11 Apr 2010

Two Bean Italian Soup (2010.14)

by | posted in: Vegetables | 0

Does a recipe ever surprise you? This was my question when I tasted this soup this afternoon – shortly after it perfumed my apartment with wonderful smelling-ness!

BHG’s February 2008 magazine gave me this Tuscan Bean Soup. I only made 2 alterations to it. And, it is very yummy. I could drink the broth by the gallon!

So easy too. Don’t be afraid of soups in the spring/summer…

1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped

1 smallish onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 T olive oil

2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (or make your own)

1 can great northern beans

1 can garbanzo beans (both beans, drained and rinsed)

3 tsp italian seasoning

1 pkg spinach

black pepper

Saute first two in olive oil till softened, add garlic. Then add the broth and the beans. Let simmer. Add the spinach and cook for about 30 seconds – then it is done. How easy and surprisingly healthy and good.

2 Apr 2010

Baked Grits – 2010.13

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My Dad is from the South and he loves grits. So, when I knew he was staying for a few days to help me get settled here in Raleigh, I knew I wanted to make this recipe. I halved the recipe and glad I did because their serving sizes are huge! This was rich, creamy, nutty (due to Parm cheese). So good. Cooking Light has a winner here.

2 cups milk (I used skim, in a glass, from a local farm: delish)
2 cups water
pinch of salt
3/4 cup quick cooking grits (scant, I just like them thicker)
2 oz grated parm cheese (about 2/3 cup)
2 1/2 egg whites
pinch of black pepper
2 T chopped fresh chives
pinch of salt

Bring milk, water, and salt to boil. Stir in grits, turn down to simmer, cover and let cook, stirring occassionally, for 8 minutes. Meanwhile, grate cheese, seperate egg whites, chop chives.
Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks (don’t over beat) with pinch of salt. Add chives, pepper, and salt to grits when they are done. Fold in the egg whites (don’t deflate them). Pour in greased 8×8 pan and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. Lightly browned, little wobbly in middle.
Enjoy. I cooked some eggs and decorate the plate with remaining chives.
About 200 calories – and worth it!
23 Mar 2010

Chocolate Orange Pecan Brownies (2010.12)

by | posted in: chocolate | 0

Bon Appetit redeems itself with this week’s recipe. And aren’t I glad?!
There is a bakery/coffee shop/cafe in Montana that this recipe comes from (definitely would warrant a trip to Bozeman, MT), and these are delicious cake like on the top, fudgy in the middle, brownies with a hint of orange (I would like more).
These made 16 and the only thing I could say that I would like better is if they cut easier – they were kinda crumbly – but I did not wait till they were cool, so that may have been my problem.
Sorry – no pictures. It was this morning and I was in a hurry to get them done before work, and didn’t have time to pick up the camera…

1/2 cup boiling water
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped pecans (I didn’t toast mine)
2 eggs
10 T unsalted butter, melted, cooled
zest of one orange (I might do two next time)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine water and cocoa powder, set aside. Melt butter, set aside to cool.
Mix sugar through pecans, set aside.
Whisk eggs, add butter, orange zest, and vanilla. Add in chocolate mixture. Add in dry ingredients. Mix just until combined.
Pour into greased 9×9 pan, bake at 350 for about 27-30 minutes. I left mine in there for 28 and they were a little too done on the sides, but perfect in the middle.
Enjoy!

19 Mar 2010

Wizenberg's Blueberry Oat Scones – (FAIL) 2010.11

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I hate having failures. These weren’t even worth their weight of flour I used!
I changed my mind from the lemon blueberry cheesecake bars to Molly Wizenberg’s Blueberry Oat Scones in Bon Appetit..
These turned out more like blue pancakes. I used blackberries instead of blueberries but everything else I followed the recipe to a tea. They just had no flavor (and I used freshly picked then frozen blackberries, so it wasn’t the fruit). Texture wasn’t right for scones.
Oh, well. Everything can not be a success!
Next week is another chance for Bon Appetit to redeem themselves: chocolate orange brownies. We shall see.

26 Feb 2010

Chocolate Chip and Peanut Blondies (2010.8)

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Bon Appetit comes through again! These were defininitely a winner – at least among the office staff. So, you may want to make these!

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp soda
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/4 packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Melt butter on stove over medium. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, than vanilla.
Let cool for about 2-3 minutes. Stir in eggs. Whisk in dry ingredients. Stir in half of peanuts and half of chips. Pour in greased and foiled 8×8 pan. Top with remaining peanuts and chips. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.

16 Feb 2010

Tuna Spaghetti (2010.6)

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Bon Appetit in its editor section usually has little basic recipes. This was one of them. Not great, but not throw away worthy either. I may just toss some on top of some greens.

Not amounts, almost

Spaghetti (I used whole grain spaghetti)
1 can tuna (oil packed preferred, but I used water packed)
1 fat garlic clove, chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
evoo
pepper
lemon juice
(I added the garlic and red pepper and didn’t have any parsley)

Cook noodles. In pan, saute everything else. Drain pasta, reserving a bit of the water. Mix all together.
This just didn’t have much of a flavor to me.

2 Feb 2010

Chewy Peanut Butter Bars (2010.5)

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If you like peanut butter fudge, you will definitely like these. Quick and Easy Recipes comes through. These make tons of bars and are really easy because they are no bake – they just take chill time.

4 cups salted roasted peanuts
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag reece’s peanut butter chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk

9×13 pan. foil. pam.
Spread 2 cups of the peanuts on the bottom. Melt the rest in a pan over medium low heat. Pour on top of peanuts. Pour the other 2 cups on top and gently press into the goo.
Let chill over night.
These taste surprisingly like peanut butter fudge. So easy…

25 Jan 2010

Orange Molasses Cookies (2010.4)

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I love healthy cooking magazines that don’t always use the light version of everything. I want healthy stuff – not fat free or “light stuff”. Eating Well is that magazine for me. A lot of their ingredients are either less of stuff or natural stuff. I like it. I love these cookies. I halved the recipe and changed it a little bit, but these are so good. I am glad these are going to the office tomorrow.

3/4 cup oats – put in a blender and ground semi-fine
2.5 T unsalted butter, softened
1/6 cup sugar
1/6 cup brown sugar
zest of one naval orange
1/4 cup molasses
3.5 T all natural applesauce
1/2 large egg yolk (scramble egg yolk, then just pour in half of it)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg (I didn’t have any ginger)
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice (I added more of this and left out the pepper)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
Turbinado sugar to roll cookies in

Cream wet ingredients. Add in dry. Roll cookies in turbinado sugar. Bake at 375 on greased sheets for 9 minutes.
I love the orange flavor that comes out in the first bite – wow – orange! 🙂
About 76 calories a cookie, 2 fat, 1 fiber.

25 Jan 2010

Chocolate Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal Cookies (2010.3)

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Bon Appetit comes through again for this week’s recipe. I really love their cooking magazine. I halved the recipes and made it my own by adding some chopped pistachios – and the review I got “These are great, just what I needed, something a little sweet”. The only thing that puzzled me about these were the timing. I couldn’t get it just right – but they were still good. This version of the recipe makes about 2 dozen.

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla (I upped it some from original amount)
1 egg
1 cup oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cherries (next time I would chop these before putting them in)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pistachios

Cream the first three. Add in egg and vanilla. Combine the dry ingredients. Fold in the additions.
Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375 for anywhere from 10-13 minutes, just watch them so they don’t burn.
These were good. I would make them again.

118 cal, 6 fat, 1 fiber
14 Jan 2010

Blueberry Orange Scones (2010.2)

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My friend Sarah and I went to a bummer of a cooking show last year. Neither one of us were impressed. The two best parts of the evening were the free magazine subscription and eating out at Old Spaghetti Factory that night in dtown Ville.

One of the recipes I got from Healthy Cooking over the summer was this one. Here are my thoughts: healthier than most scones, easy, doesn’t look at all like the picture, not too muc orange flavor, love the picture that I took. Pretty with blueberry layers! I overcooked them a bit, but SBTS PhD students didn’t seem to mind and they are all gone.
2 cups flour
3 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp soda
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 stick cold unsalted butter, chopped up
1/2 cup skim milk (I didn’t feel like making buttermilk, so this worked fine)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed naval orange juice
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I picked these this summer)
Mix all dry. Cut in butter. Combine juice and milk. Fold in berries. Knead a little. Cut into 8 triangles and cook on greased cookie sheet for 12 minutes at 425. Take out and enjoy warm.
200 c, 6 fat, 1 fiber (use whole wheat flour if you want more).