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Brain.
I pulled this dinner out of my brain.
I completely made it up on the fly, and pretended to know what I was doing.
I’ve heard of people making roux, and figured I could pretend to know how to do it too.
This is flour and beef broth. Not a roux. Close enough?
This is onion and some unidentified orange thing that could possibly be bell pepper. I told you this was done on the fly.
Beef sounded like a good idea, so I threw some in.
And I didn’t want to over cook the beef just yet*, so I pulled it out of the pan to rest.
*I frequently-accidentally overcook beef, so now I kinda plan for it.
And what goes better with beef than potatoes? Carrots? Both.
At least the mysterious orange thing is explained.
And then I thought, “Shoot! I should have added herbs and spices!” I proceeded to madly throw around spice bottles until finding this one. Then I thought, “Oh sweet, savory.”
What exactly is “Savory” made from? I didn’t have time to care. Stuff was cooking. I threw it on the meat and stirred it around.
And then I added more beef broth, because it seemed like a good idea at the time.
And it was.
All together, resting comfortably.
So, naturally, I tucked everything in.
I happened to have an extra pie crust, because earlier in the day I figured that if you’re making one pie crust, you might as well make two.
It’s solid logic.
And then I had some time on my hands, and decided that I should at least attempt to give this dinner the appearance of forethought. So I made it look pretty.
And there you have dinner!
Surprisingly, this was excellent. It got approval from all the men in the house. I was told that I could make it again. Should make it again, even!
Crap.
At least I have pictures to guide me?
Recipes are for chumps!
I guess it’s back to the kitchen for me.
Darn 
If I can figure out how I made this, I’ll post a recipe that includes actual quantities of ingredients.
I like healthy food. A lot.
Actually, I like food a lot. So it’s important that the food I make is healthy.
I make exceptions, of course, but I try to make sure that 90% of what I consume is made from whole foods, healthy fats, and quality ingredients.
I want my food to taste good and be good. So I modify recipes.
Some of them need a lot of modification, others just a little.
But it makes me feel good to know that what I’m eating, what my family is eating, is wholesome.
And then sometimes I take that recipe I’ve modified to be more whole-foods based, less calorically dense, and I add peanut butter chips.
I told you I made exceptions.
So even though this banana bread isn’t necessarily without guilt,
it’s a far cry from the standard.
Life’s all about balance, after all.
What exceptions do you make in your life?
Healthier Banana Bread
Makes one loaf (about 10 slices)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter chips (this part is totally optional!)
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
3 large very ripe bananas
4 tsp applesauce (no sugar added or homemade is best, but use what you have)
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan, and use either flour or cinnamon sugar to dust the inside.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Use a fork to make sure everything gets mixed well.
In another bowl, beat the egg and egg whites together. Add the banana and mash with a fork or a potato masher until it reaches a chunky consistency. Add the apple sauce and continue to mash the bananas until it looks like a thick, runny paste. A few chunks of banana are ok!
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes (until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean). Allow the bread to cool for a few minutes, and then remove it from the loaf pan.
Descriptive, right?
You may not know this about me and my family, but we often use terms that are as vague as possible. It’s kind of like a game.
“Can you make me that thing with the stuff?” is way more fun than saying “Can we have stir fry tonight?”
And “Bacon Things” is way easier to say than “Crescent rolls stuffed with bacon, cream cheese, and green onions.”
This is another one of those recipes that isn’t so much a recipe, but it’s definitely worth making if you like bacon.
Bacon Things
Inspired from Pinterest
One can of crescent rolls
8 strips of bacon, cooked to desired crispness–use a paper towel to soak up as much grease as possible
8 dollops of whipped cream cheese
1 green onion, sliced
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Unroll the crescent rolls and place them on a baking sheet or stone. Scoop a dollop of the whipped cream cheese onto each roll, and top it with a few slices of green onion. Cut a strip of bacon in half, and then lay it across the cream cheese. Roll up each crescent roll, and then bake for 15 minutes.
Just in time for the Super Bowl!
More specifically, how about some pie?
Apple? With caramel sauce and ice cream?
Yeah, let’s do it!
I used local Fuji apples, and they were so juicy and delicious! I’m going to do this again, because this was seriously the best apple pie, but I’m going to use Granny Smith, cause that’s what I’ve got. It’s gonna work, don’t worry.
I also didn’t follow a recipe. It was probably the wildest thing I’ve ever done.
Don’t make fun of me. There’s no feeling like the pounding in your heart when you have no guarantee that the pie you’re making could be epic or awful.
I also used cinnamon chips, and I think I need to have them permanently stocked in my pantry. You should too. What can’t you use them for?
I ALSO LEARNED THE COOLEST TRICK!!
Sorry for yelling, but this tip changed my life. For real.
Instead of crying over flour and mangled pie crust, roll it between two sheets of plastic wrap.
Then all you have to do is gently peel off the top layer,
flip it over onto a pie plate, and peel off the other layer!
I know!! Amazing!
I took the decadence an extra step this time and brushed the top crust with butter, and then sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar.
Clearly I’ve made no New Year’s Resolutions.
No big deal.
Cinnamon Sugar Pie Crust
Makes two crusts
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
4 tbsp ice water, plus more if needed
Cut butter into small cubes and freeze for 15 minutes. Combine flour, salt, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl, then add the very cold butter and combine with a pastry cutter until it looks like coarse sand. Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and press the dough together with a rubber spatula. Eventually you will be able to pinch the dough together and have it stick to itself.
Divide the dough in half, press into round disks and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, and up to a day.
Cinnamon Apple Pie
3-4 medium apples
Juice from half of a lemon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup cinnamon chips
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Slice the apples very thinly, and then add the apple slices and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Make sure all the apple slices get covered in the lemon juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar, brown sugar, nutmeg and cornstarch together. Add the cinnamon chips and stir them in.
Add the sugar mixture to the apple slices, and make sure the apples get coated in the sugar mixture.
Roll out the first pie crust (see above for rolling instructions, or use a well floured surface), and gently put it in a pie pan. Pour the apple filling into it, and then roll out the next crust. Lay the second crust over the apple mixture, and pinch together and trim the edges. Cut vents in the top of the pie, and brush with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, if desired.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. If the edges look like they’re starting to burn, wrap them with foil. Allow the pie to cool for 1-2 hours before serving. If you’re very very hungry for pie, you can put it in the refrigerator for half an hour before serving. Just don’t melt your refrigerator shelf.
And the winner is…
Susan Scalise!! Her favorite kind of cookie is homemade peanut butter cookies.
Congratulations Susan! Please email me your address at mommajo28 {at} gmail {dot} com
Thank you to everyone who entered, and Happy New Year everyone!
I’m so excited to announce that for my very first giveaway, someone is going to get this fabulous OXO “Be A Good Cookie” spatula!
Look at how adorable this is:
After using it I can legitimately say that this is my new favorite spatula. Because the silicone edges are flexible, I can use it to scrape down the sides of mixing bowls,
but it’s sturdy enough to handle even the thickest of cookies.
More importantly, though, this spatula is on a mission. OXO is helping two of their very own raise awareness and funds for kids’ cancer research. In their own words:
Cookies for Kids’ Cancer was founded by two OXOnians (OXO employees), Gretchen and Larry Witt who were inspired by their son Liam’s battle with pediatric cancer. All forms of pediatric cancer combined claim the lives of more children in the United States than any other disease – more than asthma, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and AIDS combined.
They were shocked to learn that the main reason over 25% of kids diagnosed with cancer do not survive is because of a lack of effective therapies. And the reason for the lack of effective therapies was simple: lack of funding.
This year, we are thrilled to announce a formal partnership with this organization so close to our hearts, one that will enable us to play an even larger role in the movement to find a cure for pediatric cancer. In 2011, on top of our personal efforts to support this worthy cause, OXO will donate up to $100,000 to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer.
Please visit the Good Cookies site for more information and ways to help. It can be as easy as buying a spatula for your own kitchen, or as involved as hosting a bake sale. Your involvement is up to you, and you can make a difference!
Entering the giveaway is simple.
- Leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of cookie
- Tweet or post this giveaway to Facebook, and then tell me about it in the comments for an extra entry
- The deadline to enter is Friday, December 30th
The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Saturday, December 31st. United States entrants only, and unfortunately no PO Boxes.
**Disclosure: I was given two Good Cookie spatulas by OXO–one to keep and one to give away. They also provided postage to mail the prize to the winner of the giveaway. What I decided to say about their product was completely up to me and unprompted by OXO. I am not getting paid to use or endorse any products.
Ok, so I kinda stole that title…from myself. I think I’ve got a good thing going on, so why stop now?
I roasted a butternut squash the same way I roasted the pumpkin. I also pureed it, exactly the same way as the pumpkin.
But instead of making pie, I made muffins!
Muffins that were spiced almost the same as the pie.
But these muffins were a bit easier than pie.
And they are incredibly moist because they’re made with yogurt.
They’re also a bit lighter because they’re sweetened with honey.
Ok, I can tell by now that you’re sold on the muffins. Want to know how to make them?
Roasted Butternut Squash Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
I got this recipe from a lovely friend of mine. Not sure where she got it, but I’m so glad she shared!
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom and salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup pureed roasted butternut squash (follow this method)
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup plain yogurt (my friend used Greek yogurt, I used regular, both turned out wonderfully)
3 tbsp honey
1 egg
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cardamom, salt and baking soda. Mix well.
Combine the remaining ingredients and mix until the brown sugar is completely incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full of the mixture, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar, and bake for 15-20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
Holy perfect muffins…
With butter,
or without.
P.S. I also made these muffins with pumpkin, and they were equally drool worthy and comforting.
Happy baking!
How do you know when something’s deliciously awesome?
When there are no leftovers.
Remember the homemade pumpkin puree?
I mixed it with this stuff
Then added more stuff
And then poured it into a pie crust.
.
It became something serious.
Something warm and seasonal.
Just in time for Thanksgiving!
Pumpkin Pie
Adapted from Eating Well
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp salt
14 oz can low fat sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1 unbaked pie crust
First prepare your pie crust. Did you know: If you roll out your pie crust between two sheets of plastic wrap, you don’t have to flour your rolling surface and rolling pin? It also sticks together and won’t crack!! Why didn’t I know this?!
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Mix the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and salt together in a bowl. Add the sweetened condensed milk and eggs, mix until smooth. It will be pretty runny, but that’s perfect. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake for 15 minutes.
After the 15 minutes, lower the temperature of your oven to to 350F and bake until set, 35-45 more minutes (my oven gets tired partway through and stops baking. It might only take your pie another 30 minutes to set, so just keep an eye on it).
I had to cover the crust with foil pretty early on to keep it from burning, but after that it was just a matter of letting the center bake completely. You’ll know it’s done when the entire top of the pie has darkened and the center isn’t very jiggly. You can also do the knife/skewer test, but I didn’t want to put a hole in the top of my pie.
Serve this still slightly warm, or chilled if you’re baking this ahead of time. Make sure to whip some cream to go along with your pie!
P.S. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Do you go totally classical have turkey, mashed potatoes, etc? Or are you a rebel and do something like lamb-stuffed squash? How about the vegetarians–any mint quinoa or paella? Help me plan my Thanksgiving!
A cute one, much like this 6ish pound sugar pumpkin.
What would you do with it?
Carve it?
Roast the seeds?
You could do that, but here’s something else you could do…
Cut off the top
Cut it in half
Scoop out the seeds and the stringy bits
Place the pumpkin cut-side down on a greased baking sheet
Roast it for about an hour and twenty minutes (less, for a smaller pumpkin) at 350F
Make sure it’s incredibly tender
Scrape out the mushy flesh
Maniacally play with the roasted skin
Ok, that was just me
And, ewww.
Transfer the pumpkin to a food processor
And create homemade, fresh pumpkin puree.
Hmmmm, now what do you think I can do with this?
This is probably the last rhubarb of the season.
But this is the first time I’ve ever made pie.
I’ve made pie crust before, though not exactly successfully.
I Googled for about a week, trying to learn all the secrets of pie crusts. How does one make them flakey? What about perfectly golden brown? How does one get the crust in the pie plate without ending up in a ball of tears under the kitchen table?
You know, standard Google questions.
The consensus was that Martha’s got it goin’ on. For real.
I have to say, it was pretty scary making the pie crust, but it worked! And if I can do it, you can too.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Pie crust from Martha Stewart and a hundred other food blogs–thanks everyone!!
Makes 2 crusts (one for the bottom, one for the top)
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting a rolling surface
1 tsp salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut in cubes
4 tbsp ice water, plus more if needed
Cut butter into small cubes and freeze for 15 minutes. Combine flour and salt in a bowl, then add the very cold butter and combine with a pastry cutter until it looks like coarse sand. Sprinkle ice water over the mixture and press the dough together with a rubber spatula. Eventually you will be able to pinch the dough together and have it stick to itself.
Divide the dough in half, press into round disks and cover in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour, and up to a day.
This was made flatter and wider before going into the fridge
Strawberry Rhubarb filling
2 cups chopped rhubarb
2 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced into quarters
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 375F. Whisk the sugar and flour together in a bowl, then toss the rhubarb and strawberries into the mixture until everything’s coated. Generously flour a surface and rolling pin. Roll one pie crust out to about 1/4 inch thickness (not too thick, not too thin). Here’s the hardest part: if the dough splits or cracks, don’t panic! Just wet your fingers with ice water and pinch the cracks together. If it seriously gets too frustrating, scrap it and refrigerate it covered in plastic wrap again for about 20 minutes.
Carefully transfer the rolled out dough to a pie plate. Pour the strawberry rhubarb mixture into the crust (you don’t have to pour the excess sugar/flour into the pie. I didn’t and it was perfectly sweet). Cut the remaining tbsp of butter into small cubes and dot the pie filling with it. Roll out the remaining pie crust, and transfer it onto the pie. Slit the top crust to vent, and pinch the edges together. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, watching so that the edges don’t burn. If the edges start getting too brown, just loosely cover them with aluminum foil.
These are probably the last strawberries of the season.
I can’t think of a better use for them.
I also sprinkled sugar over the top crust right before it went into the oven.
Holy yum! Homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream isn’t necessary, but why wouldn’t you?
