Broccoli stir fry

This was so easy and quick!  I already had the spaghetti noodles cooked and in the frig.  

Ingredients:

16 oz. spaghetti

2 TB olive oil, for saute

1 bag pre-cut broccoli

1 red pepper, diced

1-inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled, smashed, and rough chopped

6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed, and rough chopped

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1 TB toasted sesame oil

6 scallion, sliced on the diagonal (for cuteness)

2-3 TB sliced almonds

2 TB sesame seeds

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to directions on the box.  Steam broccoli for 3-5 minutes, or just until it changes color and is still crisp and set aside.  While spaghetti is cooking, bring chicken broth to a boil and add honey.  When the honey had dissolved, add the teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and reduce to simmer.  In a small skillet, heat olive oil and saute ginger, peppers, and garlic for a few minutes.  Add garlic mixture to chicken broth pan and give it a couple of good stirs.  If you like your sauce thick, you can add a little cornstarch to thicken it.  If not, plate up your noodles and top with broccoli and sauce.  Garnish with almonds and/or sesame seeds and scallions.  You could also toast the sesame seeds first in a dry skillet to bring out the flavor.  Delish!

DIY Shea butter cream

***UPDATE***  I updated this cream by adding a little more olive oil, 3 TB of sweet almond oil, and re-melted everything.  When it cooled, I whipped it up and here's what I got:

It looks just like meringue!!!!!!
It has a light, lemony color to it.  Smooth as silk too!

Recently I've been experimenting with making my own lotions, creams and lip balm.  This is a nice alternative to my favorite hand lotion, which by the way, is LOADED with ingredients I can't even pronounce.  The nice thing about this is you can make it whatever scent you like!  I love orange or lavender.  

Ingredients:

1 cup Shea butter (I got mine at Whole Foods)

3 oz. olive oil (I just used what I had in the cupboard)

1 tsp. vitamin E oil ( Trader Joes)

essential oil of your choice

Directions:

Slowly heat the Shea butter in a saucepan until it almost melts completely.  Add the olive oil and vitamin E oil.  Remove from the stove and cool until it starts to solidify.  Whip the mixture with your mixer until light and fluffy.  Add a few drops of essential oils at the end of whipping.  Store in a glass jar.  

**NOTE**  I have also made this using 1/2 cup Shea butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil (in solid form)  

Pepperoni bread

This is so yummy!  It's like a pizza "loaf".  Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp. sugar in the raw
1 tsp. sea salt
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
1/3 cup whole milk or half-n-half
3/4 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
2 eggs, room temp
2 TBL olive oil
1 small can tomato paste
1 cup Mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan blend
1 stick pepperoni, rough chopped (found in the deli)
2 TB unsalted butter, melted
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

In a mixer bowl combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Set aside.  In a saucepan, combine milk and 3/4 stick butter and heat over low until melted.  Remove from heat and cool to 120 degrees.  Pour milk mixture over flour mixture.  Stir a few times with a spatula, then mix with a dough hook for about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs and mix for 3 more minutes.  Stop the mixer and add 1/2 cup flour and mix for another 2 or so minutes.  Add more flour by the tablespoon as needed until dough is soft, but slightly sticky.  Lightly flour a work surface and turn dough onto your surface, kneading a few times.  Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with a towel and let rest in a warm place till dough doubles in size.   Make your tomato sauce while the dough rises.  Add the tomato paste, water and some spices in a bowl.  You can use whatever spices you like, I just happen to be on a thyme kick right now!  Mix thoroughly until it is the thickness you like.   Gently deflate the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface.  Melt 2 TB butter in a small saucepan and add minced garlic.  Saute' for a few minutes and remove from heat.  Roll out your dough ball while the butter is melting and the garlic is being sauteed.  Roll into a rectangle shape, maybe 1/4 in thin.  Brush dough with garlic butter.  Brush tomato sauce on top of the garlic butter.  Sprinkle with cheese and chopped pepperoni.  I just sliced my pepperoni thick, then rough chopped it into chunks.  Next, I used my loaf pan as a "measuring guide" to cut my dough into strips.  I cut the dough into 5 equal strips width wise.  Then, stack the strips on top of one another.  At this point, cut the stacks of dough into 4 pieces, so you have nice little stacks of square dough.  Lightly oil a 9"X 5" loaf pan.  I love, love, love my stoneware loaf pan for pepperoni bread!  Now place the stacks of dough in the loaf pan so they are touching one another as shown below.

Preheat the oven to 350 and cover the dough with a towel and let it rise until it is above the top of the pan.  As you can see, there is room at each end of the loaf.  That's OK because the dough will rise and fill the pan.  It should rise for an hour or so, till doubled in size, depending on how warm your kitchen is.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven, and brush with any leftover garlic butter you may have had and bake for another 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.  Turn the loaf upside down onto a plate and pull apart to serve.  Y-U-M!

Corn casserole

This is such a great side dish!   If you love corn, this is right up your alley!  It's easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

2 cans creamed corn

1/2 stick butter, melted

1 egg

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

2/3 cup sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 2QT casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Mix all ingredients, pour into casserole dish, and bake for 45-55 min.   Y-U-M!

Creamy mashed potatoes

The secret?  Cream cheese!

Who doesn't love potatoes?  Especially if they house little craters of butter?!  Two of my favorite ingredients!  The secret is the cream cheese!  I have tried sour cream, which you could also add, but the cream cheese works great!

Ingredients:

5 lbs Idaho, or Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and quartered

2 (8oz each) packages cream cheese

sea salt, pepper

1/2 - 1 stick unsalted butter

1/2-3/4 cup milk

Wash, peel and quarter potatoes and place in a large pot of water.  They should fit in an 8 QT stock pot.  Boil till fork tender.  Drain and return to the pot with the heat OFF.  Add cream cheese, milk, butter, salt and pepper and mash with a hand masher.  Or you could just use a mixer and beat them till they are of a consistency you like.  I like them thick and creamy.  After mixing, I dot the top with butter so they form these cute little craters.  YUM!!  You can do these the day before and just heat in the oven when you have available oven space.

Honey roasted squash

Oh how I love squash.  Any kind, any way.  This is an awesome side dish for Thanksgiving.  I would also use it for squash risotto or for squash soup.  I always use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the seeds.

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, quartered
1 acorn squash, quartered
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
2 TB rosemary, chopped
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Clean, scoop and rinse squash.  Line a cookie sheet with foil. (shiny side DOWN)  Place quartered squash on the cookie sheet, skin side down and drizzle with olive oil.  Put about a half inch of water on the cookie sheet as well, it will help keep the squash moist.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  While the squash is baking, make a paste with the honey, brown sugar, rosemary, and butter.  Brush honey mixture on the squash (save a little for the end) and return to the oven to roast for another 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and gooey.

Artisan bread

This is so easy!  Recipe adapted from Natasha's Kitchen.  This version is a no knead recipe.  I think the next time I make it (which will be very soon!), I'll add some rosemary to the dough.

Ingredients:.
1 1/2 half cup warm water ( 100- 115 degrees)

1/2 TB salt
1/2 TB sugar (I used sugar in the raw)
3/4 TB yeast
3 1/4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 TB cornmeal 
plus extra flour for dusting

Directions:

Add sugar and salt to a large bowl.  Add water and sprinkle in yeast.  Let sit a couple of minutes, then mix well.  Measure out and add flour.  Stir until well blended.  Let sit 2 hours  in a warm place till it is 2-3 times the size.  Turn dough onto a floured surface and fold dough over twice.  Sprinkle cornmeal onto counter (or surface you are working on)  and place dough on top of cornmeal.  Let sit uncovered 40 minutes.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Make 3 slits with a very sharp knife in the top of the dough ball.  Fill a pan (not glass!) with 1 cup hot water and place on the BOTTOM rack of the oven.  Place the dough ball on a pizza stone, or a lightly greased cookie sheet turned upside down.  Bake at 450 for 20- 25 minutes or until golden brown.  I use a pizza stone that has been very well seasoned.

The browner or blacker the stone, the better!  

Let cool before cutting!  Enjoy!!