September 15, 2018
by Ashley
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Enchilada Sauce

I tried out this new enchilada sauce today.

Enchilada Sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tbsp all purpose flour
1/3 cup chili powder
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 cup water
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp salt

In a sauce pan, heat up the vegetable oil. Whisk in the flour and chili powder until combined. Let bubble for about 3 minutes. Carefully add in the can of crushed tomatoes, water and other seasonings. Whisk carefully and let simmer for 10 minutes. If sauce is too thick, thin it with a little more water.

I made this with my children in mind, but if you like a little more spice, add in a pinch of cayanne pepper.

August 29, 2018
by Ashley
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Chinese Pork & Broccoli

I have made this twice and it has been a hit. Add just broccoli or a variety of veggies to change things up.

Chinese Pork & Broccoli

1 lb thinly cut pork chops
3 cups fresh broccoli florets

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/3 cup chinese wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch

1 inch piece of ginger
1 clove of garlic

Chop up pork chops into desired strips or bites. Marinate in oyster sauce, sesame oil, chinese wine, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch. Let sit for 20 minutes or so.

Use a large high sided saute pan. Heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and add in the piece of ginger whole and clove of garlic. Saute these for about 1 minute to flavor the oil. Remove from oil and discard. Next saute the broccoli florets until bright green about 5 minutes. Remove broccoli and set aside.

Add more oil if needed and saute the pork chops and marinade until the meat is cooked through. This does not take too long, only 3 – 4 minutes or so. Add back in the broccoli and stir until everything is heated through. Serve with your favorite rice.

June 15, 2018
by Ashley
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Butternut Squash Curry

I served this along with my Coconut Rice. It was delicious. I wanted to make a sauce and have a fully vegetarian meal. So instead of adding meat, I used Butternut squash instead. I bet chicken would be awesome in this as well.

Butternut Squash Curry

2 tsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp cumin, ground
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
2 green peppers, cut into bite sized pieces
1 can coconut milk
14 oz crushed tomato
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Heat up vegetable oil in a pan. Add in garlic and saute for 1 minute until golden. Add in spices (cumin, paprika and salt) and stir. Add in squash and peppers and give it a stir. Quickly add in the can of coconut milk and let simmer for about 2 minutes. Then add in the crushed tomato and red pepper flakes and let simmer until squash is cooked through, about 10 – 15 minutes. Serve with rice.

June 10, 2018
by Ashley
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Chickpea Sundal

This went along with the Coconut Rice I made recently. This side dish was great. It is a Southern Indian dish normally served for breakfast. We did not eat this for breakfast however, but for dinner instead.

Chickpea Sundal

1 can chickpeas, rinsed
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 dried red chili
1 tsp mustard seeds
4 tbsp dried coconut (sweetened)
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt

Drain the chickpeas and rinse. Pour into a small sauce pan and cover with water. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat up the oil in a large skillet. Add in dried chili and mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to pop, add in the cooked chickpeas, coconut and a little salt. Stir. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. I served this warm, but it says it can also be served cold as well.

June 6, 2018
by Ashley
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Coconut Rice

I made an awesome dinner tonight and want to be able to find these recipes again.

Coconut Rice

1 1/2 cups basmati rice
2 cups water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp split green peas
2/3 cup dried coconut
salt

Cook rice. I use a rice cooker so I set it and forget it. Four servings of rice and 2 cups of water. Add in 2 tsp split green peas (for color).

While rice & peas are cooking, heat up oil. Add mustard seeds and cook until they start popping. Add in coconut and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes. The coconut will brown some. Transfer cooked coconut mixture into the cooked rice and stir until well combined. Serve with your favorite curry.

May 4, 2018
by Ashley
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Dairy Free English Muffins

Since learning that making english muffins at home was fairly easy (waiting is the hardest part), I have tested different ingredients and made some changes in my recipes. This change is just to cut calories for me, however some may actually want or neet to cut out dairy from their diet. These won out as best tasting when compared to my original recipe.

Dairy Free English Muffins

1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (30 calories)
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt

Microwave the milk in a pyrex for about 2 minutes or until small bubbles start forming on the side of the pyrex. Stir in the sugar into the milk and set aside. Combine the yeast and water in the mixing bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a mixer, combine all liquid ingredients. Slowly add the flour to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Add salt last. Knead until smooth. Place into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled. About 1 1/2 hours.

Punch the dough down and roll out to 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut english muffins with a large biscuit cutter. Set muffins on silpat or wax paper lightly coated with cornmeal. I was able to make 25 english muffins from this recipe. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat an electric skillet to 350°F. Cook for 6 minutes per side. When you open, use a fork around the outside instead of a knife. This will help keep the nooks and crannies open.

As usual…I use these with jam and lemon curd. However I do love using them for breakfast sandwiches as well.

May 1, 2018
by Ashley
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Homemade Rice a Roni

My mom would make chicken rice a roni at least once a week. It was a staple in our house and I have fond memories of dinners that she made this. My version is different, but still has a similar flavor.

Homemade Rice a roni

2 tsp butter
1/4 cup forbidden black rice
3/4 cup orzo pasta
1/4 cup brown basmati
1 tsp Orrington Farms Chicken broth base
3 cups chicken stock

Melt the butter in the pan. Toss in rices and pasta and brown slightly. Add in half of the chicken stock and saute for a few minutes while bringing it to a boil. Add in the rest of the stock, bring to a simmer and cover on low for about 20 minutes. I checked on it every 5-10 minutes to make sure the rice was cooking properly and if it needed more stock. If the rice is still toothy, add more stock.

Let sit off of the heat for 10 minutes before serving to ensure that the rice has cooked fully. Serve with roasted chicken and a salad.

April 15, 2018
by Ashley
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Gluten-Free Biscotti

I am trying out something new today with a gluten-free biscotti. This can easily be changed for different flavors, but today I decided to make Cranberry & White chocolate.

Gluten-Free Cranberry & White Chocolate Biscotti

1 cup almond flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 tbsp Mango Jam
4 tbsp butter
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Combine dry ingredients and mix together. Melt the butter and pour into batter with the eggs, jam and vanilla. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and cranberries. Mix and pour/scoop out onto a pan covered with a silpat. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let sit out for 30 minutes to cool. Carefully cut into biscotti cookies and leave on silpat spread apart. These were very crumbly when I did this. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes and check to see if dried. Pull out of the oven and let sit to cool.

April 10, 2018
by Ashley
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Flourless Chocolate Brownies

These brownies were incredibly easy to make and may make me forget the box brand forever.

Flourless Chocolate Brownies

6 tbsp butter
3 tbsp vegetable oil
9oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4 1/2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Melt butter, oil and chocolate chips in a pyrex for 1 minute on high in the microwave. Stir with a spatula and set aside. In a stand mixer, mix eggs, sugar and vanilla for about 2 minutes. Add in chocolate mixture and mix well. Add in cocoa powder, corn starch and salt and mix well until thickened.

Pour into a 9×9 square pan and cook in a preheated 350 F oven. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Served with New Zealand Ice Cream and chocolate syrup.

April 4, 2018
by Ashley
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Panzanella

I am not normally a soggy bread person. I don’t really like french dips or a wet italian beef sandwich. I like my eggplant parmesan crispy, and no breadcrumbs on mac’n’cheese just incase it may be soggy. So my husband was very surprised when I thought that this salad was a good idea to try. This actually turns out to be quite delicious and I have even made it more than once.

Step one with this recipe is to have leftover homemade bread. Now I know not all kitchens may possess this, but mine definitely does. I make boules at least once a week, and we always have leftover that either gets changed into crostini or homemade breadcrumbs. Once in a while, I will make “crunchies” which are really croutons.

Panzanella

1/2 boule, cut into bite size pieces
2 tbsp good olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cups small tomatoes, mixed varieties
1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp basil, dried or 2 tbsp fresh

1 shallot, thinly sliced
3 cups spinach, arugala, lettuce and romaine (or any mixture of them)
4oz fresh mozzarella, diced (optional)

In a strainer, sitting over a bowl, place the diced tomatoes with 1 tsp kosher salt and let sit for 15 minutes to collect the juices.

While tomatoes are resting, preheat the oven to 400F. One a baking sheet, add the bite sized pieces of bread tossed with 2 tbsp olive and sprinkled with kosher salt. Bake bread until golden brown, usually takes about 10 – 20 minutes. Keep watching them because they can brown really quickly in some ovens. Take out of the oven and let cool before you use them for the salad.

Add the collected the tomato juices to 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, vinegar, mustard and basil. Shake the dressing until combined.

In a serving dish, combine the tomatoes, bread, greens, shallot and mozzarella. 30 minutes before serving the salad, pour the salad dressing over. Let sit until you are ready to serve.