Zucchini Bread

From Smitten Kitchen

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all­purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. (See those pictures of the cakes inside their non­stick pans? Yup, they’re pretty much hanging out in there for the time being.) Alternately, line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.
Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.
Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.
Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Muffins will bake far more quickly, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. 

Cranberry Upside Down Cake

This recipe is delicious! It was a strong competitor last night in the midst of about 8 pies. Rather than posting the entire recipe here, let me direct you to the page on Smitten Kitchen. I'll just leave you with a picture to get your mouth watering. Yum! (And I don't even like cooked fruit usually.)



**Note - You will see in the recipe that it makes a few suggestions for add-ins, etc. I used honey instead of molasses (mostly because I thought others might enjoy the lighter flavor better). I also added a couple dashes of cinnamon and about a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cake batter before baking. She also makes a note of how her cake cooked really quickly (like 30 minutes instead of 45). Well, mine took about 50 minutes and was overflowing the pan. I think you could use a large cake pan. Finally, no parchment was necessary. The cake will come right out of the pan. Enjoy!

Citrus Rice Salad

In case you haven't realized it yet, I'm a huge fan of Giada, of the Food Network. Here's another winner. The only thing I would change next time, is maybe reducing the olive oil to 1/3 cup instead... but that's really a minor thing. :) It's got a nice citrus kick (maybe serve it up with some orange glazed chicken, fish, or pork) and doesn't have too strong a cumin flavor for those who aren't as big of cumin fans as I.

Rice Salad:

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups brown basmati rice, rinsed
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 medium orange, zested
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 cup thinly sliced green onions

Vinaigrette:

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the Rice Salad:

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes until lightly golden. Cool completely, about 15 minutes

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock, salt and oil to a boil over medium-high heat Stir in the rice. Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat, and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Using a fork, fluff the rice and place in a large serving bowl. Add the parsley, orange zest, half of the lemon zest, green onions, and 1/4 cup of the almonds. Toss well.

For the Vinaigrette:

In a blender, combine the olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, and cumin. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the vinaigrette over the rice mixture and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with the remaining lemon zest and almonds.

Roasted Vegetables

I know this is kinda basic, but it's a good reminder of an easy and delicious side dish/main dish. :)

I generally roast sweet potato, yellow squash, asparagus, bell pepper, mushrooms, or cauliflower (usually some combo of the above), but you really could use any veggies you like. Keep in mind that some cook faster than others (mushrooms, bell pepper, etc.), and I find it helpful to give the sweet potato a head start with a couple minutes in the microwave before I chop it up.

Cut the veggies into larger than bite sized bits, keeping in mind that the smaller you cut them the faster they'll cook. Toss with olive or canola oil, chopped garlic, thyme, salt, garlic salt, season salt, lemon pepper, pepper, cumin, rosemary, or some combination of these (or others).

Spread out on cookie sheet and roast at 400-450 degrees until tender, tossing the vegetables around on the cookie sheet occasionally so they don't burn. Generally 20-ish minutes.

That's it. Something about roasting brings out the best in the flavors of the vegetables. Plus, you can mix it up so it's different every time. :)

Potato and Roasted Veggie Salad

Alright ladies... I stumbled upon this today in looking online for a new salad to try. It is delicious! I assume you could use bottled roasted veggies, but I opted to take the 30 minutes and roast my own. The red onion ends up so sweet and delicious, and I'm not even an onion lover. I did make a few changes, summarized below:

1. I left the olives out of the salad and the dressing, because they are gross. Yuck!

2. I don't know what purple peruvian potatoes are and I had red potatoes on hand, so that's what I used.

3. In the dressing, I'm not sure what that special kind of mustard is, so I just used dijon mustard and it tasted great.

4. I heart cilantro! So I probably added closer to 1/8-1/4 cup instead of the teaspoon it called for.

5. I used olive oil instead of canola.

6. To increase the shelf life I didn't combine the potato veggie mix with the lettuce. I just reserved some of the dressing so that I could add a bit more when I served it with the lettuce over several days. But I'm sure it'd be good to mix it all together if you knew you'd be eating it all in one meal.

7. Lastly, I baked some salmon to serve in the salad as well. Yum!

Enjoy! Thank you Food Network!

White Bean Chicken Chili

(From: Giada At Home - Giada de Laurentiis)

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 pounds ground chicken (I used leftover Thanksgiving turkey and it was delicious!)
* 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
* 2 tablespoons ground cumin
* 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
* 1 tablespoon dried oregano
* 2 teaspoons chili powder
* 3 tablespoons flour
* 2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces (I left this out because certain members of my family wouldn't eat it if I added it, but I'm sure it'd be delicious... I was also thinking of using spinach, but it probably wouldn't hold up as well as the swiss chard)
* 11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
* 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
* Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I added this to simmer, rather than garnishing with it at the end)

Directions

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. (The simmering is super important before you start adding more seasoning... you need to give the fennel seeds time to work their magic.) Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Delicious!