The temperatures dropped (plummeted?) from balmy 65-70* to the mid 50's and below freezing in the mornings. Time to start taking down the garden! Add in my bookgroups 13th Anniversary and the Husbands birthday and this called for a bit of baking!
Four recipes rounded out this week. Nice!
For lunches:
Kristin's Crockpot Stew (Source unknown)
Not a new recipe, but one worth sharing. This is a stew I grew up on and I have no idea where the original recipe was from. It's simple - toss everything into the crockpot and walk away. It's hearty, and makes at least 8 servings. It can easily be doubled and modified to suit your tastes. I don't care for beef anymore, so I'm typing up the original version and what I prefer now. I've tried this with non-Campbell soup's, but it just didn't taste like it should. Can also be made vegetarian by omitting the meat and adding extra veggies. The liquid from the meat and veggies add plenty of liquid, but if you want to thin it out, add 1-2 cups of water to taste. Start with one cup.
**note, veggie quantities are approximate. I just chop and toss until it 'looks right'.
Beef Stew
1 lb beef stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
1 can cr. of mushroom soup (or cr. of celery)
1 can cr. of chicken soup
1 can tomato soup
6-8 baby red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1 heaping cup of carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 bay leaf
Put everything into the slowcooker. Add 1 cup water if desired. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. Serve with a good crusty bread. Great in a sourdough soup bowl if you have access to them.
Chicken variation
1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1 can cr. of celery soup
1 can cr. of chicken soup
1 can tomato soup
6-8 baby red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
1 heaping cup of carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 onion, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 bay leaf
For Bookgroup:
Decadent Double Chocolate Bundt Cake (Ckng Lght, Mar 2008)
I learned the last time I brought a 'fancy' desert to celebrate a bookgroup anniversary to avoid the chocolately layered goodness because between transit the layers rather slid. Kept it simple with this bundt cake. Easy to transport, easy to serve. Topped the individual pieces off with whip cream.
I was a bit perplexed by the glaze directions - I have a hard enough time getting a bundt to come
out of a pan, and then to dump a bunch of glaze over the bottom? I omitted that bit, and just poured the glaze over the top. When all was said and done, for as much flavor as the glaze had on it's own, it sure wasn't very pronounced on the cake. Disappointing.
Category Winner: Desserts, Cooking Light Ultimate Reader Recipe Contest.
"The cake has a delicate chocolate flavor, so it's not overpowering. I enjoy the special glaze the most. Although I wrote the recipe to say "cool completely," the cake tastes delicious served slightly warm about a half-hour after you have inverted it from the pan." —Barb Combs, Fort Collins, CO
Glaze:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chocolate-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons butter
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| photo from cookinglight.com |
Cake:
1 1/2 teaspoons canola oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate mini chips
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1. To prepare glaze, combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cool completely.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. To prepare cake, drizzle oil into a 12-cup Bundt pan; coat pan thoroughly with a pastry brush. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons flour, shaking out excess. Coat prepared pan with cooking spray.
4. Place 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar and 6 tablespoons butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
5. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 3 cups flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Beat 2 minutes. Fold in chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Swirl batter using a knife.
6. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately pour glaze over cake. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Invert cake onto a serving plate; cool completely. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar.
For Suppers:
We have a winner! This was easy to assemble, tasted good, and can be modified to fit whatever you are in the mood for. Don't like olives? Skip'm! Substitute a crumbled Italian Sausage instead. Don't like olives or sausage? Toss in some zucchini. It's that kind of recipe. This is a nice change to the traditional spaghetti sauce/marinara sauce.
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine (I used a whole 12 oz box. Really...what am I going to do with 4oz of leftover noodles?)
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| photo from cookinglight.com |
4 quarts boiling water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic (I used one clove of garlic for maybe 1 tbsp; don't care to taste garlic at 1am)
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and crushed
3 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/4 cup oil-cured olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup small fresh basil leaves
1/2 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, shaved
1. Cook pasta in 4 quarts boiling water with 1/4 teaspoon salt for 8 minutes or until noodles are almost al dente. Drain pasta through a sieve over a bowl; reserve 1 1/3 cups pasta cooking water. (I only used 1 cup; 1 1/3 seemed like too much)
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add garlic; cook 2 minutes or until very fragrant and tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and tomatoes; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in reserved 1 1/3 cups pasta water; bring to a boil. Add cream cheese; stir until smooth. Add pasta, olives, and red pepper; cook 3 minutes or until pasta is al dente, tossing to coat. Divide pasta mixture among 4 shallow bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon basil. Divide Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly among servings.
Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light
AUGUST 2012
I had some rice noodles in the pantry and summer squash in the fridge that all needed a dish. This seemed like it would be worth a try, even though I've struggled with cooking the rice noodled properly so they don't turn into a gummy mess. Because my chicken thighs were still fairly frozen when I stared this one, I changed the order of assembly and would recommend doing so even if your birds are not little bricks of ice.
This turned out pretty good and my noodles were not the usual mass of ricey glop. I did realize that this dish would be awesome with plain raman noodles. I was so-so on the cilantro sauce and I think that could easily be skipped. Do pull out the siracha sauce - perfect way to add more heat for those who like it.
Last note - boneless skin on thighs don't exist in my corner of the world, and to heck with even trying to find someone to de-bone them in the store. I bought bone in, cooked as directed but did not slice. I just served one thigh along side the noodles. In all honesty, this was some of the best chicken I've made yet!
Ckng lght notes: Using the cilantro stems for the base of the sauce (instead of throwing them in the trash) is a flavorful way to stretch a buck or two. If you can't find skin-on boneless chicken thighs, purchase bone-in and bone them yourself or have the butcher do so.
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| photo from cookinglight.com |
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) skin-on, boneless chicken thighs
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 ounces uncooked rice vermicelli (sugg sub - raman noodles; cook according to dir on pkg)
1 1/2 cups cilantro stems (about 1 bunch)
1/4 cup no-salt-added chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves
2 fresh Thai chiles (I subbed one jalepeno - store didn't have Thai)
1 1/4 cups chopped yellow squash (about 1 medium) (I subbed two patty pan squash)
6 ounces baby bok choy, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon lower-sodium soy sauce
8 lime wedges
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, cilantro, and next 5 ingredients (through chiles) in a food processor, and process until well blended.
3. Heat a large stainless steel skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken, skin side down; cook 3 minutes or until skin begins to brown. Remove chicken from pan. Pour oil into a small bowl; reserve oil. Return chicken to pan, skin side down. Place pan in oven; bake chicken at 425° for 4 minutes. Turn chicken over, skin side up, and bake an additional 2 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from pan; place on a cutting board. Let chicken stand, skin side up, 10 minutes.
Cut chicken into slices; keep warm.
4. Cook the noodles according to package directions, and drain. Sprinkle noodles with 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine.
5. Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add reserved oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add squash, bok choy, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; sauté for 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Stir in soy sauce. Divide noodle mixture evenly among 4 bowls. Top each serving with 1/2 cup squash mixture, 1 chicken thigh, and 2 lime wedges. Drizzle the sauce evenly over servings.
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