Black Bean Burrito Bake

I am sorry for not to posting yesterday, for my week has been busy. Wednesdays seem to be the busiest for me, so I'm going to start posting on Thursdays. Anyway, this meal is very easy to make and takes about an hour or less to prepare. The flavor is spicy, smokey, and with just a hint of sourness. The texture is creamy but chunky. You could add some chopped cilantro on top and fresh lime juice to make this even better.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobe sauce
1/2 Cup sour cream, full fat or reduced.
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided
1 Cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 Cup bottled salsa
1/2 Cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. Remove 1 chile from can; finely chop the chile. (Reserve the remaining adobe sauce and chiles in an airtight container stored in the refrigerator for another use.) Combine sour cream and chopped chile in a medium bowl; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Place half of the beans in a food processor; process until finely chopped. You can also mash them with a fork or a pastry blender.  Add the chopped beans, remaining beans, and corn to the sour cream mixture and stir to combine.
4. Spoon 1/2 Cup bean mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place, seam sides down, in an 11 x7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread salsa over tortillas; sprinkle with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

From Cooking Light

Asian Garlic Pasta

This is one of my favorite pasta recipes. The flavor is a balanced combination of sweet, salty, buttery, and garlicky.  It's a great twist on pasta that you should try.  I would pair this with Asian fish or chicken, and a salad with ginger dressing. If you're like me, you can skip the meat and eat this by itself. Serves 4

Ingredients:
7 ounces (200 g) dry egg noodles. I used bow-tie pasta but you can use almost any other kind of pasta instead of egg noodles. Avoid tubular pastas like, macaroni, penne, sea shell, etc.
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 Cup (30 g) chopped green onions (scallion)
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon Maggi sauce or soy sauce
1 Tablespoon oyster sauce, or soy sauce

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook noodles according to the package instructions. Drain the noodles and coat them lightly with olive or vegetable oil.  Wipe out the pot and heat it to medium-high heat and add the butter.  When the butter is sizzling and bubbling add the green onions and garlic. Fry for 1 minute until very fragrant, be careful not to let the garlic burn.
2. Add the brown sugar, Maggi sauce, and oyster sauce and stir well to mix everything evenly.  Add the noddles and toss vigorously to coat evenly.  Serve immediately.

From The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair

Chocolate Tofu Pudding

I know tofu pudding may sound gross to some people, but this one is great tasting and easy to make. The texture almost has more of a chocolate mousse texture than a pudding texture. The flavor is chocolaty with just a hint of the coffee flavor. Just so you know, the alcohol doesn't cook off completely. Serves about 8 people.
Alton Brown's original recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/moo-less-chocolate-pie-recipe.html
Ingredients:
13 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate chips if you like.
1/3 Cup coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound silken tofu, you can't use any other kind of tofu texture. I used the lite silken tofu and that works too.
1 Tablespoon honey
1/8 teaspoon table salt

1. Melt the chocolate, coffee liqueur, and vanilla extract in a medium sized heavy duty sauce pan over low heat stirring occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted. Be careful that the chocolate doesn't burn! Check out Alton Brown's method of melting the chocolate if you don't like mine. Once everything is melted, set aside the chocolate mixture in a small bowl.
2. Combine the tofu and honey in either a blender or food processor, and spin until smooth, about 1 minute. Add in the chocolate mixture and spin until combined. Pour mixture into your container(s) and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars

These decadent bars are full of pleasing textures and flavors. The crust tastes similar to a buttery caramel and the topping is buttery tasting with a slightly nutty flavor. The topping is chewy while the filling has a smooth under-baked brownie consistency. The filling is unbelievably rich and chocolaty, which will make you want more. Makes 16 bars.
Crust and Topping:
1 Cup (3 ounces) quick-cooking oats
1 Cup packed (7 ounces) light brown sugar
3/4 Cup (3 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon table salt, about a pinch
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Filling:
1/4 Cup (1 1 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 Cup packed brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso or instant coffee
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 Cups (9 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Large egg

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat to 325 degrees F. Line an 8-inch square metal baking pan with two layers of aluminum foil, overlapping each other; lightly spray with nonstick vegetable oil.
2. For crust and topping: Whisk the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Stir in melted butter until combined. Reserve 3/4 Cup of the oat mixture for the topping.
3. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer, using your hands or the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until light golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.
4. For the filling: Whisk the flour, sugar, instant espresso, and salt together in a medium bowl. Melt the the chocolate chips and butter for1-3 minutes on 50% power, stopping occasionally to stir the mixture. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the egg, until combined; then stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.
5. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat to 325 degrees F. Spread the filling evenly over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the reserved oat topping. Bake the bars until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached and the filling begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

 

From The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book

Cheesy Grits

Grits are one of my food weaknesses, especially if they are cheesy grits. I love how creamy these grits are, but you must use the heavy cream to reach this consistently. I think these grits pair well with a side salad and either grilled chicken or fish. This is a simple grit recipe so play around with the different flavor combinations. For example, adding jalapenos or blending different kinds of cheeses together. Serves about 4-6 people.

Ingredients:
2 Cups chicken broth or stock
2 Tablespoons salted butter
1 Cup quick grits, such as Quaker
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
3/4 Cup heavy cream or heavy whipping cream
3 1/2 ounces sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1. In a medium saucepan , bring chicken broth (or stock if using), and butter to a boil over medium-high heat. Slowly add in the grits, whisking often with a wire whisk for 5 minutes. After that turn the heat down to low and whisk in the tomato paste, heavy cream, and cheese until smooth and fully incorporated. Serve immediately.

Vanilla Cake

This cake is different from other cakes, because it doesn't have any butter! The fat comes from heavy cream. Kind of like the cream biscuit recipe. However, this cake require some time to make, but it is worth it. The texture of this cake is light, fluffy, and very moist. The flavor isn't too overwhelming, but is sweet and pleasant. Serves 14-18 people.
 Ingredients:
2 Cups granulated sugar
3 Cups cake flour (use for sure!)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 Cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1.  Place a stand mixer bowl and the wire whisk attachment in the freezer. (I'm referring to a Kitchen Aid Stand mixer, or another brand similar.)
2. Center a rack in an oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease two 9-inch cake pans or three 8-inch cake pan with nonstick vegetable spray, and line the bottoms with nonstick parchment paper.
3. In one small bowl, measure out your sugar. In a medium bowl, dry whisk your flour, salt, and baking powder together. In a third bowl, beat your eggs with a handheld mixer until thick.
4. Remove the mixing bowl and whisk attachment from the freezer. Add the cream to the bowl and whip on medium-high, for about 2-3 minuets, or until it's as thick as Cool Whip. Slow the mixer down to medium and add the beaten eggs. Return to medium-high speed and whip until the mixture is slightly foamy.
5. Slow the mixer down to medium and gradually add the sugar and then the vanilla extract. Stop the mixer. Remove your whisk attachment to the paddle attachment. Scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula.
6. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Mix until combined. Stir the batter with the rubber spatula, and pour batter into prepared pans. Make things as even as possible.
7. Bake the cakes 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once cakes are down let them cool for 10 minutes in the pans on wire racks. After that, unmold the cakes and let them cool completely before frosting.

From All Cakes Considered by Melissa Gray

Parmesan Couscous

This couscous recipe is easy to make and it pairs well with most grilled fish or chicken. You get hints of the garlic and onion flavors and a nice buttery taste. The flavor isn't too strong, but if you want it a little stronger use more garlic, and maybe some more green onions too. Serves about 4-6 people
Ingredients:
1/3 Cup green onions (scallions), sliced
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 Cup Israeli (pearl) couscous, or regular couscous
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 Cups water
1 Tablespoon butter, unsalted
1-2 Tablespoons fresh parsley chopped. You can use dried too.
1/2 Cup Parmesan cheese, grated
black pepper, to taste
table salt, to taste

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and warm the oil.
2. Once oil is warmed, add the green onions and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Do not brown. Add the couscous to the green onion mixture, and stir continuously  for about 1-5 minuets to lightly toast. Then remove from heat and place the mixture in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Using the same saucepan, add the water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once water is boiling add the couscous mixture to the pan. Stir to combine. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low. Make sure it is simmering gently. Cook 8-10 minutes stirring occasionally. 
4. When the couscous is done cooking add rest of the ingredients and serve immediately.

From the website Cooking Planit recipe by Emily Wilson