Bread Machine Bagels

3 cups bread flour
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 quarts boiling water
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 egg white (or olive oil)
3 tablespoons poppy seeds

1. Place water, salt, sugar, flour and yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting.
2. When cycle is complete, let dough rest on a lightly floured surface. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring 3 quarts of water to a boil. Stir in 3 tablespoons of sugar.
3. Cut dough into 9 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your thumb. Twirl the dough on your finger or thumb to enlarge the hole, and to even out the dough around the hole. Cover bagels with a clean cloth, and let rest for 10 minutes.
4. Sprinkle an ungreased baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully transfer bagels to boiling water. Boil for 1 minute, turning half way through. Drain briefly on clean towel. Arrange boiled bagels on baking sheet. Glaze tops with egg white, and sprinkle with your choice of toppings.
5. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned.

Source: Here (allrecipes.com)
Note: There are lots of good suggestions on user reviews for this recipe.

Try #1 - March 31, 2011
I had a hankering for homemade bagels today, so I found this recipe. Not that I've ever made or had homemade bagels... but I felt like trying! These were simple and fun to make (Abby helped), and taste great! If you're a bagel snob, you may be disappointed - they are not quite as dense or chewy as a "real" bagel, but they are pretty darn close! A couple of changes: I brushed mine with olive oil, and they came out perfectly golden. Based on reviews, I also let the formed bagels rise for about 45 minutes before boiling them (reviews suggested anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to let the bagels rise). I made 7 bagels, and they took 20 minutes to bake. Next time I will try using part whole wheat flour.

Try #2 - April 10, 2011
These were so good the first time, I was eager to try them again! This time I used 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup bread flour. The bagels came out smaller and denser (they didn't rise quite as much) - but actually the same is true when you compare store-bought white and whole wheat bagels. These are better for you, but not quite as delicious as all white flour... but again, the same would be true with store-bought bagels. So overall, I call my experiment a success. :) I might try half whole wheat and half bread flour next time.

Crockpot Tortilla Soup

3 cups of chicken broth
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken
1/2 onion
1 cup frozen roasted corn
2 green onions
28 oz can of tomatoes and juice
1 cup chopped up vegetables that you have on hand (for example, celery and carrots)
4 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste (especially if using a no-salt broth)

Optional garnish:
Tortilla chips
Parmesan cheese
Sour cream

1. Dice all veggies into fine chunks. Dump everything into the crockpot. It's okay if you have frozen stuff (broth, vegetables, chicken), and okay to assemble the night before.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or high for 6 or so.
3. Before serving, add whatever garnish you choose.

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

My Spinach Souffle

I believe I have sufficiently altered this recipe enough to make it my own. Plus, trying to read all my scattered notes from the original recipe made it difficult and not user-friendly. The version below is much better!

2 cups frozen spinach or 2 qt.-saucepan fresh spinach, heaping full
2 Tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
4 small golden potatoes, diced
3 Tbsp flour
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated
2 carrots, shredded
4 eggs, slightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook spinach briefly with a little water and drain well.
2. Saute onions and potatoes in butter. When potatoes are soft, add flour and cook for about 1 minute. Add pepper and salt, stir. Add milk. Stir and cook over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken. Once sauce is thick, add cheese and shredded carrots and stir to combine.
3. Combine spinach, white sauce, and eggs, and pour into a buttered 8x11 casserole dish. Bake 35-40 minutes, until knife inserted comes out clean. Serve with a side of corn.

Raita

2 cups (1 lb/500g) plain Greek yogurt
1 small English (hothouse) cucumber
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Spoon Greek yogurt into a bowl.
2. Peel the cucumber, halve lengthwise, and scrape out any seeds with the tip of a small spoon. Grate on the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredding attachment. Squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber with your hands until almost completely dry. You should have about 1 cup. Add to the yogurt.
3. Add the garlic, mint, cilantro, salt, cumin, and cayenne, if desired, and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to marry, then taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Note: This gets better as it sits, so make it a few hours in advance to let the flavors mingle.

Source: Family Meals

Try #1 - March 14, 2011
Yummy! I used Trader Joe's non-fat Greek yogurt. I chilled it in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving with Chickpea Curry. This would go great with any number of curries or Indian-inspired dishes.

Chickpea Curry

2 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 cups thin yellow onion wedges
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 Tbsp peeled, grated ginger
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 cups (12 oz) fresh or canned diced tomatoes with their juice
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
kosher salt
2 cups (10 oz) cubed Yukon gold potatoes
5 cups (35 oz) cooked, drained chickpeas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp lime juice

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute until the garlic starts to brown, 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the cumin seeds, tomatoes, garam masala, tumeric, coriander, and 2 cups of water, season with 1 tsp salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes and chickpeas, and continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes longer.
4. Season to taste with salt and mix in the cilantro and lime juice. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and serve right away. Pass the rice and raita at the table.

Note from cookbook: "This vegetarian curry is awesome after it sits for a day and the chickpeas have time to absorb the flavor of the spices. Spoon it over hot, steam basmati rice so you can fully appreciate the flavors in the sauce. If you like a bit of heat, add some minced serrano chile. Serve with spoonfuls of raita for a cooling contrast."

Source: Family Meals: Creating Traditions in the Kitchen

Try #1 - March 14, 2011
This was good, not great. To me it wasn't really a stand-out curry, but it was easy to make, and a good vegetarian option. I did make it a day ahead of time, and reheated it in the oven. We served it with raita, over white basmati rice. I think this would have been better with the addition of naan.

Couscous with Chickpeas, Dried Fruit, and Cilantro

1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 cup orange juice, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium green bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
15-oz can (2 cups) no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Combine water, allspice, 1/2 cup of the orange juice, and 1/4 tsp of the salt in saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stir in couscous, cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.
2. Heat oil in large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat while couscous cooks. Add onion, pepper, garlic, and curry powder. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add chickpeas, apricots, and cranberries. Cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
3. Pour in remaining 1/2 cup orange juice and cook, stirring often, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Serve over couscous.

Source: Prevention magazine, February 2011

Try #1 - March 24, 2011
Yummy! Serves 4 at most.

Oatmeal-Chip Cookies/Bars

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
1/4 tsp ground cloves (optional)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, butterscotch-flavored, or peanut butter-flavored chips

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and, if desired, cinnamon and cloves. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in remaining flour. Stir in rolled oats. Stir in chips.
2. For cookies: Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
OR
For bars: Press into an ungreased 10x13-inch baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes (I think this is right... I forgot to set the timer), or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook

Try #1 - March 6, 2011
I made half of this recipe as bars, and the other half as cookies. I definitely preferred the bars - they were denser and more moist. I will stick to just bars next time.

Linguini with Leeks, Shrimp, and Arugula

1 (16-oz) bag linguini (or another long pasta), cooked and drained
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
a handful of arugula
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

In a medium saute pan, heat the olive oil and butter. Saute the leeks over medium-high heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, until the sauce is slightly reduced. Add the shrimp and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until pink. Toss the leek-shrimp mixture with the cooked pasta. Add the arugula and toss. Add the grated Parmesan, toss, and adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: The I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook