Bean and Cheese Burritos

My life has been so insane over the past two months, and will only continue to get more insane.  Some of it is good insanity - I'm buying a house and I am getting married.  Some of if is terrible insanity - such as the ridiculous corrupt joke that my school district has become.  I definitely try to escape into the kitchen, but I don't get in there enough.  In fact, I am out of flour right now, and I don't even remember when I used the last scoop.  That is so unlike me.  And this recipe, for today's blog post?  It was from the Cinco de Mayo.  That's how far behind I am.  Arghhhh.  Anyway, the good news is that we close on our new home next Thursday, so at least some things will be calmer after that.  Plus the kitchen is awesome and I can't wait to get in there and cook.

The other good news: these bean and cheese burritos were delicious.  You know it's a good recipe when my whole family eats it, and when friends are over (semi picky friends, might I add) and they devour it too.  I obviously left out the pickled jalapeños, but even I have to admit that I was intrigued by a recipe that not only calls for pickled vegetables, but the pickle juice as well!  I was pretty famous for drinking dill pickle juice in high school.  Yup.  But anyway, I left out the pickled jalapeños and their juice from these burritos; they were flavorful enough with pinto beans, green chiles, cheddar cheese, salsa, cilantro, cumin and chili powder.

I did change a couple things about the beans. I decided not to mash them.  I like some texture to my burritos, so I left the pinto beans intact.  Otherwise, I think they'd be too mushy inside.  And lastly, I thought it was kind of gross that the recipe called for the cans of beans not to be drained.  I think we all know what precisely causes... ahem.... stomach issues when you eat beans.  I was not about to let that happen on my watch!!!  Drain away.  Rinse, even.

In any case, there ended up only being one burrito left after dinner.  I was happy that they were so popular even among my carnivores.  They were a great Cinco de Mayo meal, but since I am almost a month late posting that, I'd say it would make a good meal for any time :)

Recipe:

bean and cheese burritos
from Pink Parsley

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 - 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños (depending on spice tolerance)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, undrained (I drained mine!!!)
1 - 2 tablespoons pickling liquid from jalapeños
4 ounce can green chiles, drained
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups shredded cheese (preferably a mixture of cheddar and pepperjack)
12 6-inch flour tortillas
1 cup fresh tomato, diced
2 - 3 scallions, diced

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray a 9x13 dish with cooking spray.

2) In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, and add the onion.  Cook, stirring often, until softened and translucent, 5 - 6 minutes.  Add the jalapeños, chili powder, cumin, and salt and pepper, and cook an additional 1 - 2 minutes.

3) Pour the undrained beans into the skillet with the diced green chiles and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer and add the pickling liquid and the salsa, and cook until thickened.  Using a potato masher or a wide spoon, mash beans (if desired) to achieve a consistency similar to refried beans.  Stir in the cilantro, taste, and adjust seasonings.  Add half the cheese and stir to melt.

4) Carefully add a scant 1/3 cup of filling to each tortilla, and roll up (you may lose some of the filling, but that's okay.  Just work carefully and do the best you can).  Line the rolled burritos in the prepared dish, and top with the remaining cheese.

5) Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes, then remove foil and continue to cook 5 - 10 minutes longer, until the cheese is melted.  Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.  Top with scallions and tomato and serve with sour cream and salsa.

Ravioli with Goat Cheese and Spinach Filling

Yes, folks, another homemade ravioli recipe!  And this one is a little different for a few reasons.  I have made shrimp and chive ravioli (not a good idea), three cheese ravioli, and spinach and ricotta ravioli.  All were made from semolina flour, like traditional ravioli, and they were rolled out using my pasta roller that Kaz gave me for Christmas a few years ago.  This recipe intrigued me for a few reasons: first, that it is made with regular flour, and second, that it is rolled out by hand rather than using a pasta roller machine.  I wanted to try it to see if raviolis could be satisfactorily made with "regular cook's materials."  Can you use regular flour?  Can you just use a rolling pin to roll it out?  And obviously anything filled with goat cheese is A-okay by me!

The pasta dough recipe calls for just flour, hot water, an egg, and salt.  It was very easy to make it.  It has to sit for an hour, but other than that it was quick to throw together.  Then the filling was just spinach, goat cheese, parmesan, a pinch of nutmeg, and salt and pepper.  I will confess due to a guilty conscience that I ended up having too much filling left after I used all the pasta, and I spread it on pieces of toast and devoured it (see picture below).  There.  I feel better now.

The pasta rolling experience was quite a workout.  It is a lot more work to roll with a rolling pin many, many times, than to run sheets of dough through a roller machine with a crank a few times.  But again, I wanted to just prove that it was possible to do it with laymen's tools!  I was sweaty and tired by the time I had semi-thin sheets of pasta (they were definitely not as thin as when I used the roller), but it certainly was possible to do it.  I did use my trusty old ravioli mold to fill the raviolis with that amazing goat cheesy filling!

The raviolis get boiled for 5 minutes, and then you're done!  Then I had to deal with the sauce.  The recipe recommends a mushroom and parmesan cream sauce, and I had even bought all the ingredients for this.  But (and this is the second or third time this has happened) after all the work it takes to make ravioli, I was too tired to work on making anything else.  I confess again to using just a jar of tomato sauce!

The end result was of course amazing.  There was no way any pasta stuffed with goat cheese would be bad.  Kenzie and my mom both said they actually preferred the raviolis a little bit thicker (thanks, rolling pin!) and they loved the filling.  I happily ate the leftovers for lunch during the week and they stayed delicious and reheated well.  This would be a great recipe to try if you are interested in trying to make your own pasta without the benefit of a pasta roller or semolina flour.  Yes, it is possible :)




Recipe:

ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling
from Julia's Album
makes 12 - 18 raviolis

Ingredients:
for ravioli dough:
1 1/4 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 teaspoon salt
for ravioli filling:
1/3 cup cooked spinach (or 1/2 bunch raw spinach to be cooked)
2 ounces goat cheese
1/3 parmesan cheese, grated
nutmeg
salt and pepper

Instructions:

1) Mix flour with salt.

2) Stir water with egg until well mixed.

3) In a bowl, combine flour and egg-water mixture together and mix until well incorporated.  Knead the dough until well-textured and firm.  The dough should not be too wet or too sticky.  It should only stick to itself, but not to your hands.  It should not be too dry either.  Make the dough into a ball or disk, and wrap with plastic wrap.  Let the dough stand for 1 hour at room temperature before using.  This allows the gluten to work.

4) Meanwhile, make the filling.  Cook spinach until wilted and all liquid is gone.  It is very important that all liquid is evaporated.  Chop spinach.

5) Soften goat cheese by heating it up in microwave oven for about 5 - 10 seconds.  Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl: chopped spinach, goat cheese, and parmesan cheese.  Add a little bit of nutmeg to taste, and salt and pepper as well.  Set aside.  Your filling should not be runny; it needs to be firm.  You can refrigerate it to firm it up.

6)  Assemble ravioli: unwrap ravioli dough from plastic, and divide it in 2 equal parts.  Roll out each part of pasta dough very thinly on a floured surface.  Make sure to flour the upper portion of pasta dough and the roller to avoid sticking.  Lift the rolled dough several times during rolling to make sure it isn;t sticking, and flour working surface with more flour if necessary.

7) Flour the ravioli mold.  After you have rolled the 2 portions of dough very thinly, place first layer of dough on the ravioli mold so that it covers all 12 holes.

8) Place a small portion of ravioli filling into each indentation, making sure not to overfill.  The filling should be at the same level or lower as the flat part of the mold.  Place the second layer of pasta dough on top of filled ravioli.

9) Using a rolling pin, roll across the mold and along the edges to separate the ravioli.  By now you should have extra dough hanging off the outside 4 edges of the mold.  Carefully separate it.  Continue rolling the pin along the inside edge of the raviolis to separate them from one another.

10) Flip ravioli mold to release ravioli.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Boil ravioli for 5 minutes and drain.  Serve immediately, or place them on a plate of baking sheet in the freezer to freeze.  After they are frozen, place them in a plastic bag and keep frozen until needed.

Lemon Poppy Seed Bites

This was the last of the three types of energy bites that I served at the Team Tony breakfast along with the regular ones and the carrot cake ones.  They're the little brown ones in the middle.

Among the three energy bites (what I called my trio of bites), these were my favorite (and a few other people's faves as well!).  They don't really taste like any of their separate ingredients (I made sure not to tell most people there were dates in them, for instance) but the final result is a delicious blend of bright flavors.  Poppy seeds and lemon zest and juice bring to mind lemon poppy seed muffins, with the added flavors of sunflower seeds, walnuts, and coconut.  Doesn't that sound great?

One change I made was the outside coating.  The recipe called to roll the balls in more coconut, but I found that none of it stuck, so I stopped trying after the first ball.  Feel free to try if you'd like, but I am leaving it out of my instructions.

Everything gets tossed into the food processor - even the dates, which are mostly just there to hold everything together.  The ending result was what I believe were the best of the energy bites.  They are bright, sweet, a tiny bit salty, filling, and healthy at the same time.  I ate the few remaining bites for breakfast the next couple days; they were perfectly portable and easily brought to work.  With the protein from the nuts and seeds, they were a great quick breakfast option!


Recipe:

lemon poppy seed bites
from Dishing Up the Dirt
serves 12 balls (I made mine smaller so I got more out of them)

Ingredients:
1 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds (I could only find salted, and they worked fine; I left out the sea salt)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup medjool dates, about 10-12, pitted and roughly chopped
1 -2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (start with less and add more if necessary)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions:

1) In a food processor, blend the walnuts, sunflower seeds, and coconut to a coarse meal.

2) Add the dates, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and poppy seeds.  Process until the mixture forms a rough dough that can easily hold together when pinched between your fingers.

3) Taste test and add more lemon juice if necessary.

4) Roll into small (1 to 1 1/2-inch) balls.

5) Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

No Bake Carrot Cake Granola Bites

In addition to weighing Team Tony down with sausage casserole before the Cure is Coming walk and run, I also decided to make something a bit more healthy.  I went with a trio of energy bites.  Last year, I made regular energy bites, and they were a hit - in fact, they were so popular that they were all gone before we even left for the walk.  Afterwards, people were begging for more, and I made another batch during the party!  I made those again this year; they are a great little treat because they are sweet with honey, have protein from the peanut butter, but also have chocolate for the sweet tooths out there, and flax to get you up and moving.

However, like I said, this year, I made three different types of energy bites.  The regular ones were a must, but I was super intrigued by these carrot cake bites.  Still healthy, with flax seed and sweetened only by honey, but they feel indulgent at the same time.  They are studded with raisins, pecans, and shredded carrot, so it almost feels like you're taking a bite of a small piece of carrot cake.  This recipe calls for almond butter - it gives it more of a carrot cake-y feel - but I realized too late that all I had was peanut butter.  I was afraid that it was going to mean that my carrot cake bites were going to taste like peanut carrot cake bites, but they were just fine.  In fact, most of the people that I polled votes these no bake carrot cake granola bites the best of my energy bite trio!  Considering how quick, easy and delicious these are (not to mention just under 102 calories and 3 WW points), you really have no reason not to try them out.

Recipe:

no bake carrot cake granola bites
from Cookin' Canuck
yield about 22 bites

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup unroasted pecans, chopped
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
3/4 cup almond butter
3 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (packed) grated carrot
1/3 cup raisins

Instructions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pecans and flax seed.

2) Stir in the almond butter, agave nectar, and cinnamon until well combined.

3) Stir in the grated carrot and raisins.

4) Using 2 tablespoons (packed) of the mixture for each bite, roll the mixture into bite-sized balls.  You can spray your hands with cooking spray to stop the mixture from sticking.

5) Place the granola bites on a baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.  Serve.

6) Store the remaining granola bites in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Slow Cooker Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Thanks, Team Tony!

Last Saturday was the 10th annual Cure is Coming event in Lexington.  This is one of ALS TDI's big fundraisers.  My family decided that Team Tony has been a part of this event for 9 years and we couldn't miss it this year.  We had a whopping 42 team members this year, which is awesome.  Many of them came over for breakfast before the walk and 5K, so I made sure to have lots of good options. Most of them, as you will see over the next few days, were healthier, but this one?  Not so much.  I figured the runners would prefer to lighter options, but hey - the rest of us were walking 4 miles.  No big deal.  So I decided to have something unhealthy but delicious.

I also knew that I wanted to do something in the slow cooker; last year, I made like a scrambled eggs/ cheese/ bacon pizza.  It was delicious, but way too much work in the morning, and it didn't cook in time and made us leave later than I wanted.  Now that I have seen how great it is to throw things into the pot and have it ready the next day, I knew the slow cooker idea was perfect.

For some reason, I knew my friend Laura was a good go-to person for a slow cooker breakfast recipe, and I was right.  She suggested this sausage breakfast casserole.  Obviously with sausage in it, it wasn't my cup of tea, but it also has cheese, eggs, hash browns, scallions, and tomatoes (I had none of those but it was okay).  That right there is a breakfast feast, all in one pot.  I dumped it all in the night before, and when we woke up, voila: breakfast.

This was a very popular dish - even more so than I thought it would be!  I knew it was maybe a stretch to feed people something so rich before a long walk, but people were loving it.  I saw multiple Team Tony members eating seconds - and maybe even thirds (no names shall be mentioned :) ).   I will even confess to taking a few bites (I tried to dig down to the potato layer and avoid the sausage) and I can agree that this was a good old breakfast casserole.  The next time I have to make a breakfast for work, this was ridiculously simple and rather delicious.  Win win.

By the way: there is no way to make this casserole look pretty.  That doesn't matter if all you plan to do is eat it, but it's more of an issue if you are a food blogger!!

Recipe:

slow cooker sausage breakfast casserole 
from Jimmy Dean
yield 12 servings

Ingredients:
1 package (26 - 32 ounces) frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 package Jimmy Dean Hearty Original Sausage Crumbles (or just chop up regular ones if you can't find them)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup julienne-cut sun- dried tomatoes packed in oil drained (or 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes)
6 green onions, sliced
12 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions:

1) Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.  Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of slow cooker.

2) Top with half of the sausage, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, tomatoes, and green onion.  Repeat layering.

3) Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended.

4) Pour evenly over potato-sausage mixture.

5) Cook on low setting for 8 hours or on high setting for 4 hours, or until eggs are set.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas

I don't know where we got it, or even how long it's been sitting in our kitchen, but we were the owners of the world's most gigantic butternut squash.  It's been there for months, not rotting or anything, just sitting there, taunting me with its size.  You have to understand: this is a squash as thick as my thigh, and practically as long.  It sat in a basket for all this time because I simply couldn't figure out a use for that much squash.  Finally my mom requested a pasta dish that called for squash.  It didn't go well - badly enough that I am not going to post it on the blog because I think it was a flawed recipe - but still after making it, I had about 3/4 of the squash left.  I used up another fourth on this recipe, after searching my Pinterest boards for a recipe calling for squash!

And thus we have these: roasted butternut squash and black bean enchiladas.  Yes, it sounds a little bit like a fall dish, but the Tucker family enjoys squash year round!  The filling is delicious, with sweetness from the squash, and a little bite from the onion, not to mention cilantro, which I love.  And don't forget the cheese.

Due to lack of the right materials, I had to use some substitutions. The enchiladas are supposed to be made from corn tortillas, but I could only find flour ones at the store downtown, and it worked out fine.  The same with the toppings - they should really be served with avocado, but I couldn't find avocado.  The enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan should be a mix of Greek yogurt and salsa; I assumed we had tons of yogurt, as we usually do (Mark buys it in bulk even though no one really eats plain Greek yogurt here) but we didn't, so sour cream was a good substitute.  Aaaand I also had to use regular salsa since the green was MIA at Vincent's as well.  The next time I make these, I definitely want to try to get green salsa.  They were so delicious, but the tomato kind of overrules the softy sweet squash bites.

After spoiling my family with meat for a while, they grumbled for a while about these enchiladas being meatless, but one by one, I won them over!  Everyone liked these - I was only left with one for lunch the next day!  Healthy, delicious and vegetarian: I could think of no better way to use up some more butternut squash.  And by the way: there is still plenty of squash left.

Recipe:

roasted butternut squash and black bean enchiladas
from Yummy Mummy Kitchen
serves 4

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups 1/2-inch cubed butternut squash (about 1 small - medium peeled, seeded squash)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
15 ounces canned or cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
12 ounces jarred or fresh mild green salsa
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
8 corn tortillas
1 large ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
1 cup low fat sour cream

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place cubed butternut squash on a large baking pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.  Roast for 20 minutes or until tender.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees.

2) In a medium bowl, stir together roasted butternut squash, beans, chopped onion, and cilantro.  In another medium bowl, stir together salsa and yogurt.

3) Pour a thin layer of the salsa sauce over the bottom of the 10" x 7" casserole dish.  Place 1/3 cup of the squash mixture is used up.  Pour the remaining salsa sauce over the top of enchiladas.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until cheese has melted and starting to brown in places, about 30 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro and serve with sour cream and avocado.

Cream-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes

Finally, a break from all the meat recipes :)

These little guys were something that my mom had been begging me to make for weeks.  She stumbled across the recipe on Pinterest a while ago and was excited because it's basically her favorite things: chocolate cake and vanilla frosting (although to be honest, it's more marshmallow cream frosting than vanilla, but don't tell her that).

I find it interesting that I haven't been baking as much as I used to.  I was way more of a baker when I started learning how to cook, and now I am way more of a cook.  It makes sense: I don't really liked baked goods as much as I like a good home-cooked meal, but I think it was the fact that baking was more "set it and forget it."  Now that I am quicker and more confident, I enjoy the craziness of getting dinner ready.

But with that said, baking is still a comfort for me.  It's relaxing, slow, and calming.  These cupcakes were even better because once they were baked and the frosting made, you have to core the cakes, fill them, and cover the hole.  I have made a few filled cupcakes in my day and I enjoy the process.  I'm a weirdo, I know.

One word of advice: when it says to use jumbo muffin pans, it's not joking.  I didn't, and mine kind of melted together!

My family was happy with these.  Of course, Mom said the cake itself was a bit dry, but she still happily ate them for days.  I thought the filling - just Fluff and butter - was dangerously delicious.  I had fun making these on my last day of April vacation.  With that said, let the countdowns officially begin!  30 days left of school... 77 days till my wedding... and 3 weeks, 4 days till we move in to the new house!  Craziness!

Recipe:

cream-filled chocolate cupcakes
from Martha Stewart
yield 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for muffin tins
2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme (7.5-ounce jar)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter two 6-cup (each with a 1-cup capacity) jumbo muffin pans; dust with cocoa powder to coat, tapping out the excess.  In a medium bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.

2) Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  On low speed, add half the flour mixture, followed by sour cream, ending with remaining flour mixture; mix until just incorporated (do not over mix).

3)  Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 - 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.  Cook in pans, 5 minutes; remove cupcakes and cook, right ride up, on a wire rack.

4)  Meanwhile, prepare filling: in a medium bowl, whisk marshmallow creme and butter until smooth.  Chill until slightly firm, 15 - 30 minutes  Transfer mixture to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag, and seal; cut off one corner of the bag to make a 1/8-inch opening.

5) Using a small melon baller (or any other tool - see the picture below for my cupcake corer!) , scoop out center of each cupcake from the bottom, and reserve (you will use this ti plus cupcake after filling).  Hollow out each cupcake a bit more, discarding crumbs.  Insert tip of plastic bag into each cavity and squeeze to fill; replace plugs.  Using remaining filling in bag, decorate tops of cupcakes.

Crock Pot Rustic Italian Beef Ragu

Okay this is the last meat recipe for a while.  I was feeling clearly far too generous over April vacation!  I will say that, out of the three meat meals I made that week, this was by far my family's favorite.  In fact, Alex ate this for days, until he probably was close to getting food poisoning from eating old meat.  I watched him eat thirds on two separate occasions.

So, what is this popular meat dish that Alex ate for meal after meal?  It's a beef ragu, which even I have to admit is something I used to order from time to time at Via when they still had it on the menu.    It's slow cooked - and I mean slow; it cooks in the Crockpot for 12 hours.  It took me a while to figure out a timeline for this; if we wanted it for dinner, was I going to have to get up at 6 AM on vacation to touch meat?  I think not.  I ended up deciding to stay up late one night and do the prep work around midnight.  Then we could have it for lunch the next day.

This meant waking up the next morning smelling meat.  Not a very fun experience.  Even the carnivores weren't keen on smelling beef at 9 AM.

This was my small but meaty serving!

Regardless, it was time for lunch at noon.  I even bought fresh pappardelle pasta at Wegman's to serve it over as a special treat (as if serving them meat isn't special enough!).  Everyone loved it.  It's rich, filling, warming, and meaty but with specks of onion, carrot, celery and tomatoes.  It even has a small amount of pearl barley to add some texture. The recipe even calls for some butter and Parmesan on top - I did not add these though.  It's got something for everyone.

The recipe says it serves 4 plus leftovers, but I think it is safe to say it serves 6-8 with leftovers.  After all, I bought a 4-pound roast, and that is no small hunk of meat (thanks to Mom for doing the cutting and browning for me!)

Recipe:

crock pot Italian beef ragu
from Vikalinka
serves 6 - 8 with leftovers

Ingredients:
3 - 4 pounds beef roast
olive oil
1 handful each fresh rosemary and thyme, finely chopped
1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1/2 bottle Chianti
2 14-ounce cans plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons pearl barley
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds fresh or dried pappardelle
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 handfulls grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

Instructions:

1) Chop onion, carrot and celery.  Mince garlic and chop rosemary and thyme and put everything on the bottom of a CrockPot.

2) Cut roast into 2" - 3" cubes and brown them in olive oil in a frying pan over high heat in stages.  Don't overcrowd the meat so it browns nicely.  Add it to the vegetables.

3) Off the heat, pour wine into the frying pan and use the wooden spoon to loosen all the delicious bits from the bottom of the pan - thats where much of the flavor is concentrated.  Pour the wine into the CrockPot along with canned tomatoes.

4) Sprinkle barley all over, which will add texture and more flavor to the ragu, not to mention fiber and nutrients.

5) Add a teaspoon of salt and freshly ground pepper.

6) Cook on low for 10 - 12 hours.

7) In the last hour, take the lid off and shred the beef with 2 forks.  Add a tablespoon more of fresh rosemary and thyme and a splash of water or wine if the meat is too dry.  Cook for 1 hour longer,

8) At the end of cooking time, stir in butter for more flavor and to add a gloss.

9) Cook pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions.

Shepherd's Pie with Kale

Yes, another recipe with meat.  I know.  And unfortfunately this was another night that left me hungry because I refused to eat it; I hate all meat, but I have a real hatred for ground meat.  Anyway, I decided to make this because my friend Laura told me it was so amazing.  She sent the recipe to me a couple months ago, and even though it didn't sound like my cup of tea, I kept it, because I knew it would be something my family would love - plus I could make them eat kale!  I ended up giving it a try last week over April vacation.

Even I had to admit that the filling looked good.  I wasn't about to try it, but it was pretty with all the colors from the orange carrot, the green peas, and the white potatoes.  And anything that calls for fresh rosemary and thyme is a-okay in my book.

And let's talk about the mashed potatoes.  If I am to be honest, I scooped some of them out of the pan and ate them, and they were amazing.  Add sour cream to any mashed potato and they're good; then add some chopped kale and they're even better!

My family did enjoy this meal, although some of it did get thrown away (I swear, we always throw out leftovers when I cave and cook meat).  The boys were all happy that they got some "animal protein."  I think next time I will just make the mashed potatoes though :)

Recipe:

shepherd's pie with kale
from Five and Spice

Ingredients:
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 pound ground lamb or beef
1/2 cup red wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon each chopped rosemary and thyme
1 1/2 cups peas
salt and pepper
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/3 cup cream or milk
1/4 cup sour cream
3 cups finely chopped kale

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Once the butter is coming add the onion, carrot and lamb and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat into small bits, until the meat is well browned and the onion is softened, about 10 minutes.

2) Drain off as much as of the fat as you can, then stir in the rosemary, thyme, tomato paste, broth and wine, and stir well.  Taste and add salt to taste.  Cook at a simmer until the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.

3) While the lamb is cooking, put the potato chunks in a pot with just enough water to cover them.  Bring them to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook, covered, until the potatoes are quite tender, 20 - 25 minutes.  Drain the potatoes into a colander.

4) Return the empty potato pot to the stove and add a tablespoon of butter.  Melt the butter over medium-high hear, then stir in the kale and a pinch of salt.  Cook, stirring, until the kale is all wilted, 3 - 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add the cream, the remaining butter, and the potatoes.  Mash the potatoes until they are creamy and well mixed with the kale.  Mash in the sour cream and more salt to taste.

5)  Put the lamb mixture into a large baking dish, then spread the potato-kale mixture over the top.  Put the shepherd's pie into the oven and bake until the top is starting to turn golden-brown, about 30 minutes.  Then, take out of the oven and serve.

Skinny Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting

I know, this recipe is totally out of character for me.  But Kenzie was horribly, terribly sick over April vacation with the stomach bug and then bronchitis.  Like, so sick you go to the ER and don't eat for days.  When she was finally ready to eat, she sent me a text while I was at book club and asked for a cream-based tortellini soup.  I gently suggested that cream-based soups were perhaps not the first thing to eat after not eating for a week, but we definitely bookmarked that one for later!  Then she requested twice-baked potato casserole - again, probably not such a good idea.  We tried to brainstorm something that would be more filling and tastier than the BRAT diet, and somehow we ended up with meatloaf.  Preferably a meatloaf served with mashed potatoes, since she was craving the potato casserole.  And thus we have these skinny meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting.

Yes, it's meat, which is gross and I didn't partake, but even I have to admit they are kind of cute.  The sick patient enjoyed hers and was able to keep it down, and the boys here were all very happy to eat some meat.  My mom even said it was tasty reheated (don't tell Mark, who is mortally offended by microwaving meat).  Everyone agreed that the mashed potatoes were the best part (see, they are vegetarians deep down inside).  So they were all happy... well - except for the Cormiers, who were incredibly disappointed when I offered them "cupcakes" and they were expecting dessert!

I couldn't find zucchini at our local grocery store, but Kenz and I decided that carrots would be a close enough substitute, and that worked out fine.  In fact, I liked the orange flecks in there!  I'm sure the zucchini is good too.  Or maybe even a mixture of the two?!

In other news, today was our house inspection (!!!!!) and it went really well.  I feel relieved, but to be honest, I was never very worried.  I just knew that this beautiful house was going to be just fine.  We went out to celebrate at the Angler (by the way, go order the honeydew halibut... like right now) and we were discussing our house and our life and our marriage (is this the most exciting couple months or what?!).  We decided to be flexitarians, like my beloved bloggers, A Couple Cooks.  They eat vegetarian while at home, and if they go out, they order meat if they feel like it.  It will save us money at the grocery store, and keep us healthy - and let's be honest, it will make me happy to work in that lovely kitchen :)

Recipe:

skinny meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting
from Skinny Taste

Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 2 cupcakes • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 6 pts
Calories: 240.7 • Fat: 8.5 g • Protein: 18.1 g • Carb: 24.5 g • Fiber: 2.5 g • Sugar: 4.2 g Sodium: 560.1 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:
for meatloaf cupcakes:
1.3 pounds 93% lean ground turkey
1 cup grated zucchini or carrots, all moisture squeezed dry with paper towel
2 tablespoons onion, minced
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup ketchup
1 egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
for skinny mashed potato frosting:
1 pound (about 2 medium) Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and halved
2 tablespoons fat free sour cream
2 tablespoons fat free chicken broth
1 tablespoon skim milk
1/2 tablespoon light butter
kosher salt to taste
dash of fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh thyme

Instructions:

1) Put the potatoes and garlic in a large pot with salt and enough water to cover; bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Drain and return potatoes and garlic to pan.  Add sour cream and remaining mashed potato ingredients.  Using a masher or blender, mash until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

2) Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with foil liners.

3) In a large bowl, mix the turkey, zucchini, onion, breadcrumbs, ketchup, egg and salt.  Place meatloaf into muffin tins filling them to the top, making sure they are flat at the top.

4) Bake uncovered for 18 - 20 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove from tins and place onto a baking dish.

5) Pipe the frosting onto the meatloaf cupcakes and serve.

Sicky eating her cupcake!