Coconut Oatmeal Chewies

Let me start out by saying I have been saving this recipe for months. I adore coconut, and was pretty miffed to see that a bag cost nearly $5 at the expat stores in China. I just couldn't make myself pay that much for it while I was there. So, I lived without. That's why during my first shopping trip in Cincinnati, I scooped up a bag ($1.60...heck...yes), with intentions of making these immediately. One month later (heh), I finally got around to it. Thank you Labor day weekend! :)

I'm so so happy that I finally made these, and am also pretty stoked that I froze a batch for later. They were ultra chewy and I loved the toasted coconut taste. Even Chris gobbled them up, and he supposedly hates coconut. I don't see how that's possible, but whatever. Bottom line: if you love coconut, make these. If you don't love coconut, make these. They may change your mind!

Oatmeal Coconut Chewies

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to cool room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a large bowl cream together the sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (silpat or parchment) baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are set but not overly browned (bake a few minutes longer for a crispier version). Remove from oven, and let cool on the cookie sheet for three minutes, before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Recipe Source:  Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Enter freezer friendly dish numero dos. I was super excited to try this dish, as it was my first time ever trying quinoa (pronounced keeeen-waaaahhh). Hearty and filling, not to mention totally delicious, I could only eat half a pepper and I was stuffed.

The prep was a bit more time consuming than I would've liked, but the end result was worth it. It had so much flavor! I adapted the recipe a bit, to make it work with what I had on hand. I used mozzarella as I didn't have pepper jack, and added a jalapeno pepper (for flavor! it's not spicy I promise). Next time, I would love to try pepper jack, because I think it would be ultra tasty. Also, the original recipe says this yields 8 servings (4 whole peppers, halved). They must have tested this recipe with HUGE peppers, because I had about 2 cups of stuffing left over. If that happens, just pop it in the freezer, and you can stuff more peppers later.

The rest of the peppers are now on their way to the freezer. It's nice to know that in the coming weeks I'll have a super healthy meal waiting for me when I get home from a busy day at school! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 ribs celery, finely chopped (½ cup)
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
¾ cup quinoa, rinsed
2-3 large carrots, grated (1 ½ cups)
1 ½ cups grated pepper Jack or mozzarella cheese, divided
4 extra large red bell peppers, halved lengthwise, ribs removed

Directions

 

Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in spinach and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated.

Stir in black beans, quinoa, carrots, and 2 cups water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Stir in 1 cup cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour liquid from tomatoes in bottom of baking dish.

Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil, and bake 1 hour. Uncover, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates, and drizzle each with pan juices before serving.

Recipe Source: Vegetarian Times

Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

I can't believe it's been a whole month since my last post! In my defense, I moved AGAIN, was out of town for a week, and didn't get internet until yesterday (does happy dance!!). I still haven't unpacked all of my things, though I've been trying to do a little bit each day. My kitchen however, has been unpacked and functioning since maybe my second or third day back in Cinci. I have no idea where my tools or clothes are, but I can tell you the exact location of all my kitchen utensils and appliances.

I've been doing some cooking, but between unpacking and preparing for an audition and school, cooking has been on the back burner. Since school starts a week from tomorrow, I plan on preparing several meals that can be frozen, so if I'm short on time, I have something homemade and ready to go! These turkey burgers were the first on my list. I simply froze the patties I wasn't cooking on a parchment lined cookie sheet, then threw them in freezer bags once they were solid.* I made them yesterday for lunch, and they were totally delish. Let's just say in the two minutes I was taking pictures of mine, Chris had prepared his, eaten it, and put his dish in the sink. Either he was starving, or he loved them.

Not only were these tasty, they were also super quick to make. Even if I was short on time during the week, I could have these going in no time. I adapted the original recipe a tad, by adding garlic and fresh oregano (from my balcony garden!!), which I think were excellent additions. The only thing I would do differently next time is perhaps get some of the moisture out of the spinach, as the burgers were a bit on the soft side. I ended up freezing them for 10-15 minutes before cooking, so they'd hold together, as was recommended by others who had tried the recipe.

Bottom line, these put plain old turkey burgers to shame, and I'm super stoked that I have another three in my freezer!

Spinach Feta Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 lb. ground turkey

1 egg, lightly beaten

5 oz. frozen spinach, defrosted (about half a bag)

3/4 cup feta cheese

1 clove finely minced garlic

A few sprigs of fresh oregano, chopped (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of pepper

Directions 

Using paper towels, remove excess liquid from defrosted spinach.**

Mix all ingredients with your hands or a wooden spoon, and form patties. If patties are too soft, put them in the freezer on a parchment lined cookie sheet for about 10-15 minutes. Cook patties in a greased skillet over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes per side, or until meat is fully cooked. Serve with hamburger buns, lettuce or spinach, tomato, red onion, and oh yeah, Dijon mustard on these is awesome. Do you know what's even more awesome then all of those toppings? More feta on top. Yeah.

The original recipe said this yields 4 medium patties, but I ended up with 5 large patties.

*When I want to eat them, I plan on letting them thaw just a few minutes then throwing them on the grill or skillet, just like I would a regular hamburger.

**I didn't remove the excess liquid from the spinach. They were a tad on the soft side, but obviously didn't bother me at all. If you're worried about it, go ahead and remove some of the moisture.

Recipe Source: Eat Live Run

Texas Cake

I'm so excited to finally have a cake recipe to post...but I'm even more excited that it's a chocolate cake. I ran out of cocoa powder about two or three months before my planned departure from Beijing, and being that it's very expensive out there I chose not to buy any more. That meant no baking with chocolate. For over two months. It was a very dark time in my life.

Now that I'm back in the states there has been a lot of chocolate consumption in this household, this texas cake being the most recent, and yes, the most delicious. We had this cake all the time growing up, and I can't remember the last time I had it. I've been helping out at home with a garage sale all weekend, so meals weren't really a priority. I actually had this cake for lunch today, along with some watermelon...I know...weird.

I'm not sure why we always called this cake Texas Cake, but the pioneer woman thought it was because the cake is the size of Texas (hellooo 13x18!!). We used her recipe, because it looked the closest to what we've always done, but did it in a 9x13 instead.

In other news, this week I'll be moving yet again, back to Cincinnati. I'm so excited to just be in one place for a while, and to see some of my old friends again. Maybe another cake should be in order? I think so!

Texas Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:

4 heaping tablespoons cocoa
2 sticks butter
1 cup boiling water
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (you could also give sour cream a try!)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the frosting:

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 stick butter
4 heaping tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 pound minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar. This is kind of a loose measurement, add bits at a time until it's the desired consistancy. Any lumps will eventually break up, no need to sift.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a saucepan, boil water, then add butter and cocoa. Bring back to a boil, and let it boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Mix in the sugar until combined, then add the flour and salt, stirring lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, wisk together buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and baking soda. Pour into the chocolate mixture.

Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, and bake for 25 minutes. Cake should look just set, but not jiggly.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat. Add the milk, vanilla, and add the powdered sugar in batches until it reaches the desired consistancy. Stir in the chopped pecans, and pour over warm cake.

So easy, so addicting, SO delicious.

Recipe Source: The Pioneer Woman

Summer Vegetable and Potato Salad

I am officially on staycation. I made it back to the states safe and sound last Sunday, and have thoroughly been enjoying my time at home. There's been swimming, cuddling with puppers, and of course eating. I've also done a little car shopping, am still figuring out my cell phone situation, and oh yeah, I'm sick. Thankfully I'm not the kind of sick where I have body aches and chills, but the pain in my lungs when I cough cannot be overlooked.

Though I've been eating well since I've been home, I haven't been doing any cooking. Call me lazy, but when my mom asks me if I want her to make biscuits and gravy, I let her. Needless to say, this salad is perfect for a lazy dinner. My mom and I made this together, so it took zero time to make, and was fresh and satisfying. Actually, it was doubly satisfying, as many of the veggies were homegrown. The corn was grown in a friends garden, and my mom grew the tomatoes and basil. Oh basil, I love you.

As we were eating, we were brainstorming about other additions or changes. I think grilling the corn would add some lovely char, and maybe even some grilled zucchini. Either way, this recipe is highly adaptable. We ate it as a main dish, and for me, it was quite filling. My sister was still a little hungry after, while I couldn't quite finish my serving. I was already thinking about my favorite chocolate chip cookies I was going to make, so maybe I was subconciously saving room for those. There will be ice cream sandwiches in my near future. I love summer.

*Update: I'll be submitting this recipe to a monthly food blog event No Croutons Required. This is a monthly event featuring vegetarian soups and salads. I've been following for a little while, but this is my first entry. This month's challenge was to come up with a dish that is especially suited for summer. I think this dish fits the bill perfectly!

Summer Vegetable Potato Salad

Ingredients

1 pound small yellow or red new potatoes, sliced

2 fresh ears of corn, cooked, or 1 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed

4 roma tomatoes, cut into thin wedges, or you can use 12-15 halved cherry tomatoes like we did

1/4 cup fresh basil, torn

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot or red onion

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup feta cheese

Fresh basil leaves

Directions

In medium saucepan cook potatoes, covered, in enough boiling salted water to cover for 5 minutes, or just until tender. Drain and cool. Cut corn from cob. On large serving platter arrange the potatoes and tomatoes. Sprinkle with corn and 1/4 cup basil.

For dressing, in a screw-top jar combine oil, vinegar, shallot, mustard, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and shake well. Pour dressing over potato mixture. Sprinkle salad with feta cheese and basil leaves. Makes 8-10 servings.

Serves 4 as a main, 8-10 as a side.

Recipe Source: All-Time Favorite Recipes from the 2012 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, a supplement to the Better Homes and Garden magazine.