Food Blogger? (A Recipe for peanut butter pancakes)

No, not quite. But I have been cooking a hell of a lot more than I've been doing anything fiber related. The last thing I knit was that snail, and I haven't really touched the needles since. I just haven't felt like it. I guess I shouldn't really feel bad. It is my hobby after all. It's not like anyone else is counting on me to do it.

In addition to cooking I've been reading a heck of a lot. This week I finished Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips and I reread Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. I'm working on rereading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It's a really amazing book, but so very sad at the end. The first time I read it (the summer before the movie came out - I'd never even heard of it before a friend let me borrow it) I remember thinking it would be a good reread because you'd probably pick up on a lot more during the second read than the first. It's a bit of a confusing book due to the time travel. It's a little odd to think about. I prefer to think of all time existing at once which is why the conundrums in the book are possible, but it's still a bit mind boggling.

Okay, so now for the real reason for this post. Peanut butter pancakes. I whipped these up this morning. I put bananas in a few and none in the others. I didn't actually like the slices of banana in the pancakes, but I think sliced bananas would make an excellent topping. They were a huge hit both ways with the boyfriend, who is a peanut butter addict. =)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour (you can use all purpose flour if you don't have it, or 1/2 all purpose, 1/2 whole wheat)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
3/4 c. sour cream or plain yogurt
1 c. milk
1/4 c. peanut butter (I used freshly ground peanut butter, there's a station for that at my local grocery)
1/2 tsp vanilla


Directions:
In a small bowl whisk together the egg, sour cream, milk, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla until combined.

In a large bowl mix together the remaining ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. The batter will be thick, but if it's too thick you can add a bit of milk.

Preheat a skillet to medium heat. Spray the skillet w/ spray oil or melt a bit of butter into the bottom. I would use maybe 1/2 c. batter per pancake. The pancakes are very filling so you'll eat a little less than you'd think.

Cook on the 1st side until you see bubbles and then flip and cook the other side for another couple of minutes.

Serve with pure maple syrup and sliced bananas. You could also garnish them with some whipped cream and cinnamon if you wanted to be really decadent!

Serves approx 4 people.

Quick and Easy Marinara

Since I've lived with my boyfriend I've spoiled him with my cooking. In fact, he misses it when I'm done. One of the things that I've completely ruined for him is jarred spaghetti sauce.

This is my most recent version of my marinara sauce and I think it's the best. The combination of canned sauce and canned diced tomatoes gives it a 'cooked all day' texture. It's my favorite yet. =)

The camera flash made the steam look like smoke.

Marinara Sauce:

Ingredients:
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can of plain tomato sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 c. white wine
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
1 small carrot or 2-3 baby carrots, diced
1 tsp Italian seasoning (Dried herbs, usually includes rosemary, thyme, oregano, and basil, feel free to substitute fresh, although if you use basil you'll want to stir it in near the end)
A few dashes of hot sauce *Optional
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Put 1/2 of the can of diced tomatoes into a food processor or blender and puree. Set aside. (If you don't want a chunky sauce, you can puree the entire can or just get all sauce at the grocery store, although the latter won't give you the same texture)

Heat a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Once it's warmed, add the garlic, onion, and carrots. Saute until the onions are translucent and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the white wine and simmer until it's reduced by about half. Add the 8 oz can of tomato sauce, pureed tomatoes, the rest of the 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and the hot sauce (I like to add the hot sauce because it gives the marinara a tangy zing, you could also use a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or nothing at all if you don't like spice).

Let the sauce simmer for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like. I usually start a pot of water boiling when I add the white wine and let the sauce cook until the pasta is done, and then dinner is done all at once! Ta da! Delicious sauce you could never get from a jar!

Beer Braised Chicken

Tonight's dinner:
Beer braised chicken
Twice baked garlic potatoes
Roasted rosemary carrots and green beans

It was quite tastey, so I thought I'd share the chicken with you.

Beer Braised Chicken

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 12 oz bottle of darker beer
1 large or small cloves of garlic, cut in half
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Heat a medium sized pan to medium high.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken, sear on both sides in the pan and remove from pan.

Deglaze the pan with the bottle of beer, scraping the bottom to get off the browned bits. Add the garlic and the bay leaf.

Bring the liquid to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce to a simmer (medium low to low heat) and add the chicken back in.

Simmer until the chicken is cooked through. (10-15 minutes)

Enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I made the best cake. Seriously. It's really good. It's a compilation of several different recipes, mainly used as reference.

Horrible flash photography free of charge. =)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake:

Ingredients:
1 box of yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
16 oz of Ginger Ale (I used diet)
1 1/3 c. of brown sugar, packed
1/3 c. water
1 & 1/2 tsp of vanilla
1/4 c. butter (1/2 a stick) diced
1 can of Pineapple slices
Maraschino Cherries (However many you want to use)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to whatever the box of cake mix says (Mine said 350* F)

Grease a 9"X13" baking dish.

In a pan on the stove top, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium to medium high heat, boil for approx. 5 minutes.

Add the butter.

Stir the butter in until it's melted. Turn off the heat and stir in a 1/2 tsp of vanilla.

Pour the caramel into the greased pan and arrange the pineapple slices in a manner that pleases you. Apply the maraschino cherries in a similar manner.


Empty the contents of the Yellow cake mix into a large bowl. Add the ginger ale and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir to combine. The batter will be very lumpy. It's okay, don't worry about it.

Pour the batter over the caramel/pineapples carefully and spread to even out.



Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (About 40 minutes).

Cool for at least 10 minutes.

Turn out (I didn't try to do this as I don't have a platter big enough).

EAT IT!!



Servings: Approx. 12







Nutritional Info (If you care):

Per serving:

• Calories: 341.0

• Total Fat: 6.9 g
• Cholesterol: 10.4 mg
• Sodium: 299.5 mg
• Total Carbs: 32.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
• Protein: 2.1 g

Values calculated using http://www.sparkpeople.com

Slow Cooker Chili

So this is 'finals' week, although I didn't have any finals. I just have a 7-8 page paper due tomorrow. I've writting 5 pages and the rest should come easy, I just keep putting it off. No good reason, really. I just don't feel like writing it.

On the knitting front, I finished Bubby, he just needs eyes and a nose. I wasn't overly fond of the pattern, but more on that when I post my FO. I've also made good progress on the Jacques-Cousteau hat, although it's a little long and I'm going to have to rip back a few rows. I started this bunny project for my other cousin, instead of another Bubby (again I wasn't crazy about the pattern).

I've also managed to secure a job at my LYS, working a few hours a week. =)

Okay, Chili.


Easy Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients:
One large can of crushed tomatoes (24 oz, I think, I can't remember)
14.5 oz can of diced chili style tomatoes and the juice
1 can of black beans, drained
1/2 lb of lean ground meat (optional)
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1/2 of a bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp of chili powder
1 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brown the meat in a pan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper and extra spices, if desired while browning.

Saute the pepper and onion for a few mintues until softened.

Dump everything in the crock pot and cook on low for a minimum of 4 hours. The longer, the better.

I serve it with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and chopped raw onion. I also make corn bread (I just use Jiffy, it's easy and good, especially with a little honey added).

This recipe will feed about 4 people, unless you're really hungry and then it will probably only feed 2 (The BF ate half of this last night... he was very hungry! I still only ate about 1/4 of it).

Enjoy =)



P.S. The new Knitty is up!

Originally...

... I had planned on posting pictures of and talking about the yarn I dyed last weekend, but instead I'm going to show you these lolcat pictures I found (because I love lolcats)


more animals


more animals

He's not a cat, but he's SO CUTE


more animals

Him too. =)


I'm also giving you a recipe for an awesome dinner I made the other night.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas (Vegetarian!)

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans
2 med. or one large sweet potato(es), diced1/2 of a white onion, diced
1/2 of a green (or red, or whatever) pepper, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 can of Del Monte tomatoes, the 'chili' ones, they're awesome and add a bunch of flavor to this dish!
2/3 c 10-minute brown rice (or regular brown rice, you'll just need to cook it longer)
3/4 c. water
Chili powder
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
6 whole-wheat flour tortillas
1 c. cheddar cheese
1 jar of your favorite salsa

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375. Put the diced sweet potatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with some chili podwer, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Bake approx 30 minutes, or until tender, stirring/turning once during baking. You can do this ahead of time.

Place the rice, water, and can of tomatoes(including juice) in a pot and bring to a boil, cook for approx 10 minutes. When the rice is done, you want the mixture to be fairly wet, but not soupy.

Meanwhile, in a skillet on medium heat, sautee the onion, garlic, and pepper in about 1 tbsp or so of oil. When the onions are translucent add the can of beans, drained. Also add approx 1/4 tsp of chili powder, 1/8 tsp of paprika, and salt and pepper (You could also add some cumin if you like, I just happened to be out when I made these). Cook for a minute or two and then stir in the rice and cooked sweet potatoes. Stir in 1/2 c. of the cheddar cheese. Remove the pan from the heat.

Heat the tortillas for about 10 seconds in the microwave to soften them up a bit. Take a 9X13 baking dish and pour some of the salsa in the bottom, spread evenly (you just need a thin layer). Spoon a 1/6th of the mixture down the middle of the tortilla, roll it up and place it seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat process with the rest of the mixture and the rest of the tortillas. Pour the remaining salsa over the tortillas and spread pretty evenly, you don't need to cover them completely.

Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, take off the foil, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 c. (or more, if you like!) of cheddar cheese. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

ENJOY! (my boyfriend loved these and they will definitely make my dinner menu again)

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

In lieu of a real post I'm going to tell you that apart from the school work done (and going to be done) it has been a really nice weekend, and I'm going to leave you with this recipe.

Note: This recipe is an adaptation of one I found online. It's delicious, and lower fat, although I won't say that it's low-cal.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 c. white flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour*
1 c. white sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar*
5 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp applesauce*
2 medium, or 3 small bananas, very ripe
1/3 c. chocolate chips + 1 tsp of flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Combine flours, cocoa, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Cream together the eggs, oil, applesauce, and sugars until smooth.

Add mashed bananas and combine thoroughly.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and make sure everything is incorporated. Beat the batter on medium speed for 1 minute.

Make sure the chocolate chips are thoroughly coated with the tsp of flour (this keeps them suspended in the batter instead of sinking to the bottom). Fold into the batter.

Pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake for 45-60 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out cleanish it's done.

It's delicious. Trust me.

*If you'd like you can skip the different kinds of flour and sugar and use just white, and if you don't have any applesauce you can just use 1/4 c. of oil. I sub applesauce for oil often because it keeps baked goods moist without all the fat.

Stir Fry

Here's what I had for dinner tonight:






Here's how to make some for yourself!:

Stir Fry Ingredients:
1/2 head of Bok Choy
6 Cremini Mushrooms
1/2 Red bell pepper
1/2 White Onion
1/2 Container of Tofu

Sauce Ingredients:
3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp honey
1/2 green onion
1/8" -1/4" grated ginger
Juice of 1/2 a lime


Directions:
Chop and slice vegetables and tofu in a way that pleases you. Preheat a pan on medium high. Put about 1-2 tbsp of sesame oil (if you don't have sesame oil you can use canola or peanut or whatever you have on hand) in the pan (it'll smoke a little, it's okay) add the veggies. Stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the veggies are browned and translucent, make some room and add the tofu. Give it a stir and cook for another minute or so. Add the sauce (directions to follow) and cook for another minute or so. Longer, if you'd like the sauce to reduce a bit.

Serve over rice noodles (pictured above), sticky rice, brown rice, or fried rice, if you so choose.

Sauce:
I like to combine all of the ingredients in a coffee cup and nuke it for about 20-30 seconds you can do this first it you want the flavors to hang out for a little bit.

Also, ginger looks expensive, if you haven't bought it before, but you can break off a knob and you usually don't end up spending more than $1 for it.


Sauce variations:
-Rice wine vinegar instead of lime juice (about 1 tbsp or more if you choose)
-Garlic, ginger, and scallions (green onions) are interchangeable and can be used by themselves or in any combination.
-You can choose not to add any honey at all
-You can also dress up some bottled teriyaki sauce with a little bit of soy and any garlic/ginger/scallion combo.


Vegetable Variations:
I use whatever I have on hand, the Bok Choy and tofu were leftover from some Sweet and Sour soup. I also use:
-Green beans, sugar snap peas, or snow peas
-Any kind of mushroom (portabello and shitaki are particularly yummy, they look expensive but you don't need much and end up spending less than on a package of button mushrooms)
-Carrots
-Lentils (it's good, try it)
-Chick peas (Garbanzo beans)
-Bean Sprouts

If you want to add meat I think chicken would be best, but beef would also work. I'd suggest cutting it into pieces and browning it in the pan first, taking it out, and then cooking as directed above, adding the meat in, instead of the tofu.



This will serve about 2 people, obviously you can make it bigger to suit your needs, but you'll need a wok or you'll need to cook it in 2 pans (it's a lot of veggies).








Also, today I knit Calorimetry. It ended up being huge. Of course I didn't figure this out until after I sewed the button on. I'm probably going to rip back a little more than half and do fewer short rows, but that's low on my list of things to do so it probably won't happen for a while.

This is the same malabrigo that I used for my first Unoriginal Hat.