Simple Popovers for Easter

Easter is tomorrow! What does Easter represent for you? 

Is it all about chocolate bunnies, baked hams, and sugar coated techno-color marshmallow shaped chicks? 

Or is it about gathering with family to eat a large meal? 

Or just sitting in the sunshine watching kids search for Easter eggs?

My family celebrated Easter as a child, even though I was born and raised a Buddhist, I still got to participate in the Easter egg hunts, dying of the Easter eggs, and of course those grossly colored marshmallow shaped chicks called Peeps. That for whatever reason were my favorite.


Easter was also a time when we gathered at my grandparents with my aunts and uncles and cousins. It was a simple time for me. Lots of chocolate, lots of hugs, and even more sugar than our parents knew how to keep us away from!
 
Our meals always included some type of potluck theme. Everyone would pitch in, but my grandma usually made the juicy ham. I remember one year making Popovers with my mom to bring to the dinner. She must have found the recipe in some magazine and it seemed easy enough to her.

Being the interested mini-chef that I was, I volunteered to help and what ensued was nothing short of hilarity. I remember the first batch fell. It was my fault because I kept opening the oven door. Note: Don't do that.

Ruined, we moved on to the second batch which my mom let me measure out. I must have done something horribly wrong with the measuring because the batter was thick and the Popovers never really 'popped'. They looked more like hockey pucks after baking.

Determined, we tried for a third and final time. Thank Goddess my mother was so patient. And the third time was a charm. They turned out light, fluffy, and puffed up with air.

The keys to great Popovers that we learned the hard way are:

• Beat the batter just enough, but don't over do it,
• Let the oven come to temperature with the muffin tin (or tins) in the oven to heat them too (just be careful removing them from the oven to avoid burning yourself),
• Only fill the muffin tins half full (this leaves room for the 'popping'). 
• And last but not least, DO NOT open the oven door until the timer goes off!

That Easter I remember there not being a Popover left after dinner. They are the perfect light and fluffy compliment to a juicy ham dinner. A great and easy side to bring to your Easter pot luck! Just follow our keys to success!

If you're doing a low key Easter this year or just looking for something easy to serve your family the day before Easter, these Popovers also go great with the Creamy Tomato Bisque (for the recipe click HERE). Nothing like a warm bowl of soup with a warm Popover!
 
Now, on with the recipe! 

I hope you all have a sugar-filled, chocolate coated Easter!

Simple Popovers

3 Tbsp. Smart Balance Butter; melted
1 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups 1% Milk
4 Large Eggs
1/2 tsp. Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place a clean muffin tin into the oven to allow it to heat as well. This will help give your popovers extra fluff and airiness.

2. In a large bowl whisk together the butter, flour, milk, eggs, and salt. Don't over mix, you just want the batter to be thin and smooth. It slightly resembles a pancake batter, only just a little bit thinner.

3. Remove muffin tin from the oven carefully and pour the batter into the muffin cups until they are half full. I got a little over zealous with mine, but they still worked. 
 
4. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Don't even think about opening the oven door before 30 minutes to check! The popovers with collapse! Serve immediately! 
 
Servings: 12

Nutritional Skinny:

98 calories / 3.2 g fat / 13 g carbohydrates / .25 g fiber / 5 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: These popovers only have five ingredients! Would could be better for your mental health than that! I know I'm always searching for easy things to make and bring to friend's houses when we're asked over for dinner or lunch. These are perfect because I almost guarantee that you already have all the ingredients on hand. These are great served with a brunch slathered with Homemade Apple Butter (for the recipe click HERE) or you can add cheese, chives, and crispy cooked bacon to the batter for a savory treat! 

Happy Easter Y'All!

Traditional German Potato Salad

I'm a red head, naturally. Most people assume I'm Irish. They're not entirely wrong, I have a tiny bit of Irish in me, but mostly I'm German.

Strong bones, sassy mouth, strong will, and a love of saurkraut, sausage, and all things to do with mustard.

I've talked a lot about potato salad and coleslaw this summer, but I'd be a really bad friend if I didn't share this recipe. It's simple and goes great with everything.

It has this heavenly bite from the caraway seeds, dill, and mustard seeds. Combine that with the creamy zing from the ranch dressing and that's about all you need to know.

I'm done. It's that good. It's even better served with German sausage charred on the grill and saurkraut and maybe even a nice dark beer. Did someone say Guiness?

This German Potato Salad is great if you prepare it the day before so the flavors can all get happy together in the refrigerator.

Let's get on with the recipe, shall we?

German Potato Salad

6 Yukon Gold Potatoes; scrubbed

2 Cups Celery; diced with leaves on
2 tsp. Caraway Seeds
1/4 Cup Light Mayonnaise
1/4 Cup Light Ranch Dressing
2 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. Dried Dill
1 tsp. Mustard Seed

1/2 tsp. Celery Seed

1. Scrub the potato skins and dice into bite sized pieces and place into a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes pierce easily with a fork. Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water and allow to cool completely. Place the potatoes in the refridgerator if you want them to cool quickly.

2. Once the potatoes are cooled transfer them to a bowl and chop the celery into thin slivers. Add the celery and caraway seeds to the potatoes and set aside.

3. In a separate small bowl combine the mayonnaise, light ranch dressing, dijon mustard, dried dill, mustard seed, and celery seed. Stir together with a fork until creamy and smooth.

4. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and stir until all potatoes are coated with dressing. Refrigerate overnight before eating.

5. When ready to eat, char-grill some German sausages, chicken wings, or possibly some pork and serve this potato salad along side with plenty of sauerkraut, mustard, and napkins.

Servings: 10

Nutritional Skinny:

77 calories / 2 g fat / 13.7 g carbohydrates / 2.4 g fiber / 1.2 g protein

Mental Health Tid Bit: Potato salad can be loaded with fat and unwanted calories. However, using the light ranch, and light mayonnaise for this recipe cuts the fat in half and saves over 100 calories. Creamy potato salad doesn't have to be followed by guilt and it is just as delicious. Most have over 300 calories per serving and with only 77 calories per serving for this potato salad that swimsuit will still look smashing!

Cheers!

Whole Grain Flax Bread

So yesterday was a little interesting... Just when I thought me and Mother Earth were getting on so well we got a huge hail storm. It basically took out my flowers (really was it necessary to take half of her sweet head?),

My petunias look like there was a massacre,

 

And just look at the house numbers? Now how am I going to remember where I live?

Isn't there supposed to be two lights?

Oh... there it is. Perfect.

And that's when I noticed the worst! My basil, my sweet sweet sweet yummy delicious pesto-making-basil! What happened to your lush leaves!

And let's not even talk about my sweet tomato plants. They didn't do anything to deserve this kind of treatment. 

I mean really, they were just young little plants trying to make it in this mad-crazy-windy world.

And it looks like this outside.


So I did what any normal person would do.


I put this on...

And got to work making the most delicious bread. The recipe is hand crafted, tested, and proven to be the best. Okay, I'm the only judge, but whatevs.

It helped me get through the day after the flower-garden-house massacre all from hail. That also punched huge holes in our window screens.

Unreal.


I want some yummy homemade bread. 


Don't you? The smell and the kneading and the crying just make me feel better. The crying isn't necessary, it's just sort of my thing.


Okay.. on with the recipe.

Whole Grain Flax Bread

Makes one two-pound loaf

2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

3 tablespoons Powdered Milk

1 1/2 tsp. Instant Yeast

1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 Cup Milled Flax Seed; Plus 2 tbsp.
1/2 Cup Oats; plus 3 tbsp.

1 1/2 tbsp. Honey

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

2 Cups Water, a little warmer than room temperature

*If you don't have powdered milk you can use 1 1/4 cups milk and omit the water, however the bread turns out lighter with the milk powder.

1. Stir together the bread flour, whole-wheat flour, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Stir together to combine using a whisk.

2. Then add the oats, milled flax seed, and salt.  Stir to combine.

2. Add the honey, olive oil, and water. Stir until the ingredients form a ball. If there is still flour in the bottom of the bowl, dribble in additional water. The dough should feel soft and slightly sticky. It is better for it to be a little too soft that to be too stiff so add water until you get to here.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and kneed the dough for 7-10 minutes. It's a great arm work out!

4. Place the dough in a greased metal bowl. Cover with saran wrap and set in a warm spot and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes. My favorite place for dough to rise is on top of the dryer while I am drying clothes. It is warm and perfect! Try it! The dough will double in size. If it hasn't doubled, let it continue rising until it has.
5. Sprinkle an additional 1 tbsp. flax seed and 2 tablespoons oats onto a dry surface. Turn the dough onto this surface. Then sprinkle the remaining 1 tbsp. of milled flax and oats on the dough. Begin gently rolling the dough out by hand into a 6 inch by 10 inch rectangle using your bread pan as a guide. You don't want it to be any wider than the bread pan you plan to put it into.

6. Spray your pan with baking spray and place the dough in the pan. Sprinkle with any remaining oat and milled flax that didn't get picked up off the rolling surface. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another hour to hour and a half. You want the dough to rise above the rim of the baking pan. That's how you know it's time to pop it in the oven.

7. Once the dough has doubled in size again. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

8. Place the bread in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 minutes. After 3o minutes rotate the bread 180 degrees to promote even cooking and heating and cook for another 15-30 minutes. The bread is done when the top is golden brown and the top crust sounds hollow when thumped. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes and slice and eat!

Servings: 16

Nutritional Skinny:

95 calories / 2.6 g fat / 21 g carbohydrates / 2.3 g fiber / 4.3 g protein

Mental Health Tid Bit: On days when I feel beat up or rung up and hung to dry, I try to take really deep breaths and be really gentle with myself. Just like we would with an toddler who accidentally plugged the toilet with legos. Baking bread is soothing and something that I always manage to do without a hitch even on the most harried days. Here's to home made bread, sunshine, and plant boosters!

 

Grilled Corn on the Cob with a Parmesan Crust

Grilling corn has become the 'new' way I cook corn. I no longer boil it. I haven't in several years ever since I discovered this method.

Grilling, cooks the corn, then gives it a little bit of blackening so when you bite into the cob you taste the sweet burst of corn as well as the salty crust of Parmesan and the slightly charred blackened snap.

It reminds me of kettle corn the way it's salty and sweet at the same time. I love kettle corn. It's my absolute favorite. 

But that's a story for another day.

Grilling corn is also super easy. All you need is some husked fresh sweet corn, a little olive oil, a brush, and some spices. That's all.

And if you are already at the grill cooking chicken (like I was) then it's a one stop meal. Heat everything on the grill, take it off, and BAM! You're ready to eat!

It's the perfect side dish to serve with anything that you are grilling and it means no messy oven scenes or skillet nightmares, just one big 'ol grilling mess!


Now, that's what I call fun and a great way to celebrate our 4th of July weekend!


Now on with the recipe!

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Parmesan Crust

6 Ears of Sweet Corn; husks removed

2 tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tbsp. Seasonal Salt

1 tbsp. Black Pepper

1 tbsp. Cayenne Pepper

1 tbsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

1. With husks removed place the corn right on a grill that has been heated to 300-325 degrees. Brush one side of the corn cob with olive oil. Then sprinkle that same side with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Turn the seasoned side down. Close the lid and cook for 10-15 minutes. 

2. Then turn and brush the other side with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with spices and turn the cob so the uncooked side is down (or the newly seasoned side). Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Be careful not to char the corn, continue to check it and turn it if need be. The corn will pop and sizzle and slightly blacken. This is exactly what you want to happen!

3. Once the corn has been grilled and is sufficiently cooked and blackened. Place in a large serving platter or bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately with the delicious slow grilled spicy chicken wings, or grilled chicken, or Slap Yo Mama Burgers!

Servings: 6


Nutritional Skinny:


120 calories / 4 g fat / 17 g carbohydrates / 2.4 g fiber / 4.1 g protein

Mental Health Benefit: Corn is one of those vegetables that I usually over look nutritionally. However, it's a great source of complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, and fiber (which none of us get enough of). It also is a decent source of vitamins B, C, and E as well as having a pretty good amount of folic acid. So, let's not over look the sweet, perfect little corn cob in the grocery store. It too has value!