(Better Home and Garden Magazine's) Strawberry Waffles

This is not the first time that I've made big promises for breakfast while still laying in bed, only to come downstairs and find that I'm short on the ingredients for the breakfast that I promised. Today it was waffles. But usually those box mixes are some mixture of flour, baking powder, salt, and probably some scary preservatives that we don't need anyway. So I tried out a recipe for making them for scratch, added some strawberries, and BAM we're having a nice little Sunday.

Serves: 6 belgian waffles
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes

I'll clean this mess up while the waffles are cooking...

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbs white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 c milk
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 3/4c - 1c diced strawberries (optional)

1. Preheat waffle iron. Preheat oven to 300F.


2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix just until smooth. Turn in strawberries.



3. Spray waffle iron by lightly misting with cooking spray. Pour 3/4 c waffle mix into iron, turn it over, and let cook 5 minutes.



4. Transfer cooked waffles to a baking sheet in the oven while you cook the rest.

5. Serve warm and crispy with a glass of milk. We like to top ours with organic peanut butter and maple syrup.

Enchilada Pie (twisted two times)

Cat Cora put a twist on her mother's Enchilada Pie, then (as is known to happen when recipes enter my kitchen) I twisted it some more.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 med onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can enchilada sauce
• 1 can refried beans (original recipe calls for black beans)
• 1 c light sour cream
• 1/2 c fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3 c broken tortilla chips (I sliced tortillas and baked at 400, turning occassionally for ~10 min)
• 2 c grated cheddar
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 T chopped fresh jalapeno pepper
• 1.5 c salsa (i used homemade, the recipe calls for "green salsa")

1. Preheat oven to 400F.  While oven warms, brown beef with onions and garlic. Add enchilada sauce and beans. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. In a food processor, combine sour cream, peppers, cilantro and salsa until smooth.
3. Spoon half of the meat-bean mixture into a 9x13" pan. Top with 1/2 of the broken tortilla chips, then 1/2 of the cheese. Cover the chips and cheese with the remaining meat-bean mixture. Spoon on the sour cream mixture and spread evenly. Finish with the rest of the chips and cheese. Sprinkle on the scallions.
4. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Apple Avocado Tuna Salad Melts

A little spicy, really wonderful!

Ingredients:

• 1 large can of tuna in water, drained
• 1 fuji apple, finely diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced, 
• 1/2 white onion, finely diced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• fresh mozzarella slices
• 2 T mayo (to taste...)
• sturdy whole grain bread, sliced

1. Combine tuna, apple, celery, jalapeno, onion, and mayo by stirring gently.
2. On one slice of bread, spread the tuna salad. On the other slice, lay down avocado slices and mozzarella.
3. Bake at 425 for 5-10 minutes to toast bread and melt cheese.

Seafood and Asparagus Risotto

Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 c arborio rice
• 5 c chicken or veggie stock
• 1/2 c white wine
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• zest of one unwaxed lemon
• juice of one lemon
• 1 T kosher salt
• 5 oz raw, peeled shrimp
• 4 oz large scallops
• 1/2 lb asparagus, chopped into 2" pieces

1. Combine lemon zest, garlic, and salt into a paste. Mix paste into seafood and set aside.














2. In a large sauce pan, using a wooden spoon, brown arborio rice over medium heat in olive oil for 2-3 minutes. Add white wine and stir continuously until absorbed.

3. Add one cup of stock, stir continuously until absorbed. Continue adding 1/2 c of stock at a time, each time stirring continuously until all liquid is absorbed. (This process will carry on for 20-30 minutes). Your end risotto product will be creamy and the rice will be tender.
4. In a saute pan with a light coating of olive oil- saute scallops (2-3 minutes on each side) and shrimp (turning occasionally until cooked). Once the seafood is cooked, set aside and deglaze the pan with small amount of chicken stock and lemon juice.
5. Add asparagus to the saute pan, and cook 1-2 minutes (just quickly, to warm it through).
6. Gently fold seafood and asparagus into risotto.

Crispy Orange Beef

Adapted from the Shun Lee Cookbook by Michael Tong & Elaine Louie. The original recipe calls for about half of the amount of sauce I made, and I don't think it came out too saucy... So I say go for it!

Ingredients:

• 8 oz flank steak, cut into pieces 1"x1/2"x1/4" (very thinly sliced...)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 orange
• 4 Tbs sugar
• 4 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbs rice wine
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1 c cornstarch
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
• 3 scallions, white part only, sliced
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• juice of 1 orange
• 1/4 tsp hot chile paste

1. Mix steak, baking soda and 3 Tbs water in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours (to tenderize the meat)

2. Remove the peel of the orange with a veggie pealer. Cut the zest into thin strips. Slice the rest of the orange in half and set aside.

3. To begin the sauce, mix sugar, vinegar, rice wine, soy sauce and 2 tsp cornstarch in a bowl. Set aside.

4. Heat a large wok over high heat with about 1 1/2" of vegetable oil in it. Bring oil to 375 degrees.

5. Combine beef, 1 c cornstarch, and lightly beaten eggwhite. It will be kind of dry, but coat the meat.

6. Add the steak to the oil one piece at a time so it doesn't splash or stick together. Stir gently until it begins to look crispy (this happens quickly). Remove steak from oil and put in a colander to drain. Fry the rest of the beef in batches.

7. Remove most of the oil, leave 1-2 Tbs in the wok. Add sauce mixture, orange zest, scallions, sesame oil, orange juice, chile paste, and beef. Stir-fry until all of the ingredients are blended, about 30 seconds.

Ham, Cheese and Spinach Focaccia

 This recipe is adapted from one called "Cheese Focaccia from Recco" found in Savory Baking from the Mediterranean by Anissa Helou. Her recipe called for a cheese focaccia made with taleggio cheese (an Italian take on brie)... I added a few bonuses and substituted fontina cheese (another soft, cow's milk cheese).

I was totally dazzled by how few ingredients go into making the bread. There is an element of "mix it, walk away, knead it, take the dog for a walk, knead it, take a nap" ... So I thought it was perfect for making on a laid back Saturday :)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra for working with the dough
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil for the dough
• extra olive oil for brushing the pan
• 9 oz soft cow's milk cheese (Fontina, Taleggio, Brie, Mozzarella... you pick)
• 1/2 c finely diced ham
• 1/2 c chopped spinach

1. Combine flour and fine salt in a large mixing bowl with a well shaped into the center. Add the EVOO into the well and incorporate into flour with your fingertips. Slowly add 1/3 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon warm water. Knead briefly to make a rough ball of dough.

2. Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes on a floured work surface. Turn the bowl over and cover the dough on the countertop for 15 minutes. (It's really amazing how much the dough "relaxes" during it's 15 minute cat-nap!!)

3. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until it's smooth. Shape into a ball and place in a lightly floured bowl, covered with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.

4. Fold the dough. Cover again. Put it back in it's happy place for another hour. The dough will have expanded some during this rest period.

5. On your floured work surface, cut the dough in half and shape each half into a ball. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rest 15 minutes.

6. Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F. On your floured work surface, roll out one piece of dough to be quite thin and about 12 inches in diameter. Liberally brush a non-stick baking sheet with olive oil and place the dough round on it. Add thinly sliced cheese, ham, and spinach to the center of the dough.

7. Roll out the other dough ball to just slightly bigger than the first piece. Just barely dampen the edges, and flip it over so that it covers the dough/toppings. Seal the edges by pressing with your fingers. Optional: I added some finely shredded fontina to the top of the focaccia (because it felt very "Panera") and it turned out crispy and visually enhanced the look of the bread.

8. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown all over. Let sit 5 minutes, then slice and serve while cheese is still warm.

Balsamic Chicken Caprese

This one came together sort of... off the cuff. But really, we're combining some great concepts here, so it was bound for greatness!

Ingredients:

• 4 thinly sliced cuts of chicken breast
• 1/2 c whole wheat flour
• 4 T olive oil
• 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 c chicken stock
• 2 roma tomatoes, halved and sliced
• 1/2 c baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 c fresh mozzarella pearls
• 3 T pesto
• 1/2 lb linguine

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Prepare linguine according to al dente instructions on package.

2. Heat olive oil on medium in a saute pan. While oil is heating, lightly dredge chicken in flour. Saute chicken for 3-4 minutes on both sides, until golden brown. Set chicken aside, keep warm.

3. Saute onion and garlic (in the same pan used to saute chicken) for 5 minutes, until tender.

4. Deglaze pan with balsamic vinegar, whisk gently for a minute, then add chicken stock. Stir and cook down on med-high heat for ~5 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken.

5. Add chicken and mushrooms, simmer on low an additional 3 minutes.

6. In a separate bowl, combine tomato, mozzarella pearls and pesto.

7. Remove chicken and sauce from heat, toss in pasta, tomatoes, and mozzarella pearls coated in pesto.


Voila!

Pesto Goat Cheese Pizza

What a really different and tasty pizza! I think I'll wait to make it again until the summer, so I can use garden fresh ingredients, but the store-bought versions sufficed this time and still produced a really yummy pizza.

Ingredients:

• Pizza crust (I used a thawed loaf of frozen whole wheat bread dough)
• 1/4 c pesto
• 1/2 tomato, thinly sliced
• 1 c baby bella mushrooms, quickly sauteed
• 1 poblano pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 oz goat cheese (I used an "herbed tomato" goat cheese I found at the grocery store)
• 2 scallions, sliced

1. Preheat oven to 425 F
2. Spread pizza dough onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan
3. Layer your ingredients: basil (be generous), cheese, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, green onions

 
4. Bake at 425 for 10-12 minutes, until crust is crispy. Let stand at least 3 minutes before slicing and serving.

Asian Veggie Slaw

There are a lot of ingredients in this dish, but I had most of the sauce ingredients in my pantry already and I found the slaw ingredients mostly pre-chopped and ready to go.

Ingredients:
Sauce

• 1/4 c honey
• 1/4 c veggie oil
• 1/4 c rice vingegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 t sesame oil
• 1 T peanut butter (I used a creamy organic peanut butter and it stirred right in without too much fuss)
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t Sriracha
• 1 T minced ginger

Slaw

• 4 c shredded slaw mix
• 2 c shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
• 1 c cooked/shelled edamame (in with frozen veggies in the grocery store)
• 2 m scallions, sliced
• 1/2 c chopped peanuts
• 1/2 c chopped cilantro

1. Combine all sauce ingredients and whisk vigorously for 1 minute, until sauce is slightly emulsified
2. Combine all slaw ingredients and hand toss
3. Coat veggie slaw in sauce, refridgerate.

I served it with Coconut Shrimp :)

Spicy Thai Noodles

These spicy, nutty noodles are great hot or cold. Tofu takes on the flavor of the sauce really well :)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb linguine
• 6 T honey
• 6 T soy sauce
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 1/3 c sesame oil
• 1 T crushed red pepper
• 1-2 c firm tofu cubed
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 4 T cilantro, chopped
• 1/3 c peanuts, chopped
• 1/2 c shredded carrots

1. Cook linguine to al dente.
2. Combine oils over medium heat. Cook red pepper 2-3 minutes in hot oil. Add tofu and let fry 5 minutes, stirring gently occasionally. Spoon out tofu and set aside on paper towel.

3.  Whisk in soy and honey. Cook down 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir in noodles, cook an additional 2-3 minutes.















5. Remove from heat. Add cilantro, scallions, peanuts, carrots and tofu. Toss and serve (or refrigerate and serve cold later).






Easy peasy! Delish!

Grandma's Potato Soup

...with Mom's adaptations, plus some extra Jolene lovin. Let's call this "Third Generation Potato Soup."

Ingredients:

•  3 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 lg onion, finely chopped
• 4 lbs of potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 can of evaporated milk
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• (1 can of corn, fried)

1. In a large pot, saute celery and onions with a pad of butter until tender. Then add 4" of water and bring to a boil.
2. Add potatoes, bring back to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender.
3. Add butter, stirring gently until it melts. Add evaporated milk and corn.
4. Remove from heat, stir in instant potatoes and parsley.

Serve with corn bread and hot sauce :)

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna

This is a new recipe to me which I really enjoyed preparing and eating. It was such a gooey, veggie, pasta loving dish! Lots of really good flavors at play here :)

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 can veggie stock
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 14-oz can of artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 10-oz package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
• 1 jar favorite pasta sauce
• 1/2 c feta crumbles
• 3  c shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Saute onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add veggie broth, artichokes, and spinach. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

3. Add red sauce and simmer until warm

4. Splash a bit of sauce in a 9x13 pan, then layer the following: 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the veggie-sauce mixture, 1 c mozzarella cheese. Finish with crumbled feta.


5. Bake covered for 45 minutes. Uncover, bake another 15 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving with your favorite bread or garlic bread.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Yum! This is one of our favorites from Taco Tonto's in Kent, OH that I've tried paying homage to at home in Warren.



Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and roasted
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 c rice (makes 1 1/2 c cooked rice)
• 3 tbsp cilantro
• 1 c mung bean sprouts
• 2 c homemade or favorite salsa
• 6 whole wheat tortilla shells (10")

1. Cut cilantro into cooked rice while still warm.
2. Down the center of a tortilla, layer rice, sweet potato, and black beans. Top with mung bean sprouts and salsa.

3. Fold the two ends over the edges of the ingredients, then roll into a tightly formed burrito.
4. Grill on a flat top until tortilla is crispy. Serve with additional salsa for dipping.

Indian Samosas

Talk about comfort food. I may be half Indian, but I know which side my stomach pledges allegiance to...

Ingredients:
For the pastry dough-

• 1 1/2 c all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ~2/3 c cold water

For the potato filling-

• 2 med gold potatoes
• 1/2 c green peas (frozen are preferred to canned)
• 1 c spanish or sweet onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Preparing the dough-
  1. Combine flour and salt. Mix in oil by rubbing the flour between your hands. Slowly add water in small portions and mix with your hands until a dough forms, then continue working dough for 2-3 minutes.
2. Cover the dough in plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Roll a ball of dough (slightly bigger than a golf ball) into a circle to be about 5 inches in diameter. Do this with all of the dough.
4. Cut all dough circles in half, into two semi-circles.

Preparing the filling-
1. Boil, cool then slightly mash potatoes. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds, and once seeds start to dance around in the oil, add onion. Cook onion 5-10 minutes until the onion turns almost clear.
3. Add peas and turmeric. Once peas are cooked, add coriander powder.
4. Fold in potatoes. Let cool before stuffing samosas.

Making Samosas-
1. Preheat a deep fryer to 360 degrees.
2. Wet a q-tip or your finger and moisten the straight edge of a dough semi-circle. Make an "O" with your hand (thumb meets 4 fingers) and create a cone in the hole of your hand. Slightly overlap moist edge of dough with dry edge and press together.
3. Add ~2 tsp potato filling to the cone.
4. With the seam you created facing forward, seal the top of the cone using a bit of water to moisten the dough. You should have a triangle with the seam in the front. Repeat until dough/filling are gone.
5. Fry for 5-6 minutes, until a dark golden brown.
6. Serve with a favorite sauce or Indian chutney.

Hummus Pita Pizzas

This is a very refreshing pizza that could be served as an hors d'oeurve  or a light dinner.

Ingredients:

• 4 whole wheat pitas
• 16 oz garlic or herbed hummus
• 4 red radishes, sliced and chopped
• 1 c mung bean sprouts, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 c cilantro, coarsely chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• a drizzle of herbed olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Spread hummus liberally over pitas. Top with veggies, bean sprouts and cilantro.
3. Drizzle with olive oil.
4. Bake on a tray at 425 for 15 minutes, until pitas begin to crisp.