Please won't you be my neighbor

Where there is nothing like the holidays to try to get in good with the neighbors. So this year we made some goodie baskets for our immediate neighbors and some Old New Friends




Here is what was included:

Cranberry-Orange Bread with Grand Marnier Glaze

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened, plus more for buttering pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup orange juice
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups powdered sugar
7 to 8 tbsp. Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 330°. Butter two 6-cup-capacity loaf pans (or, if making the mini loaves, butter six 2-cup-capacity pans).

2. With an electric or standing mixer on medium speed, cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add orange juice, sour cream, orange zest, and vanilla; mix until blended.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture and cranberries to wet ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are absorbed; do not overmix.

4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers of breads comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes for large loaves and 60 minutes for mini loaves.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and 7 tbsp. Grand Marnier. Glaze should have consistency of thick maple syrup or corn syrup. If it is too thick, thin with an additional tbsp. of liqueur.

6. Let loaves cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack set over a large baking sheet. With a thin skewer or long toothpick, poke deep holes in tops of loaves. Drizzle with Grand Marnier glaze so that it coats the top, runs down the sides, and seeps through the holes.

7. Let loaves cool completely, then slice and serve, or wrap and freeze.

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Spicy Pecans

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/2 pound pecan halves

PREHEAT the oven to 325

MELT the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the honey, salt, and cayenne pepper, bring mixture to a boil, and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat, and add the pecans to the honey mixture. Stir to mix well. Spread the coated pecans on a sheet pan, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, possibly more often toward then end. Serve when cooled, first separating any pecans that stuck together.

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Fudge

Ingredients
2 cups milk chocolate and 1 cup semisweet chips
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preparation
Place chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter or margarine in large microwaveable bowl. Zap in microwave on medium until chips are melted, about 3-5 minute, stirring once or twice during cooking. Stir in nuts, if desired.

Pour into well-greased 8x8-inch glass baking dish. Refrigerate until set.



I picked up the baskets at the dollar store (Shhhh) They cost a dollar.

Broiled Pork Chops with Pineapple Couscous

This was more of a "what do we have around the house" than an actual recipe, but I thought it turned out pretty good.

I used boneless pork chops and for a sauce I used:

Hoisin Sauce (about 1/3 cup)
Lime Juice
Sesame Seed Oil
Minced Garlic
Minced Ginger
Soy Sauce

Salt and peppered the chops and covered in sauce. Broiled, turning and basting periodically.

If I was making this recipe again I would probably try adding some chopped scallions to the sauce.

For the couscous I had a can of pineapples (used some for calzones the other night), which gave me about a cup of pineapple juice. Used water to get to 2 cups. Boiled that mixture, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup couscous (ours was whole wheat)

Took about 20 minutes to absorb to which I then added the pineapple chunks.

Chad's pomegranate margarita

1 shot simple syrup
1 shot tequila
1 shot triple sec
1 shot lime juice
2 shots pomegranate juice

combine ingredients in shaker with ice and shake. serve over ice.

General Tsao's Chicken

So this one is not from Cooking Light, but if you are like me and your favorite when you go to visit [insert favorite local chinese restaurant here] is General Tsao's Chicken, I think this is a pretty good recipe.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup hot chicken broth

1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (MSG) I did not add this

3 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite size pieces

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 egg

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups chopped green onions

16 chile peppers, sun-dried I used pepper mix, like crushed red peppers

I also put in some steamed broccoli


DIRECTIONS
To Make Sauce: In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Mix together. Add garlic, ginger, sugar, 1/4 cup soy sauce and white wine vinegar. Then add chicken broth and monosodium glutamate and stir all together until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate until needed.

To Prepare Chicken: In a separate bowl, combine chicken, 1/2 cup soy sauce and white pepper. Stir in egg. Add 1 cup cornstarch and stir until chicken is evenly coated. Add oil to help separate chicken pieces.don't need to add oil Divide chicken into small quantities and deep fry at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

To Make Mixture: Place a small amount of oil in wok and heat until wok is hot. Add scallions and dried chile peppers and stir-fry briefly. Remove sauce from refrigerator and stir. Add sauce to wok. Then add fried chicken and cook until sauce thickens (add cornstarch or water as needed until sauce is as thick as you like it).

Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches on homemade Focaccia

No-Fuss Focaccia

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for oiling the pan and drizzling the top of the dough
1½ cups (12 oz) warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast or 4 teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast

1¼ teaspoons salt

3¼ cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Italian seasoning or dried herbs of your choice, for topping

Oil well a 9- x 2-inch-deep round or a 9- x 13-inch rectangular pan.

Combine the water with the yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the oil, salt and flour and beat on high speed for 60 seconds. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan with a dry towel and let it rise at room temperature until it becomes puffy, 60 minutes for instant yeast or 90 minutes for active dry yeast.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drizzle dough lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake the bread until it is golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes (depending on which size pan you put it in). Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature


Balsamic-Glazed Chicken and Bell Pepper Sandwiches

Ingredients

4 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 1/4 pounds chicken breast tenders

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, divided

2 cups red bell pepper strips (about 2 medium)

2 cups vertically sliced onion (about 1 large)

2 (8-ounce) loaves focaccia bread, cut in half horizontally (I homemade worked great)

4 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over chicken. Add chicken to pan; cook 1 minute on each side or until lightly browned. Add 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 2 minutes or until chicken is done and vinegar is syrupy. Remove chicken mixture from the pan; cover and keep warm. Wipe pan clean with a paper towel.

Return pan to medium-high heat; add remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Add bell pepper and onion; sauté 7 minutes or until tender. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar; cook 1 minute or until vinegar is syrupy.

Arrange chicken mixture evenly over bottom halves of bread; top with bell pepper mixture. Arrange cheese over pepper mixture, and sprinkle with black pepper. Top with top halves of bread. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; let stand 5 minutes. Cut each sandwich into 6 wedges.

Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

This is another Cooking Light recipe.

I couldn't find boneless, skinless thighs, so I had to make them boneless, skinless myself. It wasn't too bad, but certainly adds a little prep.

The recipe has 321 calories per serving, so not too bad.

A serving consist of 2 thighs. Your milage may vary.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Cooking spray

6 tablespoons honey

2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 minutes on each side.

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush 1/4 cup honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove chicken from oven and turn over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil 1 additional minute or until chicken is done.

Fruit and Nut filled phyllo triangles

With my sister-in-law in town, she helped me make these. I had copied the recipe out of a book I had checked out from the library, because it looked good. Cooper also helped butter some phyllo dough.

The hardest part is working with the delicate phyllo dough, but they are worth it. We will enjoy them tonight with some wine while we watch SNL.

Hope you enjoy!



Ingredients

1 cup walnuts
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup dried fruit bits
3 tablespoons rum or apple juice (we used rum)
3 tablespoons honey
12 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
2/3 cups butter, melted

For filling place walnuts and sugar in a food processor. Cover and process or blend until walnuts are finely ground, but dry. In a small bowl combine walnut mixture, lemon peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg

In a small saucepan combine fruit bits, rum or apple juice, and honey. Bring to boiling over medium heat; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 8 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Add fruit mixture to walnut mixture; stir just until combined.

Place 1 sheet of phyllo dough on a cutting board. Lightly brush the sheet with some melted butter. Place another phyllo sheet on top, brush with butter. Repeat with 2 more phyllo sheets. Cut layered sheets crosswise into 8 equal strips (we cut into 4). Place about 2 teaspoons of filling 1 inch from end of each dough strip. Continue folding strip in a triangle shape. Repeat process with remaining phyllo sheets.

Place filled triangles on a lightly greased baking sheet; brush tops with remaining melted butter. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until triangles are golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool slightly.

Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

So we have some special visitors (more on that later) so I broke out a new recipe for dinner. This one came from Cooking Light (trying to watch what I eat).

It wasn't the easiest recipe, but wasn't the hardest either.

I used pepper jack cheese (I had to buy a block and shred it myself. I used diced tomatoes with green chilies for the rice and brown rice.

Happy Cooking, and if you make it let me know how it turns out.

Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (7-ounce) bottle salsa verde (such as Herdez brand)
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/3 cup (3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled queso fresco (or jack cheese)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
4 lime wedges
Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Combine chicken and cream cheese in a large bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup salsa mixture. Reserve remaining salsa mixture.

Bring broth to a simmer in a medium skillet. Working with one tortilla at a time, add tortilla to pan; cook 20 seconds or until moist, turning once. Remove tortilla; drain on paper towels. Spoon about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of tortilla; roll up. Place tortilla, seam-side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, broth, and chicken mixture.

Pour remaining salsa mixture over enchiladas; sprinkle evenly with queso fresco and chili powder. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve with lime wedges. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.


Spanish rice
Cook 2 slices bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves to drippings in pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup rice; 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth; and 1 (14.5-ounce) can drained diced tomatoes. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in crumbled bacon and 1/3 cup sliced green onions just before serving.

Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

This recipe goes out to some special Minnesota friends. Not as good as Val's Dr Pepper marinade. Sometime we will post that.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dr. Pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon onion flakes
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons steak sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

To prepare sauce, combine ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Simmer for 6 minutes. Cool.

I used it on chicken. I spread olive oil and Emeril's on the chicken. Then that last couple of minutes of cooking I spread some of the BBQ sauce on to cook it in. Then serve extra on the side.

Turtle Cake and old (new) friends

When we first found out we were going to move and I started blogging about it, I got contacted by an old friend that they lived in the area. We grew up right behind each other. She was a year behind me in high school.

So we met up with her and her family on one of our first visits. They were very nice and also helped set us up with the realtor we used. Now that we have moved it ends up we live less than 5 miles away.

So they invited us over for swimming and dinner last night. We had a great time and everything was delicious. I said we would bring dessert. We made Turtle cake.

Ingredients
1 (2 layer) package German chocolate cake mix
40 caramels
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup pecans
1 cup chocolate chips

Prepare cake mix according to directions. Spread half the batter in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Combine the caramels with the evaporated milk in a saucepan. Heat until melted, stirring to blend evenly. Pour the mixture over the cake and sprinkle with pecans and chocolate chips.

Spread the remaining cake batter evenly over the top. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until the top appears firm. Serve with ice cream.

I under baked it just a little and then we cooked it for 5-10 minutes at there house so it was warm.

Fresh Garden Salsa

Our neighbors have a good size garden and in bumper crops the neighbors benefit.

First it was squash, now it's tomatoes.

So one of the things I decided to try was to make salsa. Val makes a very good chunky pico like salsa, this one is more blended. These are things we happened to have around the house.

Ingredients
2 Medium tomatoes
1-3 Jalapeno peppers (cored and seeded)
1 Tablespoon garlic
1/2 Onion
1/2 cup (or so) cilantro
Juice from 1 lime
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix garlic, onion, peppers and cilantro in food processor.

Roast tomatoes (either on the grill or in the broiler) until peels blister.

Peel tomatoes, core and remove seeds using a spoon and add to the food processor along with lime juice and olive oil.

Salt and pepper to taste.

That's it. Something to do with extra tomatoes.

This makes a very mild salsa, to turn up the heat add some of the jalapeno seeds. It is what I will do next time

You can also make your own chips by quartering corn tortillas and frying them until golden. Salt to taste.

Carmel Corn

Ingredients
8 cups popper popcorn
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Put popcorn onto a baking pan.

Put brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt into a saucepan over medium heat.

Stir with wooden spoon until butter melts and everything is mixed. Continue cooking until mixture starts to boil. Cook for 5 more minutes without stirring.

Remove from burner and add baking soda and vanilla. Pour over the popcorn and gently mix covering the popcorn.

Put baking pan into 300 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove pan and stir the popcorn mixture and cook another 5 to 10 minutes.

Place in a large bowl and let cool.

Potato Pancakes with home made applesauce

I cannot remember how I first came across this recipe. You can see the original recipe at Bette's Diner
But this is a favorite around our house.

Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
4 medium russet potatoes (about 8 ounces each), peeled and shredded using the largest holes of a hand grater
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup grated onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Combine the eggs, flour, onion, salt, and pepper, stirring to blend. Using your hands, squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the potatoes. Add the potatoes to the egg mixture, mixing well.

In a large, heavy skillet, heat some of the oil over medium-high heat. Spoon the batter by quarter-cupfuls onto the hot skillet, flattening them with the back of the spoon. Fry until the bottom of the pancakes are nicely browned - between 3 and 5 minutes; flip the pancakes and cook for about 3 minutes longer. Repeat for the remaining pancakes, adding oil to the skillet as needed.

Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Chad's Tips: When I shred the potatoes I like to immediately put them in some cold water with ice and let them soak. The take them out in bunches squeezing as much water as you can out of it.

Applesauce
In a large pot, melt three to four tablespoons of butter and a quarter cup of sugar (to taste). When the butter and sugar turn a light golden color, add eight to ten apples that have been peeled, cored, and cut into small cubes. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and cook the apples under medium heat until soft (20 to 30 minutes), and all of the liquid has reduced. This amount of apples will produce approximately 1.5 quarts of applesauce. The applesauce may be made in advance. Serve at room temperature.

Pepper crusted steak with horseradish sauce

For us the meat was the 4.99 filet from Manninos Market, but I think you could use your favorite cut.

I brushed the steaks with olive oil and then topped with the pepper gently pushing the pepper into the steak.

I used Durkee Six Pepper Blend, but I think any corse pepper would work.

Sauce

For the sauce beat 3/4 cup Heavy Cream until thick. Add 3 Tbs Dijon Mustard and 3 Tbs horseradish and mix well.

Spoon over steaks and add minced parsley for garnish.

Cooking - Squash Braid

Here is a recipe I tried this morning. I let the bread machine do all the mixing, kneading, etc.

I also found out that I didn't use butternut squash. The neighbors have been bringing us squash and I have been looking for ways to use it.

The bread turned out good. The boys loved it (see below). It made 2 loaves and by the end of lunch we had a 1/4 of one loaf left. It will be gone by the time they go to bed.

I may start making homemade bread more often.

Enjoy.

(NOTE: It was very good with honey cinnamon butter. Just whip some butter - or butter equivalent - with honey and cinnamon.)


INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/3 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg
1 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, cover peeled and chopped squash with water. Bring water to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool and mash. Reserve 1 cup for use in this recipe and freeze remainder for later use.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with milk, butter, 1 cup mashed squash, 1 egg, brown sugar, salt and 2 cups flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 equal pieces and roll each into a rope about 18 inches long. Take 3 ropes, pinch ends together and then braid ropes together. Pinch ends to seal. Do the same with the other 3 ropes of dough. Place braids on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoons water; brush loaves with egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and let cool on a wire rack.

Cooking - Beef Tips (updated)

If you are like me you are always on the lookout for recipes that are good, easy and nutritious.

Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

So here is my first recipe. It is easy and good. Nutritious, well serve some veggies with it. ( I recommend corn)

1-1/2 pds stew meat
one package onion soup mix
one can cream of (whatever you like) soup + one can of water

update- i forgot, i like to brown the meat in a little olive oil. i'm not sure it's necessary

combine everything in the crock pot and let it cook all day

serve over rice

this dish keeps well