Pizza Creation: Moniker Needed

I was desperate for an easy dinner tonight...going back to work has really but a damper on my dinner creations! Eager to find an easy recipe that didn't involve using packaged, processed foods as ingredients, I began with a simple Google search. Much to my chagrin, "easy dinner recipe" apparently does not equate to any recipe that does not use processed ingredients. Sigh. Fine, then I will take one of these recipes and make it easy and wholesome. Hmph!

I came across this recipe for something called bubble pizza. That sounds gross to me, but the picture piqued my interest enough to click. Now, this was something I could alter! Of course...pizza. But I wasn't going to let that bother me. The concept is what I was drawn to, the recipe called for a can of biscuits that you cut up and line a 9x13 baking dish with (your pizza dough), then layering jarred marinara sauce, browned meat and cheese on top. I can't remember the last time I bought canned biscuits or jarred marinara, so I decided to pilfer the concept and make it my own...I still don't know what to call it.

I made whole wheat biscuits (literally they take 10 minutes, maybe less) with 1/2 white flour and 1/2 white whole wheat flour (I finally found white whole wheat flour here in the City at an affordable price!). If you don't know, white whole wheat flour is still whole wheat flour, but it is made from a type of wheat that is lighter in color compared to the reddish brown wheat that regular whole wheat flour is made from. It is just as nutritious, but lighter, making it perfect for baking. Tangent?

For the marinara, I combined tomato sauce and diced tomatoes with spices and simmered on low while I (full disclosure, my husband made the biscuits!) made the biscuits. I also sauteed some tri-color peppers and spinach. It took about 15 minutes to make, about 20 minutes to bake and voila! quick dinner. Here is the final recipe:

Deep Dish Pizza Bake (how's this for a name?)

Whole Wheat Biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup buttermilk (or use plain milk, or plain milk + 2 tsp lemon juice to make buttermilk)

Marinara

1 medium to large onion, sliced + olive oil

2-3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 (14 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (drained)

8 oz. tri-color peppers (I use frozen)

6 oz. frozen spinach, thawed and drained

8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil and the onion. Sautee just until tender, reduce heat to medium-low and add the garlic, oregano, and thyme. Sautee about 30 seconds, then add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Stir to combine and simmer on low while you make the biscuits.


For biscuits: Preheat oven to 450 deg F. Measure dry ingredients into a bowl. Pour oil and milk into measuring cup (do not stir) and pour all at once into flour mixture, stir until mixture cleans side of bowl and forms a ball.


Turn the dough out onto wax paper, lift the paper by one corner and fold dough in half, press down firmly and pull paper back. Repeat until dough is smooth (you are basically folding in the flaky layers by kneading it this way). 


Roll out to 1/2" thick and using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 1" vertical strips, then cut across the dough again into 1" horizontal strips. You will be left with a bunch of square dough pieces. Cut each dough piece in half so they are all triangle shape. 


Line the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish with the dough pieces, keeping them a little spaced out since they will expand when baked. 


Bake the dough first, about 8 minutes, until it starts to rise and expand. Meanwhile, sautee the peppers and spinach just until tender (don't overcook them, soggy pizza toppings are no good!). Set aside.  


Remove the baking dish from oven after the 8 minutes, and pour the marinara sauce evenly over the dough. Top with peppers and spinach and then cheese. Return to the oven and bake an additional 12-15 minutes.   

Coconut Shrimp

For some reason I was craving coconut shrimp for dinner, something I have never attempted to make but have often ordered in restaurants. I had some leftover coconut from making Easter cupcakes, so I decided to go for it. They were a bit of a hassle to bread and prep for frying, but they were also delicious. I wouldn't categorize these as a quick or frequent dinner option, but definitely good for an every now and then treat.

Coconut Shrimp

12 oz. medium-large shrimp, peeled and de-veined, about 30 (I use frozen and thaw them)

1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cold coconut milk 
1 T sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups flaked coconut
1 cup peanut or canola oil for (shallow pan) frying


In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, coconut milk and sugar. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls.


Hold shrimp by the tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Place in freezer for about 10 minutes, or refrigerate for 20 minutes. 


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.


Heads Up! Coconut burns easily! The coconut on the shrimp will brown nicely, but any flakes that fall off into the oil will burn quickly, so work quickly and scoop out any excess coconut flakes from the oil with a slotted spoon. 

Sweet Chicken Salad, Truffle Mac'n'Cheese & Robin Egg Cupcakes

The weather is finally (finally!) turning nice here in the NY. Just in time for an Easter picnic in the park after church. We decided to make it easy and prepare chicken salad sandwiches and fruit...then added a bit of decadence with truffle mac'n'cheese and robin's nest cupcakes. I named the chicken salad sweet because I incorporated sliced grapes into the mixture for a burst of flavor and moisture. I almost always make a savory chicken salad with thyme or rosemary, etc, but for some reason I went with grapes today! And the truffle mac'n'cheese was so good. I have not cooked with truffle oil much, but it is really so delicious.

Sweet Chicken Salad on Pumpernickel

1 small rotisserie chicken, all meat removed and shredded or in chunks

1/4-1/3 cup light mayo (depending on your tastes) + 2 oz. water

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup red grapes, sliced lengthwise

1 tsp dried dill

1 fresh lemon, juiced

salt & pepper to taste

Place in a large bowl the chicken chunks, walnuts, grapes, and dill. Add the lemon juice and mix to combine. In a small bowl, start with 1/4 cup mayo and whisk together with the water until creamy. Add more mayo as desired. Pour the mayo mixture over the chicken and combine well. Taste and season with salt and pepper. 

Combining the mayo and water first, I find, is a way to make the chicken salad creamy without adding too much mayo. You could also add more lemon juice for moisture to cut down on the mayo.  

Truffle Mac'n'Cheese

12 oz. small pasta, such as mini rotini or small penne

1 T butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 T flour

1/2 cup milk

6 oz. colby-jack cheese, shredded (divided)

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs + 2 tsp dried parsley

Truffle oil, for drizzling

Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat and sautee the garlic, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and whisk until moistened and combined, about 30-60 seconds. Slowly add the milk, constantly whisking to make sure all the flour dissolves. Whisk occasionally over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add more milk if it becomes too thick. 

Add 4 oz. of the grated cheese into the sauce and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Toss in the cooked pasta and combine well. Pour evenly into a small baking dish and top with the remaining 2 oz. shredded cheese. 

Mix together the panko and parsley and sprinkle evenly over the top. Carefully, drizzle a small amount of the truffle oil around the top (a little goes a long way!). Bake in a 400 deg F oven for about 10 minutes, just until the topping is browned. 

  

Mexican Barley Salad

Barley is a whole grain that we have grown to love, but I often forget about it. It does take longer to prepare than rice, even wild rice, but it is so hearty and nutritious. For this particular recipe, I cooked the barley just as if I were making risotto (something not previously attempted by me), so it was more time consuming, but worth it turns out! The barley was nice and creamy. You could totally make this recipe making barley the regular way, however. This is great in a wrap, as we ate it, or you could serve it over greens or as a side dish.

Mexican Barley Salad

1 1/4 cup pearl barley 

4 cups chicken stock + 3 cups water

1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (12 oz) canned corn, rinsed and drained

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

Sour cream, to serve

Place the stock and water in a large pot over low heat. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and drizzle with a bit of canola oil. Add the dry barley and toss in the pan 1-2 minutes. Using a ladle, spoon out 2 ladles of the stock mixtures and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low. Wait until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally, and repeat with another 2 ladles of stock. Repeat this process until all of the stock is used up. The barley should be creamy and resemble risotto. Remove from heat and cool. 

In a small skillet, heat a drizzle of canola oil over medium-high heat and toss in chopped onion. Sautee just until onions begin to brown, but are not soft and translucent yet. Set aside. 

In large bowl, combine cooled barley, beans, corn, sauteed onion and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted. Top with a dollop of sour cream and serve immediately. You could also garnish with chives or green onions, or crushed up tortilla chips.   

Zucchini & Tomato Pasta in Creamy Dijon Sauce

I dreamed up this creamy dijon sauce one day last week; I've never had or made anything like this, but it just sounded good in my head. Creamy sour cream with the spice of some dijon mustard and the sweet of some honey. I decided to toss it with whole wheat rotini pasta, slivered grape tomatoes, sauteed zucchini and some chicken sausage for a good protein addition to round out the dish. It's always nice when I can incorporate all the food groups in one pile of food ;).  

Zucchini & Tomato Pasta in Creamy Dijon Sauce

12 oz. whole wheat rotini, cooked according to package directions

12 oz. package chicken sausage (any flavor)

1 medium zucchini, cubed

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

3/4 cup light sour cream

1 T dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

zest of 1 lemon + juice from half the lemon

fresh chives, finely diced to garnish

Get a large pot of water boiling and start cooking your pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with cooking spray. Cut the sausage in thin rounds on the diagonal and sear on both sides (chicken sausage is already cooked, so you're just searing it). Meanwhile cube the zucchini and slice the tomatoes.

When the sausage is finished, set aside and cook the zucchini in the same pan for just a few minutes; enough to slightly brown but still keeping it crispy (no soggy zucchini please). Set aside. 

Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid from your pasta, then drain the noodles and return to the same pot. Go ahead and add the sliced tomatoes so they soften a bit with the steam from the noodles. Meantime, make the creamy dijon my whisking together in a small bowl the sour cream, dijon, honey, and lemon. Taste for your likeness and adjust honey and/or dijon.

Add the zucchini and sausage to the pasta pot and combine well, then add the creamy dijon and combine well. If the mixture is a little stiff, add a tablespoon or two of the cooking water to the pot and stir. You may or may not need this.

Serve immediately, topping with fresh chives.

PS - life is crazy in the Goodwin house lately, so no time for pics these days!

Butternut Squash Disaster

This side dish was actually inspired by the hot bar at my local Whole Foods, which I have rarely partaken in but as I passed by on my way to the checkout I saw "butternut squash slaw" as one of the dishes. Hmm, I've never heard of that, but sounds good. I decided to try to make it myself...plus butternut squash was on sale for $.99/lb, so you know.

What a disaster. I researched a few recipes to help inspire my own, so the below is what I came up with. Can you say pumpkin guts? This is exactly what the slaw, even after marinating for a few hours, smelled and tasted like. This is either a specific taste some like, or it's just not meant to be eaten this way. You know me, I never throw anything out, but this stuff went to the dogs!

I'm only providing the recipe for your laughing pleasure, please do not make this dish!

Butternut Squash Slaw

1 1/2 lbs butternut squash (about 1 medium squash)

1 1/2 T honey

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 T extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 T chopped fresh parsley

Peel the squash with a potato peeler or knife, shred finely using a box grater, mandoline or food processor.

In a bowl, whisk together honey, cider vinegar and lemon juice. When smooth, drizzle in olive oil, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper. 

Toss squash and parsley in dressing until fully coated. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Chicken Curry Pockets

I revere puff pastry as both one of my favorite things to indulge in but also something I utilize infrequently. Besides the fact that it is fairly expensive, it's also almost completely nutritionally void. But every now and then, I soften my resolve towards this ultra refined carb and incorporate it. Tonight's dinner used the puff pastry to make these little chicken pockets. These are delicious and easy, and could also pull double duty as an appetizer. PS I did not take any pictures because a) my husband and i were ravenous and ate them right out of the oven and b) most of my "pockets" opened up during cooking, so although delicious they were sloppy looking.

Chicken Curry Pockets

1 T canola oil

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 cup coconut milk + more as needed

1 red onion, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

3/4 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast, cubed

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 (17.25 oz.) package frozen puff pastry, thawed

Heat canola oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in coriander, turmeric, cumin, and curry powder. Cook a few seconds until fragrant. Pour in coconut milk, onion, and red pepper; cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. 

Stir in chicken and continue cooking for 10-12 minutes, adding more coconut milk if the mixture becomes too dry. Season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir until chicken is cooked through and has absorbed most of the liquid; remove from heat to cool.

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Prep a baking sheet with cooking spray or parchment paper.

Unfold the puff pastry and lightly flour; gently roll the dough to make it slightly thinner, trying to maintain the rectangle shape. 

Cut the sheet into 16 equal squares (I used a pizza cutter). Place heaping spoonfuls of the filling in the center of each square. Gather all 4 corners of the pastry and pinch together at the top, forming a small pouch. Place each pastry on the baking sheet, about 1" apart.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing to serve. 

You could easily double this recipe and use the entire package of puff pastry (both sheets) to make 32 pockets. 

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Again, I made this recipe at the recommendation of a friend (thanks Denise!). These are one of Denise's favorite muffins, and after making them they are mine too...simply delicious. 

I must have over-mixed mine because they turned out with a purple hue and some had those pointy peaks that leave a cook no wiggle room for explaining the number of times the spatula circled around the batter, but they were moist and flavorful...in fact I could have used even more lemon flavor...perhaps next time I will zest two lemons. I also did not have white whole wheat flour, so I used regular whole wheat flour. 

The original recipe for these muffins, as passed along to me from my friend, was posted on the eatingwell website (http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/lemon_raspberry_muffins.html).  

Lemon Raspberry Muffins

1 lemon

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup canola oil

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups frozen (not thawed) raspberries

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Coat a (12 count, large) muffin pan with cooking spray or line with paper liners.

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar. Add buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla and pulse until blended.

Combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended. 

Gently fold in raspberries. Divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. 

Sesame Orange Chicken with Spring Rolls

Let me preface this by saying that dinner tonight took me 2 hours + 15 minutes. Really. A friend of mine sent me a recipe for spring rolls she had made (thanks Kate!), so I decided to make a night of it and make orange sesame chicken and edamame as well. 

It was all worth it, though. I will admit that home made spring rolls are not quick and easy, but the recipe makes so many you will have them in the freezer to enjoy for months! I believe the original recipe came from the steamykitchen website (http://steamykitchen.com/13029-my-mothers-famous-chinese-egg-rolls-2.html), but naturally I adapted it a bit. Mine were much smaller as I used small wonton (spring roll) wrappers instead of large egg roll wrappers.  

The orange chicken was a new method I tried in an attempt to get the Chinese take out feel without the side of guilt. It was quite good! A bit more work than dialing the local joint, yes, but again worth it (and cheaper).

Sesame Orange Chicken

MARINADE

1-1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 oz. orange-pineapple juice

1/4 cup canola oil

1 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp grated orange peel (about half of a large orange)

PREPARATION

1/2 cup flour

2 T toasted sesame seeds

2 T butter, melted

ORANGE SAUCE

4 oz. orange-pineapple juice

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

1 T ketchup

1 tsp grated orange peel

pinch Chinese five-spice powder

2 tsp cornstarch

2 T water

For the marinade, combine all ingredients in a large zip top bag and marinate 1 1/2 hours (I did this step first while I prepared the spring rolls, then cooked the chicken near the end of dinner prep).

Line a large baking sheet with foil, then place a roasting or cooling rack down in the baking sheet. Spray the rack with cooking spray.

Once the chicken is finished marinating, preheat the oven to 400 deg F, then remove the chicken from the bag and discard bag and marinade mixture. Pat dry and cut into 1-2" pieces. Combine in a shallow dish or bowl the flour and toasted sesame seeds. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, shaking off any excess, and place on the prepared rack. Drizzle the butter evenly all over the pieces of chicken (I actually used a small squirt bottle to get the melted butter to evenly coat all of the chicken).

Bake for 30 minutes, turning the baking sheet once after 15 minutes for even baking and browning. Meanwhile, make the orange sauce.

In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients for the sauce excluding the cornstarch and water. In a small bowl make a slurry out of the water and cornstarch. Bring the sauce to a boil, then whisk in the cornstarch slurry and reduce heat to low. Cook until thickened and remove from heat.

Once chicken is cooked, toss in a large bowl with the orange sauce until well coated. Spoon out the portions of orange chicken, leaving the excess sauce in the bowl.

Spring Rolls

FOR THE GROUND PORK

1 lb ground pork

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

1/2 tsp brown sugar

freshly ground black pepper

1 T sesame oil for cooking

FOR THE VEGETABLES

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small head of cabbage (about 11 oz), shredded

3 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

10 fresh cremini mushrooms, roughly chopped, stems discarded

1 T Chinese rice wine (mirin)

1 T soy sauce

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

Freshly ground black pepper

To make the filling, combine the ingredients for the ground pork together (NOT the sesame oil). Marinate at least 10 minutes. In the meantime, shred the cabbage and the carrots, slice the mushrooms and roughly chop.

Heat a large skillet - I mean the largest one you have - over medium-high heat. Add the sesame oil and swirl to coat. Add the pork and stir-fry until no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes. Turn heat to medium-low, push the meat to one side of the pan. Add the garlic, cabbage, carrots, ginger and the mushrooms and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Add the rice wine, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and black pepper. Continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Scoop out the filling to a baking sheet and spread out to cool. Prop up one end of the baking sheet so that it tilts and will allow all the moisture to drain to one end. Let cool for 15 minutes.

Discard all of the accumulated juices. Use paper towels to blot the filling to rid of extra oil or juice. Using only 1 heaping tablespoon of filling for each wrapper, place the filling on the wrapper and begin to roll up, stopping about halfway to turn the sides in, then keep rolling, ensuring the roll is tight. (the steamy kitchen site has step by step instructions for making these "perfect").

"Keep the rolled spring rolls in a neat, single layer and covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. If you want to stack the egg rolls, make sure you have layer of parchment paper in between the layers to prevent sticking. Keep wrappers also covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying. Refrigerate up to 4 hours until ready to fry or freeze.

To fry the egg rolls, fill a wok or pot with 2 inches of high-heat cooking oil. Heat the oil to 350 deg F or until a cube of bread will fry to golden brown within 10 seconds. Gently slide in or lower the spring rolls, frying 4 to 6 at a time, turning occasionally until golden brown about 1½ minutes. Place on wire rack to drain and cool. I ended up using Canola oil for this because it is what I had, but in retrospect I think peanut oil would have been better."

Again, I served all of this with steamed edamame; I keep frozen edamame (in the pods) in my freezer, just steam or boil them for about 5-7 minutes, sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve with low sodium soy sauce. 

Larb

For those who have never heard of this, this dish sounds as unappetizing as it looks...but it is delicious! It is a Thai inspired dish, the recipe for which I originally came across in and old Cooking Light cookbook. 


I have adapted it over the years, slightly, but it remains mostly the same. The flavors are bright and complimentary, and if you love fresh lime, as I do, you will really enjoy the zip of this dish. Plus, it's SO easy. So. 

Larb

3 limes

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lb. ground turkey

1 small shallot, diced

1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped

cabbage leaves for serving (any variety you like)

Zest and juice 2 whole limes, leaving the third lime for serving, and combine in a small bowl with the lemon juice, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, drizzle with a bit of oil and add turkey and shallots, breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon. Cook just until turkey is done, stirring to crumble. Drizzle with the lime juice mixture, stirring to coat well. Sprinkle in mint. Serve in cabbage "cups" and use the third lime to squeeze fresh juice over each cabbage cup. Serve immediately. 

I served these with fried plantains.  

Sausage & White Bean Soup with Wilted Greens

It's true that Spring has technically arrived (says the calendar) but Old Man Winter is not taking the break up very well. In reviewing the weather forecast for the week as I made out my weekly meal plan, I realized I better put a hearty soup on the list for some cold, nasty weather we're in for mid-week. Today was absolutely disgusting. Cold, blowing rain all. day. long. Naturally I had both playgroup and a doctors appointment to get to. Well at least it made eating the soup even better after being out in that. 

I wanted a brothy (vs. creamy) soup and wanted to sneak some good greens into it, so I decided to basically make a sausage and white bean soup and wilt some greens into at the very end. It was hearty indeed. I told my husband as we sat down to dinner that I felt like I should be sitting down to this meal in an old hunting shack in the woods after a long day of hunting. 

Sausage & White Bean Soup with Wilted Greens

1 lb. mild Italian turkey sausage links

1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T fresh chives, finely diced

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1 can white beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups winter greens (I used kale, spinach, collards and swiss chard; a mix available by the pound at the grocery store; use whatever green variety you like)

Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Place the sausage into the pot and place the lid part way on (to reduce splatter). Turn each link after a few minutes on each side until all sides are golden brown. Remove the sausage links from the pot and place on a cutting board. Immediately add the onion to the pot and stir.

Meanwhile, cut each link slightly diagonally (it may not be fully cooked, but firm enough to cut; it will cook again, so just use common sense with the knife you use and sanitize it just in case). Return the sliced sausage to the pot and stir together with the onion. Cook long enough to sear the sausage pieces; add the minced garlic and cook another 30-60 seconds. Add the chives and combine. 

Add the chicken stock and water and scrape all the bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the white beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes. This leaves you time to make corn muffins!

I used the recipe I posted here but instead used 1/2 c all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (instead of 1 cup all purpose) and used 3 tsp baking powder (instead of 2 tsp). They were hearty and delicious, not to mention more nutritional.

Just before you want to serve the soup, add the greens in and cook just until wilted; probably 5-10 minutes. Serve immediately.   

Chicken Enchiladas

As aforementioned, here is the main course from the anniversary dinner I made my husband. Nope, it's not fancy, just good sloppy Mexican food, his favorite. I served it with refried beans and the lime-mint granita:

Chicken Enchiladas

4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or chicken breasts)

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp chili powder (use more if desired, my son was partaking so I cut back on the heat)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup sour cream

3/4 cup sharp Cheddar, shredded

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

4 (8-10") whole wheat tortillas

Enchilada sauce (recipe follows)

3/4 cup Monterey Jack, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

In a medium (cast iron if you have it) skillet over medium heat, cook chicken until no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove chicken to a cutting board and drain excess fat. Meanwhile add the onion and red pepper to the hot skillet and toss to combine.  

Cube the chicken and return it to the skillet with the onion and pepper and cook until the onion and pepper are just tender. Add the minced garlic and cook about 30 seconds, then add the dried parsley, oregano, chili powder, and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat to medium-low. 

Add the sour cream and Cheddar cheese and heat until the cheese melts. Stir in tomato sauce and water and stir to combine well. Remove from heat. 

Roll even amounts of the mixture in the tortillas. Arrange in an 8x8 inch baking dish. Cover with enchilada sauce and 3/4 cup Jack cheese. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Enchilada Sauce

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1/3 cup water

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried minced onion

1 T white vinegar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and whisk together well; simmer at a very low temperature for 15- 20 minutes.

Cool and refrigerate for a few hours before using; store leftovers for up to 5 days. I made the sauce at lunchtime, then put it in the refrigerator so it could develop its flavor, then poured it right on top of the enchiladas before popping in the oven. 

Lime-Mint Granita

Hmmm, haven't posted a recipe in, oh, about ten days...a definite departure from my previous regularity. I must confess that we've ordered a bit more take-out in the past couple of weeks than usual with a lot going on in the Goodwin household. The most notably is my return to work (part time). True I am working mostly from home, only going into the office once a week, but nap time and night time blogging has become work time, so posts may be less frequent for a while. Okay, enough about that.

Today is my eight year wedding anniversary! My husband's favorite food of all time in Mexican, in any shape or form, he loves it. He says he could eat Mexican every day of his life and not grow tired of it. In fact, when we took a trip once to the Yucatan and literally ate Mexican every meal for a week, he was in heaven. So. I decided tonight I would make chicken enchiladas (post to follow) and a lime granita.

This treat is a wink and a nudge to one of my favorite cocktails, the mojito...ah that Cuban delight. I typically make it virgin, as I did this time, but add a little rum (as indicated) and you've got yourself the real thing...just frozen. 

Lime-Mint Granita

1 cup boiling water

1 box JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin

1 cup lemon-lime soda (i.e. Sprite)

1/4 cup  rum (optional)

2 T finely chopped fresh mint

2 T lime juice (fresh if possible)

Add boiling water to gelatin mix in medium bowl; stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Stir in remaining ingredients.

Pour into an 8-inch square dish and freeze for at least 3 hours. Spoon the frozen mixture into large bowl or stand mixer. Beat with mixer on high speed until it has a snow cone'esque appearance. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop out granita into a small bowl and serve immediately. 

Any leftovers can be returned to the freezer; I put the leftovers in a blender with some milk a few days later and made lime sherbet smoothies, yum! 

Follow this same method for any flavor you like, really. Pick your JELL-O flavor, pick a fresh herb or some fruit, and pick your juice to match and voila! For example, try a strawberry JELL-O mix with fresh mint or even sweet basil and pineapple juice, or blue raspberry JELL-O with blueberries and lemon juice...you get the picture.  

Jalapeño Dressing

Tonight's dinner was just a Southwest style salad, nothing too exciting. But the dressing I made up was definitely the star of this otherwise boiler plate dinner salad. We eat a lot of salads in this house, and in fact when there are often consecutive postless days it is because we've been eating dinner salads that would seem anemic compared to some of the other flashy or robust recipes. Where is this going? 

I was tired of our usual suspects in terms of dressings. I almost exclusively use home made salad dressings, and all I had available was honey mustard, pomegranate vinaigrette, and orange poppy seed. All fine choices that have grown slightly chronic. So, I fished around in the refrigerator and came across some jalapeño jelly. Hmm, what could I make with this? Turns out a really nice accompaniment to what became a Southwest salad:  

Jalapeño Dressing

1/3 cup light mayo

3-4 T jalapeno jelly (perhaps try a few jarred jalapenos and a bit of sugar if you don't have jalapeno jelly)

1 T lime juice

A few dashes of hot sauce

Combine all ingredietns in a small food processor and mix until smooth. Add more or less hot sauce and/or jalapeno for your tolerance to spicey food. These ratios will give a slight kick, but nothing too hot. 

I served this, as I mentioned, Southwest style with corn, beans and chicken tenders.. and some chow mein noodles for a nice crunch, although I would have used crushed tortilla chips if I had any. I'm not purist.  

The jalapeno jelly I have is the Knott's brand; I found it at Target so I feel confident that most grocery store jelly sections will carry this type of jelly. 

Whole Wheat Waffles

Another Brinner in the Goodwin household: waffles! Breakfast for dinner may quite possibly be my favorite dinner option; it's quick, easy and comforting (as long as you don't serve fruit loops that is). We were trying to decide between eggs and waffles, so we turned to our (almost) two year old. He responded with a resounding "waffles!", so waffles it was. Trouble was we were out of all purpose flour. I usually use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat, but we had to try and make it work with 100% whole wheat.

I added some vinegar and a bit more baking powder to lighten up the batter, and it worked. These were hearty and delicious waffles. Now. If you don't eat whole wheat flour a lot or don't like the hearty flavor, you probably will not like these. Since we eat whole wheat almost exclusively (baking, rice, pasta, etc) we loved these. Simply use half all purpose and half whole wheat if you're not up for 100% wheat.

Whole Wheat Waffles
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 T canola oil (you could also use melted butter)
1 1/2 cups milk + extra to thin batter if needed
2 T white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla


Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to combine well. 


Add the eggs, oil, milk, vinegar and vanilla; beat with the whisk just until smooth. Add more milk as needed to thin the batter if needed, but keep it fairly thick. 


Heat waffle iron and bake according to manufacturer’s directions. Serve immediately.