Flan

This was so very easy to make, there are few ingredients and few bowls to clean after. As simple as it is, it is a time consuming effort between prep, cooking, cooling, and chilling time. I made this treat as dessert when having dinner with some friends at their house. The husband was the one who suggested that I make flan (despite the fact that I never made it before) when we learned that dinner was going to be Mexican.

Dinner with the Fanerty's (as they will now be called) was so much fun. Sara did a great job with the fajitas, rice, and beans. For beverages there was a choice of Dos Equis, Corona, and margaritas. After dinner, we relaxed for a bit before having dessert. It was a hit with all parties. To give the plate some color, the flan was served wtih strawberries and blueberries.

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
3/4 cup egg substitute
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated skimmed milk

1. Place 1 cup sugar in a large heavy skillet over medium heat; cook 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves (do not stir). Continue cooking until golden, and stir well. Immediately pour into a 9-inch round cake pan, tipping quickly until sugar coats bottom of cake pan, and set aside.
   
2. Combine remaining 1/3 cup sugar, egg substitute, vanilla, and milk; stir well. Pour into prepared cake pan; place in a large, shallow pan (I used my roasting pan). Add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove cake pan from water; let cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill 4 hours.

To serve, loosen edges of flan with a knife or rubber spatula. Place a serving plate, upside down, on top of cake pan; invert flan onto plate. Drizzle any remaining syrup over flan. A few serving notes, placing the flan onto a plate that is completely flat is key. Unfortunately, my place have a slightly raised edge. This caused the syrup to pool in the middle. Second, flan is not the easiest dessert to transport. I was handling the plate quite gingerly.

Black Bean Soup

This is another "after the gym" recipe thanks the slow cooker. I liked this soup, but think it tasted better reheated a day after it was made. I added a few things to the soup when serving such as sour cream, shredded cheese, and jalapeno slices. Because the husband is not the biggest fan of pepper, I omitted the peppers from the mixture.

1 pound dry black beans
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chopped (I have no idea how the recipe tastes with the pepper as I removed this ingredient from the mixture)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
1 can (4 ounces) chopped mild green chilies, drained (Again, I omitted this for the husband)
6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock or broth
2 teaspoons cumin

1. Rinse and sort beans and place in a large bowl; cover completely with water. Soak 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans; discard water.
2. Place beans in slow cooker. Add celery, carrots, and onion.
   
3. Combine peppers, tomatoes, stock, and cumin in medium bowl. Add to slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 7 to 8 hours or on High 4.5 to 5 hours, or until beans are tender. (I cooked it on low since I was going to be out of the house for at least that time). Season with salt and pepper.
   
4. I chose to use a blender to make the soup less chunky.
   

Turkey Tacos

Last week was the start of a new gym routine. Because I don't want to wake up early to work out anymore, I chose to go after work. The only problem with going after work, is that I won't come home until 7ish, too late to start prepping and making dinner. That said, the slow cooker is once again my favorite kitchen appliance.

Like I said in an earlier post, I am playing with the idea of becoming a vegetarian. I mean to take very slow steps with the process and am still eating poultry and fish. This dinner is going to make it hard for me to give up poultry completely.

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1/2 chunky salsa
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
Ground red pepper to taste
8 taco shells

1. Brown turkey and onion in large skillet over medium heat, stirring to separate meat. Combine turkey mixture, tomato paste, salsa, cilantro, and salt in slow cooker. Cover; cook on Low 4 to 5 hours.
   
2. Just before serving, melt butter in small saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and salt; cook 1 minute. Carefully stir in milk. Cook and stir over low heat until thickened. Remove from heat. Combine sour cream and sprinkle of ground red pepper in small bowl. Stir into hot milk mixture. Return to heat; cook over low heat 1 minute, stirring constantly.
   
3. To serve, spoon 1/4 cup turkey mixture into each taco shell. Spoon sour cream mixture over taco filling.
   

Can it get any better than this?

I came across this when looking at a Daily Candy e-mail the other day. It was a little snippet about a Mac'n'Cheese of the Month Club. How good does that sound? Warning, it is a bit pricey. If I feel inspired, maybe I will attempt some of the offerings on my own, but I am on a mission to get back to the gym. I have a feeling that eating a lot of mac'n'cheese would detract from my new goal and what would be the fun of a low fat mac'n'cheese?

I have strayed from the original intent of this blog, sharing recipes. However, I am still posting things that are food related, recipes (of course), restaurant reviews, food lists, etc...I figure that I can keep changing the content so long as it is still related to food. I hope no one minds.

Falafel

I have been so bad at posting lately! I haven't really been in the kitchen a lot and the few things I have made have been duds and not worth posting. But, I am back now. Last evening I made falafel. I am exploring the idea (just the idea) of going vegetarian. If (and it is a big if) this happens, it will be a slow transition. As of now, I am giving up red meat and then I will slowly wean out other meats. We will see if it happens. That said,
I am experimenting with meatless dishes to see if I can find enough variety.

Last night's falafel did not disappoint. The last time I had made it, I used some box found at the store to help and I was not happy with the results. This fresher version (from Cooking Light) was much tastier. I did not have a few of the ingredients, but the substitutions worked well. I wasn't a huge fan of the sauce, but I only used a tiny bit. Also, I forgot to buy pitas for the falafel patties, but if you want to minimize your carbs going without the pita is fine.

Sauce:
1 cup 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
2/3 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill (I used just a dash of dried dill)
1 minced garlic clove

Falafel:
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (I used just a dash of dried dill)
3 tablespoons finely chopped red onion (I didn't have red onion, so I used a yellow onion)
1 teaspoon garlic salt (I didn't have garlic salt, so I used garlic powder)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. To prepare the sauce, combine the first four ingredients and set aside.
2. To prepare the falafel, drain chickpeas in a colander over a bowl; reserve liquid. Place chickpeas, 3 tablespoons liquid (discard the remaining liquid), breadcrumbs, and next 5 ingredients (through cumin) in a food processor; process until minced. Divide chickpea mixture into 8 equal portions, shaping each into 8 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2 inch patty.
   
3. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add patties to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
4. Spread 1/4 cup sauce into each pita half (or on the falafel). If serving with pitas, add lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and thinly sliced red onions.

(4 Servings)