thanksgiving muffins

I've been baking more than usual these days, probably because the evenings have been a lot cooler, in a wonderful sort of way...sometimes it's even cold, so I use baking as an excuse to warm my house without turning on the heater. I made these 'thanksgiving muffins' the other night and they came out super moist, I'm pretty sure it was the apple sauce that did it. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't really like using apple sauce when I bake cookies, because they come out too soft and fluffy, very un-cookie like, but I'm discovering it's a great ingredient in cake and muffin batter. I have had a problem with it once, when I made sweet potato bread awhile ago and added too much-the bread came out kind of soggy, not so pleasant and yummy...thankfully, I used just the right amount with these muffins :). Hope you all like them!

Thanksgiving Muffins
1 2/3 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 TBSP molasses

These took awhile to bake, about 25-28 minutes in a 350 degree oven, but they're worth the wait and they're definitely aromatic in an autumny kind of way :).

P.S.
If you're wondering what that stuff is on top, it's brown sugar...I always seem to find myself sprinkling powdered or brown sugar on my desserts, as if they're not sweet enough as it is ;).

strawberry citrus cupcakes with white chocolate frosting

So I looked through my new library-borrowed cookbooks...particularly the one that's dedicated to cakes...and I was a little disappointed with the amount of butter each recipe calls for. I decided I'd just leaf through the book and "study" how much of certain ingredients they add, like baking powder/baking soda, flour, and I made sure to pay attention to what flavors they put together. I came across a blackberry lemon cake, and it looked so darn yummy. The recipe actually used jam, and then it occurred to me that I could make cupcakes that contained jam in the batter...and even citrus...like lemon. Here's what I came up with:

strawberry citrus cupcakes (this recipe makes about 15 cupcakes)
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sweet condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup nonfat milk
1/3 cup strawberry jam
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 tsp finely grated lemon zest

I baked the cupcakes for about 15 to 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven. They came out with a crunchy/flakey crust and a soft/cakey center...I also made a frosting for these little cakes, I wanted to make it out of strawberries since the actual strawberry jam taste of the plain cupcakes was somewhat mild. Here's what went into the frosting:

white chocolate strawberry frosting (this recipe makes about 1/2 cup of frosting) 1 1/2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 cup strawberries, fresh or thawed
1/2 cup partially melted chocolate chips

I put a few valentine-colored sprinkles on the frosted cupcakes and they came out looking like little mushrooms! I think the picture captures their mushroom-ness :). They are so fun looking and pretty easy to make. While they baked in the oven, they filled my place with a lightly sweet aroma that made me feel even more grateful that it's almost Christmas! Holiday baked goods are the best, and though it seems these cupcakes are more appropriate for Valentine's day, they're tasty any time.

christmas gingerbread loaf

This weekend, Jose and I baked a loaf of gingerbread using this recipe. It was pretty good, though I do think that anyone who tries to make this should really follow the recipe and use the crystallized ginger...we didn't have any, so I think we should've added more ginger because it needed a stronger kick. Despite the tablespoon of ginger, it wasn't spicy enough for me, but it did have a light Christmasy gingerbread taste.

Tomorrow a cold front is moving-in to the Austin area, and I am so excited. I made some soup for dinner tonight, even though it was still in the 80s outside while it was sitting on the stove...I just couldn't wait! I'm designating tomorrow my baking day. I figured, since I won't be turning on the heater, I might as well bake! I am very excited! I picked up a bunch of fun cookbooks at the library this weekend, and I am soo ready to bake a new dessert!

Mediterranean Chicken and Rice

Photographs of food really do look better when they're larger, I'll post bigger pictures from now on :).

I haven't posted in awhile. Lately I've been focusing more on preparing fast meals for dinner that don't require me to have the stove/oven on for so so long...our last electric bill was ridiculously high, and we just discovered that our AC might've been the culprit...since it's broken and only works "sometimes". Anyway, I decided I really wanted to make something tasty for dinner tonight, even if it required me to leave the stove on for a little longer than I would've liked. I actually got the idea for it from a book I picked up at the library earlier this week. The dish that inspired me to make this is called Milanese Chicken and Rice Skillet. The thing is, I didn't use a skillet, I used different spices, and even incorporated some Mexican food elements. I actually deviated from the recipe even more by cooking the chicken in a completely different way (I boiled it instead of cooking it in the skillet). The recipe called for chicken breast, but all I had were drumsticks. Improvising was a lot of fun, though. The picture in the cookbook was beautiful and yummy looking, I think that's what drew me to make the dish in the first place. But...I didn't really measure anything, though I do remember all the ingredients I used. Here are the ingredients that were used and the steps I took when making this eclectic plate that has both Mediterranean and Mexican flair.

I used 1 1/2 pounds of chicken drumsticks
I boiled the drumsticks in about 1 pint of water mixed with 1 TBSP chicken bouillon, some garlic salt and a little bit of cilantro (the chicken cooked in about 35 minutes--there were about 5 drumsticks).

While the chicken cooked, I prepared the rice, which is similar to the Mexican rice I've made in the past...but it's been spiced up a little more.
I cooked 1 cup of rice by first lightly frying it in a few TBSPS of olive oil, one small garlic clove, and about 1/8 cup finely diced onion.
I then boiled 3 roma tomatoes, removed their skin, threw them in the blender with 1/4 cup onion, 1 1/2 tsps chicken bouillon, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp cilantro--this all amounted to about 3/4 of a cup.
To the rice in the pan I added the tomato mixture and 1 1/4-1/2 cups water
As the rice cooked, I added a few sprinkles of garlic salt and pepper, about 1 tsp of paprika and onion powder, cilantro, and parsley. I also added about 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/2 cup frozen peas, 1/2 cup chopped carrots, and 1/2 cup celery.
When the chicken finished cooking in the boiling water, I dumped out the water then added some paprika, salt, pepper, about 1 1/2 tbsps Italian seasoning, about 2 TBSP olive oil, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup red bell pepper, 1/4 cup green bell pepper, and 1/2 a small can of diced black olives (about 1.5 oz) along with about 1/2 the olive juice--I seared the chicken in these spices/vegetables, then lowered the flame to a medium setting and sprinkled about 3/4 tbsp brown sugar and 1/4 cup golden raisins into the chicken mix.

That's pretty much it! Oh, and the book where I got the idea for this recipe is called Treasury of Christmas...it's a great book--so many great recipes!

easy taquitos!

...and for the last day of chicken left-overs, I made taquitos! I'm gonna have to start using a recipe book because I'm running out of ideas for chicken; my palate is still somewhat narrow but hopefully that'll change soon...back to the topic, this is another recipe that'll work for those days when there isn't much time for anything fancy. This is also fun finger food for parties or snack time. I made this a meal by serving it with the traditional side of beans and rice...and the not so traditional organic mixed veggies :D... When I can't have veggies in the actual meal, I always make sure to serve them as a side so that I feel like I'm getting meeting some of the food pyramid requirements :P.

So what did I do for the taquitos? I used some shredded chicken, fried it with cubed potatoes, chopped garlic and onion. Of course, a pinch of salt and pepper were thrown in, along with a hearty sprinkle of cilantro and parsley. I put the chicken in corn tortillas, which I warmed up in the micro for about 20 seconds so they'd be soft enough to roll into taquitos without breaking. I also added some colby/jack cheese before rolling everything up and piercing the taquitos with a toothpick (so they would hold when frying). I then fried the taquitos in a covered pan with canola oil for about 1 minute on each side, or until they were slightly crispy/golden all around. That's basically it! This was a very fast meal to whip up; minus the cooking time for the chicken, I was able to finish this in 15 minutes!

orange cake with a cinnamon sugar glaze

I was craving cake last night, but I was too tired to make something fancy so I whipped this up really quick. It hit the spot; it was lightly sweet and citrusy, from the orange peel, and the cinnamon sugar glaze works very well with this simple cake. Oh, and of course I have to mention that I used soy milk to make the glaze...not too much, though. Anyway, here's the recipe...and this also tastes pretty good with fruit, as the picture suggests.

orange cake recipe:
2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup nonfat milk
2 eggs
2 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1/8 tsp, or a little less, fresh orange zest
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

This baked in a 350 degree oven for 25-28 minutes. While it baked in a 9 x 13" pan, I prepared the glaze...this is what went into that (I also kept it in the refrigerator until the cake cooled):

cinnamon glaze
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP butter
1 1/4 TBSP soy milk
1/2 TBSP cinnamon

I drizzled the glaze over the cake before devouring almost half the cake a few moments later... :)

baked "fried" chicken

First off, this is not fried! It may resemble fried chicken in taste and texture, but these little drumsticks were actually baked in a 350 degree oven for about an hour (oh, and I covered them in aluminum foil for half the time while they baked). It's a healthy alternative for those that want the taste of fried chicken without the grease. The secret to make this baked chicken taste good is Mayo! I know it sounds gross, but it works a lot better than dipping the drumstick in egg and milk before covering them in the bread crumbs; I actually got the idea from a recipe I found on allrecipes.com about 6 months ago. It works great--the mayo actually helps "lock in" the moisture, which is a must when baking chicken; it also helps the bread crumbs adhere a lot better. So here is the recipe, this makes enough for about 8 drumsticks:

1/2 cup mayo (there's actually a canola oil version now!)
8 chicken drumsticks
1 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs
1 tsp savory
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt and pepper

This is a great alternative that will not disappoint! Even Jose said he could it eat every day! That's a pretty big claim to make :).

fast tacos: college friendly food!

Every once in awhile, either out of pure tiredness, lack of time, or hunger, I need to make something fast. Putting this together reminded me of my college days, when I could eat a bag of Pepperidge Farm Snickerdoodles for dinner, (this was before I had my gallbladder removed) and when eating healthy wasn't a major concern, obviously! But now that those days are over, I'm realizing that even though college kids don't necessarily have much time to cook on a day to day basis, there should still be more recipes available to them that are healthy while also fast and easy to make. The almost-ideal meal would be one that could be prepared in 20 minutes or less while still including more flavor and nutrients than the average college student's boiled water and ramen noodle "specialty" :). (I tended to lean more toward peanut butter and honey sandwiches, but even that wasn't "healthy" since that alone was my dinner when I got tired of dorm food!)

I think these "fast tacos" are both easy to make and healthy to eat. Though a kitchen is required, and sadly they aren't always available in dorms, it's still a generally low-key dish as far as preparations are concerned. I basically used:

about 1 1/2 cup shredded pre-crock-pot-made chicken
1 organic potato, diced
1 roma tomato, diced into squares
1/2 a small green bell pepper
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp epazote
1/4-1/2 tsp cilantro
1/4-1/2 tsp oregano

I cooked the potato cubes first, then added the rest of the ingredients; cooking them all together for about 10 minutes over a medium flame. I also added beans, and even though I usually make my own beans, I didn't have 3 hours to do that today so I used a great organic alternative. Then I just added about 2 TBSP PACE (this stuff is good, I never mind using it :), a pinch of pepper, and a few shakes of mesquite McCormick seasoning. After that, I heated the beans up in the micro and rolled them up with the cooked chicken/spices/potatoes and cheese in a warm whole wheat tortilla! This meal came together fast and it was pretty good; this is my kind of fast food :).

blueberry oatmeal muffins

I really love baking with blueberries, but it seems whenever I get a blueberry muffin at just any bakery, they tend to taste a little artificial and overly sweet. There is a bakery here in Austin that has some of the best blueberry muffins I've ever had, though, it's called Russell's Bakery (their tag-line is "the best kept secret in Austin" and I think it's very appropriate). Russell's also has a few other great desserts, so if you're ever in the area, you'll definitely want to check this bakery out.

Anyhow, yesterday Jose was in the mood for some "munchies", but he didn't find anything appealing wandering through the grocery store aisles. I told him I'd make him some blueberry muffins, and he was happy with how they came out. He described them as light and mildly sweet; he also mentioned how he loved the way the blueberries popped in his mouth--I agree with his description. We purchased a store-brand bag of blueberries because Jose actually prefers these over the organic ones! Maybe it's because they're from Texas, so they're bigger and juicier than the other ones we've purchased before. If you're from Texas, then you're familiar with the HEB brand. As a former resident of California, I can easily claim that HEB is much better than most of the major grocery stores in CA, except for Trader Joe's :). The prices are very reasonable--that might just be because the store is located in Texas, and this state tends to be a lot cheaper than Cali... Anyway, I'll stop with the advertisements and post the blueberry oatmeal muffin recipe. Try this out, they are really delicious muffins...and I only used 2 1/2 TBSP Canola oil, so they're fairly healthy and low-fat...but you'd never know!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins:
2 Cups flour
3/4 Cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup nonfat milk
2 TBSP sour cream
2 eggs
3/4 TBSP honey
1/2 cup oatmeal
3/4 cup blueberries

This recipe makes about 10 standard-sized blueberry muffins--they'll bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, a little more or less depending on your oven/location.

honey ginger chicken and a fun seasonal veggie mix

When there isn't much time to make something fancy to eat, I try to make up for the lack of complexity with a dash of spices, a quick vinaigrette, or a fun texture. I tried to incorporate all those things into this dish, making sure to use up one of the many squashes I've managed to collect in my refrigerator. Chicken breast is a versatile protein I like to work with, though it does tend to be a little dry if it's cooked the wrong way. Essentially, I would've preferred to let the chicken marinate over night in the "sauce" I made for it, but, like I mentioned earlier, I didn't have the time. Instead, I decided to let the chicken cook on a very low setting for a few minutes, then sear in all the flavors by cooking the meat over a high flame for a much shorter period of time. In doing so, the end result was reasonably moist and very flavorful. I would still like to know how to get a perfectly juicy piece of chicken breast, though; most of the time it seems that the fattier meats are the juiciest, but I'm sure there's a trick out there I've yet to learn that could easily prove that idea wrong...time will tell :).

I used about a pound of chicken breast to make this dish, and I actually sliced each chicken breast in half so it would cook faster. After cutting the chicken into smaller portions, I placed it in a pan with a little olive oil and 1/3 cup of orange juice. One thing I'd like to note again is that I cooked the chicken breast with the seasonings covered with a lid over a low setting for about 40 minutes. Afterward, for about 3 minutes, I uncovered the chicken and raised the flame to a very high setting until almost all the liquid/juice evaporated and the chicken itself was slightly browned on one side--I think this is what helped "lock-in" the flavor.

Here are the ingredients I added to each side of the chicken pieces equally:
1 3/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tsp parsley
2 TBSP honey

While the chicken cooked over a low setting, I prepared the veggies. Sometimes veggies can use a little bit of sweetness for extra flavor, so why not incorporate fruits when preparing them? I decided to add raisins to a mix of carrots and squash, but I also added chopped almonds because nuts tend to add a fun bite to whatever they're thrown in--I will never use pine nuts, though...just discovered I was allergic to those a few years ago, and it was not a fun discovery, to say the least :P.

Here are the measured ingredients I added:
1 1/2 cups cubed squash pieces
3/4 cups chopped carrots (a smart chopper does a great job with this)
1/8-1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup raisins
3/4 tsp fine herb spice
pinch of salt and pepper
2 TBSP olive oil

the veggies cooked pretty fast, especially the squash. I think it's best to actually cook the carrots alone in the olive oil before adding the other ingredients; the squash cooks a lot faster and almonds burn easily. By the way, burned almonds smell horrible...kind of like popcorn--I know because I burned some a few weeks ago and they do not give off a very pleasant smell when that happens :D.

Random Sidenote:
Oh, here are a few interesting excerpts from a CNN article about produce:
A research review of 41 studies conducted by the University of California at Davis found that, on average, organic produce contains as much as 27 percent more vitamin C, 21 percent more iron, and 29 percent more magnesium compared with traditionally grown foods.

USDA researchers have found that if it's [produce] not handled properly, produce can lose up to half its nutrients in transit. Water-soluble nutrients such as vitamin C are particularly
vulnerable.

You can read the rest of the article here

sweedish meatballs with veggies and croutons? yep!

I've never had an original sweedish meatball dish, but I had the "American" version a few times growing up. When I started trying to figure out how to make them, I used canned cream of mushroom...but, eventually, I decided to try making these meatballs without using canned soup, or anything canned, for that matter. I also wanted to throw in some veggies that would work well with the meatballs, and I thought croûtons would be a fun way to add a new texture to the usually warm and meaty dish. I don't normally eat salad, but I really love putting homemade croûtons on any pasta dish I make. Even though it's fun to buy the box kind sometimes, I had some leftover bread from when we made honey oatmeal bread in our breadmaker, so I decided to use a few slices to make the croûtons. Here are the ingredients I used along with the steps I took when making the dish:

I mixed 1lb of ground turkey in a bowl with the following ingredients
3 tbsp dried veggie soup blend (salt free)
1/2-3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 TBSP chervil leaf
1/2 cup sweet white onion, diced
1 egg
1/2 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs
2 roma tomatoes, diced

Once these ingredients were all mixed together, I rolled them into 1" meatballs and cooked them in an everyday pan with some olive oil until they were golden brown on the outside--they cooked in about 30 minutes covered up with a lid. About 20 minutes into the cooking process, I added 1 1/2 cups water with 2 1/2 tsp of dissolved chicken bouillon and 1 TBSP mixed-in flour (to thicken the sauce) to the pan with the meatballs; I also like to add about 1-2 TBSP sour cream and 1 TBSP butter so that the sauce is creamier. I threw in a few more spices like 2 tsp Italian seasoning, and a few whole bay leaves. I also added about 2 cups of mushrooms, and about 1 1/2 cups raw spinach, then allowed these ingredients simmer for 15 minutes.

While the meatballs were cooking, I cut up about 1 cup worth of bread into croûton-size pieces. I then put them in a small baking pan, drizzled them with about 1 TBSP of olive oil, sprinkled about 1/2 tsp basil, 1/8-1/4 tsp garlic salt and a pinch of pepper. Then I baked these guys in the oven for about 10-12 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

I served the meatballs with croûtons over some lightly seasoned pasta sprinkled with parmesan cheese, and that was basically it! I try to add veggies to whatever I make. They have so much nutrients and I prefer to eat veggies over consuming vitamins. I also try to buy organic veggies whenever I can, but did you know that frozen vegetables, in general, are actually better than the fresh ones because they're picked when they're perfectly ripe (so they have more nutrients)? Interesting.

bbq chicken sandwich

We've been buying a whole chicken every time we've gone grocery shopping for the last couple of weeks because it's a great way to save money. The chicken lasts us half the week, and this last one I purchased for only $3.50! It's amazing and I love the feeling of saving money. Today I used the last bit of the chicken to make bbq chicken...it's not really barbecue, considering there wasn't any fire involved...liquid smoke came to the rescue instead :). I made a bunch of quick meals, like stews and pasta dishes, earlier in the week, but this is the first new thing I've made that's semi-exciting because I've never made my own bbq sauce. I've always seen various chefs on Food Network make their version of a good barbecue sauce, so I always made sure to pay attention to the ingredients they added. I don't know why, but barbecue sauce fascinates me because there are so many types of sauce, and a lot of them are pretty good. What I don't like is when anything I'm eating is drenched in sauce, to the point where I can't even taste the meat. So here is a recipe for a light barbecue sauce that's enough for about 1 1/2-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken:

2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
3 TBSP brown sugar
3/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 TBSP water
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 TBSP dried bell pepper

I mixed these ingredients in a small sauce pan with the chicken, then, while mixing, I let the flavors blend with the meat over a medium flame for about 7 minutes.

I also made a southern-tasting bell pepper/onion topping for the sandwich, here's what that consisted of:

1/2 red bell pepper sliced
1/3 small sweet onion also sliced
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/8-1/4 tsp garlic and herb spice

This recipe makes enough for about 4 people :)

double chocolate snowballs

...and here's another soymilk/applesauce recipe! I have a feeling regular milk could be used, but why not go that extra mile and use soymilk! Again, these are the cookies I took to school, where they were devoured by a classroom of elementary school girls. These cookies not only look cute, but they're chocolatey, rich, and slightly gooey on the inside, almost like a chocolate truffle. Here's the recipe:

1 2/3 cups flour
2/3 cups cocoa
2/3 cups sugar
2 TBSPS partially melted butter
1 TBSP sour cream
1 1/2 TBSP apple sauce
1 egg
1 TBSP water
1/2 cup soymilk
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Before baking, the cookies can be rolled into 1 inch balls then dipped in powdered sugar, I used about 1/3 cup for all the cookies.

This recipe makes about 32 cookies. They should be ready to eat after they've cooked in a 375 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes :).