Béchamel Sauce

This is one of the simplest Béchamel sauce recipes that I have ever seen! Yes, I still screwed it up. Lots of lumpy flour lumps. However, don't throw it out! Putting it in a blender rescues this sauce and made it just as lovely and creamy.


Béchamel Sauce Recipe

Save those vitamins!

When cooking a pasta meal with veggies, if you are using a vegetable like turnips or kale (or any vegetable that requires a bit of time cooking), cut them into ribbons and put them into the boiling water at the same time that you put your pasta! They cook at the same time, and those vitamins in your veggies are resoaked into the pasta!

Drain, add the sauce of your choice and you're done!

Yellow squash pasta sauce

I'll think of a better name later. This recipe was created on the fly because I am doing that Eat a Rainbow thing. Today was yellow.

Ingredients:

1         Yellow summer squash
2T       Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine like, such as Chardonnay
1/4 c   Chicken broth
1tsp    Olive oil
2T      Grated Parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to broil at 400 degrees. Chop squash into 1-inch cubes and saturate with cooking spray. Salt and pepper as desired. Place on baking sheet in oven. Leave in stove 5-7 minutes. It will burn, so watch them! Mash or puree roasted squash. Add wine, broth, olive oil and Parmesan. Mash or puree until smooth. Serve over cooked pasta. 

Bourbon Collard Greens

I finally found a way to combine bourbon and collard greens, which is great, because they were in my veggie bag this week. True, there were other recipes, but this recipe is considerably healthier. I like my bourbon, so this recipe has a full cup. The alcohol cooks out of the greens because of the heat, but if you would rather make a less colorful dish, you can trim the bourbon down to 1/2 or 1/4 a cup. 

Ingredients:

3            turkey bacon slices

¼ tsp      butter

1 c          sliced onions

1             garlic clove

¼ tsp      balsamic vinegar

2T          apple cider vinegar

1 c          bourbon

10c         fresh collards, sliced into ribbons

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat large saucepan on medium high heat. Coat with non-stick spray. Cook turkey bacon slices until crisp, then remove slices. Do not clean turkey bacon drippings out the pan…it will hardly be any bacon oils anyway. Drop the butter and onion slices into pan. Sauté until onions are tender then place garlic clove in pan. Cook 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients. Stir the collards until they wilt. Crumble bacon into collards. Reduce heat to medium and cook 20-25 more minutes. 

Enjoy!

Final meal (Restaurant-style steak, turnip root gratin and my Bourbon greens!):

Surprise from a French cookbook

I have a French cookbook that I rarely use. A bit ago, I decided to dust it off and make one of its seasonal recipes. It was wonderful! And who would have thought that broiling lamb on a bed of thyme and rosemary would make it more moist and tender?

Vive le cookbook de français!

BHG Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie

This cookie is healthy and tastes like a better version of a Clif bar. I used raisins and loved it!

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
1 large banana, mashed (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chunky natural peanut butter (unsalted and unsweetened) or regular chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together banana, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, milk powder, cinnamon, and baking soda. Stir the oat mixture into the banana mixture until combined. Stir in dried cranberries.

2. Using a 1/4-cup measure, drop mounds of dough 3 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. With a thin metal or small plastic spatula dipped in water, flatten and spread each mound of dough to a 2 3/4-inch round, about 1/2-inch thick. Once baked, each cookie will be about 3-1/2 to 4 inches in diameter.

3. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 14 to 16 minutes or until browned. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months; thaw before serving.



Nutrition Facts (Banana Oat Breakfast Cookie) Calories 227,
Protein (gm) 6,
Carbohydrate (gm) 37,
Fat, total (gm) 6,
Saturated fat (gm) 1,
Dietary Fiber, total (gm) 4,
Sodium (mg) 77,
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Source: Better Homes and Gardens The Ultimate Low-Calorie Book

KitchenAid Mixer Attachments - Meat Grinder

I love this thing.

I hate this thing.

I love it because when all of the brouhaha came out about pink slime in beef, I realized that I had a meat grinder. I'll grind my own beef so up yours, ammonia-loving parts of the beef industry.

I hate this thing because it is a b**** to clean. Sorry but there is no nice way to say it. Getting into all those grooves is murder, and if you have OCD tendencies like me, cleaning that attachment can easily become a battle of the titans.

But it is functional. It's small and very affective.

But I still hate cleaning it.

Happy Flower Egg Breakfast

2 eggs

1/4 c fat free milk (1 or 2% is also OK)

3 T cheddar

1 bell pepper (any color will do)

1 turkey sausage link


I got this idea from the Bonnie Bell Facebook page, and they got it from Pinterest. I tweaked the recipe a bit.

Preheat skillet on medium. Spray skillet with non-stick spray. Cook sausage and allow to slightly cool. Slice sausage link into 1-inch slices. Slice bell pepper into 1-inch slices. Place bell pepper slices in pan. Place one turkey sausage cut into the middle of each bell pepper slice (there may be leftover sausage, save it for a later recipe). Pour egg around sausage inside bell pepper slice. Cook until egg is done. Plate it and enjoy!

Edited to add: I tried this baked and the egg is fluffier!

Apple "Streusel" Oatmeal!

1 small apple (I used a Braeburn)

1/4 c Fiber One Cereal

1/2 T Butter

1 T Peach Jam

1/4 c Uncooked Oatmeal

2/3 c Water

Salt to taste


Bring water to simmer in small pot. Add salt then add oatmeal. Heat skillet on med-high. Spray pan if not a non-stick pan. Cut apple into small square bites (three bites should fit on a standard spoon). Put butter in pan. Add apples, fiber cereal and stir for 2-3 minutes until cereal is toasted. Add jam. Cook 1-2 minutes until caramelization begins. Put cooked oatmeal in bowl, top with apple streusel. Enjoy!

Hello..?

Alright, I know I've been AWOL. Hopefully this will make up for it.

I've decided to give extreme couponing a go. Makes sense, right? Cooking is not cheap, especially if you cook from scratch or semi-scratch. So I've decided to document my journey to becoming an extreme couponer. This journey will be documented on my Extreme Coupon Queen blog.

And yes, I realize this is blog #5 when I can barely keep up with one. What can I say? I have the attention span of a gnat.

Hate drinking plain water? Try this tip!

Take any citrus fruit. I've used everything from grapefruits, oranges, lemons, limes, pummelos, etc. Use a zester to get the zest off of the fruit. "Zest" is the colorful part of the skin of the fruit, not the white underneath, just the colorful part. If you do not have a zester, you can get the same effect by gently using the small-hole side of a box grater. You can also use a vegetable peeler or just a regular knife. Make sure you do not cut any of the white pith of the citrus fruit. If you are not sure which is which, taste it. Zest tastes like the fruit. Pith is bitter. Put the zest in your water. You can leave zest in a giant bottle of water for up to two days. Your water will continue to get the fruity and slightly sweetened flavor from the zest. For every 16 oz of water, I recommend 1/4 tsp of zest, but use it as much or as little as you like. Not only does this taste great, but it also gives your water a little Vitamin C. My favorite fruit zests to use are lemons and oranges.

Another way to flavor water is with cucumber slices. Slice any cucumber thinly and put three or more slices per 20 oz of water. Leave it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes. The cucumber slices not only give your water a fresher, spa taste, it also infuses your water with Vitamin E. This small step turns your water into a power beverage for your skin. Use fresh cucumber every time you try this.

Neither of these water flavorers leave that gummy or sour taste that happens when you slice fruits and drop them in your water. And the best part? Both choices are virtually calorie-free!

Katie Brown's Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

I love finding recipes with typical "already-got-it" ingredients!

Katie Brown's Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

Meatless Monday Veggie Pasta Toss

8 oz Spaghetti
1 med Zucchini
1 med Carrot
1/2 T Butter
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
3 T Balsamic vinegar (I know...again)
2 T Parmesan
1/4 tsp Salt

Grate zucchini and carrot. Set in a colander or in cheesecloth to drain excess moisture. Bring two cups of water to a boil. Salt water as desired. Place uncooked spaghetti in boiling water. Let boil until al dente

Heat skillet on med. heat and put pat of butter in skillet. Squeeze grated zucchini and carrot to remove any extra moisture. Put in pan and stir until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Add nutmeg, salt, pepper and Parmesan and mix until well-combined.

Remove spaghetti from pot and drain. Toss spaghetti with vegetable mixture.

Enjoy!

*As a side dish, this should have four servings. As an entree, this should be about 2 1/2 servings.

Blue Cheese Rice Cakes w Balsamic Reduction

This is why you keep cooked rice on hand. You might accidentally make up a great recipe like this unplanned gem I created today:

3c Cooked brown rice
1/4c Blue cheese
1/4c Shredded Parmesan
1 Egg
1/3c Bread crumbs
1tsp Salt
1/2tsp Pepper
1/4c Canola or vegetable oil
1/4c Balsamic vinegar

Combine first seven ingredients in food processor or use potato masher to mix. Pulse or mash until gooey. Heat oil in skillet on medium high heat. Test oil with 1 teaspoon of mixture to see if ready. If it sizzles, it's ready. Scoop 1/4 cup of mixture at a time into skillet and cook on both sides for two to three minutes. Keep warm on plate.

Put 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan on medium heat. Cook until lightly boiling and then remove from stove. Let cool. Drizzle reduction over rice cakes.

Enjoy!

Cook it NOW!

I just realized today that waiting for rice to cook is the worst thing ever. Well, OK...war, famine, disease, etc. all worse than waiting for rice to cook, but I digress.

Anyhoo, my advice is that unless you have a microwave rice cooker, just cook all of your rice at once the day you buy it and freeze it in batches. That way you won't have to get the "Aw man...I've got to cook rice" blues whenever you check your menu planner.

A Tip for Tea

Here is a tip for brewing iced tea in case you haven't already figured this out yourself: brew the tea in your coffee maker! Why heat up your entire kitchen using a kettle or a pan? You can stick those bags of tea (or loose tea can sit in a regular coffee filter) in the same way you would your regular coffee. It brews faster and the flavor is just right. It is a great way to get the basis for iced tea while saving energy. I tried it, and now I'm hooked!

A Little Tip for Cheese Sauces

When making cheese sauce, many recipes want you to mix the flour and milk together while one or the other has been heating in the sauce pan. I recommend whisking the flour and milk together into a roux first. This way it not only drastically reduces the chance of having cooked flour lumps in your cheese sauce, but it also makes the step where you whisk in the cheese much easier.

Crock Pot Beer Chicken

16oz Miller Lite
1⁄3c Chicken Broth
4 Chicken Thighs
1⁄3c Pasta Sauce

Put all ingredients in crock pot with pot set on high. Cover and let cook for three hours or as needed. Discard remaining liquid.

Enjoy!

Budget-Happy Iced Coffee Recipe

I found this recipe in Food and Wine magazine, but I did some tweaking to drop the calorie content. This morning I tried F&W's newer, healthier cousin and the results were fantastic. The drink was rich, creamy and decadent without the guilt. And by the by, what I paid for all of the ingredients is just a few pennies difference as the cost of two medium-sized coffee drinks found in typical coffee houses.

24-HOUR RECIPE

Light Iced Coffee (July 11, 2010)

Part 1

4 ½c Cold water
½ lb Ground Dark-Roasted Coffee (I used Starbuck’s Espresso)

Part 2

2 oz Fat-free sweetened condensed milk
4 oz 2% milk
Ice

Stir water and coffee into bowl and cover with lid. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Strain mixture with fine mesh sieve. You can also just take the sieve of your coffee maker, float it in the opening of your coffee pot and let the coffee concentrate drip in this manner. Coffee concentrate can be kept in refrigerator for a week.

Pour 2 oz sweetened condensed milk in a glass. Add 6 oz of the coffee concentrate and 4 oz of 2% milk. Stir well and add ice. 1 serving

Variations:

Vanilla Iced Coffee: pour 4 oz of the fat-free sweetened condensed milk in a container. Place a vanilla bean into the milk and let it sit for an hour. Or you can add ¼ T of vanilla flavoring to condensed milk as a time saver. Follow the directions for making iced coffee.

Mocha Iced Coffee: use 2% chocolate milk instead of regular milk in iced coffee recipe.

Happy Hour Iced Coffee: Stir an ounce (or whatever amount makes you happy) of Kahlua or Bailey's Irish Cream into condensed milk. Use creamy liqueurs to keep the consistency of the iced coffee drink similar to the original recipe.

Enjoy!

There Is Hope for Over-Cooked Rice!

I let my curiosity get the best of me and dumped a bag of rice into my tiny crock pot. It escaped my mind that this rice would puff up like popcorn to the point where it knocked the top of my crock pot off. So I was stuck with partially cooked rice and over-cooked rice. Waste is not a virtue in my book, so I took that messed up rice and made rice cakes.

Redemption Rice Cakes

2 c Over-Cooked Rice
¼ c Fresh Basil
2 T Fresh Oregano
½ tsp Salt
½ Tsp Pepper
½ c Vegetable Oil
1 c Bread Crumbs

Heat oil in small skillet on med-high heat. Process rice, basil, oregano, salt and pepper in processor until smooth (about 3 minutes). Put bread crumbs in a bowl or on a plate. Take ½ of rice mixture and place on bread crumbs. Using a fork, gently press down. Flip rice cake over to bread other side. Put rice cakes in hot oil, cooking no more than 40 seconds on each side. Serve with mustard or condiment of your choice.

Enjoy!