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It’s my birthday, and tradition in my office is to bring in dounts, brownies, or other baked goods. I try to be a little different than the predictable Panera bagels or Dunkin Donuts. Somehow I got myself into the mood for cinnamon rolls. I spent some time on-line looking for the perfect recipe. I wanted to do most of the prep the night before and just pop the rolls into the oven in the morning while I got dressed for work.
I came across this recipe from Alton Brown on the Food Network web site. I am a big fan on Alton and have made several of his recipes. They always turn out very good. He is a very precise cook with true attention to detail. I have found that if you follow his directions that the results will most certainly be spectacular.
This recipe was amazing. I can honestly say that these are the best cinnamon rolls that I have ever tasted. They beat Cinnabon and local Amish bakeries hands-down. The dough raised beautifully and had a lightest texture. There was the perfect proportion of cinnamon sugar and raised dough. The cream cheese made the icing creamy and smooth. It oozed over the rolls and made them a delightful sticky delicious mess.
I know this will now be my standard recipe for cinnamon rolls. The technique lends itself well to breakfast for overnight guests. It was nice to get the "real" work done in the evening and to finish them off with just a little effort in the morning. Job well done, Alton!
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Picnic season is just around the corner. I have been searching for the perfect baked fried chicken recipe. I love a piece of fried chicken at a picnic. I guess that comes from my childhood when my mother seemed to always pack chicken in the picnic basket. Hot or cold, fried chicken rules. A huge amount of calories and fat are removed when the chicken is baked and not fried. Up until this point, I hadn’t found the perfect recipe.
In a recent issue of Paula Deen’s magazine, there was a pretty good recipe for baked fried chicken.I used it as the base for this recipe and made some changes. I think a crucial step in making a great fried chicken is marinating it overnight in buttermilk and some hot sauce. I can’t say for sure, but I think it adds depth to the flavor and additional moistness. I also substituted fried onion rings for the crushed potato chips in the original recipe . French’s has been running ads in many magazines with a baked chicken recipe using their fried onion rings. I thought that would add some spice to the chicken that the potato chips wouldn’t.
The result was a resounding success. This chicken was delicious. It turned out so moist and crispy. It really is a baked chicken recipe that can pass as a fried chicken recipe. It’s definitely going in my picnic basket this summer.
Crispy Oven Fried Chicken
5 pound cut-up fryer chicken
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 tablespoon Frank’s hot sauce
3/4 cup flour
1 cup French fried onions
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
Prepare the chicken: I remove the skin from the breasts and thighs and leave the skin on the wings and drumsticks. Place them in a 1 gallon Zip-loc storage bag. Pour 1 cup of buttermilk over the chicken. Add the hot sauce. Remove as much air as possible from the storage bag. Seal and mix the chicken, milk and hot sauce. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours. Overnight is best.
Preheat your oven to 425. Place wire baking racks on top of a 15X10 jelly roll pan. Generously spray with cooking spray.
Prepare your dipping station: Place 4 pie plates adjacent to each other on your counter with the jelly roll pan at the end. Place a colander in the third pie plate and drain the milk from the chicken into the plate. Place the colander of drained chicken into the first pie plate to catch any excess milk. Place the 3/4 cup flour in the second pie plate. Crush the French fried onions in a small Zip-Loc bag until they resemble course crumbs. Mix the crushed French fried onions, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, paprika and salt together in the fourth pie plate.
Dip the chicken: Take a piece of chicken and roll into the flour. Dip into the milk. Roll in the breading mixture. Lightly dust off loose crumbs. Place onto the wire baking rack in the jelly roll pan. Continue until all pieces are breaded.
Place into the preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until chicken tests done (170 in the thickest portion of a breast.) Serve.
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We had company for dinner last night. I decided we needed to have a dessert. I’ve been on a diet and Weight Watchers for some time now and have avoided making dessert. As with any diet, you need to adjust your life to live with it. I’ve come to understand that you can treat yourself to some high calorie treats now and then. It’s actually allowed on the WW Momentum Plan. You just need to account for the points.
This recipe comes from the latest issue of Kraft Foods Food and Family. It’s a nice recipe magazine with easy to prepare dishes. Better yet, it’s a free subscription. I followed the basic recipe but changed the final presentation. I used the jumbo muffin pan rather than the standard cupcake pan. I finished them off with chocolate icing and chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter cups.
They were so evil! Man, is this recipe so, so good. We had to send the entire leftover home with our guest. It would have only meant disaster to this week’s WW weigh-in if they were in this house.
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownies
1 brownie mix (13×9-inch size)
1 8 oz. brick of Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 container of prepared milk chocolate icing
4 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
Preheat oven to 350º F. Place Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the freezer. This makes them easier to chop later.
Prepare the brownie mix per package directions. Spoon into 10 jumbo or 20 standard paper-lined muffin cups.
Beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons for jumbo or 1 rounded tablespoon for standard cupcake pans into center of batter in each cup, pressing down slightly into batter.
Bake 40 minutes for jumbo or 30 minutes for standard until the cheesecake centers are set. Cool.
Frost with milk chocolate frosting. Chop the peanut butter cups into small pieces and sprinkle over the iced brownie cheesecakes.
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Mardi Gras is approaching. I was in the mood for Cajun. I love jambalaya but wanted something a little healthier. This recipe has the characteristics of traditional jambalaya with less fat and calories. It is packed with healthy vegetables and low fat turkey sausage. I think the key to Cajun flavor is the seasoning. The Tony Chachere and Tabasco are Louisiana products that are integral to the flavors of new Orleans. I added the rice to the jambalaya. You could easily omit it and serve the finished jambalaya over the rice.
Slimmed down Jambalaya
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion
1 medium sweet green pepper
1 medium sweet red pepper
3 celery stalks
4 cloves garlic
1 pound smoked turkey sausage
1 28 -oz can diced tomatoes
1 4-oz can diced green chilies
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning – I use Tony Chachere seasoning.
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
4 cups tomato juice
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
Dice onion, peppers, celery and garlic. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers, celery and garlic and sauté for until vegetables are soft (6-8 minutes).
Slice turkey sausage in to ¼” think rounds and add it to the Dutch over. Sauté for 5 minutes until browned. Add remaining ingredients except shrimp. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the shrimp and cover. Simmer for another 5 minutes or until shrimp are pink. Remove from heat and serve warm with extra hot sauce.
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Brett and I attended our friend Sally’s Super Bowl party. We try not to miss this party but hadn’t gone in the past couple of years. Sally and her partner Annette have been friends of ours for close to 20 years. A few years back, Annette succumbed to cancer. Sally remains a great friend that we value. It was fun to see the girls again. We refer to ourselves as the tokens. There are usually 20 women and Brett and I at any of Annette and Sally’s parties.
As is tradition, everyone brings a snack or potluck dish to share. I had watched Paul Deen earlier this past week. She was making party appetizers and snacks. This recipe really caught my eye. I love rumaki. Lets face it. Wrap anything in bacon, and it’s a winner. This recipe did not disappoint me. It was a hit at the party too.
Paula’s recipe did not call for marinating the chicken breast. I decided to marinate them to add some depth to the taste. It worked well. I think I will follow another cook’s comments on the Food Network web site. That individual marinated the chicken in Frank’s Hot Sauce. I think the recipe would be better with a little "kick". Another option would be to marinate them in Buffalo chicken wing sauce.
It’s very simple recipe to prepare. It takes almost no time to prepare. I doubled the recipe to make it party size. A 2 1/2 pound bag of frozen chicken breasts made about 40-50 bites. I also increased the cooking time to 45 minutes. The bacon was not crisp enough at Paula’s 35 minutes. The breast was still very moist and remained so though the Super Bowl.
Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
Adapted from a Paula Deen recipe.
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
1 6 oz. can of pineapple juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound package sliced bacon
1 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons chili powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Mix pineapple juice, soy sauce and garlic to make a marinade. Place cubed chicken in a gallon Ziploc bag. Pour in marinade. Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 45 minutes or until bacon is crisp.
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...I was raised in an ethnic family. My father’s family was Hungarian and lived in the Hungarian neighborhood in my home town. Eastern European food was a staple of my diet for years. I fondly remember the stuffed cabbage and sausage dinners at my grandparent’s Hungarian Presbyterian Church. Several times a year the Hungarian ladies made sausage, stuffed cabbage and pastries. They sold them to parishioners and neighbors. The sales always ended with a delicious church dinner.
Stuffed cabbage was definitely a staple at out house. My parents made sauerkraut and sour heads (whole heads of cabbage brined). These were used during the winter for many Hungarian dishes. Stuffed cabbage was always made in enormous batches with leftovers frozen for future dinners.
New Years Eve and Day is a time when most people have pork on the menu. I have cut back on fattening Hungarian dishes over the years. However, I make this recipe every New Year’s Eve. It is not my family’s recipe. It is one I got several years back from a Hungarian recipe discussion board. It is actually more flavorful than my grandmother’s recipe.
I challenge anyone to find a better recipe for stuffed cabbage. This became my dependable recipe after the first time I made it. One thing that you will note about Hungarian stuffed cabbage is the use of pork as the stuffing. Many people use ground beef only. The pork and beef combo adds much more flavor and a lighter filling.
Another variation that I urge you to try is substituting ground ham for the ground beef. I usually do that for New Years since I always have leftover ham from Christmas. It makes the dish even more delicious. Give this recipe a try. You will love it. It makes about 18-24 stuffed cabbage depending on the size of the cabbage leaves.
Hungarian Cabbage Rolls
1 large head of green cabbage
½ lb. bacon, crisp & crumbled
1 lb. smoked sausage
Filling
1 cup long grain rice, scalded
1 lb lean ground beef or ground ham
1 lb. fresh lean pork sausage
1 onion, minced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup tomato juice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
Stewing Sauce
1 quart sauerkraut
28 oz canned tomatoes (1 can)
2 cups tomato juice
1 onion, diced
4 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
Instructions:
Core cabbage, heat in salt water till leaves separate. Remove each leaf and drain in colander.
Scald rice: Place rice in a heavy pan with water, making sure that the water covers rice. Bring to a full rolling boil. Reduce heat to simmer. (If rice is not scalded enough it will be crunchy.) Boil, covered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Rinse with cold water in a sieve or colander. Add scalded rice to the remaining filling ingredients.
Fill the cabbage leaves with filling mixture; folding leaves. While rolling pigs, start cooking the stewing sauce in another pot. Prepare stewing sauce by mixing together ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 10 minutes.
Assemble: Line a 6-quart roaster with: sauce, layer of pigs, smoked sausage links, more sauce, sprinkle with bacon crumbs, layer of pigs, smoked sausage links, layer of sauce, sprinkle with bacon crumbs, repeat until all ingredients are used.
Set oven at 350º. Cover roaster, and once all comes to a kind of a boil, reduce temperature to about 300º so it doesn’t boil over.
Cook about 2 more hours.
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Here is the recipe for my all-time favorite bar cookie recipe. I first tasted this cookie about 12 years ago. Bev, the ultimate church lady, made these super delicious bars for a church function. You know the type; retired older widow who cooks up a storm with recipes that are out of this world. I immediately fell in love with this cookie.
Bev would not share this recipe. I had asked her friends. They told me that she never shared the recipe. Apparently, I was not the only one enamored with the glorious cookie. About 5 years ago, Bev decided it was time to pass on her recipes. She gave me this one knowing my love of the cookie. She always had a Ziploc bag of them for me in church when she made them.
This recipe is in honor of Bev. I love her so and her cooking even more! She loves her church and is a devoted parishioner who gives herself selfishly to the church. I hope that you enjoy this cookie as much as I do.
Treasure Bars
Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a jelly roll pan.
Combine:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Stir in:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup maraschino cherries (drained and chopped)
1 cup salted peanuts (chopped)
Put in pan and bake 25-30 minutes.
Icing:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 TBS margarine (softened)
2-3 TBS milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 square melted baker’s chocolate
Spread icing over warm bars, drizzle melted chocolate. Cool and cut into bars. Makes 3 dozen. Do not freeze, store in an airtight container.
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Saturday I spent the day working on a Habitat for Humanity project. I came home exhausted. I had bought ground turkey the day before and decided to make turkey chili. Turkey is a good substitution for beef in chili. The taste is almost identical and maybe even better.
I like my chili thick. This recipe results in a chili with a lot of texture. I know what some of you are thinking… carrot in chili! Trust me, give it a try. It adds a nice crunch. When chopping the vegetables, don’t over cut them. Allow them to be about a ¼ - ½ inch dice. This gives the chili more bulk.
Turkey Chili
2 TBS olive oil
1 cup onion
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 ¼ lb. of 93% lean ground turkey breast
1 large carrot
1 stalk celery
1 medium green bell pepper
3 TBS chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 4 oz. can of diced green chilies
1 14 oz. can of kidney beans
1 14 oz. can of black beans
1 13 oz. can of fat-free chicken broth
1 12 oz. can of tomato juice
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
In a large Dutch oven on medium high heat, sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Take care not to burn the garlic. Coarsely chop all of the remaining vegetables and add them to the Dutch oven along with the ground beef. On medium high heat stir and break up the turkey with the vegetables. Continue to cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Do not worry if the turkey is not completely cooked. Add spices, tomatoes, beans, chilies, broth and tomato juice. Raise heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Allow chili to cook at least an hour for flavors to blend. Two hours makes a much more delicious chili with deeper flavor. Optionally serve topped with ¼ cup of cheddar cheese. Serves 12.
Cal. 255, Protein: 16g Total Fat: 15g, Sat. Fat 5.5g, Carbs:17g, Sugar: 5.5g, Fiber:3g
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20 years ago, Brett and I lived in Cincinnati. At one of the first lunches with my coworkers, they took me to Gold Star Chili across the street from our office and introduced me to Cincinnati chili.
If you haven’t had it, it does not resemble traditional chili at all. It doesn’t have chunks of beef, spicy southwestern sauce, beans and tomatoes. It is a soupy concoction of fine ground beef with a strange array of spices that includes cinnamon, allspice and depending on version, chocolate. It is served over spaghetti and topped with mounds of cheddar cheese.
When you order chili in a Cincinnati chili parlor, you need to tell them the “way” you want it. “Two-way” is spaghetti topped with chili, “three-way” adds cheese; “four-way” adds kidney beans and “five-way” adds chopped onions. It is a unique dining experience. The parlors also have coneys on the menu. They are also not standard hot dogs. They are smaller hot dogs with the chili ladled generously over the top and then the “way” toppings of your choice.
I became a fan of Skyline Chili. I usually went to Gold Star since it was across the street from my office. During my 18 months in Cincinnati, I had the opportunity to visit several of the other non-chain chili parlors which have their own taste but respect the Cincinnati “way” of serving chili.
This recipe closely resembles the chili parlor taste. It came from a newspaper reader recipe submission column in the Columbus Dispatch. If you want the true taste of Cincinnati chili, make a visit to the Queen city and experience it first hand.
Cincinnati Chili
2 pounds ground beef
3 cups water
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 bay leaves
1 onion, minced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan (do not brown meat). Simmer 3 hours, breaking up meat as it cooks, and stirring occasionally.
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Sweet potatoes and yams are plentiful and cheap this month. Many people do not realize that they are much healthier for you than potatoes. I found this recipe several years ago in my company’s monthly safety and health magazine at work. It is super low fat (16 g for the whole recipe). Brett made these tonight and they were so delicious. It’s a great substitute for high fat, high carb French fries. Baked on the high heat, they were very crispy on the outside. The seasonings bring out their special flavor - no need to add salt.
The nutritional numbers for a sweet potato speak for themselves: almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the recommendation for vitamin C, four times the RDA for beta carotene, and, when eaten with the skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal. All these benefits with only about 130 to 160 calories!
Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
3 medium-large sweet potatoes
1 TBS olive or canola oil
1 TBS red wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
Preheat oven to 475°. Peel and cut potatoes length-wise into wedges 1-2 inches wide. Blend remaining ingredients and pour over potatoes, tossing well to coat. Place wedges on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 10 minutes; turn wedges over and bake another 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender and starting to brown.
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