Filed under: Breakfast/Brunch, Main Dish, Rachelle Mee-Chapman, quick fix | Tags: breakfast, brunch, eggs, Main Dish, rachelle, tomatoes
I threw two parties this weekend: one for 15 11 year olds, and another serving dinner and dessert to 25 folks. Needless to say, I did NOT feel like cooking again come Monday night.
Alas, the children, they demand to be fed.
I had a bunch of leftover cornbread and wanted to make Katy’s Huervos Rancheros with Chorizo to go with it. But I didn’t have the right ingredients. So this is what came up instead. I bet you could do something like it with what you have on hand as well. Here’s the un-recipe:
Roasted Veggies: Put a couple halved, seeded bell peppers cut side down on a baking sheet. On the other half of the sheet put a row of asparagus. (I snap the ends. Some people peel.) Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Roast at 375 until the asparagus are bite-tender. Set aside. (They are fine room temp.) Keep the pepper in there until the skins blister slightly. Remove peppers and cool until you can just handle them. Pinch off the skins and discard. Slice.
“Emergency” Rancheros Sauce: In a skillet or saucepan heat olive oil. Sautee a some onions (I used green) and a couple cloves of crushed garlic. Add a can of stewed tomatoes (mine had peppers in it). Add 1/2-1 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp chili powder. Adjust to taste.
Scramble up or fry some eggs and serve the whole feast with corn tortillas, chips, rice…whatever you have on hand. Have Yum.
Filed under: Main Dish, Rachelle Mee-Chapman, Soup, quick fix | Tags: beans, Main Dish, rachelle, Soup
Last night was our Annual Fall Chili Fest for the Autumnal Equinox. I try out a different chili every year, and this one got rave reviews from our guests. It goes well with easy Pineapple Salsa and Buttery Cornbread, both of which can be found here. Have yum!
Jamaican Black Bean and Rice Soup
(serves 10)
1/4 olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1-2 red bell peppers, finely chopped
2 tsp each cumin and oregano (adjust to taste)
2 tsp salt
4-5 cloves minced garlic
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
4 c veggi stock
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 1/2 cup cooked brown or white rice
2-3 T red wine vinegar (I use balsamic)
Toppings: sliced radishes, sour cream, limes, pineapple salsa
1) Saute onions, bells peppers, spices and salt in a large pot until onions are tender.
2) Add veggie stock. Add beans and tomatoes. Heat thru.
3) Right before serving, add cooked rice and heat thru. When soup is steaming add vinegar and adjust salt.
Tip: Only add enough rice to the amount you are planning to eat right away. Store rice and soup separately to avoid the rice breaking down into starch in your leftovers.
Filed under: Baked Goods/Desserts, Dessert, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: baked goods, Dessert, holiday cooking, Rosh Hashanah
This is my favorite desert for Rosh Hashanah, which I’ve written about at BlogHer this week. It’s not a traditional Jewish dish, just something this goyim girl does for the season. Enjoy some fall goodness!
¼ c butter
¼ c brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 sliced pears
¼ c chopped walnuts
Melt the butter, brown sugar, and honey in an oven-proof cast-iron skillet. Arrange pears in concentric circles on the bottom of the skillet. Sprinkle walnuts evenly across the skillet.
1/3 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 squares (1oz) unsweetened chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
1tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4c flour
2/3 c milk
Cream together butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add in eggs one at a time. Stir in chocolate, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually alternate adding milk and flour. Pour mixture over pears in skillet. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter.
Wonderful warm with fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon!
Filed under: Main Dish, Rachelle Mee-Chapman, Salads, quick fix | Tags: big salads, Main Dish, spinach
Too hot to cook? I’m a huge fan of “big salads.” (Remember how Elaine on Seinfeld always wanted to order “big salad.”) But sometimes you just can’t think of something yummy to put on your salad greens. My soulssitah Jen Payne to the rescue! Jen passed this great list of 101 Salads from the New York Times on to me, and I offer it now to you. (I understand #7 , the carrot blueberry salad is especially great.)
In the meantime, here’s one of my favorite combos: Strawberry Spinach Salad. Start with clean, dry baby spinach leaves. Toss in a couple hand full mint leaves. Add very thinly sliced red onions, chevre (goat cheese), and cashews. The lightest splash of olive oil and rice vinegar, or poppy seed dressing is nice.
Filed under: Main Dish, Medium Fix, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: chicken, Main Dish, rachelle
For almost ten years we hosted one kind of group or another that met in our home for dinner on a regular basis. This recipe for a chicken mole comes from a cook book one of those communities, The Well, produced together. Lisa Hashbarger contributed this particularly yummy dish, and while we’ve lost touch long ago, we still think of her fondly whenever this is on the table.
It’s very simple and you need only one special ingredient, Ibarra Mexican chocolate. This is a hard chocolate with a grainy, sugary texture and a cinnamon flavor. You can find it at most well-stocked grocery stores in the U.S. — tho’ I have to bring it back in my suitcase to Denmark. (Ibarra also makes fabulous hot chocolate when grated and melted into warm milk!)
Chicken Mole
4 chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
1 c broth
3-6 cloves
1 – 28oz can peeled and diced tomatoes
1/2 c raisins
1/4c cilantro, chopped
3 T chili powder
one round Ibarra chocolate
1/2 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t cumin
2 T peanut butter
2 T lime juice
2 c cooked rice
Place the chicken in a pan and cover with water. Bring just to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from water and cool slightly. Then shred into strips. Saute onion in 2T of broth, covered until softened. (4-5 min) Uncover and add garlic, tomatoes, raisins, cilantro, chili powder, chocolate, salt, cinnamon, cumin and peanut butter. Simmer 5 minutes. Add remaining broth and simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken and lime juice. Heath through on low until hot. Spoon over rice and serve with lime wedges
Filed under: Baked Goods/Desserts, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: baked goods, cookies, desserts, rachelle
Chewy, delicious oatmeal chocolate chippers on a handmade napkin.
Suzie the Foodie sent out a Tweet a couple weeks ago about it being time to bake cookies. Seeing as almost the only thing I contribute to this site is baking recipes, I of course immediately jumped on the bandwagon.
Foodimentary said it was National Oatmeal Cookie Day on April 30th so that’s what I cooked up. I’m just now getting the recipe up, but my, my, my it is a keepers.
This recipe came from my pal Heidi Flaming-Buschman. (I know, that’s a freaking AWESOME last name, right?!) The only changes I’ve made is to swap out the shortening for all-butter, and since I can’t get chocolate chips here in Denmark, I chop up a big bittersweet chocolate bar.
On the purple recipe card Heidi gave me as at Christmas a decade ago, under serving size it says, “Makes a large amount.” Use your biggest mixing bowl because it really does make a ton. Have yum!
Heidi and Monte Flaming-Buschman’s Favorite Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
2 cups butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/3 c flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp soda
4 c oatmeal
2 cups chocolate chips
Cream sugar and butter together. Add eggs and vanilla. Then add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 minutes at 375 degree oven. Makes a large amount.
Filed under: Baked Goods/Desserts, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: chocolate cake, thundercake
I know, it looks so yummy, right? This is Thundercake, baked by myself and my darling 8 year old daughter, Cate. This recipe comes from the book Thundercake, a beautifully illustrated story by Patricia Polacco about a Russian grandmother and her grandaughter learning to stave off thunder-fears by keeping busy in the kitchen.
The cake is slightly dense and nicely moist, and keeps well for a few days. (If it lasts that long!) In the book the cake is topped with chocolate icing and strawberries. We opted for a the frosting and coconut. The frosting was just from a standard cookbook…Betty Crocker’s basic frosting I believe. Have Yum!
Chocolate Thundercake
Cream together, one at a time
1 c shortening
1 3/4 c sugar
3 egg yolks (save the whites)
1 c cold water
1/3 c pureed tomatoes
In a separate bowl:
beat 3 egg whites until stiff. Fold into creamed mixture.
Sift together:
2 1/2 cups cake flour (I used regular, it worked fine)
1/2 c dry cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix dry mixture into creamy mixture. Bake in two greased, floured 8 1/2 in round pans at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Frost and top with strawberries or coconut.
Filed under: Baked Goods/Desserts, Dessert, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: apples, custard, tart
Looking for something different to serve for Thanksgiving? I made this for Paul’s birthday last week and we were all bowled over at how delicious it is! The tart apples and lemon pair nicely with the sweet almond flavor, and the sugar forms a crisp caramelized crust reminiscent of a crème brûlée. This is from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food which I highly recommend. The only changes I’ve made is to increase the proportions so that it filled my 11 inch tart pan.
For the crust:
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 t baking powder
12 T (1 1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 t pure almond extract
For the filling:
8 T (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1/2 c sugar
2 large eggs
3 t lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
6 T flour
1 c heavy cream
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 in thick
1/4-1/2 c sugar
2/3 cup blanched almonds (I used hazelnuts because I couldn’t find almonds in our Danish grocery stores)
Crust
In a small bowl whisk together flour and baking powder, set aside. In a large bowl using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and almond extract, beat until just combined. Set mixer to low and add flour mixture until just combined.
Using a spatula spread dough in 11 inch removable-bottom tart pan. Spread evenly over sides and bottom of pan. Freeze for 20 minutes.
Filling
Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl using the mixer, beat butter and 1/2 c sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and lemon zest, mix until combined. With mixer on low, add flour and cream, mix until just smooth. Do not over mix or you will end up with something too much like whipped cream. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, toss apple slices with lemon juice. Arrange evenly in tart pan over chilled dough. Spread filling over apples. Sprinkle with almonds and remaining 1/2 c sugar. (I found you only needed about 1/4 cup) Bake until golden and set, about 40-45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Filed under: Breakfast/Brunch, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: apples, baked goods, muffins
My kids take apple slices to school everyday — and almost as often bring a slice or two back home. Because the apples have browned over the course of the day, my girls don’t want to eat them anymore. But eco-mom doesn’t want to throw them away.
I adpated this applesauce muffin recipe to use shredded day-old apple slices instead. The yogurt makes up for the extra moisture you’d otherwise get from the apple sauce. I grate the apples and put them in a small container in the freezer until I’m ready to make the muffins. They are yum!
P.s. I don’t have a mixer here in Denmark, so all my baking recipes are mixed by hand.
Lunchbox Leftovers Apple Muffins
Wet
2 large eggs
1 c packed brown sugar
1 cup plus 3 T unsalted butter, melted
¾ c grated apples
¼ c plain yogurt
Dry
1 ½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
½ t cinnamon
½ t allspice
¼ t nutmeg
1 ½ c flour
Topping
2 T brown sugar
½ t cinnamon sugar
Lightly whip eggs. Add brown sugar and butter, stir until mixed. Add apples and yogurt. Mix in all dry ingredients except flour. Once blended add flour.
Pour into greased muffin tins. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool in pan for ten minutes, then remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack. Makes one dozen.
Filed under: Breakfast/Brunch, Rachelle Mee-Chapman, quick fix | Tags: baked oatmeal, breakfast, food hero, oatmeal
This recipe is from one of my brother’s in-law, Shane P. I adore it with diced peaches. My daughter Cate doesn’t like baked fruit, so I just sink the diced peaches (or apples, or nectarines) into half of the pan. Eat it straight or in a bowl with a little cream and a sprinkle of brown sugar.
3 eggs, lightly whipped
1/2 c honey
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2c milk
3/4 T baking powder
2 t cinnamon
3 c rolled oats (not instant)
1/2 c raisins (opt)
Lightly whip eggs with fork or whisk. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into greased 8×8 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until the center doesn’t jiggle. Have Yum!
