Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Spicy Tuna Salad on Whole Wheat

IMG_1593

There's something classically delicious about tuna salad. If you like tuna, you probably love a good tuna sandwich now and again. The problem with traditional tuna salad is the "salad" part--made up of excessive amounts of mayo or Miracle Whip. My husband is not a fan of those condiments, so I try to make a tuna salad which just enough mayo to hold the spread together. :) Today, I decided to add some zing (because we're zingy sort of people) with the hot peppers. Mmm, mmm, good.

Spicy Tuna Salad on Whole Wheat Bread
recipe by adorkablerecipes.blogspot.com
Serves 1 to 2

Ingredients
2 or 3 slices of my favorite whole wheat bread
1 can tuna in water, drained
3 Tbsp Miracle whip or Mayo
freshly cracked black pepper
1/2-1 whole rib of celery, thinly chopped
1 small hot pepper, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced

Directions
Mix all ingredients (expect bread, of course) together in a small bowl, adding additional mayo if necessary. Spread onto the homemade bread (toasted, if desired), topping with the second slice. Cut in two and eat!


Subscribe to The Adorkable Recipes Follow on Facebook.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (Bread Machine) Recipe

IMG_1589
This is my favorite whole wheat bread recipe so far! It uses basic ingredients, but results in a high rising loaf that slices wonderfully for sandwiches. You will impress your fans with this homemade bread. :)

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (Bread Machine) Recipe
recipe adapted from The Big Book of Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Rathmell German

Ingredients
3/4 cup water
3 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 egg
2 Tbs sugar
1  tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp yeast

Directions
Add ingredients to the bread machine bowl in the order listed (or as directed by the machine manual.) Select the whole wheat, sweet, or basic cycle OR choose the "dough" cycle (my favorite.)*

*If selecting the dough cycle, once the cycle is complete, lightly flour a clean surface. Turn the dough onto the counter and roll or press into a large rectangle (approximately 15 inches by 9 inches). Begin rolling the dough up along the length of the rectangle, pinching the dough together after each roll. Make the final pinch of the loaf and transfer to a loaf pan to rise for 30-60 minutes, until two inches above the edge of the pan. 

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until golden and hollow sounding when tapped. Let cool completely before slicing. 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

IMG_1579

In my zucchini abundance, I was able to find the perfect recipe to soothe my "it's rainy out and I really feel like baking" urge. This recipe from Tasty Kitchen is out of this world amazing! I'm not a great cake baker--they tend to turn out too dry or too boring or too flat. But this recipe is spot on! and uber simple! 

The original recipe included a delicious-looking frosting, but I opted to sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar. I'm convinced no one minded! Each piece was amazingly moist and wonderfully chocolately! I brought the lovely tube cake to a get-together with 2 of my friends and their gaggle of children, and everyone devoured their pieces. I barely got to take a slice home for my husband (who always proclaimed it's praises!)  One of the 8 year old boys even said, "This cake is AMAZING!"

IMG_1584

See? I told you it was a winner!


Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
2-1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips 

Directions

*to sour the milk, add 1 Tbsp lemon juice to milk. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt or tube pan. 

In a large bowl, cream together butter, oil, and sugar. Add in eggs, vanilla, and milk and beat until evenly combined. Sprinkle in the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and stir on low until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour batter into a lightly greased bundt pan (or two 8″ cake pans or a 9×13″ pan) and bake for 55-60 minutes (reduce time for other pans), or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan for a few minutes before running knife around the edge to loosen. Remove to a rack to cool completely.



Monday, August 20, 2012

Monster Cookies Recipe

IMG_0113

By definition, Monster Cookies are, well monstrous. They're supposed to be huge, and also filled with every delicious ingredient you can dream up. I am thinking you could easily substitute half of the M&Ms and/or chocolate chips for another type of bite sized or chopped candy bar, raisins, coconut, chopped nuts, peanut butter or white or dark or butterscotch chips, etc. That's the beauty of the Monster Cookie. 

Now, by nature, I am a more defined, cautious type of person so Monster Cookies go against my neat-and-tidy personality (also, because the regular sized recipe calls for a pound of butter. This recipe is quartered if you can believe it!) But I managed to merge my two loves--love of chocolate and peanut butter with love of organization. I didn't have any other special chocolates or candy on hand, so I substituted more chocolate chips for the M&Ms and instead of "monstrous" sized cookies, I used my typical cookie scoop and was happy with that.

But you do what you want. You can't go wrong with these. They're amazingly chewy and gooey, sweet and thick. Just how a monster would want his cookies to be.

*oh! and these are flour-free--a big bonus for all of my GLUTEN FREE friends out there!

Monster Cookies Recipe 
recipe adapted from Sheryl 
Makes 4 dozen not-quite-monster-sized cookies

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
12 oz (1-1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp) peanut butter
4-1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup M&Ms
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream together eggs, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla, corn syrup, salt, baking soda, and butter. Once evenly combined, stir in peanut butter. Then add in oatmeal. Stirring thoroughly. Mix in M&Ms and chocolate chips.

Drop dough onto a cookie sheet in large tablespoonfuls or use a cookie scoop. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned and center is mostly set. Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.