Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Archives for March 2012

Vegetable & turkey sausage frittata.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Egg dishes, Turkey, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

We love frittatas in my house.  Plus leftovers can be re-purposed into a great breakfast the following morning.  Another great thing about this type of dish is that you can use what veggies and meat you have on hand.  Easily adapted to a vegetarian dish by omitting the meat.  So many options!

Ingredients:

8 eggs, room temperature
1 lb of lean turkey sausage (I used hot) with the casing removed – cooked and crumbled into smaller pieces
1/4 c of grated parmesan cheese (not packed down in the measuring cup)
Fresh basil
Salt and pepper
2 small zucchinis sliced thin
1/4 of an onion, diced
1 large yellow pepper, chopped
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your pie pan with a non stick spray. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, parm and seasonings.  Set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil.  Add the peppers, onions and zucchini slices.  Cook until fork tender.  Remove and add to the egg mixture. Then add the cooked sausage crumbles.  Pour into your prepared pan.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and firm.  Slice into pieces and serve.

— Knead to Cook

Torta di Mele {Italian Apple Cake}

by Filed Under: Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, Vegetarian 4 Comments

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/3 cups, all-purpose or any gluten-free flour will work (I used almond flour for this recipe)
2/3 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 c non fat milk, almond milk or low fat milk (whatever you have on hand)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Zest of 2 lemons
6 medium apples, cored and peeled

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray your springform pan with non stick baking spray and set aside.

In your mixing bowl with the whisk attachment on, whisk the sugar and eggs.  Next, add in the flour, milk, baking powder, baking soda and zest. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Peel and core each of the apples. One apple will need to be diced up and dropped into the prepared batter.  The other apples can be sliced in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and placed along the top (spiral pattern).  The apples will sink into the batter a bit but the more apples you layer, they will become more visible.  Mist the top of the cake with some olive oil.  Then dust with granulated sugar (about a tablespoon).  This will caramelize on the top giving it a great texture.  Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

— Knead to Cook

Cheddar mashed potatoes.

by Filed Under: Side dish, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

My mashed potato recipe is hard to convey because I just add things as it needs it not really paying attention to exact amounts.  You may need to adjust more water or more cheddar depending on your taste.  This is a good baseline to start with so let’s roll…

Ingredients:

10 smaller golden potatoes, washed and cubed
3 tbl of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of dried parsley
1/4 tsp of ground pepper
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 c of shredded Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
1/2 c of Chobani plain, non fat yogurt

Directions:

Get a large stock pot of salted water boiling.  Place the cubed potatoes in the pot and let cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.  Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and set aside.  Drain the potatoes in a colander. Then I place them in my stand mixer, with the paddle attachment.  I add all of the other ingredients and mix.  The paddle will break the potatoes down nicely.  Add the cooking water as needed to moisten the potatoes up.   I add additional cheese, salt etc. as needed per my taste.  Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Spinach & garlic turkey meatloaf.

by Filed Under: Ground Turkey Leave a Comment

I thought I would do a retro-inspired dinner tonight.  Comfort food, to be exact.  We have a rushed evening and this was easy to get in the oven and have it ready for my kids to eat early, before our movie night tonight, and for hub’s to heat up later, when he gets home after work.

I had ground turkey leftover from another recipe and thought I better use it up before it went bad, which sadly happens to be too often.  So here’s what I did…

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs lean ground turkey
2 c of organic baby spinach (raw)
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp of flax seed meal
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 c of Panko breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper

Take your loaf pan and spray a nonstick spray on the inside. Mix that all together in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  Avoid over mixing, just mix until blended.   Pour into your prepared pan and either refrigerate until later or bake immediately.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 45-60 minutes or until it reaches 160 degrees.

Remove from the oven and cover for 10 minutes to let the juices return back to the meat.  Slice and serve.

— Knead to Cook

Devilish Oreo Truffles.

by Filed Under: Desserts, No bake/cooking required!, Valentine's Day Leave a Comment

Happy 100th Birthday Oreo!  Seriously, 100?

In honor of Oreo’s 100th, I decided to put my spicy, devilish side to work on transforming this simple, yet beloved cookie, into something a hot!

Meet the darker side of the Oreo 😉  (insert evil laugh here)

Ingredients:

1 package of Oreo cookies (I used the less fat version)
1 8 oz cream cheese brick (again, low fat), room temperature
6 oz of dark chocolate chips (for melting)
1-2 tsp of cayenne pepper

Directions:

To make the truffles –

In your food processor, blend all of the cookies down into a fine crumb mixture.  This takes about a minute or two.  When done, add the room temperature cream cheese brick and cayenne and blend again.  When it’s completely blended, it will form a ball inside your food processor (my visual clue it’s done).

Remove that and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes.

I then melt the chocolate chips in a microwaveable safe bowl.  My microwave has a melting chocolate setting so I follow that option.  You can melt them slowly over a double-boiler or melt them in your microwave, checking often so it doesn’t burn.

Give that a good stir and set aside.

I line my cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and then use my tiny scooper to scoop out the truffle filling and roll into balls.  Once complete, I toss them into the yummy chocolate pool for a coating and then place on the cookie sheet. If you opt to top your truffles with additional cayenne, as I did, dust them while they are wet from the chocolate.  This is my indicator for which type of truffle I’ve made – if I make a variety of flavors.  Then they head back into the fridge or freezer to set up for 15 minutes.  They can be served right after that or stored in a tupperware container for 3-4 days.

Watch out… they’re spicy!

 

 

— Knead to Cook

Sweet potato & bean vegetarian chili.

by Filed Under: Chili, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Who doesn’t love chili?  It’s filled with fiber-packed beans, veggies and it’s a one pot meal!  I made this after lunch and let it simmer all afternoon.  And in honor of meatless Monday – it is totally vegetarian!

Ingredients:

1/2 medium red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 gigantic sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces (or you can use 2 medium sized potatoes)
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbl chili powder
3 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Salt and black pepper
1 28-ounce Cento (use whatever tomatoes you have) diced tomatoes, including the liquid
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 c vegetable broth
Veggie tortilla chips, spicy monterey jack cheese and avocado slices for garnish/toppings

Directions:

In your Dutch oven, sauté all of the chopped vegetables & garlic with one to two tablespoons of olive oil, stirring occasionally. Once the onions start turning translucent and the veggies begin to soften, reduce heat to medium-low.

Add all of the spices and canned ingredients, and stir. Cover and let it simmer, stirring occasionally.  I let this simmer for hours – but you can serve it as soon as 1-2 hours if needed.

— Knead to Cook

Gluten Free Chobani Banana Bread.

by Filed Under: Gluten Free, Quick Bread, Vegetarian 1 Comment

With some very ripe bananas going soft on my countertop & some unique flours in my pantry – I thought it was time to make a gluten-free recipe for those of you who suffer with a gluten intolerance.

Teff flour is a very important food grain in Ethiopia, where it is used to make a wonderful bread by the name of injera.  It is a very impressive nutritional profile – high in dietary fiber and iron and provides protein and calcium.

I also used Quinoa flour in this recipe, to keep it gluten-free.  Quinoa is rich in essential amino acids and possesses calcium, phosphorus and iron.  Basically this bread is a nutritional powerhouse for your body 🙂  I would say the texture is a bit grainier than a gluten quick bread but it has a lovely nutty flavor & for me the nutritional value is a huge benefit.

Ingredients:

1 c of Quinoa Flour (you can use another other type of gluten free flour that you have on hand)
1 c of Teff flour
3/4 c of sugar
3/4 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
3 tsp of ground cinnamon
4 overripe bananas
1/4 c of Chobani non fat plain yogurt (you can use 2% as well)
2 eggs
6 tbl of melted I can’t believe it’s not butter (or regular butter)
1.5 tsp of vanilla extract
Optional:  Top the bread with your favorite nut (I used about 1/3 c)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray your loaf pan with a nonstick spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, whisk and set aside.

In your stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs for 45 seconds.  Then add the Chobani, vanilla and melted butter.  Mix.  Then add the bananas and mix until incorporated.  Add the dry ingredients (at once is fine) and turn the mixer on low.  Mix only until blended.  Scrape down the sides and mix again for a few seconds.  Then pour your batter into your prepared pan and bake for 42-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I topped my loaf with chopped walnuts.  You can top it with your favorite nut or leave it plain.  Enjoy!

 

— Knead to Cook

And the FINAL winner for 3.4 is….

by Filed Under: Giveaway!!! Leave a Comment

First, I want to thank all of you for following my crazy antics in the kitchen. I love cooking and sharing everything I make with you guys.  Your comments are always so incredibly uplifting and kind.  From the bottom of my heart…thank you!

And the winner of the $50 igourmet e-gift certificate is…. Alie Rodriguez!  Alie, please email me at robin@kneadtocook.com with your email address.  I will email you the e-gift certificate from igourmet.  The expiration is next month so get ready to order some fabulous goodies.

— Knead to Cook

Sriracha Turkey Meatballs with a Chobani sweet & spicy dipping sauce.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Ground Turkey 2 Comments

I adore Sriracha sauce!  I pretty much put it on anything I can.  I thought it would be fun in a Vietnamese style meatball and I was right… it was!  I also made a yummy sauce for dipping (neglected to take a pic of that for you but trust me, it’s worth making with these meatballs).  Would be a great appetite for a party but served as dinner for my family tonight with fresh veggies.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of ground 85% lean turkey (I wouldn’t go leaner on the meat or the meatball will be super dry)
1 egg
1/3 + 1 tbl of panko bread crumbs
1/4 yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
3 green onions
1 inch piece of peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 tbl of toasted sesame seeds
2 tbl of Sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp of salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tbl of olive oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.  Then in your food processor, add garlic and onion and process.  Then add that to your mixing bowl with the paddle attachment along with all of the other ingredients, omitting the olive oil.  Mix until well incorporated.

In a skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil.  Once hot, start rolling your meatballs.  Cook until you have a nice brown coating on the outside and then remove and add to your cookie sheet.  Bake these browned meatballs for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked.  Then place on a platter.

To make the dipping sauce:

1/2 c of Plain Chobani yogurt
1 tbl of honey
1 tsp of Sriracha sauce
1/8 tsp of salt

Whisk together and serve with the meatballs.

 

— Knead to Cook

Cranberry Orange Chobani Pound Cake.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Desserts, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

My lovely friend Mia just reminded me that today is National Pound Cake day and YES I have a lovely recipe I wanted to share with you all.  This is a delectable & super moist (thanks to the Chobani) cake that is perfect for breakfast or with your afternoon cup of tea.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 c all purpose, unbleached flour
1 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 c freshly squeezed orange juice
Zest from one orange
1 tsp orange extract
2 tbl melted butter
2 tbl hot water
3/4 c of non fat or 2% Chobani
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 c chopped walnuts

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl combine all of your dry ingredients. In your mixer bowl beat the egg, orange juice, zest, orange extract, butter and hot water together. Add the flour mixture to the wet batter and beat only until incorporated. Add the Chobani yogurt. Mix until blended. Add by hand the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon mixture into mini loaf pans or muffin tins that have been sprayed and floured. Bake at 325 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I also dusted a few loaves with turbinado sugar from a crunchy top. Cool in the loaf pan for about 10 minutes then remove. Cool the remaining time on a wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

— Knead to Cook