Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Land O Lakes Frosting

You have got me going now. Unfortunately, and I really mean it, I do not like store bought icing. I am always guessing on the ratio of powdered sugar to butter. Then I found this recipe in a magazine.

Land O Lakes Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 c. butter (must be butter) softened
1 t. vanilla
2-3 T. milk or cream

One Hour Rolls and they are really good

I love hot rolls but they are so time consuming. I had a basketball dinner at my house and Lori Maughn brought these rolls. They were very good.
One Hour Rolls:
3 c. warm water
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. oil
6 T. yeast ( for those of you that use SAF yeast it works)
Mix together and let stand 15 minutes

Add:
1 T. salt
3 beaten eggs
10- 10-1/2 c. flour
Mix and let stand 10 minutes. Shape and let rise 20-30 minutes. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. makes 4-1/2 doz rolls . Recipe can be cut in 1/2 or 1/3.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Yogurt Parmesan Chicken

This stuff is awesome. It's super easy, moderately healthy, and almost fancy. (I mean, not compared to what you guys make, but compared to the usual fare Chez Wells.) I usually serve it with steamed veggies and Larry's biscuits, but I wish I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and lemon butter green beans.

Yogurt Parmesan Chicken

8 boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins, (or 3 boneless skinless chicken breast cut into tenderloin-sized strips)
1 - 2 cups fat free plain (not vanilla) yogurt
1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed (I use generic Ritz, reduced fat version, and I just blender 'em up)
3 tbsp. parmesan cheese (Kraft, from the can. Don't be a snob.)
1-1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt (Lawry's, of course)

Mix crackers, cheese, garlic powder, and salt together on a plate. Put yogurt on another plate. Coat each piece of chicken in yogurt, then in crumbs, and place in a 9x13 baking dish. (Don't crowd them. If you use more chicken, use a bigger pan.) Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve with Chicken Lime Sauce.

Chicken Lime Sauce
3/4 cup chicken broth (or 3/4 cup water with 3/4 tsp. chicken base)
1 tbsp. brown sugar
3 tbsp. lime juice (from one large lime--lemon also works, although it's not as good)
2 tsp. Dijon mustard (regular mustard will work in a pinch, but it's not as good)
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. butter
Combine chicken broth, sugar, mustard, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. While still cold, whisk together until all the cornstarch particles are separated (no lumps). I usually do this part right after I put the chicken in the oven, and then I just set the pan on top of the stove with no heat. With five minutes left to go on chicken cooking time, turn medium heat on under the saucepan and simmer until slightly thickened. Add butter and lime juice and stir until butter melts. Put in your fanciest creamer jar or gravy boat and serve with chicken.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Yummyness!

I made some new things that went over wellish.

Curry Turkey Burgers
1 1/3 P. Turkey Breast
Half and Onion Diced
1 inch Fresh Ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 Red or Green Bell Pepper
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp. Curry Pwd. (I used yellow)

Mix like meat loaf and form into patties. Brushs or drizzle with Olive Oil and grill or cook in pan.

We didn't put them on buns cause we had none but they were really good.



Australian Potato Bake ( I got this on my mission. Similar to funeral potatoes but not yucky and Mike liked them)
4 Lrg. Potatoes sliced into 1/4 inch rounds, skins left on
2/3 C. Heavy whipping Cream
2/3 C. chicken stock
Half of an Onion diced
3 garlic cloves minced
Pinch of Nutmeg
1 to 2 Cups grated cheese

Preheat Oven to 450 degrees. Arrange potatoes in a 8 in. square baking dish sprinkling onion in between layers and on top. Gently heat cream, stock, garlic, and nutmeg until nearly boiling. Be careful not to let boil cause bad things happen:) Ladle over potatoes and cover with tin foil. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove foil and cover with cheese return to oven and let cheese melt and become slightly crisp. Take out and let sit cause at this point it's hot magma!!!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Holy deliciousness-Lemon and White Chocolate Parfait with Strawberries

If you're looking for an incredible dessert, look no further. This recipe...AMAZING.

5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (this was about 4 lemons)
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (Grate entire peel of 2 lemons)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 2 2/3 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
13.5-ounce bar high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped
5 cups sliced hulled strawberries (about 2 pounds)

Whisk egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel, and salt in medium metal bowl to blend. Set bowl over saucepan of simmering water. Whisk until mixture is very thick and thermometer inserted into center registers 160°F to 170°F, about 6 minutes. Remove bowl from over water. Cool lemon mousse base to room temperature.

Combine 1/4 cup cream and white chocolate in another medium metal bowl. Set bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir constantly until chocolate is soft and almost melted. Remove bowl from over water and stir until white chocolate is melted and smooth. Cool white chocolate mousse base to room temperature.

Beat remaining 2 2/3 cups cream in large bowl until firm peaks form. Divide whipped cream between both mousse bases, folding in 1 cup at a time (about 3 cups for each).

Layer scant 1/4 cup lemon mousse in each of 8 parfait glasses or wineglasses; top with 2 tablespoons strawberries. Layer scant 1/4 cup white chocolate mousse over strawberries. Repeat layering 1 more time. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Cover and chill remaining strawberries.

Spoon strawberries over top of each parfait, if desired, and serve.

Really amazing, really rich, but did I mention amazing?

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Pork So Good You Could Cry

I love reading Catherine Newman's blog.  She used to just be a parenting blogger, but as her kids got older and she felt like she couldn't just share their stories with the whole country (as they weren't really her stories anymore), she turned to food blogging.  With plenty of funny family stuff thrown in.  Anything I've tried of hers is amazing.  This pork was especially delicious.  I served it over rice with roasted veggies alongside, and it was awesome. 
Problems:
1) It takes forever.  Mostly passive cooking time, but I wouldn't want to be out of the house.
2) It is really pungent smelling, so your fridge will reek of the leftovers for days.  (Why does the food smell so good when it's cooking, but the leftover smells are so disgusting?  Question for the ages, eh?)
3) With country-style pork ribs as the base, I'm going to go ahead and declare--NOT healthy. 

Awesomes:
1) Pork--enough said.  I don't even really like meat, but slow-cooked pork transcends meat and lives somewhere around heaven.
2) Flavors we don't eat every day around here.  The different-ness was a nice change, but not TOO crazy.
3)  Mimi said, when trying it (and after I told her the name of the recipe), "This poke is so good, I just have to cwy."

4 pounds country-style pork ribs (with or without bones)
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari
1/2 cup sherry or rice wine
1/3 cup sugar
6 1-inch pieces of ginger, peeled and smashed with the side of a heavy knife
6 scallions, white and green parts both, cut into 1-inch lengths
6 cups water

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil, covered, over high heat. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook, covered, for 1 1/2 hours. Uncover and cook for another 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is fully tender and falling off the bones, and there is barely any liquid left in the pot. Cool briefly, then pull the meat off the bones with tongs or two forks, discarding any fat or ginger hunks or other unappetizing lumps of anything you might come up. Return the meat to the cooking liquid in the pot, bring it back to a simmer, and simmer, stirring occasionally at first and then frequently as the liquid evaporates (you have to be super-careful that it doesn't burn at this point), until the meat is glazed and frying in its own fat; if you want the meat juicier and saucier, then skip this last step. Drain off any residual fat and serve.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

I found this recipe on Our Best Bites, and it is:
a) delicious
b) not very healthy
c) easy to get my kids to eat 
d) very customizable--fill with whatever you wish.

We had canadian bacon and pineapple, as that is our favorite, but any other combination would also be delicious.  Plus, I am loving the Classico Plum Tomato and Olive Oil marinara, so I warmed that up for dipping--YUM!  Served alongside a large green salad, it was almost a real meal.  :)
 
Stuffed Pizza Rolls
Recipe from OurBestBites

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
marinara/pizza sauce (click here to make your own)
2T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1  t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese, diced or grated
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust. 

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package.  Usually it's 400 degrees.  If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface.  Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8".  You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to.  Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares (bet ya didn't see that one comin' did ya?) 

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.  (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after)  You guys are smart, right?  Just eyeball how much.  You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.  Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.  (In lieu of the Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning you could  substitute this garlic bread seasoning.)

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Keep an eye  on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.