BLT Crepes

BLT Crepes: 

Crepes:

2 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

1 cup all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, barley flour, ground flax combo.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• bacon in large crumbles
• spinach/ lettuce mix (spring mix)  tossed with:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced white part of green onion
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste

• tomatoes chopped (cherry/grape tomatoes would be particularly lovely)
• asparagus cooked to liking and chopped in segments

Mix together:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoons butter, softened
1 ounce gorgonzola cheese


I had the inspiration to make a BLT Crepe and a quick google search lead me here: deliciousdishesrecipes.com, which helped me on my way. 

Cheesecake

Cheesecake

I got this recipe from an Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk Can.  I have changed it to make it my own.  It is hands-down our favorite cheesecake year after year.

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened (can do this in the microwave)
3 eggs
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Combine the crumbs and the butter.  Press into a 8x8 glass baking dish (or a 9-inch springform pan if you want it to look fancier)
Beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually add in the sweetened condensed milk.  Add the eggs and lemon juice.  Mix until well combined.
Pour into prepared pan.  Bake 50-55 minutes or until center is set.
Cool 1 hour, then chill at least 4 hours.

Serve with fresh strawberries tossed with a bit of sugar.

Cinnamon rolls- my way {deliciously healthified}

Made with a simple glaze rather than cream cheese frosting

About 3 years ago I got a hankering for cinnamon rolls.  It had been a while since I had made them or had them for that matter and I got online to search for a recipe.  I found one that looked incredible.  Kenneth tried to encourage me to sub some of the all-purpose flour out for whole-wheat flour, but I in my cinnamon roll craving scoffed at him and told him I just wanted to go all out for once and use all-purpose (I was really trying to live on the wild side).  So, I made them and they were awful.  Don't get me wrong, they were sweet and gooey and soft, but they were too much.  Sicky-sweet.  In fact, we ended up throwing away half the pan.  For those of you who may not know us well, that is quite unheard of around here- in general we DO NOT WASTE FOOD. 
So, then I was on a quest to make cinnamon rolls that would be perfect- for us anyway. I wanted them to be a treat, but still somewhat healthful. I'm sure that other version was perfect for someone else, or they wouldn't have published it!  I started with my mother-in-law's recipe that she always makes when we visit.  There were 2 reasons for this:
1) I've always enjoyed her cinnamon rolls
2)  I knew the title of her recipe is 'Quick Cinnamon Rolls' 
    I love that these are really fairly easy.  Not a long rising time, but they taste fantastic. 
This recipe actually came from the Friend Magazine years ago.  That is the magazine for the children in my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Since I have made so many changes, I think I can safely call this my own recipe.  I usually prep all the ingredients I can the night before so that it is easy the morning I want to make them.  Like measure the flour, salt, flax and cover.  Put butter in a ceramic bowl ready to be melted in the microwave in the morning.  Measure out the cinnamon and sugar.
So, here goes:

delicious!

Cinnamon rolls- my way (deliciously healthified)

1/4 cup honey
3 Tablespoons yeast
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 Tablespoon cinnamon

Mix the honey, yeast, warm water, applesauce and oil in large bowl until yeast dissolves.  Cover and let stand for 15 minutes.  (Yeast will grow quickly and become quite frothy.)
Blend eggs into yeast mixture.  Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl and add to yeast mixture a little at a time to make a soft dough.
Knead 5 minutes (I use my Kitchen Aid to do this) on a floured counter.
Roll into a rectangle 1/4 " thick.
Combine the sugar and cinnamon.  Brush with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
Roll the dough up starting with the long edge.  Use a piece of floss to cut the dough into about 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces by sliding it under the roll, centering the floss, crossing over the ends and pulling them away from each other so the floss slices through the dough.  Place rolls into an un-greased rectangular pan (I usually use a 9x13 and another smaller pan.  Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees or until golden brown.
You may put on the glaze, or cream cheese frosting at this point, while they are still warm.  I much prefer these with the cream cheese frosting.

Glaze

1- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons hot water
1/2 tsp butter
1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix until well blended.

Cream Cheese Frosting

I actually make this different ways depending on to whom I am serving it, or what I have on hand.  You could always use powdered sugar in place of the maple syrup.  This is my favorite version.  My husband prefers less frosting on his cinnamon rolls, so this cut is half would be enough for him, but I like more, so this is what I would make.  Plus, extra cream cheese frosting will always find a way to be used in my world. 

8 ounces Cream Cheese
2 Tablespoons softened butter
Splash vanilla (1/2-1 tsp)
2 Tablespoons maple syrup (or more to your liking)
With a mixer mix 8 ounces of cream cheese with 2 Tablespoons of softened butter.  Add a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup and a splash of vanilla.  Taste to test that it is to desired sweetness.  Add more maple syrup if desired.

Carrot Cake

As I've mentioned before, I am not a cake lover.  I would much rather have brownies or cookie bars.  But, for Easter this year I decided to make a carrot cake.  It was fabulous and I really enjoyed it and will make it again.  I think I now have three cake recipes I love: a pound cake, a dense chocolate cake (it really is a cake and not a brownie, I promise) and this carrot cake recipe.  I got the recipe from Mel.  Of Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I love that lady.  She makes me happy.  Here is the link to the recipe on her blog.  And below is the recipe copied from there.  As always, my changes are to the right in red.  I didn't mess with the flour this time, but I bet I could have subbed at least half whole wheat flour and it would have still tasted decadent.  Maybe I'll try that next time. 

Carrot Cake

Ingredients

Cake:
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 lb. medium carrots (6 to 7 large carrots), peeled
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces) (I used a little less)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil (I used a half applesauce, some canola and some coconut oil)
Frosting (I double the recipe below to frost a 9-inch layered cake):
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 5 tablespoons butter softened to room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sour cream, light or regular
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar (4 1/2 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Grease and flour a 9X13-inch baking pan or 2 9-inch round pans.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside. In a food processor fitted with large or fine shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about 3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. You can also shred by hand on a box grater if you don't have a food processor.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment (or in large bowl and using hand-held mixer), beat granulated and brown sugars and eggs on medium-high until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium; with mixer running, add oil in slow, steady stream, being careful to pour oil against inside of bowl (if oil begins to splatter, reduce speed to low until oil is incorporated, then resume adding oil). Increase speed to high and mix until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Turn off mixer and stir in carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.
4. Pour into prepared pan(s) and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 32 minutes for 9-inch round pans and 40 minutes for a 9X13-inch pan. Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes in the pan and then invert them onto a cooling rack to cool completely (the 9X13-inch cake can be cooled completely in the pan if you don't plan to invert and ice all the sides). At this point, once the cakes are cooled, they can be wrapped in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag and placed in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature prior to frosting.
5. When cake is cool, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium high speed in clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment (or in large bowl using handheld mixer) until well combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners’ sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1 minute. Frost and eat!

Build a Better Salad with Kale

Our regular salad

A few years ago I moved to California.  During my time there I thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of fresh, local produce.  (We now live in Kansas!)  One of the things I learned about in California was kale.  I don't know which rock I had been living under all my life, but I had never even heard of it until we were living there (and I am in my 30's!).  When I discovered how good this power food was for me and my family, I started a quest to incorporate it into our regular diet. 
I've tried the kale chips- I over-salted and over-cooked them I think.  I had a hard time liking them and wanting to make them again.  I tried to make green smoothies with them.  I truthfully had a hard time choking them down.  I also tried to saute it and eat it that way- sometimes even with bacon or nuts to make it more palatable.  I still couldn't love it.  I learned that our favorite way to eat kale was in soup or in baked egg dishes.   But, both of those things can take some planning and time to bring about.
When we moved to Kansas and lived in temporary housing for a couple of months, I wanted easy meals to serve.  I also wanted to keep feeding us the healthy variety of vegetables we had come accustomed to in California.  I recalled a friend in California telling me that they put raw kale in their salads.  When I initially heard this months ago I hadn't even considered trying it since the only raw form of kale I had eaten was in a smoothie and I thought it was awful.  But, for kicks and because of the ease of preparation, I decided to try it in our salad.  I mixed baby spinach with romaine and added a little bit of kale in the mix along with your regular old green salad stars.  Not bad!  I thought.  I continued to do this as we were eating salad 3-4 days a week and upped the amount of kale.  My six-year-old daughter picked up one of the kale leaves off her plate and asked, "What is this mom?  It's my favorite part of the salad!"  I couldn't believe it!  Still now, 3 1/2 months later as we continue to eat lots of salads, my six-year-old still loves the kale.  My other 2 children (ages 3 and 5) eat this salad right along with us with no complaints.  It's a miracle!!!   I now usually mix equal amounts of baby spinach, kale and romaine, green leaf or red leaf.

So, I challenge you to build a better salad with kale!!!

p.s. We really enjoy this salad with Brianna's Caesar Dressing.  It is great! 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese {the one}

I haven't posted in forever.  I am still discovering many yummy recipes, but alas, life is just too busy to do it all.  But, I have been on the search for *the* baked macaroni and cheese recipe for years now.  I happened to have a craving for it (hey, I'm pregnant, I'm allowed) and since my husband was out of town (he has banned me from making it when he is home)  I decided the time was right to try again. I was at a friend's house and asked if she had a recipe for it and she pulled out her America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  It looked good so off I went.  I then proceeded to eat it for the next 5 days as leftovers (since I made the entire 9x13 pan and apparently my kids don't really care for it, either).  I don't know if I have ever enjoyed leftovers so much as I did these.  I looked forward to it every time.  I even had it as a snack one day just because I wanted it.  Yum.  So, of course, I made some changes based on what I had in the house, but really I held to the recipe pretty close.  I will share it as it is in the cookbook and add my changes in red to the side.  This is for my sister-in-law, Karen, who encouraged me to put it on here.  Sorry no pictures; by the time I was going to put it on here it was all gobbled up!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese
serves 6-8
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes (includes 25 minutes baking time)

8 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
salt
1 lb. elbow macaroni (I used Riccioli, which I found at Costco)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon dry mustard, dissolved in 1 teaspoon of water
1/4 teasppon cayenne pepper (I would maybe reduce this slightly- while I enjoyed it, my almost-3-year-old-son said it was too spicy)
6 Tabelspoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk (they noted in the recipe that this was a must- they said anything less wasn't rich enough to make a creamy sauce, but I didn't have any in the house- only 2%- and I thought it was just fine)
1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound colby cheese, shredded (4 cups) (I used maybe 3/4 of a lb. of colby (that's all I had) and then supplemented with Romano cheese)
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups) (I used medium because that is what I had)
pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter and toss with the breadcrumbs.  Set aside. 

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  Stir in 1 Tablespoon of salt and the pasta.  Cook until it is almost tender, but still firm.  Drain and leave in the colander.

Wipe the pot dry and add the rest of the butter (6 Tablespoons).  Melt over medium heat.  Stir in the garlic, mustard mixture and the cayenne.  Cook until fragrant, only about 30 seconds.

Stir in the flour and cook until golden about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in milk and broth.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook, whisking often until it thickens up a little (about 6 minutes).

Remove from stove.  Whisk in colby and cheddar until completely melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  (You have to taste the sauce at this point- yum!!!)  Stir in drained pasta- breaking up any clumps. 

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish.  Spinkle buttered bread crumbs evenly over the top.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.  (Mine took less time than this, can't remember exactly, but maybe just 17 minutes or so.)  Let cool 10 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

I thought this tasted great heated up in the microwave on subsequent days. 

Happy Valentine's Day to Me! {Lemon Poppy Seed Scones}

I could try and say that I was selfless and made this breakfast for my dear sweet ones, but it wouldn't be truthful. Kenneth likes to eat the same thing every morning: 2 fried eggs, one piece of toast and COLD milk. As in, don't pour it and let it sit on the table while you make breakfast. He likes it cold.

So, I didn't really make these for him. I'll save one for him, though. Maybe he'll eat it. The children, on the otherhand, were chomping at the bit for breakfast and don't like to wait while I make something like this. Nevermind that I had it ready at 7:20. It's still too long for my early-rising children to wait.

As for me, I enjoyed every bite. I simply love butter. And scones have got some butter, let me tell you. As I was grating the butter into the bowl this morning, Kenneth passed by on his way out the door and said, isn't that a lot of butter? To which I promptly replied, as I tried to keep from salivating, "It sure is."

We've been trying to eat healthier foods over the course of the last year or so. I guess I mean to say more natural foods. As in more butter as opposed to artificially flavored and colored candies =). So, instead of buying candy for Valentine's Day as I might have in the past I bought these for our treat today:

Don't worry, though. I am not completely without a chocolate loving heart. Kenneth is having a Valentine's Day 'party' at work today. I made these for him to bring (and ate about 6 myself along the way:
Of course I had a little left over chocolate and to please my sweetheart, did this:
Now, back to the scones. I got the recipe from Our Best Bites. Here is the link to the recipe. I, or course changed a few things, as I usually do (they're in red). I cut back the sugar slightly. I think even less sugar would have been good. I also cut the glaze in half. I always seem to have too much glaze/frosting/ icing which I think is so wasteful. In cutting this in half, I STILL had extra.
So, here is my version:

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones Recipe adapted by Heidi Larchar from Our Best Bites from Allrecipes
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with a knife
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt (decrease or omit if using salted butter)
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (if using salted butter, cut down on salt)
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1 large egg
Zest of 1 lemon

GLAZE:
2 Tablespoons strained lemon juice
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup + 2 1/2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400. Place baking rack in the middle-low position. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Add the lemon zest and whisk together again. Grate the frozen butter. Toss the grated butter into the flour mixture and combine it with your fingers until it resembles coarse meal. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and egg. Drizzle it over the flour mixture and then toss the mixture together with a fork until everything appears moistened. Gently press the dough into a ball–it will take some time and some parts of the dough will be more moist than other parts, but continue pressing together until it forms a ball.
Lightly flour a surface (you can use the lined baking sheet if you want) and place the dough on top of the floured surface. Press into an 8″ disc and cut into equal wedges with a butter knife (or pizza cutter). Separate the wedges and place them evenly on the baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven.
While the scones are cooling slightly, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over the scones. Makes 8 scones.