Pile of Vegetables

Has anyone been cooking this summer? This is what I make when I don't feel like doing anything at all.

Chop up various vegetables to about the same size. I like to use potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, broccoli, peppers, or really anything that I have around. The tough root vegetables will need longer to cook than things like broccoli and peppers, so they go on the pan first. Lay them out on a baking sheet with sides and sprinkle them with melted butter or olive oil, and some salt and whatever spices you like. Pop them into a 400 degree oven and add any left-out vegetables after 20 minutes. They should be done after 15-20 more minutes, but check them with a knife - if they're done, it'll go right through.

Spiced Couscous with Curry Tofu

This is a Middle-Eastern-flavored dish, which is so easy that anyone who can boil water can make it!

Many stores offer flavored tofu. If yours does not, just use regular firm tofu.

2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1 tablespoon dried onion flakes (I skipped this)
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/3 cups whole-grain couscous
1 pound curry-flavored tofu, diced (I actually used Szechuan and it was good)

Heat chicken broth, curry, cinnamon, raisins, onion flakes, and garlic to boiling over high heat. Add couscous and tofu; stir. Cover and let stand, unheated, 5 minutes before serving. Voila.

My only complaint about this dish is that I can't eat more of it!

Oreo Cookie Pudding

1 package Oreo cookies
2 Large boxes vanilla instant pudding
5 cups milk (whole milk works best)
1 8oz container Cool Whip
1 8oz cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Soften cream cheese at room temp. Crush cookies and put half in the bottom of a large serving bowl, set aside. Mix softened cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, set aside. In a seperate bowl beat together milk and pudding mix, add to cream cheese and powdered sugar mixture, fold in Cool Whip. Put pudding on top of crushed cookies and top with remaining crushed cookies.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

4 oz unsweetened chocolate (or bittersweet)
1 stick of butter, cut into tablespoons
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs

Melt chocolate with butter over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar. Add eggs one at a time and whisk in. Pour mixture into greased 8 inch cake pan and bake for 15* minutes at 375 degrees, until a thin crust forms on the top.

Cut into triangles and serve with whipped cream, or just eat it with a fork. Yum.

*the original recipe says 25 minutes, but this was too long for me. I dunno.

Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas - American Style

Ingredients:
Cooking Spray
1 cup Chopped onion
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast (about 1/2 lb.)
1 cup (4 oz) shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar -- divide in half
1 cup picante sauce
3 oz reduced fat cream cheese (about 1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
8 (6 inch) flour tortillas (choose your favorite style: wheat, low carb, white)
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (or green taco sauce)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. When hot, add onion and saute until translucent and tender. Add chicken and 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, picante sauce, cream cheese, and cumin. Cook for three minutes or until cheese melts.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla, and roll up enchilada style.

Place enchiladas in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. drizzle with sauce and sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

Cinnamon Rolls, Yummy

Dough:
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water (105-115 degree)
2/3 c. plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar, divided
1 c. warmed milk
2/3 c. butter
2 tsp salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
7-8 c. all-purpose flour, or more if needed

Filling:
1 c. melted butter, divided (2 sticks)
or ½ c. melted butter and buttery nonstick spray
1 3/4 c. granulated sugar, divided
3 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, optional
1 1/2 c. raisins, optional

Creamy Glaze:

2/3 c. melted butter (1 stick plus 2 tbsp.)
4 c. powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4-8 tbsp. hot water

Preparation:

In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar and set aside. In a large bowl, mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs; stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff (dough will be sticky).

Turn out onto a well-floured board; knead 5 - 10 minutes. Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (room temperature of 75 degrees is optimal).

When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out on floured surface into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.

To prepare filling: Spread dough with 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts and raisins, if desired.

Roll up jellyroll-fashion and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. Coat bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and a 8-inch square pan with remaining 1/2 cup melted butter (or spray with buttery non-stick spray), then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sugar (optional). Place cinnamon roll slices close together in pans. Let rise in warm place until dough is doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes (or in refrigerator overnight).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly.

To prepare glaze: Meanwhile, in medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar (sifted) and vanilla; add hot water 1 Tbsp. at a time until glaze reaches desired spreading consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

Kate's Bread

The famous homemade bread goes something like this:

2 T yeast
1 T sugar
2 cups warm water (I turn the tap on as hot as it will go so I don't kill the yeast!)
1 cup milk
2 T melted butter
1 T salt
6ish cups flour (sometimes I mix half whole-wheat and half white flour)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water and wait until it gets foamy. Mix it into the milk and butter and salt, and start stirring in flour, one cup at a time. When the dough pulls away from the bowl, turn it onto a floured surface and begin kneading in the rest of the flour. Keep going until the dough isn't ridiculously sticky, and when you press it, it bounces back. Place in greased bowl and let it rise until it's about double the size it was. At this point, you can either put it in a bread pan or pull it into fist-sized chunks and put them on a cookie sheet. Wait a while for them to get puffy again, and stick 'em in an oven at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes for the loaf, and 15ish minutes for the buns.

They freeze well, make good sandwiches, and apparently make husbands very very happy :)

The Melting Pot

Hey y'all. Time to gather some recipes for us folks that can't give up our day jobs quite yet, eh?