Creamy Artichoke Dip May 9, 2008

Ingredients
8 oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 C. Artichoke Hearts
1/3 C. Fresh Parmesan
1 T. Fresh Parsley
2 t. Lemon Juice
1/2 t. Salt and Pepper
1 Garlic Clove

Method
1. Blend in food processor

Herb Ravioli Soup May 9, 2008

Ingredients
2 T. Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (Chopped)
2 Carrots (Peeled and Diced)
Fresh Pepper
6 C. Chicken Broth (or Veggie Broth)
1 lb. Ravioli
1 C. Frozen Peas
2 t. Oregano
2 t. Thyme
1 T. Parsley
1-2 T. Parmesan (For Sprinkling)

Method
1. Saute onions and carrots in oil. Add rest of ingredients and simmer until cooked through.

Ethiopian Shiro May 8, 2008

Ingredients
2 C. Shiro Flour (you will need to either order this online or get it from an Ethiopian market. It’s dried and ground chickpeas)
2 Large Onions (Finely Chopped)
1 C. Spiced Butter (recipe on this blog)
5 t. Garlic (Minced)
1 T. Berbere
2 t. Salt
10 C. Water

Method
1. In medium pot, saute onion and garlic with butter until translucent. Add berbere and simmer 5 minutes on low. Add water to prevent sticking. Add remaining water and mix in shiro by slowly adding and stirring. Let cook until thick but runny, about 20 minutes. If you like it thicker, add more shiro.

Notes: This recipe makes a ton of shiro and can be easily cut down. You can also add more garlic or jalapenos if you desire.

Kik Wot (Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew) May 8, 2008

Ingredients
4 C. Red Lentils (these can be tough to find in regular grocery stores, but look with the Indian food…they cook WAY quicker than brown lentils and this dish works much better with them. That said, if you can’t find them, use brown lentils, but you’ll need extra cooking time and more water)
1 Large Onion (Finely Chopped)
1 C. Spiced Butter (recipe on this blog)
5 t. Garlic (Minced)
2 T. Berbere
2 t. Salt
2 C. Water

Method
1. In a large pot, saute onion, garlic and berbere in spiced butter until onions translucent. Add lentils and water, then simmer about 20 minutes.

Ethiopian Cabbage Stew May 8, 2008

Ingredients
3 Large Onions (Chopped)
3 Large Carrots (Diced)
1/2 White Cabbage (Shredded)
1/4 C. Spiced Butter (recipe on this blog)
2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1/2 t. Ground Ginger
1/2 t. Turmeric
1/2 t. Curry Powder
1/2 t. Black Pepper
1 t. Salt
4 C. Water

Method
1. Saute onions, garlic and carrots in oil. Add cabbage, water and spices. Cook on low until soft, about 20-30 minutes

Notes: This is a nice mild Ethiopian dish to serve along side the spicier dishes. It’s good to mix with the spicy dishes, and it’s also a nice option for those new to Ethiopian food or vegetarians.

Kim’s Summer Salad May 7, 2008

Ingredients
10 oz. Spinach
1 Qt. Strawberries
1 Pint Blueberries
1/2 lb. Bacon (Cooked and Crumbled–omit or put on side if making for a vegetarian)

Dressing:
2 T. Sesame Seeds
1 T. Poppy Seeds
1/4 C. Sugar
1/2 C. Olive Oil
1/4 C. Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 t. Paprika
1/4 t. Worcestshire Sauce
1 T. Red Onion (Minced)

Method
1. Combine dressing ingredients in lidded jar and shake. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight.
2. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and serve.

Notes: I first had this salad at a Kowalski family dinner where Marc’s girlfriend Kim brought it. It was amazing and I couldn’t stop eating it! I asked her for the recipe and she verbally gave it to me, but I was missing some of the ingredients. After some searching around on the internet, I found enough similar recipes to tweak and recreate hers. This is great for a BBQ or just in the early Spring when the strawberries first come out and you want to pretend it’s not snowing in Colorado

Spaghetti Pie February 27, 2008

Ingredients
8 oz. Spaghetti (Hot, Cooked and Drained)
2 T. Olive Oil or Butter
2 Eggs (Well Beaten)
1/2 C. plus 2 T. Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
1 C. Spaghetti Sauce (I like Hunts in a can)
1/2 C. Mozzarella Cheese (Grated)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 10 inch pie plate.
2. In a large bowl, toss hot spaghetti with olive oil.
3. In a small bowl, combine eggs and 1/2 C. parmesan cheese. Stir into spaghetti. Pour spaghetti mixture into pie plate, spreading to form a crust.
4. Spread ricotta evenly over the crust, but not quite to the edge. Top with spaghetti sauce.
5. Bake uncovered 25 minutes. Top with shredded mozzarella and bake 5 minutes longer, until cheese melts. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 2 T. parmesan cheese. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Notes: This recipe comes from my friend Kim! It was a big hit in our house and very easy.

Deep Dish Apple Pie with Streusel Topping December 4, 2007

Ingredients
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
1/4 C. White Sugar
1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon
1/8 t. Ground Nutmeg
Pinch Salt
5-6 Apples (I like to mix varieties..)
1 T. Lemon Juice
1 Deep Dish Pie Shell (Marie Callendar makes a good one in the frozen food section)
2 T. Unsalted Butter (cut into bits)

Topping:
1 Stick Butter (8 T.)
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
1/2 C. Walnuts (Chopped)
1 T. Lemon Juice
1/2 t. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 C. Flour

Method
1. Peel and core apples. You can buy a nifty device in the grocery store gadget aisle that cores and slices in one step–it’s about $1 and totally worth it!.
2. Toss together sugars, spices and salt. Toss the apples with the lemon juice, then this mixture.
3. Add the apples to the pie shell and top with butter pats.
4. Cream together the butter and brown sugar for the topping. Add the walnuts, lemon juice, spices and flour. Put topping over top of apples.
5. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes or until center of pie is bubbly and streusal mixture is browned.

Note: I have had great luck making these pies, then wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and a couple layers of foil before baking, then freezing. I then bake the frozen pie for 60 minutes at 375. I do this advance prep for Holidays–take the kiddos apple picking in the fall and have great pies for Thanksgiving. I also made a bunch of these pies for my wedding because my husband hates cake and loves apple pie. With the help of one of my bridesmaids, we set up an assembly line and catered the dessert portion of the wedding in under an hour! We baked the pies the day before and it worked great.

Whole-Wheat Pumpkin Bread December 4, 2007

Ingredients
2 C. White Flour
1/2 C. Whole-Wheat Flour
1/4 C. Cornmeal
1/4 C. Wheat Germ
1/2 t. Salt
1 T. Baking Powder
1 C. Sugar
2 Eggs
1/4 C. Butter (melted)
1 1/4 C. Milk
1 Can Pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 t. Ground Cinnamon
1/2 t. Ground Ginger
1 Pinch Ground Cloves
1 Pinch Nutmeg
1 C. Chocolate Chips (if you’re feeling wild!)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a loaf pan.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients. Add the egg, butter and milk. Add the pumpkin.
3. Bake 1 hour.

Notes: I make this for my 17 month old daughter for breakfast (without the chocolate chips). It’s easy, she loves it, and it’s good for her (and cleaner than oatmeal!). You can make the same recipe with apple sauce, substituting it for the pumpkin. If you want it as a dessert, add the chocolate chips and serve it warm with butter. Delicious!

White Bean Dip with Rosemary Olive Oil March 15, 2007

Ingredients
1/4 C. Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
2 Cans White Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
Dash of Lemon Juice
Salt to taste
3 Sprigs Rosemary

Method
1. Cook half the olive oil and garlic for one minute. Pour into food processor. Add white beans, lemon juice and salt. Process.
2. Wipe out pan. Add remaining olive oil and rosemary. Warm 3 minutes. Remove and let cool 10 minutes. Strain out rosemary and drizzle olive oil over bean dip (to taste).
3. Mince 1 t. rosemary and sprinkle over top
4. Dip veggies, bread and/or tortilla chips

I made this for our Tapas and Sangria Shower and it was the only thing I wasn’t happy with, but I’m posting the (amended) recipe because I know how to make it better now that I’ve made it once. The original recipe called for far to much lemon juice and salt. I actually had to throw out half of it and add a new can of just beans and it was still too salty. The recipe also calls for too much rosemary olive oil drizzled over top. It should be just enough to look pretty, not so much it makes your dip oily. This is essentially a jazzed up hummus. It would be really nice to have this recipe, traditional hummus and a red bean hummus (made exactly like regular hummus but with kidney beans instead of chickpeas) as a treo with fresh chips and veggies.