Snacky Snacks

I was browsing through Rachel Ray's magazine and came across a recipe for the most delicious Chex Mix. My husband is always scrounging for a crunchy snack, especially on the weekends, and loves anything spicy. I like the spicy/sweet combo, and I love that this can be done quickly and easily in the microwave. This is some serious addictive stuff. It's like crack (not that I would know). Enjoy!

Katie Lee's Spiced Nuts 'n Chex Mix

1/4 cup sugar
1 T chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2 cups Corn Chex cereal
2 cups Rice Chex cereal
2 cups Wheat Chex cereal
1 can (11.5 oz) mixed nuts

1. In small bowl, mix sugar, chili powder, and cayenne; set aside.
2. In large microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on high about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in cereal and nuts until evenly coated. Stir in sugar mixture until evenly coated.
3. Microwave uncovered on high 5 to 6 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes, until mixture just begins to turn brown. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container.

Please Don't Hate Me For This.

Behold. The pinnacle of yumminess. Bask in its splendor. This, my friends, is a Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie and it will be your undoing. It isn't just good. It possesses the power to incite a grown man to try and take a cookie from his own baby (N.). Observe.


I know you are waiting with bated breath to find out just how to make this cookie for yourself. I will keep you in suspense no longer. This recipe was submitted by Susan to the Best Bites in Paradise cookbook put together by Dr. Jesse Ehrlich of Venice, Florida. I love you Susan.

18 oz. chunky peanut butter
1 stick butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
1-1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
6 c. oats
2-1/2 tsp baking soda
6 oz. chocolate chips (I use 12 oz.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together peanut butter and softened butter. Add sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in oats, baking soda, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 9 to 10 minutes.

This recipe will provide you with a copious cache of cookies. I imagine the dough would freeze well if you don't have an hour or six to bake cookies.

All that's left to do now is bite....


chew...


repeat.

If You're Missing the Grill

I got to thinking after my last post that perhaps I should include a recipe for those of us still experiencing less than cool, crisp autumn weather and those of you who miss summery grilled food. Thus, I submit for your consideration kefta and zucchini kebobs via smittenkitchen. These were beyond delicious. Everyone in my family moaned in delight and declared them fabulous in every respect. Even if you are a little nervous about ethnic food and the idea of dipping meat into minted yogurt, don't be afraid. After all, the worst that could happen is you don't like it. Don't worry, just try one bite and if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. (Works on my kids.) You don't even need a grill. I did mine in the grill pan because it was raining. They are very simple to make.
Here are the kefta

Here's the zucchini. Now, put them together and....

ummmmm....

Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

Now that fall is upon us, it is time to trot out all the homey, comforting recipes that have sat forlorn and untouched throughout the summer months. Of course, it is still in the high 80s and humid here in Florida, but I choose to ignore that. It's October, doggone it, I want some baked pasta! And so will you after this post. Seriously, make it. You will totally thank me for it. I will begin by enticing you with photographs of its cheesy, mouthwatering goodness.

Looks good, huh? Huh? Huh? (If we were not separated by cyberspace I would be nudging you with my elbow here. I suppose it is a good thing we are separated by cyberspace because that would probably be annoying.) Now contemplate the sausage. I used sweet Italian turkey sausage because the kids don't like spicy.
Now--stop salivating all over your keyboard!--click here for the recipe and go make you some dinner.

Cornmeal-Cherry Upside Down Cake

Around these parts there have been sale-priced cherries a'plenty. If you have a cherry pitter (this is important) and want the most delectable fruit/cake combo in existence, I highly recommend you make this Cherry Cornmeal Upside-down Cake I found at smittenkitchen. Let me emphasize at this juncture that if it is your intent to buy a can of cherries rather than use fresh for this recipe, save yourself some time and just buy a box cake. Canned cherries would completely ruin this recipe. If you try it I am sure fines and punishment (other than enduring subpar cake) will ensue. I'm just sayin'.

Much to my chagrin, a cherry pitter was not be had in this town so I halved my cherries and picked the pits out by hand. My fingertips and nails looked lovely for days. Must find cherry pitter. The recipe was not difficult, but time consuming. I confess that mid-way through the process I wondered if it was really worth it, but the first bite convinced me that it was indeed. Remember Scooby Doo's reaction when he finally obtained his coveted scooby-snack? How he would close his eyes and make the "ummm, ummmm" sounds while floating in the air, then sink into a satisfied heap on the ground? That's what happened to me when I placed that first forkful in my mouth. It also happened a couple of times after the first forkful.

Arroz con Pollo

This picture does not even begin to convey just how delicioso this arroz con pollo (chicken and rice for my non-Spanish speaking friends out there) tasted. This is Ingrid Hoffman's recipe from Simply Delicioso on Food Network (click on the word "delicioso" in the previous sentence to go to the recipe)(Yes, I steadfastly hold to my right to intersperse parenthetical phrases throughout my writing with reckless abandon. I'm trying to get my commas under control, so cut me some slack already.). Despite the fact that she is about as Miami South Beach as you can get I can't help but like her and think she is a pretty cool chica. Now,you may look at this recipe and think that you don't have time to make this, or the ingredients don't scream "life-altering chicken and rice yumminess on plate!" to you. I, however, am here to tell you that you must make time to make this because it is, in fact, life-altering chicken and rice yumminess on a plate(!). Sorry, I had to get all stern and use the mom voice on you, but it's for your own good. You'll thank me for it later.

I HEART PIZZA

I love pizza. No, I mean I LOOOOOVVVE pizza. It is a rare week that doesn't involve me make one. I am also trying to incorporate healthier food choices into our daily lives. My typical crust is diametrically opposed to this goal and so I have been searching high and low for a wheat pizza crust that doesn't destroy the pizza experience. This is the best one I have found thus far http://www.easypizzacrusts.com/wwpc.html . I added 1 1/2 tsp of sugar for the yeast to eat and replaced 1/4 of the flour with flax seed meal to make me feel cool. Also, mine was done in 17 minutes rather than the 20-25 minutes recommended. What I liked about this crust is that the rise time is short, the dough was easy to handle, the texture was not too heavy, and the bottom was crispy (I bake mine on the bottom rack). It was a touch bland so I think next time I will use a bit of honey rather than sugar and maybe some herbs right in the dough. As always, if you have a great recipe I'd love to see it!

Quick & Easy Quesadilla & Pico de Gallo

I am a great lover of quick and easy meals, especially when they are healthy to boot. This meal fits the bill, and I highly recommend it. For this pico, I simply diced some roma tomatoes, onions, and garlic, squeezed fresh lime juice over it, stirred in fresh chopped cilantro, and called it a day. I only lament the fact that I didn't have any jalapeno to toss in. Even so, it was delicious. The next step was to make refried beans. My method for this is crazy easy. Heat 1 T or so of oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. Drain and rinse a can of pinto beans and add to hot skillet. Cook for a few minutes until fragrant and beans are warm, then start mashing. Once sufficiently mashed, add cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Stir in broth until the beans are the desired consistency, and remove from heat. This generally takes all of 10 minutes tops. I then busted out my favorite tortillas on the planet, the whole wheat Tam-x-icos! tortillas, lovingly applied the frijoles refritos, sprinkled on little sharp cheddar cheese, and gave it a couple minutes on each side in a hot pan. Making 4 of these and the pico took me 20 minutes start to finish, and that includes shredding my own cheese. Of course the possibilities are endless when it comes to fillings. One of my favorites is apple, grated carrot, and cheddar, which would be muy delicioso with a fruit salsa (I will have to dig up my recipe for that soon mmmmm). If you have any good salsa recipes or quesadilla filling suggestions please share!

Currylicious

I get a hankering for curry on a fairly regular basis. It all started back in college when I waited tables at an Indian restaurant. Prior to that, Taco Bell was the spiciest food I had ever eaten and Indian cuisine was in the realm of the mystical. Naturally, since it was my first year of college, I was feeling quite cosmopolitan and ventured into a restaurant by the name of A Passage to India emanating exotic aromas . I've always been an EM Forster fan so I figured it was worth a try. It so happened they were hiring and, as I was interested in possessing some extra cash, an agreement was reached. The owner, who also did all the cooking, would make food for us after every shift. I started out with mango lassis and chai with chipatis. Then I got brave and ventured onto chicken biryani (mild of course) and pakora with tamarind chutney. It was all over at that point. By the end of my first semester, I was eating dishes that were "Indian hot". It made my nose run and my eyes water and I loved it. And the people said "Amen." In fact, I will go on record as saying that there is no food better than Indian food.

So far, E. is the only one of my offspring who likes it, and that's why she's my favorite. Anyway, this is what I made for dinner last night to get my curry fix. It is on the hotter side of medium spiciness, so adjust the amount of curry powder according to your preference and the strength/freshness of your curry powder. Oh, and feel free to substitute away. You could replace the potatoes with chickpeas or the spinach with green beans, and if I'm feeling saucy, I'll through in some cumin seeds with the garlic. A side of raita (plain yogurt with cucumber basically) to cool it off would be yummy. Want me to quit yakking and give you the recipe? You got it! If you have any great curry recipes I'd love to know!
Yummilicious Curry
Cooking oil
1 cup diced onion
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups diced potatoes
4 cups chopped tomatoes
2 cups of cauliflower
2 cups of baby spinach
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ginger

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onions until they become translucent and are beginning to turn golden. Add potatoes and garlic, and cook until the potatoes are beginning to brown. Add spices, and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, then add tomatoes and simmer 8 minutes. Stir in cauliflower and spinach; cover and simmer about 10 minutes or until spinach is wilted and potatoes are tender.

Open Mouth, Insert Cookie

I have a good excuse for making cookies again so soon. No really, I do. We were late for Sunday school which meant the girls received NO TREATS! in the reception area before going to class. As you can imagine, this was a very serious situation. To prevent E. from having a complete meltdown (not an unheard of event when she is hungry) I assured her that I would make special treats for them that afternoon. Be glad because these cookies and yummy tasty. I decided to make snickerdoodles for three reasons: they are delectable, I had all the ingredients, and they are fun to say. Go on say it. Snickerdoodle, snickerdoodle, snickerdoodle. You may remember these cookies from your junior high home/ec class (M). I ran out of white sugar for the cinnamon/sugar coating and had to use brown sugar, but my grandma and I decided they were much improved for the substitution. They had a very crisp exterior while maintaining a light and airy interior. You may remember from my beans & cornbread entry that this is a texture combo that brings joy to my heart. Here is the recipe I used: http://www.popularcookierecipes.com/Snickerdoodle.html. Coming soon: D vs orange peel textured walls.

Beans, Beans The Musical Fruit

Let me preface this post by saying that I have never been what you might call a fan of beans or cornbread. Cornbread was almost always too dry and bland. Beans were squishy and smelled weird. My husband and kids, however, love beans and all but N love cornbread so I decided to try this recipe from Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/08/beans_and_cornb/ Wow! WOW! I hope the use of all caps, bold, italics, and red letters properly convey just how shocked I was at just how good these beans and cornbread were. The beans were not too mushy or squishy and didn't smell weird. They smelled like bacon which, of course, is a good thing. I substituted butter for the shortening in the cornbread recipe which imparted a lovely buttery flavor. It was wonderfully crisp and crunchy on the outside while moist and fluffy on the inside. Completely divine.

Marinara Magnifica

This recipe is from Cooking Light and is phenomenal. It makes a truckload so typically I divide it into ziplocks and freeze for later. You will never want to buy jarred sauce again. Now, go forth and make marinara. http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=686171

Ummm Ummm Good!

Listen kids, this is one crazy good cookie. Bake these for your friends and loved ones and monuments will be erected in your honor. You can find the recipe at the following link. God bless you, Ree. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/09/marlboro_mans_favorite_cookies_oatmeal_crispies/