Brown Butter Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Found this recipe on "Cooking with Amy" the other day and decided to modify it to suit my own tastes. I love brussels sprouts, but you have to cook them the right way or else they get icky. Usually I chop them and saute them in a little olive oil and salt for about two minutes, but I think I now have a new favorite preparation method.

2-3 cups brussels sprouts

2-3 tablespoons butter

salt & pepper

First, preheat the oven to 425. Chop the sprouts in half lengthwise. Heat the butter in a saucepan until it melts and then browns. This takes a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and toss the sprouts in the butter with some salt and pepper to taste. Spread the sprouts out on a baking sheet and roast for 5-7 minutes, or until they are beginning to brown.

They should be tender and crisp and not burned when done. They should taste like the outsides are roasted but the middle is just barely steamed. So good! I could eat these all the time.

best ever peanut butter cookies

So, I found this recipe on vanilla sugar the other day and had to try it out. It is fantastic! I have honestly never had such good peanut butter cookies. They were a little hard to form into cookies, but trust me, the results are worth it. These didn't last even 12 hours in my apartment.

1 cup all-natural chunky or smooth peanut butter (not too oily though, drain some oil out)
¾ cup dark brown sugar
¼ granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 TB flour
1 ts sea salt
Bittersweet chocolate chips, about ½ cup, optional
Sea salt for sprinkling, optional

In a small bowl add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix, set aside.
In a mixer or by hand, combine peanut butter and sugars until well combined. Crack egg open in a small bowl and beat. Add egg to the cookie mixture; add in the flour mixture in several smaller increments. Mix until combined. Cover bowl and refrigerate until firm (vanilla sugar suggested 2 hours, but I only waited like 20 minutes and they tasted fine). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on non-stick cookie sheets or greased cookie sheets. With a fork gently make a criss-cross pattern with a fork.
Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. As soon as they come out of the oven sprinkle with just a bit of sea salt—this adds a nice peanut depth; this is optional.

If you want to add in a chocolate topping (which I did), don’t make a cross-cross pattern, but make a small well in the center. Bake half way (about 5 minutes) then add in ~4 chocolate chips and bake remaining 5 minutes or so. I also swirled the chocolate around so that it would be a smooth topping and not just chocolate chips on top. The chocolate was delicious, but the cookies were so rich that it was probably unnecessary.
Should make about 23 – 25 cookies.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 c peanut butter
1/2 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
3 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 375. In a large bowl, cream together peanut butter, butter, and both sugars until well blended. Beat in egg, milk, and vanilla one at a time.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir into creamed mixture.

Scoop by teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet and press down with the tines of a fork. Bake 8-10 minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

----------------------------------------------

I made these tonight and put Cadbury's mini chocolate eggs in the middle. They were really good, but this recipe was better than I expected. These cookies definitely didn't need the chocolate and were delicious without. It was the first time I've used this recipe, but it's probably my new favorite kind of cookie...

Mock Risotto

1 T olive oil
1 med. onion, diced
1/4 tsp salt
2 c instant brown rice
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 1/2 c vegetable broth
1 lb asparagus, cut into pieces
1 c frozen peas
4 oz Neufchatel cheese (also labeled light cream cheese)
1/2 c grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and salt and cook for 4-6 minutes or until the onion is soft and beginning to brown. Add rice and garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Put the asparagus on top of the rice and simmer until crisp, or about 5 minutes. Add the peas and cream cheese, stir. Simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender, or about 5 more minutes. Stir in the Parmesan/Asiago.

------------------------------------------

I made this tonight with Jasmine rice, and it was really good. The only thing is that you have to add about 1/2 a cup extra broth because the rice needs more liquid, and then you have to allow more time to cook. So basically, pay attention to the directions on the rice package if you're using something besides instant brown rice. Also, many other vegetables work well in this. If I don't have asparagus, I often just use more peas and add them near the end, but I've also used frozen broccoli and cauliflower, etc. This is so easy and so satisfying! Even better, all the ingredients are relatively inexpensive.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

This recipe definitely came off of the bag of Hershey's mini chocolate chips. I like it, though, because it has a nice carmely, brown sugar flavor and it doesn't use shortening or margarine. Also, I've used regular and mini chocolate chips, and the mini ones are definitely more fun in this recipe for some reason.

2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 c chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into 13x9x2-inch pan (greased). Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan, cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen bars.

Now that I've put up most of my favorite recipes, I think I'll call it quits for the day.

Fast Cinnamon Rolls

I love this recipe because you don't have to wait for the dough to rise. Yeast is used, however, to give it that yeasty bread flavor. I made these last night, and it took be about 35 minutes, start to finish. I'll give the recipes for two different glazes that I've used, since each one is pretty different.

3/4 c lowfat milk (or soymilk)
2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour (use regular flour if you want a less "healthy" tasting version)
1/4 c sugar
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 T (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (cut in pieces)
1/4 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Heat milk in saucepan over medium heat until warm. Remove from heat, sprinkle with yeast, set aside. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Rub butter into flour mixture with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk until soft dough forms. Transfer to well-floured surface and dust with flour. Press into 12x6 rectangle. Combine brown sugar and remaining cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle over dough and press in lightly with palms. Gently roll dough lengthwise into log. Cut log into 16 3/4 in-thick slices. Place slices on a baking sheet or in a round cake pan. Bake 15-18 minutes or until rolls begin to brown.

Lemon Glaze:
Mix together 1 1/2 c powdered sugar and 3 T lemon juice. Will be very thick.

Brown Sugar Glaze:
Melt 3 T butter and 1 1/2 c brown sugar in the microwave. Add more brown sugar if it is too liquid. Add vanilla and cinnamon to taste. (These amounts are totally approximate. I just mix all the ingredients together until it looks right)

The lemon glaze is my favorite, although I suggest telling people that it's lemon before they eat it. People apparently don't like being surprised with non-traditional cinnamon rolls... The brown sugar glaze is much butterier and richer, and will definitely please those who like their cinnamon rolls more traditional. Also, this recipe is remarkably low in fat and calories. I usually don't tell people that, though...

149 calories, 2 g protein, 3 g fat, 29 g carbs, 18 g sugar per roll

African Chickpea and Spinach Stew

I got this recipe from Vegetarian Times magazine. This is a delicious and easy meal to make. Lately, I've been leaving out the spinach entirely because there hasn't been any that looked fresh enough in stores. I have to say that I almost prefer it without the spinach. If you do decide to leave it out, it becomes almost like a curry, and it could be good served with rice, though I haven't tried that yet.

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 c)
1 clove garlic, chopped (about 1 tsp)
1/4 c smooth natural peanut butter (I've also used crunchy with no discernible difference)
2 c low-sodium vegetable broth (or chicken broth), divided
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes
2 oz. spinach, chopped (about 2 c)

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, saute 5 minutes until soft and golden. Add garlic, cook 2-3 minutes more until browned. Blend peanut butter and 1/2 c broth in food processor to make a smooth paste. Blend in remaining broth. Add paprika, coriander, and cayenne to onion mix. Saute one minute, until fragrant. Stir in peanut butter mixture, chickpeas, and tomatoes. Simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add spinach just before serving.

257 calories, 13 g fat, 9 g fiber, 11 g protein per serving. Serves 4.