CIC: Broccoli & Pumpkin Puree

~ lk529 ~ 11 Comments

CIC-header

As expected, October’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge involved pumpkin. But I never dreamed that broccoli would be the costar! At first reaction I thought – gross. But then I surprised myself with many different ideas:

  • Pumpkin Hummus w/ Broccoli Pesto Swirl
  • Pizza with Pumpkin Cream sauce and Roasted Broccoli and Sausage
  • Broccoli Salad with Pumpkin Dressing and Pumpkin Seeds
  • Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Roasted Brocolli
  • Pumpkin Broccoli Bread

I decided to make the last option because my in-laws were in town over the long Columbus Day weekend. Having a bread available seemed like the smartest option.

I took a Banana Zucchini Bread recipe and substituted pumpkin puree for the banana and broccoli for the zucchini. I purchased a bag of broccoli slaw from the grocery store so that I wouldn’t have to shred the broccoli myself. (If you can find a bag of just shredded broccoli I’d suggest that instead of having to pick out the red cabbage and carrot.) Zucchini has a higher moisture content than broccoli so I boiled it prior to incorporating it into the batter.

Pumpkin Broccoli Bread

Ingredients:

  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 C sugar
  • 1 C vegetable oil
  • 1 C pumpkin puree
  • 3 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 C shredded broccoli
  • 1/2 C slivered almonds

Steps:

  1. In a pot of boiling water, cook broccoli for 4 minutes. Drain and pat dry between paper towels. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and add in the sugar and oil. Add pumpkin. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. Fold in broccoli and almonds.
  4. Pour batter into two loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, until a knife come out cleanly. Note: This will make 24 muffins.

Pumpkin Broccoli Bread 1Pumpkin Broccoli Bread 2

To see other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge, click on the link below!

 

recreatedbysrc

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

Today would have been my grandmother’s 81st birthday. In honor of her I made a cake from her recipe box – Busy Day Chocolate Cake. My brother always requested this cake for his birthday.

Busy Day Chocolate Cake, as the name suggests, is a chocolate cake that can be made on a busy day. It only takes 5 minutes to make the batter and 30 minutes in the oven. The longest process is letting the cake cool before frosting it.

Busia must’ve been helping me recreate her recipe because for the first time ever my cake came out of the pan cleanly and easily.

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz semi-sweet chocolate
  • 1 1/3 C flour
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 C vegetable shortening
  • 1 C buttermilk
  • 1 egg

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Melt chocolate: microwave 30 seconds, stir, microwave another 30 seconds or until melted.
  3. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Cut in vegetable shortening, and mix in buttermilk and egg. (I literally used a knife to mix in the shortening.) Add melted chocolate until combined.
  5. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9″ round cake pan.
  6. Bake for 30 minutes, until a knife/toothpick slides through cleanly.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

  • 4 tbsp salted butter
  • 4 tbsp cream cheese
  • 3 C powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • milk, if needed

Steps:

  1. In a stand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese.
  2. Add 1 C powdered sugar. Mix until combined. Add in 1/2 tsp vanilla. Mix until combined. Repeat until all ingredients are used.
  3. If needed, add a little bit of milk and/or more sugar.
  4. Frost cake and enjoy!

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Cuban Inspired Pork Tenderloin

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Even though I’m not Cuban, this meal was very comforting to me. The flavors of Cuba are very similar to those of the Dominican Republic and I jumped on the opportunity to serve a very Latin meal.

With the pork in the slow cooker, I was able to better multi-task. I made black beans to go atop rice and fried up sliced plantains to serve on the side.

I fed a crowd with this recipe, if you’re making this for a gathering of four halve the recipe.

Cuban Inspired Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

  • 4 lb pork tenderloin
  • 1 1/4 C orange juice
  • juice of 6 limes
  • 1 C chicken broth
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 10 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • S+P
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 6 tbsp flour

Steps:

  1. Place tenderloin in slow cooker.
  2. In bowl combine OJ, lime juice, broth, soy sauce, garlic, oregano, and S+P. Pour over tenderloin.
  3. Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.
  4. Remove pork. Strain 4 C of the sauce into a sauce pan. Whisk in flour and butter. Cook until reduced to desired consistency, at least 5 minutes.
  5. Slice pork and serve.

* This recipe is adapted from Jo at http://www.jocooks.com/healthy-eating/crockpot-cuban-style-pork-tenderloin/*

Pork Tenderloin 1 Pork Tenderloin 2

This blog post also comes with a bonus recipe for fried plantains!

Fried Plantains

Ingredients:

  • plantains (2 for 3 people), peeled
  • olive oil, for shallow frying
  • salt

Steps:

  1. Slice plantains.
  2. Fry for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through.
  3. Set on paper towel lined plate to absorb the extra grease and sprinkle with salt.

Rice and Beans

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

To me, “rice and beans” by definition is white rice with black beans (cooked with onion and bell pepper) but after living in the Alabama where pinto beans seem to be more popular and living in the Florida panhandle where there’s a lot of New Orleans influence, rice and beans has come to be a very ambiguous term.

This recipe for rice and beans refers to black beans. Although similar to my mother’s recipe, this one is actually adapted from my brother’s fiancé.

Black Beans

Ingredients:

  • 1-2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • 1/2 green bell pepper
  • 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 shakes hot sauce
  • S+P

Steps:

  1. Saute onion and pepper in olive oil for 3-4 minutes. Season with garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add in black beans, 1/4 can water, bay leaf, and hot sauce.
  2. Cook covered over med-low heat 25 minutes.
  3. Serve with cooked white rice and cream cheese*.

*I have a recommendation that will sound strange – serve cream cheese with your rice and beans. Trust me on this one. I think my mom was the first person to try this – she says it is common to eat rice and beans with Edam cheese. As delicious as Edam is (it’s one of my favorite cheeses) the slight tang and the creaminess you get from cream cheese compliments the bold flavor of black beans. (If you think of it like sour cream it doesn’t sound as crazy.) Take your fork, get a little cream cheese and then dig into the rice and beans! Perfect.

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Happy Halloween

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I love decorating for the holidays, and Halloween is no exception. Pinterest has fueled my decorating passion and this year I spent a lot of time with my hand in the scissors.

Last year was my first Pinterest Halloween and I did a Mummy front door. It was a great hit so I did it again! The original creators of the Mummy Door used white streamers. Living in a very humid climate I opted to use white ribbon. Yes, it’s more expensive, but it’s reusable year-to-year! I used a solid white and had a little bit of see-thru white ribbon to put over the bottom layer in diagonals. I secured the ribbon with double sided tape on the threshold sides of the door. I gave the mummy a sunken-eye look by excluding whites – he’s all pupil! I also decided to leave ribbon hanging at the door knob to give it that unraveling texture.

Mummy Door

I put spider webs with spider rings in the windows next to the front door – making the Mummy creepier rather than cute!

I’ve always used orange Christmas lights in my windows but this year I added even more decoration to the window panes. Silhouettes! I purchased a Martha Stewart window cling for the upstairs window (it claims to be reusable) and cut my own figures for the porch window. I printed templates from the internet, cut them, traced them onto black poster board, and cut that. Double stick tape secured them to the glass.

Halloween Windows

Halloween Windows

For the spider web I followed this tutorial.

I also brought the Halloween decor outside with 4 black foam bats hanging from the porch eaves. I printed out a template, cut it, traced it onto the black foam, and cut that. I then used a hole punch at the top of each bat’s head. Fishing line gives the bats their flying through the air illusion.

Bats

Pesto Chicken with Tomato Pesto Rotini

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I stumbled upon this recipe during one of my Pinterest marathons.

When I first joined Pinterest I vowed that I would never have a cooking board – I have multiple cookbooks, Food Network, and for my internet recipe searches Foodgawker – adding Pinterest to that collection would provide me with simply too many choices! I kept my promise for almost two years – until I started blogging. I found myself subscribing to other food blogs and wanting to find a place to keep my favorite posts that wasn’t my email box. I caved and started a Blog Inspiration Pinterest Board.

I used leftover Red Pepper Pesto for this dish and the result was fantastic. I adjusted the sauce recipe too. Funnily enough, the chicken somehow took on the flavor of traditional meatballs. I thought about renaming this dish “Faux Pasta & Meatballs”.  The original recipe calls for traditional pesto – and I’d suspect the result would be a lighter, brighter pasta dish.

Pesto Chicken with Tomato Pesto Rotini

Ingredients:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 tbsp red pepper pesto, divided
  • 1/2 bottle Lawry’s Herb & White Wine Marinade
  • 1/2 lb tricolor rotini pasta
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/4 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 16 oz tomato sauce
  • 3/4 C chicken broth
  • 1/2 C heavy cream

Steps:

  1. Cube chicken and season with S+P. Combine marinade and 2 tbsp pesto. Marinate chicken overnight.
  2. Cook pasta in boiling salted water.
  3. In a large skillet, cook chicken in its marinade.
  4. Make pasta sauce: In a sauce pan cook onion and garlic in olive oil. Pour in tomato sauce, broth and pesto. Cook for 10 minutes, until slightly reduced. Stir in heavy cream.
  5. Serve: Toss pasta with chicken and sauce.

*This recipe is modified from Chelsey at http://cdargis.tumblr.com/post/18818836004/garlic-pesto-chicken-with-tomato-cream-penne*

Pesto Chicken with Tomato Pesto Rotini

Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Pesto Panini

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

About twice a month I’m met with the “I don’t want to cook” flu. It’s usually accompanied by a strain of the “need to go to the grocery store” virus. There are two popular remedies to this illness: 1) date night out and 2) go to the store on the way home from work.  With this recipe, I’ve discovered a new antibiotic! Take what you have and make a sandwich.

In asking Stuart what he wanted for dinner he actually had an answer other than my favorite “I don’t know”. He wanted a panini. So I hit the web and found one that looked good. I shared the recipe and was given the vote of approval… along with the question, “Do we have what we need?” My answer, “ Um, we have bread.  And maybe cheese?” Instead of getting discouraged I read her blog post and thought, I could do that! (She utilized ingredients from her pantry/fridge to create her masterpiece.)

I used my engineering degree in the kitchen once again and improvised a panini maker. I slathered some butter on the outside of the sandwich and treated it like a grilled cheese. Except instead of using a skillet, I used my indoor grill pan. Taking the flat top of a saucepan, I pressed the sandwich. After achieving those traditional grill marks I flipped it over and repeated the process. The result – a beautiful panini fake out.

Italian Sausage and Red Pepper Pesto Panini

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices of bread
  • butter, for spreading
  • 2 tbsp red pepper pesto
  • 2 links hot Italian sausage, sliced into medallions
  • 2 slices white American cheese
  • kale

Steps:

  1. In a small skillet, cook sausage.
  2. Assemble sandwiches: Spread butter on all pieces of bread. On the opposite side of butter spread pesto on 2 of the slices. Top with sausage, kale, and cheese. Top with other slice of bread, butter side out.
  3. Press in panini maker or follow my method described above.

Fake Out Panini

Quita’s Shrimp

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I have mentioned my mom’s mom, Busia, on my blog before and it is now time to “introduce” you to my dad’s mom, Quita.

You’re probably thinking I have very strange names for my grandparents. Busia (boo-sha) is the Americanized Polish for grandmother and Quita (pronounced kee-ta) is the Lauren-ized Dominican for Abuelita. When I was young, I couldn’t pronounce Abuelita and being the first grandchild on my dad’s side of the family, it stuck! Funnily enough though only my brother and I call her Quita. My cousins use the traditional Abuelita and Abuelito while my youngest cousin calls them Mami and Papi.

So what do I call my grandfather? Taita (tie-ta). This one is my grandfather’s creation and the origin is debatable.

This shrimp recipe is a party favorite. It is a room temperature salad of cocktail shrimp, onions, and peppers in a bright vinaigrette. The recipe I followed didn’t have the amounts of each ingredient, but I used my best judgment. When I pulled it out of the fridge it smelled perfect – just as I remember. Upon tasting it I was a little heavy handed with the olive oil, but with a little more salt and a dash more vinegar and I was back on track.

Quita’s Shrimp

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb cocktail shrimp
  • 1/2 onion, sliced
  • 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (Quita uses green but I had orange on hand)
  • 2 tsp capers
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 heaping tbsp cocktail sauce
  • 2/3 C apple cider vinegar
  • 1 – 1 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil, to taste
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

Steps:

  1. Combine all ingredients. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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Chinese Barbecue Chicken

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

The slow cooker isn’t just for easy week night meals; it’s also great for busy weekends! When my friend and I get together or my mother-in-law is in town for quilting weekends we throw together a slow cooker meal before hunkering down in the “sweat shop” for the day.  (I like to tell my husband I’m “Super Wife” on these days.)

I served these with rice and fresh green beans. The leftovers were turned into sandwiches.

Chinese Barbecue Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1/2 C honey
  • 1/2 C soy sauce
  • 1/4 C hoisin
  • 1/4 C blackberry jam
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 onion, diced
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 3 scallions, sliced

Steps:

  1. Combine honey, soy sauce, hoisin, jam, oil, and garlic.
  2. Place chicken in slow cooker. Cover with onion and sauce. Cook on LOW 4 1/2 hours.
  3. Remove chicken and shred. Pour the sauce in a saucepan. Mix together cornstarch with 3 tbsp water. Whisk into sauce and bring to a boil until thickened. Pour over shredded chicken.

*This recipe is adapted from Kelly at http://www.justataste.com/2013/09/slow-cooker-crock-pot-honey-garlic-chicken-recipe/*

Chinese Chicken

Chinese Chicken

Easiest Asparagus Ever

~ lk529 ~ 2 Comments

One of my favorite vegetables is asparagus. We probably have it once a week.

I have a funny story to share about asparagus. I was at the grocery store, bagging my asparagus and an old man struck up a conversation with me. He told me that he cooks his asparagus in a coffee pot! I haven’t actually attempted his creative cooking method, but I could see how that would work – it would steam the vegetable. Maybe?

Good friends of ours introduced this preparation technique to me and I have to say it’s the only way I do it now!

Asparagus

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb asparagus
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • S+P to taste

Steps:

  1. Snap off the end of the asparagus.
  2. Place asparagus in a microwavable dish. Break apart butter and distribute atop the asparagus. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with S+P.
  3. Cover asparagus with a damp paper towel. Microwave on high 4 minutes, or until tender but al dente.

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