Scratching the Surface

Another "Wonderful" Wednesday! My favorite part of the week. This week it was Deboard's turn to pick out the menu and she did a great job. This blog is fittingly named because we made everything from scratch, right down to the banana cream pie whipped cream. We pretty much did everything but grow our own bananas.

It's also Ryan's birthday today, so we turned the dessert into her birthday cake (although I couldn't find any candles, so I just stuck a match in the center and Ryan blew it out. I thought Deboard was going to have a heart attack because she was so worried the whole pie would catch on fire.)

I also learned a lot of great tips about cooking. Ryan gave lots of tips while we were cooking, and I hope I can remember all of them as I write this.

A recommendation for this dinner is make the pie first. Since we started at the same time, we ended up eating dessert at 11:00 pm (which was perfect because it was Ryan's birthday). But the filling has to cool for a couple of hours, so plan on making the pie ahead of time.

Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

The main course was this pasta bake! I made the mistake of putting the mozzarella into the pasta dish (when the directions say to just layer is on top) but it was still really good, and the whole thing got really cheesy on the inside) so you can just put the mozzarella on the inside or on the top... Or both! 

 Ingredients:

• 8  ounces  uncooked rigatoni (rigatoni is a tubed shaped pasta
  
• 1  Tbl olive oil
• 1  cup finely chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 1  (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 3  cups cubed cooked chicken breasts (this is about four whole chicken breasts)
  
• 1  (14.5-oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, not drained
  
• 1  (8-oz.) container chive-and-onion cream cheese
• 1/2  tsp salt
• 1/2  tsp pepper
• 1 1/2  cups shredded mozzarella cheese (the more the merrier)
  

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare Rigatoni according to packaging. Tip #1: If you want to know when the pasta is done... Throw it against the wall! If it sticks, it's done! (Although don't be like deboard and rocket launch it towards the wall... Because it will never stick with that method.)

Meanwhile, spread oil on bottom of an 11- x 7-inch baking dish; add the chopped onion in a single layer.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or just until tender. Transfer onion to a large bowl, and set aside.

Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels. If you are using frozen spinach, like we did, there is a ton of water.

Stir rigatoni, spinach, chicken, and next 4 ingredients into onion in bowl. Spoon mixture into baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. (Or do what I did and just mix the mozzarella in with the pasta.

Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Variation: Substitute 3 cups cooked, crumbled hot Italian sausage for 3 cups cubed cooked chicken breasts. Reduce salt to 1/4 tsp, and take out pepper. I thought this would be a great variation to this dish. Since the Italian sausage is already seasoned and very flavorful your don't have to season the pasta with as much salt and no pepper.

ONIONS: Since the recipe didn't specify what type of onion to use, I thought I would do some research on the different variations of onions. I got this information off of BBC's Good Food website:

How to pick out the right onion: Look for firm onions, with no soft spots, damp or mouldy patches. 

• White onion: medium to large in shape, with a white papery skin and evenly white flesh. They have a strong flavour and are good for stuffing or baking; only use raw in salads if you want an assertive onion flavour.
• Yellow/brown onion: a good all-purpose onion, with a light golden skin and yellow flesh.
• Spanish onion: has a similarly colored skin to a yellow/brown onion, but is usually bigger, as well as sweeter and milder. Good for omelettes, salsas and stir-fries.
• Red onion: varies in size, but has a distinctive red/purple skin, and the edge of each of its white rings is tinged with red. The flavor is mild and quite sweet. Good for salads, marinades, salsas and roasts. 

Tomato, Mozzarella, & Avocado Salad

I look bringing a meal together, both the salad and the main course have mozzarella in them. Although the dishes taste very different, I love having that connecting ingredient to tie the meal together. This salad is so light, and could even be eaten alone.

 This recipe if from the cookbook Simple But Perfect Salads, the taste of summer all year round. You will see more of this book in the future, all of the pictures look incredible. 

Inredients:

• 2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes (these are the biggest tomatoes, and have a meaty texture with a sweet, mellow flavor. They are good for salads, grilling or stuffing.)
• 3 1/2 oz/ 100 g mozzarella cheese (coarsely torn into pieces)
• 2 Avocados (Tip #2: When you are making guacamole, put the pit in the guacamole so it'll stay fresher longer)
• Few fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces (unfortunately Waco's ghetto HEB does not carry fresh basil, so we had to omit this ingredient)
• 20 black olives (I love olives, but Ryan doesn't, and she tried a few with the salad and really enjoyed it. It really adds an extra kick to the dish)
• Fresh crusty bread, to serve

For the Dressing: (We doubled this)

• 1 Tbl olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp coarse grain mustard
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Using a sharp knife, cut the tomatoes into thick wedges and place in a large serving dish. Drain the mozzarella cheese and coarsely tear into pieces. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Cut the flesh into slices, then arrange the mozzarella cheese and avocados with the tomatoes.

Mix the oil, vinegar, and mustard together in a small bowl, add salt and pepper, then drizzle over the salad.

Sprinkle the basil and olives over the top and serve at once with fresh crusty bread.

And the dessert:

Banana Cream Pie with Graham cracker Crunch

This dessert came from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook. Pretty much hundreds of different ways to use chocolate chips.

This is like the deluxe version of banana cream pie. You can always go out and buy a graham cracker crust and whipped cream... But making everything from scratch makes it taste that much better.

Ingredients:

Crust and topping:

• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (you can buy pre-crumbed graham crackers (found in the baking section) but its a lot more affordable to crunch them yourself!) We used cinnamon flavored graham crackers
• 2 Tbl sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (or one stick) unsalted butter, melted (we ended up using about 1 1/2 sticks)
• 1 cup (8 oz) minature semisweet chocolate chips

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk (we used 2%... Easier on the belly)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbls all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping:

• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbl Powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 bananas, sliced about 1/4 inches thick

Directions:

Make the crust & topping:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie pan and a baking sheet (The baking sheet is for the topping).

In a large bowl, stir the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon together. Mix in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Mix in the chocolate chips. Press 2 1/4 cups of the crust mixture evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan. Put the remaining crust mixture on the baking sheet and press into a circle approximately 8 inches in diameter.

Bake the crust and topping for 6 minutes. Let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

Put the 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl or the top of a double boiler and place it over a saucepan of barely simmering water; the water shoudl not touch the bowl. Stir until the chocolate chips are melted and smooth... We ran out of chocolate chips.. So I broke up a Hershey's bar, put it in a bowl, added a little milk and put it in the microwave until it was all melted and then stirred until everything was well blended... It worked the same and saved time.

Use a small spoon to drizzle the melted chocolate over the topping on the baking sheet. Let the topping sit until the chocolate is firm.

Make the filling:

In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over low heat just until it is hot; it should measure about 150 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the flour until smooth. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot milk into yolk mixture. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, making sure to reach into the corners to prevent scorching, until it thickens and ust comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook at gentle boil for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Pour the pastry cream through a fine strainer into a medium bowl. Stir in vanilla. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the pastry cream and use the tip of a knife to poke a few holes in a plastic wrap to let the steam escape. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until cool to the touch (don't try to cheat and put it in the freezer, because it will change the consistancy of the filling). The pastry cream will thicken as it cools.

Make the topping:

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on a medium-high speed, beat the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla until firm peaks form. I always use Julia's mixer... But I returned it to her... So Deboard and I took took turn rapidly mixing the cream as fast as we could.

Spread about one-third of the banana slices over the bottom of the crust. Gently stir the remaining banana slices into the cold filling, and spoon the filling over the bananas. Use a thin metal spatula to spread the whipped cream over the filling. Use the edge of a wide metal spatula (or large knife) to cut the crunch into about 1-inch pieces, then use the spatula to lift th chunks of crunch and gently place them on the whipped cream, covering it thickly. Some plain pieces of chocolate may separate from the crumbs as you move them; this is fine. Sprinkle any crumbs over the top.

Serve, or cover carefully and refrigerate for as long as overnight. Serve cold.

The Brown Bag Lunch

I've been listening to Cameron talk about bringing his lunch to work versus eating at the many restaurants in downtown Dallas surrounding his office. I thought it would be helpful to write about work-lunches and give some tips and suggestions.

I was doing some 'googling' on lunch ideas, looking for ideas and different things to put on here. I found that leftovers are a great way to save money and eat healthier. (Well healthier than if you were eating fast-food. It's also better than eating a PB&J.)

Most of the time when I make dinner, I always have left overs. Most work places offer microwaves, and reheating your lasagna or pasta from the night before could save you around $8 a day on a lunch at Corner Bakery.

The key to bringing your lunch to work/ school etc. Is to be healthier than the options around you.

I found this recipe for sweet potato soup. Sweet potatoes are in season right now, and I love soups during the winter. And to top it all off, it's healthy for you too!

Sweet Potato Soup

This soup would be delicious on a cold wet day, similar to today in Waco. But would also be delicious the next day at work! Serve with crusty cheesy bread!

Ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 2 orange sweet potatoes, peeled & diced
• 2 white sweet potatoes, peeled & diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/2 c. sweet white corn
• 4 oz. green chili's
• 1/2 c. roasted red bell peppers, diced
• 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
• 3 Tbsp. turkey gravy powder
• Cilantro to garnish

Directions:

Fill a large pot with water, sugar, salt, sweet potatoes and onions. Boil until sweet potatoes are softened, about 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients to pot, stir well and bring just to a boil. Serve immediately, slurping all the while. Store left-overs in refrigerator and reheat for lunch!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

This next recipe is a chicken-salad that we made in Horse Shoe Bay during the summer. Anna and I made it mostly, but it was my first time to ever make chicken salad, and to take apart an entire chicken for the meat! It has lots of flavoring in it, so all it needs is a toasted croissant or crispy lettuce.

All the girls at the lake ate the chicken salad right out of the bowl though, so it can be done!

Ingredients:

The best part about chicken salad, is you can really change the recipe to your preference. If you don't like an ingredient you can always substitute it for something else. A lot of people put celery in theirs, but I've always put grapes in it for an extra sweet crunch. And if you don't like almonds, cashews are great too!

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups diced chicken
• 1 cup grapes, halved
  
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds

Variations: like I said you can add celery, raisins, dried cranberries, sliced apples, cashews, pecan, walnuts, sour cream,  or mustard.

Directions:

Combine lemon juice, mayonnaise, and salt and blend well. Toss with chicken, grapes, and almonds. Serve on toasted bread or crisp lettuce. If you are making a sandwich...

• Toast the bread and add sliced tomatoes and lettuce. 
• Toast bread and add cranberry sauce and melted brie  

In the end, it doesn't take long to prepare a good and healthy home-made lunch.

Left-overs are great, as well as salads, soups, and sandwiches. It saves you lots of money and you can test your skills with some new recipes. I always look for some in my cookbooks at home or on sites like Food Network or Williams-Sonoma!

Jalapeno Poppers and Annie's Baked Brie

Yea it's the Golden Globes tonight! Deboard, Annie, and I are watching it at our house right now. Cameron is in town, but he sprinted to his friends house to watch the playoffs when he heard we were having a Golden Globes watch party... Hopefully he'll come back later when he hears all about the great snacks we're making!

Penelope Cruz looks absolutely beautiful, she probably doesn't eat baked brie or jalapeno poppers... But I'd rather just envy her and eat our snacks.

I made these jalapeno poppers for SAE this week, and some for Cameron when he got in town on Friday. We eat them ALL the time at the Ongena's lake house. I can't say the amount of ingredients for each one, because whenever I make it, I usually am making 140 for the SAEs... So just guesstimate!

Jalapeno Poppers:

Ingredients:

• Jalapenos (cut in half and devained)
• Cream Cheese
• Bacon! (If the bacon is really thick, it may take longer to cook, you can cut it in half and hold it with a toothpick)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the jalapenos in half and cut out the seeds and vains... This is a picture of most of the 70 jalapenos that I cut in half.

Ahh so many jalapenos! Ryan helped me cut them and at the end of all of it our hands were burning from the heat!

The next step could not have been completed without Lis, she helped me fill in all of the hollow jalapenos with cream cheese and wrap them in bacon. Stick them in the oven for 40 minutes and and make sure you line all of the cookie sheets with foil, because the bacon is super greasy and it makes clean up a breeze!

Side story: Since I was making 140 for SAE and I put so many in the oven that I set off the fire alarm about six times.

Baked Brie:

Annie makes this baked brie all the time, it is so delicious, and so I thought this night would be the perfect time to make it!

Ingredients:

• 2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (I had some left over from SAE meetings)
• 1 circle package of Bree
• Apricot Jelly
• 6 Tbl Butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil (again easy clean up and you can transfer the brie after its done without it breaking apart).

Lay one pie crust down and put the brie ontop.

Heavily coat the top of the brie with apricot jelly, you can never have enough!

Put the second pie crust on top and fold over second pie crust and pour the brie. Poke small holes into the sides of the brie.

Put in the oven for 30 minutes and serve with crackers.

Annie with the brie right after we took it out of the oven.

ENJOY and happy MLK Day!!

Chicken Piccata and Roasted Vegetables

Now that I'm back at school, and not working, I have a little more time on my hands... So Deboard, Ryan, and I have decided to make dinner every week together.

Deboard fittingly named it "Wonderful" Wednesday ;). Probably because I cook for her, but who knows.

SAE sing starts tonight, so I won't have time to cook tonight, but I do have time to put down the recipes for the dinner we made. Chicken Piccata and Roasted Vegetables.

This was my first time to make both of the recipes... And it was Ryan's and my first time to butterfly a chicken! It's really not that difficult, the point of butterfling a chicken is because the chicken breast usually has uneven thickness. So you butterfly it so that the chicken will cook evenly.

You start at the thickest part and cut it horizontally, holding the knife parallel to the cutting board. Cut it almost in half and then open it like a book, then you pat it out so that the whole chicken has the same consistent thickness.

Chicken Piccata:

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied (if you don't have that many chicken breasts you can butterfly them and then cut them in half... We were just extra hungry!)
  
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes.

When the chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil.

When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning.

Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

Roasted Vegetables:

For Christmas Cameron's parents got me Cooking School Italian, and the first thing I tried out from the book is the side dish of our dinner! And as a side note, I could not have made the chicken without Ryan... And the veggies would never have been cut as perfectly without Deboard! (As seen below!)

My favorite part of this dish was the eggplant, it was so good roasted and the balsamic/oil dressing on top was great. Although the recipe called for a few shavings of Parmesan... We used A LOT more, I don't think you can ever have too much cheese!

Ingredients:

• 1 Onion
• 1 Eggplant
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, seeded
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper, seeded
• 1 Large Zucchini (Although Ghetto HEB in Waco only had small ones, so we used 2)
• 2-4 Garlic Cloves (We used all four, and maybe even five)
• 6 Tbl EVOO
• 1 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbl shredded fresh basil, to garnish
• Parmesan cheese shavings (and lots of it!)
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut all the vegetables into even-size wedges, put into a roasting pan, and scatter over the garlic cloves. Pour over 2 Tbl of the olive oil and toss the vegetables until well coated with the oil. (although we used a little more than this, just eyeball it, and make sure that all the vegetables are evenly covered). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until tender, adding more olive oil if needed.

Meanwhile, put the vinegar, EVOO, and salt and pepper to taste into a screw-top jar and shake until blended.

When the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven, arrange on a serving dish, and pour over the dressing. Sprinkle with the basil and serve warm or at room temperature with Parmesan cheese shavings.

French Dip Sandwich

I have several new recipes to put up! But I've been on break and just finished rush... Sooo I thought I would post now!

This was so delicious! I made it with my mom at home. You just stick it in a crockpot and forget about it until dinner! We ate it with grapes and oranges, but chips or veggies would be great too!

French Dip Sandwiches:

Ingredients:

• 1 Can Beef Broth
• 1 Can Beer (I used Miller Lite)
• 1 Can of French Onion Soup
• 3 lbs Beef (Trim the fat) Makes about 6-8 sandwiches
• Whole Wheat Hoggies
• Provolone Cheese

Directions:

Trim the fat off the beef and add to the crock-pot the soup, broth, beer, and meat. Then cook for 8-10 hours on low, or until meat is cooked all the way through.

The lightly butter the hoggies and toast them in the oven (on broiler) for a bit (they brown really quickly, so you have to watch them carefully)

Then shred the beef, add the provolone cheese (you can reheat the bread with the cheese if you want the cheese to melt) and enjoy!!