Corn muffins

Recipe here.

I made these muffins to go with chili I made for Christmas supper. I didn't adapt the recipe in any way. ok, I might have added a bit more sugar which is unlike me, I usually scale back the amount of sugar and salt the recipes ask for but today I was in the mood for sweeter muffins. These were perfect, and I think they would be just as good with less sugar.

Chipotle Chili

1 medium yellow onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 Tbsp chili powder (this makes the chili fairly mild, so up the chili powder if you want it to be spicier)
2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp cumin (be careful not to add too much, it can dominate the flavor)
2 Tbsp dried oregano flakes
.5 lbs ground beef
1 15 ounces of diced tomatoes in puree (I used about half a can)
1 15 ounce can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 minced chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce. *ONE PEPPER, NOT ONE CAN!*

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium
2. Saute onions until translucent
3. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and stir until mixed thoroughly.
4. Add the beef and cook until browned.
5. Add 1/2 a beer and simmer all the liquid off.
6. Add the beans and tomatoes.
7. Add the chipotle chili peppers.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and let simmer for 1 hour.
9. Adjust flavor with salt or tobasco if necessary.

Serves 2.

Yum. That's about all I can say. This is our 2011 Christmas dinner. We were planning on going out for Chinese food but were not feeling like leaving the house. The recipe was adapted from here. This goes especially well with these corn muffins.

Greens and Beans

2 cups stock (veggie or chicken)
1 14 oz can cannellini beans (or any white bean) - do not strain
3-4 cloves garlic - thinly sliced
2-3 shallots (or 1 small onion) - minced
1 bunch Greens (kale, spinach, chard, whatever you like) - washed and torn into pieces
1/4-1/3 cup white wine (optional)
1 lemon (optional)
parmesan cheese (optional - but is it really?)
olive oil
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Serves 2

Heat olive oil in a soup pot over med. Saute shallots (or onions) until translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add a little white wine and cook down. Add greens and toss with red pepper flakes. Saute until greens are wilted. Add beans (with juice) and stock. Bring to a simmer and season with s&p and red pepper flakes to taste. Add a squeeze or two of lemon. Serve with bread. You won't be sorry.

Dave and I went to Buffalo for Thanksgiving and were lucky to have Dave's cousin, Lou, join us at his parent's house. Going to Buffalo is always about food, there is so much delicious food there! Our last night we went out for Italian at Michael's and Lou ordered Beans and Greens. I'd never heard of it before but it seems like a pretty common Italian dish. This is the soup version and it's the easiest soup I've made yet. Where have you been all my life? I forgot the lemon when I made this and it was just fine but I imagine it would only make the soup better.

Amazing quinoa

1/2 quinoa - rinsed
3/4 cup water
1/2 white wine
2 shallots - finely chopped
1 clove garlic - minced
1 T chopped fresh herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)
Lemon zest
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Heat olive oil in a saute pan. Saute shallots until translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add fresh herbs and saute a few seconds more. Add quinoa and saute until it starts popping or smells nutty. Add wine and cook it off (cook until wine is almost evaporated). Add lemon zest, salt and pepper and water. Bring to a boil, cover, lower heat and simmer until done - about 15-20 minutes.

So I've made quinoa a few times. It's a nice light side that's quick and it is also good in a salad. I've also tried to dress it up in the past but I hit the jack pot tonight. I was making roast chicken and used leftover fresh herbs from that. This quinoa is truly amazing!

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, and Basil

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, and Basil
(Makes 3-4 servings)

1 large onion, chopped in pieces 1/2 inch or less
1 T minced garlic
4 tsp. olive oil, divided
2 cups beef stock
1-2 cups water
1 14 oz can diced roasted tomatoes
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground fennel
2 links hot turkey Italian sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can navy beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (at least!)
Parmesan reggiano cheese (opt - but is it really?)

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pot, add onions and saute about 5 minutes, then add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add ground beef and turkey sausage (removed from casings) and brown, using the back of a turner to break into small pieces.

Add stock, tomatoes with juice, oregano, fennel, rinsed navy beans and about a cup of water. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes to an hour. Add water to thin if necessary as it cooks.

Right before serving, stir in fresh basil and simmer a few minutes more.

Ladle into bowls and grate a little Parmesan over the top.

For the record, I don't like black licorice. The flavor is very off-putting to me. So I've avoided fennel since it's described as having a licorice flavor. I do, however, LOVE sausage and have recently discovered that one of the ingredients in Italian sausage is fennel and I've enjoyed crunching down on a whole fennel seed when I come across one. So I was willing to give this recipe a go. I bought some fennel seeds, ground them up in my spice grinder and wow! I actually liked the smell. And the flavor was spot on! This soup is a really nice, full flavored soup. Enjoy!

Craig's Salsa

1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro
½ whole Lime Juice

Put it all in a food processor and go to town.

I'm not sure if this is exactly how he did it. I've actually adapted it from the Pioneer Woman Cooks here

Banana Bread

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar (or slightly less)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 large, ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup butter, melted

Grease and flour loaf pans. The original recipe called for two 7 x 3 inch loaf pans but Steph prefers four mini loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, soda, salt and sugar. Mix in the slightly beaten eggs and mashed bananas. Slowly stir in the melted butter just until incorporated. Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. If you use the mini loaf pans, adjust to about 30 minutes. Just take a peek and if the top is starting to brown and looks cooked, try the toothpick to test for doneness. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Additional Thoughts:
- Banana size varies drastically. Today I used the largest I have used in the past and the bread was so moist and flavorful. If you have really small bananas, add an extra half.
- What is a ripe banana? Well, I like mine almost all brown with some specs of yellow. Once I used all brown and it smelled a bit like alcohol. I think they were fermenting and on their way to banana liqueur
- Mash bananas well with a potato masher or fork but leave some small chunks. Don’t go all the way to baby food consistency.
- Do NOT over mix this batter. I would not use an electric mixer – just a few circles of the wrist while incorporating the ingredients.
- Do NOT overbake. The moist, banana-y center should be soft and crumbly.
- Let the bread cool completely before storing. The edges and outside will get sticky and icky if you wrap it or put it in a ziploc too soon.

I looked around at many recipes to find one that didn't use shortening. I've made this twice now and both times it has turned out great. I doubled the recipe this morning and had enough for one 8x4 pan and two mini loaf pans. Adapted from here. I made only one change at that was to limit the amount of sugar. Even with 1/4 cup less than the original recipe called for it was still a little too sweet for my taste.