Spinach Arancini

• Wow! Was this a complicated recipe!
  Way back when it was just Phil and little teeny Joshua and I in Italy we used to spend time at a local mall-type shopping center called Panorama. Their food court of sorts sold a few things like roast chicken, pizza (my favorite to see was "Americana" with hot dogs and french fries on it), french fries and arancini. I was nervous to try them at first but they were delicious! They sold several different kinds with different ingredients. My favorite had cheese and prosciutto. Delicious! 
• A couple months ago we were at a grocery store and Phil found a pack of them in the freezer section and asked me to make them. I'm finally getting around to it. 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 24 (1/2 inch) cubes mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups Progresso® Italian style panko crispy bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Vegetable oil for frying
  
• Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper. In 3-quart saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook about 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook and stir 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in rice and wine; cook 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until liquid is absorbed. Add 1 cup broth; cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broth is absorbed. Add remaining 1 cup broth; cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broth is absorbed.
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• Season with pepper. Stir in spinach, butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Spread onto cookie sheet. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour 30 minutes or until firm. (Mixture can be refrigerated overnight.)
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• On cookie sheet, shape rice mixture into 12x8-inch rectangle. Cut into 6 rows by 4 rows to make 24 squares. Place 1 mozzarella cheese cube in center of each square; shape rice around cheese cubes to make balls.
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• Place flour and bread crumbs in separate bowls. In another bowl, beat egg and water until blended. Coat each ball with flour, then dip into egg mixture and coat with bread crumbs. Place coated balls on unlined cookie sheet; refrigerate 30 minutes.
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• Line platter or shallow pan with paper towels. Heat about 2 inches vegetable oil in a pan to 350 degrees F. Fry balls 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. With slotted spoon, remove balls to towel-lined platter to drain. Serve hot.

Guacamole

Oh my goodness. Perfection on a chip is what I would call this. I will be making this again. It's only a matter of when.

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• 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tomatoes, diced (or about 1/3 a cup of salsa)
• 2cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)
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• In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour covered directly with saran wrap to prevent browning for best flavor, or serve immediately.

Salsa

I'm not a huge fan of spicy food but I can appreciate a good salsa every now and then. I've always wanted to try making my own but have just never had a good reason to. Tonight I made this salsa (adapted for a Pioneer Woman recipe) and the guacamole for a potluck style get together. Both went over really really well. I took big bowls full and brought them home empty. Phil asked to make it spicier next time... so maybe we'll consider adding a jalapeno for him. For the weaker palate like mine, though, this was pretty perfect.

6 Tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole mild pepper (think Anaheim)
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup fresh Cilantro (more To Taste!)
Juice of 1/2 a lime

Combine tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.
Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour before serving.

Granola Bars

I've always been afraid of the recipe lists involved in most granola bar recipes I've seen. It's hard to justify buying 4 huge packs of ingredients for 1 recipe of granola bars that you're not even completely sure you'll like. I figured my challenge might be a good reason to do just that. 
Then I found the recipe. I only had to buy 1 thing! Everything else I already had in the house. Perfect! I've only had them warm so far, but these granola bars are delicious! I'll make these again and maybe add some nuts or dried fruit next time. 

2 cups rolled oats

• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup raisins (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
  
  In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, raisins and salt. Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well using your hands. Pat the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
  
  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the bars begin to turn golden at the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into bars while still warm. Do not allow the bars to cool completely before cutting, or they will be too hard to cut.

Marshmallows

I did it!! I finally made marshmallows all on my own. I have been wanting to do this for years... and have now finally gotten up the courage to try it. I used the recipe here because it had step-by-step directions, making me feel much more prepared about the whole thing. I'm not am not a candy maker. You can ask my husband. I fail more often than I succeed when cooking sugar in a pot, which is exactly why I put 2 things on my list of 30 that involved doing just that. The easier one is now done. Hopefully that'll help me feel more secure when trying the next one!

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup Confectioner's Sugar1 envelope unflavored gelatin1/3 cup water2/3 cup granulated sugar1/2 cup light corn syrupPinch of salt1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl, sift together the cornstarch and Confectioner's sugar.

Lightly grease an 8"x8" baking dish.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch/sugar mixture into the baking dish, tilting it this way and that to cover the bottom and sides.  Leave the remaining cornstarch/sugar mixture in the baking dish.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin into the water, and let soak for 5 minutes.  Add the granulated sugar to the gelatin, stirring occasionally over medium low heat until the gelatin and the sugar dissolve completely.

Using a standing mixer, add to the bowl the gelatin mixture, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla, and beat on high speed for 15 minutes, until peaks form.

Spread the marshmallow mixture into your prepared pan (this is the sticky, sticky, sticky part, because I used my fingers to move the mixture in the pan).  Smooth the top as best as you can.  Now just let the mixture sit for 2 hours.

Using a wet knife, slide the knife around the edges to loosen, then cut into quarters.

Sprinkle the remaining cornstarch/sugar mixture onto a large baking sheet.  Put the marshmallow quarters, top side down onto the baking sheet.  Cut each quarter into nine pieces, then roll each of those pieces into the cornstarch/sugar mixture, making sure to cover all sides.  Place the marshmallows on a cake rack, then cover it all with paper towels to dry overnight (the surface of the marshmallows will be slightly dry at that time).  I also put a paper towel under the cake rack to catch any of the cornstarch/sugar mixture.

Store the marshmallows in an airtight container.  They'll keep for up to a month.....if they last that long!!!

Makes 36 marshmallows

English Muffins

• Phil is out of town for a little bit so I have some extra time to fill. That's exactly how these came to be. I did not dust them with cornmeal and mine, substituted about half the flour with whole wheat flour and didn't take nearly this long to cook. If I would have left them they would have been charcoal muffins. Overall they're pretty good. They don't nearly have the big nooks and crannies, though. We used these for dinner tonight to put BLT's on. 

1 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
  cornmeal for dusting
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  Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  In a large bowl, combine the milk, yeast mixture, shortening and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Add salt and rest of flour, or enough to make a soft dough. Knead. Place in greased bowl, cover, and let rise.
  Punch down. Roll out to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut rounds with biscuit cutter, drinking glass, or empty tuna can. Sprinkle waxed paper with cornmeal and set the rounds on this to rise. Dust tops of muffins with cornmeal also. Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
  Heat greased griddle. Cook muffins on griddle about 5 minutes on each side on medium heat. Keep baked muffins in a warm oven until all have been cooked. Allow to cool and place in plastic bags for storage. To use, split and toast.

Baked Donuts

I finally found a baked donut recipe I liked. I tweaked it a little. I will probably continue to tweak it as I use it. This time I tossed in some chocolate chips to fulfill my "chocolate chip bake donuts" on my list. I frosted them with a thin ganache. If I were to make these again I would leave out the spices if I were using chocolate with it. The spices were good but it was too much with the chocolate. A powdered sugar glaze would be great on donuts with the spices included. I could also see substituting some of the milk with pumpkin in the fall. Yum!  

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• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon oil
  
  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a doughnut pan.
  In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir in milk, eggs, vanilla and shortening. Beat together until well blended.
  Fill each doughnut cup approximately 3/4 full. Bake 15 or so minutes in the preheated oven, until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.
  

Bagels

While at Dunkin Donuts one morning I looked at the shelves and had a realization. If I could successfully make pretzels which are a boil then bake recipe... I could probably make bagels too! So here we are! 

I mixed in about 1/2 whole wheat flour attempting to feel less guilty about eating these. 

Oh and for the record, I did try my recipe for chocolate chip donuts but was completely unimpressed. I'm checking it off the list, but I won't be making that particular recipe again.

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• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar

1. In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling. Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
5. When the bagels are ready, put 4 or 5 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once. Drain them. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. 

Pizza Bites

I am officially kicking off my plan of trying to make 30 new things by the time I turn 30! This was my first attempt. It was a raving success! Perfect way to start!

I found this recipe here.

1 - pizza dough
pizza or marina sauce for dipping
2 - tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 - tablespoon olive oil or melted butter
1/2 - teaspoon garlic powder
1 - teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
mozzarella cheese or string cheese cut into pieces
Pizza toppings of your choice:
pepperoni slices, hamburger, sausage, ham, veggies, pineapple, etc.

You can use homemade pizza dough or store bought. Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well. Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after). You need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough. When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I used butter) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Crumpets

We took a trip to England years ago and it is still one of our favorite vacations we've ever taken. We have found packaged crumpets at the grocery store a few times and fell in love. This week I tried making them on my own and they were delicious! This recipe is from allrecipes.com. Now I just need to buy more metal rings so I can make them again!

Oh... and no picture... because we ate them all. They were seriously good!

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water 
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup warm milk 
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, divided
• 1 egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
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In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the milk, 1 tablespoon butter and egg; mix well. Add flour and salt; beat until smooth. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Brush griddle and 3-in. metal rings or open-topped metal cookie cutters with remaining butter. Place rings on griddle; heat over low heat. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter into each ring. Cook for 7 minutes or until bubbles begin to pop and the top appears dry. Remove rings. Turn crumpets; cook 1-2 minutes longer or until the second side is golden brown. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack and toast before serving.

Soft Pretzels

I love blogs! They have revolutionized my meal planning. I use Google reader to keep up with several blogs I really like. I love that I have other people who like to cook and bake submit their projects to me with pictures all the time. I find so many ideas that I never would have thought of on my own. For example, I found this recipe here. I'm not a huge soft pretzel fan but I do like them. I'm not usually willing to dish out the cash to buy them at the mall. Come to find out, my boys have never had a soft pretzel. I have officially failed as a parent... but not really. Today I did one better. We made them ourselves! They're not nearly as hard as I had imagined. I'm pretty sure we'll be making these again sometime.


1 ½ c. very warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
¼ c. sugar
3-4 cups flour
4 T. baking soda
10 cups water
1 egg white
¼ c. coarse kosher salt

Preheat oven to 475 degrees
In a large bowl, whisk together water and yeast. Stir in the sugar and set aside 1-2 minutes until the mixture is foamy. Stir in 3 cups of the flour.
Set the extra water in a pot to boil.
Begin kneading the dough, adding additional flour until it is soft, but not at all sticky.
On a lightly floured surface, roll a palm-sized ball of dough into a long rope, approximately 12 inches long.
Twist into a ribbon shape. Twist again.
Pull upper loop down over the bottom them pull the 2 end pieces through and secure by pinching.
Gently tug the pretzel out, keeping the dough from getting too fat at any point.  Set aside on a lightly floured surface and allow to rise slightly while you finish twisting the other pretzels.
Our shapes were nowhere near perfect but they were still delicious!
Place pretzels in the boiling water for 10 seconds on each side. I found having a spoon in each hand helped to flip the pretzel (they are VERY slippery when wet).
Remove. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.
We made 9 pretzels with this recipe but a few of them were HUGE so you could probably get more out of it.