Sixlets Cake

I can't believe it's been like....two weeks since I posted anything.  I feel so lazy, ugh!!

I was going to post a lot more over spring break, but I had a terrible allergic reaction to a new sunscreen I tried and wasn't really able to leave the house for the entire week.  It was terrible and totally ruined the break, so I didn't really feel up to blogging.  Bummer!

Anyway, Friday was my mothers birthday.  We're pretty low key about birthday's in my family, usually going for some kind of family trip or just having a nice meal at home/in a restaurant.  We're really just not party people, I suppose:)

A few months ago, I posted this, where I detailed 10 dishes I was absolutely going to make this year.  I've already crossed off numbers 1 (stuffed Vidalia onions) & 4 (pasta aglio, olio, e peperoncino), but today I get to add a new one!

Ta Da!

Obviously, I'll never be a professional cake decorator, but it was sooo much fun to make and decorate.  I knew as soon as I saw this yummy, candy colored cake that it would be something my mom would go totally nuts for, and I was right!

Since it was her birthday cake, she picked the type of cake and I went with it.  She chose a lemon cake, and I added a raspberry liqueur buttercream frosting.  So tasty!

I really wouldn't actually recommend that you guys make this particular cake with the candy, because (in my opinion, at least), the flavors of lemon and chocolate just don't go together that well.


But hey, birthday girl gets to pick, right?

:)

The lemon cake is absolutely fabulous though, and perfect for summer.  If you or someone you love likes lemon, this is the perfect surprise!

Lemon Cake Recipe:

2 sticks unsalted butter, melted
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
Zest from 6 to 8 lemons (I used five lemons, and got roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of zest, which was   perfect)
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from about two lemons)
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Don't be intimidated by the weird/lengthy ingredient list!


Instructions:

1) In one bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a second bowl, combine the lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla.

2) In yet another bowl, (this one attached to a mixer!) cream the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy (~5 minutes).  Add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest while the mixer runs at medium speed.

3)  Alternately add your flour and lemon juice mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour.

The baking pans are totally up to you- the recipe calls for loaf pans, but I used a medium sized cake pan, sprayed it with cooking spray, and baked three layers for 35 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  As usual, check for doneness with a sharp knife or toothpick.  When it comes out clean, it's done!

If you want to rapidly cool, like I had to, slide the hot cake on a pan and find a shelf in your freezer that isn't near anything else.  Freeze the cake until it's about room temperature, and you'll be able to frost/devour the cake much, much faster!

Recipe found here.

Sixlets Cake recipe found here.

If you try, let me know how you like it!

Until Next Time,

Ashley

Tacos & Spanish Rice

You know those taco kits you get in the grocery store?  The ones with the really, really salty taco seasoning?

Ugh.

Just thinking about it makes me feel dehydrated!

I'm on spring break this week, which means I'll be cooking huge, longer to make, and slightly more difficult meals.  How exciting, right?  ;)

Anyway, instead of using seasoning packets to make tacos and rice, my mother figured out the perfect combination of spices to use for the tacos.  The rice, I found the recipe to myself:)  Sooo delicious.

Speaking of which, this weather is crazy, isn't it? So hot, and only March!  To enjoy the lovely weather, we ate outside on the beautiful veranda.  Unfortunately, my parents had already started eating by the time I brought the rice out, so I didn't get any pictures of either the food or the pretty table.  Tomorrow, tomorrow.

Anyway, to the recipes!

Tacos:

Ingredients:

1 bag Morningstar veggie crumbles
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons dehydrated onion
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water

Directions:

Prepare the veggie crumbles in a skillet, like you would ground beef (on the plus side, no need for any kind of oil!).  Add the liquids and stir in carefully.  Add the spices and stir again.  Turn the stove on high and let the excess liquid boil away.

Meanwhile (or way before, actually), you'll want to make the rice:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped or put through a food processor
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups white rice
3 cups vegetable stock (I'm still a big fan of Better Than Bouillon)
1 big tablespoon of tomato paste
1 pinch of oregano (roughly half of a 1/4 teaspoon)
Salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.


2. In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.


The recipe is from this site.  




If I had had the time, I would have tried making it with brown rice, but I was a little pinched since we had just come from the grocery store. Tomorrow, I'll post my recipe for chocolate-chip oatmeal cookie bars, which usually vanish in ~3 days:)


Until Next Time,


Ashley

10 Dishes I'm Determined to Make This Year

                                          Vidalia Onions Stuffed with Rice

                                           New York Times Vegetable Paella

                                           Potato & Cheese Pierogi

                                           Pasta Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino

                                                       Chocolate Bourbon Cake

                                             Smith Island Cake

                                                        Sixlets Cake

A good falafel sandwich (although I'm fine with just finding a good restaurant that serves this)

                                                  Baba Ghanoush

                                           Soft Pretzels

My mouth is watering just thinking about these!  If anyone wants to join me in my culinary adventures, I've linked to the websites I'll be using.

Happy Cooking!

Until Next time,

Ashley

Sour Cream Cookies

Sour Cream?  In cookies?


I hear what you're saying, believe me.  The first time I came home and saw these delicious looking cookies, I was more than a little disgusted when I found out the secret ingredient.

Trust me though- these are delicious and addictive.


They're not particularly waistline friendly though, so keep that in mind, although it helps that the recipe only makes a few.  I indulged in the cookie dough, so the recipe only made 16, but if you refrain, you could possibly get 18-20 (if you're lucky).

For the cookies:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and egg.  Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix well.  Add the dry ingredients, then combine thoroughly.  The dough will be very soft and difficult to handle, so refrigerate for at least an hour, although overnight is best.

Don't expect the dough to get really firm, because it will be fairly soft straight out of the fridge.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on a greased baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes at 425 degrees fahrenheit (I had to bake mine for almost 12 a batch, so mileage may vary!).

While the cookies are baking, mix up the burnt sugar frosting (which doesn't taste burnt at all, just delightfully rich!)

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter (do not use margarine or something like Country Crock.  It will turn out bright yellow and horrible.  I know this from personal experience!!)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 teaspoons hot water

Melt the butter in a small saucepan until golden brown.  Then combine the rest of the ingredients, adding the water by spoonfuls until you achieve the right consistency.

When the cookies are cool (or not hot enough to scald you), frost the cookies, and devour like a maniac (or share, it's really up to you).

I know these sound weird, but just give them a try!  So delicious!

Until next time,

Ashley

(Recipe adapted from "The Best of Country Cooking" 1998)

Black Bean Soup & Dean's List

I've been wanting to make this for what seems like ages, but I kept putting it off because it seemed (wait for it) "time consuming."  For the most part, this requires almost no hands on time, but it takes care of itself when the beans are soaking overnight, and simmering during the day.

Winter makes me feel lazy, I suppose.

In other news, I made the Fall 2011 Deans List!  I've never made it before, so I'm super, incredibly excited.  I thought I was definitely out of the running because of the two B's (because two B's disqualified me for it last year), but they didn't!  I was pretty depressed because I start school on Monday, and I loathe my school, but I'm actually not dreading it too much anymore (even though they cancelled my favorite-class-ever, German II.  Thought I was going to cry after that).

Anyway, ingredients:

1 pound dried black beans, soaked overnight
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped finely (preferably in a food processor, because we all know how much cutting onions sucks)
8-10 baby carrots, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
One 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (undrained)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dried cilantro for a garnish

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight and drain the next morning.
2. In a large pot, combine the beans, the 8 cups of water, and the two bay leaves.  Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for an hour and a half.  Drain the beans and discard the bay leaves.
3. In the same pot (but without the beans in it), heat the olive oil.  Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and sautee until fragrant and partially cooked (five minutes or so).  Poor in the tomatoes, beans, stock, oregano, cumin, salt, and cayenne.  Simmer for thirty minutes.
3. Transfer three cups of the soup to a food processor and blend, then recombine in the pot.  You can process more if you want it thicker and more stew-like, or less if you want it thinner and more soup-like.
4.  Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with a little cilantro.  If you're the "think-ahead" type, you can use fresh cilantro, but since I'm not, I used dried (worked just fine).

This soup makes (in technical terms) a "butt load," so it's great for a pot luck, a big family meal, etc.  I took half the leftovers and froze them for a later meal, which is great if you live by yourself (or just have a couple people in your family).

It's also a good idea to freeze this in single-serve portions, because I know a lot of us have vowed to save money this year:)

Enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Ashley

(Recipe adapted from Vegan Planet)

Vegan Dinner: Rice with Beans & Vegetables & an amazing mug brownie!

I finished todays workout absolutely famished and in the mood for something healthy.  I opened the refrigerator and found....leftover pizza, a zucchini, and a bag of carrots.

*overly dramatic movie scream*

I was absolutely not feeling the pizza, so I thought a minute and remembered a spectacular vegan burrito recipe from the "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch" recipe book.  The only issue was that I'm (gasp!) out of tortillas!  I decided that the filling was good enough to eat on its own, and used the recipe and the scant ingredients I had to whip a bowl of rice with beans and spiced veggies.  Even my dad, who didn't care for it in a burrito, liked it this way (or at least he said...).  I'm thinking perhaps it was the broccoli in the original  dish that he objected to, so that's that.

Below is what I used, but I'll also include the original recipe if you'd like to do the original (although we're not big on squash in our house, so we always skip that).

For the rice, make it the same way I detailed here, or make a pot of brown rice according to the package directions.  To make the beans, empty a 15 ounce can of black beans into a saucepan or a microwave safe bowl and heat until hot.

Original Burrito Ingredients:


1 tablespoon coconut or extra virgin olive oil
one yellow squash, diced
one green pepper, diced
one mild green pepper (like an Anaheim) diced
1/2 red onion, diced
one zucchini, peeled and diced
four cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice, tortillas

Like I said before, I didn't have all that, nor was I feeding four people.  I made enough for my dad and I, plus enough for tomorrows lunch for one person.

Modified Recipe:

A swirl of extra virgin olive oil
one zucchini, peeled and diced
6-7 baby carrots, put through a food processor and chopped into tiny bits
a small palmful dehydrated onion (or a tablespoon or two of the regular kind)
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon of lime juice

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the carrots.  Cook for a moment or two, then add all the spices, plus the garlic, onion, and zucchini.  Cook for 2-3 minutes and add the lime juice.

It really doesn't get much easier than this, and its not only delicious, but healthy- which in my opinion, makes it taste even better.

Of course, what's even better than dinner?

Dessert.

This is a recipe I found ages ago, and have continued to modify until it suited my purpose.  You can use any kind of liqueur, water, or milk in place of the raspberry, but that's what I have (and like), so that's what I used.

Cocoa can be varied based on your personal taste, but I like mine rich and chocolatey.

                                                   Uncooked

                                                  Half-baked the way I like it.

Warning: This is incredibly rich.  I always share with someone because it's simply too much for me to eat on my own.

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa
2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (I used Chambord)
2 tablespoons canola oil
chocolate bits to sprinkle on top (totally optional, but oh-so-delicious)

Combine all the ingredients and microwave for 45 seconds (if you like hot, melty, half-baked brownie goodness) or the full two minutes if you want it done.

Original recipe found here.

Bonus: adorable cat story:)

My cat is pretty smart. Like, above average smart (at least in my opinion).  She changes the channel on the TV when she doesn't like what I'm watching (and always somehow switches it to Cartoon Network. Hmm...), and opens cupboards and closed doors.  It's pretty cute, if occasionally irritating.  Today, however, I walked into my room and found that she had turned on my electric blanket and crawled under it, napping peacefully.  I've never seen a cat turn on an electric appliance before and it just bewildered me.

                                               The mischievous feline herself:)

Hope you guys enjoy!

Until Next Time,

Ashley

Red Beans & Rice with Corn Bread

It's so difficult to cook for picky eaters.  We have a list running in my house divided into three parts: "Make Again, "Do Not Make Again (Ever), and one labelled "NITH" (Not In The House, referring to my fathers frequent business trips).

Because, ladies and gentlemen, for once it isn't the child who is the picky eater...but the parent.  Since my mom and I became vegetarians, we've expanded our culinary scope to include dishes from around the world.  For reasons beyond my imagining, my dad hates this and doesn't like most of what we cook.

For the first time in a month or two though, I was able to add another dish to the "Make Again" list- Red Beans and Rice w/ cornbread!  I made a version of this early in the summer, but it was too spicy.  These recipes aren't my own, unfortunately, but I've been thinking of ways to improve them.  The beans, for instance, are far, far too salty.  I've been thinking of making my own Cajun seasoning blend and using a tablespoon of homemade (without salt) and a tablespoon with the store bought kind.

For broth, I use Better Than Bouillon, which is totally delicious but also a little salty.  Enjoy!

Red Beans Recipe:

1 pound of dried red kidney beans
1 large onion
2 stalks celery
3 tablespoons canola oil
11 cups vegetable broth
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Soak the beans overnight in water and drain.  Peel the onion and chop the celery and onion into small pieces- I used a food processor for the onions, and chopped the celery very finely.  Sautee the onion and celery in the hot oil for ten minutes over medium high heat.  Add the beans and vegetable stock, then bring to a boil.  Add the garlic powder, bay leaf, & Cajun seasoning, then simmer on medium-low heat for three hours (I know, I know!  But it's sooo worth it!)

During the last hour of the beans cooking, make the cornbread:

1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 sugar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Combine the liquid ingredients, then the dry ones and mix until just combined.  Pour the batter into a greased eight or nine inch square pan and bake in a 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until done.  Makes nine pieces.

While the cornbread is baking, make the rice.  Making rice is really basic, but for those that need a recipe:
1 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water

Combine the water and rice in a saucepan and bring to a soft boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cook for twenty minutes.  Fluff with a fork.

The recipe serves six, so it's great for a family dinner, dinner party, small potluck, or for someone who likes to make a LOT of food and keep it in the freezer.

Recipes from "Teens Cook" by Megan & Jill Carle

Until Next Time,

Ashley

Chocolate Cherry Brownies

                             The brownie looks almost black because of all the dark chocolate- yum!

Brownies are one of my favorite desserts, but somehow I always end up messing them up- they're too hard, too soft, have a mysterious oily layer on top (yeah, I don't know either.  That recipe definitely got trashed), but these brownies are the richest, most delicious ones I've ever had.

Usually when I make brownies, I make a very, very low fat version sprinkled with a tiny bit of powdered sugar- under 100 calories a piece and amazing.  Sometimes, however, you want all the richness associated with a three egg and multiple chocolate brownie.

This one is it:)

1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
3 eggs
3/4 cup peanut or canola oil
3/4 semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup halved maraschino cherries

Directions:

Mix everything but the chips and cherries in a bowl by hand (don't overmix!).  When it's combined, but just barely, add the chips and the cherries.  Gently mix in.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a baking pan with canola oil or line with parchment paper.  Pour in the brownies and bake for 30-35 minutes.

You can either...

-wait until they cool, cut them into tidy little squares and serve them to your friends and family like the lady/gentleman you are.

OR

(and this is my favorite method)

-Slice them up scalding hot and eat with a glass of icy cold chocolate soymilk.  Offer to share if you feel like it.

                         You can't see any cherries, but the chocolate looks sooo delicious and melty!

Seriously, how easy was that?  Original, untampered recipe from this website.  

Macaroni & Cheese with Brussels Sprouts

To start off with, I don't have a picture of the following recipes that I made last night.  Sad to say (or happily), it was eaten too fast to get a picture.  


So that's that.  


Is there anyone who doesn't love a good macaroni and cheese?  I'm not talking about the boxed kind, with the florescent orange dress, but the homemade kind, with several different kinds of cheese and a rich creamy sauce.  


Oh my God, yes.


So, without further ado:


Macaroni and Cheese Recipe:
(Adapted from Alton Brown)

• 1/2 pound short noodles
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups soy milk
• 3 tablespoons dehydrated onion flakes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 1/2 cups shredded white Vermont cheese
• 2 slices Pepper Jack cheese, torn up into strips
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
• 
  
• In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
  While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
  Temper in the egg. Fold in the cheese, one cup at a time, stirring until it's completely melted before adding more.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  
  Try to not eat the whole pan yourself, and enjoy!  
  
  
  Brussel Sprouts:
  (Adapted from Jennifer McCann's "The Vegan Lunch Box")
  1/2 pound fresh brussels sprouts, cleaned, trimmed, and cut in half (half a pound equals about 9 sprouts)
  1 tablespoons olive oil
  salt
  6 tablespoons water or vegetable stock
  1 tablespoon sugar
  1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  pepper
  Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the brussels sprouts and sprinkle with salt to taste.  saute, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts begin to turn golden, about 5 to 10 minutes.  Add 3 tablespoons of the stock or water and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer, covered with the lid left slightly ajar, until the brussels sprouts are almost completely tender and the stock or water has been cooked away (10 minutes).  Remove the lid and add the last 3 tablespoons of water, the sugar, and the apple cider vinegar.  Bring to a bubbly simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to a syrup, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot or at room temperature.  
  
  
  My parents were too afraid to try the sprouts, so I ended up eating the whole batch myself (which is supposed to feed two).  I was fine with that though, because WOW are these things delicious!  The macaroni and cheese complemented the sprouts really well.  I was pleasantly surprised by it.  
  
  
  If you try it, let me know they go!  
  
  
  Until Next Time,
  
  
  Ashley

Home Made Tomato Soup Recipe

When I was little, I always h-a-t-e-d tomato soup.  Like, with a passion.  We always had the canned stuff from Campbells, which tasted nasty and metallic.

Gross.

I thought I would always hate tomato soup until I found a recipe from scratch and modified it quite a bit until it practically no longer resembled the original recipe.  I was absolutely blown away by how delicious it was!  I never thought I would love tomato soup as much as I do now.  It's just so warm, creamy, and comforting- and super easy to make vegan, if you want.

Home Made Tomato Soup Recipe:

Serves 4

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons all- purpose flour

4 cups tomato juice

1 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the flour and stir well, making a smooth paste.  Add the tomato juice and water cup by cup slowly, stirring in between to minimize/eliminate lumps.  Bring to a boil for two minutes.  Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. 

 As you can see, the only animal based ingredient is butter, and it would easy to swap out something else.  

If you try it, let me know!

Until Next Time,

Ashley

Decadent Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

These cupcakes are h-e-a-v-e-n-l-y.  I used dark chocolate cocoa for the batter, which is insanely moist and delicious.  I'm not gonna lie, these are in no way, shape, or form healthy.  Sometimes, you kinda want something candy-like and delicious in cake form though, and this satisfies that exact craving!  I was contemplating adding chopped, unsalted peanuts to the top of it, but I completely forgot- no matter, these are delicious with or without.

Cupcake Batter Recipe:
2 cups all purpose or cake flour
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups water
1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cocoa

                                                     Delicious rich batter
Oven 350

In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa.  Add water, oil, and vanilla.  Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed until combined.  Beat on high speed for two minutes.  Add the eggs and beat for two more minutes.
Pour the batter into prepared muffin tins, filling the cups 3/4 of the way full.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until done.

                                       Cupcakes cooling on wire sheets

Using a sharp knife, cut out cones from the middle of the cupcakes, being sure not to pierce the bottom.  You won't be using the cake centers, so go ahead and eat them (I would post a picture of this, but the centers were eaten when I wasn't looking).

Using a ziplock bag with a hole cut out (or you know, an actual pastry bag with a cool metal tip), pipe in the peanut butter buttercream.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Recipe:

1/3 cup natural peanut butter (crunchy works best, but smooth is fine too)
1/2 cup butter, softened
6 tablespoons powdered sugar

Once you've filled the cupcakes, go ahead and ice them with the chocolate buttercream.  Unlike the cupcake batter, I used plain cocoa instead of dark chocolate.  The frosting is rich enough without adding the dark chocolate.

Chocolate Buttercream

1/3 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup chocolate milk, plus more if necessary
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a bowl, beat the butter until fluffy, adding the cocoa and sugar in batches.  Add the milk and vanilla as necessary to make it smooth and creamy.

                                                    Covered in Chocolate!

                              Sliced in half- check out all that peanut butter filling!!

If this doesn't make you feel like you're eating a Reese's in cake form, then I don't know what will!  If you try this, let me know how it goes:)

Until next time,

Ashley

Absolutely Amazing, Super Simple Tomato Sauce:)

I've said before that I haven't found a good home made tomato sauce recipe, and as a result, always use store bought jarred stuff...until today!  A few months ago, I found an excellent recipe, and have been editing it constantly- subtracting and adding ingredients until I think it's good enough to eat with a spoon!  Without further delay, here it is:

Garlic
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil
Canned tomatoes (two cans of diced or a large 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes)
Balsamic Vinegar
Crushed Red Pepper
4-5 Sun Dried Tomatoes packed in olive oil.

To begin, finely chop your garlic (the amount you use is up to you: I like to make it fairly garlicky and use 1-2 large cloves, or 3-4 smaller ones) and sun dried tomatoes.  Saute it in the olive oil over medium heat until fragrant.  Add the tomatoes with the liquid the sun dried tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium low (if medium is a 5, then medium low would be about a 3 on a gas stove).  Let it simmer, covered, for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.
After the 20 minutes, it should have reduced quite a bit.  Add a splash of balsamic vinegar (again, this is up to you.  The purpose of the vinegar is to enhance the natural sweetness of the tomatoes.  If I had to give an actual amount, I'd say 1/4 cup of vinegar).  Add a tablespoon of the tomato oil to the sauce as well.  Return it to medium heat and let it simmer for another ten minutes.  Add the crushed red pepper (as much as you want- I like mine really spicy, while my family prefers it milder), and let it simmer for another three or so minutes.

Serve with gnocchi, pasta, etc.  This is particularly delicious with ricotta salata cheese.  I've also found that if you cook it for a bit longer, until it has a thick consistency similar to refrigerated maple syrup, it's really good with quesadillas!

Fast, Easy, & Delicious: Spinach Gnocchi Al Telefono

This is my favorite 'staple' meal: you know, those ones that are so easy and delicious that you find yourself making them almost weekly?  This is one of them.  Disclaimer: I did not come up with the basic gnocchi recipe myself.  I found it on AllRecipes (told you it was fantastic!), and made a lot of changes to it to make it healthier, and ahem....mine:)

Gnocchi:
1 cup dry potato flakes
1 cup boiling water
1 cup raw spinach
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup all purpose flour

Sauce:
1 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce (my favorite is Prego HeartSmart- lazy, I know, but I'm a busy college student!)
1/2 cup FRESH mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Place potato flakes in a medium size bowl.  Pour in boiling water; stir until well blended.  Stick in freezer until cool.

2. Meanwhile, chop the spinach finely.  It's important that it be FINELY chopped.

3. Stir in egg, salt, pepper, and spinach.  Blend in the flour- the dough should be fairly stiff.  Flour your hands, and make sure your cutting surface is well floured too, otherwise the dough is going to be sticky and all over the place.  taking small handfalls, shape each section into a long thin roll, about the thickness of a breadstick.  With a flour coated knife, cut into small, bite-sized pieces (remember, the smaller the piece, the faster it cooks, so keep that in mind when cutting).

4. Place a few in boiling water (I try to keep it 10 pieces and under so they don't stick together).  As the gnocchi rise to the top of the pot, remove them with a slotted spoon.  Repeat until all are cooked.  Drain on a clean, dry cloth.  When all are cooked, empty the water, and put the sauce into the pot.  When the sauce begins to bubble, add the cheese.  When the cheese begins to melt (it'll form long thin strings of cheese when you stir), add the gnocchi and stir to coat.  Serve!

For those of you who hate spinach, don't worry.  The spinach doesn't have a pronounced flavor: all it does is add nutrients and color to the dish.  Eventually, I'll put up a recipe for a good home made tomato sauce, but I just haven't one I like yet....someday:p

Until next time!