Cinnamon-Chocolate Chip Chiffon Cake

That's a lot of C's! I wanted to try something new for my birthday... something light, with chocolate, but not too rich.  This was perfect! It was much more "bready" than I anticipated (not very sweet), and was nicely accompanied by homemade whipped cream.  I was disappointed that the mini chocolate chips all sunk to the bottom of the pan (which created a layer of them on the top of the cake), instead of being scatter throughout.  Next time I will try to solve that problem.  I might also cut back a little bit on the cinnamon.  Otherwise, a delicious birthday treat!

And for those who are wondering... my husband made me a fabulous birthday dessert last year (which I will post later), and he grilled some steak for us this year... I love baking my own cake; it's fun. =)

Ingredients:
2 c. cake flour
1 1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. canola oil
6 large eggs, separated
2/3 c. water
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

garnish:
1 Tbs. powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325.  Have a 9 1/2-10 inch tube pan ready with at least 3 3/4" inch high sides.  Do not use a nonstick pan.

Sift the cake flour, 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, salt, and cinnamon into a large bowl.  Use a large spoon to make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the oil, egg yolks, water, and vanilla. Use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the mixture until it is smooth and thick, about 3 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips and set aside.

In another large bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on low speed until the whites are foamy and the cream of tartar dissolves.  Beat on medium speed until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the movement of the beaters forms lines in the beaten whites.  If you stop the mixer, the white should cling to the beaters.  Slowly beat in the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, then beat for about 1 minute to firm, glossy peaks.  Stir about one-third of the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then fold in the remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain.

Scrape the batter into the tube pan and gently smooth the top.  Bake until the top of the cake feels firm when you gently press it and any small cracks in the top look dry, about 1 hour.

Invert the pan onto a narrow-necked bottle (a full wine bottle works well) and let cool for 1 hour.

Remove the pan from the bottle and run a thin knife around the sides and center tube of the pan to loosen the cake.  Remove the cake from the pan by inverting it onto a flat serving plate, then place a wire rack on the bottom of the cake and invert the cake onto the rack, sot eh cake is right side up.  Cool the cake thoroughly on the wire rack.

Mix the powdered sugar and cinnamon together, put the mixture in a small strained and dust it evenly over the top of the cake.  Dust the powdered sugar mixture lightly with the cocoa powder.  Slip a large metal spatula under the cake and slide it onto a serving plate.  Use a serrated knife to cut the cake.

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Skillet Chicken Tamale Pie

I was craving a new recipe, something I had never made before... I flipped through my Healthy Test Kitchen Cookbook, and this was the recipe I landed on (mainly because I had MOST of the ingredients, and substitutes for the things I didn't have).  I made two mistakes... I had cut the recipe in half, but kept the topping the same... the ratio was off; definitely needed to keep the filling the same! Second mistake was turning the oven on to 450 degrees when its 85 degrees outside... oops.

Try it out and tell me what you think.  I will post the recipe as is, but add in my changes (minus the ratio)

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (5-6) trimmed

Salt and Pepper
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
3 poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine (I subbed green bell pepper)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 (15-oz.) can hominy, drained and rinse (for those of you who don't know, this is found in the mexican aisle and really doesn't have a replacement... it's corn kernels, similar to grits... I just used frozen corn)
1 (7-oz) can chopped green chiles (I omitted)
1 ear corn, kernels removed (I used frozen)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c. minced fresh cilantro (I omitted)

Topping:
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
3 T. sugar
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 large egg
1 T. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions:
Filling:
1. Preheat oven to 450.  Pat the chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.  Heat the oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add the chicken and cook until browned on both sides, 6-8 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.

2. Add the onion and poblanos to the fat in the skillet and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and cok until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in the flour and cook for 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the broth, hominy, chiles, and corn, and bring to a simmer.  Add the browned chicken thighs, cover and cook over medium-low heat until the chicken is tender and can be shredded easily, about 10 minutes.

4.  Remove the skillet from the heat.  Transfer the chicken to a plate, shred into bite-sized pieces when cool enough to handle, then return to the skillet.  Stir in the cheddar and cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover to keep warm while preparing the topping.

Topping:
1. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a lark bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.  Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until uniform, then stir in the melted butter until just combined.

2. Return the filling to a simmer over medium-high heat, then smooth into an even layer.  Off the heat, dollop the cornbread topping evenly over the filling, cover the filling completely.  Bake until the topping is golden and set, 15-20 minutes.  Let the pie cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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Laundry Detergent

A little different than our normal posts... this is a peak into the crazy homemaking life of Mikaela.  Yes, I make my own laundry detergent.  You would too if you saw how easy it is and how much money it saves! The resource I use for my recipe broke down the cost between making laundry detergent and buying name-brand (he estimated 2 1/4 cents per load with homemade, and 20 cents with namebrand).  That saves about $65 a year if you do a load a day!!

I recommend checking out the website for more money-saving tips... but, for the recipe, I'll post it here for you, because I REALLY want you to try it! I even made you a step-by-step picture tutorial. =) Try it. Just once, and if you hate it, you never have to make it again!

To make it you'll need:
1 bar soap
1/2 c. borax (optional)
1 c. washing/baking soda
3 gallons water + 4 cups
A 5 gallon bucket

Cut up the bar of soap... you can use any kind

Bring 4 cups water to a boil, then add the soap one handful at a time

When the soap is dissolved, take it off the heat

Put 3 gallons warm tap water into your bucket

Measure out 1 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup borax

Add the dissolved soapy water, soda, and borax and stir

Cover with a lid overnight

Voila! Laundry Soap.

It is normal for the soap to separate; just make sure you scoop out some solid and liquid if it does... also, you can add any essential oil if you want a scent. This bucket lasted me almost a year.

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Chewy Chocolate-Oat Bars

These are a forgotten favorite in our house... I always double the recipe to put in a 9x13 pan.  It was gone in 2 days!

Ingredients:

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

1/3 c. fat-free sweetened condensed milk

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. plus 2 T. old-fashioned oats

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Heat oven to 350.  Heat the chocolate chips and milk in a medium heavy saucepan over low heat.  Cook, stirring, until the chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes; set aside.

Mix the flour, 1/2 cup of the oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; set aside.  Combine the brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla in a medium bowl with a fork until smooth; stir into the flour mixture until blended.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the dough in a small bowl for topping.  

Pat the remaining dough into a greased 8-inch square baking dish; spread the chocolate mixture over the dough.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oats and the butter to the reserved dough, mix with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly.  Drop small spoonfuls of oat mixture evenly over chocolate mixture.  Bake until top is golden and firm, 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.  

2 T. butter

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Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have a picture of these cookies, but this is the cookbook they came out of:

Thanks, Chama for the 2010 birthday present :)

Just imagine an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, 75% baked, with inconspicuous banana pieces.  Take my word for it, they're amazing.

I froze half the batch, which worked out fantastic.  Next time, I will use half the batch to make a chocolate-banana trifle. Stay tuned for that recipe. :)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp (12 Tbsp)
1 c. white sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. oatmeal
4 c. chocolate chips
2-4  bananas, cut into 1/4" pieces

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside.  In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer on medium speed to beat the butter and sugars until smooth, about 1 minute.  Beat in egg and vanilla and mix until blended.  Add in the flour mixture with the mixer on low.  Mix in the oatmeal, then chocolate chips, then bananas.

Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Cook 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown and the tops look dry.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

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