Pernil al Caldero

This is for all those Arroz Con Gandules recipe lovers out there.  It's a classic Puerto Rican recipe for pot roast with vegetables, known at Pernil al Caldero.  The recipe I used, and slightly modified, is from Puerto Rican Cookery by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli.

Pernil al Caldero

4-pound butt end of leg of pork

Crush and mix the following in a mortar:
4 peppercorns
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon whole dried oregano
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar

2 cups water
4 cups beef stock
2 bay leaves
2 onions, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots, peels and cut into 1 inch rounds
1 pound Ukon gold potatoes, quartered


Remove skin and excess fat from meat, this is very important!  Rinse and dry, score top of meat in diamonds.  Rub the crushed seasonings into the meat and set in refrigerator overnight.

In a large caldero or heavy stockpot, brown meat lightly over high heat.  Add liquids, bay leaves, and onions and bring to a rapid boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium low, and boil for 2 hours (1 hour for bone-in).

Add carrots and potatoes and bring to a rapid boil, reduce heat to medium low and boil for about 1 hour or until meat is well done.

Uncover, remove meat and vegetables, taste and adjust seasonings.  Boil, uncovered, until sauce thickens to taste.

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Homemade baby purees

How the time has flown by!  Rae is just over 10 months now and starting to eat more and more solid food but this kid still loves her purees.  I started out with the goal of simply attempting to make her own foods at home.  I thought that I would at least give it a shot and buy her jars if that didn't work out, no biggie, never thinking that I would make it this long.

I have loved making her baby food, it has been a great point of personal pride for me through this journey of new parenthood.  It has also been important to me to have some sort of creative or motherly outlet to feel, I suppose, needed.  Switching to formula has been harder than I ever expected and preparing her baby food at home has helped me to feel necessary again.  It's weird to describe, maybe baking and cooking is how I express my love.  Anyways, this whole process has been very cathartic for me and I'm so glad that I can share it with you.

I need to start by telling you that I didn't buy a single thing to prepare baby food.  I registered for a special baby food maker that would steam and puree, I registered for the trays to put that wonderfully prepared food into, I registered for a cookbook to use with that wonderful baby food maker.  I was so excited to nest!  And then along came baby and countless thoughtful and fantastic gifts but no baby food maker, no trays, and no cookbook.  Sure, I wanted all that but I knew in the back of my head that it was ridiculous and apparently everyone else did too!

So I searched all over the baby blogs and recipe sites for how to get started and discovered that I already owned everything necessary to make baby food.  This is what I found to be needed:

1. Steamer basket, either with a stock pot or in a rice cooker
2. Food processor or blender
3. Ice cube trays for freezing
4. Freezer bags for storing

I then found a fantastic site for food ideas called WholesomeBabyFood.  It is an outstanding source for figuring out how to start feeding solids to a baby!

I love the ice cube trays because they produce perfect little 1oz portions of food.  This makes it so easy to combine different foods for a new flavor every day.  The possibilities are endless and can be somewhat daunting.  If you are a little worried, just do what I did and walk down the baby food aisle to see what those master chefs put together!  

***Tip: the food doesn't pop out like ice, wedge a knife along the side and it will pop right out.  

The cubes are also easy for transporting to daycare.  I simply put 3 cubes in a little reusable storage container and they set it in hot water to heat up.  I also heat up two cubes of fruit purees and mix in plain whole-milk yogurt for a great snack.  

You can adjust the level of smoothness and thickness by adding water to the food processor.  Just be careful about adding too much because freezing can cause some vegetables, like carrots, to become watery.  Speaking of carrots, did you know that carrots spark in the microwave!?  I never knew until I put some steamed carrots in there for a few seconds and they popped like fireworks.  Turns out, it's the high levels of minerals that causes it.  Crazy!

I'm off now to mix a few cubes into Rae's oatmeal.  Have a great weekend!

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Baby Food Making

I miss you, it has been too long.  I fear that it will be like this for a while, me taking crazy long breaks from blogging and then showing up out of the blue with a bazillion new photos to share.  So let's get the photos out of the way first...

Now that I have that out of my system we can move on to the exciting stuff like baby food!  Ok, maybe it's not that exciting for you but it was big news in this household.  Rae loved every part of her first time eating food like a big girl.  Cue another photo (sorrynotsorry).

A lot of people like to start out with rice cereal, making it as thick as their baby likes it while still being able to spoon feed.  The rice cereal is great for getting baby used to putting something in their mouth but does not provide any nutrition  Some people like to start out with whole pieces of food that can be easily held and gnawed on by their baby, i.e. baby led weaning.  We decided to do a combination of both, skipping the rice cereal completely but still spoon feeding her.  Our reasoning behind choosing to skip rice cereal was that, either way, she will be getting used to putting something in her mouth besides a bottle and with actual food she might glean a small amount of nutrition.  

Rae's first food was yummy avocado, mashed up and smoothed out with a little bit of breast milk.  She has been very eager to put whatever I have been eating into her mouth, this made it very natural for her to open her mouth and accept a spoonful.  Of course, she barely swallowed and most of it was just pushed around by her tongue but she seemed to like the whole experience.

My goal is to use fresh foods to make all of Rae's foods instead of buying jars of baby food from the store.  It might be a lofty goal and I will soon figure out if it is achievable but I feel very strongly in the benefits of making fresh food.  Have you seen the color of jarred green beans?  

So far, I have made pureed butternut squash and green beans.  No outrageously priced baby food making equipment necessary, just a stove top for boiling or oven for baking and a food processor that I already owned.  I make her food in large batches and freeze the rest in, get this, ice cube trays!  Ice cube trays are the best!  They are perfectly sized little one ounce containers for freezing any kind of puree.  I pop them out once they are frozen solid and place in freezer baggies like this...

All I have to do at meal time is place one in a bowl and microwave it for about 20 seconds.  Voila, a perfect little portion for dinner!  These will stay good for a couple of months but once we get into eating them every single day they will be eaten at a faster pace.  For right now, it's very easy to make a batch every other weekend.  We will see how this whole experience goes, I'm taking it one day at a time.

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Frozen meals

I have been stock piling my freezer in preparation for baby's arrival and the chaotic times that are sure to come.  Estevan thought I was nuts when I told him that I wanted to make meals for the sole purpose of freezing them.  He was also worried about the food budget getting jacked, a worry that I can't blame him for.  Preparing for a baby is very expensive!  So, instead of buying a bunch of food to freeze on top of food for our normal consumption, I decided to split every big meal in half.  Since it's just the two of us, we always have leftovers and those leftovers sometimes do not get eaten.  At least one portion of every meal ends up getting thrown away!  I have been able to stock up a lot of food by simply baking one half right away and storing the other half in the freezer.  Behold the yummy goodness...

We have chicken spaghetti, stuffed shells, stuffed chicken breasts, marinade for lemon rosemary chicken, and a small meat loaf.  I wrote the name of each dish, cooking instructions, and the date it was frozen on each package.

Here is a breakdown of the recipes that I chose, click the titles to see full recipe:

• Chicken Spaghetti, Pioneer Woman
• Stuffed Shells
• Stuffed Chicken, Kayotic Kitchen 
• Lemon Rosemary Chicken
• Meat Loaf, Pioneer Woman

Most of the foods have been prepared up to the point of baking.  I will set my oven to a lower temp and bake the chicken spaghetti and shells for about 20 minutes to warm up and then raise it to the normal temp and bake for the normal time.  The stuffed chicken breasts will need to be thawed then wrapped in the puff pastry and baked as normal.  The marinade will simply need to be thawed and the chicken pieces plopped right into the bag.  I cooked the meat loaf almost entirely to ensure it will not be overcooked and dry when reheated, it will be thawed and then baked until the internal temp is 170. Pin It Now!

Deep Dish Fruit Pizza

I was in charge of a coworkers birthday celebration a few months ago and couldn't decide what to make.  I knew it would have been easy to buy a cake from the store but that would be expensive and not a whole lot of fun.  She also wanted something healthy but tasty too.  I searched all over the internet for something special to make her and came across this recipe on Pioneer Woman.  The name has fruit in it, that means it's healthy.  Right?  


This recipe is seriously divine, the orange zest in the crust makes everything taste absolutely perfect and the frosting in the middle is good enough to eat with a spoon as a fruit dip.

Deep Dish Fruit Pizza
Recipe from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
1-1/3 cup shortening (may substitute butter)
1-1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
8 teaspoons whole milk
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 jars (13 ounces each) Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese
Assorted fruits


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.


In a large bowl, cream shortening (or butter), sugar, orange zest and vanilla thoroughly.  Add in eggs and beat until light and fluffy.  Add in the milk and mix.

In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt), then blend this into the cream mixture.  Slightly flatten between two sheets of waxed paper and two sheet pans, then refrigerate for one hour.

Press dough into a sheet pan, use your fingers to get it even but still dimply and rounded up the edges slightly.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookie dough is cooked and golden brown, but not overly crisp.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

Using a mixer with a whisk attachment, whip together Marshmallow Creme and cream cheese until light. Spread onto cooled "pizza" cookie, then decorate the top generously with sliced fruit.  Yum!

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Chicken Salad

I have made this recipe a lot in the past few months.  I made it the first time for a luncheon that Kindergarten put on for the staff at my school; I doubled the recipe for that and we ran out about halfway through the lunches.... oops!  People liked it so much that it was requested for a baby shower and again for a wedding shower.  This is a good recipe to have in your cookbook for special occasions, summer gatherings, lunches or snacks.

Chicken Salad
Recipe slightly adapted from All Recipes


Ingredients
3 chicken breasts (1.5-2 lbs)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
1 cup halved red grapes
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons finely minced shallot
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce


Directions
Heat olive oil and butter in large skillet over medium high heat.  

Salt and pepper chicken breasts and cook in skillet, about 5-8 minutes per side or until firm.  

Prepare celery, grapes and shallot while chicken is cooking, set aside.  The original recipe has water chestnuts (seen here) but I did not like the texture in this salad and have since omitted it.  

Remove chicken from skillet and set aside to cool.  Add bacon to same skillet and cook until crispy.  

In large bowl, combine mayonnaise, parsley flakes, shallot, lemon, ginger and Worcestershire.  

Cut chicken into small cubes, crumble bacon and add to mayonnaise mixture.  Add grapes and celery, mix to combine and add salt to taste.  Chill and serve on croissants or toast.  Enjoy! Pin It Now!

Spicy Honey Chicken

This is my first Monday of summer vacation and it is divine!  I feel like I have my life back again.  Teaching kindergarten is all consuming and I would often lay awake at night churning ideas in my head and thinking about what I was going to do the next day, week, month, year.  Seriously, I would lay awake thinking about what I should do differently next year.

But enough of that talk, it's SUMMER!!!!  It feels so good to be back to sharing with the blog world and to thank you all, I'll start by sharing a tasty recipe that I made for the first time last night.  We had some friends over last night so I doubled the recipe, that's why there's a crap load of chicken on this plate.  Oh and don't be like me and forget to rub oil on the raw chicken and then have to beg your husband to go spray the grill because you are scared for the safety of your hair.  Just remember the dang oil, ok?

Spicy Honey Chicken

by Our Best Bites via The Girl Who Ate Everything

Ingredients:

2lbs thighs and drumsticks

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Rub:

2 teaspoons granulated garlic (you can sub 1 teaspoon garlic powder here)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder (I couldn't find didn't look for this so I substituted Cajun spices and lessened the salt in the recipe)

Glaze:
1/2 cup Honey
1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar


Directions:
Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.Use kitchen shears to trim off any excess fat from the chicken pieces. Pat dry. Drizzle oil over chicken and rub in with your hands to lightly coat all the pieces. Then toss chicken with the spice rub to coat all sides well. Use your hands and get in there! Grill chicken for 3-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.While chicken is cooking, warm honey in the microwave so it's not so thick. Add the vinegar and combine well. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the honey glaze for later after the chicken has cooked to pour on right before serving. Take the rest and brush on chicken (both sides) in the final moments of grilling.


I'm gonna warn you that this can make a hot mess, literally. It's sugar, and it's gonna drip. But the smelly smoke is worth it for a minute or two. Just leave your grill on for a few minutes after the chicken is done to burn off any excess glaze. It's totally worth it once you taste this stuff.

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Arroz con Gandules

This is by far my favorite recipe and it is a staple in our cute little house.  It's a recipe for a traditional Puerto Rican rice and could literally be a commercial for Goya.  Check it out....

It really is served with just about everything in Estevan's family and we cook it pretty often as well.  It's just so dang easy and the flavors come together so well that it could be served with just about anything.  And like nearly every other Puerto Rican dish, it is not spicy in the least... just flavorful!  I've edited the original recipe by taking out a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the Adobo is plenty salty enough.  I also increased the amount of liquid from 2 cups (water and gandules liquid combined) to a bottle of water and gandules liquid.  Maybe it depends on the type of pot being used but I found that I just kept adding more and more water previously.  Enjoy a taste from Puerto Rico!

Arroz con Gandules

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large, sweet onion, roughly chopped

1 package Sazon

1 tablespoon Recaito

1 tablespoon Adobo

1 can Gandules Verdes, reserve liquid

16.9 fl. oz. (0.5 L or 2 1/4 cups) water 

1 jar sliced pimientos, drained

2 cups rice

In a large skillet or cast-iron pot, sautee onion in olive oil until tender.  Add the water and reserved gandules liquid, Sazon, Recaito, Adobo, gandules, pimientos, and rice.  Bring to a boil and stir for 3 minutes.  Cover, reduce heat to the lowest setting (seriously, I mean it, the heat must be low) and let cook for about 30 minutes.  I try to only stir it about 2-3 times while the rice is absorbing the liquid.

***Tip:  If you need to serve it a little later, take off heat, cover with paper towel and recover with lid.  This helps to catch any of the excess moisture so that you don't end up with mushy rice.

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Lemon Rosemary Chicken

I'm very happy right now that I made this meal not too long ago and I still have leftovers because.... drum roll please.... I broke my first bone!  (Funny side note: when I told my dad he thought I said "phone" and then asked nonchalantly, "You do have a warranty right?" to which I just dumbly sat silent and tried to process why my daddy was making a joke about his only child breaking a bone. LOL)  It's a fracture on the tip of my ring finger on my right hand.  How did I fracture the tip of my finger, you may ask?  It's a bad combination of me being stupid, watching two classes at the same time, and a child who didn't see me there.  I was standing in front of a door jam between two classes holding onto the side which the hinges are and leaning into one of the class rooms.  A student from the other class didn't see me and slowly closed the door which my finger happened to be near the hinges... neither one of us realized what was happening until I heard the cracking of my nail and bone.... "AAAHHHHHH, OPEN THE DOOR, OPEN THE DOOR!"  Instant blood and guts and tears (ok, maybe not the guts part, but it was traumatic for both me and the poor child).  Now my finger is in a splint and is all sorts of interesting colors, according to the doctor it should be all better in a month.

This too shall pass.  Now onto happier things!  Sorry about the weird intro.  

This is an incredibly tasty and easy meal, I'm so happy that I became a follower of Annie's Eats because every recipe that I've tried from her blog is absolutely as advertised: delicious!  Seriously, you should stop by her blog soon, it's incredible.  I made this with her recipe for Garlic Rice Pilaf....YUM!

 (Love my new photogenic counter tops!)

Lemon Rosemary Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. lemon zest (1 lemon)

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons, at least the way I hand squeeze)

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

2-4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks

2-3 tbsp. melted butter

Thinly sliced lemons, for garnish

Directions:

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large zipper-lock plastic bag.  Seal the bag and shake well to blend.  Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more.  Refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin-side up, reserving the leftover marinade.  Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the skins are crispy and well-browned.  Halfway through baking, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the baking dish.  Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

Source: Annie's Eats and adapted from Simply Recipes Pin It Now!

Stuffed Shells

This meal is by far my favorite pasta dish.  It is very easy to put together and requires mostly ingredients that I always have on hand.  Oh, and it tastes delicious too!  I found this recipe over at Annie's Eats, I tweaked it a little by adding in a green bell pepper.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients

1 12-oz. package of jumbo pasta shells

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped

1 pound Italian sausage

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 15-oz. container ricotta cheese

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 cup bread crumbs, substitute 6 club crackers

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes with herbs, including the liquid

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Cook pasta shells according to package directions.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and bell peppers and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the sausage to the pan, breaking it up as it cooks.  Cook until the sausage is completely cooked and no pink remains.  Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds.  Remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg, ricotta, spinach, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, basil, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.  Stir together to combine.  Add the cooked sausage mixture to the bowl and stir until evenly mixed.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Spread a thin layer (about half) of the chopped tomatoes in the baking dishes (either three 8x8" pans, or one 9x13" and one 8x8").  Stuff each shell with some of the cheese mixture, and arrange in the baking dishes, open side up.  Spread the remaining tomatoes over the top of the pasta shells.

Cover the pans with foil and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbling.  Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.  Bake, uncovered, for 10 more minutes.

Source: adapted from Simply Recipes via Annie's Eats Pin It Now!

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake

Oh my.  My best friend from high school emailed me a link, Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, that I think will be the end of me.  Seriously.... this website is going to keep me in the vicious cycle of baking, blogging, eating, baking, blogging, eating.   I may never see the light of day except to run to the grocery store and buy ingredients.  Or maybe I could just call E on his way home.... hmmm.

I'm not joking people, just look at this beautiful creation.  It's a flippin' Cinnamon Roll CHEESECAKE!  Holy moley.  Click on photo to enjoy the original post (trust me, it's very funny).

Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinnamon Roll Batter:
2/3 cup white sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
½  cup whole milk
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Cheesecake filling:

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 TBSP flour
3 eggs

Cinnamon Filling:

1/3 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3 TBSP cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 TBSP lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
milk (if needed to thin frosting)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch Springform pan.

Cinnamon Roll Batter:
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or hand mixer) cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add egg, milk,  and vanilla. Beat for another minute. Scrape down bowl.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine the sifted and creamed ingredients together. Mix on low speed until throughly combined.

Spread half of the batter onto the bottom of the Springform pan. It will be sticky and thick so spray your hands with baking spray and press down. It will be a thin layer, but trust me it will rise up during baking.

For the Cheesecake Filling:

Using a stand mixer (and a clean bowl) fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes on medium-high speed.

Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Add the vanilla and flour and beat for another minute.

Pour all of the cheesecake batter on top of the cinnamon roll batter that is in the prepared pan.

Cinnamon Filling:

In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Drop spoonfuls of the cinnamon filling over the entire top of the cheesecake.

Take the rest of the base batter and drop spoonfuls over the entire top of cheesecake. Once finished, take a knife to swirl the ingredients together. This is hard to do as the batter is pretty thick, just do what you can. 

Bake for about 50-55 minutes, cake will be puffy and lightly browned. Let chill for 20 minutes at room temperature and then cover and move to fridge for 4 hours. Remove cake and let it warm up to room temperature just a bit. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Using a stand mixer (and a clean bowl) with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together for 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and beat until desired consistency is reached. If too thick, thin out with milk.

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Baked Rigatoni

Here's an easy and tasty recipe to share.  Everything is store bought but when you put it all together and stick it in the oven it tastes very homemade.

Baked Rigatoni

Ingredients

1 box Rigatoni, boiled to "al dente"

2 jars Traditional Pasta Sauce

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella (approximate)

Sweet Italian Sausage, about 3 links, de-skinned

Directions

Heat oven to 350.  Boil pasta to "al dente" and drain.  Brown Italian sausage in skillet, breaking up into small pieces and drain excess fat.  Combine pasta, Italian sausage, both jars of pasta sauce, and most of the shredded mozzarella in large mixing bowl.  Pour into casserole dish and sprinkle remaining mozzarella over top.  Bake for 30 minutes or until all mozzarella is melted and filling is bubbling hot.

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Cornbread

I've been sharing this recipe a lot lately and I just now took a glance at the original post on my blog... what a strange layout!  I don't know exactly what I was thinking, but I was definitely not thinking about my readers with such an odd flow of words and photos.  So ladies and gents, I now present to you an updated Cornbread Recipe!

Cornbread
Ingredients
2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 box Jiffy Yellow Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 cup milk

1/3 cup oil
cinnamon, for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 335 degrees F.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except for cinnamon.  Whisk together by hand until relatively smooth, about 45 seconds.  Pour batter into 9x13, greased pan.  Sprinkle cinnamon on top and swirl in gently using whisk.


Bake for 35 minutes, check with toothpick.

 Delicious, moist, flavorful, and goes with anything!

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Spinach Salad with Sesame Vinaigrette

I've fallen in love with this easy recipe for a super healthy salad from my Cooking Light cookbook.  It's very quick and perfect for a mid-day snack.  I whipped this one up right before tutoring today; I don't want to be a hungry grouch for the poor boy!

 

Sesame Vinaigrette 

1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoons honey

dash of salt and pepper

Stir together with a whisk.  Place spinach in a large bowl and drizzle vinaigrette, tossing gently.  Or you can drizzle a tiny bit over a serving of spinach and save the rest of the vinaigrette, a little goes a long way!  

Some ideas for toppings would be grilled red onions (toss with a little sesame oil and cooked until tender), tangerine pieces, feta cheese, etc.   I topped mine with Parmesan and wasn't that impressed ... but sometimes you just have to work with what you have. Pin It Now!

Happy Blogiversary!!!

I can't believe that it's been an entire year since I began this little blog.  I've been through an awful lot since beginning it, that's for sure.  The Cutest Little House in Town blog began as a chronicle of my experiences as a first time home owner... keeping track of every home update and every garden tip throughout the year.  Apparently, those tips were all worth while because now someone new is loving that cute little house.  Since then, this blog has evolved to hopes and dreams for my future home along with the occasional recipe or two.  One day, hopefully sooner than later, I will have another cute little house to blog about.  Until then.....

Just keep blogging, just keep blogging... what do we do?  We blog, blog, blog!

In the meantime, I have a true first to share with you.  Today was the very first time I peeled an apple in one complete piece.  Check out the pic!  I have proof!  In honor of my blogiversary, I made a delicious apple cake.  This is by far my absolute favorite recipe and it deserves a second posting.  Enjoy!

Apple Cake

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temp
4 cups apples (3-4 large apples), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon cinnamon mixed with 1 tablespoon sugar for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 (340 works better in mine, play around with what you like). Lightly grease a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom.
2. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl.
3. Cream the butter, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a medium-size mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until blended, about 2 minutes. Stop to scrape the bowl twice with a rubber spatula.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, and mix on medium-low speed after each addition until blended, 10 seconds. Scrap the bowl each time. Once the eggs are added, mix again for 10 seconds.
5. Add half the dry ingredients and blend on low speed for 15 seconds. Scrap the bowl, add the rest of the dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until blended, about 5 seconds more.
6. Add the apples with a few turns of the mixer.
7. Spoon the batter into the pan and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar over the top. Bake the cake on the center oven rack until the top is firm and golden and a toothpick inserted at the cake's highest point comes out dry, about 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Recipe from Rosie's Bakery

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Super Bowl Party Recipes

Estevan and I will be hosting a Super Bowl party this year and I am so excited! My goal is to not have to resort to delivery pizza; instead, I'm going to make everything from scratch. Pretty big goal, right? It does, however, become phenomenally easier when you find great blogs like Annie's Eats. Her recipes look delicious and her photographs could be considered artwork. I'm definitely going to try out some of her recipes (stuffed mushrooms, salsa, Car Bomb cupcakes) and revisit one of my own (cornbread) for our party. Here's one of Annie's recipes that I'm really excited about......

Pizza Bites Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
1/2 batch pizza dough (enough for 1 pizza)
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed (about 20-24 pieces)
Sliced pepperoni

For topping:
Olive oil
Italian seasoning
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate or cake pan. Divide the pizza dough into 20-24 roughly equal sized pieces. Take one of the dough pieces, top with a cube of cheese and a slice or two of pepperoni. Pull the edges of the dough around the fillings and pinch closed. Place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.

Lightly brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and grated Parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Serve warm, with dipping sauce as desired.

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Chicken Gyros

I am loving this recipe. Sounds so good I had to share it! I found it through an amazing website called Annie's Eats, you can find many more delicious recipes there. I'll keep you posted when I try this recipe out... it has so few ingredients that I think I might try it this coming week.

Annie's Eats

Chicken Gyros
Ingredients:
For the tzatziki sauce:
16 oz. plain yogurt (not nonfat, if possible)
1/2 hothouse cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled and seeded
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press (or finely minced)
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Extra virgin olive oil

For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. plain yogurt
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

To assemble:
Pita bread
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
Red onion, sliced thin

Directions:
To make the tzatziki sauce, strain the yogurt using cheesecloth (if you don’t have that, a strainer lined with a coffee filter will work) over a bowl. Let strain for several hours or overnight, if possible, to remove as much moisture as possible.

Shred the cucumber. Wrap in a towel a squeeze to remove as much water as possible. Mix together the strained yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Drizzle lightly with olive oil. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. (I butterflied the chicken breasts and then cooked them under the broiler.) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips.

Heat pitas (I sprayed with some spray oil and then popped them in the toaster oven for a few minutes). Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Elly Says Opa!
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Success!

I just made another pumpkin pie and my crust cutters did a beautiful job. I also adjusted the recipe a little... I only used a 1/4 tsp. of ginger, cut down the nutmeg, took out my previous addition of cloves, and added a 1/2 tsp. vanilla based purely on the fact that I thought it smelled good in the mixture. This recipe is a work in progress in an effort to accommodate both my tastes (more spicy) and Estevan's (more traditional). Here's my updated version of The Good Housekeeping recipe for Pilgrim Pumpkin Pie:




Ingredients

1 pie crust
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• Prepare pie crust in dish as directed.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In large bowl, with wire whisk, mix all ingredients until well combined.
• Carefully pour pumpkin filling into pie crust.
• Bake until knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
• Cook on wire rack at least 1 hour before cutting.
• Serve with whipped cream.

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Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments, oh my!

Years ago, for our first Christmas, I made cinnamon applesauce ornaments. We didn't have many ornaments, just some bulk packaged ones from Target, but these cinnamon ornaments gave our tree a homey feel and the smell was amazing. After a few more Christmases (and one dog), our tree is filling up with beautiful and sentimental ornaments and I've had to say good bye to my cinnamon applesauce ornaments. You may ask, "Why?" and "Why do you mention the dog?". I mention the dog because last Christmas, our first Christmas with Java, we found out that he is deathly allergic to cinnamon. Very traumatic for all of us, but he made it through alright and I won't be tempting fate anymore with a tree full of cinnamon ornaments. So now, all I can do is pass along the recipe for my beloved ornaments, I hope that you enjoy them (and that your dog isn't allergic).


Recipe

1/2 cup cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce (store bought)

Or you could use equal parts of any amount based on how many you want to make.

Mix together by hand and roll out between two pieces of wax paper, making them about a quarter inch thick.

Using cookie cutters of any shape, gently cut out and place on wax paper lined baking sheet. Poke holes near top using a toothpick.

Bake at 200 degrees F for about 2 hours. Leave out to dry further over night.
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Snowballs

It's going to snow tomorrow in Houston! They are actually expecting 2-5 inches tomorrow, crazy. This will be the very first time that I'm hoping to NOT have a snow day. I just spent an hour or two making snowballs for the students that I've been teaching for the past week. I stuck a marshmallow on a lollipop stick, dipped them in melted white chocolate (using a spatula to help) and then rolled them in shaved coconut. Really sweet and really delicious!

I gave these to my students a few years back in Michigan in honor of the first snow of the year. Now these are in honor of probably the only snow of the year down here in Texas.

Perfect little individual treats for kids.

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