I found so many recipes for Homemade Hummus online, but ended up using the one from the Cuisinart Elite Collection Recipe Booklet that came with my 12-cup food processor. I have made a couple of small changes over time as I perfect it so if it looks different than last time you checked that's why!
Makes 2 cups of hummus
Ingredients:
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
3 cloves garlic
2 cans (15.5oz each) chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
2 tablespoons Tahini Paste (see recipe in blog for homemade paste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2.5 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1) Pulse lemon zest, salt, parsley and garlic together in the food processor 5-6 times, scrape the sides of the bowl and repeat.
2) Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl and process again to fully incorporate all ingredients.
*We also added our favorite hot sauce a little at a time to a bit of the hummus for a quick, spicy hummus. We served both with carrots, celery, pita chips and pretzels.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Homemade Tahini Paste
Ooooh my goodness, Tahini Paste is so hard to find in a small grocery store!!! All I wanted was to make homemade hummus for my sister and her husband on a double date night but everyone I asked at our local grocery store had no idea what I was talking about! Luckily, I came across Reeni's blog Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and she saved my life with a recipe to make fantastic Tahini Paste for my hummus.
Ingredients:
Sesame Seeds (I had a 1 cup jar on hand)
Olive oil (I only had extra virgin, used it and had no problems)
Directions:
1) Lightly toast sesame seeds over low heat in a sauté pan for 10 minutes, stirring often. Every recipe I read specified not to brown the seeds!!
2) Allow seeds to cool, then add them to bowl of a food processor with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse until a paste forms. (I ended up needing to add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to make a paste consistency).
You now have Tahini Paste!! PHEW!!! It took less time to make than it would to find and purchase in a store!!
Ingredients:
Sesame Seeds (I had a 1 cup jar on hand)
Olive oil (I only had extra virgin, used it and had no problems)
Directions:
1) Lightly toast sesame seeds over low heat in a sauté pan for 10 minutes, stirring often. Every recipe I read specified not to brown the seeds!!
2) Allow seeds to cool, then add them to bowl of a food processor with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and pulse until a paste forms. (I ended up needing to add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to make a paste consistency).
You now have Tahini Paste!! PHEW!!! It took less time to make than it would to find and purchase in a store!!
Sausage and Peppers
This is a recipe I made by adapting a bunch of other people's recipes and using ingredients that I had at home, luckily it came out great the first time and I continue to make it this way! I usually make it the same week as the Sausage and Spinach over Pasta to use the rest of the sausage links.
Ingredients:
3 links of sweet or hot turkey sausage (depending on your preference)
1 bag of frozen pepper stir fry (happened to have it and it worked great so it's my go to ingredient!!)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
15oz can crushed tomatoes (low sodium and not flavored if you can find it)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1) Heat saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil and swirl to coat pan.
2) Add sausage and pepper flakes, stirring to crumble. Cook 3-5 minutes, until sausage is no longer pink.
3) Remove sausage from pan. Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and add bag of frozen pepper stir fry. Cook 8-10 minutes, until vegetables are cooked, adding garlic for last minute of cooking.
4) Add crushed tomato, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper and cooked sausage. Stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve.
*We typically serve our over pasta or rice, whatever we have on hand!! A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese is great on this meal too.
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Ingredients:
3 links of sweet or hot turkey sausage (depending on your preference)
1 bag of frozen pepper stir fry (happened to have it and it worked great so it's my go to ingredient!!)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
15oz can crushed tomatoes (low sodium and not flavored if you can find it)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1) Heat saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil and swirl to coat pan.
2) Add sausage and pepper flakes, stirring to crumble. Cook 3-5 minutes, until sausage is no longer pink.
3) Remove sausage from pan. Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and add bag of frozen pepper stir fry. Cook 8-10 minutes, until vegetables are cooked, adding garlic for last minute of cooking.
4) Add crushed tomato, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper and cooked sausage. Stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve.
*We typically serve our over pasta or rice, whatever we have on hand!! A sprinkle of Parmesan cheese is great on this meal too.
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Sausage and Spinach over Pasta
This recipe is adapted from Cooking Light's Sausage-Spinach Rice Bowl, with a couple of changes and served over pasta instead of rice.
**This is my husband's favorite dish that I make right now, most recently I made it for our 2 month wedding anniversary last week-he loves it!!!
Ingredients:
8oz pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 links of hot or sweet turkey sausage, casings removed (depends how spicy you like your food!)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (6 ounce) package of baby spinach
1/2 cup light, fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth (I use College Inn)
Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to package directions.
2) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirl to coat.
3) Add pepper flakes and sausage to pan, cook 4-6 minutes-until sausage is browned, stir to crumble.
4) Add garlic, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add spinach, cook 30 seconds, or until spinach begins to wilt, stirring constantly.
5) Add chicken stock and cooked pasta, bring to simmer for one minute.
6) Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. The Cooking Light recipe calls for 1/4 cup of shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese on top, but we just sprinkle a bit of shredded or grated Parmesan on ours-whichever we happen to have!
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**This is my husband's favorite dish that I make right now, most recently I made it for our 2 month wedding anniversary last week-he loves it!!!
Ingredients:
8oz pasta of your choice
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 links of hot or sweet turkey sausage, casings removed (depends how spicy you like your food!)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 (6 ounce) package of baby spinach
1/2 cup light, fat free, reduced sodium chicken broth (I use College Inn)
Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to package directions.
2) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirl to coat.
3) Add pepper flakes and sausage to pan, cook 4-6 minutes-until sausage is browned, stir to crumble.
4) Add garlic, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add spinach, cook 30 seconds, or until spinach begins to wilt, stirring constantly.
5) Add chicken stock and cooked pasta, bring to simmer for one minute.
6) Serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. The Cooking Light recipe calls for 1/4 cup of shaved Parmesan-Reggiano cheese on top, but we just sprinkle a bit of shredded or grated Parmesan on ours-whichever we happen to have!
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Well I have been sick for most of this week, so what's better than soup that you can cook from the couch?! I adapted this recipe from Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup by thecookingmom.com, apparently Amy from that blog has even demonstrated it on TV!!
Ingredients:
4 carrots, peeled and cut (I did about 1/4 inch pieces)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, cut (same size as the carrots)
4-6 chicken tenders (I use the bags of tenders from BJ's and freeze them-we keep them stocked in our freezer!!), I kind of defrosted them under hot water enough to be able to separate them, but that's about it
salt and pepper
8 cups chicken stock (I haven't made my own yet, so I use the College Inn Light and Fat Free cartons
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
cooked egg noodles (or pasta/rice of your choice)
Directions:
1) Put cut carrots, celery and onion in crock pot/slow cooker.
2) Season chicken with salt and pepper, place over vegetables in pot.
3) Pour in chicken stock. Add bay leaf, oregano and parsley on top.
4) Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 6-8 hours. I cooked mine on high for about 4 hours.
5) Remove bay leaf. Remove chicken, shred with a fork and place back into crock pot, along with cooked egg noodles to stir everything together and serve :-)
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Ingredients:
4 carrots, peeled and cut (I did about 1/4 inch pieces)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, cut (same size as the carrots)
4-6 chicken tenders (I use the bags of tenders from BJ's and freeze them-we keep them stocked in our freezer!!), I kind of defrosted them under hot water enough to be able to separate them, but that's about it
salt and pepper
8 cups chicken stock (I haven't made my own yet, so I use the College Inn Light and Fat Free cartons
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf
cooked egg noodles (or pasta/rice of your choice)
Directions:
1) Put cut carrots, celery and onion in crock pot/slow cooker.
2) Season chicken with salt and pepper, place over vegetables in pot.
3) Pour in chicken stock. Add bay leaf, oregano and parsley on top.
4) Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours, or low 6-8 hours. I cooked mine on high for about 4 hours.
5) Remove bay leaf. Remove chicken, shred with a fork and place back into crock pot, along with cooked egg noodles to stir everything together and serve :-)
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Monday, August 27, 2012
Homemade Tomato Sauce and Turkey Meatballs
Today is our 1 month wedding anniversary!! I decided to use some homemade tomato sauce that I had made last week from a tomato surplus and turkey meatballs from scratch- one of the first real meals I ever made for my husband a couple of years ago and still a definite go to in our house, to make a weeknight anniversary dinner- romantic but quick to put together!
Homemade Tomato Sauce (adapted from allrecipes.com and their Homemade Tomato Sauce I)
Ingredients:
Ripe tomatoes- I used about 8 large tomatoes of various types and 10 cherry tomatoes because that was what I had on hand. The original recipe called for 10 tomatoes.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 teaspoons jarred minced garlic (about 4 cloves of fresh garlic if you have it)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup Burgundy cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
Directions:
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Also have a large bowl ice water nearby. Cut a superficial 'X' in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife.
2) Place tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute (30 seconds for the cherry tomatoes). Remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Once cool, peel tomatoes, roughly chop and purée in blender. Pour into mesh strainer over a large bowl to stain out seeds.
3) While tomatoes strain, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil and butter, once melted add onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, until onion starts to soften.
4) Pour in puréed tomatoes. Stir in basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot.
5) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours.
6) Stir in tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and parsley. Simmer 2 additional hours, uncovered.
7) Discard bay leaf and celery stalks.
*My sauce was rather chunky at this point because I did a rough chop on my veggies, so I poured the completed sauce back into the blender and puréed it again- came out perfect!
**For dinner tonight, I reheated the sauce, and added 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper just to spice it back up a bit and it came out great- rave reviews from my husband!!
Turkey Meatballs (adapted from Ground Turkey Meatballs recipe on Cooks.com)
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey ( I always use Shady Brook Farms and throw in a package so between 1-1.2 pounds usually, I have used both 99% lean and 93% lean and the 93% meatballs definitely come out more moist, but it depends on my mood and any sales going on!)
1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese (I've done both but prefer grated)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2) Mix all ingredients together with hands and shape into 2 inch meatballs.
3) Bake for 15-20 minutes.
*This recipe typically makes about 15-18 meatballs
Homemade Tomato Sauce (adapted from allrecipes.com and their Homemade Tomato Sauce I)
Ingredients:
Ripe tomatoes- I used about 8 large tomatoes of various types and 10 cherry tomatoes because that was what I had on hand. The original recipe called for 10 tomatoes.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
4 teaspoons jarred minced garlic (about 4 cloves of fresh garlic if you have it)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup Burgundy cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon parsley
Directions:
1) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Also have a large bowl ice water nearby. Cut a superficial 'X' in the bottom of each tomato with a sharp knife.
2) Place tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute (30 seconds for the cherry tomatoes). Remove with a slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Once cool, peel tomatoes, roughly chop and purée in blender. Pour into mesh strainer over a large bowl to stain out seeds.
3) While tomatoes strain, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil and butter, once melted add onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, until onion starts to soften.
4) Pour in puréed tomatoes. Stir in basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot.
5) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours.
6) Stir in tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and parsley. Simmer 2 additional hours, uncovered.
7) Discard bay leaf and celery stalks.
*My sauce was rather chunky at this point because I did a rough chop on my veggies, so I poured the completed sauce back into the blender and puréed it again- came out perfect!
**For dinner tonight, I reheated the sauce, and added 1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper just to spice it back up a bit and it came out great- rave reviews from my husband!!
Turkey Meatballs (adapted from Ground Turkey Meatballs recipe on Cooks.com)
Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey ( I always use Shady Brook Farms and throw in a package so between 1-1.2 pounds usually, I have used both 99% lean and 93% lean and the 93% meatballs definitely come out more moist, but it depends on my mood and any sales going on!)
1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmesan cheese (I've done both but prefer grated)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray cookie sheet with cooking spray.
2) Mix all ingredients together with hands and shape into 2 inch meatballs.
3) Bake for 15-20 minutes.
*This recipe typically makes about 15-18 meatballs
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Cooking Light Crispy Pork Medallions with Garlicky Asparagus
We are back from our honeymoon and I'm officially a wife cooking in the kitchen!!! This is one of our favorite meals, tonight we had it with corn on the cob cooked on the grill. Both recipes are from Cooking Light Magazine, where I find most of my recipes. I did adapt the pork recipe slightly as I used dried herbs, my fresh ones all died while we were away on our honeymoon!
Crispy Pork Medallions
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, cut into 8 medallions
1/2 cup panko
1-2 teaspoons dried parsley
1-2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450
2) Rub mustard evenly over pork medallions. Combine panko, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Dredge pork in panko mixture.
3) Heat a large ovenproof skillet over med-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork, sauté 2 minutes, or until golden brown (don't add the pork too early!!!). Turn pork. Place skillet in oven, bake at 450 for 8 minutes, or until pork reaches 145 degrees. Let stand 3 minutes.
**Update: I have started using boneless pork chops, instead of the tenderloin. I simply cut off the fat and cut each chop in half. It makes nice, even medallions that I prefer to the products of the tenderloins. It also makes more medallions, so I leave them in the oven for a total of 10 minutes. Definitely worth a try!!
Garlicky Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (Cooking light does sliced, but I use jarred minced garlic!)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1) Steam asparagus 4 minutes
2) With 2 minutes left, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, but not browned.
3) Remove from heat, add asparagus, salt and pepper, toss to combine.
Crispy Pork Medallions
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, cut into 8 medallions
1/2 cup panko
1-2 teaspoons dried parsley
1-2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 450
2) Rub mustard evenly over pork medallions. Combine panko, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl. Dredge pork in panko mixture.
3) Heat a large ovenproof skillet over med-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add pork, sauté 2 minutes, or until golden brown (don't add the pork too early!!!). Turn pork. Place skillet in oven, bake at 450 for 8 minutes, or until pork reaches 145 degrees. Let stand 3 minutes.
**Update: I have started using boneless pork chops, instead of the tenderloin. I simply cut off the fat and cut each chop in half. It makes nice, even medallions that I prefer to the products of the tenderloins. It also makes more medallions, so I leave them in the oven for a total of 10 minutes. Definitely worth a try!!
Garlicky Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (Cooking light does sliced, but I use jarred minced garlic!)
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1) Steam asparagus 4 minutes
2) With 2 minutes left, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook 1-2 minutes or until fragrant, but not browned.
3) Remove from heat, add asparagus, salt and pepper, toss to combine.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Welcome!
Ooh my goodness I did it! I started a cooking/food blog...YIKES!! Up until recently, I was more of a Kraft Mac & Cheese and frozen chicken patty kind of girl. I have since met my fiance, which motivated me to start cooking more and expanding my diet. Who knew I would love it so much?! Cooking has turned into my stress relief after work and I am lucky to have a very eager "critic," who has no problem trying all of my creations :-) Bear with me as I learn how this whole blog thing works and get some recipes up here ASAP!
Thanks for reading <3
Thanks for reading <3
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