Cooking blind

...or possibly deaf. Either way, it was definitely cooking with a handicap.

I go to the gym a few times a week and I usually listen to NPR's 'Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!' on my iPod. Sometimes music helps me run faster but lately that's not so much of an option and the show just gives me the patience to stay on the machine for an extended period of time.

So I'm riding a bike, listening to my iPod AND watching the Food Network on a TV channel at the same time. The TV had no sound but I watched the hostess make something that looked really good. It was some tortellini with what looked like a stroganoff-esque cream sauce served over it. I couldn't tell exactly what ingredients she was using but I re-created her recipe as best I could with what sounded good (and healthier) to me. If that isn't a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is. But... it turned out really good! So here's the recipe (mine, not hers. I never did figure out what it was.)

3-cheese tortellini (4 servings)
3/4 pound lean beef (sirloin, ranch steak, whatever) thinly sliced
1/2 onion cut into very thin strips
1 medium portabello mushroom, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup water
big sprinkle of beef bullion or soup base
garlic powder
1 cup milk
2 tbsp flour
salt and pepper
tarragon

Get the water for the tortellini boiling

Spray a skillet with with non-stick spray. Sprinkle your sliced beef with salt and get it searing in the pan. When it's about half done, add the onions. At the end, add the mushrooms and saute' them down.

Sprinkle in the beef bullion and garlic powder - add the 1/2 cup water, let the meat and veggies simmer in the broth for a minute. Get your tortellini in the hot water and cook according to package directions.

Whisk your flour into the milk and add the mixture to your meat and veggies. Mix well and simmer until sauce tightens up. (Real cooks would use heavy cream here instead of 2% milk but I can't deal with those calories.) Salt and pepper to taste. At the very end, stir in just a sprinkle of tarragon. Serve over hot tortellini.

If you've timed it right, your sauce and tortellini should be done at the same time. The whole meal took me 20 minutes to put together. If you give it a try, I'd love to know what you think!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 12

Christmas Eve and our last cookie recipe! I'm sure your holiday baking is not over (I'm just getting started on our Christmas Eve snack-a-thon) so hopefully these come in handy!

I loved these cookies that Natalie made - they reminded me of Greek wedding cookies (complete with the choking death-fit that can come from inhaling the powdered sugar) but with a more delicate flavor from the lemon. Really really wonderful!

Lemon Cheesecake Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Confectioner's sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375. Mix butter and cream cheese until creamy, blend in sugar. Add egg, zest and juice, mix well. Sift together flour and baking powder. Mix into butter on low speed.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet 1 inch apart. Bake until golden on bottom (about 12 minutes.) Let cool on wire rack and sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

TIP: If you don't have a sieve to sprinkle the powdered sugar, my mother used to fill a large spoon with powdered sugar and tap it with another spoon. It made the perfect snowfall of powdered sugar.

And because you are oh-so-lucky, today you get TWO cookie recipes, this one from Tricia! This one would be fun to leave out for Santa tonight. Also if you're totally running out of time, I bet you could use a ready-made cookie (like a Lorna Doone shortbread) and dip them. Yum!

Santa's Skinny Dippers
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 pkg. Guittard chocolate chips
1 cups finely chopped pecans

Cream butter, brown sugar, flour and vanilla. Foll and flatten the dough into individual 2x1" ovals. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 325. Cool. Melt chocolate and dip cookies into it. Roll in nuts. Lay and let cool on parchment paper. Enjoy!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 11

The lovely Kelsey was the cookie contest winner for Best Cookie - and these little beauties were scrumptious! I barely got one or two because my son discovered them and ate almost all I had.


Gingersnap Sandwich Cookies with Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. molasses
1/4 c. cold water
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. ground ginger
2 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. salt

Frosting
3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 t. grated lemon peel
3-4 t. lemon juice
3-4 t. milk

1. In large bowl, beat 1/2 c. butter and sugars with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and water until blended (mixture may look curdled). On low speed, beat in flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves, and salt. Divide dough in half; wrap each half in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

2. Heat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. On well-floured surface, roll half of dough at a time to 1/8-inch thickness (keep remaining dough refrigerated). Cut with 2-inch round cookie cutter. Using large end of a piping tip or 1/2-inch round canape cutter, cut a hole in center of half of the cutouts. Carefully transfer to cookie sheets, placing 1/2 inch apart. Reroll scraps.

3. Bake 9-12 minutes or until set in center. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool copmletely, about 30 minutes.

4. In large bowl, beat frosting ingredients on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread about 1 heaping teaspooon frosting on each whole cookie; top with cutout cookie. If desired, sprinkle additional grated lemon peel on frosting in center.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 10

Wow, Christmas is really creeping up on us, eh?

These bar cookies were so different and tasty - definitely something I had never had before. Chocolate and orange is one of my favorite flavor combinations. I think FoxyJ said these were her grandmother's own recipe and they're something I'll be making again.

Chocolate Refreshers
1 1/4 cup chopped dates
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup water
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tsp. orange zest
2 tbsp. softened butter
2-3 tbsp milk

Heat oven to 350. Combine dates, brown sugar, butter and water in a pan and cook over low heat until butter melts and dates soften. Remove from heat and immediately stir in chocolate chips until melted. Cool for a few minutes and add eggs. Sift dry ingredients together and add to chcoolate mixture alternately with milk and orange juice. Bland thoroughly and add nuts. Pour into a greasted 15x10x2" (jelly roll size) pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool compltely and glaze. After glaze has set cut into bars.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 9

There is a great tutorial for these here!

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 8

Some of the cookie recipes have been a little labor-intensive. So lets have a simple one to start the weekend off right. These yummy cookies are as easy as - you guessed it - 1, 2, 3

1, 2, 3 Cookies
1 German Chocolate cake mix
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons water

Add eggs and water to dry cake mix. Stir with a fork until moistened. Sprinkle in nuts, Andes mint chips, crushed candy canes or chocolate chips. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until edges crack and cookie is set.

Wow, that was easy! And they're so delicious. I really can't get enough of these.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 7

I know you can buy your own gingerbread house kit from the store... but isn't it more fun to make your own (the answer is yes). So here's a fun family-night activity for you. For the truly ambitious, here is how to make your own gingerbread house. For the fainter of heart, gingerbread men are always fun. Last year I let my husband be in charge of the decorating table and we ended up with NBA All-Star gingerbread men, Masked Mexican Wrestler gingerbread men and even little missionaries in shirts and ties. He's an artist.


Gingerbread
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup water

Cream shortening and sugar. Sift flour with salt, soda and spices. Blend flour mixture into creamed mixture alternately with molasses and water. You should have a very firm dough. Chill at least 1 hour. Sometimes I make the dough the day before.

Roll your dough out to a desired thickness (about 1/4 inch). Cut your gingerbread men, or the shapes you need for your house. Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes (less for soft gingerbread men, more for crispier house walls). Cool and decorate (or assemble).

This year I'm planning on making gingerbread men to hang on the kids' Christmas tree. If you're going to hang up your gingerbread people, make sure to cut a small hole in the top of the head before you bake them. Once your cookie is decorated and cooled, thread red ribbon through the hole and hang your adorable creation on the tree.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 6

While searching for cookie recipes that I liked, I kept stumbling across pet cookies. Well, why not!? Whip up a batch of cookies for your special pet this holiday.


Peanut Butter Pet Cookies

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375. In a bowl, combine flour and baking powder. In another bowl, mix peanut butter and milk, then add to dry ingredients and mix well. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness and use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased baking sheet until lightly brown. Be careful, can burn easily. Cool on a rack, then store in an airtight container.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 5

Each year we vote on our favorite cookies and this was one of our winners! Everyone loved Missy's delicate almond cookies and I'm sure you will too.

Scandinavian Almond Bars

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 325. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and almond extract, mix until fluffy. Stir in flour and baking powder, mix well. Divide dough into 4 pieces - roll eich piece into a log 12" long. Place two rolls per cookie sheet 4-5" apart. Flatten each roll by hand until about 3" wide.

Brush flattened roll with milk and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. Cut cookies crosswise at a diagonal while still warm (about 1" wide.)

When cool, drizzle with almond icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup milk

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 4

Two types of cake-mix cookies make for an easy-peasy baking night.


Cake Mix Cookies

1 box cake mix, any flavor
Vegetable oil
Eggs

Prepare cake mix as directed EXCEPT omit water and use one less egg than recipe calls for. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and drop onto cookie sheet. Bake in 350 oven for 10-12 minutes.

For peppermint sprinkle cookies, add crushed candy canes or peppermint candies to batter (try with chocolate cake mix!)

For sandwich cookies, color white icing with food colors and ice the bottoms of 2 cookies, squishing them together.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 3

While not exactly a holiday cookie, this recipe is one that is special to me and my kids. This is my daughter's own recipe for chocolate chip cookies. Even though I posted it last year, it's a special tradition for us.

Like everything else she does, it starts with my basic recipe and she adds a little something special that makes them unique. From my family to yours...


Minnie Chip Cookies
1/3 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup dark chocolate MnM's
1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 Tbsp rainbow sprinkles

Have Mom cream shortening, butter and sugars together. Crush eggs over bowl, remove bits of shell, add vanilla. Have Mom mix well. Stir in flour, salt and soda (add the last 3/4 cup flour slowly, depending on your altitude and humidity, you might not need it all). Wipe or sweep up all the extra sugar and flour that you may have scattered about.
Measure out your favorite cookie 'bits' (MnM's, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, nuts, raisins, craisins, coconut, candy bits, chocolate chunks, dried cherries, etc...) and mix into dough. Use small measuring cups (1/4 or 1/8 cups) so that they're easy to handle and you get to measure and pour many times. Roll cookies into loose 2-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 2

This is a fun cookie that my friend Chrissy makes - it's loaded with delicious things and seems to satisfy any serious sweet tooth.


4 ounces butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (6 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 (6 oz.) pkg. butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in 9x13-inch baking pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over melted butter; spread crumbs with chocolate chips, then butterscotch chips. Sprinkle coconut over this, then drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over all. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut in 1 1/2-inch squares.

12 Days of Christmas Cookies - Day 1

It's that time of year again - time to count down the days till Christmas with some festive cookie recipes. We had our annual Cookie Swap last week and, as usual, there were some terrific cookies to be sampled. This is the one that I made for the occasion.


1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup chopped almonds
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tablespoon orange extract extract

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and orange flavoring until well blended. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. Place roll onto the prepared cookie sheet, and press down to 1 inch thickness.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When cookies are just cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Use a very sharp knife to keep from breaking the edges. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

When toasted cookies are cool, dip half into melted dark chocolate. Delicious with hot cocoa or cider.

Thanksgiving stuffing

Remember that one time I won that recipe contest and the recipe was posted at Rachael Ray's magazine? I guess that link doesn't work anymore but the recipe is still posted here. Yay!

The test kitchens have changed my recipe a little bit, so I'll go ahead and post the recipe that I actually use:

One 1-pound loaves white bread, cut into cubes
1 bunch celery with leaves, coarsely chopped
2 sticks (12 ounces) butter
2 onions, chopped
One 10-ounce package sliced white mushrooms
1 tablespoon coarse salt
3 tablespoons poultry seasoning
2 large eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 250°. Scatter the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until dried but not browned, about 40 minutes. Let cool.

Wash the bunch of celery and chop the entire thing (leaves and all) into 1/2" pieces.

In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 10 minutes. Mix in the celery and mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. Stir in the salt and poultry seasoning until thoroughly combined.

In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the beaten egg mixture. Add the vegetable mixture and toss until well combined.

I stuff part of this mixture into the turkey. The remaining stuffing is placed into a buttered casserole dish and covered with foil in the fridge until the turkey is almost done. Bake the stuffing for 40 minutes, covered, at 350 or until hot throughout.

Sore Throat Soup

I, like the rest of the free world, am sick today. So far none of us have H1N1, but I do have a killer sore throat and a cough. This soup has been my favorite thing.

It's full of lovely ingredients that are good for you and really help my sore throat to feel better. So if you're into yummy food, whip up a pot of this and keep it in the fridge for a chilly or yucky afternoon.


The original recipe for this came from Lindsey of Cafe Johnsonia, but I make it differently than she does. Here is my version.

Thai Lemon Coconut Chicken Soup

2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 can coconut milk (use light if you are concerned about fat content)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or homemade if you have it)
1 lemongrass stalk or several lemon balm leaves
Soy sauce
Mushrooms (shitake, baby crimini or button if nothing else)
Thai chilies (I used Thai chili oil and it worked just fine)
Zest and juice of 2 limes
Lemon juice
Chopped scallions or onion

Rice for serving

Simmer the coconut broth in a large pan. Add the lemongrass stalk and let it steep. (You can also add Kaffir lime leaves at this point, if you can find them.) Taste and see if the flavor is as strong as you like it. Bring it back to a simmer. Add the chicken, chicken broth, lime zest and juice, and mushrooms. Cook until the chicken is no longer raw. Add soy sauce, chili oil and lemon juice to taste (I like mine pretty lemony, not too salty and a little spicy.)

Ladle over hot rice and enjoy.

Autumn Pork Roast

We had the most delicious dinner last night and I wanted to post the recipe. It was a slow-cooker pork roast and when we got home from church, our house smelled so strongly of roasting pork and apples that it made your stomach hurt. The meat was tender and the gravy was delicious with the herbs and hint of sweet apples.

Add to crock-pot:
Pork sirloin roast
2-3 apples, cored and sliced (flavorful apples like Jonathon or Fuji work best)
1 onion, chopped into large pieces

Spray the top of the roast with cooking spray or rub with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with coarse-ground salt and pepper, garlic powder and rosemary. Sprinkle generously since it will be seasoning the entire roast. Cover and cook for several hours until meat is tender and falling apart.

Remove meat from crock-pot, cover tightly with tin foil and let rest for 10 minutes. In the meantime, pour all the cooking juices into a shallow pan, straining out the large chunks of apples and onions. Add 2 cups of chicken stock (or 2 cups of water and 2 tsp. chicken bullion). Mix 2 tbsp. cornstarch in 1/2 cup cold water, bring juices and stock to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Whisk until the entire mixture boils and gravy thickens. Add salt, pepper or additional seasoning to taste.

Serve roast with candied carrots and mashed potatoes.

Grandma's brownies

I've been reminded a few times this week that on the Regular Blog Updater scale, I rank somewhere between Completely Negligent and Slacker McSlackins. I have totally good intentions, I just can't seem to get on top of things right now.

My sweet and lovely grandmother passed away 2 weeks ago. Our friends were kind and awesome enough to pass the kids around between them so that we could travel to Price for the viewing and funeral. I'm really grateful that we were able to spend so much time with our family - there's a special healing spirit there. Because I've felt a little better since then, I unwittingly opened and read this newspaper article sent from my aunt.

Apparently I was just kidding myself about the 'feeling better' because halfway through the article I realized that I was crying my eyes out - giant tears splashing all down my front, trying to convince Minnie that it was just a sneeze and could someone please get Mommy a tissue? However, it was a very nice article and I particularly love this family recipe so I thought I would share it here.

Some salads to try

Since I've started running, I've also been watching what I eat pretty carefully. Thankfully it is summer and there is an abundance of fresh fruits and veggies. And because it's hot outside, salads sound refreshing and yummy. I'm kind of afraid of winter and the surplus of thick soups, warm breads and holiday treats.

Sadly, restaurant and fast-food salads are tricky. Cheese, nuts, meats and dressings sneak in extra fat and calories that you don't need while you think you're being healthy. For example, a Cafe Rio pork salad packs in a whopping 800 calories! So I eat a lot of salad at home. Also I always have the dressing on the side where I can dip the lettuce into it, instead of pouring it over the entire salad. I find I only use about 2 tbsp of dressing with this technique.

So this week I'll share some of my favorite salads I've had this summer. They have been yummy and satisfying. Feel free to share your own!

Mango Chicken Salad

Mixed greens (romaine, spinach or any blend you like)
1/2 cooked, diced chicken breast
1 diced mango
1/2 cup berries (blueberries and raspberries are good)

Dressing:
1 large ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped (or 1 1/4 cups frozen mango cubes, thawed)
4 teaspoons nonfat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Puree in blender until combined - store in fridge.

Green Chili Chicken Salad

For dinner last night I tried this recipe - a copycat of my favorite Bajio salad. It turned out really nicely and we all loved it. Although I cheated and didn't make the dressing. I just went to Bajio for chips and salsa and asked them for a few cups of dressing. I don't use a lot of dressing on any salad (that's where the sneaky calories hide) and the chili chutney was plenty of flavor so unless you're really craving the dressing, I think the salad can stand alone.

Now, let me go ahead and put this out there so you can all laugh at me and then Learn From My Mistake. This recipe uses jalapeno peppers and the ones from my garden were hotter than the fires of Hades. Which was kind of a surprise because last year they were as mild as a bell pepper. So I didn't put on the nitrile gloves that I keep in the kitchen for this express purpose. And what with the peppers and onions and all, my eyes were watering and I picked up a tissue to wipe my nose.

I'm sure you can fill in the blanks from there. It wasn't the best part of my day. And here's the lesson you're learning:

Skip the traditional home remedies. Unless you want to spend many uncomfortable minutes with a stick of butter and a popsicle** up your nose, searching the internet and reading about other people who have somehow gotten the pepper oils on their naughty bits and then chosen to share that information with potentially thousands of strangers. If that sounds like a poor option to you, just go straight to Plan B and get the thing that works.

WaterJel Burn Gel.

Joe used to keep it with his tools for the occasional muffler or hot-engine burn. Personally I think every kitchen needs a bottle of it too. Because at some point you're going to brush up against a cookie sheet or grab a too-hot handle or an extra-springy oven door is going to snap closed on your arm (don't laugh, it happened!) and then you will thank me.




**In a pinch, the popsicle will probably feel pretty good until you can remember where you keep the burn gel.

Homemade Yogurt

We've been eating a lot of yogurt lately. With all the strawberries and raspberries that we get from the garden every day and a little bit of that fabulous granola we made, it's the perfect low-fat, heart-healthy breakfast. If you want to give it a try, here is how I did it.

Homemade Yogurt
All you need is milk (whole, reduced fat, low-fat... whatever), powdered milk and a bit of plain yogurt to use as a starter. Make sure you get the kind with active, live cultures. You only need store-bought yogurt as a starter the first time, after that you use a bit of your leftover yogurt as a starter. You can make as much or as little as you want, with these proportions:

4 cups milk
1/3 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup yogurt starter

Basically you need to scald the milk (heat it so that bubbles start to form along the sides of the pan but not until it boils, about 160-170 degrees) so that it kills any bad bacteria. Cool the milk back to 110 degrees (you should be able to stick your finger into it but not leave it there long). Then you stir in 1/4 cup of your plain yogurt, cover the mixture with plastic wrap and keep it warm for 6 hours. Easy peasy right?

A more detailed step-by-step process can be found here. The site also discusses several different methods of keeping the yogurt warm for the required amount of time. I turned the oven on for a few minutes so that it was warm, boiled a pot of water, put the lid on and placed the whole thing inside the oven with the covered bowl of yogurt. I did this before bedtime and by morning it was perfect.

**I also read two interesting articles that you might like - one about yogurt for weight loss and another for runners.