Focaccia bread

I remember my sophomore year in college when one of my roommates, Lydia, would make focaccia bread. I have been craving it for about a week or so. So for dinner group I decided it was time. I googled and looked around for a good recipe and found one on allrecipes.com (i love that website) and read through the reviews to make sure that I wouldn't end up with something nasty.  I added some veggies on top, added in a little wheat flour (cuz basically I'm obsessed) and it was delicious!

It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to serve with it. I thought pasta, but then I thought that is too many bread like food. So I started thinking Chicken and decided to do a breaded chicken of some sort. At first I wanted to coat the chicken and then dip it in some shake n' bake like recipe. When I went into my kitchen, I found that I had italian bread crumbs so I just decided to use those. But I think that if there was a little more salt or something in them it would have been better. So, I did all this research to see which moistener/adhesive would be best - olive oil (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/509/2), mayonnaise (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/7520/2), or egg white (http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/dairy-and-egg-products/112/2). Typically recipes I've seen use one of these. So, in the end it seems as though egg white is the healthiest (ha ha.. surprise surprise.. but I wanted fact not just my thoughts). But whats funny, is that I ended up just using water! I had thawed the chicken in a bowl of hot running water and it was moist and so I just dipped it in the bread crumbs and put them on the pan. Sprinkled some Parmesan on them Baked 'em for like 20 minutes. Delicious. Then I also served it with an apple salad with lemon dressing.

Veggie Focaccia Bread

Source: Adapted from Terri McCarell at allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/focaccia-bread/Detail.aspx)

Makes: 1 cookie sheet sized foccacia

1 cup water

1 tsp white sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (2 cups white flour, 3/4 cups wheat flour)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried basil

1 pinch ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tbsp chopped garlic

1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced

1/3 small zucchini, thinly sliced

2 tbsp onion, thinly sliced

1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1. Take about a cup of warm water from the tap (roughly 110 F) and put it into the bowl, mix in the sugar, then add the yeast. Let it sit for about 10 minutes or till its all foamy. 
2. Add in the 1 tbsp olive oil and salt. Stir and then add the dry ingredients - flour, oregano, thyme, basil, pepper. (I combined the dry ingredients first to make sure they were evenly mixed throughout the flour).
3. Kneed dough till smooth and elastic on a floured surface. If it is dry you can add a little more water, I think I added about an extra 1/4 c. warm water at this point.
4. Place in a bowl, turn to coat with a little oil. Then cover and let rise for about 20 minutes in a warm location. 
5. While the bread is rising, make sure all the vegetables are prepared and ready to be put on the bread. 
6. Preheat oven to 450 F. Put parchment paper down on the cookie sheet (this helps SO much with preventing the bread from sticking)
7. Punch down the dough. Spread it on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet. Brush on about 2 tbsp of olive oil. Spread the garlic, tomatoes, bell pepper, zucchini and onions on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
8. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

slicing the veggies!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes

So yesterday I was thinking about breakfast and I thought, why not try to make whole wheat pancakes! Super healthy breakfast. I found a good looking recipe online and thought lets make this super healthy (ish)! I substituted the flour for whole wheat and then substituted the sugar for honey. How did they taste? They were okay. I feel like they would have tasted better with fruit on top or applesauce. The pancakes probably aren't my favorite, or... maybe I just have to get used to whole wheat pancakes. ha ha. These definitely feel hardy though. I had three little mini pancakes and was totally full! If you do the whole wheat this would probably feed like 6 or 8! 

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes

Source: Adapted from Joy the Baker (http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2008/12/milk-chocolate-chip-buttermilk-pancakes/)

Serves: 6 to 8

2 eggs

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tbsp honey

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups buttermilk (plus about 1/2 cup add slowly till right consistency at the end) 

4 tbsp butter (melted then cooled)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c chocolate chips (about)

cooking oil or butter for cooking

1. In a large bowl beat eggs. Add buttermilk, butter and vanilla and mix well. 
2. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until mostly smooth.
3. Heat griddle or pan over medium heat. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan or spray with cooking spray. You can test to see if the pan is hot enough by adding a few drops of water, if or when the drops start to dance its hot enough.
4. Pour 2 tbsp of batter onto the griddle. Place about 3-5 chocolate chips in each pancake. Cook on the first side until starts to look brown (I didn't get the bubbles as I normally do with pancakes-may have been the whole wheat). You can also gently lift up the pancake to make sure the bottom is not overcooking, if it is the pan may be too hot and you will need to adjust the heat. Flip the pancake over with a spatula and cook until golden brown. Repeat until all the batter is gone. Let cooked pancakes rest on a heat proof plate in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve

Note: If you don't have buttermilk. One way to make it is to put a little vinegar in the milk and let it sit for a minute. Then add it into your recipe.

Chicken Jerk Chili with Cornbread

First recipe! So I am a member of a dinner group, which is probably where a lot of my cooking will come from, and last Tuesday I made Chicken Jerk Chili. It was not quite what I expected but it was still good. I found the recipe on a blog - "Smells like Home" (http://66.147.242.155/~smellsl2/2010/11/jerk-chicken-chili/). I read through it and was just so interested by the fact that it had chocolate and cinnamon in it AND the comments were all so positive, I had to try it. I was scared that it would be too spicy since this was one of my first attempts at chili so I made a few changes. However, I think that mine ended up a little bland and I would put in a little more spice next time. The chili had a cinnamon and allspice aroma that was very pleasant and it lingered more in the aftertaste I would say. I put a little fresh cilantro on top and it added a nice touch to the flavors as well. Overall this had a nice "chicken noodle soup" feel about it. Nothing too overpowering , settles well in the stomach and tastes good. 

I also served this with one of my favorite cornbread recipes. I did have a little of a mishap with it. but it still turned out good! I doubled the recipe and then realized I didn't have enough cornmeal. I had already done a ton of the recipe by this point and I had no time to run to the store. So.. I just substituted white flour. Then in addition somehow I miscalculated and didn't double the flour! So it ended up being a little dense, but still tasty. :) I love this particular recipe because it is sweet (I thought it went really well with this particular chili) but you can use whole wheat flour and its still moist and delicious. Personally I love using whole wheat flour because then you feel full in a more satisfying way and I usually don't have to go back for 5ths. I probably will still go back for 2nds or 3rds though. :)

Chicken Jerk Chili (my changes are in italics)

source: Tara, Smells Like Home

Serves: 8 (This is with the changes I made and its an estimation)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 large rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded (about 6 cups)
4 cups chicken broth (3 cups)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) black beans, undrained or partially drained (2 cans)
1 can (15 oz) small white beans, undrained or partially drained
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos (I used regular jalapenos, seeded them and probably 1 tbsp)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 oz semisweet chocolate
2 tbsp cornmeal or 3 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water (optional for thickening)

        (I used the left over chicken broth in the can for the liquid here)

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, thyme, cinnamon, and allspice. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add chicken and stir to coat with spices. Add broth, tomatoes, beans, and jalapenos, bring to a boil, cover partially, reduce heat, and simmer to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.
5. Stir in garlic, cilantro, chocolate, and either cornmeal or cornstarch/water slurry if desired.  If you add the cornstarch slurry, bring the heat up to medium-high and allow the chili to thicken.  Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

Source: Bethany Weathersby, All Recipes (http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/Detail.aspx)

Makes: 9x9 pan

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup (whole wheat) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2. Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Nutritional Information: (Amount Per Serving)  Calories: 284 | Total Fat: 12.2g | Cholesterol: 67mg