Turkey Noodle Surprise

Here's to nostalgia and simplicity...

When I was young, before we gave up and started eating out almost every night, my dad would attempt to cook. He wasn't much of a cook – he notoriously used powdered sugar instead of flour as a thickener on more than one occasion – so one day he created this recipe. Some random veggies, ground turkey, and prepared gravy over noodles.

My mother has very few foods she won't eat, so when she's out of town, it's harder to make things special. Mushrooms will always be a staple, usually with chicken wings or shellfish. This time, I decided to go back to old times.

My recipe:

Turkey Noodle Surprise:

Serves 2

1/2lb ground turkey breast

1 8oz can mushroom stems and pieces

1/2 onion, diced

1 15oz jar homestyle turkey gravy

1 cup cooked pasta

Brown ground turkey and onions over medium heat. Add gravy and mushrooms, continue cooking until heated through. Serve over pasta.

Incredibly simple, right? We need simplicity in this world. Against the nostalgia, I did serve it with a breadstick:

Brings me back to the good old days...

Sourdough Surprises: Lemon Parmesan Squash Oven Fries

I have a confession to make:

I have never deep fried anything.

This has nothing to do with eating healthy – it's not the deep frying that adds calories, it's the batter. Anyone who knows me well knows my love of chicken wings, and I was about to give in to the local food truck that was serving deep fried Cadbury eggs (fortunately or unfortunately, they ran out before I got there). It's the fryer itself. I'm careful in the kitchen, but that does not prevent me from getting grease splatters every time I cook bacon, and then there's the spaghetti squash knife incident that has left me with no feeling in the side of my pinky finger. So a pot full of hot oil is a danger zone. But Sourdough Surprises picked fry batter this month...what was I going to do?

Then one day I was putting chicken wings on a broiler pan, ready to bake...and it hit me: almost everything that is fried can still be done in the oven. And it just so happens to be zucchini/yellow squash season, which is also one of my favorite vegetables. The zucchini selection at the market was a tad picked over, but there was a pretty straight yellow squash that clocked in at a full pound, ready for the taking.

I completely winged this recipe:

Sourdough Lemon Parmesan Yellow Squash Oven Fries

Serves 3-4

Batter:

1/2 cup ripe sourdough starter

2 tblsp mayonnaise

2 tblsp grated Parmesan

2 tblsp flour

2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

2 tsp salt

1. Cut 1 lb zucchini or summer squash into fry shapes and set aside. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Whisk all batter ingredients together. Dredge squash through batter. Place on cookie sheet
3. Bake at 350 until desired level of doneness, about 20-25 minutes (Mine were roasting with chicken and took about 24 minutes)

I can't say these turned out exactly as I hoped (oven squash fries are normally breaded, not battered). But the taste was amazing...the sourdough and Parmesan complemented the gentle squash flavor perfectly. Even my father, the one who prefers familiar food, loved them. I could have eaten the entire batch myself (although, going back to the batter being what adds calories, a mere third of this recipe still clocks in at 132 calories using light mayo).

It was still all the mess of frying (without the danger of hot oil splatters!), and quite a bit of trouble. But the taste was tempting...I just might have to make these again.

Check out our other awesome fried (and oven fried!) delights:

An InLinkz Link-up

Sourdough Surprises: Kimmelweck Rolls

Sourdough Surprises: Kimmelweck Rolls

I'm a rare breed – the native Floridian. On the other hand, I'm the only one of my immediate family who is – my parents hail from western New York, not far from Buffalo. And while good Buffalo-style chicken wings are easy enough to find, my family longs for another, lesser-known regional specialty: Beef on Weck. The filling is simply roast beef with au jus and horseradish, but the magic is in the roll: coarse salt and (usually) caraway seeds. So when Sourdough Surprises picked sandwich rolls for the May challenge, I knew just what I wanted to make.

I did select a sandwich roll recipe that included yeast, expecting Florida summer to make bread baking difficult and this being a challenge I would have to do last minute. (Which is also why this post is late!)

My recipe:

Sourdough Kimmelweck Rolls

Adapted from RedStar Yeast

Makes 8 rolls

Ingredients
1 packet active yeast
4 cups flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup sourdough starter
1 egg, room temperature

1 tblsp butter, melted

Coarse saltDirections
Combine yeast, 1 cup flour, and other dry ingredients. Combine water and oil; heat to 120º to 130ºF.

Combine sourdough starter, dry mixture, and liquid ingredients in mixing bowl with paddle or beaters for 4 minutes on medium speed. Add egg and beat 1 minute. Gradually add flour and knead with dough hook(s) 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until doubled.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; punch down to remove air bubbles. Divide dough into 8 pieces. On lightly floured surface, shape each piece into a smooth ball. Place on greased cookie sheet. Flatten to a 4-inch diameter. Cover; let rise until indentations remains after touching. With sharp knife, make an “X” on the top of each roll. Bake in preheated 400º F oven 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet; cool.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt before serving

Not being a fan of beef, I opted for some deli chicken instead:

They weren't the most authentic kimmelweck rolls I've ever had, but they were close enough. And they were good. While maybe not a kimmelweck replacement, this is definitely a recipe for the back burner.

And maybe I should try sourdough battered chicken wings next...

Check out our other awesome rolls!

An InLinkz Link-up

Sourdough Surprises: Brown Sugar Spice Pancakes

Pancakes and waffles. Easy to make the batter and then...I'm a notoriously bad pancake flipper, and the last time I went to make waffles, with the batter prepared, the waffle maker wouldn't heat up. So, neither are things I have great luck with. Still, I knew there would come a day when Sourdough Surprises picked that for their monthly challenge.  It came as no surprise when that was picked for September.

Since the waffle incident, I have replaced the waffle maker, but having just made them (from a mix), I opted for pancakes...with my new toy:

I know As Seen on TV products normally aren't all they're made out to be, but my aunt has one and likes it, so for $18 (in free gift cards!) I decided it was worth a try.

I used my favorite pancake base, substituting brown sugar and adding a tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice.

The pan has a little bit of a learning curve (you can't watch for bubbles, so you have to know your timing). A few got a little burnt on one side, and one that I flipped and opened the pan before it was cooked through got a little mushed. Still, I was quite happy with the results, and the pancakes were delicious.

With the right tools, I suppose I can fix even my biggest kitchen weaknesses. I just got another round of new toys...so who knows what's next!

Shine Supper Club: Cooked Carrots

When I was little, my mother would always ask what vegetable I wanted with dinner. Like she needed to ask - “cooked carrots” was always my response. Plain cooked carrots. Not that I minded glazed carrots (although, to this day, I'm not fond of raw carrots), but just boiled carrots with a little bit of salt. It's the simple things in life that keeps kids happy.

I'm all grown up now, and although I do still live at home, I do most of the cooking now (when I'm not working much, at least). When I found out the Shine Supper Club was doing childhood dishes for the month of May (my birthday month even!), I knew I had to do a grown up version of my favorite side dish growing up.

Lemon Pepper Boiled Carrots

Serves 4

1lb baby carrots

1tsp salt

Enough water to cover carrots

2 tblsp butter

2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning or to taste (or lemon zest and black pepper to taste)

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add carrots and boil 10-15 minutes, to desired doneness. Drain and return pot to heat.
2. Melt butter in pot with lemon pepper seasoning. Toss to coat and serve.

I served this with some white rice and Spicy Maple Mustard glazed chicken (so good I had to scrape off a little of the extra!). The glaze, if interested...

Spicy Maple Mustard Sauce

Adapted from EatingWell.com

Makes 1/4 cup

1 tblsp Maple Syrup

3 tblsp Horseradish Mustard

1/2 tsp paprika

Simply mix in a small bowl. Makes a great dip as well as a sauce for all kinds of meat!

Of course, this wasn't how I ate my carrots growing up – as I've said before, my mom is a lazy cook, and only after telling her what I'd added to the carrots did she find out about the lemon pepper seasoning I had in the pantry. Still, it was a tasty reminder of the way things were back then – and Mom even loved them too.

The simple things in life keep adults happy too.

Sourdough Surprises: Rustic Fettucini

When I accidentally came across Sourdough Surprises looking for recipes, I was intrigued by the sourdough pasta that started it all. Intrigued enough, in fact, I found myself actually looking at a pasta maker that happened to be on the clearance table, and wondering if I'd make sourdough pasta often enough to justify spending $50 on it.

Of course, for its first anniversary, the girls of Sourdough Surprises have chosen to make sourdough pasta again. Of course, I also didn't buy that pasta maker. So my choices were either sit out this month, or hand roll it. Because I love a challenge, I decided to hand roll it.

There's not a lot in the way of pasta recipes – fortunately, the basic recipe doesn't vary much, so I went ahead and used the suggested recipe – although now that we are finally getting hot and humid weather, I did have to add another quarter cup of flour. I also used the dough hooks on my hand mixer, lacking a stand mixer. I rolled them out and used a pizza roller to cut into fettucini:

Trying to highlight the pasta, and having just made spaghetti with marinara last week, I chose another tried and true (though admittedly, highly processed) sauce: Philadelphia Creamy Pesto Cooking Cream. Some cubed chicken, a tomato, and a green pepper...

Yum. And I mean that, and not just my beloved cooking cream. I was having a hard time not eating multiple noodles to “test” them – no butter, no sauce, just plain noodles. They remind me of the noodles in a good bowl of chicken noodle soup crossed with the dough part of a perogi.

Was it worth the effort? While I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I can make a regular habit of it. But for a special occasion (we do have lasagna as our “traditional” Christmas dinner), I probably will make it again.

Or maybe I'll just end up buying that pasta maker.

Check out our other delicious pastas!

Sourdough Surprises: Sourdough Tortillas

It's hard for my family to resist a Mexican dinner. It wasn't uncommon when I was younger for my family to eat at Mexican restaurants two or three days a week. So, when Sourdough Surprises picked flatbreads for the month of February, there was no doubt in my mind that I had to make tortillas.

Of course, this ended up being a many-days process. First and foremost, I had to finally take the time to re-season my grandmother's cast iron pan (sadly, I know its benefits – but it sat in the back of the cupboard for I don't know how long). Then the two day process of making tortillas, and finally, a Mexican dinner for my family.

Well, this one wasn't an easy one. For starters, I could barely get the whole 3 cups of flour mixed into the dough when I made it. A day later, and the dough was so wet I could hardly handle it. Perhaps because I used regular all-purpose flour (unfortunately, I'm the only one who watches what I eat in my house, and at least one of my taste testers dislikes whole wheat products). I managed, though. It made nearly twice what the recipe indicated, so that was another plus. And then I had to wait until I had another day off to make dinner and try them! It was tough – I was looking forward to a homemade Mexican meal.

The recipe:

Sourdough Tortillas
Adapted very slightly from Grain Mill Wagon
- 3 cups flour
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup sourdough starter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Pinch salt
Step One:  Combine the water, flour, salt, and sourdough starter in your mixer or food processor.  Keep adding flour, slowly, until the dough forms a nice ball without sticking too much to the sides of the mixer.  Once you get the dough to a soft ball form, allow the mixer to knead the dough for 2-3 minutes (if you don’t have a mixer, just do this by hand!)  Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let this hang out on your counter for 12-24 hours.
Step Two:  When you’re ready to cook up your tortillas, heat up a griddle, cast iron skillet, or cooking pan of choice to medium-high heat.  I don’t bother with greasing or spraying my griddle.  I like to use my large griddle so that I can have multiple tortillas going at the same time – it helps to speed up the process.
Step Two:  Remove the dough from the bowl and transfer onto a greased surface.  Gently divide the dough into walnut sized balls (this recipe will yield a dozen or so, depending on size).
Step Four:  Grease your hands with a little olive oil and working with one ball of dough at a time, use your fingers to smoosh the dough out into a tortilla.  I suppose you could use a greased rolling pin, but I find that using my fingers alone works fine.  Sure, the shape isn’t a perfect circle – but that’s okay!  It’s homemade, remember?
Step Five:  After rolling out the tortilla, gently and carefully move it to the hot skillet.  Cook it for about 30 seconds per side, until a little golden and bubbly.

Step Six:  You can either eat these immediately, or cool them off and store them in the fridge or freezer for later use.  I have found that they reheat very easily and even stay soft.  Yay!

So then comes dinner:

A little chicken breast, a lot of seasoning, some cheese and salsa...they ended up being tough for tacos – just a tad too small, but they were certainly delicious.

(I did also have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on one, but at 11:30 at night...I forgot to snap a picture.)

I can't say I'm going to make homemade tortillas again anytime soon – my family still eats at Mexican restaurants enough that it doesn't make sense to make a Mexican dinner at home. But I'm glad I did.

And now I just need another day off to spend in the kitchen!

Check out our other awesome flatbreads!

Sweet Potato and Broccoli Shepard's Pie

They say that necessity is the mother of all invention. The same might as well be said of creating new recipes.

Like I said, my father's out of town. That's when my mother and I normally treat ourselves to everything that he won't eat – things like spinach, sweet potatoes, and broccoli. This time, though, we have to work around my sister's birthday and my work schedule. Sure, he'll be gone for five dinners, but only two of them can my mother and I choose what we eat and eat together. And we have to squeeze in one of his least favorite restaurants while we're at it.

I was browsing recipes a couple of weeks ago on Food52, looking for a creative non-pasta ground beef dish. After seeing not much besides pasta, stuffed peppers and Shepard's Pie, I came across this Sweet Potato Cottage Pie.

I'm not a huge fan of Shepard's Pie or Cottage Pie, typically, and it's not just that I don't really care for ground beef. I think it's the fact that it was one of the few meals my father felt comfortable cooking, meaning back when my mother worked retail when I was a kid, we'd eat it for days on end. Still, it got me thinking. And it kind of took off.

I found a few Sweet Potato Shepard's Pie recipes on the internet – here and here – but when I realized the limited time we'd have to squeeze our favorite foods in, I started taking inspiration from each, adding the broccoli, and making it into something new:

Sweet Potato and Broccoli Shepard's Pie

Inspired by this and this and this recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped

2 oz cream cheese

1 pound lean ground beef

1 small onion

1 cup tomato sauce

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cumin

2 oz cream cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 cups chopped broccoli

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350. In a medium size pot, boil sweet potato until tender.
• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add tomato sauce and spices. Spread in a baking dish. Top with broccoli and set aside.
• Mash sweet potato with cream cheese, salt and pepper with a potato masher or electric mixer. Spread over meat and broccoli
• Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Dare I say I think I actually created something original here? And you know what, it was good. Darn good, in fact. I had to resist eating seconds. Plus, my mother even told me to freeze a helping to save for my aunt.

It's kind of sad that my father won't eat it. For as much effort as it was, I want to make it again. Two thumbs up, easily. Only because I only have two thumbs.

Sourdough Surprises: Mexicali Grissini

October started off so beautifully. Even with 90 some odd degree weather, the humidity dropped and the breeze made it seem like fall, as much fall as we get in Florida. And then, on the day I planned to make sourdough grissini as part of dinner for this month's Sourdough Surprises, a front comes through and stalls out. Great bread baking weather, right?

But I keep my promises. Besides, I think part of the reason for joining a group like Sourdough Surprises is the challenge. So, on to my grissini.

I'll admit that I was not looking forward to this one. Years ago, when I first started baking with sourdough, one of the first things I tried making were breadsticks. They turned out horribly. I figured we could at least feed them to the fish in the pond by my sister's house. I'm not kidding – the fish wouldn't even eat them. Still, I am up for a challenge.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to do the suggested recipe. For one, my father will not eat olives. We've found by accident he likes a few foods he didn't think he did, but I doubt I could slip that past him. And no way are my mother and I trying to eat them all. For two, my food scale broke years ago (what I get for using it to weigh my parrot) and I never replaced it. Every single sourdough grissini recipe I found called for ingredients by weight, though. So I took EatingWell.Com's grissini recipe, halved and modified for sourdough. With the addition of my filling, of course!

I played around with some ideas, trying to use up some random ingredients. Maple walnut? Chocolate? Then again, I haven't baked anything savory in a while. So I decided against desert. I was pretty sure I wanted to do something Mexican-themed, something I love very much. It took off from there.

For the second time, I cooked with Kraft Mango Chipotle dressing. It's new (there's still no link or mention of it on the Kraft website), so it might be hard to find, but get it if you can. It's delicious as a marinade, as a salad dressing, and as it turns out, a base for my breadstick filling. I think the fruitiness kind of gives it a California flavor – hence calling them “Mexicali”. I mixed that with some taco sauce as my base, sprinkled some cheese on it, and voila!

My Recipe:

Sourdough Mexicali Grissini

Adapted From EatingWell.Com

Makes 12 Grissini

Breadsticks:

6 oz fresh sourdough starter (A little over 2/3 of a cup, or 1/2 cup plus 2 tblsp)

1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting.

1 tblsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

Filling

2 tblsp Kraft Mango Chipotle Dressing

1 tblsp taco sauce

1/2 cup shredded jack cheese (Mine was a combo of Monterrey and Colby Jack)

1. Mix sourdough starter, about half the flour, salt and oil in a large bowl. Add additional flour until dough is no longer sticky. Knead until smooth and elastic.
2. Lightly oil a large bowl. Roll dough in oil until coated. Cover and let rise until doubled.
3. Mix salad dressing and taco sauce.
4. Spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, flatten each into a roughly 6”x8” rectangle. Brush with dressing mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Cut each half into 6 strips. Carefully twist and place on baking sheets.
6. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden

I'd suggest serving them warm out of the oven, but with my family – especially during the week – that's not going to happen. They were still very good a few hours later:

They were a little stale the next day with my lunchtime salad:

Not sure if I'll do this again anytime soon, but it worked out.

Check out our other great grissini:
 

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough isn't all about baking. Much as I love to bake, I just love being in the kitchen. And when I can make a meal for my family and have to worry less about indulging, so much the better.

That's why one recipe I've made time and time again is sourdough pancakes. I'm always good for "brinner" or breakfast-for-dinner, and this is definitely a favorite.  That being said, I definitely have a love-hate affair with them. While I am quite a capable cook, expert pancake flipper I am not. It takes practice, and I guess I don't make them often enough. This time around, though, they turned out pretty darn good. 

This particular recipe came from my mother's old Hickory Farms sourdough recipe file. It came as part of a kit with a little packet of sourdough culture. To give you some idea of how long it's been in my family, there's a handwritten date on it that says Spring 1975.

I modify the recipe differently on different days. The one thing that's consistent is omitting the oil. I tried it as written, and it just wasn't right, so I kind of thought maybe the oil was for greasing the pan/griddle. Therefore, I tried it without and it worked. I've added extra sugar when I wanted sweeter, added a teaspoon of cinnamon and a half a teaspoon of vanilla for a little extra flavor, but this time around, it was regular.

The recipe:

1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour

3 tblsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 cups ripe sourdough starter

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

[3 tblsp cooking oil]

[Since I use a frying pan instead of a griddle (possibly part of my problem with pancakes), I can't preheat it, but the recipe says 375 degrees] Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well to blend. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Batter may be slightly lumpy.

Grease [or spray] hot griddle/pan for first pancakes and as needed. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle for larger pancakes or about 1 tablespoon batter for silver dollar pancakes. Bake until edges are dry.

It says it makes 12 large or 48 small pancakes, but I use a 1/4 cup ladle and it typically makes 15-18 pancakes.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled baking...

Shine Supper Club: Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad

I had one semester in college where I attempted to work nearly full time hours while maintaining a full time school schedule. I think I had all of four days where I didn't have school or work. Meals were usually either at the mall food court or the campus cafe. It got expensive quick. One day, I found a little bit of time and threw together a pasta salad with a bunch of ingredients I found laying around. I had a portable meal that was cheaper (and healthier) than fast food, and it could keep a couple days. I started doing this whenever life got hectic: the same basic dressing recipe, a protein, a vegetable, some pasta – and I freed up some time.

Life is seldom that hectic anymore (especially when you work for an NHL team right now...). However, the Shine Supper Club is doing favorite pasta recipes this month, and I happened to have some leftover Miracle Noodles from last night's dinner. So lunch was set.

When I can plan for this (it's a pot luck favorite, in fact), I have a set recipe:

Secret Mustard Dressing

~1/2 cup Ranch Dressing

~1/2 cup Mustard (I use about half yellow and half brown)

Hot sauce, to taste

1. Mix ingredients. This recipe is forgiving and adaptable – adjust it according to your tastes. (Personally, I like it sinus-clearing spicy, but this is the pot luck version!)

Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad

1 Box Pasta, preferably elbow noodles

2 medium zucchini, shredded

1 medium tomato, diced

1 cup shredded Jack cheese

Secret Mustard dressing (see above)

1. Prepare pasta to al dente. Drain, rinse and allow to cool
2. Toss with dressing. Mix in other ingredients
3. Serve. If this is a pot luck, it goes fast!

Now, that's the pot luck version. Obviously, zucchini is out of season, and I didn't have a tomato handy. Besides, I was making a single serving. I had a couple of baby carrots from feeding the bird and turtles, and some leftover bacon. So I chopped up some carrot and tore up some bacon to throw together this version. Plus, I used a packet of Chinese mustard and quite a bit of chili powder in the dressing. And the Miracle Noodles. If you're expecting these to taste like regular pasta, you will be disappointed, but they work for me.  However, this recipe works just as well with regular pasta.

I do wish I had bought a shape other than fettuccine, but that's what makes it the “Kitchen Sink”. It's less of a recipe and more of a technique. Use what you have and what you like, and you can't be disappointed.

Easy Weeknight Chicken: Baked Mango Chipotle Chicken Tenders With Avocado Tomato Rice

I love to cook. My mother doesn't. Her mantra on cooking is “I like meals with three ingredients that I already have.” Which is one reason why if I'm not the one cooking, a homemade dinner is almost always either spaghetti and meat sauce, pancakes with bacon or sausage, or baked chicken with a boxed starch and a can of veggies.

Having learned from her, I do make baked chicken, but I put my own spin on it. After finding a bottle of 

Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette from Kraft (it's so new that there's not even a link to it on their website yet)

at the grocery store this week, I had to try it with something. And with the Shine Supper Club doing “Weeknight Chicken Dinners” this month, it was a perfect time to put a new spine on Mom's classic. I've used this technique with bottled mojo marinade as well, so you can use just about any marinade that you want.

So, here is my recipe:

Baked Mango Chipotle Chicken Tenders

Ingredients

1lb Chicken Tenders

~1/4 Cup Kraft Mango Chipotle Vinaigrette

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13” glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Trim fat off of chicken tenders. Arrange in a single layer in baking dish. Drizzle with vinaigrette and brush with a silicone basting brush
3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Avocado Tomato Rice

Ingredients

1 medium green skin avocado (or 1 large hass avocado)

1-8-oz can tomato sauce

2 cups cooked white rice.

Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

1. Prepare rice
2. While rice is preparing, roughly dice avocado. Immediately toss with tomato sauce and salt, pepper and hot sauce, adjusting seasoning as necessary.
3. Serve over rice

I have to say I wish that the dressing lived up to the “Chipotle” in its name. It was good, just not very spicy, so if you're looking for that, you might want to sprinkle your tenders with a little chili powder as well. But hey, even my fruit-hating father enjoyed this one. It was quite good, it's healthy, and, on the table in under 30 minutes, is definitely one to keep in the arsenal as a change of pace.

As an added benefit, it might just be simple enough to make Mom proud.

Mexican Miracle Noodles

I can spend many hours on food websites, finding recipes and reading various food news stories. Not that long ago, I read about Shirataki Miracle Noodles. No calories...all fiber. This intrigued me. For one, regular pasta doesn't completely agree with me anymore, even though it's one of my favorite foods. For two, like many people, I should be eating more fiber. So, with those Amazon gift cards piling up, I decided to give them a try and purchased a 6-pack of the Fettuccine.

Now, I was a little hesitant. I am not a fan of most Asian food – or rather, I'm not really a fan of most Asian vegetables. However, most of the reviews said that they did best with Asian dishes. So last week, I went searching for other recipes and came up with this from SparkPeople.

There's 3 of us eating dinner, but I decided to bulk it up a bit. I used a whole can of kidney beans and corn, a whole green pepper, half of a small onion, and two packages of noodles. I also started with a little over a pound and a quarter of browned ground beef.

I was a little nervous. I don't like making bad food. But, alas, it ended up on the dinner table:

I didn't take a picture of it served, but I topped it with cheese and salsa.

If you're expecting regular semolina pasta, this stuff isn't for you. Yes, it's gummy. But while the texture is unusual, there isn't a real discernible taste to them, and the dish was excellent. If need be, omit the noodles and use either regular pasta or maybe pile it on tortilla chips.

Hopefully, there will come a day when I don't have to order these noodles online. Until then, I will recommend them, and this dish, to anyone who is trying to eat healthier. A definite two thumbs up!

Fresh Take Meatballs

I'm not just a baker. I'm a full service at-home cook. I even made sourdough pancakes last week (I didn't blog about it as pancakes are somewhat involved, especially when your spatula breaks in the middle of it). And even though I have a divine hatred of ground beef, I do enjoy making meatballs.

It's not something I do often, but I was in no mood for regular spaghetti and meat sauce last night. On top of the fact I don't care for ground beef, spaghetti is not a pasta that goes well with meat sauce. You want a light sauce with spaghetti, whereas meat sauce is better with shells that will catch the meat. So I convinced my mother to have a clean-out-the-fridge-and-pantry day by offering to make said meatballs.

We've done the Fresh Take stuff with chicken before. It's a nice alternative to my mother's favorite baked chicken topped with onion fries (I don't particularly care for onions either, although onion did make its way into last night's dinner as well). But there's other cool recipes if you open the package (we did the Rosemary & Roasted Garlic), and (yes I am fully capable of following the recipe) I made something different for dinner last night.

Serve 'em up, add some pasta with cream of onion soup, and some assorted veggies and it was a meal.

I'm not going to rate this one myself. As I said, I hate ground beef. So I didn't care for them much. On the other hand, they worked, and the guinea pigs liked them.

I'm just not going to partake in the leftovers.

Sourdough Biscuit Muffins

Since I've been dieting and working out, I've been pretty careful to include plenty of protein in my diet, especially right after my strength workout. I like quick microwave eggs with cheese and salsa, but I hate cleaning the bowl afterwards.

My brain finds some pretty weird sources of inspiration. Why not make a biscuit cup to nuke the eggs in, rather than having a bowl that needs to be hand washed?

It also doesn't hurt that, thanks to some of the weekly meal deals at our local grocery store, there are multiple boxes of baking mix in the pantry. With the sourdough starter well under way, it was time to try a new recipe.

The recipe is called “HoneymoonSourdough Biscuits” (I have not found the origin of why they are called that). I don't like to do more than one experiment on a recipe at a time (that way, you always know what went wrong), so I decided to simply press them into a muffin tin, rather than try and make biscuit cups just yet.

I did forget one thing about baking: Summer in Florida means lots and lots of humidity. I added probably a good 1/4 of flour just trying to handle the dough enough to knead it. What I thought would take maybe 20 minutes took the better part of an hour. I can't imagine actually trying to roll these out and cut them. They finally made it into the muffin pan:

I made quite a few mistakes with this recipe. Besides not accounting for the humidity, I also baked them for the prescribed 15 minutes, even though the recipe makes eight biscuits, not 12. So the tops came out a little burnt.

The truest test, though, was when I brought out the plate of biscuit muffins to the dinner table. Both parents as well as myself really did enjoy them, even if they were a little burnt. Dad even commented “You can actually taste sourdough in these. It's so hard to get around here.”

So what's the verdict? This one is a tough call. On one hand, I screwed up, and they aren't really going to be able to be pressed into muffin cups like I would like them to be. On the other, they were really good.

So I suppose it's one and a half thumbs up. Make again, but probably better as drop biscuits.