Money Bags

Ingredients:

Phyllo dough

Butter

random things you want to put in your money bags!

We found a very specific recipe that said to fill these "money bags" with just ricotta and Parmesan cheese, but we decided it would be more fun to make different combinations of ingredients for the filling in each one and have a variety! We made all kinds of different combinations, including

- blue cheese, fresh basil, tomato, garlic, olive oil

- grated and fried potato (hash browns), red pepper, swiss cheese

- grated and fried potato (hash browns), onion, cheddar cheese, cream cheese

- cooked spinach, tomato, ricotta

and many other combinations that I can't remember! Here are some general steps for money bags:

1. Cut a sheet of phyllo dough in half, into 2 squares about 5 inches across each.

2. Brush one sheet of phyllo dough with melted butter.

3. Place the other square of phyllo on top, slightly askew.

4. Put your filling in the middle.

5. Gather the edges and bunch them together at the top to form a pouch.

6. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown. Serve immediately.

We have extra phyllo dough left from this experiment, so we're hoping to make a yummy dessert version of this later this week. If they turn out well, they'll be posted on here soon!

Cooking with Beer - Cheese and Leek Strata

Ingredients:

1 loaf sourdough bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 leeks, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 1/2 cup Swiss cheese, grated

1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups milk

1/2 cup beer or ale

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt

pepper

Directions:

1. Place half of the bread cubes on the bottom of a greased 13x9 baking dish.

2. Sprinkle half the leeks and half the bell pepper over bread cubes.

3. Cover with 3/4 cup Swiss cheese and 3/4 cup cheddar cheese.

4. Add the remaining bread, then remaining leeks and bell pepper and top with remaining cheese. Set aside.

5. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, beer, garlic, salt and pepper. Beat until well-blended.

(As you see, we used Rolling Rock as our beer. You should use whatever beer you have on hand, but I recommend making sure to drink a bottle/can/glass of your chosen beer with the meal, because it complements it well. Or maybe I just really enjoyed drinking that nice cold beer. Hard to say.)

6. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the strata.

7. Cover your baking dish with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

8. Uncover your baking dish and bake the strata at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 45 minutes.

9. Serve immediately.

My significant other bought me the most awesome birthday present ever last week: a Slap Chop! I've been really wanting one, and for the past several months any time I've cooked something that required a lot of vegetable chopping I whined that I needed a Slap Chop. I was especially whiny whenever I chopped onions, because it makes me cry. But, all that has changed! We tested out the Slap Chop last night when we made our strata, and it was everything I hoped for. Here I am, chopping garlic with my new toy. It chopped it so fast, it was awesome!

Hazardous Oven

I haven't updated my blog at all this week. There have been a few reasons for this, but the main one is that my oven is broken! Let me tell you a story.

I came home from work on Tuesday and the first thing I noticed when I opened my front door was that it smelled like gas. It smelled very, very strongly of gas in fact. Usually when I open the door my cat comes running up to greet me (by "greet", I mean she meows at me until I feed her) but this day she was nowhere to be seen, so of course my first thought was, "Ohmygodtheresagasleakinmyapartmentandmycatisdead!" But I called out her name and she emerged from the kitchen cupboard next to the fridge that has become her new favorite napping place.

I called the gas company, and they sent someone out right away. He checked out everything in my kitchen and announced that some part of my oven needs to be replaced and that I should not use the oven until my apartment building replaces the part. He then turned off the gas supply to my oven so that it can't be used, and also tagged the oven with a "Hazardous" sign in case I'm an idiot and still try to cook in an oven that's been shut off.

So, I haven't cooked at my apartment this week, but I did actually mix up some batter at home and then transported it over to significant other's apartment to bake it, but that is a story for another post.

I'm not sure if my apartment building is going to replace my oven part by the time I move out of here next weekend, so I may not get to do any more cooking in my apartment. How sad, the last thing I "made" in my oven was toasting some hamburger buns for the veggie burgers we grilled up on Monday night. (I love Gardenburgers, I wish I could have one right now!)

Baked Polenta with 4 Cheeses

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock

2 cups polenta*

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 1/2 oz Havarti cheese, sliced

3 1/2 oz mascarpone** cheese

3 1/2 oz blue cheese, crumbled

7 Tbsp butter, thinly sliced

*Polenta is also known as cornmeal, and may be marked as such at your grocery store.

**Mascarpone is a creamed Italian cheese. It may be difficult to find at a regular grocery store, but my significant other was able to find it at Whole Foods.

Directions

1. Put the vegetable stock a 2 cups of water in a large pot and bring to a boil.

2. Add the polenta and stir continuously for 10 minutes until very thick and smooth. You want to try to get the lumps out; in my case, I stirred the polenta while my significant other mashed it with a potato masher, which worked pretty well.

3. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. (Save the other 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top later).

4. Brush a 7 cup loaf tin with oil. Spread the polenta into tin and smooth the surface.

5. Refrigerate polenta for 2 hours.

6. When the polenta is ready, it should be completely solid and have a spongy texture. Remove it from the tin and cut it into slices about 1/2 inch thick.

7. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Brush an 8' x 8' baking dish with oil.

9. Place a layer of polenta slices on the bottom of the dish. On top of the polenta, add a layer of half the Havarti, half the blue cheese, half the mascarpone, and half the butter. Add another layer of polenta slices. Add the remaining Havarti, blue cheese, mascarpone, and butter.

10. Add a layer of polenta, and sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

11. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges form a golden brown crust. Serve immediately.

I love cheese. I may have mentioned this before. This dish combines my two favorite cheeses: Havarti and blue cheese, so I knew this was going to be a winner as soon as I read the ingredient list. And as you see in the above picture, the cheese was so hot and gooey, it was wonderful!

Waiting the two hours while the polenta was chilling in the fridge worried me at first, because I thought we would be starving by the time it was finished chilling, but I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful boyfriend who went and bought all the ingredients we needed while I was at work so that we could start cooking as soon as I got home. For those who have a partner who also works late, or are single, I'd recommend making this on a weekend or making the polenta the night before and letting it chill overnight. But this cheesy goodness is definitely worth the wait, trust me.

Curried Lentils

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

3 1/2 Tbsp butter ghee

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 large green chilli, seeded and finely chopped

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils and drain well.

2. Put lentils, vegetable stock, and turmeric in pot or large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally to make sure lentils are not sticking to bottom.

3. Meanwhile, heat the butter ghee in a frying pan and add the onion. Cook until soft and golden.

4. Add the garlic, chilli, cumin, and coriander. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.

5. Add the onion mixture to the lentil mixture.

6. Add the tomato and simmer over very low heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

7. Add coconut milk.

8. Stir until heated through and season to taste. Serve with rice and/or naan.

My significant other and I made this a couple of nights ago. (That's his hand pouring the coconut milk; he commented that his hand looks super strong gripping that can.) I've had a cold for the past few days, and I'm only now starting to feel a bit better. The night we made this, I ate some of it, but I could hardly taste it due to my cold, so I didn't really enjoy it. Significant other assured me that it was very good, and very flavorful though. I ate the leftovers tonight, now that I can taste things again, and he was right, it was good! I think I still would have added more spices at the end, especially black pepper, the king of all spices, but maybe that's just my temporarily restricted tastebuds talking.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 cups instant oatmeal

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Use a hand mixer to cream together butter, white sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.

2. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.

3. Add 1/2 dry mixture to creamed mixture and stir well. Add other half and blend together completely.

4. Mix in oatmeal and chocolate chips.

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray and place walnut-sized spoonfuls of the dough spaced apart on the try.

7. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

My coworker and I made these cookies and brought them to work this week. They were a big hit; I received a lot of compliments on them. We made half of the cookies with milk chocolate chips and half with semi-sweet chocolate chips, and we couldn't get enough of either type. Our coworkers are lucky we didn't eat them all before bringing them into work!

Not that great Gnocchi

On Friday, significant other and I tried out a recipe for gnocchi with Gorgonzola cream sauce. In theory it sounded great, but in reality it did not turn out great. I thought of a few ways that I could improve this recipe if I decide to try it again in the future, but this initial version of it was just kind of... ok. It definitely was not bad. It was completely edible, there was just nothing special about it. Oh, also, I didn't take pictures of it because it was quite possibly the least attractive thing I've ever made. I also thought of ways that I could make it less ugly if I were to cook it again.

So, this version of the gnocchi was disappointing, but the amazing lemon ricotta pancakes I made the next morning and the delicious butternut squash pasta I made the following evening made up for the mediocrity of the gnocchi.

The lesson here is this: not every recipe you try comes out perfectly each time. You have to make little adjustments sometimes to make it work.

Butternut Squash Penne Pasta

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp pine nuts

2 Tbsp butter

2 leeks, white part only, finely sliced

2 lbs butternut squash, diced

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 lb penne pasta

1 1/4 cup whipping cream

Directions:

1. Heat butter over low heat in large pot.

2. Add the leek, cover and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the squash and nutmeg. Cover and cook for 8 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a small pan over a low heat until lightly golden. Set aside.

5. Cook the pasta in large saucepan of boiling water.

6. Add cream and 3 Tbsp water to the squash and bring sauce to boil. cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes or until squash is tender.

7. Scoop squash/sauce over pasta and sprinkle with pine nuts and black pepper.

Serves about 4 people.

I served this dish to two friends for dinner Saturday night, and they both loved it. I didn't realize before making this dish how difficult it is to cut up a butternut squash because I'd never done it before, but it was definitely worth the effort. This was so delicious.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 Tbsp sugar

2 large eggs

2/3 cup milk

juice and grated rind from 1 lemon

lemon marmalade

fresh berries

Directions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a small bowl.

2. In a larger bowl, whisk together the ricotta, sugar, eggs, milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and whisk together. Add more milk if needed.

4. Spray griddle with non-stick spray. Pour batter in 3-4 inch circles and cook both sides until a golden brown.

5. In small pan, warm up lemon marmalade.

6. To serve, top pancakes with fresh berries, drizzle with lemon marmalade, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Yield: 12-15 pancakes

I made these pancakes with my grandma about two months ago, and then again yesterday with my significant other. They were delightful both times. Later that day, a dear friend (and follower of this blog!) saw the pictures of these pancakes on my camera and she commented, "These look like the 4th of July!" And I must say, they are kind of like the 4th of July. Only instead of explosions in the sky, it's like little explosions of deliciousness on your tongue.

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:

8 zucchini

2 slices white bread, crusts cut off

milk, for soaking

9 Tbsp ricotta cheese

3 Tbsp grated cheddar cheese

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp chopped thyme, plus extra sprigs to garnish

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/3 cup onion, finely diced

1 egg yolk

Directions:

1. Place zucchini in boiling, salted water. Cook for 5 minutes.

2. Place bread in a bowl and pour in enough milk to cover bread. Soak bread until soft, then drain milk and squeeze bread dry.

3. Put bread in large bowl along with cheeses, thyme, garlic, egg yolk, and onions.

4. Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the flesh and set flesh aside.

5. Chop zucchini flesh finely.

6. Add zucchini flesh to stuffing mixture and stir together evenly. Add a small amount of milk if it isn't binding together well.

7. Spread olive oil on an ovenproof baking dish and preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Fill each zucchini shell with the stuffing and place in the dish. It's ok to have them touch; they will probably need to touch to fit in the dish.

9. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top.

10. Garnish with sprigs of thyme.

This was delicious. That's all I can say.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, garlic powder, and black pepper.

2. Add artichoke hearts and spinach and gently stir until evenly blended.

3. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased baking dish.

4. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.

5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes, or until cheese is light brown and bubbly.

I brought this as a side dish to my uncle's annual Memorial Day pool party over the weekend. My grandma also brought a spinach and artichoke dip, but I think mine was better. Don't tell her I said that though!

Spicy Jalapeño Hummus

Ingredients:

2 16oz cans of garbanzo beans, drained

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp tahini

9 cloves garlic, minced

3 slices jalapeño pepper, minced

3 slices jalapeño pepper, whole (garnish)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1. Process your garbanzo beans in a food processor until smooth. (I couldn't get mine very smooth, it ended up a little chunky, but it was still tasty.

2. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, jalapeños, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Process in food processor until well blended.

3. Transfer to a container with a lid and refrigerate overnight. This allows the flavors to blend.

*NOTE* be sure to use a container with a lid if you want to keep your refrigerator from smelling like garlic!

4. Garnish with 3 jalapeño slices and serve with pita chips or warm pita bread.

This hummus was pretty spicy. I brought it to a family event where a lot of senior citizens were present; they didn't seem to care for it much. However, I also made a spinach and artichoke dip that was a big hit with the old folks. That recipe is coming up next.