May 20 2013

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

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My Mother-in-law’s birthday is on Wednesday so we did some early celebrating this weekend. Mark definitely gets his please-don’t-make-a-big-deal-over-my-birthday thing from his Mom so we kept things pretty low-key. Cake is a necessity, though, no matter how low-key you’re going.

Mom’s go-to dessert is always blondies, so I thought a chocolate chip cookie cake would be right up her ally. It’s basically one, giant chocolate chip cookie. I used some store-bought icing to dress it up a little. (And hide how lousy a job I did pushing the batter to the edges of the pan!) Regardless of what it looked like, it was delicious – enough so that she and I had seconds before she went home. Perfect.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
(from The Girl Who Ate Everything)
Makes 1 9″ Cake

3/4 c. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 t. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t.cornstarch
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees. Line a 9″ square pan with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and sugar on medium speed until fluffy and light in color. Mix in the egg and vanilla until combined.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient until it forms a cookie-like batter. Stir in chocolate chips.

Press the dough into the prepared pan and bake for 16-20 minutes or until the edges just start to turn brown. Let the cookie cool completely before removing it from the pan.

Frost as desired.

May 17 2013

Chicken Mole Enchiladas

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If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time, you’ve probably caught on that I love enchiladas. They’re a regular in our dinner rotation. Most of the ones I make involve the standard red or green sauce, but when I saw this recipe I knew we’d love this one too.

This recipe is different from all the others I’ve made before because it doesn’t involve baking them one assembled – you warm everything up before assembling and then just serve. It’s quite a time saver for a busy night and I don’t think it took anything away from the flavor. It’s a method I’ll be trying with some of our other favorite enchiladas soon.

Chicken Mole Enchiladas
(from Cook This Not That)
Serves 4

1 8oz. bottle mole sauce
4 c. cooked, shredded chicken
8-12 corn tortillas
1/2 c. crumbled feta
1/2 red onion, halved and thinly sliced

In a small saucepan, heat the mole sauce. If the consistency is thicker than ranch dressing, thin it out with a little chicken stock.

Microwave the chicken to warm, and then toss with a few tablespoons of the heated mole sauce until it’s all coated.

Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, toast the corn tortillas one at a time until lightly browned but still pliable.

Scoop warm chicken into warmed tortillas and wrap up. Place seam-side down on a rimmed platter and pour remaining mole sauce over the top of them. Top with cheese and onion and serve immediately.

May 15 2013

Teriyaki Chicken Burgers with Sesame-Grilled Pineapple

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On Saturday, we’ll be hosting a Soy Vay Turn Up the Flavor House Party for some of our friends and family. If you’re not familiar with House Party, it’s a word-of-mouth marketing site where you can apply to host parties featuring certain products. When you’re chosen as a party host, you get a party pack of freebies, samples or promotional products to help make the party special. It can be a lot of fun!

The party pack for the Soy Vay party features their Teriyaki sauce. Now, I’ve bought it before and not liked it so much. We used it for a stir fry and I just wasn’t a fan. So, before I was going to feed it to my guests, I wanted to work up some recipes that would definitely be a hit.

I’ve had this recipe bookmarked forever, so Mark and I whipped it up one night to see how it worked with Soy Vay Teriyaki sauce – it was fantastic! I really, really loved these burgers – they’re probably one of my new favorites. And, I though the sesame seeds in the Soy Vay Teriyaki sauce were a nice touch, since there was also sesame oil in the burger and on the pineapple.

Ultimately, we won’t serving these at the party on Saturday – we opted for a different dish that would be easier, logistically, for what we’re doing. I’ll be sharing that recipe sometime in the next week or two, but I really wanted to share this one too. It’s the best “reject” recipe I’ve had in a long time!

Teriyaki Chicken Burgers with Sesame-Grilled Pineapple
(adapted from The Other Side of Fifty)
Serves 4

1 T.  olive oil
1/2 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 T. teriyaki sauce + more for basting (we used Soy Vay)
2 t. sesame oil, divided
1 T. Montreal steak seasoning
1 lb. ground chicken
8 pineapple rings (we used fresh)
Potato hamburger buns, for serving
Lettuce leaves, for serving

In a medium frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, until shimmering. Add the red pepper, onion and crushed red pepper flakes to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for an addition 30 seconds, until fragrant.

In a large bowl, combine the cooked vegetable mixture, 1 T. teriyaki sauce, 1 t. sesame oil, steak seasoning and ground chicken. Mix with your hands until well combined and then dived into four patties.

Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through, approximately 15 minutes, flipping halfway through. During the last two minutes of grilling, baste wih additional teriyaki sauce.

While the burgers cook, rub the pineapple slices with 1 t. sesame oil. Grill over low heat until grill marks appear and they’re slightly caramelized.

Serve on potato rolls with lettuce.

Disclosure: As a host of a Soy Vay Turn Up the Flavor House Party, I received a free party pack of Soy Vay products via House Party. All opinions are my own.

May 13 2013

Mini Doughnut Muffins

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Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend is also the big plant sale for the local master gardeners group. Since we’ve moved here, I’ve been going and picking out plants to round out the year’s vegetable garden – and my Mother-In-Law comes too. She’s an avid gardener and helps us so much with the yard. I don’t know what it would look like without her!

The plant sale starts early, so it’s become a tradition to have brunch after the sale and before we dive into planting everything in the yard. This year, we made these mini doughnut muffins as part of the brunch spread and they were a bit hit. My husband and I happily polished them off the next morning.

These aren’t “healthy” by any stretch of the imagination, but since they’re not fried they’re a slightly-better-for-you splurge.

Mini Doughnut Muffins
(from The Sweet Life)
Make approx. 1 1/2 dozen

for the doughnuts:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
3/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 c. milk
1 t. baking powder
1 c. all-purpose flour

for the topping:
1/4 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 375F degrees and generously spray or grease 2 mini muffin tins.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the white sugar, melted butter and ground nutmeg. Stir in milk, baking powder and flour until just combined.

Divide mixture among mini muffin tins and bake for 10-15 minutes, until lightly browned on the top.

While they are baking, place melted butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon.

When the muffins are done, let cool for a few minutes until cool enough to handle and then turn out on a plate. Dip each muffin in the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture.

 

May 8 2013

Crispy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

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I’ve made a lot of slow cooker meals and I don’t think any of them could have been described as “crispy”. When I ran across this recipe, that word alone got me. The trick here is to do a quick broil after the pork is cooked to crisp up the edges. It only takes a few minutes more than you’d spend just shredding the pork, and it really makes this feel different from other slow cooker dishes.

The meat is also really versatile. We made it into tacos, but it’d be great in any Tex-Mex dish.

Crispy Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
(from Gimme Some Oven)
Serves 6

1 T. vegetable oil
1 (4-5 lb.) lean boneless pork roast, excess fat trimmed, cut into 3-inch chunks
8 oz. beer
1 large white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle in adobo sauce
2 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1 1/2 t. salt
1 t. black pepper

In a large skillet over high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the pork to the pan and sear on each side until browned (about 2 minutes per side). Once seared, transfer the pork to the slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until the pork is completely tender and shreds easily with a fork.

After the pork is cooked, preheat your broiler to high heat and prepare two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Shred the pork into bite-sized pieces and use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the prepared baking sheets, spreading it out evenly in a single layer. Reserve the remaining broth from the slow cooker.

Place one sheet under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the edges of the pork begin crisping up. Remove the sheet, and use a spatula or tongs to carefully toss the pork. Ladle about 1/4 cup of the remaining slow cooker broth over the pork. Broil for an additional 5 minutes to get the meat more crispy. Then remove and ladle an additional 1/4 cup of broth over the crispy pork.

Repeat with the other baking sheet of pork.

May 6 2013

Cheddar & Apple Breakfast Panini

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I have a bit of a cookbook-buying problem. Especially when it comes to library sales. A few weeks ago, when at a library sale I picked up a 2005 Weight Watchers Five Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook. We were in the middle of a few really busy weeks so the quick and easy plug totally got me.

I really like the sandwich section of this book. There are a whole bunch on the to-make list. This is a riff on one that was in the book. I wasn’t sure how cheddar on cinnamon raisin bread, but it’s fantastic. These were a great, quick breakfast. I sliced up the rest of the apple each day to eat along with to round out the meal.

Cheddar & Apple Breakfast Panini
(adapted from Weight Watchers Five Ingredients 15 Minute Cookbook 2005)
Serves 1

2 slices cinnamon raisin bread
2 slices cheddar cheese
1/4 granny smith apple, thinly sliced
Cooking spray

Spray one side of each piece of bread with cooking spray. Place one slice of cheese on each non-sprayed side of bread.  Add apple slices on top of cheese. Sandwich together and toast in a panini press until the outside crust is golden.

Slice and serve immediately.

May 3 2013

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas

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This weekend is Cinco de Mayo! Tex-Mex meals make our dinner rotation regularly, but I never miss an opportunity to theme a meal - no matter how frivolous the holiday. I’ll be spending the afternoon with my book club, so I’m anticipating a Tex-Mex themed big-out session!

If you’re looking for something to make to mark May 5, these are a great option - a fun mix of bar food meets Mexican. . I’ve made them a few times – they’re a huge hit in our house.

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas
(from Prevention RD)
Serves 4-6

8 tortillas
12 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 c. red enchilada sauce
1/3 c. buffalo wing sauce
1 c. Mexican blend cheese, shredded
3 oz. gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 375F degrees.

Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray. In a small bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and buffalo wing sauce. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together shredded chicken and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Pour in about a 1/2 cup of enchilada/buffalo sauce and mix until thoroughly combined.

Pour a little of the enchilada/buffalo sauce in the baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom. Divide chicken mixture between tortillas. Roll each up and place in the baking dish, seam side down. Pour remaining enchilada/buffalo sauce on top of tortillas and add remaining shredded cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

After baking, add crumbled gorgonzola on top and garnish with the green onions and cilantro and serve.

Apr 29 2013

Indian Spiced Roast Chicken

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Most of the Sunday dinners I’ve been making have been classic American food or Italian dishes. I was looking for something a little different when I ran across this recipe that I had bookmarked months ago. I don’t normally cook many Indian dishes, but this looked too good to pass up!

For just a few ingredients, this packed a really flavorful punch. A simple cucumber salad and garlic flatbread rounded out the meat.

Since it was just the two of us, we ended up with quite a bit leftover – the extra chicken was great on salads and in tortillas and quesadillas throughout the week.

Indian Spiced Roast Chicken
(from Simply Delicious)
Serves 4-6

1 3-4 lb. whole chicken
1 c. plain yogurt
3 T. curry paste
2 T. garam masala
2 t. salt
Juice of  2 limes
1 t. sugar

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, curry paste, garam masala, salt, lime juice and sugar.  Smear mixture all over chicken and under skin. Spoon remaining mixture into the chicken’s cavity.

Place the chicken on a roasting rack and roast for 45 minutes.

Turn heat up to 450F degrees and roast for another 30-45 minutes, until a meat thermometer shows it’s done. If the skin starts getting too dark, cover the chicken in foil.

Let rest for 5 minutes before carving.

Apr 26 2013

Chicken Diablo

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I wasn’t always a fan of spicy dishes. You’d never know it now – they make regular appearances on our weekly menu, but there was a time when I’d avoid them at all costs. I’m now making up for lost time.

When I started browsing Kylee Cooks for the latest Blogger’s Choice Swap, this caught my eye immediately. It looked spicy and creamy and just, well, really good. It totally delivered, too. I really loved the spicy diablo sauce over it. I’m planning to use the leftover as a dip for crunchy chicken nuggets.

Chicken Diablo
(from Kylee Cooks)
Serves 2

1/4 c. Frank’s hot pepper sauce
1/2  c. sour cream
1/4 c. ketchup
1/8 c. honey
1/2 t. sweet paprika
1/2 t. ground cumin
2 chicken breasts, pounded out thinly
1 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 c. sliced scallions
1 c. cooked brown rice, for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together the hot sauce, sour cream, ketchup and honey. Stir in paprika and cumin until well combined. Pour half of the sauce into another bowl and add chicken – turn to coat. Refrigerate and let marinate at least two hours, or overnight. Refrigerate remaining sauce in a separate container.

When ready to cook, heat oil in a frying pan until shimmering. Add garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Add the marinated chicken the pan and cook for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through, turning halfway.

In a small saucepan, heat the sauce from the separate container until just simmering.

Serve the chicken over rice, topped with warmed sauce.

You can check out what other bloggers made for the swap below. As always, thanks to Sarah for hosting!


Apr 24 2013

BBQ Pork Enchiladas

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While I usually size my recipes down to make a manageable amount for just the two of us, I always end up making a ton of pulled pork. It usually means that I have to reinvent the leftovers a bit. This is one of my favorite ways to use up extra pulled pork.

I’ve made this a few times with pork from a few recipes – they all work well. These are Mark’s favorite of all the enchiladas I make – and I make a lot, so that’s quite a title!

BBQ Pork Enchiladas
(from Branny Boils Over)
Serves 4

2 c. pulled pork, prepared with your favorite barbecue sauce
1 c. frozen corn
1 onion, diced
1 t. oil
1 c. black beans
1 1/2 c. red enchilada sauce
1 c. shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
8 8″ whole wheat tortillas

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.

In a medium frying pan, heat the oil over medium until shimmering. Add onion and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in corn, pulled pork and black beans. Cook until warmed through.

Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Divide pork filling between tortillas and roll up, placing seam side down in the baking dish.  Pour enchilada sauce over rolled tortillas. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove cover, top with cheese and bake for 10 more minutes.