Jamaican Meat (Crazy) Patties

I've been on a kick to make dough lately...pizza, bread, anything I feel like!  I have not at all perfected it, but am having fun experimenting.   Dave's not picky about mis-shapen, weird n' dense, over-baked mistakes...which I love.  These actually turned out golden and flaky--yay!

My friend, Kavita introduced me to Jamaican  meat pies when I visited her in New Jersey a couple of years ago.  They are like spicy, curry hot pockets.  I found this recipe and adapted it a little with ground turkey, whole wheat flour, added vegetables and used less butter.  They were yummy!

Ingredients[ View Metric ]

	Dough:
	1 cupUnbleached all-purpose flour 1 cup Whole Wheat flour
	2 teaspoonsSugar
	1 teaspoonSalt
	1 teaspoonBaking powder
	1/2 teaspoonTurmeric
	1 largeEgg
	3 tablespoonsUnsalted butter; - at room temperature (I only had smart balance on hand)
	2/3 cupWater
	Filling:
	2 mediumWhite onions; (about 2 cups)
	1 tablespoonGarlic; - minced
	1/2 cup pickled jalepeno peppers (or to taste--we like spicy)
	1 poundGround beef; preferably round or sirloin
	1 tablespoonCurry powder; preferably Madras (hot) style
	1 tablespoonFresh thyme; - chopped (I used 1 teaspoon dried)
	1/2 teaspoonSalt
	1 teaspoonBlack pepper; - fresh ground
	1 teaspoonSugar
	2/3 cupBeef broth; homemade or store bought
	1/2 cup Whole Wheat bread crumbs 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables Dough: Make the dough by hand or in a food processor.  Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and turmeric in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to blend the ingredients. In a mixing cup, whisk together the egg and 2/3 cup water. Stir it all up with a wooden spoon.  I used my hands once it got doughy. Scatter the softened butter over the dough. Mix until the dough is very soft and moist but not sticky.  If the dough feels sticky, add about 1 tbl flour and knead until it is no longer sticky. Knead the dough up in the bowl until it makes a ball. Refrigerate for at least one hour before use. Filling: Throw onions and jalepenos in a food processor.  Mince the garlic. Heat the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add onions, garlic, and Scotch bonnet and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the meat, curry, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar, and cook, breaking up the meat lumps with the back of the spoon, until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the bread crumbs, stir well to combined, and continue to simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes longer. Throw in frozen vegetables to taste. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary. Let cool thoroughly. Assemble: Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keeping the remainder covered in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough piece out into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Put about cup of the filling on the bottom half of the dough, leaving about a inch margin of dough exposed around the filling. Moisten the exposed edge with water. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling, forming a turnover. Join the edges by turning the bottom edge up and over and press the edge together. Press around turnover with the tines of a fork to seal. Heat oven to 400 F. Place the patty on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Cover sheet with a clean towel or plastic wrap until all the patties are formed to protect them from drying out. Brush patties generously with egg white and bake in preheated oven for twenty minutes, until light golden. These are good with ketchup, but can be served with Jerk Sauce if you want to be all authentic. :) Yield: 6 patties.

Crock Pot Baby Food

Today our Spook is 6 months old.  To celebrate,  we're going to introduce solids.  I've been making baby food out of produce we have around the house, and I had a novel idea.  Why not throw the stuff in the crockpot?

I actually read today that leaving the skins on while cooking retains more of the nutrients.

So I tried it, I used some sweet potatoes and a couple apples that needed to be used up. Just threw them in the crock pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. 

I froze in this fancy dancy flexible slicon tray.  They each yield 1 oz cubes, so it's easy to know exactly how much baby E's getting.  It worked fabulously!

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche with Wild Rice Crust

Today is a fabulously cloudy and cool autumn Sunday.  Great for dilly-dallying, enjoying a cozy baby snuggled close in the Moby, and doing a little cooking.


We had a bag of spinach and a Costco-sized container of mushrooms that were going bad needing to be used. 

Serves 6.
Adapted from Cheap Healthy Good via All Recipes. 

1 tablespoon olive oil 
1 medium onion, chopped
8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
1 10-ounce bag fresh baby spinach, roughly torn or chopped
2 extra large eggs
5 extra large egg whites
1-1/2 cups cheese grated (I used sharp cheddar, but any kind will work)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or more if desired)
1 box Uncle Ben's Wild Rice, prepared A few shakes cayenne pepper (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-inch casserole dish or deep pie pan with cooking spray.

2) In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and mushrooms. Saute 5 or 6 minutes, until onions start to soften and ‘shrooms are a little browned.

3) Add spinach. Spread around and cook until almost all of the leaves are wilted, stirring occasionally. 

4) When finished, pour spinach mixture on to a plate. Spread out and let cool for a few minutes. (You’re doing this so it won’t cook the eggs prematurely when they're combined.)


5) Prepare the Uncle Ben's Rice according to package directions.  Spread into the bottom of your dish.
6) Combine eggs and egg whites in a large bowl. Beat lightly. Add cheese, salt, pepper, and cayenne if using. Stir. Add spinach mixture and stir quickly to blend. Quickly pour into pie pan and shake a little to spread out.

7) Bake about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool 10 minutes. Serve, enjoy!

Nothing is better for the sniffles...

This is a great chicken noodle soup recipe--simple, hearty, and healthy. I've been under the weather lately, and a big batch of this has been my staple this last week. It speeds things up to use an already cooked rotisserie chicken from the supermarket deli.


Chicken Noodle Soup
Recipe by Tyler Florence

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock, recipe follows
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Directions
Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.