Simple Christmas

Sometimes, by the time we get to our Christmas dinner, we have indulged in so many tasty things that all we need is a simple dinner. Here are a few ideas to keep your Christmas dinner simple but also special.

Side Dishes:
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Serves 8+

These are the easiest potatoes, much less work than mashed potatoes with the same garlicky taste. Since they don't take much time in the oven, these can roast while your ham or turkey is resting.

3 pounds red potatoes
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon rosemary

Wash the potatoes and cut into 2 inch pieces. Toss with remaining ingredients. Spread the potatoes out onto a baking sheet or roasting pan in a single layer. Roast at 400 degrees 20-30 minutes until they are tender and well browned.

Lighter Green Bean Casserole:

Serves 8+

Green bean casserole has been a favorite in our family for years. Here we can all enjoy a great green bean casserole without the heaviness of cream of mushroom soup.

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
1/2 pound mushrooms or onions
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 cup plain Greek or thick yogurt
1+ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds long green beans, defrosted

In a dutch oven or saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Wash and slice the mushrooms or slice the onions. Saute mushrooms or onions over medium heat, adding the vegetable stock 1/2 cup at a time to deglaze the pan.

This will take just a bit of your time, about 20-30 minutes, but is worth it. Don't stray too far from the stove, but you can double your duty by cleaning up the rest of the mess you've likely made in the kitchen -- if you're anything like me -- while your onions or mushrooms do their thing.

When you've added all of the stock, remove from heat and stir in yogurt and pepper. Toss with green beans. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Whew! Those are some steamy beans! If you must have fried onions on top, try tossing sliced onions with a bit of vegetable oil and flour and oven frying instead of the canned version. 

The Main Stuff:

Brown Sugar and Honey Glazed Ham

There are a lot of smoked hams out there with a package of gooey glaze with a long list of ingredients that are difficult to pronounce. Try this four-ingredient glaze to give your ham a sweet flavor. 

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

pinch of salt

Stir all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Go easy on the salt, just enough to bring out the flavors as the ham is surely salty enough. 

You can glaze the ham early in the cooking process or just in the last 30 minutes. 

Sweet, Sweet Dessert:

Dipped pretzels are probably my favorite Christmas dessert. Sweet and salty are such a great combo and just a handful makes a cup of coffee that much more delicious. 

For an extra touch, add about a 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the melted chocolate before dipping the pretzels. Easy and without the mess of crushed peppermints (though delicious!), peppermint extract gives dipped pretzels a fresh taste. 

Enjoy!

Applesauce Crumble Coffee Cake

Mom and I love coffee cake. Love it!
We love it so much I knew I had to find a way to make it easier on our waistlines. Whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and applesauce go a long way toward more fiber and less butter and shortening.

This coffee cake makes a small enough batch for a gift and can easily be doubled to share with visiting family. Make it the night before for an easy Sunday morning breakfast.

Let's go!

Whisk together the flour, oatmeal, wheat germ, salt, baking powder and 2 tablespoons sugar

With a mixer, combine one cup of the dry ingredients with shortening until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside. 

Combine crumb mixture, remaining dry ingredients and applesauce. 

Whisk together milk, egg and vanilla. Mix into the batter. 

Pour batter into a greased 8x6 or loaf pan. 

Combine remaining tablespoon sugar and cinnamon with reserved crumb mixture. 

Pour melted butter over batter and top with crumb mixture. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for a few minutes while your coffee brews. 

Applesauce Crumble Coffee Cake:
Serves 4


1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal, ground
1 tablespoon wheat germ (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup natural or sugar free applesauce
1/2 cup skim milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Whisk together the flour, oatmeal, wheat germ, salt, baking powder and 2 tablespoons sugar. Use a coffee grinder, blender or food processor to grind the oatmeal into a flour.

With a mixer, combine one cup of the dry ingredients with shortening until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture and set aside. 

Combine crumb mixture, remaining dry ingredients and applesauce. Whisk together milk, egg and vanilla. Mix into the batter. Pour batter into a greased 8x6 or loaf pan. 

Combine remaining tablespoon sugar and cinnamon with reserved crumb mixture. Pour melted butter over batter and top with crumb mixture. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for a few minutes while your coffee brews. 

Spicy Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta

The theme in our house lately has been to eat spicy to stay warm. Our beloved Sriracha hasn't strayed far from the stove and we've chugged our weight in milk. So far, we've had success.

Are you ready for some heat? Here we go:

Get the pasta water started and cook to al dente. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large saute pan. 

Give the baby broccoli a rough chop. Add garlic to dutch oven and cook until fragrant, just about a minute. Toss in the broccoli and saute until bright green. 

Add shrimp and saute until they just begin to turn pink.

Squirt in your Sriracha. A little goes a long way.

Getting steamy in there! Add reserved 1/2 cup pasta water, parmesan and feta. Give it a stir and watch it get melty and delicious. 

Fold in the pasta.

Pour a glass of milk. Top with another sprinkle of parmesan and enjoy!

Spicy Shrimp and Broccoli Pasta

Serves 4

3 cups wheel pasta, or pasta of your choice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic

1 pound baby broccoli

1/2 pound (or more!) shrimp

1-2 teaspoons Sriracha, for more or less spice

1/2 cup reserved pasta water

1/4 cup parmesan, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup feta, crumbled

Cook pasta according to directions. 

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or large saute pan. Roughly chip the baby broccoli. 

Add garlic to dutch oven and cook until fragrant, just about a minute. Toss in the broccoli and saute until bright green. 

Add shrimp and saute until they just begin to turn pink. Stir in Sriracha.

Add reserved 1/2 cup pasta water, parmesan and feta. Stir and cook until melted. Fold in the pasta.

Top with another sprinkle of parmesan and enjoy!

Dreamy Creamy Chicken and Rice

The weather is slowly getting colder, but I'm not waiting for a real chill before I dive into comfort food. I have always loved a chicken and rice casserole. Here is a way to enjoy chicken and rice without gloopy cream-of-something soups and an hour or more of bake time.

The yogurt is a great alternative to the canned soup, adding a creamy texture to the sauce without the extra calories. The sauce is just thin enough for the rice to soak up.

Cook rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to directions. 

Heat oil in a saute pan and add onions with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions begin to sweat, just a few minutes. Add the chicken and cook until browned. 

Whisk together the chicken stock and yogurt.

Roughly chop the spinach.

Whisk the spinach, garlic, and basil into yogurt mixture.

When the chicken has browned, remove from pan and set aside. Turn heat down to medium-low and add yogurt mixture to pan. 

Shred or slice the chicken and add back to pan. Cook until just heated through and the spinach begins to wilt. 

Serve over rice and enjoy.

Dreamy Creamy Chicken and Rice
Serves 2

2/3 cup brown rice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion
salt and pepper
2 chicken breasts or thighs
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2/3 cup low fat plain or Greek yogurt
2 cups fresh spinach
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil

Cook rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to directions. 

Heat oil over medium in a saute pan and add onions with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions begin to sweat, just a few minutes. Add the chicken and cook until browned. 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken stock and yogurt until smooth. 

Roughly chop the spinach. Whisk the spinach, garlic, and basil into yogurt mixture. Salt and pepper to taste. 

When the chicken has browned, remove from pan and set aside. Turn heat down to medium-low and add yogurt mixture to pan. 

Shred or slice the chicken and add back to pan. Cook until just heated through and the spinach begins to wilt. Keep the heat low to keep the yogurt from curdling. 

Serve over rice and enjoy.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. One could never go wrong counting their blessings, enjoying friends and family, and sharing a great meal. I have many memories furiously whisking gravy with my Granny and Dad carving the turkey.

Here are a few easy recipes that I hope will help you enjoy a wonderful holiday meal.

Roasted Turkey
Choose a turkey large enough to feed your guests and to provide the leftovers you would like. We are always big on leftovers and frequently have an 18+ pound bird. Butterball has a great website with recommendations and guides for all things turkey.

Sometimes a simple turkey is all you need.

1 turkey
1-2 sticks butter, softened

Remove the turkey from the packaging and pull out the neck and giblets from the cavity. Rinse the turkey inside and out and pat dry. Tuck the wings back to hold the neck skin in place and place turkey onto a roasting rack.

Rub the turkey with the butter until well coated. A good butter massage does everyone some good. This does not have to be pretty, the butter will just melt into deliciousness. Cover the turkey with two layers of foil and roast at 325 degrees. When the turkey is about 30 minutes from away from being fully cooked, remove the foil to brown.

Check the turkey for doneness, 180 degrees deep in the thigh. Remove the turkey from the pan and move to a platter and cover with foil again to rest before carving.

Pan Gravy
This is my favorite part. My Granny would use sake instead of white wine for deglazing the pan. I love the twist, the great flavor, and the memories. This will make quite a bit of gravy, plenty for leftovers.

Whisking the gravy can take a bit of work, so grab your sister (my favorite!), brother, or cousin to help.

1 bottle sake
1/2 cup flour
4 cups chicken stock

Pour the drippings from the roasting pan into a fat separator and set aside. Place the roasting pan over two burners on the stove top and turn heat to medium. When the pan is hot, add about a third of the sake and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all of the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add another third of the sake, reserved juices from the fat separator, and 1/4 cup of the flour. Whisk constantly, working out the lumps of flour. Repeat with the rest of the sake and four.

Continue to whisk the gravy, adding the stock about 1 cup at a time as the gravy reduces. When the last of the stock has been added, cook until the desired consistency. Turn off heat and pour into a gravy boat or two and serve hot.

Green Beans with Caramelized Onions
As much as I love green bean casserole, sometimes a change is great. Here is a simple way to great flavor to green beans.

Caramelizing the onions can take a little bit of time, but you can step into the living room and sing along to White Christmas with your mom while the onions do the work in between adding stock. This recipe should serve at least ten and could easily be divided.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
5 small yellow onions
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper
4 pounds green beans, fresh or defrosted

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat and slice the onions. 

Add the onions to the dutch oven with a few pinches of salt. 

Allow the onions to cook down, using the stock to deglaze the pan. Repeat until you have used the stock or your patience. The longer they go, the better they taste. 

Toss onions with the green beans and add freshly ground pepper. We love pepper, so I used at least 2 teaspoons. 

Spread out in a greased 9 x 13 in pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes covered in foil and then 30 minutes uncovered. The beans can go in the oven when you remove the foil from the turkey so that they will be done just before the gravy. 

Dutch Apple Pie

My second favorite. I always loved having this for breakfast the next day with mom. 

For the filling:

2 pounds apples, using two different kinds of apples adds a more complex flavor, our favorites are Galas and Granny Smiths

1/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon corn starch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

juice of 1/2 lemon

For the crumb topping:

1 cup whole wheat flour, white flour, or mixture

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup butter, softened

Mom always makes the best pie crusts!

Slice and core the apples and arrange them in an unbaked crust. Heat the sugar, corn starch, salt, water and butter in a sauce pan over medium. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat and add vanilla and lemon juice. Pour over apples.

Combine flour, oatmeal, pecans, almonds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and stir to combine. 

Cut in butter until crumbly. Pack topping onto apples. 

Cover pie with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, removing foil for the last 20 minutes. 

You might have to set a piece aside if you want any for breakfast.

Have a great Thanksgiving making memories!

Spicy Roasted Chicken and Vegetables

Finally, I bought some sriracha.

After having sriracha at our favorite Japanese restaurant, we had to have some. Sriracha has a great clean heat, all with a short list of pronounceable ingredients and a natural red color.

We've had it in a pot pie for a little extra zing. I've made a quick stir fry with chicken and green beans, spicy enough to warrant milk with dinner. Chili is next on my list.

While I purchased the sriracha on purpose, the brussel sprouts were a whim. Everything comes together here with a simple roasted dinner. If you don't have or don't care for the sprouts, use your favorite vegetables. More peppers, green beans, broccoli, anything you'd like.

Spicy Roasted Chicken and Vegetables:
Serves 2

1 cup brown rice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cilantro

2 teaspoons sriracha, double it for more heat

2 pieces chicken breast or thighs
2 small or 1 medium yellow onion
2 medium bell peppers or 3 handfuls baby bell peppers
1/2 pound brussel sprouts

Cook rice according to directions. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Whisk the olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, cilantro and sriracha. Marinate the chicken in half of the sauce while you cut up the vegetables.

Cut the onions and peppers into larger bite-sized pieces

Wash, trim, and halve the brussel sprouts.

Toss vegetables with remaining sauce. Spread vegetables and chicken out on a roasting pan or stoneware. Roast in the oven 25-30 minutes until the chicken is done and the vegetables have browned nicely. 

Cut up the chicken if you'd like. Serve chicken and vegetables over rice.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

I am sure my coworkers don't mind being guinea pigs. They just might enjoy it! With most of the office out today, I thought these would be a great treat.

Try these quick blueberry muffins for breakfast this weekend!

Blueberry Muffins
Makes 1 dozen

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup applesauce
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with spray oil or paper cups.

Whisk together the flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and set aside

Cream the butter and sugar

Add an egg

And the applesauce

Mix in half of the dry ingredients, then the milk, and then the rest of the dry ingredients

Fold in the blueberries

Divide the batter into the prepared muffin tin

Bake 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean

These muffins don't have much butter or sugar and the applesauce keeps them tender and moist. Enjoy this filling breakfast with a glass of cold milk.