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Periodically we'll be live cooking on Twitter-watch as we try not to burn the kitchen down!

Kitchen Envy

Wired posted a jealousy inducing kitchen makeover. If only we could all be so lucky!

The description from Wired:
"The Euro decor was more Cuisinart than haute cuisine, and his foodie spouse demanded better tools. Enter the professionals at Creative Concept Builders SF and Nicole Hollis Interior Design, who cooked up an ingredients list focused on eco-friendly appliances and locally sourced materials."

Wired Makeovers: Kitchen

Weekend Meal: Turkey Taco Bake

The name is a bit deceiving, as this is really more of a turkey taco slow-cooker dish. It's an easy, thrifty meal. Beef also works, but it makes for a fattier meal.

• 1 lbs. ground turkey (or beef)
• 1 10.75 oz can of condensed tomato soup
• pico de gallo
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 package of 8-inch flour tortillas sliced into 1-inch pieces
• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• 1 package of corn bread
  

Cook the meat until browned and pour of any fat. Stir the soup, milk, and tortilla pieces into the skillet and place into a slow cooker. Cook for about 4-5 hours on low.

Serve with corn bread and tortillas.

Weekend Meal: Stir-Fried Tofu, Shiitake Mushrooms, and Snap Peas

Sometimes a veggie meal is the way to go. You feel a little healthier and are able to gorge yourself on more dessert. This tofu stir fry is from the always reliable Cooking Light. Originally, the recipe called for Chinese peas, but I swapped those out for snap peas for thrift's sake.

• 1/2 Tbs. julienne-cut peeled fresh ginger (less if you prefer a less ginger taste)
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbs. canola oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
• 1 cup snap peas
• 2 Tsp red chili paste (more or less, depending on your tolerance of spicy food)
  
• 1 package (12.3 oz to 14 oz) extra firm tofu, drained and cubed
  
• 3 Tbs low-sodium soy sauce

Combine ginger and 1/2 tsp salt in small bowl and let stand 5 minutes. rinse ginger with cold water, and pat dry. Then combine the ginger with cornstarch.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add ginger mixture, snap peas and chili paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add tofu, fry 1 minute then add soy sauce and fry for 2 minutes. Serve over white rice.

This isn't a very cost effective meal, as the mushrooms are pricey, as is buying the chili unless you already have it on hand.

Dessert: Chocolate Malt Pudding

I'm going to put this out there: pudding is really easy to make. This chocolate pudding takes about 10 minutes. You can serve it right out of the pan warm, or you can refrigerate it and serve it cold. I like to use high quality chocolate, as the chocolate makes up the majority of ingredients of this dish.

• 1/4 cup malted milk powder (Ovaltine works)
• 5 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 2 1/4 cups half and half
• 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• Malted milk balls, for toppings

Whisk together malted milk powder, sugar, cornstarch in pan. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the half and half until it's smooth. Add the remaining half and half and cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. (this happens pretty dramatically, and the mixture will take the consistency of pudding)


Remove the pan from heat and add in the chocolate. You can serve it now or put it in the fridge. Easy peasy.

This is a pretty cheap dessert, depending on the type of chocolate you purchase.

Carrot Nut Bread

Another classic recipe from The Joy of Cooking. Making bread satisfies all kinds of food requirements: breakfast, snacks, maybe even dessert. This one makes me feel kind of healthy as it uses carrots and either pecans or walnuts. You'll need a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup grated carrots (a food processor with the right attachments makes this easy to do)
  
• 1 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, blend sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla and salt. Stir in the dry ingredients. Then, mix in with a few strokes the carrots and pecans.


Pour batter into greased loaf pan. Bake until the bread pulls away from the sides (for me, that was about an hour). Cool the bread in the rack for about 10 minutes before taking it out of the pan and cutting.

I topped this with cream cheese frosting and left over pecans, but it is also good alone.

Dessert: Meringue Kisses

Simple and tasty, meringue cookies are a satisfying snack. The ingredient list is short but the process is sticky and lengthy. Here's the classic Joy of Cooking meringue kisses recipe:

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tar tar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/4 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat the oven to 225 degrees.

Beat in a medium glass or metal bowl the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until foamy. Increase the speed to high and beat the mixture until it beings to form soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar and keep mixing until well combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the vanilla. Beat until the meringue is glossy and stands in very stiff peaks.
Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper, or leave ungreased. You can use a zipper topped plastic bag to pipe the meringue into 1 1/4 inch drops, or use tablespoons to drop the batter. Make sure they are about 1 inch apart.

Bake for 45 minutes, rotating the sheet half way through. Turn the heat off and leave the meringues in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until cool.

Food for Thought: Brand Names vs. Store Brands

Some interesting reading from Consumer Reports discussing the age old question, store brand or brand name?

I've always kept a close eye on the grocery bill and will usually opt for the store brand when given the choice. However, when I'm making a dish that has just a few ingredients, I like to go with the brand name; quality vs. quantity and all that.

Just a thought to keep your mind grapes from souring.

Dessert: Cream Cheese Brownies

Combining two of my favorite things, chocolate and cream cheese, these brownies really hit the spot. I took this recipe from Cooking Light and tweaked it a bit. Their recipe calls for making your own brownies, but I cheated a bit and just used brownies from a box. Probably made this not so "light," but nonetheless, they were delicious and easy to make.

For my cheaters recipe, just follow the brownie instructions on the box. For the cream cheese topping:

• 1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
• 1 large egg

And per Cooking Light: "To prepare topping, place cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add cornstarch and remaining ingredients; beat until smooth. Spread evenly over batter. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on a wire rack."

Snacks: Yogurt Covered Pretzels

Because these are covered in yogurt, I like to think of these pretzels as being a healthy-ish snack option. I used salted pretzels, but I'm sure these would be just as good with saltless pretzels. This is an easy but slightly time consuming recipe. Using strawberry and vanilla yogurt gave me a nice Valentine's Day variety.

• 1 lbs bag of small pretzels (salted or unsalted)
• 2 cups vanilla or strawberry yogurt
• 5 cups confectioners sugar

Equipment needed:

• Wire rack
• Cookie sheet
• Tongs
  

Preheat the oven to 250. Place the wire rack on top of the cookie sheet and set aside.

Mix together the yogurt and sugar, adding the sugar 1 cup at a time until well blended. Refrigerate for about an hour. I found that the cold mixture coats the pretzels better.

Immerse a few pretzels at a time in the yogurt and sugar mixture. Using the tongs, place them on the wire rack and do not stack the pretzels for fear of soggy snacks.

Turn the oven off and place the pretzels in the oven. Apparently, the heat will help harden the frosting but keep the pretzels crunchy.

Leave the pretzels to harden, which will take 4-5 hours.