Apple, Cranberry and Pecan Stuffing

I have never been a huge fan of stuffing, but I really like this version. It's a great, comfortable combination of flavors that was popular with all ages last year.

·       6 T butter

·       1 large loaf of bread (gluten free if necessary), staled or cut into small pieces and baked until crisp

·       1 large onion

·       5 celery stalks

·       salt & pepper

·       ½ cup dry white wine

·       2 large, tart apples

·       1 cup dried cranberries

·       1 cup toasted pecan pieces

·       1 T thyme leaves

 

1)    Stale your bread if you haven’t already by baking small pieces in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 for about 10 minutes. While you’re at it, toast your pecan pieces (it’s easiest to Cuisinart chop them).

2)    Cuisinart-chop your onion and sauté in the butter, salt and pepper until soft, about 10-12 minutes.

3)    Cuisinart-chop the celery and hand-cut the apples and add to the pan.

4)    Add wine and cook until the celery and apples are tender. Do not cook until dry – be sure there is still some liquid in the pan.

5)    Turn off heat and cover.

6)    Combine bread, cranberries, pecans and thyme. 

7) Mix onion mixture with bread mixture. 

8) If inserting into turkey, do so now and bake as directed by turkey recipe.

9) If baking separately, place in a covered dish and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Then remove cover and bake until browned, probably 20 - 30 minutes more.

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Toasted Almonds

Yum! Scouring other blogs for the best recipes usually pays off. Adapted recipe courtesy of The Mother Huddle with original recipe from the Food Network.

Ingredients:

A handful of almonds
One tablespoon butter
2 - 3 tablespoons olive oil
Half an onion
Dash of salt
Half to one pound (approximately) green beans

1) Heat one tablespoon of butter and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
2) Chop half an onion up and place in skillet, stirring every 2 - 3 minutes. (If you have a food processor, don't use it, the pieces will be too small for the final product.)

You want these to soften and then turn a lovely caramel color. This will take about 20 - 25 minutes total, but stir often. If the edges of the onions start to darken and get crisp, turn the heat down.
3) While the onions are cooking, chop up a handful of almonds.

4) In a large, dry skillet over medium heat, toast your almonds. This will take 3 - 5 minutes. Place in small bowl.

5) Put several cups of water in the skillet you just toasted your almonds in. Turn temperature up to high.
 6) Check on your onions. Be very careful not to cook them too quickly (heat too high). I burned them at first and had to start over.
7) Wash and remove stems from green beans.

8) Once the skillet of water is boiling, add a dash of salt and your green beans. Cover. Set timer for 8 minutes.

9) Continuously check and stir your onions.
10) Remove green beans from heat after 8 minutes. Drain.
11) When onions have reached a nice caramel color, add the almonds and green beans.

Stir for just a few seconds, then remove from heat. Serve immediately. Season with salt and pepper if you like, but I don't think it needs it.

Simple Risotto

The original recipe was good, but I found it too salty and some of the ingredients too specific. Here's my adapted version, for a lower sodium version that's also easier on your wallet.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped - for children or onion-opposed eaters, try pureeing your onion (thanks Mom!)
• black pepper
• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
• 1/2 cup cheese, preferably parmesan, but we're not picky. I combined some shredded cheddar with Kraft dried Parmesan.
• fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1) Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. You can also you a rice cooker for this entire recipe.

2) Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.

3) Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

4) Add the wine and simmer until absorbed.

5) Add half the broth (1 ¾ cups) and simmer, stirring once, until absorbed. Cooking time will vary greatly depending on what kind of rice you use.

6) Add the remaining broth and simmer, stirring once, until the rice is tender and creamy. If the rice is not cooked through and the mixture is dry, add more broth and continue to cook until tender.

 

7) Stir in the cheese and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle with the parsley and additional Parmesan, if desired.

Adapted from Real Simple.

Creamy "Baked" Potato Soup

This soup is so wonderful - flavorful, filling, but not overwhelming. Perfect for a light meal or a side.

You will need:

4 red potatoes
half an onion or a whole shallot
a drizzle of olive oil
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk (I used almond milk and it came out beautifully!)
2 or 3 pieces of cooked bacon
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

1/4 cup sour cream or yogurt
2 T flour or corn starch
grated cheese if desired

1) Pierce your potatoes with a fork and microwave for 13 minutes. Or, boil them.

2) Drizzle the olive oil into your soup pot. Sauté onions for three minutes.

 3) Add chicken broth to onions.

4) Pour in 1.5 cups of milk. Use the remaining half cup of milk to mix the flour or corn starch. Add to pot. Allow to boil for one minute before removing from heat.

5) Cook bacon and slice. Add to pot.

6) Add sour cream. Sprinkle salt and pepper into pot.
7) Slice cooked potatoes and add to pot. The original recipe tells you to remove the skins, but I think they add a nice texture, especially when processed with an immersion blender. Stir and mash. If you have an immersion blender, use that instead.

8) Ladle into bowls and top with grated cheese, green onions, etc, as desired.

Leftovers make a good workday lunch if you have access to a microwave!

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine.

Thai Peanut Noodle Salad

I wanted something different than spaghetti and marinara tonight and I love Thai food. This recipe did require a trip to the grocery store, but I think it was worth it.

I adapted my recipe from this Epicurious recipe* to help bring down the cost. Some of my substitutions made the final product too spicy, so I have adjusted those ingredients in the recipe below so you don't burn your mouth.

For peanut dressing
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce (make sure it's gluten-free if cooking for a celiac)
1/3 cup warm water
1 tablespoon ground ginger (it called for 2 T of fresh ginger, I used 2 T ground and it was too spicy)
1 medium garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne) (called for 1 t and I correctly thought that was too much)

For noodle salad
3/4 lb dried linguine fini or spaghetti (use rice pasta for a gluten-free version)
1 bell pepper, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

broccoli, carrots, or whatever other veggies fit your mood

1) Add plenty of salt to a large pot of water and bring to boil. Add pasta.

2) Chop, steam or wash any veggies you'll be adding. Add sesame seeds to veggies.

3) Combine sauce ingredients in a blender and mix

4) When pasta is done, mix it all together and enjoy! You can also refrigerate and save for later.

This is super easy and yummy hot or cold. Great for your next potluck!

If you use rice pasta, this dish is gluten free.

Indian Spice Rice

I got this yummy recipe from my mom's grad school room mate, Carol, who is a fantastic veggie cook. I've modified it slightly so the ingredients aren't as obscure or expensive. I knew this one would be yummy just looking at the colors of the spices. So pretty!

1 T butter or oil
dash of cinnamon
few dashes of ground cloves
1 t cumin
1.5 cups rice (basmati or jasmine)
3.5 cups water
1 t turmeric
handful of frozen peas
a carrot or handful of baby carrots

Rinse the rice and set aside. Actually do this, it's important.

Heat butter or oil in a 2 quart pan over medium heat. Put in cinnamon, ground cloves (the original recipe calls for cinnamon sticks, but those are expensive, and whole cloves, which I imagine are not as nice to chew) and cumin. Stir.

Add drained rice without water and let sauté for a minute or two until it becomes fragrant.

Add water and turmeric. Bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and add peas and chopped carrot.

Cook until water is gone.

The original recipe doesn't call for it, but this rice is very yummy with a small dash of soy sauce. I'm always up for culinary cultural fusion. Also, JT and I agree it would be really nice with some cut up chicken in it, to make it more of an entree.

Quick Fancy French Salad

It's not actually French, but that's what they call the dressing.

Spring mix lettuce, chopped walnuts, raisins and plenty of French dressing. Fancy, nutritious, and tasty. I love how the raisins compliment the sweetness of the dressing, and the walnuts balance it out. Shown here with Baked Shiraz-Soy Chicken.

Banana Bread

I was moving my hanging fruit basket today and squished some bananas. This calls for banana bread.

This is my recipe I adapted from the Epicurious recipe. It's healthier (less oil, less sugar), tastier (more nutmeg) and less time-consuming (less relentless mixing.)

Combine:

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

dash of ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt
Set aside.

Mix with beaters on high for 5 minutes:

4 large eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/3 cup applesauce or brown rice syrup (or a few tablespoons of honey if you have neither)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 bread loaf pans.

Then add to egg mixture:

3/4 cup vegetable oil

5 or 6 very ripe bananas (make sure they get all mashed up)

1/4 cup crème fraîche, or yogurt, or sour cream, cream cheese or... leftover cream cheese frosting

2 teaspoons vanilla

 Combine with dry ingredients, then stir in:

1 1/3 cups walnuts (or however much you want to put in, if you choose to at all),

Pour into pans. Bake for 50 minutes, then test with knife. When it comes out clean or with crumbs, take out. Let sit for 10 minutes, then flip and allow bread to slide out of pan. 

I always stick one loaf in the freezer for a later date, in case I'm running to a party and don't have time to make a dish. Or just so it doesn't go to waste.

One of my favorite things about banana bread are the many things you can enjoy on top of it. I particularly enjoy toasting a slice and spreading some cream cheese on it. But you can also enjoy it with butter, jam, honey butter, Nutella... the possibilities go on.

Watermelon Salad

This unlikely combination of ingredients is a hit with 99/100 people who try it. Credit goes to my friend Amy, who made it for one of our weekly Girls' Nights a few months ago.

• Half a large watermelon, or a whole small watermelon
• A few ounces of crumbled feta or goat cheese (I prefer goat cheese for the flavor, but feta holds together a little nicer)
• Mint leaves, chopped
• Balsamic vinegar (I was recently introduced to White Balsamic, which would be nice, as it wouldn't discolor the watermelon)
• A sprinkling of pepper (optional)

Sneaky Mashed Potatoes

I was in charge of cooking tonight's family dinner for my parents & brother. Yay! I made my Make-Do Marinade for a tasty tri-tip steak, a salad, and brought half a frozen Gluten Free Chocolate Pear Torte that I served with ice cream. I thought the meal needed mashed potatoes. So I scrubbed, quartered, and boiled the potatoes.

The problem? There's no butter in my parents' house currently.

My sneaky solution? I used the standard mashed potato ingredients (milk, salt, parsley) plus three tablespoons of brie. Brie? Yes brie. Just be sure to add it while the potatoes are still hot enough to melt the cheese.

I don't know many households that have brie but not butter, but hey, it worked. And it was simply scrumptious. In fact, I might prefer it.