Mushroom pizza with rucola and goat cheese

This recipe ended up being a combination of other things I've seen/had.  It started off as a recipe I saw in a WW cookbook - Wild mushrooms with a fire roasted tomato sauce.  It changed when I got to talking to a friend about what to make for a Christmas party - we wanted her to make her bruschetta again -tomato, rucola and goat cheese with garlic (fantastic by the way).

So this is a combination of those mixed in with a few other things I like.  I would make some changes next time (hubby said I could make it again in 2 weeks so it must have been decent anyway :) )

You may notice that I never make my own dough if I can help it - the dough we have available here is a good sized selection - and with 2 little kids I just don't have time.  When I tweak a recipe from another site though, they have usually made their own dough.  Eventually I'll get around to doing it (and have done it before)

What you need:

Pizza teig (I tried the Coop brand this time and it wasn't bad).
Mushrooms - I used the Coop mixture of wild mushrooms plus another container of button mushrooms.  I think I would buy 2 of the wild ones next time and use 1/2 of the button.
Goat cheese - I used the entire 'roll'
Rucola (happily 25% off this time)
1 jar of dried tomatoes in oil
1-2 cloves garlic, diced
1 small red onion, diced
I also had garlic bread on the side

Wash your mushrooms and slice them along with your garlic and onion. Toss the onion and garlic into a pan and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the mushrooms.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

Roll out your dough.  Pour the oil out of the jar but don't worry about getting it all out - you want some of it.  Roughly chop the tomatoes and then spread the excess oil on the pizza dough and randomly place the tomatoes.

Spread your mushroom mixture on top of this and then slice your goat cheese and place it on top.  (I put the rucola on first this time but would wait until after cooking next time).

Bake for the specified time on the dough (teig) wrapper. Usually about 20 minutes.
After cooking, add some roughly chopped rucola.  Enjoy with a side of garlic bread.

Will post a picture of the next time I cook it with the rucola on top. 

Grandma's Spaghetti Casserole

This is something my Grandma made when I was little and my Dad wanted my mom to make while growing up.  It's very easy for it to dry out, but I didn't have any problems.  The recipe calls for one can of diced tomatoes but I used two and my mom made sure to tell me to cover the dish with tinfoil while cooking (so I did!).  The only thing missing from this dish was the floral casserole dish that I remember it being cooked in (but I'm sure I can prevail upon my parents to make it while visiting some time in the future).

This is very simple to make. You can make it ahead of time and stick it in the fridge for later (cooks for an hour).  I don't know if it can be frozen or not, but I don't see why not - as long as you leave the potato chips off!

What you need:

500g ground beef
1/2 package of cooked spaghetti
2-3 carrots
1-2 onions, depending on size
1 can of mushrooms (feel free to use fresh)
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 handful of broken potato chips (I'm sure you can find a use for the rest of the bag :-)  )
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the spaghetti according to the directions on the package (or however you normally make it)

While the spaghetti is cooking, put the beef in a pan to brown.

Dice the carrots and onion and add in to the meat.  Cook until the beef is mostly done and then add the mushrooms and cans of tomato.  (about 20 minutes total)

Drain the pasta and then add in the cooked meat mixture.  Mix well and then put in a casserole dish.  Add the crumbled chips on top and cover with aluminium foil.  Put in the oven for 1 hour at 160 C (325 F)

Enjoy!

Christmas dinner?

So what is everyone making for Christmas dinner?

Apparently these are the wish list ones:

1. Goose - anyone made one? Have a good recipe?  I saw them in Kaufland in Konstanz if you're interested...

2.  Turkey - Migros has a whole new shipment of frozen birds in.  Going today to check out the prices

3. Spiral Cut Ham - I made one two years ago (lovingly nicknamed Piglet because of the size).  It wasn't spiral cut but I did glaze it - after having to boil it and bake it.  Turned out well but it was a lot of work.
Is it possible to get them spiral cut? Do I have to talk to a butcher?

4. Lamb.  Considering this, however if we don't I will pacify hubby by making it for Easter.   Will also check out prices at Migros.  I don't know the prices at the Turkish store offhand, however they have a large selection of meat and I've been told for good prices.


Now...on to the baking of desserts some more...

Chocolate covered pretzels

'Tis the season...for baking!  There are parties to go to, parties to have, gifts to bake and things to eat.  December can be a very fattening time of year. (Sorry - no super diet goodies are being made by me but if you know of some, please share!  I'm working on the 'it's all good as long as it's in moderation' theme).

We had our first party to go to at the boy's spielgruppe last week and all the parents were making stuff.  I decided to test drive what I'm planning on making later on as a kids sized version.  It went over really well! Even with the adults - they couldn't stop eating them :-)  And really, it was quite simple to make.

What you need:

Pretzel sticks - I used the Jamadu ones from Coop as I was making them for the kids

1 block of cooking chocolate - the white is pictured but I had issues with it so switched to chocolate

Sprinkles - any sort - the smaller the better since the pretzels are so small

Wax (baking) paper to put the pretzels on to dry

Melt your chocolate. Make sure not to get any water in with it.  You can try the microwave (I never have good results so don't do it that way).  Simply put a pot of water on to boil and then put a pan over the top.  Break up your chocolate and set it in the pan.  When it starts melting, stir until smooth.  You can turn down the heat and it will stay liquid long enough for you to do your pretzels.  If it starts to harden just turn up the heat again.

The easiest thing to do is scatter some sprinkles on a piece of wax paper and then lay the chocolate coated pretzels on top of them.  While the chocolate is still hot, sprinkle more on top.  (you can see why I wanted to use the white chocolate - green sprinkles would have been easier to see).  It's not hard and if you have kids they would love to do the sprinkles.  Just keep away from the steaming chocolate :)


I layered them in a plastic container to fit them in the fridge so they would harden overnight.  Enjoy!

Grab and Go Breakfast

I used to have a breakfast routine for weekdays.  I'm all for changing it up on the weekends but used to be very happy to eat my corn flakes and milk for breakfast.  That all changed when our second son decided that he would get very cranky if I drank milk so it's been a constant struggle to figure out what to make. That and the lack of time in the morning. Everyone wants something different now.  Luckily the breakfast muffins are a big hit and quite easy to make on the weekend for the week ahead.  I've also started experimenting with adding veggies to muffins so that my oldest will get more out of them.  Hubby will eat anything. Usually he's a cereal type of guy as well, but I wanted to make something new for him, and hopefully filling.

I found this recipe on Parents.com and after reading a bunch of negative reviews, still decided to try it as I thought that it sounded like something hubby would like. I did do a bit of changing up, but here is the link.

The dried fruit with the original recipe is cranberries.  I chose to use bananas. As I didn't know if the soft bananas or the crunchy chips would be better, I used both.  Feel free to use whichever fruit (or nut) you like the best.

What you need:

A lot of this was from my Konstanz stash, but there is quite a large range of dried fruits in the shops here.  Haven't checked on the cereal yet.

1/3 cup brown sugar (when using brown sugar, always make sure it is firmly packed)
1/3 cup honey
1 3/4 - 2 cups of peanut butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5 cups of bran flakes
1 package of dried fruit (I used about 1/2 of the soft dried bananas and then 1/4 of the banana chips on top).
Not pictured: chocolate morsels: because everything is better with chocolate :)

Line a baking dish with foil or wax paper to ensure ease of removal.  Clear out some space for the baking dish in your fridge.

Measure out your peanut butter.

Mix the sugar and honey into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Remove from heat. Add the PB and cinnamon.  Mix until smooth (PB melted in).

Add the cereal.  Here is where you mix in 1/2 of your fruit (or like me, the soft dried fruit).

Put the mixture into your baking dish and if using a large dried fruit, give them a rough chop and then sprinkle over the top.  Add some chocolate morsels (or cubes if buying them here).

Place in the fridge over night.

I sliced them into 12 pieces and then layered them into a sealing bag with wax paper.  Has been a week and they are still fresh.

Enjoy.

A Twist on Tandoori

So in an attempt to not have to cook a 'full' meal as often, I try to get hubby to grill part of it on weekends.  Now that it's getting colder out he still doesn't seem to mind which is awesome since grilling on the bbq is so much better than the indoor grill!

So last week I wanted to attempt a grilled tandoori burger recipe.  I ended up not being able to find all the ingredients (went to 3 stores for green onions and just couldn't find them! - apparently you can substitute onion/leek or shallot for them though so that's what I tried).  I also had forgotten to get some naan bread.  Again - no biggie as I had some tortillas.  Well, it didn't turn out like the picture at all (obviously!) but it didn't really remind me of tandoori chicken either - more like the shawarma I made before.  It was good but I don't think hubby was impressed.  Turned it from a dinner into a lunch dish in my opinion.  I would like to try the unaltered recipe at some point though. For now, here's my take on the tandoori chicken recipe I found here.

What you need: (ignore the coke in the background - though I did actually have one with dinner) :-)

I used 2 packages of ground chicken (this let me have leftovers for 2 days of lunch)
1 medium/large onion (4 green onions if you have them)
3 Tbsp ginger - I used the sushi ginger and diced it as I didn't have fresh
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1 cucumber
1/2 a bunch of cilantro
1 thinly sliced red onion
feta cheese
tortillas  (naan if you have it instead)

I made Ttzatziki dip for the sauce: (you can also buy it premade at Coop/Migros if you prefer)
Combine all in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use:
1 -2 containers of natural Greek yogurt - depending on the amount you want
Shred 1/2 a cucumber with a cheese grater
1 tbsp minced garlic
dill or mint - about 1 tbsp

Heat 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil in a pan.

Slice the remaining cucumber into strips.  Slice the red onion thinly and crumble the feta.  Set aside.

In a bowl large enough for your chicken, put the ground chicken along with the spices and diced onion.  Mix well.  Put in your pan with the heated oil and cook until done, mixing frequently.

In your tortilla, layer the dip, chicken mixture, cucumbers, onions and feta.  Place in a heated grill (or in a pan with something heavy on top - like another pan with canned foods in it - making sure to put baking (wax) paper between the wrap and top pan).  Cook until heated through.

I also added a bit of basmati rice to the wrap

I sliced the wrap in half and served with a side of tzatziki dip.  Enjoy!

Creamy tomato cheese ravioli

mmm....This one was good!  I found a recipe for Tuscan Ravioli online but pretty much didn't have any ingredients that it asked for and ended up having to definitely improvise to get what I needed.  Although the basics are there, so here is the original 

What you need:

1-2 packs of cheese Ravioli (depending on the amount per bag and the number of people). This ravioli is from Kaufland in Konstanz.
1 box of Thomy Cream Sauce
1 small jar of Tapenade (a bag of sun dried tomatoes)
2 diced tomatoes
Parmigiano cheese for grating over the top
2 Tbsp of white wine (I just used some of the wine we drank with it - it was fantastic! (Alsace Grand Cru Hengst Pinot Gris from Carrefour in Mullhouse)
1/2 a bunch of basil (chopped)


Boil some water and cook the ravioli as directed.

Pour the sauces in a saucepan and mix to combine.  Add the diced tomatoes and wine. Let cook until heated through and then add the chopped basil.

Drain the ravioli and put on a plate (or bowl).  Add some of the sauce and top with grated cheese (and a basil sprig if you'd like).

Serve with garlic bread (currently -.39 euros in Kaufland).  Enjoy with a nice glass of chilled white wine.

Bread soup - Brotsuppe

It's funny how something can sound one way in one language and another in a different one.  Bread soup.  Sounds very unexciting.  However, when you look at it in German, Brotsuppe, it looks much more appealing (although this is changing as my German is improving), but I think it's much more exciting to try something that has a 'foreign' name than trying that exact same recipe in your native language.

In any case - it's Winter so I have now moved on to the winter section of my Migros cookbook.  I did make a few changes in this recipe (and it still didn't end up looking quite like the picture but it still turned out to be a good side).

What you need:

180-200g Ruchbrot, day old (which means if you have a bread box, don't leave it in there as it will not get dry)
2 small or 1 medium sized onion (I did end up using a 2nd onion)
Peanut oil for frying the onions/bread
6 cups vegetable bouillon
nutmeg and pepper to taste
1 tsp of Anis (recipe called for 1 Tbls of caraway but I didn't have any).  Feel free to add more.  I thought it was enough to add to the flavor but I don't like licorice so didn't want to add any more.
a pinch of salt.

Cut the bread into cubes and slice the onions.  Put the oil in the pan and give it a minute to heat up.  Add the bread and onion and cook until the bread starts to turn a golden brown.  About 5/6 minutes.  Make sure your pan is big enough to hold all the bread.

Add the broth, anis and a bit of nutmeg and pepper.  Add only a very little salt.   Simmer for 20 minutes.  If you need more liquid, either add very hot water or more broth.  If you cook on too high of a temperature you will need to add a bit more.

This makes a great side dish.  And, since my soup was made out of bread, I couldn't use my bread bowls this time but I found some really cute little bowls in France yesterday (more about Mullhouse vs. Konstanz later).

Thai Grilled Chicken Pizza

Yum.  So many flavors.  Admittedly I didn't make it with the spice that should have gone in to it, nor did I make the dough for the pizza, but it was still good.  The original recipe is here but below is my adaptation of it. I hope you make this, because it's fantastic!

Migros and Coop will have the majority of your ingredients, but if you can't find something one of the Asian stores will have what you need.

What you need:

For the sauce:
This is the halved recipe for the sauce as I put way too much on and also had some left over.  I did not add any of the water suggested in the original recipe either.

1/4 c peanut butter - I used smooth.  If you do, some scattered peanuts may add some yummy crunch to it.
1/4 cup hoisin sauce - available at Migros
1/8 cup of honey
1/8 cup rice wine vinegar (couldn't find mine so I used Italian white wine vinegar)
2 tsp grated fresh ginger (ingwer - usually available at bigger Migros/Coop)
1-2 tsp of minced garlic (or 1-2 cloves)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce (I used low sodium available at the Thai Store)
1/2 Tbsp fish sauce

Not used but will add to hubby's side next time: 1/2 tsp chili sauce.

For the toppings:
We grilled this weekend so I had hubby grill some extra chicken breasts and then put them in the fridge.
2 chicken breasts, sliced into bite sized pieces
Pizza dough - I used the rectangular one  - 38x25
shredded carrots (I bought the bag so I can use the leftovers for salad)
bean sprouts (mungosprossen) - again, you can use the remainder for a stir fry later on
2 green onions (scallions)
mozzarella cheese (I used the balled ones - I would buy the pearl ones next time)
1/2 a bunch of cilantro (koriander)
1/2 a lime

First, mix all the sauce ingredients into a small pan and cook until heated through - about 5 minutes.  If it is too thick, you can add a little boiling water.  (If you want to make the entire batch of sauce, you can probably refrigerate the leftovers and use it as a salad dressing or marinade for chicken later on)

Spread the sauce on the rolled out pizza dough and then layer your ingredients.
I did: sprouts, carrots, chicken, scallions and cheese.
Save the cilantro and lime for after the pizza is done.

Roughly chop the cilantro and then squeeze 1/2 a lime over the top of the pizza right before serving.


Enjoy!

Fun with breakfast

Today I thought I'd do something fun for hubby for breakfast (well lunch as I let him sleep in since he's sick).  He likes sunny side up eggs and I'm not that great at making them.  I think I get too impatient and then there is one moment of perfect eggertunity and then a second later it passes.  I am getting better though.  Apparently today when I made them, they were almost perfect (almost being that I didn't make extra toast so he could sop up the rest of the gooey egg).

What you need:

Bread
Eggs
Cooking spray/butter or a non stick pan
cookie cutters (whatever shape you want)







Put the bread in the toaster and either spray or butter a frying pan.  Put the burner on medium-low.

When the toast is ready, use your chosen cookie cutter to make holes. Set the cut out part aside.

Carefully break open the egg and pour it into the shape. Put a lid on the pan and cook until the egg yolk gets a thin white film over it (the perfect moment to remove for sunny side up eggs).

If you prefer your yolk cooked (like me because I am accident prone and I can just imagine taking a bite and egg yolk going everywhere), then just carefully flip the egg and toast over for another few minutes.

Salt and Pepper to taste if desired.

I topped the egg with the cut out shapes since they didn't really look like the shapes I'd made.  I imagine if I flipped it over they would be more obvious.   In any case, hubby approved! :-)

Alper Magronen

hmmm...I made this one a while back but don't seem to have posted it.  Now that it's getting cold though I think it would be great to try again.  I thought the recipe I used tasted good, but it ended up tasting more like Scalloped Potatoes and Ham to me rather than the one I had when we went to Elm last year.

So here goes - keeping in mind that I will be changing it up a bit next time I make it :-)

What you need:

1/2 kg of potatoes, peeled and cubed
5 onions, thinly sliced (into rings, not diced)
250g macaroni
300g bacon or mushrooms (I only used bacon but I think some mushrooms would be good.  Also perhaps bigger chunks would be better)
150g mountain cheese  - I used the Bunderkaese but the original recipe suggests blending 2 cheeses.
1.5 dl of cream
 A pad of butter (enough to saute your onions in as the bacon will add more grease)
4-5 dl vegetable bouillon
nutmeg and pepper to taste

Peel and dice the potatoes. Cut the onions into rings.

Melt the butter and saute the onions, adding the bacon after 2 minutes.  Add the potatoes and continue to saute for 5-6 minutes.  Add the macaroni noodles.

Pour some bouillon into the pan - about 1/2.  When the liquid is absorbed add a little more (think risotto).  Simmer for 10 minutes total (the potatoes and pasta should then be cooked).

Mix in the cream and shredded cheeses, reserving some cheese to sprinkle on top if desired.  Season with the nutmeg and pepper.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Lasagna

Last summer, I discovered that Coop had recipe cards and that they basically showcased a different item in a dish. They change them out seasonally and you can find them at either the front of the store or near the item being showcased.  The cards are all in German which has helped me learn a lot of words as well.  This is one of my favorites.  It is a summer recipe, but I think it works equally well for fall.  You can eat it as a main dish or as a side.

What you need: (for 2 people)

1 diced small onion
1 minced clove of garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 diced tomatoes
1/2 dl vegetable bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp basil, coarsely chopped
400 g zucchini (about 3  large ones or 4 smaller ones)
1.8 dl saucen halbrahm (runnier version of sour cream)
100 g Sbrinz cheese

Put the oil in a pan and heat it up.  Add the garlic and onion. When slightly tender, add the tomatoes for a minute or two.  Add the broth and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.

Cut the zucchini into thin slices - this is the hardest part I think.  You can use a cheese grater/mandolin or I used a potato peeler this time.  You want thin slices as these are your 'noodles'.

Lay 3 slices overlapping in a small dish.  If you have a small rectangular ramekin, they are perfect, otherwise you can use a baking dish and create little aluminium foil pockets in them for the individual 'lasagnas'.

On your first layer of zucchini spoon out about 3/4 of a Tbsp of the tomato/onion mixture. On top of that about 3/4 of a Tbsp of the saucen halbrahm. Place some Sbrinz on top of that.  Using the rolled kind, I unrolled them (they are made of 2 slices) and put the 2 slices on top.

Repeat this for a total of 3 layers (more if you have leftovers).  If you have some rolls left, place those on top and bake for 30 minutes at 200 C.

Either serve in the ramekin or let sit a minute and transfer to a plate.  There will be juice. Enjoy!

Blueberry cake - so many possibilities

I love blueberry muffins.  Unfortunately I love Betty Crocker blueberry muffins and the only way I get those is my my mom and MIL bringing me some - or ordering off some of the food websites I have listed.

I've looked for a 'from scratch' recipe and still haven't had a lot of success (Coop occasionally does sell BB muffins but they're 2chf a piece and that's a bit much for a week of breakfast).  I have now found a fantastic recipe though, and while I made it as a cake as suggested, next time I will make it in muffin cups.  It was really easy to make.  I'm also already thinking of making it with chocolate chips for hubby - which would be easy to make both at once if using the muffin pan.  You need a few bowls to make this.  (sorry about the pictures - when I remake it I will retake them)

The original recipe is located here
What you need:

100g butter - room temperature
The zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup of sugar
1 egg - room temperature
1 tsp vanilla (again I used my homemade which I think tastes better than store bought)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder (next time I will try it with backpulver)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 a package of frozen blueberries (BBs)-(or 2 cups of fresh if you make this when they're in season
1/2 cup buttermilk (sauer buttermilch - available at Coop but not online)

Preheat the oven to 180 C

In a small bowl, cream the butter with the zest and sugar until well mixed

In a larger bowl, add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Add in the butter/sugar mixture.

In another bowl, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of flour. If you use frozen BBs you may want to rinse them off so your muffins/cake don't turn purple.  It doesn't bother me, and it wasn't super purple, but if making it for guests you may want to so it looks prettier.

In your final bowl, mix the baking powder, salt and flour together.

Add your flour mixture and buttermilk a little bit at a time to the butter/egg/sugar bowl and mix.  I did this in two batches.

Fold in the BBs gently.

Butter (or use cooking spray) a medium sized baking dish and spread the batter into the pan.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Cut into squares and allow to cool slightly.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

So I've gotten into homemade soups lately.  Could be the 10 degree weather, but it could also be the fact that I think they taste so much better than the kind you can get in a can (and I can't easily buy Campbell's here).  One of my friend's husbands made Cream of Mushroom soup from scratch and I will have to tackle that next.  It was fantastic.  Of course I found out later he put a ton of butter and cream in there, but that was about 2 years ago so those calories have long since been burned off.

After the success of my potato soup, I thought I'd try this broccoli one (and an excuse to go to the Coop in Dietikon - I discovered they sell A&W Root beer over by the magazines for only 1.50. Fantastic!)

The only thing I would change is to use fresh broccoli and chop it up just a little bit smaller.  You can also puree it if you prefer, but I like the chunks.  (Oh - and yes that is another 4 pack of flour in the background.  It was on sale again and there's lots of cooking and baking to do in the coming weeks even if it does have to live on my counter for a while)

What you need:

2 cups chicken broth
1 small/medium onion - diced
1/3 cup flour
50g butter
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups milk (no you don't have to use the skim milk and I'm considering using vollrahm to take place of some of the milk to make it a bit thicker - or maybe add a bit more flour)
2 cups shredded cheddar (I bought 300g and used the majority of it)
1 bag of frozen broccoli or 2 heads of fresh

Measure out your milk and let it sit while you prepare everything so it gets to room temperature

Chop your broccoli finely (depending if you want chunks or a puree). If frozen, put it in the microwave for about 3 minutes, stir and cook another couple.

Put the chicken broth and chopped onions in a small pot and simmer about 20 minutes so that the onions are tender.

About 15 minutes into the onions cooking, put the butter in another dish deep enough for all the liquids and let it melt over medium. Add the flour in and whisk constantly for a minute.  If your heat is too high you will get a dark brown mess on the bottom of your pan and have to start again.

Add in the milk and cook until it begins to thicken stirring occasionally (about 5-10 minutes)

Add the chicken broth/onions and mix well.  Add your cheese and mix for a minute or two.  Add in the broccoli.  If you want it chunky, you are done, otherwise, using an immersion blender, carefully blend (off the heat) and then put it back on.  After everything was put together, I put the lid on, turned it down to low and let it simmer for another 30 min. (was waiting for hubby).  Got tired of waiting so ate mine, and when he had his an hour later it was still perfectly hot and blended. So this is a great dish if everyone can't eat at the same time.

For the bread bowls:

Buy a bread roll in whichever size you would like (large for main course, small for a side).

Cut the top off the bread and carefully scoop out the bread inside, making sure to leave the bread at least 1/4 inch thick so your soup doesn't run out the side.

Rub a little olive oil inside the bread and on the bottom outside and place on a baking sheet in the oven at about 100 C.  Put it in when you start and take it out when you are ready to eat.  (If other people are eating later, make sure to turn the oven down lower so your bread doesn't turn into a rock)


When ready to eat, put the soup in the bowl and grate a little more cheese on top.  Enjoy!

This is my slightly adapted version.  The original can be found here