Wednesday's Capers

     On the menu for Wednesday's dinner was Lemon-Caper Capellini. It's actually a recipe I found a ways back in a WeightWatcher's cookbook that I borrowed from the library. Though I wrote the recipe down a few months ago, this is the first time I actually tried making it. It turned out well and the girls ate it too! :)

Lemon-Caper Capellini
from Weight Watchers Every Day Cooking
Makes 6 servings, 5 PointsPlus

• 12 oz box Ronzoni SmartTaste angel hair
• 3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 4 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp capers
• 1/2 tsp salt
• fresh ground pepper

      Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot off of the heat.
      In a pan over medium heat, drizzle in the olive oil. Add in the pressed garlic and saute until it begins to brown.
      Whisk in the lemon juice, parsely, basil, salt, and pepper. Once everything is incorporated together, stir in the capers. Pour over the drained past and toss together.
      Serve it up and enjoy! We topped ours with some finely shredded low-skim mozzarella but reduced-fat grated parmesan would also be good!

Scraping the Bottom

    I don't know about everyone else, but my family lives on a budget. When the limit is hit on groceries, gas, etc, that's it until next paycheck. Well, I've been countin' down the days until the next payday. Since I haven't been able to go to the grocery to supplement my pantry, it has forced me to get creative. Just opening the door come dinner-time and looking at the shelves, there is not much that meets the eye. It's left me feeling as if I'm scraping the bottom for those last few tasty morsels. 


    The result? I think I've gotten more heartfelt comments from the hubby than usual. Yay! :)


Monday was a soup & grilled cheese. This may not sound like much, but it was hearty and stick-to-your-ribs good.  Just take a look:


    Into a large pot, over medium heat, went a can of cream of potato and a can of cream of mushroom soups. Then whisked in was a can of vegetable broth. While that started coming to a simmer, I diced up half of the white-turned-red bell pepper and half of the purple bell pepper. I also minced up a few cloves of garlic. I heated some olive oil in a pan and when it was ready, the garlic got tossed in. Tossed it around a bit until it started turning golden then the bell peppers joined in. After a few minutes of tossing it all together, I scraped the pan into the soup pot. I also stirred in about a cup or so of pureed sweet potato. I almost forgot to mention the spices! I believe (I didn't write it down so I don't remember exactly) that I stirred in ground nutmeg, ground allspice, onion powder, and white pepper. For the sandwiches, I didn't want to use the usual Velveeta. I sliced up some block mozzarella and block sharp cheddar. We each had a sandwich with mustard, mozzarella slices, and cheddar slices. Abby and I had sliced tomatoes in ours. Then the sammies went into the pan. Then I plated it all up. Surprisingly DE-lish!

Purple bell pepper

Sliced fresh tomato

Two Potato Soup with Grilled Cheese & Tomato Sammies

Tuesday was a little different--a little more involved. But definitely well worth the effort! 


    So I finally finished the cooking process for my chickpeas today. By the way, shelling those suckers is a major pain! It takes forever and it seems impossible to get them all. Anyway, these were finished cooking and so were sitting off to the side. 
    Using my rice cooker, I cooked a half & half mixture of brown rice and medium-grained white rice. This is a double purpose tool that allows me to steam a veggie at the same time. So while the rice was cooking, I had an acorn squash (previously peeled and chopped) steaming up. While those were cooking, I diced up the last of both bell peppers from Monday along with a few cloves of fresh garlic. 
    I sauteed the garlic in a pot with olive oil until golden brown before adding the diced peppers. These sauteed up for a few more minutes, then was taken off the heat. By now, the rice and squash had finished cooking. So now, with the main players sitting around, I took out my food processor. 
    I added a few handfuls of the cooked & cooling chickpeas, along with a healthy dose of olive oil. 
    Then pulsed for a bit. 
    Then added more olive oil and some cilantro. 
    Then continued to process. It seemed pasty so I added probably about 1/2 a cup total of vegetable broth, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and black pepper. After processing some more, taste to make sure you are happy with it. 
    Then I added about half of the acorn squash and a couple tablespoons of the sauteed garlic & bell pepper mixture. 
    Then processed some more. Nice and smooth. 
    I added about 3/4 of the rice to the pot holding the garlic and bell pepper mixture and stirred it all together. 
    Then added in the chickpea "sauce" followed by the remaining acorn squash. Stir it all up. 
    Then when plating, top with a small dollop of sour cream (yes, a deviation from my usual Greek yogurt) and a small shred of my remaining sharp cheddar and mozzarella block cheeses. 
    Oh my goodness! If you having nothing else on hand but this, your family will never know you didn't plan it! I promise! ;) 
    The peppers add a nice crisp sweetness to it that radiates throughout the whole dish, with the rice creating the basis for it all. When you get a chunk of the acorn squash, you taste a subtle sweetness that pairs really well with the peppers. 

It's definitely a happy dance going on in your mouth. :)

White-turned-red bell pepper

Purple bell pepper

Squashed Chickpea Rice

    I realized that I told you that I added only 3/4 of the rice, so what happens to the rest? My plan is to use it in a soup that  I'm planning on making later this week. It's going to use some homemade baked beans I whipped up last week--from scratch, using dried beans. Oh yeaaaaaa. 

So if there's one thing I hope to have imparted to you is that even though the pantry may seem bare (or really really bare), you can always pull something delicious together for the family!

A Taste of What's to Come!

    Headed out to Kyleigh's bus stop this morning, I noticed something before I had even closed the door behind me. It was cool. I don't mean 'awesome' or 'neat' or 'nifty'. I mean, the temperature was actually cool! I thought Abby was going to tell me she was cold when the breeze blew. It felt AMAZING!


    On the way back home, Abby and I decided it was perfect weather for opening some windows--that's just how awesome it feels. So we get back and the windows are open and I've got my cuppa joe and the news is on in the background. (Shocking, I know. Since when do I get to watch the news?!?! :) ) I'm thinking to myself, "man, I love that it smells like fall...I can smell cinnamon in the air" then I stopped.


Sniffed again.


I really did smell cinnamon hanging in the air. Wait a sec, it's quiet.


Where is my kid?


In the kitchen, with my dog, and the cinnamon bottle in her hand and my kitchen floor is now patchy brown.


I just started laughing--it really DID smell like fall this morning! :)  In the fall kinda mood, I decided Abby and I needed to take a trip to the Farmer's Market. Off we went!

Back with a vengeance...and news!

    I trust everyone is enjoying their summer so far. Don't know about where you are, but here in the Carolinas it's been a hot one already! Despite the heat, I've been trying to keep the girls and busy to make the most of our time--my Kyleigh starts Kindergarten in a couple weeks. Wow! Yep, she is year-round. We've definitely stayed busy and I think the girls have been enjoying it.
    While keeping the girlies busy, I've been on a little break from the kitchen. As Kyleigh's "summer" starts winding down, so are our activities. Meaning I've had a little more time to be in the kitchen...and this comes at a great time. You recall the news I mentioned in the title? Well....::drumroll:: I'm now a Featured Publisher on Foodbuzz.com! I am so excited! Hopefully this means I'll get to share my adventures in the kitchen with more people. Woohoo!!


    In celebration, let's eat!




Pizza'd Barley 


    Going back in time a little, it was Friday evening. Our anticipated Pizza & a Movie Night. As luck would have it, making pizzas were out of the question this week. I had to get a little creative. Looking in my pantry, I found a bag of pearled barley. I really love this stuff--it's so versatile. I rinsed it and tossed it in the pot and cooked according to the directions on the bag. This was to be the pizza base, so to speak.


    Now for the sauce. In a small pot over medium-low heat, I stirred together a can of tomato sauce and tomato paste. I added in the usual pizza suspects-garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano. Knowing a lot was riding on this particular sauce, I added a generous amount of paprika, pinch of pepper, and a pinch of cardamom. I stirred it all together, covered it and let it go.


    Let's fast-forward now to when the barley was finished. Since this took about 45 minutes, the sauce had plenty of time to simmer and bring home the flavors of the added spices. On each plate, I made a base for the "pizza". 


    Next came the sauce. A generous amount spread around creating a thick layer--depending on how saucy you want that "pizza". I didn't go all the way to the edge of the barley patty so as to have a "crust". 


    Next it was time for my favorite part...the cheeeeeeese! Personally, I prefer buying the block cheeses and grating them up as needed. It stretches the buck as well as leaving some cheese for snacking. :) This time I had monterey and colby cheeses. I shredded those overtop. I then sliced up some black and green olives for the toppings. After my pizza'd barley was assembled, I sprinkled some parsley on top for good measure. 

This may not have been the pizza everyone was expecting, but they sure did gobble it up! It's nice to shake things up every so often anyway. :)


    Time for dessert! When I went into the kitchen, I knew I wanted to make a White Cake Cupcake. 



        2 c. all-purpose flour
        3 tsp baking powder
        1/4 tsp baking soda
        1/2 tsp salt
        4 large egg whites, room temperature
        1 1/4 c. granulated sugar, divided
        1/3 c. vegetable shortening
        1/4 c. butter, softened
        1/3 c. half & half
        2/3 c. whole milk
        1/4 tsp brandy extract
        1/2 tsp vanilla extract


    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Go ahead and line the muffin pans and set aside.


    In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

    Put the egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer that has been fitted with the whisk attachment. Start whisking on low speed until the whites start getting frothy. At this point, increase speed to medium. After an additional couple minutes (when the whites start looking like the right picture), increase speed another notch or two. 

Continue whisking until soft peaks form. At this point, it is time to add in 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Ideally, you want to add in a little at a time while the mixer is on low. 

My "helping hands".

However, if you have little hands helping you and they decide to add in the entire 1/4 cup at once, it is NOT the end of the world -- as I feared. :) Just keep going. After all the sugar had been added, increase speed to medium/ medium-high.

    






The eggs are done was they form stiff peaks. I had to place my finished clouds of fluffiness into another bowl so that I could continue using the bowl for the stand mixer. Don't those look great?? I love it when the egg whites turn out like they are supposed to. 

     So we've set the egg whites aside. Now it is time to cream together the shortening and butter in the bowl of the stand mixer, this time fitted with the paddle attachment. 


    Once the shortening and butter have become combined to form a creamy mixture, turn the mixer speed to low. Add in the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar. Turn speed back up to medium and beat until creamy again.

    Now it is time to add the flour mixture from earlier and the milk and half & half. Keep the mixer on low and add the flour and milk/half & half alternately. Make sure to begin and end with the flour mixture.

     After all of the flour mixture and milk/half & half have been combined, add in the two extracts. (For the purer white color, I used clear vanilla extract.)

    Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup about 3/4 of the way full.

    Bake at 350 degrees F for 12 to 15 minutes.


    Let the pan stand for 2 minutes after coming out of the oven. Turn the cupcakes out and let them finish cooling on a wire rack.


    Now that I have these wonderfully moist and fluffy cupcakes--cakes that I think totally hit the nail on the head--it's time to decide on an icing. The first one I made was a vanilla bean cream cheese. While that one was a huge hit all around, I didn't take pictures. :( Oh well, all that means is I should make another icing and be sure to take pictures. :)


    In the spirit of 4th of July, I decided to take a different approach and use Red Velvet crumbs to make a red frosting. Let's call these....


Red Fireworks Cupcakes


        approx. 3 1/2 c. red velvet cake crumbs
        3/4 c. vegetable shortening
        6 oz cream cheese
        1 tsp clear vanilla extract
        3 c. powdered sugar


    I used Red Velvet cupcakes that I had from an earlier baking attempt. Here is my little helper using the food processor to make the crumbs.

Our vibrantly red Red Velvet crumbs.

    Once you get your crumbs, set them aside. Next, using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the shortening and cream cheese together. When those are combined, add in the vanilla extract. Turning the speed down to low, very slowly, beat in the powdered sugar. I recommend by about 1/2-cup at a time to avoid having a sugar cloud erupt in your face. Beat until smooth and creamy.

     Turn up the speed and let it whip up until it forms stiff peaks when you lift the beater.

    Add in the cake crumbs and beat just until combined.

    It is now time to introduce the cupcake to its newest icing buddy. Using a piping bag and a really large star tip, pipe the icing onto the cakes. It is not going to come out nice and neat due to the cake crumbs in it. As I mentioned earlier, however, it keeps in spirit with the 4th of July because they remind me of fireworks going every which way. :)


    'Course I just happened to have some Hershey's chocolate bars on hand (when do I NOT have them around haha), so I figured they would make nice toppers to the cakes. As usual, I was right. ;)

    Hope you guys enjoy the Pizza'd Barley and Red Fireworks Cupcakes!

Make sure you come back for seconds.

Yumm!!

CrockPot Tuesdays: January 11th

Let's go vegetarian today, shall we? Oh yes, let's.

White Bean with Rice Stew

We'll begin with a can of chickpeas. Drain the can and rinse the beans, and because of personal preference, I shelled them. After that, they went into the CrockPot. Next came a can of Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, followed by 2 cans of vegetable broth, 1/2 cup frozen chopped onions, 


3 peeled and cubed russet potatoes,
























and 1 can drained and rinsed great white northern beans.


















 Now it is time for some more flavors. Tossed in is: (all measurements are approximate because I don't really measure when I'm cooking) 1 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp rubbed sage, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp minced garlic, and 1 tsp lemon juice. 

With about 3 hours to go, I stirred in about a cup of cooked rice. 

 
After cooking on low heat for roughly 6 hours, now it is ready to eat! 

We added a dollop of Greek yogurt (yeah, I know, I seem obsessed with adding the yogurt to just about anything and everything) 

and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. 

Yumm!! Enjoy!