DoughSeeDough

a balanced plate with room for dessert


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RIP Canon

I swear I haven’t forgotten about the blog, nor am I neglecting it because I am too busy. My camera was in an unfortunate accident and has passed away – I’m awaiting the arrival of a new one. Hopefully it will be here this week. Until then, I won’t have any new posts.

It’s kind of strange because I haven’t made any new dishes since my camera got dropped because I wanted to be able to document it for the blog! I never imagined I would be basing my meals based on whether or not I had a camera…


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Pesto Chicken Pasta

It’s amazing how quickly time goes by. I create a to-do list almost daily with the intention of completing every.last.thing. on the list before I go to bed at night. I don’t think I have succeeded in doing so yet this semester. No matter how busy I am though, I still find the time to cook almost every single night. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not that I have too much to do, it’s that I just don’t want to do any of it. With graduation just a few months away, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to get my school work done. Senioritis much?

Pesto Chicken Pasta
serves 4 – 6

1 16 ounce package of pasta
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and cut into strips
1/2 cup pesto sauce

  1. Cook pasta according to direction. Drain and place back into pot.
  2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, 2 minutes, and then stir in chicken.
  3. Season with red pepper flakes and cook until chicken is golden brown and fully cooked.
  4. In the pasta pot, combine the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto with the pasta. Toss to coat evenly.
  5. Serve immediately.


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Market Street Meat Loaf

I had meatloaf for the first time last semester. We made it in my food science lab and I was pretty disgusted by the process of kneading the raw meat for 5 minutes, but I was surprised by how good the end product tasted! I asked Mike to buy me the book the recipe came from for Christmas, and he delivered.

If you have a food processor, I highly recommend that you use it. I spent so much time finely chopping the ingredients until I remembered I had purchased a Cuisinart food processor during Black Friday. Unfortunately, I was already half way through the prep work, but the other half only took 30 seconds.

Don’t let the length of the recipe deter you from making it! It really doesn’t take that long, especially if you have a food processor.

Market Street Meat Loaf
serves 8 – 10
from The New Basics Cookbook

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped scallions
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 pounds lean ground beef chuck
12 ounces sausage meat (not fennel-flavored Italian sausage)
3/4 cup fine fresh bread crumbs, toasted

  1. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and add the onion, scallions, carrots, celery, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the moisture from the vegetables has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Refrigerate, covered, until chilled, at least 1 hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  3. Combine the salt, black and white pepper, cayenne, cumin, nutmeg and eggs in a mixing bowl and beat well. Add the ketchup and half-and-half. Blend thoroughly.
  4. Add the chuck, sausage, and bread crumbs to the egg mixture. Then add the chilled vegetables and mix throughly with your hands, kneading for 5 minutes.
  5. With damp hands, form the mixture into an oval about 17 x 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches, resembling a long loaf of bread.
  6. Place the loaf in a baking dish and place this dish inside a larger pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the baking dish.
  7. Place the pan in the oven and bake 35 – 40 minutes.
  8. Remove the baking dish from the water bath, and let the meat loaf rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.


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Szechaun Shrimp

I make a large variety of food here at school, but I don’t really make a lot of seafood. I decided to give shrimp a spin and I love love love this dish. It’s so incredibly easy and it’s surprisingly good with a really full flavor profile. Try it out! If you really like spicy foods (like me), toss in a little more red pepper flakes! I think I ended up accidentally dumping in 2 – 3 tablespoons and it was SO good.

Szechuan Shrimp
serves 4

4 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup sliced green onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
16 ounces large shrimp, cooked and tails removed

  1. Combine water, ketchup, soy sauce, cornstarch, honey, red pepper flakes and ginger in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in green onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Add shrimp and cook for 30 seconds, stirring often.
  4. Pour sauce on top and mix thoroughly with the shrimp. Cook until the sauce is thick and bubbly.
  5. Serve over white rice and enjoy!


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Stuffed Bell Peppers – with Venison!

These stuffed bell peppers went from good to great with the addition of venison! Mike got a deer this year and we have so much venison now! Though there are a lot of venison recipes out there, I’ve been trying to think of ways to incorporate it into unexpected places. The ground venison is perfect for that since it is easy to cook with! I’ve already put it into pasta sauce and now I’ve tried it in stuffed peppers, too! Both had really tasty results.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
serves 2

1 cup cooked white or brown rice
2 green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1/2 pound ground venison
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
  2. Place the peppers cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Roast 25 to 30 minutes or until tender and skin starts to brown.
  3. While the peppers are roasting, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook half the green onions, basil, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in oil for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in ground venison and cook until browned.
  4. Spoon in the cooked rice, tomatoes, and the remainder of the green onions and stir until heated through. Remove from heat, mix in the feta cheese, and spoon the mixture into the pepper halves.
  5. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.


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Sweet and Sour Pork

I originally made this dish in my Food Science lab during fall semester using seitan, a meat substitute. The entire lab was really interesting, since it was based on using meat-substitutes. We used tofu, seitan, tempeh, and beans to make a huge variety of delicious dishes. This one was my favorite, and I decided to recreate it at home. While I enjoyed the seitan, I opted to use pork, since that was what I had on hand. Since then, I have also made this dish with chicken – both are very good!

Sweet and Sour Pork
serves 4

2 teaspoons canola oil
1 pound pork chops, cubed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bell pepper, cut in strips
1 large onion, chopped
1 20 ounce can pineapple chunks with juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pork and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.
  2. Stir in the pineapple juice, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir until thickened. Mix in pineapple chunks just before serving.
  3. Serve with white or brown rice.


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Apple Crisp

Apple crisps are tricky. They almost always look and smell great, but only sometimes taste good too. It’s hard to find the right balance between tart and sweet; more times than not I think an apple crisp is too sweet. This recipe, however, is a perfect match of the sourness of Granny Smith apples and the sweetness of the sugar.

Apple Crisp

10 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup water

2 cup quick-cooking oats
2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, cubed

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F .
  2. Mix sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Pour in apples and stir to coat evenly. Pour into a 9×13 inch pan and pour water on top.
  3. Combine the oats, 2 cups flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda together. Cut in butter until crumbly and sprinkle over the apple mixture.
  4. Bake at 350°F for about 45 minutes.


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Caramel Apple Pie

This pie was made a while ago, during a “family” Thanksgiving dinner with my friends and it turned out wonderfully. Unfortunately, we were too full from dinner to enjoy the pie while it was still warm. The good news is that it still tastes good right out of the fridge! If you like apple pie, try this recipe. I can guarantee that you will never make apple pie without caramel again. I only have a picture of the top of the pie; the next time I make this I will try to remember to take a better picture!

Caramel Apple Pie
makes 1 deep dish pie

1 deep dish pie crust (homemade or frozen)
6 granny smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 a lemon, juiced
1/2 cup  sugar
4 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
1/2 jar caramel topping

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.
  3. Prepare the crumb topping by cutting the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter and mix in brown sugar, oats, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
  4. Pour apples into pie crust and top with crumb topping. Wrap pie crust edges with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil from crust and sprinkle pecans onto pie and bake for 10 more minutes.
  5. Remove pie from oven and pour the caramel topping over the pie. Cool slightly before serving alone or with some ice cream. Enjoy!


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Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes

I can’t believe it’s been over 3 months since my last post. Life had gotten just a little too crazy for me and sadly, my blog was left unattended to.I swear I have not forgotten about it, and I thank all the people who are still reading. I’m actually surprised that I’m getting this many hits!

A lot has happened in the past 3 months, but the biggest news is… Mike and I are engaged! So, with this upcoming semester, 2 puppies to take care of, and a wedding to plan, I know that I am going to be busy busy busy. My plan? Create as many blog posts as I can between now and Tuesday when classes begin!

I think I”ll start off with these mint filled brownie cupcakes! I saw this recipe on The Busty Baker a while ago, bookmarked it, and promptly forgot about it. Then one day as I was organizing my bookmarks, I found it again and decided to make it. Bookmark organization was abandoned, and these heavenly cupcakes were created.

Mint Filled Brownie Cupcakes
copied from The Busty Baker

8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder, sifted
12 small (1 ½-inch) chocolate-covered peppermint patties, such as York Peppermint Patties

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Place chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally just until melted, 4 to 5 minutes.
  2. Remove bowl from heat. Whisk in sugar and salt until mixture is smooth; whisk in eggs to combine. Gently whisk in flour and cocoa until just smooth (do not overmix.)
  3. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Place one peppermint patty on top, gently pressing into batter. Top with 2 tablespoons batter, covering patty completely. Bake, rotating tin halfway through, until a cake tester inserted halfway in centers (above mint patty) comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer tin to a wire rack to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

Mint Frosting
From Joy of Baking.com
Makes enough to spread a thin layer on 12 cupcakes

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract or 1-2 tablespoons creme de menthe
green food coloring (optional)

  1. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat all the ingredients until smooth. Add a few drops of green food coloring if you want the frosting green. If the frosting is too thick, add a little extra cream. (The frosting should be just thin enough to spread.) Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled brownies.

Chocolate Glaze
From Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes
Makes 1 ¼ cups

6 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup

  1. Place chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium high heat; pour mixture over chocolate. Let stand, without stirring, until chocolate begins to melt.
  2. Using a flexible spatula, gently stir chocolate and cream until totally combined; begin near the center of the bowl and gradually work your way toward the edge, pulling in as much chocolate as possible, until the mixture is smooth and glossy. (If any chocolate pieces remain, strain mixture through a fine sieve and discard solids.) If not using immediately, glaze can be refrigerated up to 5 days in an airtight container. Reheat gently before using.


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Vegetable Cream Cheese

My friend dropped off a bag of delicious bagels the other day and so I decided to make some vegetable cream cheese to go with it! I’m pretty happy with the result. If you like store-bought vegetable cream cheese, I suggest you whip up this homemade version – it’s so much better!

Vegetable Cream Cheese

Vegetable Cream Cheese

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
1 rib celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

  1. Place all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are in small chunks.
  2. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.