Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Soda Pop Chops with Smashed Potatoes

This is from Simple & Delicious April/May 2011. There are so many good recipes in this issue, and I know my new one is going to come any day, and I have barely made any of these yet. Oh well. I just thought this sounded good. Nothing too profound to say about it, I guess =o)

Soda Pop Chops with Smashed Potatoes
1 1/2 lbs small red potatoes, halved
1 cup root beer
1 cup ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder, divided
2 tbsp flour
3/4 tsp pepper, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
4 bone-in pork chops (I used boneless and just needed less cooking time)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter

Place potatoes in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the root beer, ketchup, brown sugar, chili powder, worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder; set aside. In a large ziploc bag, combine the flour, 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Add pork chops, one at a time, and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown chops in oil. Add root beer mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until meat is tender, turning once. Remove pork and keep warm. Bring sauce to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by half. Meanwhile, drain potatoes; mash with butter and remaining garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Serve with pork chops and sauce.

Okay so I guess this was pretty good, but not outstanding. My favorite part of the meal was putting the sauce on the mashed potatoes. That was so so good. But really the sauce was just a glorified barbecue sauce, and texture was a bit off. Also the pork was a bit dry, but I used boneless so maybe I cooked it for too long, I don't know...so not a keeper, but not a tanker, either...

Homemade Ice Pops

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com. At my Tupperware party I got some practically free popsicle molds, so I went in search of a recipe to put in them...I didn't want to just throw juice in there and freeze it because I thought it would be a mess when it melted. I found this one, which uses jello and kood aid powder. I'm not crazy about the additives, but I only paid $1.68 for enough ingredients to make at least 12 batches (not counting the sugar). If I was buying already-made popsicles, they would have the same additives, and perhaps more, and I'd be paying a lot more for them. This recipe makes a TON of liquid...I only have 6 popsicle molds...the lady who submitted this recipe said to put them into paper cups with a popsicle stick, but I'm not doing that. I did halve the recipe, knowing I would have too much, but still had enough to make at least 6 more...I shall have to be on the lookout for popsicle molds this summer at yard sales...anyway here is the recipe...

Homemade Ice Pops
1 3 oz pkg fruit flavored jello
1 unsweetened packet of kool-aid (they have a lot of these at Marden's right now for $0.06 each)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup boiling water

In a large pitcher, combine jello, kool aid mix, and boiling water. Stir until powders are dissolved. Add enough cold water to make 2 quarts. Pour into 3 oz paper drinking cups and freeze until hardened.

The drip factor on these was great...Sam and Emma had almost no drips, and Nathan, possibly the slowest popsicle eater ever, had minimal drips even though he took about 15 minutes to eat his (and I am not exaggerating that time at all). He did wrap a towel around his hand, but I don't know that he really needed to, he just hates sticky hands (he gets that from me). He threw the last little bit into the sink, and like 45 minutes later it wasn't all melted yet. Yay jello. So I will keep this recipe. I bet there are healthier things I could do, but these will be good for a hot day.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Whole Grain Waffles with Cheddar and Maple-Apple Sauce

Wow, what a long name. Maybe Rachael Ray thinks you have to have extremely descriptive names in her recipes, instead of just saying "Waffles with Sauce." This recipe sounded so so good, even though I had to buy real maple syrup, which I almost never do, at a premium price. But I always try to do the recipe the written way, at least the first time through, and just leave out little things like mushrooms or hot sauce or whatever. But when I got to the syrup part of the recipe, I knew the fake stuff wouldn't cut it. I almost passed this recipe by a couple of times, but then I decided to just make it. We love having breakfast for supper so I figured everyone would like it. It's from Every Day with Rachael Ray Apr 2011.

Whole Grain Waffles with Cheddar and Maple-Apple Sauce
4 gala, honey crisp, or golden delicious apples
1 cup dark amber maple syrup
1/2 cup apple cider
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups whole grain pancake/waffle mix
2 eggs
2 tbsp butter, melted, plus more for brushing, if needed
1 1/2 to 2 cups reduced-fat milk
Freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
Cooking spray, if needed

Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then cut them into chunks. In a large saucepan, combine them with the maple syrup, cider, and cinnamon stick and bring to a bubble. Lower the heat a bit and, stirring occasionally, let rapidly reduce into a thick topping while you make the waffles.

Meanwhile, heat a waffle iron to high. Combine the waffle mix with the eggs, melted butter, 1 1/2 cups milk and lots of freshly grated nutmeg (about 1/2 tsp)(or just use it from a jar like me). Stir in the cheese. If the mixture gets too thick, stir in a little more milk.

If the waffle iron is nonstick, fill it with the batter and cook until crisp. If it's not nonstick, spray with cooking spray or brush with more melted butter, then fill and cook the waffles. Top with the maple-apple sauce.

Yay, everybody liked this!! You couldn't even tell there was cheese in the waffles. When they were cooking, I thought I could smell a hint of it, but I couldn't taste it at all. Definitely keeping this one, even though I won't make it very often due to the real syrup in it. But so so good.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Barbecue Pork and Penne Skillet

I know, it doesn't really sound that good. The picture of the recipe looks pretty yummy though. And it's an easy recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon after church. It's from the April/May 2011 Simple & Delicious.

Barbecue Pork and Penne Skillet
1 pkg (16 oz) penne pasta (I used whole wheat penne, which is only 13 oz, but ends up almost the same cooked amount)
1 cup chopped sweet red pepper
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 carton (18 oz) refrigerated fully cooked barbecued shredded pork
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onions

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile in a large skillet, saute red pepper and onion in butter and oil until tender. Add garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Stir in the pork, tomatoes, broth, cumin, pepper, and salt; heat through.

Drain pasta. Add pasta and cheese to pork mixture. Sprinkle with green onions.

Steve and I liked this. It smelled great. It was a bit too spicy for the kiddos. Sam did eat all his and didn't say a word, but the two little ones didn't like it. Plus, it made a LOT. My friend Melissa stopped by and she ate some and LOVED it. A recipe like this I usually don't keep, because the ingredients can be expensive, but I did want to try it. Good for a change, as my mother would say...

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Citrus Pound Cake

I made this for home fellowship, which I did not get to attend this week due to my last few days of orientation at St Joe's. When I saw this recipe, I was like, oh good, a dessert recipe I can make without having to buy anything (because usually I do end up needing a few things no matter what the dessert is)...I guess I didn't closely read the ingredients, because it calls for lemon yogurt, which of course I don't have on hand...so we had to make an emergency trip to Paradis (and then stopped at a yard sale that just happened to be on our way home) to get it. Also the glaze calls for candied lemon and orange peels, but I just left those out because they sounded expensive...also I have no idea where I could procure these. I made the cake on Thursday, since I knew I would be sleeping for most of Friday, and made the glaze Friday afternoon. This recipe is from the April/May 2011 Simple & Delicious.

Citrus Pound Cake
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
6 eggs (doesn't it sound great so far?!?)
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tsp grated orange peel (I happened to have both of these already from previous dessert recipes)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup (8 oz) lemon yogurt (of course they didn't have 8 oz cups of this at Paradis so I had to go with 6 oz)
Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped candied lemon peel
2 tbsp finely chopped candied orange peel

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (also, once it's mixed, you can leave it sitting here for 30 minutes at this point to run and get yogurt and stop at a yard sale). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, lemon peel, and orange peel. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture alternately with yogurt. Beat just until combined.

Transfer to a greased and floured 10 inch fluted tube pan. Bake at 325 for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes back clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely.

In a small bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and enough lemon juice to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cake. Sprinkle with candied lemon and orange peel.

Overall very easy to make, smelled great while it was cooking, and looked nice too. However when I tried to remove it from the pan, about 1/4 of it remained behind. Probably this is because I used cooking spray instead of shortening and flour to grease my pan. I never use shortening, and hardly ever have a problem, except for this time, I guess. I ended up having to very carefully extricate the top part that stuck to the pan and put it on top like a big hot citrus-y puzzle piece, and then when it cooled, glaze-gluing it together.

So Steve came home with about a third of this cake. He said it wasn't because people didn't like it, but because Becky cut it in small slices. Believable. I had some of it last night, and I thought it was kind of dry. Steve would never agree to this, in fact he said to my face that he didn't think it was too dry. He is so well trained =o) So this morning I asked Becky what she thought, if it was kind of dry. She said it was, but that it was still good, especially the glaze. I think it was dry because the only lemon yogurt Paradis had was fat free, and it was only 6 oz instead of 8. So if I did make this again, I would use at least low fat, if not regular yogurt. Also the cake wasn't all that citrus-y tasting, either. So I'm not sure yet if this one is a keeper or not.

Cluck a l'Orange

There is a fancy recipe called Duck a l'Orange, and this recipe is an adaptation of it, using chicken instead of duck. Steve had never heard of the duck one, so the coolness of the name was lost on him. I've heard that duck is very fatty. Also it just doesn't sound tasty, although I suppose it is a member of the poultry family. Maybe most birds taste alike, all like chicken or something. Anyway this recipe is from the latest Rachael Ray magazine that my mom gets. Usually I don't find many things in them to make because of various reasons, but for the most part, if there is a recipe I try, I do like it, even if it does take more time/effort/ingredients than my usual stuff. So I thought I would try this one because I do like citrus-y stuff, and also I almost always have chicken breast. This is remarkably similar to the Lime Chicken we had last night, but oh well. Maybe no one will notice...by the time I noticed it was too late, I was already committed to the recipe.

Cluck a l'Orange
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped (I couldn't find a shallot at Walmart or Hannaford...maybe I don't know what they look like and that's why...on Answers.com it says you can sub onion and garlic for shallot...to equal 1 shallot, sub 2/3 tsp minced onion and 1/3 tsp minced garlic...so that's what I did)
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
3 oranges, 1 juiced and 2 sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust with the flour (it says if you need the recipe to be gluten-free you can sub with cornstarch here for the same result). In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until cooked through, 8-10 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Add remaining tbsp olive oil and the shallot (or shallot substitute) to the pan and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer until reduced by two-thirds. Add the orange juice and honey and season with salt. Return the chicken and any juices to the pan to reheat, turning. Transfer chicken to cutting board and thinly slice each breast on the diagonal, reserving the skillet (I think she means "save what's in the skillet").

Arrange the chicken on a plate and fan the orange rounds on top (in the picture they're peeled). Stir the butter into the skillet sauce and spoon over the chicken. Serve with rice and sauteed spinach or broccoli (yeah right...rice & corn for us ha ha).

This was so so so so so good. Really good. The oranges did add more work than I liked, so it's not like I'll make this every day or anything, but I am definitely keeping it and will definitely make it again. Yummmm!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Chicken in Lime Butter

Some recipes I try because they sound like they will taste really really good. And some I try because I have all the ingredients and wouldn't have to buy anything, and they don't look like they would be bad. This is one of those recipes. I had half a lime left from my Tupperware party last week. Sam really likes lemons and limes too so that's a plus. It's from my newest Simple & Delicious. I marked so many recipes in this issue that it's going to take me a long time to get through.

Chicken in Lime Butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp minced chives

Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reaches 170; drain. Remove and keep warm. Add butter and lime juice to the skillet; cook and stir until butter is melted. Stir in dill and chives. Drizzle over chicken.

This was actually really good. Better than I expected. The sauce was not overpowering at all. It didn't even taste lime-y. Steve was surprised when I said what it was. But it did have a little tang to it...very good. All the kids liked it too! A keeper...

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Fabulous Taco Salad

You know I am a sucker for Mexican-type food, except guacamole. So I wanted to try this recipe. It uses ground turkey instead of ground beef, which is much cheaper than ground beef and also nothing gross about ground turkey is featured in Food Inc, unlike ground beef. It's from the same TOH book as the other recent recipes I've been making.

Fabulous Taco Salad
1 pound extra-lean ground turkey (I bought 85% lean...I should've bought the 93% because it was a bit too fatty)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp olive oil (I added this but definitely did not need to due to the fattiness of the turkey)
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
6 cups torn romaine (we needed considerably less since the kids don't like lettuce...I just picked the green leaves out of the salad blend I buy ha ha)
1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese
1/2 cup salsa
(I also served this with tortilla chips on the side because we all really like them)

In large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the turkey, onion, and garlic in oil until meat is no longer pink. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, and pepper; cook for 3-4 minutes or until tomatoes are tender. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro. Divide romaine among 4 plates; top each with 3/4 cup turkey mixture, 2 tbsp cheese, and 2 tbsp salsa. 4 servings

What I did is put chips on one half of the kids' plates and meat on the other half, and sprinkled with cheese. They put the meat on the chips and ate them like nachos. For Steve and I, I did use the lettuce, meat and cheese like they said, and had chips on the side. Steve really liked this, I thought it was okay, not great, and the kids mostly liked the chips. They were (predictably) freaked out by the cilantro and tomatoes. But they did okay plowing through it. I probably won't keep this recipe though, because they like taco-seasoned flavored beef so well...but, as my mom would say, good for a change.

Berry Cream Pie

I made this for home fellowship last night. It has berries, which means I can't make it for home consumption, since nobody here likes strawberries but me. This is also supposed to have fresh raspberries, but I couldn't find any, so we had it with strawberries and blueberries. It's from the TOH cookbook I am working through.

Berry Cream Pie
Filling:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pastry shell (9 in) baked
Glaze:
1/2 cup crushed strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups quartered strawberries
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries
(I used 2 cups quartered strawberries and 1 cup blueberries)

In large saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt; gradually stir in milk until smooth. Cook and stir over med-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more.

Remove from heat and stir a small amount of the hot filling into egg; return all to saucepan, stirring constantly. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; gently stir in extracts. Cool to room temperature.

In small bowl, beat the cream until stiff peaks form; fold into filling. Pour into pastry shell. Chill for at least 2 hours.

Prepare glaze 2 hours before serving. In large saucepan, combine crushed strawberries and water; cook for 2 minutes. Combine sugar and cornstarch; gradually add to the pan. Cook and stir until thickened and clear; strain. Cool for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, arrange quartered strawberries and raspberries over pie; pour glaze over berries. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 6-8 servings.

So this pie took all afternoon. It says "prep time 15 minutes, cook time 15 minutes + chilling" but they are not being truthful here. Seemed like a lot more active time. Also in the picture accompanying the recipe the cream layer is very firm, almost cheesecake-like in appearance, and when I arranged the berries on top it was pretty firm, but when I served the pie, it was goopier than I expected. One of the kids asked if it was yogurt filling. But it was a tasty pie. Not sure if it was worth all that effort, though...

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Saucy Barbecued Chicken

This is a yummy-looking recipe from the TOH cookbook I got for Christmas. I love BBQ chicken...this one is made to go on the grill, but I put it in the oven instead...

Saucy Barbecued Chicken
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup corn syrup (gasp)
1/2 cup coke (as in, -a-cola)
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup steak sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (obviously that would be way too much for us...just a dash)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp liquid smoke, optional (I happen to have this already so I used it)
1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds), cut up (as mentioned in other posts, I buy my chicken already cut up...and without giblets)

In large saucepan, combine first 15 ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 1 hour, stirring frequently.

Set aside 1 cup for basting. Store remaining sauce in refrigerator for another use (then why do they have you make so much??)

Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Baste with marinade; grill 5-10 minutes longer or until juices run clear, turning and basting frequently. I put it in the oven at 350 for about 1 hour, basting after 30 minutes.

The kids did not like the way the sauce smelled while it was simmering, but I thought it smelled great. I don't know why Yankee Candle doesn't make yummy food smells...ha ha maybe it would be gross in a candle, on second thought. But, it smelled great anyway...also now I have a ton of that BBQ sauce leftover. At least 2 cups, although I haven't measured it. What to do with all that? Because of the butter in it, when I put it in the fridge it got that circle of fat on top like you would expect something with butter in it to do. So I don't think I can use it as traditional barbecue sauce. I guess I understand why they did it, because it would be a pain to cut everything in the recipe into 3rds to make just what you need for one chicken. Maybe if you were cooking for a crowd and making 3 chickens this would be the right amount. Not sure if I can freeze the sauce, either. Anyway the kids LOVED this chicken. Nathan asked for 2nds, 3rds, and 4ths. Unheard of for him. Of course he didn't have a snack that afternoon, which is a good strategy, apparently. Definitely a keeper, and perhaps sooner than I expect, since I have all this sauce leftover...

Apple-Spice Bread

This is for a bread maker. I got the recipe out of the recipe book that came with my bread maker. Which my friend Tiffany gave me, and which I use all the time. But this is the first time I've made this loaf so I thought I would share.

Apple-Spice Bread
2 pound loaf
1 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp butter, softened
4 cups bread flour (I used 3 cups white & 1 cup wheat)
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dry milk
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp apple pie spice (to make this, combine 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp allspice, and 1/4 tsp ground cloves, then measure out 1 tbsp for the recipe...I tripled this and put it in one of my Tupperware spice containers, which are way cool, so I will have some for other recipes)
2 tsp yeast
2/3 cup cut up dried apples

Place all ingredients in bread pan in order listed. This recipe says to bake it as a sweet bread. My bread maker has a BEEEEEEEP when you are supposed to add the apples (or other nut or fruit). If yours doesn't have the beep, you add it during the second time it kneads...about 45 minutes into the cycle or so...

This bread smelled great while it was cooking (like most breads, I suppose...). I used freeze-dried apples I got at the Natural Living Center, and they pretty much disintegrated into the bread. I'm not sure if that was supposed to happen or not. Next time I will use dehydrated apples, instead of freeze dried, and see if has little chunks of apple in it, like I was expecting. This bread made great toast. I'm sure I will make it again...