Quinoa

Sometimes I get in ruts where I start to make the same side dishes over and over. I like to keep variety in my main courses for dinner, but sometimes my side dishes get overlooked. I have heard about Quinoa lately and decided to try it. My husband and I are making a very conscious effort to eat healthy lately, and these little guys pack a major protein punch! So after about a week of looking for the stuff in my grocery store with no luck, I finally found it in my local health food store in the bulk section and was anxious to try it.

I thought it was really easy to make, cooked up quickly and tasted great! You do have to make sure you rinse the Quinoa thoroughly though! I put mine in a big bowl of cold water and then ran it through a fine mesh sieve which worked perfect. I read that it takes on a funky taste/texture if you do not rinse it well.

I will definitely be making this as a side dish again. It tastes great, is easy to make, and is good for you. What more could you ask for from a little grain?!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
A pinch of dried parsley
A pinch of dried thyme
1 small onion, finely chopped
salt
pepper

Directions
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa, and toast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until quinoa is tender.

After about 10 minutes when the quinoa has absorbed much of the water, add your onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper and cook for remaining 5 minutes, or until all of the water has been absorbed and the quinoa and onions are very tender. Serve immediately.

Country French Bread

And my 100th blog post! I can't believe I've blogged 100 recipes since last October. In fact, it came up on me so fast I didn't really plan a "special" recipe per se for this post, but this bread was so good, it sure worked out to be pretty special! I also want to give a big THANK YOU to everyone who reads my little blog! I really love to cook, I'm learning to love baking a lot more and I really have a great time blogging about my recipes. I can't wait to post the next hundred, and the next hundred after that, and the next hundred after that.....you get the idea!

So about this special bread. I've actually made it twice now. First time I let the sponge sit for 2 hours, the second time I let it sit for 16 hours. Definitely let it sit as long as you can! The bread gets these great holes in it and has a lovely texture. The crust is perfect, as is the inside. I have made 1 large loaf both times which works out great. Also, I used my bread maker for the sponge and to mix the dough itself, but then took it out to let it rise and bake. A great tip I recently learned: if you have a cold kitchen (like me) and things don't rise that well in it, put the dough in the oven (while the oven is off!) with a pot of boiling water. It makes for the perfect temperature to rise the dough, and keeps it moist.

Anyways this is a great bread that you should definitely try! And the appearance makes it look so artisan, so it's perfect to serve to company! They will be very impressed that you made it yourself!

Ingredients
Source: King Arthur Flour

Sponge Starter (Begin 2 to 16 hours ahead)
1 cup (8 ounces) cool to lukewarm water, preferably spring water (90 to 100°F)
1/2 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
1 1/4 cups (5 1/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) King Arthur White Whole Wheat or Traditional Whole Wheat Flour

Dough
All of the sponge starter (above)
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water, preferably spring water (l00 to 115°F)
3/4 teaspoon active dry or 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
3 3/4 to 4 cups (1 pound to 1 pound 1 ounce) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

To Make The Sponge: Stir all of the sponge ingredients together to make a thick, pudding-like mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and leave on a counter overnight or for at least 2 to 4 hours. If you're making this in a bread machine, place the sponge ingredients inside, and turn the machine on for just a few seconds to mix the ingredients together. Turn the machine off and close the cover. Let the sponge rest for 4 hours or overnight (anywhere between 2 and 16 hours is fine, the longer the better).

To Make The Dough: Stir down the sponge with a spoon and add the water, yeast, sugar, most of the flour (hold back about 1/2 cup to use if required), and salt. Knead the dough, adding more flour as necessary, to make a soft dough, 10 to 12 minutes.

Note: You may also do this in your bread machine, using the Dough or Manual setting. After the dough has finished kneading, place it in a lightly greased bowl, and continue as directed below.

Big Tip: Mix ingredients together using up to 80% of the flour called for: it will be a loose, messy mass. Let the dough rest for 12 minutes, and you'll see it change in texture, to be come much smoother. Continue, kneading and adding additional flour as required. Overall, the dough handles better once its had time for the flour to absorb the water while resting and relaxing. By using this method, you'll tend to add less flour, and have much bigger holes in your finished bread.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or plastic container, cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and a damp towel, and let it rise until almost doubled (depending on the weather, this could be l to 2 hours). If you're going out, or if you prefer, let the dough rise slowly in the fridge. If your dough has been refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature; it'll warm up and rise at the same time. After its first rise, deflate the dough gently, but don't knock out all the air; this will create those "holes" so important to French bread. Form the dough into a round ball. Place two cookie sheets atop one another, and place a semolina- or cornmeal-dusted piece of parchment paper on top. Gently place the ball of dough on the cookie sheets, seam-side down. Cover it lightly with a tea towel, and let it rise the second time until it's puffy and about 40% to 50% larger, anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes (depending on the weather, luck, and magic). Slash or cross-hatch the bread with a sharp knife or lame. Dust it with a little flour.

Preheat your grill to High. Place the bread (on the doubled-up cookie sheets) on the grill, and close the cover. Immediately reduce the heat to Medium (400°F), and allow the bread to bake for 25 minutes, or until it's well-browned. Reduce the heat to Low, and carefully place the bread directly on the grill. Continue to bake until completely done, about 5 minutes.

For Regular (Oven) Baking: Preheat the oven to 475°F. Slash the bread, spritz water into the oven with a clean plant mister, and place the bread in the oven. Reduce the heat to 425°F and spritz with water every few minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking. Bake the bread for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until it tests done. Yield: 1 large round bread or two medium breads, 10 to 12 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (1 hearty slice, 1/12 of recipe, 97g): 180 cal, .5g fat, 6g protein, 38g complex carbohydrates, 1g sugar, 2g dietary fiber, 534mg sodium, 74mg potassium, 2mg iron, 89mg calcium, 56mg phosphorus.

Calzones

Usually on Friday I make a pizza, but last weekend I was in the mood for calzones. So my husband and I each made our own and they came out great! I have no clue if I made them correctly because I had no recipe, but it worked for us! I hate toppings on my pizza, so I also hate different things in my calzones. I personally made myself a cheese calzone with a bit of minced garlic, but my husband added ham and onion to his as well. Overall, this is a great friday night meal and are fun to make because you can customize individual calzones! Just be careful how big you make them, ours were huge so we only ate half!

Ingrediets
1 recipe Pizza Dough
Ricotta Cheese
Motzerella Cheese
2 cloves minced garlic
2 eggs
1 tbps milk
salt
pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl stir together ricotta cheese (as much as you want...I used about a half of a container of fat free ricotta), one egg and salt and pepper to taste. Seperate your dough into as many portions as calzones you want. Based on the dough recipe I used, I made 2 really big calzones and garlic knots. You could easily get 3-4 normal calzones out of that recipe. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one piece of dough into a circle, and on one half of that spread the ricotta and motzerella (no quantity because you can put in as much as you want!) Sprinkle the garlic on the cheeses and lightly season with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, beat together remaining egg and milk. Using a pastry brush, brush the edge of the half circle where the cheese is, and fold over the other side of the dough. Press the dough together forming a seal, and then tuck the edges under. Brush the top of the calzone with more of the egg wash. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and melty on the inside! Serve with some warm marinara sauce and enjoy!

Venison Stew

This is one of the few things I make with my Crockpot. I rarely use my crockpot at all, but it's perfect for stew! My husband and I make this a lot during hunting season, but on Sunday we both really had a taste for it. It fills your house with such a heavenly aroma, that by dinner time your mouth is watering! So this is "our" recipe, we've been making it for years now and never really had an actual recipe, but I think it's pretty darn great! And again, you can sub beef for venison but we personally love the flavor the venison brings. And because we don't have a "real" recipe for this, all measurements are aproximate. We usually just throw in "a little of this" and "a little of that" and it works well!

Ingredients
Aprox. 1-2 lb. venison stew meat
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots chopped, or a few handfuls of baby carrots
2-3 potatoes, roughly chopped
1 Beef Stew seasoning packet (we usually use McCormick)
1 32 oz. carton of beef broth (we use Swanson)
Aprox. 1/4 cup all purpose flour

Directions
Put first 7 ingredients in Crockpot on low heat and stir until well combined. Cook for about 8 hours. I have never made this stew and have left for the day (I make it on weekends because I refuse to keep my crockpot on during the day while I'm at work), so I stir it every so often during the day. About an hour before you are ready to eat, whisk together the flour and a bit of water until it forms a thick but pourable paste. Pour into stew and mix until thoroughly combined. If you prefer a thicker gravy, you can keep adding more flour/water mixture but keep in mind that the stew thickens the longer it cooks. So we usually pour in the initial flour/water mixture, wait about 5 minutes, and then add more until the stew reaches your desired consistancy. Serve with some crusty french bread or homemade biscuits.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

Last week I got this HUGE craving for soft pretzels. I have no clue why, but I needed to have them! So over the weekend I decided to make some! I heard fabulous things about Alton Brown's recipe and now I know why! They were absolutely delicious and the perfect soft pretzel. These were also really easy and fun to make. I enjoyed twisting them into their fun little pretzel shape...I think they came out really cute! I made 3 kinds - Traditional salt pretzels which is what the recipe makes, and then I "made up" Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels and Garlic Parmesan Pretzels. I think everyone's favorite were the cinnamon sugar pretzels, although I loved them all! Even my husband who "doesn't like pretzels" gobbled the cinnamon sugar ones up. My personal favorite is a traditional pretzel dunked in some yellow mustard....what a treat!

Ingredients
Source: Alton Brown

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt (I used kosher)

Optional: Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels
2 tbsp butter, melted
Sugar and cinnamon, combined in a small bowl

Optional: Garlic Parmesan
garlic powder
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt for the traditional pretzels. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. (For Garlic Parmesan pretzels, also brush the top of the pretzel with the egg yolk and water mixture, then sprinkle on some garlic powder and grate Parmesan cheese over the top of the pretzel. Bake as directed. For cinnamon sugar pretzels, brush the top of each pretzel with butter, then sprinkle a generous amount of a cinnamon sugar mixture over the pretzel and bake as directed.) Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Cheesy Venison Casserole

My husband and I still have a lot of venison in the freezer from the deer he got this past fall. We actually butchered it together and I had fun doing it! I found it really interesting to see where the meat comes from and how you can break it down. Anyways, he said he was in the mood for hamburger helper the other day and asked me to use venison in it instead. I said I would, but I was going to make my "own" version of hamburger helper and not make it from out of the box (obviously). I didn't use a recipe but kind of came up with it as I went along and it came out really great! I love when I make things without a recipe and they actually come out good since I don't do it very often! This is perfect comfort food, and the perfect recipe for when your husband wants hamburger helper but you don't want to make it from a box! You can obviously substitute beef for venison, but I personally loved the flavor the venison gave the dish. I served this meal with some crusty french bread that I topped with Olive Oil and minced garlic, and toasted in the oven for a few minutes.

Ingredients
1 lb ground venison (or beef)
1 box of Large Shell Pasta (I used Barilla)
1 medium-large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 block (4 oz) reduced fat or fat free cream cheese
3 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
3 cups skim milk
1 bay leaf
1 egg
1/2 tsp paprika
1 8 oz. bag shredded 'Mexican' blend cheese (I think this equals about 2 cups)
salt
pepper
panko bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray. Set aside. In a large pot of boiling, salted water add shells and cook for about 12 minutes or until cooked through. Drain, and set pasta aside.

In a large skillet with high sides, cook ground venison over medium-high heat, crumbling/stirring meat every few minutes. When ground beef is almost cooked through and has very little pink left, add onion and garlic. Stir to combine, cover and cook, stirring every few minutes for about 5-7 minutes or until onions are translucent and meat is cooked completely through. Reduce heat to medium-low, add cream cheese and cover. Stir every so often until cream cheese is completely incorporated with meat mixture and has melted. Remove mixture from heat and, keeping it covered, set aside.

In a medium-large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. When melted, whisk in flour and continue whisking until the mixture becomes a very light golden color, about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in milk and paprika, add the bay leaf and turn up the heat to medium-high. When the mixture has been brought up to a simmer, lower heat to medium or medium low...you don't want the milk to boil over!!! Make sure you are whisking constantly during this whole process. Let the milk simmer for about 10-12 minutes, or until it has thickened considerably. Remove the bay leaf, and temper in the egg*. Whisk in all of your cheese and continue to whisk until the cheese is completely melted and the mixture is nice and thick.

Now, put your cooked shell noodles in the same pot as the beef mixture, and pour the cheese sauce over everything. I used most of the sauce, but not all of it. Add as much as you want, to your particular cheese liking! Mix everything together thoroughly, season with salt and pepper to taste, and pour in your greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the top with panko bread crumbs, and bake for about 20-30 minutes. Serve, and enjoy!


*Tempering in an egg: If you're not a food network junkie like me, you might not know what tempering in an egg means! Basically you don't want your egg to scramble when you put it in a hot mixture, so you have to bring it up to temperature gradually. Crack your egg into a very small bowl or measuring cup, then add a few spoonfuls of your hot milk mixture to it and whisk it in with the egg. Do this 2 or 3 times, adding more of your hot milk mixture each time. Then pour the whole thing back into the thickened hot milk and whisk to combine.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

I've seen this recipe all over the internet/food blogs, so I'm really not sure where I first saw it. Either way, I've been wanting to make it for a while now (chicken and garlic - what's not to love?) so I found a recipe on Williams-Sonoma.

This was absolutely fantastic. The garlic mellows right out and the chicken is just so moist, flavorful and tender. I served this with some classic mashed potatoes and freshly baked French Bread. (And let me just say, dipping the bread into this gravy was like heaven) And, with this dish I overcame my fear of making bone-in chicken!

I did make a few adjustments to make it work for just my husband and I, which I'll note in the recipe.

Overall this dish was fantastic and I highly recommend trying it if you haven't already!

Ingredients
Adapted from: Williams-Sonoma

2 chickens, each 4 lb., cut into 8 serving pieces (I used 1 Chicken)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
40 garlic cloves, peeled (I used about 25 cloves, since I only used 1 chicken instead of 2)
1 Shallot, Minced (I added this to the original recipe)
1 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary (I used dried)
1 Tbs. minced fresh thyme (I used dried)
Zest of 2 lemons (I used 1 lemon)
1/4 cup white wine (I used 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup chicken stock (I used 1/2 cup)
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room
temperature, cut into pieces

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches, brown the chicken, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Add the garlic and shallot to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the chicken, rosemary, thyme and lemon zest and stir to combine. Cover the pan, transfer to the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Baste the chicken with the accumulated juices. Continue roasting, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear when the meat is pierced with a knife, about 30 minutes more.

Transfer the chicken to a platter; leave the garlic in the pan. Cover the chicken loosely with aluminum foil.

Set the pan over medium heat and mash the garlic with the back of a spoon. Add the wine and cook for 3 minutes. Add the stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a sauceboat. Serve the chicken immediately and pass the sauce alongside. Serves 8. (I used the one chicken for my husband and I and we had tons of leftovers...our dogs were very, very happy)!