Coconut Macaroons 2.0

I had to redeem myself with some decent Coconut Macaroons.  The first attempt at coconut macaroons were pretty bad, and they didn't end up looking like macaroons at all.  These were not only decent, but amazingly delicious!  Yum!  I used an Alton Brown recipe (see recipe here) this time.  The only thing I didn't do from his recipe was toast the coconut.  

Ingredients: 

4 large egg whites

Pinch salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 (8-ounce) package sweetened shredded coconut, lightly toasted

Preheat oven to 350.  Whip the egg whites and salt with an electric mixer until they start to stiffen.  Add the sugar slowly and whip until the egg whites are very (very, very) stiff.  Carefully fold in the coconut.  Drop by rounded tablespoon fulls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until they start to brown.

Zucchini, Mushroom and Chicken Penne

For tonight's dinner I used half of the shredded chicken from yesterday.  The inspiration for this pasta dish came from a Betty Crocker recipe for a Mediterranean-Style Chicken and Pasta. I didn't have a couple of the ingredients it called for, and I added a couple of my own.  It turned out really great!


Ingredients:
1 lb Penne Pasta
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Red Onion
2 Zucchini, cut in half lengthwise then cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices
8 oz Mushrooms, quartered
2 Cloves Garlic, grated or finely chopped
2 Cups Shredded Cooked Chicken
1 (14.5 oz) Can Diced Tomatoes
1 (8oz) Can Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Fresh Oregano, chopped
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper
Goat's Milk Cheese




Boil water in a large pot, salt water and cook pasta until al dente.  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan over med-high heat.  Add the onion to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes, or until it starts to get tender.  Add the zucchini, mushrooms and garlic.  Cook for another 3 minutes, or until the veggies are just starting to soften. 

Add the chicken, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, and basil to the pan with the veggies.  Season with salt & pepper.  Bring to a bubble, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  

Toss together with the pasta and serve with goat's milk cheese on top.

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot

Whole chickens are a great deal, especially when they go on sale.  I will typically cook the chicken, shred the meat, make two different dinners with it and make some chicken broth...all for just a couple dollars.  

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken

1 Cup Water, plus additional water

Remove the chicken from the bag and take out all the giblets inside the bird.  Place in crock pot breast side down and add 1 cup of water.  Cook on high for about 3 hours or until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.  This can also be done in a pressure cooker for about 25 minutes at high pressure.  Remove the chicken from the crock pot and let rest for at least 30 minutes.  Separate out the meat into a bowl.  Shred the chicken.

For making chicken broth:

Place all the bones and skin back into the crock pot and cover with water.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours.  In a pressure cooker, 30 minutes at high pressure.  Strain out the broth and refrigerate in a large bowl.  A layer of fat will collect at the top.  Remove the fat layer with a spoon and the broth is ready to be used or frozen for later use.

French Toast

Since I made the “Ultimate French Toast”, I thought I would make some regular French toast as well. This recipe comes from the amazing Alton Brown. It’s the most technical French Toast recipe I have ever made.  Be prepared if you want to make this one because it requires a head start the night before.  This will change the way you make french toast for good!

Ingredient:

1 cup half-and-half

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 (1/2-inch) slices country loaf, brioche or challah bread (or French bread)

4 tablespoons butter

Maple Syrup

The Night Before:

Slice up the bread and leave out all night on a cooling rack. Do this step at least 8 hours before you are planning on making breakfast. Whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey and salt in a bowl. Refrigerate this mixture overnight.

The Morning Of:

Preheat oven to 375 and heat a skillet or griddle pan to med-high heat (about 375 as well). Pour the egg mixture in a pie plate and soak the bread slices for 30 seconds on each side. Let the soaked slices rest for 2 minutes on the cooling rack.

Butter the skillet/griddle pan and then toast the bread slices. These will take about 2 minutes on each side.

Move the toasted bread back to the cooling rack. Place the rack in the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Banana (and Zucchini) Bread

I make banana bread all the time!  We get a lot of bananas in our Bountiful Basket each week and don't end up eating them all.  This is a great way to use up bananas.

Ingredients:
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Butter or Margerine
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
2 1/3 Cup Mashed Overripe Bananas (5-6 bananas)
1/2 Cup Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan with non stick spray.

Combine the flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.  In another bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer.  I never mash the bananas completely or even measure the last 1/3 cup.  Mashing bananas is kinds of unappetizing, so I do this part quickly and fill up the measuring cup.  The mixer will mash them enough.

Add the bananas and eggs to the butter mixture and mix until combined.  Pour this over the flour mixture and stir until thoroughly combined.  Stir in the walnuts.  Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.  It usually takes about 5-10 minutes longer, but I always check after 1 hour.  It will be done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.  Make sure you move your oven racks so there is plenty of room for the bread to rise.

For Zucchini Bread: Substitute the bananas for 2 cups shredded zucchini (1 large zucchini).  The directions are the same for either bread.

Angel Hair Pasta with Avocado and Tomatoes

Tonight's dinner was inspired by the ever increasing pile of tomatoes on my kitchen counter. I have been trying to figure out what to do with them for a few days now. I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker app on the iPod today. It was a great use for tomatoes, was very quick to make and was very tasty!


Ingredients:
8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated.
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (or 1 Tbsp Dried Basil)
1 large avocado, peeled and cut into small cubes
4 medium tomatoes, cut into small cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta.  While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook the garlic for about a minute and remove from heat.

Add the basil, tomatoes, avocado and pasta to the garlic saucepan.  Toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.

Super easy!  Super Quick!  Super Delish!

Chicken and Tomato Pizza with Goat Cheese

After last night's disaster, I needed to redeem myself with something that couldn't possibly go wrong...Pizza!  YUM!  I just so happened to have some of Robbie's homemade pizza dough in the freezer.  I will have to see if he will let me post the recipe for this pizza dough.  It's his own recipe that he has perfected over the past few years.  Very, very delicious! 

Ingredients:

1 Homemade or Store Bought Pizza Dough

Olive Oil 

Mozzarella Cheese

2 Tomatoes

1 Cup Cooked, Shredded Chicken

Goat's Milk Cheese

Preheat your oven to as hot as it will go.  Ours goes to 500 I believe.  Shape the dough into a circle and place on either a pizza pan or pizza peel (if you are using a pizza stone for baking).  Drizzle with olive oil and top with the mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, chicken, and goat cheese.

Bake the pizza for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is starting to brown.

Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie

Tonight I found myself on the kitchen floor eating stale Cheerios with my baby girl while my failed dinner laid lifeless in a pot on the stove. This is the second completely (go out for pizza type of) failed dinner in the past 5 years...not too bad.  Good thing I had a back up post for today. This recipe comes from one of my favorites, Rachael Ray. This is one of those easy, go to meals that I make often. It’s all the deliciousness of chicken pot pie and buffalo wings…in one dish! This is truly a favorite meal in our home.


Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large onion, chopped
Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided
2 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 boxes cornbread mix (Jiffy brand)
2 eggs
2/3 cup of milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a skillet with a couple tablespoons EVOO and brown up the chicken. While the chicken is browning, start on the gravy. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and whisk in the flour. Cook that about a minute, and then add the chicken stock and hot sauce. Bring to a bubble.

Once the chicken is browned, move it to a plate. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the skillet with a couple more tablespoons of EVOO. Season with salt and pepper. Cook a few minutes, until the veggies are tender.

While the veggies are cooking, mix up the cornbread topping. Stir together the cornbread mix, eggs and milk. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes. Combine the chicken, veggies and gravy together in a casserole dish and top with the cornbread.

Bake the pie for 20 minutes, or until the cornbread is golden, brown and delicious.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

It’s Tuesday again, so we have our weekly dinner and Bible study with friends. This week it is our turn to bring desert, so we made Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches. The cookies are the chocolate chip cookies that I posted about a few days ago. These are crazy good, so I hope everyone likes them.


Ingredients:
Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ice Cream (We used Mint Chocolate Chip)
Fudge Ice Cream Topping

Form the cookie dough into 1/4 cup disks and stick them in the freezer. Bake at 375 for 5 minutes, rotate cookie sheets and bake until almost done. Don’t overcook them! We found that they baked the best when the cookie sheet was ice cold as well as the dough. Freeze the cookies after they are done baking.

Spread out 2 scoops of ice cream onto the bottom of half the cookies. Cut out a small circle of the ice cream and fill it with the fudge ice cream topping. 

Top with the other half of the cookies, wrap in plastic food wrap and freeze until the ice cream is firm. 

My Mom's Meatloaf

This is the meatloaf  that my mom always made when I was growing up.  It's simple, easy and very tasty.  I have very good memories of this meatloaf and am proud to make it for my own daughter.  Chloe really liked it...beef is one of her favorite foods right now.  I also made some roast green beans and red potatoes to serve with the meatloaf. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef

1 Cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

2 Eggs

1 Onion, Diced

1/4 tsp Garlic Salt

1 tsp Dried Oregano

1 Tbsp Dried Basil

1 tsp Ketchup

1 tsp Steak Sauce (optional)

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

8oz Can Tomato Sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix together the ground beef, bread crumbs, eggs, onion, garlic salt, oregano, basil, ketchup and steak sauce.  Press into a lightly greased loaf pan.  In a small bowl, stir the brown sugar and tomato sauce together.  Pour this over the meatloaf. 

Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until cooked thoroughly.  Wait 5 minutes before slicing.  If you are roasting veggies to go with the meatloaf, add them to the oven after 30 minutes.

BBQ Beef Cups

Robbie wanted BBQ Beef Cups for dinner for his very first Father's Day.  My mom used to make these.  I'm not sure if this is how she made them, but this is how I make them.  They are super delicious.  You have probably had these at some point if you have ever had dinner at my house.  I even made them in a miniature version for Robbie's birthday party a few years ago.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Cup BBQ Sauce

2 Tbsp Dried Onion

2 (12oz) Packages Pillsbury Flaky Layers Refrigerated Biscuits (Don't use store brand!...trust me on this)

1/2 Cup Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with 1 Tbsp Olive Oil and brown up the beef.  While the beef is working, grease 2 muffin tins with non-stick spray.  Flatten out each biscuit dough.

Press them into the muffin tins.

Once the beef is browned, turn the heat down to low and add the BBQ Sauce and dried onion.  Distribute the meat mixture evenly between the dough cups.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese.  Put them back in the oven to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes.  I also made roasted broccoli.  I put the broccoli in the oven after I started browning the beef.  They finished at the same time as the beef cups.

Chloe ate some of the beef and broccoli too!

Ultimate French Toast

This recipe is Banana Stuffed French Toast, "Ultimate Style".  We saw this on Rachael Ray's $40 a Day show probably about 3 years ago.  It's way over the top for your normal french toast making, but it's nice for an extra special breakfast.  

Ingredients: 

1/8 cup pancake mix

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup sugar

6 eggs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 cups brown sugar

2 ripe bananas, sliced

1/2 large (1 1/2 to 2-pound) loaf unsliced French bread

About 1 cup crushed crunchy corn cereal (recommended: Corn Flakes)

About 6 tablespoons butter

Powdered Sugar

Maple Syrup

Cut the bread into 1 inch slices, then slice 3/4 of the way through each slice to make a pocket for the filling (so it opens like a book).

Whisk the pancake mix with a small amount of water...just enough for a thin batter.  Add nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar and eggs.  Whisk until thoroughly combined.

Mix together the walnuts, brown sugar and bananas in a bowl.

Stuff all of the bread pockets with the banana filling.

Preheat a skillet or griddle pan to med-high and coat with butter when hot.  Dip the bread in the egg mixture then coat in the crushed corn cereal.

Cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until nicely toasted.

Drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with powered sugar.

The Only Chocolate Chip Cookies I Will Make

Yes, that's right...this is the only Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I make.  In my opinion, it's simply the best there is.  This recipe is Alton Brown's take on the original Toll House recipe. The recipe is specifically designed to be chewy and of course, delicious.  He also has a thin version and a puffy version of this recipe, but I like my cookies to be chewy.  I'm a huge Alton Brown fan...see, I even have my very own salt cellar.

Ingredients:

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

(For full instructions, refer to the original recipe)

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat.

Sift together the flour and baking soda.  Add the salt to this after sifting...the kosher salt doesn't sift well.

Separate the egg (for the one egg yolk needed) using small bowls, in case you mess up.

 The butter took forever to melt, so I measured out everything else while I waited.

Cream together the melted butter, sugar and brown sugar in an electric mixer.

Add the egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla.  Mix to combine.

Slowly add in the flour while mixing until fully incorporated.

Stir in the chocolate chips...or what's left of them (I know you will be snacking on them).

Stick that in the fridge to chill while you clean up your mess.  (Yes, that is Peppermint Mocha creamer in there...it's no longer a seasonal flavor!)

Scoop the dough out onto a cookie sheet lined with either parchment paper or foil (with non-stick spray) using a #20 disher for big cookies.  I used a #50, which is smaller (it's 1.25 Tablespoons).  I haven't been able to find a #20 anywhere.  If anyone knows where I can get one, please let me know.  I believe the #20 is a 1/4 Cup, so you could measure them that way too.  Alton Brown says to do no more than 6 cookies per sheet, and no more than 2 baking sheets in the oven at a time.

Bake for 5 minutes, rotate the sheets and bake until golden, brown and delicious.  Alton Brown also says that if they look done, then they are already over cooked.  If you use a #20 disher they will take about 14 minutes.  With the #50 disher, it will be closer to 9 minutes.  Either way, keep a close eye on them.