Annie’s Eats

Aaaah, St. Lucia, Jamaica - that’s what this makes me think of! Smoothies are a delicious and healthy breakfast option. The original recipe is from Williams Sonoma…I’m starting to think they should pay me to be their official recipe tester or something I made these two mornings in a row, once following their recipe and once with my changes. I have to say, my way tasted MUCH better. I used vanilla yogurt instead of plain, and instead of using not-frozen pineapple and frozen banana I used frozen pineapple and not-frozen banana. (Get that?) Also, I like to put the ice into the blender before the rest of the ingredients and crush it on its own so there are no chunks in the smoothie. I especially love this because it’s a great excuse to buy a whole pineapple and then you have lots of leftover fruit to have as a snack for days.

Pineapple Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups ice cubes
1 cup pineapple juice
1 banana, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1 Tbs. sugar
1 cup pineapple chunks (frozen)

Directions:
In a blender, crush ice cubes until in small pieces. Add the pineapple juice, banana, yogurt, sugar, and pineapple chunks and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately. Serves 2.

Wow! This is a really great recipe that tastes and looks like you worked a lot harder than you really did. These are a unique idea for a side dish, or can be a meal on their own for lunches (which is why I made them). Ben likes to call them “bruschetta tomatoes”. Even though they aren’t really much like bruschetta, they definitely have similar flavors. I decided to make these because I had four tomatoes in the fridge that were about to go bad, and this is a tasty way to save them.

This is another recipe from Williams Sonoma (I know, I know - they all have been lately, but they’re just so good!) I use vine-ripened tomatoes and because of their smaller size I usually find that I have enough rice to fill five or six tomatoes rather than the four that the recipe calls for.

Tomatoes Stuffed with Green Rice
Ingredients:
1/2 cup medium-grain white rice such as arborio
Salt, to taste
4 large tomatoes
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil, plus whole leaves for garnish
2 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbs. grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:
Bring a saucepan filled with water to a boil. Add the rice and salt and simmer until the rice is about half cooked, 9 to 10 minutes. Drain, place in a large bowl and set aside.

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Make sure to use a baking dish just large enough to hold the tomatoes snugly. Cut off a slice 1/2 inch thick from the top of each tomato and reserve. Using a small spoon, scoop out the tomato seeds and juice and place in a sieve set over a bowl. Arrange the tomatoes in the prepared baking dish.

Add to the rice the strained tomato juice, the olive oil, chopped basil, parsley, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper and mix well. Spoon the rice mixture into the hollowed-out tomatoes, dividing evenly. Cover each tomato with its top.Bake until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve hot or at room temperature, garnished with the whole basil leaves. Serves 4.

There are a lot of great restaurants in Indy. However, the same cannot be said for the suburbs of Indy. Where we live there are basically only chain restaurants - there is one independently owned place, and it is just mediocre. An area that is especially lacking on this side of town is Chinese food. There are a few establishments that would fall into that category, but I am afraid they would be likely to serve me food poisoning with my meal. Thankfully, this recipe is just as good as anything I would order from a restaurant.

This recipe is originally from Williams Sonoma, but it had a lot of (what I consider) pointless steps. I made several changes of my own and in doing so cut down on time and dishes dirtied. I made it once before their way, and last night made my changes, and Ben and I both liked it a lot better last night. We ate this on top of plain white rice. My version of the recipe is below.

Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce
Ingredients:
1 lb. flank steak
1 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda

sauce:
2 Tbs. oyster sauce
2 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. peanut oil
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper

2 cups small broccoli florets
3 Tbs. peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch dice

Directions:
Cut the steak across the grain into strips 3 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. In a bowl, stir together the cornstarch, salt, sugar, baking soda and 2 Tbs. water. Add the beef and stir until well mixed. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a bowl, combine the oyster sauce, dark and light soy sauces, peanut oil, cornstarch, sugar, white pepper and 2 Tbs. water. Set aside.

Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli florets and blanch until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under running cold water until cool and drain again. Set aside.

Remove the beef from the bowl and pat dry with paper towels. In a wok or large, deep sauté pan over high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the peanut oil until very hot. Add the beef and stir-fry until it just turns opaque, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, quickly transfer the beef to a sieve placed over a bowl to drain.

Wipe out the pan with paper towels and reheat over high heat. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil and heat until very hot. Add the onion and stir-fry until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic to the onion, and stir-fry until golden, about 30 seconds more.

Add the sauce to the pan, stir and bring to a boil. Immediately add the beef and broccoli and stir-fry until the sauce thickens and the beef is heated through, about 3 minutes. Transfer the beef and broccoli to a warmed bowl and serve.

Yesterday was our two year wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, because I am taking the boards in three short days we were not able to have much of a celebration. However, the nice thing about having a Memorial Day anniversary is that Ben was able to be home with me all day. Even though I studied most of the day, it was just nice to be together.

We decided to make blueberry buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, and we made them heart-shaped for our anniversary I bought this pancake mold from Crate & Barrel when it was on sale after Valentine’s Day, and I’ve been dying to use it ever since. This seemed like the perfect occasion. These pancakes were really delicious. I would highly recommend using fresh blueberries. I think it really made a difference. This recipe is from Williams Sonoma. We made a half batch since there were only two of us, but otherwise we didn’t change anything. Below is the recipe with original dimensions.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 Tbs. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbs. vegetable oil or nonstick cooking spray
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 200ºF.

In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until frothy. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Stir just until the batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain; do not overmix.

Heat an electric griddle to medium-high heat until a few drops of water flicked onto the surface skitter across it. Lightly grease the griddle with oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Using a batter dispenser set on the large setting, dispense the batter onto the griddle. Alternatively, ladle about 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Scatter 1 Tbs. blueberries evenly over each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the batter is set, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while cooking the remaining pancakes.

Dust the pancakes with confectioners’ sugar and serve warm with butter and maple syrup. Makes about 16 pancakes; serves 4.

aka YUM!!!!!! I have had this recipe on my “to try” list for a while, and decided this weekend would be the perfect opportunity to give it a shot. It’s dangerous for me to have a dessert like this just sitting in our house…they seem to have a mysterious way of vanishing rapidly We went down to Bloomington to have dinner with my family, so I brought this for dessert and left it there so as not to tempt myself. Everyone really enjoyed it.

I love this recipe. I don’t know what else to say except that it is absolutely delicious. It is another one from Williams Sonoma. The only change I will make next time will be to reserve a bit more of the chocolate mixture for spreading on top, and I have reflected that below. Another tip is that you really do not need a whole quart of ice cream for the filling. I just beat a cup or so at a time and kind of eyeballed how much would actually fit in the pie pan. I think I ended up using a little over 3 cups.

Mississippi Mud Pie
Ingredients:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbs. light corn syrup
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cookie crumb crust (see recipe below), made with chocolate cookies - (I used Oreos)
1/2 cup toffee bits
1 quart premium coffee ice cream, softened

Directions:
In the top pan of a double boiler, combine the chocolate chips, butter, cream and corn syrup. Set over but not touching barely simmering water in the bottom pan until the chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, in a microwaveproof bowl, combine the chocolate, butter, cream and corn syrup and melt in the microwave for 30-second intervals. Remove from the microwave and stir until smooth.

Add the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla to the chocolate mixture and mix well. Reserve 1⁄3 cup of the chocolate mixture for the top of the pie. Spread the remaining mixture evenly in the bottom of the cookie crust. Sprinkle with half of the toffee bits. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 1 hour.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the ice cream on medium speed until it is spreadable but not runny. Immediately mound into the pie shell and spread evenly. Freeze until the ice cream is firm, at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Reheat the reserved chocolate mixture in the top of the double boiler over barely simmering water, or in the microwave for 30-second intervals, until it is spreadable but not hot. Using a spatula, spread it over the ice cream. Sprinkle with the remaining toffee bits and return the pie to the freezer until it is completely firm before serving, 3 to 4 hours.

To slice, run a knife under hot water, then dry it off. If frozen overnight, the pie may need to stand at room temperature for a few minutes before it is soft enough to slice easily. Makes one 9-inch pie; serves 8.

Cookie Crumb Crust
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups cookie crumbs, such as graham crackers, chocolate wafers or gingersnaps
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
3 Tbs. sugar

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350°F. In a bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, butter and sugar and stir until the crumbs are well moistened. Pat the mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom and all the way up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan or dish. Bake until the crust is firm, about 5 minutes. For a firmer, crunchier crust, bake for 5 minutes more. Makes one 9-inch crust.

Ben and I are HUGE fans of pizza, so lately I’ve been trying more homemade pizzas and it has been great (and cheaper!) Last night I made this sausage and pepper pizza from, you guessed it, Williams Sonoma. It turned out wonderfully. After hearing many people say how wonderful Trader Joe’s frozen pizza dough is, I decided to give it a try tonight. It is very tasty and extremely easy to work with, so I’m glad I have it around for the nights when I don’t have the time or energy to make my own crust. I used turkey sausage instead of regular Italian sausage - it is so much better for you, and still tastes great.

Pizza is really one of those things that can be done many different ways and still come out well, so it is kind of funny to even have a recipe. I like to prebake my crust without toppings first because I find that the baking times for the crust and the toppings differ quite a bit. The original recipe does not call for minced garlic, but I have found that I like minced garlic on just about every pizza I make…you can’t go wrong! I used turkey sausage instead of regular Italian sausage - it is so much better for you, and still tastes great. I browned the sausage in a skillet before putting it on the pizza to ensure that it would be fully cooked since I decreased the baking time of the toppings. Below is the recipe I used with my small modifications. This was a delicious dinner!

Sausage and Pepper Pizza
Ingredients:
dough for one 12” pizza
extra virgin olive oil for brushing
3 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and diced
one clove garlic, minced
shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 ½ links turkey sausage, removed from casing
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼” slices
1 tbsp. chopped fresh oregano

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°. Bake pizza dough without toppings 7-10 minutes. While dough is baking, brown crumbled sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat.

Remove dough from oven. Brush crust with olive oil, leaving a half-inch border. Spread the tomatoes and garlic evenly on top. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Distribute the sausage and bell pepper evenly over the cheese. Sprinkle a bit more mozzarella on top. Distribute the chopped oregano evenly over the top. Bake again, 7-10 more minutes until the cheese is bubbly.

In an effort to continue eating homemade breakfasts rather than just a boring bowl of cereal, I tried making blackberry muffins. I am a huge fan of all berries, and I love muffins so these were a natural choice for me. These are absolutely delicious! My muffin repertoire is rapidly growing and I love it! This is another great recipe from Williams Sonoma, so it’s no surprise that it turned out well. The only change I made was to exclude the pecans in the topping since I am generally not a fan of nuts.

With many recipes including berries such as muffins and cookies, I often read reviews saying that people have trouble with the batter looking blue or gray. I have yet to have this problem myself. I think the trick is just to use fresh fruit whenever possible, and to be extremely gentle when folding the berries into the batter, so the berries don’t break causing their juice to mix with the batter. With this recipe it was especially tricky because blackberries are so large, but it worked out well. I think a spatula is the best tool for this job.

Blackberry Muffins
Ingredients:
For the topping:
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped (optional)

For the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
5 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups fresh blackberries or 2 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened blackberries, unthawed

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 375°F. Grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the sugar, flour and lemon zest. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add the pecans and stir to combine. Set aside.

To make the muffins, in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt. Make a well in the center and add the egg, melted butter and buttermilk. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Sprinkle with the blackberries and gently fold in with a large rubber spatula just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. Take care not to break up the fruit. Do not over-mix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each to a bit above the rim of the cup. Top each muffin with the topping, dividing it evenly (the sugar will melt and produce a glaze effect).

Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Unmold the muffins. Serve warm or at room temperature, with butter. Makes 12 muffins.

I have always loved stuffed shells, and I remember my mom making them a lot. When I started getting in to cooking in college, I looked for her recipe but I was never able to find it. I began searching for a recipe that I thought I would like. I had one that I used for a while, but I always felt that there was something missing and couldn’t quite figure out what it was. They just weren’t flavorful enough for me. Then, a few months ago, this recipe was posted on a cooking message board I read. I knew I had to try it, and now that old recipe has been kicked to the curb. I still have a couple other types of shells I want to try, but these are definitely getting added to our permanent recipe collection.

These shells really have a wonderful combination of flavors. I used the leftover spinach from the shells to make a spinach salad. I cut some grape tomatoes in half, tossed them in, and dressed with a light olive oil vinagrette dressing. Delicious! Below is the recipe with a few of my own modifications. No major changes, I just added an egg to the filling to give it a better texture and reduced the amount of cream in the sauce.

Crab and Cheese Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:
25-30 jumbo pasta shells
1 can lump crab meat (6-8 oz.)
10 oz. ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped or 1 tsp. dried
¾ cup half and half
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
shredded mozzarella cheese for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375° F. In a large bowl, mix together crab meat, ricotta cheese, egg, garlic, Parmesan, mozzarella, salt and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Prepare the pasta according to the box directions until al dente. Rinse shells with cold water and drain well.

Mix the spinach and basil leaves into the cheese mixture. Gently fill each shell with the crab/cheese/spinach mixture. Place shells (open side up) in a baking dish.

In a bowl, stir together the half and half, remaining Parmesan, spinach and garlic. Pour sauce over the top of the shells and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Bake for 15-25 minutes, until heated through and bubbly.

What a beautiful Saturday! I decided tonight would be a great night for grilling because of the beautiful weather. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe since last year, but just never got around to it. Boy, am I sorry I waited! This recipe is from The Fresh Market, my favorite specialty grocery store (that is, until Whole Foods comes next year!) I have only tried a few of their recipes, but all the ones I’ve made have been outstanding.

This meal is not only tasty, it is also extremely healthy. It is a great source of protein with the chicken and beans, as well as fiber from the vegetables. I followed the recipe exactly and the only change I may make next time is to cut down on the orange juice very slightly. Otherwise, this is absolutely wonderful. We served it with corn on the cob - perfect for grilling out!

Grilled Lime Chicken with Black Bean Sauce
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
¼ tsp. dried red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup water
½ cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp. red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
sprigs of fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Combine lime juice, vegetable oil, red pepper and garlic in a large zip-top heavy duty plastic bag. Add chicken; seal bag and marinate in refrigerator for 8 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan; add bell pepper and onion. Cook 30 seconds; drain. Rinse with cold water until cool; drain and set aside.

In a food processor, add beans, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and garlic. Process until smooth. Pour into a saucepan; cook over medium-low heat until heated.

Remove chicken from bag and grill over medium-hot coals. Cook 8-10 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. To serve, divide bean mixture onto plates. Place chicken breast on top of sauce; top each with some of the bell pepper mixture or a fresh tomato salsa. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Oh, how I love to bake. I have a list about a mile long about new recipes I want to try, so tonight I decided to make it at least one item shorter I decided to make this strawberry cake which was great because the strawberries at the store were gorgeous! The cake recipe came from Ashleigh. She posted it on a cooking message board, and I just had to try it.

I wanted a lighter frosting and I found a recipe for Cool Whip frosting on Allrecipes.com that seemed to fit the bill. After reading the reviews of this frosting, I decided that it wouldn’t be a good choice between the layers of the cake, so I decided to use strawberry jam as the filling. I just put a few large spoonfuls of seedless strawberry jam in a small sauce pan and heated until it was melted and smooth. I let it cool for a bit and then spread it over the bottom cake layer. Then I just placed the remaining layer on top, frosted with the Cool Whip frosting, and garnished with leftover strawberries. The result was delicous!

Strawberry Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
1 cup butter, softened
4 eggs (room temperature)
2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberry puree (made by dicing strawberries and adding sugar to sweeten them)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and dry strawberry gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the batter alternately with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a small knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in their pans over a wire rack for at least 10 minutes, before tapping out to cool completely. Frost as desired.

Cool Whip Frosting
Ingredients:
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping until no streaks remain. Spread evenly over cake.

Our kitty Bella, investigating