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Archive for the category “baked”

Texan Macaroni and Cheese

texan mac and cheese_edited-1

I am evil. Really evil. I had a craving for one of my dishes of yore and just had to make it. I include here the evil and less evil versions of the recipe. A few years ago I had this idea to play around with food and enter cooking contests. The hankering did not last long and I never won anything, but experimenting with one particular dish holds some sweet memories for me. I have always liked macaroni and cheese, but am often disappointed in the lack Of flavor in some versions. I like sharp cheeses and some punch in the flavors soaked up by the pasta. Growing up we would have the Kraft version on Fridays in lent. It did not feel like much of the meatless sacrifice it may have been intended, although it was a variation on the protein rich meals we usually ate. When I decided to join a macaroni and cheese recipe contest I was determined to have it taste the way I loved. At the time my brother and I happened to be visiting my parents. We spent a crazy late night making at least three batches of the stuff, working to make sure the cheese sauce was smooth and the final baked results were not dry, but also not runny. We had a lot of fun, caught up on each others lives and finished off the leftover beer, among other things. I don’t get to spend much time with my brother these days, so it was a treat to share the kitchen with him. It was a marathon cooking and picture fest, which I hope did not keep our mom up too late. She probably enjoyed lying awake laughing at our conversations. I never asked. Here is the original, non-award winning recipe and a lower carbohydrate, wheat free version. They both work, but the non-wheat pasta version results in an extra nutty flavor from the quinoa, I think. Overall, the combined flavors of Mexican beer, cheese and the tomato/chilies remind me of the south Texas foods I grew up with. Totally appeased my comfort food hankerings and brought back great memories.

Texan Macaroni and Cheese

Wheat Version

1 pound elbow pasta
1 can tomatoes and green chilies
1 1/2 lb Sharp or Medium Cheddar Cheese, grated
5 oz goat cheese
12 oz Mexican beer (suggest Negro Modelo)
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp sea salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp butter (for baking dish)
1/2 lb Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Cook pasta per package instructions for al dente and rinse with cold water. Drain well. Heat medium pot over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and chilies, beer, goat cheese, cream of celery soup, salt and cumin. Stir until blended and heated through. Turn heat to medium-low. Gradually add Cheddar cheese, stirring occasionally until cheese is melted. Remove pot from heat. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add pasta to cheese mixture and combine until pasta is well coated. In separate bowl mix together cream and eggs until eggs are well beaten. Gradually fold cream/egg mixture into pasta until thoroughly combined. Butter 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour pasta mixture into dish. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes in preheated oven. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle Monterrey Jack cheese over pasta, followed by sprinkling paprika, then tortilla chips (optional). Bake for an additional 18 – 20 minutes until the top cheese is bubbly and browning. Remove from oven and let rest for ten minutes before serving.

Non Wheat Version

1 pound wheat free elbow pasta (suggest quinoa version)
1 can tomatoes and green chilies
1 1/2 pounds Sharp or Medium Cheddar Cheese, grated
5 oz goat cheese
12 oz Mexican beer (suggest Negro Modelo)
¾ cups heavy cream
½ cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 Tbsp arrowroot flour
2 Tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp butter (for baking dish)
1/2 lb Monterrey Jack Cheese, grated
1 tsp paprika

The instructions of the recipe are the same except for one extra step. There are ingredients substituting the cream of celery soup that need to be added when the sauce is hot. Before turning off the heat and adding cheddar cheese to the sauce, add ¾ cup cream, broth, butter, arrowroot flour, salt and pepper. Using a whisk stir until the sauce is smooth. Continue with the recipe directions.

Cornbread Without Corn

coconut corn bread_edited-1How do you get cornless cornbread? Don’t put corn in it! And aren’t they cute? Big D made some awesome chili the other day and of course cornbread goes great with chili. Alas, the wheat and corn in traditional cornbread aren’t the greatest foods in the world to consume. Over the holidays we tried some low carb, corn free versions of ‘corn’ bread to make stuffing. It was okay, but the flavor and texture was not as close as these tasty little muffins. We previously tried to copy cornbread texture with flaxseed meal which did a pretty good job, but I look forward to trying this version next time we make dressing. I cooked these up in a mini muffin pan and easily got 20 muffins out of one batch of batter and cooked them for only 20 minutes – one minute per muffin – go figure. They were a bit on the dry side, compared to actual cornbread I have made in the past, but we easily resolved that issue with a slather of butter on top. Poor us. I may also try to do some kind of ‘corn dog’ version for Little B with some sausages and a larger muffin pan. I will let you know how they turn out!

Cornbread Without Corn

2/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup butter
8 large eggs
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the coconut flour, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Whisk in the melted butter. Add the coconut flour mixture to the egg/butter mixture and stir to combine until it forms a wet dough mixture. Divide the batter among 12 greased muffin tins or 20 mini muffin tins. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before removing from pan, or burn your fingers by removing them immediately from the pan to split and melt butter on the halves before eating them too soon and burning your tongue.

Adapted from the recipe here.

Creamy Vegetable Bake

creamy veggie bake

I am constantly trying to find new ways to prepare high fiber vegetables. There is only so many times a week I can chew on raw broccoli and cauliflower, no matter how good they are for me. Big D made a big, chipotle spiced pork roast in the crock pot the other day. I wanted some baked veggies to go along with it to balance the spicy. Of course I turn to a creamy, buttery sauce. I threw in a little turmeric for flavor and color. The vegetables did a good job of not taking away from the smokey chiles while also keeping my tongue from burning too much. Little B still prefers her broccoli ‘trees’ straight out of the freezer. Although I hoped she would like this baked version, which she did not find appealing, I am not going to complain. Someday she may not like broccoli. For now I will just smile and keep buying the bags of frozen green trees she can reach on her own with the help of the little red kitchen stool.

Creamy Vegetable Bake

1 crown broccoli
½ head cauliflower
½ head cabbage
1 small onion
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup heavy cream or half and half
¼ cup yellow mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp sea salt
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop vegetables into bite size pieces. Mix vegetables together in a 9×13 baking dish. In a medium bowl combine butter, cream, mustard, garlic, salt and turmeric. Whisk until well combined. Pour sauce over vegetables and toss until coated. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 – 30 minutes until vegetables are of preferred softness. We like them slightly crunchy. Serve immediately and make sure the sauce is drizzled over the top.

Blogiversary with Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

stuffed jalapenosA year ago today I started this blog. Before doing so I thought about it a lot. I wondered how I would feel if it exploded with popularity, or if most interest would be from spammers. Would I want to continue it if either happened? Well, now I know. Spammers love me and I have a rather quiet following. My reaction is that I love doing it. Another thing I discovered over the past year is that I got a lot more out of blogging than I expected. I looked forward to discovering new recipes, documenting old ones and giving Little B experiences in the kitchen, like my parents did for me. The past 12 months were full of changes – I ended one job, started another, moved across the country, lived in four different abodes, said good-bye to family and friends in a number of different ways, then sought out meeting and getting to know new ones. I like my day job, but it lacks the creative outlet I crave, just as my previous full time work did. I don’t have a problem with the absence. My job fills a need for me to be challenged to solve big problems, while protecting separately the things I love. It may be wimpy of me, but I have always hesitated to rely on my passions to support a living. I think I fear it being taken away from me. The last time I tried to do so we got a new addition to our family – Little B – who influenced a change in the direction I was going and who has given me a new passion. My interest in a little, bustling catering business was not a good fit with a newborn. I don’t regret putting it to the side, for Little B is turning into quite the sous chef, the future looks bright for her and with her. Concentrating on my weekday job, knowing that Little B and Big D and cooking comes before and after it is working really well for now. Big D and I go with the flow in life, as always. Cruising the world on a sailboat full time is a ways off, but we are moving in that direction. Until then, I plan to embrace life, watch Little B grow and hold hands with Big D. I could not ask for more right now. When I looked back in the 123 blogs I did over the past year I was surprised to discover I did not start blogging sooner. I am actually an introvert, so doing the blog is stepping outside of my shell and it feels good. A whole year of yumminess. I see how my eating habits have evolved and how much better I feel without the sluggishness I get from high carbohydrate food. I also see how life experience, even over such a short period of time, changed how I approach things and find joy in small routine stuff that is easy to overlook. Oh, wait, this thing is supposed to be about food, too! I pondered for a while about what to make for this blogiversary. I considered doing something fancy and complicated, but that is not where I am right now. What I came up with is quite a gem. Today’s recipe is consistent with our low carbohydrate, wheat free leanings, and made with no concern whatsoever to what Little B likes. This is for me and Big D, who has been so supportive of my creative outlet, especially with tweak suggestions and acting as guinea pig. Spicy and cheesy and addictive these are. Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you enjoyed your visit as much as I enjoyed preparing it for you, and please return soon!

Blogiversary Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos

6 large jalapenos, halved lengthwise and seeded
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 ounces ham, finely diced
1 tsp garlic powder
½ cup finely shredded Mexican cheese blend

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine cream cheese, garlic and ham together. Fill the jalapeno halves with the mixture. Sprinkle with the Mexican cheese blend, gently pressing it into the filled halves. In a baking sheet or dish arrange the jalapenos so there is some space between them. Bake for about 20 minutes until cheese is melted and browning, possibly drizzling down the sides of the jalapenos.

 

Acorn Squash Bread

squash bread

I bought a big, beautiful acorn squash a week or two ago. We have leftovers from the holidays filling the refrigerator and freezer, so in the process of figuring out what to do with the squash, I realized we were running low on goodies for Little B. Additionally, she was to begin a new preschool soon and we needed to stock up on portable wheat free snacks for her. And on top of THAT, I got an awesome new mini loaf plan as a gift and was itching to break it in. To make a bread that has some sweet and savory I included nuts and spices. Of course, relying on coconut flour and eggs to beef up the protein was a must. Little B likes this stuff a lot, and this particular squash was sweet, so the squash/snack/loaf pan goals were met with one recipe. Three birds, one stone. Big D bit into it and groaned – in a good way – it reminded him of his grandmother’s banana bread, and it had no bananas. Now THAT is a compliment!

Acorn Squash Bread

1 cup cooked, mashed acorn squash
½ cup walnuts
6 eggs
½ cup olive oil
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
½ cup coconut flour
¼ cup golden flaxseed meal
1 cup granular erythritol
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In blender combine squash, walnuts, eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend until smooth and nuts are broken up to around the size of little peas. In mixing bowl combine flour, meal, erythritol, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add blended ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Pour batter into greased bread pan or mini loaf pan(s). Bake for 40 – 50 minutes if making one large loaf, or 25 – 30 minutes for mini loaves. The bread is done when the loaves look set (no longer liquid) and the edges begin to brown. Let cool in the pan before removing. Breads made with coconut flour need to cool before they are set enough to remove from pans, but making sure the pans are greased well make the removal process easier.

Cinnamon Dough Ornaments

cin ornaments

I guess technically you can eat these ornaments, and they get made in the kitchen, so they pass the ‘food blog’ test I arbitrarily created in my head. If you don’t eat them, which I advise, they can make any space they occupy smell WONDERFUL! For days after making these ornaments with Little B the house smelled of cinnamon, then when the ornaments got put on the Christmas/Solstice tree they still smelled wonderful. One of them hanging in my office gets rid of that officy smell, which is not that bad, but nothing compared to cinnamon spice. There is still time before the holidays are over to add some decorations, so dive in and make a batch. Our first roll out was with dough that was too sticky, so the intended shapes got, well, a bit reshaped when transferring them to the pan. They also  cracked a bit when baked. We learned as we went, though, and stiffened the dough up with more cinnamon. The picture shows our mixed results, and you can tell which ones were made with the wet dough compared to the dryer dough. This project appeased my desire to make cut out cookies, didn’t result in sugarbombs sitting around the house begging to be eaten. It was such fun creating glittery ornaments we can enjoy during the holiday season. Stay tuned for a wheat free edible version of cut out cookies, but experiments in that vein continue, and mastery is still pending….

Cinnamon Spice Dough Ornaments

1 ½ – 2 cups ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground clove (optional)
1 cup applesauce
1 Tbsp glitter (optional)

Combine half the ground cinnamon, the ground clove (it will make the dough darker, so decide before adding if you want darker or lighter results), applesauce and glitter. Combine until a dough forms. Add more cinnamon as needed to thicken if it is too sticky. The amount of cinnamon needed varies with altitude and humidity, so keep adding cinnamon until the dough seems crumbly, and you need to knead it for the pieces to stay together. Wet dough will bake brittle and the ornaments will crack, so make sure it is stiff. Roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to shape the ornaments, or cut them out freehand. Use a drinking straw to poke a hole in the ornament, strategically placed, for hanging. Place ornaments on baking sheets covered in parchment paper, or directly on the sheets. Bake ornaments at 200 degrees for two hours, then turn off oven and leave the oven closed until it cools off. Yes, I know you can’t tell if the oven is cooled off unless you open it, but two more hours or overnight should do it. Carefully remove the ornaments from the sheets/paper. Loop string or cord through the hanging holes and decorate something.

Cranberry Roasted Chestnut Muffins

After you do some holiday baking and roast chestnuts on an open fire, you want to do more! We set aside some chestnuts from our recent roasting adventure so I could make these muffins. A recipe for my extra special secret cornbread dressing includes the wonderful inventions of roasted chestnuts and fresh cranberries. I have yet to convince myself to share the recipe, especially since I have not made it in a while, but did recently have a hankering for the flavors that make up the dressing. The evils of corn (it is not the fault of the natural corn, but the sugary nature of the vegetable, which is why I avoid it) have discouraged me from making the dressing in recent years. To recreate the flavor and texture in a corn free way I came up with these muffins. The flax seed gives them the texture that hints at cornbread (and adds extra fiber), while dancing well with the cranberries and chestnuts. Muffins continue to give Little B a sweet treat while keeping her diet high in fiber and low in sugar. She still gets a little confused sometimes when she can have muffins at home and not when we are out, but I have taken to having muffin back ups in my purse for such occasions. She helps make the muffins pretty much every time, which helps keep her interest, and they sate her desire for baked goods. So good so far!!

Cranberry Muffins with Roasted Chestnuts

6 eggs
6 Tbsp butter, melted
4 Tbsp heavy cream or half and half
1 tsp vanilla3 drops liquid stevia
½ tsp sea salt
½ cup coconut flour
¼ cup flaxseed meal
¼ cup powdered erythritol
½ tsp baking powder
8 ounces fresh cranberries
4 roasted chestnuts (can substitute with 10 raw pecan or walnut halves)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with liners. In blender add wet ingredients, nuts and cranberries together. Blend on low until cranberries and nuts are broken up in small pieces. In separate bowl combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Divide batter among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for about 15 minutes until tops begin to brown. Let cool for about ten minutes before serving.

Pumpkin Pie No Sugar No Wheat No Problem

A pumpkin pie with a crispy crust and moist custard, full of spices and sweet pumpkin. A quintessential dessert around my house during the holidays. We like serving it chilled, and mine is usually topped with some freshly whipped cream. I like making it first thing in the morning so the house smells wonderful all day. Little B is becoming quite a pro at stirring, so the custard was a joint effort this year. Sometimes I use fresh pumpkin, other times I resort to canned stuff. I have discovered over the years that the fresh stuff needs a little more spicing to get that just right balance of flavors in the pie. Big D likes his pumpkin pie extra spicy and wheat free, while I want it sugar free with a flaky crust. This recipe met all four requirements! My next wheat free, sugar free pie will be pecan. Stay tuned!

Pumpkin Pie No Sugar No Wheat No Problem

Crust
1 1/2 cups almond flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp splenda
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Custard

15 ounces puréed pumpkin
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
¾ cup splenda
2 large eggs
1¼ cups heavy cream

Heat oven to 375ºF. For the crust, mix together the almond flour, 1 tsp splenda and butter until combined. Press mixture into an 8” or 9” pie plate and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. In a medium bowl whisk pumpkin purée, splenda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt to combine. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add heavy cream and mix well. Pour custard into pie crust. Cover crust edge with aluminum foil. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until filling is set but still a little jiggly in the middle. Cool on a wire rack.

 

Soupless Green Bean Casserole

I like holiday meals. Partly because of all the lovely foods we don’t make during other times of the year, but also because the meals often require cooking all day. Darn. Heh. We like spending time in the kitchen. Besides keeping us close to the alcoholic beverage supplies, it is a place where we have great conversation and create or try new things. This is a good thing, in my opinion. Besides a huge bird, or a massive ham, I always look forward to green bean casserole. There is something about the beans and the creamy sauce and the occasional mushroom bits all swirled together in a single bite. This version of the casserole does not include the crunchy fried onions, because of the wheaty carbiness of them, but it still turned out to appease my comfort food craving for the soupy, crunch version. I don’t know how well this would work with whole fresh beans, but with the canned french style the sauce coated every bit very well and the richness I love so much was able to shine through. I am not partial to all the extra stuff they put in canned soups, as I have ranted about before, so I am always glad to figure out versions of comfort foods I enjoy with out the canned stuff. Big D got a little perturbed at how much I liked the green bean casserole over the flaxseed dressing, which was pretty good. His holiday comfort food goes back to his grandmother’s dressing, filled with biscuits, cornbread, apples and sage. I don’t know that he ever gave green bean casserole a second thought before we got together. What can I say, I am a green bean casserole girl. Have I mentioned I like green bean casserole? That last one was for Big D.

Soupless Green Bean Casserole

2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp erythritol
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 cups mushrooms, diced
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
3 cans green beans, drained
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, and cook for one minute. Stir in the salt, erythritol, onion, Worcestershire sauce and sour cream. Add mushrooms. Cook mixture until mushrooms sweat and liquid reduces by about 50%. Add green beans, and stir to coat and heat. Transfer the mixture to a 9×9 casserole dish. Spread shredded cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and cheese is bubbly.

Bacon Wrapped Thanksgiving Turkey

To all fellow bacon lovers – what may be even better than wrapping steak or jalapenos or chicken breasts in bacon? Turkey! The end result may not look like the quintessential golden skinned turkey, but boy is it moist and flavorful! Our traditional method is to use a smoker to do the turkey, along with whatever appetizers we crave, like stuffed mushrooms, and even throw in the occasional bunch of jalapenos, tomatoes and onions, which make a smokin’ salsa. Our current living situation, at the top of an apartment building, is not conducive with smoker use. We didn’t want the landlord following the trail of smoke and nagging us about rule breaking. A quick searing of steaks on the balcony grill is one thing, but eight or so hours of trailing smoke is more than what we thought we could get away with. We went ahead and did an oven version this year. I am curious about how this recipe would work in a smoker, but we will have to find out another time. It was fun to do the bacon wrapping and watch the bacon get dark and crispy. Instead of having the typical crispy skin to eat, we had a blanket of bacon. The skin kind of melted into the meat, becoming part of the bacon. I am not sure how it happened, but the results were very satisfying. I got the idea from here, but made adjustments, since we are particular about fresh herbs for Thanksgiving, even though we often rely on the dried stuff most of year. The bird was stuffed with carrots, celery, onion, garlic and the herb combination that turned out wonderful. There are various versions of this recipe with comments about soft bacon, but I don’t know what they are talking about. As you can see, there is a crispy shell on it and the meat is well cooked and moist and wonderful. If you follow my instructions you should be able to get the same results. Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Thanksgiving Turkey

One 15-pound turkey
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
½ cup fresh tarragon leaves
½ cup fresh sage leaves
¼ cup rosemary leaves
10 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
½ cups olive oil
4 cups vegetables, including carrots, celery, onion and garlic
3 pounds bacon, sliced into thin strips

Wash the turkey inside and out and pat dry. Place in refrigerator for at least an hour uncovered to cool. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Mix together the herbs, minced garlic and olive oil to make a paste. Rub the paste in the cavity and underneath the skin of the breasts of the turkey, carefully so you do not tear the skin. Fill the cavity with the vegetable mixture, and place in a roasting pan. Add 1-2 cups of water in the roasting pan, so there is about ¼ inch of water, then roast the turkey in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the heat to 350 degrees. Cover the turkey in the bacon slices, in cross-hatch form* or just by overlapping the slices in strips. Insert a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Put the turkey back in the oven and continue to cook for about 20 minutes per pound (about three hours total, including the high temperature period) until an internal thermometer temperature reaches 160 degrees. 

*To do the cross hatch on top and bottom there can be preparation while the high temperature cooking happens. Take two pieces of wax or parchment paper, about two feet long each. Create the cross hatch by alternating bacon pieces into one foot by one foot sections. After the turkey finishes the first half hour of cooking, move the turkey to a surface where juices can drain. In the baking pan flip one of the cross hatch sections into the dish and spread it out. Place the turkey on top, then flip the second cross hatch on top. Between the wings and legs connect the cross hatch edges as much as reasonably possible. Wrap the wings and legs with bacon strips, making sure to cover all the meat and skin. Add a few more pieces on the top and bottom of the cross hatch pattern to cover all surfaces of the turkey.

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