Canadian Honey Drop Cookies, Gluten Free—Secret Recipe Club

I am a big cheater.  Besides making these cookies gluten free and using unrefined sugar (no big deal), instead of sandwiching them with jam/jelly which was indicated in the recipe, I used chocolate and peanut butter.  I can’t help it.  I didn’t have any sugar free jam, so it’s not really my fault and these are then healthier than if I would have used a sugar-laden jam.  Am I right?  Instead I used a combination of all natural peanut butter, a touch of raw honey and some melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips.  Win---WIN!

These cookies were really good.  I found them on my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment for May.   My blog assignment was Anna’s blog, Cheese With Noodles.  Anna lives in Alaska with her husband, bunnies and cat.  She’s crafty, likes gardening and cooking and baking.  I like her!

She got this Canadian Honey Drop Cookies recipe from the 1963 Betty Crocker Cooky Book.  I would love to have a copy of that one!  I like that she pointed out that these cookies aren’t Canadian and they aren’t drop cookies, really.  But that doesn’t matter if you make them and like them, right?  When I saw that they are made with brown sugar and I had just recently bought some organic brown sugar, as well as with honey, I knew these were the cookies I had to make.  I’m happy I did.  I actually ate most of these cookies individually with no filling to sandwich them.  They are good by themselves!  I was thinking of drizzling them with melted chocolate, then I thought of what my favorite thing is with honey and knew I needed to put some peanut butter in them.  Man, I sure miss a good ol’ peanut butter and honey sandwich! 

Yes, I could have just eaten one cookie topped with the peanut butter-chocolaty goodness, but that would not have been very lady-like and would have been kind of a drippy mess.  So, a sandwich it was!  Check out the recipe Anna posted.  Here’s my gluten free version.  I also used coconut oil instead of shortening, though I might try them again with some organic Spectrum palm shortening.  Anna’s cookies were pretty thick and mine were soft and flat (still good!).  If I make them again and don’t plan to sandwich them, I will use shortening.  I have found that coconut oil really spreads with cookies.  I knew it would when I made them this way, so it is all good.

Canadian Honey Drop Cookies, Gluten Free, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1/2 cup coconut oil, 112 grams (or organic Spectrum palm shortening)

1/2 cup organic cane brown sugar, not packed (80 grams)

1 large egg

3 tablespoons raw honey (63 grams)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1  3/4 cup gluten free flour blend (196 grams) (I used Premium Gold ancient grains gluten free blend)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

*Optional filling

Jam/Jelly of your choice

Natural Peanut Butter

Combination of peanut butter, honey, melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips

Beat together well the oil/shortening with the brown sugar.  Add the egg and beat well.  Add the honey and vanilla a mix until fluffy.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda.  Stir it into the sugar mixture until all combined.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate dough for a couple hours (be careful, refrigerating something with coconut oil, hardens it up quite a bit, but I was still able to form dough balls).  The chilling step may not be necessary if using shortening. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll dough into one inch balls.  Place on baking sheets about 3 inches apart.  You can flatten them slightly with your hand if you’d like them flat, which works well for a sandwich cookie.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned.  Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.   Fill cookies with jam or optional peanut butter/chocolate mixture, if desired.  Makes 16 cookies

I filled one with just peanut butter and it was a bit runny/messy.  Still tasted great though!  The melted chocolate really helped hold the filling inside, especially after I refrigerated it for a short time.

My newest plan/goal with my Secret Recipe Club assignments is to also make a savory dish from the blog.  You might have noticed, I always go right for cookies or some other dessert.  That’s just who I am.  But I actually eat quite healthy as well, especially after being diagnosed with MS and going gluten free and off refined sugars and most processed foods.  It’s been an interesting road to go down.    I miss certain things, like a good old plate of pasta or some delicious homemade whole grain bread……….so looking through Anna’s blog, I wanted to find something to make for dinner one night.  My family seems to get tired of the same number of things we have often.  While I make spaghetti a lot and one other pasta dish that is made with an Alfredo sauce, I wanted to find something else.  I ran across the Dreamy Baked Ziti she posted in March of last year.  I decided we need to try a new pasta.  Anna spoke about how this was a new favorite with lots of creamy cheese and a flavorful tomato sauce.  I liked that it did not have ground beef in it.  I was a little skeptical that my family would not like it having no meat in it, so at the last minute, I tossed some chopped pepperoni into the sauce.

Besides that addition, I made just a few slight changes, so I’m not going to retype the recipe, that Anna got from Mel’s Kitchen Café, who got it from Cook’s Illustrated.  It’s like making a lasagna with an ample amount of a creamy cheese mixture full of lots of mozzarella and parmesan.  This mixture called for some dried parsley, but I used fresh chopped parsley. 

Just before I added the pepperoni to the sauce, I took a scoop of it and a scoop of the cheese mixture and made me a little portion of gluten free pasta.  I made a perfect one-serving ramekin of this Dreamy Baked Gluten Free Ziti for me.  I thought it was delicious!

I sure wish I would have made more of it for me for other meals!  This was a heavenly “splurge” meal for me and I would do it again in a heartbeat. ; )

I will for sure make the ziti again…..sometime….soon.  So many delicious recipes on Anna’s blog, Cheese With Noodles. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat, Rigatoni with Braised Chicken in Saffron Cream, and Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies—Secret Recipe Club

Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat

Seems like it’s been a long time since we’ve had an assignment for the Secret Recipe Club.  Guess that might be because we all took December off.  But we’re back!  How were your holidays?  Getting right back into the swing of things and here we go with another secret revealed.  With the blog I was given for this month, I simply could not decide what to make, so I decided on three recipe to choose from.  After making each over the last couple weeks, I still couldn’t decide which to share, so today you’re getting three, three for the price of one! 

The blog I had this month is Katherine’s blog, appropriately named Katherine Martinelli.  Read Katherine’s About Me Page to learn about her wonderful life of travel and food writing as well as photography.  I love that she says she’s a wanderer.  I’d say so, a native New Yorker, she currently lives in Israel!  (I’m jealous.  Just kidding.  I love my life.) ;)  Her writing is published all over the world!  Like I said, I had quite the time deciding what recipe to make from her blog.   You may have noticed, I tend to gravitate toward treats and goodies.  After looking through so many of Katherine’s posts, I found a cookie I wanted to make, a delicious braised chicken with pasta and these precipizi.  It was fun to make all three.  Originally, I thought I’d try each and pick one, but they were all three so good I decided to share them all here.

What is precipizi?  It’s an Italian Hanukkah dessert, perfect for the holiday as a centerpiece or addition to a table full of desserts.  I think they are delicious.  My family wasn’t too thrilled about how chewy they become after the honey hardens a little on them.  They are perfectly bite-sized and the flavor is great.  Of course, I needed to change the recipe a bit, since it called for rum or other clear spirits and we don’t have any alcohol in our house and don’t use it.   So this is my “virgin” version.  I used vanilla extract and some orange extract.

Precipizi, an Italian Hanukkah Treat, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys! from Katherine Martinelli

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1  3/4 cup (210 grams) all purpose flour

2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

pinch of salt

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure orange extract

a splash or two of water if the dough is too dry (I didn’t use any, but probably could have)*

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

powdered sugar (optional)

Mix together the flour, sugar, a salt in a medium-sized bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and flavorings.  Combine the two and mix together until combined, then lightly knead it on a flat surface until it is a smooth, soft dough.  Shape the dough in to small balls, about the size of olives (making about 24 balls).  Heat the canola oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add the balls of dough (in batches with the pan not too crowded) and fry until golden on all sides.  Transfer to a paper towel lined wire rack. 

Remove any excess oil from the pan and wipe it clean.  Add the honey.  Once it is hot and bubbling, add the fried dough balls back into the pan and stir to coat.  Pour them onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick foil and allow to cool.   As they cool the honey will harden slightly.  Serve by arranging them into a tower, stacking them on top of each other in a pyramid shape.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of rum, and I didn’t use a total of two tablesoons of liquid/flavoring, so a little water could be added to form the dough.

The recipe said to fry them with the heat on high, which I felt was a little too much, so use discretion anywhere from medium to high.  The oil is shallow, so they fry quickly on each side.

 Rigatoni with Braised Chicken in Saffron Cream

Next—I love braising meat, which just means browning it off, then cooking it in liquid until it’s very tender.  I love pasta, too and then was excited that this chicken pasta recipe had saffron in it and I had just the right amount left that a friend gave me a few years ago for my birthday.  Not sure when I’ll ever be able to afford saffron again.  It was fun to use in different things.  This pasta was delicious.  The boys all actually liked it.  Kevin really liked it and I did, too.  Once again, this recipe called for dry white wine, so I substituted some non-alcoholic sparkling cider that we had for the wine.  May be a lame substitution to some, but I have used fruit juices instead of wine before and it tastes good to us!  This didn’t make the dish taste apple-y, but I would like to try a white grape juice next time.  I’ll for sure make this again sometime….when I can get my hands on some saffron.   Besides the wine substitution, since I don’t like onions and this was supposed to have two cups of chopped onions, I was bold enough to put in one large shallot—and that was plenty for me. ;)  Also I think it would be delicious with fresh basil, I don’t have any right now during wintertime, but I did have some basil that I froze in olive oil this summer, so I used that and this was still a great dish.  Can’t wait to try it with fresh basil, which I love.  Please check out Katherine’s recipe here.

Rigatoni with Braised Chicken in Saffron Cream, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

2 pounds boneless chicken breast (bone-in with skin or thighs with skin and bones would also be great and add lots more flavor, I just had and used boneless)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, chopped

6 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cups sparkling cider (or grape juice, or apple juice)

1 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

2 cups chicken broth (I used low-sodium)

1 pound rigatoni pasta (penne would be fine, too)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons (or more to taste) fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup frozen basil, packed in olive oil, thawed (or 2/3 cup fresh basil, chopped)

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook until golden, about 7 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to a plate.  Add shallot and cook until softened.  Add garlic and cook just another minute or so.  Add sparkling cider and saffron to the skillet and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil until liquid is slightly thickened and reduced by almost half, about 8 minutes.  Add the chicken broth.  Return the chicken to the skillet, bring it all to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Cover it and simmer it gently until chicken is very tender, 30 minutes or so, depending on if you’re using bone-in chicken with skin, may require a little bit longer cooking time.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and let cool enough to handle.

Shred chicken and set aside.  Reserve skillet juices.  Cook the rigatoni in a pot of boiling salted water to al dente, according to package directions.  Drain pasta.  While it is cooking, add cream to the skillet and boil until sauce is reduced to  about 2  1/2 cups and is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes.  Once it is boiling, turn heat to medium.  Stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice, then the chicken pieces.  Stir over medium heat until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in the pasta and toss to coat.  Stir in the basil.  Serve.

Frozen/thawed basil is definitely not as pretty as fresh, but it’s just as tasty!

And finally—cookies!  I always like trying new cookies, especially if they are chocolate chip cookies and even more so if they have whole wheat flour.  Yes, because then I can use the excuse that they are healthier and I don’t feel as guilty eating them. 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made half the recipe for these cookies.  Katherine adapted the recipe from Kim Boyce, author of Good to the Grain.  My cookies aren’t quite as thick as Katherine’s, but it is probably because I did not adjust the recipe for my high altitude, as I often do.  These were still great, especially if you like a crunchier type of chocolate chip cookie.  These were perfectly chewy with a crisp outside when they came out of the oven and cooled just enough to eat.  They were pretty crispy the next day, but certainly still great tasting.  When I make them again, I will probably bake them a few minutes less, though the recipes says 16-20 minutes and I only baked them for 15 minutes.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, adapted by Katrina, Baking and Boys!

1  1/2 cups (180 grams) whole white flour (I used white whole wheat)

1 teaspoon baking powder  (I did adjust this slightly for high altitude baking)*

1/4 teaspoon baking soda (I also adjusted this slightly for high altitude baking)*

3/4 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar (recipe called for dark)

1/4 teaspoon molasses (because I didn’t use dark brown sugar)

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ounces bittersweet or semi sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli 60%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk together.  Cream the butter in an electric mixer and add the sugars, beating until well combined and fluffy, 3-5 minutes.  Add the eggs and mix in the vanilla.  Beat until combined.  Scrape sides of bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and mix just until fully incorporated.  Scoop the dough to about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.

*The regular recipe uses 3/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, in case you want to use that amount instead of my small adjustment for high altitude.

Mmmm, now I’m hungry and it’s bedtime!  Thanks, Katherine, love your blog!

 

 

The Secret Recipe Club—Hamburger Stroganoff

Here I am with a savory meal to share today. You see, some other bloggers and I got together and decided to start a new monthly recipe group called The Secret Recipe Club (this is all the brain child of our fearless leader, Amanda from Amanda's Cookin'. You can join if you have a blog full of lots of recipes to share and want to cook/bake along with us. Once a month we will be assigned another person’s blog to pick any recipe we want to make and blog about. The clincher is that throughout the month, we will not be telling anyone whose blog we have—it’s a secret—until we post about our chosen recipe. Fun, huh. You can click on the link and sign up, too, if you’d like—the more the merrier.

The blog I received was Tami's Kitchen Table Talk. I was happy to pick something from Tami’s blog. She heads up the monthly Cookie Carnival baking group that I also participate in. Though it would have been easy for me to pick a cookie or dessert from her blog, I decided to branch out and make a savory dish. Go me! ;)

I chose a Hamburger Stroganoff that Tami came up with one day when she was preparing dinner and had some ground beef to use up. The stroganoff was great! I made a few minor changes. One thing that really caught my attention when I was looking through the recipe was that she only used onion powder in this because she said her daughter hates onions. That was the recipe for me, a fellow onion hater. ;) In Tami’s recipe she used some canned mushrooms because that is what she had at the time. I used some fresh cremini mushrooms as I happened to have some on hand. Other small changes I made was that I used less ground beef than she did. I used fresh garlic cloves instead of garlic powder and didn’t add any red pepper flakes.

One of the things that I thought really made this taste great was a gravy browning and seasoning sauce that was added to the almost finished gravy. Tami used one called Gravy Master. I could not find that in any stores, but found another called Kitchen Bouquet. It really kicked up the beef flavor in the stroganoff! Thanks, Tami! Everyone here loved this and I’m sure I’ll make it again.

Hamburger Stroganoff, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Tami at Tami’s Kitchen Table Talk

1 pound lean ground beef

3.5 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced (you could use more, that was how much I had)

1 teaspoon onion powder

extra virgin olive oil for sautéing the mushrooms and garlic

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 cans (15 oz. each) of beef broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

2 tablespoons gravy browning and seasoning sauce (Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet)

1/2 cup light sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

fresh parsley, chopped, sprinkled over top of stroganoff

12 ounces pasta (I used Rotini) Traditional stroganoff uses a wide egg noodle, cook the pasta according to package directions to al dente

Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, add salt and onion powder. Set the browned beef aside in a bowl. Sauté’ the mushrooms for a few minutes, just before they are finished, add the garlic and cook for only about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms to the ground beef and set aside. Pour beef broth in the skillet. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a small cup/bowl. Slowly stir the cornstarch mixture in to the boiling broth and whisk until it thickens. Whisk in the browning/seasoning sauce. Add the ground beef and mushrooms to the gravy. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper as desired.

Add the cooked pasta and stir together well. Stir in the sour cream until heated and serve with some fresh parsley on top.

Lower Fat Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Peas

I hate to say it, but I’m the type who HAS to eat lower fat, healther foods in order to stay at the weight I’m at, and/or keep on exercising like crazy to maintain or lose weight.  Oh how I wish I was the type that could just eat whatever I want whenever I want.  Sigh.  (I know, there are many others just like me.)  I know it’s good for me to watch what I eat, and I know that by doing so there are times when I can splurge.  So as much as you would look at my blog at all the things I post here and think what an unhealthy household we have, that isn’t really the case.  I cook mostly healthy food and am always happy when I take a recipe that looks so good and make some healthier adaptations to it and it still turns out great.  So I had to share this recipe with you today.

The recipe  I used was recently posted by my friend, Amanda, on her blog, Amanda's Cookin'.  She adapted a recipe she’d found on Allrecipes.com.  When I saw her post, it really made me want some good ol’ mac-n-cheese.  I made a few changes and still came out with a creamy, cheesy comfort food dish that has been great to eat all week!

Lower Fat Macaroni and Cheese with Ham and Peas, by Katrina, Baking and Boys!, adapted from Amanda’s Cookin’

13.25 ounce box of whole wheat macaroni pasta

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 ounces cooked ham, diced into about 1/4-1/2 inch pieces

1/4 cup water (chicken stock or dry wine would work, too)

1  1/2 cups frozen peas

4 tablespoons Best Life Buttery Baking Sticks (or any other butter substitute)

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground dry mustard

2 cups fat free (skim) milk

1 cup shredded 75% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda

1/2 cup shredded Manchego cheese (any kind of cheese would really work, it’s the smoked gouda that is the winner here, you could probably just use 1 cup all gouda)

3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Light spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Set aside.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.  Once it’s boiling, cook the pasta until al dente according to package direction.  While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet with at least 2 inch sides.  Add chopped ham and saute until meat begins to brown, about 2 minutes.  Add water and simmer until liquid is almost evaporated.  Add peas and cook another 2 minutes. 

Remove the ham and peas from the skillet and set aside.  Heat the butter (substitute) in the skillet until it has melted and stopped sizzling.  Combine the flour, salt, pepper, paprika and dry mustard in a small bowl.  Add the flour mixture to the butter and use a whisk to combine the butter and flour together to make a roux, whisk for a good minute or two to cook out the raw flour taste.  While slowly adding the milk, continue whisking to combine.  Turn the heat up slightly and whisk often until the milk thickens.  Do not let it come to a boil, just heat enough to thicken.  When thickened, remove the skillet from the heat and add the shredded cheeses.  Whisk until combined and melted. 

Drain the macaroni and place in the skillet, along with the ham and peas, with the cheese sauce and stir until well combined.  Pour into the 9x13 inch pan and top with the panko bread crumbs.  Bake for 20 minutes.

 

The only thing I would do different next time is only cook about 10 ounces of pasta so there is a little more cheese mixture ratio to the pasta.    This is great with the bites of ham and peas and makes for an easy dinner.

Dinner! Chicken & Arugula Meatballs in Tomato Sauce and Pear Salad

We had some friends from Kansas who are in Utah for the holidays come over for dinner a few days ago.  For some reason that day I was craving spaghetti so I planned to just make that for dinner.  Kevin reminded me that Dan doesn’t like spaghetti, as in there's only one food he really dislikes and it’s spaghetti.  Not the sauce, but the actual spaghetti pasta, it gives him the heebie-jeebies.  Weird.  He said he likes all other pasta.  I then remembered some meatballs I’d had in one of Paige's classes back in Kansas and I decided those are what I’d make and serve with penne pasta.

Try as I might, I can’t seem to do justice to savory food in photos.  Kevin got me a light box for Christmas, maybe once I figure that out I’ll get better.  But I did snap a few pictures of these fabulous meatballs.  One of the keys to making these is to make them small—the more the merrier, then everyone can have a plateful of meatballs instead of just one or two big ones.  This recipe makes 60 meatballs with one pound of ground poultry.  Another great reason to make these meatballs is that they freeze well.  Check out Paige's post about them from a few months ago.  These are perfect for pulling out of the freezer when you need a quick meal.

The meatballs were very well liked by our company (they begged for the recipe ;).  Paige has posted the recipe on her blog, which is adapted from an article in Food & Wine magazine back in the 90’s. 

Chicken & Arugula Meatballs in Tomato Sauce, by Paige Vandegrift, adapted from Food & Wine Magazine (My changes are in red—Katrina)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for sautéing the meatballs (I ran out of olive oil and used canola)
3 thin slices pancetta or bacon, (about 2 ounces), chopped (I used bacon)
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 oz. arugula (or spinach), stemmed and finely chopped (I used spinach)
1 pound ground chicken (dark meat is best) (I used ground white turkey meat and it was a 19 oz. package)
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs (I used Panko bread crumbs)
½ cup freshly grated Pecorino-Romano cheese (about 1 ½ ounces)
2 tablespoons drained capers, chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large shallots, minced
¼ cup brandy, white wine or water is also fine (I used some chicken stock)
One 35-ounce can Italian (Roma) peeled whole tomatoes with juice, coarsely chopped in a food processor (this is a difficult sized can to find, a 28-oz. can is fine, but you can add half of a 14-oz. can if you like a lot of sauce) (I used both a full 28 oz can and a 14 oz can)
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme (I used about 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large non-reactive skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the pancetta/bacon and cook over moderate heat until crisp, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the arugula and cook, stirring, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, bread crumbs, cheese, capers, egg, ¾ teaspoon of salt and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper. Add the arugula mixture and beat until well blended. Roll the mixture by teaspoonfuls into ¾ -inch balls.
In a large skillet, heat some more olive oil. Add half of the meatballs in a single layer and cook over moderate heat, turning, until browned all over, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a large plate. Repeat with the second batch of meatballs, adding more oil if necessary. Discard the fat and wipe out the skillet.
In the same skillet, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the brandy/stock/water, whichever you’re using, raise the heat to high and cook until evaporated. Add the tomatoes and thyme and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes.
Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer over low heat until hot through and very tender—15 to 20 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.  Serve with one pound of any pasta if desired.

I sauteed them in three batches.

Mmmm!

Almost ready!

These are some great meatballs and a simple tomato sauce.  To go with the pasta and meatballs, I decided to make a Fresh Crispy Pear Salad that Suzanne at Thru The Bugs on My Windshield posted recently.  I just served the salad with some mixed greens and it was great as well. 

 

You can get the recipe on the link above to Suzanne’s blog.  Check out her amazing pictures!  Served with some good crusty whole grain bread, this meal was perfect and I could eat it everyday and was happy to share it with company!

Anniversary and Father's Day

Kevin and I were married June 20, 1997--12 years ago!  Yep, the years are flying by!  Sigh!

Friday night we went and celebrated by going to dinner at The Melting Pot.  Yummy fondues!  It was all yummy and I was full for the first time in a long time.  I never eat until I'm full anymore, but this one did me in--partly due in part to the fact that the water boy came back to our table what seemed like every 5 minutes and I drank a lot of water!  We had a great time and tried to take a couple pictures of ourselves. 

Smooch!  (Mom, I kissed a boy! ;) )  We got a chuckle out of my peeking over at the camera.

I Love you, Hon!  Don't know what I'd do without you and cannot thank you enough for everything you do!

Oh I have so many recipes and things to share with you all and simply just can't get it all done.!  Sigh.

Today for father's day, I made Kevin some pasta jambalaya (he loves that stuff!).  I got the recipe for this one  at cdkitchen.com for Water Street Oyster Bar's Pasta Jambalaya and while I did make a few changes, besides doubling the recipe, I followed it mostly.  Yes, Mom, I even used the onion!  (The things we do for love!)  Kevin actually helped me a bit with this as there was a lot of chopping and things to do.   He researched a little and found this recipe/restaurant was featured on the Food Network a number of times and is "the" pasta jambalaya of New Orleans.  $40 a Day with Rachel Ray featured it and they share the recipe on FN.  One thing about doubling this recipe would have meant that it would take one whole cup of butter to saute the meats and veggies.  I could not make myself do that, so I only used half a cup.  It was PLENTY!

Water Street Oyster Bar's Seafood Pasta Jambalaya, adapted by Katrina (Remember that I doubled this and my changes are in red, but I'm leaving the recipe for a serving of four as it was written and my changes include the doubled amount as well as a few other omissions and changes.)

1/2 cup butter, melted (I did NOT double this!)
1 cup chicken breast meat, cut into strips (I used 3 chicken breasts)
16 (21/25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed (I used 1 lb. of shrimp, which was about 45 shrimp)
1/2 cup crawfish tails (I did not use this as I just didn't take the time to find them at the stores, but Kevin does like them!)
1/2 cup sliced andouille sausage (one cup)
1/3 cup sliced yellow onion (I used one medium onion, Kevin chopped it for me!)

1/4 cup sliced red bell pepper (I used about 3/4 of a red pepper)
1/3 cup sliced green bell pepper (I used one green pepper)
1/3 cup sliced zucchini (I used one medium zucchini)
1/3 cup sliced yellow squash (I used one medium yellow squash)
1 cup diced Roma tomatoes (I used 6 Roma tomatoes)
4 cups cavatappi pasta (I used one pound of whole wheat penne pasta)
8 tablespoons sliced green onion (I omitted this)
1/2 teaspoon chopped parsley leaves (I used about 1/4 cup of chopped parsley)

***Andouille Cream Sauce:***
1 teaspoon canola oil (I used a good tablespoonful of olive oil)
1 1/2 ounce yellow onion, diced (I used one medium shallot)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic (I used 9 cloves of garlic)
3 ounces andouille sausage, casing removed (I used 7 ounces of sausage)
2/3 cup crushed tomatoes (I used a 14 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes)
2/3 cup cold water (I used a 14 oz. can of chicken broth)
1/3 ounce chicken base (I used broth instead of water and boullion as our friend who came for dinner is allergic to msg and boullion has msg!)
2 teaspoons cornstarch (I used 4 teaspoons cornstarch)
1 cup heavy cream (I used 2 cups cream)
2 teaspoons blackening seasoning (I used 4 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 teaspoon)
1/5 ounce jalapeno jack cheese, grated (What is 1/5 oz.?  It was such a small amount, we just guessed a double amount and used 1 1/2 ounces of pepper jack cheese) 

Heat butter in a large saute pan. Add chicken, shrimp, crawfish, sausage, onion, and bell peppers. Saute to cook shrimp and chicken, over medium heat. Add zucchini, squash, and tomatoes, and cook 2 minutes. Add Andouille Cream Sauce, toss well and bring to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, drain well. Pour pan contents over pasta, and toss with the sauce, pull shrimp, chicken and crawfish to the top. Evenly sprinkle green onion over pasta. Sprinkle parsley around rim of bowl and serve.
Andouille Cream Sauce:
Add the oil into a saucepan and place over moderate heat. Add the diced onion and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, mix well and continue to saute 2 additional minutes. Add the andouille sausage to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and mix well to thoroughly combine. In a mixing bowl using a wire whisk, combine the water, chicken base, cornstarch and heavy cream. Add the liquid to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 8 to10 minutes over moderate heat. Add the dry seasoning and mix well to incorporate into the sauce. Add the grated cheese to the sauce and blend well. Allow the sauce to simmer for 2 additional minutes or until all the cheese has melted.

 

I ate just a little bit of this as I don't like shrimp or sausage OR ONIONS!  Kevin and everyone else liked it.  I made some yummy salad to go with it that I hope to blog about soon and some bread--Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day Bread!  YUM!  And so easy!

I also made Kevin a Turtle Cheesecake--no, not a turtle the animal, it was chocolate, caramel and pecans!  I'll post that later.

Here's a few recent pictures.  The other morning Sam woke up itchy with chigger bites (on his rear!!), so I made him a bath.  After his bath, he and Taylor were sitting in the chair together for a rare nice brotherly moment and Taylor told me to get the camera and take a picture of them to put on the blog.  CUTE!

And this last picture makes me laugh.  Here's Sam with a big old bowl of homemade chocolate ice cream (Stay tuned for the post on that!) and I can't remember why, but he was mad about something and I snapped a picture of his complete disapproval.  I think maybe I wasn't letting him eat the ice cream in the living room. 

How is it that a picture can just melt your heart, make you feel bad and make you laugh your head off at the same time!?  I mean, just look at him.  Awwwee, you just feel so bad for him, don't you?  The poor, leetle bebe! ;)

 

My Chock Full of Veggies Lasagna and Summer-y Blackberry Bars

Tonight for dinner I made my signature dish--LASAGNA.  I've been making this for years and it is often the meal I make for special occasions, company and when I just really feel like indulging.  BUT, it's made pretty darn healthy and you'd never know it!

Once again though, I don't follow a recipe and this lasagna still comes out SO GOOD every time!  (It's gotta be because I NEVER put onions in it! ; )  I always use different amounts of veggies and such, so this is just estimates of what I used today.

Katrina's Chock Full Of Veggies Lasagna

1/4 lb. lean ground beef (93% fat free, usually, I only ever buy 90% fat free or better)

green pepper, chopped (about 3/4 of a pepper)

mini baby carrots, chopped, about 1 cup

zucchini, chopped, 1 medium

yellow squash, chopped, 2 small

mushrooms, chopped, about 1 cup

celery, chopped, 2 small stalks

3 garlic cloves, minced

onion powder (okay, I usually put a little in, but powder only)

1--28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1--15 oz. Italian chopped tomatoes

oregano, dried, to taste (about 2 teaspoons)

basil, dried, to taste (about 1-2 teaspoons)  I always use fresh in the summer!

1-2 teaspoons sugar (this cuts the acidity of the tomatoes)

salt and pepper to taste

a little ground red pepper (or flakes)

fat free cottage cheese, about 1  1/2 cups

1/4 cup Egg Beaters w/touch of yolk

Kraft 2% milk mozzarella cheese, about 1 cup, shredded

parmesan cheese, shredded, about 1/4 cup

whole wheat lasagna noodles, about 12 noodles (some think you have to precook the noodles--I never have done that and the noodles always cook just fine in the oven--stop wasting time boiling the noodles first!)

Brown the ground beef, set aside.  Chop all the veggies.  (I LOVE THE VIDALIA ONION CHOP WIZARD (See my post about THE WIZARD CHOPPER)--sure made all the chopping a breeze!--Thanks again, Mom and Dad!)

Saute in olive oil the peppers, carrots and celery (onion, if you must) for 3-5 minutes, then add the rest-zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms and saute another 3-5 minutes until soft, but not too much.   Scoot some of the veggies aside, add a little more oil and the garlic and saute for 30 seconds to a minute.  Stir all together.  I usually move the veggies to a pot instead of a saute pan at this point and add the tomatoes, ground beef, spices, and sugar and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes.  During this time, I put the cottage cheese in the food processor and pulse it up until it looks just like ricotta cheese!  Add a good half of the mozzarella cheese and the Egg Beater and pulse a few times. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Assemble the lasagna in a 9x13 pan.  Layer ingredients, beginning with sauce spread on bottom of pan, then lay pasta over the sauce, spread cottage cheese mixture over noodles and begin layers again--sauce, pasta, cheese mixture.  After the third layer, end with sauce, then sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on top.  Cover with foil and bake for 40-50 minutes, remove foil and bake another 10 minutes.  Let set for 5-10 minutes to cool slightly.  Serve.

 

The corner pieces are my favorite, cheesy-gooey-saucy-flavorful-and HEALTHY! 

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Dessert--I made these yesterday and unfortunately didn't take the greatest pictures, the color/lighting was off, but this is actually quite good.  I got some blackberries at $1 a pint recently (Love those winter sales on summer fruits!) and decided to find something to make with them.  I found this recipe at About.com (Southern Food).  It is simple and more flavorful than I thought it would be.  It is almost more of a cake than bars, but there is a surprise streusel type layer on the bottom.

Blackberry Bars, adapted from About, Southern Food

1 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream (I use light)

1/4 cup Egg Beaters with touch of yolk (or 1 large egg)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blackberries (these were huge, so I chopped them a little)

Combine flour and brown sugar, cut in butter with pastry blender--wait-as I was doing that, I decided a few pulses in the food processor would be much easier.  Pulse to combine in food processor.  Press 1  1/3 cups of mixture in bottom of an ungreased 8 inch pan (I used a round cake pan), a square pan works, too.  Combine remaining  crumb mixture, sour cream, egg, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Mix together until combined.  Stir in blackberries.  Spoon over crust and spread evenly.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cool on wire rack.

 

The recipe said to sprinkle with powdered sugar, but I thought that seemed a little boring.  So I made a glaze with some blackberries that I stuck in the microwave for about 20 seconds.  Then I mashed them with a fork and added about 3/4 cup powdered sugar, a pinch of salt and about 1/4 teaspoon vanilla.  Stirred together well and drizzled on the "bars".  Mmmm, good!  (Again, sorry about the color of the photo, it's not bad, but just off a little.)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, KEV!

Today it's been 11 years since we got married.  Can't believe it!  Hope you're enjoying the journey as much as I am.  I love you--Katrina