Platinum Chef 4 Inspired Recipe

I don't know that I'll officially enter Platinum Chef Challenge 4, although mole would have been a perfect way to use the remaining ingredients after this creation I am presenting here today. I just never got around to figuring out how to make it (though a call to my future mother-in-law would have probably done the trick). I will, however, present my PCC4 inspired recipes over the next few days (provided they turn out good!).

I start with an original recipe, which is a huge leap for me. It was an even bigger leap because I have never cooked with sweet potatoes before, and have maybe only eaten them once in my life. This took about three batches to get it where I wanted it. I tend to be my own worst food critic, so I still feel like I should be improving on it somewhere, but I presented it to my fiance this morning. He said it was "Good", but then went back for a second one, which is a more telling sign than saying it's good. :-)

Cheesy Spicey Sweet Potato Muffins

• 1 egg, beaten


• ¼ cup milk (I used 2%)


• 2 tbsp nonfat plain yogurt


• ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce


• 2 tbsp sugar


• 1 cup flour


• ¾ cup cornmeal


• 1 1/3 tbsp baking powder


• ½ tsp salt


• 1 ½ tsp chili powder


• 1 cup sweet potato, shredded


• ¼ cup cheddar cheese, shredded (I used low fat cheddar made with 2% milk)


• ½ cup Monterey jack with jalapeno cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 425F. Combine first four ingredients in medium sized bowl. Add sugar, mix. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and chili powder, mixing to combine. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing just until fully incorporated. Add the sweet potatoes and cheese, mixing just until evenly distributed through batter. I use foil muffin liners because I don’t have a muffin pan, and filled them approximately ¾ full, which made about 10 muffins. Bake for 20 minutes.

Servings Per Recipe: 10
Calories: 170 Fat: 5.5g Saturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 34mg Sodium: 435mg Potassium: 93mg Total Carbs: 24g Fiber: 1.5g Protein: 6.7g

Requested Each Weekend....

While my fiance claims not to have that much of a sweet tooth, I stumbled across a brownie recipe that he just can't get enough of. Literally. Each weekend, I ask, "What do you want me to bake for you?" The answer is always "Brownies." I found the recipe on the Nestle site, after he made a request for caramel brownies one weekend. Through his preferences, I've tweaked the recipe a bit, so I'll post it here, along with my advice on dealing with this batter.

Chocolate... no, Butterscotch Caramel Brownies

• 1 pkg. (18.25 oz.) chocolate cake mix (I use German Chocolate cake mix)


• 1 cup chopped nuts


• 1 cup evaporated milk, divided (I find one 5 oz can is the perfect amount)


• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted


• 35 (10-oz. pkg.) caramels, unwrapped


• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate morsels (I use one 11 oz bag of butterscotch morsels)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. (I use my 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper. I try to place portions of batter around the pan, then use my hands to even it out and cover the bottom.) Bake for 15 minutes. Heat caramels and remaining evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture. Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture. (I take portions of it in my hand, flatten it out as if I am making a burger, then place them around the pan, covering as much of the surface as I can). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 24 squares. (Since I am working with 8x8, I cut it into 16 squares).

After making them so many times, I am starting to think the top of the brownies needs something, so I think I'll start experimenting with some sort of topping. :-)

Nutella Cupcakes

W-o-w. I'd heard people talking about Nutella before, and how amazing it is, but when faced with such fanaticism for something, I tend to be turned off to it (HP included!). Well, The Nest/What's Cooking also has its legions of Nutella fans, but after actually seeing things made with this stuff, I decided it was time to give in and just try it.

My first adventure in Nutella Land (aside from, of course, eating it off a spoon) was Nutella Cupcakes, from ladymcbth on What's Cooking.

Nutella Frosted Cupcakes

• 10 tbsp(140 grams) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cups (200 grams) sifted ap flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Nutella, approx. 1/3 cup

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Cream together butter and sugar until light, 2 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time, until fully incorporated. Don't worry if the batter doesn't look smooth. Add vanilla. Stir in flour, salt and baking powder until batter is uniform and no flour remains. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin liner with batter. They should be 3/4 full, if you're not using a scoop. Top each cake with 1 1/2 tsp Nutella. Swirl Nutella in with a toothpick, making sure to fold a bit of batter up over the nutella. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes 12.

BBFCCCC

Another Nestie Legend: Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie piqued my interest yesterday. My mom's chocolate chip cookies are famous in my family, and I have always wondered about how other people make them, and if any of those recipes would compare. This one gives her a run for her money. These cookies are awesome!

I decided to make the recipe as is, but before adding the chips, divide the dough in half to make a BBFCCCC cousin...

Let me present to you, the BBFC-PBOCMM-C (or Best Big, Fat, Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Coconut M&M Cookie). :-)

I wasn't measuring (gasp!) when I added those extras, but for about 1/2 the dough, I added somewhere between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of chunky peanut butter, coconut and oatmeal, and maybe 1/3 cup mini M&M's. The peanut butter and M&M's were just right, but next time I'll add more coconut and oatmeal. Yes, my kitchen will definitely be graced with their presence again!

Blondies!

I LOVE blondies. I'm not so big on chocolate, and typical brownies have no allure for me, but give me a blondie and I'm set. I decided to make this recipe from Baking Blonde, as it was recommended by many. I was hesitant when removing them from the oven (the recipe stresses not to overbake them) because they seemed too gooey to be "done", but I wanted them to be right because I planned on sharing them with friends. I was assured that 'gooey' is just what they are supposed to be. mmmmmmm :-)




Basic Blondies
Source: Baking Blonde

• 8 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla or 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• pinch salt
• 1 cup flour
• Add ins: ½ to 1 cup of: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, chopped up candy bars, etc. (I used about 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, 1/3 cup white chocolate morsels, 1/3 cup butterscotch morsels)
  

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8x8" pan. Mix melted butter with brown sugar-beat until smooth. Beat in egg and then vanilla. Add salt, Stir in flour. Mix in any additions. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes (err on the side of caution, do NOT over bake these babies) or until set in the middle. Cool on rack before cutting.

Spicy Garlic Lime Chicken

This recipe is becoming legendary on What's Cooking, and given my fiance's enjoyment for anything spicy, garlicy, or limey, I knew it would be a hit at our house. I was right. :-)

I think the only thing I changed from her recipe was to also add a little crushed red pepper to the sauce (since he loves it and thinks it belongs in everything).

This was SO good. I was worried that there wouldn't enough sauce, but it just clings to the pasta like nothing else. SO GOOD!

Cheesy Baked Tortellini

Tonight I made something I know my fiance enjoys: Giada's Cheesy Baked Tortellini.  It's a gooey comfort dish that always hits the spot for us.  I have found that we like to use a little more cheese and add in some ground turkey or chicken, whatever we have on hand, to add some extra protein.  

Cheesy Baked Tortellini
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

• Olive oil or cooking spray
• 2 cups marinara sauce, we like to use Puttanesca sauce
• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley or 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 8 ounces purchased cheese tortellini
• 6 ounces thinly sliced fresh mozzarella 
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8x8x2-inch baking dish.  Brown the ground turkey or chicken in a skillet over medium heat, until no longer pink. Meanwhile, whisk the sauce, mascarpone cheese, parsley and thyme in a large bowl to blend. Cook the tortellini in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain. Add the tortellini and browned meat to the sauce and toss to coat. Transfer the tortellini mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top the mixture with the smoked mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheeses on top melt, about 30 minutes.

Here is mine, ready for the oven:

And fresh out of the oven....

aaaaand on the plate:


YUM :-)

What to do with Bananas, Week 2

Ok, so AGAIN I ended up with nearly-over-ripe bananas. This week I had another recipe in the queue - Amber's Banana Roll with Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Filling. I didn't change anything except adding a little extra banana (I used two bananas). Oh, I also used half fat free and half 'regular' cream cheese. This was REALLY good. I shared this with friends - and got a recipe request!

What to do with Bananas, Week 1

So this weekend I had the inevitable nearly-over-ripe banana situation. I did a little perusing and decided to make Deborah's White Chocolate Banana Cake. The only modification I did was to use 1/2 Butterscotch morsels and 1/2 White Chocolate morsels. It was delicious! This one will certainly remain in the "ripe banana" recipe rotation.


I must have been on a Deborah 'kick' because I was also intrigued by her Toffee Coconut Cookies. There were a few changes to this, I used half 'light' butter and half regular butter, as I have been experimenting with lately. (So far so good). I had Heath bar to break up for the toffee part, so with the chocolate there I decided to substitute the chocolate chips with (again) butterscotch morsels.


These were also a hit! Both desserts were shared with friends and devoured in short order. Both will be made again!

New Love for Butternut Squash

Growing up, I HATED butternut squash. There wasn't enough cinnamon (or mashed potatoes for that matter) in the world to get me to eat mine. It was torture for my mother trying to me to "finish my vegetables" when squash was involved.

I haven't had butternut in years, but I was drawn to Cara's fries-made-from-sqaush. Today, I bought a butternut squash for the first time ever. I never saw my mom prepare it, so I didn't even know what it looked like inside (and I was, for some reason, surprised!). Well, as Cara suggests, I parboiled first. Then I dabbed with evoo and sprinkled with some homemade Essence. (Looking at Cara's blog, I now realized I didn't put them in the ice bath after parboiling.... no worries, they were no worse for wear). I fired up non-other than my toaster oven (just lazy, really) and put them at about 375 degrees F for maybe 20 minutes.

These are SERIOUSLY good. I don't know if it's just because essence may quite effectively void all other flavors, but it did NOT taste like my mother's butternut squash. There is a new squash lover out there, all thanks to Cara.