Easy Tater Tot Casserole

My cousin, Erica, and her family passed through Southern California this summer and left us with some food items that they had used in their hotel kitchenette, including 1/2 bag of tater tots and 1/2 bag of mixed frozen veggies. I thought I would clear out some space in my freezer, so I searched for ideas on tater tot casseroles and I found a YouTube how-to video from allrecipes.com that was perfect for what I had on hand!

It called for:
1.5 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced onions
4 cups of frozen veggies
2 cans (19oz) of cream of chicken condensed soup
1 bag (32oz) of frozen tater tots

I had everything for about half of this recipe but the ground beef. But, I had just purchased a rotisserie chicken, so I diced up one cooked chicken breast, and baked it at 375F for 40 minutes instead of a whole hour. I also added in some frozen celery and leeks that I had from my CSA box in the spring. You can also use cream of mushroom soup in place of the cream of chicken.

I realized, after we had eaten it, that it was essentially what we like to bring on camping trips to cook over the campfire - ever heard of hobo packets? You can put all these ingredients in a foil pocket, throw it on a campfire for 20-30 minutes, and dinner is served. It's pretty delicious and beats hot dogs any day.

Half of the recipe was enough for about 3 servings. It really hit the spot, and was an easy weekday meal that kids of all ages would love. This was "cookin' with whatcha got" at its finest. Thanks, Erica!

Mexican-Style Pickled Carrots

So here's the story: I had about 1.5-2 cups of shredded carrots left after making coleslaw for a BBQ. They were about to go bad. When things are about to go bad, my mind goes in one direction, normally. And that is, "Can it!!" And, so it was...the carrots got canned...in pickling liquid and married with jalapenos. A perfect wedding in my book. The end.



Notice my new Weck canning jars and tea towel from Aunt Dana! Cute!

For those interested, the recipe is as follows, from food.com:
1/2 lb sliced carrots (I had shredded carrots, so I used those!)
1/2 yellow onions, peeled and sliced (I didn't have any onions, so I skipped them)
1/2 quart warm water
1 3/4 ounces of canned jalapeno peppers, with liquid
1/4 T dried oregano
1 1/2 whole garlic cloves
1/2 cider vinegar
1/16 cup vegetable oil (weird measurement, right? I think I just used a couple of tablespoons)
1/2 bay leaf (I just used a whole one)
1/4 teaspoon salt
*I also added a tablespoon of whole peppercorns, as I read in another online recipe.

Put carrots in a large pot. Add warm water and bring to a boil over high heat.
Boil for 5 minutes and remove from heat.

To the pot, add all remaining ingredients.

Let cool for 2-3 hours. Put in jars and refrigerate. They will keep for one week. Or if you process the jars in boiling water, they will keep for months until you open them!

Makes 8-9 cups. I obviously didn't have 1/2 pound of carrots, so I adjusted the measurements the best I could and ended up with two cups.

I've enjoyed these with quesadillas, but they would be tasty with tacos or accompanying any Mexican favorite! Just like the taco truck, but homemade. Happy cookin'!

Quick Whole Wheat Muffins

Sorry for the delay in writing a new post.

I've been a little busy with work, baby showers, and fighting off the heat. And, for some reason, my pregnant body would rather lay on the couch and watch "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" these days. Oy.

I have been cooking, though! Occassionally. I think it's been more baking lately, but that counts. My sweet tooth is in full effect. That's why I needed to search for some sweet, but healthy recipes. This is one of them. I searched for whole wheat muffins made with sour cream, because I had sour cream, go figure.

Quick, Easy & Moist Whole Wheat Muffins (from thekitchn.com)
makes 12 muffins

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1 1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup honey (I used part honey, part agave nectar)
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil (I used applesauce instead)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a muffin pan with liners, or by lightly greasing each well with olive oil or baking spray.

In a large bowl, lightly whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.

Whisk the sour cream, honey, egg, olive oil, and vanilla extract together in a separate small bowl. Make a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in this liquid mixture. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to gently but firmly fold the ingredients together, folding from the bottom up to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Stop as soon as the mixture comes together; do not overmix. Depending on the fat content of the sour cream the mixture will range in thickness from a gooey muffin batter to the consistency of a very wet cookie dough.

I also added dried cherries and slivered almonds for some extra flavor and texture.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until barely golden on top, and the top springs back a bit when touched with a finger.

The key to keeping these moist is to underbake them ever so slightly. They shouldn't be gooey inside, but don't be afraid to take them out of the oven when they are slightly underdone.

They are indeed moist and tasty and satisfying. Even for this pregnant girl. They may have been even better with a crumb topping, but that would mean more calories. I'll leave that decision up to you. Happy bakin'!

Roasted Veggie Salad

 

We were invited to dinner at our friends' house this summer, and she made a really yummy salad. She combined pan-roasted vegetables and raw vegetables to make a nice mix of colors, textures, and flavors.

My CSA box a few weeks ago had small garnet sweet potatoes, zucchini, green lettuce, and apples (among other delicious things!). I wanted to make a hearty salad to accompany some pan-grilled catfish for a healthy dinner. Then I remembered Erin's salad! I love these veggies when they are roasted because the sugars get carmelized and bring out such good flavor. I thought it would go great with the fresh, crisp apples.

I cut the zucchini and peeled sweet potatoes in rounds, lay them on a baking sheet, drizzled on olive oil, and sprinkled salt and pepper to cover them lightly. I roasted them at 425F for about 25 minutes.

In the meantime, I washed the green lettuce, diced a couple of apples, and whipped up a quick sweet vinaigrette:

Peach Balsamic Vinaigrette

2T peach balsamic vinegar (or any fruit-infused balsamic)

1T dijon mustard

4T extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt & pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and dress your salad!

 

When the veggies were done in the oven, I let them sit and cool for just 10 minutes or so. Then I combined the lettuce, apples, zucchini, and sweet potatoes with the vinaigrette.

 

Served beside a simple pan-grilled catfish filet (seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika), we had a light and healthy dinner during a busy weeknight. And I didn't even have to go to the store! Think outside the box, and you could end up with a new favorite!

 



My First Try at Indian Cooking: Aloo Gobi

My husband and I love Indian food. We have a couple of favorite restaurants in the LA area. One is Jaipur in West Los Angeles and the other is called Al-Noor in Lawndale. The food is so fragrant and flavorful, it's something we crave quite often. But until this month, I'd never attempted to make it at home...despite the frequent requests I get from my man.

I took baby steps to get there. About 5-6 months ago, I ventured into the spice aisle at the grocery store and found turmeric, cumin seeds, and even bought a Garam Masala mix at a specialty spice store, Penzey's. So that, you know, I would have the spices on hand whenever I was ready.

Months passed, and then a couple of weeks ago, my cousin invited us over for a BBQ and asked me to make a vegetarian potato dish. I thought to myself, "well, here's my chance!" There are lots of Indian dishes with potatoes. I found an easy {recipe} on foodnetwork.com from Aarti Sequeira for a cauliflower and potato dish called Aloo Gobi.

I needed to double the recipe for the small crowd I was feeding, so I used one large head of cauliflower and 3 good-sized russet potatoes. I cut them all up in similar sized pieces so that they cooked evenly in the pot.

I used two serrano peppers, split in half, but joined at the stem. These little babies released quite a bit of heat, but it mellowed out after it sat for a while. I also made some of Aarti's signature ginger-garlic paste. I used about 1/2 cup of both fresh ginger (stored in my freezer) and garlic (stored in my fridge), and about 1/4 cup of canola oil. I blended in the Magic Bullet blender, and it came out perfect. I had more than enough to keep for later use too.

The veggies were the vehicle for the incredible spices to shine. The scent of the masala mix of turmeric, coriander, ginger-garlic paste and water, added to the cumin seeds that popped away in the oil filled my whole house! It was wonderful!

I added the veggies with 1/2 cup of water to let it all cook without burning and about 1-2 teaspoons of salt to bring out all of the flavors. I gave it a good toss, and let it soften up and cook for about 20 minutes.





Before serving, I removed the serrano peppers. the mixture turns a nice golden yellow color because of the turmeric. It tasted so good - warm spices and soft potatoes and cauliflower...it made for a hearty side dish that everyone enjoyed!

I was shocked at how easy this dish really was to make. I think it can be intimidating to cook with spices and ingredients that are unfamiliar, but if you have them all, the technique is actually really simple for any cook.

It's good to try new things! I hope this inspires you to try something you've never tried before. :) Happy cookin'!

Gluten-Free Fruit Crumble

More and more people in my life have switched to gluten-free diets, after finding out that gluten was the culprit in making them feel awful or just plain sick.

Before last month, I had never baked anything gluten-free. Honestly, I've looked at recipes and they often require ingredients that I don't have in my pantry, like xanthum gum. Yeah, I haven't expanded my staples to include that...yet.

So, I was pleased when I finally found a recipe from the NY Times for a dessert that only called for things I already had in my pantry shelves (minus one thing!). We were having our neighborhood BBQ, and I wanted to make some options for our next-door neighbors who are gluten-free peeps.

While I was at the store for the gluten-free rolled oats, I picked out some ripe nectarines and blueberries.

I prepped the fruit right in the glass dish that I was going to bake it in. So, I greased the edges on the pan and added the sliced nectarines and blueberries. To that, I added agave nectar, vanilla extract, and almond extract. The recipe calls for cinnamon, but I think I left it out on accident. The recipe has you bake the fruit mixture before adding the topping. I baked the fruit for 20 minutes while I worked on the crumble topping mixture.

The topping actually takes two steps as well. You also have to bake it on its own before adding it to the fruit and baking it a second time.

The topping is made from gluten-free oats, quinoa flour, turbinado or raw sugar, nutmeg, salt, and unsalted butter. The recipe can be found {here}.To make the quinoa flour, you grind up quinoa in a blender or spice grinder. I used my handy Magic Bullet. It worked quite well!

Then you blend all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Then you add the butter and pulse it until it's well-combined. I doubled the recipe because my dish is slightly bigger than your standard 9 x 13. I had plenty left over, so I froze it and kept it for future crumbles!



In a 350 preheated oven, you bake the mixture on parchment paper (or foil) on a baking sheet for 20 minutes, rotating the pan if needed at the halfway point.

Here's the before (top picture) and after (bottom picture). You can see how the quinoa and oats brown and crisp up in the oven.

By the time the topping was ready, the fruit had been sitting for about 30 minutes, and the juice from the fruit had collected in the dish. It seemed a bit watery without any thickener, so I added mixed a little bit of water with about a tablespoon of corn starch and tossed it in with the fruit before sprinkling on the oat topping. I then baked the whole dish at 350 for another 20-25 minutes until it was bubbling at the bottom.

The crumble was a hit! Our neighbors loved it and kept all the leftovers (it was one of four desserts that night). I've since made another crumble with pluots, apples, and cherries, which was equally as yummy. It's definitely a healthy dessert, low in added sugar, and high in fiber and protein!

Pink's Hot Dogs, Hollywood

There are quite a few historical food landmarks in Los Angeles. The number of celebrities that frequent a place, whether high-end or hole-in-the-wall, just might determine its legendary status. And, restaurants that name menu items after famous people, well, they always seem to make it big.


There's Sue (pointing at the sign), Pam, and Aaron holding our place in line. We waited for 40 minutes to order! Can you tell she's happy to be there?

Pink's is one of those landmarks. It's just a shack on La Brea Avenue heading into Hollywood that's been around since the 1940's. It's a grease pit serving hot dogs, hamburgers, fries, and onion rings. It's a heart-stopper. Cholesterol and calories are served there. And yet, in this west coast town of vegans and organic-fanatics, the line is most usually 20-50+ people long. And, they have hot dogs named after Martha Stewart and Ozzy Osborne, just to name a couple.

After living here for close to 7 years, I still hadn't been. But when my mother-in-law and friends came to visit before our Vegas trip, Pink's was our lunch destination before a day of shopping at the Grove. Needless to say, we really didn't need to eat for the rest of the day...

Here is our lineup of hot dogs...sauerkraut, anyone?

...and the burgers...Yes, that's a polish dog and bacon on top of the chili cheeseburger on the left. Wow. It was a bit much!

It was a good experience, though I wouldn't eat here very often, just for my body's sake. It's pretty tasty grub and it's fun to enjoy with friends, but...just looking at it puts you in danger of gaining 2 pounds. My favorite thing was probably the chili. So, a chili dog or chili cheeseburger or chili cheese fries are probably the best things to order.

Not sure if we'll be back, but at least I can check this one off my LA bucket list!