Red Quinoa and Black Rice ala ~DKBB~

Red Quinoa and Black Rice ala ~DKBB~

You can substitute any color of rice or quinoa to make this healthful dish, which works as a vegetarian main course (esp. if you include the black beans) or hearty side dish.

1/2 c. short-grain black rice

1 c. red quinoa, rinsed well

1 bay leaf

¼ tsp. kosher salt plus more

1 can black beans, rinsed well (optional)

4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 small onion, finely chopped

Any number of any / many types of peppers, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

2 to 3 tsp. cumin seeds

3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

⅛ to ¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro

¼ c. chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

2 tbsp. 1" pieces chives or chopped green onions

Freshly ground black pepper

1 avocado, peeled, pitted

• Bring rice and 1 cup water to a boil in a small saucepan. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 25-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine quinoa, bay leaf, ¼ tsp. salt, and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; return quinoa to hot saucepan. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Discard bay leaf, fluff quinoa with a fork, and transfer to a large bowl.
• Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add peppers and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Add to quinoa. Add rice and black beans; mix well. Stir in remaining 2 tbsp. oil, fresh lemon juice, cilantro, and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Cut avocado (diced or into wedges). Serve salad with chopped green onions and avocado for garnish.

Borscht ala ~DKBB~

Borscht ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe from Serving Up The Harvest by Andrea Chesman)

I grow beets in my garden or buy them at farmers' markets and freeze a lot of them for use in the winter. I love to make borscht on cold winter nights.

6 medium-size beets, tops and roots trimmed to 1 inch

1 medium-size onion, diced

2 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and diced

3 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill (plus additional for garnish)

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper and/or white pepper to taste (I prefer white pepper)

Sour cream or plain yogurt for garnish (topped with the extra chopped dill)

To prepare the beets:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Wash the beets but do not peel.
• Divide beets between 2 large sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil and fold each to form a well-sealed packet.
• Roast beet packets for 50 to 60 minutes, until beets are easily pierced with a fork.
• Remove from the oven, open the packets, and let cool.
• When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and cut into shoestrings.

To prepare borscht:

• Combine onion, potatoes, broth, and dill in medium saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until potatoes are completely tender, about 20 minutes.
• Cool briefly.
• Mash the potatoes in the broth.
• Stir in the beets and season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
• Serve hot or chilled, garnishing each bowl with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped dill.

Serves 4 to 6.

NOTE: If you like, chop the beet greens and steam them until they are tender (3 to 5 minutes); stir the greens into the broth along with the beets.

Southwest Black Bean & Corn Quinoa

Southwest Black Bean & Corn Quinoa ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Lindsay McSweeney in the Feb/Mar 2014 Simple & Delicious magazine)

2 Tbsp. canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium red pepper, diced

1 celery rib, diced

2 tsp. chili powder

⅛ tsp. cumin

⅛ tsp. turmeric

⅛ tsp. coriander

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained

Dried cilantro (or you can use fresh minced) to taste

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add onion, red pepper, celery, and seasonings; sauté and stir 5 to 7 minutes or until veggies are tender.
• Stir in vegetable stock and frozen corn; bring to a boil.
• Stir in quinoa; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 12 to 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
• Add black beans and cilantro, heat through, stirring occasionally.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro if desired.
• Serve with warm corn tortillas.

Spice Cake Bars with Salted Caramel Icing

Spice Cake Bars with Salted Caramel Icing ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe by Ellen Hartman in Feb/Mar 2014 Simple & Delicious magazine)

1 package spice cake mix (regular size)
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. allspice (depending on your desire for strong flavor)
1 egg (warmed to room temperature and slightly beaten)

• Preheat oven to 350° F.
• Grease a 13x9-inch pan.
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, milk, allspice, and egg; beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then on  medium for 2 minutes. Batter will be thick.
• Transfer to prepare pan.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on wire rack.

Frosting

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt (use a salt mill for big grains)

• In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, milk, and butter over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
• Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and vanilla; immediately spread icing over cake; sprinkle with sea salt.
• Cool completely before serving. Cut into bars. Store in airtight container.

Turkey and Sage Dressing ala ~DKBB~

Turkey with Sage Dressing ala ~DKBB~
(based in part on Lyola Brown’s Sage Dressing recipe)

Turkey

We brine our turkey…it makes for a much moister bird.

Basic brine recipe (this amount per 4 pounds, increasing amounts as needed for your size of bird)

1 cup water

1 cup salt

1 cup brown sugar 

• Allow salt and brown sugar to dissolve in water thoroughly.
• You can place the bird in a large plastic bag and then add the brine – or – you can use a very large stock pot, place in the bird and then brine, then cover. Brine overnight, or at least for 8 hours.

Brine your bird overnight, removing bird from brine about 2 hours before you plan to stuff it to allow the skin to dry a bit.

Dressing

1½ to 2 loaves of bread

(I usually bake my own bread – Cracked Pepper Bread, Onion Bread, Oregano Herb Bread, Rye Bread, Wheat Bread…any and/or all combinations thereof. I slice the cooled loaves, then dice each slice into ½ cubes, place the cubes in one layer on cookie sheets, and bake at 250° F for 1 hour to create my own stuffing bread. Or you can do it the easy way and buy 2 packages of stuffing bread from your local grocery/bakery.)

½ to 1 cup diced onion

½ to 1 cup diced celery

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1½ cubes of butter/margarine

Chicken broth

2 chicken bullion cubes

3 ½ tsp.* Rubbed sage

Salt and cracked pepper to taste

(* I personally use a lot more than 3 ½ tsp. rubbed sage…I’d say add this “to taste,” same as the salt and pepper.)

• Heat 1½ to 2 cups chicken broth, the butter/margarine, and the bullion cubes in a saucepan on low heat until butter/margarine melts. Remove from heat.
• Place dressing bread in a big bowl.
• Add eggs, onion, and celery.
• Pour some of the broth mixture over this; add sage, salt and pepper.
• Mix all well until moist (with hands – it’s a good idea to have short fingernails before you start mixing, or you’ll be dealing with messy fingernails for a while).
• Add more broth mixture as needed to get it to the point where it holds together, put is not soppy.
• Add more sage, salt and pepper as desired. You can gauge the taste from smell (that’s my husband’s specialty) or taste (that’s my specialty).

• Stuff the neck and body of the bird. If there’s more stuffing than will fit in the bird, bake it in a foil-lined casserole dish, adding a little broth just before baking (350°F oven for about 1 hour).
• Put the stuffed bird in a 350°F oven until internal bird temp is 170°F and internal dressing temp is 165° to 170°F. Use the remaining broth mixture to baste the bird (make more broth mixture if needed).

Gravy

• When you put the bird in the oven, place the neck and giblets in a pan of chicken broth on the stove to simmer on lowest heat for the duration.
• When the bird is done, use a turkey baster to remove the drippings into a large saucepan.
• Remove the neck and giblets from the pan they’ve been simmering in; strain that liquid into the pan with the drippings.
• If desired, strip the meat from the neck, cut up the giblets, and set aside.
• Add Wondra flour one Tbsp. at a time to the gravy liquid; using a whip, mix well before adding another Tbsp. Plan on 2 Tbsp. of Wondra per cup of liquid. Keep adding Wondra until you have the consistency you desire.
• If desired, add in the giblets, etc.

Snowball Cookies ala ~DKBB~

Snowball Cookies ala ~DKBB~

(“Russian Teacakes” original recipe from Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, rev. 1978)

2 cups margarine or butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4½ cups all purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

1½ cups finely chopped nuts (optional)

Powder sugar

• Heat oven to 400° F.
• Mix margarine/butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Shift flour and salt together.
• Mix in flour (and nuts, if desired) in 1-cup batches until dough holds together (I get in there with my hands to get it all mixed well).
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place about 1 inch apart on parchment-covered cookie sheet.
• Bake until set but not brown, 10 to 12 minutes (or 12 to 18 minutes on airbake cookie sheets).
• Cool 5 minutes, then roll each cookie in powdered sugar while still a bit warm.
• Roll in powdered sugar again.
• Makes 4 to 6 dozen cookies (depending on how big you make each cookie ball).

These cookies are a favorite in my family. I usually make 4 or more batches during the course of the holidays. Enjoy!

Mexi-Beef Cornbread Casserole ala ~DKBB~

Mexi-Beef Cornbread Casserole ala ~DKBB~

(original recipe “Chili Beef Corn Bread Casserole” from Dec/Jan 2014 issue of Simple & Delicious)

1 pound ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. chili powder

Cumin and/or turmeric to taste (⅛ to ¼ tsp. of either or both)

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (Mexican style, if available)

1 can diced tomatoes w/green chilies

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup cornmeal (yellow preferred, but white will work too)

3 Tbsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 eggs

½ cup milk

3 Tbsp. canola oil

1 can cream-style corn

1 cup shredded cheese (Mexi-blend or cheddar)

• Preheat oven to 375° F.
• Brown hamburger, onion, green pepper, and garlic over medium heat; drain.
• Stir in cornstarch, chili powder, cumin/turmeric, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened; remove from heat.
• In a large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder.
• In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and oil until blended; stir in cream-style corn.
• Add the flower mixture to the egg mixture; stir just until moistened; then stir in cheese.
• Spread half the batter in the bottom of a greased 3 qt. casserole dish, then layer in the beef mixture; top all with the remainder of the batter, covering the beef filling.
• Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the corn bread portion comes out clean.
• Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serve with sour cream, salsa, and/or Pico de Gallo condiments.