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The Muffin Tin Cookbook: Fun and Easy Meals Your Family Will Love (Plus a Fish Tacos Recipe)

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The Muffin Tin Cookbook

A while back, I was sent a wonderful cookbook to review, The Muffin Tin Cookbook: 200 Fast, Delicious Mini-Pies, Pasta Cups, Gourmet Pockets, Veggie Cakes, and More!

Love it, love it, love it.

Cooking is more than just one of my favorite hobbies and pastimes – it’s a passion that I love greatly.  Even now, I’m sitting at my desk in my home office – working in a frenzy of  keyboard tapping and brainstorming, breaking only for much needed sips of coffee.  Yet all I can think about is what I’m going to cook for supper, what my next dessert will be, and wondering when I can try out a new stuffed chicken recipe I saw yesterday.

Cooking, baking, cooking, baking, cooking, baking… a peek inside my brain.

Given the fact that it’s something I love so much, I want others to get the same kind joy from cooking as I do. I think that’s one of the reasons I get so excited about fresh, fun, and creative new cookbooks like The Muffin Tin Cookbook.  Not only are new cookbooks a complete joy ride for me in my amusement park of a kitchen, I know that other foodies will get a huge kick out of them as well.

I also like to see cookbooks filled with recipes that people will actually make! Recipes that don’t call for you to visit a foreign country and bring back an extract you can only find there – then stir it into a broth using the feather of a virgin peahen… Please. Every single recipe in  The Muffin Tin Cookbook is one you’ll make and make again.

Another thing I like to see in a cookbook is plenty of recipes that are quick and easy.  A lot of people have to work outside of the home AND come home and cook supper. People who have a limited amount of time to work with don’t need fussy recipes. They need recipes that can be thrown together quickly, cooked in a flash, and don’t require a lot of cleaning up afterward. The Muffin Tin Cookbook is a dream come true for someone looking for such recipes.

Since the recipes on Get Cooking are gluten-free (as are all of the recipes I personally make and eat – health reasons), I will point out that this is NOT a “gluten-free cookbook.”  Many of the recipes call for flour and a host of other foods off limits to those of us why have to eat gluten-free. HOWEVER, as with most cookbooks in my collection and recipes I find in the wild, I simply make the necessary substitutions.

Book Description

Muffin Tins—They’re Not Just for Muffins Anymore

There’s nothing you can’t make in a muffin tin—and we’re not talking merely muffins. All you need is a muffin tin, paper liners, and this ingenious, one-of-a-kind cookbook, and you can whip up delicious dishes that are as easy to prepare and serve as they are good to eat.

From quick-serve appetizers and sides to gourmet entrees and desserts, you’ll find an amazing variety of mouthwatering options for your dining pleasure, including:

  • Shrimp Cakes with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce
  • Egg Crescent Pockets
  • Deep-Dish Pizza Cups
  • Cornmeal-Crusted Mustard Chicken with Sweet Potato Coins
  • Duchess Potatoes
  • Zucchini, Corn, and Tomato Cups
  • Mini Ice-Cream Cakes

The best part (besides the tasty goodness): It’s fast, easy, mess-free, and provides built-in portion control. Kids will love to help you make them—like cupcakes, only better for your family!—and leftovers are as easy as popping the muffin-meal into the microwave.It just doesn’t get any better than The Muffin Tin Cookbook . . . your next memorable meal is just a muffin tin away! – From Amazon

Fish Tacos Recipe

3 pieces tilapia, about 3-4 ounces each, cut in half
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and Pepper
6 taco-size flour tortillas
Light sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped tomato, lettuce, and salsa for serving

  1. Place the tilapia, chili powder, cilantro, oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl and allow to marinate 1/2 an hour, in the refrigerator.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare 6 jumbo muffin cups by spraying with cooking spray.
  3. Push one taco tortilla down into each cup and press any sections that bubble out against the sides.
  4. Place 1 piece of marinated tilapia in each cup and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fish, until cooked through.
  5. Serve with toppings.

Taco tortillas are smaller tortillas and are just the right size to line jumbo muffin cups. Lemon juice can be substituted for the lime juice.

Muffin Tin Recipes

There’s an entire chapter in The Muffin Tin Cookbook devoted to Breakfast – a time of the day when few of us have unlimited time. Recipes in the Breakfast chapter include:

  • Egg Crescent Pockets
  • French Bread French Toast
  • Grits Casserole
  • Cheese Danish Cups
  • Bagel Sausage Sandwiches
  • And More!

Other chapters include:

  • Appetizers and Snacks (Asian Dumplings with Dipping Sauce, Spiced Pecan Cups, Hot Pretzel Bites…)
  • Beef and Pork (Mexican Meatloaf, Sloppy Joe Cupcakes, Taco Mini Pies…)
  • Chicken and Turkey (Teriyaki Turkey Cups, Chicken Tortilla Pies, Italian Chicken…)
  • Seafood (Salmon Cakes, Deviled Crab Tarts, Shrimp with Polenta…)
  • Potatoes, Rice, Pizza, and Pasta (Candied Yams, White Pizzas, Stuffed Gnocchi…)
  • Vegetables ( French Onion Pie, Edamame in Rice Paper Cups, Cherry Tomato Cups…)
  • Muffins and Breads (Corn Muffins, Monkey Bread, Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins…)
  • Desserts  (Hot Chocolate Muffins, Lemon Pound Cake, Apple Cupcakes..)

Each recipe indicates the size of muffin tin needed.  As the author says on page 8, “Keep in mind that you can make your dishes any size you like, but you will need to adjust cooking time up or down accordingly (if you make a bigger cup than the recipe suggests, baking time will be longer; if you make a smaller cup baking time will be shortened).”

Please see The Muffin Tin Cookbook  for more information.  When giving cookbook reviews, I like to suggest the sort of cook that the cookbook in question is “ideal” for.   Although this cookbook is PERFECT for busy cooks, it’s just as fun and enjoyable for those of us who are simply busy cooking!  It would make an excellent gift idea for someone who’s new to the world of cooking – maybe even in a bag with a brand-spanking new muffin tin.

150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Cookbook

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Is anyone even half as ready for autumn and winter as I am? Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of things about summer – baseball, fresh produce, songbirds at my bird feeders that aren’t there in cold weather, grilling out, and so on. Summer’s awesome in every way… but, having said that, autumn and winter are super special.

As a foodie, the cooler months make me think of soup, stew, chili, casseroles, chai tea lattes, and (of course) Halloween goodies, Thanksgiving dishes, and Christmas baking… how could a foodie NOT love this time of year???

I may be one of the biggest soup fanatics in the world, which is one of the reasons I’m excited about a new cookbook I was sent to review: 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Naturally, grilled cheese sandwiches are perfect all year. We certainly eat them year-round in our house. In fact, we’ve been known to enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches at all times of the day and night.  Talk about a delicious comfort food.  Cheesy deliciousness that comes together pretty darn fast – sign me up.

150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches is a perfect guide to getting extra creative with this wonderful comfort food.  Although the modern version of the grilled cheese sandwich dates back to 1920 (when it became popular during the great depression, for obvious reasons), these delicious and inexpensive delicacies are currently a popular trend in cooking.  I think one of the reasons is the fact that they aren’t expensive to pull together.  I think the popularity of food trucks has also helped revive this wonderful sandwich.

Some people are even calling the grilled cheese sandwich the “new burger.”  The fact that so many people are eating less meat is another reason these sandwiches are so wildly popular.

From the Back Cover: A grilled cheese sandwich is classic comfort food and it’s enjoying an incredible resurgence in popularity. These fabulous recipes all begin with the grilled cheese we all know and love, and then from there, creative twists showcase just how incredibly versatile this sandwich can be.  The recipes reflect an almost endless and delicious variety of choices that include simple and timeless as well as gourmet and artisanal. From breakfast to dessert, there’s something for everyone in this book.

Another reason grilled cheese sandwiches are so popular is, let’s face it, they’re fast and easy to make.  You can have a warm, delicious, and comforting meal in a matter of minutes. This is one of the reasons they’re so popular with bachelors, college students, and beginner cooks.

Whether you enjoy your grilled cheese sandwiches with soup (one of my favorite meals), chips, or alone, nothing beats a great grilled cheese sandwich.

As I’ve probably mentioned on the food blog, when I had to totally give up wheat and gluten a number of years ago (health reasons), it threw my cooking persona into a tailspin. Imagine everything you are accustomed to cooking and baking for your family and yourself thrown out the door. Then finding yourself having to start over, pretty much, and discover a whole new way of both cooking and eating.

BUMMER!

It’s a hideous predicament for anyone but for an avid cook and food blogger who was extra keen on homemade breads, cornbread, cakes from scratch, pies, etc.. it knocked me on my backside for a bit. However, I (honestly) found out that many aspects of gluten-free food are actually as good as their gluten-y counterparts and some are even better in many ways.

For example, for whatever reasons, gluten-free fried catfish is actually better.  Don’t ask me why (please), but the combo of rice flour and yellow cornmeal makes the best fried catfish in the world. Trust me, this is a personal favorite and something I’ve been cooking since I was allowed to touch the stove.

Grilled cheese sandwiches have been another pleasant surprise (along with French Toast, for that matter). Gluten-Free bread, in my opinion, makes them even better. I think it’s because they’re denser and, sometimes, thicker, than regular bread. Then again, Texas Toast is a great way to go with grilled cheese sandwiches.

150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches includes so many creative, fun, and delicious recipes you won’t stop until you’ve made them all.  The cheese combinations, along with the additions of complimentary ingredients will boggle your mind.  I cook every single day (and have for years) and consider myself to be really creative in the kitchen, but even I found myself saying, “Ooooh, I would’ve never thought of that...”  One of the combinations that was wildly new to me was the one given in the recipe below.  I wouldn’t have ever invited Muenster Cheese to a grilled cheese party, but this recipe has me slapping myself for the oversight.

The recipe below is from the cookbook and is outstanding. I love it alongside tomato soup or chili and have been known to have it simply with a large dill pickle and Funyons.

I know how to live, after all.

Classic Grilled Two Cheese

Author: Alison Lewis
Serves 4

8 slices white or whole-grain bread (1/2 inch/1 cm thick slices)
2 TBS butter or margarine, softened
4 oz Muenster cheese, thinly sliced
4 oz Cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Brush one side of each bread slice with butter.
  2. Place on a work surface, buttered side down.
  3. Top 4 bread slices equally with Muenster and Cheddar cheeses.
  4. Cover with remaining bread slices, buttered side up, and press gently.
  5. Place sandwiches on preheated panini grill or in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, turning once if using a skillet, for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
  6. Serve immediately.

When it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches, you have to really be careful with cheese combinations. Make the wrong move and the result will be thisclose to gross. You also have to be careful with what fillings you add and how you treat the bread. Again, the wrong move can leave your taste buds borderline depressed.  In this wonderful and fun cookbook, Alison Lewis has done all of the hard work for us and taken all of the guess work out of our hands.  We’re left with a ton of delicious recipes and combinations that’ll make us the Queen or King of Grilled Cheese.  Whether you use a Panini or Sandwich Press or a favorite skillet, you WILL use these recipes again and again and again.

Below are just some of the recipes included in 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches:

  • Roast Beef with Asiago and Watercress
  • Grilled Steak and Blue Cheese
  • Italian Tomato-Basil Bread
  • Hot Bacon Swiss Crostini
  • Havarti and Cucumber Sandwich
  • Grilled Spinach, Pepper Jack, and Bacon
  • Warm Peanut Butter Power Wrap
  • Italian Salami Panini
  • Sweet Pepper Relish
  • Hummus
  • The Pilgrim
  • And many, many, many more.

See 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for more information and to order your copy today… just in time for soup season!


Spices & Seasons by Rinku Bhattacharya

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Spices and Seasons Cookbook by Rinku Bhattacharya

Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors

Over the years, as a food blogger, I’ve had the opportunity to review many wonderful cookbooks. The fact that I collect cookbooks has made this opportunity even sweeter, as every collector worth their salt LOVES nothing more than adding to their collection.  Although I’ve collected cookbooks since I first cracked an egg, my newest cookbook (Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors) is quite unlike any other in my collection. This is the first Indian Cuisine cookbook I’ve ever owned.

It’s not that I don’t love Indian food – far, far from it! I’ve just been intimidated by this exotic cuisine,  assuming the various flavors must call for spices I’d have to fly across country to find. A fear of heights (and, thereby, flying) rules that out, so I simply allowed any Indian food I enjoyed to take place in restaurants.

I don’t have to do that anymore!

In her beautiful cookbook, Rinku Bhattacharya has proven that you CAN create delicious, fresh, fantastic, and memorable Indian flavors in your own kitchen.  What’s more the recipes are as fun and exciting to create as the food is to eat.

I think that’s why I’m extra excited about this particular cookbook – it introduces new flavors and techniques to even the most veteran foodies.  Take it from me, my kitchen experiences a lot of cooking – to the tune of DAILY – so it’s accustomed to a wide variety of aromas and flavors and combinations of aromas and flavors.  But each time I make a recipe from Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors, my kitchen and I experience something new and beautiful.

Do I even have to tell you how exciting that is?!

Pineapple and Citrus Chicken Wing Kebabs

The first recipe I made from this beautiful cookbook was the Pineapple and Citrus Chicken Wing Kebabs (page 23) – pictured above. I didn’t have any drumettes on hand, so I just cut up the chicken I did have. I can’t wait to try it with drumettes, though.  My chicken was also skinless, and I’m anxious to try this recipe WITH skin.  It was absolutely delicious, though.  The cilantro, ginger, turmeric, and pineapple made beautiful music together and my taste buds danced on and on.

While cooking has never been boring to me, it can sometimes become commonplace.  

Let’s see, let me mash the potatoes before I take the chicken out of the oven..  

When I made the Classic Mint Chutney, it occurred to me that I’d NEVER made a chutney before. As soon as I made (and tasted) it, though, I was automatically calculating the next time I’d be doing so. The flavors were so exquisite and unique – my family and I couldn’t stop talking about it.

Mint Chutney

In fact, each recipe I’ve made from Spices & Seasons has been a huge hit in our home – one that we enjoy seeing, eating, and talking about.  Even recipes that I have made countless times are given a fresh new twist – like Stir-Fried Asparagus, for example.  Asparagus is my husband’s favorite vegetable, so suffice to say I’ve cooked more asparagus that you could ever hope to count. It just now occurred to me that if I had all the money I”ve spent on asparagus over the years, I could buy my husband a boat.

A big boat!

I had never made asparagus with ginger, though, and it honestly woke up flavors I never knew existed in asparagus.

Stir Fried Asparagus with Garlic

That’s part of the beauty about Rinku Bhattacharya (click the link for the author’s blog) recipes – they allow you to experience cooking AND food in a fresh new way.  It isn’t an overstatement to say that your love of cooking will be reawakened.  You’ll find yourself inhaling the exotic new aromas that fill your kitchen and feel a special kind of pride when your family raves and raves about the exotic flavors you created.

Best of all, the recipes are simple and easy to follow.  And you don’t have to hop a flight to India for the spices and seasons.

Some of the recipes in Spices & Seasons

  • Roasted Bell Pepper Chutney
  • Pineapple and Citrus Wing Kebabs
  • Roasted Spice-Rubbed Cauliflower Wedges
  • Fragrant Brown Lentil Soup
  • Masala Omelet Frittata
  • Chickpea Flour-Crusted Fish
  • Red Wine and Chili Pork Curry
  • Brined Turkey with Pomegranate Apricot Glaze
  • Chicken Orzo Pilaf
  • Whole Wheat Flatbreads
  • Chicken in a Creamy Yogurt Sauce
  • Quick Fix Lovely Red Spinach Tofu
  • Herb and Spice Roasted Chicken
  • Pineapple and Ginger Spiced Ham
  • Saffron Rice Pilaf with Cashew Nuts
  • Zucchini, Lemon Thyme and Onion Flatbreads
  • Fresh Ginger Apple Chai Cake
  • Saffron Pistachio Rice Pudding
  • Maple and Yogurt Custard (I have a date with this one Saturday)
  • MANY spice blends, Indian Relish, marinades, and rubs.
  • And a lot more recipes that’ll knock your socks off… maybe I should say they’ll knock your apron off.

About the Author

Rinku Bhattacharya is a native of Kolkata, India, currently living in a house with a vibrant backyard in Hudson Valley, New York with her husband and two young children. Rinku s practical, sustainable approach to Indian cooking, is showcased on her blog, Cooking in Westchester, and her Journal News column Spices and Seasons. Rinku has been teaching recreational cooking classes for the past nine years and also partners with the local, Down Home Markets to offer seasonal Indian cooking demos. She is author of The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles (Hippocrene Books, 2012). Rinku has also written for the Poughkeepsie Journaland several online sites, and appeared on CT Style television a few times.
This beautiful cookbook (such gorgeous photographs!) includes more than 150 wonderful recipes you’ll use again and again.  As someone who has to now strictly follow particular dietary guidelines (gluten free), I strongly appreciate the fact that many vegetarian and gluten free options are  included. Recipes are marked GF and V, which I think is particularly thoughtful and helpful.  A reminder, however – when a recipe is marked GF, always check out the individual products you choose.  For example, if soy sauce is listed as an ingredient, if you don’t buy gluten free soy sauce (Tamari Soy Sauce), your recipe will not be GF.
In addition to gorgeous photographs and off-the-charts delicious recipes, I also enjoy the author’s many tips and her priceless advice. Her warm personality and passion for Indian cuisine come shining through and you feel as though she’s right there beside you. Her energy and passion are palpable.
I just wish I could get a copy of this wonderful cookbook in everyone’s hands.  The recipes are fun and exciting to create and the food is flavorful, delicious, and exciting to eat.  That’s a lot of excitement waiting to be had!
While I can’t get a copy to every single person who reads this review, I CAN do the next best thing:
  • Point you to Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors on Amazon. This is one cookbook you’ll want to add to your collection right away.  I just can’t say enough good things about it.
  • The publisher has given me the green light to give one copy away to one lucky reader.  Simply leave a comment below – that’s all you have to do!  I’ll write the names on pieces of paper, fold them up, and will have a member of my family pick one at random. The publisher will then send the lucky individual their own copy. Simple as that.  I’ll announce the winner in the comments below this weekend. Good luck!

The giveaway has expired (congrats to the winner!), but this beautiful cookbook is available on Amazon… so be sure to grab your copy right away.

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds

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Stir Fried Asparagus with Garlic

Last week I posted a wonderful Mint Chutney recipe from Spices & Seasons, a new cookbook by Rinku Bhattacharya that I’m completely obsessed with.  I have (so far!) made six different recipes from Spices & Seasons and each has rocked my world… or as I more commonly call it, my kitchen.

The recipe below (Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds) is one I made last night.  I served it with Salisbury Steaks and it totally upstaged the beef and that’s not easy to do.

I didn’t have any sesame seeds on hand, so I simply left them out of the equation. Sure, they’d have looked elegant, but there’s no way they could have made the asparagus any more delicious. There are so many amazing flavors going on here that you’ll make this recipe again and again.

And again.

While the flavor is the most important thing about this recipe, I also love the fact that it’s a pretty quick recipe to put together – yet it tastes like you spent hours on the project! Don’t you just love recipes that pull that off?

Tamari Soy Sauce (Gluten Free)
If you want to make the recipe Gluten Free, simply replace traditional soy sauce (which is not gluten free) with Gluten Free Tamari Soy Sauce (pictured above).

Personally I prefer Tamari Soy Sauce and would use it EVEN if I could eat gluten. I use it in place of regular soy sauce in all of my recipes and, each time, I think, “This is actually better!”

A lot of cookbooks, magazines, and food blogs will categorize a recipe as “GF” (Gluten Free) when soy sauce is an ingredient. Some don’t realize that traditional soy sauce is not gluten free (after all, who’d suspect gluten to be hiding in there?!) and others simply assume that those of us who eat gluten free will automatically choose gluten free soy sauce.  Either way, just a reminder – always read labels for yourself.  If you’re eating gluten free (like me) for health reasons, you need to be especially cautious. Gluten is in a billion and one places you’d never expect it to be!

And now for the AMAZING recipe!

Note: For the best results, be sure to use good maple syrup instead of…. oh, I dunno… Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin!

Stir-Fried Asparagus with Garlic and Sesame Seeds

1 tablespoon oil
1 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce (Tamari for gluten free)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon sesame seeds

  1. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet on medium heat for 1 minute.  Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and ginger and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
  2. Add the asparagus and saute’ well for 1 minute.  Mix in the soy sauce and cover and cook for 5 minutes, until the asparagus is tender but crisp.
  3. Stir in the maple syrup and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  4. Place the asparagus on a serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Tips and Tricks from Rinku Bhattacharya:

  • This recipe also works well with green beans.
  • One tablespoon of dried unsweetened coconut can be added instead of the sesame seeds.
  • “I like to use a combination of white and green asparagus for the variation of colors, but either one would be fine on its own.”

Also See: Read my Spices & Seasons Cookbook Review!

Classic Green Mint Chutney Recipe

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Mint Chutney

Mint Chutney – Recipe from Spices & Seasons by Rinku Bhattacharya 

I’ve always loved listening to the radio while driving – ever since my parents reluctantly allowed me to start driving at 17, simply because they didn’t think they could put off the inevitable any longer. Music had always been something I enjoyed a lot. A few years back, though, I decided there was nothing for me on today’s radio, so I stopped even bothering to turn it on.  Then Adele hit the scene and made me excited about music again. She was fresh, exciting, and delightfully different from everything else.

She woke music up.

I often think about world cuisines along the same sort of lines.  If we were to eat the same things over and over and over again, our culinary lives would become just as stale, uneventful, unexciting, and bland as music had become pre-Adele.  Mixing things up for your family, as well as your own taste buds is a deliciously smart thing to do.

I home schooled our daughters all the way through school and when they were growing up, I’d incorporate whatever region we were studying into our family meals.  Hmm, I guesss that’s why they were extra excited whenever we studied Italy. It wasn’t my lessons, it was my food!

I still love to incorporate as many “tastes of the world” into our meals as possible and Indian food has become a new obsession. When you try different cuisines, you discover a whole new world of flavors and tastes and when it comes to Indian food, it’s an uncommonly beautiful experience.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be telling you more about a new cookbook that’s making my quest for fresh and exciting recipes and meals as easy as it gets. The book is Spices & Seasons: Simple, Sustainable Indian Flavors by  Rinku Bhattacharya. I’ll share a few recipes with you from the book and you’ll soon see that this is a cookbook you simply must get your hands on.

Mint Chutney and Flatbread
The first recipe is for something I had honestly never made before, Chutney.  Don’t let the word Chutney intimidate you and, by all means, don’t let the word mint turn you away. If you’re anything like me, you only think of mint as something beautiful in your herb bed and pleasant in your tea.  I’m so narrow minded when it comes to mint that I was tempted to leave the mint out of this recipe! Seriously, I thought, “Hmph. Mint goes in tea, I’ll just replace it with nice innocent parsley.”

I can be so ridiculous like that.

In the end, good common sense won out and I left the recipe as it was intended to be prepared, and it knocked my socks off.  The flavors are so intense, fresh, unique, and delicious. Trust me, you don’t want to replace the mint in this recipe – this is a perfect 10 recipe and I can’t wait to make it again.

I ate mine (of course) with Gluten Free Rice Crackers (Nabisco’s Gluten Free Rice Thins are won-der-ful) but I provided flat bread for everyone else. Everyone loved it and they, too, can’t wait for me to make it again!

Classic Green Mint Chutney

(VE, GF)

Green mint chutney is a classic, popular staple, omnipresent next to snacks, particularly in the summer months. This recipe is a very simple free-form variation of the classic recipe. There are other creative variations using tomatoes, green mangoes, and the works, so I encourage you to create and innovate to suit your fancy. Mint by itself in this recipe can have a bitter aftertaste, so it is tempered with cilantro. You can mix and match other herbs as desired. This chutney can be used as a condiment or sandwich spread, or can be added to sauces.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Makes: 2 cups

1 bunch cilantro leaves (about 3 cups of leaves; tender stems can also be used in this recipe)
2 bunches mint leaves (about 11⁄2 cups)
2 green Serrano chilies
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon black salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons oil (such as mustard or canola)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

  1. Place the cilantro, mint, green Serrano chilies, cumin powder, salt, black salt, sugar, oil, and lime juice in the bowl of a blender.
  2. Grind mixture until smooth. This chutney will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, but the color will darken due to the lime.

 Mint Chutney and GF CrackersTips and Tricks:

It is important to ensure that the mint leaves used for this chutney are tender or they tend to add a bitter taste to this condiment.

This chutney can be mellowed by adding 11⁄2 tablespoons of yogurt or coconut milk as a vegan option. If adding yogurt you can skip the lime juice.

Another variation is to add some blanched peanuts or almonds.

Ideas for Serving the Chutney: Flatbread, grilled shrimp, crackers, toasted bread wedges…

Edits:

My “Go To” White Cake from Scratch Recipe

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Fourth of July White Cake

My favorite cake recipes are all from the same cookbook: Betty Crocker’s New Cake Decorating. My “go to” cake recipe is a white cake from this wonderful cookbook. While there a lot of beautiful cake decorating templates, recipes, and ideas in the book, I use it primarily for the collection of AWESOME icing and cake recipes inside.

The white cake recipe below is the one I use whenever I want a cake that simply must not let me down. As soon as I start thinking, “This cake has to be special… it has to be delicious… it must be absolute perfection….” I just start rounding up the ingredients for this very recipe.

You can change the flavor by changing the extract used. 8 times out of 10 I use vanilla – but almond extract or maple flavoring also produce amazing cakes.

Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating

My favorite cake and icing recipes are from this Betty Crocker’s Cookbook.

White Cake Recipe


2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1-1/4 cups milk
3-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
5 egg whites

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour desired pan(s). (Line small muffin cups with paper baking cups.)

Beat all ingredients except egg whites in large bowl on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Beat in egg whites on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.

Pour batter into pan(s).

Bake as directed below or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool 10 minutes: remove from pan(s). Cool completely.

13 x 9 x 2 inch rectangle – 40 to 45 minutes

15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1 inch jelly roll – 25 to 30 minutes

two 8 x 1-1/2 inch rounds – 35 to 40 minutes

two 9 x 1-1/2 inch rounds – 30 to 35 minutes

24 medium 2-1/2 x 1-1/4 inch muffin cups – 20 to 25 minutes

12 small 1-3/4 x 1 inch muffin cups – 10 to 15 minutes

12-cup ovenproof ring mold – 35 to 40 minutes

This white cake is excellent with a white frosting, cream cheese frosting, or (YUM!) Buttercream frosting.  Betty Crocker’s New Cake Decorating has these frosting recipes as well as other frostings including a Penuche frosting, White Mountain Frosting, decorating frosting, chocolate frostings, and several different glazes that are out of this world.

I have absolutely nothing against cake mixes – the ones on the market today are pretty fantastic – but there’s just something extra special about a cake made from scratch. Give this one a try the next time you need a special cake – you’ll never buy a white cake mix again.

The signs of a much-loved and much-used cookbook:

Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating MUCH Used Cookbook

Delicious Roasted Winter Vegetables (Any Season’s Veggies will Do!)

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Roasted Potatoes, garlic, and Carrots

I’ve always been a huge fan of Special K Products, so when I saw The Special K Challenge and Beyond: Your Complete Guide to Weight Management, Healthy Living & Delicious Cooking in my grocery store about a month ago, I snatched it up as fast as I grab my drinks at Starbucks as soon as my name’s called.

I have a system in place when it comes to buying cookbooks. I have to keep myself in check because, frankly, I’d spend all my money on adding to my cookbook collection if I were to be left unsupervised. What I’ve started doing is thumbing through the book and seeing if I can find 4 different recipes I really just cannot live without.

The first 4 recipes I saw were:

  • Asian-Style Braised Baby Bok Choy
  • Roasted Winter Vegetables
  • Greek Style Spaghetti Squash
  • Crispy Baked Crab Cakes with Spicy Re’moulade

They had me at Asian-Style Braised Baby Bok Choy, actually, but I went through the motions of being a tough sell. I sat the book directly into the cart (ironically right on top of a box of Special K Cereal – the kind with bits of chocolate… so, so, so, so very good!).

My grocery store didn’t have any Bok Choy that day – baby or otherwise – so I rounded up some favorite vegetables for the Roasted Winter Vegetables recipe (the recipe is at the bottom of this post).

If you see this book in a store, snatch it up – it’s fantastic.  You can also order it from Amazon by clicking one of the links in the post or the picture of the book below.

Other recipes include:

  • Artichokes with Carrot-Cornbread Stuffing (I’m definitely making these for Thanksgiving)
  • Black Bean and Corn Dip with Oven-Baked Chips
  • Banana-Stuffed Multigrain French Toast
  • Spinach-Feta Frittata
  • Lemon-Chive Ricotta Dip
  • Enlightened Guacamole
  • Lemon-Pepper Salmon
  • Spanish-Style Cod with White Beans
  • Sauteed Shrimp Tacos
  • Chicken and Red Chile Enchiladas
  • Thai-Style Chicken in Lettuce Wraps
  • Oven-Fried Chicken Cutlets
  • Easy Chicken Potpies
  • Turkey Meatloaf with Barbecue Sauce
  • Braised Turkey Thighs with Winter Root Vegetables
  • Italian-Style Chicken Parmesan
  • Polenta Gratin
  • Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit
  • Dark Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Raspberry Sauce (you should see the picture!)
  • Frozen Yogurt with Berries Sundaes
  • Red Velvet Cupcakes
  • And A LOT MORE!

 Roasted Corn and Cauliflower

In addition to tons of healthy recipes (with suggestions, information, and nutritional facts), The Special K Challenge and Beyond: Your Complete Guide to Weight Management, Healthy Living & Delicious Cooking serves as a handbook for weight-management and weight-loss goals. You’ll learn about the Special K Challenge and how you can use it EASILY in your day to day life and make it fit your own personal needs.  Allow me to point out, though, that whether you read one word about the Special K Challenge or not, this book is more than worth it for the recipes and nutritional information alone!

I’ve made the Roasted Winter Vegetables recipe below quite a few times, and have used different vegetables each time. I’ve used sweet potatoes, corn on the cob (with the ears halved… looks better), red potatoes, carrots,  garlic. and cauliflower.  I’ve also used the same method on roasted tomatoes, but with a shorter baking time. The balsamic vinegar and rosemary are a perfect match for every vegetable you can imagine!

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Cooking Spray
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into 6 wedges
2 medium red potatoes, cut into 1 to 1-1/2 inch pieces
2 large shallots, cut into quarters
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mellow balsamic vinegar blends beautifully with fresh rosemary to flavor this colorful combination of roasted sweet potatoes, fennel, red potatoes, and shallots.

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Meanwhile, on 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan lined with foil and coated with cooking spray, toss together sweet potato, fennel, red potatoes, shallots, oil, vinegar, salt, rosemary, and garlic.
  3. Bake in preheated oven about 40 minutes or until vegetables begin to brown, stirring every 10 minutes. Transfer to serving bowl.

Make it your own:  Comb farmer’s markets in the cooler months of the year for a variety of root vegetables to try. Here are suggestions for other varieties to roast using the method above:

  • Carrots – Peel and trim whole baby carrots, or cut larger peeled and trimmed carrots into 1-inch chunks.
  • Garlic – Separate a garlic head into cloves and leave peels on. Squeeze garlic from peels after roasting.
  • Onions – Cut peeled and trimmed medium yellow onions into 1-inch pieces.
  • Parsnips – Peel and trim parsnips and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Turnips – Peel and trim whole baby turnips, or cut larger peeled and trimmed turnips into 1-inch wedges.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pie? Yes, Please!

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Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pie

The Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pie above is all a caramel lover could ever want from life.  It’s an eye-rolling-into-the-back-of-your-head experience with every bite.  Heck, your eyes will probably start rolling before the bite ever reaches your mouth.

The recipe is from a cookbook every pie lover should buy TODAY, Crazy About Pies by Krystina Castella.  (Read my Crazy About Pies Review by clicking the link.)

As you can see, I used a disposable tin pie pan. When I’m making ice cream pies, I always buy the disposable pans. I’m… um… not entirely sure why actually.  I mean, glass pie plates freeze just fine.  It’s just a strange quirk of mine – the good thing about this strange quirk is it’ll never be lonely.  My strange quirks number in the hundreds.

The recipe called for either Vanilla, Caramel, or Dulce De Leche ice cream and each would be out of this world. However, when I was in the ice cream aisle at Kroger, an ice cream called Caramel Praline (Kroger brand ice creams are fantastic, by the way) caught my eye.

Into the cart it went.

Ingredients for Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pie

I actually made two pies and one carton ended up being all I needed.  If your pie plates are larger than my disposable tins, you may need all of one container for one pie.

I’m including the pretzel crust recipe from the cookbook as well, because I’m just that darn cool.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pie

A few observations before the recipe:

  • This recipe makes the best caramel topping I’ve ever devoured. It would be excellent as a dip for apples, pretzels, or your fingers. It’d also be excellent drizzled over ice cream or.. well… your fingers.
  • (Duck! Here comes another strange quirk flying in!) I was a little nervous about my pretzel crust “setting,” and few things break my heart more than a pie crust that won’t do its job.  So, I drizzled a little of the caramel sauce over the crust as it cooled.  I had extra caramel sauce, since I was confident the ice cream I was using didn’t need any more caramel mixed in.  I saved the small amount I had left as an ice cream topper extraordinaire.
  • This recipe would be a lot of fun to experiment with. You have the basic, amazing recipe for a pretzel crust and caramel sauce. Let your imagination run wild with different ice cream flavors and even trade out caramel sauce with your favorite chocolate sauce. In the end, however, nothing’s going to beat this pie just as it is.
  • See the picture right above these observations?  The caramel Heaven-ness left in the bottom of the pan is so delicious you’ll want to dive in head first.  Just be sure no one’s around.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Pie

FILLING:
Vanilla or Caramel Ice Cream (page 256) or 1.5 quarts store-bought vanilla, duce de leche, or caramel ice cream

CARAMEL TOPPING
1 9.5-ounce bag caramels
1/2 cup whole milk

CRUST
Large Pretzel Crust (page 235), baked and cooled

GARNISH
2 tablespoons crushed pretzels
1/4 cup whole pretzels

Makes one 10-invh single-crust pie.

Vanilla Ice Cream, mixed with a streak of caramel and set in a pretzel crust, offers a surprisingly sweet, smooth, buttery, and somewhat salty taste. Prepare the ice cream from scratch or purchase store-bought ice cream and mix in the caramel.

  1. Soften the ice cream until it reaches a spreadable consistency.
  2. Combine the caramels and milk in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth.  Cool for 5 minutes. If using vanilla ice cream, use a spatula to swirl three-fourths of the caramel mixture into the ice cream.
  3. Spread the ice cream into the crust, then spread the caramel (or the remaining caramel, if using vanilla ice cream) on top. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 3 hours. When ready to serve, top with crushed and whole pretzels.

One more observation: The 3 hours it has to spend in the freezer will be the longest 3 hours of your adult life.

My Favorite Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe

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Buttermilk Pancakes

Today is IHOP’s very commendable Free Pancakes for Charity Promotion.  When I saw the news, the first thing I thought was, “I wish ALL restaurants were equally devoted to giving back to their communities.”  My second thought was, “I’m dying for some pancakes!”

As (bad) luck would have it, we don’t have an IHOP’s in Owensboro, so that means breaking out the electric griddle and making one of my favorite recipes for buttermilk pancakes.  The recipe is from my most-used, most-trusted, and most-loved cookbooks ever: Southern Biscuits.  The fact is, it’s my go-to cookbook for biscuits, buttermilk pancakes, honey-mustard, and a slew of other outstanding recipes.

The cookbook gives the recipe below using regular milk, but as the authors tell us, you can substitute buttermilk.  The buttermilk gives pancakes that special something (in the fluffiness AND flavor) that sets them apart from every other pancake in the world, so don’t even think about making pancakes without buttermilk!

First off, you need the Southern Biscuits recipe for “Homemade Refrigerator Biscuit Mix.” Alternately, you CAN use store-bought biscuit mix. I’ve personally never used the store bought mix, but I see no reason in the world why it wouldn’t be just as wonderful.

Homemade Refrigerator Biscuit Mix

10 cups self-rising flour
3 tsp salt
5 tsp cream of tartar
4 tsp baking powder
2 cups chilled shortening, lard, or butter (roughly cut into 1/2 inch pieces)

Fork-sift or whisk the dry ingredients in a very (very, very) large bowl. Scatter the shortening, lard, or butter over the dry ingredients, then work it in with a pastry cutter (or two knives doing a scissor like dance) until the mixture resembles well-crumbled feta cheese, with no piece larger than a pea.

Shake the bowl occasionally to allow the larger pieces of fat to bounce to the top of the flour – this way you’ll find the fatties that still need mixing in.

Store the mix in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.

Buttermilk Pancakes

1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 cups Homemade Refrigerator Biscuit Mix (above!) or store-bought biscuit mix

Stir the buttermilk and egg together in a bowl, add the biscuit mix, and stir until just combined.

(IF you’re using regular milk – instead of buttermilk, allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes. However, if you’re using buttermilk, it doesn’t need this “rest.” Buttermilk instantly activates the leaveners in the biscuit mix, it doesn’t need time to think about it! So cook pancakes made with buttermilk right away.)

Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.

For a 4″ pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter onto the hot skillet. Cook until the edges begin to dry and the top begins to show bubbles. Turn and cook 1 to 2 minutes until the underside is golden brown. If the batter stars to thicken as it sits, add a little milk to thin the batter. Serve warm.

I can’t say enough good things about Southern Biscuits.  I 100 percent urge you to buy this wonderful (and downright lovely) cookbook today.  You can read my Southern Biscuits Review by clicking the link.

 

The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook: This One’s Special

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The links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small amount when you click through and make a purchase. This (of course) costs you nothing extra – it simply allows me to support my cats in the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to!

If you love the Chronicles of Narnia books and movies, you’ll want to add the cookbook I’m reviewing today to your collection asap.  As a Narnia fan, I know I cherish my copy.

I was sent a copy of The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook to review on the food blog and it’s my pleasure to do just that.

From the Back Cover:

Bring the Majesty of Narnia to Your Table!

Have you ever wished you could travel through the wardrobe with Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter, simply to taste some of the wondrous food they eat? Ever tried tucking a piece of toffee in the ground, hoping a toffee tree would grow so you could eat sweets for breakfast?

Now you can recreate the delicious meals from Narnia in the comfort of your own home without worrying about the White Witch or epic battles. Menus include more than 150 easy-to-make recipes for breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, and of course dessert.

Relive the magical and glorious world of Narnia as you cook your way through foods so good you’ll think Aslan delivered them himself.

•Breakfast with Trumpkin the Dwarf — Fire roasted pavenders
•Tea with Tumnus the Faun-soft — Boiled eggs and sugar-dusted tea cake
•Snack with the White Witch — Turkish Delight
•Dinner with the Beavers — Fried trout and homemade sandwich bread
•Dessert from Father Christmas — Plum pudding and Christmas biscuits

“Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”—C.S. Lewis

Dinah Buchloz is the author of the New York Times bestselling Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and four children. She had never been to Narnia but plans to visit as soon as she finds the right wardrobe.

The author, Dinah Bucholz, combines two of the most amazing things in the world (literature and food!) in a way that makes this much more than just a cookbook.  Each recipe includes a “snippet” which allows you to revisit Narnia before you get to the meat of the matter… the recipe.  I don’t know about you, but I’m always MORE than ready to visit Narnia.

Leaving’s the problem.

Before a couple of recipes in Chapter Two: “Snacks, Teas, and Meals on the Run,”  the reader enjoys a brief visit Prince Caspian:

Doctor Cornelius wakes Prince Caspian in the dead of night to tell him he must flee, now that his usurping uncle King Miraz has had a son whom he will wish to see on the throne.  Caspian’s tutor puts together a bundle of food and money for him to take on his flight to Archenland to seek the aid of its king. (Prince Caspian, Chapter 5)

In Chapter Three: “lunch and Dinner Menus,” there is a wonderful set of recipes for “Christmas Dinner From Father Christmas.”   The recipes include Roast Goose with Fall Fruit Stuffing (the stuffing sounds completely out of this world, but this goose lover would definitely go with a different bird), Plum Pudding, Christmas Biscuits, Mashed Potatoes, and Onion Gravy.  (See below for the Onion Gravy Recipe).

A few of the other recipes in The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook:

  • Boiled Lobster
  • Hearty Mushroom Soup
  • Strawberry-Banana-Orange Drink
  • Roast Chestnuts (Recipe Below)
  • Steamed Bread and Butter Pudding
  • Raisin-Stuffed Baked Apples
  • Strawberry Sorbet
  • Vanilla Mousse
  • Whipped Cream Frosting
  • Sponge Cake
  • Vermicelli Soup
  • Battle Biscuits
  • Cold Roast Venison
  • Homemade Sandwich Bread
  • Best Ever Ham Sandwiches
  • Chewy White Nougat
  • And many, many more fun (and delicious) recipes.

 

Roasted Chestnuts Recipe

2 pounds chestnuts

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Wash the chestnuts well and line them up on a baking sheet. Score an X on each nut with a sharp knife.
  3. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the shells peel away and the nuts feel soft when pressed

Serves: 6

Th Onion Gravy recipe, below, is ideal with a big gorgeous heap of fresh mashed potatoes.  No biscuit in its right mind would complain about wearing it either.

 

Onion Gravy Recipe


3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 Onion, Chopped
2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Beef Broth
Salt, to Taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to Taste

  1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan.
  2. Add the onion and cook until browned.
  3. Add the flour and stir to combine.
  4. Pour in the beef broth and stir until combined.
  5. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
  6. Cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes, until the raw flour taste disappears.  Taste and season with Salt and Pepper.

See The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook: From Turkish Delight to Gooseberry Fool-Over 150 Recipes Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia for more information about this wonderful, unique, and thoroughly enjoyable cookbook. If you act fast, Amazon can have this cookbook in your hands before Christmas.

Also from Dinah Bucholz: The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and The Unofficial Harry Potter Sweet Shoppe Kit!

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook  The Unofficial Harry Potter Sweet Shoppe Kit