Christmas Cookies 2011

 

2 years ago I decided to start a new holiday tradition- taking off a day from work right before Christmas vacation to bake cookies!  This year I made 5 varieties- which included 2 new-to-me recipes.  Those of you who are in NJ with us this Christmas will receive containers of cookies.  Check out the links to the recipes below!

 

1.  Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
2.  Double Coconut Macaroons
3.  Chocolate Chip Cookies (the best!)
4.  Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
5.  Cinnamon Crinkle Cookies

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies (the best!)

I always used to make the cookie recipe on the chocolate chip bag, and although good, the recipe below makes the best chocolate chip cookies.  I think it's pretty similar to the bag recipe, yet the small changes (including the ridiculous wait time) must make all the difference!

makes about 60 cookies

Ingredients :
2 1/2 cups (10.125oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted7. butter, melted and still warm
3/4 cup (5.25oz) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (5.25oz) packed brown sugar (we don't like overly sweet cookies, so we did a bit less of each sugar)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 oz) chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
optional: 1 cup (3.5 oz) chopped nuts (we omitted)

Directions:
1.  Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with whisk or fork 
2.  In a large bowl, combine the melted butter with the sugars, vanilla, and salt. Mix in the eggs.
3.  Stir in the flour mixture just until all of the dry ingredients are moistened.
4.  Stir in the chocolate and nuts (if using)
5.  If possible, let the dough stand for 1 or 2 hours, or (better still) overnight in the refrigerator.
6.  Preheat the oven to 375. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
7.  If necessary, remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften.  Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and place them 3 inches apart on the ungreased or lined cookie sheets. 
8.  Bake for 9-11 minutes (rotating pans halfway through), or until the cookies are golden brown at the edges and no longer look wet on top.

Recipe from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich

Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

 "Very good, not too sweet" - Dave

I had saved this recipe a while ago, and knew that Christmas would be the perfect occasion to make them!

Ingredients:
1/2c unsalted butter, softened
4 oz, weight cream cheese, softened (the original recipe called for 3, but I like my cream cheese...)
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c mini chocolate chips (I may add a bit less next time)
1 c Oreo cookie crumbs (I made crumbs in the food processor, but also added some roughly chopped Oreos for texture)
1/2 c white chocolate chips, melted (I used real baking white chocolate, although I think next time I will use the white chocolate you get in the candy-making section at the craft store. The real chocolate didn't set as firmly as the candy chocolate does)

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside
2.  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese using a mixer until they are well combined.
3.  Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until ingredients are well combined.  Add the flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated.  Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
4.  Scoop the dough into 1" balls and roll in Oreo cookie crumbs so cookie is covered. 
5.  Place covered cookie balls onto the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the tops are slightly puffed.
6.  Cool on the pan for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  Once cool, drizzle cookies with melted white chocolate.

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Cinnamon Crinkle Cookies

Dave and I have made these cookies many times before, since they are so easy!  The recipe is kind of a cheat, since it uses boxed cake mix.  Reminds me of something that crazy Sandra Lee would make (before getting wasted at "cocktail time," of course)

Ingredients:
3/4c butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pkg Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe French Vanilla cake mix

2 egg yolks (whites will be used in topping)

topping:
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 egg whites
1 tsp water

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375
2.  Combine butter, egg yolks, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.  Blend in cake mix gradually, and stir until blended
3.  To make topping, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
4.  Combine egg whites and water in another small bowl; beat lightly with a fork
5.  Roll 1 level measuring teaspoon of dough into a ball.  Dip half of the ball into egg white mixture, then into cinnamon-sugar mixture.
6.  Place ball sugar-side-up on ungreased baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining balls, placing them 2 inches apart.
7.  Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until puffed and edges are light golden brown.  Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheets, and remove to cooling racks.


Recipe from:  The Great American Cookie Cookbook

Mulligatawny Soup

*Insert Seinfeld Reference Here*

Dave and I made this wonderful and easy to prepare soup last night. Although not traditional Indian food, it had great Indian flavor, and was warm and comforting!

Ingredients:
1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
(we had shredded slow-cooked chicken on hand that we used instead)
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 tbsp butter
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic, minced finely
1/4c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp curry powder (we used 3 tbsp...we like spicy!)
32 ounces chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half (milk works too)
1 whole granny smith apple, peeled and diced
1 tbsp white or brown sugar, more or less to taste (we used brown)
2 tsp salt, more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
cayenne pepper (optional, for spice) (we didn't have any, so this was omitted)

Directions:
1.  Season diced chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat .  Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove chicken to a plate and set aside.  (We did not do this step since we already had cooked shredded chicken.  The shredded was amazing in this soup, so I highly recommend it!)
2.  In the same pot, add the remaining 2 tbsp butter and reduce heat to medium.  Add diced onion and garlic and stir to cook.  Cook until onions start to brown.
3.  Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to combine.
4.  Stir in curry powder, and cook mixture over medium heat for one minute, stirring constantly.
5.  Pour in chicken broth.  Stir to combine then cook for 5 minutes.
6.  Add half and half, salt, pepper, and sugar.
7.  Cook for another 5 minutes
                     

(Here's what the soup looked like as we swirled in the half-and-half)

8.  Add chicken and diced apple and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
9.  Turn off heat and allow to stand 5 or 10 minutes before serving.

-----------------------------------
We served ours with some store-bought wheat naan:

Just amazing!

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

----------------------------------------------------------
Updated!  Dave and I made some variations this last time, and it was also amazing!  When we sauteed the onions/garlic, we also put in some thinly sliced carrot.  Instead of adding flour, we added 2 tbsp corn starch mixed with a bit of water (that change was with Melissa in mind!).  Then in lieu of half-and-half, we put in one can of light coconut milk.  Lastly, as an alternative to chicken, we put in 1 package of firm tofu, drained and cut into small cubes.

Salted Fudge Brownies

After a long junkfood-free month ("no sweets November"), I was excited to have some chocolate! Dave and I didn't feel like going to the supermarket, so I checked to see what ingredients we had on hand. We didn't technically have everything we needed for this recipe, but I made some substitutions that actually worked out quite well!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 ounces, weight Unsweetened Chocolate- finely chopped
(I subbed 6 tbs cocoa powder mixed with 2 tbs veggie oil)
1/4 c plus 2 tbs Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 c sugar
3 whole eggs
(we only had 2 eggs, so in place of the 3rd, I mixed in 1/4c applesauce. It was cinnamon applesauce because that was all we had! haha)1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Place 2 large pieces of foil in a 9 inch square metal cake pan with foil, draping over the edges. Butter the foil on the bottom and sides. (we only had an 8 in pan)
3. Melt the butter with the unsweetened chocolate over very low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, and whisk to combine.
4. Add the cocoa, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with the sea salt.
6. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, until the edge is set but the center is still a bit soft. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out coated with a bit of the batter.
7. Cool at room temperature for 5 minutes, then refrigerate for about an hour. (we put ours in the freezer for about 10 minutes, then began to eat!)


They were awesome! The only thing I might do next time is add the sea salt after about 10 minutes of baking, so that the granules don't sink into the brownies as much.

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Kahlua Chocolate Mousse

I have to admit- I haven't made this yet. But it looks soooo good. I'm hoping to make it for Thanksgiving. If it's good, I'll keep the recipe on the blog. If it's bad, I'll delete this post!

Ingredients:
1 lb dark chocolate, cut into pieces
3 oz butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c sifted powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
3 egg whites
1/4 c Kahlua
1 tsp coffee powder
2 c whipping cream

Directions:
1. Melt the chocolate and butter on top of a double boiler set over simmering water.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, yolks, Kahlua, and coffee.
3. Blend chocolate mixture into this.
4. In another bowl, whip cream until stiff.
5. Gently fold into chocolate mixture and blend well.
6. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
7. Fold into chocolate cream
8. Refrigerate overnight.


Recipe and Photo from Sweet Paul Magazine (winter 2011)

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

Ok...it might not be the most appetizing photo, but it tastes great!

Dave and I were in the mood for something pumpkiny, so we went for these whoopie pies. By the way...if any of you actually read this...yesterday we went to the Boston Local Food Festival. It was fun!

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbs ground cinnamon
1 tbs ground ginger (we had none, so we added more cinnamon, and a dash of allspice)
1 tbs ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 recipe of cream cheese frosting

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Set aside.
3. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until well combined (we used our stand mixer on a low setting)
4. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully combined. (again..mixer)
5. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. This is your opportunity to make them pretty, if that's important to you. (I kinda just globbed them on, and they ended up a bit deformed...)
6. Bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick comes out clean- about 15 min. Let cool completely on pan.
7. While cooling, prepare frosting.
8. Assemble whoopie pies. Transfer filling to a ziplock bag and snip the end. Place a large dollop on the flat side of one cookie, and add another on top.
9. Repeat with remaining cookies. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

They can be stored in fridge for up to 3 days.

(recipe from Martha Stewart)

Cream Cheese Frosting

I could eat this plain. It's that good.

Ingredients:
2.5 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar (depends on how sweet you want it)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Sift confectioners' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside.
2. In the bowl of electric mixer (with paddle attachment), beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined.
3. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth
4. Use right away, or refrigerate

Oooooohhhhh....so good!

(recipe from Martha Stewart)

Baked Apples

Haha....they look kinda yellow. I should fix that. (and thanks, Matt, for taking the pic!)

Anyway, last weekend Mom, Dad, Jon, Matt, and Melissa were all with us on Long Island. Dave and I had some leftover apples from when we went apple picking, so we made this easy, yet (somewhat) time-consuming dessert.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
6-8 apples
3 tbs butter, softened
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
pre-made pastry sheets (we used 1 1/2 packages)
raisins, walnuts optional
1 egg yolk
Raw sugar (or regular sugar)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Peel and core apples, and set aside.
3. Mix softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon in bowl. I added extra cinnamon ;-)
4. Add in raisins and/or walnuts, if using.
5. Fill apple cavities with cinnamon sugar butter mixture ("apple cavities?" Not sure why I called them that)
6. Roll out pastry sheets, and cut into 8" squares.
7. Place an apple on pastry square, and fold up corners to meet at the top. Crimp edges, and add decorative pieces of pastry, if desired.
8. Repeat with remaining apples.
9. Brush with egg yolk, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until apples have softened and pastry is golden brown.

For Melissa, we omitted the pastry. Dave and I actually made these again when we got back to MA, and we didn't use the pastry either. Halfway through the baking time, I brushed the cinnamon sugar that had oozed out the bottom back onto the apples, and continued baking.

I preferred them without the pastry, and Dave liked them better with.

Oh yea- serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Yum!

Cheese Dipping Sauce

Again, stranded in the apartment because of the hurricane, Dave and I were looking to try a new recipe. I was craving cheese fries, so we looked to see if we could find a cheese sauce to make with ingredients we had on hand. We came across the recipe below. Score!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tbs cornstarch
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese (we used half colby jack, half pepper jack)
1 tsp prepared mustard (we used dijon)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.
2. Meanwhile, measure out the milk, and pour a bit into a small bowl with the cornstarch. Mix until smooth, and combine with the rest of the milk.
3. Once butter is melted, slowly pour in the milk/cornstarch mixture.
4. Stir continuously until the sauce has thickened.
5. Remove from heat, and immediately stir in cheese and mustard. Continue stirring until the dip is smooth.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste
7. Serve warm.

We had this with sweet potato fries, and it was awesome! (the ones in the above photo are the frozen variety, but would have been even better with these)
The sauce is slightly gritty (not bad, though) if you eat it alone, but on the fries you couldn't tell and the sauce felt perfectly smooth.

When we make it again, we'll probably mix cheddar with the pepper jack for a stronger flavor.

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.

Garlic Breadsticks

Since it is rainy, cold, windy, and hurrican-y out, Dave and I wanted to bake some nice warm bread. We decided to make some garlic breadsticks! (sorry they look yellow in the above pictures...I should have photoshopped the color)

Here's how to do it:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups very warm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt

Garlic Butter Topping:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp table salt

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered. Mixture should become frothy.
2. While waiting, preheat oven to 200 degrees.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a medium sized bowl), combine flour and salt.
4. Add yeast mixture and melted butter to flour mixture.
5. Mix with dough hook attachment on stand mixer or stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined.
6. Knead dough for a few minutes until it is smooth and elastic.
7. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray. Pull off small pieces of dough and roll out into strips- remember that they will double in size! (we ended up with about a dozen long sticks)
8. Cover the dough with plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick spray (on the side that will touch the bread) and TURN OFF THE OVEN (keep the door closed, of course)
9. Allow the bread to rise in the warm oven for an hour.
10. Once they have doubled in size, remove from oven, then preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
11. Let the bread get back to room temperature, then remove plastic wrap and bake in preheated oven.
12. Make butter topping: Microwave butter until melted, then whisk in garlic powder and salt.
13. After 7 minutes, brush the bread sticks with half of the butter mixture (which smells amazing!), and return to oven for another 6 or 7 minutes.
14. Immediately upon removal from the oven, brush the other half of the butter mixture on the sticks. (don't be stingy! You want it to soak in)

I know it's a lot of steps, but including the one hour rise time, the whole process only took 1 1/2 hrs.

Recipe from the Country Cook.
1 tsp table salt

Peanut Butter Oreo Ice Cream Pie

Wow...the title of this recipe says it all, doesn't it!?

Dave and I made this on a whim- we were not expecting any guests or company- we just couldn't resist making it once I found the recipe! What was awesome is that it lasted for just over a week since it was wrapped up in plastic in the freezer, although I'm sure it would have lasted at least 2 weeks.

Ingredients:
1 box Oreo Cookies
6 tbsp melted butter
2 cups cold heavy cream
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 bottle Smucker's Chocolate Fudge Microwave Topping (we only used about half)

Directions:
1. Finely crush about 25 Oreos in a food processor. Mix with melted butter and spread in the bottom of a 9″ round pan for the crust. Freeze for about 10 mins.
2. Lightly crush the remaining Oreos into large pieces, and set aside
3. Whisk sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla in large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks, then fold the whipped cream into the sweetened condensed milk mixture.
5. Pour half of the peanut butter ice cream mixture on top of the frozen Oreo crust.
6. Heat chocolate fudge according to the directions on the bottle, and pour half of the bottle in a layer over the ice cream.
7. Add the remaining ice cream, hot fudge, and top with the Oreo cookie pieces. Freeze for at least 6-8 hours before serving.

This pie was just heavenly. Dave and I had some leftover peanut butter filling that didn't fit in the pie crust we made, and that was delicious just on its own. Make sure to let the pie thaw out a few minutes after taking it out of the freezer.

Recipe and photo from Kevin and Amanda

Sesame Crusted Chicken

A quick and easy meal!

Ingredients:

• 18 oz chicken tenderloins
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• 6 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 tsp course salt
• 4 tbsp panko
• olive oil spray
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick oil spray.
2. Combine the sesame oil and soy sauce in a bowl, and the sesame seeds, salt and panko in another.
3. Place chicken in the bowl with the oil and soy sauce, then into the sesame seed mixture to coat well.
4. Place on the baking sheet; lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray and bake 8 - 10 minutes.
5. Turn over and cook another 4 - 5 minutes longer or until cooked through.
6. Serve with rice (optional)

Servings: 4 1/2 • Serving Size: 2 chicken tenders •
Calories: 196.9 • Fat: 9.1 g • Protein: 22.9 g • Carb: 5.7 g • Fiber: 1.5 g • Sugar: 0.3g Sodium: 400 mg


Recipe from Gina's Skinny Recipes

Asian Beef Tacos

Wow, it's been months since I last posted! Matt, Melissa...where are your recipes? Haha, I know I've been bugging you guys to add something- sorry!

Last week Dave and I helped our friend Theresa paint her living room. We brought over some ingredients and ran the crock pot all day so we would be rewarded for our hard work with a delicious meal! (recipe serves 4)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2 tsp chili garlic sauce
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 lb flank steak, cut crosswise into 2 1/2 inch strips
4 scallions, cut into 2 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 small head lettuce, thinly sliced (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (we omitted this since we did not have any cilantro)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
8 small flour tortillas
Toasted sesame seeds

Directions:
1. In a 5- to 6- quart slow cooker, combine the soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chili garlic sauce and cinnamon. Add the beef and turn to coat. (it doesn't look like much liquid, but trust me, it's fine!) Cover and cook until the meat is tender and shreds easily, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.
2. Fifteen minutes before serving, thinly slice the scallions lengthwise. In a bowl, toss the lettuce, scallions, cilantro and vinegar. Serve the beef in the tortillas and top with the lettuce mixture. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

This recipe was juicy and delicious (we kept trying to savor the "precious juice" that was left in the crock pot!)


Sorry for the poor cell phone photo! We'll definitely make this again soon, so we'll update with a better pic.

Cinnamon Bread

Today was so rainy and gross. Dave and I decided to stay in pretty much all day (we only left the house to pick up some Taco Bell for lunch...haha). With our time at home, we decided to do some baking. Dave made Rice Krispie treats with chocolate chips on top, and I made this cinnamon bread.

This was only my second attempt at making bread ever. My first try ended horribly, because it never rose. Did I kill the yeast? Was it too cold when I left it to rise? I'll never know, but what I do know is that this loaf was a success.

Enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup Milk
6 Tablespoons salted Butter
2-½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast (for me that was just under 2 packets)
2 whole Eggs, room temperature
⅓ cups Sugar
3-½ cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
⅓ cups Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Egg And Milk, Mixed Together, For Brushing
Softened Butter, For Smearing And Greasing

Directions:

1. Melt butter with milk. Heat until very warm, but don’t boil. Allow to cool until still warm to the touch, but not hot. I was aiming for 110-120F. Sprinkle yeast over the top, stir gently, and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

2. Combine flour and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar and eggs with the paddle attachment until combined. Pour in milk/butter/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the other half and beat until combined.

4. Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat/knead dough on medium speed for ten minutes. If dough is overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour and beat again for 5 minutes.

5. Heat a metal or glass mixing bowl so it’s warm. Drizzle in a little canola oil, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover bowl in plastic wrap and set it in a warm, hospitable place for at least 2 hours. (I actually turned my gas oven on to about 350 for a min or 2, covered the bowl/plastic wrap with a tea towel, turned off the oven, put the dough in, and closed the door. It was the perfect warm- but not hot- environment).

6. Turn dough out onto the work surface. Roll into a neat rectangle no wider than the loaf pan you’re going to use, and about 18 to 24 inches long. Smear with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle evenly over the butter-smeared dough. Starting at the far end, roll dough toward you, keeping it tight and contained. Pinch seam to seal.

7. Smear loaf pan with softened butter. Place dough, seam down, in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

8. Mix a little egg with milk, and smear over the top. Bake for 40 minutes on a middle/lower rack in the oven.

9. Remove from the pan and allow bread to cool. Slice and serve, or make cinnamon toast or French toast with it.

(sorry there are so many pics- I recently got new lamps for my light tent, so the lighting is soooo much better than before! I went a little shutter-happy)


Recipe from the Pioneer Woman

Coconut Chicken Salad

Yep....another coconut recipe. Dave and I really don't use coconut all that much, but when I find a new recipe that does, I'm always tempted to try it.

This one was really quite simple, and tastes great. (Sorry for the horrendous photo- we had no natural light and my photoshopping skills couldn't quite fix the coloring this time)

Ingredients:
6 (about 12 oz) chicken tenderloins
6 tbsp shredded coconut
1/4 cup panko crumbs
2 tbsp crushed cornflake crumbs (we used Corn Chex)
1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites (we used 1 whole egg with a splash of milk)
pinch salt
olive oil spray (we used Pam)
6 cups mixed baby greens
3/4 cup shredded carrots
1 large tomato, sliced (omitted)
1 small cucumber, sliced (didn't use- the cuke we bought tasted funny!)

Vinaigrette
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard

Directions:
1. Whisk all vinaigrette ingredients; set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 375°.
3. Combine coconut flakes, panko, cornflake crumbs and salt in a bowl. Put egg whites or egg beaters in another bowl. (NOTE: We toasted our coconut in the oven at 350 for 6 minutes before combining with panko and cereal crumbs. It made it extra crunchy)
4. Lightly season chicken with salt. Dip the chicken in the egg (and milk mixture), then in the coconut crumb mixture. Place chicken on a cookie sheet lined with parchment for easy cleanup. 5. Lightly spray with olive oil spray and bake for 30 minutes turning halfway, or until chicken is cooked through.
6. Place 2 cups baby greens on each plate. Divide carrots, cucumber, tomato evenly between each plate.
7. When chicken is ready slice on the diagonal and place on top of greens.
8. Heat dressing in the microwave a few seconds and divide equally between each salad; a little over 1 tbsp each.

*We also added some fresh mango...it tasted great with the chicken, but not so great with the vinaigrette!

Recipe (and a better photo!) from Skinny Taste

Cannoli Crepes

Happy Valentine's Day! Dave and I have been eating like royalty tonight. Dinner was perfectly cooked filet mignon (thanks to Dave!), with steamed broccoli and seasoned mini potatoes. Delicious!

Now we are in the process of preparing dessert...Cannoli Crepes. Now, I can't really post the recipe yet, since the crepe batter is chilling, and I don't want to put it up on the blog 'til we know it's good. But I made the cannoli filling, and it is simple and amazing!

Cannoli Cream

3c very dry ricotta

3/4c granulated sugar (I might have used a bit less...just add it to taste)

2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Drain the ricotta until very dry. This could be done overnight in a colander, but I wrapped my ricotta in a double layer of paper towels, and changed it every time I saw it was saturated (maybe 5 or 6 times?) This was easy to do while Dave and I prepared dinner.

2. Mix with sugar and vanilla in a food processor until smooth.

3. Chill until ready to use.

That's it! I know some people like lemon/candied citron in their cannoli, but I prefer it as-is.

I'll be back in a bit to post the crepe recipe, and hopefully a picture or 2!

(About 3 hrs later...)

I'm back! They were awesome, and I added a picture to the top of this post! Now that we ate them, I can share the crepe recipe.

Sweet Crepes

2 large eggs

3/4c milk

1/2c water

1c flour

3 tbs melted butter

butter, for coating the pan

2 1/2 tbs sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbs of your favorite liquor (optional, and I left this out)

Directions:

1. In a blender or food processor, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds

2. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

3. Heat a small non-stick pan over medium high. Add a small amount of butter, just to coat. Pour about 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook another 10 seconds and remove.

4. Lay them out flat so they can cool, and continue until all batter is gone. After they have coold you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

To serve, I put some of the cannoli cream from top to bottom along the center of a crepe, added mini chocolate chips, and rolled up. We served these with strawberries. If you are wondering..."Where are the mini chips in the picture above?"...I decided that it was too hard to see them, so I drizzled some chocolate sauce on top instead, just for the picture.

Enjoy!

Crepe Recipe from Alton Brown. I made up the cannoli cream recipe after looking at many online- they were all quite similar.

Brownie-Covered Oreos

Well, we finally did it. For those of you who were with us during Christmas might remember Dave and I drooling over the concept of brownie-covered Oreos. Like Matt's last post, this one might not really be considered a "recipe," but for a different reason....nothing here is homemade.

Ingredients:

1 package Oreos

1 box brownie mix (any brand)

Oil, water, eggs, etc- for brownie mix

Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Prepare brownie batter according to package directions.

3. Dip Oreos into batter, letting excess fall back into the bowl.

4. Place each cookie into a separate well of a cupcake pan that has been generously sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (or use cupcake liners, see below)

5. Bake for 11-14 minutes, until brownies are cooked.

6. If cupcake liners were not used, run a plastic knife around the edge of each cookie immediately when taken out of the oven- this will help them come out later.

7. When cooled, remove from pan

Note: The pretty cookies above were used without liners, but no matter what I did, the bottoms became slightly scorched. Still tasty, but they had a hint of burn-y flavor, and were a little chewier at the bottom.

The cookies below are less attractive, but Dave and I thought they were more delicious when we used the cupcake liners. The texture was better overall.

PS. Those are the trays we all got in our Christmas stockings from Mom and Dad (Sills). Looks like an eye!!

Stuffed Peppers

Dad's famous "recipe". And I use quotes, because there was never really a written recipe, it was just a general idea that you had to feel your way through. Here's an attempt to quantify the ingredient amounts and put a step by step recipe together.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

4-5 colored bell peppers

1/2 to 1 full packet of chili powder

3/4 jar of ragu sauce (26 oz jar)

1 can sliced mushrooms

shredded mozzarella (optional)

1 box instant rice (only part of the box will be used)

2 1/2 cups water

ground red pepper or cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:

For the Peppers:

1. Half the peppers the long way and remove ribs

2. Put halved peppers onto a baking tray and into the oven at 350

3. After peppers seem baked well, but not burned, flip them and put them back in the oven

For the Filling:

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet

2. Drain the excess fat

3. Add chili powder, sauce, mushrooms, and water (add water incrementally and see what looks right)

4. Bring mixture to a slow boil on med/hi heat

5. Add ground red pepper / cayenne and rice (amount of rice is personal preference, make the mixture look the way you want it to be)

6. While cooking, add more ground red pepper / cayenne to desired level of hotness.

7. Cook until the rice is done and the sauce thickens up. If during the cooking process, it seems too watery, add more rice. If it seems like there is not enough liquid for the rice to fully cook, add more water.

8. Add the filling to the peppers

9. Bake filled peppers for 20 minutes

10. Just before peppers are done, add shredded mozzarella cheese and melt in the oven on the top rack or broiler (optional)

UPDATE- (this is Jen) I just added a pic from when Dave and I most recently made this. Thanks again for writing up the recipe, Matt/Melissa!