Carrots | I Can Cook That

Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

My CSA share this week came with the most beautiful carrots. I am not the biggest fan of carrots but I don’t mind them mixed into a dish. These were too pretty to not use! Cooking Light had a recipe in its latest issue that sounded really intriguing: Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken. The dish is pretty simple to make, although it takes a good hour and a half so this is not a weeknight meal. But the presentation is definitely snazzy enough for company!

Ingredients (serves 2 heartily, or up to 4):

2 slices center-cut bacon
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 bone-in chicken thighs
2 bone-in chicken drumsticks
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/3 pound potatoes, cut into equal pieces
1/2 poundbaby bella mushrooms, halved
1/4 cup brandy
2 shallots, halved
3/4 cup no-salt-added chicken broth
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
1/2 bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 baby carrots with tops
1 cup Champagne
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Curry Clay Pot Chicken

I was recently sent a clay pot from Romertopf to try out and review. Cooking in a clay pot is something I never really thought about, or even considered. You just cook your meal in a clay pot which has been soaking in water. This releases steam while it cooks and keeps the food moist. Clay pots have been used for cooking dating back to Roman times and are still used around the world. The clay pots are perfect for making roast chicken, paella, ratatouille, or even dessert!

I honestly had no idea how to go about finding a recipe to try out my new spiffy clay pot. So I just used a recipe from the Romertopf website as my first attempt. The Curry Clay Pot Chicken sounded right up my alley. (https://www.romertopfonline.com/chicken-recipes.htm)

Ingredients:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon cornstarch
6 small new red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch slices (I forgot to cut mine! Make sure you do though!)
6 baby carrots
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 medium tomato, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
1 tablespoon soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
1 teaspoon sugar

Continue reading Curry Clay Pot Chicken

Kara Age Scallop Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

A while back, I received a box of Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoned Coating Mix and make these wonderful Kara-Age Popcorn Shrimp. The box came with two bags of Kara-Age seasoning and I’ve been holding on to it waiting for the perfect recipe to use it. I found a recipe for a Seared Scallop Salad that sounded wonderful by itself, but I thought the Kara-Age would be an awesome addition, so here is my recipe for Kara Age Scallop Salad with Honey Lime Dressing!

Ingredients for the Honey-Lime Dressing:

The juice of 3 limes
5 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Salt, to taste

Ingredients for the Scallop Salad:

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 lbs dry sea scallops

1 packet of Kikkoman Kara-Age Soy-Ginger Seasoned Coating Mix

1 bag of mixed greens (I used a baby spring mix)

2 cups chopped vegetables of your choice

So, I’m having a busy week, which means I wanted the quickest recipe possible. Pre-washed bag of mixed greens? Check. Seafood so it cooks quickly? You bet. Pre-chopped assorted vegetables? Oh my.

Trader Joe’s has containers of a “healthy 8 chopped veggie mix” that includes broccoli, carrots, green cabbage, red cabbage, jicama, green bell pepper, radishes and celery. Sounds good for a salad to me! (If you want, chop up whatever makes you happy and put it in this salad. I was just being super lazy).

First make your dressing. Whisk together the lime juice, honey, vinegar and salt until the honey is incorporated (I find this to be easier if the honey has been microwaved for a few seconds). Set aside.

Add the salad greens and vegetables to a large bowl. Toss to combine.

Add the kara-age mix to a large ziplock bag. Add the scallops, close the bag, and shake until the scallops are fully coated.

Heat the peanut oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add some of the scallops to the skillet (no more than 5-6, you don’t want them to crowd). Cook the scallops for 4 minutes until golden brown.

Flip and cook for another 4 minutes. The scallops should be opaque throughout. (Cut one open to check).

Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining scallops.

To serve, add the greens and vegetables to individual plates and place the scallops on top. Mix to dressing and drizzle on top.

This recipe should make 4 salads.

Easy, right?

For so little effort, a dish should not taste this good!

The honey lime dressing was perfect with the slightly bitter salad and the kara-age.

The kara-age added hints of ginger, soy, and garlic which really complemented the dish. It also added a nice sear to the scallops.

Depending on how few/many scallops you add to the plate, this could be an appetizer or the full meal. After taking the photos I added 1-2 more to make it my dinner for the night.

Creamy Spring Pasta

I was talking to my mom on the phone earlier this week and she mentioned she was making a creamy pasta with peas (her favorite) for dinner. Naturally, I had some taste bud jealousy and decided that I needed to have that as well this week. Cooking Light’s most recent issue had this Creamy Spring Pasta which sounded fantastic so I was able to!

Ingredients:

3 quarts water
2 ounces French bread baguette, torn into pieces
1 tablespoon butter
3 garlic cloves, minced and divided
1 batch of asparagus, cut diagonally into two inch pieces
1 cup frozen peas and carrots mixture
6 ounces fresh spinach fettuccine
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
3 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the torn bread to a food processor (I just used my Magic Bullet) and process until it becomes coarse crumbs.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add one minced garlic clove to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the breadcrumbs and cook for 3 minutes, sitting frequently. Remove from pan and set aside. Wipe the pan down so that you can use it again.

Your pot should now be boiling. Add the asparagus and peas and carrots to the boiling water and cook for 3 minutes.

Use a slotted spoon to remove from the water (you need the water to cook the pasta). Add the vegetables to a colander and rinse with cold water.

Add the olive oil to the saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic cloves and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. While the onion and garlic are cooking, add the flour to a small bowl and gradually whisk in the chicken broth. Add this to the saute pan. Also stir in the milk, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 1 minute.

Add the pasta to the boiling water. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and reserve.

Remove the milk mixture from heat. Add the Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until the cheeses melt.

Add the pasta and reserved vegetables and toss to coat.

Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and tarragon and serve.

Doesn’t it just look like spring?

The sauce does a really great impression of a cream sauce. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to tell the difference between this sauce and one made with heavy cream.

I wish I had added some of the tarragon to the sauce as well to get more of that flavor, but it was still nice as little bites of tarragon flavor.

Asparagus this time of year is just perfect. It was still crisp and bright so it stood out through the cream sauce.

And the toasted bread crumbs were awesome. An extra crunch to top off the dish!

Bunny Carrot Cake

Every Easter, we have this adorable little bunny cake that shows up for dessert. I honestly don’t know what bakery we get it from, but it always makes me smile. So I thought I’d try to recreate it. Obviously, a bunny would be filled with carrots, so I decided to make a Bunny Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting, covered in coconut.

I used a recipe from David Lebovitz for the cake and frosting, and used Betty Crocker‘s instructions on how to make it into a bunny.

Ingredients:

Carrot Cake:

¾ cup butter, melted and browned
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups loosely packed grated carrots (about 5 carrots)
1/2 cup golden raisins

Frosting:

2 (8oz packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Additional ingredients:

1 bag of coconut flakes
green food dye
jelly beans

Tools needed (paid links):

grater
electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer)
10-inch round cake pan
5 in round cake pan

Continue reading Bunny Carrot Cake

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, which means Americans nationwide are gearing up for a corned beef and cabbage feast. Despite being Irish-American myself, I’ve never eaten this St. Patrick’s Day staple before. My boyfriend, a huge corned beef fan, was really looking forward to having some, so I finally decided it was time to try to make it. I choose to adapt this recipe from Food Network for Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage so that I could use my slow cooker and not have to watch over it for hours.

Ingredients:

4 pounds raw corned beef brisket
Pickling Spice (included with brisket)
1 medium rutabaga, halved, peeled and cut into wedges
5 large carrots, cut into 4-inch pieces
1 bag red potatoes
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 leek, white and light-green parts only, sliced
1/2 head cabbage, roughly chopped
1/3 cup Dijon mustard with horseradish
1/3 cup crème fraiche or sour cream

Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Vegetable Couscous

I apologize for the lack of posts! Like many, I’ve spent the past week doing a whole lot of eating, but not necessarily cooking. My parents gave me a nifty panini pan for the stove which also doubles as a grill pan. I wanted to test it out, so I decided to try Cooking Light’s Rosemary Swordfish on Vegetable Couscous.

Ingredients (this makes one serving so multiply as needed):

1 teaspoon olive oil’
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 (5-ounce) swordfish steak
1/2 carrot, diced
1/2 zucchini, diced
3 Kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
the juice of one lemon
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 uncooked couscous
Salt and pepper, to taste

Continue reading Grilled Rosemary Swordfish with Vegetable Couscous

Meatloaf Muffins

I don’t think I’ve ever had a craving for meatloaf. Honestly, I’m pretty sure I’ve only had meatloaf once. So I never actively seek out making meatloaf, much to my boyfriend’s disappointment. However, we both had long, exhausting work weeks, so I thought he deserved a comfort-food meal. Cooking light had a recipe for Meatloaf Muffins that I thought would work great; he could eat as much as he wanted and then have perfectly portioned “muffins” that I could freeze.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
3 bell peppers (I used one orange, yellow & red), chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut out of its casing (I used 2 sausages)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your onion, carrot, garlic, and peppers. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, basil, parsley, garlic and peppers. (Note: I completely forgot about the peppers and had to go back and saute them on their own. Just pretend they are in the photos. Shh.)

Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the sausage, cut out of the casing, beef, 1/2 ketchup, sriracha, panko, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground pepper, eggs, and the cooled onion mixture in a large bowl.

Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Add the mixture to the muffin tins. (I used large muffin tins so there were only 6. This recipe also works with the standard size 12. For the large, 1 muffin is a serving. For the standard, 2 muffins are a serving.)

Top each with two teaspoons ketchup. (I got bored/creative)

Bake for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. (The larger muffins ended up taking about 35 minutes total).

Serve with sauteed green beans and baked potato wedges if desired.

So what’s the review from my boyfriend? Very good! There was a slight hint of sriracha without making the meatloaf spicy. The sausage added a smoky taste to the meatloaf, and the peppers added a slight crunch to the meal. He ate the meatloaf with a side of ketchup mixed with hot sauce and seemed to really enjoy it.

The best part of this dish is the remaining “muffins” can be frozen for future meals.

Yum

Meatloaf “Muffins”

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
3 bell peppers (I used one orange, yellow & red), chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/2 teaspoon sriracha
1 pound ground beef, extra lean
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, cut out of its casing (I used 2 sausages)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your onion, carrot, garlic, and peppers. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, basil, parsley, garlic and peppers.
Cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add the sausage, cut out of the casing, beef, ½ ketchup, sriracha, panko, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, ground pepper, eggs, and the cooled onion mixture in a large bowl.
Coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Add the mixture to the muffin tins. (I used large muffin tins so there were only 6. This recipe also works with the standard size 12. For the large, 1 muffin is a serving. For the standard, 2 muffins are a serving.)
Top each with two teaspoons ketchup.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. (The larger muffins ended up taking about 35 minutes total).

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Corn Chowder

I have so much corn, it’s getting ridiculous. For the past three weeks my CSA share has come with 6 ears of corn and well, I’m corn-ed out. So I decided to make a corn chowder that I plan on freezing to enjoy when I’m craving corn in non-summer months. I’m hoping the texture of the chowder doesn’t change after freezing. I found this recipe on Simply Recipes, and chose to make it without the bacon. I also had green bell peppers from my CSA share, so I used that instead of buying a red pepper.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)

3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved

1 bay leaf

3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat

1 medium Yukon Gold potato, or Russet, peeled and diced

1/4 green bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Prepare all your vegetables.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until soft.

Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 4 or 5 minutes.

Cut the corn cobs in half and add them to the saute pan.

Add the milk and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a light simmer (low heat, maybe even the “warm” setting).

Cover and cook for 30 minutes. Do not boil; make sure it is just at a light simmer. This is to prevent the milk from burning.

Remove the cobs and the bay leaf. Turn the heat up to medium. Add the potatoes, green pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender.

Increase the heat again and add the corn kernels and thyme. Bring to a boil. (Last time) reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

I had a bit of this just to make sure it turned out alright, and it was really good! I wish I had cut the vegetables much much smaller, I found it to be a bit too chunky. This is a hearty colder weather dish, so I can’t wait to break this out when the leaves begin to change.

Beet and Carrot Chips with Tzatziki

I came across a recipe for beet chips recently and was intrigued. It seemed relatively easy, didn’t involve frying the beets (I don’t have a deep fryer, and the idea of deep frying something kind of makes me sick), and appeared to be a great way for me to use some of the beets I received in my CSA share. I decided to bring it a step further and try to make carrot chips at the same time as well as a dip to go with them. I had both normal beets and white beats so I was really hoping this would turn out colorful!

The tiny ones are carrots, the others are red & white beets

Ingredients for chips:
2 white beets
2 red beets
2 large carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water
2 cups sugar

Ingredients for tzatziki:
1 container of Greek yogurt (I used 0%)
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 a cucumber, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

To begin, combine the water and sugar in a saute pan and bring to a boil. While the mixture is heating, peel the beets with a vegetable peeler. Chop off most of the leaves on top, but leave a bit to use as a handle when using the mandoline slicer.

When the liquid has boiled, remove from heat and add the beets to the liquid. Let sit for 15 minutes.

I used raw sugar, which is why it’s brown

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. While the beets are soaking, use a mandoline slicer to thinly slice the carrots. After 15 minutes, remove the beets, dry them off with a paper towel, and thinly slice with the mandoline slicer. Arrange on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.

Cook for 40 minutes or until they begin to crisp slightly. While the chips are baking, prepare the tzatziki. Combine the chopped dill, lemon, zest, garlic, cucumber, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.

Mix in the Greek yogurt.

Cover and refrigerate until the chips are done.

Allow the chips to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes after removing them from the oven. Carefully remove from the baking sheet.

The beets and especially the carrots really shrink up, so if you can, use quite large beets and carrots. I think mind turned out too tiny for my liking. I also think I sliced them a bit too thin, they really don’t seem like they’d stand up to the dip too well.

they are fun looking though!

Place the chips in a bowl and serve with the tzatziki. Enjoy!

This recipe makes a whole lot of tzatziki, probably more than you’ll use on the chips. Tzatziki is great with pita chips, as a condiment on grilled meats, stuffed grape leaves, and crudites so you’ll have plenty of options to use the rest of the dip.

Beet and Carrot Chips with Tzatziki

Cuisine: Appetizer, Sides, Vegetarian

Author: I Can Cook That

Ingredients

Ingredients for chips:
2 white beets
2 red beets
2 large carrots
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
Ingredients for tzatziki:
1 container of Greek yogurt (I used 0%)
1/4 cup fresh chopped dill
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 a cucumber, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

To begin, combine the water and sugar in a saute pan and bring to a boil. While the mixture is heating, peel the beets with a vegetable peeler. Chop off most of the leaves on top, but leave a bit to use as a handle when using the mandoline slicer.
When the liquid has boiled, remove from heat and add the beets to the liquid. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. While the beets are soaking, use a mandoline slicer to thinly slice the carrots. After 15 minutes, remove the beets, dry them off with a paper towel, and thinly slice with the mandoline slicer. Arrange on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
Cook for 40 minutes or until they begin to crisp slightly. While the chips are baking, prepare the tzatziki. Combine the chopped dill, lemon, zest, garlic, cucumber, salt and pepper in a medium sized bowl.
Mix in the Greek yogurt.
Cover and refrigerate until the chips are done.
Allow the chips to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes after removing them from the oven. Carefully remove from the baking sheet.
Place the chips in a bowl and serve with the tzatziki.

3.1.09

Irish Stew

I joined a food swap, and the first swap is coming up next week, so I decided to make Irish Stew.

While researching Irish Stew, I couldn’t find a recipe I liked, so I decided to wing it.

I also have yet to attempt to use my slow cooker, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to do so. Here’s hoping it turns out ok…

Ingredients:

3 medium-size onions, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon garlic powder, or 3 garlic cloves, minced
4 pounds lamb shoulder, cut into chunks (can substitute in beef)
7 carrots, chopped
3 leeks, chopped
3 tablespoons pearl barley
5 cups beef stock
1 bottle of Guinness
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1 bouquet of parsley, thyme, and bay leaves, plus more parsley for garnish
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 parsnip, peeled and chopped (leave this to prep last)
1 cup frozen peas

the ingredients took up my entire counter