Chichen Enchiladas & Enchilada Sauce

Jun 29th, 10 / 0 Comments


Chicken Enchilada Ingredients:

meat from whole chicken
2 medium onions, finely diced
2-4 small green peppers (hot or mild, your choice), seeded and finely chopped
2 carrots, grated
2 zucchini, grated
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cups grated cheese

8 cups enchilada sauce

corn tortillas (18-30)

avocados, sour cream, salsa and limes for garnish


Enchilada Sauce Ingredients:

4 ounces whole dried New Mexico or Ancho chiles (or chilies with a smoky taste)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (or pureed in Quisinart)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic
2 small cans tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
sea salt (to taste)

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lunch & dinner

Pumpkin Cheesecake Squares

Jun 28th, 10 / 0 Comments

Found on Epicurious, but we modified how the crust was prepped. These were a HUGE hit at the party we took them to!

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 cup flour (we used wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 cup pecan halves (about 4 ounces)
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats

Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

Topping:
1 cup sour cream (we didn’t have enough sour cream, but it still came out great!)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

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bars, binge day, cake & bread, cheesecake, dessert

Red & Green Lasagna

Jun 26th, 10 / 0 Comments

Ingredients:

30 ounces ricotta cheese (about 4 cups)
one package frozen chopped spinach
4 cups prepared pasta sauce
Twelve 7 by 3 ½ inch dry no-boil lasagna pasta
10 ounces mozzarella, grated (about 2 ½ cups)
1 ¼ cups fresh grated parmesan (about 5 ounces)
1 cup basil pesto

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lunch & dinner, vegetarian

Whole Wheat Waffles & Blueberry Yogurt Syrup

Jun 22nd, 10 / 0 Comments

Perfect for Sunday morning. This recipe was ad-libbed enough from Epicurious that we’re not even going to reference you to the original recipe… it was really more a guideline.

As far as we know, the Blueberry Yogurt Syrup was totally made up! And totally good!

Waffle Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup oat flour
2 tablespoons ground flax
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 egg whites

Blueberry Syrup Ingredients:

1 container blueberries
Agave maple syrup
Greek yogurt
dash of vanilla

Preparation:

Mix all the waffle ingredients until smooth
Cook waffles as usual

Dump blueberries in Quisinart
Add chosen ratio of syrup and yogurt to produce desired consistency
Pulse until just mixed (over mixing will make it thinner)

Serve with eggs and coffee! Enjoy with your favorite person on a relaxing weekend morning!

breakfast

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Jun 14th, 10 / 0 Comments

Taken straight from the Martha Stewart website! Changes made from original recipe: we took out the fresh ginger, used 1/8 cup unsulfured molasses and 1/8 cup bootstrap molasses to get the full 1/4 cup of molasses and we used a mixture of all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour.

Ingredients:

7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar

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binge day, cookies, dessert

Pound Cake

Jun 11th, 10 / 0 Comments

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature for 30 minutes
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature

Equipment:

9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pan

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cake & bread, dessert

Coconut Flour Orange Cake & Orange Coconut Oil Frosting

May 24th, 10 / 0 Comments

Cake Ingredients:

6 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup coconut milk
6 Tablespoons raw honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (aluminum free)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup orange juice

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cake & bread, dessert

Hot Lemon Soufflé

May 21st, 10 / 0 Comments

Best served hot. Really. We (five of us today) managed to devour this soufflé (that technically serves eight) straight out of the oven.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 egg yolks
grated zest of 3 lemons
5 egg whites
powdered sugar for sprinkling

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dessert

Party!

May 20th, 10 / 0 Comments

Key Lime Bars in the forefront with Orange Earl Gray Tea Cookies and Molasses Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies on the platter in the background.

dessert

Key Lime Bars

May 19th, 10 / 1 Comment

Straight from Martha Stewart, these bars were a big hit! The fresh lime juice is what makes them so mouthwatering, but it’s also what makes this a very time consuming recipe. Budget about an hour from starting the crust to pulling the bars out of the oven. You’ll only need a few minutes to whip up the topping and slice the limes later. Worth the effort for a party or family function!

Crust Ingredients:

1.5 cups finely ground graham crackers
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons melted butter(drizzle of honey)

Filling Ingredients:

3 large egg yolks
1.5 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup fresh key lime juice (anywhere from 16-24 limes)

Garnish:

1/2 cup heavy cream
2 limes finely sliced into crescents

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bars, binge day, dessert

Molasses-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

May 17th, 10 / 1 Comment


We found this recipe in a book compiled by Gwen Steege titled The Search for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. We both love molasses and all the spices traditionally associated with that flavor and the oatmeal seemed to at least add the idea of health to the cookie. We got off to a rough start, resulting in a recipe that has been (accidentally) modified from the original version, though mostly just in the ratios, not the ingredients themselves.

For the flour we used a mixture of whole wheat  flour, whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached flour (it was one of those bottom of the bags day!). Flavor- and texture-wise we both really like these cookies, but think the oatmeal isn’t really necessary. Though we both also agree that we like the Soft Molasses Cookies better!

And yes, you can expect more variations on chocolate chip cookies as we pursue the perfect chocolate chip cookie!

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1 cup quick oats
1 cup chocolate chips

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cookies, dessert

Orange Earl Gray Cookies

May 14th, 10 / 0 Comments


Modified from the Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook (link to original recipe here)

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour (we used whole wheat)
2 tablespoons finely ground Earl Gray Tea (4-7 bags depending on how finely you grind it)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract

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cookies, dessert

Mango Pineapple Surprise

May 12th, 10 / 0 Comments

We found this recipe here, because we had a lot of leftover phyllo dough and some fruit that needed to be used up. We didn’t have all the ingredients and so modified it heavily to get to the recipe you see below. We think it worked out quite well and was much simpler and faster than the original recipe .


Ingredients:

1/2 pineapple
1 mango
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
phyllo sheets (we just used leftover scraps)
1 stick butter

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dessert

Chicken B’stila

May 10th, 10 / 0 Comments

This is a versatile Moroccan dish that can be used as an appetizer, main dish or dessert! The chicken gets layered between phyllo dough, a cinnamon-sugar almond mixture and a healthy dose of butter!

Filling:

2 tablespoons oil (we used olive oil)
1 onion
3-6 chicken breasts (or thighs, at your discretion)
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
11/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 threads Spanish saffron
1 cup water
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2/3 cup powdered sugar


Almond Mixture:

1/2 cup whole almonds (blanched, if you have them)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon


12 sheets phyllo dough (at least- more if you want to make multiple b’stilas)
1 stick butter
ground cinnamon and powdered sugar for garnish

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lunch & dinner

Blackstrap Molasses Cookies

May 5th, 10 / 0 Comments


Our favorite straight molasses cookie, by far! They’re so soft and moist!  And due to the combination of normal molasses and blackstrap molasses they have a really strong–but still smooth–flavor. They also freeze really well… just layer them in a tupperware once they’ve cooled and freeze for up to a month. Enjoy them straight out of the freezer, no need to let them thaw! Or make an ice cream sandwich out of them!
The Wiki page on molasses nicely breaks down the difference between regular molasses and blackstrap molasses.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
1 cup softened butter
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
3 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ginger
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon clove
5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
extra sugar, for sprinkling

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binge day, cookies, dessert