Cheddar and chive scones

Full disclosure - I haven't tried these yet. They sound amazing (has anyone else had the cheddar/chive scones from Nordstrom Cafe? They're delicious! This recipe reminds me of them) and not too difficult to bake. Posting the recipe here so I can refer back to it when the time comes to make these.

Makes 12

• 1/2 cup milk (plus 2 tablespoons for brushing over scones)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour , more for rolling out biscuits
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cup grated sharp or aged cheddar , divided

Preheat oven to 425°F. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup milk and eggs until blended. Stir in chives and set aside. Blend flour, baking powder, salt, and black pepper in a food processor or large bowl. Add cold butter and pulse, or quickly blend with your fingertips, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Do not over-mix. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese and pulse just to combine. Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Cut dough ball in half, then flatten each half into an 8-inch round circle, about 1/2-inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges, as you would cut a pie. Brush tops with milk and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Place on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Spicy Black Bean Soup - Slow Cooker

This was spicier than I thought it would be. Rob and I love hot, hot, hot, but this was too much for Bo. You could cut down on the jalapeño and chili powder to make this more kid-friendly. INGREDIENTS: 1 pound dry black beans, soaked overnight 1 medium white onion 2 cloves garlic 1 large diced jalapeño pepper 2 Tbsp olive oil 6 cups veggie broth 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt, black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

	Drain black beans, and rinse. Saute onion, jalapeño, garlic in olive oil till soft in slow cooker base on stove top.
	Add beans and broth. Season with garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, pepper, and salt.
	Transfer base to slow cooker. Cook on Dual for 6-8 hours. *Serve over rice, with sour cream, limes, tortilla strips, avocado.

Vegetarian Enchilada Soup

I got this recipe from Lexi about a year ago and just gave it a go. I made a few changes to make it vegetarian - Lexi's recipe includes chicken while it's cooking, plus chicken stock instead of the veggie. 

It's easy to prepare and absolutely delicious. Hope you all give this a try. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 large jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tbsp. cumin
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, undrained
• 2 cups veggie broth 
• 1 (15-ounce) can yellow corn, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 8 corn tortillas
• canola oil, enough to fill a small skillet 1/2-inch high
• garnish options: sour cream, shredded chihuahua cheese, sliced green onion, avocado, fresh squeezed lime, chopped cilantro, grilled and shredded chicken

DIRECTIONS

1. Sauté onion and jalapeño in a bit of oil until soft and onions are just starting to caramelize 
2. In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, purée the onion, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and green chiles. Transfer to a large stock pot.
3. Add veggie broth, corn and black beans to the pot. Heat over medium heat until ingredients are heated through.
4. While soup warms up, prepare tortilla strips. Stack the tortillas and slice into 1/4-inch strips, then slice the larger strips into halves. Heat oil in a small cast-iron skillet to 350 degrees F (or until very hot so when the tip of a wooden spoon is inserted into oil, the oil will bubble around the spoon). Add a handful of tortilla strips and fry until golden and crispy, 1-2 minutes, separating with tongs so they don’t stick together. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate or baking sheet and immediately season with kosher salt.
5. When ready to serve soup, garnish with tortilla strips and anything else you'd like!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Spaetzle

I know a lot of the gals on here aren't meat/pork eaters, but I wanted to post this dinner idea and figured everyone could tailor it to their liking. Rob and Bo love the pork tenderloin, but I make tofu for myself. I'm sure you could do this with chicken, butter beans or any other protein. Let me know if you try it, and what you choose to prepare it with!

Ingredients for your protein:
Pork tenderloin (I just ask the butcher for enough for a big guy)
1/2 block extra firm tofu, drained
Fresh thyme, 1 Tbs
Fresh basil, 1.5 tsp
Garlic powder, 1.5 tsp
Dried oregano, 1.5 tsp
Cumin, 1.5 tsp
Minced garlic, 1 tsp
Olive oil

Ingredients for your spaetzle:
Spaetzle
Heavy cream, 3/4 C
Butter, 2 Tbs
Fresh sage, 2 Tbs
Minced garlic, 2 cloves
Salt & pepper, to taste

*Side serving suggestions: Peas, beets, salad

Directions for your protein:
Mix together all herbs and garlic to make your rub. Lightly brush your protein with olive oil so it does not stick to the grill grates. Pat both sides of your protein with the rub and get grilling. Adhere to the 7-6-5 rule…7 minutes on high heat (keep the grill closed), flip over, 6 minutes on high heat (again, keep that grill closed! It's not going anywhere, so you don't need to check on it). Turn off the heat and keep the grill closed for another 5 minutes.

Directions for your spaetzle:
I got this recipe from the back of the Maggi brand spaetzle box and it is delicious. It tastes like an adult mac'n'cheese. Bring the water to a boil, add spaetzle, boil for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking. Drain. Add butter to the pan, melt. Mix in the garlic and sage. Cook for 2 minutes on a low-med heat. Add heavy cream and cooked spaetzle. Mix well, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Eat right away, or put a top on the pan to keep it warm.

Funfetti Cheesecake Cookies

Caitie recently sent this recipe. While I haven't made them yet, I don't want to forget about them. Putting them here so we can all enjoy!

Author: Skinny Not Skinny

Recipe type: Dessert

Cook time:  9 mins

Total time:  9 mins

 

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) box Funfetti Cake mix
• 1 small (3.4 ounce) Instant JELLO Cheesecake Pudding mix
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ cup sprinkles
• ¾ cup white chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs and vanilla until completely combined and dough forms.
3. Stir in the ¼ cup sprinkles and ½ cup chocolate chips. (I added more sprinkles than the original recipe because I LOVE sprinkles and it makes them more fun!)
4. With a cookie scoop or just a spoon, scoop cookie dough balls onto baking sheets. Use the remaining ¼ cup white chocolate chips to press into the tops of each cookie to make them look even tastier.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown. The centers will still be very soft. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

http://skinnynotskinny.com/2013/08/14/funfetti-cheesecake-cookies/

Coconut Curry Tofu and Stuffed Peppers

Forgive me for posting another coconut milk/curry recipe, but I'm suddenly obsessed. I made this one up and it's delicious. Thankyouverymuch.

1 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs Sriracha sauce or chili paste
14 oz culinary coconut milk

1 tsp curry powder (or more if you really like it)
1 block extra firm tofu, cut into 8 squares, or boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces
Handful of fresh baby spinach
1 Broccoli crown, stem removed cut into bite-size pieces
Ginger and cilantro for serving

Heat first four ingredients in a dutch oven or medium saucepan until lightly bubbling. Add tofu/chicken and coat. Add spinach and let it sit on top. Put top on dutch oven and let simmer on very low for 20 minutes, stirring and flipping tofu/chicken half-way through, and stirring in spinach. Add broccoli and simmer with top on for another 10-15 minutes.

Top with fresh ginger and cilantro when serving.

Serve with: Stuffed yellow peppers
2 large yellow peppers, tops cut off and seeds removed
15 oz chickpeas
3/4 C farro
1 Tbs olive oil
1/4 C cilantro, diced
1.5 Tbs fresh ginger, diced
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350.

Add farro to water and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes. Drain. Put farro back in pan. Drain and rinse chickpeas, add to pan. Add oil oil, cilantro, ginger and salt. Mix together ingredients well.

Fill peppers with your farro mix. Place top-up in baking dish. Fill about 1" of your baking dish with water to help the peppers retain moisture during baking. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn heat off and let sit for 10 minutes. Chickpeas and farro at the top of the pepper will be nice and crispy.

*Double check that your farro doesn't need to soak in water for 6 hours. I found a great brand at Whole Foods, Montebello, that doesn't require soaking.

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I went over to my friend Sarah's house the other day for an afternoon of baking with her and her friend Jenna.  Jenna is a personal trainer and trained pastry chef, so it was fun chatting with her.  While we were talking, she told me about her recipe for Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies - apparently, it is a big seller wherever she takes it!

She just emailed me the recipe - I haven't tried it yet, but I want to post it here so I don't lose track of it :)

1.5c flour
1t soda
1/2t cinnamon
1/2t salt
1c soft butter
1c brown sugar
2eggs
1.5t vanilla
3c oats
1c dried cherries
8oz choc chunks

Combine first four ingredients in separate bowl.
Beat sugar and butter til fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time beating until well combined.
Add vanilla.
Gradually add in first 4 ingredients til just combined.
Stir in cherries and chocolate.
Bake 350 10min or so

Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon

Omg this was amazing. I served it over quinoa, with fresh cilantro on top, and it couldn't have been more perfect. Make it this week and you won't be sorry :)

Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon

serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side

2 teaspoons oil or ghee
1 small yellow onion
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger, from a 3-inch piece
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 large lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons juice)
1 dried hot red pepper or dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1 pound baby spinach
14-ounce can coconut milk
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground ginger

To serve:
Whole roasted sweet potatoes
Cilantro leaves, to garnish
Toasted unsweetened coconut, to garnish

Heat the oil or ghee in a large, deep Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is beginning to brown. Add the garlic, ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and red pepper, if using. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the chickpeas and cook over high heat for a few minutes or until the chickpeas are beginning to turn golden and they are coated with the onion and garlic mixture.

Toss in the spinach, one handful at a time. This will take about 5 minutes; stir in a handful or two and wait for it to wilt down and make room in the pot before adding the next handful. When all the spinach has been stirred in, pour in the coconut milk and stir in the salt, ground ginger, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat and cook for 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are warm through. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice, if necessary.

Serve hot over roasted sweet potatoes, with cilantro leaves and toasted unsweetened coconut to garnish.

Serving note: This is thick enough to eat on its own with a fork; it's not terribly soupy. But it's saucy enough to eat over pasta, rice, brown rice, quinoa, or another grain.

• http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-braised-coconut-spinach-chickpeas-with-lemon-164551

Lentil and Barley Vegetable Soup

Made this the other night and it was fantastic. Very filling, and it has lots of protein, so veg-friends rejoice!

Lentil Vegetable and Barley Soup

• 1/2 large onion or one small onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 medium summer squash (or zucchini), halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
• 1 C carrots, thinly sliced (I forgot to get carrots, so I subbed with corn)
• 1/2 C red lentils
• 1/2 C yellow split peas
• 1/2 C barley
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 3 C vegetable broth (or chicken or beef), plus ~2 C extra water
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t sugar
• 1/4 t black pepper
• fresh or dried basil to top (optional)

Dice and layer all the veggies, and top with the grains, liquids and the spices (except the basil).  The order I used was: onions and bell peppers, squash and corn, lentils, peas, and barley, diced tomatoes and broth, salt, pepper, sugar, and finally the extra water.

Set the crock pot on low for eight hours or on high for four hours.  The lentils, peas, and barley will absorb a lot of water, so you may need to add even more water. 

Top with a sprinkle of basil and some pepper and enjoy!

Simple red sauce

Made this tonight and wanted to share. It was super simple to whip up and very delicious.

1 jar Jovial whole peeled tomatoes (found at Whole Foods), diced and sauce
2 Tbs capers
2 cloves garlic, diced
3 green onions, diced
2 Tbs olive oil
Crushed red pepper, to your liking
Oregano, 2 tsp
Salt and pepper

Sauté garlic and onions in olive oil till garlic is softened. Add red pepper and capers. Add tomatoes and their sauce. Add oregano, salt and pepper. Cook on med heat, covered loosely and stirring occassionally, for 15 mins.

Serve over farro, and alongside roasted Brussels sprouts (see below) and chicken/Quorn naked "chicken" cutlets

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html

http://www.jovialfoods.com/organic-tomatoes.html

Pappardelle Nicoise with Tuna

Pappardelle Nicoise with Tuna

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)
salt and pepper, to taste
3 T olive oil
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1/2 C chopped roasted red peppers (from jar)
1 C steamed green beans, cut 1 inch, or same-steamed brocolli flowers
1/4 C capers
2 T anchovy paste
2 T black olive tapenade
1 jar Tuna in olive oil
2 t dried Mediterranean oregano
2 t lemon zest
3 T butter
1/3 C seasoned croutons, ground fine
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz pappardelle pasta, cooked according to package instructions (use fresh if possible)

Preheat oven 400. Mix tomatoes w/salt and pepper and 1 T olive oil. Spread onto baking pan and roast 10 minutes, until carmelized.
Mix together crouton crumbs and cheese.
In skillet, heat remaining 2 T oil and sweat onion until translucent. Add beans (or broccoli), capers, anchovy paste, olive tapenade, tuna (and oil), and oregano to pan and stir to mix and heat. Add cooked pasta and toss with butter and lemon zest. Serve with sprinkled w/crouton/cheese mix.