Raspberry Oat Bars

Here I go again, baking!  Oops.  But I have a really good reason (besides wanting to eat something dessert-y of course)...

We came home from 2 birthday parties & several hours out of the house on Saturday, and I was very dismayed to find a bag of frozen raspberries out on the counter, very much not frozen.  Darn it!  I didn't want to throw away the bag, I had only used a few raspberries & most of the bag was still there.  For some reason "raspberry oat bars" popped into my head, so online I went to find a recipe!  There are plenty of cookie-type recipes, which wasn't really what I wanted, & this I found this one...

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 mostly-full bag (12 ounces) raspberries, fully thawed

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt; stir in butter until crumbly. Reserve 3/4 cup for topping. Pat remaining oat mixture into a 9-in. square baking pan coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 350° for 5-7 minutes. Spread with fruit spread. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 16 servings

Original recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Oat-Berry-Squares?_mid=455702&_rid=455702.1270742942.32146

I followed the recipe exactly, the only exception being I used just raspberries instead of the "spreadable fruit."  I used a fork to take the raspberries out of the bag, leaving the "juice" behind, and spread the raspberries around evenly.  Then I poured the "juice" over the raspberries & put the topping above that.

These came out so yummy!  They taste a little dessert-y but I like that there's not a whole lot of sugar, & it's balanced out with the oats & whole wheat flour.  I let it cool for awhile and cut it into 16 squares.  This was Saturday night...24 hours later there were only 3 squares left!  James thinks they are very yummy but I have only let him have a bite or two here & there...but Tim & I have been helping ourselves!  I would like to try this with blueberries, I think that would be very good also!

Kale Chips

Awhile ago, when I was subscribing to a bunch of baby food websites, I saw a recipe for Kale Chips.  I didn't know what kale was, but it looked like some sort of lettuce, and it was coated in a dressing & baked into chips.  This looked interesting, but James was just barely starting to transition to finger foods & I had no idea where to get kale, so I didn't do much about it.

Fast forward a couple months, and I get kale in the produce basket!  When I had some time I went back & looked up the recipe for Kale Chips.  I was very excited to try this out!  The original recipe I had seen called for only coating the kale in olive oil or spraying with canola cooking spray, but I wasn't sure that would have enough flavor.  So I found another recipe that called for paprika, ginger, and chili powder, & thought that would be good.

• 8 leaves kale
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• (1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• (Pinch chili powder)
• (Kosher salt)

1. Preheat the oven to 250° F. Remove the stems and woody ribbing from the tender leaves. Tear the kale into bite-size pieces. Wash and dry.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, ginger, paprika, and chili powder.  Stir in the kale leaves and toss with your hands, coating each leaf, front and back. Lay the kale out on a parchment paper–covered cookie sheet, and sprinkle with the salt. Wash your hands so you don’t rub chili powder into your eyes. Just sayin’.
3. Bake in the oven until they are flat and crisp, about 15–20 minute.

Original recipe: http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen/2010/05/12/breakfast-for-dinner-blogger-event-recipe-for-kale-chips-podcast-103/ (it's the second topic so scroll down to the bottom half of the page).

Notes:
~ I'm not sure why it says to mix the olive oil & spices in a large bowl.  1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil is not going to fill a bowl!
~ Of course, the original recipe calls for 1 pound of kale leaves, and I only had 8 little leaves, so maybe that's why...
~ I sadly discovered when I went into my cupboard that I didn't have any ginger, and I swear I have chili powder but I couldn't find it.  So the olive oil & paprika got mixed together and that was that.  I also realized as I'm writing this that I forgot to put any salt on.  Whoops.
~ I used 1 tablespoon of olive oil and it wasn't enough for the 8 little leaves I had, I ended up adding more oil & paprika, but I didn't measure how much.

The kale chips came out ok.  I didn't remove enough of the "woody ribbing" from the center of the leaves, it alllllll has to go!  The flavor was just ok, but I could taste the kale strongly and it was a little odd.  So I sprinkled some parmasean cheese on them and that definitely helped!  James really liked the chips at first, he kept leaning forward to get more while I was holding him, but once I put him in his high chair & gave him several pieces he didn't eat much anymore.  I'm not sure what the difference was.  Tim liked them too, he said it was obvious that it wasn't potato chips but they were good.

I do want to make these again, but first will make sure I have ginger & chili powder in my cupboard.  :-)

Kohlrabi 'n' Carrot Bake

To go along with the Swiss Chard & Beets salad I made on Thursday, I also made something I found called Kohlrabi 'n' Carrot Bake.  I had to change the recipe a bit, because it called for 3 kohlrabies & I only had 1.  Here is the approximate recipe I used (I was making the Swiss Chard salad at the same time & don't think I always adjusted the ingredient amount correctly):

• 1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and sliced
• 2 medium carrots, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Dash pepper
• ~ 3/4 cups milk
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup soft bread crumbs

• Place kohlrabies and carrots in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain well; set aside.
• In a large skillet, saute onion in 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the vegetable mixture, parsley and lemon juice. Transfer to a shallow 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• In a small skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add bread crumbs; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle over vegetable mixture.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 6 servings.

Original recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Kohlrabi--n--Carrot-Bake?_mid=455801&_rid=455801.1270742939.31186

Notes:
~ I didn't actually measure the onion, parsley, lemon juice, or bread crumbs.  I just cut some up (or squeezed some juice out) to what I thought looked like a good amount and figured that was good enough, so the amounts listed above are what I was aiming for.  :-)

I thought this came out ok, it wasn't bad by any means (I enjoyed it again the next day) but it didn't grab me as much as the Swiss Chard & Beets salad did.  It didn't make a whole lot, but I'm attributing that to how much I reduced the ingredients.

I definitely plan to make this again, but follow the recipe more closely to see how it's "supposed" to taste.  One thing I think I will change though; I think I will try shredding the carrots & kohlrabi next time.  That would blend the flavors a little more and would skip the boiling part (which I usually try to avoid because so many of the nutrients leech out into the water.

So I'm hoping that the next basket I get will have more kohlrabies in it so I can try this again!  Otherwise I'll be hunting around farmer's markets to find some.  :-)

A Busy Day

Today I made Kale Chips, Macaroni & Cheese from scratch, and 100+ cupcakes.  The last tray is in the oven right now.  When it's done I'm going to bed, my brain is too tired to write about the recipes I tried.  Tomorrow is a busy day so check back Sunday to see what I made!

Getting Adventurous

This week, I joined a CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) program.  Every 2 weeks I get a basket full of freshly picked, organic produce from local farms.  I'm sharing it with a friend for now, so we can get used to the produce we are getting and make sure we can use it all!  On Wednesday, I picked up my first basket.  There was so much produce in it!  Here's a list of what I got...

Valencia Oranges, Parsley, Turnips, Broccoli,  Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Strawberries, Kale, Sweet Pea Flower Bunch, Chard, Beets, Avocado, Grapefruit, Cabbage, Green Onions, Minneola Oranges, Navel Oranges

Some of this stuff I've never heard of!  But after splitting up the produce with my friend, online I went to find some new recipes so I can use up all this produce!

Tonight, I got adventurous.  I made two dishes.  Ok so that sounds very anti-climatic.  But, it wasn't just "two dishes."  It was two new recipes using ingredients I had never used before!  I probably should only have done 1 at a time, but I was excited.

Recipe #1: Swiss Chard with Beets

• 2 bunches Swiss chard
• 1 small red onion, halved and sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 raw beets
• lemon juice from 1 1/2 lemons
• crumbled feta cheese
• sliced almonds

1. Cut stems from chard; coarsely chop stems and leaves separately. Fill a Dutch oven with water; bring to a boil. Add chard leaves. Return to a boil; cook for 1-2 minutes or just until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside.
2. In a large skillet, saute the onion, garlic, salt, pepper and chard stems in oil for 10-15 minutes or until tender.
3. Gently squeeze excess moisture from chard leaves. Add leaves and beets to skillet; saute for 1 minute.
4. Add lemon juice; heat through.
5. Just before serving, sprinkle with feta cheese and almonds. Yield: 6 servings.

 My notes:
~ I don't know how much is in a "bunch" of Swiss chard.  I think I had maybe 8 leaves/stems or so?
~ I had about 1/2 of a large red onion.  It worked fine.  :-)
~ For the salt & pepper, I just sprinkled some in the pan, I didn't measure it.
~ One of the reasons I used this recipe was to use to beets I had.  I steamed the beets whole for about 40 minutes, then sliced them and used them in this recipe.  If you don't have raw beets or don't want to take the time to steam them, you can use a 14.5 oz can of beets instead.
~ I added a bunch of chicken I had leftover from the whole chicken I cooked the other day, so I added that in to make it more of a dinner meal.  Then I divided it into 4 servings, 2 for us for dinner tonight and 2 for lunches tomorrow!

This was so delicious!  I was so happy as I was eating it with how well it turned out!  It had a mix of flavors & textures that all blended together very well.  I very seriously considered going back for seconds but new it would be just as yummy for lunch tomorrow (so I had some ice cream instead, heehee).

Original recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Swiss-Chard-with-Beets?refurl=&_mid=455702&_rid=455702.1270742942.30655

Tomorrow I will write about the Kohlrabi 'n' Carrot Bake I made to go along with this.  :-)

What's on the menu for tomorrow?  Kale Chips and Crispy Turnip Fries!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

So I know this blog is supposed to be about finding & trying new recipes to COOK, but what can I say, I love to BAKE!  I tried a new recipe yesterday...I love peanut butter cookies (ok, most any cookie really!) & have been wanting to try this recipe for awhile.  I found it on www.weelicious.com, & only modified it slightly.

1/2 Cup Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Honey
1 Large Egg
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the butter and honey in a bowl or a standing mixer and beat for 1 minute.
3. Add the egg, vanilla and peanut butter and beat another minute on medium speed or until smooth.
4. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to incorporate.
6. Drop 1 tbsp of the cookie dough onto a Silpat or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Flatten down each ball of cookie dough with the back of your hand or with the back of a fork making a checkerboard pattern.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

They came out pretty good, but are kinda dry.  It does taste like a "healthy" cookie.  But it is still a cookie.  I think I need to add more moisture, but I'm not quite sure what or how to do that yet.  I need to look into it.

The original recipe said it would make about 60 cookies, but I only got 30-something.  Maybe I made them too big.  I did have to cook them at least 15 minutes, instead of 10-12.

I do want to make them again, but plan to look up other peanut butter cookie recipes to see how much liquids are normally involved to see what I can/should add to make this taste even more yummy but still keep the healthy aspect.  :-)

Original recipe:
http://weelicious.com/2010/03/02/peanut-butter-oatmeal-cookies/

Whole chicken in the crockpot

(Note to self...when you are modifying a recipe, write down what you're using & how much so you don't have to try & remember it all later!)

The short version...
Here's the recipe I used:

• 1 (5 pound) whole chicken, skin removed
• scant 1 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon* soy sauce
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon* olive oil
• 1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon* honey
• 1-3/4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• juice of 1 lemon (save the rinds)
• 1-3/4 teaspoons sesame oil
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 2 russet potatoes
• 1 small onion

* For the soy sauce, olive oil, & honey, I didn't actually measure the separate tablespoons & teaspoons, I just added a little extra to the 1/2 or 1/3 cup measurement.

1.  Mix all liquid ingredients in the crockpot.  Add minced garlic.
2.  Cut the potatoes into eighths and add to crockpot.
3.  Put the chicken in the crockpot & turn over once or twice to coat with sauce.
4.  Cut the onion into eighths and put inside the cavity of the chicken.  Add lemon rinds.
5.  Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.  Do not open crockpot until the time is up.

(adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Kathys-Delicious-Whole-Slow-Cooker-Chicken/Detail.aspx)
 
More details...

This took a lot longer than I expected to prepare.  Because this was the first time I did this recipe, and was modifying it too, I kept referring back to the recipe instructions to make sure I was getting the right amounts.  Also I added things out of order, so I kept checking to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything (adding ingredients in order is much easier!).  By the time I got everything measured, mixed, cut, & in the crockpot, & skinned the chicken (had to wait til the kids were sleeping to do this) it was 2:30 in the afternoon!  I would have preferred to cook it on low, but had to cook on high & then had a rather late dinner.  It also took awhile afterwards to get all the chicken off the bones but try to avoid the fat & yucky stuff.

But...it was yummy!  The flavor was really really good.  The potatoes, which had cooked in the sauce the whole time, had a very delicious flavor, and the chicken was very tasty as well.  I shredded some of it to give to James, and he kept gobbling it up & signing "more!"  Tim & my only complaint was that once the chicken was out of the crockpot & onto our plates, it cooled off very quickly, and was slightly dry.  But it still tasted good.  :-)

2 ways I can think of to remedy the dryness...

I think technically the chicken cooked for almost 4 1/2 hours.  That extra half hour came as I was making a salad & getting ready to get the chicken out of the crockpot.  I should have started that sooner so I was ready right at the 4 hour mark to take it out.

In reading the reviews on the original recipe, some people said they used cornstarch to make a gravy out of the leftover sauce.  This would definitely have helped combat the slight dryness.  However, I had no idea how to do that, and didn't have any cornstarch even if I did know what to do.

So how about flour?  We had finished eating dinner and I was packing up the rest of the chicken meat for our lunches, & thought what the heck I'll try it and see what happens.  So I scooped out approximately 1 cup of the sauce, and added in scoops of flour until it reached a good gravy consistency.  Total flour was approximately 7 heaping tablespoons (the large-silverware-spoon kind, not the measuring spoon kind).

Well, I just ate my lunch, the chicken with the gravy.  It was pretty good.  Definitely not as dry as last night.  But, the gravy had thickened up more after sitting in the fridge overnight, and had a slight, well..."flour-y" taste.  Maybe I used too much flour...  :-)

All in all, I definitely will make this again.  I think I will try to prepare the sauce the night before and marinate the chicken overnight, then just start it cooking in the morning and let it cook on low for 8 hours.  Also, I think carrots would be good with this, but I don't know if that's too long for them to be cooking.  Will they be too mushy after all that time in the crockpot?  Or the potatoes for that matter, that is twice as long as this time, so how will they come out?  We'll just have to wait & see!

Now...I have a bag of chicken bones & the leftover sauce from cooking the chicken in the fridge.  I've heard some people make their own chicken broth...maybe I'll look into that and see what I can do with the bones.