butterbeer

When the Harry Potter theme park opened in Florida, several of the news reports (which we were obligated to read to Gwennie and Linus) made a big deal of the butterbeer which was being sold in the Hogsmeade section of the park. Though that drink sounds like little more than an upscale cream soda, it renewed interest in the beverage around our house.

After looking at some recipe attempts on the internets and rejecting them as pretty gross-sounding (many were based on carbonated drinks, and one actually included melting vanilla ice cream and adding it to the soda), I found a recipe in a book which I was able to adapt. Not only is it delicious, but it has the advantage of including butter as its base. So I should note that, while it does not consist of melted ice cream, it is not exactly a health shake. But for an occasional indulgence, it's been well received around here.

Butterbeer

2 cups water
1/2 stick butter
1 packed cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
shake of ground cloves
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk

Melt the sugars and the butter in the water over high heat, whisking to dissolve the sugars in the liquid. After they are fully integrated, reduce the heat to low and add the salt and spices, heating until quite hot. Meanwhile, mix the cream and milk in a blender and process until frothy. (The dairy seems to thicken best if blended cold.)

Ladle 1/4 cup of the cream mixture into a mug, followed by 3/4 cup of the spice liquid. Stirring with the tip of your wand may be considered bad manners, but no one objects to seeing frothy mustaches from a hearty gulp of butterbeer.

Melon Pops!

Have you ever picked out a melon, be it cantaloupe or honeydew, and found the flavor to be less than sweet, or the texture too mushy to enjoy? What then? Do you throw it out, or let it sit in your fridge until mold allows you to justify trashing it so you don't feel quite so wasteful?

I went for years not even trying to pick out melons because I couldn't stand the disappointment of a bad one. Luckily though, I have found the perfect solution... Melon Pops! And since it's that time of year right now, I thought I would share.

It started with a honeydew --one of those that just isn't sweet. I didn't want to throw it out, but even the kids didn't really like it. I just happened to have some leftover sweetened condensed milk in the fridge, so I tried dipping it, which helped some, but then Richard made remark about popsicles and an idea was born. I blended up the left over melon, added sweetened condensed milk until it was satisfactorily sweet, and froze it in some forms we had gotten from the dollar store. Voila! Melon Pops! They were fantastic! I was surprised at the creaminess of the texture actually, and I felt that with that much actual fruit, it was bound to be good for you. In fact, these popsicles are actually pretty filling. We've tried it with fat free sweetened condensed milk and it might be less smooth (some brands can be gritty) but it usually works just as well. We've only tried honeydew a and cantaloupe, but are looking forward to experimenting with others. Here's a basic recipe:

Melon Pops-

1 Melon (of the muskmelon variety--meaning not watermelon) off the rind and cut into chunks or "smiles" as we call them

2-3 T Sweetened condensed milk (amount will vary depending on the sweetness of the fruit, just taste it and adjust to your liking)

Put all ingredients in blender, blend on high, and pulse if necessary till it is smooth. Freeze in popsicle forms, ice cube trays with toothpicks, or paper cups with wooden popsicle sticks for a few hours or until solid.

Enjoy!

Note: Picking out melons can be tricky, but here are a few things I've found to be helpful:

-Smell is a huge indicator of sweetness.

-Color is also helpful; Cantaloupes should be more yellowish than green, honeydews should also have a milky white or yellow color.

-Finally, your should feel the ends, if you push on it you can usually tell if the fruit is going to be too ripe and mushy --pick a firmer fruit but not too firm. Of course, now that you know what to do if you pick amiss, it doesn't really matter does it?

One other note: Melons that are really too green don't work as well, since sometimes people like me can have allergic reactions such as itchy ears --the kids wouldn't eat popsicles made out of those ones either even though they were perfectly sweet.

Homemade Pizza

I expect that everyone has a version of homemade pizza which they make regularly, but we've fallen into this particular variant recently (called "Puffaroni" by Gwendolyn because the crust gets so fluffy), and we've all been loving it.

Basic Dough:

olive oil
4 cups bread flour
1 1/3 tsp quick-rise yeast
2/3 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup water, 110 degrees F

Mix the dry ingredients, then add the lukewarm water to the mixture (a mixer with a dough hook or paddle attachment is useful). Once you have a shaggy mass, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it lightly; it will remain somewhat sticky. Place in a bowl which you have greased with the olive oil, turning the dough to grease its sides, and let it warm until doubled, around 45 minutes.

Whole Wheat Dough:

1 2/3 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
3 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
scant 2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp bread machine yeast

We allow this recipe to mix in our bread machine on the dough setting, which provides it with a great environment for the yeast to rise, but I suppose that it could also be made by hand.

In either case, the risen dough should be divided in two equal portions, which can be shaped into rounds, tossed or rolled flat (allowing several minutes between sessions for the dough to relax), and shaped or placed on a round pizza pan. Allowing the dough time to rise after it's been shaped makes a big difference in the final results, we've found. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 or 500 degrees. If you have a pizza stone, as we do, place it on the lower rack and allow it to heat as well.

A friend in Boston taught me a handy way of cooking pizzas. Matt would par-bake the crusts with the sauce for half the cooking time, then would add the toppings and return it to the oven. So when the oven is ready, we spread bottled marinara sauce (we prefer Barilla tomato and basil) over the dough and place it in the oven for six to seven minutes while we prepare the other crust.

After taking the partially-baked crust from the oven, I brush some creamy salad dressing (something like Girard's Caesar) around the outer edge and sprinkle parmesan cheese on it to give the crust a little flavor, but this can be skipped in the interest of diet or health. We generally improvise the rest, but we tend to include grated mozzarella, some herbs or spices (fresh black pepper, dried thyme, shallot pepper, or whatever's on hand), and whatever the family likes. The pizza is then returned to the oven for another six or seven minutes, and after cooling for a few minutes, it's ready to be devoured.

Where toppings are concerned, we tend to keep some pepperoni in the freezer for the children, but Jen and I prefer vegetable pizzas. Our last foray included a fresh tomato/artichoke heart pizza and a spinach/artichoke pizza which I found particularly irresistible. In case you're interested in trying it, here's the recipe for the artichoke hearts:

1 Tbsp olive oil
9 oz frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and roughly chopped
2 shallots, minced
juice of 1/4 lemon
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil over medium, and add the minced shallots when heated, cooking until soft and translucent. (Can I also mention the love affair I've been having with shallots since I started cooking with them last year? -- they're incredible. Nero Wolfe would be proud.) Add the artichokes, lemon juice, water, and salt, then cover. Cook for an additional 5 or 6 minutes until the artichokes are tender, then uncover and continue cooking until the liquid has evaporated. Let cool. (If you're also adding spinach, just cook it in boiling water for 2 minutes, then shock it in cool water and press it hard to drain the water. Roughly chop it before adding it to the pizza, and enjoy.)

Lemon Pepper Chicken Pita Sandwiches

This is something we learned from our friends in Jackson. I think they're healthy, although we could have made them healthier if I knew where to find whole wheat pitas and didn't use so much cheese or dressing. (Dressing not pictured, I forgot it when I was taking pictures).

Here's the recipe.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Pita Sandwiches:

1 Rotisserie Chicken (or just cook your own whole fryer)--shred and put in sauce pan

1/2 T Lemon Pepper

2 T Lemon Juice

1/3 c water

2 Chicken Bouillon cubes

Bring to a boil on the stove, then add the bouillon cubes and simmer to reduce water (honestly, it's not much water, so just do what you can to get the bouillon cubes incorporated before you run out of water. Also, I didn't have any lemons, but lime worked just great!) remove from heat.

Cut about an inch and a half thick strip off the top of your pitas, open them and stick some slices of Pepper Jack cheese inside (or other favorite white cheese). Put on cookie sheet and warm in oven just enough to melt cheese (we actually didn't have any cheese, so I just spread the insides with cream cheese and it was also delicious).

Fill the pita pockets with the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, peppers, and whatever else you feel like. Top with Ranch Dressing and enjoy!

Greek Chicken Wraps (Andrea)

Sorry about this picture: again, I remembered when the last one was being eaten. Thanks, Kevin.)

This is one of our favorite meals (in fact, we've had it twice in the last month) and works really well with grilled chicken. We love the way this meal tastes, and it is really quite easy to prepare and also quite healthy.

GREEK CHICKEN WRAPS

2-3 large chicken breasts, grilled (or however you want to cook them) and cut up into bite-size pieces. Our standard grilling topping is to sprinkle equal amounts of onion powder, garlic powder, marjoram, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, and Mrs. Dash (the one with the yellow lid, although any onion/garlic based season salt will probably work).

Feta cheese

Tomatoes, diced

Jack cheese

Lettuce leaves (Bibb lettuce is awesome, but we've used Romaine before and it works well, too because it's larger)

Tzatziki sauce: (mix all these together)
1 cucumber, sliced and quartered
1 c. light sour cream
1 c. plain yogurt
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Get a lettuce leaf, and assemble your wrap with any or all of the ingredients (we have tried it with fresh mango, too, which is good). Kind of messy, but yummy. If your kids don't want to have it in lettuce, then these work just as well in regular tortillas.

Hope you enjoy--let me know if you make them and how they turn out.

Baked Chicken Vegetable Pasta (Andrea)

I got this recipe off the SparkPeople recipe site and the original name is "Chef Meg's Healthy Chicken Vegetable Casserole." You can get to the original recipe here. I took the main idea and changed a few things, including the name (Dad's aversion to the word 'casserole' must have rubbed off on me). I think my changes made it a little less healthy (some salt, a bit more sauce, a bit more cheese), but I think it still qualifies as healthy, so I'm posting it here with a picture (aren't you impressed with my foresight? Usually I remember to take a picture when the last of it is actually being consumed).

BAKED CHICKEN VEGETABLE PASTA

10 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked al dente
1 1/2-2 c. cooked chicken, shredded or cut into pieces
2 heads broccoli, cut into small pieces and steamed until crisp-tender
Place all in a big bowl

1 medium onion, minced
3/4 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
Saute the onion, garlic and red pepper in 1 T. olive oil until the onions are translucent, then add the zucchini and cook until the peppers and zucchini are crisp-tender. Mix with pasta mixture in big bowl, stirring gently. Season with kosher salt (about 1-2 tsp.) and dump into 13 x 9 pan.

Sauce:
3 T. butter--melt in saucepan over medium
1/3 c. flour--add to butter and stir 1 min. until smooth & bubbly
2-4 T. low-fat cream cheese, softened--mix into butter mixture until smooth
2 c. milk--stir into mix and stir until thickened over medium heat (5-10 minutes)

Remove from heat and add:
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/3 c. parmesean cheese

Pour sauce evenly over mixture in pan and with spoon gently work in. You don't have to mix it up totally, just prod it a little all over so the sauce can work its way down.

Top with 1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, cover and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Uncover and cook 5 more minutes.

Yum!

Mexican Feast (Andrea)

Hi guys. Here are some of our favorite Mexican recipes. They make a really good meal all together, or you could use them to make enchiladas or a salad or something. Since moving from Boise, I've been trying to recreate some Costa Vida recipes, and I think some of these are about as close as I'm going to get (although I still miss that restaurant!)

Sorry about the lack of pictures--I will get some later, or if any of you happen to make this before me, feel free to add pictures!


SLOW-COOKER SALSA CHICKEN

(This one I got from Sparkrecipes.com just recently--they have some awesome recipes!)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts--Place in crockpot
1 pkg. taco seasoning (or 1/3 c. homemade taco seasoning)--Sprinkle over chicken
1 c. salsa--Pour over chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup--Pour over chicken
1/2 c. sour cream (optional)

Cook chicken on low 6-8 hours. Remove from heat & stir in sour cream [we actually never do this--we just have a dollop of sour cream on the side]. You can eat the chicken in whole pieces, or shred it.


GREEN CHILI RICE

3 c. chicken broth
2 c. white rice
4 oz. can green chilis
1 small onion, diced small
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cumin

Combine all ingredients but rice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, then add rice. Stir once, then cover and turn to low. Cook for 20 minutes. Optional: after the rice is on your plate, it's really yummy with some fresh cilantro and lime juice.


BLACK BEANS

2 cans black beans
1/2 medium onion, chopped (you can use dried onions for this, but it isn't nearly as good)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic (fresh or jarred is best)
1/2 tsp. oregano
1-2 tsp. chicken base
1/2 c. water

Simmer in saucepan on med-low for about 20 minutes. After about 10 or 15 minutes, mash about half the beans. Add kosher salt and pepper to taste when finished cooking. Also, for a bit more flavor, mix in about 1/4-1/2 c. salsa at the end.


PICO DE GALLO

4 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped (romas are less juicy, but you can use whatever tomatoes you have on hand)
1 small white onion, minced
1/2 c. cilantro leaf, chopped
2-3 jalepeno pepper pieces, chopped (we use jarred, but you can use fresh)
1-2 T. lime juice
Kosher salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together. Yum!

Health Tip --go Bunless!

Again, not a recipe, but something I've been trying lately in order to cut the carbs: Going bunless! I was so surprised at how much I liked it --I just had to share.

I really don't miss the bun at all, and it cuts about 26 carbs out and nearly 200 calories! If you can't handle going without both buns, then just try going topless at least. This works for most sandwiches as well, I've been having open faced turkey sandwiches, tuna sandwiches, and even grilled cheese sandwiches (which is still not healthy, but better than having two slices of bread with it right?). Substituting low-fat cottage cheese or avocado for the mayo is also a good idea, but I would be lying if I said I did that all the time. There are plenty of calorie-saving tricks out there, you just have to choose which ones you can live with.

I have to admit too that sometimes the only reason I cut carbs like this, is so I can have something else like THIS:

I'm not going to post the recipe for this one, because it's definitely not healthy.

...unless someone really wants it.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pasta with Veggie Marinara and Breadsticks--Andrea

It's kind of funny that both Laura & I are posting a Marinara sauce recipe this week, but that's what I had planned so... Correct me if I'm wrong here, Laura, but yours sounds more like a dipping/pizza sauce. Mine is more of a meal/pasta topping with the vegetables. At any rate, you can't go wrong with a bunch of good sauce recipes! I think most of you have eaten this--Kevin and I made it for one of our reunion meals I think a few years ago?

PASTA WITH MARINARA SAUCE

2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 onion, minced
1 T. olive oil
Heat these in saucepan until onion starts to turn translucent & garlic is fragrant

2-3 large zucchini, chopped into 1/4 inch-size cubes (I've actually started grating one of these and chopping them quite small, since my boys don't love the chunks all that much)
Saute this until starting to be tender, then add to pan:
10-14 mushrooms, chopped (again, half of this ends up grated to cut down the chunkiness, and the grated vegetables help thicken the sauce)

When vegetables are crisp-tender, add:
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 large cans tomato sauce
1 small can diced tomatoes
(you can alter the amount and types of tomatoes according to your tastes)
2-3 T. dried parsley (or the equivalent amount fresh if you have it; I never do)
2-3 tsp. basil (same with fresh)
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
(I made this recipe up, so it's a little different every time. Just do what you think. It's very forgiving and almost impossible to mess up.)

Serve over pasta, preferrably in Dad's bowls, if you have them. It does taste better that way :0) This is a healthy recipe and would, of course, be more healthy over whole wheat pasta.


ONE-HOUR BREADSTICKS

I do have another breadstick recipe that I like a little better than these, but they also take about twice as long. This is my favorite for when I forget to start the others (more than half the time I make them :0). We got this from Kevin's sister Jolyn and it's a good one and super easy (especially with the time-saver tweaks I've figured out). This recipe makes about 30 5 inch breadsticks.

1 1/2 c. hot water
1 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 c. flour
1 T. yeast

1- Preheat oven to 350
2- Stick your water, sugar and salt in a mixer bowl.
3- Mix the yeast with 1 c. flour and slowly add it to the water, mixing on low, (I'm assuming here that you are using a good brand of yeast (Saf-instant) that doesn't have to be proofed. If it does, add the yeast but not the salt to luke-warm water in the second step, then the flour & salt in the third step. I always make these with at least 1/2 whole wheat flour, sometimes more--they are way healthier that way, if a little more dense)
4- Add enough flour so you have a dough that is still a tiny bit sticky
5- If using ww flour, mix in mixer for about 5 minutes.
6- Stick cookie sheet into oven to warm for a few minutes while the dough rests, about 5 minutes.
7- Pull cookie sheet out & spray with oil
8- Using fingers (but don't burn yourself) or a rolling pin, spread dough out as far as it will go toward edge of pan.
9- Use a pizza roller to cut through the middle horizontally, then every inch or inch & a half across to cut your breadsticks. (don't worry about getting all the way to the edge: they are easy to pull apart after they bake)
10- Bake 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Optional: for extra flavor, add 1 tsp. garlic powder & italian seasoning to dough. And/or: before or after baking, brush dough or breadsticks with butter or olive oil and sprinkle this awesome stuff on.

Good idea--not necessarily health food

This isn't a recipe, and it's not exactly healthy, but it's really yummy!

Chicken Pot-Pie in a bowl! I used the stoneware bowls we got from Grampa Sam to cook chicken pot-pies in, and they turned out so delicious! I know it's healthier to go without the double crusts, but I would rather just have this dish half as often because when you cook them in stoneware the crust is so crispy and delicious it's not worth having any other way! Just use whatever recipe you like for the filling, sealing the top and bottom crusts together well and putting holes in the top for the steam to vent out. Cook it at 425 for 35 minutes on the bottom rack and voila! They just pop right out and aren't they beautiful!

Just a note, my recipe for crust (3c flour, 1 c shortening, 1 tsp salt, water) makes about 2 pies top and bottom in the large bowls pictured (about 5"-6" dia.), and one bowl is plenty for two people.

Pizza Crust

This one was requested by Jill after having it with us this weekend. I usually make it with 1/2 wheat flour and enjoy the nutty flavor, but didn't have any good stuff this last time. For best results use with my marinara Also, we like to put spinach on our pizza. If you put a thin layer of fresh baby spinach on right after the sauce and cover it with cheese, no one can tell it's there but you still get the benefits! Roasted red peppers are also tasty. This crust is perfect for a nice thin crispy crust.

Pizza Crust

2 c warmish water

1 1/3 c flour

4 tsp sugar

4 tsp Yeast (I use saf-instant)

Mix together and let sit until yeast is bubbly

Sift together:

3 1/2 c flour

1 1/3 tsp salt

Mix with wet stuff until dough is soft and pliable, but not sticky.

Roll out thin. Makes 2 large thin crust pizzas.

Cook pizzas on lowest shelf in oven, at 400-425 until underside is golden and crispy.

I coat my pans with Pam, and then sprinkle them with a little cornmeal to add flavor and crunch.

Food glorious food! --Marinara

I'm excited about this recipe sharing thing. Let's see how well this works.

This is my favorite sauce for Pizza, but it's also great on pastas like Tortellini. I don't have a picture of the sauce itself, but I'll get one next time I make it.

Garlic Basil Marinara

4 cloves Garlic, chopped

saute in

2 T Olive Oil

add:

4 cans diced Tomatoes (I use petite diced).

Cook down for at least an hour, depending on how thick you want it.

Just before you take it off the heat add:

about 2 T Fresh Basil crushed and minced

Salt and Pepper and Oregano (fresh or dried) to taste.

Blend in blender until smooth.

Makes about 1 qt sauce. I freeze it in smaller quantities. and use it as needed.