Personal Portobello Pizzas

I got this recipe from Parents magazine. Supposedly, mushrooms have lots of vitamin D and potassium. I'm sure they are much healthier than pizza crust. I'm not going to say it tastes like pizza crust. It's definitely different but we all really liked it.

4 large portobello mushroom caps, stems removed
2 Tbs olive oil
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning (or just sprinkle some stuff on them)
1/2 c shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I doubled the cheese)

1. Preheat over to 400. Line a 15x10x1 in baking pan with foil; brush lightly with olive oil. Place mushroom caps stem side down in prepared pan. Brush caps with remaining oil. Bake for about 10 min.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl stir together tomato sauce, garlic, and seasonings. Drain off liquid from mushrooms. Turn mushrooms stem side up. Spoon sauce into mushroom caps. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.

My grandmother has made these with meat and spinach added too.

Doughnuts (from Deceptively Delicious Cookbook)

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1/2 cup milk or lowfat buttermilk
1 large egg white
1 tblsp.trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread, melted (I use butter)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a doughnut mold or 12 mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, pumpkin and sweet potato purees, milk, egg white, margarine,
and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spice, and mix until completely incorporated.
Pour the batter into a gallon-sized plastic bag and cut the bottom tip off of one side of the bag. Squeeze
the batter through, into the doughnut mold. Bake until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick comes
out clean when inserted, 20-25 minutes. Turn the doughnuts out onto a rack to cool. When cool, dust
with confectioner's sugar.

Store in an airtight container at room temp. for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

*** These are low in sugar and have veggies in it, so a healthy snack for your kids! If they in fact look like doughnuts your kids will be fooled;)

Chocolate dipped cappuccino caramels

A friend of mine made these delicious caramels last time we were in Auburn. They are so yummy! The recipe is tweaked from a Better Homes and Garden cookbook.

1 C butter
1 16-oz. pkg brown sugar (2 1/4 C)
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 C light corn syrup
3 Tbsp. instant coffee
1 C chopped walnuts
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2-1 tsp. finely shredded orange peel (I omit this)
dark chocolate chips

Line an 8x8x2 in or 9x9x2 in baking pan with foil (the nonstick kind works best). Butter the foil; set aside.
  In heavy 3-qt saucepan melt butter over low heat. Stir in brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, and coffee.
  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until candy thermometer reaches 248 degrees or candy reaches *firm ball stage. The mixture should boil at moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Reaching firm ball stage should take 15-20 min.
  Remove saucepan from heat. Immediately stir in walnuts, vanilla, and orange peel. Quickly pour caramel into foil lines baking dish. Allow to cool thoroughly. I put mine in the fridge for a while.
  When caramel is firm, cut caramels into bite size squares. Makes about 3 pounds...60-80 pieces depending on how big you cut them.
  I melt dark chocolate chips and dip the caramels. It is easiest to use two skewers to hold the candy so that you don't leave finger marks. A touch of sea salt on top adds a yummy salty taste to all this sweetness.

*To test firm ball stage: drop a few drops of caramel mixture into cold water. Shape the drops of caramel into a ball. When the caramel is removed from water, it will be firm enough to hold its shape, but should quickly flatten at room temperature.

Wrap and store the caramels for up to 3 weeks in a cool, dry place or up to 9 months in the freezer. These make great gifts!

Baja Style Fish Tacos

These have been added to our list of "regulars".  In fact Morgandy asked me tonight when we were having them again.  They are yummy.  This recipe has been adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.

Baja Style Fish Tacos:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 cups shredded green cabbage (I buy the pre-shedded kind)
5 Tbsp minced fresh clantro
3 scallions sliced thin
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
4 tsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tsp minced canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp groun coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
4 tilapia fillets (the ones I get are about 8 oz each)
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
Lime wedges (for serving)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Toss the cabbage, 1/4 cup cilantro, scallions, vinegar, 1 tsp of the oil and 1/4 tsp salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the remaining tablespoon cilantro, mayonnaise, lime juice, chipotles, and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste, Set both aside for serving.

3. Combine the chili powder, coriander, cumin and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl.  Pat the fish dry with paper towels, brush with the remaining tablespoon oil, and rub evenly with the spice mixture.  Place fish in a 9x13 pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

4.  While the fish is baking heat a griddle or pan on high heat and heat up the corn tortillas one at a time (about 20 seconds on each side) until they begin to brown.  Alternatively you can place them between wet paper towels and microwave them for a minute or two until they are soft and pliable.  Wrap the warm tortillas in a kitchen towel or aluminum foil to keep them warm.

5.  When fish is done cut fillets into 3 equal pieces.  Smear each tortilla with some of the mayo mixture and top with some of the cabbage slaw and a piece of fish.  Serve with the lime wedges.

According to the original recipe you use mahi-mahi and can substitute halibut, swordfish, or red snapper.   It also calls for the fish and tortillas to be grilled. If you grill the fish it takes 10-14 minutes over high heat, turning once.  It also suggests serving the tacos with grilled corn on the cob and hot sauce.  We usually have it with black beans.

These tacos are really, really good.  They are totally worth the time and effort.  And if there are leftovers the actually re-heat fairly well.

Creamy pesto pasta

1 lb. uncooked noodles (I prefer Rotini noodles)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup white cooking wine
1 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 8 oz. jar of pesto
2 tblsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, heat 2 tblsp. olive oil and then add chopped onions, minced garlic and cubed chicken breasts. Saute it until chicken is done. Add the jar of pesto and white cooking wine. Stir and let cook for five minutes to cook out the alcohol. Turn off heat and set aside. Cook pasta. Drain water from pasta and add pasta immediately to pesto sauce. Turn on the heat and stir. Add the parmesan cheese and whipping cream. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir until creamy. Serve immediately! This is a family staple in our house!

The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook Review

We all have a "go to" cookbook.  One we use all the time.  One we know that no matter what we make it will a) work and b) be delicious.

This is my current "go to" book for cooking:

My sister introduced me to The America's Test Kitchen years ago.  If you haven't heard of the series on PBS you should check it out.  It's great; entertaining, informative and educational.  She recently bought this book and then made several recipes from it for us when she was here visiting. My mom bought it and bought one for me.  I've been cooking out of it several times a week for a month. So far everything I've made from it has been good.  Really good.  And don't let the "Healthy" part throw you.  The recipes don't sacrifice taste for health. 

You may have seen my sister and I messaging page numbers on Facebook of what we've tried and liked.  I guess we have been raving so much about it we've already peaked the interest of my aunt and cousin because they just ordered it, too. 

Just like the show this book is filled with tips and tricks and reasoning behind the cooking methods.  It's tabbed dividers make it easy to find what you are looking for and the photos are super helpful.

The one downside to a lot of these recipes is that they involve a lot of chopping and if you have kids at home like I do it may mean you spend nap-time doing food prep.  The end result is worth it to me but I did think it's worth mentioning.  

Here are some of my favorite's so far:

* Southwestern Black Bean Salad (I could eat this every.single.day.)

* Vegetable Enchiladas (supposedly my sister made these for a "meat-eating" friend and they said they wouldn't have known there wasn't meat in it if they hadn't been told)

*North African Style Chick Pea Salad

*Baja Grilled Fish Tacos

*Pasta with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

I originally titled this post:  The Next Cookbook You Should Add To Your Collection.  I would recommend it to anyone.  You can get it here.  If you do buy it I'd love to know what your favorite recipes are. You can post here or message me a page number on Facebook :).

The Best Carrot Cake Ever!!!!

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated peeled carrots (about 10 carrots)
one 8oz. can crushed pineapple, drained (I omit this ingredient)
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Icing
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
one 16oz. box confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preparation
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
2) To make the cake, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon into a large bowl. Add the eggs and vegetable oil and stir until well blended. Fold in the grated carrots, pineapple, and pecans and stir until the mixture in thoroughly blended.
3) Pour one-third of the batter into each of the prepared pans. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the edges have pulled away slightly from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4) Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely on wire racks.
5) To make the icing, place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer set at medium speed, cream the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until smooth.
6) Place a cake layer on a serving plate and frost the top. Repeat this procedure with the second and third layers. Finish by icing the sides of the cake. Cut into wedges and serve.

Makes one 8-inch layer cake. Serves 8-10.