Random Odds and Ends Chickpea Salad

Jess posted over at Not A Diet yesterday about learning to cook without a recipe.

I agree with several of the commenters there, it's about practice and trial and error- after a while, you start to develop a sense of what would go with what. It also helps to keep certain items on hand. I feel Jess's pain about going to the grocery store too often, but there are a lot of fresh ingredients that last a long time, impart a lot of flavor, and are key to having around for last-minute meals.

Here's my list of things I try to keep in the house, aside from the usual salt, pepper, olive oil, etc:

Cans/dry goods:
-black beans
-chick peas
-diced tomatoes
-whole tomatoes
-tuna
-light coconut milk
-chicken broth and veggie broth (I actually get this in those cartons and I know, making your own is better, but let's be realistic, shall we?)
-quinoa
-brown rice
-barilla plus pasta (for emergencies)
-lentils

Perishables (that last a long time):
-eggs
-garlic
-onions
-sweet potatoes
-kalamata olives
-lemons and limes (seriously, with a lemon, you can make pretty much anything better)
-ginger (I cheat and get the pre-grated stuff in a jar.)
-thai red curry paste
-block of parmesan cheese
-salsa verde from a jar
-frozen mixed veggies
-block of feta cheese

From these ingredients, all of which are pretty cheap and last a long time, you can make all kinds of stuff. Some of my go-to meals include:

*Scrambled eggs with salsa verde, black beans, and feta
*Mixed veggie red curry with roasted sweet potatoes and brown rice
*Black beans simmered with canned tomatoes and salsa verde, served with brown rice or quinoa
*Pasta with quick homemade tomato sauce
*Mujadara (lentil and onion stew- so yummy, and so so cheap)

But my favorite, and the one I want to share with you today, was a happy accident. I call it "um, we have nothing to eat" chickpea salad:

Ingredients:
can of chick peas
garlic
1 lemon
olive oil
salt
pepper
feta
olives
quinoa

optional ingredients (if you have them, toss them in)
tomatoes
spinach leaves
red peppers

To make:
1. Whisk together the juice of one lemon, about 1Tbsp of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and one clove minced garlic. If you're feeling really adventurous, toss some lemon zest in there, too. Taste for seasoning and tartness, and adjust with additional oil and/or salt if necessary. Toss dressing with a can of drained chickpeas.

2. Add any additional veggies, if using (spinach and red bell peppers are particularly tasty- you'll probably want to sautee the red peppers before mixing them in to soften them a little.) If you want, pop this mixture in a frying pan and heat through.

3. Prepare some quinoa according to the package instructions.

4. Scoop some quinoa into a bowl, top with some of the chickpea mixture, and sprinkle with crumbled feta and chopped kalamata olives. If you want, grate some parmesan cheese on top. Pat yourself on the back for being so thrifty and gourmet.

Houswarming Lemon Bars

Hey everyone-

Some of you may know me from my own blog, pseudostoops, and I was thrilled when Jess said it would be okay for me to contribute to her recipe blog!

Normally, my own cooking tends towards the healthy side. (My dad had a stroke when I was 5 and he was 46, brought on by high blood pressure and high cholesterol, so healthy cooking has long been a priority in my family, and I'm fortunate to have develped healthy habits as a result.) But when it comes to baking and desserts, I inherited my dad's wicked sweet tooth, and I'd much rather eat a small portion of something delicious and homemade than a larger portion of something filled with chemicals and fake sweeteners and other ingredients I can't pronounce. Plus, I LOVE baking, and would be sad if I stopped. So I've developed a cadre of go-to dessert recipes that aren't healthy, exactly, but aren't over-the-top rich and are so delicious that you can be satisfied with a small portion.

As you may have heard, Jess is currently in the middle of a big cross-country move, and if I lived close enough to bring her and Torsten a small housewarming gift in their new place, this is what I'd bring them. Because I can't bring them in person, I'm giving them a housewarming recipe!

Easy-Peasy Lemon Bars
makes 36 bars

These lemon bars are perfect- lemony and tangy with a satisfying crunchy crust. They're much less rich than many lemon bar recipes, and they only use one bowl and require ZERO special equipment- not even a hand mixer! Plus, I usually have all the ingredients on hand, so I can make them in a flash. They're a winner.


For the crust:
8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter, melted in the microwave
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour

For the filling:
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
3 Tablespoons flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup strained fresh lemon juice (it usually takes me about two and a half lemons to get this much juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 dgrees. Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch square baking pan with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray. (for directions on making a foil sling for bars, look below. It's SO WORTH THE EFFORT because it makes cutting easy and you don't end up weeping over ruined brownies that have fused to the pan. Not that I speak from experience.)

2. Make the crust: in the same medium-sized bowl you microwaved the butter in, stir in the sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour and mix until incorporated. Press dough evenly over the bottom of the pan with your fingers. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is fully baked- it will be well-browned at the edges and golden brown in the center.

3. While the crust is baking, make the filling: Give the bowl you made the crust in a quick rinse and dry out with a paper towel. Stir together the sugar and the flour in the bowl. Whisk in the eggs. Stir in the zest and the lemon juice.

4. When the crust is ready, turn the heat in the oven down to 300 degrees. Slide the rack with the pan out and pour the filling onto the hot crust. Bake for 20-25 minutes longer, until the filling no longer jiggles in the center when you tap the pan.

5. Let cool completely in pan. To make cutting easier, after it's cool I pop the pan in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Lift the foil sling out and set the bars on a cutting board. Cut into 36 equal squares. Dust with powdered sugar if you like.

Store the bars in the fridge for up to a week.

Welcome home, Jess and Torsten!


******
Foil sling method for brownies and bar cookies, from Cooks Illustrated

1. Fold two long sheets of aluminum foil so that they are as wide as the baking pan (if the dish is rectangular, the two sheets will be different sizes). Lay the sheets of foil in the pan, perpendicular to one another, with the extra hanging over the edges of the pan.

2. Push the foil flat into the corners and up the sides of the pan. Try to iron out any wrinkles in the foil, laying it flush to the pan. Spray the sides and bottom of the pan with vegetable oil spray before adding the batter.

3. After the brownies or bar cookies have baked and cooled, use the foil sling to transfer them to a cutting board before cutting into squares.)

Old Favorite: Buttermilk Pancakes

This is not a Weight Watchers recipe, but I re-built it in the WW tool and did the calculations, and as long as you limit yourself to just a few pancakes, it's not too bad. The pancakes are so yummy, and now that we have a griddle we've revived the recipe. I don't normally like pancakes, but these are the ones my dad made when I was growing up, and they are delicious.

Buttermilk Pancakes: Makes 12 servings; 3 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch salt
• 2 ¼ cups buttermilk
• 3 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
   
2. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter.
   
3. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Let rest for a few hours, refrigerated. [My father always uses it immediately and I did the same.]
4. Gently fold in any additional ingredients such as berries or chocolate chips.
   
5. Heat a griddle over medium heat until a drop of water dances lightly across the surface and lightly grease it.
   
6. Using ¼-cup measure for each pancake, pour the batter onto the griddle. Cook until bubbles form on the surface, the edges are dry and the bottoms are golden brown, 4 minutes. Turn once, cooking again until the bottoms are golden, 2 minutes.

The verdict: These are absolutely delicious, and not just because I ate them as a kid. They're just so fluffy and tasty and really good with maple syrup. The first few that I made came out very light-colored and not golden, even though they were fully cooked. I eventually figured out that it was because the griddle wasn't quite hot enough, but even the pale yellow ones were delicious. This is a great weekend breakfast--or dinner!

Old Favorite: Havarti Dill Smoked Salmon Risotto

This was one of our favorite recipes back when I first started Weight Watchers, and in the spirit of my post on my personal blog about wanting to get back into that mindset, I thought I'd post it here even though I don't have photos. And I think I'll make it again soon. After all, it is delicious.

Havarti Dill Smoked Salmon Risotto: Makes 2 servings; 7 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 5 1/4 oz milan-style risotto mix, with seasoning packet [Instead of risotto mix, I just use about a cup of risotto rice and cook it in low-sodium chicken broth instead of water, and add spices--lemon pepper, basil, oregano, a couple chili flakes, a bit of onion powder--and a splash of lemon juice to make it flavorful]
• 2 cups water [or chicken broth--see above]
  
• 2 tbsp dill, fresh, chopped
• 2 oz smoked salmon, diced
• 1 oz havarti cheese, about a 1/4 cup, grated
• 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
• 1 tsp dill, or 2 small sprigs, for garnish

Instructions

• In a saucepan combine rice and seasoning mix [or, in my case, all the stuff I mentioned in my parenthetical aside above] with water [or, like I said, chicken broth]. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Stir in dill, salmon, pepper, and Havarti. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.
• Serve in shallow bowls, garnished with dill sprigs.

The verdict: Well, I suppose this is obvious since it's an old favorite and all, but OMG yum. And plus, it's so easy to make! Seriously, you just dump a bunch of stuff in a pot, wait, and eat. And it is delicious, and the risotto is almost creamy, so it feels like it's much worse for you than it actually is. Bonus!

Old Favorite: Spinach Enchiladas

This is one of our favorite recipes, and I actually made and photographed it awhile ago and then never got around to posting it. But better late than never, right?

Spinach Enchiladas: Makes 4 servings; 6 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 10 oz chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed to remove water
• 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 4 medium tortilla, flour, fat-free [I use low-fat, whole-wheat tortillas instead]
  
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican-style cheese [I was out of Mexican cheese last time I made these, so I used more mozzarella instead]
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Coat a 7 X 11-inch baking dish with cooking spray. [I use a square dish instead.]
   
2. Combine ricotta, spinach, mozzarella, oregano, onion powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl; mix well.
   
3. Spoon 1/4 of spinach mixture onto center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, fold in ends and place side-by-side in prepared baking dish. Spoon salsa over tortillas and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of Mexican cheese.
4. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until top is golden brown, about 10 minutes more.

The verdict: This is so, so easy to make, and really yummy. I've made it with fresh spinach before instead of frozen, and it works just as well. I usually serve these with a side shrimp, either sauteed Veracruz style or baked in a lemony sauce. It makes for a fantastic and very healthy meal.

New Recipe: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting

Torsten and I were having dinner guests, so I decided to break away from the Weight Watchers thing for the night and bake an actually decadent dessert. Of course, I didn't decide this until we were actually at the grocery store, so I wound up making the recipe on the back of the cocoa can because that was the only way I could be sure to buy all the ingredients. Luckily, it turned out delicious. I don't know the Weight Watchers points, and I think that's really for the best. Also, my apologies for the small number of photos--my camera battery was on its last legs, and I only got a couple photos before it crapped out completely. But you get the idea.

New Recipe: Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting Cake Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk [I used 2%]
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Cake Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
5. Pour batter into pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks and cool completely

Frosting Ingredients

• 1 stick butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  

Frosting Instructions

1. Melt butter.
2. Stir in cocoa.
3. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed to spreading consistency.
4. Add more milk if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups.
   

Assembly

There were no instructions on the assembly part, and I struggled a little bit with this because both cakes were sort of rounded on top, but by the time they had cooled completely they'd flattened out a little bit, so it wound up being okay. I just frosted one cake, then stuck the other one on top and frosted it too. It definitely didn't look professional, and I'm sorry I don't have a photo, but it worked.


The verdict: Oh my god delicious. I mean, I know it's pretty hard to go wrong with chocolate cake, but I've never been much of a baker so I was particularly proud of myself for making a cake from scratch. And it was easy, too--basically a bunch of mixing. I know, I always say my recipes are easy. Maybe I don't challenge myself enough or something, but most of what I cook DOES seem to be easy, and this was no exception. I had been a little worried about whether the cakes would stick to the pans, because I've never greased and floured a pan before, but the cakes slid right out after they had cooled for about ten minutes.

The cake went over very well. I try not to make unhealthy desserts often, so I don't know if I'll make this again, but I will definitely keep the recipe in mind for the next time we have company.

New Recipe: Ground Beef Noodles

So, for awhile I had this modified beef stroganoff recipe that I was using, but the thing is that even though it sounds really good with the pasta and the beef and the sour cream and all, something about beef stroganoff just doesn't sit right with me. I think it's the combo of spices. So I was thrilled when I found this recipe that sounds a lot like beef stroganoff, but without the stuff I don't like.

Ground Beef Noodles: Makes 4 servings; 9 WW points per serving

Ingredients

• 6 ounces whole wheat egg noodles, uncooked
• 1 lb ground beef, 93% lean
  
• 1 (6 ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces
• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cups V-8 vegetable juice (or tomato juice) [I used the low-sodium kind]
  
• 2 teaspoons salt [I used onion powder instead of salt]
  
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery salt (optional) [I didn't use this, but I did add a dash of paprika]

Instructions

1. In a large frying pan or Dutch oven, saute the onions in butter until tender. [I don't have a Dutch oven and I didn't quite see how the noodles would all fit into the frying pan, so I used a pasta pot instead. Also, I added the mushrooms at this point instead of waiting until the end because I like cooked mushrooms.]
   
2. Add meat and brown lightly.
3. Place the noodles in a layer over meat.
4. Combine the tomato juice with the seasonings, and pour over noodles.
5. Bring to a boil, then cover.
6. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes (or until the noodles are tender). [I was nervous that the noodles wouldn't all get cooked, because in the pasta pot they weren't all quite submerged in the liquid, so I went back a couple times during the 30 minutes and poked at them with a spoon to make sure they were covered with liquid.]
   
7. Stir in the sour cream and mushrooms and bring to a boil.
8. Serve hot.

The verdict: Wow, delicious! And even easier to make than most recipes, because there is almost no prep work--just chopping the onion. This is everything that I like about beef stroganoff without the stuff I don't like. We will definitely be making this again.