No-Oil Granola

Here's an option for a granola using no oil at all.  I don't think anything will ever replace my fave, go-to recipe (I really need a new pic of that!) but I do occasionally enjoy trying new recipes for granola and was curious about this recipe.  I thought it was a bit too sweet; I'd reduce the brown sugar to 1/3 cup next time. 

No-Oil Granola
adapted from Cooking Classy

4 cups whole oats (DON'T use quick oats)*

1 cup sliced or slivered almonds

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 Tbsp water

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup dried berries such as blueberries or cranberries

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix together oats and sliced almonds, set aside.

2.  In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Once mixture reaches a boil, allow to boil for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and baking soda and whisk until mixture is foamy, about 10 seconds. Carefully pour hot sugar mixture over oat mixture and toss to evenly coat.

3.  Spread mixture into an even layer on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven, about 36 - 40 minutes until golden brown, removing from oven and tossing twice during baking.  Remove from oven, toss in dried fruit and allow to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.  (Note: granola wont be crisp until cooled.)
*Make sure your oats are gluten-free if needed.

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Dulce de Leche in the Crockpot

I love this method of making homemade Dulce de Leche.  Thanks to my friend over at Buen Provecho for letting me in on this method!  She is originally from Argentina so I was excited to learn her Dulce de Leche secrets.  ;)  You only need small canning jars (4 oz) and canned sweetened condensed milk.  I found that one regular (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk filled 3 of the jars.  So, if you are using all 12 jars for Dulce de Leche, you'll need 4 cans of sweetened condensed milk.  See, you DO use math in the real world! 

After cooking overnight in the crockpot, the sweetened condensed milk turns this lovely milky caramel color.  Cook longer time for a darker color and firmer Dulce de Leche.  I cooked from about 8pm- 10am to achieve this color.  So, fill the jars with your sweetened condensed milk, place in the crockpot (I used all 3 of my crockpots) in a single layer.  Cover with water, at least 1-2 inches, and cook on Low overnight until desired color is achieved.  The jars should self-seal in the crockpot; making these shelf-stable.  (Refrigerate after opening though.) 

Use your Dulce de Leche as a spread for toast, waffles or pancakes, or as a dip for sliced apples or pears, or use it as a topping for ice cream.  Or just eat it right out of the jar, as I did with one of them!  I opened one to taste after it came out of the crockpot, and during the course of the day, I ate the whole thing. 

Dulce de Leche in the Crockpot
from Buen Provecho

4-oz. canning jars (plus lids and rings), washed and dried
14-oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk (each can fills 3 canning jars)

1.  Decide how much Dulce de Leche you want to make.  If you only have one crockpot, you can probably only do 3-4 jars.  Each can of sweetened condensed milk will fill 3 of the jars. 

2.  Fill clean 4-oz jars with sweetened condensed milk.  Place the lids on and screw the rings on.  Place in your crockpot(s), in a single layer, with room between jars, if possible.  (Was not always possible for me to not have jars touching, but you MUST put them in a single layer; no stacking).  Cover with enough water so there is at least 1-2 inches of water above the jars. 

3.  Cook on Low for 10-12 hours, or longer, until desired color is achieved.  The darker the color, the firmer the Dulce de Leche will be.  Turn off crockpot, let jars cool a bit, and then remove them to a clean kitchen towel (with tongs, if needed).  Jars should be self-sealed now and able to be stored at room temp.  (Check to make sure they are sealed bu pushing down on lids.  Should not pop up.)  There may be a few rust spots on the tops of the lids, this is fine; while jars are still wet from the crockpot, remove the rings (not lids) and just wipe away the rust with a damp paper towel; replace rings. 

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Greek 7-Layer Dip

We had an "Un-Superbowl Sunday" party on Superbowl day, a few weeks ago, and we totally didn't watch the Superbowl.  (I hate football and my husband doesn't really care for it either, yay!)  We rented a movie online- Hotel Transylvania, instead.  I basically just wanted an excuse to make and gorge myself on a bunch of appetizer-type foods and hang out.  We also had Bacon-Jalapeno Cheese Ball and Artichoke Dip. 

I had seen a few 7-Layer Greek dips floating around Pinterest, so I adapted a recipe to how I wanted it.  I mainly got my idea from Our Best Bites.  Only, I figured that I really wanted some Tzatziki sauce in here, instead of the flavored cream cheese layer they use.  It all tasted great, but there was one problem with the Tzatziki.  Even though I squeezed all the water our of the cucumber I used, water still seeped out (maybe from the yogurt) and rendered the whole dip pretty watery after about an hour.  (I'm sure the cukes and tomatoes on the dip itself helped.)  So if you choose to use Tzatziki, I have a few tips.  1.  Use strained Greek yogurt, or even strain it yourself.  My yogurt was the really creamy kind, so I should have strained it.  2.  A store-bought tzatziki might be less watery; I'm not sure.  3.  Squeeze all the juice our of your shredded cuke, with your hands.  4.  Make and eat this right away.  If you don't want to deal with Tzatziki, use the flavored cream cheese layer from Our Best Bites.  I think I will, next time.

I used the hummus from Our Best Bites cookbook, but you can use any recipe.  They have a Roasted Red Pepper recipe on their website, which would be good too.  The recipe I used is pretty similar to that; just omit the red pepper and cilantro. 

Greek 7-Layer Dip
adapted from Our Best Bites and other websites

1 1/2 c. hummus (omit pepper and cilantro for plain hummus)
1 recipe Tzatziki Sauce
1 c. seeded, diced cucumbers
1 c. seeded, diced tomatoes
1/2 c. chopped Kalamata olives
1/3 c. chopped green onions (about 3 green onions completely chopped)
1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
1/8-1/4 c. minced fresh parsley

1.  In the bottom of an 8x8 inch dish or similar size, spread the hummus.  Then, layer on the Tzatziki sauce.  In order, create layers by sprinkling the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, onions, Feta cheese, and parsley.

2.  Serve immediately if you want to avoid liquid seepage from the ingredients.  :)  Serve with pita chips, fresh vegetables, crackers, and/or flatbread.

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T-Shirt Pillow

I've made T-shirt pillows for all of my kids out of their favorite outgrown T-shirts (except the baby).  The one above was made for  my daughter.  That was her fave shirt in Kindergarten (and she wore it for 2-3 years after that).  She's 10 now, and I finally, just a few months ago, stuffed it and made it into a pillow.

Making a T-shirt pillow is super easy.  Googling will give you detailed instructions (and T-shirt pillows that look way better than mine, ha ha!)  First, select a T-shirt.  Small children's T-shirts are easier to use because they are smaller; less to sew and less stuffing to insert.  Turn the shirt inside out, and sew the bottom and the two sleeves shut.  Turn right-side out again.  Insert filling of choice, such as craft polyester fiberfill stuffing.  Make sure to get some in the sleeves.  Pack more in than you think you need.  Sew the remaining hole (neck) closed, and you are done! 

Something I've seen online, but never done, is to use a pillow form for the inside.  Usually you don't use the sleeves when you do this, and I've never done it, so I won't advise.  They look really cool though.

My kids love their T-shirt pillows!  The problem is washing it; I'm scared to, since the stuffing is bunching up already with age.  This is probably when a pillow form would come in handy, instead of just the loose stuffing.  This is why my daughter doesn't actually sleep on hers; just has it on her bed for decoration.  :)

Have fun with this; my husband says now he wants one.  Lol!

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

About six years ago, these were some of my favorite cookies.  I remember making them a few times when I was pregnant with my now 6-year old; the last time being the day before I went into labor.  Recently, I decided to revive this recipe and make it again.  Well, actually, "recently" means back in December.  See my Christmas table cloth in the pic?  Lol.  Sometimes it takes me a long time to get around to blogging about something.  The cookies were still as yummy as I remembered them. 

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

1egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

 

2.  In a large bowl (or a stand mixer), cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, wheat flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the peanut butter mixture. Finally, mix in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

 

3.  Bake for 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

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Grilled Taco Chicken

This recipe made for some very flavorful and downright delicious tacos.  I only had fresh lemons on hand, so I used lemon juice instead of lime.  The marinade is simple and so is the spice rub.  Then you grill the chicken and have tacos ready in no time. 

We used chicken tenders, since I keep those in the freezer all the time.  This was so good and easy! 

Grilled Taco Chicken
adapted from Our Best Bites

1 pound boneless chicken (tenders, breasts or thighs)
2 limes or 1 lemon
splash of red wine vinegar
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed or coarsely chopped
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

1.  Juice the limes or lemon and combine with a couple splashes of red wine vinegar. Add garlic. Pour over chicken in a non-reactive bowl or a mid-size ziplock bag. This will not completely cover the chicken; just turn it occasionally as needed. Marinate for at least 4 hours, no longer than 8.  (The acids will start to break down the chicken too much). 

2.  Heat an outdoor grill (you can also use a grill pan inside. Or your broiler in your oven.) Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper in a small bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and rub the spices all over the chicken.

3.  Grill about 7 minutes per side.  Remove from heat and allow to stand a few minutes before slicing.  Serve as taco meat with tortillas and other desired toppings (cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, avocados, etc.)

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Valentine's Day Doughnuts!!

It's been almost a year since my last doughnut-making experience.  I decided to make them for Valentine's Day this year.  It wasn't as much fun making them this time, as my mom wasn't here to help like last time, but I still got it all done.  I decided to make a double batch, because if I was going to go to all that trouble, and use all that oil, I'd better make it worth it!  I was frying for a long time, and my oil kept getting too hot and making my doughnuts too brown, but they still taste great. 

I made half of the doughnuts pink using the same glaze from last year's recipe (just tinting it pink), and I dipped the rest of them in a chocolate glaze.  I used a Joy the Baker recipe for the doughnuts this year. 

During kneading (with my Kitchenaid) I added quite a bit of extra flour, and the dough was still very soft and sticky.  I didn't want to add too much, though, so I just followed her directions of lightly flouring the top of the dough before rising for two hours, and when I went to roll it out, it was perfect- just a teeny bit sticky but not sticking to my hands or anything.  A little bit of flour on my Silpat did the trick for rolling. 

With the recipe doubled, this made 24 doughnuts and about 70-80 doughnut holes; I'm not kidding!!  They were everywhere!!  Joy says not to re-roll the scraps, so first, with the scraps, I cut out as many doughnut holes as I could.  Then, I did gather the scraps together, lightly knead them, and rolled them out again, cutting a few doughnuts and as many doughnut holes as I could.  I'm not sure why we're not supposed to re-roll the scraps, but nothing terrible seemed to happen when I did.  To cut the doughnuts, I used this round cookie cutter set from Ateco- the 1 inch for the holes, and the 3 inch for the doughnuts. 

Valentine's Day Doughnuts
adapted from Joy the Baker
Makes 12 doughnuts and 30-40 holes
Easily doubled for 24 doughnuts and 60-70 holes
(do not have to double the oil! :))

1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons warm water (105–115°F)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for sprinkling and rolling out dough
1 cup whole milk at room temperature
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional; I added just a sprinkle)
About 8-10 cups vegetable oil for deep frying

1.  Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

2.  Mix together flour, milk, butter, egg yolks, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and yeast mixture in mixer at low speed until a soft dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high and beat 3 minutes more.  If dough is incredibly wet and sticky, add more flour until it is only a little bit sticky.  Scrape dough down side of bowl (all around) into center, then sprinkle lightly with flour (to keep a crust from forming). Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  I use the turned-off oven with the light on.  (Alternatively, let dough rise in bowl in refrigerator 8 to 12 hours.)

3.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round (1/2 inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as possible with 3-inch cutter, then cut a hole in center of each round with 1-inch cutter and transfer doughnuts to a lightly floured large baking sheet or cutting board(s). Cover doughnuts with a clean kitchen towel (I skipped the towel covering) and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until slightly puffed, about 30 minutes (45 minutes if dough was cold when cutting out doughnuts).  With the scraps, cut as many doughnut holes as possible from them.  Then, gather the remainder, knead lightly, pat out again and cut doughnuts and holes again. 

4.  Heat 2 1/2 inches oil in a deep 4-quart heavy pot until it registers 350°F on thermometer. Fry doughnuts, 2 at a time, turning occasionally with a wire or mesh skimmer or a slotted spoon, until puffed and golden brown, about 2 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain. (Return oil to 350°F between batches.)  Glaze with glaze of your choice, or either the pink or chocolate glaze recipes below.

Pink Glaze
adapted from Allrecipes

1/3 cup butter

2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons hot water, or as needed
pink food coloring

1.  Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in confectioners' sugar, vanilla and food coloring until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in hot water one tablespoon at a time until the icing is somewhat thin, but not watery. Set glaze aside until doughnuts are ready to glaze.  Add sprinkles to wet glazed doughnuts.

Chocolate Glaze
from Alton Brown via Joy the Baker
a half-recipe is enough for one batch

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup whole milk, warmed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

1.  Combine butter, milk, corn syrup, and vanilla in medium saucepan and heat over medium heat until butter is melted. Decrease the heat to low, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Turn off heat, add the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Place the mixture over a bowl of warm water and dip the doughnuts immediately. Add sprinkles, if desired.  Allow glaze to set for 30 minutes before serving.

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Dulce de Leche Hot Chocolate

Here's a simple little hot chocolate recipe to warm you up this winter.  I've been wanting to make a Dulce de Leche flavored hot chocolate for a while.  The Dulce de Leche flavor wasn't quite as strong as I wanted it to be, but it was still delicious.  You can experiment with this.  I used some Dulce de Leche I bought last summer at one of the Stonewall Kitchen stores in Maine. 

Dulce de Leche Hot Chocolate
by What a Dish!
Makes 1 serving

1 cup milk (almond, cow, etc)
2 Tablespoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
2-3 Tablespoons Dulce de Leche

1.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk and melt the chocolate chips.  Whisk to combine and make smooth.  Turn the heat to low and add the Dulce de Leche until desired taste is achieved.  Heat until hot (not boiling) and serve. 

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Blueberries and Cream Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Here's another slow-cooker steel-cut oatmeal recipe.  I kind of put this together after making so many other oatmeals; you can pretty much make any flavor, as long as you keep the liquid to oats ratio the same.  Borrowing an idea from this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, I used part apple juice for some of the liquid.  This provided sweetness without having to add much sugar.  Although, for good meausure, I did throw in a few tablespoons of maple sugar, because I had it around and enjoy using it.  You can leave it out or sub brown sugar.  If you can't get dried blueberries, try dried cranberries instead.

Blueberries and Cream Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oatmeal
by What a Dish!, from inspiration all over the web

1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups apple juice
1 can (1.5 cups) whole evaporated milk
1/2 cup almond/coconut milk (or cow's milk)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom
3 TB Maple sugar
1/2 cup (heaping) dried blueberries (or cranberries)

1. Combine all ingredients in small or medium slow cooker; cook on Low for 4-5 hours.

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Nutella Brownies

These Nutella Brownies from Buns in My Oven caught my eye a while ago, so I decided to make them one night when we were having guests over for dinner.  We had Raspberry White Chocolate Ice Cream with these.  They are a variation of the popular "Bombshell Brownies" I first saw on Allrecipes.  They are thick, chewy, moist & dense.  Very delicious, and great for serving a group.

Nutella Brownies
adapted from Buns in My Oven

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup Nutella
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 baking dish.  In small saucepan over low heat, melt butter completely. Stir in sugar and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Do not allow sugar mixture to boil.  Remove from the heat and stir in the Nutella until well combined.

2.  Pour butter mixture into a large bowl or stand mixer, beat in cocoa powder, eggs, salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.  Stir in the flour and chocolate chips until just combined.

3.  Spread into prepared pan (batter will be very thick and sticky) and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until a tester comes out mostly clean. The edges should be set and the center should still look slightly moist, but not uncooked. Cool on a wire rack.

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Swedish Meatballs

These were very good.  The recipe is supposed to be a Weight Watchers recipe, using Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese, but for some reason, Neufchatel seems to be unavailable here anymore, so I had to use full-fat cream cheese.  By all means, use Neufchatel if you can get it!  I'm sure they will taste just as good.  This recipe has Allspice in it, which made my kids not want to eat the meatballs, but they loved the gravy.  They're weird about spices like that in savory dishes, although most of them love it when I make Indian food- go figure. 

The recipe calls for straining the broth before making the gravy, and at first I was not going to, but there is a lot of little bits of meat "residue" after simmering, so it's best to.  Also, using an immersion blender doesn't work too well here; better to use the regular blender.  Vent the lid and cover it with a cloth though, because hot liquids in a blender have a tendency to explode the lid off.  Just be careful. 

The first time I made this, we had it with dried German Spaetzle noodles, pictured above.  The next time, we had it with these mashed potatoes.... soooo good!  (For the taters- I used 2 oz of cream cheese for this meatball recipe and just threw the rest into the potatoes.)  They are so much better with the mashed potatoes.  When making the gravy, I had to thicken it with a small amount of flour/water slurry and then cook until thickened- no big deal. 

The second time I made these, there was no ground beef at my store, AT ALL.  Not even frozen.  Not even ground turkey.  So I did something I've never done before- picked up a small bag of pre-made, frozen meatballs and used that.  Not nearly as good as homemade; they tasted ok but had a too-soft, spongy texture, and were very salty.  But still, with the homemade gravy and mashed taters, the meal was very enjoyable. 

Swedish Meatballs
adapted from Skinnytaste

1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced (or a few shallots)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, minced (optional; I didn't have)
1/4 cup minced parsley (or 1-2 TBS. dried)
1 lb 93% lean beef
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cups reduced sodium beef stock
2 oz light cream cheese

1.  In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 more minutes. Let cool a few minutes.

2.  In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands 1/8 cup each (fill 1/4 cup then divide the meat in half).

3.  Add beef stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Strain the stock, add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs. If gravy does not thicken, make a small amount of flour/water slurry and add to mixture; cook and stir until thickened.  Garnish with parsley and serve over noodles, mashed potatoes, or with toothpicks if you want to set these out as an appetizer.

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Raspberry-White Chocolate Ice Cream

This is a perfect ice cream for Valentine's Day!  I made this about a month ago for some guests, and it was a hit with them as well as our fam.  I concocted this recipe using a few other recipes on my blog, namely this White Chocolate recipe and this Chocolate Raspberry one.  You can make it even more festive-looking by incorporating a raspberry puree swirl.  I thought of it, but already had too many other things to do.  Borrowing an idea from the David Lebovitz Choc-Raspberry recipe (link above), I added raspberries (frozen) and fully incorporated them into the mixture, then strained it to remove any seeds.

Raspberry-White Chocolate Ice Cream
by What a Dish! with inspiration from David Lebovitz

2 cups half and half
1 2/3 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup vanilla sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean
3 egg yolks
12 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries, slightly thawed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Pour the cream and half-and-half into a heavy medium-size saucepan along with about half the sugar. Split vanilla bean and scrape the seeds out with the dull edge of a knife. Add vanilla bean seeds to the milk and half-and-half, and drop in the empty pod. Bring mixture to a simmer.

2. In the meantime, place egg yolks and remaining sugar in a heavy-duty stand mixture and beat at a medium-low speed until lightened and smooth. With mixer running, remove milk mixture from the heat (after it has been brought to a simmer) and slowly beat into the the eggs. If you mix it too quickly, the eggs will scramble. Pour all of the mixture back into the pan and put over low heat.

3. Stir constantly with a wire whisk until the custard slightly thickens. Be very careful at this point- stir constantly and do not let mixture come to a boil. Add the slightly thawed raspberries and whisk. Let mixture come to 160 degrees F, stirring constantly.  If raspberries do not break up enough, you can use an immersion blender to puree them.

4. Have ready a large glass bowl with a fine-mesh strainer fitted over the top. Place the chopped white chocolate into the bottom of the bowl. Remove the raspberry-custard mixture from the heat and pour it through a mesh strainer into the bowl over the white chocolate. It will take a while to filter down. Discard the seeds leftover in the strainer. Stir in the vanilla extract. Whisk very well until all the white chocolate is melted and incorporated. Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight.

5. Stir the chilled mixture; freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

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Cheesy Broccoli-Quinoa Bake

My husband and I really loved this one.  For some reason, quinoa in any form is a hard sell with my kids, even if it is covered in cheese.  I don't make it nearly often enough, and maybe that's why.  Although, we were making quinoa (occasionally) years ago before it was popular!  My husband worked in a natural food store in high school and became familiar with quinoa and other "health foods".  He sometimes makes a breakfast quinoa; I will have to share that recipe sometime. 

Cheesy Broccoli-Quinoa Bake
adapted from Annie's Eats

1½ cups quinoa
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 shallots, diced
2 cups milk (low-fat is fine)
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1.  Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Meanwhile, steam the broccoli using a steamer basket, until the broccoli is crisp-tender.  Set aside.

2.  Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, shallots, garlic powder, dry mustard and cayenne. Continue whisking the mixture until it is light golden, about 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk. Allow the sauce to simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, 5-8 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the cheddar until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, broccoli florets, shredded cooked chicken and the cheese sauce. Fold together gently until evenly combined.  (Or you can mix all ingredients right in your large casserole dish.)

3.  Transfer the mixture to a lightly greased casserole dish. Bake until the top is lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes. Serve warm.

*For best results, always use freshly shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese comes coated in things such as flour, cornstarch to prevent clumping and results in an unpleasant, gritty texture when melted. 

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Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread, to me, will always be the savory, buttery roll version.  I know a lot of people call the sweet version monkey bread, and I finally decided to make some a few weeks ago.  It was SO GOOD!  As you can tell though, it kind of fell apart as I was trying to "unmold" it from the bundt pan, lol.  It was ok, though.  My kids encouragingly told me "It makes it easier to eat that way!" as they dug in. 

Part of the reason this fell apart was because the sugar mixture stuck SO bad to the side of the pan.  I buttered it up beforehand, so I'm not sure why.  Maybe flouring it would help, but I'm not sure.  I used an older, not non-stick pan.  I'm making this again today and using a newer, better pan, so hopefully it works out better. 

After the roll dippage, I had a ton of leftover butter, so I whisked it into the icing, and it made it so good.  I plan on doing the same today.

*I made these again and used a newer bundt pan- a non-stick fancy NordicWare (Cathedral Style).  The only other difference was that I used melted butter instead of softened to grease the pan.  This came out PERFECTLY in the NordicWare!!  It was beautiful.  Pic below.

Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Dough:
3 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
1 cup milk, warm (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup water, warm (about 110 degrees)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface (I used one cup whole wheat pastry)
2 teaspoons salt

Brown Sugar Coating:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
*any leftover butter from dough-ball dipping

1.  Butter a Bundt pan (a non-stick pan works best) with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Use a pastry brush to really help get inside all of those nooks and crannies. Set aside.

2.  In a large liquid measuring cup, mix together the milk, water, 2 Tbs. melted butter, sugar, and yeast. Mix the flour and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the milk mixture. After the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is shiny and smooth, 6 to 7 minutes. If you think the dough is too wet (i.e. having a hard time forming a cohesive mass), add 2 tablespoons flour at a time and mix until the dough comes together (it should still be on the sticky side, just not overly wet). I had to add about an extra 2/3 cup flour because of my humid climate.  Coat a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat lightly with the cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, 1-2 hours (alternately, you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees, turning it off once it reaches 200 degrees and place the covered bowl in the oven to speed up the rising time).

3.  For the sugar coating, while the dough is rising, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Place the melted butter in a second bowl or shallow pie plate. Set aside.

4.  To form the bread, gently remove the dough from the bowl and press it into a rough 8-inch square. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut the dough into 64 pieces.  I found it easiest to divide the huge mass into 4 pieces, and then make 16 out of each 4th.  See, you DO use math in the real world!!!  I just got a bench scraper, BTW, and LOVE it!

5.  Roll each dough piece into a ball (it doesn’t have to be perfect, just get it into a rough ball-shape). Working one at a time, dip the balls in melted butter, allowing excess butter to drip back into the bowl or pie plate. Roll the dipped dough ball in the brown sugar mixture, then layer the balls in the Bundt pan, staggering the seams where the dough balls meet as you build layers.  You may need a little extra sugar/cinnamon mixture.

6.  Cover the Bundt pan tightly with plastic wrap and let the monkey bread rise until puffy and they have risen 1-2 inches from the top of the pan, 1-2 hours (again, you can use the warm oven approach to speed this up).

7.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees F (remove the pan from the oven if you placed it there to rise). Unwrap the pan and bake until the top is deep brown and caramel begins to bubble around edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Cover with foil at the end if browning too quickly.  Cool the monkey bread in the pan for 5 minutes (any longer and the bread will be too sticky and hard to remove!), then turn out on a platter or large plate and allow to cool slightly, about 10 minutes.

8.  For the glaze, while the bread cools, whisk the confectioners’ sugar and milk together in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. If you have any leftover butter from the ball dippage, add it and whisk, whisk, whisk.  It really adds something.  Using a whisk, drizzle the glaze over the warm monkey bread, letting it run over the top and sides of the bread. Serve warm.

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

Panera's Mac & Cheese

I had this delicious mac and cheese at a cooking friend's house this past summer, and made it for myself last week.  It's different from the majority of mac and cheeses I make in that it's a stove top recipe, requiring no baking, and it has a bit of white American cheese to help in the smooth and creamy department.  The rest of the cheesiness comes from extra sharp Vermont white cheddar.  For the pasta, I used organic mini wagon wheels I brought back from our last trip to Germany.  I couldn't find the requested pasta shape (pipette). 

The recipe calls for a full pound of pasta, but I found that was too much for the amount of sauce (for us, anyway).  It was perfect though, because my baby ate some of the leftover cooked plain pasta over the next few days and loved it.  Next time, though I'd probably only cook about 14 oz. of pasta instead of the 16 oz. 

Panera's Mac & Cheese
adapted from Smells Like Home, via Cookin' Mama

14-16 oz pipette pasta or other small pasta shapes (Go with 14 oz for more sauce)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk or half-and-half
4 oz white American cheese, chopped or torn into pieces
8 oz extra sharp white Vermont cheddar, shredded
2 tsp – 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (to taste)
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp hot sauce

1.  In a large stockpot, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

2.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a 4-quart sauce pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and has started to bubble, whisk in the flour; cook for 1 1/2 minutes whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in the milk until no lumps remain. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook milk mixture, whisking frequently, until it thickens and bubbles, about 8 minutes.

3.  Remove sauce pan from the heat and by the handful, stir in the cheeses, allowing all of the cheese to melt into the sauce before adding more. Stir in the mustard, salt, and hot sauce. Return the sauce pan to the heat and stir in the pasta. Be sure to stir up the sauce from the bottom of the sauce pan and thoroughly coat all of the pasta with sauce. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat until heated through. Serve hot in bowls with spoons.

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