The Big Easy Jambalaya

Many of my running peeps were in Big Easy for the Rock and Roll Marathon this past weekend. The many pics of food which they posted on FB remind me of Jambalaya. My first taste of Jambalaya was in Nov last year when they BF made it.

I decided to try it today.... with some cheating>>>> by using a Jambalaya mix. I found an easy recipe on the brand website and decided to use it with some modification.

This is really an easy recipe.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 each medium green and yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) fire roasted or regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
1 package ZATARAIN'S® Reduced Sodium Jambalaya Mix
1 pound chicken breast
1 package (12 ounces) smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices. ( I could not find andouille saugage)

Direction

1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or 5-quart Dutch oven on medium heat. Add onion and bell peppers and chicken breast cook and stir 7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked

2. Stir in tomatoes, water and Jambalaya Mix. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Stir in sausage. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer or just until rice is cooked Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired.


Verdict : Somehow my rice is not fluffy as it should be. It is somewhat sticky. I am not really good at making rice over stove top ! I will use the spicier version of the mix next time and be use rotel hot tomato instead of the regular tomato

~bel~

Baked Penne

( Before putting in the oven)

I am "rookie" when it comes to making pasta. The best I ever done was to use ready made off the shelf pasta sauce. However, I am not a fan of ready made sauce and have been toying with the idea of making my own pasta sauce. I tried to make a spaghetti with a made from scratch sauce recipe last month and it was a failure. Kudos to the BF for trying to finish his plate :)

I have been reading and researching on pasta recipe since. The idea of baked pasta has been floating in my head for the longest time and I finally decided to try last night with my own "concoction" - The measurements in the recipe are "estimate" as I added the ingredients based on my "feel"

Ingredients:
1. 1 pound of ground turkey
2. 1 cup of onion
3. 2 can diced tomatoes
4. 2-3 table spoon of paprika
5. 2-3 table spoon of oregano
6. 2-3 table spoon of basil
7. 2 -3 table spoon of chili flakes
8. 1 table spoon of garlic
9. Shredded mozzarella
10. 1.5 table spoon of tomato paste
11. pepper and salt
12. Olive oil
13. 1 pound of penne


Directions:
1. Marinate the ground beef with paprika, pepper and salt
2. Cook the Penne accordingly to box direction
3. Add olive oil to the skillet. Brown the ground turkey and add onion and garlic. Add the basil , chili flakes and oregano.
4. Add the can tomato and tomato paste and bring to a boil
5. Simmer for 15 minutes
6. Add the cooked penne to mixture
7. Placed half of the penne to a casserole. Add a layer of cheese. Repeat layer
8. Baked in oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes till bubbly


Here are some variations :
1. Use Italian turkey sausage instead of ground turkey
2. Use one can of crushed tomato with one can of dice tomato
3. Use Italian seasoning instead of oregano and basil

~bel~

Chili and Pizza !

Gosh...I did not realize that my last post was almost 7 months back. Running and working had pretty much left me with no time and energy to cook or bake

Bf and I decided that we should eat more at home for the simple reason that it is healthier ( and of course.. cheaper as well) . Bf was really excited about this new arrangement and immediately pulled out two recipes- chili and pizza !

I did not cook this weekend but he did.

The Chili recipe was from allrecipe.com. It was so simple and yet so good. I could not resist a second helping.


The pizza recipe was from Runner's World Magazine. The recipe gave pizza a new twist by using pesto as base instead of the usual tomato paste. It also uses goat cheese instead of mozzarella. I never realize that pesto and chicken go so well together


Ingredient for Pizza
1. 12 inch whole wheat pizza crust
2. 3/4 cup of pesto
3. 1 cup arugula
4. 8 0z cooked chicken strips
5. 1/3 cup sliced red pepper
6. 2/3 cup of olive ( we omitted this as bf is not a fan of olive)
7. 1.2 cup of basil
8. 4 ounces of crumbled goat cheese
9. Black pepper

Directions:
1. Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet and baked at 400F for 6 mins
2. Remove crust and turn oven to broil
3. Spread the pest on crust.
4. Top with arugula, chicken, red peppers, olives, basil and cheese
5. Season with black pepper and broil for 1 min

~bel~

Chocolate Coated Strawberry

The strawberry are here !!!!! I was invited to a bachelorette party and just could not resist the temptation to do something with strawberries !!!

The first thing which comes to my mind is chocolate coated strawberry !!! AN oldie... but always good !

Gosh... don't they look yummy!!!!

Ingredients:
1 pack of fresh strawberry
8 oz bitter sweet chocolate

Direction
1. Wash the strawberry and pat dry

2. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler or microwave

3. Dipped the strawberry in the chocolate


Some tips here :
1. Do not use over ripe strawberry. For best result, use strawberry which are sightly green

2. Use a toothpick to dip the strawberry in the chocolate. Turn the strawberry upside down and insert the toothpick in a strofoam

~bel~

Walnut Carrot Bundt Cake

Been a while since I last baked... blame it on laziness :)

I finally dug out my bakeware ( lucky .. no cobweb yet *phew*) today to do some bake. Its 4th July here and the running peeps are having yet another party.

I had been making chocolate cakes and I really hate chocolate. So I decided to bake something which I really like- Carrot Cake

I saw this recipe from Joy of Baking.. it look easy enough for a lazy baker like me The only tedious part is grating the carrot.... I HATE grating Carrot !!!!!!

I decided to bake this in my bundt so I can "do away" with cream cheese frosting. A simple sugar glaze will be nice on the bundt

Carrot Cake Recipe:

1 cup (100 grams) of walnuts or pecans ( I used walnuts)

3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)

2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

1 cup (240 ml) safflower,vegetable or canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Direction :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

2. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pan and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper. ( I use a bundt)

3. Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.

4. Peel and finely grate the carrots.

5. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.

6. In bowl of electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the eggs until frothy (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. (Oppps.. I forgot the vanilla... but it still taste as good)

7. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.

For the cinnamon glaze

1. 1 cup of confectionery sugar- sifted
2. 2 tablespoon of buttermilk ( I do not have buttermilk.. and so I decided to use the normal milk ... of course.. buttermilk and milk are not the same. But it came out great)
3. 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Mix until smooth, then refrigerate until thickened. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

This is really a simple recipe... try it :)

~bel~

Chocolate Stout Bundt Cake

Chocolate Double Stout !!!!!!

Chocolate and Stout !!! Whaoooooooooo.. who can resist this recipe. I knew I have to bake this when I came across the recipe.

I just had to go and get a bottle of stout for this !

Gosh... the combination of chocolate and stout is heavenly. My small apartment smelled so good when the cake was baking in the oven.

Ingredients:
1 cup stout ( I use chocolate stout)
1 cup ( 2 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cup all purpose flour (220g)
2 cup sugar
11/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup of sour cream

Direction:
1. preheat oven to 350F

2. Spray the bundt pan well. Make sure that it is well -coated

3. Bring the stout and butter to simmer over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk till mixture is smooth. Set aside to cool

4. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a bowl

5. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream till well combined

6. Add stout mixture and beat just to combine

7. Add the flour mixture and beat a slow speed till just combined

8. Pour batter in the bundt pan and bake for approximate 60 minutes or when tester inserted into centre comes out clean

9. Cool for 5 minutes in pan and turn cake out to rack to cool completely

Chocolate Ganache Drizzle
6 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoon heavy cream

1. Melt the chocolate and heavy cream over a double boiler until smooth and warm.
2. Drizzle over the top of the cool cake.

~bel~

Chocolate Banana Bundt Cake

I think I am addicted to Bundt. I have been looking at bundt cake recipes since I made the root beer bundt cake last week. I saw this recipe and just could not resist the temptation to try it. The combination of chocolate and banana is lethally sinful !

Ingredients

1 ¾ cup flour
1 cup sugar
¾ cup non-dutched cocoa powder
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
3 mashed bananas, VERY RIPE
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1egg
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp almond or vanilla extract ( I omitted this by mistake)

Direction
1.Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray

2.In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt

3.In a large bowl, blend buttermilk, bananas and brown sugar. Add egg , then stir in oil and almond extract. This large bowl will be very runny

4.Gently add flour mixture to liquid, mixing until just combined. Some lumps are good, but make sure to fully incorporate

5. Pour into bundt pan and bake about 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean

6.Let cool on wire racks for 20 minutes and then remove from pan. Let cool fully on wire racks

I used the Hershey's recipe for the glace
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Stir in cocoa and water. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Do not boil. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating with whisk until smooth. Add additional water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency. About 2/3 cup glaze

~Bel~