Homemade buttermilk rye bread with rosemary

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Alana

You guys, this bread is soooo good! I actually slightly regret making it because I want to eat all of it.

I used the buttermilk that I had left over from the butter I made last week, but you can use regular buttermilk. It really makes the bread soft and delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 packet of yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1.5 cups warm buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 cups of rye flour
  • 1/4 cup butter melted and cooled down
  • 1/2 tsp of rosemary

Instructions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water.
  2. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy. If it doesn’t foam that means the yeast is dead and you need to start over
  3. Whisk the buttermilk, honey, salt, and baking soda together and add it to the yeast mixture.
  4. Add 3 cups of all purpose flour and mix until smooth. Use a mixer for this if you can
  5. Pour in the butter until it is totally mixed into the batter.
  6. Add the rye flour, one cup at a time, keeping mixer on low speed.
  7. Once the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl take it out it from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Knead until it’s elastic
  8. Place in bowl, cover with towel or plastic wrap and leave it alone and let it rise for 1.5 hour
  9. Split the dough into 2 loaves. Place into greased loaf pans and cover again. Allow to rise for 45-55 minutes or until the tops of the breads reach the top of the bread pans
  10. Brush the tops of the loaves with butter and sprinkle with a bit of rosemary
  11. Preheat oven to 400F.
  12. Bake for 15 minutes. Take out and spray with some water. This will crisp the tops a bit. Bake another 15 minutes.
  13. Remove loaves from oven and brush with a bit melted butter.
  14. Allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes
  15. Enjoy!

Posted in Breads, Breakfast | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black bean burger and portobello black bean burger

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Alana

As I’m sure you guys can tell, I’m not a vegetarian. That being said, I’ve been trying to integrate at least one day a week when I don’t eat meat. I think it helps me expand my horizons a bit and cook out of my comfort zone.

These black bean burgers were the first vegetarian meal I truly enjoyed and would make again.

So here’s the recipe for the portobello black bean burger (if you want the regular black bean burger just ignore the mushroom part and use buns).

Ingredients:

Black bean burger (makes about 5 patties)

  • 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 carrot finely shredded
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup quick oats
  • 1/3 cup shredded cheese of your choice

Portobello bun:

  • 5 portobello mushrooms
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp butter softened
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

Topping:

  • 1 medium tomato chopped
  • 1.5 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1 tsp parmesan or shredded cheese of you choice

Instructions:

  1. Heat one tbsp of olive oils in pan. Add onions, garlic, salt and pepper and cook on medium/high heat stirring frequently until the onions are translucent
  2. Add carrots, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and cook on medium heat until carrots become soft and tender.
  3. While the veggies are cooking, place the 2 cans of drained and rinsed black beans in a large bowl and heat in microwave for 30 sec
  4. Using a masher, fork or food processor mash the black beans until they become like a paste. Its ok if you have some little chunks of black beans
  5. Add the carrot and onion mix to the bowl of black beans and mix well
  6. Add flour, quick oats and cheese to bowl and mix well
  7. Form patties with you hands. Place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes
  8. While the patties are chilling, rinse and dry the portobellos
  9. Season both sides of the portobellos with salt, pepper and garlic powder
  10. Heat a skillet with 1/2 tsp of butter and place mushrooms on it
  11. Cut the remaining butter into small chunks and place them into the mushrooms (the inner side of the mushrooms). Cover the pan and set heat to medium
  12. Once the butter in the mushrooms has melted flip them over and cook another 2-3 minutes or until tender. Set aside.
  13. Remove patties from freezer and place on pan. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side on medium heat.
  14. In a small bowl combine tomatoes, cilantro, salt and 1/2 tsp balsamic vinaigrette
  15. Serve black bean patties on top of the portobello mushrooms topped with tomatoes and cilantro mix. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top. And viola!
  16. Enjoy!
Posted in Main Dishes, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Baked meatballs with parmesan and tomato sauce

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Alana

IMG_3009

You’ll beed a baking/roasting dish for this. You should be able to place a rack or a perforated roasting pan on top of the baking dish. The reason for this is that the meatball with bake and yummy meat oils into the sauce, so the dish the meatballs are in should have holes in it. See picture:

broiler

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

  • 2 packs of ground beef (12-14 oz each)
  • 2 slices of white bread tore up into small pieces with crust removed
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 yellow onion grated
  • 1 egg
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1/3 cup shredded parmesan
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 5-6 minced garlic cloves

Sauce:

  • 2 cans of diced tomatoes (fire roasted if you have it, or regular if you don’t)
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup beef or chicken broth
  • salt to taste

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Pour olive oil into baking dish and mix in onions so they are spread out and coated in olive oil
  3. Bake for 7 minutes
  4. In a medium bowl combine grated onions, bread pieces and milk and mix together. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, it should become one mushy mixture
  5. Remove from baking dish oven and mix in all the other sauce ingredients into and place back in oven for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven after 5 minutes and set aside.
  6. Change oven temp to 390F
  7. In a large bowl mix together all the meatball ingredients including the mushy bread with milk and onions. Mix well
  8. Spray rack/baking dish with holes with some cooking spray
  9. Using your hands form meatballs (about 1 inch in diameter) and place on baking rack. Don’t make them smaller than that or they will cook too quickly and dry out a bit
  10. Place meatball rack on top of the dish holding the sauce and place both in oven for 20 minutes
  11. Once meatballs are done, place them into the sauce and serve with pasta of choice
  12. Enjoy!

 

Posted in Main Dishes, Red Meat | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The BEST baked Pork Chops with caramelized peaches, onions and goat cheese

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Alana

pork

I finally did it. After trying to make the perfect pork chops with multiple trial and errors, I figured it out.

A few things about this recipe, if you want it to turn out great:

  1. You need a meat thermometer
  2. You have to do the brining part for at least 2-3 hours before cooking
  3. You have to like pork

Brining is amazing. I just recently discovered this technique. It actually changes the molecular structure of the meat and makes it so juicy and amazing. So don’t skip it. You won’t be sorry I promise.

So without further delay here the recipe for the BEST pork chops!!

Ingredients:

Brine:

  • 2-4 pork chops
  • 1 cup boiled water
  • 2.5 tbsp table salt
  • 2 cups cold water
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1 tsp pepper

Rub/Marinade:

  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary if you have it, otherwise use dry
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 cloves of garlic minced
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Topping:

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 peach diced
  • 1/2 yellow onion diced
  • 1 tbsp goat cheese (regular or with honey)
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • pinch of salt

Instructions:

For the brining:

  1. Boil 1 cup of water
  2. Add salt, rosemary and pepper and mix well in a medium bowl
  3. Add 2 cups of cold water to cool down the mixture and mix
  4. In a relatively shallow dish (should fit 3 cups of water and pork chops), place pork chops in the dish and pour the water mixture over it
  5. If your brine doesn’t cover the pork chops add enough cold water and salt to cover it. Use a ratio of 1 cup water to 1.5 tbsp salt when adding
  6. Leave in fridge for 2-3 hours or longer if possible. I usually leave it for 6 hours or overnight

For the baking/ topping:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. After you brined the pork chops, remove them from the water mixture and place in baking dish
  3. In a medium bowl combine the marinade ingredients (apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, brown sugar, garlic, rosemary and salt) and mix well
  4. Cover both sides of each pork chop with the mixture and set aside for 5-10 minutes
  5. Heat butter in medium skillet
  6. Once butter is melting, add onions and salt
  7. Cook on medium-high heat until onions become golden, mixing frequently to avoid burning
  8. Add brown sugar and mix well, allowing it to caramelize
  9. Turn heat to medium and add peaches
  10. At this point, place your pork chops in the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes
  11. Continue to cook peaches with onions until they become more soft and brownish (3-5 minutes)pork3
  12. Turn heat to low and mix in goat cheese. Cover the pan and let it be for another 5-7 minutes, mixing occasionally.
  13. Once your pork chops have been cooking for 10 minutes, take them out and check the internal temp with a meat thermometer. Cooking time really depends on thickness and whether you are making 2-4 pork chops. The internal temp should be 145-150F, so its less than than place back in oven in intervals of 5-10 minutes. Just to give you an idea, i made 2 pork chops that were about 1/2 an inch thick and about 4 inches in length and they took about 20-25 minutes.
  14. Once your pork chops are done, remove them from the oven and let them rest for 5-7 minutes! Don’t skip this!
  15. Place your cooked peach/onion/goat cheese mixture on top of the pork chops and serve with side of your choice. (Mine here is smashed potatoes)
  16. Enjoy!FullSizeRender

 

 

Posted in Main Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Herbed butter

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Alana

fullsizerender.jpg

I’ve never made butter before this, but I have to say it was very easy and delicious. Its also very cool to watch the different stages it goes through before it becomes butter. I would highly recommend using a stand mixer for this, because your hand will get tired of holding a hand mixer or immersion blender. But this being said, you CAN use whatever you want. The amount of butter you see in the photo is how much you’d get from 1 pint.

Ingredients:

  • 1 pint of heavy whipping cream (or 1 quart if you want more butter, double everything if you use a quart)
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Combine heavy whipping cream, thyme, rosemary and salt in a large bowl
  2. Set mixer to medium speed and mix for about 15 minutes (for pint, it’ll take about 30 minutes for quart). You will see the cream thicken first, then you’ll start to see globs of butter forming and the rest of the cream thinning and forming buttermilk. When the globs start forming, it gets very splashy, so i suggest putting a towel around/over the bowl.
  3. Once you see lots of globs and some buttermilk (liquid), you’re done mixing.
  4. Pour off the buttermilk into a jar (you can use this later for cooking a creamy sauce or whatever you want).
  5. Then place butter globs into a cheesecloth or towel and squeeze as much buttermilk out of it as you can. This will make the butter keep longer
  6. Store it in parchment paper. If you squeezed out the buttermilk well it will keep for about 1-1.5 weeks in the fridge and about 1 month in freezer
  7. Enjoy with bread (see prior post for honey herbed bread)

Notes: If you’d like to use the buttermilk to make pancakes, then don’t add herbs to it. You can always mix the herbs in after the butter is already solidified. Then you’ll have just pure buttermilk without added savory flavors.

 

Posted in Dips, sauces, dressings and butter, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Easy Honey Bread with Rosemary and Thyme

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Alana

FullSizeRender 2

This recipe was adapted from Sweet Paul. I used the same general base with slight changes in flavoring

Ingredients:

  • 3.5 cups of all purpose flour
  • 1 cups of warm water + 1/2 cup
  • 1 packet of instant yeast
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp of olive oils (and a bit more for applying on top of bread)
  • 1 tsp of rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp thyme
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • flaky sea salt to sprinkle

Instructions:

  1. Mix together: yeast, honey and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl. Leave it alone for 5 minutes. I should get frothy, if it doesn’t that means the yeast is dead. That also means you will have to start again
  2. Add 1 cup of water, flour, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp regular salt and mix until you have smooth dough without flour pockets
  3. Cover the bowl with plastic and let it rise for 40-60min
  4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  5. If you want 2 smaller loaves, divide the dough into 2 parts and place in bread baking dishes
  6. *** here you can do a couple of different things. You can either brush the bread with olive oil or with some egg. The egg creates a slightly crisper crust. Its up to you
  7. Once you brushed the top of the bread, sprinkle some rosemary, thyme and course sea salt on top
  8. Bake until the bread is golden ~ 18-22 minutes depending on your oven
  9. Cool a bit after, then serve
  10. Enjoy!

Side note: The butter in the photo was also home made, see my next post on how to do this. You won’t be sorry!

FullSizeRender

Posted in Breads | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Broiled Garlic Butter Lobster tails

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Alana

IMG_2685

Ingredients:

  • 2 lobster tails
  • 2 tbsp butter softened
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • (if you prefer, instead of paprika and pepper you can use a mixed seasoning like old bay or tony chachere’s or another cajun)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat broiler to high (or if you have the kind with temperature, 500 degrees F)
  2. Mix spices in a small bowl, then mix in butter and divide the mixture into 2 separate bowls
  3. Place lobster tails on baking sheet in a broiler safe dish
  4. With a knife or sharp scissors cut the lobster shell down from tip to tail, carefully avoiding the meat
  5. Remove visible veins
  6. Pull shell down carefully so meat looks as though its sitting on top
  7. Spoon 1 bowl of the spices and butter mixture on top of the lobster meat (leave the other one aside for now)
  8. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until meat is opaque/white.
  9. Remove from broiler and serve with the leftover butter mixture
  10. Enjoy!

IMG_2686

Posted in Main Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Salmon cakes with potatoes

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Alana

image1 2

This is a simple recipe that reheats very well. If crab cakes are not your thing, you may like this salmon cakes

Ingredients:

2 cans salmon, drained
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro (or parsley if you hate cilantro)
2 eggs, beaten
2 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons of seafood seasoning (cajun, old bay)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp mayo
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Mix together salmon, panko, cilantro, eggs, green onions, seafood seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan cheese, Dijon mustard, and mayo in a large bowl
  2. Divide and shape into small patties about 1.5 inches in diameter (smaller ones cook through better so resisted the urge to make them bigger)
  3. Heat olive oil in pain and place salmon patties in batches on the pan.
  4. Cook over medium heat, about 5 minutes per side, covered
  5. Enjoy with potatoes and greek yogurt dipping sauce!

Potatoes:

Ingredients:

  • 2 large potatoes chopped into 1 inch pieces (see photo)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp pepper (or lemon pepper if you have it)
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1.5 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1.5 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. Grease baking sheet with olive oil
  3. Place potatoes evenly on the baking pan
  4. season with salt, pepper, and rosemary
  5. add garlic and mix up the potatoes on the baking pan and arrange them again evenly and pour lemon juice over the potatoes
  6. Bake for 30 minutes

 

Yogurt Sauce for salmon cakes

Ingredients:

  • 5 tbsp plain greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cucumber finely chopped
  • 1 tsp dill
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

Instructions:

  1. Mix all ingredients together and serve with salmon cakes
  2. Thats all 🙂

 

Posted in Appetizers, Soups and Salads, Main Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Baked Orange Chicken

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Alana

image2

This chicken is delicious and tastes like the kind you can order from Chinese food restaurants. Its healthier too since its baked, and not fried and the sauce is home made without large amounts of sodium and other additives.

Ingredients:

Baked Chicken

  • 3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • ¾ cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 3 eggs whisked

Orange Sauce

  • 1 cup orange juice (or you can squeeze the juice of about 2 oranges to make it fresher)
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium if you have it)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha
  • 1/2 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp cold water

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with pam if you don’t have parchment paper
  2. Take out 3 bowls: place corn starch in one, whisked eggs in the next one, and park bread crumbs in the 3rd
  3. Dip chicken breast into the cornstarch and completely coat.
  4. Shake off extra cornstarch, then dip into the egg mixture and then roll into the panko until fully coated and place on a baking sheet. Repeat until all chicken is coated.
  5. Bake for 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through and crunchy
  6. While chicken is cooking prepare the orange sauce
  7. In a small pot combine all sauce ingredients, except the cornstarch and water
  8. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the sauce is boiling add in the cornstarch mixed with cold water and stir, cook again until sauce begins to boil, then turn the heat to low and stir until thickened. Set aside.
  9. Once chicken is ready, place the chicken in a  large non-stick sauté pan and turn heat to medium.
  10. Add sauce to chicken and mix it so the sauce covers all the chicken
  11. Allow it to cook together for 1-2 minutes
  12. Service with rice or side of your choice
  13. Enjoy!

image1

Posted in Main Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ginger soy honey salmon

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Alana

IMG_1928

You can bake it or pan cook it. If you plan to bake it, preheat over to 350 before starting. This recipe is very simple and quick.

Prep time: 25 minutes (5 to actually prep, 20 to marinate)

Cook time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 4-6 oz of salmon
  • 1/2 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 3-4 cloves of minced garlic

Instructions:
1. In a bowl combine all ingredients except salmon mix them
2. Place salmon on baking dish or in greased pan and spoon the mixture onto the salmon evenly on both sides if you salmon is skinless. If it has skin, just spread the mix on the skinless side. Allow to marinate for 10 minutes on each side
3. Either place in oven for 20 minutes at 350 or place in pan on medium heat, decrease to medium/low after 3-4 minutes, and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until it is no longer very pink inside (depends on thickness of your pieces)
4. Enjoy with the sides of your choice!

Posted in Main Dishes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment