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Archive for September, 2010

Chicken Sausage Sandwiches

Posted in Easy Weeknight Meals, Main Dish, Meat, Sandwiches, Sausage, tagged , , on September 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Chicken Sausage Sandwiches

This sandwich has the perfect balance of sausage, vegetables, cheese, and bread. This was the first time I made this using ciabatta rolls, and we loved how well the ciabatta worked with the sandwich. It toasted up nicely under the broiler, and there was just the right amount of bread to hold the rest of the sandwich ingredients. (Sometimes we find that other sandwich rolls are too large, so you end up with some bites that are just bread and no filling.)

I like to use sweet Italian chicken sausage for this sandwich, but you could use any kind of sausage that you enjoy. I served a green salad alongside the sandwiches. Fruit salad would be a great side dish as well.

Chicken Sausage Sandwiches

4 Servings

Ingredients:

  • 4 chicken sausages (I like Trader Joe’s Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage)
  • Olive oil
  • 1 red bell pepper, sliced
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • 1-2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
  • Slices of Monterey jack cheese
  • 4 sandwich rolls

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place sausages on a baking sheet and bake until cooked through, turning once halfway through. (I usually cook them about 40-45 minutes.)
  2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute bell peppers and red onion until tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add balsamic vinegar to the pan and continue to saute, stirring, about 2 minutes more. Remove veggies from heat.
  3. Slice sandwich rolls in half and place on a baking sheet, with the insides of the rolls facing up. Toast rolls under the broiler for a few minutes until they just begin to brown. Watch them closely so they don’t burn.
  4. Assemble the sandwiches by placing chicken sausages (sliced lengthwise), veggies, and cheese on each sandwich roll.

Kristine’s Kitchen original recipe

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Peaches n’ Cream Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Muffins, Scones, and other Pastries, tagged , , , on September 22, 2010 | 2 Comments »

Peaches n’ Cream Muffins

As soon as these muffins appeared in my Google Reader, I knew that I had to make them right away. I think it was the name, Peaches n’ Cream, that especially called to me. It reminds me of the instant oatmeal packets that I sometimes had for breakfast as a child; peaches n’ cream was always one of my favorite flavors. :)

I like how this recipe combines a cinnamon-flavored muffin, sweet peaches, and a creamy cream cheese filling. A cinnamon sugar topping adds the perfect finishing touch. As I type this, I am enjoying one of these muffins with a cup of tea- the perfect way to spend an early fall afternoon!

Peaches n’ Cream Muffins

Makes 6-8 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh peaches, peeled and chopped

Cream cheese filling:

  • 6 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Cinnamon-sugar- for sprinkling on muffins before baking

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners or spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Whisk in the sugar.
  3. In a separate medium bowl, mix canola oil, egg, milk, and vanilla together. Use a fork or whisk to combine well.
  4. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir, do not over mix. The batter will be thick. Carefully fold in the peaches.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, lemon zest, sugar and cinnamon. Mix until creamy and smooth. Fill each muffin cup halfway with batter, add a small spoonful of the cream cheese mixture, and then cover the cream cheese with the remaining batter. Sprinkle each muffin with cinnamon-sugar.
  6. Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove muffins from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod


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Dark Chocolate Truffle Caramel Swirl Ice Cream

Posted in Desserts, Ice Creams, Sorbets, and Frozen Yogurts, tagged , , , , on September 20, 2010 | 5 Comments »

Dark Chocolate Truffle Caramel Swirl Ice Cream

When I decided it was time to make a new flavor of ice cream, I knew that I wanted to start with a vanilla ice cream base. The challenge was to decide what mix-ins to add- chocolate truffles, peanut butter patties, caramel sauce, fudge sauce…there were just too many good options! I finally decided to go with dark chocolate truffles and caramel sauce, and oh my this ice cream is fabulous. Brad and I both agreed that this is our favorite flavor of homemade ice cream that I’ve made so far.

To make the job of making homemade dark chocolate truffles, caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream less daunting, I made each component on a different day. Creating each part by itself was a small task. I decided to use a non-custard based vanilla ice cream, because I didn’t want an overly rich result. The ice cream was very simple to make, with just cream, whole milk, sugar, salt, vanilla, and a vanilla bean as the ingredients.  With the truffles and caramel mixed in it was just right.

Dark Chocolate Truffle Caramel Swirl Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

  • Vanilla Ice Cream (recipe below)
  • Dark Chocolate Truffles (recipe below)
  • Caramel Sauce

Directions:

Immediately after churning the vanilla ice cream in your ice cream maker, gently mix in the chocolate truffles. Layer the ice cream mixture with the caramel sauce as you transfer it to a freezer-safe container. For best results, freeze in your freezer for a few hours before serving.

For the Vanilla Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups heavy cream, or 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Pour 1 cup of the heavy cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the pan and add the pod to the pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is dissolved.
  2. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 cups cream (or 1 cup cream and 1 cup milk). Add the vanilla extract and stir gently to combine.
  3. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean pod and then freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions.

For the Dark Chocolate Truffles

Makes forty 1/2-inch truffles*

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
  • 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Cognac, run, or other liquor or liqueur (I omitted this)

Directions:

  1. Heat the cream with the corn syrup in a small saucepan until it just begins to boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until it’s melted and the mixture is smooth.
  2. Mix in Cognac. Scrape the mixture into a small bowl and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
  3. Line a freezer-safe container with plastic wrap. Use a spoon to scrape off small bits of chocolate to form truffles, scraping the truffle mixture off with the other spoon. Freeze truffles until ready to use.

*I made my truffles a little smaller than this, and used about 2/3 of them in the ice cream. The rest I made into bigger truffles, some of which I rolled in cocoa powder and some in powdered sugar.

Recipes for Vanilla Ice Cream, Dark Chocolate Truffles, and Caramel Sauce are from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

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Caramel Sauce

Posted in Desserts, Sauces, tagged on September 18, 2010 | 11 Comments »

Caramel Sauce

I almost didn’t try this recipe. I had planned to make a new type of ice cream, which included a caramel swirl. First, I thought I’d make my own caramel sauce. Then I thought, no, I’ll just buy some because that will be easier. Finally I decided to just go for it and I’m so glad I did. It ended up being a lot of fun to make homemade caramel sauce! (And it wasn’t very difficult, either.)

The caramel sauce has an almost butterscotch-like flavor and goes really well with vanilla ice cream. If you are going to try this recipe, I suggest having all of your ingredients and tools ready before you begin. Measure out the heavy cream ahead of time, and have a whisk and potholders ready. When the melted sugar turns deep amber and just begins to smoke, you have to work very quickly to remove it from the heat and whisk in the cream right away, or the caramel will burn (I didn’t have a whisk ready and almost burned mine).

Here are a few photos of the process. My sister, Karen, was visiting, so she assisted in making the caramel and taking pictures. It’s so much fun to have a baking partner!

The sugar is just beginning to liquefy and turn golden. It took about 15 minutes for the sugar to completely melt and turn deep amber.

Whisking in the cream.

The finished caramel sauce-yum!

Caramel Sauce

Makes 1 1/2 cups

Note: The sugar gets very hot as it liquefies. Wear an oven mitt while stirring in the cream, and be careful not to look too closely into the pot because it may bubble up some.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In a large, deep, heavy-duty saucepan or Dutch oven, spread the sugar in an even layer. Cook the sugar over low to medium heat, watching it carefully. When it begins to liquefy and darken at the edges, use a heatproof spatula to very gently stir it to encourage even cooking.
  2. Tilt the pan and stir gently until all of the sugar is melted, and the caramel begins to smoke and turns a deep amber color. Immediately remove from the heat and whisk in half of the cream, which will steam and bubble up furiously. Carefully stir until the sugar is dissolved, then gradually whisk in the remaining cream and the salt and vanilla. If there are any bits of hardened sugar, whisk the sauce over low heat until smooth. Serve warm.

Storage: The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm it gently in the microwave or in a saucepan over very low heat. If the sauce is too thick, you can thin it by adding a small amount of milk or cream.

Recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

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Lemon Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Muffins, Scones, and other Pastries, tagged , on September 13, 2010 | 4 Comments »

Lemon Muffins

These lemon muffins are moist, light, and so tender that they just about melt in your mouth. The lemon flavor is mild and just right. The original recipe calls for adding 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds to the muffins, but I thought they were great without the seeds. I chose not to glaze my muffins, but have included the glazing instructions in the recipe below in case you prefer glazed muffins. I think the glaze would have looked pretty, but the muffins were sweet enough without it and kept better unglazed as well.

Lemon Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 1 cup vanilla yogurt (do not use nonfat)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For glaze:

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray with a nonstick vegetable spray. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon zest, yogurt and vanilla and beat until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture until just moistened. Do not over mix.
  3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and glazing.
  4. If glazing, while muffins are baking stir together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. The mixture should be runny. Once the muffins are removed from the oven, wait 5 minutes and then drizzle the glaze over the muffins with a spoon.

Recipe from Annie’s Eats, originally from Joy of Baking

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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, tagged , , , , , on September 8, 2010 | 8 Comments »

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

*Post updated 8/20/11 to include new photos and printable recipe.

This recipe combines three favorite types of cookies into one. If you like peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and chocolate chip cookies, then you will love Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! I’ve made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies before, but really like the addition of oats in this recipe. It gives the cookies a bit more texture and helps them to maintain their thickness while baking.

I love how these cookies baked up puffy and thick (I hate it when my cookies turn out flat!). There are a few tips that I always follow when baking cookies, in an attempt to prevent flatness. I added an extra tablespoon or so of flour to this dough, and chilled the dough for a few hours before baking. I also have found that recipes containing oatmeal tend to produce thicker cookies, so I think the oats in this recipe helped too.

These cookies are soft and tender with just the right amount of peanut butter flavor. If you’re in the mood to bake some cookies, I recommend that you try this recipe. I’m happy to have found it to add to my regular cookie baking rotation!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Printable Recipe

Makes about 16 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1 cup chocolate chips (I used bittersweet, or dark, chocolate chips)

Directions:

  1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
  2. On medium speed, cream together the butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat to combine. On low speed, gradually add the flour until just combined. Stir in the oats, and then the chocolate chips.
  3. If desired, you may refrigerate the dough for at least 2 hours, but no more than 36 hours.
  4. A few minutes before you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  5. Use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and drop dough onto prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden and just set in the center. Cool completely on the baking sheet and then store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

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Zucchini and Chicken Salad

Posted in Chicken, Easy Weeknight Meals, Main Dish, Salads, tagged , , on September 3, 2010 | 3 Comments »

Zucchini and Chicken Salad

Here is a great meal for a summer evening when you don’t feel like doing a lot of cooking. Only a few ingredients are required, and they combine to create a dish that tastes delicious. First you make a simple dressing out of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. The thin slices of zucchini marinate in the dressing, which cooks the zucchini slightly thanks to the acidic lemon juice. The only actual cooking required for this recipe is the cooking of the chicken breast halves (and a quick toasting of some pecans). Tossing the warm, cooked chicken slices with the other salad ingredients helps to slightly wilt the spinach and bring the flavors together.

The best part of this meal is that it is so quick and easy to put together. I was able to get it on the table in just about 30 minutes, even with Julia playing on the kitchen floor. When I went outside to tell Brad that dinner was almost ready and he should wrap up his yard work, he couldn’t believe that it was already time to eat!

I recommend serving the salad with some crusty bread to round out the meal.  Enjoy!

Zucchini and Chicken Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1 1/4 pounds zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 8 ounces spinach, chopped
  • 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 3/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of the olive oil, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the zucchini and toss to coat. Let marinate while cooking the chicken.
  2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 7 minutes per side. Remove from the skillet and slice thin.
  3. Toss the chicken with the zucchini mixture (I did not use all of the dressing), spinach, red onion, pecans, and Parmesan cheese. Serve.

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

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