random news flash

I haven't posted much on this blog lately because we've had a series of cooking failures here. Not horribly bad, nothing burned or destroyed, but just stuff we didn't like.

The verdict is in: after multiple attempts, we do not like foods made with coconut milk.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

I found this while looking for meat-less meals. I didn't have any chipotle chili, so I used a combination of cayenne and chili powder. Turned out OK. I have wimpy taste-buds and can't handle spicy.
Found the recipe here.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chile, (see Note)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cilantro.

lemon pie

Made this tonight for dessert - it's another new one for me, but I'm not counting anymore. It's very tangy - if you don't like lemon, you probably wouldn't like this. I do like lemon, and I loved this!

15-oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
3/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed = about 6 lemons. I used the little bottle things and it took about almost 2 full ones.)

graham cracker crust - either store bought or homemade

1. Mix the condensed milk and egg yolks with a hand-held mixer at medium speed until the mixture lightens, about 3 minutes.
2. With the mixer running, pour the lemon juice in slowly until it's entirely incorporated.
3. Pour into graham cracker crust.
4. Bake on center rack of oven at 350 for 20 minutes or until it's completely set.
5. Let cool for at least an hour before eating.

We ate it with vanilla ice cream. The pie would go great with a meringue, which you could use the egg whites for after separating the yolks. I was a klutz and broke one of the yolks in the whites, so they were no good for the meringue and I dumped them.

yam cake

Aaron bought a yam this week. He claims he's going to do something with it, but has yet to do it, so I took a chunk off the end and tried something myself.

The original recipe calls it Golden Yam Brownies but they didn't look like brownies. They were a little flat for cake, but that's a bit closer to the truth. I skipped the glaze, added a tsp of cinnamon, and switched out the all-purpose flour for some whole wheat flour. Turned out great! Aaron isn't big on sweets, but he's gobbling this stuff right down.

Here's to trying out new recipes with random vegetables!

Linguine with Shrimp and Creamy Roasted Tomatoes

This was delicious! Shrimp was on sale here the week of Super Bowl, so we got a good deal on it. This would make a great Valentine's Day dinner :)



* 1 1/2 cup(s) grape tomatoes
* 1 tablespoon(s) extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 teaspoon(s) thyme leaves
* Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
* 3/4 pound(s) linguine
* 1 cup(s) heavy cream
* 3/4 pound(s) large shrimp, shelled, deveined and halved lengthwise
* 2 teaspoon(s) fresh lemon juice
* 1 teaspoon(s) finely grated lemon zest
* 1 tablespoon(s) coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large ovenproof skillet, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes for about 25 minutes, until starting to brown and their skins split.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the linguine until al dente; drain.
3. Add the cream to the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderate heat, gently crushing the tomatoes, until the cream thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer over moderate heat until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the linguine to the skillet along with the lemon juice and toss over low heat until the pasta is coated, about 1 minute. Add the lemon zest and parsley and toss. Transfer the pasta to warm bowls and serve at once.

Turkey Brine

As someone who has cooked more then her fair share of bad turkeys - this was amazing!

http://www.recipezaar.com/Kittencals-Brown-Sugar-Turkey-Brine-148225

Usually at our house we eat turkey the night it is made - freeze the rest - then avoid using it because it was so bad - in a few months throw away freezer burned turkey. These leftovers won't last the week!

Simple Sesame Noodles

Got this from The Pioneer Woman.

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8

Ingredients

* 12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
* ¼ cups Soy Sauce
* 2 Tablespoons Sugar
* 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
* 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
* 3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
* ½ teaspoons Hot Chili Oil
* 4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
* 2 Tablespoons Hot Water
* 4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin

Preparation Instructions

Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed.
Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat.
Sprinkle with green onions and toss.
Serve in a bowl with chopsticks. Yummy!

*****
This is very forgiving. I didn't have chili oil, so I used a few shakes of crushed red pepper flakes. It was too much heat for my daughter, but the husband and I both loved it. I also didn't have any fresh garlic (WHAT???) so I used garlic powder, no rice vinegar so I used red wine vinegar, and I didn't have any green onions so we were deprived of that. And I only had about 1-1/2 Tbs of sesame oil left in my bottle. It was still OH SO GOOD.

The other thing I did differently: She said to cook the noodles first and keep them warm, then do the sauce. What a PITB. I did the sauce while the noodles were cooking, and it was done well before the noodles were. I whisked it again after they were drained, then combined them. Yummy.

Broccoli Salad

This is another from Recipezaar. It's #24862. Dressing can be made ahead of time and makes plenty. It's very thick at first and then thins out as the sugar dissolves. I ended up having to add more broccoli to even out the flavor and texture. I used regular raisins and peanuts instead of sunflower seeds.

Ingredients

• 3 broccoli, heads (cut into bite-size pieces)
• 5-10 pieces crisp bacon, crumbled (Baco's do not work)
• 2 tablespoons red onions, chopped
• 1 cup golden raisin
• 3/4 cup sunflower seed (I use unsalted)

Dressing (best to add just prior to serving)

• 1 cup mayonnaise (low-cal will not be the same)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional) or 1/2 cup prepared mustard (optional)

Directions

1. Put all of the salad ingredients in a bowl and pour on the dressing.
2. Mix well.
3. Chill.
4. Keeps well in the refrigerator, but is best served within an hour or two while ingredients are still crunchy.

Cream of Potato Soup

This is a tasty and warm comfort food for those chilly days. I got it off of Recipezaar. It's #149810. I followed the recipe exactly and it was yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 cups potatoes, diced
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons parsley flakes
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups swiss cheese, shredded
• paprika
• salt & pepper

Directions

1. Simmer broth, potatoes and onion until vegetables are tender.
2. Stir in parsley flakes.
3. In small bowl, blend flour with a few tbsp of the milk.
4. Add to the potato mixture.
5. Stir in remaining milk, cooking until soup thickens.
6. Add the cheese, stirring until it melts.
7. Season with paprika, pepper and salt to taste.

pizza night

In conjunction with Amanda's post with pizza crust and sauce recipes, here's how we do pizza night with friends:

We set out all the toppings in their own bowls. We make a whole bunch of little crusts about the size of your hand, and everyone makes their own mini-pizzas.

I make our sauce, which is posted here. Our toppings include the usual Americanized stuff like pepperoni and black olives. We have multiple kinds of cheese like motz, block Parm (not the stuff in the green can), and goat cheese. We have Italian sausage, Italian spiced pulled pork, olive oil, diced bell pepper, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, capers, dried herbs like oregano and basil ... we use the "Jamie Oliver's Italy" book to get ideas for topping combinations.

The missionaries LOVE pizza night!
(And yes, the one with the beard has permission to grow it - he has a skin condition that makes it difficult to shave cleanly.)