Pesto Pasta

This is something I eat at least once a week, but I usually cheat and buy the dried pesto packets at the grocery store and just add cheese and olive oil. For the first time in years I am growing basil at home this summer, and today it was finally ready to eat.

When growing basil at home, there are a few rules. It is important to not let the plants flower, because this changes the flavor of the basil. If flower buds do appear, cut them off before they bloom and cut the plants back so they do not bloom again. This is a great time to make pesto. Never cut off more than half of a basil plant, or you risk killing the plant.

My basil grew like crazy these last few weeks, and all of sudden the plants were threatening to bloom. Today, I pruned all the basil plants back to about 50 to 60% and made pesto pasta with the abundance of fresh basil I had cut.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh basil, packed down
1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (I prefer Romano)
4 T olive oil
1/2 t pepper
3-4 cloves garlic

1/2 lb pasta (usually half a box)

Combine all ingredients (except pasta) in food processor and puree until smooth,. Use a spatula to scrape sides, making sure all ingredients get pureed. This makes about 3/4 cup of pesto.

Cook pasta according to directions on box. Mix pesto with hot pasta. Serve garnished with more grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Self-Frosting Nutella Cupcakes

Self-Frosting Nutella Cupcakes

Yum!

Ingredients:


1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
¼ cup canola oil
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp hazelnut liquor
2 ½ t baking powder
¼ t salt
2 ½ cups flour
1 ¼ cups milk


½ to ¾ cup Nutella


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. For best results have butter and eggs at room temperature before you start. 


Mix dry ingredients (baking powder, salt, and flour) in a bowl and set aside. Cream butter, oil, and sugar together in mixing bowl until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating at medium-high speed until smooth. Add hazelnut liquor (I used Frangelico) and mix well. Add milk and dry ingredients slowly, alternating between the two and mixing at medium-high speed until all ingredients have been added and batter is smooth.


Line a muffin tin with cupcake papers. Fill each cupcake paper only halfway with cupcake batter. In a separate bowl, microwave the Nutella for 20 seconds to soften it. Spoon about a tablespoon of Nutella into the center of each cupcake.

Using something thin (toothpick, chopstick, skewer… I used a meat thermometer), swirl the nutella throughout the cupcake.

Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Do not overcook, or the cupcakes will be too dry. Twenty minutes was enough in my oven.

Overfilling and overcooking = oops! The top fell off when I tried to pick up a cupcake from the first batch.

Let cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes before transferring cupcakes to a cooling rack. Makes 24-30 cupcakes.

These cupcakes should not need extra frosting; the Nutella acts as frosting.


References:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Amy-Sedariss-Vanilla-Cupcakes-236125 
http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2011/05/04/self-frosting-nutella-cupcakes/ 

Berry and Cream Crepes

Today I felt like being creative in the kitchen, but it was HOT in Cleveland - 93 degrees last time I checked. With an abundance of frozen fruit in my freezer (usually destined for smoothies), I decided crepes would involve the least amount of time standing over a stove.


I encountered a few problems immediately - I only had two eggs left, I was out of milk, and getting more of either involved going out into that ungodly heat. After some research and substitutions, I came up with the recipe below, which worked surprisingly well. I will not post my disastrous attempt at strawberry filling; instead, I merely suggest you use fresh strawberries to fill this crepe and top with either whipped cream or the mascarpone topping listed below.

Crepe soup, anyone?

Ingredients:


2 eggs
6 T all-purpose flour
2 t sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
2/3 cup milk (I substituted vanilla almond milk)
2 t coconut oil


Mix the above ingredients together in a blender; blend until smooth.


Topping:


1 12-oz container mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 T honey


Mix mascarpone and honey together in a bowl until smooth.


Heat a medium-sized nonstick frying pan on a little higher than medium heat. The heat level will vary by stove, so use your judgement. Be patient and let your pan get hot before you start.


Most recipes say to use a small amount of butter to grease the pan, but I found this made my crepe too flimsy, greasy, and very difficult to flip. On my second crepe, I used a dry pan, and it worked far better.


Pour enough batter into the pan to almost fill the pan with a very thin layer. Working quickly, use a tablespoon to spread batter throughout the pan and to thin out thick spots.

When crepe is almost cooked through, work a large spatula carefully under the edges and flip quickly. This may take a few tries to get the technique down; don't be discouraged if your first one falls apart or end up hanging halfway out of the pan (yep, I did that).

Yeah! A successful flip!

Spoon some berries into a line in the center and use the spatula to fold over the sides so that it looks like a burrito. Some people prefer to just fold in half, but I found it is easier to get the crepe out of the pan if it is folded in thirds. Don't overfill the crepe, or this will happen when you try to fold it:

I still can't believe I actually got this out of the pan without making a mess

My advice on successfully removing a crepe from the frying pan is this: pick up the frying pan and hold it over a plate. Tilt the frying pan and use the spatula to guide the crepe onto the plate. This works far better than trying to lift the whole crepe with a spatula and move it to the plate without falling apart.

The only one that made it to the plate intact

Top with a few dollops of the mascarpone topping. I tried putting the mascarpone on the inside, but it melted quickly, creating the soupy mess that you see above. Makes 2-4 crepes, depending on how large you make them and how many you accidentally destroy.

References:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Banana-Orange-Crepes-109044

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Alfredo sauce is another weakness of mine. Absolutely delicious and chock full of calories, it's something in which I rarely allow myself to indulge. Heavy cream is what makes this food so amazing and yet so bad for you, so I set out to find a recipe that still tastes great but doesn't cause me to gain five pounds overnight. This recipe uses 2% milk instead of cream. It's still not quite healthy, but it tastes like the real thing with a little less guilt.


This recipe is very versatile. I had a craving for Cajun tonight, but if you replace the Cajun spices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder you will have a more traditional alfredo sauce. I also love using shrimp instead of chicken, but unfortunately that is a much more expensive recipe.

It's not very pretty, but it tastes incredible!

Makes 3-4 servings.


Ingredients:


8 oz. fettuccine pasta
Cajun spice mix
3 chicken breasts
2 T butter
2 T coconut oil
1 t minced garlic
3 T flour
2 cups 2% milk
1 cup grated Romano cheese


Required equipment:


Wire whisk
Large cast-iron or stainless steel frying pan - do not use a Teflon or other coated pan for this recipe or you may end up with bits of the non-stick coating in your food from the wire whisk scraping the pan.


Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and set aside.


In a shallow bowl, coat chicken breasts with Cajun spice mix until they are completely covered. Yes, I use a mix - it's so easy, and I am new at cooking Cajun food and have no clue what makes it taste so amazing.

This is the spice mix I use, found at my local grocery store.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in frying pan on medium heat. If you don't own coconut oil, just replace it with the same amount of butter. Add minced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add meat to pan, turning every few minutes until chicken breasts are cooked all the way through. When you flip the meat, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula so spices and drippings do not stick and burn.

When chicken is cooked all the way through, remove meat to a clean plate, quickly slice into smaller pieces, and return to pan. Mix these smaller chicken pieces with the juices and spices in the pan until coated and cook for a few more minutes. Remove chicken back to plate and cover to keep warm.

Reduce heat to low-medium. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon coconut oil in pan, mixing with the spices and juices that are left in the pan after cooking the chicken. Add flour in small amounts, stirring constantly with wire whisk until all flour is mixed in. Add milk slowly, still stirring constantly with wire whisk to prevent lumps. You may have to stir fairly vigorously to get rid of the lumps.


When all lumps are gone, continue to stir frequently until mixture is hot but not boiling (a few minutes). When hot, add grated cheese slowly, stirring with whisk until cheese is melted and mixed in. Once all cheese has been added and melted, add at least another tablespoon of Cajun spice mix and stir. Taste the sauce and add more Cajun spices to your liking.


Remove from heat and mix sauce with pasta and chicken. You may need to do this in another container if your frying pan is not big enough.

Ready to eat!

References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/reduced-fat-alfredo-sauce-12365

Peanut Butter Dip

I have a serious addiction to peanut butter. Of course, it couldn't be the healthy peanut butter; no, I love that processed, sugary, creamy goodness of Skippy or Jif peanut butter.

In the past, I have been known to take a spoon to the peanut butter and demolish half a jar in one sitting. With the high fat content in peanut butter, this was a horrible habit that needed to stop. I know it's the "good fat," but when you eat as much as I like to, it negates the goodness.

This recipe has allowed me to reintroduce peanut butter into my diet in a healthier way. Eaten with apples, I have found it to be a quick and easy snack for those days when I get home from work late at night and need a fast meal before bed. 

Ingredients:

3 T fat-free plain Greek yogurt

3 T peanut butter

1 t cinnamon

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until uniform. This makes enough dip to eat one sliced apple. For larger amounts, just keep the yogurt-to-peanut butter ratio at 50/50 and add cinnamon to taste. The addition of fat-free Greek yogurt adds protein and volume, tricking your brain into thinking you are pigging out on peanut butter when you're actually eating something somewhat healthy.

Pretty!

The original recipe called for more yogurt and added honey as a sweetener, but I found the peanut butter flavor that I love so much was lost in that version. See the link below if you are interested in the sweeter version.

References:

http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food/galleries/photo/-/8858091/low-calorie-treats-for-the-sweet-tooth/8858093/

Spicy Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

This was a very simple dinner I threw together on a day when I wasn't feeling well due to a sinus headache, but was in the mood to eat great things. As an added bonus, spicy food tends to clear out my sinuses. This sandwich definitely did the trick, and James, who loves spicy food more than anyone I've ever known, said "don't change a thing" about this recipe.

Ingredients:


1 cup barbeque sauce
¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
¼ cup water
1 lb. frozen chicken breasts or chicken tenders
1 package ranch dressing mix, or 2T homemade ranch mix (see below)
1T butter


Homemade ranch dressing spice mix:
Mix the following ingredients together and store in an airtight container.


5 T dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder


Combine barbeque sauce, hot sauce, water and spices in a bowl and mix well. If you have picky eaters who aren't big on spicy food, you can omit the hot sauce from this step and just let each person add it to his or her own sandwich. Add this mixture and frozen chicken to a slow cooker. If you are having trouble getting the frozen chicken out of the container, run cold water over it until it is easy to separate from the packaging. Don’t forget to wash your hands after handling the raw chicken. Drop the tablespoon of butter on top; don't worry if it is frozen or cold.


Cover and cook on low heat for six hours. Remove lid and use two forks to shred chicken without removing it from the slow cooker. Replace lid and cook on low for one more hour. Serve on toasted buns for best results. Crunchy kettle chips went great with this spicy, soggy sandwich.

References:
http://www.food.com/recipe/crockpot-buffalo-chicken-sandwiches-470965
http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html

Avocado Hummus

I hit up a ridiculous sale on avocados earlier this week and have been enjoying the surplus. This recipe combines two of my favorite foods - avocados and hummus.

Ingredients:


1 15-oz can of garbanzo beans/chickpeas
1-2 ripe avocados, chopped
1 jalapeño
3T dried cilantro
2 garlic cloves (or 1t minced garlic)
3T olive oil
2T lemon juice


Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add chickpeas, avocados, cilantro, garlic and jalapeño to food processor. To easily “chop” the avocado, I score half an avocado with a knife before removing it from the skin with a large spoon. I used two avocados today because they were really small, but one medium-sized avocado would be fine. I also didn’t have a whole  jalapeño laying around the house, so I added about 6 pieces from a jar of sliced  jalapeños. Add a few more if you really like spicy food.

Chop these ingredients in the food processor until somewhat smooth. Add olive oil and lemon juice one tablespoon at a time, pureeing in between. Continue to puree until smooth. If your hummus is still too thick for your liking, add water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.

How I eat it: My favorite way to eat ANY hummus is with a fresh piece of Aladdin’s Nan (flatbread) torn up into little pieces for dipping. My second favorite way to eat hummus, which I did today, is to spread a thick layer on the same flatbread and fill it with ingredients for a sandwich. Today I added ham and baby spinach for what turned out to be a really tasty wrap.

Store any leftover hummus in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Remember that homemade hummus doesn’t have any preservatives, so eat it soon before the avocado starts to change scary colors.


References:
http://www.ahealthyjalapeno.com/2012/03/hot-guacamole-hummus.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AHealthyJalapeno+%28a+Healthy+Jalapeno%29