TWD: Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

It has been so long since I've posted along with Tuesdays with Dorie that I'm quite ashamed of myself. I've been a very bad member. Between Weight Watchers and school, I haven't been motivated to cook many of the yummy treats that they've been baking. But with a week break in between classes, I decided to see what was on the schedule this week and thank goodness it was something fairly healthy like oatmeal breakfast bread!

I did do some substitutions to make it a little more Weight Watchers friendly i.e. splenda instead of sugar and egg beaters for the eggs. For the dried fruit, I used dried apricots because I am in love with them. They are absolutely delicious and so much more tasty than dried cranberries. Plus you get a tangy, slightly chewy piece of apricot in every bite. On the topping I used sliced almonds because that's just what I had in the freezer at the time. I also made them into muffins because it is so much easier to portion control than with a loaf.

Even with my healthier subs, these muffins were amazing! If I had not known that there were some WW changes, I would have thought they were made as the recipe was written.  They were super moist and with just the right amount of sweetness. The topping really made the muffins seem more decadent and not as healthy as they really were. And when you are on a diet, anything that gives you a hint of decadence without all of the fat and calories, is so worth it. It helps keep me on track because I know I can still treat myself without going overboard.

Natalie of Oven Love selected Oatmeal Breakfast Bread for us this week.  You can find the recipe on page 44 of Baking or at Oven Love. Thanks Natalie for the delicious pick this week!

Daring Cooks: Pierogi!

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

The 14th really sneaks up on you sometimes doesn't it? I had planned on making the Daring Cooks challenge but as usual, time got away from me and suddenly it was the 14th. Thank goodness I had all of the ingredients so I was able to whip (ha...well not exactly whip) them up today with a few hours to spare.


I decided to go with the cottage cheese pierogi option because it seemed the simplest and quite tasty (plus WW friendlier too!). It also had great possibilities of being either sweet or savory depending on the sauce you chose. They were fairly easy to make. They just took a little time and lots of rolling and re-rolling. But that was okay by me since the filling wasn't complicated.


I managed to get just over 25 pierogi using a 3.5 inch round cut out. I had an "asian" dumpling maker that I bought a long time ago and never used but that was a big 'ol pain in the rear. The dumpling dough kept getting stuck and after about 3 of those I said screw it and did them by hand. After that everything went much faster. That dumpling maker may be on it's way to the dump before long.


I froze most of them unboiled for later. For the serving I made for myself, I decided to go savory and made a tomato dill sauce. I love dill and use it anytime I can. I found this sauce on a pierogi post and couldn't resist making it. It sounded too good not to make it.


Just over an hour after I started, I sat down to a delicious pierogi and tomato dill sauce meal. After I boiled the pierogi, I lightly pan-fried them to get a slightly crunchy outside. In a word, they were amazing! Simple but so full of flavor. The sauce was a nice compliment. It was tasty but it didn't overwhelm the pierogi. As cliche as it might sound, the sauce really allowed the pierogi to shine.   


Thanks to our hosts for the great challenge this month! I'll definitely make these again. To see more wonderful pierogies, check out the Daring Cooks blogroll here!

Cottage Cheese Wareneki (pierogi)

Adapted from The Mennonite Cookbook

Dough:
½ cup (125 ml) milk (can be whole milk, 2% or skim milk)
½ cup (125 ml) whipping cream
3 large egg whites
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
3 cups (450 gm) all-purpose flour

1. Mix flour and salt, add other ingredients, and knead dough until you have a smooth dough. (I kneaded this dough quite a bit, and it yielded a nice, pliable dough).

2. On a floured surface roll out fairly thin (1/8” or about 3 millimeters), cut into 2” (5 cm) squares, and fill with 1 tsp (5ml) cottage cheese filling (see below).

Filling:

Traditional

1 lb (455 g) dry cottage cheese (this is usually found beside the “wet” cottage cheese in the supermarket’s dairy aisle. If you can’t find it, please see below for how to proceed with the “wet” cottage cheese.)
3 large egg yolks
Salt to taste

1. Mix well all the ingredients for the filling.

2. Put 1 rounded teaspoon (5 ml) of the filling in each square, fold corners to form a triangle, seal edges well using your fingers or a fork.

3. Cook in salted, boiling water for 5 minutes.

Boiled pierogi can also be fried after boiling for a nice crunchy dumpling.

If you can’t find dry cottage cheese, simply drain normal cottage cheese by nesting the cottage in a few layers of cheese cloth or a fine sieve over a bowl.

Tomato Dill Sauce
Inspired by The Kitchen Illiterate

• 1 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1 T tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/3 cup fat free half and half
• 1 tsp dried dill
• salt and pepper

Combine all of the ingredients except for the half and half and simmer until thickened a little, about 10 minutes. If you like puree for a smoother sauce. Allow to cool slightly and then stir in the half and half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Daring Cooks

Man, it has been awhile since I posted hasn't it? Between work, school, and just about everything else, I haven't had a lot of time to even think about blogging. I'm still cooking and baking (even making jam!) but not as much as I used to. On the plus side, I've done really well eating and cooking healthier (I caved and started Weight Watcher's a few months ago) and I hope I can start showcasing some of what I've been making lately soon.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Anyhoo, when I saw the challenge this month for Daring Cooks, I knew I had to make time to participate this month.  I wanted to go a little bit different in my choice of 'nut' and decided to go with the sesame seed option. Though it's not technically a nut, our hosts gave us the option of using it if we wanted. It is also a lot better for me than an actual nut butter and being on WW at the moment, I'm all for something being healthier.

I picked up a few packages of sesame seeds from Penzey's at an insanely wonderful price. The actual making of the sesame seed butter or tahini was fairly simple and quick. Just a quick whirl in the food processor with a little oil and your done!

The second part of the challenge was using the butter in a savory recipe. I debated making hummus with it but eventually decided to go with the Tahini Lemon Sauce by Mollie Katzen. It sounded delicious and a perfect fit with my veggie-ized diet. Just like making the sesame seed butter, the sauce was just as simple and quick.

I served the sauce over steamed yellow summer squash (from my mom's garden) and some plain spaghetti. It was a delicious combination of flavors. The sauce was lemony and nutty from the sesame seed butter. It paired wonderfully with the fresh squash. I have plenty of sauce left and am considering trying it on steamed broccoli as well. The sauce would also be tasty as a spread on a sandwich if it was thickened up a bit. I also have a little of the sesame seed butter left and would love to try it in a hummus.

This month was a great (and tasty!) challenge. Thanks to our hosts! I would love to give an actual nut butter a try soon. Not too soon though because I'm pretty sure I'd eat all of it!

To get all of the recipes for this month's challenge, please check out our hosts for this month. There were many delicious sounding recipes this month. To see more from the Daring Cooks, check out the blogroll here.

Sorry if this is short and messy! I almost forgot to type my post up in time!

Chickpea and Brown Rice Veggie Burgers with Tomato Corn Salad

I love burgers. Thick and juicy beef patty with a nice big slice of melted cheese on a toasted buttered bun. It sure looks and sounds delicious but it's not very good for you is it? Since I started eating better and trying to lose weight, I've stayed away from the delicious beefy burgers and while I've been happy with my progress so far, I've missed the burgers. I know I could make a burger with lean ground beef but those are always so dry and not very tasty. So I started looking for a veggie burger.

Because of previous love of the beef burger (I still love them to be honest, I'm just being g-o-o-d) I never paid much attention to veggie burgers. I like vegetables just fine but when you are a meat eating gal, you go for the beef burger not the veggie one (well most people I know anyway). I've found many veggie burgers that sounded good and some that were a little out there for my taste. But when I came across this burger on the Weight Watchers website, I knew I had to give it a try.

I made a few changes based on my taste and what I had available but for the most part left the ingredients the same. Instead of the tomato salad in the recipe, I made a tomato and corn salad (made with my freshly picked tomatoes!) to serve with the burgers.

For my first experience with homemade veggie burgers, I was extremely happy. I love chickpeas and use them when I can so I was pleased that they worked so well in a burger. You could serve these on a bun but they work just fine without one. I topped mine with the tomato and corn salad and served a dill pickle spear alongside. A delicious, healthy, and filling meal that will be made again and again in my house. I think the burgers would also be tasty if you vary the seasonings. Smoked paprika is the first one that I'd like to try!

Chickpea and Brown Rice Veggie Burgers
Adapted from Weight Watchers
Servings: 4
Weight Watchers Points: 2

Ingredients

1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
2 Tbsp panko bread crumbs
3 Tbsp shredded carrots
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp minced dried onion (I'm not an onion fan so I rarely have fresh)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
3 Tbsp liquid egg whites (I used the Eggbeaters version) or 1 lg egg white

Directions

To make burgers, place chickpeas in bowl of a food processor; pulse for 10 second intervals until a course texture is reached, about 20 to 30 seconds total. Add rice and pulse again to combine, about 10 seconds more.

Spoon mixture into a large bowl. Add panko, carrots, parsley, onion, lemon zest, coriander, 1salt and pepper; mix to combine. Add egg white and mix again to combine; refrigerate for at least 10 minutes and up to overnight.

Spray a grill rack or grill pan with cooking spray; heat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Form the mixture into 4 burgers using about 1/3 cup of mixture for each (I used a large ice cream scoop that was about 1/3 cup). Spray tops of burgers with cooking spray.

Grill burgers, without moving them (don't touch them!!), until golden brown and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes. Carefully flip burgers and cook until golden brown and crispy on other side, about 6 to 8 minutes more. Yields 1 burger per serving.

Tomato and Corn Salad
From: Heather's head and fridge
Servings: 2 (1/2 cup each)
Weight Watchers Points: 2

Ingredients

1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup tomato, seeded and diced
1/2-1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for one hour so flavors can mingle. Serve as a side with any meal. Delicious with burgers!


Note: Weight Watchers points calculated using their online tool. I am not affiliated with Weight Watchers International.

Daring Cooks: Enchiladas

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

Growing up in Texas, I obviously ate a lot of enchiladas. Cheese, beef, chicken, green chili, sour cream, ...you name it, I've probably had it. Any time you take a tortilla (flour is my favorite) and roll it around a filling of some sort then top it with a sauce, I'm game to eat it. Enchiladas are without a doubt, my favorite Tex-Mex food. My favorite combination is a simple cheese with a red sauce.

Our challenge this month was to make enchiladas with a homemade Mexican style sauce. It had to be a Mexican sauce so I decided to go with a 'chili gravy' from Robb Walsh's Tex-Mex Cookbook that I had been dying to make for a long time. This cookbook is the bible of Tex-Mex cooking.  As Robb says, chili gravy the life blood of old-fashioned Tex-Mex cooking. It's a mix between an Anglo brown gravy and a Mexican chile sauce. This was the type of sauce that I grew up eating in my enchiladas, both at home and in restaurants. This is the sauce that I love.  But it's one that I've never attempted to make.  I've always used the canned version and while that's good, it's not homemade.

For my filling, I decided to go simple and use shredded chicken and cheddar cheese.  A lot of times, people get too complex on enchilada fillings and in my opinion, simple is better.  Too much 'stuff' in the filling almost always ruins the enchilada for me.

I'm sure my mom would have preferred the given green chili enchiladas and I'm also sure they are very good but I much prefer the enchiladas that I ended up making.  The sauce was out of this world amazing.    There was no doubt that this was an authentic Tex-Mex chili gravy.  It was full of the nice bold chile flavor.  It was slightly spicy but not too spicy.  The chicken and cheese paired wonderfully with the chili gravy.  An absolutely delicious meal all around that I will be making many, many times to come.

If you would like to get the recipe for the chili gravy, see page 74 of The Tex-Mex Cookbook.

Thanks to our hosts for challenging us this month to make enchiladas with a homemade sauce.  This recipe had set on my shelf for well over a year and I never got around to making it.  Now I'm sorry I wasted so much time!

For more from the Daring Cooks, check out the DC blogroll here.