Hot Cocoa

I drink a lot of hot chocolate. Unfortunately, I usually drink Swiss Miss. I think it is probably not the "healthiest" hot chocolate ever. So when I ran out of Swiss Miss on grocery day last week, I decided that it was time to try making my own. I know I wanted a recipe that doesn't require milk (in case I don't have any around). I found this recipe and it sounded good.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (the recipe calls for Dutch process, but after talking with the lady at Penzeys, I ended up using the "natural cocoa powder" and it was a great choice)
• 2 and 1/2 cups instant nonfat dry milk (I got a big box of this for $5 at Cub; I bought the generic brand. The non-generic was $10 for the same size box; ridiculous!)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (I actually have a measuring spoon for a "pinch" thanks to a wedding gift from a lovely bridesmaid and personal attendant, and it was the perfect amount for this recipe. My guess is that it is between 1/16 and 1/8 of a tsp.)

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large tupperware container (make sure you have a lid for that container).
2. Put the lid on (tightly - heehee - don't want a disaster) and shake it until the ingredients are mixed evenly.
3. Fill your mug half full with the mixture (I used 1/2 cup).
4. Pour hot water into the mug and then stir to combine.

Chicken and Black Bean Tacos

I found this recipe on Walgreen's website; it looks like it's a recipe for people with diabetes. Luckily, neither of us is diabetic, but ground chicken was on sale.

I do not recommend buying the ground chicken that we bought. I think it would have been worth the extra 70 cents for ground beef. Both of us found crunchy pieces of meat in our tacos. Ew!!!

E is a trooper and he ate the leftovers. I am traumatized and will likely never eat ground chicken again. But the combination of the ground meat and black beans was pretty good, so I would recommend the recipe. Just don't use cheap ground chicken. *gag!*

Cuban Pork Roast

I made this served with rice and frijoles negros for E's birthday weekend. (Note: you will need to marinade it for 12-24 hours before cooking it, so you need to plan ahead.) We ended up with a whole lot of pork roast. With the leftovers, I ate a pulled pork sandwich one night (I cooked it in a saucepan with some BBQ sauce). Then we froze the rest. We are going to use half of the leftovers tonight in a Panama Pork Stew. And in a couple of weeks we will use the rest to make some fried rice or lo mein.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
• 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. salt (sorry, E's blood pressure!)
  
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup dry sherry (you can get some cheap cooking sherry at Cub)
• 3 TBSP. lemon juice (took 1 lemon)
• 3 TBSP. fresh lime juice (took 2 limes for me)
• 2 TBSP. olive oil
• 4 lbs. pork shoulder, trimmed and tied.
  

Directions:

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
2. Add the cumin seeds and peppercorns to the pan; stir constantly until fragrant and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Cool.
3. Crush the toasted spices with garlic, salt & oregano to make a paste. (The recipe says to use a mortar and pestle, but we used our mini Cuisinart)
4. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the orange juice, lime juice, lemon juice, sherry, and olive oil.
5. Place the pork in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour citrus marinade over the meat and seal.
6. Refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning the bag over occasionally.

The next day:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Farenheit
2. Transfer the pork and marinade to a roasting pan, and place in the oven.
3. Roast for about 2 and 1/2 hours (or until an instant read thermometer inserted in the center reads 145 degrees Farenheit), basting with pan juices occasionally. Add small amounts of water to the pan if it dries out.
4. Transfer the pork to a carving board, cover loosely with foil, and let sit for 15 min.
5. Carve and serve.

World Class Belgian Waffles

E & I got a waffle maker as a wedding gift. I LOVE waffles. E didn't love them as much as I do... but then on his birthday weekend, I used my mom's recipe and made some Belgian waffles for him. He is now a waffle lover.

With our waffle maker, this recipe makes between 5 and 6 waffles. And if you buy some strawberries & whipped cream and some bacon and/or sausage, you will have an even better breakfast :) It's also a lot cheaper to make these at home than it is to go out to one of those expensive breakfast places. And you don't have to change out of your pjs or wait an hour to be seated in the restaurant (the good places usually have long waits on weekend mornings).

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3 TBSP. sugar
• 1 pckg of rapid rise yeast
• 3/4 tsp. of salt
• 2 c. warm milk (110 degrees) - luckily we got a digital thermometer as a wedding gift :)
• 3 lg. eggs separated
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 2 tsp. of vanilla
• Pam spray
  

Directions:
1. Beat the egg whites until they are fluffy
2. In a large bowl combine all ingredients in the order listed, except for the egg whites (but DO add the egg yolks).
3. Mix until just blended.
4. Fold in the egg whites.
5. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. (We heated our oven to 200 degrees and then turned it off. Then we put the bowl in the oven with a kitchen towel over it and left it in there for 30 minutes.)
6. Spray your waffle iron with Pam and pre-heat it.
7. Pour 3/4 cup to 1 cup of the mix onto the iron (or follow the waffle iron's instructions).

Cheese and Bean Quesadillas

This recipe made good use of some salsa we already had in our fridge, the leftover tortillas from the burritos, and the rest of the Monterey Jack cheese. It also made a good dinner (and lunch leftovers). The rest of the ingredients were inexpensive.

Ingredients

• 1 - 15 oz. can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup of salsa (we used the Archer Farms Medium salsa - cheap at Target)
• 1 tsp. of chili powder
• 4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup of sour cream
• Pam or other nonstick cooking spray
  

Directions:
1. Place beans in a medium saucepan and mash with a potato masher or fork.
2. Stir in salsa and chili powder.
3. Cook over medium heat until bubbly.
4. Reduce heat to low.
5. Simmer 5 minutes.
6. Spray a griddle with nonstick cooking spray.
7. Heat over medium heat until hot.
8. Brush 1 tortilla lightly on both sides with water.
9. Heat on griddle until lightly browned, then turn the tortilla.
10. Spread with 1/2 of bean mixture, sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese and 1/2 of the cilantro.
11. Top with a second tortilla and press lightly.
12. Brush top of tortilla with water.
13. Carefully turn quesadilla to brown & crisp the second side.
14. Remove from heat, and then repeat with the remaining 2 tortillas.
15. Cut each quesadilla into wedges and then serve with sour cream.

Spicy Bean and Cheese Burritos

E & I have been on a strict grocery budget lately, and in order to stay within our budget we have been eating around themes. Right now it's been a mostly vegetarian Mexican theme.

We used this recipe, courtesy of Rachel Ray. It was really yummy. It provided us with a good, and pretty easy to make dinner. And we had leftovers the next day for our lunches :)

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP. EVOO
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 - 15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed
• 1/3 cup of pickled jalapenos, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup of Mexican beer (we just used a non-Mexican beer that we had in our fridge)
• 1 - 15.25 oz can of corn kernels, rinsed (we used half a bag of frozen corn since we had it in our freezer)
• 1 - 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, rinsed
• Juice from 1/4 of a lime
• 4 large flour tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded monterey jack cheese (if you buy a $2 block of cheese at Target, it will yield about 2.5 cups of shredded cheese which is why we ate cheese and bean quesadillas later on that week)

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat the EVOO over medium high heat.
2. Add garlic and cook until golden (about 1 min.)
3. Stir in the black beans & jalapenos and cook, lightly mashing the mixture against the side of the pan, for 2 minutes.
4. Stir the beer into the black bean mixture & bring to a boil.
5. Cook, continuing to mash, until thickened (about 10 min.)
6. Stir in the corn and tomatoes and cook, stirring, until heated through (about 5 min.)
7. Stir in the lime juice, and then set this aside.
8. Lay the tortillas on a "work surface" (plate/counter).
9. Sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese in the center, and then scoop 1/4 of the bean mixture on top of the cheese.
10. Fold the tortilla up, "burrito-style".
11. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
12. Place the burritos folded side down in the skillet and cook until brown on each side (about 1 minute).

Long time, no update

It's been a busy month. I've managed to put off a lot of schoolwork this month, and yet I still haven't managed to update my blog. I'll make up for it by posting several recipes :)