Thai Shrimp Stir Fry

As part of our "Hurricane Sandy Preparation" we decided to make some kind of food that we could eat even if the power went out... and then we failed miserably at that and decided to make a pasta dish instead, which I guess could be eaten cold, but it was not exactly what we had in mind originally. 

Thai Shrimp Stir Fry

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 box angel hair (I used Barilla Plus) 
• 1 pound frozen or fresh shrimp 
•  2 Tablespoons peanut oil 
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds 
•  2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
• 6 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup peanut butter 
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger (I only had dried, fresh would likely be better.) 
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon basil 
• 1 bag frozen vegetables (I used a 2 pound bag of mixed green beans, corn, peas and some spinach), defrosted
• 1 can mushrooms 
• 2 jalapenos, diced  
• 1/4 cup crushed peanuts

 

1. Cook pasta according to directions and drain. Steam shrimp in a separate pot.

2. While pasta and shrimp are cooking, in a wok or skillet heat peanut oil. 
3. Add in onion, garlic, and sesame seeds and cook for about 2 minutes. 
4. Add in soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and peanut butter. Stir well over heat until peanut butter starts to blend/ melt. 
5. Add in vegetables (whatever ones you choose to use), mushrooms, jalapenos and spices (ginger, basil, red pepper). Stir well. 
6. Add cooked and drained pasta and shrimp. Mix well.
7. Serve topped with crushed peanuts.

 

I usually do not like shrimp, but I found this quite tasty. 

As usual, the children need a cameo.

 

Pumpkin Alfredo

I am having some technical difficulties the past few days. My computer has been going really slow and keeps giving me the 'magic beach ball of death' so all typing and computer activities has been taking longer than I would like. 

Secondly, my camera decided that working was over-rated. While I was making the below recipe I started with my real camera, but it decided to stop working and not turn on so the pictures below are all from my phone. I apologize for the poorer quality and missing the beginning steps of the recipe. 

My motivation for this recipe was SHOCKINGLY not Pinterest... I don't actually remember how I stumbled upon the website- but I wound up on Organic Authority   looking at pumpkin recipes
that all looked amazing.. especially this one for Dairy Free Pumpkin Alfredo

Since it is already a free recipe I think it is ok that I share it with proper citations. I barely changed anything from the recipe - and it came out awesome!

Ingredients:

•  1 spaghetti squash
• ½ pound whole grain fettuccini **(You can omit this and do all spaghetti squash to cut down the carbs if you want.)
• 1 pound spinach or other green (kale, chard, collard greens, mustard greens) 
•  3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons flour (All purpose, brown rice, whole wheat, whatever)
• 4 cloves of garlic minced 
•  1.5 cups non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened, plain almond milk)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• Fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
•  Nutritional yeast or parm cheese (optional: note parm cheese if not doing a vegan version!!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Half and seed the spaghetti squash. Drizzle with olive oil and put on a baking sheet. Roast for about 1-2 hours.

3. Near the end of the roasting, boil fettuccini.

4. Add in the greens vegetable of your choice to the boiling fettucini near the end.

5. Drain pasta/ greens into a colindar and set aside.

6. In a pan over medium heat, heat olive oil

7. Add flour to olive oil, mixing CONSTANTLY until smoothish

8. Add in garlic and cook ~ 1 minute to flour and oil mixture, continuing to stir.

9. Add in the milk slowly.

 

10. Then add pumpkin, salt and pepper. Continue to stir. Mixture will thicken.

 

11. Add in extra milk/ pumpkin as needed to adjust consistency.

12. Remove from heat.

To Serve:

Portion about half spaghetti squash with half fettuccini/ greens mixture and serve with pumpkin alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese.

I found it was also very good with a splash of hot sauce, but that is pretty much my opinion on every food.

 Of course my favorite Sous Chef was there to help supervise!

Taco Pasta Bake

I have allowed Jordan to be in charge of grocery shopping for the past couple of weeks, which has been nice that I haven’t had to go shopping, but tends to lead to having weird food around the house as he does not seem to understand the following a list or buying more just what he needs for one meal. But, god love him!

 
My garden is still growing a plethora of tomatoes so I made a tomato sauce the other day just by simmering olive oil, onions, tomatoes, garlic, carrots, pepper, oregano, basil and Italian spices. I was trying to think of what to do with the sauce (other than just make pasta), so obviously I went to my ‘go to’ … Pinterest.

There I saw this picture I had pinned a while ago of “15 minute Tacosagna” from Graceland blog, and I was inspired.

From that image/ recipe I created a “Taco Pasta Casserole Bake” as I have so called it

Taco Pasta Bake

• 1 box whole grain pasta (I used Penne Pasta)

1 can refried beans

4 cups tomato sauce

1 tablespoon taco seasoning (I used low sodium)

1 jar salsa

2 cup corn

3 jalapenos – diced

1 green pepper – diced

1 red pepper - diced

1 cup spinach, frozen

2 cups kidney beans, drained

1 package light cream cheese (8oz)

1 cup Mexican cheese or pepper jack

2 baking pans

1. Cook pasta until al dente. Drain. 

2. Preheat oven to 350*

3. Spread the refried beans along the bottom of the baking dishes

 4. Mix everything else besides the cheese together (tomato sauce, salsa, corn, peppers, jalapenos, spinach, kidney beans, and taco seasoning) either directly into the baking pans or in a seperate bowl.  - I personally just mixed it all in the baking pan but it was a bit full!

5. Split sauce between the two baking pans.

6.  Cut in the cream cheese in small amounts throughout the sauce 

7. Add in pasta and mix!

8. Cover with cheese. (We had some pepper jack cubes on hand so I just cut them in half and sprinkled them on top.)

9. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until bubbley and delicious! 

Jordan insisted on eating it with a tortilla because I called it a "Taco" pasta... but really the pasta should be adequate carbs!

Winter is coming....

In the famous words of the Starks "Winter is coming."

The mornings are becoming frigid... as are the nights. This morning in particular is a cold and rainy Sunday. Leo has refused to get out of bed, even to eat breakfast!

The weather leaves me craving warmer and often more hearty foods.

As you may know (or have noticed) I like all of my foods mixed together-- I tend to disgust those people who enjoy their foods neatly separated on their plates. Thus, one bowl wonders, like soup, tend to fit the bill for me!

Last night I decided to make a Kale soup. I tend to look at recipes, but then I am always too impatient to go shopping for ingredients/ I like to improvise so I used the basis of Rachael Ray's Chourico an Kale soup 

My version wound up something like this:

Kale and Italian Sausage Soup: 


* 1 Tablespoon olive oil
* 2 medium onions, chopped
* 2 white potatoes, chopped (I left the skin on, feel free to peel if you prefer).
* 8 cloves of garlic, diced
* 1.5 quarts chicken broth
* 1 -20 oz bag of frozen chopped kale (fresh would be ideal but..)
* 1 pound italian sausage (I used sweet, but hot would also be delicious), cut into bite sized chucks
* 1 carrot
* kernels from 1 ear of corn
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 1 can (~14.5 oz) of pinto beans
* 1 can (14.5 oz)  diced tomatoes
* 2 bay leaves
* black pepper

1. In a large pot or crockpot, saute chopped onions and potatoes in olive oil until tender.  
2. If using fresh kale add this in to the pot, and with bay leaves and garlic. If using frozen just add in the ba leaves and garlic. 
3. In a large pot or crock pot add in everything else. 
4. I simmered mine on low over night. If you are in more of a time crunch cook at a rolling boil and then cook at medium until potatoes are tender. 

Apple-Carrot Soup

Apple picking inspired a lot of desserts- but I felt I should also make something a bit more healthy out of the apples - so I found a recipe for apple carrot soup and adapted it.
Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon(s) margarine or butter
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 medium Golden Delicious apples - roughly peeled and chopped (I used Junga-golds -- my soup was really sweet-you could probably cut this down to 3 apples.)
• 2 pound(s) carrots, peeled and chopped  (I cheated and used a bag of frozen carrot coins)
• 1 pound butternut squash, peeled and chopped  (Used a bag of frozen)
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable broth  (This is used from scratch broth I made)
• 1 tablespoon(s) brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon(s) peeled and grated fresh ginger (I admit I just used ground)
• salt and pepper to taste (I used fresh cracker black pepper and NuSalt)
• Fresh chives for garnish

1. Melt butter or margarine in a dutch oven over medium - high heat.
2. Add in onions and cook until soft (About 10 minutes).
3. Add in apples, carrots, squash, broth, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

  5. Once Carrots and squash are tender, use an emersion blender to blend until smooth.

Serve with fresh chives for a garnish. Bon appetite!

Wedding Cupcake Trial: Part 6: Funfetti Cupcake

Wedding Cupcake Trial: Part 6: Funfetti Cupcake 

This is the only cupcake to date that was note first inspired by Pinterest. 

When I first asked Jordan what kind of cupcakes he wanted for the wedding, his first response, in all seriousness, was Funfetti. In general, funfetti is not the first kind of cake I think of when I think of wedding cakes, but it is his wedding too after all - so if he wants a funfetti cupcake- he will get a funfetti cupcake gosh darn it! 

It seemed a little too much like cheating to straight up use a box of Funfetti cake mix and funfetti frosting though, so I decided to try to be a bit more creative.  I used the base of the Wedding White Cupcakes and add in nonpareils (I wanted to use regular sprinkles, but they were no where to be found in the grocery store.) 

For the frosting I also tried another version of the "Best Buttercream" 

1 cup unsalted butter, softened  

1 cup white granulated sugar

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup milk (I used Silk Light Soymilk)

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1/2 tablespoon sprinkles or nonpareils 

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix flour and milk stirring constantly until batter becomes thick. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl place butter and sugar and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. This can take a long time (10-15 minutes) to get the granulated sugar fluffy but it is worth it. If you have a stand mixer- this would be an ideal time to use it. 
3. Add cooled flour/ milk mixture to butter and sugar, and beat. 
4. Add in extracts and some sprinkles or nonpareils and beat until combined. 
5. Refrigerate for about 1/2 an hour until slightly thickened. 
6. Pipe or spread onto completely cooled cupcakes. Add any other decorations (I added some more nonpareils on top). 

Conclusion: 

• As you can see in the interior picture above - there were some holes and tunnels in the cake. This can be a result of over mixing. Also adding the dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly can help prevent this as well.
• I also made these at the same time as the wedding white cupcakes where I admitted to undercooking them, so these also came out a bit undercooked. 
• Overall I did really like the taste, and the texture likely would have been good if they were not undercooked. 
• Nonetheless-- I think the box of funfetti cake would still win in this situation unfortunately. 
• Boxed cake 1 - Jamie 0 

Wedding Cupcake Trial: Part 5: Champagne Cupcakes

Wedding Cupcake Trial: Part 5: Champagne Cupcakes


Inspiration picture via Pinterest  via Eats Well with Others  Recipe modified from Eats Well with Others 

Champagne Cupcakes 

Makes about 6 cupcakes 

Cake 
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cups AP flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup champagne, prosecco, or any sparkling wine

Champagne Custard Filling
• 1/4 cup light cream, divided
• 1/4 cup champagne or prosecco
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2.5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 whole egg
• 1 egg yolks
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Champagne Frosting
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp champagne or prosecco, divided
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups confectioner's sugar

Start the cake!

1. Preheat oven to 350* F
2. Prepare cupcake pan and liners (about 6) 
3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Set aside.  
4. In another bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda until combined. Set aside. 
5. In a third separate bowl, mix Greek Yogurt and Champagne together.  
6. Slowly add the flour mixture and yogurt mixture (alternate between the two) into the butter and sugar mixture and mix until combined. 
7. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full with batter. 
8. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until cupcakes spring back when touched lightly in the center. 

While the cake is cooking start on the custard! 

(Sorry I am copying this part of the recipe almost verbatim because I was so afraid to mess it up!! Again- all credit goes to Joanne-eats well with others! ) 

1. In a medium bowl mix 1/8 cup of cream with corn starch. 
2. Combine the remaining light cream, sugar and 1/2 cup champagne in a saucepan; bring to a boil then remove from heat.
3. Beat the whole egg and egg yolks into the cornstarch/heavy cream mixture in the stand mixer.  With the stand mixer on, slowly pour 1/3 of boiling champagne mixture into the egg mixture, whisking constantly so the eggs do not cook.  Return the remaining champagne/heavy cream mixture to a boil.  Pour in the hot egg mixture in a stream, whisking constantly until the mixture thickens.  Remove from heat and beat in the butter and vanilla.
4. Cut hole out of cupcake (Again I just used a cupcake corer) and fill with cream. 

Finally make the frosting: 

1. In a sauce pan heat 1/2 cup of champagne over low heat until it reduces to about 1 tablespoon. (keep an eye on this I kept letting it reduce too much and having to do it again!) 
2. In a large bowl cream softened butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add in the Tablespoon of reduced champagne and 1/2 Tablespoon of champagne from the bottle and continue to beat until well combined. 
3. Pipe or spread on cupcakes and decorate as desired! We added some cute little Nonpareils and sprinkles.

This picture shows the champagne cupcakes and the Wedding White cupcakes 

Conclusions 

• The frosting was sweet, but not too sweet. 
• Cake was moist, fluffy and had a nice crumb. 
• I could have eaten that champagne custard with a spoon (Ok, Ok- I totally did with the extra!) 
• Nonpareils make cupcakes super cute- but I am shocked I didn't break my teeth trying to eat them.

Along with taste testing cupcakes today - we were also quite productive by:

• cleaning the house
• sending out save the dates 
• and giving Ghreylin a shower! This is how he positions himself when he wants you to spray under his wings.  

Photography by Jordan Garry unless otherwise stated