Recipes – Page 17

Pumpkin Bread + Roaring Treat

Published on October 31, 2013October 31, 2013 by T.W.O.1 Comment

Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Dessert – doesn’t matter what time of day you eat Pumpkin Bread. It is good, warm, cold or in some cases frozen! Find out how to make T.W.O.’s delicious pumpkin bread recipe below. In honor of Halloween, there is a special bonus recipe included in the post. Scroll down to get a T.W.O. Trick or Treat!

Ingredients:

– 3 cups sugar
– 1 cup vegetable oil
– 2/3 cup water
– 4 eggs
– 2 cups canned pumpkin (T.W.O. always adds two extra spoonfuls in the dough)
– 3 ½ cups unbleached flour
– 2 teaspoons baking soda
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1 Tablespoon nutmeg
– 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
– 1 teaspoon cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a mixer (T.W.O. uses a KitchenAid), cream sugar and oil together until it becomes a little fluffy. Add eggs, pumpkin and water. Once everything is mixed well, slowly add the flour, soda, and powder. Make sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl so that the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Next, add in nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Place batter into greased pans and put in the oven for about 1.5 hours or until down.

A T.W.O. Trick or Treat!!

Since Halloween is today, T.W.O. decided to dress up their pumpkin bread. That’s right, food can play dress up too! This year, T.W.O. went with the “tiger” theme. Let’s see how this recipe roars! Thanks to T.W.O.’s brother for the vision of combining t.w.o. favorite ingredients…pumpkin and brownie!

The main ingredient to make this tiger pumpkin bread is brownie mix. Follow the directions on the box and set the brownie batter aside. Make the pumpkin bread batter as given above, but instead of pouring all the pumpkin bread batter into the pan, you are going to want to make layers with the brownie batter.

Your final product: sassy bread that is sure to WOW your audience! The rich gooeyness of the brownie mix and the fluffy pumpkin bread is a great combination.

Happy Baking!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Swiss Chard

Published on October 28, 2013October 24, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Picture this: A cold autumn’s night with green vegetables, toasted pine nuts, butternut squash and goat cheese. Sounds T.W.O. perfect, right? Well it is! Check out how to make this dish below.

Ingredients:

– 1 large butternut squash
– 2 large shallots, quartered
-4 gloves of garlic, skinned and halved
– 1 ½ Tablespoon cinnamon
– 1 ½ Tablespoon nutmeg
-1 large head Swiss chard, stems and leaves chopped separately
-¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
-¾ cups dried cranberries
– ¼ cup honey goat cheese, crumbled
– balsamic vinegar, to drizzle

Preheat oven to 375ᴼ. Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise. Seed the squash and cut into bite-size cubes. Spray/brush the squash with olive oil and mix in cinnamon and nutmeg. Once the squash is coated, place on a baking sheet and cook for about 30-40 minutes until soft. Check the squash periodically and mix.

At the 20 minute mark, add the garlic and the shallots to the butternut squash on the baking pan in the oven.

While the squash medley is cooking, chop the Swish chard stems and sauté in a fry pan for 3 minutes with a drixzle of balsamic vinegar. After 2 minutes, add the Swish chard leaves.

Mix in the cranberries and the roasted pine nuts.

Remove the squash, shallots and garlic from the oven and add to the Swish chard mixture. Once mixed, remove from stove and plate the ingredients. Add the goat cheese to the top for garnish. Serve immediately.

T.W.O. enjoys having this for leftovers for lunch the next day. Just heat it up in the microwave or on the stove and you will have another tasty meal!

Happy cooking!!!

Deep Dish Pizza

Published on October 25, 2013October 21, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Friday Night Pizza!!! T.W.O. decided to spice up Friday Night Pizza night and make a deep dish pizza. That’s right, pizza pie! T.W.O.’s brother made a deep dish pie a couple weeks ago, which inspired us to try our own version. Grab your rolling pin, pie dish, ingredients and let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:

– Pizza dough
– Flour
– Cornmeal
– Mozzarella cheese, 1 inch block
– Marinara sauce (T.W.O. uses Molinari’s homemade marinara sauce)
– 1 large head of broccoli, chopped
– 1 can of olives, diced
– 1 small package of mushrooms, diced
– 2 jalapeno, diced

Preheat oven to 425ᴼ.

First, roll out dough on a flour, cornmeal surface. Make sure to evenly roll out the dough in a circular shape so it fits in the pie dish. Once completed, place the dough in the pie dish and pat in place. Add some flour and cornmeal to the bottom of the dough so it will help absorb some of the juices.

Cut thin mozzarella slices from the block of cheese and lay on the bottom. Next, drizzle some marinara sauce to cover the cheese. Add the cut vegetables to the pie and layer cut slices of cheese in between. Once you have all your ingredients in the pie, top with the remaining marinara. The sauce should fill in the gaps between the vegetables.

Put the pizza pie in the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes. You will know when the pizza is ready when the sauce is “bubbling”. Take out and top with parmesan cheese.

Let the pizza sit for about 10 minutes prior to cutting. Once served, sit down and enjoy your deep dish pizza pie!

Happy Friday Night Pizza Night!!!

Cheers,

Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey, Swiss Chard, Cranberries & Spicy Dijon, Lemon Vinaigrette

Published on October 22, 2013October 16, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey, Swiss Chard, Cranberries & Spicy Dijon, Lemon Vinaigrette

Fall is in the air, and it’s also in T.W.O.’s cooking! Check out how to make this easy and tasty recipe the whole family will love. It’s great as an entrée, side dish or even lunch! T.W.O. doubled the recipe and was able to enjoy it throughout the week…leftovers are the best!

Ingredients

Spicy Dijon Dressing:

– 4-5 tablespoons spicy Dijon mustard
– 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
– ¼ cup rice vinegar
– ½ lemon, juiced
– Krazy Salt & Pepper to taste

For the Spaghetti Squash:

– 1 large spaghetti squash
– 1 pound lean ground turkey meat
– 1 bunch of Swiss chard leaves, removed from steam
– ½ – 1 cup dried cranberries
– Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 375ᴼ F. Using a sharp knife, cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and the “strings” just like you would when carving a pumpkin. Once clean, place the squash, face down in a sprayed Pyrex pan. Salt and Pepper to taste. Put the Pyrex in the oven and cook for about 40 minutes.

While the spaghetti squash is cooking, sauté the ground turkey meat with pepper and Krazy Salt. Once thoroughly cooked, put aside.

Next, sauté the chopped Swiss chard leaves in a lightly oiled pan. Sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Once complete, add the cranberries and ground turkey meat.

To make the dressing, add all the ingredients in a cup and whisk for about 2 minutes.

After 40 minutes, take the spaghetti squash out of the oven and let cool for 4 minutes. Once cooled, take a fork and “stroke” the squash from top to bottom to get the “spaghetti” noodles and put in a large mixing bowl. Continue to do this until you scrape to the skin.

Once the spaghetti is ready, add the Swiss chard, cranberry, turkey mixture to the squash. Mix lightly. (You don’t want to break the spaghetti) Add the dressing and mix. T.W.O. highly suggests serving this dish warm, so you can immediately plate it!

Happy Fall cooking!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Published on October 21, 2013October 21, 2013 by T.W.O.1 Comment

T.W.O. has made a ton of chocolate chip cookies in their lifetime and we discovered that throughout the years, new recipes are constantly evolving. Most recently, T.W.O. adapted this recipe that has a secret ingredient. Find out the trick to making the best chocolate chip cookie!

Ingredients:

– 2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
– 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, soften
– ¾ cups light brown sugar
– ½ cup sugar
– 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
– 3 teaspoons vanilla
– 2 cups chocolate chips

In a bowl, mix butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and yolk together. (T.W.O. uses a KitchenAid mixer!) Once mixed well, add the flour, baking soda and the secret ingredient CORNSTARCH! After 3 minutes, slowly add in the chocolate chips. Place the dough in the refrigerator overnight or for a minimum 3 hours.

Don’t forget to taste the dough!

When you are ready to bake the cookies, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Pre-heat 350ᴼF. Let the dough sit out on the counter for about 15 minutes while the oven is pre-heating. Roll the dough into balls and place them on an oil-sprayed cookie sheet. Next, place the cookies in the oven for 10-11 minutes depending on your oven.

Once they are finished, take the cookies out of the oven. Place the baked cooked on a cooling rack and grab yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!

Happy Baking!

Harvest Quinoa Salad

Published on October 18, 2013October 13, 2013 by twinswithoriginalityLeave a comment

Fall is just not in the air, but also in quinoa! T.W.O. loves making this harvest quinoa salad during the autumn months. It makes a great side dish, lunch meal, or snack! Serve it hot or cold! It’s just not perfect sweater weather, but perfect quinoa weather.

Ingredients

-2 cups water
-1 cup red quinoa, rinsed
-1 green apple
-1 cup spinach
-1/2 cup of dried cranberries
-1 lemon, juiced
-3-4 tablespoons olive oil
-1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
-3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-Garlic powder
-Cinnamon
-Salt & Pepper
-Goat cheese, crumbled

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add a dash of cinnamon and garlic power. If you want a little kick, add a dash of cayenne pepper. Once the water is boiling, add quinoa and reduce to low-medium heat. Cook for about 12-15 minutes. While the quinoa is cooking, cut the apple (unpeeled) and spinach.

When the quinoa is done, fluff with fork and cool for 10-15 minutes.

Once cool, add olive oil, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, garlic powder, salt and pepper and mix. Next add in apple, spinach and cranberries and mix well.

Allow salad to chill for about 20 minutes. When you are ready to serve, crumble goat cheese over salad. (If you plan to serve, only let quinoa cool for about 2 minutes before adding in the ingredients. Top salad with goat cheese when you are ready to serve.)

Bon appetite!

*T.W.O. also likes to add grilled chicken breast to the salad or even chunks of roasted sweet potatoes.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Published on October 17, 2013October 15, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Don’t throw away those brown bananas you have sitting on the counter; instead make chocolate chip banana bread! And T.W.O. did that exact thing for a Sunday afternoon project. It’s a great recipe for breakfast, a snack or even a sweet tooth craving after dinner.

Ingredients

– 2 ½ cups flour
-1 cup sugar
-3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
– 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
-¾ cups milk (or almond milk)
-1 egg
-1 cup mashed bananas, ripe (~2 to 3 medium bananas)
-2-3 cups Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350º. In a mixer (T.W.O. uses a KitchenAid), cream the oil, sugar and egg. Once mixed, add the mashed bananas and milk.

Next, slowly add the flour and the baking powder. The batter should be thick, but not sticky. After about 4 minutes, stop the mixer. Slowly fold in (or on low speed in the mixer) the chocolate chips. Depending on your love for chocolate, feel free to add more or less!

Put in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. You know the bread is ready, when you poke the loaf with a butter knife and it comes out clean!

Happy Baking!

Creamy Polenta with Funghi & Fish

Published on October 15, 2013October 14, 2013 by T.W.O.Leave a comment

Tired of mashed potatoes? Well T.W.O. has a great alternative side dish to add on your next menu…Creamy Polenta. Check out how to make this easy dish for a gourmet dinner at home.

Ingredients

For the Polenta:

-4 cups vegetable broth, low sodium
-2/3 cup polenta
-1/3 cup grated Pecorino Romano

For the Mushrooms:

-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
-4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and discarded, sliced
-12 ounces crimini (Baby Bella) mushrooms, sliced
-2 cloves garlic cloves
-1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
-1/8 teaspoon Krazy salt

For the Fish:

-2 filets rock fish
-1 meyer lemon
-Salt
-Pepper
-Oregano

Polenta: In a sauce pan, bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Reduce the heat and whisk in the polenta. Mix frequently for about 15-20 minutes until the polenta is soft and thick. At this time add the Pecorino Romano. Mix well.

Mushrooms: In a frying pan, heat the olive oil for about 1 minute over medium heat. Add the diced garlic gloves and mushrooms and sauté about 3-4 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and the salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low/medium and cook for about 8-10 minutes. The mushrooms will shrink, so don’t get scared that you are over-cooking them.

Fish: Place the fish on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Marinate the filets with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Set aside and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Turn the oven on to 400 degrees. Put the fish in the oven for about 8 minutes. Once the fish is almost done, turn the oven to broil and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Watch carefully so you don’t burn the filets.

Presentation:

Place the cooked polenta on a plate. Add the mushrooms on top of the polenta followed by the filet of fish. Note – this dish is best when hot, so make sure your table is set and your guests are seated!

Enjoy!

Smoked Ribs

Published on October 9, 2013October 9, 2013 by T.W.O.1 Comment

T.W.O. has a love for barbeque, but recently we have enjoyed smoking meats. Last Christmas, T.W.O. purchased a smoker for their father and boy, do we have fun experimenting with it. This past weekend T.W.O. + dad smoked ribs. Check out this lip smackin’ recipe below.

Ingredients:
Beef Short Ribs
Montreal Steak Seasoning
KC Masterpiece Reserved BBQ Sauce
Apple wood chips
Optional:
Sriracha

Rub the ribs with Montreal Steak seasoning. Note – you want to limit the amount of seasoning, so you don’t overpower the natural flavor of the meat. Let the meat sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature. While the meat is sitting, start the smoker and place a handful of apple wood chips in the bottom of the smoker.

Once ready, place the ribs in the smoker.

Before

After 2.5 hours

After about 2 1/2 – 3 hours take the ribs out and place them on foil. Smother the meat in BBQ sauce and cover with foil. T.W.O. experimented and added sriracha in addition to the BBQ sauce to a couple of the ribs.

Take the covered ribs and place them back in the smoker for about 20-30 minutes. At this time the ribs are ready to eat!

Enjoy the delicious meat!!

Mmm…T.W.O. good!

Libby wanted some Ribs too!

*T.W.O. + dad are continently trying new recipes. There are many different versions that you can follow, so sit back, relax and keep an eye out for more of these smoke’n BBQ recipes! Both these recipes (sriracha/ non-sriracha) turned out great…just depends on your tastebuds!

Spaghetti Squash “Pasta” Bowls

Published on October 7, 2013October 6, 2013 by twinswithoriginality2 Comments

Spaghetti squash is one of T.W.O.’s favorite vegetables to eat during fall and winter. It makes for a great side dish, entrée, or even a snack! Spaghetti squash is full of nutrients such as folic acid, potassium, and vitamin A. It is also gluten free! So T.W.O. decided to give your typical “spaghetti dinner” a spin and create a delicious, healthy dish for dinner!

Ingredients

-Spaghetti squash
-½ sweet white onion
-2 garlic cloves
-Mushrooms
-Broccoli florets
-Pasta sauce
-Fresh buffalo mozzarella or Parmesan cheese
-Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a sharp knife cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove all the seeds. Place squash on a foil-lined cookie sheet and put in oven. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until the “meat” of the squash is soft.

Meanwhile, chop up garlic, onion, and mushrooms and broccoli. Once the squash is done, take it out of the oven to cool slightly. (Keep oven on) While the squash is cooling, sauté the garlic, onion and mushrooms in olive oil. Microwave the broccoli florets in a bowl filled with ¼ inch of water for about 2 minutes.

Using a fork, scrap out the squash and put into a large bowl. Squash should come out like “spaghetti.” Once all the squash is out of the “shells” place the “shells” aside. These will be used as bowls for the dish.

Add the sautéed garlic, onions, and mushrooms to the squash and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Next, add in the broccoli and pasta sauce and mix.

Place the spaghetti squash back into the “shells”, top with fresh mozzarella and put back into the oven. (Parmesan cheese can also be used.) Bake for about 10 minutes. Before taking the squash out, turn the oven to broil. Broil for about 1-2 minutes or until cheese is slightly brown. Now it’s time to eat!!