Pumpkin Cornbread and Fast Fried Rice

We’re almost to Friday, and this week that means HALLOWEEN!!! Though we may be a little too old to go out and Trick or Treat, Halloween still means candy and costumes and really adorable kids ringing the doorbell (I’m still thrown by the fact that apparently nowhere other than Des Moines do kids have to tell a joke to get their candy. Truly one of the cutest things ever, a kindergartener trying really hard to tell you a joke that they’ve just made up, but I guess that isn’t what most cities do…). Anyways, with Halloween comes pumpkins, and though it isn’t quite time to whip out your grandmother’s pumpkin pie recipe, it would be a shame not to enjoy pumpkin in some fashion! In order to not overdose on sweet pumpkin dishes, this pumpkin cornbread is a delicious addition to any meal, especially as the weather grows cooler.

Pumpkin Cornbread

Taken from The View from Great Island

           

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground cardamom (or use cinnamon and or ginger instead)

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling, real pumpkin)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 Tbsp molasses

1/3 cup buttermilk or milk

Instructions

1)  Set the oven to 400 degrees

2) Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl (flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, spices, sugar) Try to smooth out any brown sugar lumps

3) Whisk the wet ingredients together in a larger bowl (eggs, pumpkin, oil, molasses, milk)

4) Add dry to wet and stir until just combined

5) Pour into a buttered 9 inch spring form pan or 8x8 square pan and spread evenly

6) Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

7) Cool for a few minutes in the pan and then ENJOY!

Notes

If you don’t have/don’t want to use cardamom, I like to substitute ¼ tsp of cinnamon and a ¼ tsp of ginger for the ½ tsp of cardamom

About the pumpkin, I’ve found that Libby’s canned pumpkin is fabulous in any recipe. Do I wish I had time to roast and puree my own pumpkin? Sure, but lets get real, no med student has time for that!

If you don’t have buttermilk, never fear! Any kind of milk works here. Or if you want to make your own buttermilk, simply mix just under a 1/3 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and let sit for 10 minutes. Instant buttermilk!

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One of my favorite meals to get whenever I go out for Chinese is fried rice. I try really hard to not think about just how much oil they’ve used in making it that delicious. Luckily, making your own fried rice is super easy, super fast, much healthier, and is perfect for cleaning out all those little bits of leftover veggies and meats you have sitting in the fridge. Not only are the ingredients customizable, but the amounts are as well! In fact so much so that the recipe I finally made my mom write down for me has no measurements at all, just use what you have available!

Fried Rice

Ingredients

Rice

1 egg per person/serving, beaten

Vegetable oil

Meat, cooked or uncooked (whatever you have, or leave out and go veggie fried rice!)

Veggies, small dice (whatever you’ve got around, frozen works just fine here as well as fresh)

Green onions chopped (optional)

Chicken broth (or beef, or vegetable)

Soy sauce

Sesame oil (optional)

Instructions

1) The most important thing to making fried rice is make sure you have all your ingredients laid out and prepped before actually starting to cook!

2) Heat pan (or wok if you have it) over medium high heat, add small amount of oil.

3) Add egg and stir until cooked (30 seconds). Remove from pan and chop into small pieces

4) Add more oil and let heat.

5) Add meat, if uncooked then let cook, if already cooked then just until warm. Regardless, stir.

6) Add veggies and stir until cooked.

7) If using green onions, add and stir.

8) Add rice and stir until rice is warmed.

9) Add chicken broth and soy sauce and cook until absorbed (just enough broth and soy sauce to mix in throughout, if you add too much don’t worry, just let it cook until it is all absorbed)

10) Return egg to pan and toss a few seconds to warm

11) Take off heat and add sesame oil if using

12) Enjoy! Chopsticks optional

Notes

Leftover rice actually works best here, why I’m not quite sure. But fresh will work just fine as well, it just means that supper will take longer than the 10 minutes I’ve usually got until I start just eating the ingredients!

The amount of each ingredient is really up to you, even the rice. I’ve made this before thinking I had a ton of rice leftover, dumping it into the pan and realizing I was having more veggies with a little rice.

Quick Thai Curry and Maple Granola

For some reason, I always seem to be craving curry, and so this recipe has quickly become my go to whenever the craving strikes. The great thing about this recipe is that it takes less than half an hour from the moment you think of it to sitting down and enjoying.

Quick Thai Curry with Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, and Green Beans

Taken from America’s Test Kitchen: The Best Simple Recipes

            I suggest this cookbook to everyone! The recipes are all done in 30 minutes or less, no scary techniques, and so far I haven’t found a single recipe that hasn’t been delicious.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons fish sauce

2 tablespoons red curry paste

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

8 ounces sweet potatoes (about 1 large), peeled and cut into ¾ inch chunks

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb) cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick slices

6 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon lime juice

¾ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1)   Bring coconut milk, broth, fish sauce, curry paste, and sugar to boil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer about 5 minutes.
2)   Add potatoes and simmer, covered, until nearly tender, about 8 minutes.
3)   Add chicken and beans to pot and simmer, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes and beans are tender, about 5 minutes.
4)   Stir in lime juice and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

Notes:

Light coconut milk can be used, but the broth will be thinner. Trust me, use the full fat (besides, its cheaper!)

I’ve found both fish sauce and red curry paste at Schnucks.

The basil is easily left out. If you don’t have any, don’t worry about it!

This recipe is great as leftovers, but if you don’t feel like having the same meal for three days straight it’s very easy to halve the whole recipe. I often make the whole sauce amount and just throw in however much chicken, beans, and sweet potatoes I have.

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One of my favorite snacks is granola. It’s the easiest thing to throw over a bowl of yogurt, with some milk for breakfast, or just grabbing it by the handful. But store-bought granola is full of all kinds of preservatives, ridiculous amounts of sugar, and ingredients I can’t pronounce. So I like to whip up this granola recipe, its easily customizable, takes only a few minutes to prepare and then your whole apartment smells amazing as it cooks! Plus it makes about 7 cups and stores at room temperature for weeks!

Big Cluster Maple Granola

Taken from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perleman

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened shredded or flaked coconut

1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

 ¼ cup toasted wheat germ (completely unnecessary, if you have it great! If not, no need)

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon coarse salt

½ cup maple syrup (can increase to 2/3 cup if you want a sweeter granola)

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg white (creates those delicious clumps, if you don’t want granola chunks go ahead and leave out)

1 ½ cups dried cherries, diced if large pieces (or any dried fruit. I tend to leave this out completely)

Instructions

1)   Preheat your oven to 300 degrees
2)   Combine all ingredients but the egg white and dried fruit in a large bowl, tossing to coat evenly.
3)   Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy and stir into granola mixture, distributing it throughout.
4)   Spread granola in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. About halfway through pull out and use a large spatula to turn over sections of the granola (ensures granola won’t burn). If it is baking unevenly rotate the pan.
5)   When evenly browned transfer from oven to cooling rack and let cool completely. Once cooled sprinkle in dried fruit and store (or eat!)

Notes:

If you don’t have parchment paper, line the baking sheet with tinfoil or just spray with PAM.