Roasted carrot sticks

Guys!! Guess what??  I got a new camera so this blog is up and running again!! In case you didn't know, I lost my other and searched everywhere, so I ended up getting a Canon Elph110 HS Powershot for Christmas. These pictures are beautiful, and I am already impressed with the quality!!

This first recipe is simple and very nutritious and tasty as a side dish. As I may have mentioned before, I love roasting veggies. Here is my version of roasted carrots:

Roasted carrots

Long carrots (preferably not baby carrots. I haven't tried using them, but I don't think they would taste the same.)
Olive oil
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Slice raw carrots into sticks. Place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle with about 1 Tbsp olive oil and lightly sprinkle with paprika, pinch of garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes. They taste great plain, but I've also heard they are tasty with ranch.

Butternut Squash Soup

Making this was my first time to try anything with butternut squash. It always sounded interesting, so I decided to make it into a soup. Turns out that I loved this recipe. It's awesome, nutritious, tasty, and easy to make. I apologize that my pics are not the best at all, as it looks like baby food. However, trust me when I say it is a must try! If you want, you can also change up the recipe with a few twists provided below. (From http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1975 )

Butternut Squash Soup

I apologize for the terrible image quality! I should have had some garnish with it, but this was the first time making it and I had nothing fancy to make it look pretty

 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 
1 carrot, diced 
1 celery stalk, diced 
1 onion, diced 
4 cups cubed butternut squash, fresh or frozen 
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme 
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (I would rather use 1/4 tsp next time, since 1/2 makes it much spicier).


Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. 

Stir in butternut squash, thyme, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. 

Use an immersion blender to purée soup. Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully purée in batches in a traditional blender (this is what I did and it turned out well.)

once again, the image quality is terrible! But take my word that it is a must try!

 3 twists:

Apple, Gorgonzola and Almond Butternut Soup
Stir 1 cup unsweetened applesauce into puréed soup. Garnish each serving with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, toasted almonds, a few slices of thinly sliced apple and a small sprig of fresh thyme.

Thai-style Butternut Soup
Stir a tablespoon of red curry paste and 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger into carrot, celery and onion mixture. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk with broth. Purée soup and garnish each serving with toasted coconut flakes and chopped fresh cilantro.

Southwestern-style Butternut Soup
Add a tablespoon chopped chipotles in adobo sauce to carrot, celery and onion mixture. Garnish soup with crumbled queso fresco, toasted pumpkin seeds and chopped fresh cilantro.

Nutritional Info: 

Per Serving:140 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 280mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 4g sugar), 6g protein

Easy Homemade Whole Wheat Bread

I saw this bread recipe that looked so yummy on http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/bread It ended up not being hard to make. Trust me when I say that because bread can be hard to make. What's also nice is it can be done all at once, or the dough can be stored for baking later. This is a must-make. Your kitchen and home will smell fantastic, and you will have some delicious homemade bread.

Easy Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

 3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 T yeast

1 generous T salt

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

  5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour* (see note at bottom)

Cornstarch

Warm water

Oatmeal, seeds, any desired toppings (I used oatmeal and wheat germ)

In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine water, yeast, and salt. Add oil and honey and mix a little bit. Add in flour (holding back the last 1/4 cup to make sure your dough is not too dry) and mix ingredients together. Dough should NOT form a ball, and should still be fairly sticky, but you want it to be oozy, not runny! If needed, add more flour. Transfer into a 5-quart plastic container (or a metal bowl lined with wax paper/freezer paper/plastic wrap). Obviously, if you have a mixing bowl that is at least 5 quarts and plastic, you can do this all in one bowl! Cover with something that is not airtight (but DON'T use a towel, or the dough will stick to it... trust me!) and let rise for 2 hours on a draft-free countertop.

 At the end of the 2 hours, you can shape a loaf or store in the fridge. When you are ready to shape a loaf: Grease loaf pan. Sprinkle flour liberally on top of dough, and get plenty of flour on your hands. Remove a section of dough about the size of a canteloupe. Work into a loose ball (dough will not hold shape very well; that's okay). Set in bread pan. Turn oven to 375 degrees. While oven is heating, let dough rest for about 40 minutes if it has been refrigerated (if it hasn't been it doesn't really need any resting time at all). 

Just before baking, combine about 1 t. water with 1/2 t. cornstarch. Brush over top of loaf. Sprinkle with desired toppings--oatmeal, seeds, nuts, whatever you feel like (I used oatmeal and wheat germ.) With serrated knife, slash loaf three times diagonally across the top. Place on top rack in oven and bake 40-50 minutes, until the top of the loaf is a deep brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool on a rack. This makes 2 loaves--when I made it, I froze one for later and enjoyed the other with my roommates. This makes great thick sandwich bread (but it can get crumbly), or, as my favorite, good ol' toast with freezer jam. :)

Sweet Potato Fries

I attempted making sweet potato fries for the first time last weekend, and they are now one of my favorite foods. They are salty and tasty filled with nutrients, as well as easy to make!!

Sweet Potato Fries

Sorry about picture quality. I also lost my digital camera so there are going to be more Instagram pics from now on.

(For a couple of servings. You can double or triple this if you'd like.)

1large Sweet potato or 2 medium
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1/8 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 C Water

Preheat oven to 450. Wash and peel potato(s). Cut up in wedges or strips, but keep in mind they take longer to cook if in wedges (as shown above.) Place on a sheet of aluminum foil on a cookie sheet. Roll the sweet potatoes around in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Gently roll up the sides of the aluminum foil, creating a shallow bowl shape, then gently fill it up with the water. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

If you are ever sick of spaghetti sauce and want something fresh, this recipe would definitely be one to make. It's easy and only takes about 10 minutes to cook, too!


Fresh Tomato Basil Pasta

once again, I apologize for the picture quality. My camera isn't the best, but trust me when I say it's something worth making.

2 large ripe, firm tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
1 Tb fresh chopped basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
½ tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese
6-8 oz angel hair pasta
optional: sliced grilled chicken.

Mix together the diced tomatoes, chopped basil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Let “marinate” on counter for 30 minutes. Cook the pasta al dente. Cook tomato mixture on a frying pan (with no oil) for about 5 minutes for all the ingredients to absorb together (if you also top it with chicken, add it in to cook with all the ingredients). Drain pasta and toss with the tomato mixture. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan. Mmmmmm

Baked Chicken Fajitas

 I loved this recipe from http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/search/label/mexican. I adjusted the recipe a little as well, and these were very tasty and healthy. I wasn't sure how the spinach would turn out as one of the ingredients, but it was actually really good!

 

Baked Chicken Fajitas

 

 

 

 

2 large chicken breasts

1/2 cup chicken broth

5 or 6 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped or torn into smallish pieces

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp coarse salt (or about 3/4 tsp regular salt)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 small can diced chilis

Another 1/4 cup chicken broth

About 2 cups grated mozzarella or monterey jack cheese

10 8" soft taco sized flour tortillas (I'd also like to try this with my homemade tortillas, which are about 6")

Olive oil

Put chicken breasts and first 1/2 cup broth in a medium saucepan; fill with enough extra water to cover the chicken by about 2 inches. Boil for 15-20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Shred or dice the chicken pieces.

 

Add spices, bell pepper, onion, and chilis to the chicken. Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until heated through and peppers reach desired tenderness. This  helps all the flavors absorb together. Place in a bowl, allow to cool for a few mintutes.

Once chicken is cooked, preheat oven to 450. Grease a rimmed cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan with cooking spray. Cut tortillas in half if they are large, or keep them in their round shape if they are small or medium-sized. Once ingredients are a little cooler, add grated cheese and spinach, then mix to combine. Spoon a bit of the filling onto each tortilla half and top with cheese; roll them up starting from the flat side and tuck them together, roll-side down, on the cookie sheet. Brush tops with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes at 450, then use tongs to turn flautas over and cook for 10 more minutes on the other side (or until the exposed sides are a dark golden-brown). Serve hot, with salsa if desired.

 

 

Completely Homemade Apple Pie

A few weeks ago I tried making an apple pie for the first time. Let me tell you, I was a little nervous because I have heard bad stories about how pie crusts turn out. I found recipe on the lovely blog: beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com 
and decided to give it a try! It was so divine! I made a few adjustments and side notes to go along with it.

Completely Homemade Apple Pie

9-inch Pastry Crust:
(This recipe only makes one crust, so in order to do a lattice-top pie it must be doubled. I actually find it easier to just make it twice, since the dough is VERY flaky and so not really easy to divide into two balls without overworking the dough.)

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water (I keep adding a tablespoon at a time until it reaches a slightly-sticky texture, so I would say I used about 6 or 7 tablespoons.)

Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle ice water, 1 T at a time, evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into a ball; cover and chill until ready to use (at least 30 minutes). Roll pastry to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. (I find that I have to have my surface more than "lightly floured" or else the dough sticks to the table and breaks when I try to remove it. If the dough is sticking to the table despite the flour, use a flat spatula to gently scrape it off the table. Usually this works just fine.) Fold in quarters, place in pie plate, and unfold. Trim excess pastry along edges. For lattice top: roll out second ball of pastry as directed; cut into one-inch strips. Weave in lattice over filled pie. Separate 1 egg yolk and beat slightly; brush over lattice with pastry brush. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Apple filling:
4-5 cups chopped apples, as long as it fills the pie pan but doesn't overflow too much. You will need enough room to fold the pie crust on top. (Also, the very orignial recipe also says to peel the apples, but I didn't and they turned out just fine). I loved using gala and the yellow-green golden sweet apples.
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 T flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 T butter or margarine

Combine apple and lemon juice in large bowl. Combine next 4 ingredients. Spoon over apple mixture, tossing gently. Spoon filling evenly into pastry shell, and dot with butter. (Alternatively - if you are making the pie in stages, you can mix up the crust and the filling and put each of them in the fridge for a few hours. This marinates the apples and makes a nice sugary sauce... if you do that, leave out the butter.) Cover pie with lattice top. Cover edges of pastry with aluminum foil. Note: place a cookie sheet on the rack below whenever you bake something with fruit in it. I forgot to do so and the oven was a mess afterwards! Bake at 450 for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake 50 more minutes. Dish up and enjoy! I guaruntee that you will love it!