Janet's Rich Banana Bread

I don't know many kids that love banana bread.  Actually, I know exactly one.  That is my son.  He raves about this banana bread.  He has good taste.  It must be pretty good.

Janet’s Rich Banana Bread

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients:

½ cup butter, melted (or coconut oil)

1 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or more - 1-1/2 tsps.)

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)

½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

2 medium ripe bananas, sliced

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2.      In a large bowl, stir together the melted butter and sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the butter mixture until  smooth.  Finally, fold in the sour cream, walnuts and bananas.  Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

3.      Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

Breakfast Sausage Casserole
Prep Time: 15 mins.
Cook Time: 1 hr.
Servings:  8


Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package breakfast sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled
4 cups (approx. 12 pieces) cubed day old bread
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
10 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Grease 13 x 9 inch baking dish.  Place bread in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.  Combine milk, eggs, dry mustard, onion powder and pepper in medium bowl.  Pour evenly over bread and cheese.  Sprinkle with sausage.  Cover.  Refrigerate overnight.

2.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

3.  Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.  Cover with foil, if top browns too quickly.


Enjoy!

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Braised Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients:
12 Beef Short Ribs, bone-in
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 750-ml bottle good dry red wine
6 cups beef stock

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Season ribs to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed oven-proof pan over high heat. Add ribs and brown on all sides.  Work in batches if you need to so that the ribs don't get crowded (this will help with browning).

2.  Transfer ribs to a plate.  Pour off excess fat.  Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and saute, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Remove the vegetables from the pan, set aside.  Then add the wine to the pan, deglazing the pan, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce the wine by three-quarters until thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes.

3.  Return the ribs to the pan, add the stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with foil, and place in the oven.  Braise, cooking in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2-1/2 hours.  During the last 1/2 hour of cooking, add back in the vegetables.  Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

4.  The next day, remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top from the overnight chilling.  Place the pan with the ribs and cooking liquid over medium heat, uncovered.  Cook until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour.  Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed.  Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.

Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. Serves 6.

Enjoy!

Slow-Cooked German Short Ribs

Slow-Cooked German Short Ribs

Prep. Time: 25 Mins.

Cook Time: 8 Hours 20 Mins.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 pounds beef short ribs

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/2 cup chili sauce

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and pepper.  Coat the short ribs with the flour mixture.

2.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Brown short ribs in olive oil.

3.  In a slow cooker, combine onions, wine, chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and chili powder.  Mix thoroughly. Transfer the short ribs from the skillet to the slow cooker.

4.  Cover, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

5.  Remove ribs, and turn the slow cooker control to high.  Mix the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour with 1/4 cup water, and stir into the sauce.  Cook for 10 minutes or until thickened.

Enjoy!

Spinach Soup

I find it hard to believe but I think this is now my son's favorite soup.  He asked for it twice already.  I haven't had a chance to try it myself.  The boys finished before I could gets some.  It is also very easy to make.

The first time I made this soup, I used fat free half and half instead of skim milk.  This time I used a combination of skim milk and fat free half and half.  He says that the soup was "sweeter" last time.  I guess I will use fat free half and half from now on.  Otherwise, I use the recipe "as is" except I don't put it in a blender (because the first time I made this soup, I tried the blender and had an explosion of soup).  I probably should have done the batches but I was in a hurry (of course). This time I used my immersion blender.  I got better results and less mess. 


Spinach Soup
by Fiona Haynes (www.about.com)

Prep Time:  20 Mins.
Cook Time: 25 Mins.
Total Time:  45 Mins.


Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 medium white potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups fat free milk (or fat free half and half)
1 six ounce bag baby spinach
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1.  Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven.  Saute garlic, onion, celery and potato for 5 minutes.
2.  Add chicken broth and fat free milk.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
3.  Stir in half of the spinach, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
4.  Cool slightly, then transfer soup to a blender, working in two batches, if necessary.
5.  Add remaining spinach and blend (if working in two batches), use half the remaining spinach with each batch).  Blend until smooth.
6.  Garnish with pepper to taste.

Serves  4.



Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Quiche Lorraine

I made this quiche for Mother's Day.  It was very delicious.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Instead of milk, I used fat free half and half which is somewhat creamier.  Other than that, I left the recipe as is. This recipe comes from www.allrecipes.com.

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients: 

1 recipe pastry fora 9-inch crust
6 slices bacon
1 onion, minced
3 eggs, beaten
1-1/s cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour



Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).  Place pastry shell into 9-inch pie or tart pan.  Line pastry shell with foil.  Bake in oven for 8 minutes.   Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until crust is set and dry.  Remove from oven and turn down temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2.  In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp.  Drain and reserve 2 teaspoons of drippings.  Crumble the bacon and set aside.  Cook onion in skillet with reserved drippings.  Cook until onion is tender and then drain.

3.  In a large bowl, mix together milk, salt and eggs. Stir in bacon and onion.  In a separate bowl, toss cheese and flour together, then add to egg mixture.  Be sure to mix well.  Pour egg mixture into pie crust.

4.  Bake in preheated oven for 35  to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center of quiche comes out clean.  If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil while baking to prevent burning or over browning.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Spinach and Gruyere Quiche

This is a recipe that I got from Martha Stewart's website and it turned out great.  I used two deep dish pie plates and made my own pie dough from Simply Recipes for All Butter Crust for Sweet and Savory Pies (Pate Brisee).  If you want to make it easier on yourself, just get some Pillsbury Pastry Dough at the grocery store.  I also used fat free half-and-half and I used two eggs and 1-1/2 cups of egg substitute. 

Spinach & Gruyere Quiches

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon butter
3 shallots, minced
3 bunches flat leaf (baby) spinach, thick stems removed and leaves roughly chopped (about 3 cups)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (about 2 cups)
1 recipe Basic Pie Dough, fitted into two 9-inch pie plates
8 large eggs
3 cups half-and-half
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in upper and lower thirds of the oven.  In a large skillet, heat butter over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally until softened (1 to 2 minutes).  Add as much spinach to skillet as will fit, season with salt and pepper, and toss, adding more spinach as room becomes available, until wilted (2 to 3 minutes).

2.  Transfer spinach mixture to a colander.  Press firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.  Divide spinach mixture and cheese between prepared crusts.  Place each crust on a separate rimmed baking sheet.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Dividing evenly, pour egg mixture into crusts.

4.  Arrange baking sheets on racks, and bake until center of each quiche is just set (55 - 60 minutes), rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through.  Let quiches stand 15 minutes before serving.  (Or cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate up to 1 day. Reheat at 350 degrees until warm in the center (30 - 40 minutes).

Enjoy!
The Creative Cook

Chicken Enchiladas and Spanish Quinoa

I made this Hispanic meal a few weeks ago.  The boys loved it.  I used quinoa instead of rice because I had it in the cupboard.  Quinoa is a grain that is very high in protein.  The combination of these dishes proved to be delicious.

Chicken Enchiladas
Servings: 8

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pint sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas
1 (12 oz.) jar taco sauce
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.  In a medium, non-stick skilled over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear.  Drain excess fat.  Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet.  Add the onion, sour cream, Cheddar cheese, parsley, oregano and ground black pepper.  Heat until cheese melts.  Stir in salt, tomato sauce, water, chili powder, green pepper and garlic.

3.  Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas.  Arrange in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, Cover with taco sauce and 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Spanish Quinoa
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 (14-1/2 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
water
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup quinoa, washed and drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Directions:

1.  Drain tomatoes and reserve juice.
2.  Heat oil and saute garlic and onions until translucent.
3.  Place the tomato juice in a liquid measuring cup and add enough water to equal 1 cup of liquid.
4.  Add the liquid to the sauteed garlic and onions; bring to a boil.
5.  Stir in the quinoa, pepper, and salt.
6.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
7.  Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, and cumin; cook for another 2-4 minutes until hot.

I decided to toast the quinoa in the pan after sauteing the garlic and onion.  That added a nice nutty flavor to the dish.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Mardi Gras King Cake

I meant to post this cake last week for Mardi Gras but I did not have a chance to do it.  I ate King Cake at a Mardi Gras event and I would love to make this next year for Mardi Gras.  It looks quite good.  The person who posted it on food.com said that she gets constant requests to make this cake.

Mardi Gras King Cake

Ingredients:

Dough

1/4 cup butter
1 (16 oz.) container sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 (1/4 oz.) envelope active dry yeast
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees)
2 eggs
6-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Cream Cheese Filling

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened (16 oz. total)
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Colored Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 drops green food coloring
2 drops yellow food coloring
2 drops blue food coloring
2 drops red food coloring

Colored Sugars

1-1/2 cups white sugar

2 drops green food coloring

2 drops yellow food coloring

2 drops blue food coloring 

2 drops red food coloring

Directions:

1.  Cook first 4 ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, stirring often, until butter melts. Cool mixture to 100 degrees to 110 degrees.

2.  Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl.  Let stand 5 minutes.   Add butter mixture, eggs, and 2 cups flour.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until smooth.  Gradually stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.

3.  Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Kneed  until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.  Place in a well-greased bowl, turning to grease top.  Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees).

4.  Using an electric mixer, mix cream cheese until smooth.  Add egg and blend well.  Add sugar, salt and vanilla and mix until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

5.  Punch dough down.  Divide in half.  Turn 1 portion out onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll to a 28 x 10 inch rectangle.  Spread half each of cream cheese mixture on dough.  Roll dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at long end.  Place dough roll, seam side down on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Bring ends together to form an oval ring, moistening and punching edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and cream cheese mixture.

6.  Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

7.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden.

8.  Decorate with bands of Colored Frosting and sprinkle with Colored Sugars.

9.  COLORED FROSTING:  Stir together powdered sugar and melted butter.  Add milk to reach desired consistency for drizzling.  Stir in vanilla.  Divide frosting into 3 batches.  Tint 1 green, 1 yellow, and combine the red and blue food coloring to make purple frosting.

10.  COLORED SUGARS: Place 1/2 cup sugar and drop of green food coloring in a zip-lock plastic bag.  Seal bag then shake and squeeze vigorously to evenly mix color with sugar.  Repeat this process with 1/2 cup sugar and yellow food coloring.  For purple, combine 1 drop red and 1 drop blue food coloring before adding to remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Seven-Layer Dip

This recipe is from the back of the Calavo Guacamole Chips bag.  These chips are so good with Guacamole dip they are addictive.  My son wanted to try this dip so badly but I made it for a ladies wine tasting.  I definitely owe him.  The ladies loved it by the way.  I used whatever guacamole dip I could find and the freshly made salsa from the grocery store.

Seven-Layer Dip

Ingredients (serves 6):

8 oz Calavo guacamole or 2-3 Calavo RIPE NOW advocados
1-1/2 cups chopped  Calavo tomatoes
8 oz fresh salsa
2-1/4 ounces sliced black olives
1-1/2 cups sour cream
6 oz. grated cheddar cheese
1 package taco seasoning
2 cups refried beans (I used fat free)

Preparation:

Mix refried beans and taco seasoning together, then spread mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch casserole dish.  Layer on guacamole or avocado, sour cream, fresh salsa, cheese, tomatoes and olive slices.  Serve with Calavo Tortilla Chips.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Creamy Chicken Potato Soup

A few weeks ago, I was looking for a recipe that would use some left-over chicken.  This looked perfect to me. It gives you a one pot meal in a bowl.  It is a very nice comforting and tasty soup.  Great for a cold, wet day.


Creamy Chicken Potato Soup

Ingredients:


1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 pound potatoes (about 2 medium), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1-1/2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup reduced-fat evaporated milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon minced chives

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender.  Stir in broth and potatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the chicken, salt and pepper.

2.  Combine flour and fat-free milk until smooth.  Stir into saucepan.  Add evaporated milk.  Bring to a boil.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Sprinkle with parsley and chives.

Yields 6 Servings

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Arch's Flapjacks from Diane Mott Davidson's Fatally Flaky

I finally tried another one of Diane Mott Davidson's recipes!  This time it was Arch's Pancakes.  They are really good.  I know they are good because my son loves them.  He doesn't like pancakes all that much but has actually asked for these again.  That is a very good sign coming from him.  I decided to double the recipe so we could have some for breakfast during the week. The batter is very thick.  If you make these and decide to double the batter, reduce the amount of flour to 2-1/2 cups and increase the buttermilk by 1/4 - 1/3 cup otherwise you will have extremely thick batter.  In the book, Arch makes a point of preparing clarified butter which is what they use in the pan to cook the pancakes.  I did this last time but skipped it this time.  This recipe is nice because you can make the whole batter in your food processor and never have to use a bowl.  Personally, I never thought of adding cottage cheese to pancakes before but it adds a bit of protein to breakfast. Nice!  Thanks Diane.

Arch's Flapjacks (aka The Fluffiest Pancakes Ever)
by Diane Mott Davidson in Fatally Flaky

1/4 cup (2 oz.) cottage cheese
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbs canola or safflower oil
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. sugar (optional)
Butter, Maple Syrup or Fruit Preserves

In a food processor or blender, pulse the cottage cheese until it is smooth(er). Then add the egg, buttermilk, and oil.  Mix briefly until smooth.  Next, mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar just until combined.  The mixture will be thick, but if it seems too thick, add a tablespoon or two of buttermilk.   Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on the surface.  Then drop the pancake batter -- about a scant 1/4 cup for each -- and let cook until bubbles form on the surface and the edges seem dry around the edges.  Flip the pancakes and let cook for another minute or two, until the bottoms are lightly browned.  Serve immediately with butter and toppings or keep warm in a 200-degree oven.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Roasted Colcannon

I made the usual corned beef for St. Patrick's day this year.  It was great as always.  I tried something different with the vegetables.  I liked it more than the boys did.  They want me to go back to the old way next year.  I found this recipe through The FruitGuys Almanac on Facebook.  It is originally from Delilah's Farm Report.  I also found several recipes on various websites where you boil the potatoes and the cabbage and add bacon. I'm sure my boys would love that.  Hmmmm, maybe next year?

Roasted Colcannon

Ingredients:

2 cups of red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup of very coarsly chopped cabbage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 tablespoons butter

Preparation:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2.  Put cubed potatoes in a large mixing bowl with the cabbage.
3.  Whisk together the olive oil, salt, pepper, and vinegar.
4.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper.  Roast until tender, about 20 - 25 minutes, tossing once after 10 minutes.
5.  Transfer to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Add additional butter if it seems too dry.  Taste for salt/pepper and add if necessary.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Chicken Pot Pie

Some of you may know that tomorrow is Pi Day.  The date March 14 is usually reserved to celebrate the number Pi (oh, I'm sure you know that Pi is 3.14 blah blah blah).  I believe that March 14 is also Albert Einstein's Birthday.  Last year, I took my son down to the Science Center where they had a big celebration for Pi Day.  I am pretty sure they did that because last year Pi Day was on a Sunday.  This year March 14 falls on a Monday, so no celebrations of any kind have been planned.  That means I have to bake some Pie in celebration of Pi Day.  I was asked to do that by guess who?  I decided to make my first ever Chicken Pot Pie.  I am pretty excited about trying it.  I even went out and bought a brand new deep dish pie plate for this endeavor.  I found a Chicken Pot Pie recipe on Allrecipes.com that got good reviews but it had lots of  "tweaks" in the comments.  There were hundreds of comments all saying the same things so I decided to take heed and use the suggestions.  The first of many of the comments said pie was dry.  That is not something you want in a Chicken Pot Pie.  I am no expert on them but the few I have eaten were anything but dry.  Therefore, I doubled the liquid portion of this pie.  That made a bit too much "juice" so I went back and revised the amounts down by a little bit.  I also punched up the seasonings as suggested and reduced the temperature of the oven while increasing the cooking time.  The great thing about Chicken Pot Pie Recipes is that you can change the vegetables in almost any way you like.  I used two cups of mixed vegetables instead of the suggested ones.  Anyway, here goes my first ever Chicken Pot Pie recipe adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com.  

Chicken Pot Pie

Servings:  6

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast - cubed

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup frozen green peas

1/2 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning

3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup skim milk

2 (0-inch) unbaked pie crusts

2 tablespoons water or egg white for brushing pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2.   In a saucepan combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery.  Add chicken broth and boil for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Drain broth but reserve it.  Set aside to cool.

3.  In the saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper and other spices.  Slowly stir in reserved broth and skim milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened.  Set aside.  

4.  Place a pastry crust into the deep dish pie pan.  Pour the chicken mixture into the pie pan.  Pour hot liquid mixture over the chicken mixture.  Cover with the top pie crust.  Cut away excess dough.  Make several small slits into the top of the crust to allow steam to escape.  Brush the top of the pie with water or egg white.

5.  Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool for 10 minutes before serving.  This pie can also be refrigerated and reheated.

Enjoy your Chicken Pot Pie on Pi Day or any other day.  I am making an Apple Pie for dessert.  

The Creative Cook

Classic Waffles

Today was another snow day.  In fact, it was actually a make-up day for all the snow days the kids got last month.  That didn't turn out too well.  I guess somebody upstairs really wanted these kids to stay home today.  It turned out that we woke up really late.  I rarely get up past 6 am on any given day.  The latest I may wake up is around 8 am on a day after I stay up late.  Not today!  I did not wake up until 10:00 am.  A very rare event.  I need to keep a record of this one. Soon after I woke up my son started clamoring for food.  "What are we having for breakfast?"  he asked sweetly.  I said that I would make either pancakes or waffles in honor of the upteenth snow day in this county.  He asked for waffles.  Seeing as I did not have any pancake or waffle mix in the cupboard, I sought out a recipe.  I found a recipe for Classic Waffles on Allrecipes.com.  I did change the recipe significantly.  Here is my version of Classic Waffles.

Classic Waffles

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons white sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons vanilla extract


Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar; set aside.  Preheat waffle iron to desired temperature.

2.  Separate the eggs.  Beat the egg yolks lightly, stir in the milk, butter and vanilla.  Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture; beat until blended.

3.  Fold in the egg whites.

4.  Ladle the batter into a preheated waffle iron (about 1/2 cup of batter for each waffle).  Cook the waffles until golden and crisp (about 3 - 3-1/2 minutes).  Serve immediately with syrup, butter and sliced fruit.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Eggnog French Toast

Merry Christmas!



I decided to make something special for Christmas Morning breakfast this year.  I had left over eggnog from the eggnog cookies I made so I thought Eggnog French Toast would be perfect this morning!  I started with a recipe from www.cooks.com and added a few touches that I got from the Alton Brown french toast recipe I posted a few years ago.  It came out great.

Egg Nog French Toast

Adapted from Cooks.com

Ingredients:

 

1 cup commercial eggnog

2 eggs

6 slices cinnamon bread (Arnold)

1 tablespoon honey (warmed)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar


Directions:

In a small bowl, combine egg, egg nog and honey with a fork just until egg breaks up.

Put sliced bread in a shallow flat-bottomed bowl.  Pour egg mixture over bread and let sit for 2-3 minutes per side.  Then place sliced bread onto a cooling rack for another 2 minutes to let excess egg mixture drip off.

In an electric skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and saute each slice over medium heat (350 degrees) for 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Turn over and cook an additional 1-1/2 minutes.  Serve, sprinkled with sugar and pat of butter.  Or pour over a little warm maple syrup, if desired.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Eggnog Cookies with Eggnog Frosting

Unbaked Cookies

Baked Eggnog Cookies

This recipe comes from www.cakecentral.com.  I did change it a little bit.  The reviews gave me some tips that I decided to use.  They are tasty cookies. I like this recipe because it is almost like a sugar cookie but is a bit different.  I think they should be cookies that can be enjoyed by almost everyone.

Eggnog Cookies with Eggnog Frosting


Ingredients:

for Cookies:

1 cup butter, melted
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup commercial eggnog
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
5-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

for Icing:

3 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup commercial eggnog

Instructions:


for cookies:

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add eggnog, baking soda and nutmeg.  Mix well.  Gradually add flour.  Mix well.  Divide dough in half, wrap well and refrigerate overnight.

Roll half of dough to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut with floured cookie cutters.   Bake in a 375 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool, ice and decorate, if desired.

For Icing:

In a small mixing bowl, beat confectioner's sugar and butter until well blended. Gradually beat in eggnog until icing is smooth.

The poster on www.cakecentral.com says that she did not use cookie cutters.  Instead she rolled the dough into small balls and pressed her powdered sugar dipped finger into the center.  Then she baked as directed.

For icing, she placed all the ingredients into a bowl and beat for about 15 minutes until it was fluffy.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Cranberry Noel Cookies

These are the 2 logs before I cut them.

These are the cookies before baking.

Cranberry Noel Cookies after baking

I saw Martha Stewart making these Cranberry Noel Cookies on her show.  They looked really good.  It seemed like she got the recipe from someone else but I'm not sure.  I also read on a website that this recipe is in one of her cookbooks.  I am here to tell you that these are worth making and eating! Thanks Martha.

CRANBERRY NOEL COOKIES

Yield: 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon rum extract

½ teaspoon salt

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup dried cranberries

½ cup chopped pecans

¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions:

1.       Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes

2.       Add milk, vanilla and salt

3.       Beat until just combined

4.       Gradually add flour, cranberries and pecans

5.       Mix on low speed until fully combined

6.       Divide dough in half

7.       Shape each half into an 8-inch log, about 2 inches in diameter

8.       Roll logs in coconut, pressing lightly to coat the outside of logs

9.       Wrap logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours

10.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees F

11.   Using a sharp knife, cut logs into ¼ inch thick slices

12.   Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, about 1-1/2 inches apart

13.   Bake until edges are golden, about 12 minutes

14.   Transfer to wire rack to cool

Store  for up to 2 weeks in an airtight 

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Lemon Ricotta Cookies without Glaze

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Giada's Glaze

Lemon Cookie with the plain Lemon Glaze

I made these cookies this morning.  They are a very soft and melt in your mouth kind of cookies.  The original glaze that Giada provides is very sour because of the lemon zest so I wound up scraping it off and making a very simple glaze with only powdered sugar and lemon juice.  I also added a touch of yellow food coloring to punch up the color.  They are a different choice for holiday cookies.  Since my son likes lemon, this is my first holiday cookie offering.  These cookies are very lemony so if you love lemon flavor then give these a try!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies with Lemon Glaze

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Makes 44 Cookies

Ingredients


Cookies:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze:

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl, combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice and lemon zest.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl. Stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2 – teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container.



Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Broccoli Cheese Soup

It has gotten cold very quickly in this area.  When it gets cold, I long for soup.  Steamy hot delicious soup.  I know these soups are not low calorie but they are so yummy and warm on a bone-chillingly cold winter day.  I made this soup on Sunday afternoon.  It truly does make 12 servings as the author suggests on the http://www.allrecipes.com/ website.  The recipe was originally submitted by Karin Christian.  We all liked the soup but I have a few suggestions for the future.  I thought that the soup should have been put into a blender or that it could stand a few minutes with an immersion blender to thicken it and smooth out the broccoli a bit.  I like broccoli cheese soup when it has some texture but this was too much for me.  I was not happy with the way the cornstarch thickened the soup so next time I am leaving it out and using a potato or two instead. I also substituted fat free half and half for the milk because I had some in my refrigerator.  If you are cooking for a vegetarian you can easily substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and no one else in the family will be the wiser.   I think that you could easily reduce the amount of butter by half without any harm to the taste of the soup. Anyway, it is good soup but I like to tweak so go ahead and tweak or leave it as is.  Your choice...

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook Time:  30 minutes
Servings:  12

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (reduce to 1/4 cup)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 (16-ounce) package of frozen chopped broccoli
4 (14.5 ounce) cans of reduced sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 (1 pound) loaf of processed cheese loaf (I used the ubiquitous Velveeta), cubed
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2/3 cup cornstarch
1 cup water

Directions:

1.  In a stockpot, melt butter over medium heat.  Cook onion in butter until softened.  Stir in broccoli, and cover with chicken broth. Simmer until broccoli is tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

2.  Reduce heat and stir in the cheese cubes until melted. Mix in milk and garlic powder.

3.  In a small bowl, stir cornstarch into water until dissolved. Stir into soup; cook, stirring frequently, until thick.

4.  Put soup into a blender or use an immersion blender to make soup smooth.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

This is a delicious, different recipe for meatloaf.  It really tastes like a cheeseburger!  If you love meatloaf but are tired of the same old recipe, try this.  I cooked the onions before putting them into the meatloaf.  My husband and son don't like onions much. 

CHEESEBURGER MEATLOAF
Servings:  8

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced onion
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.  In a large bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, onion, eggs, salt and pepper, and mix well.  Pat out meat mixture into a 14 x 18 inch rectangle on a piece of wax paper.  Spread cheese over the meat, leaving a 3/4 inch border around the edges.  Roll up jelly roll fashion to enclose the filling and form a pinwheel loaf.  Press beef in on both ends to enclose the cheese.  Place in a 10 x 15 inch baking dish.

3.  Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Buffalo Rice

This is a recipe from Sara Moulton's newest cookbook called "Five-Ingredient Mains."  She did a really nice job on this book. I chose this recipe as the first one out of the book to make because my husband and I both love Buffalo Chicken Wings.  He is especially fond of the really spicy wings and I prefer mild.  This dish gives the best of Buffalo Chicken Wings without the bad parts.  It is spicy and delicious but not nearly as fattening. In the book, Sara mentions that the original recipe she got from her chef de cuisine at Gourmet Magazine used pasta, so if you prefer pasta then use it instead of rice.  I used long-grain brown rice because I had some in my cupboard.  I also want to mention that I had some Original Anchor Bar Mild Wing Sauce so I used that instead of the hot sauce.  The Anchor Bar is the place where Buffalo Wings are said to have been "invented" way back in the 1960's.  Try this as Buffalo Rice or Pasta.  Either way, I think you'll love it.

Buffalo Rice

1 cup long-grain white rice
 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons hot sauce
4 ounces Blue Cheese (you can substitute reduced fat Blue Cheese)
1 cup celery leaves, for garnish (optional)


1.  Bring 6 cups salted water to a boil over high heat.  Add the rice and cook for 15 to 17 minutes, or until rice is tender.  (Mine took 20 minutes)  Drain the rice in a strainer, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.


2.  Meanwhile, cut the chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the heat, toss with the hot sauce, and set aside in the skillet.  Crumble the blue cheese (about 1 cup).


3.  Once the rice has cooked, stir it into the chicken in the skillet along with the reserved 1 cup cooking liquid and the blue cheese.  Divide the chicken and rice among 4 serving plates and top with the celery leaves, if using.


Enjoy!


The Creative Cook




 

Thanksgiving Recipes

I have a few Thanksgiving recipes that I have either made for Thanksgiving or would like to keep so that I can try making them in the future.  This list of recipes includes one for a sweet potato casserole from the Food Network Magazine by Ellie Krieger, a cranberry gravy recipe from All*You Magazine, and the Best Ever Green Bean Casserole from Alton Brown.  I doubled this recipe and made it into a "prettier" version of Alton's recipe. It went over pretty well.

The picture I am including with this post is of a sweet potato cheesecake that one of my Thanksgiving guests so kindly made for the occasion.  He does not have a recipe. He told me that he used his head and instincts.  It turned out very well.  There was not even one slice left after the dinner was over.  To me, that is a successful dessert. It was also a beautiful cheesecake, as you can see.

Best Ever Green Bean Casserole
Makes 4 to 6 Servings

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/4 all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Nonstick cooking spray

For Beans and Sauce:

2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoon kosher salt, divided
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.

Combine the onions, flour, panko and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine.  Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan.  Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.  Toss the onions 2 to 3 times during cooking.  Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Bring a gallon of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil in an 8-quart saucepan.  Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes.  Drain in a colander and immediately plunge the beans into a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, occasionally until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute.  Decrease the  heat to medium-low and add the half and half.  Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans.  Top with the remaining onions.  Place into the oven and bake, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Cranberry Gravy

12 ounces fresh cranberries (about 2 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
4 cups low-sodium turkey or chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
salt and pepper

In a saucepan over low heat, cook cranberries and sugar, stirring until sugar has dissolved and berries have burst, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a blender and puree until smooth.


Sweet Potato-Pecan Casserole
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

cooking spray
3-1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 5 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/3 cup honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
1/3 finely chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mist an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a pot with a large steamer basket in place.  Put the sweet potatoes in the basket, cover and steam until tender, 20 to 25 minutes.  Transfer the potatoes to a bowl and let cool slightly.  Add the honey, egg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, the nutmeg, ginger and 1/2 teaspoon salt; whip with an electric mixer until smooth.  Spread the sweet potato mixture in the prepared baking dish.

Mix the brown sugar, pecans and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl, sprinkle over the potatoes.  Bake until hot and beginning to brown around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes.

Per serving:  Calories 160; Fat 4 g (Saturated 1 g); Cholesterol 25 mg; Sodium 180 mg; Protein 3 g

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Cranberry History and Lore

I also felt the need to provide you with some Cranberry History and Lore I got from the hubpages.com.  Enjoy!  

Cranberry History and Lore

Cranberries are both a popular American food and closely linked to our history. Many books and websites list the cranberry as one of three fruits that are native to North America, the other two being the blueberry and the Concord grape.

However, this is not true as there are numerous other edible fruits native to North America. A better phrasing, which some sources use, is that cranberries are one of three fruits native to North American that are commercially grown on a large scale . Large being the operative word here as other varieties of native fruits are also grown commercially.

The name cranberry is actually a shortened version of crane berry or craneberry , which is the name given to the fruit by early settlers in North America because the shape of the flowers of the cranberry bush have a resemblance to the head of a crane.

Probably because cranberry sauce is a traditional Thanksgiving dish and Thanksgiving is associated with the Pilgrims in Massachusetts people often associate cranberry production with Massachusetts.

While Massachusetts is both a major producer of cranberries and the home of the first company to produce and sell canned cranberry sauce commercially (the Cape Cod Cranberry Company produced marketed in Massachusetts the first canned cranberry sauce in 1912 under the name Ocean Spray Cape Cod Cranberry Sauce - the Cape Cod Cranberry Company later evolved into today's Ocean Spray Corporation) it is not the only state where cranberries are grown. Other major cranberry producing states are New Jersey, Oregon, Washington state and Wisconsin.

While cranberries may or may not have been served at the first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, the Pilgrims were aware of cranberries having been introduced to them by the Indians who had long used cranberries in their own cooking especially in the making of pemmican, a nutritious, high energy food that had a long shelf life but was also compact and traveled easily.

Pemmican generally consisted of mostly dried deer meat (elk, bison or meat of other available game was often used in place of deer) and fat along with various other ingredients such as dried fruits (cranberries being one option), maple sugar, dried, corn, etc. depending upon availability.

After drying, the meat and any other ingredients used were pulverized and mixed with fat to make the pemmican which was the main food eaten by Indians, the French Courier de Bios (fur traders in New France who traveled west from Montreal by water to trade, often illegally, with the Indians for furs) and nineteenth century Arctic explorers, while on long wilderness trips.

Beginning in the early nineteenth century, farmers began producing cranberries commercially for both domestic use and export to Europe. During the long siege of Petersburg, Virginia (June 15, 1864 - March 25, 1865) in the Civil War, the Union General Grant ordered cranberry sauce to be included with the supplies shipped to feed his troops. This was probably the first large scale use of cranberry sauce as a food and, given the large number of Union troops involved in the siege, enough apparently brought home fond memories of cranberry sauce that its popularity as a side dish caught on. Since cranberry sauce goes well with poultry, especially turkey, it soon evolved into a Thanksgiving staple.

Cranberry Coffee Cake

This recipe came from http://www.food.com/. It was posted by "Young Living in Texas"  It makes a bundt cake.  I didn't have enough left over cranberry sauce to try it but maybe I will after Christmas.  You never know! 

Cranberry Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 (16 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1 cup pecans, chopped

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons almond extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Cream butter and sugar.

3. Add eggs.

4.  Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream to butter and sugar mixture.

5.  Stir in almond extract.

6.  Pour 1/2 batter into greased and floured bundt pan.

7.  Add 1/2 cranberry sauce, spread evenly over batter. 

8.  Pour remaining batter over cranberry sauce.

9.  Top with remaining cranberry sauce.

10.  Sprinkle with pecans.

11. Bake at 350 degrees F in a preheated oven for 55 minutes.

12.  Glaze:  Stir ingredients together well. Spread or drizzle glaze on cake while cake is still warm.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Cranberry Sauce Loaf

Here is another recipe I made to use up my left over cranberry sauce.  I used this recipe "as is" except that I didn't have any graham cracker crumbs so I used 2 cups of flour instead.  Other than that, the recipe is the same as it was on the hubpages.com site where I found it.  It looks good.  It is still in the oven at the moment.

Cranberry Sauce Loaf

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cranberry sauce
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup canola oil

Instructions:

Mix the first 5 ingredients together with a fork in a large mixing bowl.  Stir in raisins and nuts.  Gently fold in cranberry sauce.  Add egg, orange juice and oil.  Stir just until mixed.  Scrape into loaf pan and bake for at least 1 hour.  Let stand for 10 minutes. 

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Morning-After Cranberry Sauce Muffins

This is the first year I ever made fresh cranberry sauce.  The reason I made the sauce this year is that we were having 25 people over.  I did not want my guests to think that we eat canned sauce.  I did have to buy a few cans of the "jellied" kind of sauce because that is what my son and husband eat.  I tried to keep the cans hidden but I did not succeed.  I doubled the sauce recipe that I got out of my All*You magazine so I had lots of extra sauce. I will give you the recipe I used at the end of this post. The recipe for the muffins comes from http://www.seriouseats.com/. The post about the muffins credits the recipe to chef Michael Harr of Butterfield 9 restaurant in Washington, D.C.  I did not make these muffins the morning after Thanksgiving but since cranberry sauce does not spoil quickly it should be fine to use for a week or two after the holiday.  The muffins taste great.  I can't really imagine throwing out three cups of perfectly good cranberry sauce so this is a great way to use it up.  I almost forgot to mention that I don't actually eat cranberry sauce with my Thanksgiving turkey dinner. 

When I started mixing the batter for the muffins, I realized that there is no mention of cinnamon in the ingredient list but it is mentioned in the body of the recipe.  I also added a teaspoon of vanilla just for fun.  Oh, did I mention that I put the oatmeal into the food processor and "powdered" it first.  I found that the recipe makes about 18 cranberry sauce muffins.  The recipe on serious eats website did not say how many muffins the recipe would make.  I guess it depends on what size muffin tins you use.

Morning-After Cranberry Sauce Muffins
by Chef Michael Harr

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oats (powdered)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 cups of left over cranberry sauce (fresh or canned whole berry)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line muffin tin with paper baking cups.

2.  Put oatmeal into food processor until it is powdered.

3.  In a large bowl, combine regular flour, whole-grain flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; mix well.  In a medium bowl combine milk, oil, cranberry sauce and egg; blend well.  Fold into dry ingredients all at once; stir until dry ingredients are moistened.

4.  Fill muffin cups about three-quarters full.

5.  Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes or until golden brown.  Break off that seductive muffin top, then inhale the rest!

Cranberry Apple Cider Sauce
from All*You Magazine

Ingredients:

3 cups apple cider
12 oz. fresh cranberries
(about 2 cups)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Pinch of salt
1 medium Golden Delicious apple, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Directions:

1.  In a large saucepan, bring cider to boil and cook until reduced to 1 cup, about 40 minutes.

2.  Combine reduced cider, cranberries, sugar, spices, salt and apple in medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Simmer sauce until thickened and cranberries have popped, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. (Sauce will thicken more when cool.)

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Left Over Pot Pie

It seems that this is my year for posting about how to deal with leftovers. I found this interesting leftover recipe in an email. This Leftover Pot Pie looks like a nice way to use up leftovers from any holiday meal.  The original recipe says you can substitute any type of leftover meat for the turkey.  So, I'm thinking that you could even use up some leftover Christmas ham in this recipe if you so desire.  I haven't tried making this pie myself yet but it looks like a yummy and economical way to forget you're eating your holiday meal for the 3rd or 4th time. You may want to make this into a deep-dish pie by adding a bit more meat, gravy and vegetables.  

Leftover Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover turkey, chopped or shredded
2 cups turkey gravy (or turkey stock)
2 cups mixed vegetables
2 (9-inch) unbaked pie shells
2 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)
1/4 cup cold water (optional)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C);

2.  If you are using stock, bring the stock to a boil.  Add cornstarch to cold water, and blend until smooth, whisk into stock to thicken;

3.  Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry.  Mix turkey and vegetables together and place into pie crust.  Pour gravy or thickened stock over turkey and vegetables.  Cover with remaining pie crust.  Cut slits into the top of the crust to release steam.

4.  Place pot pie on a cookie sheet to prevent stock from overflowing into your oven.  Cook in center of oven until crust is golden brown, approximately 1 hour.  Slice and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Rice Soup

It is the day after Thanksgiving and big surprise, we have left over turkey!  My sister made 30 pounds of turkey and there were just 25 of us.  Two of those 25 were babies so they did not eat much.  We did share the leftover turkey and give some to the other guests but I was still left with two Ziploc bags of turkey!  I thought a soup would be the perfect idea.  I found this recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/. It is definitely tasty but I made a few alterations.  I did not have a whole turkey carcass but I did have a wishbone that I threw into the soup instead.  I also used mashed potatoes to thicken the soup rather than stuffing.  Initially I thought we did not have stuffing but after I made the soup I did find a bag of it in the fridge.   I used much much more chicken broth and water than the recommended 2-1/2 quarts.  If you use just the recommended amounts the soup will be more like a casserole.  Just sayin.  Another change I made is that I used brown rice rather than white rice because that is what I had in my pantry.  I also had to cook the rice quite a bit longer than 25 minutes.  The last change I made to the recipe is that I left out the peas.  My son doesn't like peas. The soup is really good if you make a few tweaks and it is a great way to use up some extra turkey!

Day After Thanksgiving Turkey Rice Soup

Ingredients:

1 picked over turkey carcass
1-1/2 cups leftover stuffing
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon ground sage
4 quarts chicken broth (increased from 2-1/2 quarts)
4 cups water (added by me)
garlic powder to taste
ground white pepper, to taste
2 cups (uncooked) regular long-grain white rice
1 (16 oz) package frozen green peas

Directions:

1.  Place the turkey carcass in a large, deep pot, and add the stuffing, celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, poultry seasoning, sage, and chicken broth.  Pour in water to cover.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium, and simmer for about 1 hour, skimming off any foam.  Remove the carcass and any bones.  Pick any meat off and return to the pot, discarding bones and skin.  Remove the bay leaves. 

2.  Season to taste with garlic powder and pepper.  Stir in the rice and return to a boil over medium-high heat.  Lower heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes.  Stir in the peas, and continue to simmer until rice is tender, about 15 minutes.  (Times were increased by me.)   Adjust seasonings to taste. 

Enjoy!

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

I haven't done much with pumpkin this year on my blog but I did see an article about making toasted pumpkin seeds for a snack in Parade Magazine. Since I happened to still have my Halloween pumpkin sitting on my kitchen table I thought "hmm, maybe I'll make some toasted pumpkin seeds!"  I have never tried doing this before so it would be a new and interesting idea.  I also thought it would be fun to share it with all of you.  So, I proceeded to cut the pumpkin in half and scrape out the seeds (kind of yucky) then I picked off the membranes and washed them off in the kitchen sink.  The next step is to spread the cleaned seeds into an oiled baking sheet; dry them in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Take out and toss with 2 Tbsp melted butter and seasonings (for sweet:  1-1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg; for savory: 1/2 teaspoon course salt, 1-1/2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, and a pinch of black pepper).  Roast at 375 degrees for 7 minutes and you're done!

These pumpkin seeds are easy to make, quick and yummy to eat.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Mediterranean Vegetable Soup

I have not been posting much lately and I am sorry.  But the good news is that I have been cooking.  I have made a few good soups recently that I want to share with you.  This one is very much a reminder of my childhood. My grandmother used to make escarole and so did my mother.  This is a very comforting soup.  I happened to have a can of white northern beans in my cupboard so that is what I used for this recipe. I think that I mixed chicken, vegetable and beef broth together but if you are cooking for a true vegetarian, then please use just vegetable broth. The soup will taste wonderful no matter which base soup broth or stock you use.

Mediterranean Vegetable Soup
from www.cooks.com

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken or beef broth
2 cups water
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, not drained
1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 15 oz can cannelini or white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pasta bows
Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 small head escarole (optional)

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, carrot and celery, and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, broth, water, tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and beans.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  If escarole is being used, wash, tear into 2 inch pieces and add to soup 15 minutes before soup is done, or at the same time as the pasta.

Add the pasta bows and cook 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the pasta and escarole is tender.

Serve sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.


Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

French Toast Breakfast Muffins

This is basically the same recipe that my son brought home from his FACS (Family and Consumer Sciences) class last week. FACS is the name that they use for Home Economics here in Maryland now.  The only differences are that his recipe called for two extra tablespoons of flour and 2 teaspoons of baking powder rather than 1-1/2, 3/4 cup of sugar rather than 1/2 cup and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I don't know why his recipe calls for making only 6 muffins and this one is for 12.  I will say that the muffins I made from his school's recipe came out quite large and stuck to the muffin pan.  I'm going to recommend that you not use muffin cups and just spray the pan really well with vegetable spray instead.   I was out of milk so I used buttermilk. There were lots of variations to the recipe online.  I found several that used maple syrup or vanilla in the batter.  Some even suggest that you dip the whole muffin in the butter and then roll it into the sugar/cinnamon.  Either way, they are really yummy! 


FRENCH TOAST BREAKFAST MUFFINS
Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Stir together egg, milk and 1/3 cup melted butter. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until just moistened (batter may be lumpy). Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon. When muffins are finished baking, dip tops of muffins in the melted butter, and then in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

4.  Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Butternut & Acorn Squash Soup

This recipe comes from http://www.allrecipes.com/.  The original recipe is slightly different.  I followed some of the suggestions that were posted on http://www.allrecipes.com/.  I  reduced the amount of butter, cream cheese and brown sugar.  I will repost the original suggestion that this soup would go great with crusty bread and a dollop of sour cream on top.  I served it along with a salad.  It is quite easy to make and yummy!

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup
1 hr. 20 mins.
Servings:  8

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 quart chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 (4 ounces) package neufchatel cheese, softened (or cream cheese)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste) (optional)
fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Place the squash halves cut side down on a baking tray with sides.  Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.  Remove from heat, and cool slightly.  Scoop the pulp from the skins.  Discard the skins.
• Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion until tender.
• In a blender or food processor, blend the squash pulp, onion, broth, brown sugar, cream cheese, pepper and cinnamon until smooth.  This may be done in several batches.
• Transfer the soup to a pot over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.  Garnish with parsley and serve warm. 

Enjoy!

Blood Orange Cake

This recipe was printed in the Baltimore Sun and was adapted by Carol Mighton Haddix from the “Booze Cakes” cookbook by Krystina Castella and Terry Lee Stone. The recipe originally called for Champagne.  I used this recipe "as is".  I did not have to change anything.  The only thing that I did not do was decorate it with orange peels.  I think it would have been cute but instead I made the icing and the cake a bit more orange than red by adding a few drops of  yellow food coloring as well as the red.  Everyone seemed to enjoy this cake but I will say that it is quite sweet.  Enjoy!


BLOOD ORANGE CAKE
Makes: 9-inch Layer cake – 12 servings


Ingredients:

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar  (reduced to 1-1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg whites (3/4 cup egg substitute)
A few drops of red food coloring, optional
2 cups blood orange soda

Frosting:

2 cups blood orange soda
1-1/2 sticks (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Few drops of red food coloring, optional
Grated rind from 2 oranges or orange peel curls, optional

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in a mixing bowl with mixer until light and fluffy, 3- 5 minutes. Add vanilla. Beat in egg whites one at a time. Mix in food coloring.

2. Beat in flour mixture and soda in three alternating additions, starting and ending with flour. Pour batter into two greased and floured 9-inch pans. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges to loosen cake; invert cakes onto wire rack. Cool.

3. For frosting, heat the soda in a sauce pan over medium-high heat to a boil; cook until reduced to ¼ cup, about 10 minutes. Cool completely. Beat butter and cream cheese in a bowl with a mixer, 1 minute. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, reduced soda, vanilla and food coloring. Beat until smooth and creamy, adding more confectioners’ sugar if too thin. Place one cake layer on a cake plate; spread half of the frosting over the top. Add top layer; cover with frosting. Sprinkle top with grated orange rind or orange peel curls, if desired.

Mocha Cake with Coffee Icing

This cake was easy to make and very tasty but I will tell you that if you are planning to use the Coffee Icing Recipe below that came with the cake, you will need to double or even triple it to make enough to cover the entire cake.  I had to resort to using a premade cream cheese frosting.  It was good anyway but next time I make this cake, I will definitely double the icing!  The recipe is from the Baltimore Sun Paper. 


MOCHA CAKE WITH COFFEE ICING


SERVES 12

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk (sour milk may be substituted)
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1 cup hot water


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans.

2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, melted butter, eggs, buttermilk or sour milk, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Dissolve instant coffee in 1 cup hot water and add to mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth; batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then turn out onto racks to cool completely before icing.



Coffee Icing

2 cups confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
3 to 4 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Beat together confectioners’ sugar, butter, coffee and vanilla until smooth. Add more liquid or sugar as needed to reach proper consistency.

Place 1 cake layer on serving dish and frost top. Add second layer on top of first and frost top and sides with remaining frosting. If desired, drizzle some melted chocolate over top of iced cake and allow it to drip down sides.