Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas

What defines comfort food? I've been craving comfort food a lot lately. With the shorter days and cooler temperatures, I just wanna snuggle and eat warm foods (the exception being mint chocolate chip ice cream--you're probably from Wisconsin if on a cold, dreary day, you find comfort in a carton of ice cream). For me, comfort food is warm, gooey, saucy, salty, and/or spicy, and easily eaten with a  spoon. The comfort foods that come to mind are  chili, mac'n'cheese, mashed potatoes, bacon, stew and, apparently, enchiladas (though that falls into the greater category of Mexican food).

Today, I walked home dreaming of the enchiladas I was going to make. The tricky part was that I didn't want to go to the grocery store and would have to rely on what was in my fridge, freezer and cupboards. As I'm currently writing the qualifying exam for my graduate program, making time to grocery shop hasn't been a priority. When you get a care package containing breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, it's probably a hint from someone who loves you that you need to take care of yourself. Because I started going to yoga again to undo the damage from my qualifying exam, I don't feel so bad about all of my high-calorie cravings like enchiladas. Luckily I'd just frozen a cup and a half of "chicken broth" (meaning the water leftover from braising a chicken breast) and stewing beef that was on quick-sale. When I got home, I walked straight into the kitchen and started making enchilada sauce.

Objective
Make enchiladas to feel better and warm up from the inside out.  The enchilada sauce is based on an Emeril Lagasse recipe. The enchilada recipe comes from Food Pusher.

Materials
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
3 Tbs chile powder
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup tomato sauce (I used up leftover spaghetti sauce)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 pound stewing beef
1 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon Beef Base (or 1 1/2 bouillon cubes)
1 cup refried black beans
4 10" flour tortillas or 8-10 corn tortillas
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Methods
1. Heat oil in a medium sized saucepan. Add flour and stir for one minute. Add chile powder and stir 30 seconds longer. Add broth, tomato sauce and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Adjust spices if necessary.
2. Add the meat and bouillon to the simmering sauce. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is tender. Remove from heat. Shred the beef (tip: put the chunks of cooked meat in Kitchen Aid stand mixer and beat on med-high for about two minutes until shredded).
3. Prepare an 8x8 inch square baking dish.
4. Spread each tortilla with beans, add shredded beef and drizzle with a bit of the enchilada sauce. Roll and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat to fill the dish. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Broil until the cheese melts and starts to brown. Serve immediately (may need to microwave ~15 seconds to ensure the filling is still warm).

Results
This was exactly what I was craving. Heavy on beans, light on meat. A little saucy, a little spicy.

Discussion
Truthfully, because I could adjust the sauce to my taste, these were better than what I would have gotten at a restaurant in St. Louis. The only annoying part was the wait. I wasn't able to eat dinner until well after 8:30. Next time (provided I had advanced warning of my craving), I would prepare the sauce ahead of time and cook the meat in the crockpot. But, since these cravings often come with no warning, I'm glad to know I can have enchiladas in just over 2 hours! Yum! These are without a doubt the best enchiladas I've ever made. That says a lot because I generally only make enchiladas suizas because of my insane love of salsa verde. I will definitely make these again!

Supplementary Information

Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Objective
Satisfy my craving for baked goods. Last night, I was craving something loaded with chocolate, but not just chocolate. I was also craving something thicker than a cookie, but cookie-like. To celebrate the season, I decided on Bake at 350's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars.

I made a few changes. First off, I like my bars thick. I doubled the recipe and baked the bars in an 8x8" baking dish. I reduced the sugar, increased the salt and reduced all of the spices (I didn't think pumpkin pie spices and chocolate would taste good together because I'm not a huge fan of chocolate with cinnamon). I added butterscotch chips for added flavor.

Materials
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
scant 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of beaten egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
semi-sweet chocolate chips & butterscotch chips

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the pumpkin until fully incorporated.
4. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
5. Fold in enough chocolate chips to satisfy your chocolate fix.
6. Spread the dough in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake at 350° for about 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before cutting.

Results
These are pretty good and did satisfy my craving for baked goods. The flavor is a little weird with chocolate and the pumpkin pie spices. The butterscotch flavor works well with the pumpkin.

Discussion
These bars are OK as is, but could be better. Because the pumpkin pie spices didn't work with chocolate but the butterscotch went well with the bars as a whole, I can see taking this recipe in two completely different directions. Option 1: Omit the pumpkin pie spices all together and increase the amount of butterscotch chips (add some to the dough). Option 2: Increase the pumpkin pie spices and swap the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips.

In the end, I wished I had just made normal chocolate chip cookie bars. But, all is not lost, because I have ideas for how to improve the recipe. I'll be sure to update if I try them again to improve the recipe. What would be even better is if I could convince a friend to try improving it and letting me be the taste tester!

Supplementary Materials

Fall Funtivities: Pumpkin Pie Roll-Out Butter Cookies

It's officially my favorite season! I love Fall because it has the best activities! Apple-picking, bonfires, carving pumpkins, eating pumpkin flavored everything and caramel apples, decorating cut-out Halloween cookies, hiking underneath the leaves that are changing color, costume parties, the list goes on. I spent the past week looking for fall funtivities for my trip to Houston. Apple picking? Nope. Apparently it's too hot in Houston for apple orchards. Pumpkin patch? Nearest one is 50 minutes away (with limited time and a resident's work schedule, that's a little too far). Hikes underneath the changing leaves? Well, we can hike, but I don't think the palm trees will be changing color anytime soon. So, maybe we couldn't fill an entire day with fall funtivities. I knew we needed pumpkins and I knew we needed to bake.

I brought a pie pumpkin to Houston from St. Louis because I got it for $1.50 at the Soulard Farmer's Market. That's only half true. I mostly brought it because I wondered if TSA would actually let me carry-on a pumpkin. They didn't even ask me about it! Thursday night, we picked up more pumpkins from the grocery store and carved 2 of them. The one requirement for pumpkin carving was that we bake the pumpkin seeds. I had the apartment to myself on Friday because the boys had to work. I decided to bake the pumpkin seeds, and since the oven was going to be on anyway, make cookies. While the doctors were away, Abby raided their kitchen to play!

Objective

Make fun fall-cookies with my jack-o-lantern cookie cutter! Scouring the internet for pumpkin roll-out cookies lead me to many recipes with terrible reviews. I decided to make my own version of Pumpkin Spice Roll-out Sugar Cookies from Life's a Batch.

Materials

1 cup unsalted butter, sort of soft (get the chill off)

1 1/4 cup light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger

1/8 teaspoon each of ground allspice and cloves

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon half-and-half (whatever dairy product you have on hand)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Methods

2. Cream butter and sugar until light (in color) and fluffy. It will be tricky to know when the butter is light because of the brown sugar. However, if you look closely, you'll be able to see that the butter changes from a light yellow to a creamy white. 

3. Stir in the baking powder, salt and spices.

4. Beat in the egg, vanilla and half-and-half.

5. Add in the flour (slowly if you have a hand mixer because it will get thick) and mix until well combined.

6. Divide the dough into 2 or 3 chunks. Place it between 2 sheets of waxed paper and roll the dough to a thickness of 1/8-1/4 inch (depending on if you like them thin and crispy or soft and chewy). Cut out desired shapes with cookie cutters. If you can remove the edges without ruining the cookies, do it. Place the cut out shapes (still on waxed paper and on a hard surface) in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. 

7. Gently transfer the cut-out cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle with decorating sugar.

8. Bake 8 minutes at 365°. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Results

Yum! These are buttery and not overly-sweet. Just enough spice to not be overpowering. The recipe yielded about 40 cookies. 

Discussion

I normally hate making roll-out cookies. It usually becomes one big fat mess and I get frustrated and don't want to finish rolling/cutting them out. These were pretty easy. The butter to flour ratio makes a good, cohesive, soft dough that isn't too tacky. But, be sure to work quickly so that the butter doesn't get too soft. 

If you love cinnamon, add more. If you want a spicy cookie, increase all of the spices by 1/8-1/4 teaspoon. If there's a spice you don't have or don't like, leave it out and add more of the others. I think this is a forgiving recipe when it comes to the spices. If you want to go into a sugar coma, add frosting or glaze. If you're trying to avoid insulin-resistance, don't. These are delicious without frosting!

We took the cookies to a retreat over the weekend and they were a hit. People were really excited when they realized the pumpkins had faces and even more excited when they realized the cookies tasted like pumpkin pie!

Supplementary Materials

Low-Sugar 4th of July Cherry Pie

My parents came to visit over my birthday weekend. Because I wouldn't be home in August to celebrate my dad's birthday and my brother's birthday, I decided to make their birthday treats for them in July and send them back to Wisconsin with my parents. My brother is easy. He loves cheesecake. I made him a cherry cheesecake with pistachio nut crust. My dad is a little more difficult because he's on a low-sugar/no refined sugar diet. He gets frustrated because I do a lot of baking and he doesn't get to eat anything. So, I decided to make him something he couldn't feel as guilty eating.

Objective
Make a 4th of July Cherry Pie without adding refined sugar.

Materials

9-inch or 9.5-inch pie crust

Filling:
1 12-oz bag of frozen sweet cherries
1 14-oz can of tart cherries in water
1/2 cup agave
3 tablespoons cornstarch
pinch salt
strips of lemon peel, from one lemon

Crumble topping:
1/4 cup flaked coconut (can use more if you can find unsweetened)
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoons agave nectar
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small 1/4-inch cubes

Methods
1. Prepare and bake the crust until lightly golden. If you're using a store bought crust: lay in the pie pan and press into place. Form the edges however it pleases you. Prick the bottom and sides of the crust with a fork. Bake at 450° for 7-10 minutes or until it's lightly golden. If it puffs up while baking, prick the puff with a fork to settle it. Set the crust aside. Then, preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Meanwhile, thaw the frozen sweet cherries in a bowl, reserving the liquid that drains off. Drain the canned tart cherries into a 1 cup (or greater) liquid measuring cup and add the tart cherries to the bowl of sweet cherries. Once the sweet cherries have thawed (can microwave in short intervals to speed up the process), add the juice to the measuring cup with the juice from the can.
3. In a medium saucepan, mix the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add 2/3 cup of the cherry juice and lemon peel. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the liquid bubbles and thickens (this should be quick). Stir in the cherries and continue to stir over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust and set aside.
4. Make the crumble topping by mixing the dry ingredients together, then slowly stirring in the butter cubes (add them slowly so that they don't clump together). Sprinkle on top of the cherry filling.
5. Bake the pie at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Results
The pie wasn't as sweet as the original version, but rightly so. They cherry flavor was still good and the crumble topping was delicious.

Discussion
I prefer the original version of the recipe, but if I hadn't had the original, I would have liked this version. The pie was for my dad, and my mom assured me that it got eaten. I'm not sure that agave nectar is my favorite refined sugar substitute. The flavor doesn't quite do it for me. Honey has too strong of a flavor, so I try to avoid honey as well. One of my friends from school came over and we baked a chocolate cake using whole wheat pastry flour, coconut milk, maple syrup and dark chocolate. It was too bitter for me, but I think that could have been remedied with semisweet chocolate instead of dark chocolate. You couldn't tell the cake had maple syrup in it. Next time, I think I'd try maple syrup as my non-refined sugar substitute.

Zucchini Butterscotch Blondies

On Labor Day, we saw the sun for the first time over the holiday weekend. It was a welcome relief from the dreary clouds and hurricane rains that made their way up to St. Louis from the Gulf. I was happy to get outside and enjoy the evening at a Labor Day BBQ. We had carne asada and steak on the grill with egg salad, potato salad, a bunch of other salads, chocolate chip cookies and Zucchini Butterscotch Blondies.

I mentioned these zucchini blondies in my Chocolate Zucchini Cake post. I tried to make a version that was less cake-like and more cookie-like. I also reduced the sugar, because the original recipe from Domino Sugar was so sweet it burned on the way down. The butterscotch chips are what give these blondies their characteristic flavor. If you don't like butterscotch, skip the butterscotch chips and increase the amount of chocolate chips. I was pleased with the results: they weren't too sweet or too cake-like. The other party goers must have liked them too, because they quickly devoured the whole pan.

Materials
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar*
1/2 cup white sugar*
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 zucchini, freshly grated (1 small-medium zucchini)
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup chocolate chips
*Note: this makes a very sweet blondie. Feel free to cut back to 3/4 cup total sugar.

Methods
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
2. Beat butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg and vanilla.
3. Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat until just incorporated.
4. Stir in the grated zucchini, half of the butterscotch chips, and half of the chocolate chips.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the 8x8 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining butterscotch chips and chocolate chips.
6. Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

End of Summer Pistachio Almond Gelato

In Wisconsin, Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. In Missouri, Labor Day weekend means a day off of school. I must say I prefer the former, because it makes for 15-week semesters instead of the brutal 18-week long semesters Washington University finds necessary. In St. Louis, there are an assortment of festivals over Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately, Hurricane Issac made his way to Missouri just in time to rain out many of the activities. It's been dark and dreary. It's not cold, but it feels like soup weather. Determined not to let the weather damper my enjoyment of summer's end, I decided to make ice cream.

I haven't made a lot of ice cream this summer because I can't eat enough to justify making a whole batch. I didn't know if a half batch would freeze properly, so I just skipped ice cream all together. With cold weather just a few months away (or maybe not with the kind of weather we've been having), I decided that it's now or never. Last week, my friend Ann and I went to a painting class at Bar Italia. Ann ordered a drink made with cranberry juice, pistachio liqueur and a splash of lemon lime soda. It was delicious and inspired me to make pistachio gelato.

In the blog world, David Lebovitz seems to be the leading authority for ice cream recipes. Being the rebel that I am (and because I didn't want to track down Pistachio Paste when I have a lifetime supply of unsalted, shelled pistachios in my fridge), I opted for a recipe by David Leite. I couldn't have been more pleased with my choice! The creaminess is unparalleled. For the full, unmodified recipe, see  David Leite's Pistachio Gelato.

Materials
1 cup (scant) unsalted, shelled pistachios, finely ground
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar (or less)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Method
See David Leite's Pistachio Gelato.

Results
The flavor isn't overly pistachio-y. The texture is indescribably creamy. You'll have to make it to believe me. No, really. Go make it. You won't be disappointed.

Discussion
Besides halving the recipe, I did modify the ingredients a smidge. I added the upper limit of sugar. That was a bad idea because it ended up a little too sweet. I think the sweetness masked the pistachio flavor.  Next time, I would let the pistachios steep in the milk/cream for an hour or two before refrigerating. Because my gelato wasn't very pistachio-y, I stirred in some almond extract immediately prior to freezing. In flavor, it tastes a lot like Blue Bunny Pistachio Almond Ice Cream. In texture, it's far superior. I was pleased with my decision to leave out the chopped pistachios so that the texture was smooth.

I am so pleased with this recipe that I would like to try it as the base for future flavors. It would be easy to make it a mint gelato, or another herb/nut infusion. Though I wouldn't know where to being, it would be amazing as chocolate gelato. It might be a few months or even a year before I make ice cream again, but I will be sure to keep this recipe in mind when I do (and so should you)!

Supplementary Materials

Variation for Chocolate Gelato
I did make this recipe into chocolate gelato. After heating the milk and cream, I whisked in 1/6 cup (1/3 cup for the full recipe) cocoa powder. Then, after tempering the eggs and whisking them into the cream mixture, I whisked in 1 oz (2 oz for the full recipe) Ghiradelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips. The texture wasn't as creamy as the pistachio, which was disappointing, but it reminded me of a Wendy's Frosty. I'd definitely make it again!

A Summer Must-Have: Chocolate Zucchini Cake

In my opinion, no food is as summery as zucchini. For those who grow zucchini in their gardens, they have be creative to use up the amount of squash they harvest, share it with friends, or freeze it. Growing up, my next-door-neighbors planted a vegetable garden  and left my mom in charge of tending it while they vacationed each summer. Each year they vacationed more and more, to the point where they started spending the entire summer away. That meant our family ate a lot of zucchini while they were gone!

My first memory of zucchini is a dish my mom made many years ago. We were at my grandma's house. I think it was right after my grandma moved from "The House on Monica Lane" to her condo. For dinner, she sautéed chicken breasts with onions and zucchini slices, added diced tomatoes and let it simmer. Before serving it, she sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top and covered the pan until the cheese melted. It was incredibly delicious and became a Mapes family staple. While we all liked the recipe, we couldn't rely on it as the sole meal for using up zucchini. My mom also made chocolate zucchini cake and butterscotch blondies with zucchini. I remember being skeptical and pleasantly surprised by both. The following summer, I started making chocolate zucchini cake a yearly tradition. I think I even made it for my birthday cake one year. 

Last week I made zucchini butterscotch blondies. I'm going to play around with it a little bit and I'll share it if I can make the blondies more cookie-like and less cake-like. In the mean time, I decided to make chocolate zucchini cake. I didn't want to use the recipe from my youth because it has cinnamon in it and I'm not crazy about cinnamon in baked goods (except in cinnamon rolls). After a lot of Google image searching, I decided to make a recipe from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary because I liked the look of the crumb. I made my version in a smaller pan, reduced the sugar an increased the zucchini. I was thrilled with the results! Saturday morning couldn't have been much better spent, eating chocolate zucchini cake and rescuing this adorable baby bunny who got stuck in a hole outside of my apartment:

Objective

Find a new recipe for chocolate zucchini cake that doesn't use cinnamon.

Materials

1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

4 Tablespoons butter, softened

1/4 cup olive oil

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk (or buttermilk, if you have it on hand)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/4 cup zucchini, grated (about 1 medium zucchini)

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I prefer semi-sweet)

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Grease an 8x8" dish and set aside.

2. Stir together the milk and lemon juice. Set aside. *Omit this step if you have buttermilk, but it's not worth buying a container specifically for this recipe since it only requires 1/4 cup.

3. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a small/medium sized bowl. Set aside.

4. Beat sugar, butter and olive oil until well-mixed.

5. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

6. Alternatively add the sifted dry ingredients and the milk/buttermilk in three separate additions.

7. Fold in the zucchini and about half of the chocolate chips.

8. Pour into the prepared 8x8" dish. Smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining chocolate chips (if you don't think there are enough on top, add more).

9. Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until the top springs back when pressed lightly/a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

10. Cool completely before covering. **I know it's hard, but if you can, wait 24-48 hours before cutting into the cake. The zucchini will release moisture over time, and the cake will be perfectly moist at around 48 hours. It's worth the wait, I promise!

Results

Delicious as is. Needs no frosting or ice cream on the side. I made it Thursday night, tried it Friday night but found that it was even better on Saturday. Incredibly moist and delicious. The moisture helped the chocolate chips stay soft, which improved the texture of the cake.

Discussion and Future Directions

This will be my go-to chocolate zucchini cake recipe from here on out (unless my mom specifically requests her recipe)! If I doubled this recipe and baked the cake in a 9x13, I would omit at least 1/4 cup of the sugar, but omitting even more would be ok. Reducing the sugar helps make it more of a snack cake, rather than a dessert. I promise it's a good idea because there is no way you won't keep going back to the kitchen for "just one more little piece." Plus, it has vegetables in it, so it's healthy, right? Next time you have zucchini, give it a try!

Supplementary Materials

More bunny pictures because he's just so adorable!!