What happened to all the cooking?!

This has been quite the crazy July and August.  In July, my fiance and I put an offer on a house and it was accepted, which is great news but it also means a lot of work tracking down old W2s and tax returns.

 In August I went to two weddings.  The first was for my co-worker, Lindy.  The Doerman office gang made our way over to Ohio State, hit up the college bars, saw Lindy in her fabulous lace wedding dress, spent the night dancing away, and had a really good bagel at an almost-famous bagel and coffee shop.  A few days later, Ben and I headed out to Seattle for his sister's wedding.  We saw Pike Place farmer's market, tasted some local beers, ate really good food, and took a beatiful ferry ride to Bainbridge Island. Teresa stunned everyone with her vintage dress. Uncle Dean stunned everyone with his mad dancing skills.  AND I got to see someone who I haven't seen in a long long time:  my roommate from while living in connecticut, Ashlee, and her fiance, Tim.  It was great to reunite with Ashlee, and meet Tim for the first time. 

Then immediately after than began the whole cooking extravaganza in preparation for my favorite sister's baby shower.  The shower was wonderful.  The food was delicious, the onesie-decorating produced the most adorable onesies.  My sister was certainly showered with lots of wonderful presents and adorable baby girl clothes.

And now,  I have been packing up to move.  Today we closed on our house!! We are officially homeowners!  We are so very excited!  We are starting to move a few things in today, and finish up this weekend. 

So as you can see, I have been quite busy.  I have been cooking, but not keeping track of it, or taking pictures.  Often times, it's things I've already cooked before anyway.  So I hope to be back to posting recipes next week.  Check back soon for my famous caramelized onion and proscuitto devilled eggs recipes!

Spicy Ham and Zucchini Quesadilla

Quesadillas can be really high in calories and saturated fat from all the cheese.  You can add in veggies to up the fiber, but it still had a lot cheese.  You can take out a large portion of the cheese, but it makes it hard to stick everything together.  So I tried using hummus to help food stick without using a lot of cheese.

I also used small and thinly cut veggies and meat.  This helps use less cheese and still keep all the food in the quesadilla.

Spicy Ham and Zucchini Quesadilla

What you'll need:
- 1/2 a large zucchini
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 thin slices of deli low-sodium ham, chopped
- 10" whole wheat tortilla
- 2 tbsp spicy hummus (see previous post)
- 1 tsp adobo sauce from canned chipotle pepper
- 1 oz shredded or finely diced cheese (monterey jack or cheddar)
Optional toppings:  salsa and plain Greek yogurt

What to do:
1.  Cut ends of zucchini off.  Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then lay flat and cut thin slices of half-moon shapes.  Saute zucchini and onion about 2 minutes; add in ham and saute 2 minutes.

2.  Spread hummus on one side of the tortilla.  On top of the hummus, spread half of the cheese on one half of the tortilla.  Top that with zucchini, ham, onion, and adobo sauce.  Spread the remaining cheese over the entire quesadilla.

3.  Heat a flat skillet (I used the same one I used for the zucchini and ham).  When the skillet is hot, lay the tortilla flat in it.  When the cheese is melted on the half without zucchini mixture, fold on top of zucchini mixture.  Cook until tortilla is golden brown.

Spicy Chipotle Hummus

Garbanzo beans conveniently come
in two sizes

I bought tahini (sesame seed paste) for another recipe (the sweet potato and bean veggie burger).  The tahini came in a huge container.  I know hummus uses tahini, so I figured this would be a good way to use some of it up.  I started with simple plain hummus.  I put some of that aside.  Then I added some chipotle pepper, agave nectar, more lemon juice, cumin, and paprika.  I still have a ton of tahini left, but I also have some delicious plain and spicy hummus.

Spicy Chipotle Hummus

What you'll need:
For plain hummus:
- 7.75oz can garbonzo beans
- 2 1/2 tbsp tahini
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil

For spicy hummus, add in:
- 2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo sauce (or only one if you want it very mild)
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp agave nectar
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/8 tsp cumin

What to do:
Combine everything in a food processor and blend until silky smooth

Dip pita chips in the hummus or use it as a spread for a sandwich.  I spread the spicy hummus over the inside of a pita, then tossed in some greens, added a few slices of avocado, red onion, and cherry tomatoes.  I also used it in a quesadilla to add in spiciness and flavor. 

Mini Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

Another thing I don't make very often: dessert.  I used to bake a lot when I was younger. I experimented with different flavors and using different substitutes for butter.  But somewhere along the way, I started to like cooking much more than baking. I also thought it more relevant to know how to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner since I make those every day and only eat dessert on occasion.

I have started liking cream cheese frosting a lot, and also lemon-flavored desserts. As an idea for my wedding cake, I wanted to combine lemon, berries, and cream cheese.

Mini Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

Strawberry and lemon zest in blender

What you'll need:
Crust:
- 1 1/2 tbsp melted buttery spread
- 4 graham crackers, crushed
- 2 tbsp sugar
Cheesecake:
- 8oz light cream cheese
- Juice from 1/2 a lemon
- 6 tbsp agave nectar

Strawberry mixture:

Thin layer graham crust

- 4 1/2oz strawberries (frozen or fresh)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp agave nectar


What to do:
1.  Preheat the oven to 350*F

2.  Mix together the melted butter, crushed graham crackers, and sugar.  Spread a thin layer of this mixture into 12 separate cupcake wrappers. Bake for 4 - 5 minutes

3.  Mix all ingredients for the cream cheese filling and set aside.  Combine all ingredients for the strawberry mixture in a blender and puree.

4.  Let the graham cracker crust cool.  Spoon 2 tbsp cream cheese mixture onto each crust, then spoon 2 tsp strawberry mixture, then add another 2 tbsp layer of cream cheese.  Finally top with 3 dots (1 tsp each) of the strawberry mixture.  Use a toothpick to spread the strawberry mixture around to create designs.

Top with 3 tbsp puree

Swirl with a tooth pick

Beer Cheese Sauce

This is certainly not a typical food I make.  But it was a special occasion and the serving size is small.  I used this on burgers and on quesadillas.  You can use a small amount of cheese and then reduce the sauce so it is still thick and creamy.

Beer Cheese Sauce

Beer cheese sauce on burger, topped with green onions,
accompanied by ramen cabbage salad and avocado veggie burger

What you'll need:

- 1 tbsp butter

- 1 tbsp flour

- 6oz beer

- 4oz shredded cheddar cheese

- 2 tsp worcestershire sauce

- 1/8 tsp pepper

What to do:

1.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, add flour and whisk for about 2 minutes.  

2.  Add in the beer and continue whisking.  Let beer simmer for about 2 minutes, then add in the cheese, worcestershire, and pepper and stir.  Let simmer about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.