I HAVE MOVED!

I am sorry to have to re-post this but I accidentally deleted the other post. 

Due to not being happy with worpress….I have decided to move my cooking blog to blogger.

Please visit me HERE!!!

CEiMB – Banana Cream Pie

Today was my son’s B-Day.  He turned 5!!  I can’t believe that 5 years ago at this moment we were at the hospital getting prepped for a c-section.  After having been in labor for over 12 hours I was ready!!!  We were very busy today celebrating, having fun at the pumpkin farm and eating dinner at McDonald’s (not my choice obviously). 

I am not yet late for my CEiMB assignment, close though!  Heather from Randomosity and the Girl chose this recipe and it was good.  I am not a huge banana fan and prefer strawberries, raspberries or blueberries over bananas anyday.  However, I gave it a chance and did enjoy it.  My kids are huge banana fans and sort of like the pie.  I think that it is a tad sophisticated for their tastes though.

So without further adieu…..I will admit that I copy and pasted the recipe from Holly at Phemomenon.  I am just ready for bed and am lazy!  I hope she doesn’t mind?!

Banana Cream Pie
(Source: The Food You Crave: Luscious Food for a Healthy Life) Page 276

For the Crust:
Cooking spray (I didn’t use any)
11 graham cracker sheets (I used 7)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (I used 2)
1 1/2 Tablespoons water (I used 1)

For the Pudding:
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
3 Tablespoons boiling water
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk (I used skim)
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Filling:
2 cups 1/4-inch-thick banana slices (3 medium bananas)  (I used 2)

For the Topping:
1/4 cup well-chilled heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.

To make the crust, in a food processor, process the graham crackers until finely ground. Add the butter and water and process until the crumbs clump together. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pie plate and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes, then let cool.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the gelatin in a small bowl; add the boiling water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of sugar and the flour. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the milk and egg yolks together. Add the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk so the flour and sugar dissolve. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla and gelatin mixture. Set aside to cool slightly.

Arrange the sliced banana in the crust and pour the pudding on top. Place in the refrigerator until the pudding has set, about 3 hours.

Whip the cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. When it is about halfway to soft peaks, add the 1/2 teaspoon sugar, then continue whipping until it barely holds a soft peak. Put the whipped cream in a plastic bag, concentrating it in one corner of the bag. Snip that corner off the bag and squeeze the whipped cream out of the bag in a decorative pattern around the pie. The pie will keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

I may try to upload some more photos tomorrow if I have the chance.  Just not now!

And next week is my turn to pick.  I chose Sweet-and-Sour Brisket on Page 186.

TWD – Pumpkin Muffins

Perfect fall muffin.  This week the assigment for Tuesdays with Dorie was chosen by Kelly.  Stop by her site for the recipe.  She has some other really good stuff there and is obviously quite talented.  You can also find the recipe on Page 13 in the cookbook. 

I am a pumpkin fan and like baked goods with pumpkin in it.  My mom makes a great pumpkin mini chip bread and this was similar.  I made the first batch exactly like the recipe called, with pecans and golden raisins.  I couldn’t find unsalted sunflower seeds anywhere so salted they were.  They tasted good though.  I should say they were excellent after eating 3 of them as soon as they were cool enough to eat.  Time to get back on the elliptical!!  These muffins did not last long at our house and were gone the next day.  For the second batch, I used mini semi-sweet chips, only a half cup of chopped pecans and the salted sunflower seeds.  Very tasty!

Next Tuesday…..Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes.

Steak Tacos with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa – CEiMB

Cilantro and I are not friends.  I really want to like cilantro and always use it in recipes that call for it, I just can’t tolerate it.  It is a very powerful herb.

Clara chose the recipe for this week.  I was excited because I love steak, avocados and cucumbers.  I enjoy Mexican food and the picture in the cookbook looks so yummy.

Steak Tacos with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/4 lbs. top sirloin steaks (about 1 1/4 inches thick)
Twelve 6 inch diameter corn tortillas
3 cups shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges
Cucumber-Avocado Salsa (recipe follows)

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat it over medium-high heat or preheat the grill.
2.  In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, salt and cayenne.  Rub the spice mixture into both sides of the steaks.
3.  Grill or broil the steaks for 5 minutes per side, turning once, for medium rare or to your desired degree of doneness.  Remove from the grill and let the meat sit for 5 minutes.  Carve into thin slices.
4.  Warm the tortillas by placing them on the grill for about 30 seconds, turning once.  Or place 6 tortillas at a time between two moist paper towels and microwave for 45 seconds.  Wrap in a cloth napkin or place in a tortilla warmer to keep warm.
5.  Place the carved steak, warm tortillas, cabbage, cilantro, lime wedges and salsa in serving dishes and let diners make their own tacos at the table.

Cucumber-Avocado Salsa

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium English cucumber, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
2 medium firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 red onion, diced
Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
Salt to taste
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped, or to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and toss gently to combine.  Serve within an hour of preparing.

 

 

I shouldn’t have refrigerated my spice rub for the hour I did because it was really hard to get into the meat.

 

 

 

 

I used a seedless cucumber because I could not figure out what an English cucumber was.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My husband grilled the steak on the grill.

 

 

 

DELICIOUS!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed parts of this recipe.  The meat was so tender and perfectly seasoned.  I liked the salsa, just couldn’t deal with the cilantro and thought that it was very overpowering.  If I were to make this meal again I would change some things.  First, I would only use 1 tablespoon of cilantro in the salsa.  I would cut back on the raw onion and use only 1/4 of it.  I would serve the tacos with shredded lettuce instead of red cabbage.  We are just not into cabbage.  Lastly, I would include cheddar cheese as a side (and I do realize that this defeats the purpose of the healthy aspect).

My husband thought that the tacos were bland and had no zip to them.  He thought that flour tortillas would have been better.  Ours were like carboard because I didn’t follow the heating instructions between two moist paper towels.  He ate two and then decided to “dress the last one up” by adding some ingredients.

 

 

Taco sauce, cheese and sour cream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Clara for choosing this fun recipe!  See how others did HERE.

TWD-Lenox Almond Biscotti

Biscotti virgin?  Not anymore.  I can honestly say that I was not excited to make these cookies and put it off all week until this morning.  I am not a coffee or tea drinker.  I do like the occasional cup of hot chocolate, but I am the gal who needs her Diet Coke before noon.  My husband suggested dunking my biscotti in Diet Coke.  Gross.

Ingredients

The oven was preheated to 350 degrees and the baking pans were lined with silicone mats.  I decided to use both on one pan because I didn’t want the logs to be too close together.

I combined the flour, baking powder, salt and cornmeal together.

I used the mixer to cream the butter and sugar.  I then added the eggs and almond extract (another reason this recipe did not appeal to me was because of the almond extract, I usually don’t care for this flavor).  The flour mixture was added and lastly the almonds.

I divided the dough in half on the baking sheets.  I shaped each half into log shapes.  My logs were about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.  I baked them for about 20 minutes.  My baking time always seems to take a bit longer than called for in my oven.

After removing from the oven, I let these “big cookies” (as my son called them) cool for about 2 hours.  I then cut them into strips and laid them “standing up” on the pan.  Back into the oven where I baked them for another 20 minutes.

 

The finished almond biscotti!  I can’t say that I am super excited about these.  They are OK.  I plan to give most of mine away because I don’t think that my family would ever eat them all.  However, next time biscotti is chosen, I won’t dread making them (and I may even look forward to the chocolate ones because there is no almond flavoring).  Thanks to Gretchen for choosing this weeks recipe.  The recipe can be found on her blog or on page 141 in the cookbook!

Russian Grandmothers’ Apple Pie-Cake – TWD

I chose this recipe to make for our dinner date with some friends this evening.  It seemed like a good dessert for fall.  And the fact that I want to catch up on all the TWD recipes that have been completed.  It was quite tasty.  I didn’t think that it was quite like an apple pie, more like apple crisp with raisins and shortcake.  Kind of hard to explain but I enjoyed it and so did everyone else.  Except the kids.  The boys didn’t care for it in the slightest.  It was fun to make too.  The dough reminded me of sugar cookie dough.  It was originally chosen by back in March by Natalie.  Head over there for the recipe or it can be located on page 310-311 in the cookbook.

Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters -TWD

I made these cookies the other day.  Very good!  I made half of the dough with 4.5 oz. of chopped bittersweet chocolate and the other half with 6 oz of baking raisins.  The cookies turned out moist, chewy and full of flavor.  I like how the cookie is like 3 different kinds of cookie in one.  I enjoyed the ones with raisins the best.  The recipe was chosen for the TWD group by Stephanie at the beginning of September.  Head over there to find the recipe or it can be found on page 73 in the cookbook.

Mom’s Turkey Meatloaf – CEiMB

I joined another cooking club adventure!  This one, Craving Ellie in My Belly, features healthy recipes from the cookbook called The Foods You Crave, by Ellie Krieger.  Every week on Thursday I will post the chosen recipe.  I have so much fun with TWD and thought that this would force me to make some healthy dinners.  This week’s featured recipe was a turkey meatloaf.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 medium onion, peeled
• 2 pounds ground turkey breast
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together the oats and milk. Thinly slice 1/4 of the onion and set aside. Finely chop the remaining onion. In a large bowl combine the turkey, oat mixture, chopped onion, bell pepper, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix just until well combined.

Special side note:  I used 2.5 lbs. of groud turkey because the smallest package of ground turkey I could find was 1.25 lbs.  I also used 1 cup regular oatmeal (not quick) and 3/4 cup skim milk.  I added a little more ketchup and worchestershire sauce than the recipe called for as well.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 by 13-inch baking dish and shape into a loaf about 5 inches wide and 2 1/2 inches high. Pour the tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with the sliced onions. Bake for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees.F.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 to15 minutes before slicing.

Another side note:  I used a 15 oz can of meatloaf sauce instead of an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.

REVIEW:  I am not a meatloaf person and don’t really ever crave it, even when it is cooked with ground beef.  I will eat it though because my husband likes it.  I feel the same way about this one.  My family enjoyed it.  My pickiest eater even gobbled it up!  It was very moist  as well and flavorful.  I will say that I was very glad that we invited friends over to share.  The recipe made a huge amount (8 servings).  See how others fared and what they thought here.

TWD – Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake

So good you’ll forget how to share!  This is how my husband describes this dessert.  CHEWY!  STICKY!  CRUNCHY!  SALTY!  CHOCOLATELY!  Absolutely delicious.  I loved this brownie concoction.  It reminds me of a bear claw treat that I always have to have from Dan’s Minocqua Fudge when we get to Minocqua.

When I saw that the recipe had been chosen I was excited.  I love brownies.

I used my 9″ springform pan and lined the bottom with parchment paper.  I then placed it on a silicone mat on a baking sheet.  Not sure why all these steps were necessary, but I followed the directions.

I coarsely chopped the bittersweet chocolate and set up a double broiler to melt the chocolate and butter.  I combined the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.

I blended the eggs, sugars (light brown and white) and light corn syrup, followed by vanilla.  Then added the flour mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into the oven…..mine baked for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees.  I checked it at 43 minutes and it seemed a little underdone so I left it to bake longer.  After it came out, it cooled for about 15 minutes, then I removed it from the springform pan and let it completely cool on a rack.  My caved in the center.  Dorie warned that this may happen.  (I wished that it hadn’t because the caramel sauce and peanuts all went to the middle of the cake later, but…..Oh well.)  I then followed Dorie’s suggestion and washed the pan to put the cake back into it.  Not exactly sure why that was part of the recipe, but once again, I followed it.

Next, making the caramel, FUN.  I used a massive amount of sugar, small bit of water and a little more corn syrup.  The mixture was combined in a saucepan and cooked at a medium high heat.  Without stirring, I boiled it until it turned an amber color.  The recipe stated that it would take 5-10 minutes for this to happen.  MMMmmmm, no.  Mine took longer, much, much longer.  It boiled for at least 25 minutes without turning any shade of brown.  I tested it on a white plate periodically until it finally turned amber. 

I then removed it from the heat and added heavy cream and butter.  It splattered for awhile.  I then added the peanuts.  The recipe warned that there would be a lot of extra caramel, which there was.  I scooped out the peanuts and placed them on the cake.  Then the caramel was poured over the peanuts and cake.  I have a little over a 1/2 cup of caramel that I plan to make into a caramel sauce for ice cream sundaes and other treats.

 

I served ours with vanilla ice cream and everyone thoroughly enjoyed.  This recipe was awesome.  It was a great pick from Tammy at wee treats by Tammy.  She has the recipe posted or you can find it on page 264 in the cookbook.  Definitely one to try.  Until next Tuesday!

Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread Cookies – TWD

I hosted a wine tasting party at my house on Tuesday night.  Since I am a huge fan of the shortbread cookies at Panera Bread I decided to give these a try thinking that they might be a hit with some wine.  This was the first recipe that was chosen when TWD began back in January.  I was terribly disappointed in how they turned out.  They look NOTHING like the ones in the book.  I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out flat and crispy.  Don’t get me wrong, I liked the flavor, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

 

 

DORIE’S

 

 

 

 

 

MINE

 

 

 

The cookies were ridiculously simple to make.  I just creamed the butter and brown sugar.  Then I added flour, cornstarch, a pinch of cloves and finely chopped pecans.  The dough was placed into a Ziploc bag and was flattened out to 1/4 inch thickness in a large rectangle shape and it was refrigerated overnight.  I then cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares and poked each cookie with a fork twice (which didn’t matter because you couldn’t see any fork marks in mine at all).  Into the oven they went where they turned into flat circles and got crispy.

Some others also made these this week and I got some pointers if I try these again.  Before baking the cookies, it may have helped to put the cookie sheets and cookies back in the refrigerator to get them nice and cold again.  Then maybe they wouldn’t have spread so much.  You can find the recipe HERE.