Must-Haves: Tortillas!

We have a thing for tortillas. And why not? You can use them so many ways (quesadilla, anyone?) We like Mission brand since they sit happily in your fridge, very content in their re-sealable bag until you need them.

There is another great non-Tex-Mex way to use tortillas: pizza. Home-made pizza is wonderful, and while store-bought dough makes the process easier, I wouldn’t say it’s easy. With tortillas, however, pizza-making is a snap. Plus it is so good, very thin crust crisp and delicious.

Here’s how to do it.

First, warm oven to 450 degrees. Grab flour tortillas, brush each side with oil and pop on a cookie sheet. Bake for 3 minutes, flip over, and bake about 2 more minutes. Tortillas should be golden brown and puffy. Don’t worry about bubbles you can gently smash them out at topping time. When the minutes are up, pull the sheet out of the oven and add toppings – careful the baking sheet is hot. Place back in oven until the cheese is melted.

Speaking of toppings, let your imagination go wild, but of course, cheese must be involved.

Some Things That Taste Great Spread on Tortilla Pizza
contents of last night’s Styrofoam dog baggie
spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce doctored up with some dried basil, salt, pepper, and sugar
refried beans – canned, fat-free
pesto
roasted veggies

ps. We owe a debt of gratitude to Cook’s Illustrated for this delicious idea ... can’t imagine why we didn’t think of this sooner!

pps. as a sweet variation, cinnamon & sugar sprinkled on a crisp and warm tortilla is incredible...

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

What’s healthy, inexpensive, and has a face only a mother could love? A sweet potato - and I love ‘em all. They taste great and when roasted, go from good to absolutely great. As an added bonus, sweet potatoes are full of Vitamins A & C as are red peppers. Black beans pack in protein, fiber, and iron. Throw on a little dressing and you will be healthy, wealthier, and wise to the world of roasted sweet potatoes.

NB: You can make a lot of this or cut the recipe way down. Nothing too fussy with proportions. Here is the larger amount to start.

Heat oven to 450 degrees

Ingredients
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes – no need to be super precise! Too big, however, and they may not cook through; too small and they may burn.
1 teaspoon salt
Olive oil
1 red pepper, remove inner core and seeds then chop into bite size pieces. Tiny, sweet grape tomatoes (halved) work well too. Just need some crunch and a pop of color.
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

Take a large baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil. Spray foil lightly with Pam. Spread cut sweet potatoes on baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and then drizzle with olive oil. Using your hands, lightly toss sweet potatoes to make sure all are covered with oil. You don’t want the pieces swimming in oil, just lightly coated.

Place sweet potatoes in oven for 20 -30 minutes. Ovens are notorious for varying in temperature (especially the ones found in dorms or inexpensive apartments) so keep an eye on your sweet potatoes. You want them to have a lovely brown roasted exterior on at least one side of each piece. It will help if you open oven after about 15 minutes and carefully use a heat proof spatula or turner to flip pieces over & about. There’s a fine line between a beautiful roasted crust and just plain burnt.

While potatoes are roasting, place red peppers and black beans in a serving bowl.

When sweet potatoes are done, remove from oven, and add to the red peppers and black beans. Add vinaigrette (see below) and toss gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or at room temperature. Eat this alone, add some great bread, or tuck in to tortilla with cheese for a great quesadilla or burrito.

Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Place all three ingredients in small bowl with a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper. Stir vigorously with fork.

Basic Tools: Colander

Every now and then recipes will be punctuated with some gotta have ’em basics. Could be equipment. Perhaps an essential ingredient. But these are things that go beyond whim or desire. These are items you need. And as all my children will sadly confirm, I have an unending preach-iness when it comes to the gospel of want vs. need. To be clear, I am on the side of need.

Anyway: the colander. This you need. You need it to drain pasta. Rinse fruits &veggies. Strain soups or sauces, though you will be doing more of the first two than this last one. Even though I am an enormous cheap skate, I advise buying a stainless steel colander with short legs or a rounded base to lift your valuables away from whatever is rushing though. Good handles are necessary for obvious reasons. I also prefer metal as opposed to plastic because I don’t like heated plastic in contact with food. Just call it mother’s intuition. You don’t need to spend much more than $10.00 for a good one. Check out Marshall’s or HomeGoods in addition Target or Walmart. The one pictured here is from Marshall’s and cost $12.00. Guess who is going to college with a shiny new colander?

Mac n' Comfort

On a cold day in January. On a cool day in June. Ok, on any day, home-made mac n’ cheese is go-to comfort food. There is absolutely no comparison between the real-deal and the orange or white powder-y version. Yes, this takes a little longer, but the pay-off is so worth it. The recipe makes a large amount, but you can cut all the ingredients if you want to go smaller. Just use a smaller baking dish.

Ingredients

1 lb. box pasta any mac friendly shape: penne, rotini, elbows. We like Barilla

4 cups grated cheese - you can try 12 oz. Cracker Barrel 2% milk cheddar - lowers the fat level a bit, but not the comfort.

4 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons flour

4 cups milk

salt/pepper

Heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Cook pasta according to directions on box. Shave a minute or two off the total cooking time since the dish will bake in the oven.
2. While pasta is cooking, make the cheese sauce. Melt butter in large sauce pan. When totally melted, leave heat on under the pan and add flour. Stir this mixture with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk and whisk the milk in to the buttery flour to remove any lumps. Again, leave heat a medium level. Milk will thicken slightly. Once the milk is incorporated, heat for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add grated cheese with a pinch of salt & pepper. Stir thoroughly to combine.
3. If there is enough room in saucepan, add pasta to the cheese sauce. If not, put both pasta and cheese sauce together in pasta pot. Stir to combine.
4. Pour mac n’cheese into a 13" x 9" pyrex baking dish. Heat in oven for 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove & add pepper & savor!

Serve with some kind of veggie. You’ll feel better about indulging and mac n’cheese tastes even better when it has a nice counter-taste from broccoli or spinach or whatever you choose.

The Incredible, Edible Breakfast Burrito

I have a very good friend who detests any&all eggs. In spite of this error in taste - her’s not mine - we’ve remained good friends. Yes, I love eggs. You can do so many things with them, from the simple scrambled/fried/poached variety to something a little more substantial: the breakfast burrito, for instance. This burrito is a just a flour tortilla folded around cheese, ham, and scrambled eggs. Wrap in tin foil and bake for 10 minutes. The burrito will be warm and soft , full of melting cheese and slightly salty ham. Add a dollop of salsa if you have a jar in your fridge. This is so good, you might want to make two!

Ingredients

1 large flour tortilla

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter

salt/pepper

2 or 3 slices of deli ham

Cheese: 1/2 cup shredded or a few slices - American, Cheddar, Swiss - your choice

Aluminum foil: a square about 10 inches X 10 inches

Heat oven to 350 degrees

1. Scramble eggs. Crack two eggs into small bowl. Mix eggs vigorously with a fork until whites and yolks are combined. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Place of butter in non-stick skillet. Turn heat to medium-high, allowing butter to melt. Once butter is melted, pour egg mixture into skillet. Using wooden spoon or heat proof spatula, gently drag spoon along the bottom of the skillet - this where the eggs will cook first. Do this continuously until eggs are firm and can hold their own shape. Once eggs are scrambled, take off heat and set aside. You don’t want to over cook the eggs as they can become water-y.
2. Place tortilla in the middle of your square of foil. Layer ham and cheese in center of tortilla. Place scramble eggs on top of ham and cheese. Turn up two opposite side of the tortilla toward one and another. Then easily roll one “un-turned” end toward the other. Wrap foilaround the burrito and place directly on rack in oven.
3. Heat in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, add some salsa, and eat!

A Spoonful of Pesto ...

Ah pesto! One spoonful captures summer's glory, but unlike many other garden goodies - fresh tomatoes, corn on the cob, just-picked strawberries - pesto is available even when snow flakes flurry. A jar of this wonderful concoction of basil, olive oil, nuts and Parmesan awaits you at your local grocery store all year round. Of course, home-made pesto is beyond great, but you will need a food processor or mortar & pestle ... not exactly first kitchen tools. Anyway, go simple. Grab a jar at the store. After opening, a jar will sit happily in your fridge much longer than the fresh tubs found in the refrigerated food sections. Sir the contents carefully to mix the olive oil with basil& co. Spoon a generous amount over just-drained pasta and toss until pasta is completely covered. Grate some Parmesan cheese on top. A few twist of black pepper never hurt and voila, dinner! If boiling water for pasta is too much after a long day, stack a sandwich with turkey, cheese, lettuce and give the bread a nice shmeer of pesto rather than mustard or mayo. And if you're on a veggies-only plan, a teaspoon on steamed green beans meets with approval here. Finally, when a good healthy pick-me-up is in order, open the jar and inhale deeply. The aromatherapy is priceless!

p.s. remember traditional pesto contains nuts so be mindful of nut allergies.

Irish Rule-Breaking Bread

So, I intended to keep everything very simple with my recipes. Simple ingredients. Minimal steps. Basic tools. Now this bread may seem to defy that pledge, but it really doesn't. First: no yeast and rising and all that. Second: only 7 ingredients - all of which you should have around, with the exception of one (whole wheat flour), but it isn't outrageously expensive and keeps very well in the freezer. Third, and last, this bread is so good. Eat it plain just when it comes out of the oven or slathered in butter and jam. Devour the next day toasted. The loaf is very big, but you can cut good-sized individual slices (or just cut in half) and freeze. When hunger strikes, pop in microwave or toaster oven. This delicious bread may get a bit stale after two days on the counter - if it lasts that long - so freezing is a great way to keep a very good thing going.

Set oven to 400

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 baking soda

6 tablespoons cut up butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 cups soured milk (direction below)

Ok, soured milk. Not as bad as you think. Just add 2 tablespoons vinegar to your measuring cup, then fill with milk until you hit the 2 cup mark. Place the measuring cup on the oven while the oven heats makes the the reaction between milk and vinegar happen faster. This is important to make the bread to rise, so don't omit. You can use buttermilk of course, but that you definitely won't have in your fridge!

Add flours, salt, and baking soda to your mixing bowl and toss about with a fork to combine. Before you add your butter, you can either cut it up into very small cubes (about the size of a pea) or add the butter to the flours and use a pastry blender to cut into the butter until it reaches this size. Yes, a pastry blender is one of those tools you won't use much, but you can get one easily and inexpensively. I put mine in the photo so you can see what it looks like.

Once butter is added to the flour mixture, add the sugar and combine with your fork by gently tossing.

By now, soured milk should be looking thicker and kind of yogurt-y. Pour it into the mixing bowl and using a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula, easily work the milk into the flour mix until you have a big ball of dough. You may have to get your hands in there at the end, but just be gentle. If dough stick to your hands, pull off the dough and dust your hands with flour to prevent further stickiness.

Once you've got the ball of dough, place it on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Press it down into a circle shape that is about 2 inches high. Use a sharp knife to make a cross cut on the top and off it goes into the oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

Freezer = Friend

Of course, you have many friends, but your freezer should be among your best. Since you will be preparing food primarily for just yourself, you may run into lots of waste. You open a jar of pesto, but only need one scoop. You make some incredible spaghetti sauce, but can't possibly eat it 3 nights in a row. Tossing things out is such a waste of time and money. Instead, keep a stash of Ziplock or Glad plastic ware around and pop fresh leftovers (under three days for most items) straight into the freezer. Labeling is a good idea - just grab a Sharpie and write directly on the container. Name and date is good. You don't want to keep things frozen more than a few months and many foods looks strangely similar when frozen.

P.S. One final note: I am not a huge fan of placing plastic ware in the microwave. Prefer to run the container under warm water and and put frozen item in a nice microwave-safe bowl. Then, press "start".

Oatmeal with Fruit & Maple-Glazed Walnuts

Oatmeal has a bit of a bum rap for being boring. And this is not at all fair. Why? Because oatmeal is a blank canvas that you can do so much with. Plus, it is very good for you, filling, and incredibly inexpensive. Any winter - even Chicago's worst - can be beaten by a hearty bowl of oatmeal. Try it for breakfast or lunch or dinner. You won't be disappointed.

1/2 cup Quaker Oats 1 Minute Oatmeal - no pre-flavored packets please!

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup or just a handful of dried cranberries - any dried fruit you like will work

1/3 cup walnuts or almonds

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

banana - or any other fruit you love

Add oats and milk to microwave-safe bowl, cover with wax paper, and cook for about 1 minute 25 seconds. This time may vary based on your microwave. When cooked, oats should look thick-ish. If too milky, cook a bit more. If too thick, add a bit of milk.

Stir in salt, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and dried fruit.

In a small skillet heat walnuts carefully until you smell a just a bit of nuttiness - stay focused here because nuts burn in the blink of any eye. Turn down heat and add the remaining tablespoon of maple syrup to nuts in the pan. Move nuts about to coat them evenly and then remove from heat.

Add maple-glazed nuts to the oatmeal, as well as sliced banana or your favorite fruit. Enjoy!

Brownies Extraordinaire

The deliciousness of these brownies is due to a slight mishap that turned out very well. The recipe on the Bakers chocolate box said large pan; we went smaller (by accident) and a classic was born. Clearly, you never know what might happen in the kitchen, so do not despair! One minor warning: do not make this recipe if you crave solitude. The smell of baking brownies will have many, many people pounding on your door.

4 squares Bakers unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 stick butter
2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour



Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt chocolate and butter in medium size sauce pan. Watch carefully. Use low heat and stir often as chocolate burns easily. When both are nearly melted, remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted.

Stir in sugar and salt until combined.

Stir in eggs vigorously. Your mixture is warm and you want to incorporate eggs before they set.

Stir in vanilla.

Gently stir in flour until all combined.

Pour into greased 8X8 pan and cook for 45 minutes.