When I was a kid, my family loved an orange chiffon cake from our local bakery, Danish Bakers. Craving that childhood memory, we tried this NYT recipe for a whole orange snack cake: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022002-whole-orange-snack-cake?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share We used a regular-sized naval orange. For the icing, we used the zest from the entire naval orange and about 2.5… Continue reading Whole orange snack cake
Vegetarian chipotle chili
We sought a plant-forward chili that used chipotle in adobo. Details here: https://healthynibblesandbits.com/chipotle-vegetarian-three-bean-chili/ Based on our pantry, we used white kidney beans instead of red. We prefer thicker chilis, so we used 2 1/4 cups chicken broth (instead of 3 cups). This easily could be vegetarian with vegetable broth. At the end of cooking, we… Continue reading Vegetarian chipotle chili
Low-fat parmesan sauce
We searched for a low-fat alternative to parmesan sauce: https://www.modernhoney.com/skinny-fettuccine-alfredo/ We used this as the parmesan sauce topping for baked pasta with store-bought marinara sauce. (May 2022)
Baked pasta with store-bought marinara
We tried this recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/best-baked-ziti-parmesan-cream-recipe Our modifications: first, we used 1 lb (not 1.5 lb) whole wheat penne, 24 oz Rao's marinara sauce mixed with 8 oz no-salt tomato sauce, 8 oz shredded low-fat mozzarella, and 4 oz diced Monterey Jack cheese. Finding the parmesan sauce too fatty (heavy cream + parmesan), we tried a… Continue reading Baked pasta with store-bought marinara
Quick bolognese with store-bought marinara
We found this recipe that uses store-bought marinara as a base: https://themodernproper.com/easy-bolognese Our modifications: first, for meat we used 1 lb minced beef and 1 lb minced chicken. We also used 24 oz Rao's marinara sauce. Second, instead of heavy cream, we added 2 Tbsp unsalted butter at the end. Finally, we found the sauce… Continue reading Quick bolognese with store-bought marinara
Minced chicken Sloppy Joes
We had 1 lb minced chicken and made a healthy, vegetable-filled version of this classic dish. We tried this recipe: https://www.babaganosh.org/chicken-sloppy-joes/ For vegetables, we finely minced 1/2 bell pepper, 1 jalapeño pepper, 1 shallot, and 2 celery stalks. This was really tasty. (May 2022)
Mexican chicken meatball soup
We tried this recipe: https://mahatmarice.com/recipes/chicken-albondigas/ Our modifications: first, we added 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/2" quarters along with the meatballs. Second, we found the soup a little bland and added 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground coriander, and 1/4 tsp allspice at the end. (May 2022)
Pakistani minced chicken with bell pepper (keema shimla mirch)
We tried this recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023125-keema-shimla-mirch-ground-chicken-with-bell-peppers?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share We followed the recipe exactly, including the order of cooking the aromatics, chicken, and spices. We used yellow bell pepper. This was very tasty. (Apr. 2022)
Moroccan caramelized onion with raisins (tfaya)
We tried this recipe: https://www.thespruceeats.com/tfaya-moroccan-carmelized-onions-with-raisins-2394940 For 1 lb onions, we used 2 large red onions, halved and sliced along the grain. For raisins, we used 1/2 cup golden raisins. In lieu of orange blossom water, we added freshly grated zest from a navel orange along with the spices, butter, and water. (Apr. 2022)
Moroccan chicken and seven vegetables couscous
We tried this recipe: https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/moroccan-lamb-and-seven-vegetable-couscous Our modifications: First, instead of lamb, we used 4 skin-on drumsticks and 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Second, for vegetables we featured carrot, eggplant, purple topped turnip, kabocha squash, zucchini, and red cabbage; the next time, we will omit the eggplant (soggy and unappetizing). Third, because we exceeded volume in… Continue reading Moroccan chicken and seven vegetables couscous
Cooking Adventures 