Peanut butter bars

Peanut and Chocolate are my two favorite things.  If I could bottle a Reese Peanut butter cup and drink it all day I would.  But then I would probably passout of sugar shock.  Anyway.  This snack/dessert is super easy and a little goes a long way.  I would not be able to eat more than two without a glass a milk in one sitting.  Ok - maybe I ate three.  But I'm sure it was a special occasion.    I forget where I got this recipe, but whereever I got it - Thanks!  Enjoy.

Peanut butter bars

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Icing:

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt; gradually into creamed mixture and mix well.

2.  Spread into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

3.  Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

4.  Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over the top. Cool completely. Cut into bars. Yield: 3-4 dozen.

Beef Lo Mein

I'm still working on my dishes for Chinese New Year.  One must have noodles in the feast.  It represents longevity.  I made this dinner during "snowmegaddon".  My husband came home after sitting in the car for 5+ hours in Mario Kart like traffic.  He sat down to eat this dish and thought it was fabulous.  I'm pretty sure the dish is good but I think he might have been hungry as well. My 11 year old loved the dish of course because it is made mostly of noodles.



Adapted from Epicurious
Lo Mein with Beef
1/2 lb. fresh Chinese lo mein noodles
3 large dried black mushrooms
3/4 lb. flank steak
1 to 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
1/2 cup peanut, vegetable, or corn oil
1/2 cup shredded bamboo shoots
1/2 cup any kind of chopped cabbage
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1/2 cup chives, cut into 2-inch lengths
3 cups bean sprouts, rinsed and drained

1. Drop noodles into a large quantity of boiling water, at least 2 quarts, and cook 3 1/2 to 5 minutes until tender. Do not overcook. Drain and rinse well under cold water. Set aside.

2. Place the mushrooms in a bowl and add boiling water to cover. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes or longer, then drain and squeeze the mushrooms to extract most of their moisture. Cut off and discard the tough stems and thinly slice the cap.

3. Place the meat on a flat surface and cut it across the grain into the thinnest possible slices. Place the slices in a bowl and add the oyster sauce, cooking wine, 1 tbsp soy sauce, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of sesame oil. Mix to coat meat with the oyster sauce mixture.

4. In a wok or skillet, heat the 1/2 cup peanut, vegetable, or corn oil, and when it is warm, not hot, add the beef and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute. Drain the beef in a sieve-lined bowl and keep the drippings; remove oil from wok and reserve.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons of this reserved oil in the wok to almost smoking. Then add the bamboo shoots and mushrooms and cook, stirring, over high heat about 15 seconds. Add the cabbage, sugar and salt. Cook, stirring, about 1 minute, remove vegetables from wok.

6. Add the beef drippings and an additional 3 tablespoons of reserved oil to the pan. Turn the heat to high, and when hot add the noodles. Cook, stirring, about 20 seconds. Add the bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and light soy sauce. Cook about 15 seconds, stirring, and add the chicken broth and dark soy sauce. Cook, stirring, about 8 minutes, then add the chives, bean sprouts, and beef. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes.

7. Add the remaining sesame oil, toss to blend, and serve hot.

Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs

 My daughter loves the spaghetti and meatballs. Then again I am pretty sure 99% of children love spaghetti and meatballs.  One of the challenges with the noodles dish is that it is difficult to make sure they eat vegetables with it.  Unless you have salad on hand, other vegetables are hard to coax into those mouths.  These meatballs are surprisingly delicious and you really don't notice the spinach.  I probably could have passed them off as regular meatballs!  I got this recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes.  You can make this dish and freeze half to have another day!

 

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
1 tbsp olive oil
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 large egg
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp fresh parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese (or your favorite Parmesan Cheese)
salt and pepper

Tomato Sauce
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves smashed garlic
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion (don't chop)
salt and pepper

1.  Wet bread with water then mash up with your hands. Add to large bowl and combine with chopped beef, chopped spinach, egg, garlic, parsley, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients well until thoroughly combined. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure meat, then divide in two so that each meatball is 1/8th of a cup. Roll into little meatballs.

2.  In a large pot, add olive oil and heat on medium. When hot add smashed garlic. When garlic is golden brown, add tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper and cover, reduce heat to low.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil on low heat. When oil is hot add as many meatballs that will fit, cook on low, turning often so that all side get browned. Cook until the centers are cooked through. When finished, place on a dish lined with paper towels to blot any excess oil.  
3.  Drop meatballs into sauce and continue cooking the remaining meatballs, repeating the process. When all meatballs are in the sauce, simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. Discard onion and serve.  The longer you cook the more flavor of the meat goes into the sauce.  (I simmered for 40 mins)

New York Cheesecake

Who doesn't love cheese cake?  I made this cheesecake during the holidays.  I had so many things in my refrigerator that I ended up storing this cheese cake in my dutch oven box outside on my grill.  Thank go squirrels don't like cheesecake.  I have experimented with all sorts of cheesecakes including a minicheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust - I'll have to post about that one soon.  This by far is the fancy cheesecake with a fancy taste.  It was rich and creamy and not dry.  I used sugar free cherry pie filling so I felt better about eating a slice of this cheesecake.  Anyway within 3 days this cheesecake was gone...every last crumb.  I'm guess my guests really liked it too.

Adapted from Fine Cooking

Cherry topped cheesecake

Serves twelve to sixteen.

Yields one 9-inch cheesecake.

For the graham cracker crust:

5-3/4 oz. finely ground graham cracker crumbs (I bought the box of graham cracker crumbs)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted; plus 1 teaspoon melted butter for the pan

For the cheesecake:

4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1-1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 Tbs. all-purpose flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature

3/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature

2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

1 can of cherry pie filling

Very important note:

Before you cook you need to make sure your cold ingredients are at room temperature (about 4 hours): the cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream. 
Make the crust: 

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in the 5 Tbs. melted butter until thecrumbs are evenly moistened. 
2. Dump the crumbs into a 9-inch springform pan that’s about 2-1/2 inches deep and press them firmly into the bottom and about 1/2 an inch up the sides. 
3. Bake until the crust is fragrant and warm to the touch, 5 to 7 min.; it’s fine if the crust starts to look golden, but it shouldn’t brown too much. Let the pan cool on a rack while you prepare the cheesecake batter.

  
Make the cheesecake batter:

1. With a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the sugar atmedium-low speed until the mixture is smooth and somewhat fluffy, about 2 min. Scrape the bowl. On low speed, beat in the flour.
    
2. One at a time, beat in the eggs on low speed, mixing the batter for only 15 to 20 seconds after each egg is added, just until it’s incorporated, and scraping the bowl each time. Don’t overbeat.
    
3. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Beat at low speed until well combined, about 30 seconds. The batter should be smooth with no lumps.

       
Bake the cake in a water bath:

1.  Wrap the outside of the pan tightly with two sheets of extra-wide (18-inch) heavy-duty aluminum foil to make the pan waterproof. Brush the inside rim of the pan with a light coating of the remaining 1 tsp. melted butter, taking care not to disturb the crust. Pour the batter into the prepared crust; it should cover the crust completely and come to within about 1/2 inch of the pan’s rim. Put the springform pan in a roasting pan and carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake at 350°F, without opening the oven door for the first hour, until the top of the cake is golden brown and doesn’t wobble in the middle when the pan is nudged (a little jiggle is fine), about 1 hour 10 min. to 1 hour 15 min. (The cheesecake will be gooey in the middle; don’t worry, it will set as it cools.)

Let the cake cool:

1. Remove the cheesecake pan from the water bath, remove the foil wrapping (you may need anextra set of hands for this), and set the pan on a wire rack. Run a thin-bladed knife around the inside rim of the pan to free the cheesecake from the sides of the pan. Let the cake cool onthe rack until barely warm.
2. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours or overnight. The cheesecake will firm up during chilling.

Serve the cheesecake:

1. Run a thin-bladed knife around the inside rim of the pan again—taking care not to disturb the crust—to loosen the chilled cheesecake. Unclasp and remove the side of the springform pan,and then use a wide spatula to transfer the cake to a serving plate.

Pan seared steak - a must for the carnivores out there

9 Month old reaching for the steak

This may be the best steak ever.  I know that my husband is still raving about it as he smacks his lips thinking about it.  I found this recipe on my sister's blog.  My sister said it was delicious and she isn't much of a red meat person.  So I figured I have to try it.  I typically grill my steak and am known for grilling in the below freezing weather.  However, I have been making alot of excuses this winter to not grill.  Regardless, this steak is definitely tops on my list.  I had a choice between making porterhouses or filets (I know tough life).  I chose to make the porterhouse and boy was it yumyum for my tumtum.   Other than the change of cut, I totally followed her recipe. 


Here it is:

Pan-Seared Steaks

Yummy and juicy steak

adapted from Cook's Illustrated May 2007 with help from Helen Rennie at Beyond Salmon
 

Steak (at least 1-1/2 inches thick cut)
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Pat steaks dry with paper towel. Consider tying steaks with twice make whole piece an even 1-1/2 inches thick. Season entire surface of steaks liberally with salt and pepper. Place steaks on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet; transfer baking sheet to oven. Cook until instant-read thermometer inserted in center of steak registers 90 to 95 degrees for rare to medium-rare, 20 to 25 minutes, or 100 to 105 degrees for medium, 25 to 30 minutes.


2. Heat oil in 12-inch heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat until smoking. Place steaks in skillet and

Seared to perfection

sear steaks until well-browned and crusty, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, lifting once halfway through to redistribute fat underneath each steak. (Reduce heat if fond begins to burn.) Using tongs, turn steaks and cook until well browned on second side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Transfer all steaks to wire cooling rack and reduce heat under pan to medium. Use tongs to stand 2 steaks at a time on their sides. Holding steaks together, return to skillet and sear on all sides until browned, about 1 1/2 minutes. Repeat with any remaining steaks.


3. Transfer steaks to wire cooling rack and let rest, loosely tented with foil, for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Shrimp Potstickers with Soy Sauce Ginger dipping sauce

My co-worker made a very observant statement.  There are no chinese recipes on my blog.  Well here you go Ng-ng. Chinese new year is around the corner...the Year of the Rabbit.  I took a trip to the chinese grocery store this weekend to get stocked up.  Now I need to try out my recipes before I have my friends over for a little feast.  First to try out are these easy to make potstickers.  My sister claimed that Cooks Illustrated has great recipes because they try out all types of recipes and post the best one.  I hate to say it but sometimes my little sister is right.  These potstickers were super easy to make and disappeared really quickly.  Next time I might try to offer a couple different dipping sauces.  This particular one is delicious but it over powers the shrimp.

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Ingredients
                          
Potsticker Filling   
3 cups minced napa cabbage leaves
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound peeled, deveined shrimp chopped very finely
6 tablespoons minced scallions (about 4 medium scallions, white and green parts)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 medium clove garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
1 egg , lightly beaten
1 package round dumpling wrappers
vegetable oil for frying

                      
Instructions

1. Toss cabbage and salt in colander or mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage begins to wilt, about 20 minutes; squeeze out all the water from the cabbage. Combine cabbage and all other filling ingredients in medium bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until mixture is cold, at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.
2. In the round wrapper place a rounded tablesppon of filling in the center.  Wet the edge of the wrapper with water and then fold in half so it is a half moon.  Make sure to pinch the edges together and no air bubbles are trapped inside.  At this point you can refrigerate or freeze in a single layer to make later.
3. Add 2 teaspoons oil to 12-inch nonstick skillet and quickly spread oil with paper towel to distribute evenly. Arrange 12 dumplings in skillet, lying flat on one side, with all seams facing same direction, overlapping just slightly, if necessary. Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook, without moving, until dumplings are golden brown on bottoms, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add 1/2 cup water to skillet, and cover immediately. Cook, covered, until most of water is absorbed and wrappers are slightly translucent, about 10 minutes. Uncover skillet and increase heat to medium-high; cook, without stirring, until dumpling bottoms are well browned and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes more. Turn off burner and slide dumplings from skillet onto double layer paper towels, browned side down, to blot excess oil. Transfer to platter and serve immediately. Repeat with remaining dumplings and oil.

Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
              
1/4    cup soy sauce
1/4    cup rice vinegar , unseasoned
2 1/2    teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4    cup water
1/2    medium scallion , minced
2    teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
1/2    teaspoon sesame oil
1/2    teaspoon chili oil

              
Instructions           

   1. Bring soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water to boil over medium heat, stirring briefly, until sugar dissolves. Pour into bowl; stir in scallion, ginger, and sesame and chile oils. Serve.

Minestrone Soup

It is still very cold here and at the end of a long day I want something warm in my belly.  For Christmas I got the best present ever.  A Dutch oven.  I have used the new dutch oven like more times than I can count on my fingers.  I love it!  I barely even put it away before I am making another creation with it.  I'm really glad I didn't get a heavy one and that my mom talked me into one that is a bit lighter.

Veggie Wednesday dinner tradition has continued.  This week I made this hearty minestrone and ended up having enough for left overs the next night. Even my 11 year-old thought the minestrone was delicious. My husband did think it would taste with a bit of ham.  We served it with little biscuits on the side.  It is hearty enough that you won't go looking for a snack a couple hours later since you missed the beef, chicken or pork in the meal. Enjoy!

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 small russet potato, medium dice
2 medium celery stalks, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced
1 medium bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
1 can french cut green beans or 1/2 lb green beans trimmed
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup frozen peas
4 cups (1 quart) low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup ditalini, tubettini, or other small pasta
1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley (from about 1/2 bunch)
Grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, for garnish

• Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once butter foams, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add potato, celery, carrot, and bay leaf and stir to coat. Cook until celery is just soft, about 4 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, season with salt and pepper, stir (scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan), and cook until juices are almost completely reduced, about 2 minutes.

• Add half of the green beans, half of the zucchini, half of the peas, and the broth and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until zucchini just begins to soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in reserved beans and bean-cooking liquid; remaining green beans, zucchini, and peas; pasta; and half of the parsley and simmer until the pasta is al dente, about 10 to 15 minutes.

• Remove from heat, stir in remaining parsley, taste, and adjust seasoning as needed. To serve, place soup in bowls, sprinkle grated cheese over top, and season with freshly ground black pepper.