Roasted Carrots with Shallot Honey Glaze

This recipe is a quick and fool proof way to roast carrots. It doesn't take long to prepare and in the end you have sweet, soft carrots with lots of flavor! Cut the honey measurement in half for a slightly less sweet version.

2 lbs Baby Carrots with the tops

(or sub carrots cut on the bias in 2 inch chunks)

2 t olive oil

1 T butter

Salt & Pepper

Glaze: 

2 T butter

1 shallot, minced

2 T bourbon

2 T honey

1 T water

1 t fresh thyme, minced

1. Place roasting pan in oven and pre-heat temperature to 500 degrees.

2. If using baby carrots cut down greens on top to one inch.

3. Once oven is up to temp, remove roasting pan and add olive oil and butter to it, stirring to melt them together. Then add carrots, salt and pepper. Stir to coat well with olive oil butter mixture. Bake for 10 minutes in a 500 degree oven.

4. In a sauce pan over medium high heat, melt 2 T butter. Saute shallot for 1 minute in melted butter. Remove from heat and stir in bourbon, honey and water. Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook approx 5 minutes or until the mixture turns into a syrup. Do not walk away! This can burn very easily.

5. Remove carrots from the oven, pour glaze over the carrots and stir gently to coat. Bake 5 more minutes or until carrots are crisp and tender.

6. Plate on a serving dish and sprinkle with fresh thyme. 

Enjoy!

Pork Potstickers

Pork potstickers are a staple in our chinese take out orders. The flavors of the meat, the texture of the dough and the finger licking dipping sauce all make this a favorite. We set out to make these at home and recreated a recipe that we love!

DIPPING SAUCE:

1/3 C soy

2 T rice wine vinegar

1/2 t sesame oil

1/2 t fresh grated ginger

1 green onion thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

red pepper flakes (optional)

sesame seeds (optional)

FILLING:

1 lb of ground pork

1 C finely chopped cabbage

(I use shredded cabbage for coleslaw and chop further.)

4 green onions, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 t grated fresh ginger

2 t soy sauce

1 t sesame oil

1 t salt

1 egg

1 package of potsticker/dumpling wrappers

1. Combine all the dipping sauce ingredients. Wisk together and set aside.

2. Combine all filling ingredients and mix together well with hands. 

3. Lay one wrapper on the counter. Place a small amount of the filling in the center. Dip your finger in water and brush 1/2 of the edge of the wrapper to wet it. Fold in half, pinching the edges together to create a seal. (You can crimp them, but I found the flat edges crisp up better in the pan.) Place potsticker on a plate and repeat this until you have run out of dumpling wrappers, or filling... or both!

4. Heat approx. 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil in a fry pan. Place potstickers in without any of them touching (you will need to cook these in batches.) 

5. Cook batch 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. After browning on the second side, pour approx. 1/2 C water into the pan and cover with a lid immediately. Steam potstickers until the water has dissolved, approximately 2 minutes. Cut one open to make sure meat is cooked (add more water to steam longer if needed).  Remove batch from pan and set aside, covering to keep warm. Repeat until all have been cooked.

6. Plate with dipping sauce and serve.

Enjoy!

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Balsamic Glaze

I only recently started to enjoy brussel sprouts. To be delicious, they have to be fresh, cooked crispy and served with bacon. This recipe is my favorite of all the ones I've tried. Don't skip the balsamic glaze - it makes the whole dish!

1 C balsamic vinegar

1 C port wine

Pancetta, diced (approx 1/3 lbs - sub bacon if desired)

1 C brussel sprouts trimmed and quartered

Vegetable oil

Salt & pepper

Shaved parmesan cheese

1. Combine 1 C balsamic vinegar and 1 C port wine in a sauce pan. Cook on medium high heat for about 15 minutes or until thickened like syrup. Set aside to cool.

2. Dice pancetta (or thick cut bacon) and sauté on high heat. Drain grease and set pancetta aside.

3. Fill pan with approx 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat to approx 375 degrees. (If you own a frying machine, this is a good recipe to use it!)

4. Fry brussel sprouts for 30 seconds to 1 minute and then remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Place in a mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add pancetta. 

5. Place brussel sprout mixture on a serving plate and top with parmesan cheese and balsamic port glaze drizzle. 

Enjoy!

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes

Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and this recipe makes just the right amount of tiny decadent morsels. You can use this recipe as a base for other flavors too. I've been experimenting with flavors like nutella and mint among others!

CRUST:

1 package of regular or chocolate graham crackers

5 T melted butter

BATTER: 

16 oz cream cheese at room temp 

(two blocks of Philadelphia)

1/2 C sugar

1/4 C plain yogurt (sub sour cream if desired)

1 t vanilla

2 eggs

1 C mini chocolate chips

1/2 C Nutella (optional - add 1/8 C extra yogurt with this)

1. Preheat oven to 325. Grease mini cheesecake pan or mini muffin tin with pam.

2. Crush graham crackers in a gallon zip lock bag and add melted butter. Massage together until completely combined. Fill each tin with a scoop of crust mixture. Use a shot glass or other flat bottom to press mixture into each tin. Bake for 5 minutes to set. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 

3. Slowly combine batter ingredients in order, one at a time using a stand or hand mixer. All should be room temperature. Do not over mix or beat on high speed. Goal is to put as little air into the batter as possible, but you must ensure ingredients are combined fully and batter is smooth.

4. Fill each tin to the top with the batter. Bake for 10-20 minutes. Pull these out of the oven before they start to crack, but once they are firm with a slight crust on the top. Place on a wire rack to cool

5. Once cooled, run a knife around the edge and pop out of the pan. Do not refrigerate until you've removed them from the pan or they will be difficult to get out. 

6. The cheesecakes will drop in the center. I fill mine with a topping before serving. Whipped cream, cool whip, salted caramel or chocolate sauce are all good options. Can also top with berries or other fruit.

Enjoy!

Lentil Chicken Stew

I came across this recipe online in an effort to expand our week night dinner repertoire. It's pretty easy to throw together and you can customize it based on what's in your fridge! The below version is skewed toward traditional Mexican flavors, but you can mix it up.

4 chicken breasts cooked and diced (optional)

2 cups of dry lentils

1 T olive oil

1 onion

4 stalks of celery

4 cloves of garlic

2 14.5 oz cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes (I just used diced as I couldn't find this)

1 T taco seasoning (or combo of chili power, cumin, etc)

1 t smoked paprika

1/2 t turmeric

4 C vegetable broth

Cholula (or other hot sauce to taste)

1 lime

1/2 bunch cilantro

(Optional: Grill up some chicken breasts for added protein and heartiness for this stew. If adding chicken, grill up first and set aside to let cool.)

1. Add dry lentils to a pot. Cover with water and then drain. Repeat until the water is mostly clear. After final drain, add 4 cups of water and bring lentils to a boil over high heat. Once they boil, cover and turn the heat off. Let sit for 20 minutes.

2. While the lentils cook, dice onion and mince garlic. Saute these in a large stew pot with 1 T olive oil over medium low heat.

3. Rinse and dice celery. Add celery to the pot when the onions and garlic are soft and translucent. Saute until celery begins to soften.

4. Add diced tomatoes including all the juice from the can.

5. Add spices - Taco seasoning, smoked paprika and turmeric. Stir together and then add hot sauce to taste.

6. Drain lentils when the 20 minutes is up and add these to the pot along with the vegetable broth.

7. Simmer soup over medium low for 15 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, pull leaves off the cilantro stems and give a rough chop. Add to the stew and let continue to simmer.

9. Before serving, squeeze juice of one lime into the stew. And add chopped grilled chicken (optional).

10. Serve plain in a soup bowl or plated over rice. (We serve it in a soup bowl with a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips for dipping.)

Note: This stew freezes well so package leftovers and stick in the freezer for an even easier weeknight meal.