In-a-pinch Black Bean Chili

Over the summer, I decided to order a slow-cooker cookbook after a Barnes and Noble visit where I looked through such a cookbook. I found one that seemed perfect for what I was looking for.

I made a recipe or two from the cookbook over the summer, and recently I pulled it out again to find something I could leave at home all day to cook while Henry and I were at work. We decided that "In-A-Pinch Black Bean Chili" was what we were craving. It was the perfect size for 2 people with just enough for left overs for both of us. This chili does not have any meat, so, if you are vegetarian, this might be something you like. However, it does have chicken broth, but you can substitute vegetable broth.

Cooker: 3 quart
Setting and Cook Time: HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours (I had it on low for 8 hours)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder or 1 teaspoon chipotle chile paste
Two 15-ounce cans black beans, undrained
1/2 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth, canned or homemade
1 1/2 cups medium or hot chunky salsa
Pinch of crumbled dried marjoram
Juice and grated zest of 1 lime
Plain yogurt or sour cream (optional) for serving
Chopped cilantro for serving
Saltine crackers or flour tortillas (optional) for serving

Directions:
In a small saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onion until limp. Add the cumin and chili powder, and stir to heat.

Pour beans and their liquid, chicken broth, salsa, and the spicy cooked onions into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

At the end of the cooking time, stir in the marjoram, lime juice, and lime zest. Serve the chili in bowls, topped with a spoonful of yogurt, if desired, lots of cilantro, and some crackers or warm tortillas, if desired.

We used sour cream and thought it was great! I know the lime sounds weird, but the lime really adds an amazing taste. Also, I used Jardine's Medium Texasalsa for our salsa. It really added some great flavor. Hit the grocery store this weekend and make this one day this week while you are work. You will love it!

I can make steak!!!

I've been so frustrated in the last 5 or 6 years with making steaks; I just can never get that awesome tender juicy steak to come out when I make them. I seem to be really talented at making a chewy "I need some A1 sauce" steak.


That is, until now :) FINALLY I've made a steak that doesn't need ANY sauce to make it go down. Thanks to many Food Network shows and the great advice from friends Rachel and Patrick, I can now make a steak worth sharing. Oh, I suppose it's also thanks to HEB for running Ribeyes on special. That always helps!


I've finally learned that searing our steaks for just 2 or 3 minutes on each side, then placing the steaks on a baking sheet in the oven for 5 or 6 more minutes prepares the perfect steak. This timing prepares a Medium to Medium Well steak. If you want it to be Well or "Burnt and Scraped" like my mom prefers (Love you Mom!), then just sear it longer on each side and cook it longer in the oven. Below is a picture, but it's not my same presentational pictures. I was just so excited about the steak, I wasn't as concerned with the prettiness of the presentation.

Note: This type of preparation is ideal if you don't have an outdoor grill. Obviously, if we had a grill, I'd have Henry cooking the steaks on that rather than my sissy indoor grill. Haha!

Weight Watchers Chicken Fried Rice

When I was living with my ever-so-health-conscious roomates in college, I discovered the healthier ways of eating. Thanks Jordan, Cynthia, Anne, and Carissa! :) Miss you all!!!

Well, I believe Carissa (or was it Cynthia?) had a wonderful Weight Watchers cookbook. I found a great chicken fried rice recipe in there, and I've made it several times in the past few years. Henry has really enjoyed it, so he decided to help me out...A LOT... this time.

If you are having a craving for Chinese but don't want that bloated "I ate a lot of salt" feeling, then you should really make this recipe! It's a wonderful way to satisfy the Chinese food craving.
Per http://www.weightwatchers.com/

Ingredients:
2 spray(s) cooking spray
4 large egg white(s)
1/2 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped, green and white parts
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
12 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup(s) carrot(s), diced
2 cup(s) cooked brown rice, regular or instant, kept hot
1/2 cup(s) frozen green peas, thawed
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

Directions:

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. Add egg whites and cook, until scrambled, stirring frequently, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove from pan and set aside.

Offheat, recoat skillet with cooking spray and place back over medium-high heat. Add scallions and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add chicken and carrots; sauté until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Stir in reserved cooked egg whites, cooked brown rice, peas and soy sauce; cook until heated through, stirring once or twice, about 1 minute. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

Weight Watchers POINTS® Value: 3
Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 13 min

Milk Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Wow, could I take any longer, right? Well, I have some catching up to do, but, first, I have made these cookies that are just perfect to make you feel at home. These are the perfect chocolate chip cookies that aren't the every day run of the mill chocolate chip cookies.

The first time Henry and I made them, we didn't do so hot. Unfortunately, they weren't something we were keeping around the apartment; no no, we made them for our friends David and Christine. I was so incredibly embarrassed to take those cookies to them. However, we made them again, and they turned out nice and yummy!!!

Back in the day, my Dad brought a Nestle cookbook home to me, and this recipe is from that cookbook. Thanks Dad! Here ya go, and go make these now :) They are delicious!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels
1 cup uncooked quick or old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup raisins (optional) (Henry and I did not use these)

Directions:PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture and milk. Stir in morsels, oats and raisins. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 10 to 14 minutes or until edges are crisp but centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Mmmmm Cake!

Another thing to share in order to catch up! A co worker at work had a birthday, so I decided to make a cake. Everyone was pretty excited seeing as how a) they got cake and b) it was the first time since they all started working together that someone actually recognized that people had birthdays!

I decided to forgo my normal box cake mix when making SPECIAL cakes, so I used a recipe from my KitchenAid directions/cookbook. This was also my first attempt outside the world of fondant.

KitchenAid Easy White Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup low-fat milk (I used skim and it was fine)

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 egg whites

Combine dry ingredients in mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk, and vanilla. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to speed 2 (low) and mix about one minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Add egg whites. Turn to speed 6 and beat about 1 minute or until smooth and fluffy.

Pour batter into two greased and floured 8 or 9 inch round baking pans (uh, I used square; big surprise). Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack. Frost if desired.

IF DESIRED?! Well of course you must have MORE SUGAR in the form of frosting or icing :)I used Wilton's Buttercream Icing, but I think I used too much milk.

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Buttercream-Icing

TaDa! My first attempt at a buttercream cake :)

Well, my next attempt is more cheesecake :)

Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Devilish Chicken and Cool Green Beans

Change on 9/12/10- Gluten Free notes for the chicken dish at the bottom of this post.

Ok, so I know it's been a REALLY long time since I posted, but I have been cooking. So I have a back log of yummy recipes to show. Woohoo!

First up is another pizza. Well...when you're married to a pizza lover and a buffalo chicken lover, why not make a Buffalo Chicken Pizza? I didn't really have a recipe for this; I just kind of made it up. I did pretty much the same thing for the dough as my last pizza, and the sauce was pretty similar, too. I put both Blue Cheese crumbles as well as a shredded cheddar and mozzarella blend on top. For the buffalo chicken, I created a sauce from Tobasco sauce believe it or not. It was kind of surprising to me. I finished it off with sliced green onions, and here is the result!

And my taster enjoyed, but he got a little tongue burn from being too excited to eat it!

Next up is a recipe that I've made before. Henry's parents and littlest sister came into town one weekend, and I made this Devilish Chicken and Cool Green Beans from my Rachael Ray 30-minute Get Real Meals cookbook, so I decided to make it again since we liked it so much. It's rare for me to make things twice, so you have to know this is good for me to make it again.

Mmmmm....as it simmers!

OH boy! The green beans are a steamin'. I added these little guys as a compliment to dinner, and my compliments go to Mr. Pillsbury. Haha! I just really wanted to use my small bar pan from Pampered Chef. Thanks Ronnie, Teresa, Ash, and Chase!As it was plated, Henry was drooling I'm pretty sure...
Ok, so that's all for now, but I do have more to show you :) They will be more of the sugary kind, so be prepared! For all who thought, "Oh she's not cooking since she got a job," oh no no. I'm still at it, just not posting as often. More to come though!

New: It's December 2nd, and my sweet friend Courtney has just made me realize that I have not included the recipe for this Devilish Chicken. So sorry all! Please enjoy this recipe, as it's most definitely a reasonable yummy one! From Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Get Real Meals...

Devilish Chicken and Cool Green Beans

Yields 4 Servings

Ingredients

3 tablespoons EVOO

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon dry mustard or 1 tablespoon spicy mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 6 to 8 ounces each

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, quartered lengthwise, and sliced into thin strips

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth

1 to 1 1/2 lbs green beans, stem end trimmed

10 fresh mint leaves, chopped

A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons cold butter

Directions

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of EVOO (twice around the pan) over medium-high heat. Mix the paprika and mustard with some salt and pepper and season chicken breasts on both sides. Add the seasoned chicken to the skillet and brown on the first side for three minutes, flip, and then sear the second side, 2 minutes. Remove the chicken and reserve on a plate under a foil tent. To the pan, add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add 1 cup of the chicken stock to the vegetables and bring it to a simmer. Add the reserved chicken back to the pan and cook for 10 minutes more, turning the chicken over every now and then.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the cool green beans. Heat a medium skillet with the remaining tablespoon of EVOO, then add the green beans, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of chicken stock and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the green beans are tender. Add the mint and half of the parsley.

Remove the chicken from the skillet to a platter. To finish the sauce, turn the heat off and add the remaining parsley and butter, stirring to melt the butter. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Serve both the chicken and green beans immediately.

Make it Gluten-Free!
-Ensure that your chicken stock is gluten free.  Some brands are gluten free while others are not.

Homemade Blueberry Muffins

It was morning that needed breakfast today :) I decided that I needed to try my hand at homemade blueberry muffins because I've always just made them from a box. So, I searched online (big surprise) and found this recipe. http://recipes.recipeland.com/recipes/recipe/show/Blueberry_Cupcakes_or_Muffins_4300


I decided to half it since we really don't need that many muffins. What I loved about this recipe is that, even before you bake it, you can tell the batter is not as oily as boxed recipes. Both are still very good, but my tastetester claims that these are better ;)

Going into the oven!



Done and sugared :) Time to eat!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Twist

Time for baking! Tuesday night, I was ready for some sweet after all that saltiness on the pizza. I searched through the FoodNetwork.com site and found the following recipe. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_27590,00.html

I wanted chocolate chip cookies, but I didn't want the same old recipe. So that's why I chose this recipe! These cookies stay chewier than normal chocolate chip cookies, and we really liked them!

Homemade Pizza

Henry has never, in over 4 years together, had my homemade pizza. So, I finally decided to make it for him. Now, I don't make pizza the same way every time, but here is how I made it today.

First, for the dough, I used this recipe from the Kitchen Aid Mixer book that the mixer comes with. I really ventured out, I know. Below is someone who has posted the recipe online. It's also good to use corn meal on the pizza pan before putting the crust on it.
Crusty Pizza Dough http://www.recipezaar.com/64860

Then I made the sauce using a tomato sauce recipe from my Fannie Farmer cook book. The recipe has been posted by someone here.
Tomato Sauce http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/2526/tomato-sauce.html

Finally, I had some spinach on hand that I cooked up in a small skillet with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. I used my rolling pin to spread out the pizza dough and placed it on my Pampered Chef large stone. I covered it in olive oil and spread cornmeal over the oil. After placing the dough on the stone, I covered the dough with the tomato sauce I cooked.

Also, I took a small glass bowl and poured about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into it. I added the following by eyeing it, but I'm guessing at the amounts that I placed into the glass bowl; Tarragon leaves (1/8 teaspoon), Garlic Powder (1/4 teaspoon), Oregano (1/4 teaspoon), and Paprika (1/8 teaspoon). I mixed together these ingredients and used a basting brush to to spread over the crust of the pizza. I then placed the crust with sauce in the oven for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, I removed the pizza from the oven and added the cheese, pepporoni, Asiago cheese and cooked spinach. The Asiago and spinach were only on one corner of the pizza. See the picture.
I needed to make sure the pepperoni was ok, too.

This is what the pizza looked like after it came out of the oven for 12 minutes!




Now it's time to eat.

Mac n' Cheese

Change on 9/12/10- Gluten Free notes at the bottom of this post.

So, I'm falling into this world of blogging. Perhaps I'm using it as an outlet to write since I don't have that option as much anymore after being out of school. Who knows! Nonetheless, I'm excited about sharing one of my favorite hobbies; cooking!

Henry is enjoying my hobby, needless to say :) If you know him, you know that grin he gets when he's excited about something. Each night I cook something new, I get to see that grin. It's a positive reinforcement for me to keep at it!

I'll post more on things that I've already made in the last few months, but my first post is on something I NEVER thought I'd make again; Macaroni and Cheese. Growing up, I ate this a lot, so it was natural for me to eat it when I went to college! Lucky for me (heavy sarcasm) KRAFT came out with Easy Mac the year I entered college. I can also thank KRAFT for quickly averting me to Mac n' Cheese. When you eat something SO much in such a short time, you don't ever want to see it again!

Well, last night was the first time I had eaten macaroni and cheese since that year. However, this time I made it FOR REAL! Henry and I watched this Mac n' Cheese food challenge on Food Network the other day, and I decided that there is definitely more ways to eat this dish than Kraft's way. I found a recipe on FoodNetwork.com and decided to go after it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_32868,00.html

Ingredients

Kosher salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound elbow macaroni or cavatappi
1 quart milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (4 cups)
8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (4 small)
1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large (4-quart) pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.

Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

This is SO good! Henry and I both loved it. The tomato can be a little overwhelming since there is so much dairy in this recipe, but it's not bad. I got to use one of my new Pampered Chef stoneware pieces that I hadn't used yet, so it was great! And, for those that are curious, yes it's taking more than one dishwashing load to clean all the dishes I used...

Make it Gluten-Free!
-Use gluten free pasta.
-Use gluten free all-purpose flour.
-Use gluten-free tortilla crumbs.