Bagels

I sometimes can be overly ambitious. I'll decide on a goal and set an unrealistic timeline, then rush to try to accomplish said goal. Sigh. Well... Friday night, around 10:30, my usual bedtime, I come across this bagel recipe and decide to make them. But I didn't decide to make them Saturday morning, or even Sunday afternoon, I decide to make them right then and there. So there I am making bagels until well after midnight. But this wasn't my typical "Why did I do this?" type of idea. It was an AWESOME idea because these things were so flipping good. Waking up Saturday morning and have a fresh, homemade bagel made my experience well worth it.

This was my first attempt at homemade bagels and it was a huge success. They were so amazingly good. Nice and crisp on the outside, perfectly soft on the inside. The directions were extremely easy to follow and the end results were wonderful. They are best straight out of the oven but since you most likely won't be eating 8 bagels straight out of the oven (although you might be tempted...) it's best to store them in an airtight container. You can freeze any leftovers, just slice them, wrap them in plastic wrap, and then put the plastic wrapped bagels in a freezer bag. I can't wait to try different varieties- next time I am going to make cinnamon swirl and everything bagels!

Source: Ladybug's Delights, originally from Joy of Cooking

Bagels (makes 8 )

Combine in bowl of a heavy duty mixer and let stand until the yeast dissolves, about 5 min.

1 cup plus 2 tbs wam water (105° to 115°)
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

Stir in:

1 tbs melted vegetable shortening
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 3/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Gradually stir in:

3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Knead for about 10 minutes with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let rest, covered, 15 to 20 min.

Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 10 in long, tapering the ends. We the ends to help seal, and form into rings, stretching the top end over and around the bottom end and pinching together underneath. Let rise, covered, on a floured board about 15 min, until puffy.

Preheat oven to 425°

Bring to a boil in a large pot:

4 quarts water
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Drop the rings 2-4 at a time into the boiling water. As the bagels surface, turn them over and cook for about 45 seconds longer. Skim out and place on an ungreased baking sheet coated with cornmeal.

Sprinkle with toppings of choice.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Chocolate Chip Duo Cookies

I love fall. It is by far my favorite season. I love the crisp weather, the anticipation of the holiday season, mums, Halloween, and even the start of a new school year. I love the new crayons, clean glue sticks, and my uncluttered classroom. I have spent the last week slaving away in my classroom to get ready for my newest batch of first graders. By the time I get home from putting in 6-7 hours in a sweaty hot classroom the last thing I want to do is cook. However there is really only so much take out you can eat before you need to get back in the kitchen. The other day I was craving being in my kitchen the way people crave chips and dip or chocolate. I NEEDED to cook something. However I really have nothing in the house! So I searched some recipes until I found something I had all the ingredients for and decided on these cookies.

The cookie recipe is originally for chocolate chip cookies. Right before I baked them I decided to make them into duo cookies by mixing some cocoa powder in 1/2 the batter. I am glad I did because the chocolate half was my favorite part! I have never made cookies with oil instead of butter until this recipe. They came out really good. The dough was a little wet (presumably from the oil) and I was doubting this would work but it really did! They were thin, soft, and tasty. Definitely worth a shot.

Source: Stephanie Cooks original idea, using All Recipes cookie batter recipe

Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
2 heaping teaspoons of cocoa powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the vegetable oil, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg, then stir in the vanilla extract.

Blend in the dry ingredients, then fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the dough in half. In one half add the cocoa and stir until well combined.

Drop vanilla batter by rounded 1/2 teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Next drop 1/2 teaspoon of the chocolate batter right next to the vanilla and pinch to combine the two halves.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

French Onion Pasta

Like many people in the food blogosphere I was so excited to go see Julie & Julia. My husband had sent me the preview for this movie many many months ago and I had been anxiously awaiting its release. I loved it. I thought it was super cute and I really liked the characters. After leaving the movie I started thinking about my blog and the role it plays in my life. I wondered about my readers, what they are like, and why they decide to devote part of their day to reading about me, my cooking, and my life. I thought about how amazing it is that people tune in and how motivating that is to me. It is a creative outlet. A commitment. A challenge. As a person who truly enjoys challenges I decided to create my own little food blog challenge for myself. My challenge is to create one recipe a week completely my own. No cookbook. No blog post. No magazine. Just my brain and my pantry.

The first recipe I created was this french onion pasta. Last week I went out to dinner with a friend and she had french onion soup. It got me thinking- can I make this into a meal? Say... french onion chicken? Or french onion casserole? I decided to go with french onion pasta and I am so glad I did. This was excellent. John and I both truly enjoyed it. The picture doesn't capture how delicious the sauce was. The sauce was the perfect consistency. Not runny, not thick. We both loved this and I recommend giving it a whirl!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original!

Ingredients:

2 cups of uncooked penne pasta
1 to 1.5 cup of chicken stock
1 packet of Lipton's Onion Soup mix
1 shallot, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 cup of marsala wine
4 tablespoons of light cream
1 tablespoon of flour
1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon of EVOO

Directions-
1- Cook pasta according to directions, set aside and keep warm.
2- In a saucepan, heat the EVOO. Add the scallions and garlic, stir continually until soft and fragrant.
3- Add the marsala wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any stuck on pieces of onion.
4- Add the stock and soup mix packets, allow to cook on low for about 20 minutes.
5- Stir in flour, whisking continually until well incorporated and thickened.
6- Add the light cream, mix well.
7- Add the pasta to the sauce, stir well.
8- Pour into an oven safe dish. Top with the mozzarella cheese.
9- Set it under the broiler until the cheese gets a little crispy.

French Toast Souffle

I know this is a very unpopular opinion among many people but I really like Rachel Ray. Once I was watching her and someone asked her what her guilty food pleasure was and she said she doesn't associate guilt with food. I have to say I very much agree with this. Sure, some foods aren't healthy and aren't to be eaten daily. Or even weekly, monthly, etc. But everything in moderation, right? BUT (and there's always a but) if I was going to feel some form of guilt this would definitely be a guilty pleasure food. Just read the ingredients list! They are all delicious, decadent, calorie-ridden, ingredients. Of course with this list of ingredients the results are heavenly! In my defense I did cut out a couple eggs and a 1/2 cup of cream... I figure every bit helps!

I did not have the pleasure of tasting this recipe because I made it for John's work meeting. However, John received 8 emails praising this thing up and down. One of his coworkers even Twittered that I was a genius. Therefore I am led to believe this is a hugely successful meal! It's so easy to make, taking about 15 minutes to prep, and then just bakes away in the oven. Definitely try this if you need a breakfast dish for a brunch!

Source: Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen



8oz cream cheese softened
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup maple syrup
1 1oaf of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Swirl Bread
10 eggs
1.5 cups half/half
1 tsp vanilla

Optional:
Powdered sugar
Fresh fruit

Microwave the cream cheese, butter, and syrup for 30 seconds and beat until smooth.

Break the bread into 1 ½ inch pieces and put in a 9 by 11 inch baking pan. Pour cream cheese mixture over the top of the bread.

Beat eggs, cream, and vanilla together until frothy, pour over cinnamon bread in pan.

Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

Dust with powder sugar, fruit, or syrup. Serve hot.

Italian Rice Balls

Rice balls are delicious. If you have never had one please go out and get yourself one ASAP. My cousin used to have them at all of her holiday parties and I would gobble one up. Then a few months ago John and I went on a Greenwich Village food tour in NYC and fell in love with the rice balls at Faicco's Italian Specialties. If you are ever in that area get one- it's the most amazing rice ball I have ever tasted.

I saw this recipe pop up in my google reader and I actually said "YES!" out loud. I decided to make them as an appetizer for a small dinner party we had. I looked at the recipe and thought it couldn't be easier. Then I tried to make them... and it was a mess.

Let me paint the picture: We have people coming at 7. It's 5:15. I am hands deep in rice and egg mixture, trying to form it into balls. It's like trying to make dry sand into a ball- it's just not working! So now I am panicking. So I add an extra egg out of complete desperation. And some parmesan cheese. It's still not working. I say screw it and try to roll this mess in bread crumbs- fail. So I give up. I walk away and grunt. But I go back and try again. And it kind of works! They didn't come out like I wanted. I wanted them larger like the kind you get at an Italian deli but it just wasn't working. However I was able to roll them into small balls so I went with it.

The end results were tasty. They went over well with our friends and were pretty good. I think I might have used too much rice- I didn't measure- so maybe the formula was off. The taste was good and I will try this again when I am not stressing about time to try to prefect them!

Source: Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 cups cooked rice
4 oz. mozzarella cheese, cut in ½-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
¾ cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Beat eggs lightly with fork. Add the rice and stir gently but thoroughly.
3. Take 1 tablespoon of the mixture, place a cube of mozzarella in the middle and then top with another tablespoon of rice. Shape into a ball and roll in the breadcrumbs. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the rice mixture.
4. Refrigerate pan of rice balls for at least 30 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over rice balls.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with warm marinara sauce.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yeast. ::Shudders:: Yeast used to be a huge fear of mine in the kitchen. I am not sure why but it seems so easy to mess up. For a long, long...LONG... time I would just skip over any recipe that called for yeast. I am slowly working on this fear. It's irrational. It's silly. I teach first grade- I can follow directions. Heck, I spend my whole life teaching others to follow directions. And using yeast involves a lot of directions. So I decided to face my fear again and make these cupcakes. Seriously they were so delicious looking that I had to.

I did have a few blunders... and I might have muttered a few unpleasant comments.. but they came out excellent! I had trouble with the initial rise. Looking back my milk wasn't warm enough but I allowed them to rise in the oven (preheated to 175- then turned off- make sure you turn it off) and it worked perfectly.

These are so delicious that even if you fear yeast you need to saddle up and get over it. It's not scary, I promise. I will tell you that I only like them warm though. I tried one cool and it just wasn't the same. Warm though these are the best!


Source: Beantown Baker

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp. or 1 packet (1/4 oz./7 g) dry active yeast
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 cup warm milk (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in the warm milk in a large bowl and let stand for about 10 minutes until foamy.

Mix in the eggs, butter, salt, and other 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Add flour and mix until well blended and the dough forms a ball. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about one hour).

After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners (I like to double them up because these cinnamon rolls are so moist), and lightly spray over the top of them with cooking spray.

Roll dough into a 12x22 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 24 rolls (I use my pastry cutter - thanks Dad!).

Place each roll in a cupcake liner. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Let rolls cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

Ingredients:

4 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/2 stick butter at room temp
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar

Directions:

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.

Add vanilla extract.

Slowly add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken marsala is like chocolate chip cookies. I know right now you are rereading my first sentence and thinking I am nuts, but hear me out. Everyone has a chocolate chip cookie recipe they love and swear by. When you google chocolate chip cookies you end up with thousands of results. And guess what? Most are pretty darn good. Well, google chicken marsala. I dare you. You will spend hours sifting through recipes. I have done this before and couldn't believe how many there are! I chose this one because it makes a lot of sauce and I like sauce... so it sounded like a plan.

It is shocking to me that after blogging for about 10 months I am just first putting up a recipe for chicken marsala. Chicken marsala is a staple in most restaurants. I love the thick wine sauce, the delicate mushrooms.. yum. I made it for company and it came out excellent. The sauce was delicious and really coated the chicken nicely. I had a lot of left over sauce so if you wanted to make more chicken you could probably easily make 7 pieces and have plenty of sauce. I made 5 and there was still a lot left. The chicken was so tender and possibly the most tender chicken I have ever made at home. I can not recommend this recipe enough. It was truly excellent.

Source: Blog Chef

Ingredients:
4-7 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 5 with lots of left over sauce)
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon oregano
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
10 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
4 garlic cloves (minced)
2 cups marsala wine
3 cups chicken stock
1 package linguini (cooked)

Directions:
Step 1: 1 at a time, place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of wax paper (or plastic wrap). With a mallet pound chicken breasts until they are about ¼” thick.
Step 2: On a plate combine flour, salt and pepper, and oregano. Dredge chicken breasts in flour until coated thoroughly.
Step 3: Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Fry chicken breasts until they are almost fully cooked (about 3 minutes on each side). Remove from pan and keep warm in the oven at 175 degrees.
Step 4: Deglaze the pan with marsala wine. Make sure to scrape up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan and mix them with the wine.
Step 5: Add chicken broth mushrooms and garlic. Cook on medium-high for 10 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by half. Add chicken breasts back to the pan and cook for another 10 minutes. The sauce should now have become somewhat thick. Serve on a bed of linguini.

Magic in the Middle Cookies

Growing up my mom had many catch phrases. One of her favorite was "What do I look like? A short order chef?" This comment always came after my sister and I would whine about not liking dinner and wanting her to make us something different. I never understood the saying... but now I do. And low and behold, I am becoming a short order chef. But not for children... for grown ups. John's coworkers eat almost as much of my food as John and I do. Anything you see here on this blog that is baked is sent to work with John. Slowly his coworkers started making requests, ranging from simple to crazy complex. One of these requests was "anything peanut butter and chocolate. But sugary peanut butter." Hmmm... easy enough. Especially since I love that combo myself.

I whipped these up the other night and they came out great. John said they were one of the biggest hits at work. The cookies were so soft. My only recommendation would be to make sure you flatten them out well with the glass because I forgot this step (it was 10 at night, cut me some slack!) and my peanut butter didn't spread throughout the cookie. That's ok- they were still awesome- but would be even better if the peanut butter was an even layer throughout the cookie. I will say these are much more time consuming then typical drop cookies but are very good and worth the effort.


Source: King Arthur Flour

Chocolate Dough
1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar (plus extra for dredging)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

Peanut butter filling
3/4 cup peanut butter, crunchy or smooth, your choice
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

2. To make the dough: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3. In another medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the sugars, butter, and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the egg, beating to combine, then

4. stir in the dry ingredients, blending well.

5. To make the filling: In a small bowl, stir together the peanut butter and confectioners’ sugar until smooth.

6. With floured hands or a teaspoon scoop, roll the filling into 26 one-inch balls.

7. To shape the cookies: Scoop 1 tablespoon of the dough (a lump about the size of a walnut), make an indentation in the center with your finger and place one of the peanut butter balls into the indentation.

8. Bring the cookie dough up and over the filling, pressing the edges together cover the center;

9. roll the cookie in the palms of your hand to smooth it out. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

10. Roll each rounded cookie in granulated sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.

11. Grease the bottom of a drinking glass, and use it to flatten each cookie to about 1/2-inch thick.

12. Bake the cookies for 7 to 9 minutes, or until they're set and you can smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack.

Crock Pot Asian BBQ Chicken Wings

My love of chicken wings stems back to high school. One of my friends in high school was obsessed with buffalo wings and would get them everywhere. That love rubbed off on me... too bad it wasn't a love of celery, but whatever, I'll take it. Wings are an easy appetizer to make. Especially when you use the crock pot. These wings were just a combination of random things I had around the house. They came out delicious. Cooking them in the slow cooker allowed the meat to get so tender that it was falling off the bones. They were even good reheated the next day. A real must try.

Ingredients:
3-4 lbs of chicken wings
1/2 bottle of barbecue sauce
3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
Salt
Pepper
Sesame seeds

Directions:
1- Toss the chicken in the crock pot. Top with he garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
2- Add the barbecue sauce and soy sauce. Stir until combined.
3- Cook on low 6 hours.
4- Remove from the crock pot using tongs, discard the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Appetizers... my fave. When I go to a wedding I rarely touch my dinner but I love cocktail hour! Something about those silver trays with delicious little bites of goodness excites me. When I go to a dinner party I am rarely hungry for the meal because, once again, I love the appetizers. I particularly love dips. I had seen this recipe and immediately knew I would need to make it. It's healthier than your average dip, especially when you drain the extra salad dressing leaving you with the marinaded veggies. My friends really liked this. My one coworker even suggested serving it over grilled chicken which I think would be excellent. You could use it as a dip, toss it in salad, toss it with cold pasta to make a pasta salad, serve it over grilled chicken or fish... the options are limitless!

Source: Real Mom Kitchen

1 (15 oz.) can corn, drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel, or diced tomatoes
1/2 - 1 cup prepared Italian dressing
1/2 Tablespoon lime juice
1/2 tsp. chili powder

Add corn, black beans, and rotel to a bowl. Use enough salad dressing to cover all of the mixture. Add lime juice and chili powder and mix well. Put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour but 12-24 hours is best. When ready to serve, drain salsa in a colander to remove excess liquid. Serve with tortilla chips.

Sangria

As I mentioned previously I had some coworkers over this past week for some drinks/food/chatting. I made a few pitchers of sangria for the event because I figured it was more exciting then just plain wine. Now for those of you that don't know me in real life, I don't drink alcohol. I know many of you are raising your eyebrow and thinking, "At all?! WHY?!" Well... I don't like the taste. Plain and simple. But I love the taste of cookies, cake, ice cream, etc. So if I am going to spend some calories I am going to spend them on something I actually enjoy!

With that said, making sangria was interesting because I couldn't taste it and determine what it needs like most other things I cook. I followed the recipe to a T. The pitchers were pretty much finished, so I assume it went over well enough!

Also, as an after thought, don't mind the picture. My friend Alison came over before I photographed some of the sangria and asked for a glass. I said sure, but then promptly began photographing her glass. How rude of me, right? My poor guest just wanted a drink but I needed my picture. John is so used to not eating/drinking until I am done with my angles but other people aren't as used to my insanity. Thanks for being a good sport Al!

Source: Proceed with Caution

Sangria
750 ml red, Spanish, rioja wine
about 1/2 apple (I used green apples), sliced 1/4 inch thin
about 1/2 orange, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 lemon, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 limes,sliced 1/4 inch thick
6 to 8 strawberries, rinsed, stemmed and chopped
1 can Sprite (or similar)

Combine wine and fruit in a pitcher, refrigerate many hours, overnight if possible. When ready to serve, add sprite and mix thoroughly. Serve over ice.

Hummus Bruschetta

I used to think of hummus as something only my mother ate. Growing up my mother would eat hummus all the time and my sister and I would freak out when she opened the container. We didn't like the smell, we were brats, who knows! Fast forward some years and now I really enjoy hummus. It started at a local restaurant that specializes in sandwiches/soups/salads. They serve roasted red pepper hummus with pita while you wait for your meal so one day out of utter desperation I tried it. And to my own disbelief- I liked it! Since then I have been convinced- hummus is delicious!

This hummus bruschetta is a nice twist on the typical tomato bruschetta. It is very tasty and healthy. If you need an appetizer for a party I would definitely give this a shot!

Inspired by: Pillsbury

Ingredients:
Crostini, lightly toasted and allowed to cool completely
Garlic hummus
1 small jar of roasted red and yellow peppers
2 tomatoes
6-7 black olives, sliced
1/2 teaspoon parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1- Dice the peppers, tomatoes, and olives. Add the parsley and salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Allow to chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.
2- Spread an even layer of hummus over each slice of crostini.
3- Top each slice of crostini with some of the pepper/tomato/olive mixture.
3-

Watermelon Cupcakes

I am very lucky in many ways. I have a husband who is the best, a family that is amazing, great friends, and also a job I love. One thing about my job that I really love is my coworkers. When I first started teaching I had 4 other first year teachers in my age group. We all got along wonderfully and have stayed close throughout our years at King. There are also several other wonderful teachers who we hang out with often. Tomorrow I am having a few of the girls at my house for a "summer is almost over" get together. I am making a light, healthy menu. However, I did need one decadent addition and who doesn't love cupcakes?! I knew I wanted something that screamed summer so I searched the internet. When I saw these I was in love! They were easy to make and came out adorable. Impressive looking without being overly time consuming. Try them!

In this picture you can see how the chocolate chips look like seeds. So cute!


Source: The Cupcake Review

Ingredients:
1 batch of your favorite vanilla cupcake mix (from scratch or a box)
1 batch of your favorite vanilla frosting (from scratch of a can)
Mini chocolate chips
Red food coloring
Green food coloring

Directions:
1- Once your cupcake batter is made, add some red food dye and stir until it is the desired color.
2- Stir in some mini chocolate chips (I used probably about 1/2 cup) and fill cupcake tins 3/4 full.
3- Bake according to directions, allow to cool completely.
4- Stir some green food coloring into the frosting. Pipe it onto the cupcakes or frost with a knife.
5- Serve and enjoy!

Chinese Barbecue Chicken with Garlic Sauce

I made this several days ago and when John took the first bite he immediately said "This is GREAT!" Normally I have to ask him his opinion, so an immediate response told me it was a winner. It was tasty and honestly doesn't have a typical Chinese food flavor at all. It was a little spicy but very delicious. If you are looking for a new way to make chicken give this a shot.

Source: Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

For barbecued chicken:

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

For garlic sauce:

2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce

Directions:
1- Combine the ingredients for the barbecue sauce. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least an hour- more if possible.
2- Grill the chicken.
3- While it is grilling, combine the ingredients for the garlic sauce, set aside.
4- Slice the chicken and pour the garlic sauce over the top.

Roasted Garlic Broccoli

I am a reformed vegetable hater. I used to only eat lettuce, corn, and potatoes. I am trying hard to increase my vegetable consumption. The first veggie that I added to my list was broccoli. I love steamed broccoli that is nice and firm. Mushy broccoli just isn't my thing. I also love oven roasted vegetables. Roasting veggies really gives them a new taste and texture.

This is more so a technique rather than a recipe. I have listed optional ingredients. If you want to add some extra pizzaz to your broccoli you can use some of those ingredients after it roasts. Try it- even if you don't love veggies roasting them is a good way to get used to them.

Ingredients:
1 head of broccoli
olive oil
1 clove of garlic

Optional:
Lemon juice
Parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes
Soy sauce

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 425.
2- Wash your head of broccoli and dry it well. Using a knife of kitchen shears cut the florets off the head of broccoli and lay flat on an oven safe surface.

3- Drizzle olive oil over the broccoli. Toss to coat.

4- Using a microplane, grate the clove of garlic on top of the broccoli. Toss to evenly coat the veggies. If you don't have a microplane mince the garlic and toss.

5- Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
6- If desired toss with some fresh lemon juice, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, etc. The options are limitless!

Blueberry and White Chocolate Biscotti

I have mentioned numerous times that I am part of a cooking forum. It was decided a few weeks ago that we would start doing ingredient challenges every two weeks. An ingredient is decided on and then you cook with it. Easy peasy lemon squeezy (as my first graders would say!) The first ingredient that was selected was blueberries. I decided to make a blueberry biscotti. I looked through many recipes but for some reason the one that really caught my eye was actually a very semi-homemade recipe. It used a boxed muffin mix as the base and then added on from there. As fate would have it as soon as I decided to make these my sister told me she had just gone blueberry picking and had some fresh blueberries for me! I was thrilled to use her blueberries and not have to buy some.

Overall these were easy to make and delicious. Honestly these were the most amazing smelling things I have ever baked. From the second I started making them John and I were both drooling. I am going to invest in a blueberry candle to attempt to recreate that delicious smell! An easy recipe that is definitely worth a try.

Source: Adapted from Very Best Baking

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (18.25 to 18.9 oz.) blueberry muffin mix with can of blueberries, blueberry can discarded or set aside
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup of white chocolate chips
1 cup of fresh blueberries, washed and dried

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350. Grease two cookie sheets or use a silpat.
2- Mix muffin mix, flour, butter and eggs just until combined in large bowl. Stir in one cup of chocolate chips and fresh blueberries.
3-Shape half of the dough into a 12-inch-long roll (dough may be sticky). Place on a prepared cookie sheet; flatten slightly until about 2 inches wide. Repeat with remaining dough.
4- Bake for 25 minutes and allow to cook for 1 hour.
5- Cut each roll diagonally into 3/4-inch slices with serrated knife. Place slices, cut sides down, on ungreased baking sheets.
6- Bake 10 minutes. Flip, and bake another 6-8 minutes, until lightly golden.

Buttermilk Drop Biscuits

Confession: I love Bisquick drop biscuits. I feel better now that I got that out.

My love for these started in elementary school. I only bought lunch when they were serving chicken nuggets or pizza but my favorite part was the biscuit that came with the chicken nuggets. One day my dad made drop biscuits using Bisquick and I realized that was essentially the same thing as the biscuits I loved from school. Since then I have been a fan.

When John and I first lived together I would make those biscuits once in awhile for breakfast. I decided to try making them from scratch without a mix. These were so easy to make and took 20 minutes from start to finish. Were they delicious? Yes. Do I like them more than Bisquick drop biscuits? No comment =) These are also pretty bad for you- they have a lot of butter. I halved the recipe and it made 5 biscuits. One was more than enough for me- they are pretty big! Overall, definitely worth a try.

Source: Cook's Illustrated, Nov-Dec 2007

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
¾ tsp. salt
1 stick + 2 tbsp. butter
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Melt the 1 stick butter and let cool about 5 minutes.
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and the buttermilk, and stir until clumps form.
Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients until just incorporated and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Using a ¼ cup dry measure, scoop out and drop 12 balls of dough onto the baking sheet (this is easier if you spray the measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray).
Bake until the tops are golden brown, about 14 minutes.
Let cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and brush the tops of the biscuits with the butter before serving.

Scallion Pancakes with Ginger Dipping Sauce

I made these to serve along with the lo mein I posted last. Was it a carb fest? Sure. But I had some scallions to use up and knew I wanted to try this recipe. I made this for my mom, sister, and I. My sister and I enjoyed it but we weren't enthused about them. However, my father and his friend came home as we were finishing up dinner and devoured the rest. They both loved them. So while these got mixed reviews with my family I still feel they were worth trying.

These were easier to make than I expected based on the directions. I suggest looking at The Barefoot Kitchen Witch's blog for step by step picture directions (linked below). That really helped me. Also I couldn't get mine that thin because my mom didn't have a rolling pin so I was doing most of the work by hand (and with a can of cooking spray!) Enjoy!

Source: Brown Eyed Baker originally from The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

For the Pancakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon sesame oil
½ cup thinly sliced scallions
Salt & pepper to taste
4 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided

For the Ginger Dipping Sauce:
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Place sifted flour in a medium-size bowl. Slowly add water in a steady stream while mixing with a wooden spoon. Keep adding water until a ball is formed. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
2. While dough is resting, make the ginger dipping sauce. Simply combine all ingredients and whisk to blend. Set aside.
3. On a floured surface, knead the dough a handful of times to bring it together. Roll the dough out into a thin rectangle about 18×13 inches.
4. Brush the sesame oil all over the surface of the dough, scatter scallions evenly over the oil, and then season with salt and pepper.
5. Carefully roll the dough up like a jelly roll, with the long side facing you. Cut the cylinder of dough into 4 equal pieces.
6. Take one pieces and twist 3 times. Coil the dough into a spiral and then flatten and roll again into an 8-inch pancake. The dough should be very thin. Repeat with the remaining three pieces of dough.
7. On a non-stick griddle over medium-high heat, brush 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Place one of the pancakes on the pan and cook until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining three pancakes.
8. Cut into wedges and serve with dipping sauce.