tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79231624570049378202024-03-20T06:30:55.065-07:00cindy cookscindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-46598435164180572122017-06-21T19:20:00.001-07:002017-06-21T19:26:03.391-07:00Summer Wild Rice Salad With Corn {Vegan Optional}<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<b>Yield:</b> 4 main dish or 6 side dish servings</div>
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1 cup wild rice</div>
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2-3 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water</div>
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1 cup frozen or canned corn</div>
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1-2 scallions, chopped</div>
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3 Tbsp EVOO</div>
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3 Tbsp lime juice</div>
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One bunch fresh parsley, chopped (about 1/4 cup, probably)</div>
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Cook wild rice & corn together in broth. (I used my Instant pot and did 3 cups liquid, 25 minutes, with a 10 minute pressure release; when I released it there was still a lot of liquid and the rice was a little overcooked, so I'm going to try decreasing both the liquid and cooking time very slightly next time.) If there's liquid remaining after rice is tender and fluffy—which isn't uncommon with wild rice in my experience—strain it off with a fine mesh sieve. Return to pot with the heat off; add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Can be served warm or (theoretically) cold.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-19527788806666844142017-02-25T17:12:00.003-08:002017-02-25T17:13:51.120-08:00Pressure Cooker Corn Chowder {Vegan-optional}<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Source: </b>Adapted from <a href="https://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-vegetarian-corn-chowder/">here</a></div>
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<b>Prep time</b>: Very easy</div>
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Coconut or olive oil for sauteeing</div>
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1 diced medium onion</div>
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3 cloves minced garlic</div>
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1/4 tsp hot sauce</div>
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1/2 tsp cumin</div>
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4 cups frozen corn (or 5 ears of corn, kernels removed)</div>
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3 large carrots, cut into chunks</div>
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3 potatoes, cut into chunks</div>
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4 cups broth</div>
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1 Tbsp masa or corn starch</div>
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1 cup coconut milk</div>
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Juice of 1 lime</div>
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1 tsp paprika</div>
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1 tsp salt</div>
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Black pepper, to taste</div>
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Set electric pressure cooker to sautee, and cook the onion in oil until it begins to be translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add everything else except coconut milk and masa/corn starch, then cook at pressure for 6 minutes with a 15 minute natural pressure release afterward. While soup is cooking, whisk together masa, coconut milk, and lime; after releasing pressure from the cooker, add this mixture to the cooking pot. Put the pressure cooker back on sautee and use an immersion blender to puree the soup (or process in batches through a regular blender, just make sure not to let the lid seal), and let the soup boil until it's heated through. Serve.</div>
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If not using a pressure cooker, cook for about half an hour on a stovetop until vegetables begin to break down; then add milk mixture, puree, and boil til heated through.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-75014337224367053252016-12-08T17:06:00.003-08:002016-12-08T17:06:48.551-08:00Pressure Cooker Teriyaki Chicken and Brown Rice<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAkYYYcU0qZYeoBzU1cqW8ZS8NCt4rbTYnQtrUJ8bfPBHk5VaIx_1FZPibsIZ-2DtXyyjEExIRBPvZuZGxQQ7v5m1zvgaDqHy4rAZm0cXO0fAUqPAfYWFfZ7BtVB__Nbr92r55rcAES7N/s1600/IMG_20161207_170428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiAkYYYcU0qZYeoBzU1cqW8ZS8NCt4rbTYnQtrUJ8bfPBHk5VaIx_1FZPibsIZ-2DtXyyjEExIRBPvZuZGxQQ7v5m1zvgaDqHy4rAZm0cXO0fAUqPAfYWFfZ7BtVB__Nbr92r55rcAES7N/s400/IMG_20161207_170428.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<i>I got an Instant Pot on sale on Black Friday, and after a few easy things over the weekend I was ready to try a more ambitious meal. I was pretty nervous because I couldn't find a recipe for exactly what I wanted to do, so I had to combine different things, but it turned out <b>perfectly</b>. We'll definitely be making it again! I used the pot-in-pot method to cook the rice separately from my chicken. After playing around with different stuff I had on hand, I ended up using the liner from my old rice cooker to be the rice pot, but any oven-safe container will do; I also had a Pyrex bowl that was pretty close to the right size.</i></div>
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<i>The instructions I use here are specifically for brown rice and frozen chicken breasts. If you're using thawed chicken and white rice, your rice will need less water (most ratios I've read suggest 1:1 for pot-in-pot white rice) and a shorter cook time (probably more like 12-15 minutes).</i></div>
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3 large frozen chicken breasts (or 4-6 small ones), <b>not</b> thawed</div>
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4 tablespoons soy sauce</div>
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4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar</div>
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4 tablespoons water + 1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate OR 4 tablespoons apple juice</div>
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3 tablespoons honey</div>
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A dash of pepper</div>
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1/4 teaspoon sesame oil</div>
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4 cloves garlic, minced</div>
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2 cups brown rice</div>
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2 1/2 cups water</div>
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Mix together soy sauce, vinegar, apple juice/water, honey, pepper, sesame oil, and garlic. Place sauce and frozen chicken breasts in bottom of pressure cooker. Rinse rice and place in smaller oven-safe bowl or pot (test to make sure that your inner pot will fit inside your pressure cooker, on top of the chicken, without overfilling the cooker), with the water. Cover with foil and if your inner pot doesn't have a handle, use tin foil to make a "sling" to go under the pot for easy removal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6BfUwDB2YYwtECzyl8u4m2aImWwAqoPIwTNM8Y4TMTDPOfzBjtzDq3vToZvt2AfaZFCVRufeKvVYDd_vqzSG85cTqXl-XaX3xyksLQa1B0fEoN6GYzpCDuQTZqbrdRucdRuqME1dZi8s/s1600/IMG_20161208_165746.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu6BfUwDB2YYwtECzyl8u4m2aImWwAqoPIwTNM8Y4TMTDPOfzBjtzDq3vToZvt2AfaZFCVRufeKvVYDd_vqzSG85cTqXl-XaX3xyksLQa1B0fEoN6GYzpCDuQTZqbrdRucdRuqME1dZi8s/s320/IMG_20161208_165746.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I used the liner from my 6 cup rice cooker for my inner pot.<br />Here it is covered in foil with a folded-tinfoil sling.</td></tr>
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Place your rice pot on top of the chicken—either directly on top, or using the Instant Pot trivet upside-down like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8Ugf5ff5uRuvzoYZajiJVzVxxiXfcU_hQQdXjn7MDnzC9a029rybgEh9xqmFZKoZEinq5NK4TtX_9MWkVLU3wGK98oB2CjAnSm2wfw3NwYl7Zxe2yzUxO1j1oAMxNFL3ut7h3Eia945J/s1600/IMG_20161208_165711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc8Ugf5ff5uRuvzoYZajiJVzVxxiXfcU_hQQdXjn7MDnzC9a029rybgEh9xqmFZKoZEinq5NK4TtX_9MWkVLU3wGK98oB2CjAnSm2wfw3NwYl7Zxe2yzUxO1j1oAMxNFL3ut7h3Eia945J/s320/IMG_20161208_165711.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQGF8qqcIEZqshBWzKVUxKvpmfP5PDed53S3Ful8ssoLGKUIDOO4Xb9SWKu4U39KoVeBiLXdfO4hNT_kLCNHRbipfSRt5lMmZHpDPB3Z_222CNf3tjuRUSetsnTQbwBs1LrkbQ80DPDZP/s1600/IMG_20161208_165800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmQGF8qqcIEZqshBWzKVUxKvpmfP5PDed53S3Ful8ssoLGKUIDOO4Xb9SWKu4U39KoVeBiLXdfO4hNT_kLCNHRbipfSRt5lMmZHpDPB3Z_222CNf3tjuRUSetsnTQbwBs1LrkbQ80DPDZP/s320/IMG_20161208_165800.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My rice cooker pot inside the Instant Pot—<br />it hits right at the Max Fill line.</td></tr>
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Put on pressure cooker lid and cook for 23 minutes. (It took mine about 10-15 minutes to come up to pressure at the beginning.) I am not familiar enough yet with my Instant Pot to know the ins and outs of pressure releases, so I'm not sure if there's a specific method that works best with this recipe, but I ended up letting my pressure cooker sit for between 5 and 10 minutes and then letting the rest of the pressure off with the quick release valve because we needed to eat right then. ;) It worked great and I did NOT make the pot explode! It was cooked enough that I suspect it would be fine to do quick release from the start, but also fine to leave it on warm and let the pressure release naturally if you want to keep it warm for awhile.</div>
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Everything about this meal was perfect—the chicken was cooked perfectly, the rice was excellent, and the teriyaki sauce is the best I've ever made and one of the best I've ever tasted. I've been trying all year to imitate the sauce from my favorite teriyaki joint, and while this wasn't <i>quite</i> to that level, it was pretty darn close!</div>
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<b>Serves 4-6.</b></div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-8409533350524052002016-08-14T13:36:00.003-07:002017-01-24T18:03:30.070-08:00Flaky Layered Biscuits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg7oUlGc4O9cce5u1HHco0eF_0-KbHyA0DhGs0pqZ1GurRnAUUfIuFryeNoRtOBxP-kaDY8ZSCvkNJRfOio10BiehoIwdrQtTE9AE8cXadM_qF3RppzWzwDAPZncYKqzJJYRcuqDdbdWp/s1600/IMG_20160616_093337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg7oUlGc4O9cce5u1HHco0eF_0-KbHyA0DhGs0pqZ1GurRnAUUfIuFryeNoRtOBxP-kaDY8ZSCvkNJRfOio10BiehoIwdrQtTE9AE8cXadM_qF3RppzWzwDAPZncYKqzJJYRcuqDdbdWp/s640/IMG_20160616_093337.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<i>I love biscuits. Isn't that a requirement of being truly Southern? While I've never met a homemade biscuit I didn't want to devour, I've been working for years to perfect my biscuits and come up with THE best biscuit recipe I'd ever tasted. For a long time, our favorites were these <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2014/07/cindy-master-biscuit-or-scone-recipe.html">Buttermilk Drop Biscuits</a>—and while I totally love those, my one frustration was that they weren't very good for those days when I really wanted to cut a biscuit apart and slather it with strawberry jam. </i></div>
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<i>Enter these beauties. They are tall, tender, flaky, and layered, like biscuits from a fancy restaurant. And they are good. SO good. So good that the first time I made them I ate enough to give me a stomach ache. (I don't recommend that.) I suspect these biscuits will be the ones I'm making most often from now on! I did some experimenting in making these and threw the conventional biscuit wisdom (don't over-work the dough, etc.) out the window. I was nervous, but the picture speaks for itself! </i></div>
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3 cups flour (I use half wheat, half white)</div>
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1 Tbsp baking powder</div>
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1 1/4 t salt</div>
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1 stick butter, grated</div>
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1 - 1 1/2 cups whipping cream (regular, not heavy)</div>
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Preheat oven to 450. Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder. Grate in butter and mix with fork. Add one cup of cream and then continue adding until dough is moistened enough to hold together, but not wet. Turn onto floured countertop and knead once or twice to help dough hold together. Roll out with floured rolling pin, then fold into quarters and roll again. Repeat folding and rolling five or six times, until the dough is elastic and smooth, then roll to 1/2 inch thickness (yep, it's thicker than you usually would roll a biscuit—it's part of what makes these extra-good!). Cut biscuit rounds from dough and place onto a pan <b>very</b> close together, so that their edges touch (this makes them rise higher). Really cram them as closely together as you can! Bake 14-15 minutes or until golden-brown on top.</div>
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Yields about 1 dozen.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-36241834200917450422016-01-23T10:53:00.002-08:002016-01-23T10:53:31.438-08:00Oat & Wheat Sandwich Bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSsFWWBfDD2CokEI_DXL4bMo1ei_xQLQHKAzNxOHxOvAKSK9_J7dnM6ztqdKYKLTAmmYbD1EfOOYQNVDqKj60vFaQWms4Hw9YOT0UwXkvzTKMgJtEIDmkVoH4l3U6wkv7klao4DbHEvUo/s1600/IMG_20160121_175050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYSsFWWBfDD2CokEI_DXL4bMo1ei_xQLQHKAzNxOHxOvAKSK9_J7dnM6ztqdKYKLTAmmYbD1EfOOYQNVDqKj60vFaQWms4Hw9YOT0UwXkvzTKMgJtEIDmkVoH4l3U6wkv7klao4DbHEvUo/s640/IMG_20160121_175050.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep Time:</b> Easy to medium (easier than most bread recipes, a little more involved than many I've shared on this blog)</div>
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<b>Source:</b> <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2015/09/oat-and-wheat-sandwich-bread/">Smitten Kitchen</a> (slightly adapted)</div>
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<i>There are few things I love more than a loaf of fresh bread, especially smothered in butter and homemade jam. While I have a few trusty recipes I use as my go-to—namely <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2010/09/i-made-bread-recipe-jam-tips.html">this</a> one and <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2010/07/5-minute-bread-two-ways.html"><span id="goog_703674791"></span>this<span id="goog_703674792"></span></a> one—I also love to experiment with new ones. Lately I've been making a new soft-crusted sandwich bread that I absolutely love—it's tender but still hearty, and I also think much more filling because the dough is enriched with milk and eggs. (Those are totally optional, but the texture is definitely different without them.) According to the Smitten Kitchen recipe this can also be a refrigerated dough, but I've not had success with that as the dough itself isn't moist enough and develops a spongy texture when I try to refrigerate it. If you left out some of the flour and allowed it to be a stickier dough that didn't hold its shape at all, then it would be great in the fridge. So far, I've just been making batches of this and then freezing extra loaves for super low-maintenance bread for days at a time.</i></div>
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<i>This recipe yields two loaves, but I've also doubled it for four or 1 1/2'd it for three. When I did 1 1/2, I still just included two eggs.</i></div>
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1 1/4 cups lukewarm water</div>
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1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk</div>
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(My trick: mixing hot water and cold milk, then I don't have to warm the milk)</div>
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1 T instant yeast</div>
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1 egg</div>
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1/4 cup oil</div>
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3 T molasses or honey (I measure it after the oil in the same cup, and then it doesn't stick!)</div>
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1 T coarse salt (if using fine salt use a bit less)</div>
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2 cups rolled oats</div>
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5ish cups whole wheat flour</div>
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Combine all ingredients except oats and flour, and mix together with a spoon or stand mixer (using the dough hook attachment). Add oats and then flour and mix for a minute or two. The dough will be fairly sticky and wet and probably won't pull away from the bowl much. Let rest for five minutes and then mix for another two minutes, adding more flour if needed; I like to get mine to the point where it's just beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl but not forming a firm dough ball. Turn dough onto a floured counter, spray or rub your bowl with oil, and knead the dough a few times, then form into a ball and put back into the greased bowl. (I usually lightly grease the top of the dough as well.) Let rise for at least an hour, longer if you like (it's hard to over-raise a relatively high-moisture dough like this—it's very, very flexible). Preheat oven to 350 and shape loaves (you can do this either by forming them into cylinders or by rolling them out on the counter and then folding them over until they're roughly the size of your bread pan) and put into greased bread pans. Bake 8- or 9-inch loaves (normal sized loaves) for 40-50 minutes and small loaves for 25-30 minutes. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on cooling racks. Or slice up and eat with butter, warm and delicious. I won't tell. ;)</div>
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Protip: Don't let your toddler spit in the bread dough. I'll let you guess whether or not that happened here!</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-56823308498724506602015-06-26T10:23:00.002-07:002015-06-26T10:23:33.706-07:00Healthy PB Chocolate Muffins<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Lately these have been my go-to breakfast: I bake a bunch at once, freeze most of them, and every morning I pull out two and microwave them for thirty seconds. That, plus whatever fruit I have in the house, makes a really satisfying and filling breakfast that keeps me full until lunchtime - which is saying something where my metabolism is concerned! I actually put this recipe through a nutrition calculator and was excited to see that each muffin has 8 grams of protein. (That's more than an egg!) I'll include the full nutrition info at the bottom.</i></div>
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<br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">2 eggs</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1/4 c canola oil</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1/2 c honey</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1/2 c kefir (or buttermilk, 1/2 milk and 1/2 yogurt, or milk soured with a little lemon juice)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1/2 c PB</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1.5 c whole wheat flour</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">3/4 c oats</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1 T baking powder</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">3/4 t salt</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 19.7999992370605px; text-align: start;">1/3 c cocoa</span></div>
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Preheat oven to 350 and grease a full-sized muffin tin. Add eggs, oil, honey, kefir, and peanut butter to a medium-sized bowl and mix thoroughly. Carefully scoop flour and oats onto the top of the wet ingredients without stirring them in. Add baking powder, salt, and cocoa, and use a fork or a whisk to sift them into the flour mixture before stirring the dry ingredients through the wet. Fill muffin cups and bake for 18 minutes. </div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-89724077141579162002015-03-05T20:11:00.000-08:002015-03-05T20:11:03.343-08:00Protein Snack Cookies (Gluten-free, Sugar-free)<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<i>I'm off sugar again, which of course means I'm looking for a few more healthy-but-sweet snacks to help me get by. I've made these protein cookies from <a href="http://kulamama.com/protein-cookies-gluten-free-dairy-free-2/">Kula Mama</a> twice now and really enjoyed them both times. They're not overly sweet—definitely more of a snack than a dessert in most cases—but that's the way I prefer them, anyway! The recipe is very flexible and easy to adapt. I also think it would be delicious with some cocoa powder, but I'm currently out so can't test out that theory!</i></div>
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1/4 cup coconut oil or butter (both are good and give it totally different flavors)</div>
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1/2 cup maple syrup or honey</div>
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2 eggs</div>
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1 t vanilla</div>
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1 cup nut butter (I use PB)</div>
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1 t baking soda</div>
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3 cups oats (for gluten-free cookies use GF oats)</div>
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<i>If desired, you can swap out some of the oats for seeds or nuts</i></div>
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1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional—obviously with chocolate chips they're no longer refined sugar-free)</div>
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Preheat oven to 350. Melt oil or butter and peanut butter together just until they're softened. Add sweetener, vanilla, and eggs, and mix together. Stir in baking soda. Stir in oats and any additions. Spoon onto sprayed cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. I've been freezing most of mine—they're good right out of the freezer or after thawing for about half an hour. (I'm sure they'd be good microwaved, too.)</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-65001596900137496842014-10-30T15:48:00.002-07:002014-10-30T15:48:39.991-07:00Giada's Alfredo Sauce<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Source:</b> <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/fettuccine-alfredo-recipe.html">Food Network</a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Very easy</div>
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<i>I've never been a huge red-sauce-on-pasta fan, and so it's not really a surprise that when I discovered as a child that people actually ate pasta with something other than spaghetti sauce, it was love at first taste. Alfredo sauces in particular have always been a favorite of mine, and they're on of the few things that I'll occasionally indulge in these days, even when it means a stomach ache later for my dairy-sensitive self. I've shared several cream sauce recipes here in the past, including my previous favorite <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2010/03/rating-5-stars-prep-time-easy-8-oz.html">alfredo sauce</a>. A year or two ago, however, I discovered this unusual-but-totally-amazing alfredo sauce from Giada de Laurentiis, and there is been NO going back for the Baldwin family. If we have alfredo these days it's always this recipe, and it never disappoints. As if that's not recommendation enough in itself, it's very fast and easy to prepare and usually cooks up in much less time than it takes your pasta to boil.</i></div>
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<i>Because the original recipe called for a rather odd amount of pasta, I have adjusted the proportions a little to suit a regular 1lb box of pasta instead. I often halve it for the two of us, depending on how hungry we are; it makes at least 4 generous main-dish servings. It isn't nearly so good the next day, which always breaks my heart, but a tiny drizzle of fresh cream on the reheated noodles goes a long way.</i></div>
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1 one-pound box of your choice of pasta</div>
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2 cups heavy cream</div>
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1/3 cup lemon juice</div>
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1 stick butter</div>
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1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan</div>
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The zest of your lemons, if you used fresh</div>
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Salt and pepper (the original recipe called for freshly-ground white pepper; I usually use freshly-ground whatever-I-have-on-hand)</div>
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A sprinkle of nutmeg (optional)</div>
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Cook the pasta in salted water until it's done according to your taste; drain and set aside. In a large skillet or in the empty pasta pot, stir all but 1/4 cup of the cream with the lemon juice to combine, then add butter and heat over medium heat just until the butter has melted. Turn heat to low, add the pasta, and toss until it's coated. Add the remaining ingredients (including reserved cream) and stir everything together over low heat until the sauce thickens a little, about one minute. Served immediately, garnished with a little more parmesan if desired. To revitalize leftovers, drizzle just a little bit of fresh cream on noodles after reheating and toss.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-73231763292518817712014-07-25T19:52:00.000-07:002014-07-25T19:52:16.212-07:00Banana Zucchini Bread {Refined Sugar Free}<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>I've gone off refined sugar this summer, but was dying to do something with the abundance of summer squashes that have appeared in my garden this week. A little tinkering in the kitchen with a nice ripe banana and some natural sweeteners produced a batch of muffins that knocked my socks WAY off—it's light, moist, sweet, and utterly delicious. And guess what? It's healthy, too! It's tweaked from my favorite-ever zucchini bread recipe that I got from my Aunt Jeannie several years ago. It's also fairly flexible depending on what you have on hand, although Mahon and I both agreed that the (real) maple syrup in it is the true secret ingredient that makes it lick-the-plate good. In the future, I'd like to try subbing some applesauce for some of the sweetener or oil, but I didn't have any today.</i></div>
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3 eggs</div>
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1 cup oil</div>
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1 T vanilla</div>
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1/3 cup honey</div>
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1/3 cup real maple syrup (it doesn't have to be real, but if it's not, then it won't be free of white sugar...)</div>
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2 packed cups of zucchini</div>
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1 very ripe banana, thoroughly mashed</div>
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2 1/2 cups wheat flour</div>
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1 tablespoon cinnamon</div>
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1/4 t baking soda</div>
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2 t baking powder</div>
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1 t salt</div>
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Preheat oven to 350, and grease either two dozen muffin cups or 2 loaf pans (or one muffin pan and one loaf pan, or—you get it!). In a large bowl, stir eggs, oil, vanilla, honey, and syrup until well blended. Add zucchini and banana and combine. Gently add the flour so that it sits on top of the liquid ingredients and then sift cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the flour before incorporating the dry ingredients into the wet ones. (See what I did there? You managed the whole wet-and-dry-ingredients thing in ONE BOWL!) Fold into prepared pans and bake for 19 minutes (muffins) or 40 minutes (loaves). Enjoy!</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-52279040612745868492014-07-07T11:53:00.001-07:002016-06-25T07:48:42.070-07:00Buttermilk Drop Biscuits<div dir="ltr">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXa0YXXZkk_KaevsYoo9Fr6YRV0rwfxHuqTkcWwq-xX-xJGNmYnCz_VAuSQfrmKbDnn7tt86Z7cfGKR9CSiyL4pZMSW6W96acLg4ry1Jsg-UiCKjrDijSIN5mcsZhw90Dt9CzbLwtrsIeZ/s1600/IMG_20140707_122800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXa0YXXZkk_KaevsYoo9Fr6YRV0rwfxHuqTkcWwq-xX-xJGNmYnCz_VAuSQfrmKbDnn7tt86Z7cfGKR9CSiyL4pZMSW6W96acLg4ry1Jsg-UiCKjrDijSIN5mcsZhw90Dt9CzbLwtrsIeZ/s1600/IMG_20140707_122800.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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3 cups flour (wheat works great!)</div>
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3 T baking powder</div>
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3/4 t baking soda</div>
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1 1/2 t salt </div>
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8 T fat (butter, coconut oil, or a combination of the two)</div>
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1-1 1/2 cups plain kefir (my preference), buttermilk, soured milk, or 3/4 cup plain yogurt and 1/4-1/2 cup milk</div>
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Preheat oven to 450. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Cut in fat with pastry blender until dough is crumbly, with varying sizes of fat chunks (ie don't pulverize it - it only takes a little bit of cutting!). Add one cup of your liquid and use a fork to stir gently, just until liquid is incorporated and dough is moistened. If there's still a lot of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl, slowly add more liquid while stirring, until you have just enough to moisten it all. (It shouldn't be too sticky to touch.) How much liquid you use will depend on the weather, your altitude, whether there are fairies in your kitchen, the alignment of Jupiter, etc. </div>
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Take a spoon (or your hands) and drop rounded balls close together on your ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 14-15 minutes at 450.</div>
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cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-69912280000990943582014-03-31T09:15:00.001-07:002014-03-31T09:15:14.453-07:00Parmesan Drop Biscuits<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKXLDJEUTQq0gzq1c5Lq42hlxBaFsztKmCwvrjzMdqHLCboPdc_dA2oeTrZsV-_HvyFgWm97OziYgo8J8-gEceAIss5rohi3IMHVhC1WMeoc3rVzQjaWh3Zs66BXKO3Be3zS7Jvaxor3z/s3200/IMG_20140220_135910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKXLDJEUTQq0gzq1c5Lq42hlxBaFsztKmCwvrjzMdqHLCboPdc_dA2oeTrZsV-_HvyFgWm97OziYgo8J8-gEceAIss5rohi3IMHVhC1WMeoc3rVzQjaWh3Zs66BXKO3Be3zS7Jvaxor3z/s3200/IMG_20140220_135910.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<i>I've always really loved the crumble topping on this <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2012/03/chicken-pot-pie-crumble.html">Chicken Pot Pie Crumble </a>recipe, and recently I tweaked it just a little bit to make absolutely delicious savory drop biscuits. Now they're one of my favorite quick and easy snacks!</i></div>
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2 cups flour (I use, and highly recommend, whole wheat)</div>
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2 tsp baking powder</div>
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3/4 tsp salt</div>
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1/4 tsp pepper</div>
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6 tblsp chilled and sliced butter</div>
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3/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese</div>
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1 cup heavy cream OR 1/2-3/4 cup milk</div>
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Preheat oven to 400. Mix flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Stir in parmesan cheese. Add cream or milk slowly while stirring until dough just holds together (depending on the elements and cooking voodoo of my kitchen at any given moment, I have used more or less cream/milk). Gently shape dough into balls with your hands (mine are usually a little smaller than my palm, but I have small hands!) and drop onto an ungreased pan (I prefer a pan lined with parchment paper for these). Cook for 18-20 minutes. Depending on the size of your biscuit balls, you'll end up with 9-12 drop biscuits. They're delicious for a day or two after cooking, but my favorite way to eat them is right out of the oven!</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-63792025966487527072014-02-19T19:56:00.002-08:002014-02-19T19:56:52.119-08:00Lemon-Lime Risotto<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Source:</b> Adapted from the Southern Living cookbook (Lemon-Lime Risotto)</div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> About 45 minutes of fairly dedicated cooking (come on, it's risotto!)</div>
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<i>I've read so many accounts of people first trying risotto and having an essentially transcendent experience. It changes their lives, they remember that moment with perfect clarity, yaddah yaddah. I've made risotto a few times in the past, using different recipes, and honestly, every time Mahon and I were extremely underwhelmed. It wasn't <b>bad</b>, but it was kind of... blah. Bland. Far from transcendent.</i></div>
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<i>Most risotto recipes call for a cup of white wine early in the cooking process. Well, although cooking with alcohol is not usually regarded as being against the Mormon word of wisdom (health and living code), white wine is obviously not something we typically have on hand—and since I typically have a fairly strict policy of not buying ingredients that are only called for in one or two recipes, I've never bought any. (Plus, I'm pretty sure it would make my husband uncomfortable! ;) ) However, I long suspected that the lack of wine was what made my risotto so underwhelming. I'd tried substitutes, like apple juice and more chicken stock, but neither added the twist of flavor that I felt like risotto needed.</i></div>
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<i>Enter this Southern Living recipe, slightly adapted by me (it didn't call for garlic, which seemed sinful!). I've nicknamed it my "Mormon" risotto, because instead of white wine, it uses a dash of lemon juice and a dash of lime juice to add flavor. And guys? This was our transcendent risotto experience. It was even worth half an hour determinedly stirring at a hot stove while my 11-month-old whined at my feet.</i></div>
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6 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2014/02/an-updated-stock-recipe.html">stock</a>; I would definitely recommend using real stock or broth for this recipe since that's where most of the flavor and richness comes from)</div>
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The zest and juice of one lemon OR 1 1/2 T bottled lemon juice</div>
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The zest and juice of one lime OR 1 1/2 T bottled lime juice</div>
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1 large onion, chopped</div>
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3-4 cloves garlic, minced</div>
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1/2 t sea salt</div>
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2 T EVOO for sautéeing</div>
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2 cups uncooked Arborio rice</div>
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2 tablespoons butter</div>
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1/2 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese</div>
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Bring broth, zest, and lemon/lime juices to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a large saucepan or large skillet with tall sides, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and salt and sautée about five minutes, until onions are softening and beginning to be translucent and sweet-smelling. Add garlic and continue to sautée for another two or three minutes, until garlic is just barely beginning to brown and is very aromatic. Add Arborio rice and cook, stirring constantly, for about two minutes, until the rice is turning translucent and looking plumper. Add about 1/2 cup (I used a ladle and just did one ladleful at a time) of the hot stock/juice mixture and stir until all the liquid is absorbed. Continue to add liquid 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it's absorbed. The first two or three ladlefuls absorb/evaporate very quickly; as the cooking time goes on it will take longer and longer to absorb. I also found that after the first ten or so minutes of near-constant stirring, it was okay for me to leave the risotto without stirring for a minute or two while I did other things around the kitchen as long as I was still stirring very frequently. The frequent stirring is what releases the starches in the Arborio rice to create a delectably creamy sauce—you'll find it hard to believe that there's no milk or cream in it!</div>
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When all the liquid has been added and the rice is "al dente" and plump, remove from heat and stir in butter and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately, garnished with more Parmesan and veggies if desired. </div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-87150739327743698372014-02-19T19:43:00.000-08:002016-01-07T19:08:30.703-08:00An Updated Stock Recipe<div style="text-align: center;">
Several years ago, I started using store-bought rotisserie chickens to make a quick and easy chicken stock <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2011/05/making-chicken-stock-from-rotisserie.html">recipe</a>. We were so enamored of that stock (so much better than powdered bullion, people, even if my mom doesn't agree!) that I've kept making it at least once a month so that our freezer is always filled with ready-to-use, deliciously rich and nutritious chicken stock.</div>
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In the intervening years, though, my recipe has changed a bit to take full advantage of the health benefits of stock-making. In looking over the original post I realized that it's changed enough to consider it an essentially different recipe now, so rather than update that post, I thought I'd share my new method. The other one is still great if you want stock that's done in just a few hours!</div>
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To begin with, I don't buy the store rotisserie chickens anymore. I typically buy whole small chickens (depending on where I get them from, they're either the same price as the rotisserie ones or a dollar or two pricier, but <i>much</i> better-quality meat) and roast them (our favorite roast chicken recipe is <a href="http://kitchen.beingcindy.com/2013/01/rosemary-balsamic-roast-chicken.html">here</a>), or cook them "fauxtisserie style" (courtesy of Our Best Bites) by placing them on tinfoil balls in a large crockpot on low for 6-8 hours until done. We'll eat off that chicken for dinner the night I make it, and then after we're done I remove all the meat and put it in the fridge for meals later in the week. </div>
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That night, I put the chicken carcass in a large stock pot with either a few veggies (garlic cloves, onions, and celery greens are a must; sometimes I also add carrots and potatoes), or the vegetable mirepoix with which I originally stuffed the chicken (because I'm lazy like that). Sometimes I add herbs and sometimes I don't, depending on my mood. (If I do, my favorites are parsley, rosemary, thyme, and black pepper. Sometimes a bay leaf.)</div>
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Along with the chicken carcass I add a good amount of kosher salt and about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I then fill the stock pot with cold water, cover it, and let it sit for an hour. After the hour is up—usually when I'm heading up to bed—I'll turn the stove on, bring the stock to a quick boil, and then reduce all the way to low and let it simmer overnight. I keep it at a very low simmer the rest of the next day, adding more water if it's decreasing a lot, and then strain and package it that evening after dinner. The result is an incredibly rich and delicious stock that adds a fantastic flavor to all kinds of recipes <i>and</i> is jam-packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats. It's also rich enough to dilute with water for most recipes and still have a great-tasting soup or sauce.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-17958101943510403082013-10-29T16:21:00.000-07:002014-02-20T13:14:09.798-08:00Curried Cauliflower and Potato Soup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYkBC4iFEvCLJY9jskWF5PKvaplFQf114g2DjUBPKPyMnLiAM4i5V68DpUmL7cNS_DCidbibW5FUXnHI5GvwGZgvlJKrM7mzvrfaEsIHh2NcFJsCDS0SC29WIP0fakR2G3D7rD15vSk8E/s1600/IMG_1651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYkBC4iFEvCLJY9jskWF5PKvaplFQf114g2DjUBPKPyMnLiAM4i5V68DpUmL7cNS_DCidbibW5FUXnHI5GvwGZgvlJKrM7mzvrfaEsIHh2NcFJsCDS0SC29WIP0fakR2G3D7rD15vSk8E/s640/IMG_1651.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<b>Source:</b> My own brain!</div>
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<i>When we first got married, the list of vegetables Mahon really liked was pretty short. In the five years since then I've found ways to prepare a lot of veggies so that he shares my love for them, but broccoli and cauliflower are still—at best—tolerated. Several years ago when I mentioned that they were known as "cruciferous vegetables," he misheard me, and ever since then he refers to them as "Lucifer's vegetables"! Since cauliflower is one of my favorite veggies of all time, I decided that I was going to do my best to come up with a cauliflower soup recipe that he liked. I also wanted to make a creamy, comforting soup that was dairy-free, since I am dairy sensitive.</i></div>
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1 head cauliflower, chopped</div>
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4 russets, peeled & diced</div>
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1/2 medium onion, diced</div>
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4 cloves garlic, minced</div>
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1 t kosher salt</div>
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1/8 t chili powder (optional—my curry powder was VERY mild</div>
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1/8 t black pepper</div>
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1 t curry powder</div>
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EVOO for sauéeing</div>
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6 cups broth</div>
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Sautee all veggies together 5-10 minutes until starting to brown/tender. Add spices and broth and bring to boil. Simmer at least 30-40 minutes until potatoes and cauliflower are soft (you can leave simmering longer if desired). Puree with immersion blender (or puree in batches through a regular blender), reserving a few veggies for chunks if desired. Serve with crusty bread.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-48350733963537666732013-09-28T12:05:00.001-07:002013-09-28T13:06:52.383-07:00Honey-Peach Pie With Streusel Topping<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prep time:</b> Easy-medium (typical for a pie)</div>
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<b>Source: </b>My own brain, with crust inspiration from the Southern Living cookbook</div>
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<i>You guys, there is a reason that this post doesn't have a picture (yet). THIS PIE IS SO DELICIOUS that Mahon and I just single-handedly consumed it in about 28 hours. Not only that, but I'm seriously tempted to march out this afternoon and buy another bag of peaches so that we can make it again, stat. It's the perfect blend of flavors with just enough sweetness to make it killer good, but not so much sweetness that it makes you want to keel over—and because it only uses 1/4 cup sugar and a bit of honey to sweeten the whole pie, it's relatively "healthy" as far as pies go. It. Is. So. Good. Go take that bag of overripe peaches that is breeding fruit flies and make it now!</i></div>
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<b>For crust:</b><br />
<i>(A quick note on the crust—you CAN do a white-flour crust with shortening instead of butter for this recipe. You can. But using mostly whole-wheat flour and butter last night I seriously got one of the flakiest, crispiest, most deliciously flavorful pie crusts I have ever created. So really, I recommend doing it just as it's written.</i>)<br />
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1 1/2 cups flour (<i>I did 1 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup white</i>)</div>
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3/4 t salt</div>
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1/2 cup cold butter, sliced (unsalted if you have it)</div>
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4-5 T ice water<br />
(<i>If you really need an extra tablespoon or two of water, go ahead. I don't know if it's because I live in a desert or what, but I always seem to end up on the high end of pie crust water ratios, or exceed them a little.</i>)</div>
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Mix together flour and salt and cut in butter until the mixture is crumbly and the pieces of butter are small. Sprinkle water over mixture one teaspoon at a time, stirring gently with a fork in between, until dry ingredients are moistened and there is just enough moisture in the dough for it to loosely hold together. Shape into a ball (it won't hold together very well, and that's OK) and cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until ready to use, or for at least 20-30 minutes.<br />
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<b>For Filling:</b><br />
4-5 cups of fresh ripe (or overripe) peaches, peeled and sliced<br />
Honey (I didn't measure, but probably used about 1/8-1/4 cup)<br />
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<b>For Streusel Topping:</b><br />
3 T flour<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
1 T cinnamon<br />
1/4 cup oats<br />
1/8 t salt<br />
4 T cold or room-temperature butter<br />
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Slice peaches into a medium-sized bowl and drizzle with honey. Cover and refrigerate. Assemble streusel in a small bowl by mixing dry ingredients together and then cutting in butter until mixture is crumbly; set aside.<br />
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Preheat oven to 425. Lightly dust a countertop or table with flour and use a floured rolling pin to gently roll out the pie crust. When it's evenly thin and large enough to fit your pie plate, fold (gently) into quarters and place in your pie plate, then unfold. Trim excess pastry along edges and shape them as desired.<br />
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Pour or spoon peaches into pastry shell. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over top of filling. Bake pie at 425 for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 375; bake for 20-30 minutes, or until crust and streusel are browned, and pie is bubbling a bit around the edges. Allow pie to cool before serving.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-67031115163895726742013-04-21T18:46:00.002-07:002014-02-20T13:12:54.136-08:00Quinoa Patties<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppX9O_SukCb3wVwVqDsNrtt-WL2ShpZU4Ke-JXyyaWYH_mgIohxq6FS7fYrnkYshb8vd-pVE6k3ZDOBzfeukQRBTY8-Vym6rGh6UiFMNDjIGS0bjmeyJ5hCLK2XcP3EuFTYghxlyuv_SM/s1600/quinoa1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppX9O_SukCb3wVwVqDsNrtt-WL2ShpZU4Ke-JXyyaWYH_mgIohxq6FS7fYrnkYshb8vd-pVE6k3ZDOBzfeukQRBTY8-Vym6rGh6UiFMNDjIGS0bjmeyJ5hCLK2XcP3EuFTYghxlyuv_SM/s400/quinoa1.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Easy-medium</div>
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<b>Source:</b> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/So%20exciting!%20And%20I%20am%20so%20impressed%20by%20your%20weight%20gain.%20:)%20I'm%20so%20glad%20that%20you%20found%20a%20class!%20I%20was%20just%20telling%20Mahon%20that%20one%20of%20my%20favorite%20things%20about%20actually%20taking%20a%20class%20together%20(vs%20me%20just%20reading%20a%20bunch%20of%20stuff)%20is%20that%20it's%20not%20just%20me%20spouting%20off%20pregnancy%20info%20to%20him%20-%20he%20learned%20it%20too,%20and%20so%20he%20knows%20how%20to%20really%20support%20me.%20%20%20Oh,%20and%20about%20the%20sugars%20-%20my%20high%20risk%20OB%20actually%20just%20told%20me%20last%20week%20that%20even%20for%20diabetics%20blood%20sugar%20tends%20to%20stabilize%20a%20bit%20in%20the%203rd%20tri...%20so%20maybe%20it%20will%20get%20better%20soon!%20Good%20luck,%20and%20what%20an%20AMAZING%20a1c.">Mel's Kitchen Cafe</a></div>
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<i>I'm always on the lookout for interesting new recipes, but especially right now—the last trimester of pregnancy has brought with it some pretty severe food intolerances to meat and dairy, so we've had to get pretty creative in the kitchen! This is a recipe I pinned to try a few weeks ago. I was initially skeptical—I like quinoa, but would it really be able to hold its own in such an unadorned main dish? Mahon wasn't so sure how he was going to feel about this dinner, either, so both of us approached it with a little hesitation. However, it didn't disappoint! We both loved it and mutually decided it should join our rotation. Mahon tried various toppings on his patties (I think maybe his favorite was BBQ sauce?) but decided he might like them best with gravy, so that the flavor of the patties could shine through a little more. I guess we'll have to try that next time! I halved the original recipe for the two of us, but ended up wishing I hadn't, as it only yielded 1 serving of leftovers and not 2.</i></div>
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<i>In the future, I'd also like to play around with switching up the spices in these to create different flavors.</i></div>
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(Yield: About a dozen patties)</div>
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2 1/2 cups quinoa cooked in broth, cool enough to touch*</div>
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4 large eggs, lightly beaten</div>
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3/4 t salt</div>
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1/4 t black pepper</div>
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1/4 c chopped fresh parsley (or about 1 T dried)</div>
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1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese</div>
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2 cloves minced garlic</div>
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1 cup crushed crackers (Ritz or saltine), bread crumbs, or oatmeal</div>
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1 T extra-virgin olive oil</div>
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Combine eggs, salt, pepper, and quiona in a bowl. Stir in parsley, parmesan, garlic, and bread crumbs. (Go ahead and add a little more crumbs, or a teaspoon or two of water, if your mix seems too wet or dry.) Let stand five minutes. </div>
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Heat olive oil over medium heat in large skillet. Form mixture into patties with hands (about 1" thick) and cook until the bottoms are browned (between 5-10 minutes, depending on how hot your stove is). Flip and cook about 5 minutes on second side. Remove from pan and continue until all the mix is used up (you may need to add more EVOO to your pan in between batches—I did).<br />
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<b>Freezer instructions:</b> Flash freeze uncooked patties on cookie sheet; place in ziploc bag when frozen. Cook from frozen (will need to increase cooking time a few minutes).</div>
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*Everything I read online says that quinoa quadruples when cooking, but I think that's crazy... mine never expands to that degree. I would say it tends to triple. After experimenting with several different ratios, I typically cook my quinoa with one cup grain to 1 1/4-1 1/2 cups broth.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-7726710160089405822013-03-18T15:27:00.003-07:002013-03-18T15:27:31.839-07:00Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Rolls) (Gluten-Free)<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQo5dreqN6d60J2p-7KWcKEEdNHqKH3VtidvhxHpnGa-xFmFEH_dujCWlBR9SMgA8pNbAzLia_pvSfSbWpddOJPqr48412nZnnuZ6-NIe6PODjL-oWNReKWOUdWaYFqw14vyRxbqtIHyOW/s1600/cheesebread1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQo5dreqN6d60J2p-7KWcKEEdNHqKH3VtidvhxHpnGa-xFmFEH_dujCWlBR9SMgA8pNbAzLia_pvSfSbWpddOJPqr48412nZnnuZ6-NIe6PODjL-oWNReKWOUdWaYFqw14vyRxbqtIHyOW/s400/cheesebread1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Very easy</div>
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<b>Source:</b> Adapted from <a href="http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/02/quick-brazilian-cheese-rolls-pao-de-queijo-2/">Our Best Bites</a></div>
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<i>Two or three years ago, I made this recipe as the original instructions indicated—using cheddar and parmesan cheese. Neither Mahon nor I were especially blown away by them, and I never made it again. Last summer, we went for the first time to Tucano's, a local restaurant chain that serves Brazilian churrascuro (grilled meats & veggies) and fell in love with their pao de queijo. In trying to figure out why we'd loved the Tucano's rolls so much more than the ones I'd made a few years before, I did a bunch of research and found that most of the recipes online call for only parmesan, rather than parmesan and cheddar. Although I was skeptical that parmesan could be the cheese in the Tucano's rolls, which are very mild-tasting, we decided to give it a try and adapted the recipe from Our Best Bites to use only parmesan. To our surprise and TOTAL delight, we had hit on exactly the right cheese! Our rolls were even better than the ones at Tucano's, since we ate them straight out of the oven and they were incredibly fresh and light. I'm embarrassed to say that between the two of us, we downed the whole batch in one night!</i></div>
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1 large egg</div>
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1/2 c milk</div>
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1/4 c canola oil</div>
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1 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)—<b>don't</b> substitute this! Every recipe I read agreed that the tapioca flour is what makes these rolls unique and authentic.</div>
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1/2 t kosher salt</div>
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1/2 cup grated (fresh) parmesan cheese<br />
Any other desired spices for topping</div>
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Preheat oven to 400. Grease two mini muffin tins and set aside. In a blender, add all ingredients except cheese and blend until smooth. Add cheese and pulse 2-3 times. Immediately pour into your prepared muffin tins. (We found that filling them 1/2-2/3 of the way worked the best, though the batter is thin and tends to pour faster than you expect!) You can top with a sprinkle of extra cheese, a bit of kosher salt, or any other herb or spice you'd like! (Rosemary is also DELICIOUS.)</div>
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Bake 15-20 minutes or until the rolls have puffed up (they will puff quite a bit!) and are just barely golden on top. Ours took exactly 15 minutes. According to the original recipe, the yield varies depending on how full you fill your muffin cups; we ended up with about 20.</div>
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Serve immediately. These made a great companion to a meal of <a href="http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/2013/01/black-bean-soup.html">Black Bean Soup</a> (also a Brazilian recipe originally from OBB!).</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-38469059361003714932013-02-21T16:38:00.000-08:002013-02-22T13:55:38.596-08:00Healthy No-Bake Cookie Bites<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfzQBVO4U3hJ7XGXXe2DPmTGkps5JR0iVDm5HX6gqIyEW3hBrSuqnW3J-8Y0XBZ0X5jlHttOhtJsoXBpbXBoQXk5lii4kGkiqJSX5W_LZ5YRbE8sS7OdoqbBmL3TVf0cRfRB94ZDXYwrk/s1600/nobakecookies1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfzQBVO4U3hJ7XGXXe2DPmTGkps5JR0iVDm5HX6gqIyEW3hBrSuqnW3J-8Y0XBZ0X5jlHttOhtJsoXBpbXBoQXk5lii4kGkiqJSX5W_LZ5YRbE8sS7OdoqbBmL3TVf0cRfRB94ZDXYwrk/s400/nobakecookies1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okay, okay... these definitely won't win any awards for looks.<br />
But they are SO, SO YUMMY!</td></tr>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<b>Source: </b>Adapted from <a href="http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/no-bake-energy-bites/">GimmeSomeOven.com</a></div>
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<i>I pinned this recipe on Pinterest a long time ago and decided that it would be a perfect little post-baby snack to add to my freezer collection. I made some modifications based on what I had on hand, and what I thought would taste good. You might even call these my version of "lactation cookies," since oats, flax seed, and coconut oil are all supposed to help a new mom's milk come in... but in all honesty, I just think they taste good! ;) These work really well both as a snack (since they're a decent source of both protein and fiber) and a pretty guilt-free treat. They remind me a lot of no-bake cookies, although less gooey and with a more complex flavor. The variations on this recipe are endless, so don't hesitate to make substitutions of your own! If my baby ends up (HEAVEN FORBID) being sensitive to chocolate, I think I'll end up making these again and skipping the cocoa powder. As much as I adore them the way they are, I suspect they'd be pretty good as peanut-butter-bites too!</i></div>
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1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats</div>
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1/2 cup crisp rice cereal</div>
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1/2 cup ground flaxseed or whole-wheat flour (I used 1/4 cup each)</div>
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1 T cocoa powder</div>
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1/2 cup creamy peanut butter</div>
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2 T coconut oil</div>
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1/4 cup honey</div>
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Combine oats, cereal, flaxseed/flour, and cocoa in a medium mixing bowl. In a smaller bowl, melt coconut oil in the microwave and then stir in peanut butter and honey. Add this to the dry mixture and mix with a spoon until everything is integrated and just moist enough to hold together fairly well (this takes some patience). Refrigerate for about half an hour to firm up the mix, and then use your hands to press into small balls. Store, covered, in the fridge.<br />
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(To freeze mine, I laid all of my cookie bites out on a cookie sheet and flash-froze them, then transferred them to a plastic freezer bag. When I'm ready to eat them, I'll probably either pull a few at a time out and let them thaw for half an hour or an hour, or else I'll take the whole bag out and store them in the fridge instead.) <b style="color: red;">Post update: </b>Actually, it turns out these are fantastic straight out of the freezer. And, um, I'm just sayin'... they may not make it to be postpartum snacks, after all! Maybe we can consider this batch "end-of-pregnancy sanity savers"???</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-20096422133703303672013-02-15T12:22:00.000-08:002017-09-26T18:34:31.347-07:00Pupusas<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzZsWCOuIRywKxOlJXfrvQJvrUGj3fvgYh_m6cLctg9YgYAl92t6wY3WqTwOg9Nyg40eXuqLiPuFe-X3r4c45XvU0eHbHnHz-oibTF_fXNGVLKSmE0moy-PdoUJiIRw-qhHHQqVuZAVQ3/s1600/pupusas1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzZsWCOuIRywKxOlJXfrvQJvrUGj3fvgYh_m6cLctg9YgYAl92t6wY3WqTwOg9Nyg40eXuqLiPuFe-X3r4c45XvU0eHbHnHz-oibTF_fXNGVLKSmE0moy-PdoUJiIRw-qhHHQqVuZAVQ3/s640/pupusas1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Medium</div>
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<b>Source:</b> Inspired by my friend <a href="http://sachasrecipes.blogspot.com/2011/06/pupusas-con-repollo-lazy-way.html">Sacha</a>, who introduced me to them, but the recipe is really my own</div>
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<i>For as many recipes as I have on this blog, there is one whole category of meals which we make frequently that is conspicuously missing! My dad served his LDS mission in Mexico, and fell in love with authentic Mexican food while he was there. Because of that, I grew up with him frequently making dishes (like fresh tostados—still one of my absolute favorite meals!) from masa harina, or Mexican corn flour. When I got older, he taught me how to make a good masa dough to be used in recipes like corn tortillas, tostados, and gorditas. However, my dad's method—and now mine—of cooking with masa is very much "a little bit of this, then just enough of that to get the right consistency," so since none of my recipes use actual proportions, I've never typed them up! However, I'm determined to get my favorite masa recipes on this blog.</i></div>
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<i>Because pupusas are El Salvedorean and not Mexican, I'd never heard of them until my friend Sacha asked me to teach her how to work with masa so that she could make some pupusas for her husband. Soon after that, I started making them as well, and Mahon and I were hooked! We now make these frequently, and I've never met anyone who doesn't love them. Since they're an all-in-one kind of dish, they also make exceptionally good picnic or traveling food! In El Salvador, they're often topped with <a href="http://low-cholesterol.food.com/recipe/curtido-de-repollo-el-salvadorean-cabbage-salad-207798">curtido</a>, which is a type of fermented cabbage salad, but if we don't have that we just top them with sour cream.</i></div>
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<i>Like tamales, you can fill these pupusas with just about anything you like—meat, beans, cheese, or a combination of all three! I usually use whatever we happen to have on hand, and will often make them meatless. The recipe I'm including here is one of our favorites.</i><br />
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<i><b>A note on the yield with this recipe:</b> As I said above, I really don't usually measure any of this! These are all rough guesstimations, so feel free to play around with any of the proportions if they don't feel right to you. I am guessing this recipe, followed closely, would yield 12-16 pupusas, which is normally about how many I try to make (enough for the two of us to have for dinner and lunch the next day—so it essentially serves four).</i></div>
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4 cups masa (you can find this is the Latin aisle of any grocery store)</div>
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1/2 t salt (I like using kosher salt—it's a little more of a zing!)</div>
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2-3 cups warm water</div>
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1 chicken breast, boiled and shredded</div>
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1 cup pinto or black beans</div>
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1 cup grated mozzarella cheese</div>
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1 t salt</div>
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A dash of chili powder</div>
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1/4 t cumin</div>
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Preheat a griddle or ungreased skillet to about 375 degrees. In medium mixing bowl, combine masa and salt. Add warm water and mix with a wooden spoon or your finger (my preference) until the masa dough is roughly the consistency of wet sand. In separate bowl, mix together shredded chicken, beans, cheese, and spices.</div>
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There are a few different ways to assemble your pupusas. I actually made a video demonstrating these different ways a few months ago, but for some reason I can't get it to do anything, so I'll have to hope I can describe each method adequately!</div>
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<b>The first way</b> is to separate your masa into balls a little smaller than golf balls and roll them out (or smash them with a tortilla press) into small tortillas. Take two of your tortillas and layer them on top of each other, with a generous scoop of filling in between. Pinch the edges of the tortillas together to seal in the filling and cook for a few minutes on each side until done. </div>
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<b>The second way</b> is to take a ball of masa about half the size of your fist and gently flatten it out with your hand until it fills your palm. Cup your hand a little to create a little bowl shape, and then press a spoonful of filling into the crater and gently work the edges of the masa dough up around the filling until the edges meet and you end up with a ball of masa dough with filling encased inside. Gently roll this ball out or smash with a tortilla press (you <i>will</i> be able to see filling through the sides—that's just fine), and then cook on both sides til done.</div>
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<b>The third (and most authentic) way, </b>which is actually our favorite way of doing it because it produces by <i>far</i> the best texture (and is kind of fun, too!) is to follow the first few steps of method #2 until you have your ball of masa with filling encased inside. Then, instead of rolling it out like you would a tortilla, gently "slap" the ball back and forth between your palms, rotating it around as you go to keep it circular. This can take a little practice, but it's really pretty fun once you get the hang of it! (And don't worry—ugly pupusas still taste fantastic!) After a few slaps back and forth, your pupusa should be a disk about 1/4" thick. Press this gently onto your pan or griddle and cook on both sides til done. (This method will take a little longer to cook than others, since it produces thicker pupusas—I let it cook on the first side until the edges of the pupusa start to look dry, and then flip it and cook 3-5 minutes on the second side as well.)</div>
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Serve hot with sour cream and salsa or contido.<br />
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cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-28940313833617075102013-02-15T11:45:00.001-08:002013-02-15T12:27:27.170-08:00Berry Chocolate Coffee Cake<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPBNQCDJwJajyXtcy48RnK_dDwUXL7kWLimYiLxQwuMOI1NhYJt9S92h_tfQaHMxN86BeXv4WxfT1ZEZ65V4G-6k_wfJaYF86B2KTE7EnNszsIjx1Lfges0PFVfwUjSnKqkyKqgFlZGgC/s1600/coffeecake1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPBNQCDJwJajyXtcy48RnK_dDwUXL7kWLimYiLxQwuMOI1NhYJt9S92h_tfQaHMxN86BeXv4WxfT1ZEZ65V4G-6k_wfJaYF86B2KTE7EnNszsIjx1Lfges0PFVfwUjSnKqkyKqgFlZGgC/s640/coffeecake1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Medium</div>
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<b>Source:</b> Mostly from my own head; the cake base is adapted from a few other recipes</div>
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<i>Yesterday morning I decided that we needed a Valentine's-appropriate dessert to follow our dinner of heart-shaped <a href="http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/2012/05/pupusas.html">pupusas</a>. Because I've really been in the mood for a rich, delicious coffee cake this week, that's what came into my mind! What could be more perfect for Valentine's than a coffee cake laced with just-barely-sweetened berries and studded with dark chocolate? After tasting our creation last night, Mahon and I decided: Pretty much nothing! This is <b>definitely</b> a recipe we'll be keeping and making again.</i></div>
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<i>For Berry Ribbon:</i></div>
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1 cup frozen mixed berries</div>
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1/2 T honey</div>
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<i>For Cake:</i></div>
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1/2 cup butter, room temperature</div>
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3/4 cup sugar</div>
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2 large eggs</div>
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2 cups flour</div>
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1 t baking powder</div>
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1 t baking soda</div>
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3/4 t salt</div>
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1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream</div>
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1/2 cup dark chocolate chips</div>
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<i>For Streusel Topping:</i></div>
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1/4 cup butter (cold and sliced, or room temperature)</div>
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1/4 cup sugar</div>
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1/4 cup flour</div>
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2 t cinnamon</div>
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Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour an 8" or 9" pan (I used a round springform pan). In small saucepan on stove, heat berries and honey together and simmer for a few minutes, or until they have made a syrup. If desired, roughly blend berry syrup using an immersion blender or regular blender (our mix had large whole strawberries, so this kept the chunks to a manageable size!). Set syrup aside.</div>
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To prepare the streusel topping, combine all ingredients in small bowl and cut together with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Set aside.</div>
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In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with beater attachment, cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt/sour cream and blend batter until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.</div>
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Fold half of the cake batter into your prepared pan. Pour berry syrup evenly over batter. Add remaining batter on top of syrup; using a rubber spatula, swirl the batter and syrup together to create a berry ribbon. Top with streusel topping and bake 45-55 minutes, or until edges are beginning to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool at least a few minutes before eating—the cake is much easier to cut when it's completely cooled, but if you're like us, you won't be able to wait that long!</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-61358076311458896842013-02-14T18:04:00.000-08:002013-02-15T12:31:56.206-08:00Apple-Peanut Butter Snack/Breakfast Bars (Gluten- and Sugar-Free)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-EWZ0l-jZipNoBlxJL38aj2GvphO6UKW8ZepPsrGqRnWdB7WNl74V5D4RGuUqmPTtINssyIopp54kDxRp7sqomnruRZ50Zb1fpyPh02DvCMRUogqi0KJZxMgalgF-LSk9aZOwyrDZaG-V/s1600/PBapplebars1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-EWZ0l-jZipNoBlxJL38aj2GvphO6UKW8ZepPsrGqRnWdB7WNl74V5D4RGuUqmPTtINssyIopp54kDxRp7sqomnruRZ50Zb1fpyPh02DvCMRUogqi0KJZxMgalgF-LSk9aZOwyrDZaG-V/s640/PBapplebars1.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<b>Source:</b> <a href="http://happyhealthymama.com/2012/11/apple-peanut-butter-snack-bars.html">HappyHealthyMama.com</a>, via Pinterest</div>
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<i>After hearing lots of people talk about intense postpartum hunger, I'm trying to get some healthy, filling snacks in my freezer for after the baby comes, so that I have something quick and easy to grab when hunger strikes (especially in those early days of breastfeeding, when I imagine my hands will be pretty tied!). Yesterday I was scouring through old Pinterest pins looking for recipes that might work, and I hit on this one. I wasn't really sure how the apple, peanut butter, and honey would go together, since they're all strong flavors, but after making them this afternoon I couldn't stop myself from eating two straight out of the pan! I'll definitely be keeping this recipe around. Best of all, between the oats and the peanut butter, these little bars are very satisfying! (A note—although they look a little like granola bars in the pictures, don't be fooled; they're much more like a soft, moist breakfast bar.)</i></div>
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<i>I 1 1/2-sized the original recipe so that it would fit in a 9x13" pan.</i></div>
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3 cups rolled oats</div>
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1 1/2 cups grated apple (I used all of a medium-sized apple and it was perfect)</div>
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1/4 cup + 2 T peanut butter</div>
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3/4 cup honey</div>
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2 eggs</div>
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3/4 t cinnamon</div>
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3/4 t vanilla</div>
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish and set aside. In large bowl, mix together grated apple and oats until thoroughly blended (make sure that the apple isn't clinging together in clumps, which it likes to do!). Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly (mix will be very wet). Press into pan and use the back of your mixing spoon to smooth. Bake for 20 minutes (until the edges start to brown), and allow to cool thoroughly before cutting into bars.</div>
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To freeze these, I placed them on a plastic-lined cookie sheet after I'd cut them, put more plastic wrap on top, and flash-froze them for about 3-4 hours. Then I pulled them off and put them into a freezer ziploc bag. To eat them later, I plan to allow them to thaw at room temperature or pop them in the microwave for a minute to reheat.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-67132878237639020262013-02-07T14:25:00.004-08:002013-02-15T11:53:08.367-08:00Raw Peanut Butter Fudge (Gluten- and Sugar-Free!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4Aej350MJ_rJQCMtLHrJ7rjWhn0xe2KPxsGyFqDrsjozOlTygYU0xhkn0mCTgIbG_l_wwNzZc1OM-9vndM_eXDvQT3IQ9X2AsSayJdY3g-9elHLy_MYg19eHydHzcNikm6tUJ7jvUJoB/s1600/PBfudge1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4Aej350MJ_rJQCMtLHrJ7rjWhn0xe2KPxsGyFqDrsjozOlTygYU0xhkn0mCTgIbG_l_wwNzZc1OM-9vndM_eXDvQT3IQ9X2AsSayJdY3g-9elHLy_MYg19eHydHzcNikm6tUJ7jvUJoB/s400/PBfudge1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<b>Prep time:</b> Very easy</div>
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<b>Source:</b> From <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/61783826110149244/">this pin</a>, adapted from <a href="http://www.practicalpaleo.blogspot.com/2011/06/primal-fudge.html">this recipe</a></div>
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<i>A few years ago, I started wondering how one made chocolate. I figured that if I could figure out how to make my own chocolate without much sugar, I'd be saving money AND eating healthy, right? I read online that you can "make" chocolate by mixing cocoa powder with sweetener and an oil. (I put "make" in parantheses because really, making chocolate is an intense process that involves straight cocoa beans and all sorts of complicated steps like "conching.") I tried it and let's just say, it was a fairly nasty failure.</i></div>
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<i>This year, however, I've seen lots of recipes for raw fudge popping up around the internet. They are all pretty similar—cocoa powder, plus coconut oil, plus a sweetener, plus another ingredient to add flavor and richness. I tried one last summer with raspberries in it that was delicious, but the combination of cocoa powder and raspberries gave me some of the worst canker sores I've ever had! Since then, I hadn't attempted another raw fudge/"homemade chocolate" recipe. A few weeks ago, however, I pinned this "Primal Fudge" recipe that used peanut butter, and yesterday, while in the mood for a sweet-but-not-terribly-unhealthy treat, I made it. Let's just say... it's really, really hard to stop myself from eating the whole pan! The fudge is rich, creamy, and incredibly decadent. If you like your chocolate a little sweeter, consider increasing the honey and decreasing the cocoa a bit. And now that you know the basic recipe for raw fudge, the sky is the limit! Try swapping the peanut butter out for other things, like fruit.</i></div>
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1/2 cup peanut butter</div>
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1/2 cup coconut oil</div>
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1/2 cup cocoa powder</div>
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1/4 cup honey</div>
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1 tsp vanilla</div>
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In a medium-sized bowl (I used a large soup bowl), melt the coconut oil. Using a whisk for smoothness, mix in the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla until all the lumps are gone. Add cocoa powder and whisk thoroughly until mixture is thick and smooth. Pour the mixture either into muffin cups (as the original recipe suggests), or into a small lined pan (I used a large loaf pan lined with plastic wrap). Chill in fridge for about an hour before cutting. Store in fridge, as the fudge is very soft and will get pretty melty at room temperature. Enjoy—and try not to eat the whole pan!</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-41458120272571641512013-01-30T19:32:00.003-08:002013-02-01T17:12:19.437-08:00Whole Wheat Waffles<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prep Time:</b> Easy-medium (typical for waffles)</div>
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<b>Source:</b> Adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook</div>
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<i>This has been our go-to recipe for waffles ever since we got married. Made with white flour and sugar, as the original recipe calls for, it produces light, deliciously buttery waffles that crisp up just enough on the outside. After we got a wheat grinder this last Christmas, however, we used some of our freshly ground white wheat flour to make them, and <b>oh my goodness</b>, are they good! We made them probably 4 times in the days after Christmas, and have made them several times since. For classic white waffles, replace the wheat flour with white flour and the honey with white sugar.</i></div>
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1 3/4 cups white wheat flour</div>
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1 T baking powder</div>
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1/4 t salt</div>
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2 eggs</div>
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2 T honey</div>
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1 3/4 cups milk</div>
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1/2 cup canola oil or melted butter</div>
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1 t vanilla</div>
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Preheat waffle iron. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs, honey, milk, oil, and vanilla. Gently scoop flour into bowl so that it sort of sits on top of the wet ingredients, and then add baking powder and salt on top of flour. Use your whisk or fork to gently sift the baking powder and salt into the flour a little, and then combine all ingredients together and mix until smooth. </div>
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For our waffle iron, we've found that using about exactly 1/3 cup of this batter is absolutely perfect, but yours might be different! Cook according to the directions on your waffle iron. Serve hot with butter and syrup. Waffles typically come out of the iron a little soft and crisp up in the first minute or two on the plate.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-10643590023117852822013-01-30T10:21:00.002-08:002013-01-30T10:21:57.136-08:00Classic Pancakes<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prep time:</b> Easy-medium</div>
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<b>Source:</b> Ray family recipe (I believe it's originally from the Betty Crocker cookbook)</div>
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<i>This is another recipe I was shocked to <b>not</b> find on my blog! This is the classic pancake recipe I grew up loving, and it will always be one of my absolute favorites. The original recipe yield is only about 5-6 pancakes, so we typically will double it, depending on how many we're planning to feed.</i></div>
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1 egg</div>
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1 cup flour*</div>
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1 T baking powder</div>
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1 T sugar</div>
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1/2 t salt</div>
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1 cup milk</div>
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Preheat griddle or skillet to about 350. In medium-sized bowl, beat egg until fluffy. Gently scoop flour into the bowl and add all other dry ingredients on top of them. Use your whisk or fork to gently sift the dry ingredients together a little bit (so that the baking powder is integrated into the flour and isn't clumpy). Add milk and mix all ingredients together until just combined. Cook each pancake 2-3 minutes per side, depending on your preferred level of doneness. Serve with <a href="http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/2013/01/cindys-imitation-maple-syrup.html">maple syrup</a> or fruit and fresh whipped cream. (For a delicious variation on these pancakes we like to make in the fall, try <a href="http://beingcindykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/10/apple-pancakes.html">these</a>!)</div>
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*<i>Oddly enough, this is the <b>one</b> recipe in the world where I personally prefer white flour to wheat—it's something about the flavor and texture of the pancakes. However, they're also delicious with wheat flour.</i></div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7923162457004937820.post-2483013847972431702013-01-30T09:19:00.001-08:002013-01-30T09:19:24.028-08:00Grilled Lemon Chicken with Rosemary or Coriander<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Prep time:</b> Easy</div>
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<b>Source:</b> Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe (I think)</div>
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<i>Looking through my list of favorite recipes today, I couldn't believe that this one was somehow missing from my blog! This is one of our go-to methods for quick, easy grilled chicken, either to eat as an entrée with lots of yummy sides, or to use over pasta or in stir-fry. The original recipe used rosemary as the seasoning, but last year I also found a nearly identical recipe that used coriander. Both are delicious, and I alternate between the two depending on which sounds best!</i></div>
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Chicken breasts, thawed</div>
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Olive oil</div>
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Kosher or sea salt</div>
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Black pepper</div>
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Rosemary or ground coriander</div>
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Preheat a skillet or grilling pan on your stove over medium heat (if your stove tends to cook low, try medium-high), for 5-10 minutes or until it's quite hot. (To test it, put your hand over the pan—if there's enough heat rising from the pan that it's uncomfortable to keep your hand two or three inches above it, then it's ready.) </div>
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Pat chicken dry with paper towels. If desired, you can butterfly the breasts to make them thinner (I do this sometimes when I end up with fairly thick ones). Brush both sides of breasts with olive oil. Sprinkle tops of breasts with salt, pepper, and rosemary or coriander; place the unseasoned side down on the preheated pan (it will sizzle and smoke a bit). Cook 5-10 minutes on first side, depending on the thickness of your chicken and how thoroughly it was thawed. You'll know it's done when the edges have turned white and only a little bit of pink is left in the middle of the top. Using kitchen tongs, flip chicken so that the seasoned side is down and cook for 4-5 minutes on second side.</div>
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Remove chicken from pan and place on a clean plate. Drizzle with lemon juice and tent with foil (this helps keep the chicken deliciously moist and tender, and finishes up the last few minutes of the cooking process). Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.</div>
cindy baldwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01173344689280406987noreply@blogger.com0