Blackbean Burger (Vegetarian)

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

I'm not a fan of veggies, yadda yadda yadda, I try to eat more, blah blah blah ; you've heard the story a dozen times. And in my defense, I think I've come a long way. But when it comes to the world of vegetarian eating, there's one food I have no problem with: the veggie burger.

I'm head over heels for any meat-alternative burger (veggie, bean, soy, etc.) and spend a bundle on those frozen soy patties .So you could imagine how happy I was to find out I could get about 12 patties from a .79 cent can of black beans! And now you know that in addition to not being wild about vegetables, I'm also a cheapskate. Moving on...

If you've been reading MWK long enough, this may seem like a repeat recipe of a black bean burger I tried out a while ago. But trust me, the difference between these two recipes is like night day. While that one was boring and tasted like mushy black beans (which basically sums up the recipe quite well), this one has body and is jam-packed full of flavor.

The original recipe calls for bulghur (which you may remember from kibbeh or tabouleh) but I didn't have any at the time and opted for cous cous. It definitely worked, though I added almost twice as much as what the original bulhur amount until the mixture came to a consistency that I was happy with.In addition to the mountain of vegetables, this burger actually has some flavor thanks to the BBQ sauce and soy sauce, but feel free to add your favorite spices too (I think Cajun spice would be awesome in this!). I left out the walnuts because I was lazy and it was still great. Definitely give it a try and I'm pretty you won't even miss the meat!

Black Bean Burgers

(adapted from Food Network Magazine)

1/3 cup quick cooking barley (bulghur, or twice as much cooked cous cous)
3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1 small celery stalk, chopped
salt to taste
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 tablespoon barbecue sauce
1 carrot, finely grated (I just julienned these)
1 cup canned pinto or black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup bread crumbs
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (left these out, still came out great!)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 large egg whites
2 tablespoon fresh parsely


1. Prepare burghul (barely, or cous cous, whatever you're using) according to directions, let cool completely.

2. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, celery and a pinch of salt and cook until golden, about 12 - 14 minutes. Add garlic, 3 tablespoons of barbecue sauce and the carrot. Cook until the mixture slightly driest out, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a food processor and let cool completely ( I rushed it and waited until it was warm, but for safety reasons you should let it cool completely).

3. Add the burghul (or cous cous), beans, breadcrumbs, walnuts, soy sauce, egg whites, parsley and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the food processor. Pulse until finely ground with some chunks ( I pulsed until pretty smooth, that's just my preference). Form into patties 4" wide  and about 1/2" thick. Place onto a wax paper lined baking sheet or tray and refrigerate until firm (1 - 4 hours).

4. At this point, you can freeze whatever you want until later or cook them off right away. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook patties in batching until golden, about 6 minutes on each side. Serve on toasted buns with the remaining barbecue sauce.

Zucchini & Squash Tart

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

It's no secret, vegetables and I just don't get along. The funny thing is, I come from a part of the world that is famous for its vegetarian cooking, and yet, I'm not a big veggie eater. I know all the benefits and I've really tried hard to incorporate them into my diet, but I gotta be honest, it hasn't been going too well. I usually just toss some in to a pasta with a rich sauce or under a layer of cheese on a pizza. But this time I wanted something light and simple.

 

Maybe its the long, hot days or the produce was especially fresh the day I hit the stores, but this tart ended up tasting like a slice of summer on a plate. It was bright and earthy, light yet satisfying all in one bite. It was exactly what I was craving.

Oh, and just for good measure, I threw in some sliced soy sausage, cuz I'm new-age like that. And also because I needed to use up the last bit I had left in the fridge. The variations on this tart are endless but what I found to be the most important factor was using good produce, a thin crust and herbs.

Zucchini and Squash Tart

1/2 recipe pizza dough
1 small yellow squash
1 medium zucchini
1 medium tomato
2 tablespoons softened cream cheese (or goat cheese, if you're feeling fancy)
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese  (optional)
sliced soy sausage (optional)
salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out dough to about 1/4" thick and so it fits your baking pan.

2. Spread cream cheese over your dough and top with squash, zucchini, tomato and sausage. Sprinkle herbs and salt over top. Add cheese if you like and bake until bubbly and crust is golden.

Spicy Popcorn Chicken

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

So there's very little doubt that these 40 minute buns are a super hit (they even made it into the top 10!) but did you know they were a replacement recipe for a previous hamburger bun recipe? Since the updated recipe is my go-to one and seems to be for others as well, then most y'all may not know about a recipe buried within the older bun recipe for spicy chicken sandwiches. Have I confused you yet? Let's make it simple: there's a great recipe for spicy chicken sandwiches that doesn't get any attention so how about we shine some light on it?

Except, that I'm not going to make the exact same thing (so much for losing the original recipe, AGAIN). I was looking for a side accompaniment to our dinner the other night and decided to do some chicken nuggets for the kids but wanted to kick it up for the grown-ups. Using the spicy chicken sandwich as my guide, I whipped up a batch of these spicy nuggets.

Of course you can stick to the classic and just do the recipe with larger pieces of chicken. This recipe as written is not spicy enough for us  (the heat seems to get lost in the flour, I guess) so if you prefer thinks really spicy then follow my advice and quadruple (yes, that means 4 times!) the cayenne pepper amount like I did and you'll start to notice some heat ;)

Spicy Popcorn Chicken

Enough vegetable oil to deep fry
1/3 cup frank's original red hot pepper sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons cayenne pepper (I quadruple this amount, please don't think I'm crazy!)
1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces (season with salt and pepper to taste)
4 plain hamburger buns


1.Heat-up oil for deep frying

2. Pour the hot sauce in a shallow bowl. In a seperate bowl, mix the flour cayenne pepper, blackpepper,garlic powder. Divide this mixture into two seperate bowls.

3. Dredge each chicken piece in one bowl of the dry mixture, then dip into the hot sauce and back into a second bowl of the dry mixture.
Repeat until you've coated all the pieces.

4. Carefully lower pieces into hot oil using a slotted spoon and fry until evenly golden brown. Be careful not to over-crowd your pan or the chicken will not have a crispy crust. Serve hot with your favorite dipping sauce or make one yourself by mixing low-fat mayo and hot sauce.

Oatmeal and Maple Biscuits

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

Growing up, I was not a breakfast person; I would rarely eat anything before rushing out the door to school (I know, I know, shame on me). The weekends were the same story, unless grits were involved in which case that'd be about the extent of my breakfast. Now that I'm a parent, alhamdulillah, I take breakfast more seriously. No, I still don't eat it regularly but I do make sure my children do. I'm also not a fan of cold-breakfasts (see above: grits) and try to get something warm and filling in those growing bellies each morning.

 

 

 

 

Now before you go and get visions of a niqaabi June Cleaver let me tell you we have plenty of mornings of cold cereal around here, because that's just life. Mornings just always seem to be a bit chaotic and though I want something hearty and hot to serve my family, it needs to be easy and quick. All that and still yummy, too.

And that's exactly why these biscuits* are the new family favorite: they come together quickly, the kids love them and I don't have to worry about speculatively halal ingredients as is often the case with canned biscuits. But please don't even began to try and compare these to anything that pops out of a can. Thanks to the oatmeal these are hearty, thick and crumbly yet don't feel like a hockey puck sitting in your tummy. They have a slightly sweet crumb thanks to the syrup (DO NOT try and substitute any mrs-aunts-butter-jemima-junk for pure maple syrup!) but are still subtle enough to be slathered with your cheesecake leftovers. Wait...cheesecake? Huh?

Yes, you heard me right. Strawberry cheesecake for breakfast, just without the chesecake part. That strawberry topping is perfect atop these biscuits straight out of the oven. You can easily swap for any other fruit, fresh or frozen. Refrigerate the sauce over night for best consistency. You can keep it for a few days in the fridge, though it didn't even last one day in our house, but anything beyond that may not be the best thing since this faux-jam is pectin and preservative free. Warm maple biscuits with homemade strawberry jam, now that's a breakfast I can get used to.
 

 (*the original recipe calls these scones but seeing as I'm all unrefined and can't tell the difference between a scone and a biscuit, plus my kids ended up calling this is a biscuit, I just went with the more American-y sounding of the two. Either way, it's delicious)


Oat and Maple Biscuits
Breakfast Lunch, Tea: The Many Little Meals of Rose Bakery
Yield: about 8 - 10, depending on your biscuit cutter size

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting surface
1/2 cup  whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (I used quick-cooking)
1 very heaped tablespoon baking powder
1 very heaped tablespoon  granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Scant 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup milk or buttermilk
1 egg, beaten (for glaze)

Directions
1.Preheat your oven to 400°F  and butter a baking tray

2. Whisk the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. With a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. In a small dish, combine the milk and syrup, then add these liquid ingredients to the butter-flour mixture. By hand or with a rubber spatula, bring everything together to form a softish dough. If it feels too dry, add a little more milk but not enough that the dough is sticky. I usually end up adding another 1/4 cup milk but whatever you do, add in small amounts until the dough comes together and is no longer sticky.

4. On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough out until it is 1 1/4 inches tall. Using a 2-inch cutter, cut the dough into rounds and place them on the prepared tray so that they almost touch. Glaze the tops with beaten egg and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the scones are lightly golden. The scones will stick together, so pull them gently apart when they’ve cooled a bit.

5. Serve warm plain, drizzled with honey or slathered with jam.

Strawberry Jam
1 cup strawberry, mashed
1 cup sugar 
3 tablespoons cornstarch 
1/3 cup water

1. Blend sugar and cornstarch together in a small saucepan.

2.Stir in water and strawberries.

3.Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils.

4. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Cool thoroughly before storing in a container and refrigerating. Keep in fridge overnight for best results.

BBQ Sandwiches (aka Pot Roast Leftovers)

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

I've been hesitating even posting this because, well, pot roast is just so boring. I was afraid I'd fall asleep in the middle of typing of this up, or even worse, that you would fall asleep as you read this! There's only so much one can say about pot roast: it's an enormously big hunk of meat and you cook it in a pot. If you want to be super efficient, you stick it in a crock-pot when you wake up in the morning and don't look at it until dinner time, and there you have it, dinner. Are you still awake?

But what we can talk about is the left overs, oh my the possibilities! Fajitas, puff pastry turn overs, on top of pizza or a killer bbq sandwich. Or what I like to call "How to Finish the Last Bits of all the Sauce bottles in the Fridge". This sandwich was oh so incredibly good that I had to make it a second time, except that I had no left overs. So I cooked beef and then shredded it up for the sole of purpose of this sandwich, forget leftovers!

For the sake of the recipe, I'll give you a quick run down of pot roast and since this was my first time cooking a hunk of meat this big, some things I learned along the way. First, try and get a bone-in roast. Our meat store didn't have any when I needed it, so I when for a 5 - 6 pounder of boneless beef. In all honesty, it was a little dry by the end but thats what those pot juices are for, I guess.

Make sure you sear all sides before putting in a warmed slow cooker. This will give you a nice crust and lock in the flavor and juices. Every few hours, baste the meat with its own juices. Do this quickly though, as every time you open the lid of a crock pot so much heat escapes that you substantially add to the overall cooking time. And finally, use whatever spices you prefer, there really isn't a right or wrong way. I like a lot of garlic, black pepper, paprika, cumin and ground cloves.And as always, the longer you marinate, the better.

Now on to the star of the show: the sandwich. This is so incredibly easy y'all, and I'm pretty sure you already have these ingredients sitting in your fridge door as we speak. You can just as easily make my quick BBQ sauce or take the easy route and finish off those bottles of condiments in your fridge. Cook it on a long and slow simmer, plop on to some crusty bread and top with some good cheese (we like smoked gouda). Stick it under the broiler for just a couple minutes to get all nice and bubbly, and dinner is done!

Chili and Corn Bread

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

There are few dishes that can perfectly compliment a cold winter's night like a steaming bowl of chili. And with the kind of weather that most of the country has been having lately, you'll find yourself with many a cold night to serve this dinner.

 

Chili is by no means a complicated dish and can be made a number of ways: substitute the traditional kidney beans for black beans (like I did), or use ground chicken or turkey in place of ground beef, or skip the meat and go for a vegetarian version using a couple different varieties of beans. As usual, I like to dial up the spice a bit so I added an extra jalapeno and several healthy dashes of hot sauce to my chili. Whatever your preference of ingredients or spice, the key is to let your pot of chili simmer on a low heat for as long as you can, thirty minutes at the least and 1 1/2 hour at the most.

So while that simmers away, what can you do? Whip up a super easy batch of corn bread! Since I'm a Southern gal I went with a more traditional recipe that leaves out flour and uses very little sugar. But I did add in some cheese and jalapenos because, well, I end up doing that often. If corn bread just isn't your thing, try out some biscuits or rolls instead. But make something on the side, you're gonna need something to mop up that last bit of chili in the bottom of your bowl!

Spicy Chili
1 lb lean ground beef
1 can black beans
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes, or can of tomato paste (I used the paste and threw in a couple chopped tomatoes)
1 packet of your favorite brand of chili seasoning
1/4 cup hot sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot (you'll need a big one), saute onions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Next, add in jalapeno.

2. Add the meat, breaking up with spoon. Throw in Worcestershire, hot sauce, chili seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until meat is evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and enough water cover all ingredients by an inch, breaking up tomato paste as you stir.

3. Cover and cook until it starts to slightly boil; reduce heat to a low and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 1/2 hour. Serve hot, garnish with sour cream and shredded cheese.

Corn Bread
(very loosely based on this recipe)
I halved this recipe and had exactly enough for 24 mini-muffins

2 cups yellow cornmeal 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon sugar 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1 cup milk 
2 eggs 
1 cup creamed corn 
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup shredded cheese
24 slices pickled jalapeno
 
1 Preheat oven to 425°F ; place a 10-inch cast iron skillet into the oven or grease a muffin pan (I used a couple mini muffin pans)

2. In a bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together to combine well.In a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and creamed corn, whisking together to combine thoroughly.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine. Fold in the cheese. If the batter will not pour, add more milk to the batter.

4. Add 2 tablespoons canola oil to the cast iron skillet. Pour the batter into the skillet. Alternatively, divide evenly into a muffin pan. Top with slices of jalapeno.Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and springs back upon the touch, about 20 minutes.

Soft Pretzels

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

As you may have noticed, I've been in the mood for updating a couple recipes. I realized that if there's a recipe I don't make often, it's probably because it isn't that good to begin with. Since updating both the hamburger buns and cinnamon rolls recipe, I've made them both at least half a dozen times, so that should be enough to tell you I'm happier with the newer recipes.

And speaking of updating, I also re-visited this soft pretzel recipe (almost a year to the date!). I love soft pretzels, especially during the season of bowl games and the upcoming Super Bowl, but I had pretty painful memories of making that original recipe. The dough was so hard to roll out, some were soft others too hard and chewy. So I set about researching some pretzel info and found a much better recipe. Don't believe me? I've made three batches since finding this recipe, and even wrapped half a batch around some hot dogs. They're that good.

Pretzel Tips:
1. Ditch the mixer! Mix this dough by hand, just enough until all ingredients are happily combined and then stop mixing! I mean it, step away from the dough. There is absolutely no need to knead (heh) and using a mixer will just end up over-mixing the dough, resulting in chewy pretzels instead of pillowy-soft ones.Your end dough may be sticky and thats a GOOD thing. Just flour your hands (not the counter) ever so slightly when its times to shape the dough, and you'll be set.

2. Dunk, don't cook. When it comes time to dunk the shaped pretzels into the baking soda solution, be sure not to leave them in there too long. This step is what gives pretzels and bagels that outer chewiness, but leaving them into there too long will produce cracked and hard pretzels. Just allow water to get very hot, dissolve the baking soda and then dunk the pretzel in. Do this step carefully so as not to unravel your twists. I use a slotted spoon, leave one side in the water for 3 seconds and flip and do the same for the other side. Remove and place immediately on your baking sheet. They are wet and therefor slippery and delicate at this point, so you don't want to move them around any longer than you have to.


Soft Pretzels
(loosely adapted from here)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups very warm (but not hot) water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 1/4 cup sugar 
• 4 cups all purpose flour

Dipping Solution

• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2 cups hot water

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast into warm water. Add sugar, then flour& mix well- do not knead, instead just mix until combined (you can turn out on the counter and use your hands to combine everything and then return to greased bowl).
2. Let rise until doubled, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
3. Cut into 12 equal sized pieces. Roll each piece into a long snake, twist into pretzel shape (illustrations here)
4. Dip into prepared dipping solution.
5. Place on well-greased cookie sheet and sprinkle with pretzel salt or kosher salt.
6. Bake at 450-500°F for 4-6 minutes until golden brown.

Jalapeno Cheese Pull-Apart Bread

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

SubhanAllah, there's something about food that has a way of evoking memories. There are times I'm making a dish, trying my best to follow in the footsteps of the relative who may have taught me, and all of a sudden I'm taken back years ago to when I was a new bride and learning my mother in laws prized techniques. Or lifting the lid of a pot to take a whiff of whatever is simmering away and I can hear my mothers voice in my head, detailing to me the next direction.

And then there are those times you spent with your loved ones, laughing and just being happy. I had one cousin who always went out of his way to special order a jalapeno cheese loaf from a local store and without fail, there'd be a couple loaves on the kitchen table when we'd all assemble at his family's house. Back then, it was just one of many treats we'd all devour over funny stories and late night talks. Now, looking back, that loaf of bread was so much more; it was part of the memories we shared as a family, and of relatives who went out of their way to do those kinds of things for each other. It was love.

I no longer live anywhere near that store, or my family for that matter, and it's been years since I've had the original thing. But the other day I saw a recipe for jalapeno bread in a magazine that took me back to those family dinners so many nights ago, and I knew I had to try my best and recreate it. I stuck to my new favorite bun recipe and improvised, and though its not quite perfect, it is really good! The recipe in the magazine was a pull-apart bread and I went with that thinking it'd be easier to layer in the jalapenos and cheese. But I'm still experimenting on the perfect loaf-version. In the meantime, this is good enough  perfect to break off a big chunk and dip into a bowl of steaming chili.

This recipe is for my big cousin, who always ordered an extra loaf of jalapeno cheese bread just for me, jazakallah khair Abu L !

 Jalapeno Cheese Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients:
1 recipe 40 Minutes Buns
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup pickled jalapeno, diced (less if you want to keep it mild)

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 and butter a casserole dish.

2. Divide dough into quarters. Divide each quarter into 1" cubes.Carefully place a layer of cubed dough in bottom of dish. Top with 1/2 cup of cheese and 1/4 cup jalapenos. Continue layering until all the ingredients are used up, ending with the dough. Reserve a little cheese to sprinkle on top.

3. Bake 30 minutes on the middle rack until the top is hard and golden. Then cover with foil and continue baking for another 15 - 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before digging in!