I love all cobblers, and of course I love chocolate, so when I saw this I had to try it. The best thing about this dessert is that you probably have all the ingredients on hand in your kitchen right now! So just make it, like me :-). We all LOOOOOVED it! (recipe from Tasty Kitchen)
Ingredients:
•1 cup All-purpose Flour
•2 teaspoons Baking Powder
•¼ teaspoons Salt
•7 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder, Divided
•1-¼ cup Sugar, Divided
•½ cups Milk
•⅓ cups Melted Butter
•1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
•½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
•1-½ cup Hot Tap Water
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.
Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish. I prefer my small oval Corning Ware glass dish.
In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (it should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.
Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.
Let stand for a few minutes if you can hold yourself back. Serve with homemade ice cream (I used store bought :-) using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.
Chocolate Cobbler
Chicken Cordon Bleu
I found this recipe on Jamie's Cookbook and thought it looked delicious. It was! I loved it and will definitely make it again. I served it with a mushroom wild rice mix that was absolutely the perfect match!
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
4 slices Swiss cheese
4 slices ham
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg (beaten)
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup whipping cream
Directions:
Pound chicken breast to 1/4-inch thickness. Sprinkle each piece on both sides with salt and pepper. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 ham slice on each breast. Roll up each breast using toothpicks to secure if necessary. Dredge each in flour, shake off excess, then in egg and finally in bread crumbs. Place seam side down in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Place 1 tablespoon butter on each piece of chicken.
Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes until juices run clear. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine broth and whipping cream; season to taste (salt, pepper, garlic, oregano). Simmer on low stirring until thickened; Pour over chicken.
Pioneer Woman's Pot Roast
This yummy roast comes from the Pioneer Woman, but was fresh on my mind after seeing it recently on Peachtree Cooking. I LOVED it. I thought it had a nice fresh flavor due to the fresh herbs and the red wine. I served ours up with mashed red potatoes and thought it was perfection. Who doesn't love a good roast?!
Ingredients:
* 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast
* 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
* 2 whole Onions
* 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
* Salt To Taste
* Pepper To Taste
* 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)(I used red cooking wine)
* 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
* 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste
* 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste
Directions:
First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast.
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).
Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate.
Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up.
When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.
Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. (I put mine in the crock pot on low for 7 hours)
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
I needed to make some chocolate chip cookies for a lesson I was teaching at church on Sunday and wanted to try a new recipe so I did a search for the best chocolate chip cookies, of course. After looking at a few different recipes I decided to try these ones from Savory Sweet Life. They were a hit with everyone who tried them and super easy to make!
Makes approx. 45-48 cookies using a sm-med 2tbl. cookie scoop
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour
1 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you only have table salt, use 1/2 tsp. *When using sea salt, you will get small crunchy flecks of salt when you bite into the cookie. If you do not like this taste, go with 1/2 teaspoon of table salt.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips *I realized grocery stores sell bags of chocolate chips in 12 oz bags but this recipe really needs every last chip. Otherwise you’ll get cookies with only a few chips in each one and this recipe requires lots of chocolate to bulk the cookie up. You’ll need about 1 1/2 bags.
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 3 minutes on medium-high speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
*Troubleshooting*
-If you’re cookies are coming out flat and not like the pictures there are probably 3 reasons for this.
#1) Baking powder and Baking soda is old. If your baking powder and soda is older than 1 year and has not been in a sealed (preferably air tight) container, it has lost some of it rising qualities.
#2) Creaming. It is not enough to just cream the butter and sugars until it has come together. This recipe requires you to beat it with a mixer for 3 minutes until the texture of the butter and sugar turns to light and fluffy-just like the picture.
#3) Flour. Flour should be weighed. This can make or break the recipe because just scooping flour into a measuring cup will never yield ideal or consistent results.
Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies
This Martha Stuart recipe was passed on to me by Amber (of Zanie Zoo). You would never know that there is no flour in these babies! They are almost as easy as my other gluten-free PB cookies, but so much better! Definitely try them :-)!
Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I doubled it and used 1 c creamy and 1 c crunchy)
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg (lightly beaten)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds.
In a large bowl, stir together 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg (lightly beaten), 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well combined. Stir in 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts.
With moistened hands, roll dough, about 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into balls. Place 2 inches apart on two baking sheets.
Bake until cookies are golden and puffed, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through.
Cool 5 minutes on sheets; transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.
Farmer's Market Potato Salad
This isn't really like a potato salad in the classic sense...no mayo involved :-). I LOVED it and have eaten the leftovers for lunch the past couple days. I thought the mix of veggies was really, really good...especially paired with the tang of the dressing. I preferred the salad warm, but it was good cold too! (recipe from Cooking Light) (and a warning that you do have to get your kitchen warm making it - using the oven to roast the potatoes and corn)
Ingredients:
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used red potatoes)
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
3/4 cup vertically sliced red onion
3/4 cup diced zucchini
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. Place corn and potatoes on a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle vegetables with 1 tablespoon oil; toss to coat. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Place mixture in a large bowl. Combine tarragon and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Drizzle potato mixture with dressing; toss gently to coat.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and zucchini to pan; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add zucchini mixture and tomatoes to potato mixture; toss gently to combine.
Southwestern Cobb Salad
This yummy salad from Cooking Light was WONDERFUL!!! It included so many things that I love...avocados, black beans, cheese, a good dressing, a southwestern twist. I had more for lunch today and it was even better than I remembered it from the night before :-). (and I totally copied how they set up the picture in the magazine...it looks much prettier that way)
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used red since that was what I had on hand)
1 teaspoon honey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
Salad:
3 slices center-cut bacon
Cooking spray
8 ounces skinless, boneless turkey breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used chicken breast)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 cups torn romaine lettuce
1/2 cup refrigerated fresh pico de gallo
1/2 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled queso fresco
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
Directions:
1. To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk; set aside.
2. To prepare salad, cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Wipe pan clean with paper towels. Increase heat to medium-high. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle turkey with salt. Add turkey to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until done.
3. Arrange 2 cups lettuce on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with about 2 teaspoons bacon, 5 tablespoons turkey, 2 tablespoons pico de gallo, 2 tablespoons avocado, 2 tablespoons queso fresco, 1 tablespoon onions, and about 1/3 cup beans. Drizzle vinaigrette evenly over salads.
Dill Potato Salad
We just got home from a week at the beach with my family. Each night someone else was in charge of dinner and on our night we served up those delicious bacon-wrapped hot dogs , that I loved, with this new potato salad that I found on my old college roomie Kim's blog. According to her post, she needed to make potato salad for a reception (which was funny because she doesn't even like potato salad) and she went with this Ina Garten recipe because after 181 reviews it still had 5 stars. I happen to LOVE potato salad so I was excited to try this one. It was simple to make and sooo good. I have never used fresh dill before and I loved the summery flavor it gave the salad!
Ingredients:
3 pounds small white potatoes
Kosher salt
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red onion
Directions:
Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, dill, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Set aside.
When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in quarters or in half, depending on their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour enough dressing over them to moisten. Add the celery and red onion, 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Roasted Corn Tostadas
I am so excited to have my Rachael Ray magazine subscription started again! I never watch her show, but I have found many good recipes in her magazine and it's fun to be able to actually flip through and look at the different recipes instead of finding them online like I usually do. Anyway, these were a big hit! I especially loved them and have eaten them non-stop the past couple days. They are so much better than a normal tostada, especially with the Chipotle cream sauce, but still so easy to make. They are great for lunch too and once you have prepared them, you can keep all the different toppings in the fridge and they are ready to assemble quickly whenever you want them!
Ingredients:
6 ears corn, shucked
Vegetable oil, for drizzling
Ancho chile or traditional chili powder, for sprinkling
Salt and pepper
Grated peel and juice of 1 lime
1 cup heavy cream
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon sauce
One 15-ounce can spicy vegetarian refried beans (I used a Goya variety)
Chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce, for topping
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped, for topping
1 small red onion, finely chopped, for topping
Drained and sliced pickled jalapeño chiles, or giardiniera (pickled vegetables), for topping (I didn't use these)
Chopped cilantro (optional), for topping
Eight 4- to 6-inch flour or corn tortillas (I used pre-made tostada shells)
2 1/2 cups shredded monterey jack or mild mexican melting cheese
Directions:
*Preheat an outdoor grill or preheat a broiler to high and position a rack on the second shelf. Dress the corn with a little oil and season with a sprinkle of chile powder, salt and pepper. Grill or broil the corn, turning occasionally, until tender and evenly charred, 12 to 15 minutes. Invert a small bowl in a larger bowl. Using tongs, remove the corn from the grill or broiler and steady the ears upright, 1 at a time, on the inverted bowl. Using the back of a knife, scrape the kernels from the cobs. Dress with the lime juice.
(I grilled a bunch of corn earlier in the week because I had a few different recipes that needed it. The night we made these, I cut the corn off the cobs and tossed with some lime juice, chili powder, salt and pepper)
*In a small saucepan, bring the cream, chipotle, adobo sauce and lime peel to a boil over medium heat on the stovetop only (cream requires a babysitter and the grill heat is too high). Lower the heat to a low, slow boil and cook until reduced slightly.
*In another small saucepan, combine the refried beans and 1/4 cup water on the grill or over medium-low heat. Heat through and remove from the grill.
*While the beans heat, line up your toppings. Char the tortillas on the grill or under the broiler, then top with the beans and some of the cheese. Melt under a covered grill or the broiler for 1 minute. Save a little cheese for garnish. (I used the pre-made tostada shells and placed them under the broiler in the oven once they were topped with the cheese, etc.)
*Serve 2 tostadas per person. Top each tostada with a mound of corn, the chipotle cream, the remaining cheese, the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, pickled chiles and cilantro, if using.
Tex-Mex Chicken Dumplings
I came across this fun new food blog one day, Homesick Texan. There are many new recipes I can't wait to try and this was the first one that caught my eye. It was a little labor intensive, but you could cut down the prep time by using canned chicken and store-bought chicken broth. The end result was really yummy...even on a hot summer day :-)!
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
1 four-pound chicken
16 cups of water (1 gallon) (my pot only held 8...I added 2 cans of chicken broth at the end so there would be enough liquid for the soup)
1 onion
9 cloves of garlic, divided
2 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters
4 celery stalks, cut into quarters
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried or 1 stalk fresh epazote, optional (I didn't use)
1 leafy stem of cilantro, plus 1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 can of Ro-Tel
2 jalapenos, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup of cream
Salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste
For the cornmeal dumplings:
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 jalapeno, finely diced
2 tablespoons of minced cilantro
Directions:
-Clean and rinse your chicken and place in a large stock pot. Add water, onion, 8 cloves of garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaves, epazote and whole cilantro stem. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour and a half, occasionally skimming the foamy scum off the surface.
-Remove chicken from pot and turn off the heat. After it’s cooled, remove fat and pick the meat off the bones and either shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.
-Take cooled broth and strain and throw out the vegetables as they’ve done their duty. Now you need to remove the fat from the broth. If you don’t have a preferred way of getting rid of the fat or lack a gravy separator, you can try the plastic bag method. Take a quart-sized plastic storage bag, pour some broth into it. You will see the fat rise to the top. Snip a bottom corner of the bag and drain the broth, stopping when you get to the fat layer. (You will probably have to do this in batches).
-Place the broth back into the pot and add the shredded chicken and lime juice. In a blender, add the can of Ro-Tel, sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro and garlic and blend. Add puree to the pot. Now add the cream. Add salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste. Bring to a boil. And while the soup is coming to a boil, make the cornmeal dumplings.
-Sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the milk with the eggs and add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, cilantro and jalapenos.
-When soup is boiling, turn heat down to low and gently drop the dumpling batter into the pot, one tablespoon or so at a time. Do not stir. Place lid on top and steam dumplings for 20 minutes.
-Ladle the chicken and dumplings into bowls and sprinkle cilantro on top. Serves six to eight.
Notes: If you want a thicker broth, feel free to add some flour. I'd add it slowly, a quarter cup at a time.
Chipotle Pork Chops with Spicy Side Salad
I was on the hunt for another pork chop recipe and thought this one from Tickle My Palate sounded awesome. It was SOOO good...a hit with the whole family! It wasn't hard to make and was a great combination of flavors. I made a wild rice mix to go with it and thought it was perfect. I ate the leftover side salad with chips like a salsa and it was delicious. Definitely give this one a try this summer!
Pork Chops marinade (I used 3 small ones) :
4 T olive oil (I'll just use 3T next time)
3T fresh lime juice
1T minced garlic
3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce chops with seeds and about a teaspoon adobo sauce
pepper to taste
(set aside some for side dish...I set aside almost 1/3 cup)
*Pour on meat. Ready to grill after marinated for an hour.
Spicy Side Salad:
1 ear grilled corn (I used 2)
1 can black beans drained
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes drained
1 diced avocado (use a big one, mine was small and I wished there was more)
marinade blend
chopped green onion
salt and pepper (to taste)
cilantro
Cheese Enchiladas
The girls LOVE cheese enchiladas. Whenever we go to Mexican restaurants that is what they get and they eat it ALL. Since they never seem to like any of my enchiladas very much I decided to try and make the kind they prefer. I found this website, Delicious Mexican Recipes, and used this one as a guide. You don't really need much of a recipe for cheese enchiladas I realize, but these were restaurant good (in my opinion :-). The girls, of course, didn't eat them as well as they do at the restaurants, but what can you do?
Ingredients:
1 lb of mild cheddar cheese, grated (I used Monterey Jack and Cheddar)
corn tortillas
vegetable oil
1/4-1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
Enchilada sauce, heated (I used the Pioneer Woman Sauce, recipe here)
sour cream, optional
guacamole, optional
Directions:
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
Using tongs, dip two corn tortillas at a time into the hot oil. When the tortillas start to bubble, lift and dip them into the oil 3 times fairly quickly.
The goal here is to make the tortillas soft. If the tortillas are left in the oil too long they will get hard and be difficult to roll. If that happens just toss them out and start over.
Okay, back to dipping the tortillas 3 quick times in the oil. Once you do this, dip the tortillas into hot enchilada sauce to coat. Now put the tortillas on a plate to cool one minute.
Add a hand full of the grated cheese and sprinkle some onion down the center of one tortilla and roll it. Do this by grabbing one end of the tortilla and bringing it 3/4of the way over to the other end. Tuck and roll the tortilla.
Pick up the cheese enchilada with your fore fingers on the bottom where the seam is. Let your pinky fingers cover the ends of the enchilada to keep the cheese from falling out while you move it to an oven proof dish.
With a little practice you will be a pro in no time at this.
Using a ladle, pour hot enchilada sauce over the top of the cheese enchiladas and let plenty of sauce run down the sides. Remember, the sauce is what makes it!
Sprinkle more cheese and onion on top in the desired amount.
Oriental Green Beans
I was on the hunt for a new vegetable side to try when I saw this recipe on Peachtree Cooking. These are SOOO good! All I wanted for dinner that night were these beans. They are definitely my new favorite side and so easy to make too! I've already decided I'm making them again next week :-)!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed
3 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. oriental sesame oil
1 tsp. sugar
6 garlic cloves, minced
Directions:
Steam green beans for 3-4 minutes. (I used a Ziploc steam bag...love those!)
Combine soy sauce, oil, and sugar in small bowl.
Spray wok or 10" skillet with cooking spray, or small amount of oil.
Add garlic, cook for one minute.
Add green beans, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
Add soy sauce mixture, continue to stir and cook a few more minutes until beans are brown and yummy (but not soggy).
Falafels
I finally got a food processor and this was a great recipe to try it out for the first time! I saw this recipe on Dish Delish and thought it would be a perfect summer meal. It was a hit all around! All the kiddos liked it, I loved it and even Mike thought they were good. We'll definitely be making them again!!!
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (drained)
1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
2 Tbs. fresh parsley
2 Tbs. fresh cilantro
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c.+ flour
vegetable oil for frying
1 recipe of Soft (Pita) Flat Bread (or store bought pitas-- If you're in a pinch)
English cucumber slices, quartered
tomato, diced
shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 red onion, sliced paper thin
ranch dressing
Directions:
Place chickpeas and onions in a food processor. Pulse until almost smooth. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, red pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until well-blended but not pureed.
Remove chickpea mixture and place in a bowl. Sprinkle in the baking powder and flour, and gently mix. Add enough flour so that the dough can form a small ball without being too sticky. Refrigerate, covered, while you heat the oil and chop the veggies. Mixture can easily be made several hours ahead of time.
Using a small cookie dough scoop sprayed with Pam, form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts (you should have about 16-18 balls). Flatten between greased hands, until each ball becomes a 3 inch circle.
Heat 2 inches of oil to 350 degrees in a deep pan (I always use a candy thermometer to make sure my oil temperature stays consist ant) and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 5 balls at a time for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
Stuff warm pita bread with 2-3 falafel balls and all vegetable toppings. Add a generous amount of ranch dressing and serve hot. (to serve with the falafels I cut each pita in half and opened them up at the seam to stuff them)
Soft (Pita) Flat Bread
I made these to go with our Falafels tonight. I was worried I wasn't doing it right at the beginning, but much to my surprise (and excitement) they actually turned out pretty darn good. Maybe baking will be in my future afterall :-). I saw the recipe on Dish Delish. She posts some great vegetarian meals and super yummy desserts! (to serve with the falafels I cut each pita in half and opened them up at the seam to stuff them)
Makes 8 flatbreads
Ingredients:
3 c. flour
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1/4 c. potato flour OR 1/2 c. potato flakes
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 tsp. INSTANT yeast
Directions:
Place 2 cups of the flour into a large mixing bowl (or Kitchen Aid). Pour the boiling water over the flour, and stir till smooth. Cover the bowl and set the mixture aside for 30 minutes. This process will cook out some of the starch, making the bread very soft and pliable.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the potato flour (or flakes) and 1 cup of the remaining flour with the salt, oil and yeast. Add this to the cooled flour/water mixture, stir, then knead for several (5-7) minutes to form a soft dough. Add additional flour only if necessary-- The dough should form a ball, but will remain somewhat soft. Let the dough rise, covered, for 1 hour. (Note: Since this is a flatbread, the dough will not rise very much due to the small amount of yeast-- But it should still rise noticeably.)
Divide the dough into 8 pieces (each around 3-4 oz.-- I use my kitchen scale for this), cover, and let rest on an oiled surface for 15 to 30 minutes. Roll each piece into an 8-inch circle, and dry-fry them (fry without oil) on a griddle or frying pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until they’re flecked with brown spots. Adjust the heat if they seem to be cooking either too quickly, or too slowly; cooking too quickly means they may be raw in the center, while too slowly will dry them out. Stack the cooked bread in between a soft, clean towel to keep them warm and soft. Serve immediately, or cool before storing in a plastic bag.
