Black-Eyed Pea Salad

This recipe has been in my family for years—I can't remember a year that my mom didn't make this black-eyed pea salad. Black-eyed peas are supposed to be eaten on New Year's Day for good luck in the coming year. (Truth be told, I usually have my first bite a few days into January, because I forget about having a spoonful on January 1st.)

This salad is full of fiber, flavorful, and is perfect to keep in the fridge for a quick, filling snack. The flavor of the salad gets better with time, so don't be surprised if you find yourself eating a huge bowl days after you make it. Black-eyed peas, if you haven't had them before, remind me more of beans than a pea. They're tiny, a little grainy, and pair nicely with the ingredients below. 

When I was younger, my brother and I would do anything and everything we could possibly do to not have a single taste of this salad (I guess black-eyed peas sounded gross back then?), but now I love this and would consider making it any time of the year.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen black-eyed peas
¼  teaspoon salt
1 (14.5-ounce) can vegetable broth
1 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 jalapeno, rinsed but left whole
1 bay leaf
4 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced
2 green onions

Directions:
In a medium pot, combine frozen black-eyed peas, salt, vegetable broth, water, sugar, jalapeno pepper, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and allow peas to cool in the cooking broth for two hours or overnight before finishing salad.

There should be about ¼ cup of cooking liquid left in the kettle. Discard the bay leaf and dice jalapeno (optional). Stir tin cider vinegar and olive oil into the cooking liquid. Add green pepper, tomato, green onion, and jalapeno (optional). Toss to mix; serve chilled or at room temperature.

*This is a guest post I wrote for Jolts & Jollies

Mexican Egg Rolls

A few years ago I was handed the job of making chile rellenos for Christmas Eve. After 1 year of "stuffing" chile with cheese and attempting to bread and fry it with the breading still on, I was done. I decided I wanted to reinvent the Chile Relleno. Not that the original aren't great, because they are, I'm just not the best at making them. And so the Mexican Egg roll was born.

Mexican Egg Rolls

Ingredients:
1 pkg Egg Roll Wrappers
2 Tbsp Flour
2 Tbsp Water
Whole Seeded Green Chile
Cheddar Cheese- sliced in 1/2'' pieces
Canola or peanut oil- for frying

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Lay out one wrapper with the corner facing you. Place a 4'' strip or 2 Tbsp of chopped chile in the center of the wrapper. Lay a piece of cheese on top of the chile. Fold the corner up over the chile and fold in the left and right corners into the center and continue to roll up. Make a paste out of flour and water and brush onto the edges and corners to seal. Make sure all the edges are sealed so that the cheese doesn't squeeze out when you fry it . Place the rolls in heated oil turning occasionally until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

A few weeks ago I saw a call-out on Twitter for people interested in guest posting on Culinary Covers. Lori Lange, aka RecipeGirl (fantastic recipes, go check out her site!) created Culinary Covers as a way to see if those recipes gracing the covers of magazines actually deserve to be a cover photo.

The second I saw her request on Twitter I knew exactly which recipe I wanted to try: the Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake from the December issue of Cooking Light magazine. Part of the deal with guest posting meant that I had to make the recipe exactly according to the directions, take a picture mirroring the cover, and write about the experience. Seeing as how I've never made a cheesecake before, I was more than up for this challenge.

The result was better than I expected, but I'll let you check out my post on Culinary Covers for  more of my notes. I will say, though, that if you need an easy holiday dessert that not only tastes good, looks great, and is somewhat healthier than regular cheesecake, make this. You won't be dissapointed.

Eggnog Cranberry Muffins

Before I go on a trip I like to clean out the fridge and get rid of things so they don't go bad while I'm away. I noticed that I had an extra bag of cranberries and some eggnog, so I went on a mission to find something to make.

I came across two very similar recipes for Eggnog Cranberry Muffins and immediately made them. My house smelled delicious while they were cooking and I couldn't wait to take them out of the oven.

If I made these again I would probably increase the amount of cranberry and eggnog because I would have liked more cranberries in each bite (recipe below does not reflect my wishful changes). Other than that, I loved the recipe. A friend of mine, The Nifty Foodie, saw my tweets about making this recipe, so she made it into little mini bread loaves. This recipe, however you make it, is perfect for the holidays, and the streusel topping is just delicious.

Eggnog Cranberry Muffins 

from Recipe Girl and Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
For the muffins:
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. granulated sugar, divided
2 large eggs
¾ cup eggnog (would bump up to 1 cup next time)
5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1½ cups coarsely chopped cranberries (would bump up to 2 cups next time)

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, slightly softened
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Line 14-18 muffin cups with paper liners or grease muffin pan.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir to combine.  In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, eggs, eggnog, melted butter and vanilla extract.  Stir until well combined.  Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated.  Toss the chopped cranberries with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and fold into the batter.  Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin liners or muffin pan, filling them about two thirds of the way full.

To make the streusel topping, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until a coarse, crumbly mixture forms.  Stir in the pecans if using. Sprinkle the mixture evenly on top of the muffin batter.

Bake for about 18-22 minutes, or a until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Egg Florentine

As a military wife, I have to learn to cook for one when my husband deploys or goes on business trips, which is much easier said than done. Lonilness usually kicks in around meal time and it's so simple and tempting to pick up a bag of chips or snack on cookies rather than eat a wholesome meal. After he leaves I try to make "bulk" meals like soup, spaghetti, or casseroles, basically anything I can keep in the fridge and easily reheat for later.

I saw Pioneer Woman's Eggs Floreninte Casserole and wanted to try it out, but I knew I'd get bored eating the whole thing day after day, so I cut the recipe in half and changed a few things here and there. The end result was tasty and substantial—I didn't get hungry again for several hours, which is always a good thing.

Consider the recipe below as a base to add other veggies or swapping out different meats—sausage would be fantastic with this, but I was concerned with keeping the WW points low. Next time I may add some mushrooms and green peppers to bulk it up even more. If you're making this for a larger group, just double the recipe or check out  PW's original version. And if making your own hash browns is too intimidating, skip the hassle and just use frozen hash browns!

Eggs Florentine Casserole

adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:
1 russet potato, shredded (about 1-2 cups)
½ onion chopped
1 ounce diced green chile (or jalapenos)
6 strips bacon, crumbled
2 teaspoons oil
salt and pepper (to taste)
8 eggs (or two cups of egg beaters)
1 cup cheese
1 ½–2 cups of spinach

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees; lightly grease a small baking dish with cooking spray. Cook bacon until crisp; set aside on paper towel. Shred/julienne potatoes (you’re going for hash browns here, folks!) Heat butter and oil in skillet; add potatoes; season with salt and pepper. Leave in skillet for about five minutes or until crispy; flip. When both sides are cooked, add onion; mix until onions are translucent. Transfer potatoes mixture to baking dish; layer crumbled bacon and green chile or jalapenos. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together eggs and ½ cup cheese; add spinach and mix together more. Pour egg and spinach mixture over casserole. Bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are set. Once eggs are cooked, sprinkle remaining cheese; bake for an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Plum Upside Down Cake

Even though there is nothing truly magical about upside down cakes, I feel there is. Something about putting it in the oven and it looks like a regular cake with regular batter, then flipping it out and SURPRISE there's fruit and color all over the top of it! When it's baking I try to forget what I whipped together so that it really does surprise me when I remove the pan. It's a wonderful idea and I urge everyone to make one and use any kind of fruit you'd like. I really think anything sauteed in butter then made as a topping on cake has the power to be life changing. This recipe was adapted from Real Simple and I lowered the fat and used whole wheat flour. Happy Baking :)


Ingredients:
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter plus extra for the pan (or low fat butter substitute- I use Brummel and Brown)
4 ripe plums cut into 8 wedges
6 Tbsp agave
3 Tbsp Brandy (optional)
2/3 cup granulated sugar (can substitute Splenda for lower cal)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 large egg
2/3 cup low fat sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch cake pan. Melt 1 Tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the plums and agave cook, tossing, until the plums become syrupy and softened. About 3 minutes. Near the end pour in about 3 Tbsp brandy and toss. Arrange the plums in the cake pan in a circle pattern, completely covering the pan. Spoon any pan juices over the top. Whisk together the flour, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl beat 1/2 cup butter and 2/3 cup of sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, sour cream, and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture until incorporated.Pour the batter over the plums and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes. Place a large plate over the cake pan and invert the cake onto the plate. Once cooled top with powdered sugar.

Tahini Cookie Bars

A couple weeks ago I was invited to my very first cookie exchange. I was excited about the possibility of trying a new recipe, and then one of my friends attending the exchange reminded me that she can't eat dairy. Cookies without milk or butter? Is that even possible? I set out to find a recipe (or two) that would be safe for her to eat and stumbled upon Tahini cookies.

When I saw the following recipe I knew I had to try it—not just because I had an unopened jar of tahini sitting in my pantry, but because I've been wanting to try making a granola-like cookie. Tahini can be found in the ethnic isle of your grocery store (usually in the Mediterranean section). It's commonly used in making hummus and is essentially ground sesames turned into a paste—the texture reminds me of peanut butter. (*Insider's tip: If you are military—or know someone in the military—I got my tahini at the commissary for half the cost of getting it at the store).

Personally, I think the tahini can be a bit overpowering, so I added some vanilla and more cinnamon to the recipe to counteract the taste of the tahini. I also threw in some cherry-flavored craisins to make it a little more like a granola bar, but feel free to add other dried fruit and/or nuts, too.

Tahini Cookie Bars

adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
• 1/4 cup craisins (or raisins) 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets (for cookies) OR grease a  baking dish (for bars).
2. In a medium bowl, stir together tahini, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix in pecans, oats, and craisins until well blended. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart. OR spread mixture evenly into baking dish (for bars).
3. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven, or until edges are golden brown and tops are slightly brown. Cool on baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely OR if making bars, cool completely in dish. When completely cool, slice into bars with butter knife.