About Carrie Zinnecker

Posts by Carrie Zinnecker:

Barbecue Quesadillas

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When it rains it pours when it comes to leftovers in our house.  Last night, for example, we had 3 different choices for dinner using leftovers.  It can get a little boring when its the same meal that’s just been reheated.  Leftovers are a lot more bearable when you can make something new out of them.  This is what I did with some leftover turkey from Rudy’s BBQ.  Mmm.  Rudy’s.

Along with the turkey I had barbecue sauce, tortillas, shredded Mexican blend cheese, half of a red onion, and half of a red bell pepper, all left over from other meals.  Since this was kind of a last minute dinner and I wasn’t sure exactly how it was going to turn out, I didn’t really measure anything.  If you’re not comfortable with that kind of cooking, this is a great way to start.  The best way to get better at cooking without a recipe is to practice.  Just use your judgement and use what you like.  If you have barbecued brisket or chicken instead, then use those.  I used a Mexican blend of shredded cheese, but cheddar, monterey jack, or pepper jack would all work.  If you don’t like onions, don’t use them.  If you like green bells instead, use those.

I’ve learned that when making quesadillas, like pizza, do not overdo it on the fillings (toppings for pizza).  It can be a mess to flip over, and if the filling to crunchy tortilla ratio is off, they aren’t as tasty.  Also, make sure to get your pan hot and use some kind of fat (butter is best in my opinion) even if its just a little bit.  It makes for a much crunchier exterior.  Enjoy!

Barbecue Quesadillas

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

  • 6 flour tortillas
  • 2-4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 1/2-2 cups chopped barbecued turkey (brisket or chicken)
  • 3-5 tablespoons barbecue sauce
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 cups shredded cheese
  • sour cream (optional)

Directions

  1. Mix the turkey with the barbecue sauce, adding 1 tablespoon at a time until the meat is lightly coated. (Add more if you like.)
  2. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
  3. Lay out half of your tortillas and begin evenly layering cheese, turkey, onions, bell peppers and more cheese.  Top with another tortilla.
  4. Melt some butter (I use between 1/4 and 1/2 tablespoon) in the hot skillet.  Carefully transfer one quesadilla to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until the bottom is nicely browned.
  5. Spread a little more butter on the top tortilla before flipping, being careful not to let too many toppings escape.
  6. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the other side is browned and the cheese has melted.  Transfer to a plate.
  7. Repeat with the other quesadillas.  You can keep these warm in a 200°F oven on a cookie sheet.
  8. Cut into quarters and serve with sour cream if desired.

Hello Dolly Bars

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You might call them magic cookie bars, or maybe seven layer bars. Whatever you call them they are quite good.

These bars require no mixing.  Just a little crushing of graham crackers, melting of butter and then layering of ingredients.  A mere 25 minutes in the oven and they’re done.  This is a great last minute dessert.  If you don’t have pecans, then you can use walnuts.  You could probably even use peanuts, honey roasted might just be amazing.  Yum.  If you don’t have chocolate chips you could use white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or a combination.  You can also use margarine if you don’t have butter.  But who doesn’t have pounds of butter in their fridge at all times?  Crazy people.  That’s who.  Enjoy!

Hello Dolly Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 stick butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 1/3 cup shredded coconut
  • 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions

  1. Pour melted butter in bottom of a 9×13 pan.
  2. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over butter followed by pecans, chocolate chips and coconut.
  3. Drizzle condensed milk evenly over everything.
  4. Bake for 25 minutes @ 350°F.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

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When spring and summer arrive there is a need for fresh and light side dishes to serve with all of your freshly grilled foods.  This quinoa recipe is perfect next to fajitas, fish tacos, chicken, steak, or all by itself.  It is even better after sitting in the fridge overnight.  So, you can make it the day before and make getting the meal on the table easier.  Or you can make more than you need and have leftovers.  I’ve had this for lunch the past two days and it is so nice not to have to prepare anything and still get something really nutritious.

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a really amazing food.  It is loaded with protein.  It has a good amount of fiber and it is gluten free.  It is also incredibly simple to prepare.  It takes about as long as white rice, and is much better for you.  The downside to quinoa is that is is a bit pricey.  I paid $6 for a 1 pound bag.

This recipe came from My Kitchen Addiction.  Here is the link.  As with most recipes I try for the first time, I followed this one almost exactly.  Here are my minor changes.

  • I used a can of corn instead of fresh.
  • I cut back the olive oil by 1 tablespoon with fine results.
  • I substituted honey for the agave syrup since that is not something I have in my pantry.
  • The second time I made this, a mere week later, I added some dried oregano and a dash of cumin.

This is a great salad that I’m going to play with some more.  The possibilities seem almost endless!  I might try a quinoa salad with diced cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, feta, fresh parsley, mint and a vinaigrette of olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Greek oregano…quinoa tabouli! Yum.

Southwest Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
    (or about 2 cups cooked black beans)
  • 3 ears of steamed corn, cut off the cob
    (or 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed OR 1 can, drained)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, chopped
  • Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped (about half a cup)
  • 1 lime, zested then juiced
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Combine quinoa and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.
  2. While quinoa is cooking, combine beans, corn, red onion, red bell peppers and cilantro in a large bowl.
  3. For the vinaigrette, whisk oil, vinegar, honey, lime juice and zest, spices and salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Combine cooked quinoa with vegetables, then mix in vinaigrette.  Serve room temperature or refrigerate.

 

Crispy Cinnamon Pecan Cookies

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This recipe is from a Junior League of Austin cookbook that I borrowed from my mom’s house.  Thanks, mom : )

These cookies are called English Toffee Cookies in the cookbook, but I took the liberty of changing their name to be more descriptive.  They are a little like toffee with their salty sweetness, but not sticky or chewy like toffee.  These cookies are crispy and light.  They are sweet, but not too sweet.  The cinnamon is wonderful.  I think a little nutmeg would be nice as well.  They are quite tasty on top of vanilla or coffee ice cream, next to a cup of coffee or tea, or all alone.

So very easy.  Mix up the dough, roll it out in one big slab on a cookie sheet (use parchment or a silpat to avoid sticking) brush with egg white, sprinkle with pecans, bake, cut and enjoy!

Crispy Cinnamon Pecan Cookies

Courtesy of The Collection from the Junior League of Austin

Ingredients

  • 1 cup shortening
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg, separated
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup ground pecans

Directions

  1. Cream shortening and sugar.
  2. Add beaten egg yolk and vanilla.
  3. Sift dry ingredients together and blend into creamed mixture.
  4. Roll dough out onto a cookie sheet to 1/4 to 1/8 inch thickness.
  5. Coat with egg white then sprinkle with pecans.
  6. Bake at 300°F for 25-30 minutes.
  7. Let cool, then cut into squares or break into pieces.

 

What I Want Wednesday

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These chalkboard place mats seem wonderful, versatile and oh so much fun.  At an adult dinner party they could be used as place cards, and kids can use them to doodle during dinner.  What am I saying?  Adults can use these to doodle during dinner.   And then after dinner you can use them to play Pictionary!

I can think of some creative people in my life (and you know who you are) who could really do great things with these.  My creativity would get me about as far as using more than one color to write someone’s name.  $33 for a set of 4 here.  I think these would make a fun hostess gift.

I do wonder how they stand up to actually being used as place mats.  Can they stand up to drips of grease?  Condensation?  Tomato sauce?  The sticky fingers of little children?  Even if they did only make their way through a few parties I think they would be a fun enough addition to be worth it.

Spicy Asian Roasted Broccoli & Snap Peas

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My plan for dinner was a ginger sesame marinated pork tenderloin, basmati rice and steamed broccoli.  Isn’t that awfully easy…and awfully boring?  I found this recipe for roasted broccoli and snap peas made extra delicious with a light sauce of sesame oil, orange zest, cilantro, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and sambal oelek.  So glad I took the extra time to make this side dish.

Living where we do there are limitations on the ingredients I can get my hands on.  I couldn’t find bird chiles, so I didn’t use them and as a result this wasn’t too spicy even with the sambal oelek.  If you really have a problem with spice, then you can leave that out as well.  I also didn’t use the miso, mostly because I was too lazy to look for it!  Since it’s just Ben and I eating dinner, I also like to make just enough for the two of us unless it’s something I know is wonderful left over.  So I changed parts of this recipe to better suit our lifestyle.  Here is the link to the original recipe.

There is something so very special about roasted veggies, and this recipe is no exception.  This is a perfect side for an Asian flavored meal.  Enjoy!

Spicy Asian Roasted Broccoli & Snap Peas

Adapted from finecooking.com

Ingredients

  • 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
  • 8 ounces snap peas (1 bag)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon sambal oelek
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F
  2. Combine broccoli and snap peas in a 9×13 glass dish and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil over vegetables, toss together to coat and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Roast for 20 minutes, checking and stirring about half way through.  Vegetable are done when slightly browned.
  4. While vegetable are cooking whisk the rest of the ingredients together.
  5. When vegetables are done pour sauce over and toss to coat.

 

What I Want Wednesday

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Like most things I have posted about I do not need one of these drink dispensers from Crate and Barrel.  I just kinda want one.

We would need to have quite a few outdoor parties this summer in order for one of these to be necessary.  I like the idea of a dispenser with a faucet instead of a pitcher and I like that you can see the contents.  Even plain ice water with slices of lemon, lime and orange would be beautiful in this.  Margaritas or sangria would be more fun.

 

Lemon Glazed French Toast

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This was first mother’s day breakfast.  Ben’s parents were here for Carson’s baby dedication, which was really special.  Kate showed me this recipe, and we decided to make it.  It was a good decision.

I’ve made another overnight French toast before, and it was much sweeter than this one, but not in a bad way…just different.  They’re different enough that I can’t choose which one I liked better.  The lemon adds a nice tartness to the slight sweetness of this one that doesn’t require any syrup, so the berries are a perfect accompaniment.  The other French toast is one that welcomes a generous pour of syrup and a side of crisp bacon.  Don’t ask me why sugar goes best with more sugar.  It just does.  Both are tasty and can be prepped the night before and baked in the morning.  I love that.

The recipe called for brioche, but my rather poor choice of buying groceries at Wal Mart meant that we had to use a loaf of French bread.  It is French toast though, and we found it to be a great bread to use in this recipe.  The brioche would probably have yielded a denser and more rich breakfast.

We served the French toast with fresh blueberries and raspberries.  The original recipe (found here) from the kitchn has a lovely sounding mixture for the berries of dry cava wine and mint, but we played it simple.  We also decided not to dust the French toast with powdered sugar because of the sweet lemon glaze.  It was plenty sweet for me, but serve some on the side if you have a sweet tooth.  Enjoy!

Lemon Glazed French Toast

(courtesy of thekitchn)

Ingredients

  • One 16 to 20-ounce loaf of French bread (brioche or challah)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 cups 2% milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

  1. If planning to bake immediately, preheat the oven to 425éF. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
  2. Slice the bread into 1/2-inch-thick slices, then cut each slice in half. Arrange half of the bread in overlapping layers in the baking dish.
  3. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until well mixed, then whisk in the brown sugar. Whisk in the milk, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Pour half of the custard over the bread. Layer the rest of the bread on top, and pour the rest of the custard over to coat. (At this point the casserole can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)
  4. When ready to bake, take the casserole out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before baking. Heat the oven to 425°F. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes, or until slightly golden on top, and puffy.
  5. Whisk the lemon juice with the confectioners’ sugar and drizzle the glaze over the hot casserole.
  6. Let the casserole cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve in large slices, with fresh berries on the side.

 

Cinnamon Bread

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If you bake at all, then you can bake this bread.  Not only is it incredibly easy, but the ingredient list makes me oh so very happy.  I almost always have every single item in my kitchen.  Glorious!  The only thing that I didn’t have was buttermilk and we all know how easy it is to make your own buttermilk, don’t we?  If not, see this blog.  I do love Smitten Kitchen.  Her blog makes me hungry.

Back to the cinnamon bread.

I made this for a neighbor who I made some cinnamon Amish friendship bread for a while back.  He kept asking me to make more of it, but I’d let my starter die and couldn’t do it.  I found this to be a great substitute and I can make it without having to keep feeding the friendship starter and making more loaves than I could ever hope to eat.

The recipe is from allrecipes.com, here is the link to the original recipe.  I changed the method for mixing the batter together to something I was more comfortable with.  I doubt it makes much of a difference, if any.  For the topping I used 2 tablespoons of melted butter and about 3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar I already had mixed up.  Maybe this mixture swirled on top of the batter made it rise up all weird in the center but not on the edges?  I don’t know.  It isn’t pretty, but it is good.  Enjoy.

Cinnamon Bread

Courtesy of allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and sugar one 9×5 inch loaf pan.
  2. Beat the oil and sugar, then add in eggs and vanilla.
  3. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and salt then mix into wet ingredients, followed by the buttermilk.  Beat 3 minutes. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Smooth top.
  4. Combine 3 tablespoons white sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and butter. Drizzle topping over smoothed batter. Using knife, cut in a light swirling motion to give a marbled effect.
  5. Bake for about 50 minutes. Test with toothpick. When inserted it should come out clean. Remove bread from pan to rack to cool.

 

 

What I Want Wednesday

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If you know me, then I know what you’re thinking.  “An apron?  Doesn’t she have enough aprons?  I’ve seen them hanging in her kitchen.  She doesn’t need another one.”  Yes.  I have too many aprons.

I just really love this one.  I love all of the aprons from Anthropologie, but this one looks like a sweet little dress complete with sweet little ruffles.  And it’s called tea and crumpets.  Adorable.  This one comes in yellow and blue.  Check out all their aprons here.

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