Friday, February 26, 2010

Greek Feta Salad

greek1W
This is one of my favorite salads to make.  It is SO good and rich-tasting, with all of those Greek flavors coming together.  I first spotted this recipe on my friend, Eating, Etc's, blog, back in 2008 when we first moved here, and made it shortly afterward.  We LOVED it!!  It is just so flavorful.  It's not hard to make, either.  I left the onions out so my kids would be more likely to eat it, and my husband and I had them "on the side" to mix into our own portions.  The last two times I've made this (including last night), we've served it with grilled naan bread.  When doing this, we use the salad as more of a spread for the naan bread.  Last night, this was the main dish of our dinner, and we had sliced sweet red bell peppers on the side (great for dipping into the salad!)  I really, really loved this meal. 
greek3W
My changes last night:  I used an 8 oz. block of feta, instead of crumbled, and just mashed it up with a fork.  I omitted the water, and used the juice of 1 lemon (almost 4 TBS).  I used 3/4 of a huge Enlish cucumber, and didn't peel most of it.  I also shredded it in my food processor and it worked well.  I only used 1/4 of a small red onion, and I only had a 4 oz. can of chopped (as opposed to sliced) olives on hand, so I used that.  Sliced olives definitely look better, though.  I only had fresh basil on hand, so I used that instead of the other herbs, and I used whole cherry tomatoes instead of chopped.  Grape tomatoes would have worked even better. 
greek2W
Note: I made this again 5/2014 and added new photos.  We always serve it with fresh grilled naan- so good!

Greek Feta Salad
adapted from Eating, Etc.

8oz crumbled feta
1/4c extra-virgin olive oil
3-4T fresh lemon juice (one lemon, juiced)
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cucumber, partially peeled & shredded
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
4oz sliced (or chopped) pitted Kalamatas or black olives
1T each fresh mint, dill, basil, &/or parsley, finely chopped
1-1/2c tomatoes, chopped (or cherry tomatoes)
4c mixed greens, optional, for serving

1) Squeeze excess moisture from grated cucumber. (I used my hands to do this, then let it drain in a colander for 30 minutes). 

2) In a medium bowl, mash together the feta, olive oil, lemon juice, & black pepper.

3) Add the cucumber, onion, olives, & herbs and mix well.

4) Fold in the tomatoes.

5) Serve on a bed of mixed greens, or with pita or naan bread.
greek4W
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Chocolate Thumbprints

These tiny little cookies are so good, and so easy.  We needed something to bring to a friend, so I flipped through Martha Stewart's Cookie cookbook.  I made these a while ago, when I first got that cookbook and remember them being really yummy.  They still are!  When making the chocolate filling/glaze, I forgot to add the corn syrup in.  I didn't even realize this 'till this morning (I made these last night).  It's good without it!  I'd add it in next time though; I think it adds more shiny-ness (you can't really have too much of that) and it might make the chocolate a little easier to work with.  Honey would work, too, and add some rich honey flavor. 

For the glaze, I used half salted butter, half un-salted, to get that salty contrast against the chooclate.  For the chocolate, I used mini semi-sweet choco chips and they melted beautifuly.  Instead of using my poor little thumb to make an imprint in these during baking, I used the end of my pestle, from my tiny little mortar and pestle set.  Maybe a thick end of a wooden spoon would work, or something similar.  Or just use your thumb, and keep a bowl of ice water handy, like she states in the cookbook, so your thumb doesn't get burned.  I shortened the baking time; she calls for 10 minutes for the first round, and then 7-9 minutes more.  I only did a total of 12-14 minutes for mine; after all, these cookies are tiny!

The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of dough per cookie; I measured (with water) my smallest cookie scoop, and it was exactly 2 teaspoons.  How convenient.

Chocolate Thumbprints

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (or 6 oz. mini semi-sweet chips)
6 tablespoons butter (half salted and half unsalted, if desired)
2 teaspoons corn syrup

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C).  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, the confectioner's sugar, salt, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.  Beat in flour, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium until combined.

3.  Form balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each; place balls 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake 8-9 minutes, remove from oven, and press thumb into cookies to make deep, wide indentations.  (This is where the end of some kitchen utensil comes in handy!)  Rotate pan, and return to oven; bake until light brown on the edges, about 4-5 minutes more.  (If the indentations begin to lose definition, remove cookies from oven and press again.)  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

4.  Combine chocolate, the remaining 6 tablespoons butter, and the corn syrup in a small heatproof bowl (like Pyrex) set over a pot of simmering water; stir occasionally until melted and smooth.  Allow to cool a bit until slightly thickened.  (Mine took a while- about 45 mins).  Fill thumbprints with the chocolate mixture, and set aside to firm up.  Cookies can be stored in single layers in airtight containers at room temp for up to 3 days. 

Monday, February 22, 2010

Toffee & Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Ice Cream

I thought it would be fun to make my own Mascarpone cheese, so, armed with 500 ml (2 cups) of fresh, local cream, I did just that!  I followed the instructions found here.   I have to say, that I had some problems, but they weren't huge.  I couldn’t get the cream to get to the right temp using the bowl in the skillet method, so after about 40 minutes, I transfered it to a heavy saucepan over low heat and it took about a minute to reach 190. Then, my cheesecloth wasn’t tightly woven enough, I think, because the cream just leaked through. So, I put a coffee filter under the cheesecloth and that held it in. In the end though, after draining, I had lovely, creamy, sweet mascarpone, it was very exciting!  So, next time, I'd just use a heavy saucepan in the 1st place over very low heat.  And then I'd just drain it through coffee filters and forget the cheesecloth. 

Since I lost some of the cream due to the cheesecloth problems, I only had about 1 cup of mascarpone after all was said and done.  I wanted a good recipe to use the mascarpone in, so I turned to Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and found a delish-looking strawberry mascarpone ice cream recipe.  I cut the recipe in half (except for the whipping cream; I did 2/3 cup), and I don't have access to good strawberries (or any strawberries, really, except frozen) right now, so I left out those and added toffee bits and vanilla beans in.  This recipe was fun to make, and very, very good.  It worked perfectly in my ice cream maker, too.  I only added in 1 cup of toffee bits, but wished I would have added more; next time I'd just throw in the whole package. 

(BTW, please keep the people of the Portuguese island of  Madeira in your thoughts and prayers.  A terrible storm came through there Saturday, killing over 30 people, and more are missing, due to terrible flooding.  The storm was heading straight for our island in the Azores, but veered south at the last minute, and missed us completely.)

Toffee & Vanilla Bean Mascarpone Ice Cream
adapted from Peabody

1 1/2 cups whole milk
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 TBSP vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
1/2 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
3 egg yolks
1 TBSP honey
1 cup Mascarpone cheese
1 cup (or more) toffee bits

Place milk, cream, vanilla, and vanilla bean seeds in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, sugar and 1 TBSP honey in a large bowl (I used my Kitchenaid). Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper it, or bring it up to the same temperature as the milk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and again cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it has thickened s lightly and just barely coast the back of a spoon, 5-7 minutes; remove the pan from the heat. Pour through a tightly woven metal strainer into a clean bowl; add the Mascarpone cheese and mix well. Refrigerate until it cools to at least 40F.  I like to cool it overnight in the fridge. 

Begin freezing the ice cream in your ice cream maker. When the ice cream is very thick, but still soft(after 20 minutes, depending on your ice cream maker) add the toffee bits. Continue freezing to a soft consistency. Transfer the ice cream to a covered container and place in the freezer until completely frozen.
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Friday, February 19, 2010

Easy Beef and Bean Burritos

Here's a very easy, fast, and yummy recipe for beef and bean burritos.  I browned some lean ground beef, added a can of refried beans, and some taco seasoning and other spices.  That's it!  Then, I wrapped the mixture up in some burrito-sized flour tortillas, and browned them in a little bit of oil in a large skillet. Serve with light sour cream, mixed with salsa. 

When it comes to wrapping the burritos, I really didn't know what way was best, to keep the filling all contained in the tortilla "packet".  Thank goodness for YouTube- it's where I learned to cut a pineapple, also!  :)  I found a great little how-to vid, showing how to make burritos, snugly folded in their tortillas.  I think one "trick" is to not overfill them.  If you do, you won't be able to fold them properly.  I got 8 burritos out of this recipe.  Here is that burrito-folding demo.

Although these are super simple, they're a lot better than the "burritos" I used to make when I was first married.  Take a can of refried beans, rolls some tortillas around the plain beans, and bake until heated through.  Lol.  Hey, it worked!! 

I meant to add cheese to the filling, but forgot.  I'll still include some optional cheese in the recipe though. 

Easy Beef and Bean Burritos
by What a Dish!

1 pound very lean ground beef (8% fat)
1 16-oz. can fat-free refried beans
1 tablespoon taco seasoning (I used homemade)
sprinkle garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
cheddar cheese, optional
one package burrito-style (or larger) flour tortillas (there were 8 in my package, which was perfect)
2 tablespoons canola oil

sour cream mixed with salsa, for serving, optional

In a large skillet, brown ground beef.  If there is any fat after browning, drain.  Add the can of refried beans and heat through.  Add the taco seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper and stir until combined.  Fill the flour tortillas with this mixture, folding into burrito shapes.  If desired, add a sprinkle of shredded cheese on top of the filling before folding. 

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown the burritos on both sides.  I was able to fit just 2 at a time.  Drain on paper towels.  (These would be great without the extra browning step, too.  I just like mine a little crispy on the outside). 
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Signs of Early Spring

This is a view from my backyard.  (There's a pile of dirt with grass growing on it, because they're building a house next door and that pile of dirt has been there for months.  Lol.  It was just a cow pasture, before- notice the stone walls.)  I really love the view from my backyard, even if there is construction going on.  I absolutely love those little yellow flowers, which are in full bloom right now, and will be for at least another month, if I remember right.  Early in the morning, and again in the evening, their sweet smell is so strong that it's almost intoxicating.  I love hanging outside after an early spring barbecue and smelling them into the night.  They carpet many less-used cow pastures and empty lots around here, and they are just so bright and cheerful looking.  The photo doesn't even do them justice.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

For Valentine's Day this year, I made our family this cheesecake from the newest Taste of Home magazine.  It was good, especially if you're a chocolate lover.  I can't take too much chocolate at once, so this was almost too much for me, even thought it was part vanilla cheesecake, part chocolate.  I still enjoyed it though- just in small portions (which is a good idea with cheesecake anyway!).  I really don't like dark or semisweet chocolate at all (sorry, rest of the world!) so I cut back on the amount of chocolate in the batter, and I used milk chocolate for the ganache. 

I thought that there would just be small, delicated little blobs of chocolate batter in this, but it ended up being almost half chocolate.  It was still good, just not what I was expecting from the picture in the magazine. 

I have a tiny, Easy-bake-sized, European oven, and the heating element is on the top (roof).  I should have kept this in mind when I put this very tall cheesecake in the oven, on the middle rack.  Sadly, I didn't take that into consideration, and when I checked the cheesecake at 50 minutes, the whole top was black, and even smoking.  Nice!!  There was really nothing I could do at that point; it wasn't fully baked yet, so I just turned the heat down a tiny bit and moved the oven rack to the lowest position.  No worries though- after it was done, my husband helped me carefully peel off the burned layer (we were cheesecake doctors!), and it looked and tasted fine underneath.  The chocolate ganache helped to cover any ugliness. 

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
from Tasteofhome.com

1-1/2 cups cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (Oreos, people)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
9 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used 7 oz)
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves

6 ounces milk or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Fresh raspberries and whipped cream, optional

Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom of prepared pan. (I never bother to wrap in foil or do a water bath, but the directions are here in case you want to). 

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Set aside 1-1/2 cups; pour remaining batter over crust.

In a microwave, melt chocolate; stir in preserves until blended. Stir in reserved batter just until blended. Drop by tablespoonfuls over the plain batter (do not swirl). Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan.

Bake at 325° for 65-75 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.

For topping, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool slightly. Spread over top of cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with raspberries and whipped cream if desired. Yield: 16 servings.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Basic Buttermilk Pancakes

Today is Pancake Day- Fat Tuesday!  Celebrate with this easy recipe.  This is one of my favorite pancake recipes.  I love most any pancake recipe with buttermilk; it makes them so light and tender, even if they're made with whole grains.  I use half white flour, half whole wheat pastry flour for this recipe, but you can just use all white flour, like the original recipe states.  One recipe makes only 3 servings; you'll want to double it if you have a larger family.  I always double it, or even triple it if we have guests over.  This recipe comes from my Good Housekeeping Cookbook.

Basic Buttermilk Pancakes
adapted from Good Housekeeping

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (or, 1 cup plain yogurt + 1/4 cup milk)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
cooking spray

1.  In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add buttermilk, melted butter, and egg; stir just until flour is moistened. 

2.  Heat a griddle of large skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles; spray with cooking spray.  Pour batter by scant 1/4 cups onto hot griddle; making a few pancakes at a time.  (I have a large family-sized griddle, and I can make 6 at a time on that).  Cook until tops are bubbly, some bubbles burst, and edges look dry.  With wide spatula, turn and cook until underside is golden.  Transfer to a platter or individual plates.

3.  Repeat with remaning batter, spraying griddle with additional cooking spray if needed.  Makes 3 servings. 
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Monday, February 15, 2010

Veggie Minestrone

I love this minestrone recipe- it's simple, so flavorful, healthy, and relatively inexpensive.  There is a lot of chopping involved, but if you're used to chopping veggies, it shouldn't be a problem.  I didn't write down exact amount of veggies to buy before I went to the store, so I ended up getting a little less than the original recipe called for.  I'm sure it would be just as great with more veggies added, but you'd have to add more broth or water, to compensate.  The recipe below is my version of this.  (Click on the link below to see original recipe).

I used Trader Joe's condensed broth packets for the veggie broth.  I love those- they're not weird-sweet tasting like a lot of other veggie broths.  The recipe calls for fresh spinach, and I wish I could get that here, but I can't, so it didn't go into this batch.  I've left it in the recipe below, though, because when I used to make this in the States, I'd always add even more spinach than called for and it was delish.  If you don't mind if this isn't vegetarian, go ahead and use chicken broth instead.  With the veggie broth, and without the parmesan cheese garnish, this dish is vegan, as well. 

Veggie Minestrone
adapted from Allrecipes.com

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
3 carrots, sliced
2 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 cup fresh green beans, rinsed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
2 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
salt and pepper to taste
2/3 cup seashell pasta
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil, optional, for topping

1.In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

2.Add veggie broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently.  Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.  (If the liquid level goes down too much, you may need to add extra broth or water). 

3.Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain water; stir pasta into soup.

4.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese, if desired, and an optional drizzle of olive oil.
 
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Friday, February 12, 2010

White Chocolate Brownies (or Blondies)

About two years ago, a good cooking friend gave me a recipe for these white chocolate beauties.  I made them just as the recipe stated.  They were very, very good.  I misplaced the recipe for a long time.  I finally asked my friend for it again, and she graciously gave me the recipe again.  Then.... I lost it, again, but I asked my poor friend, yet again, to send it to me and she did!  I emailed it to myself a few times so I'm sure not to lose it now.  And to further the keepage of this recipe, it's going on my blog now! 

I made these again the other day.  When I looked at the recipe, I thought "Only 4 ounces of white chocolate?!"  Ha ha.  So, I doubled it.  As I was making them, I decided that I should reduce the sugar a bit to compensate for the extra sweetness, and add a bit extra flour for the extra liquid (melted chocolate).  They worked out pretty well!  My new, 2010, "revised" version is very... gooey.  They are best stored in the fridge, I think.  Being made out of such a high percentage of white chocolate will do that to a baked good.  They had been stored in the fridge for a few hours before I took the photo- that's why they're not slumping everywhere.

I will include both recipe versions here.  The 1st one is my "revised" version; the second one is the original.  Likewise, the first picture you see on this post is of the "revised" brownies, and the last picture you see is of the brownies I originally made in 2008 with only 4 oz. of chocolate- the original recipe.   (Both versions are VERY, VERY good!!!)

My Extra-Gooey White Chocolate Brownies

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
8 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325'F. Lightly grease an 11x7″ baking pan with butter or vegetable oil.

Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. When the butter has melted, add the chocolate and melt.

Using a mixer on medium-high speed, beat the eggs and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the eggs are thick and pale, about 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla and mix on medium-low speed until blended, about 5 seconds. Scrape the bowl.

Mix in the flour on low speed until blended, scraping the bowl with the rubber spatula once during blending. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake the brownies on the center oven rack until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool on a rack for 1 hour before cutting.


Original White Chocolate Brownies
adapted from Rosie's Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book" by Judy Rosenberg

8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 oz white chocolate
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 t Salt
1 c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 325'F. Lightly grease an 11x7″ baking pan with butter or vegetable oil.

Melt the butter in the top of a double boiler placed over simmering water. When the butter has melted, add the chocolate and melt.

Using a mixer on medium-high speed, beat the eggs and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl until frothy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the eggs are thick and pale, about 1-1/2 minutes. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Add the chocolate mixture and the vanilla and mix on medium-low speed until blended, about 5 seconds. Scrape the bowl.

Mix in the flour on low speed until blended, scraping the bowl with the rubber spatula once during blending. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake the brownies on the center oven rack until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-30 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool on a rack for 1 hour before cutting.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Creamy Pesto Artichoke Pasta

We had this pasta for dinner last night- it's a dish I concocted after seeing an Italian chef make something similar on a short TV commercial, using artichokes, pasta, and some sort of creamy substance (I assumed it was mascrapone).  It looked so good, I wanted to try my hand at it.  There's only one store around here that sells mascarpone cheese, and last time I went to get some, it looked like they didn't sell it anymore.  :(  I bought something that I thought would be similar; Portuguese queijo fresco batido- "whipped fresh cheese".  It actually tastes more like sour cream than mascarpone, but I used it anyway.  So, one could use sour cream, mascarpone, quiejo fresco batido, or CrĆØme fraiche for this recipe. 

I was very happy to see fresh basil in my store, for the first time in about a month.  (lol!)  So, I picked up 2 packages- about 4 oz. total, to go into this recipe.  I used canned artichoke hearts for convenience.  (By the way, this dish looks very bright and vivid green in real life; it was hard to get a good pic in last night's fading light.)

Creamy Pesto Artichoke Pasta
by What a Dish!

Basil/Artichoke Pesto:
3-4 ounces fresh basil, rinsed
1 small clove garlic
1/2 cup almonds, toasted lightly (in a dry skillet)
1 can 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained
salt and peper, to taste
splash lemon juice
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

10 ounces dry ziti or penne pasta
1 cup mascarpone cheese, queijo fresco batido, sour cream, or CrĆØme fraiche
salt and pepper, to taste
extra Parmesan, for garnish

Boil the 10 oz. pasta according to package directions; drain.  Meanwhile, make the pesto.  In a food processor, combine basil, garlic, almonds, artichoke hearts, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.  Pulse until combined.  Then, with the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil.  Add parmesan and process for a few seconds or until combined. 

Measure the mascarpone cheese, queijo fresco batido, sour cream, or CrĆØme fraiche into a large serving bowl.  Mix in all of the artichoke/basil pesto until combined.  Stir in the drained pasta, and salt and pepper, if needed.  Serve immediately. 

(Note- I made this again on 3/17/2010, using Mascarpone and mini penne, and it was SO good that way- I liked it tons better. I had less basil, though, (darn it!) so it wasn't as green.  New photo below.)

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

These poor, innocent, unsuspecting mozzarella sticks look kinda like fishsticks, but they're not.  These, my friends, are baked mozzarella sticks!!  Whoo-hoo!!  These are kind of a pain to make, but they're fun to do every once in a while.  (I think the last time I made them was 7 or 8 years ago!).  You take string cheese, (I cut mine in half, so they're not super long), dredge it in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, and then bake until the cheese inside is melty.  The recipe comes from Taste of Home.

(You will probably have some melted cheese leak out of these during baking; I did, and it's really hard to avoid.  They will be good anyway!  The pic below is one I took before they went into the oven.)

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon water
1 cup dry bread crumbs
2-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
12 sticks string cheese
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce, heated

1.  Place flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, beat eggs and water. In a third shallow bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Coat cheese sticks with flour, then dip in egg mixture and coat with bread crumb mixture. Repeat egg and bread crumb coatings. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

2.  Place on an ungreased baking sheet; drizzle with butter. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 6-8 minutes or until heated through. Allow to stand for 3-5 minutes before serving. Serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce for dipping. Yield: 4-6 servings.
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Pizza Bites

I made these pizza bites for our little family Friday night party the other night.  I also made mozzarella sticks, and we had some poor baby carrots for our token veggie.  The pizza bites were pretty easy to make; I used the pizza dough the original blogger suggests, and I really liked it. 

I accidentaly made the first pan of pizza bites too large; I preferred the smaller ones that came from the next two pans.  We dipped these into warmed Muir Glen pizza sauce.  I baked two pans of these Friday night, and covered the other pan and refrigerated it for a few days.  We baked that pan last night, and it was really good! 

Pizza Bites
From Chaos in the Kitchen

2 recipes pizza dough (use your own recipe, or use the recipe below)
8 oz block mozzarella cheese
4 oz thin sliced pepperoni
2 tsp Italian seasoning (combine oregano, basil, parsley, and garlic)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
pizza or marinara sauce, warmed

1. Prepare pizza dough (let it rise for one hour) and roughly chop pepperoni. Cut block of mozzarella into 48 cubes.

2. If you are going to bake some (or all!) right away preheat oven to 400°F. Grease 3 pie pans.

3. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough.  In each dough piece place a couple pieces of chopped pepperoni and a cube of cheese. Seal dough around meat and cheese and place seam side down in pie pan.

4. Repeat, placing approximately 16 dough balls in each pie plate.

6. Once assembled, combine oil and spices and brush over the dough. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

7. Now you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze or you can bake right away.

8. When ready to bake: bake at 400°F for 16-20 min. Serve with warm pizza or marinara sauce.
 
Basic Pizza Dough
From Chaos in the Kitchen
makes 2 recipes pizza dough, prep 10 min, rise time 1 hour

2 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp loose yeast)
2 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
5-6 cups flour

1. Combine yeast and warm water, stir to dissolve.

2. Add oil, salt, and flour. Stir to combine.

3. Once dough starts to come together, turn out onto a floured counter and knead to thoroughly combine-until dough is smooth and elastic. If it is uncooperative let it rest for a few minutes and come back to it. (I just used my Kitchenaid mixer and it was totally easy).

4. Place dough ball in a greased bowl and cover loosely. Allow dough to rise until doubled, approximately an hour.
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Honey Mustard Dressing

Sometimes, life calls for some Honey Mustard Dressing.  I don't necessarily eat this on salads; we use it as a dip or sandwich spread.  It's super yummy, and couldn't be easier to whip up.  I like it on toasted sub sandwiches, as a dip for homemade chicken nuggets, or most recently, a dip for homemade pretzel bites.  Unfortunately, photographing certain dips/dressings is very difficult for me!  :)

I like to use a spicy brown, or dijon mustard for this.  I'm not a fan of plain yellow, "ballpark" mustard at all. 



Honey Mustard Dressing
from Allrecipes

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons prepared mustard (I like spicy brown of Dijon for this)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Friday, February 5, 2010

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Pie

The whole fam loved this pie.  So did our guests.  I chose this recipe because it looked very easy, and I had a very busy day ahead.  Sometimes, simple recipes taste just that- simple.  But this one was very, very yummy as well.  I broke one of my personal rules and actually bought Cool Whip for this recipe.  I think I've only bought it once or twice before in my whole life.  But I didn't care about that once I tasted this pie- it's worth it.  I think I will change some ingredients around on this pie and make it in different flavors. 

I have limited access to some things over here; my store only had 12 oz. containers of Cool Whip.  So, I just bought the 12 oz. and put it all in the recipe.  It gave it such a nice, light texture.  I loved it!  Because of the exrta Cool W, my version wasn't super-rich like the original blogger mentioned.  It wasn't too rich at all; it wasn't hard to eat two pieces.  (Maybe that's a bad thing!)  Also, I had too much filling to just fill the one pie crust, so I filled 6 mini-graham crusts I had on hand, as well.  It was the perfect amount of filling for one normal-sized pie crust and 6 minis! 
I could not find an Oreo crust at my store either.  I had Oreos at home; I could have made a crust from scratch, but I simply did not have any extra time that day, so I used a purchased shortbread crust.  I'm sure it would have been even better with the Oreo crust- chocolate & peanut butter; but, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do! 

The recipe includes instructions for making your own Oreo crust.  I'll leave those in; you can do that, or just use a store-bought crumb crust.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Pie

Crust:
25 Oreos
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Crush the Oreos until they’re fine crumbs. Pour melted butter over the top and stir with a fork to combine. Press into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, or until set.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Filling:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 (8-ounce) package softened cream cheese or Neufchatel
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 (8 or 12-ounce) package Cool Whip, thawed

Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed Cool Whip and beat mixture until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.

Pour filling into crust, evening out the top with a knife or spatula. Chill for at least an hour before serving. (It’s better the longer it sits in the fridge- mine was in there 4-5 hours).  Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Tomato Tortellini Soup

I recently got a new Taste of Home mag, and in it was this easy-looking soup recipe.  I had most everything on hand, so I decided to try it right away.  The original recipe calls for 2 cups of 2% milk, and 2 cups of half and half.  I actually didn't have those items on hand, but I did have some evaporated 2% milk.  I poured a can of that into my 2-cup measure, and filled it up the rest of the way with 1% milk.  For the half and half, I used a mixture of cream and 1% milk, and it worked wonderfully.  (About 2/3 cup cream; 1- 1/3 cup 1% milk). 

The soup was rich and creamy with a wonderful flavor.  Some fresh basil would have made this soup super delish; if I'm able to, I will include that next time.  For the veggie broth, I used Trader Joe's condensed broth packets.  It was the first time I've used the veggie flavor, and it was very flavorful and rich-tasting.  The original recipe calls for 9 oz of cheese tortellini, but I thought you could easily double that with no problems.  I buy 19 oz. packages of tortellini, and I wished I had just thrown it all in!  We ate this for dinner with these delish Parmesan Pull-Aparts.

Tomato Tortellini Soup
from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
1 package (9-19 ounces) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
2 cups 2% milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Additional shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Directions:

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini; carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Snickerdoodle Blondies.... II

These were some good blondies.  I really, really liked them.  I prefer them over the other snickerdoodle blondies I've made before.  These rose well, were nice, thick and chewy.  They had a GREAT texture and taste.  They were easy to make, too.  The recipe comes from Recipe Girl.  I was taking these somewhere, so I didn't have time to do the glaze/icing on top, but they were delish nonetheless.  I had a little less than 1 cup of cinnamon chips hanging around, so I threw those in.  It would be good without them, too.  Either way works.

PS:  Today I've been blogging for 2 years!!  (Although, I didn't realize this fact until Feb. 18 and came and added this on here- lol!)

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Cookies:
2- 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup cinnamon chips, optional

Topping:
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Glaze (optional):
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray. Line pan with parchment and let it hang over the sides. Spray parchment with nonstick spray too.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream of tartar and salt; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer (3 to 5 minutes). Mix in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Keep beating until mixture is smooth.

4. Stir in flour mixture until well blended. If using cinnamon chips, stir them in now. The batter will be thick. Spread it evenly into the prepared pan. Spray your hands with cooking spray and use them to pat the mixture down evenly.

5. Combine the topping ingredients in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly on top of batter.

6. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed. Let pan cool completely.

7. When ready to cut, use ends of parchment paper to lift out baked bars. Place on a cutting board. If you’re adding the glaze, whisk the glaze ingredients in a medium bowl and drizzle onto the bars in decorative fashion. Let glaze set (this will work more quickly in the refrigerator) then use a large, sharp knife to cut into bars.

Makes 20 to 24 bars

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Monday, February 1, 2010

Shredded Beef Tacos

This is an easy, no-brainer recipe for taco meat.  It's almost too easy.  I make it in the crockpot.  You throw a roast in the crockpot with a short list of ingredients, shred it about 8 hours later, build some tacos with it, and you have dinner!  I would use a Mexican brand of tomato sauce, like El Pato, but that isn't available here.  I can get some Goya brand products, so I used thier "Spanish-style" tomato sauce.  Yes, I realize Mexican products and Spanish products are not the same, but either Mexican or Spanish-style tomato sauce will work in this recipe.  If you can't find either one, just use regular ol' plain tomato sauce and add some of your own spices!  (I used homemade taco seasoning mix for this recipe).

Shredded Beef for Tacos
by What a Dish!

1 beef roast, 2-3 pounds (I used a rump roast)
1 can (8 oz.) Spanish or Mexican tomato sauce
1/2 cup salsa
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
1 cup beef broth

Place the beef roast in a large crockpot.  Add all of the ingredients over it.  Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours, or until meat is tender and shreds easily with a fork.  (May want to turn the roast over a few times during cooking).  When ready to eat, shred the meat with two forks and use on tacos (or burritos). 
**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **