Maple Rice Pudding

When Nick got back from his boat trip, he raved about how great the rice pudding was on the boat, so I took this as a challenge.  I had never made rice pudding before, or even attempted to cook anything with rice besides soup.  I knew Nick loved maple flavoring so I found a recipe on the food network website that incorporated maple syrup.  They actually soak the raisins in bourbon, but I didn't have bourbon and would probably never use it again if I bought it, so I just left it out.  It was definitely the best rice pudding I've ever had (not gonna lie, the only rice pudding I've ever had), but Nick said the stuff on the boat was better.  I think he's just saying that because he didn't have anything else to eat on the boat besides rice pudding.  I still would recommend this dish.  It was very tasty and mapley. 

 

Maple Rice Pudding

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup white basmati rice

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

5 cups half-and-half, divided

1/2 cup sugar

1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure maple syrup, plus extra for serving (optional)

1/2 teaspoon natural maple flavoring

3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped

Directions:

Combine the rice and salt with 1 1/2 cups water in a medium heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stir once, and simmer, covered, on the lowest heat for 8 to 9 minutes, until most of the water is absorbed. (If your stove is very hot, pull the pan halfway off the burner.)

Stir in 4 cups of half-and-half and the sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the rice is very soft and the pudding is thick. Stir often, particularly toward the end. Slowly stir in the beaten egg and continue to cook for 1 minute. Off the heat, add the remaining cup of half-and-half, the vanilla, maple syrup, maple flavoring, and the raisins. Stir well. Pour into a bowl, and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Cool slightly, add the pecans, and serve warm or chilled. Drizzle each serving with extra maple syrup, if desired.

Beet & Walnut Salad

This is probably my most favorite salad now.  It's super delicious and really easy!!  Nick was surprised that a salad with no dressing could taste so good. 

Beet & Walnut Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

2 Beets

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

3 cups fresh spinach

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

Roast the whole beets in the oven until soft.  Peel the skin off when cooled and slice.  

Meanwhile, lightly toast the walnuts in a pan over medium low until browned. 

Place the spinach in a bowl, top with the roasted beets, toasted walnuts, and feta cheese.  

It's really great when the beets are still warm.  Yum!

Ratatouille

After watching the movie and seeing how amazing a cartoon version of Ratatouille can be, I started researching recipes.  Some were way easy and some were super complicated that took a lot of ingredients.  I took the medium level route. It was pretty much amazing.  The vegetables really shrunk down and Nick felt like he didn't get enough to eat so the second time I made this, I put it in one large baking casserole dish rather than individual ramekins.  It made it much easier, but it didn't have a much liquid.  I like the liquid on the bottom to dip my bread in.  I think I'll leave the seeds in the tomatos next time so there is more liquid on the bottom.  Kind of like a vegetable french onion soup.  Yummy!







Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 small onion (sliced into thin circles)

1 zucchini (sliced into thin circles)

2-3 small Japanese eggplants (sliced into thin circles)

1 bag of baby peppers from the veggie stand

2-3 plum tomatoes (seeded and sliced into thin circles)

6 cloves of garlic (peeled)

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (or soy parm cheese!)

2 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

1 tbs thyme

1 tbs oregano

1 tbs parsley

3 tbs fresh basil

3 tbs olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 and roast garlic and peppers for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and slice the peppers, mash the garlic.

Turn oven down to 350.  In large casserole or oven save dish, layer the onions to cover the bottom.  Drizzle balsamic vinegar over them.  Add a few sprinkles of the thyme, organo, parsley, and basil.  Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper and sprinkle some cheese over the top.  Repeat this process with remaining vegetables (I only put one dash of balsamic vinegar since it has a really strong flavor).  Top with remaining cheese.

Cover and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour.  Remove cover and bake for 10 minutes, to brown cheese.

Great with French baguettes!!  

Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry

I really wasn't expecting this meal to be all that great.  It was just one of those "not a lot of thought" meals.  Um... it was absolutely delicious.  I can't wait to make this again!  Not a lot of ingredients, amazing flavor, a little kick.  It was glorious.  I think this may even be my new "go to" stir fry dish.   You can totally skip the mushrooms and make it with beef (grass fed steak) if you absolutely have to have meat in your diet, but the mushrooms are a perfect substitute! I don't really like cooking with broth very much either because of all the sodium, but just buy organic, sodium free vegetable broth and you add the flavor without the sodium.  Enjoy!

Mushroom and Broccoli Stir Fry
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped and slightly minced

1 pkg. mushrooms, sliced

A generous splash of red wine (I used Pinot Noir)

A small splash of soy sauce

1-2 Tbs. garlic chili sauce

1 head of broccoli, chopped

1 red pepper, cubed

½ cup sliced almonds (you can roast them in honey for more sweet flavor, but I didn’t have honey so put them in raw)

2 cups of brown rice

2 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

Directions:

Cook the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil for a minute or two over medium high heat.  Add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the splash of wine, soy sauce, and chili sauce and cook on high for about 5 minutes.  Add chopped broccoli and red pepper, turn to low and cover for about 5-10 minutes or until broccoli is cooked to your liking (I like mine crunchy). 

Meanwhile, pour the rice into a pot (or rice cooker) with the vegetable broth and water.  Cook until rice is done and liquid is absorbed.

Mix the rice and vegetable mixture together and top with chopped almonds.  Yummy!!!

Cheese Pizza

I've been watching a lot of Man Vs. Food lately, which causes me to crave some serious junk food.  I don't understand how they can make a twelve patty burger look so amazing... even to someone who doesn't eat meat very much.   I saw an episode this week for home made pizza and wanted to make it (I've been having these cheese pizza with bread stick cravings).  I have this really really good focaccia bread recipe and wanted to use it for the crust.  I actually made this pizza once before with a recipe, but the sauce was way to salty and the dough was way too thick (and I LOVE thick pizza dough).   So I decided to make up my own sauce and crust.  This was one of the best pizza's I've ever had (and I'm kind of a pizza snob).  

Please make and enjoy and share with others. 

Cheese Pizza
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 pinch ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce: 

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbs. dried oregano (or to taste)

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup water

Toppings:

1 block of fresh mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Crust:

Place the 1 cup of warm (115 degrees) into a large mixing bowl.  Add sugar and yeast and let sit for 10 minutes till foamy. (I heard you can skip this step, but I like it... so I do it).  Meanwhile, pour flour, salt, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil, and pepper in a mixing bowl and gently combine.  When yeast is ready, pour water mixture into flour and mix with hands (or a fancy expensive mixer).  Knead with flour for a couple of minutes and place in a bowl with a damp towel over it (I make sure to put a little olive oil in the bowl) and put in sunlight for about 20 minutes. 

After 20 minutes, punch down dough and knead some more, then place outside for another 20 minutes to rise about double in size. Take out of sun and punch down dough.    

Sauce:

In an oiled medium sized pot, add minced garlic and cook until lightly browned.  Add herbs, salt sugar, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.  Add water until desired consistency.  Simmer for about 20 minutes to combine flavors.  

Pizza:

Tear dough in half and roll out two crusts to fit in a 9x13 baking dish.  Place dough in oiled baking pan.  (I didn't do this last night, but I might let it rise for another 10-20 minutes before baking. 

Top dough with slices of fresh mozzarella, then top with sauce (should make 2 pizzas... maybe a little extra depending on how much sauce you like).  Then top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.  Bake in a 350 oven for about 15-20 minutes. 

Enjoy!! I absolutely LOVE this pizza recipe and can't wait to make it again!  

Eggplant Parmesan

I think this is my favorite meal of all time.  Well... my favorite home cooked Italian meal of all time.  It's so delicious.  I'm one of those really annoying people who talks about how awesome her food is the whole time she's eating it every time I eat this.  I strongly suggest this meal. 

Eggplant Parmesan

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 medium sized egg plant cut into about 1/4 inch thick circles

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

2 Tbs. milk

1 pkg. linguine noodles

olive oil

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

Sauce:

1 can tomato sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 medium sized onion, chopped

1 tsp. organic sugar

1 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. oregano

10 fresh basil leaves, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Dredge the eggplant in flour, then dip in egg and milk mixture (gently beat egg with milk), followed by the panko bread crumbs.  Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the eggplant and place in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil noodles until Al dente. 

To make the sauce:  In a medium sized sauce pot, add onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add oregano, basil, salt, sugar, and tomato sauce.  Simmer for 20 minutes (or longer... the longer the better). 

To plate:  Place a heaping scoop of noodles on your plate, followed by a ladle of sauce, then top with the crisp eggplant.   Top that with Parmesan cheese.  (You may also put the Parmesan cheese on, then melt it in the oven.)  Enjoy!!

Chocolate Ravioli

I got this recipe from lovely Giada DeLaurentiis from the Food Network.  I just couldn't believe that I could actually recreate something that she cooks.  I highly recommend this ravioli.  It's super good if you need a sweet treat and don't mind deep frying (which we don't do very often).

Chocolate Ravioli

Ingredients:
20 wonton wrappers

1 cup of Nutella

powdered sugar

20 mint leaves (didn't have)

oil for frying

Directions:

Place a nice sized spoonful of Nutella in the middle of a wonton wrapper and pinch the edges to seal.  Fry in hot oil and dust powdered sugar over the top.  Garnish with mint.  SO EASY!!! Enjoy!!