so i've been really busy recently and haven't had time to be inventive in the kitchen, so just a few snacks for y'all.
--the pumpkin bread from two posts back? that i said tastes like cake? i had some left over cream cheese icing from making cupcakes (the new shake'n'pour by betty crocker...delicious!) and that really sealed the deal for me. I love the way icing is both fresh but then more so when it hardens a little? yeah, that was gone from my kitchen remarkably quickly.
--1 can black beans + 1 can mexicorn + cheese + soft taco shells=excellent, filling dinner when you just need something quick. also great on a cold rainy/snowy night!
--the corn soup from the previous post is also good cold. I don't like eating soups in the summer because i want something chilling in the hot weather and that might be a good one to try out as the weather warms up (plus it does call for fresh corn...though i used canned and it was fine).
--also for a quick and delicious dinner--the premade biscuits? bake them, then taken them fresh from the oven and split them, put pizza sauce and mozarella on them and pop them back in the oven long enough to melt the cheese. the biscuits don't get over done that way and i know i used some leftover tomato sauce i had and i ended up eating a bunch of these suckers one night.
Mom and I are busy coming up with appropriate Thanksgiving recipes that I can eat and won't disgust my brother/sister and also won't be too far from the family's traditions (we don't have many but there are some standbys!)
Another reason I've been busy? I have a stress fracture in my foot, in one of my toes, and I've been trying to rest/ice/elevate/painkiller it as well as consider my vitamin D and calcium intake...lots to consider here! Eat a balanced diet.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
corn soup
so i hadn't anticipated posting again so soon because i hadn't anticipated cooking any new recipes but i finally gave in and tried this one recipe my mom sent me this summer and it's so delicious i'm rushing over to post it while i have a minute this weekend!
it's a corn soup from BH&G magazine this summer, July 2012 issue from the stamp at the bottom of the page. i will admit first off I DID NOT USE FRESH CORN. this soup is a ton of work (relatively speaking) so i went cheap and bought canned corn (no salt added...i figured that's like using unsalted butter, one less ingredient to mess with). Granted, it was supposed to be made this summer when fresh corn was more readily available. i'm in a pumpkin kind of mood now, but this sounds up my alley this week.
so without further ado...
Fresh Corn Soup
4 T unsalted butter
1/2 c coarsely chopped Vidalia/sweet onion
4 c corn, freshly cut from the cob
1-2 T sugar
2-3 c milk
1 c half-and-half
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg, plus additional for grating over servings
1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook gently for 3-5 minutes until tender; do not let onion brown. Add 3 1/2 c of the corn and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Stir well and cook 5-7 minutes; again, do not let onions or corn brown. Stir in 1 T sugar.
2. (Meanwhile...) in a medium saucepan combine 2 c of the milk and the half-and-half, and warm over medium-low heat until heated through. Pour the corn mixture over the heated milk and over medium heat, stirring often, bring just to a simmer. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
3. Puree soup in batches, 1/3 at a time, until very smooth. Pour into a fine wire strainer set over a bowl. Allow soup to drain through. Transfer soup back to pan. Reheat over medium heat; whisk in grated nutmeg. If thinner soup is desired, heat the remaining milk over medium heat and gradually stir into soup to desired consistency. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and some of remaining 1 T sugar. To serve, divide among bowls; top each with some of the remaining corn and dusting of additional nutmeg. Makes 4-6 servings.
And hey, i'm not sharing the caloric count. but it does have 3g fiber! 11g protein!
I also totally left out the onion. Oops. I forget to get one at the store this morning, since the recipe specified a Vidalia or sweet onion. I'm not a particular fan of onion in my soups (I can't ever cut it fine enough) and considering that this is basically a liquid, chunks of onion would be annoying. I haven't added any corn with serving; it's just me so I didn't feel the need. On reheating, I probably will. I also didn't end up adding any more salt or sugar in the last step, and I felt the nutmeg was enough. It's a sweet soup, but delicious. Seriously.
I was really hoping this soup was worth it cause i made a disaster of my kitchen. Put the milk in the bigger saucepan, btw. It helps. I have a colander that's wire mesh and that was helpful towards the end. I also definitely used my soup to 'help' with the straining. I only have a baby blender that "pulses" so you might get better corn results with a real blender/food processor, but I did okay with my pulsing.
This might be a good one to keep warm for the winter...
it's a corn soup from BH&G magazine this summer, July 2012 issue from the stamp at the bottom of the page. i will admit first off I DID NOT USE FRESH CORN. this soup is a ton of work (relatively speaking) so i went cheap and bought canned corn (no salt added...i figured that's like using unsalted butter, one less ingredient to mess with). Granted, it was supposed to be made this summer when fresh corn was more readily available. i'm in a pumpkin kind of mood now, but this sounds up my alley this week.
so without further ado...
Fresh Corn Soup
4 T unsalted butter
1/2 c coarsely chopped Vidalia/sweet onion
4 c corn, freshly cut from the cob
1-2 T sugar
2-3 c milk
1 c half-and-half
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg, plus additional for grating over servings
1. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook gently for 3-5 minutes until tender; do not let onion brown. Add 3 1/2 c of the corn and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Stir well and cook 5-7 minutes; again, do not let onions or corn brown. Stir in 1 T sugar.
2. (Meanwhile...) in a medium saucepan combine 2 c of the milk and the half-and-half, and warm over medium-low heat until heated through. Pour the corn mixture over the heated milk and over medium heat, stirring often, bring just to a simmer. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.
3. Puree soup in batches, 1/3 at a time, until very smooth. Pour into a fine wire strainer set over a bowl. Allow soup to drain through. Transfer soup back to pan. Reheat over medium heat; whisk in grated nutmeg. If thinner soup is desired, heat the remaining milk over medium heat and gradually stir into soup to desired consistency. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and some of remaining 1 T sugar. To serve, divide among bowls; top each with some of the remaining corn and dusting of additional nutmeg. Makes 4-6 servings.
And hey, i'm not sharing the caloric count. but it does have 3g fiber! 11g protein!
I also totally left out the onion. Oops. I forget to get one at the store this morning, since the recipe specified a Vidalia or sweet onion. I'm not a particular fan of onion in my soups (I can't ever cut it fine enough) and considering that this is basically a liquid, chunks of onion would be annoying. I haven't added any corn with serving; it's just me so I didn't feel the need. On reheating, I probably will. I also didn't end up adding any more salt or sugar in the last step, and I felt the nutmeg was enough. It's a sweet soup, but delicious. Seriously.
I was really hoping this soup was worth it cause i made a disaster of my kitchen. Put the milk in the bigger saucepan, btw. It helps. I have a colander that's wire mesh and that was helpful towards the end. I also definitely used my soup to 'help' with the straining. I only have a baby blender that "pulses" so you might get better corn results with a real blender/food processor, but I did okay with my pulsing.
This might be a good one to keep warm for the winter...
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
pumpkin bread
so 'tis the season for pumpkin! and cinnamon! and apples! While I can only bask in one of those three, I will relish it while I can. I made pumpkin donuts out of the previously posted doughnut (I find it interesting that I can type "donuts" plural but "donut" apparently is incorrectly spelled and I actually was typing out "doughnut" when I discovered this...so much for trying to be consistent with my spelling!) recipe and they were quite fabulous. probably better than the plain recipe because the pumpkin worked as a better binder than the egg substitute i use. so you can try that. and if you use a can of pumpkin, whatever is left after the pumpkin bread makes for an excellent amount to use in the doughnuts.
as always, my love for bisquick shines through...and my handy bisquick recipes. And hey, it was on sale at Kroger this week! (and also of note, you can buy a prepackaged garlic cheese bisquick biscuit mix...just add water!)
One-Pan Pumpkin Bread
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 c canned pumpkin
3 eggs
2 1/3 c Bisquick original baking mix
1 1/4 c sugar
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 c raisins
1. Heat oven to 350. Generously grease bottom only of a loaf pan, 9x5x3inches.
2. Stir all ingredients except raisins in pan with fork until moistened; beat vigorously for 1 minute. Stir in raisins.
3. Bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife/metal spatula around sides of loaf to loosen; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.
One really should only imagine the liberties I took with this recipe...to start with, I left the eggs out completely. And the raisins. And the cinnamon. I only had the Heart Smart Bisquick in the house (thus how I know about the sale on Bisquick this week..). I used nutmeg instead of the cinnamon. And you know what? I basically got pumpkin cake and I'm not complaining. It makes for a delicious breakfast for someone with a sweet tooth like me. It's rather sweet though, and I think 1 1/4 c of sugar is a LOT but just be prepared for it. I can't remember if I've ever had pumpkin bread before though so I'm not sure what I had expected.
Anyway, I'm out for a bit...I've overexerted myself cooking this week in anticipation of my flu shot and feeling miserable for the next few days, so catch up with all the old recipes (many of which I've made this week...doughnuts, pasta salad, raspberry crumb bars...I made lentil soup but i don't think i've posted that recipe) and i'll see you sometime soon. :)
as always, my love for bisquick shines through...and my handy bisquick recipes. And hey, it was on sale at Kroger this week! (and also of note, you can buy a prepackaged garlic cheese bisquick biscuit mix...just add water!)
One-Pan Pumpkin Bread
1/3 c vegetable oil
1 c canned pumpkin
3 eggs
2 1/3 c Bisquick original baking mix
1 1/4 c sugar
2 t ground cinnamon
1/2 c raisins
1. Heat oven to 350. Generously grease bottom only of a loaf pan, 9x5x3inches.
2. Stir all ingredients except raisins in pan with fork until moistened; beat vigorously for 1 minute. Stir in raisins.
3. Bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife/metal spatula around sides of loaf to loosen; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.
One really should only imagine the liberties I took with this recipe...to start with, I left the eggs out completely. And the raisins. And the cinnamon. I only had the Heart Smart Bisquick in the house (thus how I know about the sale on Bisquick this week..). I used nutmeg instead of the cinnamon. And you know what? I basically got pumpkin cake and I'm not complaining. It makes for a delicious breakfast for someone with a sweet tooth like me. It's rather sweet though, and I think 1 1/4 c of sugar is a LOT but just be prepared for it. I can't remember if I've ever had pumpkin bread before though so I'm not sure what I had expected.
Anyway, I'm out for a bit...I've overexerted myself cooking this week in anticipation of my flu shot and feeling miserable for the next few days, so catch up with all the old recipes (many of which I've made this week...doughnuts, pasta salad, raspberry crumb bars...I made lentil soup but i don't think i've posted that recipe) and i'll see you sometime soon. :)
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