Archive for the ‘recipe’ Category
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Sassymonkey’s Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls
Chocolate covered peanut butter balls remind me of my grandparent’s house. My oldest brother G lived with my grandparents for as long as I can remember (he was 18 by the the time I was born). Chocolate covered peanut butter balls were his favourite and they were around almost all the time. My grandmother would make a great big batch and keep them in the freezer. I believe the original theory that a few could be taken out at a time but in reality we started just gnawing on them frozen. As a positive (I supppose) it meant that we ate less of them.
This is the first year I’ve really celebrated Christmas in years – by years I mean close to a decade. It’s also my and Lee’s first Christmas together. We decided that we wanted to stay home for Christmas and invited his family over for dinner Christmas day. Christmas suddenly is looming before me and I’ve actually created a checklist/schedule that is posted on the fridge. Some of it is necessary for Christmas dinner and others are necessary just because I said so, like the nuts that I purchased for cracking and snacking because we always hate them at Christmas when I was a kid. I kicked off today by making Elise’s cranberry sauce before I had even had my morning coffee, and as I’ve said before, it totally kicks canned ass. A bonus this year is that I got to use the cranberries that we won in our Farmer’s Market basket. Then I broke out the hand mixer and started making peppermint patties. These aren’t a traditional Sassymonkey Family recipe (although my best friend’s mother always made them) but they are something I started making a few years ago and I’ve promised some to friends.
Right now I’m taking a break before I start in on the chocolate covered peanut butter balls. I had to call my mother to get the recipe. Making them transports me back to my grandmother’s kitchen, “helping” her make them when I was just a wee monkey. It’s a great recipe to make with kids, assuming you don’t mind turning your kitchen into a disaster area.
Sassymonkey’s Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter or margarine
2 cups icing sugar
3 cups Rice Krispies
300 grams semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp shorteningMix together the peanut butter, butter and icing sugar. Mix in Rice Krispies. Roll into 1-inch balls and let chill. Melt chocolate chips with shortening in a double boiler. Dip peanut butter balls into chocolate and chill. Try not to eat all at once.
Monkey Note 1: You can use smooth or crunchy peanut butter. My mom likes crunchy. Monkey Note 2: My mother likes to chill the peanut butter mixture before rolling to balls. It’s a messy process and you’ll be washing your hands a lot. Monkey Note 3: Stick the balls into the freezer before dipping in chocolate. They’ll be a bit more stable that way. And use a slotted spoon for dipping if you have one. Monkey Note 4: The original recipe is old school and actually uses paraffin wax rather than shortening. I’ve done it both ways and I usually use shortening just because it means I don’t have to try to find the wax. -
Baby, it’s getting cold outside
It’s chilly. It’s fall. Leaves are starting to fall. I’m wearing sweaters and going out in hunt of new long sleeved shirts. I’m going to add a duvet to my bed as soon as I can either find or make a duvet cover that fits.
It’s getting cold outside. And that means it’s time for a fall tradition in my kitchen. This started 4 or 5 years ago. Wayyy back when I used to frequent the message boards at a popular woman’s site. At the time I was in love with Second Cup’s Cranberry Cider (hmmm it doesn’t seem to even be on their menu anymore…how sad!). I asked if anyone had a recipe for cranberry cider and Denise tracked down one for me (at least I think it was Denise…).
I know longer have the original recipe. Ok, I could probably track it down somewhere if I *really* looked but I’ve made it enough times to wing it.
Warm Cranberry Cider
1 jug of cranberry juice
about 1/4 cup honey
cinnamon sticks
whole cloves
zest from an orange
dried cranberriesThrow everything in a crockpot and let it get hot. I usually put it on high until it’s hot and then I turn it down to “keep warm” for the rest of the day. Ladle into mugs.
I made this once for American Thanksgiving at a friends house and ended up giving out the recipe to several of the guests.
Monkey Note 1: Even though the recipe calls for dried cranberries I usually leave them out. I found they just got in the way and after I removed them I didn’t really notice a difference. Monkey Note 2: This is *sticky* when it cools. You might want to have a cloth at a ready to mop up spills while it’s still warm. And rinse your mugs when you are finished. Monkey Note 3: I will make this on a cool Friday evening or Saturday morning and pretty much leave it in the crockpot all weekend. I have one of those crockpots where the pot comes out of the appliance and I’ll just take it out and stick it in otu fridge and then pop it in again the next morning. Monkey Note 4: If you have a bulk store near you pick up your cinnamon sticks there. Wayyy cheaper.EDIT: GAHHHHH!!! I hate it when the google spells check messes with the text. It deleted chunks of sentences and then randomly adds words to other places. Stupid spellcheck.
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The book bloggers have spoken…
I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe this morning. But the book bloggers have spoken. They want the chili-lime popcorn.
I cannot for the life of me find the original recipe. But I guess that’s ok since I wing it most of the time now anyway.
Chili-lime popcorn
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- lime wedge – about 1/4 of the lime
- 1 bag microwave popcorn
Mix the chili powder and cumin together. Sprinkle over popcorn while still in bag. Shake. Transfer popcorn to a bowl (I have to eat popcorn from a bowl, the bags annoy me) and squeeze the lime wedge over the popcorn. Enjoy!
And that is all.
Monkey Note 1: I do remember that the original recipe called for salt as well. I used it the first time I made and it was wayyyyy too salty so I’ve omitted it ever since. Microwave popcorn is salty enough that you don’t need to add it but if you are using air-popped you might want to add a bit. I’d do the rest of the seasoning first though and then salt to taste. Monkey Note 2: If you do not have fresh lime and are using bottled lime juice you will only need a very small amount because that stuff is concentrated! I would say about 1 tsp. I’ve used both and I can say that fresh is better but the bottled stuff does in a pinch. Monkey Note 3: If you are really lazy and don’t want to even make this – experiment with prepackaged seasonings. Lemon-pepper is pretty good (I also highly recommend sprinkling some on fresh corn on the cob). I bet some of the Mrs. Dash flavours would be good – maybe the Southern Chipotle for a Tex-Mex feel? -
A lotta enchilada
Denise asked me to post the recipe for the enchilada casserole I made yesterday so here it is. I was reaalllllllllyyyyyy yummy. It’s not “authentic” Mexican (this is a Canadian cookbook after all and I don’t think anywhere in Canada has authentic Mexican food) but it’s tasty.
Monkey Note 1 : If you don’t have leftover chicken and rice that will add to the prep time to this. I cooked my chicken and rice earlier in the day and did the prep work chopping the red pepper, carrots and green onion while they were cooking. When it came time to assemble I just threw everything together.From Crazy Plates.
The Whole Enchilada
2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cup salsa
4 tsp chili powder (2 for the sauce, 2 for the chicken mix)
3 tsp ground cumin (2 for the sauce, 1 for the chicken mix)
1 tsp ground oregano
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can (15oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onion
2 tbs lime juice
2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
12 6-inch corn tortillas (I used flour tortillas)
1 1/2 cups shredded, reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Sour cream – for garnishing1. Combine tomato sauce, salsa, 2 tsp chili powder, 2 tsp ground cumin, and oregano in a medium pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. While the sauce is simmering, combine the chicken, rice, beans, red pepper, carrots, green onions, 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, lime juice and cilantro in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. To assemble, spread 1 cup of sauce over bottom of baking dish. Arrange 6 tortillas over the bottom of the dish, overlapping as necessary. Spread another 1 cup of sauce over the tortillas. Top with 1/2 of the chicken mixture and half of the cheese. Arrange the remaining 6 tortillas over the cheese. Top with another 1 cup of sauce, then the remaining chicken mixture. Finish with the remaining cheese and spoon any remaining sauce over top.
4. Cover with foil and bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes when it’s bubbly and heated through. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish servings with a dollop of sour cream.
Makes 8 servings.
Monkey Note 2: I found I wanted a little bit more cheese. I’d go closer to 2 cups. Monkey Note 3: I have these nifty measuring scoops that look like really big spoons. They are great for tasks like measuring out the sauce for this recipe. Mine are Martha Stewart ones that I got on clearance after Zellers dropped her line due to that whole insider trading thing. Monkey Note 4: I made a full recipe this time but in the future I’ll likely cut it in half. When I do that I’ll also cut my tortillas in half before laying them out. It will allow me to maneuver them a bit better in a smaller pan.As I’ve mentioned here a time or two, I don’t generally like casseroles. They often use weird combinations of ingredients. And use lots of canned things and I don’t like much in terms of canned things. But this is YUMMY. Seriously it was really good. If I had a big enough apartment to throw a party I’d serve this. Made to directions is about 350 calories per serving, 7.8 g fat and 6.6g fibre.
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Mmmm lemony goodness
Once upon a time, about 15 or so years ago, when the Monkey was but a wee thing her momma decided to let her play in the kitchen one day. Now the Monkey’s momma was pretty lenient when it came to playing with food but it was mostly limited to cooking rather than baking. But this one very special day the Monkey was allowed to play with the baking stuff. And she made a cake like she never made before or since. On the surface it seemed innocent. It was merely a white layer cake with 7 minute frosting, a lot of frosting actually (DRAT! I forgot to copy that recipe when I was home). But appearances were deceiving. Lurking beneath it’s white creamy surface was a tantalizing and scrumptious filling. It was…
HOMEMADE LEMON FILLING
Now homemade lemon filling was not a common thing at Casa Monkey. Despite our love for homemade goodies we did have times where we cheated. Instant lemon filling being one of them. But somehow things were aligned perfectly that day for the young Monkey to make it from scratch. It was delicious. It was dreamed of for days, weeks and even years afterwards.
Why didn’t the young Monkey make it again? Ahhh because the young Monkey, and the Monkey’s momma, could not for the life of them remember what cookbook it came from!!! They searched and they searched and nary a lemon filling recipe did they find (ok, they found other lemon filling recipes but not THE lemon filling recipe). It was later discovered that the cookbook had temporarily gone AWOL and was at the Monkey’s sister’s house.
So when the Monkey returned home last week guess what was on the shelf??? THE cookbook. Which meant THE lemon filling recipe. Which the Monkey will now share here for your curdy pleasure.
From McCall’s Super Dessert Book (copyright unknown but likely is older than the Monkey)
Lemon Filling
4 egg yolks
½ cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tbs heavy cream
- In top of double boiler, with rotary beater, beat egg yolks with sugar until smooth.
- Stir in lemon juice and peel; cook over boiling water, stirring, 5-8 minutes, or until mixture thickens.
- Remove from heat. Stir in cream; cool.
Makes 1 cup, or filling for an 8-inch two-layer cake.
Monkey Note: If you don’t have a double boiler (I used to own one but to be honest I’m pretty sure it got lost in a move because I haven’t seen it in ages) you can make your own. You can nest a heat-proof glass or metal bowl on top of a saucepan. A glass bowl will hold the heat better but a metal one conducts the heat faster. Personally I prefer glass. A large wide bowl will generally work better than a small deep one, especially if you are using a double boiler to melt chocolate (more surface area). Make sure that about half of the bowl can be inserted into the saucepan. But, and this is *important*, make sure that the boiling water doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl (or top pan if you actually have a double boiler). And be careful when you remove the bowl because it will be hot.Mmmm lemony goodness…
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OMG! I cooked!
Yes, I've somehow made it back to the kitchen. Yay me! But not before some of my nice organic produce was spoiled. Booooo. I still say it's totally not my fault. Organic plums have a surprisingly short shelf life. I'm still learning about all this stuff.
Today I was S.T.A.R.V.I.N.G. by the end of the work day. I needed food and I needed food NOW. What was I to do??? I decided to try out Melissa's spinach alfredo since she swears its quicky, fast, and tasty and I have spinach that really needs to be used (that post refers to an earlier post of hers that can be found here). Tasty.
Monkey Note: Be careful how much garlic you add. I added too much. It made the sauce a bit harsh. And last night I made this recipe from Epicurious.
Parsnips in maple mustard sauce
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 large parsnips (about 1/2 pound), peeled and cut into 3- by 1/4-inch sticks
In a microwave-safe shallow baking dish combine the syrup, the mustard, the butter, and salt and pepper to taste, add the parsnips, and toss them to coat them well. Microwave the parsnips, covered partially, at high power (100%) for 10 minutes, or until they are tender.
Serves 2 (or one hungry Monkey)
Monkey Note: It was good but I think it needed more mustard.And yes Tarrant, we really do put maple syrup on everything.
If I can find the time I'm going to try to update more often this week. I have so much to do before I take off for a week, but on the "not to do" list is grocery shopping. I'll be using stuff from my fridge/freezer/cupboards only. Well…except Thursday when I got out for sushi at
Sushi TimeJ-Time (they changed their name for some reason).Hopefully I'll have some fun stuff to post after my trip. I know that my mom and I are planning to spend some time in the kitchen. We're going to make raspberry jam for me to take back (I'm sooooooooooooo spoiled). Which means we'll also be making biscuits. My mother's biscuits so kick my biscuits ass even though I use her recipe, 40 years of experience will do that you know. We're also going to have lobster (I'm actually going to have lobster twice – I know you guys are jealous). I'm going to make Mom some of TW's Mock Chicken Salad….err well…I'm going to use real chicken. My mother doesn't do tofu or fakey meat. And I may make sweet and sour meatballs as a treat for my graduating nephew because they are his favourite.
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Minted out
I don't remember the last time I had this much mint. I can't remember the last time I bought mint. Oh technically I didn't purposely buy mint, it came in my veggie box. (I think of it as a veggie box even though it also contains a substantial amount of fruit.)
With every veggie delivery you get a nice little notice (printed on recycled paper) that says what's in that week's boxes, notice of various events and promotions, and very appropriately, a recipe. I actually tried this weeks recipe. Guess what? It used the mint.
Linguine with Zucchini and Mint
1 lb zucchini
1/2 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 lb dried linguine
2/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 tbs finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepperSlice zucchini very thinly with a slicer (if you have a mandoline use it).
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then fry zucchini in 3 batches, stirring occasionally, until softened and very pale golden, 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Transfer as fried with a slotted spoon to a baking pan lined with paper towels to drain. Keep zucchini warm, covered in foil.
Add garlic to oil in skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until very pale golden, about 30 seconds. Remove skillet from heat.
Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Drain pasta into a colander and transfer to a large shallow bowl.
Toss pasta with garlic oil, zucchini, mint, zest, salt and pepper. Add some of the reserved paste water to moisten if necessary.
Makes 2 main course servings. Monkey Notes: I used spaghetti instead of linguine cause that's what I had and I was to lazy/hungry to go to the grocery store. Since I was wasn't planning to use the lemon in the next day or so I juiced it and added it to the mix as well. I do not think this will make good leftovers so if you aren't going to eat both servings, cut it in half. I didn't have a full half pound of pasta so I made it more or less as is (you all know I don't tend to measure right when cooking right) and just ate it all (I accidentally skipped lunch so I was hungry). It was about 1.5 servings. On my second serving I added some Parmesan I thought it was quite tasty.It's a nice summer dish. Very fresh tasting. I think I o.d.'ed on mint though. The next time I get mint in a box I'm making mint juleps.
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Happy Cinco de Mayo*
Cinco de Mayo. The day that the Mexicans squashed Napoleon II, at least temporarily. And if you live in North America, an excellent excuse to eat yummy Mexican food and drink even yummier margaritas. Ok, not so much in Canada but hey, I can bend the rules if I want to. I am a troublesome monkey after all.
A couple of weeks ago I found a yummy looking recipe for Black Bean and Mango Quesadillas and flagged it as my Cinco de Mayo feast. And I can happily report to you that it's yummy. I had most of the stuff on hand but I had to buy an avocado because my organic one didn't ripen on time and, of course, tequila for margs!
So here is my yummy Cinco de Mayo recipe! It's from the September 2005 issue of Cooking Light.
Monkey Note 1: You want to have all your prep done before you start cooking. The prep time varies depending on whether you use canned mango or fresh, whether you have to grate your own cheese or have some already shredded. I say 10-20 minutes prep, including making your margaritas because you won't have time once you start cooking! That's how fast this recipe is!Poblano, Mango and Black Bean Quesadillas
Top with sour cream and salsa, and serve with a spinach salad (or skip the spinach salad and serve with lots of yummy margaritas!)
1 tsp olive oil
1 ½ tbsp pre-sliced onion
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped (**I couldn't find poblanos in my neighbourhood so I used jalapeno)
1 (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained.
1 cup jarred sliced peeled mango(***I used fresh even though canned is really easy to find around here)
1/3 cup cubed peeled avocado
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
Cooking spray
½ cup (2 oz) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese- Preheat broiler.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, oregano, salt, pepper and poblano, and sauté 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add beans; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in mango and avocado. (**** See Monkey Note 2)
- Place flour tortillas on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Arrange about ¾ bean mixture on half of each tortilla, leaving a ½-inch border. Sprinkle 2 tsp cheddar cheese over bean mixture, and fold tortilla in half. Broil 3 minutes or until cheddar cheese melts. Yield 4 servings (serving size 1 quesadilla). (*****See Monkey Note 3)
Calories 334 (24% from fat); fat 9.3g (sat 2.9g mono 3.5 g, poly 0.9g); Protein 13.2g; Carb 54.5g; Fibre 7.2g; Chol 10mg; Iron 3mg; Sodium 753mg; Calc 253mg
Monkey Note 2: Because I was making this for one person but wanted leftovers I made a full recipe. After removing from heat I added the mango and then divided the black bean mixture, setting half aside for another day. I then added half the amount of avocado called for to the portion I used today. The mango will keep and will reheat fine. The avocado will not do either.Monkey Note 3: They were tasty but only one side really crisped. I recommend flipping them after about 2 minutes and returning to the oven for 1 more minute so both sides can crisp.*Is is "cinco" or "cinqo"??? I've seen it both ways and I'm really not sure which is correct.
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Strip! I say Strip!
On my way back from my massage the other day I stopped at my local butcher, Meat on the Beach (yes, seriously that's what it's called), to pick up something for dinner. I knew I didn't want chicken because I had already had chicken that week and still had leftovers in the fridge to use. So that still left me with a number of options but I was cleaning towards beef because I haven't made anything beefy in awhile. I picked up a few items (Meat on the Beach sells a lot of stuff, including organic veggies!) and then proceeded to stare at the meat counter for at least 10 minutes trying to figure out what I wanted. At one point I wandered away from the beef and looked that the stuff that they had marinating. Their mango-poppyseed chicken was tempting but as usual but I really didn't want chicken. I considered a Quebecois-style frozen tourtiere for a while but it was a warm sunny day and I associate tourtiere with winter. So I stared at the beef some more.
My problem is that all the steaks (not to mention chicken breasts) are sooo big. Way to much for a single serving for me. I thought about just cutting it in half and freezing half. But then I'll forget about it. And to be honest, I've gotten spoiled. I'm very used to eating fresh meat and it's just simply not the same when you defrost it. After much hemming and hawing I finally decided on a strip steak.
Then I walked home, did a few hours of work and then had to decide what to do with the steak. I did some searching on google and I found this recipe on Cooks.com. I cut it down to accomodate the fact that I was only making one steak.
Steak Marinated in Scotch Whiskey
1/3 cup Scotch whiskey (being Canadian, I used rye, mmm rye…)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp Dijon (as usual I used Kozlik's maple mustard)
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped
4 New York strip steaksIn a container large enough to hold the steaks (I always use ziplock style bags), combine all the ingredients for the marinade. Place steaks in marinade and refrigerate overnight. Remove steaks from marinade and broil as desired (I cooked mine on my Foreman).
So I did marinate them overnight and used leftover chicken for that dinner that night. I grilled the steak on the Foreman and had a baked potato and roasted beets on the side (yes I finally used my beets – didn't do anything exciting with them and I think I prefer pickled beets to roasted beets…).
But after dinner I still had half the steak left. And I needed something for dinner the next night. So I made a pseudo-Philly Cheesesteak. I caramelized some onions, and sauted some yellow pepper and mushrooms. I sliced the leftover steak thinly into short strips and threw it into the saute pan to heat through. Then I transferred everything into two 10-inch tortillas, wrapped them up and presto! Dinner was done.
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Tasty, tasty greens
I'm sure some of you are wondering about the organic food thing. Admit it, you are. So far it's going pretty good although I keep forgetting I have fruit in the house. I normally have frozen berries in the freezer but I don't often have fresh fruit lying about. So I still have oodles of fruit left.
I haven't cooked the beets yet. I thought I would today but then I remembered the baby bok choy! The adorable looking baby bok choy. It was starting to look a little less adorable so I figured I had better do something with it. While looking at the bok choy I discovered that I also had broccoli. My fridge has morphed into a treasure trove. Cool!
So after some quick googling I found this recipe on recipezaar. I had to run up the street to get the ginger and lemon but that's good. I had to get out and into the sunshine anyway.
Bok Choy and Broccoli Stir-fry
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used extra-virgin olive oil)
1 medium onion thinly sliced
1 tbsp freshly grated gingerroot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
3 cups sliced, fresh broccoli florets
1- 1 1/2 lbs bok choy, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp sugarHeat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Add onion, ginger, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes; stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add in broccoli and bok choy; stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
Add lemon juice and sugar; stir-fry 3 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Sooooooooo yummy. I haven't been able to stop eating it since I cooked it over an hour ago. I don't think any of the leftovers will make it to the fridge.
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