Orange Sesame Chicken

recipe slightly adapted from Jamie Cooks it Up

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy and quickly this recipe came together. Great dish for an "Oh!  It's dinner time already!" moment. It takes about 30-45 minutes to come together start to finish. I think when I make it again, I might try to decrease the soy sauce a bit and see how that affects the sauce because it did taste a little heavy on the soy and not as orange-flavored as I expected.  

4 chicken breasts

1/2 cup flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons olive (or canola) oil

Sauce:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice (you'll need about 2 large oranges)

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 Tablespoons rice vinegar

4 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon orange peel/zest (loosely packed)

1/4 cup cold water

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Pour 1/2 cup flour into a medium sized bowl and sprinkle 1/8 teaspoon salt into it. Toss it together with fork to combine.

2.  Cut your chicken into large chunks and dip them each into the flour, making sure all sides are coated.

3.  Heat a large skillet up over medium high heat.  Once the pan is hot, pour 2-3 tablespoons olive or canola oil into pan.

4. Once the oil has gotten hot, place your chicken into the pan. Let the chicken get nice and golden brown.  Then turn each piece over and let it get golden brown on the other side.

5.  While your chicken is cooking, zest one orange.

6. Squeeze the juice from 2 oranges (You will need about 1/2 cup of fresh orange juice)

7. Pour your orange juice, and 1 Tablespoon (loosely packed ) orange zest into a small mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup soy sauce, 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar, 4 Tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 cup cold water and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Stir it all together until the cornstarch has dissolved and everything is mixed well.

8. Once your chicken is golden on both sides, pour the orange sauce over the chicken.  Bring the sauce to a simmer, cover, and let it cook for 10-15 minutes over medium low heat stirring occasionally.

9.  When  the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbly, pour 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds over the top of the chicken.  Stir it around to combine.  Serve over white or brown rice.

Serves 6

Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies

recipe slightly adapted from Hershey's Kitchens

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter (2 sticks) softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 10 oz package Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

2. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  Beat butter and sugar in mixer until fluffy.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.  Gradually add flour mixture, beating well.  Stir in peanut butter chips.

3.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-9 minutes.  Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.  

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Snickerdoodles

my Mom's recipe

Ahhh... the Snickerdoodle.  What a name.  What a cookie.  I have been craving these for awhile.  They somehow take me right back to my childhood.  They are so delicious and buttery with a slight tang from the Cream of Tartar.  Perfect with a glass of milk.  Yummy.  I'm sure most people have some rendition of the Snickerdoodle recipe, but if you have never tried them, you really should. They are delicious.

1 cup shortening (I used unsalted butter), but I have seen some recipes that say they get better results with 1/2 cup vegetable shortening and 1/2 cup butter.

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon of salt (if using salted butter, you do not need to add this ingredient)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 Tablespoons sugar

Beat shortening, sugar and eggs in mixer until light and fluffy.  Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.  Stir flour mixture into shortening mixture until well combined.  This dough is very soft, so resist the temptation to add more flour.  Cover dough and chill for 1 hour. 

Mix the cinnamon and 4 Tablespoons of sugar together in a small bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Roll dough into 2 inch balls and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated.  Place on greased cookie sheet and press down on dough ball with

fork to make a criss-cross pattern.

Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Watch carefully.  You will lose the delicious chewiness of these cookies if they are over-baked.  They will puff up in the oven quite a bit.  When the edges have set and are slightly golden, remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet.  They will fall when removed from oven, but that is what they are supposed to do.  

Note:  In my effort to try to justify eating way too many of these cookies in one sitting, I did tweak the amount of butter and sugar and found that they still turned out beautifully.  So, if you would like to decrease the butter and sugar, I did have success with about 3/4 cup unsalted butter and  1 cup sugar.  Those are the only changes I made, and the cookies were still wonderful, but they were slightly puffier and not quite as chewy. The picture above was a batch with the reduced amounts to give you an idea of how they will look.

Chicken Alfredo Pizza

recipe slightly adapted from The Food Network

This is quite possibly the most delicious homemade pizza I have ever made.  I followed this recipe for the crust preparation and used this recipe for the alfredo sauce recipe and topping ideas.  It was soooo good!

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I tamed this a little and just did a couple of sprinkles, but if you like a kick, add the whole teaspoon)

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk or heavy cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

2 cups spinach, well washed and dried, and chopped.

1 roma tomato, sliced

1-2 cups grated mozzarella

olive oil, for brushing crust

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Put chicken on a grill pan and grill until cooked through, or bake seasoned chicken breast until internal temperature of 170 degrees and juices run clear. Let rest for 5 minutes and then dice and set aside.

2.  Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant.  Add the flour and cook until light blonde in color.  Whisk in the cream or milk, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes.  Stir in Parmesan and season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste. 

3. Prepare crust as indicated in this post.

4. Ladle sauce to cover bottom of the pizza.  Evenly top with the spinach, tomato slices, grilled chicken and mozzarella.  Brush the edge of the crust with olive oil.  Bake pizza until crisp and golden and cheese is melted and bubbly.  Remove from oven and immediately top with another handful of spinach.

Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake

recipe adapted from Alexandra Cooks via Pinterest

Serves 6-8 .... or 1-2 depending on your self control!

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

zest from 1 large lemon  (approx. 2 tsp)

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar*  *for sprinkling on top of cake before baking 

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen and thawed them out in warm water)

1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream butter with lemon zest and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fluffy.  

2.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of flour, then whisk remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

3.  Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk.  Fold in the blueberries.

4.  Grease a 9 inch square baking pan or something similar with butter or coat with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes.  Check with toothpick.  If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple more minutes.  Note: baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.  Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

The original recipe called for 3/4 cup sugar.  I reduced to 1/2 cup and it still tasted wonderful.  Also, I do like blueberries, but 2 cups seemed like a lot to me, so I only put in 1 cup and it was just the right amount for me, but if you love blueberries.... load it up! I think more blueberries would tend to result in a little bit moister cake if that is what you would like.

Homemade Clif Bars

recipe slightly adapted from Enlightened Cooking

My husband loves Clif Bars, but they can be sooo expensive!  So, I set out on a mission to find a recipe to make our own and found this!  It is very good and has several variations to try different kinds.  Hope you like them!

1 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal (Erwhon Crisp Brown, Brown Rice Krispies or regular Rice Krispies are fine)

1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats (I use regular rolled oats and they turn out fine, although you may need to add a little more brown rice syrup to hold them together better if you do)

2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed (I buy the big bag from Costco and use the flaxseed in these bars and in our green smoothies)

1/4 cup finely chopped dried fruit (raisins, Craisins, dried cherries, dates, etc.)

1/3 cup brown rice syrup or honey

1/2 cup nut butter (I use the natural creamy Kirkland peanut butter, but almond butter or another nut butter would also be delicious)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Combine the rice cereal, oats, flaxseed meal, dried fruit, and nuts in a large bowl.  Combine the syrup and nut butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and well-blended, or microwave for 20-60 seconds until melted.  Stir in vanilla until blended.  

Pour nut butter mixture over cereal mixture, stirring until coated.  Then you've got to continue to mix with your hands until everything is combined very well.  Press mixture firmly into an 8-inch square pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Continue to press down until you have a very firm layer.  Cool in pan and chill at least 30 minutes to help the mixture set.  Cut into bars, wrap bars in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

Recipe from Our Best Bites

My husband has been begging me for awhile now to make some "homemade oreos."  I checked out a few recipes and decided to try this one. The ingredients were simple items that I already had on hand and the option for peppermint flavor in the filling sounded sooo yummy.  Well, these cookies definitely did not disappoint!  Check out Our Best Bites for some darling ideas for Christmas cookies using this recipe.  I know we are far from Christmas, but for me, peppermint and chocolate are a year-round treat!

1 1/2 cups flour, lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled (don't scoop)

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp table salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

5 Tbsp real butter

1 Tbsp water

1 large egg lightly beaten

Filling:

1/2 cup real butter (1 stick)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 -1 tsp peppermint extract

milk, as needed for consistency

optional: red or green food coloring and sprinkles or crushed candy canes

To make cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Heat chocolate chips, brown sugar, 5 tablespoons butter and water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until melted and smooth (there will still be grains of sugar though).  Transfer mixture to a a large bowl and beat in egg.  Stir in flour mixture until just combined.  Don't overmix.  

If dough is too soft to work with, let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to firm up, or place in the fridge for a few minutes. Gently roll balls, either 1 tablespoon full for large cookies or about 1/2 inch balls for silver dollar sized cookies.  Place about 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.  Bake cookies until just puffed in the middle and edges are set but centers and still soft - about 8-9 minutes for large cookies and about 5 minutes for small ones.  If using 2 cookies sheets, rotate them halfway through baking. Cool for a couple of minutes on the baking sheets and then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.  

To make filling, beat all frosting ingredients together, adding peppermint extract to taste.  Add milk one teaspoonful at a time until a spreadable but not too soft consistency is reached.  Add food coloring if desired.  Place frosting in a zip-top bag and cut off a corner*. Pipe filling onto one side of cookie and place another on top. Roll edges in sprinkles or crushed candy canes if desired.  

Yield:  If you used a tablespoon of dough, this recipe will yield 1 1/2 dozen large sandwiches.  If you use a quarter of a standard cookie scoop (about a rounded teaspoon) it will yield 4-5 dozen.

*Tip:  To easily load the frosting into your zip-top bag, place bag over the top of a cup with the top of the bag folded out over the lip of the cup.  Hold the bag in place over the cup with one hand while scooping the frosting into it with the other.  A lot less mess!