Two desserts!

...and one dinner. :)

Last Friday I went to a potluck dinner, and decided to bring a dessert. It was a meat meal, so the dessert couldn't have any dairy in it. I was very happy to try out my first dairy-free dessert!

In addition to that, I made dinner and dessert for my family last night - a dairy meal this time.

This week's meals include:
Dairy-free chocolate chip cookie bars and dairy-free brownies
Baked ravioli
Chocolate chip praline brookies (that's right, brownie and cookie in one delicious mouthful)

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

Once again I didn't get any pictures from the dairy-free desserts, but let me tell you: My friends questioned whether they were really dairy-free. Which is good, 'cause that was my goal!

Unfortunately, I tossed the recipe for the cookies when I threw away the chocolate chip bags, but you can use any chocolate chip cookie recipe. Just use margarine, vegan buttery spread, or some other dairy-free butter substitute as well as dairy-free chocolate chips. Tip: If you know about kosher symbols on packaging, look for "parve." That means there's no meat or dairy products in the package.

As for the brownies, again, you can use any generic recipe. Just be sure to use a dairy-free butter substitute if your recipe calls for it, and use pure cocoa powder because it is dairy-free. My mom's recipe is at the end of the post.

On to last night's dinner! Baked ravioli, mmm...

Raviaviaviavioliiiii.

And I hope these pictures more than make up for the lack of cookie bar pictures. I couldn't find my camera because I was running out to my Zumba class, so I figured I'd have no pictures of the dinner either. But my mom is the best mom in the world, and took pictures with her phone. A lot of pictures. Yay mommy!

So, as my mom pulled the onion out of the fridge, I said, "Can you chop the onion tonight? Last time I chopped an onion I wore sunglasses and STILL couldn't stop crying..." (Haha, remember that?)

And she didn't say anything, but her face said "No..." And then she pulled a little appliance out of the cupboard and I said, "Is that a chopper??"

"Mhm," she replied. SWEET! It chopped the onion for us! I am totally getting one of those when I move out one day.

Anyway, we used the little garlic cubes again. So no sticky garlic mincing either.

And since the majority of people in our house don't love tomatoes, we swapped out the can of whole tomatoes for a second can of crushed. Perhaps next time we'll try one can of puréed and see how the sauce turns out.

Saucy. ;)

Also, the recipe calls for either thyme or oregano. We couldn't decide, so we put in a little of both. Oh, also also, we ran out of black pepper, so we put in some garlic pepper. "You can never have too much garlic," my mother declared as she sprinkled it in.

Tossin' the paaasta.

I had my Zumba workout class at 6, so we did all this prep before I left. We let the sauce simmer until about a half an hour before I got home. Then my mom tossed it with the partially cooked pasta and baked it until I got home.

Pre-cheese.

Post-cheese.

AND HERE'S THE FINISHED BEAUTY.

So cheesy. So saucy. So tasty.

Everyone enjoyed it, although both my brother and sister agreed that we should try using the puréed tomatoes in the future. My brother said the sauce was "too chunky" and my sister simply said "lay off the sauce next time." But still she liked it enough to eat leftovers for dinner tonight. :)

Mama added garlic bread!

*Not pictured: Rainbow salad with red peppers, orange carrots, yellow croutons, green lettuce, peppers, and cukes, and white mushrooms. Om nom.

Now the dessert is one I've had in my bookmarked recipe list for a while.

Yeah, not all the cookie dough made it to the pan. We ate some.

I mentioned it to my mom as a possible birthday dessert (her birthday was in May and I still intend to make her something), and these brookies got my brother's vote. My mom has her eye on something else (ooooh, but that's for a later blog post!), leading me to bake the brookies for my brother.

There's a hidden layer of ooey gooey goodness underneath.

What is a brookie, you ask? It's a brownie with a layer of chocolate chip cookie on top. :) So bad for you, but sooooo good...

Ours turned out pretty gooey. The website with the recipe had some pictures that made them look much drier and cookie-cutter (brownie-cutter?) shaped squares.

Add milk for optimum happiness.

They were very yummy, but I don't think I'm dying to make them again any time soon though. They are VERY rich and full of calories - I mean, it's a cookie on top of a brownie, what do we expect?

*EDIT* The brookies are WAY BETTER as leftovers. Just saying.

That shiny bit is the caramel that glues the cookie to the brownie.

Only take one!

That's it for now. Until next time,
Sarah and company

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Mom's Brownies (with dairy-free modifications)

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (1 square/1 ounce unsweetened baking choc = 3 level tbsp cocoa + 1 tbsp shortening or oil)
1/4 lb (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla

*Optional middle and top layers. (We couldn't because we were baking dairy-free.)

Middle layer:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp milk

2 tbsp butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Top layer:

1 square unsweetened chocolate

1 tbsp butter

Instructions:
Melt chocolate and butter.
Combine all ingredients; mix well.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1/2 hour.

Baked Ravioli

Site:
http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/2011/04/baked-ravioli/

Notes:
We replaced the can of whole tomatoes with a second can of crushed. We used a little bit of thyme and a little bit of oregano.

Chocolate Chip Praline Brookies

Site:
http://sheisdallas.com/chocolate-chip-praline-brookies/

Notes:
There is an OMISSION in the recipe. The ingredients list contains vanilla, but the instructions never say when to add it in. Just put it in the saucepan with the butter, milk, and sugars. Oh, PS - we didn't use pecans.

Greetings from New Hampshire!

Hello everyone! Sarah here. Apologies for the lack of posting for the last two weeks. First it was finals week, and then Rebecca went home to Texas while I stayed for senior week and graduation. Now I'm home in New Hampshire, and I'm happy to say I've been cooking for my family!

I made dinner last night and tonight, and I'm excited to share them with you.
Last night's meal was a tuna noodle casserole.
Tonight's meal was sautéed garlic chicken and mushrooms.

My new partner in kitchen krime is my dear mother. I could be going it alone and probably doing fine, but I know that my mom has a lot of cooking experience, and I invited her to cook with me and share her tips and tricks. You never know what you'll learn!

I didn't grab any pictures of the tuna noodle casserole, but boy was it delicious. Didn't taste like tuna at all, and I could probably fool my sister into thinking it was chicken. (Mom doesn't think she knows what tuna tastes like anyway.)

The tip I learned from Mom making this meal was about the cream of mushroom soup. The stuff is thick, and it sticks to the can. To make it creamy before adding it to the bowl, we put it in the liquid measuring cup to stir it a bit. (We did this to the tuna earlier too.) Then when it was time to add the milk, we measured it in the same measuring cup... and then poured a little into the cream of mushroom soup can. Swirling it around and using a utensil loosened up the bits that were clinging to the can. Same thing for the measuring cup. This is how you can get as much of the soup as possible!

Now tonight's meal was taken from a recipe for an individual person's lunch. We made it for four people (my sister ate early tonight). We didn't have garlic butter, but we do have these little pre-crushed cubes of garlic in the freezer, so we added two of those to the butter as it melted. Couldn't really taste it in the finished meal though.

Also, we sautéed the mushrooms first and then put them on a plate and sautéed the chicken separately because my brother doesn't like mushrooms and I wanted him to enjoy the meal too.

A little monochromatic, but still a tummy-pleaser.

My brother's, sans mushrooms: at least the cuke gave some color to the plate!

It was really good, and Mom and I started thinking about how we could change it up next time we made it. Water chestnuts! Oh my goodness, do I love those... Some red peppers would add some crunch and color too. And baby corn would go well.

I'm really excited about how motivated I am to continue cooking! Last semester with Rebecca was a lot of fun and a great learning experience, and now I'm furthering my kitchen education with my mom! Got a few yummy desserts planned too... Can't wait to share them with you!

Until next time,
Sarah

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Tuna noodle casserole

Site:
http://crepesofwrath.net/2008/12/02/tuna-noodle-casserole/

*Notes:
We had no peas in the house, so we simply omitted it from the recipe. I just bought a bag though, so we shan't have that problem again!

Sautéed garlic chicken and mushrooms

Site:
http://frenchyfood.blogspot.com/2011/04/garlic-chicken-mushroom-sautee.html

*Notes:
We used regular white rice. One cup was fine, boiled in two cups water. Since we were feeding four and not just one, we used 2 pounds of boneless/skinless chicken thighs (about 6 thighs). We used two cubes of pre-crushed garlic, and as much margarine as we needed. Mushrooms were sautéed first and separately. Chicken was cut up into bite-sized pieces. We did not use the salt and pepper, but we added soy sauce to our plates. The recipe says to cook on medium heat for 15-17 minutes - I used high heat and stirred constantly, and it cooked in about 10 minutes. Smaller pieces cook more quickly.

Cheese cheese cheese

This update is coming two days later... We apologize, since we know you have just been gripping your seat with anticipation for the last 48 hours!

Our meal on Saturday consisted of:
Tortellini with blue cheese and walnuts
Stir fry vegetables

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

The original recipe was called "Gnocchi with Gorgonzola and Walnuts." However, we checked TWO supermarkets, and neither had gnocchi, so we chose a tri-color tortellini instead. Also, we went with a blue cheese that was small and within our price range, not minding exactly what kind it was.

We had two lovely guests for dinner - Sarah L and Sara S, for a total of three Sara(h)s and a Rebecca. They were awesome company during food prep, as well as very helpful when we needed extra hands. Such as when we needed a photographer!

Teamwork!

This meal was not difficult to prepare at all. However, that does not mean there were no bumps along the way. We have only one cooking pot, and the pasta called for two, so we had to cook the pasta first, drain it and put it in a bowl, then use the pot to make the sauce, then put the pasta BACK into the pot, put it all BACK into the bowl, wash the pot, and make the stir fry. That was one busy pot.

Also, Sarah pretty much dumped all the pasta into the sink while she was draining it. She'll improve. :)

The stir fry was easy, as we'd done it before on our first night. We chose it because with our carb'n'cheese filled main dish, we wanted some veggies. Also, we still have half a jar of soy sauce. Also also, we love stir fry. (Clearly, as this was our third time making it.)

Yay!

The table was set for four, and food was placed in the center. We were like a little family!

Four's a family.

The four of us had a delicious dinner, and the company was so pleasant that we continued to socialize even as we were bringing things back up to our rooms. And for several hours into the night/early morning. Which is why we forgot to update the blog... Sorry...

So pretty.

We - the Chicas - are making plans to continue the blog next year. Sarah will be graduating, but will update the blog from time to time when she cooks at home. Rebecca will be roommates with Sara S (and might be suitemates with Sarah L!), and they will update the blog from Goucher with meals from school.

Additionally, April is a very busy month, and the end of the semester is approaching. Blog posts may or may not be on Saturday nights... If neither of us have a final one day during finals week, we may decide to cook on a weeknight instead. Just a heads up.

Happy April!
The Chicas

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Tortellini with Blue Cheese and Walnuts

Site:
http://simply-delicious.co.za/2011/03/07/gnocchi-with-gorgonzola-and-walnuts/

*Notes:
As we said, we replaced the gnocchi with tortellini and the gorgonzola cheese with store brand blue cheese. Additionally, we doubled the recipe to serve four instead of two. Except for the walnuts - we forgot to double the walnuts. There was plenty for everyone, and there was even enough leftover for Sarah to pack a dinner for work the next day.

Stir fry

See previous posts:
First Meal!! - regular stir fry
Yummy Cuddlefest - tuna stir fry (wicked good)

Volcanic Lasagna

Happy Ides of March!

Tonight our meal consisted of:
Lasagna Primavera
Chocolate-chip cookie ice cream sandwiches

*Recipes and/or sites that we used will be at the end of the meal's post.*

This was our last Saturday before Spring Break, so we won't be cooking the next two weekends. Sadface. Therefore, we couldn't make anything that required lots of little ingredients that would have to sit in our dorms over break and possibly go bad.

Lasagna was a delicious answer to that problem! And since Rebecca had invited three people to join us, the recipe to feed 6-7 people was perfect! Unfortunately, one of our guests was not able to make it; however, at the last minute, Sarah's friend Raya joined us. But we still only managed to eat half of it, so we've got lots of yummy leftovers for mid-terms week. Rebecca is super excited that she has three days' worth of food!

Can we just say... this lasagna is HUGE. The sauce was ready to spill over the sides of the pan. (Like a volcano... Get it??? Teehee...) The recipe warned us that it would be tall, but HOLAY GUACAMOLE!

"I can't eat all that!"

The recipe assured us that it would settle into the pan while it cooked, but ours did not. In fact, Rebecca thinks it grew a bit... The veggies were piled high in this dish. And except for the frozen spinach, they were all fresh - bought and chopped by yours trulies this very day!

And when it came out...

Mmm... Delicious volcanic lazagnuh.

Oh my, did you ever see such a beautiful creation. And our tastebuds were in full agreement with our eyes. SO TASTY. Sarah said she thought it could have cooked a little longer - the veggies were still pretty crunchy - but confirmed its goodness nonetheless.

After chowing down on our dinner - it was Sarah's first time making lasagna! - it was time to prepare dessert. Homemade ice cream sandwiches? Yes please.

We decided to go with Nestle's cookie dough. Last semester we tried a different brand that came in a square package, and it wasn't good. We really wanted to make it from scratch, but we knew the lasagna would take a while. So we gave Nestle a shot.

It's pretty good raw too. :)

The cookies, of course, came out looking scrumptious. But we refrained from eating them until the very end.

Scrum-diddly-umptious.

And since we weren't making the cookies, but we wanted the "homemade" feel, we got some vanilla ice cream and made our own ice cream sandwiches. SUCH A GOOD IDEA.

Warm on the outside, cold on the inside.

We had way more sandwiches than people, so we wrapped them up individually to store in the freezer. We can give them to our friends and friendly passers-by! (Suggested donation of 75 cents.)

Our stash... Come and get some.

It is now rather late, and we realized we should have started prepping around 3:00 instead of 4:30. Why does cooking take such a long time?? Sarah admitted, "I always learn the hard way." But we do learn, and now we know for next time.

Have a great two weeks! We'll see you the week after break.
R+S

Miranda and Lindsay enjoying the lasagna.

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Recipes and Sites
Thank you to FoodGawker for helping us find recipes!

Lasagna Primavera

Site:
http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/09/lasagna-primavera.html

Notes:
When we got to the supermarket, we found that there were only three zucchini left, and they were scrawny and icky looking. But unlike our first week, the eggplant looked fantastic. Switcheroo! We also swapped out the squash for a yummy red bell pepper. Additionally, the ricotta cheese came in little tubs that measured a bit more than called for, but we used it all up anyway. And due to our shared love of mushrooms, we chose sauce with mushrooms in it. (We are very glad we did that.) Aaaaand we saved some of the two shredded cheeses to sprinkle on the very top.

Chocolate-chip Cookies
(from the Nestle cookie dough package)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spoon heaping teaspoons of dough about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.
Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
-Can bake frozen dough in preheated oven: Add 1-2 minutes of bake time.

*To turn into sandwiches, simply scoop a generous spoonful of vanilla (or flavor of your choice) ice cream onto an upside-down cookie. Press a second cookie on top of the ice cream. Eat before the ice cream melts!