Cream of Pea Soup

No soup says "Spring" to me more than this cream of pea soup, and this is the time of year that I crave it. It could be its bright green color that I'm so ready to see on the plants in my yard, or the sweet, fresh pea flavor that reminds me of fruits and vegetables to come in the summer, or it could be that it's nice and warm and at least once (likely more) during the springtime I jump the gun and leave the house without a coat. I bitterly regret it every time. Whatever the reason, this soup is always something I look forward to this time of year.

If you like peas, you will like this soup. It actually tastes like peas. They're the main star in a small list of ingredients meant to enhance, not disguise, the pea flavor. Most of the hands-on time takes less than 10 minutes and I usually have everything for it on hand. That means I can easily whip it up to warm myself when I've returned from an errand run in 30 degree weather without a coat.

Again.

Cream of Pea Soup

Ingredients

2 T unsalted butter

1 onion, minced

Salt

2 T all-purpose flour

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 pounds frozen peas, thawed. (For thicker soup, use 2 pounds)

1/2 cup heavy cream

Pepper

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, finely chop the peas in a food processor (or by hand). Add the peas to the soup and simmer until tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.

3. Return the pureed soup to the pot and stir in the cream. Bring to a brief simmer, then remove from the heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. 

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Chicken Mock Pie

My husband and I have been married two years now, and I'm still working on some of the little things that I get wrong in our relationship. I still call him cute, (I guess handsome is a more manly adjective), I give away his golf magazines (those are "reference"), I never seem to remember the important part of facts that I hear on the radio or read online ("Babe, did you know that there are so many people on Facebook now that they've surpassed some really big number? I don't remember what it was. The population of a small country? No?"), I shed hair everywhere (There's no solving that. I've just got a lot of hair.), and I make desserts with lemon in them.

I do get a lot of things right, though. This recipe is one of them. My husband likes chicken pot pie, but he's a big texture eater and the crust is never crispy enough for him. I want to make pot pie more often for him, but rarely have time on a weeknight.

Enter, the chicken mock pie. 

It's chicken pot pie filling, (in this case cooked in a pressure cooker, but you could easily use this recipe.) topped with crispy strips of pie crust. Finally, a pot pie recipe that makes both of us happy. It's done in less than 30 minutes, and it has as much crispy pie crust as my husband could want. 

Halfway through eating it, my husband paused and said, "You're putting this on your blog, right? You should. It's awesome." I assured him that I was. It is a winner in my book, too. I didn't even tell him it was low fat because it was thickened with potato flakes and not a traditional butter/flour mixture. I just let him enjoy it for what it was, because in two years of marriage I have learned that I shouldn't share when food is "healthy".

I do get some things right.

Chicken Mock Pie

Ingredients

1 T butter

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 carrots, cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 T fresh lemon juice

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced medium

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp dried tarragon

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cups frozen green peas

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup half and half or milk

1 T butter, softened (optional)

1/4 cup potato buds

1/4 cup flour

2 pie crusts, unbaked, and rolled out

Directions:

1. In pressure cooker, heat butter. Add onion, garlic and carrots and saute in hot oil over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, stir, and cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, lemon juice, potatoes, salt, pepper and herbs. Secure lid. Over high heat, develop steam to high pressure. Reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook 5 minutes. Release pressure according to manufacturer's directions. remove lid. 

2. While pot pie filling is cooking, cut pie crusts into 1/2 -3/4 inch strips using a pizza or pastry cutter. Place strips on a cookie sheet and bake in a 450 degree oven for 6-8 minutes, or until strips are lightly browned on the edges. Remove and let cool. 

3. Carefully remove about 3/4 cup of cooking liquid and stir in peas and corn. Bring to a boil and cook 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium. Discard bay leaf. Combine half and half, butter (If using. This just makes it a little more richly flavored.), potato buds and flour, blending until smooth. Stir into chicken mixture until thoroughly mixed. Heat until mixture is hot and has thickened.

4. Serve pot pie filling in bowls, passing pie crust strips to top. 

Recipe Source: Inspired by Every Easy Meal Cookbook and adapted from The Pressure Cooker Cookbook.

Ooey-Gooey Caramel Popcorn

You might have noticed that we already have a phenomenal caramel popcorn recipe on this blog found here that Nicole posted, and it is my go-to super yummy recipe whenever I want to make popcorn balls and wrap them up all pretty-like and eat them and/or drop them by friends' homes. But my mom also had a caramel recipe that she'd make at least once a month and though it makes a HUGE giant bowl, it would last maybe one hour in our house of 5 kids! So anyway, I hmm'ed and haw'ed over adding this recipe on because though it is a caramel popcorn recipe it is NOT a recipe that you'd want to shape into a ball, mostly because it won't stay. This recipe is really gooey and just melts in your hands, and in your mouth. So I finally decided I'd just add it so that you all can have your cake and eat it too --or in other words, you can have one recipe for making popcorn balls, and one to make in a giant bowl and go to town on.

Ooey Gooey Caramel Popcorn

Source: Lynea Dimond

1 cup Light Karo Corn Syrup

2 cups Brown Sugar

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup Butter

dash of salt, to taste

3-4 quarts of popped popcorn or 1 1/3 cup popcorn kernels.

1. Pop your popcorn and remove all kernels that didn't pop.

2. In a large saucepan bring the corn syrup and the brown sugar to a boil over medium heat. Once it comes to a boil stir for 4 minutes (yes you should time yourself b/c if you over-boil at this point then you won't have gooey popcorn, you'll have a more candy texture)

3. Add butter and the sweetened condensed milk and stir until it's well combined.

4. Add a dash or two of salt, to taste.

5. In a huge bowl (I mean huge, or you could use a paper grocery bag) pour the caramel over your popcorn and keep on stirring until you achieve an even coat.

6. Now, eat and try to stop. Bet ya can't do it!!

Apple-Pecan Pork Chops

Do you ever see sales on pork chops and pick them up when you are the grocery store, only to get them home and realize you have no idea what you are going to do with them? Please say yes, because it has happened to me more than once. They look so beautiful in the meat case, all wrapped in their saran wrap, just waiting to be put in a recipe. 

Of course I pick them up with big plans to make stuffed pork chops or something equally ambitious, and then they sit in my fridge while I make chicken or pasta recipes and forget about my grand plans. They're like the Susan Lucci of my refrigerator. Well, as long as being eaten by me is the equivalent of winning an Emmy in the food world. 

I'm pretty sure it is.

If this has happened to you, or even if it hasn't, please take a moment to say hello to my new favorite pork recipe. It's fast, easy and delicious. It's quick. Did I mention how simple it was? It uses one skillet and has seven ingredients, and that is counting the salt and pepper separately. And its goooood. Yes, five Os good. The sugar melts and caramelizes on the pecans and pork, making a sweet sauce that is perfect with the apples and nuts. Pork chops will never waste away in my fridge again. 

Apple-Pecan Pork Chops

4 boneless pork loin chops (3/4 to 1 inch thick)

Salt

Ground black pepper

1 T butter

1 medium red apple, cored and thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2 T packed brown sugar

1. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper and set aside. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat until it sizzles. Add apples; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Push apples to side of skillet. Add pork chops; cook for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and turn pork chops over, moving apples aside as needed. Spoon apples over chops. Sprinkle with pecans and brown sugar. 

2. Cover and cook for 4 -8 minutes more or until an instant-read thermometer inserted in centers of chops registers 160 degrees. Spoon apples and cooking juices over chops and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Recipe Source: Every Meal Easy Cookbook

French Onion Soup

The weather is starting to turn here in Minnesota, which means that the snow is melting but it's still around 30 degrees. This also means that we are still in "soup season" even if we don't like it admit it. I've always been kind of intimidated by making French Onion Soup because it usually calls for a dozen or so different kinds of cooking wines and cognac and the exact caramelizing etc. etc. etc. So I came across this recipe and found that it's a crockpot recipe meaning you throw everything into a crockpot and forget about it for 4-6 hours. So I thought I'd try it and my husband loved it, and so did I. Here's the real shocker, my 2 year old did too! I will give one disclaimer though, the key that brings this soup together is the cheese that you sprinkle/broil on top, Gruyere. Yes it's insanely expensive but it goes far and it gives a nutty salty flavor that I can't find in any other cheese. So splurge, you'll thank yourself!

French Onion Soup
Source: Food Network, Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade

5 small/medium Yellow Onions, thinly sliced

2 cans Beef Broth, 14 oz each

2 cans Beef Consomme (you can find this amidst the rest of the canned soups)

1 packet Lipton's Onion Soup Mix

1 Loaf Crusty French Bread, sliced 1" thick

1 cup Gruyere Cheese, shredded (Monterey Jack and Swiss would also be yummy)

1. Pull out your crock pot and set it to the 6 hour setting

2. Throw in your onions, broth, consomme, and onion mix.

3. Walk away and do lots of fun stuff for six hours.

4. Ladle out some soup into an oven-safe bowl. Top with a slice or two of french bread and sprinkle about 1/4 cup of cheese on top.

5. Broil soup until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly.

6. Let cool and enjoy!

Breakfast Brown Rice Risotto

I took an international crops class in college that I added to my schedule to fill out a requirement for my major.

Alright, I also added it because it sounded easy.

I was right about the easy part, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Learning about the food in different cultures was amazing, especially as it relates to the crops that grow well in a certain region (at least it was interesting to the plant genetics nerd that I am.) For one, I didn't know there were different kinds of rice. Honestly, I had no idea. Short grain rice? Wow. Brown rice? Whoa. Short brown rice? I've got to sit down for this one.

I've never looked at rice the same way again after that class. I bought some short grain rice shortly afterward and loved it. In fact, I became a little obsessed and ate it at almost every meal. Or even FOR the meal. Someone told me that in parts of the world they add a little sugar and cinnamon and milk and eat it like a porridge for breakfast. Forgive me if I don't remember what part of the world it was where they do this. I was busy sprinting home to give it a try.

It turns out, rice makes a great breakfast. If you think about it, it's a grain like oatmeal, so why can't you have it for breakfast, too? You can. And I did, for a long time, but I got tired of cooking it every morning and cereal won me over again.

Enter my electric pressure cooker. A month or so ago I realized I could just throw rice, water and sugar in my pressure cooker and it would cook my breakfast for me. It takes lot of the work and time out of making rice, especially brown rice. I like to cook my sweet brown rice beyond the point of done-ness to where it is a risotto-like consistency with lots of creaminess and just a little bit of chew from the grains. Throw in some sweetener and some dried fruit and it's really a delicious breakfast, and a nice change from oatmeal or cereal. 

I'm sharing a couple different ways that I like to top my brown rice. If you don't have a pressure cooker, you can get the same taste, (but maybe not the same consistency unless you are willing to cook the rice for a very long time), by following the cooking instructions on the back of the bag. I find that either short grain brown rice or sweet brown rice work equally well for breakfast risotto. If you are more of a white rice fan, see pressure cooking instructions here. 

Breakfast Brown Rice Risotto

Ingredients:

1/2 T butter

1 cup short grain brown rice (or arborio rice if you prefer white rice.)

2 cups water

3 T brown sugar (or sweetener of your choice)

1/8 tsp salt

1-2 T heavy whipping cream 

Directions:

1. Melt butter in pressure cooker over medium heat (or with "brown" setting on electric pressure cookers) and add rice. Stir and cook for a few minutes to coat grains with butter and toast the rice slightly. Add water and salt and cover. Bring to high pressure, then reduce heat enough to maintain pressure and cook 30-40 minutes. Allow pressure to release naturally for five minutes, and then quick release remaining pressure. Rice is done when most of the water is absorbed and the rice has a creamy texture. In my electric pressure cooker this takes about 38 minutes, but it is a good idea to check at 30 minutes the first time through to see how quickly the rice cooks in your own pressure cooker. 

2. Spoon rice into a medium bowl, stir in whipping cream and additional sugar or salt to taste. Top with your choice of dried fruits or nuts, if desired. (Suggestions below.)

Cherry Almond Breakfast Risotto:

Stir in a scant 1/8 tsp almond extract, 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries and 1/4 cup chopped toasted almonds.

Apple Pecan Breakfast Risotto:

Stir in 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup chopped apple and 1/4 cup chopped toasted pecans. 

Santa Fe Meatloaf

Thirty-something years into their marriage, my mom is in the midst of a thirty-something year mission to make my dad like healthy food. He's become suspicious over the years of anything from "a green package" as he calls the the lightened versions of cheese, sour cream, and convenience foods. He's not shy about proclaiming when things "taste like sawdust" or "have no flavor" when he thinks someone has tricked him into eating low-fat food. My mom is a great cook, though, so he gets tricked a lot and doesn't even know it. 

This recipe is an example. He called one Sunday and was raving about this meatloaf my mom had made. It was so moist and flavorful, he said, and had corn and bell peppers and a great tasting crust. While he was extolling the virtues of the meatloaf I wondered how on earth it got made because meatloaf is usually "heartier" than the dinners my mom tends to make. When I had her on the phone alone she explained the mystery to me: it was a lower fat meatloaf. It used very lean beef, and cooked on a cooling rack so the extra fat could drip away instead of sitting at the bottom of the loaf pan along with the meatloaf. 

The method sounded ingenious to me, as well as the inclusion of Southwestern flavors to give it another great twist. I tried it the next week and found it to be every bit as good as my dad had said. Since it makes a lot of meatloaf for two people, I also learned that the leftovers taste great too, whether plain, or mixed with steamed rice or even crumbled on top of tortilla chips and broiled with cheese on top. (I'm fairly certain it wasn't low fat at that point.) In all, it changed the way I thought about meatloaf. 

Tricked or not, my dad was right. This is a darn good meatloaf.

Santa Fe Meatloaf

2 large eggs

6 T low-sodium chicken broth

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 T tomato paste

2 tsp fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried

1 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper

2 slices high-quality whole-wheat sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed

2 pounds 95 percent lean ground beef

4 scallions, minced

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine

1 cup shredded light cheddar cheese

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Fold a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil into a 10 by 6-inch rectangle, place in the center of a wire rack, and place the rack on a baking sheet. Use a skewer to poke holes in the foil every 1/2 inch. Spray the foil with vegetable oil spray. 

2. Whisk the eggs, broth, garlic, tomato paste, oregano, chili powder, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper together in a large bowl. Add the bread and mash together with a rubber spatula until the mixture is uniform.

3. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mash the black beans with a potato masher until no beans are left whole. (Do this thoroughly or the meatloaf won't hold together well.) Add the mashed beans, ground beef, scallions, corn, bell pepper, cheddar, and 2 T of the cilantro to the broth-bread mixture and combine with your hands until uniform.

4. Press the mixture together into a compact mass, then turn it out onto the prepared foil on the wire rack. Press the meat to the edges of the foil into a tidy 1 1/2 inch-thick loaf.

5. Brush half of the barbecue sauce over the meatloaf. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes.

6. Brush with the remaining glaze and continue to bake until the center of the loaf registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. (The recipe claims this will take an additional 15-25 minutes. For both my mom and me, this took an additional 45-55 minutes.) Let the meatloaf cool for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 2 T cilantro over the top before serving.

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated Healthy Family Cookbook

Pot Roast Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff. Not something that you think all through your busy day, "ooooh, I can't WAIT for dinner tonight!" No, it's more like something that you throw together in a hurry only to accomplish the deed of filling stomachs. Then we were invited over to one of my best friend's house for dinner and when she told me what we were having, I was less than excited but prepared to put on my, "oh wow, this is amazing!!" But really I'd be thinking, "Good, now I don't have to have this meal for another five years!" But I was wrong.....again. This particular recipe is a very special treat. One that you w-i-l-l look forward to all day long. It's basically a pot roast cooked in the crock pot all day long so it's super moist and it cooks in the gravy so there's zero preparation. You literally throw everything in the pot in the morning and then 8 minutes before it's time to eat, make some egg noodles. Voila, dinner is served!

Pot Roast Beef Stroganoff

(The portions below are based on a 1 lb roast beef so if you get a 2 lb roast beef, double the ingredients)

1 lb Roast Beef

1 can Condensed Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup Water

1 tablespoon Worsteshire Sauce

1/2 Onion, diced

4 oz Cream Cheese

Egg Noodles (some people like this recipe with rice, it's up to you...and your taste buds)

1. Lug out your good ol' crock pot and dust/wash if need be. Set to the 6-8 hour setting.

2. Pour in the soup, water, and worsteshire sauce. Mix well.

3. Dice your onion and throw in the soup mixture.

4. Place your beautiful rump roast in the crock pot and stir the soup mixture around and on top of the roast.

5. Put the cover on and go about your business...for 6-8 hours.

6. When the roast is cooked through, take it out of the crock pot and shred it all up.

7. Add the cream cheese to the soup mixture and stir until the cheese is melted.

8. Add the beef back into the crock pot.

9. Cook your egg noodles (or rice). Serve under, on top, in, over, the yummy beef stroganoff.

Yum-Yum!

Reuben Soup

Do you remember your food "bests"? Like the best cheesecake you ever had, or the best lemon meringue pie? Yes to both of those for me, and another yes to the best reuben sandwich I ever ate. It was last summer in New York City, and it was a four-inch tall behemoth of a sandwich with juicy corned beef, perfectly toasted rye bread and just enough sauerkraut. I was lucky my mother-in-law shared it with me or I would have needed to curl up in a ball and sleep the rest of the day instead of seeing the sights. I don't know if any other reuben sandwich will ever be able to match it, though it certainly hasn't stopped me from eating them.

I thought of that great reuben sandwich a couple months ago when I ran across a newspaper article that had a recipe for a local pub's popular reuben soup. Reuben flavor in a soup? That was something I just had to try. It turns out that corned beef and sauerkraut are just as good together in a soup as they are on rye bread. Throw in some potatoes for body and some seasonings and you've got a pretty darn good soup that in my mind rivals the original sandwich. That is high praise coming from a reuben sandwich fan.

The recipe from the newspaper article was a little vague at times as far as amounts and times, so I'm posting my modifications and amounts that work for me. I've tweaked quite a few things from the original recipe, not the least of which was replace the 2 whole cups of heavy cream with half a cup of half and half. I know it's not likely that any meal with corned beef in it would be considered low-fat, but with less cream I don't feel as guilty about having a second bowl.

And after finishing one bowl, I always want another.

Reuben Soup

Ingredients:

3 medium yukon gold potatoes, diced

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium yellow sweet onion, chopped small

5 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup water

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup half-and-half

1 tsp pickling spices

1 cup cooked corned beef, chopped medium

1/2 cup sauerkraut, drained

1/4 teaspoon caraway seed

2T Worcestershire sauce

2 bay leaves

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (1/4 tsp is just barely spicy)

Salt, to taste

Cracked black pepper to taste

Chopped parsley and croutons for garnish

In a large soup pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Increase heat to medium, sprinkle in flour to make a roux and cook one minute. Slowly pour in water, whisking after each addition, until add the water has been incorporated. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in chicken stock, half and half, pickling spices, corned beef, sauerkraut, potatoes, caraway seeds, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Taste and add red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper. Remove bay leaves. To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley and croutons.

Serving: 4 to 6

Recipe Source: Inspired by the Green Pig Pub

Blueberries and Cream Cookies

Have you ever had a blueberry picked straight from the bush? They are so amazingly flavorful that the cartons of blueberries you buy from the store seem almost tasteless in comparison. The first time I tried one was on a field trip of sorts in grad school. (Yes, you can still take field trips in grad school. It's awesome.) We drove out to a field where there were acres and acres of blueberry bushes which were being tested as potential new varieties for farmers to grow. After walking us up and down the rows of blueberries for half and hour and teaching about what makes a good blueberry bush, our teacher did something wonderful: he handed out huge containers and told us to pick whatever blueberries we wanted for the next ten minutes. Know those supermarket competition shows where contestants have to fill their shopping carts in under a minute? Imagine that with grad students in a blueberry field filling buckets. I happily ran from bush to bush, picking blueberries into my bucket and eating as many as I could. At the end of ten minutes, a joyful group of grad students with purple-stained fingers and lips boarded the bus to go back home. I think I ate half my bucket on that bus ride back, and I wasn't the only one. The blueberries were just that good. 

For those who don't have their own blueberry bush, or who don't want to wait until summer for a taste of some blueberries, this recipe is for you. It is a blueberries and cream cookie that is easily in my top five favorite cookies. Dried blueberries provide the fruity flavor, and an ingenious use of powdered milk and white chocolate gives them a rich, creamy taste. My husband described them as tasting like, "the cookie version of a blueberry muffin top." The cookies themselves are soft and chewy and sweet, but not too sweet. Eating one takes me back to summer days and eating blueberries right off the bush. 

Blueberries and Cream Cookies


Ingredients:


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup plus 2 T granulated sugar

1/2 cup plus 2 T light brown sugar

1/4 cup corn syrup

1 large egg

1 cup dried blueberries (blueberry flavored craisins also work)

1 recipe Milk Crumbs (see below)

Milk Crumbs:

1/4 cup plus 1 T nonfat dry milk powder

2 T all-purpose flour

1 T cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 T unsalted butter, melted

1/4 cup white chocolate, melted

For milk crumbs:

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 T plus 1 1/2 tsp milk powder, flour, cornstarch, sugar and salt. Stir in melted butter until well combined. Spread mixture on baking sheet and bake until dried and crumbly, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool. 

3. Transfer milk crumbs to a large bowl and fold in remaining 2 T plus 1 1/2 tsp milk powder and white chocolate. Use immediately or store in an air-tigher container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

For cookies: 

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream together butter, sugars and corn syrup until well combined. Add egg and mix until well combined.

2. Add flour mixture and mix until well combined. Add blueberries and milk crumbs and mix until well combined. Scoop dough into balls and place about 1 inch apart on baking sheets.

3. Bake at 375 degrees until cookies are golden brown and tops begin to crack, about 10 minutes.

Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies

Recipe source: adapted from Momofuku Milk Bar as featured on Martha Stewart Living

Penne with Chicken, Asparagus, and Lemon

I have a favorite go-to pasta recipe that is easy, fast and delicious, but after tasting one bite of this pasta I realized that recipe has some serious competition. Light, lemony and fresh, this penne tastes like something from a restaurant. Honestly. Add in the fact that there is a mere tablespoon of oil and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese and it becomes a low-fat wonder. I love trying new recipes and making new dishes, so when I tell you that I've made this twice in the past two weeks should say a lot about it. Especially after I ate leftovers of it for days after the first time I made it. And, to be honest, I saw that asparagus was on sale this week at the grocery store and contemplated making it again. It's really that good. (And I'm really that weird about food I like.) 

Another bonus of the recipe is that it got me over my fear of using leeks. For those of you who are afraid of using leeks because you don't know how to cut or clean them (aka, me until a couple weeks ago) I've included some pictures and instructions at the end of the post. Leeks have a great mild, sweet flavor and I wouldn't suggest substituting onions instead unless leeks really, really scare you. (Or if your produce section doesn't carry them.)

Penne with Chicken, Asparagus, and Lemon

1 T olive oil

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2-3) trimmed and sliced thin

1 leek, white and green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin and washed

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp minced fresh thyme

2 tsp all-purpose flour

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine (I use 1/3 cup grape juice and 2/3 cup water)

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp grated lemon zest plus 1/4 cup lemon juice

Salt and pepper

1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound) tough ends trimmed, and sliced on the bias into 1-inch lengths

12 ounces whole wheat penne (I use the enriched pasta, not whole wheat)

2 T shredded fresh basil (don't skip this like I did in the pictures for this post.)

1. Heat 1 1/2 tsp of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skilled over medium high heat until just smoking. Add the chicken, break up any clumps, and cook until lightly browned but not fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. (I like to start a pot of water boiling for step 5 now so that I don't have to wait on it.)

2. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tsp oil to the skillet and turn the heat down to medium. Add the leek and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and wine (or dilute grape juice) and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened, about 15 minutes. (The sauce will still look somewhat watery even after it has thickened.)

4. Return the chicken with any accumulated juice to the skillet. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add the asparagus and 1 T salt and cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is crisp-tender, 2-4 minutes. (If you have thick asparagus you will need to increase the cooking time slightly.) Using a slotted spoon, transfer the asparagus to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

6. Return the water to a boil, add the pasta, and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Drain the pasta and return to the pot.

7. Add the chicken-broth mixture, asparagus, and basil to the pasta and toss to combine. Serve.

Yield - 6 servings

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

How to clean a leek:

Cut off the dark green parts and bottom, and slice in half length wise. Slice each half into pieces, and place in a bowl of cold water. Separate the leek layers with your fingers and rub off any dirt you may see. Dirt is easily trapped between the leek layers, which is why washing them is so important. Lift the leeks out of the wash water (if you pour out the water all the dirt from the leeks that has settled to the bottom of the bowl will wash over them as the water is poured out - ick.) and dry on paper towels or use a handy salad spinner. 

Avocado Pulled Pork Sliders

This is one of my favorite sandwich recipes, especially for feeding a large group. Of course, since most of the time it is just me and my husband eating it, it usually becomes a leftover meal that we eat for an entire week. (Probably another reason I like this recipe.) The pulled pork is cooked in a slow cooker, so it's easy to prepare ahead of time and have ready and waiting when you need it. It has a little bit of sweetness from cooking in apple juice, and a little bit of spiciness from the barbecue sauce and chipotle peppers. Finish it off with some cheese and avocados and how can you go wrong? I usually use small dinner rolls as the base for the sandwiches so that they are slider size, mostly so I can feel less guilty about eating 3 of them. (Or 5.)

Avocado Pulled Pork Sliders

Ingredients:

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

2 lb boneless pork shoulder roast, well trimmed of visible fat

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 1/3 cups apple juice

2/3 cup prepared barbecue sauce

2 T finely chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

20 small dinner rolls, sliced in half

20 thin slices provolone cheese

4 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices

Directions:

1. Up to five days before serving, combine paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Lightly sprinkle 1/2 of the seasoning on the pork roast, reserving the other half. Cover the pork roast and keep refrigerated until cooking time.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place pork roast in pot and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned. Remove from skillet.

3. Add onion to the skillet and cook until golden brown. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. Stir in apple juice and reserved paprika seasoning mix from step one. 

4. Add pork roast to a 4-6 quart slow cooker and pour skillet mixture over it. Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours or until meat is very tender and falling apart. Remove pork roast from pot and let rest for 5-10 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Strain pot juices into a gravy separator if serving immediately, or if serving later, pour into a bowl, cover and refrigerate. 

5. Shred pork roast, removing small amounts of fat as needed; if not serving immediately cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

6. To serve the sliders, remove the post juices from the refrigerator and skim off fat. (Or pour fat-separated sauce from the gravy separator.) Pour into a small pot and bring to a boil. Stir in barbecue sauce and chipotle peppers. Mix enough into the shredded pork meat to make it moist and juicy.

7. To prepare sliders, top the bottom half of a rolls with pulled pork, a slice of cheese and several slices of avocado. 

Recipe Source: Hass Big Game Recipes

Fluffernutter Monkey Bread

My guess is that a few of you are wondering what the heck a fluffernutter is, and possibly even what makes something monkey bread. If that is the case, let me get you up to speed with some delicious foods. Monkey bread is a pull apart bread made up of small balls of bread dough rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar and baked in a bundt pan. During the cooking process the sugar and butter between the bread pieces melt and carmelize and the finished product is an ooey gooey, delicious pull apart bread that is nearly impossible to stop eating.

A fluffernutter, on the other hand is a sandwich made with peanut butter and Fluff (brand name for marshmallow creme). It's a proud tradition on the East Coast where I grew up, and it wasn't until I went to school in the west that I realized that not everyone had faithfully packed them in their lunches in elementary school. Even now when I eat one it reminds me of Little House on the Prairie books, playing in our treehouse and summer vacations. Peanut butter provides the salty and the marshmallow creme provides the sweet and together it is a completely addictive combination.

Especially in a monkey bread.

I was playing around with some bread dough ideas and found a peanut butter yeast dough that I really liked. It was rich enough that I starting thinking of ways I could pair it with something sweet, so I decided to try it in a monkey bread.

I though that marshmallow creme would be the perfect sauce or glaze for a peanut butter monkey bread, but I wasn't sure how I'd get the marshmallow creme in there. However, I also knew that cooked marshmallows melt into sweet, sticky goodness in baked products, so I threw them in with the dough.

Layer of marshmallows . . .

Layer of dough balls . . . 

More marshmallows, more dough balls and so on. 

Surprisingly enough, it worked. The marshmallows dissolved but the finished product stayed together with a layer of melted marshmallow throughout it. 

To give it more marshmallow flavor, I made a glaze and poured it on top.

And then made myself sick eating it.

Ooey gooey success.

Fluffernutter Monkey Bread

Ingredients:

Dough

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup warm water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 package instant yeast

3 1/2 cups flour 

1 tsp salt

Sugar coating

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

2-3 cups mini marshmallows

Glaze

2 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

1. Whisk the milk, water, peanut butter, granulated sugar and yeast together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer, stir together flour and salt using a dough hook. Slowly add the peanut butter mixture. Once the dough has come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is shiny and smooth, about 6 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until double, about 50-60 minutes. 

2. Punch down the dough and place on a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half with a knife or bench scraper, and then divide again and again until you have 64 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, dip in melted butter and roll in granulated sugar. 

3. Lightly spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray and put about a cup of mini marshmallows in the bottom of the bundt pan. Layer a row of dough balls on top of the marshmallows, then another layer of marshmallows followed by a layer of dough balls until all the dough is used. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise about 40-50 minutes. The dough should rise an inch or so about the edge of the pan.

4. Heat oven to 350 and bake the monkey bread until the top is deep brown and sugar mixture coating the dough is melted and bubbling, about 35-40 minutes. (I usually cover mine with foil after 20 minutes so that the top won't burn until the middle is cooked. 

5. Cool in the pan 5 minutes, and turn out onto a plate and let cool about 10 minutes. 

6. Make the glaze by heating the marshmallows with milk, stirring to combine. Pour over monkey bread and serve warm. (You could be civil and cut into slices if you want, or just let people dig in with their hands.) 

Recipe source: HeatOvenTo350