Granola

It has been a few days of cooking.  Beginning with homemade pizza on Friday and then Sweet Cabbage on Saturday and Grilled Clams Casino, Steak au Poivre and the granola on Sunday.  All recipes worked as planned; all wonderful.  There was one miss on Saturday; we attempted to make homemade Ricotta from a recipe found in a magazine a few months ago.  We followed the recipe right down to the cheesecloth strainer but to our surprise the milk never formed a curd.  I guess we will give it another try in the near future.

Back to the granola.  Usually you make something like this and it is okay but not worthy of the effort; as it is pretty much the same as the store bought stuff.  Not with this recipe.  We were surprised by the crunchy, delicious, not too sweet results.  This is definitely a keeper.  The only problem turned out to be that you have to put it away as soon as it cools or it seems to disappear from the cookie sheet each time you pass it on the counter.  I suggest a double batch.  You can freeze it; that’s if you hide it fast enough.

Teresa's Oatmeal Cookies

Just before I left for my very brief trip to NJ a couple of weeks ago I got a message from my brother-in-law to bring some “finger food” desserts for a family gathering.  I don’t know about you but I would prefer larger desserts as they take less time and effort to make.  Biting the bullet I decided on some very good brownies, chocolate macaroon jam tarts, some individual fruit tarts and at the last minute some of these cookies.

They are called Teresa’s Oatmeal Cookies, named for a friend and fellow cook, who gave me the recipe.  These are without a doubt the best oatmeal cookies you will ever try.  Very easy to make and the best part is they travel well; unlike my individual tarts that arrived in NJ looking more like individual tartlets.  Make these, stand back and watch them disappear.

Mixed Berry Tart

During a quick trip to New Jersey last week I got into a discussion about recipes and how Charlie Trotter, of Chicago fame, once said he never strives to make the same recipe exactly the same each time.  The reasons for this is the ingredients might change, or if you cook like me, adverse to measuring, you may add more or less of something.  The other topic that came up is “cooking like a French farmer’s wife”, this means using ingredients you have on hand.  With this in mind we had a dinner party Sunday night, comfort food really: pot roast, roasted potatoes and carrots.  For dessert I had some berries in the frig and decided to make a cake using them.  Borrowing the basic recipe for a Cranberry Cake on the site at emealsforyou.com, I made the cake without the cranberries and used the berries.  A quick dusting of finishing sugar and we had a spectacular, both visually and taste-wise, finish to a good, cold-weather meal with friends.

Sea Bass

Okay, so we have all decided this is the month, this is the day, this is the hour that we get healthier.  Our time to change our lifestyle and make a deference is here.  You don’t have to go “drastic”, you do have to change the way you eat.  The whole method is to limit the amount of food you eat.  Portion control is the answer.  This doesn’t mean bland food and constant hunger.  This means balanced meals; why shouldn’t these be great tasting meals as well.

At emealsforyou.com we offer many remedies, we take the work out of your “diet.”   We have categories to make you successful in your efforts without alienating the entire family along the way.  Our healthy, easy recipes and meal planning provide you with all that you will need to accomplish your goal.  With categories like Diet Friendly, WOW (Watching Our Waists) and even special needs programs for Diabetic Healthy, Gluten Free and more; coupled with our automatic recipe calculator (how many people are you  feeding)  we make it easy to get the whole family involved.  Pick the recipe / meal, determine the number you are feeding, and print a shopping list; for one meal or several weeks’ worth.  As they say, ” It is what we do.”  Cooking something else for the kids, we have recipes / meals that they will love.

The bottom line is why pay for a program that costs you an arm and a leg, when you only want to lose a little weight.  Cooking at home can not only save you money, the food is tastier and healthier than the frozen entrees they send you.  All this for a yearly subscription of $17.95, less than a dollar and a half per month; we are the best bargain around.  Click here to sign Up NOW!  Take control of your family’s well-being.

P.S. any firm white fish will work in the recipe below.

Beef Rib Roast

The diet starts on Tuesday, oh yes that would be today.  Why not finish the year with something special.  I have been thinking about a rib roast for a month or so.  New Year’s Eve seemed that the perfect night to make the perfect rib roast.  With rib roast you can either choose to cook it at a low temperature and slow or high and fast.  Having used this method before it seemed like the right thing to do; cooking it in our, rather Grandmother Story’s, 100-year-old dutch oven.  This time I decided to put some whole garlic cloves into the meat prior to cooking.  Simply push a paring knife into the meat and then push the garlic clove into the hole.  If you look closely at the photo you will see one of those cloves sneaking out.

So, before your diet starts or maybe for that special meal give this a try.  I am sure you will really enjoy it.  Match it with a Caesar Salad and a good bottle of wine.

Baked Tenderloin of Beef

We had a request for Beef Tenderloin from one of the kids for our family Christmas dinner.  With all the high energy activities around opening gifts and catching up on the latest news, I wanted a meal that was great but also one that would not require constant attention.  My mother-in-law has always told me that she just bakes the whole beef tenderloin, regardless of the weight for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.  This will produce a moist and medium rare roast; perfect.

Who doesn’t love a recipe that requires very little work and produces the above results, not to mention tons of compliments.  Remember to allow the roast to rest for 20 minutes after cooking and before carving.  We did twice baked potatoes, another do ahead and forget trick and peas.  Dessert was the Cranberry Cake from our website at emealsforyou.com.

Peanut Brittle

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Hazelnut Toffee and homemade Holiday gifts.  I went a little overboard this year and made about 6 different candies to package in special tins to distribute to our neighbors and friends.  I gave you the recipe for the toffee but neglected to provide the easy recipe for this Microwave Peanut Brittle.  Weather you make the toffee or the brittle or any one of the other great and easy recipes found on our website, emealsforyou.com, the important thing is to begin a family tradition that harkens back to when homemade treats provided a sense of community.

Think beyond the typical fudge recipes. This recipe takes less than 15 minutes to make and the gift recipients will remember it long after the tin is empty.

Microwave Peanut Brittle

CAUTION: This recipe is very hot and extreme caution should be used to avoid burns!
Combine the corn syrup and sugar in a 1 ½ quart microwave proof baking dish. Stir until blended. Microwave 4 minutes. Stir in the nuts, Microwave for 4 minutes until light brown. Stir in butter and vanilla. Microwave 2 minutes. Quickly pour onto a lightly greased baking sheet. Allow to cool and break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
Makes about 1 pound.

Get the gift idea recipes at emealsforyou.com

Ed's Breakfast Pizza

With the holidays coming one struggle is to find new and different dishes to serve.  On a recent trip to NJ we made a side stop at a cousin’s house for a much needed relaxing brunch.  Pat and Ed served this wonderful breakfast pizza.  Beyond the great presentation, this pizza is overflowing with flavor.

The next time you are looking for something a little outside of the box to serve give this special pizza a try.

Ed’s Breakfast Pizza

Thinly slice the onions, zucchini and tomatoes. Cut the bacon in 1/2 inch pieces, lightly brown, set aside. Heat oil in a pan, reserving 1 Tb, add the onions and zucchini, saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Spread the tomatoes, zucchini and onions evenly over the pre-baked pizza crust, leaving 1/2 inch border. Top with the mozzarella, spread the bacon evenly on top. Make 4 pockets in the toppings, break eggs into the pockets. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tb of oil, bake at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes until the eggs are done. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Great addition to a brunch.

More breakfast ideas at emealsforyou.com.

Hazelnut Toffee

With Thanksgiving behind us we turn our attention to Christmas.  This year we will make several homemade treats as gift packages for friends and family.  We have opted for Spicy Pecans, Cashew Brittle, Cranberry Biscotti and jars of homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.  These will be paired with the Hazelnut Toffee to make attractive and very edible gifts.

Be sure to make enough of each as it mystically disappears from the kitchen when no one is looking.

Hazelnut Toffee

Toast nuts in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, remove immediately, cool and roll in a towel to remove husk. Place in plastic bag and hit with a flat pan to crush.

Prepping the chocolate- Place chocolate bits in a small food processor and chop into small pieces.

In a medium size, heavy pot place the butter, sugar, water and honey, heat over high heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 290-300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Immediately add the crushed nuts, remove from heat, and stir. Pour on a greased cookie sheet (11 X 17), spread out evenly and sprinkle the chocolate on top, when the chocolate melts sprinkle the ground nuts on top. Cool and store in airtight containers.

CAUTION: This is not a project you make with your kids. The sugar reaches 300 degrees and is very dangerous if handled improperly.

Find the easily made and wonderful homemade treats at emealsforyou.com.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Thanksgiving is over.  Time to turn our thoughts to Christmas. This wonderful coffee cake recipe comes by way of our neighbor, Mark.  Mark is from New England and has some really great recipes for baked goods.  Most, like this one are easy to put together and use a minimum of ingredients.  We made this to fill in at our breakfasts during the holiday and most certainly will make it again for our guests at Christmas.

With or without coffee this cake is special.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Have the butter at room temperature. Cream the sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla together. In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. With the mixer on slow, alternately add the sour cream and the dry mixture to the wet mixture until smooth. Mix the second brown sugar and cinnamon together. Spoon half the batter into a greased bundtl cake pan. Spoon half the cinnamon mixture on top and then put the remaining cake batter on top, followed by the remaining cinnamon mixture.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 -55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Try Mark”s blueberry muffins at emealsforyou.com.