TWD: Brownie Buttons

This week, we had an easy assignment for Tuesdays with Dorie, thanks to Jayma over at Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen. These tiny, delicious brownies can be made in one saucepan in just a matter of minutes! I've never made brownies in a saucepan before, so that was definitely interesting. The recipe also calls for the zest of half an orange, which I was a little leery of trying, but I went for it. I can certainly taste something a bit different in the brownies, but I'm not sure that I could identify it as orange. They sure are yummy!

The recipe also suggests that they be topped with melted white chocolate, but I was feeling tired and lazy this evening, so I made David a little Brownie Button Sundae! I topped three little brownies with marshmallow fluff, then drizzled them with hot fudge and topped them with crushed walnuts. I had a tiny bite, and they were delicious!

If you're interested in trying a new brownie recipe, you can find the recipe over at Jayma's blog. Or you could go pick up a copy of Baking: From My Home to Yours. Seriously...if you like to bake, what are you waiting for?!

Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry

A couple of weeks ago, I got my newest copy of Good Housekeeping. I hadn't really had an opportunity to sit down and read it until this past weekend, but as soon as I got it, I flipped through it and noticed the recipe for Beef and Pepper Stir-Fry. I marked it and made note on my grocery list the few ingredients I'd need.
I made the stir-fry dish tonight, and it was delicious! As a bonus, it was healthy, easy to prepare, and quick! That's a dish that meets my "weeknight supper" criteria perfectly! Please excuse my pictures...we've got a storm brewin' here in Kentucky and my natural light is gone.

Beef and Pepper Stir Fry

Good Housekeeping

1 lb. flank steak, cut lengthwise in half and very thinly sliced

4 Tbs. lower-sodium teriyaki sauce

4 green onions

1 c. instant brown rice (I used regular, long-cooking)

3 tsp. canola oil (I used olive)

1 clove garlic, finely chopped (I used 2 and pressed it)

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

2 red peppers, thinly sliced

In a small bowl, toss beef with 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce.

Thinly slice dark green tops from green onions and reserve for garnish; cut remaining white and light green parts into 1-inch pieces. Cook rice as label suggests.

In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium-high heat until hot. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook 1 minute. Add green onion pieces, red pepper slices, and 2 tablespoons water; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until peppers are tender, stirring frequently. Transfer to medium bowl. Keep warm.

In same skillet, heat remaining teaspoon oil until hot. Add half of beef; cook 1 minute or until beef just loses its pink color throughout, stirring. Transfer to bowl with peppers; keep warm. Repeat with remaining beef.

Add remaining 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce to skillet; cook 30 seconds, stirring. Add to beef and vegetable mixture; stir to combine. Serve stir-fry over rice. Garnish with reserved green onions.

Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach

Before I begin, I owe many thanks to Amanda (of Amanda's Cookin') for helping me figure out what's wrong with some of my pictures. If you look at these pictures, and especially the ones of the Classic Banana Bundt Cake, you'll see a bright, blurry spot right in the center of the pictures. I've had a heck of a time figuring out what that was! Amanda asked if I had a smudge on my lens, and lo and behold, that was the problem! I'd never thought of that! Thanks Amanda, for helping out a newbie! I appreciate it!
Now let's get down to business...the food! When David and I got married, we ate lots of pasta. I don't know why. I guess because it's quick and cheap. But it can make you chunky if you eat too much of it, which is what started happening to us. We cut way back on pasta, switched to the whole wheat variety when we do have it, and started eating more lean meats and veggies. But we still love the stuff, so we have it about once a week or so. As you probably know by now, I can easily get bored cooking the same things over and over again, so I'm developing a rather large file of recipes to try. Light and healthy pasta recipes seem to be few and far between, so when I find one, I snap it up and try it out as soon as possible. And, since it's summer, I'm not really feeling heavy meat sauces. The last few pasta recipes I've tried have nary a tomato in sight, and they're great!

I found this recipe on Melanie's site, My Kitchen Cafe. I can't even remember how I found her and her wonderful little corner of the Internet, but I'm so glad that I did. I've tried several of her recipes, and they've all been absolutely delicious! She has no idea, but she got David and me through Bible school week (when I was gone pretty much every night) on her healthy crockpot meals! Because it was Bible school, I didn't get pictures of the dishes, but they were so good that they're definitely on the "make again" list. I turned to her again this week when I needed a healthy, quick dish for supper. The Garlic Chicken Pasta with Spinach was wonderful, and so easy! I think she originally got the recipe from Cook's Country and did some tweaking.

Garlic Chicken and Pasta with Spinach

My Kitchen Cafe

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

6 Tbs. olive oil (I cut this back to about 4 Tbs.)

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. penne pasta (I used whole wheat)

5 oz. baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 Tbs. dried basil

6 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Meanwhile, combine garlic, pepper flakes, and oil in a small microwave-safe bowl and microwave until the garlic is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and cut into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the garlic/red pepper oil to a large skillet and heat over medium heat until oil is rippling. Add chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to the boiling water and cook until tender but still lightly firm (al dente). Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water. Drain pasta and return to pot. Stir in chicken, spinach, basil, lemon juice, parmesan cheese, and remaining garlic/red pepper oil, adding reserved pasta water as needed. Season with salt and pepper serve immediately.

TWD: Classic Banana Bundt Cake

Thank you, Food Librarian, for choosing this cake! I, too, love a good Bundt cake. I got my bundt pan at a church yard sale about 4 years ago, and I don't know how I lived without it. If you don't have one at your house, you need a bundt pan. They come in a wide variety of patterns, but I have the basic bundt. I'm happy with it! You can also find bundt pans at a variety of price points. I've seen them for less than $10.00, but all the way up to about $32.00. Spend whatever you like, but definitely pick up a bundt pan the next time you're at Wal-Mart! They're my absolute favorite type of cake to make, so when I saw this one on the TWD schedule for August, I knew there would be no way I'd miss it!

The recipe for this delicious, beautiful Bundt couldn't be easier. You just need flour, baking soda, salt, butter, sugar, vanilla, eggs, bananas, and either sour cream or plain yogurt. I'd say that anyone who cooks or bakes even semi-regularly has these items on hand. I had fat-free plain yogurt, so that's what I used, and it turned out great. I also added in some mini-chocolate chips. It just seemed like the right thing to do!My favorite part of baking anything is having leftover batter to eat. I don't fear raw eggs in my batter...I eat batter anytime I bake, and I bake a lot. I've never had any ill effects, so I'll keep on keepin' on. Anyway, this batter was delicious. I knew that the baked cake would be beyond delicious, so I made plans to get it out of the house. Once it had cooled, I made a simple glaze with milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla, drizzled it on, cut a slice for Mama, and sent it to CUB with David. There was no way I was going to let that Banana Bundt Beauty sit in my kitchen and tempt me! If you've got the ingredients on hand, and you probably do, why don't you go and visit The Food Librarian and get the recipe?

Summer on a Plate

Tonight's installment in the "My Favorite Sandwich" challenge is courtesy of Lindsey B., one of my cousins. Before I get down to the sandwich details, let's talk about me and Lindsey and how we're connected. Her grandfather is my uncle (my dad's brother). Her great-grandmother is my grandmother. She and her sisters grew up in Ohio, and we usually saw each other at Christmas. We're only about three months apart in age, so we were always automatic playmates. As years went by, we didn't see as much of each other anymore...really I'm not sure when was the last time I actually saw Lindsey! But through the magic of Facebook, we've reconnected and found that we both have food blogs (Lindsey's is called Yummy Things)! Lindsey sent me her favorite summertime sandwich: an openfaced tomato sandwich smeared with homemade red pepper spread. Sounds good to me!
David and I haven't had BLT's yet this summer, so I decided to add the red pepper spread as a delicious condiment, instead of our regular mayo. It was GREAT! The roasted red pepper spread came together really quickly last night, and I got two nice little jars out of one recipe. There's a nice bite from the red peppers, but you can also really taste the cucumber in the spread.
David commented that the red pepper spread looks a little like pimento cheese, and I agree. But it's so much better. The BLTs with the red pepper spread tasted like summer on a plate. Absolutely delicious. David had three! The spread would be great by itself on a sandwich, but I think it would also be great on crackers. Or on veggies. Or on a bagel!

Ready for the recipe? It originally came from Cooking Light. If you check out the website, you can see the nutrition information, and I was pretty pleasantly surprised. The suggested serving (a sandwich made only with the red pepper spread), is really pretty large. When the spread is used as a condiment (and has plenty of flavor to do so), the calorie and fat count is quite low. This is definitely a recipe we'll use around here often! Thanks, Lindsey!

Roasted Red Pepper Spread

Cooking Light/Yummy Things

1/2 cup finely chopped seeded cucumber

1 (7 oz.) bottle roasted red peppers, drained and finely chopped

6 oz. Neufchatel cheese (reduced fat cream cheese), softened

3 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened

3 Tbs. red onion, finely chopped

1/4 tsp. salt
1 clove garlic, minced

Spread cucumber and bell peppers onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels; let stand 5 minutes to drain excess moisture. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Add the cheeses, onion, salt, and garlic; stir with a fork until well blended. (Or you can dump it all in the food processor and pulse until combined. The texture won't be as chunky, but it's quick!) Will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Shellie's Sandwich

You might remember my post from last week about favorite sandwiches. It started from a radio broadcast I heard on KLOVE, during which time callers from all over the US described their favorite sandwiches. Some were classic (bologna and cheese), others were strange (PB and pickles, which I tried). I decided that if you, dear readers, would tell me about your favorite sandwich, I'd blog about it and eat it! Tonight, David and I tried our first sandwich, courtesy of Shellie K., a friend from high school who submitted her entry via my Facebook page.
Here's Shellie's sandwich: peanut butter, strawberry jam, and nacho cheese Doritos. Her sandwich definitely falls into the weird category...right there with the PB and pickles. But I have to say that I liked this one better.

David wasn't so sure about the PB, strawberry jelly, and Dorito sandwich, but he's a trooper and gave it a try! I think the key to this sandwich is having lots of Doritos. I actually went back and added a few more to my sandwich. I liked the crunch and the cheesy saltiness they added. I don't know if it's a sandwich that I'd eat on a regular basis, but it was definitely worth a try! Thanks, Shellie! Hopefully we'll see you in October for our TEN YEAR REUNION!

UPCOMING SANDWICHES FROM THE "MY FAVORITE SANDWICH" CHALLENGE:

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich with Homemade Red Pepper and Cucumber Spread - Lindsey B.

Hot Ham n' Cheese Hoagies - Smith family

Peanut Butter, Banana, and Mascarpone Panini - Amanda C.

Bacon Apple Bleu Sandwich from the North End Cafe - Amanda C.

Homemade Boursin Cheese

Until about a month ago, I had never tasted Boursin cheese. I'd heard about it plenty of times, but I had never tasted it. And then, all of a sudden, Boursin cheese was everywhere! Earl and Shirley had some at their house one evening when David and I stopped by, so I tried it. Delicious! Of course, I've never met a cheese that I didn't like, so it was no surprise that I enjoyed it. Then, a week or so after my first taste of Boursin, Devona brought some to a ladies' group meeting. After experiencing the delightfulness that is Boursin, I decided to check it out at the grocery store. I had never seen it, but then again, I hadn't been looking for it. Well, I found it at Kroger, in the "fancy cheese" case. That's not the case where you find the Kraft cheese slices or the Velveeta. It's where you find the brie, the smoked mozzarella, etc. Anyway, a little container (maybe 6 ounces or so) cost almost $6.00! I looked at the ingredients, and it didn't look like rocket science, so I started looking for a copycat.
The recipe I found came very close to the original. Close enough for me to warrant not ever buying the real deal Boursin cheese again, as a matter of fact! Especially since it took about 5 minutes to make. The recipe I found came from Recipezaar. After checking out the official Boursin website, I learned that there are a number of flavors, and I think they'd probably be easy enough to replicate by tweaking this recipe just a tad.

We enjoyed our copycat Boursin cheese on a variety of crackers, but I've seen numerous recipes that include Boursin cheese as an ingredient. I be it would be out of this world on a bagel. Or a nice thick smear of this homemade Boursin would be delicious as a dip for veggies (celery, carrots, etc.). Take your pick! Just make sure you make it as soon as possible, because you definitely won't be disappointed! I'll post the full recipe, but I just made half tonight for us, and we had plenty left over. I haven't tried freezing it, but the Recipezaar site says that it freezes well. If you try that and have good luck, please let me know. I don't think I'll have many leftovers to worry about!

Copycat Boursin Cheese Spread

Bonnie Young, by way of Recipezaar

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

16 oz. (2 bricks) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried dill week

1/4 tsp. dried marjoram

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Blend cream cheese and butter together until well combined (I was able to do this with a spatula with no problem). Add pressed garlic and herbs. Mix until well combined. The cheese can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to three months.

* I used two cloves of garlic, 1/2 tsp. of oregano, and 1/4 tsp. of the other herbs in the half batch and thought it tasted pretty darn good. If you're making the full batch, you might want to start wtih the above amounts, taste it, and then adjust the seasonings to your taste.