Scampi Scallops...Yum!

Well, now that the household has finally been cleared of the "great stomach virus of 2012," I finally feel like I can cook again.  And eat again.  And, to top it off, I had a helper in the kitchen tonight!  My almost-17 year old has always been interested in the kitchen and now that he's learning at home, we're adding cooking to his list of subjects.   Just before we got sick, we went grocery shopping and got the most beautiful sea scallops.  It was so sad opening the refrigerator and seeing the package, just knowing that there was no way my stomach was accepting that.  But, tonight was our Valentine's.  I know, I know, late.  Germ-stricken households do that sort of thing.  I gave the boy an assignment - look up some scallop recipes and make a plan.  When he first said Scampi Scallops, my mind instantly went to a post by Warren on Table for Two Cookbooks about how scampi meant shrimp so wouldn't Scampi Scallops be Shrimp Scallops.  Oh, I'm so confused!  But I listened and thought that would play great with a nice sear in pan in the scampi butter and then popped in the oven with a nice parmesan and panko topping to brown.  So, the boy and I combined our thoughts and set to work.  It was a fun collaboration and I tried to remember to give him real jobs to do.  I'm so used to spending my days with the little ones that I sometimes forget a whole preteen separates his age from theirs and it has to be a conscious effort on my part to treat him differently.

And our creation was beautiful and delicious!

It was just fun being in the kitchen again, busy at work and enjoying having him there with me - hubby was in the adjoining room looking at Valentine's gifts and just commenting back and forth with us and we were a family.  I've missed that!  If only the girl had been home a bit earlier life would have been perfection, even if only for that moment.  I love those times when food and family come together to make life better.

Enjoy both your food and your family tonight everyone.  Much love to you all!

Chicken Spinach Phyllo Lasagna

Well, that's a mouthful and you haven't even tried it yet!  Sometimes, inspiration can strike in so many ways and this was just one of those ideas that just took hold in my brain and I finally had to make it.  It really was so very simple but completely delicious!

Hubby and I were on our own for dinner and I decided that it would be a great meal since it had many components that our kids aren't fond of.  Namely spinach and mushrooms, both of which we love and the boy hates.

There really isn't a recipe as much as a game plan.

That out phyllo dough, and using a 9' X 13' pan, start layering.  I set down a layer of about 3 thin sheets of phyllo for each layer.  First phyllo, then a layer of spinach, then a layer of phyllo, then a layer of chicken, phyllo again and a layer of mushrooms and Gruyere cheese, phyllo again and another layer of spinach and so on and on until it was all used up.  I topped it off with a fondue mix with Gruyere and swiss melted with milk to soak all of the layers and melt it all together and it worked perfectly!

Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes or until everything is golden brown and bubbly.  It may need longer depending on the temperature of your ingredients and the amount of layers you created.

It was a great evening in dinner, but it still felt a little decadent, even though it was very healthy.  I can't wait to make it again and see what new combinations I can come up with!

Apple Gouda & Smoked Ham Galette - courtesy of Anne @ From My Sweet Heart

Have you ever read a recipe and just wished it could appear right before you because you wanted it that badly?  Yes?  Well, that was my experience when I read Anne's post about an Apple, Gouda & Smoked Ham Galette.  It was an amazing, amazing, amazing sounding recipe and I knew I couldn't wait long to make it.  And I didn't.  I made it last night for dinner - to rave reviews from the family.  Thank you, Anne!!  If you have never visited her blog before, please do, because she is a wonderful resource of recipes and the pictures look good enough to eat off the screen!

I will mention that as I started to make the recipe I, a) didn't give myself enough time for everything to chill as prescribed between steps, and b) I had no clear jellies of any kind on hand.  So I used a berry jelly that I think worked out just as well, but it wasn't as pretty to look at as Anne's was. 

I will say that today's lunch was phenomenal because there was leftovers!!  And look what I did, just for good measure...



Yep.  I grated smoked gouda cheese all over that slice.  Heaven!!

Now, go on over to From My Sweet Heart to check it out.  I'm not going to post the recipe here...I think I'm headed out for a bit more of that leftover cheese....yummy!

Craving chocolate? How about a Muffin?

I have been on a chocolate kick lately...it's just about all I want to eat.  I'm really not usually like that...I like chocolate but I can usually resist the temptation.  Not these days!  I want chocolate and I really want it a lot.  Who knows or understands these demands the body puts out, but I'm not arguing.  If you want chocolate, I figure, have chocolate.  Yeah, I think being sick for too many days has made me a little crazy, but just bear with me..  :)

I decided on chocolate chip muffins as a way to take care of two problems:

1) No more open chocolate chip bag in the pantry. Very tempting!

2) At least when I eat the chocolate, I'm getting a bit more bang for my buck.

So, I decided on a muffin with chocolate chips and dried cherries.  Oh my mouth was watering just thinking about it.  But, then I had a thought.  Hubby hates cherries and chocolate together.  What to do?  What to do?  Well, I did what I did with the coconut almond cups.  I split the batter in half, and made half of them with dried cherries and mixed peanut butter and sprinkled peanut butter chips on top of the rest.  Crisis averted.  Now back to my baking.

I found a recipe on Food Network and although I wasn't planning on a chocolate muffin, the recipe there just sounded too good and so one more layer of chocolate was added to my muffin plan.

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from Food Network

1 3/4 c all purpose flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

2 T cocoa powder

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c milk chocolate chips

1 c milk

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 egg

1 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and chocolate chips into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a separate bowl and mix gently. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. At this point, I separated my batters, and added 1/2 c peanut butter to one and 1/2 c dried chopped cherries into the other.  You can mix anything in you'd like.

Pour into either a greased or paper lined muffin tin.  You can sprinkle additional chips on top of muffins before baking if you'd like.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are risen and springy.

These are really very moist, delicious muffins.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

Chocolate Fudge Cups

So, as far as I'm concerned, chocolate + coconut + almonds is a combination that could just about get me to do anything.  You know that commercial "What would you do for a Klondike bar?"  Yeah, well, Almond Joy candy bars are kinda like that for me.  So, as I was deciding last night what type of cookie to bring along to a run that a group of friends and hubby and I were doing, I happened to spy these on another page.  These were not the cookies I decided to bring to our run - I opted instead for a healthy oatmeal cookie studded with sunflower seeds- but I just had to make these. They seriously tasted like I was eating an almond joy but without the guilt of knowing I ate a candy bar.  Win for me!

They're called Coconut Fudge Cups in the Betty Crocker Cookie Book, but the hubby is not a fan of the texture of coconut, so I made two kinds - one with coconut and almonds and one with just almonds.  Both are pretty tasty!

Fudge Cups

Adapted from Betty Crocker Cookie Book

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 c all purpose flour

1/4 c powdered sugar

2 T baking cocoa

1/2 t vanilla

 

Fudge Filling:

2/3 c sugar

1/3 c baking cocoa

2 T butter, softened

1 egg

1/3 cup flaked coconut

1/3 cup chopped almonds

 

Preheat oven to 350. Beat butter and cream cheese with mixer on medium speed.  Stir in all ingredients except filling ingredients.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls and press in bottom and on the sides of small ungreased mini muffin pan.  There should be enough dough for 24 cups.  Prepare filling by mixing all ingredients except coconut and almonds until spreadable.  If you're mixing the coconut and almonds, add both in at this time.  If you're dividing them, split the filling mix into half and combine each mix with either coconut or almonds.  Keep a couple of pinches handy to mark the top of the cookie cup.  Spoon filling into each cup, until just above the rim of the cup.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until filling has puffed up and bounces back when lightly touched.  Remove from muffin pan when slightly cooled, handling carefully.

 

 

 

 

Whole Wheat Stromboli

As far as dinners go at my house, pizza is usually the number one pick.  Hubby and the boy both love it, and it's something that's usually easy to customize to suit everyone's taste.  Especially now that I've got the awesome breadmaker that makes it super easy to have fresh dough at the press of a button.  Well, it's a little more complicated than that, but it doesn't seem like it.  As long as I give it an hour and a half head start, it's ready to go.  Now, something that we don't have as frequently is stromboli - which is interesting because isn't it really just like an inside out pizza?  I don't know why but we don't have it as often.  I was in the mood for it something awful and just had to have it.  I wanted something a bit healthier than the greasy kind from the local pizza place - I mean, sometimes, that will do and it tastes awesome - but for an every day dinner, healthier is better.  So, I decided to go with a whole wheat version of the dough to start...here's my "Z" breadmaker recipe:

 

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

adapted from Zojirushi cookbook

1 1/4 c water

1 1/2 T olive oil

2 c bread flour

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2 T sugar

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 t active dry yeast

I put all of that in the breadmaker and set it to the dough cycle.  An hour and a half later...awesomeness.  It really is a wonderful thing.

This recipe will yield enough for 2 large thick crust pizzas or 4 thin crust.  I usually make it, freeze half and use the other half right away.  Then, when I need a pizza dough, there's one only a thaw away.  :) I would imagine this could be adapted to make by hand pretty easily - just let it rise about an hour.  Once I was ready to assemble the stromboli, I rolled the dough out into a large rectangle.  Be sure to oil the dough with a little vegetable oil or it will make a gooey mess!

For this recipe, I used the whole dough for one stromboli because it goes fast around here.  And I like a little leftovers for lunch the next day!

The filling can be adapted to meet whatever you're looking for.  This stromboli had a combo of about a pound of browned and seasoned (salt and pepper) ground turkey breast, sauteed with a small chopped onion, about a cup of pepper strips (I used frozen), about a cup of fresh sliced mushrooms, a small jar of bruschetta topping and then it was topped off with slices of provolone once the filling was spread down the middle of the dough rectangle.  I let all of the cook together and then cool because if your stromboli filling is too hot, it will heat through the dough before a crust can form, or even as you're rolling it all up.  I then lined a cookie sheet with parchment paper and moved the stromboli on over!

I cooked it for about 30 minutes @ 375- checking to be sure it wasn't burning, but wanting a nice crust.

When it came out of the oven, it was gorgeous!  And pretty yummy to boot!  Enjoy!

 

 

Snickerdoodle Cookie Sandwiches

 



I'm not a big snickerdoodle fan.  Just not in my favorites category.  I mean, it is a sweet and I have a major sweet tooth but these, well, I don't know.  I love the cinnamon-sugar combo but there is a tanginess to them that just doesn't do it for me.  So, now that I've spent a few lines saying why I don't like them, let me tell you that these were one of the best batches ever of snickerdoodles that I've ever made....and the hubby LOVES snickerdoodles.  I've been sick for a few days and I've been less than inclined to head into the kitchen, and I feel badly that it's been days since he's had a decent dessert - or meal for that matter.  So, he was due a good dessert.  So, I set to work this afternoon making something that would be extra special and just for him.  First, I made a basic snickerdoodle recipe and then while they cooled, I made a cream cheese filling.  I was a little worried that the tanginess of the cream cheese wouldn't mesh well with the cookie, but it actually made it sweeter.  I even had one and enjoyed it.  I mean, look at that cookie - how could a sweets addict like me resist THAT???

 



Snickerdoodle Recipe:

(from Key Ingredient)

1/2 c butter, softened

1/2 c shortening

1 1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

2 t vanilla extract

2 3/4 c ap flour

2 t cream of tartar

1 t baking soda

 

Preheat the oven to 400.  Cream the butter and shortening with the sugar and vanilla extract.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add flour, cream of tartar and baking soda and mix well.   Form dough into balls - either large or small depending on what you're planning on using them for.  Combine 2 T sugar and 2 t cinnamon in a bowl and toss each ball gently in the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 8-10 minutes for smaller cookies, and 10-12 minutes for larger ones.  Cookies should be set with dry edges and just a bit soft in the center.

Remove from the cookie sheet immediately and let completely cool.  While cooling, you can make filling if you're planning on making sandwich cookies, or just leave as is.

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 T whipping cream

4 oz cream cheese, softened.

Mix all three ingredients either with mixer or vigourously by hand.  Spread in between cooled cookies.  If cookies are iced, store in the refrigerator.

 

So, now that I'm feeling better, dessert has been delivered and my work day is done - I'm heading out to run.  Or maybe nap.  It's all good either way.  :)