Baked Again

It's the end of August and my oven is still on and cranking out delicious treats. Enjoy!

1.

Man, do I love a good scone! And not the frosting-covered coffee shop kind either. I like them just slightly sweet and crumbly with a nice cup of coffee.

Scones with Dried Fruit (adapted from Everyday Food) - V

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup milk of choice

1 large egg

1 cup all purpose flour, plus more for work surface

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

6 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup dried fruit (blueberries, cranberries, currants, etc.)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together milk and egg. In a food processor, process flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until only a few pea sized pieces of butter remain. Add dried fruit and milk mixture and pulse until just combined. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat into a 6 inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 16 minutes or until golden, rotating sheet halfway through.

2,

I love this recipe so much and it KILLS me that no one else in my family does, too! The good news for you is that almost every time I make it, I give half of it away to someone. And someday that someone may be you! Until then, I highly encourage you to make this for yourself. You can always freeze half of it before baking and then thaw the frozen half overnight in the refrigerator when you're ready to eat the rest of it. :)

Veggie Lasagna (adapted from America's Test Kitchen) - V

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

Vegetable Filling

     1 large eggplant (1 1/2 lbs.), cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 7 cups)

     Salt

     Cooking spray

     1 medium zucchini (1 lb.), cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 4 cups)

     1 medium yellow squash (1 lb.), cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 4 cups)

     5 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided

     6 oz. baby spinach
     Pepper

     4 garlic cloves, minced

     1 t. dried thyme

     No-Cook Tomato Sauce

     28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

     1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

     2 T. extra virgin olive oil

     2 garlic cloves, minced

     1 t. salt

     1/4 t. red pepper flakes

No-Cook Cream Sauce

     1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

     1 cup cottage cheese

     1 cup heavy cream

     2 garlic cloves, minced

     1 t. corn starch

     1/2 t. salt

     1/2 t. pepper

12 no-boil lasagna noodles

24 kalamata olives, chopped

3 cups shredded mozzarella (12 oz.)

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 375 degrees. Toss eggplant with 1 t. salt in a large bowl. Line surface of large plate with double layer of coffee filters and lightly coat with cooking spray. Evenly spread eggplant over filters. Microwave eggplant uncovered for 10 minutes, tossing once halfway through, until dry and slightly shriveled. Return to bowl and toss with zucchini and squash.

2. Heat 1 t. oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add spinach and stir frequently, about 3 minutes until wilted. Transfer to coffee filter lined plate.

3. Heat 2 T oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add half of eggplant mixture and 1/4 t. pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes until vegetables are lightly browned. Make a well in the center of the skillet and add 1 t. oil, half of the garlic and half of the dried thyme. Stir to combine garlic mixture with vegetables and transfer to a medium bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant mixture, oil, garlic and thyme. Stir spinach into cooked vegetables, discard coffee filters, and mound vegetable mixture onto the large plate.

4. In the empty large bowl, whisk the tomato sauce ingredients together. In the other bowl, whisk the cream sauce ingredients together.

5.Coat a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of dish. Shingle 4 noodles on top of sauce. Spread half of vegetable mixture over noodles, followed by half of the olives, half of the cream sauce, and 1 cup of mozzarella. Repeat layering with 4 more noodles, 1 cup tomato sauce, remaining vegetables, remaining olives, remaining cream sauce, and 1 cup mozzarella. Place remaining 4 noodles on top and remaining 1 cup tomato sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Lightly coat one side of a large sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray and cover lasagna. Bake 35 minutes until bubbling.

3.

This was a recipe from my 2013 cleanse that I totally un-cleansed! The original recipe is great, but I wanted more coconut flavor... which led me down a slippery slope that ended in the drink mixers aisle of the grocery store. So now you can make up a pitcher or two of pina coladas with the leftover cream of coconut. You're welcome. :)


Coconut Salmon (adapted from Whole Living) - GF, DF

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 frozen salmon fillets
Salt
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/8 t. red pepper flakes
Zest of 1 lemon cut into wide strips with a vegetable peeler
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup cream of coconut (from the drink mixer aisle of the grocery store)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 sliced head baby bok choy
4 cups hot, cooked brown rice
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
DIRECTIONS
Bake salmon in oven according to package instructions. While salmon cooks, combine garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, chicken broth, and cream of coconut in a small pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Strain and discard solids before serving. Season with salt. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and bok choy. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Serve salmon and vegetables over rice. Ladle with coconut sauce and squeeze with lime.

4.

This recipe is perfection and further solidifies my adoration of all things Martha Stewart. I also know that not everyone shares that sentiment. :(  I just love that all of her recipes, no matter how complicated, actually work! The boys made these with me and my husband and I could not stop eating them. Soooo good!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies (from Martha Stewart Living) - V

Makes 16 large brownies

INGREDIENTS

Cookie Dough:

     Cooking spray

     1 3/4 cups flour

     3/4 t. salt  
     1/2 t. baking soda

     1/2 t. baking powder

     1 stick soft, unsalted butter

     1/2 cup sugar

     1/2 cup brown sugar

     1 large egg

     1 t. vanilla

     1 cup chocolate chips (6 oz.)

Brownie Batter:

     1 cup chocolate chips (6 oz.)

     1 stick soft, unsalted butter

     1 1/2 cups sugar

     3 large eggs

     1/4 cup cocoa powder

     1/2 t. salt

     1/2 cup + 2 T. flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Line pan with parchment paper leaving a slight overhang.

2. Cookie Dough: In a large microwaveable bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another large bowl, beat butter with both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy. Then beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Brownie Batter: In empty large bowl, microwave chocolate chips according to package instructions. Whisk in butter and sugar until smooth. Whisk in eggs until combined. Whisk in cocoa and salt. Fold in flour with a rubber spatula until combined.

4. Pour brownie batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with spatula. Crumble cookie dough evenly over batter. Cover with foil and bake until just set, 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until golden and a toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs, about 27 minutes more. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Lift brownies from pan using parchment. Cut into 16 squares.