Winter 2.0: Time for Chili

Yup, daffodils & snow flurries. 

Remember last week when I was bouncing around in my sandals in the sunshine proclaiming that Spring was here? Well, then March started in like a lion with 50 mph winds and it snowed this morning. 

We should all be used to this already, North Carolina weather is notoriously fickle year-round. There have been years where I've worn short sleeves at Christmas and shivered through snow in my Easter dress. And I guarantee that those instances were met with drastically different weather the days before and after. It's just madness down here. 

So I'm officially withdrawing my Spring pronouncement and cancelling all spring menus until further proof of season-change is provided. I take back last week's bright surf 'n' turf salad and suggestions that you look for fresh produce and instead dive head first into warm, cheesy recipes. 

Let's start with a bowl of chili. 

I recently bragged that I was proud to have found two recipes to claim as my own; one for chicken noodle soup and the other for chili. I was saving my chili recipe so as to not give it away before my church's annual chili cook off; you know, because I was going to win. 

Spoiler alert: I didn't win, I didn't get honorable mention, but almost all of it was scraped out of the Crock Pot when we got ready to leave. It may not have won me another Summit Church title (still proud of being the Dessert Queen), but it is a tasty recipe. 

Chili is contentious. Folks like what they like and they don't want to deal with any nonsense outside of their chili definition. My dad's chili always has mushrooms, J's is made with beef and local sausage, a Texan girlfriend lives for no-bean chili. Up until recently, my chili loyalty went to whoever fed me the most (generally my dad #onlychildperks), but now I can boast a preference for my recipe. It started as a ground turkey chili, but is also good with lean beef; it's made with black beans; and you have to top it with green onions and sour cream. 

Because of my dad's kitchen sink chili - with meat, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, and onions - I tend to drift to a chunkier style of chili. Some recipes are more watery (and I mean that in the best way possible) with fewer ingredients beyond meat and tomatoes. That's edging into soup territory for me, so I appreciate that this recipe has lots of bits and pieces and retains a heartiness. Plus, the "secret" or at the very least, unexpected, ingredient - crushed tortilla chips - thickens the liquid further and pulls all the flavors together.

Photo courtesy of Food Network magazine

Food Network magazine, who originally produced what I'm now calling "my" chili, called this recipe "Quick Turkey Chili" and they were spot on. This recipe takes hardly any time and only one pot to prepare. 

Several years ago, I was the Fellowship Coordinator at our church and I had to organize all our monthly meals, including the Chili Cookoff. I remember a lady rushed in right before church started. She'd had a family emergency the night before and was frantically making her chili in front of me. She threw canned veggies, tomatoes, spices (including a Hidden Valley ranch packet?!?) into a Crock Pot, cranked it to High and left it to simmer for the hour-long worship service. And she won. By a landslide, according to our judges. I've rolled my eyes at that performance for years, but now, my recipe doesn't take much more effort. 

First you muddle the tomato paste and spices together to make a really aromatic lump, for lack of a better word, to create a flavorful base. You then literally dump everything else in to cook off (like your raw meat) or to simmer and meld together. The starch from the tortilla chips acts as a binder and pulls everything together as it simmers. Then you add a punch of flavor with some extra green onions. It couldn't be easier. Unless of course it was... but you have to be extra thoughtful in your grocery shopping and meal prepping. 

As you may know, J & I are on different work schedules which saves us a bundle on day care costs, but also means we have to be incredibly organized in our meal planning for everyone to eat healthy, homemade food. To do so, we plan out a week's worth of lunches and dinners and make one big weekly shopping trip (goal: bi-monthly or even monthly shopping excursions). We peruse sale papers; make monthly trips to a bigger city to hit Aldi, Trader Joes, and/or Sam's Club; and try to get the best deals on what we think are smart purchases. We try to stick to our weekly lists, but especially on our monthly Asheville trips, we'll stock up on items that are on a good sale or we know we'll use.

You have to be smart and think big picture. If peppers are on sale [often Aldi will have them for $1.50/3-pack (even the more pricey colored ones!)], buy several to bring home, dice, and freeze in one-pepper-portions for later. In dishes like chili, peppers will be soft anyway, you don't lose any texture by pre-freezing (and you won't need to thaw them, either). 

Also, this recipe (and most soup recipes) makes around a half-gallon of finished product. I divide it right away into freezer-safe quart containers (these are 50 cents each at Dollar Tree or use freezer bags and lay flat on cookie sheets in the freezer, then you can stack them like books!). One quart usually feeds us for a lunch and dinner apiece (plus a baked potato) and I can immediately freeze the other quart for later. 

If you think making this chili is fast, you won't believe how fast it is to just thaw a quart! 

MY First Comfort Food Recipe

Always incorporating food
into our adventures -
Homemade ice cream at the
Knoxville Farmers' Market

I enjoy cooking, serving, and eating food. Heck, I even enjoy incorporating food into my other hobbies - like reading cookbooks or cooking magazines, or you know, writing this very blog. Despite all of that interest, love, and time, I was still disappointed in my relationship with food because something was lacking: an achievement I hadn't quite reached. 

There are lots of things I love to cook and that I make well, but I'd never call them "mine." I've longed for "my" recipes. You know, the ones that when my Baby is grown, he'll call and say "Mom, how do you make your ...?" and I'll pull out a raggedy stained recipe - that I no longer use, because it's pure muscle memory now - to hand off to him. 

I think most people have that kind of food association with the people they love. There's some recipe that will always be associated with, and tasted best when prepared by, your nana, husband, mama, or next-door neighbor. It might be from scratch, semi-homemade, or maybe even take-out they served in just the right way. 

My dad has a gift for cooking outstanding fried chicken. He uses boneless chicken breast tenders for these "Daddy Nuggets." They're best served with rice, gravy, and tiny "baby biscuits" (which are mine ONLY; y'all eat the full-sized ones). Or maybe his best dish is his "Daddy Burgers" (Seeing a pattern here? Only child + Daddy's girl); they're better than any restaurant burger I've ever had. 

Mom makes the best tomato + Velveeta baked pasta (sorry, no affectionate name here. I called it "Barf" as a kid, for looks alone). And her beef stroganoff is humble, simple, and THE BOMB. Despite all logic, Dad's attempts to elevate it with homemade sauce and fresh peppers fall short. 

And J makes the best meatballs. Period. The funny thing is, they're from his Mamaw's recipe, but she has zero recollection of every making them...so they're certainly his now!

But I wanted MY recipes. Things Baby will specifically request, like I do with beef strogranoff: "No, Dad; I want Mama to make it!"

Sunday at The Summit

First, I wanted my own chili recipe. I was raised on - you guessed it - my Dad's chili. Every winter, he'd get out the gigantic pasta pot (now the electric turkey roaster - efficiency, y'all) to make gallons of chili. We'd freeze it and eat homemade chili year-round. Then, I married J who had his own distinct and delicious recipe. And we're members of a church whose core tenants are: 1. The Great Commandment, 2. The Great Commission and 3. January = Chili Cook-Off time. So, I've seen the depth and breadth of the definition of chili. And how attached folks are to their chili. There are hardcore camps: beans vs. no beans, beef vs.turkey vs. veggie vs. venison, spicy vs. mild; and Lord, all the secret ingredients!

The good news is, after much tinkering, I've found MY chili recipe. However, I'm not sharing that with you today. The Cook-Off is this Sunday and I'm not giving these goods away. Who knows, maybe I'll report back with my "prize-winning" recipe. 

Next, I wanted to have a signature comfort food. I know this is a broad category covering all types/courses/flavors of food. I want it to be something Baby and Hubs request when they're sick or had a rough day or just need a reminder of a warm, loving home. And I've found it, perhaps in the most cliche, comforting sick-day food: chicken noodle soup! 

My lil' star face! 

Baby is an adventurous eater and will try anything, but this kid LOVES soup. Maybe it's the fun slurpy    noise or the warmth or his lazy refusal to chew,    but this first time I made this, he cried until I fed it to him, straight from the pot...for breakfast. And I don't blame him, it's delicious. 

Instead of long noodles like Campbell's or egg noodles, this recipe uses the cutest pasta option: stars! The original recipe is designed for "pastina," a generalized name for the smallest pasta shapes. There are a variety of teeny tiny shapes, but I prefer stelline pastina, shaped like itty bitty stars. Using pastina is obviously adorable, but adds great texture to the soup, too. The veggies are all similar tiny cuts which makes for a better mouthfeel. And c'mon, we all need a bowl of whimsy sometimes. (See PRO TIP below.)

I used a hunk of this 5 lb. Grana Padana cheese I won
in a Splendid Table drawing. I've frozen hunks of it for
recipes just like this that need a little fancy cheese. 

The soup is incredibly quick (less than 30 minutes) and easy to prepare (under 10 ingredients), but has deep developed flavors. You saute the trinity (carrots, celery, onions), then add thyme, chicken broth (see PRO TIP below) and the secret ingredient: a 2-inch piece of Parmesan rind. That may sound bizarre, but it adds a great nuttiness and saltiness, making your soup taste like it simmered for hours. If you can't get Parmesan rind, be sure to garnish your bowls with grated Parmesan. But I highly recommend the rind; grocery stores with an actual cheese counter normally sell rind for fairly cheap (and it keeps in the freezer for ages). Or, kill two birds with one stone and splurge on a little wedge and use every inch of the cheese. 

This was originally a meat-less recipe (could be vegetarian, if you swap in veggie broth), but the first time I made it, I tossed in leftover rotisserie chicken - GAME CHANGER. We buy chicken a lot - even the cuts we don't normally prepare for entrees - just to shred for enchiladas, soups, curries, or chicken salad. Grocery stores normally mark down rotisserie chickens in the evening, which we'll occasionally buy, shred and freeze in two-cup servings. Shredded chicken is certainly one of our pantry (freezer) staples and fits this dish so well. Makes it a little more filling, but not heavy, and adds extra texture, too. 

When you're looking for a simple dinner-in-a-hurry that tastes like low-and-slow comfort food, this soup is just right. But be sure to give me credit; it is MINE, after all. 

Lay's "Do Us a Flavor" Taste Test

Lay's Potato Chips, in their infinite corporate wisdom, created an exciting advertising campaign that also outsourced the work of their R&D department; the annual Do Us a Flavor contest. Folks submit their flavor ideas to Lay's, who then chooses four flavors to develop and sell for a limited time. The general public votes for their favorite flavor which will join the chip canon and earn a big cash prize for the "flavor ambassador" who submitted it.

They've done this contest for three years or so now, with some hits and some big misses. 

One of their first trios included sriracha, cheesy garlic bread and chicken & waffles. The first two weren't too shabby and pretty true to their inspiration. However, the chicken and waffles chips made me realize that sometimes imitation is not the sincerest form of flatter, but just downright weird. They were too realisitic and my brain couldn't process a thin slice of potato tasting like maple syrup, much less fried chicken. 

Last year, they upped the weird factor by introducing us to bacon mac 'n' cheese (which tasted just like gas station Hot Fries!), mango salsa (I despise mangoes), wasabi ginger, and cappuccino chips. I was underwhelmed and kinda grossed out by that group. 

While I questioned their judgement last year, I must admit the process is interesting and they are able to produce on-point flavors that accurately represent the inspirations (however misdirected). And they made an exciting update to put texture into play, too. You can submit your flavor with a "chip style" -kettle cooked, wavy or traditional - that I find to be a big influence on the success of the chip. For example, cappuccino chips shouldn't be wavy, because what on God's green Earth would you dip that in? But waves are a perfect fit for a salsa-flavored chip; the pairing with guac is obvious!

Lay's has just released their newest quartet of contenders and we bought three of the four flavors this weekend. The 2015 Do Us a Flavor nominees are wavy West Coast Truffle Fries, Southern Biscuits and Gravy, kettle cooked Greektown Gyro, and New York Reuben. We picked up the Truffle, Gyro and Reuben chips at our local Ingles Market (on sale!); they are supposed to be available nationwide within the month.

Prior to Lay's release of 2015 flavors, we found a bag of Larry the Cable Guy biscuits and gravy chips at Big Lots (artisinal grocery it's not) for less than $2. Enjoying our youthful sense of immortality, we bought a bag. They were disturbingly realistic and tasted like fresh sausage and creamy, peppery gravy... and that made me very uncomfortable. Maybe I take issue with the re-imaginging of Southern staples, but I just can't wrap my head around a porky potato. Needlesss to say, we skipped the Lay's version. Let's assume it's lovely and true to breakfast...but spare me. 

Only a hit in the midwest?
Data from 8.3.15 on www.dousaflavor.com

Here's our review of the other three flavors. Like any good girl of Irish descent, I do have a specific rubric for my potato products; so we based our judgments on the following criteria: is the flavor a good interpretation of the intended dish; is the flavor enjoyable on its own, unrelated to the original food (would you eat these again regardless of novelty); and how successful is the flavor:"chip style" pairing?

NEW YORK REUBEN (traditionally cut chips)

This was the flavor J was most excited about. After working in a deli for many years, he is a connoisseur or reubens and was very eager to try them. I'm a casual reuben-eater, if for no other reason than my palate is not rye-bread-friendly. 

Overall, the flavor is okay, but the purest notes are of rye. So, the one item that I generally substitute on my sandwich is the primary flavor of the chips. But, once I got used to that twangy taste, I could eat these fairly mindlessly and enjoy them. J was anticipating more of a mustard/sauce flavor in addition to the meat and rye, and was pretty disappointed. 

I think the flavor is approachable outside of the context of just being a reuben chip and that's helped by the super thin texture that just screams picnic or late night munchies. No frills, just like a basic reuben, but it's hard to knock the novelty kitsch. 

I've never seen a chart using corned beef-colored graphics.

GREEKTOWN GYRO (kettle cooked chips)

I wasn't anxious to try these given how poorly I handled the fake-sausage chips. But I think Lay's did a great job compiling all the diverse and complex flavors of a gyro to make a multi-faceted chip. You get a subtle beefy taste - the way barbeque chips taste more like sauce than literal smoked meat; but thankfully, you also get the tzatzki sauce with fresh cucucmber and dill; a little onion and a hint of feta. J put it best saying "these are delicious" and they are probably the best out of the three. 

I love the choice of kettle chips for this flavor, too! When I think of gyros, I immediately think of the crispness of the Greek salad stuffed in the pita with the meat. These extra crispy chips are reminiscent of the crunch of the lettuce, onions and cucumbers you find in a quality gyro. They really added authenticity of flavor and dimension by choosing the kettle chips. 

I'll be casting my vote for this flavor!

WEST COAST TRUFFLE FRIES (wavy chips)

Because we aren't independently wealthy and maybe because the tv cooking shows we watch belabor how much the oil is overrated, we don't eat many truffle-laden foods. But I anticipated these chips to taste refined, with a light truffle perfume and a subtle flavor. The picture also included melted cheese (Parmesan? Asiago?) and fresh herbs on the potato wedges, so I was looking for bright, clean flavors. These fell short. They were like a delicate version of sour cream and onion chips; maybe chives instead of "onion" and a little more garlic than your plain old sc & o chip. But certainly nothing to write home about. They tasted fine but I hardly find them innovative. 

They do work well as a wavy chip because I could see them pairing well with onion dip, or something to impart more bold flavor. 

Meh. 

The Do Us a Flavor contest is really a fun diversion for summertime snacking. We look forward to seeing what's new and trying the experimental flavors. However, I am a year-round salty snacker. J has a huge sweet tooth, but I crave salty snacks, especially chips. As enjoyable as this is, I'm probably just as happy with a bag of plain rippled chips and french onion dip. 

If you are looking for a REAL chip experience with bold, unique flavors and unparalleled quality, head to The Gourmet Chip Company in Asheville, NC. They are a handmade chip (and pressed sandwich) shop in the middle of downtown with the best flavors I've ever found. They'll fix your chips right in front of you with awesome combinations like Belgian dark chocolate and apple-smoked bacon (The Corsican) or sun-dried tomatoes, pecorino romano cheese, fresh basil, sea salt and balsamic vinegar (The Italiano) at reasonable prices. And they have a retail shop with packaged chips, too! It takes a lot of will power for us to not stop here everytime we're nearby (thanks in part to crappy city parking). 

(foreground) Pressed Cuban sandwich with The Buffalo chips and
 (background) The Pressed Parisian Melt with The Italiano chips

Fancy artisinal chip shop or not, I highly suggest venturing outside of your comfort zone with chips. The things you like and dislike, just might surprise you! 

Taste Test: Reese's Oreos

This is a fun part of blogging - responding to your requests and challenges! A reader (and friend) shared a new product and asked for a review before she bought it herself.

As an early Memorial Day display of patriotism, I’m combining two very American things - being opinionated and eating Oreos - into a surely delicious post.

We’ve seen a rapid and uninhibited boom in the Oreo universe in the past 2-3 years. My childhood cookie aisle stocked maybe four types of Oreo - original, double stuf, reduced fat and lunchbox-friendly minis - in a variety of sizes. I’m a double stuf girl, so my only decision was about upgrading to the family size packs.

Now, according to their website, there are 28 - yes, over two dozen - different Oreo cookies (not including different types of packaging or Oreo-related products like pie crust). The varieties include somewhat sensible, although already old hat flavors like golden (vanilla wafers), ratio-changers like mega stuf (for all you folks who double up your cremes), chocolate-covered cookies (we’ve been making those at home years) all the way to the bizzaro creme flavors like birthday cake, cookie dough and marshmallow crispy.

Snackworks. com

Their most recent flavor experiment brings Oreo together with another incredibly prolific brand - Reese’s. Reese’s has at least 11 different products produced in-house, with countless others like Bryer’s BLASTS ice cream, where they guest star. And I will be the first to admit, we are a Reese’s house. I’m pretty sure J bleeds peanut butter and chocolate. Every stocking, Easter basket and birthday cake features some sort of Reese’s combo. Obviously, we were very excited to see this pairing!

In February, J and I provided a truly scientific (wink wink) study on Nabisco’s limited edition release, red velvet Oreos. You can read that review here. We’ll base this review on the same criteria as the red velvet. First, we’ll discuss the two major flavor features of the cookies: the wafer and the creme. Next, we’ll discuss their structural integrity by testing both their “twist” and “dunkability.” Finally, I am adding another analysis (and suggestion) for achieving  “the perfect bite.”

Without further ado, let’s review.

The Cookie:

Unlike the red velvet variety whose wafer tasted different (and were red, duh!), these cookies had the signature Oreo flavor and appearance. There was a sense that the texture had been tweaked because these wafers were incredibly crunchy and when eaten separately, felt harder. Otherwise, same old, same old - and that’s a good thing!

The Cremes:

An exciting feature of the Reese’s cookies is that there are two different cremes inside each cookie! I do believe this is a first for Oreo (at least on the same layer - they do have a triple decker cookie with two different layers of creme). Half of the creme layer is peanut butter and half is chocolate. J said it best with, “it’s close to the spirit of Reese’s (cups) but reminds me more of Reese’s sticks.” I think it’s got a Reese’s pieces feel to it. (Every Reese’s lover is a connoisseur, really). If you’re looking for an exact copy of a Reese’s cup, this isn’t it, but it’s got the peanut butter and the chocolate in good balance. I really enjoyed the peanut butter side, especially the texture. Where the red velvet cookie’s creme had been grainy (and cloying) from so much sugar, this was actually good. It had a very pleasant taste, a lot like real Reese’s pb and upon further inspection, had actual flecks of peanuttiness that contributed to the Reese-like texture. I haven’t done enough “research” to know if this is the same chocolate creme they use in other varieties. The chocolate half seems like a generic chocolate flavor, not too sweet and not too chocolatey. Being butted up against pb it does take on a little of that flavor, too. A bite with a mixture of both cremes is pretty darn good and thankfully, not too sweet.

The Twist

I need two things for a good twist - the cookie stays intact and the creme stays on one wafer, not a smear on both. The red velvet variety’s sugary creme was a mess and stuck to both cookies. This cookie twisted perfectly. The harder cookie held up and the creme stuck tight to a single wafer.

Dunkability

Oreos demand milk. As such, they have to be structurally sound enough to take a good dunk in a glass of milk. I like either a fraction-of-a-second splash or a long super-softening soak for my Oreos. These held up pretty well, maybe not as sturdy as a traditional cookie, but didn’t dissolve into a mess. Through a series of tests, J determined that a 10-second submersion yields the best results for a soft, milk-logged cookie that isn’t yet mushy.

The Perfect Bite

If you’re looking for a perfect bite, I wouldn’t twist and double up cremes or eat it open-faced. I suggest going in for the traditional sandwich and giving it a dip in milk (at least 5 seconds). Make it even better by trying to put the “seam” of the creme between your front teeth so you get a bite of both sides, not just one flavor of creme. Yum!

For more LEGO-y goodness, follow J on Instagram here. 

A peanut butter cup it’s not, but a good cookie, absolutely. The flavor is tasty, the Oreo-design is on point and they’re delicious with milk.

I think the main thing keeping it from being a better copy is the unsurmountable texture and experience differences. A Reese’s cup almost instantly melts in your hands and coats your mouth in creamy chocolate. It’s one of those warm and fuzzy experiences that takes you to childhood, just like unwrapping the silver foil of a Hershey bar. Eating a cookie, no matter the flavor profile, can’t match the melty, gooey feel of tearing open an orange packet.

Also, it would be very remiss of the cheap curmudgeon in me to not mention the ridiculous pricing of these “special” cookies. A standard pack of the (now) “regular” Oreos - original, golden, double stuf, and reduced fat - costs $2.98 at Wal Mart and contains 36 cookies. The quirky packs are noticeably smaller and awkwardly shaped containing only 24 cookies, but still priced at $2.98. I read the cost-per-ounce breakdowns while grocery shopping - especially when comparing brands or bulk vs. small packages - and this one just doesn’t work out. I get it, it’s a limited edition product, but c’mon, just price them fairly!

Light & Flavorful Asian Shrimp Noodle Soup

I try to plan our weekly meals as much as possible. This makes lunch packing much easier and is a spectacular time and money saver at the grocery store. We aren't extreme couponers, but we do comparison shop - buying produce at store one, meat at store two and taking mini-road trips to the best discount store in the area.

When I do my meal planning and making grocery lists, I can be pretty vague about breakfast (a real shame, I know) and snacks, but I try to put thought into dinners to allow for creative uses of leftovers and to fit our schedules. One of my other tactics is incorporating at least one new recipe of interest into each week's schedule.

Hello, my name is Amanda and I am a chronic recipe hoarder.

I have subscriptions to three food-related magazines, I clip recipes and put them in my "to try" binder and of course, I pin to multiple food boards. (

Remember; you can follow Endlessly Delicious Life on Pinterest, too!)

Follow Amanda P's board Endlessly Delicious Life on Pinterest.

Picking a recipe a week is really helping me explore new techniques, ingredients and cuisines but also helps me justify cutting out more recipes!

This week, I picked a recipe that wouldn't require any additional grocery purchases and looked delicious and simple: an Asian shrimp noodle soup.

The recipe was such a pleasant surprise. I'll admit I was a little concerned about a soup with shrimp in it; I generally like my shrimp more on the crunchy side than floating in broth (floating in butter or Old Bay seasoning, maybe...).

For having only a handful of ingredients, it was incredibly flavorful and well-balanced. Soy sauce is one of the simplest umami-filled ingredients that brings a well-rounded savory flavor that's only heightened by the kick of spice from the red pepper flakes.

Via Google 

You can also use tamari, which is a low- to no-gluten soy sauce. We bought our bottle at an Asian grocery store, but it is becoming more readily available and inexpensive. I highly recommend it for a gluten-free alternative.

The sliced wonton skin "noodles" become so tender, they're actually creamy and impart that warm comforting feeling that only comes from the best soups. And the Napa cabbage and peas bring a brightness and snap to each bite.

And you can't find a soup recipe easier than this. It's essentially a throw-everything-in-the-pot kinda dish. The ingredients lend themselves to quick, no-fuss cooking techniques and little expense, too. I love that this dish is a really good vessel in which to use some leftover ingredients. It's just the two of us in our house, so we rarely need to cook an entire pound of protein or several serving veggies, which left us with a fridge full of groceries to use. I actually had everything on hand (and in almost perfect portions) except for the wonton wrappers!

Asian Shrimp Noodle Soup

Adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients:

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Pinch red pepper flakes (more/less to taste)

2 T low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
1/4 small head napa cabbage, chopped
2 oz. wonton wrappers, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp (large or extra large)
1/2 c. halved pea pods (snow or snap), strings removed
1 T. rice vinegar (white vinegar, in a pinch)

Method:

Bring the broth, soy sauce and pepper flakes to a boil in a large pot.

Add the cabbage, wonton wrappers and shrimp to the pot and simmer until shrimp are opaque and noodles are tender (about 3-4 minutes). Stir in the peas and vinegar, cook another minute or two to just heat the peas. 

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip: 3 Ways!

The Super Bowl is always a big deal in my family. Not for the game itself (at least with 3/4 of our guests) but for the fun, commercials, 25-cent bet, and no-holds-barred food fest.

Last year, we went slider crazy with burgers, mini-meatballs and buffalo chicken sliders on our favorite Kings Hawaiian rolls. This year we kept to traditional tailgating flavors with wings, layered fries, mini-meatballs sliders and a buffalo chicken dip.

I have an obsession with all things "buffalo chicken" and my end-of-the-world comfort food has and always will be chips and dip, so this was a logical menu item. Instead of using a highly processed (and expensive) "cheese product loaf," that would be heavy on calories, I lightened things up and used healthier ingredients.

This dip had all the good things going for it that you look for in a successful party dip: bold, assertive flavor; hearty texture; some filling protein so you don't mindlessly eat the whole bowl; and tailored ingredients so that if you did eat the whole bowl, it wouldn't be a total disaster.

I used Frank's Red Hot and it was pretty spicy, but the cheeses and dairy toned it down some. The spice level can be adjusted of course, but if you pick the right vessels for dipping - like cool celery or cucumbers - it would be a perfect balance. It's got some built-in tangy flavors from the blue cheese and cream cheese that beautifully simulates a wing dipped in blue cheese dressing!

This is an especially great "in-a-pinch" recipe for surprise company or impromptu parties because most of the ingredients are in your pantry, but are also relatively inexpensive. The chicken itself even lends itself to creativity, well. We had some frozen chicken breast tenderloins that I boiled in salted water until they reached 160 degrees, then hand-shredded them. But this would be a great way to use leftover chicken (fried, baked, grilled) and if you're in a hurry, a store-bought rotisserie chicken would be a great time saver.

With three cups of shredded chicken, this dip is thick; which means you have to use structurally sound chips, but it also sets it up well for my two other uses!

Pro Tip from Dan Pashman at The Sporkful: A dome is one of the toughest shapes in the world, so if you're going for optimum dipping, use Tostito's scoops bowls backwards. Push it through the dip as a dome (like a thimble on your finger) instead of as a bowl. More dip and less broken chips! 

Remarkably, we had leftovers after the party and I was able to reinvent the dip! The following evening, J spread a thick layer of dip between two slices of whole grain bread and made a delicious grilled cheese!

Pro Tip: If you're looking for a gorgeous, golden brown crust on your grilled cheese, liberally spread mayonnaise on the outside of the bread. The sugars in the mayo will caramelize and make for a beautiful sandwich - but be sure to always go low and slow with grilled cheese, they go from perfect to burnt in a second!

The next day, I was able to use the final serving of dip (about 1/3 of a cup) to make a filling and yummy lunch. February is National Avocado Month and they're on sale everywhere, so we had plenty on hand. I reheated the dip then added cubed avocado and stirred into a pseudo-burrito bowl. I brought corn tortilla chips, too, but this mix was good enough on its own. The avocado infused another layer of creaminess and smooth flavor that soothed the spice of the buffalo sauce.

The dip was wonderful on it's own as a party food, but the fact that I was able to continue to reinvent it into new dishes made it all the more appealing. Win-win!

Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip
Adapted from: Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:

4 oz. reduced-fat or fat-free cream cheese (or Neufchatel cheese), softened
1 c. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt (a yogurt cup is 5.3 oz. so you either need 2 or can supplement the remaining 2.7 oz. with low-fat sour cream)
1 c. shredded part-skim Mozzerella cheese
1/2 c. hot sauce (if you want the flavor but not as much spice, try 1/3 c. then add more as needed)
1/2 c. crumbled light blue cheese
1 T. ranch dressing mix
3 c. shredded chicken

Method:

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an oven-safe dish with non-stick cooking spray (I suggest a 1 qt. or 8x8 pan)

In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses to soften the cream cheese further. Add in additional ingredients and stir until well-mixed. Transfer to baking dish.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown on top.

Garnish with sliced green onions and blue cheese crumbles. Serve warm.

Taste Test: Red Velvet Oreos

Apparently inspired by an viral online hoax, Nabisco has thrown down the product development gauntlet and release a limited edition run of red velvet Oreos.

I love red velvet desserts. It's not just my penchant for food coloring that does it, but there's something so homey and beautiful about a red velvet cake. Red velvet is primarily flavored by loads of chocolate, but the addition of buttermilk and/or vinegar adds tangy-ness and depth that you don't normally get with plain chocolate. And cream cheese icing is a gift from Heaven. I love cream cheese as is - on bagels, club sandwiches, in cheese cake or just straight from that silver packaging - but it's really superb when manipulated in a sweet way. Creamy icing with a perfect balance of tartness and sugar paired with deeply earthy cake is the best of the best, to me. It's really a riff on Southern culture as a whole - our food, our attitude and way of life - sweet and smooth with a bite, and an outward appearance that's just a little too much.

A favorite red velvet recipe -- brownies. Click HERE for the recipe. 

Needless to say, I was thrilled that the rumor came to fruition and that they're now available at our local Ingles market. Up to this point, I have refused to try any of the bastardizations of a classic that Nabisco has tried to pawn off as an Oreo. I have no desire to eat a cookie that tastes like watermelon, peppermints or birthday cake; so this taste test is truly an act of faith - that Nabisco and the institution of red velvet won't let me down.

First, let me say that anymore Oreos are a ripoff; $4 for a pack is absurd. We caught these on sale for 2/$5.50 but the "specialty" packs are smaller, this one being the smallest one yet with only "about" 20 cookies. The packaging is almost an afterthought because of the small size; it's off center! Stay tuned for this summer's Rick Moranis blockbuster, "Honey, I Shrunk the Oreos."

Secondly, they aren't that pretty. Red velvet cakes vary in coloration from bright, brilliant reds to deeper, wine-like hues. I love assertive red velvet cakes; part of what sets them apart is their color, so let it shine through. These cookies are on the darker side and almost look brown. You eat with your eyes first, and I think it'd be a more effective product if the coloring was more bold.

But those aren't the make or break cookie critiques. Let's look at the critical quality points of an Oreo: the cookie, the creme, the twist and the dunkability.

Simplicity at its best, an Oreo has two distinguishable, judge-able parts. 

The Cookie: 

Eaten on their own, the cookie wafer is noticeably sweeter than the traditional chocolate wafer. And it does have the deeper, signature flavor that distinguishes red velvet from plain old chocolate. I was impressed with the cookie and enjoy eating them post-twist as much as I do the original flavor. 

The Creme:

This creme is Sweet, with a capital "s." It does have the tangy flavor of cream cheese but the sugar factor is on over-drive. It felt like the creme in these sandwiches was actually creamier that the traditional cookie's, like icing; smooth and soft. But it was actually gritty from the sugariness. 

LEGO Amanda is thrilled (or scared) that these cookies match her sweater vest...

I once did an exercise with elementary students about instructions and how to read/write for detail. They had to write step-by-step directions on how to eat an Oreo. Their answers varied in degrees of success, but the true lesson was that everyone eats Oreos differently (this is a good diversity exercise, too!). Despite our varied methods, most people have at least experimented with twisting the sandwiches apart and dunking them in milk. 

The Twist:

I am a habitual twister. Traditional Oreos have a great structure and texture such that you can almost always twist the top and bottom cookies into two independent parts. One free of creme and the other with a smooth, unblemished layer of creme. I like to twist, eat the plain cookie, peel the creme off in one sheet, eat it in one bite then finish the now-naked cookie. Probably because this sweet creme is so soft and creamy, it sticks to both cookies and makes for a messy twist. Technically that's just an aesthetic issue, but those built in Oreo-eating habits are hard to break. 

The Dunkability:

Drinking big glasses of milk wrecks my stomach, but if there are Oreos around, I'll pour a cup just for dunking. There's so many different schools of dunkers. J is of the soft, but not too soggy camp. I barely get my Oreos wet before I pull them back out. But sometimes, I do enjoy letting a cookie almost disintegrate in the cup. Again, probably because of the creme, the structural integrity of the cookies is compromised. In milk they start falling apart drastically quicker than their normal counterparts and get softer faster. If you're pro-soggy cookie and you use a spoon to cradle your cookie mess, you'll love these. If you seek a gently softened Oreo or are dipping with your fingers, you need to make a mad dunk in and out to get the perfect consistency. 

I would say that this experiment did not hurt my love for red velvet but didn't improve my opinion of Nabisco's recent Oreo tampering. They're pretty good and fairly true to the intended flavor but they're not the Oreos of my childhood. I love the plain chocolate and vanilla cookies. They're 100 years old and we still buy them. My overwhelming sentiment is, that like so many things in life, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. 

Fat Kid Friday: Old Fashioned Apple Stack Cake

Before Thanksgiving, I was thinking a lot about family and especially those who aren't with us anymore. I was thinking about how I wanted to make a dish that really meant something to us. And the food memory that kept coming back to me was hearing my grandpa talk about the apple stack cake his mom used to make. And I decided that in honor of his memory (and in part, hers) I'd try to make it.

I found a recipe from a very reliable source, Lynn Rosetto Kasper's The Splendid Table program from American Public Media (airs Saturdays at noon on NPR, streams online) and made the cake for my parents' Thanksgiving dinner.

And it was a hit. Just seeing the tall cake, with gooey layers thrilled my parents and they gushed about how much Grandpa would've loved it.

Dad immediately gave me suggestions on how to make it more like Mamaw Alma's cake: under-cooking the layers and going heavier on the apple butter.

The pictures were shared on Facebook and a work colleague demanded I bring my apple stacks to our employee holiday party. With some tweaks to the recipe (reflected below in shorter cooking times & more butter), I brought a beautiful cake to the party.

And, it turns out almost every Southern family has strong, vivid memories and joyous feelings tied to the apple stack cakes of their childhood. I had two folks actually tell me they'd just had a long discussion about the cakes their mothers used to make and were shocked to see mine. There was a sweet chatter through the whole party of "Who brought this?" and "It reminds me so much of...."

To me, there are two important elements in a successful recipe.

One is that it makes something delicious; and that is certainly true for this cake. The cake layers are essentially giant sugar cookies that are sweet, yet delicately flavored and the apple butter is powerfully flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. These two elements sandwiched together makes for a beautifully balanced bite. And the texture is just as perfect - soft and crumbly cake with smooth sweetness. It's not a perfectly designed, stunning cake, it's simple and even more simple-looking, but the flavor is out-of-this-world.

The other element of a successful recipe, which is even more important and is the reason we all crave foods from our past (even mom's awful meatloaf), are the food feelings. Where you feel so strongly about a bite that it can take you back in time, to remember every detail of the dish, the United States place mat or the way your hair would always fall onto your plate. I read a book once, called "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake" about a girl who suddenly can taste all of the emotions inside of food. It almost drives her mad - being able to taste the tears of her mom as she baked following a fight with her husband, or the frustration of her dad trying to figure out how to cook on his own. But I related to it so well, not from the madness, but the joy of tasting a memory or the feelings of a cook. And this cake does that to people. My co-workers expressed being able to taste me reaching out to my Grandpa and how much I must have loved him and wanted to please him; and they too, were able to go back to someone they loved.

With these two elements met, I have to rule this recipe as a success and encourage you to make it sometime for the people you love.

However, there's an addendum to this post; find the recipe that takes you back and gives you vivid food memories, or that will make new memories for your loved ones.

Old Fashioned Apple Stack Cake

Adapted from The Splendid Table

Ingredients:

1 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

5 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1 1 /2 t baking soda

1 t salt

1 t ground cinnamon

2/3 c buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

2 1/2 c+ apple butter (I used Smuckers in a pinch, but apple butter is very easy and inexpensive to make at home, in a crock pot)

Powdered sugar for garnish 

Method:

Preheat oven to 400. Grease/flour the cake pans (see note below). 

Cream the butter, sugars and butter together at medium speed until quite fluffy (3-5 minutes), scraping the bowl occasionally. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. 

Add a third of the flour mixture to the creamed butter; mix just until combined at medium-low speed. Add half of the buttermilk mixture and mix just to combine. Repeat, adding another third of the flour mixture, then the remaining buttermilk, and the remaining flour mixture. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead four times. Roll into a cylinder about 18 inches long. Cut the cylinder into 6 equal parts; press each part into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. You could make the dough disks up to a day in advance. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk to a 10 inch circle. Using a cake pan as a guide, trim the dough into a 9 inch circle, then lay into a greased pan to bake. Repeat with other disc; three at a time, if possible. 

Bake for 3 minutes, then rotate the pans in the oven, and bake 2-3 more minutes until lightly browned and beginning to pull away from the pan. Remove from the oven and cool the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove the layers and set aside. Continue with the remaining discs. You will probably have enough dough left to knead together a seventh layer. 

Choose your prettiest, smoothest layer for the top and set aside.

Place one layer on your cake plate then top with a little bit more than 1/2 a cup of apple butter; close to 3/4 a cup. Top with another cake layer, more apple butter; repeat. Leave the top layer "undressed" with apple butter.

Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least overnight. Around 36 hours makes for the best softness of the cake; where the apple butter soaks in and makes the texture perfect.

When ready to serve, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. Slice into thin slices. 

Warm & Hearty Cottage Pie

FACT: Cold days literally require warm and hearty meals that fill you up, raise your temperature and stick to your ribs the rest of the evening.

FACT: Few things are as perfect on a bone-chilling day as meat and potatoes. 

Which makes cottage pie an excellent dish for the bitter winter months. 

Tuesday it hardly got above 30 degrees in our town, and while we aren't trapped in the mega Snowvember storm that's pounding Buffalo, New York; we were mildly distraught at the incredible change in temperature; which made a piping casserole of cottage pie all the more delicious and comforting. 

Cottage pie is a traditional food of the UK - a cousin to shepherd's pie which is made with lamb - with a meat and vegetable ragout traditionally topped with mashed potatoes and baked. It makes for a warm and filling meal, even without any other sides, that leaves you feeling satisfied and your diet balanced. 

My dad made cottage pie a few times when I was younger, and even piped the potatoes on top with pea eyes to look like ghosts once and I loved it. He's been making it more frequently - perhaps out of sheer ease, how inexpensive it is to prepare and how far a dish of it can go, and we've started experimenting with it, too. 

You can take cottage pie in so many directions by swapping out standard meats and veggies, trying new top layers or even funky presentations. I didn't know it at the time, but some of my favorite mini-chefs on MasterChef Junior were actually tasked with elevating shepherd's pie on this week's episode (you can stream the episode and this season on Hulu/HuluPlus). I've tinkered with it some, but I think I've hit my stride with a recipe adapted from Clean Eating magazine (this was one of their few successes I mentioned). 

The meat mixture is actually vegetable-heavy, using very inexpensive winter vegetables like parsnips and carrots and lean meats. I've used beef and ground chicken and they both turned out well. Lean beef still adds some extra fat that gives the dish more juiciness, but if you use ground poultry you can add more broth and simmer it down some. I love ground chicken as a substitute for red meat and even grind it myself with my KitchenAid, and find it far superior to ground turkey which can become unbearably dry. Simmering the meat and vegetables with tomato paste adds an acidity and a richness that pulls all of the flavors together beautifully. Fresh carrots can be assertive, parsnips tend to be perfumy and canned pinto beans are almost bland, but the tomato paste and rosemary bring together the best of each ingredient. 

To avoid carb-o-loading, I top my pie with pureed cauliflower. I've featured cauliflower several times in posts and I think despite being fairly unappealing raw, it is one of the most versatile and delicious vegetables -- and it's almost a dead-ringer for mashed potatoes (but drastically healthier)! When making cauliflower puree as a side dish, I merely steam it then puree with garlic, S&P, and a tablespoon of butter; but to make it more cohesive with the meat, more flavor is needed. The chicken broth adds an earthy, saltiness that can be lacking and the lemon zest brings a surprising pop to what otherwise might be a one-note topping. 

This recipe makes four gigantic servings and is hearty enough to feed a lumberjack but sneaks vegetables in in such a way that even the pickiest child would enjoy it!

I highly recommend checking your local forecast and making this for your next cold winter evening!

"Clean" Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

1 medium sized head of cauliflower, chopped into florets

1/4 c + (see note above about ground turkey) low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

2 t olive oil

3/4 t lemon zest

salt & pepper

3/4-1 lb ground lean meat

1 parsnip, peeled and finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 large red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

15 oz. can unsalted pinto beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 c unsalted tomato paste

1/4 c finely chopped fresh parsely

1/2 t dried rosemary

paprika

Method:

Preaheat oven to 400 and spray 8x8" baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. 

Fill a large saucepan with water and fit a steamer basket on top. When water is boiling, add cauliflower to steamer; cover and steam until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes. Using either an immersion blender and bowl or a blender (such as a Ninja) blend cauliflower with olive oil, broth and lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend to desired consistency (I like mine super smooth, but small lumps would be good, too). 

Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray and add the meat. Cook over medium high heat, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until cooked through. Transfer meat to a bowl. 

Using same pan, cook sautee parsnip, carrot, onion and garlic until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add meat (and drippings), tomato paste, beans and herbs. Sautee for 3 minutes. (Note: If using a more dry protein, you can add more broth, if needed. I like for it to be "wet" but not sopping; this way it won't dry out while baking.)

Spoon meat-veggie mix into the baking dish, spread in even layer. Top with cauliflower puree and spread evenly. Top with a sprinkle of paprika. 

Bake on top oven rack until hot throughout and cauliflower is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. (Note: you can even broil it the last 2-3 minutes to get some extra brown and a little crunch on top).