KellyintheKitchen

Meaty Chili with Beans and Kale.

Published on October 15, 2013December 1, 2013 by KellyInTheKitchenLeave a comment

Yes, along with every recipe blog out there, I’m celebrating that it’s fall: time for soups and stews! But I’ll tell you up front: this chili post isn’t what you think. I’m sorry, chili lovers, but I’m about to get weird on you. Look at the last ingredient before the toppings—it’s kale. In chili. If that sounds too freakishly non-traditional to you, you’re probably right. I’ve never heard of someone putting kale in chili before either. But I felt like it had to be done. I had all this nice kale in the fridge and thought, it’s just so good for you, I should punch up the veggie credentials of my chili with a bunch o’ the good green stuff. I chopped it up tiny so that it would be inconspicuous and just stirred in near the end of the whole chili process, and it really flies under the radar. I like it. And if you saw my previous post on chili, you might recall that I’m a freak for toppings—well, nothing’s changed. So whip this up, pat yourself on the back for throwing in some kale, and dollop on another spoonful of sour cream.

INGREDIENTS

olive oil
butter
1 lb stew beef, cubed
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste – this will be spicy-ish, but not crazy)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
2 cups canned diced tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped (I used frozen multi-colored peppers – any color you like will do)
dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 can pinto beans
1/3 cup strong coffee (saw this in an Ina Garten recipe – really interesting!)
1 cup kale, finely chopped
toppings: onion, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips–the list goes on! This chili rocks with a scoop of sour cream or Greek yogurt and some chopped onion.

Just the Recipe link: Meaty Chili with Beans and Kale

DIRECTIONS

Heat a Dutch oven or other large pot with a lid over medium high heat. Add a splash of olive oil and a bit of butter to the pot and brown the beef. I did this in two batches: put half the beef in the pot in a single layer, without letting the pieces touch each other, and let it sit without stirring or moving until browned. Then flip each cube of beef over and brown the other side. Remove the beef to a plate once it’s gotten some color (don’t worry about cooking it all the way through) and add the second half of the beef to the pot, repeating the same process until all the beef has been browned. Set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium low. In the same pot, add the onions and garlic and a bit of salt, which will keep the onions from browning too quickly. Cook until softened but not browned and then add the oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, and red pepper. Stir and cook for a minute, just until the spices are fragrant.

Pour in the tomatoes, bell pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, and add the beef back to the pot.

Bring the chili to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Put the lid on the pot and cook for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally and checking to made sure the chili has enough liquid – I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cup of water partway through the process, to keep things nice and juicy.

After 2 1/2 hours, add the coffee, beans, and kale. Cook another 10-15 minutes or so, until the kale is cooked.

That’s it! Dress up the chili with some toppings and dig in. Worth noting: this was good when I tried it immediately, but it was even better the next day. PRIME leftovers food right here!

Nutty Cinnamon Cream of No-Wheat, a.k.a. “Faux-tmeal”

Published on September 26, 2013February 11, 2014 by KellyInTheKitchenLeave a comment

Cream of No-Wheat: a hot cereal made with nuts, dried fruit, seeds, and cinnamon – but with no wheat and no oats. Considering how I’ve altered the way I eat pretty dramatically over the past few months, moving away from processed grains and sugar and toward protein, fruits, veggies, and the like, this recipe is the answer to my breakfast dreams! That’s because, while I really haven’t looked back following these big changes, I have to admit that there are a few things I have truly, truly missed, and one of those things is my morning oatmeal. When I saw a recipe from A Girl Worth Saving via salixisme that looked like a great hot cereal compromise, I had to give it a try. And it is absolutely delicious: creamy, nutty, with just enough sweetness from the dates, and a slightly chewier consistency from the nuts and seeds. It’s a very flexible recipe, and you can swap various ingredients in or out as you like: pumpkin seeds, wheat germ, pecans, dried apples, or brown sugar would all do a little something special if you wanted to try them out in here. And because this recipe makes about 8 servings, you can prep the “oatmeal” dry mix ahead of time, and just cook however many servings you need that morning. I calculated it out, just to see what this dish looks like from a protein perspective: each 3/4 cup serving has about 8g of protein, plus about 10g from the milk, making this a breakfast with about 18g of protein. Yay for hot breakfast!

UPDATE: I recently made another version of this – I was out of sunflower seeds, so instead of the 1/2 cup of sunflower seeds, I used about 3 tbsp of chia seeds and an additional 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts. The chia seeds were awesome here, thickening the consistency to that it more closely resembled cream of wheat. I’m definitely adding chia seeds to this every time I make it from now on!

INGREDIENTS:

the dry mix*:
1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds, chopped
1/2 cup flaxseed meal (or use whole flax seeds and grind them)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup almonds, slivered
1/2 lb pitted dates, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
*NOTE: chop your ingredients finer if you want a smoother, more cream-of-wheat-esque finished product, or leave them bigger for a chunkier consistency. I tried to opt for a middle ground.

to cook the oatmeal:
3/4 cups of dry mix per person
1 1/4 cup milk per person (dairy milk, almond milk, whatever you like)

Just the Recipe link: Nutty Cinnamon Cream of No-Wheat, a.k.a. “Faux-tmeal”

DIRECTIONS

Combine all the dry mix ingredients in a bowl and stir together.

Measure out the amount you’d like to make now (about 3/4 cups per person should do it), and store the rest in an air-tight container in the fridge, for future use.

To cook the oatmeal, bring the milk to a gentle bubble on the stove and stir in the dry mix.

Stirring occasionally, simmer gently until thickened to your liking (mine took about 10 minutes, give or take). Remove from heat.

Spoon the good stuff into a bowl and stir in any extras you like – more milk, fruit, nuts, whatever! Then dig in.

Savory Braised Short Ribs.

Published on September 8, 2013September 21, 2013 by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

What’s not to love about short ribs? They’re pretty cheap, super meaty, and easy to cook because after a bit of prep, you can just walk away and forget about them. My kind of meal. These short ribs are fantastic and feature one of my all-time favorite flavors in the world ever in the history of the universe: Worcestershire sauce. I’ve loved it since I was little (though we did break up for a short time, when I discovered “anchovies” on the ingredients list. But I got over it and we’re back together). I love cumin and bay leaf with Worcestershire, so they got thrown into the mix, and thyme is always a good time/thyme., so he’s here, too. As far as side dishes go, I like to add petit pois at the end of the cooking process and make a sort of one-pot meal, but short ribs also go great with mashed potatoes, grits, or some delicious buttery rolls. Just go carnivore-nuts on their deep amber goodness.

INGREDIENTS

5-6 short ribs (I actually prefer boneless short ribs, but my store was sold out, so I used bone-in. Boneless usually don’t need to cook quite as long, so keep that in mind if you go for boneless.)
butter
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 small onions (or 1 large onion), diced
1 1/3 cups carrots, sliced into segments
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 cups stock (beef stock would be best, but all I have is my homemade chicken stock, and it does the trick)
optional: 1 1/2 cups frozen peas (J‘adore les petits pois.)

Just the Recipe link: Savory Braised Short Ribs

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

In a Dutch oven or other large, stovetop- and oven-safe pot with a lid, heat butter and olive oil on medium high. Season each side of the short ribs with salt and pepper, and brown them in batches, careful not to crowd the pan. Don’t worry about cooking them through; we’re just trying to get some color on these babies. Once all the short ribs have had their time to brown, set them aside.

Turn the heat down to medium and add more oil to the pan if necessary. Toss in the carrots, onions, and garlic. Cook until softened, and then stir in the cumin, red pepper flakes, thyme, and bay leaf.

Cook until fragrant, and then pour in the Worcestershire sauce. Stir the veggies around as it steams, and then nestle the short ribs back into the pan. Pour in the stock and bring to a bubble. Taste for seasoning, and add salt as needed.

Place the top on the pot and put the whole thing in the oven. Cook for 2 1/2 hours, checking occasionally to make sure you have enough liquid to keep things good and moist.

Once they’re falling-off-the-bone tender, the short ribs are done, so take the dish out of the oven and remove the bay leaf. Use a large spoon to remove some of the fat from the top of the juices. Then, if you love peas as much as I do, stir them in now and then re-cover the pot, letting the heat cook them through.

That’s it! Dig in and let the tender melty goodness fall right off the bone and into your heart/stomach. And watch out for little canine stomachs, who might want to steal a bite.

Spicy-Tangy-Sweet Pulled Pork.

Published on August 10, 2013February 6, 2022 by KellyInTheKitchen2 Comments

INGREDIENTS

1 large onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
3-4 lb pork shoulder (also called pork butt)
salt
1 tsp peppercorns (or 3/4 tsp pepper)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (or scant 1/2 tsp ground mustard powder)
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (throw in a few more if you like it extra spicy)
1 tbsp adobo sauce (the sauce from the canned chipotle chiles)
2 bottles root beer (about 24 oz – I used Berghoff Root Beer, because I’m a good Midwestern girl)
1 cup water (optional – use if you want more juices leftover after it’s cooked)

Just the Recipe link: Spicy-Tangy-Sweet Pulled Pork

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Lay the onion wedges in the bottom of a Dutch oven or other large pot with a lid. Season the pork with salt.

If you’re using whole peppercorns and mustard seeds, grind them up using a mortar and pestle until they’re broken up, but not pulverized.

Sprinkle your pepper and ground mustard over the pork, and place the pork in the pot, on top of the onions.

Next, add the chipotle chile and adobo sauce to the pot, and pour in the root beer. Optional: add the water. Do this if you want more sauce at the end – I made mine without the water, and it had just enough sauce for the pork to soak it all up. If you like it a little saucier, add the water.

Cover the pot and put it in the oven for at least 3 hours (I cooked mine for just over 4 hours). Flip the pork over once during cooking.

You know you’re there when you can easily shred the pork using two forks. At this point, remove the pork from the pot and shred it completely. Discard the bone.

There should be just enough sauce left in the pot to coat the pork, so add the shredded meat back to the sauce and stir. That’s all!

Obviously this makes a great pulled pork sandwich, but I served mine with these refried beans and this red cabbage slaw.

Pork perfection, ready for its close-up.

Pretzel Milk and Chocolate Chip Scones.

Published on July 27, 2013August 1, 2013 by KellyInTheKitchen8 Comments

On a cute and crazy-creative blog called “A Cozy Kitchen, ” I saw blogger/pancake expert Adrianna do something magical: she made pretzel milk pancakes. This is one of the most food-genius things I’ve seen in a long time: she roasted pretzels in the oven, soaked them in milk, and then strained them out so that the milk was left in faintly golden pretzel-flavored perfection, making her pancakes deliciously pretzely. I was mesmerized by this idea, and initially wanted to make a cookie using the pretzel milk method. I’m still working on the cookie version of this recipe, but for now, these scones are pretty amazing. Pretzel milk – I am so glad we’ve found each other. The lightly golden milk gives the finished product the most unusual and profound savoriness—not in-your-face pretzely, but more of a welcome note of something warm and deep. It’s pretty special.

I have a question for my beloved readers: what to do with the milk-steeped pretzels you’re left with after making the pretzel milk? I ate a few (they’re actually good, in a weird, slightly soggy kind of way), but there’s got to be something interesting they could be used for. Crush them up and stir them into muffin batter, or even cookie dough? Or food-processer them with lots butter and maple syrup, shape the butter mixture into a log, toss it in the fridge, and a few hours later you’ve got maitre d’ maple pretzel butter for toast and waffles and all those goodies? If you come up with a good use for them, let me know! And PS – when they’re in the oven, watch these more carefully than I did….my scones got a little bit toastier than I would have liked. Still awesome though!

INGREDIENTS

3 cups pretzels
1 1/2 cups cream or half-and-half
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (feel free to use all A-P flour if you prefer)
1 tbsp baking powder
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into little cubes
1/2 cup chocolate, chopped into small bits (I used semi-sweet)
optional: turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Just the Recipe link: Pretzel Milk and Chocolate Chip Scones

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spread pretzels onto a sheet pan in a single layer and roast until they turn a nice dark brown, about 10 minutes. Let them cool completely (don’t worry, they cool very quickly).

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Transfer the cooled pretzels to the cream or half-and-half and let them soak for about 15 minutes. Then strain, leaving just the beautiful pretzel-y cream. The pretzels will have soaked up some of the liquid; you’ll need just 1 cup total for this recipe. If you have any leftover milk, keep it on hand and maybe dip the scones into it once they’re baked. This stuff is amazing.

Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl or food processor. Whisk or pulse together until combined. Add the butter; if using your fingers, quickly rub the flour mixture into the butter until the mixture resembles coarse sand, handling the butter as little as possible and careful not to melt it as you go. If you’re using a food processor, pulse together until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Add the chocolate bits and stir or pulse briefly to combine. Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl if it was in a food processor. Stir in the pretzel milk until the dough starts to come together. Then turn it out onto a floured workspace.

Knead the dough a few times gently with your hands, just until it comes together in a ball – the less you work the dough, the better, since you don’t want the heat of your hands to melt the butter.

Flatten the dough into the shape of a rectangle (roughly….), about 3/4 inch -thick. Okay fine, so this dough is obviously not in a rectangle. I took this picture before I decided what shape I wanted the scones to be. Whatever.

Cut the dough into squares. Then cut each square diagonally in half, to make little triangles…..Or, cut them however you want!

If you like, sprinkle each scone with a bit of turbinado sugar. It’s sweet and gives the scones a little bit of crunch. And it’s pretty.

Place sconces on a baking sheet and bake until light brown, about 12-15 minutes. Cool slightly before serving. These more than rock with sweet cream butter and a cup of black tea.

And seriously – any ideas what to do with these already-steeped pretzels??

Chocolate Pudding with Blackberry.

Published on July 21, 2013August 1, 2013 by KellyInTheKitchen1 Comment

This is becoming one of my favorite recipes. It’s pretty quick and not too hard, and the outcome is completely delicious. I also use slightly lower-fat ingredients than Nigella’s original recipe calls for—hers is a perfectly rich chocolate pudding made with whole milk and heavy cream, where I’ve turned the fat content down a bit with skim milk and half-and-half and added a hint of berry flavor. I’ve tried this one with raspberries too, and it’s equally out of this world. I’d love to hear if anyone tries it with other berries, or other chocolate-and-fruit combos that might be delicious. What’s your favorite? Can you even choose? Maybe not. Either way, yum! Billy Madison and your snack packs, eat your heart out.

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp just-boiled water
3/4 cup skim milk
3/4 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 egg yolks
about 3/4 cup blackberries
splash of vanilla extract
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
more berries and cream, for garnish

Just the Recipe link: Chocolate Pudding with Blackberry

DIRECTIONS

Gently warm the milk and half-and-half in a saucepan. Don’t let it come to a bubble – just let it slowly heat, stirring occasionally.

Put the blackberries in a food processor and puree.

In another pan, sift together the sugar, corn starch, and cocoa powder. Whisk in the just-boiled water until combined. Then whisk in 1 egg yolk at a time. Slowly whisk in the warm milk/half-and-half mixture. Then, pour the blackberry puree into a sieve, place the sieve over the cocoa mixture, and stir the puree to push through all the juice, leaving behind the seeds. Add the vanilla extract and whisk it all together.

Turn the heat on medium. Whisk vigorously for about 30 seconds, and then continue to stir pretty consistently for the next minute and a half. Repeat this process for about 8-11 minutes, until the pudding has thickened slightly and will thickly coat a spoon. Turn off the heat.

Next, add the chopped semi-sweet chocolate and stir in to melt.

Pour the pudding into ramekins or other cute little cups.

Cover each ramekin with plastic wrap or tinfoil, being very careful to make sure that the covering makes contact with the surface of the pudding. This contact will prevent a skin from forming on top of the pudding – blech. However, if pudding skin is your thing (you and George Costanza have that in common) feel free to cover just the top of the ramekin, without making contact with the top of the pudding itself – you’ll have a pudding skin in no time. Either way, put the pudding in the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours.

Then, enjoy!

If you like, garnish with a bit of lightly whipped cream or some berries, or both.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: