Corn and Spring Onion Pancakes

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs  is "Pattycake, Pattycake...."  Participants were asked to make a Yota Ottolenghi recipe that was a fritter, latke, vegetable pancake, patty, burger, fishcake, etc.  I've already made Turkey & Zucchini Burgers, Sweet Potato Cakes, and Leek Fritters for previous themes.  I ended up searching online and found this recipe for a corn pancake.  It sounded very promising and not too difficult.  I halved the recipe, since I wasn't sure that the kids would like it.  I didn't end up smoking/grilling one of the cobs like the original recipe called for.  I ended up forgetting midway through that I was halving the recipe and ended up putting the one egg into the food processor.  I should have only put the yolk in and then whipped the white separately to fold in later.  I ended up with dense pancakes and unfortunately, I wasn't really impressed with the flavor.  Using the jalapeno didn't make the pancakes too spicy so the kids tried them.  But they too didn't like them very much.  Overall, this just wasn't one of our favorite Ottolenghi recipes.

Corn and Spring Onion Pancakes
recipe adapted from The Guardian, October 12, 2012

Ingredients:
3 corn cobs
3 spring onions, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1tsp soft brown sugar
1 egg
Salt and pepper
1 cup flour
butter
1 limes, cut into wedges

Directions:
With a sharp knife, separate the kernels from two corn cobs and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Add half the spring onion, the jalapeno, cumin, sugar, one egg, three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper, blitz for 45 seconds until fairly smooth, then transfer to a bowl. Separate the last egg and add the yolk to the mix, followed by the flour and remaining spring onion.

Heat a large frying pan and add butter to coat. Add 1/4 cup of batter and fry on medium heat for two minutes a side until golden brown. Remove and keep warm while you cook the rest, adding butter as necessary. Serve warm with the lime wedges.

Family Rating: So-so.

Sauteed Eggplant with Honey and Thyme

It's that time again for Eating the Alphabet Recipe Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were E/F and I had to make a recipe using a fruit, vegetable, grain, or legume that begins with one of those letters.  Although I make eggplant often because I like it, the kids don't.  I really try to embrace this challenge each month and try cooking with a new veggie or legume. But when I saw this recipe at A Spicy Perspective and Sommer said, " This my friends… is how to cook eggplant. This is how to get the reluctant eggplant-eater on board" I had to try this.  I really want my kids to like eggplant!  Unfortunately, this recipe did not make them like eggplant.  I was sure it would since they love honey!  But they ate 4 bites each for me and called it quits.  I liked the taste of the eggplant after soaking in milk overnight and then dredged in flour and fried.  I actually preferred the eggplant without the honey and thyme.  I was eating pieces of this eggplant topped with some sliced mozzerella on italian bread and it was delicious!  If you have a reluctant eggplant eater you may want to give this recipe a try. 

Sauteed Eggplant with Honey and Thyme
recipe from A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
2 cups milk
½ cup flour
3-5 Tb. olive oil
3 Tb. honey
2 Tb. fresh thyme leaves
Sea Salt

Directions:
Peel the eggplant and slice it into thin 1/8 inch rounds.

Place the eggplant slices in an airtight container and pour the milk over it. Cover and refrigerate over night.

In a small pie pan, mix the flour with 1 tsp. salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Line a plate with paper towels.

When the oil is hot, dredge a few slices of eggplant in the flour and tap off the excess. Gently place them in the skillet and pan fry for 2 minutes per side. Remove and place on the plate to drain.

Repeat with the rest of the eggplant, adding oil to the skillet as needed. Sprinkle the slices with a little more sea salt as they come out of the skillet.

Serve warm, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme.

Family Rating: So-so.

IHCC: Green Gazpacho

This week the I Heart Cooking Clubs theme was "Loving the Leaf."  Participants had to cook an Ottolenghi recipe featuring or using a leafy green.  I again referred to his cookbook Plenty and found this recipe for Green Gazpacho.  This soup has many green veggies in it including baby spinach!  To be honest, I'm not a huge soup eater.  I don't mind a cup of soup, but something has to be served with it.  To me, soup is not a meal!  I also knew that my kids would most likely not enjoy this, so I had to have a back-up.  I ended up making Hawaiian Pizza Grilled Cheese Sandwiches to go with this (see tomorrow's post!).  Yes, the two don't really compliment each other.  But I saw the sandwich recipe and knew it would be quick and easy to put together.  This recipe wasn't difficult to make, it just requires a lot of chopping.  I ended up adapting the recipe a bit, mainly in amounts of ingredients, substitutions (sherry and cider vinegar in place of sherry vinegar, and I didn't make the homemade croutons).  I probably should have used the immersion blender because I was really pushing the limits with my regular blender.  I had to spoon some of the soup out to add the rest of the ice and water!  I made the kids have 5 bites of the soup (to get in their veggies!) but they didn't like it.  Honestly, I have to admit that my husband and I weren't huge fans of this soup either.  He said it tasted more like a sauce than a soup.  I kind of felt like I was drinking a more liqueified pesto!  The original recipe called for 4 cloves of garlic!  I like garlic, but cut it down to two cloves.  Still, the garlic seemed to overwhelm the soup.  I should have used the whole jalapeno to add a little more heat and next time (although I won't be making this again!) I would use less walnuts.  I thought 1 1/2 cups was a bit much when I was pouring them into the blender!  They added a funny texture to the soup that I didn't enjoy.  Well, I can't expect all of Ottolenghi's recipes to be winners.  There's always next week!   

Green Gazpacho
recipe slightly adapted from Plenty:  Vibrant Vegetable Recipes from London's Ottolenghi

Ingredients:
1 green pepper, deseeded
1 1/2 cucumbers, peeled
3 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
1/2 jalapeno pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
4 cups baby spinach
1 cup basil leaves
2 Tbsp parsley
2 Tbsp sherry
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp Greek yogurt
about 2 cups water
6 ice cubes
2 tsp salt
pepper

Directions:
Roughly chop up the pepper, cucumbers, bread, jalapeno, and garlic. Place in a blender and add the sugar, walnuts, spinach, basil, parsley, sherry, vinegar, oil, yogurt, most of the water, half the ice cubes, the salt and some white pepper. Blitz the soup until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to get your preferred consistency. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.

Lastly, add the remaining ice and pulse once or twice, just to crush it a little.


Family Rating: So-so.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

Here's another muffin recipe for you!  It's been awhile and I've had this one bookmarked for some time.  I thought these would be a winner since pb & j sandwiches are almost a weekly lunch staple with the kids.  Warm, right out of the oven, these muffins were really tasty.  However, as my husband noted when he tried one, "These taste like soggy, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."  My daughter only ate a couple of bites of hers at breakfast the day after I baked these and told me that she didn't like it.  So unfortunately, these will not be made again in this house. :(

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
recipe from Alli 'N Sons

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat (or white whole wheat) flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter 
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter chips
1/4 cup raspberry jam

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with muffin liners. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl stir together the flours, sugars, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the milk, peanut butter, egg, melted butter and vanilla extract. Whisk lightly, until the ingredients just come together.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, stirring until just combined.

Stir in the peanut butter chips.

Fill each muffin cup 1/2 full.

Spoon 1 teaspoon jam into each cup.

Spoon the remaining batter on top of each cup.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the muffins are a golden brown and spring back when touch lightly.

Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Family Rating:  So-so.

Early Chapter Book Review: Turkey Riddles

Turkey Riddles
Written by:  Katy Hall and Lisa Eisenberg
Illustrated by:  Kristin Sorra
Published by:  Puffin, 2002

from goodreads.com:
Do you like plucky puns? Do you have a fowl sense of humor? Well, fluff up your feathers and get ready for fun. Turkey Riddles, the sixteenth book in Katy Hall and Lisa Eisenberg's best-selling series, is stuffed with jokes and riddles that kids will gobble up.

Find out what you'd get if you crossed a turkey with an octopus. Discover why Tom Turkey climbed into the vegetable bowl. To help you guess the answers, Kristin Sorra's illustrations provide hilarious clues. 

 * My kids have recently really gotten interested in riddles and jokes.  I saw this book at the library and thought they'd really enjoy it.  It's part of the Puffin Easy-To-Read series but it's a Level 3.  Some of the decoding and vocabulary was a little difficult for my 4 year old beginning reader.  However, when my 6 year old daughter got ahold of this book she was very interested in reading it on her own and asking us the jokes.  I have to say that the humor is definitely for older kids.   A lot of the punchlines they just didn't understand (he hit a fowl ball, Cluck Kent, etc....).  Even though it's in the Easy-To-Read series, I'd recommend the humor more to a 3rd grader +.

This book was borrowed from the library.  

Family Rating: So-so.

Beginning Reader Book Review: Trucksgiving

Trucksgiving
Written by: Jon Scieszka
Illustrated by:  David Shannon, Loren Long, David Gordon
Published by: Simon Spotlight, 2010

from goodreads.com:
Trucktown has a tradition every year at Trucksgiving.  Find out what it is in the latest Ready to Roll in the New York Times Bestselling series.

* My family, especially my son, is a fan of Jon Scieszka's Trucktown series.  I was excited to see that there was a Ready-to-Roll Reading series based on the characters from the picture books.  Even better was what looked to be a Thanksgiving themed book.  However, after reading this with my son I have to say that I was disappointed.  The trucks are dressed like pilgrims on the front and the book opens with the arrival of the first trucks to Trucktown.  However, the book barely touches upon anything Thanksgiving related except for a feast to thank everyone who helped set up Trucktown.  The illustrations were more relevant with a truck dressed like a turkey and the pilgrims I mentioned previously.  Of course my son enjoyed the book since it featured trucks, which are one of his favorite things.  However, I was expecting a little more and was disappointed.

This book was borrowed from the library.

Family Rating: So-so.

Pumpkin Seeds Two Ways

When we were carving jack o'lanterns with the kids I thought that I'd try roasting some pumpkin seeds.  I'm not really a fan of them but I thought that if I seasoned them I'd like them.  So found two different recipes to try, one savory, one sweet.  I have to say that even after roasting and seasoning them I still wasn't really into them.  However, we discovered that our son really likes them!  So, my husband and son got to enjoy these.  My husband preferred the Toasted Pumpkin Seeds over the Caramelized Spicy ones.  Although I do have to note that they did not caramelize the way I had wanted them to and became more sugar and spicy.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
recipe from allrecipes.com by CRYSTAL10

Ingredients:
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 teaspoons seasoned salt

Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

2.Rinse the pumpkin seeds and pat dry. Place them in a bowl. Add the Worcestershire sauce, melted butter and seasoned salt; stir until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on a baking sheet.

3.Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until crisp, dry and golden brown.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Caramelized Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com by Theresa

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds, washed and dried
cooking spray
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions: 1.Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.In a large bowl, stir together 3 tablespoons of sugar, the cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne pepper, and set aside.

3.Place the pumpkin seeds on the prepared baking sheet, spray them with cooking spray, and sprinkle with salt to taste. Bake the seeds in the preheated oven until lightly golden, 20 to 25 minutes.

4.Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and stir in the toasted pumpkin seeds along with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook and stir the seeds until the sugar forms a coating on the seeds, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir the caramelized seeds into the bowl of sugar-spice mixture, toss to coat, and let cool.

Family Rating: so-so.

This recipe was shared at:
Simple Living and Eating

Children's Book Review: Chester the Brave

Chester the Brave
Written by:  Audrey Penn
Illustrated by:  Barbara L. Gibson
Published by:  Tanglewood, 2012

from goodreads.com:
Little Chester Raccoon, the beloved character who has helped so many children with issues in their lives, learns the meaning of bravery and a method for overcoming his fears in this new Audrey Penn title. After sharing the story of a little bird who is afraid to have flying lessons in front of his friends, Mrs. Raccoon tells Chester that being brave doesn’t mean being unafraid; being brave means not letting that fear stop him. Mrs. Raccoon teaches Chester an important strategy: Think-Tell-Do. When he thinks he is afraid, he tells himself he can do it, and then he just does it. Of course, getting a Kissing Hand helps a little too. This simple strategy can be helpful to children in many different situations.

* The kids don't get to see my husband on Monday and Wednesdays because he has to work late and they are in bed when he gets home.  So, often on the nights that he is home I'll have him get them ready for bed while I veg out on the couch and read or watch television.  Sometimes they'll come down and we'll all read bedtime stories together.  Other times, he and the kids have their own special reading time.  They read this book together during one of those times.  When I asked if they wanted to hear it again (because I wanted to read it before it was due back at the library) they said yes, but my daughter warned me, "I thought this book was only so-so!"  My kids are familiar with the original Chester book The Kissing Hand which is a great book (and is referred to in this book).  However, I have to agree with my daughter with her so-so rating on this one.  I like the lesson about bravery in this story and the Think-Tell-Do strategy.  However, there's a story about a baby robin that goes on for awhile (and gets a little confusing in my opinion) that shows the bravery aspect which Chester than applies. Again, the strategy is good, but the story itself was lacking. 

This book was borrowed from the library.

Family Rating: So-so.

Orange Chicken for Dummies

This recipe has less than five ingredients AND is made in the slow cooker.  This was definitely on my to try list.  I have found and tried a lot of recipes from Mandy's Recipe Box and almost all of them have been really tasty!  So when I saw this one I decided to make it on one of our busy Monday weeknights.  My son, who is a really picky eater, ate all of his chicken.  Unfortunately, this was one of those recipes that I thought was just okay.  The catalina dressing was really strong and I think a bit too sweet. Unfortunately, as quick and easy as this was to make, I won't be making this dish again. 

Orange Chicken for Dummies
recipe from Mandy's Recipe Box

Ingredients:
1 envelope (1 oz.) onion soup mix
1 c. apricot preserves
1c. Catalina salad dressing
2-3 lbs Chicken tenders

Directions:
Place all in a slow cooker and stir to coat the chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.

You can also put it in a 9x13 baking dish and bake it in the oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Family Rating: So-so.

Chicken and Apple Curry

We normally take an annual trip to our local apple orchard and go apple and pumpkin picking with the kids.  This year though my son's preschool is going pumpkin picking and my daughter is going apple and pumpkin picking with her class.  After spending all of the money on their trips we didn't think it was necessary for us to take another trip as a family.  However, that isn't stopping me from trying all of the apple recipes that I've been saving and waiting to try. This recipe I found in all*you magazine.  Not only was it featured in "Dinner Under $10" but it didn't have a gazillion ingredients.  Unfortunately, after it was made none of us really enjoyed it.  The kids ate all of the apple pieces.  For me though, it was definitely lacking in flavor.  There are lots of easy curry recipes out there, this just wasn't a favorite.

Chicken and Apple Curry
recipe from all*you, May 2012, recipe courtesy of Cheryl Dorsey

Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice
juice and zest of 1 lime
1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
2 tsp. curry powder
2 tsp. cornstarch
2 cups shredded skinless rotisserie chicken, dark and white meat
1 sweet apple, like Gala or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored, and chopped
salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Boil 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan.  Stir in rice, return to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low; simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.

2.  Whisk lime juice, coconut milk and curry together in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low; simmer 3 minutes.  In a small bowl, stir cornstarch and 2 Tbsp. of water until smooth, then whisk into a skillet. Continue whisking for 2 minutes.  Mix in chicken and apple; season with salt and pepper.  Cook stirring occasionally, until apple is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

3.  Divide rice among 4 plates and spoon chicken on top.  Sprinkle with zest.

Family Rating: So-so.

Braised Chicken with Kale

Being a stay-at-home mom allows me to use the dutch oven during the week.  I rarely use it though because our after school schedule is crazy and using the dutch oven often requires hours of supervised cooking time that I don't usually have.  However, a few days ago we had a relaxing Friday afternoon, so I made this dish.  This is a real low-cost meal.  Chicken quarters are so cheap!  Braising makes the chicken really tender and it easily comes off the bone.  I haven't really cooked or eaten kale a lot so this gave me another opportunity to try it out.  Unfortunately, none of us were big fans of this dish.  I liked the sauce that the kale was in, but the chicken didn't end up with a lot of flavor.  Overall, this was only a so-so dish for us.

Braised Chicken with Kale
recipe from Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
4 chicken leg quarters, skinned
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1.1 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/4 cup)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (16-ounce) package cut prewashed kale
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14.5-ounce) can fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons canola oil. Sprinkle the chicken with black pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place flour in a dish, and dredge chicken. Place 2 leg quarters in pan, and cook for 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with 2 teaspoons oil and remaining 2 leg quarters. Remove from pan.

3. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add garlic; cook for 20 seconds. Add half of kale; cook for 2 minutes. Add remaining half of kale; cook 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Return chicken to pan. Cover and bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; stir in vinegar. Serve chicken over kale mixture.

Family Rating: So-so.

Turnip-Parsnip Gratin

It's time for October's Eating the Alphabet Challenge courtesy of Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were S &T.  The challenge is to make a dish featuring a fruit, vegetable, or grain that begins with the featured letter(s) of the month.  S &T was almost overwhelming with all of the choices available.  Spinach, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, swiss chard.....At first I thought about using tomatillos.  I had never cooked with them before and I really try to "challenge" myself with this challenge.  I didn't end up using them in my Challenge recipe but I did use them in fish tacos I made (see upcoming post).  Eventually I decided on turnips. I've eaten turnips a couple of times but the kids had not.  This recipe also let me sneak in another new veggie for the kids, parsnips. Plus, it gave me a chance to make this recipe which has been sitting in my "to try" recipe for a couple of years.  I posted the original recipe, which yields 8 servings, but I ended up halving it, knowing the kids probably wouldn't be eating it. This was definitely a bit time consuming.  And unfortunately, after all was said and done, I just wasn't a fan.  I wanted to be, but I think it needed more salt/flavor. The kids obligingly took their one mandatory bite and didn't want anymore.  The only one who liked this was my husband.  I'm always happy to try cooking new foods and recipes even if don't end up enjoying them as much as I thought. 

Turnip-Parsnip Gratin
recipe from Cooking Light, November 2009

Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices peeled turnip
3 3/4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices peeled parsnip
6 cups water
Cooking spray
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese (I used Gouda, which was also recommended)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes or until almost tender. Drain; let stand 5 minutes. Arrange about 1/2 cup vegetable mixture into each of 8 (5 1/2-inch) round gratin dishes coated with cooking spray.

3. Combine milk, broth, flour, salt, and pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk until thick. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Spoon about 3 tablespoons sauce over each serving.

4. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko; toast 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over cheese mixture. Place dishes on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Family Rating: So-so.

Plantain Corn Muffins

Happy Birthday  to me!  Yes, today I'm 33 years old.  My family and I have spent a nice mini-vacation away visiting Lancaster, PA.  This has been the first time my husband has been able to take a day off since he started his new job back at the end of May.  While I thought that I'd post something sweet to eat in honor of the occasion I ended up posting this muffin recipe because I'm also linking this recipe up to the Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  I needed to make some more muffins for the week and I thought, why not try something new.  I've cooked with plantains a couple of times now, so they're not totally unfamiliar to me or the family.  The kids like them, probably because they taste similar to a banana.  I have to admit that the so-so rating of the recipe was probably my own fault.  I looked for the ripest plantains that the grocery store had.  However, I forgot how thick the skin of the plantain is and when I opened up the plantain, it wasn't nearly as soft as I hoped it would be.  I tried mashing it, but it was still hard and pretty chunky when it went in the batter.  Unfortunately, the kids (and I!) didn't enjoy plantain chunks in our muffins.  I think we all would have preferred these if they were smoother and less chunky.

Plantain Corn Muffins
recipe from allrecipes.com by Pixelsicle

Yield: 15 muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup mashed, ripe plantains
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 15 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2.Stir the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Whisk the milk, plantains, eggs, oil, and butter together in a separate bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the milk mixture until just combined; do not over mix. Allow the mixture sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into prepared muffin cups to about 2/3 full.

3.Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 18 minutes.

Family Rating: So-so.

California Pasta with Artichokes and Almond-Citrus Pesto

This past month our supper club theme was "California" cooking.  The host couple, which wasn't us usually makes the protein. In my search for a recipe to make I found all kinds of good "main dish" recipes....fish tacos, cioppino, grilled pizza.  Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding a side dish.  After many internet searches I finally narrowed it down to a California Cobb Salad and then I found this recipe.  It has California right in the name and used lots of ingredients from California.  I should have stuck with the salad!  I just wasn't a fan of this dish.  I think a large part was due to the fact that this pesto was made from parsley and I'm not a parsley fan.  As my husband commented, "Well, if you don't like parsley why did you pick this recipe?"  I told him that I like pesto and I thought that the parsley flavor wouldn't be so strong mixed with the other ingredients.  I was wrong though.  The parsley flavor was pretty strong.  Note to self, do not make any more dishes, especially pesto, that calls for this much parsley!  If you're a fan of parsley though this may be right up your alley!  My husband ate all the leftovers and the kids surprisingly ate some....so you never know!

California Pasta with Artichokes and Almond-Citrus Pesto
recipe from The Rachael Ray Show, April 30, 2008

This recipe is dedicated to Maria Shriver. I wrote it in honor of her visit to our show. It highlights many ingredients that California is the proud producer of: artichokes, citrus, almonds, olive oil, garlic and of course, fine wine.


Ingredients:
2 leeks
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 10 ounce box frozen quartered artichoke hearts, defrosted or 1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
Salt and pepper
1 pound fettuccine
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 cup flat-leaf parsley tops
3 tablespoons (a small handful) slivered or blanched almonds, toasted
1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/3 cup (a rounded generous handful) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions:
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil for the pasta.


Trim off the root ends and top four inches of the leeks. Cut them in half lengthwise then into slices 1/4-inch thick. Wash them vigorously, separating the layers to free grit in either a colander under cold running water or in large bowl of cold water. Drain and pat dry.

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and artichokes, sauté 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Salt the boiling pasta water and drop in fettuccine.

Place zest, parsley, almonds, garlic and cheese in food processor and season with salt and pepper. Turn processor on and stream in 1/4 cup EVOO until it combines into a thick pesto sauce.

Add wine to the leeks and artichokes, and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the pesto sauce and a ladleful of starchy cooking water. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss pasta with sauce to coat evenly. Serve with Orange and Arugula Salad with Marmalade Dressing alongside and pass more cheese at the table for topping.

Family Rating: So-so.

Texas Ranch Potato Salad

I'm sorry to my husband (and anyone else who reads this blog daily!) for the recent lack of posts.  Unfortunately, we had some internet connection problems and were several days without internet access.  It was actually a nice little mandatory break from the blog for a few days.  But I'm back now with lots of recipes to share.  Even though I couldn't access the internet I was still busy cooking in the kitchen! 

A couple of weeks ago we had some of my husband's old co-workers over for a barbecue.  Along with hotdogs for the kids, marinated london broil, and sausage and pepper wedges we made several salads.  The first was a potato salad.  I'm always looking for new potato salad recipes.  This one had ranch and bacon so I thought it couldn't be bad.  Unfortunately, I forgot to swap some of the mayo for sour cream which I had meant to do.  I knew I had bought sour cream for a reason but couldn't remember what it was for!  And the fact that the potatoes were a bit crunchy and not totally cooked all the way through probably didn't help either.  However, I wasn't a big fan of the flavors and probably won't be making this again. 

Texas Ranch Potato Salad
recipe from allrecipes.com by 8BREAK

Yield:  16 servings

Ingredients:
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cup chopped green onion
1 pound bacon slices
5 pounds unpeeled red potatoes

Directions:
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add whole potatoes, and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to cool, and chop into 1 inch cubes. Transfer to a large serving bowl, and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 2 hours.

2.In a small bowl, stir together the ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise and green onion. Cover, and refrigerate for about 2 hours to blend flavors.

3.Wrap bacon in paper towels and place on a plate. Cook in the microwave until crisp, about 15 minutes depending on the power of your microwave. Cool.

4.Stir the mayonnaise mixture into the bowl of potatoes. Crumble bacon into the bowl, and stir to distribute. Serve.

Family Rating: So-so.

Meatless Monday: Pasta with Creamy Roasted Pepper Sauce and Bocconcini

I'm always on the lookout for tasty pasta recipes.  I love fresh mozzarella and when I found this recipe it was an excuse for me to buy those expensive marinated mozzarella balls!  Unfortunately ,this recipe looks a lot better than it tastes.  I found it to be rather tasteless.  My son, who loves cheese, wasn't a fan of the marinated cheese and he doesn't like peppers.  Neither does my daughter. So they ended up eating pretty plain-tasting pasta.  I ended up cutting the bocconcini into quarters to get more cheese in every bite!  Overall, we didn't really enjoy this dish very much. 

Pasta with Creamy Roasted Pepper Sauce and Bocconcini
recipe from One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
4 sweet red and yellow peppers, halved, cored and seeded
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound rigatoni
1/3 pound small marinated bocconcini
1/2 cup basil leaves, thinly sliced

Directions:
1) Heat broiler. Line a large broiler pan with foil and coat with nonstick cooking spray.

2) Place peppers on prepared pan, cut side down. Broil for 9 to 10 minutes, about 4 inches from heat source. Place in a paper bag or covered bowl for 5 minutes. Peel skin off peppers and discard; thinly slice peppers.

3) In a large nonstick skillet bring broth to a simmer; add garlic and simmer 2 minutes. Stir in cream, salt and pepper and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, cook pasta following package directions, about 10 to 14 minutes for al dente. Drain and return to pot. Add cream mixture and sliced peppers; stir to combine.

5) To serve, spoon into a large serving bowl and fold in bocconcini and basil.   Family Rating: So-so.

Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms

It's time again for the Eating The Alphabet Challenge, hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were M, N, & or O.  There were just so many veggie, fruit, and grain options to choose from for this month's challenge that it was hard to choose!  I finally decided on stuffed mushrooms.  I love mushrooms in all forms but unfortunately my kids really dislike them.  Although I like stuffed mushrooms I rarely get a chance to eat them.  And I've never made them until now!  Knowing the kids wouldn't eat these I ended up making them as an afternoon snack for myself.  They were surprisingly easy to make.  I had always assumed that they took a lot of work to prepare, one of the reasons why I never made them.  This recipe that I found did not use bread crumbs.  I think that the stuffed mushrooms that I've had and enjoyed in the past used them, so these weren't totally satisfying.  But now that I know how easy stuffed mushrooms can be to make I'll definitely be trying out new variations in the future.

Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms
recipe from allrecipes.com by Angie Gorkoff

Ingredients:
12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

2.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.

3.When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

4.Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Mommy & Daddy rating: So-so.  

Around the World: Cantonese Style Shrimp with Napa Cabbage

This recipe is our last dish on our Around the World tour of China.  Prior to making this dish and doing a little research I didn't really know the differences among the Chinese styles of cooking....minus Szechuan, which I know is spicy hot!  I discovered that Cantonese "style" is the Chinese food that Americans are accustomed to and includes stir-frying, steaming, and roasting and the well-known dim sum.  According to Wikipedia, especially when cooking seafood, Cantonese cuisine uses light seasoning just to bring out the sweetness of the seafood.  Unfortunately, I think in this dish, the seasoning was just too light.  To me it tasted kind of bland and didn't have the normal flavors that I associate with Chinese food.  This of course may not be due to the recipe but more to my experience with Chinese food.  Prior to making this, I hadn't cooked with shrimp in a long time.  The kids like shrimp and ate all of theirs up.  However, the cabbage was another story.  I was lucky to get them to try a bite.  I served this with white rice and some frozen egg rolls (this was a weeknight meal!  I definitely didn't have time to make home made egg rolls!).  So, we bid farewell to China, though this definitely won't be the last Chinese dish that I make.  Stay tuned as we travel around the world to our "D" country soon!

Cantonese Style Shrimp with Napa Cabbage
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, November 2011

Ingredients:
1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons medium dry sherry
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1/3 cup diagonally cut green onions

Preparation:
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.

2. Heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add oils to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; stir-fry 1 minute. Add garlic; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add broth mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Stir in cabbage; cook 1 minute. Top with onions.

Family Rating: So-so.

Penne with Turkey and Broccoli Rabe

I love pasta.  Although I've never made home-made pasta before, I usually cook some type of pasta dish at least once a week.  The kids love pasta as well so I try to make kid-friendly pasta dishes that I hope they'll eat.  This recipe looked good and was easy to make.  Notice how I said it "looked" good.  Both my husband and I commented that it just didn't do it for us with the ground turkey.  We're used to eating a similar dish with sausage.  And we realized that it definitely tastes better with sausage too!  Every bite we took we were expecting a sausage taste but instead we had bland ground turkey.  The parmesan cheese helped to flavor it up but this was not a favorite dish of ours.  The kids enjoyed it though and I'm always happy when I make a dinner that they eat and like!

Penne with Turkey and Broccoli Rabe
Recipe adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray, April 2012

Ingredients:
3/4 pound penne
1/4 cup EVOO
1 bunch broccoli rabe
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 pound ground turkey, preferably dark meat
grated parmesan for topping (optional)

Directions:
1.In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the penne until al dente, 11 to 13 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

2.Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add 2 tbsp. EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli rabe and season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 tbsp. water, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

3.Lower the heat to medium, add the remaining EVOO and the onion and cook until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Push the onion to the side of the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and crumble in the turkey; season. Cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

4.Add the pasta, broccoli rabe and three-quarters of the reserved pasta water to the turkey; toss well. Add the remaining pasta water if needed to thin the sauce.

Family Rating: So-so.

Caribbean Jerk Salmon Bowl

My kids like salmon and I felt like I had to redeem myself after the (canned) salmon cake disaster from a couple of weeks ago.  I first saw the picture of this recipe and it looked so good.  This was easy enough to make but taste-wise it was just so-so.  The kids weren't big fans and were mostly eating the pineapple and rice.  I even omitted the spicy components of the original recipe to make it kid-friendly.  I don't remember what kind of salmon I had bought but it wasn't the pink kind!  My husband came home and said he thought it was tuna (as in the canned kind!)  :(   Overall, this looked better than it tasted.

Caribbean Jerk Salmon Bowl
recipe slightly adapted from Pink Parsley

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon filet, skin on
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chile powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp brown sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked rice
1 (15-oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice of 1/2 lime
Pineapple Salsa (recipe below)

Directions:
Preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with foil and place the salmon on the foil. In a small bowl, combine all the spices with the oil to form a paste. Rub over the salmon, then broil the salmon until just cooked through, about 10 minutes. When it's cool enough to handle, break the salmon into bite-sized pieces, removing the skin as you go.

Meanwhile, stir together the rice and beans, lime juice, and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, divide the rice mixture evenly among bowls and top with salmon and pineapple salsa.

Pineapple Salsa
1/2 cups chopped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
kosher salt
juice of 1/2 lime

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt to taste, and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Family Rating: So-so.