Ryan's Birthday Cake

Well, my baby turned 6 today! It is sad and exciting at the same time. 

He wanted a Hockey themed party, so I did a cake that I had done before and had turned out. His response was "Awesome"! The great thing about it was that this is probably the simplest cake to do! One of the boys at the party looked at the cake and all he had to say was "where is the puck"? Leave it to a kid to tell it like it is. I did forget to put a puck on the cake. I quickly grabbed a box of smarties hoping for a brown one. Thankfully there was one. I now had an agreeable cake for all!

Chicken Cacciatore

This is another great recipe from the ladies at Our Best Bites.ow I have made some very minor changes to when it comes to the cooking time. I think my slow cooker must be extremely "efficient" because most recipes do cook faster than the recipe states. Get to know your slow cooker and adjust the cooking times accordingly. It would also depend on the size your cut your chicken. Any way......

Recipe:
1lb chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1tsp pepper
1/2 cup oil
1 onion roughly chopped
5-6 cloves of garlic, cut in half or crushed with the side of your knife
1 6oz can of tomato paste
3/4 cup white wine
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 green pepper sliced

Heat the oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Stir fry until the onions are soft and the garlic is fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Remove it with a slotted spoon and place it in a blender or food processor. Increase the heat to medium high.

In a ziploc bag add the flour and salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces and shake. Being very careful, empty the bag into the pot of oil and stir fry the chicken until it is nicely browned but not cooked through.

Remove the chicken and drain it on paper towels.

Meanwhile, add the wine, broth, tomato paste, thyme, and marjoram.

  Blend until smooth and season with the remaining salt and pepper as needed.

Place the chicken, and the blended sauce into the slow cooker. I only cooked this on low for about  1 1/2 hours. The original recipe called to cook it 3.5-4 hours.  What ever length of time you cooker needs, during the last 1/2 hour, add the mushrooms and the green pepper. Serve over pasta and top with some chopped parsley and parmesan.

This meal can be frozen, so make a double batch.

Once the chicken has browned, add it to the sauce and freeze in a Ziploc bag or freezer container.  When you are wanting to cook it, place it frozen in your slow cooker and cook on high for about3-4 hours. Mushrooms don't freeze particularly well so  I would add fresh mushrooms and green pepper  in the last 1/2 hour of cooking like the original recipe states.

Lemon and Herb Pasta

This dish was inspired by Our Best Bites Blog. I did change the method around slightly. You really need to be organized when making this, especially if you are using shrimp. I over cooked mine! Please read through the recipe and get everything ready. The original recipe also called for fettuccine, but I am in love right now with cappellini. It is a very fine pasta almost like angel hair. You should try it!
This is also a very versatile recipe when  it comes to the ingredients. You can really use what you have in your garden or in your fridge. You can use shrimp or chicken or no protein at all. You are in charge here so use what your family loves.

Recipe:
2 large chicken boneless chicken breast ( or shrimp)
2 lemons
2 tbsp red wine vineger
pasta of your choice
1 -2 cups of vegetables: zuchinni
mushrooms
colored peppers
4-5 cloves of garlic ( you know I like to grate them with a microplane)
about 3/4 cup of fresh herbs:
basil, oregano, thyme, green onion ect.
oil
salt and pepper
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Method:

If you choose to use chicken, cut it into bite size pieces and place it in a ziploc bag. Add the red wine vinegar, juice of a lemon and a couple of tbsp of oil. Mix it around and let it sit for as little as 1/2 hour. If using shrimp, only let it sit for about 15 min. the vinegar will begin to cook the shrimp if you let it sit much longer.
While your protein is marinating, get a pot of water going for your pasta.
Slice all of your vegetables and toss with some oil and season with salt and pepper.  Get your garlic prepared, mince or grate it and set it aside.
Heat your grill. If you are using chicken, remove it from the marinade and season with salt and pepper.  Place the chicken and your vegetables on the griddle and cook. If you are using fettuccine, put it in the water now.   Meanwhile,  chop the herbs that you chose and zest your lemon. Set aside. In another sauce pan, add about 1/4 of oil and gently heat it. Add the garlic, making sure not to brown it. It is really there to infuse the oil with flavor. Once the oil is warm, you can turn the heat right off to prevent cooking the garlic too much. If you are using cappelini pasta and shrimp you will only need about 4-5 min to finish cooking each of them.

When your chicken and vegetables are done, transfer them to the pan with the oil and garlic. Add the pasta directly from the pot into the pan. ( keep the pasta water for now)Add your herbs, parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice from the lemon. Toss everything together and add more pasta water if it needs to be loosened up a little.

Cheesy Bread

 Put on your stretchiest pants and make this bread!

Recipe:
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1lbs sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup- 1cup green onion (depending on taste)
1/2 cup mayonaisse
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup very soft butter
3-4 cloves of grated or minced garlic
1-2 loaves french bread

Method:
In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses and the green onion. Stir in the mayonnaise and the sour cream. In a separate bowl, mix the butter with the grated garlic. Add the butter mixture with the cheese mixture.

At this point, you can take half of the mixture and wrap it in saran wrap and freeze for later use. I even froze the second half of my french loaf because this is a very rich and cheesy bread and you can't eat too much.

Preheat your broiler. Slice your loaf in half horizontally.  Spread cheese mixture over each side of the bread. 

Place under the broiler for 3-5 min. Remove when the cheese has turned light golden brown in spots.

Let the bread sit for a couple of minutes before slicing.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Omg! Don't let the word pumpkin scare you.These are deeeeeelicious! I was Blog surfing the other day and came across a beautiful site, Lick The Bowl Good, and there I found this treasure. It was kismet because it just so happened that in my fridge sat the remnants of a can of pumpkin puree that was on it way to the other side.  So make them I did and I wasn't the only one who was glad I did!

Without any further adieu, I give you:
The Recipe:

1/4 cup warm water             1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup warm milk              1/4 cup melted butter
1 tbsp sugar                         1 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp yeast                     about 2 cups flour

If you haven't worked with bread dough before and are a little intimidated, check out my "dinner buns" post. It will have more of a step by step instruction on mixing dough.  Combine the water, milk, sugar and yeast. Let stand about 5 min. Add the melted butter, and about 2 cups of the flour. Mix for about 2-3 min. Add the salt. Slowly add more flour if the dough is not coming together. I only needed about 2 1/4 cups. Knead for at least 5 min in your mixer. Once the dough has come together into a soft ball, coat it in butter and put it back in the bowl. Cover and let rise for about an hour.

Filling:

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp chilled butter, cut into pieces

While your dough is rising, in a small bowl combine both sugars, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the chilled butter.

When the dough has doubled in size,  turn it out onto a floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle. it will be about 1/4 inch thin.

Sprinkle the dough with the filling. Spread it out evenly and gently press it into the dough. Roll the dough up length wise into a log and pinch the seams together.

Using a serrated knife or a counter scraper, divide the dough into equal portions. I got 8 cinnamon rolls out of my log. 

Place the rolls in a 9x9 parchment lined pan. Cover and let rise for about another hour.

When the rolls have risen, place them in a 375 oven and bake for 25-30min. The tops should be nicely browned. While they are baking, prepare the icing. I didn't use the icing recipe that was with the original post. I made up my own. I didn't measure anything, but I did use about 3-4 tbsp of soft cream cheese, 2 tbsp soft butter. Using a hand mixer, blend these on high until they are completely combined and the mixture is light and fluffy. I added a couple of teaspoons of cream and 1 package of Oetker vanilla sugar. After that, I added icing sugar until I liked the consistency and level of sweetness. Maybe 3/4 cup.

As soon as the rolls came out of the oven, I frosted them with some of the icing. Let them cool completely now. Once they are completely cool, cover them with more icing. This icing turned out really creamy and delicious, so I wanted lots!

I hope you try these, you won't be disappointed.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I have made sweet and sour meatballs before for the kids and they loved it! But do you think that I could find that recipe? of course not. I did see this recipe from another blog the other day and thought I would try it.  It ended up not being my favorite recipe, but I already took the pictures, so what the hell.

Recipe:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire

Basically, combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Add your meatballs and cook until they are heated through.

I doubled the sauce recipe because I like to serve these over rice and need a little extra sauce to pour on the rice.

These meatballs really live up to their name. Sweet and Sour! These weren't the kids favorite. They were just okay.  I really wish I remembered where I got the other one from.

Beef Dips

I wish I could take a picture that did this justice, maybe one day. Really, I don't know anyone who wouldn't love these. Thinly shaved roast beef with fried onions and peppers served on a homemade bun that has been toasted with garlic butter and topped with melted cheese. Ok, you had me at Thinly sliced.

This meal does take a little advanced prep, but it's worth it. This is not so much a recipe as it is a method, so make sure to red it through so you are prepared.

I like to pat my roast dry and then rub it with oil and cover it with steak seasoning. I bake it at 400 degrees until the temperature reaches 140-150 degrees.  set the roast aside and let it cool completely. Add about 2cups of water to the pan drippings and set aside. This will be the base for your au jus.

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. My meat slicer. It really is part of the secret to these beef dips. It doesn't matter what cut of beef you are roasting because you can get such thin tender slices with this baby.
Whether or not you have a slicer, after the beef has come to room temperature, slice it as thin as you can. Set the meat aside.
I like to top my beef dips with grilled onions and peppers. Thinly slice 1-2 onions and 1 pepper.  Add them to a hot oiled pan and season with some salt and pepper. I like to add about 1/4 tsp of pepper flakes for a little kick.

In a sauce pan, pour in the drippings that were set aside from the roast. I like to add a little beef bouillon to the drippings to make a richer tasting jus.  You might also need to season it with some salt and pepper. Keep the au jus on low while you toast your buns. You can put your sliced beef into the au jus now to to warm the the beef up.

Turn your oven on to broil. Slice open the buns and cover them with garlic butter. Toast the buns until golden brown. Be careful not to burn them! 2-3 minutes under the broiler will do the trick.
Remove the buns and top then with the sliced  beef, grilled onions and peppers and then top each with cheese. I like to use provolone usually, but all I had on hand was marble cheese.  Put back under the broiler until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
Ladle some of the au jus into a smaller bowl and serve along side your sandwiches for dipping.

Asian Grilled Chicken

Well, when it's - 15 degrees outside, what's for dinner? Barbecue of course! I got this recipe from another fabulous blog, Our Best Bites. As usual, those girls delivered with a simple and delicious recipe that the whole family voted as a "make again" dish. Here it is!

Recipe:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup soya sauce
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp curry powder
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp grated ginger
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

In a bowl, or a Ziploc bag combine all of the ingredients (minus the chicken) and mix these well to combine and dissolve the brown sugar. Remove about 3 tbsp of the marinade and set aside to baste the chicken with later. Add the chicken and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. I used 2 bone-in breasts and 6 drumsticks,because it was what I had in the freezer.

Now tell your husband to grab his parka and grill that chicken! Cooking time will greatly depend on the type of chicken you have chosen. Obviously bone-in will take a little longer. Grill the  chicken pieces over medium heat, and baste them with the reserved marinade.

Enjoy!

Salsbury Steak

                                                                                  Well I definitely didn't plan on bogging this recipe but it was such a hit with the family, that I did up an extra plate for a picture.  This is not a fancy culinary meal by any means, but what it definitely is, is a simple comforting family style meal. 

I didn't follow any set recipe. I mixed in some minced garlic, Worcestershire, salt and pepper, egg and fresh breadcrumbs with the ground beef. I formed them into oval patties about 1/4 inch thin. Fry the patties until just pink in the middle. Remove the patties and add in finely diced onion and sliced mushrooms. You might need to add a little butter, depending on how much fat the patties give off. Saute until the mushrooms are nicely browned. Add about 1 tbsp of flour and cook about another minute. Add about 1 1/2 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil while stirring to lift all of the brown bits from the mushrooms and patties. The sauce should have thickened slightly. Add the patties back to the sauce. Cover and simmer the patties about 5 min or until completely cooked through.  Check for salt and pepper. I served this over whipped mashed potatoes. Yum.