Grapefruit and Fennel Salad

I made this Robin Miller (Food Network) recipe yesterday for dinner. It was SO good. Really unique and refreshing. I used pink grapefruit instead of oranges.

Orange and Fennel Salad

Robin Miller

Ingredients

• 1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 medium oranges, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries

Directions

Place the sliced fennel in a salad bowl. Slice oranges to divide flesh sections and add to bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper. Toss, top with sweetened cranberries and serve.

Indian Butter Chicken

This was a super easy good recipe in the crock pot from 365 days of crock pot cooking blog (http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-makhani-indian-butter.html)

I thought it could use a little more spice, but Matt loved it as is.

Indian Butter Chicken

-crockpot365.blogspot.com
The Ingredients.

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (mine were frozen solid)
1 onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 T butter
15 cardamom pods (sewn together!)
2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 can coconut milk (I used light)
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 T lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt (to add at the end, I used fat free)

The Directions.

Use a 5 quart or larger crockpot. Carefully sew together the cardamom pods using a needle and thread. You can put them in a little cheese cloth bundle, instead, if you have that in the house. Put chicken in crockpot, and add onion, garlic, and all of the dry spices. Plop in the butter and tomato paste. Add lemon juice and coconut milk. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. The chicken should shred easily with 2 forks when fully cooked.

Stir in plain yogurt 15 minutes before serving. Discard cardamom pods. Salt to taste, serve with white or brown basmati rice.

Hot Wings

I've made these wings for several parties. They're always a hit!

Restaurant-Style Buffalo Chicken Wings

Rated: Allrecipes.com

oil for deep frying 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup hot sauce 1 dash ground black pepper 1 dash garlic powder

1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon salt 10 chicken wings

Directions:

1.	Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). The oil should be just enough to cover wings entirely, an inch or so deep. Combine the butter, hot sauce, pepper and garlic powder in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir together and heat until butter is melted and mixture is well blended. Remove from heat and reserve for serving.
2.	In a small bowl mix together the flour, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Place chicken wings in a large nonporous glass dish or bowl and sprinkle flour mixture over them until they are evenly coated. Cover dish or bowl and refrigerate for 60 to 90 minutes.
3.	Fry coated wings in hot oil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until parts of wings begin to turn brown. Remove from heat, place wings in serving bowl, add hot sauce mixture and stir together. Serve.

Mom's cinnamon rolls

My mom's cinnamon rolls are legendary! I opt for vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon in my frosting instead of maple.

CINNAMON ROLLS

Scald 2 cups milk

Add: 1/4 c. oil

1/4 c sugar

After this has cooled and add:

2 T yeast

1/2 c lukewarm water

Now add: 2 eggs

6 cups flour

Mix all these ingredients together for 4 min. Add more flour if necessary. Knead until not too sticky not too dry. . Set aside, and let rise until double. Roll out onto floured board, or cloth. Brush with butter, and sprinkle with

1/2 c br. sugar 1/2 c white sugar

lots of cinnamon nuts, or raisins optional

Roll up, cut into 3/4-1 inch rolls. Place on sprayed pan. Let rise for 30 min, or until doubled. Bake at 325 for 15 min, or until done.

Topping

1 box powdered sugar 2 T butter melted

1 t vanilla flavoring 1 t maple flavoring

a little warm milk. just enough to make the topping melt together, like smooth paste.

Mahi Mahi with mango salsa

I made this Rachel Ray recipe last week. Really light & refreshing.

Mahi Mahi Steaks with Mango Salsa

- Rachel Ray

Ingredients

Mahi Mahi:

• 1 lime, juiced
• 4 (8-ounce, 1 1/2-inch thick) portions mahi mahi steak
• A drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Salsa:

• 1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 jalapeno or serrano, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger root, grated or minced
• 1/4 seedless (European or English) cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 20 blades fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 lime, juiced

Directions

Preheat grill pan or indoor electric grill to high heat. Squeeze juice of 1 lime over fish. Drizzle steaks with a little oil and rub oil into fish to coat. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Cook steaks 5 minutes on each side on hot grill.

To assemble salsa, combine all ingredients for salsa in a small bowl.

Bow tie Chicken Caesar Salad

I made this salad from a blog my friend contributes to called 24 hour menu. It was a very light and flavorful salad. It would be perfect in the Summer time.

Bow tie Chicken Caesar Salad
2 head romaine lettuce chopped
2 chicken breasts grilled and sliced
1 box of bow tie pasta cooked and cooled
sliced carrots
cucumber cubed
cherry tomatoes
sliced avocado
1 can drained and sliced hearts of palm, (can be found in specialty aisle and so delicious)
yellow peppers
Parmesan cheese

**anything else that sounds good**

Toss all together and serve with creamy Caesar and balsamic vinaigrette. And of course fresh bread. Tonight's case was buttermilk biscuits and strawberry jam.

Balsamic Dressing
1 c. olive oil
1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
tad of oregano
Blend at full speed in blender or food processor

Creamy Caesar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 pressed or minced garlic cloves
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1-2 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Blend at full speed in blender or food processor

This is a family favorite. SO good and so comforting. I served it with the no knead bread I posted about previously with chopped rosemary in it. Yum!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1 Whole Chicken

Boil with a few vegetables to flavor the soup. I usually use celery, onions & carrots + 2 t salt. Bring the chicken to a boil & then let simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours. Remove chicken and debone, chop & set aside in fridge while you make the noodles. Keep the broth simmering. My mom use to blend the veggies in the broth so we wouldn't pick out the veggies. I haven't had to do that yet. You can add bouillon if you want more flavor.

Noodles

2 c flour 2 eggs

1/2 t salt 4 egg shells of water

Put flour and salt in a bowl, add eggs and water and stir until well mixed. Dump out on floured surface and roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut strips of the dough and put them in the simmering broth. Continue until all the noodles are in & add the chicken & let simmer for about 5 mins.

Indian Food

One of Matt's co-workers sent him home with an Indian feast a couple of days ago. It was SO delicious. So I didn't have to cook and was treated to a delicious feast! He made curry, rice a potato dish and bread. I hope he will share the recipe.

Sri-Lankan Curry

8 Chicken Thighs – Skinned

2 Large Onions – Finely chopped

4 Green Chillies - Chopped

2 Tsp Fennel Seeds

2 Tbs Tomato puree

1.5 Tbs curry powder

12 Curry Leaves

1 Tsp salt

2 Cloves of Garlic - Chopped

1 Inch sized piece of ginger - Chopped

1 Tsp Lemon Juice

Vegetable Oil

Fry the onions and chillies for 2 minutes

Add the fennel seeds and curry leaves and fry onions until golden.

Add chicken and cover for 2 minutes

Add tomato puree and curry powder and cook for 2 minutes covered.

Add 1 cup of water and cover and cook for at least 40 minutes.

Before serving add the Garlic and Ginger and Lemon juice and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Second curry

8oz Chopped tomatoes ( or use one regular can of diced Tomatos)

4 Skinless chicken breast – cubed

2 Medium onions – finely chopped

2 Cloves of garlic- finely chopped

1 Inch sized piece of ginger – finely chopped

2 Green chillies – chopped

1 Tsp Turmeric powder

0.5 Tsp Chilli powder

2 Tsp Cumin seeds

1 Tsp salt

0.25 cup of Vegetable oil

2 Tbs Madras or Jalfrezi curry paste

10 Curry Leafs chopped (Optional)

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When crackling add the chopped onion and fry until golden. Add ginger and garlic and after 2 minutes add the turmeric, chilli, salt.

After 2 minutes add the curry paste mix well then add the tomatoes.

Mix well and add the chicken and chillies after 5 minutes add 2 cups of water, cover and allow to simmer for at least 40 minutes.

Valentine's Day treats

Add Valentine M&M's to your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Or use your old Christmas candy canes by putting them on parchment paper in the shape of a heart, put them in a 350 degree oven until the start to just melt, pull them out and wrap the bottom around a lolli-pop stick.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
See this recipe on air Thursday Oct. 05 at 7:00 PM ET/PT.


Recipe Summary
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen cookies
User Rating: 5 Stars


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
2 ounces milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Hardware:
Ice cream scooper (#20 disher, to be exact)
Parchment paper
Baking sheets
Mixer

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Combine the egg, milk, and vanilla and bring to room temperature in another bowl.
Cream the butter in the mixer's work bowl, starting on low speed to soften the butter. Add the sugars. Increase the speed, and cream the mixture until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed and add the egg mixture slowly. Increase the speed and mix until well combined.
Slowly add the flour mixture, scraping the sides of the bowl until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for more even browning.
Remove the cookies from the pans immediately. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

I made this bread pudding with left over carrot/currant and apple no-knead bread (see previous post). I think this is the best bread pudding I've made & I think it's all about the bread!

The recipe is from Better Homes and Garden

Bread Pudding

4 eggs
2 1/4 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1 T vanilla
1 t shredded orange peel (I didn't use since my bread was already flavored)
1/2 t cinnamon
4 c dry bread cubes
1/3 c dried cherries, cranberries or raisins
1 recipe caramel sauce (recipe below)

In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, orange peel and cinnamon. In an ungreased 2-quart square baking dish (I used a 9 x 13) toss together bread cubes and dried fruit. Pour egg mixture over bread. Press mixture lightly into pan with the back of a large spoon. Bake, uncovered for 40-45 mins at 350 degrees until puffed and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool slightly and then top with caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce

1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c water
1 T cornstarch
1/3 c half and half or cream or light cream
2 T light corn syrup
1 T butter
1/2 t vanilla

Put all ingredients except vanilla in a heavy saucepan. Stir over medium heat until bubbly. Cook and stir 2 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and pour over the pudding.

Lime Chicken and No Fail rice

This recipe is from my cousins the Taylors. It's really really good. I always use half the amount of butter called for. Matt calls this rice cheesy rice even though there is no cheese in it. It's just creamy & yummy.


LIME CHICKEN

10,000.00 winner in cooking contest --From Taylors

6 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cube butter

Juice of lime

1/2 t dill

Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet. Cook chicken breasts in butter until just done. Remove chicken from skillet and remove skillet from heat. Squeeze juice of lime into drippings remaining in pan and stir. Sprinkle dill in the glaze and serve. This dish takes about 15 minutes from start to finish and is delicious. Serve with no fail rice.

NO FAIL RICE

Preheat oven to 375

1/4 c butter

1/2 c onions chopped

1 c long grain rice

2 c chicken broth

Sauté onions in butter until transparent. Add rice and stir until well coated. Put in a casserole dish and add 2 cups of boiling chicken broth. Cover and bake 20 - 25 min.