About ten years ago I purchased a square stoneware baking pan from The Pampered Chef. It was my absolute favourite pan until yesterday when we welcomed the new additions. If you’ve never baked with stoneware, I strongly suggest you do as these baking pans and sheets absorb the heat and distribute it for even baking. What I also love about this product is that because you only wash it with hot water (no soap) after several uses it begins to form a somewhat greasy coating. After a while the baking pan doesn’t need to be greased prior to baking.

Once we had our bakeware out on the kitchen table I decided to immediately make use of at least one item. I chose the baking sheet to make Halloween-themed sugar cookies. The recipe comes from Joy of Baking and I recommend watching the video for some tips on making the cookies.

I baked one batch on the baking stone and one batch on my non-stick baking sheet using a Silpat. The cookies on the stone were baked to near perfection while some of the cookies on the other sheet came out half burnt on the bottom. Some were golden and some not so much. The recipe, by the way, is awesome. I left my cookies sans icing sugar as they are subtly sweet on their own.

Of course I couldn’t just stop there. We have a basket-sized amount of apples on our counter, which I’ve been wanting to use for a pie but I still haven’t replaced my broken pie plate. Luckily The Pampered Chef products each came with recipes and one of them was for Apple Oat Muffins. The recipe can be found here. Not only were the muffins fast and easy to make but they turned out amazing. The sweet cinnamon crumble on top gives each bite a little spicy crunch and the apple bits lend their natural sweetness to the mix.

I was trying to make granola bars from a recipe but the words “home” and “made” make me think that I can do whatever the hell I want to a recipe. I’ve had many failed experiments because I didn’t follow a recipe. But this time it wasn’t so bad.

The recipe called for flour, rolled oats, butter, maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla. Now, wouldn’t you agree that that list is missing a few things? I thought so and that’s why I added Rice Krispy cereal, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, mini marshmallows, and sunflower seeds. I guess it could have still worked out if I had made enough sticky liquid (melted butter with brown sugar, syrup, and vanilla) to saturate everything. Going into the oven I could tell the mixture wasn’t wet enough.

I almost considered dumping the whole batch except that they were still tasty.

The bars turned out very crunchy and not chewy like they should have been. They were also not as sweet as store bought bars, which was a welcome change as everything seems a bit too sweet to me. I brought out my rolling pin and I smashed all the granola bars into small pieces and then I tried it out with some milk.

I made cereal.

The smell of carrots and onion boiling in a pot of chicken broth is probably the most comforting aroma ever. It takes me back to cold nights as a kid snuggling with my mom, playing games or listening to her stories.

Speaking of moms, Jay’s mom lovingly made us a nice batch of home made pesto, which we’ve been gorging on because it’s so good. I’d previously purchased a bottle of pesto but last night there was no question as to which one I’d be using. Mom’s pesto is way better, in our opinion.

This recipe comes, again, from Jean Pare’s 30 Minute Pantry. Seriously, if you can find that book, get it.

Here’s what I used:

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, chopped (original recipe says to use celery)

4 cups ready made chicken broth

1 cup water

about 3 handfuls of egg noodles

four chicken drumsticks

another onion, chopped

2 tbsp pesto

Into a pot on medium-high heat put the chicken broth and water. Add the carrot and onion and bring to a boil then add the noodles and cook until carrot is tender. While that’s happening, cook the chicken in a pan with some oil and the other chopped onion. The original recipe says to use boneless chicken thigh cut into small pieces so it will cook faster but because I used drumsticks it took a lot longer. Basically, just cook until it’s not pink inside. The onions started to burn a little so I added a bit of water, which sort of caramelized everything. Once the chicken is cooked through, add the pesto and mix to coat everything. Add to the pot of soup and stir. I let it simmer for a few minutes more to combine flavours.

Home made pesto from Jay’s mom.

Last night I used a recipe from Jean Pare’s The 30 Minute Pantry (is there anyone out there who loves the Company’s Coming series as much as we do?). The instructions are simple and easy to follow and dinner was ready in 30 minutes. Of course it does help if you prep all the ingredients ahead of time like I did.

To prep rinse the pork chops and pat dry with a paper towel and set aside. Mix together about 2 or 3 tbsp of flour with 1/2 tsp of oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and black pepper to taste in a shallow dish (I used my pie plate which unfortunately suffered a fatal accident during the night – for some reason it felt the need to hop off the drying rack and plummet to its death on the floor). Set that aside. In a small bowl combine about a tsp of lemon rind and 2 cloves of chopped garlic. In another small bowl squeeze about 2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice. You will also need a cup of chicken broth. For the asparagus I cut the ends off and then chopped another two cloves of garlic.

To cook the pork chops heat a skillet at medium high heat with a tbsp of butter and a tbsp of  olive oil. Press the the pork chops into the flour mixture to coat both sides then place them in the skillet and cook until the meat is not pink in the middle – about 2-4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness. Reserve the leftover flour mixture. Place pork chops on a plate and cover to keep warm. In the same skillet add the leftover flour and then add the lemon rind, garlic, and lemon juice. Slowly stir in the chicken broth and continue stirring until it thickens. Drizzle over pork chops and serve.

To cook the asparagus heat a pot with butter and olive oil on medium high heat. Throw in the garlic for about 30 seconds then add the asparagus and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper if you want. Cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes if you want them tender. If you want them much softer then cook another 10 minutes. I sort of burnt the garlic and was afraid it would ruin the asparagus but I kept moving it around and it turned out amazing, especially with the lemony gravy on top.

Crack open a bottle of red wine and enjoy!

This has got to stop. Last night I broke out of my restricted Rachael Ray Rolodex of recipes and I made her Turbo Classics Rosemary Lemon Chicken with Pesto Mashed Potatoes. I really can’t explain why I never made this before as it was ridiculously easy to make. I think I have an aversion to buying fresh rosemary because I never use it all and it ends up going bad.

Anyway, please do make this for dinner if and when you want something warm, comforting, and most importantly absolutely delicious. The smell of the chicken as it comes out of the oven is mouth-watering. And where did she get the idea to mash potatoes with pesto? Genius!

Recipe for the chicken can be found here. The potatoes recipe can be found here.

Note – I used chicken thighs instead of chicken breast as I find breast a bit too dry for my taste.

Overall the instructions in the book were clear and shown in order of preparation and cooking, which I like because it means I don’t have to go searching for a step or a missing ingredient. If you’re not crazy about the taste of cloves, like Jay is, you can omit them or just put in very little. The recipe calls for crushed cloves for the chicken rub (called baharat) and later whole cloves for the entire dish. I only added the cloves to the baharat and it was more than plenty. Originally this was supposed to be a chicken and almond pilaff but guess what, I completely forgot about the almonds and I even have a whole stash I meant to use for cooking. No matter, it was still amazing. Unfortunately, once it was cooked it looked like a huge pot of slop. I don’t know what it is about me and slop these days. But, do try it out.

Recipe can be found here on Google Books.

Serve this dish with a side of white rice, beans, and a warm tortilla. A nice white wine also compliments the meal, a chardonnay perhaps.

Recipe here.

The holidays were wonderful and delicious but oh so unforgiving to my figure. One of the most common things people put on their New Years resolutions is to lose weight. I am one of those people and every year I add it to my list of goals but every year I end up putting that goal back on the list because I was unsuccessful. This year I’ve altered that goal. Instead of writing “Lose Weight” at the top of my list I’ve written ”Eat healthier.” It’s realistic, it’s safe, and  I won’t feel pressured and later feel inclined to give up.

To start with my healthier lifestyle, I made this tasty, satisfying, and amazingly nutritious vegetarian stew.

Makes about 6 servings

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

6oz mushrooms, chopped

1/2 red and green peppers, chopped

2 carrots, minced

14oz canned tomatoes, crushed or diced

4 or 5 pickled peppers, chopped

1 can mixed beans, drained

8oz red kidney beans, drained

1 can green lentils, drained

About 1 cup frozen corn

About 1 cup beer

Generous squeeze of mustard

Cayenne pepper to taste

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pot and sauté the onion, celery, and garlic. Once the onion is soft, add the mushrooms, peppers, and carrot. Cook until mushrooms are soft and then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil then lower heat, cover, and cook on low for about 20 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook on low for another 20 minutes. Serve with a bit of shredded cheese and cilantro.

]]> http://popsdemilk.com/2010/01/18/bean-and-veggie-stew/feed/ 0 Pops De Milk 206 http://popsdemilk.com/2009/12/04/lemon-squares/ http://popsdemilk.com/2009/12/04/lemon-squares/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:54:15 +0000 Pops De Milk http://popsdemilk.com/?p=553 ]]> Several weeks ago, after embarking on the ludicrous writing adventure, I found myself stuck. Writer’s block. So what did I do? I baked. I procrastinate by baking. And thanks to the lovely AsiaJo over at Frock and Fork, I found exactly what I needed to make on that day of mental stuckness. Lemon Squares (recipe here). Let them cool completely as they are quite soft when they come out of the oven. These easy to make squares were so delicious and perfectly sweet. Addictive too. I had to hide them so I wouldn’t eat them all in one sitting.