Peppermint Bark for the Holidays

I got a request to post this recipe.  It's not new, but I've done it for the past 3 years.  Two full bags of chips will give you plenty for the season.  You can make this quicker than it takes to heat the oven!

I got this on the back of the peppermint chip bag one year, but I'm not sure what the brand was the first time I made it.

Peppermint Bark
1 bag peppermint (green) chips - usually in your grocery store the week before Thanksgiving and stays through Christmas; otherwise can be found at Michael's year round
1 bag dark chocolate chips
1 C pecans, chopped

1. Place foil on a cookie sheet.
2. Place 1/2 the bag of each the peppermint and dark chocolate chips, mixing a little (make in 2 batches or save the other half of each bag for another time)
3. Place in an oven at 200 degrees for 5-10 minutes (you want them to be glossy)
4. Take a knife and swirl the chips together.
5. Sprinkle nuts on top.
6. You need to get the nuts to sink into the chocolate mixture.  I have tried pressing them in with a spatula, but you can also just pick up the cookie sheet and drop it a few times to get them to sink in.
7. Immediately put in the freezer to harden for at least 30 minutes.
8. Break into pieces using a kitchen tool or the foil it sits on.  Do not use your bare hands, it will melt.
9. Keep in an air tight container in the freezer.

You can east straight from the freezer as needed!

Breakfast Treats

I was making this as a mid-morning treat for myself, but the kids gobbled up about half of it before I could finish it.  The little chefs ate it straight out of the oven!  I let them do it because they didn't seem to mind they were eat fruit!

From Comfort Food

Granola Biscotti

1/4 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/4 t almond extract
1 1/3 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
3/4 C reduced fat granola (I used Kashi cinnamon granola)
2/3 C dried cranberries

1. Beat butter and sugar until crumbly, about 2 minutes.  Beat in egg, egg whites and almond extract.  Combine dry ingredients except granola and cranberries and gradually add to butter mixture.  Stir in cranberries and granola.  Make sure you go through the granola so there isn't any big lumps.
2. Divide dough in half and shape each portion into 12 in x 1.5 in rectangle.  Use flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.  Place each on a cookie sheet coated with pan spray.
3.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove to cool on baking rack for 5-10 minutes (until slightly crispy....watch out for the little hands!).
4. Transfer to cutting board, cut with a serrated knife into 3/4 inch slices.  Place the cut side down on cookie sheet and bake for another 5 minutes.  Turn and bake for 5 more minutes.  Remove to baking racks and cool.

As an added treat, I combined 1 C powdered sugar and 2 T of milk to drizzled some light glaze over them after they cooled.

Baked Wings, but not for a crowd

Sean and I love to eat wings, but we dread the dripping oil to make them.  I did a bit of research and found this recipe with over 500 positive reviews.  It's a bit of time, but not hands-on time.  I wouldn't recommend it for a crowd unless you have an industrious size oven to handle all the baking sheets.

The final product was very crunchy, not breaded nor greasy.  The best way to serve is absolutely naked...ok, maybe some salt and pepper!

From Foodnetwork.com:

Alton Brown's Buffalo Wings

• 12 whole chicken wings
• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Place a 6-quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1-inch of water in the bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil.

2. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.  I put  20 wings in all at one time.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

4. Replace the paper towels with parchment paper (or wax paper). Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the wings over and cook another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.  Watch this carefully, it depends on size of your wings.  If you let it go too long, you'll be waving at your smoke detector.

5. While the chicken is roasting, melt the butter in a small bowl along with the garlic. Pour this along with hot sauce and salt into a bowl large enough to hold all of the chicken and stir to combine.

6. Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to the bowl and toss with the sauce. Serve warm.

We made 20 wings at one time and 4 sauces/rubs.  The best sauce was not the one listed in the recipe.  It was actually a marinade from Safeway 'Soy Honey Garlic'.

Family Factor: Great!

Stomach Factor: depends on the sauce, naked are mild

Time Factor: long, but worth it

Lunch or a Good Side (with Wings or BBQ)

Ever since I have re-located offices, I find myself searching for a good lunch to take into work.  For me, it's just too much effort to get my car out of the garage to get a hot meal and the on-site cafe doesn't excite me one bit.  The microwaves got moved as well so now you have go down 5 floors to heat something up.  You wouldn't think that would be too bad, but when only 2 elevators work at one time (out of 5!), it takes too long.

So, I hunted for a good cold (yes, we have a refrig) lunch I could make to take into work.  I tried every sandwich and tossed salad I could think of with no luck on satisfying my appetite.  I finally found this recipe in a new cookbook Sean and I bought not too long ago.

From Comfort Food Cookbook

Veggie Macaroni Salad

2 C cooked macaroni (this cracks me up every time I see this....just add the hole box!)
1 large tomato, seeded and chopped
1 C frozen peas, thawed
1/2 C shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/2 C chopped celery
1 hard cooked egg, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

Dressing:
3/4 C reduce fat mayo (I did a lot less)
1 C fat-free yogurt (couldn't do it, I used fat free sour cream and only 1/2 C)
2 T sugar
1 T prepared mustard (Dijon gives it a lot of flavor)
1/8 celery seed (or salt)

1. Cook the macaroni according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water.
2. In a large bowl, combine macaroni, tomato, peas, cheese, celery, egg and onions.
3. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients.  Pour over macaroni mixture and toss to coat.
4. Refrigerate until serving (at least 1 hour).

Family Factor: surprisingly good (they didn't know about the sour cream!)
Stomach Factor: mild, but onions make it a little strong
Time Factor: pretty quick

Crunchiest Breaded Chicken...Ever!

I made a lot of breaded chicken.  Mostly because my kids like it and somehow I convince myself it's better than those frozen nuggets!  I made this recipe one Saturday night not too long ago because Sean said something along the lines 'let's not have something frozen'.  It's so easy to fall out of the cooking routine with two young kids!  So, back to cooking it is!

From the Joy of Cooking:

Sauteed Breaded Boneless Chicken Breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 C dry bread crumbs (if using fresh, leave out overnight)
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1 T basil or 1 t oregano (I  put in 1 T Italian seasoning and called it even)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 egg
1 t water
1/4 flour
1/3 C oil, olive if you have it (I used canola)

1. Wash and dry the chicken.
2. Mix bread crumbs with cheese and spices.
3. Whisk egg and water together in a bowl.
4. Spread bread crumb mixture on one plate and flour on another plate.
5. Dip chicken in flour, then egg mixture and finally in bread crumb mixture.
6. Heat oil to medium in a heavy skillet.
7. Add chicken and cook until lightly brown on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side.
8. Drain on paper towel for about 5 minutes to cool.

Family Factor: wasn't thrilled with the oil choice, but liked it with marinara sauce on top!
Stomach Factor: pretty mild
Time Factor: easy, may even do on a weekend if someone would watch the kids...hint, hint!

Nuts with some flavor!

I made this for my bookclub earlier this week.  As soon as I made it, I realized my mom has made this several times as well.

From Joy of Cooking:

Rosemary and Brown Sugar Nuts

1 lb mixed nuts
Salt and Pepper
2 T butter, melted
3 T finely chopped rosemary (use fresh if you have it)
2 T brown sugar
2 T light corn syrup (can be omitted if needed)

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Melt the butter.
3. Put the nuts in a mixing bowl.
4. Pour the butter over the nuts.
5. Add the spices, sugar and syrup.
6. Toss until well coated.
7. Spread across a baking sheet (un-greased).
8. Bake for 7-10 minutes until lightly browned.
9. As the nuts cool, stir until the coating dries.

Enjoy!

Popcorn with a kick

Ugh!  I can't believe it's been so long since my last post.  Busy summer schedule is not a really good excuse.

Popcorn is nearly a staple in my family and I'm not a fan of the movie theater butter variety that everyone else loves so I have added a few ingredients to make mine have some flare!  Officially, another of my own recipes!

Spicy Popcorn

1 bag of popcorn (any variety), popped
Olive Oil
BBQ rub, Cajun spice or Creole spice

1. With the popcorn still hot, pour into a bowl.
2. Go once around the bowl with a drizzle of olive oil.
3. Add as much spice as you desire or can handle.
4. Toss and eat nice and hot.

Family Rating: this one was all for me
Time Rating: it will be done before the previews are
Stomach Rating: not for the weak

Have good munching!

Bring on the Grill!

This is probably one of the best grilled chicken recipes I have ever come across.  It might have to do something with the chicken coming directly from a butcher and the herbs were directly out of my garden!

I did change it slightly - left out the lemons and used Canola oil instead of olive oil.  Otherwise, very good.  For those that want a little spice, brush on some of your favorite BBQ sauce just before the chicken is done grilling.  Enjoy!

From Safeway.com (yeah, you read that right!)

Tuscan Grilled Chicken

Ingredients

1 lemon, cut into wedges

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

2 tsp sea salt

3½ lb whole chicken, butterflied (ask your butcher to butterfly it for you)

fresh sprigs of thyme & rosemary

sprinkle of sweet Hungarian paprika

¼ cup olive oil

Instructions

Marinate The Chicken

1. Place the butterflied chicken in a large bowl and sprinkle with the oil, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest and a generous sprinkling of paprika

2. Make sure the chicken is coated well with the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (24 hours ideal)

Grill & Serve

1. Remove the chicken from the marinade and let come to room temperature

2. Light a grill over high heat, about 425º

3. Cover 2 clean bricks with aluminum foil and place over the hot heat. (If you don't have access to bricks use a heavy, ovenproof skillet.) Let the bricks warm up for about 3 minutes or until very hot

4. If using a gas grill, turn the heat down to low on one side of the grill. If using charcoal push more than half the charcoal to one side to create two heat zones: one very hot and one low

5. Remove the chicken from the pan and let excess oil drip off. You can also blot it dry with a paper towel on both sides

6. Grill until done (about 20-25 minutes).

7. Let stand 5 minutes to cool.

Sandwiches for a crowd!

I volunteered for a cook-off at work last March which led me to an interesting quest.  The theme was 'United States' and we drew for the state of choice.  Much to my disappointment, we drew Nebraska.  I have driven through Nebraska to know one thing came from there.  Corn.

So began my Google search.  I had no idea so many things actually came from Nebraska.  Who knew watermelons, Eskimo Pies and Cool-Aid would top the list!  Then came an interesting find.  What on earth was a Runza sandwich?  Of course, I asked a local Nebraskan, my sister-in-law.  She says they were great and found me a recipe with some tips for short-cuts!

I began my experiment with making Runza with various stuffing's and crusts.

Runza Sandwich (variation on the original recipe!)

1 lb ground pork sausage
1 onion, chopped finely
salt and pepper
1 T Italian seasoning
2 clove garlic, minced
1 green pepper finely chopped
1/2 cabbage, chopped
1 package of Pillsbury thin pizza crust
melted butter

1. Saute garlic, onion and green pepper in oil.
2.  Add sausage and saute until browned.
3. Drain the oil away.
4. Put the mixture back into the pan.
5. Add the cabbage.
6. Cook over medium heat, mixing occasionally until cabbage is tender.
7. Set aside and cool.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thick.
10. Cut into 5" squares.
11. Put 1/4 cup of mixture into the center of each square.
12. Seal edges closed by bringing all four corners to the center of the square, making a pouch.
13. Put edges side down on a baking sheet.
14. Brush melted butter on top of sandwiches.
15. Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned on the edges.
16. Immediately brush with more melted butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

For another good flavor, sprinkle some cheddar cheese into the mixture before stuffing the dough!

Here's to a healthy year!

About this time every year, I begin my quest into a healthy new year.  Yes, it's delayed about 4 months to wait for the fresh ingredients that you cannot get at a decent price in the winter.

This year, I stumbled upon a new dip that seems to be good for a lot of different uses.  My mom made a variety similar to this when we were kids.

Mom's Veggie Dip
2 C un-flavored yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt too!)
1 package of Good Season Italian (there are now many flavors; my favorite is Herb and Garlic)
2 T sour cream

Mix all together and chill for at least 2 hours.  This can be used from filling celery sticks to a salad topper.

Australia Day Meat Pie

For those that have known me for a long time know I spent a summer in Australia as a foreign exchange student.  My experience living there, even today as an adult, are still some the most memorable I have ever had.  One in particular experience was eating a meat pie.  These were readily available in the north east coast region of Australia almost like we see hot dog stands in downtown DC.  The flavor is so unique but makes you come back for more and more for the buttery, savoury flavor.  In honor of Australia Day, I surfed the web to find a truly authentic recipe.  It's printed in raw form below, but I made some substitutions to ingredients found in US.

From eatocracy.cnn.com:

Australian Meat Pies


1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large brown onion, finely chopped
500 grams lean beef mince (ground beef) (1.1 lbs)
1 tablespoon corn flour (corn starch)
3/4 cup beef stock
3/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon barbecue sauce
1 teaspoon Vegemite (soy sauce or beef bouillon)
2 sheets frozen, ready-rolled shortcrust pastry, thawed
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook for 3 minutes or until soft. Add ground beef. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, or until browned.

2. Mix corn flour and 1 tablespoon of stock to form a paste. Add remaining stock. Add stock, sauces and Vegemite to mince. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 8 minutes or until thick. Cool.

3. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a baking tray into oven. Grease 4 x 8 cm base measurement pie pans.
Cut 4 x 15 cm circles from shortcrust pastry. Use to line bases and sides of pans. Fill with the ground beef. Brush rims with water. Cut 4 x 15 cm circles from puff pastry. Place over meat. Press to seal. Trim. Brush with egg. Season.

4. Place pies onto hot tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Serve

Family Factor: Enjoyed, but thought they tasted similar to sloppy joes
Time Factor: Save for a weekend
Stomach Factor: mild, for everyone

I didn't have the proper pans for these to cook in, but the ramekins works just fine.

Cajun Pizza

I know, I'm behind on my posts.  I have been cooking over the holidays, just enjoying time with friends and family too much to sit down and write.

I bought Sean a cookbook for Christmas (don't laugh!).  He wanted a very specific Cajun cookbook to rehash some of the flavors he grew up with.  Well, of course, I had to borrow it!  My mother-in-law and I made this recipe over the holidays and loved it!

From Real Cajun:

Tomato and Bacon Pie (aka Cajun Pizza)

12oz bacon, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch slices (if you have heirloom, use them!)
1 pre-baked pie crust (see note below)
salt and pepper
1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
5oz Cheddar or pepper jack cheese, grated

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp and set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. Place a layer of tomato slices on the bottom of the crust and season with salt and pepper. 
4. Top layer with onion slices and cheese.
5. Repeat the process two more times until you have 3 layers.
6. Crumble the cooked bacon and some extra cheese on top.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese melts.
8. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely.

Family Factor: two liked it, one didn't
Stomach Factor: pretty mild, could be spiced up a bit
Time Factor: very quick, surprisingly

This does not make good leftovers so eat up or feed to a crowd!

Note about the pre-cooked pie crust.  The cookbook had a recipe for a home-made pie crust, but I didn't use it.  Instead, my mother-in-law had one that was so easy to make that I may never buy a crust again!

From Our Family Secrets:

Oil Pie Crust

2 C flour
1 1/2 t sugar
1 t salt
1/2 C oil
5 T milk

1. Sift dry ingredients together into a 9" pie pan.
2. Beat oil and milk together and add to dry ingredients.
3. Press into pie pan.
4. Bake 12-15 minutes in 425 oven.