Oven roasted veggies

 OK so pretend I'm writing this in the fall... 

 Or not, because you all know how much I love the fall. So it's not THAT weird for me to be posting this in December??

And you can make roasted veggies anytime! Not just in the fall!! 

 OK, so here's the recipe. :)

Chop up ANY root or other veggies.
Here are some ideas:

Carrots
Bell peppers
Potatoes (red, purple, yukon gold, sweet, etc.)
Onions (white or sweet are best)
Brussels sprouts (sliced in half)
Butternut squash
Leeks
Beets
Turnips
Parsnips
Hatch chili peppers
Etc
Etc
(Get the idea? Almost anything works!)

Toss chopped veggies with olive oil to coat, and salt and pepper. 

Roast in 375-425 degree oven (depends on the veggies you're using. Potatoes will take longer to cook.) I put them on a pan with foil so it's easy clean up - easy to make, easy to clean up - hmm, I like the sound of this!

Roast for 30-40 minutes. Brussels are best when they're getting brown and crispy, all other veggies taste great when they're tender. 

See? So forgiving, and SOO easy. Do this same method with broccoli (toss with Olive oil, S&P, roast till brown and crispy) and asparagus (same, just not as long in the oven). YUM! 

Easy weeknight pork tenderloin

So this meal has become one of my go-to meals when we don't have a lot of time but still want to eat a healthy and delicious meal. Trader Joe's has packages of pork tenderloin pre-seasoned with garlic and herbs in their meat section. Trader Joe's also has pre-seasoned asparagus in a microwave pack. And you can just pick up a few sweet potatoes while you're at it, and you've got this meal made! This is also a pretty cost effective meal... Did I mention I love Trader Joe's?

Bake the pork tenderloin as directed on the package - ~350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size. Let sit for at least 10 minutes once you take it out of the oven.

While that's in the oven, chop up a few sweet potatoes and boil them. Once they're tender, drain, and mash to desired consistency. Use a food processor for smoother results. Add milk, butter, cinnamon, or other spices/flavorings. These should be done around the same time as your meat.

Follow the directions for microwaving the asparagus - 2 1/2 minutes, and you're done!

ENJOY!! :)

Sauteed Butternut Squash

I first off have to apologize that there will be no photo for this post... but it's for good reason - the butternut squash this post refers to was so quickly snarfed up that that fact alone should speak to how good it was. :)

I sauteed some cubes of butternut squash in butter, some ground ginger and some cinnamon. YUM! It was heavenly - crispy on the outside, and soft and smooth on the inside. Perfect fall dinnerish-snack. Do it. Super easy and delicious!!

Crockpot Pork Chops

Jeff and I decided we would be brave and try cooking pork chops again. We both have never been big fans of pork chops, but because they're so cheap, we wanted to see if there was a way to cook them that we'd enjoy. We found it! The Crockpot wins again... these chops were SO tender - literally falling apart when you cut them with a fork. I've NEVER had a pork chop do that before, and these were sooo easy and very flavorful.

Crockpot Pork Chops
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

6 boneless pork chops

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

2 cloves garlic, crushed

*I cut the soy sauce to 1/4 cup and added about 1/8-1/4 cup of honey as well.

*I also added some chicken broth to increase the amount of liquid

salt and pepper to taste

Place pork chops in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over pork chops. Make sure that you cover the chops with the sauce - if your crockpot is large like ours, spoon some of the sauce over the chops periodically as they cook to keep them from drying out.

Cook on Low setting for 6 hours, until internal temperature of pork has reached 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).

*Important: brown the pork chops in a pan before putting them in the crockpot - this adds a ton more flavor, and helps seal in the moisture. I didn't do this because we ran out of time, but this is important!!

Chop up some sweet potatoes and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast on a baking tray in the oven ~350 degrees, for 25-35 minutes, or until tender.

Spiced Honey Lemon Chicken and Sweet Carmelized Brussels Sprouts

Jeff and I celebrated my Grandma's 80th birthday today with the rest of the Berger clan at The Oyster Bar in Bellingham, right on Chuckanut Drive.

We had a great time celebrating with family, and the sun came out just in time to enjoy a beautiful view from the private room in the restaurant.

We came home exhausted and after trying to figure out "what to do" tonight after a failed attempt at finding Dogfish Head's Punkin Beer at Fred Meyer, we settled on making dinner together. Wow! What a great choice - we found ourselves a keeper recipe, from one of my favorite blogs Crepes of Wrath. This truly was a 30-minute meal and super simple to make. Jeff worked on the chicken while I did the brussels sprouts, and it was done in no time!

Spiced Honey Lemon Chicken

Adapted from Crepes of Wrath

2 chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness (we used chicken thighs and they were fantastic)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

4 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter, melted

3 tablespoons honey

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

1. Combine all of your ingredients in a small bowl, then pour over the chicken. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour in the fridge, but you can marinate the chicken for 24 hours, and longer is better!

2. You can either grill or broil the chicken. To grill, preheat the grill to medium-high heat and grill over high heat for 3 minutes on each side, then over indirect heat for 5 minutes on each side. To broil, heat the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for 10-15 minutes on each side, until cooked through and the juices run clear.

Sweet Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided into 3 tablespoons

1 onion, thinly sliced (my quick tip: get the bag of pre-chopped onions from Trader Joe's - cuts down on time and weepy eyes!)

kosher salt

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

4 teaspoons sugar

1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, quartered (another Trader Joe's quick tip: get the bag of "microwaveable" brussels sprouts, because they are already washed and prepped - all you have to do is a quick chop!)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup water

4 slices of bacon, sliced into 1-inch pieces and cooked until crispy (we didn't have bacon, but that would only make this recipe even better!!!)

1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the combined vinegar and sugar. Stir until brown and glazed, about 3 minutes.

2. Quarter the brussels sprouts length wise. Heat the olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the brussels sprouts and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown at edges, 6 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water and 3 tablespoons butter. Sauté until most of water evaporates and sprouts are tender but still bright green, 3 minutes. Mix in the cooked, crispy bacon and serve and top with the onions. When you eat them, mix the onions in with the sprouts so you get a little bit of everything in each bite. Serves 3-4.

Italian Meatballs

After a month and a half of being sick, I'm tired of eating applesauce and canned soup or crackers for meals. I finally broke down and had a moment of motivation and decided to make a *REAL* meal!!

I got this recipe from my Dad (check out his food blog). This is my go-to when I don't know what else to make, and when I want to make a cheap and easy but delicious meal.

1 lb lean ground beef *

½ cup bread crumbs (preferably white) **

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or to taste or use fresh minced)

1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning (or to taste)

1 teaspoons parsley flakes (or to taste)

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

dash of cayenne pepper (to taste or optional)

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together (everything above except for meat and egg)

2. Mix dry ingredients with meat by hand, knead together in a big bowl (Dad uses disposable nitrile gloves for this and for meatball forming, way easier to clean up)

3. Knead in slightly beaten egg

4. Form into ~1.75” diameter meatballs (should make about 12 meatballs - I find it usually makes more!)

5. Place on a foiled and sprayed cookie sheet (if you use less lean [i.e. cheaper] ground beef put on a sprayed cookie rack on top of the foil so they won’t cook in the grease)

6. Bake at 375 for about 20 – 25 minutes until slightly browning (don’t listen to anyone telling you to cook them in the sauce or in a frying pan)

Meanwhile, cook pasta about 30 seconds less than the package al dente recommendation, and heat sauce in a large frying pan. Combine ½ of the cooked meatballs (3 per person per meal), the drained and rinsed slightly undercooked pasta, into the heated sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Swerve it up with vegetable of choice. (Mine was brussels sprouts tonight! Slice them up thinly, and saute in a couple tablespoons of butter with salt and pepper. YUM!)

* Best if you can double this recipe by using 1lb of ground beef and 1lb of ground plain pork {not sausage} (makes a bunch of meatballs for freezing which you can just take out and plop in sauce to thaw and heat)

** Bread crumbs can be had for free if you take ends of your bread loaves and freeze them, then when you need bread crumbs, take them out of the freezer, break into ~1 – 2” pieces and put them in your mini food processor while still frozen. Whole wheat bread or “weird natural bread” really doesn’t work well for bread crumbs.

"Inner Child" Chicken with Rice

So this one has become one of my go-to favorites after hearing about it from my dad, who got the recipe from In Praise of Leftovers. That site has now become one of my favorites, and like I said, this recipe has, too! Enjoy!

Inner Child Chicken with Rice

Adapted from In Praise of Leftovers

6 large boneless chicken thighs (or 8 small ones) *thighs are definitely best, but you can use breasts for this - just slice up the breasts so they're in smaller chunks than a whole breast.

1 Tb. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 c. olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cups long-grain white rice (like basmati)

4 cloves minced garlic

1 bay leaf

1 Tb. fresh thyme plus more for top

1 c. white wine (or vermouth, if you happen to have it - good sub for white wine)

3 c. chicken stock

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the chicken pieces in the oil, turning them several times to brown on all sides, about 7 minutes in all.

Pull the chicken out of the pan and set aside. In the same oil (add a little more if you need to), saute the onion until it is soft and slightly browned. This is where I digress from the original recipe. Then add the garlic, and after garlic is softened, pour in the white wine and deglaze the pan (all that yummy goodness). Then add chicken stock, rice, bay leaf and thyme, and bring to a boil. You don't want to skip the deglazing step - important!

Put the chicken pieces back in the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cover. Simmer until the rice has absorbed the cooking liquid and the chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes. Serve hot, sprinkled with more fresh thyme.

YUM!!!! Super easy - not a lot of prep, and it's a one-pot meal! I served mine with some asparagus sauteed in olive oil with a little salt & pepper. :)

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Disclaimer: at first glance of this recipe, I was hesitant. I don't like peppermint much, and I don't like white chocolate, and I didn't anticipate liking them together. I also was not too keen on "adulterating" FUDGE, in all of it's milk chocolatey goodness that I typically imagine. So, I'm not exactly sure what led me to try this recipe, but I am SO thankful - it was super easy, fun, and wow - addicting and delicious. And a major winner with everyone who tried it. WOW!

Enjoy.

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

From Crepes of Wrath

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 5 oz. can (2/3 cup) evaporated milk

1 Jar (7 1/2oz) Marshmallow Fluff

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

1 12 oz. package white chocolate chips (the higher the quality, the easier it is for them to melt)

11 candy canes, crushed (as small as possible-this was a great task for including Jeff!)

1. Combine the sugar, salt, butter, evaporated milk, and Fluff in a medium pot and melt together over medium-high heat. When melted, bring to a boil and stir while it boils, so it doesn’t burn, for a full 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla extract, peppermint extract, and white chocolate chips. Return the pot to low heat (the lowest your burner will go) and stir until the white chocolate has melted (white chocolate does not melt as easily as milk or dark chocolate, so you may need to stir a bit more vigorously than you’re used to). Grease a 9×9 or 8×8 pan.

2. When the white chocolate is melted, stir in half of your crushed candy canes, then add in as much as you want, reserving a bit to sprinkle on the very top. Pour into an 8×8 or 9×9 pan (I used a 7 1/2 by 11 1/2 ... strange pan size, but it still works :) No worries). Set aside to cool, and cut the fudge when it is room temperature. Makes 24-28 pieces of fudge.

Again. I'm slacking on the picture-taking... so go here to see what it should look like.

MUSHROOM SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I witnessed a momentous occasion in history Monday night. Jeff ate a mushroom ... and LIKED it!!! I was so amazed. :)

Granted, it was a stuffed, baked mushroom ... so a lot of flavor to disguise the "texture" of mushrooms that he doesn't enjoy.

I'm not entirely sure why I'm blogging this appetizer, other than the fact that I want to remember stuffed mushrooms as a super fast and easy option to impress guests, not to mention that they're super yummy and a relatively healthy option for a snack.

For these [imagine a really cool and artsy photo here], I used larger cremini mushrooms, but it usually would be better to use the small white button mushrooms. Wash and dry the mushrooms, and then snap out the stems. (Some recipes call for chopping up some of the stems and sauteeing them to include in the stuffing, but this recipe was ultra-easy, so I didn't do that - a.k.a. I'm LAZY.)

I grabbed a packet of "Tuscan Stuffed Mushroom" mix from Crate & Barrel during their holiday sale, and you mix that with 8 oz. of softened cream cheese. I only had about 4 oz of cream cheese, so I halved the little packet. oh darn - guess I have to make more soon! :) You spoon portions of the mixture into the mushroom "caps" so they're slightly overflowing with the filling, and stick them in the oven for 15-20 minutes - till the filling is sizzling and warm all the way through.

YUM!

Christmas Rum Cake

We had a Christmas party for my MFT program, and were invited to bring our favorite holiday baked goods ... and the winner is - Rum Cake!! I remember having this growing up, as my Grandma would make this every Christmas eve. Not everyone would get as excited as I did about the Christmas Rum Cake... but I think Rose last night shared in my joy :) So, for Rose ... here's the recipe straight from the Duncan Hines site, since it's made with good ol' yellow cake.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1 package yellow cake mix (**)

1 (3 3/4-oz.) package Jell-O vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water

1/2 cup Canola Oil

1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum (or any kind - I used a splash of Black Strap Rum, and the remainder Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum)

Glaze:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup Bacardi dark rum (again, any type is fine - I used all Cap'n Morgan)

** If using yellow cake mix with pudding already in the mix, omit the instant pudding, using 3 eggs instead of 4 and 1/3 cup oil instead of 1/2.

Glaze:

Melt butter in saucepan. Stir in water and sugar.

Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, and remove from heat.

Stir in rum.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and flour 10-inch tube or 12-cup Bundt pan.

Sprinkle nuts over bottom of pan (optional)

Mix all cake ingredients together.

Pour batter over nuts.

Bake 1 hour.

Cool; invert onto serving plate. Prick top with fork (many many times!! This creates all sorts of little holes for the yummy glaze to soak into. Don't be shy!)

Spoon and brush glaze evenly over top and sides.

Eat up! I don't have a picture because this was gobbled up way too fast! But I'll make another one soon, I'm sure... :)

Two-ingredient Pumpkin Cake with Apple-Cider Glaze

YUM!!! All I can say is that I couldn't WAIT to make this when I ran across this recipe on Noble Pig's blog.

For the Cake:
1 Yellow Cake Mix
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree

For the Glaze:
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tablespoons apple cider
3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Empty the contents of the boxed cake mix and pumpkin puree into a large bowl. Using a hand-mixer or stand mixer beat until well incorporated. The batter will be very thick, but will come together nicely.

Pour batter into a greased 7 x 11 X 2 pan. This is the small, rectangular-sized pan from your Pyrex set. You know, the set you had to have when you got married and rarely ever used all the pieces. Finally, you have a use for it. (Hey! Thanks to our wonderful family and friends, we have one!!)

Bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan, then flip onto a platter.

Make the glaze while you're waiting for the cake to bake, then cool.

Combine powdered sugar, apple cider and pumpkin pie spice. Glaze should be thick but pourable. Add more sugar or cider if needed. Pour over the cake while still warm. Reserve some to pour over each slice when served.

Serve warm or room temperature. (WARM is the way to go - when it's cold, it's a little too sweet and sticky.)

40-clove Garlic Chicken in the Crockpot!

Again, another recipe from my Crepes of Wrath friend:

This sounds like you'd be breathing, and sweating and oozing garlic for 40 days, but it really just gives the chicken a nice mellow garlic flavor, and leaves some yummy soft garlic to use in mashed potatoes, if you choose. Yum!

Crock Pot Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

3 1/2-4 pound fryer chicken (chicken cut into serving pieces) -- *I used 4-6 chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
40 cloves of garlic, peeled but still whole (about 3 bulbs of garlic)
3/4 cup white wine (optional, but highly recommended)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon butter

1. Spray the inside of your crock pot with non-stick spray. Rub the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Place in the crock pot.

2. Heat your olive oil in a small skillet and add the peeled, whole garlic. Cook for 5-8 minutes over medium heat until the garlic is golden, then add the white wine and stir until the liquid has mostly evaporated, another 3-5 minutes over medium heat.

3. Pour the garlic and white wine over the chicken in the crock pot, and sprinkle the thyme and rosemary over everything. Add in the bay leaf. Turn the crock pot to low and cook for 3-4 hours. When ready, remove the chicken and place on a separate platter, then cover with foil to retain its heat. Set aside.

4. (This step is optional) Pour the juices from the pot through a mesh sieve into a pot, then press the garlic through the sieve to form a paste. Cook the gravy with a tablespoon of butter over medium-high heat until slightly thickened, about 5-8 minutes. Serve over the chicken with potatoes, vegetables, or crusty bread and enjoy! Serves 3-4. (We had mashed potatoes - and attempted this last step, but don't have a good sieve. So we settled for mashing a few of those cooked cloves up with the potatoes - yum!)

Easy crepes

Basic Crepes, from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. (This is really fun on a nonstick pan...works GREAT! And you become a pro after making a few!)

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot with a variety of toppings - chocolate chips, strawberries, whipped cream, maple syrup, etc.

Oh, and have some friends over, and share a bottle of wine! Yum!

Spring Quarter

Today is probably one of the last lazy Fridays Jeff and I will have together, since he's starting his new internship next Monday. We have fully enjoyed "slothing", which included finishing the movie Julie and Julia and then watching Planet 51 (cute!). I'll admit, Julie and Julia inspired me to start this blog, though I also may or may not already have wanted an excuse to keep track of the "real" meals I try out every now and then.


I have been craving Creme Brulee for a long time ... and was ecstatic to find out I could make it in a crockpot not too long ago (since we don't have a real oven in our apartment). I splurged and bought some heavy cream the other day at the grocery store, figuring I'd be forced to make something with it before it went bad. Oh darn. :)

Crockpot Creme Brulee

2 cups heavy cream

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar (they suggested baker's sugar, but I used regular sugar - you can put it in a food processor and get a similar effect, just put in a little extra)

1 T good vanilla (I only used a teaspoon, and I should have put in the whole Tablespoon)

1/4 cup raw sugar (for topping, add later)*

*Since we don't have an oven, I did the caramelized sugar topping a little differently. Keep reading to find out how.

Find a heat-resistant dish, or ramekins, that fits inside of your stoneware insert. Fit it in, and using a cup or pitcher, pour water around the edges so there is water 1/2 - 3/4 of the way up the sides of the dishes.

--whip the 5 egg yolks in a medium-sized bowl

--slowly add the cream and baking sugar while mixing

--add the vanilla

Pour mixture into the ramekins, and carefully lower them into the stoneware without sloshing water into the dishes, or spilling your "creme brulee"!

Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours. (I cooked 4 smaller ramekins, and they took just 2 hours.) Custard should be set with the center still a bit jiggly.

VERY carefully remove dishes and let cool completely on counter, then chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. I got creative and used a sturdy metal spatula to get them out of the crockpot, as tongs didn't work so well. (Let's just say, ouch.)

Now for the caramelized sugar topping. Since we don't have an oven with a broiler, or a fancy torch, I attempted this on the stove in a saucepan, but it definitely didn't work. So we just had the "creme" without the brulee. But theoretically, this can be drizzled on top of the custards, returning the dishes to the fridge afterwards to harden the sugar.

1 1/3 c. sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/3 c. water

Combine sugar and cream of tartar in pan, and add water, stirring well. Cook on medium-low until boiling, then cover and cook for 3 minutes. (I skipped this step - bad! Which is probably why it didn't work - it's supposed to "steam" off all the sugar granules, which would end up crystallizing the rest of the mixture - and that's what happened to me.) Remove cover, and cook until a dark golden brown color. Remove from heat, and drizzle over tops of creme brulee dishes. (This gives a nice thick layer of sugar to "break", too!)

YUM!

Oh, and we did eat some real dinner tonight, too. :) A quick and easy meal, that I'm definitely going to do again, when we don't have anything else around. It will be easy for us to make frequently because we pretty much always have chicken breasts and veggies from Costco in the freezer.

2-Step Creamy Chicken and Pasta

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up
2-4 servings pasta
2 c. frozen veggies
1 can Campbell's® Cream Soup (whichever kind - I used Cream of Celery, lower in fat, nice flavor and Jeff won't eat mushrooms, so Cream of Mushroom was out!)
1/2 cup water

Brown the chicken in vegetable oil (I added half an onion once the chicken was cooked - added a nice flavor). Salt & Pepper chicken part-way through. Add the frozen veggies, can of soup, and 1/2 c. water. Let this all come to a boil, and cover (this will cook the veggies, and combine soup, water, etc.). Meanwhile, cook pasta. Once it's nearly finished, drain, and add to the chicken, veggie, soup mixture. Continue to simmer for a few moments to let ingredients combine. Then, enjoy!

This was super quick and easy, and quite tasty. Nothing fancy, but it does the job, and was filling! We have enough for a few "leftover" meals, too!