Roast Chicken and the best sweet potatoes

Remember what mom would do whenever she made a great meal? You remember right? I have vivid memories of her beating the table (kinda hard) and shouting out "Slap your mama!!" Well, I had a "slap your mama" meal last night myself. I found some sweet potatoes at our corner market. That may not seem like a big deal to you, but Serbia doesn't "do" sweet potatoes. I see them only occasionally so when I do I snatch them up. There's a recipe I've wanted to try forever now from an Ina Garten cookbook I got a couple years ago so when I got home I pulled it out to make sure I had all the ingredients. I've been trying to eat a lot healthier lately so maybe that's why the 12 tablespoons of butter and cup of cream and plenty of sugar caught me so offgaurd. Usually sweet potatoes are the healthier choice right? Lucky for me I found plenty of bloggers online doing the same thing but doing much less damage to my waistline. This one turned out better than I could have expected.
http://www.marthastewart.com/314349/orange-ginger-sweet-potato-puree
The only thing I did differently was that I used maple syrup as my sweetener instead of sugar. The orange really sets it off.
I made this chicken to go alongside it and it was also better than I hoped.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/roast-chicken-with-rosemary-lemon-and-honey
I like to roast a chicken every other week or so- simple, easy, just salt and pepper. It always turns out tasty but this one had so much flavor! Especially the dripping in the bottom of the skillet. I always spatchcock my chickens though. It's easy to do and cuts the baking time down to 45 minutes at 450.
Other than that, I just steamed some broccoli and it made for a really delicious and pretty meal. I *almost* felt like I was cheating Thanksgiving a little bit.

Black Bean Ragout

We've been trying to eat less meat around here, particularly since Andrew's last horrible, awful, terrible kidney stone that lasted 7 days, so I've been looking for things to make that are still high protein. Beans fit the bill and I recently posted about a kidney bean curry we love. Indian food has been a go to lately because it's so cheap and healthy to make once you have the spices. Recently I tried out a bean recipe from my Smitten Kitchen cookbook (I'm obessed, I realize that) and it turned out surprisingly well. Word to the wise- you need to use the smoked paprika. I discovered it about a year ago and it has such a great flavor.
http://craftycooknook.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/count-your-pennies-slow-cooker-black-bean-ragout-with-cumin-crema-and-garlicky-toasts/
I don't mess with the cumin crema or garlc toast but I'm sure that would be really tasty. I just made the beans in the slow cooker. The first night I served it over these corn cakes with fresh salsa and sour cream on top.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-corn-cakes-10000001646375/
The next night I served them with some fried homemade potatoes and fresh tomato slices. Another time I cooked them down and made burritos and quesadillas with them. It's a really versatile recipe and it stretches a long way. Really healthy and pretty cheap to make. I think it would also make a great side for any mexican dish but really, it shines all on its own as the main dish.

Fridge dill pickles

Remember what the refridgerator looked like growing up? Of course there was always a rotation of leftovers coming in and out and fruit and veggies, but there were some things that I just always remember seeing.  A mug of bacon grease in the fridge door, cool whip (at least 3 different tubs of it at eaten down to various levels), and an uncovered dish of something dad was pickling (usually cucumbers). When I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen a few days ago, it made me think of them and I had to make them. Here in Belgrade, we get all of our produce in season- unless you go to the big supermarket where you can get a melon yearround but you wouldn't want to bother eating it. So, it's a little sad in the winter looking at all the cabbage and onions but right now all of the berries and peaches and nectarines, roadside makeshift melon stands, and these cute little pickling pickles warm my black little heart. I bet you have them at your grocery store too right or a farmer's market surely. We made the BBQ chicken sandwhiches from pioneer woman and served up these dill pickles with them. Go ahead, make a jar and keep it in your fridge for old times sake.
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/07/easiest-fridge-dill-pickles/

Red Kidney Bean Curry

This is a fast 20 minute weeknight dinner that everyone at my house loved. I suppose it's like the Indian version of red beans and rice. Vegetarian, healthy, and really good, especially for the amount of time involved.
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/02/red-kidney-bean-curry/

Vegetarian Black Bean Taquitos

This isn't a show off recipe. Let me just say that up front. But it was surprisngly good and my kids ate it (ok so I had to talk Eden through every bite but Fox loved it). I've been looking for more vegetarian recipes lately and found this one while flipping through my Our Best Bites cookbook- their first one. This recipe isn't on their site but I found it online here: http://eatingmywayback.blogspot.com/2011/09/vegetarian-black-bean-taquitos.html
They were easy to make and took only a few minutes to put together. The spinach is so chopped and dark that it easily hides away in the black bean mixture. I thought the spinach would taste funny in a taquito but really, you can hardly taste it at all. I served it with extra salsa on the side but Andrew and Fox prefered it plain. This is a really great, healthy weeknight meal.

Weekday dinners

Hey sisters! I've been struggling a bit lately with what to cook for regular old weeknights and have come across a couple of recipes that are pretty good. Well, one is pretty good and the other is pretty damn awesome. I found a new foodie friend who recommended a blog called Annie's Eats. Her chicken gyro recipe is tasty and I espcially love her tzasiki sauce. I'm bored of my tzasiki recipe and this one has a little kick to it. I think this is a great summer dinner to pack up and take to the pool or a park.
http://www.annies-eats.com/2009/06/02/chicken-gyros/

The other recipe is one if those "you made this?' recipes. I've never made my own red sauce. For as much as I like to cook I've always bought the stuff in jars but I don't know if I can go back to the way I was living before after trying this. It's Ina Garten's weeknight bolognese. Put it on your grocery list. And buy the red wine, just don't take your 4 year old... The alchohol cooks out and the flavor it leaves behind is incredible.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/weeknight-bolognese-recipe/index.html

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan-Gingersnap Crust

Oh my goodness!  This was delish!  I can't say that I have personally made it but a friend made it recently and it was to die for.  In fact, I also had a slice of the Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake this weekend and this Our Best Bites version was so much yummier!  Love those OBB ladies!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/11/pumpkin-cheesecake-with-pecan-gingersnap-crust/

Cilantro Lime Pesto Tacos

This has become a favorite at our home...mostly because of the radio-active green color!  It is super yummy!  We pair it with black beans and cilantro lime rice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
original Joelen recipe

cooking spray for sauteeing
2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite sized pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup cilantro lime pesto (recipe follows)
flour or corn tortillas
preferred taco garnishes (salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc)


Season chicken with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, saute chicken over medium high heat and cooked through. Toss cooked, seasoned chicken with the pesto. Fill tortillas with chicken and top with preferred garnishes.

* To make ahead/freezer meal - Cook chicken as directed as above and cool. Place chicken in freezer bag. Prepare cilantro lime pesto as directed below. Place a 1/2 cup of pesto in a small storage bag then place inside the freezer bag with the chicken. Freeze. When ready to prepare, defrost and heat chicken. Toss chicken with defrosted pesto. If desired, heat chicken and pesto together before filling tacos.

Cilantro Lime Pesto

recipe adapted from Food Network

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (do not include stems)
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced, toasted almonds  (I haven't actually added the almonds)
3 tablespoons chopped, fresh garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1/2 cup shredded asiago (Parmesan or Romano can be substituted too)
1  teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup chicken broth


Using a blender, mix together the cilantro, olive oil, almonds, garlic, lime juice, asiago, salt and chicken broth on low speed for 2 minutes. 

Cherry Almond Torte

Normally when I post recipes I am just giving you links to recipes that I've come across and loved. But this one is genuinely my own. Well, mine and Kari's- my friend who worked on the recipe with me. Back in April we went to the Native American Museum and they were serving a new item in the Mitzam cafe called cherry almond torte in honor of the cherry festival. Andrew ordered one and we both thought it was incredible. I can honestly say it was the best dessert I've had in a very very long time- maybe the best ever. I tried to recreate it over the summer break in Louisiana without success. I was tempted to give up but decided to give it another shot with my friend Kari who is really great with baking desserts and we nailed it! They're actually not that hard to make either.

Ingredients:
Pastry Puff
almond paste- in the baking isle near the canned pumpkin and canned pie fillings
frozen cherries
1 c sugar
juice from half a lemon

Over medium heat stir sugar, lemon juice and cherries together. Bring to boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes of so.

Roll out your pastry puff crust (there are usually 2 sheets in a box) and cut evenly into 9 squares (you'll have 18 squared total). Spray a muffin pan with oil, put one square in each muffin cup, add a small amount of almond paste (you can divide it up into 18 equal peices and shape them into a flat circle), then top with 4 or 5 cherries and a little of the juice. Seal up the edges- you may need to use a little water to do this- and then bake at 400 for 15 or 20 min (I don't remember how long we baked it so just watch it). They are best when hot (but not too hot) out of the oven. Please make these and call to worship me.

Roasted Acorn Squash Quesidillas

I got a bag of acorn squash from a friend last week. Uh, thanks. Actually (can you tell it's Mandy will all my "actually"s?) it led to one of my most recent cullinary obsessions. I started looking around for ways to use it up and came across this one on Smitten Kitchen. I didn't follow her recipe exactly but they turned out so wonderfully. I didn't know I liked acorn squash. No, I love it. It was delicious just roasted but added to the mixture for the quesidillas and it was heavenly. I used red pepper instead of pablano and just sauteed them in the pan with the onion and garlic. I did not add the jalapeno. I used whole wheat tortillas and a small amount of mexican cheese. I didn't even make the salsa to go with it- although I'm doing that this week (when I make this dish for the third time in 7 days). It was so healthy and had such a great flavor. Fox loved it. I loved it. Andrew thought it was pretty good and Eden hated it but ate every bite. I made it the next day and regrettably shared my leftovers with my neighbor who abslutely loved it. I made the whole thing again the next day just for myself and had leftovers the following day. I'm looking forward to making it again this week.
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/10/acorn-squash-quesadillas-tomatillo-salsa/

Creamy Tomato Soup

I can't believe I've never shared this recipe! It's the best tomato soup I swear it. It's also incredibly healthy- although it begs to be eaten with a grilled cheese sandwhich. They sortof balance each other out. Now that the weather has gotten a little chilly all I want to do is make soup. Fox calls this the dip for his grilled cheese sandwhich. http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/03/creamy-tomato-soup/

Larabars

I posted this on fb but I wanted to put it on the blog as well. She has a whole site devoted to healthy desserts. I know right? What a waste of time and ingredients. I would never have tried these if my friend had not already made them and let me taste test a couple. They taste divine, rich, not healthy at all...but they are. After making one of two you can create your own combinations of nuts and dried fruits. All she does is grind walnuts, dates, and unsweetened cocoa powder with a little salt and vanilla (and yes a few chocolate chips if you so fancy...we do). We roll them into little balls of goodness and wrap them up in wax paper (cuz really now, what else is wax paper really good for?) and store them in the freezer. I love this one: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/12/hot-fudge-brownie-larabars/
I really want to try this one: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/08/24/peanut-butter-cookie-dough-cookies/
But my absolute favorite is a combination my friend came up with. 1 c cashews, a handful of dates, zest of one lemon, some dried cherries and a few white chocolate chips. Oh, and a pinch of salt. Wow! These are amazing. It's great to wrap them up individually so you can just take one out as a quick treat whenever you want. And you don't feel bad about it b/c it's just nuts and dried fruit. Make them! Do it! You'll become an addict like me.

I'm back!

HeeelllllllOOOOO OOOUUUT THERE!!!! Do my siblings still come here? I've wanted to add so many yummy things I've discovered and just keep forgetting. No, actually I do remember. I'm actually just lazy. Here are a few of my favorite recipes from the past couple of months.

Sneak in Smoothie

A friend at church gets her kids to drink this every morning.  I've been meaning to try it with Annabeth.  I like the idea of sneaking in vegetables for her....and me!

"Sneak-it-in Smoothie"

Pour 1 c. juice into blender (orange and pineapple are good choices--apple's not bad either)
Add spinach up to the top of the blender and blend until the spinach is no longer detectable.
Add everything else at this point:
about 1 c. frozen fruit (strawberries, pineapple, peaches are good choices--whatever you have)
1 frozen banana (it doesn't have to be frozen, but I think it makes the smoothie better when it's frozen)
handful of baby carrots
flax seed or ground flax (I buy this in bulk at Sprouts), optional
zucchini--about 2-4 inches, optional
anything else you might want to throw in there (leftover fruits or vegetables you want to throw in or canned or fresh fruit such as oranges, peaches, pineapple, collard greens, kale, baby food!--experiment, it's fun!)
Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wraps

These were REALLY spicy but I actually liked them a lot.  You could probably cut out some of the cayenne pepper as it was pretty hot, but I liked how the flavors came together on this one. Definitely not for little kiddos but you could make them up for an adult lunch.  Very easy to make with leftover chicken, and you most likely have the other ingredients in your cabinet. I did them with wheat wraps and they were great.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/simple-sweet-and-spicy-chicken-wraps/detail.aspx

Healthy Enchiladas

Yes! I do read this blog so please keep posting! The last two recipes look amazing.  Can't wait to try them.  As far as healthy recipes go, I am looking for some, too.  But here is one I tried and liked.  All fresh ingredients - nothing from a can.

http://www.food.com/recipe/healthy-chicken-enchiladas-134212

Two new AMAZING recipes

Of course they are both from Smitten Kitchen. The first is her eggplant bruschetta. The other night I made her lebanese-style stuffed eggplant. It was ok- not something I'm in a hurry to make again. It took a lot of time and effort and didn't come off the way I expected it to. So I had all of the inner scrapings of several eggplant that I needed to use up. I decided to make the bruschetta and I am so glad I did. It was so delicious. This *might* just be the best thing I've ever made with eggplant (and you know how much I love my eggplant parmesan). Let me tell you how I decided to make it. First of all, there weren't any skins on the eggplant. I'm not sure if this really changed the flavor at all but I think it helped the eggplant pieces to break down a little easier but it's up to you. The skin is very nutritious so next time I think I'll try it skin on. I chopped up kinda small and cooked them in a pot on the stove with a little olive oil. When they cooked down I added a couple of small (think smalled than plum size) tomatoes that were really ripe. Deseed them. Then I added LOTS of feta, the green onion, and only a small amount of the red wine vinegar (I made a melanza salata last week that also called for red wine vinegar but the flavor was overpowering). Add a little salt and pepper and take off the stove when the feta starts to melt. I happened to buy the most delicious onion baguette at the store that day. I just toasted slices and rubbed them with garlic (although this step is not necessary). We took it to the park with some fresh fruit and OMG!!! It tasted so delicious and fresh.

Ok so recipe #2: crispy black bean tacos with feta and slaw.
I was looking for something vegetarian since I've been eating so much meat here. This sounded good (and incredibly fast and easy) so I thought I would give it a try. Of course when I got to the store, I didn't consider the fact that there is a place in the world that does not sell black beans. Since I had all the stuff to make this already in my buggy- and since I couldn't really think of anything else to make- I headed to the meat section and picked up a chunk of beef. I rarely ever buy beef ( I made lasagna for Andrew this year for the first time and we've been married 7 years) so this was going on a limb- especially for a whopping 10 euro for only a pound and a half- think 15 bucks! Anyway it turned out amazing. I even heard moaning sounds from my family as they at it. Eden and Fox kept pointing to it and asking what it was- "It's not chicken?" they say. I marinated the beef a few hours in a little olive oil, the juice of one lime, 2 tsp of soy sauce, a little water, and a T or so of Montreal Steak seasoning (no they don't have this here- a friend shared some with me. I use this at home in DC for making thai chicken). I don't have a grill here so I put it under the broiler until it was medium/medium rare- oh, and I sprinkled a generous helping of more steak seasoning on both sides before broiling. Flip it once. So, I made the slaw (only I added a T of mayo) and was generous with the feta. Put it all together in a tortilla and toast your taco in a pan on the stove for a couple of minutes on each side. Really, I think you'll love it. I look forward to trying it with the black beans for a vegetarian version of it that would also be a lot cheaper and quicker to make. I served it with corn on the cob and some fresh fruit.
Next up, I'm trying her whole wheat raspberry ricotta scones. I'll let you know how they turn out, but I bet they're gonna be good.

HEALTHY Recipes Please

Ok, I need healthy recipes. What do you have?- and DO NOT say stir fry or I will never call you again. I can't deal with all the stuff I've been shoveling in my mouth the past few months. I need to DETOX!!!

ps. do you guys still read this blog???

Mandy

Portabella Mushroom Burger

I can't believe that I haven't posted this recipe yet. I discovered it in a William Sonoma Vegetarian cookbook a couple of years ago and have made them several times since. I wanted to make them for Andrew for Father's Day but was missing a few of the key ingredients so I mixed things up a bit and it still tasted awesome.

Ingredients:
Portabella Mushrooms (remove stems and scrape off the ribs)
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Garlic
Roasted Red Peppers
Swiss cheese (Or the cheese of your choice)
Italian Rolls
Mayo
Pesto

Directions: Sorry that I don't have any amounts listed. I'm away from my cookbooks this summer but I promise that you can't go wrong with this. Mix about a 1/4 c of mayo with 1 T pesto (or more to your liking) and put in fridge. Grill the mushrooms in a skillet on the stovetop or in the George if you don't have a grill- I've never actually grilled them but I bet they would be tasty that way. Mix a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a couple of tsp of balsamic vinegar. Add a couple cloves of crushed garlic. Brush this mixture onto the mushrooms as you are grilling them. Set aside mushrooms and grill your roasted red peppers quickly on the grill- just to heat them up. Meanwhile toast your rolls in the oven. Spread a generous amount of the pesto/mayo mix on the bun, add your mushroom, cheese, and red pepper and voila! I usually serve this meal with baked sweet potato fries. Tonight, I made these just a little differently. They didn't have portabella so I just got another kind of mushroom and cut it into slices. Since I don't have a brush I just poured the garlic oil vinegar mixture onto the mushrooms in the pan and cooked them until tender. No roasted red peppers here either and I was not in the mood to roast them myself so I picked up some roasted red paprika- it tasted better I think. No sliced cheese in my fridge so I used grated mozerella. And I didn't have any fancy rolls so I just used sandwhich bread. I put it all together in the sandwhich in the skillet and grilled it like you would a grilled cheese. It was seriously good. A great summer meal if you ask me.

Mandy

Kefta

Has it really been four months since any of us have posted any recipes? Surely I've made something interesting in that time but my memory fails me just now. No matter, I made the most delicious Kefta tonight and you just have to try it. Kefta is just a greek meatball and of course I found the recipe for these on my favorite blog ever (uh...besides yours that is)- smitten kitchen. The allspice and cinnamon give it a really unique flavor.
Tips:  don't overdue the salt. It calls for 1 tsp and I wouldn't add any more than that. My only complaint was that it was a teensy bit salty. Also, I used ground turkey- not dark. Use half of the cayenne it calls for unless you like it really spicy. I don't have a grill here so I had to fry them on the stove top. Just roll each ball in a little flour and drop in the oil. Turn once after it's browned and then set them on some paper towels. Oh, and the tatziki sauce was gross. Maybe the yogurt here is a little different but... I don't think you really need a sauce with it. I served it with rice and a tomato/cucumber/feta cheese salad.