Rock Candy

Do not, like me, get confused with the name of this candy. It's just a hard candy, not the rock candy that you make as a kid with a sugar solution and a stick.

Now that we're clear on that...

Rock Candy
From Mrs. Bourke's kitchen

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon flavoring (use LorAnn candy oils, not regular extracts, which aren't strong enough)
food coloring
powdered sugar

Heat the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a saucepan over high heat. Heat until the mixture reaches 320*F, the hard crack stage. Mix in flavoring and food coloring quickly, then pour into a well oiled jelly roll pan. Allow to cool slightly, until it can be handled, but is still soft. Using a pair of clean scissors, cut the candy into manageable pieces, then cut into bite-sized pieces over a container of powdered sugar. Cool completely, then sift out of the powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
One of my friends has had this tradition in his family for years, where the whole family gets together one day and makes a ton of this rock candy. This year, my friend invited a bunch of people from school to help out. Total, we made 21 batches of this stuff, in various flavors, including spearmint, wintergreen, peppermint, cinnamon, licorice, and sassafras. It was a ton of fun, and afterwards, we had a fight with all the leftover powdered sugar.

Be warned, though, once the candy starts to harden, it doesn't really stop, so you have to work fast. Thus, it helps to have a ton of people around to help cut. Like this:



Yes, we did end up having fun with all that powdered sugar :)

Pumpkin Cake

Pumpkin Cake
Adapted from All Recipes

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened, unflavored)
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube (or bundt) pan. In a large bowl, combine oil, applesauce, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix until well combined and smooth. Add in pumpkin and blend well. Pour batter into greased pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack.

My Notes:
This was a nice and moist cake. I enjoyed it. So did the boys. My friend even said something along the lines of "everything you touch tastes amazing!" Another win!

Enchilada Pasta

Enchilada Pasta
Originally found at Table For Two

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
1 1/4 cup enchilada sauce (I used red sauce)
1 can corn, drained
1 zucchini, diced finely
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (divided)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (divided)
12 oz egg noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, heat cream cheese and sour cream in a skillet over medium heat. Add chili powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir until well combined. Add chiles, corn, and zucchini, mixing well. Add enchilada sauce. Add 1/2 cup each of cheddar cheese and monterey Jack cheese. Heat until cheese has melted and mixture is well combined.

Toss the noodles with the sauce and pour into a baking dish (9x13 or equivalent). Top with remaining cheeses. Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and bubbly. Serve.

My Notes:
My friend lives with 3 other guys. Being in a fairly large household, he and his roommates decided to do a thing where they each cook one night a week. Except, there are only four of them. There are five weeknights. Ohs noes! Whatever should they do?

Well, they developed a guest chef program. And I was asked to be one. My friend so generously reminded his roommates that I eat Kosher, so while it wasn't a perfectly kosher food week, it was good enough for me.

My contribution was this dish. I had to alter it, obviously, because I couldn't have meat with my cheese, so I just opted to go without it all together. I do need to make a few adjustments to the recipe above, as it was a little too cheesy (if such a thing is even possible), and there wasn't quite enough kick to it, but it wasn't bad. I'll also probably fry up the zucchini in a bit of olive oil first, then add the cream cheese and sour cream. Not that it was bad, I just think it'd draw the flavor of the zucchini out a little more. Probably will add some more veggies too, but I have to figure out what sort of veggies will go well in this dish.

All the guys devoured it. Along with the salad and the pumpkin cake I made (recipe coming shortly). It was a good night. And I look forward to making this recipe again.

Puppy Chow

Puppy Chow
Traditional Recipe

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 box Chex (my favorite is corn)

In a microwave-safe bowl (or double boiler), combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter. Heat in 15 second intervals, stirring often, until chocolate chips have melted completely. Mix well.

Pour the Chex into a large bowl (or large ziploc bag). Pour the chocolate peanut butter mix on top and toss well to coat each piece of cereal. Sprinkle the powdered sugar on top and toss to coat well.

Serve. Store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to a week.

My Notes:
This dish goes by many names. I've heard it called Muddy Buddies, Puppy Chow, Garbage, etc. It's also a very messy dish, so keep that in mind if you're making it with children. But it tastes amazing. It's crunchy candy. What can possibly be wrong with something that has chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar in it?

Exactly.

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds

Have you ever been to the fair, and smelled those awesome cinnamon-sugar almonds (and pecans, and whatever other nuts they feel like using)? Well, when I was browsing Pinterest (I blame my stepmom for getting me hooked), I found a recipe for them. They're amazing. Absolutely amazing. As in, you should go out and make them now.

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds
Originally found at One Charming Party

1 cup sugar
1 lb almonds (unsalted and raw is best)
1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 cup water

In a large skillet or saucepan, combine the sugar, cinnamon and water. Heat over medium flame. Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the almonds and stir, coating the almonds with the syrup. Continue stirring until the sugar crystallizes. Remove from heat and spread the almonds onto wax or parchment paper. Cool, and serve. Store in an airtight container.

My Notes:
I accidently put more than 1/4 cup of water into my sugar. Which was fine, it just took a lot longer for the water to evaporate out and let the sugar crystalize again. Be sure you watch carefully, as once the process starts, it crystalizes very quickly. And it would suck to burn the sugar and ruin the whole batch.

Passion Tea Lemonade

This is totally a rip off from Starbucks. But I don't care. It's amazing, and so, so much cheaper to make it yourself than to buy it everyday from Starbucks. Like I did for a month. To be fair, I was using them for internet, because I didn't have any myself. The tea was just to make me not feel so bad for sitting there for 2-3 hours a day.

Passion Tea Lemonade

1 Tazo Passion Iced Tea Packet (or 4 regular tea bags)
1/2 cup sugar
Powdered lemonade to make 1 quart*
Ice
Water

Fill a gallon pitcher with ice. Add sugar and lemonade powder to pitcher. Place tea packet on top. Pour boiling water to fill about half the pitcher. Mix until sugar and lemonade are dissolved. Add cold water to fill the pitcher. Serve and enjoy!

My Notes:
My grocery store happened to only sell the Iced tea bags, which are the equivalent of 4 regular bags, so just use what you can find. They're the same tea, just different concentrations for different sized drinks.

This, by the way, is absolutely amazing. You should really go make it now. If you want to add a little extra flair, try it with raspberry flavored syrup, and shake it in a shaker before serving.

*Can use something like Kool-aid, Crystal Light, or something more like Country Time, where you have to measure out the powder.

Flourless Peanut Butter Blondies

Have I mentioned how much I love my mom. She gets me. She knows I love cooking, so for presents, she gets me cooking stuff. Two winters ago, she got me an immersible blender. I'm in love with it (sooo much nicer than a standing blender). Even my roommate loved it. Last year, she got me a Kitchenaid Mixer. She knew I had been eyeing hers for a while.

For my birthday this year, she got me a brownie pan. You know, one of those pans that's like a cupcake tin, except square, so all the brownies have edges?

Yeah. I know.

I think I'm going to request an ice cream maker (attachment) next. That might be kinda deadly for my waistline...

Flourless Peanut Butter Blondies
Modified from Detoxinista

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter, honey, egg, and baking soda until well combined, then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into a greased 8" pan (unless you have a fancy brownie pan like me. Then put a scoop of batter in each well). Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is a light golden brown. (Watch carefully. Once they start to brown, they get brown real fast!)

My Notes:
The chocolate chips make this dairy, but I know you can get dairy-free chocolate chips, and you can always omit them, so I'm labeling them as pareve. It's my blog, I can do what I want to.

These are better than I was expecting. I made them primarily because my friend has Celiac and I always feel bad that I make things she can't eat. So, I made her something that she could. And she liked them. They're not my favorite (I have a recipe for one with a banana base that I think I'd like a little more), but they're not bad.

Creamy Fettucine with Corn and Arugula

Creamy Fettuccine with Corn and Arugula
Originally found at Real Simple

3/4 box fettuccine
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks (white and light green parts), cut into thin half-moons
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 cup corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups baby arugula (1 1⁄2 ounces)
1/4 cup parmesean cheese, grated (recommend pecorino)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender (3-4 minutes). Add the corn and wine. Simmer until corn is tender (2-3 minutes). Stir in the cream. Add pasta; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the arugula. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

My Notes:
Ok, slight confession on this one. I was not the one who found this recipe. I just helped make it. One of my friends was throwing a dinner party, and I was bored, so I went over early to help out with the cooking.

This is amazing. Incredibly fattening, of course, but lots of veggies that I don't typically cook with. Add on the side the roasted asparagus, and I was in heaven.

Clearly this is a sign that I need to be involved in dinner parties more often. I'm working on it.

Chickpea Curry

Chickpea Curry
Adapted from All Recipes

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup water

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion; saute until onions are clear. Add ginger, cinnamon, curry powder, and cayenne pepper. Saute until fragrant. Add chickpeas and tomatoes. Mix flour and water into a slurry. Add to pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, until sauce is thickened.

My Notes:
I was craving curry tonight, but didn't feel like dealing with the chicken part of it. So, I pulled out some chickpeas. The sauce I normally make for the chicken seemed way too fattening (with a whole can of coconut milk), so I decided to change it a bit.

I used a can of tomatoes instead of tomato paste, and cut out the coconut milk entirely. It took a while for the sauce to reduce down; if you don't feel like waiting that long, but still want a thicker sauce, try mixing some flour and water together.

I ate it with some delicious Naan and it was very satisfying. And my apartment smells like India now :)

Eclair Cake

Eclair Cake
Originally found at Eclair Cake

2 packages instant vanilla pudding mix
3 cups milk
1 container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 package graham cracker
1 container chocolate frosting

Mix together pudding mix and milk. Fold in whipped topping.

In a 9x13 baking dish, place a single layer of graham crackers. Spread half the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers, followed by the remaining pudding mixture. Add a final layer of graham crackers.

Warm the frosting until it pours easily, then pour over graham crackers and spread to the edges of the pan. Cover and chill at least 4 hours before serving.

My Notes:
My stepmom made this when I was over at their house over the summer, and I fell in love with the stuff. And this is so ridiculously easy to make that I couldn't pass up on the opportunity.

I brought this to a class pot-luck (hence the low quality photo--I swear, one of these days, I'll get around to taking really nice photos of all this food). It disappeared within 15 or so minutes (I had to fight to get a piece to photograph. Everyone who had it praised it.

Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

Peanut Butter Oat Cookies
Modified from About.com

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup white granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp water
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups oats

Preheat the oven to 300 F. In a medium bowl, cream together the peanut butter and the sugars. Add the egg, mixing until well combined. Add the water, baking soda, and oats, and mix well.

Form the dough into balls and place on a cookie sheet about 1-2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and the surfaces have cracked, about 10-12 minutes.

Variation: Mix in 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the oats.

My Notes:
I was craving cookies, but didn't have enough butter in my fridge to make any, so I started surfing the web for dairy free cookies. Which I need to find more recipes of anyway, so it all works out.

I started thinking about making oatmeal raisin cookies, and then remembered that I'm not a big fan of raisins. Then I was going to make kitchen sink cookies (as in "Everything but..."), but the only nuts I have are hazelnuts, and I didn't think those would work terribly well with either cranberries or cherries. So, when I stumbled across this recipe, it seemed like a pretty good option. Especially since it's naturally gluten free :)

Brotchen

Brotchen is a type of German roll that has a hard crust, but soft inside. It's most commonly used for breakfast and sandwiches.

Brotchen
Originally found at Food.com

3 cups flour, divided
2 1/2 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water, divided
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oil
1 egg white

Sift 2 1/2 cups flour into a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the center. In a separate container, mix sugar and 2 Tbsp water until sugar has dissolved. Add yeast and stir well. Pour into the well formed into the flour, but do not mix. Cover bowl and set in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Add remaining water, plus salt and oil to the flour and mix well. Flour a large surface and turn out dough onto the surface. Knead until smooth, adding remaining flour as needed.

Oil a large bowl and place dough in the bowl. Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (about 30-40 minutes). Punch down and divide into 12 parts. Shape into rolls and place 3" apart on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size.

Beat egg white and 1 tsp water with a fork until frothy. Brush egg mixture onto rolls. Bake at 450 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

My Notes:

I've missed Brotchen. I had some while visiting friends in Germany last summer, and fell in love with the stuff. Unfortunately, the bakeries around here don't sell it. They claim to, but the crust isn't the same hard and crispy crust. We used to have a German bakery near where we lived, but I've moved since then and haven't been able to find a good substitute since.

This was perfect. The crust is nice and crispy and chewy, and the inside is still really soft. I was worried when I first pulled them out that the inside would be as hard as the outside, especially given my tendency to have super dense and hard breads, but it works beautifully. Time intensive, but well worth the effort.

Guacamole

Guacamole
Adapted from Food Network

2 avocados
1/8 cup lime juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 roma tomato, diced
small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt, to taste
1/4 tsp pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste

Cut the avocados in half to remove the pit. Scoop out inside with a spoon and place in a medium mixing bowl. Toss with lime juice. Mash with a fork to desired consistency, then add garlic, tomato, cilantro. Mix thoroughly, then season with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

My Notes:
I was really resistant to eating guacamole for a long time. But I had some at a pool party last weekend and decided to try to make it. I decided that I really liked the flavor of the lime juice and cilantro that was in the guac I had, but there was no color to it; it just looked like green mush. So, I decided to add a tomato. The result was a much more colorful mix with a varying texture. Not bad. Not something I'll make regularly, due to avocados being super expensive, but every now and then should be fine.

Taco Salad

Pictured: Dairy variety

Taco Salad
From Connie's Kitchen
Serves One

Large handful tortilla chips
2 cups sliced romaine lettuce (about 4 large leaves)
1/2 roma tomato, diced
1/4 medium cucumber, diced
2 Tbsp Miracle Whip
1/2 cup salsa

For Meat variety:
1/4 lb ground meat, browned
taco seasoning, to taste
1/4 cup water

For Dairy variety:
1/2 cup Morning Star Grillers Recipe Crumbles (or other meat substitute)
Taco seasoning, to taste
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup cheese

Place either meat or Grillers recipe crumbles in a frying pan. Combine with water and taco seasoning to taste. Heat to boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens.

In a small container, mix Miracle Whip and 2-3 Tbsp salsa until well combined.

To assemble the salad, place chips on plate, followed by lettuce, tomato, and cucumber. Top with meat or meat substitute. Dress with Miracle Whip mixture and remaining salsa. If using meat substitute, top with cheese.

My Notes:
My host made this for me last month, except that I think she had carrots in her variety. I modified the recipe a tad, using less Miracle Whip (and Lite stuff, rather than the full fat variety), and making sure it was Kosher.

I personally really like cheese on my salads, so I looked for a way to get the taco flavor without using ground meat. I found the Morning Star crumbles, which are kosher-dairy, so acceptable to use with this recipe. It's made using TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein), so it does fall apart a bit when it's mixed with water, however formed it looks when it's frozen. Still, it gets the job done.

Eggplant Lasagna

Eggplant Lasagna
Adapted from About.com

1 lb lasagna noodles
Olive oil
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
Marinara sauce*
1 lb mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

In a large saucepan, heat a small amount of olive oil. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender and fragrant. Add eggplant. Lightly saute for 3-4 minutes. Add marinara sauce. Cover and cook until eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes.

To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of the eggplant sauce on the bottom of the pan. Press noodles into the sauce. Top with another layer of sauce, then a layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers of noodles, sauce, and cheese until there is a half inch of space on the top of the pan, or until you run out of ingredients.

Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes, until a fork can easily pierce the noodles. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, then serve.

My Notes:
*The tomatoes here in the store look absolutely terrible, and I didn't have all the ingredients to make a canned sauce from scratch, so I used a jar of marinara sauce. Blasphemy, I know. I do have a recipe for a roasted red pepper sauce to go with eggplant parmesean that I might try to make after I get back from my current rotation, but until then, just use whatever sauce floats your boat. I'll be adapting this one for a while, I think, before I get just the perfect balance of flavors.

My friend made eggplant parmesean for girls night the other night, and it was my first time really having eggplant. I had bought some before to make eggplant parm, but I got weirded out by the texture of the eggplant when I was cutting it, so I didn't ultimately use the eggplant. Go figure. But, this dish she made was absolutely amazing. So, I had to replicate it. Except that I still had a box of lasagna noodles in my pantry that I needed to get rid of, so I decided to start a little more basic.

Another friend and I had this last night for dinner. It was pretty good. The sauce needed some work (more heat and a little more spice), but I blame that on the fact that I didn't actually make the sauce from scratch. It had enough texture that I wasn't feeling like I was just eating noodles and cheese (which is my problem with a lot of 'vegetarian' lasagnas), so score. And I didn't have to deal with using ricotta (though I did buy some, so now I have to figure out something to use that in).

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Chocolate Truffle Cake
From Connie's Kitchen

1 cup flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 block (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 container whipped topping, divided
1 package instant chocolate pudding
1 package instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix together the flour, butter, and pecans until a dough forms. Press to the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool completely.

Beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in 1 cup of whipped topping. Spread over cooled pecan crust.

Mix together chocolate and vanilla pudding mixes and milk. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes, until thickened. Pour over cream cheese mixture.

Spread remaining whipped topping over the top. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, until set. Serve cold.

My Notes:
This is a recipe that was given to me by one of my hosts while on away rotations when I was talking about what sort of dessert to bring to a potluck. I have no idea where the recipe is originally from. But it tastes amazing. As in, I couldn't stop myself from eating it. My friends went for seconds. And if you make it right, it looks really pretty when you're done. Ours didn't look so pretty since I was in a hurry making it and we ending up eating it before it was set. But whatever, it still tasted amazing and I'm not terribly picky about presentation.

My host suggested making this in a spring-form pan, because then you can pull off the sides easily and have your beautiful setting. The crust was really, really thick when I used the standard size springform, though, so I think using less crust or the 9x13 baking dish will be nicer. Or you can separate out the ingredients into individual ramikins. Whatever suits your fancy.

Arroz Con Pollo

Arroz Con Pollo
Originally found at Simply Recipes

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs or breasts, bone-in, with skin on, rinsed and patted dry
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup of medium or long-grain white rice
1/2 cup diced peppers
2 cups chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes, strained and rinsed
1 tsp oregano

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Place the chicken in the oil and season liberally with pepper and paprika. Cook until browned on each side. Remove from pan and set aside. Add rice to the pan and brown (add more olive oil if necessary). Add onion, garlic, and peppers, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions become softened, about 4 minutes.

Place chicken pieces, skin-side up, on top of rice. Top with tomatoes and cover with chicken stock. Add oregano. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cover. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes, until rice and chicken are done.

My Notes:
Made a couple adjustments to this one. First, I removed the salt, but that's my preference. I never add salt to my cooking. I also removed the dredge on the chicken, because I didn't think it'd make much difference if the chicken was soaking for 20 minutes. Then, I added diced peppers. Specifically, yellow and orange peppers I had diced and popped in the freezer when they were on sale. I think I would've preferred this dish without the chicken skin on, only because if I eat chicken skin, it's gotta be nice and crispy, and soaking the chicken in the stock after frying kinda takes away from that crispiness.

It came out really well. Much more flavorful than I anticipated. This is definitely a keeper. Helps that I can basically make it in one pot. Woot!

Curry Rice Salad

Curry Rice Salad
Originally found at Simply Recipes

1 to 1 1/2 cups brown rice
one large yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp curry powder (mild)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
few drops of sesame oil
Bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 cup raisins
1 apple, cored and chopped
1-2 Tbsp honey

Cook brown rice according to package directions.

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add curry powder, chili powder, cumin, and sesame oil. Allow to simmer for a minute. Add onion and cook until translucent.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the hot rice and curry infused oil. Taste and prepare more oil if needed. Add cilantro, raisins, apple, and honey to taste. Chill and serve.

My Notes:
Not bad. My trial did not include the cilantro (I got lazy and decided not to go to the store again prior to making it). I also had to add more curry powder because I could barely taste it. Still, the flavors melded together well, and everyone at the picnic I brought it to enjoyed it. This is definitely a 'mess with it as you go' recipe, where the above proportions are not exact by any stretch of the imagination. So have fun and play around with it until you get what you want.

Green Chile Enchiladas

Green Chile Enchiladas
Originally found at Simply Recipes

Green Chile Sauce*
1 can diced green chiles
6 corn tortillas
Canola or grapeseed oil
1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Set a tortilla in the pan. Allow to bubble up slightly, then turn and repeat. Take out the tortillas and dry on paper towels.

Mix together the cheese and chiles, and place a small amount in a tortilla. Roll up and place in a baking dish. Repeat until all tortillas are used. Pour green chile sauce over the enchiladas and top with extra cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

My Notes:
*The link above has a recipe for green chile sauce with tomatillos and jalepenos, and I made it, but it didn't smell quite right to me (it's currently sitting in my fridge as I try to figure out what to do with it). So I used my typical Verde enchilada sauce.

They weren't bad, but they weren't spectacular either. I think I can probably jazz them up with some effort, but I'll have to work on it a little more. I really want to try them with some Hatch whole green chiles, but sadly, they don't sell them here where I live (at least, not at the grocery store I frequent). Maybe I can steal some away next time I make my way out west. Still, they're a decent replacement for my mom's chicken enchiladas.

Easy Mac and Cheese

Easy Mac and Cheese
Original Recipe (more or less)

1/2 lb elbow macaroni
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup half and half (or milk)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Boil macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water (to prevent noodles from sticking together). In a saucepan, heat butter until melted. Add flour and whisk constantly until golden brown. Slowly add half and half, stirring constantly to incorporate. Add cayenne pepper (optional). Heat over medium-high heat until thick. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until completely melted. Slowly stir in noodles. Serve.

My Notes:
I've made a Mac and Cheese recipe before. It was more traditional, where you add the breadcrumbs on top and cook it in the oven after doing everything on the stove. It also took forever.

This recipe used the same basic components for the cheese sauce, but I simplified it. Also, the only thing I actually measured out was the half-and-half (because I didn't want to add too much liquid). And it turned out pretty good. Really thick, cheesy (which is my complaint about most homemade mac and cheese recipes (I was raised on the intense flavor of Velveeta).

At any rate, this whole recipe only takes about 30 minutes to make, so it's quick and easy. If you do it like I did, you can also make it by dirtying only a single pot and a strainer. Plus utensils and whatever you eat it on. Much better than 2 pots and a casserole dish.

Next time, I think I'll experiment with some different cheeses. Just to mix it up a bit.

Creamy Garlic Pasta

Creamy Garlic Pasta
Originally found at The Cheese Pusher

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
½ lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
¾ cup half and half
Salt and pepper, to taste
Parmesean cheese

In a pot, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add stock and raise the heat, bringing the liquid to a boil. Add pasta, stirring frequently until tender. Add half and half and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes to thicken, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Top with parmesean cheese. Serve immediately.

My Notes:
I actually edited the original recipe more than I thought I was going to. The original recipe called for chicken stock, which of course was a no-no, but that was easily fixed. Then I cut the fat by using half and half. I don't add additional salt to my recipes in general, so I left the salt out. I also used fettuccine, because that's what I had on hand over angel hair. I don't recommend that, because it's much harder to keep the noodles from clumping. Stick to angel hair (or spaghetti, if you must).

The original recipe also asked that you add the cheese before the half and half, stirring until it melted completely. Not sure what sort of cheese she was using when she did the recipe, but I ended up with big globs of melted cheese in my noodles. So, I recommend you top the pasta with the cheese at the end. Most alfredo sauces are made with a roux before you add the pasta, which makes it much easier to get the cheese melted and incorporated into the sauce. Adding it to a thickened liquid with the noodles doesn't work quite as well.

So yeah, it turned out pretty yummy. I think next time, I'll cut down on the stock a little bit (maybe 2 1/2 cups), just so that it doesn't take quite as long to cook the liquid off, and maybe toss in some broccoli for color. And maybe add more garlic. I don't think I had the full 4 cloves asked for in the recipe.

Mexican Quinoa Salad

Image Pending

Mexican Quinoa Salad
Adapted From Cooking Quinoa

3 cups cooked quinoa*
1 can corn, rinsed
1 1/2 can black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Dressing:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil

In a large bowl combine quinoa, corn, black beans, tomatoes and cilantro. In a small bowl combine cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, olive oil, and lemon juice. Whisk until well combined. Toss quinoa salad with 3/4 of dressing (to taste) and serve warm or cold. Drizzle additional dressing on top as desired.

*When making quinoa, rinse the grain thoroughly, then combine with water in a 1:1.75 ratio (so for every cup of quinoa, you'd use 1 3/4 cups water). Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 15 or so minutes, until the water is absorbed. I used the standard 1:2 ratio of quinoa to water, and it came out mushy and I have to boil some of the water off, so using slightly less will work wonders, I think. Note that 1 cup of dried quinoa will approximately yield 3 cups cooked quinoa.

My Notes:
A couple weeks ago, one of my friends brought dinner for all of us studying in the library, and made a quinoa salad. I fell in love with the stuff and vowed to make something of my own. So, I scoured the internet as I usually do and came across the recipe above. I bought all the ingredients for it... and then went on vacation (I couldn't find the quinoa until the night before I left). When I came back, my lime had rotted, and all I had was a lemon, so I used that instead. It turned out a little bland, so I used some old taco sauce to spice it up a little, and then eventually threw the leftovers in a soup. I'll keep working on it.

Bulgogi

Bulgogi: Essentially, Korean BBQ. There's the traditional way, which takes like 3 days. And then there's the easy way, which takes a couple hours.

Bulgogi
Originally found in Cambridge Lutheran Cookbook

1 lb lean beef (steak quality, not roast quality)
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp neutral oil (like vegetable or sesame)
1 tsp sesame seeds
4 Tbsp chopped green onion
3/4 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp black pepper

Cut the beef into thin, cross-grain slices. Place in a bowl, and sprinkle 1 Tbsp sugar over, tossing gently. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Add to beef mixture and toss to coat. Place in refrigerator and allow to sit for at least an hour, overnight if possible.

Cook on a grill, broil, or pan fry, discarding excess marinade. Serve over rice.

My Notes:

I first had bulgogi when I was in Colorado. My mom had a friend who was Korean, and made it for some work function they had. I fell in love with the stuff. So when I was flipping through the cookbook my grandma sent me (hence the reason I have a Lutheran cookbook), I found an easy recipe for it. This one is slightly modified based on other web recipes I found.

It's OMG good. Nice and tender and sweet, but also savory. My taste buds are doing a little dance as I consume it. My leftovers probably won't make it past tomorrow. But at least I'm cooking with some meat other than chicken!

And I'm trying to get a picture, promise. I've made it twice and keep forgetting to snag my camera before I chow down.

Arepas

Arepas
Originally found at Whats 4 Eats

2 cups precooked cornmeal**
3 cups warm water
1 tsp salt
assorted toppings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the cornmeal and 2 1/2 cups water. Add in salt. Allow to rest for a few minutes while heating a small amount of oil in a skillet. Form the dough into patties roughly the size of your palm. If the edges crack, add more water to the dough. Place in the skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Place on baking sheet. Once all patties have been pan fried, place in oven and cook for about 20 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped.

Break open the arepa with a fork and fill with assorted toppings. Popular combinations include butter; cheese and black beans; chicken with salsa verde; etc. Have fun.

My Notes:
**Precooked cornmeal is necessary for this recipe. It is similar to masa, but is not the same. It should say somewhere on the package that it is precooked. The brand name I found was PAN, but it is not certified kosher (if that matters to you). I found it in the Hispanic Foods section of my local grocery store, so it doesn't necessarily require a special trip.

My Cuban friend introduced me to arepas when we were down in Miami prior to our cruise vacation. We had them with queso blanco with her, and then had them from a Venezuelan bakery for breakfast prior to departure. I didn't think much of them until I was going through my recipes and ran across one I had saved from the NYT, a selection of vegetarian sandwiches to use leftovers from Thanksgiving. The first recipe there used an arepa as the sandwich bread, so I went to the store and got the ingredients to make arepas. Of course, I forgot cheese, so I was going to use the Pepper Jack I had on hand, only to realize that it was covered in mold. So I had to use mozzarella. Not especially traditional, but still good.

Note that these don't keep well, so they're best served fresh out of the oven. If you take a while making the dough, you'll have to add water to it, as it will harden if it sits out too long.

Raspberry Sherbet

For those of you not in the know, Sherbet contains milk, eggs, or cream, but not all three (like ice cream). Sorbet does not contain milk, eggs, or cream, and thus is more like a fruit ice.

While the original recipe contains whole milk, I substituted soy milk. Depending on which variety you use, and how strictly you keep kosher, this could be considered 'dairy', because a number of soy milk varieties are produced on dairy equipment, and thus are considered dairy for the purposes of hekasher. But, considering soy milk doesn't contain any milk ingredients, I'm choosing to label it pareve.



Raspberry Sherbert
Originally found at Raspberry Sherbert

1 pound frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 cups soy milk
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Place the raspberries in a mixer, and mix until berries are broken up. Add sugar and mix well. Slowly add in soy milk while mixing, then add in the lemon juice. If desired, strain the mixture to remove the seeds.

Transfer the mixture to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once made, transfer the raspberry sherbet to a chilled container and place in the freezer for a few hours, or until it reaches the desired consistency. If the sherbet becomes too hard, place in the refrigerator until softened before serving.

My Notes:
This wasn't quite as good as I was expecting it to be, but it was still good. I think it may have had something to do with the consistency. When we took it out of the ice cream maker, it had the consistency of a smoothie, rather than of an ice cream.

I particularly liked it mixed with the vanilla ice cream and a dash of chocolate. This one is quick, easy, and cheap. It's much more fool-proof than the vanilla ice cream, so it might be easier to start with this one if you're new to ice cream making.

Vanilla Ice Cream

After I finished taking my board exams, a couple of my girlfriends (whose husbands are still studying for their exams) decided to have a girls night. Which consisted of ice cream and movies. We had access to three ice cream makers, so I decided to look up a couple recipes for bases. This is the result of that search.

I *almost* missed the photo op for this one. I managed to snag a photo as one of the girls was cleaning the rest of the ice cream out of the maker.



Vanilla Ice Cream
Originally found at Joy Of Baking

2 cups half-and-half
5 large egg yolks
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a stainless steel bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy (about two minutes). In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half to the scalding point (the milk begins to foam up). Gradually pour the scalding half-and-half into the whipped egg yolk mixture, making sure you keep whisking constantly so the eggs don't curdle. If any lumps do form, strain the mixture first before heating.

Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, cook until the custard thickens enough that it coats the back of a spoon (170 degrees F) (77 degrees C). The term 'coat a spoon' is a technique used mainly as a way to test when an egg-based custard or sauce is done. A spoon, usually wooden, is placed in the custard and, when the spoon is raised, the film of custard on the back of the spoon will stay in place even when you draw a line with your finger through the middle of the custard.

Immediately remove the custard from the heat and continue to stir the custard for a few minutes so it does not overcook. At this point stir in the vanilla extract. Cover and let cool to room temperature and then refrigerate the custard until it is completely cold (several hours but preferably overnight).

Transfer the cold custard to the chilled container of your ice cream machine and process according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze until firm.

My Notes:
I was nervous about this one. I don't have a plain stainless steel bowl that I can put over water, so I ended up putting the custard directly over the heat, and it came out slightly lumpy. So, I strained it to get some of the chunks out, and it seemed to turn out okay. It was the first ice cream that was gone, at least.

I must say, having tried to make ice cream without the ice cream maker, and then with it... it's so much easier with the ice cream maker, and it takes so much less time. We ate it right away, when it was still in the soft serve consistency. It's a little on the bland side for just ice cream, so I highly suggest mixing something in with it, but it's good either way.