Vi D's Bean Salad

My niece recently gave me this recipe and told me how addictive it was.  I found that hard to believe, because as you can see it's all veggies.  What's so addictive about that?  I admit, I was wrong.  This is so very addictive.  It's the yummy vinaigrette that does it.  I'm pretty sure you could fill this full of all your favorite veggies and as long as you kept the vinaigrette the same it would be fantastic!

Chop up a small red pepper and a small red onion.

Add a can of black beans that have been rinsed.

Add a can of corn - drained.

One can of chick-peas (garbanzo beans) - rinsed.

Pour the magic elixir over the top and refrigerate for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.

Eat, eat some more, then go get some more and eat that too.  It's delicious. 

To my Niece Carol - you da bomb.  To Carol's friend Vi D. where Carol got the recipe - you da bomb too!

Here's what you'll need:

1 can black beans (drain)
1 can corn (drain)
1 can chick peas or garbanzo beans (drained)
1/2 large red onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoon of sugar
2 tablespoon of Tabasco

Chop the red onion and red pepper and add to a mixing bowl.  Open the can's of black beans and drain it then rinse and add to the mixing bowl. Open the can of corn and drain and add to the mixing bowl.  Open the can of chick peas and drain and rinse; then add to the mixing bowl.  In a separate small bowl add the vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar and Tabasco sauce (this does not make the dish too spicy, trust me) and mix well.  Pour over the other ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours but over night is best.  Serve cold.

Stuffed Eggplant

I've had two requests lately for eggplant recipes.  This is a big challenge for me since I'm not particularly fond of eggplant.  I decided there was no better time to find a way to make it that everyone would like.  I think this is a pretty good recipe.  It's got plenty of big flavors which is exactly what I needed to get past my dislike for eggplant.  You could easily substitute ground chicken or turkey if you're looking for a lower fat option.

Cut a large eggplant in half, then brush the cut sides with olive oil.

Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  Let cool until you are able to handle it, then cut out the eggplant meat leaving about 1/2 inch shell.

While it cools begin cooking the sausage.  When brown drain off the grease and place into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with garlic powder, Italian seasonings and pepper. Stir in the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of the spaghetti sauce (I added more sauce at this step instead of spooning more on at the end) and the beaten egg.   If you're using shredded cheese you can add 1/2 cup now. Cut the reserved eggplant meat into bite sized cubes and add into the meat mixture. 

Top with sliced mozzarella or shredded mozzarella and bake at 400 for about 30 minutes or until the cheese his hot and bubbly.

Add additional sauce on top if preferred.

1 (1 1/2 pound) eggplant, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound bulk Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
 
Cut the eggplant in half the long way.  Brush olive oil over the cut side and put in the preheated oven cut side up for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool until you can handle it.
 
While the eggplant is cooling, brown the sausage and then drain off the grease.  Put the sausage in a mixing bowl and add the seasonings, breadcrumbs, egg and  1/2 the cheese and some sauce.  I added all of the sauce at this point but you can had 1/2 now and then spoon more over the top at the end if you'd like.
 
Once the eggplant has cooled, scrape the meat out of the shell leaving about 1/2 inch.  Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and mix in with the sausage mixture. 
 
Scoop the sausage mixture into the shells of the eggplant and top with the remaining cheese.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cheese his hot and melted.
 
Serve with additional sauce if desired.
 
Recipe found here

Cherry Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

It's hot here.  It's really really hot.  So hot that all I want to eat for dinner is ice cream.  Oh wait, maybe that's not just because it's hot; but it certainly doesn't hurt. Boy was I happy to see this recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures.  This is one of my favorite ice cream flavors and I had JUST bought some cherries so it was definitely meant to be.

Easy to make, but allow yourself some time for the mixture to cool before mixing it up on your ice cream maker; preferably overnight.  I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and it was perfect.  I will cherish this recipe!

Start by pitting the cherries.  I sort of guessed at the amount since I don't have a scale and the recipe calls for 3/4 pound.

Next you need to cook the cherries with some heavy cream, milk, sugar and salt.

After it's simmered, put the mixture into a food processor or use an immersion blender to puree the mixture.

Take the pureed mixture and pour it through a fine sieve to remove the larger pieces of cherry.  Really press down on the pieces left in the sieve because they hold lots of good juice. 

Refrigerate until cold or preferably overnight.

Once cold, add to your ice cream maker and blend according to manufacturers instructions.  Add the chocolate chips at the very end of the churn time.

Freeze and then serve.  Enjoy!

Recipe found here

Honey Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

As you've probably guessed by now I try to make enough bread that I don't have to buy any.  Not that there is anything wrong with the store bought kind in fact I still need to every so often when I haven't gotten around to making my own.  That being said, I'm sort of always on the lookout for great sandwich bread.  Bread that has a tight crumb that won't fall apart when you make a sandwich. 

I really enjoyed this bread.  It's nutty, yet sweet from the honey and sturdy enough for sandwiches.  I approve.  Not to mention is has oatmeal and whole wheat so also a healthy bread.  Win Win!

You begin by making a mixture using old fashioned oats, boiling water, honey, butter and salt.  Let that sit until the mixture cools to lukewarm.

In a separate bowl; mix the yeast, dry milk and all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour.  The dough will be sticky.  Put it into a greased bowl, cover with Saran wrap and let it rise for an hour. 

Pour the dough onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth dough.  Spread it out and shape into a 9 inch log.  Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and place the dough in it.  lightly grease the top of the loaf and then cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it has risen about 1 1/2 inches above the top of the loaf pan.

Toward the end of the rise time, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook for 20 minutes and then cover with aluminum foil so it doesn't get too brown. Now cook for an additional 25 minutes.

Right out of the oven rub the top with some salted butter and sprinkle with oats.  Let cool in the loaf pan.

I ate my first piece when it was still slightly warm and it was heaven.  The honey taste comes through perfectly.

I found the recipe here.

1 1/4cups boiling water
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast


Mix the boiling water, oats, butter, salt and honey in a mixing bowl and let sit until the mixture cools down to lukewarm.

Add the flours, dry milk and yeast and process using the dough hook on your stand mixer.  You can also do this by hand or use your bread machine.   Once the dough becomes smooth, put it in a greased mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap until it's doubled in size.  About an hour.

Pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a 9 inch log.  This can be done by rolling the dough out slightly making sure it's 9 inches wide and then rolling it up into a log shape.  Place the dough into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Grease the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the top of the dough has risen about 1 1/2 inch over the loaf pan.

Begin pre-heating the oven at the end of the rise cycle.  Place the loaf in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then cover with tin foil and bake for 25 more minutes.  Spread with butter and sprinkle with oats right out of the oven and then let cool before slicing.

Dinner Club - Theme Cookout

Dinner Club was at it again.  This time our theme was cookout/barbecue.  Funny since it was so hot out we actually didn't even go outside; but I digress.

The shrimp and jalapeno poppers you see above were Shannon's!  YUM! 

Lisa W. made this yummy chicken.  Here's how she did it:

She browned the chicken in some oil, added some onion and garlic and seasoned the chicken with seasoning salt.  Top with a jar of spaghetti sauce and serve over pasta.

Thanks Lisa, it was delish!

Teresa made a yummy salad with peaches, goat cheese and bacon.  Yummy as usual Teresa!

This masterpiece was made by Melissa.  I say masterpiece because it's actually a recipe that a friend of mine made up and it was so good that people named it after her.  So now it's known as Kristi's dip.  I'll be posting the recipe on this one separately from this post.  It will be a permanent fixture in your recipe book.

We had a wonderful time at Shannon's house and can't wait to do it again!

Oh, I made the lemon bars that I posted on earlier. :)

Lemon Bars

Recently we had another dinner club night in my neighborhood (more on that later) and the theme was BBQ or cookout.  So I made lemon bars of course.  As a kid growing up on Montana I can't remember ever going to a cookout where there weren't lemon bars.  I turned to my trusted advisor for the recipe. Ina Garten has never let me down.
These bars are a beautiful yellow color from the 6 eggs! The lemon is beautifully balanced with the sweet confectioners sugar topping and cookie crust.  You will love these.

You begin by making the crust and spreading it out into a 9x13 inch pan. 

You want to build up the crust on the sides a little.

Bake the crust and then let cool.  While it's cooling you can begin making the filling.

Eggs, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice, some flour and you've got yourself the filling.

Pour the filling into the cooked crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cool completely before cutting.

Sprinkle with confectioners sugar right before serving.

Recipe by Ina Garten can be found here

For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar together in your stand mixing bowl using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Keeping the mixer on low add the flour and salt together and then slowly incorporate it into the butter mixture until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and work into a ball.  Put the dough into a 9x13 inch dish and flatten out with your hands.  Build up the sides to about 1/2 inch higher than the base. Chill. Bake at 350 for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Let cook on a wire rack.  Leave the oven on while you make the filling.

In a medium to large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and flour together until smooth. Pour over the baked crust and put into the pre-heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes. The filling should be set (meaning not giggly).

Cut and dust with confectioners sugar.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Pavlova

Pavlova.  Wondering what the heck that is?  OK, here's a quick rundown.  There is an ongoing debate about whether this dessert was created in New Zealand or Australia and it was named for the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. It's a sweet (very sweet) meringue cake that is marshmallow in texture on the inside, and crisp and dry on the outside. It is usually served with whipped cream and fresh fruit on top. 

This is one of those desserts that I have always wanted to make, but not sure I'll ever make it again.  The reason is because it's extremely sweet and does take a while to sit in the oven after the initial cook time.  It is however one of those show stopper desserts and I can see how I might make it again for a very special event if it were requested.  I'm glad I tried it though, I can check that off my list now.

There is an excellent video for making this found here.

Get your egg whites to room temperature.  Leave on the counter for about 30 minutes or so for this.

You'll need superfine sugar.  Since that's difficult to find sometimes you can make your own by putting regular sugar in a food processor and blending for a minute or so.  Keep checking it.

Mix the egg whites until soft peak forms.  That means that if you tip this whisk upside down it won't hold a peak.

Now begin adding the sugar one tablespoon at a time until it's all used up.  You should now have a glossy stiff peak meringue. To test to make sure the sugar has dissolved, put some on your finger and rub two fingers together to see if it's grainy or not.  If it's grainy, just mix it some more.

Now add the vanilla extract.

Sift in the cornstarch

Add the vinegar also and incorporate well by hand with a rubber spatula.

Draw a 7 inch circle on some parchment paper, then flip it over and put the meringue filling in the template.

You want to bake this slowly so the outside gets dry and crispy but the inside stays marshmallow-y. Put into a preheated 250 degree oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours until the outside is a very pale beige color and is dry to the touch.  Some cracking is normal.  Once done, turn off the oven and let it sit in there with the door propped open until completely cool.

At this point you can store it in an airtight container for several days if needed.

Since the Pavlova is so sweet, it's best to top it with unsweetened whipped cream and fruit.  I used strawberries as you can see but next time I'd probably use a berry that wasn't quite as sweet. 

Here is what you'll need:

4 large egg whites at room temperature

1 Cup superfine sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp. white vinegar

Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.  Make a 7 inch circle on some parchment paper and then flip over and put on a cookie sheet.

Put the room temperature egg whites in a completely clean and dry mixing bowl and whip with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form.

One Tablespoon at a time, add the sugar.  You can make your own superfine sugar by putting regular sugar in a food processor for a minute or so. Add the sugar slowly until it's all incorporated.  You should have glossy stiff peaks now. Test with your finger to make sure the mixture isn't grainy. Keep mixing until the sugar has been absorbed and it is not grainy. Now add the vanilla and incorporate.  Next sift in a 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch and vinegar and hand mix with a rubber spatula. 

Spoon the mixture onto the parchment paper circle and use the template to form the circle.  Level off the top as much as possible.

Bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the outside is dry (possibly cracked) and is a pale beige in color.  Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door and let sit until completely cool.

Top with unsweetened whipped cream and fruit of your choice.