Crostini and Veggies with White Bean Dip

Crostini and Veggies with White Bean Dip

Crostini is simply little slices of toast. You can use store bought bread to make it, or homemade bread works great too. The bean dip is nice because it's dairy free and the food processor does all the work. This is a great snack because it has something for everyone.

Crostini
Thin slices of bread (about 1/4 inch)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

• Preheat oven to 350*.
• Brush both sides of the bread slices with oil.
• Cut slices of bread into chip size pieces.
• Arrange bread on a sheet pan.
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Bake at 350* for 10-12 minutes, flipping once.

 White Bean Dip
1 14oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Fresh herbs (mint, thyme, basil, oregano, parsley, etc.), chopped
Salt and pepper
Chives or green onion tops, chopped for garnish

• In a food processor or blender, pulse to combine beans, garlic, oil, lemon juice, and herbs.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with chives or green onions.

Notes: You can use whatever herbs you have on hand; I like thyme and mint.

Question: When was the last time you used your food processor?

Roasted Carrots

Roasted Carrots

Roasting the carrots brings out the sweetness. My mother-in-law sometimes uses sesame oil, which is also very good, but my kids like plain olive oil better.

Roasted Carrots

• Preheat oven to 425*.
• Peel carrots and cut into sticks.
• Place carrots on the pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Mix them around so everything is coated in the oil and the seasoning is distributed.
• Roast for 20 minutes until browned and tender. Stir at least once during cooking.

Notes: Baby carrots can be used but might need to be cut in half if they are larger around.

Question: What's up doc?

Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs

Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs

Based on a Cooking Light recipe for Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs, this is nice change up for chicken. It's quick and has great flavor. Only 3 out of 6 in our family will eat it because the rub has a little spice to it. For the other three I replace the spice rub with salt and pepper but keep the honey glaze. Then everyone gives it a something good rating.

Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs
5 Tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 boneless chicken thighs

• Place an oven rack about 4-6 inches from the broiler. Then preheat the broiler.
• Put honey in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Whisk in vinegar. Set aside. 
• Mix the spices in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
• Spread the chicken on a broiler pan or on a cooling rack on top of a foil lined cookie sheet.
• Broil for 5 minutes. Flip chicken and broil for another 5 minutes.
• Brush the chicken with about half of the honey mixture. Broil for one minute.
• Flip the chicken. Then brush with the rest of the honey mixture. Broil for one minute.
• Serve and enjoy!

Notes: Using the foil lined cookie sheet makes for easier clean up. Our little grocery store rarely carries boneless chicken thighs, so I've boned them out by hand--it's tedious but worth it. A better plan would be to try to stock up on the boneless ones when ever I'm at a bigger grocery store.

Ants on a Log

Ants on a Log

Ants on a log might not seem too exciting, but everybody likes them. We've tried some variations but keep coming back to the good old standard: celery, peanut butter, and raisins. One of my kids likes to put peanut butter on a cracker and top it with craisins. He calls it Red Ants on a Rock. We also made up a Wisconsin version of ants on a log using celery, cheese spread, and craisins--nobody really liked it. The cheese spread would probably be better on a pretzel rod, but that defeats the purpose of sneaking in a vegetable at snack time. I think we'll stick to the original.

Ants on a Log
Celery ribs
Peanut butter
Raisins

• Wash celery and cut into three to four inch logs.
• Spread peanut butter on celery logs.
• Top with raisins.

Notes: It is easier to spread the peanut butter if the celery is dry.

Question: What is your favorite childhood snack?

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies

Heart Shaped Gingerbread Cookies

Another favorite cookie recipe from my grandma. She calls them Dark Cutouts. We call them Gingerbread Cutouts. We also call them "something good."

Gingerbread Cutout Cookies
6 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 cup molasses
4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon ginger
6 Tablespoons sour milk or buttermilk

• Cream the sugar and shortening.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
• Put molasses and baking soda in a bowl and beat until light colored and foamy.
• Add molasses mixture to the sugar mixture and beat again.
• Mix flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger in a separate bowl.
• Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk to molasses mixture.
• Roll on a floured board and cut out with shaped cutters.
• Bake at 350* for 10 minutes on ungreased pans.
• Remove from pans and cool on a cooling rack.
• Frost and decorate.

Notes: This recipe makes about 10 dozen cookies, depending on the size of your cookie cutters. I use soy milk with a little lemon juice to keep it dairy free for the little guy.

Question: What is your favorite cookie shape?

Citrus Salad

Citrus Salad with oranges and grapefruit

Grapefruit: so tasty, but is it worth the work? Although we like grapefruit, it tended to be left in the bottom of the fruit drawer because it took an extra step before eating. We've found we eat it much more often if we prep it ahead of time. Still, not everyone in our house is sold on grapefruit. The mix of fruit in this citrus salad works because everyone can pick out what they like. It's fresh and light and great for brunch or brupper.

Citrus Salad
2 grapefruits
2 navel oranges
1 can mandarin oranges, drained

• Remove fruit from the grapefruit. You can do this the traditional way, by cutting it in half and using a spoon or knife to remove the sections. An alternative that I like goes something like this

• Cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruit.
• Make a cut down the fruit through the peel but not far into the flesh.
• Open the fruit at the cut.
• Remove the sections by peeling back the membrane.

• Section the orange. You can peel it and add the segments or cut off the peel and slice like this

• Cut off the top and bottom of the orange.
• Set the orange on the flat bottom and cut down around taking off the peel and the pith.
• Quarter the orange; then slice it.

 

• Combine grapefruit segments, orange slices and mandarin oranges in a bowl and gently stir.

Notes: If you aren't serving immediately, you'll want to drain off some of the juice that will accumulate before you serve the salad. Save the juice--it's delicious.

Question: Which do you prefer, oranges or grapefruit?

Roasted Chicken

Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken is a big hit at our house. Easy and tasty is hard to beat. The trickiest part is getting the cooking time right. Chef Sara Moulton suggests cooking a 3.5 lb chicken for 45 minutes at 450*. That's great, but the chickens at our grocery store tend to be a little larger 4.5-5 lbs. I've found different minute per pound ratios, and the one I like the best is 13 minutes per pound at 450*. Roasted chicken gets a six for six something good rating, and we usually have some leftovers for soup or tacos or chicken salad or enchiladas or pot pie (the possibilities are endless).

Roasted Chicken
whole chicken.
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
Olive oil

• Preheat your oven to 450*.
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper and rub with oil.
• If you want to tie up the legs and tuck the wings, you can, but it's not necessary.
• Roast uncovered, breast side up on a roasting pan for 13 minutes per pound or until juices are clear and the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165*.
• Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.

Notes: Use the flavor bits on the pan and leftover bones to make chicken stock.

Question: What do you like to make with leftover chicken?

Chapati Bread

Chapati Bread

Chapati bread is a great last minute addition to a meal. It has no yeast and a short cook time. It is Indian and often served with curry, but we like it with just about anything. My chapati bread recipe is a mishmash of a couple different online recipes, pulling most heavily from Indian Chapati Bread on Allrecipes.com. I like the simplicity of this version and the mix of white and wheat flour. Most of the other chapati recipes call for all whole wheat flour. Some recipes added spices or seeds, which would be a good way to change it up. All the recipes have varying raising/resting times; 30 minutes seemed to be enough time to relax the dough. Chapati bread does take a little time to fry up, but not as long as baking a loaf of bread.

Chapati Bread
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil
3/4 cup water

• Mix flours and salt in a medium bowl. Add oil. Stir in water a little at a time until a dough ball forms.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and springy, about 2 minutes. Add more flour as necessary to keep from sticking.
• Divide dough into 10 parts. Shape into balls and let rest covered with plastic for 30 minutes.
• Heat a frying pan over medium high heat. Brush with oil. 
• Roll out one ball of dough with a floured rolling pin on a lightly floured board until very thin, like a tortilla, and about 6-7 inches in diameter. 
• When the oil is smoking, add the chapati to the pan. Cook for about 30-60 seconds per side, until brown spots appear.
• Add more oil and repeat with the rest of the dough balls.
• Serve with butter, oil, curry or anything saucy. 

Notes: Chapatis are best served warm; if they cool down, microwave them for a few seconds to reheat.

Question: What is your favorite flat bread?