Orange Julius

Just like in the mall! This can be made with a variety of yogurts or added fruit to customize it.  I used strawberry yogurt this time.  I also cut the recipe in half, making half a container of orange juice with the left over concentrate.  A full batch makes 4 12 oz. servings.

Ingredients:
1 c. frozen orange juice concentrate
8 oz. plain yogurt
2 1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.  Easy as that!

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Grandma Johnson's Caramel Rolls

The difference between Johnson-cooking and Mikaela-cooking:  precision.

Mac's mother and grandmother have some amazing recipes, there's no doubt about that!  But EVERY recipe I ever request from them goes a little something like this:  "well, I put some of this and that together, then you add a little more and whip it up real good, then throw in some of this, and bake it til it's done"

Huh?

Even I, semi-experience-amateur baker need a little more direction than that!  I guess I shouldn't be so picky, because EVERYTHING they make is delicious and perfect... apparently its the love that holds it all together. :)

Mac's birthday was on Thursday and I wanted to surprise him by making his grandma's caramel rolls.  The problem, again, with making anything for Mac that comes from his family is he always responds "it's good, but it's different than how she makes it."  As was the verdict with these rolls... Well, I can't be Mama O and I can't be Grandma Johnson, but I will sure try and learn from them!  Maybe you can do a better job with this than I did... I'll try and add in MY specific measurements, since those tend to be lacking.

This was the original recipe:
Rolls- makes about 64 crescent rolls/large pan or 2 9/13 pans cinnamon rolls

4 cups evaporated milk or 1 2/3 powder milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 oil
3 well beaten eggs 
1 tsp salt 
10 -12 cups flour

3 Tbsp yeast plus 1 tsp sugar mixed into 1 cup warm water.  Let yeast activate
Mix with liquid ingreds. and knead in flour. Knead well into a ball and place into  
greased large bowl. Cover and let rise/double once.  Punch down and form into 
rolls and bake at 375 for 12 minutes.
For cinnamon rolls, roll out dough into a large rectangle onto a floured service,
about 1/2 inch thick.  Spread dough with butter and sprinkle well with cinnamon
and sugar.  You can use white or brn sugar.  Roll length wise into a long log.
Take a piece of thread and lift log and place thread underneath it and cross over
on top slicing thru log.  About 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices.  Place into pan.  Meanwhile
mix  1 pint of whipping cream and add brn sugar to it til thick.  Pour this mixture
over rolls and bake at 375 till brown.  Enjoy!

You can make a couple dozen of rolls and then just one 9/13 pan of cinnamon rolls
Secret make sure you do use alot of brn sugar for the carmel sauce!


Here's my version JUST for one batch cinnamon rolls:


Ingredients:

1 1/2 T. active dry yeast

1/2 tsp. sugar

1/2 c. warm water

2 c. evaporated milk
1/2 c. white sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
2 well beaten eggs (medium or 1 1/2 large)
1/2 tsp. salt
5-6 c. all-purpose flour


Filling: 
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. softened butter


Topping:
1 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. brown sugar


Directions:
Mix together water, yeast, and 1/2 tsp sugar and let rest til foamy, approximately 5 minutes.  Beat in milk, sugar, oil, salt, and eggs until combined, then mix in flour, 1 cup at a time.  Knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.  (I use my kitchenaid then knead by hand for 1 minute into a ball).  Place in a lightly greased bowl and let rise until doubled.  
After it's doubled, roll it out on a floured surface into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.  Spread with softened butter, then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon.  Roll lengthwise into a tight log and pinch to seal seam.  Cut using thread or a serrated knife into 1 1/2 inch pieces and place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise til doubled.  Preheat oven to 350.  
For the topping, mix together cream and brown sugar until it's thick.  Pour over prepared rolls.  Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown and center is still gooey.  

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Mediterranean Chopped Salad

New favorite salad! Sorry... forgot the photo!

Ingredients:
2 c. cherry tomatoes (about 12 ounces), stemmed and quartered
1 cucumber (about 8 ounces), peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed
1/3 c. pitted kalamata olives, chopped (we didn't use)
1/4 c. minced red onion
1 romaine lettuce heart (about 6 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 c. crumbled feta cheese
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Toss the tomatoes, cucumber, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a colander and let drain for 15 to 30 minutes.

2. Whisk the oil, vinegar, and garlic together in a large bowl until well combined.  Add the drained tomatoes and cucumber, chickpeas, olives, and onion and toss to combine.  Let sit at room temperature until the flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add the lettuce, feta, and parsley and toss to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Spaghetti al Limone

I was too focused on the wonderful aromas filling my kitchen that I forgot to take pictures of both this dish and the salad for tomorrow's post.... as always when we have company, I wanted to try out a new recipe.  This was another great meal from America's Test Kitchen (from my subscription to Cook's Illustrated Magazine)!  It's hard to find a cream-sauce pasta that is still light.  This one was perfect.  I used whole wheat noodles and added baked herb chicken.

Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. finely grated zest and 1/4 c. juice from 3 lemons (I used one large lemon)
1 oz. finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup) plus more for serving
Ground black pepper
2 T. shredded fresh basil leaves (I forgot this)

Directions:

1.  Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large dutch oven.  Add 1 tablespoon salt and hte pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente.  Reserve 1 3/4 cups cooking water, drain pasta into colander and set aside.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the now-empty dutch oven and heat over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.  Whisk 1 1/2 cups of reserved past cooking water and cream into pot; bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove pot from heat, return pasta, and stir until coated.  Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, the lemon zest, juice, Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

3.  Cover and let pasta stand 2 minutes, tossing frequently and adjusting consistency with remaining 1/4 cup reserved pasta water if necessary.  Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve, drizzling individual portions with oil and sprinkling with cheese.

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Strawberry Shortcake

Best. Shortcake. Ever. Hands down.  Strawberries were on sale, 4 lbs. for $4.98, so we just could not pass up the opportunity to indulge.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Strawberries:
2 qts. strawberries
6 T. sugar

Shortcakes:
2 c. all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
5 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
9 T. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and chilled
2/3 c. half-and-half (I used part heavy cream and part 1% milk since I didn't have half and half)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 recipe Whipped Cream (see below)

Directions:

1.  For the strawberries, crush 3 cups of them with a potato masher.  Slice the remaining 5 cups and stir into the crushed berries with the 6 tablespoons of sugar.  Let sit at room temp until the sugar has dissolved and the berries are juicy, about 30 minutes.

2.  While the berries are macerating, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Pulse together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and salt in a food processor until combine.  Scatter the butter pieces over the top and process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 15 pulses.  Transfer to a bowl. (You can also just whisk the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter if you don't have a food processor).

3.  Blend the half-and-half with the beaten egg and pour into the bowl with the flour mixture.  Stir with a rubber spatula until large clumps form.  Turn the mixture onto a lightly floured counter and knead lightly until the dough comes together.

4.  Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9 by 6 inch rectangle about 1 inch thick.  Cut out 6 dough rounds (I used a floured 2 3/4 inch biscuit cutter).  Reform the remaining dough and cut 2 more rounds.  Place the rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

5.  Bake until golden brown, 12-14 minutes.  Let the shortcakes cool on the baking sheet for at least 10 minutes.

6.  For Whipping Cream, blend together 1 c. heavy whipping cream, 1 Tablespoon sugar, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract on low speed until sugar is dissolved.  Increase mixer speed to high and whip until doubled in volume and soft peaks form (about 3 minutes).

7.  To assemble, split shortcakes in half, spoon a portion of the fruit over each bottom, and a dollop of whipped cream the replace top half of shortcake.

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Chicken Parmesan

So, I did some research on this recipe because I was confused at why it was called Chicken Parmesan when there is no parmesan cheese in it... turns out, I can't read recipes very well!  I completely forgot the parmesan but it still turned out great!  A lot of times chicken parmesan only uses mozzarella cheese.  This recipe is not one of those... unless you're me and don't read the recipe correctly until you go to post it on a blog!

For those of you who are interested:

Parmigiana.  I had to do some research... the answers are slightly differential, but at least they have the same conclusion of where the "Parmesan" comes from.

Both answers agree that it is not called Chicken Parmesan because of parmesan cheese.  It either comes from the word:
1. Parmigiana, meaning "from Parma (northern Italy)", but the recipe is a classic southern Italian dish or
2. Parmiciana, which refers to the wooden slats that overlap in the middle of shutters like eggplant does in Eggplant Parmesan.

Either way, I can't get a straight answer.  What do you think?  Leave comments on this post, please!

Regardless of where the name comes from, and forgetting an important ingredient, it was satisfying!  I served it with tortellini and sauteed zucchini and yellow squash.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. breadcrumbs (panko, which is Japanese style breadcrumbs)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3 large eggs
1 T. water
6 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, pounded 1/4 inch thick
2 c. tomato sauce, warmed (I used marinara sauce, but will include the tomato sauce recipe)
3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1 T. chopped fresh basil

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Combine the breadcrumbs and oil in a 12" skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring often, until golden, 10-12 minutes.

2. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish, let cool, then stir in the Parmesan.  Combine the flour and garlic powder in a second shallow dish.  In a third shallow dish, whisk the egg whites and water together.

3. Spray a wire rack with vegetable oil spray and place over a rimmed baking sheet.  Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  With one piece of chicken at a time, dredge it in the flour, then dip in the egg whites, then coat with the toasted crumbs (I use tongs for this).  Lay the breaded chicken on the prepared wire rack.

4.  Spray the tops of the chicken lightly with vegetable oil spray.  Bake until the chicken registers 150-160 degrees, about 8-10 minutes.

5.  Top each cutlet with 2 tablespoons of the sauce and 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella.  Continue to bake until the cheese has melted and the chicken registers 160-165, 3-5 minutes.  Sprinkle with the basil and serve with the remaining sauce.

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Cowboy Cookies

These are Mac's current go-to cookie.  So delicious, perfect texture, just the right amount of goods... they can be made with or without the pecans (but you can hardly tell they're in there!)  The recipe is meant to be a cookie-in-a-jar that you can give as gifts, so its a cinch to make!  Thanks, Felecia for the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 1/3 c. rolled oats

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. chopped pecans

1 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. melted butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions for packaging:

Layer dry ingredients in a 1 quart jar in the order given.  Press each layer firmly in place before adding the next layer.

To bake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together the dry ingredients, butter, egg, and vanilla.  You may have to use your hands to complete mixing (I just throw it all the in kitchenaid).  Bake 8-12 minutes.

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Homemade Poptarts!

Novelty.  I'm not sold on the current state of this recipe, but simply the idea of a homemade pop-tart is solid in my book!  I plan to play with the ingredients a little more and see if I can create a slightly sweeter and flakier dough.

Thanks to Heavenly Homemakers for the recipe!

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup melted butter
1 cup plain yogurt
About 5 ounces of 100% fruit jelly or jam (I used my homemade blackberry)

Begin by mixing the flour, salt, butter and yogurt. 

Knead the dough just a little bit to make it nice and workable.  Roll out the dough on a large, well floured surface.  Use a knife to cut the dough into the desired poptart size you would like.  

Place about a 1/2 teaspoon of jelly on 1/2 of the dough rectangles.  Spread the jelly around, leaving the edges free.

Top each jelly-coated rectangle with a plain one.  Seal the two together using a fork.  Bake in a single layer at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, until they are golden brown.

*I put the entire batch in the freezer and then reheat them in the toaster - delicious afternoon snack!

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