Mexicali Burgers

A friend of mine told me about this recipe years ago, but I never got around to making it until recently. Big mistake. Instead of making sliders, I made big burgers, because I had big burger buns and it just made more sense. And I skipped the Spicy Mango Sauce, because I hate both mangoes and spicy food. And in the salsa I used my new favorite salsa, Trader Joe's Organic Tomatillo & Roasted Yellow Chili Salsa.

Chef Chloe's Mexicali Sliders

"F it" Brunch (brunch foods that start with "F") Part 2

A great dish to make when you're having people over, because it doesn't create a lot of dishes. You can serve it right in the pan you cooked it in! I was inspired by a recipe from Martha Stewart, but altered it, because I wanted to use spinach instead of zucchini.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2/3 small onion, finely diced
• 1/3 cup frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded shredded white cheddar
• 2 medium vine ripe tomatoes, cored and thinly sliced crosswise

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Add onion,  and thyme; cook, covered, stirring often, until tender but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover, add spinach and cook until all the liquid in the pan evaporates. Season with salt and pepper; remove skillet from heat.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and cheese, salt, and pepper. 
3. At this point, since I don't have a non-stick skillet, I removed the onion mixture from the pan, and oiled it well. If your pan is non-stick, you could get away with skipping this step.
4. Pour egg mixture into pan, then add back onion mixture (or, if using non-stick, gently lift the mixture to allow eggs to coat bottom of pan). Arrange tomatoes in an overlapping pattern on top.
5. Return skillet to medium-low heat, and cook until sides are set yet still slightly runny on top, 15 to 20 minutes. Place in oven, and cook until the center is cooked through when tested with a wooden skewer, and the tomatoes are browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven; gently slide a heatproof spatula around the edges and underneath to loosen from skillet. Serve immediately.

"F it" Brunch (brunch foods that start with "F") Part 1

We were having friends over for brunch this past weekend and I wanted to impress without having to, you know, slave in the kitchen all morning or especially while they were here. So I knew a French Toast casserole was in the cards - something I could prepare ahead of time and pop in the oven.

Baked Apple Cinnamon French Toast (I halved the recipe from the website, because there were only 4.5 of us. This version is my adaptation)

1/2 loaf of challah bread (I used homemade, because I made a rocking, but giant one for Yom Kippur)

3/4 cups non-dairy milk (soy, almond, rice, hemp, etc.)
1 1/2 tbs. cornstarch
2 tbs. white whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice or nutmeg
Topping:
1 1/2 tbs. vegan margarine (I like Earth Balance)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tbs. brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice or nutmeg
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced (use a firm variety)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Slice bread into 2" pieces. Place into a 9"x9" glass baking pan. In a large bowl whisk together milk, cornstarch, flour, vanilla, cinnamon and allspice. Pour mixture over the bread in the baking pan and turn the bread over a few times to make sure the mixture is equally absorbed.
Melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium heat and stir in the brown sugar, brown rice syrup, cinnamon and allspice. Add in your apple slices and toss until they are coated in the brown sugar sauce. Pour the apple topping over the bread in the baking pan and evenly distribute. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes

Serve with maple syrup.

My new favorite pancakes

Puffy Pillow Pancakes. The name truly says it all. My old favorite pancakes were puffy, but I always had a hard time getting them cooked through without overcooking them on the outside. I figured the same problem would crop up here, but oh boy was I wrong. I adjusted the recipe ever-so-slightly (whole wheat flour instead of white, and I added blueberries, because I love them).

Note: If you want leftovers and/or feed more than 3 people at breakfast, do yourself a favor and double the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt

1 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1-2 cups of fruit, cut into small pieces, if necessary (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center.

Measure the milk into a measuring cup. Add vinegar and ground flax seeds, and use a fork to vigorously mix the ingredients until foamy. This will take a minute or so.

Pour the milk mixture into the center of the dry ingredients. Add the water, canola oil, vanilla and fruit (if using) and use a fork to mix until a thick, lumpy batter forms. That should take about a minute. It doesn’t need to be smooth, just make sure you get all the ingredients incorporated.

Preheat the pan over medium-low heat and let the batter rest for 10 minutes.

Lightly coat the pan in oil (I used a non-stick skillet, which doesn't need oil). Add 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake, and cook for about 4 minutes, until puffy. Flip the pancakes, adding a new coat of oil to the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Pancake should be about an inch thick, and golden brown.

Rest pancakes on a cooling rack covered with tin foil until ready to serve. To reheat, place pancakes in on a baking sheet covered with tin foil in a  300 F degree oven for 5 minutes or so.

Miso Tempeh and Kale wrap/salad

Oh yum. That's all I have to say. And it's great for a quick dinner or healthy lunch. Double the recipe and have plenty leftover to take to work the next day. I found it at http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/07/kale-avocado-wraps-w-spicy-miso-dipped.html

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp white miso paste
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp agave or maple syrup
black pepper
2-4 Tbsp oil (I used olive)
1 package tempeh, sliced into 8 logs
1 bunch kale
1/2 cup red onion, sliced thinly
1-2 tomatoes, sliced, diced or cut into weges
1 small avocado, sliced or diced

Directions:
1. Mix miso, vinegar, agave (or syrup), a sprinkle of black pepper and 1-2 Tbsp of oil together to make dressing.

2. Heat another Tbsp or so of oil in a saute pan on medium heat.

3. Dip tempeh logs into dressing, then lay them into the hot pan. Allow them to cook for a minute on each side until all sides are carmelized, being careful not to overly blacken. Remove from pan and cool.

4. Remove kale leaves from stem and chop into small pieces.

5. Wash kale well. Run it under (or dunk in) hot water, then dunk it into very cold water. Then dry the kale in a salad spinner and/or with a towel.

6. Transfer kale into a dry bowl, toss with dressing and onions.

7. To serve, either make a salad of kale, tomatoes, avocado and 2 tempeh logs or put all of the components on a wrap (I used whole wheat tortillas) and enjoy.

Cheezy Roasted Chickpeas

I found this recipe in the Vegan Lunchbox cookbook years ago. I made it once, but wasn't too impressed. A few weeks ago I found myself craving it, so I whipped up a batch and have been making it nearly daily ever since. I've tweaked the recipe just a bit to my liking. The chickpeas turn into chewy, yummy little treats.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, rinsed)


a splash of vegetable oil (up to 1 Tablespoon, but I use less. just eyeball it)


2+ teaspoons of nutritional yeast


a healthy shake of garlic powder


a less-healthy shake of salt




Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Toss all ingredients together in a glass baking dish or rimmed cookie sheet, spreading them out into one layer.

Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes if you remember.

Zucchini Muffins

A friend found this recipe, altered it and passed it along to me. I altered it further and pass it along to you. I'm not kidding when I say it's out of this world. I made them yesterday and want to make more right now. Because she halved the recipe, it calls for 1 1/2 eggs, which is awkward. I used 1 egg, plus some Ener-G egg replacer. You could also probably do without it, since the applesauce will do some of the binding for you. Or double the recipe, which I think is the best suggestion.


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-1/2 eggs (or sub: 1 egg, 3/4 teaspoon egg replacer, and 1 tablespoon water)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini (or a mix of zucchini and carrot - I used one of each and it was exactly one cup)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions
1. Grease muffin tins (I used mini muffins). Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. 
3. Sift in flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon, beat well.
4. Stir in zucchini, carrots and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes (for mini muffins) or 20-25 minutes (for regular muffins), or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and completely cool. 

Blueberry Raspberry Flax Maple Steel Cut Oats

The name literally says it all. This recipe makes enough for 4 servings, so you can have extra in the fridge for later in the week. I like to make it ahead of time, since it takes 30+ minutes. If you do, 2 minutes in the microwave is all it takes to have a hot breakfast. You can use any kind of milk you'd like, or only water

Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
2 cups almond milk
2 cups water
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds

Put everything in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Then simmer for 25-30 minutes. If your flax seeds are raw, you can add them after the oats are cooked to get all of the flaxy goodness out of them. If they're toasted, add them whenever.

A Passover-friendly vegetable soup

My daughter eats Vegetable Barley Soup almost every day. And with Passover approaching, I wanted to make a Passover-friendly version.

Ingredients:
4 carrots, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 potatoes, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 cup quinoa
dill, to taste
parsley, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Saute onion, garlic in olive oil.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cover with water.
4. Cook for at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

I had recently made a big pot of vegetable stock, so I reserved the cooked veggies from that, pureed them  and added them to the soup to thicken it. If you don't have extra veggies on hand and want the soup thicker, throw a few cups of it in the blender and mix back into the pot.

Kale chips

What to do when you have a bunch of kale that you have no plans for? Kale chips! What to do when you have a baby who can't chew thoroughly enough to not choke on her super-healthy leafy greens? Kale chips!

Every single recipe on the internet goes like this:
De-stem and chop 1 bunch of kale, sprinkle with olive oil (1-2 Tbsp) and a bit of salt and toss. Pop in a 275-350 degree oven for 10-25 minutes. I went with 275 for 25 to get them super crispy. Next time I might add a bit of garlic with the oil and salt. Nutritional yeast sounds delicious, too.

Tempeh Helper

(photo from the ppk website)

Let's file this one under foods my mother never made for me, but I always wanted to try and now won't because I'm vegetarian. Obviously I have no idea how this compares to Hamburger Helper, but it's tasty either way.

I'm kind of crazy about this recipe from theppk and the cookbook Appetite for Reduction:

Tempeh Helper
Makes 4 roughly one cup servings (serves 2 if you’re super hungry)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz tempeh
3 cups water
6 oz small shell pasta, or about a cup (I used quinoa pasta)
A handful frozen peas, about 1/4 cup
For the seasoning mix:
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoon broth powder (I used Frontier chicken-style broth)
2 teaspoons arrowroot or corn starch
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Have a lid at the ready because you’ll need to cover it at some point.
Drizzle the oil in the pan and tear the tempeh into bite sized pieces, adding them to the pan. Saute for about 5 minutes, until tempeh is lightly browned. In the meantime, mix the seasoning together in a mixing bowl.
Add a few tablespoons of water to the tempeh to deglaze the pan. Add the 3 cups of water and seasoning mix, giving a good stir to get it all mixed in. Add the pasta and cover. Bring the heat up to a boil. Once boiling, you can reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring once. Remove the lid, and cook until the sauce is reduced and thickened to your liking, usually about 3 minutes. Taste for salt.
Serve topped with Eazy Breezy Cheezy Sauce.
Eazy Breezy Cheezy Sauce
Makes 2 cups
3/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons onion flakes
1/4 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/8 ground turmeric
2 tablespoons broth powder (I used Frontier chicken-style broth)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Add nutritional yeast, flour, garlic, onion flakes, salt, turmeric and broth powder to a bowl and mix together. Add 2 cups water and use a fork to mix and beat out any big lumps. Once relatively smooth, pour into a 2 quart sauce pot. Turn heat up to medium high and stir often for about 5 minutes. Once boiling, bring it down to a slow boil. It should start bubbling and thickening. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until it has a thick, smooth melted cheese consistency.
Mix in mustard and taste for salt. Serve hot or warm.

Sweet Potato Risotto

My very first risotto! I’ve wanted to make one forever, but always put it off. Apparently the way to get me to make anything these days is to give me a recipe and tell me your kid loves it. That’s what happened here.

Sweet Potato Risotto

Ingredients
    2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 large onion, finely chopped
    kosher salt and black pepper
    2 small sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/4-inch pieces (or one small sweet potato and one carrot)
    2 cloves garlic, chopped
    1 cup Arborio rice
    1 cup vegetable broth (sub: dry white wine, chicken broth, water OR 1 cup fruit juice mixed with 2 teaspoons vinegar)
    1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces) (I skipped this, so let’s call it optional)
    2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Add the sweet potatoes and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute.

3. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently, until absorbed.

4. Measure 3½ cups of water. Add ¾ cup at a time and cook, stirring occasionally and waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding the next. It should take 25 to 30 minutes for all the water to be absorbed.

5. Stir in the Parmesan and oregano.

Bubble Up Pizza Casserole

I stumbled upon this recipe and met it with a unique mixture of disgust and desire. Made it vegetarian and took out the store-bought biscuits, plus a few other changes along the way.


Stephanie's Bubble Up Pizza Casserole

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tofurkey Meatless Italian Sausage, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 c sliced mushrooms (I would have used more, but that's all I had. But they were shiitake! Mmm)
• 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 jar Trader Joe’s Fat Free Pizza Sauce (I used almost the entire jar)
• 1 pizza dough (I'd planned on using homemade, but didn't have any on hand, so I grabbed a pre-made one from Trader Joe's)
• 1 c Finely Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
1.  Preheat oven to 375 and grease a 9×13 dish. 
2.  Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan.  Add sausage and brown, then remove/set sausage aside.
3.  Add vegetables (and another splash of oil) to pan and cook until soft, approximately 5-7 minutes. Add spices, spaghetti sauce, and sausage. Mix well and remove from heat.
4.  Coat the bottom of your pan with pizza dough.
5.  Spread half of the sauce mixture over the biscuits. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers.
6. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares and ENJOY!

Pumpkin Apple Muffins

My first attempt with these muffins was less-than-perfect. I'd mixed the batter together when I realized I forgot the salt. So tossed that in and mixed it again. Then I realized I'd only put in 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spices, so I added more and mixed again. Over-mixed batter = tough, chewy muffins. But the flavor is great and I really think the second attempt will be perfect.

Weelicious Pumpkin Apple Muffins

1 1/3 Cups All Purpose Flour
2/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Pumpkin Spice
3 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Agave OR Honey
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Milk [I used almond milk]
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1 Medium Apple, peeled and grated (Gala, Pink Lady, Fuji or Golden Delicious are good choices)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and mix.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
5. Grease muffin tins or line them with muffin cups and fill each cup 3/4 full with the batter.
6. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. [Cooking time for mini muffins will be slightly less]
7. Serve.

Pizza breadsticks

Because we haven't given our daughter cheese yet, including her in family pizza night has been a challenge. She's too small to really handle a slice and her cheeseless pizzas become bread with a side of mixed vegetables all too quickly. Guess which half of that equation gets ignored. So I made breadsticks with the veggie goodness baked inside and provided some sauce on the side for dipping.

Using my go-to dough recipe (also featured here), I added a bit of each veggie we used to top our pizza (on this day it was onion, spinach and green pepper) and mixed it right into a hunk of dough. Cooked that dough alongside our pizza and let it cool enough for little hands and little mouths.

Kale & Quinoa

As a working mom, I’m currently obsessed with trying to find quick, easy, healthy meals that my husband and I can share with our daughter (who is turning 1 next week and no, I don’t want to talk about it). Quick and easy, because my wonderful husband cooks dinner after putting E to bed so that we can eat when I get home. I stumbled upon One Hungry Mama and after browsing around for a bit, settled on very simple and tasty sounding One Pot Quinoa and Kale Pilaf. It takes about 20 minutes to make, since you can prep each step while the previous is cooking. It tastes best hot, but is still tasty cold. It could also work as a room-temp side at a BBQ or picnic. For E we left the nuts and cheese out, tossed everything and put some aside for her, simply because we’re holding off on introducing those foods to her for the time being.

http://onehungrymama.com/2011/04/family-food-find-one-pot-kale-quinoa-pilaf/#more-8623

One Pot Kale and Quinoa Pilaf, barely adapted from Food52
serves 2-4
(can be shared with kids 6+ mos)*
2 c salted water
1 c quinoa
1 bunch lacinato kale, washed, ribs removed and chopped into 1″ pieces
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon, divided
1 Tbsp walnut oil (you can substitute another nut oil or olive oil)
1/4 cup crumbed feta cheese
3 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
2 scallions, chopped (green and white parts)
salt and pepper

1. Bring salted water to a boil in a covered pot. Add the quinoa, cover, and lower the heat until it is just enough to maintain a simmer. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

2. Add kale to the pot, piling the leaves on top of the quinoa. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, leaving the covered pot on the stove. Allow the kale and quinoa to steam for another 5 minutes. It’s done when all of the water has been absorbed and the quinoa and kale are tender. If the quinoa still has a hard white center, add a little bit of water and steam longer.

3. In the meantime, in a large serving bowl combine lemon zest, half of the lemon juice, oil, feta, pine nuts and scallions.

4. Fluff the quinoa and kale pilaf and add it to the bowl with the zest, juice, oil and other ingredients. Toss to combine. Add remaining lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Serve!

Baby food (plus a recipe for grown-ups)

Now that my little girl is eating solids, most of the cooking I do is for her. First, you need to know that by "solids" I mean purees. Although, if Top Chef is any indicator, purees are hot in the grown up, tooth-filled world, too. The "recipe" for these purees is as follow: 1. steam, boil or bake until fall-apart soft 2. cool 3. puree until there are no lumps, adding water, breastmilk or formula if needed.

So far little E chomps down on:
apples
avocados (raw, mashed with a fork)
bananas (raw, mashed with a fork)
blueberries
butternut squash
carrots
cauliflower
mango
peaches
pears
peas
potatoes
prunes
sweet potatoes

It's a pain in the butt at first to get a good variety of foods, but if made in big batches and frozen in small servings (like in an ice tray), it's easy to stock up quickly. I almost never have to make more baby food. And I feel like she'll be on table food before I finish up what we've got.

We're now in the exciting world of mixed & seasoned foods. Mostly I just mix a few of the above fruits and/or veggies together. Thinking about what tastes good together and trying new combination is my new hobby. FYI peas and carrots might taste nice and bring some color to your plate, but when pureed and mixed together they make a very unappetizing color. I've started adding cinnamon to appropriate food combos (like sweet potatoes & apples). And most recently I've cooked up a big batch of veggie broth and pureed the veggies and spices for her. Mixed with any combination of sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes and cauliflower it's been a hit.

Super versatile soup stock:

1-3 Onions, quartered or roughly chopped
3-5 Carrots, roughly chopped
2-4 Celery ribs, roughly chopped
Any other veggies (except leafy greens) on hand are welcome to be thrown in... this is a good time to use up that leek that's been sitting in your crisper
2-5 Cloves of garlic, crushed

Throw everything in a big pot (I use a pot with a giant steamer insert and put the veggies in there so I don't have to strain them out later)

Add as much water as the pot will hold and season with any/all of the following:
Dill
Parsley
Bay Leaves
(if you have fresh herbs on hand, use 'em, but I almost always go with dry and it works fine)

Bring the water to a boil, then simmer for at least an hour.

Strain out veggies, let them cool

Throw some or all of the veggies in a food processor or blender. Feed puree to baby, freeze, or add back to the stock to thicken. Or you could toss it out, but what would your depression-era grandparents say about that?


Tonight that stock is going in a lentil soup and tomorrow that soup is going in baby's belly. Fingers crossed!