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Archive for February, 2011

Spicy Cheddar Muffins

Posted in Sides (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , on February 27, 2011 | 1 Comment »

First, I would like to thank Theraflu for this post, because without thee, I would still be hacking up a storm and be even more cranky than I am in general (Yes, that is possible).

I’ve spent the past week unabashedly eating Girl Scout cookies by the sleeve (Have you tried the Lemonades? Holy Jesus!).  So in penance, I decided to rid my pantry of all things that are not fruits or veggies.  I had a ton of leftover cheddar cheese from making my Shepherd’s Pie and I needed to do something with it quick.  Shredded cheddar and peanut butter are on the list of things I am not allowed to have in the house because I will attack them with a spoon or my face.  Or both.  Multiple times.  I did some research on making savory muffins and I combined a bunch of recipes together here.  I made a few major changes in relation to the recipes I’ve read, including decreasing the size, using a 12 muffin tin and using almond milk.  I wanted to use almond milk, not only because I had it in the house, but because it is 1/3rd the calories of milk and has vitamin E (for my luscious locks).  This is a very clean palate recipe–you can switch up the cheddar with any cheese, add some dried herbs instead of cayenne, or even switch up your choice of hot pepper.  Please enjoy.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
  • 1 egg
  • 1-1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk  (You can use regular milk. However, unsweetened almond milk is only 40 calories per cup, compared to regular whole milk at 150 calories.)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

In a bowl, whisk the egg, milk and oil.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Stir in cheese.

Fill muffins cups lined with paper liners or coated with cooking spray two-thirds full.

Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Each muffin is around 150 calories.

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Shepherd’s Pie

Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , , on February 22, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Every woman needs an arsenal of man foods.  I’m not saying these are foods that we ladies can’t enjoy, but ones that are especially impressive to make for a man.  However, since I am the queen of awkward, I find a way not to put enough meat in the pie and I make Shepherd’s Pie soup, but that’s a different story.  Enjoy some Shepherd’s Pie, man optional.

Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
  • 4 ounces Neuchâtel cheese
  • Splash half and half
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup of shredded cheddar (optional)
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried and crushed rosemary leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried and crushed thyme leaves
  • 1, 10 ounce, box of frozen mixed vegetables, preferably corn, peas, green beans and the like

Directions:

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, Neuchâtel cheese, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk and optional cheddar until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and saute just until it begins to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the beef, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the frozen veggies to the beef mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula.

I was on the phone with the girlfriend while piping the potatoes.  So sue me.

Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

This man couldn’t keep his hands out of the pie.

Luckily he’s cute, so I forgive him.

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Curried Lentil Soup

Posted in Main Dishes (For The Low Cal Left Brain), tagged , , on February 16, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Lentils are the Jillian Michaels of seedy things, a powerhouse–just a little less angry looking.  They have a ton of protein, fiber and iron and are very filling.  I saw this recipe on Oh She Glows and stared at it for way too long before I could find the time to make it.  My apartment may reek of curry, but it’s totally worth it.  This soup is awesome and so inexpensive to make.  Not to mention, it’s completely vegan.

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1.5 cups chopped onion (approx 1 medium onion)
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1.5-2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 cup uncooked green lentils, rinsed and picked over
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • Kosher salt & black pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet or pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and carrot and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes or so.

Add finely chopped garlic and stir until vegetables are soft but not brown, about 5 minutes longer. Reduce heat if necessary to avoid burning.

Add curry powder. I started with 1.5 tablespoons. Now, add the rinsed uncooked lentils and 4 cups water. Season with a sprinkle of kosher salt and pepper, add in lemon juice, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

When lentils are tender, blend half the soup in the blender and return to pot with unblended soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and additional curry powder, if desired.

 


Makes 4 servings at around 200 calories each.

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Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch

Posted in Sides (For the High Cal Right Brain, tagged , , on February 8, 2011 | 1 Comment »

First, Happy Birthday Little Mommies!  You be old :) .

Alright kids, it’s story time.  One cold, rainy, ice stormy, day in February, seemingly like all the others in 2011, a young Twofacedchef set out to make a Cap’n Crunch-laden cookies at the request of her compatriots for a Super Bowl party.  She measured, she poured, and mixed to her heart’s content.  She found herself tasting the wonderful peanuttery batter and oohing and aahing over the flavor and texture.  She put the cookies in the oven and they baked and browned and were removed and then something terrible happened…they tasted awful!  This young broad was overcome with sorrow, knowing that many were waiting for said cookie and that they would be sorely disappointed.  She let the cookies cool and wrapped them up to bring anyways  to share as a flop or maybe become cat food.  The next morning said “chef” was woken by a squeal of delight!  Her roommate thought the cookies were delicious and did not understand the Twofacedchef’s dismay.  The cautious chef reached out and tasted a cookie and cried in success!  The cookies were eaten and quickly became a favorite at the Super Bowl party.

The moral of this story?  Do not judge a cookie before it cools.  And like world peace or something.

Due to my upset nature over the cookie, I violently deleted the photos.  Here is the recipe and some wonderful pictures if you would like to try the recipe.  http://picky-palate.com/2010/06/10/capn-crunch-peanut-butter-cookie-stackers/

Oh, and I doubled the amount of Cap’n Crunch because I’m a lush.  So sue me.

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Kalamata Olive and Rosemary Bread

Posted in Sides (For the High Cal Right Brain, tagged , on February 2, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Hi everyone.  This is Little Mommies guest posting again for two reasons:  One–Jess has been working 24/7 and has had no time to cook.  And two–I made this amazing bread, but it has olives in it.  Unfortunately, Jess is olivephopic and doesn’t condone this post, so I am the designated writer.  This is a wonderful, no knead, rustic, yeast bread that can be prepared and risen the day before and baked fresh the same day as serving.  It is quite flavorful with specks of salty olives throughout and just a hint of rosemary.  Absolutely delicious.  I made this bread for Sassy Sindy’s (To meet Sassy Sindy, click here: http://twofacedchef.com/2010/12/12/aunt-sindys-sassy-spears/) annual New Year’s Day Brunch.  Since I didn’t want to get up at 3am to make the homemade yeast bread that Sassy Sindy requested, I adapted this recipe to the food processor and allowed it to do its third rising overnight in the refrigerator; thus enabling me to do all the hard work the day before.  This is a great project for all of you who are stuck home in the snow/ice storms that are assaulting our country.

 

 

Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/mediterranean-black-olive-bread/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup Kalamata black olives, drained and dried
  • 1 tablespoon rosemary
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/4 cups warm water (110 degrees F)
  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal

 

Lightly oil a large bowl with olive oil.

In food processor fitted with steel blade, measure in flour, yeast, sugar, salt, olives, rosemary, and olive oil.  Pulse 3 times to mix.

Add water through feed tube while machine is running. 

Process for about 20 seconds or until dough forms a ball.  Do not overprocess or the heat of the machine can kill the yeast.

If dough feels too sticky, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour and pulse a few times to incorporate.  Do not overmix.

Transfer dough to prepared bowl.  Cover with a dish towel and set aside in a warm place and let rise about 45 minutes.

 

After rising, punch down dough, shape it into a round and place back in bowl and let rise until double in size, about 30 to 45 minutes.

 

 This is what it looks like after the second rise.

  Lightly oil baking sheet and dust with cornmeal.

 

Gently turn loaf out onto pan.  Gently brush with very little olive oil.  Cover with a dish towel and place in refrigerator to rise overnight.

 

Take bread out of refrigerator for one to two hours before baking to warm up. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  While oven is preheating, put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven.  The steam the water creates in the oven helps create a crunchy crust. Bake loaf at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees. Bake for 30 more minutes, or until done. Cover bread with foil if it starts to brown too quickly.  The bread is done when it is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom with your fingers.  Yes, it hurts to test the hot bread!  Let bread cool on a rack for about 15 minutes before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  Makes 1 loaf.

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