Driftin' Back: recipes

Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Ice Cream Cone Pizza - Recipe

"You know what would be good, Mommy? Ice cream pizza!"

That's what started this. Sebastian wanted his pizza shaped like an ice cream cone. I started with one of my favorite pizza crust recipes (which is 29 WW P+ for the entire crust, according to Living Cookbook).

I prepared the dough according to the directions, but instead of just rolling the dough, I rolled it out and cut it into 4 sections, which I then rolled into balls and let rest a little longer while we fashioned out "sugar waffle cone" mold.

Pardon the nasty bananas. I'm making banana bread tomorrow.

Cut out a cereal box and curve it in the the shape of a sugar waffle cone. Go ahead and use a piece of tape to secure it.

Wrap heavy duty foil around the cereal box cone. Be sure to make a little bit of an edge.

Spray the foil with non-stick spray. Mold the dough around it, sealing the edges very well. Pull the cereal box cone out of the foil and set the foil & dough aside. Use the cereal box cone to repeat the process until all 4 cones are completed.

Yes, I know what that looks like. It looked even more like one from other angles.

Stand the dough cones, point up, on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove them from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Remove the foil and prop the cones, point down, in a clean steel can. Fill with your favorite pizza toppings.

Those are chopped black olives, not rodent turds.

Put back in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and toppings are warm.

These held together very, very well and were delicious!! Sam is going to make some more permanent molds for shaping and baking the dough, as well as a friendlier rack for cooking the filled cones. I was going to take a picture of myself, eating from the pointy end, but one phallic symbol picture in this blog entry was enough!

Friday, January 21, 2011

I must replicate this at home.

My favorite, favorite sauce/topping/marinade/dip is Chipotle People's Sweet Heat Addiction. My BFF, Amy, got some of this, along with some salsas, for my birthday a couple years ago. It was a huge hit, and she got it for me again. As long as Mad Men stays on the air, I'll be getting this mouth party for my birthday.

The problem is, it only lasts so long. My birthday is in May. I have been very, very conservative with my Sweet Heat usage but I finally ran out today. I haz da sadz. My eyes teared up. Mostly because my mouth was on fire as I licked the very last of it off my plate. Have you ever watched a hamster at its water bottle? Image I'm a giant hamster, standing in my kitchen, licking the hell out of an upside down bottle, contorting my tongue to get as far up in there as possible. Ew, okay, that sounds gross. Never mind.

The ingredients are simple:

brown sugar, chipotle paste (dried & smoked jalapeno peppers, tomato paste, water, vinegar salt, citric acid), water, fresh onion, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, cilantro, fresh garlic, salt, chipotle seeds, xanthan gum (this last weird thing, I actually have in my pantry)

All of this makes a 14.7 oz bottle of sweet & spicy goodness. Each tablespoon has 25 calories (1 g fat, 6 g carbs, 0 g protein). What's the best way for me to replicate this puppy? I neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed a constant supply of this stuff. It's called Sweet Heat Addiction for a reason!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Updated baking recipes

I found another recipe for Sandwich Thins, this one is whole wheat and slightly less points than the first one I posted.

Sandwich Thins

1 1/3 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs yeast
1 large egg
2 tsp canola oil
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 Tbs vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt

1. In a bowl sprinkle the sugar over the warm water, then do the same with the yeast. Add the egg and oil and combine. In a separate container, use a fork or a whisk to stir together the flour, bran, wheat gluten, and salt. Add 1/2 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend. This is the sponge.

2. Let rise 30 - 45 minutes.

3. Add rest of flour mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. I use my stand mixer with the dough attachment. This dough will be sticky.

4. Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into 18 equal portions. This is a wet dough so instead of adding any additional flour, I weigh the dough on a food scale and divide it by 18. Then I weigh out each portion and put 8 on each cookie sheet. Don't worry about how it looks now.

5. Take a 4" biscuit cutter and place it over one of the dough portions. If you wet the inside of the cutter as well as your fingers you can spread the dough into a perfect circle by using your fingers to flatten it to the inside edge of the biscuit cutter. (These will be very thin but they will rise). Remove the cutter, re-wet the inside and use it to do the same thing to the remaining buns.

6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the buns rise until double in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.

7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Don't overbake. Cool the buns and then cut them in half for sandwich buns.

8. Edit Note: Since I first started making these I've made 2 changes. One is that I make them in muffin top pans sprayed with Pam. No cutting involved.

9. The other thing is that I use oat fiber instead of the wheat bran. I ordered oat fiber online. It is NOT the same as oat bran and is in many things these days, so I decided to try it instead of wheat bran. It is very high fiber, few calories, and pleasant tasting. Just use in moderation. In this recipe I use only 1/4 cup. It is 5 calories and 26 grams of fiber for the 1/4 cup. Also, it is more mild tasting than the wheat bran.

Servings: 18

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/18 of a recipe (1.7 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 103.51
Calories From Fat (9%) 9.6
% Daily Value
Total Fat 1.09g 2%
Saturated Fat 0.17g <1%
Cholesterol 11.75mg 4%
Sodium 134.63mg 6%
Potassium 59.48mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 20.11g 7%
Fiber 1.4g 6%
Sugar 2.86g
Protein 3.63g 7%
MyPoints 2.84

Weekend Baking

Sandwich Thins

1 1/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 Tbs vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs rolled oats

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine water, sugar and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit for 10 minutes. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (start with only 1 cup of the AP flour) and add half to the mixer bowl (or just measure out half of each one). Add the oil and egg and then turn the mixer on to low and mix until thoroughly combined. Cover and let rest 1 hour.

2. Add the remaining dry ingredients and knead for 5 minutes. This dough will be sticky. Add additional AP flour by the tablespoon so that dough forms a ball. (It doesn't have to perfectly clean the sides of the bowl, but you don't want a gloopy mess.)

3. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray (I also used parchment). Divide dough into 18 equal portions - I weighed the entire ball of dough to figure out the weight of each bun. Roll each portion of dough in your hands to form a ball, and then flatten it between your palms. Place it on the baking sheet and press down, working the dough into a thin 5-inch round. Brush the tops with water and then sprinkle with rolled oats.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees while you let the buns rest for 30 minutes before docking - I used the narrow end of a chopstick to dock the buns before baking for 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

Servings: 18

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/18 of a recipe (1.8 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 128.76
Calories From Fat (15%) 19.27
% Daily Value
Total Fat 2.19g 3%
Saturated Fat 0.36g 2%
Cholesterol 11.75mg 4%
Sodium 134.68mg 6%
Potassium 63.94mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 23.45g 8%
Fiber 1.57g 6%
Sugar 2.88g
Protein 4.08g 8%
MyPoints 3.53

Protein Granola Bar - Vanilla

200 g rolled oats
100 g vanilla whey protein powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
122 g unsweetened applesauce
20 g ground flax
84 g honey
80 g brown sugar
56 g almonds, chopped
68 g shredded coconut

1. Mix the oats, protein powder, baking soda, extract, applesauce, flax, honey, and brown sugar in a bowl.

2. Stir in almonds, dried fruit, and coconut.

3. Spray a 9x13 inch cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

4. Press mixture over cookie sheet evenly to the edges.

5. Bake 18-20 minutes in a 325 degree oven.

6. Let cool and cut into bars.

7. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator.

Servings: 18

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/18 of a recipe (1.4 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 137.02
Calories From Fat (26%) 35.1
% Daily Value
Total Fat 4.23g 7%
Saturated Fat 1.46g 7%
Cholesterol 9.26mg 3%
Sodium 83.31mg 3%
Potassium 99.87mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 19.91g 7%
Fiber 2.26g 9%
Sugar 10.18g
Protein 6.88g 14%
MyPoints 3.94

Cereal Bars

1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
7 cups cereal rice krispies
½ cup chocolate chips

1. Combine sugar and corn syrup in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter and vanilla, stir until well mixed and smooth. Stir in cereal mix. Fold in choc chips. Grease a 12x9 pan. Pour the mix into the greased pan. Using WET hands press the mix into the pan as evenly as possible. Let them cool on the counter or in the fridge. Once cooled completely, cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

Servings: 18

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/18 of a recipe (1.9 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 224.54
Calories From Fat (32%) 72.83
% Daily Value
Total Fat 8.76g 13%
Saturated Fat 2.36g 12%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 172.92mg 7%
Potassium 113.43mg 3%
Total Carbohydrates 35.11g 12%
Fiber 1.22g 5%
Sugar 13.35g
Protein 4.5g 9%
MyPoints 6.51

English Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
1 package active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups skim milk
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs butter unsalted
2 cups all purpose flour
1 large egg
cornmeal for dusting

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and yeast... set this aside. In a small sauce pan, heat the milk, water, and butter until very warm (about 120*-130*F).

2. Add this gradually to the dry mixture and beat on medium speed in a stand up mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add one egg and another 1 cup of flour, and beat on high for 2 minutes. Continue to add small amounts of flour so that a soft dough forms. Remove this dough from the bowl, and knead until it is smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky, add small amounts of flour. Place back in the bowl, cover, and let rise until it doubles... about one hour.

3. After it's doubled, punch it down like it called your spouse fat, cover, and let it rise back again... about 45 minutes. Punch it down again like it didn't learn it's lesson :) On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until 1/2" thickness. I use a water glass, cut out the muffins.

4. Sprinkle a cookie sheet with cornmeal, and place the muffins about 1" apart from each other. Sprinkle the tops with more cornmeal. Cover and let rise again for another 45 minutes... I know but they need it.

5. Over low heat, lightly grease a griddle or a heavy skillet. Once the surface is hot, place the muffins with a metal spatula - be careful not to damage or deflate them - on the griddle. They will expand both up and outwards as they cook on each side. Flip over each muffin as they brown, but don't let them burn... they will get too crunchy. This takes about 5 minutes a side. Make sure each side is evenly brown, and cool them on wire racks. This recipe makes anywhere from 20-24 muffins, depending on how thick they are.

Servings: 24

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/24 of a recipe (1.6 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. One of the recipe's ingredients was not linked. This ingredient is not included in the recipe nutrition data.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 94.42
Calories From Fat (9%) 8.08
% Daily Value
Total Fat 0.92g 1%
Saturated Fat 0.41g 2%
Cholesterol 10.44mg 3%
Sodium 204.97mg 9%
Potassium 61.51mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 18.01g 6%
Fiber 0.65g 3%
Sugar 2.03g
Protein 3.18g 6%
MyPoints 2.5

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Halloween Week Menu

I know I've been a-slacking on my bloggy here, but I've been busy and sick, and lately busy and sick at the same time. I wanted to throw this post up so I could reference it during the week. Last year during the week of Halloween, I did a theme for dinner and it was a huge hit. I'm doing a few of the same recipes & ideas but there are some new things, too.

Lunches for Sebastian this week - just spooky sandwiches. Those are just sandwiches cut with Halloween cookie cutters. He's so weird about his lunch. He doesn't want to take anything "new" so we stick with peanut butter & jelly/honey/nutella sandwiches, sometimes some mini pizzas on Sandwich Thins or light English muffins. He won't take leftovers. Turd.

Speaking of turds, I am still on the lookout for a good cookie recipe that can be made to look like dog shit. Sam said he'd eat it.

Monday's dinner is vegetarian chill-ee with blue moon corn muffins. I'm just using my favorite easy vegetarian chili recipe.

1/2 c dried black beans

1/2 c dried pinto beans

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves roasted garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, diced

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup vegetable broth

2 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

dash cayenne pepper

dash red pepper flakes

1/2 cup TVP + 1/2 cup water

1. Cook the dried beans according to the directions on the package.

2. In a medium to large soup pot, sautee the onion, bell pepper and garlic in the olive oil. Add tomatoes, vegetable broth and chili powder and stir.

3. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Stir occasionally and cook for at least 20 minutes. Add TVP and water 10 minutes before done cooking. Of course, the longer you cook chili the better, but if you're pressed for time, 20 minutes is fine.

4. For a spicier chili, add extra cayenne and red pepper flakes. Makes 6 servings.

Blue Moon Corn Muffins - Okay, I cheated here. There is a recipe for this in 13 Halloween Recipes but it's not Weight Watchers Core friendly. So I made Core'N bread with a little blue food coloring.

Core'N Bread

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup Cream of Wheat, uncooked

1 cup ff sour cream

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup splenda

2 tsp olive oil

2 eggs

1/2 cup ff milk.

The cornbread bakes in a sprayed 8x8" pan at 400 for 35 minutes.

On Tuesday - chicken salad pita monsters.

On Wednesday - jack-o-lantern sloppy joe pie. I'll be using ground venison instead of turkey sausage.

On Thursday - Halloween Soup.

1 pound black beans

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 tablespoon A-1 Sauce

salt and cayenne pepper to taste

1 pound carrots, sliced into rounds

cilantro for garnish (optional)

1. Rinse and soak beans for 6 hours or overnight.

2. Drain beans and empty into a large soup pot.

3. Add enough water to cover the beans by 2 to 3 inches.

4. Bring to a boil and then skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

5. Add garlic and onion.

6. Lower heat and cook until onions are soft, about 15 minutes.

7. Next, add A-1 Sauce and salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

8. Cook for about 1 hour.

9. Add carrots and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

10. Garnish with cilantro, if desired, before serving.

On Friday - Cannibal Platter.

Fingers and Ears:
1 lb. medium-large shrimp, divided
1/4 lb. small peeled shrimp
3 tbsp. salted butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and chopped
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Toothpicks
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

Testicles:
10-12 large sea scallops, rinsed and thoroughly dried
2 tbsp. flour
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

1. To make the fingers and ears, divide your pile of medium-large shrimp in half. Use half for fingers, and half for ears.

2. To create the fingers, peel each shrimp, leaving on the tail and the last segment of shell right before the tail. Devein each shrimp, cutting into the shrimp as little as possible to do so. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the tail off of each shrimp, leaving the small shelled end intact. Keeping the shrimp as straight as possible thread each one onto a toothpick or a length of skewer. This will keep them from curling as they cook. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

3. To create the ears, completely peel and devein the other half of your medium-large shrimp. Butterfly them generously to devein. This helps give them their "ear" shape. Tuck a small peeled and deveined shrimp into curve of each larger shrimp. Skewer them both together with a toothpick. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

4. The sea scallop "testicles" are basically ready to go - they require no preparation.

5. To cook your Cannibal platter, melt the butter and olive oil together in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook over low heat until garlic is very tender, about 15 minutes. Don't let it burn or brown!

6. Add rosemary. Cook 2-3 minutes more.

7. To cook the finger and ear shrimps, salt and pepper them to taste and add them to the pan. You may need to do this in stages. Cook 2-3 minutes per side, until pink and cooked through. Sprinkle with lemon juice to taste and keep warm (if desired - they're also good cold) until ready to serve.

8. To cook the scallop "testicles," mix the flour and Cajun seasoning in a small bowl. Dredge scallops in flour mixture.

9. In a skillet, heat oil until hot. Cook scallops in oil, turning once, until both sides are brown, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle lemon over.

10. Arrange your "testicles," "fingers," and "ears," creatively on a platter and pour the sauce for each over top. Serve with your choice of dipping sauces, if desired. And don't forget to label each of these gross Halloween foods for maximum gross-out!

Saturday's dinner is pizza mummies. We're making them with chicken breast & Sandwich Thins instead of pepperoni & English muffins.

Sunday's breakfast will be pumpkin oat pancakes.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoon wheat germ
2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
chocolate chips or raisins (optional)

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

2. Combine milk, egg, pumpkin and oil in separate bowl; stir into dry ingredients just until
moistened.

3. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot greased griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of
pancakes.

4. Cook until second side is golden brown. Decorate with chocolate chips and raisins if desired.
Yields 10-12 pancakes

And dinner will be vampire-repelling burgers with potato worms. This is just burgers with minced garlic and potatoes cut into worm shapes and baked.

For beverages, Sebastian loves Blood Juice - a little red Kool Aid mixed with club soda or Sprite/7-Up.