little smaller than called for I wound up putting my cut rolls into a mini cupcake pan to bake. They were a little overcooked and probably could have only been baked for 15-20 minutes. (Our oven takes a while to preheat but once it's hot it's hot!) I also opted to make these the night before and hide them away in the fridge. I set my alarm and woke up before Dre to put these in the oven so that he was sent off to work on a Monday with a yummy treat. After all, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
These were simple, non-dairy, and delicious to both Dre and I. Win-win!

A Soup Even Dre Likes

I made a pot of this for my BFF Jan this week. Mrs. Nutter passed it along to me last winter since it sounded like a flavorful dairy-free recipe. I'd only made it once before yesterday but I think I'm going to have to start making it more often. My soup-hater of a husband even ate half a bowl!

Spicy Black Bean, Chorizo, and Turnip Green Soup

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz (about 2 links) uncooked chorizo sausage, casings removed *I use whatever is cheapest or easily available. I’m thinking of trying this with ground turkey with additional seasonings to try and make it cheaper to do for the KG sometime.
• 1 to 2 tsp mild olive oil
• 1 small (3 oz) onion, minced (3/4 c.)
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
• 15 to 16 oz canned black beans
• 1 medium (8-oz) potato, cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch cubes (about 1 1/4 cups; may substitute 8 ounces of red potatoes)
• About 5 c. low-sodium or homemade chicken broth *I opt for 4 cups because especially when cooking for Dre any soup needs to have more “solid” than “liquid” in it.
• 8 oz (1 bunch) turnip greens (stems removed), cleaned and cut into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-wide strips *I usually opt to use kale instead of course imagining I’m going to come up with all these other healthy and useful ways of incorporating it in my meal plan.

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a medium pot over medium heat. If the sausage is very lean, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pot. Add the sausage meat, using a spoon to break up any large clumps. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the sausage pieces are lightly browned (they will not be cooked through).

2. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage to paper towel-lined plate. Add the onion to the pot and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over medium heat, adjusting the heat so the onion softens but does not brown. If the pan is dry, add 1 teaspoon of the oil.

3. When the onion is soft, add 1/4 teaspoon of the cumin, stirring to incorporate. Cook for 1 minute, then add the black beans, potato and 4 cups of the broth. Return the sausage pieces to the pot, crumbling them to the size of dried beans.

4. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a slow boil; taste and add cumin or salt as needed. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the potato pieces are just tender. Add the turnip green strips, stirring to combine. *Again, I use kale instead of turnip greens.

5. Add broth to achieve the desired consistency. Reduce the heat to medium or medium-low so the soup is barely bubbling at the edges; cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the greens are tender. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve hot. *I opt to leave the greens to add until I serve the soup. Once mixed in they quickly become tender and that way they aren’t left to get soggy in the leftovers.

From [WashingtonPost] In Season columnist Stephanie Witt Sedgwick

Enchiladas Redux

Every Tuesday I get to cook for anywhere from about 8 to 15 of some of our closest friends. (Plus any who come after dinner and raid our fridge for leftovers or sandwich fixings.) It's quite a different kind of cooking than the usual cooking for two I do with just Dre and I in our little home. We both love being a part of the KG and learning about God with them. Making dinner for them and sometimes with them is just an added bonus in the year or so since we started doing "KG Dinner" before our meeting starts at 7:30.

I posted this recipe a while back but it's oh so yummy and with the food processor Grandpa and Grandma gave me for Christmas last year it was easy to multiply for a larger group. It's made an easy new baby meal to bring and is just all around tasty. My allergy has increased my enjoyment of tasty, simple, flavorful food that can be enjoyed just as well without dairy. (This could be converted to gluten free easily too if you changed the sauce--or made your own--and used corn tortillas instead of flour.) Plus since I have a less significant allergy to tomatoes and enchilada sauce is traditionally made with peppers and not tomatoes it's even better for my little silly tummy.

Mom's Chicken Enchiladas (Eating for Life cookbook)

Ingredients

• 4 portions chicken breast (approximately 1 lb.)
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 3 cans (10 oz. each) green enchilada sauce (red if you prefer)
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Boil chicken breasts.--Drain and cool but do not let them get too cold. While still warm shred chicken by pulling apart with two forks. Set aside. [This is when I put it in the food processor. When it's that much chicken, chopped is just as good as pulled.]
3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add green onion, cilantro, and jalapeño; saute for 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. About 5 minutes.
4. Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce into a medium bowl and microwave until warm, about 2 minutes. Dip each tortilla in the heated sauce and fill with about 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish.
5. Pour remaining heated sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes or less.

(Approximately 50 minutes. Creates 4 servings.)

Extra bonus of KG dinners? Miss TayTayBoomBoom makes dessert for us every week. I don't think I've made dessert since she joined the group after high school. It's a treat and something that everyone in our group has come to enjoy and expect when they see Taylor's face at the door.

Tay made a giant cookie with KG-memories written on it and also a pumpkin pie this week. She's the bomb.

Homemade "Starbucks"

We're moderate coffee drinkers in this house. We can't compete with Seth's 19 cups a day (maybe I'm exaggerating...) but we enjoy the taste and the benefits of a cup of joe or two every day. Since Dre used to work at Starbucks and since we both enjoy a little specialness to our daily coffee I thought we'd enjoy this frugal tip I found on the kitchn blog.

make Milk Foam without a foamer or any special tools...
1. Fill a jar with a lid with as much milk as you usually put in your coffee.
2. With the lid on shake the jar for all you're worth for about 30 seconds or until the milk has doubled in size.
3. Remove the lid and microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the milk into the coffee, hold the foam (on top) back while you pour, and then top with foam.


And boy do we enjoy this! So fun and so real. It's like having Starbucks without paying a penny. Try it for yourself!

(Another idea from the same blog is this make-your-own pumpkin spice latte for those who have the hankering outside of when Starbucks has it on their menu board.)

Fall Dinner: Pecans, Chicken, Squash

I actually made this for the first time as a KG meal I think over the summer. But we ate it the other night and it was a lovely, and easy, fall-feeling dinner.

Pecan-Crusted Chicken from Rachael Ray
- 1 c. pecans, toasted (I've never toasted mine...)
- 1/2 c. bread crumbs
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (~ 1 1/1 lbs.; like with other recipes I usually pound the chicken to make it thinner and make it go a bit farther, it's more like chicken tenders that way.)
- 1/4 c. honey mustard (I usually just mix up my own)

• Preheat the oven to 400.
• Grind the pecans into fine crumbs in a food processor (or crush however).
• Mix pecan crumbs, bread crumbs, and basil together. Season with salt and pepper or any additional spices that sound good. (I usually add a bit of paprika because I use plain bread crumbs.)
• Rub each chicken breast with honey mustard and then coat with pecan mixture.
• Place on a nonstick baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

This past week we had it with acorn squash with sage "butter" and made it all the more seasonal. (Though actually I didn't have any sage so it was browned "butter" with maple syrup.) I've got a bunch of squash I bought at our Farmer'sMarket's last week of the season. I'm using it up slowly.

Crispy [and sooo yummy] Tacos!

Have you heard of Smitten Kitchen? Goodness I sure hope so. It's one of my favorite food blogs to read. I think Miss Pose showed it to me. :-) Everything she does looks pretty and inspiring. She makes foods I might not normally want to eat look unbelievably good. I haven't tried that many of her recipes because I don't get to do too much creative cooking these days but oh goodness...

These tacos are delicious!! and minus the time commitment of doing the frying (though while that happens you can be cleaning up or making up the slaw etc) they are super easy and quick. We've made them for company twice and both times they were a big hit. It's a fun meal that makes you feel like you're eating a bite of spring. The slaw is so good I never have leftovers; if we run out of tacos and there's some left we just eat it by itself. Another wonderful thing about this meal is that it's gluten free for all you non-gluten people and has so much flavor it's easy to leave it dairy free as well. (Though Andree prefers to have some shredded cheese or sour cream on the side to add to it.)

Crispy Black Bean [Chicken] Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

From Smitten Kitchen February 2009 [with my tweaks]

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained [this is the only time Dre will eat these]

1 teaspoon ground cumin

5 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons (or more) fresh lime juice

2 cups shredded green cabbage [Safeway has some with their bagged salads]

2 green onions, thinly sliced [I usually use about 4.]

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro [but you know you can never have too much cilantro…]

corn tortillas

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

1 cooked, chopped chicken breast

Place beans and cumin in small bowl; partially mash. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil and lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions, and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. [Typically I’m a little more stingy with my beans and I just put about a tablespoon or so in each with some chicken.] Fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and slaw and devour!

Seriously. It's that easy.

Ok this is a quick one but I had to share. [I'm going to try to start sharing more recipes and food stories on here since that's what I do on a regular basis and will help keep the blog updated.] I found this easy pizza dough recipe on the Money Saving Mom blog that I highly recommend for her frugal trips. [A new hobby of mine is seeing how little money I can spend on groceries and home goods while not having us eat pasta for every meal or stop showering.] It is so easy I made it for a work-day lunch!

INGREDIENTS

- 1 tbsp. active dry yeast

- 1 c. warm water (105-115 degrees; our tap water gets pretty hot and worked fine)

- 1 tsp. salt

- 1 tsp. sugar

- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

- 2 1/2 c. flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.

2. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and combine once the yeast has dissolved. (I mixed the salt and sugar into the flour while I waited on the yeast.)

3. Dump onto a floured surface; knead until a smooth ball forms. (Mine was a little "extra" flour-y so I just got rid of any parts that wouldn't seem to mix in to the dough ball.) Takes about 5 minutes.

4. Roll out and press down onto greased pizza pan. (Or Pampered Chef stone of course!)

5. Top however you like and with whatever you can eat! (My favorite is a dairy-free mozzarella that Andreé found at TJ's for me with grilled onions, fresh green peppers, and sliced black olives--thanks Nick!! :-P)

6. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes. You'll be able to see the crust has become light brown and looks like it's starting to be crispy.

Don't be intimidated!--Try it!! You'll love it! My hope is to replace our last minute frozen pizza purchases with this. I even have a ball of dough waiting to be used in the freezer! (Supposedly it freezes/thaws well. I've yet to test that.)

iPhone pic but oh it was good!
even better once I got black olives to top the leftovers!

Yummy Treat

I love to cook but I'm not much of a baker. I blame it on the fact that I'm a borderline failure at math and science and baking is much more rigid in terms of measurements and such than cooking. Anyhoo this is my newest favorite thing to bake. It's simple, easy and comes out delicious. It's not too sweet so it makes a nice morning quiet time treat or when paired with ice cream a delicious light dessert.

I found it off a blog I enjoy called Tammy's Recipes.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk (soy works!)
1 cup finely-chopped unpeeled apples

Topping

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter (coconut oil in the Kless household)
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

2. In another bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Mix in oil and milk.

3. Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and stir. Fold in fruit.

4. Pour batter into a greased 8- or 9-inch square baking pan**.

5. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over batter.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes, until cake tests done in the middle.

Maple Syrup + Chicken?

My dear has recently discovered the enjoyment of pure maple syrup. He always thought that the 'fake' stuff was better until a Cracker Barrel date where he first tried it warm happened. To celebrate (and because it sounded tasty) I tried this recipe. It's definitely gone on the make-again list.

I served it with the last butternut squash from our Farmer's Market and grilled asparagus. Fall dinners = mmm mmm good!! It's at least one thing that my husband enjoys about the fall.

Ingredients

• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
• 6 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
• 1 teaspoon grated orange rind

Preparation

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound each to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 1 minute. Add syrup and remaining ingredients; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Serve sauce with chicken.

4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half and about 2 tablespoons sauce)

Billy Strynkowski, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2006

Squash Candy?

I've loved having a local Farmer's Market to go to on Sunday mornings. In honor of the ending of that wonderful season of accessible fresh produce here is a recipe I made last night with one of the squash I picked up a few weeks ago. Andree ate them like candy. (And considering the brown sugar that's not surprising.)
Caramelized Butternut Squash Recipe #106627

This is a delicious recipe from Ina Garten / The Barefoot Contessa. We really enjoy this during the holidays. It is best when the squash is cut in medium to large chunks so that the outside gets a maple-flavored crust, and the inside stays soft and delicious.

by Pianolady

1¼ hours | 15 min prep

SERVES 6

• 2 medium butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total)
• 6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used coconut oil.)
  
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Cut off the ends of each butternut squash and discard.
3. Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise.
4. Using a spoon, remove the seeds.
5. Cut the squash into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" cubes (large and uniform is best), and place them on a baking sheet.
6. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
7. With clean hands, toss all of the ingredients together and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
8. Roast for 45 minutes to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize.
9. Turn the squash while roasting a few times with a spatula to be sure it browns evenly.
10. Adjust seasonings if needed.
11. Serve hot.
12. Enjoy!

© 2008 Recipezaar. All Rights Reserved. http://www.recipezaar.com

A Recipe, Faith, and String Cheese

1. In an attempt to keep my body from hating me so much and yet satisfy a craving for some yummy fresh baked cookies I googled and found this recipe for dairy-free chocolate chip cookies. [Disclaimer: obviously if you use milk chocolate chips they would add diary to the recipe.] I know most of our friends with allergies have gluten-allergies so these still wouldn't work for them but for anyone else who needs to avoid dairy like the plague these are pretty good! Andree actually ate about 10 of them. :-P [And for our gluten-allergy friends, go to Trader Joe's and buy a bag of "Tortilla Chips With An Identity Crisis." Seriously. Soooooooo good.]

• 3/4 cup margarine (check ingredients)
• (Or substitute 1/4 cup of margarine for peanut butter - very yummy)
• 1 cup unrefined sugar
• 1 banana
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa (can be a little more if you like)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 175 C. *FYI if you’re not as smart as me you’ll notice this is in Celsius and not Fahrenheit and translate that this should be preheated to 375 F on your oven.

Cream margarine and sugar (and peanut butter if included) until light in color and fluffy. Add banana and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, soda, and baking powder.

Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix until everything is well blended. Stir in the chips.

Form balls and squash them down a little bit on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tops are no longer gooey.

2. I read this today on Of First Importance today and man, was I instantly encouraged! I am so grateful for the way the Spirit works in the midst of busy days to bring fresh encouragement and perspective.

“Faith is not our saviour. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us, and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing, the Saviour is another. Faith is one thing, and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man, that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God.

Our security is this, that it matters not how poor or weak our faith maybe: if it touches the perfect One, all is well. God has asked and provided a perfect righteousness; He nowhere asks nor expects a perfect faith. So a feeble, very feeble faith, will connect us with the righteousness of the Son of God; the faith, perhaps, that can only cry, ‘Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief.’”

- Horatius Bonar, “Not Faith, But Christ”

3. Finally... Andree needs to take a picture of these little guys in their special "hoodies" (I cannot be held responsible for my creative urges when I was sick a few weeks ago) but a blog post without a picture is boring so...
Here's our brood who bring me regular smiles especially when Puppa makes them talk and tucks them in at night. The little ones can say "cheese", "string cheese", "Mamma", and "Puh" but that's about it. Special memories in our very special marriage.

I prefer stuck-in-the-mud...

But I was "tagged"...

The Rules:
1. Let others know who tagged you (Cakes).
2. Start with 4 recipes you especially like.
3. Tag 4 other people and notify them that they have been tagged: Erin, Tiffany, Pose, and Bekah-2.
4. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 4 recipes.

Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks with Cola Steak Sauce (Rachel Ray) This is one of our favorite special celebration steak recipes. I made it for a boys’ night last year and for my parents’ anniversary dinner last month. Pretty yum-o! (Erin and Tiff, I said that just for you. :-P)

Ingredients

• 1 cup cola
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup steak sauce
• 1 lemon, for juice and zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped
• 1 loaf Italian bread, thickly sliced (approx. 1" slices)
• 2 large red onions, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 3 14 oz. bone-in rib eye steaks (or whatever kind you want)
• extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the cola, ketchup, steak sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, and ginger to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. About 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Note: The ketchup + steak sauce combo is already pretty salty so taste it before you add more salt.)
2. In a small bowl combine butter and garlic. (Note: Something I tend to not make a point of but that really helps... softened doesn't mean melted. You want to create a thick garlic butter paste.) Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. Spread the butter slices on both sides with the garlic butter and grill, turning once, until golden, about 5 minutes.
3. Brush the onion slices and steaks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium high. Grill the steak and onions until the steak is cooked to desired doneness and the onions are softened.
4. Slice steak into thin strips. Top each piece of toast with steak, onion, and cola sauce.

(Approximately 30 minutes. Creates 4 servings but the sauce and bread will go much farther if you want it to. 46g Fat.)


Parmesan Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Whole Foods Market website) My favorite food is potatoes, made any way and eaten at anytime. On my birthday last year my darling husband made me a scrumptious dinner including these delicious mashed potatoes. I made an attempt at them last month so my wisdom-teeth-less husband could participate in my parents’ anniversary dinner. Baking the garlic is my favorite part.

Ingredients

• 1 bulb garlic, unpeeled
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 pounds potatoes, rinsed and quartered
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 3/4 cup half and half
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• salt and ground pepper to taste
• chives or green onions, minced (if you want, for garnish)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425 F. Slice 1/2" top off garlic bulb and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in aluminum foil. Bake until garlic is soft and golden, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, peel garlic cloves, mince, and set aside. (It's so cool.--You can just "pop" the cloves out!)
2. Boil potatoes until tender.
3. Drain potatoes and mash until smooth. Mix in Parmesan and garlic. Cover and keep warm.
4. Heat half and half, butter, salt/pepper in small sauce pan over medium-low heat until butter has melted. Poor over potatoes and combine. Adjust salt/pepper to taste. Garnish with chives and green onions. Serve while still hot.

(Creates 4-6 servings, unless you love po-ta-toes like me and that it's more like two. :-P)


Barbecue Turkey Burgers (Cooking Light website) Just to prove we’re becoming healthier eaters... Recipes on Cooking Light are a go-to in our house now with Andree’s diet. This one is so good I’d make it anytime. It was the first ground turkey recipe I made that I even liked--and I more than like this one. I love it! I use a honey barbecue sauce because I’ve amassed several bottles of it somehow. We also like to add in cilantro if we have any in the fridge. We’ve also done meatballs and meatloaf off this combination. (Just leave out the barbecue sauce for meatballs.)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, divided
• 2 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 4 large leaf lettuce leaves
• 4 (1/4" thick) tomato slices
• 4 hamburger buns (we like Safeway's kaiser buns)

Directions

1. Combine the onion, 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, breadcrumbs, and the next 5 ingredients (breadcrumbs through turkey) in a medium bowl. Divide mixture into 4 equal parts and shape into patties.
2. Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Place patties in pan; cook approximately 7 minutes on each side or until done. (Or just use the good ol' George Foreman grill!)
3. Place 1 lettuce leaf, 1 tomato slice, and 1 burger on the bottom half of each bun. Spread each patty with 1 1/2 teaspoons of barbecue sauce. Add the top bun half and voila!

(Less than 30 minutes. Creates 4 burgers. 7.6g Fat.)


Mom's Chicken Enchiladas (Eating for Life cookbook) I made this the first week Andree was on his new diet and he couldn’t believe it was from the “diet book.” It’s really that good! I learned to shred chicken for this one and it’s pretty sweet. We have these about every other week if Andree gets his way. My biggest hint is to be sure you’ve minced the jalapeños because I think it really makes a difference in the sauce to have them nice and small.

Ingredients

• 4 portions chicken breast (approximately 1 lb.)
• 4 green onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 3 cans (10 oz. each) green enchilada sauce (red if you prefer)
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 9" x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Boil chicken breasts.--Drain and cool but do not let them get too cold. While still warm shred chicken by pulling apart with two forks. Set aside.
3. Lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-high heat. Add green onion, cilantro, and jalapeño; saute for 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken and 1 can of enchilada sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. About 5 minutes.
4. Pour the 2 remaining cans of enchilada sauce into a medium bowl and microwave until warm, about 2 minutes. (Or if you're Andree's wife you better do this by heating them in a frying pan over low heat but not too much. You want them still soft.)
Dip each tortilla in the heated sauce and fill with about 1/8 of the chicken mixture. Roll up and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish.
5. Pour remaining heated sauce over enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake until enchiladas are heated through and cheese is melted, about 15 minutes or less.

(Approximately 50 minutes. Creates 4 servings.)