Actually, I made this last week, but still wanted to share it. I like to make this recipe using a muffin tin instead of a pie plate to make individual servings that become a quick and easy breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I’ve also substituted other vegetables, like spinach or broccoli. I forgot to pick up green onions so I left them out this time.
Chard and Ricotta Pie
Source: Good Housekeeping
Serves: 6 main-dish servings (or about 18 individual “pies”)
Ingredients
1 large head Swiss chard
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
4 large eggs
1 container (15 ounces) part skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp cornstarch
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate (or muffin tins).
2. Cut off and discard bottom 2 inches of Swiss chard stems. Separate stems from leaves; thinly slice stems and coarsely chop leaves.
3. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add sliced stems and cook 4 minutes or until tender and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add green onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes (to your taste), and cook 1 minute. Gradually add chopped leaves, and cook, stirring, until wilted and water evaporates, about 5 minutes.
4. In large bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix eggs, ricotta, milk, Parmesan, and cornstarch until blended. Stir in Swiss chard mixture.
5. Transfer mixture to pie plate (or muffin tins). Bake pie 40 minutes or until knife inserted 2 inches from center comes out clean. Bake about 13 minutes if using muffin tins.
6. Enjoy!
Author Archives: kbecker57
Cilantro peanut sauce
This week I made a cilantro peanut sauce, and then realized I wasn’t going to be home much, so I stuck it in the freezer to use at a later time. I love this stuff so much that I would probably bathe in it if that were socially acceptable. Instead, I usually opt to marinate and saute chicken, shrimp, or tofu…vegetables and other proteins would probably work well too. You can adjust or omit any of the ingredients to suit your tastes.
Cilantro Peanut Sauce
Source: Adapted from recipe from Red Fire Farm
Ingredients
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
Juice from half lemon or lime
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or green garlic)
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced (or a little ginger powder)
Dash of cayenne powder and/or chili flakes
Directions
1. Mix everything together.
2. Enjoy!
Fall vegetable chili
This week I made calzones (which reminded me of dinners with Denise at our Park Drive apartment) and this vegetable-tarian chili. In addition to the carrots, parsnips, and onions, I also threw in some garlic (1 clove), sweet peppers, jalapeno pepper (1/2), and an unidentified root vegetable leftover from my CSA (a turnip, I think). Enjoy!
Fall Vegetable Chili
Source: Good Housekeeping
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans (15-19 oz each) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
4 tsp chili powder
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes in juice
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
Directions
1. In 5-quart saucepot, heat olive oil on medium-high until hot. Add carrots, parsnips, and chopped onion, and cook 6-8 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, on large plate, with fork or potato masher, mash 1 cup drained beans.
3. Stir chili powder into vegetables in saucepot; cook 1 minute, stirring. Add tomatoes with their juice, whole and mashed beans, and 2 cups water; heat to boiling on high, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro to serve.
Spicy flourless chocolate cake
What Jerel’s cooking this week!
Hot off the Valentine’s Day presses, here’s a recipe that is Jerel-tested and Kendrin-approved. I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day, and if it was lame for whatever reason (poor planning, no planning, filler flowers, etc), perhaps this cake can make up for any missteps from yesterday. Chocolate can make everything better.
Spicy Flourless Chocolate Cake
Serves: 8 (it’s that rich!)
Source: I modified Emeril’s recipe (which looked a bit too tame)
Ingredients
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 Tablespoons cayenne pepper (be brave!). If you want to go Emeril-style, use ancho chili powder instead and omit the cinnamon and nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 to 1 tsp sea salt
8 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (I used 72% Cacao chocolate, and even grated in some 100% cacao from tablets my parents gave me for Christmas)
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus a small pad for the pan
1 cup of sugar (I used evaporated cane juice from TJ’s)
6 eggs, separated
Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line bottom and sides with parchment paper and butter those, too. Can also dust some cocoa on the paper.
3. Sift or whisk together the cocoa, cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg
4. Over a double-boiler melt the chopped chocolate (+/- the extra cacao) and the butter
5. Whisk the cocoa powder mix into the molten chocolate. Add at least 1/2 tsp of salt.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks and 1/2 cup sugar until it’s a pretty pale yellow.
7. Carefully whisk the molten chocolate into the egg yolks. Add more salt to taste (I’m a fan of sea salt + dark chocolate, so I added an additional 1/2 tsp). You can also adjust the cayenne here to your taste (so you might want to start with just 2 tbs, then increase it up to 3 if you want it spicier). This mix should taste sweet at the start, then have a hot aftertaste.
8. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Whisk in about 1/4 cup of sugar. Beat the whites. Add the rest of the sugar and beat until it forms a soft meringue.
9. Carefully fold the chocolate mixture into the meringue. Don’t lose any of the volume!
10. Transfer batter to pan and bake for about 45 minutes. Check the cake at 40 (that’s when mine was ready). The sides should be set but the middle should still be MOIST. A few crumbs will still stick to the cake tester.
11. Cool on a wire rack before removing from the pan. You can dust this with some more cinnamon and/or powder sugar, or even some whipped cream.
Pulled pork
I don’t cook meat very often, but when I do pulled pork in my slow cooker is one of my favorites! I also wanted to make something that make a lot of leftovers (I heart leftovers) for lunches this week. The same recipe works great for pulled chicken. The recipe is not very precise as you can vary the amount of meat, onions, and garlic to your taste. This week I used a 2-pound boneless pork loin, 1 onion, and 1 bulb of garlic.
Pulled pork
Serves: 4-6, but depends how much pork you use
Source: me
Ingredients
Pork (I usually use pork loin)
Onions, sliced
Garlic, minced
1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer (I usually use a medium-dark beer, like Sam Adams)
1 (28-ounce) bottle of barbecue sauce (I usually use Sweet Baby Ray’s or make my own)
Directions
1. Place pork, onions, garlic, and beer in slow cooker. Cook on low for about 6 hours (I usually cook on high for the first hour and then low for 5 hours).
2. Remove pork and discard liquid, reserving onions and garlic if desired. Shred pork.
3. Place shredded pork back in slow cooker and mix with barbecue sauce. Cook on low for 1 hour.
4. Enjoy! I like to have it with cornbread or slider rolls.
Chickpea chard stew
One of my new year’s resolutions this year was to organize my huge pile of recipes (a habit I learned from my mom…thanks mom!). And that led me to thinking about actually trying to make some of the recipes I so carefully save…so I’ve decided to start a recipe-sharing blog. This isn’t going to be a Julie and Julia endeavor, just a (hopefully) fun way to share some yummy recipes. This is also my apology for being the weak link in the recipe exchange emails that I never do.
So here’s what I’m cooking this week…it’s been great for lunches!
Chickpea chard stew
Serves: 4
Source: a magazine that I don’t know the name of (I’ll do better with this part next time)
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced shallots (I used 3 and it was a little less than a cup, also added garlic and some peppers)
1 fresh thyme sprig
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch salt
1 bunch chard, stems removed, chopped
2 cups diced plum tomatoes (I used 1 can of diced tomatoes)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
3/4 cup vegetable stock
pinch dried cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the shallots, thyme, and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cover and cook, stirring a few times, until shallots are translucent, about 6 minutes.
2. Mix in the chard, tomatoes, chickpeas, vegetable stock, and cayenne; cover and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Remove thyme and season stew with the lemon juice. Add the pinch of salt and the black pepper to taste.
Kara Cooks and Eats 