Sour Cream Cookies

I was recently watching an episode of The Martha Stewart Show, she and her guest were making these sour cream cookies that came together really quickly. I know here staff has everything already measured out and whatnot but these really were easy to throw together. I had sour cream on hand and needed to use it up. A perfect excuse to make cookies! 

 

Sour Cream Cookies

The Martha Stewart Show

 

1/3 cup unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (optional)
Sanding sugar, for sprinkling

 

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a baking sheet and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together sugar and butter. Add egg, sour cream, and vanilla, and mix until well combined. With the mixer on low, gradually add enough of the flour mixture to form a soft dough. You may have up to 1/2 cup flour mixture remaining. Transfer dough to refrigerator until chilled.
Place heaping teaspoons dough on baking sheet and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Transfer to oven and bake until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Ravioli with Sautéed Asparagus and Walnuts

I'm sure I've mentioned a time or two before that I keep a binder on hand of all recipes I want to make. It's a collection from all my magazines that I subscribe to and some printouts from the 'nets. I was on the hunt for an easy recipe. One that you can throw together when you get home from work and still have time to enjoy your evening. I stumbled upon this one which I have made before just haven't blog about it. 

It's easy, quick, filling AND tastes good too! What more can one ask for! 

Here's a good tip from Woman's Day too!: Transform the asparagus-walnut mixture into an easy hors d’oeuvre by mixing in the Parmesan cheese (or substituting feta) and spooning it on top of crostini, crackers or endive leaves.

Ravioli with Sautéed Asparagus and Walnuts

From Woman's Day

• 1 package (14 to 16 oz) cheese ravioli (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
• 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and thinly sliced on a diagonal
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 oz)

Cook the ravioli according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and walnuts and cook, stirring often, until the nuts are lightly toasted and fragrant and the garlic is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the asparagus and cook, tossing occasionally, until just tender, about 2 minutes. Serve over the ravioli and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Breakfast Quinoa

I've been trying to get to the gym during the day (on my lunch break) so I have some more free time at night. However, I noticed I need a bigger breakfast to get me through a daytime workout. I've been wanting to try quinoa for breakfast for quite sometime. I really enjoy quinoa in a savory dish so thought I'd give it a try in this sweet breakfast dish. 

I'm a huge fan of oatmeal, especially steel cut oats, so I really thought I'd like this dish more than I did. It was really easy to put together (aside from the boiling milk over the pot, my bad!) .  The flavor was really good. I just struggled with the consistency/texture. I was hoping for it to be creamier. What are your thoughts on quinoa for breakfast?  I think I'll give it a try again. Don't let me turn you away from it, Nadya was a fan!

Breakfast Quinoa: Martha Stewart Living, February 2010

2 cups whole or low-fat milk, plus more for serving
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
3 tablespoons light-brown sugar, plus more for serving
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for serving
1 cup (1/2 pint) fresh blueberries, plus more for serving

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add quinoa, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until three-quarters of the milk has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.
Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Cook, covered, until almost all the milk has been absorbed, about 8 minutes. Stir in blueberries, and cook for 30 seconds. Serve with additional milk, sugar, cinnamon, and blueberries.

Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

Here's another recipe from my Cinco de Mayo celebration. Well it wasn't really a celebration. It was basically me making guacamole and these Mexican sweet potatoes on Seis de Mayo.  I had full intentions of making these Mexican dishes on Cinco de Mayo but had some last minute house guests in town for the Broad Street Run (a very popular 10 mile run down Broad Street, Philadelphia). Needless to say, these runners (cousins) needed to 'carb up' on Cinco de Mayo so these Mexican dishes were pushed a day back which I didn't mind because it meant more for me (stingy much?)!

I found these while browsing the Pinterest (I seem to be finding a lot there these days)! Once I saw it, I knew I had to make it to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! I love sweet potatoes & I love Mexican so this is the perfect combination for me. These sweet potato skins were definitely a winner! Unfortunately, I couldn't get a somewhat appetizing photo to do these sweet potato skins justice! You're just going to have to take my word for it OR hop on over to Pinch of Yum and take a look at her gorgeous photos of these Mexican potato skins! I promise you'll enjoy these!!

Mexican Sweet Potato Skins

From Pinch of Yum

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes
1 can corn, rinsed and patted dry
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2-4 canned chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, minced or pureed
1 ounce light cream cheese
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon salt (+ more to taste)
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
6 tablespoons shredded cheese (Pepperjack, Cheddar, Colby Jack… anything will work)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the sweet potatoes for 45-60 minutes.
While sweet potatoes are baking, place corn in a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with no butter or oil. Sprinkle with salt and other Mexican seasoning (as much as you want). Do not stir! Let corn roast for several minutes before stirring. Let it roast for a few more minutes before stirring again. Continue this for about 10 minutes, until corn is browned and roasted on the outside. Set aside in a small bowl with the black beans.
Saute the onion in the butter over medium heat until soft and translucent. Set aside.
Remove sweet potatoes from the oven when fork-tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Cut the sweet potatoes in half. Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes out, leaving the skins intact. Sometimes leaving a thin layer of potato inside of the skins helps them hold together better.
Mix the flesh of the sweet potatoes with the cream cheese, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and salt. You can use a mixer or just a spoon, depending on how soft the potatoes are. When well-mixed, gently stir in the black beans, roasted corn, sauteed onions, and cilantro.
Scoop the filling into the skins and top each with 1 tablespoon shredded cheese. Broil for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Banana Ice Cream

 I've mentioned before I'm not a banana person. I really wish I was. Every now and again, I'll be brave and try something banana. I just can't get myself to like the flavor. Let's keep hoping that will change in the near future. Until then, I'll continue to make banana breads, cakes, and now ice cream for those who love bananas! It's actually somewhat genius to bake things in a flavor you don't like when you're trying to lose some weight but I digress.... 

 Back to the ice cream. Since there's only one person in the house who eats bananas, I have a freezer full of ripe ones. I usually make a bread, bundt cake, etc but this time I wanted to step things up a bit and make banana ice cream! That's right homemade banana ice cream! So I turned to Alton Brown for a recipe that got 5 stars and all positive reviews. It was a crowd- pleaser, just ask my coworkers! Luckily for them, Nadya found it to be too tasty that she wanted it out of the house so she didn't eat it all! I guess it's that good! If you're a banana lover, I think this is just for you! 

Banana Ice Cream from Alton Brown

6 (approximately 2 1/4 pounds) ripe bananas
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Place bananas in freezer and freeze overnight. Remove bananas from freezer and allow to thaw for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Peel bananas and place in bowl of food processor along with the lemon juice. Process for 10 to 15 seconds. Add corn syrup and vanilla bean seeds and turn processor on. Slowly pour in the heavy cream. Process until smooth. Chill mixture in refrigerator until it reaches 40 degrees. Transfer mixture to an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions. Place mixture in an airtight container and freeze for 3 to 6 hours before serving.