garlic pizza dough

let soften for about 10minutes:
1 C warm water
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
some honey

mix in:
2 Tb olive oil
3C bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
1tsp + fresh minced garlic
dried basil if you wish

if using your handy-dandy kitchenaid mixer, mix with the dough hook for a good 5-10minutes. add in more olive oil as needed to form a nice soft but not sticky ball. feel free to add more garlic & dried herbs as you desire! let rise in a greased bowl, lightly covered for an hour or so until doubled. punch down & form into 2 medium sized pizzas. top with your favorite stuff! bake at 450 until cheese is melted.

Creamy Quinoa Mac & Cheese

My kids LOVE macaroni & cheese. and even though I buy the more natural/organic boxes, I still feel guilty making something that is so processed all the time. so I keep trying new homemade mac & cheese recipes. I've been buying the Quinoa pasta lately because it's supposed to be good for you - it actually tastes quite delicious! I can't really taste the difference compared to regular semolina pasta. It just cooks faster than the regular stuff, but even tricked the hubs who is naturally resistant to all my "trying to be healthier" food changes.

  

Here's what we are eating tonight at my house. It's in the oven now!

...uh, a bit of 'processed cheese food' is better for you than full-on mac from a box, right? 

Preheat oven to 400˚ F.

• 2 cups dry quinoa macaroni elbows

• 3 TB butter
• 2 TB flour
• 2 C milk (I used "so delicious" coconut milk beverage - plain)
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• fresh cracked black pepper
• a few dashes turmeric (gives it a nice yellow color)
• 6 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or any combo of shredded cheeses)
• 2 oz neufatchel cheese
• 4 oz smoked gouda (cut up nice & small)

Cook the macaroni for 6-9mins, drain.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. melt butter, whisk in flour until smooth. slowly add in milk while wisking to avoid LUMPS. cook over medium heat for a couple minutes, add mustard powder, black pepper & cheeses; stir while the cheeses melt into deliciousness.
Drain pasta & pour into baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni & mix until coated. Bake in 1.5qt-2qt dish for 20mins.

(adapted from this recipe at allrecipes)

Sweet Potato Pot Pie + Coconut Oil Pie Crust

so... coconut oil is REALLY good for you, you can read about some of the benefits here & here. I've started using it in a lot of my cooking & love it. Tonight I was cold, and thought potpie sounded good... I have no shortening for piecrust (it's evil anyway - boo to partially hydrogenated oils), but I thought hey my coconut oil seems close to shortening... and I googled it & found this recipe!
Anyway... I made the crust first & baked the bottom shell for about 10minutes so it was a little bit cooked. While the crust was baking, I started the potpie filling. You could use whatever veggies you have on hand, heck, that's how I always cook! and of course you could omit the chicken if you are being a good little vegetarian. I'm not a good vegetarian today, though next time I'll try it without the meat & with some garbanzo beans or something else delicious.

Coconut Oil PieCrust:

• 3/4 cup solid coconut oil (1/2 butter/1/2 coconut oil)
• 2 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 - 4 tablespoons ice cold water

Cut the coconut oil and butter into the flour and salt with pastry blender or two knives. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix well.

Roll out on floured board. Makes enough for 1 covered pie.

Sweet Potato Potpie Filling:
(adapted from this recipe)
in a large pot, COOK over medium, until potatoes are soft:

• 3TB olive oil
• 2 orange-fleshed sweet potatoes
• onion
• garlic

STIR IN:

• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can shredded chicken, undrained
  

mix together in a bowl:

• 2 C milk (I used almond)
• 2 TB cornstarch

Add cornstarch/milk to potatoes in pot, stir constantly, increase heat if needed to bring to boil, then lower heat & continue stirring... stir, stir, stir... this thickens the sauce.

SEASON TO TASTE WITH (I just throw it in & don't measure, sorry):
cumin
curry powder
salt
fresh cracked black pepper

Pour into Coconut Oil PieCrust, top with more crust & bake at 425 for 20ish minutes, until crust is browned to your liking.

Broiled Tilapia with Coconut-Curry Sauce

(adapted from this sept2002 cooking light recipe)

• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, divided
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• generous scoop of minced garlic
  
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 heaping tsps curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups hot kashann's coconut rice
  

Preheat broiler.
Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add onions; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry powder, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and coconut milk; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.
Brush fish with 1/2 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve fish with sauce over kashann's delicious rice.

coconut tofu curry with spinach & tomato

I needed a tofu recipe & was in the mood for curry, coconut milk & using up fresh veggies from the CSA farm. I adapted the recipe from this one. no picture of the actual dish, sorry. but it sure was pretty. and tasty.

• 14 oz. coconut milk
• 1TB red curry paste
• 1 TB curry powder
  
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• small scoop minced garlic (1 tsp? I don't measure garlic)
  
• 14 ounces extra firm tofu
• olive oil
  
• 1/4lb fresh spinach, washed (duh) & chopped
  
• 1 tomato, diced
  
• 1/2 onion, minced (I used vidalia)

1. Drain tofu, cut into little cubes & pat dry with papertowel. In large skillet (I used this one), heat oil over medium heat. Cook tofu in a single layer without stirring about 5 minutes or until slightly browned on bottom. Stir gently. Then continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until thouroughly cooked, about 5-7 minutes.
2. While tofu is cooking, be your own little soux chef & mix curry paste, curry powder, soy sauce, and garlic.
3. Add onion & cook for a few minutes until onions are translucent.
4. Add coconut milk, tomato & spinach & and mix from #2 above. cook, stirring, until veggies are warmed & spinach is barely wilted, about 1-2 minutes.
5. serve over rice & with warm naan. add salt & pepper to taste!

Onion Bread Pudding

on monday i tried a new dish: onion bread pudding. my kids were not excited by the name. i believe various versions of "ewwh" were heard during the course of cooking. however, once we ate it, EVERYONE except for toran LOVED it! toran tolerated it though, and didn't vomit, so that was a good sign! glenn says it tastes like very delicious warm bread. it was really good. i made the bread crumbs using a cubed up loaf of tasty italian bread from the wegman's bakery, and then toasting the chunks in the oven at 200, for about 30 minutes. check and stir every 10 minutes.

Birthday Dinner

on sunday, we celebrated haven's birthday with some of her favorite foods. haven (and most of our family) love this butternut squash risotto. it's from cooking light, but i have altered it a bit. go from the recipe, and then follow these instructions:

*increase onion to a full 1 cup
*do not salt the squash, use plenty of pepper.
*after mixing in the squash and water, cover pan and simmer for about 15 minutes, until squash is very tender.
*omit the butter and the parsley.

this is sooo good, we eat it all the time during the chilly season. and it's pretty easy to prepare. risotto's are to be stirred constantly once adding the broth mixture, but i have periodically had to stop for moments to aid a small child or halt a disaster, and it is still delicious!


haven LOVES oranges! wegman's sells more than just your garden variety kind, and they are more spendy, but perfect for a dinnertime treat. the orange closest to the bottom is the cara cara. very sweet with hints of raspberry and a very pretty salmon color. the other orange, was nicknamed "sunset" by my ciela last year when we first tried them, but they are a type of italian orange, and the name has been different nearly each time i purchase them. currently at wegman's i believe the sticker says "italia vitta", but the sign said something to the effect of: italian orange. these are more tart, but incredibly striking served up.

Black Bean & Chocolate Chili

we met last night for our october book club meeting. we read TWILIGHT & decided to go with a fallish-halloweenish-vampireish food theme... I got this out of sarah a's moosewood restaurant celebrates cookbook & served it with fritos scoops.

2 TB vegetable oil (I used olive)
1.5 C chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 small fresh chile, minced (I just used 1tsp cholula sauce)
1 TB ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 C chopped bell pepper (I used one large green pepper)
3 C cooked black beans (2 - 15.5oz cans, rinsed/drained)
2 C undrained crushed canned tomatoes (14.5 oz can)
1 TB lemon juice
1 TB soy sauce
1.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate, broken into small pieces (I used about 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips that I ground up in my food processor so it would melt faster)

in a saucepan, warm oil on med heat. add onion & garlic; sauté until onions become translucent, about 10min. add celery & chile (or cholula); cover & cook about 5 min.

reduce heat & stir in spices (cumin-salt) & bell peppers. cover & cook 5 min, until bell pepper begins to soften. stir occasionally to keep the spices from burning. if needed, add a little juice from the canned tomatoes.

add beans, tomatoes, lemon juice & soy sauce. bring to a simmer, cover, and cook 5-10min. stir in the chocolate. when it has melted, adjust salt/pepper/lemon juice to taste.

garnish with chopped scallions (green onions).

Morrocan Chickpea Chili

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 cup pre-chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste

2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in cumin and next 7 ingredients (through red pepper); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1 1/2 cups water, tomato paste, chickpeas, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro and juice.Yield4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 215(23% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 2.9g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 7.7g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 102mg; SODIUM 534mg; FIBER 9.8g; IRON 3.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 36.3g

This is a very yummy vegetarian dish for fall. Don't be deterred by all of the ingredients..this is really easy to make! You can also substitute ingredients and change around some of the flavoring. I added a little light sour cream and cheddar cheese over the top and served with warmed pita bread.

Chicken Nuggets

A long time ago I was at a friends for dinner and they made chicken nuggets. I decided to try to remember what was in them. I am pretty sure I got it wrong but they were good all the same and really easy.

First cut chicken into small pieces (chicken nugget size)
Then dip the chicken in a mixture of egg and Worcestershire sauce
Then dip in wheat thin crumbs and Parmesan cheese(the generic works and I used the reduced fat) Put in a dish sprinkle a little additional Worcestershire sauce over them all, cook in the oven until they are done.

I know I don't have any specific measurements but they were good. I may have left something out so if you try them and think "hmmm. . . this doesn't seem right" ask me!

Dal

we had our first BOOK CLUB meeting last night! we met to discuss THE KITE RUNNER & eat lots of yummy afghan food. here's what I made: DAL. this is actually an indian dish - a lentil puree - but it had similar ingredients to most of the afghan dishes I found online. I doubled this recipe.

rinse & place in large saucepan:

• 1 C red lentils (or yellow split peas)

add:

• 2 C water
• 1 small sliced onion
• 3/4 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 3/4 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric

simmer, covered, until lentils are tender, 20-25min. puree in food processor & return to saucepan. stir in:

• 1 C water
• 3/4 tsp salt

simmer, partly covered, until the dal is thickened to the consistency of split pea soup, about 20 mins. stir in:

• 2 fresh jalepeño peppers (sedded, cut into 1/3rds)
• 1.5 plum tomatoes, diced
• 3 Tb chopped fresh cilantro

serve over:

• kashann's afghan rice!

from the joy of cooking

Rigatoni Mediterranean

This is from the July 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine.

Ingredients:
1 pound uncooked rigatoni
1/4 cup olive oil
5 1/2 cups diced eggplant peeled
6 garlic cloves minced
2 cups sweet onions
1 large zuchinni thinly sliced
3/4 cup green onions (may be omitted)
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
1 t Italian seasoning
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups shredded mozarella
cooking spray
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Cook pasta, drain and set aside. Heat 2 T of olive oil in a large pan. Add eggplant and saute 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Heat remaining 2 T of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for 30 sec. Add the onion, zucchini and green onions and cook for 6 min. Add the spices, basil and tomatoes. Boil and than simmer for 15 minutes.

Combine pasta, eggplant and tomato mixture in a large bowl. Add the mozzarella and mix. Transer to a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evening with parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes.

Let sit for 10-20 minute sto allowing flavors to meld.

Yeld 10 servings

Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Potato

4 pork chops
salt and pepper to taste
2 onions, sliced into rings
2 sweet potatoes, sliced
2 apples - peeled, cored, and sliced into rings
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Season pork chops with salt and pepper to taste, and arrange in a medium oven safe skillet. Top pork chops with onions, sweet potatoes, and apples. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Season with 2 teaspoons pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover, and bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until sweet potatoes are tender and pork chops have reached an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Chicken Boneless Skinless Tenderloins
2 Egg Whites, lightly beaten
Parmesan Grated Cheese
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Baking Paper
Baking Tray

Preheat oven to 390°

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Pour the Grated Parmesan Cheese onto a plate. Dip the chicken into the egg whites, then press the chicken firmly in the Grated Parmesan Cheese to coat the chicken on each side. It is important to make sure the cheese sticks to the chicken.

Place the chicken on the baking tray and sprinkle the Shredded Parmesan Cheese over each piece of chicken.

Bake at 390° for 15 – 20 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through

Barbeque Hamburgers

Hamburger
Bread Crumbs
Salt & Pepper
Egg White

1. Mix the above ingredients and make about 6 Hamburgers
2. Brown them
3. Preheat oven to 350°

1 Can of Tomato Soup
¼ Cup of Water
¼ Cup Chopped Onion
¼ Cup Sweet Relish
1 Tbsp Vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcester Sauce
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
9x13 Pan

1. Mix the above ingredients
2. Put the hamburgers in 9x13 pan
3. Pour the mixture over the hamburgers

Bake at 350° for about 1 hour

Chicken Parmesan

Prep Time 5 Minutes
Total 40 Minutes

1 Jar of 26 oz Spaghetti Sauce
6 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
6 Small Boneless Chicken 1-1/2 lb
1-1/2 Cups Kraft Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
9x13 Pan
Tin Foil

1. Pour Sauce into 9x13 Pan
2. Stir in 4 Tbsp of the Grated Parm Cheese
3. Add Chicken turn over to coat both sides of Chicken
4. Cover with Tin Foil

Bake @ 375° for 30 mins Covered with Tinfoil

Uncover the Tinfoil
Top w/Mozzarella Cheese
Add the remaining Parm Cheese

Continue Baking for 5 Mins

Serve over cooked pasta

Serves 6