Between pregnancy and having a baby again, I don't feel like I've been super creative in the kitchen lately. However, Elijah's intolerance to even the slightest dairy has made me have to completely change our menu rotation, so I've slowly but surely found a few new favorites. These Asian Meatballs are one of them. This is an adaptation of the recipe found online at Taste of Home. You can find that one here.
Asian Meatballs with Wasabi Mayo sauce
1 lb ground beef
1/2 large onion, chopped finely
1 teaspoon oil
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1/4 c bread crumbs
1/4 oats, ground (I combine a slice of bread with the oats in a blender until fine)
1/4 c finely chopped jicama (optional)
3 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Sauce
1/3 c mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared wasabi
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 Tablespoon juice from sushi ginger (not the pink stuff) (optional)
Saute onion in skillet with oil until tender. Combine meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Form into 1 inch balls and place on a jelly roll pan lined with foil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Combine ingredients for the sauce and whisk together. Serve with meatballs. These go great with rice and broccoli.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Friday, March 18, 2011
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Donuts
I've always been intrigued by the idea of making donuts, but it always sounded super messy and I just didn't want to deal with all the grease. But last fall I bought several pumpkins and butternut squash to cook, puree, and freeze and now I am finding myself looking for recipes to use it all in. Plus I have this refined coconut oil that I accidentally bought and I really don't like very well, so I needed something to use it all in. Not sure why, but for some reason pumpkin donuts sounded amazing, so Ben and I gave some a try. The results were addictingly delicious.
I started with a recipe I found here and then adapted it a bit to use what I had on hand and to cut down the sweetener. I totally forgot to take pictures and they were so tasty that I took them over to my parents house so I wouldn't eat them all.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Donuts
3 1/2 - 4 cups white whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup +1 Tablespoon butter milk (I subbed 1/2 cup unsweet almond milk + 1 Tablespoon lemon juice)
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 quarts oil for frying - I used expeller pressed refined coconut oil, but I'm sure canola or some other oil without a lot of flavor would work well.
Mix the first 8 ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and pumpkin. Fold milk mixture and melted butter into the dry mixture using a wooden spoon and mix just until well combined. Dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Add more flour as necessary. Sprinkle flour onto counter top and roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out using a floured cookie cutter or upside down cup. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut a hole in the center of the donut and set it aside for donut holes. (our donut holes were mini hearts because that was the only small cookie cutter I had.) Heat oil over medium heat in a 4-5 quart soup pot. When oil is hot, drop a few donuts at a time into the pot and cook 2 minutes before flipping with a slotted spoon. Continue cooking until both sides are golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze with a powdered sugar and milk combination. These are best when still warm, but will stay crisp and delicious even after cooling.
I started with a recipe I found here and then adapted it a bit to use what I had on hand and to cut down the sweetener. I totally forgot to take pictures and they were so tasty that I took them over to my parents house so I wouldn't eat them all.
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Donuts
3 1/2 - 4 cups white whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar
3 Tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup +1 Tablespoon butter milk (I subbed 1/2 cup unsweet almond milk + 1 Tablespoon lemon juice)
1 cup pureed pumpkin
1 1/2 quarts oil for frying - I used expeller pressed refined coconut oil, but I'm sure canola or some other oil without a lot of flavor would work well.
Mix the first 8 ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, vanilla and pumpkin. Fold milk mixture and melted butter into the dry mixture using a wooden spoon and mix just until well combined. Dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Add more flour as necessary. Sprinkle flour onto counter top and roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out using a floured cookie cutter or upside down cup. Use a smaller cookie cutter to cut a hole in the center of the donut and set it aside for donut holes. (our donut holes were mini hearts because that was the only small cookie cutter I had.) Heat oil over medium heat in a 4-5 quart soup pot. When oil is hot, drop a few donuts at a time into the pot and cook 2 minutes before flipping with a slotted spoon. Continue cooking until both sides are golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze with a powdered sugar and milk combination. These are best when still warm, but will stay crisp and delicious even after cooling.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Comfort Food - Soft Pretzel Bites
It has been COLD here lately and for some reason cold weather makes me want warm carb filled foods. Yesterday the craving hit and I decided to try adapting a soft pretzel recipe to make it a bit healthier. The result was delicious and definitely fit the comfort food category.
Whole Wheat Soft Pretzel Bites
Find the original recipe here.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sucanat
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or one package)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon wheat gluten
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg beaten with one tablespoon water
sea salt (If I would have had course salt, I would have used that)
Combine water, sucanat, yeast, and melted butter. Let stand 5 minutes and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, add sea salt, gluten and 2 to 3 cups of flour. Mix until well combined. Continue adding remaining flour until dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky. Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Cover and let stand in a warm place until double. This time of year, I turn on the oven for about a minute and then turn it off and let my yeast doughs sit inside until risen.
Preheat oven to 425.
In a large pot, combine 3 quarts water with 3/4 cup baking soda. Bring to a boil. Divide dough into eight equal portions and roll each portion into a rope. Cut into bite size pieces and drop 15-20 pieces into the baking soda water. Boil for 30 seconds and transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Continue until all pretzel bites are boiled. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine these would freeze well and you could just pull out a few and reheat in the oven for a quick and tasty snack.
Matt made a quick little cheese sauce for his, but since my body has decided not to get along with very much dairy, I dipped mine in honey mustard sauce. But even plain, these little bites were tasty!
Whole Wheat Soft Pretzel Bites
Find the original recipe here.
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons sucanat
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (or one package)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon wheat gluten
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg beaten with one tablespoon water
sea salt (If I would have had course salt, I would have used that)
Combine water, sucanat, yeast, and melted butter. Let stand 5 minutes and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook, add sea salt, gluten and 2 to 3 cups of flour. Mix until well combined. Continue adding remaining flour until dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky. Transfer dough to a greased bowl. Cover and let stand in a warm place until double. This time of year, I turn on the oven for about a minute and then turn it off and let my yeast doughs sit inside until risen.
Preheat oven to 425.
In a large pot, combine 3 quarts water with 3/4 cup baking soda. Bring to a boil. Divide dough into eight equal portions and roll each portion into a rope. Cut into bite size pieces and drop 15-20 pieces into the baking soda water. Boil for 30 seconds and transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Continue until all pretzel bites are boiled. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot. I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine these would freeze well and you could just pull out a few and reheat in the oven for a quick and tasty snack.
Matt made a quick little cheese sauce for his, but since my body has decided not to get along with very much dairy, I dipped mine in honey mustard sauce. But even plain, these little bites were tasty!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
January Temptation
Now that January is here and we are all determined to eat healthier and exercise more, I'm finally going to post our Christmas cinnamon roll recipe. Just keep it in mind for next year, or for some Saturday morning when you're feeling like indulging.
We have had cinnamon rolls for breakfast every Christmas since we've been married. I used to use a recipe that my great grandma made, but it was difficult to follow as much of it was just the ingredients and not the actual amount. Then, a few years ago I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. I've altered it a bit to add in whole grains and we love it.
Whole Wheat Mini Maple Cinnamon Rolls
2/3 cup milk, heated to 115 degrees
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons gluten
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Filling
1/2 cup sucanat
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold butter
Maple Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 to 2 teaspoons milk
Combine milk and yeast and let sit until bubbly. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine flour, gluten, and salt. Mix in butter. While mixing, add in egg, maple syrup, and yeast mixture. Mix several minutes until it comes together as a soft dough. Divide dough in half and roll each half into two rectangles. In a small bowl, combine sucanat, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles a thick paste. Divide the mixture and press onto each rectangle. Prepare to get messy because this is best done with your hands. Once the mixture is evenly spread over dough, roll up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam to seal. Cut each roll into 12 slices and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If they brown too quickly, place a piece of foil lightly over the top and continue baking until done. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. In a small mixing bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, syrup, butter, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Spread over warm rolls.
We have had cinnamon rolls for breakfast every Christmas since we've been married. I used to use a recipe that my great grandma made, but it was difficult to follow as much of it was just the ingredients and not the actual amount. Then, a few years ago I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine. I've altered it a bit to add in whole grains and we love it.
Whole Wheat Mini Maple Cinnamon Rolls
2/3 cup milk, heated to 115 degrees
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons gluten
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Filling
1/2 cup sucanat
2 tablespoons white whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons cold butter
Maple Icing
1 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 to 2 teaspoons milk
Combine milk and yeast and let sit until bubbly. In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine flour, gluten, and salt. Mix in butter. While mixing, add in egg, maple syrup, and yeast mixture. Mix several minutes until it comes together as a soft dough. Divide dough in half and roll each half into two rectangles. In a small bowl, combine sucanat, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles a thick paste. Divide the mixture and press onto each rectangle. Prepare to get messy because this is best done with your hands. Once the mixture is evenly spread over dough, roll up jelly-roll style and pinch the seam to seal. Cut each roll into 12 slices and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If they brown too quickly, place a piece of foil lightly over the top and continue baking until done. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. In a small mixing bowl, combine confectioner's sugar, syrup, butter, and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Spread over warm rolls.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Christmas Baking
It just doesn't feel like Christmas around here without a week spent baking up all sorts of goodies. I may have gotten a bit overly ambitious this year and done a few too many types of goodies, but it was fun and they have been super yummy. I will say that yesterday I bagged up all the rest and sent them to work with Matt because I just kept eating them. Too much snow and too many Christmas cookies can just be, well, too much sitting and eating. :-)
My grand experiment for this year was to make all my cookies using absolutely no white flour. I recently discovered white spring wheat and have been grinding it and I'm finding that it's great for substituting in just about anything that calls for white flour. White whole wheat flour can also be found preground in most grocery stores. Still has all the benefits of being whole wheat, but it's a bit milder than the more traditional red wheat. We gave them away to neighbors and Matt's coworkers and I don't think anyone even knew their cookies were whole wheat.
One of my favorite recipes was out of a Taste of Home cookbook I have. I followed the directions exactly except that I subbed whole wheat flour for all purpose flour. They turned out great and were super cute. You can find the recipe here.
My other favorite recipe for this year was a sugar cookie recipe passed on to me by one of my Bible Study leaders from San Antonio. Once again I subbed whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour and I also used sucanat instead of refined sugar. Of course they look a lot darker that your typical sugar cookie, but they tasted fantastic!
My grand experiment for this year was to make all my cookies using absolutely no white flour. I recently discovered white spring wheat and have been grinding it and I'm finding that it's great for substituting in just about anything that calls for white flour. White whole wheat flour can also be found preground in most grocery stores. Still has all the benefits of being whole wheat, but it's a bit milder than the more traditional red wheat. We gave them away to neighbors and Matt's coworkers and I don't think anyone even knew their cookies were whole wheat.
My other favorite recipe for this year was a sugar cookie recipe passed on to me by one of my Bible Study leaders from San Antonio. Once again I subbed whole wheat flour for the all purpose flour and I also used sucanat instead of refined sugar. Of course they look a lot darker that your typical sugar cookie, but they tasted fantastic!
Here's the recipe:
Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. sucanat
1 large egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1 t. almond extract
2 t. baking powder
3 c. white whole wheat flour
Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl. This takes a little extra creaming when using sucanat. Add the egg and extracts and beat well. Mix in the baking powder and then add in the flour one cup at a time. Divide your dough in half and roll into two logs. Slice cookies and place on cookie sheet. bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until barely browned.
For the icing, combine 1/4 cup butter with 1/2 t vanilla extract and 1/2 t almond extract. Beat in 2 cups powdered sugar and 1-2 T. milk. Adjust the amount of sugar and milk until you reach your desired consistency. If using colored sugars for decorating, sprinkle them on immediately after frosting the cookies as the icing will quickly form a crust.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
Well I haven't been great about keeping up this blog, and now I'm being lazy and just repeating an old recipe that's on our family blog, but perhaps I'll have some new recipes to share in the future. I'm finding that because I'm so non regimented in my cooking, I don't always do a very good job of measuring the things I add or subtract from a recipe. The result of that is that I often make things that turn out yummy, but I can never repeat them exactly because I just dumped in a little of this and a little of that. So, I have several recipes that I'm needing to keep better track of so I can post them. Hopefully soon. But for now, enjoy some pizza!
Whole Wheat Pizza - Makes one large pizza or 4-5 personal size pizzas
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 c warm water
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 T wheat gluten
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 c olive oil
Combine yeast and water with a drizzle of honey to activate. In a mixer, combine flour, gluten, spices, salt, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Combine oil and yeast mixture, then add to flour mixture. Knead in mixer until dough forms and is soft and pliable. Remove from mixer and let stand 30 minutes.
Roll out and shape as desired. Lately I've been dividing it into four or five personal sized pizzas just for fun. Bake in the oven at 425 for 7-10 minutes (time depends on pizza size). Remove from oven and add sauce, toppings, and cheese. Place back in the oven and cook until the cheese is melty and slightly browned.
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast
1 c warm water
3 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 T wheat gluten
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 c olive oil
Combine yeast and water with a drizzle of honey to activate. In a mixer, combine flour, gluten, spices, salt, and Parmesan cheese. Mix well. Combine oil and yeast mixture, then add to flour mixture. Knead in mixer until dough forms and is soft and pliable. Remove from mixer and let stand 30 minutes.
Roll out and shape as desired. Lately I've been dividing it into four or five personal sized pizzas just for fun. Bake in the oven at 425 for 7-10 minutes (time depends on pizza size). Remove from oven and add sauce, toppings, and cheese. Place back in the oven and cook until the cheese is melty and slightly browned.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
More Fall Goodness
Yesterday I made a trip to the local apple orchard. There is just nothing like a good crisp apple straight from the orchard. I've always associated apples with fall, but for the past 7 years, I have not had a good apple in the fall. I was never able to find that orchard fresh crisp tart/sweet combo in an apple while we were in Texas. So yesterday and today have been major apple eating days. I bought a ton, but I may have to head back up and get some more at the rate we all I have been eating them.
So today's cooking experiment included finding a good caramel apple dip for all these yummy apples. Not that they need dip, but I just love apples and caramel. I have this memory from growing up of combining caramel ice cream topping with cream cheese and it was amazing, so I was looking to recreate that. Unfortunately caramel ice cream topping in the store is really nothing but corn syrup and hydrogenated oil, so I did a hunt and came up with a recipe to make my own. I think it's even better than what I remembered from growing up. Now if I can restrain myself from eating it too quickly.
Caramel Cream Cheese Apple Dip
1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar
2 1/2 Tablespoons water (omit 1/2 T if using brown sugar)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon salted butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
In a heavy sauce pan, combine sucanat, water, and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is bubbly and beginning to thicken. (About 6 minutes total cook time.) Remove from heat and stir in cream and butter. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Pour into a bowl and stir in the vanilla. Let mixture cool for about an hour. Place cream cheese block in the caramel mixture and beat with hand mixer until smooth. Serve with your favorite apples.
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