I landed my first job at 13 years old - in a pizzeria. First, I was taking phone orders, then I was making pizza, and then I was cooking! At 14, I moved on to a fancy restaurant and was a chef's assistant (basically, I cut and prepared all the stuff that was to be cooked). From 15 - 18, I worked in a gourmet grocery store at the deli/foods/cheese counter. I really thought I'd become a chef, but somehow ended up in academia. Anyway, I still love to cook and I wanted to share some recipes. I've cited recipes that I use that haven't been tweaked. If there is no citation, then it is one of my own creations :)
Smoothies: These are combinations that work well - add as much or as little of each ingredient to your taste.
(1) Low-fat yogurt, peaches, and butternut squash (frozen from veggie freezer at grocery store)
(2) Low-fat yogurt, pears, and peas
(3) Low-fat yogurt, apples, and carrots
Crock-Pot Turkey Breast
2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 1/2lbs skinless turkey breast cut into bite size pieces (I've used chicken breast, too - whatever is on sale)
2 cups chicken broth (low-sodium works well)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, mined
1 1/2tbs lemon juice
1 14 1/2oz can stewed tomatoes, undrained
Combine all ingredients in a slow-cooker and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours. [This is tweaked from the recipe book that comes with the Crock-Pot]
Healthy Oatmeal Cookies
Dry ingredients
* 1 cup whole wheat flour (a pinch more depending on the moisture of the mix)
* 1 1/2 cups of Large Flake Rolled Oats (smaller flake is ok too)
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp Nutmeg (optional)
Wet ingredients
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/2 cup oil (corn, grapeseed or olive) * you can also use some applesauce to replace some of the oil if you wish*
* 1 Tablespoon Molasses
* 1 egg (beat with 1 Tbsp Water)
* 1 tsp Vanilla
Preparation:
1. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. In a medium bowl, mix all the wet ingredients together. Hint: when measuring out the honey, spray the measuring cup with oil or baking spray--your honey won't stick).
3. Mix the wet stuff with the dry stuff. Add the raisins and walnuts and mix. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit of flour. If it isn't binding together very well, you may wish to add an egg white.
4. COOL the mix for 20 minutes in the fridge.
5. Preheat the oven to 335 degrees (lower temperature due to the honey in the recipe which will burn more easily).
6. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your baking sheet (I recommend lining the baking sheet with parchment paper). Press down with a fork to ensure even cooking.
7. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until golden on the bottom of the cookie. The cookies freeze very well and make a great snack! Enjoy.
[This recipe is from http://www.wholegraingourmet.com and they have a ton of great recipes.]
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (fast!)
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 package active dry yeast/instant yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot tap water (120 - 125°F)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 425°F
To prepare pizza dough, stir whole wheat flour; lightly spoon into a measuring cup and level flour.
In large mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, yeast and salt. Blend in water, oil and honey or sugar. Stir by hand vigorously until all ingredients are well mixed; about 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise to desired size.
Place dough in greased 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan or 12 to 14-inch pizza pan. Press dough to cover bottom of pan and up sides to form a rim.
Add pizza sauce of your choice and your favorite pizza toppings; bake in oven 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and toppings are done.
[This recipe is from http://www.wheatfoods.org/Quick-Whole-Wheat-Pizza-Crust.217.1.htm]
