Category: Recipes

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Brown Sugar Squash Muffins

Sarah

So, I kind of have a thing for muffins. They’re just so simple to make… leaving plenty of time to watch yet another episode of Make It Or Break It on Netflix. Muffins make such a convenient and [semi-healthy] snack. In a little over two years blogging, I have 11 other recipes posted here and a zillion others that are in the queue. Seriously! But enough about other recipes and muffins’ benefits. That’s boring. But these Brown Sugar Squash Muffins? They aren’t so boring.

These muffins are absolutely delicious! They’re stuffed with good things like grated yellow squash, applesauce, and mashed banana. The flavor of the yellow squash, for good or for ill, is drowned out by the applesauce and banana, so what’s left is a pillowy soft and light treat to make your day just a little bit better. The sweet fruity flavor is accentuated by the molasses-y, spicy flavor created by the welcoming combination of brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice [cannot WAIT for fall!]. Yum. Plus, if things weren’t good enough already… I topped them with a crumbly streusel to fancy them up a bit. Eeeeek! So. Good!

In the future, I can definitely see tossing in some dried cranberries, chopped apples, or nuts to add a little more texture, but they were amazing as-is and don’t really need that to succeed. Nope, we loved them and I hope you do too! I can’t wait til lunch–I have one waiting in my lunchbox! 🙂

Brown Sugar Squash Muffins [adapted from Parenting Miracles]
click to print

Ingredients:

for muffins

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup summer squash, shredded
  • 1 large ripe banana, mashed

for streusel

  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease well with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce, milk, yogurt, eggs, squash, and banana. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then spoon into prepared pan.

Next, make streusel. Mix together oats, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Add melted butter and toss until mixture makes coarse crumbs. Spoon on top of muffin batter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Time: 45 minutes.

Yield: 24 muffins.

Breads, Recipes

Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread

Sarah

I love the simplicity of baking bread. I know many might think that it’s a bit intimidating, but it’s really quite simple [albeit time consuming!]: mix, knead, rise, shape, rise, bake, enjoy. Personally, I think baking bread [can be] even easier than making cookies! All that hassle of individually scooping and shaping a zillion dozen cookies… ugh. Delicious, but ugh. And the added benefit of baking bread versus cookies? The smell of baking and that freshly baked bread lingering in your house…. it’s absolutely heavenly!

Speaking of heavenly, this bread should be right there in the dictionary next to the word “heavenly,” cause that’s how amazing it is! It’s very light and soft thanks to the creamy, tangy buttermilk base of the dough–perfect for dipping in potato soup and those future fall stews that will be popping up soon. Aside from dipping, this bread is divine with a dab of butter and honey, both of which accentuate the sweet, oat-y flavor.

One last thing I loved about this bread was its bakery-esque shape. It made me feel so fancy and accomplished when I opened up the oven and pulled out not just one, but two hearty loaves of Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread. If two loaves are too many, give one away to a friend or halve the recipe… easy as pie! Er… bread. 🙂

Oatmeal Buttermilk Bread [from Clockwork Lemon]

click to print

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats + more for sprinkling
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 – 3/4 cup extra [even with 3/4 cup dough should be very sticky]
  • 3 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour [I used bread flour]
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups oats with boiling water, stir until water has been absorbed. Set aside.

Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together yeast and warm water. Let mixture rest for 5 minutes, then stir to dissolve.

While yeast is resting, use another bowl or measuring cup to whisk together buttermilk, oil, and brown sugar. Stir until brown sugar is almost dissolved, then set aside.

Combine flours [not including “extra” whole wheat flour] and salt in another bowl.

By this point, the yeast should be dissolved. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture with mixer running on low, using the paddle attachment. Then add oats and mix until combined. At this point, add up to 3/4 cup extra whole wheat flour. The dough will still be very sticky so it’s definitely a judgement call–I added about 1/2 cup.

Switch to the dough hook and knead on low-medium for 10-12 minutes. The original recipe advised 15-20 minutes but I was fearful of wearing out my mixer’s motor and the dough was springing back substantially after about 10 minutes, so I stopped early. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally during this process to make sure everything is getting kneaded well.

Remove dough from bowl, then oil bowl and replace dough. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and set in a warm place [I used our balcony!] to double. This should take about an hour.

Turn dough onto a floured countertop. Flatten into a 12×6 inch rectangle. Cut this in half and then pat into two slightly bigger rectangles. Fold the two sides to overlap [like folding a letter] then roll the dough away from you to form a loaf. Flip the loaf over and let it sit on its seam for a minute. Repeat with second piece, then place the formed loaves on baking sheets. [My thanks to Stephanie for this paragraph of instructions, there is no way I could have explained this better.]

Cover in greased plastic wrap and let rise for 30-45 minutes. After about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 385 degrees.

Brush water on top of each loaf of bread, then top with extra oats. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until crust is dark brown and hollow-sounding when tapped.

Cool on baking sheets for 10 minutes, then remove to cooling racks. Cool completely before cutting so it holds it’s shape… but don’t worry, you can reheat for fresh, warm buttered bread… amazing!

Time: 4 hours [1 hour active, max].

Yield: 2 loaves.

Breakfast, Muffins, Recipes

Strawberry Muffins

Sarah

Yesterday I posted an awesome recipe for Strawberry Muffins over at Today’s Housewife.

UPDATE [5/31/13]: Recipe is now here on The Pajama Chef!

Be sure to check it out–they are incredible! Hope you have a fun weekend… I hope to recover from this not-so-fun late summer cold [hence the reason this wasn’t posted yesterday…sigh.]. 🙂

Main Dishes, Pasta, Recipes

Summery Squash and Chicken Lasagna

Sarah

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… poor, poor Ben and his experimental cook of a wife [that’s me, in case you were confused]. I can’t remember exactly when this was, but it was a couple summers ago. Ben came home from work and I proudly announced that I had made pasta. Like, from scratch. He was super impressed… and then sorely disappointed to discover that I hadn’t made fancy, familiar pasta, but rather zucchini “pasta.” It was something like this: long, thin strips of noodle-like zucchini. Though Ben was a dutiful, sweet husband that night and ate his “pasta” with as much gusto as he could reckon, after dinner was over, he promptly declared “never again.” Frankly, I was pretty glad. I like veggies more than the average person, I think, but when I want pasta, I want pasta. I want pasta like this.

Gooey. Cheesy. Herby. Veggie-licious, yet still utterly ridiculous.

So how did I get from fake-out pasta to this lasagna ridiculousness?

Well, last week I was looking around the fridge and spied some leftover grated zucchini as well as a big ‘ole yellow squash. I did a little googling and to my surprise, most of the pasta recipes involving these adaptable, versicle, hearty veggies that are so awesome in taking on the other flavors of a dish are either for the banned zucchini “pasta” or else include large chunks of squash. Large chunks of squash aren’t really my cup of tea, so I decided to get creative.

The heart of this Summery Squash and Chicken Lasagna is not the layers of luscious shredded cheese, cottage cheese [could also use ricotta], or even the homemade garlicky alfredo sauce. No, the star of the show was the lemony-herb chicken vegetable filling. This filling pairs mild squash with juicy tomatoes, bright parsley, tangy lemon, and just enough chicken to satisfy the meat lovers in your life.

Summery Squash and Chicken Lasagna is the comfort food version of light summer pasta, for sure. We loved that this lasagna wasn’t as heavy as traditional versions are, yet it still added a bit of richness to our evening meal. A richness that was tempered by the sweet, sour, and fresh tastes of summertime produce. Maybe another way to explain that richness, would be to say gold medal greatness, huh? Mhmm, you know what I mean if you were watching Aly Raisman’s gymnastics last night. Gold medal greatness right there… and ta da, right here! And it can be yours, in your very own kitchen. Yay! There will be good things in life when the Olympics are over. 🙂 And this lasagna is #1 on my list. Enjoy!

Summery Squash and Chicken Lasagna [a TPC original; alfredo sauce from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe]
click to print

Ingredients:

for alfredo sauce

  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 8 ounces cream cheese [regular or low-fat], softened and cut into 12 pieces
  • 2 cups skim milk
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

for filling #1

  • 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded [mine was from a chicken I roasted, but store bought rotisserie chicken would work too]
  • 1 cup grated zucchini, packed
  • 1 cup grated yellow squash, packed
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped [I used a yellow pear variety]
  • 1/4 cup parsley, loosely packed and minced
  • zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

for filling #2

  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • pinch oregano
  • pinch garlic salt
  • 8 no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8×8 [9×9 should work too] baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Begin by making the alfredo sauce.

Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese piece by piece, stirring until smooth between additions. Mixture may appear curdled, but keep stirring. After about 3 minutes, you’ll be rewarded with a smooth paste. Next, slowly add milk in 1/4 cup increments. Make sure the milk is fully incorporated before adding the next 1/4 cup. Then, stir in parmesan cheese and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, mixing until cheese completely melts. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes to thicken, then cover and remove from heat.

Next, combine chicken, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes in a bowl. Fold in parsley, lemon zest and juice, and red pepper. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, oregano, and garlic salt. Top with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, then mix to combine.

Assemble the lasagna by spreading a thin layer of alfredo sauce [about 1/5 of the total amount] on the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with two [uncooked] lasagna noodles, 1/4 of the cottage cheese mixture, 1/4 of the chicken/squash mixture, and 1/4 of the cheese. Repeat layering sauce, noodles, cottage cheese, chicken/squash, and cheese 3 more times–making 4 layers–then end with a layer of sauce.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. Remove from oven and wait 10 minutes before slicing.

Time: 90 minutes [15 minutes active].

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Recipes, Sides, Vegetables

SRC: Pesto Potato Salad

Sarah

Another Secret Recipe Club Monday! If you’ve missed past SRC posts, the premise is this: you’re assigned a different member’s blog every month. You visit their blog, choose any recipe you want, then make it and share it on your blog. Everyone else posts about their secret blog the same day. It’s fabulously fun to try out new blogs. If you have a blog, definitely check it out and consider joining! I highly recommend it.

For the month of August, I was assigned Cooking Rookie, who blogs over at Cook Book of Trial and Error. This blog is full of enticing recipes and beautiful photography so definitely check it out if you have a chance. I had a hard time deciding what recipe to try, but when I saw this scrumptious Pesto Potato Salad, I was sold. My herbs on the balcony are growing out of control, and this seemed like a delightful way to use some of them up. And let me tell you… it was as delicious as it was delightful!

Cooking Rookie’s original pesto was composed of cilantro, walnut, and lemon… but I decided to use some of my abundant pineapple sage instead of cilantro. I kept everything else the same, though… including the unique addition of plain yogurt to make this pesto potato salad both creamy and fresh. I usually make my potato salad with mayo, but might have to rethink that, because plain yogurt definitely produces a refreshing tang like mayo while being a little healthier. This isn’t to say in my normal potato salad I’ll replace the mayo entirely, but I can see a little half-and-half combo going on.

I was happy that I doubled the original recipe [which is reflected below], because Ben and I devoured this stuff in about 0.2 seconds. not quite a Phelps-inspired 1/100ths of a second but pretty darn close! [Yes, we’ve been watching the Olympics non-stop here… have you?] This Pesto Potato Salad is light, lemony fresh, and creamy. It was a fabulous choice for the August edition of the Secret Recipe Club, if I do say so myself, and I will be forever grateful to Cooking Rookie for the inspiration! I’ll definitely have to try the cilantro version one day. 🙂

Pesto Potato Salad [adapted from Cook Book of Trial and Error]
click to print

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds new potatoes, chopped in quarters/eighths
  • 1 1/2 cups loosely chopped sage
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 6 ounces plain yogurt
  • freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes, or until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile, place sage, walnuts, lemon zest and juice [or 1/2 a lemon if you’re lazy like me], and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until everything is well combined, then add yogurt, as well as freshly ground black pepper to taste.

After potatoes are prepared, place in a bowl. Toss pesto with potatoes and serve warm or cold.

Time: 30 minutes.

Yield: 4-6 servings.

Enjoy your day by checking out other great SRC recipes! 🙂 I know I will be!