How about a Thanksgiving recipe? Okay. I’m on it. And it even involves booze.

Pumpkin Bourbon Frozen Yogurt
1 32 oz container of 0% Plain Chobani
1 small can of pumpkin (plain pumpkin)
1 c sugar (I used 3/4 at first, but Mark said to add a bit more)
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
4-5 T bourbon
Optional: 1 vanilla bean

If using the vanilla bean … you should probably start making this recipe 3-4 days ahead of time. Why? Because you’re going to infuse the bourbon with the vanilla. Put your bourbon in an airtight container and throw in your bean. You could probably add a bit more bourbon if you wanted to have more of this saved for later.

Since I didn’t know any better, I mixed the two together and let them sit for about 6 hours. The bourbon was more vanilla-y but not quite what I had expected.

Okay — to make the yogurt you mix all the ingredients in a big bowl. I let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to let the flavors mingle.

Pour the mixture in your ice cream maker and let it go to work. Should take 20-30 minutes.

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At least once a month my apartment fills with the delicious aroma of sautéed onions and garlic.  You can bet that one of those aroma-filled days is a sauce-making day. It’s become a monthly tradition to make a giant pot of marinara to last for the upcoming few weeks. Freeze, thaw and create. The marinara we make is an excellent base for just about anything — chicken, sausage, shrimp, beef, turkey, veggies — you name it. We’ve even used it as a pizza sauce in a pinch.

Oh, and when I say “we” make, I really should probably say Mark makes. It’s really his baby. I would like to try this with fresh tomatoes sometime. Hopefully sometime I will have a garden with which to do such experimentations.

M. Cecconi’s Marinara

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
4 large cans of diced tomatoes
Italian seasoning
crushed red pepper
salt and black pepper

In a very large pot, heat olive oil over medium.  Add garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.

Toss in onion and sauté for 3-5 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste (usually a teaspoon of each).

After onions turn glossy, add tomatoes and stir. Add Italian seasoning (usually 2-3 tablespoons) and a dash of crushed red pepper*.

Reduce heat to low and put lit on pot. Let simmer for several hours, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce has been cooked to the consistency of your liking, let cool and pour 1-2 cups at a time in a blender and blend to a consistency of your choice (I like mine chunky, so I blend half the sauce and mix in the rest). Separate into smaller containers and freeze until use.

*If you like spicy, add 1 teaspoon. If not, go with 1/2 teaspoon. It won’t taste very spicy until after the sauce has been simmered and blended.

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I’ve been making these cookies for years, but I think I made my best batch EVER last time I made them.

The original recipe is here, but this is my modified more awesome (and more healthy) recipe.

chimes’s monster cookies

3/4 c Natural Peanut Butter
1/4 c butter, softened
1 c dark brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 t vanilla
1.5 t baking soda
2 1/4 c rolled oats
1 c organic 70% cocoa chips

1. In a large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat together the first 4 ingredients till light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat 2 minutes.
3. Blend in baking soda.
4. Stir in oats and remaining ingredients.
5. Dough will be very stiff and crumbly.
6. Drop dough by 1/3 cup measures, 4″ apart on a ungreased baking sheet. Or for smaller cookies, drop by tablespoons full.
7. Flatten with a spatula to 3 1/2″ cookies.
8. Bake in 350 oven for 12-14 minutes or till golden.
9. Remove and cool on racks.

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I will preface this with: I suck at writing recipes. Most of my awesome food is created by crazy-random-happenstance (example: my raspberry grilled chicken that I have yet to recreate).

And actually, my blueberry banana pancakes were created by a happy accident.  When I was training for a half marathon last spring, I sent Mark to the store for a couple of things to make a large breakfast in preparation for my run that Saturday. I was going to make blueberry pancakes, but I’d also asked him to pick up a couple of bananas so I could have those after my run. Anyway, he made the mistake of picking up fresh blueberries instead of frozen.  At this time, the super tiny itty bitty container of blueberries (which had probably 12 in it) was more expensive than a bag of frozen. He knew he messed up, but I told him  not to fret. I quick snatched up a banana and added that to the mix. Not to mention, I subbed out the oil for applesauce, as per his suggestion. Thus, my awesome pancakes were born.  Here is a half-assed attempt at a recipe for my blueberry banana pancakes.

Blueberry Banana Pancakes

Pancake Mix of Choosing
1-2 Ripe or overripe bananas, mashed
eggs (number according to pancake mix directions)
unsweetened applesauce (substitute for the oil as called for in pancake mix directions)
milk (amount called for in pancake mix directions)
1 bag frozen or 1 dry pint fresh blueberries
1 T oil for griddle

Heat oil over medium/high heat on a griddle.  Measure out pancake mix according to directions (I use a wheat or oatmeal mix) — amount will vary depending on how many pancakes you’ll want to make. Add banana, applesauce and milk. Stir until combined. Batter will be a bit lumpy. If it looks too thick, add a bit more milk. If it looks to thin, add a bit more mix.  Fold in blueberries.  Test the griddle to make sure it’s hot by dripping a drop of water on it. If it sizzles, it’s hot enough.  Using a 1/3 c measuring cup (or 1/4 c if you’re really uncomfortable with your pancake flipping skills), pour 2-3 pancakes on your griddle. When the top of the pancakes is all nice and bubbly, it’s time to flip. Flip pancakes and cook until the other side is browned.

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Hey all!

My boy likes to cook and I thought it’d be a cool feature to share his creations (with instructions) once or twice a month.

I shall call this segment: Wonder Bread Italian Boy Cooks.

For those of you who don’t get that, my boy is about as Italian as white bread. Wonder bread that is. He’s got the last name and the recipes. Not to mention he’s an amazing cook and comes up with crazy delicious meals on the fly.

So without further ado, this is installment #1 of Wonder Bread Italian Boy Cooks.

Sorry guys, I promise from now on I’ll have better photos. I did just buy a new digital camera! This was kind of an on-the-fly decision to add this feature, so the photo isn’t great, but it was YUMMY.

Everything from the Garden Pasta

Ingredients:

1 full chicken breast (both sides of the breast)
4 T olive oil (reserve 2 for the end)
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 lbs assorted vegetables — he used:
1 small yellow zucchini squash, sliced
1 small green zucchini, sliced
1 red pepper, julienned
1 green pepper, julienned
1 yellow pepper, julienned
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 small package mushrooms, whole
1/2 c red wine
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
italian seasoning to taste
Cooked whole wheat pasta

Directions:

Heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat in a large pan. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cook through and remove from pan. Set aside.

Add veggies to pan. Saute while stirring until onions start to get glossy and see-through. Add half of the red wine. Keep stirring and sauteing for 15 more minutes or until veggies have cooked through.

Add the rest of the red wine, the additional 2 T olive oil, both cans of tomatoes and the chicken. Sprinkle with some Italian seasonings. Cook for 15 minutes more. Toss with the cooked pasta and serve with parmesan cheese.

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Wow that is a cheesy title, but it’s true!

I finally took the plunge and tried to eat a banana a couple weeks ago for the first time in at least 10 years. When I was younger I couldn’t eat bananas because they made my stomach hurt — which is ironic because it’s one of the things doctors always tell you to eat when you can’t digest much else.

Anyway, after a dormant period without bananas, I’m totally crazy about all things banana! (well, not as much as my friend Niki I suppose).

My absolute favorite thing and new obsession is making frozen banana custard.  I found this “recipe” on Iowa Girl Eats’s blog.  This was actually what prompted me to try bananas again.  I have a huge ice cream obsession and a few weeks back had an issue with stress eating (ie. pints of ice cream) lead to an unhealthily quick weight gain. So, I thought, if I could replace the ice cream with something healthy (ie. frozen banana) then I would be set.

AND yay. It worked. Those 7 pounds gone in a flash (gained ‘em one week, lost ‘em the next). They say that bananas are bloat-fighters, and I must agree. Because I’m going to throw it out there and say that 5 of those 7 pounds I gained in a week HAD to be water weight. (right? right.)

Anyway, here is my cleverly disguised banana for the day:

I will say that the trick is to cut the naners into smaller pieces before freezing. Also, I’ve been doing mine in the blender and using the “ice crush” function to get it going. I add a little bit of soy milk and some vanilla to the mix to get things going. I’ve also thrown in some chocolate ovaltine for a chocolate version of my faux ice cream.

Another thing that’s awesome about the banana obsession (aside from the health benefits) is the fact that they’re way cheap. I can make 3 pints of frozen banana custard using 4-5 medium bananas.  That is roughly $1.50 for 3 pints. Compare that to the price of one pint of Ben and Jerry’s. Just try.

Hopefully I don’t get sick of bananas because so far they’ve been doing wonders for me and my pocket book!

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