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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Failure in the Kitchen

I learned something about myself tonight....

... I am a terrible fryer!

That's right, I attempted to fry something and I failed - miserably! Let's just say that I'm airing out the house, my eyes are faucets, and there's two batches of makeshift churros in the garbage!

Some keys to successful frying include:

1.  Using the right amount of oil

2.  Heating the oil to the correct temperature (using a thermometer)

3.  Precisely measuring each piece of dough to the same size

4. Frying until golden brown

None of which I did.  It's okay; I'm perfectly fine with not adding frying to my repertoire! 

Here's what the churros should look like, courtesy of allrecipes.com:

Mine obviously didn't even have a close resemblance to these. I'll spare your eyes and not post a picture of my disaster.

I'm all about healthy cooking, and churros do NOT fall into that category... however, if you are having a Mexican-food potluck (like me), and want to be the hero (unlike me) who brings churros, here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 quarts oil for frying
• 1/2 cup white sugar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in flour until mixture forms a ball.
2. Heat oil for frying in deep-fryer or deep skillet to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Pipe strips of dough into hot oil using a pastry bag. Fry until golden; drain on paper towels.
3. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Roll drained churros in cinnamon and sugar mixture.



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Pizza Spaghetti

I did something brand new - I made up a recipe!  The players: a bunch of things that needed to be used in the fridge and cupboard.  The winner: delicious spaghetti!

Ingredients:

1 lg. (28 oz. can) whole peeled tomatoes

1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

10 oz. sliced white mushrooms

2 (4 oz) cans sliced black olives

1 (5 oz) package pepperoni, diced

1 c. mozzarella cheese, grated

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. italian herb seasoning

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 lb. spaghetti noodles

Directions:

In a large pot, saute onion, mushrooms, and garlic in 1 Tbsp olive oil  and a splash of butter until soft and mushrooms begin to release liquid, about 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and add in tomatoes, sauce, paste, and spices.  Slightly smash the whole tomatoes, then add in pepperoni and olives.  Simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, cook pasta in according to package instructions.  Off the heat, add the pasta and cheese into the sauce and toss until evenly coated.  Serve with parmesan cheese!

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Sour Cream Waffles

Mac's Favorite!!

These are a wonderful, light waffle, best served with whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Ingredients:
1 c. sour cream
2 eggs, separated
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder

Directions:
In a large bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sour cream.  In a separate bowl, beat egg whites (I use my kitchenaid) until stiff peaks form.  In an additional bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg yolks and sour cream, alternating with the buttermilk.  Fold in the egg whites, and cook about 1/2 c. batter on an waffle iron.

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Chocolate-Filled Peanut Butter Scones

These were Mac's favorite... of course anything with chocolate and peanut butter will be his favorite!  I thought they were good; but much more like a tall, dense, cookie than a scone.  I adapted the recipe from a vegan website, and thought it turned out pretty well!

Ingredients:

2 c. flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3 T. butter, chilled

3/4 c. creamy peanut butter

1/3 c. milk plus 2 Tbsp. cream (or all milk)

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. peanut butter chips

1 1/2 oz. bittersweet/semisweet chocolate.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and baking powder.  Cut the margarine into 1/2-inch cubes, and distribute them over the flour mixture.  Cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. 

Whisk together milk, cream, egg, and vanilla then add to the flour mixture.

Add the peanut butter mixture to the flour mixture and stir or knead until combined.  Knead in the peanuts.

Pat the dough out into a 1/2-inch thickness on a cutting board.  Using a 2 1/2- to 3-inch-diameter round biscuit cutter, cut rounds out of the dough.  Re-knead the scraps and cut out again, repeating until all the dough is used up.  You should have 16 rounds.

Place 8 of the rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Top each round with a piece of chocolate and one of the remaining circles of dough.  Press the edges gently to seal.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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And the winner is...

... Lemon-Berry Scone!

The healthiest of the bunch, I used whole-wheat flour, the least amount of butter and sugar, and a combination of homemade blackberry jam and fresh-lemon glaze.  Perfect in texture, taste, and overall goodness!

The recipe can be found at 101cookbooks, or on my blog.  

The other 4 were all devoured, loved, and close-seconds!  Most people in the office could not make a decision about the "best" scone because they just loved them all.  This one is my personal favorite, but I also enjoyed the oatmeal scone from Test Kitchen.  All the recipes will be posted soon!

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Scone Bake-Off

I'm having a scone bake-off!! If you have any scone recipes you'd like to contribute, please leave a comment.  A co-worker of mine always asks for free scones at coffee shops, and always gets let down.  So, I thought I would provide some free scones for her, and the rest of the office.  However, a discussion came up about the texture of scones and how they can be really good or really bad.  So, I'm on a hunt to find the best recipe!  

The trick here is that I am choosing a variety of scones, which may be difficult to really compare to each other.  Nonetheless, these are the recipes that caught my eye...

These are the candidates:

Mega Scones (with blackberry jam and lemon glaze)

Test Kitchen Cream Scones (considering crystallized ginger as the add-in)

Test Kitchen Oatmeal Cream Scones

My 1938 Watkins Cookbook English Cream Scones

Peanut Butter Scones adapted from a vegan website (to un-veganize it!)

Look for the results in the coming days!

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Thin Crust Pizza & Sauce

I did something crazy on Saturday...

Had 16 middle school girls in my house!

And to make it more fun... we did this:

 Made our own pizzas!

We all had a blast and it went really, really smoothly!  No pizza crusts stuck to the ceiling, nothing smashed on the floor (aside from one grape), no burnt pizzas or fires, and no shortage of food or fun!

Anticipating the entire volleyball team including all 4 coaches to come, I prepped enough dough (5 batches) and sauce (2 batches) to make 22 personal-size pizzas.  It was incredibly easy, quick to make (two days before the party), and wonderfully scrumptious!  I would like to try it with whole-wheat crust, similar to my previous posting of Herbed Whole-Wheat Pizza Dough, but for the palate of 11 and 12 year olds, this was perfect.

The recipe I used is of course, from Test Kitchen (technically Cook's Illustrated Magazine), and make 2, 13" pizzas.  The dough can always be frozen if you want to save one for later!

Dough:
Ingredients:
3 c. bread flour, plus more for the work surface
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. instant or rapid rise yeast (I used 1 tsp regular)
1 1/2 c. ice water
1 T. vegetable oil, plus more for work surface
1 1/2 tsp. table salt

Directions:
In food processor fitted with a metal blade, process flour, sugar and yeast until combined, about 2 seconds.  With machine running, slowly add the water through the feed tube until no dry flour remains, about 10 seconds.  Let dough stand for 10 minutes.
Add oil and salt to the food processor and process until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears the sides of the workbowl, 30-60 seconds.  Remove dough and knead briefly on a lightly oiled countertop until smooth, about 1 minute.  Shape dough into a tight ball and place in a large lightly oiled bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, or up to 3 days.

Sauce:
Ingredients:
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and liquid discarded
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
Process all ingredients in the food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds and refrigerate until ready to use.

Pizza:
*NOTE*: I baked at 425 (since parchment paper can't go in a 500 degree oven) on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so that the transfer for each individual pizza was cleaner... it worked just fine, but did not give a crispy crust like following these directions will.

One hour before baking, adjust oven rack to second highest position and set pizza stone on rack, heat oven to 500 degrees.  Remove dough from fridge and divide in half.  Shape each half into smooth tight balls and place on lightly oiled baking sheet, covering loosely with plastic wrap coated with oil.  Let sit one hour.
Coat 1 ball of dough generously with flour and gently flatten into an 8" disk, leaving 1" of outer edge slightly thicker than center.  Using hands, gently stretch disk into a 13" round, working along edges and giving the disk a quarter turn as you stretch.  Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over surface of dough, leaving a 1/4" border.  Add on cheese and desired toppings, making sure not to add more than 4-6 ounces.  Bake 10-12 minutes on preheated pizza stone.

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Green Chicken Enchiladas

Though the photo portrays a mass amount of greasy cheese, the recipe is really low-fat and super duper yummy!  Test Kitchen strikes again!

Green Enchilada Sauce:

Ingredients:

3 poblano chiles, stemmed and seeded (or 5 jalapenos)

1 pound tomatillos (about 12), husked, washed and dried

Vegetable oil spray

1/4 c. chicken broth

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves

1/2 c. packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 T. olive oil

1 tsp. sugar

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Arrange the chiles, skin-side up and tomatillos on a foil-lined baking sheet and spray with oil.  Broil vegetables 6" from broiler until blacken and begin to soften, 5-10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.

Remove veggies from the oven, let cool slightly, then remove the skin from the chiles.  Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth, 30-60 seconds.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enchiladas:

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 recipe enchilada sauce (above)

1 c. finely crumbled feta cheese (4 oz)

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles

1/2 c. minced fresh cilantro

12 (6") soft corn tortillas (I used whole-wheat flour tortillas)

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.  Combine chicken and sauce in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, 10-15 minutes.  When it's simmering, cover rand cook until chicken is done, 10-15 more minutes.

Transfer chicken to a plate and shred into bite-size pieces.  Combine the chicken, 1/2 cup of the sauce, feta, chiles, and cilantro in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly coat both sides of the tortillas with oil spray.  Place 6 tortillas on a baking sheet and bake until they are soft and pliable, 2-4 minutes.  Place 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture evenly down the center of each tortilla.  Tightly roll each and lay seam side down in a 9x13" baking dish. 

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees.  Pour 1 cup more sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the cheddar.  Cover the baking dish with foil and bake until the enchiladas are heated through about 10 minutes.  Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes longer. 

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Sweetheart of a Husband

I had a really... long... day...

but, I was greeted at home with this:

Cabernet Sauvignon, Moonstruck Chocolates, and Red Roses

And this:

Grilled Steak, Mashed Potatoes, and Skillet Asparagus!

Not to mention, it all came with folded laundry and a clean kitchen!

I love my Valentine. :)

Recipes for dinner to follow...

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Wheat Pita Bread

I thought for sure I had already posted this, but I can't find the post anywhere, so here it is again!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1. Stir together water and yeast in the bowl of a kitchenaid mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Let stand for 5 minutes, or until yeast is dissolved and foamy.
2. Stir in remaining ingredients.  Turn mixer to medium speed and knead for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a greased glass bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.  
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. With a sharp knife, divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a smooth ball. With a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6 to 7 inch circle. Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. cover with a towel. Let pitas rise about 30 minutes until slightly puffy.
4. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place 2 or 3 pitas on a wire cake rack. Place cake rack directly on oven rack. Bake pitas 4 to 5 minutes until puffed and tops begin to brown. Remove from oven and immediately place pitas in a sealed brown paper bag or cover them with a damp kitchen towel until soft. Once pitas a softened, either cut in half or split top edge for half or whole pitas. They can be stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for 1 or 2 months.

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