Lemony Chicken Orzo

It has been brought to my attention that I have been somewhat remiss in posting here....and that's mostly because I stopped cooking for a long time. This school year has been really rough; long nights at school, new and somewhat unwelcome responsibilities, and a new class have all conspired to make cooking challenging, to put it mildly. But it's a new year, and I'm determined to get back on track, and that means I need to start cooking again. I've ordered a new, programmable crockpot, and am hoping to get going again. This recipe had to be tweaked - in fact I had to make it twice tonight - but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Original recipe here.

Ingredients
1-2 chicken breasts
1.25-1.5 cups chicken broth
1/4-1/2 cup of water
salt and pepper to taste
juice from half a lemon
2 tsp honey
2-3 Tbls Greek yogurt
3/4 cup orzo
15-20 fresh green beans (enough to make 1.5-2 cups when cut into 1" pieces)

Steps
Mix the chicken broth, lemon juice, and salt and pepper together, and bring it to a boil. Cut the chicken into 1/2" cubes and add it to the boiling mixture, and cook for 5-8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set it aside, then add the orzo and the green beans into the chicken broth mixture and add a little water (if needed). Keep an eye on the orzo, mine only took 5-6 minutes to cook, and kept trying to stick. Meanwhile, whisk the honey and Greek yogurt together. Once the orzo is cooked, pour 1/4 to 1/3 of the orzo mixture into the yogurt mixture and whisk it together to warm up the yogurt. This is an extremely important step...trust me. Once the yogurt has been warmed up, mix it into the rest of the orzo, and add the chicken back in.

So, the original recipe called for low-fat sour cream, and to mix it into the chicken broth while cooking the orzo, but when I did that with the Greek yogurt, it curdled and I ended up throwing the entire orzo mixture out and starting over. Warming up the yogurt (making sure that there is a greater ratio of yogurt to orzo) will prevent curdling and you'll end up with with creamy, beautiful orzo.

Rating - 4.5/5
Why? It's easy for lemon to become overwhelming and I think I used a little too much Greek yogurt this time (the amounts were adjusted above) but this was really good and (once I figured out the right procedure), easy to make.

Corn and Bacon Griddle Cakes

I like pancakes. I grew up in a family that made pancakes infrequently; they were generally reserved for camping trips or occasional Saturday mornings. I have yet to master the light and fluffy pancakes that I dream about, but I continue to work on it. These caught my eye on pinterest, and as I read the recipe, I was intrigued by the idea of something sweet and salty for breakfast. I haven't made a huge number of changes, but I will probably modify this somewhat, since I will be coming back to it repeatedly. Original recipe here (and her pictures are better than mine). 

Ingredients

3-4 slices of bacon

1/4 cup minced sweet onion

2 green onions, chopped finely

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2/3 cup milk

1 large egg (beaten)

1 Tlbs olive oil

1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

*1/2-1 additional cup of milk, if needed

Instructions:

Saute the bacon for a few minutes until it starts to brown, then add the onion and continue to cook until the bacon is crispy and the onion is clear. Meanwhile, in a separate mixing bowl, mix the flour, green onions, baking powder, salt and pepper. Add the milk, egg, and olive oil and mix just until moistened, then stir in the corn, cheese, and the bacon mixture. It will be really thick, so add milk to it if you would like it thinner. I ended up adding about 3/4 of a cup. Cook on a griddle or hot non-stick skilled until done, and serve with warm maple syrup. Makes approximately 6 6" pancakes.

Holy crap on a cracker....this is totally amazeballs. It is salty and sweet at the same time, and really filling. So, so good. The only changes I made were to cut the bacon in half (hers called for 8 strips of bacon!), change the flour to whole wheat, and use green onions instead of the chives she called for (for some reason, I can NOT find fresh chives up here). My corn was frozen when I added it, and it still worked perfectly. Mmmmm.....

Rating 5/5

Why? Still working on my pancake skills, but I really like that these aren't so sweet. 

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

This week has been a nightmare, and it's only Tuesday. I was handed some new, unexpected, unwelcome responsibilities at work, and that has sent me home with a headache on top of a 12 hour work day for the last two days. I'm more than a little cranky, and then last night I got home to a 50 degree house and today I got home to an 80 degree house. I'm just DONE. This soup definitely improved my mood. Based on this one, but I made several changes. Pardon the crappy picture, it's from my phone and unedited.

Ingredients
2 Tlbs butter
1/4 chopped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
3 Tlbs whole wheat flour
1 cup half and half*
1 cup chicken broth
1-ish cup shredded carrots
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
tiny bit of salt
1 broccoli crown, chopped
about 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
about 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack

Directions
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the garlic and onion. Saute it for a couple of minutes, then add the flour, stirring constantly. Add the half and half and chicken broth and bring to just barely a simmer. Turn it down to low and add the carrots, nutmeg, cardamom, salt and pepper. Let it gently simmer, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are softened somewhat. Use your immersion blender and blend the soup until the carrots are broken down, then add the broccoli and let it continue to simmer for a few minutes until the broccoli is nearly the right texture (for me, that was only 3-4 minutes). Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and the soup is smooth. Serve immediately.

* the original recipe called for 1 cup of half and half and one cup of milk, I had half and half, and I don't normally, so I used it. It would honestly probably be just as good with regular milk, but you might also use Greek yogurt and milk as a substitute. It was amazing with half and half.

The original recipe called for hot sauce, and that would probably be really good, although I might add red pepper flakes instead of hot sauce. Also, she added the broccoli at the same time as the carrots, but I think that would make the broccoli really soggy and over cooked. Adding the broccoli at the end was perfect, in my opinion. Also, she didn't blend it, but I wanted something smoother. She also used velveeta (ew), and Colby Jack, which I didn't have.

Rating? 5/5
Why? It was probably related to my mood, but I needed something cheesy and comforting and this really hit the savory spot.

Mozzarella Bites

Sometimes you just need a little bit of comfort food, even if it's for nothing more annoying than really bad traffic. I'm not sure how often I'll make these, because they're a bit fiddly, but they were really good. Original recipe for the balls here and the marinara sauce here, but I did change a few things.

Ingredients:
1 tub of mozzarella balls
30-40 basil leaves*
1 package of square wonton wrappers
1 egg white
1 Tlbs milk
1 can tomato sauce
1 garlic clove
3 Tlbs fresh parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
1/3 cup minced onion
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1-2 Tlbs grapeseed oil

Directions:
Make the marinara sauce first. Put the tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper into a food processor, and process until smooth. Then heat the grapeseed oil in a saucepan, and saute the onions for a couple of minutes. Add the tomato sauce and the white wine vinegar, and let it simmer for half an hour or more while you prepare the mozzarella balls. Rinse, drain, and dry the balls, then cut them in half. Chiffonade (slice) the basil leaves. Then whisk the egg white and milk together in a small bowl, and open the package of wonton wrappers. Take a wonton wrapper, and brush the egg white mixture along two sides. Then put half of a mozzarella ball and a few slices of basil in the center and fold the un-egged sides up to make a triangular package. Press the edges together. Then brush more of the egg mixture on one side of the triangle, and fold the sides and top wings down to make a little envelope. Set it aside to cure for a while. Continue doing this until you have as many as you want. Let the last ones cure for about 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 350, and spray some olive oil on a baking sheet and let it heat as well. When it's hot, put the mozzarella envelopes on the pan, spray the tops lightly with olive oil, then let them bake for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, turn the  marinara sauce off and let it cool slightly. After removing the mozzarella balls from the oven, drain them (if needed) and let them cool slightly before eating.

*Basil. More is ALWAYS better. If you have extra, toss it in the marinara sauce.

This was good, but fairly time-consuming. It took me about an hour to prepare everything before putting the envelopes in the oven. This did not mesh with the time on the original recipe, so she might be a genie or something. I would assume you could make these ahead of time and refrigerate them for maybe 24 hours before cooking, but if you do, I would recommend keeping them in a sealed container, and make sure there is no moisture on them before you bake them.

Rating? 4/5
Why? They took a while to construct, but were really good once they were done. I ate too many. =)

Grilled Chicken and Barley Salad

Ugh....summer cooking. I just....don't. It's so much work. Fortunately, this one was easy, and only seems like it takes a long time. Most of it is just letting things cook while you watch Netflix in front of the fan. This was also the first time I have cooked with barley. It's pretty good, actually, and takes the same amount of time as regular rice. Original recipe here, which I followed with just a few tweaks.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, fat cut off
1/2 cup barley*
1.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup fresh or thawed corn
3/4 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup minced red onion
2-3 Tlbs cooked, chopped bacon**
10-12 leaves of basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Vinaigrette/Marinade
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1.5 Tlbs olive oil
1 Tlbs water
1 Tlbs red wine vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tlbs red onion
salt and pepper

Directions:
Put the marinade ingredients in the food processor and process until smooth. Put 1/4 of vinaigrette/marinade into a plastic bag, add the chicken breast, and toss it in the fridge. Set aside the other 3/4 of the vinaigrette. Heat the broth and barley until it's boiling, then put a lid on the pan and turn it to low. Let it simmer, untouched, for 40 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and fluff the barley with a fork. Drain well and let it cool. Put the corn, cherry tomatoes, onion, bacon, basil, salt and pepper in a bowl. When the barley is cooled down, add it and the remaining vinaigrette to the bowl and toss well. Meanwhile, grill  the chicken until done, then let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

*I used pearl barley.
**I used previously cooked turkey bacon because I had it, she used 3-4 strips.

This was good, and like I said, really easy. I probably spent 10 minutes doing hands on chopping and prep and it was a good summer dish.

Rating: 4/5
Why? I'm not sure how I feel about the marinade being used on the chicken. I might not do that next time.

Chicken Francese (Lemon Chicken)

Sometimes you look at the chicken and potatoes in front of you on the counter and you just feel uninspired and unmotivated. If I'm not careful, that will end up as a trip to Taco Time, so usually I try to plan my meals at least a week ahead of time (which also makes for faster shopping trips and less $ spent). Sometimes that still leaves me uninspired, or with a recipe that takes more time than I am willing to spend, so I'll browse pinterest, which is where I found this recipe. I've made it a couple of times now, and it's definitely a keeper.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1-2 Tlbs whole wheat flour
1 egg white, beaten
olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tlbs white wine vinegar
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 Tlbs whole wheat flour
fresh ground black pepper
1 Tlbs fresh chopped parsley
1 tsp coconut oil*

Directions:
Slice the chicken breast in half by laying it flat, putting your hand on top of the chicken breast, and using a sharp knife to carefully slice the chicken horizontal to your hand. This will give you two thinner slices of chicken (cutlets). Put the flour in one small bowl and the beaten egg whites in another bowl. In a third bowl, put the lemon, white wine vinegar, chicken broth, 2 Tlbs whole wheat flour, black pepper, parsley and coconut oil. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, with a small amount of olive oil (if necessary). When the pan is hot, dip the chicken in flour, then in egg white, then saute it for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan, and pour in the lemon mixture. Heat it, stirring constantly, until it starts to thicken, then add the chicken back into the pan for a minute or two. Serve by putting the chicken on a plate and spooning a small amount of sauce over the top.

*the coconut oil can be switched out with butter...melt the butter first if you use butter. There is absolutely no coconut taste if you use coconut oil instead and it tastes just as rich.

This is really good and very light. It's even better served with these roasted potatoes (which I've also modified slightly). I changed her recipe a little bit - reduced it by fourths (her recipe is for 12 cutlets), replaced the white wine with white wine vinegar, cut out the salt, cut down the amount of lemon, cut out the lemon slices altogether, and replaced the butter with coconut oil. I like lemon, but this was really strong the first time I made it. It is important to do all the prep first, because this only takes a few minutes from start to finish, once you put the chicken in the pan.

Rating: 5/5
Why? It's fast, easy, light, and filling.

Balsamic Vegetables and Meatballs

I've never been a huge fan of meatballs, and after a recent attempt to make burgers, I've realized that I am no longer a huge fan of raw beef either, but this recipe looked good and I thought I would give it a try anyway. It was definitely worth it, although I will be making a few changes to the original recipe (from Clean Eating, naturally).

Ingredients:
2 red bell peppers, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into wedges
1 small pkg of lean ground turkey
1 egg white
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
olive oil (or coconut oil*)
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
2 Tlbs balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Heat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray it with olive oil. Spread the bell peppers and onion on the baking sheet, and bake for 40 minutes, until the edges are slightly blackened. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the turkey, egg white, pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder and rosemary. Form into small (1 inch) meatballs. In a large skillet, melt 1 Tlbs of coconut oil over medium oil, then saute the meatballs one batch at a time, until browned and cooked all the way through (mine took about 6-7 minutes). Remove the meatballs from the heat, but leave the pan on medium. Add mushrooms and thyme to the skillet and saute the mushrooms until they are golden brown (mine took 3-4 minutes). Turn off the heat and add the vinegar, then add the meatballs back into the pan. When the bell peppers and onions are done, add them in the mixture as well, and toss everything together. Serve warm.

The original directions included a yellow summer squash which I ended up disliking, so I left it out of the recipe above. It also called for this to be served over pasta, but I didn't like that either. It also called for fresh thyme, but I forgot to buy it. Heh. I used turkey instead of beef and to make up some of the flavor, I added the garlic and onion to the meatball mixture.

This was a pretty good recipe and actually came together pretty quickly. The meatballs totally made this though, they were amazing, if I do say so myself. I had some issues with splatter in the pan, and they were shaped more like pyramids than balls, but they tasted fantastic.

*I started using coconut oil and I really like it. We'll see how it goes.

Rating? 4/5
Why? it does take a while to make this, because of roasting the peppers and onions, but it is still good.

Asian Chicken Salad Pitas

This is the time of year when I have a really hard time staying focused. There are only about 35 days of school left, it's almost May, the weather is warming up, and I am ready for a vacation. On top of that has been some added challenges this year - a new co-worker who requires some extra management, and my co-teacher took maternity leave so I've been supervising two new teachers for the last few weeks. Add to that my general unenthusiasm about cooking in general, and it's been a rough haul. I was (as always) finally inspired by Clean Eating, and picked this week's recipes entirely from that magazine.

Ingredients:
1 Tlbs natural peanut butter
1 Tlbs low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp tamari soy sauce
a pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp black sesame oil
1 chicken breast, cubed and cooked
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup diced cucumber
1 small carrot, grated or matchsticked
1 Tlbs chopped cilantro
whole wheat pita pockets

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. In a medium sized bowl, toss the chicken, green onion, cucumber, carrot and cilantro. Drizzle the sauce over the top, then toss it together. Serve in warmed pita pockets.

I'm not a huge fan of cucumber (I've tried to like it, really!) but this was pretty good. I think it would be even better chilled, so I'm going to bring it for lunch tomorrow. It comes together fairly quickly, and would be a 5 minute meal if the prep work was done ahead of time. This made enough for about 4 small pita pockets.

The original recipe called for cashew butter (expensive) and I added the black sesame oil because the sauce seemed a little bland, but other than that the recipe is pretty close to the original.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? Cucumbers. Nice crunch, but I just don't like the flavor. =(

Asian Noodle Veggie Bowl

A few months ago, I stumbled across the Minimalist Baker (thanks Pinterest!) and fell in love with her recipes, her photography, and the good food. I don't love everything - she's vegan and I am most definitely not - but I do like that her goal is to use as few ingredients as possible and I appreciate the effort she puts into creating really great, healthy, filling food. This recipe popped up a few months ago, and it joined the many other recipes of hers on my pinterest page, until I decided to try it this week. Holy Deliciousness, Batman. This is going in the permanent rotation!

Ingredients:
Thin rice noodles*
1 chicken breast
green onions
1 med-lg carrot
several basil leaves**
2 tsp sesame seeds
(Dressing Ingredients)
1 Tlbs black sesame oil
1 Tlbs honey
1 Tlbs peanut butter
2 tsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp-ish of lime juice
1/4 tsp chili sauce
1/4 tsp fresh grated ginger

*I bought these at Uwajimaya. I can't read the instructions. But it's cool. =) These would work too, and you can get them at most traditional grocery stores. Use about a handful.
**I have a deep and abiding love for basil, and I usually triple it, at a minimum. I used probably 10-12 large leaves for this recipe.

Directions:
Heat up the grill, and put the chicken on it when it's hot. While it is grilling, boil some water and put the rice noodles in a dish that is deep enough for them to be covered. When the water is boiling, pour the water over the top of the noodles and without stirring, let them sit for 10-12 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the carrot into matchsticks and chop the basil. Then whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside. By this time the chicken should be done, so let it rest, then cube it. By this time the noodles should be cooked, so rinse them with cold water and let them drain. This recipe makes two servings, so split the noodles, carrots, basil, chicken and green onions between the two bowls. Drizzle the dressing over the top of the ingredients and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

This is DELICIOUS and super fast. If I hadn't had to cook the chicken, it would have come together in ten minutes, a lovely end to a really busy day. In addition, it was really filling and tasted great. I didn't deviate much from the original recipe, but it would be delicious with edamame or fresh snow peas. In addition, I added sesame seeds to the recipe above because I thought it sounded good, but it wasn't part of the original recipe and I didn't put them in this time.

Rating? 5/5
Why? Fast, healthy, and delicious. Perfect.

Turkey Burger

This is what I made to go along with the baked rosemary fries.

Ingredients 
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil

Directions
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Form into 4 patties and grill 4-5 minutes until done.

Rating? 4.5/5
Why? The really lean turkey just doesn't taste the same as beef, but it is healthier and it was pretty good.

Baked Rosemary Fries

Oh my word, this has been a hellacious week. I have never doubted my abilities as a teacher more than I am right now, and I actually searched for "jobs to do with a teaching degree" on google. Turns out, I'm out of luck. At times like this, I have the unfortunate tendency to find comfort in food, which is one of the reasons for this blog. I seem to want burgers and fries, comfort food, when my life just sucks, and these fries are actually quite good, while still being at least better for you than regular fries. Original recipe from Minimalist Baker. 

Ingredients:

4 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes

2 Tlbs olive oil

fresh rosemary, stripped and chopped

salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into roughly similar sized strips. Soak them in warm water for 15 minutes. Take them out and dry them thoroughly using a paper towel or hand towel. Heat the oven to 450. Put the potatoes in a bowl with a tight fitting lid and drizzle them with the 2 Tlbs of oil, and about 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper, then shake thoroughly until potatoes are well coated and salt and pepper is evenly distributed. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil, and spread the potatoes on them in a single layer. Cover with tin foil, then bake for 5 minutes. Take the tin foil off and bake for 15 minutes more. Take the pan out, flip the fries over with a spatula, and put them back in for 10-15 minutes. Watch them carefully, as they will burn quickly. After removing them from the oven, sprinkle with rosemary and more salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. 

I actually drained my fries for about 5 minutes while I got my burger ready because they were a little oily for my taste. But they were pretty good. I have tried making fries before, and these were pretty nice and crispy. Soaking them definitely makes a difference. The rosemary is good too. Minimalist Baker added garlic to hers, but I wasn't feeling up to it, so I left it off. 

Rating: 4/5

Why? It takes 45 minutes to make these, start to finish, so it is a little time consuming, and I don't love heating my oven that high, but they were pretty good. 

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

It has already been well established that I like pumpkin, and fall flavors, and fall in general, so it was only a matter of time before this happened. I saw this post on pinterest, and then another recipe showed up in a friend's instagram feed, and combine that with a clean house and being ALMOST caught up on grading, and well, it will be a happy day at school tomorrow. The recipe was based on the link above, but I did make some changes.

Cookie Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tlbs cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cardamom
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1.75 cup pumpkin puree (1 15 oz can)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Icing Ingredients:
1 8 oz package of neufchatel cheese, at room temp
1 stick of butter at room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp cinnamon (to taste)

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients (from flour down to cardamom) together in a medium sized bowl. In a large bowl, beat the remaining cookie ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients slowly, mixing just until incorporated. Spoon cookie batter into 2 inch circles on a non-stick pan, making them relatively flat. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes*, then let cool for 1-2 minutes before removing them from the pan. Let them completely cool before frosting. To make the icing, mix the ingredients together and beat until smooth. If the icing is too sticky, add milk, a tsp at a time until the consistency is correct (you should be able to easily spread it without tearing apart the cookies, but not so runny it will all run off). Frost the flat side of  a cookie, then put another cookie on top to make a sandwich. Best served chilled, if you can resist.

*Her recipe said 14 minutes, and another recipe said 12. I have dark non-stick pans, and checked them at 8 minutes, and they were perfectly done. I didn't use evoo. Check on them and test with a toothpick. Doneness will depend on how thick your cookies are, and how hot your oven runs. Like a cake, the cookies should not have any raw material in the middle, and to keep them from burning or getting at all brown on the edges or top.

These are quite delicious. I grew up on chocolate whoopie pies, which are a Mennonite tradition and have been around long before becoming trendy in the last few years. These have a distinctly different flavor, but are still very good. I adjusted the spices from her recipe to intensify the flavor and I really like it. Thank goodness I work with a bunch of teachers, there will be no problem getting rid of these tomorrow. =) One other thing, I ended up with quite a lot of frosting left over. I think I used more than half of the frosting, so I didn't want to cut the recipe in half, but just be aware.

Rating - 4.5/5
Why? Delicious, but multistep processes and a lot of ingredients make it a less than simple recipe.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

I would like to state that I jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon before it was cool. I don't like pumpkin lattes or stalk pumpkin flavored syrup online, but I do like pumpkins in some things. To me it is so unequivocally the flavor of autumn. I've posted some pumpkin-based recipes before (here, here, and here), but I've not had a lot of chances to bake this year so this is the first pumpkin recipe of the year. I cobbled it together from this recipe (and this one) from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tlbs cinnamon
1/2 tlbs nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tlbs vanilla
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, salt, baking powder and baking soda together and set aside. In another bowl, beat the eggs, sugars, applesauce, pumpkin puree, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and fold together, then fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Put it in a bread pan that has been sprayed with olive oil and then dusted with flour (trust me, otherwise it will not come out of the pan). Bake it at 350 for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Some notes...At 45 minutes, it was not finished cooking in the middle but was getting really brown on top, so I covered it with some tin foil for the last ten minutes. Also, this is at the top end of my sweetness tolerance, so next time I might cut the sugar to 1/3 cup for each type of sugar.

This was pretty good. Nice and moist, but it is still warm and I need to see what it will be like when it is cool. It smells really good though. The taste of the pumpkin is not very strong, even though I doubled the amount.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? There are a lot of ingredients in this, but it is good and is a way to eat zucchini, applesauce, and pumpkin. My coworkers will love it.

Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Alfredo

I'm still not sure how I feel about goat cheese, but this type of recipe leans me in a more positive feeling direction. And, it is really, really fast, perfect for days like today when your staff meeting runs long. Original recipe here, but I did make several changes.

Ingredients:
whole wheat linguine*
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
4-5 small cloves of garlic, minced
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4-1/2 cup non-fat milk
4 oz herbed goat cheese
2/3 cup grated parmesan
1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
salt and pepper, to taste
1 small jar artichoke hearts**, rinsed and drained
1 cup peas**
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken**

Directions:
Cook the linguine to al dente, drain, and set aside. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a non-stick pan, and saute the garlic and onion for 5 minutes or so. Mix the Greek yogurt and milk together to the texture you want, then add the yogurt mixture and goat cheese to the pan. Turn the heat to low, and toss until everything is smooth and melted. Put the yogurt and onion mixture in the food processor, along with the parmesan and red peppers, but put the pan back on the stove, and turn the heat back up to medium. Saute the peas, artichoke hearts, and chicken for a few minutes while you process the yogurt and onion mixture until it is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste (it took about 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper for me). Toss it with the linguine and artichoke hearts, peas, and chicken, and garnish with basil before serving.

* I used between 1/3 and 1/2 of a box and it was enough for half of this recipe. I like my pasta pretty saucy (ha!), so make more or less as you desire. I am guessing this sauce would freeze really well also.
**these are optional ingredients

I really liked this, and will probably make it again, for several reasons. I think this could be really versatile, for one. It seems like any soft cheese would work well in this recipe, so if goat cheese isn't your thing, try something else. Secondly, you could add any vegetables you like. I bet this would be really good with asparagus. Also, it is really fast. It took me 15 minutes from start to finish (although my chicken was already cooked). In addition, while I really don't use a lot of canned foods anymore, this recipe lends itself to using healthy canned foods like roasted red peppers (a giant pain to make on my own), and asparagus hearts (also a giant pain to access from a raw asparagus). And finally, this is a large recipe, so it would be easy to cut in half, or freeze for later. As is, it made enough for my dinner and probably 3 lunches, and I only used half of the sauce.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? I think the sauce needed basil, which I guess would make it closer to this red pepper pesto, but I just think it needed something. Next time!!

Vegetable Quinoa Skillet

You know, there really is nothing better than a really easy, vegetarian meal...unless it's a hamburger. I like the idea of vegetarianism, but I don't like it in reality. I'll always like chicken and the occasional hamburger, and you can't have Thanksgiving without turkey, but this little skillet mix is pretty stinking amazing. Original recipe here (warning...very picture heavy post). I didn't know what to call this - skillet, stir-fry, hash, I don't know - but it's good no matter what you call it.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1.75 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 small zucchini, cubed
1.5 cups corn
1 cup green onions, chopped
1-2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese
15-20 leaves of basil, chopped

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1-1.5 Tlbs honey
pinch of salt
1.2 tsp pepper
1 garlic clove, finely minced

Directions:
In a saucepan, combine the quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to boiling and then turn down to low. Let it simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes, until liquid is gone. Set it aside. Meanwhile, in a jar with a lid, mix 2 Tlbs lemon juice, 1 Tlbs lemon zest, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic. Shake well, set aside. Then warm 1 Tlbs of olive oil in a LARGE* skillet on mediumish, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, until it is fragrant. Then toss in the zucchini, corn, and green onions and saute for another 4-5 minutes. Add the quinoa and half the vinaigrette, and stir for another minute. Then add the tomatoes, feta, basil and the rest of the vinaigrette, and toss in a little bit of salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and let it sit and meld for 5 minutes or so before serving.

*She said in the original recipe to use a large skillet, and she wasn't kidding. This is a HUGE recipe. I could have cut it in half and still had enough for at least two more meals, and as it is, my fridge is full of leftovers. My pan was actually kind of crowded. Cutting it in half would probably serve 3 adults comfortably and might make the stirring process easier. She also had less basil, (but we all know how I feel about my best friend basil...) and recommended fresh corn. I had frozen, and threw it in the pan still frozen, and it turned out fine. She also says this is good cold, I haven't tried it that way.

Holy cow, this is freaking delicious. I really don't like zucchini, but I thought I'd give it a shot, and I love it in this. She originally wrote this as a farmers market recipe, and it really seems like it could be really versatile. Be careful with the salt, though, since the feta is pretty salty it is easy to go overboard. I cut it down in my recipe from the original. The feta is super creamy in this, and really goes well with the lemon. I also am not a fan of lemon zest, but I liked it in this. I highly recommend prepping everything while your quinoa is cooking, as the actual sauteing goes really fast...no more than 10 minutes, start to finish.

Rating: 5/5
Why? Fast, easy, delicious, and healthy. Mmmmm....

Tomato Garbanzo Bean Salad

School starts tomorrow, so I am sad to say goodbye to summer. And by sad, I mean desolated. One of my least favorite things about school is how early we start...I have to be at school  at 6:50 in the morning, which means I have to leave my house no later than 6:15. I do not function well in the mornings, so the last thing I want to do is think about lunch at that ridiculous hour. This will work well for that. Original recipe here.

Ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans
1 package grape tomatoes
12-15 basil leaves
1 Tlbs red wine vinegar
1 Tlbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tlbs olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic
pinch of salt

Directions:
Rinse and drain the garbanzo beans. Rinse the tomatoes and slice them in half. Chop the basil and add it as well. Mince the garlic. Toss everything together with the vinegar, olive oil, and salt and let it marinate for at least an hour before serving. Serve chilled.

The original recipe called for 1/2 Tlbs of honey, but I forgot to put it in, and liked it just fine without it, so I left it out here as well. 

Rating: 5/5
Why? This was very easy to put together and tasted very delicious and filling.

Avocado Chicken Enchiladas

I have posted about my love for chicken enchiladas before, but I've had some trouble finding a replacement for the use of cream of chicken soup used in the original recipe. When I started to make this recipe for avodaco chicken enchiladas, I realized it would be much better as a combination of the two recipes. I loathe avocados...I've tried to like them but just hate them, but this recipe was really quite excellent.

Ingredients:
white corn tortillas*
4-5 chicken breasts
2-3 cups grated cheese*
2 avocados
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
3-5 jalapenos*
2-3 tsp lime juice
2 Tlbs butter
2 Tlbs whole wheat flour
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

*I prefer white corn tortillas. The original recipe called for small flour tortillas, but I think the corn ones are better here. However, corn tortillas are a bit brittle, so you might need to treat them differently. In college we dipped them in hot oil for 10-15 seconds before using them. I used pepper jack cheese because that's what the recipe called for, but it is really your choice. We used to use the bags of Mexican mix cheese in college. The number of jalapenos are totally dependent on the jalapenos and your heat preference. Jalapenos vary in heat, so I have put in as many as 6 and it was bland, and I have put in 4 and it was almost too hot. Just taste as you go. In addition, cumin gives me severe heartburn, so I always cut that in half.

Directions:
Bake, cool, and then shred the chicken. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a food processor, process the avocado, jalapenos,  cilantro and lime juice until smooth (the jalapenos can be tossed in whole, just cut off the stems). In a large saucepan or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, then add the flour, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Add in the chicken broth slowly, whisking constantly, then bring the mixture to a mild boil, whisking frequently. Turn the heat down to low, then add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until smooth. Add the spices and stir again. Then add the avocado mixture and stir again, until it is totally smooth. Keep the heat on low throughout the assembly process to keep the sauce from stiffening up.

Assembly Process:
Preheat the oven to 375. Spread a thin layer of avocado sauce over the bottom of the pan. Take a corn tortilla, and dip it in the avocado sauce to coat it. Take about 1/8 cup of chicken and 1/8 cup of cheese and make a line down the center of the tortilla, then roll it up and put it in the pan with the folded edge on the bottom. Repeat the process, pushing the rolled enchiladas together and filling the side space with enchiladas placed vertically. When the pan is full, sprinkle cheese on top, then bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and browning slightly. Take them out and let it sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

I only made a half recipe because I only had 8 tortillas, but this made an estimated 4-5 cups of sauce. I would estimate a full recipe (this one is a full one) would make an entire 9x13 pan of enchiladas. If you have any extra sauce, just toss it on top of the enchiladas before you add the cheese. I ended up freezing my extra sauce.

Rating 5/5
Why? Hello awesomesauce. Despite the fact that I do not like avocados at all, I do like this recipe. The avocado taste is very mild, almost unnoticeable, and they are incredibly silky smooth when they are processed. I have heard of using avocado in place of butter in cookie recipes before and based on the texture and feel of the processed avocado in this recipe, I am definitely going to try it.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

I have mentioned my love of pumpkin before on this blog, and although I mostly associate it with fall, I really do like it any time of the year. We are having a family get-together tomorrow and since it is summer and I can't get rid of my baking projects at school like I usually do, I made these to take down with me tomorrow. The original recipe was here, but I made several significant changes.

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar (I used more like 7/8)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:
Whisk the pumpkin puree, sugar, applesauce, and oil together in a bowl. Add the eggs in one at a time and mix well. Fold in the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg and then fold in the chocolate chips. Spray a 9x9 pan with olive oil and add the dough, then bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

I have tried this recipe before and it was an unmitigated disaster. It was a soggy mess and did not bake all the way through even after an hour in the oven, but this time worked better. Part of the issue was that the original recipe was written by someone in Singapore, and the only unit of measurement she used was grams. This seems like a simple enough fix until you realize that grams is a weight measurement and so 250 grams of flour and 250 grams of oil are not the same amount. After about an hour of research, I finally figured out something that I think is close enough. On top of the unit conversions, I used applesauce in place of 2/3 of the oil, added cinnamon and nutmeg (because you can't use pumpkin without those!!), and reduced the sugar. In addition, I baked it in a 9x9 pan instead of a loaf pan.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? This comes together really fast, with just a bowl, a whisk, and a spatula. It is very good but I wish I could figure out how to further reduce the sugar.

Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese

I was never much of a grilled cheese fan growing up, and I am still not a big fan of cheddar grilled cheese, but I have grown up a little bit, and branched out. I have previously posted a grilled cheese recipe here, but I saw another one a few days back that I wanted to try. Unfortunately I couldn't find the recipe this evening when I went to make dinner, so I winged it.

Ingredients:
2 pieces honey whole wheat bread
fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 tomato, sliced very thin
20 basil leaves, rolled and sliced

Directions:
Heat a pan over medium-low heat. Spray one side of one piece of bread with evoo and place it evoo side down in the pan. Put down a layer of mozzarella on top, then a layer of sliced tomato, then the chopped basil, then another layerof mozzarella. Top it with the second piece of bread, then spray the top with evoo. Very slowly toast the bread while the cheese melts. When it is toasted, put a plate over the pan and flip the entire thing to turn the sandwich without everything falling out. Let the other side toast, then remove from the heat and cut in half to serve.

The fresh mozzarella cheese makes this an amazing sandwich, and the slow roast and the fresh basil just make it that much better. This will definitely be made again.

Rating: 4.5/5
Why? mmm....melty and basily. It is just a little rich for me, next time I will work on slicing the mozzarella thinner.

Chocolate Syrup

When I was growing up, every day when I got home from school, my sister and I would make chocolate milk for our after school snack. Most of the time we had powdered Nesquik, but sometimes we had Hershey's syrup instead and that was amazing.On pinterest recently, I saw a pin for homemade chocolate syrup, and thought it looked really easy, so a few days ago I made it. Long story short, I'm never buying this in a store again.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
dash of salt
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Mix the sugar, salt, and cocoa together in a saucepan, then add the water and stir it all together. Heat it over medium heat, stirring frequently until it comes to a rolling boil, then let it boil for 90 seconds while stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla. Stir it all together, and pour into a pint sized jar, then let it cool. Store in the refirgerator.

Seriously, this stuff tastes like the real deal. The original poster said she found it in an old Betty Crocker cookbook, and I guess it is completely logical that it started from something people made on a semi-regular basis, but it had just never occurred to me to make it. I didn't change anything in the recipe.

Rating: 5/5
Why? Easy and in comparison to the ingredients on a Hershey's label, far fewer chemicals. From Answers.com, "Hershey Syrup's ingredients include High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Cocoa, Sugar, Contains 2% or Less of: Potassium Sorbate (a Preservative), Salt, Mono and Diglycerides, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 60, Vanillin, Artificial Flavoring." Um...I'll take the one I made.