Episode #16 of our podcast included a quick audio-recipe for Mexican pickled onions. I figured I’d document it here as well since I don’t want to give you any excuses for not having a jar of this stuff in your fridge at all times. It’s super quick and tasty.
Ingredients
- 1 large red…
These blueberry preserves can be made without canning equipment and store for a month in the fridge or a year in the freezer! And with only 4 grams of sugar per tablespoon, this has less sugar than any jar I’ve seen in stores. Try it with other types of berries or a mixture!
Note: This recipe can also be made with two 10-oz bags of frozen blueberries. Cook the frozen berries 2-3 minutes before mashing, then reduce your total cooking time to 15-17 minutes.
Have you heard? It’s hot! Here are some ways to cope this weekend:
This is a super yummy and healthy side dish that though it takes some time to prepare, it can be assembled in advance and also travels well. Plus, the results are well worth the work! If you own a mandoline and an immersion blender, you can save some time and dirty dishes.
We loved this creamy cauliflower puree so much we started dreaming about all the other dishes we could incorporate it into- baked mac and cheese, chicken and vegetable pie… The satisfaction of warm comfort food and a generous helping of veggies- pretty sneaky, sis.
Have a lot of recipes online, but prefer to keep a hard copy? Printable PDF recipe cards and dividers allow you to purchase a digital template where you can type in your recipes and print them out at home. These pictured above are from A La Bouffe, who offer their templates in two different sizes so you can organize them in either a recipe box or a binder.
Do you have an unruly stack of index cards? Corral your collection in a recipe box. These colorful ones from Freestyle Gifts are handcrafted from poplar and come with 12 dividers made from recycled album covers. Also a great way to organize coupons.
Have a pile of recipes torn from magazines? My preferred method of organizing my recipes is in a 3-ring binder. However, I might need to upgrade my plain white to one of the eco-friendly ones from Russell + Hazel. They come in 11 different colors and have a dry erase interior!
Slip the pages into sheet protectors to easily snap in and out and protect them from fingerprints. Dividers that are also folders hold smaller clippings; utilize any pockets inside for holding pages to file in the future.
Or buy a ready-made system, like the Recipe Binder Set from Russell + Hazel.
Want a simple drop and go system? If you are often clipping new recipes and tossing old ones, colorful files in the kitchen can help keep the collection manageable. Magazine holder and file folder set from Paper Source. Bamboo file holder and recipe file folders from The Container Store.
This recipe (from an old issue of Everyday With Rachael Ray magazine) was such a hit in my home, it has been requested again! So I thought i would share this yummy (and healthy) twist on an old favorite with all of you… enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded*
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pound swiss chard—rinsed, dried and thinly sliced crosswise
4 soft sesame burger buns, split and toasted**
DIRECTIONS:
In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the scallions, carrot and half of the garlic and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Move the veggies to the perimeter of the pan, add the pork to the center and cook over high heat, breaking the meat into clumps and turning occasionally until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes.
In a cup, combine 1/2 cup water, 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce, the oyster sauce and cornstarch; pour over the pork and cook, stirring, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the pork mixture to a bowl and keep warm.
In the same skillet, add the remaining garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the swiss chard and remaining 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce and stir-fry until wilted, about 3 minutes. Divide the chard among the bun bottoms. Spoon the pork mixture on top and cover with the bun tops. Serve with knives and forks.
*If you’re like me and usually only have baby carrots on hand, save your fingers from shredding along with the carrots by poking them with an ice pick or skewer before hitting them with a vegetable peeler.
**I substituted whole wheat burger buns to stick with whole grains.
This was my first stab at making a quiche. This is a fairly simple dish to make and is extremely versatile. I made mine with spinach, broccoli, and crimini mushrooms but you can create an endless combination of vegetables and/or meats. Just be sure to cook any meat and sauté the veggies until they’re soft before filling the crust.
They only had deep dish pie crusts where i was shopping and as you can see from the photo I ended up with a little extra crust (which is never a bad thing) but I would have preferred to use a whole wheat version. Either way, this was great with a salad for dinner and I know my little guy will love it too. This is also a great dish to serve for brunch.
Veggie Quiche Recipe
Set oven to 350 degrees, take out a frozen 9-inch pie crust and place out on your counter to thaw a little bit while preparing the filling.
Saute 1 generous handful of chopped broccoli in olive oil over medium heat until soft, then set aside in a bowl. Next saute 1 handful chopped crimini mushrooms until soft and then add to bowl. Finally, add 2 generous handfuls baby spinach to pan until wilted and place with other vegetables to cool down a little while you prep the custard.
In a separate bowl add 4 eggs, whisk together with a fork. Then add 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup gruyere cheese and some salt and pepper. Combine the custard with the veggies and pour the whole thing into the crust. Top with an additional 1/4 cup gruyere and bake until the eggs are set and it’s a nice golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let you masterpiece cool down a bit before cutting and voila!
King Arthur Flour has a great website chock-full of recipes including those for beginners, kid-friendly, gluten-free and lots more so you’re bound to find something to get you started!
On those dark, dreary days there is nothing I’d rather do than spend the day in my kitchen.
Yesterday was one of those days.
The bread recipe is from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. I could scan it if anyone is interested…
This muffin recipe is from King Arthur Flour. I omitted the coarse sugar on top (because who needs the added sugar?) and used regular ol’ cocoa instead of the dutch-processed because that’s what I had on hand. I’m not too sure what the difference is, anyway. Do you?
Ingredients
2/3 cup (2 ounces) Dutch-proces cocoa Method Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups.
1 3/4 cups (7 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 cups (9 3/8 ounces) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons vinegar
1/2 cup (4 ounces, 1 stick) butter, melted
coarse pearl sugar, for topping (optional)
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside.
In a large measuring cup or medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, to the dry ingredients, stirring to blend; there’s no need to beat these muffins, just make sure everything is well-combined.
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin; the cups will be heaped with batter, and the muffin will bake into a “mushroom” shape. Sprinkle with pearl sugar, if desired.
Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan, allowing them to cool for about 15 minutes on a rack before peeling off the muffin papers or silicone cups. Yield: 12 muffins.
This recipe came from Whole Foods’ website. I omitted the cardamom because I didn’t have any, and the almonds because I didn’t want any. I was also short on blueberries because I didn’t check the recipe first. Shame on me. They were missed.
Nonetheless, it was devoured.
Nonstick cooking spray
2 tablespoons plus 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, divided
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat plain yogurt or bluberry yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed and drained blueberries, divided
1/3 cup sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray; set aside. Put 2 tablespoons of the whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon and cardamom in a medium bowl and mix together with a fork or your fingers until well combined and mixture is in large clumps; set streusel aside.
Put remaining 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, vanilla and eggs then pour into bowl with dry ingredients and stir until combined. Gently fold in 1 cup of the blueberries.
Spoon batter into prepared pan and sprinkle reserved streusel over the top. Scatter remaining 1 cup blueberries over the streusel then top with almonds and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center cake comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Once cooled, loosen edges of cake and transfer to a plate. Cut into slices and serve.
