Food on Friday: Maple Syrup Cake

This cake smells heavenly when it's baking. Think warm maple syrup. The cake tastes amazing. I've never had anything like it.

You don't need a fancy cake pan. (But I sure I love the one my mom gave me.)

Maple Syrup Cake

2 3/4 cake flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (I didn't have fresh)

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 vanilla extract

16 Tbs (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Have all of the ingredients at room temperature.

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 325 degrees. **Using a small pastry brush, brush the inside of the cake pan with softened shortening or butter, making sure to coat the detailing in the pan. Dust with cake flour; tap out excess flour. (**I just used no-stick bakery spray.)

To make the cake, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, maple syrup and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool upright in the pan for 15 minutes. Tap the cake pan gently on a work surface to loosen the cake. Invert the pan on wax paper or a serving surface and lift off the pan. Let the cake cool completely, at least 2 hours, before serving.

Be sure to check out more tasty recipes at Ann Kroeker's "Food on Fridays".

Easy Ranch Chicken

A couple of Sundays ago, I tried out this recipe. As I was getting it ready, I invited to some friends to eat dinner with us. I don't usually try out recipes on company. This dish was easy and tasty.

Easy Ranch Chicken

½ cups Breadcrumbs
½ cups Cornmeal
¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
1 teaspoon Cajun Season Salt
½ teaspoons Garlic Salt
1 cup Ranch Dressing
6 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

Preheat oven at 425° F.

On a large plate mix together breadcrumbs, cornmeal, Parmesan cheese, Cajun seasoning and garlic salt, set aside.

Pour ranch dressing into a bowl and dip each chicken thigh into the dressing and then into the seasoned breadcrumb mixture.

Place on a foil lined cookie sheet and repeat until you have all of the chicken thighs on the cookie sheet.

Place in 425° F oven and bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

I only took one picture before I put the chicken in the oven (remember, I had company on the way). Once it was ready, we ate!

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Me Oh My, Chicken Pot Pie!

I made a Chicken Potpie last night. My 5 year old called it "Chicken Popeye." I'd never made a chicken potpie before. It was pretty simple and very tasty! (Not healthy but it weighs in quite high on the comfort food scale.)

Comforting Chicken Potpie

1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups water
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

PASTRY
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1/3 cup cold butter or margarine

Prepared the cooked chicken. You can use leftover chicken. I boiled my chicken with chicken broth (using chicken bouillon cubes and water).

In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, garlic, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in water, milk and bouillon. Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in chicken and vegetables; set aside.

For pastry, combine flour and celery seed in a bowl. (I thought I had celery seed but I didn't. So, I used one tsp of celery salt and one tsp of cumin seed.) Cut in cream cheese and butter until crumbly. Work mixture by hand until dough forms a ball. On a lightly floured surface, roll two-thirds of dough into a 12 in square. Transfer to an 8 in square baking dish.

Pour filling into the crust. Roll remaining dough into a 9 in square; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.


Stop by Ann Kroeker's Food on Friday for more food related posts and recipes.

Food on Fridays: Sweet Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I'll call this my new recipe "I'm stunned" moment. I picked out a recipe last week when I was hurriedly making the grocery list. I randomly found the recipe here: Hillbilly Housewife.

I thought, "Pulled pork? That sounds good and I bet my oldest will want it in his lunch." Then, I made sure I had the ingredients and that was that.

Enter Wednesday morning... I'm putting the ingredients in the crockpot, thinking "Wow, this could be really spicy."

Then, at dinner time, I grabbed some sunbutter and crackers as a standby because I was sure that the kids would not like the pork sandwiches. They had flavor alright. They were bursting with it.

I was stunned.

My oldest had 2 sandwiches and said, "Lunch is going to be awesome tomorrow!"
Both of the other boys finished their sandwiches as well. They did request a bit more to drink than usual but they all said they liked it...a lot.

My oldest had 2 sandwiches for dinner, then had it in his lunch and requested it for dinner tonight.

I am still stunned.

This is a great recipe, especially if you like a little spice.


Sweet Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwiches

1 (5 lb.) pork should roast or butt roast

dry rub:
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 small yellow onions cut into large wedges

sauce:
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Put the onions in the crockpot first. Blend dry rub ingredients with fork and gently press and rub over the pork roast. The put the pork roast in the crockpot on top of the onions.


In a glass bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients until smooth.

Pour 1/2 the sauce mixture over the pork roast in the crockpot, coating the meat well. (Store the remaining 1/2 of the sauce mixture in the refrigerator for later.)
Cover the crockpot and set on LOW temperature. Cook, undisturbed, for 8 to 9 hours.

Remove the meat from the crockpot to a platter and shred with a fork. Pick the onion out from the crockpot and discard. Return the shredded meat to the crockpot, add the sauce mixture you refrigerated earlier to the crockpot and stir to combine well. Put cover back on crockpot and let heat through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Keep warm and serve on hearty buns. You can make another small batch of the sauce to serve alongside the sandwiches if you wish. Just heat the sauce in a pan for about 15 minutes on low, then pour into a serving bowl with a ladle.

Note: because of the (quite tasty) intense spice to the sauce, I just drained the sauce and served the meat on the buns. The meat was still well coated and soaked in the sauce. Oh! And 3 of us thought the sandwiches were really good with dill pickles.


(Ok, this isn't a great picture. At that point in the evening, I was in get-the-food-on-the-table-because-the-kids-are-cranky-hungry-mode.)

Be sure to check out more tasty recipes at Ann Kroeker's "Food on Fridays".

Tuscan Chicken

I recently tried out this recipe. My whole family (all 6 of us) liked it. That means, it's a keeper.

Tuscan Chicken

2 lbs chicken breast tenderloins (I used chicken breasts and then cut them)
salt and pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp ground thyme
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup beef broth

Chicken
Salt and pepper all the chicken. Heat a large skillet over med-high heat. Add olive oil to the pan. Brown the chicken (1/2 at a time), cook for 3 min per side (or longer depending on the thickness of your chicken), drain on paper towels.


Sauce (I doubled the sauce)
Add vinegar to pan and cook for 30 seconds stirring up brown bits. Reduce heat to medium and add butter, garlic, onions and thyme and cook 4-5 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in wine and broth and reduce sauce for 5 minutes.



Chicken and Sauce
Add chicken to the sauce to warm through.


Tuscan Chicken Dinner
I made whole-wheat spaghetti and put the chicken and sauce on top. We had a side salad and fruit with it.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

This dessert makes my husband smile.

Well, okay, that was my dessert and coffee. He takes his coffee black. His serving was much, much bigger. Really.

The night I made the crisp, my husband posted this Facebook status: "My wife made a killer Apple Crisp. It MUST be love!"

It's good. It's also easy to make.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

5 cups sliced tart apples (about 6 medium apples)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Preheat over to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 inch square baking pan.

Pare and core apples. Layer apples and cranberries in pan sprinkling with sugar as you layer.

Mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Work in butter until light and crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples and cranberries.

Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender. Serves 9 (ya right, not in my house).

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Festive Iced Cookies

I got this recipe years ago when we lived in Virginia. When I tried them, they were decorated for Christmas. These cookies delight everyone and can decorated according to the holiday.

I took the tray of cookies to our July 4th celebration. I brought an empty tray back. The next morning our July 4th host told me she didn't get any cookies so I brought her some. (I always reserve some for the family to enjoy at home.)

Festive Iced Cookies

Cookies
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
3 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

Mix all ingredients well and roll out on board. Cut into shapes. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Notes: Don't let edges get too brown. I like the cookies thinner so I roll the dough out pretty thin.

Icing:
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1/8 tsp salt
1 lb powered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk

Mix all ingredients well. If too stiff, add a bit more milk. Color as desired with food coloring. Frost cookies when they have cooled.

It's best to allow time for the icing to set if you are taking the cookies somewhere. At least one of my kids prefers the icing to be "dry" but another likes the fresh icing because it is easier to lick off.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Chicken Enchiladas

I made Chicken Enchilada's last week. Right when we sat down at the table to eat, my husband said, "Only one thing, you made these all wrong."

The enchilada's aren't hard but they do take a little time to prepare. I was stunned. Perplexed, I looked up from my plate at my husband.

And then he said, "Next time, double the recipe so that we can have leftovers and I can take some to work for lunch."



Chicken Enchiladas

8 6 inch tortillas
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 8 ounce carton sour cream
2 cups chicken broth
1 or 2 canned jalapeno chili peppers, rinsed, seeded and chopped; or one 4 ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
Sliced pitted ripe olives (optional)
Chopped tomatoes (optional)
Sliced green onions (optional)

Wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or till softened [I didn't do this step. I think this would be more necessary with corn tortillas. We tried the recipe with corn tortillas once and we didn't like it as much.]

For sauce, in a saucepan cook onion, garlic, coriander, and pepper in margarine or butter till onion is tender. Stir in flour into sour cream; add to onion mixture. Stir in broth and chili peppers all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese.

For filling, stir 1/2 cups of the sauce into chicken.


Place about 1/4 cup filling atop each tortilla; roll up.


Arrange rolls, seam side down, in a lightly greased 13 by 9 baking dish.


Top with remaining sauce.


Bake, covered, in at 350 degree oven about 35 minutes or till heated through.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or till cheese melts. If desired, sprinkle with olives, tomatoes, and green onions. Let stand 10 minutes. *Makes 4 servings.

*I did not realize that it made 4 servings. Luckily, we also had side salads, and refried beans and tortilla chips with dinner.

It wasn't all that long ago that my kids turned up their noses at this dish because they could see green stuff in it. We would make them try it and then make cheese quesadillas for them. Now, we had to divide up the portions. Everyone loved it. I will double it next time!

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Zesty Strawberry Bread

Each Sunday during the summer, my husband and I help cook breakfast at our church. It's more my husband than me. Anyway, this past Sunday morning, I decided to go to the store first thing before my husband was up and about. I am not sure which motivated me more, getting a cup of Starbucks or picking up the fruit for my husband. Anyway, I got both: my cup of joe and a few pounds of strawberries and some bananas. When I got home, I just left the fruit in my husband's truck. He leaves before me. He left in a hurry. I figured he'd see the fruit. I left it in the seat right behind his seat. He didn't see them. In fact, he stopped by the store on the way to church and picked up fruit. Apparently, it's more convenient to put items on the other side of the truck. We had a lot of fruit for Sunday's breakfast. We had a lot left over.

I love Strawberries and I could not let them go to waste. I searched online until I found a strawberry bread recipe that grabbed my attention. The reason this recipe caught my eye was the lemon zest. Oh boy, this is good bread!



Zesty Strawberry Bread

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups sugar (I use 1 brown and 1 white) any combo will work
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup vegetable oil
grated rind of 1 lemon
3 cups chopped strawberries




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. Stir. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, oil and lemon rind.

Spoon the strawberries into the liquid ingredients and stir gently to coat the fruit. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients.

Fold (with spatula by hand) until all ingredients are blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. (The dough won't really pour into the pans. It's too thick. Just spread it evenly into 2 pans.)

Bake 50-60 minutes (took about 55 minutes in my oven) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow loaves to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool.

The bread was delicious warm. Inspired by the lemon zest and the sweet flavor of the bread, I decided to try a lemon glaze on the bread. I found a simple lemon glaze recipe, which even allowed me to use up the lemon I used with the bread. The lemon glaze turned the strawberry bread into a delightful dessert.


Lemon Glaze

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter
juice from large lemon

GLAZE: Melt butter, and mix in powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Put glaze into Ziploc bag, and snip a tiny hole in one corner. Drizzle over bread. Let set.

You could just put light icing on the bread. However, if you husband is standing there taste testing the bread and the icing, you will be encouraged to coat one of the loaves with the icing. (As you can tell from the pictures, I tried the glaze out on the loaf we had already cut into. I wasn't sure how the combo would turn out. It was delightful.)






Without the glaze, the bread is wonderful. (I just had a piece for breakfast.) With the glaze, the bread is a sweet treat.

I still have more strawberries to use up. I'm off to try out a strawberry scone recipe. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Tasty Tuesday: White Chicken Chili

My house smells so good right now...



I spent this morning feeling sad (read that as, very, very, veeeeery sad) about the U2 concert being postponed until 2011. I am bummed big time about that. We were going to the concert with some friends of ours from WA. The husband, Dan, is a big U2 fan (like me) and the wife, Melissa, tolerates U2 (like my husband). I spent so much time thinking about our friends and the concert this morning that I decided to make Melissa's White Chicken chili for dinner. Melissa is a fantastic cook. You should definitely check out her recipe blog: Cucina Pazza

Anyway, this is the perfect dish for tonight. It's made and waiting for us to enjoy when we get home from the kids' swim lessons.

White Chicken Chili

1 rotisserie whole chicken from your local grocery store deli section
3 cans Great Northern Beans- drained and rinsed
2 cans Ortega mild fire roasted chilis - chopped (I usually only put in 1 can)
butter, oil, or margarine- whatever you use for sauteing
1 onion -chopped
2 Tbsp chopped garlic (today I used two pressed gloves of garlic)
2 containers mild fresh salsa (it's got to be fresh- not the jar stuff & don't drain it, use the juice, too)
1 - 32 oz carton chicken broth
1 small bunch cilantro - chopped (optional)
chopped avocados, cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips for garnish


Saute your chopped onion and garlic.

While that's cooking, start tearing the white and dark meat from the chicken. Don't be afraid to use the dark meat (it adds a lot of flavor to the soup).

Add the torn chicken, broth, white beans, chili and fresh salsa to the crockpot.


Mix well.
Simmer on low heat for two hours.

Add the chopped cilantro (I add a small bit but mainly I let people add it to their own bowl).

Continue to simmer while you prepare your selected garnish (at least 20 minutes).

Serve with avocados, cheddar cheese and sour cream on top.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Tasty Tuesday: Salsa Beef Skillet

We had this dish last week after not having it for a long time. It is a favorite of my husband's. It's extremely easy to make. You just have to have enough time (2 hours) to let it simmer.


Salsa Beef Skillet

1 boneless chuck roast (2 to 2 1/2 pounds) cut into 3/4 inch cubes (I used stew meat)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 jar (16 ounces) chunky salsa
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro or parsley (I use cilantro)
2 tablespoons lime juice
Hot cooked rice

In a large skillet, brown beef in oil; drain.
Add salsa, tomato sauce, garlic, brown sugar and soy sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Stir in cilantro and lime juice; heat through. Serve over rice.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Tasty Tuesday: Baked Garlic Chicken

I made this dish last week when my parents were in town. It's a chicken recipe the whole family likes. I got the recipe from my Washington MOPS cookbook. It's delicious.

Baked Garlic Chicken

*needs to marinate

2 cups sour cream

2 tbls lemon juice

4 garlic cloves

4 tsp celery salt

4 tsp Worcester sauce

2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

8 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cups crushed butter flavor (I used Ritz) crackers (about 50)

1/4 c. vegetable oil

In a large shallow container, combine the first 7 ingredients. Add chicken, turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Place cracker crumbs in a shallow bowl; roll chicken in crumbs until coated. Put chicken in a greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Drizzle oil over chicken. Bake covered w/foil at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until juices run clear.

Here's a picture of the chicken before it was cooked.

I had planned to take another picture after it was baked. I forgot about taking pictures. I was hungry.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Mocha Chip (Nut Free) Biscotti

I love coffee (big surprise, right?) and I really enjoy biscotti. Have you ever tried to find a nut-free biscotti? It is hard to find. And, if you find biscotti that doesn't have nuts in it, it will have a nut warning on the label. That's my experience, anyway. I have been meaning to make my own biscotti for a while. I made Mocha Chip Biscotti today. My boys got their first taste of biscotti. It was tasty. I have another recipe for Cranberry Apricot Biscotti. I'll probably try that one out soon.

Mocha Chip (Nut Free) Biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 tablespoons butter (or margarine), softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour and baking powder. Set aside. Beat butter and 3/4 cup of sugar until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Dissolve 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules in 1 teaspoon warm water. Add with eggs. Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips into dough. Divide dough in half.

Form each half into a 7 by 2 inch log. Lightly spray pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place each log crosswise in pan about 4 inches apart.

Bake 30 minutes. Remove pan to cooling rack; let logs cool in pan 15 minutes.

Carefully remove logs to cutting board. With a bread knife, gently cut logs diagonally into 1/2 inch thick slices.

Arrange slices upright in pan, about 1 inch apart. Bake 20-25 minutes or until dry and crisp. Cool completely on a cooling rack. Store in a tightly covered container.

To drizzle with chocolate, microwave 1/3 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chipes and 2 tablespoons butter or margarine on high 1 minute; stir. Continue microwaving 10-30 seconds or until mixture is smooth when stirred. Drizzle over biscotti. Refrigerate 20 minutes or until chocolate drizzle is firm.



My recipe notes: I did not have miniature chocolate chips so I just chopped up some regular chocolate chips. I did not drizzle the chocolate. Turns out, I am not good at drizzling. Spreading chocolate works just as well (plus, there's more chocolate and that isn't a bad thing). I also did not put the biscotti in the refrigerator. It didn't take very long for the chocolate to get firm.

Check out other wonderful recipes at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.