Butter Chicken

This one was so good we ate it before I took any pictures. Same goes for the leftovers! It's an Indian dish, a type of cuisine I am completely unfamiliar with. It calls for a spice blend called garam masala which I have never heard of. Allrecipe's came to the rescue with a substitute blend of spices I could use instead. We ate it with brown rice, so good! I did skip the 1/4 cup of heavy cream at the end. It seemed creamy enough with the yogurt.

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup plain yogurt (not nonfat)
• 2 teaspoons garam masala or substitute (1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8 tsp ground cloves)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Preparation

1. 1. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape into slow cooker. Place chicken pieces on top.
2. 2. Combine ginger, garlic, almonds, yogurt, garam masala and salt in a food processor and process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula as necessary. Add tomatoes and pulse once to combine. Pour mixture over chicken. Cover and cook in crockpot on low until chicken is tender, 4 to 5 hours. Stir in heavy cream, cover and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving, if desired.

Italian Pork Chops

I love AllRecipes ingredient search. I had sausage in the fridge and lots of pork chops in the freezer. I plugged in my ingredients and out came this little beauty. Andy said it gets 9 1/2 stars. He kindly clarified that only pepperoni pizza can get 10 stars.

• 4 thick cut pork chops
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 pound sweet Italian sausage
• 1 onion, slivered
• 1/4 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, brown well in olive oil. Remove chops from pan and set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon pan drippings.
3. Remove casing from sausage and crumble meat into same pan. Mix in onions and mushrooms. Cook, stirring until onions and sausage brown slightly. Mix in garlic. Place pork chops in casserole dish, spooning sausage mixture over them. Pour tomato sauce over the meat. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
4. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Really good!!! They also happen to be the perfect vehicle for ice cream sandwiches should you have any peanut butter fudge ice cream in the freezer.... which fortunately we did!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together shortening, margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8-10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Orange Beef (or Chicken!)

I love stir fry, and this one was amazing. It calls for top sirloin which can be a bit pricey, about 5.39/lb here. Well it just so happened to be on sale this week, and since I only needed one pound I didn't mind buying it. Did I mention our grocery store is attached to an open to the public meat processing plant? Don't feel like butchering your own deer or turkey? Well just drop it off here and pick it up later! The meat case is also stocked with interesting things like gizzards, fresh pig feet, and other things I'd prefer not to eat.

I never used fresh ginger before but it was really easy and smells great. You could probably substitute dried ginger. Rice vinegar is worth picking up. Its cheap and has a mild almost nutty smell. It isn't nearly as acidic as other vinegars.

• 1 pound beef top sirloin, thinly sliced (or chicken)
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup oil for frying

Directions

1. Cut beef into small inch pieces. Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. 
2. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice concentrate, salt and soy sauce. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok  or large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss beef in flour to coat. Fry in the hot oil until crispy and golden brown; set aside.
4. Add orange zest, ginger and garlic to the remaining oil, and cook briefly until fragrant. Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, bring to a boil, and simmer till thickens, about 5 minutes. Add beef, and heat through, stirring to coat. Serve immediately over steamed rice, and garnish with broccoli.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

A typical Friday night for us usually entails a large group of buddies crowding into our little living room, enjoying some party tunes and rowdy board games. Snacks are always well-received, but this special recipe was a true hit. They were DEVOURED. And the best part is--this recipe is super quick to put together!

No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies (all due credit here)
Yield: 2 to 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cooling Time: 30 minutes

½ cup (1 stick) butter
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup milk
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats

1. Add the first four ingredients (through the cocoa powder) to a 4-quart saucepan.
2. Bring to a rolling boil and let boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth, then stir in the oats.
5. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto wax paper-lined baking sheets.
6. Let cool until set.

Sketti and Meatballs

I was so proud of myself the first time I made meatballs. Sorta like having your second child makes you feel like a 'real mom,' the first time I made meatballs from scratch I felt like a real cook. The second time I made this I placed the meatball mixture into the fridge before forming the balls.  This turned out to be a mistake. The cold meat was harder to get into balls and fell apart in the sauce. It was still good, just turned into meat sauce instead of meatballs. 

Anyway this is a really tasty make again recipe.

 

 

Ingredients

• MEATBALLS
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 2 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

• SAUCE
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced  tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12-20 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed. 
•  
•  In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve.

Luke's stamp of approval

 

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken

I'm pretty positive that Apricot Chicken will be showing up on my table in the very near future. There's a lot of chicken-y goodness flying around (SQUAWK!!). Here's another chicky recipe that I just  made this week, then enjoyed for two workday lunches. PA's been blessed with some nice warm evenings, and the grill has been calling me! Credit here goes to "The Girl Who Ate Everything", although I had to tweak the recipe due to to what was in my spice cabinet! It was super tasty!Add more or less chile powder depending on preference for spiciness. Here goes:

Spicy Honey Glazed Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 2lbs (I used drumsticks and breasts)

2 tsp vegetable oil

Rub:
2 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp coriander (I had to skip this one)
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (and this one..)

Glaze:
1/2 cup Honey
1T Cider Vinegar

Combine the rub spices in bowl and mix well.
In a sepatate bowl, mix the honey and vinegar. (warm the honey if needed, so its soft enough to mix easily) 
I removed the skin from the chicken pieces, then used my hands to coat them lightly with the oil. (mmm...slippery wet chicken!) Then rub the spices into the chicken, then toss them on the grill!  I used medium heat so they'd cook through without getting burned. During the final minute or so, brush on some of the glaze. Don't be too alarmed if the grill smokes and sizzles at this point. Thanks to the sugar in the honey, any drips will burn like crazy. I actually got scared at this point, pulled the chicken off the grill, then applied the rest of the glaze right on the serving plate. I let the chicken rest for a few minutes to let the glaze set it.   The end result was delish!!! Hubby approved :-)

Apricot Chicken

This is really really good!! It reminded me a bit of Chinese takeout. The sauce is so good. Serve with broccoli or green beans and be sure to steal some sauce from the chicken to drown drizzle your veggies


Apricot Chicken

1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds bone-in chicken thighs or boneless breasts
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation

1. In a bowl, mix chili powder, 1 Tbsp. ground ginger, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pat chicken dry and rub seasoning mixture into chicken. Cover; chill for at least 2 hours.
2. In a small pan, mix preserves, barbecue sauce, remaining ginger, lime juice and garlic. Stir over low heat until well combined.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F; mist a large, shallow baking dish with cooking spray. Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, turning often with tongs, until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to baking dish and pour apricot glaze over, turning chicken to coat. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes before serving

Salmon Cakes

These are definitely the best salmon cakes I've ever had. I adapted the recipes from the Food Network. Who has time to ROAST their own freshly caught salmon and brown their own breadcrumbs? The total time on the original recipe is 2 hours and twenty minutes... Ina Garten certainly doesn't cook with a 17 pound baby strapped to the front of her and an overly enthusiastic toddler trying to help break the eggs. My version is much faster and eliminates 1/2 a stick of butter and the fishing pole needed to catch the salmon. The original recipe is here.

Ingredients

• 1 can of salmon, drained and large bones removed
• 1/2 tsp salt and ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
• 1 1/2 cups small-diced celery (4 stalks)
• 1 cup of diced red or green pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 cup bread crumbs or finely torn bread
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons spicy mustard
• 2 large eggs

Directions

Place large chunks of onion, celery, and peppers and 1 cup of water into a blender or food processor. Blend till finely chopped. Line a colander or bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Pour vegetable mixture into the towel. Squeeze all the moisture out. Or you can torture yourself and finely chop all the vegetables by hand in which case you may also need to saute them to break them down and soften them.

Drain salmon. Remove large bones like any vertebrae. The ribs and skin breakdown very easily and are edible not to mention high in calcium. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Mix with 1 cup of freshly torn bread or breadcrumbs. Add mayo, mustard, and eggs. Add the vegetable mixture and mix well.. Shape into 3-ounce cakes.

cook on a non stick griddle or skillet over medium heat that's been sprayed with pam.Cook a few minutes on each side until nicely browned.

Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes

I love maple syrup. Reminds me of good old Parker's Maple Barn in Mason NH. A place I sadly never got to introduce my hubby to. Now that I can't easily get fresh New Hampshire maple syrup I have to make pancakes that taste amazing even without that liquid gold in top. Luke thought these were great. In fact he took his leftover pieces and tried to feed them to Nicholas in a gesture of brotherly kindness.


1 1/2 cups pancake mix (I used Hungry Jack Buttermilk)
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
2 TBSP vegetable oil
3 heaping TBSP peanut butter
1 finely chopped banana
2 TBSP sugar 

Mix with a wisk and pour by 1/4 cupful onto preheated 350 degree griddle. Flip when bottoms are browned the the bubbles begin to pop.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This is a very dense, almost like a pound cake, and absolutely delicious recipe! I use frozen blueberries which means you should bake it longer at a lower temperature. That way the inside has plenty of time to bake without the outside getting too dark. If you are baking it in a bundt pan you should get some of that amazing cooking spray with the flour in it so your cake falls out of the pan without breaking. You can also make this recipe in loaf pans.

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream or cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (175 degrees C). spray bundt or loaf pan with cooking spray plus flour.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
3. Bake for about 70-80 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the crown of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan. Dust with confectioners' sugar just before serving. 
4. It will be done faster if you are using fresh blueberries, so adjust time accordingly!