Beef Bourguignon and Sugar-free Pudding Pie

B: So it's beef stew.
A: No, it's Beef Bourguignon.
B. So...it's like beef stew?
A: It's different.
B: It looks like beef stew.

OK fine it's basically beef stew that took me about 3 hours longer than a normal beef stew would have done! This was an experiment out of the American Heart Association's Cookbook, and it turned out well. It doesn't look as pretty as what Julie Powell made in Julie and Julia. But I haven't actually read the Julia Child recipe to see how it varies. But they made it look so yummy in that movie that I had to try it when I saw a recipe for it! And it was good. However, it did take a little while to make...so I would definitely recommend making this on a lazy Saturday or Sunday. It was great Winter comfort food (I think comfort food is the only good thing about Winter, don't you?) It also made delicious leftovers! I'm a little bit of a leftovers snob, but I happily ate leftovers of this the next two days! And sometimes with a soup or stew, it gets a little better as it "settles" and all the flavors mingle together a little longer. Which is why they recommend the long cooking time in the first place! I currently am doing the same thing right now with my spaghetti sauce...must cook a minimum of two hours to get just right.


Beef Bourguignon

2 Tbs flour
pepper to taste
1lb lead beef chuck roast, all visible fat removed, cut into 1 inch cubes
1tsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 med clove garlic, minced
2 cups small whole mushrooms (we used baby portobellos...YUM!)
2 cups finely chopped tomatoes (4 medium) or 14.5oz no salt added diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water, plus more as needed
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp rosemary
1/8 tsp marjoram
3 cups peeled, coarsley diced potatoes (4 medium)
2 cups coarsly diced carrots (4 medium)

In a large bowl, stir together flour and pepper. Add beef, turning to coat. Heat a Dutch oven over med-high heat. Remove from heat and spray with vegetable oil spray. Add oil, coating the bottom. When oil is hot, cook beef for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in mushrooms and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until mushrooms absorb liquid. Stir in tomatoes, water, wine, and herb seasoning. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary to keep bottom of pot covered. Add potatoes and carrots; simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, or until tender.

I actually just used three potatoes and I think it turned out just fine! You can also do a slow-cooker version. Where you coat the meat in flour, and then just add everything to your slow cooker pot for 8-9 hours on Low.

For dessert I made a Sugar-Free Pudding Pie. This looks very fancy, but honestly it wasn't! Bobby had seen these berries in Costco, and insisted on having them...even though January isn't exactly known for it's delicious berries, ya know? However, I was pleasantly surprised with how good they were. So I had a pie crust on hand and some sugar-free pudding and had the idea to mix them all together! Easy, EASY dessert that looks put-together and takes no time at all! And you won't feel too guilty about indulging.




Sugar-Free Pudding Pie

1 reduced fat graham cracker pie crust
1 package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup blackberries
1 cup blueberries

Instant pudding actually has special directions for making a thicker batch of pudding for pies, and it calls for less milk. I think normally it calls for 2 cups. So make the pudding according to directions and pour directly into pie crust when mixed. Let chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours before topping with berries.

Of course, you can trade out your favorite pudding flavor and toppings. But if you're like me and a little intimidated by baking, this is a great alternative!

Pepper Jelly Pork Chops and Citrus Spinach Salad

OK I'm back for real this time! I was so excited that Bobby moved home in November from his two months away, that I didn't really take into account that he still wasn't going to be here with any regularity because of all his travel for interviews. Which are FINALLY over! I can't tell you the extent to which, last Sunday evening I wrote down a full week of menus on my whiteboard and nearly cried tears of joy! I'm so happy to have Bobby back home with no planned impending travel, and a regular work schedule (Family Med til mid-Feb).

We have several health related goals for 2011, and in particular we're working to lower Bobby's cholesterol and reduce his sodium intake. So you may see some changes in the blog as a result. Also, in recent months, I've started eating more chicken! I make no promises that I'll be making chicken regularly...but I hope to have chicken in the menu plan at least once a week. This week we're having it in sweet and sour stir fry...as soon as I find a recipe for low-sodium sweet and sour sauce.

So the following is what I consider to be my first official new recipe of 2011. Both can be credited to my new Southern Living 2010 Annual Recipes cookbook that I got for Christmas. We really liked this pairing--spicy with citrus--and definitely plan to make it again...maybe with chicken!


Pepper Jelly Pork Chops

4 (3/4-inch-thick) bone-in pork loin chops (about 2 1/4 lb.) (We actually just made two)
3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup red pepper jelly

Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and cook on one side until they look about half way cooked, then flip and do the other side. The timing on this will vary based on the size of your pork chop, since some are ridiculously thick. When finished, remove from skillet, and keep warm.

Add flour and jalapeño to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes or until flour is golden brown. Add wine, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; cook 1 minute or until almost completely reduced. Add chicken broth, and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Whisk in pepper jelly until melted and smooth. Lower the heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until thickened. Return pork to skillet; turn to coat. Serve pork with sauce.

It's spicy, but YUM! Then paired with a citrus salad (so great this time of year with all the fresh citrus). I made this salad dressing, and tossed with spinach leaves, toasted almonds, and chunks of a cara-cara navel orange (the pink ones). But you could do a regular orange or a grapefruit.

To toast your almonds, just add half a package of almond slivers to a small skillet and stir on med-low heat until a few begin to turn a golden color.

Citrus Vinaigrette

1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup olive oil

Pulse first 6 ingredients in a blender or food processor until blended. With blender running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, processing until smooth.

My little food processor won't run unless the lid is on, so I added the EVOO after the first 6 ingredients were well blended, and it worked out fine! Serve with warm bread (my favorite these days is the Rosemary Olive Oil bread from Costco, and I make a little saucer of good olive oil with some dried basil flecks and Italian seasoning.)

Spiced Apple Coffee Cake / What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm back! And just in time for the holidays! Actually, I'm just doing a mini-Thanksgiving this year since it'll just be me and Bobby, so no new Thanksgiving Super-Post for you. But I am coming back with a bang, regardless, because today I'm sharing a recipe for the best (and I do mean BEST) spiced-apple coffee cake you will ever taste. But as part of that, I'm going to steal a little blog-thing from my friend, Beth Ann, and do a What I'm Loving Wednesday post because I think they're such a cute idea. And a good way to re-ignite the blog! So here we go.

What I'm Loving

1) Bobby's home! He's been gone for two months doing away rotations in South Carolina and Florida and now he is back home, in the cold, with ME! And Gus and Shadow. No, it did not go quickly, and do not suggest anything otherwise to me. I really did try to cook in his absence...for about a week. And then I gave up and spent the following 7 weeks eating stir-fried veggies, Healthy Pop and apples, cheese and crackers, carrots and celery with hummus, etc. I'm going to have to be very careful not to balloon now that he's back and I'm cooking again. It's Thanksgiving week so I'll be a little lenient on my diet this week, but next week--back to it!


2) These two, for obvious reasons.




3) Baby Lily is going to be born today! Bobby's sweet cousin Katie, and her husband Noah, are at the hospital and in labor right now. They will be the most amazing parents and cannot wait to meet the new addition to the family! The question remains...will she be blonde? or a redhead?

4) Apples. I love fall because I get the best apples. I'm *kind of* an apple snob, and I'm extremely picky...but I can't help it! I'm from Washington! What do you expect? But I love going to Kroger or Whole Foods these days (mostly Kroger, the budget is super-tight right now) and stocking up for the week on Braeburns, Granny Smiths, Fujis, Cameos...the list goes on. I want them cold and crisp. Don't give me a mushy apple. If you do, I'll just feed it to Bobby.

5) Pandora. Obviously not a new thing, but I've got it on almost all the time now. It's great with headphones for work when people are clipping their nails over the cube wall. Dis.Gus.Ting.

6) My Mariah Carey All I Want For Christmas Is You ringtone! I don't think this requires explanation. And just the fact that we're entering the Christmas season...just love it! Christmas music, lights, scents, gingerbread! All of it!

7) And finally, the best (seriously best) Spiced Apple Coffee Cake in the world. I got this recipe from one of my cooking technique classes at Williams-Sonoma. So you know it's delicious! When I tried the sample in class, I nearly melted. And at the time, had no one to make it for! So I waited patiently and made it for Bobby on Monday evening so the whole apartment would smell like spiced apples when he came home, and that way he'd have yummy breakfast all week long. I can't stop "trimming the edges" as my dad would say. And do you know why? Because it has the best ingredient in the world. And I'm not talking about butter, Julie Powell. Although butter, real butter, is in there too. The best ingredient in the world, in my opinion, is: Cream Cheese. Have you ever had anything with cream cheese that you didn't swoon over? I didn't think so. It gives it the perfect texture. So I know we're on the tail end of Fall, but please make this ASAP! You won't regret it.

Williams-Sonoma Spiced Apple Coffee Cake

For the cake:

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn, 1 lb. total, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped (I used Granny Smiths...yum-o)
2 Tbs. strained fresh orange juice, lemon juice or apple juice (I used lemon, because that's what I had on hand)
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

For the vanilla glaze:

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 Tbs. condensed skim milk, warmed, plus more as needed
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch round cake pan or square baking pan. If using a glass baking dish, reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.In a bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, toss the apples with the juice. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sug ar, cardamom and cinnamon. Add to the apples and toss to coat. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the butter, cream cheese, granulated sugar and vanilla and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 2 or 3 additions and beat well until smooth. Using a large rubber sp atula, gently fold in the apples just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let co ol for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners sugar, the 2 Tbs. milk and the vanilla until smooth and pourable. Adjust the consistency of the glaze by adding more milk, a few drops at a time, if needed.

Flip the cake on a wire rack set to cool. While the cake is warm, drizzle with the glaze. Let the cake cool to room temperature. Cut into wedges or squares to serve.

Delicious! OK here's a photo of our cake (minus one piece...) and a photo from Williams-Sonoma. More recipes coming soon!

Chiles Rellenos Casserole

Have you noticed I gravitate toward one-dish-wonders covered in cheese? :)

I'd like to preface this post by saying I won't be cooking much this fall since Bobby will be away (see other blog for details), and cooking for 1 isn't that interesting! There will be a lot of stir-fried veggies, cheese and crackers, and hopefully just a minimal amount of pasta--but really it's the easiest thing to make for one person! I'm completely open to some suggestions though if you've got them!

And if there's interest on the part of the readers, I'm happy to post a few favorite recipes without a photo (because it's unlikely I'll actually make them). For example, I went to my technique class at Williams-Sonoma this morning (my favorite weekend ritual) and today was all about Fall Baking. I picked up some great tips and recipes, but if I were to make a whole apple coffee cake or fruit crisp, I'd just eat it! So leave some comments if you'd like some recipes even without pictures.

But back to the cheesy dinner at hand! This came out of my Cooking Light Cookbook, and definitely got both our approvals for a repeat appearance. 15 minutes prep, and total cooking time of an hour and 5 minutes--estimated 333 calories per serving. Not too shabby.


Chiles Rellenos Casserole

1/2 lb ground chicken
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp ground cumin
1.5 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
16 oz can of fat-free refried beans
(2) 4oz cans of whole green chiles, drained and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 cup shredded colby-jack cheese
1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained
1/3 cup flour
1 1/3 cup skim milk
couple shakes of Tabasco
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten

Preheat your oven to 350. Cook the chicken and onion together in a non-stick skillet over med-high heat, until browned. In a large bowl, combine the chicken mixture and the next 5 ingredients. PAM an 11x7 baking dish (you can see I went for my corning ware) and arrange half of the green chile strips in the bottom of the dish. Top the chiles with 1/2 cup cheese. Spoon the chicken mixture onto the cheese and spread gently--leaving a 1/4inch border around the edge of the dish. Cover evenly with the corn. Arrange remaining chile strips over the corn, and top with 1/2 cup cheese. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour and salt--gradually adding milk and Tabasco. Whisk until blended. Stir in eggs and egg whites, and pour whole mixture over the casserole. Bake for 1 hour and let stand 5 minutes.

Might be a lot of ingredients, but it went really quickly. You could also substitute the ground chicken for ground turkey or extra-lean beef depending on your preference. And of course, I probably added more cheese :)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Well, I finally made a cake that didn't fall apart when it came out of the pan! I'm sure the gooey caramel and fruit topping of pineapple upside down cakes had nothing to do with that, and it was all completely and totally my mad baking skillz.

Bobby usually prefers fruit-based desserts over heavy chocolate treats (weirdo), so I thought he'd really like pineapple upside down cake just for that reason. Apparently this kind of cake was a new concept for him and it was hard to tell whether or not he really liked it. Usually when we have desserts lying around, he goes through them pretty quickly--but with this, he only ate it when I served it and took it to him. I happened to really like this recipe and thought it was delicious, so I'm overruling his underwhelming reaction. He does insist he enjoyed it though, but I'm not totally buying it.

This is a pretty quick and easy recipe, but I'll note that the original calls for it to bake in a skillet instead of a cake pan. That's not a technique I've tried before, and putting my non-stick skillets in the oven to bake for a while makes me a little nervous. A Dutch oven is one thing...that's what it's intended for right? But a skillet... So anyway, I used my 9x13 cake pan, which worked fine, but it was a thinner cake, as you can tell from the photo. I think in the future I might use something between a 9x13 and a 9x9.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 can sliced pineapple, undrained
maraschino cherries
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Using a skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Remove from heat and mix in the brown sugar. Pour mixture into a baking dish and layer pineapple slices on top. Place a maraschino cherry in the middle of each pineapple slice. Separate the eggs. In a large bowl or using a mixer, beat the egg yolks until lightly fluffy. Add 1/2 cup pineapple juice, white sugar and vanilla. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Sift baking powder, flour, and salt--combine well. Beat egg whites until stiff then fold into the egg yolk mixture (this was new for me, and I've since learned it's best to have your eggs at room temp for this). Add this mixture on top of the pineapple. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.

Because of the gooey top, you won't want to use a cooling rack for this type of cake--instead wait until it cools 20 minutes or so, then turn upside-down onto a cake. You can tell from my picture that I omitted the cherries because I forgot them!

Caribbean Rice and Beans

Can you tell? It's a new background! I'm still not sure why my other once disappeared, and this one looks similar...but I thought it had a nice "recipe-ish" quality to it.

I did get back into cooking, dieting, and exercise this week! Needless to say I'm tired now :) But I feel much better. I've got lots of new recipes and cookbooks to energize me, not to mention Bobby is done with Honors Surgery and will be at home for the next 4 weeks! He'll be studying for his next set of Boards, but still--he's home!

This dish is from my Cooking Light Cookbook, and I actually found it in the "Meatless Main Dishes" chapter. Don't tell my husband (no meat, no meal). But to stick to his rule, you can tell from the photo that I paired this with flat-iron steak drizzled with Chimichurri sauce (you can get it bottled at Whole Foods, fyi) and served the Caribbean Rice and Beans as a side dish. It still makes enough for a main dish, so you could do that, or have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

As usual I probably put more cheese on than it actually calls for, negating the "Light" part of Cooking Light...but I just can't help it!

Caribbean Rice and Beans

2/3 cup water
2/3 cup uncooked instant rice
1 tsp oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 diced green bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 cup coarsely chopped tomato
A few shakes of salt, crushed red pepper, and cumin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
15 oz can black beans, drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook rice according to directions on the box, keep covered in saucepan and set aside. Coat large skillet with PAM or oil and add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes or until tender. Add chopped tomato, salt, crushed red pepper and cumin--then saute about another 2 minutes. Stir in rice, cilantro, and black beans. Cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with mozzarella and serve.

Depending on how fast you chop, this could take 20 minutes. Then if you'd like to serve as a side, just have your meat grilling at the same time. I think it would also be good to add some fresh corn if it's in season. Very easy, plenty for everyone--so it's great for a weeknight as a main dish or a side!

Mom's Ribs

Well, this is now two summers in a row that I've taken an unintentional blog hiatus. Summer to everyone else seems to be a time of leisure, but for me it ends up being a time of more work, more travel, and less time for anything else. Last summer I didn't blog much because Bobby was doing a mandatory AHEC rotation in Northern Kentucky. I don't actually know what AHEC stands for, but in general it's where they send the students to under-served areas for their rotations. So since I was by myself and didn't cook, I also didn't blog. This summer he has been doing Honors Surgery (translation = working an average of 90 hours per week). If you think that's some sort of hyperbole, then you should start reading my other blog to get your facts straight. Of course that also translates to a 100% share of household things. Couple that with my "long" hours at work this summer, and there just hasn't been time. But blogging, along with a renewed commitment to diet and exercise, are things I hope to pick back up now that summer and surgery are winding down and I'm feeling much more rested.

I'll be honest, I haven't cooked anything for a while, but I'm looking forward to it! So I dug through some pictures to see what I'd made but hadn't posted yet and came across my mother's baby back rib recipe. To be fair, I think she got this from her friend Deborah, but whatever. Ribs are one of those things that are really pretty easy to do, and this recipe make it so simple that it's a shame not to make them more often! You've seen my other baby back rib recipe that used a slow cooker, but this one is totally over the stove top, just in a really large pot.


Baby Back Ribs

2 lbs baby back ribs, cut into 2-3 rib sections with sharp kitchen scissors
6-8 green onions, chopped
2 T sherry
4 T rice vinegar
6 T sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup water

Layer rib sections with onions in a large soup pot (about 5 qts). Combine remaining ingredients and pour over ribs. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Cover, and cook for 2 hours--but carefully rotate the rib sections often, about every 30 minutes.

When the ribs are tender, remove them. Increase the heat, and cook the sauce down until syrupy. Put the ribs back in the pan to coat, and serve with mashed potatoes.

So good, so easy :) Ribs might seem heavy for summer, but if you eat them on an outdoor patio, they're pretty perfect. Add corn or tomatoes and any meal seems more like summer, right? I warn you that I may go through another blogging dry-spell this Fall when Bobby is away for a while, but I'm officially soliciting recipes for 1 if you've got them to share! Now I have to figure out where my pretty blog background went??!