Ricotta and Ground Turkey Quiche

Hey everyone Stephanie here. So the other day became somewhat hectic. I was literally running around all day doing errands and to top it off, I had to somehow do all of that, get to work at 7 P.M. and I didn't get off till almost 2 AM. Then the next day also involved some running around.

Well in all that chaos and it was also crazy outside since everyone has to go do their Thanksgiving shopping, I said to Antoinette, "You know that bariatric ricotta bake you make? What if we get a pie crust, add some ground turkey, omit the red sauce and kind of turn it into a quiche?" She really liked the idea so we bought all the things we needed which was 3 things, and we got to work.

I was actually very surprised and very pleased with how it turned out. It was light and airy and somehow the turkey kind of got a breakfast sausage taste to it. Not as in sweet but it tasted like breakfast at 7 PM. All in all it was simple, tasty and if in a rush, the prep time was quick. I made two one with crust, one without. Both ways was very good.

Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy.

Ricotta and Ground Turkey Quiche

Ingredients: (TT= To taste)

• One pre-made pie crust
• 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning divided
• 8oz of Ricotta cheese
• 1 Cup mozzarella cheese (I use the block and cut it into pieces)
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• Half an onion, small dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
•  TT Salt and Pepper  

Directions: Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.

1.  In a saute pan, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil. Once its hot, add the onion and garlic and saute for about 30 sec. Add the ground turkey, 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and cook all the way through.
2. While the turkey cooks, in a large bowl, add  the ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and 4 eggs. Mix well until everything is incorporates. 
3. Once the turkey is cooked, remove from heat. Dock the pie crust, add some of the turkey, ricotta mix, and some of the mozzarella. Keep layering until pie crust is filled almost to the rim
4. Place in oven and cook for 40 minutes. Crust should be golden brown on top edges.
5. Serve and enjoy.

If you don't want it to the crust follow the same steps but omit the crust. The ricotta mix held everything together pretty well. 

Turkey Empanadas ( Pastelillos de pavo)

Hey everyone Staphanie here. So I decided to dig into my roots the other day and turn a party classic into something more healthy and no as fatty. We normally make empanadas aka pastelillos as a party snack. We fill them with a lot of different things, guava paste and dusted with powder sugar, sauce and mozzarella, ground beef, shredded chicken. You name it we might have done it.

So instead of some of those options, we decided to use lean ground beef, 93% meat, 7% fat. We also added chickpeas into the mix for more protein. No deep frying. Oven baked is the best way.

I have to say I was very happy with the recipe. We also made them with country style pork, bbq and sharp cheddar cheese. Also a good pair.

Well here is the recipe and we hope you enjoy it. Buen probecho!

Ground Turkey Empanadas

(Pastelillos de pavo)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 pack of empanadas disks (10)
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 1 onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• TT Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of water.
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of mozarella, grated 

Procedure:       Preheat oven to 400°F

1. In a medium saute pan, add the olive oil. Once is hot brown the meat with Onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Once cooked, add the chickpease, cook for a minute then add the tomato paste and water. Lower heat a bit and let the water reduce. (If you feel bold, semi sweet white wine goes well with it).
3. Once the meat is cooked, turn off and let it cool some so not to burn yourself when assembling.
4. Once assemble, brush the empanadas with olive out and place on baking pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I personally like to cook some spiced with the olive oil before brushing it over the empanadas. It helps the dough not taste so bland. It also helps it taste more as if it was deep fried instead of baked. We all deep fried food who doesn't.

Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho

Hi everyone Stephanie here. How crazy has this summer been? Here in NYC they have said its been one of the hotter  summers they have seen in a while. My grandparents are from Puerto Rico and last time I talked to them, they had a drought and they shut down the water in their town. I believe two days without water. They have a storm going their way so hopefully it does bring rain and no damage what so ever.

We have pretty much been lucky. We are still getting rain and cool mornings until we get hit with the afternoon sun. The weather here has been doing very wonderful things towards people that like to grow their own vegetables. We know someone that got an abundant amount of cucumbers and tomatoes. Now when I say abundant, we have so many cucumbers that we ran out of ways to make them.

So yesterday we decided to have a seafood day and with that the idea of the gazpacho was born (that and the humidity). Salmon, crab legs and shrimp. The shrimp we kept them simple. Salt, lemon pepper and olive oil. After when they were almost cooked through, I added a small amount of butter. Sometimes the simpler the better.

Enough ranting, on to the recipe.

Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho 

(I wanted to call it Cucumado but I figure that might be weird)

* TT= To Taste

Ingredients:

  

•  3 Tbsp of Olive oil
• 1 lb cucumber, peeled and seeded.
• 1/2 onion, small diced
• 3 garlic gloves, minced
• 2 avocados, split in half and pit removed
• 1 C plain yogurt or Greek
• 3 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• TT Salt & pepper

Garnish:

• 1 lb of shrimp, shelled out and cleaned.
• TT Salt & pepper
• Olive oil to coat shrimp

Instructions:

1.  In a saute pan over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil. Once its hot add the onions and cook  for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Lower the heat and slowly cook for another 5 minutes. Turn heat off and let cool a bit.
2.  In a blender, add the cucumbers, avocado, lemon juice, onion and garlic with oil, apple cider and fresh dill. Blend for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the yogurt and blend again for about another minute.
3.  Place in a air tight bowl, add as much salt and pepper as desired, cover and let it sit in the fridge for 3 hrs or over night. Serve cold and enjoy. 
4. Cook the shrimp about 3 minutes on each side. 
5. Spoon cold soup into a bowl and garnish with cooked shrimp.

There are endless possibilities of garnishes since the soup has more of a creamy consistency. Maybe make some Pico de gallo or some roasted corn salad to pair with it. Anything acidic or smokey will help.

We hope you enjoy.

Coffee Crumb Cake

Good evening everyone. We recently made this crumb cake recipe and we wanted to share it for all of you hard working folks who don't get a chance to sit down for a hot breakfast meal, just a cup of coffee with one of this babies will keep you full and satisfied until lunch break. Not only is it satisfying, crumb cake has a topping unlike most crumb cakes you've had before. This crumb form a nice crunchy sweet layer that won't fall all over your clothes.

Plain Crumb Cake

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

• 8oz of soften butter
• 12oz of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 yolks
• 13oz of all purpose flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 2 fl oz of milk or buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract
• pint (16oz) of fresh fruit (Optional)

Crumb Topping:

• 10oz All purpose flour
• 2.5oz of granulated sugar
• 2.5oz of light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 6oz of melted butter

It is a very wet crumb, so it is best to pull it apart with your hands and spread it across the cake.

Procedure: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Batter:

1. Butter a half sheet pan and line the bottom with parchment.
2. In a large stand mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until soft and light, add the eggs one at a time, beating well during each addition. Don't forget to scrape the sides.
3. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Combine the milk and yolks. 
4. Add flour and baking soda mixture alternating it with the milk and yolk mixture. Beginning and ending with the flour. Should not take no more than 3 additions.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. 

Optional: if adding fruits, scatter all over the batter, pressing them in lightly. 

Crumb:

1. Add all dry ingredients together and pour the melted butter over them. 
2. Mix well until it forms a coarse crumb by hand.
3. Scatter on top of batter. 
4. Bake the cake for 40 minutes until batter is firm and crumbs are well colored. 

Optional: Sprinkle powder sugar on top. 

 
 

 

Baked Sweet Potato Donuts.

Hi everyone. We acquired some awesome two new doughnut pan and we have gone into a little bit of a craze. This recipe is one of the most simpler out of all the ones we have tried. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Sweet Potato Donuts

 Ingredients:

-1/4 C Vegetable oil

-1/4 C buttermilk

-3 L eggs

-1 C granulated sugar

-1/2 C brown sugar

-1 1/2 C sweet potato, cooked and mashed.

-1 Tbsp pumpkin spice

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 3/4 C + 2 tbsp of all purpose flour

Procedure: Preheat oven at 325 degrees F

1. Combine all dry ingredients together, set aside.
2. Combine all wet ingredients together, set aside.
3. Slowly combine all wet into dry, mixing well, making sure there are no lumps.
4. Scoop batter into a piping bag and fill doughnut pan 2/3 full.
5. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes.

When Donuts are cooled, toss in a bag with cinnamon sugar for some extra sweet and crunch.

Bad bloggers BUT good recipes.

This all started with my clients love for lemon. Most of the times she asks for something with lemons so I figure, why not switch up a recipe instead of scurrying around looking for a recipe that fits her needs. If you have a good recipe base, the possibilities are endless. Like one of my instructors said, know the ratios and everything will fall in place.

This loaf came out amazing with a good flavor, not to tart, but a perfect balance of sweetness, lemon and moisture. I enjoyed a lot how the top caramelized. Looks similar  to a creme brule top.

Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy.

Low Fat Greek Yogurt Lemon Pound Cake

Preheat Oven at 350 degrees F

Ingredients:
-1 ½ C all purpose flour
-2 tbsp  lemon zest
-3 tbsp juice
-1 tsp baking soda
-¾  tsp salt
-¼ tsp baking powder
-1 C sugar
-3 eggs whites
-¼ tsp vanilla extract
-½ tsp lemon extract
-8 oz Greek yogurt
-¼ C 2% Milk
-3 Tbsp oil

Procedure:
1) Coat 8 ½” x ½” loaf pan with cooking spray.
2) Combine flour, lemon zest, baking soda, salt and baking powder; reserve.
3) On medium speed, beat sugar, egg whites, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp lemon extract.
4) Beat in milk, lemon juice and oil until smooth.
5) Gradually add in flour mix until combine; pour into pan.
6) Bake for 50 min or until cake tester comes out clean. 
7) Cool on rack for 15 min. Remove from pan and cool completely.

I'm a terrible blogger ...but have some cream puffs!

As the the title says I'm terrible at blogging ....like really bad. A lot of stuff has gone on is these past few months. Had some serious life changing surgery that I'm still recovering from.  So my baking an bloggering had to be put on hold for awhile...

So anyways here's to a New Year and to better blogging!

A cream puff is a classic little pastry made of a dough called Pate A Choux. It's more of a paste that you use a piping bag to get the form an shapes you desire out of instead of your more bread type doughs.
It's pretty simple to make an  no stand mixer or hand mixer is required in making them. The result is light airy pastry with a neutral taste that can be filled with just about anything you can think of.


Pate A Choux (small batch)

-8 oz of  water
-3 oz of  butter
-1/4 tsp salt
-5 oz of all purpose flour
-5 whole eggs

Instructions(pre heat oven to 425 degrees)

1. Combine water, butter and salt in a large pan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
2. At the boil remove the pan from heat; add the flour, stirring until smooth.
3.Return to heat and cook stirring constantly, until the paste dries slightly and begins to leave the sides of the pan.
4. Let paste cool for about 10 to 15 minutes, then add eggs one by one stirring until fully adsorbed by the paste.
5.  Place paste in to a piping bag with a large round or star tip, squeeze the dough out by counting 1 2 3 in your head then stop squeezing do a semi circle turn then release.  It will take some practice and time to get them just right and with out giving them pointed tops.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, or until well risen. Lower the heat to 350 degrees; continue baking until well colored and dry. Cool completely.

The possibility's for filling are endless, pastry cream, puddings and even jams an jelly's. I was asked the fills these little puffs with sugar free vanilla pudding with a yummy drizzle of melted Nutella on top.

Cream puffs filled with sugar free vanilla pudding and drizzles Nutella.