Georgian Cheese Bread

My good friend Marci's brother lives in the Republic of Georgia and his wife is Georgian so this caught my eye. If you have not tried Havarti cheese, you must! It is my all time favorite cheese.

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-oz package)
7 tablespoons warm water (105-115°F)
1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 lb Havarti cheese, coarsely grated
1/4 lb salted mozzarella, coarsely grated
1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted

Equipment: a floured pizza pan (at least 12 inches) or a floured large baking sheet

PreparationSprinkle yeast over warm water and stir in 1 tablespoon flour. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast does not activate, start over with new yeast.)

Stir together salt and remaining flour in a large bowl, then stir in egg and yeast mixture to form a dough.

Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface and turn to coat with flour, then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and dust with flour. Let dough rest in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, punching down with a wet fist every hour, at least 2 hours and up to 3.

Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle.

Turn out dough onto floured pizza pan, turning to coat, then flatten with your fingers into a 7-inch disk.

Toss together cheeses and press into a compact 3-inch ball with your hands. Place ball in middle of dough, then gather dough up around ball of cheese, squeezing excess dough into a topknot. Press down on topknot with a damp fist to press cheese out from center. Continue to flatten dough and distribute cheese evenly, pressing outward from center, until dough is an 11-inch disk.

Cut a 6-inch X through top of dough to expose cheese. Bake until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Brush surface of dough with butter and bake until golden and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.

Serve cut into wedges.

Spanish-Style Halibut

If you like Halibut, you must try this one. It has all the right flavor combinations and it's healthy too!

Ingredients
1 slice applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach


Preparation
Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, and crumble. Set aside.
Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, smoked paprika, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle spice mixture evenly over fish. Add fish to drippings in pan, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. Remove fish from pan, and keep warm.

Add 2 teaspoons garlic to pan, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in bacon. Add spinach to pan, and cook for 1 minute or until the spinach begins to wilt. Serve with fish.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 fillet and 1/2 cup spinach mixture)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 214(21% from fat); FAT 5.1g (sat 1g,mono 2.7g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 37.4g; CHOLESTEROL 57mg; CALCIUM 124mg; SODIUM 475mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 2.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 2.4g

Dried Cherry and Toasted Almond Turkey Salad Pita

The name is a mouth full but it is a mouth full of wonderful flavor! This is a must
try, especially if you are, like me, always looking for healthy choices.

Ingredients
1/4 cup slivered almonds (about 1 ounce)
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup golden raisins
8 ounces roasted turkey breast, chopped
4 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, cut in half


Preparation
Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds; cook 2 minutes or until toasted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; set aside.
Combine yogurt, mayonnaise, ginger, and pepper in a medium bowl. Add almonds, celery, and next 4 ingredients (through turkey), stirring well to combine. Spoon 1/3 cup turkey mixture into each pita half.

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 2 stuffed pita halves)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 398(20% from fat); FAT 8.7g (sat 1.4g,mono 4.1g,poly 2.4g); PROTEIN 25.9g; CHOLESTEROL 51mg; CALCIUM 93mg; SODIUM 501mg; FIBER 6.9g; IRON 3.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 56.1g

Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

I am so excited about this recipe. I have always been in love with Paradise Bakery pumpkin muffins and have tried for over a year to find a good recipe for pumpkin muffins. It was never as good as the Paradise muffins, which I am sure are VERY unhealthy. Finally after trying several different things I created a and finally perfected it yesterday. Using the base for Christi's banana bread and then tweaking it I came up with a delicious and relatively healthy muffin!



Ingredients:

1 3/4 C. Whole wheat flour

1 1/2 C. Brown sugar (can substitute honey)

1 tsp. Baking soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 C. Egg beaters

2 C. Pumpkin

1/2 C. Applesauce (I like Cinnamon applesauce)

1 C. Walnuts (coarsely chopped)

1/4 C. Buttermilk



Directions:



Mix dry in ingredients in mixer and then add remainder of ingredients and mix until combined. Scoop generously into muffins tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes.

Amber's Green Chile Enchiladas

This is my sister's recipe picked up from a guy that works on their farm. They are fabulous!
Ingredients:

4 Chicken Breasts
Chopped Garlic to taste
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste

3 Cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
2-8oz. Cream Cheese
2 cups chopped Green Chile (The Bueno frozen kind is best if you don't have access to authentic New Mexican green chile)

1 Small Package Corn Tortillas

3 Cups Shredded Colby Jack Cheese (I usually buy the pre-shredded Mexican cheese in the bag)

Directions:

Boil the first 4 ingredients until chicken is completely cooked but still tender. Then remove chicken from stock and let cool before shredding.

In a large pan combine next 3 ingredients until smooth and creamy.

In a 10 x 13 baking dish: layer corn tortillas so they cover the bottom in a thin layer. They will overlap each other should take approx. 6 tortillas.

Then add shredded chicken in with sauce and make one layer over tortillas then a layer of cheese. Then another layer of Tortillas and repeat the same step until the pan is filled to the top. Last layer should be cheese.

Bake at 350° until Cheese is brown and sauce is bubbling.

Serve with Fresh hot tortillas or sopapillas.

Moo Shu Shrimp

Ingredients:

12 small flour tortillas
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound shelled and deveined medium shrimp
3 large eggs, beaten
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
3 ounces sliced mixed wild mushrooms
8 ounces shredded coleslaw mix
3 scallions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch lengths
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce, plus more for serving
Cilantro leaves, for serving

Directions:


Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Stack and wrap the tortillas in foil and heat until warmed through.
Heat a large wok or skillet until very hot to the touch. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until smoking. Add the shrimp and stir-fry over high heat until lightly browned and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Scrape the shrimp onto a large platter. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to the wok. Stir the eggs, season them with salt and pepper and add to the wok. Cook, stirring, until large soft curds form, about 2 minutes. Scrape the eggs onto the platter with the shrimp.
Add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil to the wok. Add the ginger, garlic and mushrooms and stir-fry over high heat until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the coleslaw mix and scallions, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until the cabbage is just wilted but still crunchy, about 4 minutes. Return the shrimp and egg to the wok, add the 1 tablespoon of hoisin sauce and stir-fry just until combined. Transfer the moo shu shrimp to a large bowl and serve with the warmed tortillas, cilantro leaves and hoisin sauce.
Yield: 4 servings

Butternut Chowder

This weeks recipe is one I developed a month or so ago and is a great fall or winter dish:

Ingredients:

1 Package Butternut squash (cubed)
1 32 oz. Box chicken broth
1 tbs. Roasted garlic
1 tbs. Sage
dash of Cumin
1/4 C. Onion (chopped)
1 C. Celery (chopped)
2 Potatoes (cubed)
4 Slices bacon cooked (crispy)
1/4 C. Cream
4 tbs. Butter
Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a Medium size crock pot; add squash to chicken broth. Cook on high for approximatley 2 1/2 hours or until tender. With a strainer scoop the squash from the broth and mash in a mixer with butter garlic unitl smoothe. Place potatoes, celery and onion in boiling broth and add sage,cumin and pepper. Cook unitl potaoes are tender and add mashed squash back to broth. When chowder is hot turn heat down and add cream. ( Do not boil cream) Serve immediatley.

Note: This dish can be prepared faster if you cook it on the stove instead of a crock pot. I have just found it to be nice to use the crock pot becuase it does not require much attention.

This is great with a fresh sourdough whole grain bread and salad! Maybe those will be next weeks recipes...