Lemon Basil Hummus

The other week C and I had in (some of) our siblings for dinner, because can you believe it they had actually never met!  We squeezed into our tiny apartment for some good drinks, food, and laughs.  While I like to think that my food was the hit of the party... I think my little niece P stole the show.  She's just so darn cute!



As one of the appetizers, I had made a Lemon Basil Hummus earlier in the day.  This hummus works as a great dip for chips or veggies.  If there was any left over, I would have also used the hummus on sandwiches!

As a sidenote: basil is a SUPER easy plant to grow.  It requires very little space and maintenance yet packs a great punch when used in dishes!

Ingredients:


1 cup loose basil leaves
1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas)
2 tbsp. olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon
2-4 tbsp. water and garbanzo bean juice
dash of garlic salt
(tomato paste was not used even though it's in the picture)







Steps:
1)  In a blender or food processor, puree basil.

2) Drain and rinse garbanzo beans (be sure to save some of the liquid from the beans to be used later).

3) Add in beans, olive oil, and lemon juice and continue to puree.

4)  Alternate between adding in a tablespoon of water and the bean liquid until you have the desired consistency.

5)  Lastly, add in a dash of garlic salt to taste.

Ok not the best picture of it... but the hummus was really delicious!

~Eat Well and Be Happy~

New Happenings in The Yellow Apron World!

There have been a lot of exciting happenings in The Yellow Apron World.  C, who was previously my official taste-tester/boyfriend is now my official taste-tester/FIANCE!  It was an amazing surprise over the holidays (and will also be a very tough stocking stuffer present to top).  I've been running on a sort of "engagement high" since then, and my poor blog has taken a back seat!  I had meant to write about this recipe before the holidays, but whoops, that didn't happen...

Pizzelles were what my family (ie: the mama and I) made every year during the holidays.  They are such a delicious, yet very light treat.  Last year, I told my mom I was finally ready to carry on the pizzelle making tradition.

During many of our family traditions, there was also always a lesson involved.  For some reason, holiday cooking tended to always be a lesson in factory line efficiency (I know, we are a very strange family).  Luckily, C was fully aware of the importance of factory line efficiency, especially during the pizzelle making process, and jumped right in.

Now before you are able to start making pizzelles, you must have a discussion with your "co-worker" as to who has what job, what the process is going to be, where the just baked pizzelles will go, where the finished ones will go, who takes the edges off, who handles the powdered sugar, etc.  (I bet you never thought there was so much discussion that went into making a simple cookie... well, welcome to my world!)


Ingredients: (Makes about 50-60 pizzelles)

Pizzelle Press (they come in all sizes, mine makes two 4-inch pizzelles at a time)

1 cup butter
6 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Powdered sugar for dusting

Steps:
1)  Melt the butter and let completely cool.

2) In a large bowl, beat the eggs.  Then add the vanilla and the sugar.

3)  After the butter has cooled, add to the mixture.

4)  Slowly stir in the flour and the baking powder.






5) When the pizzelle press has heated (to medium temperature), drop small amounts of dough into the press.  Mine came with a spoon to use, which is about the size of 2 teaspoons.  My press also has a timer, which I never use.  The first two or so are always the trial ones, then you will start to get a feel for how long to keep it closed.



6)  Pass the pizzelles (be sure to keep them flat or they will cool bent) off to your partner, who then sprinkles them with powdered sugar.  Their job is to also break off the extra bits, so they pizzelles are perfectly round!    

Batch one of all our hard work!

Wrap them with festive saran wrap and a pretty bow!

As a side note: be sure to check out The Sissy's Blog: Misadventures in Mommyhood.   It highlights my niece Little Miss P. who is just the cutest baby ever! (Seriously, I'm not biased at all though).

~Eat Well and Be Happy~

Grow Your Own Scallions

I found out about this idea while productively "wasting" time browsing Pinterest.  It's a perfect way to grow your own scallions, and takes up vary little space.  It's a perfect garden for us small apartment dwellers!

Cut off the bottom half (the white part) of scallions.  Put the roots in a glass with water.  Place near a window and wait for your scallions to grow!  Change the water every few days to keep it fresh.

The end product... home grown scallions!


~Eat Well and Be Happy~

A Quinoa Dish Variation

Wow, ok so my last post was a full month ago... I'm sorry my dedicated Yellow Apron Experiment Readers!  I don't understand how people with full time jobs and kids are able to blog.  So as a special treat to all you readers out there, 2 posts today!  A simple healthy, food dish, and an idea for those small apartment dwellers.  

This dish is a slight variation on a past quinoa dish.  But can we say Hello Protein!  C (my official taste tester) gave this one an 8.  The addition of olives would have made it a 9...




Ingredients:
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup of quinoa

1/2 can kidney beans
1/2 can black beans
5-6 whole fresh mushrooms (sliced)
10-15 grape tomatoes cut in half

Small handful of shredded mozzarella cheese




Steps:
1.  In a medium size pot, bring 2 cups of chicken broth to a boil.  Add in the quinoa and reduce heat to a simmer.

2.  After about 15 minutes (or until about 1/2 of the liquid has been absorbed) add in the kidney beans, black beans, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

3.  Cook until all the liquid has been absorbed (about 30 total minutes).  Just before serving add in the mozzarella cheese and mix.

~Eat Well and Be Happy~

Muesli Cookies

My weekend breakfast is typically the Hodgson Mill Apples and More Muesli.  It's delicious with some Manuka honey, cinnamon, and blueberries mixed in.  While I was waiting for my breakfast to cook, I realized there was also a cookie recipe on the box.  This helped to make the day into a "cooking making" kind of day for me.

What's great about these cookies, is you don't feel as guilty eating them, because they are "healthy."  Healthy cookies are kind of an oxymoron, but these feel that way.  Plus they were super delicious.  I followed the recipe on the box, except for a few additions that I think were key ingredients.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (I used creamy soynut butter)
1 cup white flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup Hodgson Mill Muesli

My add-ins:
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
handful golden raisins


Steps:
1)  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2)  Mix together the butter and sugar until fluffy.  I tried to use this new pastry cutter I have, because I have yet to use it... but that didn't work so well.  A fork really just worked best.

My new, never been used, pastry cutter!

 

Well that didn't work very well...

3)  Mix in the egg and vanilla.

4)  Add in the soynut butter, and stir thoroughly.

5)  In a different bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and muesli mix

6)  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix.  Add in the chocolate chips and the raisins.

7)  Place tablespoon size clumps onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 15 minutes.

8)  Remove the cookies when they are slightly golden brown.  I let them cool just a little bit, then place the cookies in an airtight container. I also place a piece of bread with them.  For some reason, this really helps keep the cookies soft!

~Eat Well and Be Happy~

Lime Bean Salad

As I wrote in the last blog, I sort-of misread directions about preparing dry bulk beans.  Long story short, C. and I ate beans just about everyday for 2 weeks.  Eventually we still had so many beans leftover, we just had to throw the rest out.  So, taking the large mixture of beans, I made a delicious bean salad with a lime dressing on it.  

Reminder to self: fully read the directions before trying something new... Especially where it says dry beans will increase 2 to 3 times in volume when cooked!

Ingredients: 
4 cups of beans (Any type works...You can get super creative with the bulk beans at Whole Foods!)
tomatoes
avocado
feta

(Dressing):
1/4 cup olive oil
juice from 2 limes
fresh cilantro (about 3 tbsp chopped)
dash of salt













Steps:


1)  Make dressing by mixing olive oil, lime juice, chopped cilantro, and a dash of salt in a small bowl.

2)  Pour over the beans and thoroughly mix.  I let the mixture sit over night to really soak up some of the dressing.  Add in the avocado after.

3)  Before serving (or eating) add in some chopped tomato, and sprinkle with feta.  Save this step for just before eating the salad, otherwise they tend to get too mushy.

~Eat Well and Be Happy~

A "What's Left In The Fridge Veggie Soup"

Just as the title suggests, this veggie soup was self-created with whatever I could find in the fridge.  It was one of those days where we REALLY needed to go to the store, but it was so cold and nasty out.  Dinner was a necessity, and there was minimal food in the fridge. Hence, A "What's Left In The Fridge Veggie Soup" was created.  This soup produced leftovers for a few days too.  "C," The Official Taste-Tester, gave it a 9!

A few days before making this soup, I did a bean "experiment" that produced WAY more beans that I had expected.  I typically just use canned beans, but I decided bulk beans would be fun to try.  (Note to self, pay attention to that little label that says dried beans will increase by 2 to 3 times when cooked). Also this process took much much longer than expected.  It felt like I had beans soaking and simmering for days.  While I like the concept of using bulk beans, it's just not for me.  I'm more of an instant gratification person when it comes to bean consumption.

Yep, that's a LOT of beans

Even more beans...

Ingredients: (Makes enough soup for lunch/dinner for a few days!)


2 tbsp. olive oil
3-4 chopped scallions
2 cups mixed beans (you can used canned too)
1/4 small package baby carrots
4 cups water (might want more though)
1 small box broth
1 can chopped tomatoes
5 bay leaves
1/2 package shredded carrots
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp thyme
1 bouillon package
2 tbsp garlic salt
Quinoa
Shaved pecorino romano cheese

Steps:
1)  In a very large pot, heat oil on medium low.  Add in scallions and let cook for about 3-5 minutes.

2)  Add in beans.  I used the mixture of beans from what I had made before (kidney beans, navy beans, chick peas, adzuki beans, black beans, and black eyed peas). You an also easily just use a few cans of beans.  Let cook for about 5 minutes.  

PS: Whole Foods is a GREAT place to get different types of beans! I had never heard of adzuki beans before, but found them at Whole Foods.

3)  Add in baby carrots and water.  I only used 4 cups, but it could probably use up to 6 cups of water, depending on how many beans you use.  As the soup sits, the beans and the quinoa really soak in the water.

4)  Add in broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, shredded carrots, thyme, rosemary, and bouillon package.  Let cook on medium-low until the carrots are soft, about 30-40 minutes.

5)  While the soup is cooking, make the quinoa in a different pot, following the directions on the package.  When the quinoa is finished add it to the soup mixture.

6)  Just before serving, shave some pecorino cheese on top.  I also served the soup with some mini cornbread muffins.

~Eat Well and Be Happy~