This is how I procrastinate. Finals? What finals? Ok, to be more accurate, this is one of many, many ways I procrastinate.
My daughters made this bread last weekend. I did some minimal supervisory actions. This is a fantastic activity for the 2-and-older set, and the bread actually tastes great. The recipe comes from this month's RealSimple Magazine.
Easy Cinnamon Bread
2 1-pound packages refrigerated pizza dough
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus more for the pan
Heat oven to 375.
Tear off small bits of the dough and roll them into 1- to 1.5-inch balls. Place balls on a plate.
Combine cinnamon and sugar in a bowl. Dip each ball in the butter, then in the cinnamon sugar. Drop the balls into a buttered Bundt pan.
Drizzle remaining butter over the top and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.
Bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool 5 minutes.
Place a plate on top of the pan and carefully flip it over. Tap the bottom to release the bread. (I let the pan rest on top of the plate for a while so the bread would disengage by itself.)
Let people pull the bread apart with their fingers.
Showing posts with label Food Friday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food Friday. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Food Friday: pumpkin soup
Here's a seasonal recipe I love that can take a lot of variations. The theory is that you can get your kids to eat vegetables this way, but my kids won't eat it. That's ok -- more for me. This with a roll and an apple makes a great law school lunch.
Pumpkin Velvet Soup
1 pumpkin or other winter squash weighing about 4 lbs
(note! Must be a sugar pie pumpkin, not a decorative pumpkin!)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (or broth, or water and boullion cubes)
1/4 cup orange juice
salt
pepper
nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Put pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for at least an hour, until soft. Let cool.
Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out strings and seeds and throw away, and scoop flesh into a bowl.
In a large soup pot, saute onion in butter until soft. Add stock, bring to a boil, add pumpkin and simmer until pumpkin is completely soft and heated through.
If you have a hand blender, blend soup until smooth. If you don't have a hand blender, let soup cool, then puree in batches in a blender and return to pot.
Stir in orange juice, cream if desired, and dashes of salt, pepper and nutmeg.
That's the basic recipe. I made it last week with butternut squash and added 1/2 cup sour cream, cayenne pepper and garlic salt. I think you could add a potato to thicken it up, or an apple to give a sweet flavor, or even do a variation with maple syrup. Let me know if you try it out.
Here's how I accomplish soup during the week: Shop one day. Next day, turn on oven at dinner time, throw in pumpkin, take out an hour or two later and let cool, throw in fridge. Next night (or the night after) actually make the soup.
Pumpkin Velvet Soup
1 pumpkin or other winter squash weighing about 4 lbs
(note! Must be a sugar pie pumpkin, not a decorative pumpkin!)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (or broth, or water and boullion cubes)
1/4 cup orange juice
salt
pepper
nutmeg
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
Put pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for at least an hour, until soft. Let cool.
Cut pumpkin in half, scoop out strings and seeds and throw away, and scoop flesh into a bowl.
In a large soup pot, saute onion in butter until soft. Add stock, bring to a boil, add pumpkin and simmer until pumpkin is completely soft and heated through.
If you have a hand blender, blend soup until smooth. If you don't have a hand blender, let soup cool, then puree in batches in a blender and return to pot.
Stir in orange juice, cream if desired, and dashes of salt, pepper and nutmeg.
That's the basic recipe. I made it last week with butternut squash and added 1/2 cup sour cream, cayenne pepper and garlic salt. I think you could add a potato to thicken it up, or an apple to give a sweet flavor, or even do a variation with maple syrup. Let me know if you try it out.
Here's how I accomplish soup during the week: Shop one day. Next day, turn on oven at dinner time, throw in pumpkin, take out an hour or two later and let cool, throw in fridge. Next night (or the night after) actually make the soup.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Food Friday: fried rice
I don't like fried rice. Unless I make it. Using this recipe, or some variation thereof. This stuff is not only great -- and a family favorite -- but it heats up well as leftovers and it freezes well too. And it only uses one pan! But don't make it if you don't have Chinese pork, that's the magic ingredient. And the oyster sauce. Let me know if you have other variations I should try.
Fried Rice
1/2 c. oyster sauce
1 Tblsp. soy sauce (plus extra)
1 c. frozen peas
vegetable oil or peanut oil
mushrooms (shitake are best, but button or canned oyster work too)
two chicken breasts
flour
salt
two eggs
hunk of Chinese pork (try the deli section or the bacon section)
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. uncooked rice
Start cooking the rice. (If you cook the rice the night before, put in a plastic bag and hit with a wooden spoon to break up the chunks.)
Dump peas in a colander in the sink and spray with water for a minute or two to thaw.
In a small bowl, mix oyster sauce and one tablespoon of soy sauce; set aside.
Heat oil in large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add mushrooms. If you weren't able to get shitakes, add a few splashes of soy sauce to give your shrooms some flavor. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are limp. Pour mushrooms out of pan onto a plate.
While the mushrooms are cooking, chop raw chicken into bite sized pieces. Put a handful of flour into a plastic bag, add some salt, and dump in the chicken and shake until coated. Add more oil to the frying pan, let heat, and add chicken. Cook until lighly browned on all sides. Dump onto the plate.
Add a bit more oil and let heat. Lightly stir eggs and pour into frying pan. Let set for 1 minute, then stir and break up until just barely done. Dump onto the plate.
Add a bit more oil and let heat. Chop up Chinese pork into small pieces. Add garlic to frying pan; let cook 30 seconds. Add Chinese pork and peas. Cook 2-3 minutes until heated. Turn off heat.
Add cooked rice to pan.* Pour oyster sauce mixture over rice and stir. Add all other ingredients from the plate and stir.
Notes:
I haven't been able to find fresh shitakes for more than a year! It's driving me nuts. Dried shitakes creep me out for some reason. I've found that adding soy sauce to the mushrooms helps. The original recipe here called for Chinese sausage, which I haven't found, and I think chicken is a healthier alternative anyway.
You can cook the chicken however you want. This is how I've been doing it lately, and it's pretty good, though it takes a bit more time than just plain stir-frying. Easiest is poaching chicken the night before, throwing it in the fridge, and cutting it up cold and adding it with the pork. But that's no fun.
* If you are an overly accommodating, horribly indulgent parent like me, scoop out some of the rice and pork at this point to serve to your children. You're so nice, they don't deserve you.
Fried Rice
1/2 c. oyster sauce
1 Tblsp. soy sauce (plus extra)
1 c. frozen peas
vegetable oil or peanut oil
mushrooms (shitake are best, but button or canned oyster work too)
two chicken breasts
flour
salt
two eggs
hunk of Chinese pork (try the deli section or the bacon section)
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 c. uncooked rice
Start cooking the rice. (If you cook the rice the night before, put in a plastic bag and hit with a wooden spoon to break up the chunks.)
Dump peas in a colander in the sink and spray with water for a minute or two to thaw.
In a small bowl, mix oyster sauce and one tablespoon of soy sauce; set aside.
Heat oil in large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add mushrooms. If you weren't able to get shitakes, add a few splashes of soy sauce to give your shrooms some flavor. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are limp. Pour mushrooms out of pan onto a plate.
While the mushrooms are cooking, chop raw chicken into bite sized pieces. Put a handful of flour into a plastic bag, add some salt, and dump in the chicken and shake until coated. Add more oil to the frying pan, let heat, and add chicken. Cook until lighly browned on all sides. Dump onto the plate.
Add a bit more oil and let heat. Lightly stir eggs and pour into frying pan. Let set for 1 minute, then stir and break up until just barely done. Dump onto the plate.
Add a bit more oil and let heat. Chop up Chinese pork into small pieces. Add garlic to frying pan; let cook 30 seconds. Add Chinese pork and peas. Cook 2-3 minutes until heated. Turn off heat.
Add cooked rice to pan.* Pour oyster sauce mixture over rice and stir. Add all other ingredients from the plate and stir.
Notes:
I haven't been able to find fresh shitakes for more than a year! It's driving me nuts. Dried shitakes creep me out for some reason. I've found that adding soy sauce to the mushrooms helps. The original recipe here called for Chinese sausage, which I haven't found, and I think chicken is a healthier alternative anyway.
You can cook the chicken however you want. This is how I've been doing it lately, and it's pretty good, though it takes a bit more time than just plain stir-frying. Easiest is poaching chicken the night before, throwing it in the fridge, and cutting it up cold and adding it with the pork. But that's no fun.
* If you are an overly accommodating, horribly indulgent parent like me, scoop out some of the rice and pork at this point to serve to your children. You're so nice, they don't deserve you.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Food Friday: enchiladas
So I've been working on finding efficient recipes that don't take a lot of time or use up a lot of pots and pans (I hate washing pots and pans), and that both the kids and the grownups like. I make a lot of casseroles that I can have for lunch the next day too. Each morning before school I pack four lunches, so I'm always looking for shortcuts.
This is a quick recipe that won't win any prizes but it's fast, has few ingredients, and doesn't get too many dishes dirty in the preparation. If you try it out, let me know how it goes. And tell me what you'd serve as a side -- my biggest challenge is finding ways to get kids to eat veggies. We'd probably serve this with pineapple and broccoli.
Super-easy enchiladas
4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts*
1 c. light sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese**
1 Tablespoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package flour or corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Shred or chop the chicken. Mix with sour cream, cheese, cumin, salt and pepper. Add other ingredients as desired (green peppers, cilantro, green onions, etc). Put two big spoonfuls of chicken mixture on a tortilla, roll up and put seam-side-down in a 9x13 pan. Repeat until you get through all the filling. Pour sauce over top. Bake 20 minutes, until heated through.
* For the chicken, you can use breasts, thighs, whatever, and cook by poaching, baking, whatever. Or you could shred a rotisserie chicken. Last time I made this I cut up raw chicken and cooked it on the stovetop, stir-fry style.
** I hate shredding cheese. If it's on sale I buy it shredded. Otherwise I buy the bulk sliced cheese at Costco and cut it into tiny little pieces, which is good enough for me. And a knife is easier to clean than a grater.
Got a recipe to share? Email me! I need stuff for future Food Fridays.
p.s. Yeah I know it's not Friday. I'm a day late. I had a meeting, I got distracted, yada yada.
This is a quick recipe that won't win any prizes but it's fast, has few ingredients, and doesn't get too many dishes dirty in the preparation. If you try it out, let me know how it goes. And tell me what you'd serve as a side -- my biggest challenge is finding ways to get kids to eat veggies. We'd probably serve this with pineapple and broccoli.
Super-easy enchiladas
4 cooked skinless, boneless chicken breasts*
1 c. light sour cream
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese**
1 Tablespoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 package flour or corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Shred or chop the chicken. Mix with sour cream, cheese, cumin, salt and pepper. Add other ingredients as desired (green peppers, cilantro, green onions, etc). Put two big spoonfuls of chicken mixture on a tortilla, roll up and put seam-side-down in a 9x13 pan. Repeat until you get through all the filling. Pour sauce over top. Bake 20 minutes, until heated through.
* For the chicken, you can use breasts, thighs, whatever, and cook by poaching, baking, whatever. Or you could shred a rotisserie chicken. Last time I made this I cut up raw chicken and cooked it on the stovetop, stir-fry style.
** I hate shredding cheese. If it's on sale I buy it shredded. Otherwise I buy the bulk sliced cheese at Costco and cut it into tiny little pieces, which is good enough for me. And a knife is easier to clean than a grater.
Got a recipe to share? Email me! I need stuff for future Food Fridays.
p.s. Yeah I know it's not Friday. I'm a day late. I had a meeting, I got distracted, yada yada.
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