Tampering In The Kitchen...

What man does not like meatballs AND bacon, all in one dish?
The original quiche consists of a pie crust and an egg & cream
custard filling. A pie crust isn't THAT time-consuming to make,
but if you can eliminate a step or two without sacrificing the taste,
then dare I ask, "Why not"?


What You will Need:

• 1/2 cup of Bisquick Pancake Mix
• 1 cup of Milk
• 2 eggs or half a cup of Fat-Free Liquid Egg product
  
• 1/4 cup cooked meatballs, halved
• 3 slices of cooked bacon
• 1/4 cup broccoli florets
  
• 1/4 cup of cheese (any type you like, I used cheddar)
  
• 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
  
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• cooking spray
• 6" baking dish

How To's:

• Start out by preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
• Spray the baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place meatballs, diced onions, and broccoli on the bottom of the baking dish.
• Sprinkle cheese over.
• Combine all dry ingredients with milk and eggs, and pour the mixture into the baking dish.
• End by crumbling bacon on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Serve 2

Enjoy your "Man Quiche"!

I've been cooking/baking out of my comfort zone lately. Usually, I stick to American or Asian cuisine but I've been reading up on Latin cuisine and is extremely eager to try out something for myself. I figured my first experiment would be the much coveted empanada.

Different regions of the Latin culture have their own recipe(s) for empanadas. Regardless, they all start out with a bread-like flour shell, and end with a sinfully flavorful filling (sweet or savory).

Let's start out with the dough (I used part All-purpose flour and part whole wheat flour):

• 2 cups unbleached All-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar (completely optional, I just wanted a hint of sweetness)
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1/2 cup cold water
  
• 3 TBS shortening
• 1 TBS butter/margarine

Combine the first three dry ingredients in a bowl.
Using two butter knives, cut in the shortening and butter.
In another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.
Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the egg mixture.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients with a fork and turn the dough into a lightly
floured surface. Knead until the dough is smooth and all the flour is incorporated.
Shape the dough into a round shape, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for
an hour, no more than 24 hours.

Beef Filling:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/3 cup onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/3 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup cooked potatoes, diced
• 1 jalapeno, finely chopped
• 1 TBS paprika
• 1 TBS oregano
• 1 TBS Chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1-1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 TBS flour
  
• freshly ground pepper
• Canola oil

1) Start out by by sauteing the garlic, onion, bell pepper and potatoes in a half a tablespoon of oil, over medium heat for about 3 minutes or until onion becomes translucent. Transfer on to a plate.
2) In the same pan under medium-high, add the remaining oil and cook the beef until it changes color. Be sure to break up the meat well.
3) Add in all the dry herbs and spices. Mix until it is well incorporated.
4) Stir in the beef broth and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for about 3 minutes.
5) Sprinkle the flour and stir in well until thickened. Remove from stove and let the filling cool.

Assembling the empanadas:

• Divide the dough into 12 parts (the dough yielded 12 empanadas for me).
• Lightly flour the surface and roll out the dough into 5 inch discs.
• Place 3 tablespoons of filling in the middle of the center of the disc.

• Moisten the edges of the circle with a small amount of water and fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle. Press the edges together to seal and crimp with a fork.

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  
• Lightly brush the empanadas with an egg-wash and bake for 35 minutes, or until the empanadas turn golden brown.

Wow... I haven't updated this site for the longest!!! I haven't neglected my cooking, just
simply too tired/busy to post.

I am a HUGE fan of banana muffins, but sometimes I find the store-bought ones too
sweet or too dense. Not to mention the size of those things! And face it, you know
they're loaded with unhealthy stuff... even the low-fat ones. All I want is something
to satisfy my craving, without killing my appetite for the next meal.

How do I do this without the use of sugar, butter, and oil? Hmm... ever heard of
a product called Xylitol?

It's a sweetener (honestly, it leaves absolutely NO
after taste!!) with the same color, taste, and consistency of sugar! Get this, it had
40% less calories than regular sugar and lower carbs! How awesome is that, honestly?
Xylitol is great for diabetics and helps prevent tooth decay. I've tried using Splenda
and Stevia, but it's just not ideal in baking goodies... at least through my experience.

As for all the fat, all I have to do is substitute it completely with applesauce!
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of whole wheat flour
- ½ cup of all purpose flour
- 1 TBS baking powder (yes, a whole Tablespoon)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup Xylitol or sugar (½ cup if you want it sweeter want but ¼ was just the right amount of sweetness for me.
- ¼ cup applesauce, unsweetened (if you don’t have any, use fat-free vanilla yogurt)
- ¼ cup (equals one egg) of Eggbeaters
- ½ tsp vanilla

Directions (Makes 12 muffins)
- Mix all the dry ingredients (except the Xylitol or sugar) in a a bowl and set aside.
- Beat together the egg, Xylitol/sugar, vanilla, and applesauce in a separate bowl. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Grease your muffin pans. You can use muffin liners, but since this recipe does not have any fat in it, it tends to stick to the liners. I was not happy the last time I used muffin liners. Bake for 15 minutes.





I absolutely loved the way the banana muffins came out! It was soOooo incredibly light and airy, and the sugar was not overkill. Throw in some chopped nuts for an added crunch!

Ok, as per request by my friend, James (who apparently doesn't want to call for take-out), here is your Beef & Broccoli. I'll just get straight to the point.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb beef
1 cup broccoli
2 tbs of corn/tapioca starch
chopped garlic
1 tablespoon rice wine*
1/4 cup soy sauce*
2 teaspoons sugar*
1/4 cup water*
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil*
some white pepper
1/4 tsp MSG (if you MUST have it... and knowing you, probably)
2 tsp of corn starch mixed with 1 tbs cold water (to thicken the sauce)


Directions:
1) In a bowl, mix the meat and 2 tbs of corn starch:

2) In a pot, boil some water. Once the water is boiled, throw in the broccoli. Swirl around for 20 seconds and quickly remove the broccoli from the pot and run under cold water for about 30 seconds. You want the broccoli crunchy, not all wilted and soggy by the end of all this.

3) Add 2 tbs of oil (if you want it as oily as the the take-out places near home, then throw in an additional 2 tbs) to your wok/frying pan. Under high heat, start stir-frying the beef until it is no longer pink. Remove the cooked meat from the wok and set aside on a plate.

5) Add all the ingredients with the asterisks (*) together in a bowl. Now, in the same wok (under medium-high heat) that you cooked the beef in, add the garlic and stir fry for about 10 seconds or so. Then pour in the (*) mixture you just combined and let it cook for about a minute.



Hopefully, the pictures help!