30 Aug
Black Bean "Burgers"
Posted by Chelle as Mexican, Vegetarian Entrees | 0 Comments
I have had these on my “to make” list for quite some time, but had never gotten the opportunity to try them. Today I was looking for something healthy for lunch since I usually just snack on whatever I can find, and I remembered I had wanted to try these.
These patties were very tasty and dredging them in cornmeal gave them a great crisp exterior. I ate my “burger” with brown rice and salsa and sour cream on the side. I will be keeping this recipe as it’s perfect for quick, healthy lunches! The recipe below reflects the changes that I made from the original.
Black Bean Patties
(Adapted from Cooking Light)
2 cups rinsed, drained canned black beans, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup cornmeal
Cooking spray
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream
Preparation
Place 1 1/2 cups beans, garlic, and salt in a bowl; partially mash with a fork. Place 1/2 cup remaining beans and egg white in a food processor; process 30 seconds or until well combined. Add bean puree to mashed beans in bowl, and stir until combined. Add cheese and onion to bean mixture; stir until combined. Divide bean mixture into four equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch thick patty. Place cornmeal in a shallow dish. Dredge both sides of each patty in cornmeal.
Heat pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Top each patty with 1 tablespoon sour cream and extra cheese if desired.
29 Aug
Ranch Pretzels
Posted by Chelle as Appetizers/Snacks | 0 Comments
My friend Amber introduced me to this seasoning technique for crackers and pretzels and it’s so easy that I don’t think I’ll eat a plain bag of pretzels ever again! My measurements were to scale for the size bag of pretzels I used - adjust as necessary.
Ranch Pretzels
(Source: Amber’s Delectable Delights)
9-oz. bag pretzels
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1-oz. packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dips
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Place the pretzels in a gallon-size ziploc bag. Add the oil, seal the bag and toss to coat. Add the dry ingredients to the bag, seal and toss again until all of the pretzels are coated.
3. Spread the pretzels out on a large baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the oil has absorbed into the pretzels. Cool and store in an airtight container.
28 Aug
Weekend BBQ
Posted by Chelle as Potatoes, Salads | 0 Comments
This past weekend my family came to visit so we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and I put together a number of salads to go with the meal. Because of the hustle and bustle of getting everyone fed, I didn’t get pictures of everything, but my menu was as follows:
- Burgers and hot dogs on the grill
- Corn on the cob on the grill
- Fruit salad
- Loaded baked potato salad
- Antipasto salad
- Apple pie for dessert
I did not get a picture of the Loaded Baked Potato Salad, but everyone raved about it - the flavors were phenomenal. Here is the recipe:
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
(Source: The Country Kitchen)
6 medium baking potatoes (about 2 pounds)
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Thinly sliced green onions (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrub potatoes thoroughly and pat dry. Prick potatoes. Bake 50-60 minutes or until tender. Remove potatoes from oven; cool completely.
2. Combine sour cream and mayonnaise in a small bowl. Chop bacon and red onion; add to sour cream mixture with the shredded cheddar. Stir in salt and pepper; cover and refrigerate.
3. Coarsely chop potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Place in a large bowl; fold in sour cream mixture. Cover and refrigerate 4-6 hours or overnight. Garnish with sliced green onions and shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I put together my antipasto salad on the fly and this is what I ended up using:
Antipasto Salad
1/2 lb. hard salami, cubed
1/2 lb. pepperoni, cubed
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, cubed
1/2 lb. provolone cheese, cubed
Small can artichoke hearts, quartered
Jar medium-sized green olives, drained
Can of large black olives, drained
Good Seasons Italian salad dressing (about 1/3 cup)
Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least 1 hour before serving to allow flavors to combine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Grandma was sweet enough to have brought me a present when she came to visit, so I wanted to show it off here! She bought me the cutest pumpkin pie plate, with a cover. The bottom of the plate as an old-fashioned recipe for pumpkin pie. This is perfect for pie, or even as a fall candy dish! So cute 
20 Aug
Miniature Italian Meatloaves
Posted by Chelle as Beef, Italian, Potatoes | 8 Comments
Meatloaves!
(sorry for the dark pics tonight)
A classic American dish with more varieties than Heinz 57 (yes, a shameless plug for my hometown!). These individual-sized meatloaves cooked up significantly faster than a large traditional meatloaf and the seasoning mix made them taste like huge meatballs! An additional benefit is having leftovers ready to go and not needing to be sliced up.
I served these with garlic mashed potatoes - the recipe is also posted below.
Teeny Tiny Italian Meatloaves
(adapted from Amber’s Delectable Delights)
1 lb. ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1 cup spaghetti sauce, divided
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1/4 onion, grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Gently mix 3/4 cup spaghetti sauce with the remaining ingredients.
3) Divide into four equal portions and form into desired shape. Place onto greased baking pan.
4) Smother each loaf with remaining spaghetti sauce and top with extra mozzarella cheese.
5) Bake for 40-50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4 medium sized red potatoes (about 3.5 cups cubed), scrubbed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
1) Cube potatoes and place in pot with peeled garlic cloves. Cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 20 minutes; drain.
2) Place in a bowl with remaining ingredients and mash or beat with electric mixer.
19 Aug
American Apple Pie - Food in Film
Posted by Chelle as Pies/Tarts | 6 Comments
Today I made my first homemade pie and I have chosen to enter it into a blogging event, Food in Film, which is hosted by Susan at The Well-Seasoned Cook. The round-up has been posted on Susan’s blog ~ please check out the other creative entries here!
As someone who graduated high school in 1998, the release of 1999’s American Pie movie definitely still struck a resounding chord with my friends and I - it was a hilarious adaptation of the quest of high school seniors to finally “become men and women”. The first movie, which would come to have two equally side-splitting sequels, features the scene for which the movie is titled. In an effort to see if his friends have described “things” appropriately, Jim ravages an apple pie. After being walked in on by his dad, this is what’s left of the pie:
While American Pie is certainly not known as a cinematic masterpiece, it is definitely a movie for which a generation identifies as growing up and coming-of-age with, as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink were for teens of the ’80s. American Pie is my Breakfast Club. And below is my Apple Pie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now, on to the pie!!
As I said, this was my first attempt at a homemade pie and I must say that this pie was pretty much everything I hoped it would be!! Next time I would slice the apples a little thicker and figure out how to get my dough not to crack when rolling it out (any tips??).
For the crust I used an adaptation of a Pate Brisee, substituting shortening for half of the butter. The crust was absolutely fabulous - buttery, flaky and completely melt-in-your-mouth. For the filling I used a method that was detailed in Joy of Baking. The desired effect was achieved - juicy apples in a perfectly crisp and browned bottom crust.
Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup (1/2 stick) butter-flavored shortening, chilled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water
Apple Filling
2 1/2 pounds (about 6 large) apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 8 cups sliced)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Directions:
1) In a large bowl combine the sliced apples, sugars, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Let the apples macerate at room temperature for about two hours.
2) In a food processor, place the flour, salt, and sugar (for the pie crust) and process until combined. Add the butter and shortening and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). Pour 1/4 cup water in a slow, steady stream through the feed tub until the dough just holds together when pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not process more than 30 seconds.
3) Turn the dough onto your work surface and gather into a ball. Divide the dough in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using. This will chill the butter and relax the gluten in the flour.
4) After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry into a 12-inch circle. Fold the dough in half and gently transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Brush off any excess flour and trim the edges of the pastry to fit the pie pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
5) Then remove the second round of pastry and roll it onto a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator.
6) Place the apples and their juices in a strainer that is placed over a large bowl (to capture the juices). Let the apples drain for about 15-30 minutes or until you have at least 1/2 cup of juice. Pour collected juices and the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 6-7 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about 1/3 cup and is syrupy and lightly caramelized.
7) Meanwhile, remove the top pastry crust from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it has time to soften and become pliable.
Transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl and mix them with the cornstarch. Then pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine. Pour the apples and their syrup into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the apples. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make five 2-inch slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.
9) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on the rack before preheating the oven. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the stone (or pan) to catch any apple juices.
10) Set the pie on the stone or pan and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices start to bubble through the slits and apples feel tender (not mushy) when a toothpick or sharp knife is inserted through one of the slits. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with a foil ring to prevent over browning after about 30 minutes.
11) Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-4 hours before cutting. Store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
