Blueberry-Lemon Cobbler

This is another entry into the Second Round of the Platinum Chef Challenge.

***Dessert Recipe #2: Lemon-Blueberry Cobbler Pie***

I was just reading through the recipe I have for the lemon-blueberry cobbler and I do not like it at all! Major changes have been made. :)

I was pretty excited when I found out one of the Platinum Chef ingredients for this round was blueberries - for such a small fruit, they are a power house of nutrients! I actually "dropped" a couple cinnamon-sugar-lemon coated blueberries on the cutting board while I was filling the pie crust... wow! They were good! Can't wait to see what the cooked ones taste like. The cooked ones are even better... this pie is so sweet and fruity - I think all the extra lemon I threw in there really worked!

I would have taken a photo of the "slice" I just devoured but I couldn't get a neat piece out of the pie tin to save my life... maybe when most of it is gone (shouldn't take long!) I'll be able to get a photo of the "interior."

For the filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 pints (4 cups) blueberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 pre-baked pie crust (9-inch)

For the topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon peel
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. lemon juice
6 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
1. In a large bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar, the lemon peel and cinnamon. Add the blueberries and lemon juice; stir to combine.

2. In another bowl, mix together the dry topping ingredients (1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp. lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp. salt). Add the egg and 1 tsp. lemon juice and toss until crumbly.

3. Spoon the filling into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture with the crumbly topping. Drizzle the topping with the melted butter.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is bubbly and browned. Excellent with a scoop of lemon sorbet or, the old stand-by, vanilla ice cream.

Reference: The original recipe came from the August/September 2005 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine which is published by the Cooking Club of America. www.cookingclub.com

Three-C Pizza (Corn, Chili, Cheddar)

This is entry #1 on the savoury side of the second Platinum Chef Challenge. Ingredients for this round of the challenge were cheese, corn, hot peppers, blueberries, and lemons. Enjoy this vegetarian pizza - excellent as a light lunch or dinner. I served mine with a crispy green salad. I had this for dinner last night since hubby was in class - it was yummy, but I think it was a bit bland. I would mix in some salsa or Tabasco/other hot sauce with the egg mixture to give it a bit more kick.

Enough for 6

Ingredients:
2 jalapeno peppers (use more or less depending on how hot you want it!)
Cooking spray
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Fresh salsa or some hot sauce to taste (I'd use about 1/2 cup medium salsa for 6 people)
6 whole wheat pita breads
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Method:
1. Slice the peppers and remove the seeds. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes until they are blackened, turning occasionally. . Let them stand for 10 minutes.

2. Lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the corn, onions, and garlic. Saute the corn mixture for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in the milk and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated. Cool slightly.

4. Place the egg whites, egg, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in the jalapenos, corn mixture, salsa or hot sauce, and cheese.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the pita breads on the sheet and spread them with the corn mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until the topping is set. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving. Serve with a side of fresh salsa and a green salad.

***I also think these would make a yummy brunch dish - serve them on English muffins instead of the pita bread bases.***

Reference:
I used the Roasted Fresh Corn, Poblano, and Cheddar Pizza from the July 2005 issue of Cooking Light for the inspiration for this recipe. As you can see, I tweaked it quite a bit!

Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

I've been trying to come up with something tasty that I can make for the second round of the Platinum Chef Challenge. The ingredients we have to work with are great - corn, hot peppers, and cheese on the savoury side and blueberries and citrus on the sweet side. The sweets were easy and I knew I wanted to do something Mexican for the savoury recipes, I just couldn't think of what! I was going to do an enchilada thing - maybe use my basic chicken enchilada recipe and add some corn to it but that seemed not very challenging. I just found a recipe for some quesadillas which incorporated corn so I tweaked that to my liking and came up with the following... enjoy!

These are really tasty - the jalapeno adds a nice kick - and are relatively healthy since they have several different veggies and plenty of protein from the beans (great for vegetarians).

This recipe could be used as an appetizer or you could pair it with some rice and a crispy salad to be used as a light lunch or dinner. Additionally, you could add some grilled chicken or carne asada for some extra protein. However, rice and beans are complimentary proteins so if you serve this with some rice you really wouldn't need anything else.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 ear of corn or 4 servings of frozen corn (yes, I cheated and used the frozen corn! I am sure it's amazing with the "real" stuff... I'll try that next time)
1/2 (15-oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup total red and white onion, chopped (you can just use one type of onion or you could sub green onions)
1 jalapeno pepper, minced and seeded
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
2 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey-jack cheese

Method:
1. Heat the grill. Remove the silk from the corn but leave the husks intact. Place the corn on a gas grill over medium-high heat and grill for about 12 minutes until the corn is tender. Turn the corn frequently during grilling. Remove the corn from the grill and allow it to cool. If you use frozen corn, just cook the corn according to package directions.

2. Remove the husks from the corn and use a sharp knife to scrape off the kernels. Place the corn kernels in a medium bowl (do this if you use frozen or fresh corn).

3. Add the beans, onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt to the corn. Spread the corn mixture evenly over half of each tortilla and sprinkle each with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling.

I think the filling, without cheese, would make a wonderful salsa!
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the quesadillas to the skillet and cook for 8 minutes, turning once.

Enjoy with rice. Other options are salsa, low-fat or fat-free sour cream, and guacamole; however, I think these have enough flavour that you don't need a lot of "extras."

Reference:
The inspiration for this recipe came from The Cooking Club of America's Cooking Pleasures Magazine.

Taste the Rainbow!

This is the second of my entries for the Platinum Chef Challenge on The Nest. It's a great marinara spaghetti sauce which incorporates tons of different veggies including the zucchini, basil, and tomatoes which were three of the five challenge ingredients. Not the most creative use of the ingredients, but still very tasty! Plus, as the recipe is written, it is suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets.
This sauce is so colorful - a great way to get lots of different vegetables into your diet! Here's the recipe - I just used a basic marinara sauce recipe which I've been using for years and added a few "extras" to it. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup total of chopped bell peppers - I used a combination of red, yellow, and green peppers (about a 1/4 cup of red and the second 1/4 cup was a mix of green and yellow)
1 cup zucchini, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 1/2-ounce can of diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped fresh tomatoes (you can just use 2 14 1/2 ounce cans of tomatoes or 4 cups of peeled chopped tomatoes; I just wanted to mix it up a bit)
1 6-ounce can of tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine (you can substitute 1/4 cup of water if you don't drink/don't have red wine)
2 tbsp. snipped fresh parsley or 2 tsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. snipped fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. sugar (to make this recipe vegan, please do not use white sugar as this is a non-vegan ingredient - stevia or agave nectar would work)
1/2 cup sliced green olives

Method:
1. In a large skillet, cook the onion, bell peppers, zucchini, and garlic in hot olive oil until veggies are tender.


2. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Add the wine, sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper, and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Add in the green olives. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer 10-15 minutes more or until the sauce is your desired consistency, stir occasionally.




3. Remove bay leaf and serve with hot spaghetti or other pasta.
If desired, you can add meatballs and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese to the finished dinner.

Reference:
The inspiration for my marinara base came from the Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. I added a lot to it but here's the publishing information for the cook book.
Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen (1996). Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. Meredith Publishing Group: Des Moines, IA.

Chocolate-Strawberry Bread

This is a recipe I used for our WC Platinum Chef Challenge (from The Nest). I used a recipe for double-chocolate banana bread (I think the original recipe is on this blog, too) and just changed some things around to make it with strawberries and nuts (two of the challenge ingredients).
Just had a slice of this for "lunch dessert" - wow! It's so worth all the fat and calories ;) I did decide to up the amount of strawberries by just a bit so you get more of the strawberry flavour (especially since that was one of the ingredients in the challenge!)
This was really easy to make and is super-yummy. I'll have to have my fruit-hating husband try it and post about what he thinks. :)

This recipe will make 16 (1 slice) servings

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped (one of those 16-ounce containers)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 coarsely chopped walnuts

Method:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and oil at medium speed until mixed. Beat in the vanilla extract. (I used my KA stand mixer for this part; if you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer).

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; beat into sugar mixture at low speed until just combined (do not overmix). Use a wooden spoon to stir in the strawberries, chocolate chips, and walnuts.



4. Spoon the batter into a loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a tester inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and cool completely. Wrap the bread in foil and leave it overnight before slicing.


Reference:
This recipe was based on the Double-Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe which can also be found in this blog. The original Chocolate-Banana bread recipe was found in a copy of Cooking Pleasures Magazine which is published by the Cooking Club of America.