April 3, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
This dip is a crowd pleaser, and tastes like it takes a lot more work than it actually does. In truth it is very easy and takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish. I like to make it slightly spicy, but you can always cut out the jalapeno for a mild dip or add more to up the heat. I also use full fat ricotta and cream cheese, though I suppose for a lower fat version you could use low-fat cream cheese and ricotta. Serve this with fresh French bread.
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Makes enough for an appetizer for about 12 people, can be easily halved.
Ingredients
- 1 package cream cheese
- 1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
- 2 cups grated parmesan
- 2 cans artichoke hearts
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 red pepper
- 2 jalapeno
- 1.5 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Quarter red pepper and brush with oil, brush whole jalapeno with oil as well, put under broiler until skin is blistered, about 10 min.
- Roughly chop spinach and artichoke hearts, add to a large bowl. Mix in cream cheese, ricotta cheese, 1.5 cups of the parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Finely dice the jalapeno, if you want a milder dip discard the seeds, for a spicer dip leave them in. Add jalapeno to the mixture and stir in well.
- Transfer mixture to your baking dish. Sprinkle remaining parmesan over the dip. Cut red pepper into strips and arrange on top. Drizzle olive oil on top for some added taste.
- Broil until cheese is bubbly, and browned in places, about 12 minutes. Serve with slices of french bread
Posted in Appetizers, Vegetarian | Tagged appetizer, easy, quick, spicy, spinach artichoke dip | 2 Comments »
April 1, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
I wanted to add this since my Ramen recipe points to my homemade broth. While in my Ramen recipe I add some of the flavoring packet that comes with the noodles this broth can stand alone if you prefer a more delicate broth. I like the added flavor of the packets along with the fattiness you get from making broth with real beef. I use my crock pot to make this recipe extra easy.
Ingredients
- Beef Bones, I save bones cut from raw meat (such as chuck steak) that I use for stews. You can also use marrow bones or bones reserved for broth.
- Ginger root, about 4 – 5 1 inch pieces, peeled.
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- Salt, to taste
- 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
Directions
- Combine ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer for at least 6 hours, and up to 12. I use my crock pot and put it on two 6 hour cycles of the high setting.
- Strain broth once finished.
Posted in Broth, Crock Pot, Soup | Tagged Broth, Ramen | Leave a Comment »
April 1, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
No, not the stuff you remember from college, I’m talking a homemade broth with fresh noodles, meat and veggies served with an array of condiments to dress it as your own. Making it your own when preparing it is the really lovely thing about ramen, and once at the table everyone has their own unique way of altering it (much like Vietnamese Pho.) Serve this dish with an array of Japanese condiments such as soy sauce, chilli soy sauce, chilli flakes, chilli garlic sauce, chilli oil and fish flakes,.If you are vegetarian, sub the beef broth for veggie, omit the meat and add more vegetables. If you don’t like one of the vegetables in the recipe, or want more, sub them out for something else or just add more (such as corn or bamboo shoots.)
Like much Asian cooking the trick here is to prep EVERYTHING before you start cooking so that once you are done you can serve the dish steaming hot. This includes setting the table, making sure everyone has drinks for their meal, laying out the array of condiments and prepping all the vegetables and garnishes before you start to cook. Ramen noodles are delicate, if they sit too long in a hot broth they get mushy, and mushy noodles just aren’t as good!
Ramen
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 4 cups broth (either make your own, obviously the better choice, or use beef broth)
- Fresh ramen noodles (such as Sun Noodle Brand)
- 1 head of baby bok choy, halved lengthwise
- 2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 egg
- 2 scallions, sliced for garnish
- 1 sheet nori, sliced for garnish
- 1/3 lbs BBQ Pork (which you can find at your local asian grocery store)
Directions:
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil (this will be to cook the noodles). Also bring pot that you will use to steam the veggies to a boil. ( I use the same pot of water to both steam my veggies and cook the noodles.) Bring broth to a boil in a separate pot, add half of sauce packet that came with the noodles ot the broth.
- Prep mushrooms and bok choy and arrange in a steamer basket.
- In a pot with a clear lid, place egg and fill with half an inch of water. Bring to a boil over a high heat, once boiling reduce to medium and cook for 4 minutes. Do not remove lid. After 4 minutes, remove from heat and let sit for 3 minutes, do not remove lid. After 3 minutes remove eggs and place in cold water. Peal eggs once cool enough to touch.
- Steam vegetables for 3-4 minutes, until they are until mostly cooked. Do not over cook, leaves of baby bok choy should not be too wilted.
- Cook noodles as instructed by the package except 30 seconds less (as noodles will continue to cook in the hot soup broth).
- In serving bowls, divide noodles into the two bowls. Arrange hot BBQ pork, bok choy, and mushrooms around the edges of the bowl. Slice egg in half and add half to each bowl. Ladle half the broth into each bowl. Garnish with scallions and slices nori.
- Serve immediately with soy sauce, chilli oil and chilli flakes. (I also include chilli soy sauce and chilli garlic sauce in my spread.)
Posted in Noodles, Soup | Tagged Asian, Dinner, Japanese, noodles, Ramen, soup | 2 Comments »
March 24, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
I know, bacon jam sounds a bit strange, but trust me it is delicious! You can put it on so many things: burgers, sandwiches, eggs,or just crackers. it also goes very well with cheese and I am looking forward to eating it on grilled cheese sandwiches tonight.
I originally found a bacon jam recipe here, but of course I had to tweak it (and make it better.) I added the whiskey and updated it to be cooked in a crock pot. Make sure to use smoked bacon as it gives it extra flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Bacon Jam
Ingredients
- 1 lb smoked bacon
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 3 Tablespoon brown sugar
- Hot Sauce (such as Tabasco)
- 1/2 cup coffee
- 1/2 cup whiskey or bourbon
- 1/4 apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 maple syrup
- 1 cup dried figs, quartered
- black pepper to taste
Directions
- Fry bacon in a skillet until medium done (not too soft, but not too crispy). Set aside.
- In rendered bacon fat fry onion and garlic.
- In a crock pot or dutch oven cut bacon into 1 inch chunks (you could also chop it on a cutting board), add onion, garlic and all other ingredients.
- Put crock pot on high for 4 hours, stir every 20 to 30 minutes. If cooking in a dutch oven bring to a low simmer and stir every 20 to 30 minutes for 3 to 4 hours.
- Once done cooking let cool for about 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and pulse, do not let it get creamy, just chunky but spreadable.
- Transfer to jars and store in the fridge.
Posted in Appetizers, Crock Pot | Tagged Bacon, crock pot, jam | Leave a Comment »
March 19, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
Once you make your own humus you will never go back to the store-bought stuff, it’s far too expensive and not as fresh and delicious! Humus is very inexpensive and super easy to make, plus it pleases a crowd. This humus has a light roasted garlic flavor, if you want a more intense flavor add more roasted garlic, for plain humus omit the roasted garlic, you could also replace the garlic with roasted red peppers or roasted jalapenos.
Garlic Roasted humus
Ingredients
- 1 can Chickpeas (also known as Garbonzo beans)
- 2 Tablespoons Tahini
- 8 cloves Garlic
- 5 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Directions
- Set oven to broil. Peal 6 of the garlic cloves, place on baking sheet and broil for about 10 minutes (or until golden brown). Once finished set aside to cool.
- Peal and smash the remaining garlic.
- Drain chickpeas, reserving liquid.
- Combine all ingredients (except for chickpea liquid) in food processor.
- Turn on and process until smooth. The humus will be grainy at first, add reserved chickpea liquid, about 1/8th of a cup at a time, until it reaches a smooth consistency.
Posted in Appetizers, Side Dishes, Vegetarian | Tagged appetizer, Hummus, snack, vegetarian | 1 Comment »
March 19, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
This is a delicious, healthy breakfast, great for a weekend morning. You can replace the bacon with mushrooms for a vegetarian option or with pancetta, chicken or some leftover meat if you prefer. I like to use slow cooked beans that have a bit of spice to them. And of course this dish can take a healthy dose of hot sauce for those who love heat!
Spinach, Bacon and Eggs Breakfast Bowl
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
- 2 handfuls of washed spinach (if not using baby spinach, cut into bite sized pieces)
- 1 tomato, diced
- 2 Tablespoons diced red onion (about 1/6th of a medium red onion)
- 2 Slices Bacon
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- 1 Cup Black Beans (canned or prepared, I use my Twice Cooked Black Beans)
Directions
- In a medium pot fill half way with water and add vinegar, bring to a boil.
- Add beans to a small pot and bring to a slow simmer. (Or, for a lazier option just reheat them in the microwave!)
- Meanwhile cook bacon to your prefered doneness, remove from pan and dice bacon.
- In a bowl combine onion, tomato and bacon. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Poach eggs in boiling water.
- Add spinach to a bowl, ladle beans on top, add tomato, onion, bacon mixture and then top with poached eggs.
- Serve with hot sauce.
Posted in Breakfast | Tagged Bacon, Breakfast, Brunch, eggs, spicy, Spinach | Leave a Comment »
March 16, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
Another slow cooker recipe that tastes amazing! I found this on the Cooking Light website, but tweaked it (and halfed it) to suite my tastes. I have only eaten this on cinnamon rainsin toast and english muffins so far, but can imagine it on pancakes as well. Since the mixture gets strained you don’t have to peel the apples, though you could if you wanted to. Once done I split it into thirds and freeze 2/3rds of it since it only lasts one week in the fridge.
Overnight Apple Butter
Ingredients:
- 5 Apples, cored and cut in chunks
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/8 cup apple cider
- 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 dashes ground cloves
- 1 dash nutmeg
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients in the crock pot
- Cook on low for 10 hours
- Place a fine mesh seive over a bowl. Scope 1/2 of mixture into seive and press through. Once first half is strained do the same with the second half of the mixture.
- Return stained mixture to the slow cooker. Cook on high, uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, stiring every so often.
- Alow mixture to cook then transfer into a bowl. Lasts in fridge for up to a week, or freeze to keep for longer
Posted in Breakfast, Crock Pot, Vegetarian | Tagged crock pot, snack, vegetarian | 1 Comment »
March 15, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
I love fresh bread, and I love my bread machine, because without it I would be far too lazy to bake bread. I have tried several different cinnamon raisin bread recipes and this one is my favorite. It is full of flavor, not too dense and uses only several ingredients (and in my opinion on bread, the fewer ingredients the better.)
Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cups bread machine flour
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 cup raisins
Directions:
- Add water and butter to bread machine
- Add flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon
- Make a pocket in the dry ingredients and add yeast
- Set bread machine to sweet or fruit and nut bread setting
- At first beep add the raisins
Posted in Bread, Bread Machine, Vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
March 12, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
Eggs Benedict is one of the best brunch foods out there. Most people think that it’s hard to make but it’s not, it is all about the timing and not overcooking the hollandaise sauce. Though typically made with Canadian bacon, I found myself too lazy to run to the store to get some this morning, so I substituted leftover roasted chicken and a tomato. When I do make this recipe with bacon I use thick cut smoked or maple bacon instead of Canadian, that’s just my preference. If you make this with bacon cook it between the first two steps and then set aside.
Tips and Tricks
- Timing: This is the real key here, I listed the directions in the exact steps I do them. Make sure to prep everything before you start cooking, this will make things go a lot smoother
- Hollandaise Sauce: This sauce curdles when over cooked, remember less is more here. Also, make sure the double boiler does allow the boiling water to touch the bowl with butter and egg yolk
- Poaching Eggs: Do not add salt to the water in which you are poaching eggs. Also make sure the water is at a rolling boil before you add the eggs.
Roasted Chicken and Grilled Tomato Eggs Benedict
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 English Muffins
- 6 Eggs
- 4 slices roasted chicken breast
- 1 tomato cut into 4 slices
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1 lemon, juiced
- Salt
Directions:
- Fill a medium sized pot 3/4 of the way with water, add 1 tablespoon vinegar. Fill a smaller pot half way with water and place a second bowl on top. Bring both to a boil while you complete the next steps.
- Separate yolks of 2 eggs, discard the whites or save for another recipe. Whisk the 2 yolks.
- Prep the remaining eggs to be poached; crack them into a class not breaking the yolks (I put mine in whiskey glasses.)
- Half the English muffins and start them in a toaster.
- By now the water in the smaller pot should be boiling. Add the butter to the top bowl over the smaller pot (ie, the double boiler).
- Heat oil in a small pan. Add the tomatoes, cook 30 seconds, flip, salt to taste and cook another 30 seconds. Turn off burner but leave the tomatoes in the pan to keep warm.
- Heat roasted chicken (you can do this in the same pan, at the same time, as the previous step).
- By now the medium pot should be boiling (it needs to be at a rolling boil to properly poach eggs.) Add the 4 eggs gently being careful not break the yolks. Set timer for 1min 30 seconds. Move onto the next step, once the timer goes off turn off the water. You can leave the eggs in the water until ready to serve. (Note: they will continue to slowly cook, so you wont want to leave them for more than about 2 minutes.)
- Whisk egg yolk into the melted butter over the double boiler. While continuously whisking add the lemon juice and about half a teaspoon of salt (more or less, to taste). Whisk the mixture until it starts to thicken, about 45 seconds. Then remove from heat immediately. (This sauce curdles quickly, once removed from heat it will continue to thicken as it cools.)
- Remove English muffins from toaster, on top of each slice add one tomato, a slice of chicken, a poached egg and then drizzle with 1/4 of the sauce.
- Serve Immediately and enjoy!
Posted in Breakfast | Tagged Brunch | 2 Comments »
March 12, 2011 by AndreaInSeattle
For the past year or so I’ve been trying to locally and in season, I have to admit my weekly Full Circle Farm weekly fruit and vegetable box helps. It also provides a great challenge to find new recipes, especially in the winter when there are not many types of locally grown veggies. Swiss chard is one of those vegetables I get almost every week for seemingly months on end, and this is one of may favorite low work recipes that’s tastes delicious and is pretty easy to make after a long day at work when I just want to get home and eat something nutritious.
I found this recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, but have adapted it, cutting out the radicchio and pine nuts (mostly because I didn’t have them when I first made this recipe) and adding more of the much-loved garlic.
Braised Rainbow Chard with Currants
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1-2 bunches Rainbow Chard
- 2 Tablespoons Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoon dried currants
Directions:
- Cut the ribs (stalks) from the chard, then cut up into 1 inch pieces. Put aside.
- Slice leafs into 1 inch strips and then again into about 1 inch squares.
- Melt butter with oil in a large pot over medium heat
- Add onion and garlic, cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add chard ribs and cook until tender, about 6 minutes.
- Working in batches if pot is not large enough add the chard leafs. Stir until wilted, about 8-10 minutes
- Add vinegar and currants, season with salt pepper and more currants.
- Turn heat to low and cook at least another 5 minutes, you can leave this dish on low for about 30 min longer if you are waiting for other dishes to finish up
Posted in Side Dishes, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged swiss chard, vegetarian | Leave a Comment »
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The Not So Skinny Cook 