Saturday In The Kitchen

With a very busy week ahead, I thought I'd get a jump start on cooking this weekend. I saw a recipe for Carrot Ginger Morning Cookies on 28 Cooks last week and those were at the top of my list to make. I made them with a few slight variations based on what I had on hand and they turned out really good! This is my version of the recipe:


Ginger Carrot Morning Cookies
(adapted from 28 Cooks)

3/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c flax seed meal
1 1/4 c rolled oats
1/4 c chopped walnuts
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 c grated carrot
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced finely
1 egg
2/3 c vanilla soymilk
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 375. Combine all dry ingredients, flour to salt, in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine ginger through honey. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir with a large spatula until combined. Do not overstir! 14-16 strokes should be enough. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheets, and place into oven. Bake about 20-25 minutes, until done in the center. Cool on a rack and serve.

I've also been wanting to make some more tortillas with my tortilla baker. I posted about it recently but it seems like Blogger lost that post because I couldn't find it to link back to... so here's a new pic.


You can use this little gadget to press tortillas as well as bake them. I am trying different recipes until I find exactly the one I am looking for. This time, I used the baker to press them and get them started cooking. I found that in order to get them with the nice brown spots like homemade tortillas should have, you have to cook them in a skillet or griddle. The baker just doesn't get hot enough so they come out looking like store bought (cooked but all white with no spots). This new method worked a lot better and it made the work much faster too as I could cook one and press one at the same time and they cooked much faster too in the skillet. I am not 100% happy with this recipe because they seem like they had too much oil in them, the texture was a bit more like gorditas than regular tortillas. Last time I used shortening but I didn't like the texture. The oil gives a much better texture but I think next time I will use less. Here is that recipe:

Flour Tortillas

3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 c. warm water

Combine flour, salt and oil in a large bowl and mix with a fork or pastry blender as if making pie crust (seeking a texture like coarse crumbs). Add water and mix until dough forms then gather dough into a ball. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes. Wrap ion plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temp. for 30 minutes up to 2 hours. Divide into 12 pieces. Roll into a ball and flatten with a tortilla press or rolling pin until the thickness of a tortilla. Cook on a hot griddle or skillet for about 30 seconds - 1 minute or until spotted brown, then flip and cook second side until spotted brown. Place in a tortilla warmer or on plate then cover with a kitchen towel. Makes 1 dozen.

For dinner tonight I FINALLY got to make the Nacho Stuffed Shells recipe I first got from Theresa at A Momma And The Boys On A Budget. I've had this recipe on my menu list for the past couple of months but each time I am ready to make it I either am missing an ingredient or I run short on time. I am so glad I finally made it, it was really good! I think this would be great with rice as well in place of the pasta. I changed the recipe a bit because I didn't have the large size pasta shells on hand to stuff, so it was more of a casserole. This is how I made the recipe today:

Nacho Shells Casserole

1/2 lb. medium sized pasta shells
1 pound extra-lean ground beef
1 small can diced green chilies, drained
2 c. homemade refried beans
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can (8-ounce) tomato sauce
Seasonings to taste - salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano
Sliced scallions, salsa and sour cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, saute beef and seasonings in a large skillet until browned; drain well. When pasta is done, drain well and set aside. Put beef mixture into the bottom of a 9 x 13 in. pan sprayed with cooking spray Top with pasta, then tomato sauce. Spread on refried beans and top with cheese. Cover with a tent of aluminum foil; bake 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove foil and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is browned. Garnish as desired.