Veggie Quesadillas with Homemade Tortillas

I've been craving Mexican food lately, but I'll admit that the prospect of eating out makes me more than a little nervous, given all the foods I need to avoid right now.  Sadly, my absolute favorite store-bought tortillas (found at none other than Trader Joe's) are also off-limits for the time being.  Luckily, I have a tortilla recipe in my arsenal because for a time last year, TJ's briefly stopped carrying the aforementioned tortillas.  Whew!

Flour Tortillas (ever so slightly adapted from Homesick Texan):

• 2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 3/4 c. So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk, warmed)

To make:

• Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and oil
• Slowly stir in the warm milk until a loose, sticky ball is formed
• Knead for two minutes on a floured surface
• Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth for 20 minutes
• After the dough has rested, split into eight balls, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching), and cover with damp cloth for 10 minutes
• On a floured surface, roll each ball into an 8" circle (roll from the center out and use as few rolls as possible so the dough doesn't get overworked because then the tortillas will be tough)
• Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook
• Heat a dry cast iron skillet and cook each tortilla about thirty seconds on each side (puffy air pockets will form - don't worry, they'll deflate)
• Keep cooked tortillas covered

Veggie Quesadilla:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 5oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• Salt & pepper
• Shredded cheese (I used Daiya shredded "cheddar")
• Tortillas

To make:

• Heat olive oil in skillet
• Add onions and peppers, let cook for a couple minutes
• Add mushrooms and zucchini
• Stir in spices and cook until veggies are at desired tenderness
• Place tortilla in a heated lightly oiled skillet, add desired amount of shredded cheese and veggies, top with second tortilla

• When bottom tortilla is lightly browned and cheese is melted, flip and brown top tortilla
• Cut in quarters; serve with salsa, guacamole, etc.

See those lovely refried beans?  I made them in my crockpot!  Stay tuned for that recipe.

I made three quesadillas and had enough veggies leftover to have 2 soft tacos for lunch the next day.  So good and I'm craving more.  I think this will be something I make often - if you use store-bought tortillas, this is a super quick and healthy lunch/dinner.  However, making the tortillas from scratch really didn't add much time at all, since I could prep the veggies while the dough was resting and I was cooking the tortillas at the same time I was cooking the veggies. 

Blueberries = good. Oatmeal = good. Pancakes = good. Blueberry oatmeal pancakes = great!

As I was making dinner Friday night, Samantha asked me to make pancakes.  Too bad I was already in the process of making chicken marsala (in hindsight, pancakes would have been better, probably due to the fact that I failed to realize before starting that I had only about 1/3 the amount of marsala wine called for in the recipe.  Whoops.).

Knowing my child, I made sure to ask if she still wanted pancakes Saturday morning.  If I didn't ask before making them, she'd have a meltdown because she wanted eggs or something.  Much to my surprise, she still wanted them, although she didn't want blueberries (well, she didn't want any in her pancakes.  She did proceed to steal my measuring cup full of frozen blueberries and devour them.).

Ingredients:

• 1 c. whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 2 c. So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 c. canola oil
• 1/2 c. frozen organic wild blueberries

To make:

• Combine oats and milk, set aside
• Mix flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt
• Whisk eggs and oil into oats
• Stir oat mixture into dry ingredients
• Preheat cast iron skillet or griddle
• Pour batter into pan (I used a 1/2 c. measuring cup) and sprinkle some blueberries on top
• Flip when edges are set and center is bubbly
• Cook until lightly browned



Blueberry-less pancakes




Not blueberry-less pancakes

These were seriously the best looking pancakes I have ever made.  I am in love with my cast iron cooking vessels.  They may also be the best tasting pancakes I've ever had.  I will never buy premade pancake mix again. 

Fruit and Oatmeal Muffins

I've been on a big oatmeal kick lately, so these muffins were right up my alley.  They're very versatile, too.  So far I've made them with wild blueberries and raspberries.  The raspberry were good, but I loved the wild blueberry muffins.  Wild blueberries are so much better than regular blueberries - if you've never tried them, they're worth the extra money (psst . . . TJ's has dried and frozen ones right now.  Both are yummy).   Next time, I'll make strawberry.

Ingredients (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens):

• 3 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 c. rolled oats
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/4 So Delicious Coconut Milk (vanilla or unsweetened, I've used both)
• 1c. packed brown sugar
• 1/2  c. oil (I've used canola and coconut oils.  I really prefer the coconut oil; I think the muffins came out more moist)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 12oz package frozen berries (or fresh when they're in season)

To make:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In one bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
• In a second bowl, mix eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, and oil (if using coconut, melt first)
• Stir wet mix into dry ingredients being careful not to overmix
• Fold berries into batter
• Spoon into greased muffin tins
• Bake for 25-30 minutes for regular sized muffins, 15-20 minutes for mini muffins, or until toothpick comes out clean
• Cool in tins on wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove from tins

The above measurements yielded 24 mini muffins and 12 regular sized muffins for me. 



The raspberry oatmeal muffins

 These muffins also freeze really well.  Just wrap in foil and put in a ziplock bag.  You can thaw them in the microwave or just let them hang out on the counter for an hour or so.  Once thawed, just warm them up to serve.

Mushroom Quinoa

In my neverending quest to pack lots of nutrition into the small amount/variety of food Samantha eats, I came across quinoa (pronounced "keenwah").  Perfect!  It's extremely nutritious and looks like couscous, which she loves.  The first time I made it, I just prepped it in my rice cooker and added about 1/2 c. of TJ's bruschetta, some sweet bell peppers sauteed in olive oil and minced garlic, salt, and pepper (a recipe adaped from my "I Love Trader Joe's" cookbook).  It was good and Samantha ate it (although she picked out the veggies).

I then came across a quinoa recipe with mushrooms while browsing the Food Network site.  I love mushrooms, so I decided to make it last night. 

Mushroom Quinoa (adapted from here):

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 oz. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
• 1 1/2 c. quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1./2 tsp. sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 c. low sodium chicken broth

To make:

• Heat olive oil in a large saucepan (I used my 10" cast iron skillet)
• Saute onion until translucent
• Add mushrooms and cook until brown
• Stir in quinoa, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and let cook for a couple of minutes
• Add chicken broth and bring to a boil
• Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes
• Turn off heat, remove lid to stir, replace lid and let sit for about 10 minutes
• Adjust seasoning if necessary

I thought this was very tasty.  I think Samantha even ate a bit of it, though I'm sure she picked out any stray mushrooms or onions that made it on her plate.

Pizza Night!

One food I really missed when I was dairy-free while nursing Samantha was pizza.  I had heard most soy chesee was terrible and found that most rice cheese contained casein.  At some point, probably about a year or so ago, I decided to try some soy cheese at Whole Foods.  It wasn't too bad, and after almost two years of no cheese, I found it to be acceptable. 

Now, with Patrick, I can't eat dairy OR soy, so no more pizza for me . . . or so I thought.  A few weeks ago, while grabbing some soy cheese to make Samantha a pizza, I found Daiya at Whole Foods.  Dairy-free, soy-free "cheese" in cheddar and mozzarella.  Might as well give it a shot; I figured it couldn't be any worse than the chemical-laden processed dairy cheeses out there. 

It's not bad.  It melts well and is kinda stringy like melted mozzzrella.  It doesn't really taste like cheese, but it has a similar mouth feel.  I declare it a winner.

And so I decided we should do a weekly pizza night.  It was supposed to be Saturdays, but forces conspired against us last weekend and pizza night was on Monday.  I made pizza dough from scratch and baked up three different pizzas.

Pizza Dough (courtesy of Tyler Florence):

• 2 1/4 tsp. instant dry yeast*
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 c. warm water (not too hot or the yeast will start to die)
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 3 c. flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)

* The original recipe calls for 1 packet of active dry yeast.  I buy instant dry yeast in bulk, so I use that.  Usually, one packet of active dry yeast contains 2 1/4 tsp. of yeast.  Most things I've read say to decrease the amount of yeast by 25% when using instant in place of active, as instant is more potent.  I don't because 2 1/4 tsp. is stuck in my head when I read a recipe.  I don't think it causes a problem. 

To make:

• Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let sit for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam.  This is called proofing - making sure the yeast is still live.  If it doesn't foam, the yeast is dead and the dough won't rise. Some people skip proofing with instant dry yeast but I don't like to take any chances.
• Attach dough hook to stand mixer (if using; otherwise you can mix and knead by hand, which is what I used to do)
• With mixer on low, add olive oil and salt
• Slowly add flour (depending on the humidity of your kitchen, you may need a bit more or less than 3 c. - I usually add in 1/2 c. increments and start assessing the stickiness of the dough after 2 1/2 c.  I stop adding flour when the dough is no longer sticky.)
• Turn mixer to 2 and mix until dough starts to form a ball
• Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic
• Place ball into lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk (about 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen)
• Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 450 (sadly, my pizza stone cracked and I haven't gotten a  new one yet, so I place upside down cookie sheets in the oven
• When doubled, divide dough into three equal balls and let them rest covered for 10 minutes
• Roll a ball out to desired thickness (I can't for the life of me roll it out to a 12" circle like Tyler suggests)
• Place dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal (helps the pizza slide off the peel into the oven)
• Top pizza, slide into oven, and bake for 12-15 minutes, until crust is golden brown

Now for the toppings!  I haven't yet tried to make my own pizza sauce - Whole Foods' sauce is yummy and I haven't had the chance to replicate it. So on this, the second weekly Winter Pizza Night (two days later than planned), I made three pizzas:

1.  Just sauce and "cheese" (for Samantha)

2. Sauce, fresh minced garlic, cooked diced pancetta, cremini mushrooms, shallots, and "cheese" (mainly for John)

3. Olive oil, fresh minced garlic, chopped spinach (thawed and all water squeezed out), cremini mushrooms, shallots, and "cheese" (mainly for me)

Yum!  Look for more combinations in the coming weeks!

Coconut Brownies

We're big on coconut here.  Really big (seriously, you should see our refrigerator, freezer, and pantry.  It's like a So Delicious factory exploded).  Recently I've been reading about the benefits of coconut oil and have decided to start using it more often in my baked goods.  So far, I've used it in granola bars, blueberry muffins, and these brownies.  The other recipes will be coming soon but need tweaking.  The brownies are perfect as is, no tweaking needed (though that likely won't stop me from tinkering with it later - caramel swirl anyone?).

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/3 c. cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. flaked or shredded unsweetened coconut

To make:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Melt coconut oil (I put it in the microwave for less than 30 seconds)
• Whisk oil, sugar, and vanilla
• Whisk in eggs
• Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl
• Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture
• Pour into greased 9x9 baking dish
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until edges start to come away from the dish (the center may look a bit underdone)
• Cut into squares when cool (or mostly cool - we couldn't wait any longer)

These brownies are amazing.  They are rich, moist, slightly gooey, and very coconut-y.  I barely got my pictures taken before John was trying to swipe one.

Pasta with Langostinos

This week has been a rather uninspired week, food-wise.  It happens to the best of us.  But I wanted to make something a little nicer for Valentine's Day and I had a bag of frozen cooked langostinos from TJ's that I've wanted to make for a couple of weeks.  Perfect!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. soy-free Earth Balance (or real butter)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6-8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 12 oz frozen langostinos, thawed
• Salt & pepper
• Any long pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti), prepared according to package directions

To make:

• Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet
• Saute onion until soft
• Add minced garlic and saute until fragrant
• Add mushrooms and saute
• Add langostinos - since they're pre-cooked, take care not to do any more than simply heat them through, otherwise they'll end up rubbery
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Serve over pasta

I'm sure it would be fabulous with a bit of freshly shaved parmesan cheese on top.  You could also replace the langostinos with shrimp.

Too bad for me the baby wanted to nurse as I finished making dinner and John had a rough time getting Samantha to sleep (falling asleep himself in the process), so I didn't get to eat this right away.  I ended up heating up the leftovers for lunch on Wednesday and I have to say, it was still pretty good.  John will have to weigh in on the fresh dish.

Loaded Potato Soup

When I came across this recipe for loaded potato soup last week, I couldn't resist adapting it to our dairy/soy free diet.  I decided to go ahead and make it tonight and I was not disappointed.

Ingredients:

• 12oz bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 3 tbsp. Earth Balance dairy/soy free butter
• 3 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 c. So Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk Beverage
• 6 green onions, sliced
• 3/4 c. steamed broccoli, chopped (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper

To make:

• Fry bacon in dutch oven or other large pot (but really, everyone needs a cast iron dutch oven - mine is awesome!)
• When crisp, remove from pot and drain, leaving bacon grease in the pot
• Saute diced onion in bacon grease until translucent
• Add potatoes and chicken stock; simmer until potatoes are tender (about 10-12 minutes for the medium size pieces I cut)
• Remove about 1 c. of potatoes from pot and mash, set aside
• While the potatoes are simmering, melt butter in a small sauce pan
• Whisk flour into melted butter and cook for two minutes
• Whisk in milk, bring to a boil, then simmer until thickened
• Slowly stir milk mixture into the pot, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer
• Add mashed potatoes, broccoli, most of the bacon, and most of the green onions to the pot, reserving some bacon and green onions for garnish
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Let simmer for about five minutes

Serve garnished with bacon and green onions.  Add some nice, freshly baked crusty bread for a hearty meal.

Being unable to eat dairy is difficult, because I love cheese (as if you couldn't tell from my previous post).  But honestly, I didn't miss the cheese in this at all.  And there was no coconut flavor from the coconut milk.  It was just a delicious, creamy potato soup.

Easy (and versatile) Balsamic Vinaigrette

In the past few years (pretty much ever since munchkin #1 was born), we've really tried hard to eat healthier.  We didn't eat terribly before, but there's always room for improvement.  And we want to set a good example for the kiddos. 

One of the things we've done is start frequenting farmers' markets, which is fun.  Last summer, we went to one organized by someone at John's company and I bought some arugula.  If you've never had it, it is a nutty and slightly spicy green.  Very yummy.  I needed a dressing to go along with it ~ something that would complement, and not overpower, the delicate arugula.  A balsamic vinaigrette!  But I have had a hard time finding one I love ~ most are just ok and don't do a tomato/basil salad justice (oh, how I miss the mozzarella part of that salad).  So I knew I had to make it myself.

Balsamic Vinaigrette (adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

• 1/4 c. good balsamic vinegar (I'm partial to TJ's Balsamic Vinegar Modesto)
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2-3 tsp. spicy brown or dijon mustard (I like 3)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 c. olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Whisk the first four ingredients together.  Slowly whisk in olive oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  That's it!

I used this on a salad of arugula, mixed greens, tomatoes, and goat cheese (oh, how I miss goat cheese).  I also used it on tomato/basil salad ~ perfect (well, except for the lack of mozzarella)!  And a little goes a long way because of its big flavor.

I made this dressing again the other day, since we lacked a dressing in the fridge that was dairy/soy free.  The next day at lunch, I was looking for a way to jazz up my rice pilaf with grilled chicken.  That balsamic vinaigrette called to me.  I poured a bit on and it was delicious!  See, easy and versatile!

Fried Zucchini

I thought I'd start out with something easy . . .

I made fried zucchini for the first time last night.  I bought a pound of zucchini at Trader Joe's (I'll just call it TJ"s from now on - we're close like that) and just didn't want to make my usual sauteed or grilled zucchini.  And I'm always looking for excuses to use my new cast iron skillet.

Ingredients:

• 1lb zucchini, sliced into thick rounds
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. bread crumbs (I used panko)
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil (for frying)

To make:

• Mix dry ingredients
• Dip zucchini in egg wash
• Coat zucchini in dry mix
• Fry until golden brown on both sides

• Drain on paper towels
• Season with salt while still hot

 

Are they pretty?  No.

 Were they delicious?  Yes!  I definitely OD'd on them, but they were salty, garlicky goodness.

Introduction

I love to cook and just a few days ago had the brilliant idea to start a cooking blog.  So here I am. 

First, a bit about me.  I'm married to an amazing guy and we have two adorable kiddos, one of whom just entered the world in December 2010.  I'm also an attorney.  But not one of those attorneys everyone hates.  Really.  Well, some people probably hate me, but they don't even know I exist (lucky for me).

I've been cooking since I was a kid, maybe 10 or so, and did the majority of the cooking for my mom and I until I left for college.  It's actually kind of amazing that I like to cook, considering my parents, who are . . . uh . . . slightly cooking challenged (example - my dad thinks tuna pizza is a good idea).  I have recently gotten into baking, as well. 

At the moment, we are a dairy, soy, and beef-free family (thanks, family history of allergies manifesting in my children), so I'm learning how to make lots of things from scratch to avoid dairy and soy ingredients.  While it's more work, it has steered us away from most processed foods and is helping us be healthier.

So enough about me . . . on to the food!