Showing posts with label Baked. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baked. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Baked Avocado Slices #vegan


Our family loves everything about avocados. We eat them raw on sandwiches, on toast, and plain with a bit of salt and pepper.  We eat them smashed into the tastiest guacamole, fried, and now baked.

Avocados are creamy and smooth when perfectly riped. I know that can be a tricky situation, trying to find a ripe avocado on the day you want to use it. The avocado is in control of when it is ready. I have waited and waited to use an avocado, missed a day, and then avocado went bad.  They are sensitive little guys and gals.

I have learned through trial and error that an avocado will last longer if they are stored in the refrigerator AFTER they have ripened on your counter. This works great for us. I will usually buy 12 avocados at a time, this last us about one week, as they ripen I put them in the refrigerator. We grab and go or use them in our favorite recipe.

I have fried avocado slices with great success.  That recipe is HERE.  This recipe is not plant-based. It does include eggs and parmesan cheese.  The recipe you see today does not include either of these options and taste just as good.

The baked avocado slices are:

crispy
creamy
easy
baked
delicious

The recipe is at the end of pictures. I served the baked avocado slices with rice and our favorite dipping sauce. They make a great main meal or an appetizer.

Our other favorite avocado recipes are listed and linked below:

Guacamole #glutenfree #vegan
Fried Avocado Fries 
Avocado Pesto Hummus Dip
Avocado Bowls #vegan
Avocado Cream Sauce
Avocado, Mushroom, and Tomato Salad
Creamy Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Pasta Salad
Creamy Salsa Verde

Like I said, we love avocado and are always on the hunt for new ways to use them in our recipes and diets.






This weeks essay, Sifting Through Life, talks about our happiness. I encourage you to ask yourself a few questions about your own happiness.  CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ESSAY.

Baked Avocado Slices #vegan

2 large avocados, (best if they are not over-ripe)
Panko crust, recipe below
Veganaise, enough to coat slices
Water to thin mayo
Your favorite cooking spray

Panko crust ingredients:
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt/pepper to taste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-1 1/2 cups of panko (depends on if you double dip the slices)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. I use a wire cookie cooling rack inside my cookie sheet. This allows the heat to completely surround the avocado slices. This ensures that every part of the slice is crunchy.

2. Mix panko crust ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix mayonnaise and water. I thin it just a little. The mayonnaise will allow the panko crust to stick nicely to the avocado slices.

3.  Slice avocado with a sharp knife and scoop out the slices gently.  Place each slice in the mayonnaise and cover lightly.  Roll each avocado slice in the panko crust.

4. Place each avocado slice 1 inch apart. Lightly spray the slices with your favorite cooking spray. Bake for 18-25 minutes. I like mine a little brown, so I tend to cook mine for 25 minutes.

5. Remove the slices and serve with your favorite sauce. They are crispy right out of the oven, you can refrigerate any leftovers, but the crust will be soft...still good, but a different experience.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Scotch Eggs




Not what you were expecting?  Don't fret, there are better pictures below.

I couldn't resist.  I took these pictures in a matter of seconds because I was juggling this little project, a homeschool assignment for Isabella and working with limited napping time for Finnley.  I guess what I am trying to say is there was a bit of stress associated with these pictures and when I opened them in Photoshop, all I saw staring back at me, were two large eyes.  I laughed out loud and went with the moment.  Drew the eyes that were magically looking at me on the screen.  I think it works.

Enjoy the laugh!

I have been wanting to make these again for a long time.

I made them for the first time 2 years ago when I returned from a trip to NYC. We stopped into a little pub off Broadway and found ourselves ordering three of these.  I thought to myself, " what a perfect combination--egg and sausage".  

It took me a while to get mine to look like theirs and taste just as good.  My first few attempts I deep fried them.  Although I like the very crispy exterior I didn't like the idea of frying them.  I decided that I would give it a shot in the oven and bake my little googly eyes--I mean--scotch eggs.

It worked.  I was really happy with the results.  The inside egg was perfectly cooked through--no ring around the yolk-and the sausage with breading had a nice texture.  I will say that when they are reheated the next day you will lose that bit of crunchy-firm outside.

These make the perfect quick breakfast to take camping.  I make them the day before. Wrap them in foil, toss in the cooler and when ready to use, lay them on an open grate above the fire.  Turning them every few minutes until heated through.  Easy?  YES and I like it that way when camping.



Baking and frying gluten free recipes that call for breadcrumbs used to be a problem for me until I figured out a solution that works well in my kitchen.  I have purchased the little plastic containers in my local grocery store labeled: gluten free bread crumbs.  I don't like them.  They always seem to bake very hard and the texture feels like I am eating sand.

This is what I do.  I use a brand of gluten free bagel-style crackers with the flavor of garlic and onion.  I add the box to my Vitamix, zap it a few times and I have perfect bread crumbs that are seasoned perfectly.

I store any leftovers in an air tight baggie in the freezer.

Looking at the above picture you can see little specs of the breadcrumbs catching the light from my window.

I would be really interested in knowing how you make your gluten free breadcrumbs or a brand that you find acceptable.  I am always open to new ideas.

ENJOY!


Scotch Eggs
Makes 4

1 pound seasoned pork sausage
4 large eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray baking dish with cooking spray.

2.  In a small pot, place eggs and enough water to cover the eggs.  Turn heat to medium high and cook for 8 minutes.  Eggs will not be hard-boiled at this time.  The yolk will still be very soft.

3.  Cool eggs and peel.  Be very careful when peeling because of the soft center.

4.  Divide the pork into four portions.  Place one portion in the palm of your hand and flatten. Place an egg in the middle and gently wrap the sausage around the eggs. Seal any open edges.  The whole egg should be wrapped in sausage.

5.  Place the bread crumbs in a small bowl.  Roll the sausage-egg in the crumbs and place on a baking sheet.  Spray the eggs with your favorite cooking spray.

6.  Bake the Scotch Eggs for 20 minutes, rotate dish, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.  Baking times may vary because of oven temperatures.  You want your egg to be golden brown on the outside and firm to the touch.

Written by Sherron Watson




Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Roasted Carrots with Ginger-Honey Sauce


Carrots are a family favorite.  My kids love three vegetables: carrots, corn and peas.  

These carrots are a bit borderline as a kid friendly side dish or so I thought.  

I always make my recipes a few times before they are posted on the blog.  The first time I made these I used those fancy carrots with the pretty green tops still attached.  They usually come in a bundle of about 8 carrots and range in color from a red-orange to a yam-yellow.  
I buy them because they are pretty. I like pretty food.

Let me say that I should have bought three bundles because the kids loved them. My kids enjoy the flavor of ginger, lemon and honey together; I felt confident they would like them but, then again, getting them to actually try "just one" can sometimes prove to be more challenging.

Not this time. They swooped right in and gobbled up every single pretty carrot.

So I made them again, and again (you know for recipe testing purposes).

Just so you know, I used plain every day carrots for the other batches because Easter had passed and for some reason the cute bundles of pretty carrots were no longer available in my area.

Same result!  Kids ate them right up.  The one thing I had to do differently was cut the thicker carrots in half.  I tried to keep all of the whole carrots and pieces to about 1/2 an inch in thickness.

This recipe is simple and I like that.  Busy people sometimes need easy, delicious food. Oh, and pretty food too.


I have used these carrots as a side served with salad and chicken thighs and as an added garnishment for Carrot Peel Soup.   <-- That recipe is still being developed.  LOVE IT! Coming soon.

I would love to hear how your family enjoyed these tasty carrots.  

Drop me an email or comment on this post.

ENJOY




Roasted Carrots with Ginger-Honey Sauce

Makes 3 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Bake Time: 15 minutes

1 small bunch of carrots, remove green tops
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

Sauce:

3 tablespoons honey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons butter, melted 
Salt and pepper



1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Toss carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes.  If you don't use parchment paper be aware that the sauce may burn to a cookie sheet if left in the oven too long.

3.  While carrots are baking, combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

4.  Remove carrots from oven and, using half of the sauce, brush over the carrots. 

5.  Roast for 5 more minutes.  The sauce should be bubbly and the carrots starting to brown.

6.  Remove carrots to serving dish and pour the remaining sauce over the roasted carrots.

7.   Serve immediately.




Written by Sherron Watson

Monday, May 19, 2014

Baby Back Ribs


There are times I find myself believing that I must live under a rock.  I have my ways when it comes to food preparation.  I think my husband would call it "tunnel vision" or my sister might say I am wearing horse "blinders".

Oh, this is not only in my methods of cooking but in my life too.

I am they type of person that could eat the same thing for breakfast every single day.  I order the same plate of food from all of the same restaurants that I visit.   I wear the same colors every day: black and white.

I find myself happy with simple things.  It makes my life easy to have set things in motion.

BUT....

Every once in a while I go all "rogue" and switch things up.  It keeps my family on their toes and adds excitement to my rather simple life.  I wear color.  I order something different while out eating.  I break out in song.  <---I do that a lot!  It just makes me happy.  This one time I took the kids to have yogurt. The TV was playing Little Mermaid and it was at the point in the movie where Ursula was stealing Arial's voice---ahhh ah ahhhhhhhh, ah a ahhhhhhh--and to the surprise of my kids, I totally started singing it out loud. I burst out in song.

Speechless is a good way to describe my son's face.  It was awesome!  Mommy moment #45,677,788.

What does this have to do with ribs you ask?

I have been making baby back ribs for over 25 years. During this time I have used the same method that I learned early in my cooking experience.  My Mom always made them this way and so did my grandparents.  The thought never occurred to me that maybe there were other ways to make ribs and have them turn out falling-off-the-bone good!

Until a few weeks back, that is.

Oh and don't get me started on using rubs.  Another "something" I never use, until last week.

I tell you I am moving out from under this rock and living more! 




These ribs are tender, tasty and totally worth waiting for.  Baking them in the oven on low heat for 2.5 hours is well worth the wait to sink your teeth into a little slice of meaty paradise.

I have only used the rub that I am sharing here today but I am pretty sure that any rub that you use will turn out amazing because the tenderness is coming from slow cooking the ribs.  I have included as an option BBQ sauce--but you don't need it!  The rub and the meat are delicious together.  Only use the BBQ sauce if you want that messy-finger experience.

Let me know what you think.

ENJOY!

Baby Back Ribs

2#'s of baby back ribs
1/4 cup of rub, recipe below
BBQ Sauce, optional

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Set aside your baking dish.  I used an old stone oven-proof bowl that I found at a thrift store a few years back.  It has a lid.  I would recommend a dutch oven or a heavy duty baking dish covered in foil too.

2.  In a small bowl combine the ingredients for the rub or use your own rub.

3.  Cut the ribs apart tying to leave enough meat on each bone.  Press each rib into the rub.  Your ribs will look pretty thick with rub and this is okay.  See picture above.

4.   Add all of the ribs to your cooking dish.  Cover with a lid or foil.

5.  Bake for 2.5 hours.

NOTE:  If you wish to add the BBQ sauce to the finish ribs, then drain off all liquid.  Brush with BBQ sauce and spread ribs on a cookie sheet.  Broil for a few minutes in the oven or add them to a hot grill.


Rib Rub
Makes a little over 1/4 cup

1/4 brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

1.  Combine rub in small bowl.

2.  Store in air tight container for future use.

Written by Sherron Watson


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Roasted Cauliflower with Mizithra Cheese


The first time I had Mizithra cheese was at a restaurant in Oregon (eons ago).  I believe I was in high school and they served it over broccoli with brown butter and this cheese.

I fell in love immediately with it.

Since this first experience, I have traveled and moved often. We don't always find this cheese with every move-- but-- I did last week while my sister was in town.

Whole Foods has this small basket of remnant cheese ends for a great price.  I like trying out new cheeses and this is a great way to experiment with new flavors without spending a small fortune.  They will run between $2 and $4 dollars.

I believe we both reached for the cheese when we saw the beginning few letters on the packaging.  We both knew immediately what it was.   Our faces broke out in grins a mile wide.

Happy bellies were on our horizon.

The problem was that we already had so much food in the fridge that we never got around to making it while she was here.

Darn it!

The purple cauliflower would not last long so I roasted it the next day, used the left over browned butter from our raviolis and blanketed a thick layer of grated Mizithra cheese over the top.

My mouth and belly did a happy dance.

This recipe is so simple but the flavors are amazing and so I wanted to share it.  Purple cauliflower is not necessary but it does make for a beautiful dish.

My sister will have to do with a few pictures or venture out on her own and make it for her family.  I hope she does the later because it is well worth the culinary experience.

ENJOY!


Roasted Cauliflower with Mizithra Cheese

1 head of Cauliflower, any color
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1 stick of salted butter, softened
small chunk of Mizithra cheese

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2.  Prepare cauliflower by washing and cutting the crown into pieces.  In a bowl, toss the salt, pepper and olive oil to coat the cut pieces.

3.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for 30-45 minutes.  I cooked mine longer because I like the little browned edges of the cauliflower.  It adds texture to every bite.  Every oven is different so start checking for color and doneness at 30 minutes.

4.  While the cauliflower is roasting,  I will make the browned butter.  I do this by placing the softened stick into a small saute pan and turning the heat to medium high.  The butter will melt and start to foam. Then you will see it turn from a golden color to a light brown color.  It will also have a nutty aroma to it.   You must watch this the whole time because it happens quickly and you don't want it to burn. When I start to see the browned specks in the bottom of the pan I give it a stir or two and turn the heat off.  It will continue to cook a bit in the warm pan.  I will transfer it to a cool bowl if I don't use it right away. The browned butter stores nicely in the refrigerator.  When I need a spoonful I just break off a chunk and melt it in the microwave.

5.  When the cauliflower is to your liking, remove from oven and pour browned butter over the top.


6.  Add the Mizithra Cheese.



7.  Toss together and eat.  You can see that I didn't wait to put it in a bowl.  I ate it straight off of the cookie sheet.  You may want to serve it differently.  LOL


Written by Sherron Watson

Donut Breakfast Casserole

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