Peanut Butter Blossoms

If you can possibly believe it, I did not like peanut butter as a child. It was too goopy and stuck to the roof of my mouth and got inbetween my teeth. It wasn't until I went to boarding school and started eating peanut butter on bananas to avoid the awful cafeteria food that I began to like peanut butter.

These are such a classic cookie that it's hard not to like them. I made them after taking half of my finals, and the act of rolling the dough into little balls was so calming and mindless after my brain had been fried. I served these on Saturday night when we had a few people over before going out to dinner.

The recipe states that it makes about 4 dozen cookies, but I only got 3 dozen out, most likely because I rolled them a little larger than recommended. I waited until I had a count to unwrap the Hershey's Kisses, saving me from having some unwrapped kisses with no cookies to go on.

Peanut Butter Blossoms
(source: Hershey's Kitchens)

Ingredients

48 Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
granulated sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.
2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.
3. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet. 4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

About 4 dozen cookies.

Baked Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti Squash Marinara

I'm currently in the midst of finals, so my level of functioning is pretty low right now. I've got that glazed look in my eyes, and I know it's a good day if I've brushed my hair. This all means that it's a good time for some comfort food. I picked up a spaghetti squash from the store last week with no solid plans of what I might do with it; it just interested me. When I saw I had some chicken breasts in the freezer, I had the idea that I could serve the spaghetti squash as a side for chicken parmesan. Whenever I have chicken parmesan, I don't like having pasta as the side. It's just a little to carb-y for my taste. And in the middle of winter, salads don't have the same appeal that they do when it's 90-degrees outside.

So I put the spaghetti squash in the oven whole for an hour at 375-degrees and then cut it in half, scooped out the seeds, and shredded it with a fork. Joe is such a good sport and didn't even look at me sideways when I told him what we were having. He ended up liking it too.

This is a very basic, simple recipe for chicken parmesan. It's definitely not the best in the world, but it does the trick.

Baked Chicken Parmesan
source: southernfood.about.com

Ingredients

• 4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness (I put mine between wax paper and bang the hell out of 'em with a rolling pin.)
  
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• seasoned bread crumbs (Make your own or use the ones out of a can. I don't care!)
  
• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 slices mozzarella cheese, or more (I usually use shredded cheese because that's what I have in the house usually.)
  
• 1 jar (16 oz) spaghetti sauce (A basic marinara works best. If you have homemade, that's preferable.)
  
• Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken breasts in milk and egg mixture and then in bread crumbs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Set chicken in a baking dish.

Slice 8 pieces of mozzarella cheese and put two on each chicken breast. Pour 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and a little more mozzarella and bake at 350° for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with spaghetti, garlic bread and a nice green salad.

A Tale of Two Brownies

To celebrate all that we had accomplished that semester (3 papers, 2 exams, and 15 books read), my pastoral care and theology class had a party during part of our last class this past Thursday. After seeing Ginger Brownies on Reservations Not Required, I thought that this party would be the perfect opportunity to make them. Ginger is one of my favorite flavors, and I liked the idea of jazzing up regular brownies with a little unexpected flavor.

But Joe always gets a little sad when I make baked goods and then whisk them away before he gets to eat his fill, and I had been eyeing a brownie recipe in a cookbook that I rediscovered on my shelf that looked like a great go-to brownie recipe, so I decided to make a batch of those and throw in some walnuts for Joe and me to have.

Both brownies turned out really well. I guess it was the recipe I was using before, but my previous brownies always looked ugly and were too fudgey for my taste. Joe preferred the pure chocolate taste in the regular brownies on a blind taste test, but I really enjoyed the ginger brownies. I was curious to see, besides the added flavors in the ginger brownies, how the different amounts of the basic ingredients affected the brownies. Using more chocolate in the classic brownies definitely made them fudgier, and they had a more pronounced chocolate feel in the mouth.

Ginger Brownies
source: Reservations Not Required

Makes 16

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. Line bottom with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches to hang over 2 sides. Butter parchment; set aside. Melt butter and chocolate together in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in remaining ingredients.
2. Pour batter into prepared dish. Smooth top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes. Lift out, and let cool completely on rack. Cut into sixteen 2-inch squares. Brownies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days.

New Classic Brownies
source: Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies
Yields 16 brownies

Ingredients
8 tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400-degrees F. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven.

Melt the butter with the chocolate in the top of a double boiler or in a medium heatproof bowl set in a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until the mixture is melted and smooth.

Remove the top of the double boiler (or the bowl) from the heat. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring until each is incorporated before adding the next. Stir in the flour and beat with a wooden spoon until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the pan, about 1 minute. Stir in the nuts, if using. Scrape the batter into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the brownies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. The surface of the brownies will look dry but a toothpick inserted in the center will still be quite gooey.

When cool, slide a knife between the pan and the brownies on the unlined sides. Lift the ends of the parchment or foil liner and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. May be stored, airtight, for 2 or 3 days.

Curried Chicken with Apples

This may not be the most attractive meal I've ever made. I'm aware it's a bit brown, but it really is quite good. I've realized I am really liking fruit in savory contexts, so when I saw this curry with apples, I thought it was a great fall/winter meal. My mom came over last night for dinner before the Vanderbilt basketball game and liked this as well. I threw in some raisins on a whim because I thought they would add a nice textural contrast. The sauce thickened up nicely and went well with the brown rice.

Curried Chicken with Apples
source: Casual Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken (The original recipe called for cubed or ground pork. You could also use cubed chicken.)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I used one Fuji apple and one Granny Smith)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons flour
1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder, to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or one clove garlic, pressed or minced)
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
1) Brown the cubed pork on all sides in oil, on high heat, in a large non-stick pan, about 4-5 minutes.
2) Turn heat down to medium-high. Add apples and chopped onions to the pork. Saute for 4-5 minutes, until starting to brown lightly. Add flour and dry spices, stir well and continue sauteing for another 1-2 minutes.
3) Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 35 minutes. Serve with rice.

Serves 4.

La Bamba Casserole

I'm sure by now it's no secret that Joe and I really enjoy meals with a Mexican flavor profile, and I really like Cooking Light recipes, so the best thing is when they're combined! I liked this Mexican casserole much better than the Rachel Ray Mexican Lasagna, and it's better for you too. The refried beans are a nice touch and make the whole thing taste much richer than it is.

Oh, and I turned on the broiler for a few minutes at the end of cooking because Joe's favorite part of casseroles is the crunchy cheese.

La Bamba Casserole
source: Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 1 (5.25-ounce) can whole green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained (like Rotel)
  
• 2 cups frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
• 1 (16-ounce) can fat-free refried beans
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup chopped tomato (I omitted)
  
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cut green chiles in half lengthwise. Arrange chiles in a single layer in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add diced tomatoes; cook 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates.

Spoon turkey mixture over chiles. Top with corn. Carefully spread beans over corn. Sprinkle cheese over beans. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes; top with chopped tomato and green onions.

Yield: 6 servings

Calories: 344 (28% from fat), Fat: 10.7g (sat 6.3g,mono 2.9g,poly 0.8g), Protein: 32.2g, Carbohydrate: 30.7g, Fiber: 7.4g, Cholesterol: 77mg, Iron: 3.2mg, Sodium: 902mg, Calcium: 269mg