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I love vegetables, and my favorite way to eat them is roasted. This isn't really a "recipe" but just a way to cook vegetables, and not just asparagus. Just substitute your favorite vegetable. Brussel sprouts are yummy, or a mixture of your favorites--zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, sweet peppers, even broccoli (but I will warn you that the smell of roasted broccoli lingers forever in your house!)
Roasted Asparagus (or any other vegetable!)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry asparagus. Bend each spear from the bottom until it breaks at its natural breaking point (to get rid of the rough bottom part). Place in a baking dish in a single layer and drizzle with olive oil. Toss asparagus spears to coat evenly with the oil. Sprinkle with sea salt (you can use pepper too if you want--I don't). Place in preheated oven and cook about 15-20 minutes. About halfway through, I gently toss the veggies so they brown more evenly. I like to have a bit of brown on my asparagus, you can take it out sooner if you want it more crispy. Brussel sprouts need to cook longer (about 35 minutes).
note: I recently came across a recipe for roasted asparagus that is basically the same as this, but they also added about 1 Tbsp. basalmic vinegar with the olive oil. I think I'll try that next time!
There's nothing quite like chicken noodle soup when you're feeling under the weather. My picky eater actually requested this for dinner tonight--I had no idea she liked it that much! And she isn't even sick! I was more than happy to oblige, and I even had all the ingredients on hand. Even the parsnip! Go figure. Have you ever used a parsnip? It is a vegetable kind of in between a carrot and a potato. They are delicious in this soup!
This is my favorite chicken noodle soup recipe. It is so easy and yummy. It is so fast to make because you add the chicken to the soup raw and let it cook in the broth with the veggies. It saves a lot of time rather than cooking the chicken first. Of course, half the time I end up using a rotisserie chicken anyway! The recipe comes from Rachel Ray.
Quick Chick and Noodle Soup
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2 Tbsp. (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, choped
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
6 cups good quality chicken stock
1 pound chicken breast tenders, diced
1/2 pound wide egg noodles (I use Grandma's Egg Noodles--see below)
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
a handful of fresh dill, chopped
(note: I don't use the fresh parsley or dill. Instead I add about 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary OR 1/4 tsp. dried dill)
Place a large pot over moderate heat and add extra-virgin olive oil. Work close to the stove and add vegetables to the pot as you chop, in the order they are listed.
Add bay leaves and season vegetables with salt and pepper (I wait until the end to do this, otherwise my soup ends up too salty). Add stock to the pot and raise heat to bring liquid to a boil. Add diced chicken tenderloins, return soup to a boil, and reduce heat back to moderate. Cook chicken 2 minutes and add noodles. Cook soup an additional 6 minutes or until noodles are tender and remove soup from the heat.
Stir in parsley and dill, remove bay leaves and serve. This is a thick soup. Add up to 2 cups of water if you like chicken soup with lots of broth.
So, my sister-in-law introduced me to Grandma's Egg Noodles, found in the freezer section of your grocery store. These were next to the hash browns in my store. I used to make my own noodles from scratch, but these are just as good, and it saves me tons of time. I add the noodles (thawed) to the soup when it's boiling, and let them cook for 10 minutes or so. I usually have to add a couple of extra cups of broth as well to make sure there is enough liquid to cook the noodles.
I saw this recipe in January's Good Housekeeping magazine and wanted to try it! My first attempt was a disaster as I completely left out 2 ingredients. I had just folded in the egg whites when I realized I left out the melted butter and milk, and I couldn't very well add them in at that point. At least I figured out my mistake before I baked them. Even so, it was a little painful to dump all the batter down the sink. It was a month later that I finally tried again--and succeeded! These are yummy, and very lemony! I used regular lemons (as opposed to Meyer lemons which are less acidic) which made them a bit tart. Next time I think I will try the Meyer lemons to see which I like best.
Lemon Pudding Cakes
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup sugar, pluss additional for ramekins
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large Meyer or regular lemons
3 large eggs, separated
2 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1 cup whole milk
raspberries for garnish
mint leavel for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease eight 4 to 5 ounce ramekins; sprinkle with sugar to coat bottoms and sides. Shake out any excess.
2. In small bowl, combine flour, 1/3 cup sugar and salt with a fork. From lemons, grate 1 1/2 Tbsp. peel and squeeze 1/2 cup juice. In large bowl, with wire whisk, beat egg yolks and lemon peel and juice. Whisk in butter and milk. Gradually whisk in flour mixture.
3. In another large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually beat in remaining 1/4 cup sugar until soft peaks form when beaters are lifted, about 3 minutes.
4. Add one-third beaten whites to yolk mixture and, with rubber spatula, stir gently until incorporatd. Gently fold in remaining whites until just incorporated. With ladle, divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins. (approximately 1/2 cup batter in each ramekin)
5. Arrange ramekins 1 inch apart in large (17-inch by 13-inch) roasting pan. Fill pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Carefully transfer pan to oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until cakes are golden brown and tops rise 1/2 inch above rims.
6. Cool cakes in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. With sturdy metal spatula, carefully remove ramekins from pan with water and transfer to wire rack to cool 15 minutes longer.
7. Run thin knife around edge of 1 ramekin. Place small serving plate on top of ramekin and invert plate and ramekin togeher; remove ramekin., Repeat with remaining ramekins. Garnish each cake ith a couple of raspberries and a mint leaf; serve warm.
(note: I only had 8 oz. ramekins, so that's what I used and they turned out just fine. They just didn't rise 1/2 inch above the rims when cooking! I would let the cakes sit as long as you need them to, I served mine at room temperature. The longer you let them sit, the easier they come out--or at least they come out looking prettier!)
This is what they look like before I put them in the oven...
And this is what they looked like when they were cooling.
I love Thai food...the coconut, the curry, YUM! Here is a soup recipe that I made tonight. My husband and I really liked it, 2 out of 3 of my kids tried it and didn't complain too much. There are several things I will change about the recipe the next time I make it, and there WILL be a next time!
Chicken Coconut Curry Soup
1 Tbsp. Canola Oil
1 medium onion
1 cup Shitake mushrooms (I used baby bellas, couldn't find shitake at my grocery store)
2 cups cooked chicken cut into bite-sized pieces (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk
4 cups water (I will try using some chicken broth next time--maybe half broth half water)
1 tsp. red curry paste (I will try 2 tsp. next time)
1/4 cup sugar (I will try 3 Tbsp. next time--was a bit sweet)
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
soy sauce to taste (I used maybe 1/4 tsp)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
In a large pan, heat oil and saute onion. Add mushrooms and cook for a few minutes. Add all other ingredients except for tomatoes and basil. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil and adjust seasonings to taste.
Next time I make this, I would also like to add white rice or pad thai noodles to make it even more substantial. And serve it with a wedge of lime. YUMMY!
More cupcakes for Cub Scouts. The frosting on these is DIVINE!
Lemon Cupcakes
1 package lemon cake mix
1 small package lemon instant pudding
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
4 eggs
Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes. Don't overbake!
Lemon Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter
6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
Beat together with a mixer until fluffy. Note: this makes a TON of frosting. Depending on how much frosting you put on your cupcakes, you could probably half this recipe.
I'm seeing a pattern here with my recipes. I seem to gravitate towards the sweets, the baked goods. Maybe this will constitute the majority of my blog, but I really will try to include dinner-type stuff. Someday. I promise. In the meantime....
I had to make cupcakes for cub scouts, and I found this recipe in the Taste of Home Baking Classics cookbook. I picked it up from Costco, and I'm glad I did. These cupcakes were YUMMY. More substantial than just cupcakes from a cake mix--although, ironically, you start with a cakemix. If I'm going to bite into a cupcake, I want it to be more than just air. These deliver. I will definitely be making these again!
Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (makes about 2 dozen)
1 package (18-1/4 oz) yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to wireracks to cool completely. Frost cupcakes. Sprinkle with additional chips, if desired.
note: my oven tends to run hot, so I baked mine at 350 for 17 minutes. You don't want to overbake them!
Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
about 1 tsp vanilla
milk
Beat the above ingredients and slowly pour milk until the frosting starts to stick to itself. I like thick frosting so I don't put in very much milk, and I never measure it!
I got this recipe from a neighbor who brought these bars to a cub scout pack meeting. It took me several months to finally get the recipe, but I'm glad I was persistent--they are worth it!
Pecan Pie Bars
2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup cold butter
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
6 oz. toffee chips
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend flour, powdered sugar and butter together with a pastry blender until coarse. Press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan to form a crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Beat condensed milk, egg and vanilla until mixed. Add toffee chips and pecans. Stir until mixed. Pour over hot crust and bake 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Cut into squares.
