Circle B Kitchen - Circle B Kitchen

This pudding comes out super luscious and creamy. I've combined a couple of recipes to create it, but there are a couple of options for you to consider. The first is whether or not to add shredded coconut to the pudding. I prefer to keep the pudding smooth and creamy, but if you'd like to add a little more coconut flavor and texture, you can stir some into the pudding. I've also added a layer of chocolate, which, of course, makes this yummy and decadent. A few chocolate shavings on top makes it pretty speical. Coconut extract really boosts the coconut quotient, but try not to use coconut flavoring which has a more artificial flavor to it.

Serves 4

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups lite coconut milk (about 1 1/3 cans)
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract (not flavoring)
1/2 cup coconut flakes, divided

1. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Very gradually whisk in cocnut milk,taking care to dissolve cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks.

2. Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble forms and sputters. Reduce heat to low; still whisking, cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat and s tir the butter, coconut extract, and vanilla into the hot pudding.

3. Pour the pudding into individual ramekins or dessert cups, or you pour it into one large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding (to prevent skin from forming); chill at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

Toast the coconut on a small sheet pan in a 375 degree oven for about 5-6 minutes. Keep a close eye on it because it can burn quickly. Stir once or twice if it starts to get too brown around the edges.

If using the one-bowl method, before serving, whisk the pudding until smooth; divide among four serving dishes. Top with toasted coconut.

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Friday

May102013

Meatless Monday Cheese-y Zucchini Black Bean Skillet

Friday, May 10, 2013 at 9:16AM

Here’s a stellar example of Meatless Monday at its finest… easy, healthy, simple, delicious, and as an added bonus, we’re going to do it all in one pan so your clean-up is going to be minimal.

But the best part really is how good it is. And you know it must be good or it wouldn’t be showing up on this blog. Perhaps it does sound a bit, you know, pedestrian; perhaps a tad mundane, but I assure you it is not. We love it ever so much.

Every time I make this (and believe me, it’s often), I wonder and marvel that these few, simple ingredients have created something so surprisingly tasty. Alchemy at its finest. A perfect example of “the thing being more than the sum of its parts.” A can of black beans, a can of tomatoes, a bit of chopped pepper, some red pepper flakes, zucchini, some rice and the whole thing topped with cheese. Perhaps it’s the little kick from the red pepper flakes, but whatever, I could eat it all day.

And that brings me to its next virtue. You really could eat it all day. Everything in here is good for you, so feel free to help yourself to seconds. And I promise you will want seconds.

As if that’s not enough (because really it is), the whole thing gets cooked in one pan! What’s better than super cinchy clean-up, I ask you?

AND here’s an added bonus about cooking the rice. My favorite rice for this is brown jasmine rice and we all know that brown rice takes a little longer to cook than white rice. I use my rice maker, but that can take 45 minutes. When pressed for time, I just bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Dump in between 2/3 and ¾ cup of brown rice (jasmine or basmati are lovely in this). Let it boil away, partially covered for about 22 minutes. When it’s tender, drain it like you would pasta and throw it in the skillet with the rest of the ingredients. It will be perfect, I promise. I mean, how easy it that?

So let’s see, we’ve got healthy, easy, quick, simple and scrumptious with very little clean-up. I guess my work here is done. Here’s the recipe…

CHEESE-Y ZUCCHINI BLACK BEAN SKILLET

There are so many great things about this dish, not the least of which is the fact that you can have it on the table in like 20 minutes (even faster if you already have your rice cooked). And yet a word of warning... do not leave out any ingredients. You might think that you don't like green pepper, but you MUST have the green pepper. There is an alchemy that is created here between these ingredients that is truly more than the sum of its parts. Oh, and if your diced tomatoes don't seem to have much juice, you can add a little chicken broth to the mix if you like.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I use brown jasmine rice)
1-1/2 cups quartered lengthwise, sliced zucchini (baby zucchini are wonderful here)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (I add a little more)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (I add a little more)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup chicken stock (optional)
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz each) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup grated Cheddar, and/or jack or any good melting cheese(I add a little more)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, garlic, crushed red pepper and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and undrained tomatoes. (adding a little chicken broth here is optional -see headnote)

Increase the heat to medium high and add the cooked rice. Stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese, replace the lid until the cheese is melted. Serve and enjoy.

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Monday

Apr292013

No-Bake Almond Date Bars

Monday, April 29, 2013 at 2:09PM

A couple of months ago my daughter offered me one of these date bars she had just made (she found the recipe here), and since that moment, I kid you not, my refrigerator has not been without a container of them. As soon as we get down to one or two left, The Husband starts getting nervous and anxious and biting his nails and I have to assure him that I really am about to make the next batch.

I’m eating one right now while I’m typing this, just to get me into the most optimal state to explain their deliciousness. Because boy howdy, are these ever good. Like really really good and super easy to make.

There are only 5 ingredients and you will do no baking. You will need a food processor, however, and a knife to chop a few dates, but that's about as complicated as it gets.

Five ingredients and none of them is sugar. And I promise you will not miss it. There is a small amount of coconut oil in the recipe, but other than that, we’re talking almonds, oats and dates. It just doesn’t get much better than that, folks.

But let’s talk about dates for a moment. For this recipe you really must use Medjool dates. I have tried it with regular pitted dates and believe me, it’s just not the same. This is just one of those instances where size matters…

And flavor. Medjool dates are just so much more date-y tasting and basically luscious and if you want your date bars to be luscious, you will have to hunt down some Medjools. I have found them at both Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, but most large-scale stores carry them these days.

So basically we’re just going to process almonds, salt, coconut oil and dates together to create the top and bottom layers of the cookie bars, then puree dates and water together for the filling. And then assemble thusly…

Line your baking dish with parchment paper...

Divide the ground almond mixture in half and press half of it into the bottom of your pan..

Spread the date puree over the top of the ground almonds...

Top that with the rest of the ground almond mixture...

And refrigerate. I would recommend a couple of hours minimum in the fridge, but one hour will do if you’re in a panic.

There just aren’t many cookie bars in this life that make you feel good about eating two or three (or six), but here’s one that you can eat with impunity. Or a good cup of coffee. Here’s the recipe…

NO-BAKE ALMOND DATE BARS

Recipe from OhSheGlows

Be sure to use Medjool dates in this recipe. Regular dates do not work as well. And to make these gluten-free, just use gluten free oats.

Crust:
1.5 cups whole raw almonds
1.5 cups regular oats (old fashioned)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
10 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/4 cup coconut oil

Date filling:

25 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped (~2.5 cups)
1/2 cup water

Directions:

1. Line a square pan (I used 8in x 8 in) with two pieces of parchment paper going opposite ways. In a food processor, process the almond, salt, and oats until a fine crumble forms. Now add in the dates and process until crumbly again. Melt the coconut oil and add to the mixture and process until sticky. You can add a tiny bit more oil if the dough is too dry. Remove from processor, set aside 1/2 of the mixture for later, and press the rest of the mixture very firmly and evenly into the pan.

2. Grab your pitted and roughly chopped dates and water and process in the food processor until a paste forms. You will have to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl often. You can add a tiny bit more water if needed, but you want the paste quite thick. Scoop out the date mixture onto the crust and gently spread with the back of a wet spatula until even.

3. Sprinkle on the reserved half of the mixture you set aside and gently press down with fingers. Refrigerate in the fridge until firm for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight. Cut into squares and serve. Store in the fridge or freezer.

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Friday

Apr262013

Lasagna Rolls

Friday, April 26, 2013 at 11:40AM

I recently came across another food blog in which the author mentioned that the recipes presented in her blog were not the dishes that she cooked on a daily basis. They were dishes that might intrigue or inspire, but the food cooked at home did not make it onto the blog. She also mentioned that the recipes and dishes posted on the blog were often never made again.

I thought that was interesting, (and totally cool, by the way), but it got me to thinking that I wanted you to know that the recipes here on the Circle B Kitchen blog are exactly what I cook every day. This is a collection of my recipes and what I cook for breakfast, lunch or dinner on any given day. Of course there are a few recipes that I might reserve for special occasions, but for the most part, this is the food we love and the food I love to cook.

And speaking of things I love to cook... that brings me to today’s installment of one of the Circle B Kitchen’s favorite recipes…. Lasagna rolls!

Lasagna rolls may or may not be easier to make than one big lasagna, but they’re certainly easier to serve; they’re a fun departure from the traditional and just different enough to make it a great dish to serve to guests or if you want lasagna for just one or two people.

The ingredients are more or less the same as traditional lasagna, but this is how we assemble it…

Just spread each cooked lasagna noodle with the ricotta cheese mixture,

Then top it with some cooked Italian sausage and a little more grated cheese and roll it up.

Place each roll in a baking pan that has been coated with a little marinara sauce. Top each roll with a little more sauce and grated cheese and bake until heated through and bubbly.

If you’re only serving a few people, you can do these in individual gratin dishes, or easily fill a large baking dish for a crowd.

So there you have it, people…. Easy to make, easy to serve and incredibly luscious lasagna rolls. Here's the recipe...

LASAGNA ROLLS

These are very simple to put together and a fun way to serve lasagna without worrying about whether it will fall apart when you cut into it. You can easily leave out the Italian sausage if you would like to make this a vegetarian main course. Because of its simplicity, be sure to use high quality ingredients. I like to use Trader Joe’s Quattro Formaggio cheese blend and of course, some homemade marinara sauce. Enjoy!

Serves 5-6

10-12 lasagna noodles
16 oz ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
12 oz Italian cheese blend (see headnote)
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage (or remove from the casings), cooked and crumbled
2 – 3 cups marinara sauce

Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (I cook them just a little under that) in boiling, salted water to which a little olive oil has been added. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water.

Mix together the egg, the ricotta cheese and grated cheeses and set aside.

To assemble, spread a little marinara sauce in the bottom of your baking dish.

Working with one lasagna noodle at a time, spread enough of the cheese mixture the length of the noodle, up to about one inch at the end. Top that with a sprinkling of the cooked Italian sausage and then a little grated cheese. Working from the cheesy end, roll the noodle up over the filling and place in your baking dish, seam side down. Continue with the rest of the noodles.

Top the filled noodles with marinara sauce and a sprinkling of the grated cheeses and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly and heated through.

Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Linguini with Asparagus pesto

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Thursday

Apr182013

Springtime Asparagus

Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6:36PM

They say it’s spring…“they” being the people who don’t live in the Midwest. I’m sure there are many of you enjoying sunshine and flowers and green trees and colors other than brown and gray. I don’t actually know that, but I have to believe that somewhere the calendar is telling the truth, and that the poetically lovely version of April is happening somewhere. At the moment, we’re “enjoying” the decidedly unpoetic and rather dismal version of April that includes snow, wind and 32 degree afternoons in which the sun is something we remember from some distant time that just isn’t now.

But we soldier on… The calendar says it’s spring, so we shall have asparagus!! Despite the weather, somebody out there is growing asparagus and I, for one, will have as much of it as I can. So if, like me, you need asparagus in your life right now, here are some of my favorite ways to indulge in spring’s firstborn…

We will begin with my very favorite way to eat asparagus. It’s as simple as it is indulgent and can be from fridge to plate in a matter of minutes. For each person, you will need 3 or 4 asparagus spears and 1 egg…

Saute the asparagus in a little olive oil (or butter), salt and pepper for 3 to 4 minutes, or until it is as cooked as you like. A nonstick pan is best for this.

Remove the asparagus to a plate and crack the egg(s) into the pan.

Cook until the whites are set and the yolks are still a bit runny, about 4-5 minutes.

Place the egg onto the asparagus, season liberally with salt and pepper. A little grated parmesan on top is wondrous.

Nextly is a new asparagus recipe that I recently happened upon and that we really liked. In this one, you dip each asparagus spear in egg whites, then in a super tasty mixture of almond flour, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Then you just spray them with cooking spray and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. De-lish!

Lastly, might I suggest that you roast or sauté some asparagus until tender-crisp, place them on your plate and then top with goat cheese and crumbled bacon. You will be ever so glad you did.

If you’re in even worse shape than I am and need even more asparagus recipes, here are a few from some past posts that are divine and sure to bring spring sunshine into your life…

Asparagus roll-ups

Asparagus with New Potato Salad and Buttermilk Dressing

And here's the recipe for the Almond-Crusted Bake-Fried Asparagus Spears