Ratatouille - it's worth the extra effort, people

This past week really started to feel like spring.  Thus my brain decided that it really needed some vegetables for dinner.  I've tried to make Ratatouille before but the flavors really didn't combine well.  The standard crushed tomatoes I added didn't quite make the cut.  Shout out to my cube neighbor/recipe guru Kat for the base of this one.  I adapted it a little for my own preferences.

Ratatouille:

For Base Sauce:
- 1/2 red bell pepper, cleaned
- 1/2 orange bell pepper, cleaned
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cleaned

Roast peppers cut side down at 450 for about 15 minutes.

In a sauce pan saute:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 white onion, chopped,
- 2 or 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 3 medium size tomatoes, chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- salt to taste
Saute while peppers are roasting.  Tomatoes should be breaking down into a sauce.  Add in roughly chopped peppers once ready.  Saute until tomatoes have reduced into a sauce - about 15 minutes.  I like this sauce relatively smooth, so I pulsed the mixture in my food processor for a minute to chop the peppers, leftover tomato chunks, etc.  Spread the mixture on the bottom of a baking dish - I used a 9 x 13 ceramic and it was full.

Cut into 1/16 inch circles:
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium yellow squash
- 1 medium eggplant
- 3-4 roma tomatoes
- salt - LIBERALLY - because these veggies take in a lot of salt

Alternate slices in the dish on top of the sauce.  Over the entire dish sprinkle the following mixture:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 cloves crushed garlic
- salt
- pepper

Top with sprigs of fresh thyme.
Cover with foil and bake in 400 oven for about 1 hour.  Check the tenderness with a fork.  If liquid remains, take off the foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

I topped the whole thing off with some grated Parmesan.

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

This is my go to recipe not only for apple cinnamon pancakes, but for the plain cakes in general.  I got it from a work breakfast about 4 years ago from an unexpected source.  It's seriously a staple in my recipe book.  I can't even explain how delicious these are.  Simple and delicious.  Try them out for yourself!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes
1 1/2 cups flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tbsp butter - melted
1 apple - peeled, cored, chopped

Mix dry ingredients and set aside.  In a separate bowl mix together milk and egg.  Melt butter.
When the skillet is ready, add the milk to the flour mixture and stir briefly until just combined.  Add in butter and apple and mix.  Do not overmix.  Serve with butter and your favorite syrup!

Mushroom and Chicken Saucy Goodness - in under an hour

Had a stroke of brilliance last night.  I had a vague idea of what to make, but even I didn't expect it to come together so nicely.  It turned out to be this deliciously moist chicken breast in a creamy mushroom sauce, served over some fluffy mashed potatoes.  I was definitely patting myself on the head, especially, when I saw that it took just a few minutes over an hour to make altogether.

Chicken in a Mushroom Sauce

4-5 chicken breasts
flour to coat
salt pepper
olive oil
1/2 onion
8-12 oz baby bella mushrooms (depending on preference)
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth + a few tbsp
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cloves garlic
parsley

Cut chicken breasts in half, salt and pepper, and coat in flour.
Place and sautee on hot skillet with olive oil until golden brown and cooked inside, about 15 min.

In another skillet, sautee chopped onion and mushrooms until tender.  Transfer to a bowl.
Melt butter and whisk in flour in hot skillet.  Continue whisking until blended and the flour mixture bubbles.  Keep whisking the bubbles for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and whisk.  Keep whisking until thickened.  There's a pattern here...whisk.  Add in mushrooms and onions and heavy cream.  Add chicken and chopped garlic to the sauce.  Cover with lid and let simmer on LOW for about 15 min.  If the sauce is too thick, add more chicken broth and bring back to simmer.

Serve with parsley, over mashed potatoes or rice.  Rejoice!

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes

Halloween may be over... but for me, pumkin season is at the peak! I bought 3 sugar pumpkins this year and so my freezer is full of goodies.  1 pumpkin makes about 4 cups of pureed pumpkin so we have a lot of pies in our future.  This morning I made pumpkin pancakes.  Ever since a visit to a good friend of mine in Boston, I've loved the idea of this breakfast food.  And as a bonus, it's an extra boost of veggies in your breakfast!

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Sift together, add:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tbsp veggie oil

Stir together with wet ingredients. Makes about 4 servings.
I serve with a simple raspberry sauce - 1/3 cup frozen raspberries (about $2 at Trader Joe's for a 12 oz bag), and 1-2 tbsp sugar, cooked at medium heat for about 5 min until thickened.

The combination of raspberry and pumpkin is astonishingly delicious! I'm a sucker for raspberries though.

Adapted from Allrecipes "Simply Pumpkin Pancakes".

Flavorful Beef Stew

I recently started getting the Cooking Light Magazine - it's actually the first copy that came to my house and so far I love it.  One of the first recipes I pulled from it is the "Beef Marsala Stew" in the slow cooker.  Here are my modifications.  Serve over fluffy mashed potatoes - hint, warm up the milk and use a whisk while the butter is melting in your potatoes..mmm

olive oil
2 lbs beef chuck
salt

1 1/2 medium white onions
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup beef broth
black pepper
fresh thyme
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
4 large carrots
1/2 tsp paprika
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp flour

Saute the beef with olive oil, salt, and pepper (about 1 tsp salt) until browned but not cooked all the way through.  Place into crockpot.  In the empty skillet, quickly saute roughly chopped onions.  Add to crockpot.  Add tomato paste and 1/2 cup water.  Whisk until incorporated; add in broth and bring to simmer.  Carefully pour over beef/onions in pot.  Chop carrots into 1 inch pieces, add to pot.  Put whole small mushrooms or sliced in half large ones on top.  Sprinkle in a little more salt and pepper and add in paprika and bay leaves.  Nestle fresh thyme (3-4 small springs) into the liquid.

Cook on Low for about 7 hours, stirring once in a while.

Once cooked, take most of the liquid from the pot and pour into a skillet.  Add in 2 tbsp flour and whisk into the liquid.  Bring to simmer and return to the pot.  Keep on low until the liquid is simmering once again.

Serve with fresh bread, mashed potatoes, and a veggie.  Enjoy!

Adapted from Cooking Light Beef Marsala Stew.

Salsa Time!

Salsa time is... all the time!

I haven't bought store bought salsa in years.  When you have a food processor, why would you?

Here's my secret to awesome salsa every time:

In a food processor add...

A chunk of red onion (about 1/3 of a medium one)
1/3 of a bunch of cilantro

Process until chopped. Add..

4-5 good quality tomatoes (stay away from beef steak and roma.  I always use "on the vine")
Chop them into quarters.

1/2 of a lemon, squeezed and zested
1/2 of a lime, squeezed
salt to taste
any peppers (I like banana but if you like spicy, go with the other kind)
I also add in a little bit of a salsa mix.  You generally find these next to the guacamole mix packets somewhere near the tomatoes in the fresh food section.

Process until the desired consistency and add more salt to taste.  Salt will really make or break your salsa.  You need to add enough to balance out the acid from the lemon and lime.

P.S.  We had burritos for dinner last night.  If anyone wants that recipe, let me know.

Pizza Pizza!

We love making pizza at home.  With the right ingredients, it turns out 1000 times better than delivery.
We do use a pizza stone and paddle.  It just makes the crust that much better.  I highly recommend getting one.  Just place it in the oven while it is preheating so it's nice and hot when you put your pizza on it.

Here's the tried and true method:

Crust:

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water

Mix and let bubble for 5 min.  Then add:

1 tsp salt
2 1/2 + cups flour
2 tbsp olive oil

Mix in a kitchenaid for about 7 min until the dough is in a ball not sticking to the bowl.
This recipe usually yields us 3 personal pizzas.  One for each, and one for lunch for my husband at work.

Favorite toppings (in this order)"
Trader Joe's pizza sauce (it's the best, don't buy anything else)
Spinach
Red Onion
Bell pepper
Thinly sliced tomato
Salt and pepper slightly on veggies
Prosciutto (also from Trader Joe's)
Fresh basil ($2.99 for a huge package at Trader Joe's)
Fresh mozzarella
Pizza mix cheese (just to top off any spots without mozzarella)

Bake on preheated stone at 450* for 15 minutes or until the middle cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

If you do the math, I probably spend about $15-20 on the ingredients and I usually make the dough twice for a total of 6 pizzas - $3 per pizza? You can't get that with delivery.

Enjoy!